Two peas in a pod, that's what Embry and I were. We did everything together, napping, running in the forest, pranking Paul, mocking Jacob, ditching patrol and so much more.

His bright smile always resonated with my shrill laughs as we joked around about stupid stuff. We fit together like two puzzle pieces, we just felt right together. A shocking realization came to me, I was madly in love with Embry Call

There was never a dull moment with him, it was bliss. It felt like a dream but dreams can't last forever.

The dream turned into a nightmare when a new girl came to school. She was, breathtakingly beautiful. She was perfect. Flawless skin, gorgeous hands, the right height, perfect hair. She turned heads wherever she strutted and it wasn't shocking that she was the new "it" girl at school.

Embry adored her, he longed for her, and I could tell. His looks in class told the story. He would smile every time she waved at him. He chose her over me when it was group projects leaving me with Jared. He smiled an awkward grin at me and I sent him a reassuring smile as a heartstring tugged.

Jared looked at me with solemn eyes as I kept my head down, disappointed that he had chosen a new girl over his lifelong friend. I scribbled on the paper and handed it to Jared before requesting to leave the room.

I stood in front of the mirror, my reflection staring back. I had to reassure myself that Embry was only being friendly and we were still the best of friends.

Reentering the class I saw them joking around. She lightly slapped him on the arm as he cracked some stupid joke, his smile beaming. I grimaced at the sight before reseating myself next to Jared and refocusing on the task at hand.

The day seemed to drag by. Embry had said that he needed to show her around the school and classes which I understood but once more I felt my heart tug as I sat alone at the lunch table.

From then on, things took a turn for the worse.

The sight of her clinging to his arms greeted me every morning, every passing period, and every lunchtime. He'd notice me and wave hi with his bright smile and I'd return it with a half-hearted grin, heartbroken by their closeness.

He'd started ditching patrols and casual strolls to spend time with her. 'I need to show her around town' my ass. Sam and everyone else brushed it off and let it slide but I was devastated by the distance between us. I felt like I was being beaten by waves of jealousy as I struggled on my jagged cliff of emotions.

After what felt like months, we finally had a normal patrol. Embry and I were partners. Just us. No her.

I shifted quickly and Embry followed suit.

"It's been so long Y/N!" He said while trotting alongside me.

"Yeah, you've been spending a lot of time with the new girl huh?" Teasing him over his infatuation with her masking my resentment.

"Yeah, you should hang out with us sometime, she's really nice and smart," I mentally eye-rolled at him being awestruck over her capabilities, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you but we've been flirting back and forth and I honestly think I'm ready to ask her out, what do you think y/n?"

What.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my paw not moving an inch further. The wind rustled my fur as I repeated the sudden words in my head.

"You're going to...ask her out?" I asked slowly, not letting my emotions take a grip on me.

"Yeah, we both really like-"

"Go ahead, be my guest, Embry." Scoffing as I trotted away from him, creating more distance between us.

He jogged to catch up with me, stupefied by my sudden change in demeanor.

"What's got you so worked up oh wait let me guess, you're jealous?" He asked jokingly, I stayed silent. I really did wish it was a joke, all of it.

"It's not like we've ever spent any time together these past few weeks lover boy. All because you were too busy with Ms. Perfect over there." I spat, annoyed by the joke and how close it hit.

Upset by my sudden mood change, he bit back.

"Maybe I'm with her because she's better than you, ever thought about that?"

I turned back to look at him, our eyes locking. I felt the whole world around me cave in, why now. Why did I have to imprint now.

I turned around promptly, dashing into the forest. I could hear his distant voice shouting for me to wait but I ran. I ran until my body stopped me. Walking over to a tree trunk that hid my clothes, I shifted back and changed.

'Forever: Y/N + Embry Call'

Tears flooded my eyes as memories of our time spent together rushed through my mind.

I clasped a hand over my mouth as muffled sobs left my body, my knees colliding with the dead leaves. I wished it would be just us again, I just wanted it to be the same.

Nothing was the same ever again after that day.

Embry avoided me, each attempt I made to talk to him was taken by his new interest. I was dying, physically and mentally.

The pack saw my deteriorating condition firsthand, droopy eye bags, bloodshot eyes, my monotone voice. I'd become a shell of my former self, I had nothing left.

