A/N: Okay so the first official chapter is up!
I wont lie, for a long time I debated whether or not to publish this story. I decided why the heck not! Otherwise it would just time up space on my hard drive. I hope you guys enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters, all of that belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I only own Hannah.
"Hannah, go wake up Seth and Leah please." My mom said to me as she scrambled the eggs while simultaneously keeping a close eye on the bacon and tomatoes that were also frying on the stove. The super skills of a mom were on full display as she managed to cook three things at the same time, and never burning anything. "Oh, and tell them that breakfast is going to be ready soon".
Currently I was in our small kitchen, sitting at the table with my dad, drinking a cup of tea. I had eventually given up on the dream of getting back to sleep after another half an hour of noise and joined my parents in the kitchen. Although my parents can be the bane of my existence in the mornings, they are two of the best people I knew and I loved them dearly.
My mother, Sue, was a nurse at the local hospital. My mom was famous for her tough attitude throughout La Push, but she was a big softy deep down. Just don't think she will fall for subtle manipulations like puppy eyes, she's not that soft. She was one of the strongest people I know; although I suppose she would have to be to raise 3 teenagers. Sue and I always had a very close relationship and she was always the first person I went to for advice. Well, after Leah that is. There were just some things that I couldn't talk to my mom about without dying of embarrassment.
My dad was a lot more reserved than my mom was. Harry was one of the tribe elders and often had a say in what happened in La Push. He was very proud of our history, and often used to tell us all of the Quileute legends when Leah, Seth and I were younger. Although most of the kids around the res didn't believe all of the stories the tribe elders told, there was something so undeniably fascinating about them to us.
"Yes mom" I said with a sigh, and started to make two more cups of tea. I knew my siblings well enough to know that waking them up before ten in the morning on a Saturday could potentially be fatal; hence my peace offering of tea. Once the cups were ready I headed to my sister's room. When we were younger the two of us used to share a room, but when Leah became a teenager she started to get annoyed with all the fluffy animals that were in every corner of the room and the toys I had strewn across the floor. She moved all of her belongings into the small spare room that used to be used as a storage room for all my dad's books. It took three whole weeks for Leah to convince my dad to move his books into his room and the narrow lounge, but with bargaining to do some extra chores around the house he agreed. Even though her bedroom was now smaller than mine, she enjoyed having her own space. Being the closest to the bathroom was another reason I think she wanted the room. Leah always managed to get to the bathroom first every morning, which meant she always got hot water. Brat.
With another loud sigh, just to let my mother know how hard done by I was, I nudged the door open with my foot. Just before the door closed behind me I heard my mom laugh at me, being used to my over dramatic reactions. I smiled to myself at the sound, and silently made it across the room to Leah's bed. Leah's walls were painted a warm sandy brown, and covered in photographs. Most of them were of her and her boyfriend Sam, but there were also pictures of the two of us with Seth as well as Leah and our cousin Emily. I smirked as I saw my favourite picture.
It was the only one that was framed, and it hung in the centre of all the other photographs. It was a photo taken a year ago when my family, and some of our friends went down to the beach. The picture was of Leah and I sneaking up behind Sam, each of us had buckets full of icy water lifted in our hands in the process of emptying it on the unsuspecting man's head. Both of us had almost identical expressions of mischievousness on our faces. Leah was laughing in the picture, her mouth stretched in a broad and toothy grin. She was looking at me, waiting for the signal, her beautiful face radiating joy and amusement. I, on the other hand, looked downright impish. My eyes were completely focused on my victim, gleaming with excitement and anticipation for the reaction that was a mere second away. I was grinning roguishly at the back of Sam's head, concentrating on the task at hand. Sam on the other hand was completely oblivious to what was going on behind him and was smiling at the camera, expecting a normal photograph. Luckily that day the wind was so strong it snatch away the laughs that escaped from Leah's mouth, as well as my occasional evil giggles. Seth was in the left corner of the photo, standing behind us with Paul, both of them laughing at what was about to happen. Seth's smile was full of humour, and he was pointing to us with one hand while his other has spread across his stomach as if trying to keep his laughter from tearing him apart. Paul on the other hand was chuckling darkly, as he took a picture of what was happening for himself. Every time I remember the way Sam squealed and twisted away from the water, and subsequently falling into the sand, I couldn't help but smile.
I set Seth's cup down on the bedside table, still grinning, and with my free hand started shaking the lump burrowed under the pile of deep red blankets.
"Leah wake up, breakfast is almost ready."
"Go away!" I heard her mumble into her blanket. I shook her again and then narrowly avoided the pillow Leah launched at my head. Leah was always a grumpy riser. Every time she woke up I stayed away for at least twenty minutes, to avoid suffering the death stare she was shooting me right now through the single hole in her pile of blankets.
"Oi woman, I have tea!" Leah groaned loudly, but pulled the blankets from above her head and sat up. Her silky black hair was a mess around her face; and her dark eyes out-of-focus. Even half-awake my sister was striking, I always envied her beauty. Currently I was at the awkward stage of growing up: everything about my body did not fit together right and pimples were almost an everyday occurrence. Oh the joy. Leah, however, was almost twenty so she was well out of her ugly duckling phase. She didn't even have to try, Leah could just walk into a room and capture the attention of everyone in it.
"Thanks" Leah mumbled, as I handed her the cup. Her eyes tried to focus on her tea, but I could tell she was still half asleep. I smiled at her and picked up Seth's mug again.
"No problem; mom also says that breakfast will be ready soon." Leah nodded, not ready to start thinking in sentences longer than three syllables. I slipped out the door heading to my little brother's room which was next door to mine.
