The next morning I dress for a long day. Regular jeans, a soft shirt that's a little too baggy, hair is back in a pony tail and no makeup. I don't have time to eat and just get in the car and get to the diner.

"Good morning." I greet, everyone, when I pull in. "You're all here early?"

"Well, yeah." Paul says.

"We couldn't let you and Emily do it all." Embry adds.

"That's awesome." I smile.

"Did you over sleep?"

"Nope didn't sleep at all actually. I didn't even have time to eat, I feel like death."

"You look like it too." Leah hands me a cup of coffee.

"There's the affirmation I was looking for. I don't drink coffee." I rub my face, "So what's usually done first?"

"Set up the tables, re-fill salt and pepper shakers, inventory check and prep for the specials of the day."

Leah picks setting up the tables, Paul refills the salt, pepper and ketchup, Seth and Jacob prep the specials, which leaves me with inventory check. I grab the forms from the last check out of the office with a clipboard and pen and head to the kitchen. Starting with the walk in fridge I hope it wakes me up a little. Then the stock shelves and meat freezer.

"What do you guys have?" I ask after my big walk throughs, I'm still missing a few things. "Ground beef?" I sit at the table and yawn.

"We have it." Seth calls. "All of it and the kidney beans, tomatoes and chilies."

"Potatoes?"

"Oh yeah those too." Jake adds.

"I think that's it."

"Okay, but I'm still missing eggs, bread, yogurt, a bunch of fruit and honey."

Jacob sets a plate of food down in front of me and poors something from the blender into a cup, "That'd be me." He puts the cup down and hands me a fork.

"What is this?" There's french toast on the plate and the cup smells fruity.

"You said you didn't have breakfast." He puts down a bottle of syrup.

"So you made me french toast and a-" I pick up the cup and take a sip, "fruit smoothie?"

"Yeah." he shrugs.

Wow, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." This was definitely unexpected, especially after the way we left things last night.

I wash my plate after and check all the tables.

"Leah what else is there to do right now?" I sit in a booth across from her.

"Did you talk to Jacob yet?"

"No and that won't happen today."

"Why?"

"I'm not in the mood and honestly don't know when I'll be." My phone buzzes on the table. It's a text from Tyler: 'We still on for tonight?' "Shit! I forgot about my date tonight. I can't go out like this!"

"Leave a little early. The way business is now we'll probably be closing up early anyway."

"I'm not going to abandon you guys for a date!"

"I'll help you get ready!"

"Are you even hearing me?"

"Bring your clothes over and I'll help with hair and makeup."

"Hair and makeup? I thought you didn't do that kind of stuff."

"Yeah, but you do. I'm just trying to help."

"Okay," I sigh, "Okay."

After work I grab a casual navy dress and some flats and drive over to her house.

"Makeup first, then clothes and then hair."

"Whatever you say." I sit in her chair and she points the lamp in my face

"Fuck." I squint and throw my hand up to cover my eyes.

"Oh yeah, close your eyes."

I laugh, "Thanks."

Fifteen maybe twenty minutes later she hands me a mirror, "what do you think?"

"Wow! Leah this is amazing. You got the winged eye liner perfectly! It takes me at least three tries." She laughs, "I don't want to ruin all of this, but why don't you ever wear makeup? Especially if you're so talented?" I close her door and change into my dress.

"Because that's not me."

"Says who? You wouldn't need much, especially with those killer cheek bones which happen to run in the family." I nudge her with a laugh.

"I don't know. People wouldn't be used to it."

"You're kidding right?" She stares at me. "You're worried about them? Other people? Who are they, no one. It's your life and you know what? You're wearing makeup to work tomorrow."

"Oh, but it's my life right?" she laughs. There are a few quick knocks downstairs then the door opens, "Could that be Tyler?"

"No, we said 5." We run over to her window and the first thing I see is, "Mordecai. Are you kidding me?" I stomp over and throw open her door.

"Wait." She calls after me and follows me down the stairs.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here." Jacob says to me when I get to the bottom.

"I could say the same for you."

"Seth invited me, Call Of Duty." He looks up at my hair, "Nice hair."

"I didn't do it yet." Leah snaps. "Where's Seth?"

"Don't bother." I push her back upstairs.

You ass! I yell in my head.

What?!

Don't play dumb Seth, you know Tyler's picking me up here!

I didn't know when I invited him.

Bullshit.

What's the big deal if they see each other?

Just stop trying to help or whatever the fuck you're doing, okay? Stop!

