A/N: Um, hi everyone. I am so sorry that this update took a really long time. I promise you I am not giving up on this story. I know exactly where I want it to go and how it's going to end. Life just gets in the way sometimes.

Unfortunately, my Poppa passed away late February and we were really close and it's been really hard on me, not to mention it was in the middle of all my midterms and I had to get them all deferred and I've just been a big mess. I've had this partially written forever, and today I found the inspiration to finish it. Thank you to everyone who asked me to update and expressed their love for this story, it meant so much to me. I apologize for any mistakes.

This one is dedicated to my Poppa (:

Oh god, don't panic, don't panic. You know you pass out when you panic. My inner monologue did nothing to calm my heart. How had I forgotten how blue his eyes were? They made my knees weak.

Thankfully, I had Quil there to distract me by snatching Claire out of my arms and yelling at me. "You were supposed to be watching her! How could you let her fall? She's bleeding for God's sake!" When he caught me rolling my eyes, he clenched his teeth. "This isn't a joke! She could have been seriously hurt!"

"Don't yell at her." Jared said, and I shot him a look before I decided to just ignore him.

I sighed. "Quil, she is four years old. She's going to fall down and get cuts and bruises okay? That's what four year olds do! So how about you just take a chill pill and go take her to get a Band-Aid."

"Fine." He said, and then he turned around and started storming away like a two year old. I started to laugh until I was reminded of the situation I was in.

I turned back to the two boys in front of me. Jared was staring intensely at me and Paul was looking sheepish. Good. I fought the urge to glare at him and focused on staring at the sand. "I should go." I muttered.

"Wait!" Jared called, and stupidly, I stopped moving. "Can I just talk to you for five minutes?" And then he paused to look at Paul. "Alone?"

I gave Paul mental bonus points in my head when he said no. "Sorry, I'm not leaving until she tells me to."

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "It's okay. Just five minutes." He looked at me and I just shoved his arm. "Go, I'll be fine."

"I won't be far." He warned, burning holes into Jared's head. And then he walked away and I fixated my eyes back on the ground.

"How have you been, Kim?" He asks softly.

I fight the urge to spit at him. "Fine."

"I heard you graduated. Congratulations."

"Mhm."

Finally he pauses, and then he sighs. "Please. Don't be like this. Talk to me. It's been over a year since I've last heard your voice. I miss you."

I clenched my fists together, angry because I hated how the sadness in his voice made my heart ache. I hated that I missed him. I hated that being here next to him now made it feel like I had never left. I hated that my heart wanted to just let everything go and throw myself into his arms. "I guess you should have thought of that." I said bitterly. "We're done here." It was so much easier to let my anger be the dominant feeling, instead of showing how vulnerable I really was.

"Wait! You promised me five minutes." He called as I started to walk away.

"I lied. It's something you might be familiar with." I didn't look back. I just kept up my fast pace in case he tried to run after me. I slowed down when Paul appeared from the tree line and started walking next to me. "Coming here was a mistake." I told him regretfully, feeling the tears pool up in my eyes.

He reached out to touch my arm. "Kim…"

I shook my head. "I just need some space." I said as I wiped the tears off my cheeks. "Please." And thankfully, he let me go. I kept my slightly faster than walking pace up and I looked straight ahead, not even pausing to look back when I heard Paul start shouting at Jared.

"What the fuck did you say to her, Cameron?" He snarled and I could tell by the tremors in his voice that he was shaking from head to toe and I knew better than to stop, so I picked up the pace and got out of there as fast as I could.

I couldn't help but feel bad for him. Poor Paul. The last time I saw him lose his temper was when he phased in front of Elliot, and that was a long time ago. Part of me, however, was secretly pleased that his need to protect me made him feel so strongly.

I finally made it to Paul's and slammed the door to the guest room and curled up on the bed. The sad thing was that this used to be home. La Push was the only place that I knew and now, just being here made the hairs on my arm stand up.

Trying to make myself feel better, I picked up the phone and called Ellie, who answered on the first ring. "I've been waiting for you to call me all day." She said when she picked up.

I smiled at the sound of her voice. "Sorry, I was just getting reacquainted with a few people."

"So you actually left the house? Gotta tell you, Kim, I'm amazed. I thought you were going to hibernate until the wedding."

I laughed despite myself. "I think that might be the plan now. I hadn't even been here for two hours and I ran into you-know-who."

Her voice dropped. "Did you spit on him?" She asked in a low, angry voice.

"No, but it's funny that you say that because I literally had to physically restrain myself from doing it. It wouldn't have been very lady like." I tried to laugh, but I failed. I was still too upset.

"Alright, tell me what's on your mind."

I paused. "Wait, what? Nothing…"

"Oh don't give me that BS Kim. I can hear it your voice. You're guilty about something, and I want to know what it is. You can tell me." Ellie encouraged.

I chewed on my bottom lip for a minute. "I miss him." I whispered pitifully. "And I hate it."

"I know this is probably not something you want to hear, but did you ever think of maybe forgiving him and giving him a second chance?"

I paused in shock. "What?" I asked. "Just a minute ago you were asking me if I had spit on him."

"Well yeah, I'm not saying that I want to be best friends with the asshole. He hurt you, Kim but obviously being away from you is hurting you even more and that's not okay. So if it would make you happy, then screw what I think. If being with him would make you happy, maybe it's the better option." She said.

