Another update! I'm sorry this one is a little later than the others. It was a holiday weekend so I spent it the way everyone else was...working. Well, that's not completely true. I did get to spend time with my family on the 4th, but I was exhausted! I did most of the cooking for the party we had...bleh

Okay, I'm done talking about my weekend.

Thank you for the reviews! I know most people were enjoying the 4th (those of us in the U.S. at least) so I'm grateful to those people who decided to leave a review!

Not much else to say except a bit of a warning since this chapter includes profanities, but this story is rated M so everyone reading should be okay with that. (I hope)

Embry's POV took me a while to conjure up. I was confused as to where to go with it, but then his character led the way. It's funny the way that works when you're writing...

Okay, enough of me. PLEASE READ ON!

"She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there, leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together." –J.D. Salinger

Chapter 5

Her Universe

Embry's POV

I stared at the smiling face of the girl that was currently lying beside me. If the eyes in the photos didn't match hers I would've said they were two completely different people. To my discomfort, the green and brown speckled irises of the eyes that I saw in the photographs were the same ones I had been looking into earlier.

My harsh glare burned through the pictures, and I could feel my hands begin to tremble as I continued to study them. I should've tried to control the tremor for her sake, but looking at her smiling in someone else's arms was enough for me to lose my train of thought. Seeing her kissing him on the cheek and even on the lips had me wanting to find the asshole and beat him to a pulp.

She didn't belong with him. She belonged with me.

I felt her move beside me as she slept soundly, her body shifting so that she was facing me. Her arm draped over my abdomen and I went rigid from the contact only for a second. When I peeled my eyes off of the pictures long enough to see the content look on her face, I willed myself to get my anger under control. The only thing that really stopped the shaking was seeing her and the state we were currently in.

Even though she didn't think of me as anything more than a friend she was still here lying beside me. She was with me and not with him. That had to mean something.

As if to prove my point even more, I clutched her tighter to me, silently claiming her as mine even though my competition was merely a guy in a photograph. I didn't even know who he was, but the fact that she had loved him once…or still did love him made my gut wrench in an extremely uncomfortable way. She said before that she didn't have a boyfriend. Then again, she never really did answer my question when I had asked her if she had an ex boyfriend either. None of it made sense…

My eyes made their way back to the photographs again, and after really looking at them my jaw clenched and I began to feel sick. There were definitely a ton of differences between the girl in the pictures and the one I was holding, that was not even a question. Now that I see what those differences are I don't even know what to make of them.

The Ali that I knew looked vibrant all the time, and she had a smile that was unforgettable, a smile that was as beautiful as the sunset. The Ali that I knew had a glint in her eyes every time I saw her. She laughed easily, blushed often, and didn't take shit from anyone, not even a jackass like me.

The girl in the photographs looked fragile, like the slightest touch would cause her to crumble to pieces. She looked sickly, void of any energy, with a smile that seemed forced, almost painful in a way. It was hard to believe that she and Ali were one and the same.

Then there was the scarf over her head.

I swallowed the growing lump in my throat, closing my eyes as if it would make it all disappear. It did nothing though. The images seeped into my brain before I could stop them, and they did not want to be ignored.

What does this even mean?

I'm not even sure I want to answer that. If I looked deeper into it all I knew I would figure it out. It was laid out in front of me, staring straight at me, but I would not let myself become consumed by my itching curiosity to know the truth. The truth could wait for now. The only thing that mattered was knowing that in this moment the undeniably beautiful girl that had changed my life completely was with me. She was here and she was okay. She was mine.

And yet she wasn't. Not even close.

I buried my nose into her hair and took in her sweet strawberry scent, the smell easing my nerves. There was no way to know if we would be this close to each other if she were awake right now. It's been a challenge to figure her out. Yeah, she might've let me hold her before, she might've told me to lay here with her, but did it really mean something more than friendly gestures to her?

I hoped that it did. Anyone in my position would.

Why was she so hesitant about all of it then? There had to be a reason for it.

My eyes made their way back to the pictures again, darting between each one. Was he the reason?

It was highly plausible no matter how much I wanted to deny it. That shouldn't matter to me though. If she did still love him and only wanted to be friends with me it shouldn't be an issue. She was my imprint. I would be happy if she was happy. If being with him made her happy, then it was wrong of me to try to stand in the way of that.

We could be friends if that's what she wants. I could live with just being friends.

Yeah, sure you can...

