Jay POV
I had been at Quil's house for awhile. I never saw him unless he came home at night, which was rare. He also occasionally came home during the day. I wanted to spend time with the cousin I had missed so much, so I caught him on a day that he was being lazy.
"Hey, Quil." I said.
"Hey, cuz, what up?" he said, looking up at me from the TV.
"I asked your mom I fi could paint my room, and she said yes. I need your help." I told him.
"I was supposed to go over to Embry's." he said, frowning.
I sighed, but inside my insides were squirming. I was developing a crush on him. "Let him help." I said. "The more, the merrier!"
"Alright, sounds good." He said, hopping up. "What do I need to do?"
"Well, first, I need to get my money and car keys, then we, are going shopping!"
"Really?" he asked.
"For paint and the stuff to rip up my carpet." I said.
"How much money to you have?" he asked.
"when I went into DSS, they gave me a bunch of money to keep, plus your mom has been giving me allowance to do your chores, since you never do. I'm rich."
"Alright cool." He said. "I'll be in the truck."
Ten minutes later, I was in my truck, the heat off, because both Embry and Quil radiated plenty of body heat.
We drove to the department store in Forks, because the one in La Push, had absolutely nothing. I decided to paint my room pink, and black, which had me buying new rugs for the hardwood floors, new bedspread, and new accessories for my room. The desk could be painted, and so could the dresser, so we left those. I had to buy a new lampshade, and everything else. By the time we had bought everything, I had spent more money in one day than I ever had in my life.
When we got to the house, Quil's mom wasn't back form work (she was a lawyer) and we moved everything out of my room, then started with ripping up the carpet. We sanded the light, pinewood floors beneath it until they were smooth as a baby's bottom, and then we put finishing oil on it. We ate lunch while it fried, then, when it was done, we put down a layer of the paper the guy at the department said to use when we painted. We filled the pans with the paint, and dip or brushes in it. We painted all the walls pink, and splattered two of the walls that didn't have anything on them with black paint. The other two walls were painted with random swirls, and odd shapes and hearts. I had so much fun with the guys. One time, Embry picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, running round the room, and in return I took the paint brush and painted his face in pink. He then took black and splattered me with it, and I did the same. Quil joined in with usand soon we matched the walls, When we were done painting, we all took turns in the shower, and let it dry. After awhile, we moved all the furniture back in, painted my desk and dresser. We put on my new bed spread, set up my accessories, and plopped onto the couch after a hard day at work.
"So," I said, patting them both on the knees. "Did you boys have fun?"
"I like the splatter part." Embry said.
"I like watching you two paint each other. It was priceless."
"I think pink is my color." Embry laughed.
"Nope, it's mine." I said. "You can't have it."
They laughed at me, and I realized I hadn't laughed in a long time.
"Jay, get me a beer." My father demanded.
"Father, please don't." I asked. "Not tonight."
"Please don't what?" he snapped at me.
"Please don't drink." I whispered.
"You don't tell me what to do!" he yelled. "Why can't you be like your mother? She always got me what I needed. But, og course, you're not your mother. You may look like her, but you're not anything like her. You're nothing but a little, bitchy, piece of crap." And he slapped me one more time, before going to fetch his beer.
I woke up, not able to breathe. I went out to my balcony, letting the cold air hit me. Even after I had been here for a month, the dreams didn't go away. Why were they still haunting me?
I walked back into the room, grabbing my small backpack. Inside, I stuffed a flashlight, small blanket, and a book. I slipped on a footless tights, a pair of grey sweatpants, a long sleeved shirt, and warm jacket, and my tennis shoes. I went out to my balcony, and steadied my self on the thick railing. Using the gymnastic skills that I learned when my mother was alive, I leaped off the balcony, and onto the tree branch, catching it with my hands and swinging around it, and onto the top of the branch, balancing my self. I smiled when I realized I had done that perfectly. I climbed down the tree, and jumped, landing softly on the ground.
I walked down a path that I had discovered the week before. I wasn't really that cold, and that gave me satisfaction. Then, I made it to my destination.
