Disclaimer: I own nothing Twilight related. All the credit goes to Mrs. Meyer.

Here's the next chapter. I realize I should have updated sooner, but I had a research-analysis paper due. It was hellish to write, but now

that I'm done with it, its all good.

this chapter is dedicated to:

seaweedbrain16101, Ms. Marauder-Cullen, and Rohain Tahquil

Hope you enjoy!

It was early morning when I woke. I could just make out the voices of my parents and Jake in the living room; they were whispering and I felt left out. Creeping to the door of my room I took silent steps down the hallway till I came to the living room. Mom was sitting on the couch, an amused look on her face. Dad was sitting beside her, but he seemed slightly hostile toward Jake. The latter was pacing in front of the fireplace; he seemed really stressed.

"…don't understand why she ran off. Is she mad at me?" Jake's voice was strained and I was worried about him. Whatever had happened was tearing him up.

"I don't think she's mad, probably just confused," My mom's gentle tone seemed to help him relax. Dad seemed preoccupied as he opened his mouth to speak.

"You know, Esme wanted me to ask you about Leah. I think something's up, though I can't really tell because she's been keeping her distance lately."

So that was it. He was worried about Leah. He didn't care about me at all, meaning he wouldn't care now as hot tears stung my eyes.

I ran back to my room and slammed the door. It was obvious to them now that I was no longer asleep and I knew they would be by my side in seconds wondering what was wrong. I did the only thing I could think of at the moment; I threw open the window and jumped.

Out cottage only has one story, meaning there was roughly five feet between me and the ground. I landed lightly and took off.

I was headed in the direction of the main house, but I quickly changed courses and headed in the opposite direction. I knew that this new development of running when things got awkward was definitely not healthy, but at the moment it didn't seem to matter. I thought I heard someone behind me, but that didn't matter either. All that I really cared about was putting a long stretch of distance between me and my family (including Jake).

When I finally stopped, I found myself in a clearing roughly twenty miles from my house. I sat down and took a deep breath to steady myself. I looked around at the quiet woods and smiled. I liked the feeling that I was the only living thing. I liked the solitude. What worried me though was the fact that with out the solitude I would feel heart-wrenching loss. I couldn't imagine a world with other people right now; at least, not a world where things made since. But I was half human wasn't I? Weren't humans, and even vampires sometimes, social creatures? Wasn't I supposed to need other people?

I shook my head and stared at the green above me. It was beautiful. There was no other way to describe it. Its simplicity banned the use of idle flattery. Words like gorgeous and eloquent would have dulled the joy I felt as I gazed awestruck at the trees. No, beautiful was the only word simple enough, yet true enough to do it justice. I felt like I had finally begun to understand the meaning of pure beauty while I stared at the leaves and moss covered trunks.

"Pretty isn't it?" The words caught me off guard, and I was instantly crouched on the other side of the clearing, ready to pounce. Had I been listening I would have heard the footsteps approaching from miles away, but instead I had gotten sidetracked with pointless philosophies. The voice that echoed off the woods though, was unmistakable. I knew it as soon as the first syllable was spoken, and I straightened up as I took in his huge figure where he stood. He was less that a foot away from where I had been sitting and it startled me further that I hadn't realized he was there. Had he been an attacker, it would have been too late.

Come to think of it though, he was an attacker of sorts. No, I'm sure he didn't mean me harm intentionally, but the pain seemed inevitable. I blinked as he shifted his weight uncomfortably. My response came a second too late.

"I was thinking more like beautiful. Why are you here, Jacob?" The words came out harsher than I had intended and I lowered my gaze as he answered.

"I followed you."

'Yeah I get that. I want to know why."

"You seemed upset." I had quit crying by this time, but his statement brought on a whole new round of tears. Upset? Upset? I hadn't been upset. I had been devastated and it was all his fault. I had come here to escape him and he had followed me. I had wanted to be left alone. It was just like yesterday, except I had a shirt on. My tears seemed to scare him and before I thought better of it I laughed cruelly. He deserved to feel some of the pain and fright I had been feeling for the last six months.

No, no he didn't. He deserved to have a girlfriend who could control her emotions. He deserved to be loved by someone who could care for him properly rather than breakdown in emotional outbursts at every other word said. I looked up, and though I couldn't stop the flow of tears I could still speak clearly.