Faintly, I could hear the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. My eyes widened and I looked at the alarm clock on the side of the bed, realizing it was already past midnight. How long had I been glaring at those damn pictures for?

I nudged Ali lightly, running my palm up and down the small of her back to try to wake her easily.

"Alyssa," I poked her after my first attempts failed, "Ali."

She mumbled incoherently, her hand swatting mine away. I chuckled at the disturbed look on her face, running my thumb over her forehead to smooth out the lines there.

"Wake up," I probably should've sped things up a bit since I could hear the car doors closing from here. I didn't want her to leave my arms though, "Your parents are here."

She started mumbling again, exhaling with a smile on her face as she clutched me tighter. The girl slept like a damn rock.

"You're drooling," I wiped the side of her mouth to make my words seem more believable. Even that wouldn't wake her. I figured since she was prone to become easily embarrassed that that would pry her eyes open. She didn't even move.

There was one more thing I could try.

I tilted her chin up and placed a kiss on her freckled cheek, repeating the action on the other one in the same spot.

Finally, she came alive again, her eyes meeting mine immediately.

"What the-,"

"Your parents are home," I placed another kiss on the tip of her nose before rising from the bed, smirking at the dazed look on her face.

Okay, so the kissing was a bit much. It definitely wasn't very friendly of me, but there was no way I could resist. I had been tempted to do much more than that the whole freaking night. She was lucky I didn't just kiss her right on the lips.

Who wants to kiss their soul mate for the first time while they're barely awake though?

That's right, absolutely no one.

Plus, I wasn't about to kiss her when I didn't even know if I had permission to do so. I didn't want it to turn into a whole Bella Swan situation.

God no…

"W-What?" I could see the heat rising to her cheeks.

Before I could respond the sound of the front door opening and closing resonated through the house. I chucked my thumb over my shoulder, watching as her eyes widened in horror.

"Shit," she cursed quietly as she stumbled out of bed, running her hands through her short hair as she stood across from me, "Well, this is going to be fun to explain."

"I can jump out the window if you want me to."

I could hear rumbling and talking, "What and commit suicide? It's the second floor," she grabbed my arm and dragged me along, or I made her believe she was dragging me along at least, as she made her way towards the door.

I chuckled and pulled my arm out of her grasp, grabbing her hand instead because I knew it would annoy her. I found it very satisfying when her pulse began to speed up. It let me know that the bond that had been formed the moment our eyes met for the first time was not something that was one sided. She felt the connection just as much as I did. She stopped walking and turned around towards me, her eyes flickering between our intertwined hands and my face.

She looked at me like she was ready to rip my head off. It was amusing to me. In a way, she looked even more beautiful with her face scrunched up in that way and her eyes narrowed at me.

"You're not helping the situation, Embry," she flapped her arm around to try to get her hand out of mine, and I complied with her unspoken demand and let go, "My parents are already going to assume the worst."

She grabbed the door and opened it a crack, "Which is what?" I bent down and whispered right up to her ear.

She shook her head in annoyance and walked out of the room, never looking back at me as she headed out into the hallway. I followed behind her obediently and smiled at the fact that she kept her arms crossed so that I couldn't make another move to grab her hand again. Although she seemed like she hated me at the moment her pulse told me differently. It was the only confirmation I needed to know that I hadn't crossed a line. Hell, it was the only tool I had that I could use to efficiently decipher her true feelings for me, which was great in its own way.

When we made it down the stairs her parents were putting their coats in the closet, talking amongst themselves.

"Did everything go okay?" her mom asked without looking up.

"Uh, yeah. It was actually really great," Ali sounded a bit nervous and I was tempted to wrap my arm around her to try to calm her, but I clenched my hands into fists at my sides so that I wouldn't do it, "Embry was a big help."

"That's-," her mom finally saw me standing there, her words getting caught in her throat. Her dad seemed a lot less shocked to see me when he finally turned around. I could only think that it was my height that was throwing her off…unless she already didn't like me.

"Mom, this is my friend, Embry Call."

The word friend stung much more than it should've. I should be okay with being considered just her friend. That should be enough for me.

Except it wasn't.

I held out my hand, feeling a bit disappointed when her mom didn't immediately shake it, "Hi, I'm Embry. It's nice to meet you," even though you look about as comfortable as a person getting a root canal…

She flinched as soon as our hands touched, and she shook mine lightly, barely making any movement, "It's nice to meet you too, Embry," Are you sure it is? "Ali's told me a lot about you," She smiled at me, but I could tell she wasn't too thrilled about me being here.

