We had to wait a bit so Jake and I took a slow walk around the forest of LaPush as we waited for a time when school would actually be out and then for my dad to get home from work. I remembered too late that there were motorbikes sitting in his shed, waiting for a pair of idiots to ride them. I almost shared my fantasy of him riding up to school to rescue me but chickened out at the last moment as I remembered I'd already mentioned a bit of it as a joke, embarrassed enough at the thought that he teased me for the rest of the walk.

"I glad you like the woods again," Jacob said as we approached my car.

I raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't it make you worry about me more? Swans don't have a good track record with the woods."

"I guess. But you're happy." Jacob and I clambered into the car, Jacob shifting the passenger seat waaay back from where Bella had last sat in it. "Closer to the older, carefree Gen. I want you to have that."

"Dork." I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You're in charge of the radio by the way. Pick something good."

"What if I pick something bad?"

"Then it has to be really bad."

He chose really bad.

We pulled up to my house with a cd I hadn't even known I had blaring 'Das Kleine Krokodil'. I parked and reached for the door handle, but stopped as I found that Jacob wasn't moving.

"Nervous?" I joked.

"Um. Yes." He laughed and gave me his puppy grin.

His hands rested on his knees but were balled into fists, tight enough that it made me wince.

"You know Billy probably already spilled the beans, right?" I bumped his shoulder with mine and he laughed. "And it's Charlie."

"It's Charlie."

"My Dad loves you. He won't care."

"I know."

I opened my mouth to continue but a little voice finally said 'think'. Honestly, it said 'F***ing think, you piece of s***, Gen'.

"What's up, Jacob?"

His face screwed up as he thought and it was difficult not to interrupt him with another kiss.

"Gen, I might... I might not be so good with normal anymore." I blinked at him and he looked down at his hands. "I mean... I can't mess this up. I have enough problems as it is."

"Do you want me to go in and prepare him first? Test the waters?"

"No." Jacob reached out, touching my arm to stop me from leaving. "I mean that I want to... I want this to be... Damn it."

"It's ok."

"I don't want to be the one causing you more problems." Jacob finished earnestly.

I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again and left it hanging as I realized that I physically couldn't say what I wanted to say. It was too early for one. Too cheesy for another. Far too terrifying for a third. Instead, I did an impression of a fish gasping for air and Jacob took pity on me, took a deep breath as well, and left the car. I followed, feeling a little dizzy.

I still made sure to grab my boyfriend's wrist to give him a kiss before we got in view of the front windows again.

"It's ok." I choked out.

He raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't sound ok."

I wrinkled my nose and he kissed it with a laugh before dropping my hand and heading up to the door. He was trying to act more relaxed and I copied the act, succeeding quite a bit more. I unlocked the door and we slipped inside.

Jacob tensed behind me but my dad appeared in the living room door before I could ask what was wrong. And then I immediately forgot because my dad...

My dad was pissed.

"Let me guess." He grumbled, seeing my nervous face. "You're dating Paul again."

Great start.

"Uh, no?" I laughed awkwardly. Yet again, telling the truth was going to be a pain in the butt. "Why-?"

"Is Cullen back?" Jacob asked. Oh.

My dad raised an eyebrow, seeming to notice Jake for the first time.

"Hey, Jake. How you been?"

"Good. How about you, Charlie?"

"Good. Good. You helping Gen with her car again?"

"Um..."

F***.

Me.

"Hey, Gen." Isabella appeared beside my dad. Her face was defiant. Desperate.

F***.

"Hey. What's going on?" My nonchalant attitude was fraying.

"Edward's back," Her chin rose as she spoke. My dad's jaw clenched. "We're back together."

"And Dad's ok with this," I spoke through gritted teeth, eyes locking on Isabella.

Bella winced. "It's a long story."

"Oh?" My breathing grew faster. "Oh?" My hands balled into fists. "Oh, a long story. It's a long story, is it?"

