My huge thanks to BBwhisperer for her help in helping me work out the timeline of events at the bonfire. And, as always, a big thanks to all the readers and reviewers. I am just completely overwhelmed by your kind comments and support of this story.

I should also mention that I do not mind at all anyone pointing out errors (spelling, grammar or other.) In fact, I appreciate the help! But if you do notice something, please be specific. If I could have picked them out myself, I would have done so before I uploaded the chapter in the first place. I know it's hard to believe sometimes, but I do try to edit these before I post them here.

All the Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Chapter 36: Cry Wolf

I woke up the next morning to the feel of Jasper hovering above me, his nose moving slowly against mine in a sweet Eskimo kiss. Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty had nothing on us! It may not have been a real kiss, but it was a marvelous way to start the day.

As soon as he realized I was awake Jasper moved back to rest on the bed beside me.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Time to go to school."

I groaned. After staying up too late last night I was tired, and with Jasper beside me the last thing I wanted to do was go to school. I turned to the right to look at him.

"Maybe I could skip school today?"

He chuckled. "What happened to the good girl Bella Swan, the police chief's daughter? I can't believe she would ever even think about ditching school. Besides, how long do you think it would take the school to call and alert Charlie if you actually did skip?"

He was right and he knew it. I really didn't have any options. With an exaggerated sigh, I threw off the quilt and got out of bed, padding over to my dresser to take out something to wear and my toiletries.

"Well, I'm off to have a human moment or two," I said as I turned around, "Will you be here when I get back?"

He was sitting on the edge of my bed, still wearing the all-black outfit from last night that made him look so dangerously sexy.

"Charlie's gone already, so I thought I'd stay and drive part of the way to school with you," he said. "Is that okay?"

"Of course that's okay! It's better than just okay," I smiled. If only every morning could be this good!

I took a couple of steps towards him, placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed with the entire force of my body. Still, I knew it wasn't really my strength or weight, but rather his willingness to play along that caused him to fall back onto the bed, with me hovering above him. Mimicking one of his favorite moves, I pressed my nose against his skin at the point of the V-neck opening of his shirt, inhaling as I moved up over his collar bone, the hard muscle of his neck, the hinge of his jaw bone and up to his ear. As usual, his intensely masculine and unique scent was absolutely heavenly. When I was even with his ear, I exhaled softly through my lips, directing the air across his skin, then inhaled though my nose and whispered "Having you here all morning is fabulous."

I gasped as he wrapped his right arm around me and flipped us over while moving us up on the bed, so that I was lying down fully and he was now the one hovering above me, just as he was when I first woke up. He lowered his head so that the tips of our noses were touching, our eyes locked together. "You're playing with fire this morning, Darlin'," he said softly. "As you already know, when it comes to you my self-control is rather limited. You really shouldn't try to be my Siren. You're not nearly as well protected."

I swallowed at his implication. "I trust you."

"I know you do, Bella. I just hope your trust isn't misplaced."

I turned my head from left to right and then back again, stealing another Eskimo kiss. "It doesn't seem to be this morning," I pointed out. "You're doing just fine."

With a groan he pushed himself back up to a sitting position beside me. "No thanks to you."

I laughed, feeling slightly guilty, but mostly a little smug and heady with power. As often as his actions had elicited strong physical responses from me, it felt great to finally turn the tables. Still, I had probably pushed far enough. Plus, it was really getting late. I rolled off the bed again, grabbed my clothes and toiletries and headed for the bathroom.

"I'll be waiting for you downstairs," I heard him say as I was closing the bathroom door.

I went through my morning routine as quickly as possible, grabbed my book bag and headed downstairs, where I downed a quick glass of orange juice and snagged a granola bar to eat in the car on the way to school. I wished I could stop time to spend just a little bit longer with Jasper, but not having any super powers, I had to resign myself to the reality that our interlude together was almost over. Before we left the house he pulled me into one last prolonged hug. And then we were driving and I was dropping him off a few blocks away from the school parking lot, and my wonderful morning came to a grinding halt.