"Oh Sethy-pooh~" I sang as I entered his bedroom. As opposed to Leah's room, Seth's bedroom was relatively bland except for the clothes he wore yesterday scattered on the floor. I couldn't help but snigger at how Seth was lying. His whole body was hidden under his blanket, except his legs. "It's time to wake up brother dear."
I heard a muffled sound, and Seth pulled his legs under the covers and curled into a little ball.
"Breakfast is almost ready…" I teased, and just like I thought he would, Seth sat up in bed so quickly his blanket was thrown across the room. He was wearing a half-asleep smile as he turned to me.
"Food?" I laughed at the dorky grin on his face and nodded my head, passing him his cup of tea.
"Yes in a few minutes, but first have your tea." Seth's smile widened and he started to gulp down his tea at a furious pace, making loud gulping and slurping noises as he did so.
"Hey slow down there pup, you'll get hiccups" I joked and ruffled his spiky hair. Seth set down his cup and wiped his mouth, already finished. I shook my head, amused at my little brother's antics, and picked up his cup to take back to the kitchen.
"Thanks Anna" I winked at him and left his room.
"You're welcome brother bear, but if you don't hurry up I'm going to eat your breakfast," I called over my shoulder as I headed back to the kitchen, "I have no shame! It's the weekend!" I heard him make a disgruntled sound, and then there was a muted thump as he rolled out of bed. Seth was someone you couldn't help but love; his open heart and general friendliness made him impossible to dislike. The two of us had always been really close, which could have been due to the smaller age gap of only two years compared to the four years between Leah and I or the six years between Leah and Seth. Although he was almost taller than me, he was still my little brother and I was a bit of a momma bear when it came it to him. I couldn't help it… that dopy smile of his brought it out of me.
With my mission accomplished, I sat back down in my seat at the kitchen table. After about a minute my half-asleep sister slid into the seat next to me. I offered her another smile, which she returned slightly before resting her head in the crook of her arm. Yeah, Leah was definitely not a morning person.
As my mom served breakfast Seth slid into the seat on the other side of me, eyeing the food eagerly. The minute his food was on his plate he started shovelling it into his mouth at an alarming pace. I laughed as my mom scolded him, appalled by his manners.
Breakfast was as normal as ever. Conversation flowed easily between the five of us, although the main contributors were me and Seth. We joked about our dreams, what they could possibly mean as well as my inability to watch horror movies without having a nightmare like a child. Seth even thought of some creative ways for me to pay Paul back for my early rising. It was some true sibling bonding. Leah was eating quietly on the right side of me, occasionally sighing when Seth and I acted like idiots. Which was unfortunately quite often, so she kind of sounded like a tire that had a puncture- a constant exhale of air.
My parents laughed at our antics, occasionally chiding us for talking with our mouths full. To be fair that was mostly Seth though. He was constantly spooning food into his mouth, barely even stopping to breath. When he finished his breakfast Seth started to steal from my plate. I swotted, punched and whined at Seth every time his had come near my plate, but he still managed to swipe some food each time. Once my food was also finished Seth looked over at Leah's plate with a longing gaze. Leah seemed to feel his intention, and turned her glare of death to him.
"Try it, and I will end you. Painfully." She growled as she shifted further down the table. Seth put his hands up in surrender and smiled brightly at her.
"Okay fine! I'll leave you to eat your food," Seth yielded easily. Leah's perfectly shaped brows raised in surprise and then lowered in suspicion. Seth never gave up on scavenging so easily. I narrowed my eyes at my brother, trying to figure out what he was planning. It didn't take long for him to reveal his intent. He quickly leapt up from his seat, dumping his dishes in the sink before running out the room, yelling over his shoulder: "But I am going to shower first". The tell-tale slam of the bathroom door followed shortly afterwards.
Leah let out an angered squawk. "Seth! Don't you dare use up all the hot water!" She called after him, and slumped down in her seat. I couldn't help but snort.
"Yeah pot, you call that kettle" Even though I mumbled quietly, Leah's head snapped in my direction and her infamous glare started to form. Before she could finish her expression I let out a terrified squeak and stood up quickly, taking my plate to the sink.
"Thanks for the breakfast mom!" I blew a kiss at her and then headed back to my room.
I quickly made my bed and got my clothes ready for the day, and then waited by my bedroom door. I waited for about a minute, before I heard the sound of the bathroom door opening. I ran as fast as I could to the bathroom, almost running my brother over as he left the room, so I could shower before the rest of my family. Luckily I was successful. The last person to shower always got the cold water, and I did not need a freezing shower on the already perfect Saturday morning I had experienced. The minute I locked the door I heard Leah try and open it.
"Sorry Lee, but you're going to have to wait for me to finish this time" I tried to keep the smugness out of my voice as I said it, really I did. I heard Leah grumble something that sounded suspiciously like "little monster" before she shouted at me to be quick.
To demonstrate what a kind and thoughtful sister I was I actually was pretty fast. By fast, I mean ten minutes passed before I shut off the water and stepped out the shower. For me that was practically unheard of. I could easily shower for half an hour or longer. It was always the place I would think the best, so I tended to lose time whenever I stepped under the spray of water.
I wrapped a large black towel around my body, threw my pjs in the wash basket and opened the door to an impatient looking Leah.
"Finally" Leah sighed and pushed off the wall she was standing against and passed me to get into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I crossed the hall and went into my bedroom, quickly changing into the clothes I laid out earlier and started to dry my hair with a towel. I was wearing a pair of jeans, boots and a cream coloured jersey. All items of clothing were extremely comfortable and well-worn in. I only planned to get revenge on Paul today, so there was no point in dressing up. I didn't want to get blood and entrails on my best clothes, after all.
