Title: The Best Of Times: A Lifetime in a Day
Chapter 10: Okay Someone Hold These Horses Because Not Only Do Vampires Exist But My Best Friend Is A Werewolf
Rating: T, for language I guess. If the rating changes, you'll be the second to know.
Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of Twilight and all its proceedings, they continue to belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Summary: Ava Swan never expected to move to Forks, Washington permanently. Then again, she never expected to be imprinted by a hot-headed shapeshifter. Eventual Paul/OC. No Bella-bashing. Follows New Moon (mostly). There's no way I can make this sound original, ever.
Notes: This is mainly an OC-insert story into the films, meaning the Paul/OC will take a backseat for now!
seasonschange-butpeopledont: You're too kind, seriously, but thank you! I'm glad you think she's even a little relatable, I didn't want her to turn out too 'Mary-Sueish' or 'holier than thou', so I just based her off myself because I'm a nervous, slightly sarcastic, low self-esteem train wreck 85% of the time lol and I'm glad you like the quotes! I think they're my favorite part of every chapter.
first full edit: 07/20/2019
"I just don't know why you're hiking," you said, gathering a spoonful of cereal. Bella was grabbing a water bottle from the fridge when she replied, "because I want fresh air."
"There's fresh air all around, Bella. It's called A/C," you said knowingly, gesturing all around with your free hand, "and you're not the most coordinated. What if you fall and sprain an ankle. Are you sure you don't want me to come?"
She zipped her bag up before leaning over the table slightly to answer, "I'm sure. And not three minutes ago you listed off all the reasons why hiking sucks. Bugs, rocks...potential sprained ankles."
You feigned a look of wonder and held a hand up to your chest, "you do listen."
"I'm heading out," Bella ignored, grabbing her jacket, "I'll be back later."
"Peace," you held up your spoon in farewell, "don't sprain an ankle," you yelled sweetly as she shut the door.
Now I'm left with silence, you thought, shoveling another spoonful into your mouth.
After you finished your bowl and put it away, you worked on some homework. Then watched some TV. Then cleaned your whole room. Then it hit you.
You plastered a determined look onto your face before shooting up of your bed. You were going to Jake's. No matter what, you were going to speak to him today. Talk some sense into him, hopefully. It had been quite a few days, maybe he finally came to his senses.
It had since been a few hours since Bella left and you figured she'd be back soon. You drove to Jake's and pulled into the driveway, taking a small breath before climbing out.
First, you checked the garage, then, you stood uneasily at his front door and shifted your weight from foot to foot.
I shouldn't just barge in, you thought unhappily, we're not exactly on the best terms. With that realization, you brought your hand up and knocked, it took a few seconds and you were about ready to turn around when Billy answered the door.
"Knocking?" Billy joked, backing away slightly to let you in.
"Trying something new," you said weakly, walking inside and glancing in the direction of Jacob's bedroom, "is Jake…" you trailed off and Billy shook his head. "Left a while ago. I would come back later, he should be back soon."
Furrowing your eyebrows slightly, you took a seat at the table, "if he's coming back soon, is it okay if I just stay? I need to talk to him."
"Would this have anything to with the argument that the three of you had?"
You glanced up, surprised, "I didn't-how-"
Billy chuckled, stopping your stuttering, "Jake told me. Said you didn't take it well."
"Of course not," you muttered, "I just wanted to talk today."
He sighed and looked out of the window on the door, uneasily, "now's not a good time, Ava. Come back later."
"But-" You started saying but Billy held up a hand to stop you, "like I said. Not a good time."
You frowned slightly at his reaction and nodded quietly, grabbing your bag from the back of the chair and moving towards the front door, "okay, I'll just...come back."
As you moved towards the door, you had a direct line of vision into the forest through the glass. You pushed the door open and as you stepped a foot outside, Billy's hand grasped your wrist roughly, "wait-"
You didn't get a chance to look at him before you saw a large figure erupt from the brush.
You gasped loudly, your heart dropping immediately. The poised figure turned towards you and, after a few seconds of its intense, almost recognizable stare, sprinted in your direction. It jumped and you took a startled step backwards, the back of your foot hitting the edge of the doorway and you swore, you swore, you saw a glimpse of Jake. You tripped and fell, kicking your feet to give yourself more space between you and...whatever the fuck that was, "there was-what the fu-!"
