A/N-Once again, thanks for coming back to the slowest-ever-to-update fic in history :)
Thanks to my betas SqueakyZorro and Batgirl8968. You ladies are awesome!
I own nothing.
Previously on Howl at the Moon, Nessie was asked out on a date by a boy she met in a bookstore, and she was caught off-guard by Jake's surprising lack of a reaction to it.
Nessie stared at her reflection in the full-size mirror that hung on her closet door. In under an hour, she would be on her first date, sitting next to a boy, who she had to admit to herself was pretty cute, probably sharing a bucket of popcorn with him and wishing the entire time he was Jake.
But Jake didn't seem to care that she had a date. In the past twenty-four hours, he'd barely said a word to her. They hadn't laughed, they hadn't joked, they hadn't even caught each other in the usual sneaky glances they'd been sharing so often lately. Nessie couldn't help but feel hurt and confused by his reaction and spent most of the day on the phone with her family, hoping they would help her understand. After much persuasion from Bella, Esme, Alice, and especially Rosalie, she had decided to go and enjoy herself. If Jake didn't care, then why should she? they'd said. "You can't not live your life because you're waiting for someone else to come around," Rosalie remarked.
Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle on the other hand, sided with Jake on the matter, insisting that he really did care and was probably quite jealous over the situation but didn't dare say a word because he was a guy after all, and guys kept their feelings to themselves.
"I'm sorry I'm not there with you, baby girl," Jasper had said. "But it doesn't take an empath to know what he's feeling right now."
Then why doesn't he say something? Nessie had thought to herself.
And then there was Edward, who of course was not happy with the situation but begrudgingly conceded to letting his only daughter go out on her first date only after Bella had refused to touch or even speak to him until he did.
So now here she was, her bronze curls cascading down around her shoulders, wearing her new white, strapless top that hung mid-thigh over her dark jeans. It might have been a plain outfit, but she added a bit of flare to it with the pink skull earrings and matching necklace she'd bought the day before. Fitting for a monster movie, she thought.
She slipped on a pair of gold flats and pushed a stray strand of curls out of her face before heading downstairs and stopping once she reached the bottom step.
Jake looked up at her from the couch, and his breath caught in his throat as his eyes grew large. "You're going out in that?"
At his words, a wave of self-consciousness washed over Nessie, and she started to worry her outfit wasn't as nice as she'd thought. "What's wrong with it?"
"Huh, well, for one thing, you're pretty much naked."
"I'm wearing jeans!"
"Yeah, and half a shirt."
"Don't listen to him, Nessie." Leah hissed as she stood and shot Jake an angry glance. "You're beautiful. He's just jealous it's not him you dressed up for. You snooze, you lose, Jake. Come on, let's go."
Nessie kept her eyes on the floor as Leah grabbed her wrist and led her out of the cabin. She didn't see Jake's body tremble as she walked past him or hear the television remote crack and shatter in his hand after she walked out the door.
#
Sitting in the front seat of the Hummer as they traveled down the bumpy dirt road out of the woods and into town, Nessie wondered if she was making the right decision. Even if they moved to Elkins, even if she actually developed feelings for Shawn, they could never be together. A human and an immortal half-vampire wouldn't exactly work out. And it wouldn't be fair to Shawn to start something that would ultimately end in hurt feelings and broken hearts.
Deep in thought, Nessie didn't notice when Leah pulled up in front of the movie theater until she felt something bump her arm. She looked over to see Leah smirking at her with her fist propped in the air, ready for another swing, and then she turned her gaze to the window and saw Shawn standing off to the side of the ticket counter.
Nessie sighed and nervously twisted her bracelet around her wrist. Jake must have been right about her growth spurt. The bracelet was getting tight enough to cut off her circulation, if that had been something she had to worry about. Oh, Jake. Why do you have to be such an ass? I wish it was you I was going to the movies with right now.
"Hey, you're not backing out are you? He's right there." Leah pointed to the ticket counter.
Nessie shook her head. "No, not backing out. Just wishing he was someone else."
