Chapter 5

~Gabriel~

When I first saw her, everything changed. I had grown up hearing all the stories from my mom, dad, and grandparents. Their epic love story, the dangers and peril, and how at the end of it all, everything just came together. To be honest, they were just that; stories. Fairytales for a little kid to hear at night before they went to sleep, not something a seventeen year old would be thinking about before he went on a date with a girl from his class.

I didn't actually like Candace, but I knew she liked me. All I really had to do was talk to her at a party a couple of times, and take her on a date to some sappy romance movie and she was ready to spread her legs wide and go to town with me. It was going to be a one night thing and I was gonna move on to someone nicer, someone better… Then I saw her.

She was a kid, twelve, thirteen at the oldest, sitting there on the red velvet chairs of the theater just staring off into space. She was very proper looking, almost like one of those collectible porcelain dolls or something. She had thousands of perfect black ringlets that were pulled back by a large navy colored bow, a dark plaid dress, that complimented her heavily tanned skin, black stockings and a pair of dark dress shoes. She was sitting with her hands in her lap, perfectly still like she was waiting on a shelf for some little girl to pick her out.

Candace was close behind me on the stairs, pulling on my arm in attempts to get my attention. I looked at her; she was dressed for the night out, with her short black dress and silver heels that made it seem like her legs went on for days. She and I both knew how this night was supposed to end, but neither one of us could have counted on that girl just sitting there on the top row.

"Oh, there's already someone here!" She snaked her arm around mine and she squeezed tightly. "And she's sitting in the best spot."

There was a whine to her voice, and I knew that if I didn't come up with a solution quickly, that would be the end of my hopes and dreams to get a happy ending.

"Hmm, I guess we could just sit more towards the middle." She whined again, a little higher pitch.

"It's just a kid, can't you ask her to move?" Fucking great, she was gonna use me to bully some fucking middle schooler out of their seat.

"I mean, can't we just_"

"Come on Gabriel." That was the thing about Candace. Avery had warned me about getting involved with her. She was as pretty as she was shrill and demanding; a good lay, but not a good date. I sighed, and walked up the steps and spoke to the girl.

"Um, hey. Is there any way that you could…" She slowly turned and looked at me. She had the biggest, bluest eyes I had ever seen. They were deep, like the ocean, and I was beginning to sink in them, drown really. I was so focused on her eyes, I didn't even notice the deep frown forming on her cheeks. She crossed her arms, and lifted one of her thick eyebrows, almost as if to challenge me. I tried to clear my thoughts, to say something, but everything was swimming… The only thing that I could make out was her.

"If I could what?" She sounded pissed. I wasn't expecting such a harsh voice to come out such a sweet looking girl. I blinked a couple of times, attempting to gather myself and smiled.

"I was just, uh, wondering if my friend, girlfriend, and I could sit here…" She rolled her eye at me, but she seemed… uncomfortable. She was squirming around, and her face was slightly paler than it should have been.

"No. I was here first, and I don't want to move." Candace groaned behind me.

"Can't you just move down a couple of seats, it's really not that big of a deal." I wanted to say more, but what could I say? This girl was glaring both me and Candace down, and I was shaking. I wasn't afraid, or angry… I was overwhelmed.

"Why don't you just move down a couple of seats if it's not 'that big of a deal'?" she did some air quotes, and glared even harder at Candace, who had moved up so that she could get a better look at the kid.

"Hey, didn't your parents teach you to not be so disrespectful?" Candace was getting pissed, and her tone was getting more hostile. She wasn't the most patient of girls, and she was known to be a bit… abrasive at times. "Like, respect your elder or something."

"My parents taught me to set boundaries and say no to strangers." If I wasn't frozen in place, I would have laughed. She had quite a smart mouth on her, once again defying that all too innocent look she had. "Look, if you wanted the spot so badly, you should have gotten here first."

"Listen here you little fucking brat_" 'No!' My head was screaming at me to defend the girl in front of me. I turned on my heel and glared at Candace.

