I was trying to get everything that happens next into one big chapter as I'd wanted to get back to Sam's POV in the next chapter. But as usual, the characters didn't want to co-operate, and after three days of fiddling with it, and a HUGE chapter of over 10,000 words, and still a fair amount to say, I decided to split it into 2 largish chapters so I had something for you all to read sooner rather than later, and Sam will just have to wait a little longer. I'll try to get the second of these chapters wrapped up tomorrow and post it as soon as I'm done.

Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight Saga. I own twitchy fingers that enjoy writing for no profit.

Chapter 23: First Kisses and Fighting

It was closing in on ten o'clock by the time we left the restaurant. As we walked back towards the movie theatre where Sam had parked the truck, hand in hand once again, a comfortable silence fell over us. I used it to reflect over the drastic shift my day had taken from my original plan. I'd woken up that morning with no other thought in my head but my plan to go out into the forest to find Victoria and the wolves, instead, I'd somehow managed to derail Lauren's bullying campaign and land myself a casual kinda sorta boyfriend. It was a strange twist, but a satisfying one. Sam and I had played it sensibly and laid out our boundaries right from the start, so I was quite comfortable about what was going on between the two of us. I figured I could keep Sam off Victoria's radar by keeping the time we spent together on the Rez as much as possible - it would be too dangerous for Victoria to spy on me a lot there - and if I could subtly encourage Charlie to visit Billy more often on the Rez too, or Harry Clearwater, I could maybe even delay my confrontation with Victoria in order to contact the wolves for a little while.

I knew I was being selfish in my desire to delay the inevitable, but I figured I could always change my mind again if I couldn't get Charlie spending more time on the Rez with the safety it would provide him. "Dammit, I deserve a little normal teenage life after all the shit I've been through." I reasoned. "And if I keep my eyes and ears open while I'm on the Rez myself, I can get a few clues about who the wolves are without having to resort to my original plan. Maybe I could ask Billy a few carefully casual questions to get some information without raising suspicions."

My only worries were if I'd be able to keep my side of the 'no drama' agreement I'd just made, and what Jake would say when I told him I was dating Sam. I certainly had no intention of starting any drama that would involve Sam, but realistically, drama seemed to stalk my life whatever I did to try to avoid it. I guessed I'd just have to work hard to keep any drama that did arise away from my arrangement with him and hope for the best.

The Jake issue was a little more problematic. I wasn't naive enough to believe he'd just be happy that I was taking steps to get over Him. Despite my open honesty about Jake's chances of a relationship with me, there was sometimes the odd hint that he still had a little crush on me. We had both ignored it, focusing instead on building a strong and close friendship, and I'd hoped that eventually the crush would just die away on its own. The main issue Jake would have with me dating Sam though would not be about the fact that I was dating, but who I was dating. The irritation he, Quil and Embry had all had for Sam and his friends had turned into all out hatred once Embry had "defected" to Sam's side, and I could only hope that our friendship was strong enough to overcome that argument that was bound to happen once I told Jake.

I turned my head to look up at Sam as we walked along. He seemed deep in thought himself, a little crease appearing between his brows as he worked through whatever was going on in his head. I hoped he wasn't changing his mind about our agreement.

"You ok?" I asked his, squeezing his hand a little to get his attention. He blinked a few times, obviously a little startled at being pulled from his thoughts.

"Yeah I'm good." He reassured me. "Sorry. I just got a little side tracked by my own thoughts."

"That's ok." I told him. "I get completely absorbed by my own thoughts too sometimes." He gave a little chuckle.

"Yeah I know." I raised a questioning brow and he explained. "That time I found you on the beach and got freaked out when I couldn't get an answer from you, even when I was yelling right in your face." I reddened at the memory.

"Oh. Right. That was the first time I'd done that." He looked a little confused.

"Done what? Sat on the beach, thinking?"

