Thank you all very much for your reviews and follows/favorites. I wasn't so sure about this story since my plan is a little different than what I usually write. I hope you all like this chapter. I'm worried it might be a little slow, but it's more for you to see where the main characters are right now. Again, I really hope you all like this chapter and please, please, please let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Twilight.
Chapter Two
Johanna had no clue why Sarah's brother, JJ, was still staring at her after they had been introduced; and while she had humored him and forced a smile when he smiled at her, she found his staring a little unnerving. Thankfully, Johanna's cell phone, which she had tucked into the back pocket of her jean shorts, vibrated signaling that she had a text and distracted her from the group just as Meredith said something she didn't quite catch. Turning her back to the others, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly tapped the screen to open the text she had received from her brother.
"Left," the text read and Johanna sighed quietly before she closed the message and tucked her phone back in her pocket, tucking a few loose strands of hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear.
"Something wrong?" Meredith asked as Johanna turned back around and Johanna shrugged slightly.
"My brother just texted me that he left, so, I just need to find a way home," Johanna said and Sarah put a hand on Johanna's right shoulder, bringing Johanna's attention to her.
"We can give you a lift," she said as she lowered her hand and Johanna opened her mouth to decline since she figured that a thirty minute drive to Forks was well out of their way. However, Sarah didn't let her get that far. "We're heading to Forks to have dinner with my grandparents, so, you're on the way. You really can't say no to that," Sarah said with a smile and Johanna laughed softly before she smiled back at Sarah.
"Thanks," she said. "I really appreciate it."
"I don't feel like driving," Meredith said, "can I tag along with you guys too? I'll just ride home with Mom and Dad."
"Sure," JJ said with a nod and a glance at her before his eyes were back on Johanna whose brow had furrowed slightly.
"Are you guys related too?" she asked as she looked between Sarah and Meredith, both girls smiling at her.
"Not by blood," Sarah said and Johanna raised her left eyebrow, which made JJ grin when he noticed she had that particular talent.
"My grandma married her grandpa a couple of years before Harry was born," Meredith said, bringing Johanna's gaze back to her.
"Oh," Johanna said, understanding settling across her features before she smiled slightly. "Cool," she said simply and everyone, except JJ who just smiled, chuckled softly.
"Well, I should get going," Lacy said before she quickly hugged Meredith, Sarah, and even Johanna before she weaved her way through the boys. "See you girls tomorrow!" she called and everyone said good bye to her before she slipped out the front door, closing it behind her.
"So, you girls ready then?" Adam asked he threw his arm around Sarah's shoulders.
"Yep," Meredith said quickly.
"I am," Sarah said as she looked at Johanna who nodded.
"Yeah, I just have to get my bag from the kitchen and do something with this," she said as she held up the blanket and Meredith laughed quietly before she took the blanket from Johanna.
"I got it," she said and Johanna smiled at her.
"Thanks," she said before she looked at Sarah and Adam, too nervous to look at JJ because she was pretty sure he was still staring at her. "I'll be right back," Johanna said before she turned on the balls of her feet and headed back into the kitchen. She had left her bag on the kitchen table and she quickly made her way over to the table and grabbed the small cloth satchel style bag. As she reached for it with her left hand she gasped in mild surprise as she caught sight of her left forearm. "Crap," she whispered as she brought her arm in front of her before she gingerly touched her forearm with the fingers of her right hand, the tips barely ghosting over the bruising skin.
Her arm had been slightly sore when she moved it as the afternoon progressed, but she hadn't thought much of it. However, where Boyd had grabbed and held her arm tight she had bruises that were in overlapping handprint shapes at three different places on her arm. They had obviously been left behind from his adjusting and tightening grip. If the skin was already a very noticeable bluish purple after only a few hours, she knew that in the morning it would be much darker and it was likely going to take over a week to heal. That meant that Johanna would be sticking to long sleeved shirts and cardigans because there would be no way in hell she could explain away handprint shaped bruises on her arm to her parents.
