Forgotten Ghosts of Haunted Pasts
By: alexis in wonderland
Chapter Three
…
Jacob stretched his arms out then up as he exited his home to head to the forest for his patrolling shift. "Jake!" called Quil from his left. "Hey!"
The Russet Wolf grinned and returned the greeting. "I didn't know you were doing the patrolling shift with me today," he said as the two walked into the forest.
At that, Quil shook his head. "I'm not, I'm covering for you," he replied but rolled his eyes at Jacob's confused look. "Seriously, man! You imprinted and you don't even hang out with the girl. I can't even go a day without seeing Claire so I don't know how you're even managing to go a week." His eyes narrowed slightly, "Unless you've been passing through Forks on your shifts," he teased lightly a sly smirk adorning his lips.
Jacob's cheeks reddened slightly at being caught red-handed but Quil didn't make a call on it. "Anyway, I told Sam that I'm taking your shift for today. So, why don't you go and see Hermione, you're practically killing yourself by staying here," he continued. "Maybe you could invite her to come down here? Introduce her to her new family."
The newest Imprinted wolf frowned slightly. "I can't just sprout out things like imprints and soul mates to her. She has too many things going on right now, I don't really want to add this to the list."
Quil frowned. "I'm not saying you have to rush into it. But… You should tell her soon though. What if you lose her?"
Silence was his response while the two contemplated on what they'd do if their imprints decided not to stay with them in the end. It was almost unheard of, but the possibility still stood as their partner, their other half didn't feel the same obligation to the same extent.
With a quiet sigh, Quil shook his head. "Well go on, you don't have all day! You might catch her while she's home or something." He nudged Jacob encouragingly and the two shared identical grins before heading their own ways. The Russet Wolf rushed back to his home to the makeshift garage around the corner where one of the bikes he and Bella fixed sat. Revving it to life he sped away in the direction of where he knew Hermione lived.
Knowing about his Imprint's observation skills, he parked a few streets down, sitting on his bike wondering whether or not to just walk up to her front door and ring the bell. The worst that could happen was that she wouldn't be home. But then, how would be explain knowing where she lived if he, technically, didn't bring her home when they met. He shook his head as he brought his bike to hide it within the trees of the forest before going wolf.
The trek to the front of her house was quick and when he got there, it looked like the whole family was going out. He couldn't help but inwardly grin watching her interact with her family despite how much of a stalker he seemed to be with how the whole situation was going. He was startled from his thoughts when she turned to him, a grin on her features and her hand coming up to wave. She'd seen him. His heart soared and a smile broke out before disappearing to head back to his bike.
He was quick to change back but by the time he reached his bike and Hermione's house the family had gone. Jacob pursed his lips together wondering whether he should look for her or just wait until they'd get back. Shaking his head, he decided it'd be too weird if he just waited on their front porch for who knows how long for their return. Figuring he'd have a better chance seeing if they were headed to town, his bike was brought back to life again and he was back on the road to head towards the main circle of Forks. Besides, it wasn't as if he couldn't wait if he couldn't find them. If he survived a week without the constant presence of his imprint, he could last a couple more days. Right?
It was nearing thirty minutes of searching and the wolf was just about to just head back when he spotted a familiar black car parked at a home hardware store. Parking a few spots away he took a deep breath trying to encourage himself, that everything was going to be just fine. What's the worst that could happen right? He winced remembering his conversation with Quil earlier.
Shaking that thought away, he opened the door with a strong pull and walked into the store. He nodded at a worker he was somewhat familiar with before pretending to look around the store for something that he'd need. As he walked down the aisle he saw her. Her slightly bushy curls were the first to catch his attention. He stood there for a moment, waiting for her to react but when she continued to stare at the wall of color charts, he walked up beside her, gathering up the last of his courage.
"You know… staring at the palettes won't make it change or anything," he said.
His imprint was quick to turn towards him in surprise, probably for being caught of guard and he grinned. With her fast thinking, he wondered if she'd know it was him out of his wolf form, and she didn't disappoint.
"Jacob?" she asked. The recognition in her voice was louder than anything and it caused his grin to widen.
