Shooting the Moon

by Anonymous

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

I couldn’t say how long I’d been laying in the forest, but in an instant I had remembered every warning Charlie ever told me about the animals in Forks. I didn’t know what was making that odd snuffling sound, but I didn’t want to find out. I couldn’t remember what to do in these situations. Should I make myself appear bigger, try to be noisy and scare it off? Or just wait quietly and hope whatever it is passes me by. I didn’t have to contemplate my possible mauling for long. I heard my name being called from not too far away. Of course Charlie had someone looking for me. It’s so late by now that I’m sure they’ve been looking for hours. In a way I was sort of impressed with how far I’d gotten.

“Bella. There you are.”

A man had stepped between two trees and crouched down in front of me. The first thought I had was of how big he was. He had to be a good foot taller than me, and was fairly muscular as well. His eyes took in the state I was in, probably looking for any obvious injuries. I shivered, only then noticing his lack of clothes. He was only wearing a pair of cutoff shorts, and some hiking boots that had seen better days. It wasn’t too cold tonight, being mid September, but tonight the forest had an unnatural chill. It was at this point that I zoned back in to hear what the stranger was saying.

“Are you okay? Were you hurt?” The stranger's brow was furrowed, like this wasn’t the first time he had asked me.

“I’m fine. I’m just. Lost.” My voice was rough and quiet, you could tell I hadn’t spoken in hours.

“Let’s get you back home, then. Are you able to walk?” The stranger held out his hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet. I don’t know if it was the cold, or the fact that I had gotten used to how cold they were, but his hand felt like it burned mine.

“I think I can.” As soon as I said that, my typical clumsiness struck and I tripped over a root. The man grabbed my shoulder, keeping me upright. I felt my cheeks warm and I looked down at my feet, paying extra attention to where I was walking. He stuck close to my side, probably waiting to catch me again when I inevitably tripped over something else. We walked in silence, but it wasn’t awkward or oppressive. I don’t think I could’ve made small talk right now with this complete stranger, and I’m sure he wasn’t looking for conversation with me. I immediately felt a spike of shame, this total stranger was out in the woods this late at night just looking for me. I’m sure there were at least a dozen others looking as well. I can’t imagine how worried Charlie must be. I didn’t leave a note or any explanation. It felt like hours later, but probably only twenty minutes or so, when I noticed the lights through the trees. I looked up at the stranger to my left.

“Thank you…”

“Sam. Sam Uley.”

“Thank you, Sam.” We stepped through the last of the trees, then. I saw Charlie and a few familiar faces hunched over a map laid out on the hood of Charlie’s cruiser. They didn’t see us coming, too absorbed in what they were discussing.

“I got her.” Sam shouted.

“Bells!” I’d never heard such strong emotion in Charlie’s voice. He ran over and swept me into a big hug.

“Can’t breathe, Dad.” I muttered. He set me on my feet and started patting me down.

“Are you okay, Bells? You shouldn’t be wandering in the woods by yourself. C’mon let's get you inside and warmed up.” He pulled me into his side and we walked towards the house.

I zoned out a bit while he was thanking those who made up the search party. I recognized a few of the guys from the station, as well as Billy Black and Harry Clearwater. When we got inside, Charlie led me to the couch and draped a heavy quilt over my shoulders. I heard him puttering around the kitchen for a few minutes, then he came back with a few mugs in hand. He handed me the hot chocolate, then sat heavily in his favorite recliner.

“Thanks, Dad. For everything. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“I’m just glad you’re alright.”

We drifted into a peaceful silence after that, both of us worn from the long day. I found my thoughts drifting to those last moments with him. I felt cold and empty, like a part of me was missing. I tried to keep my emotions off of my face, not wanting to worry Charlie further. Charlie rose from his chair, squeezing my shoulder on his way by, then went up to his bedroom. I sat for a little while longer, feeling bone tired but not wanting to get up quite yet. I brought my mug to the sink, then trudged up the stairs. From my room I grabbed a soft long sleeved shirt and my favorite pair of ratty sweatpants. I got ready for bed quickly, then stared at the ceiling for hours. I was unable to shut my mind off, replaying the last few days and trying to see the signs I’d so clearly missed. Every once in a while my eyes drifted over to the rocking chair, expecting to see him sitting there like he always would. I eventually drifted off into a deep sleep, too tired to think anymore. Too tired to dream.

Notes:

Well. Here's the first chapter. As of now, there are 51 chapters written, most being much longer than the first handful. Be prepared for a verrrrrry slow slowburn, as of 108,000 words they're still pining :) I don't have any sort of outline or technical stopping point, so be prepared for this to go on way longer than it should. I initially started this as something I myself wanted to read, with very little time jumps and all that day to day slice of life sort of stuff. A big focus of the story is Bella's friendships and her really experiencing friendship in a way she presumably missed out on while wrapped up with the Cullens. So ya. This'll be a long ride, but hopefully a good one? Disclaimer: i am from the east coast, there is a lot of thought and google-ing put into this story/setting, but don't look too closely at the details

Chapter 2: Protectors

We stuck around the Swan’s house until most of the search party had left, only Billy and Harry remaining. I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing us going off in the woods, but I wasn’t going back to the rez without properly checking out the area. Forks was neutral ground, but I had picked up on one of the Cullens scents while tracking Bella. I told Billy what we’d found, then phased and ran back towards the bloodsucker’s trail. Paul and Jared were right behind me, fanning out where the trail broke away from Bella’s. We followed for a few minutes, expecting the trail to circle back towards their territory, but it just kept going north.

Jared, you’re with me. Paul, I want you to go back to the rez. I don’t know how far this goes and I don’t want to take any risks.

Paul split away, leaving Jared and I to follow the trail for miles. Once it was clear the trail never circled back, we ran back towards home. Over and over in my head I saw the possibilities of what could have happened tonight. When I got the call from Billy my heart stopped. It was one thing to know the legends, to know what we were meant to do as protectors of the tribe. It was another thing entirely to be faced with the reality of it. I knew it was the right thing to do, to search for her. But part of me was terrified for my pack. Jared and Paul were only sixteen, far too young to be tasked with the burden of facing down vampires, to see what we could’ve seen tonight. We went into the woods expecting to find a corpse. If I hadn’t heard her harsh breaths, or seen her chest rising and falling, I would’ve thought she was dead. Her eyes were open but unseeing, a completely vacant expression on her face. I was relieved when she tensed up, even her panic was better than that chilling blankness. I ran back further into the woods and phased back to approach her. I kept replaying our walk back, considering what they had done to her. She said she was fine but everything about her screamed of pain and despair. I was jolted out of my thoughts when we came across Paul back on our land.

All clear on our side. I’m gonna head home.

Go ahead Paul. Good work tonight, both of you. I’m gonna go home too. Jared, if you notice anything even a little out of the ordinary I want to be informed. I want us patrolling round the clock until we know what’s going on.

You got it, Sam.

Jared nodded, then ran off to patrol the border. Paul and I split up, heading towards our respective houses. As soon as I saw my back door I phased back, pulling on my shorts. I didn't bother putting on my boots, just tossing them on the porch. I went straight for my couch, sitting down heavily and putting my head in my hands. There were too many unanswered questions from tonight. Why did one of them bring her out into the woods, leaving her there all alone. She was uninjured but looked haunted. From what Billy had told me she seemed to at least know something about what they were. But I couldn’t fathom how someone could move past that and have a relationship with one of those monsters. I knew I wasn’t going to get any answers tonight, so I went up the stairs and into my bedroom. I pulled my shorts off, flopping down into my bed wearing just my boxers. I knew there was a chance I’d have to go out again tonight, but I was able to quickly drift off into restless sleep.

Chapter 3: Moping

When I woke up, it was already bright outside. It wasn’t sunny, it rarely ever was in Forks, but I could tell it was much later than I expected. I sat up quickly, already dreading going to school so late. I swung my legs off the bed and stood, only then noticing a note left on my bedside table.

Bells,
I already called you out of school for the day. It looked like you needed the rest. Call me if you need anything, I’ll see you tonight.
-Dad

I sat back down on the edge of my bed, relieved that I wouldn’t have to act normal today. I don’t understand how I’m supposed to just move on and act like nothing happened. How am I supposed to go on with this massive hole in my chest? We were only together for 5 months, but I didn’t know how to survive anymore if I wasn’t his Bella. Distantly I thought of how pathetic the old Bella would think I was. But the girl I left back in Phoenix was gone, his Bella was gone, and all I was left with was a shell of myself. I absently rubbed my eyes as I walked down the stairs. I had no appetite but I grabbed a bowl and some cereal anyways, hoping I’d feel a little more human if I stuck to my usual routine. Funny how that works, after so long of wishing to be like him, all I wanted was to feel human again. I glanced at the clock, it was already 11:30 am. I was a little surprised I slept so long, after struggling to fall asleep I didn’t think I'd get more than an hour or two of sleep. I ate slowly, often zoning out for more than ten minutes at a time.

After eating I took a long shower. I hadn’t noticed yesterday the scrapes on my palms, or my skinned knees. It was shocking how little I really remembered after he left, yet those few minutes of our conversation are burned into my brain. I don’t remember falling, or going as deep into the woods as I did. Thinking back to the walk back last night, my mind drifted to Sam Uley. I can’t remember if I had seen him around the reservation before, but I’m glad he was there last night to find me. I don’t want to even think of what would have happened to Charlie if I hadn’t made it back. On top of my heartbreak I felt an overwhelming amount of guilt. I was jolted out of my thoughts by the water turning cold. I’d zoned out again, using up all the hot water. I rinsed off quickly and climbed out of the shower. I didn’t bother putting different clothes on, just putting my sweats back on. What was the point when I was just going to be moping around the house all day.

I was starting to feel restless. I didn’t want to be stuck in my thoughts all day, I needed something to distract me. Going back to my usual methods of distraction, I started gathering what I’d need to clean the house. I was soon swept up into the routine of cleaning, working on autopilot as I scrubbed and swept and tidied. It was while I was clearing off the table that I found the note. It looked like my handwriting, but I knew I hadn’t written it. The paper was creased as if it had been folded and unfolded a dozen times.

Dad,
I’m going for a walk up the path, I’ll be back by dinner.
-Bella

I didn’t know how to feel, knowing that every moment of that day was orchestrated perfectly by him. I remember wondering why we didn’t take our bags inside before our walk. Clearly he didn’t want me to see the note he had planted. He must have underestimated me, thinking I’d be back in time to cook Charlie dinner like it was any other night. I wonder how long Charlie waited before he started to worry. How convenient that the note didn’t mention him. I’m sure he didn’t want to bring any attention to him or his family. Did he know I wouldn’t make it back on my own? Would he have really left me there alone like that if he thought I’d try to follow? That train of thought hurt more than I’d care to admit. Was his note just a way to avert suspicion from him when I never made it home? If yesterday taught me anything it was that I didn’t know him like I thought I did. I was so easily fooled, believing that he cared for me like I cared for him. From the beginning I knew it was too good to be true, what use did someone like him have for someone like me. But he used his flowery words and dazzling smile to convince me I was special. That I was important to him. Clearly I was just a distraction, a way to break up the monotony of the past century. I had been happy, confident in our relationship and I felt like we had been on the same page. Hearing him take everything back was devastating, I still couldn’t fully wrap my head around it. He said it would be as if he didn’t exist, but I could still feel his presence in every part of my life. With that thought, I ran up the stairs and into my room.

Pulling back the cover of my new photo album, I saw the spot where his photo should’ve been. All of my presents from that horrible party were gone, the cd he had made me was missing from the player. I ran back down the stairs, going out to my truck. Even the new stereo was gone, replaced with the old one it had always had. I shut the door of my truck, walking back to the house feeling more weighed down than before. He can erase the physical proof of him from my life, but that wouldn’t fix the hole in my chest. Or get rid of the scar on my hand. I was curious what their cover story for leaving so suddenly was. It was only a few weeks into the school year, and for them to leave so suddenly surely would be a topic of gossip around town. I didn’t know what I would tell Charlie. Would he know that they were gone by now? As hurt as I was, I still cared so deeply for him, for all of them. I didn’t want to make it harder for them to remain under the radar. I felt a little foolish, wanting some more warning to make the shattering of my own heart easier on the one who broke me. It wasn’t rational, but wasn’t that to be expected when dealing with matters of love?

Notes:

It always bothered me how he left the new stereo in the truck, and how Bella clawed it out. I get the like emotional value of including it, but it always had me cringing with secondhand embarrassment when Jacob mentioned it and this is my story so I just wrote it out. And I love her truck, I hate that it was damaged like that. It made me sad so i fixed it :)

Chapter 4: Shitty Pizza

I was unloading groceries from my truck when I heard the telltale signs of Jared and Paul approaching. Sure enough, as soon as I shut the door they were walking out from the woods. They were arguing about something, shoving each other as they walked towards the house. I held the door as they came inside, dropping my bags on the counter while they flopped onto the couch.

“What’d you pick up for dinner? I’m starving” Paul asked from the couch.

“I got a couple frozen pizzas. Here, it’ll be a while.” I tossed them each a bag of chips and started putting away the rest of the groceries.

“Ya know what would be great right now?” Jared added, “ Like a full chicken dinner. Ya know with like potatoes and stuffing and all the fixings.”

“If you have a problem, you can take care of dinner from now on.” I said with a huff.

“I’m just saying it would be nice. No problems here, my dear Alpha.” Jared said with a wink.

“Jared. Shut the fuck up.” Paul grumbled through a mouthful of chips.

“I’m just saying what we were both thinking, Paul. You can’t honestly tell me you want that shitty frozen pizza again tonight.” Jared threw his hands up in surrender.

“Shitty frozen pizza is better than anything you could cook up.” Paul muttered.

“Guys. Enough. If you stop arguing for five seconds I can actually tell you the information I got from Billy.”

“He started it.” Jared shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Paul.

“And it’s over, Jared.” I added, rolling my eyes. “Sue heard someone at the hospital saying the Cullens left town. For good. Billy didn’t have any more information than that, but this clearly had something to do with what happened with the Swan girl.” I crossed the room, sitting down on the recliner across from the boys.

“Good riddance.” Jared muttered.

“So does this mean we can cut down on patrols?” Paul asked.

“Not yet. I don’t want anything slipping by. We still don’t know what went down and need to be prepared if they come back.” I paused. “But it won’t be for long. If they stay gone I don’t see why we shouldn’t ease up a bit.”

Paul and Jared exchange grins. It's moments like these where I’m struck with just how young they are. I’m glad they can still be carefree, even with the cards we were dealt. I rose from my chair, crossing the room into the kitchen to grab the pizzas out of the oven. Paul was right behind me, grabbing a slice and then cursing loudly after burning his tongue. Jared absolutely lost it, crying from laughing so hard. It wasn’t long before I was laughing too, Paul glaring at us the entire time.

Notes:

You'll find the boys eat a lot of frozen pizza in the story, which is a little ironic since I myself don't like pizza. But it's easy and relatively cheap and I feel like realistically that's what teenage boys would make when left to their own devices. As far as Sam's house goes, I chose not to base it on his house in the movies. It's referred to as "Emily's" and so I chose to imagine a different house/layout entirely. I don't have any actual inspiration photos for the house, but I did make a crappy floorplan rendering on my laptop's paint app.

Chapter 5: Interrogation

I woke up moments before my alarm was set to go off. I sighed, climbing out of bed and then grabbing the clothes I had set out last night. Once I was dressed, I ran downstairs, grabbing a granola bar on my way out the door. I left later than I usually did for school, wanting to delay the inevitable as much as possible. Aside from the obvious, there really were no secrets in Forks. When I reached the school, only a few students were milling about the parking lot. I quickly walked to my class, sliding into my seat a couple minutes before the bell. I could feel the eyes on me as I took my stuff out of my bag. Glancing up, my eyes settled on Jessica’s. She was practically vibrating in her seat, I could tell she was anxious to talk to me. Next to her, Angela gave me a sympathetic smile. I’m sure she’s had more than her fair share of Jess’ interrogations over the years.

I’d always been a good student, I’ve never been one to skip classes or sleep on my desk. Mr. Varner’s calculus class makes me rethink all my life’s choices. I don’t need college, right? I could always work at the Newton’s store the rest of my life. I’m sure I won’t really use calculus in my everyday life. And I don’t dislike Mr. Varner as a person, I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice guy. But there's just something about his voice that lulls me to sleep. So I struggle to stay awake in his class, and then struggle with the work because I just can’t pay attention. After an excruciatingly long lesson on derivatives, I was ambushed by Jess right outside the classroom.

“Bella, where were you yesterday?” Jess exclaimed.

“I wasn’t really feeling great yesterday, so Charlie called me out. I just hung around my house all day.” I hoped she’d let it go, but I knew better.

“But I’m sure you still heard, right? Like it’s your boyfriend of course you heard. But like you didn’t mention it before now and we tell each other everything, you know, like that’s what friends do.” Jess rambled, talking faster and faster with each word.

“Jess, breathe.” Angela interrupted from behind me.

“I breathed. Brothe? What even is the past tense of breathe? Like neither of those sound right.” Jess pauses, taking another deep breath. “Okay, Jess, get to the point. The Cullens! What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell us they were leaving?”

“Cause I didn’t know. He didn’t say a word about them leaving until he broke up with me after school.”

“What a dick! That is so not cool. And they’re only going to California like hasn’t he heard of a long distance relationship? California’s not even that far! Whatever. You deserve better Bella, like I know he was gorgeous and everything but so are you. If that asshole didn’t appreciate what he had then it’s his loss. Right, Ang. Back me here.” Jess’s cheeks were a little red, like they always got when she was worked up.

“She’s right, you’re a catch. That really sucks though. How are you feeling?” Angela asked, putting her arm around my shoulders as we walked towards our next class.

“I’m okay.” I mumble.

“No, you’re not. But that’s like totally fine, we’ll work on it. I’m thinking ice cream and movies tonight. Like full on slumber party, we could even make a weekend out of it.” Jess had a slightly manic look in her eyes, probably already picking out movies in her head. I looked at Angela, who shrugged.

“We can do it at my house? Charlie usually spends like the whole weekend fishing so we’ll have the place to ourselves for the most part.”

“We can grab ice cream and snacks on our way home. We’ll have to stop by our houses to grab clothes and stuff and then get to your place at like 4:30?” Angela suggested.

“That works for me” I looked up, seeing that we’d made it to my building. “I’ll see you guys at lunch.”

Angela waved, pulling Jess towards their class. Classes flew by after that, and soon the last bell before lunch was ringing. I made my way to the cafeteria, grabbing a tray and one of the questionable looking burgers they were serving today. At least the fries were good. I went over to our usual table, sitting in the spot purposefully left between Jess and Angela, trying not to look at the 3 noticeably empty spots. As conversation picked up around us, I felt a surge of gratitude for Jess and Ang. Our other friends had been told the basics from the girls, and I was glad I wasn’t put on the spot explaining to everyone. It was nice to have one thing that seemed almost normal after these past couple days.

“What about you, ladies, you in?” Eric asked, turning towards our end of the table.

“In for what?” Jess asked.

“Bonfire. First beach, Saturday night. It’s gonna be great.” Eric replied.

“That sounds fun. I’m in.” I said.

“We’ll meet you guys there. Me and Ang are gonna be at Bella’s anyway so it’s sorta perfect like carpool wise…” Jess said, trailing off at the end.

I finished up my food, only half paying attention to the conversations around me. It felt good to be making plans. Anything to keep me from being alone with my thoughts too long. The best way to move forward is to just keep moving, right? It would be nice to have some girl time this weekend. I never really had good friends in Phoenix like I do here, ones that I could share this with. I might not be able to tell them the whole story, but I desperately wanted to talk to someone about it. Standing up, I grabbed my tray and put my bag back on. I dumped my trash, then started walking to class with Angela, discussing what ice cream flavors to get as we walked. The last few classes seemed to drag on, but soon enough I was walking out to my truck, ready for the weekend.

Notes:

I'm a big fan of the concept of Jess just rambling a lot, and I've found that she's one of my favorite characters to write dialogue for. And one of the easiest. I started this without much of a plan, and I've found (no matter how corny it sounds) that the characters kinda do their own thing and I'm just along for the ride. Also breathed really doesn't sound like the correct past tense of breathe, and I do think about it often.

Chapter 6: Thriftway

I spent most of my day alone. Paul and Jared were still enrolled at the tribal school, so they spent their days in class. Most days I patrolled for a few hours, careful to avoid the hiking trails and anywhere else I might be spotted. Today I went past the rez and into Forks, trying to pick up any fresh trails from the Cullens. I didn’t go very close to their territory, but there were older trails all throughout the woods around town. If they were still here, I would know. The rest of my day was typically spent doing odd jobs around the rez. There was always something that needed fixing and the freelance work gave me the flexibility I needed with the odd hours I kept due to the pack. The wolf metabolism was no joke, and Jared and Paul were practically eating me out of house and home. They couldn’t really explain to their families why they now ate more than twice as much as the typical adult male, so that meant a second dinner at my place and a need for extra cash.

I didn’t have any jobs planned for today, so I planned to go to pick up some supplies I needed to work on my own house. My front porch desperately needed to be rebuilt. Just last weekend Paul’s foot went through the rotting floorboards right outside the front door. I had plans to go to a hardware store in Forks to pick up what I’d need. I got in my pickup and headed towards Forks. It was about a 30 minute drive to the hardware store from my house. I got to the store around 3, it didn’t take me too long to find what I needed and load it into the bed of the truck. I grabbed a few parts I had ordered for some other jobs and then I was ready to go. It was just past 3:45 so I decided to stop by the Thriftway and grab a few things so I could grill tonight. The grocery store wasn’t very busy, only a dozen people or so were in the store. I grabbed some burgers and hot dogs, and some sides to go with them. I got into the line for the only open register, standing behind a couple girls that looked to be around my age.

“Do you think we got too much ice cream? Like how much will the three of us really go through in one weekend?” the small brunette said to her friend.

“I’m sure it’s fine.” the other girl replied, “ Bella probably has whipped cream at her house, right? We forgot to grab some…”

“She probably does? I don’t wanna go back for it so it's fine. I think we did go a little overboard but like the whole point of a post-breakup slumber party is to eat a ton of sweets, you know.”

I was a little curious about the girls’ conversation. Bella hadn’t mentioned anyone else when I’d found her in the woods, but I knew she went into the woods with one of them. The trail went further north than I’d ever gone in my wolf form before, and there were no signs of them coming back. There were only a few thousand people in Forks, it was unlikely that there was another Bella who just went through a bad breakup. I felt bad for the girl, she seemed so broken when I had found her. I’m glad she isn’t alone in this, although I’m sure there’s a lot more to the story that she can’t tell her friends. Though part of me was relieved, if she had told her friends that it was over, then she must think that they are gone for good. The girls left then, heading out to their car still talking about their slumber party.

As soon as I got out of my tuck, I heard arguing coming from inside my house. Walking in, I saw Paul and Jared on my couch, playing mario kart. It was shocking how heated they can get over a kids game. Paul had just been hit with a blue shell from Jared, and was now in 10th place. From how loudly and viciously he was cursing, I was almost worried he would phase right in my living room.

“Honey, I’m home.” I called dryly from the doorway.

“Oh, hey Sam.” Jared said, looking over his shoulder from his spot on the couch. Their race ended then, with Paul still in 10th, and Jared in first. Paul threw his controller across the room and onto the recliner, looking absolutely dead inside.

“You guys hungry yet? I got burgers and dogs for tonight.” I said, setting down the grocery bags on the kitchen table.

“Burgers and dogs? What’s the catch?” Paul asked.

“I went to the hardware store today, got some stuff to redo the porch.” I paused, smirking “and you two are gonna help me do it in the morning.”

“It’s the weekend, Sam, can’t we sleep in for once?” Jared whined.

“You can sleep in on Sunday.” I said, laughing. “Why don’t you two go unload the lumber from my truck while I start grilling.”

Paul rolled his eyes and got to his feet, pulling Jared up and walking out the door, slamming it behind him. I laughed at their dramatics, then got to making our dinner.

Notes:

I personally get heated over mario kart games, and know Paul would be the same. And something about them nearly coming to blows over a video game cracks me up. I don't think I ever mention what sort of video game system they use, cause it doesn't really matter, but it's a wii. Nothing says classic mid 2000's gaming like wii mario kart with the little wheel.

Chapter 7: Slumber Party

I had just gotten home from school when it occurred to me that I should’ve asked Charlie’s permission to have the girls over for the weekend, or at least given him a heads up. I grabbed the house phone and the note on the fridge that had the number for his work phone. He picked up after one ring.

“Bells? Everything okay?” he said, sounding a bit panicked.

“Yeah, Dad. Everything’s fine.” I assured him.

“You never call me while I’m at work. What’s going on?” He asked.

“I just wanted to check if Jess and Angela could spend the weekend at our house… We’re having like a slumber party, we’ll probably just be watching movies and hanging around the house.”

“They’re staying the whole weekend? Is there some occasion I forgot about?” he questioned.

“Edward he…. He broke up with me. And Jess had the idea for us to have a girls weekend to cheer me up… If that’s okay with you, of course.”

“Oh. OH! Well I always thought you were too good for that Edwin kid anyways. Of course you can have your friends over. I’ll pick up some pizzas on my way home tonight. You girls have fun.”

“Thanks, Dad. Love you”

“Love you too, Bells. Bye.”

I figured Charlie had heard by now that the Cullens were gone, but I don’t think he thought about what that meant for my relationship. I wasn’t ready to talk about it with him, I’m still not looking forward to an actual conversation about it. As much as I love my Dad, he isn’t someone I’d willingly talk about boys with. I’m glad I told him over the phone, it was a lot less awkward than I expected. I brought my backpack upstairs and set it by my desk. It was a miracle, none of my teachers had assigned homework this weekend. I quickly tidied up my room, it wasn’t messy but there were a few socks on the floor, a couple empty cups on my bedside table, that sorta thing. I went back downstairs, then grabbed some spare blankets from the linen closet to set on the couch. I glanced at the clock, I still had half an hour before they’d be here. I grabbed my book from upstairs, then read to pass the time.

“Knock knock.” Jess shouted as they walked in.

“Hey guys!” I replied.

“We got plenty of junk food and Jess brought some DVDs.” Angela said, holding 4 shopping bags full of snacks.

“What’d you get?” I asked.

“Lots of candy, popcorn, some stuff to make cookies, chips. For ice cream we got cookie dough, mocha chip, and mint chip.” Angela replied.

“And for movies we got a lot of options. Parent Trap, obviously. If we just wanna cry I brought Titanic, and I know you love Jane Austen so we have Pride and Prejudice too. And I have Freaky Friday, A Cinderella Story, and what was the last one? Oh! Mamma Mia!” Jess added.

“That sounds great!” I said. We walked into the kitchen, putting the snacks on the counter and the ice cream into the freezer. The girls put their bags down by the couch, then we all sat down.

“So my Dad is bringing some pizzas for us when he gets off work in a few hours. Do we wanna start a movie while we wait?” I suggested.

“Sure. Which movie first?” Angela asked.

“Parent Trap!” Jess and I yelled at the same time, before dissolving into giggles.

“Parent Trap it is.” Angela said with a laugh, grabbing the dvd off the stack.

We made some microwave popcorn then settled down on the couch in a pile of blankets. We laughed throughout the whole movie, joking about how the little boy at the camp reminded us of Mike Newton. The three of us were quoting every line, laughing every time at Jess’s awful British accent. The movie had just ended when Charlie got home with the pizzas. We were still laughing in the living room, talking about all our favorite parts of the movie when he walked in.

“Hey girls. Pizza’s here.” Charlie called as he came into the room.

“Hey Chief Swan! How’s it going?” Jess said.

“It’s going pretty good, how are you girls?” Charlie replied.

“We’re good.” Angela answered.

We followed Charlie to the kitchen, sitting around the table and digging in. We chatted with Charlie while we ate; complaining about unfair teachers, talking about our other friends and what they’ve been up to, and telling him our plans for a bonfire in La Push tomorrow night. In turn he told us about his day at work; telling us about the bear that broke into the diner, laughing about one of the deputies slipping on an actual banana peel, and telling stories of the ongoing prank war between the police and the fire department. Charlie was much better company when we had dinner with my friends than he was when Edward would come over. This was much better than those stiff and awkward dinners. After we ate Charlie went upstairs for bed, citing an early fishing trip with Harry in the morning. We moved back to the couch to start another movie, wordlessly agreeing to hold off on the girl talk until we were sure Charlie was asleep. After the movie finished, we went into the kitchen to make ice cream sundaes.

“Do you have whipped cream?” Jess asked. “We got hot fudge and cherries but we forgot whipped cream and like the line was really long so we didn’t wanna go back for it.”

“Here” I said, handing Jess the whipped cream. “Do you think it would be gross if I had all three flavors together?”

“That’s what I’m doing,” Angela replied. “It's gonna be great.”

“If you say so…” I said, then started scooping all three flavors into my bowl.

“C’mon guys hurry up, you’re taking forever!” Jess complained.

Angela and I quickly finished assembling our sundaes then went back to the couch where Jess was waiting impatiently. We dug into our sundaes, spending a few minutes in silence as we ate. Jess gave me a look, definitely about to start interrogating me again. I narrowed my eyes at her, then stuffed a huge spoonful of ice cream in my mouth. We all started hysterically laughing, with me choking a little on my ice cream.

“Okay for real though we need the whole story, Bella.” Jess prompted.

“Well it was right after school on Wednesday. He had been a little quiet the last few days but that was pretty normal for him, you know. We got to my house after school and he was like ‘we should talk’ and I instantly knew something was up.”

“Why do guys always say it like that? Oh ‘we need to talk’ like obviously you’re breaking up with me.” Jess interjected.

“Right? It’s so stereotypical.” Angela added.

“It really is.” Jess paused. “Bella, please continue.”

“Right, so he said we need to talk and he just flat out said ‘Bella, we’re leaving’ and I was confused at first but then I was kinda like trying to work it out, you know. Like it would be different but we could work around it. But then he told me he didn’t want me anymore and I was just in shock.” I paused, I didn’t like keeping parts out of my story but I knew I couldn't tell them the whole truth.

“He is such an ass.” Jess exclaimed. “Like that’s such a terrible way of breaking up with someone. Like if you’re ending it just say that.”

“I know, right? But no, he had to drag it out. You should’ve heard him. ‘I’ve let this go on way too long’ and ‘You’re not good for me, Bella.’ Like who says that!” I steadily got louder as I spoke, cutting off when I heard a noise from upstairs, hoping I didn’t wake Charlie.

“What a load of shit. You were the best thing that ever happened to that boy.” Angela added.

“That’s just cruel, too. Like if he didn’t want to be with you for a while he should’ve told you that! That was so not fair to you.” Jess said.

“I was really just so shocked. Like I know most high school relationships don’t last but I thought he was it for me. I truly believed I’d spend the rest of my life with him” I looked down, trying not to cry.

“Oh, Bella.” Angela said, pulling me into a hug.

Jess joined the hug, too, and it was like a dam had burst. Words, and tears, flowed out of me. I told them how it felt like part of me was missing, how I felt both numb and completely devastated at the same time. I told them about conversations Edward and I had about the future, about how hurt I was that the rest of the family didn’t even say goodbye. We talked for hours, it felt cathartic to get everything out there. I cried a lot more than I thought I would, and so did Jess. I hadn’t realized she was a sympathetic crier but once I got going she did too, and by the end of it even Angela had shed a few tears. I was so grateful to have such good friends, I never really had anyone in Phoenix that I could confide in like this. We fell asleep shortly after in a big pile of blankets and limbs on the couch.

Notes:

I really do hate the whole "we need to talk" phrase like it really is just so obvious. No one really says it unless they're breaking up with you. And I had to have them watch Parent Trap, it's my own go to when I just want something feel good and funny or when I just put something on in the background with friends over. Like Jess, I am totally a sympathetic crier, in case any of you random readers were wondering.

Chapter 8: Muffins

Jared and Paul were still snoring in my living room when I woke up. After dinner last night we patrolled for a couple hours. We still haven’t found any fresh trails, but I didn’t want us slacking off and missing something. I pulled on some shorts, then went out to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Paul was like a bloodhound when it came to coffee, and was up within minutes. We woke up a grumpy Jared and got to work on the front porch. The boys didn’t really know what they were doing, but they helped with the heavy lifting. And the demolition. Paul was really good at the demolition. We made good time, having the entire deck built within a few hours. I had been building the new steps when a car pulled in. I had the boys staining the deck, but they both hopped down to greet the new arrival.

“Well this looks nice, boys.” Sue Clearwater said as she got out of her car.

“Thanks. We’ve been at it all morning. What brings you here?” I asked.

“I made some muffins, and thought I’d bring some by for you three.” she replied.

“You’re an angel, Sue.” Jared said, giving her a hug and then running off with the whole basket of muffins.

“You get back here right now, Cameron!” Paul yelled, already giving chase.

“Really, Sue, thank you. Me and the boys really appreciate all you do for us.” I said.

“It’s no problem, Sam. You three give more of yourselves to the tribe than anyone, making a few extra muffins is the least I can do.” Sue replied, pulling me into a hug before getting back in her car. I waved as she pulled out, then went to find one of those muffins before the boys ate them all.

“Dude, how can you even breathe right now?” Jared asked.

“I can't.” Paul mumbled, mouth completely full of muffin.

“Are there any left or did you two eat them all?” I asked, walking into the house.

“We saved you a couple.” Jared said, tossing me a blueberry muffin. I ate it in three bites.

“God, these are good.” I said.

“Mhm” mumbled Paul, still trying to chew his muffin.

We ate the rest of the muffins quickly, with only a minor fist fight over the last one. Surprisingly, Jared won. But only cause he fights dirty. After eating, we finished up the porch. We cleaned up the tools and then took turns showering in my one bathroom. It wasn’t very hot, just under 60 degrees, but we were still sweaty and gross from working all morning. Afterwards, we sat around in the living room, eating sandwiches and discussing what to do with our newfound free time.

“I heard a couple kids at school mention a bonfire tonight. I guess some of the kids from Forks are coming out too.” Jared suggested.

“That could be fun. It’s been way too long since I’ve gone to a fire.” Paul added. “Plus I’m sure there’ll be some smores for you, old man. It’ll give you something to do so you’re not just all sad and lonely sitting off to the side.”

“I’m perfectly capable of talking to people, Paul.” I huffed. “I used to go to bonfires all the time before I was stuck dealing with you assholes.”

“But did you have friends, Sam?” Jared questioned. “Cause I don’t seem to remember you having friends.” Paul laughed at that, giving Jared a high five.

“Laugh it up all you want but you two are the suckers who spend all their time with me now. What does that say about you?” I teased.

Chapter 9: Bonfire

We had slept in pretty late this morning, getting up around 11 and making pancakes for breakfast. We spent the afternoon watching movies and gossiping on the couch. We had just taken turns showering, and were now getting ready for the bonfire in my room. It was pretty chilly, so we all decided on wearing heavy oversized sweatshirts and jeans. We were out the door by 5, piling into the cab of my truck.

“How old is this thing anyways?” Jess asked.

“I think it's like a ‘63 or ‘64 maybe?” I answered as we pulled out of my driveway.

“Does it even have airbags?”

“I don’t think so…” I replied.

“Well please don’t crash, Bella, I don’t wanna die today.” Jess added. “I love this song, I’m turning it up!”

We spent the rest of the ride singing along to the radio. Jess was dancing around, bumping elbows into Ang and I from her spot squished between us. We pulled into the parking lot at first beach just before 5:30. I saw Mike’s suburban and a few other cars I recognized from school parked already. We hopped out of the truck and started walking towards the crowd on the beach. It was mostly kids from our grade, and some kids from the rez.

“Oh, there’s Ben. I’m gonna go say hi.” Angela said, walking off towards her boyfriend.

“C’mon, Bella. Let’s go check out the fresh meat.” Jess said, wiggling her eyebrows before dragging me with her towards a group of guys from the rez.

“Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Miss Bella Swan heading our way?” one of the boys called as we were walking over.

“Jacob! Oh my god, you’ve grown like a foot since I last saw you!” I exclaimed, pulling him into a hug.

“It wouldn’t be so drastic if you came to visit more.” he teased. He released me from our hug, then put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

“So who are your friends? I don’t think I’ve met them before.” I said.

“On my left is Embry, next to him is Quil, and the pipsqueak is Seth.” Jacob said.

“C’mon Jake I’m only a couple years younger than you! You gotta stop introducing me like that!” Seth exclaimed, holding his hand out for me to shake. “I’m Seth Clearwater, but you can call me yours.” He said with a wink.

“C’mon Seth that's bad, even for you.” Embry piped up from behind him.

“Yeah, Seth. You really think you can pull a senior with that line?” Quil added. We all laughed as Quil grabbed Seth in a headlock, trying to mess up his hair.

“This is Jess, and Angelas on her way over with her boyfriend, Ben.” I said, gesturing toward each of them as I introduced them.

“And where’s your boyfriend, Jess?” Quil asked with a smirk.

“Don’t have one.” She replied, stepping closer to him. I laughed, turning toward Ben and Angela as they approached.

“Hey, Bella.” Ben said. “How’s your girls weekend going?”

“It’s going great. I’m not sure if I’m gonna give Angela back, I might just keep her for myself.” I joked, nudging Ang with my elbow.

The group of us talked for a while, getting to know each other. Jess and Quil really seemed to be hitting it off. I saw some kids cooking hot dogs over the fire, but I was more interested in roasting marshmallows. I told my friends I’d be back later, and made my way over to the fire. I grabbed a stick and a marshmallow off the folding table of food, and went to an empty spot on the other side of the fire. I looked around as I toasted my marshmallow. I saw Eric and Mike tossing around a football with a few guys from the rez. Across the fire Lauren and Tyler were talking to a few girls I vaguely recognized from school. And back with the girls and Jacob’s friends was a girl who looked a lot like Seth. I tried to remember if he had a sister… Leah, I think her name was… Lastly, I glanced at the boy standing by himself a few feet away from me, roasting his own marshmallow.

“Sam! Hey.” I said, smiling at the familiar man.

“Bella.” He said, nodding at me. “How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been okay, actually. How are you? Enjoying the party?” I asked.

“I’m good. The party’s nice, just not really my scene.” He replied.

“I get that. I’m not usually a party person either. It can be really draining hanging out with big groups like this.” I added. We pulled our marshmallows off the fire and started walking towards the table to assemble our smores.

“Here.” Sam said, handing me 2 chocolate chip cookies with some chocolate between them. “Try it. Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

He smiled at my skeptical look. I put the marshmallow between the cookies and took a big bite.

