There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter. I tried my best to make it as long as possible. Sorry for the long wait! I had huge writer's block, and I was very busy. The chapter's short, but I have a lot planned for the next one... so stick around. Maybe I'll actually put two whole chapters together into one?
Since I seriously have NO time anymore, I'm going to at least make an effort to reply to any reviews with questions. That's all I can do, even if I really want to reply to everyone! I just want to say that I read every single review, and they make me smile so much. Thank you guys!
If you've noticed (or haven't), in the summary I put 'OC/OC' at the end. For those of you who don't know what that means, here: Other Character 'paired with' Other Character.
OOC= Out Of Character (not written like the 'original' character.)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 20- Think before you Drink
I nodded my head, quickly waving bye to my parents before following Shane. "Do you know these people?"
He grinned at me. "Yeah, they know how to have a good time."
I followed him over to the group, which seemed to be getting bigger and bigger by the second. There were a bunch of tall, muscular, shirtless native guys but only one or two girls. Shane seemed to know a lot of people, which really surprised me. I looked around at everyone's faces, only mildly recognizing a few who I remembered seeing when I was little. Shane took my hand and pulled me to a guy sitting by a cooler.
"Aaron!" They bumped fists and smiled at each other. Shane pulled me forward. "Hey, do you remember Aria Black?"
The boy twisted an elastic around his inky black hair before peering at my face. He grinned, his blinding smile glowing in the night. "Sure do. I remember you used to come here every summer, and you followed me around like a lost puppy." He winked and took a swig out of a bottle.
My mouth fell open in shock. Who is this guy? "I don't know who you think you are Aaron but-"
Shane quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me across the beach. "Ari, seriously, I don't think it's a good idea to start a fight with a guy when there's all of Forks' Native American population watching."
I yanked my arm away from him and plopped down in the sand. "Good point… but who was he?"
Shane sat down next to me and began absentmindedly tracing patterns in the sand. "I think he's Paul's son… I don't know, I just remember he was over at Seth's when I was."
"Pfft, no wonder he seems like a jerk. Takes after his father I suppose." I sighed and looked around. Everyone was broken off into little cliques, chattering away excitedly. I could see Leah standing by the huge bonfire with my dad; they both had their arms crossed and were wearing similar grim expressions. I tapped Shane's arm. "Yo, what's up our parents?" I pointed in the direction of the pair.
Shane glanced back, sighed and looked at me with weary eyes. "Death" he mouthed. I raised my eyebrows and nudged his shoulder, signaling him to speak up. He looked back once more before whispering, "You know, Billy's sick… Grandma Sue's talking all crazy-like… Charlie just won't talk… they're trying to put on a charade that they're perfectly healthy and whatever…"
"And that they're okay with dying?" I finished. He nodded his head. "Why… I mean is the problem that they want to die and their kids just don't want them to?" Shane nodded his head again. "Oh, wow… I seriously feel so bad right now."
"Then why don't you come hang with us?" A low voice growled from behind us. I turned around, only to find obnoxious Aaron holding his hand out for me. "Come on, we got off on the wrong foot. I was just joking around and I didn't think you were gonna take me seriously."
I rolled my eyes and declined his offer. "Thanks… but no thanks. I'm not really in the 'hanging' mood, sorry."
Shane glared at me before jumping up and dusting himself off. "Well I'm down for whatever… what do you have in that cooler?"
Aaron grinned and patted Shane's back. "Corona!"
As they walked past me, I pulled on Shane's pant leg and hissed, "What are you doing? You're just going to leave me here?"
Shane looked down at me and smiled. "Ari, as much as I love being around you… I don't think you'd really like sitting in-between all those drunken guys."
"You're going to choose a bunch of smashed guys over me?" I wrapped my arms around my legs.
"I'm just going to get a drink and then come back. Is it my fault if I happen to see some people who I haven't in a couple of years?" He shook his head and looked at me as if I was stupid.
"Yeah, okay, fine… it is a bonfire basically in honor of your family. Alright, go. Grab me a Coke if you can." I waved him off. He leaned down, kissed my cheek and whispered 'thanks' before running off. I looked back quickly, catching Aaron hand him a green bottle. I sighed and pushed my legs closer to my body. Since I was sitting so far away from the fire, I actually felt a bit cold. Yeah, me, cold. I wonder what it must be like for the humans who didn't have werewolf genes to give them a scorching hot body temperature.
I looked around again, trying to see if I could catch another glimpse of my dad or Leah. Actually, anyone I knew in general, besides Shane. Where is everybody? I couldn't even find Aunt Rachel or Rebecca… or their kids (my cousins)… or Bella and Edward. I sighed and leaned my head down into my arms. Story of my life: being left alone on a cold beach. How fabulous.
