I end up getting grounded for the rest of the month, and am only allowed to walk to and from school with Seth. I don't get to hang out with him for the duration of the grounding, and by the time the month passes I am desperate to do something, and get out of the house.
Of course, Billy says that I have to have Jacob with me if I go anywhere. And since Jacob doesn't ever do anything without his idiots, I end up getting dragged along with them to First Beach on Saturday.
When we get there, there is already a small group of kids that obviously are from Forks, and a few Rez members. I recognize one of the Rez people as Sam Uley, who looks at my brother and his friends with an unreadable expression.
From the way Sam looks, the steroid rumours must be true, because the man is nearly seven feet tall and bursting with muscles. He's even really attractive, which makes him even more intimidating to me. Of course, Jacob easily makes conversation with the palefaces, while I'm left to silently sit on a piece of driftwood. Quil joins him, while Embry comes and sits next to me.
"So, ol' Billy finally let you off the leash, huh?" Embry nudges me, and I sigh.
"Barely. Jacob has to be my supervise my every move, which is like the blind leading the blind." I complain, leaning my head on Embry's shoulder.
"I'd probably shoot Jake before I ended up in that situation," Embry comments, shaking his head. "No offense to Jake, but I'd go nuts."
"I'm one step away from landing the nuthouse, Em," I reply dramatically. "You better write me while I'm gone."
"I'm sure Seth and I can take the time to visit," Embry sighs, as dramatic as me. "Don't worry, we'll make sure the gremlins stay away."
I laugh loudly at his comment, catching the attention of one of the Forks kids. She looks me up and down and seems to scoff to herself, turning to her friends and saying something. They turn and look at me, and then turn to her, laughing.
I suddenly become self conscious and fiddle with the hem of my black sweatshirt, then smooth my hand over my skinny jeans. Embry notices, and takes my hand in his with a squeeze.
Jacob and Quil come and sit over by us, and eventually the Forks kids begin handing out food. Sam and his friend, I think Jared is his name, take almost triple the amount of the rest of us, but nobody says anything. I'd be willing to bet money that they don't say anything because they too, are intimidated by the huge boys.
At some point, more Forks kids enter the group, coming from the woods, and I notice Bella is among them. The boys from that group scramble to get food, and a boy with oil slick black hair, Eric, introduces everyone.
The girl standing with Bella is named Angela, and she seems very kind. I notice that when Eric says Bella's name, Jacob perks up, and the blond boy named Mike narrows his eyes at him.
Bella sat with Angela during lunch, a few feet away from us, and Jacob was distracted the whole time we ate. During lunch, the clouds started to advance, slinking across the blue sky, darting in front of the sun momentarily, casting long shadows across the beach, and blackening the waves.
As people finish eating, they drift off in groups of twos and threes, some walking to the waves, others gathering together to go visit the tide pools. I would love to go with to the tide pools, but Jacob is antsy and doesn't want to go.
Mike, the blond boy, looks at me with interest, but his attention is drawn away by the annoying girl I vaguely remember is called Jessica. They leave for the one shop near us, and some of the Rez kids go with them. Others go along on a hike, and Embry and Quil go with them.
At this point, Bella is sitting alone on her driftwood. The platinum blonde snob named Lauren is sitting with the boy named Tyler, distracting themselves with the CD player a local Rez kid named Jessica brought.
A few minutes after the girl named Angela left, Jacob saunters over to take her place next to Bella. I groan inwardly, and remain on my driftwood, preferring to watch the destruction and embarrassment happen from a far away seat.
"Bella, hey," Jacob grins, trying far too hard to look cool.
"Oh, hey Jacob. I didn't even realize you were here," Bella replies, smiling. "Did Rayna come with?"
"She's over there." Jacob waves his hand vaguely towards me, his tone dismissive. I give Bella a small wave, and resume staring at the ocean.
"Nice. Did Rachel or Rebecca come with?" Bella asks, and I realize she doesn't even know they left.
"No," Jacob shakes his head. "Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca remarried a Samoan surfer- she lives in Hawaii now."
"Married. Wow." Bella sounds stunned.