Leah starts laughing. "Are you yelling at him right now?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Your faces." I sit back down in her chair and she starts on my hair. She uses her curling iron on the ends oh my hair and my bangs all the way so the layers flow together. "Perfect." She smiles and fixes a piece before she holds the mirror up for me.

"Thank you." I hug her and stare in the mirror at myself

"You know you have to go flaunt right?" She raises her eyebrow at me.

"I can't just go down there for nothing!" I laugh.

"Get me something to drink-no where's your purse? Go get your purse!" She smiles and bops up and down on her bed. I take a deep breath and go downstairs.

"I think I left my purse down here, have you guys seen it?" I ask.

Jake looks up and his mouth opens a little, "um over there."

"Thanks." I walk past the screen, his heads stays towards the screen, but I feel his eyes. I grab my purse and walk back towards the stairs.

"BOOM! You're dead!" Seth yells excitedly. When I get to the bottom step I turn around, he's staring at me. I smile a little and go up two steps at a time.

"You should have seen his face!" I smile and throw my purse on the bed. "Should I feel bad?"

"Hell no! It sucks that he needs to lose you to appreciate you, but if it helps then what can you do?" She shrugs. "It's just a date. It's not like you guys are about to get married or something."

When Tyler gets here I open the door, thankfully Jacob's in the bathroom.

"Hey." I smile.

"You look amazing!"

"Thanks it was all Leah. Ready to go?"

"What's your hurry?" Jake asks from behind me, I drop my head and open the door so Tyler can step in a little more.

"Tyler, you remember my brother's friend Jacob."

"Nice to see you again." He offers his hand.

"Sure." He shakes it. I can tell from Tyler's face, Jacob's squeezing too tight.

"We have reservations to get to actually." I say glaring at Jacob, Let go! He looks at me and let's go with a smile. I grab Tyler's hand, "We'll see you guys later." I leads us out of the door, he closes it behind us. We get in his car and he drives us to the restaurant.

"Have you been here before?" He asks when were seated.

"No, it's nice though. I love all the colors and these table are so cool." The wood is carved and painted with different tropical birds and scenery with a big sheet of glass a top. All through dinner we're talking, laughing and really enjoying each other's company. We split an order of churros after our main dishes.

"Are you still up for a movie?"

"Yeah, what's playing?" He pulls out his phone and looks for a minute before offering a suggestion. He pays the bill and buys our tickets at the theatre.

"Popcorn?"

"No thanks."

"Anything else?"

"I'll take a water and bag of twisters please."

"You got it."

"I'll go grab seats."

"Okay." I leave him in line and maneuver my way through all the people and into our theatre. I snag two pretty good seats towards the middle. After the previews have already started he shuffles in next to me, I take the snacks so he can sit.

"Sorry, the guy dropped my popcorn all over the place so I had to wait for another one."

"No biggie, you haven't missed any good ones." I say biting a twizzler.

After the movie he drives me back to Leah's so I can get my car.

"I had a great night." He says after he parks next to my car, I can't help but notice Jacob's truck is still here.

"Me too." I smile. I move in a little closer, "We should do this again sometime." He watches my lips as I talk. He looks up at my eyes quickly then leans all the way over and kisses me. I flinch the tiniest bit when our lips touch, he literally shocks me. He chuckles, it's throaty and rough, "Sorry." He says against my mouth, I smile and kiss him this time. There isn't a lot of force behind it, but it's a solid kiss. His left hand reaches out and lands on my neck pulling me into him harder. His kisses become more rough. The hand on my neck slides down until it finds my bare thigh, he squeezes tightly and rubs his thumb in circles. I moan unexpectedly. Our kissing slows, he gives me one last kiss and leans back.

"Definitely, I'll call you." He gives my thigh one last firm squeeze then removes his hand.

"Okay." I smile and unlock my door, I can see the windows are fogged up. He drives off when I'm out. When I unlock my doors the curtain in the living room window moves back. Jacob waves a little, I wave back and drive home.

"Tell me everything!" Leah smiles as she makes the morning coffee. She took my advice and is wearing makeup today. A natural smokey eye and thick dramatic lashes. I'm in awe, they look fake!

"We had a really great time at dinner and saw a movie after."

"And..." She waves her hands waiting for more.

"And made out in his car when he dropped me off."

"There it is!" She slaps the counter, I blush. "So date number two is definitely happening." She states.

"Oh yeah." I laugh.

"Good. I'm really glad you had a good time and weren't stressed for once."

"Me too. It was fun to have fun."

