Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! Here's another chapter! One of you is a pretty good guesser, even if you didn't mean to be!

Disclaimer: Reece is my character, thanks.

It was a rarity in Forks to have a peaceful, quiet night that didn't involve the sky falling down on all of our heads. By now the pitter-patter was like a sort of lullaby to me that never failed to lull me to sleep.

Well. Almost never.

But I had a feeling that no matter how lulling the rain was or wasn't that night, it wouldn't be able to give me my forty winks. Nothing would.

I sat, massaging the skin around the cast on my wrist. My parents had believed the story they were given; which involved me, a tree, and a rather unfortunate accident that ended up with me beneath the tree. Supposedly it was a wonder I wasn't injured more.

Knowing what had actually happened, it was a wonder I wasn't dead.

And those thoughts were what kept me up that first night. And the one after that. And the one after that. And so on.

It was odd, but I found I could only fall to sleep, however shallow a sleep it was, when Jacob Black was in the surrounding area. I guess my body felt safe and was able to relax or something. Too bad the only time of the day Jacob was near was during chemistry class.

After successfully burning off not only my eyebrows, but my two lab partner's as well, Mr. Craney, the stuffy old man who somehow got his teaching degree and became a teacher, booted me out of class and straight to in-school-suspension, more commonly known as ISS.

Now, I had been a regular in the ISS room ever since I had arrived in Forks. It appeared that sarcastic, rude comments not only warded off potential friends, but also seemed to royally piss teachers off as well. So I was accustomed to the way things worked in the windowless dungeon the school deemed worthy enough to keep us naughty children in.

I entered in my usual fashion, nodding at Ms. Shen and taking my assigned set. Yeah, I had an assigned seat, so high were the number of times I had graced the room.

"I'm liking the new look," Ms. Shen smiled, raising her own eyebrows at my lack of such hair.

I made a face. "Yes, well, I decided they just didn't suit me and I should start fresh," I informed her.

"You do know you're still smoldering though, right?" Ms. Shen asked, taking on a serious tone.

I bobbed my head 'yes' before drooping like a dehydrated daisy onto my desk. I was completely drained from my lack of sleep, not to mention I was legally insane since I hadn't really been able to sleep in over seventy-two hours.

But even in the undisturbed silence of the ISS room, I couldn't get my brain to stop churning over the likelihood that a blood sucking monster could burst through the door at any moment, drag me to their bat cave, and exact whatever kind of revenge it is that vampires exact upon their enemies. It wasn't something I looked forward to.

However, instead of a blood sucking monster, I got a shape-shifting one.

Jacob Black went through all the normal procedure of ISS formalities and plopped heavily into the seat next to me. And none to easily I might add. That boy was big.

"Hey," he greeted me with a grin.

Now this was odd. Jake almost never got in trouble, and when he did, no teachers ever sent him away. It was like a slap on the wrist, then on with class, children! So, my mouth, working of it's own accord blurted, "What're you doing here?"

Jake took no offence and merely grinned. "I figured you could use some sleep."

I fell out of my chair. How did he know I was only at ease when he was present? How I ask you? How?!

Ms. Shen was leaning over her desk, staring at me sprawled out on her prison floor, along with the few other people in the room, all of whom most likely thought I was a lunatic. In fact, I was beginning to question my insanity as well.

"Reece? Are you okay?" Ms. Shen asked warily, as if she was scared of my answer. Why yes Ms. Shen, I commonly fall out of my chairs in a fit of joy.

Jacob had reached over to help me back into my chair and I nodded that I was fine. Ms. Shen nervously returned to her knitting, or whatever it was that woman did all day, and I went back to gaping at Jake.

"Like Carlisle said," he explained. "We've been keeping an eye on you."

"We?" I inquired, raising the area on my face that once was home to an eyebrow.

Jake shrugged. "Me, the Cullens."

"You mean you've all been spying on me?" I shrieked, receiving a look of disapproval from Ms. Shen. "Sorry."

"If that's what you want to call it," Jake continued. "We've just been making sure you're okay."

"And am I 'okay' according to your standards?" I hissed, a bit ticked off. What was with everyone and asking if I was okay?

He gave me a withering glance. "No. You need sleep.'

"Well I can't sleep during school," I protested, crossing my arms.

Jake coughed, which sounded much more like a covered up laugh, and grinned at me. "Yeah you can. Did you already forget chemistry?"

I burrowed down into my chair and grumbled. "That's not real sleep. That's me being drowsy."

"Well you don't sleep at home either," he pointed out.

"Creeper," I mumbled. See, I said I'd get proof.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Look, you only sleep when I'm around. Carlisle says that has something to do with your natural instincts feeling safe or something, I don't know," he waved his hand vaguely at his poor explanation. "Anyway, I thought you could sleep over at the reserve, just to see if you can fall asleep there, as a sort of experiment."

I laughed out loud, not thinking to try to hide my outburst. But Ms. Shen didn't even bother to scold me; I was pretty sure she had given me up as a lost cause. I drew my attention back to Jake. "I'm sure my parents would be thrilled with the idea of me staying at 'Teen Wolf's house."

