"You got a ride from who?" Lexi screeched, staring at me in disbelief.

"Shh!" I hush her, glancing around the cafeteria. Aside from a few curious glances from the next table over, nobody has paid attention to her outburst.

Like I predicted, Lexi has started panicking. "Why'd you accept? You should have made a run for it!"

I grinned at her half heartedly. I could always count on Lexi to be a Drama Queen.

Surprisingly enough, Lexi hasn't been that bad when I first saw her in the lunch line. She had only thrown a mild fit and lectured me on how to never hang up on her again. Her exact words were: "Seriously! What if I was on the phone to you, and you were, say, suddenly mugged by some hillbilly and they hung up the phone and then proceeded to beat you up? Where would that leave me? I'd be left with police questioning me on the situation and a friend that has no coat!"

It's a bit discriminating to think that a mugger is automatically going to take your coat. Who knows, there may be a mugger who enjoys taking people's shoes instead.

Luckily, she seemed more intent on finding out who had taken me to school and left the 'hanging-up-on-the-best-friend' problem.

"Will you just calm down and shut up!" I hissed, still paranoid that someone might overhear. I beckoned her closer with my hand and leant in across the table. Lexi calmed down somewhat and leaned forward too, following my lead. To outsiders, we may have looked strange, but it was the only way that I was sure that nobody would eavesdrop.

I lowered my voice and whispered my explanation. "I think he might have a bet or be pulling one of those jokes. You know how he sometimes asks the quiet girls out and then humiliates them? Well, since he's done that about a million times, wouldn't you think the next big step up for him would be trying to seduce the girl that hates him?"

Lexi lent back into her seat and face palmed. "Of course!" She quietly said, grinding her teeth together. "Uh, he is such a dick for doing that to those girls. And remember the worst one he did was in Sophomore? Um... Lucy? She was head over heels for him, and he just broke her heart. And was a complete asshole by messaging everyone those photos of her." Lexi sighed softly, shaking her head in disgust.

I sighed, remembering. Lucy had been a sweet girl who wouldn't hurt a fly. But, she was gullible. She was led to believe that Paul liked her and they were a 'couple' after a insanely short amount of days.

Lucy was over the moon, to say the least. She was always reading romance novels, and now she had a chance at the real thing? She was absolutely ecstatic, thinking that it was like those stories where the strong, handsome prince finally notices the servant girl who washes his dirty socks.

Soon, they were 'together' for a month and by then, nearly half the school knew it was a joke. I didn't know that it was a prank until later on, when Paul publically embarrassed her by cussing her out and then mass messaging everyone some revealing photos of her. A few days later, Lucy transferred to Forks high school.

I snapped out of my thoughts and waved Lexi forwards again.

"I have a plan, though. I think it's finally time Paul had a taste of his own medicine."

'It's about time'? No way, this boy is way overdue.

Lexi's only response was to raise an eyebrow. "What are you proposing, Aria?" She questioned, looking interested.

I grinned widely. "I say let him try to woo me, like he's done with all the others. I mean, we've seen it a million times. Let him be polite, compliment me, buy me free dinners, the works. I'll play nice, pretend that I've forgiven him and everything's cool between us, and when the time comes... take him down before he gets me. I'm not sure how yet, but we will make him the laughing stock of the school."

Lexi silently took in what I had said before she smiled evilly and cackled. "Brilliant. It sounds like something I would have concocted."

Is Lexi a witch or something? I mean, 'cackling' and 'concocted'? And didn't she say something about her being 'the Wicked Bitch of the West'?

Relief washed over me and I relaxed in my chair, pleased to have my best friend's approval. Lexi was already deep in thought, probably calculating ways for our revenge to take place. I knew what we were planning might have sounded cruel, but Paul had been cruel to me since I was fourteen. It was time somebody got him back.

I sighed and glanced around the cafeteria. The whole school was buzzing today because it was the day that Paul and Jared had come back in weeks and they were sporting new appearances. I couldn't see either of them in the cafeteria today, though.

