Dunno if this will get any reads...You Love Me is far more popular at this point. (for which I'm glad. LOL!) I wrote all this a while ago, so it's pretty old. Believe me, it gets much better! :D

Thanks for anyone who is reading this!

-Homey ;)

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer's creation. End of story.

©HomeschoolGirl 2012, or at least this actual post is. The characters, not so much. But anyway, please don't use this as your own. Thanks!

Chapter Two: La Push

I took the back roads to Jacob's house, pushing the speed of my sleek silver corvette. It had been last year's present…

I liked to drive fast, much like my father, and soon I was winding through the dusty paths at eighty-five miles per hour. And this was slow for me. But the sharp cliff edges were a little daunting. I wasn't as indestructible as my parents, though I'm sure running off the edge would hurt too much. It would probably total my car…

I slammed down on the breaks as another car suddenly rocketed past me, driving at a similar speed. For a moment, it grazed the my silver door ever so slightly. My eyes, despite the speed of the vehicle, were able to register everything.

The car was a black jeep, the driver a Caucasian man with pale blonde hair, green eyes, and a scar running the length of his face. The license plate read A8F27, Washington. Once again, this all happened within the frame of a few seconds. Any normal person wouldn't have been able to take this all in.

There was a screeching sound, and my car swerved a little bit. By the time I managed to get it under control, the man was long gone. I grumbled under my breath, pulling the car to the side of the road and hopping out without bothering to open the door.

There was a long, steely scratch going down the whole side of my of my car, from the hood to the back seat. Some black paint had rubbed off on the fender from the Jeep. I covered my face with my hand, muttering a string of curse words my father probably didn't know I had even heard before.

At last, I slid back into the driver's seat, slowing the speed down into the early seventies. Thus, I was in a terrible mood by the time I pulled up to Jacob's red, shoebox-sized house with chipped paint and peeling wood. I saw one of the curtains twitch, and I knew he was watching.

A second later, he came bounding out the front door. His came up short when he saw my moody expression. He looked at my car, narrowing his eyes.

"Edward and Blondie get into a fight?"

"Her name is Rosalie, Jacob," I said, opening my door and getting out. I closed my eyes, breathing slowly in order to maintain control of my temper. "However, I don't know the name of the guy who did this."

"Your car looks like crap," he admitted with a smile. "But…I think I can improve it. Pull it farther back, closer to my garage."

I grinned. "Awe, thanks Jake."

"Sure, sure," he said with a shrug, heading back toward his makeshift, homemade shed. I followed his lead, getting back into my car and weaving it through the bramble and tree branches. I cringed a couple times as I heard another scrape, and then relaxed. He would fix it. Jake was great with cars.

"By the way, happy birthday," he said as I killed my engine, coming back into view with a couple of brushes and some silver paint. "I think this is the right color. It'll cover up the scratch, but not the dent. Sorry."

"Anything's better than this."

We got to work, painting at a leisurely pace. Soon the scratches were covered up, but not the dents, just like he'd said.

"It's looks half-crap now." I grinned. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome, Nessie."

I sighed, looked down towards La Push beach. "Can we go swimming? Or cliff diving? Anything to pass the time. I don't want to go home." My face slid into an uncharacteristic pout.

"What not?" He asked, already starting for the beach. Jake would almost always do anything I asked of him. I didn't always understand why, but I was glad he valued our relationship that much.

As we walked, I slipped my hand in his, winding our fingers together. "Mom, Dad, Alice…everyone wants to make a big deal out of today."

"You love birthdays," he said with a deep chuckle. "This one is special."

"I don't want anything to change," I admitted shyly, pulling my hand from his for a moment. We were down to the beach, now. I walked up, letting the water lap over my toes. It felt good against my hot skin, which was almost as warm as Jacob's.

"What's going to change?" He demanded, sitting down a few yards from where I stood. I waded deeper, rolling my jeans up.

"Things…I won't grow anymore. I really liked that."

"You don't want to be old, do you?" He asked.

I paused for a moment. "I think I might. Maybe just, I dunno, thirty or something. But I'll never reach that milestone."

"I'm not complaining," Jake said with a shrug. "And I can't age."

"Yes you can!" I pointed out, gritting my teeth. "Anytime."

