APOV
I was just about to sit down for dinner, when Jake decided to finally speak to me.
"So, you've been home a lot lately," My eyes narrowed.
"Yes, and you've been neglecting Billy a lot lately," Jacob winced.
"He can take care of himself," I snorted and sat down. Ever since I had returned, Jacob had been on my case. At first, he wouldn't shut up, repeating 'I told you so' every chance he got. I guess he must have gotten tired of me yelling at him, because he had stopped talking to me altogether after only one day.
And now, for some weird reason, my annoying cousin was talking to me again for the first time in three weeks.
"So, what's the deal?" I put my fork down and glared at Jacob, who was now devouring seconds...
"What do you mean," He asked, with his mouth full too.
"I mean," I started leaning away from him, if he was going to keep stuffing his face, I was going to try and avoid the flying food as much as possible. "Why are you talking to me again? You're not just trying to soften me up so you can say 'I told you so' again, are you?" Jacob snorted, which made bits of food fling out his mouth...and nose.
I grimaced, and shoved my chair further away from the table. I would have fled already, but Jacob hadn't told me why he was talking yet.
"No, I actually have to ask you something," I waited. Jake was still eating, so that meant it wouldn't be anything too awkward.
"Something like what," I couldn't help but be wary, it was Jacob after all.
"I know you haven't been out of the house, at all, so that probably means you haven't been talking to Collin much either," He put his plate down, he was finished, but he didn't go for thirds.
Now I was beginning to panic.
"No, no I haven't, why?"
"Well, there's this, retreat sort of thing that the pack goes on every year, you know, to bond and stuff. We haven't actually gone on one in years, but Sam thinks it's necessary with all the new members," I frowned. I thought I was the only new member?
"Collin, Seth, and Leah haven't gone on one yet either," Jacob explained, seeing my look of confusion.
"Okay and what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, we usually bring our imprintees with us ...sometimes, and Collin was supposed to ask you, so obviously, he hasn't,"
"So, like, what? Are you asking me?" Jacob laughed.
"Nope, just wanted you to know about it. That way if Collin doesn't ask you, it'll be nice fuel for you to dump him," Jacob grinned at me, but I could tell he was serious, something in his eyes told me he really wanted to split Collin and I up.
"Jake, you realize that I would never leave Collin, not again," Jacob got up, taking his plate with him.
He sighed. "I know," Jacob turned away from me, toward the sink, and turned the tap on. "You'd better go see him, I bet he's waiting," Jacob still didn't turn around, even though I was sure he was done washing his one dish.
"Jake," I stopped myself, got up, and pushed in my chair slowly. "See you later,"
I couldn't understand Jacob. I knew that he wanted to protect me, Rachel wanted the exact same thing, but I was beginning to think he was going a bit over board.
I mean Jacob is a smart person, but there are some times, times like these, when I couldn't believe how dense he was.
I wasn't sure if Jacob really wanted me to go on this retreat. Now that I thought about it, maybe Jake had mentioned the retreat so I would mention it to Collin. Maybe Jake was hoping Collin didn't want me to go...
I paused a few blocks from Collin's house, turning the idea over in my head. That wouldn't matter, if Collin said no, I wasn't really planning on going to this retreat thing anyway.
A whole weekend with Sam, Paul and Leah? I would rather do anything but that.
"Hey James," I startled him, naturally.
"How did you get in here?" I rolled my eyes, stepping on the heels of my shoes to take them off.
"The door's unlocked, is Collin home?"
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I shook my head at him, smiling.
"Hey Lex," Collin stopped halfway down the stairs to grin at me. It looked like he had just gotten out of bed.
He caught me looking at his bed head, and his grin quickly turned apologetic.
"Sorry, I had to patrol earlier, James' yelling woke me up," I shrugged, and bounded up the stairs - two at a time - into Collin's outstretched arms.
"You don't apologize, I do, sorry I woke you up," Collin kissed the top of my head.
"Apology accepted, so is there a reason you came? Or did you just feel the need to drive my brother insane,"
I smiled.
"No reason, although I think I've almost got him to go over the edge," James swore behind me, making Collin's eyes narrow.
"Shut it James, not at her, okay?" James snorted. The springs in the couch downstairs creaked as James got up.
