Enigmatical
By wired2damoon
Chapter 18: Love In The Air And Losers Everywhere
A/N: OMG!! I SAW TWILIGHT YESTERDAY!!! (The date got changed AGAIN until the 19th of December) ! I won't go into what I thought about it, because then my author's note will be ten pages long but…lets just say, it wasn't what I expected, there are things I would change, and every time Jasper came onto the screen I burst out laughing! But overall it was fairly good. (And Robert Pattinson is a complete and utter God!)
Sorry for the lateness in my update, things have been hectic coming up to Christmas, so I hope this chapter makes up for it. Enjoy!! ~wired2damoon~ xx
- Nessie's POV -
"So when's your sister arrivin'?" I heard Erin ask Claire as we sat on the floor in her bedroom. It had been a week since Claire found out about Cody and Erin and Embry kissed and it seemed that finally we had a new topic for discussion - albeit it is only the return of Claire's older sister Suzie but still, I welcomed it with open arms.
I heard Claire scoff loudly as she got dressed in his bathroom. "Sister dearest will be back from the University of Bitches the night of my birthday," she replied and I could practically feel her eyes rolling.
It is a well-known fact that the two sisters weren't exactly the best of friends and I was thankful Erin had let Claire's comment slide. I, however, was already tiring of this subject so decided to change it.
"So, Erin, are you looking forward to the bonfire on Friday night?" I grinned as she immediately brightened.
"Oh God yeah, Embry was tellin' me all about it, it sounds cool," she beamed, not noticing that Claire (whom had emerged fully dressed from the bathroom) and I shared a knowing look. This Friday, the Irish girl we'd become so fond of, was going to know everything. It was both exciting and terrifying, I could only imagine what Embry feels like…
"Yeah, well, hopefully you'll enjoy yourself. Anyway, you guys ready?" I asked, standing up and clapping my hands together. They nodded and we left the room briskly, I was dropping them to school today and there was no way Lana would let me forget it if we were late.
"So Claire, what are your plans for your birthday?" I asked innocently as we sat in the kitchen eating breakfast, laughing silently as I saw her shoot me a death glare. I simply raised my eyebrows in mock-ignorance.
After a moment of staring intently at one another, she sighed, threw up her hands and gave in, "oh I dunno Ness, whatever my mother has planned, you know me, I hate making a big deal out of it…" she trailed off, sipping her juice, probably hoping I'd drop the subject.
I shrugged, deciding that I would for now, God only knows what Alice would say about this anyway…maybe she'd forget about Claire's birthday? But knowing my aunt she more than likely wouldn't, no matter how much Claire hopes.
Once we'd finished our breakfast, we hopped in my car and I sped all the way to La Push High School (I inherited the love of fast cars from my father, and had a little help from Jake) and I was soon waving my friends off and driving away. I heaved a deep sigh as I glanced in the review mirror, I really wish I could of gone to High School with them, it would have been fun (well, as fun as High School can get, I guess) and I would of got to see them a lot more.
Oh well, I guess that's just the downfall of being half-vampire…
- Quil's POV -
I gritted my teeth for what must have been the tenth time in the last two minutes. I was sitting at Sam and Emily's large kitchen table, surrounded by all my pack members and all Sam's pack members, listening to a seventeen year old moron rambling and asking stupid questions and being filled in on all the gory details of being a shape-shifter. Very thrilling stuff, and yes, that was sarcasm.
"So…I-I'm like this because my grandfather and father are from here, are Quiluete? I-It doesn't matter that I wasn't born here?" he asked for the millionth time. I really gotta hand it to Sam and Jake, they were really being troopers with this guy, I would have rang his neck after the second question, but then again, I'm kinda biased when it comes to my opinion on this guy, he did make-out with my imprint after all…
"No Cody, it's in your blood," Sam responded, "now you know all about phasing and you will find out more at the bonfire this Friday, but there is one more topic we would like to discuss with you before then…"
I held my breath in anticipation as I now knew what was coming…
"Imprinting…" Jake announced and exchanged looks with various members at the table, his gaze hovering longer on me, and I think I could guess why. He was warning me. Keep your cool, Quil I imagined he was yelling at me from across the table.
