Okay this took me like forever to post but I've been crazy busy wrapping up my school year but now with the end of the year fast approaching I finally had some time to finish this chapter. And I'll have some more time on my hands to write!

I really had trouble kicking my ass in gear since I kept getting distracted writing future scenes. Seriously I have like thirty pages with bits from future chapters!

But anyways I'm totally making it up to you with the next chapter; it's TWENTY pages in word, so this should keep you busy for a while!

So without further redo the new chapter!

ENJOY!

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Chapter Six: Love in the time of Bonfires

'Yes, why? Do you prefer Native American schmuck? Or if you don't like that one either I can think of a few other pejoratives that describe you perfectly!' – Blair Waldorf

..

…..

She held up a ridiculously cute royal blue Bvlgari dress and carefully scrutinized its playful cut yet conservative hemline; yes it was cute, but it screamed cocktail-party, not I-respect-your-ancient-culture. The next item on her clothing rack was a brand-new black and burgundy Hervé Leger bandeau dress that oozed sexy sophistication but wasn't exactly beachy, how unfortunate…and unnerving! She had already gone though about half of her amply filled wardrobe and as of yet had found nothing to wear to this ridiculous bonfire thing!

And who could blame her? Who, from the evolved part of the world, knew what exactly to wear to a bonfire? Was it a casual occasion? Or was it more of a semi-casual thing seeing the tribe elders hosted it?

Tribe elders…she was pretty sure that was the first time that term had come up during a wardrobe crisis. Oh if only her mother had been here to witness this memorable occasion; Blair Waldorf throwing a wardrobe-fit because she didn't know the proper dress code for meeting Native American Tribe Elders! Celebrities, fashion-designers and even presidents and royalty she could deal with but Native American culture wasn't exactly her forte.

She threw herself on her large plushy bed and abundant pillows in an exasperated fashion; she was physically exhausted from going all Sherlock-Holmes on her closet in search of the perfect bonfire outfit and of course from philosophizing about the whole werewolves-and-vampires-thing which had really turned out to be food for thought.

She massaged her throbbing brows and let out a loud sigh; she wished Dorota was here, Dorota and Lady Godiva they always made things better…But Dorota was over 2000 miles away and apparently not a single store in this plebeian-settlement offered good quality Belgian chocolate, she had discovered this the hard way during yesterday's werewolf-brainstorm-session, how could this place even function without proper scheming food?

Her semi-coherent inner-ramblings were cut short by the insistent beeping of her cell phone that was resting conveniently on one of her white lacquer nightstands. She rolled onto her side and grabbed it without even checking who exactly was disturbing her miniature freak-out.

'Hello?'

'I can't believe you haven't called me yet B!' Serena's melodious voice screamed practically bursting her delicate eardrums. She cringed; that would teach her to hold her phone so closely to her ear.

'I'm sorry S,' Blair retorted smoothly though she gnawed on her lower lip thinking how to eloquently express something as bizarre as well-I-discovered-fairytale-creatures-are-real-and-have-been-mildly-freaking-out without actually sharing said information, 'I've been busy?'

It came out as more of a question since it was probably the most pitiful excuse she had ever muttered; in fact she thought, to her horror, that she sounded positively Humphrey-esque.

'Busy?' Serena said disbelievingly; you knew an excuse was worthless when even Serena van der Woodsen wouldn't believe it. 'Doing what exactly? Counting trees?'

'Très drôle S,' she retorted continuing the search through her closet for suitable attire. 'But seriously I've been quite busy adjusting to the country lifestyle.'

'Adjusting to the country lifestyle?' Serena repeated distrust seeping through in every word, 'Okay B, what's his name? And exactly how cute is he?

'There's no boy.'

'Yes there is, otherwise you would've called me ages ago complaining about bugs and hicks,' Serena said in that annoyingly cheerful yet strangely compelling Serena-voice

'Serena I told you; there's no boy.'

'Blair, I know you-,'

'Fine! Fine S! There is a boy-, but he's not my boy, he's just a boy.'

Serena squealed happily, yet again assaulting her friend's already painful eardrums. 'I knew it! I just knew there had to be some kind of logical-pants-wearing explanation for you not calling me! What's his name?'

'Earth to Serena,' Blair scoffed, 'can you please calm down? I'm sure you're causing a minor earthquake in Australia. And exactly what part of just-a-boy didn't you understand? I'm guessing the just-a-part.'

'Blair it's you we're talking about no boy is ever just a boy with you; that's my philosophy. You on the other hand are a serial monogamist. So what did you say his name was?' she said happily.

'Jacob,' Blair finally said too tired and frustrated to continue this playful battle of the wills. 'His name is Jacob.'

'Is he cute?' Serena questioned sounding about as hyper as a three-year-old on pixie sticks.

'Define cute.'

'B!'

'Fine he's cute.'

'How cute?'

'Tall dark and handsome cute.'

Serena let out playful giggle that would've sounded annoying coming from anybody but her: 'Oh B! I'm so happy for you!'

Blair rolled her eyes: 'I told you he's just a boy. Don't print the wedding invitations just yet okay?'

'How about checking out venues?' she retorted playfully. 'I'm just happy to see you bouncing back from-,' the flow of words suddenly stopped and Blair knew why; Serena's bubblehead had caught up with her mouth. Serena had hurt her, a lot, over the past years but she would never hurt her intentionally.

Blair let out an indifferent huff. 'I didn't bounce back from anything S, since there was nothing to bounce back from.'

'Oh-, I just thought-,'

'You thought wrong,' Blair said more bitingly than she had intended as her eyes drifted over to her vexing wardrobe. 'S, can I ask your advice on something?' she continued in a much sweeter tone.

'Of course!'

'What would you wear to a bonfire?'

'A what?'