"No." I laughed. "When I need to quiet my thoughts and balance myself, I sit cross legged, relax my body, focus on my breathing and just sort of let my mind drift free. I find that if I'm not directing my thoughts consciously, but letting them come and go as they please, I can make more sense of things that trouble me. And the peaceful feeling I get after I've spent some time like that lasts for hours, sometimes even days." I rushed on, not wanting to look at him for fear that he'd be looking at me like I was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. "I can do it anywhere really, but it works best at First Beach." He pulled me gently to a stop. Turning me to face him, he lifted my chin with his fingers to make me meet his gaze.

"That's meditation you're talking about. Going into a meditative state like that is something that religious people and shamans, healers and wise men and women all around the world spend years and years learning to do. And you taught yourself to do it?" I nodded hesitantly.

"Well sort of. I mean I kinda did it by accident the first time. You know, that day you found me?" He nodded, encouraging me to go on. "That's why I thought I'd just fallen asleep. I was so pissed at you for 'waking me up' you know." We both laughed at the memory, beginning to walk down the street again.

"That's so amazing, that you taught yourself to do that. It just shows what a strong mind and spirit you have, to be able to do that, to learn how to put yourself in a meditative trance with no-one to show you." By this point I was completely red in the face, my cheeks clashing horribly with my crimson sweater. I'd never been particularly good at handling compliments, but praise on this level was something I'd never experienced before, and I was becoming a little uncomfortable.

"Thank you." I said politely. "Though I'm not sure I really deserve the praise that much. I needed a way to deal with all the stress and upset I'd been through, and I was lucky enough to stumble across a way to do that. No more, no less." He must've registered the discomfort in my voice, as he let the subject drop, gently squeezing my hand as we wandered along, and turned into the parking lot.

When we got to his truck, he opened the passenger door first for me, but I had already walked between his truck and the car parked close to its right side, so I had to squeeze back through the, now tiny, gap between Sam with the open door, and the neighbouring car. As I pressed past him, Sam caught my elbow and stopped me in my tracks. Searching my face for any signs of discomfort, he slowly began to lean down, gently pressing me back into the parked car behind me. "Oh shit. This is it. First kiss. Am I ready for this? Do I really want this?" I asked myself as his face came closer and closer to mine. My nose was filled with his woodsy scent and I could feel my pulse race and my body react just to his proximity. "Fuck yes I'm ready. I was looking for change, and here it is. And in a seriously hot form too. I'm ready, and fuck do I want this!" The thoughts flashed through my mind at lightning speed and when Sam paused, just a fraction of an inch from lip to lip contact, waiting, I guessed, to make sure this was what I wanted; I couldn't stop myself from closing the gap myself and pressing my lips to his. That fizzing, tingling feeling I'd gotten from his kiss on my cheek returned tenfold, but this time on my own lips as the heat from his mouth soaked into mine. His lips were soft, moulding to mine like His had been incapable of doing, but at the same time, still so strong. He inched forward a little more, deepening the kiss and moulding the front of his body against mine as he pressed me more firmly into the car. His hand let go of my elbow and gently ran up my arm, resting for a moment on my shoulder, then slipping around to the back of my neck and ending up cupping the side of my face and spreading round to the back of my head. "Jeeze his hands are huge!" The errant thought flipped through my mind then flew off as fast as it had arrived as his other hand rose to gently rest against the small of my back, between me and the car. His tongue ran slowly and gently across the seam of my lips, a clear request for entry and I didn't even have time to consider that this was further than I'd ever been, before my mouth opened slightly without my conscious command, letting his tongue inside to rub deliciously against my own. I couldn't help the approving moan that left my throat at the wonderful feelings he was causing, and his own quiet but deep groan as my hands moved, one to grip one bicep and the other to circle around his lower back, gave me a thrill of exhilaration. His hand, still cupping my jaw, slid to the back of my head and tangled in my hair.

