He Makes 'Em Good Girls Go Bad

A Twilight FanFic

Number

While we were awaiting him to come back with our bill, Kennedy kicked me underneath the table.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Are you gonna ask him out or what?"

"Excuse me? I'm not asking anybody out … let alone a guy I haven't even been properly introduced to yet …" I stammered, annoyance poorly concealed in my tone.

"Suit yourself …" Kennedy surrendered.

I didn't want to know what she was up to, this time.

I absentmindedly played with the paper packaging of one of the straws we got, bunching it up and then unraveling it over and over again. My friends were constantly bugging me about him; their curious expressions, nagging questions, gushing about how cute he was. There was zero chance that 'Embry' returned the same crush I suddenly had for him. God, I'm pathetic.

I stretched my arms out in front of me, slouching on the booth. I was so relaxed, if I could just close my eyes …

Embry was walking towards our booth, once again, and when I heard his quiet footsteps, I immediately straightened up and drew my arms back under the table. He stopped, and stole a sly glance in my general direction. I smiled, and laughed. Embry winked at me again.

"There," he said as he put down the bill.

Kennedy spoke up. "Um, hi, Embry, right? Well, here's my friend Shenae Durant, just so you know. Shenae, Embry."

I mouthed I hate you to Kennedy, and then smiled back up at Embry.

"Uh, didn't see that coming ... Hi, Shenae."

"Hi, Embry."

He walked away quickly, shaking his head and a puzzled expression on his face.

I kicked Kenny back underneath the table. "Kennedy!"

"I did say suite yourself, didn't I? You had it coming, Shay ..."

"Ugh!"

"You'll thank me later," she said. She sounded so sure of herself.

"Mhm."

Everybody chipped in a little to pay for the bill, and as soon as we were done, Embry magically appeared.

"Thank-you. Oh, and this is for you," Embry slid me a piece of paper on the tabletop, and I quickly snatched it before I hoped any of my friends noticed. I flipped it open, and realized that it was most likely a scrap receipt. He had written in a rough scrawl Embry and his number.

I didn't say anything, and then held the sheet in between my fingers.

"See you later, then," was all he said. "You ladies have a great day."

"You, too," I muttered.

Kennedy had to be home by ten, so she decided she'd rather not be grounded for being late, and ought to get home fast and leave early. So, Chloe, Audrey and I all said our goodbyes, gave our million hugs, and waved until Kennedy left the parking lot.

"Hm, I thought she'd never leave." I couldn't believe it; his voice. I turned around, shocked.

"We'll be in the car," Audrey whispered to me. Her and Chloe said "bye" to Embry, and half-walked, half-ran Chlo's red Sunfire GT.

"Never did I," I grumbled in disbelief.

"I didn't have the chance to properly introduce myself. I'm Embry Call," Embry said, formally.

"Nice to meet you, properly, Embry."

"Hm, yes. I didn't figure your name would be as pretty as your face, but we're wrong all the time, right?"

"I don't think my name is 'pretty'."

"Shenae is a beautiful name. Not nearly as beautiful as you are, though." Embry laughed.

"Awe, you're sweet."

"Well, we'll have to find out on our first date, then." He laughed again.

"Oh, really?" I pestered sarcastically.

"It's kinda obvious that it's going to happen, don't ya think?"

"We'll see about that, should I call you later tonight," I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Ooh, we'll find out. Will Shenae call Embry?" Embry mocked a detective-y voice, waggling his fingers at me.

"Will he get the girl? We shall see." I faked a deeper voice, and Embry chuckled at me.

"A girl with a sense of humor, my, my."

I rolled my eyes.

"I'll talk to you later, then," I said.

"Yup. Bye, Shenae."

"Tootles, Embry!"

I sighed, and walked oh so slowly to the red Sunfire. Chloe was impatiently tapping her foot against the floor, an annoyed look etched onto her face, and Audrey was in the back, ready to attack me with questions.

"What's wrong with you?" I wondered as I sat down and buckled my seat belt.

"I've been in here, waiting for you! Why else would I not be losing my temper?"

"Sorry. Aren't you going to ask me what happened?"

"What did he say?" Audrey suddenly spoke ahead of Chloe. Chloe just sighed.

"He gave me his number in the restaurant, and … it was magic, Audrey! I have a good feeling about him, even though nothing has even begun, yet …" I took a deep breath as all the words came out in a jumbled rush.

"Whoa, chillax, Shay. You barely know him!" Chlo cautioned me.

"I know, I know, he's like … perfect. He's gorgeous, he has a sense of humor, and he's sweet, as far as I know," I rested my head against the head rest, and day dreamed, sighing whenever his beautiful face appeared in my mind again timelessly.

Embry Call.

Shenae Call. Okay, I'm getting way ahead of myself.

I continued to dream of things that would never happen, and soon enough Chloe had pulled up into my driveway, and was anxiously waiting for me to get out. She was probably still a little annoyed with what happened earlier. I mean, I couldn't help it. It was like time stopped the instant we started talking.

