A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.

Chapter 16- How could a prank go this wrong?

Bella's POV-

"Bellaaa," Quil whined helplessly, giving me the pout of the century, causing me to frown in sheer annoyance, "Please! Please! Pretty please! I will do anything for you. I will gladly offer you my first-born…"

"Quil," I let out a sigh, shaking my head at him, just wanting him to stop speaking for five whole minutes- really, really needing the peace of mind at the moment. "I still don't think this is a good idea. I mean, there is so much that could go wrong! Have you even given that a second's thought?"

Just imagine…

The possibilities of something going wrong….

It was literally endless.

"Nothing bad will happen, trust me on that." He smiled in absolute confidence.

"And how can you be so sure of that?" I demanded to know, scowling at him. "Have you gained some mysterious power of seeing the future or something?"

He waved me off. "Nope. But I know Jake and Embry well enough to be sure of that. Will they throw a tantrum of massive proportions, sure; but apart from that, nothing worth mentioning will happen. Trust me on that. We play pranks on one another all the time!"

I sighed, shutting my eyes briefly in sheer exasperation. "That is different. You are friends…"

I did not need to continue, the intention behind my words easily evident.

Would I call myself and Jake friends- I don't know?

These past few weeks, we had hardly been cordial to the other, friendship too far a goal to even seek.

"Hey, now," Quil put a finger under my chin, forcing me to look up and meet his eyes, warmth shining back at me. "Correction; we are friends."

I nodded my head in response, slightly relieved to hear that- but still equally worried about the consequences of my actions. "Jake will be so upset. We are already not on talking terms- this would make it worser. And Embry, I don't even know the man enough to prank him. Quil, I really think…"

"Shh," he silenced me with a smile, "you are overthinking. And push comes to shove, I will take the entire blame on my head. Nobody will blame you."

"That's…that's not the thing." I clarified, my voice a tiny unsure whisper. "I trust you." I instantly added, wanting to reassure him of that. "But…just…it seems too harsh a thing to do, you know?"

"Bella," he gave me a pointed look, amusement evident on his face. "Do you know the meaning of a prank?"

"Of course, I do," I scoffed at his words, disbelief thick in my tone.

Who didn't know the meaning of the word 'prank'?

I am pretty sure even a six-year-old could give you the correct answer to that question.

And I was much, much older than the ridiculous age of six.

"Good," he smiled, "Then you must be aware that not every prank out there is life-threatening and cruel. Pranks can be harmless and just for fun. This is one of those pranks, the laugh it away kind."

I let out a sigh, expressionlessly staring at him, out of words to speak in my defense.

He did have a point- I may not want to verbally acknowledge that, but it was a fact that I had come to slowly recognize.

Pranks could be harmless and just for fun.

I may not be some expert prankster- heck, I could hardly lie to save my life- but I had seen others being pranked before.

And most of them just laughed it off, or retaliated with a prank of equal torture.

It was never anything more than that.

Nobody took a prank seriously.

And even if they did, the anger and annoyance was usually short-lived.

It was common understanding that you made your skin harder than that, using your sense of humor when someone proved themselves smarter than you.

Yes, it would be alright.

They would understand.

And were anything bad to happen….I would take care of that then and there.

No use worrying over that now.

Yes, you don't go around finding solution for tomorrow's problems.

Rather, it is always one day at a time.

"Okay," I hesitantly replied, whipping out my phone, pushing an unruly strand of hair behind my ear- the cool wind flowing through the meadow creating havoc for my hair.

"Great." Quil cheered, letting out an almost maniacal laugh. "I owe you one."

"You definitely do." I nodded in agreement, dialing the familiar number and putting the phone up to my ear, waiting for it to be picked up.

"Hello,"

An annoyed voice spoke into the receiver, an unspoken 'I have better things to do than talk to you' implied.

Crap.

He was already in a terrible mood

And I was about to make it worse.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

"Jake," I hesitantly whispered, Quil glaring at me to not lose character and do my role justice. I internally sighed, nodding my head, coaxing my dramatic side to come out to play. I had seen enough movies and read more than enough books to know what to do next.

"Jake," I cried out into the phone, surprising even myself with my acting. Wow. I should try for the movies! "He is here. I am so scared."

