This is my first Fanfic!! Chapter one and other chapters have been rewritten, so this is not the original work. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Collin -he belongs to Stephenie Meyer
"The more things change, the more they remain…insane." -Michael Fry and T. Lewis
-Collin-
Headlights flooded through the living room window, causing a chaotic scramble inside the house. It was a little after midnight, and she was home early.
"You're guardian is here, Collin!" Jack yelled to me from across the room, trying to be heard above the blaring music. I pushed through people, rushing over to the stereo and turned the volume knob to the left quickly, killing the music.
"Party's over!" I yelled to my invited and uninvited guests, even though they were all already stumbling to get their stuff. They exited out of the back door as fast as they could, afraid that their parents might be getting a phone call if they were caught. I didn't bother trying to clean up; Jennifer was already unlocking the door. I just sat on the couch, nearly tripping on my way there -I was getting tall and it was making me clumsy, and waited for the yelling to begin.
Jennifer entered the house and gasped when she saw the mess; beer bottles on the table, cans of soda on the floor, half-empty plates scattered about, and a pack of cigarettes on the couch beside me. "Collin!" she cried exasperated. "You promised me that these parties were going to stop!" her grey eyes filled up with a fiery anger. Her mud colored hair had come loose from her ponytail; creating a mess of tangles. Jennifer looked like she was crazy when she didn't brush her hair out.
"Yeah, I know." I shrugged. "I thought I was going to be able to keep it, but I guess not. Sorry Jen."
Jen saw the cigarettes on the couch beside me and snatched them and crumpled the small box. "You're too young to have these and too young to have alcohol (she pointed to the beer on the table)!" she sounded close to hysterics. "They're also bad for you; do you want to die a premature death, Collin?"
I laughed, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
Her face hardened, her tone turned to steel, "I don't ever want you to say that again, of course I don't want you to die."
"I know you want me off your back, Jennifer (her full name was usually used in moments like this). I'm not your kid and you only accepted me so you could cash in the checks that my mom sends me." I said smoothly, crossing my arms across my chest.
"That is not true, Collin," she said firmly.
"Then where are my checks for this and last month? Huh, Jennifer?"
She left the room, I smiled in satisfaction. Jen then came back with a trash bag. "Clean this up," she ordered.
"Why? I didn't make any of the mess." I leaned back casually against the couch's smooth back-cushion.
"You threw the party."
"I didn't throw it. It threw itself at me."
"Clean!" she barked, throwing the plastic trash bag at me.
"You know what?" I stood up, letting the bag fall to the floor. "Get out of my house, Jennifer. I can do whatever the hell I want. This is my home, not yours. I can receive the checks to pay for the bills in the mail along with my allowance and you can go back to your house and go back to your life."
She thought of that option for only a split second before turning into the stubborn adult again, "I'm your Godmother, your guardian. As long as your mother is in Europe, it's my job to watch over you."
"Don't make me sick." I scoffed. "You work all day, and then you're dating a different man every night. Even if you did actually watch over me, do you think that would change anything? You're not my mom, Jennifer. You don't belong here, and you aren't welcome here. Get out."
"You're only thirteen!" Jennifer protested, her voice sounding desperate.
I banged on the table, effectively shattering the glass top. I didn't feel a thing. "Get out!" I yelled.
Jen's eye's widened in fear and she ran out the door. I smiled, feeling elated at my victory. I knew she was too much of a coward to call my mom and admit that she was scared of a thirteen year old boy, even if that boy was hitting a growth spurt early.
-Carolyn- (pronounced care-o-lin)
"Jade, I don't like it when you sneak out of the house." I whispered. Watching my older sister brush out her sleek dark brown hair.
"I have to. I told David that I was going to see him tonight." Jade whispered back. Her emerald green eyes, which contrasted her dark hair, were full of confidence.
"Tell him that you can't anymore."
"I am not going to cancel on him, Carolyn. Now be a good little girl and go back to bed." Jade set down the brush and stood up to look for her shoes.
