Being the weekend, Jacob didn't see his next chance of talking to Alice until the Cullens went to school. It was almost unbearable to go two days without seeing her. In fact on Sunday it caused him to travel through the woods to the Cullen estate. Was it stupid? Of course, but he hardly cared about the other Cullens, Alice was his only focus.

The house was huge, as large as Bella had explained to him. Thankfully he didn't have to get too close to it due to the various glass walls that lined the house. If he just stood on the right branch at the right angle he had a clear view inside. Unfortunately he didn't know when she would be in the house or even in his view. As if reading his thoughts, fate looked down on him with fortune as the little pixie walked into the room, which he assumed was the living room. Instantly he was mesmerized. Her short spikey hair, mesmerizing hair, and though he couldn't hear it; her adorable laugh.

Jacob Black found himself wanting to leap from his position and just run to her, but knew that just because he didn't care about the other bloodsuckers didn't mean that they didn't care about him. If he just ran over there, they would probably kill him without hesitation.

His eyes narrowed as another man came into the living room and wrapped his arms around Alice. That must be the Jasper, Bella had told him about. An audible growl came from the depths of his throat. Again he was glad that no one could here him, or so he thought. At that moment she turned around and seemed to be staring directly at him. In an instant his attitude changed as he was startled and lost his balance. Falling to the ground he figured it best to get out of the area before one of the bloodsuckers found him.

Phasing into his werewolf form, he took off back towards La Push. The whole way running back he thought of how their eyes connected. Even if they didn't that was his story and he was sticking to it.

Alice let out a giggle as she watched the young wolf fall from a distant tree. It was amazing what vampires could see and hear.

Only a few seconds ago she had heard a faint growling. Turning, she had looked out the window only to see a distant figure on a tree. At first she took apprehension but after her eyes adjusted, it was clear that the figure was Jacob Black. Her initial question was what he was doing in the tree. The question was quickly replaced with humor though as he fell from the tree.

"Something funny?" asked Jasper giving Alice an odd look.

"Nothing, nothing" Alice lied. There was no point in explaining it to him if he had not seen it.

"Well I'm glad to see you smiling again" Jasper said smiling at her.

Now that he mentioned it, this was the first time she had genuinely smiled in a few days, since her vision to be exact. Of course she hadn't mentioned it to anyone since then. The vision had been haunting her for the past two days, and she just couldn't seem to get her mind off of it. Jacob Black had gotten her to laugh and thus smile, whether he knew it or not. The thought alone caused her to smile, but was that a good thing?

"Bella!" Jake called as he walked into the school parking lot. The young woman turned around to see her friend walking towards her with a smile on his face.

"Hey Jake" she replied giving him a warming hug. "What are you doing here, don't you have class?"

"I figured they won't miss me for a day. Besides, I'm going to break the news today" he said still smiling.

"Today, as in right now? Jake you know all the Cullens arrive at school together right?" Bella questioned. She was looking at her best friend as if he had grown a second head. Aside from what she had stated, Edward could read minds and would instantly know what Jake was thinking. All signs were pointing to the outcome not being good.

"I know" Jacob replied the smile not leaving his face.

Bella shook her head. Whatever her friend ate this morning, it must have been full with determination and purpose because he was not budging. "Listen…how about, I get Alice to my house and you tell her there. That way there's no possibility of Edward reading your mind and getting attacked." Jacob seemed to scoff at the idea that he should be worried about getting attacked by a bloodsucker, but he relented.

"Fine, fine. Not that I'm afraid of that bloodsucker boyfriend of yours" he replied, obviously not liking the fact that Bella was right. The teenager just shook her head with a smile at her best friend. Typical boy not to admit that they were in the wrong.

"Alright, now go to school! I'm sure Alice likes an intelligent man" she couldn't help but snicker a little at the expression he gave her in return. It was as if he was saying 'you think so?' before realizing that Bella was joking.

"Very funny Bella" he said shaking his head. Though he wanted to remain serious, he couldn't prevent a small smile from forming on his face. "You're lucky I can't stay mad at you." With that the young man walked out of the parking lot with a glance over his shoulder as the Cullens arrived in the parking lot. Part of him just wanted to yell it out but the reasonable part of his mind resisted. After school at Bella's house. Even that time period seemed too long!

"Alice do you think you could come over after school today?" Bella asked as they walked down the hall. It was her mission to get Alice to the house after school as she had promised Jacob. Now she just needed a plausible excuse.