'A bonfire; you know wood, fire, nature. I'm sure you attended one during your wild Lindsay Lohan year though it might be a little hazy since you were probably under the influence of something illegal.'

'Very funny B,' Serena retorted dryly. 'I thought you wanted my help?'

'I do, but you know I like to communicate through snark in times of crisis.'

'You don't happen to have a pair of jeans with you do you?'

Blair raised a single eyebrow. 'Are you trying to be funny?'

'Okay stupid question-, what about those shiny black shorts you just bought? You know the ones with the bow?'

'S, there's no way I'm wearing my this-season-Elie-Saab-shorts to something hosted in the great outdoors.'

She could practically hear Serena rolling her eyes: but she was pretty sure people did not wear silk shorts to bonfires.

'What about that cute white and black Oscar de la Renta spring dress? The one with the belt?'

Blair nodded getting off of her bed and marching towards the closet. 'I brought that one, it does seem quite appropriate-, if properly accessorised with a tailored jacket.'

'It's stylish but not fussy and not to mention adorable on you!' She let out yet another painful squeal. 'Jacob won't be able to keep his eyes off of you.'

'Whatever you say,' Blair said checking her watch. 'S, I have to get ready for the bonfire-thing, I'll call you first thing tomorrow okay?'

'Okay,' she said sounding somewhat disappointing, 'but I want all the details on your bonfire with Jacob!'

'It's not a date.'

'Bonfire, date, it's all the same to me.'

'To you maybe!'

'B!'

'Fine, fine, I'll give you all the details but don't suspect anything too juicy.'

'I won't!' Serena said giddily.

'Bye S,'

'Bye B, I miss you!'

'Miss you too S,' Blair said fondly before laying down the phone; she quickly shrugged of the pang she felt realising just how much she missed having the blond around. But there was no time for melancholia and homesickness; Rachel was picking her up in about an hour and she needed all the time she could get in order to look Blair-Waldorf-presentable.

She quickly showered and blow-dried her hair before curling it randomly and pulling it up into a chic yet casual up-do that could withstand the harsh beach winds. She put on some light, natural makeup before finally slipping into the de la Renta dress finishing it off with a black cardigan.

She stepped out of the bathroom and gave her overall appearance a critical look in her full-length mirror; Serena was right, the dress did seem appropriate, but she was still somewhat divided on what shoes to wear. She didn't want to wear flats without tights; flats made her legs look thick, shapeless and she really didn't want to deal with her insecurities without either her therapist or Serena being in the same state. But wearing heels to the beach was basically asking for a visit to the emergency room, and she was quite sure than even she couldn't rock the plaster look. This left only one option; wedges and she hated wedges but sometimes they were a necessary evil.

She was just slipping them on when the doorbell rang and it took her about two minutes to realise that Dorota wasn't here to open it and Daddy and Ramon weren't home to do it for her; meaning she had to do it herself…she hadn't answered the door in years.

She elegantly flounced down the stairs into the entrance hall before finally open the door the reveal Rachel standing there, impatiently shifting from one foot to another.

'Hey!' she said cheerfully taking in Blair's appearance. 'You look gorgeous!'

'Thank you,' Blair said smiling sweetly. 'You do to.'

She was being semi-honest really; Rachel did look nice, but it wasn't exactly hard to look nice when you had the physique of a supermodel even if you were wearing ratty jeans and oh-the-horror-flannel, who in this day and age still wears flannel?

'Thanks,' she said smiling brightly; who smiled when wearing flannel? Didn't she know she was wearing flannel? 'Are you ready to go? I am a bit early because I told Kim I'd pick her up too.'

'Kim?' Blair questioned frowning.

'Jared's girlfriend, you know pie-in-the-face-girl?'

'Ah yes, pie-in-the-face-girl, how could I forget,' Blair said closing the door behind her and locking it.

'She's way nicer than that story leads on by the way,' Rachel said leading Blair over to her beaten-up Volvo. 'She just really loves Jared,' she added with a frown, 'god knows why.'

'She has a funny way of showing it,' Blair said eying the icky-looking interior with distaste before finally lowering herself onto the gritty looking passenger seat.

'Kim's just a bit insecure and sometimes it gets the best of her,' Rachel said flopping down onto the driver's seat. 'Not a hostile bone in her body though.'

For a moment Blair thought the car was going to explode judging from the bizarre sound it was making before the engine finally roared to life; she unconsciously grabbed onto her seatbelt, she had a bad feeling about this ride.

'So how are you feeling? You know-, about the furry thing?'

'Fine.'

'Really?'

Blair could barely suppress an irritated sigh. 'Rachel please, not this nonsense again, believe me when I tell you I'm still okay.'

'You're insane,' Rachel deadpanned. 'Or just really like Iceman cool.'

'Who?'

'You know Iceman, Top Gun?'

Blair just fixed her with a blank look.

'The Tom Cruise movie with the fighter planes,' she explained expectantly.

'I have no absolutely no idea what you're talking about,' Blair deadpanned.

'You don't know Top Gun?' Rachel said staring at her with wide-eyes and her mouth ajar.

Blair raised an eyebrow. 'Should I?'

'It's only one of the most badass movies of all time!'

'I prefer the classics to badassness,' she stated matter-of-factly.

'I'll tell Jacob to make you watch it sometime,' Rachel said throwing her a sideways glance as if to check her reaction.

'If you say so,' she said blankly refusing to give Rachel something to go on; the girl didn't need to be encouraged to up her ridiculous matchmaking efforts.

The rest of the rather short car ride went by without incident with your basic issue small talk and the occasional comfortable silence before finally pulling up into a populated area; there were tiny, rather basic houses scattered over the area which were often painted in bright colours. It was cute, in a very Little House on the Prairie kind of way. Rachel pulled up into the driveway of a very well-kept blue house with a spacious front porch.