"Yeah, me too, kid." Leah sighed and leaned her head back against the seat. "But you know, I think this is a good thing for you…going out, meeting other guys. Sometimes life doesn't work out the way we hope."
"You don't think Jake and I are meant to be?" Nessie whispered, the pain at the statement coming through her voice. Was Leah confirming her worst fear, that the imprint was a mistake?
"I'm not saying that at all, Ness. I'm just saying that sometimes things work out differently than we expect, and we need to be prepared to adapt if we have to and let go of the things that we were once so sure about."
Nessie realized Leah wasn't talking about her and Jake's situation as much as she was talking about her own. She couldn't imagine the pain Leah must have felt after losing Sam to his imprint, but somehow, she'd managed to get through it. Nessie suddenly felt guilty for never having considered what Leah must have felt the entire time she'd been whining and complaining about Jake not noticing her. If Leah had been able to handle losing the love of her life completely, then surely Nessie could suck it up for a couple hours away from Jake.
"Thank you, for everything, Leah," Nessie said, giving Leah a sincere smile.
Leah cocked an eyebrow, not entirely sure what Nessie was referring to, but smiled back. "You better get going now."
Nessie took a deep breath. She hopped out of the Hummer, eager to get her date started and over with, and walked over to Shawn.
He smiled and held up two tickets. "I'm really glad you came or else I would've been out ten bucks."
Nessie smiled shyly. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that though."
Shawn pulled open the theater door and held it for her. "Hey, no worries. I asked you, didn't I?"
The pair walked up to the concession stand, Shawn buying a bucket of popcorn and two sodas for the both of them, and then headed into the theater, taking a couple of seats in the middle.
An awkward silence filled the space between them as they sat in the dimly lit theater, and Nessie couldn't help but feel anxious for the movie to start. She never thought she would be so happy when The Wolf Man finally appeared across the screen and Lon Chaney began inadvertently terrorizing the villagers.
But then she began thinking back to the first time she'd seen The Wolf Man. It was her second Halloween, and she had gone to her Grandpa Charlie's house where Jake was going to take her trick or treating for the first time. After they'd collected two pillow cases worth of candy, Nessie wearing the purple faerie costume Alice had designed for her, they went back to Charlie's house where the three had a monster movie marathon of their own. The Wolf Man hadn't scared her too much, and she'd even laughed at some of the sideways glances Charlie was giving Jake throughout the movie. but once Frankenstein came on, Nessie burst into tears, unable to keep from feeling sorry for the monster that wasn't a monster at all, just a greatly misunderstood creature. Their night of fun had turned into a mess, and Jake spent the rest of the night comforting Nessie until Edward and Bella arrived to pick her up.
Nessie found it difficult to concentrate through most of the movie, her mind continuing to wander to various thoughts and memories of times she shared with Jake. When the credits finally rolled across the screen, she couldn't help but feel relieved and followed Shawn out into the lobby of the theater.
Shawn excused himself to the men's room, so she headed into the ladies room, pretending to need a bathroom break herself, and checked her cell phone. She had texts from Alice and Leah, asking how the date was going and if she wanted to be picked up yet. She responded with a quick okay and no and stuck her cell back in her pocket, washed the popcorn grease off of her hands, and walked back out into the lobby. She saw Shawn standing along the wall next to a movie poster for some old cult classic she'd once heard about called Face Punch and walked over to him. "Should we go back in for the next movie?"
He shrugged and then sighed. "The thing is, the next movie is the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and honestly, I hate that movie. But there's a pizza place around the corner, and I was kind of wondering if you would mind a change of plans?"
Nessie shook her head. "No, I don't mind. Pizza's good."
"Okay. Awesome," Shawn said, seemingly relieved, and led her out of the theater and down the street to a small, mom-and-pop pizza place on the corner.
The scent of garlic rushed out at her as Shawn pulled the door open, and Nessie's stomach instantly growled. She knew it wasn't pizza her stomach was after though, and she fought back the frustrated tears that tried to take hold. Not again. I just hunted yesterday.
She quickly pulled herself together and followed Shawn to a corner table that was covered in the stereotypical red and white checkered table cloth with a red, partially melted candle decorating the center. There were only two other couples in the small restaurant, and Nessie was relieved not to be surrounded by too many people at the moment.
