"Ready to go?" Old Quil asked his daughter as she shoved the clothes that had barely been out of the suitcase back where they came from. It was three o clock the next afternoon, and the earliest flight Old Quil could get Dallas on was the seven o clock nonstop flight to Nashville. They were leaving early, of course, to get past the troubles of security and baggage.
"Mhm." Dallas mumbled, zippering it shut. She followed her father out of her bedroom door, taking one last look under the doorway before closing it quietly. Her brother and his friends were waiting downstairs; Quil to ride to the airport with them, Embry, Paul, Jared and Jake to say their goodbyes.
"Why does this look like a funeral home? I barely know y'all…you'll forget me by morning." Dallas grinned, scrutinizing the faces of those who waited in the living room.
"Eh, we could've had fun." Embry sighed. "It's too bad you've got to go so soon."
"Yeah…but I mean, it's for the best, right?" Dallas said, shrugging as well.
"Right." Jake said, and got shot looks from the other boys.
"Well, kiddo, I wanna get you to the airport as soon as I can, so why dontcha say your goodbyes and we'll get going?" Old Quil said, taking the car keys out of his old suede jacket. On his words, Embry opened his arms wide for a hug and Dallas walked into them.
"Maybe you'll come back up once we get all this sorted out?" he said hopefully. Dallas nodded.
"Sure." she smiled, but she really wasn't sure of when she would be back, if ever. She hugged Paul next, and he ruffled her hair but didn't say a word. Jared was stiff with his hug, trying to keep hold of some of his dignity, but even in the short period of time he had gained a small soft spot for his best friend's little sister. Jake was last, and he gripped her tightly, not wanting to let go. But of course, he would never let her know that.
"Bye, kid." he said.
"Bye, Jake." she said, patting his back awkwardly when his hug lasted longer than the others. "Hey," she added in a whisper in his ear. "Be safe, alright?" He let go then, and when she looked at him he had a smirk on his face.
"Please," he scoffed. "You be safe. Let me see your phone." he added, holding his hand out. She raised an eyebrow but placed her purple cell phone in his hand nonetheless. He opened it, and his fingers moved like lightning, and then the phone was back in her closed palm.
"What's that for?" she said.
"Just call if you need anything, alright? I have a feeling you might." Jake said, ignoring the strange looks he got from her father and brother. He looked into her eyes; bright and shining a deep brown color. His breath caught in his throat and he looked away.
"…Okay..?" she said. "I'll see y'all whenever, I guess." her father placed his hand on her back and led her outside with Quil bringing up the rear after muttering "see you guys later," to his friends.
----
Three hours later, Dallas, her father and Quil were waiting in line to board the plane. Before the line could even begin to thin out, however, Old Quil's cell phone rang. He took it out and looked at it, and sighed.
"I gotta take this, it's Billy Black. Have a safe flight, I'll miss you." he said gruffly, pulling Dallas into a hug. "Have your mom give you my number and call me when you get home, all right?" he added, and when Dallas nodded, he went off towards the big airport windows to answer the call.
"So, did you have fun while you were here?" Quil asked once his father was gone.
"Yeah…" Dallas said, a little distracted by the goings on that happened earlier. "Hey, do you know what Jacob's problem is?" she asked him.
"What do you mean?" Quil asked. Dallas sighed.
"I don't know…it's probably nothing. Just last night and this mornin'... is he always like that?" she asked.
"Like...?" Quil said, still pretending to not know what she was talking about. He knew she would nail him, however, and he would end up telling her about Jake's sudden feelings for her, even though it would be better for everyone if she was left in the dark.
"I don't know... 'controlling' seems to be the wrong word." she said, deep in thought. "'overprotective' wouldn't work either, but those two seem to be the closest I can get to how he was acting. But it was on the...kinder side of those two words, and for almost no reason at all, you know? Can you see it too, or am I crazy?"