'This is Kim's place,' Rachel said throwing open her door. 'C'mon, I'll properly introduce you.'

Blair just nodded following suit as Rachel made her way towards the front door before ignoring the doorbell and forcefully knocking.

'Kim it's ME!' she shouted in a way that Blair had come to realise was typically Rachel.

'Than just come in Rachel, you usually do,' a distinctively quieter voice called back.

Rachel shrugged and pushed open the door revealing a very quaint living room that reminded her of her old dollhouse; very beige, pink and taupe.

'Kim where are you?' Rachel called clearly not familiar with the concept: inside voice.

'I'm right here,' the girl-, Kim, said standing in a doorway Blair guessed led to a kitchen.

'Hey Kim!' Rachel said cheerfully practically shoving Blair in front of her. 'This is Blair, the Blair, Jacob's Blair,' Rachel said intently; the girl's lack of subtlety never ceased to amaze Blair, exactly how stupid did she think she was?

Kim glanced at her, as if noting her presence for the first time and soon enough her sweet expression changed into something that could only be described as a gawk. The tiny girl was starring at her like her minions had done once upon a time; a mixture of amazement and good-natured envy…she would be lying if she said it didn't flatter her ego to some extent; she thrived on adoring glances, they were better than chocolate and far less fattening….

'Hello,' Blair said offering her an amiable smile; who was she to deny an obvious fan a smile?

'Of course you're gorgeous,' Kim stated planting the palm of her hand firmly to her forehead giving the distinct expression she was talking to herself. 'Now I'll have to wear a paper bag over my head to look less idiotic, oh the irony.'

'Kim,' Rachel chided, 'get a grip, will you?'

That seemed to snap Kim out of her little mental breakdown of sorts and caused her to smile at Blair sheepishly.

'Sorry,' she said, 'it's just you're really pretty you know and I'm kind of-,'

'Sickeningly insecure?' Rachel offered. 'Look Blair, Kim has this crazy idea that she's not good enough for Jared which frequently leads to-, well that thing you just witnessed.'

'I don't think I'm not good enough for Jared,' Kim argued weakly.

'Fine, than she thinks she's not pretty enough,' Rachel said offhandedly. 'There, that better?'

Kim just threw her an annoyed look but didn't argue the matter; she seemed quite meek, it made Blair wonder where exactly she'd found the sheer attitude to slam a pie in the face of someone who looked like an army experiment gone Native. Part of her, the nice part she was exploring, felt for the girl and could relate; she'd spent most of her life feeling insecure about herself because she wasn't sweet, tall, blond, bronzed and loved like a certain Greek Goddess who-would-remain-nameless.

'But you're beautiful,' she stated matter-of-factly; if it had been the one thing she had wanted someone to tell her during endless bouts of therapy, she was quite sure Kim would like to hear it as well.

'Excuse me?' Kim asked visibly gobsmacked; she'd obviously not seen that one coming.

'You're all cheekbones and almond wide-set eyes with to-die-for lashes add your pouty mouth and your glowing skin and you're like a Native American Gemma Ward,' Blair said casually like she wasn't acting completely out of character; Serena would've been so proud if she could have seen her acting all Hallmark Channel.

'You don't have to say that.'

'I mean it,' Blair stated with an unladylike shrug, 'believe me I don't throw around compliments I don't mean-, quite the contrary actually I'm usually very critical of peoples looks, so don't be offended if I ever critique your outfit, it's nothing personal.'

Slowly a smile spread over Kim's features. 'It's really nice meeting you Blair.'

Turned out Kim was sweet, ridiculously so even, sweet and soft-spoken, the perfect counter balance for Rachel's loudness. Plus Kim was smart enough to not ask ridiculous questions like: "Are you alright?" After ten minutes in the car with her Blair had decided she definitely liked Kim and not in a little minion-way but in an actual person way.

'So forgiven loverboy yet?' Rachel questioned glancing over her shoulder at Kim, Blair was quite sure you weren't supposed to do that while driving, but than again she was hardly an expert.

'You heard about that huh?' Kim said her skin instantly taking on a tomato-like hue.

'You mean the whole pie thing?' Blair added in innocently; she needed conversation to distract her from Rachel's reckless driving, honestly she was even worse than a New York cabbie.

'Oh god-, he told?'

'Duh, this is Jared we're talking about,' Rachel said rolling her eyes. 'But anyways, care to elaborate?'

'Can't, it's too embarrassing,' Kim said hiding her face behind her hands.

'An ambitious blond trollop once poured yoghurt over my head en plein public, I won't judge,' Blair said, she hated rehashing that period of her life but since neither girl knew the specifics of said embarrassment she didn't mind sharing for the sake of conversation.

'Why did she do that?' Rachel said turning towards her.

'Because she was an ambitious troll. Keep your eyes on the road Rachel!' Blair said sounding a little more panicky than she had intended.

'Yes mom,' Rachel mumbled.

'So Kim, you were saying?'

'We were at the party and everything was great-, things are always great my family adores him,' Kim started gnawing on her lower lip. 'But then I had to pop out for a couple of minutes to help my mom bring out the deserts and when I came back-,'

'Slutty cousin was all up in your boy's body?' Rachel offered.

'Yeah!' Kim said still sounding slightly outraged. 'It's been like that since we were kids! Jessica always takes everything from me and gets away with it because she's the pretty and pretty people get away with everything. And when I saw those god-awful whore coloured plastic nails on my boyfriend's-, her ex boyfriend's arm smiling and laughing like they were a couple I just freaked.'

'And you slammed the pie in his face?' Blair questioned nodding in understanding.

'It's just he looked so into her and Jessica's had this smug he-was-mine-first look on her face and I just got so angry,' Kim said pitifully. 'I plead momentary laps of judgement.'

