Disclaimer: All recognizable material belongs to Stephenie Meyer.
A/N: Hope you enjoy the new chapter and please review.
Chapter 8: Together We'll Ring In The New Year
I hadn't seen Jacob since the night he came to my window. I think my sister was awake during the visit. She denied the accusation when I asked her about it. I mean she kept on dropping hints, it could only mean she knew. It wouldn't be too bad, but I didn't know how my parents were going to react. I didn't need another reason to be grounded again.
"So Amy, what are you doing today?" Olivia flopped onto my bed. She wasn't leaving back to Seattle until a day after New Years. I turned my desk chair to face her.
"I don't know, Jake invited me to a bonfire," I shrugged. Olivia perked up.
"Is that so, so are you going?" Olivia asked.
"I guess. Mom and Dad are going to that work party. You want to come?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure. There aren't many other options. Besides I had fun with Quil and Embry," She responded as she turned on her back. She looked at me upside down. "What time are we leaving?"
"Jake's picking me up at nine," I answered as I turned back to my drawing I had been working on before she interrupted me.
"Ok, I'll be ready by then," She replied and then stayed silent, watching the fan turn. I heard her get up from the bed a few seconds later.
"What are you drawing?" I jumped a little at the sound of her voice behind me. I thought she had left the room. I turned towards her and glanced back at the drawing.
"Oh it's just something I started. Jacob gave me something for Christmas, so I thought that I should give him something in return," I answered as I changed the piece of pastel I had been using for another color.
"Oh, it's good, it looks so realistic," She said before she became silent once again. She continued to look at me.
"Are you alright?" I asked. She nodded.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking, there's something about Jacob and his friends," She answered before leaving the room. I stared at the spot where she had been standing. My sister could be so weird at times. The rest of the day was spent finishing the drawing for Jacob. Olivia and I said goodbye to my mom and dad as they left for their party, and we settled on the couch to wait for Jacob. It was a couple of minutes after nine when the bell rang. Olivia was the one to open the door. The second she opened it completely she began to sneeze. I looked at her confused.
"Sorry, I'll be right back. I need my allergy medicine," She sneezed and hurried up the stairs. Jacob looked at me amused.
"Well, that was a nice greeting," He said, standing in the doorway awkwardly. I nodded. "So are you ready?"
"Yeah, I was wondering if it would be too much trouble to bring my sister along. It wouldn't be so nice for her to spend New Year's Eve alone," I asked.
"No, the more the merrier," Jacob smiled. He looked nice in his jeans and dark green long sleeved shirt. His hair was tied back. From what I could see behind him, there was a light layer of snow on the ground.
"Thanks," I said as Olivia came bounding down the stairs. She grabbed her coat and my own, handing me mine. I grabbed my bag from the couch. We walked out and got into Jacob's car. The ride wasn't very silent. Olivia kept asking Jacob questions and vice versa.
"So Amy got her leg out from where it had fallen through. It was completely covered in the gunk, it smelled so bad. She laughed it through, but you could see how embarrassed she actually was. Thinking back on it, it is way more hilarious now," Olivia laughed. Jacob just let out a loud laugh, wiping at the corners of his eyes. This was great; Olivia was bonding with Jake in the form of retelling all my embarrassing moments.
"Oh, God, that's hilarious. Why didn't you say anything about how funny your sister is Amy?" Jacob asked as he took a breath.
"Oh it must have slipped my mind," I muttered, looking out the window seeing that had Jacob stopped the car at a beach. I opened the door and got out of the car, where Jacob and my sister were still chuckling. Both eventually got out also. I waited for them in front of the car. In the distance you could see a group of people surrounding a large bonfire on the shore. Music could be heard as well as the laughter of the group.
"Here we are, get ready to have some fun," Jacob stretched his arms sideways.
"Wow, this looks great," Olivia said as she began to walk towards the group. Jacob looked at me with a huge grin on his face, which only became bigger after he saw my expression.
"You mad I laughed at you?" Jacob asked as we followed Olivia. I shook my head no.
"Aw come on, you have to admit she was funny," Jacob chuckled and poked my side with a finger. I only smiled at him.
"Oh yeah she's a regular comedian," I said glancing at him. The air was cold but as we got closer to the fire, I began to feel the warmth.
"Don't feel bad, I've had worse moments," Jacob shrugged.
