I was so excited with how many reviews/favorites/follows I got for just the first chapter! It's amazing! So, I started working on the next chapter (aka this one) only a day or two later. I hope this is up to par with the last chapter. ALSO! PLEASE Recommend me names for this story! I don't really like what I am calling it now, so review me in some new names, if you have ideas!
I had some problems with formatting. In some places, there were lines and they didn't show up. I am going to change my line breaks from now on so you guys can actually see them. Sorry about before, hopefully this is better!
Homework didn't take too long to complete for Minerva, so now it was time to shop. She was thinking fish and fries for dinner, but she also needed to get milk, some deli meat, bread, pop and maybe something sweet for her lunches. The fish she would get on her way out, along with the deli meat. Minerva was half-way down the bread isle when she got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. Someone was watching her, and that was hardly ever a good thing. In her paranoia, her cart bumped into someone else's. Luckily the woman was very friendly, and polite. Her name was Emily and she was getting ready to make dinner for her fiancée and his coworkers. Her cart was still empty, she hadn't decided what to make yet. As they walked around the store together, they became fast friends but Minerva could still feel the tightness in her chest. There was no way this woman could be so nice, kind and actually genuine. She and Emily eventually split up when the only a couple things were left on her mental list. Entering the soda isle, she realized she had a problem. Minerva is 4'9". The type of soda she liked was on the top. You can see what the problem was.
After looking around the empty isle for a bit of help, she could only let out a tiny sigh. She would have to jump for it. There were really only a couple good things about being so short that were going for Minerva. First, she was less noticeable. Second, she was a smaller target. Three, it is scientifically proven that shorter people can jump higher. Sadly this was still not tall enough. She gave the liter bottle she wanted a half-hearted glare. Suddenly, a tanned arm stretched over her head and grabbed onto the Root Beer she so desperately wanted. If possible she paled even more. The only person that could do something like that so casually with that much muscle had to be from Sam Uley's gang. And with the luck she has had today (and remembering past experiences that resembled this one) there was a great chance that the bottle would soon smash her over the head.
…
…
She could hear the bottle… Landing in her shopping cart. Looking up for her cowering position she could see the leader of the gang in all of his towering glory and Emily with a bursting cart behind him. There was no way in heaven or hell she would have thought he would be sweet Miss Emily's fiancé. Both looked very confused to see her in such a position. Then Sam's mind clicked on who this tiny girl was, and his gaze changed to pity. Even outside of school, she felt so threatened. Emily came over and started to calm the girl down, giving her a one armed hug. "Sam, I'd like you to meet Minerva-" Emily started. Sam politely interrupted her, feeling very awkward at the meeting. "I know who she is Em, and you do too." He gave her a look. Minerva was confused. She had never met Sam before today, only heard of him; maybe he had heard of her? Emily on the other hand only brighten up, the scar on her face stretching a bit with her smile. "Oh! You're Paul's Minerva, he's told me so much about you!" Only after saying it did she realize it was the exactly wrong thing to say. Before she could say another word Minerva was getting to the check-out as fast as she could.
Paul was still moping around the house. Not even his house, because his house was even more lifeless and empty. Then he heard the grumble of the gravel driveway, and his stomach lightens a bit. Food… He may not have eaten anything since breakfast, which was a big thing for wolves. It was like not eating for days if he was mortal. But he was finally thinking well enough to know that unless he ate, then he wouldn't even be around to try to get into Minerva's good graces. Suddenly the door opened, and he could smell something even better than anything he had smelled before, like dark chocolate and strawberries. Running to the door, he became almost nose-to-nose with his masculine alpha. Sam quirked an eyebrow, then shoved Paul out of the way and set the groceries on the counter-top. Emily walked in behind him with a sheepish smile. "Guess who we met at the grocery store today?" Her guilty tone said it all. Paul already knew the answer and waited for her to continue explaining why she smelt like heaven. Emily only giggled and continued to blabber. "It wasn't that new girl that Sue was talking about, she was this tiny little thing-"Sam interrupted his imprint, knowing how impatient Paul was, as the newest pack member and as a person. "It was Minerva. Emily chatted around with her while I grabbed some things we need from the garage, and while we were getting the rest of the food, she needed a little help to get a liter from the top shelf. As soon as she saw someone grabbing for the pop she cringed and cowered. Even after seeing your memories I never realized how bad it was. Then Emily had to go and-""What did she do?" Paul was starting to get furious. Did she hurt his girl? "I might have said something aloud when I made that connection that she was the same Minerva that you were talking to me about in such great depth. I didn't realize it at first because the way you talked about her made her seem not only a bit taller, but she was also much more… meek then I expected. I think she would jump if the wind brushed her shoulder a bit too hard."
