Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters. Those are copyrighted to Stephanie Meyer. I own all OCs and my own unique ideas. Nuff said.

Reservation

Angela drove her surprisingly silent car across the streets, stopping at the light as it turned red. We had been talking on and off about different subjects since we'd left her house, like our relationships, Forks itself, the school and other normal things. She even inquired a little bit about my family, though her questions were subtle and basic ones. I could understand why she was so curious, considering how mysterious the Cullens tended to act around others. We were currently talking about La Push and what it was like. When she asked me if I'd been to any beaches, I had to admit to her that I hadn't.

"So this is your first beach trip ever?" Angela asked, slightly taken aback.

I shrugged. "Well, yes and no. I mean, it's my first trip to a beach with, er, friends and all. I think I've been to La Push before, maybe, but I can't remember. It's been too long. I think the last time I was here was when I was a little kid."

Angela looked perplexed. "I didn't know you used to live here."

I internally kicked myself for that. Then again, I wasn't sure how far the Cullens' elaborate lie extended. As far as I knew, they only covered how I'd come into the family and nothing more, so maybe I could get away with saying a bit more without any consequences. If anything, someone would have mentioned it if they felt it was important. So why not?

"Yeah, I did," I admitted. Angela seemed like a trustworthy person. I'd asked Edward about her before and he said that she had very "pure" thoughts. "I used to live here for a few years with my…parents…before they divorced and we moved away."

I had forgotten how hard it was to say that word when I wasn't referring to Carlisle and Esme, who in my eyes, were my parents and were always meant to be my parents. That's how I saw it, at least. Renee and Charlie had nothing on the two of them in my world. Nothing.

"I see," Angela murmured. She was clearly curious and wanted to know more, but she wasn't the type to brazenly throw out questions at me. That was something I liked about her, she respected my privacy and wouldn't ever ask me anything that she felt would invade it.

"You can ask if you'd like, Angela," I said softly.

Angela bit her lip. "So your parents…your, um, ex-parents, I mean. What were they like?"

I sighed. "I hated my mother and she never cared much for me. She used to verbally abuse me all the time, telling me I was worthless and I would never be able to get anywhere with my life. My father still lives here in Forks. He never showed me any sort of love back then, but now he says he's willing to try and make amends. I'm not sure about it, yet, but I've decided to give him a chance, at the very least. Then again, it's more because of his friendship with Carlisle that I'm doing it. I'm not holding my breath on him."

She nodded in understanding. "May I ask who your birth father is?"

I hesitated for a moment before deciding it was okay to tell her. "Charlie Swan," I replied. I winced as I said the name, since it reminded me too much of how things used to be.

Angela gasped. "The police chief?" I nodded. "Wow. That's…interesting. My parents are good friends with him and they mentioned that he had a daughter. I never thought that it'd be you, no offense or anything."

"I don't consider myself his daughter any more. He lost that privilege years ago and it's way too late for that to change," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"I understand," Angela said, nodding. "Oh, we're almost there."

I glanced out the window to see that we were driving on a dirt path now, the beach a few miles ahead. The clouds, for the most part, were gone now, allowing for the warm rays of sunlight to pour down on everything. I had to open my window because the car was starting to get stuffy, which was not something I was used to.

"So the others will be there?" I inquired.

"Yes, Eric went and got both Katie and Ben and, knowing how Eric drives, he's probably already there, waiting for us."

I chuckled. "Trust me, Angela, no matter how fast Eric drives, Alice drives twice as fast."

Angela stared at me wide eyed. "Really?"

"Oh yeah, she's a regular speed demon," I replied, smiling.

"You two really love each other don't you?" she asked.

"She means the world to me," I answered truthfully. "I couldn't imagine myself being with anyone but her."

Angela smiled at me in understanding and appreciation as we neared the beach. I noticed that there was another car already there, which, as Angela had said, was indeed Eric's. Eric, Katie and Ben were all lounging near it; all of them smiling when they caught sight of Angela's car pull up next to it. She smiled at me before exiting, which I did after her. I had to admit it was weird not having Alice there to open the door for me.

