Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long to get up! Midterms suck. I'd like to say a quick thanks to my reviewers - I was so surprised to see that someone was actually reading this! To dancelikeyoujustdon'tcare, I'm glad I could make you laugh. That makes all this that much more worth it. And to everyone else, thanks for reading and especially for reviewing!
When one of your friends goes crazy, it is a very sad thing. When four of your friends go crazy, and all at the same time, it's a bit terrifying. Granted, I hadn't had much experience with crazy before (unless you count the time when Jean tried to water me because she was having one of her delusions and thought I was a flower) but when it came to the Cullen family and Bella...well, I think I found the jackpot of crazy. After all, is it really normal for people to go around claiming to be vampires? No, it is most certainly inot/i. But then, maybe I was going crazy. Nothing had seemed right ever since I had gone to La Push. So when Edward moved so fast I couldn't see him, I was convinced I was sick. And that they were insane. Needless to say, I was out of the house in about .03 seconds and in my car, rocketing down the frustratingly long driveway and back to Jean's and my house, where the only insanity that ever came to pass was the occasional bout with dementia on Jean's part and an attack on the screen door on mine. I stayed there the rest of the day, ignoring Bella's calls and Alice's calls, and eventually Edward's calls. I think they might have even used Jasper's phone at one point (so I wouldn't know the number...sneaky bastards) but then I just took the battery out of the damn thing and contented myself by watching "Private Practice" with Jean while she told me about how hot Sam the doctor was.
As I pulled into the school's driveway the next day, I sighed. I had been at the doctor's all morning, wanting them to tell me that I was sick, probably with some Amazonian River Virus that made your vision go all crazy. They had given me a clean bill of health, sadly, and sent me to school. Clean bill of health my ass. If I were so healthy, how come I was seeing things? Doctors...they really didn't know much.
Making sure to slam my car door (because honestly, who doesn't feel a bit better after that?), I made my way to the class I should have been in fifteen minutes ago: gym class. I sighed – gym class meant seeing Tommy...and Bella...and Alice...and Edward...and Jasper. Damn. How did they all end up in the same classes all the time? Making my way into the gymnasium, I was hit by the sound of sneakers squeaking on the smooth wood floor – the sound of a basketball game. Dude, I could do basketball. But then I saw the Cullens and Bella, and my heart sank. Aw, hell no. I was so not going to go over them and pretend that they weren't a bunch of insane cultists who thought that they were vampires. It just wasn't happening. So, very deliberately, I made my way over to Tommy Schellden, who had been watching me since I came in. Forcing a bright smile onto my face, I sat down beside him on the bench, "Hey Tommy." I almost felt bad about how happy he looked about the fact that I was talking to him. Poor boy didn't know I was just using him to avoid my former friends.
"Hey Amber! (God...he really did sound happy to see me.) Where were you this morning?"
Aw...he missed me! I looked at him, trying to get myself to like him. It was a failed attempt, but at least I could tolerate him? That was a step in the right direction, right? I shrugged, keeping my eyes on him so I didn't have to look at Bella, who I could see out of the corner of my eye waving frantically at me. Sorry honey, I was so not hopping on the train to Crazytown. "The hospital...I wasn't feeling too well." I was surprised to see that actual worry crossed his features. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all.
"You feeling better now?"
"Yeah. I guess it was just...I dunno...something."
He grinned – it was a rather nice smile... "Well, I'm glad you're ok."
I smiled back, and it took less effort this time.
After gym class, I graciously allowed him to carry my bag back to my locker for me, and we actually had a decent conversation. Turned out he knew more then just football – he was apparently a genius at literature...but he was failing math. Poor guy. He said it with such a depressed look on his face (apparently if he didn't get his grades up, they'd have to cut him from the football team) that I put my hand on his forearm, making an offer so surprising that I didn't know who was more shocked: me or him.
"Do you want me to help you? I'm getting A's in math, but like, C's in English. We could help each other."
Oh God...what was I thinking?
"That'd be awesome!"
"Great..." I attempted to keep the smile on my face as I took my books from my locker and dumped them into my book bag, not looking up at him as he kept talking,
"I have practice till four, but if you wanted, we could meet somewhere afterwards?"
"Huh?" I totally had just been looking at Alice, who was coming towards us. Oh great. Nowhere to run.
"Amber!" Her voice was annoyingly cheerful, and I slammed my locker door shut, sending her my best "Back off" look possible. I had no patience for crazy people unless I was related to them. Case in point: Jean.
"Go away, Alice." I growled, really not wanting to deal with this right now. I had already landed myself in enough trouble with the 'oh, why don't I offer to help tutor Tommy' business. I didn't want to deal with my former friends. However, it didn't look like I'd be getting my way since Edward was coming over now. I slumped back against the lockers and then, as Jasper and Bella followed, exploded (releasing a vulgarity that Jean would have threatened to box my ears for) and stormed down the hallway. I was not going to deal with the Cullens and their deranged ideas of "vampireness." Miss Alice "I can see the future and you're going to be part of a war" Cullen and Mr. Edward "I can read thoughts" Cullen and...and what Jasper was...could kiss my ass. I didn't want to deal with them. Honestly, would you want to listen to people who claimed to be vampires? Would you? Hah. Didn't think so. I was fully expecting them to chase after me, never being ones to give up easily, so I was surprised not to hear them behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I wondered why they weren't.
