Edward still hadn't come back. Time had passed slowly, and yet surprisingly fast. I didn't want to ever give up that Edward would come back, even though my mind told me he wasn't.

My life has gotten slightly better after these couple of months. I still have my moments of sobbing in my room alone. But my personal sun, Jacob, always made it better. Although he could never replace Edward, I was glad to have him around.

Today, he decided for us to walk along the beach. I was fine with it, seeing as in it was looking like a beautiful day today. So we walked side by side, hand in hand. His hand was surprisingly warm, almost as warm as the sun. And he'd had a surprising growth spurt as well. How odd. He now towered over me, his hair cut in a crop instead of the long hair he usually had. I guess it was time for a change. Although, I knew what was the reason for these changes. It might had to do with the fact that he was a werewolf.

"Bella, you look worried." Jacob stated.

I bit my lip. "Well, I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. I mean, I'm graduating in two months, and I still haven't decided where I wanted to go. I don't want to be too far from you, but not too close, you know? I want to be able to always visit you whenever I want."

At that he laughed. "Oh Bella, I'll come visit you if it comes down to that."

"Thanks, Jacob. I can never thank you enough, helping me past these long months. I could've never done it without you." I looked at him and smiled.

He smiled in return, saying, "Well, you've helped me out a lot, too. You're a great person to have around here. If I could convince you to live in La Push, I would."

It was my turn to laugh now. "Oh Jacob, that would be more than great, but I have to leave sometime, don't I?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He smiled to himself.

We walked in silence for a few long moments until he stopped, mid-walk. "Bella, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Jacob. Anything." I was so willing to answer anything he wanted to know.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "How much did you really love Edward?"

I cringed at the sound of his name. I hadn't heard it said out loud in such a long time.

"I loved him more than anything, Jake. He was part of me." I instinctively wrapped one arm around my mid-section.

"I'm sorry that it upset you. I know how you get when you think of him." He was sincere when he said it.

"No, it's alright, Jake. I should be over him, but I'm not. He left with half of me. It's been so hard these past few months." I looked momentarily at the ground.

"Okay, let's talk about something else then." We continued to walk along the shore. "Are you planning to go to prom?"

I cringed again, thinking of the last time I went to a dance.

"Sorry, that probably wasn't the best question, either." He was quiet for some time. He then settled with, "How much do you love me, Bella?"

In spite of everything, I smiled. And it wasn't a fake smile, it was a real, full blown grin. I could feel my cheek muscles hurt for not being used in a long time.

"Jake, I could only express how much I do love you. You were there when I couldn't pick myself up. You fixed me...or the best you could, anyway."

He looked at me for a very long time, his eyes full of tenderness.

"Bella, you don't know how much it means to me hearing you say that. If only I could show how much I love you." His face then clouded over for a second, then disappeared just as fast. "Bella, I..."

"Yes, Jacob?" I asked, curious of what he was thinking.

We stopped then. He took both of my hands in his, looking at them, then at me. He had a question burning in his eyes.

"I love you, Bella. And..." He paused, then continued, "...I want to know if you feel the same way about me. I mean, I know you love me, but—"

"You want to know if I'm in love with you?" The side of my mouth pulled up in a half-smile.

He nodded.

I took a moment, trying to phrase it right. "I do love you, Jake. But..."

"You can't forget about Edward, I know." He looked at me for a long second, then said more loudly than necessary, "But can't you just get over him? He's been gone for months, and it doesn't seem like he's coming back!"

That hurt, more than I thought it would. His words cut across me like a blade. My eyes got suddenly watery, but I bit the tears back as best I could.

He suddenly looked at me, wanting to take back his words. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to make you upset...It's just...it hurts me, too. Seeing you like this, it's not healthy. You never used to be like this. Even Charlie thinks so, he's been really worried about you."

I looked at him, seething. "You've been talking to my dad about me?"

"No, not me. Mostly Billy, I just listen in. They're really concerned about you lately." He looked at me with understanding.

I sighed. "I know, Jake. I know you guys only want what's best for me. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting these days."

