Thank you to everyone who followed my story! Wow, I cannot believe I once thought of just dropping writing. A special thank you to Aphrodite and Layla347 for reviewing!
I don't own Twilight!
Clary's POV:
The mud was traced on my skin with such intricate detail that it left me breathless. A perfect heart that bled as I began to rubble the darkness from my cheek, the smooth grit washes down the sink in swirls. Why had Jacob done such a thing? My vision flashes back to the moment when we sat in the puddle, his hand on my face and then smoothing his finger over my cheek with warmth.
My eyes flashed back to my reflection in the mirror and I blink, refocusing. I had never been pretty. Looking in the mirror now, the thoughts of my appearance over the years had never touched beautiful. My plain features, dull moss colored eyes were framed by unruly auburn curls that waved down my back or escaped from the braid that I contained it in. I was thin but always embarrassed when people noted on my physique. I think the only time I really felt anything close to beautiful was when I was dancing. I had danced ballet for many years, until it became clear that I could no longer pay for the activity. As a result, I had quit independent and group classes to practice on my own. The habit was just too expensive to keep and my parents never offered to help pay for the classes.
I let out a sigh before finishing getting cleaned up and returning to the kitchen. The day had flew by since meeting the Quileute gang, or "pack" as many of them seem to causally say, prior to a look of paranoia entering their eyes. The pack was friendly and generous with food, which was constantly out and being consumed by one of the guys. Keally, Leah and I cooked dinner together with Ms. Call after almost everyone left. Embry and Paul sat at the table, casually tossing snacks into their mouths while talking to each other in a hushed tone.
"What do you think they are talking about?" I look at Keally and Leah, who simultaneously tensed up at the question. "What do you guys have super hearing or something?" Keally grinned sheepishly and Leah just smirked.
"No way!" I exclaimed. Then, realizing the loudness of my voice as Ms. Call looked over at me in surprise. I give her a nod, slightly embarrassed, after she asked if everything was going alright. "You can hear them?" My question is below a whisper.
"Yeah, they're talking about you. And Black," Leah added with a wince after watching my face carefully. "Sorry."
"It's not a problem. I'm guessing you guys are something supernatural, too. Jacob and I didn't exactly have the warmest conversation about it before he went back to being a jerk," I said with an eye roll at the memory. "And I know about, Keally, of course."
"Yeah, I'll show you sometime." Leah winked and flashed Keally a cunning look.
"Maybe we could even have a round to see who's faster and stronger."
Keally grinned widely, appearing unfazed by Leah's challenge. "Sure, but I don't know how much it'll show you." Keally's calm mannerism suggested otherwise, though Leah wouldn't know that without knowing Keally well. Keally was rarely calm or serious.
"Get those rolls out of the oven, girls." Ms. Call tutted, while she tossed a large salad. "By the way, Leah, It's so nice to see you over here. I feel like I barely see you around the others." Leah nods at her, but then frowns once Ms. Call turns away. A distant look enters her eyes, so I take the oven mitt from her hand and get the rolls out. Leah blinks and then smiles, appreciative.
"Boys," Mrs. Call's voice fills the room. "Make yourselves useful and set the table for dinner. Embry and Paul jump up and set the table in what seems to be record time. Afterwards, we all sit down to pass around food to one another. Ms. Call scolds the boys to remember to make certain everyone gets a roll before eating them all. Keally is sitting to my right with Leah sitting on the left. Keally leans over while staring at her plate and asks in a hushed tone if Embry is still staring at her. I look up to see Embry's gaze locked on Keally and almost snort because he looks like a lovesick puppy.
"That would be an affirmative, captain." I pick up my glass of water and take a few long sips. A smile tugs at my lips as I hear Keally give a sigh of disapproval.
"By the way, Clary," Leah leans in close to my ear to continue whispering so that only her and Keally could hear. "In case you haven't noticed, Paul keeps eye-fucking you." I practically spit out the water that I still held to my lips, instead I managed to just settle to coughing it down.