It was a pond. There was a five foot waterfall, and it splashed beautifully into the large pond. There were fish swimming, and there were lights. There was a bench beside the pond, and trees surrounded the area, making it magical and mysterious. The sounds of the water gurgling, and the trees swaying with the wind, was wonderful. It was peaceful, and I loved it. I was sure it was somebody else's, and someone had o have built it, but at night it was mine. Suddenly, there was rustling in the bushes, and I tried to ignore it, but something told me to look up. And when I did, the most unexpected thing happened.
Embry POV
I couldn't sleep. Something wouldn't let me. I hopped out bed and slipped on a shirt and my tennis shoes. I ran at top speed down the trail to my mom's pond, something telling me to go there. When I got there I slowed. I took a deep breath, and broke through the bushes. That's when it happened.
Sitting on the bench was Jay. She sat there, looking up, and staring at me, like she was expecting something there. Suddenly, as I looked into her eyes, nothing else mattered. She was the only thing keeping me on this earth. I could feel the bonds of gravity snapping, and my self floating up to the sky. Then suddenly, I was being pulled back down by the girl below, iron cables pulling me.
"Jay." I whispered her name like a prayer.
"Hey." She said back. "Is this your pond?"
"My moms." I said, not stopping my look. She wasn't blinking either. I walked over and looked right into her eyes. They were beautiful. She smiled.
"Quil told me about imprinting and the tribe wolves and stuff."
"I thought you didn' know." I said.
"He told me before we went to bed. It was like a bed time story." She smiled. "Claire's his imprint."
"Yep."
"So, I'm it huh? Your imprint?"
"Yeah, you are.' I said. "I can't believe I finally found you."
"I knew that you didn't really hate love. You were jealous, and you wanted it yourself."
"And now I found it."
"I just have one worry." She admitted.
"And that is?" I asked.
"You're being forced to love me."
"No I'm not." I said. "Imprinting is where you find your soul mate. All it is, is fate telling me, dude, she's the one. I would have loved you for forever even if I didn't imprint. I liked you for awhile. I thought you were beautiful, and your smile knocked the breath out of me. You're funny, sarcastic, and sweet. I've had crush on you for a month."
"Funny thing is,' she said quietly, finally breaking my gaze, and looking down at her feet. "I've had crush on you for a month.
I grinned, and pulled her chin up to meet me. I kissed the corner of her left eye, and felt her kiss my cheek. "That's my trademark for you from now on. No one is allowed to kiss your eye."
"Oh really?" she grinned. "Anywhere else no ones allowed to kiss me?"
"Your lips either." I said, leaning down and giving her a soft kiss on her lips. They were warm and soft, and even though this was our first kiss, they felt familiar.
"Okay." She said. "Now, I get my trademark."
"And what is that?" I asked.
She tapped my nose with her index finger, then pecked my cheek.
"Alright." I said. "Now, we have our own trade marks."
"Yep." She grinned, holding my hand. I interlaced my fingers with hers, and asked, ya wanna see something cool?"
"Okay." She said. "what is it?"
"come on." I led her through the bushes, and into the trees. "Now, I need you to turn around."
"Are you going to run away?" she asked nervously.
I think you can answer that yourself." I said. She smiled, and turned around. With practiced hands, I stripped down real quick, and back up so I wouldn't hurt her, and phased. I barked, and she turned back around, and her eyes went wide, and then she slowly approached me.
"Embry?" she asked softly. I nodded. "You're beautiful! Oh my god! You're absolutely beautiful!" she asked in amazement. I laughed a throaty chuckle, and she said, can I ride?" I nodded, and lowered myself to the ground so she climb on. When she did, I growled playfully, and took off.
I felt her hands digging into my fur, and it felt good. She was feeling the layers, and she dug her face in between my shoulder blades. It felt good.
It felt right.
Jay POV
I woke up in the morning with only three hours of sleep, but I was extremely happy. I was the first one up, so took a shower, dried my hair, did my make up, and got dressed. I skipped downstairs and started making waffles, sausage, biscuits, bacon, eggs, and muffins. Very large muffins. I made enough food for ten wolves. Haha, joke on me. As I was cooking, I went into Quil's room, and found his phone. He had group that said, "Pack" so I text everyone in it from his phone, saying breakfast at my house, you don't wanna miss it. And I went back to cooking. Ten minutes later, the living room was buzzing, and I was taking food out to the dining room.
