Before you read this chapter I just wanted to say that I had said that Ness didn't know about imprinting but writing this chapter I realized she's probably heard the stories since she was younger so I'm going with that BUT she doesn't know that Jake has imprinted on her. To sum it up; yes to imprinting and no to Jake imprinting on her.
Jake POV
I woke up late that morning and wasn't able to call Ness and see if she was alright and I barely made it to work on time; the day passed extremely slow and busy. I called the Cullen house at the end of my lunch break but surprisingly no one answered. I'd have to call back later, maybe they'd finally changed their number so I couldn't call, I laughed at myself for that one. I shook that thought away and went back to work, not allowing myself to dwell on it. I got off work around four and went by Emily's to eat something before my patrol and was surprised to see Ari and Seth there.
"Hey Jake," Seth said as I walked.
"Hey," I replied and waved to both of them.
Ari smiled at me then went back to talking to Seth. At least they both looked at ease with each other and it didn't look like we'd have much problems with them but I began to wonder how Embry was doing with all of this. I had been so busy that I hadn't taken the time to talk to him; I had to remember to do it soon.
"Hey Jake, how are you?" Emily asked as she set a plate of food in front of me.
"I'm alright Em, how are you?" I asked as I started eating.
"I'm really great," she smiled.
"Excited about getting married?" I asked her.
"Of course I am. Not that it'll change how much Sam and I love each other," she said.
I nodded, "No it won't but the gesture reflects your love for everyone to see."
"Wow, when did you get so wise?" Seth asked from the couch and I rolled my eyes at him.
"He's always been wise," Ari said and smiled at me. I laughed, "See. Ari has the right idea," I said.
I finished eating and headed off to patrol for the rest of the afternoon, I hoped that it wouldn't be too late when Sam told us we were done because I wanted to try to call Ness again. I patrolled with Brady, Embry and Jared today; though we hadn't seen any vampires since the other day and the scent had faded, we were still patrolling a lot more than usual. It was nine when we got off patrol and I decided this was the best time to talk to Embry so after we'd phased back I asked him to come with me to my house. We sat outside of my house and I really didn't know how to begin.
"So how have you been?" I asked him finally.
He shrugged.
"I mean how are you dealing with all the imprint stuff?" I asked.
He sighed and I could see him struggle to find the right words.
"I don't know. It's confusing, I mean why me? I didn't even think I was going to imprint."
I nodded, "Does it feel like you thought it would?"
He shook his head, "I don't love her. I just feel protective over her and I do like her; her personality is great."
"So think about it as if you didn't imprint." I said and watched him.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"We only imprint once Embry and if yours was to have a best friend then it means you get to choose who you end up with. What's changed since the imprint?" I asked.
He thought about it for a second, "Honestly not much. Obviously I worry about her safety where ever she is but I feel as protective for her as I do Emily, Kim and all of the imprints. Well maybe a little more than them but not a ton," he said.
"Exactly, you're life isn't going to suddenly change drastically and you still have your choice."
"I guess I hadn't really thought about it that way," he said.
"I didn't think you had," I replied.
"Thanks man, I actually feel a lot better."
"Any time."
We didn't say much for a while but then Embry blurted out, "Why do you think I didn't get a real imprint?"
I looked over at him and I could see the pain in his eyes.
"You wish you had?" I asked him.
He stayed quiet for a moment before answering, "In a way I do."
"Why?" I asked him curiously.
"When I started learning more about imprinting after we phased I always told myself that imprinting was horrible and I never wanted it but as I began to see how happy everyone was with their imprints part of me wished to have that because it meant that someday I'd be happy, that it was more certain I'd find someone who would take me as I am; wolf and all."
"Where you excited when you imprinted?" I asked.
"Part of me was and the other part of me was scared."
"Maybe the spirits thought if fit for you to have a best friend who would take you wolf and all, maybe this isn't about her needing double the protection or something, maybe it's about the spirits giving you someone who will always be there for you whether you find a mate or not. Who knows maybe she's supposed to guide you to the person you should be with or maybe she's supposed to open your eyes and help you see things differently," I said knowing that he had been struggling to feel happy lately. He'd have a new date every night, have a one night stand and never call the girl again. It was during one of our patrols that he had let it slip that he did that because he was afraid to get close to someone but wanted to feel loved; something he hadn't been feeling. Of course he had love from the pack but the love he craved wasn't something that we could give him.
