I would just like to thank everyone for their positive responses to Chapter One! I will absolutely be continuing this story. I have to say that I am curious to see where these characters are going. I'm excited to write - and that hasn't happened to me for a while. So thank you for entering this new world with me!

Disclaimer - This is based off of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. She created the characters and the basic plot, and this is my spin on it. These are my words about her world. Stephenie Meyer has all of the rights to her characters and the parts that were taken from her plot.

Chapter Two

Jacob plopped a spoon into the sink, sending the dishwater up against Bella's stomach with a splash. Her soapy hands were quickly wrinkling as she attempted to clean all of the dishes that had been involved in the picnic. "So, you seemed to have a good time today," he began casually.

Bella glanced up at him, hesitant. Where was he going with this? "Sure," she said. "Kim was really nice. And I hadn't seen Quil and Embry for a while, so that was nice. The weather was . . ." She searched for a better word, but failed. ". . . nice."

Jacob leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes synchronized her carefully, eyebrows pulling together. "Yeah, it was pretty nice. You seemed to make some new friends." He lifted his chin – a dare.

Bella knew the game he was playing. "Oh, yeah," she exclaimed, purposefully adding some extra enthusiasm to her voice. "Jared was nice, and Collin and Brady were nice, too. A little young for my tastes, but still nice." She returned her gaze to the sink, watching as she scrubbed some charred burger off of a plate.

Jacob didn't smile as she'd anticipated he would. "Sam certainly had eyes for you."

Bella dropped the plate. Apparently their little game was over. "Well, I guess that's the elephant in the room." Trying not to roll her eyes, she turned to stare up at him. "Sam is a very attractive man, Jacob. I cannot deny that." He opened his mouth to say something, but she ignored him. "That being said, I do not want to hear anything about it. You know my plan – I'm graduating this June, then I'm off to Arizona on my scholarship and I'm –"

"– going to study English Literature with a minor in Sociology," he interrupted. "And then you'll move to Seattle and work in editing and spend the rest of your life doing what you love." He huffed, eyes rolling towards the ceiling before they settled back down on her. His stance was relaxed now – not nearly as serious as it had been before. Bella almost smiled; she'd loosened him up. "I know what you're planning to do, Bella. You've been telling me about this plan since you were a sophomore. But I think you need to loosen the reins a little."

Bella's head snapped up. Surprise and perhaps a bit of annoyance bloomed in her chest. "And why would I do that? Jacob, I know what I want. I know how I want to live my life, and I'm going for it." How dare he, she thought. Bella had always been in control of her own life. Her mother had been more like a best friend, a roommate who stocked the fridge from time-to-time and snuck her T-shirts in with Bella's clothes when Bella did the laundry. Bella was used to being on her own, making her own decisions. And nothing annoyed her more than someone telling her how to live her life.

Jacob must have sensed her growing defensive because he uncrossed his arms and took a few steps back, head bent forward slightly, giving in. "Hey, I just meant –" He sucked in an exasperated breath, cracking his knuckles nervously. His eyes darted around his small kitchen, trying to find something to focus on before finally deciding that maybe eye contact with his best friend during this important conversation would be a good idea. "Sometimes life is gonna throw you curve balls, Bells. You can't plan everything out the way you do, because something along the way is going to get –" He stopped short, eyes widening, and Bella realized he'd been about to use a very bad cuss word and – wisely – thought better of it. "– messed up. You can't predict everything that will happen."

"You're being very vague," Bella complained. She returned to the dishes, fishing her hand around in the soapy water for the plate she'd previously abandoned.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod. "I know, I know – I just . . . there's so much I want to tell you, Bella, but I can't."

"Why not?" It wasn't like Jacob to keep secrets from her, and hearing him admit that he had something to hide made her extremely curious.

He tapped his palms against the counter in some sort of rhythm. A nervous tick? "It's not my place." His tone made Bella think these weren't his words, but someone else's – someone who apparently had some power over him. His lips pulled up over his teeth in a sneer.

