A/N: A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, they always make me smile! This chapter takes place over a few days, i'm not sure how clear that is so i thought i'd let you know. I don't own anything you recognise, Stephanie does. Only 4 days until Breaking Dawn! So excited now. Read, review, enjoy!

Supernova

Chapter 9: "It's Sixteen Miles To The Promised Land, And I Promise You I'm Doing The Best I Can." – Rilo Kiley, With Arms Outstretched.

In the end I took the bus up to Port Angeles and spent the morning searching through the ocean-side town for dresses like Aunt Diana suggested. Being surrounded by strangers, normal humans with their stumbling feet and harsh voices, it comforted me. It was nice being on my own for a bit, giving myself time to breath again. Eventually I found a little boutique filled with pretty knick-knacks and quirky dresses. The shop assistant helped me narrow my choices down because I wasn't sure whether I was going over the top, and I mean I barely knew the people whose weddings I was attending. Then I remembered that I wasn't really going because of the couple (or at least I wasn't in the first case) so what did it matter as long as I felt good?

When I finished there wasn't much of Diana's money left, but I met with Leah in a café for a lunchtime coffee (or hot chocolate in my case). When Jacob left that morning I turned my phone on to find my inbox jammed with messages from Leah, and 20 missed calls. I recalled what Jacob had said last night about Leah and me being soul mates, how we just got each other. He was right, though I was loathed to admit it. Friends come in all shapes and sizes, all depths, some last a lifetime, others are as fleeting as the seasons, and all as important as the next. Diana had told me not to forget Leah and I made a promise to myself that I never would.

After some awkward hellos and a few uncomfortable silences we seemed to be getting back on track. It was hard at first when all I could here was her guilt-drenched voice telling me that she had stolen Callum's pictures and burned them. I still didn't know what to think about that, so I chose to ignore it for the time being.

We were in there for an hour. She didn't mention yesterday afternoon, and neither did I. That was until we were in the car heading to Forks.

Her windows were rolled down and the wind whipped through the vehicle tangling our hair, hers a beautiful jet black, mine straw blonde. The heat that usually filled her car was absent, I felt relaxed as I slipped down in the seat and propped my toes on the dashboard. I had painted my nails with my favourite purple polish the day before I left for Washington. I had been so proud of the neatness, no smudges or fabric imprints, perfectly shiny. Now they were chipped around the edges. I wiggled them, expecting Leah to snap at me about disrespecting her mother's car (not that she really cared, but any excuse with her). She didn't, she just kept driving.

"I wanted a pony," I said to break the silence. "When I was little I begged my…" deep breath, no running… "Dad to buy me one. He asked me where I would keep it; we lived in the city then. I told him I would keep it in my room."

Leah glanced over at me, brows furrowed. "I guess you weren't a bright kid."

I laughed, tracing a finger along the doorframe where the window peeked up. "It seemed like the greatest idea at the time. He said no, of course."

It was quiet for a moment, the roar of the engine, and the rush of the wind all I could hear. Then Leah propped one elbow on the door and rested her head in her hand, eyes still on the road. "I wanted a dolphin."

I snorted. "Didn't ask for much."

"Hey, pony girl!" She shot back defensively, head lifting from her hand. "I had it all planned. I was going to keep it in the bathtub, and on weekends we'd head to the beach. Mom wanted to know where we would wash, so I said the ocean, duh."

"So the dolphin lives in the human's bath; the humans wash in the dolphin's ocean. Makes perfect sense."

She grinned. "Exactly. My Dad said that while it was a well thought out arrangement did I not think that the dolphin would be happier in the ocean with all its friends?" Her eyes flickered to me. "I told him that it wouldn't need any other friends."

"Awww," I giggled, "bless your little heart."

She sent me a withering glare. "Then he said that family is the most important thing in this world, that if I were a dolphin he wouldn't want me taken away from him to live in a bath."

"Your dad sounds wise."

"He was." Leah nodded. "When he wanted to be."

I didn't miss the past tense used. Previously neither of us had spoken much about our families. I had the feeling that we had both been hiding from something, and that we had recognised that in each other the day we met outside the hairdressers. I wasn't going to push, not right now, not when my own past was still hovering behind me like a dark cloud.

