Here's the next chapter! Hope you guys like it, please tell me if its still good, cuz im getting a little iffy. :P
this chapter's title came from the song Overcome, by Jordin Sparks
Chapter 7: Chains Off My Soul
I glanced at Renesmee as we walked silently into our first class; which was Algebra II. The room was large, and there was a large whiteboard that covered the far wall, the wall that all of the desks, which were in rows, faced towards. Many of the kids were already there, laughing carelessly, and I tried to shuffle to the seat farthest to the back. Renesmee's eyes, even in the face of dreadful, tedious math, were excited. Her lips turned upwards in a smile as she caught me staring at her, and she touched my hand inconspicuously as we sat down. There was a group of boys sitting near us, and their mouths dropped. I ignored them, Renesmee's image already clouding my thoughts.
Gentle light poured down on me, and the scent of warm grass – with the hint of something refreshingly fruity – wafted over me in a mist as someone's fingers gently touched my head. I was sitting in the large chair, feeling those soft and reassuring fingers thread through my hair. There was a feeling to the scene, a strong sense of reassurance and comfort.
I snorted. "I'm not worried." I muttered, pulling away from her hand, and her eyes glowed affectionately as she grinned at me, facing forward as the teacher walked to the front of the class. He was a middle-aged man, with dark hair and eyes, his arms and legs were extremely muscled, and his hair was carelessly tousled with hair gel. I suppressed a laugh as he spoke. Just imagine the attempt at a laid back surfer that looked focused…intense, and then he spoke. My promise to not let anything affect me in this school was gone in an instant. Dear god…this voice was going to kill me.
It was a nasally, high pitched voice that made me immediately think of the typical bad guys in those corny cartoons, the ones that kinda ruin their entire evil act with the fact that they sound like four year olds…
"Class, I'm your Algebra II teacher, Mr. Sage. Today, we'll start by getting out a piece of paper and copying these problems" He gestured at the board, which was crammed with problems ", which will be due at the end of the period. If you don't finish, you have to come in at lunch and finish them. There will be no talking. Get started."
Jeez…what a great introduction. I could feel my brain shutting down already.
I smirked at Renesmee, who was looking a little less excited then before. Finally, she's starting to get it. I silently began to copy down the problems, which were surprisingly easy, seeing as my new mind was much faster and more efficient then before. It took Renesmee a bit longer to finish her problems, but in the end we both finished in less than ten minutes. The rest of the students were struggling to finish the problems, whispering amongst themselves in frustration. I sighed, and Renesmee and I glanced at each other briefly. I got out a piece of paper, and quickly wrote on it, slipping it over to Renesmee.
Having fun yet?
Renesmee's mouth twitched, and she raised an eyebrow at me before her hand flowed across the paper like water, and when she gave me back the paper, a line of beautiful calligraphy written below my hasty cursive.
Of course! Just because the math is boring doesn't mean that the rest of the day will be like this…
Keep believing that…
Think of all the people we'll meet! I mean, we'll actually have human friends!
I blinked slowly as I read that line, and memories of Faith rushed in, her bubbly laugh as she flirted with the boy that was in her History class, twirling her straight blonde hair around her forefinger nervously, throwing me nervous glances as the boy stumbled to answer. Oh…clueless Faith. She just couldn't see that Tom – the boy she was infatuated with – was crazy about her. They had eventually gotten together, but only after a month of awkward conversations and attempts at flirting.
I smiled as I remembered the feeling of frustration at my best friend's ignorance, and the word that was boldly underlined and the one next to it seemed to jump out at me.
human friends!
I bit my lip, and my fingers traced lightly over the words, making tiny smears that blurred the words – the ink was still wet. I blinked rapidly as my eyes smarted, and without a word I tore the paper up into little pieces, my strong fingers tearing so quickly that anyone paying attention would have found it strange to see a piece of paper seemingly shred out of thin air.
Renesmee's eyebrows rose in surprise, and I shook my head, and wrote quickly – on a new piece of paper of course.
You shouldn't write…things like that. Someone might get suspicious.
I'm sorry, Terra.
She wasn't just apologizing about referencing that we weren't exactly human. I knew this, and I smiled at her.
It's okay. Just don't do it again.
Okay.
I smiled at her again, and quickly put the paper in my bag when the boy in front of me turned around, and his mouth dropped as he lost his train of thought.
I was just a bit flattered.