"You think so?" He asked and for a minute there he reminded me of the Embry I'd known my whole life; before all of this werewolf nonsense.
"I really do, I don't think the spirits would do it just to get a kick out of it. They must have a bigger purpose than to confuse the hell out of us with this whole thing."
"I sure hope so," he sighed.
"You should really hang out with Ari and see how you feel when you're around her opposed to how you feel when you're with a random girl on your date. If she makes you laugh or some kind of happy then it's possible she was meant to help you."
He nodded, "I'm going to try but it's hard, she doesn't really seem to want to spend time alone with me and she's been with Seth a lot..."
"I can arrange for us all to hang out, the three or four if you want Seth to come along. Treat her like you did with the other imprints and simply get to know her."
"I can do that," he said.
"Good. I'll set it up for this weekend," I said.
"Thanks Jake, you're a really good friend you know."
"You know I'm always here for you," I said.
He nodded, "And I'm always here for you." He said hinting at something.
I cleared my throat,"Yeah well I'm fine," I mumbled.
"Are you really Jake? Because I have to say I'm surprised to always see you so calm," he said.
"I'm dealing with it," I said.
No one in the pack knew that I hadn't spoken to Ness in three months. When I returned from visiting her I was quickly thrown into the double imprint issue and the vampire situation that was at hand. I hadn't really had any time to tell anyone about what had happened before I'd returned. Ness had become a sensitive topic since they knew I missed her so much and talking about her made me miss her even more; so barely anyone asked about her which was another reason the subject of Ness and I not speaking never came up. By the time I realized I hadn't told anyone it had been too long and I decided I didn't need to burden anyone with it when bigger issues were at hand.
"How is she doing with school and all?" He asked.
"Well when I was there she seemed to be doing okay. She hadn't really made friends yet but I could tell she had adjusted to going," I said.
"And what about now? Has she made friends?" He asked.
I remembered Bella saying she was going to a dance with her friends when I'd called so I knew it wouldn't be a lie. "Yeah she's made some friends now."
"That's good. Have you asked her if she plans of visiting us? Or if you can go see her sometime soon?" He asked.
"I couldn't tell you."
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"I mean I haven't talked to her."
"You guys haven't talked about seeing each other?" He asked and I sighed.
"Embry, I haven't talked to her in three months."
His mouth fell open and his expression was one of pure shock,"W-what?" He asked.
"I haven't talked to her," I said.
Embry stood up in anger, "Why didn't I know about this! How could you not tell me that you haven't talked to Ness in three fucking months!"
"Would you keep it down, no one knows," I said.
He looked confused for a second then sat down again, "You haven't told anyone?"
"Not a soul," I said.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Things were hectic when I came back and I never really had the time. Besides I didn't think it would last this long, at first I didn't even know she was going to shut me out of her life."
"What happened?" He asked.
"The day I was supposed to leave she tried coming up with plans so I could stay. She wanted to hide me under her bed or in the woods but I told her it wouldn't work so she told me to think of something so I could stay there with her the whole time and I told her no, that it was time for me to leave and return to La Push. She got mad and thought I didn't want to stay with her and that I wanted to leave so she got mad. I spent four hours outside her bedroom door waiting for her to let me in to talk to her but she wouldn't and then I had to leave. I didn't say goodbye or anything just left. When I got here whoever answered when I called would tell me that she was either busy or not there; at least at first anyway. After that Bella was the one to tell me that Ness said she didn't want to talk to me," I said pausing as I thought back to that conversation.
"I'm sorry Jake but Ness said she doesn't want to talk to you," She had said.
"What? Why?" I had asked.
"All I know is that she's mad at you and won't come to the phone."
That had been a really awful day for me and the feeling came back as I thought back to it.
