Nine
After all the unexpected surprises in my life, I accepted the fact Aiden was a werewolf a lot quicker than if I hadn't already known my own brother was one, and that they even existed in the first place. Aiden didn't even mean to show me he was one; it was all an accident. Werewolves are sworn to secrecy, so at first he was scared I'd dump him or scream and run away. Or both.
Nate had walked back inside, saying he was going to leave this up to me. Aiden transformed back into a human and trotted over to me before I had a chance to register this and was still standing there with what I'm sure was a dumb look on my face. How embarrassing.
"Charlotte, I don't know what to say," Aiden started, incredibly nervous. "I-I can explain-," He added, but I put a hand up and he got quiet.
"Aiden, listen to me…I'm not scared or freaked out about this," I said quietly.
"You're not?" Aiden cried, incredulous.
"Aiden, I know Nate is one, too. My family told me. That's why I was so depressed for awhile, I was coming to terms with all this. But I accepted it and I'm fine with it now, and actually, yeah I lied, I am freaked out you're a werewolf but I'm just saying I'm not as freaked out as I should be because I've been recently informed werewolves do exist, as well as witches, and it's fine, it really is…" I confessed in what seemed like one breath.
"Witches?" Was all Aiden questioned.
"Marlene," I explained, and he nodded, still looking a bit confused though. "I should have put two and two together," I continued, now realizing how dumb I was. "You and Nate are always together. You both got matching tattoos. It makes sense."
"Actually, they're not matching. Nate's tattoo represents the wolf pack from here, but mine is from my tribe back in Washington." Aiden subconsciously looked down at his shoulder where the tattoo resided. I looked at it too, then my eyes wandered back to his muscular body and I began to day dream but then realized this was important and snapped my eyes back to his face.
"This doesn't have to be hard," Aiden told me softly. "It'll be hard going out with me now…but it doesn't have to be."
"Why would it be hard? What's going to change?" I wondered, confused.
"I'm not sure. Right when I began changing, my dad explained that I'd no longer be the person I used to be. Things were going to be different, and that having a girlfriend would be hard. I guess he meant that sneaking around you so you wouldn't find out would be hard, but now that you know, and now that I know you actually are from a family of werewolves…" Aiden and I both laughed, and I felt better. No more secrets. It felt good to tell Aiden finally my family's unique characteristics. And I'm sure he felt relieved, knowing he didn't have to pretend to be normal around me all the time. We were both in the know.
My parents still weren't home, so when Aiden and I finally went back inside I told him to find a shirt. Who knew what would happen if my parents strolled in to see Aiden shirtless in our living room. After all the events today, I wanted to get things back in order.
Aiden came back down after borrowing a shirt from Nate, and sat next to me on the sofa. "Well, now that you know I'm a werewolf and I know Marlene's a witch and you're ok about all these things…we should probably talk some more and clear anything else out," Aiden decided.
"I have a lot of questions," I confessed, chuckling nervously. Oh, where to begin?
"I do too," Aiden replied smiling, and I placed a hand on his arm.
"You first," I urged.
"Okay…when did you find out Nate was a werewolf and that your family has werewolf in them and all that?"
"I told you...it was around that time I was down all the time. My parents randomly just told me and I felt like I was going insane, literally," I sighed, shaking my head.
"That's right, you told me. I'm sure that must have been hard," Aiden agreed.
"For me I guess, but you? You actually are one, I mean, I can't even imagine!" I cried.
Aiden laughed. "Yeah, it was intense. But like you, I had all the clues in front of me I just never pieced them together. When I did it all made sense and when everything clicked I accepted it a lot better. I was so afraid I had to leave you though, because I couldn't stand the idea of keeping a secret from you," Aiden confessed, looking down.
"Oh, shush, you're being cute again. We're having a serious talk!" I reminded him laughing.
"Right. So how do you feel about Marlene being a witch? I didn't even know witches existed, but I'm not surprised since there are werewolves and all. I can kind of see how she is though, it all makes sense with her too," Aiden said, and we started cracking up, because it was so true. If Marlene wasn't a witch, I'm not sure what excuse I'd use for her wacky behavior.
"Can you tell me more about werewolves?" I asked Aiden sweetly, cuddling up next to him. "My parents told me about our 'tribe' or whatever here, but are they all different? And they never really told me what it's like to be one and all that. Nate's too busy being himself, as usual, so I never really found out much…"
"Um, let's see. Well, once we begin transforming, we become stronger and bigger-"
"-Yeah, I noticed that," I interrupted, and Aiden laughed again.
