Hey everyone! Sorry for the break in between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. I hope you like this chapter! As always, please review! Oh, and obviously, Stephenie Meyer owns all of this. Happy New Year!

I came downstairs once I was changed and stopped in front of my parents to tell them goodbye. "Have fun," my mom said as she hugged me. "Be back by nine."

My dad hugged me. As he pulled away he asked, "Are you going to tell Jacob about today?"

I hissed through my teeth. "No! He's a guy! That's so gross Dad! Why on earth would I tell Jake?"

My mom put a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. "He's your best friend, Renesmee. He loves you as much as we do." My dad stiffened, but my mom ignored him. "He's always interested in every aspect of your life. It's completely up to you, of course." She looked at me expectantly.

"Don't count on it." I shuddered even thinking about the conversation. Gross. "I'll be back later. Love you," I called as I walked out the front door.

"Love you too," my parents called after me.

I leapt off the front porch and landed next to Jake. He was waiting patiently in his wolf form. I hoped that he was far enough away from the house to not hear the conversation I had with my parents. Pretty soon my worries faded from my mind as we ran blindly through the forest. I loved this, just running. I couldn't run as fast as my parents, or as fast as Jake for that matter, but I could still run faster than a human. Jake matched his pace with mine, and I could tell that he was enjoying this as much as I was.

We became focused when we came across a herd of deer. Jake took down the biggest one, and I took down the next biggest before they could scatter. When the deer was dry, I looked over at Jake and watched him finish up. Watching him eat as a wolf always kind of grossed me out. It really wasn't logical; I drank the deer dry for crying out loud. Watching Jake tear flesh from bone made my stomach turn a little. He didn't seem bothered by it though, so I tried to put it out of my mind.

When Jake was finished we sat down by the stream the deer had been drinking from. I ran my fingers through his coat as he cleaned off his muzzle. I pressed my hand to him to let him know how content I was in this moment. If only…I jerked my hand away before the thought could go any further. Hopefully he hadn't seen too much. He jerked his head around to look at me. I avoided his gaze, absentmindedly running my fingers through the grass next to me.

He got up with a huff and trotted off. Great. Now he was going to phase back, and we would have to talk about this. Ugh. I did not want to have this conversation with my best guy friend. I picked up a stick on the ground and threw it a good hundred yards in pure frustration.

"I refuse to play fetch with you. It's too degrading," Jake said with a laugh as he walked over in his human form. I snuck a look at him. He was just wearing his shorts. Seeing Jacob shirtless was a sight any girl would appreciate. I think even his muscles had muscles. He was my best friend though, and I certainly didn't think of him in that way at all. He sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. I turned my attention back to the grass. "Are you going to tell me what's going on with you today?"

I sighed and leaned away from him, averting his gaze. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it. It's none of your business." He stiffened and dropped my hand. A hurt look flashed across his face for a split second. Crap. Now I hurt his feelings. He got up to leave, and I grabbed his hand, pulling him back down. "Look, I'm sorry. I'll tell you. It's just awkward and embarrassing and not something you probably even want to know about." He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to finish before he said anything. I took a deep breath and blushed. "Igotmyperiodtoday," I said in a rush. There I said it. I waited for him to throw up or something. From what I've read, guys don't usually deal with this female stuff very well.

A look of surprise flashed across his face, and then it transformed into his wide, easy grin. "Aww, that's great Ness! Congratulations!" He gave me a one-armed hug. He was taking this much better than I anticipated. Why was everyone so excited about this? Sheesh. "So how are you doing? Are you feeling okay and everything?"

"I'm fine. It's just a p…" I stuttered over the word. "I'm not sick or anything." I sighed again. "Can we just move on and talk about something else? I really don't want to talk about this."

He gave my hand a squeeze. "Sure, sure. No problem."

Thanks, I sent him. He squeezed my hand again, and I leaned against his shoulder.

"So what did you learn about today?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Ugh. Emmett has decided that it is imperative for me to learn calculus. We spent the whole morning learning about optimization. And I understand the process and everything, but the problems he gives me are so hard! And then I get frustrated, and he tries to make a joke to make me feel better, and then I get more frustrated. Rose finally came in and suggested that we quit early, thank goodness."

Jake laughed. "Doesn't sound like very much fun. You should ask your mom for help. She used to help me with my homework all the time when she was in high school. We used to have study parties together…" He trailed off and we sat in silence for a moment or two. Jake was rubbing his thumb on my hand absentmindedly. It felt nice. It was so easy just to be…with Jake. Just to exist. I could sit here for hours with him. No talking, just sitting, just being together. It was easy, restful.

Eventually the time came to head back to the house. Jake got up first and then pulled me to my feet. He looked at me for a second when we were standing face to face. It made me uncomfortable. It wasn't a creepy look or anything; it made me feel like he was trying to look through my eyes and into my soul. He looked away quickly and went into the trees to phase. I had never seen Jake phase. Apparently, if he wants to keep his clothes intact, he has to take off all of his clothes before he explodes into a giant wolf. Not that I wouldn't mind seeing him that way, if the rest of him was as ripped as his upper body.

Oh my gosh. I should not be thinking about Jake naked. How embarrassing was that? He was my best friend, not my boyfriend. Gross. Ick. I shook my head , trying to erase the mental image.

