1. Skeletons

"Oh, come on Taj, cheer up,"Melissa said from the passenger seat, she was calmly lounging, her long auburn hair playing in the breeze. She let her arm hang casually on the window line, enjoying the gorgeous late August weather. I grunted and paused at the turn onto a long, winding wooden road, the street was deserted though, and I easily maneuvered the blue corvette onto the other street, cruising past the tall trees on both sides which cast a shadow on the road.

Mel pushed her sunglasses up on her head, I could feel her bright green eyes on me,"See? Your bummed mood is bringing the crummy weather back."

I knew Melissa was only trying to joke, to pull me out of my glum mood, she was my best friend and only wanted for me to be happy. I felt guilty for sulking the whole morning and during the ride to Forks, Melissa would be going home in a couple of days, and then she was off to college, and I wouldn't see her for a couple of weeks afterwards. I didn't want to leave her with bad memories, so I smiled a little and glanced at her, attempting to joke back.

"It could have followed, you know," I said, turning my gaze back to the road,"Or it could just feel threatened by your bubbly nature today."

I could almost sense the smile growing on her clear face. Score! Well, temporarily. Honestly I wasn't sure how long I could keep up a light-hearted mood. But could you if you were moving to a new town and losing your best friend? Plus all of the friends you'd had back at home. ..Or maybe this was better, well..never mind. Melissa pulled me away from my thoughts, thankfully.

"I'm surprised your dad let you drive the corvette here, knowing how you are,"She said honestly, switching the song on the cd player.

I wasn't offended by this comment, because, well... I was a bit of a speed demon, especially when it came to fast cars, like my Dad's corvette for example. But I was more responsible than that, I wouldn't speed in his car. I wouldn't be able to see the light of day if I got into an accident with the corvette, and, to stamp out temptation, my Dad never, albeit rarely, tossed me the keys to his car. And plus that, I haven't been up to much of my old habits lately. Right now I was going a couple of miles under the speed limit actually, there was no thrill to go take advantage of the abandoned country road. Part of me could sense that Mel was hinting at this, that she would love for me to be my reckless self, even though it meant mild fear of my quick turns. But I only nodded slowly, glancing at her,"Yeah, me too. Maybe it really is a new start. Or, to be realistic, he could just be trying to cheer me up."

I knew that was the only reason why I was being allowed to drive the car from Seattle out to Forks, despite the several speeding opportunities because of the lonely country roads. My Dad knew I was bummed, and had tried to make some brownie points by letting me drive his precious here.

There was a momentary silence from Mel, I could feel her gaze on me,"Is It working?"

I didn't want to be cornered into a serious conversation, about how I felt, nonetheless. I let the lightest hints of a joking grin creep onto my face,"A little."

I could almost feel Mel relax a little and silence ensued the car once more as I scanned signs for the turnoff. I would miss Mel terribly when she left on Sunday, the two of us had been best friends since she had moved in next door when she was eight, I had been sitting on my front stoop one morning when I saw her get out of the car with her parents and her sister. She had looked at me and waved hesitantly, and I had waved back. Afterwards she had walked over and the two of us started talking, just like that. Afterwards we were inseparable. Out of all the people I had met in life, Melissa was the most mature, determined, and smartest. But even more than that, she was the most understanding. I didn't have to worry about saying anything wrong to Mel, I could tell her everything, and she understood or accepted it. She never tried to change or judge me, she accepted me as I was, and I could trust her with my life. There are very few people you meet in life like that.

But now she was going to Washington State. And, since the beginning of the summer, I was destined to move to Forks. My grandmother, Naomi, lived on the reservation and had owned a small store in town with my grandfather. He had passed away a few years ago though, and it was getting more difficult for her to manage the store by herself, so my mom was willing to take up a job as a manager, which would also mean that I would have to help out as a clerk as well. Which also meant that we would have to move to Forks for it to be easier to get to this new job and be within a reasonable distance to visit my grandmother. And, my rents had successfully found a three bedroom house a couple of miles away from La Push, the reservation, and not too far from town, either. Convenient, huh?

Though I was upset to be moving, it would be nice to be near my grandmother again. She was one of my favorite relatives, along with my late grandfather, she was always calm and understanding. Naomi just seemed to be able to sort out anything I was having trouble with, along with her guidance and kindness though, she was also firm. But that was something else I liked about her, she was always sure about her decisions. I remember when I was younger and went to visit Naomi in La Push for the weekend over the summer, she would always take me out on walks with my brothers. She would tell us things about the trees and the birds we saw, and I had listened in awe, how could one person know so much?