"It's not your fault, never think that. Of course, this would have never happened if that filthy bloodsucker—"

"Jacob, please."

He glanced at me, seeing my frowning face. He heaved out a long sigh.

"How about we go to town tonight. Watch a movie or something. Sound good?"

I grimaced. "As long as it's not a romance, I'm all up for it if you are."

"Why not?"

I looked up at his sudden question. "Well, because...I don't feel in the mood for one, that's all."

"Bella, that's not fooling anyone." He looked at me, looked right through me.

I sighed again. "Maybe we shouldn't go, then. I should just go home. I have some chores around the house that still need to be done, anyways."

As I started to walk away, he grabbed my wrist and twirled me around to face him.

"No, don't go home yet! It's too soon, the sun hasn't even set yet." He quickly glanced at the horizon over his shoulder.

"I don't know, Jake. No matter where I go, I always seem to drag someone down with me. I don't want to do that to you, I really don't."

"I don't mind. Do your worst to me." He gave a huge smile, his teeth pearly white against his russet skin.

I smiled in return.

"Alright, Jake. But you asked for it." I took a slow intake of air, trying to clear my head a bit.

As we headed inside the theater, Jacob quickly grabbed my hand, leading me to our seats. We sat down just as the movie started. As the scenes flashed across the screen, I was unaware of Jacob's stare at first. He eyes bore into the side of my head until I finally turned my face towards him.

"What?"

"Are you okay?" He looked at me with his deep brown eyes.

"Yes, why? Don't I look okay?" I looked down, trying to see what he was seeing.

"You look worried." He frowned as he said it.

"I do...? I was confused. Did I look worried?

"Well, yeah. Look, Bella, please try to think happy thoughts. If you're always thinking negatively, you're life's gonna turn out that way." He sounded almost like Charlie.

"Jacob, I really don't know what you're talking about. I'm not worried, really." I tried to make my voice sound sure, but it obviously wasn't effective.

"Bella, don't pretend. I know you too well to not know what you're feeling." He then put his hand under my chin and lifted my face to make look at his. "Let's try to have a good time, alright?"

I took a deep breath, then stared into his eyes. "Okay."

"Okay, good." He let me go, and we then paid attention to the movie. Or, at least half-way. My mind was on other things, as it usually is.

After the movie, we went to dinner, which is how most dates are, except flipped. Am I really on a date with Jacob Black? That sounded strange, I don't know if it sounded right. I mean, I love Jacob, but...Maybe he was right about me holding on to him—No, I must learn to say his name—Edward. Did I really think he was coming back? I was hoping he would...but now I'm not so sure anymore...Besides, he said he didn't love me. The last scene I had of Edward left a bitter taste in my mouth. I didn't want to think about it too much, otherwise I would break down.

"Bella, are you listening?" Jacob gave me his worried-but-still-annoyed look.

"Yeah. You said something about how Sam has been—"

"I was talking about that two minutes ago." He gave me a serious look. He knew I was thinking about other things. "How about we go back to my place? We can watch some t.v., or maybe do something else..."

"You know, I think it's time for me to get home now, Jake. It's been a long night and I have school in the morning." I sighed, exhausted by nothing in particular.

"Alright, okay. I get it, I'll take you home." He seemed disappointed. I guess he was planning on our day being more...fun.

As he took me home, I could tell there was something on his mind by his nervous glances towards me.

"What is it, Jake?"

He heaved a sigh. "Bella, I...I know this must be hard for you, but..."

"Come on, Jake. Spit it out." I smiled to myself.

"Okay, well, I wanted to ask you out on a date."

There was a pause as I looked at him and laughed. "Weren't we just on one?"

He then grinned widely. "Yeah, I guess we were."

We had just arrived in front of my house, the engine cut off.

Then Jacob did something unexpected. He leaned over the driver's seat and kissed me. His kiss was different. It was rough and gentle at the same time. His warm hand came up to my face, then to the back of my neck. For some reason, his kiss broke away every wall of emotion I was holding from him. My hands came up behind his neck, then traveled to his hair, pulling his face closer to me.