Once my hair was relatively dry I tied it up in a large bun at that top of my head to keep it out of the way, and then headed out of my bedroom. I saw Seth running around the lounge, looking for his jacket.
"Anna have you seen my stuff?" He asked me while pawing around under the couch. "I could have sworn I left it here last night."
"Exactly, that was last night. You know mom hates things lying around the house, so she probably threw it in the wash."
Seth let out a groan and got off of the floor. He turned to me and I couldn't help but laugh at his defeated expression. "But that's the only jacket that fits me anymore! What am I supposed to wear now?" Seth dropped his head on my shoulder and let out a sigh. "When will I stop growing Anna, I feel like a string bean."
"I can't help you there pup, I feel the exact same way." I gave his shoulder a consoling pat. It was quite odd that I was still growing as quickly as my brother. Seth was only thirteen, so it was normal for him to start shooting up. As far as I knew girls usually stopped growing in height at my age, which was fifteen, but I was still growing. The last time I checked I was almost 5ft 7, which was taller than my mom. A few more inches and I would be taller than my dad as well. Now that would be unsettling.
Leah walked into the lounge then, putting on her own coat. She saw Seth complaining into my shoulder, and me comforting him with an amused expression. Leah laughed at our little brother and offered a reassuring pat of her own. Now that she had woken up fully, Leah was her usual easy going self.
"If it makes you feel any better Sam is also still growing, so he also has a bunch of clothes that don't fit him anymore. Maybe you can borrow something from him to wear today, I'm heading to his house right now if you want a lift." That perked Seth back up, and he hastily agreed and went to go fetch his shoes. The three of us hardly ever stayed at home during the weekend, we usually went out with friends and enjoyed not being cooped up in classrooms.
Leah smiled after Seth, and then turned to me. "Do you also want a lift? I'm assuming you are going to the beach to make a certain boy's life hell for a few minutes." Her smile turned into a teasing smirk as she said this. It was a Saturday, and the sun was actually shining for once, so I knew that Paul would head to the beach at some point today. I gave her a smirk of my own, and nodded.
"Oh, most definitely."
The drive to Sam's house only took a few minutes but the entire time the three of us joked around with one another. Leah was teasing Seth about how he would never stop growing and eventually tower over everyone in the res. A real life BFG she said.
"No, Leah, what if it happens now? You're tempting fate here!" Seth objected from the backseat of the car. I was sitting in the passenger seat next to Leah, having called "shotgun" first. I laughed along with Leah at Seth's pout. Eventually the pout turned into a smile, and then to a full blown grin. Our laughter died down as we approached Sam's house.
The small house was a light blue colour with white furnishings. There weren't a lot of flowers in the garden but the few that had bloomed were a vibrant yellow, standing out against the dull greens and browns of the rest of the yard. Sam had lived in this house his entire life, which was one of the reasons he wanted to move out so badly. There were memories of Joshua Uley all over that house even if there were no belongings of his left.
As Leah parked the car in the driveway I saw Sam come out of the house to meet us. Sam, ever since I had first met him, had been pretty tall. He towered above me to the point where I didn't even reach his collarbone. The fact that he was also very well built made him look even bigger. Luckily, he was teddy bear on the inside and even tolerated me jumping on his back every time I got annoyed at how tall he was. Sam was wearing a happy grin as we got out of the car but his eyes were really only on my sister.
"Hey Lee-Lee." Sam kissed her gently as he greeted her. Leah smiled contentedly as she tucked herself under his arm. Sam eventually shifted his attention to Seth, who was looking at the ground awkwardly, and me.
"What's up, monsters?"
"Don't worry Sammy-dear, we won't encroach on your couple time. Seth just needs some clothes and I'm going to head to the beach." Sam looked over to Seth, and then back to me.
"You two are really shooting up, hey?" Sam remarked as he critically measured our height with his dark eyes. "Well come on in then, Seth, I have piles of clothes that don't fit me any more." He gestured to his house and then sent a parting warm smile my way before going back inside. Seth beamed and then followed Sam into the house, waving goodbye to me over his shoulder. Leah turned to me once the boys were inside and lowered her voice, her large eyes were hesitant.
"There's going to be a bonfire on the beach tonight," Leah started off slowly. She looked like she was contemplating whether or not to say something. A reluctant sigh escaped her lips and she continued, "Sam and I have a bottle of vodka that we were going to share tonight but I remember the deal I made with you so- if you want, you can have a little bit of it. Only a little though, and it has to be diluted with juice or soda. You can't have a clean shot of it, you got it?" Leah looked stern as she said all of this to me, but I couldn't help the excitement that started to bubble in my stomach.
A few weeks ago Paul and I decided that we wanted to see what the big deal with alcohol was. Paul had gotten hold of half a bottle of whiskey from his house that his dad had seemed to have forgotten about. He brought it over to my house one night when my family was out having dinner with some of their friends, and we decided we were going to try it.
Unfortunately, just as we were about to have our first shots, Leah and Sam walked in. After Leah yelled at the two of us for half an hour she agreed that she wouldn't tell our parents if we didn't try to have alcohol on our own again. It wasn't an empty threat though. Leah had started to take stock of all the alcohol in our house as well as checking Paul's pockets and bags every time he came over. Leah had said that if I was going to have alcohol for the first time, she wanted to be there to keep an eye on me. I think she agreed to this deal in part was because the first time she had had alcohol she was my age too. Unluckily for her, she didn't have an older sibling to talk some sense into her so she was caught by my mom and was grounded for two months.
"Paul can have some too though, right? He was part of the deal after all." I grinned eagerly at my older sister, who just rolled her eyes.
