What's up, Twilighters? Here's another chapter to my favorite story to write about considering I'm practically in love with Jacob Black lol, but I'm not some crazy fan that will start screaming at the mention of him, I'm annoyed at those kinds of people lol. I truly apologize for not updating sooner. My grandfather was in the hospital...twice, and for a bit, the doctor's thought he only had a few days left. But, he's better now. His Parkinson's is still there, but it's not as bad as it was before the hospital. I'm hoping this cancels it out and you guys are happy because It's time we bring in Jacob, again! Now, this chapter is somewhat of a filler because I didn't really want it to be another weekend without an update. Hope you guys like it, anyway. And if you don't, review your complaints. But if you do, review your compliments. ^_^
Chapter 4: "You'll Find A Way [Switch & Sinden Remix]" by Santigold
StoicCrying – I know, I'm happy he is, too lol And I actually got the name from "Gilmore Girls" (a show I'm in love with lol) and I actually have the same kind of friends as Tristan; loud and cool. I didn't used to be that way, but they definitely influenced me to be.
Pace1818 – Well, that's the thing. I think love is so enrapturing, you can't help but lose yourself in it from time to time. Yes, Bella did ignore the people around her for love, but I agree that's not very realistic. I feel that you can still be completely and totally in love and still have your own persona, but that's just my opinion. As for Anna Kendrick, I love her, too. She's a great actress and I'm hoping to see bigger roles for her. =) And whoa, deja vu writing this lol
technowiz4309 – Wow, thank you so much. That truly means a lot. I'm glad so many people like this story, and I'm, hopefully, not going to disappoint. ^_^
Miss Meehan – I can't help but smile that one of my favorite authors on this site reviewed one of my stories, and I'm so happy you took the time to do so. Thank you for the support, and I'm hoping to see more from you, too lol
attagrl – Happy New Year to you, too! Yeah, I see it that Tristan needs, both, his friends and Jacob for him to, kind of, move forward with his life rather than linger on his tragic past. And as for Jacob clearing things up, I want it to kind of lay low at the moment because he didn't tell Bella right away, either.
Thank you all for reviewing! I love it when you guys do and I can't help but love you all already lol. Hope to get more feedback from each and every one of you, because I live for it. And don't be shy to call me out on stuff, like grammatical errors, out-of-character moments, stuff like that, because I want this to be a great story for everybody. =)
Chapter Summary: Tristan heads to the beach with his friends after coming out to all of them...sort of. Now that he has nothing huge to hide from his friends, he can now be open with them, maybe even when Jacob and his friends stop by at the beach for some football...?
T W I L I G H T
We were getting close. The usual indications were there; the crisp scent of salt water and the sound of the ever-moving waves. And as my friends and I came closer to the point where wet moss met warm sand, I could feel my mood change from excited and hyper to worried and a bit afraid. This was where I saw the wolf from my hallucinations, and the memories came flooding back to me. Luckily for me, my friends were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice my sudden change.
"So, you just blurted it out?" Zoey asked Emma disbelievingly, gesturing her hands out only to further her point.
"For the last time, Zo, yes!" Emma said playfully, trying to show a little bit of frustration but failing miserably as a smile crept onto her face without warning.
"Enough, guys. We're finally here..." I said, staring out onto the sandy shore of the ocean, almost euphorically. Even if this place was the setting of a pretty life-changing event, the feeling of relaxation overwhelmed me as I stepped onto the sand.
We set up near the woods. Zoey, Hannah, and Caz immediately rush off to the open water, boards in hand. They didn't care that they were still in their school clothes. They let all of the worry go and just had fun. I always wanted to be that kind of person, but it wasn't possible. I'm not outgoing, kind of boring; a follower.
Emma and Reed stick by. Reed sits down on a splayed-out beach towel and starts strumming random chords on his guitar. Emma lays down on a towel next to him, puts on a pair of sunglasses, and relaxes. If you didn't know better, you would think she were sleeping, but I knew she was just deep in thought. God knows what it was she was thinking about. She doesn't really share much about her life. I'm not sure if it was just around me or if it was also with the others, but she was very quiet when it came to her own life.
Then, I hear a bunch of chatter behind us. I turn around and it's Jacob's friends in nothing but baggy shorts. They're all running around, throwing around a football, but they're making so much noise, Reed and Emma turn their attention to them, too. Not that it was a lot of noise, it just seemed so much more amplified with the silence around us.