"Gen, I don-"

"What makes it long, Iz? The part where he dumped you? Where he left you in the woods? Where he stalked you to Port Angeles? Where he-" But Dad was right there, already turning red. "Where he..." He's a vampire. He's dead. He's going to steal my sister.

He's going to kill my sister.

Jacob put a hand on my shoulder and I realized I'd been about to storm toward her, though I didn't know what I was about to do. Jacob. What was Dad gonna say about Jake and me after the bomb that was Bella and Edward?

What right did she have to steal our one bit of normal yet again?

"It's none of your business." And it wasn't my sister in those words somehow. It wasn't soft, caring, overly awkward Bella. "Edward and I are a package deal." The anger vanished and I couldn't breathe at all. Terror, pure terror but I couldn't even name what it was for. I felt cold and I almost screamed when Jacob circled his arm around me and pulled be back against his warm body. "And you can be nicer to Edward, Gen. He's going to be around as long as I am."

"Are you insane?" Jacob growled.

Bella's eyes flicked from me to him but she just gave him a pitying look and shook her head. "I need to go."

"Wouldn't want to keep your nutso stalker waiting." My voice was too strained as I spoke.

Bella ignored me and brushed past.

She was gone.

My sister was gone.

..

Jacob let go at that point, brushing a hand down the back of my arm where my dad couldn't see.

"I'll... go make some cocoa. So you can... talk." He gave me a pained smile and disappeared down the hall.

I moved into the living room and found a sweater I'd left on the side chair a week ago. I ignored my dad as I pulled it on but he sat down on the couch and waited for me to speak.

"Legally..." I began.

"This isn't about the law." Dad leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is about your sister."

"What?"

"She threatened to move out." Dad's eyebrows hadn't unfurrowed since I'd entered the house. "And even if I had a reason to arrest Edward, that doesn't help Bella if she's willing to..."

We both spent a minute staring at the floor, contemplating our fears.

Mine had a lot of red eyes.

And black or amber eyes.

Quite a few were way too attractive.

"I'm gonna check on Jacob," I said, standing up hurriedly. He was also too attractive, but at least he seemed human. Most of the time. When Cullen wasn't dicking things up.

"Right," Dad mumbled. I almost made it out of the room when he continued. "Gen."

"Yeah?"

"Jake's a good kid."

Ohmygawd.

"I'll be sure to let him know." But again I didn't move fast enough.

"Gen."

"Yes, Father?" I drawled.

"You two seemed close back there."

Thisisnothowiwantedtohavethisconversationdadwhy.

"Dad, what's your point."

He shrugged and went back to the pose of one who has a headache. "You two have been friends for a while and I think he..."

"Really, dad?" Oh, screw it. "Jake! Can you come here?"

Jacob immediately appeared, his ears a little redder than normal. Serves you right, eavesdropper, I thought but he held out the blue and pink mugs as though nothing had happened. I took a blue mug from him, smiling at the little mustache and 'world's best dad' that decorated it before I turned to the aforementioned dad.

I turned back to Jacob almost immediately, silently begging for help.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at me.

He said nothing.

"Right."

"What?" My dad was watching me with a similar expression.

Jeeerks.

"I..." I turned back to Jacob. "We..." I looked up at the ceiling. It was nice. Not laughing at me. I should date the ceiling. "You..." I looked back to my dad.

He looked back expectantly, a little confused.

There was a long moment of silence.

I had nothing.

"Genevieve?" My dad started to stand, looking concerned now.

"I need to use the bathroom." I snapped. "I'll meet you upstairs, Jake."

I hurried out of the room, refusing to see what Jacob thought of this.

I didn't bother with the bathroom. I opened my phone and waited halfway up the stairs, watching for Jacob to finish being polite as I typed the message. When I saw that Jake had left the room, I hurried up the rest of the stairs and again waited until I was sure Jacob was heading up the stairs. Then I hit send.

'Dear father Jake is my boyfriend love Genevieve Olivia Swan'

Jacob arrived at my bedroom door just as I heard my dad's text tone ring out. I began to close the door behind him and then let out a long groan.