"Yes, but the same rules apply to him. Only a little bit and it has to be diluted. Also, do not tell anyone about this okay? I don't want a whole bunch of random kids asking me for alcohol." I nodded quickly, agreeing to Leah's terms and gave her a tight hug. I felt Leah chuckle a little as she hugged me back.
"I'll see you later then, Leah, tell the boys I say goodbye." I let go of her and then turned around and headed across the road to the beach, a bounce present in my step. It wasn't a long walk, a few minutes at most, but I took my time walking to my destination. I felt a small smile appear at the corners of my mouth as I breathed in the fresh and dewy morning air. The sun was shining brightly, alleviating some of the chill that was in the air, but I still felt goose bumps appear on my arms as I walked across the grass that led down to the beach.
There were only a few people scattered across the beach but I knew that soon more people would be arriving- it was only 11 after all. The sea looked as beautiful as ever. The water was a deep grey colour, broken up only by the white foam that topped each wave. The sand on the shore transitioned into smooth grey stones as it reached the water's edge. The grey of the stones and water blended together peacefully, but as the sunlight reflected off the waves you could also see shades of blues and greens in the water. On the shore there were various sizes of drift wood scattered everywhere. Near a group of black jagged rocks close to the shore, the driftwood had been arranged in a close ring encircling a makeshift hearth. This was usually the place where people came to hang out as well as for making bonfires.
Once I scanned the shore to see if any of my friends had arrived- none of them had - I headed towards the fire site. I sat on the stark white piece of driftwood that faced the ocean. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my skin. While I waited I drifted into a tranquil state of mind, lulled into security by the gentle rhythm of the crashing waves. The wind was whispering around my face, gently stirring the pieces of black hair that escaped my bun.
I was so lost inside my mind that I didn't even hear the tell-tale crunch on the sand that indicated someone was approaching me. It wasn't until I felt warm hand on my shoulder that I snapped back to reality with a startled choke. I opened my eyes and turned towards the amused laughter I heard from behind me.
"What the hell Jess? I almost swallowed my own heart!" I exclaimed when I saw my best friend giggling as she leaned over my shoulder. Jessica had been my best friend ever since the first day of Grade 1 when we sat next to one another. She was the exact opposite of me, which was probably why we were perfect as best friends. While I was outgoing, loud and dramatic Jessica was soft spoken, sweet and sensible. She was the one of the few people who could keep me in line and in turn I brought Jess out of her shell. I like to think I also bring some amusement to her life.
"Sorry Han, I honestly didn't mean to scare you. I thought you heard me approach; it wasn't as if I was walking quietly." Jessica said with an apologetic smile as she sat down beside me, giving me a hug as she did so. I grinned and hugged her back, instantly forgiving her. With her lovable face, and the peaceful aura she seemed to exude, it was impossible to genuinely be angry at her. "So what's the plan for today?" She asked as she looked out to the sea.
Jessica was a stunning girl, she had a rare kind of natural beauty to her. Jessica was quite a bit shorter than me, just passing my chin when we stood next to one another. She had glossy black hair that fell in thick waves around her shoulders and light brown eyes that were framed with dark lashes. Her mouth had a natural uplift in the corners, making it look like she was permanently smiling which suited her cheerful personality.
"Well, besides getting revenge on Paul, I'm pretty much up to anything. Although Leah said there was a bonfire tonight, so I'll probably hang around for that." I told her, tucking some of my stray hair behind my ear. I didn't tell Jess about the alcohol testing that I planned to do later tonight with Paul because she didn't have a disobedient bone in her body. While Paul was my partner in crime, Jess was my more conscientious friend. She was the most well behaved teenage girl I knew, and she never went against her parent's rules. I guess it was a lucky thing that her parents were extremely laid back and the only rules they had was that she couldn't drink, smoke or date until she had graduated high school. Jess obeyed the rules without complaint, unfortunately for all the boys that mooned after her. There was quite a few of them too.
Jess lifted her eyebrow at me and let out a small, amused scoff. She was used to the unusual friendship dynamic between Paul and I. "What did he do this time?"
"He came over last night to watch movies and he brought this really scary one." Jess already began to laugh, knowing where my story was going. "Paul said that this one wasn't bad and that it was actually more action than anything else." I crossed my arms irritably and glared at the ashes in the fire circle in front of me.
"So you had a terrible nightmare, and then couldn't get back to sleep right? Really Han, I thought you would have learnt by now that you can't handle horror movies with that over-active imagination of yours." Jess bumped my shoulder with her own, and chuckled as I nodded in defeat.
"Well I haven't seen him yet, so why don't we go and watch the soccer game until he arrives?" Jess pointed in the distance where a group of figures were running and chasing a ball that was getting kicked across the sand.
"So what did you get up to last night, besides homework of course?" I poked her ribs as we started to walk towards the soccer game. Jess squeaked and jumped out of my reach.
"Well, if you must know, I went to Forks with my parents. We went to the diner there for dinner with some of my dad's colleagues." Jessica's dad, Russell, was a medical technician at the hospital in Forks. Lately there had been a lot of tension from the council for Russell to transfer to a different hospital, which he had adamantly refused to do. Russell had worked there for almost twenty years and he said he enjoyed working there. This made dinners between our two families really awkward because of my dad being part of the council. Jessica and I stayed out of it though, we didn't really get involved with our parents issues.
We carried on chatting together amicably as we reached the side-lines of the soccer game, sitting with a few of the girls from our class. Most of the girls were cheering for their boyfriends, letting out encouraging hoots every time they had the ball. Jess was sitting on my left side chatting to Kayla, one of our friends from school so I turned to the quiet girl sitting on my other side and almost had to shout out my question to be heard over all the cheering.
