A/N: Okay, to thank you all for your patience, I shall make this chapter extra long and I will be getting to Alice and Bella's date in the next one. Also, for a reviewer whose name I can't remember (you know who you are), if you think that girl/girl relationships are "seriously nasty", why the hell are you reading this story after I explicitly told you that it was, in fact, a story about a girl/girl relationship? I don't care if you have your own opinions, but I'd appreciate it if you'd keep them to yourself because that is most definitely not constructive criticism, its prejudice.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Also, a tad bit of cursing (or do American's say swearing?) in this chapter, just thought I'd give you guys a heads up.
BPOV
"Tell me again why we have to take my car?" I asked Angela, who was sitting in the front seat of my families Toyota while I was driving towards La Push. Eric, Ben and (shudder) Mike were all sitting in the back. The rest of our little 'group', namely Tyler, Lauren, Jessica and Katie were following behind in Katie's car, an old Ford Fiesta that seemed to be on its last legs with paint chipping and almost constant stalling.
She turned to face me, her hand still running over the leather of the seats with barely contained enjoyment. Apparently her car wasn't exactly a comfortable drive. "Someone threw a stink bomb inside Mikes van and locked the windows."
I glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Mike's eyes. It had been pure bad luck that landed him in my car. The plan had originally been me driving Angela and Mike taking the rest. Unfortunately, just as I was about to peel put of the parking lot in an effort to escape his forlorn puppy dog look, he had started waving me down. Now, I would have cheerfully ignored him, but Miss Goody-Two-Shoes in the seat beside me had seen him and been very sympathetic to his plight.
Mike leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, it's gonna take ages to air out the stink of rotten eggs." That same stench of rotten eggs was the main reason that I was so annoyed right now. They may not have been able to smell it, but Mike had been close to the van and his clothes reeked of the stuff. Sometimes, heightened senses were a real pain.
Casually lowering my window down a bit more, I followed the directions that Angela gave me until we reached the secluded area known as First Beach, which was a few miles past the invisible treaty line my family had established with the Quileutes.
Now, living with people who couldn't go out in sunlight meant that I'd never been to a proper beach before, but I'm fairly certain that it was supposed to be warm and have nice golden sand and crystal blue waters. Not that I was expecting exactly that, we did live in Washington after all, but I had assumed that we would get something along those lines. Instead, we got freezing cold weather, grey, choppy water and sand that was more like a collection of pebbles and sticks. The wind whipped around us as we got out of the car, tearing at clothes and hats, catching our hair in a whirlwind of strands. The huge cliffs on either side of us loomed over the scene, like watchful giants protecting their lands. All in all, I thought the place was great. The humans around me shivered and I made an effort to seem cold, wrapping my arms around myself and pulling my jacket tighter.
Lauren and Jessica double-team glared at Mike, scowls on their faces. "Great day you picked for a beach trip. It's freezing."
Mike grinned and opened his arms wide. "Don't worry about it. If it comes down to it, we can huddle together for warmth."
Eric laughed and ran forward, clocking Mike on the back of the head. "Hey, Romeo, stop chatting up the ladies and race me to the water. Last one in has to air out your van." He took off before Mike could hit him back and they both ran for the water, trying their damndest to knock each other over on the way.
"Boys," I sighed, walking down towards the water with Angela falling into step behind me.
"Speaking of, a lot of the guys in the school have their eye out for you. Seen anything you like?" She looked over at me, her brown eyes peeking out from her bangs like a lioness hiding in the long grass, waiting to pounce. She may not have been a gossip monger, selling secrets like they were candy, but she did love gossip as much as the next person.
I blushed slightly, wondering how she'd react when she eventually found out about Alice. She didn't seem like the kind of person to be prejudiced and I knew that she'd support me, but I still didn't feel comfortable telling her just yet. Besides, I didn't even know where Alice and I stood. I mean, we kissed and were going out on a date, but for all I knew, it might not even work out and at the moment, I had no idea what to call our strange relationship. It was too soon for girlfriend, but we were definitely past being just friends.
Unfortunately, I was silent for too long and Angela pounced. "Oh my God, you're blushing! There is someone, isn't there." At my lack of response, she pressed onwards. "Come on, you can't just leave me hanging. Who is he, are you guys an item, or is it just a crush, have you kissed yet, was it any good, do you have any plans?"
I raised my hands for protection. "Whoa! Calm down, girl. I don't really know where we stand."
Her eyes lit up. "So who is it?"
I shifted uncomfortably, watching Tyler toss some Beachwood into a pile while Mike surrounded it with stones. "Angela, like I said, I'm not really sure where we stand, so I'd prefer not to say anything until I'm certain."
She pouted, looking so much like Alice that I couldn't help but laugh. "Fine, but when you're sure, you have to tell me everything." She put her hand on my arm to stop me. "Just tell me one thing now. Whoever this guy is, do you really like him?"
I didn't even hesitate in my answer. "Hell yes." She didn't need to know right at this moment that the 'guy' I liked was actually a girl. That would just narrow down the suspect pool and she'd get it right away. Which I wasn't ready for.
Angela smiled happily and I responded in kind. She really was a nice person, so unlike Jessica or Lauren that it was almost inconceivable that she considered them friends.
"Hey, Bella! Angela! Are you guys gonna help or do we have to do everything ourselves?" We turned to find Katie fighting to get out three boogie boards from her car, Tyler standing behind her carrying a cooler full of soft drinks and other assorted snacks. The grin on his face as he watched Katie struggle was mischievous and not a little googly-eyed. Someone had a crush.
Trotting back to the car, I took the boards off Katie before she fell over and injured herself. They were fairly big, two of them proudly bearing the logo for the Green Lantern and the last one stating, 'Bitches, hands off ma' board'. I was going to take a wild guess and say that they belonged to the guys.
She gave them over gratefully, brushing her unruly mane of dark hair from her face. "Thanks. At least some people are helpful around here," she stated, throwing a glare at Tyler.
"I had the cooler!" His voice came out as nothing short of defensive and as Katie poked him in the side, he jerked and almost dropped the blue container.
"You could have put it down."
He shifted uncomfortably. "I should really keep this with me at all times. Ya know, in case…something…happens." He gripped the cooler tighter and took a step away from Katie's penetrating stare. "I'll just put this beside the camp." Before anyone could protest, he ran in the direction of the other guys and their pile of would that would someday grow up to be an actual campfire.
"He totally has beer in that cooler. Why he's hiding it, I have no idea, because if he thinks that I'm gonna let him get drunk without sharing, then he has another thing coming," Katie said nonchalantly, taking out the last two, mercifully blank, boogie boards and handing them to the silent Angela, who was avidly watching Ben run around in a skin tight swim suit, the kind professional scuba divers wear.
I nudged her on the shoulder. "Angela, for God's sake, keep your eyes to yourself."
She turned beet-red and hid behind the board, shielding her face from Katie's full-out laughter. "Don't worry Angela; I don't think any less of you. He does have a fine ass."
As we walked towards the guys and I thought about how Katie's words had turned Angela's face into a lovely shade of maroon that would look great in my room, I heard a slight shuffle of leaves and the crack of a small twig.