"But,"

"I don't know, I keep thinking about our ages."

"How old is he?"

"At least 25, I don't know for sure."

"It's just a number."

"But I feel like I might not be able to handle a relationship with him. He'd always be leaving at a moments notice for work if they need him and he can't not go. I feel like he'll easily leave me too, I'm still a freaking teenager."

"Calm down there spazy. I hate to add more to it, but that's how it is with us too. Anytime a bloodsucker pops up we go awol for days on end. So either way if you're with him or...someone else in the pack maybe," I know she means Jacob, "You're going to be worried all the time and sometimes a little lonely."

"Right."

"And you are definitely more mature and advanced for most teenagers. You've had to grow a lot in the past month. Give yourself some credit, and hey, this was just a date. It doesn't mean anything yet."

"But what if I want to go back and just be a teenager again? I want fun again. Goofing around, parties, I want-" I stop myself from saying who I really want.

"Jacob." She finishes my sentence.

"You know what no, you're right the first time. Everything's fine. I can't help it my mind spirals out of control sometimes and I freak the hell out."

"It's normal, just relax."

I sigh, "Subject change."

"Okay."

"I see you took my advice." I smile, "Have people been acting differently towards you." I mock.

"I've been getting a lot of attention actually!" She smiles, "It's weird, but it feels nice."

"Good." I smile. "If you're not comfortable though don't listen to me, do whatever you want. I was just trying to help you for all the times you've helped me."

"I appreciate it and I'm going to wear it more often." She nods. I notice that Leah's more friendly and happier throughout the day. This is the most I've seen her smile in a long time.

Wednesday when I wake up I'm nervous as hell. The fact that Jacob's going with me to Dr. Hawkins today is freaking me out more and more by the second. It's a hair up in a bun, yoga pants and hoodie kind of day. I notice Jacob's truck in the parking lot already when I pull in, he isn't inside of it.

"Go ahead on in, they're waiting for you." The receptionist tells me.

"Thank you." I smile and enter her office with a knock.

"Hello!" She stands and welcomes me in. "Jacob and I have been just been catching up."

"That's good." I sit neck to him on the couch, wait, catching up? "Hey." I smile.

"Hey." He actually smiles back.

"So first off, how are we feeling today?" She looks at me.

"Anxious."

"Why is that?"

"A lot is going to come out today and I'm worried about the end results." I look at Jacob. "I don't want him to see me differently." I say back to Dr. Hawkins.

"Why would I see you differently?" He asks me.

"There's a lot of stuff that you don't know about me and I don't want you to know yet. I know it's going to change the way you act around me."

"No one's forcing this." She says.

"I know. Maybe at the end of the session I'll be able to talk about it, but not first."

"That's fine, we can give you time. Right Jacob?"

"Right." He reaches over and squeezes my hand.

"So Tell me about the first day you met, Sveta you first and then we'll get Jacob's point of view."

"Well I pulled into my brother's driveway and Jacob was sitting on the porch. As soon as I saw him I knew I was in trouble." I can see Jacob smile. "I asked if he was my brother and he told me no, but he was charming so we kept talking. After I met Seth, Leah and Sue we went inside and us and Seth kept talking. I couldn't tell for sure, but I thought Jacob was flirting with me so I was flirting back; I couldn't help it. Seth didn't like it," I chuckle, "They went outside to talk and I watched through the peek hole in the door trying to watch and listen."

"You what?" He laughs.

"I was nosey and I wanted to know if you we're talking about me." I laugh, "So I heard everything as clear as day," she makes a note in her book, "and I heard him say he was starting to imprint on me. I didn't know what that meant, but I knew he liked me."

"He said starting to imprint?"

"Yes, why?" She makes another note.

"We'll discuss after, continue." she smiles.

"Well I got a little lost and Jacob helped me find my way back to the house. It was raining and he calmed me down and I thought we kind of had a moment. I could have just been over thinking things in my head. When we got back I gave him a little kiss. I originally wanted to kiss his lips, but chickened out at the last minute and ended up kissing the corner of his mouth. Later on that night he was with me when I overheard my dad talking to Sue. He forgot about my birthday and it was obvious he didn't want me there. That night Jacob and I kissed. A real kiss that time." I smile looking down. "I still think about that kiss sometimes. He slept over that night."

"He did?"

"We just slept."

"We did snuggle." Jacob adds, "It was obvious that we both wanted more in that moment, but we just kissed a little and slept."

"There was definitely a connection and I knew I had to have more of him."

