Wow, third update in two days! It's going to slow down a lot after this, and this may be the longest chapter. No promises though. But I need to start focusing on school again, so I won't have another writing streak like this one for a while. Let me just say again, please review!!! I don't know if my writing is any good or not if i don't get any feedback! And this is the chapter we finally start figuring out the deal with Jake.
Disclaimer: I own nothing :( see chapter two for full credits.
Caution: Teen drinking in this chapter.
~wwsadd
New Lessons Learned
The next day I realized how right Sarah had been. I was thankful that I had a photographic memory, and didn't have any need for notes, because I was almost too tired to keep my eyes open. The hours blurred together, as I trudged through the halls. During my last class of the day, a chess-club type boy came into the International Governments classroom and handed a small note to the teacher.
"Miss Cullen, the headmaster wants you in his office, now please." I was too tired to even be confused; I just followed the boy to the large office that was nearly as impressive as Carlisle's.
The headmaster was an imposing elderly man that had a folder open on his large oak desk. He gestured to the empty seat, and I sat down, trying to stay as alert as possible.
"Ah, Miss Cullen, thank you for coming. I see you have a very impressive record, you're just sixteen, and already in the senior class. Are you adjusting well to Spencer?" He asked, folding his hands on his desk and fixing me with a stern glare.
"Yes sir, I feel like I am going to fit in quite well here. I've already made friends with my roommate Sarah and her friend Tyler Simms." I said, remembering to be as polite as possible.
This seemed to make the headmaster extremely happy. "Mr. Simms? Very good, very good. I'm glad to see you're falling in with the right crowd. I'm sure you'll meet Mr. Danvers soon too; they are all good influences, especially Caleb. I can see you are making good decisions. Let me know if you have any problems while here at Spencer. Enjoy the term." He finished, clearly it was time for me to get back to class.
When I finally made it back to my room, I was glad to find it empty. Pulling out my Sidekick, I hit the speed dial and let it ring, hoping either my mom or dad answered.
"Cullen residence." A lilting voice said. I sighed, squeezing the phone tighter. I was abruptly homesick.
"Hey Esme. How are things?" I asked, swallowing a few times to get rid of the lump in my throat.
"Nessie! It's so good to hear from you! Everyone hoped you'd call last night, but as Alice pointed out, it more than likely meant you were out having fun." She said sweetly.
"Yes, my roommate Sarah is great, she introduced me to a bunch of her friends and they insisted on showing me around town last night. Sorry I didn't call." I said, lying smoothly. It was an art that was quickly learned when your father could read your thoughts and your uncle could tell every time you felt guilty or deceptive.
"Oh, don't be sorry! We're glad you're getting along there so well! Did you want to talk to your mom and dad?" She asked.
"Please. Thanks Esme!"
"Nessie!" I heard my mother trill excitedly. "We miss you honey! How's school?"
Then I heard my dad's quiet laugh. "Calm down Bella. Ness, we're so glad you called."
"Everything is great, thank you so much for letting me come here! I've already made some friends, and today I talked to the headmaster, who was very impressed with my record." I said, babbling just a bit. It had only been a day and a half since I had seen them, but I wasn't used to being away from them.
Mom sighed. "Oh good, we're so glad! Are you still planning on coming home tomorrow?" She asked.
I shrugged self-consciously. I tried to be honest. "I think it'd be best if I stayed here and finished adapting to boarding school life. If that's okay… I'll be home next week though, I really miss you guys!"
There was silence for a moment. "Of course that's alright sweetheart, we miss you too, don't be a stranger. Call again soon." Dad said, and I could tell that they were slightly disappointed. But I needed to sort through the Reid thing before Jasper or Rosalie could call me on it.
I said my goodbyes and hung up, apparently with perfect timing, as Sarah entered the room.
She plopped down on her bed dramatically, and stifled a yawn. "I'd suggest taking a nap Ness, party at the Dells tonight." She said, yawning again. I crawled back into my own bed, still fully clothed.
"The Dells?" I asked sleepily, wondering if I could even handle another night of partying.
