Hi Everyone! Welcome back. Thank you to everyone who has read, favourited, and followed! I appreciate that so much. A special thank you to everyone who reviews, they mean more to me than I can say! I read each and everyone and fully intend to get around to replying to each one individually. They make my day when I read them and are so inspiring.

If you enjoy this fic, please consider leaving a review, it makes it so worthwhile to share it! Thank you and enjoy!

He teases me as he passes by

And won't listen to a word I say

Look here, he's absolutely crazy

Stay far away from him

But no matter what he's like

He'll still always be mine

"Jared - don't even think about going anywhere, I can't handle three imprints in one day."

Sam rubbed his eyes in a weary motion, wondering how the hell he was supposed to balance both Paul and Jacob. Jared sighed, leaning against a tree and rolling his eyes, signifying that he was prepared to wait here for as long as was required. Embry was watching Jacob with a vaguely amused expression on his face, and Sam knew he was still celebrating his victory. When he'd phased, he'd told them all that if Jacob phased, he would imprint on Jennifer Coleman. Sure enough, somehow, Embry had been correct.

Sam Uley had dealt with many things, by any account, he hadn't had an easy time of things. Dealing with three new… brothers was relatively high on his list of burdens, but it was still one he'd never pass on to anyone else.

Jacob and Paul stood on opposite ends of the thicket, staring each other down.

"Why would I waste my time talking to Jenna when I could talk to Julie instead?"

Sam was glad he'd decided to have this discussion outside, he could already see the snarl building on Jacob's face.

"Talking to Jennifer is not a waste of time, you jackass," he growled, taking a threatening step in Paul's direction. "It's the highlight of your pathetic day!"

Paul didn't look convinced. Sam didn't blame him. He was sure that Jennifer Coleman was a lovely girl, all he'd heard about her was that she was frighteningly intelligent, but Jacob was the definition of a biased source.

"Look," Paul snapped, "there's nothing wrong with Jenna - she's cool, I appreciate that she minds her own business."

That was always a perk, yes.

"Nothing wrong with her?!"

Sam had to wonder what offence Jacob could possibly have taken to that statement. He didn't have to wonder long, Jacob was not done talking. "She's perfect!"

"I don't know that I would say that," Embry intoned with a scoff. The smirk on his face disappeared instantly when Jacob turned on him with a snarl. "But you did say that, and I support you without question, Jake." He amended quickly.

Paul rolled his eyes. "I didn't say she wasn't. My attention was obviously not on her though."

Sam sighed, realizing he'd have to mediate the conversation in order to avoid a confrontation. Paul had a seamless grasp on the wolf, a comfort and familiarity with the animal that Sam couldn't necessarily understand. Jacob, on the other hand, was a natural, his bloodlines had prepared him for this. Between the two of them, they could do real damage to each other and to anyone who tried to break them up.

"Jacob - wouldn't you talk to Jennifer rather than focus on Julia? If the situations were reversed?"

He didn't respond and Sam knew he'd struck gold with the comment. "So let's not fight amongst ourselves. Besides, I thought I told you to stay away from her for a few days, Jacob."

They both knew Sam was referring to Jacob's impromptu arrival at the school and the conversation Sam had witnessed only a little while earlier.

"I couldn't," Jacob admitted after a long moment of silence. "I didn't want to."

"Well of course you didn't want to," Jared scoffed, "you're obsessed with her."

Sam glared at him, willing him and Embry to just be silent. Neither of them could understand just how intense imprinting was. He felt terrible thinking it, but Sam hoped they wouldn't understand for a while yet, he couldn't keep dealing with obsessive teenage werewolves.

"I would've thought that you'd be disappointed," Jared continued, holding his hands up in surrender when Sam gave him a warning look. "I don't know man, he seemed like he was into Bella Swan."

Jacob flinched at the reminder. "It's - complicated."

"No, it's not," Embry rolled his eyes. "You've been obsessed with Jenna since we were kids. Bella was your attempt of convincing yourself you weren't."

"A fucking charity case too," Paul mumbled under his breath, rolling the tension out of his shoulders.

Jacob didn't argue, just glaring at Paul before shifting his icy stare onto Embry. "Dude."

"What?" Embry protested. "I'm sure Jared and Paul remember when you tore into Lee Johnson after gym class-"

"He was fucking asking for it!"

Sam raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued by Jared's sudden grin and Paul's impressed look.

"One of the few things I can respect about you, Black," Paul shrugged.

"What even happened that day? I just remember watching you be hauled off by Embry and Ateara?" Jared pushed off the tree he was leaning against with an intrigued look.