'Kim,' Rachel started slowly, 'Jessica doesn't mean anything to Jared, she was just a convenient piece of ass back when he was still a normal teenage horndog. If I had to freak out about every girl Paul had sex with you could have me committed.'

'That easy for you to say, you're gorgeous!'

'Kim please don't start-,'

'He loves you,' Blair said cutting off Rachel's probable rant.

'What?'

'He couldn't care less about your cousin, he couldn't even remember who she was but he loves you,' Blair said staring out the window; neither Nate nor Chuck had ever looked so upset over her, Nate hadn't even looked so upset when he confessed he'd cheated, it was depressing to say the least.

The rest of the car ride went by smoothly; with the occasional light conversation about mundane things and the occasional squirming from her part whenever Rachel did something seemingly dangerous while driving.

'Ever been to a bonfire?' Kim asked as they climbed out of the car; Rachel had actually parked on the beach just a few feet away from a crowd, of very loud, gigantic people gathered around a fire.

'New York isn't exactly known for its bonfires,' she retorted as she smoothed out her dress as Rachel jogged towards the others. 'So how exactly do these bonfires work?'

Kim offered her a soft smile. 'Don't worry; they're kinda cool in a traditional sort of way.'

'KIM!' a voice boomed and before Blair could even blink Kim was ripped away from her and scooped into a hug by her boyfriend who had managed to sneak up on them despite his enormous frame. 'Did you get my flowers?'

'I did,' Kim said blushing a scarlet.

'Do you like them?' he asked staring at her, a worried frown plastered on his boyish face.

'Of course I like them Jared,' Kim said soothingly before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

'So you forgive me for being an idiot?'

'You're always an idiot!' Paul, who had an arm slung over Rachel's shoulder, called loudly: those two really were perfect for each other.

Jared threw a rude hand gesture in his general direction.

'Of course I forgive you silly,' Kim said, 'do you forgive me?' she added biting her lower lip.

'Like I was ever mad at you,' Jared said staring at her in a way that could best be described as puppy-like devotion.

Blair watched the scene unfold with interest; those two really were sickeningly sweet together.

'Glad you could make it,' a very familiar voice said snapping her out of her inner musings.

'It's my pleasure,' Blair said turning towards Jacob who offered her his trademark crooked smile; he was wearing a shirt for once along with his standard uniform of cut-off shorts.

'Jacob, bring her over!' a grey-old-man sitting in a wheelchair called; though he looked old there was this gleam in his eyes that told her that though his body might not be what it used to be, his mind was still functioning perfectly.

'My dad kind of wants to meet you,' Jacob said rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion. 'I tried to talk him out of it but he's pretty stubborn.'

'It's okay Jacob, I'm an outsider and I know your tribe's big furry secret it's only logical that he wants to meet me,' Blair said putting a hand on his arm. 'So lead the way, I'm ready for my interrogation.'

'You have no idea,' Jacob muttered leading her over to his father.

'Dad this is Blair, Blair this is-,'

'Billy Black,' he said offering her his hand. 'Pleased to meet you.'

'The pleasure is all mine,' Blair said shaking his hand, noting his firm handshake.

'Take a seat,' he said motioning towards a log; Blair could barely keep herself from making a face, she was by no means a fan of woodsiness and a log as a chair had to be the epitome of woodsiness and lord knows what types of creatures resided in it, but she managed to overcome her hesitation and elegantly slid down on the offending piece of deadwood with her pleasant smile firmly intact although she kept an eye out for anything that moved.

'Jacob you can-,' Billy started but Jacob cut him off by sitting down in the sand next to Blair.

'I'm not leaving dad,' he stated throwing Blair an apologetic smile.

Billy just grinned at him indulgently. 'He's afraid I'll scare you off even though he's the one who turned into a wolf without warning you.'

'He's still a bit touchy about that,' Blair stated noting Jacob's annoyed scowl.

'I heard you took it quite well,' Billy said watching her with an unreadable expression.

'I'm from New York; I've dealt with far scarier things than werewolves.'

Billy chuckled; a pleasant low rumbling sound that immediately made her feel at ease.

'And how are you enjoying La Push?'

'Well it's interesting to say the least.'

'Sadly enough,' Billy said frowning, making the many wrinkles in his forehead standout even more; he looked old and troubled now, more like she'd imagined an Indian Chieftain would look. 'I would've preferred that my boy had had a more normal life-,'

'Dad,' Jacob said softly.

'But then again, my daughter wouldn't be around if things had been normal,' he said nodding towards Rachel who was trying to tackle Paul, trying being the keyword. 'And Jacob here wouldn't have met you,' he added sounding distinctively more light-hearted, he even winked at her. 'And that would've been a damn shame.'

Jacob buried his face in his palms and let out a soft growl in obvious annoyance but Blair couldn't help but smile: apparently Billy Black had already been corrupted by his, let's say enthusiastic, daughter.

'Rachel's been talking about, me hasn't she?'

'Like an energizer bunny on replay,' Billy answered. 'She even told me what designs of wedding dresses would look good on you.'

Blair shot him an amused expression.

'Why did the crazy one have to come back?' Jacob muttered hanging his head in embarrassment.

'You have more siblings?' Blair asked curiously.

'Just one, Rebecca, the sane twin,' Jacob stated grumpily. 'Rachel's the oxygen deprived one.'

'Jacob, don't say that about your sister,' Billy chided half-heartedly.

'It's either that or mom took some serious drugs when she was pregnant and Rachel took the full hit.'

'Rachel's just-, chipper.'

'She's psychotic dad!' Jacob grumbled shooting his oblivious sister a death glare.

'Jacob don't worry,' Blair said soothingly, 'it's not like I take her seriously, I mean she's probably just teasing you, I guess that's what siblings do.'

'You don't have siblings Blair?' Billy asked; though she assumed he was just changing the subject to something more neutral, she was quite sure Rachel had already given him the full specifics of her family life gay dad included.

