Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight universe, Stephenie Meyer does.

And pretty much all other characters, including Freddie and Maribel, belong to the universe created by the talented yay4shanghai! She is amazing, and you'll have to read her stories to understand this. I want to thank her for allowing me to write this, and also helping by betaing it.

I also recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, Dll10, and intiMACYx33. They're great, and worth reading!

This story takes place during 100 Years of Solitude... Okay, Maybe Just Five.

I'm not going to bore you all with a bunch of excuses as to why I haven't updated sooner, let's just say I've had a lot to deal with in the past couple of months.

I want to double-thank my beta, yay4shanghai, for putting up with my crapiness and not getting mad at me for not updating so often. You're absolutely fabulous Jay!

Chapter Eleven - A Lesson In Make-up

August 19th 2038

Maribel POV

I felt my stiff muscles slowly relaxing, my mouth was parched; my hands were numb because I had accidentally fallen asleep on them. I heard the sound of people moving outside the door, and wondered idly if Ms. Rose was coming to wake me up.

Odd, she almost never came so early… I sat bolt upright, my back cricking as I did, and stared around me in awe. The room was quite small, a double bed crammed into one corner, a dresser and a closet on the other wall, with a small nightstand next to the bed. It had a single window which was shut tight; I heard rain splashing against the closed pane.

I swallowed convulsively and shivered, wrapping my long arms around my chest in the cold. My mind ran through everything that had happened the previous days, shock running through my veins like an electric jolt.

Had I really done all these things? Was I really in the United States, so far away from my parents' wary eyes? I gingerly stood, and then yelped as my bare feet made contact with the frozen floor. There was a pause in the muffled voices some ways away, and they promptly continued.

I swallowed, knowing then that I certainly wasn't with my parents. My mother or one of my guards would have come running immediately, concerned alertness imminent on their expressions… But no one came.

My trembling hands pushed me off the bed and I stopped to inspect myself in the mirror, shaking my head. My hair looked hassled and my purple silk pajamas were ruffled. My mother told me to never meet anybody without looking presentable.

I looked into the mirror for a moment, reminiscing about her and this rule which she repeated so many times, before shaking my head again and dropping to the floor. I pulled one of my two suitcases forward and started shifting through the different outfits, finally settling on a black skirt and a purple tank top.

I ran a hand through my hair enough times to smooth it down as much as it would any other day before leaving the bedroom, and heading towards the kitchen. My stomach twisted in nerves as I rounded the corner, peering anxiously into the room and smiling excitedly as I saw Freddie and his sister Soledad sitting at the table, talking in English.

"Freddie!" I called, and he turned to me at once with a grin, pulling me into his embrace for a hug. He let go of me all too soon, and my body longed for the almost stifling heat emitting from him. It had grown to be a great comfort, especially in the hard nights leading to our escape, in which I was bombarded with worries and doubt.

"Good morning, Maribel." Soledad nodded at me and I flushed, nodding back at her.

"Good morning," I responded eagerly, determined not to mispronounce a word today. Even if I had to ask Freddie how to say anything, which was slightly humiliating as he is so smart.

"So, are you doing okay this morning?" Soli asked me in soft Spanish, and I nodded warmly at her.

"Yes, my room is nice. But it is raining so hard… is it often like that?" I frowned, and she laughed, shaking her head with a small smirk.

"Yes, beautiful, it's always like that. La Push has very wet weather, and that is not going to change, unfortunately," she snorted, and I sighed. I already missed the feeling of the hot sun against the back of my neck, heat pressing down on my body.

The rain shook on, making the house quake and me jump in shock every time even a little bit of thunder cracked across the sky.

As the gray morning rang on, I brought out my make-up bag, settling on the floor in the… living room I think they called it, and uncapping my yellow nail polish. I needed some color desperately, this mundane atmosphere was so unfamiliar already; all I had known was sun. Nothing less, nothing more.

As I began, I felt Soledad's eyes on my back, and finally she stood from where she was cuddling on the couch with Randy, and kneeled next to me. I couldn't stop myself from marveling at how she kept perfect balance in her heels, which must have been five inches… I had a feeling she had worn higher.

