A/N: Well hello there! Let me first start off by saying I am more than sorry that this chapter took me a while to get put up. I recently lost my job and have been spending all my time trying to find another one as well as dealing with some crazy family issues. Drama as usual. But HONESTLY this story is going to be more on a 1 chapter per week or two basis from now on. This is mostly due to some free time I have scheduled for myself just to write this fic. So don't worry, this story will be on track starting now so I hope you will all keep reading and all you new readers I hope you stay with it!

And some good news… since I took so long to get this chapter up, I made it an extra long one for you guys, putting two chapters into one for you guys. LOTS of stuff happens in this chapter.

On the even brighter side… oh my goodness thank you all for the reviews! And oh so many questions! Don't worry, we'll get to all that stuff at some point in the story (yes, a few imprinting discussions included), but you all have to understand that this is nowhere NEAR the end of the story. This has just been establishing Bella and Jake's relationship. Wait until other characters come in and mess with it. This story has been a lot less dramatic and more lifelike than a lot of twilight fan fiction, but that doesn't mean its not going to add some drama.

Oh, and LaPushWolf, me too. I listened to that song today and just giggled my ass off. And I fuckin' love that song but now it's one to giggle to.

Speaking of songs, everyone should get ready for not only more drama, but more comedy (much having to do with music). I'm going to have a blast writing the next few chapters and I think you guys will enjoy reading them. Please leave reviews to tell me what you think! Thanks guys!

Love!

Bella POV

"Bells?"

I looked up from the sizzling bacon and smiled at my dad. "Good morning."

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I thought I'd cook you some breakfast."

"Bells you don't need to do that, I was just gonna-"

"Eat coffee and donuts like every other cliché cop?" I asked, turning over a piece of bacon.

Charlie raised his eyebrow at me. "Well-"

"Well, nothing. You can have a healthy breakfast once in a while."

"You worried about my health for some reason, Bells?"

"Well you do drink a lot of beer, Dad." There was a moment of silence and a few raised eyebrows before he spoke.

"Bella-"

"I know, I know. Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Just that… ever since the scare with Harry a few weeks ago-"

"I know, Bells. Look, I'll try to eat a little healthier all right?" He said, holding up his hands in defeat.

"Thank you. Now sit."

Charlie and I sat down at the table and feasted on pancakes, eggs, bacon, and orange juice. He even took some apple sauce out of the fridge and poured himself a little bowl of it. I was happy to have a healthy breakfast with Charlie for once. Cooking for him made me feel like I was at least trying to take care of him. A few weeks ago, Harry Clearwater, one of my dad's good friends that lived on the reservation not too far from Jacob, collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital. They said he probably had a minor heart attack and when they found a blood clot near his heart, they immediately operated on him. That whole ordeal was too scary not to pay attention to and I had made breakfast for weeks after that, but when Charlie started going into work much earlier, I couldn't get myself out of bed that early and decided he'd be all right figuring out on his own what was healthy. I was wrong. Charlie had gone back to eating donuts and other pastries that he just picked up at the diner before work. It was nice to find out, though, that he preferred my breakfasts.

"I guess this is better than donuts and coffee."

"Of course it is," I said with my mouth full. "I made it."

"You're very right. Speaking of which, I spoke to Billy last night-"

"OH! And don't let me forget to tell you about what Jake said-"

"It's probably the same thing. About tonight?"

I nodded, chewing on a bite of pancakes.

"Well he asked me to come to the bonfire tonight. Wants me to hear all about the legends … or some crap like that," he said, stabbing his last bite of pancakes.

"It's not crap, Dad-"

"I know, I know. It's just weird that he wants me to be there."

"Jake said Billy just wants to give you a better birthday party. Or at least another one."

"Oh really…" he said curiously.

"Yeah!"

Charlie shook his head and swallowed the huge bite of pancakes he took. "I think its just because he wants me to get to know the kids better."

I scrunched my face up in confusion. "Um… what do you mean?" I asked, playing with the last bit of eggs on my plate.

"Like, um… the other boys that have been followin' Sam around. Uh… Paul and …"

"Jared."

"Yeah that's the one."

"And Embry."

"Mhmm. Well I've met Embry before. And I've officially met Paul but not really spoken to him. Jared I have yet to meet. I honestly think Billy still thinks that I have something out for Sam. Ever since all those drug accusations-"

"I hope you don't still believe that." To my surprise, my dad didn't answer right away. "Dad?"

"No, I … I don't."

"That didn't sound very convincing," I said, pointing my fork at him.

"I don't believe the kids are into drugs. They all look way too healthy. And Jacob is too good of a kid to do such things-"

"He is." I surprised myself at how stern my voice was. It was like I was trying to convince my dad that Jake really was a good guy. He knew that already, so why did I feel like I had to defend him? I shook my head of the thoughts and looked back down at my food.

