I'm always so thrilled when I see people who read this the first time around finding the story again! Welcome back, y'all! And, as always, thank you to everyone who is taking the time out of their day to read this story! Hope you continue to enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Twilight, only the OC's.
Chapter Eight
That night, Danielle lay in bed listening to the gentle sound of rain tapping against her window, her eyes staring up at the green tinted glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling. It was past midnight, but she couldn't sleep. Wasn't even really tired, to be honest. Her mind was just too busy and too full of thoughts for her to be able to sleep.
She had not been able to stop thinking about Jasper, or what had happened between them that afternoon.
The whole thing had caught her completely by surprise. Sure, things had certainly felt different with Jasper the past few days, but she had not expected things to get so intense between them, and especially not so quickly. That moment with Jasper had been unlike anything Danielle had ever experienced before. Nobody had ever made her feel the things Jasper had made her feel when he'd been holding her, touching her, and just moments away from kissing her. She had been attracted to other guys before, and she had been kissed before, but never, not even once, had she felt anything even close to what she had felt in that moment. She had never felt so completely and totally intoxicated by someone, and that strong, burning, almost desperate need to kiss Jasper was something she had never felt for anyone else.
It had blown her away…and if that was how she had felt without actually getting a kiss, she couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen when Jasper actually did kiss her.
That was, of course, assuming Jasper ever would kiss her. He'd had certainly had ample opportunity to do so when they'd been on her porch, but he hadn't done it. He had pulled away from her. Actually, he had practically ran away from her. He had seemed really shaken up by the whole thing, had looked borderline terrified by what had happened.
The fact that he had pulled away, that he had seemed so afraid, was exactly why she was still awake and why she had been fretting all night long. Danielle was confused, both by his behavior and the things that he had said. Why had he been so scared? He had said that he needed more time, but what did he need time for? And what about kissing her could possibly be so dangerous?
The longer she thought about everything, the less it made sense and the more she began to get this nagging feeling in her gut that something wasn't right. He liked her, she knew that he did. But she also knew there were things about Jasper that he hadn't told her yet, things that she was beginning to suspect might be even more serious than she had originally thought.
But what could it possibly be? Try as she might, she simply could not think of one thing that would explain why Jasper had acted the way that he had that afternoon, nor explain just the way he was in general. What had happened in his past to make him want to keep his distance from people for so long? What could make him so hesitant to get physically closer to her? What was he keeping from her?
As if all of these questions weren't enough to turn her brain in scrambled eggs, she also could no longer make up excuses for the effect he had on her emotionally whenever they were together. If she was away from him, her emotions were perfectly normal and behaved just as they should. But the moment she was around him, they seemed to have a mind of their own. It was as if her emotions were on one big switchboard, and the person in control of that switchboard was Jasper, not her. But even just the thought of something like that being possible sounded absolutely insane. Jasper wasn't some long lost X-Man with special, mutant powers – he was just a guy. He could not control her emotions. That was not a possibility.
But if it wasn't Jasper making her behave this way, what was? Why, when she had always been a rational and level-headed person, did she suddenly feel like she was an emotional yo-yo?
Danielle sighed with frustration and rolled onto her side, shifting around for a moment as she tried to get comfortable.
She had been thinking about this all evening, yet she wasn't any closer to figuring out the answers to her questions. She was tired of over-analyzing, tired of this endless merry-go-round of confusion. She was beginning to feel that there was only one way to get to the bottom of all this. She had told him she wouldn't pressure him into revealing anything he didn't want to, but Danielle wasn't sure she could go on like this. The confusion and the endless questions would drive her insane. If she and Jasper kept going down this road, if they were going to be together, then she needed to know the truth about him.
But could she really push him for answers when he so obviously didn't want to be pushed? Could she risk causing irreparable damage to their relationship by trying to rush into something that he wasn't ready for?
Danielle sighed again. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. All she knew was that she didn't want to think anymore.
Closing her eyes, she willed herself to try to go to sleep, doing her very best to push Jasper out of her mind. She just wanted to sleep. She just wanted this day to be over with.
It felt like it took ages, but eventually Danielle was able to fall asleep. It wasn't a good sleep, however. She still tossed and turned, and she had weird dreams all night long. When she woke up to the obnoxious and unpleasant alarm stationed on her night stand, she felt as if she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Eventually she dragged herself out of bed and got ready for school, putting her hair up and skipping any make-up, feeling too damn tired to care what she looked like.
"You don't look so great," Bella said when Danielle finally made her way outside. Her friend seemed a bit concerned as she watched her trudge up to the truck and toss her backpack into the bed. When Danielle turned to her, Bella raised her brows. "You okay?"
Danielle sighed, then forced on a smile. She didn't particularly want to talk about Jasper right now, nor what had happened between them the day before. "Yeah," she lied. "I just didn't get very much sleep last night. I think I might be coming down with something, too," she added when Bella still looked a little unsure, faking a little cough. "All this rain and cold is finally taking a toll on me, I guess."
Her attempt to throw Bella off the scent seemed to work, because her friend frowned immediately. "You better not be getting sick," she said. "If you skip out on the beach trip tomorrow and leave me to deal with Mike all by myself, I'll kill you."
Danielle held up her hands in surrender. "Don't worry. I've already given my immune system a stern talking to," she promised with a nod. "As long as I take it easy today, I should be alright to go to the beach tomorrow."
Bella let out a sigh of relief. "Good."
They drove to school in silence for a bit, but eventually Danielle looked over at Bella with questioning eyes. Bella was mindlessly tapping her thumbs on the steering wheel as she drove, her head bobbing slightly to the beat of the music that was playing through the speakers, eyes focused on the road. Despite everything, Danielle had not forgotten the fact that some significant changes had taken place between Bella and Edward. And even though her brain felt like mush due to her confusion over Jasper and serious lack of sleep, she still wanted to know how things had gone.
"So," Danielle said to break the silence. "Are you gonna tell me about Edward, or do I have to beat it out of you?"
Bella looked a bit taken aback, then blushed light pink. "What do you mean?"
Danielle rolled her eyes. "I saw you two sitting together at lunch yesterday – the whole school did," she said pointedly. "And I know he drove you home, too."
"How did you know he drove me home?" Bella asked curiously.