Jacob refused to answer, and the look he gave Embry signified that he was finished with the topic, which meant the rest of them should be as well.

"That's enough," Sam sighed, gesturing for Jared to be silent when it looked like he wanted to keep pushing.

"You have to be careful," he directed his next remarks to Jacob. "I don't care how smoothly you try and bring her around."

"I'm not going to hurt her, Sam," Jacob insisted, stiffening. "I would never hurt her."

"I didn't think I could either," Sam snapped, a dark mixture of shame and pain coursing through him at the memory. "But shit happens, Jacob, and we get fucking slammed. So, yeah, I'm telling you to be careful."

A heavy silence fell over the group. Jacob looked away, sufficiently chastened. When Sam looked to Paul, he saw darkness on his face that worried him. He knew better than to attempt to ask him about it, not in front of everyone else. Even if he were to ask him privately, whether Paul shared was entirely up to him.

"Alright, Embry, Jared," Sam began, sighing and rubbing his face again. "Get out there and phased. Jacob, Paul - go home, get your heads on straight."

Paul left without a word, but Jacob paused for a moment before he began to walk off.

"Jacob," Sam called after him, already knowing what was going through his head. "Go home, do not sit outside Jennifer Coleman's house."

He heard Jacob cursing while Embry and Jared laughed. God, he hated this job.

When Jenna arrived at school the following morning, she was relieved to find that no hulking Goliath of a figure was waiting outside of the building. She was able to slip inside without notice, struggling with her jammed locker for a few minutes before giving up and heading to class. Hopefully, she could get it open with Quil's assistance later. He had to be somewhat useful if she was going to keep him around.

Jenna settled herself into one of the empty seats at the back of the classroom, waiting for people to filter in. In the meantime, she was doing… unrelated to anything in particular research on the effects of anabolic steroids on neural development, emotional regulation, and pubescent growth. It was valuable information to have in general, certainly not being collected in regards to anything in particular.

She had just finished reading about the dysregulation of the reward pathway in animal brains from overexposure to steroids when she heard the chair beside her squeak slightly as it was pulled back.

"Hey," Jenna quipped, her eyes still glued on the book. Julie would be interested - or would pretend to be interested at any rate - in the information. "Did you know there are obvious physical cues to indicate steroid misuse? Testicular shrinking is one, but that would be difficult to verify."

"I mean, if you ask nicely, I'll consider it."

That was not Julie. Of course it wasn't Julie. Julie didn't have a marked scent of cedar and balsam. Julie was also not a 6'7 oak tree of a man, and wouldn't look nearly as good as Jacob did lounging in a small chair like he was now.

Jenna was well aware that her face was probably bright red, it sure felt like her face was on fire. Her fingers were suddenly clammy around the textbook in her hand and she slammed it shut, leaning over to shove it back into her backpack. She was grateful for the curtain of her hair over her face, hiding her from Jacob's view and him from hers. Maybe she would spend the entire period just hiding like an ostrich in the sand.

"You can't spend the entire period with your head in your backpack. You're not an ostrich with its head in the sand."

How that terrible man-boy could have basically read her mind, she would never know.

"Watch me!" Jenna snapped, shifting in her seat to glare at him.

Jacob crossed his arms across his chest, an amused smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. "I am watching you."

Jenna swallowed hard, shifting again in her seat so her legs pointed away from him, manoeuvring her torso around so she could rest her head in her hand and not have to look at him. Despite this, she could still feel his eyes on her, unrelenting and possessive in their regard.

"Stop watching me, creep!"

He laughed. "Which one is it? Watch you, don't watch you?"

She glared at him from over her shoulder, hoping to cow him. "Don't watch me. Why are you sitting beside me anyways?"

Jacob grinned, scooting his chair closer to hers. "Because we're friends, Jennifer. Friends sit together."

Her heart was hammering inside her chest. Any day now, she'd suffer cardiac arrest and it would be entirely Jacob's fault. She would simply collapse to the floor and die instantly and Jacob would be left grappling with the likely guilt that would chase him throughout his entire life. It would be exactly what he deserved. Then he could go find comfort with Isabella Swan probably.

The thought was enough to make a wave of resentment rise within her, which was likely why her voice sounded drier than she'd intended when she responded. "Is that so?"

"It is." He confirmed, his smile fading as a thoughtful look came over his face. "I mean you were just talking about my testicles, so I would hope we're at least friends. Otherwise, I'd have to insist you buy me dinner before asking about their size."

Jenna choked, her face and chest going up in flames again at the reminder of what he'd heard when he'd sat down. How could he be so cavalier about it? Obviously, she hadn't meant for him to hear that, the least he could do is play along and pretend he never had. But, then again, when had Jacob ever done the good or kind thing? He was the devil in a no longer lanky, no longer 5'7 boy's body. What a mess.