"I know, Bells. So I think Billy wants to reassure me of that and possibly give me some… reason … or … something that will show me that there isn't anything strange going on."

"Dad, if you want to know anything about the guys, just ask me. I know all of them pretty well now."

"So… nothing fishy?"

"Not at all."

"All right. I believe you."

I got up and took both our plates to the sink. "You're still going tonight, though, right?" I asked as I went back to the table to pick up more dishes.

"For sure. I need something different to do, anyway," Charlie smiled. That statement made me giggle.

"Sounds great. Do you want me to wait for you to go over there? I mean, what time will you be home?"

"You have work today, don't you?" he asked, getting up from the table.

"Yeah, I do. I should be home by four, though." I sighed, not really looking forward to work. There wouldn't be enough to do to keep me busy enough to keep my mind off of… things. Things I was OBVIOUSLY trying to keep my mind off right now.

Ssshhh! You were doing so well not thinking about it! Shut up conscience! I know I've been doing well but it's hard! You are weak, Isabella, WEAK!

"I'll be home by five. We'll go down together."

"All right."

"Welp… thanks for the breakfast, Bells," Charlie said, making his way over to me and patting the top of my head. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Ok, Dad. See ya later."

Five minutes later, after another good-bye wave, Charlie was on his way to work and I was on my way upstairs to get dressed to be on MY way to work.

Working at Newton's was not a ton of fun, but it wasn't bad either. I knew I could have a worse job, so I stuck it out and tried to learn as much as I could. All the camping gear was fun to play with, but the thought of camping scared the living daylights out of me. Perhaps it was the cold, perhaps it was the thought of peeing in a bush, perhaps it was the threat of non-vegetarian vampires lurking in the woods. One of those. Any way, camping was a turn off. But maybe that is why I sometimes enjoyed working at Newton's. I would tell customers how much easier their camping trip would be with certain gear and it would make me feel better that I might possibly have made someone a little less apprehensive about camping.

This was obviously a boring shift for me because that last paragraph was pretty much all that was running through my head for the past hour as I stared out at a huge, new, orange tent the shop had just put up on display.

"Bella?" I finally looked up from my trance and stared up at Mike.

"Is it time already?" I looked down at my watch. Mike was supposed to take over when I was done but it didn't feel like my shift had gone by already.

"Yeah. Slow day?"

"Um… kind of. I didn't really notice."

Mike gave me a questioning look. "You been in that trance all day?"

"Uh… no. I actually sold some-"

"That's not what I meant, Bella," he said, coming around the counter. "You probably did fine, you just seem a little … distant."

"Sorry. I had a long night last night," I said, running my hand through my hair.

"Oh reeeeeeally…" his eyebrow went up and his lips turned up into a smirk.

Oh, what he didn't know. "Shut up, Mike. I didn't sleep much, that's all. And I have a few things on my mind." I took off my vest and made my way to the back room to collect my things.

He just laughed it off and yelled to me. "Sure Bella! Sure! See ya Friday!"

"Whatever!" I yelled back before laughing with him and leaving the store.

It wasn't long before I was in my room, in front of my mirror, deciding on an outfit to wear.

"Ok, definitely these jeans… probably the brown shirt… wait. Does that jacket go well over the-"

"Bells?" I jumped as my dad walked into my room.

"Oh. Hey! How was your day?"

"It was ok, but-"

"Oh I know, Dad, there's no food. Sue stopped into the store today and told me not to cook anything for dinner. She didn't want your appetite spoiled. Supposedly she and Emily are cooking up a feast."

"For a bonfire?" Charlie leaned on my door-frame, his arms crossed against his chest.

"Yeah. I guess they do this all the time."

"Well… all right. I'm gonna shower and then we'll uh… Bells?"

"Yeah?" I asked, still staring at the mirror as I placed a brown shirt up to chest, contemplating wearing it.

"Are you… why are you… you never worry about…" his words trailed off as if he was trying to figure out the best way to say what he wanted to say. "Oh never mind."

"What?"

"Never mind. I was just wondering why you were stressing over what to wear. I shouldn't ask."

"I'm not STRESSING, dad, I'm just-"

"Doesn't matter, Bells, I don't care who you're trying to impress…" he said, walking to his room.

"I'm not trying to impr-" and then a door slammed, a muffled laugh coming from behind it. I sighed and rolled my eyes. If he hadn't figured out by now that something was up, he probably would tonight.

It didn't take long before Charlie and I were on our way to La Push, the familiar road suddenly exciting me more than usual. I had told myself in the morning that I would try to keep my mind as clear of Jake as possible because I knew if I thought about him, I would have burned breakfast, I'd have been fired from work, my dad would have figured it out, and I probably would have had to change my panties six times in the day. I even sent him a text message in the morning, after the text I got from him saying 'good mornin beautiful. i love u.', explaining that, even though I loved him too, I didn't want another text from him because I didn't want to think about him much that day. Thankfully, since we think way too much alike, he sent me a text back saying 'ya i dont wanna think bout u either. boner.'. So finally driving to La Push, and letting myself think about him, gave my stomach butterflies and my cheeks that familiar pink color.