Zeroing in on the sound, I jerked my head around and laid eyes on a figure just inside the woods. He was hidden from the humans' sight and a subtle sniff of the air brought the scent of wolf towards my nose, though not one the few that I knew of. He was tall, standing at about six foot, but he seemed younger than the others. His brown hair was almost the exact same shade as a freshly fallen horse-chestnut, his eyes a deep black and his skin fairly tanned. Similar to the rest of them, he looked like he had taken up permanent residence in a gym and would physically harm anyone that told him he had been working out for long enough.
The only clothing he wore was a battered pair of cut off shorts, I'm guessing in case he needed to wolf out quickly. That could only mean that he was going to be my babysitter, lest I decide to go on a murderous rampage because living with vampires stripped me of all moral values.
I caught his eye and nodded my head slightly to let him know that he'd been made. Okay, I've officially been watching way too many cop TV shows these days.
Shuffling embarrassedly, he nodded back before sitting down on a tree stump and angling himself for a better view of the beach. Well, at least there's only one and not the whole pack. It shouldn't affect my time here too much and it's not like I could blame them for wanting to keep an eye on me.
Turning back to the group, I placed the boards that I was carrying onto the ground beside the cooler, which Tyler was conveniently sitting on, and flopped down on the sand.
"Hmmm," I said slowly.
Angela, rummaging around in the snack bag, raised her eyebrow quizzically.
"I'm just realizing why it was a bad idea to sit down on wet sand."
"Why would you ever think that that was a good idea?"
"Honestly, the thought that my butt would get wet didn't actually cross my mind."
Snorting, she tossed me a plastic-wrapped cheese pretzel, something that I had personally added to the collection. On my way to opening the cheesy, crispy goodness, a pale feminine hand shot out and pulled it from my grasp.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, Bella, wet butt or no wet butt, I'm not going to be the only girl boarding out there with the guys, and you promised that you'd go." Katie snatched my hand and pulled me towards the water, two boards stuffed haphazardly under one arm.
I looked back at the still un-opened pretzel lying forlornly on the beach, my fingers outstretched slightly. "But, my pretzel."
"Forget the pretzel. There's no time."
"Curse you, woman. Curse you to the fiery pits of Hell."
"Stop being so melodramatic and put this on." She handed me a swim suit that was a female version of the one Ben was wearing. As in, skin tight.
"You expect me to wear this thing?"
She faced me, already tugging her jacket off and walking backwards to a copse of trees that would shield her as she changed. "Damn right I do." Giving me one final 'do this or die' look, she disappeared behind the trees and the sound of clothing hitting the sand reached my ears moments later.
Sighing, I looked around for a place to change, finally setting on a big boulder that was just beside the water. Lichen and barnacles adorned its grey surface and seaweed pooled at its base like grass. Spray from the sea made the rock slick and shiny, reflecting the little light that the clouds allowed past their defenses.
Shrugging out of my clothing, I pulled on the 'swimsuit' and instantly blushed at how tightly it clung to my body. Now, I didn't consider myself a prude, but even I was having second thoughts about this thing. It was a deep gray color, with dark blue stripes running down the sides and ending just above my bare feet. It was way warmer than it looked and would easily protect the humans from the chilly water. As for protecting their modesty, well, that was a no.
"You ready?" Katie's voice was excited and I remembered that boogie-boarding was one of her favourite sports. From what Ben told me, she had even competed in several tournaments, placing fairly well in all of them. The sport itself was a mystery to me, seeming to be similar to surfing. I guessed that I'd have to learn as I went.
"Yeah. I'm coming out, just give me a minute."
"Bella, I can practically hear you blushing. Why, I don't know. It's not like you have anything to be embarrassed about, you look great." I heard her coming before her head popped around the boulder, so I had plenty of time to take a few steps back and wrap my arms around myself.
She sighed, looking hard done by. "Fine, if you don't wanna come out then that's your choice."
My eyebrows drew down in confusion. For the last few days, she had been asking everyone to go out at least once, providing us with the suits and boards, and promising eternal torment to anyone who refused. This new, reasonable Katie was suspicious and I didn't trust her in the least. "Really?"
She took a step forward. "Sure, I wouldn't want to force you. It's not like you promised that you'd go or anything." She took another step forward, peaceful smile on her face. "You can just wait here until we leave." By the time I realized what she was doing, only using super speed would have allowed me to stop her. Diving forward, she grabbed my clothes in one hand, which were folded neatly in a pile and took off towards the camp. Embarrassment completely forgotten, I took off after her, hair billowing out behind me and hand outstretched.
"Hey, get back here!" Her laughter rang back, full of joyful mirth. The pounding of feet on the sand filled the air, both of us kicking up dirt in our effort to reach our goal. Water had soaked into the ground and our feet sank down in a sticky mess as we ran.
Unable to help the laughter that bubbled from my throat, I picked up the pace and shot forward. She reached the camp before me and dove behind Mike.
"What the-?" His question cut off as he caught sight of me, wet from the spray and wearing a suit that looked poured on. Heat infused his face and to my eternal shock, he averted his eyes, angling his body away and quickly sitting down. Before I could question his strange behavior, Katie made a dash for the water, where Ben and Angela were already out, trying in vain to balance on the boards. I made a leap and tackled her, both of us rolling in the wet sand until we came to a stop at the waters edge, wrestling with my clothes.
"Give…it here!"
"No, it's…mine!"
Choking on laughter as we were, it was difficult to get the words out. Arms were flailing and hair was flying everywhere in the harsh wind. Finally, I pinned her, being extremely careful not to hurt her, and grabbed the clothes from her grasp. "Ha!" I raised them aloft, triumphantly jumping to my feet.
Still giggling madly on the floor, Katie managed to roll over and stagger to her feet. Throwing her arm around my shoulder, she towed me back to the camp to retrieve our boards. "See, that wasn't so hard was it. Plus, you made Mike very…happy." Once again, she dissolved in a fit of giggles, prompting me to look back at Mike, who was hunched over into himself with a mortified expression on his face. Oh dear God…
"Let's go boogie boarding now." My voice came out higher than I had intended. Grabbing both of our boards, I had to literally drag the still-laughing Katie to the water's edge and throw her in, taking great satisfaction in her yelp as she hit the freezing cold water.
The distinct sound of masculine laughter reached me over the waves and I faced the direction that it was coming from. The wolf-boy, still keeping watch over the humans and I, was doubled over with laughter, his entire form shaking with, his gaze shifting from me to Mike and back again.
Narrowing my eyes in his direction, I spread my arms wide and flung myself backwards into the water. My vision was instantly full of bubbles and ripples of light, the cool water covering me from head to toe. While I was under, I flipped and dove down to the sea bed, only a few feet under this close to shore. It was littered with tiny pebbles and twigs, each one in sharp detail to my eyes, which weren't deterred in the slightest by the water. My hair was sweeping around me in waves, each individual strand having a mind of its own as to the direction it took.
I really loved swimming, mainly because the feeling of weightlessness was reminiscent of flying, but also because of the way water effected light and made it dance and swirl. Being buoyant in this cold liquid was a wonderful feeling that I could never get enough of.
Unfortunately, Katie's sport of choice was very demanding. A hand shot down and pulled me upward by the arm. I broke the surface, glare firmly in place. Katie brandished my board at me, eager to get started. Her hair was plastered to the sides of her face, one thick strand completely covering her left eye.