"I-Imprinting?" Cody repeated nervously, obviously fearing and imagining the worst in that pea-brain of his. "What's that?" he asked, his voice growing higher. I could barely contain my smirk, he was such a little girl…
Jake and Sam exchanged a look before Jake continued, "imprinting is were a shape-shifter finds their perfect match, the one person that was made for them. It's like…like true love only stronger, and when you lay your eyes on this one individual you're bound to them and only them forever…"
Okay, now I knew Jake was down-playing it for the simpleton but seriously, imprinting is a hell of a lot more than that, and he knows it! Just the fact that we had to downplay anything for this jackass got my blood boiling and I think that Jake must of sensed it because he was now ended the conversation.
"Listen, anything you wanna ask, just ask any of us…right now just remember that you'll have to be back here by nine tonight to start your first patrol. Don't be late," he added, a hint of sternness seeping into his voice.
Cody nodded silently and I knew he could feel the pull towards Jake, the one that told him he had to obey, the one that screamed 'ALPHA' in his head over and over…that brought a smirk to my face. Jake was more than just an alpha to me, he was my friend…and I wasn't intimated by him as Cody was.
Take that little boy, I growled in my mind. Oh how fun it was going to be when we phased…
"Quil, I wanna talk to you for a minute," Jake said quietly as the others (leading a hesitant Cody) filed out of the room. I stood and made my way over to sit down next to him.
"Sure Jake, what's up?" I asked, hoping what I thought was coming wasn't actually.
"It's about Cody."
Damn.
"What about him?" I asked, trying to sound as off-handed as possible but still couldn't manage to keep the menace out of my tone. Jake rolled his eyes at me.
"Quil, did you not wonder how we managed to keep the fact that Cody was one of us from you?" he asked suddenly, startling me. What the hell did he mean by that?
"Uh…" I was stumped. No, to be perfectly honest, the thought of how I didn't know Cody was a shape-shifter without my knowledge, never occurred to me, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let Jake know that.
"Well…I think the better question would be why you kept it from me in the first place," I informed him, arching my eyebrow slightly. I watched intently as he covered his eyes with his hand impatiently, dragging it down his face, before rolling his eyes, "well, what did you expect Quil? We had to keep it from you until Claire found out, otherwise you would have gone insane and demanded that you tell her, and I can only guess that wouldn't end well…"
Well, he had me there.
"We told Cody that Claire knew everything, we told him what you were, we told him-"
"-Wait, so you filled HIM in on all this and you kept it all from ME?" I snapped, standing up quickly. Man, I was mad. The guy only phased for the first time a week ago and he's already 'one of the pack' so to speak, not just, 'the new guy.'
"You see, this is exactly what I mean Quil. You have to get over your prejudice for Cody because like it or not, he's one of us now…" Jake trailed off with another roll of his eyes.
That done it for me.
I whirled around and glared straight at him. "Alright fine, I'll be Mr-Nice-Guy from now on if you say so boss. But just put yourself in my place for a second. How damn hospitable would you be if Cody fawned all over Nessie? Took her out on dates? Hugged her? KISSED HER?!"
I was practically screaming now, my chest heaving up and down rapidly as I remembered exactly how Cody had acted around Claire. It made my skin crawl and I winced as I saw Cody and Claire kissing on the porch, flash across my eyes, that image is likely to stay with me forever.
Jake gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn't really answer my question, without agreeing with me of course. So, he took the safe route out. "Look Quil, we were just doing what was best for you and Cody alright? I kept your patrolling to a minimum this week and at later times as I knew it would only be a matter of time for Cody, and I really didn't want you to sense anything without knowing first. I know you have a personal vendetta with this kid, but you gotta lay off him alright? He's one of us now, and he didn't know about you and Claire - we'll fill him in don't worry, and besides, Claire has already broken up with him, so please, just let it go…" he trailed off, sounding a little drained.
I sighed, knowing that I was causing him unnecessary stress, so I caved, "okay, okay, I'll let it go. I promise I won't lay a finger on his little, blond head, as long as he stays the hell away from Claire."
