Chapter 2

The only bad part of Joey's weekend was that her shoulder ached from when she had run into that living brick wall. Everything else had been superb. The meeting with the advisor went well, she met a few new classmates, and it looked as though she might even be able to get an apartment. Now all she had to do was graduate from high school.

Easier said than done.

Senioritis was a pain. She wasn't focusing as much in class and the attention to detail on her homework that had made her popular with her teachers was lacking. She knew what caused it though. Ever since that weekend on the west side, her mind had constantly drifted to that guy she had run into. She was pretty sure she saw him on campus – he was one of the three bohemoths traipsing around the campus looking at displays and girls (the latter more than the former) – and it didn't matter which one he was, because either way he was absolutely gorgeous. In all honesty, she hoped he remembered the promised cup of coffee. At least then she could get the name of her victim…maybe a number too if she played her cards right.

The plan the pack thought up worked like a charm. It had taken all of Jacob's control to not rip through his skin and kill the both of them, but he knew it would be his two best friends he would loose. And his car. And while the thought of loosing either was unpleasant, at least his car had never gone behind his back and did something like they had. When Embry refused to pull over and let him change, it got harder to hold back and he shook like a 10.0 earthquake. The Rabbit shook along with him. He did however, calm down enough to hear what they were saying. While he most certainly did not like the idea of going to even more school and he definitely hated that they went behind his back, the fact that they were all trying to help him did not escape his notice.

It was the first time in a long time the pack took an outward approach to bringing him back to the Jacob they knew and loved. Before this had been accepting silence. Before that, it was letting him fight it out with Paul and Jared. He figured the pack was giving him one last hurrah. He knew they loved him and wanted the best for him, and he wished he could be carefree like he used to be. But how could he go back? His best friend chose death. Chose that bloodsucker over him. And he loved Bella. Every fiber of his being ached to make her happy, and it still hadn't been enough. Did that mean he wasn't enough? That he didn't deserve love? He didn't want to feel this way.

Damnit, why can't I just imprint and make this drama go away?!, he asked himself. Whatever mystical wolf gods were out there watching over his pack seemed to pick a mate for everyone but him. Jared and Kim. Sam and Emily. Quil and little Claire. Even Seth just imprinted on some girl at school. Karen, he thought her name was. People all around him were happy and he spent most of his free time avoiding them. Not because their happiness annoyed him – it actually made him happy to know his friends were set for life in the love department – but because he didn't want his brooding to taint their love.

On some level he knew that he was the only one who could change how he felt. But did he want to change? Was it better to mourn the loss of Bella for the rest of his life, or to forget her and try and make the most of each day? He had helped Bella find herself after the bloodsucker left her shattered. But who would help him find himself?

The last few months of their senior year passed faster than they had been prepared for. Before either Joey or Jacob were aware, they were donning their caps and gowns, saying goodbye to old friends, and barely holding back their excitement at the prospect of finally being done with high school.

It's not really hard to guess which of the two was beyond thrilled to be preparing for Peninsula College. Joey's whole family, minus Mike (who was on a secret mission somewhere in some unnamed country) was there at the Spokane Opera House with bullhorns – even though people had been told to leave them at home – to celebrate the youngest member of the family's accomplishments.

Things were quite similar on the other side of the country. Jacob, Quil, and Embry's support group was clearly noticeable in the stands. It was hard to miss their families, the pack, and their pack's family members taking up the majority of the space in the crowded auditorium. Hey, they couldn't help it if they were popular. Just quietly, Billy Black was amazed at how Jacob managed to pull himself together after everything that had happened. Especially in regards to Bella. He knew how much his son loved her, and how much it killed him when she not only chose someone over him, but that she had chosen his mortal enemies and their way of life as well.

It was good that Jacob decided to go to college after high school. He had been toying with the idea of moving into Forks with Embry, but Sam was not too thrilled with that idea. If something happened, they would have a hard time finding the privacy necessary to transform and get to La Push in any sort of a timely manner. Still, it was something to be taken into consideration.

Billy pushed these thoughts aside as his mammoth son made his way through the crowd to his dad with a look of victory on his face. He swelled with happiness as he noticed how Jacob walked with a confident gait for the first time in months. Most of the shadows that had haunted his son's face were not to be found.

"So…mechanic's school, huh?"

"Yeah, the whole supernatural thing I have going is great. Doesn't pay the bills though."

"You could always join a circus."

"Tempting, but I'll pass. Thanks for the support though," he laughed, "I was thinking of becoming a veterinarian, but how would the cats react?"

Billy laughed. Jacob was back.

Joey and her family got out of the car after Dave parked it in the garage. Chris, one of Joey's brothers, slung an arm around her shoulder and directed her outside.

"So, I know you've been wanting to pimp your ride for a while…" he said. Joey got suspicious.

"Yeeeeeah…."

"Well, tell me what you think," he said as he pointed to a car coming down the street.

There was Joey's Jeep Wrangler. It had been made at some point in the mid 90s. She wasn't exactly sure when. But it was her dream car from when she was 10. Yellow, two doors, stick shift, and had a black rag top. In front of her stood her yellow Jeep. It was cleaner. And it now had flames painted across the front end. Bitchin.

"Oh. My. God."

"You like?" Chris asked.

"I love." It was what she had always wanted to do to it. She just never had the money for the paint job.

"Good. It was Mike's idea, but we all pitched in to get it done."

Leave it to Mike to come up with the coolest present ever. She wasn't surprised. He was her favorite brother after all. Two peas in a pod, as her Gran would say. She was just thankful Aidan didn't have the idea to give her car hydraulics as well. He watched too much of "Pimp My Ride" and usually got too many ideas from it.

The car parked in front of the house, her brother Kevin climbing out.

"So?" he called?

"It's wicked awesome. Thanks guys!" she said as the rest of her family joined her and Chris on the front porch. She turned and looked at her family. Mom, Dad, Chris, Kevin, and Aidan. She was going to miss them a lot when she left, but she had to do this, right? She had to learn how to stand on her own two feet without relying too heavily on her family. At some point, she had to grow up, and she figured that going to college would be as good a time to learn as any. She just hoped she wouldn't get homesick. Kev would never let her hear the end of it.

"C'mon Joe!" Adrian yelled as he ran into the house, "Let's play some football!"

Joey just groaned.