A/N: Hey again! Wow, I got a pretty good response for the first chapter :) The only thing is, I got hardly any reviews but a zillion alerts and favourites. Yeah, I'm obviously pretty stoked about that, but please! Don't just alert and favourite, review it too! Reviews make me happy, and I promise I'll update sooner if you review more. But, shout out goes to Jacqulin who was the first to review! Go check out her stories, she's officially on my favourite authors list.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Kate, Kate's mom, Aunt Julie, and the plot. Stephenie Meyer owns anything you recognize!
Chapter 2: Embarrassment and Staring Contests
The next morning, I found myself blinking against a ray of sunshine determined to wake me up. I rolled over with a grunt and tried to fall back asleep. But it was no use, I was already awake. I could imagine the stupid sunlight laughing maniacally right now for having succeeded. Stupid, shiny ray of light. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was 6 AM. Again, way too early. Fail. I flipped the covers off of me and swung my legs off the bed. The floor was freezing cold. I jumped around on the balls of my feet, trying to avoid contact with the icy floorboards, and grabbed a pair of bright red, thick socks that pulled up to my knees. I knew I looked ridiculous right now, but I was too tired to care. I snatched an afghan off the bed and draped it over my shoulders like a cape.
I wandered down the stairs and into the kitchen. Aunt Julie was already up and moving, cup of coffee and newspaper in hand. She looked at me and grinned. Great. A morning person. I was anything but; my hair looked like a haystack and my eyes were glazed over. I dragged my feet to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup.
"Coffee?" Aunt Julie sounded surprised. She had to have known there was coffee. She was holding a cup.
"Um, yes?" I didn't know what else to say; I didn't think she'd appreciate me asking if she had Alzheimer's like I really wanted to. I was sort of a grump in the morning, bent on destroying any sort of good mood around me. I sat down at the table and looked at her quizzically.
"Maybe that's why you're so short," she mused jokingly before laughing at herself. I snorted. "I like the Superman look you've got going on there," she added, motioning to my cape and long socks. I glared at her and she laughed harder.
"I was cold, okay? What did central heating ever do to you?" It was her turn to snort.
"I don't like to run up the bill. Besides, we've got sun right now! Might as well enjoy it; the clouds will take over in about half an hour." Thanks for reminding me that this state sees the sun about twice a year. I groaned and dropped my head onto my arms. I somehow managed to hit the handle of my coffee mug and send it flying through the air. Directly into my lap. The cup fell to the floor but didn't shatter; it just sort of bounced dully. I then realized that there was steaming hot coffee all over my shorts and bare legs.
"AH! IT'S HOT! I'M BURNING! IT BURNSSS!!" I screamed, jumping around in circles and peeling off the now-soaked shorts. I pulled off my blanket / cape and cleaned off my legs with it, hoping to diminish the fire. It felt better immediately since it hadn't really had time to burn my skin. I went to the sink and held a cool, wet washcloth there anyways. "Ahhh…" I sighed contentedly. I looked over at Aunt Julie. She was just sort of staring at me, one corner of her lips twitching. Suddenly she burst into laughter, complete with snorts and pointing in my general direction. Needless to say I wasn't pleased. I huffed and leaned against the counter with my arms crossed. This just made her laugh harder.
This went on for about ten minutes, at which point I was sitting on the couch watching TV, still mad at her for laughing at my pain. She sat next to me and tried to contain herself. There was still the odd snort or giggle, but I could handle that.
We sat there and chatted about nothing in particular for the next little while, and before I knew it three hours had passed. It was now quarter after 9 AM and the doorbell rang with a cutesy little tune that made me pause and stare at Aunt Julie. She shrugged non-apologetically and flipped the channel on the TV. I got up to get the door. When I opened it, though, I was face-to-face with a muscular chest. I looked up and smiled.