Jake held up his hands defensively, "hey man that's something you've gotta discuss with him and Claire. I won't order him to stay away from her."
Damn! There goes that plan! Jake is always two steps ahead…
Sighing for what felt the millionth time, I rolled my eyes, muttered a soft goodbye and headed for Claire's hoping that seeing her would make me feel a little better…
Hell, who am I kidding? Of course it will…
I'm in hell.
Fiery depths and bastards with pitchforks ain't got nothing on this place.
"Oh Quil! You're still looking as gorgeous as ever!" came the screechy, nasally, nauseating tone of one Susannah Young - older sister of Claire, returning from college. I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I saw the dark-skinned, black-haired, brown-eyed, manically- smiling girl bounce towards me. Sometimes, I just can't help my discomfort around her. She was always so different to Claire, and that alone was enough to make me feel awkward around her.
She and Claire are literary polar-opposites, not just in looks, but in personality. Claire is, strong-willed, sarcastic, determined, independent, witty, bubbly, friendly, feministic, charming, intelligent and overall, an impressive girl for her age. She has brains well beyond her years and isn't afraid to speak her mind.
Susannah on the other hand, is a whole other story. She is quite, how will I put it? She's dependent on others, a real girly-girl, ignorant, arrogant, not really all that smart, cunning - but pretends that she's a softy and a little naïve, charming (towards the opposite sex, whereas a bitch to other women) and overall, a bitter, horrid, irritable human being, at least, to me anyway.
Now, now, don't get me wrong, I do feel a little bit bad in feeling this way towards my imprint's sister, but I really can't help it. Susannah was a nightmare growing up, she always bullied Claire and tried to advert my attention towards her, she was always stealing the spot-light from her little sister (even on Claire's birthdays and special occasions) and trust me, the fact that I imprinted on Claire has done nothing to make me biased towards Susannah, none of the other guys can stand her either.
"Suzie, you're home early," I replied in a sickly sweet tone, my fake smile stretching across my face as she practically jumped on me, holding onto me for dear life and planting a chaste kiss on the nape of my neck.
Dear Susannah, as soon as her hormones kicked in, she never did have the tact of concealing the utter lust she felt for me…
After all this time, it was really getting more than annoying and definitely more than a little uncomfortable, (considering my changing feelings towards her sister) and the small fact that said sister is my soul-mate only adds more sticky complications to the already uptight "relationship" of ours.
"Wow, you're only here ten seconds and she's already trying to dry-hump you," came a teasing, yet slightly bitter tone from behind me.
My cheeks flushed as I immediately untangled myself from Suzie's grip and side-stepped her to approach Claire.
"Hey Claire-bear, ready to go?" I asked, feeling a little jittery as she scowled at me, arms folded.
Suzie gaped back and forth between us, "you're leaving already Quil baby? But you just got here!" she whined, sounding like a spoiled kid who was told they couldn't have ice-cream before dinner. I fought the urge to yell at her.
Claire winced as Suzie called me 'baby' and rolled her eyes, wordlessly telling me to keep my mouth shut. I didn't need to be told twice.
"Yeah Susannah, we're leaving, you know, places to go, people to see. We'll be back later, have fun with Mom," she rambled, striding forward and grabbing my hand, attempting to pull me out of the house. I followed her eagerly, (I'd follow her anywhere) and only let go of her hand when we reached my car.
"So, where're we going?" I asked as we climbed in. Claire buckled her seat-belt, cast one last look at her sister who was glaring at her from the porch and grumbled, "anywhere, take me anywhere…"
Laughter filled the apartment as Claire and I sat on my monster couch, clad with chips and dip and soda, our heads turned towards the TV. "Man, this is even worse that 'Honey I Want To Eat You'," Claire shrieked, her laughter shrill as she watched the pitiful attempt of a horror flick, flash across the screen.
I angled my head so that I could observe her out of the corner of my eye, without being blatantly obvious. I loved when she laughed. The sound of it mixed with mine, the way her cheeks would flush brightly, the way her eyes lit up and shone, unfallen tears glistening behind them, making them look like miniature, private pools. Beautiful.