"Whatever ever for, Bella?" Alice responded. "We get a rare nice day in Forks and you want to be inside?"

She had a point there. It was next to never that mother nature was actually nice to them and gave them a nice day with the some sun. Not that Alice could really complain. For obvious reasons she couldn't be out in the sunlight, but she was most likely curious as to why a normal person like Bella wouldn't want to be out enjoying the day while she could.

"Well…I..uh..my dad keeps insisting I wear a dress for this upcoming event the department is having for officers and their families. I was hoping that you could come over and help me pick one out" it was a lie and probably not a good one, but she knew her audience. She was aware that Alice knew the chance to help Bella pick out a dress was one in a million. Therefore there was no way she was going to pass up this chance by questioning what her true motives were.

"Sure! You don't even have to ask" Alice replied with a huge smile just as Bella had expected.

"Great so do you want to head there straight after school? I'd really like to just get this over and done with" Bella said making a face. Lying wasn't something to be enjoyed but she would give her performance three and a half stars. Hopefully, this wouldn't become a habit of hers: lying to Alice for Jacob's sake. Her intentions were good though, so it justified it in a way, didn't it?

"Oh, Bella. It won't be as bad as you think just wait" she tried her best to sound encouraging. "I'll just let Jasper know before school ends."

Jasper. It was like the nagging thought in the back of Bella's mind. A wasp that continued to sting, no matter how many times she attempted to swat it away. She didn't know what Jacob had planned to do about Jasper Cullen. Whether, Alice took positively or negatively to the news of his imprinting the werewolf and male vampire would eventually have a confrontation. That was where the fear set in. From what Bella learned in her short lived company of the pack, they could hear each others thoughts. If Jacob transformed and they heard he was facing off against a vampire; let alone a Cullen, things could get ugly.

"Alright, I'll meet you after school then" snapping out of her thoughts Bella smiled and headed to her class as she tried to swat the wasp away.

Jacob made sure he was at Isabella's house right on time. Well actually, he was probably a little early. As soon as the bell rang for the school day to be over the young man was out of his seat. A few of his classmates were practically barreled over as he made his way out of the classroom. After that he put any unnecessary items away and headed out. Even his friends that he usually associated with after school were ignored. Something they would probably bring up at a later date. Right now though, Jacob Black could care less. Today was the moment of truth, if everything went as planned that is.

For some reason it felt like something was going to happen and spoil his plan. Most likely it was just a case of nervous butterflies. In fact, the more he waited the more he wished he had taken his time getting over to Bella's house. Initially his plan was to just wing it and hope for the best; however now the idea of pre-planning a speech seemed so appealing. Even on the drive over he could have at least tried to rehearse some lines. The one positive thing he could focus on was that his words would be honest and from the heart.

As far as expectations go Jacob was hoping for the best. Alice would be overjoyed at the news. However, realistically he expected her to either be pissed or indifferent about the situation. The whole 'it's your problem not mine' look on it. But out of all those options the worst response he could probably get would be her suggesting that they could still be just friends.

His thoughts were cut short as the familiar and lovely scent entered his senses.

"Oh, Jacob's here" Alice noted as they pulled up in her truck. Bella couldn't help but smile at this. It was a move in the right direction especially given a week or so ago Alice's comment would have been along the lines of 'What is that mut doing here?'. It may be a guess but perhaps Alice wasn't bothered by his presence anymore.

"He's probably just here for a visit" Bella replied as she put the red truck in park and turned it off.

"Alice. Bella" Jacob greeted with a smile.

"Jacob Black what a surprise" Alice stated with a smile. Was she actually smiling at the fact that Jacob was there to greet them? Well she had grown a bit more found of the boy since that night at the movie theater.

"A pleasant surprise I hope" Jacob replied which in term only got him a look from Alice before she relented and the smile returned to her lips. "Roses."

"Excuse me?" Alice said, instinctively looking around as if he were pointing out the flower. Forks wasn't exactly known for being the garden city.

"You smell like roses today" he explained as if it were the most obvious fact. Realization dawned upon Alice as she recalled the night from the movies. First he had said she smelled like bad cooking before admitting that she had the scent of fresh strawberries. If she wasn't already smiling then she probably would have broken into one.