"I didn't think it would last long, I figured in a few days she wouldn't be mad anymore and would at least give me a chance and come to the phone. I called her every day for a month and nothing. By then we were dealing with the extra vampires and I called less and less; I was too busy to tell anyone and part of me was ashamed to. Plus there wasn't really a good time to tell you guys, there was always something going on. Anyway now I call her like once a week sometimes once every two weeks."
Embry sat there taking it all in and I could see that he was trying to gather his thoughts before he spoke. "Things will work out man. She's your imprint," he said.
"And that's what scares me," I said.
"Why?" He asked.
I sighed, "Since I've gotten back the longing to see her, it's become less. I miss her but...I feel fine. Nothing like when she first left."
"Maybe it's because you know she's safe."
I shrugged, "It could be. Hey Embry, could you not tell anyone about this?"
"About the whole Ness thing?" He asked and I nodded.
"I won't but I think you should tell everyone, we can all help you. You're our brother and we want to do anything we can," he said.
"I know, we'll see," I said.
By the time Embry left it was around eleven. It was a weekday so I knew Ness would likely be asleep and it was pointless for me to call; part of me felt hopeless. I had to admit though that talking to Embry had made me feel a little bit more at ease with things. It was true though, what he had said. Ness is my imprint and somehow she'll talk to me again, things will work out and I will have my best friend again. I smiled a little as I saw a picture of Ness and I from when she was still a baby. I always kept that picture hidden; it was my favorite and I wanted to keep it forever. We were both smiling widely in the picture and neither of us had anything to worry about. I layed down on my bed with the picture in my hand, I must have fallen asleep because suddenly I was awoken from sleep by the sound of the phone ringing; I was clutching the picture in my hand. I put it down and got up to get the phone. "Hello?" I said still not fully awake and I wondered who would be calling this late. There was a small pause before I heard,"Hey Jake, Its Ness."
Ness POV
That weekend passed by rather quickly and nothing in particular happened. Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett left again; they said they were going to England for a while, something had sparked their interest and despite my begging them to stay longer they didn't. I spent the whole weekend thinking either about my new information about Jake or trying to decide when the best time to kiss Joey was, if that happened at all. I was grateful that mom was blocking my thoughts otherwise dad would not let me out of the house ever again. Monday morning I awoke earlier than I usually would and picked out a really cute outfit for myself. It was cold out so I settled for some thick tights that were black and had stars on them, and put on a black ruffled skirt with a black belt that had a gray bow at the front. The hardest part was deciding what shirt to wear but I ended up picking a light pink button down shirt with a cardigan. I considered wearing heels but that would be too much and decided on some comfortable flats instead. I had to admit Aunt Alice would be proud. I was in an extremely good mood and I basically skipped down the stairs for breakfast.
"Goood morning mom," I said as I entered the kitchen.
She raised an eyebrow at me, "Morning Ness. Someone's in a good mood."
"Why of course I am. I have school today," I smiled. She looked at me suspiciously, "I thought you didn't want to go to school."
"That was before," I said.
"Before what?" She asked.
"Before I made wonderful friends and life became amazing!" I grinned at her.
"And what made life amazing?" She asked as she set a plate of pancakes in front of me.
"Everything," I said and started eating.
"At least you're enjoying school," she said.
"Oh, don't worry I am." I said, "Didn't think I would say this but I'm glad we moved here," I said and got up and gave her a hug. She hugged me back but I could tell she wasn't sure if I was faking or not.
"Seriously mom, I just sort of like it here. You know? My friends are great, the teachers are alright, the classes aren't so bad, plus there are boys."
"Oh, yes. Boys," she said.
I had told mom all about how things went at the dance and I'd shared with her that I had a crush on Joey. She hadn't reacted like I thought she would, in a mom way. We had gossiped and giggled about him for the rest of the night; it really did feel like she was more of a friend or sister than my mom. It was nice though, I'm sure there aren't many kids who can easily talk about anything with their parents because they wouldn't understand. I had told her I had been relieved that Joey had simply given me a kiss on the cheek because I had been nervous and didn't think I was ready. Of course what I hadn't told her was that I was ready to kiss Joey now and I was hoping it would happen soon. I wouldn't tell her that, not until I got the kiss. She had then gone on to ask me if the whole Joey kiss thing was the reason I had asked about Jacob and I had to admit with all the Joey overdose I had even forgotten I'd asked about Jake.