"You shouldn't be on the streets at night -it's dangerous."
"He's going to be picking me up." Jade replied coolly, lifting a shirt off the floor, finding the location of her shoes.
"He knows where we live?!" I gasped. What other kinds of personal information did she give out? Mom had always told us to be careful with things like that.
"Duh. How else is he going to pick me up?" Jade rolled her eyes as if I was being absurd.
"Jade, how long have you known him?"
"A few weeks, Carolyn. Chill out." Jade slipped on her shoes.
"Jade, please let's just go to bed."
"I already told you Carolyn, I am not going to cancel on him. Besides, he should be here in a few minutes." Jade stood up and began to check herself out in the mirror.
"He could hurt you."
"David's not going to hurt me. I'm sixteen years old, I'm a big girl and I can handle myself." Jade ruffled her hair and straightened her skirt.
"You're only two years older than me."
"That's two years of life experience that you don't have. It makes a hell of a difference," she pointed out, turning to me.
"Then let me come with you."
"There is no way in hell that I'm going to bring my little sister on a date." Jade snorted.
"It's a date?"
"Yes, you innocent child. A date. That means that there are going to be things that you shouldn't see."
"You've only known him for a few weeks! What are you planning on doing?"
"Things that you don't want to know about."
"I'm thirteen, not three."
"Go to bed, Carolyn."
I gasped in realization, "Oh man, Jade. That is so wrong, on so many levels. You're still in high school, what if you get...you know?"
"I'm not an idiot. Now. Go. To. Bed." Jade hissed, getting frustrated.
Before I could reply, I heard a car door shut. I dashed over to the window; there was a guy with blonde hair and pale skin walking from his car to our house. Even from a distance, I cold tell he was extremely handsome. I turned around to tell Jade what I thought of David, but Jade was out of the room. A light came through the window, casting my shadow onto the blue carpet. I spun back around and saw that the sensor light had turned on; the guy was now ten feet from the house. Oh no, the light -my parents will wake up if the light isn't turned off really soon. I ran to my door and opened it, "Jade!" I hissed through the darkness of the hallway. Jade didn't respond, so she must be in the living room already. I felt my way along the hallway, my vision getting clearer as my eyes adjusted. I carefully walked down the stairs, being cautious of the ones that creaked. I saw Jade walking towards the door. "Jade!" I hissed again. She didn't respond, probably ignoring me now. She opened the door.
"Hey, hottie," Jade greeted the silhouette, reaching up on her toes to kiss him. David slid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
I was about to interrupt the two lovebirds when a loud voice that came from behind, stopped me, "You let go of my daughter right now!" It was my dad.
"Jade Marie Andrews, get inside this instant!" my mom commanded with an authority I never knew she had.
My parents were behind me, at the top of the staircase. I wanted to hide, even though I wasn't the person in trouble at the moment. As soon as this scenario was over, I knew my parents would scold me for not waking them up sooner. I might as well hide; I didn't want Jade to snare me into the story that she would tell Mom and Dad. I snuck quickly and quietly off the stairs and into the cupboard that was underneath the staircase. I left it open a crack to make sure that no one saw me. I was in the clear; David had let her go and was now staring up at my parents. He shifted and leaned against the doorway casually. Half of his face was now lit; he was wearing an amused expression and his eyes were crimson. Even though I knew they were contacts, they still made a chill run up my spine.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. My name is David," he said, his low voice like music. I couldn't se my parent's faces, but they must have been too surprised to speak because David continued, "I have a friend here who is pretty hungry -perhaps you could help her out?"
Suddenly, a girl appeared in the doorway. She had curly brown hair that cascaded down to her hips. Her eyes were deep pools of black. She smiled, revealing teeth that must have been filed into sharp points. I covered my mouth in horror. Jade stepped back from the two beautiful people; her green eyes were wide. "David," my sister said, barely above a whisper. "W-who is she?"
The corner of David's mouth turned upward, "This is Elizabeth. I've known her for a long time."