"How does it work?" I asked, suddenly wanting to know, feeling at ease with all the forward motion around me, the wind playing with my hair.

She didn't get what I was asking at first. "What do you mean?" She puzzled.

I closed my eyes, letting the air rush against me. "The…" I paused, still finding it difficult to say out loud without feeling like a complete Muppet. "The wolf thing."

My eyes opened when she didn't answer straight away, and I found her regarding me sombrely. "Alex," she began in that soothing voice that was so at odds with her personality most of the time, "you don't have to…"

I could see the fear in her face. She was worried that if she said anything it would make me run again. While I couldn't promise that I wouldn't, I was giving it my best shot, and the only way I was going to get used to this was to talk about it. "Yeah, I kind of do. I want to know, I want to try to understand."

Leah breathed deep before she started, and throughout the explanation I felt her eyes flickering to me, checking that I was ok. "We, uh, well it's difficult to explain."

"Try."

"Ok, so, there is something else you need to know about and I don't think Jacob has told you yet. But he would, if you asked, so I guess that doesn't matter. You've heard that we are werewolves." I cringed slightly at the term, it just sounded ridiculous. "Well we're not the only mythical creatures roaming about the place. There are Vampires too." She spat the word vampire like it was poison on her tongue.

"Uh, hold up." I sat upright in my seat, twisting slightly to look at her, so that I could see any sign that she was having me on. "Vampires? As in 'I vant to suck your blood' vampires?"

Leah's fists gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Those are the ones. The filthy bloodsucking parasites." The vehemence in her voice sent a shiver of fear up my spine and for a second I could fully believe that Leah was a wolf. "Most of them live off humans, travelling around place to place, picking off their prey. One coven of them decided that they would try to live off of animal blood so that they could exist amongst humans without posing much of a threat."

"Does it work?" I found myself asking.

"Supposedly," she sneered, clearly not a believer. "The coven first came to a settlement near here – Hoquiam – down the coast, many years ago, the time of my grandfathers. They came into contact with our tribe. You see eventually the sons of Taha Aki stopped changing when they reached puberty, it is said that only when leeches are a constant presence does the change get triggered. And the numbers of bloodsuckers correlates with the number of wolves. Providing protection for our people."

"How old do they live for? The, uh, the vampires."

"They can live forever if they want to. After all," she looked a little sick, "they are already dead."

I guessed that was a good point. "So what happened when the coven and the tribe met?"

"One of the leeches stepped forward and pledged their word that they did not hunt humans. You see those that drink from animal blood have eyes of a golden colour."

"And those that drink of human?" I questioned wondering if I really wanted the answer.

"Crimson." She said shortly. "Their eyes gave truth to their words and so the pack leaders at the time drew up a treaty that forbid them from entering Quileute land and from biting any humans. It worked, and they lived pretty peacefully until the leeches moved on. Because they are frozen, like statues, in whatever state they were when they were changed, they don't age and can't be in one place too long or people get suspicious."

"Then what happened?"

"Then two years ago they came back." Her voice was dark. "This time they settled in Forks, but the treaty still held and the Quileute elders made certain they knew that."

"So, uh, what is the problem?"

Hollow eyes turned to me. "Their continued presence here set the wheels in motion. They are the reason why the pack was formed, why Sam, and Jacob, and Embry, Paul, Jared, Quil, My little brother Seth, Collin, Brady, why they all made the change. The reason why they had their humanity taken from them, their normality, this won't go away, this is it until the day we die."

"But what about you?"

She barked out a dull laugh. "I'm the great mystery that no one can explain. There are no records of women making the change before me. I am the first. The oddity."

"Oh. So how does the change come about?"

"It happens around puberty. Accelerated growth, higher temperature, strength, metabolism, and all that jazz. It's triggered by intense anger. Do you remember… down at the beach that evening… when Jacob and I…?"

I swallowed. Not my happiest memories. "Yeah." The animalistic growls, clenched fists, trembling arms, vicious looks, the panicked concern of the others, herding me away, trying to calm Jacob down. "Was that?"

"Yeah," she looked just a tiny bit guilty. "Jacob was getting on my nerves and I pushed him. Normally he's the best of us at staying calm. When we get real angry over something we get real angry, it's so intense that it's hard to explain. It just takes you over and you burst from your skin and there you are, a wolf. That's why we have to learn to control it so that we can be around people."

