FORGIVE & FORGET (take two)

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. All credits belong to Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga. General story plot is not entirely mine either. I got it from a movie I saw and it inspired me. Some parts are written differently though and it has a little of my imagination inserted in there somewhere.

Author's Note: I just want to state that this is Forgive & Forget (take two). If you have checked out my profile before, you might remember that I have written a story under this title. It has the same general plot, but the specifics are different. I wanted to re-write it to make it better. I deleted the original one from the site so that it won't be a major spoiler for this new story. If you have read the previous one, it's up to you if you want to read this one, too. If you will, I send my advance thanks to you for your support.

P.S.

I might have deleted the original story, but no worries; I have a copy of the entire original F&F saved.

Sincerely,

Wolf Under An Ink Spell

Chapter One

January 28

St. Peter's Chapel

"I think we should call him. He's running late."

"Yeah, go on, man. Ring him."

"All right, all right." One of the three boys waiting impatiently for the last thirty minutes outside the small chapel started looking in his pockets for his iPhone. When he found it, he entered the pass code and began searching through his contacts for the name of the person he wants to talk to. He is late. And the wedding can't start without him.

When Embry finally found the name, he tapped the screen and brought the phone to his ear. He waited for the first, second, and third ring, but still no answer. Irritated already, he began tapping one foot as he looked at his wristwatch. He was getting nervous. Of all the days in his entire life in this planet, why did he have to be late now?

The sixth ring was now underway and somewhere in the distance, he could hear a familiar ringtone ringing along with his phone. He looked around the area and sure enough, there was the man in question, running as if his life depended on it.

Running towards them was Jacob Black in his tailored suit, beads of sweat covering his forehead. From the looks of him, you'd know that he hurried his way over. From the looks of it, according to Embry's eyes, it's as if he forgot that he needed to be in a wedding today and he just remembered five minutes ago, then he put on his clothes, and made a run for the chapel.

He is in so much trouble.

Embry ended the call and put the phone back inside his pockets before storming towards his late friend to meet him halfway. "Where the hell have you been?" He yelled. "The ceremony was about to start! The bride, for crying out loud, came here ten minutes ago!"

The two other people with Embry back then, Quil Ateara and Seth Clearwater, both hurried over the two of them. Seth placed a warning hand on Embry's shoulder. "Cool it, he's here."

"About time, too. You should be thankful Sam's in a nice mood today."

"Listen," Jacob tried to explain while catching his breath and wiping drops of sweat from his forehead.
"Save it. They're already walking. Hurry!" Quil pulled him towards the chapel's doors and pushed him in line with the others. Doing as commanded, Jacob Black excused himself as he passed the little flower girls, the bridesmaids, and the groomsmen to walk to his rightful place.

He tried playing it cool when he reached the end of the aisle, but then Sam Uley's gaze from up front made him realize that he was indeed in trouble. Well, it wasn't his fault. Not really.

He stood right beside him and waited for the rest of the march to end. By the time the last couple came up front, everyone stood up and the music began to change into the traditional wedding song. From beside him, Jacob felt Sam looked far and shook with happiness as he saw the bride come their way. Jacob couldn't help but feel happy, too, of course, despite being so nervous then even when he wasn't the actual groom.

Yes, he was nervous. Although it happened a few years ago, too long that he should have forgotten it already, he was still scared. He doesn't even know if that word covered it. Somehow, Jacob had developed some sort of phobia with weddings. And he knew why. Everyone does. He also knew that his friends knew the reason he was late.

When Emily reached the front, he smiled to Jacob and he returned it with his own usually warm smile. After that, her gaze can't be taken away from Sam any longer. Her smile grew from ear to ear and it warmed her very soul. Sam did the same. In an instant, Jacob felt an invisible wall separate him from the two of them. He was left out along with the maid of honor, Leah, who stood on the other side, across from him.

Then without warning, he felt it: envy. He cursed himself. Why? He was envious that Sam and Emily can be this happy already. The two of them are practically living their happily-ever-after now. This is the beginning of their fairytale. And he was so envious and jealous and he wanted the same for himself.

But as he walked to his respected seat, he knew his shot for his own happy ending had come and gone…a long time ago. Somehow, he was stupid enough to let it slip through his fingers. Or more like letting it go from his grip. He had her. He had the perfect girl that he loved so much and what did he do? He ruined it. He ruined everything. So now he deserved this kind of punishment.

But the girl didn't.

The entire ceremony had passed. Sam and Emily exchanged sweet vows of their love for one another, had exchanged rings, and they shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

While all that happened, Jacob clapped with the crowd, pretending to be happy himself. He did it absentmindedly, of course. He didn't know because he just went with the flow. Deep inside, though, Jacob felt entirely different from what he showed to the rest of the people in that small chapel.

He was hurting.

…

"Can you believe that they're finally married?" Seth asked as he ate the plateful of spaghetti he had in front of him. "I mean, after all these years."