"My God, I've never had so much trouble getting someone to go boarding before."
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Don't get you knickers in a twist." Taking the board from her hand, I faced the waves. "Okay, instruct me."
Boogie boarding, as it turned out, was insanely fun. The main objective, in my opinion at least, was to not fall off and look like an ass. Katie, being the only semi-professional among us was undoubtedly the best with myself coming in second thanks to my superior sense of balance. Angela wasn't too bad, staying on the board more often than not. On the occasions where she managed to stand up, she was more than a little shaky, but she had managed to ride out at least one full wave. Ben was iffy, neither good nor bad, but he did do a sort of back flip off his board to land in the water, which looked amazingly awesome, intended or not.
Eric, on the other hand, was in a whole class of his own. He had managed to stand up once, and then he had promptly fallen off. Usually, when one can't stand up while boarding, they resort to lying flat or kneeling. Eric, bless his poor, uncoordinated soul, couldn't even manage that, spending most of his time under his board instead of actually on it.
It carried on like that for a few hours, all of us having too much fun to leave. Eventually, Mike and Tyler had joined us, leaving the uncooperative Jessica and Lauren to gossip on the beach. On a more supernaturally related note, more than a few fish had attempted to flock towards me and only my frantic urging had kept them out of human sight. I'm fairly certain that the others thought the arm flailing was to help me balance, so I didn't have to worry about looking insane. The only way that it could have been better, was if there was a certain pixie with me but, alas, the stupid wolves just wouldn't let that happen.
I had been proudly standing up on my slab of foam board, successfully 'riding the wave' as Katie liked to put it and Angela had been getting back on hers from another wash out, when Mike yelled at us from his place at the shore.
"Hey guys! Time for the fire! Hurry up before all the marshmallows are gone!"
Brushing my soaking hair back from my face, I made my way to the beach, giving my body a few minutes to adjust to being on solid ground again after hours in water. Katie and Angela both tossed their boards down beside mine and flopped down beside the pile of wood that Mike was in the process of lighting. Taking out the thick wool blankets that we had brought for this occasion, I handed them out to everyone, much to the gratitude of the half-frozen Angela.
"Thanks, Bella," she said with a smile, wrapping it around her small frame.
"Brrr, I'm chilly," Katie mumbled out, tucked in her blanket as though it were a cocoon of warmth. "What's the hold up on that fire, Mike?"
He grunted in response, fiddling with the lighter in his hand. "I don't know what's wrong, it won't light. I think the wood's too wet."
Everyone groaned before Lauren's nasally voice cut through the air. "You were the one who was supposed to get the dry wood."
Mike glared at her, his frustration over his repeated failed attempts at lighting the fire coming to the fore. Before a fight could break out, I stood up from my cozy spot and took the lighter out of his hand. "Here, let me." Crouching down and using my body to shield my actions from prying eyes, I clicked my fingers and a small flame sprang up. Shooting a concentrated wave of warmth at the wood, I placed the flame onto the now dry patch and held it there until the kindling caught. The blue blaze, the colour coming from the salt in the wood, grew bigger as the guys cheered and I sat back down, re-wrapping the blanket and tossing the lighter to Mike.
Eric grinned, tossing a big bag of marshmallows and several sticks into the centre of the group. "Way to go, Bella."
Mike frowned. "How'd you do that?"
I smiled at him, picking up a stick and shoving a few white mushy squares onto one end before holding them out over the open flame. "My family and I used to go camping a lot. I picked up a few tricks here and there."
"Jeeze, Mike. Don't your parents own an outdoor equipment store?" Katie quipped, popping two marshmallows into her mouth, causing her cheeks to puff out while she chewed happily.
"It's not like I use the crap. I just work there," he defended, still not managing to look me directly in the eyes since the little 'incident' earlier.
I pulled one of the hot puffs of mallow from my stick and bit into it. The taste of caramelized sugar assaulted my taste buds, drowning out the taste of salt from the sea air. "Holy crap, this stuff tastes good."
"I know and you know what'd make it better?" Eric pulled out a few cans of beer from the cooler he had been protecting all day, handing them out. "There's only a few of them. We don't want to get drunk or anything, it's just fro a little fun. For anyone who doesn't want to try it, we got cans of Dr. Pepper and some cola." Angela and Ben refused, choosing cola instead, everyone else taking one. From what I understood, underage drinking was a natural part of the adolescent experience, so when my turn came around, I decided to see what beer tasted like. Big mistake.
I recoiled, my face twisted in disgust, the horrible after taste refusing to leave my mouth. The others chuckled at my facial expression, Angela patting my shoulder in sympathy. "Oh, God. That stuff is rank!" Spotting my unopened pretzel from earlier resting on the bag containing the snacks, I made a desperate grab for it. Tearing open the offending wrapper that dared to keep me from my relief, I practically moaned in ecstasy as I bit into the pastry, the taste of cheese and pretzel washing away the beer.
Katie sighed. "There she goes with that damn pretzel again. I swear the girl has an addiction."
Angela passed me a can of Dr. Pepper, which I downed in three long gulps.
Ben appraised me, gaze thoughtful. "Wow, you really hate beer."
I crumpled the empty can in my hand, flopping back against the log behind us. "Urgh. I guess a life of drugs and booze is out of the question now."
"Don't worry, there're still plenty of vices out there for you to exploit."
"Thanks Eric. I feel so much better."
He bowed his head. "I try." He turned back to his mallows, holding them out of reach before Mike could make a grab for them. Pulling off one of the gooey masses, he threw it at his friend, hitting him squarely in the forehead and watching through his laughter as it stuck firmly.
The sound of shuffling feet reached my ears from across the beach and I craned my head around to get a look at wolf-boy. His form was still where it had been when I had first spotted him, except now he was sitting down on one of the many fallen logs littering the forest. Well out of sight of prying human eyes, he was hunched slightly and from this distance he looked…lonely.
It must have sucked being forced to stay there for hours watching people have fun when you couldn't join in. I knew that from experience. On more than one occasion when I was a child, I had snuck away from my house and flown to the nearby town, watching the other kids my age playing, but still too untrained with my abilities to chance joining them.
The next sound that wafted from his direction was unmistakably the sound of a stomach rumbling. Glancing down at the unfinished pretzel in my hand and then back at the unknown werewolf, I couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
Trying to ignore it was doing no good, so before I could question whether or not it was a good idea, I shrugged the blanket off my shoulders and stood up. At the others questioning glances, I held up a finger. "I'll be right back." I grabbed my clothes and pulled them on over the now dry swim suit I was still wearing, putting my jacket on against the 'chill' that should have been affecting me.
Starting in the direction of the wolf, I saw him stiffen in response to my approach. The moon wasn't full, so the light it provided was limited, not that that was a problem for me, or the wolf, from the way his eyes tracked me unerringly.
I stopped about three feet away from him and stuck my hand out. "Hey there. I'm Bella."
He looked at my hand for a moment, confusion and suspicion written clearly on his face, before slowly taking it in his own, much larger one. I was surprised when his skin temperature turned out to be only slightly cooler than my own.