That was the end of any rational thought or self-control on my part. Instantly, my brain was flooded with images from my dreams of Sam roughly pounding into me from behind, his hair tangled fist pulling my head back, forcing my submission, our sweaty bodies rubbing together in our passion. My grip on him tightened and I pulled him more firmly into me, feeling the unmistakable press of his erection against my stomach, which only served to excite me even more. Heat poured out of his body into mine, both of us letting little moans escape our throats as our kiss went on and on.

"Erm. Excuse me."

One of Sam's thickly muscled thighs slid between my own and I couldn't have resisted the urge to grind myself hard against it if I tried, which of course I didn't. He in turn was gently rocking his lower body, pressing and releasing his rock hard cock against my stomach and letting loose more, louder groans of approval. I copied the movements of his tongue against mine instinctively, not pressing into his mouth, but more than happy to submit to his explorations in mine.

"I said, excuse me!"

Sam's fingers in the small of my back were digging in, pressing almost painfully hard into my skin. I hadn't noticed him passing beneath the bottom of my sweater and up to naked flesh, but I heartily approved at the feel of his burning hand against my skin. My hand dropped lower, of its own volition grabbing a handful of tight, hard, muscular ass and using it to pull his lower body closer still. Our lips moved on and on, our tongues brushing together almost frantically.

"EXCUSE ME!" We broke apart, startled and both of us panting heavily like marathon runners. Slowly turning my head to see the cause of the interruption, I was suddenly brought back down to earth with an almost audible thud. Glaring at us, car keys in hand, was a thoroughly shocked and disgruntled middle aged man.

"If you could bear to tear yourselves away from each other's tonsils for a moment, I'd quite like to get into my car!" The man said with disdain.

I was mortified. Burying my face, which was now easily as crimson as my sweater, into Sam's wide, muscular chest in embarrassment, I mumbled a quick "Sorry" and then pulled myself free of his embrace and scrambled awkwardly into the truck, where I sat, hiding my flaming face in my hands. "What the fuck was I just doing? What would Charlie have thought of me? Shit! What must Sam think of me? The poor guy tries to give me a simple, end of a first date kiss, and I practically crawl into his mouth and climb his body!" I waited what seemed like decades for Sam to walk around the back of his truck and jump into the driver's seat, noting absently the engine roar and squeal of tyres that signalled the middle aged man's exit from the parking lot. When Sam finally did get into the truck cab, we sat there for a few moments in silence, not even looking at each other. I heard him begin to fiddle with his keys and I finally glanced warily across at him. He took in a deep breath through his nose, and then blew it out through his mouth with a tiny, almost missed groan.

"Bella, I'm really, really sorry." He said and my heart plummeted to my guts. "Oh God. He's regretting it already. Why did I set myself up for more rejection? I knew he was out of my league. Why did I do this to myself?" I chastised myself. Taking in my expression, which I can only assume was despairing, he hurried on.

"I'm not sorry about kissing you. Fuck, how could I be? That was the best kiss of my life. But I am sorry for pushing it so far. I swear I didn't plan on it, but I just sorta lost my grip on myself there for a few minutes." He was blushing a bit himself by the end if his speech, but as he had spoken, a tiny smile had begun on my face, which had grown as he continued speaking.

"It was my fault too, Sam." I told him. "I've never been kissed like that before, and I didn't exactly have the firmest grip on my own control." The smile on his face matched mine. I started giggling. "That poor man." I said through my laughter, and Sam began laughing along with me.

"Poor man nothing." He said with a loud snort. "That's probably the most action he's seen in decades." I blushed again at the thought, but my giggling continued uninterrupted as Sam started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot.