I watched as Kim started walking our way, heading to the table behind us. The table that Kim sat at was where all the quieter people sat. They seemed to bunch up all at one table and were mutual friends, but most were too shy to develop any deeper friendships with each other.

As she started to pass us, I decided that I would do a good deed. "Hey, Kim!" I called out to her.

She didn't turn at first and when she did, she looked shocked that someone was calling out to her. I caught her eye and waved her over, smiling. Kim started to make her way over slowly and Lexi's head whipped up in shock. I saw her mouth 'what the hell?' at me, but I ignored it.

Kim put her tray down uncertainly, glancing between me and Lexi. I gave her a warm smile. "Do you want to sit with us?"

Kim turned slightly pink under her tan skin and nodded, dropping down into a seat. Lexi rolled her eyes and started spreading her food around with her spoon.

It was awkwardly silent for a few seconds before Lexi started to talk. I was finally glad that one of Lexi's quirks was she didn't tolerate silence.

"So," she grinned at me, completely ignoring her cousin. "Are you ready for today?"

"Not really, I'm getting nauseous just thinking about it," I said flatly.

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. You'll be fine. Just make sure you keep the conversation going. Talk about random shit and you'll be good."

I scoffed. "That's your great advice for me? This is your way of preventing my awkwardness?"

Lexi shrugged. "What can I say? It's different with each situation and person. Nothing happens like you imagine it, so I might as well give you as little advice and as low expectations as possible."

"Gee, thanks," I muttered sarcastically.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kim asked curiously, her eyes flashing between Lexi and I.

Lexi grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "We have hot dates after school."

I rolled my eyes. "I still don't know why I have to go," I complained loudly. "You're only doing this to make Embry jealous enough to take you back."

Lexi just smirked at me, not bothering to deny it. "And how, my friend. And how."

I exchanged a look with Kim and made a face. To my surprise, she made an equally funny one back, making me crack up. Kim quickly followed, sounding slightly unsure at first but soon laughing loudly when I made another face at her.

Lexi looked at us and sighed heavily. "And they think I'm crazy," she mused, taking a bite of her apple and rolling her eyes.

And how, my friend. And how.

...

My stomach started to tighten up in knots as the diner came into view. I visibly gulped and gnawed on my bottom lip. Why did I let Lexi convince me to do this?

I automatically reached to tighten my coat around me before I realised that it was in the backseat of the car. Lexi parked the car and quickly checked her makeup in the mirror, before turning to grin at me.

"It's show time, Aria." She stepped out of the driver's seat, looking entirely over-confident.

"Okay, I can do this, I can do this." I mumbled to myself, stepping out of the car. I was at once met with a strong gust of wind, making me shiver. I hurried to the diner's entrance, eager to get out of the cold. Lexi followed just as quickly, goose bumps already covering her bare legs and her dress fluttering in the wind.

It was warm inside the diner and I sighed in relief. Lexi was right behind me, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'freaking weather'.

Tut tut. Ain't she a ray of sunshine?

The diner was packed, as expected. It was a popular hangout for high school kids, from both Forks and La Push. It was one of those cheesy diner's that was sporting a jukebox and had tons of booths and milkshakes on offer.

"Over here," Lexi murmured, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me to a booth where two boys were sitting. One of them, with sandy blonde hair and a fair complexion, jumped up when they saw us and grinned. I watched as he hugged Lexi, and I guessed that this was the infamous Oliver.

I turned my attention to the other boy with dark blonde hair who was waiting at the booth, guessing that he was my date. He was slouched in his seat and had a lazy smile on his face. His skin was quite tanned, considering that he wasn't a Quileute and he lived in a place that got minimal sunshine. Overall, he was actually very good looking and I felt dazed for a second.

Watch it. It's the good looking ones you have to watch, remember?

Lexi immediately started making introductions.

"Oliver, Aria. Aria, Oliver." She said, madly gesturing to each of us. I forced a smile at Oliver and waved half heartedly, whilst he gave me an over-enthusiastic "hi!"

Someone's a tad eager there.

Oliver waved toward his friend at the booth. "Lexi, Aria, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is Aria and Lexi."

