Thank you so much to everyone who has been reviewing my story! It means so much to me that you all like it! If there are any questions or suggestions that you have, please let me know!

Also, I am in the process of potentially looking for a beta, if you or anyone you know is interested, please message me!

And just for a little clarification, Bella does not know Jacob has imprinted yet!

I hope you enjoy the chapter! Hopefully I'll be able to post another one this weekend!

I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. I could vaguely remember the details of the night before but they were a little fuzzy, images blurring together. I would have to find out for someone else what had actually happened.

I pried myself out of bed and managed to stumble my way into the kitchen, a desperate need for water clouding my head. I had to brace myself against the wall so that I wouldn't lose my balance.

Leah was sitting in the living room, flipping through the channels on the TV, her infamous scowl plastered on her face.

"You look terrible." She barely glanced in my direction.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with her attitude, but I didn't have the self-control to keep my mouth shut.

"Well, thank you, that's so nice of you to say," My voice dripped with sarcasm, "No wonder there's a line of guys out in the yard waiting to take you on a date. It must be those kind compliments you just love giving out."

She flinched at my words. I should've felt bad but I didn't. As childish as it sounded, she had started it. She shouldn't dish it out if she couldn't take it in.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." She snapped.

"You would recognize it better than anyone. It seems to be the only side of the bed you ever wake up on." I couldn't take her snide comments anymore. I was sick of it, not once had she tried being nice to me since I had arrived.

She got to her feet and, for a brief moment, I thought she was going to come at me, but she just glared.

"What is your problem?" She demanded.

"What is your problem?" I fired back, "You are never anything but rude to people. I don't understand it. Is it physically impossible for you to be nice?"

My head was throbbing and the room was spinning, but there wasn't anything that could make me miss the hurt expression that plagued Leah's face.

"You have no idea what my life has been like these last couple of years." Her voice was venom. What ever happened to her bothered her every of the second of the day. I could see that now.

"No, I don't, and I probably never will. But, whatever happened, it wasn't because of me, so occasionally you can try being nice." I said, standing my ground.

My words actually seemed to resonate with her.

"You should take some Ibuprofen," She said, "You have a pretty nasty bump on your head and it will help with the swelling. You should use some ice, too."

Instinctively, I touched my injury. I flinched from the pain, but I was surprised to feel a bandage on it. I couldn't remember anyone putting it on.

"Thank you," I smiled at her, and she tried to smile back, "Do you know what happened last night?"

I started searching through the kitchen cabinets for any type of medicine as she told me what happened.

"The guys were playing football and, of course, being idiots. Brady was messing around and purposely threw Collin a shitty pass. Collin tried to catch it, but he ended up running into you instead. He knocked you to the ground and fell on top of you, and you ended up splitting your head open on one of the logs by the fire. You have some other cuts and bruises but nothing as bad as your head. Mom said you didn't need stitches but you probably have a mild concussion, so Jacob brought you back here and bandaged you up."

"What?" I spun around, which caused me to get dizzy. Leah was at my side, steadying me, "Jacob brought me home."

She nodded, "Embry offered, but he wouldn't let anyone take you. He practically stayed here all night, too. Sam had to come drag him out of here around two in the morning." She said Sam's name with disgust; I wanted to ask why but now wasn't the time.

"Why?"

"I don't know, he was worried about you, I guess. It's not like we talked about it. He was in your room the whole time."

My head was spinning but, this time, it wasn't from pain. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that Jacob had taken me home. That Jacob had taken care of me. That he had stayed in my room. That he had been worried about me. My brain just couldn't process it.

I shook my head, "Are you sure it was Jacob? Maybe it was one of the other guys, they all look really alike, you know."

"Yes, I am sure it was Jacob. I have known these guys my whole life, I'm pretty sure I know who's who by now." She gave me a pointed look.

"Right, sorry," I muttered, "I just don't understand."

She shrugged. I could tell she really didn't care, "I have to go, are you gonna be alright here by yourself? Mom's at the diner if you need her, and Seth should be home in a couple hours."

"I'll be fine."

"Good. Try to get some rest, you shouldn't be moving around too much today."

"Thanks."

She walked out the back door after that and I went back to searching for some medicine.

The events of last night were starting to become clearer. Now, I could remember Collin running into me, I could remember Embry holding me and offering to take me home, and, vaguely, I could remember Sam forcing Embry to give me to Jacob.

Why? I still couldn't figure it out. It was impossible that Jacob was worried about me; I didn't exist to him, I was nothing but a person taking up space within his groups of friends.

Thinking about himmade my head hurt more, but I couldn't get him off my mind.