"Are you all right, Johanna?" a deep voice asked from behind her, startling her, and Johanna turned around, her right hand still poised over her left forearm. JJ stood just inside the kitchen, his dark eyes focused on her face before they flickered down to her arm only to freeze there when he caught sight of the bruises on her arm. Quickly, Johanna put her hands behind her back and JJ's eyes, which flashed with an emotion that Johanna could not quite pinpoint, met hers once again. "What happened to your arm?" he asked as he took three strides in her direction and thanks to his incredibly long legs he was standing barely two feet from her after doing so.
"It's nothing," Johanna said as she shook her head and nervously licked her lips as she looked up at him. Johanna had thought that Harry was rather intimidating given his height and size, but Harry could be considered 'average' if standing next to JJ. She was sure that Harry was at least a foot taller than her, and JJ had at least four inches of height on Harry, so he made her feel incredibly small. He was also a little more muscular and slightly broader than her rescuer, but it was hard for Johanna to tell exactly how much more since his eyes were very intense and demanded her full attention at that particular moment.
"It didn't look like nothing," JJ said. He held out his right hand to her then and Johanna glanced at his rather large hand before she returned her eyes to his. "Let me see your arm," he said and Johanna sighed quietly before she raised her right arm, which made JJ quirk his left eyebrow. He had to push down a smile at her cheekiness and cleared his throat softly. "Your left arm," he said with his amusement clear in his tone.
"It really is nothing," she said quietly as she lowered her right arm back to her side. "It's only a few bruises."
"Please, Johanna, let me see your arm," he said, the intensity in his gaze softened as concern settled across his features. Even though she thought it was a little strange for him to seem so concerned about it given that she'd known him for less than ten minutes, Johanna found that she couldn't refuse his request because the next thing she knew she was bringing her left arm in front of her. She bit back a gasp when the fingers of JJ's hand, which was incredibly hot like Harry's, wrapped around her hand to gently hold her hand while he inspected the bruises.
To distract herself from the odd tingling in her hand he was holding she focused her attention on JJ's face. Good looks obviously ran in the Black family because Sarah was beautiful and JJ . . . JJ was . . . handsome didn't seem like the right word for Johanna to use. However, he was beyond handsome with his high cheekbones, strong and square jawline, regal nose, full lips, and dark eyes that were lined by lashes that left Johanna feeling slightly jealous. His skin was a little darker than Sarah's and where his sister's eyes were dark blue, JJ's eyes were the color of melted milk chocolate and at that moment they were focused on her bruised arm.
"These are handprints," JJ said as his eyes moved back up to her face and his hold on her hand tightened slightly. "Who did this?" Johanna sighed as she tried to take her hand out of his, but his grip while not painful was like iron around hers.
"It doesn't matter," Johanna found herself saying and JJ pursed his lips. She sighed softly as she shook her head slightly and once again tried to pull her hand away but once again he did not let go.
"It matters to me," JJ said and Johanna frowned as she looked up at him.
"You met me five minutes ago," she said. "Why does who did this matter to you?" JJ opened his mouth to answer, but Sarah came into the kitchen then and effectively cut him off.
"JJ, we're going to be . . .," Sarah said as she walked over to the pair only to gasp quietly when she caught sight of Johanna's arm. "Holy shit, did Ian do that to you?" Sarah asked her eyes meeting Johanna's. "Is that why Harry told Meredith that he rescued you from him?"
"Ian? Ian Marshall? And what do you mean Harry rescued her?" JJ asked shoulders tense and jaw tight as he looked at his sister, and Sarah just huffed as she gave him a pointed look that told him to calm down. Johanna let out a slightly frustrated noise, bringing their eyes to her, before she jerked her hand away from JJ's and thankfully he finally let her go. For a moment, Johanna thought she saw hurt flash in his eyes but she ignored it as she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head as she looked at Sarah.
"Ian didn't do this," she said firmly.
"It seems like something that jackass would do," Sarah said as she crossed her arms over her own chest and Johanna shook her head as she uncrossed her arms and let them fall to her sides.
"But he didn't, I swear," Johanna said, her eyes never wavering from Sarah's, and Sarah nodded her head, believing her new friend.