My surprise must have shown on my face, because he pulled his hand back and stared at me hard. "What?" His voice was strange, as though it should have been young, but being a wolf had deepened it before it's time.
"Sorry, it's just that, you're really warm."
He scoffed. "You're one to talk. It was like shaking hands with a furnace."
I grinned at him, trying to lighten the mood. "Are you calling me hot?"
He blushed furiously, eyes widening. "Wha-? No, not at all." He realized how that sounded and raised his hands in a panicked gesture. "Not that you're not an attractive woman, 'cause you really are, I just meant that you weren't, that I wasn't, that…"
My snickering cut him off, causing him to huff and scowl. "Sorry, again. What age are you?"
"Why do you wanna know?"
"It's not like I'm recreating the Spanish Inquisition or anything, I'm just curious." I could understand his caution, but really, what was I going to do with his age? "Also, you never gave me your name."
Scratching the back of his neck in an almost nervous gesture, he said: "I'm fifteen and my name is Seth Clearwater."
I beamed at him. "See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" Sitting down on the log he had just vacated, I leaned back against the tree growing behind it and folded my arms across my stomach. "I'd ask what you were doing here, but I already know the answer to that question."
He sat down across from me, still keeping a wary eye on me, but he seemed to have relaxed a bit now that he knew I wasn't going to attack him. "Can you blame us? You do live with vampires, after all."
I pursed my lips, annoyed. "How long have you been a wolf?"
"Almost a month."
"And have you ever actually met a vampire?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "Not…yet."
"So you're basing your entire opinion of them on some ancient legends and, what, Hollywood movies? The only vampires that your pack has ever met are the Cullens and my family, both of whom are stand up people who've never done a thing to hurt you."
He shifted again, bringing his hand back up to scratch the back of his neck. "Sam said-."
"Sam said?" I shook my head. "Look, I know that vampires don't have the best reputation around, and you're kind were created to kill them and everything, but I don't think that it's too much to ask that you reserve your judgments for people whom you've actually met and who actually deserve it." I raised a hand to forestall his protest. "And don't bother trying to deny the fact that you're thinking about what I'm saying. You turned three months ago, and since then people have been shoving propaganda down your throat and expecting you to swallow it, like how vampires are soulless monsters and how you're meant to protect the world from them. I understand how you'd come to the conclusion you came to, but I also understand that you don't really know for sure that vampires are pure evil, or else you wouldn't let me get this far in my rant." I had always been pretty good at reading people and he seemed like an okay guy.
His expression was conflicted. "I don't trust vampires and even if I do meet them, I have no idea if I'll learn to like them…but I guess you may have a point. I don't really know them and I've never officially met them. Besides, you seem like an okay person, from what I've seen." Good to know that the animal friendly vibes were in full swing.
I clapped him on the shoulder, my naturally cheery mood coming back in force. "So, are you gonna wait here for the rest of the night, or are you gonna come and have some roasted marshmallows?" At his hesitation, I continued. "Oh, come on. It's not like I laced yours with rat poison in a sneaky attempt on your life. Besides, you can spy on me more easily if you're not hiding in the woods."
His eyes widened again, mouth parting slightly. "You want me to come and join you? Even after all I said about your family and the Cullen's?"
"I'm hoping that if you see what great people they are, then the tension between everyone can cool down a bit."
He snorted. "Not likely. Paul, for one, hates vamps and he's met the Cullen's plenty of times. Even Sam would have a hard time believing that they're anything other than monsters."
I shrugged. "Well, stony silence has gotten us nowhere."
"You're an insanely optimistic person, ya know that?"
I started back towards the beach, Seth hesitantly falling into step beside me. "It's been mentioned to me before, actually."
The guys seemed shocked to see me walking out of the woods with a complete stranger, which wasn't surprising in the least. "Hey, this is Seth. Seth, this is Angela, Ben, Katie, Eric, Mike, Jessica and Lauren." I gestured to each of them as I said their names, only Angela getting over her shock in time to give him a small wave. "Seth here was over on the other side of the beach with some friends and I caught him on his way home. Do you guys mind if he joins us?"
Mike looked between us. "Uh…no problem. Do you two…um, know each other?"
I sat down on the log, repositioning the blanket around my shoulders. I may not need it to keep warm, but it was really snuggly. "Judging from the way you keep looking between us and the inflection in your voice when you asked that question, I 'm going to assume that you want to know whether or not Seth and I are dating?" He started slightly as I handed Seth a stick and passed him the bag of marshmallows, putting my own stick over the fire. "The answer is no, by the way."
"Oh, well, that's…good, I guess."
Wolf-boy was snickering slightly and I spoke too low for human ears. "What the hell do you find so damn funny?"
He swallowed the mouthful of 'mallows, not even having the patience to roast them. He must have been really hungry. Sticking some more on the stick and holding them in front of the fire, he smiled slowly. "That guy totally has the hots for you. Not to mention his little episode earlier."
I groaned, trying valiantly to fight off a blush. "Oh, God. Could we please not go into that?"
Angela chose that moment to speak, looking curiously at Seth. "So, do you live here on the reservation?"
"Yup, born and raised."
That was basically the jist of the conversation for the next hour, everyone getting to know each other. I had to lie a good bit, but I really tried to be as truthful as possible. Seth, as it turned out, was a great guy. He was funny, kind and he seemed to really intend to make an effort on the whole 'no longer hating vampire-kind' issue. He still had to meet them, but he assured me that he was going to do his best. We had this particular conversation in voices too low for human ears whenever there was a split in between sentences. Keeping up with two conversations turned out to be fun, with him trying repeatedly to make me laugh and look insane. I'd like to say that he failed, but that would be a blatant lie.
All in all, everything went great.
That is, until Paul showed up.
I noticed him first, a faint whiff of wolf-scent on the air that I knew belonged to him from our last meeting. The faint crunch of leaves was the next clue, the final one being him standing just in the cover of trees, staring at Seth and me with barely suppressed rage. He jerked his head to the side, beckoning Seth to follow him.
Reluctantly, he stood up, putting down the can of cola he had been nursing for the better part of a half an hour. "I should probably go, it's getting pretty late and my parents will be wondering where I am. It was nice meeting you all."
They were sad to see him go. He left in the midst of 'good-bye's' and 'see you later man's' and made his way to Paul, who had retreated even further into the forest. I could practically feel the anger coming off of him and I felt a sudden spike of worry for the younger, less experienced wolf.
The both of them moved out of human hearing range, but the wind carried their voices to me clearly.
Seth spoke first, his voice calm, as though he were speaking to a wild animal that could spook at any minute. It was an apt analogy. "What are you doing here? I was the one assigned this duty, you're supposed to be patrolling with the rest of the Pack."
Paul's voice came next, tightly controlled but with an undercurrent of potential violence. "What am I doing? What the hell are you doing? You were told to come here and watch her, not get all chummy and trade life stories!"
"Listen, Paul, she's not that bad. She's actually kinda nice, once you get to know her." His tone was defensive and slightly pleading, as though he were trying to convince the irate werewolf that he knew what he was doing. The human conversation continued on around me. I answered direct questions and nodded every now and then, but my focus was on the wolves.
