A/N: Hey all! So I know I took forever to update this but I've been very busy with my other story that I decided to let this wait. However the other day I decided to update. I got a good bunch of reviews for this story so I'm hoping you all like this chapter. As always THANK YOU all so much for reviewing, that's what keeps the chapters coming so I really appreciate it.

Anyway on with the chapter.

Chapter 3: Surprise

"Honey, come in here and say hello to Mrs. Clearwater," mom called from the living room.

I rolled my eyes as I licked the remains of my Ben and Jerry's cookie dough off my spoon. I never really understood why mom always had visitors. I mean we only just moved in and yet there's a stranger in our living room called… Mrs. Clearwater? The name sounds familiar but I'm one hundred point five percent positive I never met her before.

Not that I didn't want to say hello to the woman, I just wasn't really good around strangers. I always got all shy which gave off the wrong impression. They always seem to think I'm unfriendly but it's the complete opposite. I am friendly, just shy.

Not to mention I can't stop thinking about Jacob shirtless. Oh and the fact that he saw me gawking at him. I wasn't looking forward to school tomorrow. Why is that you have the whole week ahead of you when something crappy happens and yet when something good happens it's Friday? Ugh.

I threw the spoon into the sink, exited the kitchen and entered the living room. A middle aged, pleasant looking woman was sitting next to my mom on the couch. She smiled once I entered and I instantly felt my cheeks burn. Oh great.

"Hello dear, you must be Nina," the woman said, extending her hand out to me.

I nodded, taking her hand, "Yeah, Nina,".

She chuckled, "I'm Sue Clearwater, I live just down the road from you,".

I released her hand, "Oh, nice to meet you Sue,".

"Lovely to meet you too," she turned to my mom, "She looks just like you,".

So there I stood awkwardly as Sue asked my mother and I about Seattle, our family and friends there and how it felt to move to La Push. There was something different about this woman that I couldn't put my finger on. She had a certain look about her… perhaps I was just imagining things as usual.

I decided to leave the room once my mom and Sue started talking about dad. I couldn't understand how women could talk about such boring things, I mean dad? Please. He's just a father of two children, works for a company, he's middle aged and unsociable. Yep that's him. I love him but I never really built up a relationship with him. All he ever talks about is work.

"What the hell Joey?," I said once I reentered the kitchen.

So Joey decides to make himself bread and jam. He didn't use a knife and apply the jam properly onto the bread, no he used a fork instead creating a big mess on the kitchen counter. Not that I'm fussy about tidiness but mom is and guess who has to clean up when she can't? ME!

He stared at me innocently, "What?,".

I crossed my arms over my chest, "You know what, don't play innocent,".

He looked me up and down, "You're weird," he muttered before brushing past me.

"Joey," I hissed after him.

"I can't hear you," he called as I heard his footsteps go up the stairs.

I muttered a few unintelligible words under my breath as I grabbed a cloth and wiped up his mess.

Joey was such a brat. He was disrespectful, annoying, irritating, a liar and spoiled. He always got away with things because he was young and my baby brother. I couldn't care less whether he was young OR my brother, I deserved respect.

Sue Clearwater said goodbye just as I was done cleaning and I gave her a small smile. I was sure she knew how shy I was by the way she spoke to me. And for a change it put me more at ease because unlike everyone else. Sue didn't take offence by my shyness. I liked that woman.

Once I heard the front door shut, I called my mom into the kitchen.

"Yes?," she asked as she entered.

"I want you to talk to Joey," I said, my voice firm and final.

"Why what did he do?,".

"What did he do? More like what did he do NOW? He freaking applied jam to a slice of bread with a fork, makes a big mess, then he just leaves it, not to mention a whole bunch of other stuff!,".

Mom cleared her throat, "Firstly, you don't use that tone with me Nina and secondly, he's you're little brother, what do you expect him to do?,".

I sighed, "Mom, where's the respect?,".

"Excuse me,".