"Are you alright, dear?" Ms. Call's concerned voice asks me, while Keally pats me on the back. Finally, I clear my throat and give her a small smile, nodding to confirm that I'm alright. I get up from the table to grab the butter, which Embry's mother requested since I was the closest to the counter.
"So Embry, have you told the girls about the bonfire event tomorrow?" Embry snapped his attention to his mother and smiled. I smile with my back turned from the table then my ears perk up at the sound of a chair moving and footsteps nearing me.
"Not yet, mom. I was hoping I wasn't going to scare them away so I waited to tell them about the bonfire." Embry's eyes remained on Keally, as if hoping to gain her attention.
"We have implemented dancing as part of our bonfire tradition now. Would you want a lesson," he whispered huskily into my ear. A blush creeps up my cheeks and I swallow with some difficulty. It's as if my tongue has suddenly dried up.
I clear my throat discretely and give Paul a playful smirk. "You think I need a lesson? Maybe I'll just be dancing circles, probably around you." I hear the flirtation in my voice and my heart screams "what are you doing?" Paul laughs at my words and I shuffle away to put the butter back on the table, sitting down in the chair. Paul is behind me and leans in close with his arm brushing mine as he puts a knife next to the butter. "I'll look forward to getting dizzy tomorrow," he whispered in a sexy tone that caused my heart to beat painfully in my chest. Sweet baby Jesus; did it get hot in here? Keally looked at me in an alarmed manner for a moment then she pursed her lips. She took a sip from her water glass, like she is seeking some sort of solace from her racing thoughts. Or from my emotions, which she apparently can feel with dexterity and ease.
After dinner, Leah and Paul began to shuffle out the door. Leah leapt off with a wave, a thank you to Ms. Call and a promise to see us all tomorrow at the bonfire. Paul remained behind teetering from foot to foot with his brown eyes on the wall, as if he is debating something in him head. Keally and Embry already began helping Ms. Call load the dish washer and then Ms. Call retired for the night, giving me a wink and encouraging smile before walking out of the room.
"Is everything alright, Paul?" I said, quietly and the noise seems to break Paul out of his trance on Embry's kitchen wallpaper. He smiled at me; a heart throbbing grin that I feel in my knees, which turns them momentarily into jelly. It was almost infuriating how I'd gone from angry and hitting Paul earlier to flirtatious and shy now.
"Everything is just fine, doll face. Great even," Paul answered and took a few steps closer to me. His hand reaches out and his finger twirled around an auburn curl that fell into my face then he his hand seemed to cradle the side of my face before tucking the curl of hair behind my ear. For a moment I think I forgot to breathe and my heart began to pound painfully, again. Paul winked at me while stepping out the doorway into the night. "I'll look for you at the bonfire tomorrow." His tone is filled with intention, whether it's good or bad or something else, I have no idea.
After saying goodnight to Embry, Keally and I settled into the guest room with a flick of the lights the room was immersed in darkness as the moon began to softly light the room. There was a comfortable silence between us as we stared at the ceiling, but I sensed that Keally wanted to say something to me. "So what was that about with Paul?" I gave a sigh in response because I'm not even certain I know the answer to that question. Keally turned on her side and props her head up to peer at me, quietly analyzing my features in the darkness. "Seriously, Clary, I don't want you getting hurt or anything messing around with these Quileute boys."
"I'll be fine, Keal," I mutter but am a little unsure myself. "It's just harmless flirting." The thought is weird to say out loud because I usually never flirt, or considered myself flirting-inept.