She doesn't notice the way Jacob responds mechanically, since we've been asked many times what happened to the older Black sisters, the ones who left as soon as they were able to. She doesn't hear the concealed emotions, but I do.
"So how do you like the truck?" Jacob asks, changing the subject quickly.
"I love it, it runs great."
"Yeah, but it's really slow," He laughs. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another when we had a perfectly good vehicle right there. You know, even though there's no way Rayna and I would share a car."
"It's not that slow," Bella objects. "Besides, you could have just worked on a car for Rayna."
"Have you tried to go over sixty? And there's no way Rayna would get my Rabbit."
"No," Bella admits.
"Good, don't." Jacob grins at her.
I almost throw up at my brothers sad attempt at flirting.
Bella grins back, oblivious to his flirting. "It does great in a collision."
I feel sick to my stomach at that comment, and tune out their conversation from then, until the snob, as I've dubbed the platinum Lauren, interrupts them.
"You know Bella, Jacob?" Lauren asks, in an insolent tone, leaning towards the fire.
"We've sort of known each other since I was born," Jacob laughs, smiling again.
"How nice." She doesn't sound like thinks it's all that nice at all, and her pale, fishy eyes narrow.
Okay, so fuck that, she's now dubbed as ice bitch in my mind.
"Bella," she calls again, watching my Bella's face carefully. "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the other Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?"
The expression on Lauren's face is full of fake concern, and I honestly want nothing more than to punch her delicate features off her face.
"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" Sam asks in his deep, intense tone, and Lauren is obviously annoyed by the interruption.
"Yes, do you know them?" She asks condescendingly, turning halfway towards him.
I hope Sam rips her to shreds, with the looks of his muscles he could, but his eyes flash dangerously and his muscles tense. I get chills very briefly, because it reminds me of the reaction I had when I saw the Cullens in the supermarket.
"The Cullens don't come here," Sam says in a tone that closes the subject, ignoring her question.
Tyler wins back Lauren's attention, and I fantasize about pushing her into the fire. Too bad that would probably get me arrested. Sam walks into the woods, his friend Jared following him like a puppy dog. I remember Jared before he became part of Sam's' cult, and he seemed like a very funny, likeable guy. Very sociable, too, although now his social circle doesn't stretch anywhere beyond Sam.
Bella obviously looks disturbed by Sam's comment, but Jacob interrupts her meditation.
"So is Forks driving you insane yet?"
Once again, I tune out of their small talk, instead mulling over the steroid mystery that is Sam Uley. I am brought out of my thoughts as Bella asks in a painfully awkward seductive tone for Jacob to take a walk down the beach with her.
Jacob jumps up willingly, and I decide to follow them quietly, so they don't know I'm there.
"So, what are you, sixteen?" She asks, fluttering her eyelids in a way that left me wondering if she had tried applying false eyelashes and gotten the glue stuck to her lids.
"I just turned fifteen," Jacob confesses, and I can tell he's flattered. Oh god, just great, an ego boost he doesn't need.
"Really?" The false surprise in Bella's voice nearly makes me gag, but I hold back. "I would have thought you were older."
"I'm tall for my age," He explains. Yeah, maybe compared to Quil.
At this point, the awkward flirting is getting to be too much for me, and I tune out again, following them as they head to my tree, the one I had slept out on before I got grounded.
I tune back in when I hear Jacob tell our legends, to an outsider, and I'm angry that he would disrespect tribal law like that.
Bella's interest in the Cullen's is unnerving, and it sends shivers down my spine. Yet the fear on her face assures me that, even though she may have been interested at first, she now wouldn't dare go near them at all.
I see that they're getting ready to head back, so I hurry off before they have a chance to catch me spying on them. When I get back to the group, I notice everyone is slowly but surely packing everything back up to go back.
My reappearance seems to catch the attention of the boyish blonde, Mike, and he walks over to me with a charming grin.
"Hey, you're from La Push, right?" His question comes out as a statement, and he holds out a hand for me to shake. "I'm Mike Newton."
I raise an eyebrow at him, and tentatively shake his hand. "Considering I don't recall riding down here in your suburban, I would have to say that yes, I am from the Rez. Your guessing skills are certainly up to par."
