"Yo' Ian!" Jesse Sweeney shouted as the bell above the door rung, signaling a customer. "We got a customer!" Pandora walked in, dropped her bag, slid out of the argyle sweater vest, and fell down into the receptionist's chair.

"It's just me, Sweeney." Pandora shouted back, half expecting Jesse to not retort.

"You're late," Jesse stated as he walked out from inside the garage, wiping his oil covered hands with a rag.

Pandora rubbed her lips together and nodded, straightening herself in the chair. Jesse was the boss and owner of the garage, if Pandora messed up – it was him that she had to face.

"I'm just kiddin'; I understand that you have schooling that needs 'ta be done." Jesse's Brooklyn accent and improper grammar caused him to be the expected 'garage employee.'

Jesse, or 'Sweeney' as Pandora called him, was the typical heartthrob. He had dark green eyes that could make any girl swoon, thick, greasy hair that was always slicked back, and a tall, lean figure with notable muscles. Jesse was also twenty-eight, something that Pandora reminded herself of everyday.

"I'll make sure to be here on time tomorrow." Pandora assured Jesse, leaning down to press the power button on the computer's tower.

"Nu' uh, your friend Elaine already talked to me. You're going with her ta'morrow night, no excuses. You need to get out more, kiddo." Pandora winced at the word 'kiddo.'

Being treated like a child, even a being called a term that describes a child, is something that Pandora doesn't enjoy. She works her ass to the bone to be treated like an adult, but she never gets what she deserves. Pandora tried to forget that Jesse had used the term and put on a fake smile.

"'Thank you for the night off Jesse, you're so sweet.'" Jesse mimicked in his girl voice, "You're welcome, Pandora. It was nice of me, wasn't it?" Jesse narrowed his eyes in on Pandora and she blushed.

"Thanks, Sweeney."

"Eh, don't mention it, toots. Just make sure to put back a few for me." He winked, "and do me a favor: send Joy Ateara back in the garage when she gets here."

"Got it, boss." Pandora spoke up before she turned her seat to face the computer screen, typing the password in quickly before her eyes met with a screen covered in panda bears.

-An Hour Later-

The bell above the door rang and Pandora looked up to lock eyes with Joy Ateara. The Quileute woman had her son Quil with her and looked as if she were on the hunt.

"Is my exhaust pipe fixed?" Joy asked as she stepped forward, taking her wallet out of her purse.

"I'm not sure; but Sweeney said he wants to speak with you." Pandora stood and opened the door to the garage, directing Joy to enter the cold, cramped building. "He should be straight back working on the bike." Joy nodded and followed where Pandora had pointed to; Pandora shut the door slowly behind Joy.

"Hey," Quil spoke up when Pandora turned back around and sat in her chair.

"Hi." She replied shyly, giving him a small smile before turning back to the computer.

"You look a little too young to be working here," Quil told her honestly as he took the pen from the counter top and started to click it repeatedly. Pandora stared at the pen as he clicked it, waiting for him to stop the aggravating sound.

"I needed to help out around the house and my uncle works here. Sweeney was nice enough to offer me a job." Pandora looked back at the computer screen and typed in a few words for the description of a car part, Quil continuing to click the pen as she did so.

"I'm Quil, why haven't I seen you around before?" Quil went strong in clicking the pen, causing the corner of Pandora's eye to gain a twitch.

"I'm Pandora, and I tend to keep to myself." Pandora snatched the pen from Quil's hand, hiding it under the counter on her desk.

"Pandora Maynard?" Pandora's eyebrow rose as she looked at Quil.

"How did you-?"

"Pandora is a… unique name, I'm sure all of Forks and La Push knows it." Quil offered her a smile as she just hid in her hair, her face red from embarrassment. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, I like it."

"I'm not embarrassed about my name," Pandora muttered, tilting her head to the side so her hair would cover her face. "I don't like the fact that this entire area knows who I am." Quil shrugged as if it were nothing.

"At least people remember you because of your name and not because of your parents," Quil told her and watched as she blankly stared at him. Quil's words had hit a sore spot, though he didn't know, and it caused Pandora's lips to drop down into a frown.

"Yeah, at least not." Pandora muttered, taking a slip from a pile in a folder. "Get your mom to fill this out- excuse me." Pandora stood and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Quil stared after her before looking down at the form, his eyes narrowing in on the words to see them more clearly. Sighing, he walked into the garage with a pen at hand.

Pandora sat in a ball on the bathroom floor, her knees pressed against her chest. Quil's words hit her hard, causing the wall she had built up to break. The population of Forks may not have brought up the subject of her parents, but one person reminded her of it every chance she could.

"I can't believe my idiot of a brother knocked up that slut. She just had to go and die and now I'm stuck with you." Her aunt's words haunted her, feeling as though she was hearing them all over again. "You're scum; you look just like her. Why don't you go whore yourself around like she did?"

A tear traveled down Pandora's face and she wiped it away with her sleeve. A light knock on the door caused Pandora to look up, her pink rimmed eyes watching as the doorknob started to wiggle.

"Eris?" Her uncle's voice sounded from the other side.

"I'm fine, just not feeling well." Pandora replied with her voice cracking as she did so. Once realizing that her voice gave it away, Pandora winced and reached up to turn on the cold water. "I'll be out in a second!" Pandora grabbed the sink and hoisted herself up.

The cold water splashing against Pandora's face caused the pink to vanish from her eyes. Grin and bear it, Pandora. There's no use in crying over what has already happened. She thought to herself as she filled her hands with cold water and sipped.

Pandora looked for a towel and looked down at her shirt, unbuttoning it to dry her face with the material. The undershirt she wore emphasized her cleavage, which she didn't like. But now that the shirt was wet, there was no use in putting it back on. Pandora sighed and pulled her hair back into a pony tail.

"Grin and bear it," she repeated to herself, putting on the fake smile that she had perfected over the years.

Pandora brushed her tongue across the top of her teeth and opened the bathroom door, revealing a grease-covered Ian. Ian's eyebrow rose as he stared down at his niece. Pandora tried to cover her sniffles caused by crying. Ian's straight face contorted to a frown when he realized what was wrong with Pandora.

"What did she say to you?" Ian growled out, wringing his hands together tightly. Despite Pandora's shyness, she never let anyone's words get to her. Theresa was the only person who could get into Pandora's skull and traumatize her. Ian knew of his sister's harsh words to Pandora and scolded Theresa on it many of times, but there was nothing he could say that would make her stop.

"She didn't…" Pandora closed her eyes and shook her head, "It was just a painful reminder. I'm a big girl, Ian."

"You don't have to be alone in this, Eris." Ian took the back of his niece's neck and kissed her forehead, inadvertently getting grease on her nose. "You're eventually going to have to let someone in."

"When that time comes I will let them know everything, but until then…" Pandora raised her arms and shrugged, hoping Ian got the message. Pandora then took the rag from Ian's shoulder and wiped off her nose.

As Pandora walked away, Ian shook his head and went back to the garage to work on his current project.

"She's a ticking time bomb waiting to go off." Jesse's voice sounded from behind Ian.

"That's what I'm worried about," Ian replied in a low mutter as he took a wrench from the toolbox.