"Hey, Jake!" I said cheerily. He smiled back. His smile faded as he looked me up and down. It morphed into a mask of shock with an eyebrow raised. My brow furrowed; what was wrong? I looked down. Oh. I was wearing the socks, tank top, and just underwear. No shorts. I now officially understood the shock. I looked back up at him and grinned good naturedly, masking the fact that I was nearly dying with embarrassment. I was so lucky I wasn't an easy blusher; my face would have been as red as my socks.
I giggled at his expression. "Is there something wrong, Jake? Have you never seen a girl without pants?" A chorus of "oooh's" and laughter alerted me to the fact that he was far from alone. There were five other massively huge guys standing in my doorway. All of them looked faintly related; their hair was the same colour and same length, their faces held the same maturity, their eyes held the same childlike shine. And they were all completely shirtless. Swoon. I restrained the jaw-drop I felt coming and smiled at them all politely.
"Jake! You just got told!" A husky, happy voice exclaimed loudly. The guy shoved Jake backwards and out of the way. I put out my hand for him to shake, but he ignored it and pulled me into a searing hot hug against his bare – swoon, again – chest. I squeaked and he let me go, laughing. "I'm Jared, by the way." Oh, this was the ridiculously tall guy Jake told me about.
"Oh, he's the 6'9 guy, right Jake?" He was still staring open mouthed. I giggled. "I'm Kate. Come on in." The whole group pushed through the door, except for Jake and one other. Jake shook his head quickly and walked through to join his friends. The other one just stood there. "Um, you can come in too, you know. I show no prejudice between tall, shirtless guys." Everyone laughed except him. He was still staring.
"Uh, Paul?" The youngest looking guy stepped forward to see if he was okay. Ah, this was the infamous Paul. Jake grabbed the young one.
"Give him a minute, Seth." Seth looked between Paul and me, a knowing grin spreading across his face. I looked around; all the others had the exact same expression. I would've laughed if I wasn't so creeped out by Paul. "Embry, go talk to Julie." Another guy, Embry I assumed, got up and headed to the living room where I could hear the TV still blaring. He moved with unconscious grace and completely silently. Weird, a guy his size should have been shaking the house off its foundation. "Quil, bring Paul to Sam's." The last boy, Quil, stepped forward and toward the door. I stepped into his path and shook my head.
"You guys can stay. Let Paul or whatever his name is be creepy on his own." They all exchanged a glance and I turned to face Paul. He was still unmoving. "Are you having a stroke?" One of the guys chuckled, which was immediately followed by a smacking sound. He shut up. Paul was still…gawking. I shrugged and slammed the door in his face. I turned around to see five matching dumbstruck expressions.
"Alright, Kate!" Seth cheered, pulling me to his side in a one-armed hug. Everyone laughed a little, glancing towards the door, and then it fell silent. I could hear husky mumbling coming from the living room, which I assumed was Embry talking to Julie. The silence broke with Julie's ecstatic little squeal of "Yay!". I was so unbelievably confused.
"Julie? You alright?" I called to her. This was beyond strange.
"Oh, um, yes," she called back. "I'm fine, just…just talk to the boys for now, I'll be out in a second!" She sounded guilty; she was almost as bad a liar as I was. Jake looked sheepish.
"What's going on here?" I asked suspiciously. Jake rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "You all obviously know something I don't. Can't you just fill me in?" They all stayed silent. "Fine," I fumed. "You can all just leave and go hang out with your creeper friend." I opened the door again and motioned towards it, indicating that they should go. They all started laughing. I looked to the door; Paul was still there and still wearing his stupid shocked and confused expression. "Oh, for the love of all that's HOLY, Paul!" I yelled, exasperated. His head snapped over to me at the sound of his name. "What the hell are you doing?!" Everyone was laughing and nearly in tears. "That's it. Everyone out."
At that point, Aunt Julie bustled into the room with Embry, a huge smirk on her face. "Now, now, Kate." She scolded me, and turned to the group of hysterical boys. "You can all stay. And Paul, what on earth are you doing? Get in here!" He stayed, and Jake came forward to actually drag him into the house. I stalked into the kitchen and slumped onto a chair. The guys filed in after me, still looking amused. Paul came in last and locked his eyes on me. I looked away and he actually growled! I didn't even know people could do that! I glanced over at him; he looked severely pissed.
