"ALEXANDRA FAYE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Alex had only a split second to take in her best friend's huge grin before Quil barrelled into her.
Her world wheeled around her as Quil literally swept her off her feet, all new strength and new joy as he danced around with her as if she was a doll. Automatically, she grasped at him, trying to wrap her arms around his frame. She couldn't now – he was simply too huge. He barked another happy laugh – still his own, but deeper and rougher – and set her back on her feet.
She stared at him, breathless.
Not only had he gotten tall – far taller than her now, but still short of most of the Pack – but he'd gotten bigger too. Quil had always been brawny, and now he was built, arms rippling and barrel chested. He looked…dangerous.
But then he beamed at her, eyes crinkling and flashing his crooked bottom teeth, and it was just Quil. Just her idiot best friend.
And god, she had missed him.
This time, Alex ploughed into him, wrapping her arms around as much of him as she could, and laughing wheezily into his massive chest. "Jesus Christ! What'd you do? Swallow a tank?" Because she could, giddy on seeing him, giddy on his smile, she bit at his shoulder. Nothin' but solid muscle.
It made him laugh, huge hands grabbing both of her shoulders to hold her up again like an irritating three-year-old. Quil patted her down, still grinning. "And what did you do, swallow a harmonica?" At her answering wheezy huff, he chuckled.
She grimaced, both at his words and the reminder of her absence. "I am sorry, Quil." She told him seriously.
He nodded, face growing sombre. "It's cool." He turned, angling his body enough so that she could see the other two figures that had emerged from the direction of the forest. Alex couldn't help the thrill of apprehension that raced down her spine, set her heart thundering in her chest, as she ducked her head to avoid Embry and Jacob's gazes. Quil eyed her strangely, sniffing quietly. "You okay?" he asked quietly.
Right. Wolfy-senses. Alex glared at him. "I'll give you a pass because you're new, but sniff out my feelings again, and I'll staple you to a tree." It had taken ages to get Paul and the others to stop.
Quil grinned. "I'd like to see you try." He clapped a hand down on her shoulder, heavily enough to ache, and she winced. Quil retracted his hand sheepishly. "Sorry, Alex. Um." He looked back over to their other friends. "We should talk." He said, sounding just as reluctant as she felt.
Alex dared to look quickly at the other two. Jacob had turned away from her, but she could see from his profile he was frowning. Great. Embry met her eyes, and raised his eyebrows pointedly. Then, he slung an arm around Jacob's neck and tugged him into the trees. Alex sighed, and squared her shoulders. Quil put his hand back on her shoulder, carefully this time, and they set off after their friends.
Sam jabbed a pair of tongs at them as they passed. "Hey, grub's nearly up." He warned. "And I won't be able to hold off the hungry mob forever."
Alex nodded. "We won't go far." Sam eyed her for another moment before he nodded. Quil and Alex marched on.
Embry had probably wanted to go out of earshot, which Alex could appreciate, even if her lungs could not. She kept her head down, doggedly tramping through the undergrowth as fast as she could, trying to keep up with Quil. Quil, however, was not as patient. As her breathing began to grow loud even to her own ears, he rounded on her, and reached for her.
Alex scowled at him, and side-stepped his grabby hands. "No." she told him, "I," she panted, "Can handle…handle it."
Quil rolled his eyes. "Let me help you, dickhead."
"No!" She snapped, and stomped onwards, though she had no real idea where she was going. She couldn't exactly scent Embry out, nor follow the trace evidence of his passage like the others could. Still. She wasn't going to admit that-
Large hands grabbed her by her arms, as Quil lifted her bodily. She went stiff, just to spite him, unable to muster the breath to yell at him. "You're going the wrong way, idiot." He told her fondly, ignoring her evil glare, tucking her under his arm like a football. Knowing resistance was futile, Alex went slack again, letting herself dangle limply and watching the undergrowth pass them by dejectedly.
"I hate this." She grumbled after a moment, confident her voice would hold. "I hate not even being able to walk."
