V.
Never in my life would I have thought I would ever be ecstatic to have a detention. But then again, my life was always full of surprises. Too full of them in fact, that I wasn't endowed with the instinct of having a decent reaction. Just as I flamboyantly wailed about the shock of being half canine (because I didn't know my father, it really freaked me out), recognising that lovely scent that lingered so prominently on the things left for me threw me into oblivion.
You could imagine then, the turbulence that warped my being realising it was Leah. It wasn't just a storm of emotions within me; it was a thunderstorm and a hurricane and a tornado raging in my chest, so ardorous it could ressurect the dead. It was by sheer luck that I didn't phase and tear the place down in happiness, because actually, I was quivering with excitement from the tips of my hair down to my little toe.
I didn't even drink that sacred bottle of water. I kept it as a small memoir for that inevitable shift in destiny. Something that would remind me of that minuscule change in Leah Clearwater's attitude towards Embry Call. I had waited for so long for my efforts to be rewarded, not to mention the neverending demoralisation from the pack. So now that the almighty finally listened to my prayers and let Leah see me, it felt special.
I must have gaped at those glorious two items for more time than I noticed, judging by the reaction from Mr. Clarke as he walked in to end my solemn reverie.
"I said detention, Mr. Call, not drooling session," his voice boomed, displeased.
I blinked, surprised, and straightened myself from my cautious snifing posture. Then, sensing his pulsing curiosity and dangerous distance from my precious t-shirt and bottled water, I ran to retrieve my gifts--yes, gifts--protectively. His eyebrows rose so high resettling it back to where it should be must have been a miracle. I proceeded to grace him with a cheery smile and slowly slipped the t-shirt on. God, it smells so good. It had Leah's scent enveloping it, and the feeling of being enveloped myself in her scent was just freaking delirious.
Mr. Clarke looked as annoyed as could be as he slouched away to check my progress. He gave an appreciative grunt after surveying my work and then shooed me away, grabbing the chance to parade a carpentry skill that he learned when he still had sufficient hair. I rolled my eyes. Carpentry skills? Oh yeah, Mr. Clarke, how do you nail a mouth shut?
But there was no fiasco erupting from me even though he did ask me what in the name of his patron saint had I been up to. Of course not! There was nothing, nothing at all that could disrupt my mood tonight. Sadly, I should really not have said that because my life was and would always remain to have full of surprises. The thought of wallowing in happiness only lasted until Mr. Clarke's next breath.
"Your mother is waiting outside."
Holy shit.
I knew mum would throw a fit knowing that her only son got himself a detention longer than Quil Ateara Jr. I was bracing myself for her wrath after my time at the library, but having my imprint shock me like that was enough to make it slip off my mind completely.
In an attempt to refocus my derailed thoughts and to save my heart from hammering like a hummingbird on cocaine, I digressed from Mr. Clarke's apparent delight and asked him whether Leah had been in school afterhours. He raised his miraculous caterpillar eyebrows again, counter-asked me why the hell I cared about it and then shook his bald head. I didn't let it bother me.
I couldn't believe how even my mother's car looked so damn furious parked in the empty parking lot. It's a freaking thing for God's sake! Mr. Clarke bade me a buoyant farewell and slipped giggling into the building. I braved the rain, skipping as I made my way to the car. Or at least until I met my mother's eyes. They were blazing in furor all the happiness ignited and drained away. I should have been a pile of smoldering ashes if that look was anything to go by. I could almost see my gravestone: Here lies the ashes of Embry Call, the poor poster boy for mum's deadly glare. I was cowering by the time I opened the door.
As expected, all hell broke lose.
"EMBRY CALL!" she bellowed. "DETENTION! DETENTION FOR A MONTH?!"
Aww. Come on mum, cheer up. My imprint just gave me gifts... "Sorry."
"DON'T YOU SAY SORRY TO ME YOUNG MAN, I AM NOT EVEN THROUGH WITH YOU YET! JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL WE GET HOME!"
