Chapter 12

JakePOV

"Is this your house? Uh, your new house?"

I glanced behind me at Renesmee's words, my mouth curving into a smile when I saw the look of amazement on her face.

"Yeah," I said casually. "It's not much, I know, but its the best we could get on such short notice... I mean, it's about the same size as my old place, nothing special."

Renesmee snorted and shot me a wry smile.

"You're forgetting that I haven't had a home in... well, actually, I don't know when I've ever had a real home. So, this place looks pretty sweet to me," she said pointedly.

I nodded and hesitated for a moment before slipping my arm around her shoulders.

"This is your home now," I muttered. "I mean, as long as you want it to be."

She smiled, her chocolate eyes brightening when she caught sight of Embry and Seth through the window.

"Are we going to go inside and join them, or are we going to stay out here all night?" she asked teasingly.

"Hm... I wouldn't mind staying out here," I mused. "I think it would be quite comfortable, actually."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep. Of course, it might get cold later on... we might have to huddle together for warmth." I paused and flashed her a wicked grin.

She giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Boys," she scoffed.

"Hey, what's wrong with being a guy?" I demanded.

"Nothing," she said sweetly. She giggled again and grabbed my arm before moving towards the door. "Just so you know, I'm not spending the night out here."

"Yeah, I didn't think that you would," I admitted.

She paused a few feet away from the door and grinned over her shoulder at me.

"Although," she whispered mischievously. "I don't exactly object to the cuddling idea."

"I thought I said huddling, not cuddling," I murmured.

Her grin widened.

"Does it make a difference?" she asked sweetly. She opened the door before I could reply, her voice raised as she alerted the others to our arrival.

Embry and Seth gave me knowing looks when we entered the tiny living room, their dark eyes amused. I winced and avoided their gaze. Damn, I had forgotten that they could hear us out there...

"So, Jake, I think it's going to be kinda cold tonight," Seth said innocently. "Wanna huddle together for warmth?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up, Seth," I grumbled.

Renesmee snickered and pulled me down onto one of the thread-bare couches that had been dumped into the room. She waited until I had settled down before falling gracefully into my lap, her eyes glinting wickedly. I smirked and ran my hands through her curly copper hair before glancing smugly at the others.

"Nice," Seth murmured appreciatively. "What did you two do today, anyways? Go on a date?"

I snorted.

"Hardly," I muttered. "We just went to talk to my dad."

"How's he dealing with all of this?" Embry wondered.

I shrugged and glanced out of the window at the darkening sky, remembering how my dad had welcomed Renesmee into the house.

"He seems fine," I admitted. "I mean, he did convince the council to let Renesmee into the reservation so that she could meet him, and he's the one who arranged for us to have this place so I guess he approves."

"That's better than my folks," Seth muttered darkly. "My dad nearly keeled over when I told him about Leah, and I swear my mom would have lectured me to death if I hadn't gotten out of there. Geez, it's not like I was the one to imprint on a vampire..." His voice trailed off as a red blush spread across his cheeks, making him look like an over-ripe tomato.

"What's up with him?" I asked Embry.

"He imprinted on a British chick," he replied with a wink.

I whistled and nodded at Seth appreciatively. "Nice, man."

Renesmee scowled and elbowed me in the gut, making me grin.

"Hey, no worries," I assured her. "I still like you better."

"Wait a second, you haven't even met my girl," Seth objected.

I raised my eyebrows at him but made no comment.

"Yeah, and apparently this chick is trying to prove that werewolves are real so that she can publish a story of hers in a tabloid or something," Embry continued, pointedly ignoring us. "So she's going to started snooping around La Push looking for evidence."

I frowned and glanced at Seth again.

"So, what are you going to do about that?" I wondered.

He shrugged and shifted uncomfortably.

"I- well I was going to try and see her again," he mumbled.

"I meant, what are you going to do about her quest to prove that werewolves exist?" I snapped. "If she gets it published in a tabloid our cover would be blown and we'd never be able to get anything done. Plus, the Cullens would probably be revealed too and then we'd all get killed by the Volturi or something."

