This is an extra long chapter because I had so much fun writing it. I kept going and going and going and when I was finished with it, I looked it over and couldn't find a good spot to split it up, so . . . here it is.

Disclaimer - This is based off of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. She created the characters and the basic plot, and this is my spin on it. These are my words about her world. Stephenie Meyer has all of the rights to her characters and the parts that were taken from her plot.

Chapter Six

"Jacob's gonna be there, too, right?" Charlie hovered in the doorway of Bella's bedroom, watching her glance back and forth between two different colored tank tops as she tried to decide which one to wear. "You'll have someone to look out for you?"

Bella removed the purple tank from the hanger and hung the green one back in her closet. "I don't need Jacob to look out for me, Dad," she reminded him, "but yes, Jacob will be there. I'll be home before eleven o'clock, I promise."

"Midnight," he offered. Bella spun to give him a surprised look. He grinned. "You've been spending too much time alone in this house, Bells. I want you to go out and have fun." He paused, thinking, and then hurriedly added, "But not too much fun. Don't come home drunk."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I'll be avoiding alcohol completely. And don't forget – this bonfire was Sue Clearwater's idea, and I doubt she'd even consider letting the minors drink. There will be plenty of adults there, too." She retrieved a pair of jean shorts from her dresser and laid them out on the bed beside the tank top. She hesitated before adding, "You know, Jake said Harry and Sue would love it if you would come, too," then peered at her father, trying to not to look hopeful that he'd say no. Bella was going to use this as her chance to spend more time with Sam. She wouldn't be able to do that with Charlie watching her out of the corner of his eye the entire evening.

Charlie shook his head, and Bella busied herself with finding a pair of shoes to keep him from seeing the relief on her face. "Nah, I gotta be in bed early. I gotta be at the station at seven tomorrow morning. There're a few cases I need to look at before the staff comes in."

Bella nodded. She found a pair of flip flops that matched the tank top perfectly. She only hoped they wouldn't bump her clumsiness up a notch.

The Clearwater household was certainly crawling with life. Just like with Billy's birthday celebration, there weren't many cars in the driveway. As she jumped down from the seat of her truck, she heard chatter and laughter echoing off of the trees from the backyard. Bella grabbed the apple and cherry pies from the passenger's seat and wobbled up the front steps and knocked timidly on the door. She didn't feel entirely like she belonged there. She was an outsider.

Until Quil hooted from behind her. "Bella! Glad you could join us!"

She spun to assess him. "Wait a minute," she exclaimed. She was positive no one had been there two seconds ago, but there he was, strutting towards her with hands stuffed in his pockets. "Did you just appear out of thin air?"

Quil shrugged. "No one's gonna answer the door because everyone's out back. C'mon." He beckoned her with a casual wave towards him. "There's an entrance in the back through the gate." He turned and walked away, assuming Bella would just follow, but instead she evaluated him a little more. He wore a pair of khaki shorts, extremely-worn tennis shoes, and no shirt, but as Bella squinted, she saw no tan lines on his shoulders. His entire body was the exact same shade, no interruptions or bleeps or marks anywhere to be seen, which made Bella think.

Does he never wear a shirt when he's outside? Do any of them? They'd all been wearing them at Jacob's first barbeque and Billy's party. Something wasn't adding up.

As Quil walked, a muddy outline of his shoes was left on the cement. Bella frowned. The cement on the driveway was perfectly clean and dry. So where would he have been walking to have gotten mud on his shoes?

Bella allowed her eyes to drift to the forest. It made sense. He'd come walking towards her from that way. But what on earth would Quil have been doing in the woods half-naked?

She had so many unanswered questions, but she finally decided that standing on the Clearwaters' front porch and talking to herself in her head was not going to get them answered, so she hopped back down the steps and followed Quil into their backyard instead.

Bella's first order of business was looking for Sam, but one quick glance around the yard told her he wasn't there yet. In fact, she didn't see Jacob, Embry, Paul, Jared, Brady, or Collin. Bella frowned. This was going to be completely awkward for her if they didn't show up after all. And she'd told Charlie Jacob would be there to keep her company . . .