"Oh come on! How stupid can you get? She lives with vampires, Seth. Bloodsucking freaks! Like you can believe anything that she says. For all we know, she could be here to spy on us. Sam should never have let—"
"Oh, so now you're questioning Sam? You think that he's making the wrong decision by letting her come here?"
"I know he's making the wrong decision. It's so damn obvious. For God's sake, am I the only one who sees what a bad move this is? Letting her come here like this. What do we even really know about her? She moved here with a family of vamps and she's not human. Does that sound like a recipe for trust to you?"
"Dammit Paul, would you tone down on the prejudice for a minute. Just because she lives with them doesn't mean that she's evil. Besides, we don't even really know if the vampires are evil."
There was a pause. A long pause. "What?" His voice was cold.
"I'm just saying. Bella made a good point and I saw your meeting with the Van Allen's and the Cullen's. They…didn't seem that bad."
"So its Bella now, is it? Should I really take it as a coincidence that as soon as you spend a few hours with her, you're suddenly on Team Fang?"
"It's not like that. You know full well that I was thinking along these lines for a while now. I mean, how could you not?"
"Yeah, and Sam's an idiot for letting it get this far. If I were Alpha—"
"You'd what? Forbid us from having our own opinions, make us cater to your every whim like your own personal servants. We all know full well what you'd do if you were Alpha, Paul, you spend enough time fantasizing about it. But there's something that you seem to keep forgetting. You're not the Alpha of the Pack, Sam is and even if he were to step down for whatever reason, Jake is next in line. So unless you plan to off the both of them, you'll never be the Alpha. Get used to it."
There was no pause this time, just a roar of rage, the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a pained grunt. I was on my feet I an instant. "I can't find my cell, I think I dropped it when I ran into Seth. I'll be back in a second." The similarities between this and the first time I'd up and left them in a hurry couldn't have escaped their notice, but they nodded anyway, although not without a few curious glances. Another pained grunt echoed from the forest.
I ran for the tree line, the sounds coming from the two werewolves becoming louder the closer I got. As soon as I was out of human sight, I shot forward, careening to a stop at the entrance to a clearing, transfixed by the sight before me.
The clearing was fairly big, huge trees climbing up on either side of me, swaying in the breeze. The purple light of twilight bathed it in an eerie glow, every leaf and rock, branch and twig casting a shadow that was almost lost in the shadow of the oncoming night. There were no animals, no birds singing in the trees, no mice scuttling under the branches, no insects burrowing in the soft earth.
That could have had something to do with the fact that it was almost night and many animals would be bedding down. Then again, it also might have had something to do with the amount of angry energy Paul was giving off. The ground showed the tell-tale signs of a scuffle, grass uprooted, leaves scattered, twigs snapped.
He stood at the far end of the clearing, hand wrapped around Seth's throat, malice clear in his eyes. Seth was pressed up against a tree, fingers wrapped around Paul's arm, no doubt the only thing stopping him from crushing his windpipe.
"You listen to me, you little twerp. It doesn't matter if I'm not the Alpha, I'm higher in the Pack than you and that means that you show me some respect or I swear to God, you'll regret it."
The younger wolf's eyes were wide with fear, his face paler than it should have been. He was a big guy, but Paul was bigger and no doubt a better fighter, seeing as he'd been in the pack longer.
In a lot of cases, people will turn fear into anger. It was why people hated what they couldn't understand, they feared it. In this case, Seth's fear of Paul turned into anger at being bullied by someone stronger than he was.
"You always did have issues with that temper of yours. You just blow up at the smallest of things, even when everyone else keeps their cool. That's another reason you'll never amount to anything in the Pack, you have no control. You've been a wolf longer than most, but you still act like a pup. It's pathetic."
Paul's eyes blazed, rage clear in their brown depths. He raised his hand. Seeing Seth flinch was what made my feet move, made me run over to the pair and grab Paul's hand before it could make contact.
He snarled and turned on me, the hand that was around Seth's throat coming around to strike down the person who dared to interfere. I ducked his blow and wrenched his arm around his back. Seth had only a second to get out of the way as I pushed Paul up against the tree he had been standing in front of only moments before.
"Let go of me, you bitch!"
"That's just rude," I snarled. "Now calm the hell down."
He struggled in my grip, legs kicking out to land blows on my shins, but I held tight. He jerked his head back, trying to hit my in the face and I shifted until my forearm was pressing against his head to keep it still. "Stop struggling."
He went still, breathing hard. "This is none of your business. Keep out of it."
I glanced at Seth. I wouldn't be happy about it, but if he wanted me to leave too, then I would. The look he gave me showcased how much he worried that I would listen to Paul and leave them alone to sort out this mess. I didn't budge.
"Yeah, I know, but I have this really annoying habit of putting myself in bad situations, so I might as well do it for a good cause."
"A good cause? What the hell would you know about it, you live with vampires?"
"Why do you all have such a problem with that? It's not like I'm joining a Satanic cult and sacrificing babies."
He scoffed, muscles tense with barely restrained anger.
"Look, I'm going to let you go, don't do anything stupid." I released his arm and took several steps back, watching him warily.
He spun around, lip curled in disgust as soon as he laid eyes on me. A low growl broke from his lips. My affinity with animals may have made them sense that I was a good person, but it didn't brainwash them. If they hated me already, my animal mojo wouldn't do a thing to stop it.
"Paul, enough. Sam gave her permission to be here." Seth's voice was slightly shaky, but he didn't let Paul's earlier behavior stop him from voicing his opinions.
Paul rounded on him. "She doesn't belong here! Why can't you see that? Has she you so wrapped around her little finger that you refuse to see the danger she is to us?"
"She hasn't done anything wrong. You can't blame her for what her family are."
"Like hell I can't. She could leave at any time, but she chooses to stay with those freaks."
"They're trying, Paul. They don't hunt humans."
"Oh, really? Well, did you ever wonder how many 'accidents' she's helped to cover up? How many of their slip-ups has she defended? They can't change, it's who they are and all she's doing is protecting them so that they can kill another day!"
I stiffened, my mind flashing back to a winter night and blood-stained snow. Shaking my head to get rid of the unwanted memory, I raised my hands in a soothing gesture. Not that I expected it to do anything, but still. "Look, there's no reason to fight about this right now. Just calm down and we'll all go our separate ways, okay?"
His growl deepened. "What the hell do you think gives you the right to tell me what to do? You're on my territory, my land!"
My patience was wearing thin, but I didn't want to do anything to escalate the situation. He was wound tighter than a guitar string and if he lost control of his wolf, it would be bad for everyone. "What the hell does that have to do with anything? I was given permission to be here, by your boss. Aren't you supposed to listen to him?"
"He didn't give direct orders for us to stay away from you and he doesn't want to 'abuse his power' by making us accept you. That's what makes him weak, he's not willing to do what has to be done. He should have ordered us to take out the Cullen's when they first came here, not tried to reinstate that pathetic treaty. And look what it's gotten us! We have two packs of leeches in town. He missed his chance, he fucked up!"
I took a step back from the mad glint in his eye. I really hadn't noticed up until this point how unhinged Paul was. He hated vampires way more than he had reason to and I thanked God that he wasn't in charge of the Pack, for their sake and ours.
