A/N: I know I said I would post up this next chapter when I had five reviews, which I should have when the fifth review was posted. But I didn't, and I'm sorry. VERY sorry. But I onl had my iPod Touch, and I can't update from there. Sorry!
I love all my reviewers: Tasting Raindrops, Miss F Cullen, Cerebella-'CeCe'-Crew, and GuitarGirl13.
Cerebella-'CeCe'-Crew: You're right, I shouldn't do that. It never really works, and I'm not gonna do it again.
Oh. My. God. My knees are almost knocking together that's how nervous I am. What do I say? Should I act shocked when he tells me he imprinted? Should I tell him I already know? Should I tell him about me, about Elemances?
Six billion things are running through my mind at once, none at all making any sense at all.
"Oh. My. Freaking. God. He's here!" Lisa screams, a bit too late, clapping her hands excitedly.
"And on time too. He's a keeper, Ange." Echo winks. I can't help but laugh; Echo watches way too many romantic comedies.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Lisa dramatically hurried us out of the room, pushing us that little bit faster than we're already going, nowhere the speed I can go if I want to.
"Wait! I'll be right back." Echo scurries up the stairs, leaving me to deal with the bouncing ball of energy called Lisa.
"Okay, so you know the basics? Nothing past second base on the first date. No tramp stamps. Don't let him ignore you. The minute you notice something off about him, leave him with the check and ditch. Clothes are a big influence on first impressions, so if they're bad, leave. If he has bad breath or teeth, leave. If he gets handsy—"
I interrupt her before she goes any further. "Okay, okay, I get it. Calm down. This is my date, not yours. Besides, he's not like that." I smile. Wow, he's only at the door and I'm already thinking so highly of him? Imprinting has to be two ways, because I am so totally in love.
At that, Echo comes literally flying down the stairs, a green clutch purse in hand.
"Wait, you'll need this—oof!" Echo trips on her own feet, sending her tumbling down the last five steps in a hilarious manner. Lisa and I are in tears, laughing so hard that Jacob probably is wondering what the hell was happening on the other side of the door.
"You gotta watch where your going," I gasp out between laughs, failing at my attempts to breathe properly.
"Shut up guys, that actually hurt." Echo frowns, straightening herself up and brushing the dirt off her shirt.
"Sorry, it's just that it was so funny." Lisa chuckles, catching her breath.
"Yeah, well, screw you." Echo huffs, not able to think of a good comeback.
"Uh, is everything okay in there?" Jacob asks awkwardly through the door. We all immediately stop laughing, looking at each other in a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and realization.
"Um, yeah, sure! Everything's fine!" Lisa is panicking, frantically pushing Echo back up the stairs and silently signaling me to open the door.
With one tough, yet encouraging glance from Lisa at the top of the stairs—they're hiding behind the hallway wall—I turn around and open the door.
Jake's wearing a white button-up shirt—the top three undone—a black leather biker's jacket, dark blue denim jeans, and with a single purple orchid in hand. I'm awestruck by how good he looks.
Is that Angela? It is! That. Is. Angela. Freaking. Webber. Ha-ha, no way. I don't believe it. She looks amazing! Not that she didn't before though, Jacob thinks.
"Hey, uh, I got this for you. I know flowers are cliché, but I wanted to do it anyway." He smiles nervously, handing me the orchid.
"Thank you. I love it." I smile. "Orchids are my favorite flower."
"Oh and, uh, I have this for you too." He pulls a motorbike helmet from behind his back, handing it to me, "Safety first." He winks.
"What are we waiting for then?" I attempt to flirt, probably looking like a douche.
"My question indeed." Jacob smiles.
He holds my hand as we walk over to his bike. His hand is really warm, warmer than Elemances'—we too have higher blood temperature than humans. I stiffen for a second as I wonder if he notices I'm warmer than average.
We reach his bike, and I've never seen anything like it—it's big and looks homemade. I can see him think, Ah, my bike, my pride and joy. Besides Angela, of course. Imprints outweigh everything. He smiles.
"Do you want help on?" he asks.
"I've got it." I smile confidently.
"Okay, then." He chuckles cockily. I have to punch his arm, and, too late, I realize I punched a bit harder than humans can. He winces and rubs his arm. Ouch, that hurt!
"Shut up, Mr. I-think-girls-are-wimps-and-stereotypical. I am completely capable of taking care of myself," I snap playfully, but there's a ring of truth in my words. I can take care of myself—and the rest of the Elemances, even if I've yet to meet any.
"You ready to go to a bonfire? Most people don't like to go out in the woods," he jokes. "There are bears and wolves."
