A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. The majority belong to Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" series. I do own the protagonist and other original characters.
Reviews would be appreciated. Thanks :)
Watching the twilight
Sitting here on the top of a cliff may not be the smartest thing to do, but what's the worst that can happen to me? If I do fall, I can still swim. Not like I'm planning on a quick dip anyway. The smell of the sea side has always been my favorite; my mother begs to differ as she despises the smell of fish.
Ew, fish.
Definitely not the reason why I'm sitting on top of this cliff, I guess I'm looking for a little peace. The seaside has always reminded me of this certain smell; I guess it's sort of like the sun block or coconut oil scent I've grown to like. Yea, that's it; coconut is probably one on my list of soothing smells.
I must look like manic on the brink of suicide sitting on edge. My legs are dangling off the cliff, flowing freely along with the wind. The breeze here seems to be stronger than normal, but I couldn't care any less. The temperatures are supposed to be 10 degrees Celsius and less by tonight, my mother insisted on me bringing one of those giant, puffy jackets that make me look like a marshmallow. She still doesn't understand that I won't be in need of it, but just so that she'd let me go out, I accepted. Within minutes upon arriving here I left it back with the guys, after receiving a round of laughter that was sent at me. I should've seen it coming.
Thank goodness I wore jeans today; a dress certainly would have been flying all around with the wind. My black tank top made it so that I would feel some of the strong wind beat against my skin, I like times like these in which I feel sort of normal. Not counting the fact that I'm dangling from a cliff. The wind is in favor of me today, it's blowing back my long dark brown/chestnut hair.
Waves are crashing against the rocks beneath me; sometimes I would feel a little spray of water shoot up at me. Each time it did I would feel a shocking sensation of cold droplets against my skin. The cold doesn't really bother me, seeing that I now have a constant body temperature of 108 or so. I don't remember, but can't care any less either.
Come to think about it, I definitely must be going through the teenage phase of 'apathy'. Sometimes I can be really cruel when I'm at this phase, but tonight I'm not hurting anyone… emotionally. Of course with apathy comes stupidity, I have about a 50-50 chance of landing on one of those rocks down there if I do fall. So maybe I should be a little careful.
Ah, what the heck! I cannot be bothered to move, if I do get injured we can always just call up Carlisle. This scene's just too picturesque to move from. It's just about 6:10pm; the sky is now a really fiery orange, blended with some maroon and yellow. What is really getting to me is how the sea has turned into a really vivid violet! I guess it's probably from the water's blue mixing with the citrus sky. I so dearly wish I had photographic memory, not only would it make studying for school easier, it would help me remember moments like these for a very long time.
I hear some footsteps about another ten meters coming in from behind me.
Great, now the peace that solitude brings has just disappeared.
"Hey there, birthday girl." A deep, husky voice suddenly whispered into my ear. "I hope you're not planning suicide on the day you were born."
Yes, today was my birthday. My sweet sixteen if you will. I guess the phrase 'sweet sixteen' lost the 'sweet' aspect of it, when I invited the pack for a bonfire on the beach. If I didn't they would have crashed it anyway, I'm stuck with the guys whether I like it or not.
"As much as I would love to go for a swim, Jake" my sarcastic attempt broke through with a cracking voice, must have been a long time since I last spoke. "I would rather enjoy watching the twilight."
"Aw, our little TJ's voice is finally breaking!" Jacob started to flash me the little impish smile of his "She's finally all grown up!" He started to chuckle.
"Hardy-harr, Jacob. Of all the times you choose to make fun of me, you just had to ruin the moment!" Seriously, this guy tends to get on my nerves. I know in the end he eventually means well, but right now he just crushed the serenity of the sunset.
I don't get it though; I'm still making this guy laugh when I'm being partially serious!
"Alright! Fine." He still said in between his fits of laughter "I'll let you meditate for another half hour." Then within a split second he switched into a semi-serious face "If you aren't down there by then or gone missing, I'll send the pack looking for you… Deal?" The look in his face may have seemed blank and serious, but his dark brown eyes portrayed care and concern. He's acting like a big brother again.
"Deal." I concluded quickly. With that, Jake was off back to the guys. Why I had to bother agreeing with the deal was far beyond me. Jake probably thinks I'll be kidnapped or try and sneak away within half an hour. Werewolf or not: I was still a 'vulnerable' girl, according to him. If I had pursued the topic any farther, I wouldn't have gotten any peace. I guess it's just because he cares, the guys probably do too. They'll have to seeing that it's my birthday today.
How I ended up with them is far beyond me.
Oh, right. It all started the night when I lost my temper at Joey, my little brother. I was just fourteen years old and he used to piss me off, just as anyone would've back then. We were fighting over something that I can't remember now. Whatever it was, it resulted in him punching me in my gut! For a little butt-munch that's half my age, he was pretty tough and really got on my nerves that night! I slapped him in the face, cruel I know, but I couldn't control my temper. I ran into the back yard then through to the forests to rant, kick and scream. Within minutes I had found myself transforming!
