Chapter 4: Change

I didn't go back to class, nor did I actually find the nurse. I went outside instead, thinking about what happened between me and Jacob. I couldn't believe I had actually talked to him. It wasn't just any normal confrontation. It was different, in so many ways.

The way he looked at me was so strange. His eyes were such a dark brown, but their depths brightened when he gazed at me. It was mesmerizing, and he looked a little dazed at the time as well. I felt like we both experienced something new, whatever it was.

Colliding with him was like hitting a brick wall. My head was still throbbing, but it would pass. Going to the nurse now would just be a waste.

I sighed softly, watching my breath form a faint cloud in front of me. It was chilly out, but inside it was nice and warm. Hot, really, when I was with Jacob. I could feel the heat radiate from his body just standing next to him.

"You're gonna get sick you know."

Looking up, I smiled upon seeing Ryan join me. "I just needed some air."

He sat down beside me. "Don't complain to me when you get a cold."

"What're you doing out here?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said with a small shrug. "Skipping class."

"You're skipping? Won't your dad kill you?"

"Probably, but I'll say it was peer pressure." His blue eyes fixed themselves on me, a smirk on his lips.

"Funny," I stated, sarcasm heavy in my voice. We both stared out at the lot in front of us, not saying a word for quite a few minutes. He shifted a bit throughout the silence, his sigh triggering a question. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Just school. We only have a month left."

"So what?"

"It's the exams. My dad's going to hound me over 'em. He probably won't even let me see Nat." Ryan hunched over, resting his elbows on his knees. "You're lucky. You're close with your parents."

"Not really. Just my mom. My dad only cares about beer and cable."

He didn't say anything, and I didn't blame him. What could you say to that? Both of our dads were jerks, but I couldn't decide whose was worse. Mine worried about how many beers were in the fridge, but Ryan's was more concerned with how many A's were on his report card.

At this rate, I would say Ryan's was better. His at least cared about his future.

. . . . . . . . . .

When school ended I discovered that Jacob and I would be seeing much more of each other; our lockers were pretty close. Knowing that I would see him between classes somehow made me nervous.

I walked out to my car after the last bell rang, shifting through my bag to find my keys. I neglected to pay attention to where I was going and tripped over a curb. Just as I was about to crack my head on the concrete, two warm hands caught me, hoisting me back up. I turned, pushing my light brown hair away from my face.

Jacob.

All I could do was stare at him, his warm hand lingering on my shoulder. Those dark eyes again, they were hypnotizing. I found myself taking in his features; his dark hair, his tan skin, his brawn, his height. Jacob was one good looking boy, I had to give him that.

And his smile, it was gentle. I hadn't seen it before, which caused me to stare.

"You okay?" He tilted his head to the side, that delicate smile widening.

I cleared my throat and looked away. "Um, yeah. I'm fine. Thank you."

"Sure." His hand left my shoulder, but my body craved the warmth. "You've been running into things lately. You should really start watching where you're going."

I turned my head, spotting that damn curb. I fought a blush. "Whoops."

"Are you usually this clumsy?" Jacob wondered.

I smiled shyly, glancing at him before looking away. "No, not really. I just think I'm a little out of it today."

"Sick?"

"No. Stressed, maybe. My head's all over the place."

Jacob nodded again, his light smile still present. It only widened when he caught me staring. After a moment, I chuckled and looked away. It was then that I noticed half the parking lot had cleared out.

"…Did you notice all those cars leave?" I asked, looking from him to the lot.

"Nope."

I smiled a little before staring down at my keys. "Um… I should probably get going."

"Right. See you tomorrow?"

"You're going to be here?" He caught onto my jab, chuckling.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be here. It's the end of the semester. Gotta come back sometime, right?"

I nodded, and after a small moment, I waved lightly in goodbye. Turning away, I started for my car, messing with my keys again.

"Sarah?"

The way he said my name made my heart skip a beat. I was actually surprised he remembered it.

"Be careful, okay?" Jacob hollered.

I nodded, smiling slightly. I unlocked my door and got in my car in a swift movement, shutting the door. The butterflies had suddenly hit me then. With a sigh, I started my car and pulled out, heading home. Of course, Jacob was on my mind for the rest of the night.

. . . . . . . . . .

Hayley had called me earlier in the week to tell me that the four of us—she, Katie, Natalie, and I—were going to go shopping in Seattle this weekend. I agreed immediately, considering I needed new clothes for La Push weather anyway. And since it was a Saturday, and she said that she would pick me up at ten that morning, I was ready to go. Money and cell phone ready, I was prepared for the three hour car ride to the city.

Seattle was huge compared to what I had seen in my lifetime. I was used to wide open fields and horses, not tall buildings and cabs. The mall was pretty impressive as well. We got carried away with shopping for a few hours, so much that Hayley plopped herself down on a bench.

While she and Katie took a breather, I accompanied Natalie to a nearby shop. She needed a gift for Ryan's birthday that was coming up the following week. The men's jewelry caught her eye, and she dug through them carefully before spotting one she liked.

"What do you think, Sarah? Will he like it?"

I examined the item and discovered that it was symbolic. The description was on the back, so I flipped it over. "Hey, check it out. 'The future is now.'"

Natalie grinned and headed for the register, satisfied. As we headed back to Hayley and Katie's location, we passed an electronics store. The televisions were showing the news. I spared a glance at them, but the sight of a sheet-covered body stopped me.

"...that police have found numerous corpses in the Seattle area this past month. They fear that gang activity is the cause of these deaths, their toll seeming to rise every few days or more. The police aren't quite sure how these deaths have been caused and there seems to be no evidence behind the killing spree. However, they are occurring mostly at night. The people of Seattle are advised to be careful in the evenings."