"It's this place… well, you'll see." She said, drifting back to sleep.
As I slept, I dreamed.
Sitting at the window seat in Aunt Alice's room, I was under the impression that my mother did not realize that I could hear her and Jake arguing. I was twelve, and had spent years trying to get my parents to accept that Jake was my very best friend. I hated it when they fought.
"Jacob! Just tell me what is going on!" I heard her yell.
"Seriously, Bells, I don't have time for this! I have to protect my pack, now that Sam's gone; I have a lot more responsibility. I can't let there be any repeats of what happened last year. Which means I have to leave." He growled. I froze. Jake promised he would always be there. Was he going back on his word?
"But where are you going? And what are you going to tell my daughter?" She cried.
"I can't tell you everything! You of all people should know that! Just tell her I'll be back as soon as I can. You know if I talk to her I won't be able to leave, and I have to do this Bella, if this gets blown out of proportion it's not just the pack that will be in danger. And I can't do that! Not to you, and not to her." He said desperately.
I heard a door bang closed.
That was the first time I ever cried human tears, it took a lot to get me upset enough for human reactions. Moments later my mother was by my side. Brushing the hair out of my face she pulled me into her arms. "I'm sorry sweetheart; I didn't know you were listening. Jake will be back, you know he can't say away for long. He just wants to keep you safe." She said softly. I could tell that she was lying; she had never been good at it.
Gently she unclasped the bracelet that I had never seen leave her wrist. She quickly reattached it on mine. The diamond heart threw a reflection on one side, and the small carved wolf was worn, but it was easy to see the detail that had gone into it. "You are the one who should wear this. It's you that is welcome in both worlds." She whispered.
It was over a year before Jake came back, and it was only for a few days before he was gone again. My memories flew forward to the day he left the second time. This time it was my dad he argued with.
"Look Edward, you and I, we got over our differences, we didn't really have much of a choice. But this is my fight, and I will handle it. It's just going to take longer than planned. Stay out of it. Keep your family out of it, and someday things will go back to normal. It's not like we don't all have forever." He scoffed. Again, I was upstairs. Sometimes I really hated the supersonic hearing.
"Jacob, we all think of you as part of our family. We would appreciate it if you would return the favor. The fact that we might live forever does not make this any easier on anyone." He spoke quietly, but I still caught it.
"I know." Jake muttered. "But it doesn't change anything. I'll leave Seth here. He'll keep you informed on anything we can safely share, and it'll hopefully be…easier. That's the best I can do, I'm sorry. You should know that this isn't the way I wanted… I didn't ask for this, I'm just doing the best I can with what I've got."He tried to explain.
I really had to strain to hear my dad's parting words. "I know, just come back as soon as you can… and please, be careful with whatever you are doing. I don't know if my family will stay intact if something happens to you." He said.
The door slammed shut again.
I woke with a start. I was surprised that my cheeks were wet with the tears I had cried in sleep. Pulling my wrist up in front of my face, I examined the small red wood wolf that dangled from one side. Jake had carved it for my mother as a high school graduation gift. I still remembered the way his face lit up when he saw that it had been passed down to me.
He had been my best friend for as long as I could remember, all the way back to those days of fear when Bella had been ready to send us both away to save our lives. He was my protector, and when it got too dangerous for him to be around me, he left, breaking both our hearts.
According to pack law, he was allowed to tell me anything and everything. But he had told my parents that ignorance is safety, as if they hadn't already learned that lesson. He didn't want to put me in more danger by telling me what it was he was away fighting.
All I knew was that whatever it was had killed the previous pack leader, and Jake was determined to eradicate it before it claimed the lives of any more of his pack. In his long stretches of absence, he always left his second in command, Seth. Seth and my dad were good friends, and he was always welcome at the Cullen residence. I liked Seth a lot, he was easier going than Jake, and really funny, but I still missed my best friend.
We hadn't heard much in the last year; Seth got quieter and quieter, and answered fewer and fewer questions. He said everything would be fine, but there was only so long we could believe him. I wondered what Jake would think of my decision to come to this school. To befriend these people with an obviously dark secret.
