All characters except for Annabelle Causley and a few others belong to Stephenie Meyer…and, of course, the writer is not receiving any profit for this story whatsoever.

This is an AU out of Stephenie Meyers' Twilight series. This story starts after Eclipse, two weeks before Edward and Bella's wedding.

AN: I'm so sorry it took so long! I started a new full time job about three weeks ago and have been so exhausted and had a mild writer's block. Here's the next chapter though and hopefully the next one will come sooner. Thank you for being patient and for sticking with me, also, thanks for the reviews! Enjoy!!

Chapter Twenty-Three

"You came," Annabelle looked up from the ground where she had been writing out music notes and into Jacob's dark eyes, a pleased smile spreading across her face.

Jacob shrugged, trying to convince himself that he hadn't needed to see her, "I'm patrolling this particular area of the boundary. That's really the only reason I'm here."

Annabelle cocked her head to the side, frowning at him. Looking down at the music notes in the dirt, she couldn't help but smile as she picked up where she had left off. He was lying but for the first time, she felt no need to expose the lie.

"What are you doing here," Jacob stood several feet away, his fisted hands in the pockets of his jeans as he looked down at the top of her head, fighting the crazy need to touch her blue-black hair, feel her pale skin with the tip of his fingers, possibly even get a taste of her lips…

"I was hoping to see you," Annabelle kept her eyes on the dirt, focusing on each note, soaking her weary soul in the richness of each note as they echoed through her head. Her violin had been the one other thing, aside from books, that had kept her from going mad with despair. She couldn't help but wish she could play it, especially at this time when her very core was throbbing like an open wound after having been meticulously exposed.

"Why," Jacob looked over the markings in the dirt, recognizing music notes but not having enough knowledge to know if they composed a song.

Annabelle shrugged, not wanting to say something that would cause him to walk away, "I've had a rough day…I wanted different company."

Jacob chuckled darkly, shuffling his feet, "I suppose, as a werewolf, I fit the description of different company."

Annabelle looked up, her golden eyes filled with pain despite her attempt at trying to hide it. Jacob couldn't help but respond to her as he took a couple of steps forward, sinking down to sit cross legged within touching distance.

Annabelle turned her eyes back to the ground, her finger moving of its own accord across the dirt, slowly and painstakingly drawing out each note. Taking a deep breath, she held it as his scent filled her head, soothing her soul and disturbing her body.

"What's it like," Annabelle kept her eyes on the ground, forcing herself to stay in her place, "Being a werewolf?"

Jacob tilted his head back, squinting up at the dark sky and far off stars before turning his eyes back to Annabelle, wishing she would look at him instead of keeping her face to the ground, "It's terrifying…and amazing. I feel like I can lose control at any moment yet at the same time, I am so aware of everything around me. I think the only thing I enjoy most, aside from my heightened sense of smell, is the speed. I love running, feeling the wind in my fur, my paws barely touching the ground. It is during those times when I seize being a werewolf and simply become a wolf. The simplicity of it is extremely enthralling and if it weren't for my responsibilities to my people and my brothers, I would have kept running."

Annabelle looked up at him, wondering what a simple life for a mythical creature was like. She cocked her head to the side as he kept staring into her eyes, unaware how he had just shared a part of himself with his natural enemy.

"Your turn," Jacob narrowed his eyes, trying to ignore the clamoring need to know this girl inside out and simply chalking it up to fair turn about, "What's it like to be a vampire?"

Annabelle sucked her breath in, not wanting to answer his question yet wanting to give him a piece of herself in gratitude for what he had shared. Looking down at the dirt, she resumed with writing music, not wanting him to see her feelings in her eyes.

"It's a nightmare," she whispered softly, her finger stopping on a half note, "One you can never wake up from. Life becomes worthless because there's nothing special about it anymore. The pretense becomes unbearable. It's like being stuck in time, watching everything else move on and even though I'm still alive, I'm no longer loved, no longer missed, no longer remembered."

Jacob bit the inside of his mouth, forcing himself to stay still and not respond to the pain, the hopelessness and loneliness he heard in her words. He didn't want to care for Annabelle, didn't want to feel anything for her. He definitely didn't want her to be the center of his world, hating his attraction to her with the same fervor as he hated what she was.

"I bet the perks make up for all that," his voice was thick with sarcasm, "The speed, the strength, the immortality, the inhuman physical beauty –"

"I'll have you know I was a very beautiful girl before I became a vampire –all the venom did was guarantee that I stay this way."

Jacob smirked at her as he cocked his head to the side, "Obviously you weren't a humble human being."

Annabelle stuck her tongue out at Jacob as she continued to write out her song, her finger tracing out the notes of the fourth stanza as she hummed it softly, remembering how the strings felt against her fingers as she moved the bow across them, the emitting sound rich and deep even in her memory.

"So tell me," Jacob ran his fingers through his shoulder length hair, "How did you and Edward meet?"

Annabelle bit her bottom lip as she looked up at him, "I really don't want to talk about that…at least not right now."

Jacob shrugged his shoulders, trying not to care, not to make it obvious that he felt a burning need to know about the relationship between Annabelle and Edward, "Fine then. What are you writing?"

"Music."

Jacob rolled his eyes, "I know you're writing music…but are you just writing notes or are you actually writing a song?"

Annabelle's mouth lifted in a side smile, "I'm writing out a song I composed some years ago."

"So you're a musician," Jacob wanted to leave, to stop this conversation, but the more he talked to her the more he wanted to know about her.

"I play the violin," Annabelle sighed as she stopped in the middle of the sixth stanza, "Well, I used to. I had to leave my violin behind."

"Uh," Jacob pushed himself to his feet, sensing the danger in getting to know this girl anymore than he already did, "I better go."

"Will I see you tomorrow night," Annabelle looked up at him, staying seated on the ground as he took a step back.

"I don't know," Jacob didn't want to make promises because if he was strong enough, he would stay away from her.

Annabelle watched him walk away until he finally disappeared behind some trees far into the distance. Turning her eyes back to the music, she followed the notes, smiling softly as she realized she had written out a song she had composed almost seventy-five years ago and titled Set Me Free. She had been so engrossed in each note she hadn't paid attention to the song as a whole. It was a song that expressed the range and depths of her emotions even to this day.

She was finally free from her attachment to Edward but she felt slight disconcerted with this feeling of flapping in the wind without an anchor. She hoped that with time, she would find her center.

Standing up, she swiped her foot across the music, erasing the notes as she turned towards the Cullens. She had a feeling she would have to deal with Edward and his opinion concerning Jacob before the night was over. She just hoped the conversation didn't turn heated enough where it would alert the other Cullens. Now that they were no longer attached to each other as before, she had a feeling Edward was bound to turn into an annoying big brother.