I shivered. "I didn't mean it! I swear!" Although part of me acknowledged the fact that I was half-begging like a sheepish little boy, mum was so outraged she all but ignored her only son. "LEAH CLEARWATER HURT--" My stomach twisted violently. "--A BOOKSHELF MANGLED, THE SCHOOL LIBRARY IN PIECES...WHAT MONSTER HAVE YOU BECOME?
Mum I'm a dog, I wanted to answer her. Instead, I pursed my lips and apologised again.
"OH YOU WILL BE SORRY. YOU WILL BE VERY SORRY, EMBRY CALL."
She sped up, skidded against the loose soil when we reached home, and dragged me by the ears out of the car and into my room. From across the yard, thanks to my inhuman abilities, I heard wolves roll around in laughter--Paul and Jacob. Only Leah's scent around me kept me sane. Mum had me jailed into one corner and lectured me for an hour before refusing me dinner. She had my favourite pasta ready--either to purposely torture me to death or that she hadn't yet found out I earned detention when she made it. With my stomach rumbling like thunder, I was truly very sorry.
It took forever before mum finally retired to bed. And when she did, I ran to Sam's like a hobo, begging for food. He shooed me away, but Emily ushered me in and fed me like the saint that she was. I managed to call Sam amidst the chewing. "Sam, can you give me a month off?"
He rambled incessantly. "A month? We have a leech invasion and you're asking me for a month off?"
"Hey, hey. Sam, come on. I don't have a contract with you. Besides, it's just one vamp. No worries."
"Yeah, one Harry Houdini vampire. Easy," Sam wailed sarcastically.
"We killed that black haired leech in seconds," I reminded him.
"It's your damn responsibility!" he shrieked.
I grimaced helplessly as Emily went to shut him up. She barely reached Sam's shoulders, but even so, you could feel who was the commander in this household. Emily was the Field Marshal; Sam...well, Sam was only a private. And like an obedient private, Sam bowed and nodded as Emily told him off. "Sam Uley! If you cannot read the time, it is midnight! You will not shout in my house in the middle of the night."
"Then can you give me a week off?" I continued, banking on Emily's roars.
"No."
"Well at least let me take the night patrols then!"
He harrumped. "This has something to do with Leah."
Wrong move, Sam. The mention of Leah propelled me to give him a blow by blow recount of what had happened. Emily listened, appearing as amused as I was, and laughed at the right moments. Sam, meanwhile, had a face that was unreadable as I gleefully skipped around, acting out everything that lead to that holy second when I sniffed Leah around me. Finally, with Emily on my side, he gave up, letting me go, unwillingly and with strict conditions. I listened, but everything passed from one ear, out to the other. I wanted to see Leah and grovel with gratefulness at her feet. Or maybe kiss her. Whichever one life would surprise me with.
I was captivated by her beauty when she opened the door, face half-illuminated by the glistening moonlight and half-hidden in its shadows. She appraised me in surprise, lingering on that shirt that was now my favourite, then looking back at my face with an uncomfortable stance.
"Goddamn it, what?" she snapped.
I immediately noticed the gauze at her head and involuntarily reached out for it. She froze as our skins touched, looking so beautiful in her marbled state with my hand resting on her forehead comfortably. She didn't feel like how other humans felt like; her perfect copper skin was velvet to my touch, exuding just the right amount of warmth. It created this yearning within me that longed to be fulfilled. A painful, but extremely pleasurable surge of buzz travelled up my arms, straight to my already weak heart.
She stammered, trying to speak. Then, realising just how she acted, she firmly swatted my hand away and pushed me roughly. "Don't you fucking touch me!"
"I just want to know if you're okay."
"Have I mentioned something about castrating you next time you shadow me or have I just been imagining it?" She rolled her eyes and I was just whipped. I grinned. "You were imagining castrating me?"
I thought she was going to gape, but she redeemed herself beautifully. She crossed her arms and sneered. "Actually, I was thinking more about deep frying your balls and feeding them to Seth."
I cringed. "Must I be worried?"