"Hey Angie! Hey Bella!" Katie greeted excitedly.

Angela frowned. "Angie? Can't I just be Angela?"

The boys both chuckled at her humorous expression while Katie merely shrugged. Angela sighed and shook her head. Katie walked past her and enveloped me in a hug I wasn't expecting. Not only that, but I wasn't used to hugging someone whose body wasn't as cold as ice. It took me a moment, but I eventually relaxed into the hug and hugged her back. I didn't fail to notice Katie sniffing my shoulder before she pulled away.

"You smell good," she said, smiling at me.

"Er, thanks," I murmured.

"That's a little weird," Ben snickered.

Katie scoffed. "Would you rather I tell her she stinks?"

Ben thought on that before smiling and shaking his head. "Good point."

"Alright, enough dillydallying, let's go have some fun in the sun!" Eric shouted. I noticed he was holding onto a long blue surfboard with a bikini-clad girl in the center.

Katie and Ben both nodded in agreement. Eric smirked and started walking off towards the ocean, Katie grabbing her surfboard and smiling at me before chasing after him. Ben walked over to Angela and looked at me.

"So Bella, do you surf?"

I was about to respond when my cell phone's loud ring startled me. I frowned, having not realized I'd had it on, and pulled it from my pocket to see who was calling me. Alice, of course. I gave Ben and Angela an apologetic look, but they just waved it off with knowing smiles on their faces as I turned around and put the phone to my ear.

"Alice, what's-"

"Bella!" she shouted into the phone. "Oh Bella, thank God…"

"Alice, honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked, becoming incredibly concerned at the tone of her voice.

She sounded like she was breathing hard into the phone, taking a few unneeded breaths before responding. Oh God. Was she okay? Did she see something?

"Oh Bella, I was so worried about you. I…I can't see you, Bella. You just vanished out of my view and it scared me to death. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Bella please, please tell me if something happened," she choked into the phone.

"Alice, I'm okay," I soothed. "I'm fine, really, I'm fine. Please, calm down."

"O-okay…" she sputtered. "I just…God, I thought I'd lost you…"

"No! No, everything is fine," I repeated softly. "Alice, I promise you that I will be back there in a few hours in your arms, okay?"

"Alright," she replied, her tone far less frantic. "I love you."

"I love you too."

She hesitated for a moment before sighing and hanging up. I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I did the same, snapping my phone shut and stuffing it into my pocket. I ran a hand through my hair and steadied myself. Hearing Alice panic made me panic and I was worried something had happened. Then I thought about what she said. She couldn't see me.

What did that mean? Why couldn't she see me? That didn't make any sense.

"Is everything okay, Bella?" Angela's quiet voice interrupted my musing. I turned to see both her and Ben looking at me concernedly.

"Um, yeah, everything's fine. False alarm is all."

"If you say so," Angela murmured, not quite believing me. Ben frowned, but shrugged it off.

The two of them starting walking off towards the beach, so I followed along behind them, keeping my hands in my pockets as I did. I couldn't get Alice's terrified voice out of my mind and how scared shitless I was when I'd heard it. I hoped she would calm down a bit by the time I'd returned. I didn't want her thinking I was dead or anything of that sort.

"So Bella, do you surf?" Ben asked, repeating his earlier question.

I blinked. "Um, no, not really. I'd probably just make a fool of myself if I tried."

Angela giggled. "That's okay, neither of us can either. Heck, Eric and Katie aren't all that great themselves; they fall down more times than anything. But they do it to have a good time and they enjoy seeing how long they can last before falling."

"You remember that time Katie tried doing a handstand?" Ben chuckled.

"I take it didn't work out too well," I inquired.

Ben smirked and nodded. "Nope. She ended up crashing into Angela by accident."

"I had to buy new glasses after that," Angela sighed, shaking her head. "But it was a fun day, so I didn't mind so much. And the Quileutes that showed up were friendly, too. Well, most of them were. There a few of them that weren't, but they didn't hang around too much."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

Ben answered. "Well, since the Quileutes live here, they're always out and about. Some of them happen to like mingling with people who come by, so it wouldn't surprise me if a few of them showed up just to chat. Like Angela said, some aren't very social, but most of them are friendly if you talk to them."