After such a great beginning, the rest of Friday seemed to drag interminably. Everyone at school was excited about the next day's bonfire, but all I could think about was the danger Jasper would be in, hunting Laurent while we were having fun. I understood why I had to go, of course, but it was impossible to work up the appropriate level of enthusiasm.

Things between Mike and me were strained too. Everything was fine on the surface, but our interaction was a little less than natural. Things simply felt forced. He no longer threw his arm casually around my shoulder as we walked together between classes and at lunch he waited until both seats next to me were taken before joining our table. I was paying more attention now, and I could tell that others took notice. There seemed to be quite a few low, speculative conversations by various groups of people, all sneaking glances in our direction. In a way I was glad. As Jake pointed out, this needed to happen for the good of all involved. But on some level I felt sadness too. Back when I was oblivious to all the gossip and thought that Mike and I were simply good friends, I enjoyed my time in school so much more. He had really made my days manageable. Now it was like something vital had been ripped away again. The reasonable part of me knew it had to be that way, but another part wanted to go back to a time when I was clueless, but happier.

I had no afternoon plans, but I had plenty to do at home, so I didn't mind. First, I gave the house a good scrubbing while doing several loads of laundry. I'd been neglecting housework to spend more time with Jasper and, while Charlie didn't seem to notice, it had been bothering me a bit, so this forced time at home actually worked in my favor. I was done cleaning by the time Charlie came home and we had dinner together in the kitchen, before he retired to watch TV and I went upstairs to work on my history assignment. We were studying ancient cultures and had to design a marketing brochure for one of the Greek City States. The assignment was to market the City State to a particular audience. I had to admit it was a unique and interesting project, but one that would take quite a bit of time, especially using my decrepit computer and dial-up connection. Now that my schedule was so unpredictable, I figured I had better get as much of a head start as I could.

I went to bed a little early, tired from staying up the night before. I called Jasper and we talked about our respective days. He still sounded frustrated at Laurent's absence, but I could tell he was looking forward to his hunt Saturday. He seemed absolutely convinced that he would be able to track and deal with Laurent while I was at First Beach. As much as I wanted him to be right, I was still very concerned about the confrontation. I accepted the fact that Jasper was a skilled fighter and a careful planner and strategist, but this only minimized the risk. It didn't eliminate it. And as long as there was some risk that Jasper would be hurt, I couldn't help but worry.

Saturday morning I slept in for a change. By the time I went downstairs to have breakfast, Charlie was already gone for his weekly fishing excursion with Billy. I grabbed a bowl of cereal for breakfast and ate in the back yard, while talking to Jasper. I couldn't see him, of course, but he could see me, and just knowing that he was out there nearby while we talked made me feel better. I really wished I could see him before I left for the bonfire, but since he hadn't hunted for a couple of days, he didn't trust himself to be around me. I assured him that he would be fine, and I was certain he would have been, but I was unable to convince him.

After breakfast I called Jake to make sure he was going to be at the bonfire. I gave him an update on the situation with Mike and warned him not to freak out that Mike would be the one driving me to and from First Beach.

"He's been fine, Jake, so I don't think it will be a problem, but maybe you could just keep an eye out? Help me out if it looks like I need it?"

"Sure thing, Bells. It's never a hardship keeping an eye on you," I could almost feel him winking at me thought the phone and I giggled in response.

"Behave, you incorrigible flirt! There'll be plenty of girls there for you to lavish your attention on who will actually appreciate it."

"Wow, Bella, you sure know how to cut a guy down. I mean, I know you've got more guys interested in you than you can handle right now, but you don't have to be so dismissive."

I rolled my eyes, hoping he could "see" that as clearly as I "saw" his wink, and laughed. "If I thought for one second that you were being serious I might be a little more sensitive, but as it is I know you're just being a pain. Plus, I know you've got thick skin and an even thicker skull and nothing I say is actually going to hurt you."

Jake let out a short bark of a laugh and we hung up, promising to tease each other mercilessly later. The conversation put me in a good mood and I actually enjoyed the rest of my morning and early afternoon as I worked on various school assignments. As three o'clock approached, however, I started getting more and more worried. By 2:30 I was dressed and ready to go, nervously pacing the living room as I waited for Mike.