"Where's the respect an older sister gets? Joey has been let away with so many things I don't even know where to start,".

"No he has not! You're father and I-,".

"Let him away with everything! You guys couldn't care less whether he torments me, all you two care about is yourselves! And I'm sick and tired of it!," I shouted before throwing the cloth into the sink and storming out of the room.

"You come back here young lady!," mom called but I ignored her. Instead, I ran up the stairs, into my room and slammed the door shut behind me, locking it.

I collapsed onto my bed and groaned.

My mom was so frustrating sometimes. She thought she had the perfect family, the perfect lifestyle and the perfect husband. She rarely ever faced reality, or did she but she didn't want to admit it's faults? Either way, she and dad seemed to think Joey was an angel when clearly he wasn't. He was nowhere near it.

Day after day he tormented me. Spoke the way he wanted to me, made fun of me and pulled pranks on me. And it hasn't just been recently, it's been for the last three years! It's apparent my parents don't care or he wouldn't still be like that.

Or maybe I'm just overreacting?

The thought of facing Jacob in school tomorrow is stressing me out. He knows that I know that he knows I saw him and I have no idea what I'm going to do… or say if he ever decides to talk to me again.

Firstly, what was he, Embry and that other guy doing, stripping as they ran into the woods. I mean we're talking WOODS here, not a park. Secondly, why on earth was I watching? Yeah, just great. It was obvious I was staring at his body.

His body… it was-

"Nina open your door this instant!," moms voice sounded from behind the bedroom door.

"Go away!," I shouted, burying my face in my pillow.

"Nina, open it now,".

"No!,".

"Nina," she warned.

"Mom I just want to be alone right now,".

Silence…

"Fine, but later we need to talk," she said before I heard her footsteps fade down the hallway.

I was definitely not looking forward to later.

I looked at myself in the mirror for the one hundredth time in the past hour. My hair was straightened and split to the side. My eyeliner and lip gloss looked fine. My cream, knee length dress looked cute except I wasn't too pleased with my shoes.

I preferred heels over flats any day and I had reason to. I was only 5'1 so by wearing flats, I remained short but with fancy heels, I looked way better. And right now, I forgot where I had packed my heels. So guess what I have to wear? My silver flats.

And finally, why was I dressed up?

It was around 6pm when dad got home, apparently mom told him everything so dad being the 'calm' person he is, suggested we all go to the local Diner, have dinner there and talk everything through.

At first I wasn't too keen on the idea. I was in a bad mood and just by looking at Joey or my mom, pissed me off. However, dad came up to my room and spoke to me in the kindest way ever that I gave in.

So here I am, spraying perfume onto my neck one last time before grabbing my black coat and heading down the stairs.

"Finally," mom said when I joined the 'happy family' in the hall.

Dad chuckled, "So we're all ready?,".

We all said yes at the same time before dad pulled the door open.

The car ride was awkward. Joey kept sneaking glances at me. Mom was in a mood. Dad was tired from working. And I was just miserable. Yes, the anger had faded away in me and I was just left feeling very miserable and lonely.

When dad finally pulled up outside the Diner, I almost sighed out loud. Talk about a long ride, that felt like it lasted a year.

The Diner was pretty nice and cozy looking. Dad suggested we sit at the empty booth down the end of the room. I saw Joey giving me a dirty look when I slipped in to sit next to the window. Why? Because he likes to sit by the window. Well tonight I didn't care, I wasn't letting him.

Mom and dad sat across from us, thankfully dad sat right across from me because if it had been mom, I wouldn't have been able to look up.

When our orders were placed and we were all settled in our places, dad broke the silence.

"So we all know why we're here, how about we let Nina speak first since it concerns her,".

I sighed, "It's about Joey,".

"And?,".

"And I'm sick and tired of his behavior, okay? I'm sick of it. It's driving me nuts and I think you guys need to do something about it,".

"Well, start off by telling us what he did,".