I took out my phone and sent him a text.

Almost 2 ur place. Charlie n i r in the cruiser.

I immediately got a text back and Charlie noticed the familiar beeping noise.

"That Jake?"

I grinned and nodded.

GRINNED AND NODDED.

Great way of hiding your feelings for Jake from Charlie, Bella.

I opened my phone and read the text back from my Jacob.

U R? SHIT! B, I was just about 2 get in the shower. Ill b quick.

I laughed, trying my hardest not to imagine Jake in the shower. I bit my lip and when Charlie looked over at me, I faked a sneeze, covering my mouth, trying to hide the emotion that was obvious on my face.

Jake POV

"Dad I'm getting in the shower! Bella just texted me and said she and Charlie are on their way over already!" I yelled from my room to my dad in his room.

"Already?" He yelled back.

"Yeah I thought they were-"

"Oh wait, Emmie told me everyone was coming over earlier than usual. I forgot."

I rolled my eyes. "Well thanks for telling ME, Dad!" I got into the bathroom and slammed the door before he could yell back.

"Oh stop whining, Jacob. Bella's seen you in some horrible ways, I doubt she'll care if you've showered."

I definitely heard what my dad said, though I don't know if he expected me to. He was always doing that; speaking really low and then looking up at me to see if I heard it or not. He was testing out my abilities that came along with being a wolf. I even got things thrown at me to see how fast a bruise would appear and disappear on my skin. Yes, my dad was crazy. But then again, I can't say I wouldn't be amused by my son if he had super powers.

Halfway through my shower I heard the cruiser pull up outside and I sighed. Thank goodness I was smart sometimes and I had actually taken clothes into the bathroom with me. I didn't really want to run through the house in nothing but a towel in front of the girl that I had made love to the night before. Well that was a lie. Of course I'd love to do that, but in front of our dads? Not so much.

Right after I had stepped out of the shower and was pulling my clothes on, Bella and Charlie were greeted by my father at the door and let into the living room. I listened in on their conversation, trying to pick out the best moment to step into the room, but that's when it hit me. From the moment she entered the house, I smelled that wonderful strawberry shampoo I loved so much but not until now, when she obviously stepped closer to the bathroom, did I smell that unique smell that was my Bella.

Fuck.

I shook my head of all thoughts of the night before. How was I going to handle myself around her? Her FATHER was here for fuck's sake!

I'm a wolf. I am supposedly the rightful alpha. I have much strength and power.

I opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom, then stepped right back in.

I'm a fucking pussy.

"Jake?" That voice was so beautiful when it was concerned about me.

"I-I'm fine! I just forgot to pee." Yeah, because I almost peed my pants stepping into a room with your father!

"Ok…"

A few seconds later I walked out of the bathroom again after I'd done a breathing exercise and taken a little control of my bladder.

"Hey you," I greeted my girl, pulling her into my arms. "You smell good," I whispered into her hair.

She blushed and softly giggled before pulling away from me quickly. "So tonight's gonna be fun!"

Bella was obviously trying to not dwell on what happened last night in front of our fathers. Obviously trying to keep the conversation on the bonfire tonight and not how much our eyes were undressing each other in that moment.

I looked up, finally, and caught Charlie's eye. "Hey, Jake."

"Hey Ch-" I coughed, "Charlie." Fucking nerves. I'm a wolf. I'm the rightful alpha. I have much strength and power.

"So what's going on tonight?" Charlie asked, plopping down on the couch as my dad wheeled over to his usual spot in the living room.

"Uh well… Dad's gonna tell the legends and we're gonna eat a lot and later on we're gonna play some games and… probably eat more and … well, you'll get to meet all the guys and their imp-"

Bella hit me.

"Uh… their girlfriends. And uh… yeah."

Bella looked at me like I was crazy. I just word-vomited because of being nervous. I looked back at her with a look that said 'Of course I'm fucking nervous, I'm talking to the man who's daughter I just de-flowered last night!'

She seemed to get it and rubbed her hand on my back for a few seconds.

Oh no, baby, please don't do that.

But don't stop.

I looked over at Charlie who was giving me an interesting look.

Fuck. Stop.

Bella moved to the couch and plopped next to her dad. "You and Old Quil and Harry and Billy are going to hang out here while the rest of us set things up outside."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked his daughter, his eyes focused on the television my dad had just turned on.

Yeah, what do you mean, Bells?

"Well when Sue came into the store today, she told me you guys were going to hang out here while we all set up everything outside since it's like a birthday party for you."

"Oh… well, all right," Charlie responded.

