Every soul grows old
But can stay
Immature
Indefinitely.
~Ogden Nash
~June~
"Seriously?" My jaw dropped and my hand froze mid-air, where I was about to knock in the door.
"Seriously," Jesse grinned, "And there," He pointed down the street that was cut off at a dead end by a park "Is the Grange, the greatest park ever and the home of The St. Ignatius Raiders football games, I uhm, I played for them when I still lived here." He smiled sheepishly. "We always won, so did our baseball team,"
"My brothers played for them! But they didn't go there, we went to some snotty rich kid school, I hated that place, but the teachers were nice. Minus the whole learning concept." I laughed.
"Have you ever been down in the Grange Estate?" He asked me. I rolled my eyes.
"Dude! I basically lived there! Did you go to The Skatium and Cenzos?" I asked, completely shocked that Jesse had lived in H-Town.
"I was the regular at Cenzos, June," He scoffed, "And I played hockey at The Skatium."
The Skatium is an Ice Skating rink, cleverly named in my opinion. And Cenzos is a pizzeria with the greatest pizza EVER. No exaggeration on that statement.
"Did you ever go to the wheel down at the Grange Estate?" My voice was clotted with shock, my eyes still huge.
"All the time!" He grinned and then Seth cut in.
"Would you two stop gushing and knock on the damn door? We shouldn't be outside so long!" He whispered angrily, obviously bored by our H-Town chatter.
"Fine, don't get your Panties in a twist, Ms. Clearwater." I grinned and banged on the door to the tune of
Shave and a Haircut
Two bits.
It was a secret knock that told my brothers who it was. We only used with each other.
The door was opened by a very, very tall Steve, who currently had chicken stuffed in his mouth.
"June!" He cried grabbing my wrist and pulling me inside, slamming the door in Jesse and Seth's faces.
I rolled my eyes after he put me down. I started to open the door, but he stage-whispered, "June! Don't! I have to rape you first!"
I burst out laughing, literally falling to the ground, cracking up.
He opened the door and let Jesse and Seth in, chuckling at me.
"June, get a hold of yourself! We have guests!" I heard someone call from the stairs.
Down came Shane, wearing a feather boa with his LSCHS Football T-Shirt and some shorts.
A basic Shane outfit.
I finally stopped, but was still giggling as Jesse grabbed my hands and pulled me up.
"Where's Vinny?" I asked, still a little drowsy from all the giggles, I leaned into Jess.
"Vinny got a girlfriend!" Steve sang, "And who are they? I knew the world would end the day you show up with two tall guys who look like their jacked on steroids."
Shane pretended to give Seth a once over and then winked at him. Seth was blushing like a mad man. I felt Jesse's fingers tense on my arms as Steve made the steroids comment. I swatted his hands away and grinned at my brothers.
"This," I jerked my thumb at Jess, "Is Nacho," and that, point to Seth, "Is Cheese, they're my stalkers. Eventually I got tired of them showing up everywhere I went, so I told them just to stay by my side all the time. They won't tell me their real names." I shrugged casually, as if it were the most normal thing.
"Well, Cheese is cute," Shane waggled his eyebrows at Seth and then cracked up at Seth's expression.
"Yo' dude, don't worry, I'm straight as an arrow, I act gay as a joke." He apologized.
Seth nodded at him, crossing his arms over his chest. Both Jesse and Seth looked intimidating and large.
"Nice glasses, June, don't tell me you saw the light!" Mike entered; a huge grin on his face.
"Get over here you crazy ginger and give me a hug!" I cried and ran over to Mike, hugging him tight. He laughed and patted me on the back.
"Nah. I saw it a while ago, Blinded by The Light." I pulled off the sunglasses I'd bought and winked at him. Jesse and Seth looked at me like I was insane.
"This is my family, get used to it," I laughed, looking at them amused.
"Now we see where you got your roots from," Jesse chuckled, easing up a bit.
"It speaks!" Steve cried, "I wonder if it moves!"
