Ch. 2 Avoidance
Only a couple of days had passed since Spence had flipped out at school and her entire world had changed. Not only had it changed in terms of the two families she gained but things at school were also different. In her classes she always sat with Edward and Bella. She was finally grateful that she was accepted by some people, people who understood who she was, and she was also grateful that she could gravitate toward them without it coming off as weird as it had her entire life.
Classmates that Spence didn't even know noticed the change in dynamic. She spent her lunch hour sitting with the Cullen's. Only Rosalie was hostile because of the slight dog stench that came from her. Emmett on the other hand, Rosalie's husband for all intent and purposes (boyfriend around town) was more than thrilled. Spence had met Carlisle and Esme as well and it was easy to understand why they had adopted Bella. They were the easiest people to get along with.
In the couple of days she spent with the Cullen's Emmett and Edward had showed her how to stretch her speed. One of Edward's favorite things to do was climb so they practiced climbing trees as well. She seemed to be just as fast as they were though not as fast as Edward.
Today, Friday afternoon, would be different though. Spence could all ready feel it when she had overheard Charlie on the phone with Billy Black yesterday. He and Jacob would be coming by. Spence had liked Jacob when she met him and had spent a whole week with him but once her changes started one of the things Sam and the others stressed was that she could no longer be friends with him, he could not know that the legends were real until Jacob changed too and he would, Sam just didn't know when. Things were a lot more complicated now especially with Charlie and Billy being such good friends.
Upstairs in her room she could hear the silver truck a mile out. Her bike was up front in the driveway but it didn't seem fast enough at this point. She looked over at the window thinking it was the best option. She felt unsure about it but then shrugged it off.
'Gotta figure out my strength at some point,' she thought.
Spence thought about what she wanted to do- take a swing on the tree or jump to the ground. She took off the long sleeve shirt she was wearing and let it fall to the floor. She was now wearing only a black undershirt and jeans. The temperature was in the low 30s all day today.
Opening the window she jumped down without making a sound. It was easy, like taking a step on the same floor. Spence smiled to herself and ran swiftly into the woods away from view. When she was well hidden she paused behind a tree. She watched as Billy and Jacob arrived and Charlie walked out to greet his guests. Charlie would try and get Spence but then would discover she wasn't around. Charlie would be pissed especially given how cold it was and that she had known they were coming over but at least Billy would understand.
Spence turned and walked deeper into the woods where she undressed completely. She folded her clothes as small as she could where she then placed them in a string along her ankle, a trick Sam had shown her. The string wouldn't be there as she ran wolf but it would when she was in her human form. She hated the feeling of being super exposed like this but it was just a part of pack life that she would have to get used to. She let the heat radiate through her entire body, focusing on what she wanted. None of the others had to worry about controlling their body heat so this was something she had to learn on her own. It took a bit longer than she was expecting but her temp finally reached the average wolf temperatures. Steam began to come off her body and then with one giant jerk she was her wolf self again. She hadn't been a wolf since her first transformation so it took a minute to get her legs to stop wobbling. When she was finally satisfied she raced even further into the woods.
"Look who decided to come back," Jared said.
"How are the bloodsuckers working out for you?" asked Paul.
Spence shook her head. No love lost there.
"Enough," said Sam. "She's still your sister regardless of what else she may be."
It was strange for Spence to have all these voices in her head. With Edward it was different because he only extracted thoughts and knew what someone was thinking but it didn't seem to go both ways the way it did with her brothers.
"So what does bring you back," asked Jared.
"Get sick of those vampires all ready?" asked Paul.
Spence made it to the old log clearing where her brothers had met her. They were a lot faster than she was at the moment but she would catch up to them eventually, she hoped.
"Not exactly," Spence said to them. "Jacob's back at the house. You wanted me to stay away from him so I am."
"Now you decide to take orders," Sam asked skeptically.
Spence stood up to him. "I'm not taking any orders. I just wanted to stretch my wolf legs for a while. I've been doing a lot of training with the Cullen's that I wanted a break from that."
"And that doesn't bother you," Jared asked. "How can you stand to be around vampire stink all day?"
Spence let out a small smile, "Same way I can stand to be around wolf stink all day."
Jared and even Sam laughed a little. Spence then shrugged.
"None of the smells bother me the way they seem to for you guys."
Paul circled around Spence. She knew what he was doing; he was checking her out in a non-interested kind of way.
"You definitely are an interesting one, aren't you."
The weekend had come and gone quickly. Billy and Jacob had been spending everyday at the Swan house which only kept Spence out. She managed okay but she knew she would face being grounded by Charlie, not that it would have made a difference.
She was even getting better at dividing her time between the Cullen's and her brothers and Emily.
Saturday Alice had insisted on a girl's day in Port Angeles. Spence had kept her complaints to herself, and to Edward who was constantly in her head. Spence had always hated shopping and even more so when Alice said that it was her treat. Spence considered getting a job to help Charlie as well as herself. Not that she needed to, she had managed pretty well but it would make the guilt subside. Still Alice and the rest of the Cullen's had said not to worry about things because she was family.