"See you, later, Chloe," I hugged her and opened the door. I slammed it shut and started walking up the path to my house. The lights were on, probably my Dad messing around on the computer. I reached for the door handle, and realized it was unlocked; I tiptoed in quietly, trying to not disturb anybody. I didn't know what Ella was doing, and I didn't really care. I was on Cloud Nine, nothing was worthy of disrupting my reverie. I floated up the stairs; my vision was in a dream-like quality. I ran to my room, shut the door, and flopped down on my bed. I closed my eyes, like what I would have wanted to do at the restaurant, and let my mind go blank.

I woke up some time later, and when I read the alarm clock, it informed me that it was 10:14 PM. What the heck? Had I really slept that long? Embry was supposed to get off at eight, would he still be awake? Well, there was only one way to find out.

I dug into my front pocket of my favorite jeans, and pulled out the sheet of paper Embry had given me. Embry was a little smudged, but the numbers were still legible. I whipped out my cell phone, and dialed in the numbers faster than I could've imagined. Then I broke out into a sweat, and butterflies erupted dangerously in my stomach. Uh-oh.

Somebody picked up on the second ring. My heart fluttered, and my breathing caught.

"Hello?" Embry answered. His voice.

"Oh, hi, Embry!"

"Shenae?"

"Who else, smarty?"

"Ha-ha, why are you calling so late …? I got off like two hours ago."

"I kinda fell asleep, while day-dreaming …"

"I was thinking you were debating whether or not you really wanted to talk to me, but that works, too." He chuckled on the other end of the line. I smiled.

"No, I'm not that shallow to duck out last minute. How are you, on this fine evening?" I asked casually.

"I am great; how about you?"

"Hm, I'm fine. Too many things on my mind."

"Would I be one of them?"

"You're the only thing on my mind, right now," I mumbled honestly.

"I feel loved. Then, why'd you say many things?"

"I'm trying to decide if … if I like you. I don't know you well enough to know the answer to that question, though."

"But, so far?"

"It's a yes."

"You're pretty face and green eyes were all that occupied my mind while I was at work, to be honest."

"Awe."

"Are you're parents up?"

"I don't know … I'll check."

I opened my door a crack and slipped through, and leaned over the railing. All the lights were off, so everybody, I assumed, was sleeping.

"It's all clear."

I flicked off my bedroom lights, and headed downstairs, phone in hand and held up to my ear.

"So, do you want to go out Saturday night?" Embry broke the silence.

"Of course!" I gushed, but I didn't want to sound too eager, so I toned it down a bit. "Um, what do you want to do?"

"We can just hang out, if you want."

"Sounds fine to me."

"It's a date, then. I'd like to know more about you, first."

"Isn't that the whole purpose of the 'first date'?"

"Whatever. Do you have any siblings?"

"No. I'm an only child, but my cousin, Ella, was orphaned super young, so we took her in a couple years ago. She's like my sister, I guess. I live with my Mom and Dad. What about you?"

"I just live with my Mom. I don't have a Dad."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"You get used to it," he said this like he wasn't used to it.

I stayed silent. I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. I began flicking through the channels aimlessly in the living room, never settling on one channel for more than thirty seconds.

I decided to break the silence. "What's your favorite color?"

"I could never decide."

"Hah, me either. I want to paint my room all the colors of the rainbow, hehe. Enough about me, let's hear about you, Mister Call."

"We haven't talked about you, at all. What's there to know about me?"

"Lots of things. You're past relationships, your childhood, your goals, miscellaneous details …"

"My life isn't that interesting."

"It would be, to me. Go ahead, spill."

"Fine. Um, I've never been in a relationship before … my childhood. Pretty vacant if you ask me …" Embry told me about what it was like not to have a Dad growing up, and I didn't like hearing about it anymore than he did telling the story. He told me that his mother was from the Makah reservation, and she came down to the Quileute rez when she was pregnant with him. Embry said he didn't have any goals set for right now, but he'd think about some sooner or later. He described his two best friends, Quil and Jacob, and mentioned that he could introduce me to them on Saturday.

Embry informed me about his life story until about twelve AM. After that, he begged me to tell him more about me. Like he'd said about himself, what could be so interesting or fascinating about me? I was like basically any other teenage party girl. I could be serious, but that's once in a blue moon. I'm an ordinary adolescent with brown hair, green eyes and fair skin. What's about me to like?

But, to Embry's discretion, I rambled on about Ella, Mom and Dad, my family, what my crazy, delirious friends were like, my school, where I'd like to travel some day, and about my past. This went on until about two AM.

"What was your childhood like?"

I bit my lip as I tried to rack through my faint and blurred memories.

"I can't remember my life up until my twelfth birthday. All I remember is when I was four, and a bright flash of light. Everything else is blank. I get nothing."

"Oh, then tell me about that," he sounded worried, shocked.

"Well, I remember I got my first horse."

"You like horses?"

"Yes. I've been riding since I was … I don't remember."

"Cool. And?"

"We bought some land out here a few years ago, and built a barn and fenced in some grass for pasture, so he could live here. His name's Tequila."

"That means you still own him?"

"Yup. He's only eight."

