AN: I do not own the vampires or the wolf pack (though, I wish I did). Sadly, they belong to Stephanie Meyer, which is why she has the met the stars of the movie and I haven't.
I don't even own Trisha, Ethan, David, Taylor, or any of the other wolf kids. They belong to yay4shanghai. She's just letting me borrow them for a little while. She has been very gracious as both the owner of the characters and as my Beta. She rocks!
This is a bit of a spin-off from the last chapter ("Genitalia") of yay4shanghai's A Fun and Easy Way to Go Down a Dress Size. If you haven't read it or its accompanying story Enough With the Gravity Moving Already, you need to!
I do, however, own the following argument between myself and a fellow teacher:
*Fourth Grade Teacher: I get what you're saying, the wolf pack is cool, but come on how can you say any of the are HOTTER than Edward.
*Me: Edward is pretty freakin' hot. But, the wolf pack runs around half-naked most of the time. Beat that.
*Fourth Grade Teacher: crickets chirping…You win.
This is my first FanFiction story, so please review and be gentle!
AND: yay4shanghai has posted two chapters to her follow up to Enough With This Gravity Moving Already. It's called Once the Earth Settled. Check it out! You won't be disappointed!
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Chapter 5: "You were never my equal"
After school, I walked home. I grabbed an apple from the kitchen, turning around to see my Dad sitting at the table. He was scratching his head, reading the back of a cake mix box. I looked at him for a second. He knew I was there, and without making eye contact, he mumbled, "Your Mom asked me to bake this cake for the dinner tonight, but I'm trying to figure out why I would put grease in the pan first."
"Do you want me to do it, Dad? I can make the cake," I tried to keep my voice small. These were the only words other than huffs and grunts that he had said to me in weeks, and I wanted to savor every syllable.
He looked at me, his face expressionless. "Do you mind baking it? The boys will be awfully upset if there's no dessert tonight."
"I can do it. No big deal," I smiled at him, watching his eyes soften a little.
He handed me the box, patting the top of my head, and turning to walk out. He stopped, not turning around to look at me. "You know that Ethan will be there tonight? I want you to stay away from him, do you hear me? Things will be different now that he's started phasing. He won't be able to control himself."
"I know, Dad," I said. He continued walking to the den. I knew the real reason for his concern was that if Ethan saw me, since he was now a wolf, there was a real possibility he would imprint on me. I had a feeling that even if Ethan did, Dad would send me to Zimbabwe or China, just to keep him from seeing me.
I baked the cake, finished my homework, and changed clothes. Mom braided my hair, kissing my cheek, and smiling at me.
"You are beautiful, you know that, Trisha?"
I blushed a little. "You have to say that. You're my Mom."
She laughed, "I don't have to say it. I say it because it's the truth." She hugged me, "I know these last few weeks have been hard. You have to know that I love you. That will never, ever change. There is no one else in this world whose Mom I'd rather be."
"And I wouldn't want any other Mom," I sighed, hugging her back, as she kissed my forehead.
"Let's go seduce us some Quileutes," she said, walking us out the door to the car, where Dad stood, holding the cake.
"Took ya long enough," Dad huffed at Mom.
She rolled her eyes at him, "Shut up, Paul."
"Shutting, dear." I giggled in the backseat, knowing the amount of control my Mom had over Dad.
We arrived at the Uley's to be welcomed by the wolf-girls. They each hugged and kissed me, telling me how much they had missed me over the last few weeks. Aunt Helen apologized over and over, telling me that she taught Uncle Collin a lesson after finding out he spilled to Embry and the pack. I was slightly freaked out by the thought of Aunt Helen "teaching him a lesson" after the stories I'd heard about their extracurricular activities, and her preference for rough sex.
Kim hugged me, kissing my cheek, "How was your time in solitary confinement?" I chuckled, hugging her again, "You have no idea how much I've missed you, Kim!"
I knew that of all the people that knew about Ethan's "hand" problem, Kim would be the one least worried or upset by it. That's what I loved about her. She was a rebel, a free spirit, and she knew how in love Ethan and I were.
"Let's get you inside. Amber's about to have a conniption. She's been waiting for you to play Tea Party with her," Kim said, ushering me into the Uley's house.
I looked around, trying to find Ethan. He knew I wasn't supposed to talk to, be near, or touch him, but just being able to see him would have been of some comfort.
