Jacob walked me home from school that day. He didn't mention anything about Edward at first, but I could tell that he was curious about the encounter. I didn't even have to read his mind to figure that out.

"Go ahead," I said eventually, "ask me about Edward. I know you're dying to."

"Oh, that," he replied innocently, casually pushing his hands down his pockets. "I just felt like I, uh, walked in on … a rather tense conversation earlier."

His voice was neutral, but pleasant. I always liked that he never sounds like he's snooping, or judging when he asks me things. It's like he asks because he actually cares, but that he would fully understand it if I refused to reply. I guess that's part of why I found him so easy to talk to.

"Well, yeah, kind of … I tried to apologize to him. For whatever that's worth."

"Wow. So how'd it go, did he accept?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Not really, but it seemed like he at least understood where I was coming from. I honestly don't really care, though. I just apologized because … you know, you're supposed to."

Laughing, Jacob nudged me with his elbow. "I think you care more than you'd like to admit," he said. "You don't want to care, but you do."

"Ha! And what the hell gave you that impression?"

He shrugged, his expression sympathetic. "It's only natural. You did something wrong, and now you feel bad about it. It doesn't really matter if you like the guy or not; as long as you're a moral being, you're going to care, right?" I nod in agreement. "Besides … the emotional connection you've made with him has probably become strong enough by now to make you care, at least a little."

Coming to a sudden halt, I stared at Jacob with disbelief, frozen where I stood. What did he just say?

"I do not have an emotional connection with Edward Cullen!"

Turning to me, he said simply: "Sure you do."

"Why would you even say that?"

"It's not that big of a deal, Bella. I've heard you talk about him time and time again, and it's obvious he's become a part of your life – whether you like it or not."

"Maybe so, but I'm still not emotionally connected to him." The term made me cringe slightly.

"Oh, come on. You're obsessed with his perception of you, you can't deny that! And you are emotionally connected with him, in the sense that he evokes something very strong within you when you see him or talk about him. Even if those emotions are mostly negative, that doesn't necessarily mean you're not, on some level, attached to him."

At a loss for words, all I could say was: "...What!"

"Yeah. You want his approval, but you don't want to want it."

"That doesn't even make any sense!" I shouted.

He shrugged again. "Think what you will. That's the way I see it, anyway."

Wanting to dismiss the entire subject, I made a confused gesture, like I was trying to swat away a bunch flies. The whole conversation made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Look, can we just … not talk about this anymore? I honestly didn't ask for your opinion. All I wanted was to confide in a friend, okay? Please, don't give me any of that psychology crap, I get enough of that from my family."

For a fraction of a second, Jacob's face changed – but it happened so fast I couldn't really tell what the expression had meant. It looked almost like … disappointment? But within a second, his usual, carefree smile was back.

"You called me your friend," he teased, poking his finger at my belly.

"Oh, shush, you."

We eventually reached my house, but since the weather was so nice, we decided to sit in the yard for a while. As we chitchatted away, having left the subject of Edward Cullen behind, Jake's words from before were still tumbling around in my head. They annoyed me and frustrated me, and yet I couldn't shake what he had said. The more I tried not thinking about it, the louder they echoed in my head. What had he been trying to imply? That I wanted Edward to like me?

"We should go camping sometime, you and me. Just hunting and camping and sitting by a fire."

"I've never really done anything like that," I admitted, trying to push away my thoughts. "When you live like this, with nature so close by, there's really no need to go camping."

Images suddenly appeared in his mind, revealing that Jacob had pitched more than a few tents in his days. I was allowed to observe one of the rare glimpses of his past: solitary, wandering. Headed somewhere – but where? Did he even know where? I wanted to ask him about it, but I never knew how.

"It can be really nice, I think you'd like it. Just peace and quiet, no people, fresh air. I've had a lot of revelations in the forest."

"I can imagine."

I tried to picture it: trekking deep into the woods with Jacob leading the way, climbing up to higher grounds. Sunshine falling through the foliage and hitting his dark skin, making it glow. Sitting by a fire together as the night fell quietly over us; talking, not talking. Breathing in the scent of grass and wood. Resting there during the night.

"We should totally do it," I said.

Being alone with Jacob an entire night, with no distractions. Maybe even getting a chance to finally know what stirred within him. Regardless of cold or warm weather, sitting by that fire, watching it burn. Just the two of us, unspoiled by the presence of an outer world. Honest, open.

"Yeah, just say when."

Just the two of us, alone, in the forest.

"How about next Saturday?

"I'll check my calendar," he replied with a happy grin.