Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight and never will... :(
The rain had gotten ten times worse. It was now so dark outside that the sky (or what I could see of it) matched my mood. Big Bear had claimed he needed to pee about ten times in the last hour, said Little Bear was gone missing three times and was now making his way through '99,000 Bottles of Beer on the Wall'. Newt and Stan were fighting about whose fault it was their relationship didn't work out. Laurent had decided she wasn't going to give up on trying to elbow her way into our group and was now sitting beside Rose, much to Rose's dismay, and was droning on about her cat Dr. Piggles again. Eddikins had resorted to repeatedly slamming his head against the bar in front of our seat, but, oh no, that didn't shut up Laurent. In short, I, and most other people on this bus, was pissed off.
"So, by then I was all like, "Fine, if you want to kill yourself, go ahead, be my guest," and do you know what Dr. Piggles did?" Laurent looked around at us, waiting for one of us to guess what Dr. Piggles did. "He scratched my face and started running into the tree again!" Jazzybear snorted behind me while Eddikins muttered," I wonder why…"
"Yeah, I know, weird right?" Laurent went on. "So, the next day I took him to the vet, and you know what that douche said? He said my cat was suffering from depression! Can you believe it? He was basically saying Dr. P was trying to kill himself! Anyway, I told the vet he was a douche and the vet was like, "Well, I wouldn't blame the cat for trying to off itself." I was all like, "Oh no you didn't," and he was all like, "Get out of my office," and I was like "Do-"
"Oh my god, if you don't shut up in the next two seconds, I am going to shut you up!" Rose finally hissed, pushing Laurent so hard she fell out of her seat.
"You little bit-" Laurent began, but Banbi got up out of his seat and pulled Laurent away.
"Assault!" Laurent shrieked, "That is assault!"
"Girls, stop it now!" Banbi ordered. Big Bear stopped singing momentarily to shout, "Catfight!" and then continued with his song. Jazzybear decided, for some reason that I honestly don't understand, that now would be a good time to start kicking the back of Eddikins' seat and ask loudly, over and over and over again, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
"Everyone shut up!" Banbi growled, pushing Laurent into the seat behind Bunny and Jazzybear. Big Bear continued singing, until Banbi glared at him and muttered, "Big Bear, if you don't stop singing, we will not have a karaoke night." That shut him up.
"Now everybody just calm down. Jazzybear, we're not there yet but we'll be there in a few minutes, so stop asking. Big Bear, it is not possible to get through all 99,000 bottles."
"Not when you keep shushing me," Big Bear mumbled sourly.
"And you two ladies," he looked from Laurent to Rose Red, "you two need some serious bonding time. Either that or apart time."
"Is that an option?" Rose asked hopefully. Banbi sighed and glared at Rose. Bad move Banbi, bad, bad move. She glared right back, an evil glint in her eye. If I was Banbi, I would be getting out of here before I lost the chance.
"We're just here," Banbi announced. "Now listen to me – I don't want any fighting, any whining, any bitching," he looked pointedly at Rose and Laurent, "or anything like that, okay? This is meant to be a fun, educational trip." There were a few mutters around the bus.
"This is it," Joe, the driver, called back. "End of the line. Everyone off my bus."
With a groan, we all got off the bus and grabbed our bags. We were on the Michael Banner Express. Destination: Horror.
"How far are we from the campsite?" I heard TyGuy shout from somewhere behind Eddikins and I. Eddikins had given up on letting me walk on my own after I had just stepped off the bus and slipped in the mud. Big Bear, Jazzybear and Rose had laughed their heads off while Bunny gasped in horror at the muck I had gotten on my tracksuit. Eddikins pulled me up onto his shoulders and took both of our bags.
"About…fifteen minutes, maybe," Banbi answered from the front.
"You doing okay there, Banbi?" Jazzybear smirked at our teacher, who right now was hunched over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"I…I'm good," he waved a hand and looked up towards the top of the mountain. "Just didn't…realise…mountain so…so high." Eddikins snorted at that, obviously deriving pleasure from our teacher's pain. I was doing fine, perched on Eddikins' back. Sure, I was a little cold, but it beat having to walk up the thing. Eddikins and the other Cullens were fine with the hike – they could run up and down the whole thing ten times before Banbi got the strength to take another step.