On the drive home, he reached out and picked up my hand, winding his fingers between his and laying our joined hands against his thigh. We didn't talk much as he drove; both of us content to listen to the music and make the occasional observation about the band, or the movie we'd watched that evening. It was a comfortable quiet again though, neither one of us felt the urge to fill it with inane chatter. He finally pulled up outside my house at not quite eleven and turned off the engine. Twisting slightly in his seat he said

"Thanks for coming out with me tonight, Bella. I really did have an amazing time." I smiled and squeezed his hand one last time before I disentangled our fingers and pulled my hand free and into my own lap.

"Me too." I told him. "Thank you for a great evening." From the corner of my eye, I saw the porch light flick off for a split second, and then back on again. "Subtle, Dad. Real subtle." I whispered to myself under my breath so Sam wouldn't hear. He must've had a similar thought though as he gave a little snort of amusement.

"I guess that means you'd better head inside." He said, and leaning forward he gave me a lingering, but relatively chaste kiss on the mouth. I kissed him back gently, and then opened the passenger side door.

"I guess so." I agreed. "Night, Sam. Sleep well."

"You too." He told me and, after watching me all the way to my door, he drove away.

I was just putting my hand on the door knob when footsteps on the drive behind me made me turn.

"Sam, Bella? SAM?" Jake whisper yelled at me. "I could understand you dating, I guess, even though you told me you weren't ready, and weren't sure if you ever would be. And I know you aren't interested in me like that. But do you think you could've picked, I don't know, anyone else, other than Sam fucking Uley?" He was so angry his hands were shaking, shuddering so quickly they seemed to blur in front of my eyes.

"Jake, I..." He didn't let me speak.

"No. I'm not interested in your excuses. You know how I feel about that asshole but you go out on a date with him anyway? You kiss him right in front of me?" That was unfair. Neither Sam nor I had known Jake was watching us. That made me think for a second.

"Hang on, Jake. Why were you watching us? What are you here for?" I asked him.

"I had a shitty day, so I came by to see my friend, hoping to be cheered up. When Charlie told me you'd left him a note saying you'd gone out on a date with Sam fucking Uley I couldn't believe it. I was sure there must've been some mistake, but no. Here you are, back from playing suck face with Sam, I'm-the-king-of-the-Rez, fucking Uley." The shaking was spreading to his arms now. I'd never seen him so angry in my life.

"Will you stop calling him that!" I snapped at him. "Sam's middle name isn't 'fucking'. Just Sam or Sam Uley will do just fine." Jake seemed, if possible, to get angrier still, his face contorting with rage and his whole body shuddering with anger.

"I'll call him whatever the fuck I choose. Fuck this really is just the worst fucking day ever." He began to pace back and forth in front of me. "All my friends and family are defecting to team Uley." He ranted. "First Billy thinks the sun shines out of the guy's ass, then Embry. This afternoon Rachel comes home for a visit, goes out to the beach, then takes one look at Paul fucking Lahote and is all over him like he's made of chocolate or something, and now you. You're the worst of the lot. At least none of the others tried to hide it. But you." He turned and snarled at me "Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you just going to sneak around behind my back, laughing at me with your new boyfriend?" he sneered the last word in disgust, stepping up close and almost pressing his face directly into mine. The door behind me opened.

"That's more than enough, Jacob. Take a few steps back away from my daughter." Charlie's voice was surprisingly calm, considering Jake's aggressive attitude towards me, but I figured that over the years on the job he'd learned just how to handle aggressive guys. Jake's head snapped up and, quivering all over now, he opened his mouth to snarl a few choice words at Charlie. He didn't get the chance. Charlie squared his stance and rested his hand on the butt of his gun.

"Now. If you please, Jake." He insisted, still in that eerily calm, quiet voice. Jake took a few steps back. "Thank you." Charlie said. "Bella, step inside please." He asked me, and I did as he wanted, a little pissed that I wasn't going to get the chance to speak my mind to Jake, but willing to accept that this probably wasn't the time to attempt a conversation with him. Charlie glanced back at Jake, who was still shaking in anger. "I'm going inside now too, kid. You need to go home. Come back when you're feeling better." He stepped back inside and shut the door behind him, turning off the porch light. A weird noise that sounded a little like sheets tearing came through the door, then a little scrabbling, then silence.