"Anyway, after that our parents usually figure out it's around the time we're transforming, so we get a representative tattoo to symbolize what we are. Once you are done transforming, you can become a wolf whenever you want. You heal quicker, you're abnormally strong and fast, and you can communicate telepathically with other wolves, but only when everyone's in wolf form. These are all the things my dad told me, and he also went on and on with all his stories from when he was my age and all that. He said the hardest part was leaving all his human friends because he couldn't give himself away."
"I'm glad I know," I told Aiden. "I can't imagine you leaving just because of something you couldn't tell me."
"Yeah, that was the hardest part for me. I was so worried all the time and stressing out about that," Aiden sighed.
"Is that why you've been so grumpy lately?" I wondered innocently.
"I guess," Aiden shrugged.
"No, it's true," I persisted. "You like freaked out over Joel."
"Well, no, I freaked out because I don't want you hanging around him," Aiden explained, frowning. "I don't like that he even thinks it's ok for him to just walk into your house."
"I'm not sure what's going on with him, but I think he got the idea to stay away after you showed up," I replied, forcing a little laugh. In truth I was embarrassed at Aiden's reaction but I saw it coming.
"That's right. I don't know what will happen if I find him talking to you again," Aiden said seriously, and I didn't even want to imagine, so I changed subjects.
"Are all your family members down in Washington werewolves too?" I asked.
"Most of them, yes. When I first found out I was a werewolf, I called my cousin Jacob right away. He wanted to visit me as soon as he could, so he's coming here for Christmas." At this, Aiden came back to normal, smiling playfully and forgetting all about Joel. I sighed in relief, then held his hand excitedly.
"Oh, good! I want to meet him," I replied.
"You will, I want you guys to meet each other, too. He's coming soon. I can't wait," Aiden chuckled. We continued like this for awhile, joking around together about the new events in our lives and I found it so much better like this, because Aiden and I talked all the time and it'd be awful if we couldn't talk about all this werewolf business. As crazy as this sounds, my life was becoming more stable and normal, as much as it could be considering the circumstances, anyway.
**
Christmas was around the corner. I tried getting a coffee this morning, and the town was a tornado of crowds, tourists, confusion, and little kids. It was really annoying. I'm all up for Christmas and stuff, but to not be able to get my coffee was crossing the line. I walked to my house's front door, my white chocolate mocha safely in my hands, finally, and before going in stomped the snow off my boots.
Nate was on the sofa eating chips and watching the news. "Our town is killer free again," He randomly piped up. I sighed, relieved, even though the whole killer thing had gotten kind of old. Nobody was really paying attention to that stuff anymore, focusing on Christmas instead. Nate was the only one who seemed to still care. Oh, and he's still mad he never was able to catch any killer himself.
My mom suddenly came running down the stairs. "Charlotte, can you do a few errands for me?" She wondered.
"Mom! I literally just got home," I grumbled.
"Oh, please? I have to take Nate shopping and don't have enough time." My mom handed me a list of things to do, and proceeded to try and remove Nate from the couch.
"Why can't you ever take me shopping?" I muttered under my breath, reluctantly putting my boots back on and braving the snow once I opened the front door. Nate hardly ever even wore clothes; werewolves apparently are always warm and don't feel the cold. After finding this out I realized why Aiden was a perfect werewolf.
In my beat up old Volvo once again, I added myself to the long line of cars trying to make their way through town. Our Christmas decorations were insane; everywhere you looked there was a Santa, or a snowman, or a reindeer waving at you or smiling at you. Snow covered every surface, making downtown look like a winter wonderland. This was all fine and jolly, but I imagined myself getting tired of the Christmas songs repeating on the radio very, very soon.
I was inching my way down one of the main streets in an attempt to get to the post office. I was looking through my windshield distractedly, wanting to fast forward. Suddenly, I saw a group of people walking down the sidewalk to my left, passing my car. I blinked, but it wasn't a hallucination. All of the Elite were strolling along, talking and smiling, seemingly enjoying themselves. My stomach flipped when I spotted Joel among them. He was looking sullen, and the closer he got the more anxious he looked. We locked eyes and I don't think I was even breathing; soon though, he looked away and was out of my eyesight because the rest of them had already walked by ahead of him.