"He's not here yet. He will be soon. Just relax," Kim said. I swear that woman could read my mind sometimes.
Amber squealed as she ran to me, followed by the other wolf-kids. Though it had only been two weeks, I had missed them. Being an only child, I saw myself as a big sister to most of the wolf-kids. They were my family. I hugged each of them, before they ran away, begging me to chase them through the Uley's den, listening to the wolf-dads bicker.
I heard footsteps and a loud booming voice coming from the hallway. I didn't recognize the voice at first. It was much deeper and huskier than I heard before. It was actually really sexy. I saw out of the corner of my eye that the sexy voice belonged to David Uley. "Ugh!" I thought. Wow! The transformation had made him bigger, buffer, and his voice deeper. I wondered secretly if the same would be true for Ethan.
I could hear David getting closer to me, with my Dad by his side. From behind me Dad said, "Trisha, why don't you congratulate David. He's a wolf now, and will make a fine Alpha someday."
I rolled my eyes to Amber, as she giggled and I stood up. "Congrats," I said turning around, keeping my head low. "Thanks," he said. (Damn that voice was sexy too belong to such a caveman!) Then I did it. I made the biggest mistake of my life. I looked up. Our eyes locked and we both froze. Almost immediately I saw it, the complete adoration in his face. We couldn't stop staring at each other. The room got eerily quiet, as everyone stopped to look at us.
"Shit!" Dad said proudly, while Jared, standing across the room, said a defeated, "Shit."
I tried to process all of it in my head. What was going on? And, then, I got it. He imprinted…on me. "Ethan," I thought. David still couldn't move, but his mouth moved into a pearly white smile, as my Dad patted him on the back.
"No, it's Ethan. Ethan's my soulmate," I thought. I could feel the tears prickling my eyes. And, like the world had just been shoved on my shoulders, I fell to the ground, the tears turning into sobs, as I mouthed the word "Why" over and over.
"What happened?" I heard Mom say to Sam, whose was standing near the fireplace, with the same stupid smile on his face that David had.
"My son's just imprinted," Sam said proudly.
"That's great! On who?" Mom asked.
"Your daughter."
It was quiet again until I heard someone screaming Ethan's name. It took me a minute to realize it was me. I was lying on the floor, crying, and screaming.
It must have taken Mom a minute to grasp the reality of the situation, too, before she yelled at Dad to get me out of there. Dad scooped me up, and I held on for dear life, not wanting to look at David again. Ever.
But I did. His eyes ready to overflow with tears. It was an odd sight. Such a large, intimidating body, crying.
Once Dad had me in the car, the silence was completely broken. The pack, the wolf-girls, and wolf-kids all surrounded the car, each with their own interpretation of how things had gone, and assuming they knew where things were going.
I heard Jared run off, sparing with Sam, representing the man whose family I wanted to be a part of, and the man whose family the universe had chosen for me. I knew David wouldn't be able to stay away, but I was surprised when he asked to visit. Mom understood my feelings, politely refusing his request. She was overruled by Dad and his joyous demeanor to marry me off and procreate with the Alpha heir.
Mom assured me in the car that everything would work itself out, but I think she secretly knew my life had just changed dramatically. From now on, nothing would be as simple as it should be.
Again with the damn voices! Would it really be so hard for everyone to just shut the hell up?! Now they're outside my bedroom door, talking about me like I can't hear them. Can't they see I just want to be alone? Well, okay, I don't want to be alone. I want Ethan. I need Ethan.
"Mrs. Wise, please just let me talk to her," David half-said, half-asked. Mrs. Wise? Since when did that Neanderthal learn manners?
"David, honey, I know it's difficult, but you need to give her time. Let her think this out. You know how much she loves Ethan, and you can't expect that to change just because you imprinted." Yeah, that's my mom!
"Rachel, this is beyond ridiculous! Dammit, it's not like David's some stranger. I've never seen an imprint act like that," Sam screamed as I'm sure he pointed toward my closed door. "Most of the girls around here want to be imprinted on and things just go smoothly," Sam said.
"You mean, like how smoothly things went when you imprinted on Emily?" Hell, yeah! Go Mom! Score is Wise-1, Uley-0!
