Disclaimer: These characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me!

A/N: Okay, so this chapter ended up being really super long, so I'm going to split it up into parts.

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Each Journey Begins With One Step

Chapter 4: One Giant Leap

After that day I started wearing the cross underneath my shirt, hoping to avoid another conversation with Jacob about it. He never commented on it, the conversation or the concealed cross, but I was still confused about what had happened between us, and it was frustrating.

My days fell back into a nice, easy pattern. I worked 7 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday, sometimes picking up an extra shift here and there when the Newton's would go camping on weekends. Jacob spent a lot of time with the pack, doing bonding-type stuff—hiking, camping, and patrolling for vampires—you know, guy stuff. But he and I would manage to hang out in his garage at least once or twice a week. When the pack wasn't camping, they would have bonfire nights. I went to most of them, and I would let Jacob put his arm around me the entire night. I thought I was trying to make it up to him—that awkward conversation—but I can't deny that it made me happy too. I sometimes wondered if Jake had the same gift as Jasper did. I felt that nothing could go wrong when I was with my Jacob.

The weeks and months passed surprisingly quickly and before I knew it, the middle of September rolled around and I started my college classes. Jake had started back to school a little before that, so we reestablished our two-nights-a-week-homework-night once I started class. This new pattern was similar to my high school pattern. I still worked 7 to 3, but on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. I went to my four classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays; homework night with Jacob was Wednesday and Friday—we hung out in his garage on the other weekdays. Saturdays and Sundays were reserved for hanging out with the pack.

The days passed quickly and I didn't even realize that Halloween snuck up on me. In high school, Halloween wasn't even on my radar. I had no interest in Jessica and Lauren trying to out-slut each other with costume ideas, or getting drunk on the weekend and toilet-papering some neighbor's house. Forks was too small for strangers, so the kids usually ended up cleaning the mess the next morning, sometimes even when they weren't caught. But this Halloween caught my attention. I was daydreaming in one of my Thursday classes. The two girls next to me we blabbing on and on as usual, but then one of them said—

"—vampire. What do you think?"

I froze in my seat. The other one responded, neither noticing my world stopping.

"Oooo, yeah! That's like, a twist on the old classic Frankenstein's Bride. You could so pull it off."

"Yeah I was thinking like, no one's gonna be a vampire, cause it's so cliché, but cliché in like a retro kind of way!"

"Oh totally!"

"Yeah I was thinking of driving to that gothic store place in Port Angeles, cause that's like, the same thing right?"

"Oh totally! You're gonna make a super sexy vampire. I wish I could pull that off too."

She was probably hoping for some affirmation that yes, she could be a super sexy vampire too, but the other girl was too wrapped up in her own plans to respond correctly. As for me, I was too busy trying to suppress an insane giggle bubbling up through my stomach. A super sexy vampire? Gothic clothing store? Retro cliché? If only she knew what a real vampire looked like—super sexy wouldn't even begin to—she'd probably seem them actually, she'd probably been to my high school. If only she realized—oh just imaging the look on Rosalie's face if she'd heard this conversation. If only—

A laugh bubbled up and came out as kind of a hiccup. The two girls turned their heads and glared at me.

"So what're you gonna be for Halloween?" the not-super sexy vampire asked me, affronted.

"Umm…" This conversation was getting more and more ridiculous. Why not take it to the next level? "I'm gonna be… a werewolf."

They quirked their left eyebrows simultaneously. That almost caused another hiccup-laugh.

"Yeah, I was thinking of getting a cavewoman costume and adding ears and a tail. You know, like a twist on an old classic?"

If they could tell I was being sarcastic, they didn't show it. After that they ignored me and continued on with their ridiculous (in my opinion) plans.

But now that I thought about it… what would Jacob say if he saw me dressed up as a werewolf? He would probably find it amusing. What would the pack say? Somehow I don't think they'd find it quite as amusing. I grinned. What would they think if I dressed up as a vampire…?

The grin vanished. I froze again, arm clutching my stomach. Two thoughts were going through my head—one, that I can't believe I thought of Jacob first before thinking of Edward, and two, that no one, no one, would think me dressing up as a vampire would be funny. It would be like… like sacrilegious or something. I smiled weakly at my unintended joke. My free hand was even playing with the cross without me realizing it. Imagine me, dressed as a vampire, wearing a cross, in the middle of a pack of werewolves. It was almost funny enough to make me feel better.