The house seemed smaller without Billie talking, laughing, rumbling around on his wheelchair. I could tell that Jake really missed him; but he'd done a good deal of getting on by himself. Due to the whole werewolf thing and not aging, the age gap between us was bigger than before; but because he just kept growing, he could have passed for at least five years older than me.

As we walked over to the garage, I noticed how he had to deliberately slow down, shorten his strides to match mine. I felt somewhat indignant, but also rather frustrated with myself because I had to slow him down so much. When I tried to walk a little faster, he just laughed at me, so I slowed down again, somewhat embarrassed for having to make the effort. I ended up laughing at myself with him, giving up on trying to match him, accepting that without turning into a…

Despite the fact it was right next to the house, I hadn't seen the garage yet. So, when I finally focused on it, I let out a little gasp of surprise. It was pretty much the same size (perhaps a little bigger); but completely renovated. It was made out of wood, still, but sturdier somehow, and there was all manner of equipment inside and out. There were signs all over the place, and one car outside, one inside. I just gaped for a while, amazed at the difference. I could feel Jake watching me, presumably wondering what to say or do, but I didn't react to that.

He seemed to give up waiting for a more obvious reaction, and continued to walk towards the garage, and, after shaking my head, I followed him. As I stepped through the wide open doors, I gazed around me, taking in all that was on the walls and on the floor; and not having a clue what any of it was. I saw a large sign on the top of the back wall, black with large white lettering;

'Black Swan'

My features distorted with confused. I looked at Jacob, who, after waiting for my reaction, looked down at the floor, avoiding my gaze.

"I didn't think you were going to make it," His voice came out as a low croak, and I thought I saw glistening trails down his cheeks. All the more confused, I waited for him to continue; "I couldn't cope. I started building it when you were still in hospital; I needed a distraction, something to focus on. So I started this," he gestured to the walls around him, his eyes meeting mine, "and it worked. Sort of. Then, a little while after you moved away-Billie died. It tore Charlie apart; Billie and Harry in such a short space of time, with you gone too. He came over here more often; saw what I was doing, and helped out."

"So it's yours and Charlie's?"

He shook his head slowly.

"It's my business. The second part of the name is for two people." He tried to smile, but it didn't work so well, so he turned away. I didn't miss the way his hands moved across his face.

I felt so awful; I'd never seen Jacob this torn up, not even when I was leaving him, before. He turned back round to face me, and I saw him pulling a can of soda from a plastic bag. I smiled (somewhat half-heartedly) and took it from him. He managed a little tilt in the corners of his mouth in reply-but it wasn't enough. What had happened to Jacob-my Jacob, the boy who'd been so happy, so full of life; they boy who'd (cliché though it sounds) lifted me up when I was down?

He took the other can from the bag, chucking the plastic on the floor. I watched the white crackling material float slowly down to the floor, to settle rather noisily on the oily, muddy ground. I noticed that Jake had sat down on a step near the car-I remembered how we used to sit in or by the Rabbit he used to build…

"Hey, that was the Rabbit outside, right?" His face lit up properly this time, and it made my heart lurch just a little bit. Well, more than just a little bit…

"I wondered when you would finally notice. After all that time we spent working on it…well, you watching me anyway," He chuckled, nudging me playfully. I grinned back, wanting to continue the high spirit discussion, desperately searching my mind for something to discuss.

"I still have those motorbikes, as well, you know. Still running fairly well. We ride them sometimes, around the reservation…" His eyes widened, and he glanced down at me with something akin to fear in his eyes. I simply held his gaze, acting ignorant of whatever that slip of the tongue was about. I didn't want to ruin this today; it was obviously something he didn't really want to discuss.

"So, they're still going strong then?" He visibly relaxed as it became obvious that I was not going to comment on whatever it was he almost said. He nodded, tipping his can vertically to get the last drops of soda that remained. I looked down at my can and smiled, placing it on the ground and looking outside.



I was back.