Chapter Two

"Great, Jacob Black, though it's been wonderful to meet you, I think it's time you left," Gavin continues to push, making me suspicious. I mean, he had already pretended to be my boyfriend, which I'm sure if going to piss Jenna off, but now he's being super pushy, which is not Gavin. At all. One of the reasons we're such good friends is that we're both so laid back. We go with the flow, we don't let anything bother us.

Except for Jacob Black, I guess.

"Fine," Jacob gives in. He's lost this contest, but something tells me that he's really not all that bothered by it. "It was nice meeting you, Tegan." And he doesn't say 'see you around' but I can feel it in the way he looks at me before he turns on his heel and walks out of the shop.

"Hm, he didn't buy anything," Gavin observes as he heads back towards the counter towards a fuming Jenna.

"What the hell was that about!?" I demand as I follow him, close on his heels.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he responds as he grabs the log book and opens up to my page. He signs me out. "You don't mind if I take Tegan home a little early, do you, Jen?" He asks. Apparently the question was rhetorical because he doesn't wait for an answer. "You won't tell, right? Good." He kisses her briefly and then turns quickly, grabs me by the wrist and heads for the door.

"What are you doing?!" I demand. "Let go of me! Gavin!"

"I'm taking you home," Gavin states, "I'm sure your father will be very happy about that."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on," I assure him. This is only a bluff. He can make me do anything, simply because of his physical advantage.

"I'd love to explain, Teag," he states as he uses his keyless entry to unlock the doors of the Beemer. "But … I just can't right now, OK?" We opens the driver side door and folds himself into the car. However, I just stand outside, trying really hard to stick to my guns.

"Why can't you explain?" I ask through the open window.

"If you get in the car and let me take you home, I will explain as best I can later, all right?" He sounds frustrated, but underneath the frustration there is something else. It sounds like anxiety, and now I'm really scared. Gavin is always so sure about everything, like he always knows exactly what is going to happen. But he seems so unsure and it scares me, so I sigh and get in the car. "Thank you, Teag."

"So, what was with telling Jacob that you're my boyfriend?" I ask the second question that is on my mind.

"To discourage him," he answers, "though it didn't work. You need to learn to trust my judgment, Teag. I do everything I do for a reason."

"Discourage him from what, exactly?" I persevere.

"Look, that will all be in my explanation later, all right?" Gavin snaps as he picks up speed. He knows none of the cops will pull him over because most of them are Awahnee and know his car. The drive from the gift shop to my house normally takes about fifteen minutes.

Today it took nine.

Instead of just letting me out of the car to let myself into the house, he turns off the engine to come inside with me.

"What are you doing, now?" I demand.

"Making sure that your house is secure. I can't stay here with you," he states.

"All right, Gav, you're scaring me now," I tell him.

"I don't think you're in any danger," he assures me, "I just don't want to take any chances."

"Do you think Jacob is going to try and break in or something?" I ask. Gavin doesn't answer as I unlock the front door and he walks in. He checks all the windows on the first story to make sure they're locked, and then he goes to the back door to check that. After he is satisfied with the first story, he moves onto the second, going into my room and my dad's room and the bathroom.

"No, I don't think he'll break in," he answers, "but I wouldn't put it past him to come in through something that's open."

"Do you know him or something?" I ask.

"No," he answers. "Look, Teag, save all questions for later. I will answer anything you want me to, I just don't have time right now, all right? I need to go. Stay here until I come back. Please?" He sounds so desperate that I can't do anything but say that I'll stay in the house. "Thank you so much." He grabs me by the sides of my head and kisses my forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

And then he's gone.

"I swear, I could kill him," I mutter to myself as I head downstairs into the kitchen. Being that I only had a granola bar for breakfast and a few of Jenna's potato chips for lunch, I'm completely starving. I slap some peanut butter on some nutritious white bread and bring it into the living room to plop down in front of the television. I don't turn it on, though, I have way too much think about.