A car horn coming from behind me woke me up, and I saw that the car in front of me had driven up the street and someone was clearly impatient. I quickly speeded up, but didn't even have that long to go. Once again there was traffic, and that blaring horn wasn't even worth my mild heart attack. I shook my head, the jerk behind me distracting me from Joel for only a moment. Now, he was back in my thoughts. I found myself wishing I could befriend him, just to learn more about him. He was so mysterious and it attracted my curiosity so much. What was his story? How was he and the killer linked? What happened after he had left my house? So many questions…
Another mild heart attack; a loud thump occurred to my right, and I jumped. I rolled my eyes and sighed in relief when I saw that it was Aiden who had spotted me in the traffic and walked over; to get my attention he had knocked on the window.
"Let me in!" Aiden laughed. I unlocked the doors and he took a seat next to me, removing his hat.
"You got a haircut," I noticed, nodding in approval.
"Yeah, just now," Aiden smiled over at me. "I had no idea you were downtown!"
"Yeah, running errands," I grumbled. "What's in the bag?"
"Oh." Aiden was holding a brown paper bag, and he put it down near his feet. "I can't tell you."
"Unfortunately, I can't have you securing drugs in this vehicle. You're going to have to get out," I told him firmly, but couldn't resist smiling. Aiden laughed, shaking his head.
"You're silly. It's not drugs. If you must know, it's your Christmas present," Aiden told me, looking at me intently. After all we've been through together and after months of going out, I still couldn't help it and looked away shyly not being able to meet his eye. I was beyond excited; obviously Aiden would be getting me a present, but being a girl, just knowing for sure made me super happy.
"Can't wait," I giggled. The horrid traffic I was in was no longer seen as a problem. Aiden leaned over and kissed me, and I hoped the car in front of me didn't move for awhile.
**
"Oh, the weather outside is frightful!" Marlene sang, sashaying next to me.
"But the fire is so delightful?" I replied back, my mediocre singing voice nothing compared to hers, and I wasn't really keen on singing in front of Aiden, but everyone had looked at me expecting me to continue the song.
"And since we've no place to go!" Aiden sang, hugging me and laughing (at my voice no doubt).
"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" Everyone chimed in, and soon laughter broke out and, thankfully, all singing ceased.
We were all gathered at my house, for my parents usually throw Christmas Eve parties, and this time had allowed me to bring whoever I wanted. Gary and Bailey were out of town for Christmas, so I had invited Marlene and Aiden. Marlene brought her aunt and mother, and Aiden brought his dad and grandma, who, by the way, apparently were super excited to meet my parents (save me please!); others included my parents' friends, a few family members here and there, and Nate with his friends.
Nate had cooped up with his friends in his room to play videogames all night and ignore the party all together; the family members and family friends were gathered in the living room, admiring our huge Christmas tree and extravagant decorations; Marlene and Aiden were in the kitchen, helping me deliver snacks to the party, and finally I was near them, but not helping, for I was busy watching Aiden's dad talking to my dad anxiously.
"Charlotte, will you relax? Help me pass around these cookies!" Marlene cried out, struggling with one of my mother's heavy wooden trays with an intricate owl carved on it.
"I got it," Aiden piped up, effortlessly scooping up the tray with one arm and handing Marlene a lighter tray adorned with various fruits.
"Okay, I can do this," I told myself and together with my friends set out the trays on a table in the living room for all to enjoy.
"It looks like they're getting along. Hell, they sure have a lot to talk about anyway, so why wouldn't they?" Aiden reassured me, hugging me from behind and kissing my cheek. He was right; if anyone had anything in common with my dad, it was Aiden's dad. What were they talking about? Roaming through the woods as werewolves back in the good old days? I couldn't even imagine.
"I know. I've just never experienced my parents meeting a boyfriend's parents. I guess it's not as bad as the movies make it look," I agreed, turning around and smiling up at him.
I was going to kiss him on the lips, but Marlene's voice rang throughout the house. "Aiden!" She called.
"I'm being summoned. Hold that thought," Aiden grinned at me, my lips still puckered and waiting. I shrugged and looked around, wondering where my parents had put up the mistletoe. Ah, I see, at the doorway leading to the staircase. I planned on leading Aiden there later, and followed him to see what Marlene was so excited about.
The front door was open and I saw them talking to someone. "Who's this?" I wondered. I came face to face with what looked like Aiden's long lost twin brother.
"Hey! You must be Charlotte. I'm Jacob." Jacob smiled over at me, offering me a hand. I took it and stared at him; he was so cute. But I guess that's because how much Aiden and him looked alike. I smiled and invited him in. Right before I turned around I saw the look on Marlene's face; she looked like she'd just seen a ghost. I assumed that was her 'this guy is really hot' look, so I decided to try and get them together. I have a thing where if I'm not single, I live off of my single friends and try and get them guys, too. Playing matchmaker can be addicting, and can also go terribly wrong, so I advise you don't do it often.
