Chapter 8

"What happened there?" Quil hissed at me, as I entered the lunch hall. I slid into the seat beside him, my head in my hands.

"I don't know." I whispered my voice cracking. I didn't know what was going on, and I wasn't sure I wanted to. Right now, I just felt helpless.

'Did Embry just yell at you in the hallway?" Jake asked, sliding into a seat opposite me. "Embry doesn't yell! And what's with the sudden growth spurt? And the hair? And he's sitting with Paul and Jared!"

"I'm just as clueless as you are." I replied, feeling tears come to my eyes.

"Hey, Cherry, just chill out." Quil said softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this. Embry would never act like that."

"Well, I think he's being an ass." Jake put in. I ignored him.

"What kind of reasonable explanation could he have, Quil?" I asked. My voice sounded panicked, and I knew I was freaking out. "What could possibly make him ignore us, and lose his temper right in the middle of the hallway like that? And the growth spurt? That's not even human, Quil, nobody can grow that fast!"

"I can't explain the growth spurt." Quil said. "But I do know that those guys are no good. Maybe they're doing something to Embry….."

"What, some kind of alien mind control?" Jake joked. I resisted the urge to slap him in the face.

"He's not getting away with this." I muttered. "Embry needs help, whether he knows it or not. I'm not giving up my best friend without a fight. And first, he's going to tell us exactly what the hell happened to him. You guys in it with me?"

"Of course." Quil said.

"Well then, let's go over to his place this afternoon. The only reason he's hesitant to talk to us is because Paul and Jared are always around at school. We need to corner him without them." I said.

"Umm, does it have to be today?" Jake asked hesitantly. "Cause, you know, Bella's coming over today."

I stared at him.

"Okay, you know what Jake, me and Cherry are going to be very frank with you." Quil began. "I'm glad you got the girl man, and you're getting some action unlike the rest of us, but we exist too. And what's going on with Embry is a little more serious than your girlfriend."

Jake stared at us for a few seconds.

"Fine." He said finally. "I'll bring her along.'

Oh god.

I jogged over to Jake's place at around 4 that afternoon. I was going to catch a ride with him and Bella to Quil's place, and we were all going to head over to Embry's from there.

"Hey Billy.' I said, walking into Jake's living room. Billy was in front of the TV in his wheelchair, and Bella was sitting on the couch. Jake was nowhere to be seen. I ignored Bella.

"Cheryl, hello dear." Billy said, giving me a smile. "Jake said you were coming- I was hoping you would bring more of those amazing cookies!"

"Oh, shoot, sorry Billy, I forgot!" I said. "I'll make some more tonight and bring them here for sure."

"Great." Billy said with a smile. 'So where are you all headed?"

"Embry's place." I said. "He's been acting weird lately and we're going to find out why."

"I see." Billy said.

"So where's Jake? We should hurry up." I said.

"He's coming." Bella replied. I acted like I hadn't heard her.

Jake came in two seconds later.

"Oh, Cherry, you're here." He said. "Come on, let's get going."

We picked up Quil from his place, and stopped outside Embry's.

"Here we are." Quil said. "Why am I having second thoughts about this?"

"We don't have time for your second thoughts." I said, getting out of the car. "Are you guys coming, or not? Bella, you don't have to if you don't want to." I said, hoping she'd get the hint.

"No, it's fine, I'll come." Bella said. So much for hints.

We went up to Embry's door, and Quil stepped forward to knock. Jake was hanging at the back with Bella, and that really pissed me off for some reason. He was acting like Embry didn't matter.

Embry opened the door, and stared in shock at all of us.

"W-what are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"You going to let us in so that we can talk?" I demanded.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea…." Embry began, looking hesitant.

"Fine." I said. "We can settle the matter on the front porch. What the hell is going on with you, Embry?" I snapped. I was losing my temper a little, seeing Embry stand there like he had no clue what was going on.

"Cherry, cool it.' Quil hissed at me. "Embry, we're worried about you, man. You're acting really weird, and we want to help. You need to tell us what's going on." He continued kindly.

"I'm fine.' Embry said. "You guys don't need to worry about me, okay? I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." I said. "You look awful."

"Look, you guys don't understand, okay? You need to leave, you can't be here." Embry snapped.

"No, we're not going to freaking leave." I said. "Not until you tell us what is going on."

"I can't do that."

"Well, too bad, we're going to stay here until you change your mind."

There was an awkward pause.

"Please leave.' Embry said.

"No." I said. "I told you, we're not leaving till you tell us what's going on."

"Fine." Embry snapped. "I'm going to do this the hard way." He was shaking a little, and Quil backed away quickly as Embry's shaking grew more violent. I wanted to run away, but I knew that it wouldn't settle anything.

"Embry, please." I pleaded, my voice growing soft. I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. "Embry, I'm worried about you. We can't understand what's going on, please, Embry. Just tell us, we're doing this cause we care about you." I whispered.

Embry slowly stopped shaking.

"Things are different now." Embry snapped. "We can't be friends anymore, and I don't wanna be friends with you guys. I don't care anymore. Get over it."

And he slammed the door shut in our faces.

We all walked in silence back to Jake's car, Quil with an arm around my shoulder because I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face.