My cell phone buzzed and I knew Jasper had felt my tension and was calling to try to calm me down.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stop worrying about you," I said tersely.

"Darlin'," he said patiently, "you're being unreasonable. Today is no different than any other day this week. Laurent could have shown up at any time. There is no additional danger."

I sighed. I knew theoretically he was right, but in my mind there was a difference between waiting to confront Laurent from a well defended position and seeking him out where he could have the element of surprise on his side.

"Bella, you're stressing out for nothing, really. This is a good thing. At least this way he won't be anywhere near Forks. If I manage to find him and confront him, wouldn't you rather that happen far away from the local human population?"

I had to give him that point. I certainly did not want Laurent near anyone who lived in Forks.

"Now, before Mike arrives, can I ask you one favor? When you spoke with him Thursday night he mentioned hiking today. I'd really prefer you not go into the woods, even with a group of people. I don't know how the werewolves work or how many there are, but chances are they will have someone keeping an eye on First Beach. However, they may not have enough members to send lookouts with the hikers as well as keeping someone on the beach and running border patrols."

I shivered at his words. Based on our conversation Thursday night I assumed everyone at La Push would be safe from vampire attacks, but I now realized how foolish that assumption was. With so many more people milling about on the reservation, naturally defenses would be spread thin. I was glad Jasper warned me to stay on the beach, but now I wanted to stop everyone else from hiking as well. I knew Laurent was looking for me specifically, but if he was thirsty and ran across some of my friends? I just had to hope that he wasn't in Forks to hunt anyone but me. It was a surreal hope, to say the least.

"I promise I'll stay on the beach, Jasper."

"Thank you, Darlin'. It will help me to know you're taking every precaution while there."

"Okay, I'll do my best, but you take every precaution too. Don't do anything stupid or too risky just because you don't really want to call Emmett for help. Deal?"

"Yes, Bella, it's a deal. Now, Mike is about 2 blocks away. Time to put away the phone. Call me before you leave the reservation tonight. If I still haven't found Laurent by then I want to be able to follow you home."

My throat tightened. What if something happened and this was our last goodbye?

"I'll see you soon, Darlin'. Trust me, I'll see you soon."

I swallowed as much of my fear and anxiety as I could.

"See you soon, Jasper." I closed the phone and packed it away in my bag just as the doorbell rang.

"Hey, Bella," Mike said after I opened the door. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the house, locking the door behind me. I got into the passenger seat and buckled in as Mike closed the door and got in on the driver's side. He seemed happier today that yesterday, and that alone put me more at ease. He turned to me with a wide smile.

"So, ready to have some fun on the beach?"

I suppose I could have read more into that if I wanted, but I didn't get a sense that it was anything other than a straightforward question, so I just said "Let's go," and we were on our way.

The drive to First Beach was uneventful. Mike and I mainly talked about the social studies assignment, which he apparently worked on the previous night as well. I was surprised to hear that. I would have imagined a popular guy like him would have been out on a Friday night, but then I knew he wasn't dating anyone, and knowing that we were all going to be busy today maybe a lot of people stayed home to finish their homework last night. In any case, I was glad not to feel like the only nerd of our group, if the subject ever came up.

When we got to First Beach Mike called Tyler and Eric over and the three of them got some rather large coolers and a grill out of the suburban. Mike reached to the back and got out a few blankets and tarps. I grabbed those and we all walked to the beach with our gear.

"You didn't tell me we were supposed to bring stuff," I said to Mike, a bit of accusation in my voice because now I felt like a freeloader who didn't contribute anything to the gathering.

"Hey, it's no big deal. I mean, my parents have all this equipment because of the store, you know. And I always try to spring for a lot of the food and stuff – I save up my allowance. It's easier for me than for a lot of the others." He was clearly embarrassed, looking down at the ground as we walked. I realized that he wasn't always comfortable with being one of the wealthier kids in the school, and I found it sweet and endearing.

"Well, I could have made a potato salad or cole slaw or something," I grumbled, but my voice was no longer resentful, "I'm actually a pretty good cook."

