Lunch was eventful. It was mostly Angela's mother asking Jacob about his life and his interests. Her father quietly ate and seemed to be in a state of denial that Angela finally brought a boy home regardless if it was intentional or not. Her brothers kept trying to test Jacob's dinosaur knowledge which was surprisingly vast as apparently he also had a dinosaur obsession as a child.

Angela was trying to make sense of what was happening to her life. Her mother finally included her in the conversation by asking how she and Jacob met.

"At the beach at La Push," She answered. "About a month ago."

"Actually, Ang, we met two years ago," He corrected, smiling. "You probably don't remember. I was a skinny fourteen year old."

"You're only sixteen?" Her mother questioned. "You look older."

"Growth spurt just hit me over the summer," He laughed nervously. "It runs in the family."

Her mother's eyes brightened as she remembered something. "Wait. Are you Billy Black's son?"

Jacob nodded.

"And that would make you Sarah Wilde's son too. I knew you looked familiar," Her mother's smile became gentler and she patted him on the hand. "I went to college with your mother. She was very kind and a talented painter."

She hadn't known his mother had passed away. Or that their mothers had known each other. Jacob was smiling but he was clearly tense. She reached under the table and held his hand. He squeezed her hand and shot her a grateful smile.

Her mother became flustered. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Jacob."

"It's okay. It's nice to talk about her sometimes," He reassured her. "And she was a great painter. We still have some of her artwork at the house and my older sister, Rebecca, took after her."

"You didn't inherit her talent?"

"No. I'm more of a car guy like my dad," He laughed wryly. "I can't draw to save my life."

Angela added. "I can't draw either except for stick figures."

It was true. Mike was the artist and they had a silent pact to work together for school projects. Mike would draw and paint and she would write the report. It was a partnership that had worked for them for years.

Her mother continued to ask more questions and by the time lunch was over, Angela was quietly apologizing to Jacob for her mother's behavior. Anna Weber had waited too long for her daughter to have a boyfriend and was very transparent about it. Jacob asked permission to take Angela out for a day. As friends, he emphasized at Anna's too pleased grin. She made him promise to have her daughter back before ten.


Jacob's idea of how to get from town to La Push was for him to shift to his wolf form and let her ride him like a furry horse. She outright refused. His second idea was to call one of his friends to drive to Angela's house in Jacob's car and pick them up. And sometime later, Embry Call pulled up in her driveway in the Rabbit.

Jacob stopped at the door of the driver's seat when he saw who was at the back seat. A boy about thirteen years old was there, looking like a mini version of Jacob. He smiled at Angela when he saw her. She smiled back and tried to figure out why he felt familiar.

"Seth," Jacob sounded exasperated. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I didn't know where you were and Sam said you were gonna mentor me," Seth replied. "And you can't mentor me if I'm not with you."

"Mentoring?" He groaned as he remembered something. "Of course. Right. Mentoring will resume tomorrow. Go home."

Seth's face fall and he turned to Angela for help. The puppy dog eyes managed to stay the same even as a human. She felt her heart melting. Jacob was shaking his head at her, beseeching her not to give in. It was too late.

"Well, he can come with us," She reasoned. "As long as he behaves…"

"I'll behave! I'll be good!" Seth promised, excitedly. "I'll be like air! You won't even feel me!"

"You can still feel wind," Embry pointed out as he got out of the driver's seat and moved to the passenger side. "Am I allowed to tag along too?"

"Absolutely not," Jacob muttered, as he got into the driver's seat. "I'm dropping you off somewhere and you can fuck off."

Angela got in beside Seth in the backseat who looked too pleased with himself. She bet if he was in his wolf form, his tail would be wagging. Jacob pulled out of the driveway and into the main road. She turned to see Seth smiling at her.

"Hi again," Seth said. "Thanks for the pizza the other night."

Embry called, "What other night?"

"He hit a tree outside my friend's house," Angela explained. "And I gave him some pizza."

Jacob sighed, wearily. "You are a menace, Clearwater."

"That's why you need to mentor me so I'll be better!" Seth countered before telling Angela. "Jacob is the strongest wolf, even stronger than Sam."

"Well, alpha blood would do that to you," Embry shrugged. "Now if only he would finally claim his birthright…."

Angela knew there was something there. "Birthright?"

"Jacob is the great-grandson of Chief Ephraim Black who was also the Alpha of the Quileute pack," Embry expounded. "That would make Jakey heir to the wolf throne so to speak."

"So, that would make you Alpha?"

"I'm not the Alpha," Jacob snorted. "That's Sam. It's just a title and responsibility that I don't want."

"It's not always about what you want," Embry countered. "More about what the pack needs."

"And why would the pack want a kid in high school to lead them?" Jacob glared at him. "Maybe the pack doesn't know what they want or need but it's certainly not me."