"Hmm, is that so? I'll just have to ask someone to tell them to me," I joked. Jake rolled his eyes at me.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Come on, I want some food," He said pulling on my hand he had grabbed a hold of. His large fingers wrapped around my own, engulfing my whole hand in his warm one. Even with my mittens on, my fingers were freezing and Jake's hand felt like it was on fire. He pulled me toward the crowd, who immediately started to greet him. He introduced me and Olivia to a few of the kids that were on the outskirts of the mob. Once he said hi to them, Jacob pulled us to where a small table had been set up. It looked like it was going to collapse at any moment with the amount of food that was placed on it.
"Jake! Did you just get here?" A guy, that looked similar to Jake except with cropped hair and a couple of inches shorter, asked. He had his arm around a pretty girl, who smiled at Olivia and me nicely.
"Hey Jared, yeah I picked up Amy and her sister," Jake answered as he prepared himself a hot dog. Jared glanced at me and my sister. He gave Jake a look. "Amy this is my friend Jared. Jared this is Amy and her sister Olivia."
"Nice to meet you," Jared smiled. "This is my girlfriend Kim."
"It's nice to meet you, too," I replied politely. I was feeling a little uncomfortable under both of their gazes.
"Dig in you guys, the food will be gone." Jake said through a mouthful of a hot dog. Jared grabbed two and offered one to Kim who refused. He shrugged and began eating also. At that time Quil and Embry made their ways toward us, too.
"Amy the Puker!" Quil exclaimed when he saw me. I cringed at the title. A few people turned at the shout and chuckled.
"Quil! Don't call her that man," Embry smacked his stomach. Quil scowled at him.
"Hi Quil, Embry," I said when they finally reached us.
"You brought Olivia, too. This is great, time to do some dancing," Quil said as he tried to shake his hips. We began laughing at him.
"Whoa, hold on a sec Quil, don't hurt yourself," Embry said and ducked as soon as Quil swung at him.
"Come on Quil, let's show them what you got," Olivia winked as she dragged him to where the music was at. We watched them go.
"Where are Sam and Emily?" Jake asked stuffing a third hot dog in his mouth.
"Oh you know, they wanted some privacy so they went for a walk a few minutes ago," Jared answered. Jacob nodded his head.
"Leah didn't come?" Jacob asked. While they talked I looked around, and I noticed Kim was watching me.
"Yeah she did, she's somewhere around here," Jared replied. Jacob, Embry and Jared continued to have their conversation. I smiled at Kim awkwardly.
"Do you like living in Forks so far?" Kim asked.
"It's okay, I'm still getting used to it," I answered. Jared, Embry and Jacob moved a bit to the side leaving Kim and me on our own.
"That's good," She smiled at me. I nodded. Silence filled the air between us.
"You're not wondering where I met Jacob?" I asked. She laughed at the question.
"Everyone knows how you met," She chuckled. I stared at her horrified.
"Do they know everything?" I really hoped they didn't. Especially not the whole bucket and puking part, but with the way Quil was shouting it out, they were bound to know that part, too.
"Well yeah, don't worry so much it's just Jake's friends. But it's not entirely his fault; Quil can't keep his big mouth shut," Kim said, jokingly rolling her eyes. I let out a chuckle at that.
"Well that's good to know. I won't be telling Quil any secrets. So how long have you and Jared been together, if you don't mind me asking," I said. Her eyes traveled back to Jared when I mentioned his name. Her eyes glowed with a certain spark when she looked at him. She had a dreamy expression on her face.
"It hasn't been very long, only a few weeks," She answered not turning away from Jared. Apparently he felt her eyes on her and turned to look at her. He had the same expression on his face. He smiled at her before Jacob grabbed his attention again.
"It looks like you really care for each other," I said. She nodded.
"Yeah, we do," She sighed wistfully. She turned to me. "Do you want to sit next to the fire? It's so cold tonight." She pulled her arms around herself. She had on a thick jacket and scarf. I nodded; the feeling in my legs was going away. My nose was numb from the cold, good thing I wore my knit hat to cover my ears. I followed Kim to where there were logs to sit in front of the fire. Instantly I could feel the warmth from the large fire engulf us. I sighed and pulled into my coat, stuffing my hands into the pockets.
"Now this is better," She said as she put her hands closer the flames.
