After Eleanor's afternoon at the Cullen house, a piece of her had settled. Maybe it was the fact that their home was still there, still in one piece. Maybe it had to do with seeing Carlisle's face again, even if it was just in picture form.

She stared at their picture now, a small smile on how face that hadn't quite disappeared since that afternoon. Her phone pinged on her bedside table, breaking El out of her thoughts.

After placing the photo next to her, Eleanor reached for her phone. The message across her screen sent a flash of hope through her and she began to text back when a knock sounded on her door.

Jess entered a second later, holding her phone up in the air. "Did you get the text from Bella, too?"

"Yeah." El said as she finished typing her message, telling Bella that they'd both meet her for a movie. "I told her we'd meet her."

"Great." Jess answered unenthusiastically, moving further into Eleanor's room to sit on her bed. "What's this?"

Jess' fingers curled gently around the newly found photo, her brows pinching together softly. "Where'd you get this?"

Eleanor breathed a laugh, picking at her nails as she answered her sister. "I went to their house."

"When?" Jess asked, shooting her a look that Eleanor didn't see.

"Yesterday afternoon." El answered, her blue eyes landing back on the small photograph. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest.

"Well, you guys looked happy." Jess set the picture back down on the bed and stood. "We should probably be going."

"Right." Eleanor mumbled back, watching as her sister closed the door behind her. She looked back down at the picture, a frown on her face now as she stared at herself and Carlisle.

They did look happy in the picture and Eleanor couldn't help but wonder why he couldn't just stay with her. Or at the very least, keep some sort of contact for her to know that he was okay.

With an irritated huff, El turned away from her bed and finished getting ready, excited to spend time with her friend tonight.

The movie was boring but Eleanor sat through it for Bella's sake. Neither Bella nor Jess looked to thrilled during the show but El was glad that Bella was at least getting out of the house now.

Afterwards, the three girls walked along the sidewalk, eyeing some stores as they passed. Eleanor and Bella walked close together, while Jess stayed close to El, rambling about the movie.

"I don't know why you wanna sit through all those zombies eating people and no hot guys kissing anybody. It's gross." Jess spoke quickly, not allowing either girl to get another word in. "Like why are there so many zombie movies anyway?"

Eleanor sighed at her sister. "Some people are into those kind of movies, Jess."

Bella was zoned out beside her as Jess continued chatting away. "Like is it supposed to draw a parallel to leprosy? Our cousin had leprosy. It's not funny, you know? And like, is it supposed to be a metaphor for consumerism?"

Eleanor tuned her sister out, keeping her eyes open for any shops she wanted to stop by. "I was surprised you called at all actually. Like your depression thing. I'm totally, totally worried."

El reached to grab Jess' wrist, pinching her as she did so. Jess let out a high-pitched noise, glaring at Eleanor fiercely. The girl shot one back and let go of Jess' wrist. "Change the subject."

Jess mumbled an apology underneath her breath as the trio passed a narrow side road. Bella halted, her eyes straying towards the group of men sitting around. They called when they saw them. "What's up guys?"

Eleanor frowned at her friend, stopping a few steps in front of her. "Bells? Are you okay?"

"I think I know those guys." Bella answered, her focus still on the group. She began walking towards the men and Eleanor called out for her. "I'll be right back."

Jess scoffed and looked at her twin. "What the hell is she doing?"

"Not a clue." Eleanor replied, her wide eyes on Bella and the men. She lowered her head, her mind seeking out Bella's to see what in the hell her friend was thinking. El's heart stuttered when she saw Bella's vision of Edward.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Jess confronted Bella when the brunette finally made her way back to them. "Are you crazy?"

Bella's cheeks were red, her eyes glazed over. "I thought I saw something."

'Or someone,' Eleanor thought, bitterly. Bella was going to get herself killed if she pulled something like this again, El was sure of it.

"You're insane. Or suicidal, actually. That homebody could've been a psycho, or something. I was about to end up in an FBI interview room, like some lame TV show." Jess rambled on, turning her back and walking away as she did.

"That was such a rush." Bella breathed, clearly not listening to Jess' complaints any longer.

"Are you insane?" Eleanor gripped Bella's wrist, stopping her from following Jessica. "You could've been seriously hurt. What were you thinking?"

Bella didn't answer, her brown eyes instead staring at the concrete. "Like I said, I thought I saw something."

"You thought you saw him." Eleanor said lowly, her eyes burning a bright red. Bella's own eyes jumped to Eleanor, her lips parted in shock. "He's not here, Bella."

"I did see him." She hissed, pulling her arm away from El. "Don't sit here and lecture me when you're still driving to their house."

Eleanor scoffed this time, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I went over there because I needed some sort of closure and I got it. Maybe you would have too if you decided to stop feeling sorry for yourself. They left both of us, Bella. Not just you."

"I miss them everyday, Bells. But I'm not going to put my life on pause because Carlisle left." She continued, reaching up to rub her brow. "Edward wouldn't want you to do that either."

The brunette fell silent, avoiding Eleanor's gaze all together now. El sighed, uncrossing her arms and nudging Bella's shoulder with her own. "Let's go home, yeah?"

Bella called again a few days later, when El was busy trying to complete homework. The shrill sound of her ringtone had cut off her train of thought and she huffed, raising the phone to her ear with a greeting.

"What're you doing?" Bella's voice rang through the other side.

"Homework." El answered back, frowning down at another question. "What's up?"

