A Wolf's Swan

by Unwritten Whispers

Paul ends up finding his imprint. Unfortunately she happens to be Bella's little sister. But unlike Bella, Marilyn Swan doesn't allow herself to become a pushover - she's headstrong, and she knows exactly what she wants in life. Unfortunately for Bella, she wants Paul. And unfortunately for Paul, she also wants Bella.

1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Ooh La Push boys…" rolling her eyes when she heard one of the girls behind the counter begin to giggle because La Push boys have entered the diner, fifteen year old Marilyn Swan snorted when Tracy began to play with her hair and then propped up her boobs before saying, "I'll get their table, Marilyn."

Shrugging her shoulders, not really in the mood to have to deal with Tracy's antics today because she was too busy worrying over her older sister now that the Cullens have returned and Bella was back to being reclusive and weird, Marilyn snorted, "As if I want anything to do with anyone from La Push right now…"

Turning around in curiosity, wondering if all La Push boys were truly as hot as everyone always made them seem since the only one she's ever met before was Jacob Black, well and Sam Uley, and neither of them were bad looking, Marilyn cringed. Of course Jacob would be in Forks with a few of his friends. He'd spent months trying to get into Bella's pants while bringing her back to life, but now that Edward was back he had to resort back to stalking her from far. She had never been as close to Jacob in the same way her sister had always been, but Marilyn knew that if she needed anything he was always just a phone call or a message on facebook away; they were friends even if they never hung out together or talked all the time. Jacob had always been too obsessed with Bella, and Marilyn had always been too busy keeping to herself and focusing on work. But she always considered Jacob close enough of a friend to be like a brother and practically considered one of her best friends.

Though she had to admit that he definitely filled out more and grew more attractive since she saw him last, which had to have been about three or four months ago. Bella was just getting out of her zombie phase when Marilyn last saw Jacob. His hair was extremely short now, and almost shaggy looking, it looked as if he overdosed on steroids, he seemed to have a tattoo, and he must have grown an entire foot. His dark brown eyes stared across at her in mixed confusion and amusement. As attractive as Jacob turned out though, Marilyn found herself watching his friends instead. Now she could understand why all of the other waitresses in the diner began to twirl their hair and giggle; it took everything in her power not to do the same. And she only restrained because she knew that Jacob would never let her live it down if she giggled over his friends or twirled her hair or batted her eyes for them.

God damn, the boys over on the reservation were hot!

They all had to be over six feet tall, the shortest one looking about six foot three or six foot four; still shorter than what Jacob looked now. All of them were the same gorgeous russet complexion as Jacob, and they all had similar features in small ways: tall, muscular, dark hair, dark eyes, matching tribal tattoos on their right shoulders… they were all handsome in their own ways.

One of them stood out the most though; he seemed to call to Marilyn heavily, causing her breath to hitch in her throat once her eyes met his onyx colored ones. His jaw was angled so perfectly that his cheekbones were on point and you could see the way his mouth's muscles clenched tightly when he clenched his teeth or sucked in air through his teeth (which he'd done three times so far since she started staring at him) while his broad nose inhaled sharply and then twitched. His dark menacing eyes widened then narrowed, then softened in something unreadable, and his large hand clenched into a fist at his side while he continued to stare across at her. Dressed in cutoff jeans like the others in his group, but wearing a light grey undershirt rather than a white or black or red one like the others all seemed to be wearing, this particular friend of Jacob's also had messy and tussled hair. He wasn't the tallest, but he seemed about the same height as Jacob did now, and even from across the diner, Marilyn could see that she wouldn't even reach his shoulders.

While staring at him in mixed confusion, Marilyn noticed that he stared back at her; his eyes were drawn to hers. She tried to look away, but the longer he stared the more she stared back. It felt for a moment like he was peering past her eyes, seeing deeper into her soul, but she knew it was impossible; his looks alone told her that he was the type to forget her name. It looked as if he was holding his breath while staring at her; he was lost in his own thoughts while looking into her eyes. She wondered what he saw.

Could he see an exhausted fifteen year old girl afraid for her older sister?

Continuing to stare across at the group from behind the counter, seeing the way they all stared at her in confusion before looking back at the one she couldn't remove her eyes from for some reason, Marilyn saw that Tracy approached them with six menus. Instantly Jacob shook his head, and then pointed across at Marilyn. Tracy's murderous blue eyes turned on the fifteen-yar-old girl instantly, and she stalked across the diner angrily, "I thought you hated people from La Push…"

"I didn't say I hated people from La Push!" snapped Marilyn at once, taking offense to that statement as she took the six menus away from the other girl. It was as if a spell had been broken the moment she looked away from the one guy because she remembered how to breathe now, and from across the diner he shook his head and then walked across to a large booth with the others so they could all attempt to squeeze in together. "I just said I didn't want anything to do with them."

"Well the hot one said he wants you to take their orders," scoffed Tracy, looking as if she couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want her to be their waitress.

"The hot one?" glancing back at where Jacob seemed to be laughing about something with his friends, and flexing his newfound muscles, Marilyn cocked a brow then looked back at the other girl, "You mean Jake? He's not ugly, but have you seen his friends, Tracy? I wouldn't call him the hot one."

Glancing back at the booth, where the others were all now laughing while Jacob looked a little deflated, Tracy looked them all over carefully then shrugged her shoulders, "They're all hot. Go take their orders, then come back here and tell me just exactly how you know one of the hot guys from La Push."

"His dad and my dad are best friends, we knew each other since we were in diapers, he was the one who fixed up my sister's truck for her, and he was the one who fixed the brakes on my car for me when they broke down," shrugged Marilyn, checking to make sure she had her little book inside of her apron to write down the orders, "Nothing else to say…"

Having had moved to Forks from Phoenix in January the year before, Marilyn tried to remain invisible with her sister. But being the only two new students in a small town in three years, and then having had been the chiefs two daughters brought them both a lot of attention they didn't want on them, so the two sisters made friends despite not really in the mood for new ones since they missed their old ones back home. But it was the night after their first day of school when Charlie took them both out to eat that Marilyn spotted the help wanted sign hanging up in the window of the diner. Back home in Phoenix she had a worker's permit from the day she turned fourteen, and she worked at a bookshop for a few hours after school just so she could make money to go out with her friends once in a while, and buy herself whatever she needed. Now that she was living with her dad, she wanted a way to buy her own things even more so – she didn't feel right asking her dad for thirty bucks a month just so she could buy pads and tampons; it felt a little too weird for her.

She was also looking forward to having her own money so she could go out with whatever new friends she'd make while living here, despite not wanting to making any new friends while living here; her dad seemed like the type to prevent her from going out with people by withholding money from her – this way she had her own money so he wouldn't have that hold over her. She remembered how her mom once tried that to keep her from going to the movies with this one boy that her mom didn't like; Justin paid for everything that night anyways.

It was now April, Marilyn was in her sophomore year at Forks High School, just a month away from her sixteenth birthday, and she'd been working at this diner for a year and three months; she had a routine down pact.

