You're in luck...my muse insisted that I write and post this chapter today. Neither of us can wait to get this chapter out. So surprise! Here it is...the revelation chapter that may or may not make some people want to form a mob and come...umm...talk?...to me. Anyways...

Get yourselves ready...I'm being nice and warning you all beforehand...there's a shocker coming towards the end of the chapter. But just trust me...it'll all work out in the end. I swear to you.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...well, except for the plot I guess.

Chapter 5

The next day was a complete and total drag. I was tired because of the lack of sleep after my nightmare. Being tired only made the day seem to go by even slower. It felt like forever before it was time for the bonfire. I didn't really have much planned to do for the day. Therefore, I drove my truck, god how much I had missed her, down to the bookstore in Port Angeles. I spent a few hours there reading different books to pass the time. Before I knew it, it was finally time to go home and get ready to go to the bonfire.

I was heading out to my truck after purchasing a book that I really liked, but hadn't got to finish, and me being me wasn't paying complete attention to where I was going. I didn't realize until it was too late and someone was in my walking path. I bumped into the person and jumped back quickly.

"Oh god! I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, shaking my head. "It's my fault I wasn't watching where I was going. So, so sorry," I apologized immediately,; I was momentarily afraid to make eye contact with the person I'd bumped into.

What I heard next pleasantly shocked me.

"It's not problem, truly," the person, a recognizable girl's voice, replied.

I looked up then and my eyes widened as I saw the girl and instantly recognized her. Her facial expression when she saw me was probably the same one I had on my own face.

"Bella?" she asked in a whisper of a voice that a person would use if they had just seen a ghost.

I swallowed nervously. "Angela?"

I wasn't prepared for what she did next. She launched herself at me and I was engulfed in a tight, grizzly bear hug. I was too surprised at first to do anything, but soon I was hugging her back; not nearly as tight as she was hugging me, but just enough to make it count.

"You're actually alive," she said once she pulled away from me.

I sighed. Add another dime into my hope based fund of one day owning my own bank. "Yeah, I'm alive," I unnecessarily confirmed with a nod of my head.

"I...I...wow, I never thought I'd see you again," she admitted, her voice still conveying her shock and surprise at me being there in front of her. "You just up and disappeared after the wedding..." She paused when she said the word wedding, causing me to flinch.

The reminder of me being married weighed heavy on me. A big part of me wanted to be completely free again. The other smaller part of me was still feeling entitled to Edward since I was in fact married to him. Luckily,the bigger part won over and I didn't let the smaller part take over and consume me. I came back to Forks for a reason, and I wouldn't be leaving until the reason was fulfilled; honestly, maybe not even then.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I apologized again. "It's a long story, but I'm truly sorry about whatever you may have gone through." What else was there for me to say without being a complete liar?

"So, um...are you here to stay? Or..." She trailed off with the last part out of hope for the first part, it seemed.

I nodded my head. "I'm here to stay," I answered with a smile. "I'm not sure for how long exactly, but I have a feeling it may end up being for a while."

She smiled back at me. "That is good to hear."

I agreed more than she would probably ever know.

"So how long have you been back?" she asked me with interest.

"Umm...I got back about two days ago."

"That's nice."

And now the awkwardness of reunions sets in.

I broke the awkward silence moments later. "Do you have any plans tonight?"

She waited a moment before she answered, "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Oh, well there is a bonfire out in La Push tonight. If you had nothing to do I was going to invite you to come with me, but since you have plans..." I trailed off not sure what to say next.

"We can rein check," she suggested, hope sounding very clear in her voice.

"That'd be nice," I agreed, nodding my head.

"It'll be nice to catch up sometime." Angela smiled. "My number's still the same."

"Mine, too."

"Alright, well, I should get going now," she said after another moment of awkward silence. "Don't want to miss out on my plans."

"Yeah, I should go, too," I replied, wanting nothing more than to go home and get ready; I needed a fun night at the beach with my friends. "I need to get ready for the bonfire."

She walked forward and hugged me again, not as tightly as the last one. I hugged her back easily this time.

"It was so nice to see you again." She grinned, pulling away. "Call me, or I will call you."

"Whoever calls first," I compromised.

"Sounds reasonable." She laughed before we both went out separate ways.

~MP~

After my reunion with Angela, I returned home to get ready for the bonfire. I changed into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers, topping it off with a comfortable hoodie. Then I left for Jacob's. It was a bit early, so I figured he'd still be at home. I was hoping to catch up with him so we could walk down to the beach together. For old times sake.