"Paul, let's just go home, okay?" Seth took a step forward and put his hand on his shoulder. I knew that it was a mistake the moment it happened.
His eyes flashed dangerously and his fist shot out, hitting Seth squarely on the jaw. He was thrown back, slamming into the ground. "You're siding with her! Over your own Packmate!"
He turned on one foot, face twisted in rage. "What the hell did you do to him, you witch!" He roared and ran full tilt towards me.
I sidestepped him easily and spun to keep him in sight. "Paul, stop. There are humans nearby." They were pretty far away, well out of hearing range, but if this became a full out fight, it might lead towards them.
"I said don't tell me what to do!" He ran at me again and this time, I hooked my foot around his leg and knocked him to the floor.
He rolled to a stop, his momentum carrying him several feet. He pushed off with the palm of his hands and sprang up, his body actually shaking with rage.
I knew something bad was going to happen a split second before the shaking developed into full-blown tremors. "Paul, no!" Seth yelled, but it was too late. His form exploded, a huge, dark gray wolf coming to land in his place. Oh shit.
He barreled towards me, this time as a much more formidable opponent. I dove to the side and rolled to absorb the impact, his huge body brushing past me.
Jumping to my feet straight from the roll, I faced him head on. My patience had finally ran out. "Fine! If you won't listen to reason and you're gonna force me to fight, then bring it on Pluto."
He roared, wickedly curved teeth glinting in the faint light from the setting sun. When he started forward, I sprang into another roll, sliding in under his legs. I placed my feet on his underbelly and pushed, watching in satisfaction as he was thrown off of me to land in a heap.
His paws lashed out, grazing against my skin and leaving a thin trail of blood. My eyes silvered under the glamour cast by the ring, my body temperature rising in response to the emotions running through me.
I pushed off the ground, flipping in mid-air to land in a crouch on top of a large boulder on the other side of the clearing. The fire inside my body arched out, sending a wave of super-heated air slamming into Paul, causing him to duck his head to protect his eyes, his fur blowing backwards like the grass on an open plain.
His growl came back, louder than ever. His body tensed, his haunches bunched. I'd spent enough time with animals to know that he was about to lunge at me, so I tensed myself to meet him head on.
The potential energy stored in his body exploded into action, propelling him towards me in a dark grey streak. I launched myself off the rock…only to pass through open air when something large and light brown slammed into Paul and knocked him out of my path.
I hit the ground on the palms of my hands and pushed off to land on my feet, spinning around to see the wolves. They were going at it like two, well, wolves, snapping and snarling at each other, each one trying to get their teeth around the other's throat.
I couldn't find an opening, so I had to wait until one of them got the upper hand. It was no surprise when Paul slammed Seth down into the ground, teeth buried deep into his neck. Unfortunately for him, he was left wide open.
I focused my attention on the heat inside of me. It leapt to my call, joyous at the chance to be free, to run wild, to burn. Its power was seductive, glorious and above all, dangerous. I raised my hand, a dark blue fireball coming to life between my curved fingers. It danced and waved in the wind, swaying forward and back. I took aim and let it loose, watching as it impacted with Paul's hindquarters. He jerked, teeth releasing the smaller wolf and howled in pain, rolling on his side to put out the flames. The smell of burnt hair and scorched flesh filled the clearing.
I had made it small and low-heat, so as not to hurt him too seriously, but a large portion of the fur on his haunches was gone, the fire hot enough to remove hair but not enough to burn through flesh to bone. The skin under the missing fur was an angry red, blisters already forming. Werewolves may have an enhanced healing ability, but that wasn't normal fire.
Seth was crouched down a few steps away from Paul, dark red blood running down his neck, soaking his fur. Paul had really hurt him. I knew that he had been pissed, but I'd never imagined that he'd actually hurt him. Not seriously.
I was about to run over to Seth, to help him, when a howl of rage that didn't belong to either of the wolves in front of me split the silence. I turned just in time to see a silver blur shoot out of the trees and slam into Paul, teeth flashing and claws rending.
He tried to defend himself, but the new silver wolf was ferocious and completely unforgiving. It kept attacking until Paul was cowering on the floor, tail between his legs. The silver wolf grabbed him by the ruff with its teeth and stood over him, exuding dominance.
As soon as the flurry of motion stopped, I got a better look at the newcomer and I was shocked to see that it was smaller than Paul and that it was female. Her silver fur glinted in the last dregs of sunlight like slivers of the precious metal. She was slim and lean, clearly built for speed but she also had the muscles necessary to win in a fight against Paul, who despite being bigger than her, was nowhere near as skilled.
I heard the sound of running feet before two more wolves broke though the tree line that I recognized as Quil and Embry. Sam and Jacob came next, in human form, both of which had angry expressions on their faces. For a second I worried that their ire was directed at me, but they only had eyes for Paul, still in the grip of the silver female.
"Leah, let him go. Paul, shift back. Now!" Sam's voice was thick with authority, and both wolves obeyed, although not before Leah nipped him roughly on the ear, earning her a yelp of pain from Paul.
Leah immediately went to Seth, whining worriedly and nuzzling him on the shoulder. His neck was bleeding freely now, a fair amount of blood pouring out, the ground under him soaked with it. I felt panicked. How much blood loss could a werewolf endure?
Paul whimpered and began shifting back, bones sliding around under his flesh and fur receding to leave behind human skin. When he was fully changed back, he wobbled to his feet, completely naked. Any embarrassment I would normally have felt was completely over-ridden by anger. How could he hurt someone as sweet as Seth? It just wasn't right.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Sam roared as soon as Paul was human again and I saw him flinch. "How could you attack someone from your own Pack? Someone who was only following my orders."
Paul's eyebrows drew down, a flicker of that intense anger burning through his eyes again. "He wasn't just 'following orders'. You told him to watch her and he fucking joined their party!"
Sam's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't you dare raise your voice to me. Not now, not after what you did. Bella was here with my permission, you had no right to attack her and you certainly had no right to attack Seth. He's your Packmate! Does that mean nothing to you?"
Paul glanced at Seth, seeing clearly the damage he'd done. Seth was crouched down even lower, the blood flow still fairly strong.
"Why isn't he healing?" My voice seemed to surprise them, as though none of them had expected little 'ol me to speak.
Sam looked at me, appraising me. "Wounds caused by vampires or other werewolves take longer to heal. Also, he's young, not fully come into his abilities yet."
The silver wolf crouching protectively over Seth, Leah, shivered and blurred, coalescing into the form of a young woman, only a little older than me. She had deep black hair that reached past her shoulders, tanned, russet colored skin and dark brown eyes. She too, was naked. Now, seeing Paul in that state hadn't bothered me because, firstly, I hated his guts and secondly, I was gay. Leah on the other hand…
I blushed furiously and stared her straight in the eye, pretending that anything below chin level didn't exist for the moment.
She looked from Seth to Sam. "Sam, his neck wound's pretty bad, Paul hit the carotid. I think that we should get him to my mom."
"Is he gonna be okay?" Sam was staring at Seth with newly worried eyes and even Paul looked pale and regretful.
"Leah, hold your hands against the wound, try to stem the bleeding. We need to get some medical supplies here and we need them now." Seth laid down on his side, placing his head in Leah's lap. She stroked his head soothingly, the gesture full of care and affection.
