Strange

December

"Sam! Wake up, the weekends over! You have school!" I heard my mom shout at me through the door.

I scrambled up out of bed groggily, my head still not completely functioning right. Remembering it was rather cold outside, I grabbed some loose black sweats, and threw on some gray long-sleeve. I pressed it to my nose first, making sure it was clean. I grabbed my backpack off my desk, and swung it over my shoulder.

A croissant with and egg in it was waiting for me on the table with hot chocolate sitting next to it in a neat container. I wolfed the food down, and took a long swing of the hot beverage. my mom shook her head disapprovingly at me.

"Maybe if you woke up earlier, you wouldn't have to eat so fast." she said to me.

I only smiled at her and shrugged, "maybe."

I got up, and put my dishes away. Kissing my mother good-bye on the cheek, I grabbed my keys and walked out the door.

I was greeted by the sting of the cold winter air. I shivered involuntarily as I had forgotten how December brings the coldest of weather to Forks and the Reservation. I got in my car, and drove.

I hoped Leah was warm, she always got so cold so quickly. A quick check in the backseat told me I had a spare jacket for her to wear. I loved to see her in my clothes, she always looked to damn good in them.

I got out of the car as stopped into her driveway, and saw her walking out of her front door and down the steps. Sure enough, she was shivering from only being in the cold for a few seconds. I chuckled as I wrapped her in my embrace, kissing her on the forehead, out normal morning greeting.

She lifted her head away from my chest and smiled, rising herself up to meet my lips in a brief hello.

"Good Morning." I said to her when we parted, "cold?"

"Very." She said as I opened the car door for her.

"I have a jacket you can wear." I laughed at her.

School was boring, but there was thing that caught my interest.

As I sat in chemistry, my friends Matt sitting right next to me on the lab table, and Connor sitting in front of us. This was the only class that I had with my best friends, so we tended to get in trouble often for talking to each other.

As Mrs. Brandonburg left us to our experiment, Connor turned his chair around and struck up conversation.

"Hey, did you guys hear the latest news?"

I rolled my eyes Connor always was the one with random gossip.

"No, what happened Connor?"

"Well, there's a new family moving into Forks."

"They'll be going to Forks High then, why does it matter?" Matt asked.

Connor's eyes narrowed in slight excitement, "because the family moving in are the Cullens."

I rolled my eyes and sighed in exasperation, "So what? Don't tell me you honestly believe that group of grumpy old men and their superstitions?"

"I never said the legends are true." Connor said defensively, "I just think that its weird the legends mention them, and they're moving in-"

"Connor Stewart! Turn around and work!" Mrs. Brandonburg's high-pitched voice filled the room.

After a week, it got a little strange.

One day, I was at Leah's just hanging out with her like we usually do, and the phone rang.

Though we were in the middle of a somewhat private moment, no one in her house seemed to care to answer, so Leah took it apon herself to pick up the phone.

"Hello?...Oh, hi Billy! How's Jacob?....We're all good here, thanks for asking....oh, yeah, he's outside i'll get him for you....what?....Oh, yeah he's here....okay, let me get my dad for you."

Leah gave me a peculiar look, and then she walked outside for a moment to give the phone to her father. She was back in the room a moment later, and back in my arms, and we resumed our snuggling on her bed.

"Whats up?" I asked about the phone call.

"It was just Billy asking for my dad...but he asked if you were here too." her lips formed a confused frown.

"Did he want to talk to me?" I asked, a bit confused myself. Billy Black and I never really had a conversation, like...ever.

"No, he just asked if you were here."

"Huh, well thats strange." I said, but I quickly shoved the question in the back of my mind for later. Right now Leah was the only thing I cared about.

The next day, I was at Leah's again, just hanging out and watching TV, when her father walked into the living room. I shifted myself a small amount away from her as he did. No matter how long I have been with Leah and how much time I had spent at the Clearwater's, I still felt uncomfortable around her father. At least we had gotten past the stage where I had to call him 'sir', and now I could have a conversation with him without it being completely awkward.

"Hey kids." He greeted us rather brightly.

"Hey daddy."

"Hello Harry."

His expression changed somewhat as his gaze shifted to me. It wasn't completely subtle, but if I hadn't been looking I might have missed the sudden change. His face was seemed almost cautious, and his eyes were reserved. It was like he wanted to talk to me about something, but couldn't quite bring himself to mention it first. Like he was waiting for me to do something, for me to tell him something.

I fidgeted under his curious stare, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable.

"So, how's your mother doin' Sam?" he asked, with slight awkwardness.

"She's alright, been shopping alot for the holidays." I answered quickly.

"Thats good...its good...and-ah-how about yourself?" He asked with some difficulty.