"Who said I was talking about yours?" She finally managed, blinking tears out of her eyes as she rubbed her chest, vaguely aware of Jacob rubbing her back.

Jenna felt his huge hand still its motion on her back and felt a quick thrill of victory.

"Maybe," she continued, determined to drive the dagger deep, "I was talking about Paul's, or even Embry's."

In the silence that followed, she felt his hand tighten on her back before his fingers flexed and relaxed as if he had forced them to.

A low sound, similar to a growl, came from him. "Ah, so Jared doesn't make the cut then?"

His voice was deep and bitter, and Jenna felt an answering swoop in her stomach despite herself. "Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't."

Truthfully, she had forgotten Jared completely. Then again, that was only fair considering he hadn't known her name and they'd gone to the same school their entire lives. Jenna chanced a glance at Jacob from what she hoped was the corner of her eye. He was staring forward, his jaw clenching and releasing in brief flexes. It seemed like so long ago that she'd been admiring his jaw in this very classroom. There was certainly more to admire now. Physically. He was still just as much of a twerp as he'd been before… all of that.

He turned his head to look at her then, and Jenna didn't manage to tear her eyes away soon enough. She found herself stuck, trapped staring into his eyes. His features softened when he caught her watching him. Jenna squeaked, shifting slightly in her chair when she felt his hand begin to resume its slow, soothing circles on her back.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" His voice was low, all the previous irritation on his face had vanished to be replaced by a softness that disarmed her.

She was silent for a long moment, gasping when she felt his fingers shift from her back to her hair that was hanging open. He wrapped a strand around one of his fingers and Jenna froze, afraid that a movement from her would bring an end to this odd interaction.

She yelped and made to swat at him when he tugged on the strand wrapped around his finger.

"I asked you something, Jennifer," Jacob reminded her with a smirk, dodging her swat easily.

"I don't care to answer you," Jenna retorted, reaching back to try and disentangle his hands from her hair. "Besides, I don't think I'm clever, I know I'm a genius."

Jacob raised a brow in response. "I guess I can't disagree with that."

Jenna scoffed, swallowing hard when her fingers brushed over his in her efforts to free her hair. "Like that's ever stopped you before."

He grinned in answer, leaning his head into his free hand and continuing to watch her struggle. "You said it yourself, things have changed."

She rolled her eyes, attempting to bluster her way through. "Well, I haven't."

Jacob gave another tug on her hair as if to spite her, laughing when she treated him to another fiery glare. "Good. Never change. That'll just take all the fun out of it."

There was a commotion upfront, and Jenna glanced away from Jacob to see Quil and Julie at the door, Julie staring at her and Jacob in abject disgust while Quil struggled to retrieve his fallen books from the floor.

"What the fuck," he gasped, staggering to his feet, his books clutched haphazardly, "is going on?"

Nobody answered him. Julie began to approach slowly, pausing in front of them and opening her mouth to deliver what would likely be a scathing put down of epic proportions. Jacob stared back at her, unphased. Something Julie saw in his face seemed to make her change her mind, she closed her mouth and gave Jenna a loaded glance that meant she'd have her explanation later and glided past them to sit at the back of the room, a spot Jenna was sure she'd chosen for the optimal view she'd have.

Quil was not so easily dissuaded. He was stiff, clenching his jaw as he passed Jacob before he stopped, changing his mind and doubling back before tossing his belongings down in the seat on Jenna's other side.

Jenna gave up on freeing her hair from Jacob's fingers, realizing that her efforts were only drawing more attention to their current proximity.

"Jen," Quil hissed from beside her, and she shifted in her chair again, leaning towards him to try and hear what he was saying. "Why are you sitting with Gumby?"

"I'm not sitting with Gumby," she whispered, dimly aware of the ridiculousness of the situation and that Jacob could probably hear their entire interaction. "Gumby is sitting with me!"

"In this situation, I don't see that there's a difference, J-Lo," Quil pointed out. "Either way, he has his hand up your shirt."

"Not up my shirt!" Jenna gasped, suddenly very aware of Jacob's hand in her hair. "Just… in my hair."

"Right," Quil drawled, frowning intensely at her, "'cause that is so much better."

Jenna glared at him, straightening in her seat again. She contemplated struggling with her hair again but didn't have to. Jacob released her hair on his own as more people filtered in. She had just glanced at him to try and gauge how much of her conversation with Quil he'd heard when a rolled-up wad of paper collided with the side of her head.

