Chapter 11- a legend

There are a lot of things we don't want to know about the people we love. –Fight Club

"Yo, pass the hotdogs."

"Quil, that's like your ninth hotdog. You're officially cut off." I told him, kicking sand in his general direction as I munched on the veggie burger Emily had so graciously brought for me.

"But Jake's had at least ten!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at Jacob.

Jake grinned at me. "Sky likes me better."

I smirked at him before glancing back towards the direction of the woods again. I kept expecting Paul to walk out, but he hasn't yet. I was pretty proud of my little inspirational go-get-'em talk, and admittedly a bit disappointed that he apparently isn't listening to it.

Then I reminded myself that it was Paul, and I stopped caring just like that.

I smiled at the soft crackle of the fire as I let my mind drift off aimlessly. I could get used to this.

"Someone looks happy." A deep voice rumbled close to my ear as a pair of arms engulfed me into warmth.

I sighed with content and scooted farther into Jacob's lap. He chuckled. "Don't get too comfortable yet. I have someone I want you to meet." He said, standing up and offering me his hand.

I brushed the loose grains of sand off my palms before accepting it and letting him lead me over to a group of important-looking older men.

"Dad, this is Skylar. Skylar, this is my Dad, Billy." Jacob introduced us as he gestured to a man in a wheelchair with long hair and a cowboy hat.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Skylar." Jacob's father said with heavy emphasis on the finally.

I grinned at his attempt to embarrass his son, shaking his hand. "You too Mr. Black." I said, trying my very hardest to be polite and hold in all of my sassy retorts about having this meet-the-parents moment thrust upon me unexpectedly.

So far so good though.

"Please, call me Billy." He suggested.

"Oh, thank heavens. Mr. Black was such a mouthful." And, there we go- awkward comment number one.

Damnit.

I shut my mouth quickly after that, unable to take the sarcastic response back, but still regretting it immensely. Jake was no help at all. He merely snorted and smirked at me.

Thankfully, Billy seemed to have a good sense of humor and took my rudeness in stride. He laughed and responded good-naturedly. "I don't think it was the length of the name that prompted me to suggest you call me Billy, but more the formality."

I laughed along nervously. "Yeah, that makes more sense."

He shook his head in amusement, looking between me and Jacob with a smile. "Well, it was wonderful meeting you Skylar. I have to go get ready to tell the legends. You kids have fun." He winked before wheeling away.

I practically attacked Jacob as soon as Billy was out of earshot. "Are you crazy!" I hissed, hitting him with my hands. I'm pretty sure it caused me more pain than it did him. "You... you… Sadist!" I accused.

He furrowed his eyebrows at me, an amused smile on his face. "What are you talking about Skylar?" He asked rather genuinely.

"You need to warn me before introducing me to your father! I need time to properly prepare myself."

He smiled down at me. "You did fine Kai. I think he likes you."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on, the legends are about to start." He said, leading me over to an empty spot around the fire where people were already beginning to assemble in small crowds.

Billy swerved up to the fire in his wheelchair and a hush fell upon the crowd. I chose this moment to whisper my questions into Jacob's ear. "So, when you say legends are we talking like, superhero stories, or…?" I trialed off. Across the fire Embry snorted back laughter.

Jacob smirked. "Why don't you wait ten seconds and find out?"

I shrugged. "I'm impatient. It's the fault of growing up in a household full of men in a perpetual hurry."

He raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't call it a fault. More of a… quirk."

I tapped my finger to my chin contemplatively. "Yes, but modern day society generally regards impatience as a negative trait. So therefore it is a fault." I argued.

"Yes, but you wear it with such a cute charm that it can't be considered anything other than a quirk."

I glared at him for a moment, and, unable to come up with a witty rejoinder, finally settled on a weak "'Tis a matter of opinion." And gave up.

Billy cleared his throat and all lingering conversations immediately ceased, leaving nothing to permeate the pure silence except for the occasional crackle of the powerfully glowing fire. Like a king issuing a royal decree, Billy began to speak.

"From the beginning, the Quileutes were a small people…" I listened to the story slowly unfold while staring transfixed at the fire casting lights and shadows upon the sand. As he wove his intricate tale, Billy became a different person. No longer the caring father I had met mere moments ago, he was now the keeper of history- the leader burdened with the task of continuing the oral tradition of the tribe.

I could feel Jacob staring at me the whole time- clearly not as affected as I was by these legends he must have heard over and over again so many times. But I couldn't look away.

