HEAT OF SUMMER: JUNE

NICE TO MEET YOU::

School had only been out for a few weeks now and I was already bored out of my mind. Leslie's mom had forced her to get a summer job so now she spent most of her time working at the grocery store. It sucked because I couldn't take being by myself all the time. I was too much like my mom in that way. Currently, I was lying on the couch and staring blankly up at the ceiling, periodically groaning loudly for as long as I could without running out of breath. I was just starting my sixth groan when Charlie seemed to have had enough.

"Girl, can't you see I am trying to watch the game?" He asked, leaning over the side of his armchair to look down at me briefly.

"I can't help it, I'm so bored." I replied over dramatically.

"Well, go be bored somewhere else." When I didn't make any move to get up from the couch he sighed. "Well, if you're going to stay here then you might as well watch the game with me."

I turned to look briefly at the TV screen before returning my gaze to the ceiling. "Why bother? It's going to be over with soon anyway."

The match up wasn't that great. One of the teams was far better than the other and was winning ten to one. What was the point of watching the game when I already knew how it was going to end?

"Well, why don't you, I don't know, go a read a book?" He suggested.

Slowly, I flipped myself over so that I was now on my stomach. My arms were folded on top of the armrest and my chin sat on top of them so that I was now looking at my dad. He was starting to know me so well. Watching baseball with him, reading a book, he already knew about Leslie being at work or else I'm sure he would have suggested I do something with her as well.

"I would…but I'm just not ready after the last one I finished." I said. And it was true, the last book I had read ended in such a way that left me mentally hung over. I couldn't read another book so soon when the old one was still fresh in my mind. It wouldn't be fair to the new book.

"Why don't you go to La Push then?" Charlie prayed his daughter would leave him to finish his game in peace, even if it was going to be a blowout.

My eyes squinted slightly as I thought about it. It had been a while since I've last seen Jacob. Every now and then we would send a few texts back and forth but that was about it. I smiled at Charlie and nodded my head.

"Good idea. Thanks, Dad." I said, pushing myself up from the couch and heading upstairs quickly to throw on a pair of shoes.

"Drive safe." Charlie called as I came back downstairs and grabbed the truck keys from the kitchen. Because Bella spent most of her time attached to Edward's hip, and he had his shiny Volvo to drive around in, the truck was more or less mine now.

"I will, see you later." I called back, opening the door and running over to my truck so as not to get too wet. Like most days, it was raining, but instead of being cold, the few drops that landed on my skin actually felt nice.

It took me almost a half hour to get to the Black's small house in La Push due to the rain and the fact that my truck didn't go faster than forty because of the weather. When I finally made it to the red house next to the woods, a large smile appeared on my face. Parking off to the side, I turned off the truck before hurrying up the ramp and knocking on the door. I waited for a few seconds before Billy pulled open the door, a look of surprise on his face.

"Alex, what brings you out here?" He asked, moving aside so I could walk into the house and out of the rain.

"Oh, I was bored at home and Charlie was nice enough to suggest I come bother you guys so he could finish watching the game." I told him, causing him to laugh.

"Well wasn't that was nice of him." He said with a shake of his head. "Jacob's out back in the garage with a couple of his friends."

I smiled at him. "Dumping me off on your son, huh?" I chuckled. He shrugged his shoulders playfully. "Bye, Billy."

Waving, I ventured back outside into the rain and ran from the house to the garage. Loud music met my ears as I pulled open the door and stepped into the warm garage. Three dark heads snapped towards me, eyes wide.

"Hey guys." I said, waving slightly before pulling off my beanie to ruffle my now slightly damp hair.

"Alex?" Jacob asked, the same surprised look on his face that his dad had worn only minutes ago. "What are you doing here?"

I let out a sigh before telling him the same thing I told Billy. He seemed fine with me being dumped on him. In fact, he flashed me his dorky smile before closing the distance between us and giving me a bone-crushing hug. I just laughed as I hugged him back.

"So… are you going to introduce me to your friends?" I asked once he let me go, gesturing towards the two boys standing not to far away from us.

"Oh, right. Alex, these are my friends Embry and Quil." Jacob introduced, pointing to each boy as he said his name. "Guys, this is Alex."

Quil gave me a small wave, a slightly awkward smile on his face. Of the three, he seemed to be the shortest with short black hair that had a slight wave to it. Embry nodded his head in greeting, an amused smirk tugging the corner of his lips. He was tall and thin with black hair that fell to his shoulders. I remembered seeing him ages ago when Bella and I had tagged along on the beach trip. It was nice to actually meet him this time.