'No and after witnessing Jacob's suffering, I'm quite happy to be an only child.'

'You have no idea,' Jacob muttered, his ego obviously still wounded from his sisters latest assault.

'Hey Jake, hey Billy,' a lighter yet definitely male voice called.

Blair looked over her shoulder to see a tall but gangly native boy trudge over to them, immediately offering her a sweet grin; guessing from his built he was another one of the wolves, but a good deal younger than Jacob more around Eric's age judging from his boyishly cute face.

'Blair, this is Seth,' Jacob said as the boy plopped down on the other side of her. 'Seth this is Blair.'

'Hey!' Seth said immediately offering her his hand.

'Hello,' Blair said taking his hand and shaking it.

'Rachel told me all about you!'

'I bet she did,' Blair said an amused smile playing at her lips.

'Oh god no,' Jacob muttered. 'Not you too.'

'Is your mother here, Seth?' Billy asked.

'Nah, she's out with Charlie,' Seth said making a face of childish good-natured disgust.

'Good,' Billy obviously pleased.

'She really wants to meet you though,' Seth whispered to her. 'She just didn't want to crowd you.'

Blair just nodded; she was starting to wonder exactly what Rachel was spreading around because apparently the entire native community seemed to think she was Jacob's fiancée or something along those lines. Did people actually take her seriously?

'And Leah?' Jacob questioned a deep frown marring his features.

Seth shrugged, looking a tad uncomfortable. 'She's having one of her bad spells; I can hardly get her out of the house.'

'She's still upset about the wedding?' Billy asked.

'I think so,' Seth said hesitantly, 'but than why did she agree to be a bridesmaid?'

'She's proud Seth,' Jacob said with a sigh, 'she doesn't want people to know how hurt she is.'

'Oh,' Seth said staring down at his converse clad feet; he suddenly looked younger, more vulnerable and Blair didn't really know what came over her when she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder causing him to throw her a shy smile.

'Is everyone ready for story time?' Billy announced loudly, his voice booming across the beach.

'This is the best part,' Seth stated sitting up a bit straighter. 'Well that and Emily's food of course.'

Blair watched as about thirty people gathered around Billy, sitting down in the sand or on a log; she noticed about fifteen of them were huge and definitely of the werewolf variety.

Just how many werewolves did La Push count? And why did everyone dress like woodchoppers?

She unconsciously brushed a few non-existent creases out of her de la Renta dress, as she took in everyone's attire; she was horribly out of place, but at least she was stylishly out of place and that was worth the discomfort. She was used to being out of place quite honestly, even in trendy New York people were hardly ever as fashion savvy as the almighty Blair Waldorf. Granted the difference in stylishness had never been as dramatic as it was at the present but she simply refused to tone down her love of fine clothing; Blair Waldorf simply did not adapt to other people, especially not when said other people wore jean cut-offs and –for all that's good and holy- flannel.

But they were nice, weird but nice, annoyingly so even. And as long as the people were nice she could deal with flannel, as long as they didn't make her wear it…and she couldn't help but feel some satisfaction at the fact at least Jacob wasn't wearing it.

'As you all know our tribe has always had magic in our blood; the blood of Great Spirit Warriors, shapeshifters who could transform into the powerful wolf. And like wolves they bravely defended our tribe against outsiders, enemies,' Billy started; his tenor voice was grave yet pleasant to listen to and made it easy to listen to him. 'One day, long ago, our warriors came across a creature. The creature looked like an ordinary man, but was hard as stone and cold-, as ice. Our warrior's, in their wolf form, managed overpower the powerful creature and tore him apart, but only fire could destroy his icy flesh.'

Blair shot Jacob a questioning look; you had to rip vampires apart and burn them? Since when didn't stakes and crucifixes suffice?

'Our warriors destroyed the creature, but lived in fear the cold one wasn't alone-, they were right. A cold woman, his mate came to our tribe and took her vengeance out on our people. In her fury she killed many of our people, including our warriors until Taha Aki; our elder chief was the only Spirit Warrior left to protect the tribe.'

Blair frowned as Billy paused for dramatic effect as the rest clung to his every word as if he was dictating them the Holy Scriptures.

'Taha Aki's Third Wife, his spirit wife could see he would lose. The Third Wife was no magical being, she had no special powers but one; courage,' Billy said severely. 'She took her fallen son's knife and plunged it deep into her heart knowing the cold woman craved not only revenge but also blood; the Third Wife's sacrifice distracted the cold woman long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her before she could destroy the tribe. Her sacrifice saved our tribe.'

Okay, that was not the happy ending she had been expecting…

'Taha Aki was devastated by the Third Wife's death for she had been his spirit wife, his soul mate, he lay by his wife's body for three days in his wolf form before vanishing into the forest and disappearing forever.'

Was it her imagination or was Billy looking directly at her? That was slightly discomforting

'Overtime our enemies have disappeared, we fight no more battle with other tribes or other great spirits but one has returned; the cold ones, they awakened the magic in our blood and called our sons to battle and even now, after we've showed our strength, they threaten us and our people and we most remain ready for them.'

Blair let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding; suddenly the threat of vampires seemed a whole lot closer than she'd imagined. She'd thought vampires had been like the ones in Buffy; killable by a teenage girl and kinda stupid not super powered tanks who had to be quartered and burned to a crisps.

'Blair,' Jacob said snapping her out of her revelry; apparently Billy had adjourned story time seeing practically everyone had gotten up to run around and do whatever it was they were doing. 'Blair, are you okay? You look kinda peaky?'

Normally Blair would've rolled her eyes at the word peaky but she was currently preoccupied by more pressing matters.

'Jacob, exactly how hard is it to kill a vampire?' the question had sounded much more intelligible in her mind.

Jacob just stared at her oddly for a few beats. 'Seth, help me out bro.'

