M I S T A K E N

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, or any of the characters.

Whoa! Four reviews and it wasn't even up for an hour! Wicked shweet! (yes, sweet is purposely misspelled…) I suppose I am expected to continue. Here's the first chapter as is written in my notebook. The first scene (the one where Ari and Jacob realize they have imprinted on one another) is meant for the middle of the story. I may move it to the middle and delete it, or just keep it there. Anywho – here is chapter one.

1) no better way to start the summer )

I stared at him for the longest time. He didn't move. I sighed, rolling my eyes. What did I expect? I laughed out loud. Staring at my brother wouldn't wake him up.

"That's what I get for watching Heroes all night…"

My brother rolled over. I snatched his pillow from beneath his head and started to beat him mercilessly with it, using it to soften the blows of my fist against his skull. He muttered an intelligible surrender. Satisfied, I shoved him out of the bed and left him on the floor.

"Baba!" I hurried down the stairs to see my parents off. "Baba, Aki's dead."

My father's jaw tightened. My mother laughed, tears glistening in her warm eyes.

"Don't joke about things like that," My father – my Baba – said sternly, his Nigerian accent more apparent with his anger.

"Give her a break," My mother mumbled, putting on her coat. "Just because my father is dead doesn't mean we can't laugh. Ari – would you mind taking care of your brother for us? Since he's decided to sleep through our departure, I figure I'll remind you instead. Follow the rules, 'kay baby?" My mother kissed my forehead. "We'll be back in two weeks."

"Bye Mom," I gave my father a hug as he bent down to kiss my cheek. "Bye, Baba."

"If you need anything, call Mrs. Neil. Or get Aki to drive, you only have your permit."

I rolled my eyes at the mentioning of Mrs. Neil. She had three sons, all off to college. She thought of Aki and I as her unrelated children.

"We'll be fine. Say hi to grandma for me." I waved my father out of the house.

"Oh! Get rid of the milk, would you? It's-"

"Come, on. The taxi's waiting."

"Bye, Mom!" I closed the door as my father tugged her down the steps, then sighed. I poked around the large stainless steel kitchen. "Something stinks…" I opened the refrigerator and found the source of the stench. I grabbed the gallon of milk and poured it into the sink. I frowned as I read the label. It was supposed to spoil in a week… I smirked, placing the empty jug on the counter. We'd need more milk, wouldn't we?

I grabbed my cell from its charger and flipped it open, glancing at the time. Two sixteen AM. Aki was probably buried in his sheets – no way he'd be useful.

I hopped onto the counter and sat down. My parents would be on a flight to my grandmother's house in two hours. They'd watch my grandfather get buried and then…

"What a depressing way to start summer vacation," I said to myself, hopping off the counter. I went to the hallway closet and snatched a sweatshirt, too lazy to change into something decent. I slipped on a pair of sneakers, my bare heels sticking out of my shoes. I wanted to stop myself, but Aki's car keys were the friendliest things in the room. They were just calling my name.

I took a sticky note and pen out of a drawer and hurriedly scribbled a brief note on the fluorescent yellow square.

Aki – Milk was bad. Went to get more. In case you wake up and decide to sneak away, I have your car. Good luck explaining my disappearance to mom and Baba. I think I'll get some gas, too. See you soon.

-Ari

I shrugged; thinking the note was fine enough, I slapped it against the fridge and threw the pen back into the open drawer. I bumped it shut with my hip as I pocketed my cell phone and left the house, swinging Aki's keys on my finger as I went to the garage.

I sat behind the wheel of the Baby, as my brother so affectionately called his Volvo. It was a present from my parents to him last year, for making good grades. My mother was ecstatic when Aki had said he wanted to pursue a career in medicine. It had gone by unsaid that the both of us, children of a geneticist and an internist, would find some scientifical or medical field to follow. Aki was one of those boys who could do barely anything and achieve good grades, yet all his teachers hated him.

I opened the garage door and started the car. I drove silently, enjoying the space of the highway, the only car on at this time, and enjoying the veil of darkness that surrounded the car and stained the sky. The moon was bright, but it didn't help my sight as tears blurred my vision.

Grandpa was gone. The strange, old man who told me stories of his childhood, tales beyond belief, was dead. He hadn't been that old, either. My poor grandmother, what would become of her? Maybe she'd go back to her former reservation. Maybe she'd come live with us, since my mother was her only child.

I was surprised it had taken that long for tears to come. Aki had been detached when Grandpa had died. Grandpa had always liked him better than me, but Aki felt out of place around him.

I held the steering wheel tightly. The road had become blurred, but I kept driving, turning off the main road to drive down a private unpaved road. I watched the trees flash by as the road took me deeper into the woods. I had never let go like this, I've never done something as reckless as taking my brother's car and buzzing down an unknown road at eighty miles per hour. No, I was the mature, responsible child. The child that never showed any feeling towards anything.

"Why?" The coarse rasp left my throat; the question hung in my head. What was I even asking myself? Why was it so hard to answer the question?

I blinked away my tears and found myself amazed to see a giant wolf. I squinted. "A wolf that big? No way!" I laughed. "What horror movie set did I drive onto? No way that's real…"

It took me a moment to realize that I was about to run right into it. I slammed the brake and turned the wheel, the tires screeched beneath me, kicking up gravel. I jerked forward, then slammed back against the seat, my seat belt clinging tightly to my chest. I took a few breaths, my headlights cut through the darkness. No wolf in front of me, there never had been one. I was crazy – there was no other explanation. I was insane; Aki had been telling me the truth all along. Everything he had said, I wasn't mentally fit, I was –

"AH!"

My shriek made the creature growl, its teeth glistening in the moonlight. I pulled the keys out of ignition and locked the doors, watching as the beast passed my window. It stared at me through dark eyes. The wolf's long, russet-colored fur had twigs, leaves, and burrs caught in it. It's dark nose left a smear against the glass of the window. I shied away from the window, not so much out of fear, now that the shock of seeing the obviously genetically mutated wolf had died down.

"Hey boy," I cooed through the glass, pressing my hand against the window.

The wolf snorted, as if insulted and trotted away. I sat in the car for a few minutes, though my curiosity eventually got the better of me. I got out of car and started through the trees. I picked my way through the darkness, too busy concentrating on my feet to notice the circle of wolves in which I had walked into. The largest one growled at me, standing from his spot at the head of the circle. Now, with five wolves advancing, I felt fear bubbling up within me. "Help," I managed to whisper, backing up and tripping on a tree root. I fell heavily, my head striking a rock buried under fallen leaves. My vision dimmed, and I was well aware that Aki would kill me if he found out.

Okie dokie! Chapter one is up, everyone! I appreciate all the reviews, thank you! (Whoa! Eight so soon! Amazing!) Just to clear anything up, this is a Jacob x OC. I love Jacob to pieces and feel he deserves someone. Anyone else who agrees with me should leave a review.

Until next chapter.

--Blessed.