I was proven right as soon as I pulled into the driveway. I hadn't even turned the truck off before my door was thrown open and I was pulled into the tight hug I couldn't imagine ever going another day without. I could live in his arms for the rest of my life and I wouldn't complain even once. That weirdly sounded so perfect.

After a few moments of just being there in his arms and hugging him back I realized I was missing some much needed oxygen. Stupid need for oxygen. Reluctantly, I tried to get out of his grip. He didn't want to let me go; I didn't blame him. I didn't want to let him go either, but I had to.

"I can not breathe, Jake. Human, remember?" I managed to gasp.

"Oh, right," he said with a small laugh as he reluctantly pulled away from me.

Once free from his grasp, I took in a few much needed breaths and worked on bringing my breathing back down to normal.

"You're here early," he said. "Not that I'm complaining," he added after a second.

I cracked a smile. "You sure?" I teased.

He thought for a moment before he smirked, "Yeah, maybe you're right."

I knew he was just playing along with me, but I still felt the urge to slap him on the arm for that, so I did. "Hey!" I scolded.

He laughed, giving me that toothy grin of his. "Just playing along, Bells."

"I know, but still."

"So did you come here early for a reason?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

I nodded my head. "I was hoping I'd catch you in time so we could walk to the bonfire together."

"Lucky you, you're just in time," he informed me. "I was just about to go now."

"Good for me then."

"Let me just go get a shirt and let dad know I'm leaving."

I frowned, but quickly hid it with a small smile. Why did he have to put a shirt on? I like him better without one. "Darn it, Bella!" I scolded myself silently. "Keep your hormonal thoughts in check. You are not a darn teenager anymore."

"Okay," I managed to say. "I will come in and say hi. I haven't seen Billy since I've been back," I said as I did not want to wait outside by myself.

He nodded and turned and we walked into the house together. He went straight to his room to get a shirt, and I stood in the living room just as Billy came in.

"Hi, Billy," I smiled brightly at him.

"Bella, hi. It's good to see you back again." He smiled back at me. "Alive," he added under his breath, but I still heard him.

Another dime to be added to the fund. My dream of owning my own bank really seemed to be going somewhere rather quickly.

I ignored his alive comment, pretending that I didn't hear it and nodded. "And it is good to be back."

There was a sudden awkward silence. Luckily, Jake returned (with a shirt on) a few seconds later.

"We're going to head down to the beach now," he said looking at Billy.

Billy nodded in understanding, a smile still playing at his lips. "Have fun."

I followed a now shirt clad Jake out of the house. I frowned at the shirt the whole way out. The frown was quickly hidden when Jake and I were walking next to each other down to the beach.

"Everything okay?" Jake asked suddenly, taking me slightly off guard.

I looked up at him in confusion. "Huh? Yeah, everything's fine," I told him. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Jake shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. You just seem a little down today."

Oh, right. That. "Oh, that," I said with a sigh, waving it off as nothing even though it was definitely something. "It's really nothing. I just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Why not?" he asked with an honest hint of concern in his voice.

"Had a nightmare," I answered simply, shrugging my shoulders at it. "Then I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning." The nightmare was still partially embedded in my head; It had felt so real.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, it's fine."

He turned his head and raised an eyebrow at me. "You sure?" he questioned. "It's been said that talking about a nightmare with someone lowers the chances of it returning again."

I laughed before I asked, "Where was that said?" I had never heard that one before.

"Not sure." He shrugged. "I just remember hearing it or reading it somewhere."

I nodded my head and spoke sarcastically, "Right." I reconsidered his offer for a moment and decided in the end to rein-check. "Maybe I'll take you up on that offer if I ever have another one."

Jake smiled and nodded his head in understanding. "I'll be here when you need me."

I smiled back. "As always."

"Of course," he agreed as we fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the walk.

Not long later we were on the beach where the rest of the pack and some others I didn't recognize were. And after that it wasn't much longer before Leah came over and pulled me away from Jake, who looked confused along with the rest of the pack by Leah not seeming to hate me like she use to.

I offered him and the others a "We're sort of friends, now," with a nonchalant shrug of my shoulders before I let Leah pull me away from everyone.

"So did you talk to Jake about what you told me yesterday?" Leah asked when we were out of earshot of Jake and the rest of the pack.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I did." I shouldn't have been too surprised that she was asking me about it.

"And you got what you wanted to know out of him?" she wondered curiously.

I nodded my head once again. "With some coaxing, yes."

She suddenly stopped walking, causing me stop also. Then she turned to me, a smirk very evident on her face. "So where does the wrench in the pants fit into it all?"

