A/N: Thanks for the review! I would really appreciate it if those who read would review, please. I really would like to continue this story on here.

*

Chapter Three + The Beginning of Something

"So you say you heard some eagle cries?" Embry stared at me in this cross-eyed way, obviously getting ready to poke fun. I could already see the ends of this mouth forming into a smirk.

I clenched my teeth together. "Yeah, Embry. The thing kept me up all night."

I kept my head down and fumbled with another part of Sage's bike. If I had looked up, Embry would have read that I was lying. I stayed up all night listening to it, thinking about my mom and how much I missed her. Even outside of that, I thought about Bella and Nessie.

"Okay," he held up both of his hand in defense mode, "I believe you man. I only wish that that could have been an explanation for that horrible smell last night."

I laughed lightly. "I'm pretty sure it was nothing. I mean, the smell was weird, but I didn't sense anything else."

"Sure, yeah." He rose from his seat and started pacing around the garage. He picked up random items and eyed them like he was going to use telekinesis on them sooner or later. Once he walked over to the bike, he finally said something. "So, what's up with you fixing this bike?"

I was caught off guard. "What?" He just gave me this blank stare, like I knew what he was talking about.

"Come on now, Jake. You and I both know you're not fixing this girl's bike for no reason." He stood beside me, his hands on the bike.

I looked up at him with my eyebrow raised. "Dude, I don't even know this girl well enough to start liking her. If that's what you're implying."

He sighed, focusing on the ceiling. "I don't know. I just – I think I might – you know, like her."

"You imprinted?"

He rolled up his sleeves and squatted. "No. I mean, I don't know. How is this stuff supposed to work anyway?" He didn't wait for me to reply. "I guess I haven't if I don't know, huh? Yeah."

In my peripherals, his entire stature looked defeated, like a puppy that's just been separated from its family. He was the only one of us guys who had not imprinted, at least one of original pack.

I slapped his back and smiled. "Let's go cliff diving man. Get our minds off of life for some time." I know I wanted to. Life was beginning to get more difficult than before.

______

The sky burst into a harsh rain as Embry and I made it to the top of the cliff. We had just come through the trees when I heard crying noises. We both noticed the back of Sage, shaking while hugging herself. She sniffed, inching closer to the edge of the cliff. By the fact that she had on exactly what she was wearing yesterday, I could tell that she had been out here for at least twenty-four hours.

"What is she doing?" Embry whispered.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look good."

Just as I began to run, she jumped from the cliff. Well, it was more like she flew from the cliff. I watched as she opened her arms and gracefully embrace the water.

"I'm going in after her." I rushed out of my shirt and jumped in.

She seemed to be moving slowly, as if she was in a trance. Was she committing suicide?

I grabbed her by her waist, swimming toward the shore. She began to feel a little limp in my grasp, so I swam faster until we reached the surface. I placed her body on the sand, ready to practice CPR. Before I could even begin, she opened her eyes and pushed me off.

"What's your problem?!"

I stared at her in shock. "My problem? What's yours? I just saved your life."

She rolled her eyes and sat up. "I wasn't trying to kill myself!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as Embry ran beside her. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"What happened?" Embry placed his hand on her shoulder gently then attempted to help her up. She exhaled harshly before softly removing his hand. He said nothing.

"Nothing." She pushed his hand back softly, walking away from us with tears welling in her eyes.

After a quick moment, Embry looked around confused. "Is she crazy or something?"

I ignored him and followed after her. She floated on her feet across the ground, never running into a tree. They seemed to move out of the way for her to pass by. It was like all the nature around us granted her respect and entrance. The only sounds I heard were coming from the wind in the trees and her sniffles.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

She stopped and turned to face me. She just stood there, staring into my eyes, unblinking again. I watched carefully as the water dripped from her clothes and the ends of her hair onto the ground. With every second that passed I watched as each strand of her hair frizzed a little and shrunk, forming perfect spirals around her face and changing into a curly afro. A small tear dropped from the outside of her right eye rolled down her cheek. I inhaled slightly, trying to hide the desire to caress her cheek and wipe that tear away.

"Maybe we should get you in some warm clothes." I whispered, continuing to be caught in her gaze.

I was resting on the couch when she walked in wearing a pair of my sweatpants and t-shirt. Her hair had been carefully brushed into a ponytail, her waves evident under the headband that held the curls out of her face. As she moved across the floor, there was this glow about her, like she had come out of a dream somewhere. I felt my heart rate increase to this irregular pattern, fluttering just as soon as she spoke a word.

"Thanks for letting me borrow some clothes. I put the towel I used in the hamper in your room, if that's okay." She spoke quietly, not something she would normally do. Her voice was always so lively. "I'll be sure to get these back to you as soon as I wash them."