And when the weather wasn't agreeing, which in Forks, it usually wasn't, she would sit us down and tell us stories. Some of them were old myths from the Quileute tribe, and others were about the tribe's history, no matter what the story was though, it was always interesting. Naomi always became animated when telling these stories, she just had a way with words that made you stop and listen. As we got older though we mostly saw her around the holidays because she couldn't find someone to watch the store for a few days. I couldn't wait to go visit her, which I was planning on doing as soon as I was off manual labor, but one of the reasons I was eager to go visit her was that I knew she wouldn't try to corner me with my feelings with questioning. Everyone had been doing that lately, and though I understood they were only looking out for me, I'd just prefer to have some down time.

I found the road to turn on and did so, and the house was the first one on the right. It was set on a nice plot of property, set back a good distance from the road and secluded by a few trees, though this road didn't seem very busy. A long dirt driveway went back to medium sized white barn with black shingles, it seems slightly dilapidated, with a lot of the paint chipped away to the bare wood and the roof slightly caved in. Nothing a little paint and a couple of two by fours couldn't fix though. The large farmhouse was painted white as well, slightly faded in some spots though, it had a wrap-around porch with black shutters and shingles. The yard also needed to be weeded and mowed, and the bushes needed to be trimmed, but it wasn't anything to worry about. I saw painting in my near future though. Mel seemed to read my mind.

"I wouldn't be surprised if your mom had the paint cans ready to go,"She said as I pulled up to the curb and killed the engine.

"Shh,"I said, putting my finger to my lips,"She might hear you!"I grinned.

"Ahh, just the two girls I'm looking for!"A woman's voice called cheerily across the yard.

"Too late,"Mel said, making a mock defeated expression, I laughed a little.

My Mom, whom had been standing near the porch, walked up to the car and looked in the window, fixing me with a look of mild amusement,"Just because a corvette is fast doesn't mean it's soundproof, you know."

"One can only wish,"I said, giving my Mom a grin as I sat back in the driver's seat, the epitome of calm, cool and collected. My Mom was a pretty woman, her middle age only seemed to add to her beauty, she had high cheekbones and a tan complexion, her hair was shining black and fell lightly to her shoulders.

"Alright you two, out of the car, we have to get ready for the moving van,"She said, tapping on the passenger door before turning away.

I frowned a little and got out of the car, as did Mel, my Dad had left earlier than my Mom and I with the van, this way he could start getting the van ready for unloading before we got there. He should have gotten here half an hour ago.

"You mean Dad's not here yet?"I asked quizzically.

My Mom shook her head,"He probably got lost, you know how your father is when it comes to directions. If he would just agree to getting a cell phone we could call him, but.."She trailed off, shaking her head once more.

I couldn't help but smile, my Dad wanted nothing to do with technology, and this included getting a cell phone. My Mom had tried several times to convince him, but to no assent.

"Well, something did arrive here,"She continued after a moment, checking her watch,"And a little early too."

I quirked an eyebrow and the sound of a rumbling engine caught my attention. Mel and I whirled around as a large flat bed made it's way down the street like a gentle giant, parking in front of our house. On the flat bed was a 1990 Mustang GT five-speed, my Mustang GT, to be exact. The car, Neil, as I had nicknamed him [yes, him, was only partly finished though. Neil was currently missing both fenders and a hood, along with a front bumper. The car gleamed raw metallic silver in the light as the sun once again made it's appearance. I had the parts on order though, and they would be arriving within a matter of days, then it was just painting them and putting the parts back on the car. My Dad and I had bought Neil as a project and a first car for me, he promised he would help me with the more difficult parts of the project if I promised to help as well and get a job to pay for the parts. I was quick to agree, wanting a muscle car of my own and an opportunity to spend time with my Dad, since he was at work a lot. Neil was my pride and joy. Or at least he had been six months ago.

The truck's engine turned off and the driver got out, a tall, muscled man with a graying beard and moustache, along with the scruffy hair on his head. He broke into a grin when he saw us.

"Well, I got it here in one piece! And early too, speaking of early, where's Keith and Kyle?"He asked, looking around for the van curiously.

"They didn't get here yet,"My Mom answered,"Thank you, Ted."

"We give him a half hour head start and he's still late?"Ted shook his head, but he was smiling,"No problem, Julie, I owe Keith anyways."

"Ten bucks says he took the wrong turnoff at the last exit,"I spoke up easily walking over to Ted. It was easier to play along calmly now that there were more people around.

Ted put his hand up for a high-five, which I returned,"I'm keeping you to that,"He said seriously, but laughed.

I couldn't help but smile, Ted was like an uncle to me, he and my dad had grown up together and started their own mechanic shop. I had known Ted ever since I was a kid and I loved his easy-going nature, he was always in a light-hearted mood and it was hard to be upset for long when he was around.

"I'll pay you once we get settled in,"I told him calmly.