"So, I'm guessing you're dressed up for Joey?" Mom asked.
"Sort of. But I also wanted my mood to match my outfit," I smiled. Dad walked in then, "Are my lovely wife and daughter ready to go?" He asked, watching me.
"Yup, I'm ready!" I said and almost ran to the car.
"Whoa, calm down Ness. The school isn't going anywhere," dad said as he and mom got in the car.
I rolled my eyes at him but didn't respond. As soon as we got to the school I got out of the car and headed to the usual spot where my friends and I would meet.
"Wow Ness, I love your outfit," Anna said as I sat down with them.
"Thanks," I said and smiled at her.
"So all dressed up for Joey?" Beth asked.
"Maybe," I chuckled.
"Anna told us he only kissed you on your cheek," Zoey said.
I nodded, "That's right."
"I wonder why. I mean I would have bet my whole wardrobe that he would have kissed you," Beth said.
I chuckled, "Me too. I honestly thought he was going to but he didn't."
"So now you're going to show him what he missed out on huh?" Anna asked.
I laughed, "Or I'm going to get that kiss."
They all grinned at me.
"I wonder where he is anyway," I said looking around. He and Austin usually met us here.
"They're running late," Zoey said.
"They are?" I asked.
She nodded, "Austin texted me saying they weren't going to meet us because he woke up late."
"Don't you have Joeys number?" Beth asked.
I shook my head, "No," I mumbled.
"Really?" Anna asked, surprised.
"Yep," I said.
"Wow. I would have thought he would have already given you his number and started texting you and all. That's what he always does when he likes a girl. He'll give them his number as soon as possible and starts texting her," Zoey said.
"Oh," I said and I started doubting whether Joey really liked me or not. Maybe he was just messing with me. He had said he liked me, hadn't he? But he could have lied.
"Not always though," Beth said quickly as she elbowed Zoey.
"That's true. He doesn't always do that," Anna said. I smiled at my friends, trying to make me feel better.
The five minute warning bell rang and we all got up and headed to class. Anna and I had sewing class together so we headed upstairs, I didn't sit with Aunt Alice anymore. Instead I'd sit with Anna who knew just as much about sewing as I did; basically nothing. The day went by extremely fast and before I knew it the day was over. I hadn't been able to have any alone time with Joey and he seemed to be acting weird. I wanted to ask him what was wrong but I didn't want to call him out in front of everyone. I was really bummed that the day had ended and I had barely talked to Joey. I couldn't get the fact that I didn't have his number out of my head. How long had we been friends? Maybe two or three months. I'd been over to his house and we'd gone to library together. We made plans to hang out and we'd never call or text to confirm, we'd just show up. What if I wasn't able to make it one day and I couldn't call him? It dawned on me that maybe that's the way he wanted it. I mean I even had Austin's number and we weren't all that close. I sighed and shrugged it off and headed outside. I was about to walk out of the school when I spotted Joey at the same time he spotted me. He smiled at me,"Ness come over here for a second."
I smiled and walked over to him,"Hey Joey."
"How are you?" He asked.
"I'm good," I said.
"Listen we're all going to dinner together. You're coming right?" He asked.
"We who?" I asked.
"Beth, Zoe, Anna, Austin, Frank and I."
"Oh. They didn't mention it," I said a little hurt.
"That's because I told them I'd ask you," he said, smiling.
"Ohh. Well I'm not sure if I'll be able to go," I said trying to make it sound like I was busy.
"Why not?" He frowned a little.
"Well I have this art piece I'm working on..." I said.
"Homework? On come on Ness," he said.
I shook my head, "Not homework. My own art piece."
"Really?" He asked.
I nodded, "Yes."
"That's really cool Ness but can't you work on it tomorrow and hang out with us today?" He asked.
I thought about it for a second, him watching me. "Well alright." I said.
"Good, see you there then," he said and waved as he left.