"What if I do? What're you gonna do about it, little brother," Collin's jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed further.
"Collin," he glanced down at me for a fraction of a second, before glaring back at his brother. "Not over me," Collin's eyes widened for a second before returning to normal.
"Okay, but when you're gone..." Collin grinned. "Come on, I need to talk to you," Collin led me upstairs. I paused outside his bedroom door; I couldn't help but worry about Collin's dog.
"He's outside," My nose wrinkled.
"Okay," I was still hesitant to follow Collin in though.
I sat down on the edge his bed, the side closest to the door. Collin stretched himself out on the floor directly beneath me.
"So, I was thinking we should go out this weekend," I didn't say anything. "It won't be like a date or anything, there's gonna be other people there, a whole bunch of other people."
"It's not a club is it?" Collin shot up immediately, his face a mask of shock.
"No! Of course not," I smiled, and Collin relaxed, sort of. "I hate it when you do that," I smirked.
"So, if it's not a club," Collin glared at me, "then where are we going?" He looked down, and started fidgeting.
"Well, the whole pack is going and all of the imprintees, 'cept Nessie and Claire; they're too young. It's like a camping trip I guess, Sam says it's supposed to help us bond over something other than vampires," I winced.
"So, it's like a retreat type of thing then," Collin nodded, finally looking up at me.
"Exactly, there's a campfire, and stories, we even get to sleep in tents," I laughed. Collin was so excited about the whole trip; it made me happy to see him happy about something other than me for once.
"We all sleep in a giant tent? Wouldn't make more sense to just sleep outside, you know with us being werewolves and all," Collin shrugged.
"Sam said they used to do that, before they started bringing their imprints, they can't sleep on the ground. And no, we don't all sleep in one tent; we share tents in pairs,"
Oh, so that was where this was going.
"Of course, Seth, Leah, Quil, and Jake don't have an imprintee to share with, so they share with each other except for Leah, cause she's a girl and she would hate to have to share with one of us, so she gets her own tent," Collin continued with a series of random mumbles - most of them circulating around how Leah being a girl was an inconvenience - until I covered his mouth with my hand.
"You know, I don't mind sharing a tent with you," Collin's eyes lit up ... or dimmed, I guess it depends on your perspective.
"Really? Cause I just thought, it might be too hard, to be that close..." I shook my head, giggling. I slid off Collin's bed and into his lap.
"I trust you," I whispered, taking my hand off his mouth and placing it on his chest.
"That's good, but you do know, I would never hurt you again, ever," I nodded. "Good, now go home and pack your stuff," I leaned back, surprised by his outburst. Collin smiled, and got up.
He stretched then offered me his hand so I could get up too. I took it, still confused.
"I've got some tents in the basement, bring your stuff here later and we can have a mini camp out before the pack one tomorrow," I smiled.
"Mini camp out,"
"Yeah, we'll sleep in a tent, have s'mores and stuff, but no fires, mom would kill me," I laughed. A fully grown werewolf still afraid of his mother, and for some strange reason, I found that really attractive.
"Mkay, but I don't want to leave you yet," Collin grinned.
"Then you'd better pack your stuff really quick," I hugged him as quickly as I could, before running down the stairs.
The fastest way back home, would be to phase. I sighed. I had to pick today of all days to wear jeans. It would take forever to take them off while running and it would obviously slow me down if I stopped...
You know what? Screw it. I phased anyway, wincing at the sound of my jeans ripping. I hadn't really bothered with the sweatshirt ... Jacob wouldn't mind.
Told you shorts were easier. I winced again at Leah's mental voice.
Hey Leah. She wasn't anywhere near me, but I still felt uneasy. I didn't like having Leah in my head...
Really? That's a first; usually people don't want me in their heads. I slowed down a little. Leah was trying to hide it, but I could see the pain in her thoughts.
Leah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean...
I know, I like you more than the others Lex, and not just because you're the only other girl. It's more because you don't mind having to listen to me, not once have I heard you complain like the others. Thanks for that, it's nice to know someone's actually listening, not enduring. I had come to a full stop by now, listening to Leah. I knew the guys weren't completely heartless. They kind of understood what Leah was going through, but no one would ever know the full extent of her pain.