The question made her think about her conversation with Jasper at her locker before they had left. She then immediately thought about the car ride that had followed, before her thoughts inevitably turned back to that moment on her porch. Her stomach clenched at the memory, but she forced herself to push those thoughts away.
"Jasper told me," she answered with a shrug.
"Oh," Bella said with a slow nod. "To answer your question, nothing happened with Edward," she told her. "We just…talked. I might have invited him to go to the beach with us, but as I'm sure you already know, he's going hiking with Jasper and Emmett," she said. Danielle nodded to confirm that she was indeed aware of those plans. "Other than that, we were just trying to get to know each other a little better, ya know?" Bella said with a shrug.
Danielle made a sound of understanding. "Talking is good," she said encouragingly, which made Bella nod. "So what exactly led to him taking you home?"
Bella seemed to grimace at a memory. "I got sick during Biology and nearly fainted. Mike was taking me to the nurse's office when Edward intervened. He stayed with me while I was there to make sure I was fine…or maybe to annoy me, I haven't really decided yet," she added dryly, which made Danielle smirk with amusement. "When I mentioned that I wasn't looking forward to gym, he talked to the nurse and got me out of having to go. I would have driven myself home, but he insisted on driving me himself."
Danielle thought she detected a hint of frustration in her tone. "Isn't him driving you home a good thing?" she asked.
Bella thought about it for a second, then heaved. "I mean, I guess him making the effort to get to know me is good," she conceded. "It's just…" She trailed off and heaved again, looking frustrated now.
"It's just what?" Danielle prompted.
Bella glanced at her. "Edward says really weird things to me sometimes. Things that don't really make sense," she admitted, which instantly caught Danielle's interest. "He keeps saying how we shouldn't be friends, but that he can't stay away from me anymore. Then he'll say something all cryptic, like how maybe he's not the good guy and how I should probably be afraid of him." Bella shook her head in bemusement. "It's almost like he's trying really hard to convince me that he's dangerous, though I don't know why."
Hearing Bella say the word 'dangerous' made Danielle look at her sharply, her thoughts instantly turning back to that last encounter with Jasper.
I can't, he'd said. It's too dangerous.
That nagging feeling in her stomach was back again, telling her that something was going on, something that she hadn't been able to figure out yet. It was one thing for Jasper to say that he was dangerous for her, but to know that Edward was saying the same thing to Bella? Was it just a coincidence, or was there something more to this?
Danielle frowned deeply, her brows furrowing with concentration. Even if there was something more to this, she still had no idea what that something was. Why did Jasper believe that getting too close to her was dangerous? And if Edward also believed that he was dangerous for Bella, then did that mean that this secret Jasper was keeping from her wasn't just about him – was it a secret that extended to the entire Cullen family as well? What did it all mean?
"Dani?" Bella asked.
Danielle blinked as she was pulled from her thoughts, then looked over at Bella. Her friend was eyeing her unsurely. "Yeah?"
"You okay? I feel like I lost you for a second there," Bella said.
"Yeah, I'm alright. I was just…thinking about everything you told me," she excused.
"Care to share your thoughts?" Bella asked hopefully. "Because when it comes to befriending Cullen's, you seem to have a lot more success than I do," she added. "Any tips would be appreciated."
"I don't really know how much help I'd be. I don't know anything about Edward," Danielle said with a shrug. Bella sighed with what seemed like disappointment. Upon seeing her friend's reaction, Danielle tried to come up with a believable reason that would explain the way Edward was behaving, before finally blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "If you ask me, it sounds like Edward's playing hard to get," she said, even though deep down, that nagging feeling told her that wasn't the case.
Bella pursed her lips as she thought that one over. "You think?" she asked, her tone full of doubt.
"Maybe," Danielle said with another shrug. "I dunno, Bella. He's a teenage guy. Teenage guys are…complicated."
"Even Jasper?" Bella asked pointedly.
Hearing his name sent a zing of awareness down her spine. "Even Jasper," she confirmed quietly as the previous afternoon flashed through her mind yet again.
Bella frowned, as if she had finally picked up on the fact that maybe something had happened between Danielle and Jasper. She looked like she might ask if something was wrong, but Danielle simply turned her eyes to the window, silently signaling that she didn't want to further proceed with the conversation. Bella sighed, but let the subject drop. They drove the rest of the way to Forks High in silence.
The rest of the day was easily one of the longest and most torturous days she'd had at school.
Between that moment with Jasper the day before and her conversation with Bella on the way to school, she was more confused than ever and feeling all out of sorts. But even if she didn't understand him or anything that had happened between them the last time they'd seen one another, that didn't stop her from missing Jasper. Danielle spent the majority of her first two classes completely ignoring her teachers, choosing instead to lean her chin on her hand and stare at his empty seat, wondering where he was and what he was doing. Was he thinking about her, too? And was he thinking about what had happened between them as much as she was?
Her history class was boring without Emmett around to entertain her, and Spanish wasn't much better, despite the fact that Bella was there. Bella seemed just as distracted as Danielle was, and, like Danielle, didn't seem very pleased with the fact that the Cullen she liked wasn't at school, either.
The only interesting thing that happened all day was at the beginning of lunch. After she and Bella walked into the cafeteria and bought their lunches, they habitually started making their way over to the table that the lunch group was sitting at. As they were en route, Danielle looked toward the Cullen table, where only Alice and Rosalie were sitting, and was immediately greeted with a smile and a wave from Alice. After Danielle waved back, Alice started to get up, as if she had every intention of coming to speak to Danielle. Only, she was kept from actually doing so when Rosalie grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back into her seat. The two exchanged some words, until Alice finally gave up and stayed where she was, crossing her arms over her chest unhappily.
Danielle watched the entire exchange with uncertainty, before eventually following Bella to the table that their friends sat at. She supposed it wasn't too surprising that Alice had wanted to come and talk to her – she had, after all, said that she had hoped they would get to talk again soon. She also supposed it wasn't surprising that Rosalie had stopped her, seeing as Rosalie seemed to have a grudge against her that she was in no hurry to let go of anytime soon. Danielle was actually a little disappointed that she didn't get a chance to talk to Alice, but she didn't have the guts to go over to talk to her while Rosalie was there, so she just shrugged the situation off and decided to go about her own business.
