AN: Fair warning, this one's an emotional roller-coaster. Enjoy.

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Bella POV

Leah came over for what would be one of the last times. Even though her classes at Washington State University in Pullman didn't start until the end of August, her future roommate and future roommate—Rachel Black, Jake's sister—had connected her with a great student job opportunity, so Leah would be heading to college early.

"Earth to Bella," Leah waved her hand in front of my face. "You going all spacey on me again, girl?"

"What? No!" I insisted. And I wasn't. I was just trying to decide whether or not to say what I was thinking about.

"Uh-huh," she clearly didn't buy it. "You've been off in la-la land for a while. What's up?"

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. "Leah, how do you let someone know you're interested in them?"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Leah threw her hands up. "I'm flattered and all, and you're a great girl, but I don't lean that way."

My face flamed. "Gah! No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not—"

"Just kidding. I know. So, who is it, and how obvious do you want to be? Fair warning: most guys seem to need the really obvious."

I took a deep breath. "Embry. But he isn't most guys."

"Embry Call, huh? No, I'd agree that he isn't 'most guys'."

"No."

"So, you're interested in him. Is he interested in you?"

Another blush. "I don't know."

Leah's eyebrows lifted. "You don't know? Does he spend time with you? Willingly?"

"Yes."

"Even without the other guys?"

"Yes."

"Has he done things for you, just because? And I don't mean catching you that first day."

I shared how Embry had given me that ride home yesterday, and how he'd then stayed for the rest of the day.

"He likes you," Leah judged. "Guys don't just do that for a girl unless they like them, not even if the guy is as nice as Embry."

"But how do I—we—get from here to wherever it could go?" I groaned.

Leah laughed. "We're making progress here. So you like him, and you'd like it if he liked you?"

"I think so."

"So to make that to happen…you could always try asking him."

"I can't do that! Leah, the whole reason I asked you what to do is because I don't know! No one was ever interested in me back in Phoenix, and here…I had guys all over me without me doing or saying a single thing. I've never done this on purpose!"

"And I'll bet every girl secretly hated you for it. The girl who didn't have to try to make the boys interested…well, then maybe you won't have to do much at all. I don't really know Embry other than by reputation, but I've never heard anyone call him stupid. If he sees any interest from you, I bet he'll say or do something. If he does, are going to give him a chance?"

"I think so. He's…good."

"Let me know what happens. And Bella?"

'Yes?"

"You could always just tell him."

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Leah had to leave after lunch to take care of some things for her mom. There were things I would have liked to do, but without my truck, I was somewhat hampered. Granted, Forks wasn't all that big of a town, but with the way so many businesses stretched out so far along the highway that ran through town, it wasn't always convenient to walk everywhere. Thus reminded, I picked up the phone and tapped out the digits for Jake's house. There was no answer. I figured that Billy might have gone to visit someone on the reservation, and Jake was probably working on my truck out in the garage. For the rest of the day, I kept myself as busy as I could around the house, doing a long-overdue deep cleaning. Every so often I would call Jake again, but always with the same result. Finally, just when I had decided that this call would be the last of the day, someone finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Billy, hi, it's Bella."

"Hi, Bella."

"Um, is Jake there?"

"No, sorry."

"Oh, okay. Do you know if he's finished with the truck yet?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, but then I can't make it out there in the chair. Jake didn't mention it being ready, so he must still have stuff to do with it."

"Oh, well, do you know how long it might take? I really don't want to have to depend on Charlie and his cruiser for transportation, you know?"

"Guess not," Billy laughed. Maybe I was just imagining things, but it almost seemed like his laughter was a little bit forced. "I'll check with him and see, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks." I set the receiver back in the cradle and thought what in the world was that all about? Billy's never been rude like that before—not even when he found out about me and Edward.

I wasn't sure what to do next. But then I remembered my talk with Leah and decided to try and be bold. Settling on my bed with my cell phone, I started tapping out a message to Embry.

(B): Hey, good day?

(E): Not really.

(B): Why?

(E): Jerks

(B): Who?

(E): J & Q

(B): What? Why?

(E): Dunno

(B): What did they say?

(E): Nothing. Ignored me.

(B): You too?

(E): You too?

(B): Yeah. Billy strange too.

I waited for a reply from Embry but had my phone start ringing instead. "Hi."

"Figured calling would be easier than an endless stream of texts. I don't know what your phone plan is like, but I don't have unlimited texts on mine."

"Nope. So what's going on?"

"I wish I knew. I stopped by Jake's place last night and honestly Billy was a bit rude in making me leave."

"He was pretty short with me on the phone just a little while ago when I finally got through," I agreed.

"And then today…"

(flashback)

Embry POV

That I woke up in the morning wondering what Jake had planned for us today was typically normal. That I immediately second-guessed it wasn't so normal. I realized that Jake and Quil's problem yesterday, and then Billy's attitude last night both smarted a lot more than I'd expected them to. And I didn't have a clue if anything would have changed now or not. So I didn't call or walk over like I could have. Instead, I spent the morning working outside, mowing the yard and trimming some bushes. I left Mom's flowerbeds alone, as I didn't want to face her wrath if I pulled something I wasn't supposed to.

But after lunch, I decided I'd put it off as long as I could, so I headed to Jake's. Jake wasn't the only stubborn one in our group—I could be, too, when I really needed to.

I glanced over at the garage when I got there. Somehow I wasn't too surprised to see that Bella's truck hadn't moved an inch and the garage doors were shut. I actually made it up to the door this time without getting spotted. Even though I always just walked right in, something made me knock this time. It took forever for Billy to open the door, which was also unusual. But his look of displeasure was just like the one from last night.

"Hey, Billy," I said, trying to play it like nothing was different. "Jake around?"