"No, I can see where you're coming from." Quil said, but kept his voice light in attempt to drive her thoughts in a different direction. The attempt was feeble and fell flat.
"Is he always like that?" she asked.
"No…Jake doesn't usually think about the consequences. He likes the thrill that comes along with being…" he paused, looking at the other people in line waiting to board the plane. "with our situation. When the…when Peter spoke last night…I've never seen Jake act truly worried about anything…or anyone like that before."
"Why do you think he was like that, then? Is it just my paranoia or did he seem most worried about…me?" Dallas asked. Quil sighed. Looking at the line, he saw that there was no time to make up a story, but with too long of a pause she would've found out anyway.
"Yep." he said simply.
"But why?" Dallas cried.
"Because he want's to be positive you'll be safe! Can't you tell? He has a thing for you." Quil said. A soft blush crept upon Dallas' cheeks.
"He does not." she said, hitting him on the shoulder for being so stupid.
"He does too! Don't believe me if you want, but I'm telling you, he does." he said.
"But-" Dallas protested, but was cut off by the woman collecting tickets.
"Miss, your ticket please." she said, and Dallas handed her the ticket robotically and collapsed into Quil's arms for the first time. He hugged her tightly, patted her back, and let go, looking into her eyes that were now shining with tears.
"I never thought I'd be sorry to go." she smiled sadly.
"I'll miss you." Quil said, ruffling her hair. "Maybe you'll call once or twice?" he said. Dallas nodded, and with one final hug, she was off down the long, grey corridor.
Once on the plane, she was seated by a perky flight attendant next to a father and his daughter who couldn't be older than six. She got an aisle seat this time, and relaxed easily once the plane was in the air. Seeing someone in the next row on their cell phone reminded her that she had not yet informed her mother that she was coming home early. She pulled her phone out and scrolled down her contacts past Anna, Carly, Dillon, Egor, past the newly added Jake Black, whom she paused, shook her head, and selected 'Mom'. One ring, two, three, and then,
"Hi, honey!" her mother's cheery southern voice chirped through the receiver.
"Hey, momma, how you doin'?" Dallas said.
"What was that, honey? You're breakin' up. Where are you?" her mother asked.
"I'm on a plane, momma." Dallas said.
"On a plane? Shoot, I dropped you off there yesterday! You ain't landed yet?" her mother asked.
"Momma, I done been to Daddy's house and now I'm comin' home." Dallas said.
"Home? You ain't been there a day! Why you comin' home so quick?"
"Daddy's up to his ears in work and he said it would be better if I came another time." Dallas explained.
"Ooh…dang your father…he always does this! Now are you sure you're gonna be alright?"
"Yeah, momma, I'm fine. Can you come pick me up at the airport 'round eight tonight?" Dallas asked.
"Sure, sweetie! But I gotta get off here now…I got some chicken in the oven and I don't wanna over cook it, you hear?"
"Yeah, all right. I'll see you tonight."
"All right, baby, I love you."
"Love you too, momma."
"Bye." the dial tone replaced her mother's voice and Dallas put the phone in her pocket, took out her ipod, found 'Everywhere' by Tim McGraw, closed her eyes and fell asleep.
----
"Attention passengers, we'll be making an unexpected stop in Denver, Colorado due to the dangerous weather conditions. We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing in the Denver International Airport. For updates on when this flight will proceed, please regularly check the departing boards for Denver to Nashville. Thank you." This was what woke Dallas up about two hours after her falling asleep. She groggily looked around at the people around her to see that they were groaning irritably and fastening their seatbelts, so she followed suit.
Looking over the father and daughter next to her, Dallas could see the plane descending into the clouds and the window was showered with rain. Lightning flashed in the distance, and she jumped back into her seat and looked straight ahead, now glad for the unexpected stop.