The weirdest thing then was that I could hear voices. I caught one of them saying "Sam, nothing round here. This is pointless. Are you sure there's a new girl?" At the time I was so scared that thoughts were racing through my mind, faster than I could control. What scared me was when another replied:
"What are you? Deaf, Quil?! I can hear her thoughts already!" I was frozen in my tracks; I had just figured out that they were talking about me! As naïve as I was back then, they didn't have to question me, as my thoughts betrayed my location. Before they could find me, I had transformed back into a human. It was a fast but very painful process; I eventually found that I didn't have any clothes on! I ran back to my back yard and threw on the first thing I found off the laundry line! That's when I heard pacing coming in from the forest. They were Sam and Quil in their wolf form. They stole two pairs of pants that belonged to my dad from the washing line and ran off to the woods with them.
They emerged from the trees in their human state and introduced me into this lifestyle. I was wearing nothing but my dad's shirt; at least it went down until my knees. It was better than nothing.
"It's already been twenty minutes; do you reckon I should go up there and get her?" Jake questioned. He mentally answered 'Yes' to his own question.
Just before he was about to sprint off, Sam's hand landed on his shoulder.
"Let her be, Jake." Sam retorted "No need to check on her. She's still up there; you can tell by her silhouette. She probably won't get a chance to be by herself nowadays."
"Do you think TJ's upset over anything?" Jake asked, with quite a fair bit of concern in his voice.
"Taylor Jane is just a growing up, teenage girl and a werewolf. She probably needs to think a few things out on her own. You can stop being a big brother to her for now, Jake. From the looks of it she won't be running off anywhere, anytime too soon." Sam reassured a slightly anxious Jacob.
The sun was long gone, and the twilight had disappeared. I was surrounded in darkness; the only things that were illuminated that night were from the moonlight and the blazing bon fire that was set up, back on the beach. Maybe it's time I get back to the pack, for someone like me it's pretty creepy sitting somewhere remote on your own. I must admit that I do get pretty freaked out when I'm in my human form. When I transform I feel somewhat confident and powerful over my own safety, but it seems unnecessary to transform now.
I steadily get up and try to find something to balance on, my legs had fallen asleep! At one point I thought I was going in for a dive, due to my lack of balance. Damn, how long was I sitting?
I need to go for a run. But where to?
Oh wait, Jake's going to send the pack on my butt once I leave the safety range. I can't cause that kind of chaos tonight. Fine then, I'll run towards them. I really do wonder how far I can get before they notice.
Time to put my skills to the test.
I start scouting the area; it's amazing how much I can see now. When I was human, I was practically blind as a bat! Okay, there's a bunch of trees down from the cliff not too far off. I could run past the trees towards them and then spook them from behind!
I need to make this quick, before they notice I'm no longer here.
Finally leaving the place I was at for the last hour or so, I dash off making it into the woods. The thrilling sensation of the wind in my hair, my feet feeling light from running so fast and the power of doing so was thrilling! What surprises me is, when I'm running through the woods I don't create as much noise as I normally would. The leaves stay silent and the twigs did not snap!
I've finally made it near the camp. I'm hiding within the woods not too far from the guys.
They all are sitting around their little bon fire; the flames are being fed with a couple of old wooden crates. The flames were licking out bright citrus colors as the wood burned. They guys seem perfectly relaxed and preoccupied with whatever Sam's saying, or lecturing. I could see that Jacob threw a quick glance at the cliff.
"Where's TJ?" He seemed to be pretty alarmed. Shit. He blew my cover!
Before I knew it I found pair of large, tanned and warm arms wrapping itself around my waist. First I thought of the possibility of it being an enemy. Then only did I realize that Quil had disappeared from his spot at the bonfire. Compared to his body heat, I didn't realize how cold I actually was!
"She's over here!" The owner of the arms yelled out to reassure Jacob.
"Damn you, Quil!" I cursed under my breath. "How did you know I was here?" I could see an evil grin spread across his face. I shrieked as he threw me over his shoulder and replied:
"One: I wasn't paying attention to Sam's lecture. Two: Because of that, I could hear your breathing. Three: I picked up your scent the minute I heard you and four: You're getting better at sneaking up on us. Congrats, Birthday girl!" He replied briefly. A wave of utter humiliation washed over me as I saw the prying eyes of the rest of the pack stare at him carrying me in like a rag doll.
I can tell that Paul isn't going to let this one die down. I don't give a damn about that bastard; he's been a total pain since the night I was introduced to the pack. He loses his temper way too easily most of the times, at first I was sort of terrified of his whenever he would transform in front of me. Nowadays he's nothing but an annoying loner that hasn't imprinted.