Family- a concept that had always been foreign to Spence. With her parents gone she had been raised by her adoptive parents but even that was difficult, Spence often believed they blamed her for her mother's death. Spence had always believed it too because she knew it was true. And now she had come to Forks where she lived with her biological uncle, met her biological cousins, three in fact, and had a large family both on her vampire side and her wolf one which was why it freaked her out when the families tried to help her out and take care of her. She had done pretty well taking care of herself for the most part.
Bella completely understood Spence's hesitation to the shopping trip. Bella hated shopping too especially when Alice was involved since she would use anyone as dolls and human pin cushions. That and she would always try to mold you to a style she preferred. Bella had always been a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl as had Spence. The only time Spence had really dressed up was for Pow Wows that her grandparents had taken her to but even then she opted for a more comfortable style instead of traditional.
Bella joked with Spence saying that at least now she wouldn't have to suffer alone.
In the end the trip hadn't been all that bad. Alice had bought Spence a few clothes, clothes which Spence saw herself wearing on only special occasions and Spence got a few leather jackets, some jeans and shirts. It was strange shopping in isles where she hadn't before both because of her height and added muscle.
From a mile out and from people they walked passed by, who thought they were being very discreet with their whispering to one another, Spence could hear the things they were saying.
What is she their body guard?
They probably need it.
No way are those muscles real.
I bet that chick's on steroids.
"Let me ask you something Alice," Spence said.
She and Bella were in the back of Rosalie's red convertible while Alice sat in the front passenger side and Rosalie at the wheel.
"Do you ever get used to it? People talking behind your back?"
"Eventually," Alice replied.
"You know what you are," said Rosalie. "It doesn't matter what other people think. Anything is better than finding out the truth."
Spence remained silent knowing Rosalie was right.
On Sunday Spence had spent her day on patrol with her brothers. Despite the whole pack mind thing she admitted that she enjoyed being a wolf. There was something freeing about it despite the stellar speed and monkey antics that her vampire abilities gave her.
She found that she preferred to feed on animal blood while she was in animal form rather than in her vampire form. She enjoyed the stalking, the hunt. It was instinct. Vampires did the same thing to an extent but it never seemed to fulfill her the same way. She had discovered this on a late hunt Saturday when Emmett invited her hunting after the shopping trip.
On Sunday Spence had tried to eat the human food that Emily had made at the cabin and while human food seemed to agree with her system, as it had her entire life she didn't have the same appetite that her brothers did. And she actually found eating human food was like putting dirt in your mouth. It smelled good but tasted off.
Both the Cullen's and the Quileute's speculated this form of change as a growth spurt of sorts- that once Spence had phased for the first time it triggered both her werewolf and vampire instincts. So the "human" she had been previously no longer existed since her entire body and internal system had changed.
Monday brought on a whole new set of problems. Spence figured she would have to deal with as much especially when Alice had a vision of Spence and then it disappeared. That always seemed to happen whenever Spence decided to spend time with the Quileute's but she hadn't decided on anything yet. In fact her only plan was to actually stay at Charlie's house for a change since she really hadn't all weekend.
Come the afternoon, Spence was out back chopping firewood. The inside was running low and even though she no longer needed warmth Charlie still did.
"Did I do something to offend you?"
Spence looked up to see Jacob Black standing just a few feet away. He was still just a kid, still had his long hair.
"No of course not," Spence replied knowing there was no out this time.
"Then do I just smell really bad or what because I'm having a hard time figuring you out. I mean one minute we're friends, at least I think we are and now lately you seem to be avoiding me."
"I'm not avoiding you Jake, I've just been busy."
"Busy sure, sure. What busy hanging out with your new pals the Cullen's or hanging out with Sam and his lap dogs?"
Spence froze in place and then put the ax on the stump. Of course Jake would find out. It was a small town. She knew how Jacob felt about Sam. In the week they had spent together Jacob had confided saying that they had all changed, Paul especially when he had his own group of friends and then all of a sudden started hanging out with Sam. He had also told her the legends of the Cold Ones but leaving the Cullen's name out of it, feeling he could tell her because she was Native American.
"You remember what I've told you, those lines can't be crossed."
"Then it's a good thing I'm not you. You can't cross those lines and I respect that."
Jake shook his head, "What the hell you respect that? What happened to us being friends hu? You would throw that away for them?"
"I have to get these inside," Spence said picking up the wood she had chopped. "It's going to get cold tonight and I'm sure Charlie would like a warm fire to come home to."
"Those can wait, we need to talk."
Out in the distance Spence could hear a howl followed by two others. Though she didn't follow orders she could clearly understand the command. They were out there, watching.
"You want answers Jake, I get that but I can't give them to you. I'm damaged goods, always have been since my parents died. So do me a favor, just stay away from me. I don't want to hurt you anymore than I all ready have."
Spence made her way inside the house closing the door behind her. She placed the logs in their spot near the fireplace and then made her way out the back door, leaping and phasing in mid air, dashing for the woods and her brothers.