Elizabeth chuckled, as if what David said was somehow funny.
Jade didn't find this funny; her expression turned sour, "Oh? And I suppose that Elizabeth is very dear to you?"
"She can survive my world," David replied, sounding as if it was very obvious.
"And I can't?"
"Would you like to?"
"Of course I would."
"Elizabeth, why don't you help yourself while I bring Jade into our world?" David grinned; his white, razor-sharp teeth gleamed in the artificial light. He looked like an angel, but his satirical smile turned him into an angel of chaos.
Elizabeth nodded, looking very excited. She walked into the house gracefully; her movement was so smooth, it looked like she had glided across the floor. "Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, would you kindly show me where the kitchen is?" her voice was hypnotic, a very exquisite sound. Mom and Dad were no match for Elizabeth's charm; they walked down the stairs, past me, and into the kitchen. I shuddered as a chill went through my body. Something bad was going to happen. I covered my mouth in preparation; it would be bad if I screamed. I wished I was powerful enough to stop whatever was about to come, but I was only a weak girl.
I heard a loud snap from the kitchen, followed by a thud and an ear-piercing scream that belonged to my mother. I curled into a ball; shutting my eyes tight and covering my ears. Another scream erupted from the living room. Jade's screaming, however, didn't stop; it sounded like agony, as if she had been lit on fire. It felt like I was in the cupboard for hours, though I'm sure that it was only minutes. I heard David and Elizabeth leave; Jade was still screaming. The kitchen was silent. As soon as I was positive they were gone, I ran out of the cupboard to Jade's side. There was blood on her shirt; her neck was bleeding. I took off my shirt and placed it on her neck; she screamed even louder, making me wince.
"Jade, oh god, I'm sorry but I have to stop the bleeding." I explained, choking back a sob.
"It….feels like…I'm burning." Jade struggled to say.
"What did that freak do to you?"
"He…bit me…I don't….think he's…human, Carolyn."
"He's too good looking to be human, Jade." I said, hoping to lighten the atmosphere a little bit.
Jade chuckled, but winced. She kept her jaw clenched, holding back more screams. I took her hand to reassure that I was going to stay by her side. She squeezed it appreciatively. "I think Elizabeth killed Mom and Dad." I said softly, water coming from my eyes.
"Did you see…their bodies?"
"N-no," my voice cracked. "I was too scared to look."
"Please don't l-leave me, Carolyn."
"I won't." I promised.
"Not even to…call the ambulance."
"But you're bleeding!" I protested, tear drops falling onto the wooden floor.
"Carolyn…I'm scared…I don't want you to…leave me right now."
"Okay, Jade." I whispered, wiping the sweat off of her cool skin. In all my life, I had never felt so helpless.
-Four days later-
I snuggled my face deeper into my pillow. A smile spread across my face out of relief. It had all been a dream. I would get up and eat breakfast thanks to my dad -the most amazing cook ever. Then I would stay in my pajamas until I had to go anywhere, most likely a friend's house…Ugh, I better get up; otherwise Jade will finish off the orange juice. I then noticed a strange poking feeling in the crook of my arm; I opened my eyes and saw needles with tubes connected to me. Fear and confusion shot through me. I sat up and looked around; yep, I was in the hospital. There were white walls, white floors, white bedspreads, etc. I looked to the bed next to me, I only saw a stranger. Jade was no where to be seen. My heart began to pick up speed. Oh god, what if she was in those critical condition ward-things? I noticed a familiar woman sleeping in a chair at my bedside; she had short red hair and was wearing professional attire. It was my Aunt Cleo. I only got to see her once a year because she lived in Seattle and I lived in Pittsburg. I then remembered that she was coming for her annual visit. She must have found me, Jade, and my parents.
"Aunt Cleo?"
She stirred, but didn't really wake up.
"Aunt Cleo, I'm awake."
She opened her eyes and yawned. When she saw that I was sitting up she jumped to her feet and strode over to me. "How do you feel?"
