Disclaimer: Stephenie's, not mine.

Jacob ushered me inside with that tattered umbrella. It was still early evening, I still had more than an hour to fix up some dinner before Charlie arrived. I still got a bit of water on me, but not as much compared to his soggy self. I went upstairs to change into dry clothes and took a clean towel with me downstairs for Jacob to dry himself with. When he saw me with the towel in my hand offered to him, he took his shirt off and used the towel to dry his hair. When he finished, he wrapped the towel around his neck like a poncho.

He sat down on the dining chair, patiently waiting for me to initiate the 'talk'. I willed my brain to think that he was invisible until I put that chicken for roasting in the oven and set the timer. When I spun around to see him again, he – the topless Jacob - still had that stupid grin on his face.

"How much do you want to know?" I asked, not sure where to begin.

"As much as you're willing to tell me, Bells. I don't want you to be uncomfortable with me. I'm here to listen. Friends, remember? Whatever it is you're telling me, trust that I will understand."

"First off, wipe that smirk off your face. It's disturbing." I commanded. His grin grew even bigger.

"What? This?" He pointed to his slightly open mouth, looking somewhat perplexed now. "I can't help it. I'm just that happy to see you, that's all. I don't mean anything bad by it. I don't even realise I'm doing it, I swear!"

"Alright then," I saw no point in arguing and let the grin appeared back on his face. "Where should I start?"

I paused for a while, pondering whether I should tell him the whole truth, about vampires and stuff. The story wouldn't make any sense if I left that fact hidden from him, and this wasn't old news for him anyway, so I decided that I should tell him everything.

"Do you remember what you said to me that day on the beach… about your ancestors?"

"That horror story?" he caught on, wincing at the idea.

I nodded, and he immediately asked another question, "What's that got to do with you?"

"You told me about the cold ones, and what they are." I paused again, longer this time, I didn't want to shock him and give him a heart attack or something.

"Sure, sure. I told you all that. This suspense is killing me, Bells."

"Well, you were right about them Cullens. They are the cold ones."

His reaction was evident with his involuntary goose bumps. He stared intently into my eyes, maybe hoping I would say 'just kidding' on him soon, and looked disappointed and confused when I did no such thing.

"They're… vampires?" He whispered his conclusion.

"Every single one of them."

"Wow… I wonder…" He trailed on and his eyes became unfocused.

"What?"

"I wonder then, if the rest of the legends are true. About us the tribe."

"What do you mean?"

He smiled at my question. "You have selective memory, Bells. You only remember parts of the legends that were important to you. The cold ones. Do you remember what I told you about the enmity?"

I racked my brain for some more information from that day, but I decided the person who gave me the information was right here. "What enmity?"

"According to the legend, the cold ones are the natural enemies of our ancestors, which were… well… werewolves."

"Oh!" I gasped, remembering the very same words he said to me at the beach. "There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more recent. According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them."

"Part of it was true, at least. I know for a fact that Carlisle did meet your great-grandfather, and made a pact with him. Edward was around that time too."

"Was he? Man, he's older than my great-grandfather?!"

I didn't think that was a question that warranted a reply. After pondering for a while, he asked again apprehensively, "Was my great-grandfather really a… werewolf then?"

"Edward didn't really elaborate on it. I don't know, Jake. Why is that bothering you?"

"Well, there are other stories too, that the descendants of the spirit wolf could become… you know… werewolves… to protect the tribe…"

He was scared that he could one day become one? As far as I knew, Billy was not a werewolf so why should he get nervous? "Well, if you don't hear a lot of wailing at nights then probably it was just a bit of a stretch in the story telling," I joked, since I could see he was seriously considering the idea.

Jacob smiled, but I could see it didn't reach his eyes. It was still bothering him. Then suddenly he snapped out of his thoughts. Looking back at me, he said, "Hey, you haven't finished your story. Why did Edward leave? Did he break up with you? Did he hurt you? Is he gone forever?"

"He left because he thought his very presence is deadly to me. He thought he's endangering my life by being with me…" I haven't finished my sentence when he interrupted, almost screaming at me, "God, Bella! You knew he's a vampire and you still love him? When did you know about all this?"

"I knew about pretty much right after you told me."

"That long? You've been going out with him all this while knowing he's a bloodsucker? Are you nuts?"

"Jacob Black!" I pointed finger at his face. "I only shared this information because you said you were my friend and you would understand!" I almost spat at the word. The nerve he has!

"Sorry, sorry, Bells. I got carried away there. Please continue. You said he left because he didn't want you hurt, then, did you let him go?" He quickly regained his calm demeanor, scared that I was going to back out of telling him the rest of the story.

"He didn't really give me any choice. He just made an impression that he didn't want me anymore."

Jacob narrowed his eyes studying me. "And you're convinced the bloodsuck… Edward meant otherwise, because…?"

"Because I knew Edward loves me. He told me hundreds of times that he does, that I'm his life. He only said so because he thought leaving me is the best for me."

"Damn right it is." Jacob muttered under his breath but I could still hear it. I glared at him but continued on, ignoring his comment. "Now I just need to find him."

"You must be insane."

"Damn right I am," I took his words and made them mine.

"How in the world are you going to find him? He's a vampire, doesn't his kind lives stealthily? Damn I only just found out that he's a vampire… Even if you manage to find him, are you one hundred percent sure that your assumption is right? What if he really meant to leave you, that he really didn't want you?"

"I can't believe that, Jake. I really can't. Please don't ask me to think like that. I did think like that at the beginning, and the thought of him not wanting me…. it tears me to pieces. I couldn't. I refuse to believe that."

Jacob put both his hands on my shoulders, looking intently into my eyes. "Listen to me, Bells. I really think you should give it a shot. If what you said is true, if he's noble enough to leave you for your benefit, then maybe he's right and you should stay away from him. Edward knows best, right?"

"What's the point of both of us suffering when it's obvious that we both need each other? I'd rather live a day with him than my whole life empty without him."

"Okay. Let's not speculate whether or not he still loves you and leaving you was against his heart. Let's not even discuss about the fact that he's a vampire. Consider the fact that he's just ex-boyfriend. Someone from your recent past who should stay in the past. People get their hearts broken everyday, Bells. People move on. Why don't you just try living without him for a while. If it doesn't work, it won't be too late to find him. I will still help you."

"No. No, Jacob." I shook my head vehemently. "The only reason why I'm not losing my mind now, the only reason why I can still argue my case in front of you civilly like this, is because I've set my mind to find him. The minute I start to think otherwise, I… I don't think I can live like that, Jake. It's like readying myself to plunge into a black hole. Trust me, you wouldn't want to see me like that. I don't want to see myself like that. "

I heard the sound of Charlie's cruiser pulling into the driveway. I knew Jacob could hear it too, because he started putting his damp shirt back on before he handed the towel back to me.

"I've got to go, Bells…" Jacob said, walking towards the front door.

"Aren't you staying for dinner?" I asked.

He shook his head no. "I… I need to clear my head. I'll call you, ok?"

Charlie came in and looked surprise seeing Jacob in the hallway. "Hey, Jake. On your way out?"

Jacob just nodded to Charlie, mumbled his good night and darted towards the door.

AN: I'm trying my best not to go OOC on all the characters. I hope Jacob's reaction is what's expected of him. It won't be long before Bella starts to find her clues. Stay tuned!