Seth look similarly flabbergasted; 'I dunno, pretty hard I guess?'

'But definitely doable!' Jacob added in a rather transparent attempt to reassure her.

'Yeah, definitely!' Seth said catching on to what Jacob was doing. 'We once killed an entire army of newborn vampires that were after Bella!'

Bella? As in Jacob's Bella?

'Why were there vampires after Bella?'

Jacob threw Seth a distinctly annoyed look which caused him to grin sheepishly.

'Remember when I told you Bella's boyfriend was like a deal on his own? And stuff was really complicated between us?'

Blair nodded absently.

'He was kind of a vampire.'

'Really now?' she said raising her eyebrows: a vampire-human-werewolf love triangle? How Hollywood…'I can see how that complicated things. Jacob, if Bella picked him does that mean-?'

'Yeah, she's a vampire now,' Jacob said, a grim, almost angry look taken over his features, giving him an almost dark demeanour; he definitely wasn't over that.

'Oh, how unfortunate,' Blair said almost conversationally.

'Wow Paul was right, you're like super stoic,' Seth said giving her an admiring look.

'It takes more to faze me than vampires,' Blair said smiling tightly, 'I've dealt with figurative vampires who looked about ready to drink my blood so I'm sure the literal kind won't prove to be much of a hassle either.'

'You'll fit in just fine,' Seth said with a chuckle. 'That reminds me, Brady asked me to give you this,' he added pulling a very crumpled looking envelope from the back pocket of his shorts. 'He would've given it to you himself but Sam kinda banned him from attending-, part of his punishment.'

'Oh,' Blair said simply as she opened the envelope and pulled out a homemade card with a large, childishly drawn yellow smiley-face on the cover, it hardly looked like the handiwork of a teenage boy, let alone a teenage werewolf.

'He wanted to buy you one but apparently Hallmark doesn't make; I'm-sorry-I-attacked-you cards so he asked Claire to design one for him. He wrote something on the inside though!'

Blair flipped open the card; Brady had scribbled in large though barely legible, very boyish handwriting the words: "I'm really sorry!" Not exactly the type of apology she usually accepted but since she was trying to better her life and La Push obviously didn't have a Tiffany's or Harry Winston, she would temporarily lower her standards.

'You can tell him he's forgiven,' Blair said smiling sweetly.

'Thanks Blair,' Seth said enthusiastically, 'he really is sorry, he's been beating himself up over it ever since it happened. He really didn't mean to-,'

'But don't forget to tell him the punishment still stands,' Jacob interrupted. 'Blair may have forgiven him but what he did was inexcusable, he needs to learn from his mistakes.'

'Jake, stop talking shop and relax a little will you?' Emily called; she was sitting on a table filled with all types of food, not too far away. 'Come get something to eat!'

'You don't have to tell me twice,' Seth said jumping up and making a beeline for said food.

'Hungry?' Jacob asked getting up more elegantly than you would expect from someone his size.

'Not really,' Blair answered as he offered her a hand which she automatically accepted; his hot touch instantly warming her cool fingers.

'You haven't lived until you've tried Emily's food,' Jacob stated pulling her to her feet with ease.

'I'll make sure to try it latter,' Blair said noting he still had to let go of her hand as they walked over to Emily who was taking animatedly to an older man who could best be described as ancient looking.

'Blair,' Emily said as Jacob practically attacked the food, 'this is Quil Ateara, Quil, this is Blair-,'

'Jacob's friend,' Quil said offering her a friendly nod as he peered at her from over his glasses; finally someone who hadn't been brainwashed by Rachel's mindless chatter.

'It's nice to meet you, are you-?'

'That moose's grandfather,' he said nodding towards the younger Quil who was currently being dragged along on his back through the sand by two of his werewolf buddies who had gotten hold of his legs.

Blair couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips as Emily let out a loud giggle; she had a feeling she was going to like old Quil.

'You would think turning into a Spirit Warrior would've given him a bit more refinement but no…he still acts like the village idiot,' he said shaking his head as Quil was dragged into the sea, kicking and cursing. 'Is it true he sniffed you?'

'Yes, apparently he thought I was a vampire.'

'That boy, I love him to death but sometimes…' he trailed off, a fond smile softening the lines around his mouth. 'He likes you though, says you took everything in stride.'

'She took it like a champ,' Emily stated smiling brightly.

'Calmness is an admirable quality,' Old Quil said somewhat cryptically, 'it'll serve you well in the future. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to get my old bones home, the night is for the young.'

'It was nice meeting you,' Blair said truthfully.

'The pleasure was all mine,' he retorted before slowly making his way towards Billy Black and a few more, older tribe members to say his goodbyes.

The rest of the evening went by in similar fashion; she met a lot of people, half of whose names she couldn't recall for the life of her, Jacob trying to tempt her into eating things, Jacob asking her if she was cold, basically a lot of random Jacobness and of course the occasionally being forced into mindless little games by various pack members which usually meant avoiding being tackled onto the disgusting muddy and rocklike sand that made up the beach of La Push; when would these wolf-heads figure out she didn't do roughhousing? Did they want her to go Blair-bitch-project on their asses? Luckily Jacob had noticed how her looks were becoming more and more murderous as time went by he had steered her towards Jared and Kim who were just sitting in the sand chatting quietly; still not quite her scene, but a vast improvement from the general idiocy that had taken over the beach.

'You cold?' Jacob asked snapping her out of her train of thought.

'A bit,' Blair admitted; her attire with its light jacket and flimsy material was after all more classy than it was practical.

'C'mere,' he said lifting his arm so she could lean into him and benefit from his unnatural warmth; she caught the smirk on Jared's face but chose to ignore it, she was cold.

