Sorry it's been a while since I've updated this story. Hopefully people are still interested in reading. Hope you like the new chapter!

~secrethalfblood

Jpov

As much as I would have liked it to, time didn't stand still when I had been with Tani in the city. While not long ago, a day like today could only have happened in my dreams, I was brought to a much harsher reality when I got home.

I stepped through the front door to see that the lights were on and the entire pack was standing around the dining room table. A map had been spread over it and I noticed Sam was with them.

"Chase said you think there was an attack?" I asked Sam. He'd bent over the table looking over the map, but turned to face me as I approached them. By his lack of presence, I could only assume my grandfather had gone to bed for the night.

"Yeah. Two people. Campers in the National Park not too far from here. They checked in at the ranger's station, a few days passed and no one had heard from them. Eventually a search party was formed and when they found them, they'd been dead for days. Cause of death-"

"Bodies drained of blood." I finished for him quietly and he nodded. I felt a flash of anger go through me and looked around at the others. As usual, Lewis looked the angriest with Chase not far behind. Aster looked a little disgusted.

"How'd you find out about this?" I asked glancing at the map myself.

"I'm friends with the ranger who was on duty when they were found. He keeps me posted about things like this. Strange disappearances or deaths. Thought it might be a useful contact if there were any bloodsuckers creeping around in the area."

"Are we sure it's a vamp though?" Aster asked looking uncertain. "How do we know it's not some wack-job running around in the woods losing his mind?"

I knew why he was asking this. Being the youngest and most recent to start phasing, he still had trouble adjusting to pack life every once and a while. Most of the time when we ran into a situation like this, he didn't like to admit to himself that vampires were most likely the cause. He'd look for any excuse to blame it on something else and although part of me couldn't blame him, the sympathy I felt for him was limited. We all had to face reality at some point. When you knew the truth about the world, you were going to see stuff like this happen.

"Isolated victims, no evidence of the killer, bodies drained of blood. What more do you need?" Lewis asked raising an eyebrow.

"It doesn't totally follow the bloodsuckers' MO though." Aster continued stubbornly. "Don't they have a code? People aren't supposed to find the bodies. It draws attention to them."

"That and they know we're around here." I said crossing my arms over my chest and looking at the map. They'd circled the location of the bodies that had been found. It was less than thirty miles from the reservation. For a wolf, or a vampire, that was nothing. "Most vamps avoid us if they can help it, and if they do kill someone around here, they try very hard to cover it up."

"So you don't think it was a vampire that killed them then?" Chase asked frowning and I shook my head.

"No, it probably was. It's just weird. It seems like this one doesn't care if the bodies were found."

Sam caught my eye and while I knew what he was thinking, I decided not to bring it up hoping I wouldn't have to.

"But that doesn't make any sense." Chase said frowning and I was relieved to see that none of them had noticed the silent exchange between Sam and I. "Don't the vamps have some sort of government? I thought that Italian family kept them somewhat controlled. They wouldn't want them finding out bodies had been discovered. Seems like a stupid risk."

"Not if they were trying to send a message." Sam said quietly and I shot him a look, but it seemed that was all he was going to say.

"A message?" Lewis frowned. "A message to who? Most of the world doesn't believe they exist."

No one answered this, though I was pretty sure I knew exactly who Sam was thinking of.

"What do you want to do?"

It was Chase who'd asked, and I saw that all eyes were on me.

"You said you were friends with the ranger?" I asked looking at Sam who nodded. "Think he'd be up for a meeting? He might be able to give us more information in person."

"I think so." Sam said a little uncertainly. "He might wonder why I care so much, or why I brought an eighteen-year-old with me to talk to him, but I'm sure we can think of some excuse on the way."

"Alright. Lewis, Chase," they looked at me. "You two go to where the bodies were found. See if you can find any evidence of bloodsuckers. Aster, you stay here and do a sweep of the reservation. Let me know if you find anything suspicious anywhere close to home. I'll go with Sam to the ranger's station to see if we can get any more details on what might have happened."

"Alright." They said in unison, each moving towards the backdoor and stepping out into the night.