"I think Jake and I will go out there now and wait for everybody to show up."

My girl's a genius.

"Sure, kid."

Our dads were too focused on the television to really care what was going on so Bella and I left the house without either of them saying another word.

"Did Sue really say we were setting up stuff for a birthday party for Charlie?" I asked her after we went out the back door.

She grinned at me, walking backwards through the yard over towards the fire pit. "Not in so many words." The next thing I knew, Bella had pulled my shirt towards her, and stood up on her toes to go in for a kiss.

"Jacob!" The voice startled us both and I wanted to kill whoever ruined this moment for me… until I turned around. Why did it have to be you? Why couldn't it be someone I could actually be angry with?

"Hey Emmie."

Emily gave me a knowing grin and then looked over at Bella. "We're going to have to talk about how to be more discreet, Miss Swan. I know a certain police chief that might be a little shocked to see the sight I just stumbled upon."

"Nice to see you too, Emily." Bella gave Emily a hug as I walked passed them to meet Sam at his truck and help unload all the food.

"You know, I thought I hit the jackpot imprinting on Emily when I first found out she had an obsession for cooking, but I'm starting to think it's becoming a little more than an obsession," Sam said, pulling a cooler out of the back seat and dropping it on the ground like it was actually too heavy for him.

"Huh," I answered quickly. He obviously thought that answer was strange and looked up at me with curious eyes. That's when his right eyebrow raised and his mouth scrunched up in thought. Then, after a long inhale, he whispered, "Jacob Ephraim Black… you gave in to her."

I almost laughed. "You know, it'd be nice if you didn't sound like my parent all the time."

"I'm your alpha. I pretty much am your parent," he said, taking more things out of the truck.

"When I'm wolf."

"You're always wolf." He said that like I was stupid for suggesting otherwise.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah," Sam confirmed, finally looking back up at me. "You just look like a human from time to time."

I actually laughed at that and picked up the cooler. "Just don't ask me about it in front of the guys tonight ok?"

"It'll all come out at some point, Jacob."

"Yeah, well… it'll be better if the guys don't know about it when Charlie's around."

Sam thought about that as I walked off with the cooler. "I don't say this a lot, but you're right," he said, following me with some grocery bags.

Bella's POV

About two hours later, when the sun was setting, the party had officially started. At least I was calling it a party. Sue and Emily had cooked up a feast that made this get-together look like Thanksgiving and no one was complaining. After everyone had gone through what looked like a buffet line at the table we'd set up near the bonfire, we all sat around the flames on these surprisingly comfortable logs, ready to hear some stories. I found it funny how Jacob had decided to sit quite a ways away from Charlie, on our own log.

My dad clapped his hands together during a moment of comfortable silence and looked over at Billy. "So do we start with ghost stories or a round of Kumbaya?"

I really hoped that didn't offend anyone since Charlie word-vomited like I did when I was nervous, and he obviously was, but everyone laughed so I let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, we'll start with the ghost stories if that's okay with you, birthday boy," Billy replied sarcastically.

"Sounds good," my dad said, going back to devouring his food.

"Well, some of you have heard these stories before, but some of you have not. Still if you have heard them, as I say each time I tell these legends, try to learn something. Relate some part of the story to your life in the moment. Our lives are constantly changing, especially for you young ones," Billy looked around at all of us before continuing. "Therefore, each time these legends are told, you relate to something different. This is why legends are told. To keep history and to learn from it." Billy then took in a breath and let out a long exhale before jumping in to the stories of the Quileute tribe.

In a strange twist of fate, Charlie actually seemed interested in the legends and would stare at Billy for long moments with looks of awe on his face. I was quite amused by this. If he only knew. Not too long after Billy started telling the legends, everyone had finished their food and, though I could tell the boys wanted to go up to the table for seconds, they didn't dare move from their spots, out of respect. The empty plates, now placed on the ground at their feet, reminded me of empty dog dishes in front of hungry, whining puppies.

As my eyes moved from the ground to Jake's leg, I slowly shifted my gaze up to where his hands lied in his lap. They were crossed over each other, just inviting my fingers to wrap around one of them. I slid my hand over Jake's thigh, feeling him jump slightly and look over at me. My eyes never left his hand as my own wrapped itself around it. My breathing was starting to pick up and I knew it was only because I was nervous of publicly showing affection for Jake, but then again, we'd held hands before.

Before.

Before when I had made it clear that my intentions were only to be his best friend.

Before is not now. Now was what was making me nervous and although my brain told me this was something I'd done a hundred times before, my heart told me this was the first time I'd ever felt this way doing it. How could holding someone's hand make you so giddy after having had sex with them? Was mine and Jake's connection really that strong?

And why the hell didn't I notice it sooner?

For the first time ever, I cursed the fact that I had ever mourned Edward Cullen. I felt guilty for letting him get to me in such a way that my heart stopped knowing how to love. Jacob deserved better than that and he shouldn't have had to wait so damn long.