"What can I get you kids?" the waitress asked after giving them a minute to look over their menus.
"I'll have a coke," Shawn answered, and Nessie replied with, "Same for me."
"And to eat?"
Shawn looked across the table at Nessie. "Is pepperoni okay?"
She nodded and the waitress walked away, only to return with their drinks moments later.
The two sipped their cokes before Shawn smiled shyly and broke the awkward silence between them.
"Sorry, I'm kind of new to all this. Usually, when people around here go out, it's with someone we've known all our lives, so we just kind of pick up the conversation from where we left off in school or something."
"It's okay," Nessie answered with a reassuring smile. "I'm from a small town, too, so I guess I kind of understand. When you're around the same people all of the time, it can be difficult to become comfortable with someone new. I just hope that if we end up moving here people will be as nice as you."
Now it was Shawn's turn to give her the reassuring smile. "Everybody here is really nice. You don't have anything to worry about. Where are you from?"
"Forks, Washington. It's not much bigger than Elkins."
Shawn laughed. "Must not be a lot of stuff that goes on there then."
Nessie held back snort. "No, it's usually pretty quiet." Usually.
"So, what grade are you in?"
"Oh, uh, I'm homeschooled, actually." Nessie looked down at her drink and nervously stirred her straw around the glass. "But I'll finally be going to an actual school wherever we end up. I'll be a junior."
"Cool, me too. Maybe we'll have some classes together."
The waitress reappeared from the kitchen with their pizza and a couple of plates, and they each grabbed a slice. Nessie was hesitant about eating pizza for the second day in a row, but her growling stomach quickly convinced her.
They continued to talk over dinner, learning little things about each other, and Nessie found herself having a much better time than she had expected, possibly even developing a friendship that she thought would be nice to have if the Cullens moved to Elkins.
Before either had realized, an hour had passed, and Shawn quickly paid the bill so they could get back to the movie theater when Leah was scheduled to pick Nessie up. But as they approached the front, Shawn grabbed Nessie's hands with his, pulling her to a stop, and turning her to face him.
"Thanks for coming tonight, Nessie. Maybe we can do something again before you leave."
"Yeah, maybe, that would be nice," she answered.
Then Shawn stepped in closer to Nessie, and her heart began to pound. She knew exactly what he was about to do, and to her surprise, she wanted him to. As he leaned in closer, Nessie wondered what it would feel like to be kissed, to have another pair of lips on hers. Would she know what to do, how to move her lips? Should she close her eyes or keep them open? Would there be tongue? She didn't think she was ready for tongue just yet.
As he inched closer and closer, she could almost feel his lips against hers already. They would be soft and smooth, and they would glide across hers like silk, yet they would powerfully claim hers as their own all at the same time.
And just as Shawn leaned in close enough for his lips to brush against hers, Nessie turned her head, and he instead met her cheek, pulling back in surprise.
"Thanks for inviting me, Shawn. You can call me if you still want to go out again," Nessie said, her face flushing as she ran off toward the Hummer and jumped in, slamming the door behind her. She crouched down into her seat, trying to hide her face.
"What was that?" Leah asked with a gasp.
"Nothing. Can we just go home please."
"That bad?"
Nessie shook her head. No. It wasn't bad at all.
#
Jake paced back and forth in the kitchen, the uncertainty of what could be happening to his imprint driving him to think the worst. He knew all about teenage boys. After all, he was one once. He knew exactly how they thought and what they thought about, and if that little bastard laid a finger on her, he would rip it off. Followed by the rest of his fingers, then the rest of his limbs, and finally his–
"Dude, calm down. Nessie's fine. She and Leah will be back any minute now," Seth said over his video game.
"How do I know she's fine, Seth? I'm not there. I don't know that she's fine. He could be trying God-knows-what with her. She's inexperienced. She doesn't know how our minds work."
"Jake," Seth said, calmly. "She's on a date with a human. The worst thing that could happen is he tries something, and she eats him."
Jake scowled in disgust. "That's not funny."