I nodded in understanding. We were now on the beach itself, which was surprisingly vacant. A few people with tan skin were walking about, talking amongst themselves, but otherwise it was just the five of us that I recognized. Eric and Katie were out in ocean, struggling to keep their balance on their respective surfboards. They ended up colliding into each other, which caused the three of us and several of the natives watching to laugh.

"Wow," I chuckled. "They really aren't very coordinated, are they?" Angela and Ben both laughed in agreement as Eric and Katie both popped their heads out of the water. They gave all of us thumbs up before clambering back onto their surfboards to try again. I giggled. I had to give them credit, since I would've given up after the first fall.

I stopped when something hit me, or rather, my nostrils. It was just…ew. One of the grossest, weirdest scents that I'd ever smelled before. I mean damn, it was rank. I had to cover my nose for a moment as my eyes watered from the intense smell, which reminded me of wet dog. But there were no dogs around here as far as I could see, which confused me. The scent dissipated seconds after it had appeared, confusing me even further. What the fuck?

"Did you guys smell that?" I inquired. Ben and Angela both turned and looked at me incredulously.

"Smell what?" Angela asked.

"It was…" I frowned for a moment and shook my head. "Never mind, probably just something in the air is all. No big deal." They both shrugged before continuing their own conversation, which I chose not to interrupt.

I looked around, wondering where that awful smell had come from, yet could find nothing. How weird. I shrugged to myself and kicked a bit of sand in the air. I was content on letting Angela and Ben have their own private conversations. I wasn't too close to them yet, so I'd feel rude if I just loomed near them while they talked.

I noticed that several of the Quileutes, mostly young looking boys with a few girls, were all staring. At me. I blushed, feeling both awkward and self-conscious with my choice of attire, internally cursing myself for ever agreeing to wear a damn bikini of all things. Ugh. They all had the oddest looks on their faces, a mixture of confusion, disgust and wariness. I noticed several were whispering amongst themselves, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. As I kept walking, though, I could hear a few words.

"She stinks like them!" one of the girls hissed.

"But she's human," one of the boys countered.

"She must go to the school with them," another boy reasoned.

"Then why does she reek like they do so much and not the others?" a third boy asked.

"Maybe we should ask her," a second girl suggested.

"No. Leave her be," stated a fourth boy, taller and older looking than the others.

"For now, at least," added another girl, also taller and older looking.

I nearly tripped over myself when I'd heard them mentioning that I was "human". What the fuck? Did they know about the Cullens being vampires? Is that what the big secret was? I wanted to know even more then I already did. God, I fucking needed to know now. The curiosity was going to drive me insane otherwise. Damn it.

Before I could dwell on it for too long, I noticed one of the Quileute boys slowly walking towards me. Narrowing my eyes, it took me a moment to realize that it was the same boy I'd seen that day when I'd seen Charlie. The only difference was, his hair was cropped short now and he seemed a bit taller. Not by much, though. He looked to be about 5'11, if anything, with a boyish face and a lanky body. Ew. He wasn't wearing a shirt. Conceited much?

Then again, it was hot out, so whatever. I just wasn't the type for looking at guy's chests, especially the guys who carried themselves like they were God's gift to women. Those were the guys I couldn't stand, with their damn 'I-think-I'm-sexy' grins and their fucking six-packs. My God, I hated guys with super toned abs. I don't know why, I just did. I guess it was my attraction to girls with soft, thin stomachs and curvy waists, but I detested guys like that. And judging by this guy, however young he was, he seemed to be that exact type of person. Joy.

"Hey," he greeted, a husky sounding voice that made me cringe.

"Hi," I muttered, not interested in talking to him. I tried to walk away, but he stepped in front of me, causing a hiss to escape my lips. I did NOT like being blocked off.

His eyes widened for a moment as he stepped back, holding his hands up in front of him.

