A/N: Better late than never, right? Hoping for your feedback!

I scooted closer to Jake as Will slid into the booth with us and Jake's arm automatically went around me. The diner wasn't too crowded, but our little corner was packed. Danny and Derek took the two ends of the table and Alex and Gwen sat across from us. I mostly watched everyone interact and kept my hand in Jake's, happy to have him with me. I was proud of him for making conversation with Danny and Will effortlessly. Derek and Alex discussed an English project they were working on and Gwen seemed a little distant. Her gaze was on the window for the majority of the time, but she caught me staring and she gave me an uncharacteristically weak smile.

"Selena is my best friend." she said softly, her eyes not meeting mine. "I'm just worried about her." I nodded in understanding and watched her vulnerability fade. She quickly leaned over to Will and started talking with what seemed like genuine enthusiasm, but I suspected she was faking it a little.

I felt a pang of guilt for judging her from this morning. Sure, her disposition was less than sunny but I could tell she had a good heart and I empathized with her fear for someone she loves. My eyes shifted to Jake and I felt my heart lurch in my chest. Part of me admired how fiercely he protects the people he cares about, but the small voice in my head worried he would be hurt one day in defense of one of those people- of me.

His attention never left Danny and their animated conversation but he squeezed my hand under the table. I grinned in awe at his ability to sense my distress and squeezed back, watching the corners of his mouth quirk upward. Our moment was cut short when Gwen recovered her problematic attitude, "So when did you two get together?" She stared at Jacob and I expectantly and I felt the rumble of a laugh in Jake's chest as he held me a little tighter.

"Not together," I clarified. "We are best friends." Gwen nodded with a knowing smile and dropped the subject, but I found myself momentarily stuck on the idea. What would it be like if Jake and I were together?

The line which separated family from friend wasn't as deeply entrenched when it came to Jacob. I always wondered if he ever thought about something more, but I never dared to voice my curiosity. I didn't think I could survive losing what we had but it didn't stop me from thinking about what could be in the back of my mind.

I tried to quiet my internal musings and listen in to conversation again. "Oh, Copenhagen, definitely! I love the Danish culture," Derek stated emphatically. His eyes lit up imagining the trip. Alex chimed in, "I would go to New Zealand, hands down."

"So you could walk the path to Mordor?" Danny quipped, appearing pleased with himself. Alex resumed his usual scowl, "No dumbass, the landscape is insane there."

Everyone laughed and Will turned to me, "Renesmee, where would you go if you could pick any place?" I considered my options and settled on the trip I planned after graduation. "I've also wanted to go to France. I'm hoping to do a girls trip after I graduate with my Mom and my aunts." Will smiled and agreed that would be unforgettable.

I felt a foot snake around mine underneath the table and as it pulled mine forward, my knee pressed firmly into someone else's. I immediately looked up to glare at the perpetrator and he sat smugly staring back from across the table. "Going to hook up with blonde French guys, right?" His tone was light, but it held a mischievous undercurrent that made me annoyed and a little excited. Why was flirting with danger so appealing?

Will and Danny laughed good-naturedly and Derek pinched the bridge of his nose as if the comment embarrassed him instead of me. Jake was completely silent and I couldn't bring myself to look up and view his expression. Gwen's response was the most unprecedented of all though. She sneered at him in my defense, "Grow up, Alex. Not everyone is as enamored with sex as you."

His eyes blazed but he said nothing as Will and Danny howled. Will kissed her cheek appreciatively and I nodded at her to express my thanks. She just shrugged it off and proceeded to make-out with Will as he moved to her side of the booth like no one was watching. I doubted they cared if anyone was watching and for a solitary second, I ached for the kind of connection where I unabashedly loved someone and didn't care if the world saw it.

"And it's my mind always in the gutter, huh?" Alex grumbled quietly at her before returning to his burger. I was surprised when Alex and Jake struck up a somewhat amicable conversation about their shared interest in cars, though my attention drifted a little. They were both a little infatuated, but I couldn't understand the allure; if my car gets me from Point A to Point B, then what do I care about the rest?

Jake regaled his morning after he dropped me off, "Yeah, I actually found a damsel in distress on the side of the road." I didn't know why that notion made me stiffen, but I suddenly felt territorial over Jake. Alex's eyes lit up in curiosity and he pressed for details.

"I guess she broke down right by the school and she was going to be late, so I brought her there and fixed up the car in my garage." Jake supplied nonchalantly and I felt the realization hit.

"Oh! That was my teacher, Ms. Archer. Right, Will?" I turned to him for validation, but he was still preoccupied with Gwen's face. Jake nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I think she said her name was Elizabeth Archer. She seemed kinda young to be a teacher though."

I pondered that point and grappled with the returning sense of anxiety. She was probably around Jacob's age. Alex seemed to reach the conclusion as he announced, "Dude, you should totally tap that. She's hot."

I felt myself unconsciously inhale a sharp breath. It was definitely too low for human ears to detect, but I felt Jake give me a reassuring squeeze and I blushed furiously. I shouldn't care if Jake found someone his age, right? Best friends were supposed to cheer each other on, so why did the feeling in the pit of my stomach only grow?

"Nah, she's not my type." Jake responded calmly, though his tone was emphatic. Relief- selfish and unfathomable as it was- coursed through my veins. Alex laughed, incredulous and muttered "maniac" low enough that he thought we couldn't hear.

I was too pleased and distracted by my unreasonable pleasure at Jake's declaration to listen to the rest of the conversation. Though, I felt his phone buzz in his pocket and his whole body tense when he read whatever text he received. He leaned his mouth into my hair and spoke quickly near my ear, "Pack emergency. Everyone's fine but I really have to go, Ness. I'm sorry honey."

He quickly stood up and dropped enough money on the table to cover everyone's tab. My heart warmed at his effort to help me make friends and his incessant kindness. I grabbed his hand in mine for a moment and sent him my thoughts. Just please be careful, Jake. I tried not to let my brewing fear for his safety seep into my message, but I knew it probably didn't work. He bent down in a rush and firmly kissed my forehead, whispering "always my Ness" against my temple. I shivered automatically and my cheeks flamed fiercely, knowing everyone was watching our interaction, as he strode out the door of the diner.

I turned back to them and sure enough everyone's eyes were glued to me and the intimate moment that so blatantly transpired between us. My face became impossibly hotter and I tried to change the subject, "Uh, can I have a ride home from someone?"

"Of course, Renesmee." Will agreed and then asked Derek about how he and Alex were handling the English project due next week. I was exceptionally grateful to him for the diversion and mentally noted how quickly he was becoming a close friend. I liked that thought; I had a friend who truly had my back, outside of familial loyalty. We asked for the check when the waitress returned and headed out into the cool evening air.

I felt his hot breath against my neck before he spoke, "I really love it when you blush like that." I instinctively repeated the behavior in question and met Alex's gaze in shock. Hmmm, maybe I made more than one friend.