Embry didn't say anything but Angela could tell he was upset. It sounded like they've had this conversation many times and it always led to the same end. She could understand why Jacob didn't really want to become the Alpha. It must've been a very big responsibility especially for a teenager. She didn't even know if she'd be able to handle the expectations of such a role.


Jacob dropped Embry off near his house and drove them towards the beach. They had to stop once at Sully's to get food with Seth trying to order the entire menu. Jacob hadn't let him and Seth had to settle for a burger and a milkshake. He also helped himself to Angela's fries.

"Slow down, you animal," Jacob told him. "You don't have to inhale it all."

"I'm a growing boy!" Seth answered with his mouth full. "I need sustenance."

Jacob met Angela's eye in the rearview mirror. "It's not too late to drop him off at his house. We don't need to bring him with us."

"No!" Seth whined. "I don't wanna be at home!"

"Why not?"

"Cause mom's sad all the time," The younger boy flushed as if he didn't mean to reveal that. He despondently looked down at his half-eaten burger. "She's trying her best but I know she misses Dad and Leah's angrier than usual."

Angela felt so sorry for him she sent Jacob a glare. "It's okay, Seth. You can spend the day with us."

"Really?"

She gave him a reassuring smile and offered him the rest of her fries. "Of course. Right, Jake?"

Jacob looked like he definitely didn't agree but the reminder of Harry Clearwater softened his stance and he begrudgingly nodded. Seth was in better spirits in no time and even asked for Jacob's uneaten brownie. The other boy threw it at him from the driver's seat and nearly took his eye out. Angela had to stop herself from laughing.


"Like air. Sure," Jacob muttered as they walked down Rialto beach. "I knew we shouldn't have brought him along."

They were at the Tree Graveyard which Angela had always found eerily pretty. Uprooted fallen trees, bleached bone white, lay on the sand like toy soldiers. Seth was walking ahead of them, jumping over the rocks and shrubbery. Angela was worried he would fall over and hurt himself which he had almost done many times.

"Too late for that," Angela smiled as Seth scared off some seagulls. He had the energy to rival her brothers. "So, you're his mentor?"

"That's just Sam's way of getting him out of the way," He sighed. "Seth's kind of hopeless as you've seen. He's lucky only you've caught him so far."

Just as he said that Seth miscalculated a jump and landed on the sand on his hands and knees. Angela almost ran to see if he was okay but Seth quickly got up and shook it off. He was back to running and Jacob sighed again. Angela smiled at him.

"Well, at least you can keep him from trouble," At least she hoped he would. "He seems he needs somebody to be there for him especially now."

"I know," His hand reached for hers and she let him. "Losing a parent's not easy. I would know."

She didn't know if it was her place to ask about his mother but she was genuinely curious. "Can I ask what she was like?"

"Motherly, gentle, nice," He furrowed his eyebrows. "I was so young when it happened I barely remember her to be honest. My sisters took care of me after she died."

She squeezed his hand. "And your dad?"

"He's great. He took care of me too as best he could," He explained. "He's in a wheelchair now because of his diabetes so it's my turn to take care of him."

She smiled at him. The picture of Jacob Black in her head had been black lines on white paper, stark and unfinished. He was beginning to take color inside her head. And she wanted to know more.

She stated, "You're a good son."

"I try my best," He looked away as if in deep thought. "He never wanted this for me, you know. Becoming a werewolf or being pushed for Alpha. He just wanted me to have a good life."

"You can still have a good life," She opposed. "The werewolf thing can just be a weird bonus."

He laughed. "Yeah, that would really make me standout in my college applications."

She laughed too and he pulled her closer. His warm breath fanned her face and he was a cocoon of heat around her against the cool, sea air. He cupped her cheek and she closed her eyes as he kissed her. He tasted like the milkshakes they had earlier.

A loud thump made them pull away. Seth had run into a tree and was clutching his now bleeding nose. Jacob called out for him to come to them so they could help him. The younger boy sheepishly smiled at her and winced as Jacob reset his nose.


They dropped off Seth at the Clearwater house. A young woman was standing at the porch and Jacob and Seth both winced at the sight of her. Angela had a feeling that had to be Leah Clearwater which was proven right when they got out of the car and Seth greeted her. His sister told him to go inside as their mother was looking for him and he waved at them before complying.

Leah turned to Jacob. "Was he with you all day?"

"Yeah, apparently I'm the Alpha-assigned mentor for him," Jacob shrugged. "Don't look at me. I didn't volunteer for the job."

Leah looked annoyed as if she disagreed with her brother's choice for mentor and would be having a talk with Sam soon. She finally acknowledged Angela with a "Oh it's you." Angela was confused. She didn't recall ever meeting Leah Clearwater.

Leah rolled her eyes. "After this idiot imprinted on you, he was constantly thinking about you. We were being assaulted with thoughts of you through the wolf mental network."

