Luck

"Hey, want Coke to go with that burger?" I withdrew my eyes from the scrumptious burger and faced Paul. "Sure."

"One more Coke, please." In an instant, the lady handed Paul a tall glass of cold Coke. She looked dazed, like Paul was sucking her attention in or something. From the corner of my eye, I saw Paul wink at the girl, looked at her maliciously from top to bottom then wiped his lips slowly with his tongue. Disturbing. But that was Paul. He will always be a player.

"So, where do you wanna sit? Here or by the shore." I assessed the chairs that were near the burger stand. Stacey and the Black twins were seated on one of them. "Shore."

We sat on the sand, just beside a flaming torch. Its flaming yellow light gently kissed our faces. If there were a random bystander, we'd definitely look like a couple to him. We were really just friends, nothing more, nothing less.

The crashing of the waves somehow brought a sense of tranquillity amidst the chaotic fair. So did the gentle and salty sea breeze that blew through us. From a colourful, frenzied mood, we suddenly turned sentimental.

I looked at Paul after taking three bites and a sip of Coke. There was awkward silence so I faced him to say something.

His eyes were fixed at a certain point. When I looked at what he was looking, I only saw a family munching on chocolate apples a few meters beside us.

"You're being emo over a family?"

"No! Not them!"

"Then what?"

"Them." His long finger pointed at the people before the family. It was a couple, and they were making out.

"So, you need someone to make out with? You're sick."

"You're so superficial, Kim. It's not that."

"Then what?"

"I feel really lonely, you know. I need someone."

"You've got a lot of girls running after you. And you hit on them."

"Yeah, I know. But none of them have it."

"Have what?"

"Something special. They're all the same." For a second, I was beginning to be afraid of Paul. I've never seen him be so serious. I think he's possessed, but part of me knows that he isn't. He is human, anyway.

"Well, don't force yourself to fall in love. You're eighteen. You've got plenty more years to look."

"You won't understand, Kim. There's someone out there for me, and I need her now." Now, Paul's eyes were fixed on the sky. His large Adam's apple quivered as he gulped misery in.

"I'm here. I could be your friend."

"Not as a friend."

"I don't see a drastic difference, really."

"Gah! You won't understand. Almost all my friends already found their imprint…I mean the one for them. I'm kinda left out. Sometimes I even wonder if I will see her or not."

"You're pressuring yourself. So what if they have a girlfriend? And I'm sure they just think she's the one for them. They're just blinded by infatuation."

"Never mind. You really won't understand. Jared's lucky." At the very mention of the name, my mind flew back from a place with no problems to the real world. I don't really know if I like Jared. I hate him, but I don't. He tells me that he wants me, and I like hearing that, but I know it's a lie. Why did I have to know him, anyway?

"Why do you say so?"

"He found you already."

"He doesn't like me, Paul. He's faking it."

"Yes, he does. He loves you so much that he'd jump a bullet for you. No joke. He dreams about you day and night, you're driving him crazy. You're driving us crazy."

"Who's us?"

"His friends. I know he made you suffer, but you're making him suffer enough already. Just answer him."

"I don't like Jared." I half lied.

"If you liked a person once, you could like him again. He loves you. You're his world. Did you know that he almost committed suicide because of you?"

"What?!"

"Yeah. That's how much he needs you." I hated Paul. I hated Paul a lot. Because of what he said, I already admitted it to myself. I like Jared. I love Jared. And I'm happy that he loves me too. I could see myself stopping him from jumping of a cliff or hanging himself. I love him, and I have to be with him now.

"Oh, time flies so fast." Paul stopped my imagining that was already going wild.

"What?"

"It's 7:45. Fifteen minutes 'till my band plays."

"You have a band?!" I accidentally blurted out.

"You didn't know?!"

"No!" For a guy, Paul was very humble.

"Well, we're playing tonight. If you can, watch us onstage."

"Sure, sure. Let's go!" And off Paul and I went. We ran as fast as we could, or was that just me? I never expected Paul to be in a band. And it would be live entertainment to see him strumming a guitar, doing a head bang and all those stuff rock stars do.

"What do you play?" I asked him as we climbed the steep stairs that led to the stage and the rides.

"I'm on vocals."

"You could sing?!" Now I was getting too excited. Paul singing is just…unexpected.

"Everyone can." We were near the center already, but the thick crowd of people who were watching another band hindered me. In fact, where Paul and I were standing right now is the nearest we could get to the stage.

"Damn."

"You give up too easily." He chuckled. In an instant, he shoved the people away, all which got in our way. There were yelps, complaints and swearing, but they were all cut short when they saw that it was Paul who was pushing them.

"Here you go. First row for the VIP." He gestured at the spot nearest the stage and bowed.

"Wow, you really shouldn't have."

"If there's one person here who needs to see our show, you're that person. Hey, tell me if I did good, okay?"

"Okay." And at that, Paul left for the backstage and pushed more people. I was left with the band who was currently playing, and they sucked. Their sound system was too ear piercing and was so bad, or maybe it was just their playing. For one second, the guitarist dropped his pick, then stopped playing for a while to reach for it. The vocalist forgets his lines at times and forces the notes out of his throat. The nerve that looked like it was going to explode any second proved it. I honestly didn't know why everyone was jumping and shouting to their music. It's a total waste of their groupie energy.

"Alright, folks! That was Banana Split!" The emcee said as the song came to an end. Loud cheering came after it. It was Stacey's younger sister, Kelly. She's like Stacey's copy, except that she's much less bitchy than she is.