"Whoa, hang on a moment. I just wanted to talk is all," he said.

I glared at him. "What is it?"

"You…you're the girl I saw a few days ago, right? You were leaving Chief Swan's house that day, remember?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"I just…uh…how do I say this? I think I might know you. Are you…are you Bella?"

I sighed. "Yes, that's my name."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Holy crap, I can't believe it. I thought that it was you, but I wasn't sure at first. And Charlie didn't say anything, so I started to doubt it. But then I kept thinking and I realized that it had to be you. Damn, Bella, it's been, like, forever-"

I held up my hands and interrupted him. "What the fuck are you talking about? I don't know you, pal, so I suggest you get the hell away from me. Now."

He frowned for a moment. "You don't recognize me? Well, it has been a few years, I guess. It's me, Jacob, remember? Jacob Black? You used to play with me and my sister when we were all little kids years ago?"

I blinked several times and cocked my head to the side curiously. Huh?

"Jacob?" I repeated the name confusedly. It did ring a bell, but it was very, very vague. I thought back on it, trying to delve into my memory as best as I could. Then I recalled playing with some kids as a child, one of them a tan skinned boy. I remembered his face, then looked at this boy's face and realized that they were in fact the same person.

The realization must have shown because he smiled wide at me.

"Yup, it's me, your old buddy Jacob."

I gave him a once over and blinked a few more times. "Jacob Black. Damn. I can't believe it's you. Wow, you really look different. You aren't short and chubby anymore, I see. Not to mention you cut your hair and…" I paused when I noticed an odd looking tattoo on his right shoulder, the same tattoo that several of the other Quileutes had. "I can hardly recognize you."

He laughed throatily. "Look who's talking! I could hardly believe it was you. You've gotten pretty tall yourself, taller then I'd thought. I see you're just as pale as ever, though."

"I can't help if I don't tan, jackass," I huffed. "So what have you been up to? And your sister, where's she at? I haven't seen her in forever too."

Jacob smiled and pointed his thumb in the direction of the group that had been staring at me. A few of them were giving me brief once-overs while the others were either talking amongst themselves or glancing at Jacob. I followed his thumb at the taller, older looking girl with cropped black hair, who had a disgruntled look on her face.

"That's her," he said.

I gawked in surprise. I remembered Jacob's older sister, Raina Black, from all those years ago, since she used to play with us. Now, though, she was almost unrecognizable. She was well built in both height and muscle, not overly buff, but well toned nonetheless. Her face was thin and her eyes narrow, but she was unmistakably beautiful. Nowhere near the levels of my family, of course, but still more than the average human, I'd say.

"Damn. She looks like she could kick your ass pretty easily," I mused.

Jacob scoffed at that and I swore that I heard the others, Raina included, laughing amongst themselves. Had they heard me? I was about to ask about it when that awful smell came back. I winced and covered my nose again, the foulness bringing tears to my eyes. Dear God that stinks. What the hell is that? It was like rotting garbage mixed in with dog.

Jacob looked at me concernedly and took a step forward, mouth open to say something, when suddenly he stepped back, his nose scrunching as a look of sheer disgust came onto his face. He blinked several times and subtly sniffed the air before shaking his head.

"Gross," he mumbled under his breath.

"Do you smell that too?" I asked.

He looked at me curiously. "What?"

"That really stinky smell? C'mon, you had to have gotten a whiff of it," I breathed, the smell now gone again. Seriously, what was up with that?

Jacob's face became unreadable as he appraised me for a moment. Then his face softened as he shrugged and smiled.

"Sorry, I dunno what you mean. Someone probably ripped one over there," he said, pointing at the group of Quileutes. A couple glared at him as he started to snicker humorously, which confused the hell out of me. I was certain they'd heard him, yet he hadn't talked very loudly.

There was definitely something going on here. And I didn't like it.

"Bella, there you are," I heard Angela say. I turned and saw her and Ben walking over towards Jacob and I. They glanced at him for a moment as they closed in on us. "We turned around and you were nowhere to be seen, so we got a little worried."

"Sorry about that," I murmured, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Who's your friend here?" Ben asked curiously.