Quil, still in wolf from whined and jerked his head towards the forest, raising one paw. "Okay, Quil, you get the medical supplies. You know where they are. Hurry."
Quil took of running, leaving a trail of fluttering leaves in his wake. Seth's whimper was almost a gurgle and a new flash of panic hit me. Just how badly did Paul screw up? Leah's face was pale, worry clear in her eyes. From what Seth had told me, she was his older sister and they were very close.
"I'm…I'm sorry," Paul said, taking a step towards the siblings. Leah snarled venomously, stopping him in his tracks.
"Don't you dare try to apologize! Seth has only been a wolf for less than a month. He's not as strong as you and he can't heal like an adult wolf can. You knew just how to hurt him and you acted on it! And for what? Because he was having fun? Because he challenged you? Why, Paul? What reason could you give now that would explain this?" Her voice cut through him like a steel knife, making him flinch visibly.
"I…I was angry, I—"
"You're always angry! You never think, you just act and you don't care about the consequences! Well now my brother being seriously hurt is one of those consequences and I'll be damned if I let you get away with it this time!"
Seth whimpered in pain and my resolve broke. Secrecy be damned. "I can help him."
Their gazes snapped to me like heat seeking missiles. "What do you mean?" Leah demanded, not trusting someone she just met with her brother's well being. Her arms tightened on his huge frame protectively, which looked strange considering the size difference.
"I mean I can…" I took a deep breath. "I can heal him."
Eyes widened around the clearing, then narrowed suspiciously. I sighed. "Look, we don't have time to stand around and play 'guess who's lying'. Seth is in pain and I can help him, so let me." I looked Leah in the eyes. "Please."
She nodded slowly, carefully and I walked towards them, crouching down and placing my hands on Seth's neck.
"Wait." Her tone was nervous, worried and undecided. "I don't…" She trailed off, looking uncertain. Her arms tightened again and she leaned over him slightly.
Almost growling in frustration, I stood up. "Fine." Glancing at Paul, I beckoned him over. "Come here."
"What, why?"
"Oh, for God's sake." I strode over to him and grabbed his hand, leveling a glare at him when he threatened to pull away. He might still have pulled away had I not allowed my irises to glow dark blue with flame, reminding him of what I could do.
Completely uncaring about whether or not it hurt, I conjured a small flame and pressed it to the underside of his forearm. He yelped and tried again to pull away, but I held him tightly. Showing them the burn etched into his skin I pressed the palm of my hand against it and called to the energy inside me.
There are many different types of energy. Some can be violent, some can be calm, some can be hot and some can be cold, some can crackle and others still can roll in waves. The fire that I could call was hot and violent, a raging sea of flame that yearned to be released. This energy was calm, but warm, like a summer breeze, and full of life. My hand glowed a light blue as I poured the energy into Paul, feeling every hurt that littered his body, but focusing only on this small space. It was his fault that he got the others and he could deal with it himself.
I could feel the burn healing, feel burnt flesh smoothing out, leaving behind no trace of a scar. Pulling away my hand, I looked up into Paul's face, could see the awe and rapture in his eyes. I had been told that being healed felt very good.
I raised his arm and showed them the result. "Good enough?"
They were staring at me as though they had never seen me before. Leah nodded, mouth parted slightly.
"Finally," I muttered, my worry over Seth transforming into bitchiness. Walking over to them again, I placed my hands on his ruined neck and felt for the damage.
It was a lot more serious than I'd first thought, his carotid artery nearly shredded, the flesh around it torn and gaping. Only his status as a werewolf had kept him alive. Feeling another wave of anger at Paul for his reckless actions, I repeated the process with Seth, his muscles and skin knitting back together under my hands, removing all traces of the damage.
When I was finished, I sat back on my heels, feeling slightly light-headed. Healing really takes it out of you. I could heal plenty of humans, but supernaturals were more tiring.
Seth rolled over and pushed himself to his feet, moving his neck experimentally. Leah smiled, looking at me with gratitude and wonder. "Thank you." Seemingly without thinking, she threw her arms around my neck, pulling me into a huge hug. That would have been fine…had she been wearing any clothing. I made a choked noise, my face heating up like a bonfire. She froze, realizing her own unclothed state. Pulling away from me sharply, she took a step backwards. Now that her brother wasn't hovering on the edge of death, she seemed embarrassed to be naked in front of a stranger. Still blushing, I tugged off my jacket and handed it to her wordlessly. She took it with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that."
"No problem," I said in a voice that was at least one octave higher than normal. The jacket I had given her was long enough to reach mid-thigh and I thanked God that I had chosen to wear it today. Her eyes widened when she put it on and I could see her discreetly sniff the fabric, her brows raised in approval. Jacob was watching me intensely, which I chose to ignore because it was kinda weird.
Seth yipped happily and his tongue lolled out to lick me on the side of the face. I instantly recoiled, my face reminiscent of when I'd tasted the beer. "Ew, Seth! That's gross." He made a noise that I could only assume was laughter.
Sam took a step towards me. "Bella, that was…amazing. Thank you and on behalf of the entire Pack, I would like to apologize for Paul's actions tonight. They were unforgivable." He glared heatedly at the wolf in question. "Paul, do you have anything to say?"
Paul stared hard at me. I could see hatred glittering in their dark depths, but he forced out an 'I'm sorry' between clenched teeth. I gave him a cold nod, turning back to Seth. "You good?" He yipped again in affirmation, tail wagging so furiously I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. His puppy-dog attitude kinda reminded me of Mike. Oh, crap.
"Um, I really gotta go. They'll be wondering where I am."
Jacob stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Wait, you're not going to explain how you did what you did?"
"Nope," I stated, already running at a human pace back towards the beach. "See you guys some other time." I left them standing there, looking insanely curious and unsatisfied. I was within human view of the camp when I heard Quil return at a furious pace and then stop suddenly.
"We'll explain later. Let's go home. And Paul, you are in some deep shit." Their footsteps faded as I made it to the camp.
Mike stood up. "There you are, we were just gonna send out a search party."
"Sorry."
Angela nudged me from her position on the floor. "Did you find your cell?"
My brows drew down in confusion before I remembered my lie. "Um, no, I guess I left it at home."
Katie shook her head. "Speaking of home, we should head out. It's getting real late." I nodded in agreement.
After packing up all of the stuff and banking the fire, we piled into our respective cars and headed home. I dropped everyone taking a ride in my car off at their houses, saying goodbyes and exchanging hugs (Mike held on a little too long) and made my way to my own house, buried deep in the woods.
It took me about ten minutes driving at the speed limit and when I pulled into the driveway, Clare was already there. This wasn't going to be pretty.
I stepped out of the car and walked towards her. She had a happy smile on her face, one she had worn since I told her about Alice. "Welcome back. How was the beach trip with your friends? Did you have fun?"
"Oh, yeah I had great fun. We went boogie boarding, roasted marshmallows, I tried beer, we got to know each other better, I got into a fight with a werewolf. It was great." I gave her a quick hug and walked into the house, her face still a mix between shock and confusion.
"Hey guys, I'm home," I called, knowing full well that they had heard my admission.
