Mackenzie rides to school with Edward and Bella, in his Volvo. There seems to be some kind of tension between the two of them, but she doesn't say anything about it. It's Thursday, almost the end of the week. Later tonight they have dinner at the diner in town with their dad, like they do ever week.
She has class like normal, nothing out of the ordinary, and when school's out she watches her sister and Edward go off, as she waits for Jacob. The drive to Forks is about twenty-five mintues from La Push. Mackenzie sits outside with her two friends, Dana Shaye and Penn Ballard, and her sister's friend, Mike Newton.
Jake shows up right on time, in his Rabbit, getting out to greet her. He walks up to the group, dressed in yet another long sleeves shirt and jeans. He towers over all of them in height, standing at 6"7, despite being younger than Newton. Jacob's arm slips around Mackenzie's shoulder, easing into place next to her, beside her friends. He doesn't mind the looks he's getting or the fact that Mike Newton is shooting him a challenging glare. Nothing else matters now that he's finally with his imprint.
Mackenzie smiles as Jake walks toward her, arm automatically slipping around her shoulders and pulling her into place at his side. She feels like they belong like that. Dana has already met Jacob, but Penn hasn't. She notices the look in the native boy's eye, as he shakes Penn's hand. There's something daring about it, as if asserting himself as the stronger of the two men. She turns to introduce him to Mike, but it seems they already know each other.
They don't stick around long after that, sliding into the Rabbit and heading off for yet another day at First Beach. She changes into her wetsuit in the back on his car when they arrive. It's spring, the end of April, almost the end of the school year; so the weather is still a bit chilly for surfing, but they do it anyway. Most people around there do.
By six thirty they're back in Forks, meeting Charlie and Bella at the local diner. They're waiting inside, when Jacob drops her off. Her hair is still damp and she's clinging to Jacob's arm for warmth. "You're like my own personal space heater, you know that?" Mackenzie jokes, cuddling against his bicep. Jake laughs, "For you, anytime."
She gets out of the car eventually, though reluctantly and enters the diner. Three drinks are already at the table, two for Charlie and Bella, and an untouched Dr. Pepper for her. Charlie is reading the newspaper and Bella is drinking her soda, "We already ordered your cheeseburger." Bella says, in the same motherly way that she always has. She's always been the mom, despite them having Renee. Their mother is a free spirit, wild and immature. Bella's always been the adult between the three of them, even when they were kids.
"Thanks, Bells." she replies and sits down beside her sister. Their father puts his paper down and smiles at her, taking a drink of his coffee (normally Charlie has a Rainier Beer, but he has to drive them all home later). "How do you feel about going to see your mother, Kenzie?" He questions, and she raises a brow at him.
"Sounds cool, dad." Mackenzie answers, "When? After school's out?"
Charlie shakes his head. "Dr. and Mrs. Cullen gave your sister some plane tickets to go Jacksonville for you and her, as a birthday gift. They expire soon, so her and Edward are thinking about going over the weekend. What'dya think about going with them?"
She looks at Bella, who looks a little conflicted, and then back at her dad. He clearly wants her to agree, not wanting for Bella and Edward to go alone. Plus, she wouldn't mind seeing Renee. She hadn't seen her since Bella had ran off to Arizona and gotten hurt. So, in the end, she agrees. "Sure, I'd love to go visit mom."
The weekend trip to Florida is a bit odd. Mackenzie has to drop her plans with her friends, but goes regardless. Edward goes with them, for some reason, but she doesn't really mind. Bella seems off. More solemn than she should. Something about her behavior is like it's the last time she'll see mom. They lounge out on the beach all morning, Edward stays inside, and Phill is at practice most of the day. Bella stands out in the sun with her eyes closed, sits down by the water and stares out at the ocean for a long time. When she comes back up to the porch, she sits down in the louge chair between Mackenzie and Renee. She lays there, sloalking up the sun as if she'll never stand in it again. But, Mackenzie can understand. After all Arizona was nothing but sun, she misses it whenever they're back in Forks.
Bella and their mom talk about Edward, about college. She gifts Bella with a quilt of their old vacation t-shirts (Kenzie's idea), "-keep you warm up in Alaska." Renee says. Bella's reaction is different, not what they expect. Her sister isn't very expressive, not when it comes to her emotions, so it's surprising to get pulled into a group hug by her. "-just thought you should have a little piece of us, up there in Alaska."