"Hey, she's just a kid, leave her alone." I heard the growl laced in my voice and I had to force myself to calm down. Candace didn't know any better, she was just being the same bitch she always was.

"Ugh, just deal with her Gabe. I'm going to the bathroom." She turned to leave when the girl in front of me muttered under her breath, but clearly loud enough for Candace to hear.

"Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out." I groaned, and Candace froze, slowly turning around and making her way closer to the kid.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

I watched as the girl paled even more. Her eyes began to dart around the room, and her breathing spiked ever so slightly. She was anxious; I could hear her heart, and I wanted nothing more than to reassure her that I wouldn't let anything happen to her. Just as I opened my mouth to defend her again, she spoke. She spoke with that same snarky, bitter voice that she had before.

"Hey, you're the one arguing with a middle schooler. You should take a closer look at who you are." I laughed. This kid, whoever the fuck she was, was no pushover. She relaxed slightly at the sound of my laugh, and it made me feel a bit better.

"Gabe." Candace hissed at me, her pale cheeks turning darker by the second. I shrugged my shoulders; the kid was right, she was the one who was fighting with a fucking middle schooler. She should have been embarrassed. However, I didn't want this to escalate any more, so I cleared my throat and turned back to the girl.

"Hey look, sweetheart_" I couldn't even finish what I was going to say when she snapped on me. There was this desperate, wild look to her eyes, and she snarled.

"Don't fucking call me that like I'm some five year old who just found out santa claus isn't real. It's patronizing." I didn't really know what to say to her. I couldn't form any words as she grabbed her black bag and began to make her way (unsteadily) down the stairs. "You know what, it's whatever, just take the seat."

Then she was gone. It was almost as if she were never even there in the first place. The only thing that remained after she disappeared around the dark corner of the theater was the faint scent of the rain. I wanted to follow after her, ask her what her name was, but I made myself stay frozen.

It was fucking possible, imprinting was supposed to be rare. There was no way in hell I had just stumbled upon my soulmate in the dark movie theater while I was trying to get it in with some random bitch from my school. I felt a small prickle of anxiety run up on the back of my neck and I felt the overwhelming urge to puke. Here I was attempting to get laid, and my soulmate just walked out of the theater. It wasn't fucking possible. I had heard the stories over and over again from my mom and dad, how it all just felt right and as the years melted away together they were in complete bliss. My mom always knew, and my dad just felt right.

I felt fucking sick. I clutched one of the empty chairs to the theater tightly and slowly sat down. I put my face in my hands and rubbed harshly, attempting to rub away some of my nausea. Candace was talking, but her voice sounded muted compared to the sound of my own heartbeat. This wasn't how an imprint was supposed to feel… Was it? Wasn't I supposed to be connected to her, and wasn't she supposed to look up to me or something? Was I supposed to be her friend… brother? Wasn't that fucking weird?

What did we even have in common? She seemed uptight and vicious, defensive about something that only she knew. Not only that, she was still a fucking kid. I ran my fingers through my hair and went limp in the seat. Candace sat next to me, and the rest of the date was almost complete silence.

I didn't want this, I didn't want her, I didn't want this goddamn nausea clawing at my stomach, and I didn't want Candace's hand rubbing my thigh while I tried to drive her home. My head was spinning, and I needed to be alone so I could think.

I didn't even get her name.

What was her name, where did she live, I had never seen her before.

Well of course I had never seen her before, I would have fucking imprinted.

But, she didn't look familiar at all… Was she new to the area?

What if she was visiting someone?

What if I never saw her again?

What it_

"GABE!" I slammed down on the brakes to the car, and Candace lurched forward, most likely being strangled slightly from the seatbelt. I had barely seen the small black car in front of me, and was dangerously close to crashing into it. My breathing was hard, and I shook my head a couple of times to try and clear the fog that was forming.

"Oh my God, what is with you tonight?" My hands were tight around the steering wheel, and I was trying my hardest not to crush it beneath my grasp. I breathed in and out slowly and looked over at the bottle blonde beside me.