Lexi and Oliver slid onto one side of the booth, so they were sitting next to each other. I couldn't help but envy the way Lexi seemed to already be comfortable and flirt with someone she barely knew. Those sort of things didn't come easily to me.

I heard someone clear their throat and turned to see Lucas with an eyebrow raised. I blushed darker and sat next to him at the booth.

God, Aria. Get a grip!

Eager for there to be no awkward silences, I attempted to start a conversation with Lucas straight away. What was Lexi's advice, again? Ah, talk about random shit. My eyes fell on the TV across the room, showing a basketball game. "So... uh... do you play any sports?" I asked him. I wanted to smack myself in the head as soon as I said it. Could I get any more lame?

But Lucas just smiled at me, and I was thankful he was just rolling with my awkwardness. "Nah. I'm not really a sports kind of guy, especially not with the team ones. I'm sort of more interested in computers and video games and programming. Most people don't believe this, cause I'm not really one of those stereotypical computer-geeks."

This surprised me, because he had an athletic build.

My shock must have shown on my face, because Lucas shook his head slightly while laughing. "Fast metabolism," he explained. "And occasional boxing, when I'm in the mood. How 'bout you? You play any sports?"

I laughed. "No, definitely not. I used to play baseball when I was little, though. Everyone thought that I would magically be awesome at it, because my twin brother was a little league legend. They thought that I would naturally be perfect at it too, because we shared the same genes." I blushed when I realised that I'd been rambling, something that I had never experienced before.

Lucas didn't seem to notice, because he just grinned and raised a brow. "You have a twin brother?"

I nodded, reluctant to talk about the topic. "I have a little sister, too, who's three. My mom's also pregnant, again." I rolled my eyes, trying to emphasize how frustrating it was living with a woman that had unpredictable cravings.

Don't even think about that. Wasn't she eating waffles with cream cheese the other day?

Lucas thought carefully for a moment. "That's a bit of an age gap, isn't it? Cause you're, what? Sixteen? Seventeen? How old are your parents then?"

I sighed and fiddled with my napkin. "They're actually thirty-five. My mom had me and Jared when she and dad were eighteen. They got married a few years later. We're the bastard children, you could say," I laughed without humour. "They always wanted a big family, but they had to wait because of us." I mused, not really caring if Lucas wasn't listening or not. "Raising a child when you're young is difficult, but twins? They had to wait a while until they knew that they were absolutely ready for a new baby. No use having another child when you already have two other children that you're not entirely settled with yet."

I shook my head, annoyed for telling someone that I'd known for less than ten minutes about my personal life. "Do you have any siblings?" I questioned, eager to get the spotlight off me.

Lucas leaned back further into his seat and stroked his chin. "I have a half-sister." He pondered. "But she's a few years older than me and lives in Orlando." Lucas sighed, sounding almost wistful. "She's lucky. She actually got to leave this stupid town. I always laughed at her when she told me that one day she'd live someplace far away from here. When you grow up in Forks, you never usually leave. Most just spend the rest of their life here, but she made it out. I would do the same, but..."

"Why can't you?" I tilted my head and whispered, not even sure why I was being so quiet.

Lucas shrugged, looking slightly sad. "It just seems too hard, especially right now." He spoke softly.

"'Right now?'" I repeated quietly. "You have to start somewhere, you know. And the longer you put it off or wait, the more bigger it will seem until gets to the point of being impossible."

Lucas studied me for a moment, before he relaxed and beamed down at me. "You're a smart girl, you know that?" He told me, making me laugh loudly. I noticed Lexi glance over at me proudly from the corner of my eye, obviously delighted that the date's progress.

"Oh, I know." I teased. "I'm just pure genius. Einstein's got nothing on me."

Oh, yeah, you're just brilliant. Is that why you have a D in Science?

Lucas chuckled. "Modest too, I see."

I laughed as well. It felt natural to talk and laugh with Lucas, even though he was a just a stranger to me half an hour ago. He just had one of those happy and friendly personalities that made people comfortable around him.

Ten minutes later, I hadn't still embarrassed myself yet. I actually thought that nothing on this date could go wrong, until I heard the voice.

