AN: Big thanks to those who reviewed! Means a lot! And since I appreciate it so much, here's another chapter. So, read. enjoy. review!
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The feeling of his cold, sticky drool against his cheek was the only reason he jolted awake. He shook his head in disbelief, making a face when he saw the pool of slobber he'd left on his pillow.
Awesome.
He reluctantly sat up and wiped his face with his hand. He really needed to learn how to keep his mouth closed when he slept.
He yawned loudly and stretched out his back before running a hand over his hair. He looked around his room, still in a half asleep daze, and frowned when he realized that something wasn't right.
It took him a few seconds but then it hit him. Quinn.
She was nowhere to be seen. Huh. He softly called out her name as he climbed out of bed, hoping she'd appear before him. When she didn't, he figured she was just doing some angel business or something, so he decided he'd grab some breakfast. Then he'd look for her in the woods.
He opened his door and walked out into the living room, where the morning news was playing quietly on their small television. That meant his father was up too.
He made his way into the kitchen, grabbing an apple of the counter and starting to eat it as he searched for something else to eat. While he was scanning the refrigerator, he heard his father and without looking up, said, "Hey, dad."
He closed the refrigerator door, now holding a gallon of milk and put it on the counter before grabbing a box of cereal out of the pantry. "Hey, son." Jacob could feel his father's eyes on him as he quickly scarfed down some cereal, the apple already long gone.
He knew this wasn't enough food to fill his appetite but he was getting more anxious about finding Quinn by the second.
"You're sure in a hurry." his father commented, "Sam starting you on your pack duties right away, huh?"
He stopped for a moment, swallowing the bite he'd just finished chewing. Right. He was apart of a pack now. He'd almost forgotten. "Uh, yeah." He put his now empty bowl in the sink and quickly turned around before walking out of the kitchen. "I'll be back later."
"Bella called again this morning." His father said, making him stop.
Bella. He'd practically forgotten about her too. What was he going to do? He couldn't tell her about this whole wolf thing. He turned around and looked down at his father. "Er, what'd you say?"
"That you were very sick and stuck in bed." he answered.
Jacob nodded. That excuse would work…for a while. Knowing Bella, she'd probably get suspicious and figure out that something was up.
Whatever, he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
He said goodbye to his dad again before walking outside and breaking out into a jog before disappearing into the forest.
He hadn't taken more than a few steps before he found her relaxing under a tree, a baby deer laying down next to her as she stroked it's coat and hummed.
He stayed in the shadows, watching in bewilderment as a small blue bird flew to a branch above Quinn's head and tweeted a greeting at her before waiting for her response. Quinn looked up and smiled warmly at the little bird before whistling back at it. For a moment the tiny, feathered chest puffed out in pride. Then the bird lifted off and swooped away.
Suddenly he felt like he'd entered a Disney movie.
He shook his head and stepped a little closer, inadvertently stepping on a branch that was in his path and startling the young fawn.
It must've sensed that a predator was around because it was suddenly scrambling to get to it's feet.
"Don't worry little one," came Quinn's soft, soothing voice, "my Jacob won't hurt you."
He was surprised that the deer actually seemed to relax at her words, as if it completely understood her.
He continued walking over to them as Quinn straightened up and pushed herself off the ground. "Hey."
"Hello, Jacob." she greeted, her brilliant green eyes shining under the morning sun.
He nodded his head toward the deer that was partially hiding behind her. "I see you've made a friend."
She looked back at it and chuckled, "What can I say, animals really like me." She leaned down and gently stroked its back, "Go on, sweetheart. Your mother's waiting." The small deer licked her hand before disappearing into the depths of the forest.
Jacob stood there, impressed. She really was an angel.
He stepped closer to her, so that the sunlight bathed his skin as well. He looked back at the spot where the deer had disappeared to. "So can they understand you?"
She nodded. "In a way. But not how you and I understand each other. It's kind of complicated."
"Uh-huh." he turned his body and looked down at her, "So did you get tired of watching me sleep?"
She shook her head, smiling, "No, but I don't being stuck inside for too long. I've always been a little claustrophobic. I heard you call my name earlier but I knew you'd just come out here anyways so I decided to just stay here. Plus, I didn't want to risk your father seeing me."
He shook his head understandingly, "So how long have you been out here?"
"Not long." she assured, her neck craned back so she could look up into his eyes. "Sleep well?"
He smiled. "Yeah, actually. I could've slept all day."
"Are you going to go see the pack now?" she wondered. "They're all at Emily's now, having breakfast. You should join them."