I was confused by the tone of his voice, "I'm good...nothing much going on I guess."

Harry just nodded his head, his lips forming in upside-down U, "I'll be at Billy's if you guys need me."

"Kay dad, cya!" Leah said, smiling at her father.

When he was out the door, I turned to her.

"What was that all about?" I muttered

"He was just trying to be friendly Sam." she replied and kissed me on the cheek.

I tried to believe her explanation of Harry's strange behavior, but for some reason I knew that wasn't the reason.

There was something else...something that they knew and I didn't.

It got weirder.

Later on the week, my Mom and I were invited to a tribe social gathering at the Ateara's house. I didn't protest against it, because the Clearwater's would also be attending, so Leah could keep me company around the other members of the tribe.

To be completely honest, I never really felt comfortable among the rest of the tribe.

The Elders most especially.

Maybe it was the way they were so formal with me, maybe it was caused by the lack of connection my family had with the rest of the tribe. They were all wound so tightly, everyone knew each other from the moment they first were born. My only real friendly and not awkward connection I had to the tribe was Leah. My mother and I were always welcome on the reservation, and were still counted as part of the community, but we were still...disconnected from them somehow.

Well, at least my Mom was more accepted by the Elders than I was.

Or at least, that's how it felt.

There was the lack of conversation. The Elders never really approached me, unless the situation called for it or if they accidentally ran into me. And even then, the exchange was very formal and stiff. Then there was the glances. Their eyes would flicker to me at random moments, as if to take a quick check to see if I had done anything. It had always made me feel like they thought I was up to no good. I had always felt shut out from them, almost shunned but in an annoyingly polite way. It was like they had always deliberately kept tabs on me.

I thought it was because of my father.

He had never been a good man...that I remember. He was always up to no good, and he was never anything what I would call much of a father, or friend. I thought that they were keeping on eye on me because they saw me as his son, the son of the man who left his wife, and his tribe. I had always told myself that I would show them that I was a good person, and that I was nothing like my father.

Most of the time I was able to ignore the Elders little game...

But it had escalated.

That night I felt their eyes on me almost constantly, all three of them at the same time. Even Leah's sweet company wasn't enough to distract me from their burning stares.

Billy, Harry, Quil...Harry, Quil, Billy...

It was the only thing I felt all night, the only thing I could think about that night.

It annoyed the hell out of me. And with every passing hour I felt the anger build up inside me. Whenever my eyes would accidentally meet, they were already staring back at me. I felt the fire inside of me swell, my jaw was constantly locked into a tense position, my teeth grinding together in my ears. Soon my fury was the only thing I could focus on.

"Babe?"

I snapped my head almost aggressively to Leah's concerned voice.

She stood at my side, her eyes cautious and concerned, "Are you okay?"

I lifted myself off the wall I was leaning against in the living room, meeting her eyes steadily. People were casually mingling all over the room, their conversations that had been a dull drone in my ears, were now crystal clear.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She arched an eye-brow at me.

"Really...I just feel a little...strange." What had come over me? Why was so angry? It never had bothered me this much before...

"Okay..." She said to me gently, "just try to be a little bit social--oh!"

Leah had rested her hand on my cheek, trying to cup my face, but when she made contact with my skin, her eyes grew wide and fearful.

"Sam, you're burning up!" Her hands were feeling all over my face now, even he lips pressed again my cheek to check my temperature, "you should go home! How do you feel?"

Her reaction drew a small crowd around me, including my mother.

"Sam honey are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I responded back, somewhat shortly. I could feel them staring again, their eyes boring holes through me. My temper rose quickly again.

"Oh, honey you should go home, I'll come with you." My mother said.

"No." I answered, quickly loosing control of my anger, "I'll just go home, alone mom, it's fine."

She nodded, her eyes confused.

I turned toward the door, moving fast, afraid that if I stayed in the same room with them much longer I wouldn't be able to control myself. Leah was the one to grab my arm.

"I'll walk you out."

"No." I said through clenched teeth. She flinched and looked up at me, confused.

"I mean, sorry, babe, but I just need to get home." Really, I just wanted to be alone. I didn't want anyone around when I lost control.

"Okay, call me later then, alright?"

"Alright, I promise." I leaned in quickly to place a brief kiss on her lips.

Then, I turned hastily around, and practically ran out the door, and into the night.

I ran, faster than I ever had in my life. It was close now to breaking now, and with each rapid step, I felt it taking over. I ran faster and faster, my so fast my heart seemed to slow, syncing up to the beating of my heart. Something was happening...I could feel the sudden change inside of me. It was like the night was a whole new world, a world that was beyond controlling, beyond containing.

I gave into it.