It must be pretty late if my parents left. They probably assumed that I'd come back with Shane. I lifted my head up quickly, only to see groups of Native teens scattered around the fires. No adults, no vampires… just kids. Kids drinking, talking, laughing, kissing… ugh. I'm actually allowed to drink, but I just don't like to. Maybe a little sip of wine or champagne here and there, but that's about it. I don't understand the appeal people have to beer. In my opinion, it just smells bad, and tastes… bad. Shane on the other hand loves beer. He just started drinking alcohol recently, and I think he could probably drink it with his breakfast if he was allowed. Ew. I know out bodies burn off the alcohol right when it enters, so it doesn't have a chance to affect our brain… that makes me wonder why Shane likes drinking so much.
My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket. I quickly flipped it out and looked at the caller I.D. "Hello, Nicole?"
I heard voices in the background, and pounding music. Nicole giggled loudly. "Mmh.. Ari I love you soooooooooo much. Come 'ere and gimme a kiss. Muahh!" She hiccupped and giggled again.
She's drunk dialing me? Oh God. How insane must that party be at her place if it lasted up to, I quickly looked the time, 4 am? "Nicole, you're drunk."
"Nonononono…" She hiccupped again. "I just-I just-" She giggled. Again.
"Nicole, seriously, don't you think you've had enough partying for one night? Why don't you tell everyone to leave now?" Pfft, like she'd be sober enough to do that.
"Ohh my tummy tickles." She moaned and hiccupped, once more. "Ari puh-lease… please…. ugh…" The line went dead.
"Nicole?" I sat in shock. A million worst-case scenarios were running through my head. What if she fell and went unconscious? And what was she saying about her 'tummy tickles'? What if she died and I was her last call? Wait, who am I to worry about Nicole Smith? She's a grown girl, and can make her own decisions. I barely know her. Yet… the small voice in the back of my head kept replaying Nicole's voice saying 'Please…please…". She sounded helpless! I should do something, somehow.
Alex. He should be back from the band practice by now. Crap, but I don't have his number. I quickly tried calling Nicole again, but the line was dead. Now, for some odd reason, I was beginning to panic.
The groups of boys behind me were laughing loudly, with Shane's voice being the loudest. I jumped up and headed over to them, trying my best not to make any eye contact. I could smell the alcohol seeping through their breaths… their clothes… the air. Disgusting. I grabbed Shane's arms and pulled him to the edge of the forest. He just laughed and followed me, wobbling back and forth on the spot. He took a long swig out of the bottle and gleamed at me with twinkling eyes. Oh my God, he was drunk too? Why me? Why?
"Shane, do you have Alex Smith's phone number?" I placed my hands on his shoulders and forced him to try and understand what I was saying.
He shook his head and threw his empty bottle in a nearby trash can. "I don't even know who he is." Shane plopped down in the sand and spread his arms out for me, motioning me to sit down too. I sat down next to him, not caring whether or not about the fact that my pants were now covered in sand.
"Do you know someone who does?" I glanced at his face. He was resting his head on his knees with his eyes closed.
He slowly took out his phone from his pocket and handed it to me. "Call up Tiffany."
I took the phone and glared at him in shock. "You have… ugh never mind." I skimmed through the contacts, finally finding 'Tiff'. She picked up after 4 rings.
"Heyyy Shane!" She spoke in a cheesy, falsetto voice.
I smiled to myself. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but Shane's never going to call you at4 in the morning. It's me, Aria, in case you were wondering. Can you give me Nicole's brother's number?"
"Oh, its you. And might I ask why you need Alex's number? A midnight booty call?" She scoffed, her voice instantly changing to an almost-growl.
"No! I just… wait, weren't you at Nicole's party?"
"Ugh, if you can call it that. Ha, it was soooo gay." She sneered, giggling. "Hmph, too bad you couldn't come. I know you'd enjoy playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey with your new best friend."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing… uh, here's his stupid number. I'll give it to you since I… pity you so much. Hehe." She told me the digits and quickly hung up, cackling.
I rolled my eyes and glanced over at Shane, who was now lying on his back, asleep. I smiled to myself but then remembered why I –ugh- talked to Tiffany in the first place. I called Alex for the first time ever. He picked up instantly.
"Hello?" Alex sounded groggy, his voice full of sleep.
"Alex? It's me Ari… I'm so sorry if I woke you up, but, um, Nicole called me, and I uh think she was drunk… and then she said something about her stomach and-"
"Nicole said something about her stomach? What did she say?" He instantly perked up, his voice now full of concern.