"Has she?" I looked down at Ali, noticing the tinge of red on her cheeks as she bowed her head.

"I thought you would've been gone by now. It's already past midnight," her dad looked confused.

"Yeah, well, we were studying for a huge quiz we have on Monday after Kevin went to sleep, and I guess we just lost track of time."

Ali looked at me out of the corner of her eye, her muscles relaxing after I had told the most believable lie that I could manage, "Yeah, Embry kind of sucks at calculus."

She grinned at her parents and I rolled my eyes and shook my head, continuing on with the web we were spinning, "Thanks for the confidence booster."

"You're welcome," she patted my back and I heard her father chuckle from in front of us. At least one of them liked me.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Embry," I shook her father's hand.

"You too," I looked over at her mother again, who seemed to be analyzing ever move I made with her dark eyes. I didn't know why she seemed to already hate me. Maybe she had heard things about me, about the legends. I knew she wasn't on the council, but that didn't mean she didn't speculate things about us. It wasn't like I wasn't used to it.

"I should really be going," I nodded my head in the direction of the door.

"I'll walk you out," Ali grinned at me.

I waved a quick goodbye to her parents and walked my way through the living room with her right beside me. When I was through the door she followed me out, closing it behind her and immediately wrapping her arms around herself to protect her from the cold.

I took a couple steps closer to her and rubbed my hands over her arms to warm her up. She smiled at me gratefully, her lips slightly wobbling.

It took a lot of willpower to not kiss her in that moment. God damn it those things were going to be the death of me. I could not stand here and just look at them all puckered like that. Why the hell did they have to look so delicious and kissable?

It would be better if she were lipless.

"Thanks again," I managed to pry my eyes away from her trembling mouth, "for coming over. Tonight would've been much worse if you weren't there."

"I'm glad you enjoyed my company," do not look at her lips. Do not look at her lips, "It was an extremely productive night. I think I understand calculus a lot more now."

She laughed and shook her head, "I don't mean to brag, but I'm probably the best tutor you will ever have. I should be charging you for these sessions."

"Yeah, I've never really had a tutor who's fallen asleep on me before. It's a brilliant way to teach others how to solve limits. Next time I'll bring money with me."

Her hazel eyes grazed over my face and she smiled widely, her light complexion contrasting with the darkness around us, "It'll be twenty dollars per minute."

I dropped my hands down to my sides before hiding them in the pockets of my jeans, resisting the overwhelming urge to pull her to me and kiss her senseless. She looked down to where my hands now resided before meeting my gaze.

"I guess I'll see you on Monday then," she said, a hint of disappointment lining her words…or at least what I thought was disappointment.

"Yeah," I let out a long sigh. I hated that I had to go a whole day without seeing her again, "see you on Monday."

I reluctantly turned around and moved towards the steps, my stomach churning like violent waves during a storm. It was difficult to take even a few steps further away from her, because the more steps I took the heavier I felt. How have I managed to do this every day for the past week without going insane? It felt like I would lose my marbles at any given time simply because I was no longer within five feet of her.

Imprinting was a cruel son of a bitch.

"Embry," my whole body stopped moving without having to be told to do so.

I turned around and faced her again, my brows casting down over my eyes, "Yeah?"

She had a look of determination in her eyes, and as she moved closer to me I felt lighter again. When her chest was practically up against mine I was completely weightless, floating in her universe freely, her presence acting as my anchor and preventing me from drifting off into space.

She rose onto her toes, her face nearly level with mine, and kissed me on the cheek before kissing my nose just as I had done to her before. If I hadn't been entirely dumbfounded by the gesture I would've moved so that she kissed my lips instead. But I wasn't that slick and I wasn't smart enough to come up with the idea that quickly.

"Goodnight," she whispered, smiling at me before heading for the door again.

I couldn't let her go in that house without an explanation. That was not something you just do to a guy who is falling in love with you without some sort of reasoning for doing so. She was so damn confusing, "What the hell was that?" play it cool shit head.

Her hand was on the door knob as she looked at me over her shoulder, shrugging casually, "Just something to let you know that you're not the only one who can do that."

I still didn't get it, "Do what?"

She opened the door and stepped inside the house, "Surprise people."

And then she was gone, her face no longer in my line of vision.

Yeah, being just friends was definitely not an option.