The Clearwaters' backyard was a lot like Jacob's. The grass was a vibrant, healthy green. They had a back porch made of a beautiful caramel-colored wood where guests were seated at a patio table with a matching umbrella. The grill leaned against the railing, easily accessible from the sliding glass doors that probably led to the kitchen. The yard itself was spacious and open, allowing room for plenty of guests for a barbeque such as this one without feeling to large that the family of four would feel too separated if they were having a nice family dinner outside. Bella hesitated at the gate, looking around for familiar faces. There were more people who were residence of La Push that she hadn't met before than she'd expected, and suddenly she felt less like an outsider and more like an alien. She felt like Snow White, having literally just stepped out of the woods and into a yard owned by people she couldn't consider much more than acquaintances.

"Bella Swan!" The holler came from her right, where a group of adults sat around two picnic tables covered with colorful-patterned table cloths that Sue Clearwater probably made herself. Bella had heard she was very talented with a needle and thread.

Her eyes connected with Billy Black's, and she smiled. His needing a wheelchair placed him at the head of the table. "Hi, Billy," she called, taking a few timid steps into the yard. "Charlie said to tell you hello, and that he wants to go fishing this weekend."

Billy nodded. "I'll give him a call tomorrow."

Next to him, Harry Clearwater waved. "Welcome, Bella."

She felt her smile waver a little bit. "Hello, Harry. I know you probably weren't expecting me, and I didn't mean to just show up –" But what else could she have done? Called and asked for an invitation when Sam had been so free to offer one up?

Sue popped up on her other side. "Nonsense, Bella! You're as much a member of this group as anyone else here," she exclaimed. Her dark brown eyes practically sparked; Bella could tell she enjoyed being in the roll of the hostess.

Bella bit her lip. "I-I don't know about that," she mumbled. She certainly didn't look like she belonged.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Sue hollered. Her ponytail bobbed up and down animatedly. "The pack is a very tight-knit group, but there's always room for another imp –"

"Susan," Harry called. His tone held a scolding note, a warning. She stopped short and looked at him. He shot her a look Bella couldn't read and Sue's eyes widened in what appeared to be recognition. "Perhaps we should start putting the chicken on the grill," he continued.

Sue nodded and gave Bella a smile. "Please, Bella, make yourself at home." Whatever she'd been about to say was clearly meant to be forgotten.

Bella held the pies out to her. "I made these myself," she explained, looking down at them anxiously. "One is apple and one is cherry."

"Oh, that's lovely! Thank you." She turned to walk away, and Bella was left standing there alone once again.

Bella glanced at Billy, but the men were already in a deep conversation about hunting. She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled loudly, twisting her fingers impatiently in front of her. Her purse strap fell from her shoulder and she quickly adjusted it, glad to have something to entertain herself with for two seconds. She couldn't handle standing awkwardly, uselessly in the middle of their lawn.

"You look lost." Leah Clearwater stepped up beside Bella with her hands shoved in the back pockets of her jean shorts. She grinned. "Don't worry – he'll be here soon."

"He?" Oh, no. Had she heard that Bella and Sam were flirting around the outskirts of the relationship label? As if Bella needed another reason for this evening to be uncomfortable.

"Jacob," Leah clarified. Part of Bella was happy to avoid a confrontation from a girl Sam had previously dated, but she was surprised at the disappointment that came along after it. With a jolt, she realized she wanted Leah to know about Sam's dinner visit and the passionate kissing that had accompanied it. She wanted Leah to know exactly who Sam was interested in. Leah continued, "The boys had to – uh." She hesitated, eyes tilting up towards the sky for a moment. "They had to go out and – yeah. Um, they'll be back soon." She stopped.

Bella shook off the confusion and nodded. "Okay."