Once inside, Charlie dragged in a huge breath and blew it out, leaning back against the door and rubbing both hands across his face. After a couple minutes of silence he dropped his hand and looked up at me.

"So." He said in an even tone, giving me no clues as to his thoughts on the matter, Sam Uley, huh?"

"You too?" I challenged him with a little glare. He held his hands up in defence.

"No, no. Don't get me wrong. I like the guy, he's a good man, and does a lot for his tribe. I've got no problems with you dating him, if that's what you want. I just didn't realise you liked him that way." He paused. "Actually, I didn't know you liked anyone that way. It's really great that you're taking that step back into life, kiddo. I'm proud of how far you've come in such a short time. As long as you're happy with the steps you're taking, and don't feel like you're rushing it, then I'm fine with it. I was wondering though." His voice did hold a little concern now. "Just how serious either of you are about the other." I gave him a confused look and he elaborated. "Sam has a lot on his plate right now, and I'm not sure he's looking for a permanent kind of thing. I wouldn't want to see you hurt again because you're expecting this to turn into a happily ever after kind of deal. On the other hand, if he is more serious about things and you're not ready for that yet, I don't want to see him hurt because you're just looking to rebound from your last relationship." My heart warmed at Charlie once again stepping out of his comfort zone and talking about feelings. Making himself uncomfortable to look out for my well-being and Sam's too.

"It's ok, Dad. We talked about it this evening. Neither one of us is expecting too much from the other. We're just enjoying each other's company and seeing where it goes really. Nothing too heavy or serious." I reassured him. He looked relieved.

"Well ok then. So what about that stuff with Jake? You didn't think it might be a good idea to talk to him about seeing Sam?" He asked me, raising a brow. "I'm not saying you need your friend's permission, but taking him by surprise like that clearly hasn't helped anything." I hung my head.

"I know I've upset him" I said "but I'd didn't know for sure how the date would even go, and if I wasn't going to see Sam again, I didn't want to start an argument with Jake over nothing. And then with everything that happened at school today, I completely forgot about the date until Sam showed up at the door." Charlie chuckled at that.

"Poor Sam." He said. "Don't tell him that part; it would crush his ego to know you'd forgotten about him." I grinned. "Well I think it'd probably be better to give Jake a few days to cool off before you try to talk to him. If I know teenage boys and their tempers, trying to talk to him before he's ready will just make him madder, and the argument will drag on for months." I didn't like the thought of a long drawn out fight, so I nodded in acceptance. I was a little worried though. I needed to encourage Charlie to spend more time at the Rez, and if Jake and I weren't talking, that might make my task harder.

"You won't let our fight interfere with you spending time with Billy though, will you?" I asked. Then I had a sudden brilliant thought. "I think Jake was saying that Rachel's come for a visit. It'd be nice to spend some time getting to know her again, and if you're there too, hanging out with Billy, it'd make it easier for me to do that without it seeming to Jake that I'm replacing him with his sister." To my relief, Charlie nodded in agreement.

"That makes sense." He said "though I should warn you that Rachel is good friends with Leah, who used to date Sam. If you're going to spend time with them, it'd probably be best to tell them straight off that you're seeing him, so that they don't find out from Rez gossip and think you were hiding something." I nodded my agreement once more.

"Great." I thought. "So much for no drama. Not even two hours later and already I've got a livid best friend, and a potential jealous ex-girlfriend to deal with." I briefly wondered if the whole thing with Sam was worth it. Maybe I should just stick with the original plan, call things off with Sam, and head out into the woods to find the wolves. Despite the danger, it might prove less trouble for everyone. It would certainly ease the guilt I was already feeling at putting myself first for once instead of doing my usual, selfless thing and acting in everyone else's interest over my own. Then I remembered how much I'd enjoyed my date and that kiss. It was definitely worth it, even if it only lasted for a little while. If I couldn't learn anything about the wolves in my time on the Rez or if things with the Victoria situation escalated, then I'd go back to my original plan. But until either or both of those things happened, I'd make the most of the good I'd been handed for once.

