Chapter Thirteen

I pulled up to the little brown house. Even from inside my car I could hear them all talking and laughing. I took a deep breath and let it out before getting out of my car. As soon as my car door slammed, the door to Emily's house opened. Jared leaped from the porch as Paul threw the football in the air.

"Jade!" Jacob said a huge smile on his face.

"Hi Jade!" Paul said in a teasing tone. No doubt the others already knew about the kiss. I said nothing and only watched as Jacob made his way towards me. He was shirtless, as were the others, but my eyes were glued on Jacob only. I urged my eyes to look at Jacob's face rather than his chiseled abs or his nice sculpted arms. Instead, my eyes began to look at his cute smile on his perfect lips. My eyes traveled higher. They rested on his nice brown eyes framed perfectly with his black lashes. Even his eyes smiled.

I looked away, settling anywhere else but on Jacob. I was there to have a serious talk with him. I couldn't get distracted.

"Jade?" came Jacob's voice. The smile was gone. Now, he looked concerned. I waited until he was a foot away.

"Can we talk?" I asked, my voice lowered. Though I tried to be discreet, I noticed how the other guys paused whatever they were doing to look over at me and Jacob.

"Uh, sure." He closed the gap between us. "What about?"

I shook my head. "Somewhere where they can't hear," I told him, nodding to his friends who were still watching us.

Jacob nodded and took my hand. "This way."

We headed towards the woods. We walked for a few minutes in silence until Jacob stopped and faced me. I looked behind us.

"I can't hear them so, I'm pretty sure they can't hear us," Jacob told me. I nodded. I sighed and looked at our surroundings. I could feel his eyes were on me.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked. I took a deep breath and began to pace. "Jade." He stopped me from pacing. I slowly turned and finally looked at him again.

"The first time we met," I started slowly, "you were rude to me-"

"Jade, I already apologized," he said. "I still feel guilty-"

"Let me finish, Jacob." He stopped and then nodded. I took a deep breath. "You didn't look at me the first time we met at the station. And during dinner that night, you didn't look at me when Sue asked if we met. You didn't even acknowledge me. But when you finally did look at me, you fell, and then you were suddenly nice to me." I stopped and glanced at him. He looked like he knew what I was about to ask. "You imprinted on me, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," he told me, smiling. He closed the distance between us and hugged me. "I'm relieved that you finally know!"

I gently pushed him away and took a step back. "What does that even mean, Jacob? You imprinting on me? I mean, I know you explained imprinting to me, but what does that mean?" I asked.

He didn't reply. It looked like he didn't know how to reply. His smile was gone and now he looked confused then concerned, even a little scared.

"If you had never looked at me, then you wouldn't have imprinted, and this…friendship we have now wouldn't even exist!" I said, my voice slightly raised.

"That's not true, Jade! I would've imprinted on you either way!" He placed his hands on my shoulders. "If I had looked at you the first time we met or even later, it still would have been you." I frowned, not knowing if I believed him or not. "Where is all this coming from, Jade?"

I dropped my gaze. "I-I heard about you going through something rough before I moved here. I just got curious and started thinking…"

"You and you're thinking," he joked. I looked at him, not smiling. He dropped his hold on me. "It wasn't important," he told me quietly.

"I want to know," I said softly.

"Jade-"

"Tell me, Jacob. Wasn't it just yesterday that you were yelling at me for not telling you about my past? Well how about you? And why didn't you tell me you imprinted on me?"

"I've wanted to for a while, but I just didn't know how," he told me. "'Hey, I imprinted on you and you're now my everything' isn't exactly a casual thing to say."

I looked away, trying not to look too much into how he said I was now his 'everything.' I crossed my arms. "That doesn't explain what happened to you before."

He sighed. "There was this girl," he told me, looking away. "Bella Swan."

"Charlie Swan's daughter? Chief Swan?"

Jacob nodded. "I-I was…I had feelings for her."

For some unknown reason, I felt a pang of jealousy. Jacob didn't say anything else, but he didn't have to. It was a typically story, so the ending wasn't hard to predict.

"Let me guess, she broke your heart?" He didn't answer but it was obvious enough. "What? Was she was in love with someone else?"

"Yes," he answered softly. It felt like my heart exploded. I turned around and walked away. I didn't want to be near Jacob at that moment.

"Wait, Jade!" I ignored him. He touched my shoulder and I shrugged him off. "What's the matter?" This time, he grabbed my arm to stop me from walking away any further. "Why are you upset?"

"Why?" I asked, finally looking him in the eye. "Jacob you were in love with another girl. She broke your heart and you suddenly get over her the second you looked into my eyes? Am I supposed to just accept that?" He let go of my arm. He moved his mouth as if trying to say something, but I didn't give him the chance. "Admit it, Jacob. If you hadn't seen me, you'd still be moping around all angry and still pining for Bella."