"Where's Jade?" I asked promptly. Who cares how I feel? Jade is somewhere screaming in pain.
Aunt Cleo's face softened, her eyes full of sadness, "Honey, she's missing."
"Jade's missing?!" I exclaimed.
"Hun, please keep your voice down," she whispered, placing a reassuring hand on my forearm.
"Didn't you find her when you found me?" I asked, keeping my volume down.
Aunt Cleo shook her head, "No, just you and…your parents."
I didn't speak again for another minute. Jade had left me. She left me in that house with my decaying parents (the smell was awful) only a room away. Maybe Jade had been kidnapped by David, but why would he do that three says later? No, Jade said that the burning was starting to dim. She was getting better, colder, and resembled a marble statue. She had been transforming into whatever David was. One, David was inhumanly beautiful. Two, he had bit Jade. Three, Jade was becoming something else after the bite. I had no doubt that David was a vampire. Jade was probably now a vampire, roaming the streets for blood. Tears began to fill up my eyes. "When is their funeral going to be?"
"I just found you unconscious last night; I haven't had time to make arrangements like that yet." Aunt Cleo spoke softly, as if any other tone would break me.
"Oh, okay."
"Carolyn, what happened in there?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Auntie," my voice sounding sharper than I intended.
"Darling, you have to," she pleaded. "I'm sorry, but the authorities need to know. You're parents died in there and your sister is missing and you were half dead. We need to know."
I shuddered at the thought of anyone else coming in contact with vampires. More people would get hurt. I couldn't give them enough information to find David and Elizabeth. "Two weirdo people came to our house, one boy and one girl. The boy poisoned Jade, and the girl killed Mom and Dad. I was hiding under the staircase while it happened. Then I stayed by Jade's side for another two days and went unconscious because I hadn't slept, eaten or drinking anything."
"How did she survive the poison for that long?" my Aunt wondered aloud.
"It was a toxin that gave off a burning sensation." I said, trying to sound convincing when in reality I barely had any idea I was talking about.
"Jade wasn't at the house when I got there though."
"The people probably came back and kidnapped her." I said, keeping my face composed, trying to sound like an all-knowing adult. I wanted to Aunt Cleo to put her trust in me.
"Why didn't they harm you then?"
"I looked dead, didn't I?"
Aunt Cleo nodded. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "What did these people look like?"
"Aunt Cleo, I don't know. It was dark, the lights were off. I just want to forget the whole thing." I rushed, feeling incredibly tired all of a sudden.
Aunt Cleo nodded and kissed me on the forehead, "I'm your guardian now, Carolyn. I'm going to take care of you."
I nodded, holding back the sob that was threatening to overcome me. I was going to have to move to Seattle. I was being forced to leave everything behind, not that there was much left.
-A few months later-
-Collin-
I felt funny. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. I exhaled smoke and stepped on the burning cigarette, putting it out. "I'm going home, Jack."
Jack's brown eyes looked up from a guitar magazine. He pushed his blonde-dyed hair out of his eyes. "'Kay, see you."
I exited his house. It was pitch black, being two in the morning, so I stepped carefully -being a klutz was dangerous. I walked over to my Cherokee jeep (it was really my dad's, but he's not around anymore and there are no cops around to pull me over) -it was pretty much a rectangular box on wheels, the red paint was faded. I got inside, put on a seat belt, started the car, flicked on the headlights and began the drive home. I turned on the radio to the rock station and listened to guitar solos and chords. My vision began to blur. I blinked a few times, but my sight never changed. I slowed down and pulled to the side of the road. The radio station went to an irritating commercial.
I snapped...literally. My bones began to crack and shift. I clenched my teeth and got out of the car and collapsed on the ground. I swore fire had replaced my spine. My entire frame was shaking, like a phone on vibrate. I clenched my teeth and jerked around in pain, accidentally rolling into a ditch. I could feel my muscles being pulled, stretching beyond their limits. I yelled, and then I yelled louder when I could feel my nose being drawn forward and my teeth turning into points. My nails dug into the wet ground and seemed to penetrate deeper than was possible. I gasped for air, but not taking much in -my lungs weren't working properly. I yelled again when my skin was being pushed from the inside out, past the normal zone, as the muscles beneath it grew; it tore into shreds, along with my clothes. I shut my eyes tightly. Oh man, I was dying some sort of strange death, wasn't I?