"Wait just one minute there, missy." Clare blurred in front of me, placing her hands on her hips. The rest of my family wandered in. Micheal, from the basement where he kept his carving and art equipment, Jesse and Lee from their room upstairs where they kept their…bed.
Micheal had a crushed chisel in one hand, which kept bending as he applied more force, his face the face of a man harboring dark thoughts. "Did they hurt you?" He took in a deep breath, eyes turning into slits. "I smell blood, your blood. What happened?" The scratches on my arm had healed, but a bit of blood had soaked into the shirt I was wearing, preserving the scent.
"That's nothing, just a scratch. You should see he other guy."
"Oh, I will. Once you give me his name and general description."
"Dad, let's not over-react here. It was more of a skirmish, anyways."
Lee had his arms around Jesse, scowls on both of their faces. "It doesn't matter what it was, they hurt you. That's a violation of the treaty."
I held up a finger. "A treaty from which I'm exempt, remember."
"Tell us what happened," Clare said, moving the shirt to get a better look at my arm to make sure I was okay.
I gave them the run down, starting with my day on the beach with my human friends and ending with me healing Seth and booking.
We had moved into the living room during the course of my story and now we were arranged on the various seats, a hearty fire blazing in the fireplace. Vampires, and me for that matter, may not need warmth to survive, but it made the room cozier.
By the time I finished, they had relaxed somewhat, but they still looked pissed and on the verge of going over to La Push to 'castrate the little bastard'. Jesse's words, not mine.
"Fine, we won't go over there, but they'd better put that damned mutt on a tight leash, or I'll do it myself," Lee stated, glaring into the fire. Sanderson was curled up in front of it, twitching every now and then, as though his dream-self were running towards something. Knowing him, it'd probably be to a fluffy cushion being held aloft by Cherubs. That cat really loved sleeping.
"Look, guys. You know how I get after I've healed someone. I'm gonna go and take a nap."
I was halfway to the stairs when Jesse called out to me. "Hey sis, I forgot to mention, you got a delivery while you were out. I left it on your bed. Also, could you take a shower. Normally, you smell great, but right now you stink of wet dog."
I smiled without turning around. "Thanks, Jess. See you in a few hours." After they'd said goodnight, they went back to what they'd been doing before I got home and I went up to my room.
I took a long, hot shower first, washing the salt out of my hair and the 'dog-stink' off of my skin. The werewolves didn't smell bad to me, but from the crinkled noses of my family, they wouldn't agree with me. I shrugged on a pair of pajama pants and a green tank top for bed.
Closing the door to the bathroom behind me, I hopped up onto my bed, which was at about eye-level and looked at the package resting there. It was a plain brown box about one foot across, with a white sticker with my address and name on it in a beautiful flowing script. Pushing aside worries of bombs and those boxing gloves attached to springs that lunge out at you and hit you in the face, I pulled the box onto my lap and opened it.
It was full of those white, foam, peanut shaped things used in shipping. I ruffled around in it for a moment before my hand touched a square of plastic. Pulling it out, I realized that it was a sleek, black phone a split second before it started ringing. That wasn't creepy at all.
I answered it, half expecting the person on the other line to be using a voice synthesizer and saying 'I'm watching you…'. Instead, I was met with a cheery, feminine voice that sounded like wind chimes. "Hey, Bella."
"Alice?"
"Who else?"
I chuckled, feeling supremely relaxed and much happier now that I could near her voice. "What's up with the box and phone?"
I could almost hear her shrugging on the other end. "I wanted to call you and for that to work, you needed a phone for me to call."
"You didn't have to buy me one."
"What, so I'm not allowed to get you gifts? That's no fair, I love giving people gifts."
"Fine, but that means that I get to give you things too."
"Ooh, I love getting presents. What kinds of things?"
"What, so my general presence isn't enough for you, you need material goods too?"
"I don't need them, but I'd enjoy life much better if they were in it."
"In that case, I'll bring something to give to you on Friday. It's my understanding that the act of gift-giving is common among courting couples."
There was a slight pause on the other end, then delicate laughter.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Sometimes you say the weirdest things."
"Really? You know, I've been told that before, but personally, I've never noticed it."
"If you'd like, I could point them all out to you so you can better blend in with the sane people."
"Ha-ha, very funny. Speaking of weird things, how did you know to call me at the exact moment that picked up the phone?"
There was a longer pause. "Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it on Friday. Then you can decide if I'm too weird for you to 'court'."
I rolled onto my stomach and idly played with some of the foam peanuts. "Trust me, Alice, no matter how weird you are, I've got you beat."
She laughed. "Of that, I have no doubt."
"It's actually kinda weird for some reason, talking to you on the phone I mean."
"Well, what choice do I have, it's not like I can sneak into your room under your parents noses. You do live with vampires, after all."
"True. So, if you don't mind me asking, how's your hunting trip going?"
"It's going as good as a hunting trip can go. The nature preserve is surprisingly well-stocked."
"Any particular favorites?"
"I'm partial to bear, or mountain lion, if I can get it."
"Tell her to try some squirrel!" Jesse called from her room.
I covered the mic, a useless practice seeing as Alice could hear whether I did it or not. "Thanks for the input, Jesse, now butt out! It's a private conversation. Look up the word if it's confusing you."
Putting the receiver back to my ear, I heard Alice chuckling. "Sorry, but apparently the squirrel is particularly good this time of year."
"You know, I might just take her up on that offer."
"Just don't drink too much of them. I swear she gets drunk off squirrels." The sleepiness that came with healing a supernatural creature came back and hit me full force, causing me to full-out yawn, something that rarely happened to me.
"You're tired," Alice stated, sounding concerned.
"What gave me away? Was it the yawning? It was the yawning, wasn't it?"
"Oh shut up, smart alec."
My reply was cut off by another yawn.
"Aw, is it past your bed time?"
"I'm a wild party animal, we don't have bed times."
"Oh, but of course." I heard another voice in the background. "Alice, say goodnight to your girlfriend and come on. We're here to hunt, not whisper sweet nothings." Rosalie.
Alice sighed in annoyance, reluctant to hang up the phone. "Relax, Alice. Go hunt. I'll see you on Friday."
"With my present?"
I laughed. "Yes, Alice, with your present."
I could hear the grin in her voice when she next spoke. "Goodnight Bella."
"Goodnight Alice."
We hung up, which took me a moment, considering I'd never seen a phone like this one before.
I brushed my teeth and slid into bed, wrapping myself in the silky covers. I could hear the soft, padding steps of a cat as Sanderson abandoned his space in front of the fire and came up to my room, snuggling in to my side and purring furiously.
I had always found cats' purring soothing and it was expected when I went to bed, seeing as Sanderson always slept beside me whenever I slept, but what made me smile as I fell asleep that night was Rosalie's words. 'Alice, say goodnight to your girlfriend."
Girlfriend. That sounded really good.
A/N: I'm so sleepy. It's six a.m. and I haven't gone to bed yet 'cause I wanted to get this up tonight. Hope you enjoyed it. Although, as always, these chapters are done without the help of a beta and at the moment, I'm running on fumes, so any typos that you see, I shall fix them in the morning… But still, 13'037 words. Now, that is my longest chapter ever.
Next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for. Yay!
R&R. Goodnight!