I nodded and headed to mom and dad who were waiting for me in the car but then I realized he'd never told me where we were going or at what time. Yet another time I wished I had his number, now I would have to call Anna, Zoey or Beth. I sighed as I got in the car.
"I'm going out to eat with my friends today," I said as dad started driving. He looked at me from the rear view mirror.
"I mean, can I go?" I mumbled.
My dad chuckled, "Sure Ness. As long as it's fine with your mom."
I looked over at mom, "You can go."
I smiled, "Thanks guys."
It was pretty amazing how much dad had changed. He basically let me go anywhere whenever I wanted to. He didn't ask a million questions about where I was going or with whom. I loved it. And found it amusing at the same time because he'd asked so much when I was going to be with the pack, which morphed into werewolves and could protect me, but nothing about me hanging out with humans who couldn't protect me.
Things were really looking up for me and I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face. When I got home I went to my room and worked on some homework but I was arguing with myself the whole about whether I should call Jake or not. I mean what if he felt bad about how things had gone between us the last time we saw each other. It didn't seem fair that I was here completely content and he could be at home miserable. It was about an hour before I was supposed to go out with my friends, I had asked Anna and we were meeting at a diner we all loved. I had already gotten dressed so I decided I could try video chatting with Jake, hopefully he'd be home. If he wasn't I'd call when I got back tonight. I logged in and I looked to see if Jake was on, and he was. I smiled and as much as I would hate to admit it but I was excited. The screen turned on and I saw a girl standing there in a dress.
"Hey Jake!" I heard her say.
"What is it?" I heard then heard a knock "Can I come in?"
"Yeah come in I'm done changing. Your computers flashing," the girl said.
"Oh. It's probably the battery or something," Jake replied not checking it. I couldn't see very well, the laptop wasn't open all the way.
"Alright. Aren't you dressed nice," she chuckled.
"Can you help me with the tie?" I heard him ask and I closed my eye for a second, maybe that was his new girlfriend. I'd never seen him with any girl apart from anyone in on the secret and that was definitely not Leah.
"Sure thing," she said and I saw some movement.
"Thanks. I wonder why Emily and Sam said it was a special occasion." Jake said and I couldn't hold it in anymore.
"I don't kno-" she stopped as she heard the gasp that escaped my mouth. This was a bad idea. He'd forgotten I existed. I saw Jake move towards the computer but as soon as his face appeared I logged off. I couldn't face Jake now. Maybe he wasn't miserable like I thought. Maybe he was happy without me. Had I been holding him back this whole time? I grabbed my things and headed outside to wait for my friends. I was better off in my life and he was better off in his and that's the way things were going to be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mixture of emotions I felt that night were ridiculous, I barely even noticed anything around me when I was with my friends. What exactly was going on with me? I shouldn't be this angry, I just shouldn't.
"Ness are you sure you're okay?" Joey asked me for the billionth time since I'd arrived.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said but I knew that I wasn't. I didn't know how I felt. Mad? Upset? Hurt? Betrayed? Alone? Lost? No. That's not how I felt; it was indescribable. I knew that I had no right to feel this way though, I had been the one to push him away and refused to talk to him. Did I really expect him to sit there and wait for me to come to my senses? I sighed. Yes, I honestly thought he would he would wait for me to realize that I was being stupid. He was my best friend after all, wasn't he supposed to wait? We said we would be there for each other through thick and thin, no matter what the distance. We'd promised each other we'd be best friends no matter what happened. He knew all of my secrets and I kept all of his; wasn't that how it was supposed to be?
I shook my head, who knows.
"You know I don't think I'm feeling so good, I think I'm going to call Edward to pick me up," I said and got up to call him.
"No Ness, I can take you home," Joey said.
"No thanks," I said as dad answered the phone.
"Ness?" Dad said.
"Hey Edward. Do you think you could pick me up? I'm feeling a little sick," I said.
"On my way," he said and we hung up.
"Why didn't you let me drive you?" Joey asked.
I closed my eyes,"I just don't feel well."
I'm sure dad was driving fast as usual but it felt like he took too long getting there. I waved a quick goodbye to my friends and got in the car.
