Edward burst into hysterical laughter.
"EDWARD!" I screamed running over to him. I punched his arm which, one: didn't do anything except made him laugh even harder at my attempt and, two: almost broke my hand.
"OW!" I screamed rubbing my hand. His skin was just as hard as ice. "Ow, ow, oh ow! Ow!"
"You say something and you're a pile of ashes, Edward Cullen." Alice was standing behind me with her teeth bared. An evil snarl ripped from her throat. I cringed and Edward laughed even harder.
"I won't say anything," he vowed. "I promise."
"Alice," I said turning toward her. "Is he lying?"
Alice giggled. "He won't say anything if you don't want him to."
"All right then," I said nodding.
I had my back turned so I hadn't noticed someone step through the door and come behind me. By the warmth of the touch, I knew it was another werewolf. This was the one I'd heard. I was sure of it. I dropped my gaze and turned to face Seth Clearwater.
"Hey Seth," I said.
"H—hey, Ja—Jasmine," he stuttered.
Seth's Point of View
"Hey Seth," she said. I couldn't see her face very well and I couldn't see her eyes at all but I knew she was beautiful. She sounded so sweet and innocent. Her voice sounded like melting honey in my ears, I was sure no one else had the same reaction. Maybe I was just being weird. Leah said I did that a lot…
"H—hey, Ja—Jasmine," I stuttered. I might've sworn this would be the girl, the girl I would finally imprint on. But when I saw her, I didn't feel the way Jake had. I didn't feel the way Sam, Quil, or Jared had felt. It was a small spark, that was it. Nothing special. I sighed internally. When would I finally get my turn? Maybe then the guys back at La Push would stop ragging on me.
I wanted this to be the girl. She was perfect in my eyes, everything an angel should be. But did it matter? I didn't want to start dating her, then have to crush her heart when I imprinted on someone who wouldn't really be as good as her, but I would think so anyway. I stared at her, hoping to maybe bring the feel of the imprinting out so that it could see her, but nothing happened.
Jasmine's Point of View
Edward started to laugh again.
"Shut up, Edward," Seth murmured.
I barely noticed Edward's insane laughter. I was only thinking of the way he'd looked at me. The way Seth looked at me was strange. He looked at me like he honestly thought I was beautiful. I knew I was misinterpreting it.
Edward laughed even harder.
"No, not misinterpreting," he said. He coughed to hide more laughter.
Jasper tugged at Edward's shirt. "I really wish you'd stop that," he said. "Show some respect, will you…"
"I know, Ed!" Alice giggled. "Stop abusing your power!"
"Oh," Edward said, "like you don't!" He flashed a large, toothy grin.
Alice, Edward, and Jasper laughed.
"All right, all right," Alice said to drag the conversation away from her using her premonitions for evil. "Enough with the accusations already."
Jacob laughed. "Ness, you thirsty?"
"Extremely, Jake… I haven't hunted in forever." Renesmee caught sight of my fear widened eyes and laughed. "Don't worry, Jasmine," she assured me. "It's nothing I can't control."
"Let's hunt then," Jacob said. "Coming, Bella, Ed?" he called behind his shoulder.
Edward smiled. "Sure," he said.
Edward, Bella, Nessie, and Jacob headed for the woods. Rosalie smiled at Emmett as she flew up the stairs. She came back half a second later with a TV guide. She threw the thing at Emmett and he cursed and laughed.
"Sit down, Rose, before you throw something at me that I treasure."
"Like you don't worship that stupid TV guide, Emm," she teased.
"Like you don't worship that makeup studio you and Alice call a bathroom." Emmett patted the spot next to him on the couch and Rosalie sat down gladly.
I watched as Alice turned her back on the rest of us—with a quick smile in my direction—and went to the computer. I saw her click a link and she went to an online shopping website. That was so Alice.
I saw Jasper focusing on me and I felt a wave of calmness sweep over me.
"Yes, Jasper, very subtle," I said, my eyes narrowing.
Jazz laughed. "I feel your stress coming in humungous waves. It gives me a really queer headache. Now I know how you felt, Alice."
