We watched Ladyhawke on the plane.

I had a vague memory that my mom liked that movie and it seemed like it might be good to have something to talk about. I didn't really think ahead of time about the plot; true love separated because she was a hawk by day... and he was a wolf by night.

Jacob and I started the movie joking--he poked me several times when a character declared that 'every happy moment in my life has come from lying'-- but gradually ended up holding hands, far more serious than the cheesy music would have suggested.

"Gen?" Jacob said suddenly, having tightened his grip on my fingers during a scene where there was both some strange editing and quite a bit of angst.

"Yeah?"

"Does this movie have a happy ending?"

"I think so."

"Ok."

He moved his arm around my shoulders and I rested my head against him.

We didn't see any of the others until we got off the plane. Jasper and Alice walked away a few moments later to catch a flight back. Apparently, vampire speed wasn't quite up to modern technology.

"You, ok?" Bella asked as we walked into the pick-up area.

"A bit late to check in on that," I grumbled.

"Girls!" And then my mom's arm was wrapped around my neck and Bella and I were being squished together against her. "Oh, you're finally here!"

There was some more squealing that I couldn't quite interpret. When I finally wriggled free I found Jacob chatting with my stepdad and Edward offering Mom a hand and greeting her like a true Victorian gentleman.

Then Mom hugged me again. "Introduce me to your young man, now, won't you, Genny?"

After approximately forever, everyone was introduced and Edward went off to get the rental car. Bella made to follow but I grabbed her elbow and begged her silently not to leave us alone with Mom.

I turned to find Mom watching us, eyes taking in too much.

The next few days were more of the same.

Edward and Bella chatted. Jacob and I joked awkwardly. Mom responded to it all enthusiastically, but then seemed to be thinking about it all far too seriously.

One afternoon, I came back from helping that guy Phil--now bumped up from 'my stepdad'--and coaching some of the freshman on his baseball team. I found Jacob sitting in the kitchen, no one else in the house.

"We got some free time?" I asked, fetching a soda from the fridge.

Jacob considered me far too seriously for the casual comment. "Um, yeah. I was just... talking to your mom about that, actually."

"Sorry."

"No, it was ok." Jacob rested his chin on his hand and watched me take a seat on the other side of the island. "She thinks that you take after her more than Bella does."

I paused, bottle part way to my mouth. "How..."

"You don't see it?"

"You do?" I set the bottle down and leaned forward, looking for the insult.

Jacob shook his head. "You'll make fun of me if I explain. I don't know the words."

"What did she say?"

"Just that you thought of life the same way." Jacob smiled at me. "Do things your own way."

"The right way."

"The fun way," Jacob said fondly. He jumped off the stool and came over to give me a kiss on the cheek. "I don't think she likes me though."

"What?"

"She told me we should wait to make any serious moves until we'd seen more of the world."

"Of all the... She has SOME NERVE."

Jacob shrugged. "I told her I'd take you to see it on my motorcycle and she seemed to approve."

"I hate both of you."

He took my hand and we headed out to the rental car, Jake taking the passenger side and pulling out his phone to search for fun things to do. I tapped the steering wheel while I waited, not sure what I was thinking until it popped right out of my mouth.

"I don't really think about... 'serious moves'. Is that bad?"

Jacob shrugged. "You called me your boyfriend in the heat of the moment. We became friends by accident. I'm used to you having to feel things out bit by bit. And I'm good with it as long as we're together."

I bit my lip. Whoops. This conversation was happening, was it? Here? In Florida? Yikes.

"What if 'good with it' isn't good enough?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you want..." I covered my face with my hands, lowered them because it was weird, put them both back. "If you want marriage and stuff like that, we should... you know... talk about it."

Jacob didn't reply.

I peaked through my fingers to find him bright red and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Is that what she meant?"

"What did you think 'serious stuff meant?" My hands dropped to wave at him incredulously.

"You know..." He didn't seem to know what to do with his body, his shoulders shifting and then shifting again uncomfortably.

"I know?"

"Yeah, you know. Serious stuff." I shook my head at him. "Like... more than... kissing..."

"Oh..." Where did I take this conversation from here? That seemed like the one worse thing to talk about in a driveway in Florida. "No, that will probably be a Charlie conversation."

"Sh**."

"Yeah." I took a deep breath, trying to steady my brain. "Anyway. It's great that... you tell me about dangers and listen to me and all that... junk."

"Yes." The humor in his voice was slightly forced. "Treating your girlfriend as a human being. What trash."

"Yes. Well. I worry about this imprinting stuff. So. Please tell me when there's something I can do to make you happy."

"Being a normal couple with you is what I need right now," Jacob said. "It's what I wanted before any of it even started."

"Ok."

Jacob set up the GPS and we were silent as I started the car and started driving. Eventually, we found a mall and just wandered around, trying on clothes and joking around. As we head back to the car a few hours later, I pulled out my phone and found a text from my mom asking me to meet her on the beach.

My turn.

...

The sun was setting as I crunched through the sand toward the towels Bella and Mom had set up. Bella waved and headed off, presumably to let her boyfriend know he could come outside without bursting into flames. Mom patted the seat next to her.

"Hey, Genny."

I made a noise of acknowledgment and slumped down, feeling more like a grumpy teen than I had in a long time.

Mom sighed. "I see. I was afraid of that."

"Of what?"

"You're sad again." She met my glare with a troubled look. "You've felt different since that accident, haven't you, honey?"

"That's none of your business." I blurted out. "I... I mean... What do you mean? Why are you saying this now?"

"You can pretend when Jacob or Bella are around. But I know my little girl."

I rolled my eyes. Jacob knew me. Dad knew me. My friends knew me. Bella and Mom had known me.

"Or is it just being away from Forks?" Mom asked.

"Huh?"

"That hospital. Here. Does it just throw you off?"

"Maybe." I dug my feet into the sand and wiggled my toes. "It's too hot here. Too much sun."

Mom laughed. "My little vampire," She teased.

I kept my face still, staring at the pinks and oranges that were seeping out of the sky.

"What do you think of Jacob?" I said. It felt safer.

But that wrinkle came back to her forehead. "He's also sad when you're not around. It's like..." Oh, gawd, here came the metaphors. "You need each other to bounce off of or you don't know how to move."

"I don't know what that means."

"Like you feel like you need to be allowed to be ok. Like you're happy because it makes him happy. And vice versa. "

"And how dare two teens be happy together?" I snapped. "You and dad would have been... Dad is... I'm fine."

"Just..." She tried to catch sight of my face and I turned it away. "When you're someone's world... It's a lot to have on your shoulders. And it seems like there was a lot there already."

"Is that why you told him not to marry me?" Unfair. Untrue. But I was in fight or flight at this point.

There was a long pause.

"Did you have fun with Phil? He said you were a great help."

"He's great," I said. "I liked helping out."

"And there's the Charlie in you." Mom gave a little laugh. "I've been looking for it."

"What, like I was hiding it?" I stood up. "It's getting too dark. Let's go play uno or something."

"Next you'll be asking me to go fishing with you." She teased but she stood and helped gather the towels.

We made our way back to the house, her moving on to an interrogation about school and then my plans for college. Finally, I pulled out my phone so I could pretend to be distracted.

There were several missed calls from the pack.

And a text from Paul.

'Have you heard from Leah?'

I hadn't even started to reach for the 'w' to ask what had happened when I got another text.

'her dad had a heart attack. its not looking good'

"Genny? What's wrong?"

"Um..." I took a few steps forward. Have to find Jacob. Looked back to my phone. Have to text back. Started walking again. Phone buzzed.

'and she ran off and we can't find her'