When the final bell rang, Danielle had never felt so relieved to see a school day come to an end. As if driven by the same sense of urgency to get away from Forks High as quickly as possible, she and Bella rushed back to the locker rooms and, in what seemed like record timing, they collected their backpacks and school books from their lockers before and went out to the parking lot. They stop to chat with Mike and Eric when the boys stopped them to make sure they remembered the meeting time for their upcoming beach trip, then hurried on to Bella's truck before anyone else could stop them.
When Saturday morning arrived, Danielle woke up actually feeling pretty excited for the day. She was looking forward to getting out of the house and getting some fresh air, her excitement only growing when she glanced outside and was actually able to see the sun attempting to peek through the clouds overhead. She dressed quickly and packed her things for the day, then headed across the street to meet with Bella. Bella didn't look nearly as excited about their upcoming trip to the beach, but that didn't dampen Danielle's spirits in the slightest.
She and Bella pulled into the parking lot of Mr. Webber's store just before ten o'clock. They were the last to arrive, and there were more people invited to their beach outing than Danielle had expected. Mike, Angela, Eric, Tyler, and Jessica were all standing around a big suburban, but they were joined by five other people. None of them were people she had met or talked to, but she recognized them from school and knew they were all a grade below her. She could only assume they were friends of Mike and the gang.
The group turned at the sound of Bella's loud truck, and the ones she actually knew began waving in greeting. Danielle and Bella waved back as Bella parked in the space next to Jessica's car. They stepped out of the truck, and as soon as their feet reached the pavement, Mike broke away from the group and came hurrying over. He had a big grin of excitement on his face, which was most definitely not being directed at Danielle. Danielle smirked and discreetly nudged Bella with her elbow. Bella just gave her a look in return.
"Hey guys!" he said excitedly as he reached them. "I'm glad you came!" he added, his eyes lingering on Bella.
"We said we were coming, so here we are," Bella said with what sounded like forced enthusiasm.
"Well, you know, sometimes things come up and plans change..." Mike said with a shrug.
It was obvious he'd been worried Bella wouldn't show up and was very relieved that she had. Danielle glanced over Mike's shoulder and was not surprised to see that Jessica was watching their interaction, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes slightly narrowed as they bounced back and forth between Mike and Bella. Danielle looked back to Mike when he started talking again, his grin widening even more.
"Anyway," he said, clapping his hands together. "Now that you two are here, we're all ready to go. Tyler, Ben, Conner, Lauren, Lee, and Samantha are going in Tyler's van," he said, motioning toward the people Danielle didn't know. "The rest of us are going in my dad's suburban." Mike paused and turned to Bella. "Will you ride with us?" he asked hopefully. "You can sit shotgun if you want," he added, as if the prospect of sitting up front would be appealing enough to convince her.
Bella looked at Danielle, who was trying hard to contain a smirk of amusement. "Yeah, sure," Bella agreed. "But only if Dani gets to ride with us, too," she added, jerking her head toward Danielle.
Mike looked at Danielle, as if finally remembering that she was still there. "Yeah, of course!" Mike said at once. "There's plenty of room!"
"Great," Bella said, smiling and looking a bit more relaxed now.
While Mike headed off to tell everyone to start packing up to leave, Danielle and Bella went to the bed of her truck to grab the bags they had packed for the beach. Bella sighed heavily, which made Danielle quirk a brow at her. "He never gives up, does he?" Danielle said to her friend quietly.
"I thought I was making it obvious that I'm not interested," Bella shot back.
"Not obvious enough, apparently," Danielle countered. "If you want him to back off, I think you're gonna have to spell it out for him."
"I know," Bella heaved. "I just…I don't wanna hurt his feelings."
Danielle slung her beach bag onto her shoulder and turned to Bella. "He's a big boy. He'll get over it."
Bella gnawed on her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she finally agreed.
"Come on, guys!" Mike called to them from the suburban. "Let's go!"
They stopped talking about Mike and went to join everyone else at the suburban, where Danielle was quickly introduced to the rest of the people joining them on their outing. Most of them seemed friendly, except for the one named Lauren, who gave her a smile that was obviously fake and looked her up and down judgmentally whenever it was her turn to be introduced. Lauren gave off bad, unfriendly vibes that were impossible to ignore, which had Danielle quickly deciding that it would probably be best to keep her distance from her.
Soon enough, they had all piled into their respective vehicles and were on their way. It was turning out to be a nice day. Still cold, of course, but the sun had finally broken through the cloud cover, which was a welcome change from the gloomy, overcast sky she had grown accustomed to seeing every day. They rolled down the windows of the suburban as they made their way to La Push, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the crisp wind that whipped around them as they chatted with one another and listened to music.
For Danielle, it was a welcome distraction to be with her friends and to be doing something out of the normal routine. Between the music, the conversation, and the beautiful, green scenery they were driving past, she finally managed to push Jasper to the back of her mind and was actually able to enjoy herself. Her confusion about Jasper was gone and she was in higher spirits than she had been in days. It was going to be a good day, she was sure of it.
When they arrived at First Beach, Danielle got out of the suburban and walked up to the edge of the parking lot, which overlooked the beach down below. She stood there for a long few moments, just admiring the view. The water was dark grey and there seemed to be more rocks than actual sand on the beach, but that didn't make it any less beautiful. Between the tree-covered islands that jutted up from the water out in the distance, the green forest flanking the beach on either side, and the multicolored pieces of driftwood that were strewn around the tide line, the view was incredible.
The group worked together to unpack everything they had brought with them. The guys handled their surfboards, wet suits, a small bar-b-que pit and cooking supplies, while Danielle and the rest of the girls grabbed all the bags of towels and personal belongings. Lauren put up a big fuss when the guys asked if they could handle bringing down the two coolers that had been brought for the trip, claiming that it was too heavy and that the guys should do it themselves. Danielle just rolled her eyes when Lauren wasn't looking, then she and Angela went to grab one of the coolers - which was not that heavy - and set off for the beach. Jessica and Samantha carried the other.
Once they were down on the beach, Danielle wandered away from the group while they set up a hang out spot and got a small fire started. She walked along the rocks, which had seemed grey from a distance but were actually all sorts of colors up close, until she finally hit the soft sand. It was quite a bit colder down by the water and the wind carried the strong smell of salt water as it blew in from the shore, but she could also smell the earthy, piney scent of the surrounding forest.