"So you're the Alex that Jacob is always talking about?" Embry said in a teasing tone, turning his smirk to Jacob.

I looked at Jacob out of the corner of my eyes. "Does he?"

Quil nodded his head enthusiastically, having gotten over his awkwardness quickly. "Oh yeah, we've had to smack him a couple of times to get him to shut up."

The two boys bumped shoulders with each other and laughed while Jacob stood next to me, a hand rubbing the back of his next awkwardly while a small blush covered his cheeks.

"They're, ah, they're just exaggerating." Jacob stuttered out.

"Sure they are." I muttered, smirking at him as well. "So what were you boys doing before I showed up?"

Jacob cleared his throat before gesturing towards the car in the middle of the garage. "We were just working on my car."

I turned to look at the car. "So this is the famous car, huh."

It was still in need of a lot of work. The left side was missing both tires and instead as supported by cinder blocks. I didn't know much about cars but even I could tell that it still needed a lot of work under the hood as well as a paint job.

"This is it."

I told him he could start working on it again and that I wouldn't stop him. He looked at me for a few seconds before walking back over to it and looking under the hood, Embry following close behind. Quil returned to his seat off to the side and I walked over to join him. He smiled at me as I sat down before handing me a coke from the cooler next to him. I thanked him before popping the top and taking a sip. Quil also turned the music down so that we could talk and be able to hear each other.

"So what's been going down here?" I asked after a while, "Anything interesting?"

"Not really." Jacob answered, his head buried in the hood of the car while Embry held a light for him.

"What about your stalker, Jacob. Tell her about that." Embry said, nudging Jacob's arm playfully. He looked over his shoulder at me and flashed me the smirk that I was beginning to realize was almost always on his face.

I scoffed, "Jacob's got a stalker?"

Quil turned to me and nodded his head.

"I do not have a stalker." Jacob called out, his voice echoing slightly. His words were followed by a lot of banging, something that was funny seeing as he was working with a wrench and not a hammer.

"Yes you do!" Quil said loud enough for Jacob to hear him over his banging. "If you wont tell her, we will!"

Jacob never got a chance to answer before Quil turned to me. "A couple weeks before school ended, something strange happened to Sam Uley. He was a no show for two weeks and then bam! He shows up like nothing happened."

"Yeah, but he's all different now." Embry added. "He cut his hair, beefed up, and keeps looking at Jacob like he's waiting for something."

Jacob finally came out from under the hood, and uncomfortable look on his face.

"Do you think he might be in love with you or something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I remembered Sam from long ago at the beach as well. He seemed like a creeper back then, it didn't really surprise me that he was still a creeper.

"I don't know but it's kinda freaking me out." Although he tried to keep his voice indifferent, I could see it was starting to get to him.

"He's probably on drugs or something…" I threw out there, hoping it would make him feel better. "Plus you shouldn't have to worry about him now that schools out for the summer."

"I guess." He muttered slowly, his uneasy expression still on his face.

An awkward silence fell over the four of us. Thankfully a song I recognized started playing on the radio. Leaning over Quil, I twisted the volume and smile widely as the music filled the garage. Standing up, I mimed playing a guitar before mouthing the words of the song. The boys looked at me like I was crazy, their eyebrows raised. It wasn't until the chorus started playing that they shrugged their shoulders and joined in my stupid act of playing rock star.

And that's how we spent the rest of the day. When a song we all knew came on we would stop whatever we were talking about and jam out. Between those moments we sat there talking about whatever came to mind. Occasionally the boys would start talking about a subject that I knew nothing about, either cars or someone from their school, so I would just sit there and listen. I didn't mind thought. As weird as it might sound, I enjoyed watching them interact with one another. It helped me get to know them all better.

Sooner than we would have liked, it came time for Quil, Embry, and I to head home. The rain had stopped falling about an hour ago leaving everything wet and green in its wake. Quil and Embry seemed happy since they had walked to Jacobs house. I had offered them a ride but they told me it wasn't necessary. Because of that I stood next to Jacob by the truck, waving goodbye as they walked down the street together.

"So, thanks for letting me hang around with you and your friends today." I said once they were out of sight. I got into the truck and put the keys in the ignition but didn't start the engine. I just sat there while he leaned against the one window. The sky was dark but that didn't stop us from enjoying the nice summer evening.

"No problem. You can stop by anytime you want." Jacob assured me with a smile.