I laughed and rolled my eyes.
"So, where're you guys really from?" Shane asked, leaning against the wall casually.
"Idaho," Jesse automatically answered, I gave him a confused look.
"Where the potatoes grow," Seth continued.
"Oh, so what, you guys eat French fries every day?" Steve laughed.
Seth had an offended expression on his face. "No!"
"We eat French fries every other day," Jesse finished, a huge grin on his lips.
"I like these guys," Steve chuckled, "Come on! Let's go swallow food!"
He started walking towards the kitchen. I followed him, motioning for Jesse and Seth to come.
As soon as we were in the rather large kitchen, everyone leaning against the counter except for me and Steve.
"What's up for grub today, June bugger?" Shane asked, pulling a stool up the counter.
"Preferably something edible," Mike smirked. I laughed and opened up the fridge.
"Wow, you guys actually go grocery shopping," I stared at the fridge in amazement.
"Kat, Vinny's girlfriend, yes it is a girl! I know right! Anyway, Mike gives her money, she buys us food. None of that Man Meal shit or whatever. And she can cook, she basically lives here. But we have a strict no sleeping in the same bed as Vinny rule; he pouted like a puppy a week after that." Shane had put his feet up on the counter. I walked over to him and grabbed his ankles pushing him off the stool. He fell and I took his seat.
"Thanks, Bro." I grinned as he stood up, looking annoyed.
"That was so offensive, June! I'm not talking to you for thirty nine seconds!" Shane cried, turning his back from me. I heard him counting to thirty nine. When he finished he turned back, a big grin on his face.
"What that remind you of?" He asked; his eyes big with anticipation.
"Oh meh gawd! Who couldn't it have reminded me of!" I said in a snobby valley girl impersonation which I nailed, adding a good hair flip in.
"Ah, Sarah, whatever has happened to her?" I grinned.
"She went insane two years ago. She pulled a major Brittany, shaved all her hair off and started wearing some blue wig, and only wore whore clothes," Shane answered, shrugging casually.
My jaw dropped, "Seriously?"
"No," Steve laughed at me.
"She's still as annoying as hell, blonde hair, miniskirts, tiny dog in all their glory." Shane grinned.
"Does she still stalk Vinny?" I leaned on the counter, quite amused.
"Big time. She almost killed Kat last week, it was really funny," Somebody answered from the dining room, which was right next to the kitchen.
"Speak of the Devil, and The Devil Shall Appear," Steve mumbled and Vinny stepped in the room with a very pretty blonde girl behind him.
"Vinny!" I shouted, hopping up and tackle hugging him.
"June! What brings you to the East Coast?" He smiled hugging me back.
"Being stalked by a serial killer," I shrugged, "You know, nothing out of the normal."
I technically wasn't lying. I was being stalked by something that killed people, but it kinda was out of the normal.
Jesse appeared behind me and tugged on my shirt sleeve. His eyes were urgent, telling me he needed to talk to me ASAP.
"June," He whispered as soon as we were in the living room, "We have to go like now,"
I could hear the guys laughing at something Seth had said.
"Why?" I really didn't want to leave, seeing my brother's was great, it'd been so long.
"If we stay here too long, there's always the credible threat that he figures out where you are. If finds your scent here, he could harm your brothers, and I know that it's the last thing you want." His hands were on my shoulders. His eyes were glazed with sheer worry.
I nodded and walked back into the kitchen to say my goodbyes.
"We gotta go guys, I promised Nacho and Cheese I'd take them for their first Philly Cheese Steaks at Pat's." I lied smoothly.
"Aww, bye little sis!" Steve enveloped me into a huge bear hug, basically killing me.
I got similar hugs from everyone.
Kat stood in the back, waiting silently.
I walked over and hugged her as well.
"I don't know you at all, but thanks for taking care of my brother's; they always need a woman around." I smiled and she hugged me back.
"No problem, they've really grown on me." She flashed a toothy smile.