She frowned at him. "What are you implying, Jake?" For the time being, the task at hand had been forgotten as she stepped away from the sink and pulled out a wooden kitchen chair. The seat creaked in protest as she sat down not-so-gently and looked up at him, waiting for an explanation.

Jacob seemed to be looking everywhere but at her, eyes travelling across the faded yellow-orange walls, lingering on a dusty picture of him and his sisters on the day of Rachel's college graduation. With a jolt, Bella realized that this house was filthy, but she couldn't let herself get distracted. Jacob had a secret to spill, and she was going to hear it whether he liked it or not.

"I'm not implying anything," he finally muttered, watching his bare feet as he brushed them over the white tiles on the kitchen floor. "I just think you need to give yourself a little room to wiggle, Bells. I mean, I'm sure today was a little unexpected. You know, with Sam –"

Bella's heart leaped. She hadn't expected him to be so direct. The thrill that was sent through her body when she heard Sam's name annoyed her. She frowned, but then she thought more deeply about what Jacob was saying. And then she realized –

Is he trying to tell me I should go for it with Sam?

She studied her best friend, who had cut off his sentence as he watched her expressions change from irritated, to confused, to defensive, to angry. "Wait a second," she demanded, holding her hand up to stop whatever moronic sentence was about to come out of his parted lips. "Are you saying you want me to date Sam? Sam? The twenty-two-year-old guy I just met this afternoon?"

Jacob shook his head. His expression could only describe as one of complete panic. "No, that's not – I mean . . ." He sighed, tossing his head back, exasperated. "Okay, maybe I am. But I have a good reason to!"

Bella waited. ". . . and?"

He blinked. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not my place!" he yelled.

"What does that even mean?" Bella couldn't wrap her head around it. Something about Jacob just didn't seem right. Lately, he'd been so different . . . sketchy. Cancelling plans at the last minute, not returning her phone calls. And she could feel the heat coming off of his skin from where she was sitting right then and there, as if she were at a camp out and he was the bonfire. It was like he was running a constant temperature, but he didn't seem ill. Just . . . different. And now he was holding back whatever thoughts were running through his head. This was not Bella's best friend. Something had changed him.

Sam had changed him.

And Bella did not like it one bit.

"What's he done to you, Jake?" she asked quietly. Jacob's head shot up, his gaze finally meeting hers, but he said nothing. "Jacob," she said again. "What's he done to you?"

"Nothing," he mumbled. "Sam didn't do anything. It's all me. All my fault." He laughed, but it wasn't the carefree, happy chuckle she'd grown used to. It was exhausted.

Bella smacked her hand on the kitchen table. It wiggled unsteadily, and Bella wondered how many times Billy had accidentally ran into it with his wheelchair. "What does that mean, Jake? What's happened? Something is different with you lately, and I don't know why. Please, talk to me! Give me some kind of explanation! Because the Jacob I became friends with when I was six years old and the Jacob I reunited with when I moved back here from Arizona are two completely different people." She licked her lips, waiting for a reaction, but he just stared at her. She continued, "The Jacob I knew before I moved away with Renee would have never tried to set me up with a guy like Sam Uley."

"What kind of guy is Sam Uley?"

"I don't know!" she hollered. "He's . . . controlling, intense . . . he's defensive and difficult to talk to and he just gives off a vibe that he's not a nice guy!" There! She'd said it. But what she couldn't say was that, even though she thought all of those things of him, she was still attracted to him. She still wanted get to know him . . . to know what he was thinking as he stared at her from across a yard of grass, yellowing from lack of rain . . .

"Well, guess what, Bella!" Jacob's hands fisted at his sides. He shuddered. "I'm just like him! We all are! We're all in the same boat here! Me, Embry, Quil, Paul, Jared, Brady, Collin, and yes – Sam!" He was furious now, his voice echoing around the kitchen. It hurt her ears. "If you think Sam is such a bad person, then you must think that of me, too!"