He was pretty good-looking, in a human sort of way, with short dark blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes that widened as they took me in, and pale skin that was almost translucent. I smiled at him, and struggled to keep my seat as I heard his heartbeat quicken deliciously…the blood rushing through pale blue veins that were–
I forced myself to focus as the boy spoke. "Uh, hi. I was…uh…just wondering if you could help me out with this problem. You seem to know what you're doing." His face flushed as he caught my eye, and I actually had to grip the plastic seat between my fingers to keep from rising from my seat. I felt the fragile blue plastic bend effortlessly under my hand, and let go before it could snap. Renesmee's careful eyes were on me, and saw that she was ready to interfere. I smiled at her, and smiled even more widely at the boy…Luke.
"Sure…let me see your paper."
I frowned as Luke's blush deepened seemingly for no reason as I finished speaking, and he came to himself after a few seconds, quickly showing me the problem he was having trouble with. I quickly explained what to do, and gently shoved the paper back at him, and even then it must have expressed some of my edginess, because he smiled at me with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"I take it that you don't like school?"
I shook my head curtly.
"I'm Luke, by the way. What's your name?" He asked, smiling, and I sighed.
"Terra Hale. Nice to meet you, Luke." I smiled back at him, and his heartbeat sped up again for a few moments before settling down. I deliberately looked down at my paper, focusing on the problems drawn there.
Mr. Sage gave me a stern look before returning to his laptop. I saw the teacher glance at me once more, and when he saw that I was listening to Luke talk uncertainly about what sport he would do this semester, wrote something on a slip of paper while looking at the role sheet. He wrote down my name. I tilted my head a bit, and even though I was across the room, saw what he had written messily, easily reading it upside down.
Ms. Terra Hale. Talkative, give detention if disruptive during future classes.
I scowled, and slumped down in my chair, and Luke's eyes lowered to his hands, and he looked almost frightened. Renesmee, who was passing me to sharpen her pencil, accidentally brushed my shoulder with her hand, and an image of my murderous face flashed before my eyes.
Wow…no wonder Luke looked scared out of his pants.
I smiled my thanks at Renesmee, and quickly made my face emotionless, and smiled slightly at Luke.
"Sorry, I just really don't like math. School in general sucks…but math is the worst. What were you saying? Something about soccer?"
Luke brightened, and he grinned back. He immediately started talking about sports again, and I listened with genuine interest. I had always been interested in sports. Soccer was my favorite, but volleyball was fun too.
Another boy whispered to his neighbor, glancing suggestively at Luke as we talked. I focused on Luke, but couldn't help hear the whispers.
"Hey, look at who Luke's targeted! The new hottie of Forks High School."
"What do you mean? Luke's the only guy I know who hasn't kissed a girl yet! He wouldn't target anyone like that, right off the bat. And besides…the darker haired one is much cuter."
"Eh…I still think that the other one is hotter. And the brown haired one is taken; didn't you see that huge Quileute kid before class? They were kissing and everything…so…"
I smirked as the other boy whined in annoyance. "Dammit!"
"I'm pretty sure that the tall reddish-brown haired one is still single…I'm going to try and find out."
"Just ask Luke later, I bet he'll know. She's intimidating as hell…"
I felt my eye twitching, and I leaned around Luke, who was staring at me in confusion, to stare at the two boys who were glancing at me. I raised an eyebrow, and they both flushed.
I whispered, loud enough for them to hear. "I'm single. Thanks for having the courage to ask me…it really makes me want to consider you as anything besides teenage idiots."
They both flushed even more, and turned around, shoulders slumped. I smirked slightly, and froze as Luke's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"How could you hear them?"
I laughed quietly, and hurried to keep the surprise off of my face. "I just have really good hearing, that's all. Don't look so worried, I'm not anything to be worried about, honestly!"
Yeah, just be careful of the fact that I can crush your skull with one finger, and that my teeth will inject you with venom that will turn you into a vampire, which is what I am, by the way. Besides that, everything's normal.
Luke didn't seem entirely convinced, but he let it go, and asked what sport I would do this year. I smiled wryly to myself before answering.
"I…don't know. My parents don't like me playing. I tend to…lose a bit of control when it comes to any type of competition."