Then I saw why, and froze.
Tommy Schellden was yelling at Edward and Alice Cullen.
I think the entire hallway went dead quiet except for Tommy, who was currently yelling at Edward and Alice to back off, that I clearly didn't want to talk to them, that they should give me space if I needed it, that they were freaking me out (ooh...that's right, I had told him the bit about being a bit creeped out by them...) and that they should really just leave me along.
Everyone was staring. I was staring in disbelief, first at Tommy, then Edward, then Alice, then Jasper, then Bella. And then everyone turned to look at me. Having about seventy pairs of eyes on you is quite intimidating, let me tell you. I stood frozen, wondering what to do or say. As Tommy started towards me, I glanced up at him with newfound respect. What I said next did not reflect that.
"Are you mental?"
He laughed shortly, "No."
"Lies."
He grinned, shaking his head. Apparently he was escorting me all the way to my car. We were quiet all the way there, save for working out a time for the tutoring (Sunday afternoon) and an exchanging of cell phone numbers. Then I was in my car and on the road, wondering what the hell had just happened. As I drove, attempting (and failing) to work out the events of the day, I found myself turning onto the road that led to La Push. Why? Everything had started going weird after I collided with Mr. Tall, Dark and Confusing. And I do mean everything. Jean had even remembered to take her pills, and when that happened, you knew there were little piggies soaring happily in the sky somewhere.
The car rumbled happily (or grumpily...I could never tell) down the road to La Push and then, in the most dramatic way possible (not), sputtered to a stop. Just...died. It rolled forward for a few pathetic feet before shuddering to a stop, right near the sandy beach that doubled as a parking spot for beach-goers.
Oh my God.
I got out of the car, wondering furiously if this placed was cursed. Going to the hood, I yanked it open, shoving the prop up so I could look inside of it. I couldn't see anything wrong, and was about to lean back when the Curse of Amber Ryder continued. The prop keeping the hood up slipped, and the entire hood crashed down onto my head. That was it. A girl can only take so much.
I sunk down onto the ground, choking back a sob as I clutched the back of my head which really, really hurt. I probably had a concussion. I was prepared to have a full-out breakdown when I heard someone cough awkwardly, and I shot instantly to my feet. Sadly, in my nearly concussed state, I swayed, almost toppling over and managed to smash my elbow against the hood, eliciting another whimper of pain from me. Was this what it felt like to be Bella?
"Are you ok?"
It was, of all people, Mr. Tall, Dark and Confusing. Fan-freaking-tastic. Glaring at him with as much ferocity as I could muster (given the pain in my head and elbow, it wasn't much), I snarled out, "No, I just enjoy smashing my head against car hoods and cracking my elbow against hard metal."
I couldn't blame the guy for staring at me like I was insane. I also wouldn't blame him when he walked away, thinking I was a lunatic, which I was sure would happen any second. But it didn't. He stood there for a moment, watching me with those big brown eyes...and then he repeated, "Seriously. Are you ok?"
Now, a girl has her limits. And finding out your grandmother set fire to your favorite scarf because she thought it was a loaf of bread and put it in the oven; discovering that three of your closest (and only) friends think they're vampires (and that the fourth friend thinks they are too); accidentally agreeing to tutor some guy you really don't want to spend much time with; watching your car sputter to a stop; smashing your head on the hood of the car and elbow on the car; and finally, breaking down with a half-hysterical sob...this is all enough to push a girl to those limits. So it wasn't really my fault that I broke down.
"No I'm not fucking ok!" I exploded, going on to list all of the above reasons about why I was most certainly not ok, and added in a couple more, like how I was failing English and how I had had to move from all my friends; how I wanted to be back in warm weather; how I wanted to actually know someone sane...the list went on. I think I must have ranted for a solid ten minutes before realizing what exactly I was saying and shutting my mouth with a snap. Oh God Amber...you've done it again.
However the guy, whose name still was a mystery, was looking at me not as if I were insane, but worriedly. Why the hell would he be worried about me? And then, in the most compassionate and honest tone I had ever heard someone use, he murmured, "I'm sorry...that sounds like a lot to deal with."
I swallowed an embarrassing hiccup, staring at him before mumbling, "Yeah...it is. I'm...I'm Amber by the way. We met the other day..."/b I waved my hand to the beach, as if to remind him of how he had saved me from certain death...or at least a broken nose. Besides, I really wanted to get off the topic of me and all my problems. I didn't tell my friends about the things I worried about, so why I had chosen to tell a complete stranger was a mystery. A complete stranger who, I realized (for the first time since I saw him, really!), was bare-chested. Again. God...he really was fit.
As if sensing my desire to avoid the topic I had just ranted about for far too long, he stuck out one massive hand with that smile coming over his face again...the one like a blind man finally seeing the sun, "I'm Jacob. Jacob Black."