"Lexi!" It roared, making everyone in the diner stop what they were doing.

Embry was standing at our booth, shaking like crazy.

Is there a genetic trait around here that makes all the teenage boys have seizures?

I noticed that he wasn't with Quil Ateara or Jacob Black, who were his best friends and 'wingmen'. You hardly saw one of them without the other. But then again, there were rumours that Jacob had been spending a lot of time with this paleface girl from Forks.

Aw, and people thought a girl wouldn't never get in the way of their bromance!

"What the hell, Lexi?" Embry growled, slamming his fist on the table, which made us all jump. I was completely shocked. Embry was usually very quiet and docile - as stark contrast to Lexi's personality. He just wasn't the loud or confrontational type, and I'd absolutely never heard him yell before.

"We broke up two days ago and you're already hanging out with other guys? I thought that this was just another little fight and we'd be better in a few days. But then I find you here? Do you know how that feels? Seeing the girl you love on a date?"

He slammed his fist on the table again, trying to emphasise his point. My eyes widened when I heard something on the table crack. Lexi didn't seem to notice.

"You- love- me?" Lexi repeated slowly, looking both thrilled and confused at the same time.

"Yes! But obviously you don't feel the same way, otherwise you wouldn't have moved on the rebound so fast!" Embry spat out, looking murderous. He still was vibrating fiercely when the diner's bell at the door rung out, signalling someone had come in.

A second later, none other than Jared and Paul appeared behind Embry, both in cut off shorts and t-shirts despite the cool weather.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, bro," Jared said, putting his hand on Embry's arm, who immediately shook it off.

"Don't touch me! And I'm not gonna calm down! How can I when she's on a date with someone else?" Embry roared in his face, not realising that he might as well be speaking gibberish since Jared and Paul had no idea what was going on in the first place.

"It was Aria's idea! She dragged me along." Lexi blurted out desperately, obviously trying make it out like it wasn't her fault she was on a date.

My mouth fell open and my eye twitched, whilst Lexi flinched at my glare.

Sorry, she mouthed to me. My eye just twitched some more, a sure sign that I was about to explode soon.

Did she- what- she- said- me- date- my idea- a- but... Even my inner voice was at loss for words.

I bit my lip and looked up at Jared, Paul and Embry; all their faces looked furious. But when I looked closer at Embry's face, my heart broke a little. Underneath the initial anger, you could tell he was trying not to cry. For this reason alone, I decided I'd help Lexi out.

"Um... Yeah. It was my idea. Lexi didn't want to come, but I made her." I mumbled.

I heard what sounded like an inhuman growl, and I realised it had come from Paul, who was shaking like Embry was. He was glaring at Lucas and his pupils had narrowed into slits.

I don't know why he looked like that. The only thing I could think of was that he was angry that I might already have a boyfriend, so I wouldn't fall for his joke. That had to be it. It frustrated him that he had wasted his time giving me a lift to school so that he could try to get me to fall for him, but now he was probably thinking that I wouldn't fall for him if I was with someone else.

"Paul." Jared's voice came out as a warning. "Calm down."

"I. Can't." He spat out, not once leaving his gaze from Lucas.

That's just a bit weird. He must really want to pull of this joke or win the bet.

Jared sighed tiredly and grabbed Paul by the wrist and Embry by the forearm, ignoring the latter when he shook harder and struggled. Paul, on the other hand, let Jared drag him out the diner willingly, but he was still sending daggers at Lucas.

After they left, everyone just stared at us, not saying a word. Lexi began to tremble and pushed herself out of her seat, before she fled from the diner.

I quickly told the boys goodbye before running after her, desperate to get to her before she did something rash.

It's Lexi. She always does things that are rash.

I couldn't argue with that.

. . .

"I just- I just- he- now- gone- I'm just so worried- why-why wouldn't he c-call? It's just-just..."

"There, there." I tried to sound as sympathetic as possible as I patted Lexi's shoulder and listened to her wails.

