-Sorry it's been a long time since I've uploaded. This one involves you to pay EXTRA attention (the scene in Deli *wink wink*)

Chapter Nine- "I'm Gonna Go Wash My Mouth Out With Peach Cobbler."

"What the hell just happened in here?" Jake comes barging into my room with a half-annoyed, half-concerned face.

It's Jake. Sweet, sweet Jake. Who's legally not old enough to inflict any kind of cruel or unusual punishment at my expense.

Relapsing from the fact that Billy wasn't home yet, I hesitantly point to the window and wait for his reaction.

"Aw, damn it! Seth?"

"Leave Seth out of this. It wasn't his fault."

Jake lifts an eyebrow, speculating and turns to Seth with a look that's less like "I'm-about-to-rip-your-throat-out" and more like "Well…spit-it-out-before-I-rip-your-throat-out."

Seth holds up his hands in silent surrender. "It wasn't me, alright…Okay, it was kind of me. Kiley threw a doll at my face and I ducked. I didn't realize it would...ya know…go through the window."

"Wait…what was going on?"

"I found it in the closet. We were just kidding around and I wasn't thinking."

"Billy's gonna give you hell when he gets home."

Well no duh, Sherlock. I form the mental image of Billy running me over with his wheelchair.

"How much cash ya got?" Jake asks, interrupting my morbid fantasies.

I pull out a wad tucked inside my pillowcase and count the singles.

"A little over fifty dollars…" I had snuck a majority of my wad in my mom's purse before she drove back to Westridge. In retrospect, with the oh-so-mysterious elders cashing in my lunch money, I thought my mom was going to need my last Chichi's paycheck more than me. I guess I can scratch "good luck" and "physic abilities" off the list of magical qualities this werewolf thing comes with.

"I know where we can get a window. Cheap. I'll pay the rest. Dad's eating at Sue's tonight, so if we move now, I think I can replace the window by the time he gets back."

I run through the plan in my head, which doesn't sound too bad from where I'm sitting. But that would mean Jake actually cared enough to do me a favor, which just isn't possible. He has to want something. Drugs, money, and alibi.

"What's the catch?" I ask warily.

"No catch. We're cousins aren't we?" When he notices my stiff expression doesn't change, he gives an exaggerated sigh. "What? Can't I just do something nice for you?"

He is seriously going to go out of his way like this? Is it a pack thing, or maybe a little more of that small town cheeriness I've been suffocated with the past weekend? Seriously. How many welcome-to-the-neighborhood peach cobblers can one town bake in three days? Probably so they can fatten me up and let the vamps eat me. Living sacrifices and whatnot.

"I guess…if you want…" I finally reply. I hand him my wad, wondering if we get any money for protecting the general welfare of humanity or we're supposed to survive on "the goodness of our hearts."

Seth offers to chip in for the window, but Jake tells him to get lost and hurry on over to Emily's like a good little wolf. I take the passenger side and Jake races down to Forks like he's trying to get me to pee my pants. Apparently speeding is another wolf thing I'll just have to get used to, which means I will be walking. Everywhere. Forever.

We pass through a town that is about the size of my neighborhood and park in front of a hardware store with freaking flower pots in the windows. Trying to make up for the lack of sunshine I guess.

Jake pulls the keys out of the ignition and pulls his door open. I instantly catch the smell of fresh bakery bread from across the street, reminding me I'm hungry…again. Stupid smelling superpowers.

"Uh…Jake."

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you go get the window and I'll go get us some lunch."

"You don't have any money, remember?"

"Do you really want to eat leftover fish and cobbler for the third day in a row?" I plead, my stomach turning at the thought of shoving more good neighborliness down my throat.

He puffs out a sigh of surrender and rummages through the stack of bills.

"Fine…"

"Thanks, Jake. I'll pay you back the second I get the cash. I promise."

"Just go get me something to eat, and a lot of it."

"Got it."

He slaps a five in my palm and I head for the Deli. He rolls down the side window and calls after me, shouting through the rain.

"Don't do anything stupid or Sam's gonna kill me!"

"I won't!" I yell after him as I run across the street. I open the door and the bell jingles as I drip rain all over the welcome mat. From what I can tell the shop is empty except for the two employees working behind the counter.

One is slaving over a stove so I can't get a good look at his face, but the girl at the register looks familiar. I think her and her mom may have dropped off a pie or something yesterday. I barely got to see anyone being a werewolf newbie and all, but I know she lives on the Rez.

