I don't even know.

Disclaimer here. Don't read if you're offended by mild swearing.

-Kiddo.

Wednesday morning Kim took a different approach on waking me up.

"Shannon…get up, sleepy head." She leaned over me, her face unreadable.

"What is wrong with you?" I grumbled, annoyed by her theatrics. She was no more of a morning person than I was.

"Jared is here already and the rest of the gang are coming over before school to meet you!" She whispered excitedly, shaking my shoulder.

I blinked up into the sudden brightness when she flipped on the light. "What do you mean before school?" I sat up and tossed the blankets off. "What time is it?"

"Just after five."

"In the morning?" I asked in complete disbelief.

"Of course it's in the morning. Now get up! I can't have you being seen like this."

"Like what?"

She looked pointedly down at my underwear and tee-shirt. "Like that."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn. I'm going back to sleep." I pulled the covers back up over my legs and turned my face into the pillow.

"Fine. Be that way." Kim huffed, stalking out of the room.

"Amazing," I grunted into the pillow. Usually I had to fight tooth and claw to get my way around here. It was nice that she had given up so easily.

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" A deep voice interrupted my subconscious.

"One-hundred percent positive." A much lighter voice answered.

Get out of my dreams. I willed both of the voices, and then I was flying.

Or more correctly, I was falling. One second I was in my bed, warm and peaceful and in the next second I was hitting the cold wooden floor and jolted sharply out of my dreams.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I demanded, thrashing off the barren floor and onto my feet.

"Sorry," Jared said quite sheepishly, setting my mattress back down. "Kim told me to do it." He turned his head away from my state of undress.

"Next time get up when I tell you." She smiled smugly.

I wanted to wipe it right off her face. How dare she tell her boyfriend to do that? Who the hell did she think she was?

"Now, if you don't mind," She tucked a strand of her thin hair back into its place and put her hands on her curvy hips. "Up and dressed." She paused, and wrinkled her nose, so identical to my own. "Maybe a shower first though."

"I don't think so." I crossed my arms, staring her down.

She looked pointedly at Jared before she spoke to me. "That is nonnegotiable."

"Wait, wait, wait. You can not use your boyfriend to get me to do stuff. That is sacrilege." I couldn't believe she had sunk this low.

"Do it or I will have him do it for you. This is important, Shan. The gang is important to La Push. Believe it or not, what they think about you matters." She stood back, waiting.

"Unbelievable…the both of you." I picked up my robe and stalked past Jared. "Thanks a lot, Lurch."

I stood in the shower, my teeth chattering wildly. Kim had turned off the hot water after she realized I was just simply going to take as long a shower as needed in order to blow of meeting Jared's little 'gang'.

"Shannon! This is getting really, really stupid! Just get out and dressed and I promise I won't ask you to do anything else today." Kim called through the flimsy wooden door.

"Promise?" I shut off the water and flew into my bathrobe. I wasn't sure how long it would take until she sent Jared in here after me. I wasn't going to take my chances.

"I cross my heart and hope to die." She said, a bit overdramatically.

"Deal," I tied the robe and swung the door open. I would have hit her in the face with it, but Jared pulled her back in the nick of time.

Damn him. Damn him to eternity.

"I put some clothes out on your bed." She smiled, still safe in Jared's arms. "They're more…appropriate for meeting Sam and the boys."

"Great," I gave her a scary grin. If Jared weren't there I would have already gotten in my first punch.

I shook my head and slid into the bedroom, double checking to make sure the door was locked behind me.

It didn't matter. He had to leave her alone sometime.

After I looked what was on the bed, I hoped he would leave soon. There was no way in a million years I was wearing Kim's clothes.

"Not happening!" I fumed, rooting through my closet space. Empty. All of my clothes were gone.

"Hurry up, Shan. We still have to dry your hair." Kim called.

"Where are my goddamn clothes?!" I kicked the bed impatiently. They had to be around here somewhere.

"I have them here, with me."

"Good. Throw me a pair of pants, would you?"

"Put on the outfit."

"As I have told you before, it isn't happening." Thank God she had at least let me have my own underwear.

"Put it on or I'll have to do it for you. Jared is still here, you know."

"Does Jared like playing Barbies with you? Or is he just willing to do whatever you tell him? Because if that's the case, Jared, I know where there are some nice people who can help you. When she's not looking, run as fast as you can to the nearest phonebook you can find and look under 'Women's Clinic' or 'Help Now.' I know it sounds too good to be true, but they can help you. It isn't too late. The abuse has to stop and you need to take the first step."