I rolled my eyes as I shook my head and laughed. "Oh, god," I muttered, silently cursing the day both Quil and Embry were born. "I should've known they'd show everyone once you were all phased."

"Of course." Leah chuckled. "Pack mind, it's hard to hide such things from the others. So..." She urged me to answer her question.

"I took it from him and wouldn't give it back until he answered my question," I answered, knowing she wouldn't let it go until I did.

"And the wrench was in your pants because?" She urged me on again.

"Because he tried to take it back from me, but I wanted answers first so my pants were the safest place for it since he'd never stick his hand down there without my permission," I told her, blushing with slight embarrassment, but not as much as the day before.

Leah raised an eyebrow and then decided to wiggle them both instead. "So then you would give him permission?"

My eyes widened, my jaw dropped slightly, and I shrieked, "Leah!"

"What?! It's an honest question," she said, speaking like she was so very innocent. I knew where she was getting at; she was kind of right.

"I plead the fifth," I said instantly.

Leah flashed me a small, knowing grin. "I'm sure you do."

"Oh, shut up!" I exclaimed, turning and stalking away from her back to the bonfire.

~MP~

A while later, I was sitting on a log around the fire minding my own business when I felt someone sit down next to me. I looked over and was shocked to find Paul sitting there. I was so sure that he hated me. So why was he sitting next to me. Well okay, in retrospect, I had thought Leah hated me, too, but now we were sort of friends. And friends just don't hate each other. Well, I mean, for the most part they don't hate each other.

"Well, this is awkward," I spoke when he said nothing.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, side-eyeing me.

"I'm just surprised you're sitting here next to me," I answered honestly, remembering how he reacted my first day back.

"And why's that?" He wondered as he turned to look at me.

I looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Does taking one look at me and then storming out of Sam and Emily's the other day not ring a bell?"

"Oh, that," he said in a way that sounded as if realization had just dawned on him.

"I get it. I completely understand why you hate me. Really, I do," I said not sure what else to say other than that.

"I don't hate you," he admitted, taking me by complete surprise.

"You don't?" I asked him; I was honestly stunned by his confession.

"No, I don't," he answered, shaking his head. "No, alright. Yeah, I did," he confessed after rethinking his first answer. "But that's before Jake showed us all the conversation between the two of you from the other day."

"Yeah, Leah told me he told you all to go easy on me," I mentioned, feeling slightly like I did the day before thinking that Leah had only been nice to me because of what Jake said.

As if sensing what I was thinking, Paul said, "If it makes you feel any better, you know I wouldn't just be nice to you because he said to."

I smiled as a soft chuckle escaped me. "Thank you for that."

"Sure thing."

I had the sudden feeling that someone was watching us. Looking around, my eyes landed on Jake, and my suspicion was confirmed. He was glaring our way. But I was certain it wasn't me he was glaring at. It was Paul. I wondered why Jake was glaring at him. Had something happened that I didn't know about?

Turning back to Paul, I wondered, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why's Jake glaring at you?" I asked, making sure that the interest I felt was clear in my voice.

"He's not my biggest fan. Never was, but he is especially not big on me now," Paul answered, looking passed me at Jake and then back at me.

"Why? What happened?"

"I imprinted," he answered, taking me by complete surprise yet again.

I was shocked. Paul imprinted. Wow. Well that sure explained why he wasn't as moody as he use to be. I wondered who the girl is? Obviously she was pretty good if she could keep Paul in line. But then again, doesn't an imprintee already have that effect on the imprinter to begin with?

"You did?! On who?!" I found myself asking him, excited to know more about what happened and how it happened; I just couldn't help acting like a total girl over the situation despite me being far from a normal girl when it came to relationships and how I viewed them.

Paul didn't answer, but looked back at Jake again and then down at the sand.

It wasn't hard after watching his actions to put two and two together rather quickly. "Wait, Jake's not happy with you, and...oh my gosh! You imprinted on Rachel?!" I asked, jaw dropped, and eyes wide.

Paul lifted his head back up and smirked. "You're quick on the uptake, Swan."

"Wow! Hmm, so that definitely explains the "If only I could kill you without consequences" glare," I said, the shock of realization still dawning on me.

Paul nodded his head, agreeing with me. "It does." After a moment, he said, "I should go find Rachel. Before Jake blows a gasket."

I looked towards Jake and then back at Paul. "Why would he lose it?

"Because I am here next to you," Paul answered without hesitation.

"Why would he..." I started to ask, confused.

Paul cut me off. "You know how he feels about you...we all do...and you know how he is about you," he reminded me. "He doesn't trust me."

"Ah, yeah, that makes sense."