"Then who did?" JJ asked, his voice still tight, and Johanna sighed softly as she looked up at him.
"It doesn't matter who did it because it won't happen again," Johanna said and JJ pursed his lips once again as he took a slow and deep breath to calm himself down. JJ realized, by the slight defiance he saw in Johanna's beautiful eyes, that she wasn't going to tell him who it was that put those very fresh bruises on her arm. However, with Sarah mentioning Harry he knew that he'd be able to get the information he wanted out of him and when he found out who did it, he would have to refrain from actually killing the asshole for hurting her.
"Okay," Sara said as she uncrossed her arms and grabbed Johanna's bag from the table and handed it to the shorter girl. Johanna smiled at her in thanks and Sarah grinned back before she looked at her brother. "Let's go. Mom's going to flip if we're not there before seven."
"All right," JJ said, his eyes still on Johanna and watching as she pulled the long strap of her bag across her body and then freeing her braid from under the strap. JJ observed her for a moment and he couldn't help but smile softly at the grace he noticed in her movements that most people didn't possess. He was still a little pissed that she wouldn't tell him who had hurt her, but he let it go for now. Johanna looked up once she was situated and her eyes instantly caught JJ's and the small smile that was on his face as he looked at her made her blush before she quickly looked away from him and at Sarah.
"I'm ready," she said and Sarah, realizing that JJ's constant stare was making her uncomfortable, smiled at her before she reached out with her left hand and took hold of Johanna's right.
"Let's go then," she said and Johanna laughed quietly as Sarah started pulling her out of the kitchen with JJ quickly following the pair.
Thankfully, JJ drove an extended cab truck that easily fit all of them. Adam was settled in the front passenger seat while the three girls were seated in the back. Sarah sat in the middle since Johanna would be getting out of the truck sooner than her, and Johanna was on her right while Meredith sat on her left. After giving JJ her address and directions to her house, Johanna's attention had pretty much been monopolized by Sarah and Meredith. The girls gave her their cell phone numbers and she gave them hers, which made Johanna's heart swell a little bit because their numbers were the first numbers to join her parents' cell phone numbers and Jon's in her phone.
To Johanna the ride didn't seem to last all that long because it seemed like only minutes had passed when JJ brought his truck to a stop outside Johanna's modest two story white house. The house stuck out a bit on the block with its bright fire engine red shutters around the windows and a matching front door tucked away under the covered porch that held a porch swing and a whicker rocking chair that had once belonged to her maternal grandmother. Large rose bushes that still held the vivid red and yellow blossoms that Johanna's mother took great care of rested in front of the house and the cobblestone pathway that led up to the porch stairs and front door were lined with tiny red, yellow, and white flowers. It was picturesque and welcoming and inside was just as warm and welcoming, which was why Johanna loved her family's home and it seemed like her new friends liked it too.
"Wow, nice place," Meredith said and Johanna smiled.
"Thanks," Johanna said. "My mom has a bit of a green thumb and really likes to Garden.."
"I'll say," Sarah said with a quiet laugh as she looked at Johanna and Johanna laughed quietly as she nodded.
"You should see the backyard someday. It looks like something you'd see at a conservatory or something," Johanna said, making sure the invitation was obvious and the smiles on Sarah and Meredith's faces told her it was received. Johanna smiled at them in return before she turned her eyes to JJ. "Thank you for the ride," she said and he looked over his right shoulder, his dark eyes instantly locking with hers and making her stomach twist in a strangely exciting yet mildly uncomfortable way that she had never really experienced before.
"You're welcome," he said and Johanna gave him a tentative smile before she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door.
"Hey, Johanna, what are you doing tomorrow?" Sarah asked before Johanna could climb out and Johanna looked at her.
"I have church in the morning with my parents and after that I don't really have anything planned," she said.
"We're going to Port Angeles tomorrow to do a little shopping and maybe catch a movie or something," Sarah said.
"Do you want to come with us?" Meredith asked, a smile on her face. "We'll swing by here at one and we can make a day of it."
"Sure," Johanna said. "I have to ask my parents, but I don't think they'll mind. I'll text you when I know for sure. Plus, I'll ask them about the cookout next weekend too."