Renesmee shuddered at the mention of the Volturi and pulled herself slightly closer to me. I decided that I didn't really mind that at all.

Seth glanced at his feet and shrugged, looking slightly sheepish.

"I could tell her about us and ask her not to publish her story?" he suggested.

"Yeah, like she'd actually abandon a money-maker like that," Embry scoffed. He glanced out of the window and sighed. "I wonder where Jayna is... I called her and told her that my mom had left, and she promised me that she'd be right over..."

"And has anyone seen Leah?" Seth added, seeming grateful for the change of subject.

"I'm here," Leah's voice snapped from right outside the window. She stalked through the doorway a few moments later, slamming the door behind her with enough force to break it.

"Hey, watch it," I warned. "We only just got here, it's too early to break anything."

"Shut the hell up, Jake," she snarled. "I'm not in the mood."

"Whoa, who stepped on your tail, sis?" Seth demanded, looking slightly alarmed.

Leah growled again and stalked over to the small kitchenette. I heard the refrigerator door slam shut a few moments later and watched as she stomped back into the room with a bottle of Coke in her hand. She glared at us again before plopping down onto the nearest empty chair.

"Hey," Seth asked again, more quietly this time. "Hey, what's the matter? Is it Mom and Dad? I already talked to them, okay? I'm sure that they'll be fine with you and Alec eventua-."

"Mention that bastard's name again and I swear to God, Seth, I'll beat the shit out of you," Leah interrupted.

I raised my eyebrows and exchanged a slightly shocked look with Embry. Renesmee inched closer to me once again, her eyes wide with alarm.

"What happened?" I asked warily.

"I- He left and I started to get worried so I went after him," she grumbled. "We ran into each other when he was coming back and talked a little..." Her voice trailed off and she blushed before hastily continuing. "Anyways, he ran back to the Cullen house for no reason at all and I know I shouldn't have been listening but I couldn't help but hear, especially when I saw how angry they were with... Alec. And then-." She stopped suddenly and turned away, the Coke bottle already raised to her lips. I noticed for the first time that there were tears in her eyes and felt my heart sink. Oh shit... not again, this couldn't be happening to her again.

"What happened next, Leah?" Embry prompted her gently. "Why were the Cullens angry with Alec?"

Leah sniffed and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Apparently, he was actually spying on them for Aro," she reported dully. "He-he only came here to prove his loyalty to Aro. They started talking about Aro's allies..." Her voice trailed off again and she sighed.

"What about his allies?" I insisted. "If you're worried that we won't be able to handle them-."

"No, no, I know that all of us can handle anything, especially with Sam's help," she assured us. "I- it's just that they started talking about werewolves- I guess Aro has some of those too- and- and Alec said that they were monsters... he thought that they were hideous... so, I thought, if he thinks that those werewolves are hideous monsters than he must think-."

"That we look like hideous monsters," I finished flatly, trying to hold back the fury that was rising inside of me at her words. How dare that son of a bitch insult us, especially when Leah was listening?

"M-maybe those werewolves are different?" Seth suggested hopefully.

"How many different types of werewolves can there be, Seth?" Leah growled. She sighed and stood up, leaving the half-empty soda bottle on the ground in front of the couch. "Look, I'm going to get some sleep, alright? If I'm not up by ten or something tomorrow... eh, who cares. Just don't bother me, okay?"

"Uh, o-," Seth began, only to be interrupted by an insistent knock on the door.

"Leah?" Alec's voice called hesitantly. "Are you there?"

Leah's eyes narrowed and she snarled before stalking out of the room.

"Don't let him in," she growled.

"Leah, I can hear you," Alec snapped. "Please, just open the door. We need to talk."

"Sorry, I've heard enough talking for today, thanks," Leah hissed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some sleep so-."

"Please, Leah," Alec pleaded. "You don't under-."