"That it 'tickles'... I mean, I don't know if anything… uh maybe you should check if she's okay." Yeah, and that I'm sitting here worrying my ass off about your sister, whom I hardly know.
"Yeah, thanks so much. I- I actually uh fell asleep on a couch at my friend's house, so um thanks for calling me and uh waking me up." He stammered. I could imagine him lying on a dirty old thing, sleeping peacefully with a guitar still in his arms. I should definitely check his band out some day.
"No problem! I hope Nicole's okay…"
"Yeah don't worry about it. She probably uh just drank too much. Alright, well, see you soon Aria." Oh whoa, I just love the way he says my name.
"Bye." I whispered before hanging up. I looked around the beach, only spotting one or two people this time. The fire was beginning to finally die down and I could almost make out the sun on the horizon. Oh crap, my parent's are going to murder me! I stayed up all night… with Shane. What are the obvious conclusions people would make? Exactly.
I shook Shane's shoulder, hoping that he wasn't in too much of a state. He stirred and got up immediately."What? What's wrong? Ari!" He jumped up and whipped his head around.
"Nothing, chill. I just wanted to let you know that we're basically the only people here… and that the sun's going to rise in about an hour. Wanna take me home now?" I stuck my tongue out at him.
He yawned and rubbed his eye. "If I wasn't this tired I'd probably shift and run us both back… Argh my head's pounding. Why don't we just stay here and… wait…" He yawned again and laid his head back into the sand. He was snoring instantly.
I stifled a yawn and just decided to follow suit. I grabbed Shane's sweater (which was scrunched up by my feet), spread it out and leaned back. Shane's warm body, his low breathing and the sounds of the waves lulled me to instant unconsciousness.
***
"Hey baby, come 'ere and dance with me. You know you want to!" Obnoxious Aaron grabbed my hand and began twirling me around. I pushed away, only to knock into Alex, who was holding a large glass. The sticky liquid fell down all over me and him. He blushed and handed me a towel but didn't say anything. I tried to talk, but my mouth wouldn't open. Aaron started laughing loudly. Shane came out of nowhere and began fussing over me. I tried to push him away and say that I'm okay, but I couldn't. Alex mumbled 'sorry'. Shane turned around, looked Alex up and down, and suddenly threw a punch. Alex fell back, his body slumped. Everyone around me laughed. I was crying on the inside but I couldn't move or do anything. I was stuck in the background, a mute.
I woke up in a cold sweat. The dream felt too real, it was creepy. I almost expected to be covered in beer and for Alex to be lying next to me, bleeding. I blinked my eyes open and waited for them to adjust to the bright light. I slowly got up, my back feeling slightly sore from sleeping in the sand all night. I stretched and looked around, trying to find Shane.
He was sprawled in the sand, snoring loudly. I smiled and kicked him lightly, trying to wake him up. He turned onto his back but didn't open his eyes. "Aw, I was having the best dream ever."
"Yeah, well I was having the worst dream ever, so sucks to be you." I sighed and slipped my hair into a ponytail. Shane groaned but didn't reply. "Your head still hurts, right?" He nodded. I laughed. "Good choice on drinking up then. You should've thought of the consequences."
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I quickly picked it up. "Yo."
"Are you decent?" Someone whispered.
"Mom? What are you talking about?"
"Are you decent?" She whispered again, annoyed.
"Oh my God, Mom! Ew! Of course I'm- ugh." I shivered, grossed out. Shane laughed, obviously having heard my mom through the phone. I punched his arm.
"Well, Shane's obviously with you… and you two were gone all night. What's a mother to think?" She coiled back, hissing.
"Mother, we just fell asleep on the beach. Shane was too wasted to take me back, and I wasn't going to just go alone."
"You have a phone don't you? You could've just called Jake." She sounded really ticked off now.
"Or, you, being the perfect mother you are, could've just came down and picked me up. Did the thought ever cross you of 'Oh, where's my daughter?'"
She sighed, defeated. "Aria, sometimes I just don't understand you. Anyways, I called to let you know that… Charlie had a heart attack mid-sleep, and…" She broke off, blubbering.
My eyes prickled. "Grandpa Charlie? But-"
Shane jumped up and grabbed the phone from me. "Charlie? What? How's Sue? Yeah. Okay." He sighed and quickly flipped the phone shut. "She said that he's in the hospital right now, and that we should meet them there."
I wiped my nose and nodded my head solemnly. This was all happening way to fast for me to even comprehend. Shane draped his arm loosely over my shoulder and we both began walking slowly towards the direction of Collin's house, down the path we had travelled yesterday.