"Nothing." My jaw was clenched. I… Wasn't mad at her. This was my fault after all. I was supposed to be taking her out, it was probably only natural for her to be agitated with my lack of response. Especially when I had been so forward before.

"You've been distracted all night. I have been doing everything to get your attention and you've been blowing me off… What is your fucking deal?" She crossed her arms, and her brown eyes were glassy. I exhaled and continued to make my way to her house.

"It's nothing." I mumbled, and she huffed.

"You know, most guys would kill to spend a night with me." I scoffed slightly and her head snapped towards me. Her eyes were wide, and slightly wild and there was this unstable look about her.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, just ignore me."

"No_" She took a deep breath. We were so close to her house. As soon as we got there, I could kick her out of the car and go somewhere alone to think. "No, first that bitchy middle schooler then you_"

"You're a fucking bitch." I blurted out. I just couldn't stand listening to her voice anymore. "You're a bitch and I only went out with you 'cause you're easy."

She was stunned for a moment, and I sighed. I looked over at her; she was sitting there in the leather seat, her brown eyes shifting back and forth like she was calculating something in her head. We were both silent and I continued to drive down the dark road.

When we pulled up to her house, she was still silent. I could see a light in one of the front windows, and a couple of heads peeking through the curtains. The air was tense inside my car, and it felt like I was burning up. I tried to focus on the empty neighborhood streets ahead of me, and waited for her to storm out of the car.

But she didn't.

She placed one of her small hands on my forearm and cleared her throat.

"Maybe we can… Spend some time out here." Her voice was deeper and dripping with lust. I pulled away from her and glared.

"What the fuck are you doing Candace?" She brought her hand to the low cut fabric of her chest and began to pull downwards, showing more of her pale skin. I blinked, not exactly believing what I was seeing.

"No, Candace, no. Just get out of my car." She tried to get closer, but I pushed her away gently.

"What the hell Gabe? You wanna fuck, we can fuck; why are you making this difficult?"

"Just get out of my fucking car." I growled, and she finally seemed to get the picture. Glazing at me the entire time, she opened the door to my car and stormed inside her house. The two heads that were spying on them disappeared and the lights went off.

I had to find her, I didn't know how I was gonna do it, but I just had to. It was like I was going on autopilot, driving back to my house, and wandering into my house like I was a zombie. It was a good thing that my parents weren't home, because they would have known something was wrong. I was too anxious to get any real sleep, my thoughts too hectic to let me get any peace. I was restless moving back and forth on my bed, my hands gripping the sheets and my jaw grinding so hard it felt like my teeth would crack.

Was this what imprinting was supposed to feel like? The edge never dulled down, not once over the weekend. I had the house to myself, my parents were in Seattle for one of my mom's photo shoots. It was just me, alone in our house, wandering around like the dead. I wanted to search for her, but I forced myself to stay put. I couldn't even phase; my thoughts were so messy the pack would know instantly that something was up.

Then there was Avery. She was calling, texting, doing her best to get a hold of me. We were supposed to hang out this weekend, and I didn't have the energy to talk to her. If I did, I would probably blurt out everything, and she would never fucking let me live it down.

So when Monday morning hit, I was a mess. I groaned, doing my best to pull myself together. I took a shower, letting the too hot water run over my skin before rushing to get ready. My mom was downstairs, as was my dad, the table filled with so much food a normal person would have been sick.

"Good morning Gabriel." My mother was sitting at the table with her legs crossed and eyes scanning through one of her portfolio's. I walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek and she smiled. Her dark eyes looked up and me, and she reached out to rub my face gently.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was gentle, and I sat down across from her, filling my plate with food.

"Nothing… Just a little nervous about a test I have today."

"You have a test today?"

"Well, uh, more of a pop quiz…. I didn't study for it." She nodded her head slowly, and tucked some of her copper colored hair behind her ear.

"That's strange, because you don't usually study for a pop quiz." I looked towards my dad for help, and he smiled and winked at me. I knew I could always count on him whenever my mom became a little too invested in my personal life. Not that I didn't like it when she took interest in me, it was just that sometimes she could be a little… overbearing.