"Alec, get away from my house or I swear I'll bite your head off," Leah snapped. Before he could reply, she ran out of the room in the direction of her room. I winced at the sound of her door slamming shut and glanced back at the front door.

"You still there, Alec?" I called.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"You might want to get out of here," I warned him. "I don't know if Leah was serious about biting your head off or not, but I don't think that you really want to take the chance."

I heard something that sounded suspiciously like a sigh and a mumbled thanks before Alec ran off, leaving us alone once again.

"Do you really think that he thinks you guys are monsters?" Renesmee whispered, her brow furrowed. "I mean, you guys don't really look hideous. I honestly think you're kind of cute."

"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or flattered," Embry muttered.

"I don't really know," I admitted slowly. "I mean, he's supposed to be her imprint so I don't see how he can see her that way."

"He doesn't," a soft voice interrupted us.

I jumped and glanced behind me, my eyes widening in surprise when I saw Jayna slipping gracefully through the now-open window. She smiled shyly at us before settling onto the couch next to Embry.

"I, uh, kind of overheard Alec's conversation with the Cullens," she admitted sheepishly. "Only, I think I must have heard more than Leah did because I heard Alec tell Bella that Aro's wolves were nothing like you. He actually doesn't mind you guys, from what I understand."

"Shouldn't you be telling Leah this?" Seth demanded. "I mean, it would really help things between her and Alec."

"Um, I was going to, but then I heard her threaten to bite Alec's head off... I didn't think that it would be best to mess with her right now," she admitted quietly.

Renesmee rolled her eyes and pulled herself off of my lap. She walked over to her friend's side and yanked Jayna to her feet before dragging her in the direction of Leah's room.

"Well, you've got to tell her sometime," Renesmee grumbled.

"Uh, maybe not now," Embry interjected quietly. "I agree with Jayna, now's probably not the best time to mess with Leah. Why don't you wait until tomorrow, okay? Let her get some sleep and calm down."

Renesmee frowned, not entirely pleased with this suggestion. She glanced pleadingly in my direction but I shook my head.

"Embry's right, let Leah sleep on it," I insisted. "We can't risk you two getting hurt because of Leah's temper, and I know she'd feel terrible if she did something to hurt you." Well, she would eventually.

Renesmee's frown deepened and she glanced in the direction of Leah's room again.

"It seems wrong to let her be angry at him for no reason, though," she murmured.

"Why don't you stay here for the night, then?" Seth suggested cheerfully. "Jake, Embry, and I could crash on the couches and you two could have our room. Then you could talk to Leah as soon as she got up."

I stared at Seth in horror, wondering if I should thank him for this stroke of genius or throttle him. Granted, Renesmee and I had been getting along really well, but I didn't want her to think that I was rushing anything...

"Yeah, that sounds great," Renesemee assured him. I stared at her for a long moment, causing her to blush before continuing. "Uh, you guys don't have to sleep on the couch, though. We'd be perfectly happy crashing out here for the night... I mean, we've had worse."

"No, no," Seth assured her. "It's fine. We don't mind the couch, right guys?"

Embry nodded numbly, obviously struggling with the same dilemma that I was.

"Yeah," he croaked. "Yeah, you girls go on and get some sleep in our room, okay? We'll, uh, we'll make sure to wake you up if Leah gets up before you do."

Renesmee nodded her thanks and started to follow Jayna to our room, only to pause and turn back to me. She grinned and flitted to my side for a moment to press her lips against mine before straightening up and darting out of the room.

I blinked in shock, my lips still tingling from her kiss and glanced over at Seth, who winked at me.

Oh yeah, I was going to throttle him. Right after I thanked him for coming up with his completely amazing idea.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did, I wouldn't have any trouble paying for college... sigh, wishful thinking...

Anyways, sorry again for the delay, and... yeah, I decided to put a little bit of fluff in here. I think Jake and Renesmee deserved a bit of fluff before things get serious... ;) Remember, reviews are love (or so I've been told) and I love love, haha. Spread the love- review!