"Oh! This is Jacob. We used to be friends when I lived here years ago," I said, waving my hand at him. "We just kinda re-met, since it's been years since we've seen each other. I used to play with him and his sister when I was little. Jacob, this is Angela and her boyfriend Ben."

"Nice to meet you," Angela said, nodding her head. Ben did the same.

Jacob smiled at that. "Well, I'm happy to meet you two as well. I take it those other two out on the waves are friends of yours?" he asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, that's Eric and his girlfriend Katie."

Jacob narrowed his eyes and looked out at the ocean. Angela, Ben and I did too. Eric and Katie were now fully riding a good sized wave, both posing humorously at us as they did. All of us laughed when Katie's board curved and once again she collided with Eric, causing them to topple into the water beneath.

"They're getting better," Jacob mused. He then turned to me, a curious smile on his face. "No boyfriend with you?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but shut it. Did he seriously just ask me that? Yeah, he did. And there was no way in hell I could miss that weird glint of hope that flickered across his eyes as he did, though it vanished quickly. I was stunned. We hadn't even been talking for five fucking minutes and already he was trying to hit on me? Fucking seriously?

Jacob must have noticed my irritation because he immediately looked abashed.

"Sorry, shouldn't have asked. Not my place. I didn't mean it that way, I swear. I was just, you know, kinda curious is all," he said, pouting at me. His pout was a little puppy-doggish, but nothing like Alice's. But his eyes relayed that he was being sincere, so my irritation dissipated as I let out a quiet sigh. Angela and Ben watched the display with worried looks.

"It's fine. But no, I don't have a boyfriend," I replied, hoping he'd get the hint. He didn't seem to, which made me internally sigh. Angela giggled, though and Ben snickered, both of them knowing the truth.

"You should keep Bella some company," Ben suggested, grinning as he did. "She's kind of on her own without her girlfriend to hang around with."

I hung my head at the mentioning of that, since I'd been trying not to think about how much I missed Alice. Angela lightly elbowed Ben, causing him to smack his forehead and give me an apologetic look. Jacob looked between us with a puzzled expression, trying to figure out what was going on, then shrugged and smiled again. He really liked smiling, it seemed.

"Yeah, sure, I'd love to keep my old pal some company," he replied, grinning at me. "You feel like going for a surf?"

"I don't surf," I stated. "But you could if you want. I was actually thinking of building a sandcastle, since I haven't done that in ages."

"Ooh! Sandcastles!" Ben shouted excitedly. "We should have a mini-contest!"

"Sounds like fun," Jacob crooned. "I'm in."

"Me too," Angela said.

The four of us all walked over to a good spot and took up separate positions, deciding to work alone rather than in pairs. We'd build a sandcastle as best we could, then get someone, maybe Eric and Katie, to judge which was best. I was hoping that being Alice's mate would mean that some of her artistic talent rubbed off on me subconsciously. I mean, I doubted it, but it would be nice. I would love to take a photo and send it to Alice, just so she was aware that I was okay.

I waited for a moment as I watched Jacob, Angela and Ben start theirs. We didn't have any buckets or plastic shovels like little kids used, so it was all up to us using our hands and our creative abilities. Ha. Yeah, I was fucked.

I didn't know what the hell I was going to make. I just started grabbing handfuls of sand and started piling them together. I spent about an hour and a half struggling to put everything together and keep it in place. Since we were closer to the water, it was easier to grab wet sand, which helped keep everything stable, but because of my lack of art knowhow, I was at a bit of a loss. I glanced at the others and was happy to see that none of them were faring any better.

Only Jacob seemed to be doing well with his. Jerk.

I sighed and closed my eyes to clear my head. I needed inspiration, and there was one person that I could think of to give me inspiration. Alice. I imagined her graceful, beautiful face, the thin eyebrows, the dimples, those angelic eyes and her smile, her black, messy hair pointing in every direction, the sound of her wind-chime voice. I used that, the image of my Alice, as inspiration and just started moving my hands randomly, not quite watching myself work.

