I'm back! Honestly, I would have much rather stayed home and wrote for all you lovely people, but I had no choice but to go on vacation with my parents. It was thoroughly boring, and I had to spend ten hours in the car sharing the back seat with my dog. Argh. Oh well, I'm home now and that's what matters!

Anyway, thank you so much for being patient with me this last week! I didn't want to rush this chapter, or I would have had it up before I left. Anyway, there's not much action here but I'm happy with it. I hope you will be too.

As I say every time, thank you for the awesome feedback. Much love! Enjoy.

Chapter Seven: Datemark

Kora

Tim didn't look too happy when we pulled into the school parking lot on Friday and Jacob was waiting for me- again- next to the sign in front of the courtyard. Jacob, on the other hand, looked quite the opposite. His entire face lit up when he saw me, and he waved enthusiastically. I gave him my usual closed-lipped sort-of-smile and waved back as Tim cut the engine.

"Jesus, doesn't he have anything better to do than wait around for you all morning?" Tim complained.

"I dunno," I answered his rhetorical question. "Probably." Tim made a displeased noise that I ignored as I opened the door and stepped out of the car, slinging my backpack over my shoulder as I shut it harder than I needed to.

"Watch it, Kora!" Tim snapped as he closed his door a lot softer. "She's a delicate piece of machinery!"

"It's a car. I don't know why you're so protective of it. It's not like you built it yourself. I bet you don't even know the engine from the exhaust pipe." I snorted.

"I think I liked you better when you didn't talk. Who the hell builds cars anyway?" We started walking to the courtyard.

"I think I liked you better when you didn't exist. And Jacob built his car practically from scratch."

"Jacob Black is a freak- and so are you for hanging out with him!"

"Ouch, Tim. That hurt. Right here. In my heart." I pointed to the left half of my chest. Tim opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again when Jacob appeared next to me.

"Is there a problem?" he asked casually.

"Maybe," Tim replied icily. "What's it to you?"

"It's just that, well, if you're bothering Kora I'd have to, y'know, kill you." Jacob smiled, like he gave out death threats all the time.

"Yeah, sure, I'd like to see you try." Tim was suddenly flanked on either side by friends from the soccer team. Did they sense a disturbance in the force or something?

"Tim," I warned. For some reason, I could imagine Jacob taking out the whole team single-handed. I doubted he'd have trouble with three. Not that he'd have to because, of course, wherever Jacob goes Quil and Embry aren't far behind.

"Well, hey there, Timmy," Embry greeted with a smile. "How're you doing?"

"Don't call me that," Tim snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, there's no need to get snippy," Quil said. "Methinks we should go and find Paul and Jared. They're probably wondering where we are." He nodded to himself and started ushering us towards the building. Embry did the same, steering Jacob while Quil slung an arm casually across my shoulders. Burning hot, as always.

"Fine, you can have her!" Tim called after us. "She's a bitch anyway!"

"And not even cute!" one of his friends added. They laughed.

Jacob spun around so fast I didn't even see the movement. It wasn't the first time. What was new was the way Embry put his whole arm across his chest to restrain him and Quil let go of me to grab his arm.

"No, Jake," Quil said in a low voice. Jacob's hands were shaking, kind of like they had on the beach when he and Quil had argued. He was glaring in the direction Tim and his friends had walked off. "C'mon, man, they're not worth it."

"But they said-" Jacob began. He broke off as a tremor went through his whole body. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

"Hey," I said, taking one of his hands. "Don't worry about it. They're idiots." The tension in his brow eased and his fingers uncurled just to close around mine. "Jacob?" He opened his eyes, the shaking fading away. Quil and Embry slowly let go and stepped back. "You shouldn't let them piss you off so easily."

"But…the things they said…they don't bother you?" Jacob asked.

"They only bother me as far as being annoying," I replied. "If I took every insult I ever got personally I'd be a very bitter person. At least, more bitter than usual." We started walking again but he kept his fingers curled around mine. It seemed to keep him content, so I resisted the urge to pull my hand out of his grasp.

"Do people insult you often?" he asked reproachfully.

