Well, are you guys still with me? I certainly hope so. It was definitely not my intention to be this long with updating and I apologize. I just started a new job that has me working some crazy hours and I've been trying to finish up a college course, so time has not been in my favour! I have a few days off this week so I'm hoping I can try to majorly catch up on some writing. I hope you guys can forgive me.

I found this chapter hard to write. It wasn't anything special, but the details within are important for what is to come. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you guys can forgive me for making you wait FOREVER. I have high hopes for this story. So, please, read and enjoy :)

The grocery store in the small town of Forks, Washington was busy that Saturday morning. As I dragged my fuller-than-full cart along the aisles, I was forced to fight my way around people with gritted teeth. This was not how I had planned on spending the first day of my weekend.

As I hurried along, a package of baked goods seemed to fly into my cart from absolutely nowhere and I stumbled in surprise. The cart skidded off to the side and rammed into the shelf of cereal that an elderly lady was perusing. She glared over at me as I righted myself.

"Sorry," I muttered, before I hurried to the end of the aisle.

A deep chuckle sounded behind me.

I stopped at the end of the aisle, turning to glare at the large figure that had caught up to me. I couldn't help but stare up at him with an exasperated expression, knowing most of the trouble I had gone through while shopping had been because of him. He stared back at me with an unabashed look on his tanned face.

When my mother had shaken me awake at the crack of dawn this morning to beg me to do the grocery shopping for her this morning, I had been unable to say no. I could see the look of panic on her face, knowing she had her hands full with all the other preparations for the tribal meeting at the cliffs tonight. While I had planned on sleeping in this morning, there was absolutely no way I could refuse to help her.

Unfortunately, she had failed to mention that it would be Collin accompanying me to the store. La Push had a small grocery store, but it had little selection compared to the one in Forks—a place I was not allowed to visit without a "body-guard". Forks was known for more vampire activity than La Push, considering part of the Cullen clan still lived there and my father was as overprotective as a mother bear.

The boys of the pack detested shopping nearly as much as I did. It was obvious that this chore was not Collin's first choice, but when it came to tribal meetings, my mother tended to hand out jobs to everyone without expecting any question in response. Hence, how I got stuck shopping with Collin.

Collin may have been one of my best friends, but I had yet to be able to go out with him in public without being completely humiliated. Today's trip seemed to follow in the same sort of style. Collin may have been sent to keep an eye on me, but I was the one who ended up babysitting him.

"Really?" I exclaimed, glancing down at the heavy cart. "Donuts? No where on my mother's list does it say donuts, Collin."

He shrugged, lifting one shoulder as he smirked. "So, I'll eat them in the truck on the way home. No one will ever know."

I scrubbed at my forehead with my fingers, counting to ten under my breath. I didn't have the patience for his shenanigans this morning. I didn't have the patience for anything, honestly.

While Saturdays were nice because I got a day off from school, they were truly one of my least favourite days of the week. Saturdays were Brady's long days for patrol. From six in the morning to three in the afternoon, he was on duty. They broke from lunch for fifteen minutes at noon, before he was back in the forest to protect the tribe.

Usually, by the time his shift was done, he was so exhausted that he would go home and sleep until late evening. Once in a while, he would come over for dinner after a long shift, but most of the time, he spent the rest of his Saturday catching up on sleep.

I spent my entire Saturday moping because I didn't get to see him.

Don't get me wrong—I understood that someone had to take the long shift. It was just supremely disappointing that for one of the few days I was off during the week, I barely got to see him. When I was younger, the days I didn't get to see him didn't seem that bad. I still missed him like crazy, but I always had one of the other pack members or my parents to keep me occupied. But, now that I was older and that I felt closer to Brady, the days without him were hard.

I refused to tell him how much I missed him those days, knowing it would just make him feel guilty. Protecting the tribe was part of his job and there was nothing I could do to change that. But, more and more often I found myself feeling strange when I didn't see him for prolonged periods of time. I couldn't sleep and my head pounded. I didn't feel like doing anything.

It scared me how much he was starting to affect me. I mean—we were only friends, so why did I feel like this? I'm sure Brady wasn't spending his patrol shift pining over the fact that he didn't get to spend the day with me. So, why did I feel the way I did?

A warm palm found my chin, coaxing my face upwards until I was staring into Collin's muddy, brown eyes. I blinked profusely, feeling my cheeks burn.

"You okay?" he murmured. All joking manner was gone and the concern was obvious on his face.

I gave a sharp nod, forcing a grin. "Yup, fine."

It was obvious he didn't believe me. Without another word, he reached around me to grab the cart from my hands before he started down the aisle once more. Only did he glance behind when he realized I wasn't following.

"C'mon," he said.