"Big Bear!" one of the voices I hated most in the world was getting closer. Laurent had been calling for Big Bear and Bunny for the last ten minutes, trying to get them to stop and wait for her, seeing as she was their 'Bunk Buddy'. They just walked faster so she couldn't keep up. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye I saw Laurent make a run for it, as fast as she could and jumped onto Big Bear's back. He, doing what any reasonable person would do when finding that they have a bitchy pig on their back, screamed and flung her off of him, sending her into a dirty stream that was flowing down the mountain. Unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough to carry her away, but she let out a screech that hurt my ears.
Banbi stopped and sighed, looking at Laurent and frowning. "How did you manage to fall into the stream Laurent? Didn't I say to stay with the group?"
"I didn't!" she got up, soaked in dirty water from head to toe, and stomped her foot, which just make the water splash up into her face. "He threw me in here!" She pointed a shivering finger at Big Bear, who jumped back like he had actually been poked, and looked around with his hands on his chest and a shocked expression on his face, mouthing, "Me?"
"Emmett?" Banbi asked sternly, reluctantly holding a hand out to Laurent to help her out of the water.
"I had no idea it was Lauren," Big Bear replied innocently. "I just felt something jump on me and I tried to get it off. I don't know if any of you know this," he looked around, his bottom lip stuck out and quivering like he was going to cry, "but my biggest fear is being dragged into a cave by a bunch of gorillas who put me in a cage and make me dance for them, like an…like an…" he let out one long, loud wail. "Like an animal! I mean, I know I'm a big guy, but I'm no animal!" He burst into fake tears, flinging himself at Jazzybear and wrapping his arms around Jazzybear's neck.
Banbi watched on, speechless, as Jazzybear patted Big Bear's back and whispered soothing words to him. "Is it any surprise he was so shocked?" Jazzybear asked loudly. "Here we are, in the middle of a forest, and you jump on his back like some kind of ape? I'm sorry Lauren, but shame on you. And right after you name him after an animal. Big Bear? I bet you knew about his fear and were planning it the whole time. Jumping on him, calling him an animal, even sharing a cave-like tent with him." Jazzybear shook his head, and rubbed Big Bear's back. Big Bear was still sobbing, but I saw one of his hands lower to meet Jazzybear's in a knuckle touch.
"Lauren, is this true?" Banbi gasped. "You would scare and bully another student like this?" Laurent shook her head and spluttered out a few words, but couldn't make a proper sentence.
"Why did you jump on Emmett like that?" he asked.
"I was calling him, but he was ignoring me!" Laurent cried.
"Ignoring you?" Eddikins repeated, a shocked tone in his voice. I grinned into his hair. I was glad to see my Eddikins was having some fun and joining in. Big Bear made a loud cry again and buried his head further into Jazzybear's neck. Bunny and Rose Red scowled at Laurent and went over to Big Bear, patting his shoulder and whispering, "It's okay, Emmett, it's okay," at him. I jumped off Eddikins' back and ran over too, deciding to have some fun.
"He wasn't ignoring you!" Eddikins growled. "Emmett's had hearing problems ever since he was little. Doctors say he could be deaf in a few years! He wasn't ignoring you, you inconsiderate cow!" Eddikins finished his bit and jogged over to join us. Now that I was nearer, I could see that Big Bear was keeping up his act, but after seeing his whole family join in, it was getting harder. He was now starting to shake with laughter instead of tears, so we all gathered in nearer around him, keeping him hidden from view.
"Good job Eddikins," I heard Jazzybear mutter.
"Thank you," Eddikins smiled back proudly.
"Lauren, you are so mean!" Benny Chenny said, running up to my side and asking, "Is he okay?" Angel and Newt followed him while Stan, TyGuy and Y-Man stood awkwardly in between us and Laurent. Slowly Y-Man and TyGuy stepped backwards over to us and Stan went and stood beside Banbi, not wanting to desert her friend but not wanting the Cullens to hate her completely. I knew she still liked Eddikins, and standing with Laurent would just kill any chances she had with Eddikins left. Well actually, it would kill any chances she thought she had with him.
"Lauren, I said this was to be a fun trip and we can't have fun if you or anyone else is bullying another student. Maybe you didn't know about Emmett's fear of monkeys abducting him, but making fun of his hearing problem is out of line," Banbi shook his head. "We all should have been able to guess he has hearing problems by how loud he talks. You're on dinner clean-up every day this week and you're going to have a week's detention when we get back. I do not tolerate bullying of any kind."