Wow…I've got it bad.
I reached over and grabbed the remote, switching it off abruptly. Claire was still in hysterics, now giggling (which I would tease her relentlessly for later) and muttering to herself. I caught some words like "stupid" and "looks like spaghetti."
"So, what's it like having the Queen Bee back?" I asked gently, reaching over to get some chips.
Her laughter subsided and she calmed down, tilting her head back and glancing at the ceiling. "A nightmare, as ever. She just keeps going on about Sorority and clubs and big games and all that preppy crap that I don't give two shits about!" she paused with another roll of her beautiful cerulean orbs, "and she's driving Mom crazy! Not only is she over a week early, but she keeps bringing up Dad and Valerie and William and she keeps embarrassing Erin, making her repeat everything because 'apparently' she can't understand her accent. And all of this has only happened in the last two fucking hours!" she snarled and I almost winced at her fury.
Claire was very rarely ever this harsh, it pained me to see her so rallied up. Almost subconsciously, I reached over and pulled her into me, my arms wrapping around her waist. I smirked as she returned my hug, leaning into me and resting her head against my shoulder.
"Its alright Claire-bear, I know she's horrible, but its only for a little while, and then, she'll be gone…" I mumbled, laying my chin on the top of her head, running one of my hands through her strawberry-scented hair.
"I missed you Quil," she murmured into my shirt as I was ensnared by her unique scent. "I missed you too Claire," I replied automatically, trying to keep the utter ache of sincerity out of my tone as to not raise suspicion.
She broke apart from me then, and threw me a small smile, "you always make me feel better Ateara, seriously you should like be a shrink or something," she joked before glancing at her watch, "aw crap, I gotta go, Mom will want me home for dinner…"
I nodded briskly and waited for her to get up. That's when several things happened:
First, she stood, whirling around to put on her coat, then she lost her balance, tripped over the coffee table and began to fall. Instantly, I reached out to catch her but her legs caught under mine and we both ended up falling - me on top of her.
"Oh my God, Claire, are you alright? Oh shit, I'm probably hurting you, I-"
I was cut off abruptly by the shrill laughter of Claire as she watched me squirm above her, it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest that we were sprawled out on my living room floor, I half on top of her, our noses merely an inch from each other.
"I-I'm so c-clumsy! Ha! I-I made y-you fall too!" she gasped through her fits of hysterics and as I stared down into the face I loved so much, it's as if I lost control over my body and my hand reached out and gently cupped her cheek.
Claire's laughter halted immediately at my touch, her eyes snapping up and boring into mine - shinning with what almost looked like a mixture between panic and excitement. Her mouth hung open forming a silent "o" as she continued to stare up at me. I could hear her heart racing in her chest as my fingers absentmindedly brushed against her skin. Perhaps now she realised the position we were in - excuse the pun.
"Quil-" she gasped, her breathing uneven and shallow, "what…?" she couldn't seem to finish as she now saw me drawing ever so closer to her.
I don't know what is wrong with me exactly, my mind is screaming at me to get the hell up now and don't be an idiot, but another, bigger part of me is egging me on, telling me to finally do what I've been dying to do, make the inevitable happen!
My eyes flickered up one last time to hers and saw what I understood to be shocked anticipation and my gaze back to her lips, those luscious, pink lips. I started to close the gap between us, a mere centimetre away from pure bliss, I took a breath to steady myself…just one more millimetre -
" LOVE IS IN THE AIR, EVERYWHERE I LOOK AROUND!" a voice screeched loudly, making me jump of Claire at my natural werewolf-speed and startled Claire so violently it were as if she was going into cardiac arrest, in fact she was breathing so rapidly and clutching her chest so tightly I was beginning to fear that was what was actually happening.
"What the…?" she gasped, spinning around towards the voice.
I rolled my eyes as I noticed the source of interrupting singing. Damn that stupid parrot! It just ruined what could have been the greatest moment of my life!