"You're ok with me though."

She grinned. "Yeah, most of the time. I'm getting better. I used to have a job as a waitress before, but I had to give it up, it was too dangerous."

"Wow." Was all I could think to say to that.

Leah glanced at me. "Have I scared you?"

I grimaced at the obviousness of my emotions. "Only a little bit. I'm ok. I don't think it's really sunk in yet, to be honest."

"You don't need to be afraid. No one is going to hurt you. Jacob won't let them. I won't. You don't know this but…" she shifted uncomfortably… "Everyone's really glad you came to Forks."

Surprised, I raised my eyebrows. "Really? Why?"

"Because Jacob was being such a bitch before, and now…" She let the sentence trail off.

"Now…?" I encouraged wondering where she had been going with it.

She grinned. "He's not so much. Still a pain in my ass, and I'd still like to string him up by his… But he's happier, more like the Jake we're all used to."

"What happened?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Not for me to tell. You're going to have to go to the boy himself for those answers. Lets just say Bella messed him up good."

Bella. The same Bella he described as his soul mate. The Bella who's wedding we would be attending this weekend. Together. Oh, man, this was going to be interesting.

The silence was comfortable. Both of us were content with our own thoughts, mine mulling over the new information, trying to fit it with… well, with everything. The strange moods, the meetings, the secrecy, the physical stuff, it made sense. Ok, sense wasn't the right word. It was an explanation. Not a very probable one, but I didn't exactly have a ton of theories lining up right now, and Leah was just so earnest about what she was saying.

The only way I was truly going to get it was if I saw it, but I knew that I wasn't ready for that yet. I needed the background stuff to sink in first. Once I became comfortable with that, then maybe. Although the fact that I was in anyway concerned about asking to see them suggested that maybe I wasn't quite as disbelieving as I'd convinced myself I was.

"Leah? Alex? Is that you?" the voice was polite even when it was yelling across a house.

"Yeah!" Leah returned with considerably less courtesy as we made our way through Sam and Emily's home the next afternoon.

"Oh!" Relief. "Thank goodness. Could you wash up and come help me?"

By this time we had reached the kitchen to find Emily dusted in flour and puffing a stray lock of hair from her eyes. She was stood next to a table scattered with boxes, cartons, bowls, and cups – various items of cutlery sticking from them at odd angles.

"What is going on in here?" I asked, stunned by the chaos. Leah just headed over to the sink and shoved her hands under the stream of water barely batting an eye.

Emily looked up at me, her pretty face distressed. "Kim was supposed to come over to give me a hand, but her mother had to work last minute and she can't leave her brother on his own. He's six," she added in case I was wondering. I wasn't. Emily's brows creased up, her hand gestured weakly at the jumbled table. "The pack is going to be here in less than an hour and I promised Sam I would have dinner ready for them. All of them!" Her eyes grew scarily wide. "That's 10 mouths to feed. 10! And not just normal mouths, werewolf mouths." She failed to see my flinch at the word. "Normally I'm cooking for only those on patrol. Which is around four or five most of the time." It was strange to hear her talking so normally about something that shouldn't even be real, but it was nice that the secrecy had lifted, I felt included. "I'm never going to get this all ready."

"Yes you are," Leah said firmly, tying an apron around her waist and chucking another at me. "We just need to organise, Em, that's all."

The surety in her voice visibly calmed Emily and she let out a long breath. "You're right. First things first."

Leah shot me a look over the other girl's head, rolling her eyes playfully. "How about you man the oven? Alex, how are your cooking skills?"

Knotting the apron about my waist I chuckled. "Non-existent."

"Well, that's helpful." She glanced calculatingly about the room. "So, Alex washes up. Emily bakes. I prepare. Any questions?"

Unable to resist, I clicked my heels together and raised a hand in salute. "Yes, Mam."

Emily sniggered. Leah narrowed her eyes. "You better watch your step Lieutenant Grant, or I'll have you doing laps around La Push."

I grinned, but took my place at the sink, not doubting for one moment that she would make good on her threat. Filling the basin with soapy water and eyeing the pile of dirty washing with distaste I wondered briefly how I got myself involved in this. For a generally neat person Emily sure could make a mess. The other two stepped about with strangely fierce determination, restoring sanity to the rest of the kitchen.

