I'm so relieved that you all are still into the story after that hiatus of sorts! It means a lot to me! I really hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...well, except for the plot I guess. Oh, and Elena, of course.

Chapter 8

I couldn't even begin to believe my eyes. Was this really happening? What the hell was Elena doing leaving Jake's house? Didn't Jake say that they weren't imprinted or together anymore? I'm pretty sure he did. So, why was she here, then? So many questions ran through my mind, but no answers were given. I simply just couldn't believe it.

"And, you are?" Elena asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

When I finally found my voice again, I answered, "Oh, umm...I'm Bella."

Elena raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise taking over her face. "You're Bella?" she asked, looking at me with a curious expression on her face.

What the hell did she mean by that?

No, no. Be nice Bella. She didn't say that in a bad way. She just simply asked who you are. She's only just curious about you. Probably just as curious about you as you are about why she's here.

Pushing, my slight "want to be a bitch" attitude aside, I nodded my head, and smiled briefly at her. "Yes, I am."

Elena smiled back. "It's really nice to meet you," she said in a cheerful tone of voice.

She was?

"I've heard quite a bit about you," she told me.

She has?

I swallowed the sudden nervous lump in my throat. "You have?" I asked, surprised and shocked that I was actually talked about to her.

She nodded. "Jacob talked and still talks about you a lot."

He did? He does?

Well, that's quite a welcome surprise.

Elena lifted her arm, and looked at her watch. "Jacob said something about you not being expected for another hour or two."

I nodded my head, unable to think of something to say.

"Do you maybe want go get a cup of coffee with me?" she offered.

"Umm...I..."

"We could talk and get on the same page," she suggested.

I thought about it for a moment before giving in. "Oh, okay. That...that sounds good."

I could use this time to hopefully learn more about her and Jacob's past relationship.

Elena offered a sweet smile in my direction. "Alright, you can follow me. We can go to the diner in Forks."

I nodded my head smiling back. "Alright, sounds good."

~MP~

Half an hour or so later, Elena and I were sitting across from each other, drinking coffee, and getting to know each other. As it turns out, I really had nothing to worry about. Elena wasn't a threat to me, by any means. I had just jumped the gun and assumed wrong about her, at first. Elena was really a sweet girl. I really needed to get over my over-thinking and assuming flaws.

From what I gathered through everything she was telling me about her and Jacob, they were both on the same page about just being friends now that the imprint was broken. Apparently, they had started off as friends to begin with. Therefore, returning to being just friends wasn't as hard for them as one would think it might have been.

Elena told me that they had known each other for just about two years now, which was interesting. It made me wonder seeing as if the years they'd known each other was just about the same amount of years that I had been gone. Just how long exactly had it been from the time I pretty much disappeared off of the planet to the time that they first met? I would definitely be keeping that question in mind for very possible later use. 'Cause I really wanted to know.

Elena also told me that when Jacob first imprinted on her, that he wouldn't tell her. He'd just come into the restaurant she worked at everyday and would sit at the same table and watch her. She said that in most cases, it would've freaked her out, but oddly it didn't. That was what first clued her in on something having been different.

It went on for about a week before Elena had finally said screw it and confronted him. She demanded that he tell her why he was always watching her everyday like she was his prey or something. Jake being Jake, when confronted, did just that. Elena admitted that at first she was shocked beyond belief, but she came around to the reality soon enough and accepted everything for what it was.

The two of them became inseparable after that. They started off as friends for about a year before finally taking the next step and deciding to actually date. They dated for about the next year. But, towards the end they both realized that things were starting to change. Apparently, the closer I got to waking up the more the effects of their imprint started to lessen. Then, one day, just like that, it was gone. That one day being the day I finally woke up.

After talking to The Council, and having it confirmed that the imprint had in fact been broken, Jacob and Elena stayed together for a few days. But, they quickly realized that it just wasn't the same. So, the day before I arrived they called it quits and agreed to go back to being friends. As it turns out, according to Elena, they actually made better friends than something more. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't wanting to jump up on the table and do a happy dance now that I knew pretty much everything and realized that I had nothing at all to worry about.

Afterwards, the talk took a turn for the...I wouldn't say worse, but the mood definitely changed.

"Whatever you do don't hurt him again," Elena said a few minutes after ending her explanation.

I had to do a double take. Was I hearing things?

"I'm sorry. What?"

Elena looked at me with a sad expression and sighed. "You don't know how much you hurt him," she said in a questioning tone. "Do you?"

Good question.

I shook my head. "No. Well, sort of. No, not really. I don't," I said, not being able to figure out if I actually did or didn't. "I mean, I know I hurt him, but not how bad," I spoke quietly. "I don't really remember things after a certain point."

Elena cocked an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"

"It's just..." I trailed off.

Should I actually tell her? Well, she did tell me everything about her and Jacob without a second thought. So, I could return the favor. After all, she was a really sweet and caring person from what I could tell. Also, if Jacob and everyone else seemed to think good about her, then I could and would, too.

"There was an accident a few years back and my memory is hazy," I told her.

She was silent for a moment before speaking again, "If you don't mind my asking, how hazy?"

"It's fine," I sighed and changed the truth around just a little bit.

I had a strong feeling that although Elena was aware of shape-shifters and vampires, she probably wasn't informed about everything that Jacob knew.

"I don't remember much after graduation," I lied.

Elena looked puzzled for a moment. "So, you don't remember your wedding, then?" she asked, curiously. "Or what happened with you and Jacob at your wedding?"

Now that definitely threw me for a loop.

My eyes immediately widened and I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat that had come out of nowhere. "No, I..." I paused. "He was there?"