We waited until they were out of ear shot before we spoke. He was the first to break the silence, and when he did, he sounded worried.

"You should have told them."

"There's no point in scaring them." I said shaking my head and avoiding his gaze. "It's been years."

"All the more reason it would want to catch your attention if it was back."

"Why would it come back?" I asked darkly. "What purpose could it possibly have? I'm not alone anymore."

"Don't ask me to think like a bloodsucker." He said in disgust. "They're not human. They don't think like we do. But if you ask me the fact that you're not alone anymore might be exactly the reason it came back."

"Why, you think the vampire has some sort of death wish or something?"

He shrugged.

"I can't tell you what goes through a vampire's mind. All I know is that while some of them, like the Cullens, try and cling to what little humanity they have left, others have it burned out of them completely when they go through the change. They don't see the world as the world anymore. They see it as a hunting ground. Some of them even get bored and spend their time looking for interesting prey." Venom entered his tone as he said this. "It said it wasn't finished with you. You were alone before, now it's got all sorts of people to hang over you. All of them are leverage."

"The pack can handle themselves." I said trying to dismiss with his theory, the creeping sense of unease that was spreading through me. I had no success on either front.

"True." He agreed. "But what about the people who aren't in the pack? Alex has yet to phase, and it could be dangerous if he stumbles into vampire who's fought with wolves before, knows what to look for and how to fight them. And what about the girls?"

I hesitated.

"Why would it care about them?" I asked and at this anger flashed across his features.

"Don't be naïve Jason, what's the most effective thing to attack when you want to hurt someone? Go after the people they love."

"We don't know if it's back." I said stubbornly.

"Can you afford to assume it's not?"

I didn't answer this, mainly because I was afraid to. Unbidden and unwelcome thoughts forced themselves to the front of my mind, prominent among them, the fact that Tani had already had a run in with a vampire. One she'd barely survived.

"We should get going." I said with avoiding his eye. "Hopefully your friend can give us information quickly enough that we can make it back before dawn."

He didn't respond and I could tell he was angry.

"I'll tell the others we should increase patrols until we get to the bottom of this. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"You should tell them everything."

"Not until we're sure." I said stubbornly and while he made a noise of frustration, he did nothing more.

Instead, he gestured for me to follow him to the front door. We stepped outside and walked towards his car.

"Tiff's going to be disappointed." He said putting his key in the ignition as I dropped into the passenger seat. "She was hoping I'd be home in time to read her a story before she went to bed."

I wasn't really sure what to say to this so I didn't respond. It was strange to think that Sam used to be in my place, tracking vampires and trying to keep everyone on the reservation safe. I knew about his past, but it was hard to see a husband and father going out every night looking for monsters. Even stranger was the thought that one day I might be the one who'd moved on, helping a new generation, that this nightmare might no longer be my life.

"You'll get through it." he said as the car's engine rumbled into life and he backed out of the driveway. It was almost as if he'd known was I was thinking. "One day all this death and violence will be nothing more than a dark chapter of your past in an otherwise happy life."

"Doesn't feel like it." I said quietly. Sometimes it felt like the only way out was death by vampire.

"Maybe not right now. But it'll be worth it."

"What will?"

"The rest of your life. So many people spend so much of it uncertain if they'll ever find the person they're meant to be with. That's one thing you'll never have to wonder about."

I expected this to depress me, but I found it didn't. I thought back to earlier today, to how much fun I'd had walking around the city with Tani, hardly noticing as hours slipped by, perfectly content just to spend it with her and her alone. I smiled slightly.

"Guess not." I said looking out the window as we pulled out onto the street.

Tpov

The weekend after the field trip passed pretty normally. The next thing I knew it was Monday again, and Alex and I were sitting in history together in the back of the class. We were supposed to be brain storming ideas for our end of quarter project, but I was actually sketching character concepts for an idea he'd had for a graphic novel.

"What I don't get." I said adding an extra pair of arms to the vaguely humanoid body under his watchful eye. "Is even if a Martian has telepathic powers, wouldn't there still be a language barrier when he gets to earth? I mean, isn't it a little optimistic just to assume an alien race just happens to know English, or any language from earth for that matter?"