Bella stood and backed away slowly. He was shuddering more frequently now, eyes blackening, breathing increasing. Frankly, he was scaring her.

"Jake," she whispered. "Calm down, okay?"

Jacob stared blankly into space, eyes burning, body quivering. His lip curled, revealing a set of teeth that looked more like the canines of a dog. "Bella," he murmured. "Back up."

Bella blinked. His voice sounded like he'd swallowed some of the gravel that coated his front lawn. "Jacob. What is wrong with you?" Her motherly instincts had kicked in. She knew they kept a first aid kit underneath the kitchen sink, but Jacob was currently having a meltdown right in front of it, and he did not look as though he were up for having his personal space invaded. She thought she heard the beginnings of a rumble deep in his chest, but it broke off suddenly as a piercing howl shot through the air. The howl of a dog . . .

No, Bella thought. No household pet could have made that noise. It sounded so angry, so defensive. Whatever animal had reared its head back to wail that way had been trying to connect with something . . .

. . . Or someone.

Jacob jumped. His glare lifted in shock and surprise. He straightened from his offensive crouch. His body jerked, fists relaxing –

Bella backed against the wall behind her. It was almost as if Jacob had no control over his body.

"I have to go." It was a snarl thrown out of the side of his mouth as he bolted from the kitchen, leaving the screen door to slam shut behind him.

For a moment, Bella just stood, wondering what in the world had just happened.

She sucked in a deep breath. Clearly, Jacob was more far more ill than she'd thought. Perhaps her spending more time on the Reservation would be beneficial to him.

Finally breaking through the shock, Bella decided to do the only thing she really could do after being abandoned in her best friend's house after he flees the scene. She stumbled back over to the sink and returned to the dishes.

As she washed the porcelain dishes, her attention drifted and she found herself staring out the window. And her heart leaped into her throat.

She had locked eyes with Sam Uley.

Bella gasped and closed her eyes in a few slow, exaggerated blinks. When she focused on the window again, she saw . . . nothing. She frowned. She inspected Jacob's backyard carefully, squinting in an attempt make anything out, but the only source of light came from the moon. How odd. She could have sworn Sam had been standing there, just beyond the edge of the forest, arms crossed over his bare chest. Watching her, always watching her. But now, the only thing Bella could see was the outline of the grill and the picnic table resting just beneath the window she was peering out of.

She sighed. Perhaps ignoring Sam Uley and hanging around to help Jacob was going to be more difficult than she'd imagined.

The next day, Bella sprinted through the rain towards the safety of a tall, white building that just did fit next to the dark green leaves on the trees that created the forest around it.

"Hello!"

Bella looked up to see a petite blonde woman giving her a wide, toothy smile. The bell above the door to the pharmacy hadn't even stopped ringing yet. "Um, hi."

The woman stood off to the side of the sliding glass doors. Now Bella could really admit she'd been surprised. Not only had Steven's Pharmacy upgraded to not one but two sets of automatic doors, but Steven had hired a greeter. The woman's charm bracelet jingled as she gestured to the isle to her right. "Welcome to Steven's! Today we're holding specials in our Planned Parenting section," she informed me. "We're offering a buy-one-get-one deal with our Trojan condoms, and a few other select brands are between twenty and fifty percent off!"

Good Lord, Bella thought. "Um, no, no," she begged, stopping the woman's thought with a frantic wave of her hand. The last thing she needed was to have someone from the police station think Bella had an interest in purchasing condoms at half price and relay that information to her father. She could imagine how awkward that conversation would be. "No thank you – I'm just here to pick up my father's prescription."

"Are you sure, Bella?" The laughter came from her left side.

Bella spun and came face-to-face with Embry Call. Of course. "Oh," she gasped. "Embry – gosh, you scared me. What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm running an errand for my mother. Thought it was gonna be the biggest waste of my time since my sister's ballet recital last June, but –" His eyes traveled over the length of her body, humorous. He winked. "I think it's gonna shape up to be more entertaining than I thought." He nodded to the woman politely, even though she was gawking at the well-toned muscles of his arms. "C'mon, Bells. I'll show you where the condoms are."

