Chapter 1

"Jacob, Jake. We're friends, best friends. Nothing is ever going to change that."

Her voice filled my thoughts and I clenched my fists. Every ounce of me, every inch of muscle was tensed, but I controlled it. I controlled every urge to stand up and run into the wood, leaving behind the life I once knew and loved (okay, maybe not loved, but you get the gist of it). Bella Swann, the girl I had truly fallen in love with, was married now with that dirty, un-good bloodsucker. I shivered at the thought of them together. Sure, with each day that came, I slowly got over her. But, there were always those days when all my feelings for her rushed back and I became a sulking nightmare. Today was one of those days.

"Jacob!" My eyes wandered to my door and I stood up. "Jake, someone's here to see you." A small groan escaped my barely parted lips. "Coming," I called down to Billy, walking slowly down the steps. The person who stood in the doorway was the last person I would have expected to see. Billy rolled past me, his eyebrows raised. I shrugged my shoulders at him and continued towards the door. "What are you doing here?" My voice was plain, a hint of anger wanting to seep through.

A grin formed on her face and she invited herself into my house. "You never told me you were back." Why would I have told her I was back? "Those two weeks, I wondered where you had gone off to. I sometimes thought you had found someone that would love you unconditionally, and that she made you forget about you life back at La Push." Where the hell was she going with this? "Anyway, I'm glad you're back Jacob. Really."

I rolled my eyes at her bullshit of a story. "Leah, why are you here?" She was the first one I had seen since I had returned from my two week 'trip.' Quil and Embry hadn't even come to see me yet. Did they even know that I was back? Probably. Billy had been boasting about it earlier. I had told him not to, that I didn't want to see anyone for a while, but he continued telling every one that I was back and to come see me; that I needed cheering up. I wasn't ever going to get more cheered up than this.

"Aw, aren't you happy to see me Jakey-poo?" I shook my head. "That's disappointing, really. I thought you'd be doing back flips because you'd be so excited to see me. This is very, very disappointing." She raised her left eyebrow and made a TISK sound with her tongue and my body tensed. She was such a bitch sometimes. "You're still thinking about her, aren't you?" she asked, walking over to our wall of family portraits. Her fingers slowly glided over a few, picking up a thin layer of dust. I should really clean those soon.

"No, I'm not." I didn't bother walking over towards as she continued to drift away from me. "She's out of my mind." And you better get out of my house soon. I walked over to her, grabbing onto her shoulder. I felt her stop in her tracks at the touch of my skin on her own. Leah turned around slowly, her eyes focusing on something behind me.

"You really need to get over her, you know." Yeah, because you got over Sam so well. "There are other fish in the sea better than Bella." No, there isn't. "All you have to do is open your eyes." Whatever. She excused herself from the house and I watched as her long legs carried her out of the house, her long black hair hanging loosely.

So I opened my eyes. Or – at least – I attempted to. None of the girls I saw could compare to the beauty that radiated off of Isabella Swann; none. I concentrated on all the girls in La Push for minutes, trying to find something that was better than Bella. It was a lost cause, a failed cause. Leah's such a bitch. She doesn't have a clue what she's talking about. But…

My eyes moved from girl to girl until they fixated on one in particular. Her huge, brown puppy dog eyes stole my attention. Half of her long black hair hung in her face as she worked on her drawing. I could feel my jaw lowering. And then she looked up when a few girls came over to her. That voice, it sent me to heaven. And her smile – I would never forget it. Her eyes wandered around when the girls left. They stopped on me and I snapped my jaw closed.

Her left eyebrow rose. God, why does she always do that? Before I knew it, she was walking over to me. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. JAKE! Snap out of it! I tried with all my might to turn away from her, but I couldn't. This made me sick. Thoughts ran through my mind; Sam, Emily, Leah, imprinting, Bella, Edward. I wanted to scream, to run away and forget this day had even happened. But my body would not move, and it was too late to run away anyway. Her body was right in front of mine, her stomach level with my eyes. I fought the urge to look up.

"Jacob, are you okay?" she asked. I gulped, nodding my head. "Are you sure?" I nodded again and she shrugged her shoulders. I closed my eyes, hoping she would leave. The grass made a rustling noise and I opened my eyes. She was gone. Wrong. I heard breathing beside me and I looked out of the corner of my eye. Damnit. She was sitting next to me.

"I-I gotta go," I stammered out. A confused look crossed her eyes but she nodded her head, understanding. I used my hands to push myself up from off the bench, allowing my right hand to gently brush against her left. I took in a deep breath and held it – her skin against my own skin. I didn't want it to end. But it had to. To control myself from going back to her, I ran. "Jacob!" Her voice sounded hurt, depressed. I didn't look back. When I was a safe distance from her, I exhaled. This wasn't supposed to happen.