The rest of the trip went smoothly. I finished off my mother's list without much trouble and Collin didn't try to put anything else into the cart. I knew my bad mood had rubbed off on him and I knew he wasn't going to keep his thoughts to himself about it. Still, as we approached the check-out line, I felt strangely out of it, like my body was here but my mind was elsewhere. When the cashier told me our total, I jumped at the sound of his voice.

"That'll be $157.48," he said.

As I flashed my father's credit card, used specifically for pack things like getting groceries, I could feel the cashier's gaze on me. Immediately, I was uncomfortable. I could feel his eyes look me up and down, not bothering to hide the fact that he was blatantly checking me out.

A warm hand appeared on the small of my back the moment the machine beeped. Collin grabbed the credit card and handed it to me, his body hiding me from view. I kept my gaze on the floor, moving towards the cart.

The cashier's confidence seemed to sink as he realized Collin was staring at him.

"H-have a nice day," he stuttered as he handed Collin the receipt.

"Yeah," Collin snapped. "Right."

I was quickly ushered towards the parking lot.

Part of the reason I put up with being carted around with these boys wherever I went was precisely because of moments like these. I was not the type of person that thrived in situations that made me uncomfortable. I didn't like confrontation and I most certainly didn't do well striking up conversations with strangers. Most of the pack, especially Brady and Collin, never let me feel like my back was against a wall if they could help it.

Sometimes, though, they let their tempers get the best of them. As I watched Collin heave the bags into the back of Uncle Jared's truck, I could see that he was unhappy. I was thankful that he had managed to keep it together inside the store, but now I felt guilty that he was in such a foul mood. I wished I was able to stand up for myself better, then maybe these guys wouldn't get so uptight all the time.

"Col—" I began softly.

"I don't want to hear it, Lills," he said, not looking up as he slammed the tailgate shut. "Get in."

Biting my lip, I walked slowly to the passenger seat without a word in return.

The ride back to La Push was silent. Collin had turned the radio off the moment he had started the engine and had yet to say a single thing. He pushed the speed limit slightly and I could see his hands tensing around the steering wheel as he maneuvered the damp roads. I didn't have the courage to breach the topic once more. My eyes followed the trees, wishing more and more that I could see Brady through them.

Before I knew it, we were home. Collin pulled into the driveway the same time the porch door opened. I got out slowly, smiling at the younger pack members who hurried to help with the bags. As I was distracted, Collin stomped towards the backyard, arms trembling.

Frowning, I made to follow him, but stopped short when a hand found my wrist. Uncle Jared and Aunt Kim's son, Austin, stared down at me with stormy eyes. "Come on inside, Lills."

I struggled against his grip. "But, Collin—"

"Collin will get over it," he assured me.

Feeling defeated, I trudged towards the house, letting the boys deal with the bags. Any chance of my mood lightening today was gone. All I wanted was to lock myself in my room and wait for tomorrow, when I knew the day would be better than this one. I kicked my shoes off in the pile at the door, before I followed the sound of voices into the living room.

Several set of eyes followed me as I slouched down in the last available spot on our spacious couch. I tried to ignore them, focusing on the baseball game on TV. But, when a foot nudged mine, I knew I wasn't going to get away with not speaking that easily.

Claire was watching me with concern from the opposite side of the couch, where she was cuddled into Quil's side. Quil had imprinted on my cousin the very first day her parents had ever brought her to La Push. They'd been inseparable ever since. Seeing them together now, I couldn't help but feel jealous. I worked to squash the foreign and unexplainable feeling quickly.

"How was shopping?" she asked.

"Torturous," I replied, receiving several knowing laughs in response.

Quil's laugh rumbled the couch. "Aw, c'mon, Collin's not that bad."

Quil might have been my cousin's soul mate, but he and I did not get along overly well. He was the type of person that liked to know everyone's business. He was a button-pusher and had no sense of when it was appropriate to let things go. I didn't know how Claire put up with him. He drove me absolutely crazy.

"I don't know," Will Lahote—Rachel and Paul's middle son—input. "I've been shopping with Collin before. It's not an easy task."

Quil then launched into a story about a time Collin got kicked out of the Forks library. It was enough to distract everyone long enough for me to slip out of the room and into the kitchen.

My mother had every surface in the kitchen covered with items for the barbecue and yet she was still at the stove, cooking away. The ceiling fan spun lightly, wafting the smell of cookies and muffins around the room. I smiled slightly as everyone looked up at my arrival.

"There you are," Mom greeted. "Thank-you for going out for me this morning."

I gave a half-shrug, snagging a muffin as I sat down at the table.

"Did everything go okay?" she asked, eyes searching my face. I knew I was being uncharacteristically silent.

I nodded. "It was fine."

Aunt Kim, who was frosting cupcakes, grinned. "How was Collin?"

It was obvious everyone knew what he was like. I wondered if they expected me to be in a foul mood when I returned. I bet they didn't expect it to be because of an entirely different reason, though.

"He was grouchy," I admitted.