"Bring it." I smile, knowing I can easily take care of the wolves and bears. I'm a bit arrogant, I realize too late.
Ooh, I'm gonna like this girl, Jake thinks. He starts the engine as I straddle the back, barely managing to fit. His bike is huge, for sure not my size. I wrap my arms around his chest, barely hesitating. He makes me feel at ease, relaxed and at ease. As we start to leave, I turn back and I think I see someone I don't know staring at me. If I'm correct, they had one blue eye and one gray-brown one. He was too far away for me to see clearly, even with my extra-special eye—though I am wearing my contact lens.
The loud roar of the engine cuts through the silence of my snow-encased neighborhood. The wind rushes past us, making me chilly, but with Jacob's warmth right in front of me, I recover quickly.
The ride ends far too quickly, and Jake pulls into a snow-free driveway of a pretty pale blue house. He slides me off, then himself.
"This is my brother, Sam's, house. We all hang around here a lot—it's kind of the go-to house. His wife Emily cooks the best food." He smiles dreamily as he leads me down the stepping-stone pathway to the door.
"Thank God, because I'm starved!" I exclaim.
Jake smiles at me before opening the door and calling out, "Hey, guys! I'm here!"
"Yo, Jake!" a deep voice bellows. His name is Paul, according to Jake's thoughts. "It's about time. We wanna eat!"
"Let's go," Jake whispers to me, giving an attempt at an encouraging smile. What if the pack doesn't like her? What if when I tell her she rejects me? So many what-ifs run through his mind. He tugs me lightly to the kitchen.
"So this is the lovely Angela I've heard so much about." Emily laughs. I recognize her from around Forks—she often was at the general store, arguing with the owner, my father. She puts down a plate of hamburgers to give me hug. "Jake hasn't shut up all afternoon." In a whisper, she adds, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"You do," I whisper back. Raising my voice, I say, "That's quite flattering." I chuckle, sending a glance at Jacob and blushing a little.
"Come on, meet the rest of the pa—bunch," she amends hastily. I know she almost said "pack." She picks up the plate again. She leads me through a door to room that must usually be the living room, but has been converted into a dining hall. Two large tables have been set up, each with ten chairs to seat everybody.
"Angela, meet the guys," Emily says. "Jared, Quil, Brady, Aaron and Collin at this table." She points to each person in turn. "And the girls are Kim, Claire, Laura, Sofia and Jessie." Each person either waves or nods as their name is called. "At the other table is Seth and his wife Ashley, Leah and her husband Keegan, me and my husband Sam, and Paul and his wife Rachel." Again, each person smiles or nods.
I laugh. "Lots of names to take in, but I'm used to it." Switching schools so often makes it easy for me to remember names and faces.
Emily smiles. "It takes a while to get used to." She shrugs.
"I wanna eat now," Quil whines. "Can we?"
"Since everyone is here, there's nothing stopping you." Emily grants her permission. Not even a second later everyone has left their seats and made their way to the food table.
"Just so you know," Jake says, "we eat a lot. Don't get freaked out about it." He winks at me, smiling.
"Don't worry," I say, "very little freaks me out. I've seen weirder, trust me." I laugh, wishing he knows the meaning behind my words.
What does she mean by weirder? This girl seems to have a few hidden things about her. Like how she hasn't said anything about me not aging since high school. Or about the fact that she hasn't either, he thinks. I really should stop reading his mind. I block his thoughts from my eye, not letting me know a thing that's going through his head.
I'll tell him about me, I decide, when he tells me about him. Secret for secret.
The night is going really well, though Jacob hasn't yet told me that he's a wolf. But that will come, I know. I'm surprised at how easily I fit in—it's always been hard for me. Dinner was delicious—Jake didn't lie when he said Emily was a great cook.
Now it's bonfire time.
We all sit on thick logs that surround the giant bonfire in the middle of the backyard. The sun is shining its last rays, but the fire makes up for the lost light. Billy and Old Quil are going to tell the legends tonight, as tonight was the night I, a new imprint, have joined them. Billy and Old Quil were rather old and weak now, but I can tell that they still love to share the legends.
"Is everybody ready to begin?" Old Quil speaks up. Everyone nods, some showing excited smiles. "Okay, then, here we go."
I'll tell Jake tonight about me. But maybe he should tell about him first. I know he knows I'm hiding something; will he wait for me to tell him first?
I'm going to tell him. Yes, I am. When he tells me he's imprinted, I'll spit it all out. Wait, no. I shouldn't. It's not right for me to expose who I am; I'm not supposed to. But he will too, its like one secret for another. Okay, that sounds bad…but what do I do?
Yes. I'll tell him.
Wait, no. I can't.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
No.