All those thoughts from one touch of a hand and it was obvious that I was thinking too long because when I looked up, Jacob was already staring right back at me, his beautiful brown eyes telling me without words how much he loved me. He smiled at me and after blushing, I smiled back at him and we both turned our heads back to Billy who was just getting to the good part of the story.

My heart fluttered when Jake's thumb started rubbing back and forth on the top of my hand. I looked down at our now intertwined fingers and smiled, letting myself lean over and softly touch my nose to his neck. I moved it up, barely touching my cheek against his as I turned my head to keep the lip readers from seeing what I was about to whisper into Jake's ear.

"I love you…"

If I had his wolf senses I know I would have heard his heart stop and then speed up because his body told me that that was exactly what happened. He tensed for a moment but then let out a soft sigh and as I was slowly pulling back from him, he turned his head and nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck. His nose softly made a trail up my cheek and I was about ninety-percent successful in holding in a giggle when he quickly gave me an Eskimo kiss. I pulled away, though, fearing someone was watching too closely.

I let my eyes move back up and was scared to death at what I saw looking back at me. Two pairs of eyes that looked completely shocked and utterly curious. Paul and Embry, two wolves that didn't have someone with them to give all their attention to at the moment, were staring back at me like I had just SCREAMED the three words I'd confessed to Jake.

Jake obviously sensed my discomfort and leaned into me, "We're wolves remember? Even your whispers are heard easily."

I almost freaked out, but didn't have time because my eyes immediately shot to Charlie. Had he heard as well? Of course he's not a wolf, but he's got pretty good hearing. Shit. Did I just make I-want-Bella-to-marry-Jacob Charlie the happiest man in the world along with also ruining any plans I ever had to have Jacob sleep over again?

He wasn't even looking at me.

But had he? Was he looking a second ago? At that moment, Sam looked over at me and grinned. Oh shit, does EVERYONE know? I know I haven't done well keeping it a secret, but they all must've known that I hadn't completely given in to Jacob's advances. Until last night, of course. Oh shit. Do they all know I slept with him? They do tell each other everything. Oh fuck!

I must have looked worried because Jake took his hand out of mine and wrapped that arm around my waist before taking my hand again with his other one. Now there was no doubt what we looked like.

A couple.

Charlie always seemed to dismiss this kind of thing as mine and Jake's "very good" friendship since I had told him for a long time that all I wanted out of Jake was a friend, but when he looked up at us, even HE had to raise an eyebrow. I quickly diverted my gaze so as not to have to answer his questioning look.

Again, Jake leaned in towards me and whispered in my ear, "You're not pulling away…" he said, sounding excited and actually quite surprised. "You ready to tell Charlie?"

After Jake said that, all four wolves looked over at us and gave me an anxious look. I just rolled my eyes and turned my head towards Jake. I let out a very soft laugh and sat up taller, leaning my forehead against his. Jacob's eyes closed and he slouched, relaxing after he let out a long content sigh. I did the opposite, breathing in deeply, "Nah… let's see what he makes of it first."

As I looked down at his pouty, beautiful, full, amazing lips, I couldn't help myself. My brain was obviously letting my heart lead tonight and my lips took full advantage of that as they made a quick descent to surprise Jacob with a soft butterfly kiss.

He immediately looked up at me and I just smiled at him with a devious look in my eyes. He was definitely surprised, but more happy than anything else.

"Is that an invitation?" he whispered, leaning back over me.

"I thought I said I wanted Charlie to FIGURE IT OUT, not just FIND OUT," I said, slightly pulling away.

He pouted and sniffled a little for dramatic effect. I grinned and pointed to my cheek. He rolled his eyes, but took whatever he could get and kissed my cheek quickly. Feeling like I should have let Jake kiss me, my guilt overrode me and as I looked over at my dad who was staring back at me, I smiled at him right as my head leaned down onto Jake's shoulder. My free arm wrapped around the front of Jake, my hand coming to rest on his hip. We were so snuggled up together now, I don't think anyone could deny that we were more than friends.

My dad's eyes grew, but his stare was interrupted by a loud squeal and a thud. All our eyes shifted towards the sound. Kim had fallen off the log onto the ground, and then, since Kim has a great sense of humor about her, erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Kim!" Jared gasped as he jumped off the log to, I'm sure, check every inch of her body for any sign of harm.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" she said, catching her breath, still giggling.

"What the hell was so fall-off-a-log funny, Kim?" Paul asked, laughing at her.

"Nothing!" Kim said back, "I was trying to get away from-"

"KIM!" Jared screamed at her, cupping his hand over her mouth.

I sat there wondering what the hell they could all be talking about while Jake's hand crept up my back, drawing designs and taking my attention away from the crazy banter going on across the bonfire.