As we got on with our tasks the conversation flowed lightly. Teasing about my inability to cook even pasta made up the majority of the initial chat. Then they moved on to general gossip that was making the rounds in La Push, the bulk of which I had no clue about, or real interest in. It was nice to see Leah and Emily so relaxed in each other's company. For a moment I truly saw all that they had lost, their cousin and their best friend.

When things were beginning to get underway, Leah leaned around Emily to reach for the radio, turning it up so that the music flowed into the small room. It was some random top 40 station and the songs we knew we sang along to, the ones we didn't we mumbled the lyrics, laughing at our poor memories. Then, when the last batch of potatoes went in the oven, Leah grabbed Emily's oven mitt covered hands and twirled her across the room to the cheesy romantic song, dipping her ridiculously low so that the ends of her long hair brushed the tiled floor. Emily's giggles cut off when several large shadows filled the doorway.

"Sam!" she cried out, the joy still ringing from her voice. I had never seen such sudden light in someone's eyes.

Leah righted her cousin in a second and swept past without a spare glance for the arrivals, face carefully neutral. She came to a stop beside me and lifted a tea towel to do the drying. "The slave driver's helping out?" I teased, hoping to pull back some of the cheerfulness of before. She grunted.

Behind us I heard Emily as she called greetings to the others as they filed in, explaining her catastrophe and our timely rescue. When I heard Jacob's name I involuntarily shot a searching gaze over my shoulder, ignoring Leah's snicker. First thing I saw was Emily leaning against Sam, her head resting on his shoulder, his arm wrapped about her waist securely. I took in the varying sizes and shapes of the… I forced myself to think it… pack. When I met each pair of eyes the owner threw me a friendly smile (bar Paul, who didn't exactly scowl, but also showed no pleasure in seeing me), Quil waved brightly, and Embry added a welcoming nod. It was odd to think that these boys (and despite their size they were still boys) were the protectors of La Push, wolves that kept vampires from feeding in their reservation. With more responsibility on their young shoulders now than I would likely ever have even if I lived to 100.

"Looking for someone?" The familiarly smug voice came unexpectedly from my left and I am ashamed to confess I squeaked in surprise, jolting back into Leah.

"Watch it slave!" She warned, sounding like she was once again enjoying herself. Glad I provided some use. The rest of the room broke out into peels of laughter at my expense.

Heart thudding like a drum in my chest, not all of it due to the shock, I closed my eyes, breathing deep. "You had better not be standing within range of this spatula when I open my eyes Jacob Black," I threatened darkly, brandishing the implement I had been cleaning out in front of me.

"You wouldn't." He was far too sure of himself.

Eyes still shut, the corner of my mouth lifted into a devilish smirk. "Oh, really? That sounded like a challenge to me."

"Me too!" I heard Quil call out.

"Shut it Ateara!" Jacob snapped playfully.

"5 bucks on Alex!" Was Embry's far too gleeful input. There was a moment of silence, and by then I was struggling to keep my eyelids down. "Nobody going to raise it?"

"Hey!" Jacob put on a hurt voice. "A little faith would be nice."

"Sorry, man," Jared, "but she could totally whip your ass."

I lifted my lids until I was able to see a slither of russet skin.

"Come on!" Jacob was still protesting. "She's – Ouch!"

A loud cheer went up and I grinned, spinning the spatula 360 and blowing invisible smoke from the top like a cowboy in a cheesy spaghetti western.

Leah patted me on the shoulder. "Nice," she approved, "been wanting to do that for months."

Jacob pouted, rubbing his bicep, and sending me the best damn puppy-dog eyes I had ever been witness to. "Alex," he whined.

"Call yourself a werewolf…" I muttered, shaking my head at the pathetic display.

Almost imperceptibly his eyes widened with my casual use of the word. It was getting easier. "But it hurts!"

"Maybe he wants a plaster for his boo-boo," Paul snickered.

The buzzer went off just as Jacob's mouth opened to shoot something back at him – not very complimentary by the look of it.

"Food!" Embry approved with a delighted expression.

