Don't own much, giving the majority of credit to Stephenie Meyer. As usual, reviews and whatnot are appreciated and encouraged. Enjoy! (:

"Wow, you must really be ready to go."

She whispered, standing on her own and straightening herself back up. For the first time the entire evening, I indulged myself in gazing at her. She looked absolutely gorgeous. The way her sweater fit her figure perfectly, how her hair cascaded over her shoulder in her side ponytail, the way her jeans hugged her curves- I was fighting my every instinct to claim my imprint right there.

It had been too much time without seeing her. The pull of the bond was clouding my judgement to make rational decisions- like walking away. "Yeah, I actually was just about to leave."

She bit her bottom lip in the way that generally threw me over the edge. "I bet your little girlfriend is waiting for you to get back. So um, I'll just be heading to my room if you don't mind…" Ness attempted to brush past me and into her bedroom, but all logic had left me. I gripped her elbow, impairing her ability to maneuver any further. She turned back to me, confusion once again clouding her beautiful features. "What are you doing, Jacob?"

"Alicia's not my girlfriend." Nessie allowed a moment of relief across her face before regaining her tough demeanor. "And I would prefer it if you didn't say things like that." She snorted, jerking her arm away from me.

"And I would appreciate it if you answered my millions emails, texts and messages but we don't get everything we want now do we?" She whipped her head around and stomped in the direction of her room. This wasn't how this interaction was going to play out. I followed her just as fast, closing her bedroom door behind me. "Get out of here, Jake. It's my turn to walk away this time."

I felt the venom in her statement. She was still hurt that I hadn't stayed to hear her out on the beach that day. And even though I knew it wasn't right, I still felt like my actions were justified. She was ripping out my heart, and I wasn't just going to stand around and let it happen. "That's not fair."

Her head turned to face me quicker than it ever had before. "That's not fair?" I could tell she was fighting to keep her voice down, and it appeared to be a losing battle. She pressed her index finger to my chest, strong enough to push me against the wall. "I'll tell you what's not fair, Jacob Black. That you promised me that you would always be there for me- that you would never leave me- and the second something happened that you didn't like, you ran away like a coward. You broke my heart and didn't even try to make things right. You let me go off to school, shattered and weak, and never once asked me how I was doing, told me you missed me- anything!" Her tears began to fall, but she didn't stop. "You are a monster. You know that? What you did to me was inexcusable and I hate you. I hate you, Jacob!"

I grabbed the hand that was still pointed directly at my chest and held it within mine. "Don't say that, Ness." I managed out. My heart felt like it had stopped beating. She was breaking me down.

"I do hate you! I wish you'd never come into my life. It's not fair, Jake. I was in love with you and you didn't even care."

I held her entire face between my hands and looked her directly in the eyes. "I do care, Ness! I care about you more than anything in this world, even. You're my everything." I struggled for the words to finish my statement. "When you said you wanted to leave, you… That meant that I was losing my life, Ness. Don't you see? I never stopped loving you. I love you now more than ever before."

Jake stopped speaking momentarily, searching my face for signs of something- anything. I had so much to say, but couldn't say any of it at the moment. I didn't hate him, never could, but I wanted him to experience half the pain that I had the last couple of months. I wanted him to know how it felt to be cast aside by the person who meant the most to you in the whole world. Before I could manage a response, his lips met mine forcefully. I didn't attempt to pull away, instead meeting him with equaled passion. We had spent too much time apart to be together- in this moment- without contact.

He pressed my back against the wall, moving his body slowly against mine. I had missed the feeling of his warmth enveloping me, making me feel things I didn't know were possible. A rush spread from my head to my feet, urging me forward. Jake's hands gripped my backside, hoisting me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist. Breaking the kiss, he trailed his way down my neck, onto my collarbone, ghosting along the v-cut neckline of my sweater. "Oh Jake.." My voice sounded foreign to me; husky, needy.

Using that as encouragement, Jake moved us towards the bed, placing me down gently and moving over me. It had been too long since I had felt his smooth skin against my own. I tugged at the hem of his simple black t-shirt, urging it over his head. He was even more beautiful than I remembered. I pulled his mouth back down to mine, our tongues immediately intertwining. A fire was growing in the pit of my stomach and the rest of the world was quickly falling away. All that was left was he and I. "Take it off." His insisted against my lips. I pulled my own shirt over my head, tossing it aside haphazardly. His right hand gripped my side, sliding his fingertips over my sensitive skin. He cupped my breast, eliciting a sharp intake a breath from me.

I could feel how aroused he was through both of our jeans. Raising my hips to meet his, I was grinding my middle right where it needed to be. My hands found the button of his pants before my mind had gotten to that point. "Ness…" This all felt good, so impossibly good, that I didn't think that I could stop myself. Didn't want to stop myself.

"Jake I-"

"RENESMEE CARLIE CULLEN, WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THAT PHOTO ALBUM?!" Aunt Alice's voice sounded up the stairs, getting progressively closer. Jake and I exchanged alarmed glances before jumping off of the bed, and reapplying the missing items of clothing. He quickly slid into the attached bathroom before Alice burst through the door. "There you are. Where's the album, seriously? I wanted to show Jake's new lady friend how cute you were. By the way, where does he get off bringing someone to the diner without evening alerting anyone. And you, poor thing, you seemed positively distraught through dinner. I understand you needing a moment to yourself." She took a moment and breathed in the stench. "Where's Jacob, anyway? He disappeared not too long ago as well."

I quickly handed her the scrapbook. "I don't know… Probably the bathroom?"

"Yeah, I bet. God, you're dodging a bullet with that one. I mean, seriously, where is his decorum?" Alice rolled her eyes again before closing the door and slipping back into the hallway. After feeling fairly safe I stepped into the bathroom and found Jake sitting on the edge of the shower with his head in his hands.

I shut the door behind me and slid down to the floor. "That was close, huh?"

Jake looked at me like he hadn't realized I was there. "Yeah. It was."

The smile that had formed on my face –the excitement of getting away- quickly faded, replaced by the feeling of rejection- once again. "What is your problem, Jacob?!" I punched the door with the back of my fist, leaving a slight dent in the wood. Sometimes I forgot how far-reaching my hybrid strength was. "Tell me what it is now!"

"Oh, don't you play the role of the self-righteous with me, Ness." He kept his voice low and far more contained than me. "You know just as well as I that this can't happen. We can't allow ourselves to come together like this when you're going right back to school in two weeks. You're headed back to your own world and I'm staying here in mine."

He stood up quickly and straightened himself out. I followed quickly, finally looking into the mirror. Jake stood behind me and we both stared at our reflections. We looked a mess- terribly disheveled and slightly heartbroken. Something needed to change here.

His eyes met mine in the mirror. "That doesn't change anything that I said, Ness. I love you now and always will. But something needs to change here."

Before I could even echo his sentiment, he had kissed me on the forehead and left.