"I love bonfires, especially the s'mores part of them," I said watching the flames dance against the large logs. Kim chuckled at my comment. She nodded her head in agreement. She was looking back to where Jared was. I had noticed that Embry had gone to talk to another friend.
"Can I ask you a question?" She asked. Her demeanor had become shy and serious. I nodded my head.
"Sure," I replied. She turned to me.
"Do you believe in soul mates?" She asked. I was surprised with the direction the question had taken.
"Uh, sorry Kim, but I'm not the best person to ask about relationship advice. This would be better if you asked a friend or someone who you know," I said, feeling awkward.
"Oh no, I meant in general. I know it's a personal question and we just met…" Kim said drifting towards the end.
"Oh, well, um… soul mates are a bit surreal, the idea is, at least to me. I mean there isn't an equal amount of women and men in the entire world. You probably think me cynical," I answered. Kim stared and shook her head.
"Some people believe some things and not others," She shrugged.
"Yeah, it's just that the idea of being destined for someone is a little scary. You don't have a choice and neither do they," I explained. She nodded, but a peculiar expression stayed on her face. "It's a sweet thought, but not what I imagine love to be."
"It is sweet, you'll be with that person forever and they will love you forever," Kim responded softly, as if she had forgotten she had been talking to me. She suddenly pulled herself out of her trance, and smiled.
"Yep, there are pros and cons to every situation," I shrugged. Suddenly I felt someone grab my shoulder and caused me to jump. I turned to see Jacob and Jared, both trying not to laugh.
"So what have you been up to?" Jacob asked. He came around and sat next to me, leaving a good amount of space between us. Jared went to where Kim was, sat down, and pulled her close to his side. His arm stayed around her shoulders and she intertwined her hand with his. It was an adorable sight.
"Nothing just talking some girl stuff," I replied, smiling at him. He quirked his eyebrow and the corner of his lips twitched.
"Is that so?" He questioned. "You don't mind terribly that we interrupted?"
"It depends, what is your peace offering?" I teased. He smiled amusedly, showing off a cute dimple on his right cheek.
"Would s'mores be a decent offer?" He held up the chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows. I let out a laugh.
"That would be perfect," I glanced at Kim, but she was too busy with Jared.
"Don't bother, they're lost in each other," Jacob said when he caught me looking. I couldn't help notice how his voice sounded a bit bitter and sad. He put the stuff in between us and then grabbed two long sticks on which to roast the marshmallows. He handed me one with a marshmallow ready to go.
"Mmm, yum," I said as I watched Jake squeeze the melting marshmallow in between the two cookies and chocolate bar. Jake chuckled at my comment. He handed me the s'more when it cooled off a bit. I bit into it and found my little piece of heaven. The crunch of the cookie, the creamy texture of the marshmallow, and sweetness of the chocolate, it was an explosion of flavor in my mouth. Jake laughed at the noises of pleasure I was making as I ate my treat.
"You sure can eat those things," Jake said as he roasted another marshmallow. That had been my fifth one. I shrugged as I as sucked off some excess marshmallow from my thumb.
"What can I say, they're my weakness," I smiled and continued eating my s'more. Jacob only shook his head in amusement. Jared and Kim had gone for a walk a while ago and left Jake and I to spend our time eating s'mores and talking. Jake looked out to where the majority of the people were hanging out.
"Your sister seems to be having fun," Jake commented. I looked towards her where she was laughing with Quil, Embry, and a few of Jacob's other friends.
"Yeah, but so am I," I replied. I smiled and finished off the last of my s'more. I watched as he ate the roasted marshmallow that was completely black. I spotted a speck of white on his cheek, where some of the marshmallow had somehow ended up. I chuckled before I reached over and smeared it off. He stared at me surprised, but let his mouth pull itself into a small smile. "You know, you're making it easier to live here."
"That's good to know," Jake winked at me and poked the fire with his stick.
"Yeah, in a way you were exactly what I needed to make this move bearable," I said.
"Hmm, is that so?" He questioned doing the sexy arching eyebrow thing. I nodded.
"Yep, I like hanging out with you even though you confuse the hell out of me sometimes," I replied. He looked at me strangely but he couldn't hide the twinkle of mirth that was evident in his dark eyes.