He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Uh, maybe later." He really had no desire to spend anymore time with those guys than he actually had to.
"I'd much rather hang out with you." When he realized what had come out of his mouth, he looked away, embarrassed.
He really hadn't meant to say that out loud.
She beamed a radiant smile that made his heart start to race again. "That's sweet. If I actually had a life outside of being your guardian, I'd say the same thing."
His brow furrowed. "So you don't have, like, any other angel friends to hang out with?"
"Friendships among angels aren't really…well friendship is kind of seen as a human thing. The older angels don't really think it's necessary for us. We have a job to do and we're simply supposed to do it. It should be enough for us. But yes, I do have one friend. Her name's Santana."
He laughed. "For a second I though you said, Satan."
She laughed too, shaking her head. "Oh no. I'm pretty sure it's against the rules to make friends with him."
He nodded. "So Santana's an angel too?"
"Believe it or not, yes." She thought about telling him about Santana being Bella's guardian angel but figured that wouldn't be wise. The less he knew about everything, the better.
Only problem was: that was easier said than done.
"C'mon, let's go for a walk." he suggested.
She nodded and was about to follow him until she noticed his bare feet. "Don't you want to put some shoes on?"
He glanced down at his feet before nodding his head toward hers, "Don't you?"
She wiggled her toes, the blades of grass lightly tickling her skin. "Nope. It doesn't bother me."
He continued walking along side her. "So since angels are invisible to humans, would anything they touch be visible to humans?"
Quinn arched her eyebrow, a little confused, "What do you mean?"
"Well, say an angel picks up this leaf." He bent down and picked up a dead leaf off the ground and twirled it around. "And some hikers come walking past that angel. Would they just see a leaf floating around in the air?"
She shook her head, "No, they wouldn't see anything."
"So if that leaf's in an angel's grasp, does it disappear, like…" he shook his head at the look she was giving him, "Okay, say you're with your charge. The charge can't see you. And you pick up something of there's, like a book off their desk. And if that person goes to get that book, would the book be gone, or would the book still be there?"
"Normally the book would still be there, regardless of whether or not the angel had it in their grasp." she answered.
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Normally?"
"Well, I'm an angel who can be seen by my charge so I'm not exactly sure what applies to me anymore."
"Were all angels at one point human?" he asked, rather abruptly. The more they talked, the more questions seemed to pop into his head.
"No, not all of them. The higher ranking angels were created. But all guardian angels were born human. With us, the Council felt that since we were once human, that we would have a better understanding and be more help to our charges as opposed to angels who had never been human." She looked around at their surroundings, taking in the babbling brook to their right before walking over to it.
He watched her sit down by the edge and experimentally skim her toes across the surface, briefly disrupting the flow of the water. "So what were you like as a human?"
He instantly felt regret about asking when she sighed. "You just can't wait for me to tell you about my past, can you?"
He knelt down beside her before sitting down. "No, I'm just curious. Besides, you know everything about me. It's a little unfair…"
"It's not a happy story." she interrupted, her voice barely above a whisper. Had it not been for the heightened senses, he probably wouldn't have heard it.
"I didn't think so. I mean, if you're stuck in your sixteen year-old self's body…" he drifted off when he saw the pained look on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make uncomfortable. You don't have to tell me now, or ever if that's what you want."
He didn't want to cause her any pain.
"It's okay, Jacob." she brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear before starting. "I was born in 1940, at Belleville community hospital in Ohio. I lived in Belleville with my mother and father for about a year before my father left to fight in the war. My mother took me and moved to Lima where we stayed with my grandparents until my father came back."
"And did he?"
She nodded. Although they'd always been a part of her that had wished he hadn't. "Yes, a few years later when the war was declared over. When he was back, he and my mother decided to stay in Lima. Before the war, he had gone to school and had gotten his degree to be a lawyer. My grandfather gave him a job at his firm when he came back home and over the years, my father became one of the best lawyer's in the state, not to mention one of the most powerful men in Lima."
Jacob leaned back, with his long legs outstretched in front of him. "So I take it you were rich."
"Essentially." She started plucking blades of grass from the ground as she continued.
"On the outside, my family was thought to be perfect. Perfect Christian man married to a perfect Christian woman with a perfect Christian daughter who lived in a perfect house, with a perfect car. But I knew from an early age that my family was anything but perfect." She stopped picking grass and instead went to making circles in the water with a twig.
"My father was a workaholic and was rarely at home. My mother didn't like this and they fought a lot about it. Over a lot of things actually. My father had a horrible temper, especially when he had been drinking. So I always knew when they were fighting."
