First story in a long, long time. In fact, I found I am quite rusty :) I hope you like this regardless. Any kind of feedback, ideas, or ways I can improve the story or my writing are greatly appreciated.

When I Look at You

Everybody needs inspiration

Everybody needs a song

A beautiful melody

When the night is so long…

I flicked my wrist and slowly turned the key in my ignition, cringing as my shabby, red pickup truck loudly sputtered to life, no doubt trying to gradually make me lose all ability to hear. Although, I thought as I drove along the familiar wet and winding streets, with vibrant bright green ferns and tall shadowy oak trees covering every inch of open land, losing my hearing might not be so horrible. At least I wouldn't have to hear his voice anymore. It had been…4 months since he had made his grand and final departure from me, which inevitably ripped me to shreds and left a gaping wound in my chest that felt all too real; sometimes I even swore I could imagine it and actually see it. Gaping, black with ragged, raw edges, sucking in everything it touched-- placed right over the spot where my heart should have been. Stop. I gripped the steering wheel tighter and sighed as I stared out my unwashed windshield at the bright blue sky dotted with minimal clouds, and tried to force my thoughts elsewhere. Thinking about him, or anything that could possibly remind me of him was risky and incredibly dangerous. Plus, I was on my way to Jake's and much to my dismay, he picked up on every little thing and could practically read my mind. STOP. Still too close. How many topics were safe to talk, even think, about anymore?

The sun shone brightly through my windows and for the first time since I had moved to Forks, I wished I had brought sunglasses with me, to keep out the bright glare that made it much more difficult to drive. It was so warm I probably could have gone to the beach or for a swim, not that I had a bathing suit—at least in Washington. And why would I? I knew right from the get go that moving to Forks would mean no more sun, swimming, good hair days, or ever being dry again. The bright day seemed to brighten my mood though and for that I was grateful. Finally, the familiar and incredibly comforting house of Jacob Black came into view, and as I turned off the engine, a flash of color in the woods caught my eye. My heart raced irrationally for a split second but I immediately relaxed when I saw Jake emerging from the thick dark brush of the forest, grinning from ear to ear, his bright white teeth glinting in the sunlight. As he walked towards me, I couldn't help but take notice of the way his russet skin stretched over his muscles when he walked or the way his short, inky black hair looked when the light breeze blew through it. I laughed, giddy just from seeing my best friend, and used all my strength to heave open my massive car door --that probably weighed more than I did-- slamming it shut once I found my footing on the crushed gravel. I walked across his lawn as he made his way toward me and the second we were in arms reach of each other, I was immediately wrapped in a huge bear hug that left me out of breath and practically crushed my bones.

"Jake." I choked out, struggling to fill my lungs with a sufficient amount of oxygen.

"Oh!" He said laughing to himself as he let go of me. His huge, heavy hands stayed on my shoulders so that he could steady me, if need be. Thankfully he knew all about my clumsiness and inability to stay upright and unscathed. "I always forget how fragile you are." He brushed some stray pieces of my brown hair out of my face, smirking the whole while, obviously proud of his teasing insult. Being fragile, as he so delicately put it, was not something I prided myself on. In fact, I despised it. I opened my mouth quickly, a retort on the tip of my tongue, when a howl cut me off, informing me that there was in fact another wolf nearby.

"Who else is here?" Curiously, I turned around and squinted into the trees, wishing I had superhuman eyesight, like most of the people in my life. I quickly changed my line of thought, not wanting to think about superhuman abilities anymore. As I returned my gaze back to Jacob's eyes, I saw him scrutinizing my expression, probably wondering what I was thinking about. My eyebrows rose as I expectantly looked at him, waited for a response to my question.

"Embry." I felt my face involuntarily light up as a big grin slowly spread across my face, while Jacob's seemed to oppositely mirror mine, his eyes narrowing as they bore into my skull. An unfamiliar look flashed across his face and Jacob's usually dark chocolate eyes darkened further, turning them an almost coal black. Usually that was a sign of hunger when it came to the…

"Let's go see him!" I shouted without any warning, trying to disrupt my train of thought. My abruptness had startled him and I giggled slightly at the fact that I could make a werewolf jump. The smile stayed on my face, partially from the effect of being around Jacob and partially because I was trying to use my own interruption to my advantage and not think about eyes, either coal black or gold. A slight tug was pulling somewhere deep inside my chest and I knew I had to place my thoughts somewhere else, quickly. I turned around and once again, unsuccessfully tried to see Embry. Jacob's scorching hands were still on me, although they had fallen to my elbows, and they were almost restricting me in my effort to turn around.

"Why? Let's just go inside. You can see him later." His tone was suddenly defensive, as he tried to not so subtly tow me toward his faded red house, and I couldn't see any motive for his behavior. Had I done something to offend him? I dug my heels into the soft dirt as I tried to deter him from pulling me, especially without any apparent-- or rational-- reason. Although I felt a little guilty for whatever it was I did, annoyance was starting to seep into my body, mostly from his too hot hands touching me, and dragging me against my will, on the already warm day. Sweat started to bead on my neck from the combined heat of Jacob and the sun, and I pushed his hands off of me, immediately feeling relief once they weren't touching my overheated skin. The only reason I was so excited to see Embry was because he and I had become pretty good friends since he had become part of the pack. Jacob and he were practically inseparable, in the beginning, and since I spent so much time with Jacob, it was inevitable that I would spend time with Embry also. Although he was reserved, when you pulled him out of his shell, he was hilarious and his impish behavior reminded me a lot of Jacob. We constantly bet on anything and everything, and his up-for-anything adventurous behavior and spontaneity was exhilarating in a strange way. Eventually I not only sought out Jacob's presence, but Embry's also.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked, a little harsher than I had intended. Did he have a good explanation for not wanting to see Embry or not? His eyes focused on something over my shoulder, and finally gave a deep sigh, his eyes going flat as they made their way back to mine.

"Forget it. Let's go see him." He held his hand out to me in invitation as a tight lipped, slightly forced smile was pasted onto his face. We walked hand in hand, in silence, our feet sinking into the dry earth; the scents of dirt and moss slowly growing more and more apparent in the air. Somewhere nearby, birds were chirping and a creek was softly running, the water quietly bubbling. As we found ourselves right at the edge of the sage forest--where the flora began to grow-- a loud playful bark made me jump and I laughed loudly, even with Jacob's hand tightening around mine in an almost painful way.

How was it? :)