Author's Note: Here's chapter ten! I used some pieces of the book for the legend part, cuz I didn't feel like rewording it all the way. I mean, how could I? So please excuse me for that. Also, I am sorry that this chapter is shorter than some of the previous ones - I cut it off where it was appropriate!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Chapter 10: Legends?
(BPOV)
Billy and Jacob smiled happily as they entered the house, Jacob pushing Billy's wheelchair. "Bella! Wow, look how you've grown," Billy said, eyes twinkling. He seemed to ignore the fact that I was a mess of black – my entire outfit was black colored today, including my make-up – and that I couldn't smile to the same extent of cheerfulness.
Dinner was a success. Jacob and I made small talk, mostly about how Jacob builds cars, his family, etcetera, while Billy and Charlie had talked on other topics. I was soon interrupted by Billy when we started talking about school. He asked about my grades, what classes I hated, and other non-important things. He finally ended his questioning with, "So, made any friends?"
I nodded. "Yeah, actually. A girl named Angela Weber started talking to me on Friday; but other than her, only Edward Cullen." I did not expect the outburst that Billy made.
"CULLEN?" and so, while he raved about how I shouldn't hang around them, and Charlie tried to calm him down and argue that the Cullens were great people, Jacob and I slid from the table, unnoticed.
"What was that about?" I asked, wide-eyed. We sat on the stairs on the front porch.
Jacob grimaced. "Well…he doesn't really…like the Cullens. He believes in this old Quileute legend passed down from generation to generation."
"And you don't?"
"No," he said with a snort.
"What is the legend?" I asked, looking at the fifteen-year-old boy. He grimaced.
"Oops, I'm not supposed to tell anyone."
"It's ok, I swear, I won't tell anyone." I smiled assuredly at him.
When he didn't respond, I pouted, deciding to take the flirtatious route.
I'd hardly ever flirted, so it was pretty obvious, but Jacob didn't seem to notice that my flirting was false. I could see his blush despite his bronze skin, and it made me giggle.
Jacob remained silent, and for a minute, I thought he wasn't going to answer. Finally, he spoke. And he was grinning.
"You like scary stories?"
I smiled, and nodded. "Hell yeah."
"Well," he paused. "To start, the Cullens aren't allowed to come onto the reservation…"
I frowned. "Why?"
"I'll get to that. I have to start from the beginning. Do you know any Quileute legends?"
I frowned, pursing my lips, and shook my head.
"Well, one tells that we are descended from wolves – that the wolves are still our brothers. It's against tribal law to kill one.
"Then, well, there are legends of…" he paused, to give it effect. When he spoke, his voice was lower. "…the cold ones."
"The cold ones?" I asked, perplexed and intrigued. Who were they?
"Yes. There have been stories about the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and many just recent. According to legend, my great-grandfather knew some. He made the treaty that kept them off our land." He quieted, and rolled his eyes.
"You're great-grandfather?" I pushed.
"He was a tribal elder, like my father. The cold ones are natural enemies of the wolf. Well, not the natural elders of the wolf, but of the men who turned into wolves – like our ancestors. You'd probably know them as werewolves."
"Werewolves have enemies?" I asked, somewhat surprised. This story had certainly taken a turn. I mean...werewolves?
"Only one. The cold ones are traditionally our enemies. However, this clan came to our territory when my great-grandfather was still chief. But…these ones were different. They never hunted like others of their kind did – they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. So, just to be safe, my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they stayed off our land, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces." He gave me a wink.
"But, if there was no risk, then why…?" I was confused by this point. I was trying to hide how seriously I was taking his legend.
"Well, there's always a risk for people to be around cold ones, even when they were civilized like this clan. You never know, they might get too hungry to resist."
"Um…what do you mean, 'civilized'?"
"They claimed not to hunt humans. They said that they preyed on animals instead, because they felt it was wrong to kill humans."
"So…how do the Cullens fit into this? Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?"
"No," he paused dramatically. "They are the same ones."
I could feel the blood drain from my face. He must have thought it was from fear, so he smiled and continued.
"There are some more now, a new female and a new male. In my great-grandfather's time, they knew the leader as Carlisle. They'd been here and gone before your people even arrived."
"And what are they?" I swallowed a lump in my throat. "The cold ones?"
He gave me a dark smile. "Blood-drinkers. Your people call them vampires."
If any color was left in my face, it was gone now.
Jacob laughed beside me. "You have goose bumps!"
"You're an awesome story teller," I said in a forced-calm voice.
"It's some crazy stuff," he admitted. "No wonder my dad doesn't tell anyone. Huh, I guess I just violated the treaty."
"I'll take it to my grave." I swore.
"Seriously, don't tell Charlie. He's mad because we haven't gone to the hospital since Dr. Carlisle started working there."
"Of course I won't!"
"So, do you think of us as a bunch of superstitious natives?" he said this cheerfully, but I saw him grimace out of the corner of my eye.
"No. I just think you're very good at telling scary stories." I held up my arm to show the still-present goose bumps.
"Cool," Jacob smiled.
Just then, Charlie wheeled Billy out. "I'm sorry," Billy grumbled to Charlie.
"It's fine. I just don't understand." Jacob, with Charlie's assistance, got Billy to the car.
"You're driving," Charlie accused Jacob.
He gave a small grin. "Gotta get him around somehow…" he caught my eye and waved. I returned the gesture, and then walked inside to go to bed.
I really did like Jacob. He was a sweet kid. I could tell he had a crush on me, which I found to be cute.
I was too stirred-up by the story Jacob had just told me to go to sleep, so instead I decided I'd draw up a hot bath. I was in the water for over a half an hour, mulling things over. It was almost easy to picture Edward as a vampire. Then I decided it was time to get out of the water before I either went crazy over such ridiculous thoughts or fell asleep.
That night, I dreamed.
Jacob was standing in front of me, in a world surrounded by green. The forest. He was yelling, but I couldn't hear him.
Suddenly, a blinding glowing light shone, and I turned to see Edward standing, as pale as ever. He had fangs and a small amount of blood was on the side of his mouth. He held out his hand. "I won't hurt you, Bella. Please, come here."
I was about to take a step, when Jacob suddenly disappeared from view - but he didn't, I realized: he had turned into a russet-colored wolf.
He charged towards Edward, and I ran after him. "NO! Leave Edward alone!" I shouted.
I woke up with a start.
Sweat poured down my neck, and the blankets were tangled around me. I glanced out the window, and saw that it was still dark. Deciding I couldn't sleep anymore, I stretched, stood, and turned on my laptop. I glanced at the clock: it was 4:34.
After eating breakfast and preparing for school, I ran upstairs and logged onto the internet. I went to my favorite search engine and typed in "vampire".
Most of what I found were advertisements for movies. Eventually, I found a site called "Vampire Legends".
In it talked about various legends, most of which was nonsense. One, however, spoke of good vampires, ones that fought against the bad ones.
Maybe the Cullens aren't bad…I thought, but then I shrugged. It didn't really matter. It was hard enough going a day without friends.
With a sigh, I shut off my computer and drove myself to school.
A/N: So, what did ya think? Please, review! A click and a couple of seconds is all it takes!