"Are you alright?" I was jerked back to reality by Sarah's worried question.
I shook my head to clear it. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Bad dream." I said shortly. I knew there was no way to explain it. This of course, meant she had to ask.
"I'm sorry! What was it about?"
I groaned quietly. "My uh, best friend. He had to go away a long time ago and I haven't heard from him in a few months. Usually he'll send some sort of message or something. I guess I'm subconsciously worried." I said as lightly as I could manage.
"Wow, that's scary. I hope everything's okay. Why did he leave?" She asked. I could only dodge her questions for so long, although I was touched that she was concerned about me enough to ask.
"Oh, family problems. He had to go sort through a bunch of stuff. He should be back soon, he did promise." I said with a grin. "Okay, so this party, what do I wear?"
Two hours later Tyler was knocking at our door. He let himself in when Sarah hollered at him, we were just finishing getting ready. We were both dressed a bit more practical tonight, jeans and flip flops, and we both pulled on jackets over the shirts we had grabbed out of my overstuffed closet. Who knew Alice's shopping addiction would pay off so well?
"We're late you guys!" He said, shaking his keys impatiently. I stuffed my cell phone and some cash in my back jean pocket and hit the lights. Sarah grabbed her purse from her desk and pulled the door shut.
"So my question never really got answered… what exactly is the Dells?" I asked, as Tyler sped down the dark highway.
His eyes caught mine in the rearview mirror. "Well technically we're trespassing when we party out there, but it's a tradition. There's a bonfire and drinks and all kinds of music. You'll like it." He said.
My smile froze in place at the word fire. I instinctually shied away from flames, as they were nearly the only harmful thing to vampires. Taking a couple of deep breaths, I willed myself to relax. It wasn't as if I was going to get attacked and burned alive. Sarah gave me a confused look, and I smoothed over my expression.
"Sounds great." I managed to spit out.
Moments later we were crawling out of the SUV. Tyler grabbed us each by the hand and tugged us toward the loud music that was blaring from the intense stereo system someone had set up on the beach. The bonfire was huge, but it was hard to be terrified when I was surrounded by my laughing classmates.
It seemed like many of them had already started drinking, and I wondered what the point was. The rebellious part of me wanted to try it, and the mature, adult side of me was currently lecturing the rebel side. I caught sight of Aaron Abbot there with his posse, and I couldn't help but laugh when he winced and limped with every step he took.
Then Sarah was gone. I assumed she had spotted Caleb, and run off to greet him. So I was left holding Tyler's hand, starting to feel slightly awkward. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt an arm wind around my waist. I spun and nearly knocked into Reid, releasing Tyler's hand.
"Whoa there killer, slow down." He teased. I laughed nervously, not really sure how I was supposed to act around him after talking to Sarah the night before.
"Sorry, thought you were Aaron."I joked back. He made gagging noises.
"Nope! Lucky for you." He said, releasing his hold on my waist but taking my hand. We walked off toward the water, leaving the blaring music behind. Wandering along aimlessly, I swung our hangs lightly between us.
My heart was beating in double time again, and I had to remind myself to breathe. "So…" I asked, finally breaking our silence. "No offense, but you don't really seem like the Harvard type. What's up with that?"
He snickered, but his eyes didn't light up like they had when he was smiling before. "You go to Spencer Academy to get into Harvard. My dad went, my grandfather, my father's grandfather, centuries back. You can't be a Garwin and not go to Harvard. It's like, some sort of unspoken law of the universe." He explained, his voice getting hard at the end.
I sighed. Family expectations, something I understood all too well. Rules of the universe, also something I understood. "If you didn't have to go to Harvard, where would you want to go?" I asked curiously.
He looked puzzled for a minute, as if no one had ever asked him that before. "I'm not really sure. I don't want to be a lawyer. I guess if I could do anything, it would be art." He said, and then abruptly shut up, like he hadn't meant to let the words come out of his mouth.
My eyes widened. "Really? That's wonderful! Have you ever considered…" I didn't finish, the look on his face made it very clear that he would not be considering anything, and that my suggestion was not appreciated. "Oh, right." I mumbled lamely.
