Jessica, Mike, Angela, Eric and Ben ran over to us as the truck rumbled into a parking space and we got out. They stopped dead when Jake came up behind me, putting his arm around my waist.
"Bella!" Jessica cried, the first to react to Jake's presence, by hugging me and then stepping back, gaping.
"Guys, this is Jake." I said, gesturing over to him. I felt proud as Angela's and Jessica's jaws dropped a little when they looked up at him, and took his appearance in appreciatively.
"Hey." Jake said politely, giving a small smile, easily about five inches taller than even lanky Eric. I felt his arm curl protectively around me. It appeared what happened last night was obviously still bothering him, and it felt like he was trying to show ownership. His eyes cautiously raked each of their faces, his own expression almost daring them to mess with him.
"Jessica, Angela, Eric, Ben and Mike." I said, pointing in correspondance. He nodded at each of them, tensing then releasing when I got to Mike.
He then turned to me, his eyes tired and still worried. I thought I saw protectiveness in there too "I have to go, but I'll be back to pick you up after school." He said, lowering his voice. I closed my eyes and smiled as he placed a soft, chaste kiss on my cheek, at the same time I felt his ring finger wrap around mine and squeeze.
"Okay, see you later." I said, giving him a quick hug. I saw him give Mike a quick pat on the back and a small 'thank you' before he got into the truck. He started it back up, and honked on his way out of the parking lot. Everyone's eyes followed him out.
"Oh my god." Angela and Jessica said at the same time.
"You were not lying Mike. He is gorgeous." Jessica seemed awed by him, but quickly snapped out of it as she led me to the surprisingly dry picnic table, sitting me down at it. They all grouped around me, gathering close.
"Look, Bella. I'm sorry about what I let happen last night. I really am." Mike started, but I held up a hand.
"No, I'm over it. Nothing inappropriate happened, I'm not all that traumatized from it." I reassured him, then put a hand on his. "Thanks for rescuing me though. I'm... grateful that you were there or it could have gone farther."
To be completely honest, after what I went through last night, I wasn't still too worried about it. I understood that it could have gone a lot further if Mike hadn't have knocked him off, and that's what helped me to get myself over it that quickly. I couldn't really remember the details, but I knew that I didn't want them to worry about me over it. Talking about it with Jake had made me feel better, and it was the feeling after I got out of my truck, and not being able to immediately find Jake and being scared, alone and confused that my mind chose to rest upon. I subconciously touched the bandage on my forhead
"Oh, Bells. Mike filled us in." Angela said, looking worried.
"I'm great. I talked about it, then slept and I'm fine." I said, smiling.
"We should have stayed with you." Jessica sounded guilty.
"I bet parties on the reservation aren't like that." Ben chuckled apprehensively.
"We don't usually need alcohol." I laughed, thinking of Bina, my almost alcohol-dependent friend.
"What happened to your forehead?" Jessica asked bluntly. Her hand reached out towards it subconciously.
"I, um... crashed my truck." I said, my face flushing.
"Oh my god! And you got stitches!" Angela covered her mouth with her hand. I saw Mike look guiltily away.
"Just four." I replied, shrugging
"There wasn't even a dent on that truck. Damn." Ben said admiringly.
"We should get to first class though." Eric checked his watch and looked around at us. Everyone gave me a hug before they left to their respective classes.
"I heard about what happened last night, it's horrible that there are people like that out there." The soft, persuading voice that I had come to know as Edward's said, suddenly beside me.
"I don't need to hear anything else about it." I said, before he elaborated on anything.
"I was merely expressing my condolences." He mused. What was he talking about? No one had died.
"Has the whole school heard about it?" I sighed, trying to go into the building.
"Most of them." There was an almost arrogant grin on his face.
"I have to get to class." I said before I got angry with him. He seemed to be amused by my situation. I left him outside, as I went into English class.
I wasn't alone even one moment for the rest of the day. Someone sat with me and talked to me. I talked back, but was lucky that I only had to encourage Jessica with a few nods and 'really?'s. I kind of got the feeling that they felt bad about last night, but they never let on, and it made me feel less lonely, and more like I had friends here. Lunch blasted by, sitting at the small table, squished into a group and then enduring Biology with a curious Edward. I dodged his questions, reciprocating with other questions about himself, which he didn't seem quite so keen on sharing. Mike kept me company in Gym, giving the teacher smiles when she gave us dirty looks. She ignored us, and we got away with not doing anything. The end of the day came with a sigh of relief, and I felt good that I already had such great friends. They all said goodbye to me, and I returned it, promising a get together sometime this weekend.