"Shut up Chino!" I growled as it kept squawking, "LOVE IS IN THE AIR, EVERY SIGHT AND EVERY SOUND…"
He stopped abruptly and Claire and I were engulfed in a chilling silence. Suddenly I wanted an encore of the parrot's rendition of John Paul Young's 1978 classic.
That's when my thoughts came screaming back to me. 'Now look what you've done! You've ruined everything you idiot! You'll be lucky if Claire will ever even look at you again! She wasn't ready for this, she's too young and now you've gone and freaked her out after she just broke up with someone! Are you crazy or just stupid!? You see, this is the consequence when you let your hormones take over for just a second!'
Oh fuck.
I sighed deeply as I watched Claire's front door close behind her. To say that the ride home had been awkward, would be the understatement of the frickin' century.
I was at a loss of what to do. It would seem that Claire was ignoring what happened and just kept rambling on about crap, barely taking a breath - probably afraid of the terrible silence that would ensnare us if she were to breathe, whilst I was utterly mute and barely croaked out a 'goodbye' as she got out of the car.
This is not good…
No, this is a frickin' disaster!
What the fuck have I done?
- Erin's POV -
I grinned widely as I saw Embry waiting outside on the porch for me. It was Friday and we were on our way to the bonfire down at La Push beach. I was practically skipping around the house in excitement all day, which of course, probably drove Claire completely mental, but then again, she may not of even noticed.
She has been acting extremely odd since she came home from Quil's on Wednesday. She's been really skittish, barely breathing a word (which is completely abnormal) and looking extremely confused about something all the time. I've tried talking to her about it, but she just keeps telling me she's fine. I don't mind if she doesn't want to let me know what's up, I mean, I understand, she has only known me a little over a month now after all, but I'm still a bit worried, maybe I should talk to Nessie…
"Erin? You okay?" a voice interrupted my thoughts suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie. I shook my head violently and smiled at him, "yeah I'm fine, I was just thinkin' that's all…so, we ready to go?"
His heart-warming smile broke out on his face then, flashing me his pearly whites, "yep, we're just waiting on Claire…Quil, Jake and Nessie will meet us there. CLAIRE, C'MON LET'S GET GOIN'!" he finished, practically bouncing up and down, shouting behind me, into the house.
I could tell that Embry was anxious about something, he was very fidgety as soon as he came over after school. I wanted to ask him about it, but I feel like we on sort of uncertain terms at the moment. After our kiss he's taken me out a few times, we've held hands and talked and stuff but I'm not quite sure if we're "boyfriend and girlfriend" yet, so to speak. Wow, I really hate this side to me.
So, I've settled on teasing him, "God Embry, do you need to go to the bathroom or somethin'? It kinda looks like you're doin' the toilet dance," I scoffed as he continued to bounce up and down and pace around the porch.
He halted immediately and threw me another smile, "I'm only impatient to get to the beach that's all. The bonfire is awesome and I don't want you to miss a second of it."
I smiled back at him, shaking my head at the boyish explanation, "okie dokie then…" as I trailed off I heard Claire bound down the stairs and join us outside.
"'Kay, I'm ready," she mumbled, looking a little distracted as she threw on her jacket. That's all Embry needed to hear as he immediately sped to his car, threw open the doors for us and jumped into the driver's seat, seat-belt on and engine started in a matter of seconds.
I merely gaped at him before following Claire silently. This was going to one interesting night…
I have met a hell of a load of people tonight. It seems that this bonfire is a big thing and nearly every member of the reservations' inhabitants come out to it. I've eaten probably three-quarters my own body weight in food, (Emily is just one hell of a cook) and have more soda in me then a bloody vending machine and we haven't even got around to the stories part yet.
Embry said that's coming up soon though, its usually the last thing of the night and we've been here for a good few hours now, loads of people have already left. One thing I have noticed though, is that the guys that are always hanging around in Sam and Emily's are all still here (as is there respective others) whilst everyone else has left.
I couldn't dwell on it for too long though as Embry was now motioning to me as other's began to sit down around the fire. I smiled and walked towards him, noticing that Claire was just a little to my left. As I took my place next to Embry, I frowned as I saw Claire veer off to the side, completely passing Quil and sitting next to Jared's wife, Kim.