Paul got up to leave. "See you around," he said with a small smile that I found myself having to get use to.

I looked up at him and nodded. "Okay."

Once he walked away, I looked back over at Jake and saw that he had calmed down a bit now that Paul wasn't anywhere near me. I found his behavior odd. So I just smiled at him and he smiled back. Then I got up to go over to the cooler to get a drink.

At the cooler, I bumped into Seth.

"Bella!" he exclaimed, pulling me into a hug before I had the chance to say or do anything.

"Seth!" I mocked his exclamation and hugged him back with a laugh.

"It's so good to see you here and alive." He smiled, causing me to let out a chuckle.

Yet another dime added to the fund. I wondered how many more dimes I had in store for me?

"What's so funny?" he asked me, raising an eyebrow in confusion and curiosity.

I laughed and waved it off. "Nothing. Just an inside joke."

"What inside joke?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, just every time someone says they're happy to see me...alive, I add an imaginary dime to my jar fund for me owning my own bank one day in the future," I explained probably sounding like an idiot, but I couldn't find it in me to care; it was too funny.

"How many dimes do you have so far?"

I shrugged and answered sarcastically, "Who knows? A few hundred, or maybe a few more."

We both had a good laugh from that.

"So what have you been up to?" I asked when our laughing died down a bit.

Seth's face lit up as he told me, "I've got a girlfriend."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "That's great." I congratulated him.

Seth nodded his head in agreement as his face lit up more, if that was even possible. "Yeah, it is."

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"Hold on a second," he said before disappearing behind me somewhere.

He returned probably only seconds later with a beautiful, petite, young girl with blackish blue hair by his side.

"Bella, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Mina." His grin went from ear to ear. "Mina, this is Bella," Seth introduced us.

"I've heard so much about you!" she exclaimed happily, shocking me with a hug. What's up with people and hugs in this town nowadays? "It's really nice to finally meet you."

I half returned the hug and agreed, "It's nice to meet you as well." I looked from Seth to Mina and back to Seth as I pulled away. "So did you..." I trailed off not sure if Mina knew about imprinting or not.

"Imprint?" Seth asked, finishing my question for me.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Yes, he did," Mina said with a smile.

"And you are both okay with it?" I asked curiously, knowing just how much of a touchy subject imprinting could be.

Seth smiled and nodded his head as he put an arm around Mina and pulled her closer to him.

"I'm fine with it," Mina answered. "He didn't tell me about the imprint until after I had confessed my feelings for him because he didn't want me to feel obligated to be with him," she explained. "So it's all good."

I smirked at Seth. "How gentlemanly of you, letting the girl decide despite the circumstances."

Seth shrugged and grinned. "I try my best."

All three of us laughed.

"Well good for the both of you. I'm happy for you," I said with a sincere smile on my face.

Seth and Mina replied to me in unison, "Thank you."

I smiled at how cute they were together, speaking in unison and all. I looked passed the two of them and my eyes fell on Jake, who was intently watching me. A warm feeling spread through me and I smiled even brighter than I already was; my mouth was beginning to hurt from how much I was smiling right then. He smiled back. Not just any smile, but he actually smiled my smile back. I could've passed out right then and there from that smile alone. But that would have been a complete embarrassment.

~MP~

The sky was dark and the only light on the beach now was from the moonlight glistening off of the water and the bonfire crackling in the middle of the beach. I was sitting with Emily and Mina and we were just goofing off and talking about girl things; we were being normal woman, it was nice after the craziness of the passed few days.

I'm not sure what the current conversation was really about because I was constantly glancing in Jake's direction. We were both playing the "You look when I'm not looking, and then I'll look when you're not looking" game. My heart felt like it was stopping every time we'd both slip up and look at each other at the same time. We would both look away quickly and go about acting as if we hadn't caught each other red handed.

I was about to glance at Jake again when something that Mina said peaked my interest.

"You know, Elena hasn't been around in a week or so," she said and then gasped.

I looked towards her just as Emily and Mina's eyes both widened, and Mina slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shoot! I'm sorry!" she said, looking like she was about to have a panic attack or something.

I wasn't sure who Elena was or why they were acting like mentioning her was a bad thing. I had never heard of Elena before. Who was Elena? And that is exactly what I asked, "Who's Elena?"

"Umm...I've already said too much," she said, shaking her head frantically and looking down at the sand.

That concerned me big time. I asked again and looked at Emily this time knowing that I wasn't going to get anything out of Mina. "Who's Elena, Emily?"

Emily shook her head. "I...I can't...I...I shouldn't...It's not my place," she said in a pleading voice that was pleading with me not to make her tell me.