"What happened over there?" I whispered to Jake.

"Uh…" he hesitated, his eyes focused on Jared and Kim. "I'll tell ya later."

Jared looked up at Jake and gave him the evil eye. "No you won't, Jake!"

Oh yeah. I forgot. Wolf hearing. Damn, I thought these super sensitive things would be fun, but they're just becoming annoying.

I looked over to Charlie who seemed so confused by what was going on, his eyes shifting from each one of us around the fire. How was this going to end without an explanation?

Thank the heavens for Billy. "I guess the story will end there then."

Kim looked embarrassed, "Oh Billy I'm so sorry-"

"No! No… it's fine. It was pretty much over anyway. Was just going to throw in a few things to scare the living daylights out of Charlie here, but I guess I'll have to do that some other time."

Kim bent her head and sighed, knowing she'd fucked up by making a scene in the middle of a council member telling the legends. Jared just put an arm around her and shook his head.

"Welp! It's freezing out here anyway so…" my dad intervened.

"Well happy birthday again, Charlie!" Sam said, a collective sigh of relief coming from all the boys. The atmosphere changed that instant and the uneasy tension seemed to leave us, everyone getting up and helping clean up so we could all make our way inside.

It didn't take too long before everyone was inside and discussing plans for the rest of the night. It sounded like the plan was for the entire pack to go to Emily's place and hang out while Sam and Jacob did a quick patrol.

"Hey dad?" I jumped over to Charlie who was in the living room with Billy and Harry. And Leah. I had barely acknowledged her existence that night, not completely understanding why she was there, and she obviously thought the same thing about me. Before I asked something stupid, I shook my head of the thoughts and turned my focus back to my dad. "Um… hey, can I go over to Emily's? Everyone's going over there to hang out for a bit… Jake'll take me home later!"

Charlie looked up at me with his 'You know not to ask me these kind of questions in front of people' look, that same look I got when I was little.

"Please?"

I almost begged. I couldn't leave now. I barely had any time with Jake and the sexual frustration of seeing him and touching him and yet NOT being able to REALLY touch him was killing me.

"I guess that's all right." YES! I knew throwing Charlie a birthday party would gain me some brownie points. "But you can't be out too late."

"She could just stay here the night, Charlie," Billy chimed in.

Oh Billy Black, could I shrink you to pocket size, carry you around and take you out every time I need you to convince my dad of something?

Pocket Billy. I like it.

Thank you, conscience.

Sometimes you amuse me, Bella. I'm not only around to annoy you.

Good, I'm glad.

"Uh…" Charlie looked over at Billy and gave him a questioning look.

"What? It's fine. I don't really like the idea of Jacob driving up there so late. Especially with that murderer on the loose you know?"

Oh sure, Billy, you're so worried about your shift-shaper son not being able to take on a human as he transforms into a huge wolf and just tears his head off.

"Yeah… Bella maybe you should just go home with me," Charlie concluded.

Fuck! No! Well, that backfired.

"What? Oh c'mon, dad, I can stay here can't I? Jake stays over at our place all the time," I begged.

Charlie gave me a look like he wasn't quite understanding why I was being so aggressive about this but he gave in. I thought it was just my adorable begging brown eyes, but it was more due to …

"It's ok, dad, I'll be fine taking her home," Jake came out of nowhere and stood behind me.

"No, son, I hate you driving so late. That road is pitch black at night … and ever since Quil drove off the road the other night…"

"Dad, you're comparing my driving skills to Quil's?"

I giggled softly and looked up at Jake. "Hehe… that rhymed."

Jake just grinned and stared back at his dad, almost knowing what he was going to say.

Wait. Did he know what he was going to say?

Holy shit did they plan this whole thing out?

Even BIGGER holy shit did Billy know that Jake wanted me to stay here and WHY?

Holy FUCK does he know what happened last night?

"Jacob, if you hadn't been the best friend my daughter has ever had, I wouldn't be letting this happen, but fine. Since I don't want you driving off the road in the middle of the night … AND since I don't want to hear Bella's whining that she didn't get to spend more time with you… fine. She can stay here the night."

I felt like we were nine years old all over again and we were begging our parents for a sleep over but it worked!

"Yay! Thanks dad." I gave him a quick hug and hopped back into the kitchen where everyone was packing up food and getting ready to leave.

We made it over to Emily's about a half an hour later and soon after that I was sitting on the porch swing outside with Jacob, waiting for Sam to finish his goodbyes with his imprint before they started patrol.

"So I think Charlie took it pretty well tonight," I said, swinging my feet back and forth.

"You think he noticed anything between us?"

"Uh… YEAH! Why do you think he objected to me staying over? He never did that before. He never cared if I spent the night before. Then all of a sudden he doesn't want me to stay over-night at your place? He's got to have a hunch."

