A/N: I finished The Host, and I completely loved it! Now I'm reading Dry by Augusten Burroughs. And I'm sure it'll rock. Anyway, the days are winding down. Five more days. Oh, and I might go one of the exam days if I get to dissect a sheep's eye with Hannah. :D So…enjoy! Review! Thanks to Nora for Eleazar's gift. :)

Denali came to Providence on Monday.

"Finally," Alice sighed as she ran into the arms of Kate. "No one knows how to shop like you do, hon."

Kate trilled an alto laugh. "I know."

Ahead of us, already halfway to the airport parking garage, Tanya, Carlisle, Eleazar, and Jasper discussed the situation. I remembered someone mentioning something about Eleazar's gift, and I then remembered no one had told me, Cole, and Bella. I gently nudged Irina's side.

"So…what's Eleazar's gift, anyway? Edward and Carlisle were talking about it a few days ago, but they never told me."

She rolled her eyes, smirking. "I swear, those two never stop. They're so damn proud. It's a good thing the poor boy's so shy or those two would have him constantly gloating."

"Well?" I urged.

She hesitated for a moment, and leaned over to whisper quietly in my ear. "I'll explain later. We'll tell them we need to hunt when we get back. We might even get him to come along." Before anyone could notice our secret exchange, she jogged ahead to talk to Carmen, her black curls bouncing as she went.

"What was that about?" Bella asked, suddenly taking Irina's place on my left as we exited the terminal. "I thought I heard something about a hunt?"

"Since no one ever told us, I took it into my own hands to find out about Eleazar's gift."

Her eyes were instantly alight with excitement and anticipation. "I want to come." Her golden eyes turned pleading, afraid I'd deny her the privilege. "Who all's going, anyway?"

"Hmm…" I thought about what she'd said. "Me, Irina, and Eleazar, as far as I know." I shrugged my shoulders and unlocked my car from a distance for the waiting passengers, as we'd only brought three cars for us all—mine, Edward's and the Mercedes.

Bella climbed into the passenger seat beside me, and Irina, Katrina, and Eleazar made themselves comfortable in the back.

"So," Irina began conversationally, "who's up for a hunt when we get to the house? I promised Ayden here you'd show her your gift, Eleazar. I thought Kate might want to show hers off, too."

My brows furrowed. "Kate has a power, too?"

"Yep," Kate reported happily from the middle of the backseat. "Mine's better, though."

"Nahh, mine's better," Eleazar argued, looking out the windows as the spring-summer scenery sped by.

"No, mine is." Kate crossed her arms over her chest. She reminded me of a toddler.

"Sorry, Kate. You're just jealous." I could see, in the mirror, that Eleazar was suppressing a smile.

"I can make men fight over me just by imagining the argument! There is NOTHING cooler than that! Not even your dumb manipulation!" Kate fired back before settling herself into the middle seat more comfortably.

"Kate!" Irina hissed. "I wanted to show the girls later! Ugh. You totally just ruined it, bitch."

"Sorr-ee," Kate replied sarcastically.

"So…" I began in an attempt to ease the tangible tension. "That's a pretty cool power you have there, Kate. You, too, Eleazar."

"Thanks," Eleazar said kindly, smiling at me. "If you're all still up for a hunt, I can show you just how it works. Kate doesn't really get it. It's more complicated than that. But hers is not, which means mine's cooler."

"Is not!"

"Would the two of you shut up before I toss you out onto the highway?!" Irina screeched.

Needless to say, the two stayed quiet the rest of the short drive.

The wind had picked up by the time we made it home. The overhead clouds went from blindingly white to black in a matter of only hours. The rain was threatening, and already the air was seeping with moisture.

Two hours later, the hurricane struck.

"This sucks, guys," Kate complained, loading lawn chairs under the shelter to the right side of the house. "Hurricanes suck."

Tanya, as sick of the bitching as the rest of us, pushed Kate off the porch and into the pounding rain, turning her perfectly straight blonde hair into an afro. "Shut up, Kate. You're being a very rude little bitch, okay?"

"Still sucks," she muttered, running her hands through her hair.

I picked up the picnic table from the patio and carried it over, being sure I nudged Kate's frizzy head with one of the legs.

"Ugh," she groaned. "What is it with you guys today?"

"I'm pretty sure we're not the problem. Are you sure you don't have your period?" Eleazar asked, loading the last of the chairs under the shelter. Carlisle closed the door as we moved back toward the front of the house.

"So who's up for a movie?" Jasper asked. "There's nothing else to do today."

"Sounds good, Jasper," Carlisle agreed. "Since it was your idea, you pick something."

Jasper fell behind the rest of the crowd and stood on my right side, as Cole was holding my hand on the left. "You up to a trip to the movie store?"
"Sure, but this time, it's my pick," I bargained. "No more civil war movies."