I was trapped by the sight of the roaring fire and the sound of the legends as they implanted themselves in my mind. I half expected the fire to start turning colors or making images out of the smoke like some sort of Disney movie. And I swear I could hear the sonorous echo of beating drums in the background.

It was surreal.

"And so the sons of our tribe again carry the burden and share the sacrifice of their fathers before them." Billy ended his story. There was a small smattering of applause and I could already feel the magic floating away.

I blinked a few times and looked away from the fire as if awakening from a dream.

"Well?" Jacob asked in his endearing way, immediately crushing whatever was left of the trance that still held me. "What did you think?"

"That was amazing." I breathed honestly.

He grinned. "I knew you'd like them."

I smiled back sheepishly. "Yeah, that's a bit of an understatement. Your dad really has a knack for storytelling." I complimented.

"That he does, Ole Billy." Embry interrupted, shoving his large body in between us and throwing his arms around both our shoulders.

"But let's talk about what we really want to talk about, hm?"He said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

I sighed. "And what would that be Embry?" I asked, taking the bait.

"This horrible sexual tension between you two!" He exclaimed passionately. "I mean, come on! I can feel it, and I'm sitting all the way over there." He said, gesturing his hands wildly. "And what is this Jake tells me about a kiss?"

"Kiss?" I asked innocently. "What kiss?"

Embry shook his head in disbelief. "I knew it. He was lyin' all along. It's okay Sky." He consoled. "You can do better." For this, Jake hit him on the arm.

"You could do me." Embry suggested with an upwards nod. And for this he got a punch on both arms, one from me and one from Jacob.

"Okay, okay, geez. Don't do me. I'm way out of your league anyway." He grumbled, rubbing the arm that Jacob had hit.

"Seriously?" I asked Jacob, leaning over Embry as if it somehow made our conversation more private. "Of all the people to tell, you choose this fool?"

"Hey! I'm right here you know." Embry said, feigning insult.

Jacob merely ignored him. "Him? He's harmless. Besides, I'm sure you told Kelsey."

"No, actually-"

"Tell me what?" Kelsey asked from across the fire, hearing her name and hating to be out of the loop.

I groaned. "Jesus Christ Jacob, why don't we just announce it to the whole universe while we're at it? We can make flyers and maybe hold a meeting. Hell, let's just see if we can get a spot on national news. The more people that know the better!" I said sarcastically.

Jake grinned easily. "I have no problems with that."

"I'm way ahead of you babe." Embry winked mischievously at me before standing up on a log. "Attention! Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please? Thank you. I have a very important announcement to make-"

I jumped up, my self-preservations instincts kicking in. I threw my hand over his mouth and began to speak over him, not letting go despite his struggling.

"Yes! An announcement. Very important. And the announcement is…" I racked my brains for something, anything. "Embry is pregnant! And the baby… is, um… The baby is Paul's!" I said, blurting out the first name that came to mind. "Embry is pregnant with Paul's baby." I announced.

There was confused silence until Jacob started clapping. Hesitantly, people followed his lead. "He's gonna be a daddy!" I exclaimed one last time before sitting back down and pulling Embry with me.

He looked shocked. "I will never live that down." He stated, monotone.

I tried not to look smug. "Don't mess with me."

Jacob, meanwhile, was cracking up, practically in stitches. "That was hilarious." He said between laughs.

Embry got up, looking zombie-like. "Excuse me while I go throw myself into the fire." He said before walking away slowly.

I looked after him, feeling the slightest bit of remorse. "He's joking, right? He'll be okay?" I clarified with Jacob, not wanting to be cruel.

"Who, Embry? Yeah, he's fine. Besides, he needs a good dose of his own medicine every once in a while."

My worry was quickly put to the side when Quil's booming voice declared "Hey, look who decided to join the party!"

I glanced behind me and saw Paul making his way over to the crowd. Sam walked up to him and they spoke in terse, inaudible statements for a second before Sam gave him what appeared to be a nod of approval and they both sauntered up.

Emily, always the mother, walked straight up to him and gave him a big hug which he surprisingly returned. I guess you learn pretty quickly that turning down a hug from Emily is a big no-no.

He made brief eye contact with me but in no way acknowledged my existence or our previous conversation. I was okay with that. Instead of following my advice, however, he just sat down and started making himself a hot dog.

Whatever.

I was okay with that too, the asshole.

I rolled my eyes at his stubborn, prideful behavior. I felt a tug on my shirt and I looked down to see Claire looking up at me with innocent, expectant eyes.