"And our next band is from our very own Quileute High! Please welcome…The Werewolves!" At that instant, Paul climbed the stage. How could I have been so blind all this time? He looked like a rock star, especially now that the colourful lights are on him. Three other guys who looked familiar followed him. Then there was Jared, wearing a tight black shirt that says "For Rent" with an arrow pointing to his pants. The yellow light that touched his face made him look dreamier. You could only see those kinds of guys on T.V. or in those air brushed magazine pictures. Now I got a full view of his muscles, his broad chest, his abs and those intimidating blue nerves that curved from his arms down to his knuckles. He loves me, and imagining that god beside someone like me disgusted my every gut. I didn't deserve him, and he didn't deserve to suffer for someone so human as I am.

"So, please introduce yourselves." Kelly gave the microphone to Paul, but I think she was too busy looking at one of them.

"I'm Paul on vocals." As he finished, a surge of unexplainable deafening yells went through me. It was so ear piercing and loud that it seemed like it pushed me an inch closer to the stage.

"This is Embry on lead guitar." Another surge of deafening yells went through.

"Quil on rhythm guitar." And another.

"Jacob on bass." And another.

"Jared on drums. And another. This time I was disturbed. There were too many females who screamed for him. Many are prettier and more impeccable than I am. It made me hate myself more. So many girls, and I was the one he chose. I'm unworthy, and I made him suffer. I should have taken him right away, like any other girl would; but that was still wrong because I wasn't even worthy enough to touch him. Instead of being happy, I felt guilty, like I didn't have the right to live.

"And why do you call yourselves 'The Werewolves'?"

"Because we are werewolves. We just don't want to show you people." I broke into laughter with the crowd, amidst the fact that I hated myself.

"I'm serious! We are werewolves!"

"Sure, you are. So, what's your first song?"

"This song is called 'Victoria'. She's a vampire. We know that with her acute senses, she could hear this song right now. So Victoria, if you're listening, this song's for you. I love you, Vicky." Paul didn't make any sense. We knew he was joking, but his joke wasn't at all funny and he looked like he was serious. But that was typical Paul. Very weird and not understandable.

The intro started, and it was awesome. It was like listening to a cd. It was hard to believe that it was actually live. The crowd started jumping in the intro already, what more when the verses come?

It did come soon. The first line went, "O, Vicky. Won't you make out with me?" Then the rest was about how she should forget some guy named James who was now dead and how she'd have a nice time with Paul in bed. It was gross. Whoever Vicky was, I'd be really insulted if I were her. The lyrics are just too explicit. I couldn't imagine Paul thinking about those nasty thoughts. Even if the lyrics were gross (for a good goody like me, at least), the band still managed to make it a good song because of Paul's impeccable voice and the great instrumentals.

I focused on Jared, making the rest of the hideously written lyrics a blur in the background. The way his eyes were so intense as he pounds with his sticks, the way he bites his lips when his solo comes, the way his chest rises and falls—it was all too much to handle. I started to hate myself more. I couldn't even play an instrument. Heck, I don't even have a talent. Why did I turn someone like him down?

"Wow, just wow!" Kelly approached them as the Jared pounded at his cymbals.

"That was a great song! Wasn't it, guys?" And the crowd became frenzied. Random girls would shout "I love Paul" or "I love Jared" and all those other guys in the band. It was crazy. I've never seen so much fan craze before. They all sounded like they were being raped, especially the girls. I looked behind me. It looked like the whole fair was here already.

"Our next song is called "Laurent". He's a vampire too. We killed him the other day in Forks. See you in hell, bro." And the song started. This time, the intro was more of drum solos, really fast ones. As Jared pounded on the drums so quickly, I felt like he was pounding my heart. It was beating that fast.

The song was about how this guy named Laurent was so crunchy. Most of the song described what he looked like when they tore his clothes off. Everyone seemed to love the band, even if they never took a song seriously. It just went on and on, Paul's back flips, Quil and Embry's guitar spins, Jacob's jumping and Jared's stick spinning and tossing. They were great. This song was shorter than the first one, and the crowd begged for more as it came to an end.

" Thanks, guys! We love you all! Well, anyway, this last song will be sung by our drummer Jared, so I'll be taking over the drums right now." Jared…singing? My heart thumped so fast as he handed Paul his sticks and approached the mic. I was just at his feet, and his slight sweating complimented his model look. All that's left to do is to bow down to him.

"This song is by Billy Joel. It's called, 'She's Always a Woman to Me. Every word in it perfectly describes how I feel for this girl. Well, you know who you are. I love you and I don't know I'll ever live without you." I could melt any minute. My stomach was lurching. I wanted to tell him more. I wanted to hold him close to me. I needed to.

"Aww!" The crowd chorused. I was afraid. I couldn't let them know it was me.

Then the song started. It lost the entire hardcore rock thing. It was mellow, and the instrumentals are what you'd exactly hear when you're in love.

She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes,
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies,
And she only reveals what she wants you to see.
She hides like a child but she's always a woman to me.
She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you,
She can ask for the truth but she'll never believe you,
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free,
Yeah she steals like a thief but she's always a woman to me.
Oh, she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants,
She's ahead of her time.
Oh, and she never gives out and she never gives in,
She just changes her mind.
And she'll promise you more than the garden of Eden
then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding,
But she brings out the best and the worst you can be.
Blame it all on yourself cause she's always a woman to me.

Then the very mesmerizing instrumental started. Everyone was quite teary eyed, perhaps because they always wanted someone to sing this song to her. Other were already slow dancing. I was blown away. I never thought someone would give these words to me. I was too lucky. I already love Jared, and I don't know what to do if this were all a dream.

Oh, she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants,
She's ahead of her time.
Oh, and she never gives out and she never gives in,
She just changes her mind.
She is frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel,
She can do as she pleases, she's nobody's fool,
But she can't be convicted, she's earned her degree,
And the most she will do is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me.