It had been a week since the whole date incident, and since then, Embry had disappeared. Lexi had rung and texted him so much that she now owed an insane amount of money in phone bills, yet she never got a reply. She had gone over his house about a million times, but he was never there. She talked to Jacob and Quil, but they hadn't heard from him either. She even went so far as to ask Jared about him, seeing as he had been the one to pull him out of the diner.

Jared had been scarce at home in the past week, and at school he was careful to avoid me. He didn't sit with any of his old friends; instead he sat alone as people talked about him behind his back. They also talked about Paul, who had also disappeared all week, something I was delighted about.

Delighted? If I remember correctly, you were dancing in the hallways and singing in the shower.

Lexi had been a mess all week. Even though she and Embry fought a lot, you could tell that she really loved him, even if she didn't say it aloud.

It was hard for me, as well. I had never seen my best friend like this... so vulnerable. The last time she had shown her weak side was when Paul had shoved her in freshman year. Since then, she had tried to not expose any deep feelings that she considered weak.

I had tried to distract her as best I could, talking about out 'revenge plan' with Paul, if he ever came back. Considering what he'd been like at the diner, I had started to think that maybe he thought it'd be too much trouble to play a prank on me, so he'd given up.

I actually was disappointed at this. It would have been fun to humiliate Paul Lahote.

Fun? It would have been freaking awesome!

Lexi had been trying to hold it together since the incident, but today she had finally shown up on my doorstep and broke down, which would explain why we sitting in my room surrounded by empty ice cream tubs and tissue boxes.

Marley was sitting on my bedroom floor, examining her reflection with one of the many discarded spoons for the ice cream.

There is something seriously wrong with that child. She's obsessed with spoons. Or with her reflection. Either way, it sure ain't healthy.

Lexi dropped another empty tub of ice cream and I sighed. Looks l had to go get another. Lexi looked down at Marley and frowned.

"Do yourself a favour, kid, and never get a boyfriend." Lexi hiccoughed, wiping her nose on her sleeve. I wrinkled my nose and wordlessly handed her a tissue.

Marley looked disgusted at Lexi's words. "Boys icky!" She cried, shaking her head.

There's something we all agree on.

I stood up and stretched, mumbling something incoherent about going to the bathroom and getting more comfort food.

I hurried down the stairs, eager to get away from Lexi. She was my best friend, but there was only so much of her crying and depressing thoughts that I could take. I took a deep breath and started walking to the kitchen when I heard voices from the living room.

I crept closer so I was just out of sight by the doorway. I leaned forward slightly, wondering who was in the room.

"Why did you come here?" I heard somebody question from my hiding position. I immediately scowled.

Oh hurrah. Brother dearest is back at home.

I realised I probably didn't hear them come in due to Lexi's loud sobbing.

There was an impatient sigh in reply to his question. "My mom had another epic freak-out about me sneaking out again."

I wrinkled my nose slightly at the voice. It sounded familiar, but different at the same time.

That doesn't even make sense.

"Why did you come here? Why not go to Sam's? Or at least Paul's?" Jared sounded pissed off for some reason.

The other voice snorted in what seemed like amusement and annoyance. "Trust me, if you go within a hundred feet of Sam's house, you'll be scarred for life. He really wants to make the most of his precious alone time with Emily. And as for Paul, I don't want to be stuck with his depressed ass all day. Besides, Paul's just gonna come here eventually, isn't he?"

What the hell? What have they been smoking?

Jared growled back. An actual growl. "Not if I have anything to do with it," he grumbled lowly. I frowned. Did Jared and Paul have another fight?

That's what I thought. That always acted all best-buddy and stuff.

"Not much you can do about it," the other voice said, sounding oddly cheerful. "Nothing's gonna keep him away."

It was dead silent for a few minutes before Jared spoke again. "He'll keep away if she asks him to."

I wasn't even in the room, and yet I knew the tension had grown dramatically.

"Don't even think about it." The voice warned sternly. "You can't mess with shit like this, Jared. I'm serious."

"You can't say shit! It's not like you know what it's like!"

"Yet." The voice responded lowly.

I heard Jared huff in frustration. "You always act like you know fuck all! Well, guess what? It might not even happen to you. It's supposed to be rare."