School got out at three every day, and she started work at the diner at 3:30. The diner was only a ten minute drive from the school, and the year before Bella would always drop Marilyn off since their dad bought her a truck from Billy when they first moved in with him. The law said that anybody still in school (high school, not college) couldn't work past 10pm on a school night, and midnight on non-school nights, so Marilyn worked 3:30-8:00pm from Monday through Thursday, and she had Fridays and Saturdays off just to rest those two days and then it was agreed that on Sunday she'd work from 8am-5pm. She had wanted to work all the way to ten on the weeknights, but the diner felt that four and half hours was good enough for a fifteen-year-old since she still had to do things like her homework.

In the beginning her dad seemed a bit disappointed that his youngest daughter was always gone, and proving to him that she wasn't a little girl anymore, but Bella was already used to her little sister being gone constantly; she did this in Phoenix as well. In the beginning either Charlie or Bella would pick her up after work, mostly Bella, but there were a few nights when she caught the bus. Her dad almost had a heart attack when he found out his baby girl waited outside of the diner, in the cold, from 8:10pm to 8:20pm; she didn't get home until 9:30pm, and spent fifteen minutes walking from the bus stop to their house. Bella had fallen asleep early, exhausted from whatever it is she does, and Marilyn knew that her dad was busy with work, so she didn't bother to call him to pick her up.

She actually liked riding the bus; she listened to her iPod, and got some of her homework done.

Just two days after she began working down at the diner her dad actually tried to tell her that if she fell behind with her school work he would make her quit her job, but she only laughed at him – she worked on her homework during homeroom, the fifteen minute break between second and third period, and lunch while at school, and at the diner she had a dinner break from 6:30-7:15 (which thankfully she could stay on the clock for), and she got more homework done then. When she got home from work she worked out for a bit, took a shower, and then finished up the rest of it; she was sleeping by midnight with all of her homework completed. Except for the nights she caught the bus home, those two nights kept her up until a little after one… but either way she wasn't falling behind on anything. Even if she did enter this new school in the middle of January.

But then Marilyn changed everything up once again. After turning fifteen she got her driver's permit, and managed to save up enough money from her job to buy herself a car off of craigslist. It was a black '98 Honda civic, automatic, and it had cost her $975 flat, but it was in good shape. And Bella had already been dating Edward at that time, having had gotten over her anxiety attack that had her running away to Phoenix to escape him, so Edward and Bella drove her into Seattle to pick up the car to make sure the deal was legitimate and not just some creeper trying to lure in a fifteen-year-old girl. Because Marilyn was still only fifteen, and only had her permit and not her license yet it took a bit of persuasion for the guy to sign the car over to her, but an hour later she finally had her own car. It needed new breaks, which Jacob fixed up for her, but it was hers and it was working, and it got her to and from school and to and from work.

Because she only had her permit she could only use it strictly for school and work unless she had somebody with a license with her at all times, and so far the insurance had been under her sister's name because no insurance company would dare give insurance to a fifteen-year-old, though Marilyn was the one who paid for it, but May sixth was only a month away now, and Bella was going to sign the insurance over to Marilyn once she got her actual license in her hands; it was all planned out. And Marilyn knew this was what frustrated her dad the most – in January his fourteen-year-old daughter got herself a job as a waitress, in July she bought herself a car at only fifteen, and at sixteen she would have insurance under her own name. His baby girl didn't need him to support her. She bought her own toiletries, she bought her own clothes, she paid her own phone bill, she bought her own things, she never asked for money; she supported herself.

And when Edward left Bella without a goodbye or an explanation, and all of the Cullens up and disappeared in the middle of the day, Marilyn managed to keep up her good grades, keep her job, and take care of her older sister as she turned into a zombie. Marilyn got Bella ready for school, drove her, brought her home before rushing off to the diner, and once she got home from the diner she would feed her sister, make sure her sister's homework was done and correct, and then she'd make sure Bella took a shower and then she'd put her in bed before doing her own things – Marilyn played the sister role, the mother role, and the father role. Marilyn continued to take care of herself while taking care of her sister, there was always food on the stove or in the oven, the house was always kept clean, and she would even spend her days off taking her sister out to the movies or just for a drive to make sure Bella got some clean air and didn't stay locked up in the house all day. When Bella woke up screaming from her nightmares it was Marilyn who ran into the room to make sure her sister was alright and knew that she was loved, and when Jacob came into the picture and began to bring Bella back to life, Marilyn willingly stepped back and allowed him to take over until Bella returned home and then she'd be there again.

Marilyn and Jacob worked as a separate team – he stayed with Bella while Marilyn was at work, and when Bella's time with Jacob was over, her sister would step back into the picture. And it helped – Bella came back to life and was happy again. There was that time when Jacob disappeared for a while too, and Bella broke again, but Marilyn not once left her sister's side. And then Jacob came back, and things were back to normal again.

Then the Cullens returned, Edward apologized, Jacob stopped coming around and stopped calling, and now Bella was acting stranger than she ever had before. In the beginning Marilyn actually liked Edward because he made her sister happy, but now she despised him and his entire stupid family – they were only hurting Bella. And they were putting a strain on the sisters' relationship. Now Bella spent all of her free time with the Cullens, and it was as if those months of torture had never happened; as if Bella had never been hurt and abandoned. She forgot all about her little sister, the little sister who not once complained about having to take care of her and nurse her back to life.

Marilyn had never abandoned her sister, but once Edward returned Bella had no problem abandoning her. And it hurt as much as it pissed her off – the Cullens ruined the Swan sisters' relationship, and Marilyn already knew it could never be fixed.

So now she spent all of her time working, and when she wasn't working she would concentrate on school. Bella had applied to a school in Alaska, making it known she was choosing to follow after Edward once they graduated, but Marilyn wasn't as heartless as her sister was – she was going to apply to Washington State or maybe even Forks Community College so she could stay home and help her dad out. That was still two years away from now, but if she started planning it out now she could have it figured out by then. Junior year was when you started focusing on applying for universities, and she was only a few months away from then.

And she loved working in the diner; it was so different compared to working as a cashier in a bookshop. She only got paid $4 an hour, which wasn't that much seeing as how she only worked from 3:30-8:00, four days a week; she made $18 a day basically, only working four and a half hours, and on Sundays she made $36. She kept a small little pink and white polka-dotted handbook in her purse, and she calculated the hours she worked and the days in it. From Monday through Thursday she made $72; which would be her weekly flat rate. And every Sunday she would always bring in a flat rate of $36. But even with her extra hours on Sunday she would only bring in $108 weekly, which would equal up to $216 every paycheck. But they take out for taxes, so every paycheck she would only bring home $168.27… and that was if she worked every day she was meant to, and didn't get sick or call out, which she's done a few times in the past. And she was also lucky that as a young kid they didn't take out too much of her taxes. One of the older women who worked on Sundays with her got her paychecks cut down in half completely because of the taxes they took out, and since she claimed for two people. Marilyn claimed zero, so for her taxes they only took out $47.23; it was still a lot to take out when claiming zero, but at least it wasn't half of her paycheck or over half of it.