"You're missing the point." He said sounding frustrated. "His powers make it so they can understand him, and him them. When it comes to thoughts anyways. But yeah, speaking out loud they probably couldn't communicate."

"But would a Martian's telepathic power work on a human brain?" I pressed. "I mean, what are the odds that thought patterns or even the biological make up of an alien vs. human mind would be even remotely the same?"

"Tani, could you stop stepping on my dreams?" he asked sourly.

"I'm the one bringing 'Solar Saul' to life." I pointed out retracing an antenna and he frowned.

"Yeah, and you could make him a little less creepy looking."

I glanced at him, slightly amused.

"He's an alien. What did you expect? A chibi or something?"

"I dunno, I hadn't thought it through." He mused and I rolled my eyes. "Speaking of creepy though, some dude was asking about you at work."

"What do you mean creepy?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "What was he like old or something?"

Alex worked at the local grocery store so he dealt with his fair share of strange people. As he put it, 'even weirdos gotta eat.'

"I dunno." He said frowning. "You know now that I think about it, I really couldn't tell how old he was, but definitely not our age. There was just something about him though." He shuddered and I saw something dark flash behind his eyes. "Something that I just didn't trust."

"How'd he know me?"

"That's the weird thing. I don't think he did."

"Then how'd you know he was talking about me?"

"Who else could 'Jason's tiny girlfriend be?'" he asked and I frowned.

Well, he had a point.

I felt a pair of eyes on me and looked up to see Lewis looking in our direction. He and his girlfriend Sarah were in a lot of our classes and although they always worked together, I often caught him staring at Alex and I.

"So, think this guy was a friend of Jason's?" I asked looking away from Lewis feeling uncomfortable.

"It didn't sound like it."

"So then why would he care about me? What did he want?"

"I've no idea." He said shrugging. "Before I could ask Sam Uley and his wife walked in to pick up an order and when I looked back, the dude was gone."

Silence passed between us for a moment in which I got to work on Saul's girlfriend, 'Sally Saturn,' and Alex continued to watch.

"So now that we're on the subject…" he started hesitantly as I drew rings around Sally's ponytail.

"What subject?" I asked vaguely, too immersed in sketching to pay much attention to what he was saying.

"You and Jason."

This did catch my attention.

"You are just as bad as Nona." I said looking up from my sketch.

"Do you like him?"

"I kind of have to like him." I said shrugging. "That's what happens when you've known someone since before your first birthday."

"You know what I mean." He said rolling his eyes and I looked at him confused. "I mean like like." He continued, starting to sound exasperated. "You know, as in, you find him of the datable variety."

"Why do you keep saying stuff like that?"

"Because you're oblivious and won't figure it out on your own."

"Figure what out?"

"That you're attracted to someone."

"Your confidence in my emotional intelligence is utterly astounding." I said flatly and he looked frustrated. "Besides, don't you think if I liked someone I would know?"

"Honestly, I think you'd be the last one to figure it out. Are you seriously telling me you don't think he's attractive?"

"Of course he's attractive, everyone knows that."

"I wasn't asking what everyone thinks. I was asking what you think, and not as an artist looking for something to draw." He added quickly, as if he knew the point I was about to make. "I mean just as a regular girl, looking at a guy. Pretend like you'd never met Jason before. What would you think?"

"I-" I started but had to cut myself short when I realized I didn't have an answer.

I tried to think of Jason as someone I'd never met before. A stranger making an impression on me for the first time but I failed. I'd had so many feelings surrounding him over the years, some of them so strong, it was impossible to forget them. I tried to think back to my first memory of him, how I'd felt when we'd first met but I couldn't find one. In almost all of my memories of him, which included some of my very first memories, he'd been my best friend. In indispensable person in my life.

"I… don't know." I said honestly, feeling a little surprised when as I realized this. Even as a kid he'd always been there. I couldn't think of a point in time where I hadn't known him. It was impossible to see him as a stranger.

Alex gave me an amused look.