"Was he…" Jacob couldn't even bring himself to say the word.
"Yeah, he was abusive. During those fights, he'd occasionally hit my mom. She never reported him to the police though, but she would go straight for the bottle. Probably to numb the pain. Anyways, my father would leave and come back the next day, remorseful, and give her something expensive to make up for what he'd done. My mother always forgave him. Always. And then they'd go about it as if it never happened. It was a horrible cycle that went on for as long as I could remember." She let the twig fall into the water before she leaned back and looked ahead of her.
"I was about six when he hit me for the first time. I can't remember what I'd done but I'd upset him somehow and he struck me. Before I knew it, I was in the same cycle my mother was in. He'd hit me or beat me and then try to warp things around by telling me that I was a bad person, that I was supposed to be punished. Every time he'd threaten to hit me even harder if I told anyone about what he did."
Jacob could feel his fists curl up at his sides, while his every muscle tensed up. His body wasn't trembling quite yet but the more he thought of Quinn hurt and abused, the more his wolf wanted out so that he could tear out the throat of those who caused her pain. He shook his head of the thought and tried to focus on calming down. The last thing he wanted was to phase and hurt Quinn. If he could her, which he was pretty sure that he could.
Thankfully she didn't seem to notice his internal struggle. She was too busy drawing invisible circles on her skin as she spoke.
"And then the next day he'd give me something to make up for it. As if buying me things would make me forget. When I was a child, it was the latest toy. Then when I got older, it was the most fashionable dress from the most expensive store in town, or the most expensive piece of jewelry, or the fanciest perfume from Paris. At one point, I had two cars. And that was before I was even allowed to drive."
She couldn't help but scoff at the memory. The kids at school thought she was such a spoiled little brat because of all the things her father bought her. Things she didn't even want. Things she would've gladly taken back or given away if she could.
Needless to say she didn't have a lot of friends because of him.
"By the time I made it to high school, I was sick of it all. I was sick of my father abusing me. I was sick of my mother never sticking up for herself or for me. I was sick of the life plan they had laid out for me. Graduate high school, marry a suitable Christian doctor or lawyer of their choosing, have his babies and be his doting, loving wife for the rest of my life."
God, it really did sound like something out of the fifties, he thought. "Were you allowed to date?"
She sighed heavily. "Only the boys who my parents thought were 'suitable'. Which was a list of about five boys."
She brought her legs up to her chest and rested her chin against her knee.
"There was one boy I really liked for a few years. Finn Hudson. He was the all-American, good hearted farm boy who loved football. But he never had eyes for me. He was too in love with this really talented Jewish girl." she turned to Jacob and smiled. "She's a Broadway legend now."
"Really, what's her name?" Not that it would ring a bell. He knew nothing about Broadway.
"Rachel, Rachel Berry."
"Has she been in movies?" Oddly enough the name did sound familiar. Maybe he'd seen one of her movies with his mom or one of his sisters. They'd always favored old movies.
Quinn nodded. "Movies, television, you name it, she's done it all."
"So was Finn the only guy you liked?"
"No. I did secretly date Noah Puckerman for a while. Just to get back at my parents. He was the polar opposite of the kind of guy my parents wanted me to date. He was always getting in trouble with the law, a real rebel complete with the leather jacket and cigarette hanging out of his mouth." And that awful haircut. "I learned that there was more to him than that and that he actually had a good heart but that was constantly overshadowed by his womanizing ways and he constantly wanted me to have sex with him so I just broke things off."
She stopped talking for a few minutes and Jacob was about to ask her why but then decided against it.
Talking about all this was probably very hard for her.
He suddenly felt like such an asshole for pressing her on the matter.
"Do you…uh… wanna head down to First Beach? The sun's out today so there'll be a nice view."
He probably sounded like an idiot but this silence between them was making him uncomfortable. And it definitely didn't help that he hasn't had much experience with girls so he wasn't sure of what he could say to make her feel better.
She snapped out of her reverie and stared at him, her right eyebrow arched. "I thought you wanted to hear how I died."
"Not if it's going to bring you pain." He pushed himself off the grass and held out his hand to her. "C'mon."
She took his extremely warm hand in hers and allowed him to pull her upright. "It was just a car accident, you know." she said softly, lifting her gaze so that she met his.
For some reason, the casual way she'd said it bothered him. He scowled, reluctantly letting go of her insanely soft hand. "Yeah, just a car accident that killed you."