You felt a sting in your eyes and you turned around, crawling back across the floor and slamming the door shut, "Billy, call the police," you yelled, scrambling to grab your phone in your bag. Your hands were shaking vigorously and you wiped at your eyes that were quickly filling with tears, "Billy!" You shouted, noticing he wasn't doing anything.
"There's a bear, or someth-" you interrupted yourself to run a hand through your hair to keep the strands from falling on your face, "...I don't know. I don't know, dial Charl-" You gasped again, your heart beating wildly in your chest. For a split second, you thought you were having a heart attack and you pressed your other hand to your chest.
"Ava," Billy said in a quiet voice, "calm down. Please."
You stood from the floor, knees almost bouncing against each other, "calm dow-did you hear me?!" You screeched.
"He's not a bear."
"He? It was-what?" You said breathlessly, "what the hell is-what the fuck is going on? We need to leave!"
"Just...let me explain. Or let...let Jacob..." Billy said, resting a hand on your wrist that held your phone and lowering your arm.
You shook your head, "Jake-he was-I think he's-" You widened your eyes as Billy opened the door, "what are you-!"
"Jacob," Billy said calmly as you reached forward to shut the door again. You noticed Jacob was standing on the other side, and Billy continued, "Ava, she-"
"Saw," Jacob frowned and looked at you.
"Can someone, please, explain what the fuck just happened."
"So you're a-a wolf? And Sam's a-"
"Shifter," Billy quietly corrected, "they're shapeshifters. They phase into wolves."
"Shifter," you muttered, unbelieving, "you phase into...this is-I'm-" you stood up quickly from the dining table, grabbing your bag quickly, "I'm-I need to leave."
"Ave," Jacob reached for you and you snapped away from his hand, only stopping when Billy called out as well.
"Please listen," Billy insisted, motioning you to sit back down. You stared uneasily at the chair and back at Jake who was still standing up, a pleading look on his face. You slowly lowered yourself back down.
There was a minute of silence before you spoke, "so those stories at the bonfires. About...about the myths and stuff.." you trailed off and looked from Billy to Jake, "they're-they're actually, what, true?"
"Mostly. They aren't the official stories, but they still hold some truth," Billy affirmed, casting a look at Jacob before turning towards you, "this thing. It's meant to be kept secret. No one must know."
You nodded dumbly, trying to absorb everything that they had told you in the past hour.
Jacob took a deep breath and cast you a nervous look, "...the pack-they aren't...happy."
"The pack?" You said aloud, feeling the strange term on your tongue, "how-how would they know? I mean, just don't tell them."
"They kind of...already...know," he said slowly, "they can-we can...communicate with each other."
"Like," you squinted your eyes, "mind-reading?"
"Kind of," Billy explained, "but whatever Jacob thinks or-or thoughts that are on his mind when he's phased, they know."
"I saw you," Jacob continued, "a second before I phased back into...me. I'm sure they already have an idea on what happened."
"Are they gonna, like, kill me or something?" You asked, a nervous chuckle escaping your mouth and looking between Billy and Jake quickly, "...they won't, right? I won't say anything, I-"
Jake gave a small, genuine laugh, "no. They won't kill you," he assured, "they're just not going to be happy at all with...any of this."
You wrung your hands together in front of you, "I don't have to meet them, do I? Like some weird, meet-the-parents type of thing? Meet-the-pack?"
Jake shrugged, "I mean, I'm sure you'll cross paths eventually, so it'll happen at some point." You suddenly felt very self-conscious at meeting a pack. A pack of wolves-wait no. A pack of shape-shifters, you corrected in your mind.
"I should go," you said blankly, "they're probably wondering where I, uh, where I am. And Bella is probably home by-"
Jacob stood with you, "I'll walk you out..." he trailed off. You nodded and bid Billy a good-bye, walking slowly to your car.
"So," Jake started, looking out towards the dark trees and leaning against the edge of the car, "what are you thinking?"
"I'm…weirdly enough, okay with it," you admitted, glancing at him through the corner of your eye, "after the past month I've had, I don't know if anything will ever surprise me again."