"I thought artists were supposed to be expressive and free, not emotionally repressed."

"I am not repressed." I said uncertain as to why, but very offended by this. "And if you like him so much, why don't you ask him out?"

"I am comfortable enough in my own sexuality to admit when I know another male is attractive." He said unperturbed. "You on the other hand, get so spaced out, a bus load of male supermodels could break down in the school parking lot, and you'd be happy to sit here sketching away while the rest of the girls started a riot trying to beat each other outside."

"What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that is you get so lost in your own head sometimes, I don't think you know how to get back." His smile had faded slightly and I could tell this was something he'd wanted to talk to me about for a while. "Sometimes I wonder if you'd rather live in the world as you create it in your art, rather than deal with it as it is. And that worries me."

"Why?"

"Because you and I both know you'd be more than happy to spend hours by yourself, in your own little world, and you wouldn't even notice it was happening unless someone came to get you." He frowned. "Sometimes you're so obsessed with capturing life on paper or with paint, it feels like you forget to live it."

The bell rang, and as we gathered our things, I started to wonder if Alex had a point. He said goodbye making his way towards Spanish, meeting up with some of his other friends in the hall and suddenly, I was very aware of the fact that I was walking towards art alone.

Did Alex have a point?

I glanced at the people around me in the hall, unable to find a single person I'd be comfortable starting a conversation with.

I hadn't made any friends since I'd gotten back to school. I tried to think of one time I'd talked to someone during class that wasn't him, but apart from the day Rachel and Sarah had ambushed me in gym, I couldn't come up with anything. I flipped through my sketch book, looking at all the things I'd drawn over the year. Classmates, objects in the class rooms, or just random things that had come to me when I was supposed to be paying attention to my teachers. How much time had I spent on this? Time I could have been actually talking to the people in here. The only people I talked to were Alex and Nona, the only "new" friend I'd made this year, was someone I'd known my entire life.

Did I get so distracted that I'd completely closed myself off?

"Too far Tani."

I jumped as I felt a hand on my shoulder looked up to see Jason who'd been walking the opposite direction from his locker. Only when he gestured back down the hall did I realize I'd walked right passed the art room. I'd been too busy looking through my sketches to notice.

"Oh. Thanks." I said feeling my stomach sink. I'd done it again...

"No problem" He said looking a little amused. "What's up?"

"Alex says I'm emotionally repressed."

He looked shocked for a second, then the corner of his mouth twitched as if he were trying not to smile.

"I'll be honest, I haven't heard that used as a conversation starter before," he said still obviously trying not to grin. "But sure, let's go with it. Points for originality by the way."

"You don't think that, do you?" I asked as we made our way towards the class.

"That you're emotionally repressed?" he asked with a slight laugh. "What does that even mean?"

We reached the door, but paused outside the room letting the other students walk passed us.

"He says I'd rather live in my own world then deal with the real one. That I use art as an escape into my own head."

"So? School is boring. If I had an imagination like yours I'd prefer to be there too instead of graphing parabolas."

"He thinks it's a bad thing. Like I don't understand feelings or something."

"Isn't he the one who buried his crush on your cousin for half his life?"

"That's not the point." I said shaking my head.

"Then what is? Why do you look so upset?"

"I dunno," I said quietly thinking about what Alex had said. "What if he's right? I don't want to wake up one day and realized I spent so much time living in my head, I forgot to do it in the real world."

He considered me for a moment, and again something Alex had said drifted into my mind. He was right, Jason was very attractive but that was something I'd always known, you couldn't draw someone and not notice something like that. I guess I'd spent so much time trying to hate him, then thinking of him as my childhood friend, that while objectively I knew he was handsome, I'd never really thought of him as someone being attracted to.

I started thinking about all the classes I'd taken in California, about facial symmetry in art and features that were considered most attractive. Jason fell into that category, that much was obvious, but as far as my opinion on it. I'd never really given it much thought.

But if I was honest with myself, if I really tried to look at him objectively…

"Tani?" He waved a hand in front of my face and I was brought back to the present.

"What?" I asked and he looked a little amused.