"With Leslie working all the time and Bella always with Edward, I might just take you up on that."

"So Bella's still with Cullen?" Jacob asked.

I nodded my head. "Yup. They're attached at the hip."

Jacob's lips formed a scowl but he didn't say anything else. I knew what he was thinking about but didn't say anything. Instead, I pulled out my phone to check the time and sighed when I saw that it was a little after eight.

"I should probably go. Bella will have dinner finished soon." I said sadly.

"Oh, okay."

"I'll talk to you later." I promised, turning the key to bring the truck to life.

Jacob backed away from the truck, giving me room to turn around. I waved goodbye before driving down his driveway and into the street. From my rearview mirror I could still see him standing outside watching my truck. I watched him as well until I turned a corner and his red house went out of sight.


CULLEN BONDING TIME

"Okay, I really need to talk to Carlisle about tying a ribbon around the tree next to the turn or something." I muttered under my breath, leaning over steering wheel to get a better look out the windshield.

I never, for the life of me, could remember were the turn off to the Cullen's house was. It's not like I could use a landmark to remember where the turn was, all the trees looked the same! Usually, it wasn't until I passed the turn off that I saw it and I was determined to find it right away this time.

I did not succeed.

I had driven past it and had to back up. A frown formed on my lips as I drove down the long driveway until the large house came into view. Parking the truck in front of the house, I killed the engine and walked inside. The Cullen's never locked their door and told me to just let myself in when I visited. I was a bit uncomfortable at first but soon got used to it.

"Hey Cullen's!" I shouted. If they wanted me to just walk into their house I was at least going to let them know I was here. Not that I really needed to, I guess, seeing as they were all vampires with enhanced senses.

Taking off my jacket, I threw it onto the bench next to the door before climbing the stairs. Emmett was the first one I met. Despite his size, he snuck up on me and grabbed me from behind, lifting me off the ground. I kicked my feet out as a laugh bubbled up from my chest.

"Emmett. Put me down!" I managed to get out finally.

"Oh, it's you, Al. I thought you were a burglar." Emmett teased as he returned me to my feet.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny." He said the same thing every time I came over and he surprised me. One time he jumped down from the ceiling and scared me so bad I fell to the ground and almost wet my pants. He laughed even louder when I told him that.

"So what are you doing here if you're not trying to steal our stuff, hmm?" He asked, crossing his massive arms in front of his chest.

"If you must know, I was invited by Alice. She said it was important and that I was supposed to get here as soon as possible."

"That could mean anything." Emmett said.

I nodded my head, knowing he was right. Most things with Alice was very important and required immediate attention. I followed Emmett into the living room and plopped down next to him on one of the couches. Sighing heavily, I leaned my head against his large shoulder and closed my eyes.

"I know you guys don't have to worry about it, but us humans need our sleep." I mumbled, crossing my arms and wiggling a bit to get comfortable.

"First, it's nine in the morning; don't act like she woke you up in the middle of the night. Second, Bella's been here for over an hour now so you obviously don't need that much sleep."

If my eyes hadn't been closed I would have rolled them. "Don't compare me to my crazy sister. I think she's take one to many hits to the head."

Beneath me, Emmett's body rumbled like an earthquake. "You're mean when you're sleepy."

"Stop moving." I ordered, opening my eyes long enough to shoot him a glare before closing them again.

"Yes ma'am." He said sarcastically, tensing his body. His body became harder than usual causing me to groan and sit up.

"You just think you're so funny, don't you." I said, glaring at him before moving away to curl up on the end of the couch.

"Oh, I know I'm funny." Emmett shot back, laughing once more. "Don't you think I'm funny Jasper?"

I lifted my head, smiling slightly when I saw Jasper walking into the room. "Please save me from this idiot." I begged.

Shaking his head, Jasper leaned against the back of the couch across from us. "What are you guys fighting over now?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Emmett is just being stupid like usual." I said matter-of-factually. "Where's Alice. She said she had there was something important she needed me for.

"Alice is off trying to find Edward and Bella, she has something planned for the two of you." Jasper told me smugly, a smirk on his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What exactly does she have planned?" I asked, my voice low and suspicious.

"Shopping!" Alice cried happily, walking into the room with a fearful looking Bella.

An annoyed look crossed my face as I turned to look at her. "You made me get up early for shopping."

Alice flashed me a bright smile, showing off her straight white teeth. "Yes. So get up. We are wasting valuable shopping hours here."

I sat my head back down and closed my eyes. "I'm good here. Have fun with Bella."