"So who are you cheering for?" The girl looked surprised that I was speaking to her, and blinked her long lashes at me in shock. I smiled in what I hoped was an encouraging way, and waited for her reply. The girls seemed to realise that she hadn't replied to my question and blushed deeply.
"Um… I'm supporting Jared." The girl said softly, pointing to one of the boys who was running after the ball. The boy looked familiar, I think he was in my English class, although I don't remember ever speaking to him. He was tall with round muscles that were quite noticeable through his black shirt. The boy, Jared, had a mischievous grin on his face as he managed to get possession of the ball from the opposing team. He had a dimple on his right cheek when he grinned. He was pretty cute.
"You go, girl! Is he your boyfriend?" I asked the girl, nudging her conspiratorially. The girl seemed to sputter, and her blush went all the way to her hairline.
"Oh no! He's… I'm not… No!" I felt bad for making the girl so embarrassed and put a calming hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything. I just assumed by the way you looked at him… Guess that saying about "assuming" is true hey?" I chuckled weakly, feeling guilty. The girl seemed to relax a little bit and gave a small a smile of her own.
"It's okay; my friends always tease me about it. I guess I should learn how to be more subtle, hey?" I laughed genuinely and squeezed her shoulder gently.
"I wouldn't worry about it, boys don't really seem to notice the small stares. Which is good, it makes it easier to check them out." The girl giggled along with me and gestured to the field, asking me who I was supporting.
"Oh I don't actually know yet." I looked at the boys playing the game. I recognised some of them from school but I didn't know them personally. My gaze landed on one boy I did know, and I felt my lips turn up into a grin. I pointed the boy out to the girl sitting next to me. "I'll support him."
The girl looked where I was pointing and let out a whistle of her own. I laughed because I knew what she saw, he was an extremely attractive boy. Even though we wasn't as tall as Jared he was a lot broader. Hard muscles were peeking out of the shirt he was wearing, and his legs were propelling him across the sand at an impressive speed. "Are you dating him?" She asked, turning my own question back at me.
"Quil? Na, we are just friends." The girl raised an eyebrow at me which caused me to laugh. She was fun to be around now that she had relaxed. "I'm Hannah by the way." I stuck out my hand in introduction, even if it was a bit late. The girl placed her small hand in mine, and smiled softly.
"I'm Kim. It's nice to meet you." The two of us continued to chat, as well as cheer for the boys. Although it was me doing all the cheering for both of the boys, Kim was too self-conscience. I didn't mind though, she was quietly suggesting funny things that I should yell. At one stage Jared was close to the side of the "field" where we were sitting and actually heard what I called. Unfortunately, it was a comment about him "working that sexy ass." Jared spun around and looked in our direction, trying to figure out who it was that called out. Kim let out a startled "Eep," and hid behind her other friends, who were laughing loudly. This left me alone, with an obviously guilty look on my face. Jared looked at me, a flirtatious smile spread slowly across his face. He winked at me and then ran off after the ball, making sure to exaggerate the movement of his hips whenever the opportunity presented itself. Every time he did this, he would look back at me with that shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
"Kill me now…" I muttered as I dropped my head into my hands, my cheeks still stained with colour. The girls around me were still giggling and teasing me. Jess laughed too, telling me that he was bound to hear me sooner or later. Kim gave me a guilty pat on the back.
"I'm sorry Hannah," she said quietly, her cheeks were also as red as a coke can. I know she felt guilty for dodging out of the way of Jared's stare as well as the fact that she dared me to call out the comment. I raised my head from my hands and let out a little laugh.
"Don't worry about it, you didn't expect me to actually call it out." Kim nodded and let out a giggle of her own.
"Not at all. Most people wouldn't do it out of fear of the possibility of what just happened." I shrugged and scratched my nose. Although I was embarrassed I couldn't help but laugh. I wasn't someone who was too shy to say what they really thought, so I had been put in this position a few times before.
"I can never resist a dare." We settled back into watching the game; I still called out encouragements but this time I made sure that I kept them all PG.
The game eventually ended with Quil and Jared's team winning. The girls all cheered loudly as the winning team did a victory lap around the designated field, Kim and I joining in. I stood up, dusted the sand from my jeans, and then held out a hand to help Jess up. As Jess dusted herself I looked around the shore, standing on the tips of my toes. There were a lot more people now than there was this morning, and I scanned the crowd to see if Paul had arrived yet. As I was looking around I saw Jared heading my way with Quil following behind him. I immediately dropped down back onto the soles of my feet and turned around, trying to make myself smaller.
"Oh shit!"
Kim and Jess heard my quiet exclamation and turned to look at me with questioning glances. I motioned for them to look behind me and when they did Kim blushed and started to look slightly panicked while Jess just laughed.
"I don't suppose either of you is willing to distract them while I run?" I pleaded hopelessly. Jess shook her head cheerfully, content to see how I handle this. Kim paled, and looked like she would rather be anywhere other than here. I let out a defeated sigh and turned around, determined to get out this with as much dignity as I could.
It wasn't as if I was shy when it came to boys because I wasn't. Not that boys paid me much attention anyways. I was usually instantly friend zoned because I had very attractive friends. Every hopeful guy that wanted to date one of my friends usually came to me, trying to convince me to help them out. I did have a few boys that hit on me in the past, and I usually flirted back. I found flirting fun, even if I wasn't all that good at it. However, this situation was what was making me feel awkward. Jared thought I was hitting on him when it was really Kim- even if it wasn't directly. I didn't think Kim would appreciate me revealing that little fact though, especially considering how she stuttered when I asked if they were dating. I couldn't imagine what she would do if I passed this off on her.