"Great," Sarah said and Johanna nodded.
"Talk to you later," Johanna said before she slipped out of the truck, closed the door, and quickly made her way up the walkway to the house. She was practically skipping out of pure happiness, but refrained since she hadn't heard JJ pull away yet. She jogged up the stairs, pulling her keys from her bag, and opened the screen door.
Jon's car wasn't in the driveway, which was a relief, and her dad's was missing, so, Johanna figured her parents were still at her aunt's and were likely having dinner with her father's younger sister and her family. Johanna had the house to herself for a little while and she didn't mind the slightest. It was then as she stepped inside the house and closed the door behind her that she finally heard JJ's truck pull away, and for some reason that strange stomach twisting sensation returned.
It was late, too late really, for him to be standing outside her house, but after his conversation with Harry during the drive back home to the house they rented in JJ's truck, JJ found himself standing just within the trees of the woods behind Johanna's house. She hadn't been kidding when she had said that her backyard looked like some sort of conservatory.
There was even a small white wood and red brick gazebo in the backyard, and it looked so picturesque in the moonlight that it looked like something out of a movie. The yard was flower and plant filled with pathways weaving through the various sectioned off areas, and various sweet scents of the flowers assaulted JJ's sensitive nose but he paid them no mind as he scanned the darkened windows of the house.
It was nearly one in the morning and it was no surprise that the house was dark, but he stood there for a few minutes just staring up at the house and wondering if any of the windows that faced the backyard belonged to Johanna's bedroom. Sighing quietly to himself he ran his right hand through his short hair before he rested his palm on the back of his neck in an attempt to ease the tension that had yet to leave his body after his talk with Harry.
JJ couldn't believe that Johanna's own brother stood by and let his friends treat his sister that way, and JJ was just as angry with him as he was with Boyd over the whole thing. Harry had had another 'chat' with his cousin and JJ was planning on doing the same with Boyd, the boy that had nearly thrown Johanna off the cliff. However, JJ needed more time to pass because while he had excellent control he knew it was very likely that he would lose control and phase before proceeding to rip the seventeen year old boy apart.
Letting out one more soft sigh, JJ lowered his hand from the back of his neck and rubbed his hand across his bare chest, scratching it slightly, before he went into his right pocket and pulled out the string he used to tie his shorts to his leg when he phased. He had no more taken the thick twine out of his pocket when a light in Johanna's house lit up a second floor window on the right. JJ stilled and practically held his breath as he stared at the window. The curtains were open and he could see inside. He could see pale mint green walls, but before he saw much else Johanna was suddenly within his view and his entire body tensed even more when he caught sight of her face.
She looked mildly terrified, startled, and oddly embarrassed. Her pale cheeks were flushed and there were tear tracks down her cheeks that shined like beacons to him despite the great distance and height between where he stood and where she was. JJ took half a step forward within the trees but stopped himself. His hands went into fists as his sides as he watched take several deep calming breaths and wipe at her eyes. She moved to the window then, unlocked it, and opened it before she sat down right in front of it. He presumed then that she had a window seat, much like the one that his sister had in her room.
JJ continued watching as Johanna closed her eyes as the breeze that was blowing that night fluttered not only her open curtains that rested on either side of her but the loose strands of hair that had worked their way out of the binding she had them in during her restless sleep. Despite the fact that it was obvious to him that she had been woken up by a nightmare, he couldn't help but think how peaceful and lovely she looked as she just sat there with her eyes closed and the soft breeze rustling her hair.
Truthfully, Johanna wasn't the kind of girl, physically anyway, that he usually had been attracted to but even without having imprinted on her JJ knew he would have found her pretty. She truly was very pretty, with her button nose, her full lips that had a predominate cupid's bow, high cheekbones, and big doe shaped jade eyes; and as he got to know her he knew his feelings for her would only intensify. Sarah had told him a few things about Johanna after she had had enough of his, according to her, 'nagging.'
