Chapter 2 : What Blooms

XXX

It's just my luck, y'know. When I attempt to come off as a decent person, and I make a complete ass out of myself instead… it's an awful thing, my luck. Or maybe it has nothing to do with luck; maybe other unknowing girls such as myself made fools of themselves in front of these ridiculously kind and attractive people. That thought made me feel slightly better about having been caught in my current predicament. But even so, this woman Emily smiled warmly as she held my hand and led me away from the room, closing the door behind her. Before we reached the living room, she stopped and turned to face me, "Relax," she whispered for some reason. I was thoroughly confused, but then realized that my inner-horror must have been evident though my expression. "There's no need to worry, I won't say anything. You're not the first poor girl to be awe-struck by our tribe boys," she chuckled towards the end of her sentence.

My face must've turned bright crimson, because her chuckle evolved into playful laughter. "I'm sorry," was all I could think of to say. "And… thank you."

"You came with Seth," It wasn't a question, more like confirmation. I was happy that she changed the subject, so I nodded. "It's good that you made a friend so quickly. But then again, Seth is the type guy that people just love to be around," she said with genuine endearment. Was she trying to slightly better my view of him? … Naw, unlikely. That just sounded conceited of me… I already knew Seth was just downright awesome, anyway.

Someone cleared their throat, and suddenly, the already small hallway seemed impossibly narrower with the towering figure that stood between at the entranceway of the living room. Quite frankly, I was beginning to worry about all the tall dudes walking around: I was bound to get stepped on. This man was, at estimate, at least 6'6, with a broad, handsome but hard-lined face that effectively scared the bejeesus out of me. His lips set in an expressionless line, and he looked at Emily expectantly. She smiled fearlessly, and put her arm around my shoulders, which did little to comfort me the presence of this Goliath, "Sam," his name, I supposed, "this is Penelope. Billy mentioned that her family was moving here, remember? He used to be good friends with her father. She's already made a companion out of Seth!" Well, I wouldn't exactly say companion. I'd known the guy for less than a few hours, yet this didn't seem to occur to Emily. If it did, I guess she didn't judge people's friendship based on the time they've known each other. That didn't bother me in the least, though; I was already set on keeping ties with both Seth and Jacob.

A random memory occurred to me then, one where I remembered my mother telling me that the reason why I had trouble making friends was that once I decided that I liked someone enough to want to have them around, I scared them away with what I saw as my immediate connection to that person. Looking back, maybe that's why I was worried about getting close to anyone outside of Ruth.

"The new girl," Sam said gruffly, tearing me from my quick reminisce. I waited for him to say more, but he just stared past me and so intimately at Emily, I began to feel like he really didn't care that I was there. Not that I blamed him, ha. She returned his stare with her neutral eyes, and I felt my cheeks color once more.

"Well, um… thank you again, Miss…?" I had to interrupt. There was no doubt in my mind that these two were involved, and I had the notion that they might start to make out in the hallway regardless if I was there or not. I preferred it if I was not there.

"Please, just call me Emily. Any friend of my friends is, in turn, my friend as well." I smiled one last time and ducked under Sam's arm, and he turned to watch my brief exit. I knew my face still blaringly red.

"For a minute, I thought I scared you off and had thrown yourself out the bathroom window!" I was met with Seth's laughter, and I gave a small laugh of my own. He was talking to Embry, who grinned. He must've noticed my stupid blush.

"I tried to, but Emily caught me and pulled me back in," I chided.

"If I scare you all that much…" now his brows pulled together in concern.

"Not at all," I cut him off swiftly, reassuring him when I stalked over and patted him on the arm. "But, it is getting kinda late. I should go home."

Embry raised an eyebrow, "You've been here for what, 10 minutes?"

"A little less than an hour," I replied truthfully, "I'm happy that Billy convinced him to let me come of course, 'cause my persuasion skills aren't exactly sharp… but really, now that I think about it, my dad is probably stressing out at home about this. And I really don't want to be a burden to him, or to you guys… ha." Embry gave me a look so incredulous, like I had just ripped off my clothes and started jumping on the couch. Seth looked away briefly and ran his hand over his head: a clear gesture (in my mind) that I had said something to upset him.

Fuck, I'm stupid. But my paranoia was beyond persistent.

I rubbed my arms self-consciously, and Seth said, "Yeah, we'll take you home."

"I'll go get Jake," Embry offered, and his tall form exited the house. We stood quiet for a minute, and I took a peek up at Seth from the corner of my eyes. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes and I felt horrible. Had I really offended him? It's not that I didn't think he wasn't cool; I just didn't like being surrounded by people I hardly knew, let alone in a place that is unfamiliar to me.