"That's cool. I'll come see him some day."

Embry's comment made me hopeful, that some day we would hopefully still be together. I beamed at the thought.

"What are you doing now?"

"I'm just watching TV, sitting on my couch."

"Interesting."

"Totally. What're you doing? It has to be better than what I'm doing."

"Not fully. I'm raiding my fridge."

"That's an excellent idea. Thank-you."

"I know, I'm a genius."

I yawned loudly.

"You're tired."

"No, I'm good. Keep talking, I'll just rest my head on this pillow …"

"Very funny, Shenae. I've kept you up long enough," Embry's voice rang with sincerity.

"No, I like talking to you …" my voice was starting to sound whiny.

"I'll call you tomorrow, 'kay? If that makes you feel better," Embry promised.

"It does. You promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay, goodnight, Embry."

"You, too, Shenae."

Click.

I gasped and leaned into the counter, holding onto the edge for support. I can't believe it, this is really happening.

I'd wasted my last minutes on my phone. I only had six left now. Oh, well. I went to New Contact, and typed in Embry's number.

I flipped it shut, and then trudged back up the stairs. I hurried into my bedroom, and opened up my closet, searching for pajamas. I found my favorite Tinkerbell shorts, and another t-shirt, and went to the bathroom. I washed my face, and brushed my teeth. I tied my hair up into a ponytail, and stalked off to bed.

But, as I was walking back to my room, I heard somebody typing on a keyboard. It was coming from Ella's room, I wasn't completely sure though.

I walked to the door, and listened a bit harder. Yep, it was definitely coming from Ella's room; she was doing something on the computer, obviously. The only time she ever typed this fast was when she was in an instant message conversation.

I warily opened the door a bit wider, and breathed, "Ella?"

"Yeah, Shay?"

"Just wondering what you were doing. What are you doing?"

"Um, I'm doing some homework." She quickly snapped the laptop shut.

"Were you really, Ella?"

She gulped.

"Let me check over that homework for you, cuz."

I trekked over to her bed faster than she could react, and snapped open the laptop. The screen was black, but as soon as I tapped the mouse pad, exactly what I had suspected, an instant message conversation. With two people. Her best friend and a boy?

"Ella, who's this?" I pointed to the screen, trying to sound nonchalant, and not too suspicious. I cared about what Ella was getting into; she was only two years younger than me. Like what I had said to Embry, she was my little sis in a way.

"Brad, the boy in my class."

"And what's he doing on MSN at two thirty in the morning."

"Talking to me, what do ya think?" Ella got defensive.

"Whoa, just wondering."

I read over the conversation.

Brad 3 Emma: I really like you, Ella.

Ella: I like you, too, Brad.

Brad: Do you want to hook-up tomorrow?

I gasped at what the rest of the conversation said.

"Oh-my-gawd, Ella! He has a girlfriend! Do you even know what hook-up means?!" I demanded, instantly furious.

"Yes and yes. It means make-out," Ella drawled, just to piss me off.

"Which you so aren't going to do. I know boys like that, Ella. They just use you and then break your heart."

"Brad's not like that!" Ella hissed at me.

"Chances are, he is! He's dating Emma, you're best friend! Does she know your talking to him?"

"No."

"Exactly! Don't drag yourself into this, Ella."

"I know what I'm doing."

"Sure, just wait until Brad hurts you both. Drama, I tell you."

"I know what I'm getting myself in to, Shay. You don't have to worry so much."

"I have all the right to worry, cuz. You're like my little sister." I said.

"Right—," Ella rolled her eyes, "Get out of my room."

"Don't say I didn't warn ya," I whispered as I left the room.

"Oh ya, who's the boy you were talking to?"

"... Embry! He's perfect, Ella!" I started babbling.

"I only asked who he was, not what he is."

"Hey, how did you know I was talking to someone?"

"I heard you talking to somebody, and I listened to it."

"ELLA!" I yelled. Who cares if I wake Mom and Dad, it was one of our rules not to eavesdrop on telephone conversations.

"What? I was curious."

"What did you hear?"

"All I listened to was 'I don't remember anything from my twelfth birthday.' Then it got boring."

"You are in so much trouble, I tell you!"

She just grimaced and turned back to the laptop.

Then she started typing again, and read aloud, "I love you, too, Brad. Goodnight," and looked at me with wide eyes.

"You're too young to know if you love someone!"

"Who GIVES, SHENAE! I don't!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you," I repeated.

"Don't count on it."

I just grumbled meaningless cuss words at how Ella would get her heartbroken, and I jumped onto the bed. As soon as I was underneath the covers, and my head was resting comfortably on the fluffy pillow, I fell asleep.

The star of my dreams was of course, Embry.

He was running around, and holding my hand. We looked to be about seven years old and running together along what appeared to be First Beach. Embry was still holding my hand as he led me into the thicket of trees, and halted when they were dense enough. He leaned in and so did I, standing about a foot apart, and we leaned in until our lips met. Then running across the road, and that blinding flash of white light, and then nothing.

I shot up, breathing hard, gasping for air.

Stupid nightmare.