So I told him about the kitchen. Not that the kitchen was a big deal but it was ONE of the things Joey had done to piss me off. I then told him about everything. Joey calling me names, Joey speaking to me the way he wants and even the pranks. I was just so not in the mood of Joey today, he really got to me.

"Look-," dad was cut short when the waitress arrived with our food.

"So?," I said, once we all had our plates in front of us.

"What I was going to say was, why didn't you tell us about this before?,".

My jaw dropped, "I did but you never listened! And that's the proof, you don't even remember,".

"Nina maybe you should think about your mother and I for a sec. What if we had bigger problems in our life at that moment?,".

"Are you breaking up?," Joey asked suddenly.

Although he did piss me off, I tried to stifle a laugh at his question.

Mom chuckled, "No honey,".

"Anyway, I just want some respect. No Joey doesn't have to be a saint but I'd like him to leave me alone,".

"Fine," dad said, glancing over at mom.

Mom nodded, "Okay fine," she directed her attention to Joey, "Your father and I will have a word with you later,".

"What did….," Joey's voice faded away once I looked out the window.

My heart started thumping really loudly and butterflies assaulted my stomach. Jacob Black along with some other guy around the same height as him and equally as muscular, were making their way over to the Diner. The Diner I'm in!

As much as I would have loved to watch him, I felt the need to just hide and the only place I could hide was the ladies room.

"Excuse me, I need the bathroom," I said, already up out of my seat and stepping over Joey.

"Remember you're wearing a dress Nina," Joey called as I scurried to the bathroom just as Jacob and his friend entered.

I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment at the thought of Jacob overhearing what Joey had said. Joey was still a brat and since I was finally starting to think clearly for the first time today, I realized that Joey would always be a brat, my parents had let it go too far.

Once I entered the ladies, two teenage girls I recognized from school were reapplying their make up by the mirrors. I hung my head, allowing my long brown hair to hide my face from them as I quickly entered a cubicle.

When I had the door locked, I rested my forehead against it in relief.

This may have been the most stupid thing I have ever done in my life but right now it didn't matter. As long as I didn't have to face Jacob I was okay. But my thoughts were quickly interrupted by the chit chatter of the two girls from school.

"So do I look okay?," girl number one asked.

"Yeah, perfect. Do I?," girl number two asked.

"Hell yeah! Oh my god I'm just so excited, I mean Paul asked me out!," girl number one gushed.

The other one giggled excitedly, "Tell me about it, he's so hot! You're so lucky,".

"But hey, Rick is hot too,".

"Yeah but not as hot as Paul, can't believe we're having a double date,".

"Me neither. So…,".

"Stop giving me that look!," Girl number two chuckled.

"I know you've got the hots for Jacob," my heart skipped a beat, "Cynthia! But he's going through some kind of depression, like what the hell is that all about?,".

"Haven't you heard? He's completely over that stage, I heard he's all smiles now, besides I watch him,".

Girl number one chuckled, "You stalker. Well Cynthia, I'm sure he'll fall for you, all the other girls at school are ugly. Now let's get out of here before Paul leaves,".

And with that the two giggling girls left the bathroom. Little did they know that they completely ruined my night. I mean did I really have to know that 'Cynthia' whichever one that was, had a crush on my J-, I mean Jacob? I guess it serves me right for eavesdropping on their conversation. Oh and not to mention she called me ugly since I'm 'one' of the girls in school.

I decided I might as well leave the cubicle. I couldn't stay in here forever. And somehow the thought of Jacob depressed me. I no longer felt embarrassed over earlier today. So what if he saw me? so what if I liked him? Because in the end, I would never have him.

I guess I wasn't pretty enough for him or my personality was boring compared to his.

But who was I kidding? I still fancied him.

I rolled my eyes at my stupidity as I left the cubicle, looked over myself in the mirror and exited the bathroom. There was no point in hiding in there forever, my parents would be wondering and my mom would probably come in looking for me.

So without looking up, I made my way back over to my family as discreetly as I could. Once I was seated back by the window, my mom eyed me suspiciously.