Cole looked at me suspiciously. "And what am I missing out on, here? Civil war movies?"

I rolled my eyes and exhaled a small laugh. "Miami, long story."

"Oh…kay? You two mind some company, then?" He looked to me first, then to Jasper.

"Let's get going," Jasper said, jogging off toward his car.

"I'm so glad I bought him that car. It's like I'm living out my childhood fantasies vicariously through him; I wanted a Bentley from age nine to twelve."

Cole chuckled. "Maybe I'll buy you one someday, hmm?" He pulled me close against him.

"Mmm," I sighed. "Sounds good to me."

He opened the passenger door for me, and I smiled as I sat gracefully in the leather seat. Once Cole had hopped in the back, Jasper turned the key in the ignition and the engine smoothly purred to life. On the radio, there was nothing but weather announcements telling everyone to put their shelters and porches to good use, and to get inside, blah, blah. Due to the standing water in the roads, traffic was impossible. However, the movie store finally came into sight, and we ran inside immediately, shedding the hoods of our jackets.

"What movie are you feeling like today, Ayden?" Cole asked, winding his arms around my waist from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Children of the Corn."

He chuckled. "You feel like going home and killing Carlisle and Esme, do you? I hardly feel I can allow that sort of behavior, dear."

"No," I chuckled, "I just haven't seen it in years. I'm kinda feeling like eating people, too, if you know what I mean."

"Silence of the Lambs?"

"Precisely."

"Alright, then. Anything else? Saturday detention, maybe going to live with your mother's psychiatrist?"

"Hmm…maybe I could skip school and spend the day running from the principal?"

"Ferris Bueller sounds lovely, my dear. You are just so smart."

"I know, right?" I joked, placing our choices on the counter.

"Did you find everything you were looking for?" the mid-twenties man behind the counter asked.

"Yes, thank you," I answered politely. I turned to Cole, and caught sight of the still-increasing wind speeds and heavy rain. "Wow. It's getting pretty ugly out there, huh?"

"Yeah," the clerk answered. "You guys better get home soon. I heard it's gonna be a bad one."

"Thanks. We'll be sure to do that." I picked up the bag and wound Cole's fingers in my own. "Come on, boys, let's get back."

Jasper took the bag as we left the store, and unlocked the car quickly so not to get even more wet. The rain picked up even more on our way home, and soon it was beating so loudly on the windshield that we nearly had to shout to hear each other.

"What?!" I screamed.

Jasper repeated his complaint. "I said 'hurricane season fucking sucks!'"

"Oh!"

"How long do we have to put up with this shit?!" Cole shouted in my ear from the back seat.

"Probably until September! But the season technically doesn't end until November!"

"Shit!" he laughed as Jasper shifted the car into park and jumped out, running at full speed into the house, Cole and I hot on his trail.

"Finally! God, you guys took forever. We thought you got swallowed up by the rain and carried to Canada!" Alice exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air at the end for dramatic effect. "So what'd you get, huh?"

Rather than answer, I tossed the bag back at her as I went up the stairs for my hair dryer. The bag hit her in the face.

"Temper, temper," she scolded.

I scoffed and continued my trek for manageable hair.

Once my blonde locks had been calmed, I skipped down the stairs and laid on the floor on my side in front of the couch. Jasper put Children of the Corn in the DVD player, and rejoined Alice in a large chair near the back of the room with the remote.

Rain continued to pour down for nearly an hour before it got worse.

"What do you want?" Vicky asked the corn children.

"We want to give you peace," Malachai stated with a diabolical smile. "Get her!"

The screen went black as lightning cracked and lit the family room.

"Dammit," Emmet muttered under his breath. "I really like that movie."

"Jasper," Carlisle began, "is the portable DVD player charged?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why do you ask?"

"Edward, go get the projector."

"I like the way you think, father," Edward muttered.

And so Edward returned with the projector, and Jasper retrieved one of the portable DVD players. We finished our movies, and when we had finished, the storm had begun to quiet, but not by much.

"How long is the rain going to beat down like that?" Kate whimpered, sprawled out on one of the couches. "This is so boring. And I wanna show off my gift!"

"Later, Kate," Irina said in a bored tone. "Right now, it's raining. And you are not going to disrespect Esme by making the boys fight over you in the middle of her home. And Eleazar, don't even start getting ideas over there. I know that smirk."

"Yes, ma'am," they responded in unison.

It turned out to be two days later when we could find a dry period long enough for a hunt, and I finally got to see the gifts.

Eleazar jogged down the stairs in black Adidas pants and a white tee shirt. "You ready to go?"

A/N: Long time, huh? Oh well. Three days, now. But I fully intend to spend next Thursday and Friday sleeping. So review. It might keep me awake. Later!