Nobody couldn't live off of just $168.27 paychecks every two weeks; not when she had to pay a flat rate of $55 for her phone bill, and wasn't expecting to have her dad to pay it for her. She took over her own phone bill, getting herself a Boost plan when she first started working, and she intended on continuing to make it work. And then when she got the car she started paying $85 monthly for her car insurance - $140 of her paycheck automatically went to two major bills she has to pay. And then with her Netflix and hulu accounts she paid like $18 a month too, though those bills were minor, and not that important.

Marilyn was grateful to have a job in general, and she knew that to some people $168.27 every two weeks was enough for a fourteen then fifteen-year-old teenager, and soon to be sixteen-year-old, but she was intending on supporting herself while living with her dad; she wasn't planning on having him buy her everything she needed while splurging her own money on foolish things. Though it would be nice to splurge on foolish things if she wanted to. She was planning on paying for her own bathroom supplies, school supplies, and things she needed just in general or for fun – she wasn't banking on making her dad pay for all of that. And she would like to have money to spend to go out with friends every once in a while.

So why would someone bringing in only $168.27 a paycheck love such a job?

Because the tips were most definitely where it was at. In a mason jar on a bookshelf in her room was $317 that she made in just the past three days alone. In just three days she managed to make $317 in tips because she was sweet to her customers, she was always polite, she never stopped smiling, she made conversations with them, and most of the people who came in were teens – boy teens that thought she was hot and tried to impress her with good tips. She would become one of those people that survived solely on tips alone… and she liked that. She had actually made more tips than $317, but she took some money out to pay for things she needed already. At just fifteen years old, just a month away from turning sixteen, Marilyn had $7,048.73 in her bank account; $1,843.57 of that had been from her tax returns which just came in three weeks before. The $5,205.16 that had been in her bank account before the tax returns were mostly from her tips alone in the past year and three months. She managed to buy a car for $975 off of craigslist strictly because of her tips, and not because of her paychecks – she survived off of tips, and she made sure to keep them in a jar on her bookshelf every night after work until Saturday when she would run the jar to her bank to deposit it.

There were nights when she managed to bring home $250 or $300 in tips, and there had even been a few times when she managed to only bring home only $30 or $40 in tips. But tips were her blessing, and this diner didn't make their waitresses claim them because they pocketed it instead of splitting it amongst everyone who worked there.

The summer was the best. Because she didn't have to go to school, and she wasn't involved in any school activities, Marilyn's boss at the diner allowed her to change her schedule so that she was working from 3-10pm every Monday through Thursday while her Sunday schedule remained the same, and she still had Fridays and Saturdays off. The seven-hour shifts made a difference from the four-and-a-half-hour shifts, and Marilyn appreciated it. She had been willing to work longer hours, but her boss reminded her that she was still fifteen and needed a life outside of work. $28 daily for four days a week meant that she made $112 instead of $72, and with her $36 on Sundays, Marilyn brought in $148 weekly, which meant that once taxes were taken out of her paychecks, she brought home $279.64 every two weeks. It was over $100 from her usual paychecks, and because of this job Marilyn truly understood the struggle of waitresses and waiters living on minimum wage, and then complaining because a jackass didn't tip them anything.

But school started up again, so Marilyn dropped back down to $168.27 a paycheck, and she was counting down the days until summer started up again. As disappointed as her dad was that she was growing up too quickly, and as much as he kept insisting that it was his duty as her father to pay for her things, Marilyn knew that Charlie was proud of her – his baby girl didn't need him to support her.

"I forgot you worked here, Mari."

Giving Jacob a chastising look as she reached his booth finally, Marilyn began to pass out the menus to him and all of his friends; she noticed how they all watched her closely before glancing at the hot one she couldn't look away from earlier. "I've been working here for a little over a year, Jake. And I always managed to get food to you and Billy…"

Chuckling, he ran a hand through his short hair as he realized he'd been caught, "Alright fine, I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. I feel like I ain't seen you in months."

"Probably 'cause you haven't," she chuckled back at him. Then poking at his shoulder, Marilyn cocked a brow, "The last time I saw you, you were still scrawny and short with hair longer than mine."

"See what happens when you stop coming onto the rez," he grinned shyly, looking almost embarrassed now.

Shrugging her shoulders, Marilyn said, "You hurt Tracy's feelings, you know? She was looking forward to helping out the boys from La Push – called dibs and everything once you all walked in."

"Gotta respect the dibs," said one of the others quickly, causing Marilyn to turn her attention onto him. He looked almost boyish still despite possibly having overdosed on steroids too. His face still had a bit of baby fat that contradicted with his leanness.

Snorting loudly this time, Jacob rolled his eyes, "You shouldn't be hanging out with girls that call dibs on guys, Marilyn."

"Nobody said I hang out with her, Jacob," she cocked, looking around at all of the others now. "I'll give you guys a few minutes to look over the menus. Do you want anything to drink for now though? Other than water?"

"Coke," said one of the boys quickly, glancing nervously at the hottest one before looking back up at her, "Uhh two cokes, please."

"Sure, sure," she smirked, causing Jacob to groan loudly while some of the others all laughed. She noticed the hottest one didn't even chuckle though; he mostly just looked as if he was concentrating hard on something.

"We'll all take cokes, Mari," Jacob said, noticing his friend's mood as well.

Nodding her head at him, she started to walk away but then hesitated and placed a hand on his shoulder before quickly jerking it away and staring down at him in confusion, "Damn, Jake, you're burning up. Are you coming down with something?"

"Uhh…" scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck now, Jacob gave her a conflicted look, "I sorta just got over a fever," there were a few snickers but otherwise everyone else remained quiet.

"I swear you just burnt my hand," she said, poking at his shoulder now and wondering how come she couldn't feel it earlier when she poked him the first time. "Anyway, I was gonna say you should come over sometime. Ever since Edward got back, I barely even see my sister anymore," every single person at the booth twitched angrily and uncomfortably, but the hot one finally snapped his head up to stare at her in curiosity and something that closely resembled fear. "Maybe if you start coming around again, she'll act more like a human."

It didn't go unnoticed by Marilyn at how every single one of them tensed at her choice of words, "What do you mean she's not acting like a human?" Jacob demanded to know at once, struggling to keep his body from shaking.

"I mean she's never home anymore, she sneaks out more than I do, she's always talking to herself so that I can hear her through the walls at night, and she ignores me completely…"

Jacob frowned instantly, "What do you mean she sneaks out more than you do? You're only fifteen, Marilyn; you shouldn't be sneaking out."

"You're only six weeks older than me, ass," she chuckled, shoving him gently. When he didn't look any better though, Marilyn sighed, "It's quiet at home now. Dad's always gone 'cause of those disappearing people and murders in Seattle, Bella's always gone 'cause of the Cullens now, and when I manage to be at home 'cause I'm not at work the house is empty and it's weird. Maybe if you start coming around again, Bella will come back home."