Speaking of imprinting, I feel pathetic about it. Sam has Emily, Quil's got Clair, Jared is heels over heads for Kim and Jacob is still crooning over this Bella girl. I'm not so sure if he's imprinted on her, but if he didn't he should let her go. It's so hard seeing someone as optimistic as Jacob in pain over a girl. He's always been there for me when I've had my troubles; it's painful to know that I can't do the same for him. I, on the other hand, have not imprinted yet.
I decided to live my life out as a teenage girl, so I've had my share of boyfriends and crushes. Though, there was this one guy from when I was fifteen. His name was Aiden Fisher; he was probably the most serious relationship I had. We lasted for about ten months, it was truly bliss. I had thought for sure that perhaps I was going to imprint on him. It only ended badly when he found out he had to move out of state. He knew that I would go down pretty bad, so he ended it early. In hopes of 'helping me recover from the heartbreak'. My heart was ripped up pretty badly that night, I cried for about three hours straight. The one thing that the guy didn't realize is that I couldn't just be around him and not feel my heart collapse. We couldn't have been just friends. He didn't show a lot of emotion around me that time, was he truly that heartless about breaking up? Or was he putting on a brave face for me?
"Don't ever do that again, TJ!" Jacob's stern voice snapped me out of the day dreaming realm.
"Aw. Don't worry, Jakie." I started off in a baby voice. Once Quil had finally set me down I skipped over to where Jacob was sitting and gave him a bear hug from behind. "I was only going out for a run." I take a whiff of him. Strange, but I've grown to love the way Jake smells! A little earthy fresh, and with a hint of the seaside. He smells a million times better than what the rest of the guys! He's another hit on my list of favorite smells.
I don't know how he did it, he bent forward really fast I ended up falling forwards along with him! I rolled over his shoulders, swiftly might I add, and landed on the sand in front of him with a thump. As clumsy as it sounds, I actually managed to land somewhat gracefully.
So I was there, lying on the sand in front of Jacob with my head resting on his crossed legs for a pillow. Dammit, why was everyone so warm.
"I mistook you for a leech." He joked. "You are freezing!"
I snorted at this remark "Haha. I guess that's what happens when you sit on the top of a cliff with icy water being sprayed at you while a cold breeze shoots by, for an hour."
"That wouldn't happen to me." His impish grin formed.
"That's cause you've got all that blubber" I poked him in the stomach "to keep you warm!"
"At least I'm not the one freezing right now."
"Hey, I'm not shivering." I pointed out. I finally stretched out my leg so that it was a few inches closer to the blazing fire, my feet started to feel softer and tender as they thawed. I examined the pack; Quil and Embry are wrestling in their human form. See what I meant when I said 'sweet sixteen'? Sam, Jared and Paul were talking amongst themselves. Leah wasn't here; she was invited but had 'other things' to do. So then there was just Jacob and me, thawing.
"You're going to get sick."He stated briefly.
"Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean that I won't have a constant body temperate of a hundred and something!" How may time was he going to act like my big brother or father?! "I'll be fine." I concluded quickly before I let my annoyed side get the best of me.
Lying on him like this might make anyone outside of the pack, jump to conclusions. I know it seems sort of slutty; I'm not trying to flirt with him! I can't really think of Jacob more than just my best friend. We've proven to be nothing more than friends to the pack when we both transform, when they read our minds they finally concluded that our intentions are true as friends. So all I can see of Jake is like the big brother I never had. There are times when his big brother act really helps me a lot.
Take the time when Aiden broke up with me. I was still hurt so badly during the first few nights. At one point I was depressed enough to take a run solo through the woods for quite a while. The only ones that were on patrol that night were Leah and Jacob. Jake heard my depressed thoughts and my cries ringing through the woods. I remember he was instantly by my side, comforting me of my first, serious heartbreak. He also mumbled as to how he knew what it felt like, but left it there. I also remembered him saying:
"Your life will be complete; once you've discovered your imprint." He was really sweet to me at that time.
Not like he isn't now.
A few minutes have passed, and I've regained my normal body heat. I watched the fire flicker and my thoughts were still. This was good practice, because I hate it when I think too much when I'm in my werewolf form. Long ago, when I was still an immature cub, my thoughts would run wild and free. To my displeasure the others would hear them loud and clear. So in attempt to solve my little problem, I took up meditating and some yoga. I found the meditating more helpful in the end as I manage to come to a point that I've cleared my mind completely.
Then, I hear some leaves ruffle and crunch in the woods.
"We have a visitor." I reported to Jacob. He listened carefully and came to agree with me.
"Smells familiar." Jacob noted. He was right, a whiff of her sweet perfume made her recognizable. "It's Clearwater."
I leap from the spot I was lying at, and sprint silently as I could near to the woods. I hide in front of a tree, so she wouldn't spot me as she walks towards the bon fire.
