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SIX; SEVERAL CONFRONTATIONS

"HAVE YOU BOUGHT your prom dress yet?"

Imogen scoffed at Angela's question, trying to enjoy the heat radiating down on her face. It was one of the very few days that Forks got to bask in the glory of the sun, and Imogen intended to soak up every moment of it.

"Does it look like I have time for that, Ang? College acceptance letters are coming out soon and I'm practically quaking in my boots."

"Speaking of prom, you have anyone in mind to go with, Imogen?" Conner grinned, sliding next to her on the bench.

Imogen felt her lunch sliding its way up her throat. "Me, myself and I," she responded, smiling cheekily.

"I've personally gotten a few offers myself," Lauren boasted. Imogen rolled her eyes.

"We know, Lauren. You've mentioned your numerous amount of promposals at least ten times this week," Imogen hissed. Angela smirked and giggled behind her hand.

"It's not my fault, Imogen, that guys here just aren't attracted to you," Lauren snubbed, holding her head high in the air.

"You're right about that," Angela nodded. "Not many guys here are attracted to Imogen, but the guys in La Push are most certainly in love with her."

Imogen glared at her best friend because of the constant teasing about Jacob. She had not seen the boy since the incident at her work. His two friends haven't been back to visit her either, which meant that Jacob had finally gotten her message through his skull. However, she knew that he definitely had not spoken with Bella yet.

What Bella didn't know was that Jacob had already reached out to Imogen, but the girl didn't have the heart to tell her. Bella was really trying her best to get in touch with Jacob.

Mike's eyes narrowed. "Are you two talking about that Jacob guy who was here a few days ago? Imogen, you can really do better."

"Yeah," Conner chuckled. "Definitely."

"Not with you," she spoke in disgust when Conner threw an arm over her shoulder. She quickly shrugged him off.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind her. "Imogen?" Every head turned to look at Bella. Lauren and Jessica's faces twisted while the rest of the group was indifferent to her arrival. They had gotten accustomed to Bella's fleeting emotions by now. She was either willing to sit with the group or sit at the Cullens table and sulk quietly to herself. "Can we talk?"

"Um," Imogen paused, glancing at the people around her. Everyone's eyebrows were raised. "Yeah, sure."

Bella was incredibly shy, and Imogen began to wonder why she was acting that way. "Have you, um, talked to Jacob recently?"

Imogen wondered how she was going to respond. She decided to just tell her the truth because she honestly believed that Bella deserved to hear it. "He was here at school to see me. I told him I refused to speak to him unless he spoke to you."

"Oh," Bella nodded. "Um, I was going to see him tomorrow. Try to talk to him again, you know?"

Imogen could tell Bella wasn't very pleased by the idea of Jacob coming to school to see Imogen instead of her. Imogen, frankly, didn't have any control of that so she didn't care about sparing Bella's feelings.

"Bella, have you ever thought about abandoning Jacob as a friend? I mean, in my opinion, he hasn't been a very good one to keep around," Imogen voiced.

"I've known him since I was young," Bella sighed. "I just know he wouldn't act this way unless someone was making him. Jacob's a loyal person, you know."

Imogen raised an eyebrow. "Really? He hasn't demonstrated any of those qualities to me."

"In the past few weeks, he just isn't the same person anymore."

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On the Sunday that began Spring Break, Bella was at Imogen's door again. Imogen was intrigued, considering that Bella wouldn't usually spend any of her extra time at Imogen's house. The Asian girl checked behind her, ensuring that her parents weren't there to interrogate Bella with questions.

"Bella, what's up?"

Imogen was planning to see Angela in Port Angeles later in the day, but Bella had completely different plans.

"Jake came and apologized to me."

"That's great," Imogen spoke with no emotion. "And you forgave him?"

"Trust me, he had a pretty good reason for ignoring us."

"Really? Because I haven't heard it."

Imogen was growing weary of the Jacob and Bella drama. She was totally fine with having Angela and Ben as her friends until college came around.

"Do you want to come with me to La Push today? Jacob really wants to speak with you," Bella said. After Imogen's hesitant sigh, Bella began to use her words against her. "You did say that you would talk to him if he finally spoke to me."

Imogen's eyes narrowed. "I have plans today. Can't we postpone this soap opera show for later?"

"Well," Bella started before moving aside, revealing Jacob behind her. Imogen pinched the bridge of her nose in mild irritation. "He's kind of already here to see you."

