Eleanor POV
"Eleanor, so nice to see you again!" Emily smiled, hugging me tightly. This time, I hugged her back. When we pulled away I smiled back, and hers grew- if that was even possible.
She pointed me in the direction of everyone else and I felt incredibly self-conscious as I made my way over to the group surrounding the large fire. My eyes searched for Kim but I found myself wishing to see Jacob instead. Which was a completely ridiculous thought because 1.) he broke my best friend's heart, and 2.) Jacob hates me.
"There you are! I thought you weren't coming." Kim rushed to me when we made eye contact and I grinned, apologizing. She shook it off and grasped my wrist, pulling me towards everyone else.
The guys all said their respective hello's and I plopped into the sand beside where Kim and Jared were nestled. I awkwardly leaned back against a log. Everyone began speaking amongst themselves and even though it wasn't to me, I still felt like I belonged and I was included.
I stared into the fire, at the glowing embers. The burned red hot and the flames directly around them licked a faint blue hue. It was fascinating.
I hadn't realized the giant body that had planted itself on the log I was leaning against until his speaking in close proximity broke me out of my trance. My eyes went wide and I turned around, meeting Jacob Black's icy stare. We looked at one another for a moment before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, breaking the eye contact. My stomach did flops. I turned back to the fire.
"It's, uh," he began, I didn't turn to look at him. "It's good to see you here."
I pursed my lips. It was good to see me here? He hated me, why would it be good to have someone you hate at a place for you and your friends?
I pulled my sweater closer to my body.
And then suddenly, I felt warmth on my back. I turned instantly to see Jacob closer to me than he had been before, his knee pressed softly against my back. Why was his knee so hot? The heat radiated from the point of contact across my back and the fire warmed my face, I was actually almost warm.
He only stared at me for a moment before I turned back around, hesitantly leaning against his touch and allowing the heat to spread once more.
I felt whole. It was a weird way to describe how I felt at the moment, but "whole" seemed to fit. With everyone around us, and Jacob's unusual heat radiating off to keep me warm, and the fire burning and crackling against the darkening sky- it was all right. And I had to admit, this was the best I had felt in a long time.
Embry and Paul were arguing with one another across the fire from me, and my eyes flew to Embry. Embry Call, the boy who I had been in love with for two years. I watched him now and suddenly, I felt nothing. I didn't want to kiss him and I didn't yearn to hear his voice or have him talk to me. It was just washed away, just like that.
They were now wrestling in the sand, Paul holding Embry in a chokehold.
"Hey, uhm," Jacob's voice startled me again and I spun to look at him quickly, "do you want something before we all eat it?"
I stared at him. His features were soft and his eyes genuinely concerned for if I was hungry. I hadn't seen him look like himself in what seemed like forever now and I found myself analyzing his features, taking them all in. Jacob was handsome, we had all known that all along. But it's hard to get a chance to really stare at someone and admire them when they're dating your best and only friend. I found his eyes, those rich chocolate eyes that for once were not cold. They were soft and warm and full of an emotion that made my insides twist and my heart race.
I stopped my train of thoughts, coming back to reality. I shook my head 'no'.
And then I realized that everyone had fallen silent, now staring at Jacob and I.
My cheeks heated up and I instinctively ran a hand down my face and covered my eyes, turning back towards the fire. It was too quiet. I was mortified.
Someone coughed and the sound of conversations started up again, slowly, but surely.
I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and shivers erupted down my spine, I couldn't turn around. My breathing hitched and my heartbeat sped up again, and then a wave of guilt washed over me hard enough to knock out even the most experienced surfer.
This was Jacob Black, my best friend's ex-boyfriend. The one who ignored her after months of dating and broke her heart. And here I was, allowing him to make me blush at just the slightest contact.
I was a horrible best friend.
The hand remained for a moment more and I tried to steady my breathing, keeping my eyes trained on the fire.
"I'll get you something small, okay?"
I couldn't respond to him, I only nodded and then his heat left me- signaling he had gone up to get food with the rest of the guys.
Jacob POV
The wolf had to have taken over. That's the only logical explanation for the way I was acting: was that the wolf had taken over and was easing into the imprint.
I sighed and continued walking over towards the food, turning around once more to look at Eleanor. The fire was illuminating her features, showing how dainty she really was. She had tried to pull back her curls into a little bun at the nape of her neck but she had quite a few unruly spirals that had escaped and now framed her little face. Her eyes were glowing and she looked so tense and anxious that I had to hold myself back from taking her into my arms right there and calming every nerve in her body.
No.
No, I didn't want her in my arms, I didn't want her near me. I sighed again. I knew that was a lie.
As I loaded my plate up with food I had to think hard on what Eleanor liked.
Fruit, I knew she liked fruit. Yeah, that'd be good.
I filled the bowl up with grapes and melon and strawberries and carried the load back over to where she sat. Her eyes went wide as I handed her the bowl and she offered a weak smile- I instinctively returned it.
She picked at her fruit and I found myself watching her as she picked up each piece with purpose. She was definitely something else.
And then my dad rolled over to us and I knew that he would begin telling the legends.
"Why don't you come up here for the legends okay?" I touched her shoulder gently, feeling the energy course up my arm. When she turned to look at me, I gestured towards the seat on the log beside me. She raised an eyebrow at me and searched my eyes for something.
I understood why she was so hesitant with me, I mean, I broke Andrea's heart and stopped speaking to her. I had to. And I hadn't been so nice to Eleanor- I was a downright jackass to her for a good two weeks.
How could fate decide to take away Bella, and then Andrea too? None of it was fair. I didn't want Eleanor, I never did. I wanted Bella, and I really wanted Andrea. I had wanted so badly to look into Andrea's beautiful brown eyes and feel the way I felt when I saw Eleanor. But Sam was right: resisting being with Eleanor was painful. She was made for me, as crazy as it seemed. I couldn't really believe it, to be honest. She was just, so, quirky. The way she moved and spoke and thought, it was all totally bizarre. I understood why people looked at her so strangely, she was something to watch.
Fighting the imprint hurt.
And now as I watched her small body hastily lower itself on the log beside me, I realized I really had no reason to hate her. The only thing that was wrong with her was that fate had chosen her for me.
Fate was cruel.
But this wasn't her fault. And I knew the pain that I felt when I was mean to her, so I could imagine the pain she felt too.
"My dad is the chief," I whispered to her.
Those big green eyes stared up at me in wonder and my heart swelled. She was great.
My dad began speaking and telling the legends. I could recite them by heart at this point, almost all of the guys could. We had heard them a million times over. So I took this time to watch Eleanor.
Her wides were set on my father, full of curiosity. She held on to his every word and even squinted or raised an eyebrow at certain parts. Her little face could crinkle up in the cutest way, and you could see each story running through her mind and being processed and mulled over. He began to tell of the third wife and imprinting and I set my gaze even more intensely on her. She had to accept this. Her stare never faltered and her features never changed, she was just genuinely interested. Which was a good thing.
At some point I felt her lean on me slightly, only her arms and a tiny shift of weight. I knew she was cold and I would at least warm her up a little.
My dad rolled away as soon as he was finished and everyone began to get up and disperse.
Eleanor turned to me, her lips in a thin line as she looked up at me.
"Well, what did you think?" I asked. I could've probably told you the answer before she spoke, though.
"They're fascinating, Jacob! I never knew that the legends were so, so," she searched for the words, her eyes flittering across the ground, "so enchanting." She grinned up at me and I smiled.
The fact that she was so intrigued and accepting of them was a huge bonus.
"Let's get you home," I smirked and hopped up, feeling her presence behind me immediately.