“Oh my god that’s so good!” I exclaimed, taking another big bite of my cookie-smore.

“Told you.” he said, laughing at my awed expression.

“Shut it, Sam. How was I supposed to know your whacky s’more would actually be good.”

“It’s cookies and a roasted marshmallow, Bella, of course it would be good.”

“Well I know that now.” I replied, laughing.

“You want another?” He asked, putting a new marshmallow on his own stick.

“Why not?” I answered. He put a marshmallow onto my stick for me, then we walked back to our spot by the fire.

“I’ve probably come to this beach dozens of times when I was little, spending summers with my dad. But I’d never seen a driftwood fire until I came here a couple months after moving to Forks. It’s beautiful, isn’t it.” I mused.

“It is.” Sam murmured.

I glanced up, seeing Sam look away from where he was watching me. I said nothing, turning back to look into the fire. We roasted our marshmallows in companionable silence, it was nice to be away from the rest of the party for a while. We walked back to the table, both making cookie s'mores again, then went over to sit on one of the driftwood logs further away from the fire. We ate quietly for a few minutes, before the silence was broken by two rowdy boys.

“Sam! I need you to knock some sense into this idiot.” the taller of the two boys said, shoving the other as they walked over. “I mean we all know I’m stronger than him, but this kid is saying he’s faster than me. Which is so not true.”

“It is 100 percent true. You’re just in denial, man.” the other kid replied.

Sam glanced over at me, rolling his eyes at the boys’ antics. The boys got to us then, stopping short when they saw Sam wasn’t alone. They probably couldn’t see me through Sam, he really was a lot bigger than me, height and muscle wise. They looked between us, and then each other with big smirks on their faces.

“You gonna introduce us, old man?” the taller boy asked.

“Old man?” I questioned, “You’re what 24? 25?”

“I just turned 19 in August.” Sam said, laughing at my shocked face. “These are my friends Paul and Jared.” he said, gesturing to each boy in turn.

“Nice to meet you guys. I’m Bella.”

“The chief’s daughter?” the shorter boy, Jared, asked.

“That’s me.” I responded.

The boys joined us sitting on the log. It was entertaining, watching the boys goof off together. Paul and Jared were very rowdy, but in a good-natured way. Sam tried to act like he wasn’t amused, but when they weren’t looking he had a big smile on his face. It was cute how they interacted, more like a family than a close group of friends. I hung out with them for a little while longer, before getting to my feet. I liked hanging out with them, but didn’t want to neglect my friends too much.

“I’m gonna go back to my friends.” I said, gesturing towards my group. “I’ll see you guys around.”

“Bye Bella” all three said at the exact same time, Paul and Jared cracking up in response. Sam shook his head with a chuckle, waving at me when I glanced back halfway towards my friends.

I approached my circle of friends, hugging Angela from behind and resting my chin on her shoulder. Our group was a little bigger than before I left, Mike and Eric had joined, along with Leah Clearwater who I’d noticed talking with her brother earlier. Jess and Quil were still in their own little bubble, they were talking and laughing like they were the only two people here.

“Where’ve you been?” Angela asked, tilting her head to look at me.

“Making smores. I told you guys where I was going, remember?” I replied.

“Making smores took an hour?” she questioned, raising her eyebrows.

“Maybe I made like a lot of smores.” I said.

“Uh huh.” she said, sounding skeptical.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing, nothing. You just looked awful cozy over there with that guy.” she replied.

“Who? Sam? He’s just a new friend.”

“If you say so.” Angela smirked, then turned back to the group’s conversation.

From what I could gather, they were talking about cars. I think? I’ve never really been good with hands on things like that. Mechanic work, construction, etc. Not really something I had a knack for, being as uncoordinated as I was. When conversation turned to “the rabbit,” Quil and Jess had rejoined the conversation. I couldn’t really follow what exactly the rabbit was, but I knew enough to know they weren’t talking about a bunny. It was a car Jake was working on, or maybe a boat. Whatever it was, the guys of the group had lots of loud opinions about it. Jess made eye contact with me from across the group, flicking her eyes towards the parking lot. I shrugged, looking to Ang for her input. She nodded, so we said our goodbyes. Jess seemed quite taken with Quil, and promised we’d come by again in the next week or two. We drove home, talking quietly about the party. Once we got back, we dragged all the blankets up to my bed. We all got in and fell asleep quickly, much more comfortable than last night’s pig pile on the couch.

Notes:

Seth Clearwater has my whole heart, he's like everyone's little brother. And finally 8 chapters later they meet again!! (and you probably see why I felt smores should have their own tag)

Chapter 10: Lost in Thought

I left shortly after Bella and her friends did, telling the boys to take the night off from patrolling. They were pretty nonchalant when suggesting we go to the fire tonight, but I knew they were both excited to do something normal for once. With the Cullens gone, I was confident that patrol would be slow anyways. It would take much longer without their help, but they deserved to just be kids for a night. That wasn’t to say I gave them the night off out of pure selflessness. I had a lot on my mind, and didn’t particularly want an audience.

I reached my house, smiling at the new porch. It really did make a big difference, the house looked a lot less run down. I went inside, tossing my shirt into the laundry basket before heading right back out to patrol. I loved the freedom of running as a wolf. Nothing felt better than letting loose and running as fast as my legs could take me. I ran the borders of our land first, making sure there was nothing amiss. Once I had finished, I went beyond the border and into Forks. Almost unconsciously, I found myself in the woods behind the Swan’s house. The woods around her house reeked of vampires, but none of the trails were fresh. I did another loop around, just to be safe, before moving on to the rest of town. I was right in thinking it would be an easy patrol, and with the monotony of running, my thoughts drifted.

Bella wasn’t what I expected. She was kind, and funny, and I just didn’t expect to actually like her. I mean she had dated my natural enemy, it would be easy to assume I wouldn’t like her either. But I was wrong. We got along like we’d known each other for years. It was nice, to have someone just to sit quietly with for a while. Although she seemed like she was having a good time, she still seemed so sad. I’m sure she thought she was doing a good job hiding it, but you could see the pain in her eyes. Of course I was angry on her behalf, those bloodsuckers should’ve never gotten involved with a human. But beyond that I was so sad for her, I just wanted to take her pain away. I didn’t think I’d care so much, that I’d care at all beyond the fact that she was just an innocent girl tangled up in the supernatural. But she was trying so damn hard to be okay, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to her. She was just so easy to be around. Part of me hoped she’d keep her distance, she didn’t deserve to be wrapped up in more supernatural craziness. But another part of me wanted to know more about her, to be her friend.

I decided to call it a night, making my way back home where I’d hopefully get a good night's sleep. I hadn’t been sleeping well since I’d found Bella in the woods. I think part of me was waiting for the Cullens to return, to get another panicked call from Billy. I reached my house quickly, phasing in the woods before walking in through the back door. I glanced at the clock, and it was much later than I had expected. I must’ve been more lost in my thoughts than I had realized for me to patrol for nearly 5 hours. It was nearly 4 am. I sat heavily on the couch, feeling drained from the past couple days. I sat for a few minutes before trudging upstairs, not even bothering to pull back the covers before flopping on my bed. I was asleep in seconds.

I woke up with a groan, hearing banging and clattering coming from downstairs. It was too early for this. I went downstairs, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I reached the kitchen, seeing the source of all the noise. Paul and Jared, surrounded by probably every pot and pan I own, trying to make breakfast.

“It’s too early for this shit.” I grumbled.

“Early?” Paul scoffed. “It’s nearly noon, Sam.”

“Seriously?” I asked in disbelief. I hadn’t slept this late in years.

“Seriously. Why’d you sleep so late anyways? Late night?” Jared questioned, smirking.

“Yeah. I did have a late night. I had to patrol by myself so you two could stay out partying.” I replied, raising my eyebrows in what Jared would call my “disappointed Dad face.”

“Yeah, yeah. All I’m hearing is that the old man couldn’t handle a later bedtime.” Paul added, snickering.

“Laugh all you want, boys, I’m not the one who’s gotta get up at 6 for school tomorrow.” I replied, laughing as their smirks dropped.

The boys made a pretty good spread for breakfast; pancakes, eggs, bacon, and home fries. We sat around the table and dug in. Jared drowned his pancakes in an ungodly amount of syrup, using nearly a third of the bottle. We ate like we hadn’t eaten in days, all going back for thirds. Conversation picked back up as we were finishing up our food.

“You know,” Paul started, “I like Bella. I didn’t think I would cause of the whole shacking up with a bloodsucker thing, but she was actually pretty cool.”

“Sam sure seemed to like her.” Jared added, winking at me. I rolled my eyes, ignoring his comment.

“She’s probably the one human who has as much reason as we do to hate vampires. I don’t know if we’ll ever know what happened between her and the Cullens, but it's clear they really hurt her. I mean you guys saw her when I found her. She was awake but she wasn’t really there.” I mused. The boys were quiet, thinking over my words.

“She’s tough.” Paul decided, “If she can make it through whatever hell they put her through, I think she can handle us.”

“Regardless of what she can or can’t handle, we can’t risk telling her about the pack. You both know that.” I reminded them.

“We know, Sam. That doesn’t mean we can’t hang out with her.” Jared paused, “Besides, you could use a friend that isn’t us.” he teased, nudging my shoulder. I laughed, breaking the somber mood.

“Enough with the serious talk, what do you guys wanna do today?” I questioned.

Notes:

I like the thought of the boys having a soft spot for Bella, of Paul in particular respecting her more and what she went through rather than letting it fuel his hatred in canon. I feel like a lot of these characters weren't really fleshed out in canon, or really used beyond furthering the plot. Like Paul was literally only used as a convenient way to start fights or to argue. They all called each other brothers yet Paul was just an asshole hothead that drove everyone nuts? Make it make sense. ANYWAYS......

Chapter 11: Bella vs Nature

We slept in pretty late again, and decided on ice cream for breakfast. We still had a lot left from Friday night, and no one wanted to cook this morning. We brought our sundaes up to my room, flopping down on the bed to eat and chat about the party yesterday.

“So Quil, huh?” I prompted.

“What? He’s cute. And really funny.” Jess defended.

“And he could keep up with your rambling, that's hard to find.” Angela teased.

“I know you’re joking but you’re totally right. Like I don’t try to talk so fast but I can’t help it, you know. Like sorry my brain just runs that much faster than everyone else’s but that's not my problem!” Jess ranted, prompting all of us to burst into giggles.

“It’s your turn now, Bella. I wanna hear all about this Sam guy.” Angela said.

“What guy? Bella met a guy? Where the hell was I?” Jess exclaimed.

“You were in your own little world with Quil.” I teased, “I met this guy Sam when I was making a s'more. He was pretty nice and we hung out for a while. And I wasn’t just with him, we hung out with a few of his friends too.” I added. Angela rolled her eyes and turned to Jess.

“She’s totally downplaying it. He was super hot and was totally making eyes at her over the fire. It was adorable.”

“He was not making eyes at me!” I exclaimed.

“Yes he was, Bella. Just because you didn’t see it doesn't mean it didn’t happen!” Angela yelled back.

“You betrayed me, Ang.” Jess cried out, hand over her heart. “You clearly broke like girl code or something by not dragging me over to see!”

“I think I would’ve needed a crowbar to pry you away from Quil, Jess. You were practically glued to his side all night!” Ang replied.

Jess dropped her jaw, looking so offended, and I couldn’t hold in my laughter any longer. Tears were streaming down my face, my stomach was hurting from laughing. Ang was laughing just as hard. Jess tried to hold it in but our laughter was infectious. We talked about the party for a while, before discussing what we were going to do today. We threw out a few ideas, but there wasn’t really much to do in Forks.

“Why don’t we go hiking?” Jess suggested.

“Jess, you’ve seen me in gym. Do you really think that’s a good idea?” I replied.

“You’re not that clumsy, Bella. You’ll be fine! And it’s actually sunny for once! Perfect hiking weather!” Jess argued. I looked pleadingly towards Angela, who smirked.

“I think it’ll be fun.” Angela piped in, the traitor.

“Don’t blame me when you have to scrape my body off the trail.” I added.

“You’re being very dramatic right now, and I think you know that.” Jess said, laughing. “We should go to that trail off 110 that goes down to third beach.”

“Sounds good to me.” Angela replied.

We changed out of our pajamas and got ready to go. We had to stop at Jess and Angela’s houses on the way to grab their hiking boots, and I had my own hiking boots on for the very first time. Charlie had gotten them for me when I moved back, I think he underestimated just how uncoordinated I was. Regardless, I haven’t done much hiking since moving to Forks. Aside from that one trip to that meadow with… Nevermind. We spent the ride talking about school. We were only a few weeks into our senior year, but already teachers were talking about our graduation. I hadn’t thought much about what I wanted to do after school. Charlie and my mom had set me up with a small college fund, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to go to school for.

“I think I’ll go somewhere sunny.” Jess mused. “Maybe California.”

“You could go to Phoenix.” I suggested. “But you’d probably miss the beach.”

“I’m probably going to school in Seattle.” Angela said. “I don’t want to go that far, but I’ve also never really left Forks. I think it would be nice to live somewhere different, try out city living.”

“I haven’t even thought about college yet. I feel like I’m still getting settled in Forks, you know. It hasn’t even been a year yet since I moved.” I added.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Or you could take a gap year.” Jess suggested.

“Oh! There’s the trailhead, turn left!” Angela exclaimed.

I parked the truck in the dirt parking lot by the start of the trail. I was lucky there weren’t any other cars here, I didn’t want a bigger audience for when I wiped out on the trail. We got out of the truck, putting water bottles and a few snacks into a drawstring backpack that Jess offered to carry. Jess said it was only a little over a mile to get to the beach, but I was still worried. We set off on the trail, chatting and laughing the whole way.

“This isn’t so bad.” I said.

“See! I told you it would be fine!” Jess exclaimed.

“I think you might’ve spoken too soon, Bella.” Angela added with a chuckle.

It was at that point that the mostly flat trail turned into a steep descent. I almost turned back at the first ladder. It wasn’t very sturdy, just some slats of wood on rope laying along the steep hill. There was a rope to hold onto as we walked down, backwards, that I held in a death grip. By the time we reached the beach, I had a few new cuts on my palms and some mud on my jeans. The beach was deserted, and the tide was low. We spent over an hour exploring the beach and the tide pools. As much as I complained, I thought the hike was worth it. I’m sure I’d regret it tomorrow once I’m really feeling the blisters from the new boots, and the bruises on my knees, but for now I was content. The hike back felt a lot shorter, and I didn’t trip as much.

“Where to next?” Jess asked, once we were back at the truck.

“I’m kinda hungry.” Angela said. “We could go to that restaurant by the docks.”

“That sounds great. I’m actually starving right now.” I said, pulling out of the parking lot.

The drive to the restaurant was quick. We made our way inside, and were seated quickly in a booth by the window. The restaurant was right on the water, and the view was amazing. Jess and Angela sat across from me, debating whether they should get seafood or burgers. The waitress came over and took our drink orders, but we needed a little longer to decide what we were getting to eat. I was watching the water when I heard someone call my name from across the room.

Notes:

I don't have a set posting schedule in mind, and I have been out of commission with bronchitis for a bit.... So sorry for the delay! I know it's very cliché ao3 author to disappear and have a whack story when they show back up, but like I just wanted to share that I managed to crack two of my ribs from coughing so hard. Like I didn't even know that was possible, but a nice long ER visit later here we are! Anywayyyyyyyy... I know new moon is technically in 2006ish? But when writing this I was imagining more 2007/8, not that it really matters. I've found I fall into a bit of a rabbit hole with accuracy sometimes, so in case anyone was wondering, the restaurant the girls go to in La Push is River's Edge Restaurant. And yes I did scroll through years of reviews on Google to see if it was open that long ago. Same with the trail they hiked, I read plenty of comments on hiking sites from people who'd actually done the trail and saw pictures all in the name of figuring out if Bella would wipe out or not haha..... I'll probably post another chapter in a day or two, I did really just wanna leave y'all with this slight cliffhanger... Oooh who could possibly be calling Bella's name across the restaurant? Lemme know any guesses and what y'all think so far!

Chapter 12: Dinner Crashers

“Bella!” Jared exclaimed, walking into the restaurant ahead of Paul and I. “C’mon, guys.”

I saw Bella’s head turn, spotting us by the door. We followed Jared as he led the way to the booth. Bella was there, with her two friends I had seen at the grocery store a few days back.

“Hello, ladies.” Paul said with a smirk, sliding into the booth beside Bella.

“How’s it going?” Jared asked, plopping down next to Paul.

“Seriously, guys.” I said, shaking my head at their antics. “Sorry to interrupt, girls. We’ll get out of your hair.”

“It’s fine, Sam.” Bella assured me with a small smile. “Pull up a chair, we haven’t ordered yet.”

“So this is Sam.” The short brunette said, raising her eyebrows at Bella.

“Jess!” hissed the girl next to her, elbowing her in the side.

“These are my friends Jess and Angela,” a blushing Bella introduced. “Girls, this is Paul, Jared, and Sam.”

“So what brings you girls down here?” Paul asked.

“We went for a hike down to third beach, and decided to grab dinner before heading back to Forks.” Angela replied.

“How’d you fare on the trail?” Jared asked. “It can get pretty muddy on the slope.”

“It wasn’t too bad.” Jess piped in. “Bella still managed to wipe out a few times, but Ang and I were fine.”

I looked over at Bella, whose cheeks got even redder. At that moment, our waitress arrived with the girls’ drinks, and took our orders. She returned quickly with drinks for the boys and I. After she left, conversation picked back up.

“So what did you guys do today?” Bella asked us.

“Not much.” Jared replied. “Paul and I went over to Sam’s place at like noon and he was still sleeping so we made pancakes.”

“Then we just hung around all day, playing video games and shit.” Paul added.

“You guys still in high school?” Jess asked.

“Me and Paul are. Juniors.” Jared replied.

“I graduated in June.” I added.

“So what do you do, Sam?” Angela questioned.

“This and that. I do a lot of construction jobs, home repairs, things like that.” I replied.

“And he drags us along as free labor whenever he can.” Paul added.

“You two are at my place so much I should be charging you rent, anyways.” I shot back.

“Don’t act all tough, old man. You love us.” Jared replied, smirking.

“If you say so.” I replied, rolling my eyes towards the girls, who were laughing at our antics.

Our waitress came back with our food then. Most of the table ordered various seafood, with Bella and I getting burgers. The boys dug in fast, acting like they hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“Oh my god.” Bella laughed. “Can you guys even breathe with that much food in your mouths?”

“What? I’m hungry!” Paul mumbled through his mouthful of clam strips.

We talked as we ate, talking about anything and everything. Jess told us all the gossip about their classmates in Forks, and Jared returned the favor with the rez school gossip. Bella didn’t talk about herself much, mostly asking us questions to get to know us better. Angela was pretty quiet, too. But every once in a while she interjected with surprisingly snarky comments that had all of us cracking up. The boys wanted to get dessert too, which wasn’t surprising.

“You guys getting anything?” Jared asked.

“I think me and Jess are gonna split a slice of cheesecake.” Angela replied.

“I’ll get whatever you’re getting, Sam.” Bella added.

“So you trust my expertise now?” I asked, smirking.

“I wasn’t doubting you, I’m just a naturally skeptical person!” Bella exclaimed.

“Again, cookies and marshmallow.” I replied, laughing at the offended look on Bella’s face.

“I’m not getting into this again.” She said, shaking her head.

We ordered our desserts, getting a slice of chocolate fudge cake each for Bella and I. She loved the cake, further solidifying my reputation as a dessert expert. As we finished up, the waitress brought over the check. The girls split their portion of the check, and I paid for me and the boys. We walked out of the restaurant, stopping when we reached Bella’s truck.

“Thanks for joining us, boys.” Jess said, “That was fun.”

“Thanks for letting us crash your dinner.” I replied.

“We’ll have to catch up with you guys next time we’re out here.” Angela added.

“Definitely. Plus I wanna meet Ben, he sounds like a cool guy.” Jared said, Paul nodding along.

“Well, we better get going.” Bella said.

“Bye ladies.” Paul said, waving as we walked back towards my truck.

We got into the truck, not talking as I pulled out onto the road. Jared looked smug. I gave him a questioning look.

“You’re welcome.” He said, smirking.

“Shut up, Jared.” I replied.

Notes:

I just wanna say I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed (i had a slight cliffhanger last chapter and no one commented a guess hahahahha). Well, here ya go! Things are happening!

Chapter 13: Average Monday

“I approve.” Jess stated as we started the drive back to my house.

“Approve of what?” I asked.

“You and Sam. Very cute, I approve.” She replied.

“There’s no me and Sam, Jess. He’s just a friend.” I answered, rolling my eyes.

“It’s the eyes, right.” Ang added.

“Totally. He might be just a friend for now but he wants more.” Jess said.

“Even if that’s true, I’m not quite ready for anything more right now.” I added.

“Key words being right now.” Jess said with a wink.

We all laughed at that, before changing the subject. We got back to my house soon after, and packed up Jess and Angela’s stuff from our girls weekend. We said our goodbyes, then they drove off in Angela’s car. I walked back in the house, and saw Charlie in the kitchen. He was making us hot chocolate, which was basically his way of saying we needed to talk. Charlie, like me, wasn’t a confrontational person. But I knew he’d want to have an actual conversation about my break up eventually. He brought the mugs over, and sat down in the seat across from me.

“Did you girls have fun this weekend?” He asked.

“Yeah, it was really nice. We watched a few movies, went to that bonfire on Saturday, and we went for a hike down to third beach today.” I replied.

“Glad to hear it. So about this break up…” He trails off.

“He didn’t tell me they were moving until the rest of the family had already left, and he wasn’t interested in trying to make it work. So we’re done.” I paused. “I’m pretty upset still, but I’ll be fine.”

“You’re a tough kid, you’ll be okay. You were too good for him, anyways.” He added.

“I’m sure you’d say that about any guy I date.” I laughed.

“Well that’s because it’s true.” he huffed.

“Thanks, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you too, Bells.” He got up, squeezing my shoulder as he passed. He set his mug in the sink, then went upstairs.

I sat for a few more minutes, finishing my hot chocolate. I put my mug in the sink, and made my way upstairs. I grabbed my pajamas from my room, and went into the bathroom. I took off my dirty clothes, and then took a long, hot shower. I brushed my teeth after I got out, put on my pajamas, then went to my room. I set my alarm clock, and got under the covers. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I was in the woods, back behind my house. I was running deeper and deeper, searching for something. Someone? I couldn’t remember what I was looking for, but I knew I had to get there quickly. I felt like I had been running forever when I heard a crack behind me, something was following me. I ran as fast as I could, but I tripped and fell over a root. I looked behind me, knowing that whatever creature had been chasing me was here. Only it wasn’t an animal, it was Edward, with blood red eyes. He smiled, before lunging towards me.

I woke up with a gasp. It was just a nightmare. I looked at my alarm clock, it was only 3 am. I still felt the adrenaline from my dream, so I went downstairs for a glass of water. I sat at the table as I drank it, thinking about my dream. Interesting how dreams work. I would’ve thought I’d see him just as I wanted to see him. With me, somewhere warm, both sparkling in the sunshine. But instead I saw what I truly feared. A monster, one who never really cared about me to begin with. I went back upstairs, climbing into bed. I tried to fall back asleep, but only managed a few more hours of uneasy sleep.

I woke up 30 minutes before my alarm, but knew I had no chance of falling back asleep. I went downstairs, deciding to get an early start on my day. I started a pot of coffee, knowing Charlie would be up soon. I grabbed a bowl and some cereal, and sat at the table to eat. Charlie came down as I finished my cereal. He thanked me for the coffee, putting it in a to-go cup and heading out the door. I went back upstairs, and into my room. I already had my school things together in my bag from Friday. I went over to my dresser and grabbed a t-shirt and some jeans. It wasn’t that cold, being mid September, but I grabbed a flannel out of my closet just in case. I went into the bathroom to get ready, then went downstairs. I still was pretty early, so I picked up a book I’d left downstairs and read for a few minutes.

I pulled into the school parking lot 15 minutes before classes started. None of my friends were here yet, but I knew they would be soon. Angela usually drove Jess to school, since Jess lived one street over. Mike usually got here around the same time as them, same with Ben. Eric was always pulling in right before the bell rang. It was a miracle he ever made it to class on time. Right on cue, Angela’s car pulled in the lot, parking on the right of my truck. I got out of the cab, making my way over to the girls. Jess wasn’t much of a morning person, it was hard to get more than a word or two out of her before ten am. Angela, however, was fully awake and ready to talk as soon as she arrived.

“Morning, Bella.” Angela said. “Want a muffin?”

“Sure, thanks Ang.” I replied, grabbing the chocolate chip muffin she handed me.

We talked about our classes for the day as we ate. Ang thought we’d have a pop quiz in Chem today, she thought she saw a stack of quizzes on Molina’s desk when she was asking him a question on Friday. I had gym first with Jess, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. We were doing basketball this quarter, which was probably one of my worst sports. Ang had a French test she was extremely underprepared for. She had forgotten it was coming up, distracted by our girls’ weekend and the whole breakup situation. I told Ang I’d see her later, heading to the locker rooms with Jess.

The day went by slowly, and I was starving by the time the lunch bell rang. Mondays were pasta days, it was probably the only good thing about the day. I got in line behind a few juniors, and impatiently waited to get my food. I grabbed some salad, too, and then made my way to our table. I sat between Mike and Ben, with the rest of our friends already seated around the table.

“So. What are we doing this weekend?” Eric asked.

“It’s 12:30 pm on a Monday. Do we really need to be planning the weekend already?” Jess replied.

“Yes, Jessica, we do.” Eric shot back.

“We could go camping,” Mike said. “It’s like $8 I think per person to camp on second beach.”

“I think it could be fun.” Ben added. “Have you ever gone camping on the beach, Bella?”

“I’ve never gone camping, period. I think you guys forget that I’m not an outdoorsy person.” I replied.

“We’ve just brainwashed you!” Angela said.

“We could meet at the store Friday afternoon. I bet my mom would let Bella and I close the store early so we’d get there before dark.” Mike added.

“And we could have another bonfire, too. Plus, my parents just got this like 10 person tent last summer and it’s like massive. We could all share the one tent. It would be so fun.” Jess said.

“Well I’m in.” Eric said.

“I guess I’m in too.” I sighed.

“C’mon Bella it’ll be fun. You had fun on our hike yesterday.” Angela said.

“I don’t think it was the hiking she liked.” Jess added, laughing.

“Shut up, Jess. I could still change my mind.” I replied, blushing.

“You wouldn’t pass up the chance to see your new friends in La Push.” Jess said, smirking.

“Just like you wouldn’t wanna miss seeing Quil again?” I asked, with a fake innocent look on my face.

“Touché.” Jess responded, giggling.

“So it’s settled.” Mike said. “We can probably close up like 6 o’clock and you guys can meet us at the store. We can take the suburban.”

We talked about our camping trip for the rest of lunch. Planning what snacks to bring and deciding who was bringing what for camping gear. I was in charge of bringing snacks for the bonfire, and was supposed to bring a sleeping bag for myself. I figured Charlie had a few that I could choose from, but I could borrow one from Jess if he didn’t. After lunch, the rest of the day flew by. Before I knew it I was pulling into the parking lot of Newton’s for my shift.

Notes:

Insert fun childhood anecdote here: when I was like little little my whole fam would camp out in our yard in a huge tent. we'd have a couple big comforters and me and my brother and sister would just sleep in a big pile of blankets and pillows and we'd even bring the dog. it was just our backyard, but we'd roast marshmallows and do sparklers and watch a dvd and it was just always so fun and felt so special. so those are the vibes we're going for here/soonish. just some innocent camping fun and good vibes

Chapter 14: Inaccurate Wolf Movies

I woke up to the door slamming downstairs. I had patrolled early this morning, before a long day of working on various jobs around the rez. I got home around 4:30 and flopped onto my bed, only intending to lay there for a couple minutes. I sat up and looked at the clock. 6:30 pm.

“You home, dear alpha?” Paul yelled from downstairs.

“I’m here, gimme a minute.” I replied, getting up and making my way downstairs.

“Nice nap?” Jared asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I replied.

“You have pillow marks on your face.” Paul added, laughing as he gestured to my cheek.

“So what if I took a nap after work. Plenty of people nap. That doesn’t make me an old man.” I replied, already anticipating where they were going with this.

“If you say so.” Jared said.

“We brought pizza.” Paul added.

“Why didn’t you lead with that?” I replied.

We went into the living room, sitting down with a pizza each. Paul flipped through channels on the tv as we ate, indecisive as usual. He landed on the third Harry Potter movie.

“Seriously, Paul?” Jared asked.

“I like this movie.” He defended.

“You just like laughing at the werewolf scenes.” I added, laughing.

“Exactly. That’s why I like it.” Paul replied.

We watched the movie as we ate, chatting about our days as well. We decided to do a quick patrol tonight after we ate. It wasn’t really necessary, with no sign of any vampires since the Cullens left, but the boys were restless and it was helpful to run drills every once and a while. We cleaned up the living room, and made our way into the woods. It was dark already, with only a sliver of the moon visible in the sky.

“Paul, my old friend, have you taken your potion tonight?” Jared asked dramatically. Paul just groans in response, reenacting the movie. “You know the man you truly are, Paul. This heart is where you truly live, this heart!” Jared continued.

Paul phased, ripping through his clothes and howling at the nearly invisible moon. Jared cackles before pulling off his shorts and phasing too. I roll my eyes, before joining them.

I hope you like walking home naked, Paul. I’m not letting you steal another pair of my shorts.

C’mon Sam it was funny. Jared thought it was funny.

He’s right. I did.

Don’t come crying to me when you get arrested for indecent exposure. He let out a wolfy sort of laugh, and I shoved him in response. You guys wanna race to Forks?

Without replying, they set off. I ran off after them, quickly passing Jared. We’ve done this before, usually racing to the town sign as the finish line. I was usually the fastest, hence why Paul and Jared felt the need to cheat. Paul reached the sign seconds before me, with Jared right on my heels. We patrolled through the surrounding woods, before Paul and I went back to my house. Jared went straight home, but Paul needed to borrow some pants. I went inside first, returning with an old pair of sweats that I tossed unceremoniously into the woods.

“Thanks, Sam.” Paul said, clapping a hand on my shoulder as he walked towards the road.

“Maybe consider giving them back this time.” I replied.

“We’ll see.” Paul said, smirking before he ran off.

I went back into the house, washing the few dishes that were left in the sink. Once I was satisfied with the state of the house, I went upstairs to take a shower. I stripped out of my shorts, and got under the stream of hot water. I took a long shower, letting the hot water soothe my sore muscles. I toweled off after, pulling on a fresh pair of boxers before heading to bed. It took a while to fall asleep, probably due to my 2 hour nap this afternoon. I fell into a deep sleep, waking up once the sun was just coming up. I yawned, pulling on some sweatpants before walking downstairs. I opened the fridge, grabbing some veggies from the drawer and a carton of eggs. I chopped some onions and peppers, and made myself a big omelet. I sat at the table to eat, thinking about the jobs I had lined up for today. I had a few smaller jobs lined up this morning, but the afternoon would be spent replacing the Clearwater’s roof. The boys were gonna help me when they got out of school, but I’d be stripping off the old shingles myself. I cleaned up from breakfast, then got ready for the day. I got into my truck, and drove to the first job.

After stopping home for a quick lunch, I went over to the Clearwater’s. I got to work quickly, knowing it was a time consuming job and wanting to finish today if I could. I tore off all the old shingles, and had just finished putting down the underlay when Paul and Jared arrived. We worked well together, no doubt due to our time running drills as wolves. We knew each other so well, and could easily anticipate what the others needed us to do while working. We joked and messed around a bit while working, but still got most of the roof done by the time the sun went down. Sue came outside as we were packing up.

“Great work, boys.” She said.

“We aren’t quite finished, but it should only take another couple hours to finish tomorrow.” I replied.

“Why don’t you boys stay for dinner, after. We’re having some friends over for a fish fry, there’ll be plenty of extra for you boys.” She added.

“I’d never pass up on free food!” Paul said.

“Thanks, Sue. That sounds great.” I said.

We said our goodbyes, and then got into my truck to head home. I made some boxed mac and cheese, and we had frozen chicken nuggets, too. We ate at the table, chatting while the boys worked on their homework. They left pretty early, offering to Patrol a bit before heading home. I took advantage of the early night, going to bed before 9 pm. I really did act like an old man sometimes, not that I’d ever admit it to the boys.

Notes:

Heyyyyyyy. Here's a lil chapter, mostly just lead up to the next few with some dumb boys goofing around! But what else is new?!

Chapter 15: Fish Fry

I had worked again Tuesday after school. I got home around 8:30, heading upstairs to change before finding something to eat. I worked on my homework as I ate dinner. I was glad that my teachers seemed to be going easy on us this year. It was senior year, we had enough going on without adding ridiculous amounts of homework. I finished my homework and my leftovers quickly, carrying my plate over to the sink and washing all the dishes in there from this morning. Charlie came downstairs as I was drying the last dish.

“Hey, Bells. How was your day?” He asked.

“Pretty good. I aced my pop quiz from Chem yesterday, and work was pretty good too.” I replied.

“Glad to hear it. There’s gonna be a fish fry tomorrow night at Harry’s, you’re not working right?”

“I’m off till Friday, so I’ll be there.” I replied. “Who else is going?”

“Probably just Billy and Jacob.” He answered. “I’m gonna head up to bed, night Bells.”

“Goodnight, Dad.” I replied, packing up my homework before heading up myself.

I went into my room, setting my bag down by the door. I went over to my desk, turning on my old desktop computer. I changed into my pajamas while it booted up. Once the computer was finally ready, I pulled up my email, checking to see if my mom had sent her weekly email yet. I had one unread message from her, so I clicked it and started reading.

Hey sweetie! Phil says hi, too. How are you holding up? Your Dad told me about the breakup. I’m just a phone call away if you need to talk. Phil and I were talking, and we think you should come visit us in October. The baseball season ends at the beginning of the month, so Phil will have a few weeks off. I was thinking we could fly you out for the long weekend, your Dad and I already talked about you missing a day or two of school if you have to. You’ll love Jacksonville, it’s humid, but warm like Phoenix. We’ll pay for your tickets, of course. Let me know what you think, and we’ll figure everything out. Are you going to homecoming next week? If you do, send me pics! And don’t worry about finding a date for the dance, I always went with a group of friends when I was in high school. Talk to you soon! Love, Mom.

I started drafting my reply, telling her I was doing okay after the breakup. I grabbed my planner out of my backpack. We didn’t have any tests planned for the Friday before the long weekend, so I shouldn’t miss much if I fly out that morning. It would be nice to see my mom, I hadn’t seen her since I was in the hospital in Phoenix. I had reluctantly agreed to go to homecoming during our girls weekend, with Jess as my date. We hadn’t picked out dresses yet, but we were planning on going shopping on Thursday after school. I wasn’t planning on going to homecoming this year, and Edward was fine with that. But Jess thought it would be fun, and she didn’t have a date. I had suggested Quil, but she said it was too soon to be ‘dance official.’ It was nice to have plans with my friends again. And even to have plans with my parents. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but I had been spending almost all of my time with the Cullens. I still saw my friends at school, but I opted out of sleepovers and beach days in favor of spending time with Edward instead. I still ate dinner with Charlie most nights, but Edward was usually there, and conversations were usually pretty stilted. Nothing like the easy way I usually got along with my Dad. I finished up my reply, hitting send and then powering down the computer. I went to the bathroom, brushing my teeth and washing my face. I got right into bed after, falling asleep quickly.

I woke up to my alarm, getting up and getting dressed in a soft long sleeve shirt and jeans. I grabbed my backpack and went downstairs. I threw a couple pieces of cinnamon bread in the toaster then said bye to my Dad, who was walking out the door. I read while I ate my toast, pausing to put a couple more pieces in the toaster. Cinnamon swirl toast was addicting. After I ate, I went upstairs to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. I ran back downstairs, pulled on my boots, and went out the door. I got to school right as Ang and Jess were pulling in. I parked next to them, and grabbed my bag as I got out of the truck. I walked over towards my friends, Ben and Mike walking over from where they were talking with a few other guys from our year.

“Morning.” I said as I reached my friends.

“Hey, Bella.” Ang said, resting her head on my shoulder.

“So I talked to my mom and she said we can close the store at 5:30 on Friday as long as there aren’t any customers still shopping.” Mike said.

“So the camping trip is a go?” Ben asked.

“The camping trip is a go!” Mike replied, beaming.

“Have we decided if we’re camping Saturday night, too?” I asked.

“I don’t think any of us are working Sunday, right?” Mike said, everyone nodding in response. “Then we totally should. We won’t be able to do this stuff pretty soon when it gets colder.”

We all agreed to camping a second night, Ben saying he’d tell Eric, who still wasn’t here, during their first class. We split up then, heading to our first classes of the day. My first class was English, with Mike and Ang. We had just finished presenting our reports on Romeo and Juliet last week, and were moving on to Macbeth. The curriculum was different here than in Phoenix, so I’d already read this last fall before I had moved. I wasn’t super interested in reading it a second time, so I mostly skimmed the book and worked on the questions with my friends. It definitely helped having already done this book, most of the questions Mr. Berty gave us were similar to the ones I had done in Phoenix. After English was Chemistry. Angela wasn’t in my chem class, but Mike was so we walked to class together. Edward had been in this class, too, so I didn’t have a lab partner anymore. Thankfully Mr. Molina let me pair up with Mike and Ben, who sat at the lab table next to me. Biology last year was a piece of cake, but chemistry was a lot harder. I always did better with life sciences rather than the more technical things like chemistry. Luckily Ben was great at Chem, so Mike and I did a lot better in the class than we thought we would. Mike was definitely the weak link in our trio, often ruining our experiments when he’d jump the gun and miss steps.

After Chem I had History, and then the freshman English class I TA’d for. English had always been my favorite class, and it was actually pretty fun to work with the freshman class. It made me wonder if I’d like teaching. I wouldn’t like teaching any grade younger than middle school, but it could be fun to teach English. My mom was a teacher, but she only worked in the elementary school, usually in kindergarten or first grade. After their class, it was time for lunch. I TA’d every other day, alternating with my gym class. I walked over to the cafeteria, grabbing a salad and a bottle of lemonade before sitting with my friends. I sat beside Jess, stealing fries off her plate when she wasn’t looking.

“Where do we wanna go dress shopping tomorrow?” Angela asked us.

“There’s a new boutique in Port Angeles my cousin was talking about, we could try there?” Jess suggested.

“That sounds good to me.” I said, reaching over to grab another fry.