"S'okay. You don't have to." I smiled. I stood up, towering over her, and reached for her elbow before she could leave. "I hope you don't mind me asking but, why are you so depressed today? You're usually…happy."

She chuckled awkwardly. "Heh," she looked away momentarily, "Today marks the third year since my mother died."

My body was beginning to shake again when she looked at me. And it was the way that she looked at me. "Oh. How did she die?"

"Car accident. It was a stormy night, I guess."

"Wow," I bit my bottom lip in fear I would cry myself. "Same way my mom died."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Guess we have something else in common. But I- I should go change into my own clothes."

She pivoted on her heels elegantly, but I reached for her arm to stop her once more. I had no idea what I was doing, but in half of me was saying "go for it" and the other half was saying, "This is trouble." I bit my bottom lip harder.

"Why don't you just stay? Hang out, y'know?" Shoot, shoot. She's gonna say no. She's gonna say no. And then I'm going to feel like an idiot and prove Embry right.

Her countenance brightened into a smile. "I'd like that."

From that day, Sage and I had spent just about every waking moment with each other. She'd come over and we'd talk cars, television (or whatever was on the old, raggedy TV that Billy still hadn't gotten fixed), music, or anything that came to mind. She even hung out with the pack. She was so comedic and bubbly that it was hard for me to ever not smile. It was like the fates had created a female (human, though) version of me and dropped her next door. It was good though, kept me from falling into a depression. But there was something else about her that I couldn't quite figure out, something that I was deeply attracted to and afraid of at the same time.

"So how exactly did your parents meet?" I questioned, still intrigued by the fact that she was African-American and Quileute.

She laughed, passing me the wrench beside her feet and nudging my arm. "Haha. I bet there isn't even a word in Quileute to describe me. That just means I'm more awesome than I already am. I might even be the only one." I nudged her back with a chuckle. She stuck her tongue out at me, looking so – "I'm only kidding. But really, I can't tell you much considering I wasn't there."

"Oh come on. There's got to be a reason that your dad left the rez, ended up in California and didn't come back until now. Were he and Harry at odds or something?" I replied, reassembling a piece to get out of looking at her. Sometimes I wondered if she noticed any of my awkwardness around her. I wonder if she could possibly feel half of what I am.

She tilted her head to the side, resting her cheek on her fist. "Not really. From what my dad told me, he and my uncle were extremely close. It was my dad and their dad that had the problems; Uncle was the peacemaker.

"See my dad is a great artist. Talent is an understatement, even if I am biased. When he was younger, he wanted to go to this art school in California and then become an animation artist – the total opposite of what their dad planned for him. Their dad wanted both of them to know the ins and outs of the Quileute world, stay here, get married, maybe open a museum or something like that close by to add to the historical attractiveness. And that only fueled the fire that was already between them.

"My dad told me that one day he spent his money on some pastels and a few drawing pads, when he was supposed to help their dad and Uncle do something. There was an argument and then one thing led to another and ultimately, my dad left. The last thing he did do was hug Uncle. Took his art supplies and rusted car to California. I don't even know how he got there in that old thing."

She reached toward her bike, touching my hand in the process. My body shuddered at the feeling of her hand.

"Um, so yeah. My dad got to California, broke, and couldn't find a job. He ran into my mom his second day there; she was a sophomore in college, doing a research project on Native cultures and indigenous people. My mom didn't take to him like that automatically; it took him guessing her favorite color for her to go out on a date with him. He brought her a bouquet of her favorite flowers everyday since then and made her a special bracelet with an engagement ring in it that took him a year and a half to buy. Two months later they were married; seven and a half months after that, I was born."

"Ahem. Seems kind of fast." I cleared my throat, uneasily.

"I came early. My mom was attacked my some…animal. We both lost a lot of blood, almost died the day I came into the world. My dad told me that was the day he almost committed suicide, because he was so close to losing both of us. He said after my mom died, California didn't feel like home anymore," she handed me another part solemnly. "I guess Uncle's death brought us back here. But I don't mind; I love it here."

"That's the effect that the rez has on most people who aren't born here."

"Shut up!" She punched my arm and laughed as hard as she could.

We pretended to fight for a while, knocking over most of my supplies and almost her motorcycle. Our laughs combined with the falling objects had to be noisy on the outside of the garage. Then we both stopped at the same time, our eyes fixed on one another. She outlined my torso with her hand, paying special attention to the pack's tattoo on my right arm. I took deep breaths as I kept myself from leaning in to kiss her. She moved like she knew and understood everything that happened in the past two years. Her other hand rose up my back, her eyes focused back on mine, and she ran her fingers through my hair the way my mom used to whenever I got a little uneasy. She stood on the balls of her feet, leaning in closer to me.

Without either one of us noticing, Embry walked in grimacing – almost ready to fight someone. All I could do was stand frozen in disbelief.

