I had ten minutes to get ready before Quil and Jake came round. Unfortunately I was still running around in my room in my underwear. I'd spent a bit more time in the shower then I'd planned to, and was suffering from "instant karma." I put on a pair of old, faded jeans and a green tunica that was loose-fitting and very comfortable. I grabbed my hair and shoved it into a messy bun, whilst brutally shoving my feet into my ruined converse. Dad stood in the doorway and looked at me, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Where's the fire?" I looked up and stuck out my tongue, tripping over my shoelaces in the process. Dad shook his head and walked back to television set. He was addicted to it. I wondered what would happen if suddenly were to go missing. Suppressing an evil laughter I turned to open the door, but found it open already. Jake and Quil were standing outside.

"Are you coming?" Quil asked. I shrugged into the first jacket I found, and strode out the door. It wasn't far to the beach so we walked. A few minutes later and we could see the small bonfire. Jake and Quil grinned like idiots. Food had obviously taken front seat in their mind. We reached the bonfire and I noticed that Sam and company were here. The first big giveaway was the five massive bodies lounging around on the beach. I started in shock at the fifth. It was Seth. He'd grown enormous! And to top it off, Sara was sitting in his lap as if they'd been doing it all their lives. The way Seth looked at her; it was as if she were the only thing in the universe that could make him happy. It was the same look Sam and Emily shared. I also noted that Seth looked like the rest of his gang, except that he was smiling.

Quil and Jake stopped talking. I guess they saw what I saw. Whilst they studied Seth and eyed Sara with suspicion, I snuck a look at the other "big people." I saw Embry and Sam with their backs to us discussing something. I saw Jared; he was shoving hotdogs in his mouth. And then I saw Paul; again. But this time it was as if everything faded out before it came back stronger; both noise and smell. I looked into his deep, brown eyes from across the campfire, and I felt a sudden urge to run my fingers through his short hair. The lovey-dovey feeling and the possessive look in his eye scared me. But the emotion of complete pain that hid in the depth of his eyes scared me more. And I didn't even know why. All I knew was that I wanted to give him a big hug.

Jake snapped me out of my thoughts by dragging me over to Quil. Quil had secured us a few blankets and were already laying them on the ground, oblivious to my zoning out. I sat down, not trusting my legs to hold me, and asked if Jake could pass me a burger. He passed me one after he grabbed three for himself. He ate like a pig, and as much as a cow. I wondered how Billy managed to feed him, or if he were feeding him at all. Maybe that was the reason behind the empty cupboards at home.

I jumped a little when Quil whispered in my ear. "That Paul guy is staring at you. I'm telling you, it's freaky." My heart accelerated. Paul was staring at me. I ducked my head and blushed. I felt like a stupid girly-girl. I mean, why should I care? Why should I care that I felt giddy every time someone mentioned his name, or that my heart sped up at the sight of him? It didn't mean anything, did it? To stop myself from going bonkers, I shifted my gaze to Embry who was looking over at us. He half smiled before he stared at the mat he was sitting on, twirling the loose threads. It annoyed me that he wouldn't look me completely in the eye, so I decided on looking at him until he had to. I waited. And I waited some more, but he still kept messing with the now ripped threads. I huffed and gave up. I'd try again later.

Midnight drew closer and it became noticeably colder. Jake, Quil and I grabbed an extra blanket and huddled close together, but it didn't help much. I wasn't sure how many other noticed or not, but I did; Sam and company weren't wearing shirts. They seemed unfazed and so did Sara and Emily.

The moon was out, giving the beach an unearthly glow and made the sea look stunning. Both the sound and motion of the waves had me mesmerized, even though I'd seen it plenty of times before. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something weird going on. I told Jake and Quil I was going for a walk, and got up. I ruffled Quil's hair before I aimed for the shoreline. I breathed in the salty smell of the sea and relaxed. I'd lived in La Push all my life, and couldn't think of any place I loved more. Walking slowly, I mulled over the things that had happened lately and came to the conclusion that something was to about to happen. I didn't know if it was a good thing or bad, but I had a feeling it was going to affect a good deal of people.

I kicked a stone and stumbled as my mind started to wander... over to Paul. I sat down on a large piece of driftwood, completely ignorant of my surroundings. I fell prey to lala land; again. My imagination showed me Paul and myself walking hand in hand through a field of flowers. His smile was beautiful and he smelled lovely. Like a fresh pine forest in the summer. I inhaled as much of him as I possibly could and hugged him with all my might. The scent was so strong and so realistic I thought, for a brief second, that if I opened my eyes that he would be standing in front of me. When the smell didn't go away together with the picture I became curious. I opened my left eye and nearly screamed. In front of me, halfway hidden in the shadows, was Paul. The breeze lifted my hair ever so slightly, bringing his scent with it. It was the same pine forest smell. I blinked, thinking it would vanish in a second; that my mind was still playing tricks on me. I blinked again, but still his strong gaze made my skin tingle and his scent made me feel high. Nothing happened so I pinched my arm. I saw his eyes dance with amusement and ecstatic happiness; as if I had given him the funniest present in the world. I hadn't even talked to him yet.

I cleared my throat. "Aren't you cold?" I asked. I shrugged deeper into my jacket. "No, not really," he answered. His vague answer made me even more curious. After a while he asked if he could sit down. I said he could, and I moved to the end of the log. It was then I noticed, even though there was nearly a meter that divided us, the warmth that radiated from him. At first I thought it was because I was cold, but my thick jacket ruined that theory. Unconsciously I moved closer to him; his warmth drawing me to him like moths to a light. I thought I heard him chuckle, but the sound was so low it could be anything. I twiddled my thumbs suddenly nervous, all the questions I wanted to ask suddenly pushed forward in my mind and hanging off my tongue. I bit my tongue to keep from blurting out the most embarrassing ones; concentrating on the ones that had some importance. "How's Embry?" I asked silently, slightly scared he would give me one of his famous death glares; I was pretty sure I wouldn't last a second. I thought I heard him sigh sadly but, again, the sounds coming from him were too low for me to register. I made a mental note to myself to get my ears checked.