Okay, so I admit that I did lose character for a second or two there, but come on, I was actually not scared.

Not in the slightest.

Quil may be dressed up like a…joker…er….vampire, but he was not one in reality. The fangs were fake, and so were the red contacts.

And don't even get me started on the creepy cape like thing he was currently showing off with pride.

I doubt even a kid would be scared by his appearance; they would be thoroughly amused but not scared.

"I mean, help me." I fumbled over my words, needing to get myself back on track. "He is going to eat me up, or drink from me, however you look at it."

'What the fuck?' Quil mouthed at me, shock heavy in his features.

'Sorry' I winced, apologizing.

Don't lose character, Bella!

I internally chided myself.

You are stronger than that.

"Jake, I need you."

Yes, that always worked like magic.

No matter what the circumstances involved.

Jake was a sucker to be the prince charming for every damsel in distress out there. He just could not resist himself, needing to throw himself in the fire and rescue the damned damsel.

Was it cruel of me to use that in my favor- definitely, but was I going to stop doing so- nope, not really!

"What is wrong, honey?" He cooed in response. "Talk to me."

"He is here." I repeated, rolling my eyes briefly. What else was I even supposed to say to that? And he had heard me the first time around, hadn't he?

"Who is this 'he'?" Jake demanded to know; anger now audible in his tone, giving me the idea that he was probably convulsing with the urge to phase by now.

Oh. Crap.

Now?

We hadn't thought of any 'he' to name, well, obviously.

I had so not expected to be asked this particular question. Maybe, I should have seen it coming- considering it was an obvious question…. but I hadn't, and now I was stuck with not a way out.

"He is…" I paused, Quil mouthing at me to think of something, refusing to let the prank die down. It was important to him… this being the only way for him to get back on his friends for abandoning him.

Think Bella. Think.

Think of all the vampires we know about….

Edward…Alice….Carlisle….

No, the Cullens are out of question.

Jake would never believe me, and even if he did, I did not wish to drag their name through mud.

Apart from Edward, nobody in that family had done me any wrong.

And before you go around protesting- glaring at someone like Rosalie did, is no crime.

It may be insanely rude, but it is no crime.

"He is… Laurent."

Yes, I had never liked that jerk.

He was just so creepy.

He literally gave out the 'I will kill you in your sleep' vibes.

"He is one of their kind," I whispered, almost smiling at the fact that I had gotten myself out of this unwanted situation without any help from Quil. "He is out to kill me. He wants revenge. Edward killed his coven mate."

It made sense, didn't it?

And had I the instinct of self-preservation in me- even in the slightest, I would have been worried by the fact that neither Laurent or Victoria had come after me.

But as it stood, this was the least of my worries.

They could be touring the world for all I cared.

Quil nudged me hard, me having zoned out in the middle of the conversation, a silent apology given as I attempted to convince Jake that no, the entire pack was not needed to rescue poor, old me.

The two of them- Jake and Embry- were enough, just as we had decided upon.

It was slightly difficult to convince him to abide by what I was saying, but he finally did, receiving my location in return, a cheer involuntarily creeping by.

Everything was going according to the plan.

It was all perfect!

Quil was dressed up as a vampire, ready to perform- he even had a script ready, and now that Jake had agreed that only the two of them would be coming to the rescue….it was all working out just the way we wanted it to.

Nothing could go wrong from hereon.

Yes, I was confident of that.

I could literally bet on that.

"Hey, what's that?" Quil whispered, too low for Jake to hear, staring in the distance, his eyes unmoving and expressionless as he continued to stare.

I followed his gaze, a gasp leaving my mouth at the sight that my eyes were forced to witness.

It was him…

He was really here.

What was he doing here?

Had I somehow managed to summon him?

How else could this be a dumb coincidence?

I had taken his name….and here he was?

What ridiculous joke was this?

"Jake," I cried out into the phone, the panic in my tone all real now.

With every step that Laurent took ahead, I was freaking out.

He was going to kill us.

Like brutally rip our arms apart and kill us-kill us.

He was going to torture us…me….

Shit. I could see it coming alright, the picture in 3D for me to witness.

Jake.

I needed Jake.

I needed the wolves.

They were the only ones who could rescue me now.

I could only hope that they arrived on time.

Before Laurent played his move….and ended the game.