“Get your grubby hands off my food!” Jess exclaimed, slapping my hand till I dropped the fry.

“My hands are not grubby!” I said, “And you aren’t gonna finish your fries anyways. You never do!”

“They’re still my fries.” Jess replied, as she stuffed them into her mouth.

“Do we wanna go right after school?” Angela asked.

“Yeah we should.” Jess replied. “And we should take your car, Ang. I don’t trust the truck to make it that far.”

“Quit hating on the truck. That truck is my best friend, and I love it more than life itself.” I said. “But we should take your car, the truck has shit gas mileage.”

“I’ll pick you up at like 7:45 tomorrow morning so we can leave right after class.” Ang added.

I nodded, and went back to my food. The subject quickly went back to our camping trip. Eric invited a few more people to the bonfire, but it would only be the six of us camping. It looked like it would be a pretty dry weekend, but it would be pretty chilly overnight. Jess had the idea to bring a bunch of blankets and old comforters to make the tent like a big nest for us to sleep in. I thought we should bring a couple air mattresses, but Ben shot me down, saying it wouldn’t ruin the ‘authentic camping experience.’ I was more worried about ruining my back, but whatever. The bell rang, ending lunch. After lunch I had my marine science class. It wasn’t something I was interested in making into a career, but it was a really cool class. We didn’t have any classes that interesting in Phoenix, and the field trips to the beach made it worth the extra work of another lab. I finished off the day with Calculus, and then I was free.

I had just finished my homework when Charlie got home. He went upstairs to change out of his uniform, and I put my books away. I grabbed a sweatshirt and went out the door. I drove, taking both of us in my truck to avoid the embarrassment of riding around in Charlie's police cruiser. I was familiar with the ride to La Push, having gone there so often with my friends. But I did need directions to the Clearwater’s house once we were further in town. I knew I must’ve gone there as a child, back when I’d spend part of the summer here, but I didn’t remember the specifics. I pulled into their driveway, parking beside Billy’s pickup truck. We got out of the truck, walking behind the house to the backyard where there were a few picnic tables and some chairs set up around a fire pit.

“Bella!” Sue exclaimed, pulling me into a hug. “How’ve you been, honey?”

“I’ve been pretty good, how about you?” I asked.

“Oh I’ve been good, keeping busy as usual. Let’s go get you a plate, you must be hungry.”

Sue took my hand, leading me over to the table where the food was set up buffet style. We both made up plates, and then went our separate ways. I walked over to one of the picnic tables, sitting down next to Jacob. Leah and Seth were across from us, already halfway through their meal.

“Hey guys. What’s up?” I asked.

“Not much, just watching these two slobs stuff themselves.” Leah replied, laughing at Seth’s offended face, looking ridiculous with his stuffed cheeks.

“Sounds like a good time.” I laughed.

“What’s been going on up in Forks lately?” Jacob asked. “Anything exciting?”

“Not really.” I replied. “My friends and I are coming out again on Friday night. We’re gonna be camping a couple nights on second beach, but we’re gonna do a bonfire Friday if you guys wanna join. I know Jess would like to see Quil again.”

“I’m in. I have absolutely nothing going on Friday.” Seth said.

“Not exactly something to brag about, buddy.” Jacob said, laughing.

“Whatever, Jake. It’s not like you have any plans either.” Seth shot back.

“See what I have to deal with.” Leah said, rolling her eyes at their antics. “I’m glad you’re here, I don’t think I would’ve made it through dinner without killing them.”

“There’s still time.” I replied, both of us bursting into giggles at the looks of horror on the boys’ faces.

“I thought we were friends, Bells.” Jake said, hand over his heart.

We all laughed at that, before going on to talk about our weeks. Leah was taking classes at Peninsula College, she was planning on becoming a nurse like her mom. Jake was talking about a prank he and his friends pulled, landing them in detention tomorrow night. Seth was complaining about his classes, he was a freshman this year and was nearly failing a few classes already.

“Which classes?” I asked.

“English is my worst subject, but science isn’t much better.” Seth replied.

“I’m actually a TA in freshman English this year. I could tutor you, if you want. I’m not too bad with science either.” I added.

“Really?” Seth exclaimed. “That would be awesome. Mom’s already threatening to ground me if I don’t get my grades up.”

“I could come by after school on Monday?” I suggested.

“Works for me. Thanks, Bella.” Seth said.

Jacob and Seth started talking about kids from school, with Leah listening along. I didn’t know most of the people they were talking about, so I zoned out a bit. I looked around the yard, seeing my dad laughing with Billy and Harry. I should go see Billy at some point, I knew he had been worried about my relationship with Edward, and I wanted him to know I was doing okay. As much as it irritated me at the time, Billy was practically family, and I knew he was just worried about me. I glanced around, looking for Sue. I saw her by the side of the house. Talking to 3 familiar faces.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” I said, getting up from the table.

Notes:

Ooh, Bella's visiting her mom? How can I possibly make this about Sam hahahha? Also the cinnamon swirl toast? Truly a hazard, should be classified as an addictive substance. Y'all know the one... I think it might be like pepperidge farm or somethin? In the like red bag. Not the raisin one tho, I don't fuck with raisins. Reading this over again before posting is always fun, like with this one I realized I made up a random cousin of Jess' that I intended to have live in Port Angeles. And like sure, it's plausible, but I'm pretty sure I forgot about it and never mention it again aside from a throwaway line. Or just kidding, maybe it'll make an appearance in chap 56 that I'm currently writing, who knows?! Also just a general disclaimer maybe don't read my little notes if you don't want minor spoilers. Cause like I know some of this shit is cliche af and I can't help but make fun of myself when I read it again. Like oh "3 familiar faces" who could that possibly be not the main love interest and his two best friends he's always with? That would be so weird, especially considering how I conveniently had them interacting with the hosts of this dinner the day prior for the sole purpose of giving them an excuse to be here?? So shocking, I know,,,,

Chapter 16: Harry Clearwater's Famous Fish Fry Part Two

“Thanks for having us, Sue.” I said, accepting her hug.

“It’s the least I could do. You boys did a great job on the roof. C’mon, food’s getting cold.” She replied, leading us over to the food. Jared and I started filling our plates, Paul waiting impatiently behind us.

“Fancy seeing you here, Bella” Paul said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

“How’s it going, Paul?” she asked.

“It would be going great if these two hurried up with the food. I’m starving.” He answered. Bella laughed, turning towards Jared and I.

“You heard him.” Bella said, “Hurry up!”

“Jeez, Bella. Maybe we’re trying to teach Paul the value of patience.” Jared added.

“I don’t think Paul even knows what that word means.” I added, laughing.

“I know what it means, Sam. I just think I’m above that. Why should I wait when I could just, not wait.” Paul replied.

We laughed, Jared and I finished filling our plates then waited for Paul to fill his. The four of us made our way over to the fire, sitting in the chairs around it.

“So what did you guys do today?” Bella asked.

“Paul and I had class, boring as usual.” Jared replied.

“And then we came here to help Sam finish the roof.” Paul added.

“We got most of it done yesterday, but we still had a few more hours of work today.” I added. “Then we went to my place to shower, and now here we are. What about you?”

“Just class.” Bella said, shrugging. “Oh! Before I forget, my friends and I are coming up again this weekend. We’re having another bonfire Friday night, if you guys are free.”

“We wouldn’t miss it.” Jared replied.

“So what do you guys do around here?” Bella questioned.

“There’s not much to do, really.” Paul answered, “We hang out at Sam’s a lot playing video games and watching movies, stuff like that.”

“And we hang out at the beach a lot.” Jared added. “We’re at Sam’s like every day, he has his own place so it’s where we usually hang out.”

“Eating all my food, waking me up in the mornings.” I listed, “Having fist fights in my living room.”

“If this is about Sunday morning, I just wanna remind you it was 11:30 am. It’s not our fault you weren’t awake yet and that was a perfectly reasonable time to come over.” Jared huffed.

“Fist fights in the living room?” Bella questioned.

“They get pretty competitive when it comes to Mario Kart.” I replied, smirking.

“Jared likes to cheat, so I have to teach him a lesson.” Paul adds.

“It’s not cheating to hit you with a blue shell!” Jared argued.

“It should be!” Paul shot back.

“The whole point of the blue shell is to blow up whoever’s in first! I’m not gonna get a blue shell and not use it!” Jared replied.

“See what I mean.” I said to Bella, “It escalates quickly.” She laughs in response, her eyes darting between the boys as they argue.

“Hey, kids.” Billy greets as he comes up beside us.

“Hey, Billy.” Bella responds. “How are you?”

“I’m pretty good, Bella. How have you been?” He replied. From the look on Bella’s face, I could tell she knew Billy meant the question as more than just polite small talk.

“I’ve been good.” She said, pausing to choose her next words. “I’ve been spending more time with my friends, and here at the rez. It’s nice to be around good people.”

“Glad to hear it. You should come around sometime for dinner with Charlie, you two are always welcome.” He said, before turning to me. “You boys did a good job on the roof. I might be needing your services to build me a new ramp. The wood is starting to rot on my old one.”

“I should have some time next week, I’ll stop by soon to go over everything with you.” I replied.

“Well I’ll leave you kids to it. Good to see you, Bella.” Billy said, winking at me when Bella wasn’t looking. Great. Another person to hassle me about Bella Swan.

“C’mon,” I said, standing up and holding a hand out to Bella. “Sue made pie and I wanna get some before the boys eat it all.”

Bella laughed, taking my hand so I could pull her to her feet. We walked over to the food, and I served us each a big piece of blueberry pie, covering them completely in whipped cream. We went back to our seats, chatting as we ate our pie. Bella told me about her camping plans, and her lack of ‘outdoorsiness’ as she put it. She talked about her clumsiness, making me think of the mud on her knees on Sunday at dinner with her friends. I talked a little about work, going more in depth at Bella’s prompting. I could tell she wasn’t really following, but she wanted to know more about me and what I did. It was nice, getting to know someone new and talking to someone other than Paul and Jared. We talked for a while, until everyone started getting up and getting ready to head out. It was a school night, after all.

“Bye, Sam. Bye, boys. I’ll see you guys Friday.” Bella said, waving as she walked over to her Dad. We said our goodbyes back before walking towards Sue and Harry.

“Dinner was great, thank you again for inviting us.” I said.

“Anytime, Sam.” Harry replied, “Have a good night.”

Sue gave us each a hug, and sent us on our way. I dropped the boys off at their houses, then pulled into my own driveway. I went inside, getting ready for bed quickly. But as I laid down for the night, I couldn’t sleep, unable to stop thinking about Bella Swan.

Notes:

Yes, the title is unnecessarily long but fuck it, whatever. I like it. I connect with Paul in this chapter on a deeply personal level,,,,, it should be cheating to hit me with the blue shell on mario kart and doing so may result in me slapping a hoe, respectfully. I hate the hot head persona Paul gets in the sense of him being a loose cannon and generally disliked by the other characters because of it. So I say let him get pissed over dumb shit like I do. Having a temper may make him a bit of an ass, but he's not a bad person (he's just like me fr). And I love that about his character. Like ya be a snarky shit and maybe a mario kart fist fight is a bit over the top but it happens, and I am saying that from personal experience.

Chapter 17: Shopping in the City

I woke up early on Thursday, nearly an hour before my alarm was set to go off. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I got an early start on my day. I picked out an outfit, ending up with a pair of ripped jeans paired with a t-shirt and flannel on top. I headed downstairs, deciding to cook something for breakfast. I made a couple omelets, one for me and one for Charlie. I started the coffee as the omelets were cooking, and had everything ready when my dad came down the stairs.

“Something smells good.” Charlie commented.

“I made breakfast. Omelets.” I said, handing him a plate as he walked in.

“Thanks, Bells.” He replied. He grabbed his coffee, too, and we sat down at the table to eat.

“So my friends and I are going camping this weekend if that’s okay? And don’t forget I’m going dress shopping with Jess and Ang tonight.” I said.

“Where are you guys going camping? And who’s going?” Charlie asked.

“We’re going down to second beach for a couple nights. It’ll be me, Jess, Angela, Mike Newton, Ben Chaney, and Eric Yorkie. We’re gonna have a bonfire on Friday, too, and I invited Jake and some of my other friends from the rez.” I answered.

“Make sure you bring your bear spray, just in case.” He added.

“I will, Dad. Do you have a sleeping bag I can borrow?” I asked.

“There’s a few in the linen closet.” He replied, before pausing. “It’s nice to see you hanging out with your friends more. They’re good kids. And Billy told me Jake had a good time with you and your friends last weekend.”

“Jess really hit it off with Jake’s friend, Quil. It’s gonna be fun hanging out together again.” I said.

We were mostly silent after that, both eating our breakfast. Charlie commented on the paper every once in a while, occasionally just huffing and shaking his head at what he was reading. We finished soon after, I grabbed our plates and washed up. Charlie poured his second cup of coffee into his travel mug, squeezing my shoulder on his way out the door. I grabbed my stuff and went outside to wait for Ang and Jess to pick me up.

The day passed quickly, and before I knew it we were on our way to Port Angeles. Jess sat shotgun, so I was in the back. We were blasting the radio, singing loudly to the Killers. It was easy to forget that this time a week ago I was still moping, trying to process the fact that they were really gone. There was something to be said for distracting yourself after a breakup. I was still heartbroken, but I was spending my time with friends, having fun and acting like a typical teen. A vindictive part of me resented that, that I was living a normal life, because isn’t that what he wanted. But the rest of me was grateful. I was closer with Jess and Ang than before, and made more friends at the rez. I was drawn out of my musings by Jess, who was yelling about her favorite song coming on. We sang along for the rest of the ride, making it to Port Angeles around 4:30.

“Why don’t we park at that lot off of Lincoln and First street?” Jess suggested as we drove through downtown Port Angeles. “Most of the clothing stores are like right down first.”

“Sounds good.” Ang said, driving down Lincoln Street and taking a right into the lot.

We got out of the car and made our way to the shops. We started with the boutique Jess’ cousin told her about. There were a few dresses Ang liked there, but we decided to keep looking. Six stores later, we all had dresses. We put our shopping bags in Angela’s car, and then walked towards the water looking for somewhere to eat. We decided on a restaurant right by the docks. It was almost 6 o’clock, so we had to wait to be seated. Once we were seated the waiter quickly took our orders, leaving us the chat while we waited.

“So Quil’s probably coming tomorrow.” I said.

“Really? How’d you know?” Jess asked.

“I had dinner at the Clearwater’s yesterday. You guys remember Seth and Leah from the bonfire? Their dad Harry, Jacob’s dad, and my dad are like best friends. So I invited them and may have mentioned specifically to Jake that you were hoping to see Quil again.” I replied.

“But what if he tells him you said that, Bella! I can’t be too eager, you know?” Jess said.

“Jess I’m sure he’s just as excited to see you tomorrow. You two talked like all night at the bonfire.” Ang added.

“Exactly.” I agreed.

“And what about you?” Ang asked, nudging my shoulder. “Do you think Sam will be there?”

“He said he would be.” I paused, “Well, Jared said they’d be there but they’re almost always together so I’m pretty sure those three are a package deal.”

“So you saw Sam again and didn’t tell us?” Jess exclaimed, jaw dropped in mock outrage.

“Him and the boys did some work on the Clearwater’s house so they invited them to dinner, too. And I’m telling you now, so relax Jess!” I added.

“You know, I think it’s fate you keep running into him.” Jess said.

“Fate?” I questioned, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Are you gonna start reading my palm next?”

“No but seriously, you meet this cute guy at the bonfire then see him again the next night. You had dinner with him! Like we were all there but it sorta counts. And then yesterday he just happens to be there too. Two times is a coincidence, three is a pattern!” Jess argued.

“I don’t know about fate, she was at the rez all three times and they apparently run in the same circles. Maybe if we ran into him here.” Angela mused.

“He could be here!” Jess said, turning around in her seat to look across the restaurant.

“Oh my god, Jess, he is not here!” I laughed.

“He isn’t here.” Jess said, pouting a bit as she settled back in her seat.

“Of course he isn’t!” I exclaimed. “We’re like an hour and a half away from the rez, why would he be here on a random Thursday night?”

“A girl can dream.” Jess sighed.

“You two are way too invested in my life.” I added.

“I think we’re just the right amount of invested.” Ang replied.

“I might be a little too invested.” Jess admitted. “But it’s exciting! And you know I like to gossip. It’s your duty to like keep me informed on everything that happens in your life!”

“And I do!” I replied. “What about you, Ang. How are things with Ben?”

“They’re great. We were talking the other day and he said he’s thinking about going to school in Seattle, too. I don’t know if we’ll end up at the same school but same city is enough for me.” Angela replied.

“That’s great, Ang. You and Ben are so cute together.” I said.

“A much better fit than you and Eric at the girls’ choice dance.” Jess said, smirking.

“It was both of your ideas for me to go with him! And we just went as friends, I didn’t have anyone else to go with since Bella didn’t go.” Ang defended.

“And for that one night together, they worked better than Jess and Mike!” I said, laughing.

“Listen, I love Mike. He’s a great friend. But he’s like my brother. Or like a weird cousin? It was a bad idea and you both should’ve stopped me!” Jess replied.

“In my defense, I’d only known you for a month or two.” I added.

“So it’s all on you, Ang! You did this!” Jess exclaimed.

“Yes, Jess. It’s all my fault, I totally forced you to date Mike. Forgive me?” Ang asked sarcastically.

“You’re forgiven.” Jess laughed.

Our waiter came back with our meals. It was a seafood restaurant, and I wasn’t that hungry so I only got a cup of clam chowder for dinner. Ang and Jess both got fish and chips, so I stole fries off both their plates. We went over our plans for the bonfire and camping trip, deciding to stop at a grocery store on the way home. Mike and I had to work until 5:30, so I had to grab the snacks today. I was planning on getting the usual snacks, chips and candy and things like that. But I also wanted to get the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. We were gonna get hot dogs, too, so we were going to stop at the thriftway back in Forks so they wouldn’t go bad on the drive. After we finished and paid for our meals, we walked back to Angela’s car. We made good time on the drive home, and got to the grocery store just after 8 pm. We got what we needed, plus plenty of extra snacks Jess threw in the cart when Ang and I weren’t looking. Then Ang drove us home, dropping off me and the groceries first.

I walked in the house, carrying all the groceries in one trip. After putting away the perishables, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I put them into a tupperware after they cooled, and then I made my way upstairs to get ready for bed. It wasn't too late, but I wanted to shower, too. Plus with the long day tomorrow, I wanted to get as much sleep as I could. Who knows if I’ll be able to even sleep on our camping trip. I get grumpy when I’m tired, and Ben would be the main target for my anger. I don’t need an ‘authentic camping trip,’ I need a solid 6 hours of sleep at the very least. I took a long shower, taking time to deep condition my hair, knowing I wouldn’t be able to shower again until Sunday. This whole camping thing sounds great, right. Who needs running water and good hygiene in general? I put on some comfy sweats and a t-shirt after my shower, going to bed with damp hair.

I woke up to my alarm for once. I usually woke up well before my alarm, so this was a welcome change. I actually felt well rested. Charlie was already walking out the door when I came downstairs, wishing me a fun weekend as he shut the door behind him. I ate my breakfast quickly and made my way to school. The day seemed to pass much faster than usual, especially with the excitement for the upcoming camping trip. I was surprised none of us got detention, Eric especially couldn’t stop talking about the trip during class. But we all made it through, and before I knew it I was closing up the store with Mike. We both changed out of our uniforms in the bathroom, and then locked up. I ran over to my truck, putting away my uniform and grabbing the stuff for the trip.

“Here, lemme help with that.” Ben said, coming up behind me to take a few bags.

“Thanks, Ben.” I said, grabbing my duffel bag and making my way to Mike’s suburban.

“Are you excited, Bella?” Jess exclaimed. “I’m pumped. This bonfire tonight is gonna be great and I was looking online at the tent Ang brought and it looks huge! Do you think we’ll tell ghost stories tonight? Like I like ghost stories but it's a little freaky when you’re gonna be sleeping outside, you know?”

“Take a breath, Jess.” Ang shouted from behind the car where she was loading bags into the trunk.

“I know how to breathe, Ang, I’ve been breathing the last 17 years!” Jess shot back.

“Okay, come on guys. We’re losing daylight here.” Mike said, herding everyone into the car.

“Why does Ben get shotgun? I have like no leg room back here.” Eric complained.

“If you wanted shotgun you should’ve been faster.” Ben replied with a grin.

“Angela’s just as tall as you and she isn’t complaining.” I added.

“So we’re all ganging up on Eric now. I see how it is.” Eric said, shaking his head.

“You just make it so easy!” Jess said, laughing.

“C’mon Ben it’s your job to man the radio.” Mike interjected. “Let’s get some tunes going.”

“What’re we feeling? Pop? Rock?” Ben asked.

“Ooh that reminds me! Bella, did you get any pop rocks at the store yesterday?” Jess asked.

“Yes, Jess, I got you your pop rocks.” I answered, rolling my eyes.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” She replied, leaning over her seat in the back row to kiss my cheek.

“So, music?” Ben asked again.

“Just put on the pop station.” Eric replied.

Ben turned to the right station and turned the music up. We sang along to the radio the rest of the drive, making fun of Eric and Mike trying to hit the high notes. Mike pulled into the small parking area for Second Beach, and we made quick work of unloading the trunk. The girls and I started setting up for the fire, but soon took over the tent building. We sent Mike and Eric to keep setting up the snacks, and set the tent up in a matter of minutes. We got our stuff unpacked, and then began making the fire. Mike and Ben got it going, and then we settled on the logs around the fire pit. It was now a matter of waiting for the fire to grow, and for our other friends to arrive.

Notes:

For the sake of accuracy, and my own need to fully flesh out everything, I did decide on a song they would be listening to on the way to Port Angeles that was out in the vaguely 2006-8ish range I am setting the story in. Obviously there is a like correct answer of what year it was in new moon, but I have yet to bother looking it up and I think the approx range is more than good enough. ANYWAYS,,,, they're listening to When You Were Young by the Killers, because I said so. No, there's no actual reasoning for this, I think I glanced at a billboard 100 list for like mid 2000s and saw it and was like yes. this! And if you were wondering, Jess' favorite song is Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani, mostly because she can actually talk fast enough to sing along and honestly it's just so catchy and I think she'd love it. I will also note that I did look through google maps and find where they'd probably be shopping and find an actual parking lot for them. As someone who's never actually been further west than like Cincinnati probably, I think I would actually be able to navigate Forks/La push and probably Port Angeles without gps at this point just from fact checking and trying for accurate drive times haha..... I love the dynamic of someone with a new crush (even if they're in denial) and the friends who are overly invested to the point of delusion and public embarrassment. The kind of friends that you're a bit embarrassed to be seen with but you don't mind too much cause you can't stop laughing. Anyways,,, Bella deserves friends!

Chapter 18: Boys and Bonfires

The boys got to my house around 5:30, just as I was getting out of the shower. I got dressed quickly, and went downstairs. The boys were sitting around the table waiting for me.

“Excited, Sam?” Jared asked.

“Shut up.” I replied. “Just for that, you’re on veggie duty.”

“C’mon Sam, you know cutting onions makes me cry.” He replied.

“You should’ve thought about that before you ran your mouth.” I replied, smirking.

“So I’m on assembly?” Paul asked.

“Yup. Let’s get going, I don’t wanna be late.” I replied.

“Whipped.” Jared fake coughed.

“Onions.” I reminded him.

He rolled his eyes, Paul laughing in the background. I opened the fridge, grabbing the peppers and the meat I had marinated earlier. Jared got to work preparing the veggies, while Paul and I made the kebabs.

“You know, most teens don’t bring kebabs to their friend’s parties.” Paul commented.

“You think they’re gonna have enough food for you two without them?” I replied. “Besides, it’s rude to show up empty-handed and I know both your mothers raised you better than that.”

“I’m just saying, I think a bag of chips or a case of soda would do.” Paul added.

“Well that’s cause you don’t have anyone to impress, Paul.” Jared said, smirking.

I cuffed him on the back of the head, and we got back to work. We worked quickly, and cleaned up the kitchen when we had finished. We packed up the uncooked kebabs and got into my truck, driving down to Second Beach. I really was excited, it was nice to have friends other than the boys, and it was nice to actually be invited to something. Last weekend was nice, but it was better to know that she wanted us here, wanted to spend time with us too. I’d always been a bit of a loner, especially with what I had going on at home growing up. I was excited to have someone new in my life, to get to hang out like a normal teen for the night. We pulled into the small parking lot, parking next to Leah Clearwater’s beat up station wagon. Paul grabbed the food, and we made our way over to the fire.

“Hey! You guys made it!” Bella exclaimed, pulling each of us into hugs. I was a little surprised at her easy affection, but welcomed it.

“I told you we wouldn’t miss it.” Jared replied, lightly shoving her shoulder.

“C’mon, let’s introduce you to everyone else.” She said, leading us to the rest of the group.

“Where should I put this?” Paul asked.

“Here, it can go next to the hot dogs. Thanks for bringing these, guys. They look great.” Bella replied.

We reached the group, Bella showing Paul where to put the food before joining us again. Bella turned to her friends and introduced us.

“Okay so this is Sam, Paul, and Jared.” She turned to us, and pointed to each person as she introduced them. “Guys, this is Mike, Eric, and Ben. And I’m sure you remember Jess and Ang.”

We greeted each other, and then conversation resumed. The boys fit in easily, soon debating the best video game systems with Ben and Seth Clearwater. I gravitated towards the food table, where Bella was getting ready to start cooking over the fire.

“You here to help me cook?” Bella asked.

“I’d love to.” I replied. Bella handed me a tray with the food on it, and we went over to the fire.

“You know what you’re doing, right?” She questioned. “I’ve never actually cooked over a campfire before, aside from s'mores, but I somehow was stuck with dinner duty.”

“I know what I’m doing.” I assured her. “It’s not much different than cooking on a grill.”

We started laying the food over the grate, and sat back on a log while the food cooked.

“So how was work today? You were doing that bathroom remodel, right?” Bella asked. I was surprised she had remembered what I had planned for today.

“Yeah, I was. It went well, Mrs. Connweller kept bringing me cookies while I worked, so that was a plus.” I replied.

“You’re gonna get cavities with that sweet tooth of yours.” Bella said.

“Speak for yourself! You’re just as bad as I am.” I replied, smirking.

“You might be right.” Bella replied, laughing. “I may have made us some chocolate chip cookies to go with our s'mores tonight. I hid them in my duffel so keep it to yourself.” She added with a sly smile.

“Your secret is safe with me.” I laughed.

“The boys seem to be getting along well” She says, gesturing to the guys all crowded around where Paul and Quil Ateara were arm wrestling.

“God, I hope he wins. I don’t wanna deal with his bruised ego later.” I say, causing Bella to burst into giggles.

“These are done, right?” She asked. I nodded, and we started taking the food off the fire.

“Grab what you want before the boys get to it. You’ve seen Paul and Jared, and Jacob and his friends aren’t much better.” I said, dishing up my own plate.

“Good to know.” She laughed, filling a plate for herself. “Foods ready!” She called to everyone else.

We went over to a log by the fire as everyone crowded the food table. Jess and Angela came over to sit beside us once they had grabbed their food.

“Food looks good, guys.” Jess praised.

“It really does.” Angela agreed. “I’ve hardly eaten anything today.”

“I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t have eaten the meatloaf they served for lunch either.” Bella replied.

“I blame Molina. He cornered me in the hallway to ask me a question about my report, and all the pizza was gone by the time I got to the cafeteria.” Angela complained.

“Why do teachers always do that?” Jess questioned. “Like every time a class is like held back after the bell, or a teacher has a question it’s always at lunch. Lunch is short enough as is, it's ridiculous.”

“Enough about school.” Angela said. “What were you guys talking about before we came over?”

“This and that. Sam was telling me a bit about work.” Bella replied.

“You mostly work by yourself, right?” Jess asked.

“The boys help on the bigger jobs, but other than that it’s just me.” I answered.

“What are you saying about us?” Jared asked, as he and Paul sat down on the log to my right.

“Speak of the devils.” I muttered, Bella letting out a quiet laugh, being the only one who heard me.

“You better not be talking shit, we both know I could take you.” Paul added.

“You sure about that, Paul?” I questioned, laughing as he flexed his muscles.

We finished our food, talking about our days and the correct way to roast a marshmallow. Paul insisted they taste better if you burn them, but I knew he was just too impatient to do it right. A few more kids arrived as we were talking, some other kids from their school that their friend Eric had invited. Our group split up, Bella going with Jess to talk to Jacob and his friends. The boys went back to Ben and Eric, citing another round of arm wrestling. Ang and I talked for a while, I was telling her about some of the lesser known hiking trails around the rez.

“I had a lot of fun on the third beach trail. It was definitely more challenging than a lot of the other trails I’ve done.” Angela said.

“Where else have you gone?” I asked.

“My family’s pretty into hiking, so we’ve gone all over the state. We go further north a lot, to the Makah rez and around Clallam bay. We’ve gone to Sequim a few times too.” She replied.

“You should check out Sol Duc Falls if you haven’t before. It’s a pretty basic trail, but the views are worth the hour drive.” I said. “You can go further, too, to Deer Lake. It's another 6 miles or so.”

“We should get a group together and go sometime.” Angela suggested. “I’m sure between the two of us we could convince Bella to go.”

“That sounds fun. We’ll have to go before it gets too cold.” I said.

“Ooh they’re getting out the marshmallows for smores. Let’s go.” Angela said, and we both got up from our seats.

I walked over to the table, grabbing a marshmallow and going to roast it over the fire. Bella walked over, standing next to me to roast her own marshmallow. We stood in companionable silence as they cooked. We pulled them off the fire at the same time, and Bella quietly gestured for me to follow her. We went over to their tent, and I followed her in. She dug around her bag, pulling out a tupperware of cookies for us.

“C’mon let's go get the chocolate.” She said, hiding the tupperware in the big pocket of her sweatshirt. We went over to the table, making our cookie s'mores before sitting down again on a log.

“These cookies are amazing. Did you make them from scratch?” I asked, quickly finishing my smore.

“They’re Grandma Swan’s secret recipe.” Bella replied.

“What’s so secret about it?” I questioned.

“The secret is that it’s just the recipe on the chocolate chip bag.” Bella replied, laughing.

“I see. Hand me another cookie.” I said. She sneakily grabbed a cookie from her pocket, passing it to me.

“I’m so not looking forward to sleeping in a tent tonight.” Bella complained.

“The sand’s not that bad, it’s better than camping in the woods. Softer.” I said.

“You know what’s softer, Sam? My perfectly good bed.” She replied.

“It’s about the experience, Bella.” I said, laughing at the face she made.

“That’s what Ben said too when he vetoed the air mattresses.” Bella grumbled.

“I still can’t believe you’ve never gone camping before. Your dad’s always out here camping and fishing with his friends.” I added.

“Exactly. With his friends. He’d bring me fishing just for the day when I’d spend summers here, but I complained enough that he gave up on the whole outdoorsy bonding thing.”

“You’re something else, you know that?” I said, shaking my head.

“I’m honestly surprised I never fell off the boat. My klutziness knows no bounds.”

“You’re not that bad.” I argued.

“You just haven’t spent enough time with me to see the full effect yet.” She replied.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to say you told me so.” I said, shrugging. I held my hand out. “Cookie me.”

“You know I’ve never seen anyone who can eat as much as you and your boys.” She said, handing me another cookie. “It’s a little scary. That’s like 4 cookies now? And a marshmallow. And the like 5 kebabs you had for dinner plus snacks. It’s a little ridiculous.”

“I’m a growing boy.” I defended, ducking away as she tried to smack my arm.

“You don’t need to grow anymore, you're already like a foot taller than me. Maybe more.”

“It’s not my fault you’re freakishly short.” I said, raising my hands in surrender.

“I am not freakishly short!” She exclaimed. “I’m 5’4 that’s perfectly average!”

“That’s pretty short.” I said, laughing as she tried to smack me again. “Stop hitting me! You’re just mad that I’m right.”

“No, I’m mad because you’re stupid! And maybe I’m gonna go hang out with someone who’s actually nice to me.” She said, crossing her arms and huffing when she saw me stifling a laugh. I couldn’t hold it in, and then we were both laughing our heads off.

“I did like coming to the beach when I was a kid.” Bella said after our laughter died down. “I liked going to the tide pools, and seeing all the little creatures swimming around.”

“They were my favorite part of the beach, too. I used to go with my mom all the time growing up.” I paused, “We could take a walk down to the tide pools, if you want. The sun hasn’t quite set yet, so we should have enough light to make it back.”

“I’d love to.” She replied.

I stood from the log, holding out my hand for Bella. She took it, and I pulled her to her feet. We walked towards the tide pools, following a little trail through the woods. It wasn’t that far, but by the time we reached them we couldn’t hear the rest of the party. We walked around the tide pools, leaning over to watch the little fish and the crabs scuttling around. After a close call with Bella slipping on a damp rock, she clutched my hand like a life line, only letting go when we were far from the edge of the pools. The sun went down as we wandered, but we hardly noticed. Bella was captivated by the life in the little pools, and I was drawn to the look of wonder on her face. By the time we decided to leave, it was significantly darker. I could still see pretty well in the dark, but Bella was clearly having trouble. And with the darkness also came a fairly significant drop in temperature. Bella was stubborn, but I could tell she was cold. After she tripped over a root for the third time, I pulled her into my side, keeping her from falling and sharing some warmth.

“Has anyone ever mentioned how ridiculously warm you are?” She asked me. “You’re like a furnace.”

“I’ve heard that once or twice.” I laughed. “You on the other hand are practically made of ice.”

“I’ve heard that, too.” She replied, huddling closer into my side.

“Did you bring warm enough clothes to sleep in?” I asked.

“Yeah, I just didn’t think I’d need them yet. It got chilly fast.” She replied.

We walked in silence for a few minutes before we broke through the trees. Five minutes later we reached the group around the fire.

Notes:

I'm lowkey mad I just wrote the whole end note before I finished reading/editing this chapter and I wrote the lil note about some stuff that primarily happens in the next chapter even though it sort of starts off in this one and so I had to delete the whole thing. Also the lil bit about the "secret" recipe being the one on the bag is my own supposed "secret" recipe shoutout nestle tollhouse choc chip cookies.

Chapter 19: Cookie Smuggling and Camping Shenanigans

As we reached the fire, I saw Jess looking pointedly between me and the arm around my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and ignored her. We walked over to where Ben, Ang, and Paul were sitting by the food table. We sat down next to Paul, and Sam wordlessly held out his hand. I rolled my eyes and gave him his fifth cookie.

“Bella, are you smuggling cookies in your sweatshirt pocket?” Ang questioned.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I replied, struggling to keep a straight face.

“What cookie?” Sam mumbled through his full mouth. I lost it, doubling over in laughter.

“I want one of those cookies, Swan.” Paul said, darting his hand out towards my pocket.

“No!” I shrieked, stumbling over the back of the log and running away. I didn’t get far, Paul grabbing me from behind and depositing me back on the log, with the tupperware in his hand.

“Was that so hard?” He asked, a smirk on his face.

“I hate you.” I replied, glaring for a minute before laughing again.

“I want a cookie, too.” Ang said. Paul tossed her one, Ang nearly falling off her seat trying to catch it.

“Ben?” Paul questioned.

“Why not?” Ben replied, snatching his cookie out of the air.

I leaned closer to Sam, whispering in his ear. “There’s another tupperware in my bag.”

“I’ll distract them while you run and get them.'' he whispered back, then turned back to our friends. “Do you guys see that? Is that a whale?”

“How can you even see that far, it’s getting so dark.” Ang replied, standing to see better.

“Where’d Bella go?” I heard Ben ask as I made my way to the tent.

I grabbed the cookies from my bag, walking back to the fire and sitting wordlessly next to Sam. He held his hand up for a high five, not even pausing in his conversation with Ben and Ang. I reached into my pocket, grabbing myself a cookie.

“Did you just go get more cookies?” Ben asked in disbelief.

“Maybe.” I replied, sticking the hand with the cookie slowly back into my pocket.

“You’re ridiculous.” Ang said, shaking her head.

“Did I hear something about cookies?” Jake asked, coming to sit beside me with Jess and Quil behind him.

“No cookies here.” I said. Putting my arms in front of my pocket to hide the bulge of the tupperware.

“She’s got a whole container in her pocket.” Paul said, taking a big bite of another cookie.

“Sweet! Thanks, Lahote.” Jake replied, motioning for me to hand it over.

“You’re dead to me, Paul.” I said, glaring at him as I handed the cookies to Jake.

The cookies went fast, especially with the rest of the group joining us. The other kids from school had left, so there were just enough left to go around. Eric, Mike, and Embry took turns telling scary stories, much to Jess’ horror. She huddled into Quil’s side, who looked awful smug. My suspicions were confirmed when Embry sent him a not-so-subtle wink. I laughed a little under my breath, looking to see if anyone else had noticed. Angela caught my eye, and tipped her head towards them, smirking. I raised my eyebrows, trying not to laugh.

“That’s a little freaky.” Sam said, talking quietly as he leaned closer.

“What?” I asked.

“Your little wordless conversation with Angela.” He replied.

“How do you know we weren’t just speaking telepathically?” I shot back.

“Then that’s even more freaky.” He said, laughing quietly. I winked, before turning back to the conversation.

We talked a while longer, and Seth started falling asleep against Jess’ shoulder. She giggled when she noticed, and started shushing anyone who talked too loud. After about 15 minutes of that, we decided it was time for bed. Jess gently woke Seth up, and we all stood to say our goodbyes. Sam, Paul, and Jared got into Sam’s black pickup, the other 5 piling into Leah’s station wagon. They waved as they drove off, and then it was just the six of us.

“We’re changing first.” Jess said. “You three start cleaning up the food.”

The three of us went into the tent, changing into thick fleece pajamas and heavy sweatshirts. We ducked back out, giving the tent to the boys so they could change, too. We went back in, piling our sleeping bags in a big pile of blankets and pillows. We talked for a little while, sharing stories we heard from our other friends tonight and planning for the next day. We fell asleep soon after, all piled on top of each other in our sleeping bags. I woke up to Jess complaining.

“Seriously, I think one of you kicked me in the head last night. It was probably you, Eric, you seem like a kicker.” Jess said.

“I can’t control what I do in my sleep!” Eric defended. “If you didn’t want to be kicked you shouldn’t have slept right at my feet.”

“I’m not mad, I’m just stating a fact. Someone kicked me. Right in the head.” She replied.

“It’s too early for this.” Ben, who had just sat up, said. He flopped back down, landing right on Ang’s stomach.