She flinched, muttering a curse under her breath as she stooped to retrieve it. If Jacob hadn't been paying attention to her and Quil before, he certainly was now, if the frown on his face was any indication.

"What the fuck?" Jenna hissed, and Quil flinched when she made to hit him. He grimaced in apology and gestured to her to open the note.

On her other side, Jacob was still frowning at Quil, who had decided he would pretend Jacob didn't exist. This could not have been worse. Except it could have. Because in great sprawling letters that Jacob would easily be able to read if he looked at the note, Quil had written, 'He's too buff, I don't think we can call him Gumby anymore.'

"And you had to communicate this?" Jenna snapped, gesturing to the paper. "This could not wait? It had to be said immediately?"

"I didn't say it," Quil shrugged, "I wrote it down."

Another wad of paper entered the picture, thankfully hitting Quil this time. Jenna fought laughter as he clutched his eye, where it had made an impact, and groaned. Finally, he blinked rapidly, unfolding the paper and sighing, looking over Jenna's head to glare at Julie.

Jenna glanced back and raised her eyebrows at Julie, who pointed at Quil in answer. When she looked back, she found Quil holding up the thrown piece of paper which simply said, 'What did you write down?'

Jenna sighed, pushing her face into her hands as Quil began to scrawl down a response. She had almost forgotten Jacob was sitting beside her until another piece of paper slid onto her desk. While she was grateful he hadn't thrown it, from his arm she'd end up with a bruise, she groaned when she spotted the paper, casting a miserable glance in his direction.

He snickered, turning his head to face the other way, drumming his fingers on the desk while he waited for her to open the note.

'I agree. I'm too hot to be Gumby. I will accept Han Solo as a new nickname though.'

Jenna scoffed, shoving the note back in Jacob's direction. "I don't even know who that is!"

He looked like he wanted to answer her, but the arrival of Miss Warner stopped him in his tracks. Instead, he threw her a look that signified he was not finished with her. Great. Just what she needed.

The plus of class officially beginning was that it meant note throwing came to a halt. The con was that it came with Miss Warner acknowledging Jacob's lengthy absence. While she didn't demand an explanation from him, Jenna figured she already had some idea, she did titter over all of the work Jacob had to make up.

"It's going to be an uphill climb catching up, Jacob," she sighed.

Jacob nodded and shrugged in response as if he had figured that already. Despite herself, Jenna felt a stab of sympathy for him. It really would be a hell of a lot of work to get through on his own as well as managing new work being assigned.

"You're going to need all the help you can get," Miss Warner continued, and Jenna had to privately agree with her. "One of your classmates should ease your return."

Jacob would need a lot of assistance, hopefully, he would be able to find a good tutor and get on top of things.

"Which is why I want you to help him out, Jennifer."

Jenna couldn't imagine how Miss Warner had possibly come to that conclusion. Jacob no longer looked beleaguered by his mountain of work. No, instead he was grinning at her with his face lit up like a stupid Christmas tree.

"Miss Warner, I -"

"-am more than caught up on all of my current and future work, so I would have no problem helping my friend out with his. Thank you, Jennifer."

That hadn't been what she was going to say in the slightest but there was no way she could contest it now that Miss Warner had publicly put her on the spot like this. Social convention and no small amount of true sympathy for Jacob dictated that she fold gracefully and do her part to get him back on track.

"Glad to help," Jenna finally muttered when it looked like Miss Warner was expecting a response from her.

"Wow, Jennifer," Jacob began, and Jenna barely resisted the urge to draw the heavy textbook from her bag and whack him with it. "I appreciate that so much."

"I'm sure you do," she grumbled. "I am so sure that you do."

The rest of the class went by uneventfully, with Jacob looking like the cat that had gotten the cream while Jenna sulked in her seat. It was hard enough holding her own with new muscular Jacob in class, now she'd be expected to do it outside of school too? A dark, feminine part of her swirled in anticipation. To be holed up with him - where? In his house, in his garage? Would he work on his cars when she was around?

When the bell rang, Jenna began to collect her belongings while both Jacob and Quil waited on either side of her. This was quite possibly the worst day of her life. And the best. That smooth, dark part of her refused to let up until she admitted that, while her nerves were frayed and on fire, she enjoyed being kept on her toes by their interaction.

When she stood with her backpack, both of them followed her. Quil cast a resentful glance in Jacob's direction, while Jacob kept his eyes trained forward. The usually crowded hallways seemed to part for him as he passed through, and he was sure to keep her anchored close to his side until they reached her locker.

Jenna paused for a brief moment while debating on who she was supposed to ask to try and dislodge her jammed locker. Jacob would obviously have no trouble with it, but she sensed that Quil might murder Jacob if she didn't ask him for assistance. She was spared the agony of making a decision by Julie catching up to them.