Sam didn't allow me to patrol anymore, my body was too weak to even handle the shifting. I would just collapse if I did. This relegated me to the bedroom where I spent most of my time curled under the sheets unless Emily brought me food.

Ironic that the boy that I love so much is killing me without knowing it, why would he know anyways, he's too busy with her. I'm just his friend, his friend who's hopelessly in love.

After weeks had passed, I forced myself to go to school one last time. Throwing on a random hoodie as I didn't care what I looked like anymore, I mean why would I? Arriving at school, I saw them there. Snuggling with each other.

What a sight for sore eyes.

A lump caught in my throat realizing she was wearing his hoodie. The same one I'd always wear whenever we had those campfires on the beach, grilling hotdogs over the campfire while laughing at stupid jokes. It's stupid really, it's just a hoodie but she looks better in it than I ever would.

She'd look good in a wedding gown with him right next to her too.

Swallowing the lump, I hurried my way past them, hoping Embry would be too preoccupied. How stupid of me to even show up to school.

"Hey, y/n wait up!" Embry yelled as he jogged after me while excusing himself from her. Refusing to make eye contact, I kept my eyes on the ground and sped up, praying and hoping he'd get the hint.

I felt a hand grip my wrist preventing me from moving any further, keeping my head down to avoid questions about my physical state.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about-"

Tears pelted the ground like hail, stunned by my sudden reaction, Embry pulled me to face him.

A stunned expression was all that wore on him, my pale face, hollow cheeks, lifeless eyes, dry cracked lips were too much for. He always saw me full of life, not a walking corpse.

"What's going on y/n, why do you look like this? Have you not been sleeping? Are you sick?" He rambled on while pressing a hand to my forehead. I yanked his hand away before speaking, my voice cracking.

"Go with her Embry, you've never cared about me." I scowled before backing away. "You don't need to care about me anymore either.:

"Are you serious right now? I've always cared for you, you're my best friend." Pleading with me as he took a step closer.

"If you were my best friend, you would've seen how much I loved you, how much I needed you," my voice wavering as I continued, "how I imprinted on you."

Dismayed by my sudden confession, he struggled to process it, giving me enough time to leave the school and walk to the forest. Sobs wracking my body as I stripped myself of my backpack and leaned against a tree.

Funny isn't it, a big wolf, wrecked mentally and physically by something stupid called love. Bitter laughter escaped my mouth, I would never compare to her. He had eyes for her and her only. She was his priority, I was his liability.

I laid down, arms spread out, exhaustion overtook me. I could feel myself fading, eyelids heavy as I felt the ache in my heart increase with each fleeting second.

Closing my eyes, I wished that it would relieve me of my pain, I wished it was just a bad nightmare. I could hear distant voices like that of the pack and Embry, yelling. I felt my consciousness slip away with each passing minute. I felt myself being hoisted up in the air, too weak to open my eyes, I thought that maybe if he had loved me like he loved her, we would've still been happy.

But I knew, he wouldn't.

I wasn't her.

I wished I was her.

Maybe in a different life, he'll love me the same way.

Constant notifications vibrated Jacob's phone as we sat on his couch together watching the movie on the screen. I shot him a look of annoyance, signaling him to check his phone which he did swiftly. His eyes shot open in surprise before he shot up from the couch and throwing on a shirt and shoes, hopping out the door as he attempted to put the last shoe on.

"Sorry y/n! Bella just told me she was free, you know what it's been like for her!" He hastily shouted out before sprinting down the gravel driveway.

"Bye!" I shouted back, trying to hide my disappointment.

I grimaced at the situation. On one hand, I knew how the sudden disappearance of the Cullens devastated her, especially Edward's sudden abandonment but this happened way too many times. But on the other, Jacob was like her puppy dog now, it was like I wasn't even his friend anymore, it was like our friendship meant nothing.

Knowing that Jacob wouldn't be back anytime soon, I got my stuff and locked the door behind me before driving over to Emily's place to surround myself in the livelier company.

"Sup y/n! Missed me didn't ya!" Jared boomed as I opened the door to which I replied with a "you wish". I chuckled at his dramatic pain as he pretended to hold his heart, eyes shut and face contorting.

"Know where Embry is?" Questioning the dramatic boy as I peered around the room to see if I could find any trace of the lanky boy, no luck.