There were a few moments of silence before he stopped walking and pulled on my hand so I turned around to face him. "Rainy...I'm sorry, okay? Some things just have to be a certain way; it's no use fighting against them. I should know, I've spent my whole life fighting." He said, the smirk flashing back across his face. Then he realized again what he had said and sighed exasperatedly. "Geez, I always say way too much around you!"
Until he added that, it had not occurred to me that the fighting he had done all his life was not just against his parents' expectations. Again, it had something to do with the big dark secret that they were all hiding. Suddenly I wondered about using my genetically gifted powers in a way I had never tried before in my life. The thought had always seemed wicked somehow.
As much as I had practiced controlling and manipulating my gift, I had never tried doing the reverse with it. I knew from my mother's experiences that it wasn't easy to do. I had a moment of indecision before I chose to try it. How bad could it be?
Instead of reaching out with the images in my head, I tried to let in images from around me. I tried to draw in the warmth that radiated from my fingertips, instead of releasing it. The energy that it took surprised me. But slowly I began to see images that were not from my own memory.
Reid was remembering the previous day at lunch, when Pogue had kicked him, and last night, leaving Nicky's, Caleb had pulled him aside and told him to watch himself. I couldn't hold onto it for long, and with a quiet gasp I let it go, releasing the heat back out to my hands. I silently wondered if that was anything like Alice's visions.
Pulling myself back to reality, I met Reid's worried gaze. "Say too much?" I asked, trying to quickly cover my tracks. "Trust me; I'm not really understanding a whole lot of it, but I'm a good listener." I told him truthfully.
He grinned, leaning his head down so he could whisper in my ear. "Great, that means I can keep talking then." And slowly he touched his lips to mine. It felt like my heart was exploding, and I couldn't find the little voice of conscious. All I could do was feel the blood rushing through my veins, mixed with too much adrenaline. I had never really been kissed before, and it was better than I could have imagined.
My arms wound around his neck, pulling him closer, but he released me quickly, taking a step back. I reigned in my emotions, praying that I hadn't let my power run wild and given him the biggest scare of his life. I tried to keep a blank face, really unsure now as to what was supposed to happen.
Taking a deep breath, he smiled. "Sorry, I was really trying not to make a complete jerk out of myself. Forgive?" He asked, with what could only be described as the puppy-dog look. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or disappointed. Obviously he brought out my more human side, but it perversely affected my vampire reactions. Even so, I couldn't help but feel a little hurt that he seemed to regret it.
I shrugged, trying to make it look nonchalant. "Nothing to forgive. Don't worry about it." I said as lightly as I possibly could. I wanted to go back to the campfire, to find Sarah and Kate and escape the overdose of emotions, human emotions I didn't know how to handle.
Pretending to notice the slight chill in the air, I pulled my denim jacket closer around me, and let the too-long sleeves engulf my hands. I turned, trying not to seem rude, and began to slowly walk back toward the party. Reid looked like he wanted to say something, but then shook his head instead, and kept pace with me.
When we finally made it back to the ring of firelight, Kate rushed over to me. I had had plenty of time to arrange my face in the dark, and smiled brightly at her. She quickly grabbed my wrist and hauled me over to a long foldable table. I peripherally saw Reid turn and head toward Tyler and Pogue.
There were all manner of colors and shapes of bottles, and Kate handed me a red plastic cup. "Here, you should try this." She said excitedly, pouring some bright blue liquid into it, until it was a third of the way full. Then she opened another bottle, and filled it to the top with the light yellow, creating a mixture that looked like it would be dangerous to consume.
"Do I even want to know what you put in this?" I asked, the voice of reason in my head had been silenced when I was with Reid and did not make its reappearance. Kate laughed. She shook her head, confirming that my doubt was not misplaced.
"I promise, it tastes amazing, and it won't even mess with your head that much. Just try it!" She pleaded. Something about peer pressure ran through my memory, Dad had warned me I was going to run into this kind of situation. I just hadn't realized at the time how appealing it would be to just say yes for once.
