Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, just a fan.

It was raining. Not unusual since I was stuck in Forks, where it rained most of the time. I was in my room. Actually, the room that had been my dad's room before me and my twin sister came to live with him. Now he slept on the new couch he had bought, which had a pull out bed. I had his room, and my twin had the room we had shared for a while when we were just babies. That was before our mom Renee had left our dad. Now she was happily married to another man, and my dad was still single. I don't think he ever got over mom leaving him. I wanted him to move on and find love elsewhere. He deserved to be happy. Charlie was a great dad to me and to Bella. He tended to be overprotective of us, but his heart was in the right place. I was gay, and I think my mom had realized even before I did. Luckily for me, she accepted me straight away. Nothing changed, she loved me just the same. And I was relieved. It meant a lot to me. Dad had not known I was gay, until one day I just let it slip. He had been shocked at first, but like mom, he never rejected me or tried to make me change my mind. I was his only son, and I felt bad that I probably wouldn't be able to give him any grandchildren, but there was still Bella. I had always thought she would make a great mom. I was older than her by three minutes, but she was the one who was more mature.

It was almost six o'clock. I heard the soft chime of the doorbell and went downstairs, wondering who was visiting my house. When I opened the door, I saw Jacob. He was drenched by the rain, which seemed to be matching his dark mood judging by the grim expression he had on his face. He pushed past me without saying anything, and I shut the door behind him. I turned to find him right in front of me, an almost wild intensity in his deep brown eyes that made me take a step back, away from him. "What's wrong?"

His face softened then, and he stepped closer to me. "I didn't mean to scare you, Al. I just got so mad when Bella told me what happened."

I opted to play innocent. "What do you mean? Nothing happened."

He brought a hand up to my face, his knuckles brushing lightly over a fading bruise on my cheek. "Want to try telling me that again?"

I sighed, pushing his hand away. "It was just a misunderstanding."

"Newton punching you in the face and calling you a fag, that was a misunderstanding?" Jacob growled. "I'm gonna make him pay for what he's done to you."

"No, Jake. I deserved it. He didn't just attack me out of the blue. I..." I hesitated. "I tried to kiss him, and he freaked out. Which is understandable..."

Jacob appeared to be stunned by my revelation. He looked hurt, for a brief moment, then his eyes turned hard as stones. "You like Newton?" He slowly shook his head. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. I thought you'd have better taste in guys than that, Alessio."

I closed my eyes for a moment. He knew I hated my name, and he only used it when he was upset with me. "I know, it was stupid. He just...he started being so nice to me, these past few weeks. I thought, maybe somehow he liked me too. It turns out he was just using me to get closer to Bella."

Jacob pulled me into a hug, and although it was comforting, he was squeezing me so tight I could barely breathe. "Forget about him. You deserve so much better."

"Um, Jake..." I pushed at him, and it was like shoving against a brick wall. "I need some air here..."

He instantly loosened his hold, but he didn't let me go. "Sorry. I'm still getting used to this..."

"Used to what?" I asked.

He chuckled as he released me from his hug. "I mean, I guess I don't know my own strength..."

I frowned mildly, but decided not to call him on it although I knew he was holding something back. "Yeah, you've had like a million growth spurts at once, Jake."

Jacob smirked at me. "While you're still short and skinny, so I guess I better help feed you up."

"How are you gonna do that when you can't even cook?" I retorted.

He shrugged, then gave me a winning smile. "I was thinking we'd share some pizza?"

"That could work." I replied, giving him a grin. "We can get two big ones to share. You better go change, I don't want you to catch a cold."

"Alright, sure." Jacob pulled his wet t-shirt off. I stared at him for a few moments, but I had to turn away when he started to undo the catch on his jeans. My face felt hot and I knew a pink flush would be visible on my pale skin. In a way, my reaction to Jacob's ripped chest was perfectly natural. I was gay, and he was a good looking guy with a great body. And yet I also felt confused and slightly disturbed since Jacob and I were just good friends. He was like the brother I never had, and he was straight. So it was weird for me to think of him in such a way. Plus I still had Mike on my mind.

"Um, so...I'm just gonna put these in the dryer," I picked up his t-shirt and jeans, carefully keeping my gaze averted from him. "I'll get you something else to wear." I raced off to where the washer and dryer was situated, throwing his clothes into the dryer and turning it on. I knew I wouldn't have any clothes that would fit Jacob so I just took hold of a t-shirt and a pair of shorts that belonged to my dad from a pile of laundered clothes and brought it to him along with a towel.

"Thanks," Jacob smiled as he took hold of the clothes and the towel. "I just called up Benny's and got us two large Meat Feast pizzas."

"Okay, so I'll-" I was cut off by the chime of the doorbell. "I guess I'll see who's at the door." I left Jacob in the living room putting on the clothes I had lent him while I went to open the door. I frowned when I saw that it was Mike. His sandy blond hair was messy with no gel in sight and his face had lost his usual playful smile. He was the last person I wanted to see but I was curious about why he had come. I stepped outside, shutting the door behind me. "Bella's not here. Just leave me alone, Mike."

"You think I'm here to see her?" Mike stared at me intently with his bright blue eyes. "No, I came to say sorry, Al. I know I messed up, but it was a big shock to me. Just let me in so we can talk about it..."

I bit my lip, considering his words. I didn't want to let him in. Not when Jacob was around. I knew I should just tell him to leave, to never talk to me again but I couldn't bring myself to do that to him. I still liked him despite what had happened. "Look, Mike, now's not really a good time. We'll talk tomorrow at school."