Jared broke through the dispersing crowd, walking like someone who just about owned the world, and came to stop in front of me. He was marginally taller than me but he leaned down slightly to look me straight in the eyes. I cleared my throat, feeling a little awkward with the proximity. With him standing so close, I could see that Jared had deep set brown eyes that had small flecks of gold if you looked close enough. His russet skin looked smooth and had a few freckles, but they were all small and faint. His full lips were stretched into a grin as he noticed my roving eyes.
"I thought I should come and greet my admiring public face to face, but if you would prefer it I could turn around," Jared said with that flirtatious smile he had flashed me earlier. As I tried to think of the best way to handle this 'shituation', a thick arm was slung around my shoulder. I couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh as I saw it was Quil, who was grinning at me with charm only he could muster.
"Oh Hannah Banana, how you have broken my heart! I thought you only yelled out inappropriate things to me and now you've given an ego boost to the wrong man." Quil teased me as he pulled me away from Jared and into a crushing hug. "I'm starting to feel neglected."
I laughed and pulled away from Quil, punching him softly on his muscular arm. "If your ego gets any bigger, Quil, not even all of those muscles of yours will be able to support it."
Jared let out a guffaw while Quil pouted at me with a faux hurt expression. Quil and I became friends when we were assigned to work on a project together during the eighth grade. We got along extremely well, often teasing each other inappropriately and flirting every time we saw one another. Quil also liked hanging around me because that way he got to see Leah. He had had a crush on her since the first time he laid eyes on her, swearing that he was going to save himself for her.
"You just like me for my body, don't you?" Before I could answer Jared tutted at Quil, and sent that grin at me again.
"Obviously not any more… As far as I can remember, it was my ass that was ogled," Jared stepped closer to me again and held out his hand. "I'm Jared, but I don't mind if you call me "Sexy Ass" either."
"Hannah," I said as I put my hand in his. I laughed nervously as he lifted my hand to his still grinning lips and kissed it. I pulled my hand free from his grasp quickly and gestured behind me. "These are my friends Jess and Kim."
Jared sent a smirk over my left shoulder where I assumed Jess was standing, but sent a frown over my other shoulder where I thought Kim was standing. "I didn't know there were ghosts in La Push."
"What are you…?" I trailed off as I turned around and saw that Kim was no longer there. She must have run away when Jared approached. "Oh well, that's awkward," I muttered as I turned around to face Jared again. Quil had latched himself onto Jess, asking if she was allowed to date yet. She laughed good-naturedly, and said no. As the two of them bantered back and forth, I felt eyes on me. I looked back at Jared to see his gaze travel up and down the length of my body. Blood rushed to my face again. Damn, this was awkward. I didn't know how to tell him it wasn't me who was interested in him without sounding like a complete bitch or implicating Kim. Subtlety was never my strong suit.
"So Jared, are you going to play another game?" I asked more for the sake of getting his eyes away from their assessment of my figure than anything else. His eyes met mine again, only now they had a sparkle of something in them that I didn't recognise.
"I might, but only if you're my cheerleader again. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that I got all those original cheers while the other boys just got the classic "Go Babe". "Sexy Ass" just sounds so much better," Jared said jokingly. I snickered quietly, feeling more relaxed now that glint in his eyes had disappeared.
"Do you usually try to win the girls over with your charm and wit? Or is it all of the jokes that you tell?" I teased him as Quil and Jess started to walk to the driftwood circle. Jared and I followed after them. Quil laughed when he heard what I said and called over his shoulder:
"As if Jared has any of those qualities. The only shot he has is if he uses his 'pretty boy' looks to his advantage."
"Oh Quil, you think I'm pretty?" Jared called back in a high pitched voice, clasping his hands together under his chin and fluttering his eyelashes. Jess giggled at the boys' antics as they continued to tease each other as we walked.
As we got closer to the circle of driftwood Jess nudged my shoulder and pointed to off to the left side. There was a couple standing close together near a formation of jagged rocks, obviously on the verge of a full on make out session. At first I wondered why Jess had pointed them out to me, but upon closer inspection I realised that it was actually Paul and some random girl from Forks. Sometimes the locals from Forks would come down to First Beach if the weather was nice, like it was today. Paul usually took this opportunity to flirt with the girls that came along because they didn't know about his ladies' man reputation. I felt an evil grin climb onto my face as I saw the target of my revenge. Quil and Jared looked at me when I let out a low chuckle, as a plan of action was created in my mind.
"Well, that didn't sound evil at all," Quil muttered quietly to Jared, who gave a nervous nod of agreement. Jess smiled at the boys and placed a small hand on Quil's large biceps and pointed in Paul's direction. Jared and Quil looked at the couple and then to me before two different expressions appeared on their faces. Quil's expression was one of understanding. Having known me a few years, Quil knew that Paul and I would often get back at each other in strange ways whenever one of us annoyed the other. Jared's expression was one of complete confusion as well as something else I couldn't pinpoint.
"Is he your boyfriend or something?" Jared asked cautiously, unsure of what was happening. Quil, Jess and I laughed at the question.
"Oh no way, he's just my friend. Well, actually right now he is my target. I lost sleep because of him, and nobody messes with my sleep," I explained to Jared, who looked surprised at the vehemence in my tone. "He is going to feel my wrath."
Quil took pity on Jared's utter confusion and quickly explained the strange friendship Paul and I had. Jess then explained the story of my nightmare to the two boys. Jared had laughed when he heard how I couldn't handle horror movies.
"So then, how are you planning to get your revenge?" Jared asked me as he moved to stand closely behind me, looking at Paul and the girl. I was so focused on my plan that I didn't even feel awkward about the way Jared and I were standing. I just gave another evil chuckle. This was going to be pretty dramatic; it had to be. Paul's plans of revenge against me were always so creative, so I had to make sure to bring my A game.