The old Paul would have smirked and been proud of the fact he had ruined her life so completely, that she was frightened of the smallest things, even outside of school. But the imprint had changed him. Life wasn't about his needs now. Life was about his little Minnie, and her safety. And he was already failing miserably.
She had to go back, but at the same time she was too frighten. Not only was Sam Uley Miss Emily's husband-to-be, but they had both heard about her from Paul. Paul wasn't the one who usually spread rumors about her. It was the Bimbos who thought he was the greatest thing to walk the earth since he was an infamous "Bad Boy". Matt did have more of a fan club but apparently he just didn't have the muscle like Paul did. Maybe this was the payback he had promised in his glare at school that morning… But the biggest problem she had at the moment was the lack of fish. She forgot to grab it before bolting out of the store. Now she and Ingrid wouldn't have dinner. This was her only real job which meant she would probably get in trouble when her step-mom got home. Even when he wasn't trying or even in the same building, Paul caused her trouble. There was a little diner down the road run by Mrs. Clearwater, she might be able to get some dinner there and take some back for Ingrid.
Sue, as she adamantly asked to be called, was more than happy to serve her dinner and fire up the grill even if it was close to closing time. Minerva had to remember that Sue used to give her ice when she would see her walking home after a 'rough' day at school. Her son was more than a couple grades below her in age, but was already a couple inches taller than her. While Sue started cleaning up in the back, Seth came out to keep her company. It was times like this when she could forget about how afraid she always had to be, and just enjoy the moment. Eventually, she realized she had to go. " It's getting late, I better get going. I'll see you around Seth." Though it wasn't a question, it almost sounded like one. "Sure, Minerva. Don't be a stranger!" Was Seth's reply. Before exiting, she quickly turned around. "Actually Seth," She kept blushing, it was hard to be this outspoken! "You can call me Minnie." Minerva aka Minnie was called that by everyone back in elementary school, until the death of her father, when she became a shell of herself and distanced from everyone. Sue could hear from the back, and could only smile. It had been too long since the girl could talk that loudly without fear.
That was when Minerva's luck ran out. She got maybe a fourth of the way home to La Push, when it started pouring. Luckily the food for Ingrid was in a plastic container, but she wasn't. A fancy car slowed to a crawl beside her, and a fellow pale-face (maybe even as pale as her unable-to-tan Irish tone) rolled down the window. "Can I give you a ride home?" His voice (and after looking him over again, for safety) and his eyes were like honey. "I guess…" Her own voice was barely a whisper, but the mysterious stranger that could have been her own personal angel heard her over the pounding rain. He smiled and gestured for her to get in on the other side.
"My name's Edward, and you are?" Her angel spoke again. "M-Minerva." She quickly replied. " Well, are you the new girl Sue's been talking about for ages?" He questioned. "No, I've lived her almost my entire life. I go to school in La Push." She didn't know if this was exactly the right thing to say, but she hoped it was fine. She wasn't good with strangers (or anyone really, unless she knew them or they gave off a welcoming persona). Edward gave her a small smile and looked closely at her. She smelled like mutt. "No offense but aren't you a bit pale to be going to school at the Rez?" This tiny girl baffled him to no end. There were no easy answers for her. "Um, my dad, he remarried Ingrid- I mean, well she lives on the Rez. They met online and –oh, that wasn't really important- but since he d-died I have lived on the outskirts for years." She feebly finished "It's complicated?" All Edward did was lightly laugh at how flustered she was, obviously not the most social person in the world. All Minerva did was blush.
After he dropped her off and reminded her 'don't be a stranger', her world wasn't so bad.