"What are you doing?" she asked me curiously in Spanish, and I glanced up shyly at her. My bag was open, showing many, many bottles of the polish, almost spilling from the seams.

"Just, um, painting my toes," I mumbled, blushing. No one knew of my secret love. She was still squinting at me, and I felt rather intimidated. She was profusely beautiful, more than anyone I had ever seen in my life. Every part of her seemed to burst with excitement and attention.

"Come on!" she suddenly smiled and pulled me up by my arm. I gave a jolt of surprise when she gathered my bag and stowed it under her arm, motioning for me to follow her. I glanced back at Freddie, who was sitting in a chair opposite Randy, a speculating but encouraging look on his face as he nodded for me to go forward.

Hesitantly, I followed her down the hall into the bathroom, where she seized my arms and pushed me onto the toilet seat. She started digging around in the cupboard under the sink until coming out again with a much larger bag then mine, and even more bulging.

I stared at her, wondering what she was doing. "What-" I started, but she waved me down with a roll of her eyes.

"It seems you are interested in make-up, so I thought maybe I'd give you a lesson!" she told me slowly, and it was a good thing because I had some difficulty making out some of her words.

"Lesson?" I questioned, wondering what she meant. She sighed, glancing at me before grabbing a bottle of something… I could make out the word "Mascara', though I'd never heard it anywhere.

"Soledad, what is mash-car-ah?" I asked her, and she sniggered while uncapping it.

"You put it on your eyelashes, it makes them darker and longer," she explained in Spanish now, kneeling gracefully in front of me.

"I'm going to go light with you. You don't really need much make-up, anyway, and apparently you've never done it. Okay, I am going to need you to look up; concentrate on the ceiling and whatever you do try not and blink." Soledad said everything in rapid Spanish; I was slightly impressed by this but expected it in a way because Freddie told me that was their mother's first and main language.

"It is important to put mascara on first when starting out, because it makes your eyes water sometimes, which would mean you would have to wipe it off, along with whatever other stuff you put on. Mija, eyes looking up!" Soledad reminded me quickly as my gaze drifted down. Water was threatening to pour over my lids, but I bit my lip, keeping them at bay until Soledad stepped back with a smirk.

"There we are; you look beautiful!" she beamed, and I blushed, hardly believing someone like her could think of me as beautiful. I stood shakily, moving to stand in front of the mirror over the slightly browning sink, but Soledad let out a cry and pushed me back down firmly.

"No, not until we finish!" she demanded with narrowed and concentrated eyes, and I shifted uncomfortably. It already felt like a bunch of gunk was slapped onto my eyes; did she really have to add more?

"Soledad? Are ju to put more of much on?" I asked her anxiously, deciding I might as well please Freddie and start practicing my English. She laughed lightly, as she dropped the mash-car-ah in her bag and dug around a little more until she came up again with two flat containers.

"No, just some blush and eye shadow. Like I said, you don't need much make-up, lucky." Soledad muttered, ignoring my embarrassing attempt at speaking English perfectly.

"What is that?" I questioned, and she started brushing my cheek softly with this red powder.

"Blush," she explained, "Makes you appear to be blushing. Eye shadow is just another thing to make your eyes pop." Her Spanish words were carefree and absentminded, and I marveled at her yet again. She seemed so free and independent; I had never met a woman like her before. Though, I could do without the blush… I did enough of that already.

As she finished applying the blush, she moved onto eye shadow quickly; I was relieved to find this didn't involve any eye watering at all. Finally, she pulled me up the shoulders, and twirled me around so I was facing the mirror.

I gasped slightly as I looked at my reflection. She was right; my eyes did look more defined, and my cheeks were bright. I beamed at her and voiced my thanks. She shrugged it off; telling me it was no big deal.

Soledad grabbed my wrist lightly, tugging me softly down the hall and pulling me straight into the living room where Freddie and Randy were situated. She pushed me forward, gesturing to me proudly and saying something I couldn't make out in English.

Freddie smiled at me, and stood to get a better view of me and as he did my eyes travelled up to make a connection to his beautiful brown ones, and my navel tried to pull me closer to him. I had never really appreciated now deep his beautiful eyes were, or how his arms were heavily muscled, or how ruggedly sculpted his face was.