"Is that your next question?" We'd taken to continuing our game of Truth whenever we felt like it. The others were pretty confused when we spent lunch on Thursday with our heads bent together across the table talking in low voices, but they got used to it. We'd even done it during gym, where Jacob had hovered over me the whole period. Apparently, he was afraid I might collapse again or something. But the questioning kept my mind from making the connection between the game and my memory, so I was thankful.

"I guess so," Jacob said, shrugging.

"Yes and no. In my old town, kids learned pretty quickly that it wasn't a good idea to mess with me."

"Why?"

"Well, believe it or not, I used to be pretty violent. I never bothered with catty girl games. I went straight for the right hook."

"Hell, I'd like to see that." Jacob grinned, probably imagining my fist colliding with Michelle's face. He found the girl incredibly annoying for some reason. I didn't mind her- except when she was muttering about me behind my back. I chose to just ignore her, though. She didn't have power unless I gave it to her, and nothing could really touch me anymore. I'd already experienced unspeakable pain, so what's a few snide remarks and bad names?

"Sorry, but I don't think you will. I'm not like that anymore."

"I know. You don't like confrontation. But it's interesting to think about…" I blinked at him, but he didn't notice. I couldn't remember mentioning my aversion to fights… "Okay, you're turn."

"Where'd Quil and Embry go?" I asked, suddenly realizing their absence.

Jacob's face fell. "Is that seriously your question?"

"Of course not. I was just wondering…" Jacob shrugged. "Oh well. Anyway. What to ask, what to ask…" I pondered for a moment. We'd been avoiding the touchier subjects since he asked me about my nightmare. I actually hadn't thought about it all Thursday or much of Wednesday. It didn't escape my attention that both of those times I was with Jacob. I decided to stick with what I thought was a safer subject than my bad dreams or his Bella (who I was becoming increasingly curious about). "Why didn't you like me when we first met?"

Jacob eyed me warily. "I thought I told you already."

"Well, you told me I reminded you of someone…" I trailed off, motioning for him to add on. He sighed.

"You remind me of Bella. At least, you did at first." He watched my face for a reaction, but continued when he didn't get one. "It was mostly because you looked so sad. When Bella and I first…got close, she was the same way. She had the same sadness in her eyes that you have in yours." I looked down at the ground, concentrating on the feel of my feet hitting the sidewalk for a few seconds.

"I thought I was better at hiding it," I mumbled, doubting he could even hear me.

"You probably are," Jacob replied. I looked up, surprised that he'd understood what I said. "I just look too close, that's all. If it wasn't me, or if it had been some other time…" He shook his head. "Your mask might have worked."

"What do you mean, if it wasn't you?" I asked.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Jacob grinned and touched his finger to the tip of my nose in a silencing gesture. "It's my turn now." He let his hand fall to his side and his smile got a little less bright. "How long ago was it? That you found your father?"

I pursed my lips, breathing deeply. "What's today?"

Jacob counted silently on his fingers. "Uh, the twelfth. I think." I froze mid-step and let my foot drop to the ground. He stopped too, when he realized a half a beat later that I wasn't walking anymore. "Kora? What's wrong?" He dropped my hand and grabbed my shoulders as if to keep me steady. "Kora? Hello? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you feel like you're going to faint? Talk to me, please." I shook my head, my eyes focusing on his expression of frantic concern.

"I'm fine," I said weakly. "I just… Today's the twelfth."

Jacob nodded, still holding onto me like he was afraid I might collapse at any second. "Yes, today's the twelfth."

"So tomorrow's the thirteenth," I continued, my voice a bit more subdued.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Oh…" I looked down at my hands, trying to imagine all the times I'd drawn a blade across my palm to say my Rights. I stared hard, trying to project the image of a thousand scars onto my skin. But it was flawless. The healing was always complete. I never had a scratch on me for more than a few seconds. The burns from Wednesday were still a little raw only because I had no power in me. I was normal. Well, as normal as I could be.

"Kora?" Jacob called warily. I looked up again into his worried gaze. Maybe my next question would be "Why are you so ridiculously worried about me all the time?" I was certainly curious about that.

