Chapter 10: You Call This Heaven?
"Oh Mike!" squealed Jessica as she received his huge offering of flowers, candy, and a cheap-looking teddy bear, "You shouldn't have!" Mike beamed at Jessica's delighted expression before sneaking a glance over at me. I was ignoring the whole deal by listening to my iPod with my docking speakers.
"I found this song after some serious tracking down," I remarked brightly to Sonny as she clicked on the next track. Soon a trembling guitar chord filled the classroom then a boy's smart-alecky voice screamed, "Kick it!" Sonny beamed and bopped along to the guitar-heavy piece.
"Best song by the Beastie Boys," I sighed as we rocked out to Fight For Your Right, "Man, wonder what happened to them." Sonny then piped up the suggestion of searching for the music video since she heard how funny it was. "Great idea," I agreed, "Forget the whole notion of stupid Valentine's Day- this is far more entertaining." Mike sidled on up to us and I rolled my eyes skyward. Joy.
"Do you have Girls?" he asked coolly, "That song is bomb-I mean, its classic." Sonny and I made faces at each other before announcing that I didn't have the song.
"I hate that song," I flatly announced, "Mike D and MCA sound obnoxious in that. Too high pitched and snotty if you ask me." Before Mike could say anything else, the bell rang signaling the end of the period.
"Lame," snorted Sonny as they walked down the hall, "What kind of guy asks for the corny song Girls anyways?"
"The kind that is a sad excuse of a player or a womanizer," I added smartly. The two of us started laughing and Sonny doubled over with laughter. Catching my breath, I straightened up and walked up to my locker. Removing the lock from the door, I swung the door open to find a single, white daisy lying carefully on top of all my books.
"Whoa, lucky you," Sonny remarked cheerfully, "You've got a secret admirer now." I smiled lightly as I removed the daisy from the top of my books. It was definitely a kind thought, whoever did it.
"Lara?" Bobby's voice floated behind me. I turned around and put down my notebook and pen. "We were invited to a social gathering at one of my co-workers' houses. He has a son your age and he invited some of the local kids to come too." I nodded faintly as I stood up. Meaning I was going too. This could get interesting in a not so bad way; that is if Mike doesn't show up magically…
"Bobby, June," Billy happily greeted my aunt and uncle as he shook their hands. He then turned his wheelchair toward me and acknowledged my presence. "A fine daughter, you have," Billy remarked after shaking my hand. He let go and I scooted inside while June and Bobby tried to find a casual way to explain their arrangements with me. Even though they love me like a daughter, some people think that I was adopted from a third world country by them. Yep.
I stepped past groups of work mates chatting about the economy and other miscellany and found a sign on a door marked, "Teen Hangout." Without any difficulty, I pushed the door open to see the room was full of teens, mainly Native American teens. Few looked up when I entered the room and one very tall, very familiar boy stood up to greet me.
"Hey," he brightly remarked, "I had no idea that your dad worked with my dad!" I felt a lump forming in my throat and nerves stung my tear ducts. Damn it. Jacob's face clouded over and he realized that he said something wrong. "I said something wrong didn't I?" he worriedly asked, "I'm, I'm sorry."
"No it's cool," I muttered as I forced away the tears bubbling up in my eyes, "Bobby and June are my aunt and uncle. My dad's overseas and could care less about me and my mom's in an asylum. But honestly, June and Bobby are doing a better job raising me than my father would have done." Jacob watched me as I took an empty seat and he knelt beside me.
"At least you're in good hands," he told me soothingly, "So uh, is Mike giving you trouble still?"
"No," I snorted, "I scared him off by using Fight For Your Right by the Beastie Boys. That song is good for making people raise eyebrows." Jacob started laughing so hard that he sat back on his heels, pounding his fist into his thigh.
"What are you guys laughing about?" came a voice from behind. I looked up to see two younger looking Native American boys standing behind Jacob. One stuck out his hand in a forward manner and introduced himself as Quil. The other boy shyly shook my hand and told me his name was Embry.
"Where's vampire girl? You didn't bring her?" demanded Embry. Jacob reddened and mumbled that he was over her.
"She's devoted to him anyways," Jacob shot back defensively, "Why bother?" There it was again. Him. Meaning Edward and Bella. How sappy could anyone get? Embry shrugged before excusing himself to grab more soda and Quil chased after an attractive girl walking by. Jacob blushed slightly and ran a hand through his hair.
"So, uh," he began sheepishly, "Where were we?" Before I could answer, the sound of a girl's voice calling everyone to attention broke through. A girl that resembled Jacob stood up and announced that they should play 7 Minutes in Heaven.
"Great idea, Becca," chimed in Quil as he scurried back into the room. He zeroed in on me as he asked, "So how are we coordinating this?" Rebecca started collecting objects from the boys and put them into a paper bag. I grimaced and remembered what day it was: Friday the 13th. Boy, was I so unlucky or what?
Rebecca shook the bag and asked for volunteers. Jacob eyed me but remained silent. Quil, loud-mouth he was, announced that because I was the new girl, I should go first. Thanks Quil. You are a pathetic, blockheaded twit of a boy. Rebecca beamed and agreed as she stepped over to me. Jacob gave Quil a look and Quil shrugged at him.
My breath became slower and deeper as I tried to ignore the numerous Native American faces watching as I dug around for something. I felt a piece of what felt like shoe fabric and I lifted it up and out. It was white and ripped very oddly like a powerful impact had pulled the fabric apart like so. I raised my eyebrows in amazement as I turned the fabric piece in my hand.
"Jacob is that yours?" Rebecca asked as she studied the fabric piece, "That's from your last pair of sneakers isn't it?" Everyone in the room started laughing about that incident and I stared at them in confusion. Who in their right mind would rip their sneakers up and keep a piece of the fabric? Weird… Jacob rose to his feet swiftly and Quil pouted unhappily.
"Tough luck Quils," Jacob remarked as he grabbed my hand and led me to his bedroom. The same burning sensation ran through my hand as the first time and I grimaced. Was there anyone who had a normal body heat temperature in this town? He offered me a seat on his bed and I took it.
"So," Jacob began, "Here we are. Alone." A slight color of red flooded his tan cheeks and his breathing was labored and heavy.
"So what's with the shoe fabric?" I asked mildly.
Jacob laughed a little. "It's…a long story," he answered sheepishly.
"You're, a wolf shape-shifter, aren't you?" I offered quietly. This is where Cassandra's information was really helping me out. Jacob nearly jumped out of his skin and he froze.
"You guys have 6 minutes left!" hollered Rebecca from the other side of the door.
"How do you know?" he croaked out. I shrugged modestly and said that it was a long story.
"You wouldn't believe me for one second," I told him simply, "Take my word for it." Jacob nodded and just accepted my weak excuse.
"If you didn't want Wolf-boy kissing you," he weakly began, "Then, it's cool. I'll understand. I mean, its kind of creepy isn't it?"
"I'm not kissing a wolf," I smartly replied as I folded my arms, "I'm kissing a freakishly tall boy right now."
"Hey!" Jacob quipped as he leaned closer, "I'm not that tall to be considered that!" I giggled as he narrowed his eyes at me. In one swift move, Jacob wrapped his arms around me and left a few inches between us. "You're toast," he breathed before closing the gap between us. Unlike the frozen, icy blast of a kiss from Jasper, Jacob's lips were warm and soft. It was rather dizzying since his warmth was overpowering and endless. My head felt light and my eyes began to flicker slightly before closing for a while.