A quick update on this one that I cannot promise will continue. I will however do my best to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Favourite, follow and review at your own leisure.

2.

Each day Nora spent at school passed the same at the last, the same classes at the same time, and she would sit at the same table with the same people. It was nice. It was a routine that was new to her and she felt peaceful. Her muscles didn't ache, her feet weren't in constant pain, and she ate chocolate and ice-cream without someone watching her in judgement. Of course she missed dancing. It had been her life for years and she loved the feeling of spinning and flying through the air. Like she was weightless.

"You look sad," Sarah said as she dropped her lunch tray next to Nora's small sandwich. She still couldn't stomach the cafeteria food.

Nora smiled. "Do you know if there are any dance studios local?" she asked.

"Uh, I think there might be one over in Forks. I don't know what it's like though. Or what kind of dancing they do."

"I can always go and check it out," Nora shrugged. She decided then and there that she would get to that studio that afternoon, even if she had to beg and plead James to get her there. She'd walk if it came down to it.

"What are you going to check out?" James sat down on her other side.

"That dance studio over in Forks," Sarah said with a mouthful of cheesy fries.

James stared at her with eyebrows raised and Nora smiled weakly. "Mind giving me a ride?"

He scoffed. "Busy, sorry."

She could have smacked him. Instead she settled for a deep scowl and poking her tongue out immaturely. Sarah looked at him strangely.

"Don't worry about it, I can take you after school if you want?" Sarah offered and Nora thanked her gratefully.

James looked like he was going to make a snide comment so she kicked him swiftly in the shin under the table. Reluctantly he sat back in his seat moodily. He didn't even cheer up as everyone else joined them at the table, though they all made a comment about his attitude. In gym, Trey asked her what was wrong with him but she feigned ignorance and laughed it off.

James had left already by the time she got out to the carpark and Sarah looked puzzled as she said he had zoomed out of there without saying goodbye to anybody.

"He looked super pissed about you going into Forks," Sarah broached the topic carefully.

"It's not Forks really, he's not too happy about me going to dance again." Nora said sheepishly.

Sarah looked as though she was going to burst so Nora put her out of her misery. "I was a ballet dancer for years, I boarded at an academy in Chicago but I got hurt and had to leave. That's why I'm here. James worries."

"Oh, well, okay then. That makes sense."

She changed the subject then, as though sensing Nora's discomfort, and they chatted about school fairly mindlessly. By the time they pulled up outside butterflies had filled Nora's stomach and she swallowed thickly before steeling herself and getting out of the car.

"Are you sure you don't mind waiting?" she checked with the other girl.

Sarah grinned. "I wouldn't miss this dancer girl, I bet they'll make you show them what you've got."

Sarah wasn't wrong. She'd walked in and behind the counter had been the owner, Miss Debbie, who after listening to Nora's spiel about dance experience and her interest in using the studio space had insisted upon a small demonstration. She'd tried to beg ofd due to the fact she did not have any gear with her but Sarah had very unhelpfully reminded her that she had her gym clothes in her bag which included a pair of leggings. So now here she was holding the barre and going through each exercise and movement as the elder dancer gave them to her. She felt some muscles protesting from disuse but they soon loosened up. She felt herself smiling more than usual as she felt at home in her skin for the first time in a long while. When she was finally done Sarah threw her two thumbs up and cheered loudly, making Nora blush and Miss Debbie was smiling at her gently.

"Well, I don't think we have any classes that will cater to your skills, our most advanced students are still a good few years behind you. So I have a proposal for you," she said cheerily.

Nora left feeling completely satisfied. Miss Debbie had hired her to take some of the after school classes to free up some extra time for her in the office, and in exchange she got paid and studio time when the classes were finished.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Sarah said cheerfully as she dropped her off. "We might go to the beach this weekend too, so don't make any plans."

Inside, James was sitting at the kitchen table scowling while Therese sat with her Uncle Robbie watching him worriedly. Toby must have been in his room playing.

"Hello," she said, nervous of the vibe.

James didn't say anything but Therese stood up and hugged her in greeting. "Hey honey," she said. "Take a seat."

Nora sighed but did as she was asked. "I know what you're all thinking –" she began.

"Oh do you?" James said loudly.

She rolled her eyes and Therese put a placating hand on his arm. "Honey, James told us that you went into Forks to see the studio and he's worried about you."

"I get that," she said. "But it's different here. Here I'm not training twelve hours a day, seven days a week living off of salad and protein bars."

"Christ Nora, it's the mindset I'm worried about. It'll go down from here!" her cousin shouted.