Everyone attacked it, and told me how much they loved it. That was no surprise, seeing as I cooked every meal when my mother died. They were surprised I knew about the pack, and even Emily came inside and told me I mad better muffins than her. I was so shocked by her horrible scars that all I could do was nod. Embry came up to me.
"Why hello, there." He grinned, putting his hands on my waist.
"Hello." I said, touching his nose, and kissing his cheek.
He kissed the corner of my left eye. "If I knew you cooked this good, I would have imprinted on you the first day I met you." The room suddenly went quiet. "Oops. I kinda forgot it happened just last night, and I haven't had a chance to tell anyone." We both faced everyone.
"Hello." I said. "I'm Jay, Quil's cousin, and I know everything about the pack because last night Embry imprinted on me."
Quil crumbled the muffin he was holding. "I told you not to imprint on her." he glared at Embry.
I stood in front of Embry. "Quil, think about Claire. How do you think her parents felt when you told them? Remember, we would have been together anyways, fate just gave us a push." I was using Embry's words form last night.
Embry tapped my shoulder. "If Quil explodes into a furry wolf, you won't be able to protect me. I have to protect you."
"Yes, but Quil loves me more than anyone else in this room." I said. "He wouldn't hurt me." I turned back to Quil who was shaking, and walked towards him. "Quil, it's not that big of a deal. Embry finally found love, and this is the happiest I've been since my mom died." That apparently changed something in Quil. "You should be happy for us."
He relaxed when I put my hand on his arm. "Okay." He said. "I just didn't want you a part of this life. My life yes, but this life, no."
"I will be perfectly fine." I said. "Now, I love you cuz, don't ruin this for me. Please."
"Okay." He said. "Okay, you win."
I clapped my hands and jumped up and down. "Yay! I love winning!"
"Yeah, I know." He said, them pushed me towards Embry. "Go ahead, and kiss him. I know you want to. And, we all want to see a kiss. You have to kiss in front of the pack at least once. It's a rule." He nudged me a little. "Go ahead."
I turned to Embry, who was grinning. He took my hand, pulling me to him, setting his hands on my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and stood on my tip toes, our lips meeting halfway. I kissed him deeply, joy filling inside of me, and my heart pounded, making me fly away through the clouds.
Everyone clapped around us….not that I paid much attention.
I was a bit preoccupied.
Later that week, Embry and I were sitting at the pond, which was now our place. He had his arms wrapped around me, and my head was leaning against his chest. All of a sudden, my head felt weird.
"Embry, why is my head vibrating?" I asked.
"Oh, that's my phone, and it's on vibrate."
"So my head is vibrating?"
"Oh yeah, my phone is on my shoulder, and I got a text message. Hold up." He read it, answered it, and then said, "We need to go."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because." He said. "The other imprints always have a girls night when a new imprint comes along. So, this night is for you."
"But I wanted to spend all day with you." I complained.
He kissed the top of my head. "Believe me, I want to spend all day with you too." He tightened his hold on me. "I never want to let go. But, this way you get to know the other imprints better."
I sighed. "Fine. I'll go. But I need to change first."
"you look fine." He protested.
"I have on sweats." I said, standing up. "Come on." We walked hand in hand back to the house. When we got there, he started to follow me into my room , but I turned around and held up my hand. "Hold it Skippy."
"What?" he asked.
"I have to change, remember? You can't come in."
Embry blushed. "Oh yeah. Oops." He turned around, arms crossed, staring at the opposite wall. I grinned, shutting the door. I wasn't sure what all we were doing tonight, os I put on skinny jeans, a pastel pink tank top, with a hot pink hoodie, my favorite converses, and my silver hoops, because I liked big and spunky. I grabbed my "hobo" bag, which was pink (of course) with black swirlies all over it, and slid it over my shoulder. I had my sofees for tonight (I would just wear the tank top I had on right now) and a change of clothes for tomorrow in it. I let my hair fall down over my shoulders, and told Embry I was ready to go.
He drove me to where the sleepover would be, which was at Leah's house. It was a three bedroom, three and a half bath, with a kitchen, laundry room, dining room, and living room. The slumber party was set up in the living room, the couch moved to the back of the room, and a huge pallet on the floor, covering most of the living room. There were layers of blankets and pillows, and it looked really comfortable. I could see it through the glass front door.
