Author Note::

This chapter, is extremely short. Sorry to disappoint anyone that was looking for a longer one. It'll be a while before I update again. Because I'm going to edit the previous chapters.

Thanks ImxJustxBeingxMe for her review, and alert. :]

'i just wanted to say your story is really entertaining. Laurel is really fun.

Okay so seeing as before you said you wanted a contructive criticism then here it is: the plotline is a bit cliche-ish. Seeing as it's just character exlporation it doesn't really matter much.

Um it's better when instead of actually saying what's going on in her mind you show it by specific details(i.) instead of the general details(i.e. love)

oh and something else, it was kind of confusing in the previous chapters about scene changes because I wasn't sure sometimes. I would be thinking oh they're at the movies and then abruptly they were at school days later.

so that's basically it, keep writing. your story will be boss if you make those minor improvements.

p.s. i love jacob/oc stories. bella can suck it because her character isn't very complex and is more or a static character that's lacking in personality unlike laurel. =D'

And xc1016 for fav'ing. :]

"Tomorrow we'll go to Sam's house so we can tell him that you know, and then I might get beat up a bit, but it'll be worth it." Jake had said before hugging me goodnight and jumping back out my window.

In the morning I thought it was another crazy dream, surprised when Jake showed up at my doorstep an hour after I had woken up in nothing but shorts in the winter weather. Terry was still sleeping, but I left him a note to let him know that I was going with Jake to La Push.

"So do you want to ride or drive," he asked before stepping off the porch. I was still a bit under the weather, so I said ride. He gave a pained look. "Really? I was hoping you'd want to drive. These are my last pair of shorts and—"

"Jake, what are you talking about?"

A quizzical look and smile passed his lips. "I meant do you want to go on Molly, or me?"

Him? As in...all wolfy and scary?

Instantly my body tensed, trying to stop myself from screwing my face up in a grimace. Apparently I failed miserably, because Jake's face fell, his own face making a small grimace. His hand reached up to touch my shoulder, and it jolted out of the way. "Laurel," he sighed, "I won't hurt you."

My mouth opened and closed, trying to find the words. Yes... I was terrified of the idea.

"You said everything would be different, that we can't be friends anymore. Is that because you might want to hurt me," I asked, clutching the blanket to me tighter because I was freezing. Without responding he walked over to Molly, starting her up and rolling over to me. I got on none the less, in front of him like my birthday, and we were off.

Jake had it in sixth gear, going well over sixty miles per hour, and I was shaking horribly. At the speed he was flying, and with all the trees that were in our way, I thought we'd surely hit something. But no, Jake drove beautifully, and within minutes we were outside a little cottage. And Jake helped me off, walking towards it. Before opening it though, he turned to me with all seriousness. "The reason that we shouldn't be friends anymore, is because I might hurt you. You're right, I don't want to; but I might. Sam did the same to his fiancee. Don't stare, but you'll see what I mean."

Jake opened the door, and we were greeted with ten some faces. One was a woman, at the shove cooking, and she looked pleased to see us. Unlike the man behind her, the one that I tried to beat the shit out of. When the woman turned her full attention to us, I saw something that I didn't think I would see. Three large scars across the right side of her face. This must be Sam's fiancee, and that must be Sam; starring at me with death and the same for Jake.

"Jake," he growled threateningly, "what is she doing here?"

Jake looked down to me, with his hand on my back pushing me forward. "I-I know...about what you all...are I guess you could say," I tried to form and find words. Sam took a step forward, glaring at Jake in the process.

"And what is that?"

"...Wolves."

Embry was the first to yip and embrace me in a bear hug, twirling me around.

"Jake..." Jared was growling next. I looked between the three—Jake, Sam, and Jared—and saw the tension. "Jake didn't tell me," I cleared my throat, "I figured it out on my own. And technically Embry told me on Halloween. The old Quiluete Legend."

Embry made a nervous laugh, hiding behind me. "So," he said after a while, when no one was really talking, "are you and Jake...?"

"Are me and Jake what," I asked.

"To—"

Jake cut him off abruptly with a smack upside the head. "Taking a walk, yes," he growled. I looked between them both, and then to the rest of the men and two woman. They all were looking away, as if they didn't want to be mentioned.

"Laurel, go wait outside for a second, I'll meet you out there," Jake ushered me to the door, "and take this. It's warmer." He put a thick coat off the rack and handed it to me. "You don't mind Em," he asked. The woman at the shove shook her head in response, smiling.

I stepped only just outside the door, waiting in the warmth of the coat.

There was snow everywhere and it make me shiver to the bone. It looked beautiful, don't get me wrong, but I just didn't like the cold period. I was amazed to how much it had built up over the past week. Soft and crunching under my feet as I paced outside the door...