Jake loped towards me across the ground, his long legs carrying him to me within seconds. I jumped into his arms as he came within touching distance, and he greeted me just as enthusiastically.
"You look like you had a great day." Jake said cheerfully.
"I did." I said truthfully.
"It's great that you're making good friends here." Jake said.
"How was your day?" I asked as he set me back down onto the groud.
"Never mind that. I brought you a surprise." Jake turned me around and I saw Bina hurtling towards me, a determined look on her face and her long hair flowing behind her.
"Bina!" I grinned, jumping up.
"Bella. I miss you!" Bina and I met in a giant bear hug. "Jake told me what happened to you last night, and I'm here." She said. I then realized what great friends I had.
"Thanks Bine." I grinned.
"Well, well. Who is this?" Eric came into my sight. "A friend of yours Bella?"
"Unavailable." Bina smiled devilishly at him. He winked and walked off to his car. She drug me over to the truck, Jake sauntering along behind us.
"Oh my goodness. I can't believe that could happen to you." Bina said as soon as we were in the truck. Jake was driving, and I threw an arm across his lap as I talked to Bella.
"I know. But I was lucky." I replied, waving it off.
"You'll be glad to be away from all of that. La Push is full of drama lately. There's talk of having a council meeting." Bina said in an ominous voice.
"Bina..." Jake tried to shush her.
"No, I want to tell her first Jacob." Bina cut him off, and leaned around me and punched his shoulder.
"What's going on?" I asked, looking between the two.
"What's going on is that our best friend is crushed." Bina said, disgusted.
"Which one?" I was getting confused.
"Leah, of course. Her second cousin Emily, you remember her from when we were like, six. She came over last night while Sam was at Leah's. Something mysterious happened and now he's gone and broke up with Leah for Emily. Just like that." Bina snapped her fingers.
"Whoa. Didn't she tell us he promised that he wouldn't hurt her slash he would never leave her?" My mouth flew open at the news. My brain wouldn't process it.
"A guy named Paul has joined Sam's 'cult'." Jake put in, making quotations with his hands. He sneered at the fact.
"And the thing is, they're not even like, a gang. They're more like the peacekeepers of La Push. They've also been cliffdiving from the highest cliff, like they're so cool." Bina seemed excited at all the goings-on, and the available gossip.
"We're meeting Quil, Embry and Seth down at the beach. Right now, they're trying to drag Leah out of her bed. She's pretty depressed." Jake said.
"Stop the truck in this parking lot!" Bina yelled suddenly, We were just inside the reservation now, and she pointed wildly at an almost hidden lot. "We can walk to the beach!"
Jake silently pulled the truck into the lot and shut it off. He slipped the keys into his pants pocket as we all got out of the truck. He was quiet and thoughtful today, and he kept placing his hand on my shoulder, or the small of my back or my arm, almost reassuring me that he was there.
"I'm going to Leah's house." Bina had her phone open in her hand and was scrolling through a message. She looked up at us "I'll meet you guys down at the beach. She doesn't want your lovey-doveyness in her sight at the moment. You're going to have to tone it down." With that she turned and skipped away, out of the covered lot and I lost sight of her.
"Shall we go down to the beach?" I asked. Jake nodded and I turned to go, but suddenly I felt Jake grab my hand and he swung me back, quickly bringing my lips to his. I repsonded instantly, melting into his body. He broke away, his broad lips breaking into a smile like it was our little secret. He grabbed my hand as we walked out of the lot.
We arrived at the beach some time later to Quil, Embry and Seth sitting in a sand patch, looking sullen. They looked up at us as we came within talking distance, looking surprised at our arrival.
"Hey guys." I said, taking a seat next to Embry. He ducked his head shyly, not being the most outgoing of people. His hair hid his face.
"Hey Bella." Seth said, always content.
"So we heard what happened." Quil said, sliding closer to me. "And if it were up to me, I'd pound the shit out of the guy."
"Why thank you." I grinned. Quil had always had my back as a friend. "How are you today Embry?"
"I'm great." He replied shortly, holding eye contact with me for less than a second. I gave him a friendly elbow, passing off how hot his skin felt. Jake sighed.
"Embry is pretty mad about what happened as well, which is why he's acting so shyly." Jake punched Embry's leg.
"Can you believe that Paul is in on Sam's thing too?" Quil asked. "It's ridiculous."
"Everything is ridiculous lately. Too much drama has been going on." Jake replied.
