Um...yeah. February. Wolves. Giant ones.

Jacob didn't call, and he didn't come into school for a few days. My sixteenth birthday came and went with no word from him. I caught sight of him a few times in school, but he didn't look in my direction once, as if he didn't know me. He still looked the same – maybe he'd grown a bit more, but he'd been growing rapidly for a while now. The only thing was that he'd cut off most of his hair. It was more like a dark fuzz around his head, instead of the long ponytail I was used to. Now it was as short as mine. And I had a suspicion he was ditching Spanish class, because he was never there when I was. Or maybe he'd changed out. Either way, I couldn't talk to him at school, and whenever I tried to call around, his dad would always say he was out somewhere.

Bella called a few times, asking if I knew what was going on. When I mentioned friends, I heard Bella take a sharp intake of breath. "Sam's cult." she said, her voice like ice. "That's probably what's going on."
I paused, surprised. I hadn't even thought of that. "Now you say it...yes. It's similar to what happened to Embry. I haven't seen the cult around recently. Maybe we should both seek it out and see if we can talk some sense into Jacob – or at least find out what it's about."

"Yes, we should." Bella said. "Can I come over? We can talk about it then."

Bella had never come over to my house before. But that didn't stop me. I reeled off my address and invited her to come over straightaway.

I told my mom one of my friends was coming over. "She's actually one of Jacob's friends, but we've hung out – the three of us – so much that we've become friends, too." I explained. "She's a little older than us, but her dad's good friends with Jacob's, so she was always over."

When Bella arrived, the first thing she told me was "I ran into Quil on the way here. I was right – he said Jacob won't talk to him and now, he's always with Sam when he's not in school. He's worried about himself, too. He thinks he might be next."

"I know, we've spoken about it. He didn't tell me he thought he'd be next, though. Anyway, Jacob won't talk to me, either." I admitted. "We're in the same Spanish class, but he's never there any more. I think he must've switched classes."

Bella gave a weak smile. "At least I'm not the only one he's avoiding." she joked shakily. "I don't have to feel special."

"Bells, you are totally special." I said, more seriously. "Don't let anyone tell you you're not. Any other girl would have pushed me out with Jacob ages ago. You could have done it if you'd wanted to – anyone can see Jacob's nuts about you. At least, he was last time I saw him..." I trailed off as Bella started to get a strange look on her face. Sort of sad and nostalgic.

"He kind of mentioned that..." she said in a soft whispery voice, "That night at the movies, but he was fine when I told him I just wanted to be friends."

I didn't ask why. If she didn't want to talk about her ex-boyfriend, I wouldn't bring him up. Not after the zombie Jacob had described last year. But I really wanted to know. Maybe I'd ask further away from the time, when it wasn't so tender a wound.

"Maybe we should go and drive around to his house." she suggested. "I brought my truck. We could wait things out there. Confront him when he gets back."

I shrugged. "I guess he has to come home sometime. I don't want to lose one of my closest friends, either, so if you'll wait him out, so will I. But I have to go home before dark, so if it gets too late, I'll have to go."

"Sure." Bella agreed quickly. "If you do have to leave, I'll let Jacob know that it affects both of us. I'll stay here all night if I have to."

We left the truck windows open when we got in, chatting quietly as we waited. Even though I'd said I would have to go home at some point, I wasn't willing to go until Jacob returned.

Only ten minutes after we arrived, there was a tap on Bella's side of the door. We both looked up.

"What are you doing here, Bella?"

Jacob's voice wasn't even familiar to me anymore. It was harsh, demanding, furious. I'd never heard him so mad before. He'd been annoyed, but he was always so sunny. But then, so was Embry. Probably the other guys were, too. All four of them were standing behind him, looking almost the same, all muscular, all mulleted, all cold. It wasn't that the loss of Jacob's ponytail made him look terrible or anything, but coupled with the expression on his face, he looked like a stranger.

Well, Sam was in the back, and he didn't look hostile like the others. He just looked...calm. The other boys weren't looking at me, but I could observe them while obscured. They were all watching Bella, as if I wasn't even there.

"What do you want?" Jacob continued, still glaring at the girl who, as I last remembered, he had a gigantic crush on.

"I want to talk to you." Bella said softly. "Beth's here, too. We both want to."

"Go ahead." Jacob said simply, still glaring.

"Alone!" Bella said, raising her voice a little.

"You go without me." I whispered. "I don't think he'll want to talk to me. He's had enough chances already."

Even though Jacob knew I was there, he didn't ask where I was when Bella got out of her truck, with the other boys going into Jacob's house, and those two walking away.

When Bella finally got back into the truck, I recognized the look in her eyes. I'd never seen her look so lifeless, but I recognized that description. It had been the look she'd had before she started coming over.

I hated to say anything, but I had to. "Did he tell you anything?"

Bella jumped, but she said "No. Just that we couldn't be friends any more. He said something about not being good enough for me. When I told him that you were worried, he said you were better off staying away. I know there's something he's not saying, but I don't get it." Her voice was flat, but she drove me home as she spoke.

Before I got out of the car, I made a move to hug Bella. I moved slowly, but she let me, and even put her arms around me.

"Will you still come visit me at least?" I asked. "We're still friends."

Bella managed a nod, but her eyes were still dark with betrayal. I got out of the truck, but watched her leave with a sinking feeling.

Poor Beth. She still doesn't get it. Are you wondering what will happen next? So am I.