"No!" Jacob cried, frustration in his voice. "After hearing your voice the first time, I felt a pull towards you and I tried to ignore it. I wasn't even planning on going to that damn dinner, but then I heard your voice again and it just drew me to you."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked angrily. "I'm sorry Jacob, but I'm not going to be some quick fix for your broken heart that some other girl caused." I turned on my heel and left a crushed looked Jacob. I ran out of the forest and passed by Emily's house with the guys still hanging around in the front. I knew that they all heard everything with the way they were looking at me.

I got into my car and sped away. Rather than going home, I ended up at the school parking lot. I was too hurt and angry to go home and sulk. I needed to run off my frustrations.

By the time I was done running, the sun was already setting. I was all sweaty and my legs felt as though they were turning into jelly. I rested for a few minutes before driving back home. As I neared the house, my heart stopped as I saw a familiar looking truck parked in the front. The last couple of hours I spent running was a waste as the pain and anger rose up again. I quickly parked my car and decided to just book it to my room. The stairs weren't too far from the front door. I would make it up to my room before Aunt Cor or Jacob could even stop me.

I jogged up the path and opened the door, not bothering to keep quiet.

"Jade," Aunt Cor called. I saw shadows in the living room. I didn't answer. I just let my feet do the talking and stomped all the way up to my room. I wasn't surprised when Aunt Cor poked her head in my room not even a minute later. "Jade Nichols! What is wrong with you?"

I ignored her as I began to strip off my sweaty shirt.

"Jacob told me you two had an argument and he's been waiting for you-"

"I don't want to talk to him," I cut her off.

"Jade, don't be rude. He's been patiently-"

"Aunt Cor!" I yelled. She jumped at my tone. "For once can you please just be on Team Jade? I. Do. Not. Want. To. Talk. To. Him."

Silence. Aunt Cor finally nodded.

"I'll tell him you'll call him when you're ready to talk to him then," she said as she closed the door behind her. I sighed. I felt bad for yelling at Aunt Cor. She was only trying to help…Jacob. I grabbed a towel from my drawer and headed to the bathroom. I took a nice long, hot shower to soothe my aching muscles. When I was done, I changed into my pajamas and dried my hair. I spent a few minutes French braiding my long hair. I looked at the clock. It was almost nine. I wasn't sleepy. I brought out my laptop and decided to just surf the web.

A howl came from outside. It sounded close by. I set my laptop on my night stand and made my way to my window. I pulled back my curtains and looked up and down the street. Another howl. I looked towards the forest and saw a large shadow. Another howl in that direction confirmed my suspicion that it was Jacob. I shut my curtains closed and turned off the light. I guess I could try and sleep.

More howling. I covered my ears with my pillow. One long howl came and then it was quiet again. I waited five minutes before uncovering my ears. Nothing. He was gone. I fluffed up my pillow and closed my eyes. A loud thud made them open again. I sat up and looked around my room. I saw nothing out of the norm. As I was about to lay back down, a softer thud came from my window. I got out of bed and walked towards it again. My window slowly opened and Jacob tumbled in. It all happened so fast. A scream escaped from my mouth, but was quickly muffled when Jacob covered my mouth.

"Shh," he whispered. I tried to ask him what he was doing, but it was hard to talk with his giant hand over my mouth.

"Jade, are you okay honey?" Aunt Corinne asked on the other side of my door. I saw her shadow from under the door's crack. Jacob uncovered my mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…fell off my bed."

"Okay. Be careful next time," she replied sleepily. I watched as her shadow disappeared.

I turned to Jacob. "What are you doing?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he told me.

"So climbing through my window was the answer?"

"You're the one who's been ignoring me," he loudly whispered. I rolled my eyes. "Look, Jade, I know you're mad and upset, but I'm not going to apologize because honestly, I wouldn't know what I'd be apologizing for. That doesn't mean I don't understand why you're so upset. I told you this whole imprinting thing was complicated."

"It's stupid."

"You didn't think so when I told you about it the first time around."

"True, but the more I think about it, the more I think that it just sucks. I mean, look at what happened to Leah. She and Sam were in love before he imprinted on Emily. That left Leah so heartbroken and even until now she's still bitter about it! Is this how imprinting is for everyone? You imprint and someone gets hurt?"

"No, trust me, Sam's imprinting was the worst one out of all of the other guys'." I shook my head in disbelief. "Look, you said you believed in love at first sight. Do you also believe that everyone has a soul mate?"

I shrugged. "Let me guess, you imprinted on me so that makes me your soul mate."

Jacob nodded and I sighed. He took my hands into his.

"Yes, Jade, you're my soul mate and like I told you so many times before, I will do anything and everything for you. I'll protect you, keep you safe, and make and keep you happy."

"Just like that?" I scoffed. "All it took was one look?"