Mike lets out an uncertain laugh, I realize that he doesn't seem to understand sarcasm. I resist the urge to roll my eyes, and cross my arms.
"Uh, yeah, I guess. What's your name?" Mike asks, only a bit awkwardly.
"Rayna." I reply shortly.
"It's nice to meet you. Do you come up to Forks often?" He continues, not seeming to realize I'm not in the mood to talk.
"Not really, there isn't much of a reason to." I again resist the urge to roll my eyes, and wonder how anyone could hold a conversation with this kid.
"What if you had a reason to?" Mike flashes a grin at me, and that's when I realize he's flirting with me. What the actual hell, he's like seventeen and I'm only fourteen.
"I doubt there's any reason in the world that would make me drive to Forks." I reply dryly, and start to move away from him.
He grabs my arm, and slips a piece of paper in my palm. "Text me sometime."
Without looking at him, I walk away, my cheeks burning. One of the girl's, Jessica I think her name is, glares at me, but I ignore her. Jacob and Bella return, and everyone leaves.
As we walk back home, I berate Jacob for spilling our legends. He looks shocked that I heard, and I tell him I followed them. That pisses him off for the rest of the night, and he doesn't speak to me. Neither does Billy, but over the past month I got used to that.
The next two weeks pass by uneventfully, until Billy announces that we are going over to the Swan's house to watch the game. I'd rather sit at home alone, because ever since the day on the beach, Bella hasn't talked to me. I wonder if the only reason she talked to me was to know about the legends, and then went to Jacob when I didn't mention them.
I hate Bella Swan all over again.
As we pull up to the Swan's, a shiny Volvo speeds past us, and I see a stunning, pale figure in the driver's side. I even audibly gasp as I realize a Cullen has been hanging out with Bella.
Billys eyes meet mine, and I know for once we are on the same page that Bella needs to stay away from the Cullens. As usual, Jacob is oblivious, not surprising.
"Hey, Bella," Jacob calls, climbing out of the little black car.
Billy stares Bella down as she stands in the driveway, and she holds his gaze. I shake my head, and get out of the backseat.
Charlie greets us loudly, and we all head to the house.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't see you behind the wheel, Jake," Charlie says disapprovingly.
"We get permits early on the rez," Jacob lies through his teeth.
"Sure you do," Charlie laughs, and I once again am overwhelmed with the joy of being in Charlie's presence. He's still one of my favorite, if not my favorite, adults.
"I have to get around somehow, and Rayna isn't quite old enough to pass. Or responsible enough," Billy says, and I ignore him although anger pumps through my veins.
Bella hurries inside the house, and I'm left to listen to Charlie and Billy chatter on while Jacob anxiously looks for Bella.
"This is a surprise," Charlie says.
"It's been too long," Billy answers. "I hope it's not a bad time."
I don't have to look to know he stares at Bella as he says this.
"No, its great. I hope you can stay for the game."
Jacob grins. "I think that's the plan- our TV broke last week."
Billy makes a face at Jacob. "And, Jake was anxious to see Bella again," He adds. "Plus Rayna looks for any excuse to get out of the house."
Jacob scowls and ducks his head, while I bite my lip so hard I taste blood in an effort to not say anything. Bella looks remorseful.
"Are you hungry?" Bella asks, inching towards the kitchen.
"Naw, we ate just before we got here," Jacob answers.
"How about you, Charlie?" Bella asks, fleeing around the corner.
"Sure," Charlie replies, and he and Billy walk into the living room.
Jacob enters the kitchen, and I follow him. Bella is making a grilled cheese sandwich, and is in the process of slicing up a tomato before she notices me.
"So, how are things?" Jacob asks.
"Pretty good," Bella smiles. "How about you? Did you finish your car?"
"No," He frowns. "I still need parts. We borrowed that one." He points with his thumb in the direction of the front yard.
"Who's your friend, Bella?" I ask, my tone flat and unwelcoming. I sense a change in Bella, and I don't like it. Although I can't quite put my finger on it, there's something different about her, and not in a good way.
Bella sighs in defeat, and I knew she was hoping we wouldn't ask that question. "Edward Cullen."
Jacob laughs, and I glare at him. "Guess that explains it, then," He says. "Rayna and my dad are huge believers of the legends. They don't like the Cullens."