"Oh well…" Jake pulled me to him and kissed my forehead as I snuggled into his chest. "He did call me his future son-in-law." Jake and I had both heard Charlie say to Billy something like 'If I wasn't so sure he was my future son-in-law, I wouldn't let something like this happen' right after he agreed to letting me spend the night and the look on both our faces was absolutely priceless.

"Yeah… I caught that," I beamed.

"All the guys thought it was quite interesting to hear Charlie say that."

"Really?" I looked up and pushed some hair out of Jake's eyes. It was getting longer and he'd just 'forgot' to cut it. Thank you, forgetful mind.

"Yeah."

"Do you think they all … are um… feeling weird about us?"

Jake seemed confused by that remark and looked down at me with a scrunched up face. "What you mean? Of course not-"

"Well Leah-"

"What? What about Leah? Did she say something to you?" Jake sat up straighter, looking like he was about to run to the Clearwaters' and kill Leah.

"No! No uh… she just … didn't look like she … was very happy about us being so close-"

"Leah's not happy about anything. I told you what happened with her. And now she phased and-"

"Leah phased?"

"Well yeah… why do you think she was there tonight? If she didn't HAVE to be around Sam and Emily, she wouldn't be. Sam ordered the whole pack to be there tonight. That's why Seth was there too."

"Wait. Seth too? But he's so young!"

"Yeah. I know," Jake's voice was starting to sound more sad and almost regretful. "We're all just waiting for Quil now."

"Quil? You think he'll phase?"

"I'm sure of it. Old Quil is sure of it. It'll happen. And soon. We can see the signs. He's out at night without a sweatshirt on… sometimes in shorts. He's obviously feeling warm already. And he's getting a little more anxious and angry and… well, you know."

"Wow. I mean… in some ways it'll be nice right? To have him not question you guys so much anymore? He'll at least feel involved!"

"Yeah… but… no. Bells… none of us want this. It's not so great. In fact… most of the time it sucks ass. Big time. Sure, it's cool to heal quickly and to be able to run so fuckin' fast when you're phased and hell, the muscle mass you gain isn't bad at all, but really, think about it. Having to control your emotions so much because you're scared that at any moment you could explode into a wolf and give away our secret or even kill someone? It's not worth the muscle or the speed or the other super powers."

"Jake… I… I hate that you feel so trapped. That you feel you can't be yourself. I mean, you can't just get mad! You have to be so controlled-"

"Ready to go, Jacob?" Sam came out of the house and stopped to look at us on the swing.

"Yeah."

Sam quickly ran off into the woods as Jake got up and turned to look at me. "Don't be worried about me, Bella. Life could be worse. I mean, shit… how can I be upset with my life when I've got you?" He leaned down and softly kissed my lips, leaving me breathless. "I love you," he whispered against my lips before finally running off after Sam.

I sat there on the swing for a few moments just thinking about how strange my life was. I very quickly decided that was NOT a good thing to ponder and got up and went to find the rest this crazy pack in the house.

"It's Bella!" Paul screamed as I walked into the house. He was standing in the kitchen with Jared and Embry.

"Uh… yeah. It's me. Yipee!" I rolled my eyes and sat down on the couch in the living room right before Kim came out of the bathroom and sat down in the big chair next to the couch. Not two seconds later, Jared had joined us and was picking Kim up, sliding into the chair underneath her and settling her onto his lap. I watched the sparkle in both their eyes and wondered to myself for a few moments what that must feel like. Jake and I are in love so how does imprint love differ? Does Jake not look that devoted to me? I was just making myself upset so I turned my head to Embry who had joined me on the couch.

"How do you do this everyday?" I asked him.

"Do what?" He looked confused, but his mouth full of potato chips made me giggle and shake my head instead of delving deeper into the question.

"Never mind-" I started before Paul literally jumped onto the couch and ended up on the other side of me than Embry, in between myself and the chair Jared and Kim were sharing.

"So what's the topic, guys?" He asked, holding onto and rustling through his own bag of potato chips.

"Jake and Bella, of course," Jared's voice rang out.

"What?" I asked, turning my head towards Jared who was giving me an evil smile.

"You guys. You're the topic of conversation. So… we're all dying to know. What happened last night to make you guys all cuddly?"

"Um… cuddly?" I asked, trying to look innocent.

"Oh my gosh, Bella, you two were all over each other tonight!" Kim was giving me a 'duh' look the entire time she spoke to me. "You told him you loved him in front of a bunch of hearing sensitive wolves! Something definitely happened. What exactly was that?"

"Um…"

"C'mon, Bells, just tell us. Jake's thoughts will tell us anyway," Embry said, nudging my shoulder with his.

That made me think and I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Do you know something already?"

"Maybe," Embry said back, grinning.

I threw my hands up in the air. "You guys are gonna find out anyway."

Paul's eyes seemed to light up with excitement. I thought that was hilarious because I was DEFINITELY not going to give them what they wanted. "We … told each other we want to be together."