"Yeah, man. They deserve it. Waited for years for this to happen." Quil said as he took a sip from his champagne glass.

"I think auntie's very, very happy today, don't you think?" seventeen-year old Claire said from beside Quil. As if on cue, they all turned to look except for Jacob who has been not on the right state of mind since the ceremony.

"Someone's rich enough to have a world of his own." Leah said as she noticed Jacob's state. The rest of the people on their table, which included Leah who was the maid of honor, Claire who was one of the three bridesmaids, Quil, Embry, and Seth who were all groomsmen, and Jacob, the best man, looked towards Jacob who was staring off into space. He was staring at his still full dinner to be exact.

Embry cleared his throat out loud and it made Jacob jump in a funny way. He looked around to see everyone looking at him and he plastered a confused expression on his face.

"You okay, man? You seem… distracted." Embry searched for the right word.

"I'm fine." He answered flatly and the boys shrugged, not believing him for a moment.

"Whatever." Then they focused their attention back to the newly-weds who sliced the cake in the midst of the crowd. "Wish I have my own girl now though."

Leah snorted, "yeah, whatever you say, Embry."

"What? Is it bad to pray?"

"No, it's not. I just don't see you in a stable relationship."

"Look who's talking, Clearwater." Embry teased.

"Shut." Leah warned and Embry chuckled. It was just too easy to piss her off.

"What do you think about that?" Quil pointed at a guest who was probably from Emily's side of the family.

Two tables to the right and with the two other bridesmaids, the girl ate some sort of salad. She had short brown hair and electric blue eyes. She wore a white dress that suits her complexion nicely. Then she was laughing.

"Nah, I don't think so." Embry disregarded her. "Hey, Seth, what do you think of that one over there?"

Now, Embry was pointing at a black-haired beauty. She was tall, you can tell even though she was sat down. She was slim, too. Actually, she looked like a model. Pretty enough, but Seth didn't even look at her twice.

"Don't think so." He shook his head and returned to his spaghetti.

"Leah, why don't you try for that guy there? I think he's cute." Claire suggested and pointed towards the catering area. There was indeed a 'cute guy' there by the punch bowl and he was looking around. He wore his attire loosely and it gave him the 'cool guy' effect. His hair was gelled up, you can tell from the spikes and it was way too pointy to be natural. He seems to be searching the crowd quietly. Observing?

"Hey, what do you mean 'cute'?" Quil asked Claire teasingly. The two had been dating for almost five months now and everyone can tell that it was going smoothly. No on would be surprised if they end up together like Sam and Emily someday.

"Aw, hurt that your girlfriend find other guys cuter than you, Ateara?" Leah teased but Quil acted as if he didn't mind in the first place. He tried to be unaffected but Claire kissed his cheek, which earned them a few whistles from around the table.

"At least you've got a girl." Embry said.

"Yeah, and if Quil here decides to make a detour, I'll unleash hell upon him." Claire threatened. For such a small girl, she can be scary. Well, for Quil that is.

The group continued to scan the crowd and suggested random people for one another. Jacob, on the other hand, remained so quiet that he was unnoticed for so long. Until such time, that is.

"Hey, hey, what about that blonde girl there with the brunette? What's her name again?" Seth asked.

"I think it's… uh, oh! Jana. Yeah. She was one of the people who helped with the wedding." Claire answered.

"Really?"

"Hmm, what do you think, Jake? Good enough for you?" Quil suddenly included him in the conversation.

Of course he was listening from the very beginning but he paid no attention to any of them. He had his own world after all as Leah pointed out earlier.

"What?" He asked.

"That one." Quil nodded towards the girls being pointed out. "The blonde chick, what do you think? Your type?"

Jacob had looked that way but before he can assess anything about the girl, Embry had already opened his mouth.

"Man, you know Jake's not that kind of guy. Remember his last girl? What's her name again? Addie? They didn't even last three months."

"Yeah, and then there's Anne, too. We all thought she was the one, huh?" Leah said.

"That's what we said about Irene, too, remember?" Quil snickered.

They were teasing him again. He didn't care. It was fine, really, as long as they don't mention…

"Nah, you're all wrong!" Claire said to the group, arguing for her own opinion. "We all know that there's one girl and one girl only for Jake."

Everyone looked at her as if daring her to say the name. They all know whom Claire was referring about. She, after all, liked that girl out of all the others. The two of them acted like they were sisters. And the group can't deny it. She must have been the most heart-warming girl ever. The sweetest, most caring and understanding, most loving girl to ever walk in the world. Jacob deserved someone like her, but then does she deserve someone like him?

As if she understood, she took the challenge.

"Oh, the two of you were so adorable, remember?"

"Claire," Quil warned her carefully. It's a touchy subject to his friend and he didn't want anything to happen here or to Claire for that matter.

"What? I was just pointing out how amazing Nessie is."

REVIEW

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There we go, that wasn't so bad, was it? Feel free to leave any comments about this first chapter! You know how much the author loves reviews even short ones.

~Wolfie