"Embry! Quil's here!"

I didn't respond since I was too engrossed in trying to destroy the asshole robot in my way. I had been doing this all morning long without much success at this point. Quil sucked at this worse than I did so I'm sure he wouldn't be much help.

"You do realize your mom is out there trying to knit you a sweater don't you?"

I glanced at him for a second before looking back at the screen, "Why do you think I've been hiding in here all day? Knitting has become her new obsession and I can't say I understand why," my thumbs hit the buttons on the controller fiercely as I managed to catch the robot off guard, "Die asshole die!"

Quil flopped down onto my bed and sighed, "Why can't it be food again? At least with her fudge making obsession we got to eat the stuff."

My mom was a hobby jumper. She read these magazines all the time that supposedly talked about the latest trends and what's in and what's out. Every once and a while she would pick up a new hobby, joining clubs around Port Angeles to keep her busy on the weekends and talking my ear off about the crap. If the writers of those damn things actually thought knitting was in style then they were sorely mistaken.

I guess I couldn't complain though, it did stop her constant nagging about my whereabouts all the time.

"Yes! I won! Take that you metallic goon!" I pumped my fists in the air after I finally completed the mission.

"Metallic goon?"

I threw the controller onto the floor and turned my chair so it was facing Quil, "Where's Jake?"

He laughed and sat up, "Do you really need me to answer that?"

No, I didn't, nor did I want him to.

After Jake had imprinted on the devil spawn -otherwise known as Edward and Bella's half bloodsucker offspring- he had been spending all of his time at the Cullen's house. Okay, that wasn't a terrible thing. I mean don't get me wrong I was happy for him; I just didn't think his happiness would be at the expense of our friendship. It wasn't enough that the pack was split; he had barely talked to either of us in weeks.

"Sam still wants us to keep a close eye on them, just as a precaution."

I rolled my eyes, "Screw them and their endless amount of issues."

Could you tell I was bitter?

"I have to go meet up with Jared in an hour to head over there," Quil looked thrilled, "I saw Seth earlier."

"You mean the Cullen's lap dog?" I grabbed the controller from the floor and threw it to Quil, switching spots with him so he could continue the game he had saved from earlier.

"That's who I'm referring to," he rolled his eyes and shook his head, "He went on and on about how stupid it was for us to hate them, as if his explanation would somehow make us into bloodsucker lovers like him."

"He's about as bad as Jake," I grabbed my phone from the spot I had left it in, reading over the text Ali sent me.

Pudding or jello?

We had been texting back and forth, asking each other random either or questions all morning.

Jello, I replied.

"I think Seth's worse in a way. At least Jake still refers to them as bloodsuckers."

"But he didn't imprint on one."

Another message, Pudding for me.

Chocolate or vanilla?

Quil looked at me over his shoulder, his eyes going to the phone in my hands, "Speaking of imprints, how's yours?"

Chocolate of course. Glass half empty or half full?

"She's fine."

Half full. Superman or Batman?

"Oh God you have 'the look' on your face." Quil smirked at me.

"No I don't. I'm not like the others."

I knew what 'look' he was referring to. It was the one that Jared and Sam had on their faces every time Kim and Emily walked through the door that included a sappy smile and googly eyes. I hated 'the look'. I despised 'the look'. Frankly, 'the look' could go jump off a cliff and I would feel ecstatic about it.

There was no way in hell I possessed the muscles in my face to produce 'the look'.

Batman. TV shows or movies?

"You're exactly like the others. Jesus Christ you're salivating all over your phone! Wipe your mouth!"

I glared at him, letting out a low growl, "Fuck off."

"Don't take it as a bad thing," he laughed, "It's better now that you've imprinted too. Finally you've found a girl who isn't brainless and puts up with your bullshit."

I flipped him off and went back to my text message, trying not to think about the countless number of girls I had hooked up with before meeting Ali. I hadn't thought about any of that for the past week, my mind too consumed with her to care. Now that Quil managed to bring it up I began to feel nauseous when I thought about how terrible all of those dumb broads were compared to Ali. They were after one thing just like I was, and I wasn't the type to stop them from getting what they wanted.

I wasn't a manwhore like Paul, because honestly he fucked anything that had a vagina, but I will admit that I had had sex with random girls from time to time. To be frank, up until now I didn't care about having a girlfriend or a long lasting relationship with a girl. I was fine with the occasional hook up without any emotions attached.

Meeting Ali changed all of that.