"Guys!" Came Bina's voice from the path down to the beach. She came into view, skipping still, dragging Leah behind her. Leah looked awful. She hadn't brushed her hair in a while, her eyes were red-rimmed and she just looked wasted, sunken into herself. Like somebody had pulled a carpet from under her. I stood up when they reached us and pulled Leah to me, hugging her hard, because she really looked like she needed one. She hugged me back, weakly. The truth about it was, it freaked me out. Leah was the strong one, she was always level-headed and outspoken. I was scared for her.
Bina sat down next to Leah across the circle from me. I watched Leah, and she seemed to withdraw and sink into herself as everyone turned to look at her. Seth looked pained as he saw Leah's condition. She tried to hold her head up, to pretend that it wasn't bothering her, but you could tell she was ready to break down and hurl herself off a cliff. Her and Sam had been the golden couple, the cutest couple in the school, voted to last forever.
"So, did he give you a reason?" Quil was always the one to open his mouth first. I saw dirty looks all around as Leah's eyes widened.
"He said that he couldn't explain it to me, but it had to happen. I don't even understand what happened there." Leah said bitterly, her face contorting with pain and anger. "You should have felt it when he saw her. Just completely ignored me and drooled over her like a dog. What the hell?"
"Wow, right in front of you too." Jake showed his displeasure at what was happening.
"I blame this on Sam." Quil patted Leah's knee reassuringly. She jerked away.
"Don't touch me." She snarled. She sounded so fierce that Quil dropped his hand immediately, and the rest of us just stared at her.
"So, everything is pretty outrageous right now." Bina said, trying to break the awkwardness.
"Is he with her-with her now?" Seth asked meekly.
"What do you think?" Leah spat, and then sat back sulkily. We all made eye contact, quietly asking each other what was going on. "You don't know how hard it is." She said quietly, and she was right. None of us had ever had to go through what she just did.
"Well, we're here. You know that." Bina said, taking her hand. Leah only nodded, tears escaping her eyes. She quickly wiped them away.
"I'm not feeling too good today guys, I think I've got a fever. I'm going home." Embry said, standing up.
"Bye." Seth, Jake, Bina and I said together at the same time Quil said "Later bud." Leah only sniffed.
"See you later." He waved and left, walking down the beach.
"Embry was a little quiet today." Seth said, looking worried.
"You worry too much, Seth." I said, grinning at him. I reached over and messed up his dark hair. "It will make you old fast."
"Well, look at Leah." Seth said, jerking his thumb towards her. "Growing up with her is bound to do it." He grinned at Leah to show he was joking. She managed a small smile in return for her little brother.
"You guys are great to me, but I think that I'm just going to go home too." Leah said, standing up.
"Alright, bye." Quil said.
"See you later." Bina looked up at her.
"I hope you're okay." I said, trying to be reassuring.
"See ya." Jake and Seth threw in as she turned around the way she came. Once she was gone, Quil turned back around.
"What do you think made Sam go to Emily?" He whispered. "I mean, he and Leah were pretty intimate."
"There was soemthing supernatural about it when he saw Emily." Seth said, then added sadly "I'm worried about her."
"We all are, bud." Bina threw in, pulling herself towards Seth. Her and her silly little thing for Seth. I gave her a look, and she mouthed 'what' at me.
"Not the time." I whispered.
"Emily is pretty." Quil said. "I saw her earlier." He smiled over at Jake, who just rolled his eyes. He subtly wrapped his hand around my kneecap, giving it a small squeeze. He gave me a small smile, flicking a piece of hair out of his eyes.
"Why would she do that to Leah though? They're blood. And that runs deep." Bina said, and she sounded unnerved about the whole situation.
"You don't understand it." A deep voice came from behind us. I turned around and Jared was standing there, an angry looking Paul behind him, who looked like he was almost vibrating. Like Sam and Jared, Paul had grown about a foot, developed very large muscles and shaved his hair off. They were both wearing only cutoff shorts, leaving their well-muscled chests and feet bare. Jared looked at Jake with a kind of sad apprehensiveness.
"What don't we understand exactly?" Bina threw in, always the loudmouth of the group.
"It's not a good idea to be hanging around her anymore right now." Jared said, looking into the sky, completely ignoring Bina's question. We all looked up to where he was looking, but when I glanced back, they were walking away. But before we even got the chance to question it, a downpour started, dropping big fat drops of rain on our heads. We shrieked and all began running for cover.
"Bina's basement!" I heard Quil yell. Bina's house was the closest to where we were, and was a popular hang-out place after school. The rain didn't look like it was going to let up either, and I was already soaked to the skin.