"Want to go to Jacob's house with me?"

Eleanor raised her brows in surprise. "Sure? When-?"

"Great, I'll be there in 10."

Bella hung up before El could get a word in and the girl stared at her phone for a split second, her brow pulled down to confusion. After a moment, she rolled her eyes and pushed away from her desk, moving to her closet to throw on some fresh clothes.

El called out to her mother as she ran out the door, informing her that she'd be back later. Bella sat in her truck outside, waiting patiently for Eleanor to climb in.

In the truck bed was a tarp, covering what appeared to be two large objects.

"What's that?" El asked as Bella stared driving.

"You'll find out."

Eleanor narrowed her eyes at her but backed off, trusting that Bella would tell her once they got to Jake's.

The ride to La Push went by quickly and the two were soon pulling up to a small red house. The girls got out of the truck and had just began walking towards the garage when Jacob ran out. "Bella! Where have you been loca?"

The two hugged, causing Eleanor to smile. Jacob looked just the same as when she last saw him, with long black hair and tanned skin. His smile was bright as he greeted the girls.

"I, um, brought you something." Bella said once Jacob pulled back and pointed her thumb towards the bed of her truck.

Bella reached up and pulled the tarp off the objects, revealing two worn-down dirt bikes. Eleanor instantly put the pieces together and she wanted to strangle Bella. What did she think this was going to accomplish?

"Wow, scrap metal." Jacob exclaimed, sarcastically as he studied the bikes. "You shouldn't have."

"I was thinking they'll probably cost more to fix than they're worth but then I thought that if I have a mechanic-type friend to help me out, they could be pretty nice." Bella explained, ignoring the look that Eleanor was sending her.

Jacob smirked. "Me being the mechanic friend, right? Since when are you into motorcycles anyway?"

"Since now." Bella replied easily, throwing Eleanor her own look. "I get it if you think this is completely stupid and reckless."

"I do." Eleanor spoke up, grinning when the both of them turned to her. Bella only rolled her eyes.

Jacob smiled kindly at Eleanor before turning his attention back to Bella. "When do we start?"

Eleanor found that she enjoyed hanging out with Bella and Jacob. Bella was coming around more with Jacob around and the boy was fun, always cracking jokes and coming up with new conversation whenever it got quiet.

He took her mind off Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens, and she appreciated the break it allowed her.

The radio played softly around them, filling in the odd bout of silence. Jacob's tools clanged together as he screwed another piece into place, the smell of grease and oil invading Eleanor's nose.

Bella stood from where she sat by Jacob and reached down towards the radio, turning off the music.

Eleanor protested loudly, giving Bella an incredulous look. "That song was good! Why'd you turn it off?"

"I just don't really like music anymore, I guess." She mumbled as she sat back down by Jacob.

"Okay..." Jacob and Eleanor shared a look. "No more music then."

"So, I was thinking if we do this everyday, and hopefully we will, we have to fit homework in there somewhere." Bella began after a few minutes of silence." I don't want Billy thinking I'm a bad influence on you."

"You? A bad influence on me? Please." He scoffed and El began to laugh quietly.

Bella looked slightly taken aback but a smile tugged on her lips. "I'm older than you. That makes me the influencer and you the influence."

"No, no, no. My size and knowledge base actually makes me older than you... and you." He pointed towards Eleanor after a thoughtful silence. "Because of your general paleness and lack of know-how."

"I convinced you to build two-wheel death traps with me." Bella argued with a laugh. "So doesn't that make you funny, young and naive?"

"I still think it's a bad idea," Eleanor added, causing Bella to sigh at her. El only grinned back.

Jacob set one of his tools down and set his focus on the girls. "So where do we stand?"

"I'm 35." Bella told him. "You might be like 32. Eleanor is definitely 43."

"Hey!" Eleanor exclaimed, smiling while the two others laughed.

"Jake! Are you in here?"

Eleanor turned her head right as two other boys entered the garage. She recognized them from La Push, though she couldn't remember their names. "Hey, guys this is Bella and Eleanor. Girls, this is Quil and Embry."

Eleanor smiled at the two, raising her hand in a short wave. The shorter boy with light brown hair nodded his head at them. "I'm Quil. So the bike building story is true?"

"Oh yeah." Bella teased with a grin. "I taught him everything I know."

"What about the part where you're his girlfriend?" Quil asked with a smirk.

Eleanor's brows raised and she turned to see Jacob blushing. Bella shook her head, awkwardly. "Um, we're just friends."

"Oh, burn!" Embry laughed.

"Actually, I remember I said that she's a girl and my friend." Jacob explained, giving the two boys a dirty look.

"Embry, do you remember him making that distinction?" Quil grinned at Embry.

"Nope." He laughed. El watched in amusement when the two boys high-fived.

"So do you guys have girlfriends then?" Eleanor asked, narrowing her eyes at them.

Bella and Jacob snickered while Embry turned his attention towards the brunette and grinned. "Is that an offer?"

She only rolled her eyes at him.

Jake silenced his laughter long enough to point to Quil. "Quil's taking his cousin to prom."

Eleanor hid her laugh in her shoulder, before stepping away from her chair to join Embry and Bella by the wall. Quil had lunged for Jacob, the two boys now play-fighting around the crowded garage.

El was still watching the scene in front of her with a fond smile when she felt a nudge at her shoulder. Her eyes locked on Embry, and he smiled mischievously. "I got five bucks on Quil."

Eleanor grinned back. "You're on."