"I promise I love you and
Everything will work out fine.
Don't try to grow up yet,
Just give it some time."
- Conversations With my 13 Year Old Self, P!NK
()()()
I came home to a sore Jacob and a whiny Ivy. Apparently, I was the only one whose first day was anything close to pleasurable.
As things seemed, Ivy's first day had gone great. Everyone was obsessed with the new, pale, blonde girl - Ivy mentioned she was the only blonde in the class, in fact. But Jacob had called halfway through the day and announced that training hadn't taken nearly as long as he'd expected - the boys were learning fast - and he would pick up Ivy from school. I agreed without an ounce of reluctance. School let out at 3:30 but the office didn't close until 4:00, so Ivy would've had to wait with me otherwise.
Jacob Black came riding up on his black motorcycle with an extra helmet for my sister, and she was no longer the little blonde from California. According to Ivy, people feared her, said the Blacks were bad news, were dangerous, and their mothers didn't want them hanging around with her. Jacob was associated with Bella, Bella was associated with the Cullens - the rest of La Push might not know they were vampires, but they could tell the Cullens were bad news.
Ivy was crying, and Jacob was beating himself up about it.
He was on the couch, his head buried in his hands, surrounded by muffin wrappers.
"I really fucked up, Serena." He said after he explained, and I came to sit beside him.
"No, you didn't. You're a great guy, Jacob, it's those other kids, and those other parents, who fucked up." I said, running a hand over his cheek. "You're everything I want, you're everything Ivy wants, too. Did I tell you that, on the way to school this morning, she said we couldn't date? Because she wants to date you."
Jacob chuckled, blushing a little.
"God, she must hate me. She wouldn't even talk to me when we got home, she just ran straight to the sunroom and slammed the door."
"She's probably meditating, that's what I tell her to do when she's sad, or upset. She tells me she's trying to talk to Mom but, just like when Mom was alive, she doesn't have time for Ivy." I shook my head. "Believe me, Jacob, this isn't the first time, or the last time, Ivy's feelings have been hurt."
"I wish she didn't know pain," He said, thinking out loud. I sighed, leaning into him.
"Don't we all?"
()()()
From my spot beside Jacob, I could sense that Ivy was indeed meditating. I waited patiently for her to finish before knocking on the door.
"It's Serena," I yelled. "Can I come in?"
Sniffling, she opened the door. The second I stepped into the room, she ran into my arms.
"I feel so awful, Rena."
"I know, but Jacob didn't mean to - "
"Jacob?" She cut me off. "No, I'm not upset with Jacob. I'm mad at those other kids - how could they be so mean to me, to him? Don't they know what we can do?"
"No, they don't." I said firmly, grabbing her face and making her look at me. "And, if we're lucky, they won't know. You remember learning about the Salem Witch Trials, right? We don't need a repeat of that."
"We're stronger than that, Rena. We can take down - "
"Ivy Uley." I said firmly, my eyes narrowing. "We will not be 'taking down' anything. We're good witches, understand? That means, no matter how mad someone makes us, we never use our powers to hurt them. It's against our code."
"As long as ye harm none, do what ye will." Ivy mumbled, rolling her eyes. "I know."
"Then act like it."
With a sigh, Ivy moved away from me. She walked to the living room and snuggled up with Jacob, burrowing herself into his chest.
"I'm sorry," She said, snuffling again. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"I didn't mean to take away your new friends, Ivy." Jacob said, patting her hair.
I was amazed at how fluidly the two interacted - there was no ounce of awkwardness, no nervousness or misunderstandings between the two. It was like they'd known each other their whole lives.
The last boyfriend I'd had, Dan, was stiff and insecure around Ivy. She liked him more than he liked her, that was for sure, and she clung to him like a leaf while he tried to get rid of her. I was grateful that she liked Jacob, but even more enthralled that he liked her.
I watched them for a while, too nervous to break the moment, and said a little thank you to my goddess for giving me this, at least for now. Ivy eventually fell asleep there, cuddled into Jacob's chest, and he turned to me.
"I never asked," He whispered, very careful not to wake her. "How was your first day?"
"Flawless," I snorted, trying not to laugh too loud. "Until this afternoon, it went off without a hitch."
"Good," He said, motioning for me to come sit beside him on the couch. I did, trying to avoid making it squeak too much, and leaned on him, playing with Ivy's hair.
"I'm really glad you're so good with her." I smiled. "How was training?"
"The boys are learning quick, I guess that's a good thing."
"I feel like fighting is natural to you guys, it's like an instinct."
"Fighting is natural, especially when there's a threat. When someone comes at you, when they want to take away everything you have, everything you worked for, everything you love, then you're going to be ready to kill. It's tactic we have to work on, acting strategically and not on impulse. That's hard for a lot of us to do, me included." He reached over, putting an arm around me.
"Honestly, do you think the army will attack here?" I said, biting my lip. "I mean, why La Push, what do they want?"
"It's not La Push they're going for, it's Forks." He shook his head. "The Cullens have asked for our help defending against them. Sam and I have yet to decide if we're willing to join."
My heart sunk in my chest. I hadn't realized before, but this wasn't the wolves' fight - it was Bella's.
My eyes narrowed, my chest clenched with anger. This poor girl; she hasn't even met me before, but she already had the anger of a witch working against her.
"Serena," Jacob said slowly, as if he could feel my anger growing. "I have nothing towards Bella, I feel nothing but friendship for her."
"You're going to go to war for her."
"I'm going to war for you." He said, looking at me urgently. "If we don't stop them in Forks, if they take the town, it won't be long before they're here, too. Then they're not Bella's problem, or the Cullen's problem - they're yours and mine, they're Ivy's."
I looked at Ivy, young and trusting. She had the possibility to be great - an augury or a hedgewitch or whatever she wanted to be, whatever she was chosen to be - but none of that would happen if Jacob and I had to spend our lives running from a bunch of new, thirsty vampires.
In the end, I was more than willing to let him fight - as long as he came home afterwards.