"Hi, Imogen."

"Please, God, if you're really up there, spare me from this crap."

"Im, I'm seriously sorry for everything. Bella knows the truth now, so I was hoping that we could touch upon the subject," Jacob said, his eyes practically begging for Imogen to offer him a chance. The latter was usually not willing to give ignorant people her time of the day, but Jacob was giving her the puppy dog eyes that she absolutely adored.

"Fine," she receded. "Let me get my bag."

Imogen opened the door wider so that they could come inside. Bella and Jacob tentatively stepped in and Imogen thanked the heavens that her parents were still asleep. If they caught sight of a half-naked La Push boy with a shy tiny girl from Forks in their living room, it would surely raise many questions. And Imogen didn't have the patience to deal with that right now.

She caught the end of Bella and Jacob's conversation when she returned to them, bag slung over her shoulder and an impatient expression painted upon her face.

"How do you think she's going to react?"

"About the supernatural part or the imprint part?"

Bella shrugged. "Both, I guess."

"She's going to be freaked out and then I hope that she'll handle it well, like how Kim did when she found out Jared imprinted on her."

"Alright, let's get this over with," Imogen spoke as she approached them, sending a quick text to Angela about the current situation. The girl was only elated by the fact that Jacob and Imogen were in touch with one another again. "Where are we headed?"

"To my friend's place."

"I surely hope it's not those two friends who I met at my work," Imogen said, pushing the implication onto Jacob that she particularly wasn't fond of them.

"They'll be there but I promise that you don't have to talk to them."

"Great," Imogen smiled genuinely, and Jacob was almost blinded by her beauty.

The three then took off in Jacob's car and surprisingly, Bella let Imogen sit next to Jacob. She also threw her a look of understanding and Imogen wasn't sure how to interpret it.

Once they pulled up to Emily Young's home, Imogen felt a sense of danger stir in her stomach. She was even more scared when she spotted Jared and Paul inside of the house, both without shirts on.

Imogen's eyes turned to Bella accusingly but the girl was avoiding her gaze.

"Jacob, why can't we just talk alone?"

The werewolf shifted uncomfortably at Imogen's sudden question. "Um, we can later, but I just need you to meet someone first, okay?"

Imogen nodded with compliance and they exited the car, making their way towards the house. She could see Paul's giant smirk from her place, and Jared's identical grin from next to him. Embry was observing the three with looming eyes.

When they entered the home, she was a little surprised to see Sam Uley towering over all three of them. Emily was by his side, gripping his forearm with a small smile on her face. Imogen ignored the three scars running down one side of her face.

"Imogen Tang," Paul chuckled. "Welcome back."

"Nice to see you again, Imogen," Jared added.

"Welcome, Imogen," Emily smiled, striding over to her and introducing herself. "I'm Emily, and it's a honor to have you here."

"Yeah, Jake never stops talking about you," Embry spoke up. Imogen thought about how she would have to get used to the fact that Embry had short hair now, despite that she liked it long.

Jacob wasn't happy about Embry's statement and growled lowly. Imogen just plastered on a fake grin. "It's nice to meet you all as well."

"Sit down, Imogen, I made lunch," Emily prodded her. "And trust me, you're going to want to grab a bite before these monsters drown themselves in it."

Imogen thanked the woman before taking a seat next to Paul, who was still smirking at her. She tried her best not to look at him.

"You go to Forks High with Bella, Imogen?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah," Imogen confirmed. "I enjoy it better than when I stayed in La Push."

Sam's mind flashed back to the times when he heard about an innocent Imogen being taunted by her classmates, but he knew that Imogen would never remember Sam's name popping up in the conversation. The alpha could tell that Jacob was also thinking of the incident as his fists clenched angrily.

"You lived here?" Jared inquired.

Imogen's left eyebrow twitched. "Yeah, I did. I left because of some stupid guys who used to bully me."

"I'm sorry, Imogen," Emily apologized.

She shrugged. "Not your fault. I've moved past it, and I'm a stronger person because of it. It was a learning experience for me."

The silence was deafening, and Imogen awkwardly gazed at Bella and Jacob, who were still standing. Jacob and Sam seemed to be in the middle of an intense staring game. Jared and Paul were grinning wickedly at Imogen, and she sighed at their constant mocking.

"Imogen, I think you and Jake should take a walk together."