I realized that I almost…liked that he was worried about me. The more I thought about it, the more I didn't mind that he was the one who had taken care of me. It was nice, actually; he had been calm and gentle, touching me like I was piece of glass that might crack underneath his touch. Not at all what I was used to from him, but I liked it. Maybe—the thought crept into my brain before I could stop it—he was starting to like me, maybe we could end up being…

"No." I shook my head, in attempt to get rid of those thoughts, mumbling to myself, "He doesn't like you, he wants to pretend you don't exist. You're nothing to him."

I took some painkillers that I had finally found and drowned them with some water.

I walked into the living room and laid down on the couch, the remote already in my hand.

I couldn't believe I let myself think those things; I couldn't believe that I let myself think Jacob Black could be nice.

He was a jerk, I reminded myself, he had been a jerk since the moment we met.

So, why couldn't I get him out of my head?

I didn't want to think about him. I didn't want to think about the way he looked with his shirt off or the way his arms felt when he carried me all the way home, but I couldn't stop it.

The thoughts were flooding in, and they were flooding in fast. It was like a domino effect; once it started, it wasn't going to stop.

"What is wrong with me?" I groaned. This is couldn't be happening, this shouldn't be happening.

There was a knock at the door, I was too upset to bother getting up, "Come in."

"Ow! Stop! I told you I'd apologize!" I could hear Collin's voice before he entered the house, "Let go of me!"

There was clearly a struggle going on beyond the threshold of the front door.

Then, the door was thrown open and in walked Jacob dragging Collin by his upper arm behind him. Collin actually looked like he was in pain.

I was on my feet in a second, "Jacob? What the hell! Let go of him!" The pain in my head caught up with me and I had to sit back down.

Jacob threw Collin forward; he stumbled but regained his balance before he fell. He straightened up and threw a glare at Jacob.

"Start talking." Jacob commanded.

I was surprised when Collin listened and focused his attention on me, "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone ran into me and I hit my head." I joked.

Collin looked ashamed, "I am so sorry about what happened. Brady threw the ball like an idiot and I thought I could be a badass and catch it. I was paying attention—I know I should've been—but I didn't see you until it was too late. I'm really, really sorry."

It was easy to see that Collin hadn't gotten that much sleep the night before. His expression was guilty, apologetic, worried—although I wasn't sure if the last one was because Jacob was standing over him in a threatening way. I tried to act as if he wasn't there.

"Hey, it was an accident," I said. I wasn't mad at him. I knew he didn't do it on purpose, so there was no point in trying to be angry. At this moment, it took too much energy, "Please, don't worry about it."

He let out a sigh of relief, "Really?"

I nodded, "Of course, it's not like you did it on purpose."

"Thank you!" He launched himself at me, engulfing me in a hug. He trapped my arms at my side so I couldn't move, "Thank you so much."

"That's enough." Jacob snapped and Collin released me, "Leave."

"I'm glad you're okay, Scarlette. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call." He said.

"Thank you." He was gone before I finished speaking.

An awkward silence hung in the room after Collin left. I didn't want to speak to Jacob.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. I wasn't looking at him; I refused to look anywhere near him, "Scarlette." I didn't answer, "Scarlette." He moved so he was in my line of my vision but I moved my head again, "You're gonna have to talk to me at some point, you know. I won't leave until you do."

We didn't speak for ten minutes. Not once did he even budge.

"Why are you here?" I eventually asked, still not looking at him.

"I came to see if you were okay," He replied, "And to make sure that Collin apologized."

"He apologized and I'm fine. You can go now." I snapped.

Instead of leaving he sat down on the opposite end of the couch. I groaned.

"Are you ever going to look at me?" he questioned.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm doing what you asked," I spat. I accidentally let the pain he caused me seep into my voice, "I'm pretending you don't exist. It would be easier to do if you left my house."

"Do you want me to leave?"

I didn't have an answer. My head was screaming at me to say yes but when I tried, no sounds came out. In the end, I settled for, "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Pretending to be nice to me."

"I'm not pretending."

I snapped, then. Everything that I had been through this week because of him bubbled to the surface. Anger clouded my better judgment.

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

"What are you talking about?" He genuinely seemed oblivious. That only infuriated me more.

Finally, I faced him, "You! This! The way you're acting right now! What the hell?"

"I don't understand."

I let out a frustrated groan, "Are you really that thick? I met you a week ago and the first thing you did was scream at me that I had ruined everything—although to this day I have no idea what everything is, so I don't really understand how I could have possibly ruined it. At school on Monday, I made a comment about your precious, little Bella and you threw me against the lockers, which I still have the bruises from, and then you come over and tell me that there is no way we could ever have the chance of being friends and that we're better off pretending we don't exist," I paused to take a break, "And then, this morning I find out that you were the one who brought me home last night and took care of my head. And now you're here demanding that Collin apologize and you're checking to see if I'm okay. So, again, I repeat, what the hell?"