"I'm going to get some sleep. Night Dad." I said to Charlie, heading towards the stairs.

"Night kiddo." He replied and he wandered off into the living room where the TV was still playing away to itself.

Another dreamless night's sleep did a lot to convince me I was taking the right path; surely if I was making the wrong choice, Taha Aki would begin plaguing me with a new set of dreams to set me straight. My day at school was relatively uneventful, apart from the fact that I had once again become a minor celebrity amongst my peers, and that Mike Newton was now avoiding me as if even looking at me was going to cost him a limb, and for once the day went past fairly quickly. Normally I would've spent that afternoon hanging out with Jake and Quil, but bearing in mind the fight the night before, I thought it best not to see Jake until he'd had a chance to cool off a little. As I walked out to my truck once school was out, I sent Quil a text, telling him that Jake and I had had a fight, so I wouldn't be joining them at the diner to avoid more issues, and was surprised when he text back immediately. Telling me that Jake was sick and hadn't been at school that day. Not wanting to bother with several texts back and forth to get the details, I called Quil's cell.

"Hey girl. What's going on with you and Jake then?" he asked straight away.

"He flipped out when I got back from a date last night, accused me of hiding the date from him, and when he got right up in my face, my dad made him leave." I gave him the bear bone of the fight, not wanting to re-hash the whole thing.

"A date, huh?" Quil said in a cheeky voice. I could almost see him waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "So who was the date with, Miss Swan? Tell Uncle Quil all about it." I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the little grin he brought on.
"Yeah, see that'll be the part that Jake was so mad about." I told Quil, not wanting to run the risk of being accused of hiding the truth from him as well. "I was out with Sam Uley." There was a stunned silence on the line for a moment, then a long sigh.
"Can't say that I'm surprised, Bella. But seriously, I don't think you could've picked anyone more likely to set Jake off. He's been having real problems controlling his temper for a while now, and dating Sam, especially since the Embry thing, was never going to go down well with him. To be honest, I'm really not too impressed with the whole thing myself. You know we hate that guy. But I guess I'm glad you told me yourself, rather than just letting me hear it from the Rez gossips." I was surprised by Quil's calmness. Normally he'd blow up pretty fast when something happened that he didn't like, but he was keeping fairly calm this time.

"Well I would've told Jake myself too, if he'd not been spying on me and seen us kissing goodbye outside my house. I really didn't want to upset him, but you know, I am allowed to date who I want. I don't have to have Jake's permission." I was getting a little mad about it again.
"Hey! Chill would you, girl? I'm not the one who flipped out at you. In fact I think I'm being pretty damn awesome about the whole thing, seeing as I hate Sam almost as much as Jake does!"

"Sorry, Quil" I was immediately contrite. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"Ahh. Never mind. I'll let you off this time" Quil Joked. "So that's a bit weird, huh? Jake getting in a fight with you last night, and then not being well enough for school today. I called his place a few minutes ago, and Billy told me Jake's got some kind of flu type thing, and he's going to be off school for at least a week." His voice grew a little nervous. "Of course, that's what happened with Embry. Not at school for a week, then when he did come back, he wouldn't hang out with us anymore, and he'd barely talk to us even."

"I'm sure it's nothing like the Embry thing" I told Quil in a reassuring voice.

"Bella, if it is, and Jake stops talking to me too, would you do me a favour and still come hang with me sometimes?" he asked in a sad tone, he was obviously more worried about this than he'd let on. "It'd be pretty lonely without either of them talking to me, and I'd be in serious need of company.