"It's you that doesn't know shit! It might not happen to you either!"

"Yet." Jared's tone was mocking as he mimicked what the other person had said moments before. "What makes you think I want it, anyway?"

"Because we all do!" The voice replied, exasperated. "We all want to imprint."

They are so on crack. Making up words like that? It's the first sign of insanity or drug use.

I was dead confused at this point. What was imprint? Wasn't it when there was something imprinted in the ground or on a wall or something?

I felt something shove against my leg and quickly looked down to see Marley stumble past me. I reached out for her, but she had already disappeared through the doorway. A second later, I heard an ecstatic "Jarr-wed!"

Dead silence.

I bit the side of my mouth, wondering what was going on.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Is this freaking karma for something I did? Did I accidently run over a cat or kick a puppy or some shit?" Jared yelled suddenly, causing me to sprint in the room.

"Jared! You can't stay stuff like that when a three-year-old is listening!" I snapped him, scanning the room for Marley. She had attached herself to Jared's leg and was hugging it happily, oblivious to his outburst.

I quickly assessed the scene in front of me. Jared was shaking, growling and glaring at Embry, and I realised that he must have been the other voice. He looked different, though. His hair was shorter and he had grown a few feet taller. He was also way, way muscular than he used to be. It reminded me of the same transformation that Jared and Paul had gone through.

What's in the water that these boys have been drinking?

Embry was staring at Marley, who was now skipping happy circles around a not-so-happy Jared. Embry's expression was one I couldn't work out, but his gaze was solely focused on my sister.

Jared growled and stomped his foot, making Marley abruptly stopped her happy dance. Embry's face changed to worry and he glared back at Jared, looking angry and almost accusingly at him.

I opened my mouth to speak, but someone bet me to it.

"Embry?"

I turned and saw Lexi standing in the doorway. Her eyes were red-rimmed and glassy, making it obvious to everyone that she'd been crying. She walked forwards so she was standing next to me, and I couldn't help but notice how small she was compared to Jared and Embry.

Lexi's eyes went wide as she took in his new appearance, whilst Embry looked at her like he wasn't sure who he was.

With a choked sob, she ran up to Embry and flung her arms around his waist. "Where have you been?" I heard her muffled voice cry against Embry's chest. I smiled at the scene until I noticed the panicked look on Embry's face. Jared's expression was the same, but also strangely smug in a way.

Embry gently pushed Lexi off him. "Alexis-" He began nervously, only to have her throw herself back at him. Embry shot Jared a look that radiated "HELP!", but Jared just shrugged back, still looking oddly superior.

Then it hit me. Embry had just called Lexi Alexis.

Oh, shit. Something's not right here. Abort mission, abort mission.

"You were right, Embry." Lexi started to babble, seeming desperate to get her point across. "I mean, I shouldn't have gone on a date. It was wrong, I was wrong."

Lexi? Admitting she was wrong? God, that's gotta be a first.

"But I did because I didn't want to let you go." She continued, speaking so fast it was getting hard to decipher her words. "I thought you'd come back if you saw I was with another guy. I just wanted you to be jealous so you'd come back to me. It was a stupid, stupid plan, I know. But I did it because... I love you, too."

Dead silence. I was impressed with what Lexi had said. I knew for a fact that Lexi had never told Embry that she loved him before.

"Lexi," Embry said softly. "I- I don't love you like that anymore. I mean... I just... don't feel that way about you."

Everyone stopped breathing. Even Marley was silent as she looked between us all in confusion.

Poor kid. Doesn't have a clue what's going on. She shouldn't have left her spoons.

"W-what?" Lexi questioned, stepping back and staring at him. "You just said last week at the diner that you loved me. You said you wanted to be with me."

Embry shifted uncomfortably and looked to Jared for help. Jared just held his hands up and shook his head. Embry sighed heavily and turned back to Lexi. "That was last week."

"So?" Lexi demanded, seeming to be more shocked than angry. "What's changed in a week?"

Embry's mouth turned up slightly in a humourless smile. "A lot. You have no idea."