I looked away again and he walked over slowly, settling quietly into the chair next to mine but never looking away from my face. I scooted my chair away from him and towards Jake on my other side, but Paul just scooted closer. Jake grabbed my chair and pushed it towards Paul's. I couldn't do anything; he was a million times stronger than me. The side of my chair collided with the side of Paul's and both boys grinned, pleased. He reached for my hand on the table, so I crossed my arms. This was too creepy for words. And was everyone on Paul's side!? Thanks for the support, everyone.
"Hi, Kate," he finally said. I nodded at him mutely, refusing to make conversation. Paul was definitely the hottest out of the group; why were the hot ones always gay, mean, or insane? "How are you?" There seemed to be more behind the question. He seemed genuinely concerned about the answer, not like I would expect. It was usually implied that they didn't really care; they just wanted to make conversation.
"I'm fine," I answered stiffly. I looked around. All eyes were on us. Well, except Paul's. His were just on me.
"Oh come on. Seriously, don't you guys have anything better to do than watch this conversation like reality TV?!" I snapped at them. They all threw themselves into a conversation with the person next to them with a bit too much animation. I didn't care; I just didn't like them watching me. I chanced a look at Paul, who tried to lock eyes with me. With a frustrated sigh, I made eye contact. He stared at me like he was trying to decipher my thoughts, while I just counted in my head to see how long I could go without blinking.
"Hey Jake! Watch me, Seth watch Paul! We're having a staring contest!" I called out cheerily. Paul frowned, upset that I had ruined his soul-searching moment. I just kept not blinking. Eventually my eyes started to water and I frowned. Paul leaned forward, concerned, and blinked.
"HA!" Jake, Seth and I all called out at the same time. They both yelled, "She wins!" at the same time I yelled "I win!" Everyone cheered and laughed, except Paul. He was pouting.
"Oh, don't be such a sore loser, Paul," I laughed. He started to do that odd growling thing again and actually started to shake. Jeez, what a poor sport! I smacked him upside the head. "CALM DOWN," I ordered. Everyone burst out laughing as Paul stopped shaking and stared at me in shock. I smiled angelically. My hand sort of hurt, though. Man, was his head ever hard! I stood up and made my way over to the stairs to go take a shower, when I felt someone behind me. I whirled around and saw that Paul was following me like a lost puppy. I stared at him.
"I – I just wanted to talk to you," he said, running a hand through his hair. I motioned for him to proceed. He didn't. I turned around again and kept walking. "Wait, wait! I do want to say something, Kate! Give me a second!"
"Can this wait?" I asked, still walking away. He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, pulling me into his bare, scalding hot chest. I started to lose my balance and he held me tighter. I struggled to get away but he wasn't letting go. "Paul," I warned. He leaned his face closer to mine. "Paul, don't even think about it," I warned again, a slight edge of panic in my voice. I knew I couldn't get away from him, he was way too strong. He just kept leaning in, our faces millimetres apart now. Just as our lips brushed, I yelled, "WHAT THE HELL, PAUL!" and kneed him as hard as I could between the legs. His breath let out in one big whoosh and he let me go. He was bent over at the waist, breathing shallowly and groaning in pain. I backed away.
All the guys were now in the doorway of the kitchen, watching the scene. I assumed they were alarmed by my shouting. I turned on them. "You guys are all more than welcome to come over any time. This guy here," I pointed at Paul, close to keeling over. "Can stay home. I want nothing to do with him." I turned on my heel and stalked up the stairs.
I was royally pissed off. Where did this guy get the gall to just come at me like that? He hadn't even said ten words to me at this point, yet he thought it was okay to kiss me? What was his problem? And what was with everyone else? They all seemed to know something I didn't and didn't seem to feel inclined to tell me. Even though it obviously involved me. They didn't even look creeped out by the whole staring business! They just looked amused and sort of fascinated. They better not bring Paul over anymore. They would all end up writhing in pain with the same fate as Paul just received if they did.