"Of course, Quil." I told him without hesitation. "I'm still sure it'll be nothing like last time, Jake's probably just got flu, like Billy said. But if he does stop talking to you, then I promise, I won't stop hanging out with you. As long as there's no gratuitous Sam bashing whenever we hang out." I added as an afterthought. "Sam will be a totally taboo subject, ok?" he laughed a little as he agreed with me and I was glad I'd managed to lighten his mood a bit.
"Sure sure, Bella" he said, sounding so much like Jake for a second, that I could've easily believed that Jake had gotten hold of the cell somehow. "I'm gonna go now, ok? I've got homework to avoid and chore to ignore!" I laughed out loud at the typical Quil statement and said goodbye, then hung up and climbed into my truck. I decided I'd head down to my hollow for a little…. Meditation was what Sam had called it, and I guessed that was as good a term as any. I shot off a quick text to Charlie, telling him I was off down the Rez and asking him to check in on Jake when he got to Billy's after his shift at the station finished, then set off for First Beach again.

Sitting in my hollow a couple of hours later, warm and dry despite the usual rain outside of my shelter, I was, as usual, drifting inside my own head, letting thoughts come and go as they pleased. On this particular occasion, the only thoughts that put themselves forward were all relating to Sam, dating in general, that kiss, and just how far I was going to let things go physically with Sam. I was still such an innocent – the night before was the furthest I'd ever gone with anyone – but I couldn't deny, even to myself, that I really enjoyed what we were doing. Well, right up until that man had disturbed us and embarrassed me to melting point. I definitely wanted to more of the same, and I was pretty sure I wanted to do a hell of a lot more. "If everything goes completely wrong with the whole Victoria thing, do I really want to die a virgin?" Maybe the thought was overly melodramatic, and very high school of me, but a little part of me genuinely did feel that way. I'd been completely devoted to Him and probably would've waited for years and year to finally get to make love with him, but despite how hard I'd tried to hold on, eventually I'd had to let Him go, and I'd accepted that I'd changed too much now to fit with Him again. Hell, once I'd accepted it, I'd gone out of my way to make changes, and now I had the chance to make a very big one. I wouldn't be doing it just for the sake of change. Actually, the fact that I was even thinking about it demonstrated one of the greatest changes I'd made in the last few months. I really, really liked Sam, and if I was going to lose my virginity, I couldn't think of someone I'd rather give it to. "If it happens, it happens." I told myself. "We said we'd just see how things went, so that's what I'll do." I let the matter drop and allowed the thought to drift off, enjoying the calm peace that I floated in.

Once I'd brought myself back to my senses, I pushed my way thought the overhanging roots and headed back up the beach to the Black's place. There had been no-one around at all when I'd parked there earlier – I assumed Jake was probably asleep in bed, but I'd sort of expected to see Billy or Rachel. As I walked to my truck, Charlie pulled up and parked alongside it, jumping out and waving at me. He jogged over to me.

"Billy says to tell you that Jake's not well." He said. Something about his phrasing sounded a little odd, but I couldn't put my finger on just what it was so I let it go. "Rachel and Billy are over at the Clearwater's and they say we're invited to go over there too." I was a little nervous to see Leah Clearwater already, and have to talk to her about dating Sam, but Charlie had been right the night before; it would be better if I told her myself, rather than letting her hear about it through the local gossip. Especially if I wanted to be friends with Rachel. The two of them had always been close, and if Leah hated me, then Rachel would feel honour bound to keep away from me too out of loyalty to her friend.

"Ok then, Dad." I said a little warily, "But if things get tense with Leah, then I'm going to need some help getting out of there before I say something that might make the whole Clearwater family mad." Charlie laughed a little wryly.
"Yeah, your new way of dealing with confrontation certainly makes an impression on people, Kiddo." He joked as we wandered over to his cruiser and climbed in. I gave a wry snort and we pulled away from the Black's place to make our way over to the Clearwater's.