"Finding your loverboy huh? With the deepest of regrets, I must inform you that he was put on patrol today." He said, mocking my curiosity over Embry's whereabouts. I stuck my tongue out at him to tease him before flipping him off and leaving to the porch to await Embry.

"Knock it off Paul, it's not what you think"

"yeah sure, and if it wasn't what I HEARD THROUGH THE MINDLINK then I don't know what else it could have been"

Their voices permeated through the thick fog as their silhouettes came into view, Paul's muscly tall physique was seen locking an arm around Embry's tall lanky but lean body.

"Aw buzz off Paul," Embry said as he struggled to get Paul's arm off of his neck. He laughed at his struggle before letting go as he noticed me, shooting Embry a smirk to which a slight blush came onto his face, only noticeable as they got closer. Odd.

"Sup Paul," I smirked at him before turning my attention over to Embry.

"And hello to you too wolf boy," teasing him to which he shot a glare at me before attempting to stifle his laughs.

Paul said a prompt bye before jogging into the house to fill up his appetite whilst Embry sat down next to me, his body warmth radiating. The cold air nipped at my skin, pushing me to get closer to the much warmer boy as I swung my legs into his lap and resting my head on his shoulder.

"Jacob left again?"

A sigh left my mouth at his obvious question.

Closing my eyes promptly, I answered with a short nod. A response that showed my true feelings after all these times of being blown off by Jacob.

We sat in silence, my eyes closed as I felt his shoulders move up and down in a rhythmic motion, lulling me to sleep almost. The deafening quiet seemed to almost suffocate us before I decided to talk.

"I don't know what to do anymore Embry, I'm always there for him when he needs me but, he runs to her at the drop of a hat or more like a single text message," I grumbled, reminiscing about the times Jacob's left me in the dust for Bella, excuses sprouting up.

"Why does everyone in this town seem to be so infatuated with her," expecting no response I kept going.

"Is it because she's Charlie's daughter? Hell if I was his child Jacob would be all over me too right? I'd be the hot topic of town too, people staring at me wherever I go, being suddenly accepted by the Cullen family and Jacob. I'd really have the best of both worlds wouldn't I?" Scowling at my own questions, I turned to Embry for answers.

"Am I not right?"

Silence.

"Helloooooooo, Earth to Embry?" I said, poking his cheeks with my finger. His brows seemed to be furrowed together, eyes lost in thought, his attention elsewhere.

There seemed to be no response from him to which I huffed and turned back to stare at the fog rolling in.

Closing my eyes to embrace the serenity once more, his lulling voice startled me.

“I don’t think it’s true.”

I turned my head towards him, curiosity piqued by his response.

“Let’s be real Embry, I’d have the best time of my life if I was Bella fucking Swan. Every guy would love me, all the attention would be on me and I wouldn’t be a second option again. Hell, I’d even be able to actually confess to my crush without fearing rejection.” Bitterness laced the last sentence as I satirically spoke my mind. Looking at Embry’s hands and wishing they were embracing mine, the sudden gesture of his fist clenching as his knuckles turned white shocked me, he was mad.

“God y/n, why the hell do you always need to compare yourself to Bella? She hasn’t even done anything to you. It’s always Bella this Bella that if I was her blah blah blah. Get over yourself, you’re not her and you won’t ever be. Learn how to appreciate yourself and live YOUR life and stop moping around. So what Jacob runs to Bella each time, you have Jared, Emily, Paul, and everyone else.”

A long silence suspended in the air.

“You have me and you come running, you never see the other people around you cause you’re too busy complaining. You can’t even see how much I love you cause you’re so stuck up about being Bella and being Jacob’s priority aren’t you?” Finishing his sentence, he proceeded to get up before walking away. Stopping before reaching the woods, his back faced to me, he spoke simply.

“Find me when you can learn to be y/n and not Bella.”

His form morphed before running into the woods on all fours, leaving me stunned. After a brief moment, tears flooded my eyes. I never got to tell him that I do like him, I never got to tell him that I just want his attention, I just wanted him.

Thoughts spiraled in my head, I was jealous of Bella for sure but I was jealous because of the attention she was given. I just wanted Embry to treat me like she was treated, I wanted to be special to him.

I ran home, I ran because I was scared. I was scared I wouldn't be able to look at him properly.