I mean, I had imprinted on her, of course it changed things. I couldn't look at the world in the same way I had before. I saw the world through her. I was now living for her.

I should be angry about it, because in all honesty living for someone you had never met before was pretty fucked up. I should be running for the hills and trying my hardest to not let it control me, because I had never intended to be tied down. I always thought that I was meant to be the one who didn't imprint, the one who ended up living alone and without responsibilities. It wasn't until I talked to her for the first time that I realized how shitty my plans were.

When I saw her on Monday in photography I was initially freaked out about the whole thing. She was not the type of girl I would've gotten to know on my own. If it weren't for imprinting I probably would've never even talked to her. I know it's cruel and it makes me sound like an ass, but if you hadn't figured it out already I was kind of an ass.

After she had walked out of the darkroom that day I was ready to run and resist the imprint. I wasn't used to this, and I didn't know if I could handle it. Quil had to do a lot of coaxing to get me to go out there, and I cannot tell you how reluctant I was to face her. As soon as I saw her for a second time though, with her camera up to her eye and that beautiful smile on her face, I knew I could not run from this. And when she spoke to me in that melodic voice, I was a goner, already forgetting about becoming a permanent bachelor and dying alone. Now all I could think about was talking to her more and more and trying to find out as much about her as possible.

She kept me on my toes, that's for sure. She was the complete opposite of every other girl I have ever known. She saw the world in a different perspective, and she didn't just consider me a cocky bastard who just happened to be good looking. She was as complex as they come, and I felt compelled to peel back every one of her layers until I would finally know exactly who she is.

TV shows. Forest or beach?

I think that's what puts her above everyone else, the fact that she could see I wasn't just a 'conceited jerk', as I put it. All the other girls I have ever known didn't seem to even try to get to know who I really was. They just saw that I was attractive and didn't give a shit about the rest. I mean it was probably because they didn't stick around long enough to figure it out, but still, there was something to be said about a girl who could call you out on your bullshit and expose you for the person you really are.

Forest. How about you?

And she liked the forest better than the beach. Who the hell wouldn't like a girl who liked being surrounded by trees better than being surrounded by sand?

Forest, I agreed with her.

"I'm going to puke," Quil made fake gagging sounds from in front of me.

I clenched my jaw and got up from the bed, moving over to where he was sitting before going up to the Xbox and unplugging it.

"What the fuck!"

I threw the cord in his face and dodged the fist he threw at me. The huge vein in his forehead that always popped out when he was pissed made itself known, and I laughed as I went back to my spot on the bed.

"Asshole," he threw the controller at me and I didn't even try to stop it because I was too caught up in my laughing fit. The thing hit my shoulder and I fell back on the mattress, clutching my sides as tears sprung from my eye, "Keep laughing, Call. Next thing you know that controller will be stuck up your ass."

"Will you have the pleasure of sticking it up there?" I heard my phone vibrate beside me and went to grab it, but Quil's hand was suddenly on top of it, snatching it before I got the chance.

"What do we have here? A new text message from your imprint?"

"Don't even think about it."

"Fruits or vegetables….what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

I kicked him in the gut, but it didn't really do much of anything, "If you so much as think about saying some messed up shit back to her I will-,"

"Okay," he opened the phone and began typing away.

"Quil you fucktard!"

"I would just like you to know that I am obsessed with you and was wondering if you would-,"

"Quil!"

"-if you would like to go out on a date with me so that I could kiss you and then hopefully have sex with you-,"

"I am going to kill you!"

"-and then marry you and have babies with you-,"

I tackled him from behind, causing him to fall off the bed and onto the floor. The phone flew out of his hands and he began laughing hysterically just as I had laughed at him two seconds earlier. I socked him in the jaw, but it wasn't hard enough to do any real damage to him. The purple bruise was already changing color as it healed itself.

"Ha ha, you're a riot," I slammed my elbow into his chest, managing to knock the wind out of him. He recovered quickly and continued to laugh.

I grabbed my phone from the floor and deleted everything he wrote, my fingers trembling from the wave of anger that overcame me.

"Admit it, you're just like the rest of them, completely obsessed with her."

"I'm not obsessed with her," I put the phone in my back pocket, "I'm just trying to get to know her."

"Sure," he got up and brushed off his khaki shorts for no reason, "because thinking about her all the time and picturing her kissing you doesn't make you obsessed. Do you not realize that I have complete access to your demented brain?"