"I don't wanna leave." Embry said, pulling me closer. "You're mine. They can't have you." He decided.
"I don't want to go either." I said. He leaned down and kissed me passionately. His lips were soft and warm, molding around mine like they had been there forever. I breathed in his woodsy smell, and was completely absorbed in him…
I didn't know we were being watched until I was yanked away fro him by hot hands, pulling me inside. Leah shut the door in his face, and the others closed all the blinds.
"Leah..." I whined.
"Nope." She said, all of them surrounding me. "You're not allowed to see him until exactly four o'clock tomorrow."
"Seriously?' I asked.
"Don't worry." Bailee said. "At exactly that time tomorrow, all of our guys will be on the front porch. Happens every time." All of them sighed.
I looked around at my fellow imprints. Leah—the imprinter; Kelly—Collin's imprint; Rachel—Paul's imprint; Emily—Sam's imprint; Kim—Jared's imprint; Mimi—Seth's imprint; and AnnaBeth—Brady's imprint. Claire and Nessie weren't here, because they were a lot younger.
"fine." I said, looking wistfully at the door. I didn't know how, but I knew that Embry was still there.
"He's still there, isn't he?" Rachel asked.
"how did you know?" I said, nodding.
"Your face." She said simply. "You think we haven't seen that look before?"
"Ahh." I said, setting my bags down with everyone else's. "So, what do we do first?"
"Well, the entire point of this sleepover," Leah said, going over to the TV. "Is that we get to know you, and understand your personality. So, we do a bunch of stuff to see hw shy or wild you are. Then, towards the end, we tell our stories about meeting our imprints, and what we thought and all that. You'll be getting comfortable with us the entire night, so juts ease into it. Unless, you're like Kimmy here. She got here, and was made for us. She got up, and stepped right into our plans."
"Okay, what's the first game?" I asked. They all grinned at each other.
"American Idol." Emily said, handing me the microphone.
"Bring it." I said, stepping up to the. "Who's my partner?" It was quiet while we waited for a volunteer. Finally…
"I will so do it!" Rachel said, coming over. I studied her real quick. She had curly black hair, and high cheek bones. Her frame was thin and fragile, but her big brown eyes shined form behind her glasses. We would be great friends, I could tell.
We picked the song, Jenny, Jenny, or 867-5309. We got really into the song, having fun and jumping around. When we were done, we collapsed out of being tired on the pallet. We were laughing hard. After that, we moved onto a game, called Mad Gab. We had to form into teams, and one team would hold up a card for the other to see. It would a few words that really didn't look like a word. But, when you pronounced it, and were able to say it really fast, you had to try and figure out what the words were. For example, Mar uhlynmans son, was Marilyn Manson (that was one of the easier ones). At first it was complicated, but it got a lot easier. After an hour of that came nonstop, we moved back to Karaoke, where everyone took turns. After that, we had dinner, cake eating contest, and milkshake contest. I won both contest, able to eat cake fastest with no hands, and able to suck down a milk shake faster than anyone else. Next, we played truth or dare/spin the bottle. We sat in a circle, and spun the bottle. Whoever the cap pointed to, had to dare the person that the bottom of the bottle was pointed at. The first one was Rachel daring me.
"Jay." She grinned. "I dare you to….remove one article of clothing."
"Oooo, naughty Rachel!" Emily said. Rachel blushed. I did too, but pulled off my hoddie, which wasn't that big of a deal.
"Dammit." Rachel said, leaning forward to spin the bottle. Everyone laughed and I shrugged, waiting to se who was next. It was AnnaBeth daring Mimi.
"Mimi, I dare you to call Seth, and tell him that you were sorry, but Paul kissed you. Just to see what happens." AnnaBeth said slyly. We all roared with laughter, and Mimi pulled out her phone. First, we have to text Paul, so he can play along. Then when they phase to fight, Paul can replay it in his head for Seth, and he'll know it was a prank." Eveyone nodded, waiting. When she received a text back form Paul she grinned.
"Everyone, start talking, so it's like im in the background, an you don't know what im saying, even though you do." She kept grinning, and we all started talking animatedly, waiting for Seth's reaction. He must have picked up, because she said, "Hold on, let me go into the bathroom." She motioned for us to be quiet and put the phone on speaker.
