I've had this one sitting in the computer for quite a while. I just couldn't figure out why it wasn't working for me. Sent it to the very awesome Megi, who was able to point me in the right direction (not to mention fixing some glaring errors). I feel this is hers as much as it is mine ... except for the parts that belong to Stephenie Meyers.
My name is Paul. For the first seventeen years of my life, I was average. I wasn't tall or short, fat or skinny, a great athlete or a total klutz. Just ... average. I never thought of myself as being different, or special. I'd never been in a fight, never been with a girl, and never broken the law. I went to school on the Reservation and got mediocre grades. I was just your typical boy next door. Until recently.
So, what's changed in the past few months? Well, first of all ... I'm a werewolf. Yeah, I know. I don't exist, there's no such thing. Tell that to my body. I was just living my life, hanging out with the guys, just normal, teenage stuff. Then one day, without warning, I changed. I don't remember what it was exactly that had made me so mad on that particular day, but it seemed to take less and less to set off the anger. Suddenly, my entire body started to shake, I heard a ripping sound, and I felt like I was going to fly into a million little pieces. Instead, within seconds, I was a wolf. And not your average, everyday wolf, either. I was huge. Although I hadn't remembered falling asleep, I knew I had to be dreaming. I was joined by another wolf -- larger even than I was -- and his voice, Sam's voice, was in my head, soothing me and explaining what was happening. As he was 'talking', we were running deep into the forest, where nobody would see us. He told me that the tribe we belonged to were actually descended from werewolves, and that our main responsibility in life was to protect others from vampires. Yeah, I laughed, too. Right up until the time I changed back to my human form and realized that the ripping noise I'd heard was the sound of my clothes being torn to shreds. Yep, there I was, in the middle of the forest, with Sam. Naked. Had to be a nightmare, right? I was sure hoping that was the case. Guess it wasn't my lucky day.
There are advantages to being a werewolf, like the physical changes my human body went through. I shot up several inches in height, and put on several pounds of pure muscle. All of a sudden, girls who had previously ignored me are following me around. This is a mixed blessing -- what red-blooded male wouldn't want to have his choice of the available (and some not-so-available) women? On the other hand, since I'm still not in complete control of my alter-ego, I never know when I might lose control and phase into a wolf. This makes dating a bit of a problem, because I'm always worried about phasing while out with a girl. Not even considering that I would completely freak her out; I'm not really in control of myself when I'm a wolf. Besides Sam and I, there are others who changed, too, which brings another problem to the whole dating thing. There's this whole "community mind" aspect. See, when we are phased to our wolf selves, we can hear what goes on in each other's minds. As a gentleman, I don't want to risk anyone hearing any "instant replays". So, even though I am now sought after by more than my share of women, I can't take advantage of it.
We didn't really understand why it was happening at first. According to the old Quileute legends about the 'Cold Ones,' our tribal elders became wolves in order to protect the tribe. But, a coven of vampires had been living in the area for a while, and they hadn't bothered anybody. In fact, our grandfathers had a made a treaty with this coven: as long as they didn't bite a human, the Pack would let them live in peace. Those vampires had even left the area. So why were we phasing now? It didn't make sense, until one day when Sam saw the Chief's daughter hiking through the forest. One of the guys, Jake, was friends with her, and she apparently had been friends with the vampires, too. Jake had tried to tell her to stay away from them, without going into detail as to why she should. After all, we have to remain a secret. Could you imagine the reaction of the rest of the world, if people learned that their worst nightmares walked amongst them? Sam had kept an eye on her whenever possible, since the day the vampires left and she'd wandered off and gotten lost. She hadn't been the same since then. So, when Sam saw her so far from civilization again, he was concerned. Eventually, she stopped in a meadow, and Sam was curious when a strange vampire showed up. Learning that there was another vampire in the area did, at least, explain why our change was happening now. The appearance of a feral vampire was enough to cause the wolf-gene to kick in. When the newcomer seemed to be threatening the chief's daughter, Sam called for us. We chased down the vampire and made sure he wouldn't be bothering anyone again.
By this time, Jake had fallen for the girl, and she seemed to do better when she was with him, so her dad let her hang around the Reservation as much as she wanted. This caused a lot of problems between Jake and I; I didn't think it was wise to have her around all the time. After all, she had nothing to lose if our secret got out. It isn't wise to have an "outsider" know too much of our business, and I'm sure Jake told her everything. So, we fight, a lot. And because Jake is such an easy-going guy, I always feel bad afterwards, even though I usually get the worst of the beating. Good thing werewolves heal quickly -- otherwise, I might not survive for long.
Don't get me wrong -- not everything about being a werewolf is bad. I don't know if it is because there are only a few of us sharing the secret, or the mind-reading thing, but we all became very close, very quickly. I know that I never have to worry about being alone, and that someone always has my back. Even the emotional stuff is easier to handle, since we don't have to talk it out. As wolves, we have an instant understanding of what our "brothers" are feeling. For someone who hasn't had a lot of friends in the past, being a part of such a tight-knit group is awesome.
And there you have it ... my report on "What I Did This Summer". Maybe a better title would be "What I Became This Summer". Ita shame that I can't turn this in ...