Quinn decided it would be best if she didn't mention anything about the events leading up to her car accident. He would probably flip out.
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the very memory of what had happened before she'd gotten in the car enough to make her sick. "Let's keep walking. The beach sounds like a great idea right about now." She took his hand again because the contact was oddly comforting and gave him a gentle squeeze.
As they walked, with their hand still interlocked, they started talking about other things. Well, actually their conversation mainly consisted of Jacob trying to get Quinn to give him the 411 on heaven.
"I'm not telling you a thing." she said seriously, but with a smile playing on her lips. "You'll just have to wait until your time is done to see what all the hubbub is for yourself."
"But what if I go to hell?" he challenged. "Then I'll never know-"
She shook her head and fought the urge to roll her eyes. "You are not going to go to hell, Jacob."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm your guardian angel." she stated matter-of-factly, "My charges don't go to hell."
He chuckled, amused at her certainty. "How many charges have you had before me then?"
"Well, just one." she said a little sheepishly. "But like I said I'm not that old. She was born right after I became a guardian. And then when she died, I was quickly assigned a new charge, a beautiful baby boy who was set to be born in a few hours." She reached up and gave his right cheek a squeeze.
He groaned and instantly pushed her hand away. "Don't do that. My aunt used to do that kind of thing." he shuddered. "Man, that woman scarred me for life."
"She definitely was eccentric." Quinn agreed, chuckling lightly.
"Now back to heaven-"
"No!" she exclaimed, turning her head and continuing ahead of him.
He jogged for a second to catch up to her. "But you're my guardian angel, aren't you supposed to do as I ask?"
This time she didn't hesitate in rolling her eyes. "That's a genie, Jacob. I am not a genie."
"Wait." Jacob's hand suddenly flung out in front of her, nearly hitting her in the face, before moving across her body to push her behind him.
"Jacob what on earth…" That's when she sensed that they weren't alone. She tried to step out from behind Jacob, to see what it was, but he easily pushed her back. "Right now would be the time to do that poofy thing of yours." he said rigidly.
She tried to peek out from behind his massive arm but again her attempts were futile. "Seriously, Quinn. Go."
"Is it your pack?"
"Yes, now-"
"Can they see me?" she asked, suddenly worried. She quickly moved back so that Jacob completely shielded her.
"I think so. By the way they look, I think they sense a threat." He thought back to how he first thought Quinn was a vampire. They might be thinking the same thing.
She frowned. "But I'm not a threat."
"I know, but just go, Quinn. I don't want them to hurt you." He turned his head to look back at her, only to find that she was gone.
Good. He turned his attention back onto to the massive black wolf, who'd just come out of the shadows and growled at him. The rest of the pack came out of the shadows with Jared and Paul on either side of Sam, while Embry was next to Jared.
He didn't need Sam to be in his human form to know that he wanted to talk. So without hesitation, he phased into his wolf form.
It was surprisingly easy the second time around. As soon as he was phased, he was bombarded with voices that were not his own.
Jake, what the hell was that? Jared demanded.
We smelled something suspicious. Came Embry's thoughts.
AKA a leech. Paul snapped.
She's not a leech. Jacob growled.
That thing sure as hell smelled like one. Paul growled back.
She is not a leech! Jacob thought again, a louder growl escaping him.
Both of you calm down. Sam ordered, his voice louder than all of theirs combined. All we know is that we smelled something off. That girl didn't smell quite like a leech, but her scent was not completely human.
That makes no sense, Sam! Paul snarled. You're either a leech or a human, there's no in between!
Maybe she's a zombie. Embry suggested.
Jared scowled. Shut up, man. That wasn't even funny.
She's not a vampire. And she's not a threat. She's just a girl. Jacob thought impatiently.
Paul snorted. A girl who disappeared mysteriously disappeared when we saw her all clearly! A girl who doesn't smell human! A girl who-
Shut it, Paul. Now. Sam growled before looking back at Jacob. Now what is going on Jacob? What aren't you telling us? It's obvious that there is something that you don't want us to know.
That is why he hated this stupid 'pack mind'. No privacy. No secrets. Well, he wasn't going to slip up. He'd made a promise to her.
What kind of promise, Jacob?
Nothing that concerns you, Sam. Just leave it alone. She is not a threat.
Screw what Jacob said. That girl's some kind of leech. I just know it. Paul paced back and forth, eager for Sam's okay for them to hunt the leech.
See you've upgraded from leech-lover to actual leech. That's fuckin' disgusting, man. Jared shook his head in disgust.