I grabbed a change of clothes and my toiletries and stalked into the hallway, towards the bathroom. I put all my things on the sink counter but heard voices in the hall. I tip toed out and leaned over the banister stealthily, determined to hear what they'd say when I wasn't around. Paul looked dejected and about ready to burst into tears. The others all looked sympathetic, including Aunt Julie. Jake was patting him on the back in comfort.
"She'll come around eventually, man," he assured Paul confidently. "They always do." What did that mean? Did Paul go after a lot of girls, or was he referring to something else?
"But what if she doesn't?" He asked back. His face was contorted in sadness and pain. I could guess where pain was from (ha, ha), but he had no right to be sad. If he hadn't been so ridiculously weird earlier, I might've talked to him. It was his fault entirely that things turned out the way they did.
"She will," Aunt Julie said. Like hell I would! And how come she got to know about all this, but I didn't? It was hardly fair. Paul just dropped his face in his hands and shook his head. Everyone looked sad and sort of confused. I turned away before I got caught and headed into the shower. What did all this mean? What was going on? I had hoped that eavesdropping would clear up some of the mysteries, but it only added a few more of its own. I wasn't sure what to make of it all. I washed up and tried not to think, singing a song in my head to drown out my musings.
After I dried off and got dressed, I applied a little makeup and dried my hair. Nothing much. I never really did much in the morning; it only took about half an hour for me to get ready. I headed back into my room and eyed the suitcases. I decided to unpack. After a little while, I had officially taken out and put away all the clothes and posters in my suitcase, finally making the room look a little more occupied. When I was pleased with that, I made my bed meticulously. I fussed over it until it was perfect. I didn't really care all that much usually; I was sort of a slob. But as of right now I really didn't want to go downstairs and face any questions that would surely arise. I sighed, concluding that there really was nothing more that I could do. I walked back downstairs and hesitated at the doorway to the kitchen. Aunt Julie was there. Should I try and escape, or just go in and get it over with?
"Kate, could you come here for a minute?" Julie asked. Dang, there goes option one. I took a deep breath and walked in, plastering a fake smile on my face. I sat down next to her.
"Sure, what do you need?" I asked happily. She looked over and raised an eyebrow, not fooled by my antics. I dropped the smile and sighed. "What is it, Julie?"
"What happened there?" she asked me suspiciously. She was suspicious of me!?She should be freaking out at Paul! At this point, I was about ready to explode.
"Which time Julie? Oh, are you talking about when he just stood there in the doorway, staring? Or when you wouldn't tell me what you were so excited about? Or how you invited them all in right after I asked them to leave? Or how you let me end up next to the stupid creepy Paul and didn't even tell him to keep his hands to himself? How about all those times when he growled or shook or just gawked at me openly, hmm? Are you talking about that? Or maybe you mean how he followed me out when I left and wouldn't let go of me and tried to kiss me when I told him to stop? No, you couldn't mean that. After all, you were too busy sitting there and letting Paul do whatever he goddamned pleased without even once stopping to think about what I thought of everything. You were too busy thinking about what Paul wanted and comforting Paul that you didn't even talk to your poor little invisible niece who just got attacked!" I vented everything I had, all my frustrations pouring out of me with no end. I was yelling at the finish of my little rant, so I slammed my fist onto the table, shaking her cup of tea and spilling a few drops on the table. Breathing heavily, I got up to leave. I couldn't be here anymore.
"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice. "I didn't know you felt that way…"
"Yeah, I'm sorry too," I said without a hint of apology. "Sorry I ever showed up in your life, which is apparently already too full of secrets and psychotic people. So full, in fact, that you seem to have forgotten where your responsibilities are supposed to lie." I spat. And with that, I left.
A/N: Whew, there's another chapter up for you guys! Be happy it's up within a day; I figured I needed to keep going if I was going to get any action! Please please please review! Don't just read it and don't just favourite/alert! Anonymous reviews are fine, too. Visitors can now officially post something if they want, I changed the settings ;) WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!? Go on, review!
Love,
Sarah Yoko!