"All of you," Jake almost yelled, "don't say a damn word. I'll tell her in good time, got it?" His proclamation broke me from my thoughts.

With that, he was outside standing next to me.

"What was that all about," I asked, a tad bit—seriously drowning—curious. He glanced to me like I was crazy. He motioned me to start walking, so I did.

We walked a ways, out into the woods some more. Somewhere along the line, Jake lead me to the meadow. Not talking much, we fiddled with our hands.

Even though we were best friends, I still felt uncomfortable standing next to him. I mean he was a fictional creature that had real fangs, real claws, and could eat me if he wanted to. I'd do anything to take things back to the way they were. Even if it meant that I was still with Alex, and Jake was still with Bella, and he'd spend most of his time with her; I just didn't care.

"There's a lot you should know," Jake started out finally. I took another step forward, waiting for him to continue. Something cracked under my foot, and I yelped jumping back into Jake's open embrace that was just waiting for me to do this. "There's a pond that's frozen over Sceeter.."

Suddenly I could relax. It was like Jake's warmth was a blanket that glided over me and made everything okay. Sure in the back of my mind I was screaming 'Wolf, wolf!' But all in all I was honestly okay. I felt at home hugging Jake, and I felt like an idiot for it. Best friend or not; he could transform into a wolf. Wolf or not; he was still my best friend.

I pressed two hands to his chest, making distance. "What's there to know," I sighed.

"Well," he scratched the back of his head, "we can't die by silver bullet, we don't change on full moon, if I were to bite you—you wouldn't turn into a werewolf. That's the basic stuff that should have been cleared up first."

I nodded, crossing almost everything off my list of 'Basic Book Werewolf Knowledge'. Everything but the 'eating people' that is. Before I opened my mouth to ask, it seemed that he already knew what I was going to ask. "And no we don't eat people."

"When you said that you might hurt me," I whispered, "and you said you wouldn't want to; but you might. What did you mean?"

Jake walked to the tree twenty feet from me. Trying not to face me while he answered, but I followed to hear his low whisper. "Did you see Emily's face? She was too close to Sam when he lost it. When we get angry, its like a trigger. We just blast like a bullet and phase into our wolves. Emily—bless her soul—she thought he was sick."

Anger is the trigger.

"Embry kissed me on purpose to piss you off didn't he," I asked, a small smile tugging at my lips.

My best friend started to shake, visibly, and groan as if in pain. Instantly my hand rose to hold his shoulder, as if to comfort him. The heat was just as worse as the time when he got sick.

What really got me, was the moment our skin touched, I just wanted to curl up into his arms and live there forever. Reminders of my birthday flitted through my mind, just the feeling of his arms around me, his hand on my hip; the short small chaste kiss that I was burning to relive. Everything.

And he was shoving me away, so hard that I flew backwards into the tree ten feet behind me and I slumped to the ground gasping for air. Without a second glance at me, he fell to the ground and started to roll around, growling and cursing furiously. I watched pained, because not only did I think something cracked or broke inside my own body—but just watching him try to calm down with the thought of Embry kissing me clearly pained him. He's only feeling pissed off because you're like his sister. My mind was whispering to me it seemed.

That's right. It felt like Jake jabbed his elbow into my stomach again. I physically shook my head. No, friends only. It's good that he cares about me and wants to keep me purified from Embry's dirty paws.

I grunted as I got back up, limping slightly over to him. When his eyes looked up to see me, I froze, not to let him see me limping.

"Embry had been working on me for weeks. Doing stupid things around my house. Saying things about Bella and Billy and myself. Things that really pissed me off. Then when he came over and kissed you, I guess it was the last straw." I looked at him oddly. "I just don't like the idea of perverted Embry getting his hands on you. Especially when you're with Alex. He's an okay guy."

Alex. I bit my lips, trying to breath slowly and be calm. It didn't matter anyways. He didn't like Jake and I's friendship. So forget him.

"Alex and I broke up last night."

Jake's head snapped up, our eyes meeting. "No." It was more of a statement of remorse, than a question.

I nodded, "Around eleven or something like that... I was upset over our fight, and he was comforting me. Next thing I know he snapped and told me that... he knew we kissed."

Jake's face grew redder if possible, eyes closing as he bit his bottom lip and stuffed his face in the snow. It started to melt rapidly around him; making him sink towards the bottom.

"Bella told him," I accused.

I took more steps to him limping, cringing as I bend forward to get next to him so he could hear my next whispered accusation. "He also said that you and Bella got back together."

Again his head snapped up, and I was close enough to relive my most prized experience that I thought about not minutes ago, but I pushed the thought aside. "Congrats," I smiled weakly.

"Thanks." And with his one whispered word, it was like we were in his truck all over again. Just before I was about to get out and he told me that he and Bella were going to the movie too.

But this time it was my heart the bebe struck.