I heard two sets of footsteps approaching from the other direction and turned around to see who it was. My mom and dad were walking hand in hand towards me. "We were just about to head back," I explained. "Jake's phasing now." All of the sudden a giant red-brown wolf appeared next to me. "Correction, here's Jake." I laughed.

"If you're done, we can all go back together," my mom said. We took off at a run; the three of them keeping pace with me. My parents leaped over the river holding hands; I followed. Jake, still in his wolf form, swam across the river to where we waited for him. He hauled himself out of the river soaking wet. My dad suddenly pulled my mom farther away as Jake shook the water from his coat.

"Really Jake? Was that entirely necessary?" I glared at him, looking down at my clothes. They were covered with spots of water. He laughed his barking laugh and tried to shake himself off again. "Ugh!" I yelled, flinching away from him. "Go phase already!" He ran off into the trees with a grin.

Jake walked back over to us with a big grin on his face. "Jake!" I yelled at him when he got to us. "Look at my clothes! It's a good thing I changed before we went hunting, or Alice would have killed you by now."

"Oh, I think I could take her." I laughed and shoved him the arm good naturedly. He shoved me back and we both laughed as I stumbled into my parents. Apparently he shoved me a little harder than intended. My mom caught me before I could make a fool of myself by falling over, and my dad rolled his eyes.

"You are just like your mother."

"Hey now," my mom said with a grin. "I thought we agreed never to discuss my debilitating lack of coordination ever again." My dad laughed, kissed her cheek, and grabbed her hand to walk to the house. Jake and I followed my parents to the front porch but declined to follow my parents inside.

Instead we sat on the front steps and looked up at the stars, which were actually visible for once.

"So where has the rest of the pack been? I haven't seen them all day," I asked as I looked for different constellations I knew.

"Seth is had class today. He said he'll stop by this weekend." Good. Seth, aside from Jake, was my favorite in the wolf pack. He has been studying for his Bachelor's degree in biology at the University of Washington- Port Angeles. He was still living at home though, commuting about an hour both ways to attend classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week.

"Quil had to babysit Clair today. She was home sick from school, so he offered to take care of her so her mom could go to work. I think Embry was hanging out at home today." Jake frowned, and I could guess why. Even though Jake and Seth thought of my family's house as their second home, Quil, Embry, and Leah we still uncomfortable here without another member of the pack around, even after all this time.

"Leah started her new job this week in La Push, so she's been pretty busy. She's working for the tribal council as a sort of secretary/researcher. I think her main task is to write an anthology of our stories. They want her to preserve our histories on paper. She's also working on preserving tribal artifacts and stuff."

"Has she phased lately?" I asked.

"Not for a while now." He laughed quietly.

"What?" I asked, curious as what he was so amused about.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking how she is trying to phase out of phasing."

"When she stops phasing all together, does that mean she's not part of your pack anymore?" I asked.

"No, she'll always be my beta. Even when she stops going wolf, I'll still ask her for advice. She'll still have that authority." I nodded, pretending like I understood all of the intricacies of the pack.

"Do you think you'll ever stop? Phasing, I mean," I asked, not knowing if I really wanted to know the answer. If Jake stopped phasing, that would mean he would be moving on with his life, aging again. He would die eventually if he stopped phasing, just like any normal human. The thought of Jake dying was terrifying to me. I felt my throat constrict as I tried to blink back tears.

Jake contemplated my question in silence for a moment or two. I was very close to having hysterics at the thought of him saying yes when he suddenly looked me right in the eye. "No," he said softly. I sighed in relief and laid my head on his shoulder. I felt him smile as he put his arm around me, hugging me to his side. Suddenly, a rush of guilt washed over me. It wasn't right, me wanting Jake to stay with me forever. He deserved a normal life, even if that meant he would die someday. He deserved to meet someone and get married, have children. It was completely unrealistic and selfish for me to expect him to be my best friend for eternity.

I sat up and looked him in the eye. I took a deep breath. "Can I ask why?" A look of blank surprise hung on Jake's face. A look of- something, hurt? Disbelief, maybe?- flashed across his face before he answered me.

He looked like he was struggling mentally as he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and asked "what?"

I tried to sound unconcerned as I responded. "You know, why don't you want to stop phasing? Have a normal life?" He still looked completely confused, so I tried to clarify the point for him. "I mean, once you get married and have kids, won't you want to age with them? Don't you want to grow old with your wife? I mean, unless you marry Leah, your wife is going to age whether you want her to or not."

Jake stared at me, speechless, for a full two seconds before he opened his mouth to speak. And even then, he seemed incapable of forming a coherent sentence. I suddenly had a moment of realization. "Oh my gosh. It's Leah! You're in love with Leah! No wonder you don't ever want to stop phasing. But wait. Doesn't she want to stop phasing? Does she know—"

My rant suddenly cut off when Jake pinched my lips together between his fingers. "Stop talking," he ordered as I struggled to break free of his grasp. "Stop, Renesmee." I froze. He never called me by my full name. "I am not in love with Leah." He shuddered a little. "At all. And I don't ever want to stop phasing and age again. I want to stay with you. Forever."