"Don't worry about it," Seth leaned forward slightly to get a better look at my expression, "It just kinda bothers me when people aren't automatically comfortable around me… y'know? Makes me anxious." No, I didn't know, but I appreciated his explanation anyway. "I like your hair, by the way. Light reflects off of it… kinda like an angel-thing going on."

Whoa. I just received a compliment. It was one so small, but effective enough to catch me off guard and leave me mentally scrambling for a reply. "Uh, em, y… yeah, you think so?" Had Seth not been there, I would've slapped my hand over my eyes. Smooth, Nel. Real smooth.

"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't think so," Seth beamed genuinely this time. Oh, what cutie he was. But…

And then I found myself thinking of the rain-slicked chest, the parted lips, the guarded expression he wore even as he slept… just down the hallway of this house. It was a snotty thing of me to do, but I reluctantly admitted to myself that despite the obvious blessed looks of the tribe boys, none had left me so convinced that gravity couldn't hold me to the ground; it was true and clear and wonderful enlightenment. Okay, that sounded ridiculous, but I can't find another way to describe what I felt. Oh, wait… his name. Emily had said it, but I was so humiliated by my moment of weakness, I didn't memorize the name said.

"Thank you," I said with a soft smile, finally lifting my gaze to meet his eyes, "that's nice of you to say." Seth looked to the floor distractedly, and I suddenly thought of a way to wriggle the sleeping boy into our chat. "So… are all your friends as charming as you?" It wasn't really something typical of me to ask (a little… bold?-- for my liking), but I made an exception to my current situation. Seth shifted closer to me, that cute smile never wavering, and I felt nervous butterflies stir in my stomach.

"Nah, that's just me! Embry still trips all over himself like an idiot, Quil and Jared are already committed, Jake is… painfully hung up on someone, Colin and Brady are just kids, and Paul--" Even though the bid about Jacob piqued my curiosity and a few names he mentioned were unfamiliar to me, my memory clicked momentarily at the latter name, "well, Paul is an asshole, but still has the rare good moment."

"You got that right," came Jacob's jilt, a hint of annoyance lining his voice. He and Embry came in, and I hoped they heard only the end of Seth's words. "He walks around like he's all high and mighty, like he's better than us. Goes to show why most of us don't like him. But he's a ticking time bomb--"

"Cause the most stupid crap is enough to get him mad," Embry added, but there was no distaste to his tone. Guess things got personal with Jacob and Paul.

And ugh. It figures that I would be stunned to my heart for a guy who was, as the jury of boys ruled, an asshole.

"Oh…" I was running short of what to ask that wouldn't make me seem like a creep, so I settled on, "Where are… Jared, Brady, and Paul?" I had to pause to remember the first two names, "Did I meet them?"

"Jared's with Kim, his girlfriend, Brady is somewhere around here, and Paul is in the back room," Embry replied. Oh sweet, sweet, conformation.

"You said you wanted to go home," Jacob interjected before Embry had the chance to continue the conversation.

"Not that I wanted to," I argued, "I need to. Believe me, I'd stay if I didn't feel so guilty about giving my dad more worry lines on his face." Jake smiled and clapped his large hand on my shoulder, clearly understanding and not offended in the way Seth had oddly been.

"Gotcha, short stuff. Let's get going now then, cause I need to come back here." I honestly didn't mind the nickname. Why protest the truth behind the dubbing?

I said my brief goodbyes to Embry and Quil, the latter who had came into the house to get something to eat. Seth wasn't coming with us, which bothered me a bit. He couldn't really possibly think that I was leaving because I didn't be around him? He shouldn't care to see me again, considering I had decided that I did, in fact, want to burden him to be my friend. So I went over to him, and wrapped my arms around his torso, not really thinking the action through despite my usual shyness. This surprised him, but he finally gave the previous gorgeous smile, and I knew that I had reassured him again that he didn't repel me in the least. I didn't see her in the hallway anymore, so I asked Seth politely to thank Emily for being so kind, and Sam… well, just thanks, I guess. Jake and I trekked back to the beach, passing up the bonfire, to which I waved stupidly to the few people who looked our way. I figured it was rude enough that I was leaving so abruptly, so might as well gesture goodbye.

And beautiful Jacob laughed and teased me the entire time we were crossing back through the forest, saying the tree roots clearly had it out for the city girl. I wasn't clumsy, really; so the trees must have it out for the awful city girl. Or maybe I was just still so entranced by Jacob's unbelievable good looks, that my sense of balance was pretty much disconnected from my body. Psh, like I could give him that excuse…

I was thankful when we reached the old Rabbit, and I wouldn't admit it, but my body was already worn by the physical activity. Remember, I'm no athlete. Jake opened the door for me, and I hopped in. We pulled out from the parking space, and I was happy in the silence as he began to drive into the freeway. There was slight traffic, so he slowed behind the line of cars as I leaned my head back against the headrest of my seat. I'm surprised at myself; usually I would be rigid in a car with anyone, but I didn't feel that way with Jacob at all. It was as if simply his presence made me comfortable.