"Alright, guys," I said to Seth and Jesse, "Off to Pat's."
"Take 'em to Gino's." Steve coughed.
"Gino's sucks," I replied.
"You suck!" Steve grinned.
"At least I don't swallow, like Shane!" I sang, pulling Seth and Jesse out of the house with me.
We hopped in the car, Seth in the driver's seat, me in shotgun.
"That was…interesting." Jesse seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
"My family is weird, we have oodles of inside jokes," I beamed and Seth raised his eyebrows at me then pulled away from the curb and we started driving back to the hotel.
When we got there, Seth and Jesse's phones both had an alarming 36 messages.
How long had we been gone?
All of them were either from Jake or one of The Cullen's. We played them all on speaker, the last few ending with 'Call me as soon as you get this,'
We called Jake right away.
Jesse took it off speaker, which slightly annoyed me.
"Jake, yeah, hey sorry, we detoured. I left my phone in the car." He lied to Jake, who apparently bought it. Jesse's face lit up and then went down about six times. He looked like blinking Christmas lights.
Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.
"Alright, I'll tell them," He hung up after that, a huge grin on his face.
"We fooled the vampire, he followed us to Minnesota, but thanks to Alice, Emmett, and Bella, they covered up our tracks from there, making it appear as if we went to California. He went there, and they found his scent. They're hunting him down right now." Jesse smile widened.
"Why is everyone making such a big fuss and chasing some crazy stalker all over the country just for me? I'm just Billy's daughter. Nothing special." June said, underrating herself completely.
"June, we've only known you for about six days, but you mean the world to all of us, and when someone that important steps into our lives, we won't let a single thing happen to them." Jess replied, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. His hot skin burning mine through my shirt.
I snuggled into his chest, taking advantage of this hug to press myself up against his muscles and inhale his musky woodsy scent.
His lips brushed across my forehead. I shivered slightly at the electricity surging through my veins.
He tilted my face up his, our lips just barely touched when I heard Seth.
"You crazy kids, let's keep it PG rated!" He threw something at Jess. It was a twizzler.
That made me wants a Twizzler.
I sighed and slid out of Jesse's arms, jumping on the bed, and face first on a pillow. I felt Jesse sit next to me on the bed, his hand on my back.
Sleepiness was over whelming me right now. I yawned and rolled over onto my back, kicking my shoes off.
I closed my eyes and curled up in a ball. I didn't know how long it'd been but I woke up, noticing I was still fully dressed.
I looked around confused. All the lights were out, and something scorching hot was pressed up against my back. I craned my neck to see a very asleep Jesse. That's when I noticed one of his arms was wrapped tightly around my waist, basically suffocating me.
He must've felt me wake up because I heard a light gasp and him whisper, "June?"
"Hm?" I responded, my head falling back on the pillow, I didn't try to move from the position. I loved being close to him.
"What time is it?" I loved the way his voice sounded so tired.
I glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
"2:46 in the morning." I groaned and I felt his lips on my throat, making my groan seem stupid.
"S'not so bad, we can go back to sleep," He mumbled, pulling me closer.
"Jess, I'm dying in these jeans, let me up for a second." I whispered so I didn't wake Seth who was snoring louder than thunder on the others bed.
His arms slipped away and I rolled out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom.
I flipped on the lights and shielded my eyes at the brightness. I finally blinked back to normal eye sight and peered into the mirror.
If shit were classified as a person, I'd be it. I look horrible, I had dark circles under my eyes, and my hair was going curly and insane on me. I stripped out of my clothing and hopped into the shower, the warm water refreshing me instantly, I was also thankful that this hotel had silent showers, so it couldn't wake up Seth.
I happily washed my hair and then stepped out, wrapping myself in one of the fluffy white towels. I stepped out to see Jesse had passed out again. I laughed lightly and slipped on my sports bra and pair of boy's shorts. I towel dried my hair, it was still a little damp though, so I let nature take its course and we'll see how it looks in the morning.
