DISCLAIMER: i'm done with this thing. so for the last time, i only own that creep, koda :)
SONG: Hey Brittany! by Forever the Sickest Kids.

**A/N: okay, this chapter is a little longer than my normal chapters. just because everyone was insisting on koda, so here we goooo. heheh.

I attempted to say goodbye and apologize to Emmett, but he had locked himself in his room, blasting unfamiliar metal music. With a quick goodbye from Jasper and Alice, Edward drove me towards La Push.

"Where were Esme and Carlisle?" I asked, realizing they hadn't been there all night.

"They had a charity event for the hospital in Seattle," he answered.

"And where did Rosalie go?" I bit my lip, wondering if I even wanted to know.

I saw Edward grimace slightly, "She went to go tune up her car."

Huh, it was still so strange to me that such a beautiful vampire was so interested in cars.

"Oh," was all I said. "Do you think Emmett will be mad for long?"

He took my hand in his and brought it up to stroke the side of my cheek and looked into my eyes, all while driving at eighty miles an hour. "You have nothing to worry about, love. You did nothing wrong. I promise you. Even if you had done something wrong and he was angry with you, I could suddenly decide to cancel our hunting trip tonight until he forgave you," he said devilishly.

I laughed at his dark humor, "Thank you."

"You have nothing to worry about. Just have fun tonight," he turned back to the road, then turned back to me. "But not too much fun."

I rolled my eyes dramatically and nodded.

"I love you, Bella. Stay safe tonight. Please, for me," he requested, suddenly becoming very serious.

"I will. You have nothing to worry about," I quoted him.

He chuckled and nodded; mimicking me. "Thank you."

We reached the La Push border then, to find a familiar black shape leaning against the Rabbit.

"Jacob," Edward growled.

When Edward stopped the car a few feet away from the borderline, I turned my whole body to face him. He sat there, his jaw clenched and gripping the wheel tightly. I cleared my throat to catch his attention. He sighed and turned to me. I was slightly surprised to see his eyes filled with sadness. Realizing how much pain I caused him, I put both of my hands on either side of his face. He relaxed, thankfully.

"Edward. I swear to you, you have nothing to worry about. I'll be home before you know it. Please, have fun with Emmett and try not to think about it."

He used his finger to outline my bottom lip as he spoke. "I will never be able to refrain from thinking of you, Bella. Although, I will try to forget who you are with. Enjoy yourself tonight, come home safe please. And remember our guidelines. You will call me the second you wish to be picked up or the second it is necessary."

"Promise."

Edward leaned in, breaking the grip I had on his face and took the hand that was already on my face and rested it on my cheek. I closed my eyes as his cold lips met mine.

Before I made the mistake of throwing myself into the kiss, there were two loud car honks. He released me and turned to scowl into the darkness.

"He thinks it's very rude to keep him waiting. He's also still wondering if I'm planning on kidnapping you or not last minute," he said through clenched teeth. I looked over at the Rabbit to find Jacob with his arms crossed, standing next to the driver's side with the window open.

"I guess I should go," I mumbled. Edward grimaced. "Remember what I said. Don't worry. You'll see me again in a few hours. I promise you."

"I'll try," he vowed and turned to me again to kiss me on the forehead.

"Goodbye, Edward. I love you," I said as I opened the car door and stepped out.

Edward smiled crookedly, "I love you too."

I felt bad for Edward. So much so, that I considered walking back to the car and staying with him. But I had made a promise to Jacob, and I would be back to Edward before he knew it. I walked as quickly as I could to the other side of the border, careful not to trip. Jacob still stood in an annoyed stance with his arms crossed. I tried to calm him down by smiling. His frown lessened slightly, but immediately became angry again when he looked past me at Edward. I turned around to find the Volvo still sitting in it's same spot. I attempted to squint my eyes to search for Edward's face, but just saw the rough black outline of his shape. The car light turned on and lit the remaining distance between Jacob and I. I smiled and winked. The car lights blinked once and then the infamous Volvo was gone. I turned back to Jacob who was watching me as I crossed the last three feet between us.

"Hey, Jake," I greeted, hoping he wouldn't be mad.

"Hey, Bells. What was with the hold up?" he asked, I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not.

"Oh, sorry. We were just talking."

"Ha, right," Jacob snorted. I groaned at his attitude. "Oh well, you're here now. Let's get going!"

I was glad he was willing to dismiss it so quickly. I didn't want to fight with Jacob tonight. I got into the passenger side of the Rabbit while he started the car.

"So, how is the pack dealing with Koda?" I asked, honestly curious. Paul and the others weren't exactly the most accepting people.