"Will you come build a sandcastle with me, Sky?" She asked so endearingly that I found it impossible to say no.

I smiled at her and nodded yes, excusing myself from Jacob as I strolled to the waterline hand in hand with the little girl.

Five minutes into our sandcastle-building experience she had already deemed my architectural skills not up to par and started giving me orders. "No, you're using the wrong sand!" She called hurriedly before I attempted to construct anything out of it.

"I thought sand was all the same." I responded in confusion, dusting my hands off.

"No, no. I can do it. You build the moat." She bossed me around.

"Alright." I said, holding my hands up and following submissively. I experimented at first with digging using only my hands, but that soon proved to be wholly unproductive.

I surveyed the surrounding area and noticed a flat rock that looked to be perfect for digging lying in the sand a few yards away. "I'll be right back Claire." I let her know before I set off in the direction of my makeshift shovel.

I reached my rock and leaned down to pick it up, and that's when I heard the voices. Angry voices, growing louder with each passing second. It was Leah and Jacob. They were arguing.

"So what?" She was saying to him. "You're just going to run back to Sam's pack without even talking to me first? Without telling me? I mean that little to you?"

"It won't be his pack anymore, Leah. It'll be mine. I'm taking over as Alpha. Besides, the only reason I stayed away in the first place was because of Bella. That isn't a problem any longer."Jacob told her, sounding much calmer than her.

"For you! I still can't do it. Especially not now. Especially not during the wedding. Please, Jacob. Seth went back to Sam right after the battle. I can't just be a pack on my own. You have to still remember what it's like."

"Of course I remember. But it's been years since you were with him Leah. Years. Can't you get over it already?"

"I'm so fucking sorry that we can't all just imprint and have all of our problems go away!" She yelled.

"Don't bring her into this." Jacob practically growled.

I felt another little tug on the hem of my shirt. "Sky, why are they yelling?" Claire asked.

I opened my mouth to answer her, but then realized I wasn't so sure myself. "I don't know hon. Let me take you back to Quil, okay?" I said, leaving the sounds of their heated argument behind.

As soon as she was back by the fireside, sitting on Quil's lap again, I wasted no time in going back to my spot on the beach. I was quite ready to berate the both of them for having such a loud fight in direct earshot of a little girl.

This time I actually managed to locate the silhouettes of their figures, lightly bathed in moonlight. Even from this far back, it was easy to tell that their argument had become more violent. I was close enough to see that both of them were shaking severely, almost convulsing.

Leah spoke in a cold, dead, calculating tone that made me halt in place, too enraptured with their conversation now to go any further. "You're pathetic. I spent months inside your head, listening to you denounce the idea of imprinting, listening to you tell yourself over and over again that if it ever happened to you, you would fight it. You said you would fight for real love. Then she showed up and all that gets blown to hell."

"You don't understand! It's not just something you can fight-"

"Really? Because Paul is."

"Paul hasn't slept or eaten in weeks." Jacob defended.

"Who gives a shit!" Leah exploded. "He's trying. He never wanted this either. The Jacob I know wouldn't just roll over and take it. But apparently, the Jacob I know is gone!" She yelled.

"This isn't about her, Leah!" Jacob yelled right back. "This is about what it's always about- you! Well I have news for you. Sam is never going to love you!"

"You don't know anything about me!" Leah screamed.

"Like hell I don't! I know everything about you because up until a month ago, I used to be you."

She shoved him roughly. "I hate you, Jacob Black! I hate you!"

Something in her seemed to snap. There were ripping noises and Leah screamed. I stood frozen in my place, not even blinking, terrified. I watched as her silhouette broke and cracked and morphed into a huge wolf before my very eyes. I heard a pained whimper and looked over to see that Jacob had done the same.

I couldn't comprehend what was going on. The dull light of the moon was no longer soft but eerie. I stumbled a step back and heard screams, realizing somewhere in the recesses of my mind that they were mine. The wolves heard me, their ears perking up as their heads snapped to look at me, their glowing eyes piercing into my soul.

I turned back around and ran as fast as I could towards the fire. The sand sunk with every step, slowing me down. I didn't dare look back to see if they were pursuing me.

Back at the fireside, everyone still sat around lazily, enjoying the night, blissfully unaware of whatever it was I had just witnessed.

Emily was the first one to see me. She stopped laughing and talking with Sam and quickly hurried to my side. "Sky? Is everything okay? You look terrified. What happened?" She asked, holding me up with her hands.

