Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

~o~O~o~

My day wasn't going to well until Jacob came along.

The next morning I woke up to my phone ringing. My boss called me in, saying she needed me immediately.

I got up and showered quickly, dried my hair straight, put in my contacts, did y make up, and got dressed. I grabbed my purse and headed out the door, shoving my shoes on.

I got to the publishers immediately and went to my boss's office, holding a cup of coffee and two Advil.

I guess I should explain. After an all summer internship at a major publishing office, the woman who I worked for in California sent a letter to a friend in Port Angeles, saying she thought I should personally work for this woman who ran a branch of publishing offices across the west coast. I accepted with no problem. I became her personal assistant who did everything for her, dealt with people she didn't want to deal with, gave my opinion when asked, and anything else you could possibly think of. That was me.

"What's the emergency," I said, putting the stuff on her desk.

"A client and I," she said. "Went to celebrate last night. I drank so much."

I looked at the calendar. "And you have an eight o'clock meeting," I said. "With Mr. Jones."

"Exactly," she sighed, gulping down the coffee. She handed me the mug and I walked to the coffee pot, making another cup. She continued. "I have a major headache and am feeling sick."

"Have you had breakfast?"

"No," she said.

"I'll have something waiting for you in conference room six," I said. "And you need to remember that you have a WAS ball in Seattle tonight."

She cursed, reaching down into her purse. She got a panicked look and searched through all of it. "My phone!"

"Inside zipper pocket, right next to the list of writers," I said. She sighed when she found it, and scrolled through, calling someone.

"Hi, Angela? Yes, it's me. Do you have my dress for the ball ready for tonight? At four o'clock? Okay, thank you." she hung and handed me the phone, her wallet, and credit card. "Here's what I need you to do.

"Pick up my dress at four, call and get an appointment for Frederick, I need my hair and make up done, you'll ring the dress there. Before you get my dress though, I need you to do the usual; dry cleaners, pay Zelda, George, Max, and find someone to drive me tonight, I don't care who. I need you to schedule me for twelve to five at the best spa in Seattle, then I'll go to Frederick's, where you'll both be waiting. Pay every bill, everything that you do at the end of every month. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," I nodded. I picked up my phone and dialed the number for Catherine's favorite caterer.

"Hey, Jess?" I said. "Got a minute?"

"Oh, hey," she said. "Leigh. Of course I have a minute. Catherine is my highest paying customer. What's up?"

"Can you send over a basket of scones," I said. "Blueberry. And some blueberry muffins. And some cranberry. Just send the usual breakfast pastries, please."

"Sweetheart," Jess said. "I've told you a thousand times. You don't have to say please. I'd do anything for you guys."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll send the check over to you by six."

"Alrighty, the basket will be there," she said. "See ya later Leigh."

In my tiny office, the next phone call.

"Hello, Fiona?"

"Leighanne, sweetheart!" the perky voice of the spa coordinator chirped. "What time does Catherine want?"

"Twelve till five please," I said.

"Alright, no problem sweetheart," she said. "I'll see her then."

"Thank you," I hung up and called Frederick's assistant.

"Hello my dear, what is Catherine scheduling for tonight?" Frederick himself answered.

"Hi Frederick," I said sweetly. "Six to seven thirty okay for hair and make up?"

"Anything for you, babe," he said in his regular preppy voice. Sometimes he just made me smile.

I took my phone with me and hurried down the elevator to the bottom floor, where I peeked into the conference room and saw Catherine in her meeting, eating a muffin and looking exhausted. I hurried to the parking lot and got into the company car and noticed it had a little trouble starting.

I ran around Port Angeles, Forks, and even had to go to La Push to pay Catherine's house keeper, Greta.

I lost the keys twice.

My cell phone died while I was on the phone. It also had no service.

I had to go back tot he apartment.

I did not eat lunch.

My head started hurting. Bad. And i had no medicine.

That was just a list of things that went wrong.

Then there was the fact that the car broke down after paying Greta. It just randomly stopped and I groaned, hitting my head on the steering wheel.

"Holy mother of God!" I exclaimed. I stood up and got out of the car, walking in front of it, my heels clacking. I opened the hood and looked beneath it. I fumbled my hands around, trying to remember everything my last boyfriend taught me about cars.

There was a leak in the engine oil.

I dropped my keys, and bent down to get them.

Bad idea.

My pencil skirt ripped. Right at my butt.

I went back into the car and grabbed my phone, glad it had been able to charge. I scrolled down the contacts list and found what I was looking for.

"Hello?"

"Are you good with cars?"

~o~O~o~

"Thanks for coming," I said with a sigh of relief. I had been crying for the past five minutes.