"N-no, really, Embry, that's –"

He didn't wait for her to finish her mumbling. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked off. Clearly he expected her to follow him. "You never know when you'll need 'em, Bella," he said over his shoulder. "You should stock up now – while they're on sale." He winked.

Bella blinked, annoyed. "Excuse me, but I do not have any use for condoms right now, nor do I have any intention of needing them in the immediate future." She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look intimidating, but in reality, she probably looked like an angry kitten in his eyes. Her flowered purse fell off of her shoulder and rested in the crook of her elbow and her head was almost completely tilted back with her attempt to look at his face.

He smiled down at her like he had a secret he was dying to tell. "Whatever you say. No, but seriously, I could really use your help. It's actually great for me that you're here. As I said, I'm running an errand for my sister."

The two came to a stop next to the isle labeled Feminine Hygiene. Bella yanked her purse back up to her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him. "I thought you said you were here for your mother."

Embry glanced down at her, biting his lip. "Oh, yeah," he nodded. "I meant my mom. I mean, it's kind of for both of them, you know? It's like . . ." He hesitated, giving away the fact that he was lying. "It's like . . . they share."

"Gross," Bella said, deciding not to call him out on fibbing. Apparently Jacob had learned his new habits of deceitfulness from his new friends. "Wait. Are you here for tampons?"

Embry slapped a hand over his face, cheeks reddening. "Unfortunately."

"Well, I'm afraid I can't help you there," Bella responded. She couldn't believe she was about to admit this to a guy she'd only met a few times, but the words were out of her mouth before she really thought about them. "I don't use those. I go for the other option."

Embry shrugged. "That's fine, too." He skimmed his hand over the shelf.

Bella shook her head. "Women are not willing to accept change in this department, Embry. If your mother – or you sister, or whoever you're buying these for – specifically requested tampons, you cannot bring her pads. It's, like, The Number One Rule of Feminism."

He gave her a doubtful look.

"Okay." She rolled her eyes. "So that was dramatic, but seriously, get her tampons. Just text her and ask what brand she wants." She was already backing away. "That's your best bet."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

Bella smiled politely. "Okay, well – I guess I'll see you at the next party at Jacob's, huh?"

"Yeah," he agreed.

Bella thought she was free and quickly turned to make her way over to the pharmacy counter, but Embry fell into step next to her. She looked up at him, bewildered. "Um. What are you –"

"What's your favorite color?"

"What?" Had he perhaps been dropped on his head as a child?

He looked down at her expectantly. "Your favorite color. What is it?"

"Um . . ." Is he serious? she thought. Should I answer? Or was he just messing with her, wanting to laugh when she actually answered? "Purple," she finally decided.

He nodded in acceptance, as if his opinion would change her mind. "What's your favorite movie?"

Bella hesitated once again, but finally offered a reply.

"What's your favorite hobby, activity, form of entertainment?"

And the questions continued, in line as she waited to speak to the pharmacist, while she waited for the Charlie's prescription to be retrieved, and even when Bella wandered over to the isle that housed the dish soap when she remembered she'd used the last of it the night before. Embry never asked anything too personal; she was never offended, but she had to admit she was confused as to why he was so curious. So she asked him.

"C'mon," he scoffed, nudging her with his elbow. "I'm not allowed to try to become better friends with the nice girl from Phoenix, Arizona?"

"Embry, I moved back here four years ago," she reminded him. "I would say my ties to Arizona have been disconnected. My mom doesn't even live there anymore."

"Right, right," he murmured distractedly. A teenage girl in a very short skirt had wandered by and captured his attention. Bella tried not to roll her eyes but failed. "Yeah, I knew that. What's your ideal first date?"