Yelling at him must have spiked his anger because all of a sudden, Jacob was on his feet with me, "Do you think this is easy for me? I didn't want this to happen, least of all with you! Yes, I thought it would make things easier if I pretended that you didn't exist, but I was wrong, okay? Seeing you get hurt yesterday made me realize that I can't ignore you, that I don't want to ignore you. So, I came over here today to see if you were okay and maybe just spend some time with you. I think we can be friends, I want us to be friends." His voice was softer when he finished speaking.

When he was finished ranting, my mouth was hanging open. I hadn't anticipated anything that he said. 'It took me a few seconds to gather my thoughts.

"Get out." I narrowed my eyes at him.

He looked shocked, like he thought I would naturally just agree with anything he wanted, "What?"

"Get. Out."

"Why?"

"You can't waltz in here and assume we can friends because you've suddenly decided that's that what you want." I stated.

"Listen, I'm sorry for everything I've done this past week. I know I wasn't fair to you, but I'm trying to make it right." I could tell he was getting frustrated.

That shitty excuse for an apology only pissed me off more.

"You just don't get it, do you?" I cried, "Not everything gets to be on your terms! You don't get to decide when and if we're gonna be friends because it finally suits you. I'm a person, in case you haven't noticed. I have actual thoughts and feelings and I'm sick of you acting like they don't matter. You obviously don't know the meaning of a friend if you don't see the problem in the way you've been treating me, Jacob. So, no, we can't be friends. I really just want you to leave me alone."

He was shaking again. Something I was starting to piece together that he did when he was angry.

"Is this because of Embry?" He growled.

"Excuse me?"

"Is this because of Embry?" He repeated.

"Why would this have anything to do with him?"

"You've been spending all your free time with him."

"Because he knows how to be a friend, and he's been helping me make sure I get all caught up in my school work."

"Do you want to date him?" He looked pained to actually say those words out loud.

"What?"

"Do you want to be with him as more than a friend?"

"That isn't any of your business."

He started shaking more. I took a step back.

"So, you do?" He snarled, "I'm going to kill him."

"Why do you care if I want to date Embry or not?" I demanded, folding my arms over my chest.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I do."

"Why do you?"

"Because, dammit, you're mine."

We both froze at his words. His shaking had completely ceased and for a moment I wasn't even sure he was breathing. It took me a minute to gather my thoughts.

"Excuse me?" My brain couldn't process more than that.

"I…" He stumbled over his words, "I…just forget I said anything. I have to go."

He rushed to the door.

"Wait a minute," I demanded. He stopped moving, "Tell me."

"No."

"Yes."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't, yet, okay? And if you don't want to be my friend then it doesn't even matter anyway."

I took a few seconds to choose my words carefully.

"So, if I become your friend then you'll tell me what you meant?" I shouldn't have asked him that. I shouldn't have even thought that but my curiosity got the better of me. I had to know what he was talking about.

"Eventually." He said, "Depending on things go."

It was a snap decision, one that I would probably later regret.

"You have a hell of a lot of making up to do." I said. I had demands, I wasn't going to just give in, "You've been a really ass this week and I'm not going to just let that go."

"I didn't think you would."

"And I deserve a damn good apology."

He was going to have to work for this.

"Of course." He agreed.

"And you promise you'll tell me what you meant by that little comment?"

I was going to get the answers I was looking for one way or another.

"As soon as the time is right, I promise."

"This isn't going to be easy for you, you know."

"I can't handle it."

"Then, fine," I made my decision, no matter how wrong I knew I probably was. There was just something about him, "I'll be your friend."

His face actually seemed to brighten up when I said that. He smiled, an actual, genuine smile that I had never seen before. It was nice, almost like he should be smiling like that all the time. I smiled in spite of myself.

"Really?" He questioned.

"Were you really gonna leave me alone if I had said no?"

"Probably not."

"Then I guess I have no choice. Once again."

His smile didn't falter.

"Thank you."

"I won't, I swear."

Suddenly, there was a howl outside. I jumped.

"You don't need to be afraid, the wolves won't hurt you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just know."

"There's a lot you're not telling me, isn't there?"

"Maybe. I have to go now, though. Do me a favor, will you?"

"Depends on the favor."

"Stay inside today. I'll come check on you again tomorrow."

"I'm going cliff diving with everyone."

He looked like he wanted to argue that but another howl pierced the air.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

He opened the door and was about to leave.

"Hey, Jacob?"

He paused, "Yeah?"

I don't know why but I felt the need to tell him, "Embry is only a friend."

He didn't say anything but I could sense his relief. He was gone after that.

I wasn't sure that I had made the right decision in agreeing to be Jacob's friend; after everything he had put me through it seemed like a terrible idea. I couldn't understand why his feelings had changed so suddenly, why he wanted to be my friend now.

It was a bad idea. I knew that.

But what I really couldn't understand was why it didn't feel that way.