Hours into the little get together and I'm completely drunk and having a great time. It managed to just be a friend group thing, the pack, the imprintees, and Bella. Seth's even here since he phased yesterday and is now a part of the pack. He looks so happy to be back around everyone. We started the night outside but as the weather got colder we moved into Jake's basement to keep things going. The liquor has kept me plenty warm, but Quil's been very attentive nonetheless. He's always finding a way to touch me or talk to me. Whether its an ass grab or wrapping his arm around me to whisper in my ear..I like it. I like all of it. Maybe that's the liquor talking, but maybe it's not.
I make my way back to my seat on the couch with a fresh drink. Bella and Jake sit across from me on the two-seater couch, looking awfully cozy as they talk. Jake has his arm resting on the back of the couch and their bodies are turned towards one another. They look happy, Jake looks like he's swooning. My eyes gaze around the room, and I make eye contact with Quil as he's headed my way. His lips curl into a smile as he plops down in the seat beside me, placing a firm hand on my knee. "How ya feeling?" He leans in a little to talk.
"Good." I hold up my drink. "How about you?"
He holds up a beer of his own, bumping his can against my cup. "Great." He takes a sip and I do the same. Everyone else starts to make their way into this section of the basement, occupying the couches and chairs around us. Embry takes the seat next to Quil and Jake snickers at us.
"Embry's the third wheel now, first it was Chloe." He laughs, motioning at us three. I blush a little, laughing along.
"I'm sure Quil wishes he imprinted on Embry instead." I joke, making them all laugh.
It feels easy to fall back into old routines even after so much time has passed by. I guess that's from years of being together and doing these sorts of things. Everyone's house is like a second home to me. Bella seems to be fitting right in too, which I love to see. I'm not so sure how she feels about the Edward and Jake love triangle, but I hope either way she sticks around this group.
Leah comes back down the stairs and looks at us all huddled together, she seems to have disgust over something. She storms right over, plopping down on a seat next to the couch Jake and Bella are occupying. She slumps in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. Her face is flat, but I can feel the tension.
"You okay Leah?" Seth asks, looking concerned with his sisters demeanor. His eyes furrow and his lips pull into a frown. Seth's the sweetest guy ever. He's so attentive to everyone's feelings and he's been so great with helping Leah since the Sam and Emily thing, I heard. I hope he imprints on someone really great someday.
"I'm fine, I just wanna know why the blood suckers girlfriend is here." She remarks, motioning to Bella. Everyone seems to fall into a silent shock from her rudeness. My lips part a little, not knowing where this is coming from. I've seen Leah get real rude, but never call someone out like that. It seems so unlike her. Bella's been so friendly with everyone, I think she fits in great here. She's definitely never done anything to Leah personally.
"What the fuck Leah?" Jake asks, now turning to her. "What's your problem?" He's looking at her like she's got three heads.
I look over at Bella and I see her go tense. She seems a bit embarrassed and her pale cheeks flame red as she sort of slumps down in her seat, as if to go invisible.
Leah shrugs her shoulders, raising her eyebrows. "I don't know Jake, why are you bringing her around? Her boyfriends sister fucked up Quil and now she's just allowed to come around here? She's one of the Cullen's now, not one of us."
If Quil feels comfortable being around Bella, how is it any of Leah's concern. "I invited her." I say confidentially. "She's my friend." I'm not gonna let her shit on sweet, innocent Bella. Bella has been a great friend to me the past few weeks and I love having her here. No one else seems bothered, so I don't care that Leah is. If Bella did something to her I'd get it, but she didn't. Leah is picky an easy target.
Leah's anger seems to latch onto me now, rather than Bella. "Well that's not a shocker, you couldn't give less of a shit about your own imprint." She throws a hand up at me.
Now I'm embarrassed, also very pissed off. I feel my own face turn red with anger as I set my cup down on the table next to me, sitting up tall in my seat. Quil's hand remains firm on my knee, giving me a little squeeze. "Fuck off Leah." Quil says from beside me before I can say anything. "You don't know what you're even talking about."
"Shut up Quil, you're just defending her so she might let you kiss her someday." She snorts, laughing dryly at us. My cheeks flame bright red as anger bubbles up inside of me.
