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Chapter Eight

JJ had been awoken at seven-thirty that morning by his cell phone alerting him that he had a text message. He was all set to ignore it and go back to sleep in order to catch a couple of more hours before he needed to be up so he could get ready and head over to Johanna's to pick her up for the day he had already had planned out for them. However, when his phone chimed again he sighed heavily and picked up the offending device from his nightstand. He scowled slightly as he looked at the screen but the name his phone said the messages were from had him sitting up and quickly opening them.

"Sorry to bug you so early, but I have a question." That was the first message Johanna had sent before she had followed up with her question. "I know it's likely I'm going to have to change out of what I wear to church before our date. Can you give me a hint about what would be appropriate?"

"Jeans would probably be a good idea, a sweater since it will be chilly, and shoes you can walk a good bit in," he texted back with a grin on his face, which had quickly morphed into a smile when Johanna instantly replied.

"Thanks! Good morning by the way. " He read her message and he chuckled.

"Good morning, Jo." When she didn't send him another text for a couple of minutes, JJ sighed quietly and was about to put his phone back on his nightstand when it suddenly chimed in his hand.

"I'm looking forward to our date and I can't wait to see you." The message said and JJ felt his already rapidly beating heart skip a few beats as he read her words a couple of times, his smile returning to his lips before he quickly responded.

"You have no idea how much I am looking forward today and to seeing you, Jo." He sent the message without any hesitation and he wasn't surprised that Johanna did respond again. He figured she likely didn't know how to respond and he wasn't at all put out that she hadn't. After all, he could practically see her blushing face and hopefully small smile after reading his text. He was satisfied with that and in less than six hours he'd get to see her and in the end that was all that mattered.

After his brief text conversation with Johanna he was wide awake despite only sleeping for a little over five hours. When everyone had called it a night around midnight and started to head home, JJ had been so worked up after the events of the night that he had phased and ran through the forest to burn some energy not caring that Evan and Patrick were on running patrol that night and were privy to his thoughts and excitement. Sure, they gave him hell for it but they were happy for him at the same time and said that they looked forward to meeting Johanna in person since they had missed out on the festivities that night thanks to their shift.

JJ had gotten home at a little after two and after changing into the sweatpants he slept in he had promptly crashed onto his bed only to fall asleep with a small smile on his lips. If he dreamt that night, he couldn't remember it and for once he wished he did remember them because he was sure that if he had dreamt his dreams would have likely been filled with Johanna. He chuckled to himself before he scratched his hand through his short hair and climbed from his bed. It was too early to shower and get ready, so, after tugging on a t-shirt JJ left his room and headed for the kitchen. He was starving and in the mood for a decent breakfast.

When church service was over and Johanna and her parents had returned home, Johanna went straight upstairs to change and get ready for her date with JJ. Thankfully, Jon was once again MIA, but even if was there with their parents around he wouldn't have been able to rain on her parade that day. She could hear her mother's laughter as she lightly jogged into her room, rushing since it was nearly quarter after twelve, and Johanna smiled to herself as she closed her bedroom door and walked over to her bed where her 'date' outfit rested.

She had taken JJ's advice and had pulled together a casual outfit that was similar to just about everything he had already seen her in, and she hoped for an opportunity to dress up for him sometime soon. It didn't take her long to change into the dark jeans, pale yellow t-shirt, and navy zip up hoodie and a quick glance at her alarm clock told her she had about ten minutes before JJ would be at her house. Johanna moved to her vanity, smiling for once at her reflection before she quickly gathered her long hair over her right shoulder and set to braiding it in a side braid that would rest over her shoulder rather than down her back. After tying off her hair she touched up the minimal makeup she wore and just as she was putting her powder brush down the sound of the doorbell filled the house.

Johanna felt her heart lurch in her chest as she glanced at the clock to see that JJ was five minutes early. Smiling to herself she quickly turned around on her vanity seat and put on her black tennis shoes that she had pulled from her closet. Her hands were shaking as she tied the laces and when she was done she stood, grabbed her purse from her bed, and left her room in a flourish. She paused at the top of the stairs when her father's voice carried up them.

"Johanna's upstairs, but she should be down shortly. It's nice to meet you JJ," David said and Johanna took her lower lip in her teeth. She should go down the stairs and 'rescue' JJ and to ensure that her father wouldn't go too far with his questioning, however, she found that she couldn't move so she just stood there and listened.

"You too Mr. Brooks," JJ said evenly.

"Unfortunately, Johanna hasn't told us much about you other than that you're Sarah's older brother," came her mother's voice and Johanna released her lower lip from her teeth.

