Disclaimer: All characters with the exception of Kristine Fay belong to Stephanie Meyer. Kristine Fay is of my own making.

Quickly enough, it became obvious how much of a blessing Seth Clearwater was. He appeared out of nowhere and slid in between Jake and Embry, hands up and an easy grin on his face. Either he was immune to the laser beams that were shooting from Jake's eyes, or werewolves had thicker skin than I originally thought.

"Come on, guys. It's no fun being left out. I don't see anyone fighting to call me Sethy." At that, Quil barked out a genuine laugh, and Embry quickly joined in. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought this was one big joke. As it was, I did know better, but thankfully Bella didn't, and she shyly grinned as she motioned for 'Sethy' to come with her to get more cola.

Quil smartly followed them, nervously looking over his shoulder at his two brothers. No doubt praying for their survival.

Waiting until I could no longer hear the sound of their banter, I turned on Jacob. I stared at him, disbelief and anger burning in my eyes. I noticed how it took his eyes a few seconds to come back from following Bella as she left the garage to finally meet my gaze. At least he had the decency to look somewhat ashamed.

I whipped around to glare at Embry, too, just because I knew he would be grinning at the silent reprimand Jake was getting. If he thought I was mad at only Jake, then oh boy, was this guy in for a big surprise.

"What the hell was THAT?" My voice cracked, causing the pitch of my voice to shoot higher than I meant for it to. I wasn't complaining though, seeing how it put some fear into both of their eyes. I angrily ran both my hands through my hair, frustrated at my inability to fully convey my annoyed as hell emotions.

"Look, I don't know what's been going on with you lately, if you're trying to get Jake back for something or— Don't you dare interrupt me, Embry Call, or I swear..." I let the threat hang mid-air, and resumed my ranting once it became apparent that he had decided to shut up for the next minute.

"Or if you're just trying to push his – and MY – buttons for no reason, or… I don't know, okay? I don't know why you're doing this, but it's not funny. I don't find it funny at all, and obviously neither does Jacob. So stop. Please. It's awkward, and honestly a bit uncomfortable, and…"

By that point, the anger that had been piling up inside of me all day no longer existed. Being mad at them was never something I was good at, and if I was being completely honest, I was surprised it had lasted this long at all. I knew it and, guessing by how Embry had now taken up his usual posture with his hands in his pockets, he knew it, too.

"If you were the receiving end of one of Jake's horrible pranks, I'm sorry. I'll apologize instead since he apparently hasn't yet. But regardless of whatever the hell is going on between you two right now, you can't call me Kris. You know that. If you want to have your own little thing to call me, you can call me, uhh, Krissy, or… Actually, no, never call me that – what the hell, I just got goosebumps. Just… Not Kris. Okay?"

Clearing my throat, I offered him a little smile, offering my hand to shake on our new truce. Thankfully, he took it and gave my small hand a firm shake. There was the sweet werewolf I knew.

Now came the hard part. Exhaling quietly, I slowly turned to face Jacob. Neither of us said anything and only looked at the other. As if his furrowed brow and concerned look wasn't enough, he took my hand in his and muttered, "M'sorry. That was… immature. And it won't happen again, promise." He gave me a tiny, hopeful grin, and I wanted to smile back. So badly. To go back to everything being effortless between us. Confusing and sometimes heartbreaking, maybe. But effortless nonetheless.

Shaking my head, I stepped back, gently pulling my hand from his in the process. "Jake… I really hope so. I'm not going to lie, that was embarrassing as hell and I have no idea how I'm going to face Bella now. But you need to understand something. Just because you own the right to call me 'Kris' doesn't mean you own me."

I wasn't sure who I was talking to anymore, him or myself, but that didn't stop me from proclaiming something I had always known to be fact.

"I'm not yours."

Author's Note: It's… officially been a year since I last updated. I have no excuse other than life got in the way. I really am hoping that I can regularly update this story now. I'll try to make up for the lack of updates until now! I plan on spending the day rereading Twilight tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have another chapter written soon. As always, follows, likes and reviews are loved and appreciated.