“Ow, Ben, what the hell?” Ang exclaimed.

“Sorry, Babe.” He replied.

“I gotta pee.” I said, climbing out of my sleeping bag. “I’ll be back in a few.”

I started climbing over everyone, trying to get to the door. Right as I reached for the zipper, I tripped over the head of a still sleeping Mike, waking him up.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Mike said, blinking as he sat up.

“Nothing, just tripped over your head. Sorry!” I replied, finally climbing out of the tent.

I pulled on my boots, and walked towards the porta potty that was over by the trail. When I got back to the tent, everyone was fully awake and eating the muffins we brought for breakfast. We didn’t have any concrete plans for the day, and we spent most of the morning laying around the tent talking. It was a little drizzly, but fairly warm, so we were comfortable in the tent. After we had some sandwiches for lunch, we decided to hike a bit. We went up the trail towards the parking lot, then followed the trail up to First Beach. We spent a few hours exploring the beaches, and then made our way into town to grab takeout for dinner. We sat outside by the docks to eat, and then made our way back to the tent. We built another fire, sitting around and talking late into the night. It was nice to spend time together like this, talking about whatever came to mind. We stayed up until the fire died down, going to bed once it was completely out.

I was the first one up in the morning, everyone else sleeping in due to another late night. I made my way carefully out of the tent, and sat on a log facing the water. I watched the waves for a while, going back to the tent when I heard my friends stirring. I unzipped the tent, slipping my boots off and climbing back in.

“Where’d you go?” Ang asked, climbing out of her sleeping bag.

“Just sat on the beach for a bit, I didn’t wanna wake you guys up.” I replied.

We ate the rest of the muffins I had packed for breakfast, and then walked the length of Second beach. We spent some time by the tide pools, then decided to pack up and head home. It took a little longer than we thought it would to pack everything up, so we didn’t get back to Forks until lunch. We decided to grab food at the diner before heading back to Newton’s, where all our cars were parked. We said our goodbyes, and headed our separate ways.

I pulled into my driveway, parking next to Charlie’s cruiser. I grabbed my bag off the passenger seat and walked inside. Charlie was in the living room, watching one of the last ball games of the season. I dropped my bag by the door, and sat down on the couch.

“Hey, Bells. Have fun?” He asked.

“Yeah, I had a great time. Some of our friends on the rez came out for a fire on Friday, and we mostly just hung around the beach on Saturday.” I replied.

“And how was the camping part of it? As bad as you thought?”

“No, it was fine. I slept a lot better than I thought I would. I missed running water, though.”

“Well I’m glad you had a good time. You didn’t need that bear spray, did you?”

“No, Dad, we were fine. I’m gonna go shower and unpack.” I said, grabbing my stuff and heading upstairs.

I took a long shower, and felt so much cleaner after. I really did miss indoor plumbing. After my shower, I unpacked my bag and threw on a load of laundry. Grabbing a book from my bedside table, I went back downstairs and curled up on the couch to read. I spent the next few hours there, reading quietly while Charlie watched the game.

Notes:

There's something so wonderful about oversized hoodies with huge pockets. Plenty of room to smuggle snacks, maybe the occasional kitten. I myself am known for filling my huge pocket with cool rocks when i'm at the beach.... But anyways, i really liked writing this one. it just felt so fun and lighthearted and i loved making them all fight and wrestle over the smuggled cookies. This one had another nod to my goal of making seth everyone's little brother, i loved the little part where he falls asleep on jess' shoulder while they're all chatting around the fire, i just think its so cute. also small inaccuracy for the beach i chose for them to camp at, i mention that they see everyone else leave, but im pretty sure you cant see the parking area from where they'd be camping.... whatever. also i love the whole concept of them all sleeping in a big pile essentially in the tent and everyone kicking each other and bella tripping over mikes head. i feel like its such a classic sleepover experience, whether it is actually accidental like in this case or if you're all just fucking with each other

Chapter 20: Girl Talk with Billy

The boys had left early, spending the afternoon with their families. It was weird, having time to myself. I was only really alone while the boys were at school, and I was usually working. I didn’t really know what to do with my free time. I tried finding something to watch, and then reading a book off the shelf in the living room. But within a few minutes I was restless again. I tossed the book on the coffee table and strode out the door. Walking into the tree line, I pulled off my shorts and phased. We hadn’t patrolled much this weekend, sticking to short patrols around the rez. I had been meaning to go further into Forks and now was as good of a time as any. We had gotten some rain Thursday night, and I wanted to see if it had washed away the Cullen’s scent. I’m sure it wasn’t enough to wash it away by their house, but hopefully it rid the town of their trails. It would definitely make our jobs easier, making fresh trails stand out. I ran through the woods around the town, following where I remembered their trails had been. There was no trace of them, even around the Swan’s house. I didn’t linger, looping back around to the rez.

Running gave me time to think. As much as I loved having a pack, it was incredibly freeing to be out here on my own, with only my thoughts as company. I tried not to be so pessimistic around the boys, but I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Cullens left nearly two weeks ago, but I knew they weren’t the only ones out there. I knew Billy had his suspicions about those missing hikers last year, but it all happened immediately after I had phased for the first time. I was in no position to effectively patrol and protect the tribe, I was barely able to think when I was phased. I was overwhelmed, I had no idea what was happening to me, and I was completely alone. Not that I would’ve risked going into Forks anyways, with the Cullens still here at the time. I was worried. I didn’t want to think about it, but part of me wondered if the Cullens being here is what kept the others of their kind away for so long. On the other hand, they had only been back a little over a year, up until then there hadn’t been a vampire here for generations. It was strange to think about, they were here for such a short time, but the effects of their time here would be with me forever. And with Jared and Paul forever. How can we ever go back to how things were? Even if we stopped phasing eventually, we’ll never be able to erase that knowledge, that there are monsters out there sucking the life out of innocent people.

I finished my final lap around the border, and ran back to my house. I phased back, pulling on my shorts and walking through the back door. I trudged up the stairs, and took a quick shower before heading to bed. Sleep found me quickly, and I slept until the sun was just beginning to rise. I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I didn’t bother pulling shorts on, going down to the kitchen wearing just my boxers. I threw some bread in the toaster, and sat at the table while I waited for it to toast. I planned on going to Billy’s today. I had a few things I wanted to talk about, and I wanted to get started on redoing his wheelchair ramp. My toast popped, and I slathered it with strawberry jam. I ate the toast in a few bites, before making my way back upstairs to get dressed. I had a few other jobs to do this morning before I would be able to go to Billy’s.

The morning passed quickly, and I didn’t make it to Billy’s until right after lunch. I pulled into the driveway, parking next to Billy’s truck. I got out of my truck, and walked up the rotting ramp. It was pretty worn, I wasn’t sure if it would hold me in some spots. I knocked as I walked through the door. I hadn’t given Billy an exact day I’d be stopping by, but Billy’s door was always open, and many people came and went on a pretty regular basis. Billy was in the living room, watching something on the tv.

“Sam. Here to build my new ramp?” Billy asked.

“I am. I might not finish today, but I can at least figure out what I’ll need so I can run to the hardware store.” I replied.

“There’s no rush, this one’s held on long enough, another day won’t hurt.” Billy said, “How’s the pack doing? Still no sign of the Cullen’s returning?”

“So far there’s been nothing. I went through Forks last night and all trails are gone, even by the Swan’s house. I’ve eased up on patrols with the entire pack but I still get out there most nights, and the boys join me a few times per week.” I replied.

“Good, you boys deserve to have some downtime.” He paused. “Speaking of downtime… And the Swans. You and Bella seemed awfully friendly the other night.”

“You wanna talk to me about girls, Billy?” I questioned.

“She’s the daughter of one of my best friends, I’d like to stay in the know.” He replied. I rolled my eyes before answering.

“We’ve hung out a few times. I went out with Paul and Jared a few times and ran into her and her friends. We all get along pretty well and that’s it.” I paused. “But I’m sure you knew that, since Jacob was there, too.”

“I did, but you two seemed closer than that and Charlie wanted me to get the dirt.”

“You and your friends gossip like old women.” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m gonna get to work. Nice talk.”

I clapped Billy on the shoulder and went outside. I got out a few things from my truck and got to it. I first started measuring, and making a list of what I would need to get from the hardware store. Once I had my list, I went back inside to tell Billy, who was just getting off the phone, that I was headed to the store. He gave me some money, and I went on my way. The nearest hardware store was in Forks, but I was able to get everything quickly and was back at Billy's by 2:45. I got to work immediately, tearing down the old ramp before starting on the new one. It wasn’t a difficult job, just time consuming. I was determined to finish it today, not wanting to leave Billy without a safe way out of the house. I was nearly done when a police cruiser pulled into the driveway. Chief Swan got out, saying hello before heading inside. I was done shortly after, and went inside to let Billy know I was heading out. I walked into the living room, where the two men were watching a baseball game.

“Done so soon?” Billy asked. I nodded, and he continued. “I was just telling Charlie about the work you’ve been doing for folks around the rez. You should join us for dinner. I’m making spaghetti.”

“Are you sure?” I questioned, “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“You’re more than welcome, Sam.” Chief Swan replied, “C’mon, the game’s just starting.”

Notes:

i too get bored and introspective when i have too much time to myself. i really did put a lot of myself into the characters, mostly unintentionally. and you will see more the further into the story we get that Sam gets very introspective and in his feelings when he's phased by himself. i really liked the thought of billy being super invested in the gossip, i cant remember if it was in the books or moives, but there was some line about billy and charlie gossiping like a pair of old women, and i just ran with it. i'm so down for harry, billy, and charlie gossiping together and attempting to play matchmaker with all the kids. and again, super cliche but Charlie's over for dinner? and invited Sam to join? is this just a ploy from the author to get sam and bella in the same room again? keep reading to find out! (the answer is obviously yes)

Chapter 21: Giant Bears and Ripped Shorts

It was a typical Monday, and most classes were just going over what we had done last week. Nothing of note happened during lunch either. Just a normal day spent doing and talking about perfectly normal things. Once the bell rang in my final class, I made my way out to my truck. I said my goodbyes to my friends, and started driving towards the rez. I was actually looking forward to tutoring Seth. He’s a sweet kid, and I wouldn’t mind having something else to focus on. Helping him out seemed like a productive way to distract myself, and I was always looking for an excuse to talk about classic literature. We hadn’t talked about which books he was reading for class this year, but I was confident that whatever they were I had read them already. It was a perk of spending so much time on my own in Phoenix, I was very well read. I pulled into the Clearwater’s driveway, and parked my truck. I grabbed my backpack, and walked up to the front door. I knocked a few times, and Seth quickly pulled open the door.

“Hey, Bella!” He exclaimed, waving me inside. “Thanks again for doing this. I really need the help.”

“It’s no problem, Seth. I’m happy to help.” I replied, following him to the dining table.

“Which book are you reading in class now?” I asked, pulling out my notebook.

“A Separate Peace. We’re only a few chapters in.” He replied.

We started by making a schedule, getting all the deadlines and assignments for the book written out. After that we spent a while going over what he had read so far, and I showed him how I usually take notes on books. The class I was TA’ing was also just starting this book, so I had already helped with a few lessons on the book. I pointed out what he should look out for, talking him through how to identify the themes as he reads. He was a smart kid, and he caught on quickly to what I was teaching him. His problems with the class were likely due to the way it was being taught, it didn’t really cater to his learning style. We worked on science after, going over Punnett squares and other aspects of genetics. We decided to call it quits around 5:30, and went to the living room to talk to Leah, who was just getting home from class. We had been talking for a while when the phone rang.

“I got it.” Seth said, hopping over the back of the couch and grabbing the phone from the wall in the kitchen. “Hello?” He paused, listening to the person on the other line. “Yep, she is. I’ll put her on.” He turned to me and held out the phone. “It’s for you, Bella. It’s your dad.”

“Hey, Dad. What’s going on?” I asked after grabbing the phone from Seth.

“Billy invited us to dinner at his place tonight. I figured since you were already out there you could meet us over there when you’re done studying.” He replied.

“Yeah, that’s fine with me. I’ll head over in a little while.” I said.

“Great. I’m just heading out now so I’ll see you soon. Bye, Bells.”

“Bye, Dad.” I added, hanging up the phone and walking back into the living room.

“What was that about?” Leah asked.

“I’m meeting him at Billy’s for dinner, apparently.” I replied. “So what were you saying about your Anatomy professor?”

We talked a little longer, hearing all about Leah’s least favorite professor. After about 45 minutes, I said my goodbyes. I figured Charlie was at Billy’s by now, and I didn’t want to be too late. I told Seth we’d talk soon to figure out a day to study next week, and grabbed my bag from the kitchen. I started my truck, and drove a couple streets over to the Black’s house. I parked next to a very familiar black pickup, and went inside. I didn’t bother knocking, I knew they were expecting me. I walked into the living room, seeing Billy, my dad, and Sam watching the game.

“Bella!” Billy exclaimed. “How are you?”

“I’m good, Billy, how are you?” I replied.

“I can’t complain.” He replied with a smile. “Did you see the new ramp out front? Sam here built the whole thing this afternoon.” I glanced at Sam, who rolled his eyes at Billy’s bragging.

“Without the boys here to do all the heavy lifting?” I asked sarcastically. “Impressive.”

“You think you could do better, Swan?” Sam asked, smiling.

“If you can do it I’m sure it's not too hard.” I replied, and we both laughed.

“What do you say, Billy, should we get started on dinner?” Charlie asked.

“Great idea.” Billy said, and they made their way to the kitchen. Billy popped his head back around the corner and said. “Oh, and it’s just the four of us tonight, Jake’s working on a project at Quil’s.”

“Long time no see. It’s been what? Three days?” I said.

“I know it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Sam replied, and we both laughed. “How was the rest of your camping trip?”

“It was nice, I slept better than I thought I would. I did kick Mike in the head Saturday morning, but it could’ve been worse.”

“Poor Mike.” Sam replied with a huff of a laugh. “You were tutoring Seth after school, right? How did that go?”

“It went great. We mostly did English and he’s on the same book as the freshmen I TA so it was pretty easy.” I replied. “What about you, what did you work on today? Aside from that beautiful ramp.”

“I fixed a broken washing machine and patched a hole in someone’s roof. Exciting stuff, right?” He answered.

“Oh definitely. And what are the boys up to tonight?”

“Probably raiding my fridge.” He replied. “I always leave the back door unlocked, and they take that as an invitation to be at my house all hours of the day, regardless of whether I’m home or not.”

“You can drop the tough guy act, I think we both know that they’re the reason you leave it unlocked all the time.” I replied. “I think this is the first time we’ve hung out without them. You three are always together.”

“They’re like barnacles. Or a foot fungus I can’t get rid of.” Sam said, making a face that sent me into a fit of giggles.

“Dinner’s ready.” Charlie shouted from the kitchen.

We got up from the couch, and walked into the kitchen. Billy and Charlie were already at the table with their food. Sam and I grabbed our plates, dishing our food from the pots on the stove. We took the remaining seats at the table, sitting next to each other. We dug in, eating in silence for a few minutes.

“So how’s school going this year, Bella?” Billy asked.

“It’s been going well, they’ve been giving less homework than usual which is nice.” I replied.

“That’s good. Have you thought about college yet?” He asked.

“I haven’t really decided anything yet. I’m still thinking through all my options.” I said.

“What about you, Sam?” Charlie asked. “Are you thinking about college?”

“It will probably be a few years before I can make it work, but I’d like to go to school for Architecture.” Sam replied.

“Architecture.” Charlie repeated. “Well from what Billy tells me, you already got the construction bit down. Architecture sounds right up your alley.”

“What else are you working on this week? Did you start that kitchen remodel you were talking about yet?” I asked Sam.

“I’ll probably start that in the next couple days. I put in an order at the hardware store when I was there earlier so I should be able to pick everything up for it in the afternoon.” He answered.

“Did you get to the half bath at Mrs. Connweller’s yet?” I asked.

“I should be able to get that done tomorrow morning.” He replied.

“You think she’ll give you more cookies?” I asked with a smirk.

“If I’m lucky. They’re almost as good as yours.” He replied, smiling.

“Sounds like you have a busy week, Sam.” Billy added.

“That’s a good thing. It sounds like you’ve built yourself a good business. It’s impressive.” Charlie said.

“Thank you, Chief Swan.” Sam replied.

“None of that, you can call me Charlie.” He added, and Sam nodded. I was a little shocked, even my closest friends still call him Chief Swan.

“Anyone want dessert? I think I still have some brownies that Sue brought over.” Billy asked.

“I’d love one.” I replied, Sam and Charlie nodding along.

We each took a brownie and went back into the living room to watch the rest of the game. Charlie sat on the recliner, and Sam and I shared the couch. We watched for a while, the guys talking about bad calls the ref made, and which teams they thought would make it to the world series. I was never really into sports, to both my dad and Phil’s disappointment. But I didn’t mind watching the game with them, it was funny to see them all jumping up and yelling at the tv. The game ended about an hour later, with the Mariners losing by one point. After a 15 minute debate on if the ref was biased, we decided it was time to head out.

“Well that was fun, thanks for having us, Billy.” Charlie said.

“Yeah, dinner was great.” I added.

“You guys are welcome anytime. That goes for you too, Sam.” Billy replied.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sam said with a smile.

“It was nice to see you, Sam.” Charlie said, holding his hand out for Sam to shake.

“You too, Chief Swan.” He replied.

“Charlie.” My dad reminded him.

“Right.” Sam said, smiling as he released his hand.

“You go ahead, Bella. I just have to ask Billy something quick.” Charlie said.

I waved to Billy, walking out to my truck with Sam behind me. We reached my truck and Sam paused, turning towards me.

“Is it just me, or was that a set up?” I asked.

“It was definitely a set up.” Sam replied with a laugh. “Billy was asking me about you this afternoon, apparently on your dad’s request. I’m pretty sure he called your dad right after to plan this.”

“I wonder if Jake actually had a project… I wouldn’t be surprised if Billy bribed him to go out tonight.” I added.

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Sam said, laughing.

“He’s bribed him before, he paid Jake $20 to go to my Prom last spring and tell me to break up with my boyfriend. I’m starting to wonder if my dad had a hand in that, too.”

“I doubt he actually had something to ask Billy. They probably wanted to give us more time alone.” Sam added.

“My dad and his friends are the biggest gossips I know. They’re probably in there calling Harry.” I replied, and we both laughed.

“I better get going before the boys ruin my house. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again soon.”

“Tell them I said hi.” I added, waving as Sam drove off in his truck.

I got in my truck and started it, then began the drive back to Forks. My dad was still inside talking to Billy, but I’m sure he’ll leave soon. It was just past 9 pm when I got home, so I went upstairs to get ready for bed. Charlie got home ten minutes after me, and popped his head in my room to say goodnight. I fell asleep soon after, waking up just before my alarm. Charlie must’ve gone to work early, he was already gone by the time I made it downstairs. I had a quick breakfast of cereal, and made it out the door a few minutes earlier than usual. I had work after school, so I brought a separate bag with my uniform with me.

I made it to school in a few minutes, parking next to Ben’s old sedan. We were the first ones here, so we chatted while waiting for everyone else to arrive. Mike arrived next, with Jess and Angela right behind him. As usual, we didn’t see Eric before class. I had History first. Jess was the only one of my friends in the class, so we walked together. She was quiet, but she always was in the mornings. She probably wouldn’t be fully awake till third period. After history was the freshman English class I TA. They were a few weeks ahead of Seth’s class, so I took note of what we went over in the lesson. I was hoping to go over the lessons we do with Seth before he got to it in school, so he’d be prepared and able to follow along in class. After a few more classes it was time for lunch. I wasn’t very hungry, so I just grabbed a sandwich. I was the first one at our table, so I ate quietly while I waited.

“Hey, Bella.” Mike said, sitting down in the seat next to me.

“Hey, Mike. How’s it going?” I asked.

“Not great. I totally just bombed my Spanish test.” He replied.

“I’m sure you didn’t do that bad.” I said.

“We had to write a paragraph about ourselves, and I think I said I am a hungry instead of a man. I’m doomed.” Mike added, putting his head in his hands.

I laughed at his antics, looking up as the rest of our friends arrived at the table. Ang sat next to me, with Ben next to her. Across from me sat Jess, with Eric to her left.

“Whose house do we wanna get ready at on Saturday?” Angela asked.

“We could get ready at my house.” Jess suggested. “The guys could meet us there for pictures before we go.”

“That works for me.” I said.

“Have you guys decided what you’re doing with your hair? I was thinking of doing like a half up half down sorta style. I feel like having all my hair down is too casual, you know, but the full updo makes my neck look too long. You’re gonna let me do your makeup right, Bella? I was reading a magazine the other day and it had all these makeup tips for different eye colors and I have so many ideas now. I’ll definitely do yours too, Ang, if you want. But I know you’re pretty good at makeup too.” Jess rambled.

“I don’t want anything too crazy, Jess. But you can do some light makeup if you really want to.” I replied.

“Could you show me how to do that smoky eye look you did at prom?” Angela asked.

“Of course I can! It’s a lot easier than it looks.” Jess replied.

“Do we wanna take my car again and all ride together?” Mike asked.

“That would probably be easiest.” I replied, everyone else nodding in agreement.

“Okay so meet at my house by 6:30 for pictures. My mom should be home by then to take them.” Jess added.

We talked about other things for the rest of lunch. We dumped our trays as the warning bell rang, splitting up and going to different buildings. I walked to English with Mike and Ang. We were starting a new unit today, so it was a pretty easy lesson. We mostly were going over what we’d be doing the next couple months, so there wasn’t much actual work. After that was Chemistry, which was challenging as usual. The bell rang soon enough, and I said my goodbyes before heading to work.

Tuesdays were usually slow, so I was the only one working tonight. I changed in the bathroom when I got there, putting on my Newton’s t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I put my stuff in the break room, and then went out front. Mrs. Newton made sure I was all set before she left for the day. It was a pretty standard shift. There were some boxes in the back for me to shelve, and some online orders for me to sort out. I helped a few customers find things, and ran the register. I was packing the last online order when I heard the bell chime above the door. It was pretty slow tonight, and had been nearly an hour since the last customer left. I looked up to greet the customer and saw a familiar face.

“Hey, Paul!” I greeted. He looked to where I was standing behind the counter and smiled.

“Hey, Bella. Didn’t expect to see you here. You’re not much of an outdoorsy person.” He replied.

“Well it was this or waitressing, and I don’t think that would be a good idea with my klutziness.” I replied. “Anything I can help you with?”

“I need to get a few more pairs of shorts, and probably a new pair of boots.” He answered.

“I just moved all the shorts into the clearance section but there’s still a lot of options. And we actually have a pretty good sale this week on a few brands of hiking boots.” I said, leading Paul over to the clearance section.

“I really need more shorts. I’m down to my last pair. These are Sam’s, actually. He doesn’t know I still have them.” Paul added.

“How do you run out of shorts?” I ask, laughing.

“I sorta rip them?” He replied. “It’s really becoming a problem.”

“You rip them? How?”

“It just sorta happens. Maybe I just need stronger shorts.” He replied.

I laughed at that, and watched as he picked out a handful of shorts.

“Whatd’ya think?” Paul asked, holding up a pair of shorts. “Is green my color?”

“Sure, Paul.” I laughed. He threw the pair onto the stack in his arms, then we walked towards the shoes.

“These are the ones on sale.” I said, pointing to a few displays. “We have a ton more in the back if your size isn’t out here.”

“You know, I’m feeling really special right now. You’re like my personal shopper. I’m size 13 by the way.” He added. I laughed, and tossed him a box.

“Here, try these. These are our most popular boots.” I said. He tried them on, and stomped around a bit to test them out.

“I like ‘em. Should I get the black or the brown?” He asked.

“Get the black ones. They’ll match all your new shorts.”

“You’re the best personal shopper I’ve ever had.” Paul replied seriously.

“Thanks?” I replied, walking towards the register.

“You must hear some interesting stories from the hikers that come through here.” Paul added, setting his purchases on the counter.

“Yeah we actually had a guy come in last week that said he saw these like big bears at the town line between Forks and the rez. He said he saw three of them in the woods by the town sign when he was driving by.” I said, pausing to take the security tags off his shorts. “I don’t know if it was true though, bears usually aren’t in groups, right?”

“Yeah, bears are usually alone.” He replied, and huffed out a laugh. “Weird.”

“Okay so I have like a discount for friends and family I can add too.” I said, as I plugged a code in on the register. “So with that and the sale your total is $52.73.”

“Holy shit. That’s like a lot less than I thought it’d be. Thanks.”

“No problem. Tell the boys I said hi.”

“Will do. Bye Bella!” Paul said, grabbing his bag and walking towards the door.

“See ya, Paul.” I replied.

I had a few more customers, and then was able to close up. I made it home by 8:30, and reheated some leftovers for dinner. I did my homework as I ate, and then went upstairs. I took a quick shower before going to bed. I fell asleep quickly, dreaming of giant bears and ripped shorts.

Notes:

Yes, Billy was on the phone with Charlie plotting as soon as Sam went outside last chapter to get his measurements. He obviously had to share the dirt he got from Sam, even though it wasn't much, and Charlie def mentioned Bella was already out there tutoring Seth and what better way for them to get to the bottom of this whole Sam-and-Bella thing than to shove them together and see for themselves? But I really love the easy familiarity between Sam and Bella, I feel like it would make Charlie so happy to see her getting along with someone he actually approves of and that seems to actually be good for her. I also really liked writing the dialogue this chapter with Bella and Sam sorta getting caught up in their conversation and forgetting that they aren't alone till Billy or Charlie interrupt them. I also made it a point to have Charlie tell Sam to call him by his first name, I feel like I wanted to establish that sort of respect? on Charlie's end towards Sam, sort of treating him more like an equal. And not in like a misogynistic way either, like I don't think of it being like Charlie's old fashioned and Bella NEEDS his approval in order to be with Sam. It's more like I wanted to kind of compare the more positive relationship between Sam and Charlie with how much Charlie didn't approve of/get along with Edward. As for the work scene, idk if they did online orders back in 2000 whatever, but I feel like I didn't have enough for her to do haha. And I love Paul casually talking about ripping his shorts like that's a normal thing. Like Sam would totally be facepalming if he was there...... OOoh 3 big bears by the town sign? Could it possibly have been the three werewolves I had race to the sign a few? Several? chapters ago?!?

Chapter 22: Shoe Shopping

I had an early start Wednesday morning. I got up around six thirty, and set about making some eggs and bacon for breakfast. I was able to finish Mrs. Connweller’s bathroom yesterday, but hadn’t made it out to the hardware store to pick up what I needed for the kitchen reno. The store opened at 8, so I’d be heading over there soon. After I ate I went back upstairs to get dressed. I pulled on a t-shirt and some shorts, and made my way back downstairs. I gently pulled on my boots, trying not to make the various holes any worse. I laced them up quickly, making a mental note to buy new ones soon. I got in my truck, and started the drive towards Forks.

I pulled into a parking space in front of the store, and got out. I walked inside, heading straight to the counter. I handed over my order slip and was given the cart with everything I needed. I loaded it into the bed of my pickup, and then made my way to the client’s house. I worked there all day. I started by removing the old flooring, I was going to lay new tiles later this week, and having the old floor gone would make everything easier. I then worked on prepping the walls and cabinets for painting. I had gotten a decent amount done when I called it a day. I got back in my truck and drove home. The boys had beat me there, and I could hear them as soon as I got out of my truck.

“Hey, Sam.” They chorused as I walked through the door.

“Hey boys. I’m thinking pasta tonight. Sound good?” I replied.

“That sounds fantastic.” Jared replied, Paul nodding from his spot on the couch.

“How was school?” I asked.

“Boring.” Paul replied. “I feel like we haven’t done anything new in forever. We’ve just been reviewing everything a thousand times.”

“It's seriously annoying.” Jared added. “Like we’ve just been doing our homework in class cause there’s no point listening to the lectures when it’s all more of the same.”

“You’ve only been back a month and you’re already sick of it?” I asked, laughing.

“It’s pointless, Sam! Waste of our time.” Paul added.

I sat down beside Paul on the couch, leaning down to unlace my boots.

“You should get new boots, Sam. I went to Newton’s yesterday and they had a pretty good sale going on.” Paul said.

“Yeah, Sam, I can see your sock through the hole in the toe.” Jared added, laughing.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. I’ll probably grab some when I go grocery shopping tomorrow.” I replied, tossing my boots towards the door.

“So about that pasta…” Jared trailed off.

“I’ll make it in a minute, relax yourself.” I replied, flicking him in the head as I walked by to go upstairs.

I went into my room, grabbing a fresh pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I changed and used the bathroom, and then went back downstairs to cook. I took out some meatballs from the freezer and got to work. Dinner was done in half an hour, with the boys helping by making a salad to go with it. We brought our plates to the table to eat, and talked about our plans for the rest of the week.

“I’m gonna be stuck at home most of this weekend.” Jared complained. “My grandparents are visiting so that means forced family time.”

“Bummer.” Paul said. “When are they leaving?”

“Early afternoon on Sunday.” Jared replied.

“We could do a cookout Sunday afternoon. I could get some steaks and we could do a fire out back, too.” I suggested.

“That sounds good to me.” Paul said.

“Could you get corn on the cob, too?” Jared asked.

“Sure.” I replied. “Any other requests?”

“Nope. Thanks, Sam.” Paul said.

“Yeah, thanks, Sam.” Jared added.

We finished our food soon after, and the boys cleaned up the kitchen. We played video games for a little bit before the boys went home. After they left, I went upstairs to take a shower. It was already pretty late, so I went to bed right after. I started working on the kitchen renovation early on Thursday, and was further along than I thought I’d be. After work I stopped home to change before driving to Forks. I decided to buy my boots first, so the food didn’t go bad in the truck while I shopped. I pulled into the Newton’s parking lot, parking in an empty space near the door. I walked inside, and went straight towards the boots. The store was empty aside from me, and presumably someone working in the store somewhere. I was comparing two pairs when I heard someone walk over. I looked up and smiled when I saw Bella.

“You’re looking for boots, too?” She asked.

“Yeah Paul told me…” I trailed off and shook my head a bit. “Paul told me about this great sale here. You were working when he came in, weren’t you?”

“I was.” Bella replied, laughing. “And I’m sure he didn’t mention I worked here when he talked to you.”

“Nope. The boys aren’t much better than Billy and your dad when it comes to meddling.” I added, and Bella huffed a laugh.

“Well we do have a pretty good sale going on.” She replied, pointing out a few different pairs with sales tags. “And I haven’t had a customer in over an hour, so I’m glad you’re here.”

“Which pair did Paul get? I don’t wanna match him.” I asked.

“These ones.” Bella replied, laughing as she pointed to a pair. “How’s work going?”

“It’s going pretty good.” I replied, pulling a few boxes off the shelf to try on. “I’m about halfway through that kitchen reno. What have you been up to?”

“Not much. I worked Tuesday night, when Paul was here, and I just worked on a paper last night.” She replied.

“Do you have any plans this weekend?” I asked as I tried on a pair.

“I have homecoming on Saturday night, Jess is dragging me along as her date. But I don’t have anything going on Sunday. Why? You have something in mind?” She asked.

“The boys and I are gonna have a cookout Sunday afternoon, and you’re more than welcome to join us.” I replied.

“I’d love to. Want me to bring anything?”

“I wouldn’t say no to more cookies.” I replied with a smirk. I boxed up the boots I had tried on and stood up. “I think I’m gonna get these ones.”

“Good choice. And I can definitely make more cookies.” Bella replied as we walked towards the register.

“Do you have something I can write on?” I asked, and she handed me a notepad and pen. “Here, this is my address. My place is a few streets past the Clearwater’s, and I’m the last house on the street.”

“What time should I come over?” Bella asked as she rang up my boots. “And I added my friends and family discount on there so it’ll be $23.99.”

“The boys are coming over late afternoon probably, but I’ll be home all day so you can come over whenever.” I replied, handing her some cash.

“Sounds good. I guess I’ll see you Sunday.” She added with a smile.

“See you then. Have fun at your dance.”

“I’ll try. Bye, Sam.”

“Bye, Bella.”

I left the store, getting in my truck for the short drive to the Thriftway. I went through the aisles, stocking up on my everyday groceries as well as what I needed for our cookout. I got 4 big steaks from the butcher, and made sure to grab plenty of corn for Jared. I picked up some marshmallows, too. I made my way over to the register, checked out, and then loaded the groceries into my truck. As I drove home, I thought about nothing but Bella Swan. I was a little annoyed with Paul, I would’ve appreciated the heads up that she worked there. Not that it would’ve stopped me from going, but I would’ve felt like less of an idiot when she came over. I wasn’t planning on inviting her on Sunday, but every time I was around her I just wanted more. More time with her, to hear more of her infectious laugh. Just. More.

Notes:

Not a very long one,,, just some conversations really and a wee bit of Sam in his feelings haha. But the boys are having a cookout! And Bella's invited! And was told to come over whenever!!! (look at me, excited even tho i was the one who wrote it) **i posted this a few hours ago and i will admit i have had a few drinks since then but i was gonna post the next one before bed... went to copy and paste the next chap and it was nine pages :( so ya apologies friends i don't got nine pages of rereading/editing in me tn so i'll have it up sometime tomorrow night once i get home from work hahaha**

Chapter 23: Sam's Place

I wasn’t expecting to see Sam tonight, but I was glad I did. It was funny, I’d spent so much time with him, yet almost every time was merely a coincidence. Right place, right time. Aside from the bonfire last Friday, we’d only just happen to run into each other. That’s why I was excited for Sunday. It was a chance for me to hang out with him without so many people around. Jared and Paul would be there, of course, but it would be nice to hang out with just the three of them. The past times we’ve hung out I’ve been split between wanting to get to know them and not wanting to neglect my other friends. And then there was dinner with Billy, Sam, and my dad. It wasn’t awkward, like I would’ve expected it to be if I had known it was happening beforehand, but it was clear that they were trying to set me up with Sam. There’s been a lot of that, recently. Trying to set us up. Jess and Ang were already on my case about him, and now my dad and Billy are too. On top of that, Paul apparently is doing the same thing on Sam’s side. I knew they all meant well, but I’m still not ready for more. And who knows if Sam would even be interested in more. All I was looking for was another friend. Sam and I got along well, like we’d known each other for years rather than a couple weeks. And I really like Paul and Jared, too. All I want is to spend time with friends, having fun and trying to move forward.

I pulled into my driveway, parking next to Charlie's cruiser. I made my way into the house, locking up behind me. I kicked my shoes off by the door and headed toward the kitchen.

“Hey, Bells. How was work?” Charlie asked. He was on the couch, watching some game on tv.

“Pretty slow today. I’m glad I’m home, I’m starving.” I replied, pulling open the fridge.

“I grabbed some takeout from the diner on the way home, I got you a burger. It’s on the bottom shelf.”

“Oh, awesome. Thanks dad.”

I grabbed the takeout container and stuck it in the microwave. Once my food was ready, I brought it into the living room, sitting next to Charlie on the couch. We didn’t talk much as I ate, both watching the game that was on. I didn’t really follow it, but I wasn’t really trying to. It was nice spending time with Charlie like this. It wasn’t loud or chaotic like every minute with mom. He didn’t feel the need to fill every moment with chatter. I’d never liked my summers with Charlie when I was younger, but since moving here I’ve grown to appreciate the peace. And the easy relationship I had with Charlie. We weren’t always on the same page when it came to things like boys, but we always seemed to understand each other when it really mattered. After eating I cleared my trash and went upstairs and took a shower. I popped my head in the stairwell and yelled goodnight to my dad, then went right to bed.

Friday passed quickly, and before I knew it the final bell rang and school was out for the weekend. My last class of the day was the English class I TA’d for, so I was by myself as I walked towards the parking lot. Next to my truck was Ang, and a hyper-looking Jess.

“How much coffee have you had today, Jess? You’re practically vibrating.” I asked as I threw my bag on the passenger seat.

“Well my mom is on this like latte kick and she's been making all these fancy drinks in the mornings and she tried a few new flavors this morning and didn’t really like them so I had like a few lattes before school. And then Tyler had his work study like right before lunch and I was cold so I was like hey you should sneak me in a coffee when you come back and he did! But anyways you should come over like right after lunch tomorrow. I think it would be fun to do like a mini spa day before we get ready. Like we could do face masks and paint our nails.” Jess replied.

“That sounds fun.” I answered. “What do you think I should do with my hair?”

“I think it would look nice if you left it down.” Angela answered.

“And I could curl it. I feel like big loose curls would really go with your dress.” Jess added.

“You’re the expert, Jess, whatever you wanna do.” I replied. “I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“See ya.” Ang said.

“Bye!” Jess said, pulling me into a quick hug before bouncing away with Ang.

I didn’t do much when I got home. I spent most of the afternoon reading in my room, and then started a load of laundry. After the laundry was going, I went into the kitchen to start dinner. I was pretty bored, so I decided to make something a little more involved for dinner. I got out everything I’d need from the fridge and started dicing vegetables and preparing a chicken pot pie. I threw it in the oven and plopped onto the couch, deciding to watch some tv while it cooked. I flipped channels for a while, before landing on some old movie that was one of Charlie’s favorites. I’d probably seen this movie a dozen times since moving here, but I was enjoying it nonetheless. Charlie got home a little while later, immediately sitting on the couch to watch the end of the movie with me. Once the movie was over, Charlie went upstairs to change and I took the food out of the oven. I served us each a heaping plate, and sat down at the table.

“Smells great, Bells.” Charlie said as he came down the stairs.

“Thanks.” I replied. “How was your day, Dad?”

“It was pretty good. Not a lot going on, but that’s a good thing. What about you? Excited for homecoming?”

“I actually am. I’m going over to the Stanley’s house to get ready, and we’re gonna hang out for a while before the dance. We haven’t talked about it yet but I’ll probably end up sleeping over after the dance too.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out. I hope you girls have fun.” Charlie added.

“Thanks. I’m gonna bring my new camera, too, so I’ll have a ton of pictures to show you and mom. Maybe replace some of those awful middle school pictures on the mantle.” I suggested.

“I like the pictures on the mantle. That’s why they’re there.” He replied.

“They’re terrible, Dad. They need to go.”

“If you say so.” He replied with a laugh. “I probably won’t see you till Sunday. Harry and I are going fishing down around Hoquiam this weekend, and I’ll probably be gone pretty early tomorrow.”

“Fishing somewhere new for a change? Surprising.” I teased. “And we definitely need more fish, we probably only have a five year supply left in the freezer.”