When the plane landed and Dallas was safe inside the airport, she found the first seat she could in front of a television showing CNN and relaxed, glad to be on the ground. So many plane rides in such a short period of time was beginning to mess with her sense of day and night. Just as she closed her eyes and started to drift off into a state of peace, a cold breeze made her shiver and a voice in her ear made the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end.
"Why did you leave Washington?" the velvet, husky voice said in her ear. Dallas slowly turned around in her seat, feeling a little sick from fear.
Behind her was a young man, beautiful in appearance with long, sandy blonde hair and neatly cut five o' clock shadow. His eyes were a beautiful golden color but held an angry shine, which told her at once that he was no good. "Did daddy tell you it wasn't safe?" he said.
"Who are you?" Dallas asked in a hoarse whisper. He ignored her but sniffed obnoxiously.
"Interesting…you're only half mutt." he said.
"Excuse me?" Dallas said.
"I smell…" he inhaled again. "Wet dog and lilac. I'm not sure whether to take you with me now…or to just kill you. You're probably useless." he went on. "Who the hell are you?" Dallas asked again."Shhh…keep your voice down, sweetie. You don't know how easy it would be for me to end your life here." he said, grinning and flashing her pointy white teeth. She gasped, now understanding. This man, who had smelled of honey at first whiff but had metallic, bitter undertones, was a vampire.
"Did you follow me here?" she whispered angrily.
"No, no. Unlucky for you, I was already in this fine establishment when you stepped off your plane. No offense, sweetie, but you don't exactly blend in. Well," he chuckled. "you can't hide from me, at least. Now, you never told me why you left Washington." as if on cue, Dallas' 'I'm Only Me When I'm With You' ringtone sounded from her pocket. She looked at the vampire and her breath caught in her throat when her eyes met his cold ones.
"Answer it." He murmured. Dallas shakily took out her phone and looked at the name that lit up on the screen. The vampire looked as well and smiled slightly when he saw that it was her mother. "Answer it." he repeated. "Bring it close to me so I can hear the conversation. Only say what I tell you to." he said quietly as she opened the phone.
"Hello?" she said quietly into the receiver.
"Hi honey! Sorry to bother you…how's your flight goin'?" her mother said cheerfully. Dallas looked at the vampire for instruction, not particularly wanting to die just yet.
"Tell her about the delay." he murmured.
"Uh…the weather's real bad, so we have to stop in Denver for a bit." she said.
"Oh, now that's too bad…you're in Colorado?" her mother asked. She glanced at the vampire again, and he responded with a nod.
"Yeah." Dallas said.
"Oh, okay…so what time do you want me to pick you up then?"
"What time?" Dallas hissed at the vampire.
"Hm?" he said. "Oh, you're not going home…no, that will never do because I know what's going on now."
"I…I'm not comin' home, momma. Not just yet." Dallas said, glaring at the vampire.
"Why?" her mother asked.
"Lie." he told her.
"Uh…Daddy says it's alright for me to come back now. He found someone to help him get his work done and now he has more free time." Dallas said, glancing at the vampire for approval. He nodded again.
"You sure?" her mother said, uncertainty now in her voice.
"Yeah."
"Okay…well, I'ma let you go then."
"Tell her you love her.""I love you, momma."
"I love you too, baby. Bye now.""Say goodbye."
"Bye." Dallas hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket.
"So…I know what's going on now." the vampire said. "Your mutts must have found out about my little plan. Daddy had his little girl up for a visit but when he found out it wasn't safe for her there he sent her back home to Tennessee to be with her momma."
"You're James, aren't you?" Dallas whispered.
"Very good, Sweetie. A Plus…but now I need to find out who revealed my plans…" he said. Dallas pursed her lips and glared at him, determined not to give that information away. "Oh, don't worry. I won't make you tell me. I'll find out on my own soon enough." he picked at his fingernails casually.
