Chapter 15

AN: Thanks for the reviews, guys! I love 'em; keep 'em coming!

We were an hour away from Forks when the Rabbit breathed its last breath. I sat in the passenger seat with the door open, resting my right ankle on the road, while Jacob stared into the open hood. "I think it's just overheated," he said for the hundredth time. "We just have to wait a minute. It'll run fine as soon as it cools off a little."

I shrugged. "The battery light's on."

"Yeah, it does that sometimes. I don't think it's a big deal," he said.

"Okay," I said.

He nodded a few times, still staring at the car's interior. "I mean, we're not that far. I could probably just phase and run you home. You think you could hold on?"

I smirked. "I have all my stuff."

"We could come back for it," he suggested.

"No, its fine," I said. "We'll just wait. It's probably just overheated, like you said."

An hour and a half later, I was nearly asleep in the backseat. Jacob was pissed. "We need someone to come get us," he said through clenched teeth into my phone. "Anyone." He paused. He'd called his house and mine more than a few times, and neither of our fathers had picked up. Quil, Embry, and Seth were all still in school, so he'd resorted to calling Sam. "Where's my dad?" He listened then turned to me, nodding. "Well, of course he's fishing. Why won't he just get a cell phone already? It's a new freaking millennium!"

I smiled the tiniest bit at that and shrugged.

"Then you come get us," he said into the phone, though less aggressive. He waited a moment then sighed. "Well, we're stranded out here. Is there anyone there who isn't doing anything?"

"Why can't he come?" I whispered.

"Apparently, there's some kind of crisis," he said nonchalantly, rolling his eyes.

"Crisis?" I repeated. "Is everyone okay?"

He nodded quickly to me before listening to Sam. His face fell, and my heart started pounding, worried that someone was hurt. Jacob's eyes went wide. "She's the only one available?"

She.

I groaned. Jacob looked at me with a pained expression. "Well, yeah, I guess if she's the only one." He shrugged, desperately.

Leah Clearwater found us on the highway a little over an hour later. By then, Charlie had begun to get worried and called from the station, but I explained to him that I should be home relatively soon. Leah did not look particularly thrilled to be there. She wore her trademark glare and stared forward as she stopped the Clearwater's truck. With as little effort as she could muster, she reached over and put her window down. "You can get in," she said. "And put your stuff in the trunk."

Jacob rolled his eyes and helped me transfer my belongings from his car to hers. It only took a few minutes with Jacob doing most of the work, and we stood together at the back of the truck. "You want to sit up front?" he asked.

"Not at all," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That honor's all yours."

He sighed and closed the trunk before opening the back door for me and helping me in. Leah was silent as Jacob sat down next to her. When he closed the door behind him, she started the engine and headed off down the highway. He sighed, "Thanks, Leah, for coming."

She stared forward. "Not really my decision."

"Oh," Jake said. "Well, thanks anyway."

"Yeah," I added. "Thank you."

A few moments passed in silence. Jacob looked at me through the rearview mirror and smirked. I shrugged back.

"So, uh," he tried, "What the big emergency on the Rez?"

One side of Leah's mouth rose very slightly. "Sam didn't tell you?"

"No," he said. "It's something funny?"

"Well," she sighed. "Seth imprinted."

"What?" I said as my eyes grew wide. "Seth? He's just a kid."

Leah shrugged. "He'll be sixteen next month."

"Who did he imprint on?" Jacob asked.

"Some girl from Michigan. Her family is visiting the Atera's for a few days," she explained. "Jessica. That's her name."

"Wow," I said.

"How old is she?" Jacob asked.

"Fourteen," she said. "That's not such a big deal."

"Finding your soul mate at fourteen is not a big deal?" I asked quietly.

Jacob shrugged. "Not if you ask Claire."

Leah nodded, still staring forward. "They're dropping like flies."

Jacob glared. "Whatever."

I caught Leah's gaze in the rearview mirror, and while it wasn't exactly happy, there was something mischievous about the way her eyes looked at me. "Maybe it's not such an uncommon thing," she mused.

"Do you have a point?" he asked tersely.

She shrugged. "You don't have to get snippy with me. I'm just saying…"

"It doesn't matter," Jacob contested. "I don't need to imprint. I'm doing just great without it." He cast a look back at me and smiled. I blushed and smiled back.

"Sure," Leah said. "For now."

Jacob clenched his fists. "Could you be a bigger bitch?"

She smirked. "I sure could." I stayed silent in the back seat. "But you know I'm right. It's not something you can control."

"It's not going to happen, Leah," Jacob insisted.

"Okay," she said, clearly disbelieving. "It's not going to happen. You know this. With certainty."

"I love Bella," he said.

"I understand that," she said. "Sam loved me."

Jacob paused for a moment. "That's not the same thing."

"Of course it's not." She kept staring forward.

"I'm not talking about this anymore," Jacob decided. "I'm happy for Seth. Let's leave it at that."

"Okay, great," she said.

It took us another forty-five minutes to get back to Forks. None of us spoke. My mind was a little hazy. I knew Leah wasn't exactly wrong about the possibility of Jacob imprinting. It could happen, and, as more and more members of the pack joined the ranks of the happily paired off, it was becoming more a more likely that one day Jacob would meet someone else and have no choice but to love her.

But maybe not. Jacob seemed adamant that he would not imprint on anyone, and Leah was already twenty-two and hadn't imprinted. It was entirely possible that it would never be an issue. Entirely possible.

AN: Next up, two year anniversary! (And I've mapped out the next few chapters, so if I get reviews, I'll write them extra quickly!)