"You there sweetie?" She asked innocently.
"Yeah, babe, wussup?" he asked.
"I need to tell you something that I've had trouble keeping a secret for awhile."
"What is it?" he sounded worried, which made us laugh.
"I kinda made out with Paul." She said, biting her lip so her voice could be real. AnnaBeth had simply said kissed, but made out made it better. Seth roared, and yelled for Paul. The phone cut off there. Just to make sure, Mimi said, "Babe, you there?" Nothing. We burst out laughing, holding our sides like little girls. We waited for answer by doing mindless dares that still made us laugh. Halfway through my dare, which was AnnaBeth doing my make up with her eyes closed, Seth called back. Mimi shushed everyone, trying not to laugh. She put it on speaker.
"Seth?" she asked.
"Alright, who dared Mimi to do that?" he asked.
"that would be me Seth!" AnnaBeth called out.
"AnnaBeth?" he said. "Again?"
"Yep." She laughed. I had been told that AnnaBeth did this every year to one of them. They should have caught in by now. After a little more conversation with Seth, we moved on to telling the stories of how we were imprinted on. We went I a circle, and everyone agreed I would be last. Emily went first, with Leah right beside her.
"Can I tell it?" she asked. Leah nodded, and Emily began. "This is bck when Leah and Sam had been going strong. I was coming to visit Leah, and she was really psyhched for me to meet Sam. When I walked into the room, I made eye contact with him, and it was all down from there. Leah, noticed it, but brushed it off, but when Sam told her he was leaving her, she got really upset, and refused to talk to me. I couldn't stand that, no matter the affection I felt for Sam, so I went to tell him so, and he got mad and started shaking. I ried to comfort him into stopping, but he was still young, and I should've moved away. I didn't. Anyways, he phased I front of me, while I was too close and after that, I became closer to him, and couldn't resist his love." She touched the scars softly. "Leah was furious and hurt, and I almost couldn't stand it, except the imprinting bond was strong. It was horrible until she imprinted. Now, she's my best friend again, and I'm glad."
"Which brings me to my story." Leah smiled, laying down and getting more comfortable. "I was in one of my depressed days, and I was walking on the beach. I looked up at the cliff, and decided to go cliff diving, just for fun. When I was about to jump, this came up behind me, trying to stop me, and he grabbed my waist. I was furious, because he thought I was committing suicide. Although, I had tried that at one point. It didn't really work." I saw Emily flinch beside her. "Well, on my down, the bastard looked me in the eye, and it happened a fraction of a second before we hit the water. After wards, we swam to shore, and he looked at me, dazed. 'Why would someone as beautiful as you try to jump off a cliff?' I noticed he compliment and smiled. 'I was cliff diving. It's common for me and my friends.' I told him. he was really buff, almost as big as Sam. He had short hair also, and deep chocolate eyes that had me mesmerized. It started from there. Two weeks into our relationship, I told him about everything. And, I love him so much, what can I say. Not only did I realize Sam wasn't for me, Jason was, but I got out of my sour pus mood and didn't feel so neglected." That was really sweet. AnnaBeth was next. She had short black hair, and uncommon blue eyes. She had a sweet personality, something you could tell right off, but she was till a little wild.
"Well," she said. "Kelly and I were best friends, and so were Collin and Brady. They were walking on the beach, and so were we. We also thought they were the sexiest beasts we had ever seen, except that Kelly and I had heard they did bad things, so she tried to turn the other way, but I didn't. I told her to go sit on the log by a tree, and I would meet up with her in a second. I met them halfway. 'Hey, AnnaBeth, right?' Collin asked me. 'Yeah, you're Collin and Brady.' 'Yes we are. Suddenly, I noticed Brady staring at me oddly. Once I stared back, I couldn't look away." She smiled, remembering. "A week and half later, Brady invited me to dinner, telling me about it all. He thought I would be scared or repulsed, but I ended in kissing him in response."