"Shannon Roberta Decker!" I cringed when my sister used my full name. I wondered every day how my mother could have found that beautiful.

"Yes?"

"Put on the clothes and get out here!" My sister bellowed, all shyness gone.

"I will never forgive you." I told her, tugging on the gray skirt and yanking it down until it reached my knees. A white tee-shirt and a darker gray cable knit sweater over that. I shoved the pantyhose aside.

Like those were really going to keep my legs from getting wet in a place like La Push.

As soon as I unlocked the door Kim shoved it into me, quickly grabbing my arm and hustling me into the bathroom, her motions nervous and twitchy as she ran the blow-dryer over my hair.

"Why are these guys so important?" I asked, stealing the handle from her and going to work on my own hair while she fussed with my face.

"The whole community looks up to them. How would it look if my long-lost baby sister walked into the room in a pair of jeans with the knees torn out and a Beatles shirt on? Bad." She told me when I didn't answer.

I was going to say, 'Like herself.'

But apparently, today I wasn't.

"Almost done," She but her bottom lip and applied another coat of mascara over my eyelashes. "Perfect." She smiled and spun me to look in the mirror. I could have passed for her twin if our faces weren't so differently featured.

"I look…very clean." I admitted, trying not to spoil the moment for her. The second Kim, Jared and his little 'gang' left, I was escaping out the bathroom window.

"You look much prettier than usual." She said, smiling at herself in the mirror. "Now that that's done, we can go wait out in the living room with Jared." She smiled and waltzed out, seeming very pleased about my transformation.

I chuckled and leaned closer into the mirror. "I'm going to thump her." I told my reflection and then gave myself a wink before following her to the living room.

"Ready then, Shannon?" Jared asked me when I plopped down in the armchair opposite the one they were curled up together in.

"Oh, am I ever. Are you?" I smiled politely.

"Did you brainwash her?" Jared asked Kim, his brow crinkled in confusion.

"I tried." Kim admitted, twining her arms around his neck.

"I can't believe you went long with this." He told me, breaking into a wide grin.

"She's not near as bad as they make her out to be" Kim told him, her eyes still firmly locked on his face.

I smiled back and dig my fingers into the leather of the chair until they hurt. If they thought I was going to buckle this easily then they had another thing coming.

"I didn't think she was." He leaned over to kiss her and she practically flew out of his lap.

"Not in front of people! Jared," She whispered, much to my amusement. That was the shy little Kim I knew and loved.

"She doesn't care." Jared snorted, but rolled to his feet all the same. "Sam is here."

"How do you know that?" I asked curiously, looking around for any indication that there were people at the door. Surely I didn't miss the bell.

"I can hear them walking up."

"How? It's only pouring down rai-" I was cut off as Kim pulled me out of my chair, brushing off my clothes and smoothing my hair.

"Aright," She nodded to Jared and he opened the door, revealing six very tall, very dark boys. And, to my immediate irritation, not a single one of them had on more than a pair of cut-off jeans. A few of them were shirtless.

And I was standing next to my sister, dressed like I belonged in the Partridge family, feeling like a complete idiot.

Jared nodded to the boys as if they were sharing a secret. "Who's working?"

"Just Collin and Jacob." The man in front answered, his voice deep and earth-shaking.

"Jake?"

"He's fine…Better then fine."

"That kid is something else."

"Are you on for tonight?"

Kim slid forward as Jared said something about being late. She placed her hand on my shoulders, refusing to let me move.

The man looked at me for a second. "Is this your sister?"

"No," I whispered under my breath, almost positive he couldn't hear me.

"This is Shannon." Kim smiled. I could feel her tense behind me.

"Sam Uley," The man who had spoken to Jared took my hand in his and pumped it up and down, his face calm and serene. Not in the waterfall way, though. More in the 'if you do anything wrong I will haul you over the coals' sort of way. "And these boys are Quil, Embry, Paul, Seth and Collin."

'Shannon," I confirmed, feeling dwarfed by the sheer amount of space the men took up in our living room. It was disorienting how enormous they all were.

The brawny boy, Quil, was the first to shake my hand. "It's nice to meet you." He stepped back towards the couch and sat down, causing the floor to quiver slightly.

Embry waved a quick hello before joining his friend, while Paul, Collin and Seth all gave me a quick handshake and a smile.

They were all unbelievably warm, as well as large. It must have been a La Push thing. Or perhaps they were like that group of kids who used to live next door and did too many drugs and could no longer maintain a regular body temperature.