After ten minutes of uncomfortable smiling and chitchat with random strangers who probably only felt the need to stop and talk because Bella was standing off to the side on her own, a round of hooting and hollering echoed off of the trees and the normal group of rowdy teens and early-twenty-somethings ran in. They immediately bypassed all of the other guests, who were watching them, amused, and ran directly for the empty table that Bella assumed would be eventually filled with food. When they realized the chicken was just then being placed onto the grill and it would be a while until they would be eating, they all slumped their shoulders and grumbled in complaint. They moseyed over to Billy and Harry. Jacob glanced over at Bella and grinned, waving, but he didn't make a move to come speak to her like she'd hoped he would.

And then she found out why. She felt his presence before she heard his voice. "Bella," Sam murmured. She cocked her head to the right and there he stood with all of the beauty and grace of a lion. "You made it."

"Of course," she responded. "I promised I would, right?"

He stepped closer, his eyes on her mouth, and Bella backed up when she realized his intent. If their kisses looked as passionate as they felt, she did not want to be caught under Leah's steel gaze after she'd witnessed one. Sam stopped short and stared at her, alarmed and maybe a little hurt. "Not here," she whispered to appease him. "It's – I mean, we're not . . . this isn't the right place to –" Bella bit her lip as she struggled to put her emotions into words. Then she finally decided to be honest with herself and Sam. "I don't want any PDA until I know exactly what we are," she explained. "You know – what this even is between us."

Sam nodded. "I understand. You want a commitment."

He didn't say it as if it were an inconvenience to him. Actually, it was exactly the opposite – a welcomed element that he'd been expecting, maybe even wanting himself. Bella bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "Yeah, that would be nice. Helpful. Explanatory."

Sam smirked. He glanced over to where Jacob and the others were sitting at the picnic table with Billy, Harry, and Quil's grandfather. Harry met his gaze and a wordless communication seemed to flow between them. Sam raised his chin and nodded. Then he gave his attention back to Bella. His eyes softened as he looked down at her, and the grim line that his lips had formed lifted into a nervous smile. "I wasn't entirely honest with you on Tuesday. About what tonight is." He crossed his arms over his chest. "But I promise you – tonight you get your answers."

Bella's heart skipped. She hadn't expected him to say that. "What –"

"You've heard about the Quileute tribe's legends," he clarified. "Right? You just haven't heard the legends themselves."

"Yes," she muttered hesitantly, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Tonight you will," he murmured. "I know you have many questions. You'll get answers tonight." He glanced over at Harry again, appearing to be irritated with the expectant, impatient stare the old man was pinning him with. "I want to explain everything to you, and then we can discuss that commitment."

Bella bit her lip. He was being very vague, but hopefully everything would be clarified by the time she went home this evening. Perhaps he would put these gangster rumors to rest and she could return home with a solid argument in his defense when dealing with Charlie. "Okay," she whispered. Oh, she wanted to kiss him. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and pull her close and into the safe warmth that radiated off of him, but she knew better than to make a display like that. She didn't want Jacob to find out about them that way; how disrespectful to him that would be. Deep down in her heart she knew Jacob had once hoped he would become her boyfriend. Bella had been the object of his affection for quite a while, and she couldn't break his heart so publically like that. She knew she needed to sit Jacob down and tell him of her feelings for Sam, even though she would never be able to completely explain how quickly and intensely they'd developed. One day they weren't there, and the next they were all she could think about. Would he understand? Would he be angry that she's developed such a fast crush on his friend? She didn't want to lose Jacob's friendship, but she needed to see things out with Sam, too. Her feelings went beyond physical attraction – though physically she was certainly attracted. She desired Sam in other ways, though, too. Emotionally, mentally. She desired him in every way. She just hoped Jacob could, eventually, try to understand that Bella had never wanted to date anyone. She'd never met anyone that she felt a connection with, let alone such an intense attraction like this one. She needed to see where this would go. She owed it to herself. And if Jacob couldn't understand that . . .