"Do you guys want to help?" I asked over my shoulder, blinking slightly when I saw how close Jared's face was to mine. I stepped away from him and looked at my possible accomplices as I waited for their replies. Quil readily agreed, followed by Jared and eventually Jess, who was still a bit hesitant. Once I had told them my plan, eager smiles lit each of their faces.
"Alright, let's do this then," I said resolutely and began to walk towards Paul. The couple didn't notice me approach, which made my smirk broaden. When I was a few feet away I decided to start my act.
"Paul!" I yelled angrily as I wrenched him around to face me. The girl let out a startled gasp at my sudden appearance, her blue eyes widening in surprise. Paul on the other hand was only shocked for a few seconds before he realised what was happening. He dropped his head into his hands in defeat and annoyance. Luckily for me, this made him look all the more guilty. I almost smiled, but I managed to school my expression into something that resembled hurt and anger.
"Where were you last night? You were supposed to pick me up for our one year anniversary! And who is this?" I gestured angrily to the girl, who looked absolutely floored at what was happening. I gasped, making my eyes wide. "Are you cheating on me?! You bastard, you said you loved me! I dumped my sugar daddy for you, do you even know how hard that was for me to do? I haven't had a spa day for months!" The girls head snapped towards me, her mouth open in shock. There was a look of revulsion that had started to make its way onto her face, almost as if she knew how messy this was about to get.
"Amelia!" Jared yelled, coming to stand before me looking upset. "What are you doing with this loser? Are you cheating on me?! I thought we were exclusive!" Jared even started to tear up. I had to bite the inside of my cheeks really hard to stop myself from laughing. I had to hand it to Jared. He was really committing to the act. If it was even possible at this stage, the girls eyes widened even further, the colour draining from her beautiful face.
"James, what are you doing here?! I thought you were in Seattle for the weekend!" I tried to look shocked and guilty. Jared grabbed my face in his large hands.
"I came back early! It's okay, I forgive you, Amelia. Let's just leave now, you don't have to worry about this guy any more! He can't satisfy you the way I can, physically, emotionally, financially or sexually! I'm so much better for you!" Jared exclaimed passionately. The girl had slowly begun backing away from us, her hand running nervously through her hair.
Before Jared could throw himself to his knees and start declaring his undying life for "Amelia", which I could see he was about to do, a softer voice bawled.
"James, what are you saying! You said you loved me!" The new voice belonged to Jess, who was pulling off a heartbroken girl pretty damn well. Jared turned around and looked down at Jess.
"Shelley! You said you were going to California for your mother's birthday, I didn't know you were here. Don't worry honey, I can explain," Jared tried to hug her, but Jess was acting too upset to be pacified.
"James?! You're cheating on me too?" I gasped so hard I almost choked on my spit. The three of us started yelling and arguing amongst ourselves. While this was happening the girl had started to look faintly sick, her skin was continuing to pale but the blush in her cheeks just kept getting more intense with every sentence out of our mouths. She looked so overwhelmed by what has happening in front of her. Paul was now watching the three of us with a pissed off expression, but I could see a reluctant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Eventually someone else approached, but instead of joining our yelling they went straight to Paul.
"Hey baby, why don't I keep you company. This group seems like way too much drama for such a hunk like yourself. I can tell you'd prefer someone more… physical than these four string beans," Quil said to the shocked Paul, laying on the charm thickly and flexing his muscles. The girl let out a squeak, finally too overcome by the situation and almost sprinted away from five of us. Only when the girl was completely out of sight did the three of us give up our act.
I instantly packed up laughing along with Jared and Quil while Jess giggled, and wiped away her fake tears. It was so over dramatic that I couldn't help but be surprised that the girl bought it. Once I calmed down I turned to Paul, who was still fighting his smile, and winked cheekily at him.
"That was for the nightmares, buddy," I said casually as I lightly bumped Paul's chin with my fist. Paul just looked down at me with a raised eyebrow. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he left out a quiet chuckle, and relaxed his stance.
"Your plans of revenge are getting stranger and stranger every time," Paul mumbled as he ran his strong hand down his face.
"You seriously have the worst timing ever though, Hannah. Could you have not waited five minutes before re-enacting an episode of Cheaters?" Paul shifted his stance, leaning his elbow on my shoulder and gazing down at me. Like most of the boys in La Push, Paul was pretty tall. He was just under 6 foot but considering he was also still growing, that could change very soon.
"I thought I timed it perfectly actually. If I waited five more minutes you would have been worked up, and then you would have been angry," Paul just laughed at me.
"Oh, I wouldn't have worried about me being "worked up", Hannah. Seeing your face is more effective for me than a cold shower; all my hormones disappear whenever you're near." He slung his arm around my neck and pulled me against him, hugging my scowling face to his chest. Although Paul's words seemed harsh, they didn't have any malice behind them. He usually teased me about the fact that I was completely unattractive to him, but in some strange way that was why he liked me so much. Like I said before, our friendship was weird.
Jared looked completely shocked that Paul had said that to me, his wide eyes darting between the two of us. Jess, although used to how the two of us teased each other, glared at Paul. Quil just laughed and tweaked my nose playfully.
"Don't worry, Hannah Banana, that's only because Paul has no taste. My hormones love your cute little butt. So do Jared's." Paul seemed to notice the three other people standing with us and turned his smug smile to them.
"Hey Jessy, don't scowl. You look a whole lot better with that beautiful smile of yours." Paul teased as he let me go and went to hug Jess. Jess grumbled something under her breath but hugged Paul back anyways. Paul gave Quil a hard punch to his arm, which caused him to let out a pained grunt.
"You asshole," Quil complained as he rubbed his abused arm. "Why don't I get a nice greeting as well?"