It immediately made her think of Jasper, which had her sighing to herself.
She still missed him, there was no use in denying it. And even if they had left each other on strange terms, it didn't change the fact that she wished he was with her now. How nice would it have been to walk together along the beach? To sit around the fire and huddle close together for warmth? To walk through the emerald forest, perhaps hold hands…or maybe even sneak a kiss when nobody was around to see them?
Danielle rolled her eyes at herself and shook her head. It seemed silly to think those thoughts when it seemed unlikely anything like that would be happening any time soon. She might be ready to take their relationship to the next level, but clearly Jasper wasn't. She doubted that would've changed over just a few days, either.
She was drawn from her thoughts by the sound of laughter behind her. She turned to see that Mike, Eric, Tyler, and Jessica, as well as the boy named Ben, had all changed into wetsuits and were carrying their surf boards to the water. Danielle was a little surprised by the fact that Jessica was going surfing, since she didn't really seem like the surfing type, but when she saw the way the girl giggled at Mike and shoved him playfully, she had a feeling that Jessica's willingness to surf had a lot to do with Mike.
"Hey, Dani!" Tyler said when he saw her standing there. "There's an extra board up there if you're feeling brave!"
Danielle smiled, then shook her head. "No thanks," she said. "Water's way too cold for me. You guys have fun, though."
"Oh, we will," Mike said reassuringly. "Last one to the water's a rotten egg!"
With that, Mike took off running toward the grey waves, followed quickly by the rest of the group. They laughed as they raced to the water, then cried out with a combination of shock and giddiness when they hit the undoubtedly freezing water. Danielle smiled, watching as they all jumped on their boards and began paddling out, before turning to head back to the rest of the group.
It wasn't long before Angela and the boys named Lee and Conner decided that they wanted to go take a hike through the forest so they could go see something called the 'tide pools'. Danielle didn't know what that was exactly, but she agreed to join them, and because she had decided to go, Bella opted to come along as well. She was relieved when Lauren decided to stay back with Samantha.
Danielle, Bella, Angela, Conner and Lee left the bonfire behind and made their way into the forest. The little amount of sunlight that they had been exposed to on the beach immediately disappeared once they were underneath the thick canopy of the green forest, but Danielle didn't mind. It was her first real venture into the forest since coming to Forks, and she found herself oddly entranced by her surroundings. She only half listened to the conversation the others were having, instead focusing more on their gorgeous surroundings. She ran her fingertips along damp, moss covered tree trunks and wet, berry decorated bushes as she walked past them, uncaring of the mud beginning to cake up on her boots. She stopped when a low hanging branch came into view and reached up to touch the soft leaves, smiling to herself.
"Is there a reason you're petting trees?" Bella asked behind her.
Danielle looked back, noticing the fact that Bella was walking very carefully and very slowly as she made her way closer to where she stood. "I like the forest," Danielle said with a shrug. "Everything is just so…pretty."
"Yeah, and dangerous," Bella said, before letting out a small sound of surprise when she almost tripped over a tree root that was jutting up from the ground. "I feel like I'm going to face plant any second now," she said, eyeing the ground warily.
"Knowing your track record, I'm genuinely shocked you haven't face planted already," Danielle teased.
"You should really consider a career as a stand-up comedian," Bella shot back dryly.
Danielle laughed, then offered her friend an arm once she was close enough. "Hang on to me, buddy," she said. "I'll make sure you don't break anything."
Bella smiled gratefully and linked her arm with Danielle's. "Thanks."
They finally broke through the trees and reached the shore again, where the tide pools were located. Danielle discovered that the tide pools were pockets of little ponds that were close to the shore - they would be hidden underwater during high tide, but never fully drained when it was low tide. Danielle left Bella behind as her friend found a large rock to safely perch on, her jaw dropped with awe as she stepped across the rocks, eyes fixed on the natural aquariums below. There were starfish, hermit crabs, eels, and all sorts of marine life in the ponds, just waiting for the tide to rise again so that they could return to the ocean not so far away. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
Danielle followed Angela, Conner, and Lee as they jumped from rock to rock, being careful not to slip on the slick surfaces. They stayed there for a long time, jumping around on the rocks and pointing out interesting looking fish or anemones to each other. The boys horsed around quite a bit and threatened to push one another into the water, which made Danielle and Angela roll their eyes and keep their distance, just to they wouldn't become unsuspecting targets.
When their hunger eventually got the better of them they decided to head back to the beach. Bella once again linked her arm with Danielle's, and together they trailed behind the other three as they started back toward the bonfire. Bella slipped a few times, but with Danielle's help, she managed to stay on her feet. Bella smiled gratefully each time, though she seemed a bit embarrassed by her own clumsiness.
Once they were back on the beach, they found that the group who had gone surfing had decided to take a break. They were sitting around the bonfire with towels around their shoulders to shield them from the wind as they dried off. But what surprised Danielle was the fact that the group had grown in size since they had left – there were now three new people sitting with their friends, all of them guys, all of them copper-skinned and sporting long, silky dark hair. If she had to guess, they were probably from the reservation.
"Hey, Bella!" one of the younger looking boys said with enthusiasm as they approached. He broke away from his two friends and came running toward them.
"Hey, Jacob," Bella greeted with a friendly smile. "What're you doing here?"
The boy named Jacob scoffed with amusement. "You're on my rez, remember?" he pointed out.
Bella laughed. "Of course." She looked over at Danielle, who was looking back and forth between the two as she tried to figure out how they knew one another. "Dani, this is Jacob Black. He's an old family friend," she introduced. "He's the one my dad bought my truck off of."
Danielle nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see." She smiled at Jacob and stepped forward to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jacob," she said politely. "I'm Danielle, but everyone calls me Dani."
Jacob shook her hand, giving her a big, friendly grin in return. He was obviously younger than both of them, but cute in a boyish kind of way. "It's nice to meet you, Dani."
"Dani's new to town," Bella said. "She moved here from Texas back in January."
"Wow," Jacob said, raising his brows a bit. "Big change, huh?"
"Definitely," Danielle said with a nod. "I like it here, though," she added with a smile.