I thought about it for a minute and I really considered it. Moving back here to La Push and getting to see Jared every day. Finally getting rid of the ache in my stomach and being happy again. But then I remembered. "He broke my heart. I won't let myself get vulnerable enough for that to happen again."

"I understand." She said softly. "But please, just for this week, don't let him ruin your visit. Don't hide in your room okay? Just hold your head up high and ignore him when you see him. You're not there for him, you're there for Emily and Sam."

As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. I couldn't let Jared control what I did. So after we finally hung up and Paul knocked on my door, I actually let him in. "You alright?" He asked me carefully as he shut the door behind him.

"I'm fine." I said and then I giggled. "You're not wearing a shirt anymore."

He looked sheepish. "I may have lost my temper a little too much. And I was doing so well too. Rachel bought me that shirt. She's going to be pissed."

"Aww, scared of a little girl?" I teased him.

His eyes widened. "Have you seen Rachel when she's mad? Crazy. Just like all women." He actually shuddered and I had to laugh. "Anyway, we're going to Emily's for dinner and everyone's going to be there. Am I moving too fast if I ask you to go?"

"Half an hour ago I would have said yes, but I'm actually feeling a lot better. I'll come." I said.

He looked at me skeptically. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. I'm here for Emily aren't I? What good is it going to do to avoid her?"

"Okay… Where are you hiding the real Kim?" He asked, half seriously. He opened up the closet and peeked in and then checked under the bed. I rolled my eyes when he came back up, looking much too amused with himself. "Let's get going, Alien Kim."

I just walked past him, shaking my head. "Well, you're still an idiot. Good to know some things never change."

The look on Emily's face when I walked into the house almost made the entire trip worth it. "It's so good to see you!" She gushed, immediately throwing her arms around me. I hugged her back happily and then let Sam kiss my cheek. "How have you been? Tell me everything."

I laughed at her enthusiasm. "There's really not much to tell."

"Well if you're going to be modest, fine. Congratulations on graduating, by the way."

"Congratulations on getting engaged." I said back, looking at her ring.

She grinned a smile 10x brighter than the diamond she was rocking. "Thank you. We've been waiting a long time for this, and now that La Push is quiet and free of…" She lowered her voice. "Vampires…"

I just nodded before she could finish her sentence. "I understand. I'm really happy for you."

"I'm just so glad you're here to see it. It means the world to me, it really does." She said perkily, hugging me again. "Now, go mingle. I have to finish supper." And she shoved me into the living room with a smile.

Well this isn't awkward, I thought as I looked around. I could feel everyone fighting the urge to stare at me. Thankfully, the door open and in came Jared, Quil and Claire. She immediately ran over to me when she saw me, grinning from ear to ear. "Hi Aunty Kim!" She says as she flies into my open arms. "Want to come play with me upstairs? I'll let you be the princess Barbie."

As sad as it was, I would rather hide upstairs with Claire than be awkwardly interrogated by my once friends, so I quickly agreed. Well, until Quil marched his stupid face over here and snatched Claire from my arms. "You are not going anywhere with her alone, do you understand me?" He says sternly, and it's unclear whether he is speaking to her or me. Maybe both.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Seriously Quil? She got a scratch! Are you going to tape foam all over her body for the rest of her childhood? Or keep her locked up in her house and stand guard at her front door? Give her a break Quil. She's four and you're already smothering her." I chided.

"Yeah, Quil." Claire says, wriggling out of his hold and grabbing my hand. "Don't be such a butthead."

Despite myself, I burst out laughing at Quil's shocked face and Emily pops her head in from the kitchen. "Claire, we do not speak that way to Quil or anyone else do you understand me? And Kim, don't encourage her by laughing. Apologize."

In unison, Claire and I say, "Sorry Emily…" and then, "Sorry Quil." And then I look at her and I can tell she's biting the inside of her lip to stop from laughing and I have to turn away before I start up again as Quil sulks away into the corner.

As I'm about to go upstairs, I noticed Jared's eyes on me from across the room. "Go on up, Claire. I'll be there in five minutes. And remember, you promised I could be the princess Barbie!" I remind her as she runs up the stairs. I make my way over to Jared. "Can I talk to you outside?"

"Sure." He says immediately, following behind me. He closes the door and I turn around to face him, leaning against Emily's porch railing. He's still staring at me with that look that he had, so I raise an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. I just haven't heard you laugh in so long."

My cheeks flame, though I can't be sure whether it's embarrassment or anger. But I choose to ignore him. "I want to call a truce." I say.

"A truce?" He's confused.

"Yes, a truce. For this week, I want to vow to be civil towards each other. We will talk normally, we will discuss wedding details and we will walk down the aisle together at the wedding and I promise not to get mad, say anything hurtful or spiteful to you as long as you promise not to tell me that you miss me, love me or how much regret you feel or any of that. Do we have a deal?"

His eyebrows come together. "I don't know if I can refrain from telling you how I feel…"

"You're going to have to if you want to talk to me at all this week." I say honestly. "This week is not about me or you or our drama or how we feel. This is about Emily and Sam, and I am here for them and I'm not about to let you or myself or anyone else ruin that for them. Do it for them. If not, then do it for me." The last part is a guilt trip and he knows it, but he agrees anyway.

I hold my hand out towards him. "Truce then?"

He slides his hand easily into mine, the first contact we've had in over a year. The spark is there, of course. It's like a shock that runs up my arm and through my body and my heart is hammering out of my chest but I keep my head held up high and my face void of emotion.

Finally, he sighs and we shake. "Truce."