Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place
In the diary of Jane
- "Diary of Jane", Breaking Benjamin
"I still can't believe I fainted," Bella muttered, crossing her arms uncomfortably in the passenger seat of my car.
I snorted, grinning, keeping my eyes locked on the winding road in front of us. "Just how does the sight of blood make you queasy? And I'm sorry, but Edward finding you like that is hilarious."
She sighed, sinking down in the seat and resting her head against the back. "It was a strange coincidence," she murmured. "It was good to talk to him, though."
I snuck a peek at her, and saw that she was lost in thought, staring out the window. I smiled to myself, facing front again. I wanted to tease her about having a crush, but didn't want to risk making her mad at me. Not yet, anyway.
I pulled into the Olympic Outfitters store, next to Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra. "Can't wait to start working here next week!" I said to Bella, turning the engine off. She gave me a skeptical look, but didn't say anything as we exited the car.
The usual gang was here, but Conner and Ben had joined us. I had never really talked to Conner, but I had a few conversations with Ben, and he seemed sweet. There were also a couple girls gathered with Lauren that I'd never talked to before, but considering that Lauren was with them I had no enthusiasm to. I tried to avoid her as much as I could, considering how snobbish she was.
I walked up to Angela while Mike ambushed Bella. Angela was brimming with excitement, and she smiled at me. "Hi, Kate. Are you ready for the beach?"
"Mhm!" I beamed back at her. "Man, I'm just glad it's sunny today. I can't remember the last time I actually saw the sun here."
"We're just lucky today," Angela agreed.
Lee pulled up in the minivan, and we were ready to go. Angela joined Bella and I in my car, while the rest squeezed into the Suburban, the minivan, and the Sentra. I followed Mike out of the parking lot and down the windy road towards First Beach, following the Quillayute River as we went.
"I have a couple friends from the reservation that are probably going to show up today," I said.
"Friends? Who?" Angela asked.
"Some guys called Quil and Embry. I met them on the beach a couple days back. They're really chill." I glanced over at Bella again, but she was lost in thought once more. Two guesses as to who occupied her thoughts.
I can't exactly blame her, I thought turning my eyes back to the road. Ever since the strange encounter with Jasper in the cafeteria, and then in my car, I hadn't been able to get him out of my mind. Even now, I could almost feel his fingers gently digging into hair to cup the back of my head. I shivered.
The ocean was beautiful today. I couldn't help but admire it as we parked the cars and trudged down to the beach. From here, I could just see the office where Tony worked in the distance.
"Wanna help with the fire?" Ben asked me as we set the supplies down next to a fire circle, which was ringed by bone-white driftwood logs.
"Sure!" While Ben gathered broken branches of driftwood from the forest edge, I began constructing a teepee shape. It was also my preferred method of building a fire, except if I needed to cook something, and then I typically used a log cabin style. Derek had been the one to teach me both methods on our numerous camping trips, and I smiled at the memory as Mike hunched down next to me with his lighter.
The fire began blazing brightly, the flames flickering blue and green from the salt water. I grinned at Bella's amazed face as I joined her on the log. "Never seen a driftwood fire before, huh?"
"It's blue," she said in surprise.
"The salt does that," Mike said, still crouched by the fire, coaxing it to a higher height. "Pretty, isn't it?"
Everyone stayed around the driftwood fire, laughing and chatting as the colors flickered before us, before they eventually faded back to orange and red. Jessica had immediately claimed Mike's attention, so I alternated talking with Bella and staring into the flames.
Scenes from yesterday replayed themselves in my mind.
Jasper pinned me with his eyes, reaching up a hand to lightly rest the pads of his icy fingers on my cheek. "Be safe tomorrow," he murmured quietly.
I closed my eyes. "Worry-wart," I muttered, trying to ignore my heart fluttering at the memory.
"What was that?" Bella asked.
"Nothing," I said quickly.
Some of the boys announced they wanted to go for a quick hike through the forest down to the tidepools, and I leapt up to join them. Ben gave me a fist-bump, while Mike clapped my shoulder.
Angela, Jessica, and Lauren stayed behind, as well as Tyler and Eric, but I was surprised when Bella quietly slipped next to me. "You're coming?" I exclaimed.
"I love tidepools," she admitted to me. "I have ever since I was a kid."
"Awesome!" I said. I remembered the promise I made Edward, and immediately resolved to stay at Bella's pace and made sure she got through the hiking path alright.
The path to the tidepools wasn't long. It was a small path through the forest that was littered with twisting roots and rocks. Bella picked her way slowly and carefully. Despite the fact that I had traversed this type of trail hundreds of times, I slowed my pace and walked with her. Soon, the boys were too far ahead to see.