Johanna's father was some high power executive at Forks Hospital, her mother was a stay at home mom that was a little on the 'helicopter parent' side as far as Johanna was concerned, Johanna was a twin (which made what her brother did even worse in his opinion), and Sarah said she was incredibly sweet and kind. Sarah said that Johanna was on the quiet side, but she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and share her opinions when asked. Also thanks to their interaction that afternoon, he learned that she was a little cheeky and . . . and while he hadn't been paying attention to it at the time he had come to realize that he loved her voice. It was soft and slightly lower than he had ever heard for a girl before; it was unique and he couldn't wait to hear it again.
He was still staring up at her when she slowly opened her eyes. Her cheeks were still a bit flushed, but her eyes were dry if not a bit sad as she looked out her window and then up at the moon, which was three-quarters of the way full that night and for a change it was not hidden by clouds. He should leave, go home and get into bed because he had to be up early for morning patrol, but it was then that she smiled softly and he couldn't look away from her. Suddenly, her gaze turned in his direction and he froze, barely breathing, because it felt like she could see him. He knew that he was far enough away that she couldn't possibly see him in the darkness and within the dense trees.
Johanna wasn't immune to nightmares. She'd had them off and on for as long as she could remember but that night had been particularly brutal because in her nightmare that night Harry hadn't shown up like he had that afternoon and saved her. In her nightmare, after torturing her a little more by actually hitting her and kicking her, Boyd had handed her off to Jon who with an evil grin threw her off the cliff. As she plummeted she looked down and saw that only rocks awaited her below and not water. She opened her mouth to scream as she closed her eyes tightly, but thankfully before she even had the chance to scream or get close to the rocks something hot had wrapped around her waist and she jerked to a stop in midair.
When she had opened her eyes she found herself standing in the middle of a clearing and surrounded by large and impossibly tall trees. The hot object left her waist and turning around to see who it was that was standing behind her she gasped quietly. It was JJ standing barely a foot away from her and he was shirtless, wearing only a pair of dark wash jeans, and he was smiling at her in a way that had her stomach twisting painfully once again. Her face felt like it was on fire as she took in his beyond perfectly sculpted torso and she said nothing to him as he raised his right hand to her left cheek, his thumb running along her cheek. He wiped away the tears that lingered there, and his left hand settled on her upper waist, pulling her closer and forcing her hands to rise so they rested on his solid chest.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered as his eyes danced across her face and before she could reply his lips were on hers. She'd woken with a gasp after that and had quickly turned her light on after shifting so she was sitting on the side of her bed. After catching her breath she stood and wiped at her eyes before she took a few slow deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart. Her room felt uncomfortably warm and stuffy, so, she had quickly gone to the window and let the cool night hair and breeze wash over her.
She didn't know why JJ had appeared in her dream. She didn't know why she would dream of him calling her beautiful and kissing her; both of which would never in a millions years happen. Sighing quietly at her stupid subconscious she opened her eyes and looked up at the moon. She could smell the flowers in that filled her mother's elaborate garden and it was a smell that she loved. She turned her eyes down slightly, to look at the flowers in the moonlight when something within the trees caught her eyes.
Johanna felt her heart lurch and her stomach twist in the same strange way that being around JJ seemed to do as she looked into the trees, trying to make out what she could sense was out there. She could feel that something or someone was out there, but she couldn't see whatever or whoever it was and yet she couldn't get herself to look away. She was sure they didn't mean any harm and the knot in her stomach slowly eased away the longer she looked into the trees.
Exhaustion settled over her after several long minutes of staring into the trees, and she sighed quietly as she finally looked away and stood from her window seat. She closed and locked her window before she closed her curtains and made her way back to her bed. As she settled back under the covers and turned off the light she sent up a little prayer that she wouldn't cross paths with JJ for a while. Even though he would know nothing of her dream, she would, and she needed a little bit of time to work through that embarrassment because otherwise she would a blushing mess around him.
The last thing she needed him thinking was that she had a crush on him. She didn't know him at all, but he certainly didn't seem like the kind of guy that would appreciate his sister's new fat friend crushing on him, and if they did cross paths, Johanna would do all that she could to ignore him. It wouldn't be easy, but she would do her absolute best to do so.