"No actually, I'm the Big Bad Wolf," came his reply causing the girl to laugh, the tension in her body leaving and her guard coming down.
Hermione regarded him for a moment longer before a teasing smile graced her own lips lightly. "Perhaps you are. He was after all, known to be quite the stalker." She turned to look back at the paint colors before continuing. "Should I be notifying the police?"
Jacob laughed. "I'm afraid it wouldn't do you much good. Forks' Chief of police likes me better than you." For a better added effect, he channelled his inner animal for a wolfish smirk.
His imprint couldn't help but laugh along with him. "I didn't know you swung that way, Jacob." With a glance back at him, she stuck her tongue out in a teasing manner. Reaching out, she pulled a light greyish blue color card from the wall narrowed her eyes at it then turned to her new friend. "What do you think of this color?" When Jacob gave a shrug in response she sighed with a slight roll of her eyes.
"I don't think I'm the right person to be asking about interior designing. I could paint the walls, but deciding the colors?" He shook his head with a sheepish smile. "That's not my thing."
"Of course, I should have known," she said as she put the card back and pulled out another one of a similar color but a few shades darker. After seemingly coming to a decision on the color she turned to her new friend.
"How have you been?" asked Jacob, "Considering the attack by a blood sucker and all."
"I've been good. Get a few twinges now and again from that curse but I'll live."
The wolf worried about the well being of his imprint. "Is it painful?"
"It's bearable," she replied somewhat evasively. "I haven't gotten around to thanking you or the rest of your pack for saving me." Her smile was soft this time, shining with a gratitude. "I didn't know where any of you lived and I had gotten the feeling that you and the Cullens were at a sort of… reluctant relationship."
The wolf gave a strained smile at the mention of the vampire family. "You got that right," he replied, "But if you really wanna thank the rest of them, you can come down to La Push with me. They're pretty excited to meet you."
Hermione blinked at the revelation. "Really?"
"Well yeah!" He grinned. "It's not everyday a girl seems to take to werewolves and vampires like it were as normal as night and day," he replied although inwardly, he added that it was also because she was his imprint.
"When should I drop by?" she asked, excitement building within her. It's been a while since she'd gone and have fun and if she was going to be living in this area now, she may as well be making some friends. There was just something about Jacob that made her want to fully trust him more than she would have a normal person. For a while now, she felt like she had been on her guard most of the time when it concerned friendships and relationships. Inwardly, she pursed her lips at a small realization that the caution was probably brought on by this mysterious war she may have fought in.
Meanwhile, unknown to Hermione, her interest in hanging around him and his friends sent the same feelings of excitement through Jacob's veins as well. "You can come today! We're all supposed to be hanging around the first beach this afternoon between shifts."
His imprint bit her bottom lip for a moment in thought. "I don't know… I actually had to go pick up a few things this afternoon."
The wolf boy, in hopes of getting to know more of his imprint tried to persuade her, "I could bring you around to get whatever you need done and then we can head down to the rez. I'll even drive you home after, it's no problem."
The pair of them stood in silence for barely a few minutes but Hermione's reply came to a pause when someone else's voice cut through their conversation instead. "Who's this, darling?" The two teens looked to their right where Hermione's parents watched their interaction in interest and amusement (from her mother).
"Oh! Dad, Mum, this is Jacob. The one I told you about? He helped me when I got lost last week," she explained.
Jacob reached his hand out to shake her father's hand and then her mother's. Deciding to go along with Hermione's story he nodded. "Jacob Black. I was actually wondering if I could show Hermione around the La Push area."
Her father intimidated Jacob when he didn't answer but her mother's smile brightened. "We have no problem with that. Knowing our Hermione, she'd have lost track of time at the book store and library if she had her way this afternoon," she replied with a laugh.
William then nodded. "As long as she gets home in one piece and remembers to call if it gets too late," he relented.
Hermione grinned hugging her parents in thanks. She handed the color card to her mother saying that was the one she wanted and promised her dad that she'd call when she would be on the way home. With that, the two were out of the store like a bat out of hell.
"Why did I just agree to let my daughter leave on the back of a motorbike with a tall, dark boy to who-knows-where for who-knows-how-long with who-knows-what-kind-of-people?" William asked his wife as they watched the two drive off.