My heart was beating out of order and the adrenaline pumped through my veins. I couldn't explain what just happened if I tried. "Jacob and Leah…" I panted. "They were arguing, and then… And then…"

My failed attempt at an explanation was cut off by a howl, then another. All talking stopped immediately before slowly, everyone turned to look at me.

"Wolves." I whispered.

Then suddenly, everything was mayhem.

Sam stood up and began to order people around. "Quil, Paul. You go out and find Leah and Jacob. Embry, you stay here with Emily and take care of Skylar. Everyone else come with me. We have some cleaning up to do."

I tried to get his attention. He didn't understand. He couldn't go back and find them. It was crazy. It was suicide. Everyone needed to leave- now.

"No, Sam! You don't get it- they turned into wolves." I emphasized, my voice sounding panicky.

"What are you talking about Sky?" Kelsey asked me quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay Skylar. Just calm down, Sam will take care of everything, okay?" Emily consoled.

"Man, Jake's gonna be crushed." Embry said, shaking his head as people began to rush around me.

I watched as Quil and Paul both whipped their shirts over their heads and Sam stood around, giving people orders. Suddenly, things began to click.

The "pack". Wolf-boy. The shaking. The growling. The muscles. The legends.

"You knew." I whispered as everyone around me took on a similar look of guilt. I took a shuddering breath and shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around everything that was happening around me.

It was starting to feel like I was trapped in a bad horror movie, and fuck if I was going to be the stupid bimbo who died in the first five minutes.

"Skylar," Embry said, taking a step towards me and reaching his hand out.

I jumped back, ripping my arm away from him as if I had been burned. "D-don't. Touch me."

People were staring again. It was almost as if they could see the wheels in my head turning and were afraid of making any sudden movements, like I was a skittish animal. They were waiting to gauge my reaction.

"Oh my god." I realized, grabbing Kelsey's hand and taking quick steps backwards, not looking away from them, not turning my back to them. "You're one too. All of you are!" I accused.

"Now Sky," Emily started off softly.

"Kai, what's happening?" Kelsey asked me, sounding frightened.

"We need to leave now Kels." I said hurriedly, clutching her hand tightly as I turned around and ran as fast as I could, dragging her along with me. I heard my name being called from behind me, but I didn't look back.

When we reached the car, both of us were panting and Kelsey still looked as confused as ever. "Get in the car." I ordered her as I walked to the driver's seat, glancing back and realizing with relief that no one had followed us.

"Where are we going?" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Away from here." I stated simply, unable to tell her what I myself did not even know.

She stood there stubbornly, arms still folded and not moving, not getting in the goddamn car. "What are you doing?" I hissed at her, shoving my keys into the ignition. "We need to leave, now."

"No." She told me calmly, as always, cool under pressure.

"No! What do you mean n-?"

"I mean, that I am not getting into the car until you explain to me what is going on, Skylar."

I sighed, dropping my hands off the steering wheel that I had been clutching so painfully. "Kelsey," My plea sounded pitiful even to my own ears. "Please, Kelsey. Just trust me. Just get in the car. This once, for me." I begged helplessly.

She glanced down in concession before opening the car door, albeit reluctantly, and getting in.

"Thank you," I breathed, gunning the engine in my most desperate attempt to get the hell out of here.

"At the very least, will you tell me where you're planning on driving to?" She yelled over the sound of my car's roaring. "Because we don't have enough gas in the tank for the drive home and something tells me Emily's house is out of the question. Those are the only places in town that we know Skylar!" She reasoned. One glance at my gas meter whose red hand teetered on empty and I saw she was right.

It was at this precise moment that I conveniently passed a familiar road. I took it without second thought, knowing better than to pass up such a lucky and well-timed revelation.

And that, my friends, is how I found myself banging on the door of Edward Cullen at twelve AM on what can only be explained as the most exciting Friday night of my life thus far.

A/N: Oh my god it hasn't really been two months, has it. Haha, forget about me yet? I feel so terrible, but this chapter was exceedingly hard for me to write for some reason. It's actually one of my shorter chapters, comparatively, but a lot happens. It shouldn't be this long of a wait for the next one though because schools over so I've got more time on my hands. But I won't make any promises because I never know when the procrastination bug kicks in. And a SPECIAL THANK YOU to AGoldenMinute whose loquacious and awe-inspiring review prompted me to stop playing X-Box and start writing again.