'So Blair, what are your thoughts on bonfires?' Jared asked quietly, so he didn't wake Kim who had dozed off on his lap about fifteen minutes ago; Blair couldn't blame her, she guessed it was well past midnight and the boys' excessive body warmth was more sleep inducing than a few glasses of scotch.

'Pleasant,' she answered before nodding towards a group of guys who were still running around the beach like headless chickens trying to tackle each other, 'though a bit too testosterone driven for my taste.'

'Yeah, things tend to get kind of crazy when we let them off the leash,' Jacob said with a soft chuckle.

'Be happy they haven't resorted to marking their territories.'

Blair gave him a blank look; they didn't actually do that right? She could rough it a little and deal with some hilbilliness but as soon as people started peeing on things,she didn't care what daddy said, she was taking the first flight to the Hamptons even if she had to fly, oh-the-horror, coach.

'He's kidding,' Jacob reassured her though he didn't sound very convincing.

'No I'm not; according to Paul every opportunity is a good opportunity for him to get his dick out of his pants.'

Blair made a face; 'How charming.'

'He's always been a bit of an exhibitionist,' Jared said with a grin, 'drives Rachel crazy, last time she threatened to neuter him.'

'If only,' Jacob mumbled, 'can you imagine them reproducing?'

'God I hope not,' Jared chuckled.

Blair sort of lost focus on the conversation after that; her eyelids were starting to get heavy and she had to suppress a string of very unladylike like yawn.

'I guess it's about time I get you home, huh?' Jacob said noting her struggle to stay awake.

'You might be right,' Blair mumbled allowing him to hoist her to her feet.

'Jared goodnight,' Jacob said with a nod releasing his hold on her; Blair could barely suppress a pout, he was so nice and warm and La Push was ridiculously windy even in the summer.

'Goodnight lovebirds get home safe,' he said with a wink.

'Ignore him, everyone does,' Jacob said as he guided her off with a light touch to her lower back instantly heating her up a bit; god these Quileute boys could make a fortune as personal heaters.

'You had fun right?' Jacob asked as they slowly made their way down the beach.

'Jacob, you've already asked me that at least twenty times and I've given you the exact same each time, ask me again and I might just change my mind.'

He offered her his patented croaked smile: 'Sorry, just making sure.'

Blair just rolled her eyes good-naturedly: he worried way too much on her behalf, cute as it was, it was also quite unnecessary.

'It's okay-,'

She never quite got to finish that sentence since the wind was rudely knocked out of her as something-, or more likely someone tackled her by the waist sending her sprawling onto the ground; heads were definitely going to roll.

'Quil, have you lost your mind?' Jacob's voice boomed.

So Quil was responsible? Good to know, at least now she knew who she was going to have to brutally murder.

'Sorry, sorry, it was a spur of the moment thing!' Quil said sounding pretty damn remorseful which was of course quite futile; she was so going to make him pay for this. 'And Jake don't worry, I was careful.'

'Tell me Quil how can you carefully tackle someone?' Blair demanded as he helped her sit up straight. 'Your grandfather was right you are a moose!'

'He called me a moose?' Quil said frowning, temporarily distracted from the manner of hand.

'Yes, why? Do you prefer Native American schmuck? But if you don't like that one either I can think of a few other pejoratives that describe you perfectly!'

'You okay?' Jake asked pulling her to her feet, examining every inch of her until his eyes finally rested on her knees. 'Quil you're a dead man.'

'She already scarped her knees!' Quil said holding up his hands in defence. 'Back when you found here remember?'

He sounded scared, good; he should be! Once she had a good night's sleep she would devise something truly Blair-Waldorf-worthy to avenge her poor knees and pretty dress.

'Not like this,' Jacob argued shooting him a reproachful glare.

'I'm sorry!' Quil said slowly stepping away from Jacob's annoyed form. 'But it's worse than it looks! Claire scraps her knees all the time! Just clean up a bit and she'll be right as rain, I promise!'

'Whatever,' Jacob muttered, 'now get out of here before I change my mind and I tackle you.'

'Ay ay captain!' Quil said saluting him before turning his heel and jogging off.

'Crazy idiot,' Jacob mumbled more to himself than to her. 'C'mon princess, let's get you cleaned up.'

'I have been spending far too much time getting acquainted with Forks' forest floor,' Blair complained as Jacob sweeped her off her feet bridal style; in any other situation, she would've swooned at this very Clark Gabel moment but right now she was too ticked off and too tired to even care, she concluded with a pout. So she just rested her tired head against his shoulder before staring up at him and noticing the amused smirk: was he laughing at her? Nobody laughed at Blair Waldorf and got away with it though her mind was presently too tired to come up with a sharp yet witty response so she just settled for poking him in the chest, hard-, she yelped in pain as her delicate finger came in contact with the abnormally hard muscle of Jacob's chest: stupid werewolf thing.

'Don't hurt yourself,' he chuckled as she glared up at him.

'You're such a freak, I can't even poke you,' she mumbled half-heartedly, enjoying the way his excessive body heat warmed her cool skin through the thin fabric of her dress.

'Sorry,' he answered simply and she could just hear the amusement in his voice; well excuse her for being normal…

But as much as she tried to be annoyed with him she simply couldn't find the energy to go through with it, she was too content with leaning into him as the heat of his body lulled her into a state of drowsiness

'Don't fall asleep on me princess,' Jacob said softly snapping her out of her sleep like state only to see he was manoeuvring them into a tiny little wooden house, his house she front door lead them straight into the kitchen where carefully lowered her onto countertop, his hands lingering on her legs just long enough for her to notice they were lingering; it was sort of nice really, ridiculous as it may be, touches like that made her feel wanted, adored even and she cherished that feeling.

She sighed softly; leaning her tired body against the awful mint green kitchen walls, her legs dangling over the edge like a ragdoll's.

'I'll get something to clean up your knees,' Jacob said his hand briefly grabbing hers; it felt nice, intimate even.