Bella frowned. If Jacob couldn't put his own feelings aside for the sake of Bella's long-absent happiness, then perhaps he wasn't as good of a friend as she'd thought he was.

Leah's voice startled Bella out of her thoughts. "Kim!" she called from the porch. Bella whipped her head around to see the redhead skipping through the gate, arms full with a hoodie and three giant bags of potato chips. Her flip flops clapped loudly against her feet. Sue immediately went to greet her in a similar way she'd greeted Bella, taking the chips from her and welcoming her to the party. Jared jumped up and ran to meet her as well and when Kim's eyes landed on him, the biggest smile broke out on her face. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Immediately Bella wished she could embrace Sam that way, and hoped she would be able to soon.

Bella felt like she could finally relax, finally having another girl there who she could actually talk to. Kim glanced over at Bella and her face lit up in a bright smile, her hand lifting to wave enthusiastically. Jared kept one arm wrapped around her waist, so she leaned to the side and said something to Sue, who nodded. Jared bent to whisper in her ear, and she laughed. Bella was perhaps a little bit jealous, for Kim seemed to be so carefree and relaxed . . . and Bella was definitely not.

"Kim will hear the legends tonight as well," Sam said in her ear. Bella turned her head and found his face a lot closer than she'd anticipated. Her lips brushed his jaw, and she jumped back. "And Seth," he continued as if nothing had happened. "He'll hear them for the first time, too."

Bella frowned, confused. "Aren't you told them during your early childhood?"

Sam shook his head. Harry cleared his throat loudly, rudely, and Sam shot him a glare. With that look, Harry sat back and looked away, murmuring something to Billy, who shrugged his shoulders and gave a relaxed reply. Sam cracked his knuckles, watching them carefully for a moment, before relaxing himself and turning back to Bella. "The legends don't belong to the entire Reservation," he explained, "only certain members of the tribe. Certain families know them and pass them down the generations and they are not to be shared. Billy will explain it all more clearly later, once the bonfire is lit." Sam looked down at her pensively, but there was something in his eyes that Bella was not familiar with . . . longing? Adoration? Or was she just thinking too highly of herself and imagining things? His hands twitched at his sides as if he wanted to touch her.

"But why would you share them with me?" Bella wondered aloud. "I'm not even a member of the Reservation, let alone a special family in the Reservation."

"You're special." He shrugged, but something about his tone made his body language seem less meaningful. Bella thought he was being more serious than he was letting on.

Bella, of course, had one more question. She was hesitant to ask, fearful that he would grow irritated with her constant quizzing. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was too curious, too hungry for information. She didn't know if there was an imaginary boundary around his mind, and if there was, she definitely didn't want to cross it. But scrutinizing his face, she could tell she had his complete attention. He watched her unwearyingly, waiting, wanting to quench her curiosity however he could, so she asked in a hushed, private voice, "Are there a lot of special families? Ones that know the legends?" She glanced around the yard at the large group of people in attendance – both adults and children alike – and estimated that the Clearwaters were welcoming at least forty guests into their yard.

"No," Sam responded, completely patient. "Most of the guests here are only here for the barbeque and know nothing of the bonfire. They'll leave shortly after dark, and then we'll clear the tables and chairs away and set up the fire." His eyes drifted to Harry, whose hands were tapping impatiently against the table. The rest of the table of boys was laughing, and Embry seemed to be telling a story. Harry was scowling at the ground, wisely not at Sam. "The only ones that will hear the legends are Harry and Sue, Leah and Seth, Jacob and the rest of the boys, Billy and Old Quil, me, and you and Kim."

The rest of the boys meant Paul, Jared, Quil, Embry, Brady, and Collin, Bella assumed. "Do you need to speak to them?" she finally asked as he looked over to them yet again. He didn't need to feel as though he couldn't leave her side. Perhaps she would go find Kim and chat for a while.

He looked down at her. "Yes. I'll just be a minute. We'll be ready to eat soon."