How did she know we haven't kissed yet? I was talking to Kim about it earlier but I thought we were out of earshot all the way in the upstairs bathroom. It's something I'm insecure about to say the least, I did not want everyone knowing that. I was telling Kim that he tried to kiss me but I didn't let him, while we were sort of hooking up. It's stupid, but I feel like kissing makes things real. It's a new big step that we would be taking in our relationship. I'm nervous. "What the hell, were you ease dropping?" I ask, my voice raising a little bit. Why is she trying to humiliate me in front of everyone?
"Maybe don't talk about your relationship problems in a whole with super hearing wolves." She mocks my voice, making a face at me.
In all the years I've known Leah she's never once been rude to me. At least not in this sort of way. She's being cruel.
Seth rises from his seat, taking steps closer to his sister. "Leah, lets go." He motions for him to get up, but she remains parked in her seat. She raises a hand as if to silence him. I can't believe she's acting like this, I've never seen her so horrible before.
"Go take a walk Leah, you need to calm down." Jake instructs with a calm tone. Bella has remained shrunken down in her seat beside him, looking more nervous by the second. Leah ignores him, rolling her eyes.
"You're just jealous of Bella because you like Jake." Kim says from across the room, in a matter-of-fact tone.
Everyone seems to look over at her in a bit of shock, especially Jake. The room is silent for a moment before Leah rises in her seat, looking like she's ready to kill Kim. She begins stomping over to her, fists balled, but I rise from my seat, stepping in front of her. Going head to head with Leah while sober? No way. Going head to head with a super strong wolf? No way. The liquor and adrenaline have taken over my body and I'm absolutely fuming at this point. "Don't." I say sharply, balling my fists up. Leah looks at me, all rage and fury, like she's about to bite my head off for getting in her way. She could kick my ass easily, but still I won't let her touch Kim, or Bella. I don't think Leah's that terrible that she'd actually hurt me.
"Leah." Seth pleads again, joining next to me. I feel a presence behind me, but I don't turn around, I already know it's Quil. He manages to extend an arm over my waist so I'm slightly behind him and he's now the one blocking Leah's trail of rage.
Leah just snorts before walking up the stairs, Seth quickly following behind her. The room remains silent and I take a step back from Quil. He turns, looking over me as if Leah somehow would have managed to hurt me without him seeing. I just silently shake my head at him, trying to calm myself down. My hands tremble a little from adrenaline, but I shake them a bit. My hearts pounding in my chest and my body is vibrating with anger. "The fuck is her problem?" Jared speaks into the quiet room.
"I think I should go." Bella says quietly, collecting her things as she rises to her feet. Jake quickly stands next to her, looking disappointed that she wants to leave. He places a hand on her arm, but doesn't say anything.
"Bella don't go." Jared says, shaking his head. "Leah's just looking to start something, who knows why." He's right, Bella did nothing wrong and Leah's anger was probably not really meant for her. Maybe Kim was right, maybe Leah has a crush on Jake and she's feeling jealous that he likes Bella. Still..I have never seen her lash out like that. I've always enjoyed Leah, even with her prickles. She's stubborn and cold for a reason, Sam made things much worse too.
"I don't want to start any problems." She says quietly, not looking at anyone in particular. I would feel uncomfortable if I were her too. I'm scared this is going to scare her off permanently.
I shake my head at her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You aren't, you didn't do anything." I assure her. "Why don't we just call it a night, wanna ride with us?" I offer, chewing on my lip. She nods shyly and I look to Quil and Embry, who already look ready to leave. Embry smiles and nods at her.
Everyone stands up and says there goodbyes, Kim pulls me into a side hug. "Get home safe. I'm sorry about Leah, Bella. Please don't stop coming around, you're a fun time." She smiles at her. Bella smiles back, nodding. I'm glad to see them getting along, I think they have a lot in common and will be good friends. I was so worried Kim wouldn't get along with her, I didn't expect someone like Leah to start something.
I give out a few hugs and then follow behind the boys with Bella. We get outside into the cold air and that's when the liquor comes rushing back to me. I sobered up when Leah started shit, but now I'm full on drunk again. I feel a little dazed as I walk to the car, giggling to myself. I manage to look up at the night sky, enjoying the view. "Come on Chloe, you're gonna trip." Quil chuckles at me, snaking an arm around my waist as he guides me to the car. "Sit on my lap, Bella you can squeeze in the back seat with us." He assures her.