"You weren't even there how the hell do you know what my mindset is or was?" Nora shouted back. "You don't know anything about it!"

They were standing now and yelling in each other's faces. James' face was red and his fists were clenched at his side. Nora was on her toes to get closer and her heart was beating hard and fast in her chest. Therese pleaded with the both of them to calm down.

"That's enough," her uncle's deep voice interrupted finally. The two of them immediately feel silent. Her uncle was a quiet guy, big and strong and prone to observation rather than outward advice. "Fact is, Nora's seventeen years old and she's been taking care of herself for the last three years."

"But dad, that's my point, this all happened when she was on her own," James argued.

Robbie held up a hand to stop his son and fixed him with a stern look. "The difference is she lives with us and even though she can take care of herself and make her own decisions we are all here to make sure it's done the right way." Then he turned to Nora, "and you accept our help when we offer it. And remember that James loves you and is looking out for your best interests."

Both teenagers agreed quietly, and Therese clapped her hands giddily.

"Come into the kitchen," she said to Nora, "I want you to tell me all about it while I finish dinner."

Nora ducked around the table on her way into the kitchen and hugged her uncle around the neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek with a whispered thank you, which he returned with a small nod and smile. That was the most she would get from him, she knew, but that was just the way he was.

Therese was excited as she told her about Miss Debbie's proposal and began to talk ideas of how to best get her to Forks.

"James could drop you in on the days he comes to work at the store but once basketball season starts he won't be able to anymore," she thought aloud.

"He could always teach me to drive and I could try to get a car before the season begins," Nora mused.

Therese blanched. "Nora, honey, I love my son but the minute I let him teach anyone a thing about handling a car is the day I chop my own ear off."

Nora laughed and nodded, seeing her point. "So maybe not James. But I'm sure someone around here can drive like a responsible adult."

"Your uncle or I will be able to take you out when we're home, but any extra time you can get behind a wheel will be fantastic."

During dinner Nora told the rest of the family her plans to learn how to drive and everything was back to normal because James began teasing her straight away. Robbie committed to helping her out when he could and he seemed supportive of her learning to drive. She had never had to in Chicago, the L Train got her wherever she needed to go and if that failed a few of her friends at the academy had cars and they would drive.

"Nora," Toby was at her side, tugging on her arm. "I've got a new game for us to play," he whispered in her ear. "Finish your dinner and we'll lock James out of my room."

On Friday Seth Clearwater sat down in the seat next to hers in English, much to her surprise, and smiled at her toothily. He had been missing since that first day, Collin and Brady too, but he looked tired.

"So how have you settled in? Still getting lost?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, after about 4 hours I managed to have the general layout of the whole rez down."

"Yeah, I heard you're from Chicago, guess it's a bit more of a maze there."

"If you can navigate the Southside you can navigate La Push."

He scrunched his eyebrows together. "Isn't that the dangerous part?"

"Parts of it, if you're not careful," she shrugged. "Like any place else really." She turned in her seat to look at him carefully, noting the bags under his eyes. "Had a busy week yourself?"

"You missed me Nora?" he teased.

She bit back a smile and shook her head. He was ridiculous, she thought. It was so weird how easily she spoke to him because she had only met him once before and spoken to him for all of ten minutes but he was funny and charming, and the back and forth between them felt natural.

"So, I'm putting ten bucks on that we get a partner project assigned today," Seth said as Mr. Carter walked into the room and called for their attention.

"Right, class," Mr. Carter announced as he put his bag on his desk and adjusted his tie, "To Kill a Mockingbird, you should have read it by now. I want a ten page essay on a topic of your choice, due next month. Partner up boys and girls."

Seth poked her shoulder and smiled cheekily. "I'll let you off the ten bucks if you agree to be my partner."

"Sure," she agreed. "Have you read the book?"

He smiled again and realisation dawned on her. "You haven't read the book have you?" she groaned.

"No, I haven't," he admitted. "But I bet you have more than once and I believe in your ability to write this paper."

She glared at him dully. "I haven't had a normal curriculum since ninth grade Seth, I am not the superstar who's going to pull your grades up."

"Oh," he deflated slightly. "Well, that's fine. I guess we'll have to work harder then."

"Are you going to be at school more?"

He grimaced. "Uh, yeah, I'll try. But I really can't promise you anything right now."

She groaned and dropped her head in her hands. "We are so screwed."

"Cheer up," Seth said, patting her on the back, "at least if we fail it, we fail it together."

"Ah, Clearwater and Redtree," Mr. Carter said as he walked past them handing out the assignment sheet. "Hope the two of you are prepared," he said dryly, looking pointedly at Seth. "I hope to see your attendance improve, even if it's for your partner's sake more than your own."