Bella glanced over at the porch and noticed Sue had begun to carry out food and place it on the empty tables next to the grill. "Oh," Bella breathed. "I should go see if she needs help." She turned to walk away, but warm fingers slid around her wrist and halted her. Sam stepped closer and leaned down to press his lips gently, adoringly to her temple.

"Give me ten minutes," he whispered in her ear, "and then I'm all yours."

Bella stared into his eyes, just two inches away from her own, and couldn't find her voice, so she just nodded. She could feel a hundred eyes watching them and heard the hushed, curious whispers that instantly began to flow as they showed affection towards one another. A deep pink blush crept up her neck and flooded her cheeks. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jacob. His conversation with Quil had stopped, and now their attention locked on Bella and their friend. She wanted to pull away. But pulling back felt so wrong . . . it actually might have been painful. So she reached up on tiptoe and pecked him on the cheek, chastely, innocently. Only then did she feel okay about walking away from him. As she moved, Sam's fingers loosened and slid from her wrist. The loss of his hand sent a shiver up Bella's spine and she instantly missed his touch.

Bella quickly set herself to work helping Sue, Leah, and Kim carry plates of food outside from their kitchen. The boys with the addition of Billy and Harry had all claimed a picnic table in the corner of the yard. The tall fence cast a shadow over them, darkening their presence, creating a melancholy tone for the eyes that watched them. They had the attention of some of the other party guests, but they were far enough away from all of them that no one but those sitting at the table would be able to hear the conversation. Not that it mattered because no one seemed to be concerned with their presence. Sam had claimed his normal place at the head of the table, facing towards her, arms crossed over his chest, posture tense and unyielding. The warmth that always touched Bella's very soul as he stared into her eyes was gone, replaced with a more dominant, raw emotion. He was in a position of authority now. Billy murmured something to him and Sam nodded stiffly. Then all eyes turned to Paul, who began to talk. Bella assumed he was telling a story.

She watched them intently, stumbling over her own foot as she found herself not paying enough attention to carrying out the food and more attention to what was going on twenty yards away. Sue paused as she passed and gave her the concerned once-over that only mothers did. Bella offered a reassuring smile which Sue returned.

Sam's voice suddenly rose above all others. "I told you to watch the south side more than usual!" he snarled. Bella's attention flew back to him in time to see him slam his fist loudly, violently on the table as he glared down at Paul. His lips pulled back over his teeth in a sneer. He opened his mouth to continue but must have realized he'd attracted attention to himself and he straightened, shaking his head angrily. His arms crossed over his chest once again.

Sue clapped her hands. "Everyone come get a plate! There's plenty of food, so everyone eat up!" Bella wasn't sure but she thought this was Sue's way of diverting the attention from the back corner.

People heaved themselves up from their chairs and stepped away from the fence and began to mosey over the table. A few women smiled and complimented Sue on the meal as they passed and then introduced themselves to Bella, but many just ignored her. It sure made Bella feel welcome. Oh well, she thought as another middle-aged woman waltzed by on her way to the pasta salad, that's one less name I'll have to be embarrassed about forgetting.

Bella sashayed over to the end of the line, hesitating to make her own plate. Twice Sue came over and urged Bella towards the burgers and both times Bella assured her she would eat soon. She didn't know where she would sit after she'd finished so she would rather wait for Jacob or Sam so she would know her place. If she even had a place there, which she was starting to believe she didn't. She sighed, backing up a few more paces as more guests stepped up to the meal. She bit her lip and looked over to Sam and his friends again.

This time their eyes met and she sucked in a startled breath. Jared was addressing the table now, but Sam didn't appear to be listening. His eyes were locked on Bella. When Jared stopped talking, Sam finally looked away and nodded at him. Then he looked to Brady and Embry and leaned deliberately over Paul to speak to them.

Bella really wished she could read lips.