"Are you alright honey?," she asked. My father looked a little uncomfortable, he probably thought I had gotten my period.

I nodded, "Yeah I'm fine," I looked down at everyone's empty plates, "Um… you guys finished already?,".

Everyone grunted their response so without looking up to see if Jacob was around, I quickly dug into my burger and fries.

As I ate, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me. I felt their eyes burning holes into me and finally I looked up.

The instant I looked up, my eyes met the eyes that I had been dreading to meet the whole day. No matter how beautiful and dark they were. No matter how soft and caring they were. They didn't ease my nerves.

I was staring into the eyes of Jacob Black.

He was sitting three booths down from us, facing me. He looked like he was in some sort of trance, just staring right at me. I put it down to daydreaming but then he gave me this small smile.

It felt like everything had disappeared. The sounds of voices, the people, everything in the Diner had just completely faded away and all I could see was Jacob. Our eyes locked onto each others, the once small smile on his face was now a big one, displaying his perfect set of white teeth that contrasted beautifully against his russet colored skin. His hair was long and flowing, cascading over his broad shoulders. Not to mention he looked very handsome in a black shirt with the top buttons open, displaying part of his muscular chest.

I was frozen in my place. It felt like I was in some sort of daze, just loosing myself in those dark eyes. I had never seen someone so beautiful. I noticed a tint of pink in his cheeks and wondered whether he was blushing. Because I knew I was.

And that's when I blinked, bringing myself back to reality as the voices and people all came back. I quickly broke eye contact with him and instead, looked out the window. I smiled to myself as I looked up at the full moon.

My heart was thumping so loud I wouldn't be surprised if my parents could hear it. My mind wasn't functioning properly and I couldn't believe that he just smiled at me. I knew it was friendly, probably because he spoke to me at school today and although I wished it meant something else, I was thrilled none the less.

Because what passed between us, definitely wasn't normal. It was special.

Not that I was ever going to tell Kara about it. She'd probably think I was insane.

I was so glad that he didn't seem to care whether I saw him taking his shirt off today. Not to mention I was delighted he was still being friendly unlike some stuck up teens at our school.

I looked over at my parents and caught mom frowning at my blush. I quickly diverted my attention to the window but noticed out of the corner of my eye that she had looked over her shoulder. Trying to find out what the cause for my blushing was. Once she spotted Jacob, she turned around. I glanced over at her. She gave me a little grin and cocked her eyebrow at me before I looked away from her in embarrassment. Taking a sip of my soda.

Oh great, now my mom knows.

After a couple of minutes passed, we all decided to leave and I was blushing even harder at the thought of passing by Jacobs booth.

And when I eventually did pass by his booth I kept my eyes on the floor until we made it outside. I knew I looked like a dork but whatever. I was way too embarrassed over what we shared only moments ago. It's not like Jacob was looking at me now anyway. He was probably enjoying his meal with his friend. It was that same guy who was with Embry at the beach that crappy day Joey had run off.

Not to mention I'd seen those two girls who had previously been in the ladies, sitting in a booth with two guys. One of them was very tall and muscular like Jacob, maybe he was Paul? Not that I cared or anything… but one of those girls had a crush on Jacob.

Whatever, everyone probably does.

"So Jacob smiled at you and you didn't smile back?," Kara asked incredulously.

I nodded.

"What is wrong with you!," she screeched, "The guy you're practically obsessed with smiled at you and you completely ignored him! That's crazy,".

We were seated at the usual table we sat at in the cafeteria. Jacob was absent for English today, I hadn't seen him or his friends or maybe he was just avoiding me? Nah, that was stupid. Why would he avoid me? It's not like I even mean anything to him.

"Look it was awkward okay? Mom, dad and Joey were there, not to mention my mom noticed me blushing,".

"Please! So what if your parents were there? Maybe if you had smiled he would have… I dunno, spoke to you in school today?," she said as she took a sip of her water.