Laurent made a few noises and stomped around a bit more, but shut up when she got a glare from everyone but Stan. "Now, go behind the trees and dry off and get changed before you get pneumonia," Banbi told Laurent. "Then we'll be on our way."
Laurent grumbled to herself, grabbed her bag and walked behind a bunch of trees so nobody could see her.
"You okay Emmett?" Banbi asked, coming over and putting a hand on his shoulder. Big Bear raised his head, sniffed and wiped his eyes. I have no idea how, but somehow Big Bear had given himself red rings under his eyes, like he had really been crying. "You come to me if there's any more bullying going on," Banbi told Big Bear sympathetically.
We were all just about to sit down on some nearby rocks when a scream came from Laurent's direction. Banbi jumped and started to run into the forest, but stopped and first called out, "Lauren? Are you…decent?" I looked at Eddikins and saw him smiling, along with the rest of my family. Big Bear's grin was the biggest of all. There was a squeak of yes from the forest and Banbi, followed by everyone else, ran into the forest where Laurent was. While I was walking, I tried to figure out why my family was laughing. Eddikins would know what was going on – him being a mind reader and all. But the others? Suddenly something Big Bear had said earlier came back to me and I burst out laughing. He told us what was going to happen after the bus ran over Newt's bag. "I may have taken Newt's bag out of the trunk and tied it very loosely to the underside of the bus, yes," Big Bear replied. "But it was definitely not me who put a skunk called Small Bear in Laurent's bag."
Sure enough, when we reached Laurent, shock and disgust was written all over her face and a small skunk was sniffing around her bag. The first thing we all noticed though, was the disgusting smell wafting from her.
"What…happened?" Banbi asked slowly.
"Uh, Banbi, I think that's fairly obvious," Newt commented.
"There was a skunk. In my bag," Laurent said so quietly I could barely hear her. Oh my god. What if she had had a mental breakdown? She was never this quiet! Maybe they'd have to send her away to a mental institution and I'd never have to see her again! "There was a skunk IN MY BAG!" she exploded, jumping to her feet and poking Banbi in the chest. "That's what happened, because of you and your damn trip!" Ah, there was the Laurent we knew and hated. "Why was this stupid thing so important to you? Why couldn't you have just let me pass Biology and not make me come here to sleep in a bloody tent with bloody bipolar Emmett Cullen?"
Laurent was literally foaming at the mouth and I bet Banbi was wishing he could have passed her and not made her come too.
"I'm not bipolar!" Big Bear cried loudly before storming off into the trees. Laurent's hands were balled into fists and I decided to get out of there too before she took her anger out on someone. I knew she hated me, but she was pretty angry and, as fun as it might be to see her getting jumped on by my family when they avenge me, I really didn't want a broken jaw or nose.
Big Bear would have probably ran at vampire speed when he hit the cover of the trees, meaning there would be no way I could follow or find him, and I would get lost on my own. I tugged at Eddikins' hand and nodded towards the trees, asking him to come with me. He nodded and took my hand. Bunny, Jazzybear and Rose Red saw we were leaving and followed us out, as quietly as possible. We probably could have made all the noise we wanted – Banbi was currently trying to get Laurent to calm down while the others looked on, most likely prepared to run if Laurent moved.
I was right, as there was no sign of Big Bear near the trees. Eddikins pulled me onto his back while his family ran so fast they were just a blur. We were suddenly moving so fast it didn't even feel like we were moving. Everything around us was standing still and I felt like I was going to throw up. I shut my eyes tight and buried my head in Eddikins' hair. Poufy.
I wasn't sure how long Eddikins was running for, but I knew we were near the others when I heard Big Bear's booming laugh. I peeked up through squinted eyes and as we got closer I could hear the others laughing.
"How awesome was that?" Bunny giggled. Eddikins gently put me down on my feet in the circle they had made.
"Totally awesome," Rose agreed. "Nice performance from you two guys," Rose Red looked at Jazzybear and Eddikins.
"Yeah, you two really made it," Big Bear nodded. "I mean, we all know how great I am flying solo, but Banbi mightn't have taken it so seriously if you didn't join in. I can't believe that Lauren girl tried to jump me."