Mom looked surprised. Her eyes were surveying me. "He didn't take his bad mood out on you, did he?"

She was always worried I would get hurt being around the boys all the time. I was fairly small, only about five-six, which I supposed was average height for a girl, but it was basically midget height with all these wolf-boys around. They could cart me around like I was a feather.

My parents rarely ever fought and when they did, it was almost always about my safety. Dad liked me to spend my time with the pack, because it almost always guaranteed my safety, Mom was always concerned that one of the boys wouldn't be able to hold in their temper and I would get in the way. Usually, Dad won in the end. He trusted the boys and Mom trusted him.

I was smart enough to know when they were on the losing side of their control. Today at the store hadn't been anything like that. Collin wasn't going to phase—he was just plain old angry. And it had only escalated when the cashier hadn't been able to keep his eyes to himself.

"No, Mom," I said softly.

Aunt Kim patted my mother on the shoulder.

"Where is Collin now?"

I shrugged. "Not sure."

Now, Mom was the one who looked unhappy. Her hands found her hips as she looked at me. "He was supposed to take you down to the beach when you two got back, so you could help Rachel set up."

I nibbled on a blueberry that had fallen from the muffin I was picking apart. "I don't know what to tell you."

Kim, always the person trying to keep my mother from fretting too much, straightened up. "Well, Austin is here. He can take her down with some of the food."

I opened my mouth to protest. "I'd rather just—"

Mom flapped her oven mitt at me, shaking her head. "No, that's a great idea. You could use some fresh air, Lilly."

"But, Mom—"

"Austin, can you come grab these burgers and take them to the truck, please?"

Apparently, my fate for this afternoon had been decided.

First Beach was lit up like a Ferris wheel on the fourth of July. Someone had strung lanterns along the trees and the fire blazed higher than I had ever seen it, mixes of oranges and yellows muddled together into one giant flame. The crackle of the wood and the soft crash of the waves along the shore did nothing to soothe me, however. I settled up higher against the cliff wall, watching the party from above.

The afternoon had passed rather quickly. I had spent it helping set up the food with a few of my aunts. Before I knew it, the evening was upon as and the shoreline was crowded with most of the La Push population. It hadn't taken me long to take refuge on the small shelf of rock further away from the noise, where I could sit and think in peace for once in my life.

I had yet to see Collin since this morning and while I was no longer put off with the fact that he had totally ditched me, I was annoyed with the fact that he hadn't come to apologize to me yet. We had fought before, over ridiculous things mostly, and we were always quick to forgive one another after.

I rested my chin on my knees, watching the water. It was calm tonight, which was surprising. Normally in the early spring, the waves were horrendous, fighting for control as the wind blew. But, tonight, the air was warm and the waves were small. It was so abnormal it was a tiny bit discerning.

Despite the fact that I was trying everything in my power not to, my eyes constantly scanned the party for Brady. I had hoped that once he had been done his patrol shift for today that he would have come down to the party. But, I had yet to catch sight of his familiar figure. It was just another disappointing thing to add to my disappointing day.

I felt unsettled. I had never felt so attached to someone before. It was almost unhealthy and while I felt like I had to discuss it with someone, I had no clue whom to approach. If I brought it up with my mom, she would get ridiculously giddy and immediately tell my dad. If I talked to Claire, the entire pack would know before I even finished telling her.

I figured it was just something I would have to figure on my own. Normally, I would go to Brady with my problems. He always understood and he never laughed at my fears. But, this was certainly not a scenario that I could speak with him about.

The trees on edge of the cliff wiggled in the wind, leaves rattling together. The temperature seemed to have dropped within a few minutes and I rubbed at goose bumps that appeared on my bare arms. Where had the warm air gone to so quickly?

A twig snapped behind me and I was on my feet without thinking. I stumbled on loose gravel, catching myself on a sharp section of rock. I grimaced as I struggled to my feet.

Glancing into the trees was a mistake, but also my saving grace. It didn't take me long to find the pair of eyes that stared back at me and I knew without a single doubt that they didn't belong to anyone in the pack. I gasped, hands trembling as I backed away from the trees, closer and closer to the edge.

Just as my foot slipped once more, a pair of arms caught me around the torso. I struggled for a minute, kicking at them, screaming at them to get away. Only when a soft voice broke through the sound of my heart beating in my ears did I stop fighting.

"It's me," Brady assured me. His grip tightened as my legs failed to hold my body up. "It's me, honey."

I turned, sobbing into his t-shirt clad chest as I trembled. "Oh my God," I cried.

His fingers splayed out across my shoulder blades, his lips on the side of my head as he reassured me. "You're safe, you're safe," he soothed.

I shook my head and stepped away from him, still shaking. "No, Bray—Bray there was something in there."

My eyes found the trees again, where I had definitely seen a pair of bright eyes looking back in my direction. They were gone now, but I knew they had been there.

And, I knew nothing good would come from it.

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