“Exactly, Bells. We’re running dangerously low.” Charlie replied in a mock serious tone as he stood. “I’ll wash up, dinner was great.”

“Thanks. I’m gonna go do some homework.” I replied. “Have fun with Harry.”

I went upstairs and worked quickly, getting all my homework for the weekend done within a couple hours. After I was finished, I ran downstairs to swap the laundry I had forgotten about, and then got ready for bed. I usually shower at night, but I was too tired. I wasn’t meeting Jess and Ang till after lunch, so I’d have plenty of time in the morning. I fell into a deep sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The sun was shining through my window when I woke up. I padded over to the window, gazing up at the sun that shone through the trees. It wasn’t hazy at all, a perfectly clear sunny day. I was relieved, the lack of rain was a blessing. It would save us from runny mascara and droopy hair. I wasn’t looking to impress anyone, but I was excited to get dolled up with my friends. It was nice to be getting dressed up for me, and not being paraded around like a barbie Alice was playing dress up with. The thought threw me for a loop. I hadn’t realized it, but it had been days since I had even thought of the Cullens. I smiled, and made my way downstairs. I had a bowl of cereal, then went back upstairs to shower. I spent the rest of the morning milling around the house, getting bored quickly of my book and whatever I found on tv. After a few more hours of that, I grabbed my dress and everything else I’d need and got in my truck. Jess lived about 10 minutes from my house, and Ang was just walking over when I pulled into the driveway.

“Hey, Bella!” Ang greeted as I got out of the truck.

“Good, you guys are finally here!” Jess exclaimed. “C’mon in!”

Ang and I smiled at Jess’ exuberance and followed her into the house. We brought our bags and dresses up to Jess’ room and set them aside. Jess had all sorts of makeup and nail polish set up on her desk and dresser, and she looked like a kid in a candy store.

“Okay so I picked out some nail polish colors that’ll go with each of our dresses. I don’t know what you guys are like going for but I have like matchy-matchy or like pastel or like different colors that like go, you know? And I got these like sheet masks at the store yesterday and I’ve used them before and they’re so nice.” Jess rambled, gesturing to piles of polish and beauty stuff for each of us.

“What would we do without you, Jess?” I added.

“Die, probably.” She replied, sending us all into fits of giggles.

We spent the next few hours getting ready, doing hair and nails and makeup. We were just finishing up as the guys arrived in Mike’s suburban. Jess fussed over me and Ang one last time before we went outside to meet them. I grabbed my camera out of my bag while Jess yelled for her mom to come take pictures. We spent the next half hour taking dozens of pictures, first the more “official” pictures taken by Mrs. Stanley and then everyone else’s attempts at being photographers. There were a lot of peace signs and pictures taken with the camera flipped around, with the six of us trying to squeeze into the frame we couldn’t see. We left for the dance soon after, and danced the whole night. Mike was shot down by numerous girls, and Eric shared a surprising number of slow dances with Katie Marshall, a junior. Jess and I shared a few dances with Mike, to help his bruised ego, but we mostly danced in a group together. The beginning of the night was spent dodging a persistent freshman who couldn’t decide if he was into me or Jess. By the end of the night, we had sore feet and were practically dragging ourselves back to the suburban. We piled into Jess’ house as soon as Mike parked, taking turns into the bathroom changing into our pajamas. Then we met back in the living room, lounging on various chairs and couches in piles of blankets.

“I’m so regretting those heels.” Jess whined as she flopped back on the couch.

“They looked so good, though.” I argued.

“So Eric…” Ben trailed off, raising his eyebrows. We all looked over to Eric, who was turning an impressive shade of red.

“Yeah?” Eric replied, voice unusually high.

“You looked awful cozy with Katie tonight.” Jess added.

“She asked me to dance, what was I supposed to do? Say no?” Eric defended.

“Take Mike for example, rejection hurts. You did the right thing, buddy.” Ben replied.

“I think it was cute.” I piped in.

“Yeah.” Ang agreed. “Katie’s a sweetheart. I think it was a good match.”

“Can we talk about something else now?” Eric asked. “Like that freshman following Bella and Jess around maybe?”

“He wasn’t really my type.” Jess stated.

“Why? Because he was short or cause he was 14?” I asked with a laugh.

“I’m just saying Ben and Ang are lucky. Everyone knows you two are like life goals and no one bothers you two at these things. Bella was the best date I’ve ever had.” Jess added, prompting a mock offended huff from Mike. “Sorry Mike but it’s true. Bella didn’t step on my feet once.”

“In my defense, you always danced a little too fast for the songs and I was struggling to keep up with you.” Mike replied.

“Excuses, excuses.” Jess muttered as she pulled her blanket higher, closing her eyes and snuggling deeper into the couch.

“I guess that’s our cue.” Ben said, and we all got comfortable in our spots and went to bed.

It was well into the morning when we woke up. Jess was just sitting up when I woke up, with everyone else starting to stir. We had a quiet breakfast of pancakes and waffles, because how could we possibly make Eric make such a hard decision so early in the morning. After we ate we went our separate ways, still bleary eyed and half asleep. The guys piled into Mike’s car, and I gave Ang a ride to her house one street over. When I got home it was just past 11. I brought my stuff upstairs, throwing my dress and other clothes from yesterday into the laundry basket. I grabbed some fresh clothes and went for a shower. A warm shower was just what I needed to wake myself up. I took my time, relaxing and just enjoying the hot water. I dressed quickly when I got out, putting on some comfy jeans and a t-shirt. I made my way downstairs, and started making a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

The cookies would be done and cooled within the hour, but I still hadn’t decided when I would head over to Sam’s. He said Sunday afternoon. It was Sunday, and in about 15 minutes it would technically be after noon. And he did say I could come over whenever. We really hadn’t planned anything together until now. I mean I invited him to the bonfire last week, but it was more of a “stop by if you’re free” sorta deal. I was more excited than I thought I’d be, and I was filled with anticipation as I waited for the cookies to bake. I pulled out the cookies once they were done, and put them on the cooling racks. I washed the dishes while I waited for them to cool. Once I had finished, I loaded the cookies onto a tray and looked up at the clock. 12:40. If I left now, I’d get to his house a little after one. I shrugged, deciding to just go with it rather than sit and wait impatiently. I ran upstairs to grab a flannel, bringing that and the cookies with me to my truck.

The drive to La Push had never felt longer. I had passed the Clearwater’s street a few minutes ago, and was driving down Sam’s street. I had long passed the other houses on the street when I reached the last house, with Sam’s familiar truck parked in the driveway. I climbed out of the truck, grabbing the cookies and making my way to the front door.

“It’s open,” Sam called from inside the house. I pulled the door open and walked into a cozy looking living room.

“How’d you know I was here?” I questioned, smiling as I saw Sam.

“It’s a quiet street. I swear I heard your truck coming a mile away.” Sam replied with a laugh.

“Fair point.” I replied. “I like your place. It’s cozy.”

“By ‘cozy’ do you mean small?” He asked.

“No,” I huffed a laugh. “I mean cozy. It’s very warm and inviting.”

“Well I’m glad you like it. Make yourself at home. I was just marinating the steaks.”

“Want any help?” I questioned, following Sam into the kitchen.

“You could start shucking the corn if you want?” Sam replied, pulling the corn out of the fridge. He handed me the corn and grabbed a bowl for the husks. I sat at the table and got to work.

“How was homecoming?” He asked.

“Surprisingly fun. Jess was a great dance partner. What about you? Having a good weekend so far?”

“It’s been quiet, but I can’t complain. I worked on my truck a bit yesterday but I’ve mostly been hanging around the house. The boys have been with their families all weekend, so I’ve had the house to myself.”

“I’m betting that doesn’t happen often.” I added.

“You got that right.” Sam said as he put the steaks back in the fridge. I handed him the shucked corn, which he put in the fridge as well. I followed Sam back to the living room, and we both flopped down onto the couch.

“This couch right here, 10/10.”

“It’s the best purchase I’ve ever made.” Sam replied. “Wanna watch something?”

“Sure. I’m fine with whatever.” I answered. Sam turned on the tv and started flipping through channels, landing on The Parent Trap.

“I love this movie.” He said.

“Me too. You know I actually pierced my own ears after I saw this movie for the first time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I went right into my mom’s room and took a pair of earrings and a sewing needle from her craft stuff. I didn’t tell anyone till a few weeks later when she was looking for her missing earrings.”

“Bold move. Is your mom still living in Arizona?” Sam asked.

“She lives in Jacksonville now, with her new husband Phil. We still have the house in Phoenix, but she's been in Jacksonville for like 6 or 7 months now.”

“I can’t imagine the heat. At least Arizona was a dry heat, the humidity in Florida must be horrible.”

“I’ll get back to you on that, I’m visiting her this weekend.”

“That’s exciting. When are you flying out?”

“My flight’s at 10:30 Friday morning. Charlie’s gonna take the day off to drive me out there, he didn’t think the truck would make it.”

“I could drive you, if you want?” Sam offered.

“Seriously? You know it’s almost a four hour drive, right?” I questioned.

“I know.” Sam replied with a laugh. “My aunt lives in Seattle, and I’ve been meaning to visit her anyways. Might as well go for the weekend.”

“If you’re sure, that would be awesome. Charlie listens to country, I don’t think I would’ve survived the trip.”

“I promise I won’t subject you to any country music. I’ll even let you man the radio.”

“Much appreciated.” I replied, with a faux-serious nod, sending us both into fits of laughter.

“When do you get back?” Sam asked.

“My flight is supposed to land at 5pm Monday night.”

“I might as well stay and drive you home too, save Charlie the trip.”

“I really appreciate it.” I replied. “Seriously, you’re the best.”

We watched the rest of the movie, chatting about our weeks on commercial breaks. It was already part way through when we started watching, so it was over by 2:30.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Sam asked. “The boys will probably be another hour or two.”

“I’d love to. I know I have a bad rep, but I’m not actually that clumsy.”

“I guess we’ll find out. C’mon.” Sam led the way out the back door and to a path in the woods behind his house. He led us through the woods, offering me a hand when the path got too steep or rocky. 15 minutes later we broke through the trees, coming out to a beautiful cliff overlooking the coast.

“This is amazing.” I breathed.

“This was my mom’s favorite place on the entire rez. She used to bring me out here for picnics when I was younger.”

“I can see why she loved it, this place is beautiful.” I replied, sitting down by Sam, who had his feet dangling over the edge. I sat a foot further back, careful not to get too close to the edge. We sat quietly as we looked out over the water, Sam seemingly lost in thought.

“Do you know much about my family?” He asked.

“Only what you’ve told me.” I replied, and he nodded.

“Growing up, it was just me and mom. My dad left when I was little, so she raised me alone. We didn’t have a lot, but we were happy. Back in November, she was driving home from Port Angeles when she was hit by a drunk driver. And then I was on my own.” He paused. “My aunt, her sister, stayed with me for a little while after the accident, but she had to get back to her job in the city.”

“I’m so sorry, Sam.” I inched closer to the edge of the cliff, and hugged him with all of my strength. We stayed like that a while longer, tucked into Sam’s side as we looked out over the water.

“C’mon, there’s somewhere else I wanted to show you.” Sam said, getting to his feet and holding out a hand for me. “I have to warn you, the path there is a little more treacherous.”

“How treacherous?” I asked, pulling my hand back before he could pull me up, and Sam barked out a laugh.

“You’ll be fine. Don’t you trust me?”

“You know I do.” I grumbled, grabbing Sam’s hand. He pulled me to my feet, then started down another path, never releasing my hand.

“I know you claim not to be an outdoorsy person, but almost every time we see each other you’ve been hiking or camping or at the beach. I think you’re in denial.” Sam said.

“More like brainwashed. It’s all anyone does around here. Back in Phoenix I spent almost all my time reading in my room, I saw all the nature I needed to just looking out my window.” I replied. “The first time I came to the beach after moving here, my friends genuinely thought I’d want to surf with them. Me. Surfing.”

“I would pay to see that.” Sam said, laughing.

“Don’t laugh! My near-fatal clumsiness is no laughing matter!” I shot back, making Sam laugh harder. I reached out to smack him with my free hand, tripping over a root in my distraction. Sam pulled me into his side, keeping me from face planting.

“Near-fatal is right.” Sam said, laughing even harder as I shoved away from him and righted myself. “Weren’t you saying earlier that you aren’t that clumsy? Seems like you’ve changed your tune.”

“I hate you. Just a little bit.” I replied, pointing a finger in his face.

“Whatever you say.” Sam said with a smirk.

Notes:

I think this is the first like longggg chapter so sorry or you're welcome in advance haha. There's more long ones coming up too, I like to have each chapter alternate POV and sometimes I'd rather either Bella or Sam's POV for certain scenes and it works out better to have a wicked long chapter in one POV vs splitting it and having a like 2 paragraph chapter in between you know? Now onto the chapter! I really like the idea of a hyper overcaffeinated Jess... I love writing her character and I've definitely given her the like chatterbox persona and I really use any excuse to have her ramble for a bit. She talks fast and a lot and I love her for it! Classic dad moment for Charlie having awful middle school pics of Bella up on the mantle. I still cringe when I go to my grandparents' house and see the horrible side part and braces combo. And I'm sure it's (hypothetically) worse for Bella seeing as it would probably just be various school picture day portraits. Also,,,, "what would we do without you, jess" "die, probably" hell ya they would Jess is the best! Oooh Eric and Katie Marshall at the dance? Another underexplored canon couple for me to sink my claws in perhaps?!? And I'd like to formally apologize to mike, I did make him get rejected several times, as well as have Jess rank on him a lil haha. I, like Bella, never quite no what to do with open ended plans. I am a planner, I don't like "stop by if you can" or "sometime this afternoon" like tell me WHEN! On the parent trap ear piercing: that was from personal experience haha. I have 3 holes on each ear, all done myself with a sewing pin.... Ooh sam and bella for like 8 hours alone in a car together!! And a lil bit of Sam's tragic backstory to tie it all up! For real though I'm sorry Sam, it just made more sense to have your parents out of the picture lol

Chapter 24: Wolves are way better, man

I led Bella down the path, heading down to a small strip of beach below the cliff face. After a few minutes, we got to the steepest part of the path. I kept going, noticing after walking a few more feet that Bella’s footsteps had stopped. I looked back at her, still standing at the top of the steep hill.

“You lied, Sam. You said I’d be fine. This doesn’t look fine.” Bella said.

“C’mon, Bella. I’ve walked this path a thousand times. Just walk right behind me, I won’t let you fall.”

“Fine. But if I die, I will so haunt you.” She replied.

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” I said, laughing at the look of horror on her face as she stepped closer to me. I held out my arm, and she grabbed it with both hands, holding it in a deathgrip.

“Where are we going anyway that’s worth risking my life?” She asked.

“You’ll see.”

“I’m not really a big fan of surprises.” She said dryly.

“This isn’t really a surprise, just a walk to somewhere you’ve never been before.”

“But you’ve been there. Thousands of times apparently. No reason you can’t tell me where it is we’re going.” Bella replied with a huff, letting go of my arm as we reached the bottom of the hill.

“There’s one reason.” I said with a smirk.

“And what is that?”

“I don’t wanna.”

Bella reached out and gave me a hard shove, but I hardly felt it. I burst into laughter, half due to the pout on her face.

“C’mon, Bella, we’re almost there.” I added, taking her hand and continuing down the path. She rolled her eyes, but allowed me to pull her along. We broke through the trees a few minutes later, coming out to a secluded strip of beach.

“This is awesome. It’s like your own private beach.”

“It kind of is.” I replied. “The only path here goes through my property. And I don’t think anyone other than Paul and Jared know about this place.”

I followed Bella as she walked along the shore. It was a decent sized strip of land, surrounded by trees and blocked off from the main beaches by the sheer cliff face that faced town.

“C’mon, let’s sit.” Bella said, gesturing to a driftwood log higher up on the sand. I followed her over, sitting down side by side facing the waves.

“We’ll have to head back soon.” Bella said, pouting a little. I laughed before replying.

“We can stay a little longer. Trust me the boys will make themselves at home whether or not we’re there.”

“Good. I’m not ready to leave this beach.” She replied, closing her eyes and tilting her head back to feel the sun on her face. “God, I’m so not ready for winter.”

“Not a fan of the cold?” I asked, smiling at her as she opened one eye to look at me.

“I hate the cold. The snow’s even worse. I moved here right at the end of last winter, and it was pretty when it snowed. But I didn’t get along with the ice.”

“Didn’t get along? You make it seem like the ice is sentient.” I replied, laughing at her shrug.

“Maybe it is. It definitely was out to get me. I wiped out more times than I could count, and I even got hit by a van that spun out at school.”

“You got hit by a van?” I questioned, my tone colored by my disbelief. She’s such a small thing, she would’ve been crushed.

“I don’t know if you met Tyler? From the first bonfire? But he spun out on the ice and hit my truck, with me standing right against it. It didn’t really hit me, but I cracked my head pretty good on the pavement when he hit the truck. The EMTs put a neck brace on me and everything, Charlie was panicking, it was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me.”

“Only you would be more concerned about the embarrassing neck brace than the near death experience.” I replied, shaking my head.

“The entire school was there, Sam.” She defended, and we both cracked up.

“You’re right, it must’ve been traumatic.” I said sarcastically, and she gave me a serious nod, before she burst into giggles again.

“Oh. I completely forgot to bring them in earlier, but I did make chocolate chip cookies.” Bella said, waggling her eyebrows.

“We better get back quick then, Paul and Jared are like bloodhounds, I’m sure they sniffed ‘em out and stole them already.”

Bella laughed, and stood up from the log. She held out a hand to pull me up. I smirked, and took it, letting her try to pull all my weight. She pulled a few times, pouting. I suddenly stood up, and she flew backwards, nearing falling on her butt before I slung an arm around her waist.

“That’s not fair, honestly.” She complained.

“It’s not my fault you’re tiny.”

“Well it’s not my fault you’re freakishly big!”

“Jumping straight to the insults. What’s that saying? Don’t bite the hand that feeds you? Maybe I’ll poison your steak later.”

“Easy. I’ll just trade with Paul.” She replied, and we both burst out laughing.

We walked back up the hill, Bella walking carefully as she clung to my arm beside her. We got to the lookout sooner than I thought we would, and continued onto the short path leading to my house. In the back of my mind, I was thinking of the boys and what we’d walk into. Maybe I should’ve warned them Bella was coming over too. We had been quiet for a little while when Bella piped up.

“What’s your favorite season?” She asked. I smiled a little at the random question before answering.

“Probably spring. I love the first bit of warmth when everything starts to thaw and come back to life. It’s not a drastic change, with all the evergreen trees, but there’s beauty in the little things. I love seeing all the little wild flowers, and seeing the animals really come out again after a long winter.”

“I’ve never really thought of it like that.” Bella said with a considering look, “I’ve always been a summer person, myself.”

“Why am I not surprised?” I replied with a smirk, and Bella rolled her eyes.

“Favorite ice cream flavor?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Probably mocha chip. But I’d go for any other chocolatey ice cream too. What’s yours? Probably mint chip, right?” I replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked defensively.

“Nothing! You just seem like the type.”

“The type, huh. Yeah, mint chip is my favorite. Is that gonna be a problem?” She said, staring me down as if daring me to dig myself into a deeper hole regarding this apparently very serious matter.

“Nope. No problems. Mint chip is my second favorite flavor, actually.”

“Are you just saying that to appease me?” She said, narrowing her eyes. We walked into the backyard then, and kept walking towards the house.

“I don’t think I should answer that.” I replied, dodging her hand as it shot out to shove me. “Okay my turn to ask a question. Favorite animal?”

“I’ve always wanted a dog. My mom’s allergic, so we never had one growing up.” She paused, considering. “I feel like that’s a lame favorite animal though. I should’ve said like wolves or something to sound cooler.”

“Wolves are pretty cool.” I added, laughing a little at the irony.

“What about you?” She asked.

“You know, I really like moose. Not really sure why, and I’ve only ever seen one, but there's just something about ‘em.” I replied, shaking my head fondly, and Bella burst out laughing. We were still laughing as we walked into the house.

“Oh hey Sam, Bella.” Jared said from his spot on the couch with Paul. “What’s so funny?”

“Well Sam and I were discussing our favorite animals, and I said wolves, obviously.” Bella replied, shooting me a conspiratorial look.

“Obviously.” Paul agreed, nodding seriously.

“And then Sam was telling me about his love for moose.” Bella added, laughing again.

“Moose? Wolves are way better, man.” Jared replied.

“Yeah, wolves are really handsome.” Paul added, really laying it on thick. “Just a really good looking animal, you know. They’re just so strong and tough.”

“See, they agree with me.” Bella said.

Jared was barely keeping a straight face at this point. I took a deep breath, reigning in the urge to smack Paul upside the head.

“Why don’t you boys start getting wood for a fire?” I suggested.

“Oh, and I should grab the cookies from my truck before I forget again.” Bella said, walking towards the front door.

“Cookies? Like your chocolate chip ones?” Jared asked.

“Yup, those are the ones.” Bella called over her shoulder as she shut the front door behind her. I turned to Paul, raising my eyebrows.

“We’ll laugh about this later, Sam.” Paul said. I narrowed my eyes. “C’mon you expect me to believe she isn’t gonna find out?”

“I’d rather she didn’t find out from you trying to inflate your own ego.” I replied, shaking my head but laughing along with the boys. “I wasn’t kidding, you should go get some firewood.”

“Your wish is my command.” Jared said, saluting as he went out the back door with Paul.

“Catch!” Bella said as she walked back inside, tossing me a cookie. I tripped over a shoe, nearly face planting but managed to catch it. Bella laughed at me, then took a bite of her own cookie.

“Fantastic.” I mumbled through a mouthful of cookie.

I walked into the kitchen, Bella trailing behind me. I started pulling out what we’d need for dinner as I finished my cookie. Bella came up beside me, offering a hand to carry some of the food outside. Once we had everything we went out the backdoor. I couldn’t see the boys, but I could hear them off in the woods somewhere, apparently not having noticed the stack of cut firewood against the shed. Bella and I carried the food over to the picnic table, and then I fired up the grill.

“So, are you a morning person?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at Bella, who was sitting at the picnic table as I grilled. She made a face before answering.

“I hate to admit it, but I kinda am. I’ve always been more of a night owl, but since moving to Forks I’ve been waking up much earlier. I can only sleep in if I was up like super late the night before.” She paused, smirking at me. “And I’ve heard from the boys you like to sleep in pretty late yourself.”

“It was one time! And like you said, it was cause I was up late the night before.” I defended.

“Excuses, excuses. Teenagers are just so lazy these days.” Bella said, shaking her head.

“Listen,” I started, waving a spatula at her. “You should know better than to trust a word those boys say. They’re dirty liars, delinquents.”

“You say such nice things, Sam.” Jared said, sitting down next to Bella at the table.

“You just can’t handle the truth.” I replied, shaking my head.

“So what’s up, Swan? I haven’t seen you in forever.” Jared said, sighing.

“I saw you last weekend.” Bella replied, laughing. “But not much. Just work and school pretty much. I had homecoming last night, which was fun. What about you?”

“Same old, same old. Just hanging around, you know.”

“I got the fire going.” Paul said as he sat down across from Bella.

“You guys realize there was a stack of firewood already chopped up against the shed, right? And you didn’t need to go off into the woods to find some?” I asked.

“Seriously.” Paul said. “You couldn’t have, I don’t know, mentioned that before you sent us out there.”

I shrugged innocently, Bella and I laughing at the expressions on their faces. The steaks were done a few minutes later, and we all dug in. I was sitting across from Jared, who was in the middle of telling Bella some bizarre childhood story about his cat, I think? Or maybe a racoon?

“And then I grabbed it and slung it over my shoulder, and it yowled so loud my dad came running down the hall, tripping over the towel I had dropped earlier. He fell hard and broke his nose on the coffee table, so needless to say, I wasn’t allowed to keep my new friend.” Jared ended his story with a sad shake of his head, Bella smiling fondly at him.

“It’s a miracle you haven’t gotten rabies by now.” Paul added.

“What can I say, I am simply one with nature.” Jared replied. “And honestly, I think I could survive rabies.”

“Rabies is fatal in like 99% of cases.” Bella said with a laugh.

“And I’d be in that 1%. I’d simply overcome rabies.” Jared argued.

“Let’s not test that theory and leave the wild animals alone from now on.” I suggested, patting his shoulder as I walked by. I grabbed everyone’s empty plates and brought them inside. When I came back outside, Bella and the boys were sitting on one of the logs set around the fire pit. I walked over, sitting down next to Bella.

“Are you missing your quiet weekend yet?” She asked, gesturing to the boys loudly debating about something or other.

“I’ve learned to tune them out. You will too.” I replied, and we both laughed at the offended looks the boys shot us, somehow hearing me through their argument.

“I’m gonna get the s’more stuff. And those cookies.” Paul said, pushing to his feet.

“Don’t forget the skewers for the marshmallows!” Jared called to Paul’s retreating back.

“I know, I’m not an idiot.” He called back.

“Debatable.” Jared muttered, winking at Bella.

“Heard that!” Paul yelled from across the yard, and we all started laughing.

It was in times like these that I found myself a little grateful for what I’d become. Without my transformation, I wouldn’t have Paul and Jared. I would still be isolating myself from everyone, drowning in the grief of losing my mother. Grief was a powerful thing, powerful enough to trigger my transformation. And Bella. If I hadn’t been there that night, who knows if she would’ve been found in time. She was nowhere near the trail, and anything could’ve happened. She could’ve been killed by an animal, or died of exposure from the abnormally cold night itself. I could hardly imagine my life without the boys, and at this point, I’m already starting to forget what life was like without Bella. I’d only even known her a few weeks now, but she seemed to fit so naturally into my life. I’d never met someone who seemed to naturally understand me like she did. And it wasn’t just me. Jared and Paul seemed to have a similar easy connection with her, she fit in with us like the missing piece of a puzzle.

“Catch, Sam.” Paul said, tossing me a marshmallow on a stick. I grabbed it, passing it to Bella beside me. Paul tossed me another, and we all started roasting our marshmallows.

“I’m so pumped for these s’mores. You guys have no idea.” Jared said, assembling his s’more.

“I feel like we have a pretty good idea. You’re like this for literally every dessert.” I reply, laughing.

“You have a point. But still. Pumped.” He added.

“When’s the rest of the Forks crew coming back? Do you guys have plans for next weekend yet?” Paul asked.

“I’m not sure about everyone else, but I won’t be in town next weekend. I’m visiting my mom in Florida.” Bella replied.

“Florida sounds pretty nice right about now.” Paul said. “What I wouldn’t do for a beach vacation.”

“Your house is literally 2 minutes from the beach.” Jared said.

“But it's not a warm beach. God it must be so hot there still.” Paul replied.

“I’m not taking you with me.” Bella said, shooting a stern look at Paul, before cracking a smile.

“Why not! I promise I’m a great travel companion. I’ll carry all your bags, I’d even be fine taking the couch, or a sleeping bag on the floor.” Paul argued. “And moms love me, it’ll be fine.”

“Not happening.” Bella said, laughing at his enthusiasm.

“Poor, Paul.” Jared said, patting him on the shoulder. “Maybe next time, buddy.” Paul shot him a mock glare, and we all started laughing.

“So what are we supposed to do all weekend without you?” Paul asked, before looking at Jared and I.

“Don’t look at me, I’m going to visit my aunt in Seattle.” I added.

“Really?” Jared asked. “Since when?”

“Since today.” I replied, Jared narrowed his eyes a bit, but dropped it.

“So what are we doing this weekend, Paul? Apparently we’re on our own.”

The boys turned to each other, debating what to do this weekend. I looked over at Bella beside me, who was looking at the fire, smiling softly.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

“I’m just really glad I met you guys.” She replied, smiling up at me.

“I’m glad we met you, too.” I added, bumping my shoulder into hers.

The boys joined the conversation again after that, and we talked well into the night. The fire was getting pretty low when Bella sighed and got to her feet.

“I should probably get going. Don’t wanna get home too late.” she said.

“Bye, Bella.” Jared said, smiling up at her.

“Let me know if you change your mind about Florida.” Paul said with a wink.

“You’ll be the first to know, Paul. Bye boys.” Bella said.

“I’ll walk you out.” I said, and we made our way back into the house.

“Thanks for having me. I had a lot of fun today.” Bella said as she got her things together.

“Anytime. I enjoyed the company.” I replied, walking over to the fridge. I grabbed the notepad and pen, ripping off a sheet and scribbling down the number for the landline. “Here’s the number for the house. So we can make real plans instead of just running into each other all the time.”

“Here.” She said, writing down her own home phone number on another sheet. “And thanks again for offering to drive me to Seattle.”

“Of course. Should I pick you up around six on Friday?” I asked.

“Oh god, six am?” Bella groaned. “Yeah. That should give us enough time. See you then, I guess.”

“Drive safe.” I said, following her to the front door. She surprised me, pulling me into a quick hug before walking out the door. I watched as she pulled out of the driveway, smiling to myself.

Notes:

You all prolly know that I put a little bit of myself into the characters, I've mentioned it before, and i stand by it. Its not a great habit probably but i do. Bella and her fear of wiping out due to clumsiness is all her own. I myself have a bit of a complex, I don't truly believe I CAN get hurt (i say that semi jokingly, i have gotten many dumb injuries but i still act as if im invincible, oops) . And so I'll climb shit all the time, sober or nearly blackout drunk it doesn't matter. Again, not a great habit but what can you do?! But it's been fine so far, only broken a few ribs and the occasional toe. ANYWAYYYSSSS,,,, (another thing y'all prolly know I have a habit of using this shit like a diary, or to just fully break down the chapter as if we are in a book club together. classic ao3 author shit so if you don't like it mind yo business) Also just realized this now idk if i ever mentioned it, title is from the OK Go song SHooting the moon, also known as that one new moon montage song where they do an unnecessary transition with the slice of pizza? I'm betting you all know what im talking about if you're reading a bella/sam fanfic the only real movie for us is new moon, preferably shut off before italy, duh. Sam's lil strip of beach is completely fictional, im sure there are some privately owned sections of beach, or nearly inaccessible and i wanted them to be completely alone for the plot ya know. Maybe i'll use it again later, only time will tell. I will say i am a small person much like bella (smaller tho she's two inches taller than me) and in this chap i do have her attempt to pull sam up and fail and it was cute af (in my opinion) but like she probably COULD do it you know? A lot of my guy friends like to make me do shit like that, or give them piggy back rides and like it's tough, for sure, but again, complex, i can and WILL do it. I, like Sam, love spring the most. (and it's not just cause taking care of my farm animals all winter is a pain in the ass) And I am a mint chip girly, and i stand by it! Chapters like this make me wanna do a podfic, just cause i don't know if the line delivery comes across every time.... But like Sam saying he likes moose. he's saying it loudly and proudly, sort of matter-of-factly deny it if you will, won't change the facts. Like ya he's deflecting but that's his honest opinion too. And fucking paul calling wolves handsome. such a paul thing to do. I am also very scared of rabies, idk if its true but ive heard it can lay dormant for years until its too late (dont take my word for it, idk where i even heard it) and ive found bats in my house several times and they have tiny teeth, like what if it bit me in my sleep and i didnt know?!? so if i never finish this fic its cause i got rabies and died, sorry.

Chapter 25: Chatting with Charlie

It was 9:45 when I pulled into my driveway, parking the truck next to Charlie’s cruiser. The lights were out in the living room, but I could see the glow from the tv through the front window. I went inside, locking up behind me. Charlie was in his recliner, watching the end of some old movie.

“Hey, Bells. What were you up to tonight?” He asked.

“I spent the afternoon in La Push. A couple friends were having a cookout.” I replied, sitting down on the couch.

“Hm. Sounds fun. Anyone I know?” He asked, faking nonchalance. I rolled my eyes before replying.

“It was just a few of us. Do you remember Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote from the Clearwater’s the other day?”

“Yeah, they seemed like nice kids.” Charlie said, looking a little disappointed.

“Well it was me, Jared, Paul, and Sam.” I said, continuing before he had a chance to comment. “And I figured out a ride for Friday to the airport. Sam’s going to visit his aunt in Seattle for the weekend, so I’m gonna ride with him. He’s staying till Monday night, so he can drive me back, too.”

“Well that’s awful nice of him.” Charlie said with a small smile. “I’m gonna head to bed, don’t forget to show me those homecoming photos soon. And send some to your mom, I’m sure she’d love to see them.”

“I have to go through them, but I’ll print some out after school tomorrow. Night, Dad.”

“Goodnight, Bells.”

I went upstairs soon after, getting ready for bed quickly. It took longer than it should’ve to fall asleep, I couldn’t stop thinking about my afternoon with the boys, and the upcoming drive to Seattle. Funny how only 6 months ago I was agonizing over the same thing, only with a very different boy. I never did end up going to Seattle. Well, that might not be entirely true. But I don’t think it counts when I was so out of it from the pain meds, after the ‘accident’ in Phoenix. With that final thought, I drifted off.

I dreamt I was in the woods again.

“Bella, we have to go. There’s no more time.” Edward said, grabbing my arm.

“What are you talking about? Where are we going?” I questioned, trying to pull my arm back.

“We have to go, he’s almost here.” Edward said, dragging me with him. I looked up at him, something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t focus enough to figure out what it was.

“Who? James?” I asked, shaking my head in an attempt to focus.

“Bella!” A voice called from behind us. I turned, seeing

“Sam!”

“Bella, you have to run!” He yelled, running closer.

I turned back to Edward as he released my arm, only to finally notice his deep red eyes as he lunged for Sam.

“No!” I screamed, reaching out futilely in an attempt to stop Edward.

I shot up in bed, chest heaving. I listened to see if I could hear Charlie. I honestly didn’t know if I had screamed out loud. After hearing nothing, I let myself fall back against my pillows. I glanced over at my alarm clock, seeing it was only 3:30 am. I took a few deep breaths, then firmly shut my eyes. It took a while longer to fall back asleep, but I didn’t have any more dreams that night. I woke up to my alarm, still feeling tired after last night's nightmare. Charlie was already gone when I went downstairs. I ate a quick breakfast, and got my stuff together for school. I made it to school shortly after Ang and Jess, and went over to meet them when I got out of the truck.

“Hey, Bella.” Ang greeted. “How was the rest of your weekend?”

“It was great. What about you? How was the twins’ birthday party?” I asked.

“It was okay. As fun as a party with over a dozen 10 year olds can be.” Ang said, and I laughed at the exasperated look on her face.

“I’m so glad I’m an only child.” Jess added from her spot next to Ang, where until now she was quietly eating a muffin.

“I’m more than willing to give you one of my brothers if you ever change your mind. You too, Bella. One for each of you.” Ang replies, and we both laughed at the look of horror on Jess’ face.

It was only a few minutes until the bell, so Jess and I linked arms and made our way to the gym. Mondays were bad enough without the prospect of first period gym. It was only the beginning of October, I don’t know how I’ll last a year of gym first thing Monday mornings. Gym seemed to go by quickly, though, and the rest of the morning did as well. Soon enough I was leaving English with Ang and Mike, heading towards the cafeteria. We were the last ones to arrive from our group, everyone else already seated with their food. We went through the lunch line and then joined Jess, Eric, and Ben at the table.

“You two ready for the chem test after this?” Ben asked Mike and I.

“That’s today?” I asked. “Shit. I completely forgot to study this weekend.”

“You’re screwed.” Mike said sympathetically.

“You’ll be fine. You have like 20 minutes left to study. Here.” Ben said, handing me his study guide.

“I am such an idiot.” I groaned, putting my head in my hands.

“But you’re our idiot.” Jess added, laughing at my dramatics.

I studied for the rest of lunch, and felt fairly confident for the test. I definitely got at least a few of the questions wrong, but I probably passed. My last class was history, where we thankfully just watched a movie. Once class was over, I said my goodbyes and went home. It was drizzling on the ride home, and turned into a full on downpour when I pulled in my driveway minutes later. I ran into the house, hiking my hood up in an attempt to stay dry. It didn’t work, so I ended up changing into dry comfy clothes. After I was changed, I grabbed my camera and sat at my desk. I booted up my old desktop computer, and started going through pictures from homecoming. It took longer than I thought, Jess took like a thousand pictures just while we were getting ready. Once I found my favorites, I started printing them out. I decided to make copies for everyone, so I queued it up and decided to check my email while I waited for them to be done. I had one unread message from my Mom.

Hi Bella! I’m counting down the days until our visit! It’s been far too long since I’ve seen you in person. It’s still been in the 80’s, so we can definitely have a beach day while you’re here! There’s a really nice beach about 5 minutes away from the house, you’ll love it. I hope you still have a bathing suit to wear, not that you’d get much use of it in Washington! How was homecoming? I can’t wait to see pictures! I’m so glad you’re getting yourself out there and going out with your friends. They sound like a great group! Anyways, I’ll see you soon. We’ll be in Phil’s blue SUV when we pick you up at the airport, so be on the lookout for that! Love you, Mom

I wrote my reply quickly, commenting that yes, I do still have a bathing suit. I linked a bunch of pictures from homecoming, and told her I had fun. I kept it pretty short, knowing I’d be with her by Friday night. I really was excited to see her. She was pretty forgetful at times, and growing up there was a fair bit of chaos, but I still missed having her around. I really thrived in Forks, it was much more peaceful living with Charlie. And I truly lived more in Forks. I wasn’t just at home all the time, holed up in my room. Not that I did something everyday here, but I had a much better social life. But I sort of missed those days in Phoenix, where it was me and mom against the world. I was excited to spend time with her, and even to see Phil again. Phil and I were never really that close, but I appreciated how much he cared for mom. It would be nice to see them together, and to see that she was doing okay in Florida. It was different with Charlie in that way, too. I never felt I had to worry about him. Of course I did worry a little when he was at work, even with what little went down in Forks. But I knew he was okay for years without me, and I never felt the need to take care of him like I did for mom before Phil came along. I did make dinner pretty often, but it was because I enjoyed cooking. Dad had always been clear on that, that I didn’t have to do everything myself. He did just fine taking care of things himself before I moved here, so I didn’t feel guilty when I wasn’t home to make dinner some nights. Or when I’d be too busy to help out as much with the chores. It was much more balanced, and it just felt so much easier living with Charlie. I sent the email, then went downstairs to grab envelopes to put the photos in. I had just found the envelopes when I heard the phone ring.

“Hello?”

“Oh hey Bella. It’s me, Seth!”

“Hey Seth, how’s it going?” I asked.

“Pretty good, pretty good. I aced my science quiz on Friday, thanks to you.” He replied.

“Glad to hear it. When do you wanna meet this week?”

“I was thinking Wednesday after school? If that works for you, obviously.”