Alice laughed. "And you said I was over exaggerating."
Jasper dragged a chair over to sit by Alice and watched as her eyes quickly examined each outfit on the page, occasionally gasping and clicking on something she liked. Leah just lounged in the farthest corner of the Cullens' couch to watch TV. I could tell she wanted to be as far away as she possible could from Emmett and Rosalie, the vampires.
I was still avoiding his eyes when Seth laughed. "They don't exactly smell very appealing to werewolves. Jake and I just got used to it. Leah refuses to."
"I don't refuse to," Leah retorted. "I simply cannot get used to the stench! I bet you and Jacob just want to show off by holding it in. I don't know how you've gone so long without a single whine! You are so not my brother, Seth!"
And I could tell it might've been true. Leah and Seth seemed like polar opposites, was it even a possibility that they could be related? Leah must be adopted…
Jasper snickered. "Edward says he thinks you're right."
"How did you hear?" I asked. I hadn't heard a whisper.
"Super human powers come in handy," he responded. "Extreme strength, super speed, and amazing hearing are some of the few perks that come with being a vampire."
Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rose laughed. Leah humphed and Seth chuckled. I didn't get the joke.
"So, Jasmine," Seth said, "how do you like Forks?"
"It's nice," I responded, still not looking up. I felt his eyes on me but I was too shy to look at them. "Real wet, though. I haven't had much time to see the actual town. I went to Port Angeles with Alice the other day but that's pretty much it."
"Not much sight seeing, huh?"
I shook my head. "No, not really."
"Wow, that must suck," he said.
"Not really, it's nice getting to hang around with the Cullens. They're like the family I've always wanted."
"What happened to your parents?" he asked me.
"They died the day I was born," I said dismally. "I never knew them. The orphanage was my life until Alice and Jasper came for me."
"The orphanage," he said in disbelief. "Wow, what must that be like?"
"Terrible," I answered. "I guess it might've been nicer if I'd had some friends but all the girls despised me." I laughed a bit at the end to soften the sentence. Seth looked at me like I might be insane for finding the orphanage funny. My gaze dropped even lower.
"Alice told me about you, you know," he said. "When she had her vision, one of the first things she did was call us down in La Push. When I heard the news, I was really happy for her and Jazz. Alice had always wanted a child to call her own, to have some sort of bond to her whether maternal or a different family relation.
"When she told us about you, I almost couldn't believe it. She didn't describe you accurately enough, though. All she told me was that you had her same human eye color. She also said you were…sixteen now, right?"
"Right," I said. "I turn seventeen in November." I carefully looked up at him, making sure not to see his eyes. It was stupid of me to think anything of a guy that was probably five years older than me. His boyish voice might have fooled me at first, but Seth was extremely tall and muscular; definitely not the looks of someone around my age. "And how old are you?" I decided to ask. "By your height I'm guessing, what? Twenty!" I giggled a bit at the end.
He laughed too. "No, actually, the wolves genes are pretty fooling aren't they? I have a temperature that means I should be dead, I transform into a mythological creature, and I am twice my normal height. 6 foot 2 inches isn't exactly normal height for a sixteen year old, even if I'm not aging." There were so many questions that popped into my head at that moment. I decided to start with the simplest.
"You're sixteen?" I asked surprised.
He shrugged. "Technically yes. I transformed into a werewolf two years ago when I was fourteen." He laughed again. "The height's pretty deceiving, isn't it?" I only got a glimpse of his smile for fear of blushing from the look in his eyes, but it still dazed me.
The silence that followed was long and nice. It gave me some time to think.
"Jazz," I asked. "Can Edward hear me from here? Hear my thoughts, anyways?"
"No," he said.
"Good," I said. "I'm thinking about the orphanage and I need no comments," I lied. "No comments like Edward's comments, anyways." I was surprised at how convincing I sounded. So convincing that I fooled Jasper and Alice. They both laughed.
"Oh, Edward's not always such a pig head," she said.
"No, that's usually Rose," Jasper murmured. So quickly that I didn't even see it, someone went over to Jasper and knocked him straight out of his seat. I stared at Rosalie's too innocent expression.