Jacob rolled his eyes and started to drive. "Billy invited him to stay at our house till his family or whatever move down here and find a house. Everyone else is okay with him, though. Except Leah, she doesn't trust him. He's already all buddy-buddy with Sam. Such a kiss ass…" he mumbled, obviously annoyed.

"And you don't like him." It wasn't a question.

"I can't tell. He's… weird. He's just got this weird energy," he shuddered. "You know, he's never even changed into a wolf since the first day he came. Sam told him to do patrol with me, but somehow he got out of it. I don't get it."

This was confusing to me. Sam normally never let any of the pack members off the hook when it came to responsibilities.

"Odd," I murmured.

We pulled up to the small house to find numerous cars parked out front, including Charlie's police cruiser. Outside, there was a single red balloon attached to the mailbox. Jacob stopped the car and stepped out; I did the same. As we were walking up to the house, something (MENTALLY) hit me.

"Jake… I didn't get Billy anything," I whispered as we neared the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I think I saw Jacob roll his eyes.

"Don't sweat it, Bells. Billy doesn't like gifts. I barely got him anything," he shrugged as we reached the door. I took a deep breath before Jake reached for the door handle and opened it, exposing the crowd all crushed together inside of the small living room and kitchen.

Stationed around the food were all the pack members besides Sam, who was talking to Emily while she was cooking. The pack's families were all in the living room, talking, laughing, and occasionally shaking their heads at the pack who was devouring every food in sight. My eyes scanned the room until I found Charlie and Billy, off on one side of the living room, talking and laughing like two old friends.

"Hi, Bella," the sound of someone's voice in my ear made me jump. I turned my head towards the voice, to find Koda standing in front of Jacob, who was scowling at him. I was too busy looking at the party to notice him come up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said warmly, his teeth flashing as he smiled in apology.

"Hi, Koda. It's… okay, just zoning out," I muttered.

"Come on, Bells," Jacob said, linking his warm arm in mine and bumping Koda very obviously. He walked us towards the group, and I was glad he did. I wasn't any bit happier about Koda's attention than he was. "Creepy, right?" he whispered so low I could barely hear him. I simply giggled in response.

"Hey Bella!" Quil and Embry said in unison, looking up from their plate of hot dogs.

"Hey," I said, smiling. I looked at the others, who were too concentrated on their food to notice. There were plates and plates of various foods; enough to feed an army. The only ones not shoveling down as much food as they could, were Leah, Jacob, and Koda. Leah was in the living room talking to her mother, Jacob was standing next to me - although I could tell he was dying to get food before it was all gone, and Koda was standing to my right, looking at the other's eating.

"I'm going to go talk to Charlie," I said, desperately looking for a way to get away from Koda, while letting Jacob eat with the others. Jacob smiled and his eyes flickered to Koda for a second, then back to me. I nodded and he smiled wider in understanding.

"Sure thing, Bells," he said and turned to the table. I turned around to walk away, but Koda was blocking my path.

"Excuse me," I murmured, trying to wiggle around him. He chuckled and stepped out of the way, ushering me with his hand.

"Madame," Koda murmured. I smiled awkwardly and passed him.

I walked as fast as I could to Charlie and Billy, who were still talking on the side of the living room. Without looking behind me, I crossed the living room to meet them. Billy looked up from the conversation when he saw me and nudged Charlie. Charlie looked up and they both smiled.

"Hey, Bella," Billy greeted.

I smiled, "Happy birthday, Billy."

"Thank you."

"Hey Bells, enjoying the party?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, dad. It's great." I wasn't being sarcastic. For once, a party wasn't so bad.

"Sorry, Billy," Charlie said, turning back to face Billy, "I have to go now. Shift in the morning. Have a good birthday."

I figured it was time to leave then. I turned around to find Koda leaning against the doorframe with his eyes closed and a slight smile on his lips. Great.

"Oh, Bells," the voice thankfully wasn't from Koda. I smiled and turned around to Charlie. "You can stay as late as you want. Have fun, kiddo," he said and turned back to the conversation he was having with Billy.

**A/N: sucky way to end a chapter, i know. but there you go, koda-lovers/haters! there he is and all his creepiness~
ACTION = NEXT CHAPTER!
so please don't make your reviews about how i need to add it, i know i do.

and about people saying i'm taking too long/stalling:
i'm really sorry about that. but i'd like to explain myself :) when i wrote this, i wrote it like a book. and in stephenie meyer's books, you don't start out BOOM, action. you have to build up to it.
granted, i did take far too long. i'm sorry about that. and yes, i realize i am NOT stephenie meyer and i am NOT writing a book, but i did write it that way.
plus, i don't like fanfictions that are over in like, six chapters. i like them to last :]

so i am sorry about that. it's not an excuse, but that's why :P

so, if you'd still like to review, i would really, really appreciate it :o)