"I'm just saying," Seth continued, forcefully pushing the buttons on the controller, "you're making a bigger deal out of all this than there really is. Now, what you need to do is hurry the hell up and profess your undying love to her, and then we can all live happily ever after."
Jake sighed and leaned back against the counter, softly thumping the back of his head against the cabinets. Confess his feelings to her? He sure as hell couldn't do that. He wouldn't. It wasn't his choice. It was Nessie's. And until she said the word, told him she was ready, and he felt that she really was, there would be no professing of anything.
The sound of crunching gravel rattled in the driveway, and Jake fought every urge to run outside and make sure Nessie had come back with Leah, unscathed. Instead, he remained where he stood, his hands gripping the edge of the counter as he unsuccessfully tried to keep his emotions under control. But as Leah walked into the cabin and Nessie followed behind, the tension he had been holding in all evening boiled over. She smelled like him.
"How was your date?" Jake asked between gritted teeth. "Was it everything you ever imagined?"
Nessie looked across the room to where Jake stood, grimacing in the kitchen. "What?"
He could feel her getting upset and took a breath, trying to ring in his jealousy…and his alpha. "Did you have fun?" he asked, a bit calmer.
"Oh, yeah, I guess." She shrugged.
"What did you guys do?"
"Uh, well, we went to the movies and then we had pizza."
"And?"
"And what, Jacob?"
"And what else? Did he try to get you in the backseat of his mom's car or something? That's what human teenage boys usually do on dates, isn't it?"
"What?"
Seth and Leah shot each other an uncomfortable glance as they both tried to sink into the chairs in the living room. They knew it was about to get ugly, and neither really wanted to be around to see it.
"Don't try to act like nothing happened, Nessie. I can smell him all over you!"
"I smell like popcorn and garlic. I do not smell like Shawn because nothing happened," Nessie hissed, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Jake. She had never felt so angry in her life. "Who died and made you Edward?"
"Right there!" Jake stormed out of the kitchen, stopping just inches from Nessie, hovering over her, and pointing to spot on her cheek. "I can smell him right there."
"Are you really doing this right now?"
"Did he try anything? Make you uncomfortable? Do I have to go kill him?"
"Jacob, you are an ass!" Nessie stormed up the stairs to her room, and Jake followed closely behind, stopping in her doorway.
"I'm an ass? I'm supposed to protect you from guys like that, not let you run off with them."
"Protect me from guys like what, Jacob? Guys who ask a girl out and then pay for their movie tickets, and their popcorn and soda, and then their dinner? Guys who are enough of a gentlemen to open doors for their dates, and ask them questions, and show them a nice time, and then don't complain when all they get in return is a simple kiss on the cheek at the end of the night? Well, guess what, Jake? That's what type of guy Shawn is, and I had fun. And guess what else? He asked me out again, and I said yes. So if you don't want me to go out with him, give me one good reason why I shouldn't!"
Jake stood in the doorway, willing his brain to form the sentence, willing his mouth to speak, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't say the words Nessie was looking for, the words he knew she wanted to hear.
And then the door slammed in his face.
#
Anger the likes of nothing Nessie had ever felt before surged through her. Jake had just crossed a huge line, stepping into her personal business when he had no right to.
Who does he think he is, trying to tell me who I can and can't go out with? It's not like he's ever going to ask me anyway. And to Nessie, Jake had pretty much confirmed that thought with his silence.
She collapsed on top of her bed just as her cell phone buzzed in her pocket.
Hi, sweetie. Back from your date yet? Bella texted.
Yes. And Jake's a huge ass. And I don't want to talk about it, she replied back before tossing her cell on the night stand.
Nessie remained unmoving on her bed in the dark for hours, listening to the sounds downstairs – Seth yelling at his video games, Leah yelling at Jake – and when the TV was finally shut off, and the showers stopped running, and the lights clicked off, and the last door closed, and the irregular snores that echoed through the hall finally reached a steady rhythm, still she remained. She watched as the red numbers on the clock on her nightstand told of each passing hour – 1:18, 2:36, 3:45 – and she wished for daylight to come soon, as the darkness brought her more and more unsettling thoughts.
