I combined three super-short chapters into one 2000 word chapter! I write on my iPad with like 80% zoom (My glasses were stolen) so the small-fries always look longer than they are. Thank you's to all who subscribed, favorite, and continues to read TOC. Happy February! This is a chapter a lot of you have been asking about since November so enjoy!

JPoV

"I don't know, Mom."

"Jacob, there has to be a reason for this- this mutation!"

"Well I don't know it!"

"Please answer me honestly: are you taking something?"

"Of course not!" This was ridiculous. My recent growth spurt was no fault of my own.

"Honey, you've grown four inches since we moved. This is not natural."

"Well I'm as confused as you are!"

"It's not just that you're growing taller, you're becoming muscle man!" Dad added. He usually stayed quiet during family discord.

"I've just been working really hard for football, gaining weight and stuff," I lied. Anything to exit this conversation.

Mom sighed, exasperated. "Why didn't you tell us that then? That explains why you eat so much."

I shrugged like I was clueless. She smiled with some relief. Secretly, I had no idea what was happening to me, but it sucked. I was sore all over from growing pains, and I never felt full. None of my pants were long enough anymore, and everybody is always looking at me like I'm a freak.

Since the fight was over, I retreated to my room and shot a vent to Bella. She replied quickly.

That sucks. Why do you think you're growing?

-B

I wrote back quickly.

No idea, but I'm starting to think my parents were giants...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was snowing here. This winter had been especially brutal. Bella said it was the same way in Forks. Although I remembered the heavy snowfalls of the Pacific Northwest well, I think any conditions in Forks would be more bearable. I had lived there only one year yet my home coast felt foreign.

The winter was fine for me. In fact, I didn't even feel the need for a coat one day. But when I came down in only a hoodie, I should have known Mom would be suspicious.

"I hope you're wearing three more hoodies under that," she said, "It's twelve degrees outside."

I shrugged. "I don't feel cold." Mom came over and put her hand on my forehead. I shivered. That was weird. None of my family members ever felt cold to me after so much time.

"Honey, you're burning up. Go back to bed, and I'll bring you breakfast."

"I feel fine," I said, perplexed, "Fit as a fiddle."

"That's odd. Maybe I should take you to a doctor," Mom said, walking over to the phone.

"That's alright," I said too quickly. I really hated going to the doctor, and my recent time in the hospital had doubled that. The only one I trusted was my grandfather. Mom chuckled.

"It might be the flu. I heard that's going around. I'm going to see if there's a thermometer anywhere."

At first, I liked being sick. I was rarely ill during my childhood so it was a rarity I relished when given the chance to indulge in some sloth. My mom made me cookies. Dad and I played Xbox. It took two days for it to get annoying.

Mom finally found a thermometer (forehead, thankfully) the next night.

"One-hundred-and-six!" she shrilly shrieked.

"What?" I asked. I couldn't be that sick. I still felt perfectly healthy. I thought back to Carlisle and Edward's medical lessons. A temperature this high is a death sentence.

"It has to be broken," Dad said, coming over to look at it. He put the back of his hand on my forehead and pulled away quickly.

"You're on fire, son," he said.

"Well, you're freezing, Dad, not exactly a fair opinion," I said. My voice was venomous. I took a deep breath. An anger came out of me that I didn't know I had. Dad looked at me strangely then back to the thermometer.

"Let's call Carlisle," he said.

"Are you sure you don't have a scratchy throat or a sick stomach or anything that might be a symptom?" Mom asked.

I shook my head. "I feel fine."

"You look fine, not even red beneath the skin. It's just the fever. This thermometer can't be right," Mom said. She put another hand on my forehead, "You are very warm though."

The next day we spent the day at the house Grandma was restoring. The others stayed here since Grandma's project sometimes left them without heat, electricity, and running water. Those were not necessities for the vampires so they dealt with them as they came, going out when it became bothersome. The human needed those things though so Mom and Dad and I were in a rental. When the old home was livable (for me), we would move in. I was convinced we would be in Forks by then though. On one of my bitterest nights, I said this only to my parents because any other Cullens would be far too upset by the mention of our missing family to give me an answer. Mom and Dad wished I could stop hoping and move on but knew that to stop would mean giving up, something I had yet to ever do.

At Grandma's, we hung out, and I ate brownies until Grandpa came home. Almost all of them had gone to medical school but had no practice. They didn't know what to make of my fever and didn't attempt to diagnose me. I knew no one thought my fever was a small matter though. All golden eyes were grave when Dad gave them my temperature. The three of them all snuck in subtle touches and widened their eyes at the drastic heat. I gave a tiny shiver at each. I wasn't uncomfortable around them; it was involuntary.