I had only seconds of peace before a pair of strong, cold arms picked my up from the couch. My eyes snapped open and I saw that I was over Alice's shoulder and on was being carried out of the room.

"Alice, put me down." I ordered before looking at Jasper and Emmett. "Guys, a little help?"

"Sorry, but I'm too stupid to help." Emmett pointed out, grinning smugly at me from the couch. I turned to Jasper for help, my eyes pleading. But he just smiled widely while waving goodbye.

"Traitors!" I yelled as Alice started carrying me down the stairs, Bella following behind with her head down.

I've never really been a shopper; I didn't have the patience for it. Walking from store to store carrying bags of clothes, trying on different things to see if they fit right, seeing something cute but not having the money to pay for it. Normally I would suffer through it for a couple of hours when mom wanted to go, but mom never made me get up early for it.

I complained all the way down to the Cullen's fancy black car and only stopped when Alice promised we would stop and get something for breakfast. It wasn't anything special; we just stopped at a fast-food place, but I got food and that improved my mood towards shopping considerably.

X-X-X

"Oh my god! I am in love!" I cried excitedly, holding the soft fabric to my face. It was dark blue with silver elephants on it. Seeing as elephants were my favorite animals, it drew my attention right away.

"Then you should get it." Alice told me, skipping over to join me at the stand selling scarves.

I checked the price tag and almost dropped the scarf on the floor. "Yeah, I don't have enough money." I said as I returned the scarf to the hook I had found it on.

I was surprised by how much I had enjoyed shopping with Alice, even though she made me try on almost everything in sight. She did just about all the work for me, finding clothes and accessories that went together. It was like having my own personal stylist. I think even Bella enjoyed herself.

"Well, you could always let me buy it for you." Alice said, shrugging her shoulders. "I told you it wasn't that big a deal."

I shook my head. "No. Alice, I don't want you paying for my stuff."

Even though she had told me at least five times though out the day that it was fine, I wouldn't let her pay for any of my clothes. It just didn't seem right letting someone else pay for my stuff. She had tried to do the same for Bella but my sister turned her down as well.

With one last look at the scarf, I started walking towards another store that we hadn't been in yet. Bella followed behind me and the two of us starting looking through one of the clothes racks. Alice showed up a few minutes later, arms full with clothes, and started ushering Bella and I towards the dressing rooms.

We played fashion show for a few more hours until Alice was finally satisfied. Arms loaded with bags, Bella and I carrying some of Alice's, we made our way towards the car. With the truck full, and bags taking up half of the backseat, we started to make our way back to Forks.

"Alice, I'm hungry." I whined, looking down at my stomach, "Do you think we could stop somewhere and get something to eat?"

Alice didn't say anything, just nodded her head. We drove for a while before we turned off the road and pulling up to a small restaurant. As it was dinnertime, the place was full but we were soon seated in a booth towards the back. Alice ate nothing but instead sat across from Bella and I as we ate are food. When we were finished, she paid the bill before we once again started off towards home.

"Hey look, you're alive." Emmett called jokingly as we got out of the car.

I shot him a look before walking around to the trunk to get my bags. "I'm mad at you."

Emmett came around to the back of the car, grabbing my bags from my hands. "Oh, come on. It couldn't have been that bad, was it?"

I shot him another glare before my face softened and I shook my head. "No, it was actually kinda fun."

Together the two of us walked over to my truck. It had been a long day and I was ready to go home. Bella didn't join us though. Instead, she made her way back into the Cullen's house to spend more time with Edward. Opening the door, I got behind the steering wheel while Emmett placed my shopping bags in the passenger seat.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked, leaning against the open door.

I tried to keep a smile from playing on my lips but was unsuccessful. "No, I'm not still made at you." I said, "I'm not mad at Jasper so make sure you tell him that."

Even though the two vampires often bugged me, I could never stay mad at them. They were like the cool older brothers I'd always wanted. Bella was a good sister and all, but she was incredibly boring. It was nice to have someone to joke around and tease. Waving goodbye, I waited for Emmett to close the passenger door before starting the truck and heading off towards home.


Authors Note:: I edited the ending for Cullen Bonding Time and like it a whole lot more now. Nice to Meet You is still my favorite of the two though. I just like the interactions between Alex and the boys. In case you were wondering, the song Alex starts jamming out too by herself is Heat of the Moment by Asia. You're welcome to imagine any song you want, it's that's what I was listening to when I wrote the chapter. Thank you so much for reading the first chapter for Heat of Summer! :)