"Hey, Kiley," she says in a what-a-lovely-surprise tone of voice. It's not that I don't want to talk to her or anything, but there's always that awkward moment when somebody wants to start a conversation with you and you can't, for the love of God, remember their name.
"Hey," I reply with all the peppy enthusiasm I have left (which isn't much) and try to add a name to the girl's face.

"What are you doing in Forks?" she asks like she really gives a peach cobbler what I'm doing.

"Just doing a little shopping with Jake," I answer back, eyeing the meats and cheeses behind the glass. "Working on a few home repairs for my new room." That sounded normal, right?

"Neat. Are you here for a sandwich?"

"Uh…yeah. Can you get me…?" The phone in the back pocket of my jeans starts ringing, and I debate whether I should take my call outside or just not answer it. When I check the caller ID, it's Marco. I haven't spoken to him since the move.

I check the rain, which has begun to pour buckets, and decide there is no way I'm going out there to chitchat. I don't know if I'll be breaking some type of small-town hospitality code by answering my phone in the middle of a conversation, so I'm about to send it to voicemail. That's when Mystery Girl says, "Aren't you gonna get that?"

I give her a guilty smile and pick up at the last ring.

"How could you do this to me? I hate you!"

"Excuse me," I ask him, not taking Marco's ten second tantrum to the offense. He used to say the same thing when I beat him at pinball.

"You heard me! You're my salsa dancing partner, remember? AKA the only reason my mom doesn't send me to Mexico City for the summer. I've gotta "embrace my cultural heritage" and all that crap. I can't go live with my fat Aunt Benita all break! I swear to God, her creepy niece-in-law, Leticia, has the hots for me. Last year, she grabbed my butt during my Uncle's Christmas party."

"Relax, Marco! You're not going to be Leticia's lover all summer. Just find a new partner to do it with," I explain.

"Are you kidding? I'm never going to find another dance partner. Who else do you know salsa dances?"

"Check out the girls on the corner of Winchester and Gilbert," I suggest.

"The ones who are always dancing for dimes?"

"Yeah. They taught me everything I know. I needed a good workout, and it turned out to be really fun. I made some big bucks out of it too. You won't believe how much cash you can get on the streets these days."

"You know them? Who should I ask?" Now that I have an answer, the panic in his voice is nearly gone.

"Ask for Bree. Tell her Kitty sent you. She's practically a professional. Gonna make it in videos some day."

"Good. I need as much help as I can get," he grumbles.

"Don't worry. She'll lead you through the motions. I've told you before it's all in the hips, and you've gotten a lot better at it."

"I guess….how many times did I drop you at first?"

I feel myself smiling. "A lot. But recently I've spent a lot less time on my back."

"Thanks…sort of. I'll try not to break this girl's feet."

"Just remember what I taught you. In and out."

"Like the hokey pokey."

"Exactly."

"Thanks for the tip, and for being my partner too. I'm gonna miss using you at work."

I laugh, and a pang of homesickness hits me in the stomach, but that could just be from almost starving to death. "It was fun while it lasted, really, and when I'm back in the city again you can use me any way you want."

"You'll clean out the men's room for me?"

"Now you're just asking for it. Talk to ya later."

"'Kay. Bye, Kitten."

"Bye."

I hang up and go back to the deli counter, and the mystery chick is looking at me with wide eyes. I don't know why, but that's when I hear the guy from the back of the deli call for her. He calls her Kim, and then it hits me. She's Jared's reason for existence and his ooey-gooey love muffin or whatever.

"He your boyfriend?" Kim asks with a voice that, if I didn't know any better, is ice cold.

"No. He's just a friend. I worked for his family for, like, forever."

I don't really know what else I should say, but she doesn't want to seem to talk anyway. I order myself a turkey and cheese sub, deciding to forfeit the whole vegetarian thing, and pile Jake's sandwich with pretty much everything they had. I mumble a thank you and rush out of there, before the tension breaks another window.

As I'm walking back to the car I wonder how I've offended Kim. Does she know about the wolf thing? Does she know Jared has seen me naked? Is she jealous because I'm going to be spending a lot more time with the pack and thinks I'll steal Jared from her or something? That doesn't make any sense though? She seemed really nice when I walked in, before I talked to Marco. I replay the situation in my head, everything I said without Marco's input, and how it must have sounded. I freeze in shock with my hand still on the car door.

Oh. My. God.