"Emmett," she said. "Please tell Jasper that I am not pig headed and that I do care about other people." Jasper and Alice's lips twitched.
"She's not pig headed and she cares for other people…." Emmett murmured. He was barely there, his eyes intent on the game they were passing on the television. That tore it—Alice and Jasper went into a full rage of laughter. I could've sworn I even heard Leah chuckle. Seth almost died of laughter next to me. I giggled like crazy.
"Humph," Rosalie sighed. "You're all just jealous!"
"Of course we are, Paris Hilton II," Seth joked.
"Do not make me come over there, Seth Clearwater!" Rosalie said, her eyes full of venom. "And please, Paris Hilton wishes she could be me!" And with one toss of her golden hair, she turned her attention back to the TV. Alice, Jasper, and Seth were still roaring with laughter.
When my laughter ended, I returned my attention to my thoughts. How was it possible that people here took sudden likes to me? Alice and Jasper first, then Esme and Carlisle, Bella and Edward, Rosalie and Emmett, then Renesmee, and now the werewolves? There is nothing special about me!
"You're wrong you know," Jasper said. "I feel what you're feeling. You are special, Jazzy. You know you are."
"Not yet she doesn't," Alice said. "She'll figure it out eventually, trust me, I would know."
I walked across the room. Everyone seemed to be distracted with something, except for Seth. Well, I suppose Seth was distracted by something, if you counted staring at every step I took as a distraction. Why did he have to look at me that way? It made me just that more confused, despite Jasper's efforts. Yes, I knew he was trying. He was past trying to be subtle now; I could see his body tensing as the seconds went by trying to send me every ounce of calm that he could muster.
I made my way outside and breathed in the fresh air. I walked over to a river and tried to think of how deep it might be. It was definitely too far to jump across. But if I could just see how deep it was, maybe I could walk across it and into the beautiful forest beyond it. I dipped a stick in but the current was too strong, it washed it away.
"Need a ride?" someone asked me.
"That'd be great, Seth!" I said. I turned around—careful to keep my wide eyes down. "But…how are you gonna get across?"
"Wolf, remember?"
"You're gonna phase?" I asked.
"Well, duh! I can't jump ten feet in my human form! Are you afraid of wolves?"
I was sure he meant it as a rhetorical question, but I answered anyway. "Will you eat me?" I asked sarcastically.
"Nah," he said.
I smiled. Finally, I looked up at him but his face was turned away from me. He was looking past the river, past the trees, and beyond the mountains. I knew he was thinking of something.
"I'll be right back," he said. Before I could ask where he was going, Seth was gone. A few seconds later, a large, sandy colored wolf came back in his place. I gasped and Seth barked a laugh.
"What do I do now?" I asked him.
Seth sat down and with his nose pointed to his back. I got on cautiously.
"You won't let me fall, will you?" I asked. I had to admit, the idea of riding on the back of a werewolf through a forest kind of freaked me out.
Seth barked another laugh and rolled his large, wolf eyes.
I fastened my arms gently around Seth's neck and he started running.
The adrenaline was amazing. The wind ripped past me as we went faster and faster. Most people would've closed their eyes by now but I didn't want to miss a second of the passing greenery. When we came to the river, Seth jumped. I didn't feel it, but I knew we'd landed. The forest in front of me was large and green. I jumped off of Seth's back and admired the scene. About a minute later, Seth was behind me again in his human form. Edward, Bella, Renesmee, and Jacob were barely visible to me in the distance as they raced forward. I was too busy focusing on where I was. It was the largest, most beautiful forest I'd ever seen, in fact, it was the only forest I'd ever seen. The four of them raced past Seth and I as if they hadn't even noticed we were there.
Seth and I walked for a while in silence until he formed a question.
"So," he began, "what was life at the orphanage like?"
I sighed. "Where to begin…"
"The beginning is always nice," he joked.
"Well, it's a long story."
"We've got time."
I sat down on a rock next to Seth and got ready for a long and painful conversation.