He straightened when they nodded, and all at once the table separated – and practically ran to the food. Bella smiled. Clearly having to wait an extra ten minutes for food had killed them. However, Embry and Brady went in a completely opposite direction. They walked right out of the yard and out to the woods. Jacob grinned and walked up to Bella, distracting her by enveloping her in a huge hug. She welcomed it and blushed when she met Sam's gaze over his shoulder. His eyes darkened and he glared a hole in the back of Jacob's head, but when Bella widened her eyes at him, he softened and his shoulders relaxed. He stepped away from the table and began to walk towards them. Thank God, Bella thought. I'm starving.

"Hey, Bells," Jacob said in her ear. He pulled back to look at her face, still grinning.

She smiled back again. "Hey, Jake. Charlie missed you and Billy on Sunday. He said watching baseball isn't as fun without you guys." She rolled her eyes. "Apparently I'm not good enough when it comes to watching sports."

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "How many outs does a team need to end an inning?" he quizzed.

Bella laughed. "Three," she fired back.

"And who won the game on Sunday?" he added. "What was the final score?"

Bella's eyes widened. "Uh –"

"A-ha!" Jacob hollered. "I can see why Charlie was complaining."

Bella shook her head, pretending to be upset. She tried to glance around Jacob to see if Sam was coming over to them but didn't want to be too obvious. Thankfully, Jacob shifted his weight and started towards the food. Bella glanced to where Sam had been standing before –

And her heart dropped into her stomach.

His attention was focused on Leah, who was standing next to him with her hand on his arm. She was staring up into his eyes, smiling at him. Her fingers picked at his T-shirt.

Bella felt her entire body go weak.

"Bella," Jacob called. "Are you eating?" Then he followed her gaze and the grin fell from his face. "Oh, Bells," he began, "wait a minute. It's not –"

Bella recovered. "Of course I'm eating," she said, trying to sound carefree and breezy. "I'm hungry. I waited for you on purpose, genius." There! A wonderful excuse, a perfect cover-up.

Jacob watched her carefully for a minute, then either decided to believe her or not to start the fight to get her to admit she was lying. He handed her a Styrofoam plate and nodded his head towards the food. "C'mon, make a plate. I'm starving."

Bella followed him dutifully down the line of food, forcing herself not to glance back at Sam each time she had to pause and wait for Jacob to finish stacking his plate a mile high. She tried hard to ignore the pain shooting through her chest and the nausea twisting in her stomach and hoped she was succeeding at keeping her agony off of her expression. She should have known she didn't truly have his affections. She'd developed a fast crush on him and he didn't reciprocate. He had a history with Leah – of course he would want to see things through with her, even if it was just one date. But it still hurt – more than she'd liked to admit. She knew she was overreacting. Sam had only kissed her once, and they'd made no commitment. Perhaps he'd changed his mind about making one at all. Bella struggled to keep the tears at bay as rejection stabbed her heart.

"Bella," Jacob murmured in her ear, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," she exclaimed with a little too much enthusiasm to be believable. "I'm great. I'm hungry. Where are we sitting?"

Jacob led her to the table they'd all dispersed from. Bella sighed and sat down dutifully next to him, gingerly setting her plate down. Jacob playfully nudged her ribs and Bella giggled. She'd forgotten just how much fun hanging out with Jacob could be. Lately she'd only seen him with his large group of whatever they were, which certainly put a lot of space between the two of them. He'd been keeping his distance – probably because he knew Bella wasn't interested in any romantic relationship with him and he wanted to give her some space.

Quil sat down in front of her and quickly, easily joined in on the conversation, editing Jacob's stories as he told them wrong or perhaps embellished them a little for dramatic effect. Jared sat down next to Quil, and Paul next to Jared. Collin and Seth were seated a few feet away, balancing their plates on their laps as they were sitting in lawn chairs. Everyone seemed to be keeping the seat on Bella's right side completely open and available.

Bella stabbed a potato slice with her fork and plopped it in her mouth, trying to ignore the hurt and have fun with her best friend while she had him alone. Jake told her a few of his hilarious stories and kept her laughing just like always, but pain still nagged at her like an injury that hadn't properly healed and refused to be forgotten. Bella did not allow herself to turn around to search for Sam. She would not be clingy. She would not be bitter. She would move on and forget about it.