"Since it seems like you freaking idiot has a freaking hobby of poking your freaking nose into my own freaking business, then hell yes. Why don't you wait while I snatch mum's mini scissors--" she raised her hands and mimicked a scissor. "--then let's tear down tiny Embry."
"I think you might need garden shears," I joked.
"For the record, Embry, you are an ass," she insulted back.
"Well, thanks. I'm usually positive, so I'll take that as a compliment. Are you better now?"
"I was fine until two seconds ago when you showed up on my doorstep."
I noticed Sue passing by behind Leah, seemingly on her way to the bedroom. I waved at her, who in turn nodded back. Leah looked like she had seen a ghost. "You waved at mum?"
"She nodded back," I said.
"That is Sue Clearwater. Why are you waving at my mother?"
I smiled. "Because I am friendly?"
"No, Embry. You don't get it. You waved at my mother. I'm going to tell Dad," she threatened. Is she serious?
"If you're trying to make him jealous, no need. I actually wave at your dad too."
She rolled her eyes. "Why exactly are here for? I refuse to believe it's solely because you want to wave at my mother. And father," she added.
"I told you, I wanted to know if you're okay. So set aside your suspicions about my hand greetings and tell me how you feel."
She smirked. "Any proof of your medical qualifications?"
"My dog ate it," I chuckled. I was referring to Paul. Now that he was officially a dog, he could chew homeworks himself...and inexistent medical qualifications if need be. "Come on Leah, I just came to know how you are."
"Unfortunately for you, Embry, your presence have the tendency of making people sick. I'm actually not an exception. So can you excuse me while I vomit? I'll get back to you afterwards."
We stared at each other--well, I drooled at her splendor while she stared daggers at me--for some time before Leah gave me one last loathful glare and slamming the door shut. I slipped my hand between it and the wall just in time to hear the door crush my poor fingers. I heard a crack. Apparently, Leah must have heard it too, because she swung the door back open, cursed and grabbed my damaged hand.
"Holy son of a bitch! Dad will kill me!"
I might have died and gone to paradise. Leah had my hands cradled in her own, looking so concerned I just wanted to kiss her and shut her up. The warmth that filled me was even better when she was touching me. She was mouthing a string of foul profanities, insulting everything that was Embry Call, but at the same time managing to yell for Seth for the first-aid kit. In that span of thirty seconds or so, she had named me a bastard, a moron, an idiot, a dickhead and a fucking buttsucker. I mean, she just had to be beautiful in that twisted sense, right?
She had me thrown on the couch beside a grumpy Seth when her scent overpowered me. I could smell Seth too, but there was nothing compared to the way Leah's fresh scent hit my nose. It was just as if it was the only thing I could smell--so distinct, so powerful, so overwhelming. It was not the I-want-to-drink you mouthwatering smell that the leeches probably lived by, but more like...the scent that could drive me insane. It took me all my control to prevent myself from kissing her, touching her, maybe even more...
Woah, hold it right there, Embry!
I shook my head to repress the indecent thoughts, but I must have whined, because the next second, Leah became angrier, told me to stop whining before she gave me something to whine about and tugged on my cracked finger to remind me who was boss. It really didn't help my case, because then I smiled gooffily and earned a whack at the head from the overprotective little Seth. I saw Leah give a smirk, proud of her brother.
Just when I thought everything was going just great, I just had to screw everything up by opening my wretched mouth. "Erm--Leah? Did you pass by the library after school today?" I asked.
Before I knew it, I was thrown out at the door with a strong and final "Die and goodbye!"
This is a joke, right?
I took a step towards the door, but the lock clicked, which I pressume meant that I wasn't going any nearer tonight. I glanced at my fingers and flexed them; they were already healed. Leah wasn't much of a nurse; she had the gauze rolled up in a messy way that appeared adorably cute. I could have said she was shaking by the way the bandage slipped here and there. I chuckled, in the most fantastic mood, and hopped off to the woods.
Wow. I don't think I would ever keep Bella's bandage.
Hey Jake.
Holy sh--a month?