"No, sorry."

"Think he'll be back later?"

"I don't know when. He's got some tribal work to do and it may take a while."

"So I guess the truck is still on his to-do list, huh?"

"Yep."

"Okay. Guess I'll see him later." I turned and started down the ramp—I could get the hint that I wasn't welcome right now. I wasn't a masochist to let myself get dumped on by anyone else. Somehow my feet carried me over to Bella's truck, again wondering about things. It was strange how Billy was all of a sudden going all 'tribal heritage' on Jake. I mean, yeah, we were all getting closer to eighteen, but still… And to have that take priority when Billy had to know Bella was counting on getting her truck fixed soon was even less in character. It was like he didn't care about Jake keeping his promise.

I didn't feel like going home, so I walked down to the beach instead. Old Mr. Pelletier was there like he often was and his dog with him.

"Hi, Mr. Pelletier," I greeted. He nodded, never much for speaking. The collie danced, begging for attention.

"Want me to wear her out for you?" Again he nodded, and bent down to unclip the leash from the dog's collar. I found a good stick and threw it down the beach. Off the dog went in a mad dash.

Between being outside, the calm of the beach, and the satisfaction of helping a senior citizen and his dog, I felt better by the time I headed home. On my way, I stopped to see if Quil was home. Maybe he knew what was going on with Jake. There were no answers at the Ateara's—just a near repeat of what I'd found over at Jake's. Naturally, my good mood evaporated. At home, I holed up in my room and stared at the wall. I couldn't figure anything out and it bugged me that everything had changed without warning or explanation.

I was drawn from my thoughts by my phone chirping to signal a new text message. My first thought—that it was Jake or Quil saying that they were sorry—was wrong. It was Bella, wanting to know about my day.

(end flashback)

"I'm sorry," I told her, winding down from my story. "Didn't mean to dump on you like that."

"It's okay. I know all about bad days. And I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know. You're my friend, Embry, and I want to help if I can—even if it's only to listen."

"Thanks, Bella."

"Any time," she said, and I could tell that she meant it. But then I was confused when she sighed.

"What about you? Bad day, too?" And she told me about a normal—for her—day of cleaning and also her realization of how hard it would be for her to get things done without a vehicle. Deciding to take my mom's advice, I asked, "Want a chauffeur while your truck's in the shop?"

"You?"

"Yeah."

"It's an incredible offer, but—"my heart sank—"I can't ask you to do that. It's a half-hour drive in for you, and you've got to have better things to do than drive me around," Bella continued.

"Not right now. Besides, I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to."

Bella laughed when I gave her back her own words. "Okay, I believe you. Thanks, Embry. I'm glad you're able to help me out and that you want to."

"Just say when."

"When."

It was my turn to laugh. "Ha ha. Seriously, just say when you need to go somewhere."

"Is 9 AM too early?"

"Nope. Works for me."

"If you want to come a little earlier, I'd offer breakfast."

"For that, you can shave my head, wax my legs, and use me for a surfboard."

I heard a strangled noise and then a thud.

"Bella?"

"Use you as a surfboard?" she choked.

"What?"

Bella repeated herself and I realized that the quote I thought I'd thought had actually been said out loud.

"Oh hell. I'm sorry, Bella. That was total word vomit. I didn't mean to say that."

"Um, okay. Was it supposed to mean something?"

"It's a movie quote. Let me guess: you've never seen the Mummy movies, either, have you?"

"No…"

"Want to?"

"How scary are they?"

"I'd say that they aren't scary at all. It's funny more than anything else. But, if you're scared feel free to hold my hand if you need to."

"Okay."

"Okay to what?"

"Both, I guess."

If I wasn't lying on my bed, I'd be dancing around my room right now. In my subtle way, I'd asked, and in her own subtle way, Bella had answered. I knew I'd have to ask more directly, and sooner rather than later, but I'd be happy with this for the moment.

"Sweet dreams, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow. You bring the breakfast, I'll bring the movies."

"Alright. You, too."

Setting my phone on my dresser, I suspected my dreams would be good ones indeed.

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Sam POV

I used my wolf-grace to slip into my house without waking up my sleeping wife and son. I was exhausted and more than exhausted by the past day and a half. Once their fear and anger had been unleashed, there was no calming either Jake or Quil back down. They'd run themselves ragged last night like I'd hoped, but it hadn't been enough to let them phase back. They had finally worn themselves into a restless sleep, which had let me cycle Jared, Paul, and myself through some short naps, though nothing like what we really needed. Things had returned to the same cycle when the sun rose, punctuated by a second visit by Embry to Jake's house, and a first visit to Quil's, plus countless phone calls to the Black residence that had to be Bella. Thankfully, Billy didn't have an answering machine, so we had all been spared actually hearing what she was calling to say. But both the new boys had gotten even more upset when they'd caught what Billy had said to their friend during today's visit. It had taken an Alpha order to keep them quiet and in the woods where they couldn't be seen.

And if all that hadn't been enough, the fact that we were all still wolfed-out meant that today's meals had to be wolf-style as well. The three of us had gotten to where we could handle it alright—though we definitely didn't enjoy it if we had any choice—but Jake and Quil…well, it was yet one more thing for them to spew invective over.

Quil had finally gotten calmed down enough that he could phase back to human and go home. Jacob, though, was still furry. Knowing that I'd need to be on my game to handle him, I'd pulled Alpha rank and detailed Jared and Paul to stay out with him tonight so that I could go home for a little restorative time with my family.

Emily stirred when my weight shifted the mattress. "How bad?" she murmured, snuggling close to me.

"They both phased. Quil's home with his mom and grandfather, but Jake's still out with the boys. I need some sleep and food, and then I'll go back out."

"Okay." With that, we both fell asleep.