"What do you want from me?" I asked slowly. His expression shifted then, and suddenly I was in his arms. He held me to his chest and let me cry. I tried to shove him off at first. I didn't want to be held like a little child. I landed a hard kick to his shin, but he didn't even flinch. My sobs grew louder and I let him hug me then. It wouldn't matter anyway.

After a while I stopped crying, but he didn't release me. I shoved against his chest. He just looked at me in response.

"Let me go,' I spat. Now that I was done with the tears I could show him just how pissed off I was. And believe me, I was pissed. He let go then and I sank to the ground ungracefully. He sat down beside me after a moment and I stared at him waiting. He could make the first move, and then I would scorch him with my anger. I finally had a place to take out all my emotional stress, and it conveniently happened to be the root of the problem. He cleared his throat.

"So, is there, uh…a, um reason, you might possibly, have gotten…er, emotional?" I smiled and waited longer than necessary to answer.

"No Jacob, I just decided to take up a new hobby of emotional breakdowns. I like emotional pain and so take everything you say the wrong way in order to feel awful." He glanced at me warily. I guessed he didn't like the sarcasm. "You know what Jake, of course I was upset. You're supposed to be my best friend. I don't know what the hell's been up with you lately, but whatever it is you need to get over yourself." I stood up then and put my hands on my hips for good measure; the way Mom did when she was in an argument.

"What's up with me? What's up with you?!?" he sounded kind of mad and I narrowed my eyes as he stood too.

"You want to know what's up with me? I'm pissed at you Jake, that's what's up!"

"No, freakin', duh!"

"Stupid Asshole."

"Well since I'm so stupid, why don't you tell me what's going on?!?" We were both shouting now. I let out a growl and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why should I? It's not like you've been acting like my friend lately."

"You run from me every chance you get! What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I was topless you idiot!"

"I've seen you in skimpier bathing suites than that bra incase you don't recall! Maybe I was worried about you. Ever thought of that?!?" my cheeks turned red then and I lowered my gaze. This was way over the line. I needed to go home and forget about all of this; of course then he would accuse me of ditching him again. My voice was a whisper when I spoke again.

"And what about Leah?" this obviously caught him off guard.

"What about Leah?" he sounded confused.

"You seem to enjoy spending time with her so much, why you don't go stalk her." Realization dawned on him then and the light bulb that went off was almost visible.

"Are you serious? Leah? No way. I think you need to reassess that statement." I rolled my eyes.

"I don't have time for this Jake. Please tell me why you followed me. Why you care so much as to whether I'm upset." He just shook his head. He wouldn't meet my gaze and I had no clue what he was thinking. He seemed nervous and anxious. I rolled my eyes again and took off, heading back to the cottage. If he wanted to play games he could count me out. I wasn't in the mood. I obviously wasn't going to get any time alone to think, since somebody kept following me.

I picked up the pace as I neared the cottage, knowing Mom would be worried. As I skidded to a stop at the door I could hear my parents talking in low whispers; they were probably making out on the couch. I shuddered at the thought and then heard Dad's soft laugh through the window. I opened the door then and found, to my astonishment, the two of them interlocked on the couch. I rolled my eyes and headed to my room. Mom was by my side by the time I had entered the hallway. I noticed the buttons on her shirt were crooked and I laughed as we walked into my room.

She hastily fixed her shirt and then sat down on my bed. She seemed to concentrate on something very hard, and then all of a sudden she looked at as though seeing me for the first time all morning.

"What happened to your nightgown?" she asked incredulously. I looked down then and realized that it had been all but obliterated by the shrubs in the woods.

"I ran into something?" I said sheepishly. It sounded more like a question and I resisted the urge to smack myself on the forehead.

"And where were you this morning? Jake stopped by to say hey, he seems worried about you…" she raised her eyebrows as she trailed off and I inwardly groaned.

"I, um, decided to go for a morning run."

"In your pajamas?"

"I was just so excited to burn off some energy…" she rolled her eyes. She stood up and I figured she's leave me alone. Wrong.