Emily hurried over to the oven and began unloading straight onto the table. Most of the guys by-passed the plates and shoved the steaming hot grub into their mouths. I realised what Emily meant when she said Werewolf appetites. Jeez. It was like feeding time at the zoo, only with fewer manners.

Leah had shot from my side the moment the trays hit the table, Jacob, however, was very much still present. With the rest of the rooms occupants distracted, he leaned over, his scent surrounding me, and whispered hot into my ear.

"That wasn't very nice."

I didn't look at him. It was partly because he was so close that I couldn't without kissing him and partly because the scene unfolding before me was so fascinating. Instead I just smirked wider.

"You told me you were a good girl," he teased, very well, I might add.

"I lied."

"You know," he mused in that tone that made my eyes narrow suspiciously and my heartbeat pick up, "I kissed yours better."

"What?" I yelped, earning a couple of curious glances from the feast.

His chuckle was low. I felt Goosebumps prickle across my bare arms. "I'm just saying."

I took a step back and turned to see his mockery of an innocent expression. He met my eyes straight on, mischief glittering in their dark depths. "You're not scared are you?"

Oh. He was bating me, and I knew it, but I couldn't convince myself not to play-a-long. "Of you? Hardly," I scoffed.

"Is that so?" he frowned. "Because it kind of seems like you are. Won't even give me one small kiss after you brutally attacked me."

"One," I clarified for reasons unknown.

He nodded, trying to hold back his winners smile. "Just the one."

"Fine." I stepped forward until I was nearly chest-to-chest with him. I could feel his eyes grinning down on me. Smug git. The idle chatter around us faded out as I leaned to the side and pressed my mouth to the warm muscle of his arm. I opened my lips and traced the tip of my tongue across the soft, smooth skin, tasting the tang of salt. Then I pulled back and blinked up at him like a naïve schoolgirl. "Better?"

The heat from his eyes was enough to make my knees tremble. I was breathing him in with shallow breaths; he smelt like freedom, like safety, like a summer breeze, warm and playful. I was well and truly caught. Jacob was everywhere and Jacob was everything.

He cleared his throat and ran a hand roughly through his messily tied up hair. "Uh, yeah. Thanks."

"Thanks?" I raised an eyebrow, amused.

He shrugged, looking as if he was going to blush. "I didn't know what to say."

"Alright," I sniggered, turning back to the table, "smooth."

"Hey Casanova!" Quil waved a chicken drumstick over his head like a S.O.S flag. "Catch!"

The food missile flew through the air and I stared with a slightly gaping mouth as Jacob's large hand shot out casually and caught it. In an instant the chicken was in his mouth.

"Alex?" Quil asked as he lifted another piece.

"I can't catch that…" I protested.

"No problem." He threw it over.

I closed my eyes and raised my hands up in defence, resigned to my fate of getting hit by cooked chicken.

"Uh, Alex?" Jacob chuckled.

I cracked an eye open to find Jacob holding out the drumstick for me to take with laughter dancing in his eyes. "Oh, right." I couldn't stop the blush spreading as I snatched the food from his fingers. "Cheers."

"You are such a dumbass." Leah shook her head affectionately. At least I think it was affection.

"Shut up," I grumbled through a mouthful.

Maybe I should have felt guilty about how easily the lies flew from my lips. It was almost a default setting back home. 'Yes, mum, I have done that assignment.' 'No, Mrs Pritchard didn't see me outside the pub with a boy. Must have been someone else.' And the all purpose: 'I'm fine.' 'No, I don't want to talk about it.' It was as simple as that, done almost without thinking.

But, I was trying to change, to be a better person. Lying is not being better, it's falling into old habits. Wrong. That is one of the first things you are taught, fundamental, liars are bad people.

Are you still a bad person if your lie is to protect a friend?

Callum came straight over to me when I entered the library for my shift. There was a determination in the lines of his face that made me look away. I sat at the front desk, reading a sticky-note from Carol about what to do with the pile of books to my left.

"Alex," Callum said. "Are you feeling better? Diana said…"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Just a migraine." I couldn't look at him.

Silence. I heard him shift, fingers tapping dully on the counter. "You know, I really am sorry about yesterday. About what I accused you of."