Jane looked up at her husband. "I think you're missing handsome in that stereotype, dear. Furthermore, we both know you let her go because she hasn't smiled like that for some time now," she replied. "And you shouldn't worry. You know how Hermione is, she's a fighter and she'll be fine."
He sighed. "I suppose you're right…"
His wife laughed with a shake of her head, the personality changes and mood swings most fathers go through when things concerning their daughters pop up.
…
"So where did you need to go first?" Jacob asked as he handed her a helmet and put her messenger bag inside the small storage space underneath the seat.
Hermione blushed slightly realizing the position she just put herself in as she clicked and adjusted the strap of the helmet. From what she could remember, she wasn't quite used to close contact with guys growing up, especially with guys she barely knew besides a name. "Well, the library actually. I have a few books put on hold there for me to pick up."
Jacob nodded while he revved his baby to life. "Library it is!" he grinned, settling onto his bike. Hermione looked at him, nervous, excited and suddenly very shy. "I don't bite you know... Well actually, not while I'm out of my wolf form. If you're worried about the bike, I promise to make sure nothing happens to you. Anything after the library?"
"Don't be an arse Jacob," she told him, surprised that her voice didn't betray her inner turmoil. "And no, I can hold off the bookstore for another time."
The wolf just smirked slyly before responding, "We'll head to your place to pick up a few things," at the look of confusion Jacob was quick to explain, "Well, we're going to the beach so unless you want to get sick without a change of clothes…" His imprint nodded in understanding letting him continue, "Alright, then we'll head to La Push afterwards since it's a bit of a drive really."
Hermione smiled and took a deep breath. "Okay."
Hopping onto the back of the bike, she hesitantly wrapped her arms around his middle tightly, quick to notice how abnormally warm his body temperature, and they were off. It was roughly ten minutes later when they got to the library and Hermione was greeting the librarian enthusiastically upon their entrance.
"Here are the books you called about, dear," the woman said sliding her the small pile of books her way with a wink.
"Thank you, Joyce. I really appreciate it."
Joyce just waved her hand. "No worries, Hermione. Enjoy them!"
Jacob and Hermione were quick to leave after that. "So you're pretty familiar with the librarian, huh?" he asked curiously with amusement. "How long have you been here?"
Hermione flushed pink but her eyes narrowed slightly ready to defend herself. "I like books, that's all."
Jacob laughed. "I noticed." He motioned to her bag where more books lied in wait to be opened and looked through.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm researching," she explained. "I want to find out if my dreams really are memories of my past. I want to know more about myself and these books will help me."
He picked up the small pile looking through them. "How did you know where to start?" The pile held all sorts of books about the supernatural.
"Well, I found out that the stick the man used is actually a wand," she began as they settled onto the bike. With the roar of the engine she had to speak slightly louder, but with the knowledge that he was a wolf, he probably could hear her just fine. "I researched what kind of people used wands. There are magicians, mages, sorcerers, witches, wizards, fairies… the list goes on. I tried to narrow down the list by seeing which ones were Latin based but almost everything is Latin based. Then I-" She cut herself off, "I must be boring you."
Jacob blinked. "No!" He wanted to turn to look at her with reassurance but with the risk of crashing, he didn't. "No, Really! Go on, I would have never thought of that. And to be honest, besides Vampires and Werewolves, I didn't know other supernatural types existed."
Sceptical, she nodded anyway. "Well, from there I looked to see what books the library had on the topic, going for the oldest books first before working up to the more recent knowledge." She paused for a moment. "I, uh… I also took some books out about werewolves and vampires. Only because I know some things about you and them but I don't know how I know it. So, I was hoping to come across some familiar information… or something like that."
At that revelation, Jacob was glad she couldn't see his face because of the almost smug grin that came to his face. "What do they say about us?"
"Well there are quite a few different Lore on werewolves so it would depend on which culture you are a part of, where you originate and so on," she said before continuing on to tell him what she learned from her books.