The car we had rented was still sitting in the driveway, with the doors luckily unlocked. I grabbed my bag and ran into the house to shower and change as fast as I could. The doors to the house were also, luckily, unlocked.
After my trip to the bathroom, I ran back outside, where Shane was leaning against the car. I broke the silence first. "Let's go."
He walked over to his dad's car, which was also sitting in the driveway, and opened the door. He drove slowly, and we didn't talk. He sighed when he pulled into the small hospital parking lot, but got out and opened the door for me. We silently made our way through the doors. Charlie was in the emergency ward. We walked hand in hand down the long hallways, finally stopping at a doorway where Nahuel was standing.
"You can only come in one at a time, since there's a rule here about how many people can be in the room. Aria, why don't you go grab something to eat in the cafeteria? Your parents are there, so you can just join them." Nahuel smiled sadly.
"Okay." I whispered.
"I'll come and get you when it's your turn." Shane turned around and squeezed me into a quick hug. I waved and turned around, making my way down the hallway again towards the front desk. I followed the signs and made it to a small room with a couple of tables, two vending machines, and some chairs. The room was empty except for the group of people sitting in the back corner, huddled around a table. My family.
My phone vibrated in my pocket but I ignored it. When I stepped in, everyone's (my dad, mom, Leah, Sue, and Seth) turned their heads. Everyone was grim and teary-eyed. I walked over and threw my arms around Sue, who began instantly sobbing softly.
***
Charlie was okay. The doctors were going to keep him in the hospital just as a precaution, but other than that, he was pretty much perfect. Everyone else was shaken up, especially Bella. She's a vampire who has to see her own dad come this close to dying, while she has the luxury of being immortal. Like sucks.
The rest of my trip at Forks was very blah, but I still enjoyed it. We stayed at Seth (and Sue's) house, and Shane and I shared a room. He slept on the floor while I got the small bed. There were just too many people in the house, so he and I ended up getting paired together. Surprisingly, my dad was okay. Actually, he was just… numb. He stayed at Billy's with his sisters, trying his best to spend as much time with Billy as possible.
My days consisted of playing with Tallulah (who was growing up nicely), hanging around with Shane, and just… relaxing. I thankfully never saw Obnoxious Aaron again. I also never got a call from Alex or Nicole again, even if I tried texting them a couple of times. I tried to just forget about them, because it's not every day that I get to have this huge family reunion-type deal.
Shane and I were now very much friends. No more awkward 'love' stuff. Just friends… for now. Basically, the imprinting just brought us a heck of a lot closer. Even if I still may sometimes wish of… I mean…. uh nothing.
I never told anyone about Alex. Shane just thinks he's the brother of my new friend. Not my secret 'crush'. Only Edward knows what's really going on, but he's been very tight-lipped. Actually, he's been too busy sticking around Bella to even notice me, which is a very good thing.
So yeah, I actually have basically no stress anymore. Funny how things ended up into a perfect little ending for me. This trip was crazy, but in a good way. Now, I have to go to school which is starting up in two days. I wonder what that's going to be like now that Shane's around to join me. Maybe I'll see Alex?
"Hey Ari, your phone's ringing." Shane popped his head through the door and threw my phone to me. I quickly turned my iPod off and took the headphones out, grabbed my phone and flipped it on.
"Hello?" I sighed quietly.
"Ari? Hey, it's me, Alex."
"Oh, Alex, hi… how are you?" I glared at Shane who raised his eyebrows.
"I'm alright, uh and so is Nicole. Sorry that I never called you back or anything, but my mom dragged us to my grandparent's house and there wasn't any cell phone reception. If it wasn't for that, I'd uh probably call you the next day."
I smiled. He was rambling. "Yeah, no problem. So… what's up?"
He coughed. "Not much… I was writing some songs. That reminds me; my band got a gig at the opening for some new all-ages club downtown..."
"Really? That's great!"
"Thanks… uh… I was wondering if you wanted to maybe… come with me as my date." He coughed again.
Shane gasped. Oh crap. "Yeah! I'd love to. Okay, I'm so sorry, but I really have to go now. I'll call you when I get back home. Bye." I quickly hung up and bit my lip.
"A date? Who is this guy? Ari… what the fuck." He glared at me, his body already beginning to tremble.
My palms began to sweat. "Oh my gosh, Shane… he's just a friend. I'm going to go to support his band, that's all."
"What?! Explain further please." Shane took a menacing step forward.
I cringed. "Nothing! He's my frie-"
Someone knocked on the door, or should I say pounded. "Cliffdiving!"
Shane groaned. I let out a sigh of relief.
Sorry for the cliffy... but I don't know what's going to happen next. :)
Please review?!