"Cold weather? Constant rain? Almost zero sunshine? What's not to like?" Jacob asked jokingly.
Danielle and Bella laughed.
The three of them stood there talking for a few minutes, until Danielle glanced over and noticed that Conner and Tyler were struggling to get the little bar-b-que pit started. Danielle, who was beginning to get quite hungry herself and didn't want to wait for them to get it together, excused herself from the conversation with Jacob and Bella and went over to the pit, raising her brows questioningly.
"Need some help?" she asked.
Conner and Tyler glanced at her, looked at each other, then turned skeptical looks back to her. "You know how to work a bar-b-que pit?"
Danielle scoffed and quirked a brow. "I'm from Texas. We're practically born knowing how to work a bar-b-que pit," she said pointedly. She then motioned for them to pass the matches and the bag of charcoal over. "Give it to me. I'll have this thing going in no time."
Conner and Tyler finally did so, then stood back and crossed their arms as they watched her get to work. Within minutes, the coal at the bottom of the bar-b-que pit had a decent fire going. Danielle put the lid back on the pit, set the bag of charcoal to the side, then turned a bright smile on the two boys, who looked both impressed and surprised.
"Give it a little bit of time to burn. When the coals are white, it's ready to go," she instructed.
"Er, thanks," Conner said, before smiling at her and giving her a look that she was not unfamiliar with. There was a spark of interest in his eyes now, a look that was more than just friendly. "You're good at that. I'm impressed," he complimented.
Danielle just shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "What can I say? It's a gift," she joked.
She went to sit next to Angela after that and began munching on some chips as they waited for the guys to cook up hot dogs and hamburgers. Jacob and his friends from the reservation had been invited to stay for lunch and had joined the group around the bonfire. Bella and Jacob claimed a log of drift wood across the way, while his friends were sitting on the piece next to the one Danielle and Angela sat on. Danielle nodded at the oldest looking boy of the three Quileute's when their eyes met, but they didn't talk much.
Eventually the hot dogs and hamburgers were ready and everyone got up to make a plate of food. Once everyone had a plate of lunch, they sat down around the bonfire again. Danielle sat next to Angela again, then was rather surprised when Conner decided to claim the open space on her left. He flashed her a big grin, then dug into his lunch. Danielle just looked at him for a moment, then scooted a fraction closer to Angela and began eating.
They talked all through lunch, asking Jacob and his friends questions about life on the reservation, then answering whatever questions they had in turn. The boys seemed friendly, and they were easy enough to talk to. After lunch, everyone started to break away to do their own thing again. Mike and Jessica went back into the water to get another surf session in, while those who had not gone on the hiking trip earlier quickly grouped together and headed into the forest so that they could see the tide pools for themselves. Eventually, the only people left around the bonfire were Danielle, Angela, Bella, Jacob, his two friends from the reservation, Lauren, and Conner.
"So, Danielle," Conner started. "Or should I call you Dani?" he quickly followed up.
"Dani's fine," she said with a polite smile.
"Alright," Conner said, smiling. "So, Dani, how are you liking Forks so far?"
It was a question she'd gotten a hundred times before, and she couldn't help feeling a small surge of annoyance at being asked again. But she told herself to be patient – she had only just met Conner and he was just being polite. "It's nice," she said with a nod. "A big change, but a good change."
"That's good," Conner said with a nod. "It must be hard, you know, coming to a new school so late into your senior year."
"Yeah, it was," Danielle admitted. "But I've made some really good friends here, so that makes it easier," she said with a smile, her thoughts immediately turning to Jasper.
"Oh, she's made some friends alright," a voice muttered from across the bonfire.
Danielle frowned and glanced at the person who had spoken - Lauren. The girl had a haughty expression on her face, which immediately rubbed Danielle the wrong way. Lauren looked away when she noticed that Danielle was watching her, though, and didn't say another word.
"Are you going to the Spring Fling next week?" Conner asked, either oblivious to Lauren's comment or just choosing to ignore it.
Danielle stared at Lauren for a moment longer, then looked back at Conner. "I am, yes," she confirmed.
Conner gave her a charming smile. "Do you have a date or are you just going with friends?"
"I have a date," she confirmed, which made Conner's smile falter.
"Oh," he said, sounding the tiniest bit disappointed. "Who are you going with?"
Danielle started to answer, but someone else beat her to the punch. "Isn't it obvious?" It was Lauren again, and as everyone looked at her, she scoffed in a very unladylike way. "She's probably going with Jasper Hale. She's always hanging out with him. Obviously there's something going on there," she said, as if this should have been common knowledge by now.
"Jasper Hale?" the oldest boy from the reservation interjected, his brows furrowing together. "Isn't he Dr. Carlisle Cullen's son?"
The fact that he seemed to know who the Cullen's were momentarily surprised everyone. "Yeah," Lauren confirmed. "You know them or something?"
"I know who they are," he said gruffly. His previous friendliness had disappeared, his expression now full of dislike. "The Cullen's don't come here," he then stated firmly.
It was an odd thing to say, and it made everyone peer at him with curiosity for a moment. Danielle and Bella shared a long, significant look, one that had Danielle believing that they were thinking the same thing – the way he had said that suggested that the Cullen's didn't come to La Push because they weren't allowed to. But why?
Eventually Conner recovered and shook his head, then turned back to Danielle with a look of slight disappointment. "So, you're going to the dance with Jasper then?" he asked, redirecting the conversation back to what they'd been talking about before the Quileute boy had interrupted.
"Yes, I am," she confirmed, before quirking an eyebrow at Lauren. "Is that a problem?" she asked.
Lauren flicked her hair away from her face, then shrugged a shoulder. "I just think it's interesting how you've managed to get so close to the Cullen's since you came here," she said. "Until you and Bella came along, they never bothered to acknowledge the rest of us," she added, glancing around pointedly at anyone who wasn't Danielle or Bella. "Suddenly you two are here, and they can't seem to stay away."
"Lauren," Angela said warningly, giving her a look that plainly said to stop talking. Lauren just ignored her.
Danielle flushed, and when she chanced a look at Bella, she saw that her friend was blushing too. "So?" she asked, trying not to sound defensive.