"Can you believe we have to share a tent with her?" Bunny groaned, turning her head into Jazzybear's shoulder. "These are going to be the worst nights of my life. And the worst thing is, she's planning on keeping up the attempts to talk to us."
"Why does she want to talk to you guys so much anyway?" I asked.
"Why do you think?" Bunny looked to Eddikins, who growled and bit his lip.
"Yeah, Laurent is convinced that if she gets in with me and Big Bear we can set her up the Eddikins," Bunny rolled her eyes. "Tonight she'll be grilling us about everything we know about him. Likes and dislikes, stuff like that."
"I can tell her right now if you like," Eddikins groaned. "Likes Bella Swan. Dislikes Lauren whatever her name is."
"I'm pretty sure it begins with an 'M', Jazzybear mumbled to himself.
"Do I look like I care Jazz?" Eddikins scowled.
We stood around for a while, just talking and laughing, mostly about what animals the other members of our group resemble. Stan was a rabbit, Newt was a frog (that one was Big Bear's decision) and Laurent, of course, was a pig.
"We should probably get back," Bunny sighed. "Laurent's starting to calm down." I groaned, but jumped onto Eddikins' back anyway.
"Wait!" Big Bear burst out, running so fast I didn't even see him and pulling me off Eddikins' back onto the damp ground.
"Ow! What was that for?" I asked, pulling myself up and trying to wipe the mud off my butt, which just made it spread even more. Jazzybear snorted at the brown stain on the back of my pants. Rose rolled her eyes at Jazzybear and muttered, "So childish".
"Look," Big Bear pointed a finger to a break in the trees, where a small black something was standing. I moved a little closer and noticed white stripes running down it's back. "What is that?" I wondered, stepping nearer it. Bunny grabbed my shirt and pulled me back as I suddenly realised what the thing was.
"Awesome job, Small Bear!" Big Bear exclaimed, walking towards the small skunk, who, despite Big Bear being a vampire, didn't move back at all. He bent down and pet the skunk, who leaned into his hand. "They should put you in a movie," Big Bear laughed. "'Small Bear and the Skunks' – it could be like 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'!" We laughed for a little bit, everyone but Big Bear and eventually Jazzybear staying away from the skunk. Big Bear dived in front of Small Bear when Jazzybear approached him and screamed, "No! He's just a boy!"
"I'm not going to eat him!" Jazzybear sighed. "I learned my lesson last, well…" he looked quickly over at me and smiled apologetically. "Eddikins would go nuts." Big Bear looked Jazzybear up and down before moving out of the way.
We were just getting ready to leave (Big Bear carrying Small Bear on his shoulder) when I saw something amazing. Big Bear turned to Small Bear and lifted a hand. Slowly, Small Bear lifted up a little paw and gave Big Bear a high five.
"Listen up, Small Bear," Big Bear began, looking the little skunk in the eye. "Because this is very important. You won't be able to come on my shoulder. I know, I know, in this day and age being discriminated against because of who you are, but it's just a sad fact of life. I don't want to put you back in Lauren's bag - I know how horrible it must have been in there. Are you up to following along behind while I think up our next mission?"
My mouth dropped open in shock when Small Bear nodded and jumped off Big Bear's shoulder.
"Did you see that?" I gasped. Big Bear just laughed as Small Bear started to run back in what I guessed was the direction we came from.
"Oh, and make sure you aren't being followed by Jazz," Big Bear shouted after Small Bear. "He'll eat you! Do you hear me? He'll eat you!" Jazzybear scowled at his brother, but shrugged a little almost like he agreed.
Eddikins pulled me up and made sure I was on his back properly before he started running. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to hide myself behind Eddikins' back so that I could catch my breath without the wind choking me.
Laurent had calmed down by the time we came back. Instead of screaming her head off and punching down trees (much like the Incredible Hulk), she was stomping around, wearing clean dry clothes and spraying deodorant on herself. TyGuy, Stan and Y-Man were holding their bottles of deodorant by their sides and spraying them discreetly every time Laurent walked near them.
"There you are!" Banbi sighed in relief when he saw us approaching the group. "I was so worried! We were about to send out an SOS and get a search party! How many times do I have to tell you guys to stay with the group?"
"Sorry Banbi," Big Bear sniffed. "I just…some people can be so inconsiderate." He shot a glare at Laurent, along with the rest of his family. "I'm taking my meds, I really am!"