Sighing heavily, looking almost guilty, Jacob exchanged cautious looks with all of his friends and then gave Marilyn a promising smile, "Things'll change soon, Mari. Right now your sister's kinda pissed at me 'cause I don't care for Cullen too much, and I can't understand why she took him back. I tried calling her a few times, but she's ignoring it."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she snorted, pushing a strand of hair out of her face, "I attacked him when I first saw him again, and Bella snapped at me. Since then things haven't been the same between us."

"Did he hurt you?!" the hottest one said at once, allowing Marilyn to hear his voice for the first time. His eyes were on her instantly, and Marilyn shivered as his deep voice registered in her mind for the first time.

Shaking her head quickly, feeling herself blushing because of the attention on her suddenly, Marilyn said, "No. Bella got between us before I could actually hit the prick, and he left to give us time to talk. She spent that time shouting more than talking, and now whenever I see him or any of the others they just avoid me completely. I don't care though; it's whatever. She can have them if she wants them."

Jacob looked as irritated as Marilyn felt about the entire situation, "Seriously?! After everything you've done for her after those bastards just left her alone?! You literally took care of her to keep her from falling into a deeper depression!"

Shrugging her shoulders, Marilyn said, "Yeah, but Edward said he loves her…"

"Dude, you literally made sure you were up on time to wake her up, brush her teeth for her, dress her, actually feed her with your hands, and then you got yourself ready before driving to school and making sure she made it on time to all of her classes. You were always late to work by a few minutes because after school you'd rush her home and make sure she was settled in before finally coming into the diner, and then after work you'd feed her, help her with her homework, and then scrub her down in the fucking shower before staying with her until she fell asleep before working on your own things – you did that for months! And she's choosing that asshole over you?!"

One of his friends growled softly, "What the hell? I always knew Bella was a bitch, but what the hell?!"

"Don't call my sister a bitch!" snapped Marilyn at once, instantly getting offended for her older sister. Glaring at him in annoyance, seeing the way he instantly paled and apologized, Marilyn looked back down at Jacob, "Sorry she's ignoring you too, Jake; I guess she's just so far up Edward's ass that she forgot the people who have always been by her side since day one. Too bad he came back when he did – I was so sure she was finally gonna end up with you."

Chuckling dryly, looking immensely pissed off from everything else he just heard, Jacob barely even nodded his head, "Yeah, well it's not like I didn't try."

"Maybe it'll finally click into place for her when he leaves her alone and crying on the forest floor again," she scoffed before looking over her shoulder when the bell for the front door rang and she saw a few more people walking in. "Anyway, I'll give you guys a few minutes to look over the menu, and I'll be back with your drinks."

Because everyone in the diner had strict uniforms that they had to follow to the code, they made sure to keep it nice and warm inside on cold and rainy days; on hot days they kept it nice and cool inside for their employees and for their customers. So, despite it raining like crazy outside right now, Marilyn wasn't allowed to wear leggings or anything beneath the uniform to help keep her warm. Once she entered the diner the temperature was good enough for her and everyone else there. But once she left the diner, she'd have to pull on her jacket and run to her car.

Her legs were bare, leading up to the short dress that rested two inches beneath her thighs while wearing low ankle socks that remained hidden beneath the ankle high white nonslip shoes. The dress was loose fitting to keep her from feeling constricted, but still fit her perfectly so that her curves, hips, and chest showed thoroughly. It buttoned up the front, ending just an inch above her cleavage line, which was probably why she brought in so many tips, and there was a collar. The sleeves kind of puffed, but not a lot, and they were normal lengthened sleeves like an ordinary t-shirt. The dress was beige and grey; an odd mixture of colors but still really cute. The apron was dark grey where the dress had light grey, and it wrapped around her waist.

The pockets of her apron were wide enough to hold her cellphone, the notepad and pen for her to take down orders, the receipt book, and her tips. She kept her tips in her apron until she had enough time to run into the back and empty them out into her purse in her locker.

Marilyn was also one of those girls that enjoyed wearing makeup just for herself because she liked how she looked when wearing it, and she liked how it made her feel, plus it helped cover up a few marks. She wore makeup on the weekends, she sometimes liked to wear bright lipstick just to watch Netflix on her day offs, and she wore makeup to school. Today was a Wednesday, meaning she came into work straight from school, so she was also wearing makeup; though today she only put on eyeliner and her favorite shade of bright red lipstick. She couldn't have been bothered with hiding the marks today.

But because she was a waitress and worked with handling food, Marilyn couldn't wear the usual loose braid over her shoulder like she preferred to always do. Since her hair fell to her lower stomach, she usually just bunched it all together and wrapped it up with a rubber-band while pinning her bangs back. She would then use a headband or tie a bandana on upside down so that the ties were sticking upwards; it was cute, and it helped keep her hair out of her face at all times. Today's bandana was bright yellow.

And her nails – she was one of those girls that enjoyed spoiling herself by always getting her nails done. From when she was just fourteen and working at the bookshop, she would take herself out to the nail salon every other Friday after school; always the Friday before her payday. And she would treat herself to a manicure and pedicure, and living in Forks changed nothing. Her habits were still the same, and she still got a manicure and pedicure every Friday before her payday. Well her paydays were always every other Friday, but she didn't pick up her checks until the Saturday after her payday, so it still counted either way. She would get her nails done again this Friday, but for now they were an inch long with every nail painted a crimson red shade except for her rings fingers which had French white tips and two red stars on the tips. Her toes weren't visible, but they were also currently painted crimson red shades.

She looked like a hot mess. A fancy hot mess in a waitress's uniform.

"Your hot friend can't stop checking you out…"

Looking over her shoulder when she heard Tracy, Marilyn saw that Jacob had in fact been staring at her strangely, but he wasn't the only one – all of his friends were. It looked like they were all in a deep conversation about something, but they were all staring at her while talking. Chuckling as she turned back to the soda machine to make the six cokes for the group, Marilyn snorted, "I doubt it. I tried hitting on him a few times after me and my sister moved out here last year, but he didn't even notice it 'cause he was so strung up on Bella."

Tracy started laughing then gave Marilyn a teasing look while bumping her gently with her hips, "Well girl, I think he finally noticed you. Seriously, he has not taken his eyes off of you since you left that booth."

"Probably 'cause we were just talking about Bella," chuckled Marilyn with a shake of her head, "I'm telling you, Tracy – Jacob Black has never and will never check me out or notice me. Not that I mind. It was a phase. I was new here, and he was the only friend I had in the beginning, and he was sweet."

"And he's hot."

"Okay yeah, I thought he was hot. That was before his weird growth spurt thing though. I actually prefer him with long hair…" when Tracy only stared at her blankly, Marilyn blushed a little, "Alright fine, I still think he's hot. But seriously, I liked his long hair better."

Rolling her eyes, Tracy snorted, "Yeah okay, whatever… anyway, I say he's checking you out. And so are his friends."

