Hey guys! Guess what, guess what!

One of you super nice people nominated me for the Cullen Awards! *squees!* So, whoever it is, thanks soo much!

Currently, I'm up for the Alice Award for Best WIP, the Edward Award for Best Romance, and the Jacob Award for Best Werewolf Story! :) You can click go to .com and click on nominees to see my story up there!

Keep reviewing guys! I'll tell you when the voting begins!

~Geneth
PS Sorry for all the exclamation points :D I got carried away...

It was foggy outside when I woke up the next day, with not a cloud in the sky. I smirked about this as I pulled on a heavy outfit for the day. There was no excuse for Mister Jacob Black not showing up for school. Unless, of course, the weather turned stormy in the middle of the day. Grabbing an apple from the fridge, I hurried outside, suddenly eager to get to school on time. But then I stopped dead in my tracks.

Jacob Black was leaning against the door of a small black car, the smile on his face lighting up the morning. I looked around, noticing that his usual sleek motorcycle was nowhere in sight.

"Morning!" he called cheerfully.

"Um, hey," I replied, pulling my bag onto my shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"Picking you up for school," he said, his voice still animated. With his enthusiasm and smile, he and Alice Cullen could be good friends. Oh wait, they can't…I mentally whacked myself on the head for forgetting that important detail.

"And why are you picking me up from school?"

"Because I'm awesome that way," he replied, opening the door for me. I walked slowly to the unfamiliar car, and climbed in. The car smelled absolutely amazing, exactly like Jacob's musky but soothing scent. I inhaled, memorizing the exact smell. If they made a bottle of Jacob-smelling perfume, I'd buy a dozen boxes and spray them in my room.

He climbed in from the driver's side, and then started the car with a flourish of his hands. The engine purred to life, and it drove smoothly like his motorcycle, but much slower. Jacob drove with the expertise of an older person, and he hummed to himself doing so. In fact, Jacob's humming was the only noise in the car. I sat, awkward at the least, on the passenger's side, being warmed by Jacob and the heater.

Finally, Jacob turned to me with a look of confusion on his face. "What, did I do something wrong? Are you giving me the silent treatment?"

"W-what? No!" I felt my cheeks heat, but I managed a smile. "I just thought that maybe my questions bothered you yesterday."

"Don't be silly," he retorted, fingers drumming the steering wheel. "The only thing that's bothering me now is the fact that my friends are going to be nagging me when we get to school. It was supposed to be my turn to drive them today, but I doubt you want to be stuck in a big van with six other boys all talking about hormones and girls and 'Oh Ma Gawd Textin' Pawns'. Oh, and did I mention that there's an annoying girl in the seat behind you, chatting up a storm about how she likes breaking everyone's ears when she attempts to sing?"

I laughed; I couldn't help it. Jacob often made a person feel like laughing, or smiling, or being all buddy-buddy with him. "So where are the rest of them then?"

He pulled into the school's parking lot and motioned outside the car window. I stifled a gasp. Seven shiny motorcycles were parked in a straight line along the parking lot wall, a single space at the end saved for Jacob, who pulled into it easily. There was an array of colors such as brown, silver, and black and I couldn't help but ask Jacob why there were those specific colors.

"When we are in wolf form, our fur is a certain color, so we tend to like that color above the other options."

"What about your black motorcycle? Your fur is russet colored."

"I got that motorcycle for my sixteenth birthday, exactly one week before I started to undergo transformation. By the time I could finally ride it, I didn't even care about the color anymore. Besides," he said, dropping his voice to an almost silent whisper, "my father says that black is the color of the alpha. Sam is the only other person with a black motorcycle, but mine totally tops his."

We both walked towards the main building's roof overhang, where Jessica stood with her mouth nearly touching the floor. Draped over her arm was my jacket, and something told me that she wasn't going to give it back without some kind of fight.

"Good morning, Jessica," Jacob said, his voice still overly happy. Without noticing, or out of pure habit, Jacob flipped his dark hair out of his eyes, which began to do his "smothering" technique.

"Err…umm…hi," she stuttered. She reluctantly handed over my jacket without a fight, and I smiled at Jacob, mentally reminding myself to thank him later. Jessica forced herself to look away from him –poor thing; she still thought she had a chance– and shot me a reproachful look. "I'll see you later, Bella. In Trig." She said these words with narrowed eyes, walking away with a stride of a queen, and I sighed. What was I going to tell her?

"So, I'm assuming Jessica's going to be bothering you in Trig."

"How did you know?" I asked, startled. "Can you read minds too?"

"Nope. Two sisters, remember?" He tapped my forehead gently with his knuckle. "You've got to keep up, Bella. She's probably going to bother you until you say something…What do you have in mind as of now?"

"I...Um…She's probably going to ask about if we're dating or not, and probably going to pester me about my feelings towards you. She is Jessica Stanley after all."

"Oh goodie, I love a good Jerry Springer show." He winked. "And I'll be listening to you answers."

"You will?!"

"Yes. Because we're werewolves, we're able to hear from far distances…"

"Which makes it easy for me to hear you trash talk my motorcycle." Sam appeared from the side of the school. Even though I knew what he was, and I could hold this against him, I cowered behind Jacob. Jacob also tensed slightly, grabbing my hand and caressing my palm with his thumb.