"Can I ask you something?" Jake's deep voice effectively broke the silence, and my eyes snapped open, quickly turning to give him my attention.

"Shoot."

"I don't mean to pry, but did you really want to leave just because you don't want your dad to trip out, or was there something more?"

I blinked, unsure of how to answer. Yet, I felt lying would get me nowhere with Jake, and I really wanted him to be my friend. "Well…" I chickened out as I trailed off, but I knew my tone had given me away.

"I thought so," Jacob nodded. "I told Seth not to be so weird, but hey, he's still awkward around girls."

Whoa, wait. Where did that come from? Oh geez, he thought this was about Seth too!? "No, no!" I was surprised at the hint of annoyance in my voice, but I continued, "It had nothing to do with Seth, I swear! You all are awesome, it's just… okay, I'm weird with new people! I thought you guys might have picked up on this! I just started to feel a little uncomfortable, I'm sorry… and plus, I embarrassed myself in front of Emily."

Jacob had been frowning up until the point when I mentioned Emily, and he raised a brow in suspicion, "What do you mean?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger, deciding to tell the truth, but not the whole truth. "I was looking for the bathroom, and… well, I walked into the wrong room. He was sleeping in there, and I—I was stunned, so I just stood there like an idiot until Emily came in and had to put her hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming, because she surprised me when she came up behind me."

"Paul," Jacob said with a snort. "It's a good thing you didn't wake him up, then. But I don't see why you're embarrassed, that could happen to anyone. And… sorry about before."

"What?"

"For thinking it was because of Seth, when you said that it wasn't him beforehand."

"Oh… please don't apologize." Seeing his innocent frown again, I immediately regretted being slightly irritated with him. "And… why is it such a concern if I left because of Seth?"

Jake didn't say anything at first, and he looked as though he was thinking of a way to answer me. He shifted in his seat, then, "He thinks you're cute."

Okay… I can believe that, I guess. It's normal 'cause younger guys naturally want the older girl right? There's nothing more to it. Instead, I tried, "Um… he does?"

"Yep."

"Well… why are you telling me this, ha?" I didn't voice my further worry: I would consider this a traitorous act if this were a situation involving Ruth and I, if she was telling a guy I thought he was cute without my consent. I would kill-a bitch.

"You were honest with me, I'm being honest with you. Seth can't hide things very well, anyway; you would've caught on in at least over the next week. Plus, don't the best friendships begin with a dirty little secret?" Jake grinned as he said this, and the will to argue had left me.

I loved the drive home with Jacob. After everything was cleared up, we talked about normal things to get to know one another better, and it made me insanely happy that we felt well enough about one another to talk about certain things. He liked cars, I liked photography (though I can't take a decent picture to save my own life due to a lack of a professional camera). His mom died, my mom packed up and left. His dad was a preaching and paranoid widower, my dad was a struggling divorcee still trying to piece himself back together. But what surprised me during our talk was discovering that his self-confidence was just as shaky as mine. I mean, I'm not the prettiest flower in the field, but I knew I wasn't ugly. Jacob deemed himself awkwardly tall and gangly, his muscles his only saving grace and the only reason why a girl would be interested in him. They wouldn't even bother with his personality, since he has been told more than his fair share of times that he was a jerk. I couldn't believe what he was telling me at first, but I slowly understood the more he unraveled.

Seth thought I was cute, I thought Jake was gorgeous, Jake thought himself tolerable. They seemed to be inconsistent thoughts, but they fit together in my mind. Jake's strangely damaged self-esteem made me realize that even if an individual doesn't find themself personally appealing, someone else was bound to. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. The thought brought a toothy smile to my lips.

When I analyzed back on our conversation, I worried that maybe we revealed too much to each other in an impossibly short time. Then I realized, it's not like we were giving each other our life stories; these were just quick facts that we didn't mind sharing. I was also confident that Jacob had told me some things that he hadn't ever mentioned to his guy friends; hell, I told him a few facts of my own that I hadn't even shared with Ruth.

It was hard for me to get out of the car when he finally pulled up in front of my house.

XXX

The next day came too quickly, and the awesomeness of last night had left when I felt the morning chill sweep down my back. I was sleeping on blankets that I arranged on the floor, as Bernard and dad had in their own rooms as well. We were too tired to set up our mattresses last night.

Monday. My first day of school.

Jacob wouldn't be there, Seth wouldn't be there, not even Embry or Quil. Gosh, I miss Ruth. No one I even remotely knew would be attending Forks High School, and that sucked so much, I thought about asking my dad to transfer me to the Quileute tribal school. Yeah, I'd love to see how that conversation would go.