"No, you're not dying," said a low voice. I was out in the middle of nowhere; there was no way that there was really a voice. I was crazy, insane. "You're not crazy. We're sharing thoughts."
I noticed that the pain was gone, well excluding my sore muscles. Seriously?
"Seriously."
Man, I've really screwed up. I shouldn't have accepted that beer, Jack probably drugged it. The bastard.
"You're not under any illegal influences."
Okay, so if I'm still…in control and not insane, and you're really an actual person sharing thoughts with me for some reason, then who are you?
"My name is Sam Uley."
No way! You're that guy who's always at the beach but looks too old to be hanging out with high scholars -ah, sorry. I didn't really mean to, um, think that. I've never had to manage my thoughts before. "You're Collin, am I correct?"
Uh, yeah? You were expecting me? Why would you think I was someone else?
"Just making sure."
"Sam! It's almost time to meet up with the bloodsuckers -we gotta go!" said a voice.
"I hope they accidentally kill each other," a second voice said.
"Bella is going to be there, so don't even start Paul."
"Don't pretend that you don't wish that would happen, Jacob," said Paul.
"Hello! I'm already near the boundary line. Get your tails over here!" the first voice said.
"Hang on, Embry," said Sam. "We've got a new member."
"Whoa! A new pack member! Jeez, how many of us are out there? I mean, seriously, that makes ten!" Embry exclaimed.
"Cool, I'm not the youngest anymore," said yet another voice happily.
"You're still young, Brady," another voice pointed out.
"Shut it Seth, you aren't that much older than me."
"I'm still older than you."
"Seth, Mom said that if you raid the fridge at night again one more time, she's gonna make you do all of the grocery shopping," said a smug female voice.
"Leah, you ate that last pizza, not me."
"So? You ate the chicken, the left over spaghetti, and finished off the bread to make sandwiches."
"Ahem." Sam coughed to get the sibling's attention. "Leah, there's a new pack member."
"Jeez, Brady just joined last week."
"Sorry, guys," a voice apologized. "I had to take a shower from being inside that damn house. I reeked."
"Quil, you're so high maintenance." Embry said.
"Ugh, don't even start you two. I had to listen to you to bicker all the way back from the party," complained Jacob.
"Where the hell is Jared?" Paul asked, ignoring Quil's protesting in the background.
"Sorry, I'm heading where you guys are now."
"Where have you been?" Sam asked.
"Kim's." Jared replied as if it was completely obvious.
"We should have known," muttered Paul. I had a feeling he was rolling his eyes.
"So, what's your name anyways?" asked Leah, remembering my existence.
Collin. Everyone greeted me in unison (Jared quickly grasped the situation), which I found kinda creepy.
"You'll get used to us doing things at the same time, don't worry." Quil assured me.
Where are you guys?
"We're on First Beach; you are near La Push, right?"
Yeah, I'm just lying in a ditch off the side of a dirt road.
"Why are you in a ditch?"
I accidentally rolled in. I'm gonna get out now. I opened my eyes -my vision worked great now, maybe even better. The grass looked greener, it also smelled stronger too. I rolled off of my side and onto my belly (with some difficulty because the space was smaller than I remembered) and pushed my body up off ground, standing up; my arms and legs moved upward at the same time, which anatomy wise didn't make sense, along with other factors. A lot of other factors. Instead of hands; large white paws were in their place. Nails had become threatening long black claws. White fur turned to reddish-grey at my elbow. What the hell?! I'm a freakin' fluffy animal! Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of reddish-grey and I turned. I had a tail. Oh my god.
I heard a couple of sniggers in my head. Oh shut up.