Oh boy did I lose control. I was almost embarrassing how many times Edward had commented that I lost half of my battles with Emmett because I let my competitiveness get in the way of actually using my head to find a way to beat him. Even when I was human, I was extremely competitive. I wouldn't give up until I beat the other person, and if I lost, I would work that much harder so I could beat them next time.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, parents can be pretty stupid sometimes, can't they?"
I tried to imagine Emmett and Rosalie exerting any mature parental authority over me, and laughed out loud. It was impossible to see them like that, if anyone was like that with me, it was Carlisle and Esme. Not Emmett and Rosalie, who felt like siblings.
"Yeah, totally."
The bell rang loudly in my ears, and Mr. Sage excused us, and I packed everything into my bag, and rose with Renesmee. Luke suddenly seemed to notice her, and smiled.
"Oh, hello. Are you and Terra sisters? I noticed that you came in together."
I smiled. Luke seemed mature for his age, and I could tell that he was a genuinely nice person, and it made me much more open toward him. I was about to speak for Renesmee when she smiled sweetly at him, and spoke quietly.
"No, we're cousins. I'm Renesmee Cullen." She held out a hand, and the two teens shook hands. Luke grinned, blushing as she gave him a breath-taking smile. I saw the two who had been whispering before staring at Renesmee – she hadn't spoken loud enough for them to hear her – with wide eyes. I glared at them, and they quickly sped up out the door. Luke took out his schedule, and as he ran a hand through his hair I felt my stomach clench as the tantalizing human scent hit me like a ton of bricks, and I turned so that it looked like I was looking at the white board behind us, but I was really breathing in the scent of Renesmee's hair, which was a relief from the scent of pure human blood.
Renesmee glanced over at his schedule, and smiled widely. Luke glanced over at me, and I smiled at him, and glanced at his schedule as well, and I let out a breath of surprise.
He was in every single class with us, except sixth period, in which he had High School Instrumental instead of Creative Writing AP.
Weird.
"You have every class with us except for Instrumental."
Luke looked immeasurably pleased, and his chest puffed out just a bit, enough to make me laugh to myself. "That's awesome!"
Renesmee laughed with me, and he grinned even more widely, and held out an arm, bowing slightly. His eyes sparkled with laughter.
"May I escort you to our next class then, ladies?"
Mr. Sage's voice snapped. "Mr. Dallas, stop being an idiot and get out before you make Ms. Hale and Ms Cullen late!"
Luke flushed, and was about to lower his arm when Renesmee darted forward and linked her arm with his, beaming. I grinned, and stepped out of the door first, waiting for them to follow.
I walked ahead of them, wanting to vanish into the ground when the two idiots behind me actually started marching down the hall, and even started half-skipping at one point. What complete idiots.
I smiled to myself as we made our way to our next class, me quietly walking in front while Luke and Renesmee walked together behind me, their laughter echoing in the halls as we went.
This was going to be a long day.
I sighed as I leaned against the rock besides me, and ran a hand through my hair as I stared out into the crashing waves that were as dark and gray as the sky above it. The beach was silent, empty, except for me. I liked the silence; it gave me time to think without my thoughts being analyzed backwards and forwards by a certain overprotective, increasingly irritating werewolf sister.
I sighed, and sank down so I was sitting in the gritty sand, glancing up at the sky that had begun to ripple and darken even more as the huge blanket of clouds began to move over Forks.
It was going to rain soon.
The thought of the cold rain didn't faze me; it hadn't for quite a while. Why would I have any reason to worry?
It was ridiculous, and I always laughed when Mom told me to pack a rain jacket whenever I went on patrol.
I sighed again, and let my eyes snap toward the sound of a car approaching on the narrow road. I relaxed when I saw that it was Jacob, his eyes causal and untroubled. Well, they were still a bit tense, but that was only because he wasn't around Renesmee.
My eyes probably liked like that too. I hated having Terra out of my sight, and even worse was the thought of some high school boy eyeing her like I know those idiots do…like a piece of meat eagerly waiting to be eaten. It made me sick inside, and I found it hard to smile at Jacob as he strode across the sand, eyes finding me with a small amount of surprise.
"Hey, Seth. Thought you'd be on patrol or something."
"Nope."
Jacob laughed at my curt tone, and I glared lightly at him. I hated how he sometimes still made me feel like the puny fifteen-year-old I had been seven years ago. It was so annoying.
"What are you doing here Jake?"
"The same thing you are, idiot. Biding the time until school lets out. Which is in," He checked his watch. "only two more hours."