Bella stopped in her tracks. Oh, no. She hadn't realized that was where Embry was going with this. Pity fell into her stomach, followed by guilt. He'd been flirting with her this entire time, and she hadn't even noticed! Now she'd led him to believe that she was interested in him. "Oh, Embry," she said gently, "I'm – look, I'm sorry, but . . . I mean, if I gave you the impression that . . . that I wanted to –" She wiggled her hands nervously in front of her and bit down on her bottom lip as she looked up at him.

Embry studied her sympathetic expression and smiled. "Whoa, whoa, Bella." He draped an arm over her shoulders casually, nudging her forward. The two began to walk in the direction of the checkout counter. "That's not what I meant. It was just a question. Honest."

"But you –"

"I was just being curious, that's all," he chuckled. "I wasn't gonna ask you out. Jeez, if I did, I think I'd be castrated. The word mad wouldn't even cover how he'd feel about that."

"Who?"

His eyes widened. "Uh, nothing. No one. Never mind."

Bella stared at him. Clearly Embry was speaking to her for a different reason than to get her opinion on what feminine hygiene products to purchase for his female family members. Had Jacob sent him here to ask all of these questions? But that didn't make any sense. Jake already knew her favorite color, favorite movie, favorite candy. So then . . . if Embry wasn't asking for Jake, and he wasn't asking for himself . . . then who wanted to know?

They came to a stop at the end of the line of people waiting to check out. Bella clutched the small paper bag that held Charlie's high blood pressure pills. In front of them, a middle-aged man with a bald spot in the midst of his dull brown hair shifted his weight impatiently. At the counter, a mother tried desperately to calm her crying toddler by bending to offer him a bag of crackers, but apparently they weren't what the little boy had in mind. Bella sighed when he threw the bag across the floor with all the force he could muster. The crackers completely scattered all over the floor.

Embry smacked his lips together in amusement. "So um, what is it then?"

"What's what?"

"Your ideal first date?"

Bella thought about it. Clearly she would have to give a response if he wasn't letting this go. "Well, I guess . . . I'd want it to be something simple but meaningful. Like, something that he would enjoy that he thinks I would enjoy, too, you know? I want to see that he put some thought into it." The line moved slowly to the front. Behind them, a business man was talking loudly on the phone about how he was only buying a candy bar for Pete's Sake and why couldn't they have an express lane? Bella ignored him, but Embry seemed to be distracted. His eyes wandered to the front door, but he seemed to be looking beyond them, beyond the parking lot. "Something romantic, but not too romantic."

He glanced at her quickly. "What's not too romantic?"

"I don't know," she sighed. Now she was next in line. "Like . . . a movie would be nice, but I don't want to see a romance movie on the first date. A comedy would be more appropriate. Or, a light lunch at a semi-casual restaurant and a casual stroll through a park."

"Yeah," he muttered. He tossed her a smile. "Hey, I gotta get going. My mom's making dinner and she'll be furious if I don't get there while it's still warm. You're coming to Billy's fiftieth birthday party on Saturday, right?"

"Um, yeah," she confirmed. "Charlie wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm bringing a pie, I think."

"That sounds great," he said, "but just so you know, you might need more than one. We tend to eat a lot."

He wasn't kidding. "Yeah," she laughed. "I kind of noticed yesterday."

"Okay, well, I'll see you then." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, cracked his neck, and turned on his heel to walk out of the store.

Bella called after him with a "see you" as she stepped up to the cashier, but he was basically already gone.

It wasn't until Bella had exited the building and Embry's rusty blue truck had long since turned the corner at the red light that Bella realized there was a pharmacy right down the street from his house. And he hadn't bought anything at all.

I hadn't intended for Sam to be as absent as he was from this chapter, but it just kept growing in length and I thought Embry really needed his moment to develop as a character. I want to use him throughout the entire story. But I promise, Sam will come out to play in Chapter Three, so stick with me!

I'm leaving a bunch of underlying clues and hints, and I'm really hoping everyone is picking up on them. This is going to be a deep story, I can feel it.

As always, thank you for reading, and please leave me a review! Tell me what your favorite line of the chapter was!