"That's ok, really," I insisted, crumpling the note and tossing it into the bin behind me. "I mean I was the only other person who knew."

He cleared his throat, the sound tense, forced. "Yeah, about that…" I glanced up beneath my lashes. The resolve of a moment ago had vanished, replaced by uncertainty, a nervous hand rubbing the back of his neck, eyes down. "Did you, uh… did you speak with Leah?"

"Sure," I said, easy as a breeze.

His brows crossed, frustrated. "Well? What did she say? Did you ask about the missing pictures?"

Lifted my eyes up, expression sober. The lie is only as good as the person who tells it. "I did. She said she has no idea where they are. She didn't take them."

"Is she certain?" He believed that is what she told me, but he still didn't trust in Leah.

I nodded. "Absolutely. She's never actually seen them. And why would she? What purpose could she have for them?"

Just to conceal her identity as a werewolf, and keep him from exposing her pack's secret. But Callum didn't know that, and I wasn't about to enlighten him either.

His hand rubbed across his mouth. "Yeah," he conceded, "I guess you're right."

The battle was won. "Maybe you left them somewhere," I said, half teasing, half serious. "I've been in your car, remember?"

He didn't really answer just looked perplexed by the whole thing. That made two of us.

Jacob picked me up after work the day before Bella's wedding. It was pretty funny to see the look on Enid's sour face when the 6ft muscled guy strolled into the library with a cheery grin. I wasn't sure if she'd need surgery to get her eyebrows back down from her hairline. Luckily Diana was less surprised as Jacob had cleared it with her earlier, he wasn't taking chances right now. Or so he said.

It quickly became apparent when I peered up and down the street for his car that his good behaviour was being saved purely for when my aunt could see him. Smart boy.

"So, uh, are we walking?" I raised a quizzical brow at him.

His Cheshire grin widened. One of his large and very warm hands reached out for mine. It fit, it felt nice, handholding had never really been my thing, and I'd never understood it before. I was still staring curiously down at our entwined fingers wondering why this all felt so easy now, like breathing, when he gave me a little tug forward.

"We are walking?" I said, disbelief colouring my tone. He had to be joking.

"No." Thank god for that. "But…" Uh oh. He sent me a sidelong glance. "I was wondering if you were still totally against motorbikes?"

I snorted. "Against motorbikes? Don't be ridiculous, I've never been anti-bikes, I love them."

"Ok," he smiled at my enthusiastic response and I felt his hand squeeze mine tighter. "How do you feel about my bike?"

"Is that a euphemism?"

His laugh was full, carefree, and I found that I really enjoyed hearing it. I was seriously becoming a sap these days. Jenny would be in hysterics if she could hear my thoughts right now. Jacob must have been feeling really daring because he lifted our joined hands and pressed his soft lips to the back of my hand. "No, Alex, that wasn't a euphemism."

"Oh. Then I guess…" What did I guess? The answer came sure and swift. No running. "Yeah. Bring it on."

Jacob snickered at my answer. "Bring it on?"

I tried to tug my hand free but it was in a death grip, there was no way he was letting me go. "Jerk," I muttered, embarrassed. "I don't want to go on it now."

"Sure, sure," he brushed my comments aside as we rounded a corner and came to a stop in front of his black bike. The one I saw propped up outside the hikers shop that day. It was just too good to be true. My mother would have a fit if she saw this; the knowledge gave me that little extra push and I made to climb on but Jacob pulled me back. "Not yet."

Huh? "What do you mean not yet? We're not about to have a road safety chat are we?" My flicker of excitement died.

"No," he said as if that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "But…" He let go of me and reached across the seat, when he straightened up I think my jaw dropped.

"You're joking, right?" The helmet was silver and twice the size of my head. I knew without even touching it that I would look like the village idiot the moment it was strapped to me.

"Put it on." He ordered, no question. "You are far too important to me to get splattered across the road."

I batted my eyelashes up at him, flirtingly. "But you're too good for that to happen."

Jacob was completely unmoved he just smirked. "True. But, I'm not taking any chances. Put it on."

Pouting to show my distaste with his opinion I snatched the hideous object from him and jammed it on. "Argh," I complained tightening the strap, "So bossy!"