I run my conversation with Jacob Black through my head over and over, trying to find signs, reasons for Gavin's strange behavior, but I've got nothing. He didn't seem dangerous. He seemed rather lost, like he had no idea what he was doing until he saw me.

I'm not going to lie, I liked it. And then when he touched me my whole body felt like it was the gas and Jacob Black was the lit match. Being around him made me feel suddenly aware of myself in a way that I never had been before. And I was aware of him, too, as if he was the only thing in the world for that moment.

It was like the way I feel when I'm around Gavin, only a little more intense. I'm used to feeling that way around Gavin by now. I've known him since I was a freshman in high school, making him a sophomore. I suppose it's just normal infatuation. The same thing with Jacob Black.

I mean, the kid is gorgeous. Though I might be wrong in calling him a kid. He seemed to be at least eighteen. I have absolutely no trouble bringing his picture back to my mind. The eyes come first. They seemed kind enough, but at the same time there was something angry in them, as if he had been screwed over and hadn't quite gotten over it yet. The rest of his face follows; the high cheekbones, the short dark hair, the mouth that was slightly wider than it needed to be, making his smile quite stunning.

His clothes seemed a little haggard, as if he had been traveling, but that was obvious. He did say that he had just gotten into town.

It takes me a moment to figure out that I am not imagining Jacob Black, but staring at him through my living room window. It's a little creepy, but surprisingly, I'm not scared.

He smiles when he sees that I have noticed him, and then walks up the sidewalk to my front door. Then I hear the knock, and without even thinking, I get up to let him in. It just seems like the right thing to do. This boy is not going to cause me any harm, I can just feel it.

"Did you follow us home or something?" I ask as I look around the street for a strange car, but don't see anything.

"Uhm … something like that," Jacob answers as he shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels.

"Would you like to come inside?" I ask as I move aside to let him pass, but he doesn't move.

"I don't think your friend would like that," he states. "Gavin, right? Yeah, I got the impression that he didn't want me to be around you."

"Yeah, I have no idea what that was about, I'm really sorry about that," I say. "But you don't have to worry about him, this is my house. Well, my home. I don't own it, my father does."

"And how would he feel about a strange boy coming into his house?" Jacob asks.

"You know, you're right, he probably wouldn't like it," I agreed. My curiosity will not allow me to just shut my front door in this boy's face, though. "I guess I'll just come outside, then." I make sure the door is not locked and close it behind me, and then I go and sit on my front lawn. "Sit down." I pat a patch of grass. Jacob smiles that same smile that I remembered so vividly as he sits down next to me.

"So, it seemed like I had your boyfriend in a bit of a-"

"He's gone crazy," I cut Jacob off, "I really don't know what's up. He's never like that. And he's also never been my boyfriend."

"Does he have a lot of friends?" Jacob asks. This seems like a strange question, but I answer it anyway.

"Tons, he's pretty popular," I answer. Jacob just nods.

"In that case, I really can't stay that long," he says to me. "Are you working at that gift shop tomorrow?"

"No," I answer, "I'll be working there every other day."

"So tomorrow you're free all day?" He asks.

"Basically," I answer. "So, where are you staying?"

"I don't know yet," he answers. "I might just pull up a camping spot in the park."

"You have a tent?" I ask. "So you came here to go camping?"

"Not really," he answers, "I wasn't really quite sure what I was doing when I showed up here, but I think I might stick around for a while to find out." Suddenly he stiffens and stands up. "But not right here. I'll come see you again, all right? Maybe later. Can you tell me which of those windows is yours?"

"Uhm … sure?" I reply. I point up to my bedroom window and say, "It's the one all the way on the right." I barely have time to squeeze it out before he strides away urgently, though.

I'm so confused. I really need to know what's going on.

I walk back inside as I wonder what the hell is wrong with all the boys in the planet. And why did Jacob Black show up at my house just to leave about thirty seconds later? And why did I feel so comfortable pointing out my bedroom window to him?

Well, you can bet that I'm going to ask Gavin as soon as he gets back here.