Chapter Five

"Pick whatever you want," my dad says as he throws the menu at Jacob.

"He's going to regret that," Jacob mutters as he sits down on my living room couch and opens the menu. "I can eat a lot. Especially Chinese food. You have to basically eat your weight in it to be filled. "So … how mad do you think your boyfriend is going to be."

"Livid, I suppose," I answer. "He's not used to people not listening to him."

"That's an Alpha trait," Jacob states, nodding. "It won't go away."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," I scoff.

"And what do you have to say about it?" Jacob responds as he looks up from the menu to look at me. There's a smile on his face, but I can tell that this is a serious question, and I know exactly what he means by it.

"I don't know," I answer honestly. "It would be surprisingly hard to make me choose between the two of you. Obviously, I have known him longer, but he has lied to me and strung me on."

"How so?" Jacob asks as he looks back at the menu. He's trying to appear nonchalant.

"Well …" I begin, "he has a different girlfriend almost every week, and it's never me. So it really would serve him right if he lost me."

"But you don't want to pick," Jacob finishes for me.

"Not at all," I respond.

"You really shouldn't have to," he replies, shrugging, "things like this aren't supposed to happen. I suppose it's the Universe trying to play a joke on me. It seems like I'm always the brunt of the Universe's jokes."

"Speaking of which," I begin, "you still have to tell me why you left Washington."

"I'll give you the short version for now," he says as he cranes his neck, probably to make sure that my father is not anywhere to close. He leans over and whispers in my ear, "Vampires."

"That's a very short version," I observe. I don't even question the existence of vampires. If werewolves can exist, so can they, I suppose. Not much can surprise me right now. "Care to elaborate a little bit?"

"There was a girl, too," he adds, "and she's going to be marrying one of those vampires. I couldn't take it. I had to leave."

"You're in love with this girl?" I ask.

"Very much so," he answers. "At least I think so."

"You think so?" I press. "How hard is it to tell?"

"Well, when I was near her, I thought I was in love with her. It hurt me to see her with him. But the farther and farther I got away from her, the easier it got to think about her with him. Now, it doesn't hurt at all," he exclaims.

"Maybe it's not love, then," I suggest. "Maybe it's just jealousy towards this other guy. He won and you didn't."

"You're so kind …" Jacob trails off. "What are you going to get?"

"Chicken Lo Mein," I answer. "It's what I always get. What about you?" Obviously he's done talking about that. If he were Gavin, I would push. But he's not. I know how far I can go with Gavin, but this guy is new. I have to be careful.

"Sesame chicken, pork fried rice, shrimp lo mein, and a few egg rolls," he answers. I can't help but laugh. "What? You hang out with werewolves all the time, don't you?"

"I hang out with Gavin all the time," I correct him. "And he was hiding the whole wolf thing from me, and doing a very good job. That includes eating normal amounts of food while near me."

"You see, that's what doesn't make sense to me," Jacob states. "If you're his imprint, he should have told you as soon as he knew. That's usually what happens because when you find that person, you don't want to run the risk of losing them. And you're saying he waited three years?" I nod.

"About three years, yes," I reply.

"Something's going on. That just doesn't add up," Jacob finishes.

"What doesn't add up?" My father asks as he comes back into the living room with the portable phone in his hand.

"Uhmmm … the prices of this food," I answer quickly. Jacob looks impressed.

"Yeah, it's ridiculous," my father agrees, "but it's pretty good. Have you decided what you want?" I give him my order, even though he already knows it, and then Jacob gives his. "Where are you gonna put all that, kid?"

"I'll find room for it," Jacob promises. My dad laughs and dials the number. Now it's my turn to be impressed. I thought my father was going to give him a hard time. I mean, he always gives Gavin and the Awahnee boys a bunch of crap. I would even go as far as saying that he hates them. But he's being very civil towards Jacob.

What did those boys do to my father? I'm having a hard time believing that they cause that much trouble in the park. And even if they did, they would be doing it as wolves, wouldn't they? And my dad doesn't know about that. At least, I don't think that he does.

Gosh, I have so many questions right now. It's completely possible that nothing is as I thought it was.

"You all right?" Jacob murmurs. "You looked pretty far away."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assure him. "I was just thinking about something."

"About what?" Jacob asks. Normally, I would be upset or annoyed by someone pressing me this way. I'm a pretty private person, but I really don't mind it with Jacob. I guess that goes with being his imprint. It's really easy to talk to him and what's more, I actually want to open up to him.

"Nothing," I answer. Just because I want to doesn't mean I will. At a time like this, I'm thinking it's better to keep everything to myself until I've got everything figured out for sure. There's a knock on the door.

"I'll go get that," my father says.

"Twenty bucks says it's Gavin," Jacob bets.

"I'm not betting against you," I answer. We don't even have to ask who it is.

"Get out of here," my father orders. Yep, that's Gavin all right.

"I know you told me you never wanted to see me here, Mr. Kincaid," he begins, "but I really need to talk to Tegan."

"Is she ignoring you or something?" He asks. "That's the only reason I can think for you to come here like this. If she is, I can't really say I'm upset about it."

Now this is different. I haven't heard Gavin and my father speak for years. My dad really doesn't like Gavin. I used to just think it was because he's always hanging around me and I'm the only family he's got left, but his behavior towards Jacob has proven that theory wrong. Something happened between the two of them, and I really want to know about it.

"You're far away again," Jacob brings me back down to Earth.

"Sorry," I answer, "there's just so much to think about. I can't believe I never noticed any of it before."

"Like what?" Jacob asks.

"Like how much my father hates Gavin," I supply. Even as I say this, they are still arguing at the front door. "But as far as I know, he has no reason for it. I used to just think it was because he is a boy in whom I am interested, but that theory is out the window now that he is being nice to you."