"You know what?" Lexi glared. "I don't. I have no idea what's the matter with you."

Embry sighed and ran his hands down his face. "I don't expect you to." He murmured quietly.

"I want to." Lexi argued, standing up straight. "Now tell me." She commanded.

"Uh... I can't."

"What do you mean, 'you can't.'? Just open your mouth and form words that explain why you're acting like this." Lexi scoffed, crossing her small arms.

"No."

"Yes. Tell me why you don't love me anymore!"

"I- I can't."

"You can!"

"No."

"There's someone else." My eyes bugged at Jared's words. He said them nonchalantly, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"What?" Lexi asked, her voice sounding strangled.

My eyes widened and I realised that this was conversation was going to get very awkward. I walked forward and picked up Marley.

"C'mon, Jared. We should do the dishes before mom gets home so she doesn't have to do them." I shot Jared a look that said 'you-better-come-or-else'.

Luckily, Jared also seemed eager to escape the room and we left to give them some privacy.

I sighed in relief when we finally arrived in the kitchen, glad to be away from the tension. I set Marley down in a chair, who immediately got up and started searching through drawers for a spoon, I'm guessing.

I threw a dishtowel wordlessly at Jared and started to fill the sink with water. I hadn't really been planning to actually do the dishes, but I figured I might as well to help out around the house.

"When did you and Embry become pals?" I asked him after a minute, mainly trying to block out the voices that seemed to be getting louder and louder from the living room.

"Uh... what?" Jared replied, looking worriedly into the hallway where the living room was. "Uh, well, you know... I never really got to know him before, but he's a cool guy when you do."

"That's not what I asked."

"I know." Jared said to me after a moment.

I sighed in frustration and went back to doing the dishes. It was strange to think that just years earlier we were laughing and joking around with each other. Now things were just uncomfortable and awkward. All because of Paul.

The asshole. My inner voice snarled at the thought.

"So..." Jared cleared his throat awkwardly. "Was, uh, that guy at the diner your boyfriend?"

I scoffed. "Lucas? Nah. I just met him that day. It was sort of a blind-double date-thing." I said, not really sure how to describe it.

"But do you like him?"

Talking to my brother – who I hadn't been close to in years – about who I was attracted to wasn't my idea of fun.

"Um... can we please not have this conversation?"

"Sorry, I thought it would help. Most girls like sharing their feelings."

"We do. Just not to jerks."

Dead silence. I hadn't meant to say what I did, it just slipped out. I turned to apologise, only to see Embry come in the room.

"Jared, we have to leave. Like, now." I noticed that Embry was shaking violently. Jared just nodded and wordlessly dropped the dishtowel to follow Embry out.

I should have known he'd leave sooner or later. Men and work just don't go together.

A second later, I heard the familiar creak of the front door, and then a slam!

A second later, the unmistakeable sound of someone crying floated from down the hall. I groaned and reached in the freezer for an ice cream tub and then the drawer for a spoon, before walking out of the kitchen.

This is going to be a long day.

. . .

Ha, bet you weren't expecting that! I was like, 'Hmm, I need drama." And then, it came to me. What would be better than a wolf imprinting on the girl he loves best friend's little three-year-old sister? Even though I'm not sure how much of a fan I am of the wolves imprinting on young children yet, I couldn't resist. The opportunity was too perfect, and I like Marley. I know she's not really a main character, but she deserves a happy ending one day... not that Lexi doesn't but, yeah... *coughs awkwardly*

Just so you know, Jared isn't always going to be such a jerk about imprinting *cough cough Kim cough cough*. But when two of your wolf brothers imprint on your sisters? Not to mention when one of them is only three and the other was tortured by the very wolf that imprints on her? Yeah, from Jared's view, it's just messed up and he's angry.

I know that some of you may think that Embry overreacted at the diner, but you gotta remember that he was veeeerrry hormonal because he was going to phase soon.

Thanks to all who reviewed/alerted/favourited. I love hearing all your opinions, so keep on reviewing... and we're almost at 100 reviews! That is absolutely amazing! Thank you to every single person who has reviewed so far.