"Just be careful, Clary," Keally warns and gives me a small, sad smile. "I don't want you to just be attempting to fill the hole Zach and Jacob have left behind. I can feel the ache that you feel when you think about Jacob and I just want to make sure you don't jump into anything on a whim." I understand where Keally is coming from but I just want to move on and not think of relationships right now, especially not involving Jacob. The picture of him with Bella flashes into my mind again and my heart squeezes painfully, like there is a hand wrapped tightly around it with the fingers fisted causing a blistering, cinched pressure. My hand leapt to my chest and pressed over my heart to try to relieve the pain but the hollow ache is so wicked. Keally placed her hand gently over my heart and I instantly felt the discomfort evaporate from in my chest, replaced by a soothing coolness. I smiled appreciatively at her, though it seems there is still a lot that I need to learn about Keally or at least human-vampire hybrid Keally. Suddenly, I feel so tired and drained from all the pain of the past few days. The pain from my hand, from my heart and my head because it seems to be constantly swimming with the overwhelming thoughts and emotions caused by Jacob and new, mysterious information.
"I'll be careful, Keally," I whispered to her. "Thank you for caring and always having my back." And apparently my heart, I added quietly in my head. Human-vampire hybrid or not Keally is the one person that I could always trust and depend on.
The next morning the room is shimmering with light, glancing outside the weather seems to be unseasonably warm. The day appears to be blessing for the bonfire later tonight but then my mind travels to our world's problems with global warming. Keally was already gone from the bed so I quickly change and quietly walk into the hallway. My ears were greeted with the fevered whispers of two people seemingly arguing in the kitchen, which one of the people seems to be Keally.
"What do you mean he's bringing her to the bonfire?" Keally's voice was more of an agitated hiss.
"I tried to tell him that it was not a good idea but Jake just doesn't think sometimes," Embry replied but his tone is more pleading than argumentative. Keally let out a sarcastic snort at the statement of Jake not thinking. "I told him he's hurting her."
"Yeah, he is." Keally remained quiet for a long moment and I think about walking into the room to make my presence known. "Gosh, if he could feel the pain that he causes her. I had to soothe it away last night because it felt like someone was smashing and pressing her heart against a wall." I blush at the statement and step out into the kitchen because I hate eavesdropping, it feels so intrusive. Embry was looking at Keally adoringly, his arms wrapped around her in a protective embrace. I clear my throat and the two of them jump apart.
"Good morning," I said shyly but the statement comes out more like a question. Embry and Keally are a sight of blushing faces and embarrassed, fidgety hands. I smile at them, glad to see that a relationship might be blooming between Embry and Keally. After eating breakfast and helping Ms. Call with a lot of the baking and cooking for the bonfire this evening, the day seemed to fly by until it was time for Keally and I to get ready for the bonfire tonight. My face heated at the thought of wanting to look nice tonight, even as far as to appear sexy or beautiful. Of all the stupid frat parties that I had attended because of Zach, I had never felt like I wanted or needed to put forth considerable effort. I finished doing my make-up, first. Afterwards, Keally helped me curl my hair until it was falling down my back in reddish-brown ringlets then she clipped a dark flower back behind my left ear. I grabbed a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans and pair them with an emerald long-sleeved wrap top that ties in a bow on the right side, and slip on my lace up flats and corded amethyst necklace for last. Keally looked beautiful, stunning with her hair falling in waves down her back and Embry definitely noticed by the way he wouldn't take his eyes off of her.
When we pulled into the First Beach it was already crowded with people, laughter and the smell of food in the air. Music played at a nice level, thankfully, which was not overwhelmingly loud. Quil and Leah run up to us grinning widely, well, Leah smiled but Quil tried to smile through the food stuffed in his mouth. I rolled my eyes at his attempt to greet us, as crumbs fell out of his mouth. We talk for a bit and laugh together, until I catch the sight of Jacob holding hands with Bella. My heart clenches and I grit my teeth. Breathe, Clary; in and out I have to remind myself. Then Paul appeared and I blushed as he picked up my hand and placed a kiss on the skin above the knuckles of my left hand.