"There's not that much to tell really," JJ said and Johanna could just picture him shrugging. "I work for my dad at his auto repair shop, working in the garage with him and in the office with my mom. I also work security for the tribal elders, but that's an unpaid position."

"Did you go to college?" David asked.

"Yes sir, I am a licensed mechanic and I'm also taking business management courses online," JJ said. "When I take over my father's business I want to make sure I'm able to run it properly."

"Smart man," David said.

"I'm no doctor or lawyer, sir, but I enjoy my jobs," JJ said and Johanna smiled when she heard her father's deep laugh. JJ had impressed her father and Johanna felt relief flood her.

"That's all that matters, JJ, and quit with the 'sir' business. You can call me David," David said and Johanna's smile grew.

"And you can call me Elise," her mother chimed in. Johanna decided it was time to head downstairs, so, she jogged down the stairs and drew the three people in the foyer's attention to her. However, her eyes were only on JJ who smiled brightly as his dark eyes met hers. He looked nice in dark jeans, a black well-fitting t-shirt and an open dark red button up that looked very nice against his complexion. She felt her cheeks warm in a blush as she walked over to him and without evening thinking she took his warm left hand with her right.

"Hi," she said as she looked up at him and he squeezed her hand slightly.

"Hi," he said before he leaned down until his lips were even with her right ear. "You look beautiful," he whispered and Johanna felt her cheeks flame red once more as he pulled back. She smiled up at him and he smiled down at her, both of them just looking at each other until David cleared his throat and drew the eyes to him. Elise was smiling while David looked between them until he settled his eyes on JJ.

"What are you two going to be up to today?" David asked.

"We'll be in La Push, but I can't really tell you what we're doing. It's sort of a surprise for Johanna," JJ said as he glanced down at her and then returned his eyes to David. "However, I can tell you it's nothing dangerous and I'll have her back before her curfew in one piece." David opened his mouth, but whatever he had been about to say Elise cut him off.

"And that would be midnight," Elise said with a smile before she stepped over to Johanna and kissed her daughter's temple. "Have fun you two," she said and Johanna smiled at her mother.

"Bye guys," she said.

"It was nice to meet you both," JJ said before he pulled Johanna along, opened the front door, and left.

"He seems like a nice young man with a good head on his shoulders," Elise said as she turned to look up at her husband, a small smile on her lips as she did so, and David sighed and looked down at her. "I know what you're thinking," she said before she took a step to him and put her hands on his chest.

"What am I thinking?" he asked with another sigh as he put his hands on her upper waist.

"That JJ might be like that boy Johanna went out with that we never got to meet before he tore her down, but he's not," Elise said as she shook her head and David's hands tightened a bit on her waist. Elise had gone out with a boy from her school, a boy that broke her heart and a boy that she refused to give them the name of. David had even gone to Jon but his son told him he had no idea who the guy was that Johanna had gone out with.

"I know he's not," David said and Elise furrowed her brow before she laughed softly and smiled as she realized what he was really thinking.

"You saw the way he looked at her then," she said and David sighed once more.

"Yeah, I saw it," he said, "and you just let her go off with him to do who knows what." Elise laughed loudly, her voice carrying through the house before she closed the small distance between them, rose up on her toes, and softly pressed her lips to her husband.

"Have faith in your daughter, David."

"Thank you by the way," Johanna said as they walked down her porch steps and JJ glanced at her, a small smile on his lips.

"You're welcome," he said as they walked down the pathway towards where his motorcycle waited parked at the curb.

"You brought your bike," she stated more than asked and JJ chuckled as his hold on her hand tightened a bit.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked and she shook her head as they came to stand next to it, JJ letting go of her hand to pick up the helmet from where he had hung it on the handlebar.

"No, it's not a bad thing," she said as she moved the strap of her bag so it crossed over her body. JJ grinned before he put the helmet on her head, fastening the strap under her chin. "You didn't have a helmet before," she observed and JJ chuckled.

"I didn't have a helmet until this morning," he said and she quirked an eyebrow, which made him smile. "I've never crashed my bike, not even when my dad was teaching me to ride, but I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to you," he said, honesty shining in his dark eyes along with something else that Johanna was actually too afraid to identify that it made her heart skip a beat. "This helmet is yours for whenever you ride with me."

"Thanks," she said quietly before JJ leaned into her and gently brushed his lips over hers.

"You're welcome," he whispered and Johanna blushed but smiled up at him before she surprised both JJ and herself by raising her right hand to his neck. She pulled him back down as she rose up on her toes and kissed him far more soundly than he had kissed her. JJ's hands found her waist as he returned her kiss before he reluctantly brought their kiss to an end. "As much as I want that to continue, should we keep doing that in front of your house? Your parents might be watching."

