Author's Note: I understand that in Twilight Quil and Jacob are second cousins. In my story, they aren't. This story takes place post New Moon.. Also, I own nothing. All the credit for the characters/entire Twilight world, apart from Makiya, goes to Stephanie Meyer.

R&R PLEASE!!! But be gentle…this is my first FF. ;)

Chapter 1

"Mom, this is ridiculous," I groaned on the way to the airport.

She looked at me with sad eyes. "Makiya, you know why I'm doing this. This will be a good thing. Just give your aunt and uncle a chance."

Ha. Why would I?

I hadn't been given much of a chance. I made one mistake. One lapse of judgment. Apparently, drinking and driving don't mix with Ford Mustangs and gigantic walnut trees. That combination equals one year of probation, loss of your driver's license for 3 months, and a one-way ticket to Washington because your mother thinks you're screwed up beyond her help.

We arrived at the airport, and I looked around at my beautiful home state and took a deep breath. I'd miss everything about South Carolina. I'd miss my hometown, the island Hilton Head. I'd miss the beautiful beaches the most. Anytime the weather permitted, you could find me on the beach.

Mom leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Please stay out of trouble, Makiya. Tell Quil and Michelle that I send my love. Oh and don't forget to call and write as much as possible. I love you. This is your fresh start. Use it well."

A few hours later I was in Washington. It was raining when I arrived.

Great, I thought, cold and rainy. My own personal kind of hell. In Hilton Head, it was 70 degrees. Warm, sunny. March usually signified the beginning of beach season.

As I walked down to baggage claim, I saw Quil Jr. first. He was hard to miss. It had been years since I'd seen him, but last I remembered he was about 5 foot nothing. Now he was at least 6'5. He had the muscles of a body builder. Standing next to him were Uncle Quil and Aunt Michelle. Q's eyes lit up when he saw me.

"Mack, you made it!" I hated when he called me that. He ran over to me and picked me up off the ground squeezing me until I could no longer breath.

"Q -- can't -- breathe --" He placed me back on the ground and chuckled. He was so large, but I could still see the boyishness in his face. "Man, it's been a really long time. How have you been? How was the trip? How's Aunt Anna?"

"She's great. And the trip sucked. You guys know how much I hate flying. God, how old are you anyway? I thought you were my little cousin."

"Sixteen."

The senior Quil came over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's great to see you again. You look so much like your mother. Let's get your bags and get you home. I'm sure your tired."

Home. It was weird to think that this cold, wet, cloudy place was now my home.

It was a quiet ride to the reservation my family lived on. My aunt, uncle, and cousin were a part of the Quileute Tribe that lived in La Push, WA. My father, Quil Sr.'s brother, used to live on the res. until he met my mother. She was born and raised in South Carolina, but had decided to go to the University of Washington to major in photography. They met when she had gone to La Push Beach to take photographs for a senior project. After only knowing her for three weeks, my father proposed and dropped everything to move out east with her. About one year to the day after they were married, I was born. Twelve years later he died.

I could tell nothing had really changed since the last time I had been to La Push. The houses looked exactly the same. It even smelled the same. We pulled into a small house with a wooden sign out front that said, Welcome to the Ateara's. I was home.

"Q, get those bags and put them in Makiya's new room," my uncle barked and then turned to me. "We have it fixed up really nice for you. Your aunt's been looking through magazines for weeks."

I got settled in my room and decided that I needed some fresh air. Luckily, it had stopped raining for the time being. I walked into the living room where everyone was watching some sort of sporting event on TV.

"I'm going on a walk. I won't be too long."

Aunt Michelle suddenly looked worried. "You probably shouldn't. It's getting dark and with the woods so close by..." her voice trailed off as she looked at Uncle Quil.

He nodded, "Yeah, Makiya, we've had a bear problem and I don't want you to run into any trouble."

Q shot up, "Dad, don't worry about it. I'll go walk for a walk with her. I can show you the sights, maybe introduce you to some of my friends."

I agreed.

We walked for a while when we came upon a house with a garage in the back.

"This is my friend Jacob's house. He's kind of the best mechanic we've got on the res. You want to meet him? I'm pretty sure he's out back in the garage. He never leaves that place." He laughed.

"Yeah, sure. Maybe he can help me find a car." Q shot me a look. I don't think anyone would ever trust me behind the wheel of the car again.

"Hey, Jake," my cousin called," get your ass out here and meet the newest arrival to La Push."

My knees buckled as I watched the most beautiful man I had ever seen walk out of the garage. He was taller than Q by at least a couple inches. He didn't wear a shirt and I could see every defined muscle in his gorgeous chest. He was covered in oil and grease.

Q caught me as my knees buckled at the sight of him I fell. "You okay, Mack?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Um, I think it's just the jet lag setting in."

Jake looked at me as if he was trying to hold in a laugh. I blushed.

He reached out a hand. "Hi, I'm Jacob Black. And you are?"

"I'm Makiya." I managed to get out after what seemed like forever. I reached out for his hand and as I grabbed it, I felt immense heat coming off his palm.

"It's very nice to meet you Makiya." I shivered when I heard him say my name. "What do you know about transmissions?"

"Only that every car has one."

He laughed. "You're not going to be much help around here are you?"

"People don't really trust me around cars anymore."

"Yeah, I heard about your accident. It's a shame. A waste of a perfectly good car."

I had to agree. My mustang was a beauty. Green, black leather interior, supped up Roush Racing engine. It was fast. I guess that was part of the problem.

I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, well I get my license back in 45 days, maybe you can help me pick out a new car."

Q shot Jacob a look letting him know that that wasn't going to happen.

He leaned in close to me, "Don't worry, we'll find you something." He winked. Q looked pissed. We continued talking until I saw a man almost Jacob's size walked up to the garage.

What are they feeding the guys in La Push? I wondered.

"Hey guys, we have..." he looked at me,"um...some tribal business to take care of up by the beach."

My cousin looked at Jake, then at me. "Okay, can I just meet you guys there? I need to get Mack home first. By the way, Sam, this is my cousin Mack."

I interrupted, "Makiya. I hate it when he calls me Mack."

Q laughed. I knew he only called me that to piss me off.

"It's nice to meet you, Makiya. And yeah that's fine, Quil. Just keep an eye open."

I figured they had probably spotted a bear near by and didn't want to scare me. I said bye to everyone and took one last look at the hotness that was Jacob Black.

As soon as I was back at home, the jet lag hit me like a ton of bricks and all I wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. I said goodnight to Aunt Michelle and Uncle Quil. Maybe Washington wasn't going to be absolutely terrible after all.