“Wednesday works fine. I’ll see you then!”

“Thanks again, Bella. Bye!”

I hung up the phone, then grabbed the envelopes and went back upstairs. The pictures had just finished printing, so I sorted one of each picture into the envelopes. I put some into my scrapbook, and pinned the rest onto my corkboard. As promised I took a few of the good pictures downstairs to replace some of the pictures on the mantle. Satisfied with the result, I decided to start on dinner. I decided to make fish tonight. We always had a ton, and it was a simple meal to make. I breaded some of the fish that was already thawed in the fridge, and baked it in the oven. I made some rice and vegetables as sides and called it a day. Charlie got home right as I was taking the fish out of the oven.

“Hey, Bells.”

“Hey, Dad. Dinner’s almost ready.”

“It looks great. I’m gonna go change, be right back.”

I finished getting everything ready, then dished up a plate for myself. I sat down at the table and started eating. Charlie was down a few minutes later, grabbing his food then joining me at the table.

“So how was the dance?” He asked.

“It was really fun. I got a ton of pictures I can show you after dinner. I mostly danced with Jess and Ang, and they had an actual DJ this year instead of Eric doing it, which was much better. We all ended up sleeping over at the Stanley’s after.”

“I’m glad you all had a good time.” He replied.

“What about you? How was your fishing trip with Harry?” I asked.

“It was great. We caught some types of fish we don’t really see at our usual spots, and it was a nice change of scenery.” He paused, taking a bite of his food. “Are you excited for your trip this weekend?”

“Yeah, It’ll be nice to see mom. And I talked to some of my teachers today, and I won’t be missing any tests or quizzes on Friday. I haven’t even thought about packing yet.”

“You’ve got time. And it’s only a few days, it’s not like you’ll need much.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

We finished dinner soon after, and I went upstairs to grab my pictures from homecoming. I just grabbed one of the envelopes for my friends, since I had already hung up my copies. I ran back downstairs, heading into the living room and sitting next to Charlie on the couch.

“So these are from when we were getting ready. Jess decided to do like a mini spa day before the dance.” I said, showing the first few pictures. “And then we have the nice pictures Mrs. Stanley took. And after that we all took turns with the camera.”

“I like that one.” He said, pointing out the photo of us all squeezed into the frame. We were all laughing, and falling over each other.

“It’s my favorite. I put it in one of the frames on the mantle.” I replied, and he huffed a laugh. “Then we went to the dance, and Eric stole the camera for the first like hour of the dance. And this last one is from after the dance, Mrs. Stanley must have seen my camera out and took a picture of all of us piled on the couch.”

“These are great. I’m glad you’re getting some use out of your birthday gift. Which you didn’t want, I might add.” Charlie said smugly.

“Yeah, yeah. You were right. This time.” I said, pointing a finger at him, and we both laughed.

I put the photos away, then went up to my room to do my homework. I worked for a few hours, then went to bed. I fell asleep quickly, and didn’t have a single dream. I woke up to a typical rainy day in Forks. I slowly went about my morning, sluggishly getting ready for school. Forks had grown on me, but I would never learn to enjoy a cold rainy day. The day dragged on, and it felt like years had passed by the time I was pulling into the Newton’s parking lot for my shift.

Notes:

Charlie ships it. enough said.

Chapter 26: Patrol and a Nosy Aunt

It was only Tuesday, but it had been a long week already. I hadn’t planned on going away for the weekend, so I had a lot of work to get done these next few days that I would’ve done later in the week. I didn’t usually take the entire weekend off, and I was going to miss Friday and Monday, too. I was tired, but I didn’t regret my decision. I hadn’t really thought it through, I just offered, spur of the moment. I wanted to spend more time with Bella, and I really had been meaning to visit my aunt one of these days. I hadn’t seen my aunt in months. She’d come to my graduation in June, but we’d both been pretty busy since then. I was going to call her after work, to make sure she was okay with me coming to visit. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do if she was busy. She’s told me a thousand times I could stay in the spare room whenever I wanted, so I wasn’t worried about that, but I didn’t know what I’d do alone in Seattle if she had other plans.

I finished my work for the day around 7:00. It was later than I usually worked, but I knew the boys weren’t coming by tonight, so I didn’t mind working a little later. I took a shower as soon as I got home, then went back downstairs to find something for dinner. I warmed up some leftovers, then sat down to eat. As soon as I was done, I grabbed the phone and dialed my aunt’s number.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Aunt Shannon.” I replied.

“Sam! How’ve you been? It’s been a while since you’ve called.” She replied.

“I’ve been good, keeping busy with work. How are you?” I asked.

“I’m doing well. Now what’s up? You don’t usually call out of nowhere.”

“I’m planning on coming to visit this weekend if that’s alright with you?” I replied, voice pitching up awkwardly at the end.

“That’s more than alright, I haven’t seen you in ages! I’ve missed you. When will you be here?” She replied.

“I’m leaving Friday morning, so probably around lunch time, maybe a little earlier.”

“Well I’ll be working till about 4, but you know where I keep the spare key. I’ll have the rest of the weekend off though, and Monday if you stay that long.”

“I’ll be staying till Monday night, I’m giving a friend a ride home from the airport.”

“A friend, huh? Does this friend have a name? Because as far as I know, you only ever talk about Paul and Jared.” Aunt Shannon questioned. I sighed, knowing how she’d react.

“Her name’s Bella. Mom might’ve mentioned her dad before, Charlie. He’s the chief of police in Forks, and he’s been friends with Billy and Harry for years.”

“That sounds familiar. But don’t deflect, I wanna hear more about this girl!” She replied, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

“I met her almost a month ago now, at a bonfire. We hung out for a while, and just really got along, you know. We kept running into each other, and she really fits in with the guys, too. And she told me she was flying out to visit her mom this weekend, and I offered to drive her.” I said, shrugging even though she couldn’t see me.

“Uh huh.” Aunt Shannon replied, clearly holding in laughter. “So that’s why you’re visiting. Trying to get some one on one time with a girl. Nearly 8 hours round trip, how romantic.” She teased, finally letting out a laugh.

“It’s not like that!” I replied with a chuckle of my own. “I would do the same for the boys. Her dad was gonna have to take off work just to drive to Seattle and back twice, I’m just helping out a friend.”

“Sure you are, Sammy. Such a good kid.” Shannon added sarcastically.

“Whatever.” I replied, shaking my head. “I’ll see you Friday. Love you.”

“I can’t wait. Love you too, bye!”

I hung up the phone, shaking my head to myself as I set it down. I went into the kitchen, washing up the few dishes from dinner. Once that was done, I went back upstairs to get ready for bed. It was still pretty early, but I planned on getting up early to patrol before work. I was tired, but apparently not tired enough to quiet my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about last weekend. Paul was right, Bella probably would find out about us soon enough. We’d never talked about the night we met, but I could never forget the hollow look on her face when I found her. I’m sure she’s still hurting from whatever happened between her and the Cullens, but there’s such a stark difference between how she was that night and how she is now. I didn’t want her to get mixed up in the supernatural anymore than she already was, but it seemed inevitable. If she spent long enough with us, someone was bound to slip up. She’d hear something that didn’t quite add up, or even see something she shouldn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if she found out from the boys just goofing around. And she knew about vampires, it might not even be that much of a shock for her that werewolves exist. Or shape-shifters, if we’re being technical about it. A selfish part of me hoped she would figure it out. I really liked her, and I wanted her to stick around. I didn’t want to keep things from her, but I wouldn’t blatantly go against the council and tell her outright. I was curious what Billy thought about it. Did he have enough confidence in us, that we’d be able to keep the secret? Or did he too think she was bound to find out eventually? The council said it was to protect the tribe, that it put us at risk if too many people knew the secret. But Bella knew about the Cullens, and as far as I know had never told anyone. And more than that, I trusted her. We hadn’t known each other long, but I knew she wouldn’t tell anyone, not if it’d put us at risk. I looked at the clock, seeing that I’d been laying here, lost in thought, for nearly an hour. I shut my eyes tight, and focused on my breathing until I finally fell asleep.

I woke up around 4 am, and knew as soon as I opened my eyes I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. I had planned on patrolling anyway, so I just pulled my cutoffs on and went downstairs. I ate a granola bar in three bits, then went out the back door. I felt a little silly, putting on the cutoffs just to take them off minutes later. But I think I’d feel weirder walking out into my yard wearing only my boxers. But neither compared to how wrong it still felt to just strip down in the woods. I phased, and started my patrol along the border. I had been thinking a lot lately about the first time I had phased. It was nearly a year ago now. I had just gotten the call about mom’s accident, and I just couldn’t think. The man on the phone was going on about funeral homes, and arranging pickup for the body. But it was my mom. I had seen her that morning, got a kiss on the cheek on the way out the door like always. And now she was a body in some hospital morgue. I crushed the phone in my hand without realizing it, stumbling out the door into the yard. I remember wondering why everything was so blurry, not even processing that I was crying. I was in so much pain, it felt like my heart was ripping out of my chest. And then it got worse. Phasing that first time was incredibly painful. I was so overcome with grief, and I just ran. I didn’t even think, or question what had happened to me. It was all white noise, all I felt was the despair, and anger at the world for taking her away from me. I ran for days, and it was nearly a week later that I finally returned home, and was able to phase back. I didn’t tell anyone where I had gone, I didn’t really talk much at all those first few weeks.

I shook my head a bit, focusing again on the task at hand. It was easy to get distracted, especially with no trails these past few weeks. On one hand, it would be easier to notice a fresh scent. But on the other hand, we were letting our guard down, becoming complacent. I patrolled for a few more hours, going home once the day was really starting. I got changed and had some breakfast, then got to work. Just gotta make it through these next two days.

Notes:

Being a classic ao3 author rn... Sorry for the late update (can it really be late if i have no sort of posting schedule?) i was sick af and i've been out of commission for nearly two weeks,,, very sad. But ya! The chapter "sure you are sammy, such a good kid" fucking cracking myself up. this is the first mention of the nickname "sammy" but trust me it is not the last! I like thinking about the nuances i guess of their secret. like in this case especially i feel like sam WANTS to tell her, wants her to know but feels guilty i guess for what she went through? But i also wanted to explore at least a little how the council has at least some input and insists on secrecy. like in canon embry never even tells his mom cause its not allowed. like i get where theyre coming from but its a little fucked to expect a kid to lie blatantly to everyone they love. i took the angle of the council being the ones to make that decision, in part because i feel like with my take on sam he wouldnt make that decision when hes lost his own family..... but we'll see how it plays out. i mean he's probably right, it's inevitable that bella finds out! (i say as if i am not god in this scenario and make whatever i want to happen, happen hahaha)

Chapter 27: Pasta Night

When I woke up on Wednesday, I knew it was gonna be one of those days. I already had a headache, and I just felt weighed down. If it weren’t for my tutoring session with Seth this afternoon, I would’ve stayed home. I just had to push through. I got myself out of bed as late as I could, and got dressed. I didn’t bother with breakfast, not really feeling like eating yet. I took some Advil, and made my way to school. When I parked the truck, most of the students were already in class, or on their way. All my friends were already gone, except for Eric, who wasn’t here yet. I trudged to English, sitting in my usual seat next to Ang. We had a few minutes before class would start, so she turned to me to talk.

“Hey, you’re later than usual?” Ang said questioningly.

“Yeah, just an off day I guess.” I replied, giving her a small smile.

Class started then, and we turned to the board. I couldn’t focus, my mind drifting towards the empty seat on my right. His seat. I hadn’t been thinking of them as much lately, but today they were all I could think about. How different would things be if they were still here? I’d be going to visit my Mom with Edward by my side, using the tickets his parents had got me. I still wouldn’t be focusing on the lesson, I’d probably be distracted by his hand in mine below our desks. But would I be as close with Jess and Ang? Or the guys? He had a bit of a jealous streak, one that I found charming less than a month ago. As much as I loved Alice, I don’t know if I’d choose her anymore, if it meant losing the close friendship I had with Jess and Ang. If they were still here, it would be the same as it was, talking to my normal friends at lunch, maybe before class once or twice. And then ignoring them. They were the ones who welcomed me, accepted me like I’d known them for years. And I ignored them, focusing on the ethereal beauty and otherworldliness of the Cullens. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone out with my friends before they left. I always had some excuse, a date with him, a sleepover with Alice. And while I knew that this was better, that the friendships I had now were just as valuable to me as the ones I had lost, I couldn’t help but mourn what could have been. The bell rang soon after, and I moved on autopilot through the day. I was quiet during lunch, too, but my friends understood. Jess leaned on my shoulder as they talked after eating, silenting lending me her support. And Mike gave me his cookie, handing it to me with a wink and a small smile. No one walked on eggshells, cause everyone had off days. It was part of being human. I appreciated them, and I finished off the day feeling a little less glum.

After the last class was over, I got in my truck and started to drive to La Push. If anything could rid me of the gloomy mood I was in, it would be an afternoon with the ball of happiness that is Seth Clearwater. He had an infectious personality, and was such a genuinely nice person. I pulled into the Clearwater’s driveway, and made my way into the house. I knocked a couple times as I walked in, knowing Seth was expecting me. He was running down the stairs, taking them two or three steps at a time.

“Hey, Bella! How’s it hanging?” He said, flopping onto the couch and waving me over.

“I’m pretty good, how are you?” I replied, laughing at his enthusiasm.

“I’m just dandy. What’s on the agenda for today?” He asked, pulling out his books and notebook.

“I figured we could start by outlining your paper that’s due on Monday, and then get some study materials made for your science test on Friday?” I suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” He replied.

I took out my english notebook, showing him my own paper outlines as an example of how to outline a paper in a way that’s basically a rough draft in of itself. Seth told me he usually just writes the paper, no plan or draft at all. It didn’t take long to work out his outline, and get a cohesive paper planned. Then we worked on making flash cards, and diagrams for him to practice labeling. We made a few studying games, and spent some time doing those. We decided we were done around 6.

“Where’s everyone else? Aren’t they usually home by now?” I asked Seth.

“Yeah, they usually are. I guess Leah is staying at a friend's dorm tonight cause they have a project they need to work on. And mom and dad are having a date night tonight.” He replied.

“Do you know what you’re doing for dinner?” I questioned, an idea forming in my head.

“Nope. I was probably just gonna have cereal or something. I don’t know how to cook anything.” Seth answered, looking a little embarrassed. I dug through my bag, looking for a slip of paper I knew I’d left in there.

“Mind if I make a quick call?” I asked, gesturing to the kitchen where their landline was.

“Go for it.” Seth answered, looking a little confused.

I went into their kitchen, punching in the phone number I had gotten from my bag. It rang a few times before someone answered.

“Uley residence.”

“Hey, Jared. Is Sam home from work yet?” I asked.

“Oh hey Bella! Nope, he should be home soon though. What’s up?” Jared replied.

“I was wondering what you guys were doing for dinner. I’m over at the Clearwater’s with Seth and I was thinking we could grab some stuff and come over to make dinner for the five of us.”

“That would be amazing! Pretty sure we were just gonna have frozen pizza for dinner, so anything’s better than that.”

“I’ll see you in like 15 minutes.”

“Sounds good. See ya, Bella.” Jared replied, then hung up.

I hung the phone up, then walked back into the living room. Seth was packing up his books and papers when I walked in.

“C’mon, we’re going to Sam’s for dinner.” I said, grabbing my own bag off the floor.

“We are?” Seth questioned, dropping his stuff back onto the coffee table.

“Yep. You’re gonna help me cook.” I replied, walking out the door with Seth trailing behind me.

“What are we making?” Seth asked as we got into the truck.

“We’ll have to stop at the store, and we’ll decide once we see what they have. Something easy though, so you can make it yourself next time.” I said, pulling out of the driveway and driving towards the store.

The store wasn’t very big, so there weren’t a ton of options. We decided on spaghetti and meatballs, it was pretty quick to make and there was a really nice looking loaf of bread at the store to go with it. We grabbed what we needed quickly and got back in the truck to drive to Sam’s. When we pulled in, his truck was still gone. Seth grabbed the food and we went inside.

“Knock knock.” I called as we walked in.

“Hey, Bella, Seth. Whatcha making us?” Paul asked from his spot on the couch playing a video game with Jared.

“Spaghetti and meatballs.” Seth replied, following me into the kitchen with the bags.

“If you want it sooner you guys could come help.” I called over my shoulder. Seth set the bags down on the counter, and I started pulling everything out. I bought everything I’d need to make homemade sauce, some veggies for a salad, and a bag of frozen meatballs.

“What can we do?” Jared asked.

“You can start by showing me where to find everything. I’ll need a couple cutting boards, two big pots, a baking tray, and a bowl for the salad.” I replied. The boys started grabbing what I’d asked for from the cabinets, then looked back at me for the next instructions. “Okay I’ll need one of you to dice the onion and 4 cloves of garlic. And the other can start prepping the salad.”

“I call salad!” Paul shouted.

“C’mon dude you know cutting onions makes me cry!” Jared complained, and we all laughed.

I looked through the spices in one of the cabinets, grabbing what I’d need as I explained the steps to Seth. While we waited for Jared to chop the onion and garlic, I preheated the oven and Seth arranged the meatballs on the tray.

“Okay so first we’re gonna cook the onions in a bit of oil. Once those are soft we’ll add the garlic.” I explained, putting a little oil in the pot and turning on the stove. Jared passed me the cutting board with the chopped onion and I scraped it into the pot.

“You can stir as they cook, so they don’t stick, but don’t stir it constantly.” I added, passing the wooden spoon to Seth.

“Anything else I can do?” Jared asked, passing over the garlic.

“You can slice the bread.” I suggested.

“This is gonna be so much better than frozen pizza.” Paul said.

“It would’ve been better than what Seth was gonna have. He was just gonna have a bowl of cereal for dinner.” I added, and the boys laughed.

“What else was I gonna do, I don’t know how to cook.” Seth defended.

We chatted as we worked, and I explained each step of making the sauce to the boys. Seth was a great assistant with the actual cooking, and Paul and Jared cheered us on from their seats at the small island. I had Jared start making the pasta while Seth and I finished the sauce. We were adding the meatballs when I heard the front door open.

“Something smells good.” Sam said, pulling off his work boots then joining us in the kitchen.

“Hey!” I said, smiling over at Sam. “We made spaghetti and meatballs. It’ll be ready in a few.”

“It looks amazing. I’m gonna go change. Be right back.” Sam said, leaving the room.

“Why don’t you boys set the table?” I suggested, grabbing the pasta and straining it over the sink.

“Sure thing.” Paul said.The boys brought everything over to the table while I finished up the sauce. I stuck a ladle in the sauce, and grabbed a serving spoon for the pasta.

“Alright, boys, dig in.” I said, standing back in the doorway while they all filled their plates.

“Well this was a nice surprise.” Sam said, coming up behind me.

“I was over at Seth’s for a tutoring session, and he was the only one home tonight. I figured you guys probably hadn’t eaten yet either, so here we are.”

“It’s nice to have civilized company for once.” Sam said with a smirk.

“We can hear you, Sam.” Jared said, glaring at Sam in a joking manner.

“We’re literally in the same room as you.” Paul added, rolling his eyes.

“We should grab some food before they eat it all.” I said, laughing at the boys scarfing down their pasta. Sam and I filled our plates, then sat next to each other at the table.

“Are you free again next Wednesday for our next tutoring session?” Seth asked.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I usually have Wednesdays off from work.” I replied.

“Awesome.” Seth replied, before turning to Jared and Paul. “Hey, have you guys tried the new Spyro game?”

The boys started talking video games, and I didn’t really care to follow along. I looked over at Sam, who was smiling fondly at the boys. He turned back to me, smiling even wider when he caught my eye.

“Have you packed yet?” He asked. I groaned before replying.

“No… I’m awful at packing.” I complained. “We’re supposed to have a beach day, but I don’t even know where I put my bathing suits when I moved here.”

“You weren’t interested in swimming in the 50 degree water here?” He asked sarcastically, bursting into laughter at the look on my face.

“Does it seriously not get any warmer?” I asked, a look of slight horror on my face.

“I think it gets up to 60 sometimes.” Sam replied with a shrug.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever swam in water under like 70 degrees. I think I’d freeze if I swam here.” I said, and we both laughed. “That seriously sounds awful.”

“You should try cliff diving with us this summer.” Paul suggested with a smirk. “It’s a 40 foot drop straight into that ‘freezing’ water.”

“You guys actually do that?” I asked, incredulous. “Do you all have a death wish?”

“Everyone does it. I bet Seth’s done it before.” Jared added.

“Yeah, but from like 20 feet maybe. You guys are kinda insane.” Seth replied.

“You guys really need to find more hobbies or something if you jump off cliffs for fun.” I said, shaking my head.

“Ten bucks says she’ll be out there with us this summer.” Paul said.

“You’re on. There’s no way she’d go for it.” Jared replied.

“She’s tough.” Paul argued, “And it's October, plenty of time for her to psyche herself up.”

“Thank you, I think? But Jared’s right there’s no way I’m doing that.” I replied with a laugh.

“I don’t know, I feel like I could convince you.” Sam added with a smirk.

“No fair, Sam. You’re not even part of the bet.” Jared whined.

“You guys are ridiculous.” I said, shaking my head.

“What do you think, Seth?” Paul asked.

“I think I’d like to stay on Bella’s good side. So I’m just gonna say two things. One, Paul’s right, she is tough. And two, she doesn’t need to jump off a cliff to prove it.” Seth said with a shrug.

“Yeah, what he said.” I added, reaching over to high five Seth.

We finished our dinners soon after, and worked together to clean up the kitchen. After that was done, we sat in the living room, continuing our conversation while watching How it’s Made. After an episode or two, Jared and Seth went into the kitchen to get everyone ice cream. We all sat around talking once we were finished, until it started getting late.

“We should probably get going, Seth. I still have half an hour to drive home.” I said, standing up from the couch.

“Yeah,” Seth agreed, sounding a little disappointed. “Mom and Dad are probably home by now, too.”

“Thanks again for dinner.” Sam said.

“Yeah, this was really fun. We should do it again sometime.” Jared added.

“Definitely.” I agreed, “Bye guys.”

“See ya.” Paul said.

We went out to the truck, driving a few streets away to the Clearwater’s house. Seth hopped out of the truck, waving as he ran into the house. I got back home around 10, and went upstairs right away. I still had some homework of my own to do before I could go to bed. I finished it as fast as I could, praying my answers made at least a little sense. I took a quick shower after, then went to bed with damp hair. Nights like these it was easy to fall asleep. The new, good memories I made today do a pretty good job of keeping the nightmares at bay. That isn’t to say it fixes the problem completely, but even having one good night’s sleep makes the bad nights a little easier. When I woke up in the morning I had a vague recollection of a dream. I remembered being in the woods again, and a flash of dark fur. I didn’t remember more than that, and even that soon faded as I wiped the sleep from my eyes. I got up, heading downstairs to make some toast for breakfast. Charlie was at the table, drinking his coffee as he read the morning paper. I stuck some bread in the toaster, then took a seat at the table.

“Sleep well?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah, actually.” I replied.

“Good. I’ll be working late tonight, so I might not see you before you head to bed. But I’ll be up to see you off in the morning.” He added.

“I’m only going away for the weekend, you don’t need to make a big deal of it.” I said, smiling fondly at him.

“Well I’m gonna miss you around here. And I just wanna make sure you make it out of the house on time.”

“Trust me, we’ll have plenty of time. Sam’s picking me up at 6 am.” I replied.

“Well that’s good. You never know if there’s gonna be traffic, or an accident on the highway.” Charlie added, in that gruff tone he always used after he so much as hints at having emotions. “Okay, I’m off. Have a good day at school.”

“Thanks, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you too, Bells.” He replied, grabbing his keys and walking out the door.

I finished my toast, then went upstairs to get ready. I threw on a pair of worn jeans, and a big chunky sweater. It was pretty cold today, which would only make Florida feel that much warmer tomorrow. I ran my fingers through my hair, gently pulling apart the waves to make them look less messy. Then I grabbed my bag and went out to the truck. I drove the familiar route to school, and parked next to Ben’s car. Jess and Ang were already here, and Mike was a few cars behind me. I spent the next 10 minutes going over a few calculus problems from the homework with Jess before class started. Jess wasn’t very academically inclined, but she was a math whiz. Math was definitely my worst subject, so I appreciated her help a lot. Classes seemed to drag on, and I could hardly focus. I was bouncing in my seat, getting more and more excited for my trip as the minutes went by. My last class before lunch was History, with Jess. I could tell she picked up on my energy, and saw her looking between me and the clock a dozen times towards the end of class. Once the bell rang, Jess stood next to my desk impatiently, with raised eyebrows.

“You go on, Jess. I have to talk to the teacher.”

“Be quick about it.” Jess warned, before making her way outside.

I went up to the desk, and handed over a small packet of the work I’d miss tomorrow. I technically could’ve waited till Tuesday to hand it in, but I knew I wouldn’t actually get to it in time if I had waited. After that was done, I went over to the cafeteria. I grabbed a caesar salad for lunch, and went over to our table. Everyone else was already eating, and I took a spot at the table between Jess and Eric. I sat down, and Jess looked over at me expectantly.

“Well?” She said.

“Well what?” I questioned, and Jess rolled her eyes at me.

“What’s got you all jittery? You’ve hardly sat still all day. Got a hot date?” Jess suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

“No.” I reply, laughing. “I’m visiting my mom in Florida this weekend. I’m skipping tomorrow and flying out in the morning.”

“That’s awesome.” Ang said.

“It would be more awesome if you took me with you!” Jess exclaimed. “I’d love a beach vacation! I could carry your bags for you, and I could just sleep on your mom’s couch. You wouldn’t even know I’m there. Plus, mom’s love me. Right guys?”

“You sound like Paul.” I replied, laughing at their nearly identical arguments.

“I’d be a much better traveling buddy than Paul.” Jess added.

“So if you talked about this with Paul, does that mean you saw Sam again?” Ang asked. Jess’ jaw dropped, seemingly offended that she hadn’t made the connection herself. The boys were all looking between us, paying rapt attention but looking a little scared to interrupt.

“Yeah, I was over his place on Sunday.” I replied, sighing to myself as I saw the look on Jess’ face.

“Bella it's Thursday! You’re telling me you waited four days to tell us this crucial information! I’ve never felt more betrayed in my life. Like I thought we were friends, like true best friends forever type friends. What else are you keeping from me?” Jess asked, throwing up her hands dramatically. Ang rolled her eyes, and I smirked, anticipating how Jess would react to what I was about to tell her.

“And he offered to drive me to Seattle and back for my flights.” I said, watching Jess as she broke into a wide grin.

“Do you know what this means?” Jess asked excitedly, looking at all of us.

“That Bella doesn’t have to drive herself?” Mike said, looking a little lost.

“Yes, but no. It means nearly 8 hours of Bella and Sam one-on-one!” Jess squealed. “Operation get Bella a new boo is a go! And I didn’t even have to do anything.”

“Have I ever told you you’re a little too invested in my life?” I asked her, shaking my head at her excitement.

“I’m pretty sure you did last week.” Ben piped in.

“Well the point still stands.” I said.

“Whatever. I'm allowed to be excited.” Jess said smugly, she turned to the boys and continued. “You guys haven’t seen them together as much as Ang and I have, but they’re like made for eachother. It’s super cute.”

“Eat your food, Jess.” I said, smiling a little.

“You know I’m right.” She argued, shrugging her shoulders with a smirk.

“So how long are you going to Florida?” Eric asked.

“I’m flying home Monday afternoon, so I’m only missing one day of class.”

“You know what we should do?” Jess asked.

“What?” Ang asked.

“We should do like a big trip after graduation. Like we’d all go obviously but we could have like some other friends and any like boyfriends or girlfriends and just go somewhere really cool. We could even take like a few cars and make it into a road trip.” She suggested.

“We should just drive down the coast.” Ben added.

“We should definitely stop at the Grand Canyon too.” Mike said.

“We could probably stay at my house for a night. It’s a few hours away from the grand canyon, but it’s kinda an in between point if we’re coming from LA.” I added.

“We should go to Vegas on the way back.” Eric suggested with a grin.

“What would we even do in Vegas, we’ll still all be 18.” Jess said, looking at Eric like he was an idiot.

“I think we should hit some of the national parks on the way back.” Ang suggested. “I’ve always wanted to see Yosemite. And Nevada has a few, too. We could maybe stop by Vegas for a couple hours while we pass through?”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Eric said, happy Ang somewhat agreed with him.

We talked a bit more about our trip, but it was soon time for class. I had gym right after lunch, and I was, as usual, not looking forward to it. Having gym right after lunch might honestly be worse than having it first thing. I wasn’t the most active participant anyways, but I still felt like I was gonna throw up from running so soon after eating. After gym I had marine science, then I was free to go. I said bye to my friends, everyone wishing me a good trip and a safe flight. Jess winked at me as I left, no doubt thinking about the car ride with Sam. I went straight home, then right up to my room to start packing. I decided to just use my backpack instead of a suitcase. I didn’t need a lot, just some clothes. I was planning on using whatever mom had on hand for toiletries. It wasn’t worth it to buy everything in tiny travel sizes to be able to bring them on the plane. I wasn’t afraid to fly or anything, but I wasn’t looking forward to the flight. It was going to be nearly six hours. With that in mind I picked out a few books to bring, to keep me occupied on the plane. From there I went on to clothes, searching for 20 minutes to find my bathing suits. I packed a few extra outfits, in case it was a little chillier than usual, or if I managed to spill something on my clothes. I wasn’t usually one to make a mess, but when it came to my life, everything bad that could happen would. Murphy’s law seemed to apply to me just a little more than everyone else. I also packed an envelope of pictures from homecoming, just a few hard copies of my favorites to give to mom. It felt like I was packing forever, but it really only took an hour. Which, arguably, is probably a long time to pack for a weekend trip. But I was a worrier, and that definitely transferred over to my thoroughness with packing, and picking the right outfits for the weather. It was probably a little overkill to bring as much as I did, but it still fit easily in my backpack with room to spare. Not that there’d be room afterwards, I’d probably fill that space with souvenirs for my friends. I spent the rest of the night with my dad, having dinner and watching a movie, before going to bed early.

Notes:

Bella deserves good, normal friends!!! So I give them to her!! And yes I count Seth, Jared, Sam, Paul etc as good normal friends they're (in this at least) much better friends to Bella than any of the cullens ever were.. I love Seth, he really was always such a sweet character and deserved more screen time, so to speak. I love the concept of Bella getting over her nerves and just inviting herself (and Seth) over for dinner with the boys. I like the idea of them all being close enough to just drop by spur of the moment and have a great time. And yes, I am making the cliff diving into a fully fun recreational thing she'll probably end up doing without any delusions involved. Also I feel like Seth has so much respect and a healthy dose of fear for tough women as the brother of Leah. Like theres no way he'd get away with saying any sexist shit, even unintentionally. Seth supports womens rights, and also womens wrongs. Whatever will keep him safe from Leah's wrath haha.

Chapter 28: Dying for Some Sticks

I was a little nervous as I packed my bags for the weekend. It wasn’t that I was nervous about spending time with Bella, or with my aunt. I was nervous to leave the reservation. I hadn’t gone even a single night away since I first phased. I’d gone a little ways away, like afternoon trips to the city, or things like that. I didn’t stay on the rez constantly, but I was never all that far. I’d be nearly 4 hours away this weekend. I trusted the boys with my life, but I couldn’t help but worry. What if something happened and they couldn’t reach me? Not that I’d be able to help much being so far away. None of us had ever truly encountered a vampire. And so I was torn. I didn’t know if I wanted them patrolling all through Forks while I was gone, or just sticking close to home. If they did find something, I didn’t know if they’d be able to face it alone. Flashes of the tribe’s stories flooded my mind. If it came to a fight, they might not make it out alive. But it was our job, our duty to face it. I don’t think any of us would be able to live with ourselves if I told them to just turn back if they catch a scent. What kind of protector would I be if I told them to abandon everyone else and just keep themselves safe? I shook my head, trying to clear it. I was probably worrying for nothing. I’d never encountered a vampire’s scent that wasn’t one of the Cullens, and I’d been phasing for nearly a year now. One weekend away wouldn’t be the end of the world. As if summoned by my thoughts, I heard the boys walk in downstairs. I put my bag aside and went down to join them.

“Hey, Sam. Have you packed yet?” Jared asked as he plopped onto the couch.

“I just finished.” I replied, sitting down on the recliner. Paul came in from the kitchen, popping open a can of soda then sitting down next to Jared.

“What time are you heading out?” Paul asked.

“I told Bella I’d be at her place around 6.”

“AM? Jeez.” Paul replied.

“Yup. I’m gonna need so much coffee.” I added.

“Have you decided what we’re gonna do for patrolling while you're away?” Jared asked. I sighed, and thought about it for a few minutes.

“If you can, I want you both to patrol every night. Only for an hour or two, and if one of you can’t go, I don’t want either of you going.” I said, looking between both of them. “Both of you need to stick together. If you find anything weird I want you to call me, and I want you to call one of the elders as well. If I need to, I can be back here in a couple hours.”

Both boys nodded seriously, and I felt both pride and sadness as I looked between them. They were always fooling around together, but I was proud of how seriously they took pack business. I knew I could trust them, but I hated that I had to trust them with this at all. If it weren’t for the Cullens, and vampires in general, they’d just be normal teenage boys. I’d just be a normal teenage boy. We hadn’t seen or found anything since the Cullens left, and I prayed it would stay that way. If not forever then at least for the weekend. I didn’t want to leave them to face it alone.

“So what do you guys want for dinner tonight?” I asked, trying to move past my nerves and stay in the moment.

“Pizza?” Paul suggested.

“And not frozen pizza like real pizza.” Jared added. “And mozzarella sticks. I’m dying for some sticks.”

“No one just calls them sticks.” I said, shaking my head at Jared. “C’mon, we can just eat at the pizza place.”

“Ooh. Going out tonight. What a treat.” Jared said, hopping up to join me.

Paul followed behind him, and we piled into my truck. Paul sat up front with me, and Jared sat in the backseat. The drive to Forks felt short, with lots of dramatic karaoke and Paul’s shockingly high vocal range. I pulled into the parking lot, noticing it was fairly busy for a Thursday night. Maybe everyone in Forks was feeling a little lazy, too, and didn’t wanna cook tonight. We went inside, standing at the end of the line while the boys decided what they wanted.

“How many pizzas is too many pizzas?” Jared asked seriously.

“I’ll order 2 large pizzas, you can pick what’s on them, I don’t care. And we can get a few appetizers.” I replied.

“I want Hawaiian!” Jared said.

“Seriously?” I asked. “Whatever. But only on half cause neither of us will eat that.”

“Fine. I’ll do pepperoni for the other half.”

“What do you want?” I asked Paul.

“We can just get meat lovers for the other one. And I want buffalo wings.”

“Sounds good. Why don’t you two go find a table.” I replied. Jared shot me finger guns and walked off with Paul, who was shaking his head at his antics.

I waited a little longer in line, then put in our order. I was waiting for our food when I heard a familiar voice.

“We could’ve just gotten delivery. I don’t know why you guys insist on going out for dinner so much. Like we could’ve been eating on the couch.” Jess complained to her parents as they waited in line to order. I huffed a laugh, then turned back to the counter, trying to figure out if it was our pizzas they were working on.

“Sam! Hey!” Jess said, noticing me by the counter.

“How’s it going, Jess.” I replied, smiling as the energetic brunette walked over.

“Pretty good. Are you picking up food or eating here?” She asked.

“We’re eating here. Paul and Jared are over in one of the booths.” I added, looking over as the guy at the counter called out that our order was ready.

“Do you guys mind if I join you? I’m here with my parents, and I love them but I have dinner with them like every night and they always talk about the same things and dad says the same dumb jokes. Like ‘what did the pizza say to the cheese? Slice to meet you!’ It’s ridiculous.” Jess rambled.

“Of course you can, the more the merrier.” I replied, laughing at her rant.

“Awesome! My parents already know what I want, so they’ll just bring it over when it’s ready.” Jess said, gesturing to her parents that she was gonna sit with me and the guys. Then she held out a hand to take our appetizers and followed me to the table.

“Hey boys.” Jess said, setting down the appetizers and sliding in the booth next to Jared.

“What’s up, Jess?” Paul asked.

“Not much. What's new with you guys?”

“Not a whole lot.” Jared replied with a shrug. “Can you pass me the mozzarella sticks?” Jess passed them to Jared, then turned to me.

“So. I heard the news.” She said, raising her eyebrows.

“What news?” I questioned.

“The news.” She said, not clarifying anything at all. I tilted my head in confusion, and she rolled her eyes. “That you’re driving Bella to the airport?”

“Oh. Yeah. I am.” I replied, still not knowing where she was going with this.

“Is that all you’re gonna say? You know, Bella was tight lipped too. Didn’t even tell us till this morning. Like you think you know a girl. But this is like a big deal, you know.” Jess paused, looking for agreement from the boys, who nodded along. “Like if there’s traffic, that’s nearly 8 hours alone in a car? Or truck?”

“Truck.” Jared added.

“Truck together. Like this is serious business.” Jess looked between Jared and Paul. “Did either of you have anything to do with this? Or did they come up with this on their own?”

“I am still here, you know. Literally sitting across the table from you.” I added, laughing at Jess’ rambling.

“They did it all on our own. We had nothing to do with it.” Paul said, answering Jess’ question.

“I’m so proud.” Jared added, pretending to wipe away a tear.

“You guys are ridiculous.” I said, shaking my head.

“But you love us anyways.” Paul said, knocking his shoulder into mine.

“How’s your truck’s radio? I’m not sure if you know this or not, but Bella like hates country music. So plan on playing something else or maybe bring some CDs. Other than country she's not that picky. Like she’ll even listen to like old dad rock music. You know what I’m talking about, right? Like that old like 80’s grunge sorta rock music.”

“She actually did mention the country music. I told her she can control the radio.” I replied, struggling to get a word in edgewise.

“Smart move. I’m impressed.” Jess said, looking at me like she was sizing me up. “You can eat if you want, Sam. You don’t have to wait for me to get my food. You're weirdly polite. But it’s nice.” She added with a smile.

“Thanks, I think?” I replied, laughing a little.

“You’re welcome. Ooh there’s my food.” Jess said, standing up and grabbing her pasta from the tray her mom was carrying. “Thanks, Mom! Anyway, what were we talking about?”

“Sam being weirdly polite, I think.” Jared answered.

“Oh yeah. He is though. But Bella likes that kind of thing. I think part of it is the cop dad, but I’m not sure since she’s only lived with him like a year. It might be her mom, too. Cause her mom is like a kindergarten teacher, and they’re big on manners too.”