We were the only kids in the living room since my brother and his friends were still upstairs playing videogames. While the adults mingled in my living room, I invited everyone up to my room so we could all hang out.
"So um, are you a werewolf too?" I asked Jacob (after my door was shut safely, of course).
"What?" Jacob wondered, and seemed truly confused. I saw him look over at Aiden, who started to laugh.
"Jacob, she knows."
"Oh," Jacob replied, scratching his head. "Yeah, I am."
"Let me see your tattoo!" I asked excitedly. Marlene looked over at me nervously, but I was doing this for her benefit. She'd find that out soon enough.
"What? Take my shirt off?" Jacob laughed.
"Of course," I replied mischievously.
"Charlotte, you've only just met him, and you already want his clothes off?" Aiden asked jokingly.
"I just want to see if you guys have the same one!" I replied defensively.
"Well, here goes," Jacob said nonchalantly. He whipped his shirt off and sure enough both he and Aiden had the same tattoo. Instead of looking at Jacob (fabulous, by the way) I snuck a peak at Marlene who was staring at him as if he was a celebrity. I was absolutely loving this.
When everyone was clothed again (Aiden ended up showing Jacob his so they could compare) we sat down around my room and I started to ask Jacob stuff to get to know him better. "So for how long are you down here for?" I wondered.
"Not sure, I'll leave whenever Aiden wants me too," Jacob laughed. "So… how is it that you know about Aiden and, well, us?" He suddenly asked me.
"Oh. Well, my brother is a werewolf. He got it from my dad, and my dad got it from his dad, etc. I guess we're connected by blood to an ancient tribe from around here that holds the curse," I explained.
"Are you bummed you didn't get to be one?" Jacob joked.
I laughed. "I'm not sure…I would be a very bad wolf, not wanting to get dirty and probably not wanting to kill animals either," I shrugged, and everyone chuckled. "I think it only happens with the boys of the family, anyway."
"How cute," Jacob commented smartly, patting Aiden on the shoulder. "A werewolf couple!"
"Almost. Charlotte's human," Aiden laughed, punching Jacob on the arm.
"Yeah and Marlene's a witch!" I said, smiling over at her who now looked at me in alarm. "What?" I added.
"Hold up, no way!" Jacob cried, whirling around to face Marlene who smiled at him shyly. "What can you do? I don't think there are any witches in Forks."
"Um, not much. I can make magic potions…that's about it," Marlene confessed, and laughed nervously. "I'm not super fast and strong and I can't turn into anything, you know, like you guys."
Jacob laughed cheerfully, and I thought he had a nice smile. I think Marlene noticed too. "That's funny," He said. Marlene beamed.
"How's everyone back home?" Aiden asked Jacob, sitting next to me on the bed and placing an arm around my shoulders.
"They're good. When I told everyone what happened to you, they all freaked out. They all want to see you, man. I mean, when I transformed, everyone was like 'whatever' but if I even mention your name, everyone starts going nuts," Jacob explained, laughing.
Aiden chuckled then looked at me. "Well, I think Charlotte and I might be planning to go visit some time soon."
"Me?" I questioned in surprised. "Wouldn't you rather go by yourself?"
"No! Everyone would love you, you have to come!" Jacob insisted, smiling. Oh, well, in that case, I thought smugly. I'd love to come visit you in Washington, Jacob Black.
"You all should go," Jacob continued, waving an arm around. "It'll be like a road trip!"
"Yeah, except it would be a little less road and more of an airplane," Aiden shook his head at Jacob.
"Whatever," Jacob muttered.
"I'm not sure if I could go," Marlene piped up quietly.
"Why not, Mar?" I wondered.
"Well, I mean, you have werewolves in your family and all even though you're human. What if they don't want a witch around?" Marlene asked perplexed.
"Look, the only enemies we have are vampires. If you're not a vampire, you're more than welcome to visit and hang out," Jacob told Marlene.
"Vampires?!" I cried out suddenly. "Vampires exist, too?"
Jacob looked at me confused. "What are you talking about? Your best friend is a witch, your family is part werewolf and even your boyfriend is a werewolf, too. No one ever told you about vampires?"
"No!" I cried out, and looked at Marlene and Aiden as if they were supposed to have told me.
"Oh, well, yeah, vampires are around. Aiden told me there's quite a few that goes to your school even. There's no way you would have missed them; they're tall, pale, and super attractive. They like draw you in, part of their power. They usually hang in groups with other vampires that act as their family, but really none of them are related," Jacob explained, his smile fading. "I can't stand them."