Glancing over her shoulder once more, finding Jacob in a deep conversation with one of his friends, Marilyn found the intense way that the hottest one kept gazing at her. Shuddering slightly, and then quickly looking away and back at the sodas, she said, "The one with the grey undershirt is hot."

"They're all hot, Marilyn…"

"Look at his arms though. I never understood what most chicks saw in a guy's arms, but holy shit look at his…" she blushed, gesturing in the direction of Jacob's hottest friend's arms, "I bet he works out."

"You think he'd be willing to lift weights with you? Or uhh… he could probably just lift you…"

Laughing when Tracy gave her a perverted wiggling look with her eyebrows, Marilyn said, "Yeah, I wouldn't doubt it. I bet he'd be able to hold me up for a while with those arms…" glancing back in Jacob's direction, noticing that he looked clearly grossed out while the others were struggling not to laugh, Marilyn sighed and then looked back at what she was doing, "Seriously though, I think he's wearing that shirt purposely."

"I think you should fix your hair."

Laughing loudly, and giving Tracy an amused look, Marilyn said, "I'm working, Tracy. I can't just run to the back to fix my hair."

"And your makeup."

"What's wrong with my makeup?"

"You could use a little more."

"I'm not going to paint my face just to work," she scoffed. "Besides, he's here with Jake which means he's probably one of the guys that Bella hung out with a few times before Edward got back. And I don't think any of them like my sister too much right now, so he probably thinks I'm just as annoying as she is."

"No one is as annoying as your sister is."

"Hey!"

"I don't get it, Marilyn! You're fucking hot as hell, and right now you have a hot guy from La Push checking you out and you're checking him out. I've seen you flirt your way out of a speeding ticket from a guy who works for your dad, without the chief ever finding out about it; I've seen you bat your eyes at guys from other schools just to let our football team win a few games because the other players were too distracted with the girl leaning against the fence to watch the game; I've seen you flirt with the teacher's assistant to get your sister to retake a test she failed… why are you not flirting right now?!"

Smirking proudly as she thought about all her previous flirtations and wins, Marilyn ended up placing the six cokes onto her tray and gave Tracy a very serious look, "Right now he's here with a guy I have pictures of me in diapers with, and flirting will be very hazardous to my health if Jake decides to rat me out to my dad. And I know Jake – he would," then she clicked her tongue against her teeth, "Stop trying to make me flirt with people, Tracy."

"If you don't, I will."

"Well you should probably stop off in the bathroom first; your eyeliner looks a little smeared," sniggering to herself when Tracy immediately ran off to the break room to grab her eyeliner from her purse, Marilyn shook her head, "Idiot girl…" then taking in a deep breath she pulled up her tray and muttered to herself, "Do not flirt with Jake's hot friend…"

Having to stretch across the table to pass out the cokes, noticing the way two of Jacob's friends made soft growling sounds in annoyance when some guy walked past her in that exact moment, Marilyn bit back her chuckles as she righted herself up once more. Pulling her notepad out of her apron as she once again brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, knowing that she'd have to sneak away eventually to get into the bathroom and fix her hair to keep it out of her face completely, Marilyn looked down at everyone to see if they were ready to give their orders yet. Finally Jacob spoke up first.

"What time do you get off tonight?"

"Eight."

"Oh… when's your break?"

Glancing at the clock hanging up on the wall behind the counter, Marilyn saw that it was already five, "6:30."

"I didn't see your car outside," he ended up saying, looking through the menu as he spoke, "Do you need a ride?"

Chuckling, Marilyn said, "I had to park across the street 'cause it was crowded when I got in. Since when were you willing to give me a ride home after work?"

"I was always willing to," he said haughtily, giving her a look as if to say not to be a brat, "I just never had to because you always had Bella or Charlie picking you up or you'd catch the bus 'til you went out and bought your own car. If you needed a ride, and you called me, I'd have drove out here to pick you up."

"I know," she grinned, leaning against the bench's back to kind of rest against Jacob a little bit with her notepad and pen and still in her hand. She noticed how the hottest one looked a little annoyed at the move, but she ignored it and looked back down at Jacob, "I already know what you want, Jake. So, I don't understand the purpose of pretending to search through the menu."

Scowling at the others when they nodded in agreement and laughed at him, Jacob lifted his head and twisted it to look back up at her, "And what's that, Mari?"

"Double cheeseburger, no pickles anywhere near it, extra cheese, extra sauce, and crisscross fries because you like how they look," she mused with a cocked brow. When Jacob's face fell and he stared at her, she started laughing, "I swear you've been eating the same thing since I moved back out here," writing the order down, she looked around at the others, "What about you guys?"

"Uhh…" the only one with curly hair peered down at the menu then back up at her, "The only diner we mostly go to is back on the rez. What's good here?"

"My favorite is the meatball sandwich," she said at once, moving away from Jacob to lean in closer to the curly haired one to point down at it on the menu. "It's the diner's specialty, and you can pretty much do whatever you want to it. Most people just eat it like how it is, but some add in cheese and other stuff. I always add in bacon, bell peppers, and mushrooms though, and sometimes coleslaw."

"You're still gross, I see…" muttered Jacob at once.

Chuckling when the others all wrinkled their noses as well, Marilyn pulled away, "You don't have to add in anything if you don't want to."

"I'll get that," the curly haired one ended up saying, but then he quickly jerked his head up at her, "Just the meatball sandwich; I don't want the other stuff in it. And I want curly fries with that."

"Sure," she nodded, writing it down.

One of the others said, "I'll take the meatball sandwich, and I'll try it with the bacon and bell peppers, but with onions instead of mushrooms. And curly fries."

Smiling at once as she wrote down the order, Marilyn looked down at the one who just made the order sort of similar to hers, "You won't be disappointed, I promise."

"Is the spaghetti here good?" asked one of the others.

"I can have Josh make it," she nodded her head momentarily. "It depends on who the cook is working on it, and I personally only like it if Josh is the one who cooks it."

"Oh, is that the one who always makes it whenever my dad orders it?" asked Jacob. Then looking at the others, he explained, "Marilyn drove down to see us a few days after she got her car, to ask if I could check out the brakes for her 'cause it wouldn't work sometimes, and she came with food for us since she had to stop to pick up her paycheck anyways. She knows Dad likes spaghetti, so she brought him a plate of that. A week later he came down here and ordered it himself but spit it out because he said it was gross. Since then he only goes through Marilyn to get him spaghetti from here."

"Yeah," nodded Marilyn, absentmindedly playing with the strings of her apron now, "It's always Josh. The other cooks water it down or something like that, but Josh cooks it a different way, so it has flavor."

"Is Josh in right now?" asked the one who wanted spaghetti. When Marilyn nodded her head, and explained that they always worked on the same shifts mostly, he grinned, "Great, I'll take the spaghetti then."

"And I'll bring you out a basket of garlic knots instead of the garlic bread that comes with the plate, 'cause it's a lot better," she promised, writing down his order as well.

"How's the chili burger?"