"So what if I do think about her? That doesn't mean I'm obsessed. At least I don't put on tiaras all the time and twirl around in tutus to make my imprint stop crying."

He clamped his mouth shut, a look of embarrassment flitting across his face, "If that's what made her happy I'm sure you would do it."

I shrugged, my thoughts going back to last night and the pictures I had the misfortune of laying eyes on, "I don't know if I would go as far as that…but yeah, I would choose to do whatever makes her happy."

The room became silent for a couple minutes, and I'm sure he was thinking of Claire just as I was thinking of Ali. We became lost in the thought of our imprints.

I wondered if it would be good to bring up the pictures to Quil. I mean he was really one of the only people who I could talk to about it. If Jake were around I would ask him for advice, because he was honestly better at it than Quil. I guess I would just have to settle for the blabbering idiot this time around.

"I saw these pictures in her room last night," I said, "of her and some guy. She was kissing him in one of them and she looked happy," Quil looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed, "I'd be kidding myself if I said I didn't feel a bit jealous of him."

"Have you asked her about it?"

I shrugged, "I asked if she had a boyfriend before and she said no, but when I asked if she had an ex boyfriend she didn't really say anything. She told me she had to leave, like she didn't want to talk about it. What does that even mean? Is she in the process of breaking up with him or something? I mean the pictures were right there, right in front of my face. If they weren't together she would've taken them down."

He nodded in understanding, "Yeah that would be the most logical thing to do. I don't know man, girls are confusing as hell, and I've been hanging around Claire too much to even know what I could say to help you."

See what I mean? He's terrible at giving advice.

"If I were you I would just ask her about it again."

I sighed and rubbed my palm over my face, "Wouldn't that make me look a bit creepy though? I mean we're just friends," for now, "I can't be accusing her of things if we're not even together."

"You wouldn't be accusing her of anything," he stared at one of the Call of Duty posters on my walls, "If you just went about it the right way, then it wouldn't seem like an accusation. Maybe if you told her about all of your past relationships you could lead into talking about hers. Or should I say your past booty calls…"

I glared at him, "Don't even start with me on that."

"If you were being really honest you would just tell her you think with your dick more than your actual brain."

"Well at least I have one. Yours seems to have turned into a vagina filled with fairy dust and unicorns."

His nostrils flared and I could tell he was shaking from here, "You're really asking for it aren't you?"

I chuckled, amused by the constipated look on his face, "Don't you love having me as your best friend?"

"Actually, no. Not really," he grabbed another video game from the shelf beside my bed and walked back to the chair in front of the television, "Just try to figure it out, Embry. If it helps, I don't really think you have to worry."

If only I could find it in me to believe him.

The whole week had gone by in a flash, and soon enough it was already Friday. I hadn't mustered up enough courage to ask Ali about the guy in the pictures just yet. I had been building up to it and had tried to find the right things to say to get into it, but the timing never seemed right. Okay, that was a lie. I was just being a complete pussy about the whole thing.

I mean, really, it wouldn't change much if she was still in love with him. I would just have to step off a bit if that were the case. As if that was an easy thing for me to do…

She had come over to my house to help me with calculus every day this week, and I had acted like my usual self, joking around with her and paying her compliments like I always did. She still seemed hesitant every time I got a bit too affectionate, which kind of threw me off and made me worry about my possible competition from the photographs.

After patrol last night I had gotten an earful from Quil about the whole thing, and after a bunch of nagging he had finally convinced me to get on with it today. So that's what I was going to do. I was going to ask about it.

We were currently sprawled out on the couch in my living room, both of us on our respected sides of the couch with our calculus books in our laps. She was practically curled up in a ball on her side with her pencil hanging from her mouth and her eyes fixed on the book. I stretched my legs out in front of me, my ankle touching her right hip and her feet touching my knee. Her whole body tensed up when I did it, and I smiled in delight at the sound of her heartbeat quickening.

I peered up at her over my notebook and watched as she shook her head and went back to focusing on her homework. My pencil moved across the paper as I outlined the shape of her lips, making them look full and delicious. I could feel her eyes trained on me as I continued my drawing, and I didn't even try to cover up what I was doing. I knew that she hated it when I lost focus, but I couldn't really lose focus on something I hadn't been paying attention to in the first place.

"Did you finish number forty two?" she asked.

I nodded as I colored in her pupils, "Yup."

She pursed her lips and quirked her eyebrow, obviously not believing me, "Can I see what you got?"