"Sorry," Bella mumbled, ashamed as she ducked under a branch.
"Hey," I said sternly, catching her doe-brown gaze. "It's no big deal at all."
She still looked a little dubious, but we broke through the forest line and onto the rocky shore. I gasped with excitement at the tidepools in front of us. While Bella very cautiously leaned over each one, silently observing the little pools, I was leaping from rock to rock excitedly, precariously leaning over and catching myself in ways that would probably have sent Bella nosediving into the water.
"I wish I brought a camera," I called to Bella. "Guess this means we'll just have to come out here again!"
"I'd like that," Bella agreed.
"Kate, come look at this!" Mike hollered. "This crab is as big as my hand!" I turned away from Bella and jumped over a large gap in the tidepools to where the boys were crowded around Mike.
Eventually, we did the hike back. The boys were hungry, and they set a faster pace than before. I had no trouble keeping up, but no matter how I tried to spin it to let Bella know it was alright to go at her own pace with hiking, she stubbornly tried to keep up with the boys. Naturally, she fell three times. I managed to catch her twice, but the third time she had ended up scraping her palms on a rock.
"Sorry," Bella apologized for the fifth time as we left the forest and walked back onto First Beach.
"C'mon Bells, it's fine," I said. "You're just a clumsy person. At least it's shallow scrapes, huh?"
She grimaced down at her palm.
"Kate!" a familiar voice hollered. I looked up to see the shining, straight black hair and copper skin of a group of local teenagers from the reservation that had joined my friends around the fire. Quill and Embry were there, Embry waving an arm at me.
"Hey!" I said as we joined them around the fire. "I'm glad you guys came!"
"Who could pass up hanging out with the palefaces?" Quill joked.
Eric introduced us to the others, and I felt uncomfortable when I realized that Sam Uley was there, and he was staring at me again. I avoided his gaze and sat next to Embry on a log. Mike passed around sandwiches and sodas, and I took a couple, striking up a conversation with Embry and Quill, who introduced me to the third member of their trio, Jacob Black. Jacob seemed really nice, and he was easy to talk to. Eventually, he left us to go talk to Bella.
Quill was in the middle of describing an adventure that he, Embry, and Jacob had gone on, when Lauren's nasally voice cut loudly through our chatter. "You know Bella, Jacob?"
I turned to watch the conversation that ensued, as Jacob laughed and said, "We've sort of known each other since I was born."
"How nice," Lauren said, in a tone that suggested anything but. Her eyes narrowed and focused on Bella's face, and I immediately stiffened, gearing up to help defend my friend. "Bella," Lauren said, "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" She was such an unconvincing liar.
I opened my mouth to retort, but Sam Uley had stiffened across the fire. "You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" he said in his deep voice.
"Yes, do you know them?" Lauren said condescendingly.
"The Cullens don't come here," Sam said, in a tone that rang with finality. He turned his gaze first to Bella, and then to me. I couldn't meet his dark gaze, and dropped it to stare into the fire. Beside me, Jacob had struck up a conversation with Bella.
I watched in mild amusement as Bella did her best to flirt with Jacob. It was rather obvious, and over-the-top. Embry and Quill were watching the show as well, grinning openly and wagging their eyebrows at me, while I snorted silently.
"Want to go for a walk?" Bella asked, and Jacob leaped at the chance.
"We'll come too," Quill said immediately, and he and Embry leaped up. I didn't miss the look of dismay that Jacob tossed at Quill while Embry helped me up from the log. Bella was slightly confused, but nonetheless the five of us started away from the driftwood fire and down the beach.
"What was Sam saying about the doctor's family?" Bella asked, in a tone that was overly innocent.
"The Cullens?" Jacob asked. "Oh, they're not supposed to come onto the reservation."
"Why not?"
"You're not supposed to say anything," Embry cut in, throwing a look at Jacob. "The tribe stories are forbidden to outsiders."
"Oh, c'mon," Quill snickered, shoving Embry's shoulder. "Everyone knows they're just a bunch of scary stories to keep us in line."
"Like that ever works!" Embry shoved Quill back, and Quill tackled him. I moved out of the way as the boys wrestled, and went to stand by Bella and Jacob, the latter who was grinning at his friends' antics.
Bella turned her attention away from the scuffle, smiling alluringly at Jacob. "Oh, come on. I won't tell anyone. I'm just curious."
You're laying it on a bit too thick, I thought, but it seemed to work.