Mike looked like he wanted to protest but to my relief he decided not to. "Alright, but you better not try to avoid me tomorrow..." He rested a hand on my shoulder, his fingers clamping down with a tight grip as he continued to talk to me . "I'm serious, Al. You're still my best friend and nothing will change that." I stood there for a few moments watching him walk away, and then I went back inside.

Jacob was standing in the hallway, his arms crossed and a frown on his face. "Who was that?"

"It doesn't matter," I replied, moving past him and back into the living room.

He followed me, giving me a piercing stare with his dark eyes. "It was Newton at the door, wasn't it?"

"Yeah..." I admitted reluctantly. "Jake, he's sorry for what he did. I think we can still be friends."

"You're being stupid!" Jacob exclaimed angrily. "He's just gonna lie to you, he's not your friend and he's never gonna be anything more to you. You don't mean anything to him. I don't want you to see him again."

It hurt to hear Jacob talk like that, and I thought he was over reacting. "Yeah, maybe that's true but you have to let me figure out things for myself, Jake. I'm not a little kid. So stop acting like my dad, ok?" I snapped.

Silence fell. Jacob simply stared at me, and he looked upset. I was just about to apologize when the doorbell chimed for the third time that night. "I bet it's the pizza. 'll get it, you stay here," Jacob ordered me, leaving the living room.

I went into the kitchen and took a bottle of soda from the fridge as well as two glasses from a cupboard, bringing them back to rest them on the coffee table in the living room. The delicious scent of freshly baked pizza wafted into the room as Jacob returned holding two Benny's pizza boxes. "Jake, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude to you."

"It's ok. Let's just eat the pizza and watch a movie." Jacob replied genially, giving me a half smile as he set the boxes down on the coffee table. He grabbed hold of my arm and gently tugged me down onto the couch to sit next to him. I let him choose the movie we watched, though it was awful and riddled with plot holes it was quite funny. Plus I just enjoyed spending time with Jacob. He stayed over, both of us curled up on my bed which was almost too small for him. It felt awkward to sleep next to Jacob that night, even though we had had sleepovers in the past. Of course I would have had to be blind to not know how good looking he was, but I had never focused on his looks too much. He was simply a great guy, who was a loyal friend and did not care that I was gay. Yet now I felt like something had changed. I really hated myself at that moment. I had already fallen for a straight guy I'd never be with, I did not want to repeat the same mistake. Especially not with Jacob. He was like family. We had such a close bond. I did not want to ruin our friendship because of me developing a stupid, pointless crush on him.

The next day when I woke up Jacob was gone. He often did a disappearing act on me, so I was not surprised. He always had some excuse ready whenever I asked him why he would just up and leave when we were hanging out, or not be there the next morning after a sleepover. I assumed he had a girlfriend but just did not want to introduce her to me or Bella yet. He had liked my sister in the past, but she was dating Edward. I drove to school in the red pick-up truck I shared with my sister. She usually got a ride to school with Edward, unless he was off on one of his family camping day trips. When I arrived at school, I met up with my two best friends, Jessica and Angela. They were as different as day and night, but their friendship worked well. And they had no trouble accepting me into their friendship. Angela was the sweetest person I had ever met. Jessica was definitely not sweet but I liked her too. The day passed slowly. After I ate lunch with the girls, Jessica insisted that we went outside. She soon started was shivering from the cold, and Angela was watching her with concern. Angela and I were both wrapped up for the bad weather, but Jessica being Jessica had opted for a 'cute' outfit that did little to protect her from the wind.

"What do you think of my outfit?" Jessica slowly twirled around. She was wearing a white t-shirt and an extremely short blue velvet skirt. "You know, that actress from Crosshairs has a skirt just like this one."

"It's too short. Your mom actually let you leave the house wearing that skirt?" I asked, laughing because I knew how straight laced and stern Mrs Stanley was.

Jessica pouted at me, crossing her arms. "No. I snuck out without her noticing me. Hey, why can't you just be nice about my outfits? I mean otherwise what is the point of me having a gay bestie?"

I sighed, raising my eyes heavenward for a moment. I loved Jessica, but she got on my nerves sometimes. "Jess, come on. We've had this discussion before."

"I know, I know. Just because you're gay it doesn't mean you follow fashion trends..."

"Jess, you can borrow my sweater if you feel cold." Angela stated kindly. "We should go back in, I don't want you to get ill."

"Ew, that's sweater is so ugly, Ang! It doesn't match my outfit at all. Thanks, but no thanks. And I'm not cold..." Jessica lowered her voice. "Guys, is Mike looking over here?"

I glanced over to where Mike was stood, hanging out with Eric and Tyler. He was looking directly at me, but he turned away when he saw I was watching him. "No, I don't think so, Jess."

"Actually...I think he did. He's coming over here," Angela noted, then looked at me. "Maybe Al and I will go, um, to the library, while you have a chat to Mike."

"Yes, good idea No, wait...Stay!" Jessica flipped some of her curly hair back behind her shoulder. "It will look weird if I'm just outside on my own."

"Hey, guys," Mike smiled at us all, but he kept his eyes trained on me. "Can I talk to you for a sec, Al?" He brought a hand up the back of his neck, seeming uncomfortable." It's about that English assignment..."

"Um, sure, I guess..." I replied, feeling just as awkward as he probably was feeling. "What's the problem?"

"You know, I think it's better if I show you the question I'm having trouble answering. I have the book in my locker..." Mike walked a few steps away from the girls. "You coming? We've still got, like, ten minutes before class starts up again."

I hesitated for a few moments, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure." I replied, waving bye to Jessica and Angela before I followed him back inside the main school building.

Thanks for reading :)