Yeah, I know I'm insane. But when you live with a family of vampires, your girlfriend and soulmate is a vampire and you're turning into a damn vampire, sanity is a bit overrated.

Another hour passed, most of my attention on thoughts of Alice. Not the dirty kind, despite what my mind wanted to think, but just of her. I hadn't even looked at what I was creating—or attempting to create—until I heard a grumble next to me. I glanced over to see Jacob glaring at his sandcastle, which, to my amusement, had toppled over. Angela's was looking good, like a classic sandcastle, while Ben's had a very interesting look. Then I looked at mine.

Mine hadn't turned into a sandcastle. It was, to my complete surprise, Alice's face. I gaped at it, stunned that I of all people had made it. It looked exactly like her, with every detail, from her hair to her eyes to her smile, was perfectly formed in the sand. Wow. Just, wow. I guess there was some artistic talent in me after all. I'd even illustrated both her necklace and her choker in the sand. Damn. I guess I should not pay attention to what I create more often.

I gave my creation a once over, making sure everything was perfect, which it was. Getting an idea, I pulled my phone out and accessed the camera option before standing and snapping a photo of the sand Alice. Then I clicked 'send' to the real Alice, hoping she would like it. It wasn't a permanent thing like her drawings were, but I hoped she'd like it nonetheless.

Seconds after I'd sent it, my phone vibrated. I flicked it open and smiled.

It's beautiful, love. Thank you. I love you.

I sighed, thankful that she wasn't worrying as much anymore.

"Damn, Bella," Jacob breathed, staring down at my work. Ben and Angela both looked over from theirs and looked at it in surprise themselves. "That's pretty good."

"It is," Ben agreed.

Angela walked over and glanced down at it. "Is that Alice?" I smiled and nodded. "Aw, that's so sweet of you. Did you send it to her?" I nodded again. Angela giggled. "You two are so cute together, I swear."

I blushed at that. "Thanks."

"Who's Alice?" Jacob asked.

"My girlfriend," I replied automatically.

Jacob frowned as he absorbed that information. "Girlfriend? Like, girlfriend girlfriend?"

"Yes, that would be the one."

Jacob looked at me surprisedly, cocking his head to the side and studying me like I was a work of art. I furrowed my brow, annoyed at the look he was giving me. There was confusion, curiosity, uncertainty and wariness in his eyes as he frowned and shook his head.

"I didn't know you swung that way," he murmured.

I shrugged. "I figured it out a while ago, actually."

"I guess you really have changed."

I scowled at his tone of voice, but didn't comment on it. "You have no idea," I said softly.

He was about to respond to that when we noticed Eric and Katie, drenched, walking towards us with their boards in tote. They both set their boards into the sand and shook their messy hair as they came over to us, smiles on their faces.

"Hey guys! What's happening?" Eric asked, glancing idly at Jacob.

"Who might this be?" Katie asked.

"Jacob. I'm an old friend of Bella's," he replied. There was something off about his voice as he responded, though he still smiled. Huh. Eric and Katie both smiled and shook his hand before glancing at the three of us. Eric smirked and playfully nudged Ben.

"Yo bud, what's up?" Eric asked, nodding at him.

Ben shrugged. "Not much. Just building some sandcastles in the, er, sand."

"Dude!" Katie exclaimed, looking at my sand Alice. "Bella, that's awesome! You made that?"

I stared down at it fondly and nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Nice job," Eric commended. "I'd definitely vote Bella as the winner."

"Me too," Katie agreed.

Ben and Angela both nodded in agreement. Jacob stared down at it, a strange look in his eyes. It was almost as though he were glaring, not at my creation itself, but at Alice. As if he knew who she was. Did he?

"Something wrong, Jacob?" I asked.

Jacob looked up at me. "Huh? Oh no, sorry. Just admiring the…detail in your creation is all."

Yeah right. I can tell by the look in your eyes there's way more to it, you just aren't telling me, like everyone else I know, I grumbled mentally.

"Hey, you guys wanna go check out the souvenir shop?" Katie asked.

I gave her a puzzled look. "There's a souvenir shop here?"