Grandpa came home late in the evening. I was falling asleep. He had been working late at the hospital since Edward left. My grandfather took the loss of his first and oldest child harder than anyone. I couldn't help feeling a little bad for being so harsh to my uncle and took a lot of responsibility for his departure. I didn't want him around, but I didn't like how his absence affected my family.

Carlisle was grave when he checked me out. "Jacob's body temperature is fatally high. I don't know how he is still functioning normally otherwise. The closest thing I could diagnose is child influenza because the fever's so high. But Jacob hasn't had any chills either, and he's gotten too old to be affected by the flu this way."

"I feel perfectly fine," I repeated again, my voice is drowsy. Mom patted my hand. It still felt colder than usual. That and the thermometer were the only reasons I even believed I had a fever.

"He's not even sweating," Mom grumbled.

"I'm going to do some research in Cornell's medical library," Grandpa said.

"Tomorrow," Grandma said with an uncharacteristically stern ruling.

"Will he be okay?" Mom asked.

"It's hard to say. I don't think any other symptoms are going to bother him if the fever isn't. I can't give you a straight answer until I can identify it though. For now, all I can say is rest and drink your fluids."

Mom was angry with his answer. She made sharp turns on the road and grumbled under her breath. Dad was worried too. Both kept peeking back at me, looking for a change.

When we got back, I hurried through the snow, eager to end this day with some sleep. Before I went inside, I looked back and noticed I had left a trail of green in the otherwise white yard.

xxxxxx

It took all my power to get Mom and Dad out of the house. Their black eyes were making me warier than usual for a reason I couldn't determine. I convinced them nothing was going to change in a few hours. I was never more wrong, everything changed.

I had been unbearable the last few days, with mood swings and flashes of anger. It made Mom worry even more. I heard her talking to Dad. She coined it up with being cooped up in the house all day.

I needed a break from them. Their worrying was eating me. I didn't know what was wrong with me; I felt like a grunting, growling monster. After they left, I sat on the couch, turned on some TV, got out my laptop, and tried to relax. When my parents came home, they could see at least my mood had improved if not my fever.

Bella had a snow day. My parent's watching had made it next to impossible to keep up correspondence with her. Now, we were making up for lost time.

You're still sick? Wow, what do you have?

-B

We don't know. I've got a fever but nothing else. I feel fine, but no one believes me.

I'm sorry, Jake.

-B

I just hope this weird fever goes away soon. Are you ok?

I knew Bella found school the most bearable. She told me her time at home was the worst. Charlie was concerned, and she couldn't ease his concerns because she wasn't okay. School was her best distraction besides emailing me or hanging out with her friend, Leah.

I'm actually glad I wasn't in school today. Todays the day I first came to Forks. It would be hard.

Instead of typing back a message of sympathy like I usually did with these comments, fire ran down my back. It was strangling. I sat up, a red haze covering my eyes. My laptop fell on to the floor. I felt my way outside to the porch, hoping for some relief from the cool air.

I gripped the back porch's rail and felt the wood splinter in my grip. I gasped, but I still couldn't see anything. The horror at what I had one had only made the red haze grow.

A deep growl erupted out of my chest. What was that? I had never heard a human make that noise. It was animalistic, aggressive. My own family had made it on occasion.

Holy crap, maybe I was turning into a vampire.

No, that makes no sense. It was hard to think. My mind was racing trying to deduce the cause of the haze.

The shaking got worse. What was left of the porch rail pricked my skin. Tiny tears in my skin opened but the wound closed as soon as the skin separated.

Spasms moved my arms and legs. Was this a seizure? Perhaps I really was diseased. Was this fatal, would my mother and father find my body in a slump? Despite the damage I felt the shaking should be doing to my heart and my body, the fire didn't burn.

Fire went down my back, and I exploded. I felt myself fall forward on to the forest floor, standing on all fours. I felt no pain from my drop of six feet. The red haze was gone, and I felt like I could see clearer than ever. The forest was eerily quiet and still in the winter morning.

I couldn't determine a cause anywhere, but an awful, putrid smell was burning my nostrils. Tears welled in my eyes. It was like ice. I gagged.

I turned and only had to slightly raise my head to look at where I had dropped from. My fall had destroyed a section of the railing. The broken beams were scattered around a pair of two giant red brown paws. I recognized them as attached to my body.

Who the hell are you?

"IT'S A ROBOT!"

/\ If you got that joke, words cannot describe how totally awesome you are.

I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. I wonder if there is a special place in hell for cliffhanger-writers. I'm going to have to start churning these out though because I'm trying to put up a chapter on a specific date. Please review!