Before Marilyn could answer, Jacob said, "She doesn't eat chili."

Seeing the incredulous looks they were all giving her now, Marilyn flushed a light shade of red, "We came up to visit once when I was seven, and we went over to Billy's. Rachel told me the beans were roaches, 'cause she was pissed that I got her in trouble for sneaking out with a boy the night before, and Jake thought it was funny. He ended up throwing a roach into my bowl. I got sick, and since then I don't touch chili."

"I didn't think she'd actually bite the roach in half!" Jacob cried loudly in protest when he saw the murderous look the hottest one gave him. Then chuckling nervously, he looked up at Marilyn, "But you forgive me for that, right, Mari?"

Shrugging, Marilyn spoke in a bored tone, "I got him back a week later by putting a bucket of sand filled with sand crabs in his bed while he was sleeping."

"Nice…" chuckled all of them while nodding in approval.

Looking back at the one who asked about the chili burger, seeing that he didn't look at all disgusted about the roaches, Marilyn gave him an innocent look, "Everyone who orders the chili burger never complains about it, and come back for it again. My dad likes it too."

"I'll get that then," he nodded, still looking over the menu, "Can I get cheese on my fries?"

"Sure. Do you want cheese in the burger too?"

"Nah."

"Double chili burger or just regular?"

"Double."

Seeing that only five of them ordered food now, and that the only person left to order was the hot one she had to remind herself once again to not flirt with, Marilyn turned a smile onto him while shifting all of her weight to the left side of her body. It was as if her body was against her. She saw a hot guy she wanted, and instinctively her body knew what to do to bring attention to herself. Thankfully he was too busy staring back down at the menu to notice it, but Jacob saw the instant shift in her body and attitude, and he reacted by poking at her side with an annoyed look. Slapping at his hand, and glaring down at him, Marilyn looked back at the hottest one, "What about you, hun?" seeing the way that the others struggled not to laugh while Jacob cried out, Marilyn rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up – I work in a diner, and have been for a little over a year. Hun, darling, and babe gets us our tips, and it helps when we don't know anyone's name and they're not looking at us. Plus, I mostly work with old ladies on Sundays so it sorta sticks when you hear it for over a year…"

Lifting his head instantly, as if only now realizing that she'd been talking to him and about him, the hottest one said, "Paul. My name is Paul."

"Paul?" frowning momentarily, struggling to remember where she heard his name before, Marilyn looked down at Jacob, who still didn't seem too pleased that she just called one of his friends hun, and then back up at him. "I think my sister talked about you before…"

"Maybe 'cause she bitch slapped him…" snickered the curly haired one.

When Marilyn's eyes widened at once, and the one named Paul slapped the other's head super hard, she said, "Oh that's right – she told me about that. Uhh… she thought you guys sucked Jake into a cult or something, and when she confronted you about it you got pissed and wanted to know what he told her, right?" when he slowly nodded his head, looking worried about her reaction, Marilyn blushed and gave him an apologetic look, "Sorry she bitch slapped you."

"You – you're sorry that she – Marilyn, you do know he attacked her afterwards, right?" said Jacob in a strangled voice. Paul was now scowling across at him heatedly. "I had to take the hit for her or else he would've punched her!"

Shrugging, Marilyn sniffed loudly, "Then she shouldn't have hit him. Way I see it is if you're man enough to hit a dude then you're man enough to get hit by a dude."

"I like her!" grinned the one sitting right next to Paul.

Then with a serious look, Marilyn said, "Just don't try to hit my sister again. Even if she is a bitch…"

Chuckling deeply, once again causing Marilyn to shiver from the sound of it as her heart raced uncontrollably, Paul gave her a promising look, "Whatever you want."

"Dammit Paul…" groaned Jacob, face-palming. Giving his friend a heated look, he said, "Just hurry up and order your damn food so Marilyn can put the order in for us."

Having to remind herself to breathe normally to keep from acting like a damn fool in front of everyone, Marilyn listened carefully as Paul ordered his food. Writing it down, she looked back down at him, "Fish burger with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, and curly fries?" he nodded his head, so she looked back down at everyone else while repeating their orders. Once it was all complete and everyone nodded their heads at her, she smiled shyly down at Paul and then turned to talk to Jacob instead, "I'll go put the orders in now."

Marilyn reached the kitchens quickly, fanning herself once she entered it, and her favorite cook gave her a worried look once he saw her, "What's wrong with you?"

"My friend Jake, the one from La Push," he nodded his head to show he remembered hearing about him before, "He's here with a few of his friends. And damn!"

"I heard Tracy complaining about you taking over a table she called dibs on," he laughed, reaching out for the order paper.

"Dude, you have no idea how hard it was for me to not just give him that grin of mine."

"You mean that grin that I've seen you give to a rude jerk just to score a $50 tip when all he did was order a salad and a water?" when Marilyn nodded her head, once again proud of her past accomplishments, Josh shook his head, "Oh god. I don't understand what I did to get stuck working with a fifteen-year-old girl who likes boys."

"And I don't know what I did to get stuck with a twenty-three-year-old guy who doesn't like boys," when Josh only laughed at her, Marilyn said, "Can you make sure you're the one who makes the spaghetti? I want it to be good."

"Sure, darling."

"And can you also throw in three baskets of the cheese sticks?" she asked him with a hopeful look in her eyes. Josh was one of the first friends she made when working here at the diner; one of the first friends she actually made while living out here. Most of the girls and guys that worked in the front of the diner only came into the kitchens to give the orders and grab the food, or to return the food, but Marilyn made it a point to come back here and introduce herself and get to know the cooks; they formed a close bond with one another. Josh usually hooked her up with free food or would pile the plates high when he knew it was for her family or for herself, and whenever his girlfriend or parents would come into the diner, Marilyn didn't charge them for everything they ordered. They always caught each other's backs. He even made sure to spit into certain orders if she asked him to, and there was that one time when a guy had been so rude to Marilyn and kept hitting on her to the point where she asked the manager Ken if she could stop serving that one table and hide out in the back until he left, so Josh came out from behind the kitchen and literally picked the guy up and threw him out of the diner. The guy threatened to the call the cops, and Josh only laughed then made it known he'd been hitting on the chief of police's fifteen-year-old daughter – that guy had never come back since then. Thank god!

Grinning, Josh nodded his head, "And since I'm in such a great mood today I'll even throw in two extra orders of fries."

"God, you're amazing!"

"I know."

Busying herself with other customers and refilling drinks while Josh worked on making all of the food for Jacob and his friends, Marilyn occasionally looked in their direction to find that they were still watching her while talking; making it obvious that they were talking about her. Because it was a large order, and Josh put in extra food for the boys and he made sure that the food actually came out good since it was for someone that Marilyn knew personally and considered a friend, it took nearly fifteen minutes until it was finished; Josh didn't allow the other cook to touch anything for that table.