I frowned, and felt a drop of water hit my face. Jacob sat next to me, and we both stared out at the water that was suddenly becoming dotted with hundreds of raindrops that soon soaked my bare shoulders and torso and dotted the fabric of my jeans.
I wished so badly that I could be in high school with her. I'd retake high school gladly if it meant I could be with her more than I already was, but even though I could've done it, I knew that she'd get irritated. She liked her personal space, and if I went too far I'd find myself tied to a tree somewhere. She was just unpredictable like that.
One of the things I loved about her.
It was funny, how little I noticed the animalistic side of me urging me to be near her, urging me to make her mine. Yes, I loved her because that more instinctive side of me forced me to, but I loved her for so much more than that. She wasn't just the girl I imprinted upon, she was my best friend, my family, the love of my life, all wrapped up into one word.
Terra.
I remembered the feeling of her cheek against mine, the coldness jarring sharply with the heat of my skin, but at the same time it sent flares of unfamiliar heat down my spine at the same time. It wasn't the heat of transformation…it was different. It was the only time in my life I had actually felt too hot for my skin.
I glanced at Jacob, and remembered him kissing Renesmee at school earlier, and scowled. I couldn't do that to Terra…I don't even know when I'll be brave enough to risk ruining my friendship with her. I could tell that she saw me as just a friend, and I treasured that too much to try to push her to the next step. But if I wasn't careful, my body would betray me.
I wanted her.
So much it was painful.
But I couldn't have her. Not yet. Maybe not for a few years. Ugh…that seemed like forever.
But at least we had forever. Forever to love her, forever to watch her as she smiled, to see her smile at me. That was the best thing.
Terra was the best thing.
Ugh…if I'm not careful, I'll end up sounding like Quil. Now that boy was the definition of past the point of no return. He was such a nuisance to be around, because he'd never stop talking or thinking about Claire. I mean, he never left her side, and though that was all well and good, seeing as she was his imprint, it got annoying. He needed to have a life outside of Claire.
I mean, what if she chose someone else? Not likely, but what if it happened? Quil would have to swallow his grief and support her, because that would be what she needed.
Even when his heart would be breaking as he watched her kiss someone else, get married to someone else…die with someone else. And he would do nothing. Just let the fire consume him, and try to live past the pain…
I felt my chest clench, and I realized I wasn't talking about Quil anymore.
I glanced at Jacob, and asked quietly. "Hey, Jake."
"Yeah?"
"What would you do…if Nessie chose someone else?"
Jacob's shoulders jerked in surprise, and he turned to stare at me. "What brought this on all of a sudden?"
"What would you do?"
Jacob sighed, and his eyes darkened. "You remember what happened with Bella…when I…"
I cringed. That time had been…dark, a cold and sorrow-filled time for us as a pack. Jacob had been in agony, tearing himself apart from the inside, burning every human emotion as he ran faster and faster…away from anything that let him feel the pain that he was feeling.
Jacob turned to stare at the cliff that rose above us like a looming sentinel. "Imagine that…but a hundred times worse. Bella wasn't even my imprint, and I felt like that over her! If Nessie did that to me…I'd, I'd…" His voice seemed strangled, and I saw his hands were clenched.
"What?"
Jacob took a deep breath, and turned to look at me, and his eyes bored into me. "I'd let her go. It would kill me, but I'd do it. I'd always be around, waiting for the other bastard to leave her, so I could be with her again, so I could be there for her."
I frowned, and the rain seemed even louder in the silence.
Jacob spoke quietly. "Don't worry about Terra, Seth. She loves you too much to let you go."
"As a friend." I said emotionlessly.
"Trust me, you're much more than a friend to her, man. You can't see it, but she really loves you, she just doesn't understand it yet."
I smirked. "Since when did you become so in tuned to me and Terra's feelings?"
"Dude, I don't have to get in tuned. It's pretty obvious."
"How obvious? On a scale of one to ten."
"Twenty."
"Jake, you can't choose that, it's–"
"Too bad. Twenty."
I rolled my eyes, and Jacob punched my arm before pulling me to my feet. "Now, c'mon! Edward is making cinnamon rolls for us back at the house! Nessie likes them too; so don't eat all of them!"
I laughed, and we both jumped into his truck, and drove toward the Cullen's house. I couldn't help glancing at the clock.
One hour and forty-five minutes.
Damn.
.
