A/N – I don't own any of the characters taken from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight.

Chapter 4

The alarm next to my bed goes off at 7 am. Ok T, time to get your butt in gear. I grumble to myself as I crawl out of bed. Let's get this over with. I dislike the first day at a new school feeling, the sea of unfamiliar faces, the stares, getting lost at class change. The first day at my school in Vegas was so bad that I gave up after lunch and just hid in the bathroom for the rest of the day. That school was massive, easily the largest I'd ever attended. Things did get just a bit better when I realized the convenience of being in a school that size. After the first couple of weeks, I began to enjoy the anonymity of being just another face in the crowd. It made it easier to fade away and hide whenever Life became too much to handle which lately, had been often.

I've always been a decent student in my classes but my real passion is in art. I can zone out while sketching letting the little details of my drawing fill my brain pushing my emotions out. Hopefully, I could study art or maybe graphic design at a local college after I graduate.

I walk through the school's doors as I head over to the office that Sam had mentioned. The smiling secretary had me sign a few things and handed me my schedule pointing me in the direction of my first class. The bell to start the day rang as I left the office. I walked into the hallway noticing that for once, my dark hair and skin tone didn't stick out at all. Everyone looked sort of like me. However, it was very obvious that this is a much smaller place, maybe 500 students. Here's a catch 22. I blend in but I can't hide. I'm going to have to put some thought into how I can escape when the pain comes again.

I sigh to myself and head to my first class, math. I see the teacher at his desk as I walk into the room. Handing him my schedule, I'm told to find an empty seat while he digs up a book and some current class work for me. There's an empty seat over by the door so I head towards it. As I make my way through the aisles, I notice a guy watching me with a grin on his face.

"Hey, you're Sam's cousin, aren't you?"

"Yeah." I reply setting my stuff down. I busy myself digging a pen and a binder out of my bag hoping that he'll take the hint that I don't want to talk. First conversations are always so awkward.

"I'm Jared Cameron. It's nice to finally meet you." He grins again with his eyes twinkling. "We'll run into each other often. I'm over at Sam's as much as I'm at my own home. Let me know if you need help with anything. You're going to think that our math teacher Mr. Tierce teaches at the speed of sound but he's really good once you get used to him."

"Thanks." I mutter and then make myself appear distracted by looking through my binder for a specific piece of paper. There was something in his eyes that kind of threw me. They seemed so familiar.

English class was a breeze. I found myself sitting to the right of a kind of cute guy with glasses. I glanced quickly over right before class started to see that he was buried in a book reading. I noticed that he had a rather large tattoo poking out from underneath his shirt sleeve. I could just barely make out the edge of the design. It looked like flames. He noticed that I was looking and gave me a shy smile. I blushed and looked away.

Third period was art. YAY! I walked into the room to hear my name being called out. That's never happened before…

"Hi Tia! Come sit over here at my table. There's plenty of room." Seth called out. I see his smile as he pointed to an empty seat by him. It was kind of nice to actually know someone on my first day at a new school. I took the offered seat and started taking out my sketch pad and charcoals. The teacher Mrs. Robinson was great and even flipped through a couple of my sketches commenting on my talent. She had just stopped on the soul eating eyes (as I've named it) when the bell rang to end class.

"I have first lunch too T. You're welcome to sit with me at my table if you want." Seth invited with a look of anticipation on his face. He is just so friendly and happy that I have to say yes. Besides, any freshmen boy would love to have the newest junior girl sitting at lunch with him. It will win him all sorts of points among his friends. There's also the fact that I don't like eating at a lunch table by myself. You can too easily become a target for wolfish senior boys with only one thing on their mind, which is why my habit of hiding out in the bathroom started.

We find a table and I start to pull out the food that Uma had packed for me that morning. There was a huge sandwich, an apple and a muffin the size of my head. What was Uma thinking? I can't possibly eat all of this. I sigh and Seth perks up. "Is that one of Uma's blueberry muffins? I love those! I swear she puts something in them to make them addictive."