"Um, it'll be two months next Saturday."

He tilted his head to the side. "What?"

"That's how long it's been."

Jacob just looked at me for what seemed like ages, his forehead all scrunched up in that cute face he makes whenever he's trying to figure something out. I knew, because I'd watched him out of the corner of my eye during creative writing the day before, and I'd also seen him make the same face while considering some of my questions. "Kora…what's so important about the thirteenth?"

"Nothing, nothing." I tried to sound casual as I shrugged out from under his hands. They suddenly felt too hot on my shoulders. Jacob opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the bell. "I have to go. I'll see you second period." I ducked into the stream of students heading in the general direction of my first class. As soon as I got inside, I let myself relax a little and slowed my pace. Hopefully he would forget all about the thirteenth and what it might mean. He couldn't find out about me. No one could. It was too dangerous. Knowing my luck I'd wind up locked away in Area 51 being poked and prodded by creepy scientists for the rest of my life. Or worse, word would somehow find its way to that woman and she'd come for me…

I shivered as I sat down. Quil beamed at me until he saw my expression. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, God!" I cried. "What is with everyone giving me the third degree on how I feel all the time!?"

"Whoa, down girl. Sorry. What did Jake do?"

I reined my irritation back in, mentally scolding myself for getting overexcited. "He didn't do anything. I'm just having…an off day. That's all."

"You seemed perfectly fine this morning, holding hands with Jake." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"Are you implying something?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Perhaps."

I pulled out my homework and kept staring at him. "Don't be ridiculous. You know it's not like that."

"That's not what it looked like!" Quil chirped in this weird sing-songy voice.

"Well, you need to get your eyes checked. Jacob and I are just friends, that's all. I mean, we hardly know each other." I shrugged.

"But you want to know each other." His tone made it clear he wasn't talking about conversation over tea.

"Quil, please don't make me punch you."

Quil laughed, blatantly. "You'd just break your hand."

"Don't underestimate me."

"I'm not. I'm sure you've got a great punch in you. That's why I'm worried."

"Well I guess with a skull as thick as yours…"

He just grinned. "That's right. Keep your hands to yourself. Unless, of course, it's Jake you're with. In that case I'm sure you can make an exception." He winked and I glared. I moved to hit him on the arm but he grabbed my wrist before I could. His face suddenly got very serious. "Please, please don't break your hand on me. Jake'd tear my throat out."

I pulled my hand back and cocked my head to the side. "Why would he care?"

Quil made a face at me, then said in a falsetto voice, "Don't be ridiculous, Quil. You know it's not like that, Quil. We're just friends, Quil."

"I do not sound like that," I said, a little amused by his poor imitation of my voice. It was a really weird feeling, being amused. "And it's true. We are just friends."

Quil shrugged and turned to face forward. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart." I made a face at him and turned around as well. The odd thing was, my easy friendship with Jacob had somehow helped me sleep at night. Well, maybe I wouldn't say it like that, but it seemed to me that on the days that I spent a significant amount of time talking to Jacob I slept straight through the night without a single dream or nightmare. Okay, maybe a dream or two, but they were never bad. They mostly consisted of…well…Jacob. But that was not something I was about to admit to out loud. Because I was right, it wasn't like that with us. We were just friends. I chose to ignore Quil for the rest of the period, which worked out fine for the both of us.

I was in no hurry to get to my next class, which is probably why first period seemed to go by so quickly. I also figured that was the reason for the racing clock because usually American history class went by extremely slow. But, alas, it didn't this time, and I was walking into creative writing before you could say "Great Depression." Seriously.

Jacob smiled at me brightly as I sat down. "How was history?" he asked.

"Boring," I replied warily. Hopefully, he wouldn't mention the thirteenth. "How was math?" He just made a face. "I know, I understand."

Kim turned around in her seat to look at me. "A bunch of us are gonna watch movies at my house after school. You in?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

"You can get a ride with me," Jacob offered.