If Jake didn't want her, and if he was going to continue to be a jerk, then what was the point of even being here anymore? She just wished she could disappear, that the earth would just swallow her up, and she would no longer have to live knowing that someone who obviously resented her so much was, by some cruel and unfair act of fate, stuck with her. Forever.
The thought, filling her with nothing but pain and guilt, wrenched through her, and the need to run as far and as fast as she could quickly replaced the lethargy and uncertainty she'd felt for the unfamiliar forest. She stood as quietly as possible and tiptoed over to her window, pushing it open, careful to not let it make so much as a squeak. A single, loud snore sounded through the hall, followed by silence, and Nessie froze, waiting for Jake to burst through her door, catching her before she even had a chance to escape. But the steady rhythm of his snoring returned and Nessie lifted one leg, followed by the other, out through the window. She crouched down on the slanted porch roof and leapt off, hitting the ground with the grace of a leopard, and sprinted away from the cabin and into the forest.
She ran for miles, deeper and deeper into the dark, Appalachian woods, but when it became clear to her that no one was following her, that they didn't even know she was gone, she slowed to a stop. She knew she'd have to return eventually, but at the moment she wanted to enjoy the peace of the forest. She'd never been allowed to wander before, to enjoy a peaceful moment without someone coming up behind her, whether it be one of her parents doting on her, or Emmett trying to teach her some defensive move by running up behind her, or Jake just trying to protect and be a friend to her, like he used to be.
Now she almost felt as if somebody was trying to trick her, that they were hiding behind a tree just waiting for the second she let her guard down to jump out. But there wasn't a soul to be found, and she tried to shake off the unease.
As Nessie wandered farther, she caught a scent on the breeze, and began to follow it, knowing that it was now no use to fight it. Her instincts were taking over. She was thirsty, and there was a deer no more than a mile away.
She stalked her prey slowly, careful not to step on any fallen leaves or branches that might sound and scare it away. She found it grazing on some leaves that had fallen on the forest floor, and just as she was about to pounce, a flash of lightening lit up the sky, followed by the rumble of thunder that echoed through the forest, spooking the deer and sending it running.
Nessie bounded off after it in chase, which because of the speed she had inherited from her father, proved to be nothing but a short sprint for her. She caught up with her prey quickly and forcefully brought it to the ground, gripping both of her hands around its neck, snapping it instantly. And with the frenzy of the kill and the thirst overpowering her senses, she sunk her teeth deep into its jugular and drank.
At first, the warm liquid flowed easily into her mouth and down her throat, but as it waned, her body responded instinctively, greedily sucking on the neck of the animal, eager to drain every last drop. Pulling her head back, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and licked the final trace of blood off. She pushed herself up off the ground, looking sadly at the animal below her, guilt creeping in as her senses slowly began to return to their usual state, and she realized she wasn't alone.
Her eyes made contact with those of the creature that was peering at her through the dark, and then the black, massive wolf slowly emerged from behind a cluster of pine trees before her. The shock of its sudden presence combined with the fear of the unfamiliar wolf took hold of her, and Nessie froze.
Could it be? Was there another tribe, another pack of wolves?
As she examined it, she realized that this wolf was slightly different than her friends – its fur, though dirty and matted, was thinner and shorter than the Quileute wolves', a physical trait inherited from living in a warmer climate, she suspected, and its body was taller yet leaner. But just as she gained the courage to speak to it and ask it where it had come from, another wolf emerged from the trees behind her and snarled, and both wolves charged her from each side.
She leapt, attempting in vain to hoist herself up into the tree branch above her, but something she had never felt before – pain – surged through her right calf as the wolf's teeth grabbed hold, slicing open the muscle like a razor blade as it pulled her to the ground, landing on her back.
The two wolves hovered over her, growling, their faces just inches from hers, and for the second time in her brief life, as images of happier moments with Jake played like familiar reruns in her mind, Nessie knew she was about to die.
A/N-This is an awful cliffie to leave you all with, but I'm going to try my absolute hardest not to let the next chapter be too long to update. Thanks for sticking with me! :)
