RPOV
The success of my strategy would depend on good planning and a healthy dose of sneakiness. As long as I was vigilant about keeping Captain Nosy-pants from dipping into my head at will, I thought I'd have a pretty good shot.
I started on step one as soon as I was dressed. I crept down the hallway and knocked lightly on Aunt Alice's door. As soon as she opened it, I pushed my way in and began pleading my case.
"Aunt Alice, I reeeeeeally need your help!" I implored quietly
"Of course, Ness! What's wrong?" She asked.
"SSHHHH, keep it down. Aunt Alice, can you keep this blocked from him?" I whispered, unable to keep the contempt out of my voice
"Uh, what's going on?"
"Yes or no?!"
"Ok, yes, I'll try"
"Try hard… Ok, I need help with a few things and you're the only one here I can turn to…" I continued as softly as I could, figuring that a little buttering up couldn't hurt.
"Alright, maybe you just better spill it..." she said, a bit nervously.
"The first one's easy, I just need you to help me with my appearance. I'm full grown and I wa – no, need to start looking like it….hair, makeup, clothes, everything. From now on, I need to look more my age, more like the kids in my grade instead of a little girl."
The grin on her face told me that she was on board with that, so I continued.
"Next, please, please, please take me to school early today….I'll explain the detail of my plan later when we're …well, not here. But for now, we have to hurry."
"Plan? Plan for what? If you're asking me to attempt to sneak around my nearly omniscient brother, I'm gonna need more details…"
"Later! C'mon, help me get ready quickly!"
Knowing that she didn't have it in her to really deny me anything, I strode over to her closet and waited impatiently.
With a wary sigh, she joined me .
A few minutes later, hair up, makeup applied and dressed in a cute pair of tight dark wash skinny jeans and fitted tee, I crept downstairs. Alice and Jasper agreed to exit through their balcony and wait in the car with the engine running.
Grandma met me with a hug and a plate of French toast and sausages. I ate a few bites to be polite, even though I was too anxious to keep much down.
"Where are mom and dad?"
"You're up early, sweetheart….they're still out hunting. They'll be here in plenty of time to drive to school."
Unbelievably pleased with my luck, I replied "Ok, Grandma, would you please just let them know that I went in a little early with Aunt Alice to organize my locker?"
"Alright, Ness….hope today is a better day. Remember that fate has a way of intervening and helping things work out the way they should. " She said with a smile.
Just slightly confused by her reply, I kissed her goodbye and ran out to the waiting car. As we turned out of our driveway and onto the highway. I could tell Alice wanted me to talk to her about what I was thinking, but she never asked. I used the time to mull over what I had planned for the day.
As we pulled into the mostly empty lot, I kissed them both on the cheek and thanked them.
"See you guys later" I started to climb out of the car.
"Ness, wait….I don't know why no one's talking about the giant Indian in the room, but I think we should, don't you?"
"Auntie, what can I say? I almost fell over when I saw him. Don't you remember what it was like for me when he suddenly wasn't around anymore? Since yesterday, my brain has practically overheated trying to make sense of things. I KNOW you guys have all kept things from me, I KNOW staying away from me wasn't his choice, and I KNOW my dad was behind it. Up until yesterday, I went along quietly, not knowing I had a choice. As of today, no more." I had tried to be calm as I explained this, but my voice seemed to raise a bit with each word.
The look on her face told me I was right, and that she felt bad about how things had been. She pulled me into a big hug and whispered "I'm sorry, my sweet girl. No one was sure of the right thing to do, but I knew that that wasn't the right way to handle things. I'm here for you to talk to, and I'll help you through this however I can."
"I know I can count on you, and I promise to talk to you more about it later." I replied quickly and rushed out of the car before she could delay me any further. Just knowing that I was in the same location as Jacob again did funny things to my heart (and stomach….), and I found myself speeding up into a run.
I made my way immediately into the office to accomplish the next part of my plan. As I passed through the doors, I noticed a wall of faculty bio's and once again rejoiced in my good luck. Each teacher had a small poster telling a little bit about them, including the classes they taught and any clubs they were in charge of. Studying Jacob's, I amended my plan and turned to walk up to the front desk.
Ten minutes later, I exited the office satisfied with the outcome of my discussion with the secretary. Seeing that I still had twelve minutes before the first bell rang, I jogged down to the gym, filled with nervous anticipation.
The door to his office was open and the light on. I heard voices inside and started across the gym floor towards them. I peered around the corner and my jaw dropped at what I saw. In addition to Jacob and Seth that I had seen yesterday, Embry was also in the office. All talk stopped when they saw me, and we all stared at each other for a long moment.
A slow smile spread over Jacob's face. "Hey Ness…it's like a Forks reunion, hey?"
"Wow, I still can't believe it. Hey, Embry. How long have you guys been here?"
"This is just our second year" Jacob replied quickly.
"Jacob, do you think we could talk a bit before school starts?" I asked.
"Sure thing. Guys, I'll talk to you at lunch, kay?"
Seth and Embry started to file out, when suddenly Seth turned around and picked me up in a huge bear hug. "I'm sorry, Ness, I'm just so happy to see you here!" He spun me around and put me down, only to have Embry pick me up and do the same thing. "Me too, little Ness…..you're sure a sight for sore eyes" he said, looking directly at Jacob as he did.
"Out, guys….we'll talk later" Jacob commanded.
As they left, Seth turned around to pull the door closed behind him. Jacob turned to me "Well, those two chuckleheads got a hug this morning, do I?" I smiled up at him and opened my arms. He pulled me in for a quick embrace, then pulled back stiffly, a funny look on his face. Determined to not get upset, I didn't react to the change in his demeanor. I'm not gonna lie, I was really hoping for one of those pick-me-up-spin-me-around hugs from Jacob, too. Sigh….
"So, you wanted to talk to me?" Jacob asked.
"Yeah…..um…well, it's just that…" Suddenly, my confidence deserted me. I was so sure of how I was going to handle this, but looking up at him in this tiny room, I felt myself floundering.
"Ness, I can hear your heartbeat fluttering a mile a minute…...No matter how much time has passed, I hope you still know you can tell me anything."
I did know that, but still couldn't put into words just exactly what I wanted to tell him. It felt like such an important moment and I didn't want to wreck it. As the silence lengthened, I mentally screamed at myself to say something, anything. It was starting to feel awkward. Desperate to end the painful and uncomfortable silence we'd slipped into, I blurted out "I love you, Jake!"
Dammit! Not what I'd planned to lead with….