"Sorry it took so long, but when it comes to family and friends, Josh makes sure to pay attention to it," she explained, rushing to their booth with two trays filled with food. Beginning to place everything down onto the table, she saw the way they looked in awe at their over filled plates and burgers, and the extra orders, "He also hooks it up for me," she chuckled softly. With all of their plates in front of each person they belonged to, Marilyn pointed at the cheese sticks, "We've got the best cheese sticks in all of Washington, so I figured you guys would like 'em. And everyone loves fries, so there ya' go."

"You know you've always been my favorite Swan, right?" moaned Jacob, taking in the food.

Snorting, Marilyn said, "I've got an older sister proving otherwise," then with a grin she said, "I'll be back with refills," she noticed they all finished their drinks already.

"Yo, Marilyn!"

Twisting her head when she heard someone call out to her just a few seconds after the bell from the door rang, Marilyn saw the quick way the six at the booth all turned their heads to look too. Seeing three boys from her grade and in a few of her classes at school, Marilyn smiled brightly and called out, "Sit anywhere guys. I'll be with you three in a minute," looking back down at Jacob and his friends, seeing the watchful way they now worriedly glanced at Paul, Marilyn said, "Cokes, right?"

"Yeah," nodded Jacob.

"Just give me a minute," she said, leaving their cups on the table to make two pitchers filled with coke instead to make it easier for herself. Returning to the table with the pitchers, refilling all of the empty cups, Marilyn saw there was enough coke left in the second pitcher to refill two more cups at least, and she ended up just leaving it on the table for the six, "Do you guys need anything else?"

"Nope, we're good," said one of the others.

"Then just call out for me if you guys need anything," she smiled, patting Jacob's shoulder once more, prepared for the heat this time. Walking across to the other booth with her three classmates, she saw them all snickering, "You three snickering is never a good thing. What the hell did you do?"

"That one annoying blonde chick in our science class came up to take our orders, so we said we'd just wait for you instead," said Matthew Jones.

"Oh god…" she groaned, struggling not to laugh as she gave them a menu each. "You see that table of guys from La Push?" when they all glanced around, and found six pairs of darkened eyes all glaring across at them, they looked back up at Marilyn then nodded their heads, "I sorta grew up with one of them before moving to Phoenix, and then over the summers when we used to come out to visit; his dad and my dad are best friends. She tried to help them earlier too, but he said they wanted me to help 'em instead. She's probably gonna give me hell the rest of the night."

"Then maybe she shouldn't be so annoying," snorted Justin White. "We almost didn't come in 'cause we didn't see your car, but then we spotted you through the window."

"I had to park across the street 'cause it was so crowded when I came in today," she laughed. "Do you guys know what you want already?"

"A banana milkshake," said Chris Ryans at once. "Since someone didn't keep up with the one she promised me if I helped her with that history paper."

"Ahh right… one promised banana milkshake coming up for my favorite history partner," she said at once, laughing and reaching out to shove him gently. "What 'bout you, Matt? You still in that milkshake phase or are you back to rootbeer floats?"

"Rootbeer float."

"With strawberry ice cream?"

"You get me, Mari…"

Chuckling, she looked down at the third guy, "How 'bout you, Justin?"

"I'll take a chocolate shake."

"Sure," she nodded, then gave them all looks, "So just drinks today, boys? Or are we gonna eat too?"

"My mom's cooking tonight…" sighed Chris.

Laughing again, drawing some attention from the other customers now, and not just Jacob and his friends, Marilyn said, "Right. No wonder why you're all here then. Chicken wings and fries?"

"Yep."

"Sure thing, love," she mused, writing the order down. Chris's mom was a horrible cook, which Marilyn once had the misfortune of learning firsthand the year before when she was assigned to work on an English assignment with Chris and went over to his house one Friday after school. Since then she learned that whenever he had friends coming over, and his mom was planning on cooking, they would stop off at the diner first for chicken wings and fries to satisfy themselves enough so they could eat just a little bit at his house without insulting her and without having to starve completely.

Bouncing between every table she was assigned to, and focusing on making sure Jacob and his friends were alright as well as the three from her school, Marilyn saw the three from her school getting ready to leave and she gave them their check. For a banana milkshake, a rootbeer float with strawberry ice cream, a chocolate shake, two orders of chicken wings, and two orders of fries for the three to share, their order should've come out to $27.50. But because Marilyn didn't charge them for their drinks, and only charged them for the food instead, their bill only came out to $16.50 instead. And because they were close enough friends for her to joke around with and to give free items to, and the boys knew she didn't charge them for their drinks because it didn't show on the bill, they gave her a $15 tip. She took off $11 from their bill, and they gave her a $15 tip; she loved it.

"Do you guys need anything else?" asked Marilyn, coming over to Jacob's table with a takeout plate of spaghetti and a box of garlic knots for Jacob to take home to Billy. She saw that they wiped out everything on the table; there was no leftover food for them to deal with.

Patting his stomach, Jacob grinned up at her, "Nope, we're good."

"This is for Billy," she said, handing him the bag with the food inside of it.

"You spoil that old man too much, Mari."

"Well seeing as how his son came out here to eat, I figure someone's gotta feed him," she chuckled. Reaching into her apron to pull out their bill, which she put together while doing the one for Justin, Chris, and Matthew, Marilyn said, "Here you go."

"Whoa," Jacob said, opening the bill and then looking up at her with wide eyes, "I know I like to pester you into hooking me up, but this is too much, Mari."

"Let me see," said one of the others. Taking the bill from Jacob, his eyes widened in surprise, "I think you got the wrong table."

Rolling her eyes, Marilyn said, "Shut up. It's all good so don't worry about it."

"Can't you get into trouble?"

"Ken loves me, and he does this too; we all do. It's one of the perks of working here, and it also depends on whether or not you're in with the cooks because they're the ones that have to cook the food. And Josh loves me too…" she assured them all when the curly one haired now grabbed at the bill. They were all passing it around to see why their friends were so shocked. Without the free cheese sticks and free fries that Josh threw in for the table, and the cokes that Marilyn also didn't charge them for at all, their bill should've come out to $59.25. With the drinks it would've been $74.25. But giving them their drinks for free, and the free cheese sticks and free fries that they didn't even order or ask for, Marilyn also made it seem as if they all ordered simple cheeseburgers with regular fries instead of all the food they actually ordered. So six regular cheeseburgers with regular fries came out to $39 instead – she gave them over half of the meal for free.

"You're crazy, Mari…" sighed Jacob, scooting his ass up a little to pull his wallet out from the back of his jeans.

Nodding in agreement, not bothering to deny it, Marilyn only grinned, "But that's why you love me."

"Sure, sure," he chuckled, pulling out two twenties to cover the bill. And then he looked around at his friends, "Make sure to do good with her tip. It's what she lives off of. She bought herself a car last summer with just her tips alone."

Already reaching into his back pocket for his own wallet, one of the others gave her an incredulous look, "Seriously?"

"I found it off of craigslist," she nodded, "But it was worth it."

"Until two weeks later when you called me for help 'cause the brakes weren't working, and you almost crashed," scoffed Jacob, reaching for his cup to finish off his drink.