"Jacob, how does it feel to hear this?"

"It's nice to relive those memories. Then again I think about that night a lot, but to get her insight is new."

"So let's hear your recollection of that day." I look at Jacob and wait for him to start. I'm nervous, but I smile when he smiles at me.

"Well Seth told me he had a sister he never met who was coming out to visit. I had to see what she looked like! I know Leah and had to see if she was the opposite of her or not. Little did I know they're very similar." He laughs, "He didn't know, but I stayed on the porch to wait for her. When she got out of the car I was completely amazed; she wasn't at all what I was expecting. Gorgeous! I planned to not flirt or anything, turn off the charm, but when she got closer and I could see her better my mind went blank. Right off the bat my hormones took over and I was flirting. When we all went inside I could not keep my eyes off of her. The more she talked the more I wanted to hear her voice. We were sitting on the couch together and her scent engulfed me. I knew in that moment I'd never forget the way she smells. I was getting all gushy inside and my palms were sweating like crazy!"

"Really?" I smile.

"Oh, yeah! I didn't know what the hell was going on with me. I knew I needed to get to know her more though. There was no other explanation I could think of other than imprinting. I'd never felt that way before and I didn't know what else it could be. After Seth and I had our fight I shifted and went for a run. I thought I could clear her from my head, get rid of her scent, but it didn't work. A little later Seth phased and told me she was missing. She went for a walk and hadn't been back for a few hours. I told him to go back home incase she showed up and I'd check the woods. When I saw her alone, walking in circles, I found the closest pair of shorts and moved in. She was lost and scared from the storm and I wanted nothing more than to comfort her. Somehow she looked better than before. Her hair was curly now; I'd never seen hair like that in my life." he smiles, "Everything about her was unique to me. Some thunder made her jump so I wrapped my arm around her. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to me. When she grabbed onto me I hugged her tightly, I didn't want to let her go, but I knew we had to get out of there before a tree fell. As I guided us out of there she opened up to me more and i picked up subtle flirtatious things. I felt more comfortable to move my hand from her shoulders to her hips. Then she started swaying them more as she walked." I can't help but to smile and look down to my lap, he looks over at me, I look back to my lap, "Then she rested her head on my chest and shoulder and I knew-" he pauses, I look at him, "I knew I couldn't go on without her in my life." My throat tightens, I feel tears coming. "After we were out she gave me a hug and a kiss and I don't know if she knew, but I blushed a little."

"I made the big bad wolf blush?" I smile.

"Sure did. It wasn't the kiss I wanted though." He looks back to Dr. Hawkins. "I was on my way out, but went up to her room to say goodbye. She was upset so obviously I couldn't leave her. She was talking about leaving early to go back home. I knew I needed to do something big to get her to stay. I put it all out there and kissed her, hoping it'd be enough. I wasn't expecting to spend the night in her bed next to her, but if I had went home I would've spent the rest of the night thinking of her. It felt so right to be next to her, touching her in intimate ways, all of the flirting. It all became second nature to me-being with her that way. That night it was clear that she wanted me, probably not as much as I wanted her, but she still wanted me. Just knowing that was enough to keep the fire burning inside of me."

"You knew that night that we'd always be in each other's lives didn't you?"

"I did."

"I want him to know." I blurt out.

"What?" she asks me.

"He needs to know before our relationship moves any further. Thinking about how I treated him when I found about him shifting I can't bear to think about how he'll react to this."

"You're starting to worry me." Jacob turns towards me a little.

"I think I know the right way to move into that." She flips back in her book a little. "I want to go back to the imprinting."

"What about it?" He asks.

"Well walk me through your understanding." She says to me.

"It's like love at first sight basically. It's random and can happen with anyone. You'd do anything for that person to keep them happy, to be in their life forever. Whatever they need, a boyfriend, a protector, just a friend, however you can be in their life you'll take it."

"Right and I don't want to be just your friend. I want to be more than that, need to be more than that!"

"Exactly!" She jumps in, "My understanding was that imprinting is a thing in the moment that happens immediately. You don't start to imprint, you just imprint. You said you were 'starting to imprint'," She reads from her notebook, "That's not how it works. And imprinting only happens with full earth descendants."

"Full earth descendants? Wait, what are you talking about?" He asked.

"Jacob, you never imprinted on Sveta. You can't imprint on her, no one can. She's not a full earth descendant."

Well shit, there it is! I wait for him to say something, but he just stares at the ground.

So what are you guys thinking so far? I promise it'll all tie in together and things will start making sense, very soon!