"Fuckers! You were supposed to wait for me." A voice called playfully from behind a tree near the road, but I knew who it belonged to. It was Jacob's voice. He swiftly jogged his way to where his friends were and tackled one of them down, getting a few chuckles from the surrounding guys.
"You know them?" Reed asked curiously as he continued to strum away on his instrument. At this point, Emma had lost interest in the pack of guys and laid her head back down onto the towel.
"Not really." I answered honestly, trying to avoid my gaze away from Jacob, but failing miserably. Jacob was so athletic. He easily outran the others in their own game of tackle football.
As he looked over to laugh at one of his friends, I think it might have been Sam, he saw me. He seem to stop in the middle of whatever he was talking about me and smiled over at me. I smiled back sweetly and tilted my head up to acknowledge him.
"Wow, you losers are just going to sit here and NOT surf?" Hannah said, staking her surfboard into the sand.
"Can't swim, remember?" I reminded her. I was weird like that. I loved the beach, it was the most relaxing place to be, but I couldn't even swim. Not only that, but I had a phobia of open water. And by open water, I mean a body of water I can't touch the floor of or grab onto the sides of. Hell, I can't even go in the deep end of a pool with a floaty device without freaking out.
"Well, then...what's your guys' excuses?" Hannah asked as she removed her shirt, soaked with sea water, and dropped it onto a dry region of her laid out towel. I noticed that a few of Jacob's friends stopped playing almost immediately to admire her. One of them even let out a cat call. Paul, I think. Hannah turned toward the sound, and gave them a disgusted look. "Dickheads!" she called out to them, flipping them off. "Fess up, mutes." Hannah pushed on, leaning on her charcoal and crimson surfboard.
"Don't feel like it." Emma responded, Reed agreeing with her by nodding his head and grinning.
"Wusses..." Hannah teased before taking a seat on her towel. And before I knew it, I was being knocked to the ground by a strong force. I landed on my stomach with a loud 'oof' before realzing what had made me fall, or in this case; who.
"Oh, wow. I'm sooooo sorry about that." Jacob apologized frantically, a bit of amusement in his eyes. He got up and reached out a hand to help me up from the sand. At first, I hesitated to grab it because I didn't want it to seem like I wanted to touch him every chance I got. I ignored it and gave him my hand. An instant shock of electricity was transferred from his hand. But it wasn't the generic kind, though. I could feel all the nerves in my body vibrate in anticipation.
He pulled me up with what seemed like no effort at all. If I wasn't so busy brushing the sand off of my jeans, I would be admiring how built he was. Then again, there's always time for that later. "Quil passed the ball too far, and I should have watched where I was going." I just gave him a smile and shook my head as a response...why the hell can't I speak?
"You really should have, asshole." Reed insulted, getting up from where he was sitting and glaring at Jacob as he walked closer to him. I swear that Reed was about to punch Jacob. I've never seen Reed like this before. He was always quiet and passive.
"Wha—stop! What the hell, Reed?! He was apologizing." I shot back, now standing in between Jacob and Reed in order to stop any kind of fist fight. I looked back at Jacob. We were mere inches apart and I could feel his body heat, hotter than anybody else's body heat I've ever experienced before. He was giving Reed the same smoldering look, though. The intensity between them could start the next world war.
"He could have hella hurt you! He's fuckin' massive!" Reed defended, gesturing to the six foot-plus figure still hovering behind me.
"But he didn't, okay? Just...calm down..." I assured him calmly, but I was still angry at him for trying to pick a fight. He gave me a disbelieving look and walked off from us. I looked over at Hannah and Emma, who just stood there with the same shock I had hidden by rage.
"In the few years we've known Reed, he has never been like that..." Emma informed us, still looking in the direction that Reed had walked off in.
"Look, I really am sorry." Jacob repeated, still giving me his puppy-dog eye apologetic look.
"It's...fine. And Reed's never like that...ever, so I'm not sure what the fuck happened." I said, cracking a small, half-hearted smile. I got a genuine grin from him in return, causing all of the butterflies from inside of me release into my stomach all at once.
"Alright, well...I should get back." Jacob said, gesturing behind him to his group of friends, who were keeping themselves entertained by having one-on-one wrestling matches. At the moment, it was Sam and Paul.