"Why Can't you let me just go home then? I promise I won't say nothin' to nobody!" Dallas said."Oh, no, no, no, no, no, see, if daddy wanted his little girl to be safe so bad he had to send her home, I can use you to my advantage. I can say to your father, 'I promise not to lay a hand on your daughter if you cooperate. And if not, I kill her.'" he shrugged. "But now, I've made my decision." he said, and grabbed the collar of her jacket. She gasped as he pulled her to face him full on over the back of her chair. It only too a second for him to have his lips at her throat, and she used every bit of courage she still had to speak.
"You just said...you were goin' to use me to make my father cooperate!" Dallas said through shaky breaths.
"I lied." he said simply. Dallas cringed, squeezed her eyes shut and waited to die.
"There's too many people around...you'd be found out...you'd never get away with it." she pleaded.
"Do you see how easy it was for me to lie to you? How easy it was to get you to beg for your life? I could've been lying this whole time and you wouldn't have known...I was lying again when I said I was going to kill you. But now you'll just have to believe what ever I tell you because you have no idea when I'm telling the truth. So now listen carefully." he grinned, and slowly let go of her coat. She glared at him, breathing heavily. "I'm watching you, sweetie. Go back to Washington and stay there. Tell all of your wolf buddies about our little chat, but just remember one thing...I'm coming for all of you. Nothing can stop me, and when I get there, I'm making you my number one target."
"You're lyin'." Dallas growled.
"Am I?" he chuckled, but then was serious once more. "There's a plane going back to Seattle in twenty minutes. Get on it and go back to Daddy. Do not get on a plane to Tennessee."
"So you expect me to sneak on a plane, or are you buyin' me a ticket? Because mine says I'm goin' to Nashville. she said.
"Not a problem. Give it to me." he smiled as she continued to glare at him and then she handed over her ticket. He was gone maybe a minute and a half and then he came back with a ticket back to Seattle. "I have ways." he said. "Have a nice flight." and then he was gone. When she was sure he had left, Dallas took out her cell phone and quickly scrolled through her contacts to find Jake. It rang twice before he picked up the phone.
"Hello?" he said.
"Jacob! It's Dallas." she said, relieved.
"Dallas? Hey! How was your flight?" he said.
"Jake, I'm in Denver right now, and I'm comin' back to La Push.""What? No! Dallas, it's not safe. You gotta go home." Jake said, strictness in his voice.
"I know, but I can't explain right now. All I can say is James is comin', but I don't know when. He said I'm gonna..."
"James? Dallas, what are you talking about? When did you talk to James? You talked to James! Dallas, he's a vampire! You could've been killed! What the hell were you..."
"Jake I know all that! You think I just started talkin' to him? I'm scared, okay/ Can you pick me up at the airport in Seattle at half past twelve?" she was close to tears now, and there was kindness in Jake's voice when he spoke again.
"Dallas, that's right in the middle of the meeting with the Cullens...I can't just...""Jake, please? I can't go back to Tennessee...I'll explain when I get there." she begged.
"You're killing me, Dallas." he groaned.
"I know."
"I'll never forgive myself for letting you back into this."
"I'll owe you forever."
"Damn right you will."
"I'll stay out of the way, I promise."
"You're not seeing the outside of the reservation until this is over." he said.
"I can live with that."
"Okay."
"Don't tell my dad or Quil I'm comin' back."
"They're gonna kill me." he sighed.
"Me first."
"True."
"Jake?"
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
"I'll see you in a couple hours, kiddo."
"Bye, Jake."
A/N- well thank you all so very much for reading....please review. um...i have no idea why my text is messing up, so please please don't ask. I'm not sure if it still is, but I'm done trying to fix it today. For now, on to write chapter 9! Oh btw hope y'all are having a marvy summer...mine's been pretty rainy (in Maine...the only state where you can see all four seasons in an hour...bleh) gonna go and well...enjoy the sun while it's here! Taking a notebook outside...maybe see the friends a little later...clear my thoughts with a one-shot of some sort...I don't know. Ignore my babbles....[less than three!!!]