I asked louder this time suddenly needing to know who Elena was. Why were Emily and Mina acting like this? Who the hell was Elena? "Who is she?!"

Emily took a deep breath and whispered, "She was Jake's imprint."

If I hadn't been so taken back I might've heard the was, but I was too shocked. Jake had imprinted. Oh god. Jake had imprinted! I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to look in his direction, but I was afraid of what I'd see. Could he have been paying attention and overheard our conversation? Or would me looking at him give something away? Oh, god. I couldn't look at him right then. No, I couldn't.

"I have to go!" I exclaimed, standing up and walking as fast as I could; I partially broke out in a run, praying silently that Jake wouldn't see and come after me.

"Bella!" I heard a voice call after me.

I was too busy trying to hold back tears to recognize the voice. "Bella! Are you okay?"

I turned around to find Seth behind me. "Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded my head and gave him a half hearted smile of assurance. "I am just feeling a little sick all of a sudden," I lied, hoping that he would actually buy it. "I'm gonna go home and try and sleep it off."

"Do you want me to drive you home?" He offered sweetly.

I shook my head. "Thank you, but no. I'll be fine," I assured him, placing my hand on his arm for a brief second.

"Okay." He looked doubtful, but let it go.

I sighed a sigh of relief that he wasn't pushing the situation. I just wanted to go home and pretend that the last part of tonight had never happened. "I'll see you later," I said before turning and running off; I did not stop running until I was in view of my truck.

Once I was safely locked in my truck, the waterworks started. I sat there for a few minutes trying to get my bearings together before driving. I didn't want to end up in another coma anytime soon. Driving with tears blocking my eyes would more than likely do just that for me, or possibly even worse. After another minute or two, I was finally capable enough to drive. I pulled out of the driveway and drove home like my life depended on it, which in a way, it really did.

~MP~

When I got home all I wanted was a hot, relaxing shower and to go to bed. I didn't want to think about what I found out not even an hour earlier. It hurt way too much. Just the thought of Jacob, my Jacob im...okay, no, can't do it. Not strong enough to actually go there.

"No, no more tears Bella." I wiped frantically at the tears on my face. "No, no, no. Don't, you can't. Be strong," I told myself out loud, climbing the stairs to go shower and sleep.

It was only me at home, since Charlie had to work the night shift for whatever reason he told me earlier that I couldn't for the life of me remember, so I went straight to the shower. When I got out I wrapped a towel around my body and walked back to my room. I stopped abruptly as soon as I made it into the doorway. There was a box on my bed. A box that wasn't there before. Looking around, I surveyed my room and saw that nothing was out of the ordinary.

Slowly and cautiously, I entered my room and walked over to my bed. I picked up the box and opened it very slowly. I gasped when I saw what was in it. It was my wedding ring that I forgot I had even left in Alaska when I ran away. There was a note inside as well. I opened the note and read it.

Bella, my love...

You left your ring in Alaska, so I brought it to you. I'd like you to put it back on. Everyone should know that you are still, and always will be, mine.

Yours for eternity,

Edward

After reading the note, I was furious. The note wasn't even what made me mad. Well, alright honestly, maybe a little bit. But it was mainly the fact that he had been in my room. Whether we were actually married or not, he had no right being in my room without me knowing. And for what? To give me my ring and tell me to put it back on so he could stake his claim. Oh, hell no.

I had half a mind to throw the ring in the trash. Or, even better, to throw it out the window and let it get lost in the night somewhere. But that would be overreacting on my part. So instead I angrily slammed the box closed, walked over to my desk, and threw the box down. Then I ripped up the letter and threw it in the trash because that wasn't overreacting. I honestly had no need for the note anymore.

I wasn't some inanimate object to be owned. Married or not, I sure as hell didn't belong to anybody. Only me, myself, and I.

All of this was so unlike me. But I had made it clear to him and myself that I was a new and improved Bella. A Bella that wouldn't take such a thing from him, or anyone for that matter. I was going to stay true to my new self, too. There would be no me resorting back to my old self. Not if the new me had a say in it.

Review, please? Let me know what you think! Some interesting revelations happened in this chapter. I know some of you are probably not going to be very happy, but please don't ban together to hurt me for what happened just yet. Let me...or better yet let Jake explain it all in the next chapter. Maybe I'll...we'll...make up for it. Pretty please...with your very own Jake on top?! ;)

Next chapter; Bella confronts Jacob about Elena. And some more interesting revelations are revealed. Also another nightmare for our poor Bella. But it's all for the best in the end.