"Yeah," he said softly. I shook my head.

"That's stupid," I said. He looked crushed. "That's not possible."

"You said you believed in love at first sight," he reminded me. I sighed. He had me there. I did tell him that, but now that it happened to me, I wasn't so sure.

"I know," I finally said. "But it's just so hard to believe."

"Harder than werewolves?"

I gave a small laugh. "No, it's just that…imprinting… After you told me about you and Bella-"

"There was no 'me and Bella.' There was me and then there was Bella. There's a difference, Jade."

"Well after you told me about what happened with Bella and you being heartbroken… I can't help but feel as if whatever feelings you have for me are just forced because of imprinting." He shook his head. "That you feel the way you feel about me because-"

"You are the one for me," Jacob said.

"And how would you know that? Jacob we're young. A lot of people don't find their soul mate until they're in their twenties!"

Jacob sighed. "Remember how I told you that imprinting makes us connected to our soul mate?" I nodded. "I just think about it in terms of that. Everyone has a soul mate who they're connected to. They spend all of their lives looking for that one person. I like to think that imprinting just helps us find our soul mate faster."

I thought about his explanation. It made sense, but I was still wary of Jacob's feelings towards me. It was still too much to absorb.

"So…what does this mean then? What does it mean for us? About us?"

"It's up to you," Jacob said. "Being soul mates doesn't necessarily mean we have to be together as a couple. I don't want you to think that just because I imprinted in you that you have to be with me."

"Oh," was all I could say. For some reason I felt sad that he didn't want me to want to be with him. I was so confused. First I was flipping out about his feelings being forced and now I want him to want me to want him?

"Now that I think about it, I'm kind of glad I didn't tell you about imprinting right off the bat. It gave us a chance to be friends first and work slowly to where we are. You know, like how normal people do it," Jacob teased lightly. "But after hearing all this, if you want to stay friends, then I understand."

I nodded. He was right. I hadn't known he imprinted on me until last night after I kissed him. Even if he imprinted on me the second he looked into my eyes, he still didn't throw himself at me. He befriended me first and we both just let things flow.

"I have on last question," I said. He nodded for me to continue. "If this whole imprinting business didn't exist, do you think that you and I still would've gotten to where we are now?"

He shrugged. "Eventually." A smile spread across his face. "I mean, I was heartbroken and you were…distant when we first met. I think it would've taken a lot of time for us to break the ice and become friends. Which brings me back to the point that imprinting just helps us find our soul mate faster."

I nodded my head. Silence filled the room, but my head was noisy with all my thoughts, one in particular. It nagged at me and I knew I couldn't silence it until I asked one other question.

"So, do you want to stay friends?" I asked, my voice only a whisper.

"If that's what you want," Jacob replied.

"What do you want?" I asked looking up at him.

"Whatever you want," he said. "Whatever makes you happy."

I shook my head. "No. I want to know what you want. Don't think about me and what I want. What do you want us to be, Jacob?"

He was quiet. He stared into my eyes and slowly pulled me closer. I felt my pulse quicken.

"I want to be with you," he told me in a soft voice. My lips slowly curved into a smile. He tilted my chin up and leaned down to touch his lips to mine. I was more than happy to meet him halfway. My heart hammered against my chest and I felt my knees go weak. I pulled him closer until there was not any space left between us. After a blissful kiss, we both pulled away. The smile was still on my face. He traced his thumb across my cheek.

"You're beautiful," he whispered. I buried my face into his chest and he laughed. I wrapped my arms around him and he did the same to me. He placed a kiss on the top of my head.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier," I told him.

"It's okay," he said. I tiptoed and planted a small kiss on his lips, making him smile again. "I'm just happy that we're okay, now. I hate when you're upset or mad. It's even worse when it's because of me."

"Well, I'm fine now. Actually, I'm more than fine," I told him. He leaned down again and I readied myself for another kiss. A howl was heard nearby. Jacob ignored it as he kissed me again. I smiled against his lips.

"I could get used to this," I said. A louder howl came from outside. I stepped away from Jacob and made my way to the window. "Who is that?"

"Seth," Jacob told me, joining me at the window. "I told him to patrol for me while I came here to talk to you."

A whimper cut through the air.

"I should go," Jacob said. I nodded. "Good night."

He place one last kiss on my lips then on my forehead before jumping out the window. I watched as he landed perfect on his feet and sprinted off towards the forest.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I have a feeling I'll be busy for the next few months, so I am going to be uploading one chapter a week. So you all can expect a new chapter to come out every Sunday. I have written the next four chapters out already, so I am set and you readers will not have to wait around for me to finish chapters, etc.

On another note, I have a few fanfics in mind that I would like to publish next and I would like to ask you, my lovely readers, for opinions and such. So go to my profile and please take the poll I've put up! Thank you! Until next time!