Elena's expression suddenly matched my own. "I shouldn't..." she stopped herself. "You should ask Jacob about it," she said quickly. "I shouldn't say any thing else. It's not exactly my place."

"But..." I started to protest.

She shook her head quickly. "Just talk to him," she told me. "And, please don't hurt him again," Elena was practically pleading with the sound of her voice and the look in her eyes. "We may not be together anymore or imprinted..." she paused, seeming to think of her words wisely. "But, he's still my friend and I still love him."

My heart pounded in my chest at that last part.

"I just don't want to see him get hurt again," she said sadly. "He really doesn't deserve to be hurt like that again.

I swear I could feel tears starting to well up in my eyes.

Just the sound of her voice as she said that. You could hear the sincerity and pain in her voice.

"I won't," I assured her. "I don't want to hurt him again either."

Elena smiled briefly. "I know you don't."

"You do?"

She nodded her head.

"How?"

"I can see it in your eyes."

"Oh."

A moment of silence followed.

"Just talk to him," Elena said, breaking it. "I'm sure he'll tell you his side of the story if you ask him."

~MP~

I ended up arriving at Jacob's half an hour late. Elena and I had sat and talked for a little while longer until she got a call and had to leave. I realized, then, that I had to leave, too. I'm sure Jacob was worried. When I checked my phone, I saw that I had two missed calls from him. I hadn't even heard my phone ring. I was definitely sure that Jacob would be worried now.

And, I was right.

The second, I turned off the truck, the door flew open.

"Where have you been?" Jacob asked, concerned.

I was pulled out of the truck and into a special Jacob hug.

For a moment, the air was practically knocked out of me.

I pushed at his shoulders and he got the memo.

"Oh, sorry," he said, putting me down.

"It's fine," I replied, slamming the door closed.

"So, where have you been?" he asked again.

"I was at the diner drinking coffee," I answered honestly.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Drinking coffee?"

I nodded my head. "With Elena," I said quickly.

Jacob suddenly looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Elena?"

"Yeah," I said, shaking my head up and down.

He was silent for a minute or two before asking, "And, how'd it go?"

I smiled. "It was good," I answered. "She's a really nice girl."

Jacob smiled and nodded in agreement.

"So, what did you two talk about?" he asked, curiously.

I shrugged my shoulders as I followed him into the house.

"Nothing much," I answered. "Well, except that she told me the story of you two meeting, being friends, dating, and being friends again," I corrected myself. "And, then she told me to ask you something?"

"Ask me what?"

"About everything," I said, sitting down on the couch. "About you being at my wedding. And, about how I ended up hurting you."

Jacob sat down on the other side of the couch as far away from me as he could.

I frowned.

"Jacob?" I questioned. "What is it?"

God, the silence was killing me!

"Jake..."

"Elena saved me from myself," he finally spoke.

I swallowed hard. "How?"

Jacob leaned back against the couch, leaning his head against the wall, his eyes closed.

"I had stopped phasing for a while after you left," he said. "I was just over everything supernatural, in general. I just wanted to be as far away from it as possible."

"Then how did you imprint on Elena?" I asked, confused. "I mean, if you weren't phasing anymore, then imprinting wouldn't even be possible or necessary anymore, right?"

He nodded. "Sounds about right," he confirmed. "I didn't imprint until I came across vampires and unintentionally phased. I was nearby where Elena worked. After I killed the vampires, when I phased back to my human self and saw her leaving the restaurant, I imprinted."

"Wait, you said vampires? As in plural?"

"Yeah. Two."

"And, you took them on by yourself?" I asked, shocked.

He nodded his head.

"But, how?! And, you lived?!"

He shrugged. "I just channeled all of my pent up anger and apparently it was enough."

My eyes were wide. "Wow."

"Anger is great motivation."

"Yeah, apparently, so," I said in disbelief, leading us into a few minutes of silence. "So, is imprinting on Elena why you came back?" I asked after a while.

Jacob nodded. "After I told her about the imprint, and all about what I was and bits and pieces of why I left home in the first place..." he paused. "She convinced me to come home."

"How did she manage that?" I wondered out loud.

"She made me realize that running away wasn't going to help solve anything," he told me. "If anything it was only going to make things worse."

"And, did it?"

Jacob chuckled darkly. "Kind of."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, when I first got back, I practically had to jump through hoops to get the pack to forgive me for just up and leaving without saying a word."

I cringed. "Sorry."

Jacob opened his eyes, and turned his head to look at me. "What are you sorry for?"

I sighed. "You left because of me. If..."

He quickly cut me off. "Stop right there, Bella," he ordered. "It's not your fault. I left on my own. It was my choice. No matter what happened, I could have stayed. But, I chose not to."

I opened my mouth to protest, "But..."

Jacob shook his head and leaned forward. "But, nothing," he said. "Stop blaming yourself for everything that went wrong," he paused. "Besides, how were you even suppose to know? You didn't return to the land of the living until about a week ago," he said in a joking tone.

I couldn't help but crack a small smile. "True," I sighed. "I just wish I knew the truth."

Jacob moved closer to me now, and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into his side. "It'll come to you soon enough," he said, doing his best to assure me. "It always does."

"I sure hope so," I said, resting my head comfortably on his shoulder.

So, was Elena anything like you thought she'd be? What'd you think of what Jacob told Bella?

Review, please? Let me know what you think!

Next chapter; Not only does Bella have to get through another nightmare, but Edward is still being a stalker and Bella has no choice but to tell Jacob the truth when he catches Edward leaving Bella's room at night.