Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns these characters, not me. What I'd do to own Edward Cullen…. ;)
Mmkay, so I know that I've followed the original storyline a lot so far, but after the chapter where she meets the rest of the Cullen family, it isn't going to follow the original plot. I'm thinking no James, no Victoria. Just Edward and Bella being all happy and couple-y. Oh, and in response to a few questions I've had:
1. Bella is half-vampire/half-human, just like Renesme in Breaking Dawn.
2. Her body temperature is so high because that's how Stephanie Meyer described Renesme's in aforementioned book.
By the way, there's probably a few spelling errors. I rushed a bit and didn't get a chance to review as much as I'd like. Sorry!
Chapter Six
Friday definitely lived up to expectations that I so didn't have. I mostly wasn't looking forward to it because Edward was out hunting just south of Rainier. Not that he told me this, of course. Carlisle told my parents and invited them, but they declined said invitation.
Mike stared at me all day, sulking that I skipped Bio. It was obvious that I skipped with Edward, having been with him all during lunch. Jessica, fortunately, didn't know about the whole ditching class with Edward thing. She had already asked me enough question about our time at lunch; I didn't need her gushing about anything else.
My short time with Edward at the lunch table had caused more gossip than I liked. Lauren, this snobby girl who generally lived with her nose in the air, seemed to dislike me even more since yesterday. And even Jessica, who may seem like a good friend to most, was really just fake. I've lived a long time, and met more fake friends than I care to remember. But she does have her moments, mostly when she's talking about Mike, which is sweet. I can tell she's jealous of Edward and me, having a crush on him a few years back, and despite being head of heels in love with him, I do feel a teensy bit smug that he chose me out of everyone else in the world. I was still incredulous to that particular fact; he chose me, who had sent more mixed signals than anyone deserved. I knew that I still confused him pretty much all the time, and I liked that.
As I went to sleep, I wondered if Edward would come into my room again tonight. Just in case, I wore my silky deep green shorts and cardigan.
It was to no avail. When I did wake up, there was only the faint trace of his smell from last time. I was planning on sleeping in that morning, so the sun added to my already bad mood by waking me up early. Although, I missed having sunny days so I guess I couldn't be entirely upset.
I met up with Mike and the rest of the gang at Mike's parent's hiking shop. Jessica, Lauren, Angela, Ben, Tyler, Mike, and some other kids were waiting around outside next to a motley collection of cars.
Mike smiled joyously at me. "You came! I told you the sun would be out today."
I laughed. "Yeah, I know." I shook my head, pretending to be ashamed. "How I could ever doubt you…"
His gleeful smile widened. "Do you want to ride with me? I think everyone else's car is full."
He was probably lying, but I accepted anyway. "Sure, Mike."
Crap, I thought as that damn hopeful look flickered to life on his face. I'm going to have to be more careful with what I say to him. I don't want him to think I'm leading him on or anything.
As I sat in the passenger seat next to Mike, I saw Jessica glaring at me through the overhead mirror. Quickly coming up with an idea, I said, "You know what Mike? I think Lee brought some extra people, so we're going to have to squeeze Jessica in with us."
He frowned slightly. "Well, okay, if there's not enough room…. Hey, Jessica! Come up in front with Bella and me. There's enough room for you to sit here between us."
Jessica shot an adoring look in Mike's direction and a doubtful one in mine. I sighed. Well, Mike would catch on soon enough and they'd live happily ever after. I hope.
I had never been to the La Push beach before, and was surprised by how beautiful it was. It was long and crescent-shaped with a rocky shore. There were several small islands out in the distance, all with cliff sides and uneven summits. There were dozens of bleached white driftwood trees around the tide line. Despite the sun, there was a chilly, briny wind blowing in from the east.
I sat on by the fire, enjoying the beauty of it. Driftwood fires were amazing, the salt turning the flames blue and green. Mike came to sit next to me.
"Pretty, isn't it?" I said, gesturing towards the fire.
"Yeah. Beautiful, actually," he said, but when I turned to look at him he was already staring at me. Oh, geez, I thought as he turned away, his face blazing red. Jessica was next to him and mercifully captured his attention.
After about half an hour on bantering, the food was ready. I surprised to find that I was grateful for it. My human appetite had started to come out more and more since I haven't been drinking blood lately. As I started to eat, I noticed some of the kids from the reservation came to join us.
I looked around, noting a handsome kid of about fifteen that was staring intently in my direction. I blushed and looked away. I moved to sit by Angela. I love this girl; her presence was so chill I could sit by her for hours and not feel required to make conversation. The older looking boy from the group announced the names of the newcomers. I only caught the name of the boy that would not stop staring at me. Jacob Black.
Eventually, those damn clouds floated over to cover the sun. I glared up at the offending clouds. They pissed me of. The one sunny day I've had here thus far and the stupid clouds have to come and ruin it…
Just then, Jacob interrupted my internal rant. He smiled radiantly at me. His face was still round with youth, but on it's way to being very handsome. His long, dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
"Hi, I'm Jacob," he said, his white teeth a startling contrast to his russet skin.
I smiled warmly. I couldn't help it; his smile was infectious. "Nice to meet you Jake. I'm Bella." I stuck my hand out, feigning formality. He laughed and shook my hand.
"It's nice to meet you, too," he said still laughing. I giggled at our folly. He had a nice laugh, full and deep.
Hearing our chuckles, Lauren called out to us.
"Hey Bella, you know Jacob?" she asked, sneering.
I smiled wider. I wouldn't let her cattiness get in the way of my fun. "Not at all. We actually just met."