That's odd, I couldn't help but think, but my attention was soon peaked elsewhere as an elderly man and another man in a wheelchair began to shuffle around.
I felt Embry nudge me softly and I turned to look at him. He looked absolutely breath-taking, his dark skin practically gleaming against the light of the fire. Almost subconsciously I beamed brightly at him, hardly noticing as Nessie and Jake sat down next to me.
The soft murmurs were soon silenced as the man in the wheelchair (whom I knew to be Billy Black, Jacob's father) leaned forward with a determined look on his face. I knew this was going to be the beginning of these stories Embry had been so vague about.
I too leaned forward in anticipation as I heard the pure majestic voice echo out into the night.
"The Quileutes have been a small people from the very beginning…"
- General POV -
"Thank you ma'am and enjoy your stay," the perky dark-haired girl cooed in a southern accent as she handed the keys over to the tall, blonde woman. The woman merely grunted in response and made her way towards the guest rooms down the hallway.
Gritting her teeth, the blonde slid the key-card into the slot and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the door to open. Once it did, she stormed in and locked it behind her, before flinging her bags down on the floor and making her way straight to the desk that sat in the corner of the small, simply-furnished room.
Hurriedly, she dumped the contents of her smaller bag onto the table, various items spilling everywhere. Her long, manicured finger nails raked through the items and began gathering the bundle of polaroid pictures that were scattered about.
With a smug smile on her tanned, make-up filled face, she stared at the pictures, all of them containing the same thing.
A young, brown-haired, teenage girl.
The blonde, named Rachel St. James (or by the teenage girl as 'Courtney') laughed bitterly, tracing the girl's features lightly with her index nail. "Oh yes, you'll do perfect Claire, you're exactly what I've been looking for…" she cooed, over-joyed at the thought of her reward once she completed her task.
"Oh yes, my master will be very pleased with you…"
- Erin's POV -
The drive back from the bonfire was a little quiet. Claire had decided to get a lift home from Jake and Nessie, so it was just me and Embry.
The reason I was being so quiet was that the amazing stories that I'd just heard over the last hour had been spinning around in my head. Certain words sticking out such as 'cold-ones' and 'shape-shifters'. I had never met a person better at spinning a tale than Billy Black and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Hearing of vampires and werewolves and all their crazy adventures had been extremely entertaining, either that or I'm just a fantasy freak.
I have no idea why Embry is so quiet though…or why an amazing (yet slightly silly) story, is of such importance to him…
Before I could begin a conversation however, we had pulled up at Claire's house, Jake's car already visible in the driveway. I flashed Embry a shy smile before reaching forward to pull open the door.
"Wait, Erin, I-I wanna talk to you…" he mumbled, his hand on my arm, lightly pushing back into my seat. My brow furrowed at the tone in his voice, he sounded a little, nervous or…worried, which in turn, made me nervous and worried.
"What's up?" I asked, almost flinching at the fake bravado laced in my tone.
He turned to me then, his face all screwed up and tense, his hand squeezing mine tightly. "What-what did you think of the stories?" he croaked, looking so nervous at this point he was beginning to unnerve me.
His question threw me a little, "uh…they were…good. Interesting. Very enjoyable." I finished, not quite knowing if this is what he wanted to hear.
He bit his lip then, was silent for a moment as he stared straight into my eyes. I felt my heart flutter.
"Well…what-what would you think, if-if I told you that…those stories that you heard tonight were all true…?"
My eyes widened, my mouth dropping open, "…what?"
A/N: DUN DUN DUN!! What on earth will Erin think of that? Will she be convinced Embry's out of his nut, or will she instantly believe him? Well, you'll just have to wait and see!!
Up next:
1. Claire's birthday
2. MORE IMPRINTING
3. We get a glimpse of just what Rachel/Courtney's up to
4. Quil & Claire interactions after their near-kiss!!
Sorry again for the late posting. Hope this chapter made up for it. If you liked it, don't be afraid to tell me, I won't bite…that hard!! Lol!! ~wired2damoon~ xx