I pick the muffin up and hand it to Seth with a smile. There's no way I was going to be able to eat it anyway. He returns the smile.

I start into my sandwich as I dig around in my bag for my cell phone. I want to text my mom who should be at work by now. I know that she will want to know how things are going. I send her a quick message and hit send.

The rest of my day passed rather smoothly. It seemed as though I was pretty much up to speed with everything with the exception of chemistry. My old teacher had just started ion formation and here, they were finishing up that section. The teacher gave me a packet of homework to help get me caught up. So much for being able to get some sketch time this afternoon. I'll be buried in that packet for several hours easily until after dinner.

Leaving school, I decided to shop by the store that I had passed this morning. A soda sounded divine right then. I love Uma's cooking but she didn't believe in drinking sodas at all. I needed a Pepsi fix.

Seth caught up with me about halfway to the store. "So are you slammed with homework T?" he asked as he glanced at the stack of books in my arms.

"Not really, with maybe the exception of chemistry. I brought the majority of this home just to glance through to see if there was anything that I didn't get in Vegas. The Chem homework is going to take me forever tonight though."

Seth sighed "Oh well, I was going to see if you wanted, you know, to hang out tonight but I understand. We can hang out later." The look in his eyes had saddened just a bit.

"I'd like that Seth. Maybe tomorrow or this weekend we can." He smiled at my response.

As we are talking, a red truck full of fishing gear and a small boat slows down as it passes us. Both of the guys turn their heads to stare at me.

"Assholes." I mutter. I hate being stared at like that. It reminds me too much of Jim and his slimy friends back home.

"Tourists and fishermen, they pass through here on their way to the river on the other side of the Res. They tend to stop by our store as they pass through for provisions. Most of them are ok, but some can be real jerks." He says as glances back at the truck that had passed.

I wave goodbye to him as the truck pulls into the store and parks. Thinking about my homework, I walk to the back of the store to the refrigerated section for my soda. As I grab my drink, I turn around to see the guys from the truck on either side of me.

"Hey there hun, how would you like to join me and my friend at the river this afternoon? We could have a really good time." He gives me a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. My mind starts to go into flight mode as I try to pass between them. The Rick guy steps in front of me to block my way.

"Um thanks but I think I'll pass." I say as I dodge to the right and go around them. I head straight for the cashier to pay ignoring my change as I head for the door. I pass through the door turning away from that red truck to be on the safe side. Suddenly, there's a hand grabbing me, pulling me towards the truck. I begin to panic.

"Aw come on now, Rick and I just want to have a little fun. We'll show you what real men are." I can smell the alcohol on his breath. Rick is on my other side grinning wolfishly. They start leading me to their truck. I try to pull away but he tightens his grip on my arm. I start to scream and fight as we get closer to the truck. Full fledged panic sets in as I really start to fight back. I managed to scratch Rick from temple to his chin. He punches me in the jaw. Pain quickly spreads through my face. My vision starts to blur and I can hear their laughter. Then, out of nowhere, I hear an animal growl loudly. I fear for the worst.

I'm sliding to the ground as I sort of see a blur of movement and hear the sounds of a struggle with more growling. Everything starts to go black as I hit the ground.

"Tia, Tia, wake up. Tia, are you ok?" I feel a hand on me again. I come to with a start to see soul eating golden eyes directly in front of my face. I give into my fear and pass out.

"Jare, you need to phase in and find Sam. I'm taking her to Emily's since it's closest." Strong arms pick me up and carry me through the forest to Emily's.

JPOV

I phase to my wolf and call out "Sam, we need you over at Emily's now if you can."

"What's happened? Did you catch a scent?"

"No Sam, Tia was attacked at the store. Quil is carrying over to Em's right now." I reply.

"What? I'm on my way. Go on over and I'll be there in a second." Sam is clearly upset. I could hear the growl in his voice.