But Sam smiled a small grin towards me. "Good morning, Bella. Nice to see you and Jake here…together…in school." Jacob shot him a look, but he continued. "You should probably say yes to the dating question, for both of your sakes…and I'm sure the rest of the Quileutes will be dying to listen with Jacob for your second."

My cheeks flushed as red as a tomato. Why was Sam deciding to be so intimidating right now, at this very moment? Jacob seemed to be thinking the same question, and he glared at Sam with intense eyes. They communicated with only their eyes, a wolf thing I assumed, and I realized why Sam had taken the offensive.

Jacob had accidentally insulted Sam as alpha wolf, and Sam was now warning him what would happen if he did so again. Suddenly, Sam's eyes calmed, and he smirked, stepping away from Jacob with ill humor in his eyes.

"See you later Jacob, Bella." And with that, he pivoted, walking away towards the shadows, where six other pairs of eyes glittered with excitement.

Jacob watched until he disappeared before turning back to me. "I'm so sorry, Bella. He's really not that bad, just protective. He's afraid of…of…"

"Of me?"

"I never said that," he said with a gentle smile. He released my hand. "Well, we'd better be going, or else we're going to be late for class!" He started to walk away before adding in a cheerful voice. "I'll see you at lunch."

Trig came fast and, before I knew it, I was being forced to sit down in the back row by an overexcited Jessica. I looked around, noticing that Jared, Jacob's easily bored wolf brother, was sitting near the middle of the room. He was texting, and I shocked me that he was smiling as he typed. Was he texting to his girlfriend…or Sam?

"Tell me everything!" Jessica commanded, nearly shoving me down onto the chair. "What happened?!"

"I ran into Jacob, and he decided to buy me dinner…We went out for a walk later and then he drove me home." I smiled innocently, but Jessica wasn't convinced.

"And then he picked you up today…without his tell-all motorcycle?" she asked, milking it for all it was worth.

"Yes, that was a surprise too. He noticed that I didn't have a jacket yesterday, and he didn't think my truck had a good enough heater." The lie came out smoothly, and I twirled my lead pencil absently around with my fingers.

"So, did he ask you out again?"

"He offered to take me to Seattle this Saturday, but it's more of a hanging out as friends thing. I'm helping him pick out some stuff and that's it."

"That's it?! That's it?! Jacob Black is going to take you to Seattle, so it's obviously more than just going shopping and hanging on the port!" She calmed herself, not caring that five others were staring at us. I looked sheepishly down and saw that Jared was no longer texting, but pretending to stare forward. He could probably hear us perfectly clear.

"Besides," Jessica ranted, "you guys make the cutest couple! Oh my God, you both should so go to prom and like enter yourself into the Cutest Couple category! You'd win for sure!" She lowered her voice. "Besides, everyone's scared of what he'll do if they don't vote for him anyways…"

I stared at her, shocked. "What do you mean?"

"The whole Quileutes are so…intimidating. Don't tell Jacob I told you this, but half the grade voted for Leah Clearwater three months ago as Junior Prom Queen because they were scared that she'd hunt down those who didn't elect her."

"I'm sure that's not why they voted for her," I pointed out nicely. I could practically Leah beaming towards me with pride from whatever class she was in.

"Whatever. But the whole male part of the Quileute group is gor-gee-ous, especially Jacob," she said, as if this excused all their flaws. She chewed on her gum sullenly, finally finding a topic to talk about with a snap of her overly manicured nails.

"God, I almost forgot! Has he kissed you yet?"

"Wait, what?!" I flushed the color of my eraser. "I…Wha…It's not like that…" I finally spat out.

"But he took you out to dinner! He let you ride his precious motorcycle! He took you to the park for a little one on one! How is it not like that?"

I bit my lip, unthinking for the first time about what the Quileutes were listening too. "I have this feeling that I…I may like him more than he likes me…But, there's nothing I can do about it…"

Thankfully, Mr. Varner began the lecture and Jessica silenced herself, saving me from more future embarrassment. When the bell rang, I hopped out of my seat, stuffing my books into my bag without bothering to organize them. Jessica watched my actions with wide eyes.

"You're not sitting with us again, are you?"

"Nope," I replied, eager to leave the Welcoming Committee for yet another day.

As we stepped into the hall, I spotted Jacob leaning against the wall across from the door. He smiled, waving at me, and I walked towards him. Jessica trailed me like a lost puppy, and only left when Jacob took his eyes from mine and stared at her with curious eyes. She surrendered to his smothering, and said goodbye to me before quickly backing away.

"Ready for lunch?" he asked. His voice was normal, not as hyperactive as before.

I nodded and he led the way to the cafeteria, absently putting his arm around my shoulders so I wouldn't get lost in the crowd. I struggled to ignore the burning glares from every other student in the room, but still felt the heat rising to my face. We arrived on the lunch line, and Jacob immediately began to load a tray with food, smirking at me as he did so.

"What…Is that all for you?" I asked, reaching for another tray.