Paul looked at me like he was extremely confused. "So? What happened after you told each other that?"

I kept up the act and put on my 'innocent' look. "Well… nothing. We just said that and … I mean, that was pretty exciting… for us. It took a lot for us to finally admit-"

"A lot for YOU, you mean," Embry butted in.

I stopped then. He was right. Jake and I could have been this way months ago if I'd given in. If I hadn't been with… Edward.

"Yeah…" I trailed off into thought then, an uncomfortable silence overcoming the living room for a few minutes.

"All right, that's enough. Next topic?" Paul asked, shoving more chips into his mouth.

I jumped at the opportunity to change the subject. "Why do you guys think Leah phased?" Well that came out of nowhere. Yeah, I was extremely curious about it, but did I expect to just come out and ask it?

"Probably had something to do with Paul sleepin' with her the night before!" Jared laughed, gaining a glare from Kim and a punch in the arm from Paul.

"Shut the fuck up, man. You WISH you could make girls get so hot they turn into giant wolves!" Paul countered.

"So you're not denying you slept with her?" Jared was interested NOW!

"Jare, did you not hear me before? Shut … the … fuck … up. You KNOW if we talk about this shit, even if it's not true, we're all gonna be thinking about it around her and-" Paul was interrupted by Embry's random thought.

"Dude could you imagine phasing like … WHILE you were-"

"Can it, man, you'll scare Kim." Jared's hold around Kim's waist got tighter.

Paul took that remark as an invitation and leaned in close to Kim, "Aww Kimmy, does Jared get a little too rough in the bedroom?"

My favorite part of the night came after that stupid comment. Kim punched Paul right in the jaw.

Wait. How did she not hurt herself? Fuck, do imprints have some sort of special powers against other wolves? That would kick ass. I wonder if it's true. I'm totally have a long conversation with Emily after this.

Kim just stared Paul down, "Don't ever call me Kimmy."

"That's my girl," Jared said, kissing her neck.

"And just for the record," Kim kept on, "I'm sure Jared's MUCH better in bed than you are, Paulie."

"Oooooo," Embry and I sounded at the same time, my fingers ALMOST going into a snap in front of Paul's face.

For some reason, however, Paul didn't seem phased by it. No pun intended. "That's the imprint talking. Just ask Sam. Supposedly Emmy's much better than Leah ever was even though Leah's wild and I can't really imagine Emmy bein'-"

"What in the HELL are you all talking about?"

Five gasps erupted and all eyes moved behind us to where Sam had just reentered the house.

Soon all those eyes moved back to Paul.

Oh shit this is gonna get good.

Shut up, conscience.

Embry just couldn't help himself from attempting to contain the situation and rid the room of all the tension, "Uh… about how we all wish we could have amazing imprint sex."

Epic fail, Embry. Epic fail.

After a seriously tense moment of silence, Sam finally spoke. "You all CAN'T be that stupid. I heard you, you imbeciles. Paul, we'll talk about this later, and only after because you're my beta and I don't want to kick your ass in front of the whole damn pack. Jared, take Kim home. Go have 'amazing imprint sex' and make sure to tell us all about it later. Embry, I thought you were my good kid. You shouldn't ever let a conversation like that happen around a lady. Especially an imprint. I'm surprised Jared let Paul even say something like that to Kim. Now, Bella… I know your question was innocent, but because none of us know the exact answer right now, it would be better if we didn't discuss such things until we found out a little more about the situation."

"He just doesn't want you talking about Leah…" Paul tried to whisper to me.

"Paul!" Sam's voice boomed as it rang in the room with demanding presence. It almost scared me.

"Sorry." Yeah right, Paul. You're not sorry.

"I TOLD you I wanted to wait to kick your ass, but if you keep this up, we'll go right here." Sam's voice was verging on an alpha command and I was scared something was going to happen or someone was going to phase inside the living room but thankfully it didn't happen. Sam's attention moved to me. Um… shit. "Bella, go find Jacob. I just heard him get back. Go home. I'm glad you learned some things tonight and became a little closer to the pack, but no more good can come from this night. The boys usually start getting sexually FRUSTRATED," Sam hit Paul upside the head when he said that, "at this time and start talking about things they shouldn't talk about in front of ladies."

"Oh like she and Jake haven't-"

"Paul! Outside! Now!"

I let Paul and Sam lead the way outside, not wanting to get in front of either of them at this moment. Jake was right at the bottom of the porch steps with a big smile on his face.

"You hear all that?" I asked, stepping down the porch.

He just nodded and then wrapped his arms around me.

"You're just a curious person. I'll give you my thoughts on the drive back."

"Drive back?"

Jake hesitated like he was wondering why I was confused. "To my place, of course."

I mentally screamed 'YES!'

YES!

See? Told you.