"Do your breaks work now?" asked Paul at once, tossing a $10 bill into the middle of the table while the others all threw downs ones and fives, and another ten. "Jared and I work down at Quil's grandfather's car garage so if you want, you can bring your car down so we can check it out for you."

Finding herself greatly impressed that Paul was a mechanic, because it had always been a guilty pleasure of hers to admire the way guys looked when covered in car grease or when wearing a mechanic's jumper, Marilyn remembered how much fun she had when watching Jacob fix her breaks for her in just jeans and a very dirty undershirt. "I think it's good right now?" she said innocently, looking down at Jacob for confirmation.

Rolling his eyes, Jacob looked across at Paul, "When she brought it to me to fix her breaks, I checked the entire thing out for her and changed her tires and oil for her too. It's perfect right now, and isn't due for a yearly checkup 'til July."

"Yeah, what he said…" she chuckled.

Not looking completely satisfied though, Paul said, "Well if anything we could still check it out for you. Jake's good with building things, but not good enough to work in a garage."

"Hey!" when Marilyn only laughed, and Paul seemed to smile from ear to ear because she found what he said to be amusing, Jacob growled softly and muttered something beneath his breath before standing up to let the others know it was time to leave already. "Are you still off on Saturdays, Mari?"

"Yep."

"You should come down to the house," the invitation was warm and genuine, but there was something urgent in it as well, as if he had something important to discuss with her. "We can just hang out and catch up."

"Finals are starting to come up…" she said wearily, debating on what to do, "I was planning on using Saturday to catch up with studying."

"You're a sophomore," he snorted at her, "Finals aren't important 'til you're a junior or senior."

"You just wanna gossip and listen to me talk more shit about Edward, and about how I wanted my sister to end up with you instead…" she teased lightly.

Laughing joyously, and running a hand through his hair, Jacob said, "Yeah, well that too. But there's something I really need to talk to you about anyways, something kinda important," his eyes shifted momentarily in Paul's direction for a second before turning back to Marilyn, "We can gossip and talk shit about the Cullens together after."

"Sure, sure."

"Hey," he said lightly, gently shoving her with just a few fingers. It was still strong enough to make her budge though. When she only laughed at him, he gave her a hopeful look. "What do ya' say?"

"How 'bout I come out there around twelve?" she asked him. "I really do need to catch up on my studying 'cause I'm taking an AP Language class so I can't fuck that up, and I have to run a few errands too. So, I can study for like an hour or two in the morning, and then do my errands, then come out to your house. Is that cool?"

"Yeah," he nodded his head, "That sounds good. We can just order pizza or something for lunch."

"Mmkay," she nodded her head, smiling brightly; looking forward to actually not having to be alone. "I'll text you on Saturday when I start driving towards La Push then."

"Okay."

Hugging Jacob goodbye, feeling that his entire body was still too heated to be considered normal, Marilyn shyly glanced up at the others. Hugging Jacob, her forehead touched his nipples when only a few months ago they were still the same height as each other. And standing in front of his friends she could see that on every single one of them she barely even reached their shoulders. She always thought her sister was tall at five foot eight, and that she was tall at five foot seven, but now she knew how wrong she was; she was short as hell. "It was nice meeting you guys… well, sort of…"

"Oh right, I didn't even introduce you," cried out Jacob, only now realizing that all this time Marilyn didn't know who his friends were. "My bad, Mari. This is Seth Clearwater," the baby faced one, "Embry Call," the one willing to eat a meatball sandwich with bacon, bell peppers, and onions in it, "Quil Ateara IV," the curly haired one, and the one who's grandfather apparently owned a car garage, "Jared Cameron," the one closest to Paul, and the other mechanic, "And Paul Lahote," the only one who gave her his own name earlier because she said she didn't know who he was, "And as you all heard earlier, this is Marilyn Swan – Bella's little sister."

"It's so weird to think of you as a little sister when you're the same age as all of us…" chuckled Embry.

Seth shook his head, "Not me – I'm still only fourteen."

"Four – you're fourteen?!"

"I had an early growth spurt," he chuckled as if he had an inside joke. The others all chuckled as if they were in on it.

"Anyway, we gotta get going already. We have some phone calls to make," Jacob said worryingly, once again glancing in Paul's direction. "I'll see you on Saturday, Mari."

"Okay," she nodded, and then smiling up at the others kindly, finding that she actually liked them, she said, "Any time you guys wanna drive out to Forks to stop by and eat something after school again, I work Mondays through Thursday 'til eight," there was no point in telling them when she started because La Push High School also got out at three every day, and it was an hour drive from that high school to this diner; she would already be on the clock by the time they came in.

"Thanks!" they all said.

After a sort of awkward goodbye with the group, noticing that Paul lingered a little bit as if debating whether or not to hug her before finally being pulled out by Jacob, Marilyn shook her head and then chuckled to herself while also congratulating herself on not flirting with him. Well not flirting with him in a very big way at least. Cleaning off their table, grateful to see that for a bunch of sixteen year old boys, and one fourteen year old boy, they all had enough respect to make it easier for her by already piling their dishes on each other with their dirty napkins also tossed into the pile. Though it could have just been because Jacob threatened them to not leave behind a mess for his friend.

Her jaw also dropped. Jacob paid $40 for the $39 bill, making it known the extra dollar was left for Marilyn towards her tip. And she noticed the way that Paul threw down $10, and even Jared threw down $10; that was already a $21 tip. But it seemed like with the other three boys also throwing down money, Marilyn scored a total of $47 in tips alone from the six boys. Wanting to call Jacob to come back and grab some money because they left too much, Marilyn spotted a napkin with writing on it, and she instantly forgot about calling Jacob back.

PAUL

360-555-2956

Paul had written down his phone number on a napkin for her, and Marilyn was over the moon because of it.

With the number already stored into her phone, and the napkin in her apron, Marilyn pushed through the rest of the night when working; it seemed to be the best night yet. Making $15 in tips from her classmates, and $47 from Jacob and his friends, Marilyn went home with a total of $318.45 in her purse from tips alone – it was if this one particular night was meant to go in her favor. Such high amount of tips during a four and a half hour shift seemed more like a fantasy than reality; it was a freaking miracle. She truly did love this job.

Rushing home, taking a quick shower to wash away the stink of the diner, and also rushing through her homework, Marilyn finally jumped into her bed a little after 9:30. Reaching out for her phone, which had been plugged in from the moment she got home, Marilyn debated on whether or not to text Paul. After nearly half an hour of squealing into a pillow because the hot guy was the one to give her his number without her even having to put on the charms she usually did when trying for a number, Marilyn finally calmed down enough.

Sent: Paul

Hi, this is Marilyn (:

Feeling like dumbass after sending it, and actually throwing her phone to the side because of the stupid smiley face that she just knew would come back to haunt her soon enough, Marilyn squealed loudly again; into the bedroom this time. All she could do now was hope that Paul didn't think she was an idiot, and hope that he texted her back.