New Year Implosion (excerpt from Waiting)
by Lady of Spain
Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight
He tried not to lose any sleep over the whole Leah/Neah situation, and so he let it pass, pretending that it wasn't bothering him. But then, New Years Eve would be approaching the following week. Sue had plans with Charlie, and that left Leah and Seth free to have their own celebration.
Jacob had noticed a dark red SUV parked out front of her house waaaay before the party was due to start. No doubt it belonged to that jerk, Neah. How long was this guy gonna hang around La Push? Weren't there any girls on his rez?
The party started at nine, and Jacob got there late. It was all he could do to drag himself over there. The wolves were all lively as usual, horsing around, cracking jokes and showing off their individual dancing prowess, everyone except Jacob. He probably should've brought a date along with him, but he wouldn't be much fun to be around, not tonight, at any rate.
Sulking in the corner came to mind, but what good would that do? She hadn't looked at him all night—not since her first greeting when he came through the door. She'd been glued to that other brown-eyed handsome man.
He sat at the kitchen table, nibbling on some brownies, when Embry plopped down on the opposite chair. "Hey, Jake. Why the long face?"
"You may as well know. You guys were right. I think I've fallen for Leah. And there she is in the next room, hangin' all over that Neah guy. What does she see in him anyway?"
Embry scooted his chair closer to Jacob's, and bending over the table, grabbed a brownie, popping it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it quickly, then answered, "Well, you know, he does have a nice house, and his dad has a good business going. And you gotta admit, the man is easy on the eyes."
"Maybe if I roughed him up a bit, he wouldn't be too freakin' easy on the eyes any more."
Embry leaned back in his chair. "I don't know … he's pretty big. They say he can be real intimidating."
"Yeah…? Well, I'm no slouch; I can be pretty intimidating too."
Pointing to the bowl of chips, Embry, said, "Hey, can you pass me the chips and the dip? I love Leah's dip. Mmn, mmn. She takes after Sue in the cooking department."
After downing a few, he continued, "So what are you gonna do about this situation? If you beat the crap out of him, Leah might never speak to you again, and you know how well that went over the last time."
"I keep thinking he'll make some mistake and piss her off, or they'll just get tired of each other when the novelty wears a little too thin. I don't mind tellin' you, this is makin' me nervous."
"It's none of my business, but if I were you, I'd let her know how I felt—the sooner, the better."
"Okay, I tell you what. I'll give this thing another month, and if Neah's still roaming around the rez, and sniffin' after Leah, then I'll make my move."
"Now you're talkin'." He gave Jacob a high five as he stood to join the rest of the party.
Jacob stayed as long as he dared, trying not to act like a jealous maniac, but that didn't negate the fact that he was. Ducking out the back door, he missed the midnight smooching and the ringing in of the New Year. While he walked home alone, he overheard the joyous shouts among his friends. Their cheers brought him down further. All Jacob could think about was that Neah had the girl that he stupidly let slip through his fingers. Happy New Year … yeah, right! So far, this year wasn't boding too well for him.