"So…it makes me wonder. What makes you two so special?" Lauren asked, trying – and failing – to hide the jealousy in her tone. "Why do they hang out with you, but ignore the rest of us?"
Danielle felt her annoyance and her dislike for Lauren increasing by the second. She didn't know why this girl was being so nasty, especially so considering they had only just met, but Danielle was going to make sure Lauren knew that she didn't appreciate the judgement or the attitude. "Maybe they just think you're too annoying to be around," she said, which made Lauren's eyes go wide. "Or maybe they just stay away from rude people who think it's okay to stick their nose in business that doesn't concern them."
Lauren turned an interesting shade of purple, looking equal parts enraged and embarrassed. Finally, she stood up and stomped away, her hair whipping in the wind as she went. The rest of the group watched her go, before looking at Danielle. Danielle just sat straighter, feeling thoroughly unapologetic for the things she'd said. Lauren had deserved it, as far as she was concerned. That should teach her to mind her own business.
"I'll, uh…go talk to her," Conner said, before standing up and quickly walking away.
There was an awkward silence after that. For a long few minutes nobody seemed to know what to say or do, but eventually Jacob turned to Bella and asked if she wanted to go for a walk, as if he were looking for an escape from the uncomfortable atmosphere. Bella gave Danielle another long look, but agreed to go and left the bonfire with Jacob.
Danielle found herself now in the company of Angela and the two Quileute boys, both of whom were looking at her with curiosity. The two shared a look, before the older of the two boys stood up and came over to her, claiming the empty space that Conner had just been occupying. Danielle looked at him unsurely, noting his serious expression and the probing look in his eyes.
"You and the other girl…you know the Cullen's?" he asked bluntly.
Danielle frowned a bit, not entirely sure she knew why he wanted to know. She looked at Angela, who shrugged, then looked back at the boy. "We know a few of them, yes," she confirmed. "Why do you ask?" she asked in return, her tone slightly suspicious.
He paused for a moment to peer intently into her eyes, as if searching for some sort of answer. "You're close with the one named Jasper?" he asked next, ignoring her question. "You're…with him?" he pried.
Danielle tensed, her frown deepening even more. "I don't really see how that's any of your business," she said pointedly.
The boy frowned, as if her refusal to answer was giving him all the information he needed and he wasn't very pleased with it. "You should be careful around him. And all the Cullen's for that matter," he warned. "In fact, if you knew what was good for you, you'd do yourself a favor and stop hanging around them altogether."
"I'm sorry – what?" Danielle retorted, wondering what this guy's problem was and what made him think he had the right to tell her who she should, or should not, be spending her time with.
"The Cullen's are dangerous," he said firmly. "And you shouldn't be around them. Feel free to pass that message along to your friend, too."
There was that word again.
Dangerous.
Danielle stared at him in shock, stunned by what he had just said, then started to ask him just what exactly made him think the Cullen's were so dangerous. Before she could, however, he stood up and turned to the other boy, motioning that it was time to leave. He gave Danielle one last look, then, with his friend in tow, they left. Danielle watched him go, her mouth agape.
"Okay, that was really weird," Angela commented. "What was his problem?" she asked with a frown.
The question pulled Danielle from her momentary stupor. She shook her head, then looked at Angela with a clueless shrug. "Hell if I know," she admitted.
Angela sighed, then shook her head. "Well, at least he's gone now."
In an attempt to ward off the awkwardness that had just fallen over them, Angela asked if she wanted to go walk by the beach. Danielle agreed, and they soon set off toward the water to get in a post-lunch stroll. But even as Angela told her about an interesting book she'd just started reading, Danielle hardly paid attention. All she could hear were the words of the Quileute boy in her head, and they were nothing but fuel to the fire of confusion that had already been burning away since the last time she'd seen Jasper.
The Cullen's are dangerous. And you shouldn't be around them.
A little while later, after nearly everyone had returned from their various adventures, rain clouds finally began to form in the sky overhead and it began to sprinkle, which meant that their beach trip came to an abrupt and unceremonious end.
Danielle worked with the others to quickly move their things back up to the parking lot and load them into the vehicles, carefully ignoring Lauren and making sure to stay as far away from her as possible. They had nearly finished packing when Danielle realized that neither Bella, nor Mike or Jessica, was present. She walked to the edge of the parking lot and held a hand above her eyes to shield them from the rain drops falling down from the sky, searching the beach down below for any sign of her friends.
"Any sign of them?" Angela asked as she appeared by Danielle's side.
Danielle shook her head. "No, not yet," she said with a sigh. She was anxious to leave before the rain really started to come down, but she was even more anxious to talk to Bella about what the Quileute boy had said to her.
"Well, they'd better hurry up," Angela said. "I don't get rained on for anyone."
Danielle smiled, then left her post and headed back to the suburban to wait with the others. Thankfully, they only had to wait a few more minutes before Mike, Jessica, and Bella came hurrying into the parking lot. Jacob was not with them, but that didn't surprise her – she assumed he had gone his own way.
Danielle pushed away from the suburban to greet them, but froze when she caught sight of the look on Bella's face. She looked like she had something she very much wanted to tell her, and looked like she might very well burst if she wasn't able to say it soon.
"I need to talk to you," Bella muttered, grabbing Danielle by the sleeve and leading her away from the rest of the group.
"About what?" Danielle asked quietly.
"Something crazy," Bella said, giving her a wide-eyed look.
Danielle frowned, glanced around, then looked back to her friend. "There's something I need to tell you, too," she said. "Something weird," she added.
Before either had a chance to elaborate, Mike's voice rose above everyone else's. "Alright! Let's get outta here before the rain tries to drown us!"
Danielle and Bella shared a look, both of them desperate to talk to the other, but then finally sighed with resignation and began heading to the suburban. "Later," Bella said. "We'll talk once we're away from everyone else."
Danielle nodded in agreement.
The ride back to Forks seemed to take ages. It was torture, sitting next to Bella the whole way but not being able to talk to her about whatever it was that had happened while she'd been off with Jacob. It didn't help that Bella continuously fidgeted and kept shooting her glances the whole ride, as if the words she was trying to keep contained would burst out of her at any given moment. Bella was moving around so much that even Eric, who was sitting behind them, jokingly asked if she was doing the pee-pee dance. Bella finally stopped fidgeting after that, though she did not stop shooting meaningful looks at Danielle the rest of the way home.