"I'm not like 'Teen Wolf'!" Jake replied, offended. "Have you seen the size of that kid?"

"Hey!" I cried in defense. "Do not make fun of Marty McFly's size!"

"That's not even the actor's name," he said in frustration. "And yeah, I know your parents would say no to you staying at my house. But I've got an idea."

"Oh, this'll be brilliant," I moaned, counting how many minutes there were until the bell rang.

"Hi mom!" I shouted cheerily when she opened the front to door to greet me when I arrived home from school.

"Hello," she replied warily, glancing at the scowling girl beside me. "And, uh, who is your guest, Reece?" she asked, stepping out of the way so we could enter the house.

"Oh, this?" I said airily as I stepped nonchalantly over the threshold. "This is Leah Clearwater, mom. She's super nice." Leah hadn't even given the slightest hint that her face could form an expression of joy, let alone an expression of anything near a pleasant attitude. "I'm staying at her house tonight."

My mother made a noise of shock. I don't know if it was over the fact that I had made a 'friend' or that Leah was kind of freaky in her sulkiness. "Oh, well, okay dear, but make sure you stay away from trees, they're dangerous," my mother warned.

"Er, okay mom, I'll talk to the strangers instead."

My mom looked horrified. "You know what I mean missy!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be careful," I assured the woman before me as I dragged Leah up the stairs. "I'm just gonna get my stuff together and we'll be out of your hair."

We entered the box that was my bedroom and I began to rummage through my dresser drawers, searching for pajamas and other articles of clothing I thought I might need. Leah stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, unsure as to what to do. "You can sit, you know," I told her, glancing up momentarily from my underwear hunt. Leah nodded, brushing off a few dirty shirts and a pair of jeans from my bed and plopped down. "It's really nice of you to pretend to let me come over to your house," I said, attempting to start a conversation with the she-wolf. Leah wasn't much of a talker when it was just me and her, but when Jake was around, all she did was spit insults at him. I liked her from the start.

But I wasn't a fan of the silence between us. It was weird and uncomfortable and I wanted to tell her to speak. Although I'm not sure how well that would have went over with her being a sensitive werewolf and all.

Leah nodded, again, to my statement, not opening her mouth even a tiny bit. "Okay then," I mumbled to myself, entering the bathroom to retrieve my toiletries.

I shoved everything into an old duffle bag and Leah and I bolted down the stairs, trying to reach the front door, and freedom, without my mom noticing. We failed.

"Reece! Leah!" she called, shuffling up to us with a tray in her hands. "Here, take some cookies. They're delicious, I made them this afternoon. Yum, yum!"

"Mom. We realize that your cookies are good. You don't have to say 'yum'." My mother was so strange. I grabbed the tray from her hands, half-heartedly kissed her on the cheek and ran out the door to where Jake was waiting a block away in a beat up truck.

"Everything go well?" he asked as the two of us climbed in.

"Would she be in the vehicle if it hadn't?" Leah spat, buckling herself into the back seat.

Jake glared at her through the rearview mirror and shifted into drive.

"Are those cookies?" he asked in a high pitched voice, his eyes growing wide.

"...yeah," I replied, afraid he'd not only eat the whole tray, but me in the process by the way he was looking at the chocolate chip cookies residing on my lap. "Here," I offered up the tray. "Go ahead."

"Thanks!" he bellowed, taking three in one hand and shoving them unceremoniously into his rather large trap.

"You're such a pig," Leah muttered condescendingly.

Jake laughed and extended his hand for more cookies.

When we reached Leah's house she said, "Mom probably wants to see you. Seth too." I couldn't tell if she was talking to me, or Jake, since I wasn't actually staying at Leah's house.

The plan had been to drop Leah off, and then I would stay at Jake's, most likely camping out on the floor in a comfy sleeping bag or something. Carlisle and Billy knew all about it. Carlisle was interested to see the results, and Billy was a little guarded about it all.

"Alright," Jake gave in. "But he's not getting any cookies!"

Both Jake and I got out of the truck and trudged up the front walk to the door, where Leah pounded mercilessly until it was opened by an irritable young man. "God Leah!" he shouted.

"Hey Seth," she replied in monotone, brushing past him and into the home.

Seth shook his head, then noticed Jake. "Jake, dude! What's up, who's—"

It seemed as if Seth had been frozen. He just stared at me while Jake's eyes bugged out and he groaned. "Crap Seth, why now? Why her?"

I looked from Seth to Jake. "Why now what? What are you talking about Jake?"

Seth was shaking his head, maybe trying to clear his thoughts, and when he looked back up at us, he resembled a love sick puppy, nearly complete with his tongue almost sticking out.

"Seth, man, why?" Jake was still going on.

But Seth didn't answer. He just stared.

And I stood. Utterly confused.

Author's Note: So there's that chapter. I'm excited that Seth is now in the story, I've always loved him :D

Leave a review please! Thanks!