"Excuse me," I told the boys who were sitting around on all the furniture and turned back down the hall, dodging Jared, Sam and Kim along the way.

"Where do you think your going?" Kim hissed at me as I slid past.

"Bathroom," I flashed her my most apologetic grin and pushed through the door, kicking it shut behind me.

"She doesn't seem like she would be trouble." I could hear Sam's deep voice through the crack under the door.

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" Kim sighed.

"She won't be, I don't think. I just want to make sure we keep an eye out for her, considering what's been going on lately and how little she knows about it." Jared's voice, and then a sigh.

What was with all the hopelessness that surrounded me?

I dug through the dirty laundry hamper, rooting out a pair of jeans from yesterday and a sweatshirt from my first day here. I was going to smell horrible, but at least I would be comfortable.

Sam and Jared's voices floated under the door, but I ignored them. I didn't care what anyone had to say. I was pigheaded like that.

I pulled off the clothes Kim had given me and shoved them into the hamper near the bottom. With any luck she wouldn't find them for a few days and by then they would be hopeless.

I had seen my means of escape during my shower. There was a long, thin rectangle window just above the toilet that looked like a chimp could fit through.

"Been worse," I told myself, climbing up onto the back of the toilet and standing on my tip-toes to open the creaky window. It screeched its protest as I pushed it up.

"Shannon? You alright…?" Kim called, her voice more wary then concerned.

"Yeah, just err…a little sick." I lied, pulled myself up to the window and sliding through carefully.

"Oh! We were going to head down to Sam's before school." She sounded disappointed.

"I should be alright in a bit. Why don't you guys head to Sam's and I'll meet you at school? The walk will do me good." I shifted my weight so I wasn't completely on my back. "Sometimes this happens when my blood sugar gets low." I bit my lip, teetering through the window. Anyone who walked by would see some girls legs dangling out of the side of the house.

"Are you sure? I haven't seen Emily in forever…but I could stay." Kim sounded hesitant and I knew I had her where I wanted her.

"I'll be out in a minute and I'll just walk, don't worry about it." I assured her, smiling sweetly to myself. And then I jumped.

It is a true blessing that nobody in La Push had enough money to build anything more than a one-story rectangle. My fall was short and I landed in the springy grass with a small splash. Perfect.

I gave a short wave in the direction of our house as Kim mumbled a goodbye to the empty bathroom, and then sprinted off towards the forest, feeling optimistic. I had forgotten about shoes, but I had brought a pack of cigarettes I had taped to the back of the mirror, and I wasn't going to have to sit though school today.

High school was a waste. They didn't have anything to teach me that I couldn't learn on my own.

I sighed and strolled through the woods, taking my time to relax and enjoy the outdoors. It was the first day since I got here that it wasn't raining. I'm not saying there was any hint of sunshine, just that it didn't feel like I had stepped into a shower wearing my clothes.

There was a sense of freedom as I leaned against one of the huge trees and tapped the pack of cigarettes on my wrist before taking one out and lighting it. The world was no longer biting at my heels. No Kim, no Mom, no Scott.

I exhaled. Scott had been even more difficult than before. He insisted on knowing everything about my day, my homework, teachers, and classmates. He wanted to know the difference between all of it compared to what I had in LA. It was like he was trying to ask if La Push was better, if he was better.

Well, he was certainly much more nosey.

I tossed down the end of my cigarette, dashing out the ashes with a quick swipe of my foot. I had to be careful not to singe any of my toes.

"You know, that's called littering."

I spun around, clutching my chest where my heart had practically jumped out of when he spoke.

He was tall. Amazingly tall. Taller than the Sam guy who had been in the living room this morning. But more than tall, he looked…dangerous, or maybe even crazy. He was in need of a good meal or five, his hair had gone too long without a proper cut, and his eyes were hollow, almost dead in the dark light of the forest.

"Who are you?" I demanded, taking in his ragged appearance. Maybe he was the village freak. Like Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird or whatever that book was.

He looked down at me and choked slightly.

"Are you mute, now?" I demanded, slightly ashamed that someone had caught me.

He shook his head furiously, his eyes wide and slightly erratic. He looked like he was about to have a seizure. "No," He hardly whispered it.

"Alright," I took a step back. "I think I'm going to go back to my house. It's in that direction." I waved my arm behind my head before I realized that I had no idea just where I was…just somewhere in the woods with some strange man.

"Wrong way," His voice was deeper now, more sure. He looked like he had recovered from whatever had thrown him off in the first place. "You're Shannon, Kim's little sister, aren't you?"