"First, I have to stop phasing," he explained, although I was already aware of this. "And I have no desire to. Not until you start aging, too." He smiled softly.

The corners of my mouth twitched in a smile. "If I keep growing, you quit phasing. Deal?"

"Deal," he said, extending his hand. I turned around in order to smack it. Once again, he braided his fingers with mine, tugging me down into a sitting position beside him. I leaned my head against his chest, listening intently to the steady rhythm of his heart. My heart…his heart…

"You make me feel better," I admitted against the cotton of his shirt.

His eyes finally caught my diamond ring, and so he raised his eyebrows. "Engaged without telling me?"

I blushed deeply. "No! Dad gave this to me as a present. Each diamond stands for someone in my family."

He counted with confusion, narrowing his eyes. "There's ten. That's two extra."

"One's me," I explained, indicating to the pink one. I knew his eyesight was almost as good as mine, and so he could easily see it too.

"And the other one?" He asked with confusion. "Whose that?"

"You, of course," I said, ducking my head. "You're in the middle."

I felt his lips brush across my hair. "Thanks, Ness."

"No, thank you Jacob. For being, um, mine."

"Always," he promised, wrapping his arms around me.

Our relationship wasn't quite the same as my parent's, or Rosalie's and Emmett's. More like Alice's and Jasper's. They didn't feel the need to kiss each other all the time, to express their love through physical things. We were the same. We were glad to just be together, to hold hands, to talk to one another. Somehow I found this sweeter. Not that I doubted the love of others in my life. I just knew, somehow, this was special.

"Well," I said at last, pulling away. "I should probably be getting back."

"Do you have to?" He groaned, mashing his dark eyebrows together. "Maybe you can stay here for the night." He looked earnest now. "You can have the couch! We can go see Seth and Emily and Leah…"

"Thanks but no thanks," I murmured, imaging how my father would react if he knew I was sleeping here. "I don't want dad to kill you just yet."

"Awe, man! That would have been interesting…"

I rolled my eyes. "At least come back with me."

"Oh…fine," he promised with a smile. "But only because it's your birthday."

We drove in friendly silence, and I was more than happy to let Jacob take the wheel. If I was driving I'd be tempted to coax the needle past seventy, up into the late eighties, and maybe in the nineties. Didn't want to push my luck any more than I already had.

Fifteen minutes later, we were winding up the road to the grand house where over half my family lived. Esme had built a cottage for my parents after they were married, and I resided there with them. The rest of the vampires lived in Carlisle's big, white, roomy house.

Vampires? I cringed upon thinking the word. I was averse to using it. People, or family, seemed a more relative term. But the truth of it was, everyone were vampires. Other than Jacob and myself.

Well, I was a half-breed. Having been conceived when my mother was a weak human and my father as he was now. My heart rate ran similar to Jacob's, and as did my temperature. We also had the same pair of chromosomes. My Aunt Alice, who was talented and could see the future, couldn't see what would happen in my life. Or Jake's.

That got me to thinking about her vision earlier today, and what had caused dad to gasp. My father, Edward Cullen, could read minds. Literally. My mother was the one exception to this, and that had drawn them together almost ten years ago. Long story made short, they fell in love, they got married, had me, and she was changed into a vampire in order to spend eternity with him.

Dad opened the door as we walked up. He had a strange, flat look to his eyes. They were black, and I realized he needed to go hunting. I was getting a little thirsty too. Maybe I would ask…

"What's wrong?" I asked, walking into the living room. Everyone was gathered there, faces downcast, looking as if they had gotten some terrible news. Jacob tensed up beside me, sensing the danger.

My mom sighed, coming up to dad and wrapping an arm around his waist. "Edward…tell her what Alice saw."

"Bella, love, let's not worry about that at the moment," he said, taking her face in his hands and smiling down at her.

Now my curiosity was raging. "What's wrong, guys?"

Alice, little Alice, looked put out and defeated. "It'll ruin your day, Nessie."

"My day is already ruined," I grumbled through clenched teeth. "Now tell me what the heck is happening!"

Dad frowned. "It's not definite. You must know that before we say anything."

"What. Is. Wrong."

"Alice saw the Volturi," Dad said at last. "They're coming…"