"Let's have some fun, doll face." Paul grabbed my hand and led me to the dance area. He came in close to me and his hands hover over my wrist, down my arm and to my hip but he still does not touch me. Meanwhile, his other hand is placed at my back, which is a scotching presence that causes tingles down my spine. I roll my hand and let my fingers brush onto Paul's lips, moving my hips to the beat of the song. Paul's hand hovers back down my arm again and grabs my hand with ease, twirling me around so that my back is to his chest and then our bodies move to the rhythm of the song. He places his hand on my hip and then skims his way back up my sides without once touching me. The act leaves a hot trail up my hips and to my arms, which he pushes upward so that my hands circle around his neck. My heart is pounding as we dance and I feel beautiful as I allow my feet to glide away from him, but I make sure to let my arm linger behind. Paul catches on and his hand gently captures my wrist and spins me back into him. I turn around so that my back is to his chest, again, then I grab one of his hands with my uninjured hand and my one leg curls behind him. Paul grabs my leg at the calf and swirls us around to the beat of the song. After we finish the spin, I slowly slide out of his hands and glide my feet around him, gracefully spinning circles around him as the song fades out and another song begins.
"You're an excellent dancer, Clary." Paul smiled at me a heart-stopping grin that probably has broken many hearts over the years. "I'm not quite dizzy but I'm certainly affected by you," Paul continued with a wink. As we step off the stage, there is a heated growling that instantly stales our conversation.
"Jake, calm down," Sam is warning a trembling Jacob, who appears to be glaring at Paul like he wants to rip his throat out. Sam pushes Jacob away from the crowd of people who are starting to become curious over the commotion. I purse my lips and roll my eyes because if this tantrum is over jealously for me dancing with Paul I am going to be angry and annoyed. Paul walked over to the pack of boys and Leah, but there is a hesitance in his step that seems to be testing out the danger of the situation. I followed Paul over to everyone, and at the sight of Paul and I next to each other a fire erupts in Jacob's dark eyes. Jacob pushes forward like he is ready to strike Paul but Sam grabbed Jacob from behind to restrain him.
"How dare you touch her," Jacob demanded to Paul. The statement coming out as more of a growl and my temper flared up as a result. So he is allowed to be all over Bella but I'm not allowed to just dance with Paul.
"We were dancing, Jacob," I exclaimed with an incredulous tone. I forced my anger down, attempting to neutralize the atmosphere of heated emotions. Jacob glanced away from Paul and at me, which caused him to stop shaking.
"I did not like it," Jacob replied with a brooding look. I rolled my eyes at him and Jacob gritted his teeth in response. "You're mine." I shake my head at him; my head is swimming in confusion. I am no one's property. Hadn't I already had this conversation with Zach?
"No; I am not yours, Jacob," I explained trying to remain calm. "You have made that clear. I am just trying to have a nice time here." Someone runs up to the group and I feel everyone tense up.
"Jake," a woman's voice called out. My eyes take in Bella's small frame after watching Jacob's eyes soften at Bella's presence. Jacob walked away with Bella, like he completely forgot about our conversation. I stare at the ground and realize that the pain has returned in my heart. Keally is next to my side in an instant, as my knees buckle and Paul catches me under the arms.
"Bastard," Keally cursed and glared at Jacob and Bella whispering to each other. Bella glanced back in my direction and flashed a pleased, smug smile. Keally jerked forward and mumbled "that bitch." Paul rolled his eyes and grabbed Keally by the waist to stop her from pummeling Bella. Embry let out a growl at Paul touching Keally, which Paul responded by holding up his hands in mock surrender.
"It was either that or have her beat up Bella," Paul exclaimed to Embry. Then he whispered to Keally and I with a smile. "I would have preferred that, actually, but would rather not have the chaos right now."
"You okay, doll face?" Paul asked me and for some reason it is all too much. The emotions and the pain caused something in me to break, as my vision blurs and the tears begin to slide down my cheeks I feel the old feeling of worthlessness pushed upon me. I push away from Paul and Keally, running as fast and hard as my legs can carry me. The flames of the bonfire blurred past me as I ran away from Jacob, from Bella, and distancing myself from the concerned calls of my friends. My feet only seemed to slow when they touched the cold ground of a forest and I allowed myself to slide down the base of a tree to cry.
Review and let me know what you think, please!
I am considering quite a few different things to happen next and would love any suggestions. Thanks!