Angela didn't know what to say to that and Jacob was miming for Leah to stop talking.

"It was always 'I wonder what Angela is doing' and 'Why does she like the leech? He's like an ice statue,'" Leah scoffed. "And my personal favorite "'I wonder what it's like to kiss Angela. She's tall so it wouldn't hurt my neck'."

"As if you're any better. You're always 'Hey Sam, notice me!' and 'Hey Sam, remember when you dumped me!'" Jacob retorted. "And my favorite was 'Was Emily disappointed in how small your carrot is?'"

Leah raised an eyebrow at him. "You've seen it."

"No!" Jacob denied too quickly. "I have not!"

"Uh-huh," She turned to Angela. "Thanks for finally putting him out of his misery even if I have to get thoughts about how nauseatingly happy he is."

And with that, Leah Clearwater left them and they tried to process what they just experienced.

"So that was Leah," Jacob remarked. "I'm sorry you had to meet her."

She was taller than Angela expected and had a brusque personality but knowing the reason for that made her soften towards the other girl. She knew firsthand that pain could transform you and start to remake you into somebody you weren't. Luckily for Angela, she had a good support system that was there for her till she worked it out. As they made their way to the car, Angela sincerely hoped Leah would find happiness. After all she went through, she deserved it.


Jacob dropped her off at her house and her parents had already gone to bed. She wordlessly opened the window at the expected tapping on the glass and Jacob made his way inside, already dressed. She was eager to go to sleep as she had school the next day and got herself into bed. Jacob eyed her from where he was standing in a silent question.

"Do you wanna sleep over?" She offered. "As long as you're gone before my mom catches you in here tomorrow. She's nice but she will ground me for life if she catches us."

He smiled ruefully and walked towards her. "I can be fast."

There were advantages to cuddling with a werewolf and that was the body heat that was almost burning. Angela, who'd been taking blistering hot showers for years, quite enjoyed it and she even liked his scent. He smelled like the woods. It reminded her of her childhood.

"Seth tried to follow me here," Jacob whispered, her head was lying on his chest and his heartbeat was slowly lulling her to sleep. "I had to threaten to kill him. I had a plan and an alibi."

"Stop being mean to Seth," She chided him softly, already too sleepy to keep her eyes open. "You're his mentor, a father figure."

"I did not sign up to be a teen dad," He countered. "And that's where this is headed and I'm uncomfortable with it."

She giggled. "Does that make me his adoptive mom?"

"Oh no," He groaned into her hair. "He's ours now, isn't he?"

She would've answered but she was already asleep.


Angela woke up the next morning to Jacob leaving the bed. He kissed her on the head lightly before he made his way out of the room. The bed was instantly colder and she wrapped her comforter around her and lied on his still warm pillow to conserve whatever heat she could find. There was a yowl and Jacob yelping.

She opened one eye to find him locking eyes with Mr. Mozart who was sitting on the windowsill. Her cat puffed himself up to make himself bigger as he hissed at Jacob. The boy just raised an eyebrow at him and refused to back down. A minute passed before Mr. Mozart jumped off the window, tail raised in disdain as he walked to his bed.

Jacob shrugged at her and finally left. Angela smiled at her cat. He had been gone for a few days and that wasn't unusual. He always came back. She guessed he found a cat girlfriend and just needed to be with her for a few days.

She asked him, "Why do you never like any of my boyfriends?"

He stopped licking his paw and gave her his most piercing stare. It felt very judgmental. She couldn't speak cat but she could understand that. It would probably be something around the lines of "why do you never date human boys?"


Double update. I feel bad about the one day of no updates. Forgive me. I've made up for it. Your reviews give me life especially cause I can tell if people are Team Jacob or Team Edward. About a week in the story is left till Edward comes back. It is currently Monday and the Homecoming game is on Friday. The dance is on Saturday and Edward comes back after.

1. The Tree Graveyard is a real place in La Push.

2. We finally have Seth for real. He is my clumsy, hopeless son. I gave him Bella's clumsiness because a teenage wolf who can't do anything right is funny. Seth is the right age in canon for the story which is 13 in 2005. Though in the books he originally shifts at age 14 in 2006.

3. In the books, people aren't really forcing Jacob to be the Alpha but this is most interesting for me to explore. Cause imagine being sixteen and having this huge responsibility offered to you and you're balking because that's terrifying. I made him a year older than in canon just to suit my purposes. This is what happens when you hodge podge the books together.

4. Leah isn't as mean to Angela as she is to Bella. Cause unlike Bella, Angela didn't lead Jacob on for months. And she gets points for being nice to her train wreck little brother.

5. Chapter title is a play on the film 'You, Me, and Dupree'.

6. Jacob threatening to kill Seth and he had a plan and an alibi is a joke by comedian Michael McIntyre.