I finally see her figure emerge from the woods, and still continue to walk forward. Perfect.
When she was a few meters away from me, I crept up on her and hopped up to attach myself on her back! I made her shriek, but it only made it more fun. I was locked on with a piggy back.
"Hey, Leah!" I said between my fits of laughter. "I missed you! Where'd you go? I thought you weren't coming!" I started throwing questions at her while I was still latched to her back. She was way taller than I was. She stood around 6"5 while I was a measly 6"0. I was the smallest in the group, and I've been constantly taunted for it.
Lucky me, she was in a good mood tonight. "Happy Birthday, Taylor! How's the sweet sixteen coming?"
"Not so sweet." I pointed to Quil and Embry, in the middle of their wrestling match. "But, its still fun." I snapped back into a little optimism. I'm so glad that I'm no longer the only girl at this party.
It's because of Leah, that I'm glad that I'm not the only girl in the pack! Whenever I am agonizing over the pains that a certain monthly visitor brings, Leah's always been there to comfort me… and to shoo off the guys that make fun of me and my cramps. She's sort of like a wolf-mom to me, despite the fact that she's only in her late teens.
Only Leah would understand as to why I would take the salad, while the guys are chugging down their burgers. I would be mortified if anyone ever knew my real weight. I tend to avoid nurse examinations and scales. I'm not saying that I'm chubby, but I'm not stick-skinny either. I'm somewhere in between: Normal. My weight would shock a human dead in their tracks if they ever knew. I doubt my size would change at all, seeing that I have a metabolism of a wild animal. But I still need to eat normal in front of people outside the pack.
Leah would be the only one slapping some sense into me when I get too crazy having fun, that can be dangerous. Or gently reason with me when I'm PMS-ing while the guys would be dead scared.
A PMS-pissed TJ would be one the guys fear. I would often transform after my rage gets the best of me. I've got to admit, whenever one of the guys tick me off when I'm in the middle of PMS, I would break out into a werewolf and start to wrestle them down. I don't like to brag, but I'm a stronger fighter when I'm dead-pissed. Thankfully, Leah would be the only one with enough guts to stand up to me and tell me to 'Shut up or have fun streaking after transforming.'… Did I say gently reason?
Anyway, streaking would be one of the major disadvantages at being a female werewolf. Sure, the guys can transform back into humans easily; they've seen it all before. For me, it's twice as complicated seeing that I'm one of two girls in the group. I'm grateful that Leah and I devised a plan for our transformation. Usually we'd go somewhere remote, where the guys won't see us, and while I transform she would stay on the lookout for peeping toms. Once I've transformed, we switch roles and work it vice-versa. Changing back is also a problem; either I head home and change or Leah, being well organized as she is, lends me an excessively large shirt that covers enough. She would always have extra clothes in hand; if the time ever came for an emergency transformation.
You can see why her 'calm down, streak threat' is very effective against me.
"Break it up, you two!" Leah started ordering the wrestling guys. Apparently Embry was pinned to the group until Leah broke up their little match. Finally, someone to knock some sense into them.
"Taylor, as much as it is your birthday. Would you mind getting off my back now, please?" Her request contrasted from the order she recently gave the guys. I slid off her back and stood by to see what was to happen next.
"Make yourselves useful." Leah picks out her car keys and tosses it to them. "It's in the trunk, out back. You drop it. You die." She threatened with some venom in her voice. "No joyrides either." She added quickly, her tone softened a bit.
They were gone on the spot.
I snorted at her last remark. Not the most lady-like thing to do, but they can really crack me up sometimes.
Sometimes Leah can be a real bitch to the guys. (I wonder if that word can apply to Leah and me. Werewolves are sort of over grown dogs... No, we're a totally different species. Plus, I don't want bitch to be a name for either of us). In the end she usually means well, and some of the times the guys can be assholes to us.
Most of the times the guys are nice to me. It's sort of like growing up with six big brothers and a big sister. Sam would take the lead as the 'father' of the pack, seeing that he is the alpha male. The only thing about this dysfunctional 'family' is that we fight off blood suckers from the reservation. Its good knowing that some people have my back, there are times in fights when a leech nearly had me. Good, ol' Jake fights them off my back and onto the ground.
I try to avoid those situations as much as I can, so Quil has taken the liberty as my coach for the time being.
Speak of the devil; Quil's walking towards the bonfire with a cake in between his hands.
Embry is carrying a stack load of presents. It's interesting watching his balancing act.
"Oh my God. Leah! You guys!" I started with surprise. "You just have to spoil me now!"
I'm guessing they didn't hear a word I said, because my squeals of delight were drowned by their rounds of 'Happy Birthday'.
It's not the most pleasant thing to hear seven male werewolves, but it's the thought that counts.
And Damn. They can sing very loud.
