He'd always just been Jacob. He'd always just been that guy who'd be there when I needed him.

There was this one time, on the beach. We were there, Jacob, some friends and I, hanging out on a free Saturday afternoon. I went off by myself, wanting to explore the tide pools mom took me to before we moved. Jake said he'd be there in a minute, so I went on ahead. The pools were easy to find. I was only crouched there a few minutes when a couple of boys from school showed up. They already had a reputation, so I just nodded my hello and paid strict attention to the sea anemones. That didn't seem to be enough for those boys, though.

"Hey, you're that new Cullen girl, aren't you?" One of then, Nathan I think, asked.

"Yeah, she lives with that weirdo family," another one replied for me. I didn't bother looking to see which one it was. There was no way I was wasting my tide pool time on these goons. Forks High had sure gone downhill since my parents went there.

"Hey, Cullen. Here all alone?" And the taunting had begun. Lovely. Again, I ignored them.

It continued for a few minutes until one got annoyed enough to try and push me in. That's when I stood up and faced them.

"Haven't you got anything better to do?"

"And miss seeing your face, gorgeous?" Nathan asked with a wink. "You're pretty hot. Why don't you hang out with us instead of some freaky Indians?"

"Who're you callin' a freaky Indian?"

I hadn't heard him come up, but Jacob was right behind me, a hand on my shoulder. I grinned.

"Uh... no one," one of the three, Anthony?, replied nervously.

"Damn right no one. Get outta here!" Jacob nearly growled. I stifled a giggle. It was adorable when he did that.

The boys fled the scene quicker than any wolf could run, even Leah. I turned to find Jake grinning back at me.

"Why didn't you just beat 'em up, Ness? You know you could."

"Yeah, but I just have to see them Monday."

"Maybe not. Looks like they're running to Canada." We both laughed then.

And that's what Jake was- that guy that scared other guys off. In fact, it was pretty hard to keep a boyfriend once they met Jacob. Pretty soon they'd be scared by him and suddenly stop calling me. That part was kind of annoying, but I knew he meant well. Jake never wanted to see me hurt. That's where this gets weird.

My last boyfriend had just broken up with me over the phone. He said it was because I cared about Jacob way more than I cared about him. Of course, Jake was there since the second I was born, and I'd only known Michael for a few weeks. Jake was always number 1 on my list of favourite people. It was the way Mike had said "cared for," though. Like it was something more than friendship. I contemplated that for a second, but passed it off as a stupid comment. I had -really- liked Mike. He and I had gotten along so well; I had really thought that it might go somewhere.

I was very distraught. Jake caught on as soon as he got inside my, er, grandfather Carlilse's house. Mom and Esme were trying to console me, and I was doing okay until I saw Jake. Then the tears started falling again. He hugged me like every other time, and sat quietly to let me be emotional. I could everyone else had left the room, mom reluctantly. Tears were still falling down my cheeks silently when I looked up at him. Jake's face was a mess; he was covered in worry.

That's when it dawned on me.

"Jake...?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah, Ness?"

"Do you love me?" I never was one to beat around the bush. He laughed a hard laugh.

"Duh, Ness."

"No, like, -love- me, love me."

He sighed and stood up. "We should talk."

"Oh, God. it's that bad?"

He chuckled again and pulled me to my feet. Without a word he led me down to the river and started walking along its bank. I followed, walking quickly next to him to stay with his long strides. I'd always been short.

"Ness, you know how Sam, Jared, Quil and Paul all imprinted?"

"Yeah," I said quietly. He'd told me about imprinting a long time ago. I thought it was a neat concept, but also scary that someone could get that attached to someone that fast.

"I kinda, sorta, did, too."

"Really?! On who?? Why didn't you tell me? Who is she? When do I meet her??"

He had to chuckle at my enthusiasm. "You already know her, Nessie."

"I do? Oh no, it's not Leah is it? I like her and all, but she's not-" A large finger over my lips silenced me.

"Renesmee, calm down." I winced at the use of my full name. I nodded when he raised a questioning eyebrow. He pulled his finger away slowly.

"Who is it?" I asked again.

He sighed and stared at me.

It took way longer than it should have, but when I realised it was me, I swear the click was audible.

"Wait..." I started. Jake turned away from me. "You... imprinted... on me?" I pointed to myself.

He nodded, still turned away from me.

"When?" The word barely came out in a whisper, but I new he would hear it.

"The second I saw you," he mumbled back.

"And you're now just telling me??" The question came out a little harsher than I had planned.

He turned back toward me, but wouldn't meet my astonished gaze. "I wanted to give you a fair chance. That if you picked me it was because you made the decision, not because you felt guilty."

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah, it's a lot to take in."

"Jake, I..." After a moment's pause I threw myself at him, hugging him around the waist tightly. Of course! Wow, it all made sense now! Him being protective, me not being able to keep a boyfriend... everything made perfect sense!

He was stunned into silence, I think. He was seeing all of my memories and emotions flash through his mind. It took him a full minutes to wrap his long arms around me. We stood like that for a long time, quietly listening to the river running by us. It felt exactly the same, the way he held me, but somehow different, too. Better.

"Does this mean you're picking me?" He asked, face buried in my too-curly hair.

"No duh, Genius," I replied, quietly content.