"I don't know if you have noticed this," Jacob begins, "but your boy Gavin is the biggest jerk in California. Maybe even the world. I think that's reason enough."

"He's not a jerk to me," I remind him.

"That's because he wants you to think that you're his imprint," Jacob counters.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think you're his imprint," Jacob says simply. "I think he's lying. I don't know why he would, maybe because he just feels threatened by me and knows that you'll believe him. There is one good thing to be said for him, though. He must really care for you if he's willing to lie about something like that just to keep you. Pretending you're his imprint would keep him from acknowledging his real imprint, even if he found her."

"Unless he wanted to lose me," I finishes.

"And I don't think he's willing to lose you," Jacob adds. That's when the door slams and my father walks back into the living room, looking as calm as he did when he exited. I look at him expectantly.

"I have to say, I'm not too upset about our choice to not speak to him," he states.

"I'm speaking to Gavin," I inform my father, "just not right now. He's being a little … territorial." Jacob snorts.

"He doesn't want you hanging out with her, does he?" My dad asks Jacob.

"More or less," Jacob answers, shrugging.

"Well, don't you let him and the other Awahnee boys scare you off," my dad says, though it's more like an order. "They're all a bunch of inconsiderate punks." I stifle a laugh. He sounds like such a senior citizen. Jacob, however, has much more control over himself than I do.

"I'll keep that in mind, sir," he says.

"So, how long are you and your family staying in Yosemite? Are they enjoying the park?" Of course, conversation with my dad always turns to the park.

"I'm actually here on my own," says Jacob. "Just wanted to get out of town for the summer, you know? But I like it. The wilderness is beautiful."

"It really is," my dad agrees, "and have you seen the sky at night, yet?"

"I have," Jacob answers, "it's spectacular." What's really spectacular is Jacob. He doesn't seem nervous at all. In fact, he looks right at home chatting with my father. He really is very charming. And now that Jacob has mentioned that Gavin could be lying, I am starting to feel a difference in my attraction to him.

With Gavin, it's purely physical. If he wasn't as hot as he is, I don't think I would want to be his girlfriend. I would be perfectly content being his best friend.

But Jacob makes me feel warm inside, a warmth I haven't really felt since before my mother died. Like there is no one I would rather be around than him, and if I'm not going to be around him, then I'm going to find a way.

But then again, it could all just be Power of Suggestion. Jacob could just be saying these things to make me angry with Gavin. After all, I don't really know much about him. He could be a liar. Hell, for all I know, he could be insane. But for some reason it doesn't really matter to me.

"How old are you, Jacob?" My father asks.

"Sixteen," Jacob answers, "and you can call me Jake. Jacob is so formal."

"Sixteen!" My father exclaims, which is totally understandable. Jacob does not look like he's sixteen. I think back to a few hours ago when I thought he was at least two years older if not more. "You must be at least 6'5"!"

"6'7", actually," Jacob corrects a little haughtily. He's apparently proud of his height. That's when the doorbell rings. My dad gets up to get it and pay.

But when he comes back, his demeanor is completely different. It's as if he's in a completely different mood than he was thirty seconds ago. I can see that Jacob notices it, too, and I can feel him start become uncomfortable as he sits next to me. My father spends the meal in silence, seemingly thinking to himself. Jacob and I make casual conversation in an attempt to make things less awkward, but it's not really working. If anything it's just making it worse.

And so goes the next half hour of my life. Tense and uncomfortable. It wouldn't have been so annoying if my father had been obnoxious from the start.

"Do you have anywhere to stay, Jake?" I ask as he starts to consolidate all of his trash. I'm amazed that he actually ate all that food.

"No," he answers, "I'll find a place, though."

"Why not here?" I ask. "You could crash on the couch."

"No," my father says quickly, "he can't."

"Dad," I whine, "why not? I promise I'm not gonna let him sneak into my room or something. Gosh, don't you trust me?"

"I trust you just fine, Tegan," he assures me. "It's him that I don't trust."

"Dad!" I exclaim.

"It's all right, Tegan," Jacob says as he stands up, ready to leave. "It's your father's house, and if he doesn't want me here than I'll leave."

"That's what I like to hear," my father answers with a forced smile. "In fact, I'll show you to the door." I don't get a chance to protest as my father herds Jacob towards the front door, leaving me there sputtering. I'm hoping to catch some of their conversation, but they both go outside and the door slams behind them. They're not out there for very long, maybe a minute or so, but when my father comes back in, he does not look to happy.

"What did you say to him!?" I demand as I get in his face.

"It's none of your concern," he answers.

"Of course it's my concern!" I exclaim. "You just threw out my friend! In a very rude manner, might I add! What happened? It seemed like you liked him."

"I don't need to explain myself to you," he says to me. "I'm your father and I'll do what I think is best for you."

"You don't know what's best for me," I mumble as I turn on my heels and storm towards the stairs.

"What did you say to me, young lady?" My father barks.

"I said," I begin as I turn around on the middle of the staircase, "that you don't know what's best for me."

"Like hell I don't!" He shouts.

"Mom would never let you act this way if she were still alive," I go for the low blow. "She would wonder why you were being such a pig-headed jerk. Jacob did nothing to offend you in any way, shape, or form. You're just being unreasonable, like you always are."

"You can think what you want," dad says after he takes a few seconds to regain his cool, "but you'd better leave your bedroom door open." And then he turns around and walks into the kitchen.

"Leave my door open?" I say softly to myself as I walk back towards my room. Why would he want me to leave my door open? I never leave my door open. He must know more than I think.

He must want to be listening for something.

Like maybe a werewolf coming in through my window.