Quil hummed sympathetically, and ducked around a large patch of ferns. "Yeah, it must suck." With that, he dropped her, and she went sprawling on the ground. "Heh. Sorry." He said unapologetically. She rolled over to glare at him again, blowing a chunk of moss off her cheek.
"Quil," Embry's voice came from behind her, sounding equal parts chiding and amused. "C'mon, man. She's an invalid."
At that, Alex sat up, if only so she could twist to glare at Embry. Her friend was leaning against a giant redwood, smiling slightly. He looked thinner than last she saw him, tired, but there was a genuine joy in his eyes as he looked between her and Quil. "Hey, Alex." He said quietly.
"I thought you were dead. We all did…"
Embry's voice came back to her, his fearful eyes, his gentle grip, still mustering a smile for her, even as the world came down around them. Alex got up, and moved towards him. Embry eased off the tree and met her halfway, wrapping her in a tight hug that made her ribs groan. "Hi, Em." She whispered. "I'm sorry for being an idiot." She told him. She could only imagine him waking up to find her gone, Jacob and Leah still locked in combat, and the others out looking for the vampire.
"You'd think I'd be used to it," He grinned at her, "considering I am constantly surrounded by idiots."
"Hey!" Quil yelped indignantly.
"He's right, Quilly." Jacob's voice made Alex still for a moment. "Can't hate the truth." His voice was outwardly casual, but Alex – and the other two in the clearing – could tell it was false. Perks of being friends for years.
Alex schooled her expression, and turned to face Jacob. He was hovering on the other side of the clearing, obviously intent on keeping as much distance between them as possible. "Pretty sure you fall under the category of idiot too, Jacob." She said lightly.
Jacob met her eyes, and Alex tried not to react as the thing she'd been ignoring flared to life with a burning intensity. Unbidden, the phantom sensation of his mouth on hers made her skin prickle with goose-bumps, the memory of his hands on her, the taste of his lips, the heat of his skin pulling her out of her own. The Imprint clawed at her with sheer desire. It was all she could do to keep her feet still.
Jacob's jaw had tensed, and she watched as he slowly tucked his balled fists out of sight. She couldn't help but smirk slightly. At least she wasn't the only one effected. It made it a little easier to bear, if no less humiliating.
"You're probably right." Jacob said finally, still in that overly casual tone, but his eyes were dark and full of apology. Alex looked away.
Quil raised a hand into the air. "Uh, now that we're all here, I'd like to address the elephant in the, errr, forest." He finished lamely. Embry ran a hand tiredly over his face, sighing loudly. Alex couldn't help but grin, as Jacob shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I mean, I wouldn't actually like to. But we-"
"Have to." The other three chorused in uncanny unison. They laughed awkwardly, looking between themselves and away again.
Quil flapped an impatient hand. "Yeah, whatever." He jabbed an accusatory finger at Embry. "Okay. To start off. You. First you date Alex, and then you Phase."
Embry rolled his eyes. "Yes, but Alex still technically knew before me. So really, you should be starting with her." It was Alex's turn to be pointed at.
She frowned. "What?"
Quil crossed his arms. "Come on. No more secrets."
Alex looked between Jacob and Embry for support. "You guys are in each other's heads now. I didn't think there were any more secrets."
"That is not the point, Alexandra." Quil said sternly. "All out. Everything." Alex blanched. There was no way these idiots needed to know everything… she couldn't help but shoot Jacob a nervous look. He looked just as anxious. The fire in her chest burned for him.
"Well. Um." Alex cleared her throat. "How much do you know about the whole, um, Dream Walking thing?"
"Not much. I mean, I saw what its like, to have you in there. Creepy." Quil said, shuddering dramatically.
Alex rolled her eyes. "I couldn't help it!" She snapped. "Anyway. This is what happened;" she launched into the rundown of the months before the first Phase. It only occurred to her, as Embry and Jacob wandered closer to listen, that she hadn't even told them what it had been like. All those hours of exhaustion, of confusion. It had been hard, and she was only really realising just how horrible she had felt as she got it off her chest.