Both of them get settled first before I climb onto Quil's lap. I'm faced Bella, as I'm slumped in his warm lap, my head against his shoulder, and my legs occupying her floor space. Quil's warmth heats me up immediately like a heated blanket. My heart beat slows down as Embry starts driving Bella home. The car fills with light chatter that I don't bother taking part in. The need to sleep overwhelms me and my eyes droop shut, listening to the noise.
I hear Bella get out of the car, making a joke about me sleeping, but I don't manage to open my eyes. Quil's arms engulf me, holding me tight to him. I move a little so I'm faced more into his chest, fisting his shirt in my hands. His fingers dip through my hair and I shiver a little, holding onto him tighter before I fall asleep.
I flinch awake as the car comes to a halt and Quil pushes his car door open, carefully moving us out of the car. He's carrying me bridal style like it's easy and I manage to open my eyes a little bit, looking up at his sharp jawline. I never realize how defined it was. "I'm too heavy." I slur my words, half because I'm drunk, and half because I'm tired. I watch him shake his head as he continues carrying me into the house.
"Someone can't handle their liquor." I hear Embry snicker somewhere near me but I just bat a hand in the air at him.
Quil kicks open a door and I land on the cool surface of my bed. My eyes open again and I realize I've made it into my room. He goes to work, tugging off my shoes and peeling off my jacket for me. "Wanna change?" He offers, looking down at my jeans. There's no way I'm sleeping in these tight things. I nod and watch him roam through my drawers, pulling out a pajama set.
"You gotta take her makeup off I think." I hear Embry's voice in my doorway.
I start pulling up my shirt, wanting my bra off when I hear Quil start yelling at Embry, both of them leaving my room. I manage to lazily change, tossing my clothes to the floor beside my bed. Normally I'm good about my nighttime routine, even when drunk, but I'm too tired to care tonight. I'll wake up at some point and manage a shower. I crawl back into bed, tugging the covers up to my chin. A knock pats at the door and I just groan in response.
Moments later someones wiping my face and I frown, forcing my eyes open again to see Quil. He looks so determined as he softly wipes all over my face, going especially gentle over my eyes. He even as a wet wash cloth to pat over my face when he's done, smearing on something cold. "I've watched you to this enough times to know." He laughs a little under his breath.
I smile up at him as he finishes, looking proud of his work. "Thank you." I mumble, breaking into a big yawn.
"Of course." He smiles, climbing off my bed.
I try to shift in my bed, but nothing feels as comfortable as the car ride home. My comforter is freezing too, doing nothing to heat me up. "Quil." I whisper, hoping he's still lurking around somewhere.
A second later he's hovering over my bed, looking concerned. "Are you gonna puke?"
I make a face. "No. Can you..lay with me? I'm cold." I frown up at him. I know I'm asking a lot of him right now, he didn't even have to help me with my makeup, but I'm feeling needy tonight. I always do things on my own and I never expect help, but it's nice knowing someone's looking out for me. It's comforting and it feels special. I've never had something like that before.
He climbs into bed with me as I roll over, facing away from him. His front snuggles into my backside and his arm lays across my chest, tugging me tightly into him. The fuzzy warm feeling engulfs me again, and I've never felt happier.
"Quil?" He hums. I chew on my cheek, deciding I can ask him anything because I can blame it on being drunk tomorrow. "Do you want to kiss me?"
"Of course, just when you're sober." His voice seems to vibrate in my ear. He snuggles a bit closer, tucking his head in my hair. "Why were you talking to Kim about it?"
I close my eyes, letting them rest as I talk. "Because I'm scared." I admit.
"Of what?"
"What if I'm a bad kisser, or your a bad kisser? Or what if it makes things official and I'm not ready for that." It's been on my mind a lot lately. I want to kiss him and I'm always finding myself thinking about him kissing me. I'm scared the fantasies I've created of how it would feel will be wrong. That I'll hate it.
"I'm a great kisser." He says, sounding flirty and just a bit cocky. "I'll show you tomorrow." He whispers his words, hover over my ear before kissing it. My body heats up and tingles in response, but I let it go. "And it doesn't have to mean anything you don't want it to."