I heard Sam growl and, I have to admit, I giggled. I was still sulking but, if I know my mom, the look she gave Sam when he growled, would have been enough to continue melting the ice caps. I knew Mom felt guilty for bringing that particular subject up. Mom loved Emily, but she loved me more. And, while she and Dad were very much in love, she understood the complications of the imprint. She knew the complications that came with Sam's own imprint.
Mom would fight for me. She may not fight for me and Ethan, but she would always fight for me.
"Was that really necessary?" Sam asked, his tone much calmer, and more like the Sam I was used to.
"Dad, really, it's okay. Mrs. Wise, I just need to know she's okay. I need to talk this out with her," David said, as I could literally feel the tension in the hallway lessening.
"Let him see her. It's not fair to him, keeping him away from his other half." Ugh, damn Dad again!
I rolled over on the bed, turning away from the door, and pulling my knees to my chest. Any minute now the door would open and David would come in to "talk." And this time, there was no one to save me, nowhere to escape to.
I heard the doorknob turn, watching the light from the hallway trickle in, as the door opened and then closed again. I could hear him breathing. I could feel him behind me, begging me to turn and look at him. I couldn't do it, though.
"Trisha?"
I thought for a minute, arguing in my head whether to fake sleep or just get this over with. I decided to go with the latter and whispered, "What do you want, David?"
He didn't say anything at first, my back still to him. "Well, I just wanted to say…umh…I'm gonna say it real fast. And just let me finish before you say anything, okay?"
"Fine," I grunted.
"Will you please just look at me?" I could hear pain in his voice, as he flipped on the lamp next to my bed. I took a deep breath and rolled over. Seeing his face, his eyes red from crying, made me ache, as he allowed himself to slowly smile, only slightly showing his pearly white teeth. He did have a wonderful smile.
I nodded to him to continue, clearing my throat, and sitting up against the pillows of my fluffy bed.
"Look, at first, when it happened, I had like a billion things I wanted to say. My head hurt with all the thoughts. I was more confused than the first time I phased," he said as he took another deep breath. "But, the first thing I thought, after I looked in your eyes, was that I was glad it was you." What the hell?! What did he mean he was glad it was me? This was the same boy that not three years ago told the wolf-boys they shouldn't be my friend because I was a girl and girls were weird. I started to open my mouth to reprimand him, when he put his hand up. "Please just let me finish."
"Okay," I muttered, just wishing he would get it over with.
"Trisha, remember how you've always said that imprinting is finding your equal?" I nodded to him, not realizing that was an opinion I must have expressed to everyone. He continued, starting to pace the floor in front of me. "I've never thought you were my equal." My face grew red, as I locked my jaw, squeezing my fists, ready to punch him in the nose, again. But David wasn't finished. "You were better than me…smarter than me…good-looking, full of energy, and always having to say something about something. You could make a perfect stranger feel like they had known you forever, and stop the tears of any of the wolf-kids." He paused, looking into my eyes, trying to gauge my reaction. "So I got to thinking, what makes me so special, that I get you. Then I got. Maybe imprinting isn't about finding your equal. Maybe it's about finding the person that completes you, makes up for everything you're not."
As furious as I was at him, I was in awe of his speech. I half expected it to be a lot more Tarzan-like. "You mine. We mates. You give me lots of pups." It wasn't though. It was truly heartfelt.
He moved to sit next to me on the bed, a bold move, I must say, him knowing I had a hell of right-hook. I think deep inside, though, he knew I wouldn't hurt him.
"I know this isn't what you wanted." He put his head down, "I know I'm not who you wanted. And I don't like that the imprinting is going to cost me my best friend, my pack brother. I could never hurt Ethan."
In some involuntary reaction, my hand went to his back, patting him lightly, consoling him like I would a little child. He turned to me and grinned. I jerked my hand away.
"I'm really, really sorry for what this is going to do to you. And I'm sorry for what this is going to do to Ethan. But I will not apologize for the imprint," he turned to me, grabbing my face in his hands, so I was looking directly in his eyes. "I want you. I will be patient, but you have to know that in the end, you will be mine."
Then he left. Just like that. Leaving me without giving me a chance to refute what he said. I didn't get to tell him he could wait forever, but I would NEVER be his.