"That's good 'cuz you confuse the hell out of me, too," He shot his beautiful grin at me and popped a marshmallow into his mouth. I grabbed a marshmallow from the bag. I had to reach across Jacob to get the bag he had moved when he had roasted them. The sleeve of my coat lifted showing off the silver bracelet he had given me.
"You're wearing it!" Jake said when he saw. For some reason I began feeling flushed. I didn't know why, I shouldn't feel embarrassed for wearing the present. I fiddled with the charms.
"Yeah, it's beautiful and I really loved it," I said. Jake had a smile of pleasure spread out on his lips. He was happy to see it on my wrist. He touched one of the charms.
"I'm happy to know you liked it," Jake smiled. The mention of his present reminded me of the drawing I had made for him.
"I have something for you, too," I said as I began to open my bag and pulled out a manila envelope. He wore a curious expression on his face as he opened the envelope. "Hopefully you like it, it's not on the same level as a bracelet, but I remembered you really liking it."
He pulled the drawing from the envelope and took off the thin tissue paper I had put on it to avoid the smearing. He stared at the drawing of the wolf, this time it had color. The wolf was a beautiful russet color and its dark eyes stared back at Jake. I was becoming a little anxious with the lack of response. I was beginning to think that something else would have been a better present.
"Wow, this is great," Jake whispered as he continued to stare at the drawing. I let out a small sigh of relief.
"So you really liked it?" I asked making sure I hadn't heard wrong. He nodded his head. He covered it with the tissue paper and put it in the envelope carefully.
"Thank you, Amy," He said as he covered my hand with his. I couldn't stop the smile that spread on my face.
"I'm glad you like it; it'll be your reminder of me," I said as I shoved his shoulder with mine.
"Yeah," He softly replied. We stayed sitting there in silence with his hand on mine for a while, just drawing comfort from each other.
"I was wondering…" I began to say. We had been leaning on each other, staring at the fire for a pretty long time now. Jacob had continued to poke at the fire letting the stick catch on fire every once in a while.
"Hmm," was his noncommittal response as he turned towards me. "What were you wondering about?"
"Well I was wondering if you would let me sketch you sometime," I finished.
"I don't know. Why would you want to do that?" Jacob said as he blew out the flame on the stick.
"I don't know you just you have one of the most interesting faces I have seen," I answered a little self-conscious. He looked at me with a bemused.
"An interesting face?" He cocked his eyebrow. There's the eyebrow again. I nodded.
"Are you aware of the expressions you make sometimes? For example, you always raise your right eyebrow when you say something sarcastic or are just plain confused," I replied.
"I do that?" Jake asked. I nodded once again and added a smile.
"Yep."
"Hmm, I didn't realize I did that," Jake muttered.
"Yeah, I'm an artist, I pick up things like that when I meet people," I shrugged.
"You developed a good eye for detail; it's what makes you a great artist," Jacob said looking me straight in the eye. The look in his eyes made my heart jump. The boy was too good-looking for his own good.
"Is that so? Are you a closet art expert?" I teased not breaking eye contact. He gave me that gorgeous smile again, showing of his pearly whites.
"No, but I'm a mechanic," He replied. It was my turn to look at him confused. It caused him to let out a husky chuckle. It sounded nice; I wanted to hear it again.
"And a mechanic and artist are similar how?" I asked. There was the chuckle.
"You have to develop a good ear to catch all the sounds a car makes. Figure out which are supposed to be made and differentiate them from the sounds that aren't supposed to be," He explained. "If someone can understand a car that way then you know they're a good mechanic."
"That actually makes sense," It was my turn to chuckle. We strayed into silence again, me leaning towards his warmth, him poking at the fire. We were so comfortable that we didn't notice the time pass and jumped in fright when Embry came running to us that it was time for the countdown.
"Come on," Jake held out a hand for me to take. I put my gloved hand in his and followed him and Embry to where everyone was huddled, waiting for the start of the New Year.
"Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!" The voices surrounded us and we were jostled together as people grabbed each other for hugs or kisses. Jacob leaned in; I could feel his breath on the side of my face. I could feel myself become dizzy with the feeling.
"Happy New Year, Amy," He whispered into my ear softly. My heart gave a few spastic jumps at the sound of his voice so close to my ear and the feel of his warm breath. I felt him squeeze my hand after he pulled away. His grin took up his entire face, lighting it up. He looked beautiful with that smile, happy, open. It would forever be engraved in my mind.