"What?"

"He's gonna try and spy on us now."

Jake wrinkled his nose. "Yeah..." He considered as he jumped awkwardly onto my bed and sprawled against the wall. "But I'm a nice kid, remember?"

"Ha. Jerk." I sent dad a reassuring text of those words and sat myself down on my computer chair just in case. "And now we wait."

"He's gonna shoot me." Jacob laughed.

I spun around a little on the chair. "How much would that inconvenience you?"

"Not sure." Jake twisted so that he lay across my bed in the right direction, his body far too long for my small mattress. He slid down so that his knees were at the end and his feet draped almost to the floor. I just watched him, smiling to myself at the giant awkward werewolf I was dating. "Not too much." Jake finally finished.

He turned his head when I didn't reply and caught me smiling at him.

"What?" He laughed.

"What? Nothing." I wanted to kiss him but I didn't want my dad to walk in on it. I wanted to talk about Cullen but I didn't think there was anything else to say-and I didn't want my dad to walk in on it. "Movie?"

"Sure."

We talked about school as I set up the computer. My complaints and his regrets. Apparently one of his teachers kept asking where he was whenever they ran into him on the street and had done the same to all the wolves. We were quiet for a little while after that, only the whirring of the dvd in the drive to fill the room. I let it get to the menu but I didn't start it.

"Jake?"

"Yep?"

"I'm sorry things didn't go right."

"Me, too." But the sad look faded and he got up to walk over to me.

I couldn't take my eyes from his as he moved across the room. I sat up straighter as he reached me and stood looking down, he leaned down and rested his hands on the arms of the chair to close almost the rest of the distance. Almost.

"I don't want to be the one causing you more problems," He'd said and I'd wanted to tell him that I love him.

I wanted to tell him now.

But there were still so many things I wasn't sure of. Same old, same old.

Now I wanted to swear.

Jacob interrupted by kissing the tip of my nose and laughing when I wrinkled it in response. "That tickle?"

"A little bit." My mouth quirked against the smile that wanted to come.

He considered my face for a moment, still leaning over and trapping me in the chair. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what about here?" He asked and he kissed me on the cheek. His eyelashes brushed my forehead as he pulled away and I giggled. "Apparently yes." I laughed again, giving him a light shove. "Here?" He kissed my chin. I was giggling too hard to reply.

A loud noise slammed outside my closed bedroom door and we both froze. Jacob turned bright red and looked horrified. I tried to smother my laughter and began laughing even harder as a result, almost smothering myself as I clapped both hands over my mouth.

"Gen?" My dad called through the door. "Almost bedtime."

I couldn't speak. I was laughing too hard.

Jacob was turning purple with embarrassment. "Right. I'll be heading down in a sec, Chief Swan."

"Chief Swan?" I managed to tease and Jake's glare made me dissolve into laughter all over again. My dad made a grumpy reply and after a moment or two, I finally calmed down enough to turn off the movie we'd been going to watch. "So much for that. So much for everything."

"Yeah." Jacob had been standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, looking ready to flee if my dad appeared again. I walked up to him now and reached up for a kiss. "Don't be too worried about your sister. We'll figure it out, alright?"

"I'd forgotten about that, actually." I sighed and slumped against him, lightly headbutting him in the chest. "I'll talk to her. And Edward."

"You don't need to do that." Jake winced.

"I'll be fine, Jake."

We both sighed.

"Good night, Genevieve."

"Night, Jake."

I gave him one last kiss and watched him leave, shutting the door behind him and then throwing myself onto my bed. It smelled a bit like him and I buried my face in the covers, tempted to fall asleep with the lights on. Had I had homework? Oh right, I skipped school today. Did I have work tomorrow? Who cares, it's on your phone, Gen. So many worries. So many pathetic, non vampire-werewolf war worries.

I laughed at myself for that thought.

But somehow, as I drifted off with that view of red eyes watching me from the forest and of those red eyes in my sister's face, I really could not bring myself to shut off the lights.