Jacob, do not make me give my Alpha order. Tell us what you know. Sam demanded.
Jacob huffed in frustration. I made a promise and I intend on keeping it, so I. Cant. Tell. You.
Jacob! This is no time for games! Sam roared. As your Alpha, I am commanding you to tell us what you know.
I said I can't! He roared back.
Suddenly, everything went quiet.
Jared was the first to break the silence. Sam, did he just…
I thought you couldn't refuse an Alpha's order. Embry thought, now severely confused.
You can't. Sam thought. Not under any circumstances.
Awesome. Can I leave now? Jacob thought impatiently.
No. I want you to go to Emily's and wait there with Embry. Jared and Paul it's your turn for patrol.
And what are you gonna do? Jared thought.
I'm going to go talk to the Elders about this. Sam replied.
Jacob just snorted, shaking his head. This is ridiculous…
Just do as I ask, Jacob. Please. Sam said evenly before taking off.
Jacob stayed where he was, watching as Paul and Jared took off in the other direction to patrol. Embry looked at him expectantly before nodding his head toward Emily's place. C'mon, Jake. You heard Sam.
Yeah, yeah. I'm coming.
Without thinking, Quinn popped into Bella Swan's room, knowing that was where Santana would be. She found her sitting on the edge of Bella's desk, aimlessly filing her nails while her charge slept. Santana looked up and raised her eyebrow in surprise at her presence. "What's up, Q? What's with the house call?"
"I take it that whatever Mike Newton had, Bella now has?" Quinn assumed, glancing over at the big lump on the bed as she crossed the room. The air in the room was heavy with illness.
Santana nodded, hopping off Bella's desk, "Yeah, stomach flu. Newton called the house a little while ago. Said he felt better. So it's probably just a twenty-four hour thing."
She put her nail file down and looked at Quinn expectantly. "So what's been going on with you. How's the wolf?"
"He's good. He can still see me, so we've been talking." Santana gave her one of those looks. "And yes, I know it's not the wisest thing to be doing but I can't very well watch over him anymore without him knowing what was going on. You know he thought I was a vampire when he first saw me."
Santana snorted. "Talk about insulting."
"And another thing…his pack saw me."
Santana's eyes widened. "What? Q!"
Quinn nodded, "I know, I know. But I got out of there quickly. Maybe Jacob was able to convince them that I wasn't really there or something."
"How is it that all these people are able to see you?" Santana plopped down on the end of Bella's bed before turning her head back toward Bella, "You think she'll be able to see you?"
Quinn shrugged, "I don't know. Probably."
Santana rested her chin in the palm of her hand and sighed, "This is so bizarre."
Quinn nodded in agreement, sitting down next to her and mimicking her position, "Tell me about it."
Jacob sat at Sam and Emily's kitchen table, a batch of Emily's freshly baked muffins laid out in front of him. Embry was scarfing down muffin after muffin beside him, while he picked apart the one he had in his hands. Emily was busy in the kitchen, washing the dishes.
Jacob put down his muffin and huffed. He'd been waiting for nearly half an hour. Where was Sam?
If he wasn't here in the next five minutes, he was leaving to find Quinn.
"Jesus Jake, chill out." Embry said with a mouthful of muffin, , "Since when are you so fidgety all of a sudden?"
Jacob scowled, pushing himself up from the table, "That's it. I'm out of here."
Embry swallowed his food and got up as well, "Jake, Sam said-"
"Whatever it is he learns from the Elders, he can tell me later. I've got more important things on my mind right now." he turned and headed for the door, only to bump into Sam. "Well, it's about time."
Sam gave him a warning glare for that comment before asking, "Jacob, have you imprinted?"
Jacob stared at him, utterly confused. "Am I supposed to know what that means?"
"Imprinting is a wolf's way of finding his soulmate." Sam explained quickly, "When he imprints he becomes inexplicably and unconditionally tied to that human. When you see your imprint for the first time, your whole world is changed. The earth shifts, gravity isn't holding you to the ground anymore, but your imprint is. You would know if you imprinted, trust me." he glanced over at Emily, who was leaning against the archway leading to the kitchen.
"So did you imprint, Jake?" Embry wondered after Jacob didn't answer. "Was it that girl in the forest?"
Quinn? His imprint? His soulmate? That…no. She couldn't be. She was his guardian angel. She wasn't…she couldn't be. "That's impossible." he murmured, more to himself than to anyone in particular.
Embry frowned. "Why's that impossible?"
Jacob looked back at him, "Because she's dead."
And not to mention, not human.
AN: Review please!