In exchange for her information, he told her about the old stories that was usually passed around during the gatherings with a big reassurance that it was alright for him to share it with her. They continued to exchange whatever information they knew of werewolves and wolves causing time to fly by quickly; they spoke like old friends and before they knew it, they were pulling up to a small man made garage next to a cozy looking.
"Welcome to La Push, Hermione." Jacob grinned as he helped her off the bike like he did the two previous times.
As the two headed down to their destination, Jacob pointed out places of interest around his home while other spots just held funny memories he didn't mind sharing with his other half.
Hermione knew they were nearing the beach when the sound of the waves crashing against the shore came closer and louder to her ears. "Hey! You made it!" someone called. The small group that had gathered there before the duo arrived paused in their activities to look at the new comers with welcoming smiles. When they caught up to the group Hermione noticed that Jacob wasn't the only tall one. They were all tall, tanned and muscular and they all had the same tattoo branded on their arms. She was thankful for the presense of the few girls because being surrounded by these towering boys could be quite intimidating.
"It's nice to see you again, Hermione," said the man she recognized from the clearing. His name was Sam if she remembered correctly.
She nodded at him and responded it kind. "It's nice to see you under better circumstances."
Jacob grinned as he casually wrapping an arm around her shoulders pointing everyone out and leading the introductions. There were so many of them and Hermione's mind went to work making sure to remember the names and faces. They were all nice and welcoming, even Paul though he seemed to be a little on the reserved side for the time being.
"It's nice to finally meet you," said an older girl who was introduced as Emily (and Sam's fiancée). She had scars on the right side of her face and Hermione was fascinated by the way she seemed to wear them proudly. Inwardly, she wondered if she'd ever be able to feel that confident with her own scars and wear them like a badge of honour and pride.
"Finally?"
Emily and Kim (Jared's girlfriend as Jacob introduced), both nodded. "Yeah, the boys, mostly Sam and Jacob have mentioned you a few times," said Kim, "
At this, the girl blinked in confusion; she assumed it was the wolves who wanted to meet her. "But…" she trailed off, "That mean you know about them then?"
"If it's the wolf thing you're asking about, then yes," Emily replied this time with a smile. "I don't think a relationship would work out if we didn't know about the other side of them."
Hermione turned to the group of tall boys play fighting much like the pack of wolves that they were. "So all of them? They were there that day?"
This time, it was Leah who answered with a nod. "Pretty much. When a parasite is on our land or near it, we all get called to the job."
When Hermione turned to the somewhat colder girl, she noticed the tattoo on her arm. "So you're a wolf too?"
Leah just crossed her arms, almost like she was defending herself. "The first girl to be one." Hermione, fast to catch on that it was a hard subject to talk about, dropped it.
At the sound of a loud splash, the girl turned to see Embry's head pop out of the water and Paul who's stance told them he probably threw the other guy there in the first place. The other wolves laughed at the scene while Jacob turned to Hermione. "Are you going to swim or not?"
That was when Hermione noticed that Jacob had removed his shirt and shoes. She blushed lightly realizing she stared for a bit longer than she intended. If Jacob noticed her rosy cheeks, he didn't call her on it. Instead, he smiled, grabbed her bag from her and set it by his discarded clothes.
From the corner of her eyes, she noticed that a few of her new friends seemed to grin knowingly. Kim, who decided she had waited long enough was the first to take off her sweater, tee-shirt, shorts and sandals running towards her boyfriend in an attempt to tackle him into the water. Quick to follow the girl's example, Leah, Emily and Hermione were next to remove their outer clothes; although, Hermione was a bit slower than the other two. Her scars bothered her a more than she let on to her parents. But when she looked at Emily she took a deep breath in. Small steps to accepting and acknowledging that the scars were a part of her she told her self in reassurance. A few more hesitant moments after, her sweater and shirt were off. She blocked out her surrounding though, not prepared to acknowledge any attention she may have gotten due to them. Her hands lingered on the waistband of her cut off shorts but decided she still felt a little shy and kept them over her bikini bottoms.
The Russet wolf, being quite in tuned with his imprint seemed to feel her uneasiness and was the first to notice the faint scars that littered his soul mate's skin. His animal side wanted to growl knowing they couldn't have been self inflicted while another part of him was afflicted with confusion with why she had gotten them in the first place. He shook his head and jumped into the water with a large splash causing a few shouts of "hey!" to ring in his ears.