I needed to talk to someone. Someone who would be impartial, who hadn't seen it. And as much as I knew Nessie was all about the imprint, I also knew she would listen to everything I had to say, being the strong independent female she was. I picked up the phone next to my bed and quickly dialed. It was late, but I was desperate.
"What?!" The deep voice said, sounding a little winded.
"Uncle Jake?" What the hell could they have been doing? He sounded like he had been running a freakin' marathon.
"Why would you answer the phone? I was almost there!" I heard Nessie snap in the background. Great, they were having sex and I interrupted. Now, not only do I have to deal with the world's most complicated imprint, I also had to live with the mental image of my favorite Aunt and Uncle in full fuck mode.
"Sorry, babe, it's Trisha."
"Oh, is everything okay?" she said, her pissed off voice turning softer, more concerned.
"No, tell her everything is not okay!" I yelled into the phone, the tears beginning again.
"What happened?" Uncle Jake asked, very matter-of-factly.
"I was imprinted on tonight," I said softly, moving away from the loud tones I had been using.
"Oh, no," he sighed. "By who?"
"David Uley," I said. I was confused. Why did he have to ask? Wouldn't he have automatically assumed it would be Ethan? He knew we were a couple and that Ethan had started phasing.
"David Uley? Damn, that's major," he said, pausing for a minute. "You're wondering why I knew it wasn't Ethan, aren't you?"
"Yes, the thought did cross my mind."
"Sweetie, the one you want to imprint on or the one you want to imprint on you is very rarely the one chosen for you," he said very softly, making me wish he were here to wrap me up in his big, warm arms.
"Why didn't anyone ever tell me that? I've walked around for years thinking it would be the person I loved most, the person I already saw as my soulmate!" I argued, my tears now rolling down my face.
"Because, when it comes to imprinting, nothing is ever certain. It could have just as easily been Ethan, but the universe had other plans, things always work out though. Take me and Nessie for instance."
"What do you mean, you and Nessie?" Please, dear God, don't let this be something else about sex!
"You know Ness's mom, Bella, right?"
"Yeah," I wondered where this could possibly be going.
"Well, back in the day," he chuckled, trying to sound like he was anything other than the young man he was, "I kinda, sorta had a thing for Bella."
"Ew! Gross!" I said, hearing Ness laugh in the background.
"She was my best friend. Much like Ethan is your's. I needed her and she needed me. I thought after the change that maybe she would be my imprint. I felt it deep down. But I saw her… and nothing. I was more confused than ever. Then, she and Edward got married and had Ness. The moment I set eyes on her, I imprinted and she became my world," he said, letting me hear his smile on the other end of the phone, and hearing Nessie sigh.
"Weren't you the slightest bit pissed at, well, fate?" I asked.
"Not when I saw her. Not when I had my Nessie. You see, the reason why I loved Bella so much, why I needed her, was because Nessie was always a part of her. Am I helping you at all, here, Trisha-bug?"
"Uh, no. I can't see what in the world this has to do with me and my current imprint problem. Uncle Jake, I love Ethan. I want to be with him forever and I don't understand why I can't still have him."
"I loved Bella, but the universe knew there was someone greater for me to love. The love I had for Bella pales in comparison to the love I have for my imprint," he spoke softly, as I hear a kissing noise. I was praying he was kissing her cheek. "We're going to let you go now. We have some business to attend to."
The phone clicked.
Was he trying to tell me that David was greater than Ethan? There was no way that could ever be true. Ethan was a nature-lover, with pride in his heritage, and a love for his family. Other than our conversation tonight, I couldn't think of the last intelligent thing I had heard David say. How could the universe think David greater than Ethan?
Mom knocked on my door, and opened it slightly. I closed my eyes tight, pretending to be asleep.
"I guess she must have tuckered out and fell asleep," Mom said.
"We'll talk to her tomorrow," Dad said.
"You're really happy about this, aren't you?"
"Yeah, she'll be good for David, and he for her. They both have a lot to learn from each other."
"We shall see," Mom said closing the door softly, then I heard her giggle and Dad growl. That always meant someone was getting lucky.
Would anyone else like to have sex where I can hear? I had a life altering occurrence tonight, and all these people can think about is fucking?
My thoughts were interrupted by a single wolf's howl, a pain filled, devastated howl. Ethan knew.
*NEXT CHAPTER: "I Hate Fate"