I blushed immediately at these thoughts, bowing my head so my hair fell like a curtain to hide my face. Freddie walked forward, and I stared at his feet for a moment. He did not touch me, did not try and pry my chin up, just stood there and waited. Finally, I knew I could no longer put off looking at him.

"Mari, you look… fantastic," he supplied. I could see that hint of a smile in his eyes as he spoke, though his lips remained a line.

"Thanks." I whispered softly, turning redder than ever. My stomach was turning in unusual circles. I had never felt this way before!

"So how did you and my brother meet? He never really explained…" Soledad suddenly interrupted the heavy atmosphere. I broke out of my trance, looking around in shock. I had nearly forgotten that Randy and Soli were here. I crinkled my eyebrows, searching back… Hadn't I seen him at a restaurant? Ah, yes, that must have been it.

"Well, I saw him about a month ago at a very popular restaurant, though it was only a glance. Two weeks later he climbed through-" Freddie cleared his throat, glaring slightly at his sister as he interrupted me. I was a bit shocked by this: Mother always told me it was a terrible thing to interrupt someone.

"Ah, Mari, why don't you go wait in the kitchen? I need to speak to my sister, okay?" I glanced at the both of them in confusion, but made my way towards where I knew the kitchen was. My mother always told me to listen and be polite to anyone above me, and I knew that this was Soledad and Freddie's home...

I heard them speaking rapid English behind me, though they were talking in low voices and I only understood some, tiny words that were probably used in almost every sentence. I wondered fleetingly what they were talking about, but pushed the thoughts out of my mind.

Freddie slid next to me a moment later, smiling brilliantly so my heart stuttered a little. I blushed at this, what had changed? What was I now was such a bumbling fool? "How do you like the place?" he questioned me, and I shrugged wrapping my arms around his arm. I could feel the heat pouring from every inch of skin, and cuddled closer, craving the pleasant sensation it created.

"It's nice," I said, and I wasn't lying. It might have been small and dingy compared to my house for some, but I felt like it was warm and cozy, there wasn't so much space you had to buy unnecessary stuff just to fill it, it was perfect.

"That is good because I think we will be staying here for a while. I was thinking… I mean, I know you just arrived last night and are probably a little overwhelmed, but I still think you getting an education is very important," he said firmly, though speaking Spanish because he knew I did not know some of the words in English. I looked at him curiously.

"What do ju mean?" I asked him, slightly confused. Was he going to be my tutor? Soledad did not seem the type… maybe he was going to hire one? But surely he did not want to rise suspicion by doing so?

"I mean that I think… you should enroll in school. People might wonder why a young girl is not going, and since I never got to go, I'd really like you to." He said, though there was nothing in his voice suggesting pressure or stress, merely a polite hope.

But as I contemplated the idea, my stomach turned over nervously, and not in the good way it had been doing previously. I had never really interacted with other people my age. I hardly knew what a school was! I had read about it and learned what they did, but some of the stories in books did not leave a very good impression.

"I… don't know." I said finally. "What is school like?" I added, and he winced slightly.

"Sorry, Mari, I'm not quite sure. Neither me, or Soledad went, remember?" He spoke apologetically, but I ignored this with a hidden sigh, hugging him quickly. The sudden closeness made me want to hold on forever, but I pulled back just as quickly as I pulled in.

"Su-sure. I…guess I could try it." I said, if a bit hesitantly. He beamed, patting me gently on the back. I wanted to try for him, he gave up so much for me.

"Thanks, Mari! The new year won't start for about two weeks, so that will hopefully give you enough time to get used to La Push," he smiled, and I shot a quivery grin back.

What had I gotten myself into? Did I want to go to school; was this even a good idea when so many things could go wrong? I shook my head, trying to push all doubt from my mind.

But as I ignored those pressing thoughts, new ones entered. Confusion erupted through me as I tried to figure out how I had felt about Freddie for those fleeting moments. It was definite affection, but it was a kind of affection I'd never felt before, unlike anything I felt for my mama or papa. The feeling he gave me when we hugged, the way I wanted to feel more of him though I wasn't sure how or even why. How would I cope with that? I knew nothing of that sort of thing…