Would you believe me if I said I'd do detention until the senior year if Leah was to give but one lingering kiss? Jake was still comparing Quil's stunnnig reputation for detention and my one.
I can't believe you beat Quil's record!
I beat Quil every time, I reminded him.
Including immaturity, Embry. Because Quil never keeps bandages.
No surprise there, since he can't even keep his pants on.
He chuckled, then kept silent, rounding up his patrol. He was at the Swan's. Jacob was all about Bella these days; it was hard remembering he hadn't imprinted on her, actually. Then again, maybe I was just too focused on Leah that I hadn't actually delved into Jake's emotions that much. I tried to explore his mind, but Jake hastily bade goodbye and phased.
I was alone for a while, until Paul the great idiot phased.
Hold up, hold it up right there! He cried, within one second of phasing. One second!
What are you whining about now? I complained.
Why in the name of God do I want to bang Leah Clearwater?
Because you're a dickhead, and if you ever feel that lust for Leah again, you will be manifesting that insult literally.
Oh I'm scaaared. Like you don't know why I had that thought!
Because Leah's freaking hot. She's sexy, beautiful, perfect... I shook my head before Paul traced the thoughts. I'm a teenage boy!
Let me show you what teenage boy you are. How are your ears? Laughing, he showed me a replay of just how pathetic I looked being yanked out of the car by the ears. Given, I looked like a overgrown five year old, but did my mother look that incensed? She appeared to be seething. I was pried away from the memory by a more riveting one that shadowed it. I began focusing on that less embarassing memory. Is that Leah?
Damn, I didn't think Sam wanted you to know, Paul grumbled.
Want or did not want to know, he bared it all anyway. There was Leah and Sam, the former looking about to rip her ex-boyfriend's head off in pure loathing, the latter looking resigned and helpless. Leah had a gauze on her forehead, streaked with blood. What were they talking about?
Paul didn't know. Sam muted it. Besides, they were not talking. She was calling him names and accusing him and everything.
I wondered if Leah's nicknames for Sam were worse than what she had for me. I quickly filled Paul in. Geez Embry, she called you a fucking buttsucker and you think she's beautiful? I'm speechless.
God, Paul Meraz speechless! This is a dream come true!
Shut up, asshole. He played the scene of Leah doing some karate moves on Sam again. You should have seen how Sam looked when Leah attempted to kick his crotch!
He looked like a horrified tomato.
Paul was thoroughly amused. I rolled my wolfy eyes. Who shares your level of maturity, Paul?
The President of the United States of America.
I snorted. I think I just won the argument.
It was like that all evening. Despite the direly needed sleep, I couldn't stop laughing at Paul. The guy was annoying as hell but he could also be extremely hilarious when his negative IQ slipped. Believe me, he showcased it more often than not. We ran on full alert all night. By dawn, Sam had finally phased and reluctantly felt my probing.
He sighed. She was just telling me to stop forcing you to trail her.
I tensed up. She still believes I'm under your command?
Like you're not, Paul ranted. He was scowling at the fact that we were all under the alpha's edict.
Sam went on, filling all the details Paul missed. Paul was pissed when he found out Sam had intended him not to know. You suck, Sam! I'm off.
I don't know what Leah thinks. Sam had this hobby of being overly-analytical. I guessed it was part of being an alpha male. She seems fairly convinced about my involvement, but I do know her, Embry. And I know she knows it's more than just that.
You think?
Yes, I do. I also think she pretty much knows she can't shake you off so easily. If demanding me not to bug you is anything to go by, then she's certainly concerned about your...welfare.
Well she did leave me some things at school... I tilted my head to check if my favourite shirt was still tied to my ankle. Speaking of school, I need to go Sam. There wasn't any sign of the leech, but Paul said he might have spotted an old trail about eight miles west. You might want to check. Want me to do one last lap?
No, you go. I'm on it. And oh Embry?
Hmm?
Leah was in your room earlier.