"Okay, okay, don't worry Big Bear. I trust that you're taking your medication," Banbi sighed. "Now let's go."
It took about another ten minutes to reach the spot where we were camping, although if the others weren't around, my family and I probably could have been there in half a minute. The rain was still pounding down and I was pleased to see that Laurent's hair had frizzed, making her even more unhappy. Maybe there was still a spot waiting for her in the nearest mental institution. I did feel sorry for Bunny and Big Bear though. Nobody would want to stay with Laurent on one of her good days (did she have any good days?), but when she was in a really pissy mood like this? I would be the one carried away on a stretcher and thrown into a padded room if I had to stay with her.
"Listen up everyone!" Banbi shouted once he had caught his breath. "Get into your groups and start setting up your tents. We'll make it a competition – whoever finishes first gets to…start off the karaoke tonight!" I rolled my eyes. That had to be the worst prize in the world.
"Let me at 'em!" Big Bear screamed, pushing Stan and Laurent out of the way and diving onto the pile of tents.
"Big Bear! You're going to break them!" Banbi gasped.
"I just want to sing! I'm not that heavy – I'm just big boned!" Banbi took a deep breath and muttered, "Okay. I apologise."
"Just for that, can I start the karaoke anyway?"
"Fine, but what am I suppose to give as a prize?"
"Yeah, because that last one was so great," Rose drawled, but then suggested, "You could let the winners go home." There was a murmur of agreement from our group.
"Nice try," Banbi said dryly. "But no. Whoever gets their tent set up first will…get an extra 10% on their project before they even start writing it."
My eyes widened. This was my chance! I knew my project wouldn't be great, not when I had to work on it with Newt, so I immediately grabbed Jazzybear's arm and pulled him over to the pile of tents. Newt stumbled along behind us like a little lost puppy. "Come on Jazz," I said to him, "It's your time to shine."
"Everybody in the group has to help!" Banbi added quickly. I rolled my eyes and pulled a tent out from under Big Bear, trying my hardest not to topple backwards onto Newt in the process. Luckily, Jazzybear decided to help me out and grabbed onto the tent as well. Newt didn't bother to help, instead floating around behind me, his hand on the small of my back.
As soon as I had taken my tent, Rose Red pushed passed me, snatching another tent from beneath Big Bear, who was lounging on top of the tents, head resting on his hand, grinning widely.
"Rose, why do you want a tent so bad?" Jazzybear asked frowning.
"Are you kidding?" Rose growled. "Do you really think anybody in the family would let me live it down if I failed Chemistry?" Jazzybear shrugged and Rose walked away, Benny Chenny and Y-Man trailing behind her, looking nervous and just a little bit scared. From where I was standing to the side, I could see Rose had a small smirk on her face.
Eddikins approached Big Bear and bent down to grab a tent, looked at Banbi and scowled. Just as he was reaching out to take the tent, Big Bear grabbed his wrist and said, "Give me a reason."
"What?" Eddikins muttered, pulling his hand back and glaring at his brother.
"Why do you want the tent so much? I need a good reason."
"Emm-" Bunny cleared her throat loudly and Eddikins sighed. "Big Bear, give me a tent."
"Give me a reason," he repeated.
"I want to sleep in it," Eddikins growled through his teeth. "And I would appreciate it if you give me the tent now. Before I kill you."
"Fine. But only because you ask so nicely." Big Bear rolled over and lay down behind the tents. Eddikins started to stalk off, but Big Bear called after him, "All you had to say was 'Open Sesame'! You should know me well enough by now to know that! You don't listen to me!" Big Bear let out a long loud sob, making Banbi sigh and the rest of the group hurry to pick up their tents and leave as quick as they could.
"Why do I have to put up the tent for you Bells?" Jazzybear groaned, trying to get a spot for the tent close to Bunny's tent, but far enough away that he wouldn't have to hear Laurent's pig-like squeals all the time.
"Because it's your brother's fault I'm failing Biology and had to come on this stupid trip in the first place." I snapped back.
"Hey, adopted! I shouldn't be held responsible for someone's actions if I am no blood relation. If we're going to do that, then I just saved three people's lives in the hospital yesterday, because that's what Carlisle did. One of them was a newborn baby, another was the baby's mother and the third was the baby's father who was in a car crash on the way to the hospital because he heard his wife was going into labour."