TPOV

I come to on Emily's couch. She is kneeling beside me making calming noises brushing my hair away from my face. I look around and see the guy from my English class looking out the window. He looks tense but then he relaxes as I hear footsteps on the back porch. I'm so confused. What just happened?

I think back. I was at the store. Oh, the jerks…the fight. I passed out? I try to speak but it hurt to move my jaw.

"Shhhh…don't try to talk just yet. I'm going to get you an ice pack for your jaw and some Tylenol for the pain. You just stay where you are." She tells me. I don't feel like I could even try to get off of the couch. I feel week as a kitten and I start to notice that not only my jaw hurts but my arms too. Crap. What a way to start my life here. I close myself willing my brain to shut up. An unwanted tear escapes down my cheek.

QPOV

I get to Emily's place with Tia. She immediately helps me get her on the couch and starts to check out her injuries. She has bruises on both arms where those jerks grabbed her and there's the beginning of a big bruise on her jaw from being punched. I can't even imagine what could have happened to her if we hadn't been walking down the street and heard her scream.

I'm so mad that I'm shaking but I decide to rein it in until Sam gets here. I need to stay in control just in case Tia needs anything, not that Emily can't take care of her but my wolf is making me stay put even though I'm burning with rage. I hate it when tourists get out of line on our land. What the hell makes them think that they can do stuff like this? Whoa…can't think that way. It's still too early. Being the latest to phase, I'm still learning how to control myself. It's too easy to just let that anger bubble over. I stand waiting by the window looking through Emily's garden into the woods. Sam and Jared should be here any minutes. I stay at the window until I see them break through the forest line and phase back.

Emily heads towards to kitchen as I start to open the door. I take a quick glance at Tia before I leave, just in time to see a tear roll down her cheek. My shaking gets worse. I meet them out on the porch and quickly share what I saw with Sam. I know that Sam saw it in Jare's mind but my perspective couldn't hurt.

"We beat the shit out of both of them for you Sam. I'm willing to bet good money that they will never set foot on our land again." added Jared to my explanation. He was just as angry as I was.

Sam's face turns red and he starts breathing heavily. I understand how he feels. Jared and I back away. It takes Sam a minute but he calms down knowing that we need to make sure that Tia is ok and safe. She's our priority at this moment.

"Sam, I need to phase and run this anger off. I'm not going to be able to keep a grip on it for much longer. Do you need me to stick around? I will if you do." I explain.

"No Quil, go on. A good run along the border will help you." He says as he's about to enter the house.

"I'm coming with you Quil." Jared adds.

SPOV

I can see Tia on the couch as I come through the door. She's pale and a bit disoriented yet. She looks so small and helpless laying there. I growl under my breath. Emily comes into the room with an ice pack and pain meds. I'm not sure how those things will help her inside though. I'm afraid of what this attack is going to do to her. Emily gives me a small smile as I approach the couch. I can clearly see the bruising on her arms and jaw line.

"Are you ok T?" I asked quietly, not wanting to spook her. I couldn't tell if she knew that I was here.

"Um yeah, I think so." She replied quietly lifting a hand to the ice pack opening her eyes.

"What do you remember? Could you give a description of their faces to the police? I'll call the Chief of Police to come over in a while if you feel up to it. We can't let this sort of thing happen. They deserve to be thrown under the jail." She nodded in agreement. "Ok, I'm going to give Chief Swan a call then."

"I'm going to go tell Uma. She has a right to know what's happened. Sam will stay with you and I'll be right back." Emily says as she heads out the front door.

I turn toward Tia after I watch Emily shut the door behind her. "Tia, I know it's not any of my business but has this sort of thing happened to you before? I can tell that something is not ok. I don't want to pry but you're family."

I watch as she nods and turns her face away from me but not before I see the tears falling down her cheeks.

TPOV

Shit. I don't want to explain this. I think to myself and become angry as the tears fall unwanted. I've never been able to talk about the attacks before. Then again, I never really have had someone who wanted to listen, someone who cared.