"Don't worry about him Ness, why don't you show him some of the pictures you took over the weekend?" My mom smiled and stood up, leaning over me to show some of the pictures she took while she was in Seattle.

"They're great mom." It was hard to pay attention to anything other than the food on my plate and that girl. What if something had happened to her this weekend? What if she hurt herself, or got herself kidnapped? I should have been there to make sure she was okay, I should have_

"Gabriel!" My head snapped up, and my eyes connected with my mom's soft gaze. She reached out and placed a cool hand on my forehead, and brushed away some of my black hair. My dad was leaning against the counter in the kitchen, watching me. "Gabe, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired." I moved away from the table and nearly ran towards the door. "I gotta go, I told one of my friends I'd give him a ride before school." My mom opened her mouth to say more, but he kissed her cheek and pulled her attention from off of me. As grateful as I was for his distraction, I knew that I was far from the danger zone. I'm sure he suspected something was up too, and he would ask me about it on my own time.

When I got to school, I just sat in the parking lot for a few moments, attempting to gather my thoughts. How was I going to find her? Should I ask around, go to every fucking house in the area and hope I smell her scent? She did have a pretty distinct scent, almost like seawater, or the ocean breeze; pleasant and light. If I knew her name it would have been so much easier, but I let her run out of the theater without asking her.

I was dragged out of my thoughts by hard knocking against my car window. Glancing over, I noticed one of my friends standing outside of my car. Opening my door, he instantly started attacking me with questions.

"Candace is on a rampage, what did you do? What happened, did ya fuck?" Slamming my car door shut, I brushed past him and started walking towards the school. He was following behind me like a little puppy dog, still asking me questions about the date that changed my entire life.

"Come'on Gabe, you gotta tell me what happened! Look, look, I just wanna know if what she's been saying is true."

"What is she saying?" I nearly ripped my locker door off of its hinges. I was exhausted, and not ready to deal with any of this.

"Not a lot, but basically along the lines of erectile dysfunction." Mitchell Weber. What to say about Mitchell; I had met him in middle school, and he was probably the only person outside of the pack that was truly my friend. He was tall, not as tall as me, but for human standards he towered over everyone; he was thin, smart, and nerdy. When we were kids, he was the target for every bully in a ten mile radius, and it didn't help that sometimes he didn't know when to shut his mouth. But he was a good guy and loyal friend, and out of every human on this planet, he was the one I trusted with my family secret.

And also because I phased in front of him when we were 14.

"Just ignore her. She's mad because I didn't want to fuck her. She was desperate, throwing herself on me outside of her house." I slammed my lockers shut, and my eyes landed on a girl.

She was a tall, petite girl, very pretty with short choppy black hair and amber colored eyes. Her skin was a smooth caramel color, which made her dark freckles pop on her angular face. She held her head down, focusing her gaze to the floor instead of looking at anyone. She was new here, Ella, Erika… Emily maybe? She was in my History class, and had been introduced on the first day. She had hardly spoken a word to anyone, and sat at the very back of class.

"Oh ho ho, your eyes are already on you next target? The new girl, she's in a lot of my classes; totally shy, totally hot." I rolled my eyes and started to follow her.

She didn't walk, she glided. She was on her toes, almost similar to my aunt Alice, moving as if she were better suited for a stage than an old faded hallway. With her books clutched tightly in her hands, I watched as she disappeared into one of the classrooms.

Mitchell stood behind me, and I sent him a glare before he had a chance to start talking. He held his hands up and we both watched her from the window on the was waiting for her, storming up to her with a fiery vengeance. She looked pissed. She was leaning on the edge of the girls desk, speaking in a soft, but harsh tone. The dark haired girl held up her hands, doing her best to most likely diffuse the situation, but once Candace got going, she was nearly impossible to stop.

Why was Candace targeting her though? What had she possibly done to warrant her aggression; I had hardly even seen this girl before, so what was her cardinal sin?