I smiled, "Sure."

I handed over the notebook to her and watched her carefully as she took in the drawing. Her face instantly turned red and I let out a chuckle as a look of horror suddenly took over her features.

"Embry!" she groaned, shaking her head at me, "You're such an idiot!"

"A talented idiot," I corrected her.

She threw the notebook back over to my side of the couch, covering her face with her hands to try to hide the color of her cheeks from me, "We're supposed to be getting ready for this test we have next week. Do you really want to fail?"

I nudged her lightly with my foot, "Stop hiding from me. I already know you're blushing."

She didn't listen to me, "I mean really, do you care about graduating at all? Because it seems like you only care about humiliating me."

She looked me in the eye, her tone indicating that she was completely serious. I closed my notebook and placed it on the coffee table, my thoughts going back to the questions I had to ask her. Before I could even think of getting into that I had to assure her that my life goal was not to embarrass her.

I reached my hand out and wrapped it around her ankle, which caused her to shiver. She didn't slap my hand away or do anything to indicate that I was crossing any boundaries, so I tugged her a bit towards me until she was practically sitting in my lap. Her lack of resistance to what I was doing was a good sign. Maybe I really didn't have anything to worry about.

"Was it that bad?" I asked, "Did I make your nose too big or something?"

She let out a breathy laugh and peered up at me, "No, it wasn't bad. You know I hate anything that has to do with me though."

"Yeah, you're not good at being the center of attention."

She grinned a bit wider, "Not even the center of your attention."

"Well, get used to it, because I'm going to be drawing lots of pictures of you from here on out."

She blushed again and leaned into me. I grabbed her hand that was resting on my stomach and intertwined our fingers, trying to see how she reacted. Like always, her heart raced and her body went rigid, as if she was unsure of what to do.

"Why do you do that?" I was ready to get this over with.

"Do what?" she mumbled.

She wouldn't look at me, keeping her eyes on the couch as I spoke, "You always hesitate. I grab your hand and you get all uncomfortable. I hug you and you tense up. Why?"

I didn't want her to think I was accusing her of something, so I made sure my voice was gentle and quiet. I wasn't ready to have any fights with her. I needed to stay on her good side.

She shook her head repeatedly, her face contorting in confusion, "I just…I…I don't…" she stumbled over her words.

"Be honest with me," I said softly, "do you have a boyfriend or something?"

Her hand squeezed mine and I could hear her suck in a breath. I rubbed my thumb over the top of her hand to try to let her know I wasn't going to freak out or get angry if she said something I didn't want to hear. After a minute of silence she released my hand and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees.

"I don't," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper, "I promise you I don't."

"I saw those pictures," I admitted, my tone still soft, "and I don't care if you love him. I just want to know the truth so I don't make a fool out of myself."

She didn't blink at all and I watched as her face began to fall the slightest bit. Her fingernails dug into her calves as she stared off into space, and I swore I saw her eyes get a bit glossy.

Now you've done it. She's going to hate you.

Just apologize and beg for her forgiveness shit head.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," she still didn't move, "Just forget I even said anything-,"

"No," she outstretched her hand and grabbed my forearm, her eyes flicking to my face for the slightest second, "I should just tell you. You deserve to know."

"No I don't. I'm just being an ass-,"

"Embry," she took a deep breath, pursing her lips before opening her mouth to speak again, "I have to," I was about to protest again, but she covered my mouth with her hand so I couldn't do it, "Just listen," she whispered.

I studied her face closely, watching as her lips twitched upward into the ghost of a smile. She ran her hands through her hair and laid her head onto her knees while I just waited for her to begin. She mumbled a few things about getting it over with and letting go before looking me straight in the face.

"His name's Caleb, and yeah he was my boyfriend, but he isn't anymore," she paused and took a deep breath before explaining more to me, "He died last November."

My breath got caught in my throat after the words left her mouth. The images of her with him were still fresh in my mind, and I let them fill my brain to torture me some more. I didn't hate the guy anymore. You can't hate someone who's dead, it was just wrong on so many levels. Now all I really felt was hatred towards myself for thinking the worst of him. I was probably the biggest asshole alive right now.

She looked at the couch again, obviously noticing the shocked look on my face, "It wasn't unexpected, but it still happened. It's taken me a long time to get over it. I'm okay now though."

"I'm sorry," all I could really do was keep apologizing to try to make up for being an ass.