I looked at the alarm clock I had set up beside my makeshift bed-- 6: 53 a.m. The device was also on the floor since there wasn't a desk for it yet. My new room was pretty much bare besides the suitcases I had tossed in the right hand corner. I sat up, then immediately regretted wearing a tank top and shorts to sleep. The frosty air of this damn drafty house came down on my body, like a bunch of needles pricking my skin. Warmer pajamas definitely became a priority of mine for the next time my dad would take us shopping. I pulled one of my blankets off of the floor, wrapping it around myself as I shuffled to my own bathroom.

It doesn't take long for me to get ready. My short hair deserved only a few brushes before it fell limply behind my ears again. My only make up was my cover up, since I had a few blemishes to hide (don't most girls do?). I only wore eyeliner, lip gloss, and other facial essentials on special occasions; I never had the patience or reasoning to apply it for the sake of a mere six hours at school. My choice of clothes were grey jeans, a light blue oval-necked shirt, and my usual white tennis shoes. But I looked outside towards the horrific, foggy weather once more, and changed into a pair of warm, fake fur-lined black boots. I didn't have a good jacket (something else I'd have to pick up at a store), so I settled for my plain, grey zip up sweater that Ruth had given to me last year.

"You ready?" My dad was in my room, calling for me through my closed bathroom door. "It's almost 7: 30." Was that late? At my other school, classes didn't start until 8: 20. "The first bell rings at 7: 50 here, honey," my dad said sheepishly, as if he read my thoughts.

Lovely.

We were all in the car in the next minute, Bernard complaining how he didn't have time to brush his teeth. I teased him about morning breath, and dad scolded me to not make my brother feel worse. He reassured Bernard that he could brush his teeth the moment he got home.

We dropped off Bernard first, his elementary school still at a walking distance from the house. Forks High School was, unfortunately, in the heart of the town; once my dad got a job, I'd have to either learn a bus schedule to get me home, or walk quite a bit. We got there a bit late—7:56. My dad took the blame for making me late and shoved me out the car door, saying that I still had the chance to get to class on time. Then I reminded him that I needed to pick up my schedule at the front office, and he slapped a hand over his eyes.

Poor dad. I was late on my first day of school, but he was clearly taking this harder than I was.

I waved goodbye, and walked through the student parking lot. The front office wasn't hard to find, thankfully. I spoke briefly to the heavy set red-headed woman at the desk, and she smiled up at me. "You know, your father went to this school when he was your age." Okay, that wasn't creepy at all. "Such a rebellious young man he was. We're around the same age; I remember him from my years as a student, too. It's good to have him come back, and to have you and Bernie in Forks. Some people just seem to belong here. Give my regards to Desmond, Penelope!" I noted the sparkle in her eyes as she spoke of my 'rebellious father'. She was probably one those ultra-goody girls whose parents wouldn't even let her say the word "boy", so my dad must've been eye candy to her back in the day… the thought made me shudder.

I told her I'd give my regards to him, and walked out, schedule in hand. I had Gym for first period, which sucked major. I hate physical activity in general, even though I've been told I'm pretty good with tennis (only 'cause my mom was obsessed with the sport and I picked up on it when she was still around). Everything else, especially running, would be the ultimate torture for me. Then, oh Lord, I had Earth Science. Since I already took Biology and a semester of Chemistry and Physics (which I barely passed), they probably didn't know what else to stick me in. At least the purgatory known as science class would be over for me this year and I wouldn't have to touch the subject again in my senior year. Psychology was after science… that should be interesting. Then I had CP Geometry; not bad, I'm decent with math. English 3 was fifth period, then Art 1 was last. A pretty unremarkable schedule, but I could get through it.

Again, it wasn't really hard to find my class; I stopped to ask a janitor in the hallway where the gymnasium was located. He pointed me in the right direction, and just when I thought I was keeping it cool, I felt the sense of dread in my stomach once I stood outside the doors that undoubtedly led to the changing room. "You can do it," I remembered Jake reassuring me when I complained about having to start school all over. "Just remember not to let what they already think of you, get to you. You're Penelope, and you're beyond cool in my book." I blushed at the thought of his gorgeous laughter.

I sighed and shuffled into the girl's locker room.

XXX

A/N: Sigh. No, Seth doesn't fall for Nel (it's just a mutual physical attraction). No, Jake doesn't fall for Nel. Remember, this is about Paul/OC. I just have a love for writing about developing friendships, and I hate it when other stories completely ignore relationships with other characters just so their OC's can get busy with the guy they pair 'em up with.

Ya dig? And hopefully I'm keeping the boys in character and you guys are getting more of a feel towards Penelope.

Please review!