"No, of course not! Half is for you, and the rest is for me…" He popped a fry in his mouth when the lunch lady wasn't looking, handing over a crisp bill to the cashier.

Jacob gingerly walked towards the door leading to the picnic tables outside, and I followed him, picking up bags of chips and cookies that fell off the top of his tray as he walked. When we came to the exact same table as we had last time, he pushed the tray towards me as I sat down.

"Take whatever you want," he said with a smirk.

I picked up an orange, stabbing the very top with my nail. The peel seems to slide off as I work steadily, and I wondered where to begin. As I finish peeling it, Jacob snagged half of it and popped it in his mouth, seeds and all.

"So, you can eat anything and not get sick?" I asked in amazement.

"Not anything," he replied, swallowing the last bit of seeds. "Like I can't eat metal or clothing; I guess as long as it's food. For example, I can probably eat that orange peel. I might get a little green later, but yes, I can eat that peel." His eyes lit up. "Hell, I never tried eating a whole watermelon yet. Do you think…?"

I shot him a look and he winded down, mumbling about how he ought to buy a watermelon and try it out. I set the orange down and selected a bag of pizza-flavored Combos. I've always been a sucker for Combos, especially the pizza-flavored type, and I ripped open the package, snacking greedily away at the small snacks.

"So," Jacob said casually, finally starting the conversation, "I don't think your truck's heater is good enough?"

"You somewhat implied that," I replied easily, chewing with care on the pretzel bit stuck between my teeth. "Besides, what did you want me to say then? That you really, really, really wanted to drive me for no reason whatsoever?"

"Good point." He smiled, but it disappeared from his face as he continued to speak. "But can I be serious for a moment, Bella? Something you said to Jessica…well…it's been causing me some grief." I nodded, knowing what was coming. Looking around us, Jacob leaned forward and I followed suit.

"Do you really think you like me more than I like you?" His eyes were sad, and his breath parted just a few inches from mine. He was close enough to kiss, to touch, and I pulled away before things got out of hand. Jacob pulled away robotically, arms crossed in front of his muscular chest.

"Well?" he asked softly.

"Yes," I muttered, flabbergasted. "I honestly think that."

"Well then, you're wrong," he sighed, his voice gentle yet strained. "You think that after I bought you dinner, offered you my company, and took you out for a, and I quote, 'one on one talk' you'd think differently…"

"It's not that," I insisted, my voice slightly harsh. "It's just that…sometimes you seem like you want me to be closer to you. But, at other times, you're pushing me away and hiding stuff that you know are important to our relationship."

"I never said I wouldn't tell you about why," he reminded me. "And, knowing how I truly feel about you, I'd probably spill the beans anyways."

"But I'm not going to run away if you tell me," I said, "And you'd better not leave without a goodbye…"

"Yes ma'am," he snickered. Jacob paused, deep in thought and nibbling on the crust of a large sandwich. I had unknowingly started on the Caesar salad in front of me, and had eaten half of it while enthralled in our conversation. "Can I ask you another question though?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm going to finish the salad. At least, I'm going to try to."

"No, not that," Jacob said hastily. "I was going to ask the real reason for your going to Seattle on Saturday. Is it to escape your pursuers or is it just for fun?"

I stuck out my tongue. "I could ask you the same question."

"Actually, I really do need to pick something out for my father. The clouds probably told him what I'm getting him, but who knows? Besides, the only person who asked me to the dance was Leah."

"Really? Why?"

"As the Junior Prom Queen, she's required to be there with a date. However, most of the boys are scared to even step within five feet of her, so she usually turns to me. But, I'm taking you to Seattle. Jared, Sam, and Quil all got girls and dates for the night, Seth wouldn't go with his sister if you paid him…Embry and Paul would rather fight to the death then go with her."

I smiled thinly. "Are we going to take your motorcycle there?"

"Are you kidding me?" he asked, eyes wide. "My precious baby would get beaten down and kidnapped! My dad's letting me borrow the car that I used this morning for Saturday."

"I'm open to that," I said slowly, "but why can't we use my car?"

"Because it's ugly," he replied, his voice complaining in a mocking tone. I frowned. My truck was not ugly.

"But Charlie will see that my car is in the driveway and he'll wonder where I'm going," I pointed out. I already knew I'd won, and Jacob did too.

"Fine," he huffed, "we'll take your hideous car. And, maybe, if you behave, I'll show you what it's like for me to transform." He flashed his teeth when he said this.

A shiver ran down my spine. "Will you hunt while we're there?"

"What?! No! Not with you right there!" He made a face. "You really want to see me hunt down a deer and eat its…"

The bell rang, cutting him off, and I jumped to my feet. Jacob picked up the empty tray with one hand, and slid it into the garbage hand with another. I still couldn't believe that he had eaten most of the food while I ate only the salad, half an orange, and Combos. He helpfully slipped my backpack over one of his own shoulders, and we started walking towards the school building.

"So, it's a no to me watching then?" I asked.

Jacob shot me a look that looked strangely wolfish, and I immediately shut my mouth.

Keep reviewing and stick around! Seattle chapters are coming real close...

Read, review, repeat...

~Geneth :P