Danielle could have sung with relief when Mr. Newton's Olympic Outfitters store finally came into view. Once the two vehicles containing the beach group had parked and everyone had gotten out, they stood around for a few minutes, relishing in their fun-filled day and already discussing possibilities of when they could go out to La Push again. Finally, when Danielle could stand it no longer, she told everyone that she and Bella needed to go and grabbed Bella by the sleeve, practically dragging her away from the rest of the group. After calling out a few goodbyes, they turned and began walking quickly to the truck.
The moment they were in the truck and safely away from any possible eavesdroppers, Danielle turned a desperate look on Bella.
"Okay, I've been dying," she said urgently. "What happened? What do you need to tell me?"
"It's about the Cullen's," Bella said quickly.
Danielle waved a hand, urging her to continue. "And?"
Bella hesitated for a moment and gnawed on her bottom lip, looking unsure of whatever it was that she was about to say. "Alright, what's about to come out of my mouth is going to sound crazy and stupid and absolutely ridiculous," she prefaced. "But…while I was walking with Jacob, we started talking about the Quileute's and all their legends and stuff. He told me about the tribe and how they were created. He mentioned how they were descendent from wolves, and how during the great flood his people made something similar to Noah's Ark, and – " she rambled.
"What do wolves and Noah's Ark have to do with the Cullen's?" Danielle interrupted impatiently, eager for Bella to get to the point.
"Nothing," Bella replied just as impatiently. "It's what he told me next that has to do with them." Bella sucked in a deep breath, then gave her a very serious look. "He told me that a long time ago, his great-grandfather encountered cold ones," she said.
Danielle frowned. "Cold ones?" she repeated.
"Yeah. You know…blood drinkers," Bella said with emphasis.
Danielle blinked at her, before her brows furrowed together. "You mean vampires?" she asked, her tone slightly incredulous.
Bella looked relieved that Danielle had figured out what she was hinting at, as if she hadn't wanted to say the word vampire out loud. "Exactly. Supposedly this coven of – " She paused and waved her hand, as if prompting Danielle to say the word again.
"Vampires?" Danielle offered, her tone full of disbelief.
Bella nodded, then continued on with the story. "They settled here in Forks when Jacob's great-grandfather was the chief of the tribe. Since the Quileute's are descendants of wolves, they can apparently turn into werewolves. And the one true enemy of the werewolf are the cold ones. So they were freaked out when they discovered that there was a coven of them near their people. When the Quileute's met the coven, however, they realized that they were different from other cold ones they had encountered. They didn't harm humans. They fed off of animals instead and tried to lead normal, human lives. Because of this, a treaty was set in place. The coven could stay in Forks as long as they stayed off of Quileute lands."
Danielle blinked at Bella a few times as she concluded her story. She was struggling to fully wrap her head around everything that she had just been told. "So what are you saying? The coven in Jacob's stories are the ancestors of the Cullen's or something?" Danielle asked in confusion.
"No," Bella said, her expression serious as she shook her head. "The Cullen's are that coven."
A deafening silence settled over them after that, broken up only by the rapid PING PING PING of raindrops bouncing off the metal of the truck. While Bella watched her anxiously, waiting to hear what her response to all of this would be, a battle began to wage within Danielle's head.
The rational side to her immediately said that this was all just a story and in no way true. This wasn't a movie. This wasn't a fantasy novel. This was real life. And in real life, vampires didn't exist. Sure, there were myths and legends all over the place, and she knew there were people out there who did believe that vampires existed – or, at least, had existed at one point or another. But Danielle was not one of those people.
But then she thought about what the Quileute boy had said. The Cullen's are dangerous. You shouldn't be around them. And then she began to think of Jasper, and the things he had said to her. How there were things about him she didn't know, how he'd been afraid to go to the dance with her because he felt that getting too close would make things 'difficult' for him. How he hadn't kissed her because he'd said it was too dangerous, and that he needed more time. And then, of course, there was Edward, telling Bella she should stay away from him, how they shouldn't be friends because he was dangerous for her.
Did they keep insisting that they were dangerous because they were vampires? Because they feared that if they got too close, they wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of human blood?
Even as the questions flew through her mind, every logical part of her immediately and vehemently rejected the notion. No matter how confusing things were when it came to Jasper and the Cullen's, this couldn't be the answer. They couldn't be vampires. It simply wasn't possible.
"Dani?" Bella finally asked timidly. "What are you thinking?"
Danielle finally snapped out of it and shook her head. "I'm thinking this is all freaking insane," she said honestly. "Vampires aren't real, Bella."
"I know how insane it sounds!" Bella said with a heave. "But…I mean…think about it. In some small, weird way…doesn't it kind of make sense?"
Danielle gave her a look. "How do you figure?" she asked with a heavy dose of skepticism.
"Jacob calls them the cold ones," she said pointedly. "I've felt Edward before. He was cold. Is Jasper the same way?"
Danielle thought about Jasper, and how cold he always was whenever she touched him. Emmett was cold to the touch as well, and, admittedly, Edward had been too the one time she'd shaken his hand. She'd always chalked it up to them being cold natured, though, or perhaps to the cold weather outside. "Well, yes, but – "
"And the day I met Edward, his eyes were black," Bella interrupted before Danielle could get another word out. "You said Jasper's were black, too, remember?"
"I thought they were at the time, but I think it was just a trick of the lighting," Danielle corrected in a rush.
"Or maybe it wasn't," Bella countered. She took a deep breath, then gave Danielle a serious look. "The day Tyler's van almost crushed me, the day Edward saved me – " she began to say.
"Oh, not this again," Danielle said with dismay, knowing exactly what Bella was about to say.
"Just listen!" Bella insisted. Danielle pressed her lips together and didn't say another word. When Bella was satisfied that Danielle wasn't going to interrupt, she continued. "I know you don't believe me, but I've said it a hundred times. I know what I saw," she said firmly. "Edward ran from one side of the parking lot to the other in the blink of an eye, jumped in front of me, and pushed the van away with his bare hands. Ever since then I've tried to figure out how he would have been able to do that, but other than radioactive spiders, I've got nothing. Now I hear this and…it's got me thinking," she said. "If he was a…vampire…would he have super human speed and strength? Would he be able to stop a van from crushing me to death?" She paused, then shrugged. "Maybe he could."