Undecided to get into the water that looked much too cold to actually swim in, she let Emily grab her arm and pull her gently to where everyone else was. The tension that she seemed to have brought with her was tossed aside when a grinning Jacob grabbed her around her middle and pulled her under playfully.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with Hermione getting to know her new family (though, she wasn't too aware of that latter fact), laughing more than she had in what felt like years, and truly smiling. By the time they were out of the water, it was getting dark and they had a large fire going with a pack of marshmallows being passed around along with a large amount of burgers and hot dogs for the wolves with the bottomless pits for stomachs.
The crackling of the fire and the crashing of the waves soothed Hermione into a relaxed state as she sat on the sand, leaning back onto the log others were sitting on. Kim and Jared had long since disappeared and Paul was quick to comment saying they were probably mating by the cliffs. Seth and Leah were both on patrol while Emily and Sam went back to get more food since their supply was quickly vanishing before their eyes.
Embry was in the middle of telling a joke when another group of people had arrived, one of them Hermione recognized as Bella, Edward's wife. "Hey Hermione! I didn't know you were going to be down at the rez tonight!"
Hermione nodded but didn't fail to notice the sudden drop in Jacob's attitude. "Yeah, I spent the afternoon here with some new friends," she replied before Bella introduced her to the rest of the group. She learned that they were all from the high school Bella graduated from just a few months ago.
While she tried to concentrate on the conversation Bella's friends were having around her, her attentions were more on the sudden change in Jacob and a few of the other wolf boys' attitude. Originally, she assumed it was because Bella was married to someone they didn't quite get along with. But something didn't fit well with that.
Tyler Crowley attempted to engage Hermione's attention though slowly but surly, he was losing was little of it he had. She nodded and commented at the appropriate times, but carefully paid attention to Bella when she pulled Jacob away to talk and that's when it clicked. Jacob likes Bella. He possibly liked her long before she had gotten married since the girl in question said her family and his were pretty close. There was that and the fact that her husband was the kind of person the wolves fought and killed more often than not must have been a huge blow, especially if Bella was going to become one of them soon.
Hermione felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and looked up to see Embry grinning down at her. "Quil's been roasting you some great marshmallows, didn't you say you wanted some?" he asked her causing a bit of confusion to rise within her. He didn't pay any mind to it as he turned to Tyler, "Sorry man, I'm going to have to take her back now."
Tyler just waved his hand as he walked back to his friends. He knew not to mess with the Quileute guys, no matter how much younger they were from him. Embry pulled Hermione away. "Sorry, we should have saved you from the boredom much sooner than that. The Forks' guys have this strange 'New Girl' complex."
She blinked and laughed slowly realizing that the other boy may have been hitting on her. "Oh, thank you," she told him. "I hadn't noticed it though."
He grinned and brought her over to where Quil was. Hermione smiled at the offer of more roasted marshmallows and plucked it off Quil's stick. "So, why is everyone tense around Bella?" she asked curiously as she took her previous seat on the sand.
The two wolves tensed slightly at the sudden question. "Is it because of who she's married too?"
Quil nodded, deciding it was best to go with that conclusion. "Yeah. It's been pretty tough since we were kind of friends before, ya know? I mean, her dad comes over in the area often being best buds with Jake's dad."
Hermione put another marshmallow onto a stick letting it hover by the heat of the fire. "I kind of feel bad for Jacob."
At her statement, Embry and Quil exchanged looks. "Why?" the former asked.
She looked at them with an almost incredulous look on her face. "Well, he likes her doesn't he?" she asked. "It looks pretty obvious to me."
The two tried to gauged her reaction to what she had stated but she was a blank book. "It's… a little complicated," Quil said. "He liked her. But with her getting married and all. He's moved on." His eyes darted to Embry wondering if they should say something about the imprint, but they knew Jacob would chew them out if they did.
The girl gave a small shrug. "I suppose that would make sense. He still has deep feelings for her though." She looked towards Bella and Jacob, they seemed to be arguing about something but she couldn't hear it over the music that the newest additions of the group brought with them. "That much I can tell."