His dark gaze turned serious and he shook his head,"This is on the house, just don't hurt yourself with that thing, it ain't a toy."

I nodded slowly,"You won't have to worry about that." My gaze went over the Mustang, no, not at all.

His serious expression faded into a light smile,"I'll just back this into the driveway, since your dad parked the Charger in the garage when he came down last week. "

I nodded in response and without another word he walked back to the truck and started it up, backing into the driveway. I turned my head towards the garage, both barn doors securely shut, keeping it's secrets locked away. Some ugly skeletons in that closet, I thought. I had wondered briefly where my Dad had parked the Charger, he had come down a week early to check everything out one last time and drop off the car, since it would be a hassle to make two trips. It bothered me that he had put the car in the garage though, as if he was trying to hide it from me like an angry bruise that was too painful to look at..No, I was being too paranoid. He had just put the car in the garage so the weather wouldn't wear at it and no one would get ideas if they came by. Easy Taj.

"Earth to planet Taj,"Mel said, snapping me from my thoughts. She smiled at my confused expression,"Come on, let's help Ted get Neil off the flat."

Ted had backed up into the drive already and was beginning to unhook the chains that kept the car on the flatbed, I followed Mel automatically and listened to Ted's instructions, glad to have something to busy my thoughts. Within fifteen minutes Neil was safely sitting in the driveway. The three of us, Ted, Mel, and I, pushed Neil farther up the drive to the garage, so we'd have room to bring in the van. Whenever the van got here, that is.

My Mom sighed after a few minutes of the four of us standing in the yard, she glanced at her watch again and then looked at me,"Taj, why don't you start bringing things up to your room? I have a feeling it's going to be a long night if your father doesn't get here soon."

I nodded obediently and Mel and I took some boxes out of the back of the corvette, walking into the large farmhouse. It felt unnervingly empty when we first walked in, there was no furniture in the house other than a large sofa that sat in the livingroom on our right, which was covered with a large white sheet. Otherwise it was an empty span of hardwood flooring, to the left was a large doorway which went to the dining room, and in front of us was a wooden staircase. I adjusted the boxes in my arms and let out a slightly unsteady breath,"Well, here we go.."

The two of us then cautiously walked upstairs and looked down the long empty hallway, there were four wooden doors, on the far left was the master bedroom, and one on the opposite wall led to the bathroom. I walked over to the last door on the far right, opening it with a creak. Instead of a room, it was another more narrow stairway which turned to the left.

"Jeez,"Mel muttered,"Talk about creepy."

I snorted,"You're telling me."

We walked up the staircase without another word and as I reached out to open the next door at the top of the stairs Mel suddenly broke the silence.

"Wait, "She said,"There could be a ghost in there."

I rolled my eyes,"Yeah and I'm a werewolf."I said, trying to be the mature one of our friendship, but I was only joking.

Mel made a face and I opened the door. The room ran the length of the upstairs floor, the ceiling shaped with the roof. Our footsteps echoed in the room, it was painted white, like the rest of the house, with classic wooden flooring. There was a window at each end of the room which let sunlight in to dance on the walls. The only furniture was an antique cherry wood dresser at one end of the room. I set down the boxes easily and looked around.

"Hey,"Mel said, she had already started exploring, she had opened one of the windows and was looking outside,"You can step down onto a lower section of the roof down here, and there's a tree right next to it."She stepped back and looked at me, waggling her eyebrows,"Perfect for sneaking out."

I laughed a little,"Yeah, my sneaking out days are over, I'm retired, thank you." I began to unload my traveling bag and put my clothes in the cherry-wood dresser.

"You just turned seventeen,"Mel pointed out,"They've just hit full-swing! And soon, you'll have a getaway car too."

I shook my head a little, chuckling at Mel's persistence, but part of me felt a little sad too at how hard she was trying to find that reckless nature in me again. Usually I'd be all up for ideas of sneaking away for late nights, if not suggesting them by now. Had I really changed that much? And was it that easy to tell?

"If you say so,"I said lightly, folding the last t-shirt before putting it away and closing the drawer.

"Hey,"Mel said gently, and suddenly she was by my side, smiling,"Everything will be alright. It won't be hard for you to find friends, and I'll only be in Seattle. I'll come and visit as often as I can."

I looked at her bright green eyes, so calm, so sure,"Promise?"I asked, feeling a year younger than Mel on one of those rare occasions.

"Promise,"Mel nodded, smiling.

"Well, those kids better know what's comin' to 'em,"I said, grinning a little, letting a glimmer of my defiant, reckless nature show to cheer her up.

Mel laughed, happy to catch a glimpse of the old me,"You bet!"

My Mom's voice calling upstairs broke us from our conversation,"Mel! Taj! Dad and Kyle are here! And so is Quil!"