"Ange?" My inner rant is interrupted by an excited Jake, "You okay?" he asks.
"Uh, well, yeah. Fine." I smile, caught off guard by his curiosity. He knows I'm lying, but brushes it off.
"Okay, well, the legends are going to start now. I hope you pay attention."
I immediately note the hidden meaning of his words. "Of course." I smile again, leaning myself against Jacob's hot shoulder and looking towards Old Quil.
To be honest, I don't hear a word he says. I just sit there, deliberating on what I would do. Occasionally I look into people's thoughts, catching up to where the stories were up to, but really don't listen. I actually already know them all.
When Old Quil and Billy have proudly finished, everyone gives a small clap. Paul is the first to go, as he stands up and grabs Rachel's hand whiles leading her into the house. Seth follows suit, only he takes Ashley to their car and go home. Soon everyone has filed away. Jake and I sit alone on the huge wooden logs around the fading campfire.
"Come take a walk with me," Jake says, taking my hand. I oblige, knowing all too well what we're going to do. As Jake opens the tiny gate at the back of the house leading into the woods, I begin to get nervous. I still have no clue on what to do.
Every step we take through the uneven floors of the Alaskan forest, the moonlight shimmering down in beautiful rays. Tonight the sky is very clear of clouds, making our surroundings quite clear—not that I need them to be. Before long, the house is nowhere to be seen, and Jake and I are completely alone. He begins to slow down, and I know he was preparing to tell me what we came out here for.
Once we come to a full stop, Jacob turns to me and speaks, "Have you, uh, enjoyed tonight?" he questions nervously. So he's nervous too.
"Yeah. I had a great time. You have an amazing family, and the food was great." At least I wasn't lying when I said that.
"Did you like the legends?" he asks, this time not very subtle about his reoccurring hidden meaning. To save him most of the trouble of having to lead in about the imprinting, I break the awkward silence we're now in with a carefully chosen sentence.
"Why? Was there something I needed to know about them?"
"Well, yes actually." He pauses. "Angela, those legends are true. Everything about them is completely real. As real as the sun in the sky, or the hair on your head. Real." Jacob braces himself for my reaction, his heart rate exceedingly faster than a healthy tempo. We're both silent. He told me. He actually told me! Oh…shit! Now what am I supposed to do? Should I tell him too, or just play along for now? Ugh, this is so hard! I just stand there, speechless. Should I?
Yes.
No.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
I take a deep breath, "Jake, I already know."
That's it. The cat's out of the bag. Well, at least halfway, because I've said too much not to tell him now.
"You what?" His voice is an octave higher, squeaking at the word what. The surprise and horror in his eyes are evident, and bore into my soul.
How? What? When? Why? he thinks frantically, too obvious for me not to see.
"Jacob, I'm not exactly what you would call—"
Before I can finish, a loud crash interrupts me.
Mid-sentence, a gigantic boulder flies right past me, thrashing Jake against a tree. Each one he hit fell down harshly and knocked other trees down along with them.
I spin around as soon as my mind regains control of itself, seeking out the source of this attack. Heading towards me at inhuman speeds are six people, four men and two women. My instincts immediately take over, excited that I actually get to use my powers for another reason other than random pish-posh. I raise my hands above my head, twisting and waving them about like tree branches in a strong wind. Above me, branches and leaves sway furiously, obeying my every command. I flick my hand in the direction of the attackers, sending the branches powerfully at them. I've hit two, but the others were now closing in. Damn, these guys are strong!
I raise my hands again, this time at around torso level, and spun them around me. As I spin and spin, each motion blows strong, yet precise, gusts of wind. They fly visibly at the remaining attackers, knocking down another three. This is good, there's only one left.
As I prepare for my final attack, a huge russet wolf bounds past me and latches its jaws around the last attacker. It clamps them shut so tight the man screams in pain and begs for release. I walk over to them, observing the trapped stranger. He looks around twenty-five, maybe older, and has dirty brown hair that is shaggy. Wait a second—he has a blue eye, and a…gray-brown eye. No, he can't. That's just not possible…right?
Have I just found another Elemances?
Have I just found the Elemances that told me all about our species?
"What are you?" I demand, excited beyond belief. "Tell me. Do you know what you are?"
The man struggles in Jake's mouth, trying to talk. "Jake," I say, "let him go." Although reluctantly, he let the man go.
The man shakes himself out. He lifts his head, replying, "Elemances."
Yes, a cliffie. Another one. Sorry, sorry, sorry! Please review, and I love all of you reviewers.
Also, I want to co-write a story with somebody. I'm not sure what about, but I have several ideas. PM me if you want to do so!