"You're right," she said, her face flushed and lips slightly swollen. "Sorry, I'm not sure why I did that."

"Never apologize for kissing me," JJ said before he smiled. "In fact, feel free to do that whenever the mood strikes because I'll never complain, but maybe without the helmet. It makes it a little hard to kiss you properly." Johanna laughed quietly at that before she nodded and JJ's smile turned into a grin. "Ready?" he asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she said and JJ climbed onto his bike. He looked at her and she continued to smile at him before she climbed onto the back of the bike, her arms easily wrapping tightly around his waist. JJ smiled as he started his bike and revved up the engine before he started down the street and headed towards La Push.

Johanna held tight to JJ as he seemed to be driving for forever, but she took in the scenery around her. She watched the trees pass by as she rested her head on JJ's back and several times she could have sworn she saw large animals running within the trees, but she chocked it up to a trick of the eye given how fast JJ was going. Finally the bike seemed to slow and JJ pulled off to the wide of the road, his feet moving to rest on the gravel and hold the bike up. Johanna lifted her head before she rested her chin on his shoulder, her eyes glancing around and seeing nothing but trees and the two lane road.

"Where are we?" Johanna asked and JJ chuckled as he killed the engine and pulled out his keys.

"Pretty much the middle of nowhere," he said and Johanna lifted her head as he looked over his shoulder at her. "Where we're going is a brief hike from here."

"Where exactly are we going?" Johanna asked as she climbed from the back of the bike and took off her helmet before she tried to fix her hair with the helmet in her left hand. JJ chuckled as he climbed from the bike so he was standing in front of her and took the helmet from her hand before he rested it on the bike handle.

"There's a clearing up that ridge and then down in a small valley," JJ said. "There's a creek that runs through it. I found it . . . during a camping trip with Harry and a few other guys. I go there sometimes, to think and clear my head. I wanted to take you there before we head into town, go to the diner for some food, and then walk along the pier. We're more than likely to run into everyone when we go into town, so, I wanted at least a couple hours of our date to actually be alone with you." When he finished speaking he reached out and took her chilled hands into his much warmer hands. Johanna gave him a soft smile that didn't quite show those dimples of hers that he enjoyed so much, but the tender look in her eyes wasn't a bad alternative.

"The clearing is your place though, why take me there?" she asked and JJ smiled once more before he tugged on her hands gently, pulling her closer to him. He wrapped her arms around his waist before he raised her hands to her face, his thumbs running along the flushed apples of her cheeks as he looked down at her and she looked up at him.

"It's not just my place anymore," he said as he shook his head. "The couple of times I've been there since I met you, all I can think about is you Jo. You've sort of invaded it, so, it's our place now."

"Our place?" she asked, her voice quiet and her surprise clear in her eyes.

"Our place," he reiterated before he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She really was far too short since he had to lean so far down, but truthfully he didn't mind because he liked the way she fit against him. Plus, soon, after he told her his secret, he'd be able to use his strength whenever he liked to lift her up to his level and not worry about her freaking out about it. He'd done it last night without thinking, but had quickly pushed her against her car to cover up his slip up and thankfully she hadn't seemed to notice.

JJ's right hand moved to rest on the back of her neck as he deepened the kiss and Johanna whimpered quietly as her hands tightened on the back of his shirt, but she kissed him back all the same. He was getting carried away, he knew he was, and he really needed to bring their kiss to an end, but he couldn't. Thankfully, Johanna seemed to keep her wits about her because slowly she disengaged herself from him, her hands sliding to his chest and making a slight shiver go through him at her gentle touch. He opened his eyes and looked at her, her lips were swollen once again but they were even more swollen than they had been after their kiss outside her house and her face was flushed and her pupils were dilated. She was beautiful and the small smile that settled on her lips only made him want to kiss her again.

"I'm not complaining or anything, but are you going to stand here and kiss me all day or are you going to take me to our clearing?" she asked and JJ chuckled as he moved his hands to rest on her upper waist. She was bolder when she was comfortable and JJ could see that she was even far more confident than she had been when she walked into his family's backyard yesterday; and he liked it. He liked it a lot.

"The first option is really, really, tempting, but I should probably take you to the clearing," he said before he kissed her forehead and pulled back from her, taking her hand in his, and started leading her into the woods.

"You know, we could always continue the kissing option once we're there," Johanna said and when JJ looked at her, a small grin on his face, he could see that she was surprised she had said that and her face was even more flushed than it had been after their kiss.