"Hm, did the new girl have something to do with you date night flop?" Not that I knew of, unless… I thought back to the girl in the theater… my imprint. Her dark ringlets, and tawny skin. I thought about her large blue eyes, and soft round features; at first glance, the two of them seemed completely unrelated, but thinking back to it now… They had to be sisters

The bell rang and Mitchell and I ran to class. My mind was racing all day. If the two of them really were sisters, all I had to do was follow the elder one and I would know where she lived. I squeezed the pencil in my hand tightly, causing it to crack and break. Fuck, my plan sounded creepy. I was going to follow some girl I didn't even know home so that I would find out where her sister lived? Her middle school aged sister… God, I wanted to punch myself. It wasn't like I liked her or anything, I just wanted to make sure she was safe.

When the bell rang I rushed to the last class I had seen the girl go in, watching as she made her way into the hall. She walked past me, her head to the ground, and moved through the crowd of students that had begun to form in the hallway. There was laughing and I heard a sharp gasp and the sound of books falling to the ground.

I now knew why there was such a large crowd in the hallway. Her locker, I'm sure it was hers, was totally trashed. Ripped open, her things were all over the floor and the words 'ugly bitch' were written across the locker door. The dark haired girl stared, tears forming in her eyes before she picked up the books she had dropped and ran through the students.

I wanted to call out to her, but what was I going to say? I just followed her and kept trying to tell myself that I wasn't being creepy. I just wanted to make sure that she was okay; if she really was my imprints sister, that meant she was family… right? I got into my car and started to follow the silver Toyota Camry down the street and towards the middle school.

God, if anyone could see me now…

When I found out where my imprint lived, I lingered outside of her house. She lived with her mother, who seemed to work all of the time, and her sister, who was in my grade. She was a quiet, studious girl who, other than her seemingly short temper, seemed really put together. I think she may have seen me a few times, but whenever she stuck her head out of the window, I would hide out in the dense woods behind her little one story house.

I was phased for so long, it was a miracle that I could get around telling everyone that I had imprinted. If it wasn't for the gift I inherited from my grandmother, I would have been found out by now. However, I was able to block my pack out of my head while I was phased and focus on my imprint.

However there were times where I couldn't watch her and one of those times was when I was working. My parents made me get a job when I was sixteen, telling me it was an important part of having a normal life. Mitchell worked at a roller rink in town and spoke to his manager, getting me the job. I mostly worked weekends, and this weekend was no exception.

But when I pulled into the parking lot of the rink, I was surprised to see Candace, cornering my imprint's older sister by her car. Despite the fact that Candace was much shorter, my imprints sister just seemed to shy away from her. Her head was down and she was playing with her nails, mumbling something under her breath when I decided that I finally had to intervene.

"What the fuck Candace?" I did a light jog over towards the two of them.

Candace was shocked, jumping back slightly and turning at the hip to face me. She tried to smile, but there was nervousness in her eyes.

"Gabe, hey!" She sounded nervous, and I could hear the sound of her heart increasing rapidly. The smallest bit of sweat began to form on her brow and she cleared her throat. "I was, um, hoping you were working today."

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. What bullshit. I pushed down my irritation, a feeling of nausea overtaking me. I swallowed it down and sighed.

"Candace, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this. We're over. It's not anyone's fault but your own. Grow up."

"Look, I don't want to be in the middle of this. I have to get back to my sister." I turned to my right and there she was. She was like a deer, slowly approaching the situation with wide eyes. She was dressed in a simple navy dress with a large black bow in her hair to pin back some of the curls.

"Hey Emi… Is there a problem?" Emi, her sister, groaned.

"What are you doing here?" Candace hissed, and I watched as Emi slipped from between Candace and the car. To be honest, I wanted to know what she was doing here as well. There was no way it was a coincidence that she showed up to my job.

"I'm here for Marie's birthday party! I would ask what you're doing here, but it's a little obvious." She smiled, wide and sinister; her smile took up so much of her face, and her eyes were dark.