I scratched the back of my neck, "Fine, I'm an idiot, a big one,".

She raised her bottle of water, "I have got to agree with you,".

I rolled my eyes, "He's not even in today,".

"Yeah, probably passed out on his couch after he banged some girl last night,".

"Kara! Gosh, Jacob is not like that!," I defended but images of him and that 'ladies room' girl flashed into my mind and I cringed. Hadn't seen her today either.

"Ahem, Jacob is of the male sex, and in my books they're all the same,".

I sighed, leaning back in my seat, "Maybe you're right… picture Nick and Felicity,".

"Okay now that was just harsh,".

I laughed. Kara had no problem in telling me Jacob had been sleeping with a girl last night (Please don't let it be true) but couldn't take it when I said the same about her crush and miss popular.

"Oh look," Kara pointed her head in the direction of some guy, "It's Mrs. Clearwater's son Seth,".

My jaw dropped, "No way! I would have never guessed,".

"Yup, he's really sweet actually but I dunno, he's gone freakishly tall and muscular like you're lover boy and co,".

I took a good look at him. He was loading a bunch of food onto his tray and looked completely out of place for some odd reason. Something about him reminded me of Jacob, especially when he turned around and smiled over at his friends which were sitting a couple tables down from us. They were also tall and muscular.

But as luck had it, I didn't go unnoticed.

He caught me staring at him and our eyes locked a moment. I noticed the awkwardness in his stare and he quickly broke eye contact before heading over to his friends. His smile replaced with a serious look.

I looked over at Kara who just shrugged before smiling mischievously.

She waved over at him and I felt my face flush with embarrassment, she was not doing what I thought she was.

"Seth, come over a sec," she called.

He looked uncomfortable but got up all the same.

"Kara what the hell!," I hissed.

"Now now Nina, I shall introduce you to the lovely Seth Clearwater, after all, you liked his mom," she smirked.

"Hey," Seth greeted once he reached us, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

"Seth! Hey, I wanted to introduce you to my new bestie, Nina," Kara smiled.

Seth bit his lip as he glanced up at me, "Hi,".

I smiled awkwardly, "Hi… nice to meet you,".

"Yeah… um… I better get going," Seth announced before turning on his heel and heading back over to his friends.

That was horrible.

"What the heck is his problem? He's usually friendly," Kara muttered as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah well-," the sound of the bell interrupted me, "We better get going,".

I said a quick goodbye to Kara before making my way out of the cafeteria as fast as I could. I felt like a complete idiot. I mean Kara just randomly called Seth Clearwater over and he acted so weirdly around me. I didn't like it. And the worst part was, I had no idea why.

His mom was so friendly and nice but he was just well… rude.

Today was not my day.

The last few classes seemed to last forever. I couldn't stop thinking about two things. One being why on earth was Jacob not in and the other being why Seth acted so weird around me. I hope there weren't any rumors going around.

By the time the final period rolled around which was Art, I needed the bathroom.

I took a hall pass from the teacher and headed out of class, down the empty halls. Once I entered the bathroom, I quickly made my way to the sinks and slashed my face with cold water. I needed to clear my mind and think happy thoughts like… I'm living in a nice area, I made a good friend, I live in a nice house but my mind wasn't having any of it.

So with a long sigh, I fixed myself up and headed back out of the bathroom. Only I never really made it back to class because once I swung the door open and stepped out, Jacob Black was leaning with his back against the wall opposite the bathroom, his arms folded across his chest.

I gasped once I saw him and of course the usual happened. My heartbeat went up a notch and butterflies assaulted my stomach. Not to mention I didn't look my best today in an old pair of jeans, plain white shirt and my hair done up in a messy bun.

But as for Jacob. Oh he always looked so great. Even though he was dressed casually in a pair of faded jeans and a brown t-shirt, his hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. He still struck me with his beauty.

Jacob broke the silence, "Why did you ignore me last night?,".

I guess I was wrong about him after all.

He did care.