"You'd like them if you met them," Bella says defensively.
"I very much doubt that," I mutter under my breath, but I know they hear me anyways.
"Superstitious family," Jacob rolls his eyes.
"You don't think he'd say anything to Charlie?" Bella's words come out in a low rush, and I snort in laughter.
"I doubt it, Charlie won't hear a word against the Cullens. He won't tolerate it." I shake my head.
"That's because some people have this thing called manners, and not believing old legends, Rey." Jacob rolls his eyes yet again, and I stomp on his foot. I know that if Bella weren't there, he'd fight back. But she is, so I'm safe.
"Oh," Bella tries to hard to sound indifferent, but I see through her.
"So, you've been ignoring my calls. Any reason why?" I can't help but ask, and get a small feeling of satisfaction at watching her squirm.
"Oh, I've uh, just been really busy lately." Bella replies evasively, and I drop the subject completely. Bella Swan has officially been written off my friend list.
We stay in the front room after Bella brings the food out, and I fall asleep during the game as Jacob chatters incessantly to Bella. Before I know it, Jacob is shaking me awake and we're walking out the door.
"You take care, Bella," I hear Billy says before he leaves, and I turn to put my two cents in.
"You can always call me, too, if you get into trouble." I add in a biting tone, and then get in the borrowed black car.
Jacob gets in the car before Billy, and before he starts the car, he hangs his head down, and then snaps it back up. He sighs, and facing forward, speaks.
"You don't always have to be so mean, Rayna." Jacob tells me, his tone laced with disappointment. I stay silent, and the drive home is quiet and tense.
Once we get in the house, Billy wheels himself to the phone. I ignore what he says, and choose instead to look out the window at the rain slowly drizzling down outside. I can feel the chill slowly seeping in through the windowpane, and rest my warm forehead against the cool glass. I shut my eyes when I feel a headache coming on.
Jacob sits in the living room, and although I don't see him, I can tell he's sitting tensely. He doesn't understand why I'm upset with Bella, because he's clouded by his feelings. If he were thinking clearly, he would be able to see that Bella has obviously been dazzled by her new boy.. Friend? Or whatever it is the Cullen boy is to her.
Either way, Bella hasn't been fair to me.
About twenty minutes after Billy had gotten off the phone, I hear the low rumble of a truck outside, and open my eyes to see a truck driven by Sam Uley pull into our driveway. He looks tense, and our eyes meet for a moment before I turn away from him.
The way he looked at me was odd, as though he expected something he knew he wouldn't get from me. That confuses me, but I ignore him and stare at the person shrouded in the passenger seat.
The person in the passenger seat gets out of the car, and leans against the hood of the car. I recognize him as none other than Paul Lahote, and when he starts to turn his head to look at the window, at me, I quickly pull my head back inside, the curtain swishing shut.
What the hell was Paul Lahote doing with Sam Uley?
"I'm going to an Elders meeting," Billy tells us, drawing my attention to him and away from Paul, then shuts the door behind him.
Jacob and I are left alone, but he goes to bed immediately, leaving me alone with my thoughts. He's almost more moody than I am, and sometimes it really gets on my nerves.
Normally I would take this as an opportunity to sneak out, maybe find a party or somewhere I definitely shouldn't be, but I know I'm still on my dad's shit list. Instead I head to my room, and although my hands itch to draw something, I return to looking out the window.
I know it seems to be moving rather fast, but like i said before i'm trying to get to new moon as soon as possible. So, next chapter will be a few things to tie up twilight and then we'll dive into new moon, which i'm really excited about. I really do hope you guys don't mind that I'm rushing through Twilight, but if it does bother you let me know and I'll slow down.
inyushademons14- same, to me its dull and boring compared to the other books. plus, theres no wolfpack and hardly any Jacob, and i love my wolves and my jake. i wish i could assure you that their relationship gets better, but things that are going ot happen.. well, you'll see.
serenaonthestar- thank you so much! and i don't want to give anything away, but.. :) also I'm osrry the update took awhile, ive been on vacation in florida without wifi or my laptop!
flowerchild23- thank you!
-TheFlyingGraysons