She watched him rummage through one of the kitchen cupboards through half-lidded eyes. She'd never really noticed how handsome he really was, probably because he looked nothing like him, like Chuck. Chuck had been the stuff romance novels were made of; dark, polished and devilishly handsome with dark charm, unfathomable wealth and a brooding personality to boot. Jacob however was nothing like that; he was simple, smooth with no edges, except for the werewolf thing of course, boyishly handsome with lean muscle moving smoothly beneath russet skin and a sweet, soft personality that shined through in everything he did, Jacob was nothing like Chuck, but he was the stuff happy endings were made-, okay, where did that come from?

'Penny for your thoughts?' he said, snapping out of her reverie; he's standing in front of her, an adorable crooked smile gracing his handsome features. She knew he had caught her staring and he looked a little bit too pleased with himself.

'I'm not that cheap,' she retorted with a soft smirk.

He just shook his head before glancing down at her poor, mistreated knees. 'Do you mind if I-…?' he asked holding a wet towel in front of her.

'Of course not,' she said before he dabbed the towel against the wound, obviously taking care to be as gentle as possible. 'I haven't scrapped my knees since kindergarten,' she stated hardly noting his barely-there touches.

He smiled, looking up at her for just a second, 'now why doesn't that surprise me princess?'

Princess, she had always wanted to be a princess.

'This might sting,' he stated as he pored some antiseptic on the towel he had previously used to clean the wound; she was quite sure that wasn't exactly the best course of action but she couldn't find it in herself to protest.

'I'm sure I can handle it Jacob,' she said raising her eyebrow at him; like Blair Waldorf couldn't handle something as trivial as a bit of physical pain, she could handle werewolves, couldn't she?

'Just making sure,' he mumbled softly pressing the towel to the raw skin.

She closed her eyes in surprise and let out a soft hiss; for someone not used to any sort of physical pain, it hurt significantly more than she had expected.

'Sorry,' Jacob said quietly.

Her eyes fluttered open and she couldn't help but note the closeness between them, he was so close she could actually feel the warmth radiating off him, she could hug him if she wanted to, not that she wanted to or anything…

'It's okay, you just surprised me,' Blair said; she didn't want him to think she was some sort of cry-baby because Blair Waldorf was by no means a cry-baby, physical pain just wasn't her forte.

'Well, we're almost done,' he mumbled before turning around and grabbing two large band-aids off the simple wooden kitchen table.

'You're good at this,' she stated absently.

He offered her that adorable smile before carefully applying a band-aid to each knees. 'All done,' he said softly, his hand lingering absently on her thigh, his thumb tracing lazy, warm circles on her cool skin and it might have felt a little too good.

'Thank you,' she retorted automatically though she wasn't quite sure what exactly she was thanking him for; she was staring at him-, at his dark eyes which were burning into hers, almost…adoringly, like he could never get enough of her. But that couldn't be right, could it? It was probably the night's atmosphere, the drinks, his warm touches, a trick of the mind not affection.

'What?' Jacob asked his hand moving up to cup her cheek; she involuntarily leaned into the warmth of his soothing touch.

'Why are you looking at me like that?' she drawled lazily; she felt like she was caught in a dream, a fantasy of love and affection.

'Like what?'

'Like you care about me?' she blurted out only half aware of what she was saying, of the ridiculousness of it all; Jacob must have some sort of bizarre native spell on her because he was making her, the unshakable Blair Waldorf, lose her composure all because of looks and touches, a feat not even Chuck with all of his tricks and suaveness had achieved.

Jacob chuckled; a low, rumbling sound. 'Haven't you figured it out? I'm surprised?'

'I'm tired,' she said with a shrug of her delicate shoulders. 'My head's all fuzzy.'

He smiled leaning in even closer, resting his forehead against hers; she vaguely wondered exactly when they had become so intimate.

'It's you-,' he muttered, 'it will always be you.'

And although she wasn't really sure of what that meant, she couldn't help but slip her arms around his neck, hugging him closer to her feeling oddly relaxed as he leaned into her, resting his face against her pulse point slowly breathing her in.

'Blair,' he muttered as his nose travelled up the column of her throat, barely touching her yet sending shivers up and down her spine as his thumb caressed her cheek while his other arm slipped around her waist, tugging her even closer as she absently ran her fingers through his short messy hair, tugging lightly at the strands. And then finally she felt his lips lightly trace her jaw line, sweeter and gentler than she thought his large frame capable of.

He was taking things so slow, too slow even and Blair Waldorf was a very impatient girl; she cupped the side of his face and turned his face up to hers, pressing her lips to his. She felt him go rigid in surprise for just a second before his hand slipped down to her neck, tilting her head back for better access. His tongue traced the seems of her lips, gently coaxing her to open her mouth to which she complied instinctively, slowly slipping her tongue against his.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that, she guessed quite some time since when they finally parted their breathing wasn't exactly even and Jacob had a very pleased grin plastered on his handsome face.

'Wow,' he breathed against her lips.

'Wow indeed,' she retorted before leaning up and pressing a light kiss to his lips as her hand rested on his shoulder; she could hardly believe how dainty it looked against the broad muscle, muscle she made a note to examine in the very near future.

'We should do this again sometime,' he said smiling slightly though she didn't miss the hint of a question in his words.

'My thoughts exactly,' she replied resting her head on his shoulder feeling perfectly content for the first time in a long time.

T.B.C

Tada! Hope you liked it, am I doing Seth right? I think he's a bit of a challenge. And oh still thinking about doing a Jared/Kim story, I think they're totally cute.

Anyways hope you're satisfied with my "work", tell me what you think what you liked, what you didn't like, etc. =)

And oh yeah on a side note: I may be lazy at times but STOP WORRYING I'm not abandoning the story unless I actually SAY so ;)