“So Bella gets her manners from her parents, is that where you get your rambling from?” Paul asked with a smirk.

“Oh ha ha. Laugh it up. But we all know I’m the highlight of all of your nights. Without me you’d probably be sitting here silently, just eating your pizzas. Sad, really.” Jess replied, smirking back good-naturedly.

“I wish we could have a quiet dinner for once. There’s never a moment of silence with these two around.” I teased.

“Face it, old man, without us you’d be all sad and lonely.” Paul said, shoving my shoulder with a smirk.

“Eat your pizza, Paul.” I replied, smiling and shaking my head. We spent the rest of the meal joking and laughing, but soon enough we were finished, and it was time to head out.

“This was fun.” Jess said as she stood. “We should all do something next weekend, once you and Bella are back.” She added, nodding towards me.

“Definitely.” I agreed.

“Well, goodnight boys. Tell Bella I said hi, and to have fun. In Florida, obviously.” Jess said, winking at the end.

“Will do. Bye, Jess.” I replied with a laugh.

“See ya short stuff.” Paul said, knocking his shoulder into Jess’.

“Bye!” Jared added, then we walked out of the restaurant.

I dropped the boys at their houses, then went back home. I went quickly through the shower, then got into bed. I set my alarm for five, then shut my eyes, hoping sleep would find me quickly. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, thinking about the day to come.

Notes:

This was one of those chapters where the characters sorta had a mind of their own. I had no plans going into it other than just getting Sam through the day while being slightly nervous for the upcoming trip. I didn't plan on them going out to dinner and it just sorta wrote itself after that. Jess showed up of her own volition, I really had nothing to do with it haha

Chapter 29: Road Trip

I woke up with a groan, smacking my shrieking alarm clock. I sat up in bed, and looked over at the clock. 5:30 am. Wonderful. I trudged out of bed, knowing if I didn’t I’d fall right back asleep. I grabbed the clothes I had set out last night, and went into the bathroom. I picked out a comfy pair of jeans, one of my favorite t-shirts, and a comfy gray sweatshirt to wear. I wanted to be comfortable in the car, and on the plane, but I wasn’t about to wear sweatpants. Knowing mom she was gonna bring me all over Jacksonville tonight without stopping at the house first, and I didn’t want to deal with that. I didn’t care about clothes as much, I’d be fine going out in sweats, if they weren’t tattered. But my mom could be a little judgey with that kind of stuff, and I didn’t want to hear it. I love her, but she’s always tried to make me into a girlier version of myself. That was another good thing about living with dad, he didn’t care about what I wore. Not that he could say much, we practically had the same wardrobe, both wearing flannels and jeans most days. Once I was dressed, I went downstairs for a quick breakfast. I didn’t have much time, so I quickly ate a few slices of toast. Then I went back upstairs to brush my teeth and grab my backpack. When I made it back downstairs, it was nearly 6, and my dad was pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“Ready to go?” He asked.

“I think so.” I said, cutting off with a yawn.

“Here.” He said, huffing a laugh as he handed me a coffee in a to-go cup.

“Thanks.” I replied, blowing on it a little before taking a big sip.

“That’ll be Sam.” Dad said, walking over to answer the knock at the door.

“Morning, Charlie.” I heard Sam say from the doorway.

“Come on in, Sam. Bella’s in the kitchen.” Dad said, then came back into the kitchen with Sam following behind him.

“Hey, Sam.” I said with a smile.

“Bella. Ready to go?” Sam asked, matching my smile.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I replied.

“Why don’t you make yourself a cup of coffee for the road?” Dad said, handing Sam a to-go cup.

“Thank you.” Sam said, before making his cup. I watched as he added cream and an ungodly amount of sugar to his coffee.

“Why am I not surprised you take your coffee so sweet?” I asked, shaking my head as he sipped his sickly sweet coffee.

“You know me too well.” He replied with a smirk.

“We should get going.” I turned to my dad and pulled him into a hug. “Bye, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you too.” He replied, then turned to Sam. “Drive safe. And have fun, both of you.”

“See ya, Charlie. Thanks for the coffee.” Sam said, then grabbed my bag and gestured for me to go on.

I walked out to his truck, climbing into the passenger seat. It smelt woodsy, like pine needles. I hadn’t realized it, but it was something I was quickly coming to associate with Sam, and I instantly relaxed into my seat. Sam put my bag in the backseat, then climbed into the truck. He turned on the truck, then cranked up heat. He pulled out of the driveway and started driving towards the highway.

“Radios all yours. I have some cd’s in the glovebox, too. Oh, and Jess said hi, and to have fun.”

“When did you see Jess?” I asked as I flipped through stations, deciding on an oldies station.

“Last night I went out for pizza with the boys and Jess was there with her parents. She ended up ditching them and joining us.” Sam replied.

“Oh god. How bad was she?” I sighed, expecting the worst.

“She was fine, I like your friends.” Sam replied, smiling at my reaction.

“So she didn’t say anything about today?” I questioned.

“She might’ve mentioned it once or twice.” He admitted, laughing at the groan I let out in response.

“I don’t even wanna know what she said.”

“She even winked a couple times.” Sam added, laughing harder as I put my head in my hands.

“I’m gonna kill her.”

“If it makes you feel any better, the boys are just as bad.”

“Why are all our friends so nosy?” I asked. “You should’ve heard Jess at lunch yesterday. And Angela! She’s the one who started it.”

“We need better friends.” Sam joked, and we both laughed.

Sam soon got onto the highway, and I felt myself getting sleepier. It was still dark, and the quiet music plus the monotony of the highway had me struggling to stay awake. So much for the coffee to wake me up. I felt myself drifting off, and soon I was asleep.

I woke up slowly, snuggling closer to the warmth I was leaning against. I opened my eyes, blushing as I saw the source of the warmth. I looked up at Sam, whose shoulder I’d been using as a pillow, and he smiled.

“How long was I out?” I asked, sitting up fully and rubbing my eyes.

“About an hour and a half.” He replied.

“You could’ve just shoved me off.” I said, blushing even deeper at the thought of how long I was sleeping on him.

“I didn’t mind.” Sam said with a small smile. “I’m gonna stop for gas at the next rest stop, and maybe grab another coffee.”

“Sounds good. I could definitely use another cup.” I replied, looking at the next highway sign to see how far we were. “We’re making good time.”

“Yeah, there aren’t many people on the road. Hopefully we don’t hit traffic around the city.” Sam said.

“Do you have anything fun planned for your visit with your aunt?” I asked, looking over at Sam.

“Not really. We don’t have anything planned, actually.” He replied.

“You did tell her you’re coming, right?” I questioned, and Sam laughed.

“Yeah, she knows. She has work till around 4, so I’ll be on my own for a bit. I might explore the city, I haven’t been in ages.”

“Has your aunt lived in Seattle a long time?”

“She moved to Seattle when I was two, I think, for college. She got a job right out of school and has lived in the city ever since. Mom and I would visit her for the holidays, and in the summer, things like that. I always loved going to see Aunt Shannon. She lives right by the aquarium, and we’d go almost every time we visited.”

“I bet you loved that. I can just picture little Sam with his nose pressed against the glass.” I teased.

“That’s pretty accurate.” Sam replied, smiling. “What about you? What are you doing with your mom and Phil?”

“I don’t know exactly what we’ll be doing, but she promised a beach day. So that’s probably what we’re doing tomorrow, or Sunday maybe. Phil will probably bring us on a tour of the baseball stadium, and I wouldn’t put it past mom to try to show me some of the colleges near them.” I replied.

“Florida schools aren’t up to par?” Sam asked.

“I haven’t really decided yet, but I’m leaning towards taking a gap year. And Forks is starting to grow on me. I’ll probably end up going somewhere in Seattle, and maybe even do some online courses first.” I replied.

“It sounds like you have it pretty well figured out.” He added.

“That part, maybe. But I still don’t really know what I want to do.”

“You’ll figure it out. There’s no rush.” Sam said, then pulled off the highway into the rest stop.

“I can grab us coffees while you gas up the truck.” I said, reaching back to grab my wallet out of my bag.

“Sounds good.” Sam said, getting out to pump the gas.

I went into the rest stop, standing off to the side to look at the menu. I decided to grab us each a donut, too. The toast I had for breakfast really wasn’t cutting it. I thought back to meals with Sam, and decided to get him two donuts. Those boys really ate a ton, and Sam wouldn’t say no to more sweets. I ordered us each a cup of coffee, got two double chocolate donuts for Sam, and a glazed donut for me. I added cream and sugar to the coffees, adding a couple extra sugar packets to Sam’s to make it as sweet as he did at my house. I walked back to the truck just as Sam was getting back in. I climbed in the passenger side, handing him his coffee. I took out my donut, and passed him the bag with the other two.

“These both for me?” He asked.

“I’ve seen how much you can eat, so I got you two. And I figured double chocolate was a safe bet with your sweet tooth.”

“It is my favorite.” Sam said with a smirk, and I laughed.

“What do you think the boys are doing without you?” I asked, and Sam sighed.

“Nothing good, probably. They’ll be at school today, but after that they’ll probably take over my house. Hopefully it’ll still be standing when I get back Monday.” He replied, and I burst out laughing.

“C’mon, they can’t be that bad. And if you were that worried you would’ve locked them out.”

“I’m sure between the two of them they’d figure out how to pick the lock. They’re delinquents.” Sam added.

“Yeah, but they’re your delinquents.” I replied, nudging his shoulder.

“You can have them, if you want.” He said, laughing.

“Maybe I will take them. Since you clearly don’t appreciate them.” I teased.

“Make them a batch of your cookies and they’d never leave your side.” Sam added.

“Sounds like a fair trade.” I replied.

“You say that now.” Sam replied, raising his eyebrows, and we both laughed. “Seriously, though, I think they like you better than me at this point.”

“Good. At least someone around here has taste.” I joked. “But I don’t buy that, those boys follow you around like lost puppies. It’s adorable.”

“Don’t let them hear you call them adorable. They couldn’t handle the blow to their egos.”

“You’re probably right.” I replied.

“I’m always right.” Sam said smugly.

“Who has the big ego now?” I replied with a laugh. I looked over at Sam, who had that fond smile on his face I usually only saw around the boys. “You know, the first time we all hung out, at the bonfire, I remember thinking you three acted more like a family than close friends.”

“Would you believe me if I told you I’d never even hung out with them until this summer?” Sam asked, then laughed at the shocked look on my face.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. I’d met them before, but I’d always kept to myself growing up. Paul and Jared have always been best friends, but back in June we realized we had a lot of things in common. And now I’m stuck with them.” Sam said, his smile betraying his faux annoyed tone at the end.

“I am genuinely shocked. You guys act like you’ve spent your whole lives in each other's pockets.” I replied.

“You’re pretty similar with Jess and Angela. And you only met when you moved here, right?” Sam added.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I replied, and he smirked. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything!” He defended.

“Yeah but I could practically hear you thinking it!”

“Okay, mind reader, whatever you say.” Sam said with a smirk, and I smacked his arm. “You know, it’s really not safe to hit the driver.”

“I could probably hit you with a baseball bat and you wouldn’t budge. It probably wouldn't even hurt cause you're so muscley and stuff.” I added, gesturing to his, well, everything.

“It would hurt my feelings, Bella.” Sam replied with a straight face, lasting all of 3 seconds before we both burst into laughter. “I was thinking, if all your friends are free next weekend, we should get together and hike to Sol Duc Falls.”

“Where is that?” I asked, curious despite my lack of outdoorsiness.

“Wow, I thought you’d shoot me down immediately. It’s about an hour away. Angela and I were talking about all going together back at the bonfire. It’ll probably be too cold to go if we wait much longer.” Sam paused, then added. “We’d also hike to Deer Lake, probably, which adds another 6 miles to the hike.”

“6 miles?” I asked incredulously.

“It’s an easy trail, just long.” I defended. “It’ll be fun, I promise. The views are worth it.”

“Fine. You better not be lying about the trail.” I grumbled. “We should invite the Clearwater’s too. And Quil, Embry, and Jacob.” I narrowed my eyes at Sam. “Don’t tell Jess I told you, but she has a massive crush on Quil.”

“I won’t tell a soul. And the more the merrier. Wasn’t there a girl you mentioned, I can’t remember her name, that Eric was into from the dance?”

“Ooh, Katie, yeah. We should definitely invite her, too. See how everyone else likes the matchmaking.” I said, and Sam huffed a laugh.

“So that’s 15 people, right.” Sam said, and I nodded. “My truck can technically fit 6, it’s a tight squeeze, though. How many can Mike’s car fit?”

“It can fit 9, so that’s perfect. Ben and Ang can ride with us, and the rest can go in Mike’s.” I blushed a little, realizing I automatically put myself with Sam and the guys.

“Perfect.” Sam replied, looking at the road to change lanes, and not noticing my blush.

“We could go pretty early, and maybe bring like a picnic lunch. There probably isn’t much for restaurants out there, right?”

“More like no restaurants. A picnic’s probably a good idea.” Sam replied.

We talked a little longer about the hike, with Sam telling me about other trails he’s done before. He mentioned a few he thought I’d like, and somehow I found myself agreeing to go with him. Something about the way he talked about these places and the look on his face when he spoke drew me in, and I couldn’t help but want to see for myself. Sam was someone who saw the beauty in the little things, and it made me want to see it too. To take a step back and enjoy the life and nature around me. He clearly felt at home in the woods, in the nature he grew up with. And part of me wanted that too. I wanted to love the green and the trees, not fear its immensity. To feel like part of that nature, not be afraid of what might be lurking within it.

We were getting close to Seattle, first going though Tacoma, then making our way further to the airport. We figured everything out for Monday, going over which terminal I would arrive in so Sam would know where to find me. Soon enough we were parking, and making our way into the airport. I was a little early, so we didn’t rush walking to my terminal.

“We should get dinner with my aunt on Monday, before we go back to Forks. I’m sure she’d love to meet you.” Sam suggested as we walked through the airport.

“I’d love to.” I replied with a smile. “Plus, we won’t be getting into Forks until late. I’d rather a nice meal with good company than late night leftovers.”

“I’m just warning you now, she’ll probably be worse than Billy and your dad. Maybe even worse than Jess.”

“I’m sure we can handle it.” I said with a laugh.

“Well I guess this is it. Have a safe flight, and have fun with your mom.” Sam said as we reached the TSA checkpoint.

“Have fun with your aunt. I’ll see you Monday.” I added, before pulling Sam into a hug.

“Bye, Bella.” He said as he released me.

I walked over to the security line, looking over my shoulder at Sam as he walked back towards the parking lot. The line took longer than I thought it would, and I was glad we’d gotten here a little earlier than expected. Before I knew it I was through the TSA line and boarding my plane. I grabbed my book out of my bag, and settled in for the flight.

Notes:

Hello pals. Sorry it's been a while- holidays and shit you know how it is. And onto the chapter- it's what we've all been waiting for! The car ride! I still love the dynamic from last chapter of the boys hanging out with Jess, and I really like the idea of Sam getting along well with everyone considering how Edward never really liked Bella's human friends that much... And Bella falling asleep on Sam in the car!! Adorable. Lowkey reading this right now before posting is a lil painful, I went to my friend's for a week around new years and the car ride was 12 hours, plus 5 hrs each way to Nashville where we spent the actual holiday. I am not in the headspace to think about long car rides right now haha. "A lot of things in common" shut UP sam. tell her!! Anyways,,,

Chapter 30: Sam in Seattle

As I walked to the parking lot, I thought about what to do now. Aunt Shannon wouldn’t be home until the afternoon, and it wasn’t even 11 yet. I decided to drive to my aunt’s place, then walk the city a bit. There were docks right by her condo, and a beach about a mile or so away. I figured I’d spend some time taking in the sights before hitting the Pike Place market. I wanted to grab some things to make us dinner. Making dinner was the least I could do considering I was technically an uninvited guest, probably interrupting Aunt Shannon’s weekend. Not that she’d say anything. She did sound excited for me to visit, but I still wanted to do something nice for her.

I felt a little guilty for not visiting sooner. We were the only family each other had left. I’m sure she had her friends here like I had Jared and Paul, but I know mom would’ve wanted me to see her more often than I did. I had made excuses last Christmas, to avoid having to come and do it without her. But I hadn’t really thought that Aunt Shannon would be alone, too. When I finally made it back home after phasing the first time, Aunt Shannon was waiting with open arms. We comforted each other, but she could only stay a few days before she had to go back to Seattle. Since then I’d only seen her at my graduation. I called her every few months, but we’d both been busy. It would be weird, being here without mom. Part of me was thankful Aunt Shannon was so different from her sister, I don’t think I’d be able to handle it yet if they had more in common. Shannon had chocolate brown hair, rather than mom’s inky black. Where mom was tall and willowy, Aunt Shannon was short. Mom was soft spoken, and Shannon was sarcastic and brash. I knew we’d both feel mom’s absence, but I was glad I’d get to spend some time with Aunt Shannon.

I reached her building, and parked in the small lot behind it. I took my bag with me, not wanting to leave it in the truck. I made my way into the building and to her third floor condo. She had the spare key where it always was, and I used it quickly before putting it back where it belonged. The door opened to the familiar living room, looking nearly the same as it did when I was here with mom the summer before she died. I set my bag next to the couch, then took a quick look around the place. There were a few new things, some pictures of us and mom that weren’t there before in frames, a few new throw pillows. It felt a little stifling, so I didn’t linger. It would be better when she was here, when it wasn’t just me and my memories.

I locked up behind me, then made my way towards the pier. It wasn’t too cold, so I only looked a little underdressed in my t-shirt and shorts. I walked along the water, following the sidewalk as it went along the docks. There were some people around, but it definitely wasn’t as busy as it was in the summer. It was a nice change of scenery. I was used to the solitude of home, of the small community. It was vastly different here, with dozens of people around even in the middle of the day. And the view was nice, too. The water looked the same, of course. And the docks weren’t much bigger than the ones in Port Angeles. But the city in the background made all the difference. I spent the walk looking up at the bustling city around me, spotting the space needle not too far from me. I reached the beach soon enough, and it was surprisingly quiet considering how close it was to the busy streets. I walked along the water for a while before deciding to head to the market. The walk to the market didn’t take too long, and there were a variety of different vendors there I wanted to check out.

Once I had bought what I needed to make dinner, I made the short walk back to the condo. I let myself in, then put away the groceries I had bought. I still had a few hours before Aunt Shannon would be home, so I decided to take a short nap. The early morning had really caught up to me, and I didn’t really have anything else to do. I laid down on the couch, and was out in minutes. I woke up to the sound of keys in the door. I sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes before standing to greet Aunt Shannon as she walked through the door.

“Sam! I forgot how tall you were, jeez.” Aunt Shannon said, setting her bag on the bench by the door then pulling me in for a hug.

“And I forgot how tiny you were.” I said, pointedly looking down at her.

“Like I haven’t heard that before.” She replied, rolling her eyes. “So how was the ride down here? Did you guys hit any traffic?”

“No, we actually got here pretty quick. There wasn’t even traffic right around the airport.”

“You guys were lucky. I usually avoid that whole area, the traffic can be outrageous.” She added, before looking me up and down. “Were you asleep?”

“Maybe.” I replied, and she raised her eyebrows. “I was up early this morning, okay. Leave me alone.”

“Whatever you say, Sammy. Now come sit with me, I wanna hear all about you and your friends and everything going on at the rez.” She replied, heading into the living room and plopping down on the couch.

“What do you wanna know?” I asked, sitting down beside her.

“Anything, everything. It’s been forever since we actually caught up.”

“Well work's been good. I actually have a bit of a backlog now, which is kinda nice. I’ve saved enough to replace some parts on my truck that had seen better days, and I’ve even started working on the house.” I replied.

“I’m impressed.” Shannon said with a smile. “What work have you done on the house?”

“I redid the bathroom like a month or two ago, and the guys helped me a few weeks ago redoing the front porch.”

“I’ll have to come visit sometime and see it. And how are the boys?”

“They’re good. They’re probably at the house right now, playing video games or something.”

“And what about your new friend? Wanna tell me more about her?” Shannon asked with a smirk. I rolled my eyes before responding.

“If I have to.”

“You do.” Shannon said, narrowing her eyes.

“Bella’s got a sweet tooth almost as bad as mine, which is kind of how we met. The guys had heard about a bonfire at first beach, some other kids on the rez were going and some of the kids from Forks. And the boys were off doing their own thing, and I decided to make a s’more. Bella had the same idea and we got to talking. She ended up spending half the night hanging out with me and the boys. And then we just kind of kept running into each other.” I paused, and Aunt Shannon gestured impatiently for me to go on. “The next night, actually, we had dinner with her and a couple of her friends. Jared saw her across the restaurant and him and Paul just slid right into their booth. I was gonna drag them away but the girls didn’t mind us crashing and we had a great time. From then on it’s been a lot of meddling from both of our friends, and from Billy and her dad. But I like spending time with her.” I said, shrugging at the end.

“I like her already.” Aunt Shannon said with a grin.

“I’ve hardly said anything about her.” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Anyone who gets you to smile like that is good in my books.” Shannon said, and I felt my cheeks warm.

“We’ve hung out a few times with her other friends, too, and they’re all really nice. Bella and I were talking on the ride over about getting a group together and hiking to Sol Duc Falls next weekend. She’s kind of a klutz and, according to her, not very outdoorsy so it took a little convincing. But I think it’ll be fun. I was talking with her friend Angela about the trail a few weeks ago, and it was her idea to get everyone together and make a day trip out of it.” I added.

“I’m glad you’re going out and making plans. I worry, you know, about you being all alone in that house.” Shannon said, and I rolled my eyes.

“So Bella’s flight gets in around 5 on Monday, and I was thinking the three of us could grab dinner together.” I said, prompting a huge grin from Aunt Shannon.

“That sounds great. I can’t wait to meet her. Now what do you wanna do for dinner tonight?” Shannon asked.

“I actually grabbed some things from the market, and I was gonna make us dinner if that’s okay.”

“That’s more than okay. It’s like I have my own personal chef tonight.” Shannon said with a smirk.

I got up and went into the kitchen, starting to prepare dinner while still chatting with Aunt Shannon. I made a pasta dish with chicken and vegetables, and Aunt Shannon was very impressed. We ate slices of a cake I had bought for dessert, and stayed up late talking about everything going on in our lives. It was nice talking to her. It wasn’t the same as with mom, but it was more comforting than I thought it would be. I decided to make more of an effort, rather than just chatting for a few minutes whenever she’d call. I had missed her, and she had definitely missed me too.

Notes:

Sorry Sam for killing off almost your entire family, it made it easier for me plot wise haha... Who needs grandparents, parents, cousins, more aunts and uncles, etc? Not Sam

Chapter 31: Jacksonville

I tried to read on the plane, but instead I found myself staring out the window, watching as we flew over the entire country. I wasn’t even lost in thought, really. Just watching. The sun had already set when I landed, thanks to Jacksonville being three hours ahead of Washington. I made my way through the unfamiliar airport with my backpack hooked over one shoulder. It wasn’t hard to navigate, and soon I was walking out into the parking garage. I didn’t see my mom and Phil at first, her descriptor of ‘blue suv’ wasn’t that helpful when there were dozens around. And I’d seen his suv before, he had it back in Phoenix, but I was never much of a car person.

“Bella! Bella, over here!” I heard my mom call. I looked around, spotting her with her head sticking out of the passenger window. I walked over quickly, and got in the car.

“How was your flight?” Mom asked, turning around in her seat.

“It was good, it didn’t feel that long.” I replied, looking out the window as we drove away from the airport.

“That’s good. So I was thinking we could go to this Mexican place near the house for dinner. It’s such a cute restaurant, it reminds me a lot of the one we used to go to back in Phoenix. It’s like 20 minutes from here.” Mom said.

“That sounds great, Mom.” I replied.

“So how’s senior year going, Bella?” Phil asked.

“It’s been pretty good. Our teacher’s haven’t been giving much homework this year, which is nice.” I answered.

“Oh! Speaking of school, how was homecoming? You didn't say much about it in your email. I loved the pictures, though!” Mom added.

“It was really fun. Ang and I went over to Jess’ to get ready before the dance, and we ended up having like a mini spa day. Then the guys met us there for pictures. I mostly danced with my usual crowd, but there was this one freshman that kept following me and Jess around. My feet were so sore by the end of the night. We all slept over at Jess’ house after and we slept in so late on Sunday.”

“That sounds awesome! I’m so glad you ended up going.” Mom replied.

Mom started talking about what they’ve been up to, and ended up monopolizing the conversation all through dinner. Not that I minded, it was how things usually went with her. I was glad to hear that she had her life pretty well put together here. We went right to their house after dinner, and mom gave me the grand tour. It wasn’t a huge house, but there was plenty of room for the two of them. It had a little spare bedroom with its own bathroom that I’d be staying in. We talked a little while longer in the living room, with Mom telling me all about the crocheting club she had joined a few weeks ago. We talked a little longer, before Mom and Phil said they were gonna get ready for bed.

“Can I make a quick call before bed?” I asked, pointing my thumb over my shoulder to the home phone in the kitchen.

“Of course, sweetie.” Mom replied.

“Thanks. I just wanted to check in with Dad.”

“Tell him we said hello.” Mom added, before pulling me into a quick hug. “Goodnight, honey.”

I walked over to the kitchen, grabbing the phone off the receiver and plugging in the familiar phone number. It didn’t ring long, Dad picked up almost immediately.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Dad.”

“Bells! How was your flight, did you guys make it in time?” He asked.

“Yeah, I had plenty of time to get through security. The flight was fine, just long.” I replied.

“And how’s your mom’s? Having fun?” He asked.

“Yeah, it’s good to see her. She said to tell you she said hi.”

“Well I’m glad you’re having a good time. I’ll see you on Monday night. Goodnight, Bells. Have fun.”

“Night, Dad.” I said, before hanging up the phone.

I wasn’t very tired when Mom and Phil went to bed, but I decided to get ready for bed anyway. The time difference was messing with me a little, to me it only felt like 7:30. I put on my pajamas, reveling in the fact that I could wear a tank top and shorts to bed and not freeze. I liked the warmth, but the heat paired with the humidity didn’t agree with my hair. It was already getting frizzy and I’d only been here a couple hours. As I laid in bed I thought of home. I was a little taken aback by the fact I now thought of Forks as home, especially after spending nearly my entire life in Phoenix. But as I stared at the ceiling waiting for sleep to take me I imagined the woods outside my bedroom window. I pictured the way the sun looked as it tried to break through the mist and rain. I thought of the crashing waves at first beach, and the colorful pebbles that lined the shore. Before I knew it I was drifting off, hoping for a dreamless sleep.

I woke to the smell of bacon cooking, and the sound of Mom and Phil talking in the kitchen. I climbed out of bed, rubbing my eyes as I walked down the little hallway. Thankfully, it was Phil cooking instead of Mom. I went over to the little kitchen table and sat down across from my Mom. Phil brought me over a cup of coffee once I sat, and I smiled gratefully at him.

“How’d you sleep, honey?” My mom asked.

“I slept great. It was a little hard to fall asleep. Time difference, you know.” I replied. I took a big sip of my coffee, noticing it was a lot sweeter than I usually took it. I thought of Sam and his sickly sweet coffee and smiled to myself.

“I swear it took me weeks to get used to the time difference when we moved here. 3 hours doesn’t sound like a lot but it really makes a big difference. You’d get used to it though, if you moved here for college.” Mom added. I ignored her comment about college, deciding it’d be better to change the subject.

“What’s the plan for today?” I asked.

“Oh, you’re gonna love it! We can do some shopping this morning, hit the outlets. And then this afternoon Phil’s gonna bring us for a tour at the ballpark. Doesn’t that sound fun?” She replied. I sighed internally, it sounded like a miserable way to spend the day. The one positive was that I could grab souvenirs for my friends while we were shopping. But other than that I wasn’t looking forward to it.

“That sounds great, Mom.”

“Breakfast’s ready.” Phil said, and we both got up to get some food.

We talked over breakfast about the stores Mom wanted to go to, and places we might get for lunch. Then it was off to our rooms to get ready for the day. I just put on shorts and a light tank top, dressing for the 90 degree heat. It was a stark difference from Forks, which would probably only get up to 65 today. Then we were off, taking Mom’s little station wagon to the outlets about 30 minutes away.

Notes:

I am all in the fuck Renee club. she was such a shitty parent (not that Charlie in canon is much better honestly) and I don't wanna be blatant about how shitty she is in this but I def lean into the fact that she really knows nothing about Bella and her likes/dislikes. anyways,,,, this was just a short one to start off bellas weekend away

Chapter 32: Creepy Eels

Aunt Shannon and I both slept in pretty late after talking well into the night. It was just past 10 am when I left the spare bedroom, and Aunt Shannon was just leaving her room, too. We slipped into the usual morning routine from my stays here, and started making a pancake breakfast. Back when Mom was still here, I would just watch from the counter as they made breakfast. But it felt natural to slip into that role and help Aunt Shannon. Aunt Shannon preferred blueberry pancakes, and I made chocolate chip pancakes for myself. Once our breakfast was ready we sat together at the table to eat.

“I have an idea.” Aunt Shannon said ominously as we were finishing up our meal.

“What’s your idea?” I asked skeptically.

“We should go to the aquarium! That was always your favorite part of visiting, it’ll be fun!” She suggested with a grin.

“I’d love to. You wanna go today?” I asked.

“Yeah, why not? We can go now if you want, I just have to get changed.” She replied, gesturing to her fuzzy pajamas.

“Sounds like a plan.” I said, then got up to clean up breakfast.

I finished cleaning up the kitchen, then went back to the spare room to change. I put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt then went back out to the living room to wait. Aunt Shannon was ready a few minutes later.

“Okay, let’s roll.” She said, grabbing her purse and walking out the door. “You’re fine with walking there, right? It’s not too chilly today.”

“Walking’s fine.” I replied, following her as she led the way.

“I can’t wait to see the otters, those are my favorites.” Shannon added.

“Do you think they still have those creepy eels?” I asked.

“Probably. And technically wolf eels aren’t even eels. They’re just really weird fish.” She replied.

“I don’t care what they technically are, they still creep me out.”

“You think they sell stuffed animals of those in the gift shop?” She asked with a smirk.

“Don’t even think about it.”

We reached the aquarium then, and got into the small ticket line. We didn’t wait long, and then we went inside. We spent hours going through the different exhibits, and spent nearly an hour watching the otters swim around. The aquarium had a little cafe we went to for lunch, and then we were back at it. We spent most of the day there, watching all the little shows and presentations they did at different exhibits. Aunt Shannon did end up getting me a stuffed eel at the gift shop. I picked out an otter stuffed animal for her, and grabbed a stuffed animal each for Bella and the guys. For Paul I bought a hammerhead shark, Jared got a big squid, and Bella got a penguin. After we bought our souvenirs, we started our walk home.

“I still don’t like the eel. Even when it’s in stuffed animal form.” I said, looking over at Aunt Shannon.

“I think he’s beautiful.” Shannon said, before cracking up at the look on my face.

“Why are you the way that you are?” I asked, feigning annoyance. Aunt Shannon laughed, then turned towards me as we walked.

“How do you feel about pizza for dinner?” She asked.

“Pizza’s fine.” I replied, walking alongside her towards her condo.

“Perfect. There’s this new place I like a few blocks away. We can drop our stuff off then head over.”

“Sounds good.” I replied.

We talked about the aquarium on the walk home, then quickly dropped our stuff off inside. The pizza place was only about a 5 minute walk away, and was surprisingly not too busy for a Saturday night. I ordered myself a medium pizza, and Aunt Shannon got a meatball sub. We took our food over to one of the tables by the front windows. I was hungry, and had already eaten half the pizza by the time Aunt Shannon made a comment.

“Do you even stop to breathe?” She asked incredulously.

“I’m hungry.” I defended, before laughing at the look she gave me.

“Apparently.” She replied.

“So I’ve been thinking, and I was wondering if you wanted to come to the rez for Christmas this year.” I asked.

“I could probably make that work. I think Christmas is on a Saturday this year so it’ll work out work wise.” Aunt Shannon answered.

“And you could meet the boys, too. They're kind of always over.” I added.

“I can’t wait. It’ll be nice to visit the rez again. It’s been too long since I’ve seen everyone.”

We finished our dinner, with Aunt Shannon teasing me over eating a whole pizza myself. The walk home was quick, and I spent it looking up at the city lights. We watched a movie when we got home, then went to bed. It was hard to fall asleep, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mom. I could clearly feel her absence all day. We did the same things we would’ve done with her here, and a few times I felt as if I’d turn around and she’d be right behind me. It’s been nearly a year, yet I still find myself expecting to see her. It was different at home, I’d changed enough in the house, and the presence of the boys alone made it glaringly different from what it used to be like. But here, everything was pretty much the same. Mom always stayed in the spare bedroom when we visited, and I’d take the couch, but other than that it was the same. I was looking forward to having Aunt Shannon over for Christmas. I don’t think I’d be able to have Christmas here, doing the same things we always did but without mom. Maybe it would be better to make some new traditions. And I wanted to see the boys, to spend Christmas with the family I’d found in the aftermath of losing my own. Part of me wanted Aunt Shannon to see how well I was doing for myself. She didn’t ever talk about it, but I knew she felt guilty about staying in the city and not stepping up to take care of me. But I had never blamed her, or felt I needed her to. I was 18 when mom died, and I had the support I needed from Billy, and the Clearwater’s. Aunt Shannon offered to move to the rez, a few weeks after the accident. But I told her she didn’t need to, I didn’t want her derailing everything she had worked towards just to give me a little extra comfort. And after I first phased, I was worried about keeping that secret from her if she were to move in. It took nearly an hour for me to fall asleep, struggling to get my brain to shut up. But once I did I fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of warm days in Seattle with Mom and Aunt Shannon.

Notes:

Fun fact-- Sam's fear and dislike of the creepy eel's in something he gets from me. When I was like 8 i went to an aquarium, and there was this huge eel tank... There was this one eel that was like a putrid puke green and he was fully making INTENSE eye contact with me.. And this was like a corner tank and there were dozens of people around. And so we turn the corner, and I look back.... Lo and behold, this creepy ass eel is STILL staring at me, had moved several feet closer to the glass just to stare me down as well. And so I don't like eels. They know too much and I will never trust them. ALSO the Seattle aquarium website has live cams of their otters, I've got that shit bookmarked and watch them all the time when i write haha

Chapter 33: Surprisingly Insightful Absentee Mother

I was right. Our day spent shopping was draining, and the tour of the ballpark wasn’t much better. I didn’t totally hate shopping, I had fun in Port Angeles with Jess and Ang. But shopping with Mom was brutal. I was basically a glorified pack mule, just brought along to carry her bags and make approving noises when she showed me what she was trying on. I did end up buying souvenirs for my friends, but that was the only thing I bought. The other hours of the shopping trip was spent following mom around dozens of stores I wasn’t interested in. I did enjoy our lunch, we went to some casual Italian restaurant near the outlets. After lunch we drove back to the house, and met up with Phil. We took his car to the ballpark, and spent way longer than necessary touring the field and the training areas. Part of me wondered if they forgot everything about me in the months I was gone. Why else would we spend the day doing everything I didn’t like? But the day was over before I knew it, and we were on our way back to the house with some takeout for dinner.

“So what did you think of the tour?” Phil asked as we sat down for dinner.

“It was really cool.” I said, trying to look interested.

“You know, if you moved out here for college, Phil could get you tickets to go to games with all your college friends.” Mom added.

“Maybe. I still haven’t really decided what I’m doing for college.” I replied.

“There’s still time to think about it.” Mom said. “But wouldn’t it be great to be together again? You might want to live on campus, but we could see eachother every weekend! We could go to the beach, and shop together like we did today.”

“And if you didn’t want to live on campus you’re more than welcome to move into the spare room.” Phil added.

“I’ll think about it.” I said with a small smile, hoping they didn’t see my dislike for their idea on my face. “What time are we going to the beach tomorrow?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Hmm. We could go pretty early, maybe around 9. That way we can get a good spot by the water.” Mom replied.

“I’m meeting up with one of my buddies in the morning, but I can drop you girls off and join you in the afternoon.” Phil added.

“That sounds perfect, honey.” Mom said, smiling at Phil before turning to me with a conspiratorial smile. “More girl time for us.”

“Great.” I replied, my smile turning more genuine in the face of Mom’s excitement.

It was still pretty early, only around 6 pm. Phil left after dinner, citing some errands he needed to run tonight. I noticed the grateful smile mom shot Phil as he walked out the door, and sighed. His so-called errands were apparently just a ploy to get him out of the house so mom and I could talk. I figured she’d want to talk about the break up sooner or later, but I still wasn’t looking forward to it. Mom and I were sitting on the couch, and she turned to me as soon as Phil walked out the door.

“So. I wanted to talk to you. Girl to girl.” Mom said with a small smile. I sighed before replying.

“About my breakup?” I asked.

“I don’t wanna push, but I know your dad isn’t the best at talking about these things.” She added with a conspiratorial smile.

“You’re right about that.” I said, laughing a little. I took a minute to collect my thoughts before continuing. “I don’t really know where it went wrong. We’d had a bit of a disagreement, I guess, after my birthday. And he’d been quiet for a few days. But that’s kind of how he was sometimes.”

“Moody?” Mom suggested.

“Yeah,” I laughed. “Moody. He said we ‘needed to talk’ after school one day, and just broke it off. The whole family moved out of state and didn’t even say goodbye. I think that was one of the worst parts, I wasn’t just close with him, I felt like I was part of their family. And Alice, his sister, was probably my closest friend in Forks at that point.”

“I’m so sorry, honey.” Mom said, pulling me into a hug.

“It happens, right? I mean weren’t you the one to always warn me that high school relationships don’t last?”

“Maybe, but I know you really loved that boy. Even if you said it was just a crush.” Mom added, making me blush. She was referring to what I told her in Phoenix, trying to downplay my relationship with Edward. “You never do anything by halves. Once you set your mind to something you’re all in.”

“I thought I’d spend my whole life with him.” I added quietly. “But maybe it was for the best.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I don’t think I really liked who I was when we were together. I was selfish, and judgmental. I really was all in, but I forgot that there was anything beyond him. I ditched my friends, only hung out with Edward or his family. I mean they were the ones who welcomed me to Forks. The first few months there I thought Edward hated me. I dropped them like they were nothing and without even thinking about it. That’s not the kind of person I want to be, you know?”

“It’s good to be a little selfish every once in a while. But you need to find that balance. It’s not healthy to have your happiness rely on one person, it’s never enough.” She added.