Jacob chuckled next to me. "Yeah, my people sell things like shells and things we made over there." He pointed towards a building further off with a sign hanging in front of it. "It's all genuine and I swear the prices are good. We don't rip you off like a lot of other places do, and if you feel dissatisfied, we'll gladly give you your money back, no questions asked. It's our policy here on La Push, you have my word."

"That sounds like fun, actually," Angela murmured.

"Yeah, I bet they've got some cool stuff," Ben agreed.

"You coming, Bella?" Eric asked.

I thought on it for a moment. "Nah, I think I'll stick around here and catch up with Jacob for a while. You guys go on ahead; I'll meet with you later on, okay?"

"Sounds good, Bella," Katie said.

They all smiled at me before walking off towards the souvenir shop. I watched them for about a minute before sighing and kneeling down, studying my sand Alice thoroughly. I could feel Jacob staring down at it over my shoulder, which was really starting to irk me.

I stood up and put my hands on my hips as I faced him. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

He narrowed his eyes, glancing in the direction where the group of Quileutes had been. Most of them were gone, save for the two older looking ones, Raina and the boy, both of whom were staring at Jacob. Jacob furrowed his brow and sighed, running a hand through his short hair.

"It's nothing, Bella, really." I raised an eyebrow, not falling for his bullshit. "You wanna go for a walk or something? Just to catch up?"

I sighed, seeing that I wasn't going to be getting an answer. "Yeah, sure, why not."

We started walking with each other. Or rather, he started walking and I followed, since I had no idea where he was going. He had his hands in his pockets and his eyes to the ground, lost in thought on something. I stuffed my hands into my pockets too, deciding not to speak until he spoke, no matter how awkward and irritating the silence was.

"So, uh, that girl you were with that day. Is that Alice?" he asked, not looking at me.

"Yeah, that's her," I muttered.

"Oh."

He was silent for a moment, his eyebrows twitching. "She's a Cullen?"

"Yup."

"Oh."

Again, more awkward silence. It was really starting to piss me off. I was about to stop and ask him about it when he suddenly turned, forcing me to follow after him. Then he stopped a moment later in front of a house, which I assumed to be his. An idle glance to the left revealed the pickup I'd seen that day, which confirmed what I had expected. But then I caught sight of another vehicle: a police cruiser. I furrowed my brow in confusion when the door to the house swung open and out sauntered two familiar faces.

The first was the man in the wheelchair that I'd seen with Jacob that day, likely Jacob's father or grandfather. His eyes quickly fell upon me, narrowing as they did in a scrutinizing way. Next to him, staring at me with surprise was Charlie, wearing casual clothes instead of his police uniform, which I'd expected him to wear.

"Hey Bella," Charlie greeted, awkwardly rubbing his neck.

"Hi Charlie."

Shit. This wasn't good. One of the last people I wanted to see was now standing right in front of me. Could this day get any more awkward?

Knowing me and how my luck worked out, I knew it could and would be without a doubt. Sigh.

I really hate my luck sometimes. And I had a bad feeling that it was going to get worse.

A/N: Aw, no Leah? Sorry folks, not in this chapter.

For those of you expecting a bunch of drama to ensue when Leah shows up, you'll be leaving disappointed. It's much too early in the story for that type of thing to occur. That doesn't mean there won't be drama with Leah involved later on, though. You just have to be patient with it. Normally I'd make an apology, but I don't think there's a reason to. I mean, it's my story, right? But don't worry, Leah will be more involved as the story continues. I promise. :)

By the way, Raina Black is my OC, a variation of Jacob's two sisters Rachel and Rebecca, who weren't featured very much (if at all) in the books or the movies. Also, she is Sam's imprint instead of Emily. Reasons will be explained eventually and the character will get some screen time eventually too. Just more to look forward to in the future.

A big thank you to all of my amazing readers and for all the reviews. I didn't say it last time, but I'll say it now. I am very, very happy to have hit 1,000 reviews, and while some of them aren't positive, it still means something to me to receive them. So thank you. You guys are awesome.