He turned his head slightly and looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Sorry I didn't say anything, then. I bet your potato salad would have been better than the stuff I picked up at the store. Maybe next time? I'd really love to try it. Or any of your cooking, for that matter." He was embarrassed again, back to looking at the ground, like he'd said too much.

And maybe he had said too much. Inviting him over for a home cooked meal? That had a lot of implications that were beyond the friendship stage where I needed our relationship to be. "Maybe next time," I said. I figured the next bonfire would be in the spring and by then everything would be different.

We greeted the few people who were already there and the boys set up the coolers and grill in an area where others had already set up a make-shift mess hall tent. This was Forks, after all, and we had to be prepared for the weather. I spread out tarps on the sand near the temporary fire pit built out of loose rocks and covered the tarps with a couple of blankets, keeping other blankets in their plastic protectors. I guessed that even with the fire we would need those after dark, when the temperature dropped. Until then, it was a good idea to keep them protected from the elements. As I was working I saw Mike jog back to his car and wheel back a pretty impressive looking music system. I walked over to him just as he was setting it up and plugging in his iPod.

"What is this thing?" I asked.

"It's a party machine on wheels," he said, laughing. "It's an outdoor iPod docking station and a karaoke machine, just in case anyone wants to get really crazy later tonight. Do you sing?"

I scrunched my face in a frown "Usually only under the threat of torture. Do you?"

He looked down, adjusting something on the machine. "Sometimes," he muttered.

He stood up and we joined the rest of the growing crowd. Ben and Angela had arrived and I greeted both of them with hugs. Jessica and Lauren were there as well, along with a bunch of other kids from school. Then, from the edge of the forest I saw Jake walking over with another boy. I squealed and headed over in his direction. I would have run, but I was afraid of stumbling on a rock or root and falling flat on my face, so instead I just walked as quickly as I could. The slower pace gave me a little more time to enjoy the view. Jake and his friend were way too young for me, but I had to admit they were really good looking and buff. Both were wearing jeans and dark T-shirts that stretched impressively over their well developed chests and arms. Jake's long hair hung loose around his face on one side, tucked behind his ear on the other. The other boy's dark hair was closely cropped, a style that suited his open face. I could only imagine how these two would be ogled by the girls from Forks. The boys in our school were nice and some were even very good looking, but none had anything in the physique territory that compared to these two.

When I finally reached Jake I moved to hug him in greeting. He wrapped one arm around my mid-back and swung me around in a circle, laughing at my surprise.

"Put me down, you brute," I said, laughing. He set me back down on the ground. I saw the other boy raise an eyebrow at our display. Jake didn't appear to notice.

"Bella, this is Quil, one of my best friends. Quil, this is Bella Swan."

"Chief Swan's daughter, right?" Quil said, holding out his hand. "I'm Quil Ateara."

I shook his offered hand. His grasp was surprisingly firm and warm. "That's right," I confirmed. "Nice to meet you, Quil. Jake's told me a lot about you," I said with a smile as he released my hand.

Some of his swagger disappeared and he became a little flustered.

"Um, nice to meet you too. Wish I could say Jacob's told me a lot about you, but he apparently likes to keep secrets."

Jake looked at him with surprise and speculation.

"There's nothing to tell. Bella's like one of my sisters and I don't talk to you about them either."

Quil's smile returned. "Like one of your sisters, huh? Sorry, bro, but maybe you should have mentioned the really good looking sister."

I blushed and looked away. Was this boy actually trying to flirt with me right in front of Jake? I saw Jake punch Quil in the ribs, playfully, but not softly. A painful grimace briefly covered Quil's face.

"Watch your mouth, Quil. I know how you think and I wouldn't let you near any of my sisters."

I decided it was time to put a stop to this and re-join the others.

"Okay, boys, enough of the juvenile humor. Let me introduce you to my friends."

We started walking back to the group. I saw Mike watching us speculatively and, even from the distance, I could tell he was frowning.

"Looks like Mike's a little put out," Jake said, softly enough so that Quil wouldn't hear.

"He'll be fine," I responded quietly, but I was frowning as well. I hoped that I was right, but I wasn't entirely convinced.