Sam's words caused Imogen's head to snap up. Jacob was also surprised by Sam's sudden approval to Jacob revealing the tribe secrets. In all honesty, Sam felt slightly guilty for Imogen's past despite not being directly involved with it.

"You do?" Jacob asked, shocked.

"Yeah, you do?" Jared said, remembering the questions Sam fired at Kim when they first met. He was jealous by Imogen's immediate acceptance.

Sam nodded. "Go ahead, guys."

"I'm not so sure," Imogen spoke up. "You all are acting really weird now. You're making me think that I'm going to be a ritual sacrifice for whatever's happening here."

"Let's go, Imogen," Jacob said with a soft voice, extending his hand out for her to take it. Bella diverted her gaze elsewhere.

"I'm only going because I want to," she mumbled under her breath before taking Jacob's hand. She failed to see Paul and Jared raising their eyebrows at one another. Bella observed them as they exited the home, trying to ignore the hole that was slowly growing in her heart.

Jacob took Imogen to walk alongside the beach nearby, hands stuffed into his pockets as he tried to conjure up what to say. Imogen, meanwhile, was trying to focus on anything else except for Jacob's abs.

"First off, I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you."

"Every narcissistic guy says that before he's about to break a girl's heart, you know that, right?" She muttered, staring straight ahead. The weather in La Push was slightly warmer than Forks, and it was nice to hear the waves crashing against the beach. Surprisingly, the beach was vacant even though Spring Break had just begun.

"I'm different, Imogen. You have to believe that there's a reason why I did this to you and Bella. I know you protect her with all of your heart, and I think it's amazing how dedicated of a friend you are."

"So then tell me this reason, Jacob. Please, enlighten me," Imogen stopped in her tracks, turning towards him and folding her arms across her chest.

He sighed, looking straight down at the ground. She placed her fingers underneath his chin and tilted his head upwards. He felt electricity power through him just from the slight touch.

"And look me in the eyes when you talk. I want to know that this is real."

He took a deep breath. Staring into her eyes only made him want to kiss her right then and there. "When you lived here, did you ever hear about the legends of La Push?"

Jacob knew that most kids learned about the legends when they were already in high school because rumors spread, but if their parents were in the tribe, they would've heard all of the stories growing up. He was hoping that Imogen would've caught some of that, considering she was a bright girl.

She tilted her head. "I've heard rumors about the Cullen family, but trust me," she scoffed loudly. "They're absurd."

"Tell them to me," he said seriously.

Imogen squirmed. "I've heard that the reason they avoid sunny days or why they're so pale is because they're vampires." After a few quiet moments, she waved it off with her hand. "It's silly, I know. It's my own assumption, actually, but I've never said it to anyone. Maybe the Cullens do usually go hiking on sunny days in Forks, but I don't know, it's always been odd to me."

"Where did you come up with vampires?" Jacob questioned, not trying to be rude. His tone was soft and Imogen trusted him because of it.

"When I see them eat, they barely swallow a morsel. They're very pale, and maybe that's just the tone of their skin, but Jessica and Lauren even have darker skin than them! They've just always been off, and I kept it to myself because they made Bella happy. She was always at her happiest when she was with Edward. I don't know, maybe I just read too many fantasy novels."

"What if I told you that you were correct?"

She chuckled dryly and knocked on his forehead. It was as hard as a rock. "Is there anything up there, Jacob? I thought we were just sharing our silly superstitions."

"It's not a superstition, Imogen."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to tell me that you're a vampire too? I was right, wasn't I? This is a ritual sacrifice?"

He laughed and shook his head. "No, trust me. I'm way better than those filthy bloodsuckers."

Imogen was way past being confused now. "Jacob, just start being blunt with me. I can't handle this climax you're building to."

"Follow me," Jacob whispered. He led her into the woods and the atmosphere became more and more eerie, but strangely enough, Imogen still trusted him. "Don't be scared, okay?"

"Too late for that."

Jacob began taking off his shorts and Imogen shrieked, covering her eyes. "What the hell are you doing?"

She didn't reveal her sight until she heard a loud whimper. When she removed her hands from her eyes, a huge wolf was standing in front of her. He had russet brown fur and oddly, his eyes looked exactly like Jacob's.

Imogen could hear her heart thumping in her ears and she wondered if the wolf could hear it as well.

"Jacob?"

The wolf nodded, laying down on the ground to signal that he was submitting to her.

"What the hell?"

merry late christmas, guys, here's an update for you!!