"Sorry but you're partnered with who?" Georgina asked disbelievingly.

"Ugh, you're so lucky, Seth is gorgeous," Dee said dreamily.

"I just can't believe he was at school," Georgina said.

"Yeah well he's already told me it probably won't last so I'm fairly sure I'll be working on it by myself," she whined.

Dee patted her hand consolingly. "At least when you do see him you'll have something nice to look at. My partner is Brian Green and he has B.O and refuses to wear deodorant."

Nora picked at her salad and grimaced at the wilting green leaves that sat on her plate. Instead she picked out the orange carrot sticks and munched on them. As James settled in beside her he grabbed a carrot from her hand and popped it into his mouth.

"How's your morning been?" he asked her.

"Good, lots of learning to be done," she said.

"Yeah, she's got the best English partner," Dee interjected. Nora shot her a warning look.

"Yep, all ready to go," she said brightly.

"Oh yeah, who've you got?" James said as he started in on his own lunch.

"Just some senior," she said airily. He would not be happy if she told him who her partner was even if she didn't really have a choice. And she didn't really want to change her partner anyway. "Anyway, I have to get some stuff from my locker so I'll meet you in the lot after school?"

He nodded and waved as she said goodbye to the others. The hallways were pretty empty at this time so her footsteps echoed on the cold floors. Stopping at her locker she pulled out an apple she kept in there and decided to go outside. For the first time in a while the sun was out and she relished in the warmth on her skin. Looking around she spotted a table and bench that wasn't occupied and hurried over there, jumping up on the bench and laying back and angling her face to the sun. She smiled and shrugged off her cardigan and sighed happily. She was perched near the basketball courts and there was a group of four guys playing. Glancing over at them she quickly realised that it was Seth and his friends. Made obvious considering the size of them all. She recognised Collin and Brady but hadn't been introduced to the fourth one yet. Considering how they kept popping up she was sure it wouldn't be long.

When the call came to head back inside for the final class of the day Nora lifted a hand in greeting to the boys, who all waved back. Collin and Brady left their friends behind and bounded towards her, the latter slinging an arm over her shoulder and pulling her along with him towards the gym. They wouldn't leave her alone for the whole hour, claiming her for their basketball team, despite her inability to play and not letting her hide in the background. No they kept passing the ball to her and making her play actively, no matter how much she protested. Trey caught her eye at one point and raised his eyebrows pointedly, which she ignored resolutely.

"So are you going to that beach party on Saturday night?" Collin asked her as they headed back inside to change when the game was over.

"Um, I think so. Sarah mentioned something about it the other day," she said.

Collin nodded. "We'll be there. But we'll be where all the cool people sit. Sorry, you're not invited," he smirked.

She shoved him and then swore quietly. It was like trying to push a house over his arm was that rock hard. She rubbed her wrist gingerly. "Whatever," she snarked. "You'd just eat all the food anyway."

Brady barked out a laugh. "You have no idea Nora."

They reached the locker rooms where they'd separate and Brady smiled at her. "Don't listen to this idiot, Nora, if you see us don't be scared to come say hello."

She promised him she would before going into the locker room and changing as quickly as she could. James was dropping her off at the studio on his way to work so she threw her leotard and tights on underneath her clothes, eager to get started as soon as possible. James was quiet as he drove her into Forks but was pleasant enough when he dropped her off. He hadn't brought up his concerns since his father had warned him off, but she knew he wasn't entirely possible. Nora took it as a challenge to prove herself to him. To prove that she could take care of herself.

Today she was taking a class of five year olds who had just started and it took all of Nora's energy just to get them to stand still for five minutes. Eventually she got the fifteen girls and lone boy to practice stretching their legs to the floor. She remembered when she had had to do this at their age, and she had hated it then and she hated it even then. Then, with that done she led them in beginning to transition between first and second position. She ended them off with a game of duck duck goose just to let them run off the energy before she sent them home.

"Bye Miss Nora," chorused the little voices as they toddled out in their tutus, clinging to their mother's hands. Cody, the little boy who took the class, gave her a tight hug around the waist and smiled at her shyly. She wiggled her fingers back and winked, causing him to blush cutely.

Once the room was empty and she saw Debbie had taken in the older students to the other dance room, she closed the door tight and set up her own music. She decided on a dance she had been working on for the showcase, a dance she had not had the chance to perform in public, but that she was proud of anyway. It felt freeing to leap across the floor and spin as though nothing had changed in the last two or three months. Eventually, out of breath and her legs burning, she stopped, putting her hands on her knees and breathing in deeply. Sweat had collected on her forehead and across her collarbone and she felt a deep seated satisfaction in her bones.