Emily had returned but upon seeing Bella and the rest of the crowd she frowned slightly and looked towards Sam who lead her to where the trio sat. "When did they get here?" he asked.
Hermione didn't hear the reply because Emily held out a silver container to her asking if she wanted another hamburger or hot dog. She shook her head and smiled. "I don't think I can really. I ate so much, and unfortunately, my appetite isn't up to par with these animals." She winked with a laugh.
Emily laughed heartily in understanding. Hermione helped the older girl offer food to everyone who was gathered but a few moments later, a disgruntled Jacob approached her. "Sorry about that."
Hermione frowned slightly but nodded. "It's fine, I… uhm, do you want to go walk around for a bit?"
He looked grateful to be away from Bella's presense and the two were off walking around aimlessly by the water. "Are you okay?" she asked after a long while of silence.
Jacob paused in his step for a split second before catching up to her. "Yes… and no."
Hermione frowned. She knew he didn't want to talk about it at the moment but from what she had seen of Jacob's personality today, this wasn't like him. He was so subdued that it almost hurt her to watch him.
Stopping suddenly, Jacob almost knocked Hermione over at the unexpected halt. She turned and looked up at him, a nervous but determined look on her face. They stood there in silence until Hermione took a step forward wrapping her arms around his middle. Jacob didn't wait to respond in kind as he pulled her close. He sighed, storing the memory of his imprint's comfort safely into his mind. Hermione may be his Imprint, his soul mate, his world. But right now, first and foremost, she was his friend and someone he knew he would love with or without the influence of the wolf's soul mate phenomenon. No words were needed as the Russet Wolf understood that Hermione would be there for him. Deep down though, a part of him, the part of him that was still stuck in the depths of rejection, wondered if she would be there for him as his other half or just a friend.
…
To Be Continued
…
alexis in wonderland:
I have to apologize that this chapter took so long to get out! I think I broke a few promises in my review responses with it. I feel super bad about that! :( I really tried to get this chapter posted on my weekly schedule but as you can see, that didn't work out. Actually, until last week, I'd been away visiting my mum and I wrote some of this chapter on the train ride there and back. I also started school on Tuesday so my schedule was a little messed up and I couldn't manage to find time between homework and job hunting for more writing. And finally, this chapter was proving extremely difficult to write for some reason. I would write one thing but then it wouldn't go how I planned. Very frustrating really. But! It's done now and I hope it's okay! I didn't really want to rush into and I hope I didn't. I'm sorry if I did! I'm also sorry if you feel that there isn't enough of Jacob/Hermione budding friendship/relationship, I wanted to put more getting to know each other, but I didn't know how without a boring information over load. D: I'm just full of apologies today. (The getting to know each other has been postponed to next (few?) chapter(s)!)
On a happier note. THANK YOU AGAIN! SOOO MUCH! For the amazing reviews and alerts and even a community! :O I almost gave up on writing this chapter due to the intense block I was having but because of you dedicated readers I made sure to try to write something every day despite how much I'd hate it the next day haha.
Now as promised, I wanted to discuss the timeline! Well, seeing as Bella is married, it's after Eclipse but lets say that most of the Jacob/Bella fluff was bare minimum during that time span, Bella is married but not yet a vampire. This story is currently taking place in summer, July to be exact. When do I see this story ending? Maybe the end of autumn, maybe during winter? We'll have to see.
I would also like to announce that this will NO LONGER be just ten chapters (and yes, I'm surprised haha). I hope this excites you because it excites me! I don't know how it happened but something in me is telling me this is going to end up longer than I intended. Now, if you ask how MUCH longer it'll be, I'm not too sure. It may be only 2 more chapters, it could be 10! We'll see where these characters bring me. They like to take charge you see. :)
Till next time then! Happy Readings!
(p.s: I noticed my ANs have been getting longer haha, oh well…
p.p.s: I've been contemplating getting a blog to post notices on in case I DO disappear again, just so you know what's going on in my life to be unable to update. And to make sure it isn't just a boring update thing, I was thinking of posting clippings of coming scenes/chapters/ideas yadda yadda yadda. What do you think?)