"Tomorrow you should change clothes before you go out, alright?" I nodded and she walked to the vanity where I kept my jewelry and my collection of odd trinkets. I loved shopping in antique malls because everything was just so old. I had an old mirror and brush set, an empty perfume bottle, a brass elephant, a porcelain teddy bear with my birthstone in it, and several little dolls, all about an inch tall. They had pretty red hair and wore green dresses. The only difference in the three was the color of their parasols, and shoes. Otherwise they were identical.

When I was little I had wished that they would come to life and talk to me. I thought we could discuss Mendel's genetic theories over tea and cakes and then retire to a library somewhere to analyze Jane Austen. For a while I had even taken a great interest in alchemy, hoping to instill life in them. It seemed almost silly now; although almost only counts in horse-shoes and hand grenades. It's not to say I was neglected as I child, I don't remember ever being alone. But the idea of my own private little book club where my thoughts were private and my mind and emotions could not be manipulated had appealed to me.

One got used to my family's odd talents, but it didn't make it any less frustrating. To look like gods and goddesses, they sure could be irritating sometimes. Mom drug me from my thoughts then with the sound of her voice.

"Why don't you get dress and head up to the house?" She left then and I threw on some jeans with a T-shirt. I hated that I had to pretend everything was alright. Not that Dad wouldn't be able to tell, but I doubted he would he thinking about me. I had a feeling they just wanted me out of the house. I so did not want to think about that. I walked to the main house at a leisurely speed and stopped when I got to the back door. Leah was inside the kitchen. Oh my God. Leah was inside the kitchen. It shocked me.

She hated coming in our house. She didn't really like us and she didn't like the smell. She was sitting at the table with Seth, who was eating cereal. I walked in slowly, trying not to startle her. When she caught site of me she stopped mid sentence and smiled. My cheeks flushed pink and I smiled back.

"Morning Renesmee," she said politely. It wasn't what you would call sweet, but it was far from hostile.

"Morning Leah. What's up?" I didn't want to be rude but I wanted to know why she was sitting at our table, not hurting anyone.

"I don't have class at the college this morning so I thought I'd come see Seth. He's always here because he caught Mom and Charlie together a couple weeks back and it's caused him to be scarred for life." I cringed away from the mental image.

"Yeah, it's way better hangin' here with you guys than having to be careful about where you go in your own house," Seth laughed as he shoved another mouthful of cheerios down his throat. Leah smiled at her brother lovingly and I had a moment of insight.

She needed him. He was her lifeline to sanity. When all else was uncertain she could count on her brother to be eating. While her love life and hormonal balances were up in the air, he was never-changing. For a while Jake had been my constant, but now I wasn't really grounded. Not like before.

"I'm going to find Alice, I'll see you later," I said, unsure, as I left the kitchen. Leah gave me a sympathetic smile as I walked off and I silently wondered why. She didn't owe me any sympathy, yet here she was at my table trying to be my friend. I smiled as I ascended the stairs and headed to my favorite aunt's room.

When I found her she was sitting in the middle of her bed, products of all sorts spread out before her. Rosalie was rummaging for something in the closet.

"Morning," she chirped happily as I went to stand near the bed.

"Morning dear," Aunt Rose said as she paused in her search for a moment to turn to Alice. "Where's that green dress with the flowers?"

"Um, what's going on?" I asked slightly confused. A mischievous grin spread across Alice's pixie-like face.

"Well, I saw that your parents would want you out of the house, so I thought we'd play dress up." I smiled at that. Though it was a pain to sit still for so long I loved how pretty Alice made me look. And it made my aunts happy.

"Alright. What are all these for?" I asked gesturing towards the array of bottles, jars, and sprays that were laid out before her. Then she launched into an hour long description of what these products were supposedly going to do:

"This is a Curl Booster. You can use it to tighten curls, firm up a do, or scrunch hair with it. And this, this is Hair Putty, Maximum Strength. You can use it to tease up short hair, firm up your hair, or sculpt your hair. This, in the blue jar, is a Cucumber Melon Facial Cream. It softens skin, smoothes wrinkles, removes the bags from under your eyes, helps heal scars and sun spots, and it helps protect from UV light. Now this is a Citrus Body Mist…"

Please read and review. You guys don't know how much your feedback means to me. I'll update as soon as possible, so nobody stress.

School lets out in a couple days, and then I'll have much more time to write other wonderful stories that I hope you'll read.


Until Next Time,

Little Orange Frog