"Possibly. Who are you?" I took another wary step back.

"Jacob Black." He held out one of his extremely large hands for me to shake.

"Sam's pal?" I took his offered hand surprised and debating on how I could have remembered that. I hadn't even been paying attention.

He smiled slightly. "Something like that."

"Oh," I managed, feeling rather tongue-tied.

His attitude changed the second he let go of my hand. "Smoking is bad for your health." He scowled at the pack in my hands and reached out as if he wanted me to give him a low-five.

"Like I haven't heard that one before," I rolled my eyes and popped another into my mouth.

"Give them to me." It was a command.

"What the hell? Why do you care?" I patted down my pockets, searching for my lighter.

"I don't think you should smoke anymore." His eyes narrowed even further. "Your…health is important now."

"Because it wasn't before?" I looked at him in disbelief. I had known some weirdoes in my day, but this guy took the cake. He had gone from total asshole, to total over-protective asshole in a matter of seconds.

"It is now."

"Tough luck, buddy." I reached up to light my cigarette, and the next thing I knew it was gone and he was holding it in one of his extremely large hands.

"Whoa! What the fuck?" I turned towards him, furious.

"That solves that." He crushed the remaining pack in his hand until he was sure they were all broken and then let the jumbled ball of tobacco and paper fall to the ground.

"That's called littering, you know." I spat and stalked off towards the denser part of the forest.

"You're going to get lost." He said, as if he were talking to a child.

"Why don't you get lost?" I ducked under a large branch, ignoring the sticks that scraped along my cheeks and got caught in my hair. By the time I got out of here I was surely going to look like bush woman.

"You can't go in there, Shannon. It isn't safe." He grabbed one of my arms and began dragging me back towards the way I came.

"I am not going back to the house. No way, no how," I fought against him, but he was so big that it was like a mosquito fighting an elephant.

He chuckled and a spark flashed through his dead eyes, making them dance slightly. I could almost see the person he must have been at one time.

"Alright, this has gone on far enough." I hooked my feet under a log. "Let me go."

He sighed. "I'll break your ankles if you don't let go." He tugged lightly. "I don't want to hurt you." The idea seemed to pain him.

"Then I highly suggest you let go."

"Are you always this difficult?" He narrowed his eyes, but his mouth twitched as if he was trying not to smile.

"Yes. Always." I yanked my arm out of his sweltering grip.

"No wonder," He sighed and shook his head, his matted hair whipping around his face. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, but I refuse to leave you out here on your own. You could be hurt."

"I think I'll survive." I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"The hard way it is." He sighed again and swung his giant arms around me, pulling me up to his chest and carrying my bridal-style.

"You bastard! Put me down! Oh, no…" I closed my eyes and kicked, feeling helpless.

It was possibly the first time I noticed what he was wearing. Or more importantly, what he wasn't wearing. He was dressed the same as the boys were earlier. Just a pair of cut-off jeans, no shirt, no shoes.

"Stop kicking, would you? Jeez. As if this wasn't hard enough already," He complained, but didn't seem to notice how much I weighed as he walked briskly through the forest. "There are things out here. Things that little girls, such as yourself, should never have to worry about." He was beginning to sound more and more like Sam had.

"Could you just put me down? Please?" I begged, my hands latched firmly over my eyes.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I hate heights."

He roared with laughter. "I'm only six foot seven."

"That's too tall," I whispered, feeling the beads of sweat break out on my forehead. The nerves and his combined heat must have done that.

"So what were you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Probably," I grumbled, ignoring his first question. What was I supposed to say?'Oh yeah, I was escaping from my controlling sister, useless mother and asshole step-father by walking to California.'

"Sam isn't going to be happy with you, you know." He sounded rather resigned.

"Am I supposed to care what he thinks?" I let a drop of sarcasm leak into my voice.

"It might make your life easier if he liked you." Jacob suggested, breaking through a few low hanging braches. "Here we are."

It took my hands away from my eyes to look at where we were. "This isn't my house."

"No, it's Sam and Emily's place." He set me down.

"No," I spun around towards the trees, but he caught me before I could go anywhere.

"The firing squad inside the house is much safer. Trust me." He began walking, still dragging me along.

"I hate you," I struggled, but again, it was a lost cause.

"That's nice," He threw open the blue door to revel a kitchen crammed full of surprised faces, my sister in the middle.

"Oh, kill me now…" I whispered, looking at the floor.

"Hello," He stepped inside cheerfully. "Are we in time for breakfast?"