At first I was sort of put off by Leah's constant complaining, but once I started listening it wasn't so bad. Not once did I ever feel sorry for her, she wouldn't want that. I just wished that I did know what she was going through, so I could help her instead of just standing by.
I hadn't noticed Leah following my scent, coming to meet me. It sort of surprised me when her head popped out from between the trees.
Leah, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know I'm here, right? Leah smiled.
I know, but I think its better you don't know what I've gone through. No one deserves to go through this, especially you. You and Collin have something special; I wouldn't want to ruin that by wasting your time... Like I'm doing now, go get your stuff, Collin's waiting. Leah disappeared again. See you tomorrow. Her thoughts faded, and I knew that Leah was gone, human again to endure her pain alone. I tried to shrug it off and continue to Jake's, but Leah was still on my mind.
I stopped about ten feet from the back door, in front of my emergency stash of clothes. On Jacob's advice, I had put them there a few hours from my first phase. Jake was positive I would need them one day, and once again, he was right.
Jacob wasn't home, but Billy was, and it looked like he wanted to say something to me.
"Hey Billy," I smiled. I wasn't sure if Billy did this on purpose, but there was this look he had that made you feel so awkward ... Or like you were in trouble.
"Mhm," I frowned. He was still watching me from the kitchen, but he wasn't saying anything.
Maybe I was wrong, it didn't seem like Billy wanted to talk to me after all.
I was about to shut my bedroom door, when Billy called my name. I groaned inwardly.
Of all the days for anyone to want to talk to me, it had to be the day I was in a hurry.
"Yeah Billy," I peeked out my bedroom door. Maybe I was hearing things; maybe Billy hadn't called me after all.
"Could I talk to you for a while?" I winced. "It'll only take a second," his eyes narrowed, "you look like you're in a hurry," I bit my lip.
"Sure, we could talk," I left my room so I could sit across the table from Billy.
"Jacob told me you decided to join the pack at the retreat tomorrow," For some weird reason, I couldn't bring myself to meet Billy's gaze. I kept my eyes safely on the table as I answered.
"Yes, I haven't really gotten to know the others very well..."
"I understand that, you only know your cousin...and Collin," Speaking of Collin, he had told me to hurry. Leah had also told me to hurry after that, and here I was having a conversation with Billy.
"Yes, um, Billy? You were right before, I sorta am in a hurry," Billy nodded, but he didn't really dismiss me, so I couldn't leave.
"I just wanted to tell you to be careful, and to remember who you are. Don't give into peer pressure etcetera," My face heated up. So this was about the tent sharing, was Billy going to give me the Talk too?
"Of course Billy, thanks for the tip," I smiled again, and quickly retreated to my room. Sometimes I wished Billy wasn't in on the whole werewolf business. Life was complicated enough as it was, I didn't need Billy worrying about my sex life...
Collin would be waiting now, anxious even. I tried to rush, but it didn't take me long to realize the only bag appropriate to take to a camping trip that I had was a backpack. I started to deliberate, but one glance at the clock made me shove random clothes into the bag. Once that was done, I rushed into the bathroom, grabbing my toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and my favourite hair brush.
Shoving those in my bag too, I stumbled out the door, barely managing to call a "See you Monday, Billy," over my shoulder in my rush.
Collin was waiting when I finally arrived at his house. He didn't look worried though, he looked lazy if anything. He was stretched out lazily on his front lawn, staring at the night sky.
"Collin,"
"Hey Lex," He sat up immediately, grinning.
"Sorry I took so long,"
"S'okay, I had a little trouble finding the tents, so I needed the extra time," He took my bag, then my hand and led me around the house to the back yard.
There were three tents there, all of them about two feet from each other.
"Okay, which one do you want to try out first?" It would take to long to try them all tonight, is I decided to scout for the tent that had the most potential. The first tent was too small. Stuffing two werewolves in there would be a tight fit... Billy's face and warning flashed in my head, and I crossed Tent #1 off my mental list.
I walked over to the second tent; this one was longer, but not much wider than the first. I was about to cross that one off two, when I caught a glance at the last tent.
"Oh my goodness, Collin, what are you trying to do?" I turned around; Collin was still standing where I'd left him, by Tent #1.