"Two compliments in two appearances. You're a very good doggy" Alice teased by throwing in the dog reference. Jacob gave her a grin in return. God, that was a sexy grin. The thought startled her and the vampire averted her gaze to the ground. She didn't mean that, it was just an observation that happened to occur.

"I'm going to head in and put my things away. Try to keep things friendly" she said before heading into the house.

"I'm sure we'll be able to keep things civil" Alice commented. Her gaze turned back to Jacob, and she couldn't help but realize he seemed a bit different. Perhaps his birthday had passed? He just appeared less…boy-ish. She though, like herself, werewolves stopped aging after a certain point in their life. Yet somehow between the night at the movies and today Jacob Black seemed to have put some years on. Maybe he had just gotten wiser; or perhaps it was the lighting.

"How have you been?" asked Jacob disturbing her thoughts. Start out with the simple questions and get a feel for what mood she was in today.

"Quite well, thank you. And yourself?" Polite and spunky as always.

"I've been alright. This dreary weather is a bit of a downer though" he admitted with a shrug.

"I agree with you there. The rain stinks; especially because it makes you stink" Alice pointed to him causing Jacob to raise his eyebrows in mock shock.

"I beg to differ. I smell perfectly fine"

"Hm, maybe once every blue moon" she teased with a smile and Jacob's stomach did a flip as he let out a hearty chuckle. She was in a good mood which was a positive omen for him. Now he just had to plan when to do the act. Should he just come out with it right now while Bella was inside? It seemed opportune but what if someone was watching? The last thing he needed was someone from the Cullens finding out about this before anyone was ready.

"Jacob" the pixie haired vampire was the one interrupting his thoughts; not that Jake was going to complain. "A few days ago, you were outside the Cullen house weren't you?"

Busted.

Jacob's face turned a deep shade of red and although he was fairly tan it still showed through. So she had seen him. "Uh, no-well yeah it was but I wasn't just randomly outside the house. I mean that would just be creepy, and I'm definitely not creepy so-" "Jake!" Alice interrupted with a giggle. "take a deep breathe and try to explain then."

The werewolf did as directed and tried to compose himself. "There was a reason I was outside the blood-- Cullen's house that day" he paused and looked at her making sure it was safe to continue. After she nodded he cleared his throat and prepared to proceed. As he prepared to talk a growl was heard instead.

"Excuse me?" Alice said looking at him with a questioning look.

"I didn't say anything" Jacob said and turned to his left as Sam stepped forward, two members of the pack behind him almost aching for a fight. "What are you doing here Sam?" Jake demanded, pushing Alice back a little subconsciously.

"I was looking for you. Word was that you came to see Bella. I didn't know you were keeping other company as well" Sam said noting the movement but not stating anything on it.

"It's just a coincidence" Jake replied keeping eye contact. Alice could have sworn they were communicating without talking.

"Is it?"

"You know I wouldn't be around if it was anything else" the young man replied. The words seemed to hold more weight then they should have. Leading to some suspicion that there was a deeper meaning behind this simple conversation.

Nodding Sam turned and began walking leaving his fellow pack members dumbfounded. "Come see me when you're done your business here" As the three proceeded to walk out, Bella returned dressed in more suitable clothes and fresh smelling.

"Did I miss something" she questioned watching them before turning to Alice and Jake. The last thing she needed was a showdown happening right in front of her house in broad daylight.

"No" the teen replied with a grim look knowing full well that he might have just taken ten steps back.

"Thanks Jacob, for whatever you did" Alice said placing a grateful hand on his shoulder. She didn't know what he did, but whatever it was or however he did it. Jacob Black had just saved her from possibly getting mauled by three werewolves and for that she was grateful.

Feeling a chill run down his spin brought a smile to his face whereas before it would probably make him shiver. One thing he realized from this non-confrontation was that had Sam and the rest of the pack decided to attack before asking questions; Jacob would have done anything in his power to defend Alice. In no way shape or form did he want to see her injured whether it was from a vampire, werewolf, human, or any other creature. And that thought scared him.

"Anytime."

A/N: what seems like forever. here it is! to admit i don't feel to great about this chapter compared to others. for one it's shorter but i don't know there's just something about it that seems off. maybe it's because this chapter has a bit of seriousness in it towards the end with the mini-confrontation (which there probably will be another one. hint. hint. ) anyway, let me know what you guys think! did you hate it, love it, thought it was okay? once more i'm sorry for the long lay-off xP