"Legally you're related," I added for Newt's benefit. "I'd make him put up the tent if he was in my group but he's not, so you're the next of kin in this situation. And besides, Carlisle didn't save those three people yesterday!"
"He so did! He's a doctor."
"No, he didn't. That was the episode of 'Grey's Anatomy' that was on yesterday! I was watching it with you when we were waiting for the pizza to arrive!"
"Oh yeah, that was on the TV show, wasn't it? Well I'm sure Carlisle saved someone. He's a doctor. So therefore, if we're going with your theory, I am a doctor and I saved someone."
I rolled my eyes, knowing that whatever I said wouldn't help. "Whatever. Just help me set up the tent. We both know he's never going to help." I nodded towards Newt.
We pulled the tent out of it's packaging and started to lay out all the pieces, that to me looked like car engine parts and a huge raincoat. Newt stood back, being completely useless (and very annoying now and then, when he stood too close and invaded my personal bubble).
"Here," Jazzybear walked over to me and handed me two weird metal things that looked like the old nails blacksmiths used to make. "You put these in."
"In where?" I asked, watching Jazzybear run back over to the pieces and pick up two more of the nails. "Don't these things come with instructions?" I wondered, exasperated. Maybe hiking and camping was like an exclusive club. Maybe you had to be born into it and putting up a tent was something that a parent taught their child to do. If you didn't know how to put up a tent you would never learn because if you can't put up a tent you don't deserve to own one. "Snobby ponces," I sniffed.
"In the ground Bells," Big Bear shouted over to me, laughing. I glared back.
"Haven't you ever been camping before Bells?" Jazzybear asked, smiling.
"No Jazz, I haven't. Couldn't you guess? I'm from Arizona, Jazz! Where am I supposed to camp? I'm hardly going to camp in the desert with dangerous animals."
"There are dangerous animals here," Jazzybear pointed out.
"Yeah but people camp in forests anyway."
"You're engaged to a dangerous animal."
"Shut up!"
I struggled around with the nails for a little while. Some went in easily enough because the rain had made the soil muddy, but there was one spot where I just couldn't fit the nail in. Eventually Jazzybear came over to me, told me I was trying to put the nail into a rock and, with a shove, I heard the rock crack as Jazzybear stuck the nail in and grinned. After that, Jazzybear didn't try giving me any more parts to attempt to set up, but did throw Newt a long rod and ordered him (with quite a scary expression on his face and what felt like a burst of fear that I'm sure Jazzybear threw in for good measure) to get to work.
I picked out the driest and most comfortable-looking stone near our tent and sat down. I would just observe the others. I would be less of a burden to Jazzybear that way. Rose was, like me, sitting on a stone beside her tent, checking her nails and looking at her hair in a small mirror while Y-Man and Benny Chenny struggled to put the tent up. Bunny and Big Bear were standing together, pretending to put up the tent and laughing, watching Laurent get lost in the material. Stan, TyGuy and Angel were doing okay, although I could tell Angel was getting a little frustrated with Stan and TyGuy fighting over where different things went. Newt was standing beside the tent, not still holding the long rod, but that was only because Jazzybear had grabbed it off him with a glare and had strung it through the tent in one swift motion. Eddikins was standing beside his perfectly assembled tent, a slightly smug smile on his face. Banbi was studiously ignoring him.
Jazzybear was finishing off tying the tent down when Newt decided to jump up from his seat on the ground and shouted, "Banbi! I finished our tent!" Jazzybear let out a low growl and Newt took a step backwards, shying away from him. I stood up beside Jazzybear, admiring his work.
"I finished our tent," Jazzybear corrected, looking around at Banbi.
"Well done guys," Banbi smiled. "10% head start."
Eddikins chose that moment to clear his throat loudly, loud enough that Banbi was forced to look around at him. Eddikins raised his eyebrows.
"I've been finished for the last twenty minutes Banbi," he pointed out. "You never said anything."
"You never told me," Banbi sniffed. "I can't be everywhere at once."
"Shouldn't Eddikins get the 10%?" Stan asked, dropping the nail she was holding and shrugging. "He did finish first."
"Yeah, and what happened to everyone in the group helping?" Big Bear shouted. "You're in Eddikins group. Nobody needed you, but you didn't help put up the tent."
"I think you should be on clean up for the week," Laurent added.