"Ness, what's wrong?" Dad asked as we started driving home.
"I just didn't feel like being there anymore."
"Did they do something to you?" He asked.
"No dad, I honestly just didn't feel like being there," I said.
He watched me for a moment before putting his eyes on the road. When we arrived home I didn't say a word to anyone I simply walked up to my room and got in the shower. When I got out mom was sitting on my bed waiting for me. I was already in my pajamas so I walked over, sat in her lap and wrapped my arms around her like I used to do when I was little. She let me without saying a word and pulled me closer.
"What happened Ness?" She asked after twenty minutes of silence.
I refused to say anything or use my power to show her. I was afraid of letting her know that I was so weak, I didn't want to show her so I shook my head. I don't know when it started but I was crying, the tears betrayed me and danced down my face at the same time that a sob escaped my lips. Mom pulled me closer as if she was afraid I would fall apart; I don't ever remember crying when I was younger, but I never had a reason to. Any time something was wrong he'd be there to fix it all before the tears arrived.
"Ness honey," mom said gently as she caressed my hair.
"He doesn't care about me," I whispered.
"Oh, Ness. Boys are boys. They'll come and go," she said.
"What did he say to you today?" She asked.
I was confused for a second because I had made sure no one was in the house before trying to talk to Jake today. I looked up at mom and realized that she thought I was talking about Joey.
"Not Joey mom," I said and I saw a look of confusion flicker over her face.
"Jake," I whispered, "He forgot about me. He doesn't care that we haven't talked to each other, he's just living his life all happy as if it doesn't matter that I'm not there!" I said
"Why would you say that?" Mom shook her head, "He called every day for almost two months. He talked to everyone in the family trying to get you to talk to him. If he didn't care he wouldn't call."
"But mom-" I started
"No. If there's one thing I know is that Jake cares about you. It should be him saying that you don't care about him. You won't call him back or anything, you won't even mutter a hello his way," she said and I don't think I'd ever heard her sound so much like a mom before. I sighed and realized that she was right but today said otherwise...
"I tried video chatting with him today, before I went out."
She looked surprised,"And?"
"I-he-therewasagirltherewithhim."
"A girl?" She asked slowly.
I nodded, "In his room."
"Was he there too?" Mom asked.
"No, not at first but then she called him in because she heard the computer."
"Then?" She asked.
"He ignored the computer thinking it was just the battery and asked her to help him with his tie."
"Was it Rachel?"
"No." I said.
"Emily?" She asked.
"No, that's where he was headed. Apparently it was a special occasion."
"Leah?"
"Nope."
"Kim?" Mom asked.
"No one we know," I said.
"It could have been Rebecca," she said.
"Who?" I asked wondering if mom really knew who the girl was.
"Jakes other sister," she said.
"He has another sister?" I asked, how did I not know that?
She nodded,"She hasn't been home since she left for college."
"Maybe it was her, but what if it wasn't?
"It could have been a new imprintee. Embry, Brady, Seth, Colin and others hadn't imprinted yet."
I gasped, "Mom! What if Jake imprinted?" I asked her. It would explain it all. He'd stop caring about me, he'd only care about her. He'd forget I existed... The thought of Jacob forgetting about me and having to share my time with some other girl really upset me. Whoever she was, she wasn't good enough for Jake. She probably wouldn't be pretty enough or smart enough.
"No, that's not it," Mom said.
"It could be I mean he's never imprinted," I said but by the look on my mom's face I could tell I was wrong.
"He already imprinted?" I asked, the idea had never occurred to me. Didn't think it would happen.
"Why don't you just call Jake and ask him?" She said.
I bit my lip as I thought about it, I had to know and I could tell mom wasn't going to tell me. Plus if he'd imprinted recently she might not know herself...
"Can you get the phone for me please?" I asked and she nodded and quickly got me the phone. I took a deep breath and dialed Jakes number. It was on the fourth ring that someone picked up, "Hello?" I heard a sleepy voice which made me check the time; it was midnight.
I let out the breath I was holding and answered,"Hey Jake, its Ness."
Longest chapter I've ever written! Review : )