We took the La Push road out of Forks heading straight down to the coast. As we passed over the Quillayute River the trees blurred past me in a mesh of deep emerald and bright jade, as rich in life as the sunlight that danced down through the leaves and across our faces. I closed my eyes and breathed in the earthy scent of the forest, the freshness of the ocean, my arms tightening around Jacob's waist, his constant warmth seeping into me.

At the first glimpse of the glittering water ahead I pushed up on Jacob's shoulders, steadied myself, and let out a whoop of freedom. This was living. He tipped his head back to give me a big grin, his hair tangling out in the wind. In a second his eyes were back on the road, but I felt a sudden rush of tenderness towards him, I hugged around his neck and pressed a spontaneous kiss to his bare cheek, and managed not to bash him with the helmet.

"Thank you," I whispered into his ear, "this is awesome."

For a time we rode parallel to the icy ocean. I sat wrapped around Jacob with my head resting against his back and eyes on the shimmering strip of water. If there was a more perfect moment I was unable to imagine it at that moment. It felt like nothing could stop us. We could ride on through Washington and into Canada, or down to Oregon and onto California, or across the country to New York. I found that I didn't care were we ended up so long as it was us. Jacob and I. The feeling made me giddy. Thousands of butterflies fluttered, somersaulting in my stomach, and my heart seemed to swell in my chest. I didn't know what it was but it was something like a fairground ride, twisting, turning, out of my control, exciting as much as it was terrifying.

Finally he turned in to the small reservation town. We didn't stop outside the little red house like I thought we would. He continued on down the Quillayute Street back out of town. Where was he taking me?

Turned off the street onto a dirt road for a few minutes until the trees cleared and we came to a spread of grey stones leading down to the riverside. It was beautiful. Getting a little reluctantly off the bike I fumbled the helmet strap with fingers that felt too big. I dropped the safety equipment to the pebbles and the silence soaked into me. All that could be heard was the soft singing of birds and the gentle lap of the river against the shore. Peace.

I tried to be as quiet as I could when I walked to the water's edge. I crouched down to trail my fingers through the cool liquid. I lifted a stone from the bed, water flowing off its smooth surface, and admired how the sunlight's reflection made it look like a precious gem.

Smiling, I turned to find Jacob sat on a piece of driftwood along the way from me. His skin glowed in the afternoon light, and his dark eyes watched me, contentedly. It made me feel exposed, but I was coming to realise that maybe that was not always such a bad thing.

"It's gorgeous," I said, soft, not wanting to break the spell. Rising upright again, I wandered over to him. When I stood in front of him I tilted my head to the side, his face was troubled. "What is it?" His eyes closed and he reached over and took my hands in his, pulling me closer so that our knees bumped. My thumbs brushed the smooth skin on the back of his hands. He seemed to be struggling with something. "Tell me," I hushed, "I won't be frightened. I know all about the vampires now. Promise I won't run."

A ghost of a smile flickered on his lips, and then his eyes opened and they were calmer than before. "That was brave of you, Alex."

I puffed my chest in mock pride like I was being awarded a prefect badge. "Do I get a sticky gold star?"

He chuckled and shook his head at my idiocy. "Later."

Not letting go of his hands I took the seat next to him and leaned against his shoulder. "Is this about tomorrow?" He nodded. "Tell me, please. I will let you know if it gets to much…" I paused, the words almost sneaked past my lips but I pulled them back, holding them, making sure that I could say them out loud and mean them. "I trust you, Jacob."

He tensed, breath held tight inside. "Do you?" he barely whispered, a hint of doubt and overpowering hope.

"Yes." I gripped his hands firmly. It was the absolute truth. Strange how a few days ago I would have had to be bound and gagged for him to get me here. Since then I had been broken down. All my fears lay resting just beneath the surface; waiting for the moment I decide to voice them, release them into the air. I was building myself back up again, not different, modified, a newer edition without quite so many mistakes.

Beside me Jacob relaxed at my words, breath puffing out. "It's about the vampires." I nodded expecting as much. "And the Cullen's." That was a surprise. "And… Bella." My breath caught tight in my chest but I forced it out.

"Ok."

He turned his eyes on me then, earnest, comforting, and concealed at the back, barely noticeable, they were afraid. "I'm not going to hide things from you. You deserve to know the truth. About everything."