"Wow." Natalie stared at the screens. "We probably don't want to be here around dusk."

"No kidding. Let's go."

. . . . . . . . . .

On the way back home, the girls convinced me to change up my look a bit more. After a bit of whining on my part about my hair, Katie directed Hayley to a hair salon close to home. I wasn't too sure about it, but they insisted that since I was in a new place, I could start over, hair included. As ridiculous as it sounded, I caved.

Mom left the porch light on for me tonight, so when I got home I said goodbye to the girls and started toward the door. Just as I reached the porch, there was a sound in the yard. Of course, it came from the woods. I was half-tempted to go see what it was, but told myself it was just a raccoon. Those things were rabid anyway. I was about to put my key in the lock when a twig snapped, startling me.

I gazed at the dark forest for a long moment, wondering if the creature was going to present itself. It decided to stay in hiding, and since it was chilly, I went inside.

"Hey, Mom?" I called, kicking off my shoes. "Don't leave the trash outside. I think we've got some coons."

"What? I knew living on the edge of town was a bad idea."

I found her in the kitchen. The sight of her doing dishes confused me. "You do know we have a dishwasher, right? It is the twenty-first century."

Mom smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, honey. I was just waiting for you to get home."

"I'm not five, Mom. I made it back in one piece."

Her eyes found me, the dishes now sitting in the sink. "I saw you through the window. Something outside interest you?"

"I thought I heard something. Raccoons, remember?"

"And what about your hair?"

I put my hands on my head, frowning. "What about it? I like it, and so do my friends." Disappointment was etched all over face, which hurt. "I thought you would be surprised."

"I am. Don't worry about that."

"In a good way, I mean."

"Enough. Just…get to bed."

"But—"

"Now."

Without a word, I left the room and marched up the stairs. I slammed the door and went straight to my bed, not even bothering to change clothes. Mom always supported my decisions, and now something as temporary as a haircut threw her off. Something weird was going on. And I had such a great day too. What a way to ruin it.

I then thought of the mysterious deaths in Seattle. No evidence, no suspects, and the murders only occurred at night. What could that mean?

I rolled onto my side as I thought it over, and with help from the darkness, eventually fell asleep.

. . . . . . . . . .

The weekend dragged. After my petty argument with Mom, we only spoke when necessary. Dad and I didn't talk at all; he was too busy watching a game. Strangely, all I wanted was to get back to school.

When Monday rolled around, I was ready to leave the house. One of my new sweaters helped with the colder weather that morning. Once I was at school, a few people didn't recognize me from the haircut; then again, did they know who I was to begin with?

"Hey, Hayley."

She waved and continued on a casual conversation with another sophomore, someone I didn't get to know yet. I busied myself with getting my things together. Feeling heat at my side, I looked up, surprised to see the mysterious Quileute next to me.

"Your appearances are becoming consistent. Are you sure you want to break your bad-boy record?" I teased. Jacob rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. I tried not to stare.

"You're still in one piece."

"I was careful," I informed him. "Just like I promised."

I picked up on his low chuckle, which made me smile. His laughter was even attractive.

After gathering my books, I turned to him, only to see that his attention was directed elsewhere. I glanced behind me to see where he was looking, only to find Embry and Quil trying to appear distracted. Not so discreetly, they looked from us to each other and laughed amongst themselves.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Those two are idiots," Jacob replied. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. You learn to ignore them."

I looked back over at his two friends, who were making their way down the hall to their classes. "They hang around you a lot. That must be hard."

"Now you know why I ditch school."

I laughed a little, which made him smile. We made eye contact once more and I caught that flicker in his gaze again. Of course, it wasn't as strong as the first time, but the fact that it was there made me feel fuzzy inside. What made him look at me like that anyway?

"Well, since I'm keeping up on regular appearances, should we get to class?" He motioned with his arm toward our first period.

I arched a brow. "You're going to escort me? How kind of you."

I was a little shocked by his offer, but walked with him anyway. Because of our difference in size, I felt like a child next to him. He must have had an impressive gene pool. Whenever I looked up to examine his height, I caught him gazing at me. I blushed and focused on the floor immediately, his deep chuckle causing butterflies.

When we reached the room, many eyes watched our every move. Well, Jacob's every move. Clearly nobody thought his streak would last this long.

"Jacob," the professor greeted. "A new record, isn't it?"

"Good one," Jacob said with a grin, taking a seat next to mine.

Our professor began to take role, and after confirming I was present, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I caught Jacob examining me as soon as I looked over.

"Haircut?" he asked. When I nodded, he smirked. "Alright. I can dig it."

"Dig it? What are you, from the seventies?"

The two of us shared a look and I was forced to break eye contact. His eyes always drew me in; sometimes it was hard to look away.

"Sarah."

Hayley eyed me suspiciously, glancing between me and Jacob. The look on her face said enough and I glared. "Turn around, Hayley."

She shrugged and turned her back on me. My rejection wouldn't convince her to keep it cool. She did say she liked to play matchmaker. As if Jacob and I had that kind of chemistry.

Or did we?

I risked a glance at Jacob. He drummed his pencil against his desk, naturally bored. He was handsome, gorgeous even. But me? I was too ordinary, too boring. We wouldn't look good together. He was destined to be with a model, most likely. He looked like one, after all.

Before I could cover my tracks, Jacob's eyes were on mine. I panicked, looking away and hiding behind my hair. Hayley was nuts. I could barely hold eye contact with the guy, let alone date him. It wouldn't work.

Then again, opposites did attract.


A/N: Revision. Hope you enjoyed it. :)

Reviews are encouraged.