"You're "physically capable" remember? I'm sure you can deal with it." Paul said, quoting Quil from earlier. Quil just groused quietly to himself and came to stand next to me.
Paul then turned to Jared, nodding his head in acknowledgement.
"Hey man, I'm Paul," Jared shook Paul's outstretched hand, recovering from his shock over what Paul had said to me.
"I'm Jared," Jared said with a bit of hesitation, obviously unsure of how to react to Paul. I took pity on him, knowing how awkward he must feel right now, and decided to try and get the boys to bond.
"I met Jared this morning, he was playing soccer with Quil. He's pretty good." I said, knowing how much Paul loves playing the game. Jared looked back at me, a grin starting to form. It took me a second to realise that bringing up the soccer game wasn't the best idea. Judging by the sparkle that appeared in Jared's eyes, I was right.
"I'm surprised you saw me play at all," I was already internally cringing at what I knew Jared was about to say but Paul looked at Jared in question. "I thought you were looking at my ass the whole time."
Jess laughed and gently patted my shoulder sympathetically while Quil objected, pointing out how I noticed his ass too. Paul, however, looked surprised that someone was seriously flirting with me. He knew Quil and I joked around all the time but that was usually so over the top that it was obviously fake. I felt heat rise to my cheeks and let out an uncomfortable cough, something that also seemed to shock Paul.
"So are you guys staying for the bonfire tonight?" I asked, attempting to change the subject again. Luckily it worked and the five of us started talking about what we should go and buy from the store. At some stage we had moved to the circle of driftwood, talking to some of the other people who were congregated there. Someone had started the fire using some spare driftwood they had found along the shore. The fire flickered in a beautiful amalgamation of blue and green, casting faint turquoise shadows onto the sand. Due to the lack of space a few people were sitting on the sand next to the driftwood logs, while some sat in front to be closer to the warmth of fire. Although it must have only been about three in the afternoon, a chill had set into the air as the sun disappeared behind the clouds.
The groups sitting by the driftwood circle were extremely diverse, but all seemed to be in a good mood. Laughter and loud conversation could be heard from almost every cluster of friends. Most of the people were older than us, although I did recognise some boys that were friends with Leah and Sam. I sat down on the sand next to Paul, while Jared went to three boys that I assumed were his friends when they waved him over, but not before giving me a parting hug. Quil had seen the girl he was currently crushing on, and went with her to the rock pools. Jess sat next to me and stretched out her hands to the fire in an attempt to warm them up.
"So you were checking out that guy's ass, hey Han?" Paul asked with a nudge as soon as Jared was out of ear shot. "Pretty damn strange, but what was really weird was when he flirted with you and you blushed. What the fuck Han? Do you really like this guy or was the first time you felt your hormones go crazy? Do I need to have 'The Talk' with you?"
"Oh shut up Paul," I grumbled as I picked at a stray piece of lint on my jersey. "If you must know, this was just a whole big misunderstanding that I don't know how to fix yet." I then told Paul the entire story of the soccer game, including how Kim became MIA when Jared approached us. Once I had finished telling my story, with Jess's occasional input, Paul just laughed.
"That really is a—what did you call it? A 'shituation'." He patted my knee sympathetically. "I wouldn't just flat out tell the poor guy though, that would be as embarrassing as shit. Maybe just try to casually set him up with this Kim chick. Saves him the embarrassment, you an awkward conversation and the girl gets her dream man. Everyone wins."
I nodded, considering how I could actually get Kim to talk to Jared. Paul broke me out of my reverie though with an amused snicker.
"I still can't believe he was hitting on you though. I mean seriously, Jess was right next to you. Is he blind or something?" Jess, being the overprotective best friend that she was, leaned across me and slapped Paul on the back of his head. If the resounding "thack!" was any indication, I'm pretty sure she hit him damn hard.
"Ow! Dammit woman, what the hell!?" Paul complained rubbing the back of his injured head gently.
"Don't be so rude, Paul! Hannah is beautiful so it makes perfect sense that Jared would flirt with her," Jess scolded Paul while still leaning across my lap. I just laughed though. I wasn't offended by what Paul said, I actually agreed with him. Like I said, I was in the middle of my ugly duckling phase so I wasn't the most attractive girl out there. I took comfort in the fact that it was a phase that I would (hopefully) grow out of. I was very rarely offended by what Paul said because he spoke honestly but without spite. He had no filter, and would call things as he saw them. That, combined with his short temper, often got him into a lot of fights though. It also meant that he didn't lie to someone just to make them feel better about themselves. It was why I valued his opinion so much.
"Relax, Jess, I wasn't offended, in fact I was thinking along the same lines as Paul," I said trying to placate my worked up friend. Jess just frowned at me in response.
"Well, it's no wonder you have such a low view of yourself if you agree with statements like that," she said quietly to me, looking slightly disappointed. I couldn't help but feel shocked though. I thought I had a pretty realistic view of myself, but it seemed like Jess completely disagreed. There was a tense silence between the three of us for a few minutes but eventually Paul broke it by pointing out how all the people from Forks were leaving. As a girl with bright red hair walked passed us, I asked her where everyone was going. Usually the kids that came here would stay until sunset or if it got unbearably cold.
"Oh, it's our prom tonight so we have to go and get ready."
"That must be so exciting, don't you think Hannah?" Jess asked me dreamily as the red headed girl walked away with her friends. I considered the question before answering her.
"I guess," I shrugged non-committedly. It was pretty far in the future, or at least it felt like it to me, so dreaming about it now seemed silly. I wasn't someone who planned out my future a lot, instead enjoying every day as it came. Besides, so much could change in two years.
Boy, was I right.