"Are you okay?" Jacob said, looking extremely concerned.

"Oh I'm great," I sniffed. "Everything has fallen apart. It's one o'clock and I have to be in Seattle at three so I can pay my boss's bills and pick up her dress at four and take it to her at six. I haven't eaten anything and this damn car broke down!"

"Hey now," he said, placing a warm hand on my arm. Even though he felt like he had a temperature, I shivered at his touch and voice. "It'll be okay. I'll tow you back to my shop, you can borrow my car while we fix yours. The girl who works behind the counter will lend you some spare clothes and shoes, you look about her size. I'll help you run your errands, and make sure you get some food. It will be okay." By the end he had his arms wrapped around my waist and was holding me.

"Thank you again," I said, pulling away. "Even though you don't know me."

"What else are newfound friends for?"

I laughed and looked at his shirt, gently touching the wet spot on his shirt. This time he shivered.

"You have my tears on your shirt," I said softly.

"As long as they're yours," he said just as softly. We stood there for a moment in the middle of the road.

"I need to get going," I said, stepping back.

"Get in the truck," he said. "I'll be there once I get your car loaded onto the trailer." I simply nodded and walked over to his truck, climbing into the passenger side. Once in, I took off my heels and rubbed my feet slowly, the aching feeling leaving slightly.

Jacob drove about ten or twenty minutes to the shop, which was really impressive. There were a lot of cars in the garages, and some workers moving impressively fast and proficient. He walked around the truck and opened the door, helping me out of the car. Seeing that I would be around a bunch of people, I immediately tried to go into invisible mode.

Standing next to Jacob Black, who has an arm around your waist makes it kind of difficult to do that.

"Hey," Jacob said when we walked in. "Seth."

"Yeah boss," He looked up with slight smile. He glanced in my direction and his grin grew wider. "Hey, pretty lady."

"Back off," Jacob's eyes flashed and I blushed. "Where's your girlfriend?"

Seth's smile grew even wider and his face lit up. "Bathroom. I'm behind the counter for a while she's momentarily gone. Why?"

"Leigh needs a change of clothes," Jacob replied. "Her skirt ripped."

"Anything else?"

"Tell Quil he's closing up shop," Jacob said. "I'm taking Leigh to Seattle, and we have to drive fast."

"Are you gonna take Lady Blue?"

"Sure am," he said. Just then, Quil Ateara walked in from the garage and my teeth clenched, my cheeks flaming in anger. All the boys looked at me.

"Are you okay?" Jacob said. "You looked kind of mad."

"I'm fine," I lowered my voice so only Jacob could hear. "He's the reason I lost a best friend."

"Wait a second..." Jacob looked at me and his eyes widened, butbhe kept his voice low. "You're Claire's friend."

"Former friend," I said. "She ditched me, and my other best friend for him. We were closer than ever until him."

"I'm sorry," Jacob said. His eyes held something far away. "Quil. Meet Leigh. Leigh Najeria."

Quil dropped the grease cloth he was holding and his face was guilt ridden.

"Hi," he mumbled. "How's it going?"

"Funny," I bit my lip. "That's how Claire used to greet me when she was my best friend."

"Really," he said. "That's interesting."

I smiled, feeling like a bitch, but not really caring. Claire was my best friend. Because of him, she isn't anymore. He isn't too highly rated in my book.

"Abby!" Seth called out, hopping over the counter and taking the newly arrived girl in his arms. "How ya doin babe?"

She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Good. What's going on here?"

"Tell you later," he said happily. "But right now, Leigh needs to borrow some clothes. She and Jake have to do a few things, but her skirt ripped, and, as usual, you have something helpful. Spare clothes."

"What size are you?" Abby looked at me with a polite smile.

"One," I said. "In juniors. And then in adult I'm the smallest you can get."

She smiled, taking my hand. "Same here. Let's get you some clothes. Shoe size?"

"Five," I said, looking back at Jacob. I did not want to leave his side and go somewhere with a girl I didn't know. He gave me a painful and apologetic look as I was dragged to a back room.

Twenty minutes later, I sat in the most gorgeous vintage, midnight blue, mustang convertible from the sixties.

"I rebuilt the engine," Jacob said, pressing the gas so that we went a bit faster. "And replaced almost every part. We redid the frame and painted it the exact same way it was when it was brand new. The seats are new, but the same way."

"What was it aiming to be like?" I asked, running my hands along the dashboard. It was perfectly clean and smooth.