"Two weeks after that," Kelly said. "they set Collin and me up on a blind date. He imprinted on me halfway through dinner. I fell for him just like that. But when he started getting late for dates, and not answering my calls at all, I thought he was seeing someone else. I threatened to dump him, and he yelled out, 'I'm a wolf!' and then he told me everything. It had to be the most interesting thing I had seen in awhile." She laughed, and we all laughed with her. Kim went next. She had waist length, wavy hair, with big brown eyes, and a startling smile.
"In sixth grade, I had a project to do with Jared. He even came over to my house o work on it, and vice versa. I fell madly in love with him. He was popular and I wasn't. Actually, I was invisible. He ignored me after that, acting like a popular guy should. I was still madly in love with him though." She sighed. "Two years ago, in English, he walked in talking to his friends. He sat next to me, and I was still in love with him, so it thrilled me. He still never saw me until that day. He simply looked up, and I smiled at him, and bam! He imprinted. He got in a lot of trouble for staring at me the entire class, instead of paying attention, and when the teacher asked him what was wrong, e answered, 'I found what I was supposed to.' In front of he entire class. I was teased after that, but he protected me form people. Seeing as he was huge, everyone was scared of him. After awhile, he started doing the same things that Collin did to Kelly, and I reacted the same way. He told me then, and I realized I had found where I belonged. I was made to be wolf girl." I smiled at that thought, and how it made us similar. Mimi went next. She flipped her bangs out of her black eyes, and smiled softly.
"Seth." She said. "You see, everyone else he found out later about imprinting. Except Leah of course." She grinned. "Anyways, I found out immediately, because, Seth was a wolf when it happened. I was running through the woods, getting ready for track. I vampire was following me, as were the wolves following the vampire." I saw her shudder, and wondered what it was like…. "So, the vampire decided to show himself, and I freaked out a little. I had heard the tribal stories many times, and I knew them by heart, because I believed them. I prayed that the protectors would save me, and the one that did happened to be Seth. He launched over my head, as ducked down, attacking the vampire, and ripping off his head." She shudder again, and again I wondered…. "The others helped him, and they started burning the pieces. I stood there, horrified. The sandy wolf ran into the woods, and came out in just a pair of shorts. He was hot. I had looked his body up and down before realizing he was looking at me. I looked up and it happened. He imprinted. He took me back to Emily's where it was all explained. Then, he explained imprinting to me himself. I was amazed to be part of something magical, and I took everyone in with plenty of acceptance. Now, I wonder what would have happened if that vampire didn't come after me." We sat in silence for awhile, before Kim spoke.
"Rachel's turn, and then finally our new girl." She said.
"Alright, here we go." Rachel said. "I had just graduated from the college in Seattle, and I came home to visit my dad. I was a little down in the dumps about coming home because it filled me with thoughts about my mom. I walk inside and find out that Jake has run away because of Bella. I was shocked, angry, and hurt, especially since I had juts gotten home. I busied myself the rest of the day cleaning my dad's house, and picking out his clothes for the wedding the next day. That night, I couldn't sleep, so I went to my window and used the escape route Rebecca would use when we were young to go to parties. I hopped to the tree, and climbed down it, and made my way to the beach. While I was down there, since I wasn't paying attention, I ran into a solid rock hard wall. It was Paul. He stopped half way through apologizing, and looked into my eyes, and introduced himself. Suddenly, a bunch of wolves howled, and he said he had to go, but oddly, I didn't want the stranger to go." She didn't smile or frown or anything, just looked thoughtful as she paused. "Jake came in the next morning, and before I could be happy he was there, he was yelling for dad, then yelling something about Paul imprinting on me, which confused the hell outta me. Paul came over later that day and explained. I was a little shocked, and nervous, and he slowly eased me into his family, and now I love him and everyone else here." She smiled this time, still looking thoughtful, and said to me, "Alright chica. Tell us your story." I smiled back at her, and went into my story about Embry and I. When I was done, they all smiled. At me.
"I think that yours was most romantic." Kelly said. "I mean, he imprinted on you while you were at a beautiful pond, the water gushing, and he came through the trees and everything."
"Are you a hopeless romantic too?" I asked. She nodded, and I smiled. "We'll get along great."
Later that night, we fell asleep watching The Titanic, and I held Rachel's and Kelly's hands while we both cried. I fell asleep somewhere in between the end of The Titanic, and the beginning of the movie, Godzilla. My last thought was, How did we go form Titanic to Godzilla?