Something about Bella's behavior on this trip has a hint of finality to it. Maybe because her big sister, the girl that practically raised her, was graduating high school this year. Soon she'd go off into to the world, leave them all behind. Go to up to the University of Alaska, with Edward (Mackenzie sort of resents him for that). Everyone seems about sad about that.
On Monday, Edward drives them to school again. Her sister sits in the front seat, as always, her knees drawn up to her chest, as she stares out the window. It's a quiet drive. When they pull into a parking space, Edward turns to her. "Do you regret going?"
Bella shakes her head, "No, it was really great, seeing mom. Just really hard saying goodbye." As if she'd never see her again. The thought makes Mackenzie cringe. Like her sister would just disappear from their lives. Edward looks at the younger Swan from the corner of his eye, but she doesn't catch it. "It doesn't have to be goodbye." He says.
The elder Swan sighs a bit, "Is that why you asked me to go? You thought I was gonna change my mind?" Edward frowns, almost sadly, "I'm always hoping for that." Mackenzie watches the exchange from the back seat, like a kid watching her parents argue. She doesn't understand.
Any further conversation cuts off, Edward suddenly turning his head to look out the window. "What?" Bella asks. He turns back to her, serious look on his face, as he reaches out for the door handle. "If I asked you to stay in the car, would you?" He proceeds to open the door.
At the same time both sister get out, curious of what's got him so on edge. "Of course not," Her sister's boyfriend comments, as they both make their way around the front of the car.
Mackenzie spots him first (although Edward had already smelled him), as they make their way across the parking alot, toward the enterance to the school. Standing at the foot of the sidewalk, next to his motorcycle is Jacob Black, dressed in a plain black t-shirt, jeans, and work boots. His arms are crossed and there's an annoyed look on his face. As soon as they make eye contact, he begins marching toward the three of them.
"Jake!" the fourteen year old chirps, practically throwing herself into his arms. Jacob catches her like it's second nature and holds her for a moment, until Edward and Bella are standing in front of them. He keeps his arms around her, despite his former crush standing right in front of him, as if to shield Mackenzie from Edward.
"Hey," Bella greets, clearly surprised to see him at their school. Edward smirks, as if something's funny, and for a split second Jake's grip on her tightens. "Charlie said you guys left town," Jacob comments, shooting Edward a glare. "Yeah, to visit our mom. Why?"
Edward chuckles quietly behind Bella, before Jacob looks down at the younger Swan, his arms still around her. "Go ahead to class, Kenz. I've gotta talk to Bella and Cullen." He tells her. She really doesn't want to, but she nods anyway. "I'll see you later then." She replies, even though she wants to stay there with him.
Jacob presses a quick kiss to her temple, hands leaving her sides and she realizes she didn't even know he was holding her to him. Mackenzie glances at Edward and her sister, who are both watching their exchange. Edward, with an amused look and Bella, with confusion and suspicion. She'd forgotten that Bella didn't really know much of their new-found closeness.
Once she's made her way into the building, she turns back around to look at the three of them. Bella and Edward look like they're arguing, and Jacob has a smug look on his face, as he walks back to his motorcycle. Bella starts after him, but is stopped momentarily by Edward. Despite his obvious disapproval, Edward releases her sister and Bella climbs onto the back of Jacob's bike. Mackenzie's heart sinks as they speed off the property together.
Hello, readers! Thank you so much for the positive reviews, I'm glad that everyone seems to like Mackenzie. Yes, this is not going to be a "Jacob fighting the imprint" story, however don't completely shut down on me if Mackenzie does later become worried about Jacob and her sister's closeness and his former crush on her. Bella is not the antagonist in this story, actually she's going to "Mama-bear" Mackenzie quite a bit. The Swan sisters are kind of close in this one. Also, there will be later chapters that are rated, with language and sexual content. I mean, they are hormonal teenagers after all. But, that all comes later.
In relation to reviews, I thank everyone who's bothered to comment. Comments=chapters :) Also, I would love to know more when you comment. What is it you liked, or didn't like, or what you want to see more of. The longer the comments, the more encouraged I feel to write. They also help me in what decisions I make with the direction of the story, so reviews are very helpful. Thank you for reading!
And, while I'm at it, I'll throw in my disclaimer, since I haven't as of yet.
The Twilight series and all of it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I've merely altered the plot, all OCs belong to me.