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"Thanks again Bells." I smiled over at my sister as we buckled up. She volunteered to drive me to La Push but I knew this was just her way of sneaking over there. Edward was hell-bent on her never stepping foot on wolf territory but there was only so much he could do. Bella had friends over there too, he couldn't stop her even if he were to die trying.

"Just thank me after we cross the treaty line." I chuckled and nodded. She turned on the engine but before we could drive away, Edward decided to make his presence known. He opened the driver's side door and stared blankly at Bella.

"Alice called," Edward explained.

"We spoke too soon." I glared at the pale boy my sister calls her boyfriend. "I'll just walk." I scowled. I unbuckled myself and opened the door. I climbed out and slammed it as hard as I could. "I'll be back later Bells." I waved half-heartedly to her but she didn't notice, she was too busy glaring at Edward. I grabbed my phone from my jacket pocket as I started walking down the street.

"Hey, babe." Emmett's deep voice greeted me.

"Your brother is driving me crazy." I sighed.

"What did he do now?" Emmett laughed.

"Bella was going to give me a ride to La Push but then he showed up and wouldn't let us drive away. So now, I'm walking."

"Want to borrow my jeep?"

"Emmett I can't even get into your oversized vehicle by myself and you want me to drive it?" I rolled my eyes despite him not being able to see me.

"I'll bring you Alice's car." He hung up before I could say anything more. I sighed and pocketed my phone, glancing around at the empty road ahead of me. The sun was beginning to set and it cast an orangey glow upon the street and the tops of the trees. It was a beautiful and welcoming sight but it was beaten. As the black car rolled to a stop and the window rolled down, Emmett's bright smile had put the beautiful scenery to shame. "Hey pretty lady, need a ride?" He winked and I giggled. He stepped out of the car and jogged at a humanly speed over to me. "Your knight in glittering armor has come to your rescue."

"My hero." I wrapped my arms around his torso and raised myself on my toes. I pecked his cheek and smiled sweetly at him.

"I like your scarf. You should wear it more often." He fingered the ends of it and smirked wickedly at me.

"Keep kissing me the way you do and I might have to." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, then you're going to have to buy some more because I'm never going to stop kissing you." He leaned down towards me and placed his forehead against mine.

"I don't think I have enough money," I whispered.

"I've got it covered." He whispered back. I closed my eyes and hugged myself closer to him as his arms scooped me up into his arms. "You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now."

"What's stopping you?" I felt myself blush at my forwardness but I tried not to focus on it.

"Your dinner plans." He sighed. "If you didn't have a pack of wolves waiting for you, I'd show you just how fun it is to make out in a car."

"Next time?" I brushed my lips against him softly.

"Definitely." He put me down and opened the car door for me. "Let's go." He smiled at me. I walked over to him and kissed his cheek again.

"Thank you." He smiled and tipped his imaginary hat. I laughed and climbed into the car.

"Anytime babe." He winked.

The ride to La Push didn't last long. It seemed like a second later that Emmett was giving me a quick kiss goodbye and I was on my way to Sam's house. I was, for the first time in a while, nervous to see everyone. Everyone spoke to me and they treated me like they always had, but Paul was still having issues. Paul was my brother but part of me doubted I was even family to him anymore.

I parked Alice's sleek black car beside Sam's truck and watched as everyone moved around inside. I let out a long sigh before unbuckling myself and exiting the car.

"Clary!" Jared yelled as he spotted me from the window. His yell was loud enough for me to hear him outside and I could only imagine how loud it was to the rest of them. He threw the door open and jumped off of the porch to hug me. His arms wrapped around my waist tightly and he picked me up off of the ground, squeezing my small body into his much larger one. "Guys, guess who's here!" He yelled. He walked over to the house, still not letting me go.

"Hey, Clary." Emily smiled at me as she held the door open for Jared to walk through. Jared stepped inside the house and set me down.

"Hey Em." I hugged her and smiled warmly at her. "Have they been giving you trouble?" I whispered.

"Oh, tons. You know how they are. Especially Jared, that boy is always doing wrong." She whispered to me with a small smirk on her face. She rolled her eyes as she heard Jared protest but otherwise ignored him.

"Oh, I know how he can be. He's a menace." I played along.

"Okay, now you're just being mean." Jared pointed at us accusingly. "I'm going to tell Sam." He smirked.

"Tell me what?" Sam walked into the room and eyed Jared curiously.

"That Emily and Clary are being mean to me." Jared still pointed at us as he whined.

Sam turned to Emily and me and we smiled innocently at him. I turned to Emily and shrugged before making my way over to Sam and hugging him.

"Hey, Sammy-Bear." I smiled up at him. He gave me a small smile in return and wrapped his arms around me.

"Jared stop accusing my girls off doing things they wouldn't." Sam rolled his eyes and squeezed me before letting me go and moving to stand by Emily.

"Your girls?!" Jared protested. "Excuse you but I called dibs on Clary a long time ago." Jared put his hands on his hips and I stared wide-eyed at him.

"Dibs?" I rose an eyebrow at him. "You called dibs on me?"

"Now is not the time Clary." Jared shook his head disapprovingly. "And yes, I called dibs."