Flipping out was never a good idea under any circumstance, especially not when you happen to be a werewolf and was currently running around in your wolf form, chasing your tail. I was too stunned to realise I wanted to be human, so when I finally realised I had phased back, I was running on all fours, chasing an inexistent tail. I cursed, carefully got dressed and ran for home.
I found mum cooking a hearty breakfast. Until I smelled the aroma of her cooking, I forgot just how exhausted and hungry I was. I bit my lips and savoured the smell. She turned to me when she heared me sigh and gasped. "Embry! Oh dear, your eyes!"
"Morning mum. I need to ask you something."
"Were you out again?" she questioned, laddle ready to hit me on the head. She had to reach out a bit. "I swear--"
"Mum! Was Leah Clearwater here yesterday?"
My mother's face contorted, then slacked fluidly to mask realisation. I caught every bit of it. "No son, she wasn't. Leah Clearwater?" she chuckled, then nervously returned to her cooking, giving me her back. I cocked an eyebrow and stomped back to my room.
I had to figure it all out myself, then.
Sniffing, I felt delirious with Leah's scent again. Not as fresh as yesterday, but definitely still there. I sniffed my shirt, and it definitely had the same eased fresh smell. I took it off and threw it on the couch. There. Without my shirt on, it was easier to determine whether Leah's scent had only been in my shirt, or in my room too.
And yes, it was definitely strong in my room. And my wardrobe, and God help me, on the edge of my bed...
I stormed out sheepishly and demanded mum to reveal the truth. Or, my version of the truth. She was so adamant in denying it. "I was here after lunch, dear," she explained. "And Leah couldn't have been in here without my knowledge, could she?" Oh now mum was definitely using women's well-known persuasion skills. I could see it shimmer in her eyes. She was definitely hiding something! I wanted to wail. Muuuuuumm!
"Since when have you been on first name terms with Leah?"
"Embry, stop with the dramatics." She hit my hand softly with a spoon.
I huffed. "I'm your son. It's in my genes."
She glared at me momentarily, then scooped my empty plate. "Run along now, you'll be late."
I skipped out, frustrated but determined to decipher whatever she wanted to hide from me. I reached school ten minutes early, which meant that mum only threw me out because she freaking wanted me to stop my interrogation. I fumed slightly.
It stopped when that breathtaking scent hit my nose with the force of a freight train. My body yearned for the warmth and the familiar buzz that accompanied seeing my imprint. I wheeled around, smiling fully, expecting Leah's arrival. But instead of Harry's old car, the one thing that hit me was the impossibility of seeing a gleaming sportscar in La Push's humble serenity. My smile faded, replaced by the slacking of my jaw and its pitiful thud as it hit the ground.
I had to fish my jaw from somwhere in the mud. I blinked a few times but dude, it was not a mirage. Jake should have been with me; the guy would lose his mind over this. Damn, that red Aston Martin was just way too cool. Curious, I tilted my head to get a glimpse of the conspicuous owner--whoever he was, he sure would be the coolest person I would ever came across with. It was totally out of my league.
The least I expected was the powerful arctic blast surging through my warm body as I laid eyes on the two people in the front seat, laughing heartily. My heart jolted, wriggled, did backflips, stopped beating, resurrected itself and froze all at the same time. My stomach twisted with such agony I couldn't breathe.
It was too far out of my league.
On the passenger seat, looking stunning as ever, was Leah. And beside her, awestruck at her beauty, was the super cool owner of the wretched super cool car. I started to wheeze. I lost the will to fight, especially seeing Leah look happy. How could insignificant Embry Call who had just been seen win against the coolest and richest person he had ever met?
Leah climbed out and the traitorous rich bastard waved her goodbye. He sped off, just as Leah turned to meet my gaze.
This time, it wasn't the usual warmth that filled me. It was an icy, below-freezing waft of emotion. Before I knew it, the hurt was pelting down on me like a hail storm. It was crushing me slowly, tormenting me. Forcing me to go. I backed away, prying myself from Leah's bewildered eyes and ran into the cover of the woods. My clothes exploded as I phased violently.
Oh well, that changes things.