"I hope you like scary stories," Jacob said, entranced by Bella. He led the way to a nearby driftwood tree that had its roots twisting above ground and reaching down towards the water. Jacob, Bella, and I sat on the roots, while Jacob seemed to be getting his thoughts in order for the story.
"Kate!" Embry hollered, and I glanced his way. "Wanna toss a ball with us?"
"In a sec!" I called back. "I want to hear Jacob's stories."
Quill snorted. "Man, whatever. We'll be down the beach."
I turned my attention back to Jacob, who took a deep breath. "Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from – the Quileutes, I mean?" Jacob said.
"Not really," Bella said, and I shook my head.
Jacob began to weave a tale about the cold ones, which had legends dating back to their other ancient legends about being descended from wolves. I listened with equal parts fascination and trepidation as Jacob described his great-grandfather and the treaty he made with the cold ones. These ones were different, as they claimed that they didn't prey on humans. They preyed on animals instead.
"So how does it fit in with the Cullens?" Bella asked. "Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?"
"No," Jacob paused dramatically. "They are the same ones."
The bottom of my stomach dropped, and I felt myself turn to ice.
Jacob seemed pleased by our reactions. "There are more of them now, a new female and a new male, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time they already knew of the leader, Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people had even arrived." He was fighting a smile, but I covered my mouth with my hand, hiding the look of horror that had taken over my face.
"And what are they?" Bella asked, and her voice was shaking slightly. "What are the cold ones?"
Jacob smiled darkly. "Blood drinkers," he replied in a chilling voice. "Your people call them vampires."
I didn't hear the rest of the conversation, because I was too busy trying to regulate my breathing. I buried my face in a hand, concentrating on the sound of the pounding surf against the shore, taking comfort from that. No matter where I went, the ocean would always be home.
Vampires. I had initially thought about that theory – the Cullens were vampires – but it had been too fantastical to think about. They went to school with us during the day. I had definitely seen Alice sleep when I slept over to their house. Esme always cooked for us, and Carlisle was a doctor – he was always around blood.
Wait, I realized slowly. The Cullens never ate. I had never seen them eat. I was always the only one eating, and they always had a myriad of excuses. Already ate, not hungry, not feeling too well…
I lifted my face to the sky, and stared at the pale sun above us, which was quickly becoming covered with large grey clouds. "The sun," I whispered. This was one of the few days there had been sunlight in the couple months since I had moved to Forks. It was always cloudy and grey.
"Holy shit," I breathed. The Cullens were freaking vampires.
"There you are, Bella," Mike called in relief, and I looked up to see Mike and Jessica walking towards us. I stood up as they approached, too wired to stick around and say goodbye to Jacob, and instead quickly made our way down the beach.
Embry jogged up to me. "You alright?" he asked in surprised, and I couldn't even guess at the look I had on my face.
"Yeah," I said, forcing a weak smile. "I think Jacob's stories were a bit much for me."
Embry scrutinized me for a second more, and I could tell he didn't believe me. He just shrugged it off though. "We're gonna head out. Looks like rain."
"Alright, man. It was good to see you." My eyes drifted away from him to the fire, which had burnt down to cinders. Sam Uley was standing by it, talking to a couple Quileute boys I hadn't met yet. Embry followed my gaze, his face closing down.
"What's going on with you and Sam Uley?" I asked, trying to take my mind off of Jacob's words reverberating in my ear.
Embry shrugged, looking away. "I don't know. There's just something about him… I don't know."
"Okay," I said, watching him. It seemed like we both were hiding something.
"Well, if you ever come down to First Beach again, let me know," Embry said. "We'll hang out or something."
"Sounds good." I said goodbye and made it to my car. Bella was already in the passenger seat, her head back against the seat, and a couple seconds later Angela slid into my car. The ride back to the Newton's store was quiet, and I had to restrain myself from speaking.
Once Angela had said her goodbyes and gotten out of the car, I couldn't hold myself back. Pulling the car out of the parking lot and back onto the highway towards home, I glanced at Bella. "Do you think there's merit to it?"
Bella didn't look at me, and instead opened her mouth slightly as if to speak, but closed it again.
Jacob's words were still slithering in my ear. Blood drinkers. Your people call them vampires.
"They don't exist," I stressed. "Right?"
Bella nodded weakly, still not looking at me. "Vampires don't exist," she said quietly.
Even as the words hung in the air, neither of us believed them.
A/N
Hey all! So this is starting to pick up a bit more, and will start to follow the Twilight story more closely! I'm going to be doing a mashup of the book and the movie, especially with later scenes. I'll try to have the next one out soon!
Please review!