"You zoned out." He said with a laugh and I felt my cheeks go red.

'You did it again.' A voice in the back of my mind said.

I looked at Jason trying to ignore everything my brain wanted to say about him, how to draw him and how well he fit into the golden ratio, and just tried to look at him. As I did I felt my blush increase. Maybe Alex was right about more than one thing… My heart skipped a beat when I realized that I really did find Jason attractive.

I wasn't sure if realizing this was personal progress or a dangerous situation.

"You didn't hear what I said at all, did you?" Jason asked grinning at me.

"No, sorry." I said shaking my head. "What was it?"

"I said wouldn't worry too much about what Alex says."

"So you don't think I'm space case?"

"Oh no, you are." He said and I felt my heart sink. "You're the most distracted person I know. But why does that have to a be a bad thing?"

"I dunno," I started. "But that's what most people's complaint about me is isn't it? I get distracted and I ignore everything going on around me."

"There are times I wish I could." He said shrugging. His tone was hard to place, but his attitude had changed. He wasn't laughing anymore and I noticed he didn't seem to want to look at me. "Sometimes the world's an awful place, and if it wasn't, we wouldn't need creative types like you to bring out the beauty in it. Who cares if you see the world differently? It's what makes you you, it's what makes you different from everyone here."

"It doesn't bother you when I zone out?"

Again he shrugged and looked back at me.

"Not really."

"Why?"

"Because you're different." He said. "I don't mind waiting for you to come back to the real world when you're distracted, it's better than being around the millions of other boring people who are stuck in it."

A shock went through me and I felt like I wanted to say something, but I couldn't find the words.

"But." He continued and I felt a sudden sense of relief flood through me, though I wasn't sure why. "If you're really determined to have a life experience, we could ditch class and do something fun."

"My aunt and uncle would kill me if I got caught skipping."

"Not if you're with me." He said easily. "You could walk out the front door and no one would stop you."

"What would we even do?" I asked curious despite myself and he smiled.

"For once it's actually nice outside. I promised I'd take you cliff diving."

"Right now?"

"Why not?"

The bell rang throughout the halls and students started scrambling to get to their classes.

"Well?" he asked raising an eyebrow expectantly. "You want to go?"

I bit my lip and while he couldn't have looked more relax, I could feel his eyes on me and a nervous sort of excitement was starting to spread through me.

"Yeah." I said surprising myself as I said it but then smiling as I committed to the decision. "Yeah let's go."

"Alright." He said his grin returning and gestured for me to follow him towards the nearest exit.

We didn't talk as we walked but I felt my heart skip another beat when he put an arm around my shoulders. It shouldn't have, he used to do this all the time when we were kids and as we walked, I realized how often I'd been thinking about that lately when it came to Jason. How things had been when we were little. But as we kept moving and my heart rate continued to increase, it was becoming increasingly obvious to me that we weren't kids anymore.

I wasn't sure why this bothered me so much. I mean, it was obvious we weren't kids anymore, everyone had to grow up. But did things mean things would change between us?

"Jason?" I asked as we stepped out of the school. He was right it was nice day, warm with fluffy clouds in the light blue sky.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember that day it was nice out and we went to the creek the summer before I started school?"

"Then one you where you ignored the whole time because you wanted to draw?" He asked when a slight laugh and I nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you remember what you said to me?" I asked not looking at him, but I could feel his eyes on me and I could tell he hesitated before answering.

"Yeah." He said eventually. "I do."

"Is that still true?" I asked quietly, not exactly sure why I was asking or if I wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah. It's still true."

It was hard to place his tone as he said this. He'd said it like it was a fact and nothing else, but there was something in his voice that made it seem like so much more and I felt that nervous energy going through me again. It was accompanied by a new feeling however, one I didn't expect but spurred me to say.

"Is that ever going to change?"

"I told you it wouldn't."

"Yeah but we were kids back then." I said stopping and looking up at him. "And everything that's happened-"

"Doesn't make it any less true." He said his gaze meeting mine. "I meant it then and I mean it now. You're the most important person in the world to me. And nothing is going to change that."