"You don't have to apologize," she smiled at me, "Like I said, I'm okay now. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for? I'm the one who asked the dumb question."

She shrugged and rested her chin on her knees again, "I don't know, I guess I haven't exactly been all that good when it comes to figuring out my feelings towards you."

She went quiet again, and it made me crazy. Why did she have to be so mysterious all the time?

"Care to elaborate?" I grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood again.

She bit her bottom lip, and the simple maneuver caused my eyes to go to her mouth automatically. What the heck! Stop tempting me!

"It took me months before I finally realized I liked Caleb more than a friend. We had always been around each other, and we always hung out together. I mean I barely even knew I liked him when he first kissed me," I tried not to cringe at the thought of her kissing him, "you would think that this would be the same way," she looked up at me, "but it's not, not at all. When I'm around you I feel like…," she stopped herself, clamping her mouth shut.

"What?" I grabbed her chin so she wouldn't be able to look away from me, practically begging her to continue.

"I feel like I've already known you for months…even years. I used to get these jittery feelings every time I kissed him. I mean like small, jittery sparks," she stared at me intensely, "when it comes to you I feel a lot more than that, and we haven't ever kissed. Just being around you does it for me. So, I guess that's why I'm so hesitant, because I'm terrified. These strong feelings that I already feel for you scare the hell out of me, and I don't know how to go about dealing with them."

I smiled at her, noticing the worry in her eyes. I figured she was probably freaking out right about now, so I was going to try my best to keep her from freaking out even more.

I let go of her chin and grabbed her hand again, squeezing it to reassure her, "I'm terrified just as much as you are."

She looked down at our hands, "You are?"

"Of course I am," I said, "I've never felt like this before either, so it's just as new for you as it is for me."

"So I'm not a total idiot?"

"Well, I wouldn't say you're a total idiot."

She slapped my arm and rolled her eyes at me, "I hate you. I really do. Maybe I should just leave-,"

"Hey, you're not going anywhere," I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her down to me, our faces merely inches apart, "you're staying here with me," I added.

She smiled widely, "We're still friends, Embry."

"Uh, huh. You've made that abundantly clear," I kissed her on the cheek.

"We're never going to be more than friends."

"I know," I placed another kiss in the same spot.

"Seriously, stop doing that."

"Okay," I did it one more time.

The grin she was wearing didn't disappear after I had done it, which made me believe she was just spitting out lies to try to get us both to turn around and go back to being in the safety and comfort of the friend zone. I was not the type of guy that liked being friend zoned though.

"Go on a date with me," I cupped her face in my hands, still fighting the fiery urges to kiss her. If she agreed to go on a date I might be one step closer to being able to do that.

"What?" she looked at my lips, which made me wonder if she was trying to stop herself from doing the same thing I was thinking of doing.

"Go on a date with me tomorrow night," I said it again.

She puckered her lips, "A date?"

"No, a field trip. Yes, a date!"

"A field trip doesn't sound so bad."

I growled at her, "You rejected me last weekend; you can't do that to me again."

"Why not? We had fun."

"In a minute I'm just going to throw you off this couch!"

"Really?"

"No…just say yes already! I'm going to die if you don't."

"You are?"

Why must she torture me in this way?

"I'm just going to go to sleep and ignore you for the rest of my life."

I closed my eyes and let go of her hand, folding my arm over my face to conceal it from her. I could hear her laughing at me for a few minutes before she began to realize that I was serious and started shaking my arm.

"Embry!" she shouted, "Come on! You're being a baby!"

I didn't respond in any way. The longer I sat there silently for the more annoyed she got, until eventually she just gave up.

"Alright fine! I'll go on a freaking date with you! Okay? Are you happy now? You can stop pretending to sleep."

I smiled happily and squeezed her against my chest so she had no hope of ever escaping, "Jesus it took you ten minutes just to agree to go on a date with me. Maybe I'm not as charming as I thought I was."

She ran her fingers through my hair and grinned at me as she ruffled it, probably making it look like a damn rats nest now, "Oh believe me you're definitely charming."

I hope everyone enjoyed the little bit of insight into Embry's 'demented' brain. Next chapter will be switched back to Ali's POV and will probably include this date, maybe more as well.

Thanks again to those who reviewed and those who gave their opinions about the length of the chapters. It really helps me out a lot :)

Like every other chapter I would love to hear what you think about this one, especially since it's Embry's POV!

Please review! :)