Julie swatted Quil upside the head. "Fool. Why wouldn't you wait for me?"

Quil grumbled under his breath, rubbing the back of his head. "You didn't ask me to!"

"I'm asking you now. Come with me." Julie snapped, gesturing for Quil to follow her.

He looked confused, looking at Jenna and then back at Julie.

"I'm fucking starving," Julie said by way of explanation, "and I don't want to stand in line alone. Jenna still has to put all her stuff away, so come with me now, Quil."

Immediately, Jenna understood what Julie was attempting to do. Quil, however, was slower on the uptake. Or perhaps, he understood Julie's intention perfectly and was just reluctant to let her have her way.

"But Jenna -"

"-will catch up with us when she's done!" Julie finished, grabbing Quil's arm and tugging him along with her, casting a meaningful look in Jenna's direction.

Quil obeyed, looking none too pleased about it. He sent a final glare in Jacob's direction before finally allowing Julie to drag him off with her.

Jacob refused to acknowledge him, keeping his own eyes glued to the row of lockers in front of him. Jenna stood beside him silently for a moment before she sighed.

"You really hurt him with all of this, you know?"

Jacob exhaled in a rough motion. "Better his feelings hurt than this."

She was almost burning with the desire to know exactly what he meant by that. It felt like her nerves were alight, coursing with the urge to ask what could possibly be so bad that he felt his best friend was better off hurt than with him? Jenna didn't ask though. She swallowed the questions at the tip of her tongue and forced herself to respond simply.

"Sounds like 'this,' is a heavy cross to bear."

Jacob looked surprised by her response before he nodded in answer. "You have no idea."

'I could!' She wanted to shriek, beginning to fiddle with her locker. 'If you would just tell me! I shouldn't have to ask!'

Jenna knew he was watching her yank at the jammed door but refused to lower herself to actually asking him for his assistance. If he was a gentleman, he would have offered on his own. She knew, however, that Jacob Black was not a gentleman, which was why she was not surprised when he continued to watch her struggle with the locker for a few more minutes before he sighed.

Jacob grumbled under his breath, gently shifting her out of his way as he moved to take her place in front of the door. "I don't know why you can never just suck it up and ask for help, Jennifer. It's a wonderful trait to have, you know."

"I don't want your help," she muttered, butterflies swirling in her stomach as she busied herself swatting his hands away from her waist, where he'd grabbed her to shift her out of his way. The casual display of strength was shocking and … well there were definitely other words she could think of.

"Shut up," he mumbled under his breath, and had it not been for the underlying fondness in his tone, she might have managed to hold onto her annoyance for longer.

Jenna sniffed daintily, tossing her hair over her shoulder and looking in the other direction, refusing to watch the performance of rippling muscle along his arms and shoulders. Instead, she heard a bang and wrenched her head around in time to watch Jacob yank her locker door open with ease. The slight dent in the metal told her all she needed to know about his methods of loosening it.

"Now," he sighed, leaning against the locker next to hers and staring down at her. "What about those after-school sessions?"

Jenna put her hands on her hips and matched his sigh, staring up at him. "What about them?"

Jacob grinned. "When are you free to help little old me?"

Little? Despite herself, Jenna looked at him and up and down and raised her eyebrows in an obvious question. When he looked amused, she realized that to him it probably looked like she had been checking him out.

"When are you free to be blessed by my obvious genius?" She retorted, ignoring the way his muscles flexed when he shifted to brace one of his arms over the metal. She did not need to be thinking about how much bigger than her he was, about the obvious strength in those arms - she didn't need to be thinking about those arms at all!

"How about tomorrow night?" Jacob asked. "It's Friday, you can come over to my place. My garage is empty, we can work out of there?"

The garage. Straight to the garage?! Was he this forward with everyone he got homework help from?

"Fine, yeah," Jenna shrugged, hoping she looked as blase as she intended to. He did not need to know that her insides were swirling about and twisting at his words. "Tomorrow night works."

"Cool," Jacob looked satisfied at her easy agreement as if he'd been expecting her to argue. "You can just come home with me."

She would love to. Not do that. Love to not do that, ever.

"Sounds like a plan."

Much better. And if she played her cards correctly, she would be able to be just as cool, collected, and devil-may-care when she was with him tomorrow. In his garage. Why the garage had become such a sticking point, Jenna could never be sure. All she knew was that if she didn't play it cool on Friday night, she'd spend all of Saturday looking for rental properties and jobs in Alaska. Because nobody here would ever see her again, that was for god damn sure.

God help her.