When we finally parted, we were both gasping for air. By the time we both caught our breaths, Jacob slowly said, "That was amazing." He then smiled, his white teeth standing out against his russet skin.

FOUR YEARS LATER

I walked into the supermarket with a shopping cart, my feet in pain from the extra pounds that I had on me now. The store was crowded, as usual. I made my way through masses of people, going down the list of things I needed to get. I got in the shortest line I saw, paid the cashier, and headed out to my old truck. As I put the groceries in, I glanced in the side view mirror. Wow, I had gotten big these few months. Who knew I would grow that fast.

I drove down to La Push and parked my truck along the Blacks house. As I got out, Jacob was right there alongside me. I swear, he thinks just because I'm pregnant that I'm gonna die or something. I laughed to myself at that thought.

"Here, let me take the groceries in for you." He quickly grabbed all the bags and headed inside.

"Jacob, I could've done it myself. I'm pregnant, not dying." He laughed at me, then swooped down to give me a kiss.

My life had gotten a lot better these past few years. Although, I still feel a part of me missing, a hole. It doesn't show as often as it did, but it's there, making its own home in my heart.

"Hey, I'll even help you put the groceries away instead of eating them." I laughed at his little joke. He always loved to make me laugh.

"You said that last time, Jacob. And you ended up eating all the meat I bought." I grabbed the bread (or the 6 loaves I got) and put them away in the bread bin. I started to put the vegetables in the fridge when Jacob came up behind me and kissed my hair.

He put his hands around me and my big belly and said, "I love you so much, Bella."

I held his arms around me, sighing at his comfort. He kissed my neck, then whispered, "I promise I won't eat all the food this time. You work too hard to keep me appeased."

"You better keep your promise." He then closed the fridge door and turned me around. He kissed me lightly on my lips. He put his forehead to mine, which was always warm.

At that time, Sam walked in. "Woah, sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting something."

"Yeah, you kinda are, Sam." Jacob said, slightly annoyed.

"Well, you have other moments. This news is important."

Jacob sighed, then pulled away from me to talk to Sam.

Although they were in the other room, I could hear them clearly.

"There's another tribe visiting. They say they're old friends of the Quilette pack. I don't know if they know about the werewolf stories or not. But we're gonna find out real soon. We've got to make sure they're not a threat to us. Be on your guard, just in case." Sam was serious, his voice was crucial.

Jacob didn't say anything for a moment. He replied with, "How many are coming?"

"About two dozen. Maybe more, I'm not sure. They're not all male, though. Some are women and children, but not many." He seemed slightly annoyed by not knowing the exact number.

"Okay, I'll keep a sharp eye." Jacob seemed irritated about this new information.

They both came out of the living room as I pretended to put some cans into the cabinet. Sam greeted me and left the house. I watched Sam until he was out the door. Something more was up.

"What was that all about?" I asked Jacob.

"No big deal. Another tribe visiting our land, we're just unsure if they're friendly or not. We haven't heard of them before, but obviously they've heard of us. I don't know from where, but that I'm sure we'll find out when they get here." He started pacing around the small space between the door and the table.

"When do they arrive?" I asked as casually as I could.

"Tomorrow morning. Usually tribes arrive in a day later from notice. They will most likely come in the morning to spend as much time here as possible." He seemed worried about something.

"Jacob, what's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just thinking."

He paced maddeningly up and down until I intercepted his path. He stopped immediately. "Jacob, your pacing like a mad person."

He sighed, then said, "It makes me wonder if they knew about the vampires that lived so close to us, if they know that the myths are true. And I'm worried that they might question why you're apart of the pack." He looked at me full of sorrow. "I don't wanna lose you."

I kissed his hand and said, "You won't ever lose me, Jacob. I love you too much to not put up a fight."

He smiled. "I'm relieved to hear you say that." He kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sure everything will go however you want it to go. Don't worry, Jacob."

Well I hope you guys like this chapter! There's definitely more to come! For all you Jacob lovers out there, this should be an interesting read! And for you Edward lovers, don't worry, his time will come!