"Yeah, I should go find Reed, anyway." I sighed sadly as I started to turn toward Reed's direction. "Good seeing you again, though." I said, a friendly smile on my face.
"Definitely." Jacob agreed before jogging back to his friends. I got Hannah and Emma to both follow me and hopefully triple-team him to calm down.
A few minutes later, we found Reed in the woods, sitting on a large rock, his hands clasped together in frustration.
"Reed?" Hannah called out, seeming to startle him. Although, it didn't get him to face us, just to loosen up his grip.
"You know, I can fight my own battles if I have to, Reed." I joked, sitting on a log across from him. I looked around it worriedly, hoping not to be near an ant hill or anything of the sort. Phew. Nothing.
"I know, I don't—I'm not really sure why I did that..." he explained vaguely, confusion lacing his every word.
"Don't worry about it, man. Good to know you got my back." I smiled at him, making him look up at us. "Just...ease up next time." I joked again before getting off the log.
"Yeah, just beat Tristan's ass, instead." Hannah joked, causing us all to laugh.
"He could try..." I teased before leading us back to the beach, where I'm sure, the lovely couple of Zoey and Caz are waiting for us.
T W I L I G H T
"What?! Jesus, we miss everything, now!" Zoey remarked, looking slightly agitated from the situation. The rest of us, excluding Caz, just laughed knowingly.
"You really do, sweetie. It's getting kinda sad..." Emma teased, getting a playful glare from both Caz and Zoey.
As my friends continued to have conversations around a freshly-made campfire about random stuff like music, movies, and tv shows, I looked back over at where Jacob still was, but he was all alone now. He was just sitting the the ledge of a miniature cliff and was lost in his own thoughts, looking a little bit gloomy.
"I'll be right back, guys." I started walking to him. After about half a minute, he noticed me coming. He instantly perked up, making my heart flutter wildly. "You know, you don't have to be here all alone. You could come hang out with us." I offered, resting my arms on the top of the ledge Jacob was sitting on, his muscular legs hanging from it.
"That's okay. I'm sure your buddy wouldn't want me around, anyway." he joked, slightly wincing at the words that exited his mouth.
"Yeah...he actually feels bad about that. Says he's not sure what the hell happened." I explained, giving him a small grin. God, his eyes were amazing. Oh, God. No staring too intently, don't want to get punched in the face.
"Yeah...sorry about that...again..." he said the last part with a playful smirk as he looked down at me before hopping off the ledge with a loud thump onto the sand. There wasn't much of a height difference from the ledge to the ground considering he still towered over me like nobody I've ever known.
"God, you're tall..." Umm...really? I say that??? Out of everything else I could say, I, of course, talk about his altitude. "Ummm...how—how tall are you e—exactly?" I stumbled to say, trying to recover from such an awkward transition in conversation.
"6'7" He grinned when he saw the look of astonishment on my face.
"Wow, you must be setting a fuckin' world record there, Jake." I smirked, gladly accepting that he didn't acknowledge the awkwardness from what I had said. He laughed heartily as I just looked down at the sand shyly. Too much eye contact for me made me uncomfortable, but only with hot guys. Ever since middle school, I could never look a guy in the eye. Girls, sure...no problem. Stupid retinas...
"Davis, where you at?" Hannah called from the fire, her voice echoing throughout the entire beach, and possibly parts of the woods.
"Wait...Davis?" he asked me questioningly, to which I just nodded. "As in Allison Davis?" Jacob smirked at that for some reason. I didn't know, but I was kind of intrigued to want to know.
"Yeah, I live with her, now. She's my cousin." I explained, still wondering why it was so interesting for him.
"Just a family friend." he explained, as if he noticed my interest in his.
"Tristan!!!" Hannah called shrilly, but playfully of course. I could hear my entire group of friends snickering loudly at her voice. Nobody's voice could be like that if they were calling me normally.
"I should probably get back before she makes somebody's eardrums pop under pressure." I joked, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. "Invite's still open, Jake. I mean, we're going to be hanging out at the house later if you want to stop by." I said, hoping that he would drop by and tell me that he loved me since the first day he saw me, but I know that was just hope; a wish. Something a person makes when real life isn't satisfactory.
"Yeah...okay, maybe. I know where it is, so I'll see if I can make it." he smiled sweetly
"Sounds good. Later." I walked off with my heart doing back flips, waiting in anticipation for him to come over to my house.