Eventually the pain had to go away.

Or not.

And then, just as Bella had put her thoughts away for a while, a throat cleared behind them. Jacob's shoulders tensed and he froze. His head slowly cranked to the side and he looked up with an almost bashful, humble expression. His eyes widened in . . . submission?

Bella didn't have to turn around to know Sam was standing right behind her. She could feel him, feel the deep connection between she and him. Knowing he was within touching distance eased the pain in her chest but it did not leave completely. She kept her gaze on her food, her head down in an attempt to hide the embarrassed blush that intruded on her cheeks.

Jacob stood and Bella's head shot up so she could look at him in panic. He rubbed his hands together nervously. "You need a drink, Bells?" he asked quickly, already stepping over the bench. "Soda?"

"A bottle of water would be nice," she said quietly.

Jake nodded. "Coming right up."

As soon as he was gone, Sam rumbled, "Is this seat taken?"

Bella bit her lip. "No," she finally admitted.

He set his plate down and carefully sat down, being careful not to bump the table top with his knee. When he was settled, Bella saw him look down at her out her peripheral vision. She took a bite of her burger and wished she'd opted for the chicken Harry had mentioned earlier.

"I'm sorry I took so long," he said quietly, seeming to know something wasn't quite right. "Paul had a lot to say."

"Yeah, I saw," she responded. That wasn't the only thing she saw. Then she decided to be bold and added, "Do you need Jake and me to move down a little so Leah has room?"

Sam sat back, startled. His eyebrows pulled together in confusion, and then his face lifted in realization. "Leah and I are not together," he told her. "We never were. And we never will be. I was never interested in her that way. I thought I was, but then I realized I only thought that because everyone was assuming we should be together. But recently –" He glanced over at Harry and scowled at him – "I proved them wrong." He lifted his beer to his lips and tipped his head back.

"But Leah wants to be with you," Bella stated. She broke a potato chip in half and ate it.

Sam sighed. "I suppose. But I don't want to be with her."

"Why not?" Leah and Sam being together made much more sense than Bella and Sam together.

Sam sat his beer down quickly. "You know why." When Bella simply shook her head, he added, "Because I want to be with you."

Instantly, the pain was gone. Bella fought the smile that tugged impatiently at her lips but there was nothing she could do about the automatic blush that flooded her face.

The flames of the fire lit up Billy's face as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

As promised, the large crowd of guests had quickly cleared out after dessert, leaving only fifteen people behind. One by one, Billy locked eyes with every person sitting on the logs around the bonfire. Starting on his right side, he looked at Harry, then Sue, followed by Leah and Seth.

Collin, Brady, Jacob, and Bella.

Sam sat in the middle, across from Billy. When Billy looked at him, he lifted his chin with authority.

Jared, Kim, Paul, Quil, and Old Quil.

That was it. Only fourteen people would hear Billy tell the legends.

Billy licked his lips and stared deeply into the flames as they flickered and crackled. When he spoke, his voice was stronger than normal. He was fierce, powerful as he called out, "Our legends are sacred. They are not to be repeated to anyone at any time. Failure to keep our secrets will result in a punishment decided by the Council." He met Seth's gaze and held it for a few moments. Then he moved to Bella, and finally to Kim. "Respect our privacy and our tradition. We welcome you into our family."

And then the tales began.

As I mentioned above, this chapter was much longer than the others have been. I didn't want to split this scene up because I think this was extremely important for the development of this plot and I wanted it to be one whole experience instead of split up and read five days apart from each other.

AHEM. Perhaps . . . because I was very kind and gave you a very, VERY long chapter, my lovely readers will return that kindness and leave me nice, detailed reviews?

Thank you all for reading. Please, please leave me your thoughts. It brightens my day to get response from those who are reading my work.

See you in Chapter Seven, where we will have an itty-bitty time jump.