"Okay." Miss Prowley came into the room, immediately gaining the entire class's attention. She was one of those teachers that everybody liked, or at the very least respected. She kept us busy discussing poems by E.E. Cummings for the whole period. The rest of the day went by without incident. Apparently, Jacob forgot all about the thirteenth, or at least he decided to let it go. He didn't mention it again, not even when he ushered me to his car at the end of the day and we followed Jared's van (probably the only kind of car that could fit this particularly social group) to Kim's house.

"…and then Embry and Quil stuck up for me and yelled at the kid for knocking down my sand castle and we've been best friends ever since," Jacob finished explaining to me how he'd met Quil and Embry. That had been my next question, which he was a little embarrassed to answer because it involved him crying in the sandbox. But he's a boy and boys are competitive, and if he passed he would lose. He finished his story just as we pulled up in front of a cute little white doublewide. The windows had those flower boxes under them and there was a little garden next to the door with a ceramic gnome in it. Kim, Jared, Embry, Quil, and Paul were already walking inside. We got out of Jacob's car and followed them. He seemed to know where he was going, leading me down the little hall to the left and into a small living room. Though, I'm pretty sure it looked a lot smaller than it actually was with all the huge teenage boys lounging across various pieces of furniture.

As I sat down on one end of the couch, a fluffy black cat hopped up beside me. I automatically opened my arms to welcome her into my lap, scratching behind her ears as she curled up, purring happily in my arms. I looked up when I realized that everyone had fallen suddenly silent. They were all staring at me with looks of complete shock on their faces.

"What?" I said self-consciously.

Paul was the first to recover. "Is it actually purring?" The way he made a face and spat the word "it" offended me a little. I feel instinctively close to pretty much every cat I meet. Or, rather, they feel close to me.

"Yes, she is," I replied. I could also tell right off what gender a cat was. Don't ask me why because I really don't know.

Kim seemed to be the most surprised. "But…that cat was my grandmas and it- I mean, she, hates everyone." She'd corrected herself when she saw the look on my face.

"Oh, um, well, I, uh…" I tried to think of something to say to ease their apprehension. It was always the most difficult to keep my secret when I was around cats, because they always love me no matter what their disposition is to the rest of the people in their lives. They feel a kinship with me because of the stupid bond we have. It can be kind of irritating. Once I was even bombarded by six or seven house cats that were just drawn to me and started rubbing against me like I was their mother or something. That one was hard to explain. "I'm uh…good with cats, I guess."

Paul, still making a face, turned back around to continue messing with the DVD player. Kim stared for a moment longer, then looked away. Everyone else did the same, except for Jacob, who had an odd look on his face that was sort of a cross between awe and irritation. When he caught my eye the annoyance disappeared and he forced a smile before sitting down on the floor in front of me and to the side. He stretched out, leaning back against the couch, and stared at the TV screen as Paul finally got the movie going.

I'm really sure what we watched. I think it was one of the Scary Movies. I don't know which one, but I'm pretty sure it was making fun of that Mel Gibson movie with the aliens and Joaquin Phoenix. I wasn't really watching. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes kept straying to Jacob. Someone had drawn the curtains to give the room a movie theater feel, but I could still see the side of his face in the glow from the television. Every time he smiled or laughed I would watch the way his lips moved over his bright white teeth, notice the slight dimple in his cheek.

I didn't realize how much I was staring until Quil leaned over to me in the darkness and whispered, "You're drooling." Like a fool, I reached up to wipe at my chin frantically, but of course I wasn't really drooling. I shot Quil a look, but he just smiled, satisfied. I forced myself to look directly at the screen for the last twenty minutes of the movie, not really seeing what was going on. It was ridiculous, and I would hate myself for it later, but there was just something about Jacob that undeniably demanded my attention, and thus brought the heavy weight of guilt to my heart for what I thought of as a betrayal.

My father deserved a daughter who would always put him first in her mind. He deserved a much better daughter than me.

Thank you again for your patience! I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try to have the next one up much sooner, but as school is quickly approaching and I still have much summer reading and an algebra packet to deal with I'm not sure when I'll be able to write next. I adore you all for being so great and sticking with me even when I'm a total jerk and keep you waiting. I don't deserve you. xD

-Gina