"You took a shower?" Jesse's voice was full of laughter and I looked up at him, maybe he wasn't asleep.
WHAT HAD HE SEEN!
"You better not have been looking as I got dressed," I threatened, death glaring at him.
"I'm not rude, June. I shielded my eyes." He chuckled and I sucked in a breath of relief.
I walked back over to the bed and stepped on something on the way, I bent over and picked up Seth's phone that must've fallen off the bed table.
"June, is that a pin striping tattoo I see?" The words cut through the air as realization hit me.
My hand flew to the small of my back.
"Maybe," I didn't turn to look at him, my expression having adapted to a deer in the headlights.
I felt his hand on mine and he pulled my hand away, making me sigh as he studied my stupidity that was clearly exclaimed on my back.
"You have a tattoo?" He sounded like he couldn't believe it.
"Yes. It was a stupid thing to do; my friend Maya and I went a little crazy celebrating her sweet sixteen. She has one just like it." I turned to face him, feeling the frown on my lips.
"I never told my parents, and stopped wearing bikinis as much. Maya's parents didn't care of course. Damn hippies." I muttered and Jesse chuckled.
"I like it, but it's a little weird, what is it exactly?"
"Uhm, you know Harry Potter?" I asked him sheepishly.
"Yeah, Team Voldy represent," He grinned and all of a sodden Seth was sitting up in bed, saying the same thing.
"You people are weird," I shook my head, getting back to the story. "Well, Maya has the same birthday as Harry Potter, which is July 31st. So, I got a dark mark on my back, but instead of a skull, I got a smiley face because it was ten times as badass as a skull,"
Jesse cracked up and so did Seth.
"That makes me wonder what you did for your own sweet sixteen," Seth chuckled as I sat down on the bed.
"Oh my god." I fell backwards. "You do not want to know," I threw a pillow on my face, trying to not laugh.
"Tell us!" Jesse and Seth chanted.
"Ugh." I sat up, "Do you guys remember last May on GMA (Good Morning America) when they talked about this huge party down in Arizona that hadn't stopped until there were over three hundred and fifty police officers there? And how twenty kids got tasered?"
Jesse looked at me weirdly, but Seth nodded and said, "Yeah Jess, remember, Embry was like, 'Dude, we gotta throw that great of a bash one day,' It was set as the greatest party of all time."
Recognition hit Jesse and they both nodded.
I shifted on the bed, sighing at the memory.
"That was my birthday party. It was crazy, Maya, this kid Ryan D'Auguste, my friend Corrin, Lauren and Jo invited everyone between the ages of 15 and 18 in the greater Arizona. I'm pretty sure everyone showed up. I mean there were thousands of kids. We had these huge booths with stereos and the volume was set to ear shattering. It was an awesome party. Some college kids, who were like in their twenties showed up with kegs. We had it in this park that had this like huge barren field that went on for like three miles. I didn't know half the people there, and Ryan my friend was one of the kids who got tasered. That party was insane. Best. Party. Ever."
Their jaws literally dropped.
"That was you're birthday party? They must've really liked you down there. That is so cool! You're sweet sixteen party made national news! They talked about that party for days, I mean I heard people talking on the news about how at first they thought that there was an earth quake going on because the thumping of the music was so loud!" Seth's eyes were huge with shock.
"That party sounds like it was kicken', I wish I'd been there, Man, us Quileute's, we know how to party. You should come to one of beach parties. Oh golly, they get pretty exciting," Jesse smiled sitting next to me.
"Oh golly?" I looked at him, laughing.
He shrugged with a wolfish grin on his face.
"Hey, I don't judge, I'm working on bringing the word 'Swell' back." I was still laughing.
We stayed up a little longer, them listening to stories of me and my friends back in Arizona; like the time we went bungee jumping, and when me and my friend Zeke had a Parkour race that was five miles long.