"Do? Nothing, why? Is something wrong?" I shook my head. This was to naïve, even for Collin.
"Like you don't know, tell me Collin, how many people are these tents supposed to be able to hold," Collin glanced at the ground for half a second.
"Well, that one," He pointed at Tent #1, "holds three people," That wasn't very believable. "That one, four people," Tent #2, "And that last one, uh, one, but I thought you might want too..." His voice trailed off. I wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or something else.
"How about a four person tent, Collin," Collin shrugged.
"Don't have one, only three people in the family,"
"Oh, well, I guess we can...manage," Collin grinned.
"Okay tent number three it is!" I laughed.
"Uh, no, tent number one," Collin shrugged again, and crawled into the tent. I hesitated; it looked like a tight fit without Collin in there. We would practically be on top of each other...
I scowled, that was probably exactly what Collin wanted. Jacob was going to kill me.
I sighed.
"Okay Collin, move over," I was right it was a tight fit. I barley managed to fit in beside Collin, and even then it was hard to find a comfortable position.
I must have been moving around a lot, because before long, Collin sighed, and picked me up by my shoulders, which was really awkward in such a small space.
"Collin, what're-" Collin laid himself flat on his back while still holding me above him. Once he was comfortable, he laid me in on his chest.
"Better?" I didn't want to answer, because even though I knew this would be putting myself in temptations way, it was better.
"Colin..." He sighed.
"Don't worry, I'll let you down ... later," Collin winked, and then let his eyes close.
I sighed, mentally giving up. If he was going to trap me up here, might as well enjoy it. I was sure I wouldn't get a chance like this tomorrow...
I let myself relax, practically melting into Collin's muscles.
It took me a while to leave my fantasy world, and when I did, I realized Collin had fallen asleep.
He really was tired, how long had he been patrolling earlier? Why would Jake and Sam make Collin, and the others, patrol so much in the first place? They were still human beings, they needed sleep too. And why wasn't I allowed to patrol? Sure, I had never actually fought a vampire before, but it was instinct, right? It couldn't be too hard...
I was still watching Collin sleep, when I first heard the howling.
Sam, he couldn't be calling for Collin already, could he?
I scowled, and crawled out of the tent as carefully as I could. Mercifully, Collin didn't wake up. He must have been really tired, because in my haste, I got the tent zipper stuck, and I had to basically rip it out. Collin wouldn't be too happy about it, but once he realized we'd have to use one of the smaller tents, he'd be fine.
Once I was out of the ruined tent, I tiptoed across the yard. The lights in Collin's house were on. That meant that either Trace was home, or James had forgotten to turn them off before falling asleep.
I left my clothes near my bag, which I hid in the trees, and phased.
Alexis? Where's Collin? Sam sounded more surprised than angry, but he would be pissed off soon enough.
Asleep. I felt the shock in Sam's thoughts.
Well, go wake him up, I need him out here. Sam still sounded surprised, mostly because his howling hadn't woken Collin up.
He needs sleep Sam, let his rest. I hadn't noticed them before, but now I could hear Paul and Jared's thoughts in my head.
Both of them were surprised that I was defying Sam. Paul thought it was hilarious.
Alexis, I don't have time for this, go wake Collin. Now. It felt as if the ground had shaken beneath me. The ring of the order was evident in Sam's thoughts. I may not have been a part of his pack, but in that moment it was obvious he was at a higher rank than I was.
Instincts told me to turn around and wake Collin up, but common sense told me that I didn't need to listen to Sam. I had Alpha blood somewhere in me; I just had to find it.
He needs to sleep Sam. You can find someone else to run around for you. I couldn't believe it; I was actually disobeying orders, and giving orders to the Alpha. I was losing it.
I knew this wasn't going to work. Sam would either yell at me, or tell on me.
Fine then, you take Collin's shift. Sam sounded exasperated. It was obvious he wasn't used to dealing with rebellious werewolves. One look in his thought told me otherwise though.
I reminded him of Jacob before Jake had started his own pack; when Jacob had left, to protect Bella, despite Sam's orders.
Sam didn't want to have to deal with that again.
He meant to punish me, by making me take Collin's shift. But, strangely enough, I was happy to do it. Finally, I'd be able to fulfill my duties as a La Push werewolf, as a Protector.