Jacob:

A week and I couldn't get that girl out of my mind. Not even when I slept, which I hadn't been getting very much of since summer. Nightmares of that bloodsucker draining away the color in Bella's skin, her heart beat slowing to a stop, her eyes turning red. They had kept me awake, afraid to close my eyes for too long.

But now, sleep was welcomed. I dreamed of a white wolf, perfect and beautiful, she ran through the trees, barely touching the ground. I finally had someone who could keep up with me, someone to run with. I just didn't know what she was running from. And that kept me tossing and turning.

Bella was still in my thoughts, in my heart. I waited for her to call everyday, but as the days turned to weeks and months, I gave up. When the phone rang, I let it ring out. She wouldn't come to La Push anymore, with her new life and everything, so I never expected her to knock on my door. The life drained out of me, leaving me empty and alone, like she had been a year ago when her beloved vampire had left her. I was there to pull her back together, made her human again. I never would have left her but she didn't see that. Ms. Swan was now Mrs. Cullen and I didn't know her anymore.

"Got any plans this weekend, Jake?" Billy rolled into the living room where I sat staring at a blank screen.

The look on his face was one I had gotten used to lately. He wanted his son back, the lively, kind hearted, joking kid who never really took life all that seriously. I think he was afraid to push me too far, say something to aggravate me too much. After I had literally dropped off the earth for about two months, I knew he was afraid I'd leave again.

"Dunno…." But I knew what I'd be doing. It was compulsive and necessary, like breathing. I couldn't go 24 hours without seeing her.

"Well, why don't you see what P-"

"I'm going out, Dad… I'll be back later" I cut him off as I jumped off the couch. He smiled slightly to see me even remotely enthusiastic about anything.

More than I had ever wanted to see anyone- besides Bella- I wanted to see her. See Cara.

Cara:

"Well….Dad, that was um….interesting" I pushed my plate across the table, fighting the urge to toss up everything I had just forced down.

Dad was experimenting again. He could cook, don't get me wrong, but it was when he was in those moods that you wanted to run and duck for cover. Pineapple meat loaf with bacon on top. Doesn't that just sound delicious?

"Yeah… I think I'll make it more often if you really like it" Just like any normal man, he had finished everything on his plate. And had seconds. I was considering revoking his cooking rights.

I took our plates to the sink, rinsed them and stuck them in the dishwasher. Hopefully, the remains of this meal would stay in the compost bin. Where they belonged.

It was getting better, the brain spamming. Not everything brought his face to mind, not every name sounded like his. My theory was right about the not speaking thing. The less we said to each other the less I thought about his eyes or his brief grin which I had only glimpsed once.

Grant it, we had only said about 30 words to each other, but that's all it took. He could have said "pencil" and I'd have been obsessed.

"So everyone around here seems pretty friendly, huh? Down at work I met a pretty cool guy-" I zoned out while my dad went on about the new friends he had made. I had nothing to say, I didn't have any friends yet. Sure, my classmates were nice and friendly, but isn't that like an unwritten law? Be nice to the new kid. End of story.

I had come close to having a friend, but he turned out to be a complete mystery. Why was he so sad and miserable? What were the odds of there being another person like me? In the same town. Why wouldn't he just talk to me?

How many more questions could possibly come up unanswered?

"…So what do you say? Cara?" Dad waved his hand in front of my face, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. At least some one found the confusion in my head funny.

"I'm sorry... I'm not feeling very well….Just need some sleep, I guess" He gave me a quick hug and said goodnight, but sleep was the last thing on my mind. It was the one thing I had been keeping myself from doing, just so I wouldn't dream about him. Again.

That night, I tossed and turned, restless and awake. I had four tests on Monday and a five hundred word essay on the Periodic Table. I'd be cramming all weekend to get it done and there was no way any of it would come out half way decent if I didn't sleep! But I didn't want to. Not if it meant-

Tap….

Tap….

I shot upright, straining my human ears to hear the faint sound above the rain. There was another problem! This place rained too much. I missed the sun and th-

Tap….

Tap….

This time I knew I wasn't hallucinating from sleep deprivation. Something was tapping on my window. I slid out of bed, the floor surprisingly cold to my bare feet, and slinked over to the only window in my room.

There, barely visible in the dark, was a shadow. Squinting, I could just barely see it raise its arm before-

THUNK!

I shrieked and fell to the floor. It just threw a mini-boulder at my window! At least, that's what it sounded like! Blood was rushing in my ears and I was sure my heart beat could be heard a mile away.

"Cara? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, dad… I just fell out of bed…" I jumped back in bed in case my dad decided to investigate, praying he'd just go back to the weather channel. His shadow hesitated, but eventually he crept back into his bedroom.

Before my boulder thrower could get away, I hopped over to my window and threw it open, a spray of cool rain splashing my face and the floor. Still, just visible in the darkness, the shadow stood, poised and ready to break the window this time. I snatched my worn in converse, pulled them on and hopped out the window, not caring that I was in my shabbiest sweats and a tank top.