"Nice try."
"Look, even though this misunderstanding was not my fault and came about by your ignorance," Eddikins sighed, smiling innocently at Banbi and continuing before Banbi could reply, "I am willing to give Jazzybear and B-Baby my 10%. We both know I don't need it, and, well, I hear Newt isn't exactly passing Biology." Newt glowered at Eddikins. The Cullens shot glares at Newt in return.
"Well Eddikins," Banbi practically spit out his name, "that's very…generous of you. I will award the 10% to B-Baby, Newt and Jazzybear."
"Alright!" Newt grinned, turning to me, arms open like he was going to hug me, but he quickly backed off when Eddikins cleared his throat very pointedly. "High five?" He held his hand up and pouted. I decided to throw the dog a bone (mainly to get that ugly pout off his face) and held up my hand. Newt, obviously able to succeed at very little, almost missed my hand, but chuckled away to himself anyway.
"You call that a high five?" Big Bear snorted, strolling over to Newt and glancing around at everyone with a look that said, 'Please!' "I'll show you a high five." Before Newt could stutter out a word, Big Bear lifted his hand and slapped Newt's, giving him a high five that would make The Todd stare in jealousy and awe. The bang echoed around the clearing, followed by Newt's incredibly girly scream as he clutched his stinging red hand, bouncing from foot to foot. I actually felt a little sorry for him.
Yeah right. I was trying to stop myself from laughing so hard I started rolling around on the ground.
"Look everyone, let's just get the tents up and we'll start looking around," Banbi sighed, clapping his hands and reluctantly moving to stand beside Eddikins and look at the tent.
"Where are we looking?" Y-Man asked.
"I haven't decided yet," Banbi frowned. "I was thinking higher up, but that mountain is really high. Then again, if we go down, we'll just have to climb back up to get here."
"That's fine by me," Big Bear said, smirking at Banbi. "I think we should go to the very top. I hear there are mountain lions up there." Eddikins let out a low growl at his brother.
"I don't think we should do that. I think it would be better to go lower down," Eddikins added. "I hear they have, um, banana slugs down there. Banana slugs are cool. And lions are dangerous."
"But Banbi, higher up we can see silver firs and because there's less trees we'll be able to see the wildflowers. You know, to collect samples," Big Bear pressed. "And besides, do you really want to climb down the mountain, hike all around it and then trek back up? You could kill yourself!" Then he quickly added, "No offence. You just might. Bella probably would."
Jazzybear snorted and mumbled, "Yeah, she probably would…" before receiving a light smack from Bunny.
"Let's go up," Banbi decided. "We'll view the lions from a distance; maybe take some samples for your presentations." Eddikins groaned while Big Bear sniggered at him. Rose elbowed Big Bear in the ribs and glared. I heard her hiss, "You better control him because I am not leaving again."
I sat down on my rock again, wondering (and thanking whatever higher power there was that Eddikins couldn't read my mind) if Eddikins would stay in control. I mean, mountain lion was his favourite. If someone put a beer in front of an alcoholic, wouldn't he drink it? I shook my head, dismissing the thought. My Eddikins was stronger than that. Jazzybear and Big Bear ran (at human speed) over to me and plopped down beside me, Jazzybear on my left and Big Bear on my right.
"Don't worry Bells," Big Bear smiled, patting my knee. "I wouldn't have suggested going near the lions if I didn't think Eddikins could control himself. I'm 99% sure he'll be fine."
"Yeah," Jazzybear grinned, "it's just that 1% you have to worry about."
A/N: I am soooooo sorry it's taken me so long to update EW…
Last time I updated was just after New Moon was released (I think) and now it's nearly a month since Eclipse was released in Ireland :( I was just busy with the Junior Cert (a.k.a. the biggest waste of time and effort EVER!) and people and I couldn't think of anything to write and to top it all of I was pretty lazy about writing. Sorry! Hopefully I'll update faster now, but I can't make any promises. It took me weeks to write this chapter – I tend to start stories, really excited about them and then two or three chapters in I get bored with them and stop.
And that line just before the line dividing the chapter…anyone who watches Glee will recognise it as a classic Sue Sylvester line. Yes, I am a huge Gleek. I even have a t-shirt! (Thanks Kate :) )
Thank you all again for the reviews and I hope I can update soon.
Shauna xxx