"My moms car," he said. "Actually, this is her car. She left it for me before she died, telling me that I wasn't allowed to fix and drive it until I owned my own shop with Quil and Embry. And on my eighteenth birthday, a few friends bought the shop for me so I could actually use my college money for online classes. When we got it, it was a piece of crap. But after a few months of me beung the best mechanic around, the shop grew and we got a lot of money to fix it up. Now it looks like somewhere that people actually want to take their cars, not a dump."

"That's awesome," I said. "How long have you liked cars?"

"Since I got those little toy NASCAR things," he smiled faintly. "I was young when my mom died, but I remember her smiling as she watched me take them apart and put them back together. Because she knew I was good at it, and loved me, I did this whole heartedly."

"Hasn't there been anything else you've ever wanted to do?" I said. "Besides working with cars?"

"I don't really know," he said. "I'm getting my degree in business. Once I get a bit more money, I'll start a chain business."

I laughed and smiled. "You dream big."

"There's no other way," he said.

"When did you really decide on everything?"

"When I was seventeen," he said. "A year ago, I was in love with a girl about two years older than me. She was my best friend. But she was in love with someone else, although she loved me too."

"What happened?" I asked.

"She didn't love me enough," he said. "She loved him more. They got married and had a kid."

"I'm sorry," I said, for some reason suddenly filled with anger. How could someone choose some other dude over Jacob? She obviously hadn't seen what was in front of her.

"It's no big deal," he shrugged. "I got over it with the help of my friends and family. It was hard at first, but now it doesn't bother me anymore."

Out of nowhere, I became bold and grabbed his hand, linking our fingers. He smiled and glanced down at them, and I felt the electricity coarsing through my veins.

"So," he said. "I haven't shut up for a long time. I want to know something about you. Anything and everything."

"There isn't much to me," I said.

"Oh," he said. "I doubt that."

"Really, it is," I insisted. "My name is Leigh, short for Leighanne. I love dogs. My favorite color is pink. And I am invisible."

"Invisible?" he raised an eyebrow. "I'm looking at you, right? I see you."

"You didn't see me before," I said. "We live in the smallest town in the world, and you didn't know my name. No one did, or even still does."

"Maybe I wasn't ready."

"For what?"

"To see you. Or know your name. Maybe fate was waiting until the right moment when it would brighten my day."

"What does that mean?"

"When I first saw you," he said. "I was having a pretty crappy day. I don't really remember much except that it was all falling apart. When I saw you, and you smiled at me, and I got to hold you for a fraction of a second, everything changed. It wasn't a sucky day."

It sounded so incredibly cliché, and I should have rolled my eyes or laughed, but I didn't. All my life, I've wanted someone who was like the guy in the books. And that was happening.

He kept talking.

"Then the second time I saw you, last night, I had gotten into a big fight with my dad about him getting remarried. He loves this woman, but she isn't my mom. After we talked last night, I went home and called him, saying sorry, and everything fell into place. And wait a second," he turned to me with an accusing look. "You made sure you didn't have to talk by asking me an explanatory question."

"You're good," I said.

"You're sly," he grinned. "Seriously though. Tell me something."

"What?"

"Tell me about your parents."

"My mom," I sighed. "Was the best woman that ever walked the earth. I was young when she died, but I remember her coming into my room and playing her favorite mixed CD of classic rock to soothe me sleep. And it worked. I've remembered small things about her that make me remembered the compassion she radiated, and the nurturing and the love. And that's what I want to remember."

"And your dad?"

"A smartass," I said, causing Jacob to laugh. "He cussed like a sailor, had all the good comebacks, and was strong and proud of who he was, of my mom, and of me. He was tough as rock on the outside, but on the inside was a sweet and loving man. He died when my mom did, protecting her in the car crash. She didn't die until she was at the hospital because of him. He died instantly."

"Love," Jacob said.

"Love," I repeated. "It'll make you do crazy things. I just wanna know hwo crazy, sometimes."

"Pardon?"

I sighed. "I wanna know, what exactly someone would do for love, or what love would make them do. Would they jump in front of a bullet for the person they loved? Would they kill themselves for the person? Would they give up everything that made them happy, just to be happier with the person they loved? I want to know what love can make someone do. I want to experience it. I want love. But where to find it?"

"Jus keep looking," he said, glancing at our hands. "Don't stop looking until you've found it."

"I won't. I can promise you that. I won't."

~o~O~o~

I walked into the apartment, smiling to myself. It was ten o'clock at night, I had just returned the company car to the company, and everything was peaches and cream.

I went to my room and changed into my pajamas just as the rain began to pound against the roof. I crawled into bed and pulled out my favorite book, Eat Pray Love, wondering about love.

And, you know. I was wondering about that guy, Jacob Black. I was really wondering about it him. And love.

Did they relate?