JBNP does writing challenges. This one was from a while ago but I forgot to post my effort here.
Challenge No. 4
Did you ever wonder how in the world Charlie suddenly ended up with Sue Clearwater? Was Charlie Swan secretly in love with her for years already and Harry Clearwater's death opened the way for this romance to bloom? Or did Charlie and Sue find common ground in their children's involvement with the supernatural? Or was it really just coincidental? Anyway, I herewith challenge you to write a one-shot about Charlie and Sue that convinces me that the two of them really belong together, and did not only end up as a pair because St. Meyer tried to tie up loose ends.
Heroes and villains
Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.
Charlie Swan had met Sue Uley, as she then was, way back. Way back before she had married Harry Clearwater. She was always around, along with all the other kids on the reservation, but she had grown up and Charlie had really noticed her, then. He had the most enormous crush on her.
They were the same age, but she had that girl advantage of maturing faster and somehow seeming more grown up, at the same age. She had scared him a little. Leah reminded him so much of her now, it wasn't funny. That formidable, outspoken strong woman. He wondered sometimes if Leah ever knew that was where she had got her innate strength from. Maybe she did, but sometimes it was hard for kids to ever imagine what their parents were like when they had been young.
And Sue had been just as beautiful as Leah at her age, too. She even had a little brother, Lucas, who looked remarkably like Seth did now.
Charlie wasn't impulsive or impetuous. He liked to think things over and find a solution. He recognised that part of himself in his daughter, Bella. Oddly, or perhaps not, the others' children replicated them as well. Jake's mature wisdom, echoed his father and Quil's fun loving jokester persona, was his father too. Even though he had died when Quil was about four.
Charlie wasn't brave enough to ask Sue out. He agonised about it, but he never did it.
Charlie used to hang with his best friends Billy Black, Quil Ateara IV, and Harry Clearwater. He spent a lot of time on the rez; fishing, hiking and generally getting into trouble. Nothing illegal or serious, but they were boys and boys did dumb things, sometimes.
Charlie thought Sue Uley was beautiful and unattainable, a star way beyond his reach. But she filled his thoughts. More than anything else, these days, and he was at that age when he was supposed to be choosing his 'life path', as his father put it. A career, study, a job… he had decisions to make. He could hear his father's voice as he said it. Responsibilities.
He let his father's worries slough off his shoulders. He still had plenty of time. His friends were going to be fishermen like their fathers before them. Their life was set in stone. He felt partly relieved that he had a choice and partly envious that they didn't. Sometimes he wanted someone to tell him what to do. Choices were hard. What if you made the wrong one?
So they were lying on the beach after a day of doing nothing. They had lit a fire and were poking it with sticks. Quil was telling some dirty jokes. He knew dozens of them and it didn't matter how many times he told them, they all laughed with him.
Charlie was relaxed and happy.
"Guys!" they heard someone shout. They couldn't see where the voice was coming from. The light of the fire darkened everything beyond it.
"GUYS! Billy?" The panicked face of Sue's little brother, Lucas appeared.
"Hey L-" Billy started.
"You have to come now," he shouted at them.
"What? What for?" Quil asked him.
"It's Sue." He looked around him suddenly and they realised he was really upset. Too much white showing in his eyes. "I - I think she's in trouble."
"What do you mean?" asked Billy. He was already rising to his feet.
Quil still stared at the kid, as if he had ruined his evening. Charlie and Harry looked at each other. Charlie shrugged.
"She went with Josh," Lucas expanded.
Quil rolled his eyes. "Isn't she dating him?"
"NO," pleaded Lucas. "I think he gave her something." He looked at a loss for words. "She's not her, you know? She's off her head."
"Did he say where he was going?" Billy asked him. He put his arm around the panicked boy and tried to calm him down.
"I dunno," Lucas wailed.
"He usually takes girls to second beach," Quil suggested. "He had his van? Right Lucas?"
He nodded vigorously.
"Okay, guys," said Billy, "Let's go." Harry was already standing and dusting sand from his hands.
"But what are we going to do?" asked Quil.
"We'll ask her if she's okay. And if she can't answer, or says she isn't," Billy inflated his chest, "Then, we get her out of there." Billy was always their leader and they all usually followed him.
Charlie had his doubts about this plan. Joshua Uley was a big guy and a bit of a bully. But he supposed it was four against one; not counting Lucas. And if Sue said she was fine, they'd leave her to him.
"Come on, guys," Billy cajoled. They all got up and ran for the place they had left their bikes. Rescuing a girl on pushbike seemed undignified, but it was all they had. Cars were expensive.
Lucas had thrown his bike down next to theirs. It must have been how he knew they were on the beach. They pedalled furiously off towards Second Beach. Lucas's intensity was starting to get to them all. Charlie supposed, if nothing else, they had some excitement for the night. He was starting to worry about Sue himself. It wasn't like Lucas to panic over nothing.
"Where are your parents?" he asked him.
"Out. Josh came over. She wouldn't have left me alone," he puffed out, as they rode.
That made sense to Charlie. He started to get more worried.
They rode down the access road and they could see the parked van. It was rocking.
"If the van's a-rocking," Quil quipped nervously.
But then they all heard her voice. "No!" she shouted.
Charlie froze.
Billy and Harry reacted. Harry opened the back door; Billy grabbed hold of Josh's leg and hauled him backwards. Quil leapt to help him. They just threw him on the dusty ground. Harry went for Sue. By the time Josh had got to his feet, Billy and Quil stood like a wall between him and the back of the van. Between him and Sue.
Josh was screaming obscenities at them as he did up his jeans. It was pretty obvious to Charlie what had been going to happen. He stepped over to side with his friends and the three of them faced Josh down. Harry and Lucas helped her out of the van behind them.
"You need to go now," said Billy.
"Fuck off, Black," Josh swore.
Billy just looked at him.
"Get in the van and go," Quil said. He was the biggest of them, and he clenched his fists ominously.
Josh looked at them. He was seriously outnumbered and Billy and Quil were pretty big. He just got into the driver's seat and started the motor. They moved away from the van so he didn't run them down. Billy slammed the back doors. Harry and Lucas helped Sue over to the grass.
"Dad's at home," said Quil. "If we ride back, he can drive down and get her. You stay Charlie, in case he comes back."
Charlie nodded.
Sue fell into Harry's arms. Lucas flapped around them. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
"L-Lucas," she sobbed. "You b-brought help?'
"Yeah. I knew these guys would help you."
Sue was crying from relief. Harry had his arms around her and he was rocking her gently and talking to her in a low voice.
Charlie sat on the ground and he watched Sue Uley and Harry Clearwater fall in love.
And he made a decision.
He was going to be a cop. He was going to make sure that stuff like this didn't happen again. He was going to be decisive. And if Sue and Harry ever broke up…
[AN: an anon reviewer left a comment being 'picky' as they said about both Sue and Josh having the name, Uley. I'm not sure what they meant to ask and being anon I can't answer them. But they both have the same name; it is not something I made up. If you check the Quileute family trees in the 'Illustrated guide to Twilight' by SMeyer, you will see that Sue and Josh are from the same family. They are related through their great grandmother so they would be third cousins. I think - I can never remember that stuff.
I know Americans have issues with dating first cousins, unlike Australians (which I am) but surely three generations back is far enough away? It didn't stop Leah dating her fourth cousin Sam (Josh's son) in the books.]