We finally reached the rest of the group and I went through the introductions. We were also joined by other kids from Forks and La Push. Mike, Tyler and Eric manned the grills and we started taking turns eating as the hamburgers and hot dogs became available. Feeling a little guilty, I drifted over to Mike's side and kept him company while he grilled. We worked together. As one batch of food was ready I took the platters out to the others and brought him a new batch to grill from the coolers. I could tell by the smile on his face that this interaction pleased him, and since all we had time for was a little meaningless banter, I didn't think there was any harm in it. Finally, after everyone had eaten, Mike turned off the grill and grabbed the food I made sure to set aside for him from the last prepared batch.

"You're pretty good at this, Swan," he said as he finished his burger. "We make a great team. We should open a restaurant or something. You make the potato salad and I'll grill."

I couldn't help laughing.

"Right, a short order cook, I'm sure that's exactly the future your folks would want for you."

"Maybe not," he said with a smile, "but they do want to see me happy. And I have a feeling I'd be pretty happy with that arrangement."

I looked away, forcing the smile to stay on my lips even though all feeling of mirth was now gone.

"Yeah, well, I think the restaurant business is a little too risky for me, so I'll go the college and career route."

Mike knew he had overstepped the invisible boundary I tried to set up between us. He didn't apologize, but didn't say anything else as he kept eating. With the situation more tense between us, I took the opportunity to drift towards the rest of the group when he got up to throw away his plate.

A group of people were getting ready to go hiking and asked Mike to come along as he approached.

"Sure, sounds great," he said. "Bella, you coming?" I knew he had expected me to say yes based on my willingness to go hiking in the spring, but today was different. Even if Jasper hadn't specifically asked me not to go, I might have opted to stay on the beach just to put a little distance between me and Mike.

"No, thanks. I don't think I'm up for it today. I'll just hang out on the beach."

"I can stay and keep you company," he said. I could see he was trying to find a graceful way to back out of the hike.

"It's okay, Mike. You go and enjoy the hike. There's plenty to do here to keep me busy."

"I'm not going hiking, so I can keep you from getting bored," Quil volunteered. I laughed. Mike scowled, but clearly couldn't find a good enough excuse to stay without being too obvious, so he turned and followed the group of hikers, his shoulders stiff with tension.

Jake stayed behind as well, so after the hiking group left the three of us settled on the blankets and talked about the usual topics that made up small talk: school music, hobbies. There were fewer people on the beach now, and as I looked around I saw one Quileute boy sitting off to the side by himself, not socializing with any of the others.

"Who's that?" I asked Jake, pointing my chin in the boy's direction. Jake scowled.

"That's Embry," he said bitterly.

I remembered what he told me about Embry Thursday night. Still, I found it odd that Embry wouldn't have joined us now. It's not like any of his other friends were around.

"Why is he sitting there all alone? Should we ask him to join us?"

Quil shook his head.

"He doesn't want to have anything to do with us anymore, now that he's so tight with Sam, Paul and Jared. It's like he's too good for us, or something. It's weird. Maybe they have some sort of an alternative lifestyle thing going between the four of them. I mean, they're always together, always showing up without their shirts on," he sniggered. "Jared went off with the hikers, so maybe he and Embry had a lover's spat and Embry's pouting."

"Shut up, Quil," Jake said darkly. "That's not funny. He's still our friend."

"Really? He's said two words to you lately, then? Cause he won't even look at me long enough to say hey. With friends like that . . ." Quil's voice trailed off. Jake's eyes were on the sand next to the blanket.

The conversation at a standstill, things were becoming as strained here as between me and Mike. Desperate to change subjects, I looked up and noticed the gorgeous sunset. I elbowed each of the guys.

"Check that out. It's so beautiful," the two of them looked up obediently.

"Hard to notice anything as ordinary as a sunset with you sitting here," Quil said.

I cringed at the obvious pick-up line.

"Knock it off, Quil, I'm warning you," Jake said.

I noticed his body was starting to quiver with anger. I placed my hand on his arm to calm him and was shocked to feel how burning hot his skin felt.