Danielle frowned. "Bella, listen to what you're saying," she said. "You're talking about vampires and werewolves, for Christ's sake! This isn't a movie. This is real life."
"Look, it's confusing to me, too, alright?" Bella admitted. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment. "I just…I don't know what's going on in my head anymore," she said, sounding almost weary now. "All I know is that I've felt like there's something about Edward that I just didn't get. And now I hear this and…" She trailed off and shook her head, before giving Danielle a questioning look. "Haven't you ever felt that way with Jasper?" she asked, almost pleadingly, as if she was hoping she wasn't the only insane person currently in the truck. "Like there's something he's hiding from you? Something big?"
Danielle gulped as she considered the question. The truth was that she had spent the last two days thinking there was something that Jasper was keeping from her, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. But a vampire? Was that really the answer?
She didn't think so, and she didn't think it was wise to entertain the idea in any way, shape, or form.
"They're not vampires, Bella," Danielle said firmly, choosing not to answer Bella's question. "Jacob might be one hell of a story teller, but that's all this is – a story. It's not true. It can't be."
Bella looked at her for a long moment, then sighed heavily. She didn't say anything for a few seconds, but eventually nodded in acceptance. "You're probably right," she admitted, albeit reluctantly so. She sighed again and rubbed her face. "I feel stupid for even bringing it up," she admitted, looking embarrassed now.
"You're not stupid," Danielle insisted at once.
Bella started to say something in response, but a sudden knock on her window made them both jump and let out sounds of surprise. For one wild, irrational moment, Danielle half expected a vampire or a werewolf to be outside the truck. To her relief, it was nothing of the sort. It was just Mike who had just knocked on the window, and as he stood in the rain and peered at them through the glass, he looked concerned. Danielle realized then that everyone else had left except for them, which Mike had obviously noticed. Bella glanced at Danielle, then rolled down her window.
"Everything okay?" he asked uncertainly. "Is something wrong with your truck?"
Bella forced on a smile. "No, no. Everything's fine. We were just…talking," she said reassuringly.
"Okay," Mike said, though he sounded a bit unsure. "I'll see you later, then."
He took a step back away from the truck after that, but didn't leave just yet. When it became clear that he was going to wait there until they left, Bella rolled up her window and finally put the keys in the ignition, starting the truck with a loud, resounding roar. They waved to Mike one last time, then pulled out of the parking lot and began driving back toward their houses. As if they had come to some silent, mutual agreement, they did not speak for the rest of the ride.
Once they were parking in front of Bella's house, Bella cut the engine and turned to Danielle. "Didn't you have something to tell me?" she asked curiously. When Danielle, who had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she'd forgotten about everything else, gave her a confused look, she raised her brows. "Back at the beach, you said you had something to tell me. Something weird."
Danielle instantly remembered the Quileute boy and the strange warnings he'd given her. But just as quickly, she decided not to tell Bella about that. It seemed like a bad idea, considering what they'd just discussed. It would only throw fuel on the fire, and this particular fire was one that needed to be stamped out, not reinforced.
"It's nothing," she said with a shake of her head. "Don't worry about it."
"You sure?" Bella asked skeptically.
Danielle nodded. "I'm sure."
"Okay."
They said their goodbyes after that, then exited the truck and quickly ran toward their respective houses so that they wouldn't get too drenched from the rain.
The moment Danielle was within the safety of her own home, she heaved heavily and leaned back against the front door, her eyes sliding closed. She then slid down until she was sitting on the floor, her head thumping back against the door.
That beach outing had not ended the way she thought it would. Of everything that could have happened, of everything they could have discussed, Jasper and his family being vampires was the last thing she had expected Bella to throw her way. And now that the idea was there – despite it being the most ludicrous idea she'd ever heard – she couldn't seem to get it out of her head. She had told Bella it wasn't possible, she had insisted that vampires didn't exist. But even so, now that she was left to her own thoughts and her own devices, a small, teeny, tiny part of herself couldn't help but wonder…
What if she was wrong?
She thought back to every single moment she'd shared with Jasper, the good and the bad. Had he ever done things that didn't make sense? Had he ever done anything that wasn't normal or…human? Perhaps…yes. She had been certain that his eyes had been black the day that they met, but had since convinced herself that she had just been seeing things – now she was beginning to have doubts about that. He was always cold to the touch, even if they were inside, and now, as she thought about all the times they'd sat together during lunch, he almost never ate anything in front of her. Because vampires don't eat human food, a voice said in her head. Vampires don't need human food. And when she had invited Jasper to La Push, he had declined. Because going on to Quileute land would break the treaty, that same, annoying, know-it-all voice pointed out.
Now she started thinking about Emmett, who was solid as a marble statue. He was cold, too. And though his eyes had never been black, they were amber colored. Just like Jasper. Just like Edward. Just like Alice. They all had the same eye color, yet they weren't related by blood – was it a coincidence, or was that the way all vampires looked? And as many times as she had dismissed Bella's beliefs concerning what had happened the day of the crash, Danielle thought about Edward, and how fast he had been. Nobody was that fast – not even an Olympic sprinter. The only way someone could be that fast was if they weren't human. Was if they were…something else.
Danielle suddenly growled with frustration and rubbed her face. She felt stupid and annoyed with herself for even allowing her thoughts to go down this path. What the hell was wrong with her? Was she losing her mind? How, when she had just told Bella over and over again that her newest theory about the Cullen's wasn't real, was she actually sitting here and seriously contemplating it as a possibility? Was she an idiot? Was she losing her mind?
Danielle got up from the floor and stomped into the living room to turn on the television. She cranked it up as loud as she could, hoping the almost deafening volume would be enough to drown out her own thoughts.
She didn't know what was going on with the Cullen's. Maybe Emmett and Edward were on steroids. Maybe they all liked weird colored contacts. Maybe they couldn't get close to people because they were in the witness protection program, or hell, maybe they were in a freaking cult. The fact of the matter was that she didn't have any clue why the Cullen's were the way that they were. But there was one thing she did know.
Vampires were not real.
Jasper Hale was not a vampire. Nor was anyone else in his family. And that was that.
End. Of. Story.
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