I clutched the sill and stretched my foot down to where the roof flattened a little, praying I didn't slip or that my dad decided to check on me anyway. My foot caught on the roof and I crouched down, measuring the drop before jumping. I hit the ground standing, smiling to myself about the saying of cats always landing on their feet. Turns out dogs can do it too.

Thunder rumbled over head and the thought of my nice warm, safe, bed was almost tempting enough for me to turn around and climb back inside… almost. The rock throwing shadow outside my window was still too much for my curiosity to turn down.

"Hello?..." Nothing, just blinding rain and rolling thunder. Lightning flashed over head.

One onethousand, two onethousand, three onethousand…. Thunder. It was so close, I could feel it reverberating through the ground.

"If you're out here you better-"A hand clamped down on my shoulder and a scream built up inside my throat. I drew in a huge breath and when I turned…

That scream died.

"Jacob?" Squinting through the rain, I could just make out his shaggy hair and sharp features. What was he doing outside my bedroom window? Not only was that really creepy, but it crushed every barrier I had made in brain trying not to think about him.

"Um… well, this is weird" He shrugged his big shoulders and I just about punched him.

"Weird?! That's all? How about psychotic? You throw rocks at my window in the middle of the night, in a thunder storm and all you say is 'this is weird'?" I was struggling to keep my voice at a moderate level, though it was difficult. He could barely hear me anyway and I wanted to scream!

Here is the boy I hadn't been able to get out of my mind for the past week, throwing stuff at my bedroom window after refusing to speak or even look at me for days and it was only weird to him. I guess wearing a straight jacket would qualify as normal?

"Yeah… I guess you're right. I just…." He sighed and looked around. He was only wearing those cut off shorts but with- gasp- a worn out and drenched t-shirt. I could hear the indecision in his voice, the cautiousness. "I just wanted to see you again, I guess"

"And you think now is the best time? We go to school together!" Hair was plastered to my face as the wind tossed it all around. Lighting lit the world around us in intense yellow light and I could finally see his face, for just a moment.

My anger boiled over, replaced with an insane worry. For him. In that second of visibility, he looked pained and torn. My heart ached for him in a way that should not have been normal.

Without warning, I wrapped my arms around his waist. He froze in surprise, his body heat banning the slight chill that had begun to set in. After a moment, his arms came around me, pulling me closer to him. It felt so familiar, so right. But at the same time, it scared me. How could I be so attached to this boy after only meeting him once, only saying about 50 words to him… what was he feeling right then?

Thunder clapped right over head and we jumped apart, surprised at what had just happened. I kept my eyes glued to the ground, hugging myself in the rain. I didn't want to look at him, see the expression on his face. It would only make me want to wrap my arms around him forever. Or hide in embarrassment.

Needless to say, I was not expecting what happened next. What I heard. It seemed so… out of place on a night like this.

Jacob was laughing. A low wheeze at first but building up into a loud booming laughter. When I finally looked up, I didn't need lightning to see his face. His smile lit it up enough. It felt like this was the real Jacob, not the guy who had more or less kicked me out of the forest and thrown rocks at my window to be weird. This smiling, laughing guy was who I had really been thinking about for a week, 24/7. And now that he was there, in front of me…. I didn't know what to do.

Should I have crept back inside and called the cops or laughed too? Maybe I should have said something… significant. Whatever that meant.

So I just smiled like someone who doesn't quite get the joke but smiles anyway. Committing the sound to memory, I watched him, his teeth flashing brilliant white in the dark. Eventually, his rolling laugh slowed to a chuckle, then a lingering smile. Our eyes met and I'm not sure, but I could swear something happened. Something clicked into place. And I couldn't look away, no matter how hard I tried… if I had even tried.

Neither of us looked away, the emotions in his eyes leaving me breathless. He didn't love me or anything. That was crazy, but that look… it made me blush. I was sure I'd be pink forever.

But suddenly, like lightning striking, his warm brown eyes turned cold. Turned dark. He looked away and clenched his jaw. I remembered that it was raining and shuddered, looking at my muddy shoes.

How… frustrating. Just when you think he likes you… he goes all robotic on you. I couldn't keep up with all his personalities- that there were more than the two I knew. Lovable Jacob, and Depressing Jacob.

I didn't hear him approach me, but his hand was suddenly under my chin, tilting my head upwards. Now my heart was really hammering.

Oh God… is he going to kiss me!?

"I'll…. Do… Can I see you tomorrow?" Jacob asked, I could feel his warm breath on my face.

Not quite a kiss… but he wanted to see me? By choice? That was better than nothing. Better, actually, since I was still confused about him, and the effect he had my nervous system.

"You know where to find me" And with a smile, he dropped his hand and ran off into the woods.

There wasn't a chance of me getting any work done now.