This unsettled her. She hadn't expected it. "Oh well, you seemed like you've known each other longer," she mumbled.
A few minutes later, she called out again, much to my displeasure.
"Hey Bella, isn't it too bad the Cullens couldn't come?" she asked, her innocent and concerned façade fooling no one.
One of the older boys answered before I could. "The Cullens don't come here," he said, his deep voice ringing with authority.
This intrigued me. It seemed this young man knew something about them. Something mythical perhaps… I decided to investigate.
"Hey Jake…" I started, looking up at him through my lashes, "would you mind taking a walk with me? My legs are starting to fall asleep." As if, I thought.
He jumped up eagerly. "Sure Bella!"
When we passed by Sam, the wind blew my hair in his direction. His head swiveled towards me, his nose wrinkling. I winked at him.
We walked into the darkness of the forest. I turned to him while we walked.
"So, Jake, do you come down to Forks often?" I asked.
His smiled fell a little. "No, not really. But when I finish the car I'm building I'll be able to."
I didn't have to pretend awe at this; I was impressed. "You build cars? That's awesome!"
He smiled, flattered. "Yeah, I tinker around a bit. I'm just re-building this old 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit. Hey, got a master cylinder by any chance?"
I laughed. "Sorry, no, but I'll keep an eye out. But wow, Jake, that's pretty impressive. I actually like to mess around with locomotives myself. Maybe I could help you out sometime?" I asked coyly, batting my eyelashes at him.
His dark skin darkened a little bit and he stammered, "Uh, yeah that'd be awesome." Then he looked doubtful. "You build cars?"
I punched him playfully in the shoulder. "If I was a guy you wouldn't question me," I scoffed. "And, yes I do, actually. Mostly motorcycles though. I recently re-built a 1955 Vincent Black Shadow from scratch." I was showing off, just a bit. But it was true. I loved tinkering around with cars and motorcycles. I thought of the kick-ass engine I had in my Aston Martin and sighed dreamily. He didn't seem to notice.
He was shocked. "Are you serious? That's incredible…" he trailed off, a sly look coming into his eye, "…for a girl."
I mocked punched him again. "Hey now, no making fun of my girly-ness." That reminded me of what I came here with him for in the first place; I was going to flirt mercilessly with him until he spilled why the Cullens couldn't come here.
"So, I was wondering what that older boy was talking about when he said the Cullens couldn't come here," I said innocently, furrowing my brow in real agitation.
"That's Sam, he's nineteen. And about the Cullens, well, they're not really allowed to come here…" he drifted off, looking away. That confirmed my suspicions. They knew something.
"That's weird. I wonder why," I mentioned curiously. He looked at, his eyes torn.
"It's just this old story. It's silly."
This spiked my curiosity farther. We sat down on this old driftwood tree, it's roots half buried in the sand. I leaned towards him, an alluring half smile on my lips.
"Won't you tell me?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.
He smiled back and I heard his heartbeats stutter. Good, this is working, I thought triumphantly.
"I hope you like scary stories," he said, his voice huskier and ominous. Oh, please. My life was involved vampires, who just happened to be main characters in most spooky stories. Apparently, they were involved in this one, too.
"Love them," I said, winking.
He began, his voice dropping down an octave.
"There's the legend of the cold ones. Vampires, as your people call them." He smirked. I shivered, but not from the cool wind that blew through. So he did know. And not just him, his whole goddamn tribe. I wonder if the Cullens know…
"According to legend, my people, in ancient times, would turn into a…werewolf, of sorts. You see, the wolf and the cold ones are natural enemies, destined to fight each other eternally. My great-grandfather, Ephraim Black, apparently met one of them about seventy years ago." He rolled his eyes. I was relieved to find that he didn't take any of this very seriously.
I was confused at this point, though. "But…the Cullens. How do they tie into this?"
He looked at me dubiously. "The Cullens are the same vampires my great-grandfather met."
"Oh," I said in a small voice. That made sense. He must have thought I looked scared from the story.
"You look a little freaked out," he said, pleased.
I rolled my eyes. "You're a very good storyteller."
He laughed. "I think I just violated the treaty."
"Wait, what treaty?" He hadn't mentioned that.
He looked at me like it should be obvious. "The treaty between the Cullens and the Quileute elders. It states that they can't come on our land, just in case, and we won't cross onto theirs."
"Ah." There wasn't much more for me to say. We walked quietly back to the campfire. He seemed a little put out by my lack of response.
"Geez, Jake, why didn't you tell me you were such a good storyteller?" I asked, only partly teasing.
He grinned, relieved. "It's not something I advertise, I guess."
We saw Mike then, looking reassured that I wasn't eaten by some wolf in the woods. I laughed quietly to myself.
"Hey, there you are. Where'd you two go?" He was acting a bit too much like an overprotective boyfriend. This annoyed me.
I smiled warmly at Jacob. "We went for a walk and caught a little caught up. Jake here told me some pretty cool stories."
Jacob grinned hugely back, pleased by my obvious preference for him. "Well, hey, you should back down sometime. You did offer to help me with my car, you know," he said, glancing slyly at Mike. I giggled and rolled my eyes at the obvious rivalry.
I reach for his hand and squeezed it briefly. "Sure," I said. "Someday soon."
Mike narrowed his eyes. "We'd better go, Bella. Everyone else is getting prepared to leave."
I gave Jacob a quick hug before skipping off to Mike's van. I probably would hang out with Jake sometime. He was a nice kid and easy to be around. I'd known him about an hour and already felt completely comfortable with him.