"Obvious? What the hell are you talking about?" Candace sounded like she was going to lose it. She was looking back and forth between me, Emi, and my imprint. Her heart was beating so hard, and her breathing was labored.

"Oh, you're trying to get a booty call." She said it with such confidence and innocence, I couldn't help but laugh. She was funny, I'd give her that. Candace's eyes widened.

"Y-You are so fucking OBNOXIOUS!" I felt rage claw its way through me and I felt myself shake.

"Hey_"

"Hey_" I didn't expect Emi to speak up. Her voice was much firmer now, and there was a fire in her eyes.

"Okay, I understand why she would defend that little smart-mouth brat, but why are you Gabe? " It was none of her business, and I didn't have to give her an answer. I didn't owe her shit, we weren't even dating. I opened my mouth to say something, but what was I going to say?

"She's just a kid, and you're being a bitch." Nice.

"I second that statement." She wasn't even trying to hide her disdain, and her sister finally had enough

"Elaine, just shut up okay. Go back inside and talk to your friends." Elaine, Elaine, Elaine, Elaine. Her name is Elaine. I would have been pissed at the tone Emi had taken with her if I wasn't so goddamn pleased to finally hear her name. Elaine.

"Look, I know you don't like me Candace, but leave my sister alone. Keep her name out of your mouth… Understand me?" I just looked at Elaine. She was staring at her sister with a proud sort of look on her face.

"And what are you gonna do Emilia?" Emi wasn't backing down, and I was getting sick of this shit.

"If she doesn't do anything, I will." I stood over her. She shrunk down in my shadow, and shivered. I glared at her, and my voice came out much harsher than I intended it too.

"You know what, my sister is waiting for me inside. I'm not gonna just stand here and be threatened by the two of you. Gabe, I hope you're fucking happy with the new girl." She glared at Emi "She looks easy enough."

She shimmied her way around me and the car and nearly ran back inside. Elaine was just watching her, that dark smile still on her face. I cleared my throat, not really sure what to say to her. The whole weekend, then the week, watching her worrying about her, now I couldn finally talk to her.

"Hey you two, I'm really sorry about that." I shrugged my shoulders. I needed to stay calm "I guess I really dodged a bullet with her huh?"

"A bullet, you dodged an atomic bomb dude." Elaine scoffed. I laughed again as her sister tried to shush her.

"So Emilia and Elaine huh… I guess your parents had a theme?" Emi chuckled gently and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, while Elaine crossed her arms and blushed.

"Don't call me Elaine." She snapped, and I noticed the tips of her ears turning red. Ellie. That did suit her so much more.

"Emi and Ellie Kirkland." Emi held out her hand for me to shake. As I took her hand, I could feel the intense heat. She was nearly my temperature, and nearly my height to boot. My brows furrowed in confusion; was Emi a… I shook that thought out of my mind and hummed.

"Gabriel Black. It's nice to meet you. I've seen you around school a couple of times and you... " I looked down at Ellie and smiled. "I saw at the movies."

"Yeah… um… About that…" I let out a small sigh "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your date and I didn't mean to get so… uh…" She bit at her lower lip, a bigger blush forming on her cheeks, probably from embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it kiddo." She grit her teeth at the sound of the nickname.

"Kiddo?" I laughed as her nose scrunched up in irritation.

"Well it was nice meeting the two of you… Sorry about this mess. Welcome to Forks!" I didn't want to go inside. I wanted to talk to them, get to know them more but I had a job. I turned away from them reluctantly and made my way inside. Candace was arguing with a girl around Ellie's age, probably Marie, and glared at me when I walked in. I walked into the employee lounge, my mind racing once again. Ellie and Emi; the two new girls that made their way to Forks. One was my imprint, and the other could be a werewolf.

*I'm sorry for the wait! This chapter is quite a bit longer, and we get to see a bit of Gabe. This story will be mainly in Ellie's point of view, but I want you guys to see a bit of Gabriel's POV. Anyway, I hope ya'll like it, please comment and review! Thanks!*