"Are you feeling okay, Jake? I think you have a fever."

"I'm feeling a little odd," he admitted, "nothing serious, though."

I was concerned. "Should we get you to a doctor?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Bella," he scoffed. "I'm fine."

The sun had disappeared and it was rapidly getting dark. I saw the hikers coming back. Mike was frowning again, undoubtedly at the sight of me sitting with Quil and Jake with my hand on Jake's arm. Oh, well. Jake was a friend and Mike would just have to get used to it.

Now that the whole group was re-assembled everyone quickly gathered the wood for the bonfire and lit it up. Mike headed off to the entertainment system.

"Karaoke, anyone?" he yelled. Several guys groaned while the girls squealed in delight and ran up to Mike with their requests. The night exploded with sounds of Karaoke standards of 'Hey Mickey', 'Hit Me Baby, One More Time,' and 'I Kissed a Girl'. Jessica and Angela came over to us and pulled me off the blanket, giggling.

"Come on, Bella. We've got the perfect song for us to sing."

I groaned, but followed them obediently, throwing a terrified look over my shoulder at Jake, who was grinning wide for a change. I groaned even louder when I heard the opening piano music, but went along anyway, singing

At first I was afraid, I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side
But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong
And I grew strong, and I learned how to get along

The song was such a classic anthem that despite our incredibly poor performance everyone was getting into it. From the corner of my eye I saw Mike smiling again, clapping in time with the music as we belted out the lyrics. The whole beach exploded into raucous applause when we were finished. The three of us bowed, then ran to the coolers to get some water to soothe our throats, hoarse from nearly screaming out the chorus.

I took my water back to the blanket and settle myself down again between Jake and Quil.

"Didn't know you had it in ya," Jake teased.

"Neither did I," I laughed. "It felt good, though." And it had. I realized that with that song I finally let Edward go completely. I did survive, and it felt damn good!

"Geez, he's about as subtle as a ton of bricks," I heard Jake say. I looked over and saw that Mike had picked up the microphone and was singing. I strained to hear the lyrics.

Everyone knows it's meant to be
Falling in love, just you and me
'til the end of time
'til I'm on her mind
It'll happen
I've been making lots of plans
Like a picket fence and a rose garden
I just keep on dreaming
But it's cool cause we're just friends

"Oh shit," I muttered as I recognized the song. My face was burning. I didn't think there was anyone on the beach who couldn't figure out why Mike had chosen this particular song to sing or whom he was singing it to.

"I'm gonna go have a talk with him," Jake said menacingly, quivering again.

"No, Jake, wait." I said as placed a restraining hand on him again, once more noticing he was burning up. "Let me talk to him first. Maybe the song I sang gave him the wrong impression."

Jake scowled, but he seemed to calm down some. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Embry and another Quileute boy had gotten up and were moving closer to our blanket, watching Jake with concerned expressions. Then Mike's song was over and I saw him walking towards us. He scowled when he saw my hand on Jake's arm.

"So, Bella, I thought maybe if you're done babysitting for the night you can come and hang out with the rest of us seniors?" he said, not even trying to hide his rudeness.

Then everything happened in a blink of an eye. Jake launched himself up and at Mike before I could do anything, his whole body undulating with anger. At the same time Embry and Jared jumped at him, each boy grabbing him underneath one arm and pulling him away towards the forest.

"Come on, man, you're not feeling well. We'll take you home," I heard Embry say, though I felt it was more for our benefit than Jake's.

And then, just like that, they were gone. The rest of us looked around in confusion. No one could make sense of what had just happened. I realized I was shaking. I looked at Quil and saw that he was just as disturbed as I was. Off in the distance in the forest, we heard the howl of a wolf.

The songs for this chapter are as follows: The chapter title is from a song by A-ha of the same name. The song sung by Bella, Angela, and Jessica is, of course, I Will Survive, by Gloria Gaynor. And the song sung by Mike is Just Friends, by Jonas Brothers. You can find links to all the songs in my profile.

The next chapter should be posted some time mid-week. In the meantime, please let me know what you thought. I love to hear about your favorite/least favorite things from each chapter. Thanks!