Eventually I felt like I was going to pass out, and then I did. I felt Jesse picking me up from the bed and rearranging me so I was sleeping in a normal position, with my head on the pillow and everything.
That night well…morning I guess, I dreamt of Jesse.
I dreamt of his smile.
His eyes.
His hot skin on mine.
His lips.
Him.
I woke up in an empty bedroom. Jesse and Seth were talking in hushed tones in the kitchen/dining area/living room of the hotel room.
I threw on a t-shirt I saw laying on the ground and walked out.
There were two couches, sitting on one were Jesse and Seth, on the other one was the Short haired brunette vampire I'd seen two nights ago at my house before I had to leave. And next to her was Alice.
"Alice!" I squealed and she giggled jumping up and hugging me.
"June, I brought you clothing!" She grinned and I rolled my eyes.
"Please tell me you brought me my clothes." I begged her.
She shook her head.
"Every day is a shopping opportunity." She flashed me an elfish grin and then ran over to the kitchen; she was next to me again before I could blink, tons of bags in her hands.
I groaned.
She pushed me into the bedroom throwing the bags in after me.
The bag full of shoes hit me in the head.
"Ow!" I called out to her, and I could hear them all chuckling.
I put on a pair of jean shorts and a white shirt with a zebra on it. A nice pair of black low tops and I reemerged, my hair had returned to its naturally frizzy and curly wild form.
I strutted back out, posing for Alice's sake and receiving applause before I plopped on the couch.
"So, why are you here?" I asked Alice, who glanced at the brunette.
"Alex, he uhm, well, he tricked us. And he figured out you weren't in California, we don't know where he is right now, and right now, going outside is maybe the worst possible thing you could do. We're scared that with all you're running around yesterday, he might've come here." The girl answered, "I'm Gwen, by the way."
M whole world came crashing down, he might be in Philly. He might trace my scent to my brother's house. He might hurt them.
I took in a shaky breathe, I felt Jesse's hand on my back.
"Did you guys come here just to tell me that? Or…?" My voice sounded my confident than intended.
"We're reinforcements. We keep watch; I have tabs on Alex's every move. There's three other vampire's with him. Newborns, but their strength is bigger than Emmett's. This man knows how to beat us. He's older than Carlisle, not even Jake can figure this out." Alice sighed, before her face went all stone like, she froze.
"What's happening to her!" I cried, jumping up and rushing to her side.
"She's having a vision!" Seth called, his eyes wide.
"A w-what?" I stuttered.
"Oh yeah, uhm, remember when I told you about The Cullen's being vampires? Well, some vampires have powers, and Alice can see the future." Jesse smiled weakly.
"Badass." I murmured, as Alice broke out of her trance.
"H-he's in Pittsburgh, we've got get the rest of them up here, now!" She screamed, pulling a tiny silver bobble from her pocket.
A phone.
She dialed a number faster than I could imagine and was screaming into a phone. I couldn't catch a single word. She snapped it shut.
"What did you see exactly, Al?" Gwen's honey colored eyes were huge, sick with fear.
"I saw," She swallowed nothing, "I saw him, he had the other three with them. He's moving fast, the others won't get here in time. He plans to attack by tomorrow. The other three want to kill June as much as he does. They don't seem to be as angry over the matter he is, but something else she's done…" She trailed off, a puzzled look over coming her face.
"Do you know who the other three are?" Jesse's tone was rushed, impatient almost.
"No," She answered quickly.
"How did Gwen come into this?" I interrupted.
"She was there the day Jesse got attacked. She was the one who told Jake what Alex intentions are." Seth answered for Alice.
"She's my great-great grandmother, too." Alice followed in a small voice, a faint smile on her lips, Gwen's hand reached out, and grabbed Alice's, squeezing it carefully.
I looked at them closely. They did look a lot alike. Aside from the fact Alice had inky black spikes, and Gwen had brown spikes that went past her shoulders. They had the same elfin features, and same exact small bodies. Like a dancers body, as Bella once said. And Alice did dance around a lot, just as a natural thing.