"But why?" I couldn't wrap my head around it. Why did he call dibs on me?

"Clary you're a pretty girl, do the math." He rolled his eyes and plopped down in one of the dining room chairs. Everyone was watching us silently. The other boys had chosen to eat quietly, focusing intently on our conversation.

"But you have an imprint," I still wasn't getting the answer I wanted.

"I do but someone had to do it. I called dibs so that way nobody else could. You're like a sister to me, don't read too much into it." Jared smiled small at me.

"Wait, so you called dibs on me so I would be left alone?"

"Yes." He confirmed. "Though Embry broke that rule," everyone turned to eye Embry silently, "but it was before he knew about the rule of dibs, so he's been forgiven of his crimes."

"So kissing me is a crime?" I crossed my arms against my chest.

"For one of us, it is. But your boyfriend can do it as much as he wants I guess." He shrugged. "Just no hickies, then we'd have to kill him." He told me sternly. I suddenly remembered the reason I was wearing a scarf and I felt myself blush. I didn't respond to him and instead looked away from him. I could feel everyone staring at me but I kept shifting my gaze, trying to avoid looking at any of them.

"You know Clary, I've never seen you wear a scarf before," Jake smirked. I glared at him and felt the need to punch him.

"Someone punch him for me," I mumbled but smiled when I heard him let out a yelp.

"What the hell Paul?" Jake glared at him.

"The lady asked, and I obliged." He shrugged and the smile Paul sent me to let me know that whatever issue he had with me was over. We were cool once again.

"Jared I appreciate your concern but I stay out of your relationship, please leave mine alone." I took off my jacket and threw it at his face. He grumbled and stood up, heading over to the coat hanger by the door. I happily took his seat and grabbed his last brownie, munching on it with a smile. The boys returned to their conversations and I glanced around at everyone. They were all smiling and laughing and I realized that this was one of the moments I would miss if I left for school. And just like that, my smile was gone. I would have to tell them, and that wasn't something I was prepared to do.

"So like I was saying before Sam, Emily and Clary ganged up on me-"

"Nobody cares Jared!" Everyone cried out.

Yeah, this is something I would miss, I thought to myself sadly.

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I left Sam and Emily's fairly early and I savored the quietness the ride home gave me. But I also dreaded it. My thoughts surrounded me and I wanted to scream. Instead of heading home as I should have, I ended up at the diner. I parked the car and grabbed my wallet. I walked inside and immediately everyone turned to smile at me. Some greeted me, the others returned to their food.

"Hey Clary, what can I get you?" Dani, the kind waitress who I always admired, smiled at me.

"A chocolate milkshake and French fries."

"To go?" She smiled and I nodded. I sat at the counter and waited silently. I pulled my phone from my pocket as it vibrated but put it back in when I saw that it was Bella who was calling. "Here you go." Dani slid my bag of food in front of me.

"Thanks." I slid a ten-dollar bill over to her. "Keep the change." She smiled and nodded before walking away to another customer. I grabbed my food and exited the diner. I got back into the car and left the parking lot, changing my course and heading to Emmett's. I needed advice and I could think of only one person I wanted it from.

"Clary, this is a nice surprise." Carlisle opened the door and greeted me with a smile. "Emmett isn't here, he left to go hunting with the girls."

"I'm here to see Esme." I smiled slightly as he let me in.

"Is everything okay?" He eyed me, clearly concerned.

"I hope so, I just really need some motherly advice." I walked up the stairs with him beside me and I blushed at how quiet I was today.

"Well come here and let me see if I can give you some." Esme stood up from the couch she was perched on and walked over to me.

"Hey, guys." I waved at Jasper, Edward, and Dominic. They all smiled and returned my wave but quickly left the room afterward.

"We can talk in here. They won't bother us." Carlisle left silently and it was only Esme and I left in their living room. "What is it dear?"

"Well earlier this year I secretly applied for early admissions to a bunch of universities and I got accepted. I decided on NYU but my problem is I don't know if I should go or not."

"Congratulations!" She smiled widely at me. "But why don't you know if you want to go?"

"I'd be leaving everyone here behind and I don't know if I'm ready to leave them just yet. Plus I'd be missing out on my senior year." I slouched into the car and stared at my forgotten bag of food.

"Well Clary, I think that if you were concerned about missing out on your senior year, you wouldn't have applied." She scooted closer to me and wrapped an arm around me. "And you're not leaving forever are you? You'll come back and besides, nobody here is going anywhere. There's a saying that goes, 'You can travel as much as you want but in the end, you always return home.'"

"So it's okay for me to go and leaving won't make me a bad person?"

"No Clary, it won't." She hugged me and rubbed my back comfortingly. "Following your dreams won't make us hate you. It's your life, live it how you want."

"Thanks, Esme. You're a great advice giver." I giggled.

"I try." She teased me. "Now it's late, why don't you head on home and get some rest." I nodded and she escorted me to the door.

"Thanks again. You just made my decision-making a lot easier." I gave her one last smile and climbed into Alice's car.

"I'm glad I could help." She shut the car door for me and I made my way home.

She had helped me. It's my life and I should be able to live it how I want, but leaving everyone behind was still something I didn't want to do.