Jake chuckled and took a minute before speaking again, "...about what I said. When you and Bella came over…"
"It's okay," you said, thinking back to Bella and the vampire thing.
Jacob having to keep this a secret was a similar situation that Bella had been in; he thought he was protecting you both by pushing you away, and getting angry at him for trying to help would be hypocritical.
"I'm glad," he said lightly, before shoving you shoulder playfully, "didn't think I'd survive another week without you."
"You wouldn't," you said matter-of-factly, "I'm surprised you lasted this long." Opening your door, you kept it open as you started up the car. You turned to Jake a final time, "I should really go."
"Yeah, yeah," he nodded, stepping back before shutting the door and you rolled down the window, "...talk to Bella, please. Soon."
"I will," he ducked his head, "I swear, I was going to talk to you and Bella about-"
"Everything?" You raised an eyebrow and after a pause you added, "really?"
"Maybe not everything," he admitted sheepishly. You moved to roll the window up before Jake spoke once more, "and…"
You looked up after he remained silent and he held up a finger to his lips. You replied with the zip of your mouth, "don't worry about it."
"I'm telling you," Bella insisted, sitting up in her bed with frustration, "wolves."
"I don't know, dude. Maybe it was just a bear. Or bearzzz."
As soon as you got home, you figured Charlie and Harry would be there. They should've been home by now from their fishing trip and after asking Bella where they were, she blurted out that she saw wolves in the forest.
She took a solid hour and a half explaining who they were chasing and why this was important.
Apparently, Bella knew a whole horde of vampires.
"The point is," she said, running a hand through her hair, "maybe. Maybe…" she drifted off in confusion, unable to articulate her thoughts. You tried pasting an apathetic expression on your face as Bella recounted the story over again.
"And-and Harry and dad went hunting...at least, I think. He said he was going to the station but-" You tuned her out, thinking about how you were going to tell Jacob about this whole situation. You didn't think that Bella suspected shape-shifters as the wolves but you were uneasy, and after Bella spoke again a wave of nausea hit you, "one of their eyes. It looked familiar, almost like Jacob's."
You choked out quietly, "a-a lot of people...things-things have brown eyes, Bella…"
"I know," she hefted herself back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling, "but it was still...weird."
"I should get to bed," you said suddenly, standing up from her desk, "get some sleep."
Bella nodded before a look of recollection passed her face and she lifted her body onto her elbows to look at you, "you said you went to Billy's, did you talk to Jake?"
"Um," you began, stepping slowly to her door and turning around at the entrance, tapping the doorway, "yeah. Yeah, I did. He's-he's-good."
She frowned and lifted the remainder of her upper body to sit up, "did he, like, ask about me or…"
"He did," you nodded, cutting her off quickly, "said he'd try and talk to you soon, so I'd keep my eyes open." With that said, you pushed yourself off the doorway and took a few steps back towards your room, "I'm gonna head to bed."
After flopping onto your bed and getting comfortable, you glanced at the clock, shutting your eyes and willing the sleep you craved to come quickly.
You were getting a headache.
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Incorrect Quote(s) of the Chapter:
Ava, after finding out Jacob is a werewolf: You lied?
Jacob: I may have.
Ava: You may have or you did?
Jacob: I may have did.
.+.
Ava: You're very mature for your age.
Bella: Thanks, it's the trauma.
.+.
Bella: Are you okay?
Ava, clearly not okay: Yeah, I'm fine.
Bella: What does 'fine' mean?
Ava: It means I'm perfectly content but also wouldn't mind if the sun exploded right now and killed us all.
.+.
Bella: Where are you going?
Ava: To either get ice cream or murder Jake, I'll decide in the car.
.+.
[realizes the doors and windows are locked]
Ava, internally: Locks are my specialty.
Ava: [throws a brick through the window]
.+.
Jacob, thinking about being a werewolf: Do you know what it's like to be afraid of yourself?
Ava, having flashbacks to the time when she ate an entire family-sized bag of cool ranch Doritos in one sitting: Fuck dude, I sure do.
.+.
[leading up, behind the scenes]
Sam: You better be careful, you never know when you'll imprint.
Paul, laughing: That won't be an issue.
[next chapter]
Paul: THERE'S AN ISSUE!