There was a knock on the door and it opened slightly. James poked his head through and grinned at her.

"Looking good, Birdy," he said genuinely.

"Yeah?" she said breathlessly. "Thought you didn't like the idea."

He shrugged. "I figure dad's right. You know your limits, and besides, you look properly happy for the first time in a really long time."

She walked towards him and bumped him with her hip. "Take me home, Jeeves. I desperately need a shower."

Saturday evening and Nora was in her room trying to decide what was best to wear to a beach party. It wasn't Summer so it wasn't like it would be warm, but she also didn't want to deal with all the sand in her shoes and pants. Eventually she settled on a pair of jean shorts, her sandals, and sweatshirt with a fun pattern. She brushed out her long dark hair and studied the mirror self-consciously. Lord, what was wrong with her? She didn't even know why she cared so much.

James banged on her door. "Hurry it up, Nora!" he shouted. "I am leaving in five minutes whether you're in that car or not."

She opened the door and narrowly missed getting hit in the face. "I'm coming," she said, brushing past him. "Aren't you drinking tonight?" she asked, eyeing the keys in his hand.

He shushed her warningly and glanced down the hall to make sure his parents hadn't heard. "Say it louder Birdy, I don't they heard you over in Port Angeles."

"Sorry," she said simply. "But still, you're a terrible driver sober."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm driving there. I'll leave the car there and pick it up in the morning. I'm staying at Kaden's because his mom's on nights."

"And what about me?"

"Well, you can come home if you want or come back to Kaden's with us. He's got a spare bed since his sister moved out and I can take the couch."

"Always nice of you to let me know what's going on," she said dryly as she pushed past him and headed out to the car, calling out a goodbye to Therese and Robbie as she went. Toby had gone to stay at a friends for the night so her aunt and uncle were glad for some alone time.

James blasted his music on the drive to the beach and peeled into the lot at the top with a scary screech, swinging into a spot that looked far too small for his old Jeep. Hopping out she leaned against the door and took deep, steadying breaths.

"He trying to kill ya?" That was Kaden and he was clearly laughing at her as he walked over to James' car.

She shot him a withering look and straightened. "Whoever passed him should be tested."

"I think they just gave him his license so they didn't have to have him do the test again and put their lives at risk."

"Hey," James said, affronted. "You don't have to get a ride with me to school, or around the Rez, into Forks. You're free to walk."

"Aw you'd never make me do that, you love me too much for that," Nora said teasingly, tugging on her cousin's arm.

"Don't push your luck."

He led her down to the beach where they met up with Sarah and the others. Zack passed Kaden and James a beer, and offering one to her which she declined. They sat around a bonfire on bleached logs and Nora relaxed into the chilled out atmosphere. As the evening went on more and more people turned up and someone eventually set up a loud speaker and began playing music that carried down the beach. There were more bonfires than the one they were sitting around, at least four scattered down the beach. Teenagers and young adults congregated around them with drinks in hands, and some people sat in the sand between the fires. They were mostly couples looking for some privacy. She wondered if Brady and Collin were here with Seth, and whether or not she would see them. She couldn't imagine that they would be hanging out at the same bonfire. More than likely they'd be sitting around the one furthest down the beach. In fact, if she looked closely, the silhouttes of the people down there were rather large for a group so far away.

Georgina stumbled over to her drunkenly. "Nora can you put in a good word for me with James?" she whispered in her ear.

Nora turned to her in surprise and then looked carefully to her other side where Sarah sat. She looked decidedly annoyed at the other girl.

"Uh, I didn't realise you liked him," Nora said awkwardly.

"What's not to like?" Georgina exclaimed. "He's nice and cute and he's good to his family and he doesn't do drugs and he's so great," she rambled.

"Well, I guess I never saw that in him."

"Exactly," Georgina said sagely. "So can you help me?"

Not sure what to say, Nora nodded and smiled. Georgina beamed at her before turning on her foot and stumbling off.

"Be careful of that," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. "Georgina gets infatuated easily and it never lasts long. You may end up setting James up for a fall."

Nora nodded to acknowledge that she'd heard her but couldn't help but wonder how much of the warning was to do with her cousin's feelings over her own.

She was drawn from her thoughts by someone calling her name loudly. She looked up and scanned the crowd, wondering where it had come from and was surprised to see Seth walking her way.

"Hey Nora," he said brightly, ignoring the stares he was getting from the people around the bonfire. "Want to come and meet my friends?"

Hope you liked it! Let me know.