"The word "fluffy" got to me, sorry," apologized Embry.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm so happy that you find my word choice funny. So why am I an animal? What animal am I? And are you guys like me?
An image of a large black wolf flashed through my mind. "That's me," said Sam.
So, I'm a wolf?
"We all are," said Jacob, a flash of a reddish-brown wolf appeared in my mind.
A chocolate colored wolf -Quil.
A grey wolf with dark spots on his back -Embry.
A silver wolf -Paul.
A dark grey -Jared.
A sand colored wolf -Seth.
A light grey -Leah.
A caramel colored wolf -Brady.
(A/N: I made up Collin's, Brady's, and Jared's colors only because I couldn't find the information. Please keep reading!)
So we're…werewolves? Transforming from man to wolf, sounded like the definition of werewolf to me.
"Yep," replied Quil. I felt relieved in a way, simply because all of the unexplainable things made sense; the fact that my temperature was a one-o-eight, that I was freakishly tall for someone my age, and that I was almost always hungry. There was also fear; what exactly did werewolves do in their spare time? Hopefully nothing to do with hurting humans.
"No, we're pro-human. There are also stories and stuff, which we would love to tell you, but we gotta be ten miles north from the Hoh Forest ranger station in less than an hour!" reminded Embry.
"We'll get there." Sam growled, annoyed. "Where are you, Collin?"
Like twenty minutes away from the station.
"What road?" (I answered him) "We're on our way."
So why do are we going there?
"To meet bloodsuckers," answered Jared.
Um, like leeches?
"Big leeches," confirmed Paul.
Why and how big are we talking about?
"The size of a person," answered Seth.
The others were laughing, knowing the information that they weren't telling me. Or maybe it was because when he said that, I imagined a large leech being stuck on a person coming out of a lake.
"That's enough," said Sam, his tone disapproving. Everyone stopped laughing. "We're talking about vampires. The situation is complicated, but we're meeting up with a coven of vampires to discuss killing other vampires. This is a rare event, considering we aren't allies, so be on your best behavior."
I sighed. I knew that there was drama in my life, but I never expected this.
"None of us did," replied Jacob.
Could you guys, I don't know, stop sharing my thoughts?
"We can't control it, and neither can you. Of course, you could always morph back into a person, but it's hard your first time."
Great. No offense, but I don't want to share my thoughts with you guys -and girl.
"Thanks for including me." Leah said, sounding genuine but also seemed kind of irked at being the only female.
Well, I'm just going to pretend that none of you are in my head, for now. (A hint that I didn't want any commentary.) They understood. Okay, I need to figure out what I'm going to do now. My life was over, that was for certain. I was unstable and there was no point in denying it, after all, I did change into a wolf without my own consent. I'll have to break away from my friends (who weren't quite friends); they have caused a lot of drama and throwing a werewolf into that equation would equal disaster. So good bye to my friends. I'll have to quit drinking, Jennifer was right -it's bad for me and I'm underage- but I'll also need really good judgment and alcohol won't help me there.
"Whoa, hang on! I don't mean to interrupt, but you drink?! How old are you?" Jared asked.
I'm thirteen.
"Wow, you're the same age as me!" exclaimed Brady. Everyone else's thoughts were full of surprise and criticism.
Yeah, surprising I know. I guess I turned onto the wrong path after my dad died and my mom went to Europe because of her job.
Their thoughts turned sympathetic and full of understanding.
It's okay now. This whole transformation thing…it's going to be my rebirth. I'm going to change because this is the chance I've been secretly waiting for, to become the person that I should be.
A/N: Yes, I know. Holy crap is a good first thought. I didn't know this when I started this fic, but when I reread Eclipse, I saw that they are indeed 13. See for yourself on page 434. Yeah, he's drinking and smoking -and stealing his dad's car- at thirteen, my idea completely, but he gets better!! I know its unrealistic in a way, but I only just learned this and don't feel like retyping everything. Nevertheless, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Please review, telling me what you think!