I would start this with a 'there was no excuse' thing, but truthfully, there was. First, the computer was acting up due to my worse than Bella klutziness, but we managed to fix it temporarily. Then, by the time it was fixed, school began. I know that doesn't sound so tough, but trust me, when it's IB you're talking about, you know it's tough. It's my first year there, since I'm a newby freshman now, and so it was triple hard. I'm sorry for taking such a long time to update, and I wish I could promise that I'll post soon, but I'm afraid that I might not. Right now I'm typing at the speed of light because I'm actually putting the homework on hold for a while. I hope you like the chapter and I'm terribly sorry. I don't know when you'll hear from me again, but I'm trying to make it as soon as possible. If I can afford it, I'm planning on using some of my advisory period to work on the story, so please don't give up on me!! To those of you who have, I'm terribly sorry and to those who haven't, please stick around!! Anyway, my apologies again, and I hope you like! Leave reviews! I miss them soooooooo much!!!!!

-L-

Jake/Joseph

I rubbed my temples, trying to calm myself down. My eyes were closed as I tried to take in everything that happened today. I'm imagining Bella again, bad enough, Amber confronts a group of vampires on school grounds, and worse, it's them. My hands began to shake, convulsions of stress and rage streaming through my body from head to toe. I breathed in and out, opening my eyes warily to see if Amber was still there. She was pacing back and forth in front of me, biting those red lips of hers and thrumming her fingers against her crossed arms. Her hair was down, strands pasting to her neck and cheek from the sweat. Good. At least she was guilty. That was a comfort after the sh…mess she put us in. Her turquoise eyes sparkled like gems under the lighting. Her Supergirl shirt ended up at her waist, flaunting her silver blue birthmark. It was a crescent moon, much like tonight's. I used to think it was a tattoo. I closed my eyes again, before my love for her let me forget what she did. I was not happy with her right now. Not one bit.

But in all honesty, I wasn't sure if I was mad at her or Cullen. My spine shivered at even the thought of his name. I'd shoved the memory of him to the back of my mind, knowing it'd be impossible to forget. It'd be like trying to forget Bells. But I gotta hand it to her. She played her part so very well. Who'd have thought that her 'I'm so broken' façade was a fake? Certainly not me. I'd have cut my heart out and placed it on a silver platter if it meant seeing a whole hearted smile again.

I clenched my fists in irritation. My whole body started shaking again, causing the bench on our porch to shiver with fright. I could feel Amber's eyes on me, but I didn't look. I pushed and shoved against the strong desire to change into what I partially am. I rammed my side into it, trying to bring it down before I started going on a leech hunt. I breathed in heavily and let it out slowly. What the hell was I doing?

What if it wasn't them? There are plenty of Edwards and Isabellas in the world. They could have been any other vampires. For all I know, they could be entirely different that the ones I know. They could be Texans. Columbians. Australians, Chinese, for all I care! I opened my eyes, trying to convince myself of this crappy theory. Amber wasn't in front of me anymore. I'd gotten so lost in thought that I didn't even hear her leave the porch. I opened the door to our house, hoping she was at least still here. Ever since that incident fifty years ago, it scared me to be away from her. I looked through the kitchen but she wasn't there. As soon as I entered our living room, the first thing I saw was her blonde hair being pulled up into a bun as she sat in front of our glass sliding doors to our backyard. The stars and moon were the only light that kept the room from being pitch black.

"I just wanted to help…" she whispered, ducking her head between her knees.

I sighed, making my way beside her and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.

"I know. But don't you think you went a little too far? Their kind don't like to be known about. They like it just about as much as yours and mine do." I said, trying to give her an inkling as to why I was so upset. Her eye twitched. She was probably remembering what happened when her people found out I knew.

"I don't think she would let them hurt us. She looked like she still cared for you." She said softly. Her voice cracked a bit, like a man in a dry desert, praying for a drop of water to fall from the sky. I tried making the subject lighter.

"Us? Who ever said I would defend you if they did?" I joked. "You have it coming for you, you know. What's that word…oh, right, you're gonna get whacked before the night ends." I laughed. She looked at me appalled.

"Jacob Black, do you mean to say you're just going to feed me to the wolves?!"

"Well, darlin', technically, I'm the wolf here. What they are is something entirely different." I stated matter of factly.

"You…you ingrate hybrid!!" she yelled. Her eye color began to change to that icy blue I knew so well from previous encounters and I knew she would kill me before I even got the chance to apologize. I dashed for the couch, bouncing from place to place as I felt the cold touch of her anger reaching me from behind. I laughed while her anger grew still, making the air around us deathly chilly. That was when we heard the first high pitched scream. A sound so terrible it would have shattered any mortal's hearing and made a deaf man hear for the briefest moment at the same time. A sound so wretched it made my heart sink and Amber stop in her pace, her eyes a frightened green once again. She gazed at me, fear screaming through her eyes as I paused my laughter.

It was a sound my sensitive ears would have hated to hear. But I knew it came from her. And for some reason, I'd never heard a sweeter sound.

I know it's short, but I don't have a lot of time to spare right now. Like I said, I'm going to try to update ASAP, but hold on here with me. Reviews, please! Tell me if I'm losing my touch because of the rush, and I'll slow down, 'kay?

P.S. Curious to know why he's a hybrid? Or what happened fifty years ago between him and Amber? How did they meet and all the good stuff? THEN DON'T GIVE UP ON ME!!!!!!!!!! cries

-L-