My mind instantly thought of Joel, and the Elite. It couldn't be. They all fit Jacob's description perfectly; could it be that they were all vampires?
"Marlene," I turned towards her. "Does that mean…the Elite…?"
Marlene nodded gravely. "Yeah. They're all vampires. That's why I told you to stay away from Joel," She explained. Well, you told me to stay away from Aiden, too, I thought. Then it hit me. She probably told me that just because she knew he was a werewolf. How did she know everything? Argh!
"That's why I want you to stay away from him, too," Aiden said to me firmly.
"So vampires and werewolves hate each other?" I wondered.
"Pretty much," Jacob explained. "I mean, there's one I know back home that really gets to me sometimes." Jacob began pacing back and forth, he seemed worked up now.
"Jacob really likes this girl," Aiden explained to me and Marlene. "But she likes a vampire instead, so, Jacob gets really pissed about it."
"Don't even bring it up," Jacob replied, waving his hand as if to wave the thought away.
Aiden grinned, adding, "Sorry."
"Well, let's not get all down. It's Christmas Eve!" I exclaimed, standing up. "Let's just forget about vampires and unreturned love and all that. Let's go downstairs and see if there's any food ready." I tugged on Aiden's hand and waved Marlene over. On our way down the stairs I got kind of sad my plans on getting Jacob and Marlene together wouldn't work; she also got even more quiet, and once down the stairs went up to her aunt and mom instead of staying with us.
Jacob excused himself too and went over to talk to Jacob's dad and grandma. I was almost at the last step when Aiden went in front of me and stopped me, so as I stood on the last step of the stairs looking down at him. "What?" I wondered, grinning.
"Just wanted to let you know I put your present under your tree already," Aiden told me, holding my hand.
"Aw, Aiden!" I gushed. "I already gave all the presents I have for you and your family to your grandma. I don't know if she remembered to put them anywhere…" I explained.
Aiden laughed. "She remembered, I saw them. Anyway, I hope you like it. This is my first Christmas with a girlfriend and everything so, I, uh, might have gone overboard," Aiden confessed cutely.
"Sweetheart, there's no such thing as going overboard with gifts when it comes to girlfriends," I told him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He lifted me off the step and twirled me around once before setting me down. I giggled and stood up on my toes to kiss him.
"Wait. Wrong place," Aiden said, pulling back. He led me to the mistletoe I saw earlier which was right there in front of us at the doorway. "Merry Christmas Charlotte," Aiden said softly, touching his forehead to mine.
"Merry Christmas Aiden," I replied laughing and finally we kissed under the mistletoe.
The night went on to very fun yet cliché moments, involving the usual crazy shenanigans by slightly drunk adults, plenty of singing and eating, and at the end enjoying hot chocolate with dessert. I made sure to hang out with family as well as friends, but I hated boring adult conversation, so I mostly stayed with Aiden, Marlene, and Jacob. I decided I really liked Jacob and if I do end up going to Washington with Aiden I wouldn't mind at all; Jacob was one of those people you become like instant friends with, and it was almost like I've known him forever. I caught him and Marlene talking alone more than a few times, which led me to think that maybe there's still hope, even with Jacob liking some mysterious girl back home. Then again, he was really friendly, so I couldn't tell if he was just being nice to Marlene or flirting.
Even with so much going on and the spirit of Christmas in full swing, my mind still kept going back to Joel and his supposed 'family'. I couldn't believe they were vampires! Like everything else I discovered, them being vampires made sense. But if they only attract you in person, why did I sometimes catch myself thinking of Joel even when he's not around? Sometimes I even dream about him. Was that a vampire power, too?
I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to think about him. No matter how much I wanted to know about him and find out more about this vampire business, it was evident that Joel and I simply couldn't be friends. We can't even be acquaintances. My family, being werewolves, would naturally oppose to me being around him since I found out about this whole werewolves against vampires feud. Aiden would go crazy if he found Joel and I talking again or maybe even looking at each other; he made that clear. It's just not worth having everyone hate me.
Instead, when the party was over and everyone left, I decided to finally go to sleep and dream instead of what presents I'd get tomorrow and what my adventures in Washington with the werewolves would be like (if it ever happens).
However, no matter how much I wish you could, you can't control your dreams. There were some snippets of Christmas presents, Aiden, and even Jacob, but I couldn't deny the rest: Joel Graham had been a prominent character in my mind that night.