"I like the way you think, Jo," JJ said before he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her close to him as they continued up the hard to see path. "I really do."

They continued in comfortable silence, JJ reluctantly unwrapping his arm from her waist before he took her hand once again so they could more easily maneuver. Johanna kept up with him easily and it wasn't long before they were heading down into the valley and were in the small clearing. Johanna's hand tightened on JJ's and she gasped quietly as she looked around and JJ smiled as he looked down at her.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly before she turned her eyes up to JJ.

"I'm glad you think so," he said and after pressing yet another kiss to her forehead JJ led her towards the creek and the spot where he always sat to think. Much to Johanna's surprise there was a blanket already laid out and waiting with a small bouquet of wild flowers resting on it. When she looked up at him curiously he shrugged. "I may or may not have run up here this morning to set this up. It's not much and I know I could have done a bit more, but-" Johanna cut him off by turning to him and once again raising her hand to his neck and pulling his lips down to hers. She kissed him soundly but briefly and smiled up at him with a thin line of tears in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"It's perfect," she whispered as her hand slid from his neck and rested upon his chest.

"I didn't mean for you to cry," JJ said as he raised his free left hand to her face and brushed at the lone tear that had fallen from her right eye. Johanna smiled at him then, her dimples showing and making JJ's heart skip as he looked at her and it seemed like she practically glowed she looked so happy. To him he hadn't done much of anything, only laid out a blanket and picked her some wild flowers, but to her he had seemingly given her the world and it surprised him.

"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me JJ," she said before she sniffed quietly and JJ sighed softly before he kissed her chastely.

"I promise it won't be the last time I do something like this, Jo," he said as his eyes held hers and she smiled at him once more before she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly as he face burrowed into his chest. JJ closed his eyes as he hugged her back and rested his cheek on the crown of her head.

It was then as they stood near the blanket hugging that over Johanna's scent of honeysuckles and oranges that JJ smelt a familiar sickeningly sweet smell, but the scent was different than those he was used to and his entire body stiffened. He lifted his head, his dark eyes scanning the trees around them as he kept Johanna wrapped up in his arms. A rush of wind blew by his right side and JJ let go of Johanna and turned around, keeping her behind him as his eyes landed on the tall pale skinned man with dirty blonde hair and blood red eyes. He was dressed in jeans, a white button up, and a dark brown leather jacket.

"Isn't this just the sweetest thing. I wouldn't peg her for your type, but she does smell rather sweet. Reminds me of home so I can see the appeal," the vampire said with a slight southern drawl to his voice. JJ growled, his body trembling out of instinct and anger, but Johanna's tight grip on his open button up and waist kept him from phasing. A howl sounded quickly followed by another and then another. JJ instantly recognized Harry, Max, and Andrew before two howls simultaneously sounded, loud and demanding. His dad and Sam Uley had called to all the active pack members and JJ had to fight the urge to phase even more and Johanna shifting closer to him so she was pressed against his back helped immensely. "Ah the call to arms," the vampire said. "I'm surprised the rumors are actually true, though judging by your stench I shouldn't be," he said with a chuckle.

"What do you want?" JJ asked, his voice graveling and laced with a growl.

"Oh, I was just passing through but now that I see how protective you seem to be of her I might stick around for a bit," he said and JJ's body was shaking now while the vampire grinned. "I've always enjoyed the chubby ones, you know. They never run very fast and are quite delicious." Howls sounded once more, closer than before, and JJ knew they were closing in. He felt Johanna look over his right arm and the vampire grinned as his eyes moved to her. "I'll be seeing you soon, sweetheart," he said with a wink before he seemed to disappear into thin air.

"JJ, what is . . .," Johanna started to say but trailed off when JJ saw Harry, Max, and Andrew come charging through the trees in their wolf forms. Max and Andrew continued on after the vampire, but Harry stopped. His large gray, white, and silver wolf looking at them and JJ could see the concern in Harry's eyes. "Oh my God," Johanna breathed.

"Go," JJ said as he kept his eyes on Harry. "I've got her." Harry nodded his large wolf head before he took off after Max and Andrew. "Jo," JJ said as he turned around, his hands going to her waist and she turned her eyes up to him. She was trembling, much like he still was, and he expected to see fear in her eyes but instead he saw shock and disbelief.

"You're tribes' legends aren't just legends are they?" she asked, her voice shaking, and JJ took a deep breath and slowly let it out of his nose before he shook his head negatively.

"No, they're not," he whispered back and it was then that it seemed to be too much for her because Johanna promptly fainted with JJ quickly catching her before she fell to the ground.