"Why are you so loud, Jake? Trying to scare the entire forest?" His entire demeanor screamed rage. The way his eyebrow was raised, his stance, and the way his face was scrunched up. The one time when I felt I didn't have to hide the secret, he acts like this.

Sage walked over to him with much enthusiasm, like we weren't just standing together, gently gracing his tattoo and looking at him the eyes. "Hey, there's this movie I really want to see showing in Port Angeles. Wanna go?"

Now he looked calm, fiddling with the feathers of her bracelet. "Yeah, sure."

She turned her body to face me, biting the inside of her cheek. "How about you?"

I almost felt like drooling. My heart fluttered with every word she said. Man you got it bad, Jake. "Yeah, why not?"

She clapped both of her hands together over her chest. "Good. I'll go invite everyone else. We're gonna paint the town tonight. And I'll show you all just how much fun I can be."

Embry's eyes followed her out of the garage like something was pulling him to her. No later than Sage stepped over the threshold, Embry was staring me down.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, "Heh, I better go get cleaned up and changed." I said nervously. I walked out, never turning my back to him. He only licked his teeth at me.

_________

The time at the theater was even more bizarre than my garage. Not only did she sit in the middle of Embry and I, against my suggestion, but Embry continued to challenge me for Sage's attention. What was even worse was that all – I mean all – of our friends noticed. He hung behind her like he was attached to a string that was tied to her hip and no one was able to cut him loose. She, on the other hand, didn't really pay any more attention to him that she had already. In fact, she talked to Quil and Seth many more times. He showed all of the signs of an imprint, but what I couldn't understand was why it wasn't having any effect on her.

"Excuse me, but us girls are going to the bathroom," Sage's voice interrupted my thoughts as she stole Emily, Rachel, and Kim from their respective dates. "Girl talk," was her explanation.

So that only left us guys standing at the concession counter uncomfortably together – at least two of us.

Sam raised his hand and broke the silence. "What the hell is going on between you two?" He inquired lowly, pointing to Embry and me.

I shrugged my shoulders but could feel the heat resonating from Embry's body.

"I'll tell you what's going on. Jake's getting in the way of Sage and me. I don't know, he's like blocking or something!"

"Embry, calm down. You know with imprinting it's still ultimately her decision. She –"

"Wait, he imprinted on her? But –"

Sam looked around at the other guys. "Isn't it obvious? He's acting the same way I did, Quil, Paul, Jared, and even you, Jake. What's so confusing about that?"

"It's just – Sage doesn't exactly look affected by it. She walks around the same way she did when she first moved to the rez," I argued. I made sure to add, "I don't like her though. At least not like that."

Embry clenched his jaw probably remember how close Sage and I were standing earlier. I sighed, cracking my knuckles before the girls gathered around us.

"We should be getting back," Emily smiled brightly, kissing Sam on the cheek. "It's late."

Everyone agreed and packed into the back of Sam's truck. Embry kept watch on me as he and Sage got comfortable. He put his arm around her as she snuggled up to him. She turned his head to face her, starting to talk to him. I had to admit, I was jealous. All of the feelings that I had for her were beginning to surface and she was beginning to be his when I wanted her to be mine. But there was nothing I could change about this. Maybe I misread her signals. Why was I so caught up on her anyway? I had Nessie. I guess I got this crazy idea that she might have liked me. I know I liked her.

When we were back on Quileute grounds, I expected that Sage and I would hang out in my living room until Paul left the house. To my surprise, she almost didn't say goodnight to me. Like we weren't even friends.

I watched her allow Embry to hold her hand, whispering something in his ear. She ran over to everyone, giving them hugs. When she came up to me she mouthed an "I'm sorry," before quickly hugging me.

She took Embry's hand again and glanced up at him, "Walk me to Leah's?"

"Of course." Embry glanced over his shoulder and looked me up and down. "Need any more proof?"

I held my hands up in defeat and backed away into my house. I guess it was true. She chose him – and I had to deal with it. Although I was lying to the pack about not having feelings for Sage, I could not lie to myself. I had no clue what would make me see her as just a friend again, make me stop loving her so much. Whoa, I do love her. Even outside of imprinting.

Why did the rules of engagement always have to change when it came to my life?

I quietly watched the two of them walk hand-in-hand toward the Clearwaters' place from my bedroom window. From where I was standing, she looked like she was going along with it. Maybe he was telling her our secret. It would be good for her to know now, since she was the object of his imprint and affection.

My jealousy got the better of me when I saw him envelope her in his great big old arms and leaned in for the kiss. At first she hesitated, but then allowed him to kiss her. I counted: thirty seconds. I bit down so hard on my bottom lip that my teeth split the skin and caused it to bleed. I breathed harshly, my rage getting the best of me. It has got to be wrong that I need her this much.