I raised the cup to my lips and took a swallow. There was a light burn down the back of my throat, but it immediately spread to warm the rest of my body. The sensation itself was fantastic, and it tasted like cotton candy. I quickly took another drink, and another, and it finally made sense to me why these kids drank all the time.
Kate laughed. "Slow down. It's good, right? Don't drink it too fast; you'll have a nasty headache later if you don't space it out a bit." She warned. I nodded in understanding, and tried to pace myself. Slowly I began to see the other reasons people partied. Everything I had been worried about was almost impossible to recall. When the cup was empty I threw it aside and made my way into the crowd of dancers. I found Sarah and Kate flailing about wildly again, but this time it made perfect sense, and I was more than happy to join in the fun.
Feeling a hand on my wrist, I turned and nearly stumbled into someone. Letting my vision refocus, I realized it was Aaron. I was feeling somewhat vindictive however, and threw my arms playfully around his neck. "You still want that dance?" I grinned, moving my hips to the rhythm of the hip-hop that was blaring.
His returning smile was almost predatory. Pulling me up against him tightly, he nodded. A few minutes later, I was wondering if what he was doing could even be considered dancing. I knew I should walk away, but my judgment was just skewed enough that I couldn't care.
Suddenly Sarah pulled me away and over to where she and Kate were dancing. "Nessie! Why were you dancing with Aaron Abbot?" She asked, like she was talking to a two year old. I shrugged.
"I don't know. He grabbed me. Why does it matter who I dance with anyway? We're all just here to have fun." I snarked, not wanting my strange high to be ruined, and not realizing that I was babbling like an idiot.
"Good lord Kate, how much did you give her?" Sarah muttered quietly. Kate looked at me, puzzled.
"Enough, but it's not like she downed it all at once. It seems it all hit her bloodstream at the same time or something. Weird." She said, and I vaguely recalled that she was at Harvard pre-med.
"Ness, do you feel sick?" Kate asked, leading us away from the music a bit.
"Not really. Just kind of like I'm floating or something." I said with a giggle. I could start to feel the alcohol burning itself out. So that's how booze affects vampires, I thought to myself.
"Do you want to go back to the school? It's nearly two anyway." Sarah asked.
"No, I want to go dance. Come on you guys, I'm fine. Let's just go enjoy the rest of the party." I said, managing to sound clearer than I had in the past couple hours.
Sarah and Kate exchanged a glance before shrugging. "Fine, but no more dancing with Aaron. You don't want to shoot your reputation to hell in the first weekend that you're here." Kate demanded.
When we got back into the crowd, we were immediately met by the guys. Caleb looked slightly relieved. He pulled Sarah into his arms, "Where'd you guys go?" He asked, and I wondered if he ever lightened up. I decided to try my little trick again. I thought the inhibition-repression might help.
Immediately I was flooded with pictures of a barn on fire, shooting sparks into the night sky as it burned. I quickly shook myself out of it, staring at Caleb- wondering what that could have possibly been about.
Kate was answering his question. "-to talk some sense into Nessie. Apparently I miscalculated the amount she should drink." She said lightly, patting my shoulder jokingly. Tyler laughed. So did Pogue, draining the last of whatever had been in his red cup.
Tyler stage whispered to me behind his hand "I'm sure you'll soon find out why I don't drink, if you haven't already." I laughed.
"Not yet, but I'm sure I'll get there." I replied. Reid and Caleb were both looking a little displeased, but my attention span wasn't long enough to figure out why.
"Alright, time to clear out, I'm sure the cops will be showing up at any minute. Pogue, Kate, I'll drop you guys off at your place." He said, and it took me a moment to realize that he wasn't letting them drive with alcohol in their systems, and my respect for the youngest son of Ipswich increased even more. It also occurred to me that Caleb and Reid must not have partied as hard as I thought they did, because Tyler had no problem letting them get in their cars and drive away.
By the time I made it into my bed, I was back to my right state of mind. Apparently alcohol ran through my system much faster than a normal person's. I remembered clearly all the events of the night, and drifted off to sleep half confused and half appalled with my behavior.
well....?