Weeks passed as we ceased to talk, and I ceased to exist in the small town of Forks. Or so I thought.

I groaned as heavy knocks assaulted my front door, I picked up the phone looking at the time. Who the hell shows up at someone's house at 4am?

Throwing on a sweater and sweats, I dragged myself to the front door, the cold hardwood floor seemingly repelling me from ever making any progress. I swung the door open, grumbling as my eyes were half open wondering who it was.

Jacob Black.

Mentally sighing, I invited him inside from the pouring rain, he seemed devastated.

He sat down after he changed as I made him some hot chocolate to comfort him.

"She chose him y/n, he came back and she chose him over me. She drove to Italy for that stupid bloodsucker." His cracking voice was more than enough for me to grasp his frustration and devastation.

"I dropped everything for her, I did everything for her y/n. And she still chose the guy that skipped town huh?" Laughing bitterly at the situation, I stared at his cup before handing it to him.

"Maybe if I was better than Edward I would've won this stupid fucking battle," his words escaping his clenched teeth. He was like me, we were jealous of someone, someone that seemed to win everything, someone that we were not. The words spoken to me by Embry were words I carried with me even as I was moping over the whole situation.

"Stop comparing yourself to him, Jacob. You're not Edward and you won't ever be him. You're so insistent on being better than Edward or being Edward that you can't even see what's in front of you. I was always here for you Jake, I was always here but you treated me like I was a second option. You left me in a heartbeat for her but you never had time to spend with me, not even five minutes, when you were with her," I too chuckled bitterly at the ironic situation, me and Jacob were similar in many ways.

"Learn to live your life, don't live it for her or because of her, learn how to live it like you want." Those words seemed to resonate deep within both of us. After finally speaking those words, I realized that I was ready to live my life as y/n, a citizen of the small city of Forks, and not vying to be Bella, the new girl to forks.

I stood up, putting on shoes hastily before grabbing the handle. I could sense Jacob's attempt to stop me and apologize for his treatment but I knew better.

"It's ok, I know you're gonna apologize. I'm not going to accept, I want the Jake that will care and treat everyone with the same importance that you had for Bella. Come to me when you're ready, but until then I hope you grow and learn how to live your life."

I paused again, one foot out of the door.

"I have someone important to apologize to, someone that didn't leave me in the blink of an eye."

I hurriedly shut the door behind me before running to the woods, my lungs burning and legs aching as I forced myself to my limit. I ran and ran, visions of the houses slowly turned to trees, the crunching leaves under my feet reminded me of the days we would all run through the woods.

My breathing became labored as I was reaching my breaking point but it was close, our place was close. Then, in my distant vision, I could see it. That one pine tree, seemingly normal to many, but to me, it held our memories. The initials only reassured my assumption as I knew that he would be here waiting. As I got closer to the tree, my legs gave out under me, sending me tumbling to the ground whilst tree branches scratched my arms and ripped a hole in my pants.

"EMBRY! EMBRY I'M HERE PLEASE!" I shouted into the dark forest, eyes tearing up once more as I pleaded.

"I LOVE YOU EMBRY CALL AND I'M SORRY I WAS TOO BLIND TO REALIZE IT!" I shouted once more before crumpling closer to the ground, my tears now fully flowing and hitting the dead leaves below.

Maybe I took too long, maybe he moved on, maybe I was too jealous of someone to even realize his love.

As sobs continued throughout my body, the hope of him ever coming was diminishing.

I was too late.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong but warm arms wrap around my waist and pulling me up.

"Shhh, it's ok I'm here now."

That voice, I looked up to see Embry's face which held a dorky grin. I threw my arms around him as sobs still left my body, the emotional rollercoaster was far too much for me to handle.

"I-i'm s-s-so sorry Embry, I was too focused on trying to be Bella that I-"

"I know, I know, I heard it all," shushing me as he rubbed circles on my back consoling me. After what felt like hours in his embrace, I finally calmed down and only tear stains remained.

I finally lifted my head to meet his eyes properly this time, he stared back with tender eyes.

"You finally learned how to live for you huh?" He asked, not expecting an answer to which I was oblivious.

Before I could respond, he pressed his lips to mine. I didn't try and fight it and melted into it instead.

I was blind to be jealous of Bella when I already had something that she fought to keep.

Smiling mentally, I wrapped my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.