"Wait," Jesse said, his hand tensing around mine.
"I got it. You said the others can't get here in time before he plans to attack right? What if we gave June different trails? Like six or seven, so that we can confuse them, and stall enough so we have time for the rest of The Cullens to get here. Then, when they are here, Alex and said three newborns will have found the right path to June, so when they get here, we're ready and we take him. You'd have to keep tabs on him though, because if one of them gets on the right track, we can derail the track so he heads in the wrong way. We string him along, and then attack before he can." Jesse had a satisfied grin on his lips.
"Jesse, that's genius!" Alice beamed and whipped out her phone again, calling I assume one of the Cullens, telling them the new plan.
As soon as she was finished, she looked at me and gave me a stern look.
"June, this is what's going to happen, we're going to take your stuff, your pillow, your blankets, your shoes whatever, we're going to spread as many trails as we can with your scent. You are not to leave, mine, Jess's, Seth's, or Gwen's sights until Alex is done and gone. Alright? Don't pull a Bella and almost get yourself killed."
"Pull a Bella?" I asked, confused.
"Uhm, Bella didn't become a vampire until about three years ago. When she first moved here, Edward didn't want her to be a vampire. So one day, a very similar thing to this happened, and a tracker wanted to kill Bella. So, the tracker tricked Bella, convincing her that her mom was endangered, so Bella flew to Arizona and she almost got killed in a ballet studio, not too far from where you go to school." Alice answered, smiling brightly at me.
I remembered that.
"Oh, my gosh! That was you guys? Wow, small world! My friend cried over that for a week, she is still completely obsessed with dancing and that was the studio she went to since she was like able to walk. She had so many 'memories' there, apparently." I laughed.
"Alright," Alice started, already moving on. "Jesse, you're going with Seth, you two are taking June's tank top with the oil on it and her shorts. I want you to go to as many placed you can, just brush the clothes across things casually. Gwen, June and I are taking, June are taking her "sight-seeing" even though she probably knows this placed better than us. "
"Yeah, I do. We're seeing the love statue!" I cried, and Jess laughed, the rest of them looked at me strangely.
"It's a sculpture in Center City," I explained simply.
"Okay." Alice looked at me and Jesse weirdly, we were cracking up.
"Let's get going!" Seth said, trying to break us from our laughing fest.
I was about to agree, when my stomach growled viciously.
"Breakfast time!" Alice sang, and I adopted an appalled look on my face, my hand flying to my neck, looking wide eyed at her.
Jesse and Seth howled with laughter.
Alice rolled her eyes. "Breakfast time, for June. And the mutts." She grinned at Jess and Seth.
"As I quote from the great words of Steve, 'let's go swallow food!'" Seth yelled, standing up in a majestic kind of pose.
We went down to the breakfast buffet, Jesse and Seth eating enough for seven pregnant women, possibly that were carrying twins.
I ate my eggs and turkey bacon whole heartedly. Seth had gone for thirds, after inhaling his first plate stacked with everything they were serving.
Alice and Gwen had stayed in the room, gathering my stuff up.
I feel so violated.
We met them in the lobby, and broke there. Gwen and Alice handed Jess and Seth my clothes and then Alice and Gwen pulled me away.
First we went to the love statue; I loved it in Center City so much.
The Love Statue was the word love, in 3D. The 'L' and the 'O' in love were stacked on top of the 'V' and the 'E.'
They were read, it was so pretty, and it was right near the fountain.
They had me lean up against the statue, and walk everywhere. Brushing my hands against stuff, and accidently bumping into people.
It was a long afternoon, and they gave me a treat and let us eat lunch at Pat's. The best Cheese steaks ever!
Alice offered to pay, which was super sweet of her, and as we got up to leave, I caught the deathly pale skinned man sitting at the counter.
He laughed and winked at me.
How I noticed him?
His rugged good looks.
Pale blonde hair.
And disgusting red eyes.