Jacob didn't know why he was surprised that the party Embry Call dragged him too was thrown by one of the popular kids. Every time someone shifted and gained muscles and a chiseled jaw they became both feared and attractive. The host of this party was Joey Yazzie, a short, feisty brunette with the darkest brown eyes that became scary once mascara was applied around them. Jacob remembered the elementary school days when Joey was the girl who wore flower dresses instead of fishnets under her dangerously short skirts and pink lip gloss instead of the bold red she always sported.

Jacob didn't have anything against Joey. She wasn't as mean as the rest of her friends and she'd never done anything wrong to him or his friends Embry and Quil. Jacob thought of Quil and remembered why Embry dragged him to this party in the first place. First, Embry wouldn't let anything stop him from being a regular teenager and using his transition to his advantage. Second, Jacob was sulking about the fact that he couldn't hang out with Quil anymore and how abandoned Quil must feel now that both Embry and Jacob were ignoring him. Third, Embry wanted Jacob to forget about Bella and how she lied to him, even going as far to use him to forget about that stupid Cullen.

Before Bella moved back to town, Jacob swore he was in love with Emma Locklear. There were countless times when he forgot what he was doing whenever he saw her. Emma Locklear was best friends with girls like Joey Yazzie and Lindsay Hunt. She was one of the girls that began to turn heads when she entered High School. Freshman year rolled around and Emma found herself being asked on a date every week.

Emma had shoulder length black hair and peach colored lips. She had a cute perky nose and soft voice. She always smiled at people when she walked down the hallway, and paid attention in class. She was smart and she didn't bother hiding it. She didn't pretend to be dumb like so many other girls who wanted to be like her and her best friends. She always had pink eyeshadow on her lids and wore pastel dresses.

Emma radiated softness and light.

Jacob was right outside the kitchen, leaning on the island with a clear view of Emma across the room. She fit in with Joey's fancy living room and chandelier hanging from the ceiling with priceless vases on tables and priceless paintings on her pristine walls. Her hair was in a ponytail, a rare sight, and she wore a pastel blue shirt dress with black tennis shoes. She laughed at Michael Hunt's joke. It was genuine and sounded like music to Jacob.

He didn't want to continue to crush on this girl he'd like since middle school. He remembered the pain he felt when he didn't imprint on Bella and he didn't want to go through it again with Emma. And even if he did, Emma was someone who was well off and used to expensive things. The pair of earrings she was wearing now were diamond studs. Her friends probably thought he was a freak like most people did.

"Did you see Embry?" Jacob heard Joey say as she approached Emma with a bright smile. "I didn't think he would come, but he's here. How do I look?"

"You look fine as always Jo." Emma sweetly smiled at her and placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Are you okay? You're never this nervous when it comes to boys."

"She's had a crush on Embry since he shared his animal crackers with her in elementary school." Michael teased.

Joey flipped him off, but Michael just grinned and ran a hand through his messy dark hair.

"How much do you wanna bet she's gonna get bored of him after a week." Lindsay Hunt approached the group and sat beside her twin brother. She tilted her head at Joey. "Anderson is still heartbroken you know."

Joey frowned, "Stop trying to guilt trip me."

"I'm not guilt tripping you, I'm stopping you before you break another poor boy's heart." She nodded her head to Embry who hung out by Joey's velvet stairs. He had a drink in his hand and was talking to Kimberly Hall. "And I feel like if you broke Embry's heart, Uley and his cult followers are gonna rain hell on you."

Joey scoffed, "Bold of you to assume I'm afraid of Sam Uley and his 'cult' because they've decided to hit the gym." Joey turned around and glanced at Embry for awhile before turning back to her friends. "What if he says no?"

Immediately both Michael and Lindsay laughed while Emma shook her head.

"He'd be an idiot too." Lindsay said.

"And if he does I'll break his legs." Michael flexed his muscles, but this only made the girls roll their eyes.

Emma turned Joey back towards her and gave her a reassuring smile. "You are Joey Yazzie and you always get what you want."

Joey nodded, "I always get what I want."

"Now use your spoiled rich girl charms to win over Embry."

Before Joey turned around she noticed Jacob staring at them intensely behind her. She looked back at Emma and nodded her head in Jacob's direction. Emma furrowed her eyebrows and turned around.

"Looks like we're both gonna have cult boyfriends." Joey joked before heading in Embry's direction.

But Emma and Jacob were still looking at each other. She felt this feeling come over her chest, like a pull in his direction. It was light and suggestive, but tempting. He smiled at her before tearing his eyes away. Jacob couldn't believe he just imprinted on the girl he's had a crush on since the 6th grade. He could still feel her stare, could still remember the emotion in her light brown eyes, could still remember the way her smile got even brighter somehow.

"Okay stalker, that's enough staring." Lindsay captured Emma's attention, snapping her out of her daze.

Her face was completely red and she found herself desperately wanting to go over to him. She wanted to see him smile and make him laugh and just wanted to be closer to him, but she knew she couldn't. Never had Emma liked someone in a romantic way. And when it seemed like she did she always hid those feelings away. She couldn't imagine all the bruises she'd gain if her father ever found out she had a boyfriend. His possessiveness and Emma's want to not always have to cover her bruises with makeup in the morning wouldn't allow it.

Michael and Lindsay were too busy watching Joey talk to Embry to focus on their friend. Emma wasn't the type of girl who never paid attention to anyone who wasn't in her inner circle. She was the one who noticed everyone. She knew every single person's name in her grade because she's known them since the 1st grade, whereas Lindsay couldn't even name one person in her math class.

Emma knew about Jacob Black, and now she wanted to know more, but she wouldn't let him know anything about her.