It felt like she had been talking for hours by the time she got up to Embry Phasing, when in reality it had only been a few minutes. "And so, I followed him into the forest." She said finally, nodding at Embry. "I was worried. And I didn't want him to be alone."
Embry let out a hiss of air. "I still can't believe you did that." He muttered, looking pained.
"You could have died." Jacob said quietly. Alex looked at him. His face was drawn, tired looking, as if he'd been just as exhausted by her tale as she was.
"And you did it again." Quil sounded more awestruck than concerned. "You went to yell at Jacob, and he nearly bit your head off."
"Twice." Alex couldn't help but add. Jacob winced, and Embry's face twisted at the reminder of the incident.
"Alex!" Quil had stopped looking impressed. "Do you have a death wish?" he griped, running a hand over his cropped hair.
Alex shrugged, and turned to the boys beside her. "That's me. You guys know everything else." She said. Alex looked at Jacob, still avoiding her eyes. "And, hey. Look. This Imprint thing..." Embry coughed awkwardly, and Jacob looked at the ground. Everywhere they touched, fitting together like interlocking puzzle pieces, each breath shared, the hands on her body, her nails raking down his chest, fingers, skin, lips, tongues- Alex swallowed thickly. There were some things that didn't need to be said. "It's not a big deal. Okay?" She was speaking more to Jacob than anyone, and finally, finally he looked up at her. She managed a smile. "We're friends." she told him, told them, resolutely.
"Okay." Jacob said quietly, Embry and Quil nodding along.
They were all quiet for a moment, and Alex took another moment to look at them. "Anyway. What's been happening here?" she asked. Even Quil, under his cheery veneer, looked tired. She would have thought that gaining an extra Pack member may have made things a little easier for them all.
Embry and Jacob exchanged a look, and Quil sighed. "That red-head. She keeps flitting around the territory." Embry said, shaking his head. "We've all been running doubles, because that bitch is looking for any crack to wiggle her way inside."
Alex felt a dull thrill of fear. Victoria… She could still picture Bella's abject terror at the thought of the bloodsucker. "It's not going to end until she's dead, is it?" Alex hadn't ever heard of a vampire taking so much time on a hunt before. A mate for a mate, Bella had said.
Quil slung an arm around her, in what was clearly meant to be a comforting gesture. "We'll get her." He said confidently. "Now that I'm on the team, she's got no chance."
Embry jabbed him in the ribs, making Quil squeal and recoil. "Says the idiot who ran into a tree and gave himself a concussion." Alex burst into laughter at the visual.
Quil sniffed delicately. "I was just…building resistance." Alex grinned at her friend, catching Jacob's own smirk.
Embry snorted. "Like your fat head needs resistance training." Quil glared at Embry, and cracked his knuckles slowly. Alex took a giant step away from the pair of them. She could recognise the gleam in Quil's eyes, and wasn't looking to get caught up in a scuffle. Embry growled lightly, snapping his teeth. Quil grinned savagely, and with a battle cry, jumped at Embry, colliding with a loud thud, and going rolling to the ground.
Alex watched them wrestle fondly. It felt as though it had been a lifetime since it had just been them. A gentle nudge against her shoulder, and the answering heat skittering down her arm and over her skin told her Jacob had sidled up beside her. "I missed this." He said quietly, and when she looked up at him, he was wearing a familiar smile. Her stomach flipped.
"Yeah." She said quietly, nudging him back. "Me too." On the ground, Embry had pinned Quil, locking his long legs around Quil's torso and arms. For a moment, she thought about bringing up what Edward had told her. But as Jacob swayed into her again, that same delighted smile still lighting him up like the sun, she thought she might not have to. Everything was out in the open now, and they could all move on.
Well…almost everything.
Alex tore her eyes away from the curve of Jacob's lips, feeling her cheeks flame.
She was so screwed.