“I hadn’t realized how much I missed my friends. They really helped me get through it. Dad let me take a day off, and I did wallow a bit. But the next day Jess and Ang were by my side, and spent the whole weekend with me to cheer me up.” I said, smiling as I thought of that first girls weekend.

“I’m glad you have them. I worried, you know, back in Phoenix. You always kept to yourself, and I love that you have a good group of kids to spend your time with now.” Mom said. I was a little shocked, she always seemed to be in her own world and I hadn’t realized she’d even noticed how alone I was.

“They’ve really been there for me. And it’s been good to keep busy. We spend most weekends doing things together, and I feel like it’s really helped me move forward, you know?”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it. And you’re still young, there’ll be plenty of other boys.” Mom added, and I couldn’t help but blush. She narrowed her eyes and smirked at my red cheeks before adding. “Like a polite, hardworking boy that happens to live on the rez?”

“What did dad say?” I whined, ducking my head to hide my cheeks as they reddened further.

“Sam sounds like a very nice boy.” She said in an innocent tone.

“Why is everyone obsessed with getting me and Sam together?” I complained. “First it was Jess and Ang, then Dad and Billy, Sam’s two friends, and now you!”

“You don’t need to get huffy.” Mom said with a laugh. “But if your dad actually approves of a boy for you he must be something special.”

“He is. But I’m not really ready for anything, and he might not even be interested even if I was.” I added, and Mom shot me a knowing look.

“Go on. Tell me about him!” Mom gushed, grabbing my hands enthusiastically.

“He’s 19 and he does like freelance construction and home repairs. I’ve spent a lot of time with him recently. Me and my friends have been going down to the rez a lot so we’ve run into each other a lot. It’s like we’ve known each other for years, we just get along so well. And his two best friends, Jared and Paul, are great too. They really act more like a family than a group of friends, and they’ve really made me feel welcome in their little group. And they get along well with all of my friends, too, so it’s usually a big group of us. Billy’s son Jacob and his friends hang out with us too. And both the Clearwater kids.”

“How are Billy and Harry doing? And Sue?” Mom asked.

“They’re good. Harry and Sue had a fish fry a couple weeks ago that was pretty fun. Dad still goes on fishing trips with Harry all the time, and usually goes to Billy’s for dinner if I’m busy. I go sometimes too, it just depends on work and things like that.” I replied.

“And how are all the kids doing? Leah’s only a year older than you, right? Is she in college?”

“Yeah she’s like a year and a few months older. She commutes to a college in Port Angeles, she’s gonna be a nurse like Sue. Jake’s a sophomore, and he’s really into old cars and like mechanics. Seth is a freshman now, and I’ve been tutoring him for a few weeks now.”

“What have you been tutoring him in?” Mom asked.

“English and Science. I’ve actually been thinking a little bit recently on becoming an English teacher. I’d probably do middle or high school.” I added.

“I think that’s a great idea, honey!” Mom enthused. “Teaching must run in the family.” She said a bit smugly.

“Maybe.” I said.

Mom changed the subject after, talking about her new coworkers at the local elementary school she teaches at. It wasn’t long before Phil came back, bearing ice cream sundaes for dessert. We chatted a little longer as we ate, then went to bed. It was easy to fall asleep, especially without the breakup conversation looming over me. I knew she wouldn’t take it badly, and probably knew the general story thanks to Charlie, but I knew she didn’t think before she spoke sometimes. I was half expecting her to say something awful without meaning to, something that would set me back. But she had surprisingly well thought out responses. I was asleep within minutes.

I dreamt I was sitting on the edge of a cliff. I gasped when I realized, and scrambled backwards till my back hit a tree behind me. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, then looked around me. I recognized this place. When had I been here before? I heard my name called from further in the woods. I knew that voice. It was…

“Sam!” I called back, scrambling to my feet and jogging into the woods behind me.

“Bella, you have to hurry!” He called, but it sounded like he was getting further and further away.

“Sam, slow down! Where are you?” I asked, running aimlessly through the woods. I hadn’t been running long but I knew I was going in circles.

“Bella, come on!” Sam shouted. I turned, and saw Sam appear a few feet away from me.

“Where are we going?” I asked, grabbing his hand and letting him pull me through the forest.

“We have to go!” He said, a look of panic on his face.

“Bella!” Another voice called. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard his voice, and turned to face Edward. I let go of Sam’s trembling hand and stepped towards Edward.

“Bella, don’t!” Sam yelled, right as a red eyed Edward lunged. I fell to the ground, scrambling away from the attack I knew was coming. I saw a flash of black fur in front of me before I woke up with a gasp.

I sat up in bed, chest heaving. It was just another nightmare. I looked over at the window, seeing it was still pitch black out. I didn’t know if I’d be able to fall asleep again, but I knew I had to try to calm down. I got up and went into the small bathroom attached to my room. There was a cup next to the sink with my toothbrush, and I filled it with water. I sat back down on the edge of my bed, taking deep breaths and sipping my water. I didn’t get nightmares often, or even dreams that I could remember. But this nightmare stuck with me, like all the others I’ve had since meeting the Cullens. They were getting worse, each dream leaving me more rattled than before. I finished my glass of water, then got back into bed. I closed my eyes, willing myself to fall asleep. Sleep wasn’t coming quickly, so I tried thinking relaxing thoughts. I thought of home, but soon my mind drifted to the woods and the panic started seeping back in. I thought of the beach, and bonfires with my friends. Thinking of the bonfire led my thoughts to drift towards Sam. I thought of our car ride, and wondered how he was doing. I hoped he was having a good time with his aunt. There was a 3 hour time difference between us, but it was late enough that he’d be in bed too. I wondered if he was awake, or if he too was staring at the ceiling desperate for sleep to take him. My mind was replaying fond memories of Sam and the boys, and slowly I drifted off into a more restful sleep.

It felt like only a few minutes had passed when I next opened my eyes. I sat up, noticing the light streaming in through the window. I hadn’t had any more nightmares, but I still felt like I hadn't slept at all. There wasn’t a clock in the spare bedroom, but I figured I didn’t have time to sleep in any longer. I got out of bed, rubbing my eyes as I walked into the kitchen.

“Morning, honey. Want a coffee?” Mom asked.

“Sure, thanks.” I replied, trailing off with a yawn.

“You okay?” She asked, sliding me a mug of coffee just how I liked it.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well.” I replied.

“We could put off the beach if you want. Maybe go just for the afternoon?” Mom suggested.

“No, it’s fine. I wanna get as much time in the sun as I can.” I joked, hoping Mom would drop it. Like I expected, my comment distracted her from worrying about me.

“You’re gonna love it. The beaches here are so nice. It’s all soft sand, nothing like the rocky beaches in Washington.” She added.

“I can’t wait.” I said, smiling at her enthusiasm.

I took a big sip of my coffee, half listening as mom continued to ramble about the beaches here. We ate a quick breakfast, then went our separate ways to get ready for the beach. I put on my one bathing suit, an olive green bikini that somehow made my pale complexion look a little less ghost-like. I took my time applying sunscreen in hopes to avoid any weird tan lines. Not that I’d get much of a tan from one day, but I at least wanted to avoid a bright red sunburn. Once I was done, I threw on a tank top and shorts over my bathing suit. I grabbed a book from my bag and my sunglasses, then met Mom and Phil in the living room.

“Ready, honey?” Mom asked.

I nodded with a smile, then followed them out to the car. It only took 5 minutes to get to the beach, it was probably within walking distance from the house. I was glad we didn’t walk, though. Even with all the hiking I’ve been doing recently, a 2 mile walk in this heat would be too much for me. Phil dropped us off by the pier, with promises that he’d be back sometime after lunch. Mom and I each carried a beach chair down towards the water, with a few towels and my book in a tote on my shoulder.

“You were right, the sand is soft here.” I said as we set up a blanket and the chairs.

“You could come here all the time if you went to school here. Jacksonville University is only 30 minutes away.” Mom added.

I didn’t respond, rolling my eyes behind my sunglasses. I took off the clothes I’d worn over my bathing suit and laid down on the blanket. Mom sat down in one of the chairs and grabbed her book from the bag. She looked a little ridiculous wearing a huge floppy hat and a pair of bug-eye looking sunglasses. I took out my own book, but set it aside in favor of just soaking up the sun for a while. I opened my eyes a few hours later, after taking an unintentional nap on the beach. I sat up, looking over at mom who was still reading in her chair.

“Have a nice nap?” She asked with a smile.

“Yeah, it was great.” I replied. “I think I’m gonna take a walk along the water.”

“Have fun, sweetie.” Mom said, before turning back to her book. I thought she’d come with me, but it seems like she was too engrossed in her romance novel.

I walked down to the water, sticking my feet in as I walked the length of the beach. It really was vastly different from Forks. If I was on one of the beaches at the rez, I’d probably need shoes with how rocky the shores are. And I don’t think I’d stick my feet in the cold water regardless. But beaches back home did have something that this beach lacked. And that was peace and quiet. It wasn’t packed, but there were probably a few hundred people spread out on the beach. Back in La Push, I rarely saw anyone on the beaches that wasn’t one of my friends, or at least someone I knew. I didn’t want to admit it, but maybe the lack of people made up for the lack of sun. The beach was long, and I probably walked at least a couple miles before I decided to head back. It was nice. The water was warm, but cold enough to balance out the Florida heat.

I found myself thinking back to this past summer. When Mom compared this beach to the ones back home, I realized I’d never even stepped foot on the beach this summer. I thought back to my first trip to the beach with my friends, and my attempt at flirting with Jacob for information. I suddenly remembered seeing Sam there, when he unintentionally caught my attention. “The Cullens don’t come here.” It’s funny how clearly I remembered his words, how they inadvertently changed my life, yet I didn’t remember him when I properly met him this fall. I couldn’t go to the beach with him, the treaty Jacob had laughed at keeping the Cullens away. Something about the memory was nagging me, but I couldn’t quite remember the whole conversation. It was always something I’d meant to ask him about, but it never seemed to come up. There was something more to Jacob’s stories about the ‘cold ones’ and his great grandfather’s truce, but I was drawing a blank. All I could remember was what I wanted to hear at the time, the truth of what the Cullens really were. I should’ve run the other way, even though I hadn’t fully believed Jacob’s stories, it should’ve been enough for me to think twice. But I was drawn to the mystery, to the mood swings and the fancy words. I knew from the beginning that there were things I just couldn’t do with him, things that normal boyfriends did with their girlfriends that I’d be missing out on. But I hadn’t considered the beach. Even here, with no treaty preventing it, I could never have brought him. The sun would probably keep him from ever visiting Florida at all, nevermind spending a day on the beach. And because of that, I spent my whole summer inside. Spending time at the Cullen’s house, or up in my room with him. I didn’t think about what I was missing, too absorbed in my relationship. But I loved the beach, and I missed this.

When I got back to Mom, Phil had just arrived with our lunch. They chatted as we ate, talking about their friend that Phil was with this morning. I mostly tuned out, watching the waves crashing on the shore as I ate. We spent the rest of the afternoon together, with Phil convincing Mom and I to go swimming in the ocean with him. I wasn’t scared of the ocean, but I usually was the type to just sit on the beach with a book rather than splash around in the waves. It was fun, though. More fun than I thought it would be. We stayed at the beach until sunset, then went back to the house. We had a late dinner, then went to bed early. I was drained, a long day in the sun making me drowsy. I fell asleep quickly, and had a dreamless night. I woke up well into the morning, quickly getting dressed and walking out into the kitchen.

“Morning, Bella. Sleep well?” Phil asked from his spot at the kitchen table with mom.

“Yeah, I was more tired than I thought.” I replied, grabbing a cup of coffee and a plate of breakfast.

“We should probably leave in about an hour or so.” Phil added. “The airport isn’t usually too crowded, but we wouldn’t want you to miss your flight.”

“Oh I wish you could just stay longer.” Mom said, sighing dramatically. “It’s not the same without you around, honey. You really should come out here for college.”

“I’ll think about it, Mom.” I said, smiling a bit at the hopeful look on her face.

She really was being a tad dramatic, I’d probably spent more time one on one with her this weekend than I would in two weeks back in Phoenix. In her day to day she tended to forget about me, too distracted by all her clubs and her new husband. Once I finished eating, I went back to the spare room to pack up my things. I hadn’t really unpacked to begin with, but I still had a few things laying around the room. Once I was done, we spent some time in the living room, and I gave her the homecoming pictures I had forgotten I’d packed. After that we were off to the airport, exchanging tearful (on Mom’s end) goodbyes at my terminal. Before I knew it I was in the air, reading through the 6 hour flight to Seattle.

Notes:

Hey guys lol..... Sorry.... I've recently gotten into reading again and writing went on the back burner... In other news,,,, I've literally read 50 novels so far this year. I'm really a full send kinda girl...... Ooops!!!! But here's another chapter finally, sorry!!!! Also i am firmly anit-renee,,, but looking back on this chap even if shes an oblivious absentee mother she does make a few good points! Also i do like the thought of charlie and renee talking about bella's romantic prospects, even if both of them are v lax on the whole parenting thing. And Bella's starting to remember some important conversations!! Eeek!!! Until next time,,,,,

Chapter 34: Sammy?

“So I thought we were gonna grab dinner with Bella… Why do we need so many groceries?” Aunt Shannon questioned as we walked through the supermarket.

“Because I wanted to make dessert.” I said, grabbing a bag of chocolate chips off the shelf.

“Sammy. Bud. There’s only gonna be three of us. How much dessert are you making?” She asked.

“Just some cookies and some brownies. The boys’ll be mad if I don’t bring some home for them, so I gotta make a little extra.” I replied, putting the last few things in the cart.

“If you say so.” Shannon said, laughing as I loaded up the groceries on the conveyor.

We walked the few blocks to the condo after, with Shannon carrying one bag of her own groceries to my 3. So maybe I did go a little overboard. But I was excited to see Bella again, and I really just needed something to do while I waited for her flight to get in. It was a little after 1 pm, so I still had a few hours to wait. When we got back to the condo I got to work making a couple types of cookies and some brownies, utilizing Aunt Shannon as my sous chef. I paid careful attention to the recipes, double checking to make sure I did everything right. I wasn’t half bad with cooking, but I’ve never really done much baking. I was concentrating on the chocolate chip cookie recipe when I heard Aunt Shannon snigger.

“What?” I questioned a tad defensively.

“It’s chocolate chip cookies, Sammy, how hard can it be?” She replied. “You really like this girl, don’t you?”

“Maybe I’m just really passionate about baking now.” I said, trying to play it off as a joke.

“Mhm.” She said, clearly not believing me and trying not to laugh.

“What should we get for dinner? Do you think we should just get takeout?” I asked.

“Takeout sounds good to me.” Shannon replied, before turning to me. “And you should pick dinner, I’m sure you know better than I do what Bella likes.”

“Maybe that burger place a few blocks away?” I suggested.

“That’s fine with me.” Shannon said, laughing a bit at my quick response.

I put the first batch of cookies in the oven and started cleaning up the rest of the kitchen. I made a bigger mess than I thought I would, and there was flour coating nearly every surface in the small kitchen. I waved Shannon off when she offered to help clean, it was my mess anyways. I hummed to myself as I cleaned, taking out the cookies and putting in a new batch part way through. I tried one of the chocolate chip cookies while they were still warm, and was pleasantly surprised. They weren’t as good as Bella’s, but they were still delicious. It was a little corny of me, but when I decided to make something for dessert I immediately thought of chocolate chip cookies. They reminded me of the night we first became friends, and I was lucky enough to have Bella’s so-called ‘secret family recipe.’ So I dragged Aunt Shannon to the grocery store and now here we are. Once all the cookies were done and the brownies were baking, I joined Aunt Shannon watching a movie in the living room. Bella’s flight would land in an hour and a half, and I was starting to get impatient. I had a great time with Aunt Shannon this weekend, but I missed Bella more than I thought I would. It was only a weekend, but as I thought about it I realized I hadn’t gone more than a couple days without seeing Bella since we became friends. I missed the boys, too, and wasn’t really worried anymore. I’d checked in on them each night I’d been away, and as far as they’ve told me it’s been business as usual back at the rez. I was torn from my musings by the timer going off, and I was a little shocked to realize I was lost in thought for more than 30 minutes. I quickly shut the timer off, checking the brownies then setting them on the cooling rack. I went back into the living room and sat back down on the couch, trying to focus on the movie instead of the slowly ticking clock. I was looking again at the clock when I heard the tv click off. I looked over at Aunt Shannon, who was already watching me with a smirk.

“There might be traffic this time of night, so you should probably get going. I can get the food while you’re gone. Is there anything Bella doesn’t like on her burger?” Aunt Shannon asked.

“No tomatoes.” I answered quickly. “She says they’re too slimy.” I added absently. Aunt Shannon said nothing, so I glanced up at her from tying my boots. Aunt Shannon was grinning now, and I rolled my eyes in response.

“Drive safe.” Aunt Shannon called as I shut the door behind me.

The drive felt like it took hours, but was really only 30 minutes or so. There was a bit of traffic downtown, but I still got to the airport about 15 minutes before Bella’s flight was supposed to land. I parked the truck in the parking garage, then made my way inside. I found the correct terminal, then waited on a bench nearby. We should be able to leave right when she gets here, she didn’t have a suitcase, just her backpack as a carry on. I glanced at the flight status board, and saw that she would be landing a couple minutes early. I only had 5 minutes left to wait, and I found myself tapping my foot impatiently. Soon enough, groups of people started walking out of the terminal. I scanned the crowd for Bella, but she found me first.

“Sam!” She called, weaving her way through the crowd to reach me.

“Hey, Bella.” I replied with a smile that turned into a full grin when she pulled me into a hug. “Ready to get out of here?” I asked, gesturing over my shoulder to the exit.

“I’m more than ready.” She said with a smile. We wove through the people still milling around and made our way to the parking garage. We were quiet as I navigated through the traffic around the airport, trying to get through the ridiculous amount of taxis and other cars picking people up. I glanced at Bella once we got to the main road, and saw her already looking at me with a soft smile on her face.

“How was Florida?” I asked.

“Humid. And hot. The beach was nice, though.” She replied.

“And how was your Mom?”

“I missed her, but she can be kinda draining. That probably makes me sound like a terrible person, but we spent the entire time talking about her, or Jacksonville colleges I have no intention of ever going to. I don’t know. I guess she’s just so different from Charlie, and I sort of forgot how she was, you know?” Bella said. “How was your weekend with your Aunt?”

“First off, you’re not a terrible person. The opposite, actually. And my weekend was great. We went to the aquarium on Saturday, and just hung out the rest of the weekend. It was nice.” I replied.

“So what do I need to know about your Aunt?” Bella asked.

“What do you mean?” I questioned, glancing over at Bella.

“I want to make a good impression! Is there anything I need to know about her? Like, is she super strict or anything like that?”

“She’s very laid back. She was only 15 when I was born, so she’s always been more like an older cousin than an authority figure, you know? She teases me constantly, and will probably be trying to embarrass me the whole time you’re there.” I replied. Bella nodded seriously, and I chuckled before adding. “Seriously, you have nothing to worry about. If anything I’m the one who should be worried, who knows what she’s gonna tell you.”

“I’d love to hear all the stories of little Sam.” Bella said with a smirk.

“I’m sure you will. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop her.” I added, glancing over at Bella who had a mischievous grin on her face.

“Do you think she has pictures?” She asked excitedly.

“Oh god.” I groaned. “She’s probably digging them out already.” Bella laughed loudly, and soon I was, too.

The drive went a lot faster with company, and soon I was parking the truck. I led Bella inside, and we sat on the couch while we waited for Aunt Shannon to get back with the food. Bella told me more about her trip while we waited, complaining about her boring shopping trip and tour of the stadium. I’m not surprised she wants to stay in Forks, from what I can tell her dad knows her a lot better than her mom ever did. Or cared to. I was telling Bella about the creepy eels at the aquarium when we heard the door opening.

“I’m back! And I come bearing burgers!” Aunt Shannon said, carrying a takeout bag over to the small dining area. Bella and I got up and followed her over to the table. “So you must be Bella. Sammy’s been talking about you all weekend.” I shook my head, looking up to see Bella’s eyes light up at my nickname.

“Sammy?” She questioned with a grin.

“See what you did.” I said to Aunt Shannon with a mock glare.

“Be nice to your aunt, Sammy.” Bella said with a stern look that lasted all of two seconds before she broke into giggles.

“I hate both of you. So much.” I said, shaking my head with a small smile on my face. Bella and I sat down, and Aunt Shannon started taking the food out.

“Okay, this one’s no tomato so that’s for Bella.” Shannon said, setting the takeout container in front of Bella. “This one's mine. And these two are for the human garbage disposal.” She added, causing Bella to burst into laughter.

“You should see him with the boys, they’re just as bad. It’s insane.” Bella added with a laugh.

“We’re growing boys, it’s not that weird.” I defended.

“We’ve talked about this before, Sammy. You need to stop growing, you’re over a foot taller than me.” Bella said, and Aunt Shannon laughed.

“I swear every time I see him he’s grown a few more inches. It’s a miracle he even fits through the doorway.” Aunt Shannon added.

“I swear there’s something in the water down at the rez. Even little Seth Clearwater has half a foot on me.” Bella jokingly complained.

“Again, not my fault you’re freakishly small.” I said with a shrug.

“The average height for women is 5’4, I’m 5’4. The average height for men is like 5’9, 5’10. If anyone's a freak it’s you, Sammy.” Bella added.

“She’s got a point.” Aunt Shannon agreed with a smile. “So tell me about yourself, Bella.”

“Um, I grew up in Phoenix, with my mom. She got remarried not too long ago, and her new husband traveled a lot for work. So I decided to move to Forks and live with my Dad.” Bella replied.

“Phoenix, wow. That must’ve been a big change.” Shannon added.

“Definitely. I’m still not used to how cold and wet Washington is.” Bella said.

“It’s not that bad.” I argued. “We have some sunny days.”

“Of course you don’t think it’s that bad, you’re like a human space heater.” Bella said, bumping her shoulder into mine. I smiled back at her, then glanced up to see Aunt Shannon’s knowing smirk.

We finished up our dinner, with Aunt Shannon telling stories from my childhood the whole time. Bella piped in with a few stories from the last few weeks hanging out together. I was surprised how much she noticed, and how well she knew me already. It was nice, even if I was the butt of more than a few jokes. When we were done eating we moved over to the living room, where like I predicted Aunt Shannon had a few photo albums she’d dug out.

“So I heard your sweet tooth is almost as bad as Sammy’s.” Shannon said, looking over at me with a smirk as she brought over a plate of the cookies and brownies I had made earlier.

“These look great.” Bella said, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie.

“Sammy spent the whole afternoon making them. I should’ve taken a picture of that. He was so concentrated on making the perfect cookies, it was adorable.” She added, and Bella huffed a laugh between bites.

“I followed your secret recipe,” I added with a smirk. “But they’ve still got nothing on your cookies.”

“I think you did a great job.” Bella said with a smile, which quickly turned into a smirk. “But I’m surprised you even left any for me.” She added, and Aunt Shannon huffed a laugh.

“I like you.” Aunt Shannon said to Bella. “You don’t take any of his crap. It’s good for him.” Bella blushed and laughed a little.

We chatted a little while longer while we ate our desserts, then Bella and I got ready to go. I grabbed my bag and threw in a couple things I had laying around the guest room. Aunt Shannon gave me a Tupperware with most of the cookies and brownies, after I insisted she kept at least a few for herself. We made our way to the door and Aunt Shannon pulled me into a hug.

“I’ll call you soon, and we can figure out Christmas.” She said before releasing me and pulling a slightly shocked Bella into her arms. “It was nice to meet you, hun. Keep him in line for me.”

“I will.” Bella replied with a smirk.

“Alright, let's go. Enough conspiring against me.” I joked.

“Bye, Bella. Bye, Sammy. Drive safe!” Aunt Shannon called as we walked out the door.

Bella and I climbed into my truck, slinging our bags into the backseat. I turned the truck on, cranking the heat for Bella who was shivering a little just from the short walk to the truck. I drove first to the gas station down the street, filling the tank so we wouldn’t have to stop along the way. Bella picked the music again, this time putting on a pop station. I hummed along to the first song that played, much to Bella’s amusement. By the time we reached the highway we were both dramatically singing along to the radio. We spent nearly an hour just singing along together before Bella turned to me with a smirk.

“So how much did you miss your boys?” She asked.

“You say that like they’re my kids.” I said, Bella simply raising her eyebrows in response. “I may have called to check in on them every night.” I added, ducking my head a little. Bella burst into laughter.

“Of course you did. And how were they?”

“They’re fine. They said they were gonna stay over tonight so I could see them when I get back.” I added.

“That’s sweet. Your kids missed you too.” Bella teased, nudging my shoulder.

“I’d bet they’re missing you too. You’ve spent the last few weekends with us, and a few nights every week. They haven’t seen you since Wednesday. They probably miss you more than me.” I replied, smiling at the small smile and slight blush Bella had in response to what I had said.

“Well we can’t have that. Maybe I’ll stop by after tutoring Seth on Wednesday.” She said.

“I’m sure they’d love that.” I replied. I paused, before adding. “You’re welcome anytime, the doors always open.”

“You really want me barging into your house whenever I want?” She questioned with a scoff.

“Whenever you want.” I confirmed. “The boys tend to come and go as they please, so the door’s never locked. I like spending time with you, I’d never turn down a surprise visit.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I like spending time with you, too.” Bella said with a shy smile.

“Don’t forget to talk to your friends about the hiking trip next weekend.” I reminded her. She rolled her eyes before responding.

“As if I could ever forgot the 6 miles of torture you decided to subject me to.”

“You didn’t have to say yes.” I defended with a shrug.

“Shut it, Sammy.” Bella grumbled, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “I probably won’t see Jake and his friends before the weekend, but I think Jess and Quil talk a lot so she can probably pass it on. And I’ll see Seth and maybe Leah on Wednesday.”

“It’ll be fun, I promise.”

“I’m not worried about having fun, I’m worried about falling into the falls.” Bella said seriously.

“You’ll be fine.” I said with a laugh.

“Maybe.” Bella said petulantly. I looked over at Bella with a smile, noticing that she was still curled into herself a bit, with her sleeves tugged over her hands.

“You’re still cold?” I questioned.

“One weekend away ruined me. I was starting to get used to the cold, but this is freezing compared to the 95 degree heat at my mom’s this morning.” Bella complained.

“C’mere then. Scoot over to the middle seat.” I said, and Bella looked at me skeptically. “You said it yourself, I’m practically a human space heater.” I added, and Bella laughed before sliding over.

“Thanks, Sam.” Bella said quietly as I put an arm around her shoulders.

“Anytime.” I replied.

We sat in companionable silence for a while, and it didn’t take long for Bella to fall asleep, just like she did on the way to Seattle. I smiled to myself when I noticed, and reached over to turn the radio down. I wasn’t surprised that she fell asleep again, with the time difference from Washington to Florida she was probably up hours before me today. While she slept my mind drifted. We’d be back around 11:30, then I’d have another 25 minutes or so to get to my house. I wanted to patrol when I got home, and the boys would probably join me. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust them to do it alone when I was gone, it was more that I needed to see it for myself. That may have been the wolf part of me, wanting to make sure my territory was properly defended, but it could just as easily be my own overprotectiveness. I didn’t want the boys out too late on a school night, but I knew they’d insist on catching up with me anyway. The wolf telepathy comes in handy, sometimes. Part of me, too, was starting to get anxious again. It had been nearly a month since the Cullens left town, and we hadn’t come across anything. It felt too easy. Why would this happen to us, to three of us, if there was never any real threat? The Cullens had already been living in Forks again for a year before I had first phased. It didn’t really add up, not that anything supernatural made any kind of sense in the first place. But it made me nervous, and so part of me was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things have slowly been getting better, getting back to normal. For the boys at least. I could never go back to how things were, not with the loss of my mom. But the boys were able to be teenagers again, their odd behavior in the beginning of summer chalked up as a typical bout of teenage rebellion. And I was happy again, and I was so worried we would lose this. That things would get real, that we’d have to finally do what we were apparently born to do. But when I looked down at Bella beside me, I was glad we were what we were. That we’d be able to protect her, protect her friends. That we could protect the whole tribe if we needed to. It was weird to think about, that we’d gone years with only a handful of people knowing the truth, knowing what was out there.

I shook my head a bit, trying to stop thinking about it. I spent the next stretch of the ride thinking about work, planning out the next few weeks of jobs in my head. Once I was bored of that, I planned what renovations I could do on my own house. There was still plenty of time before Christmas, and I wanted to redo my guest bedroom before then. It wasn’t much different than when it was Mom’s room. I wanted to paint it, at the very least. Maybe rip up the old carpet and finish the wood floor underneath. I didn’t want it to carry so many memories. Part of me still thought of it as Mom’s room, and half expected her to be in there reading in the chair under the window. I knew Aunt Shannon would feel the same way, and I didn’t want her to have to deal with those memories, too. If I had the time, I wanted to paint the house, too. I wanted to impress Aunt Shannon, to look like I have my life somewhat together when she visited. I didn’t want it to look like the same sad house she saw when she visited for my graduation. It was run down then, no more run down then when Mom was still alive, but it held none of the warmth. It was June, but there were no flowers in the garden, no herbs growing in the little window boxes outside the kitchen windows. It was just a house. It was better now, more lived in with the boys filling it up. But I still saw that same sad house sometimes, and remembered the days when I was by myself. When I’d spend all my time alone in that house trapped in the memories of happier days. When I’d go home with something on my mind and no one to talk to. I wanted it to make it my own, to change it enough that the memories didn’t hurt as bad. So when I pulled in the driveway my first thoughts were of the here and now, of the new happy memories I was making in that house. Maybe I was putting too much thought into it, but I think it’ll be worth it.

Bella didn’t wake up until I put my truck in park. She slept soundly the entire time on the highway, only stirring once we got to the winding roads of Forks. I parked in front of her house, then shut off the truck. Bella was rubbing her eyes, barely awake.

“Are we home already?” She asked sleepily.

“We are. Come on, I’ll carry your bag in.” I said, getting out of the tuck and holding out a hand to help Bella down.

“Thanks.” She mumbled through a yawn. Bella led the way up to the front door, and I followed her inside. The door was unlocked still, with the lights still on throughout the house. Bella glanced into the living room and laughed a little. “It looks like my dad tried to wait up, but he’s passed out in his recliner.”

“Like you’re one to talk, you slept the last two hours of the car ride.” I added as I set down her bag by the door.

“That’s fair.” Bella agreed, and we both laughed quietly. “I’ll let you go, I’m sure you’re tired too. I’ll see you Wednesday.”

“See you then. Goodnight, Bella.” I said, pulling her in for a short hug.

I went back to my truck, glancing back to see Bella locking up behind me. The drive home didn’t feel as long as it usually did, and there were no other cars on the road. It was just before midnight when I pulled into my driveway. Like I expected, the lights were all on inside and I could hear the boys talking in the living room. I grabbed my bag, and the leftover dessert, and went inside.

“So,” Paul said with a smirk. “How was it?”

“It was fun. I especially liked being away from you two for the weekend.” I said with a smile.

“Hey! I didn’t even say anything!” Jared complained.

“But you were thinking it.” I added.

“You don’t know that.” Jared said.

“Every thought you’ve ever had is written all over your face.” I said.

“That’s why you’re shit at poker!” Paul added with a laugh.

“Whatever.” Jared grumbled, before perking up and turning to me. “So. We’re gonna patrol before bed, right?”

“We won’t be out long, I just wanna check things out.” I replied.

“Let’s go then, I need my beauty sleep.” Paul added.

“Yeah, you really need that beauty sleep.” Jared said with a snicker.

We went out back, each of us tying our shorts around our ankles before phasing. I led the way, patrolling the borders of the rez first before moving into Forks. As we ran, the boys updated me on what went on this weekend. Like they said when we spoke on the phone, there was nothing of note. From there the boys started pestering me about my weekend away. Specifically, the drive each way with Bella. They were trying to get me to slip up, to reveal something with our shared thoughts. But they underestimated me, and all I let slip were thoughts of Bella calling them adorable, and comparing them to little lost puppies following me around. They weren’t too happy about that, and moved on to thinking about the upcoming hiking trip. We patrolled for less than an hour before turning back, and we went to bed as soon as we were back. Jared took the couch, and Paul decided to sleep on the recliner. I set my alarm clock to go off pretty early knowing they wouldn’t wake up on their own in time for school. I fell asleep quickly, dreaming of the thoughts I kept close to my chest tonight.

Notes:

Hey babes, here ya go! I've probably said this before, but the "secret family recipe" for the nestle toll house cookies is my own lore haha. I was always famous among my friends/classmates/family for my choc chip cookies and I always claimed it was a secret recipe. Until we'd make them at sleep overs or something and I brought them in on the secret. More life changing then when Bella finds out about the wolves, I'd say. And I'm also an anti-raw tomato girly. Life imitates art? (I put myself in my characters too much oops) But fr one of my fave trope-ish things is when the characters absently remember the little things and everyone being like damn, they're down bad aren't they? And I'm heavy on the dynamic of Bella and Sam with their 2 sons hahahaha

Chapter 35: Post Trip Debrief

I went to bed almost immediately after getting home. I woke up Charlie, sending him up to his bed. It was sweet that he waited up for me. Or tried to at least. I didn’t bother unpacking anything, just put on a pair of warm pajamas and got into bed. I had slept a few hours of the car ride home, but I was exhausted. I fell asleep quickly, expecting to have another night of dreamless sleep. But I wasn’t that lucky.

I was suddenly in the woods, the now familiar scene playing out as I ran from an unknown threat. Part of me knew I’d turn around soon, facing a bloodthirsty Edward with crimson eyes. But it was hard to remember that now. I just kept running, tripping over roots and vines and just barely staying standing. I knew I couldn’t run much longer, and I felt this growing feeling of dread. I’d had this dream before, I knew I couldn’t go on, and I knew what I’d see. I stopped in my tracks, that small part of me that was somewhat aware taking over. It was time to end this, it was pointless to keep running. I knew it was inevitable, so I wasn’t surprised when I turned and saw him. I felt my heart beating out of my chest, and I closed my eyes tight as he lunged.

My breaths came out as shallow pants as my eyes shot open. Knowing what was coming didn’t make the nightmare any easier. I still felt shaky, that jittery feeling staying with me as I got up to get a glass of water. I’d never really had nightmares before moving to Forks. Something about the vastness of the forest stuck with me, following me into my dreams. It was unsettling, at first. But the nightmares didn’t come until I had known, or at least began to suspect there was something off about the Cullens. Nightmares were familiar now, something I just had to deal with every so often. I hardly dreamt of what happened in Phoenix. Maybe some part of me subconsciously shied away from it, even in nightmares. But the forest was there, in every nightmare I had. Sometimes it was just the forest, but the lingering feeling of dread was always present. I drank my glass of water slowly, then went back to bed. It wasn’t as easy to fall asleep this time, but I had no more nightmares. I didn’t remember any more dreams in the morning, just flashes of the beach in La Push, and the blue flames of a driftwood fire.

Charlie was gone when I went downstairs. He left a note on the table, explaining he had an early shift and saying he wanted to hear about my trip once I was off work tonight. I tossed the note in the bin, then put some bread in the toaster. I was up a little earlier than usual, so I took my time reading as I ate my breakfast. Once I was done I went back upstairs, quickly getting dressed and brushing my teeth. I grabbed my bag and went out the door. My thoughts drifted as I drove to school, and soon I was parking my truck. I got out, grabbing my bag and walking over to Mike’s suburban a few spots away. Ang and Jess were already there, and Ben was pulling in as I walked over.

“Bella!” Ang exclaimed. “How was Florida?”

“How was Sam?” Jess asked with a sleepy smirk.

“Florida was great.” I replied, ignoring Jess. “The beach was nice, and it was so much warmer than Washington. I’m glad to be home, though.”

“Was it your first time at an east coast beach?” Mike asked.

“We went to one of the Carolinas on vacation when I was little, so technically it wasn’t. But I was pretty little, so I don’t really remember it.” I replied.

We talked a little more about different beaches we’ve gone to, then made our way to class. Classes went by slowly, seeming all the more tedious thanks to the few days I had away. There was something about the first day back after a long weekend that just made the day drag on. I walked to lunch with Jess and Ang after a grueling Calculus lesson. We talked about our weekends as we made our way to the cafeteria, and while waiting in line for food. Forks High was a pretty small school, so there was only one lunch period for everyone. It probably made scheduling easier, but it made for irritatingly long lines. We got our food, then sat at our usual table. Ben and Eric were already there, and Mike was on his way from the salad bar.

“So. You ignored my question earlier. I’ll forgive you, but only if you give me details!” Jess said with a slight glare.

“What do you want to know?” I asked with a sigh.

“Everything, duh.” Jess said, looking at me like I was stupid. Ang and I laughed.

“Honestly not much happened on either ride. I was asleep for most of it.” I said, and Jess looked a little disappointed. “Oh! We made plans for this weekend if you guys aren’t busy.”

“Go on…” Jess said with a smirk.

“Sam said he was talking with Ang a few weeks ago about hiking to Sol Duc Falls. We figured this Saturday would be a good time to go, before it gets too cold, you know?”

“That sounds great. I’m totally in.” Ang said, everyone else nodding along.

“I figured you could talk to Quil, Jess, and invite him and Jake and Embry. And I can talk to Seth and Leah in a couple days. Sam and his boys are obviously in.” I said, counting off people on my hand. “Oh! Sam said we should invite Katie, too, for Eric.” I added. Eric blushed, but nodded.

“I can drive, but we’ll need another car if everyone ends up going.” Mike offered.

“Sam’s tuck fits 6, so we should have just enough space.” I added.

“I’ve never been to the falls before, this is gonna be so fun. I really hope Quil can go, I haven’t seen him since we went camping. And that was like too long ago, you know? Like how can I get to know a guy if I never see him. We talk on the phone, and like, text, but it’s not the same.” Jess rambled.

“You could just go hang out with him on the rez?” Ben suggested.

“You don’t get it, Ben. You can’t just initiate that kind of thing when you’ve only hung out twice. Like there has to be another group thing or two before we can like casually hang out. Right now we’re in this like mutual friend sorta thing, but soon we’ll be in the potential boyfriend/girlfriend stage if this hike goes well.” Jess said with an exasperated eye roll at Ben.

“I’m with Ben.” I added. “There aren’t any actual rules you have to follow. Just do what feels right.” Jess huffed and rolled her eyes at me too before acting as if I hadn’t said anything.

“The falls are like in the middle of nowhere, right? Are we gonna be there like all day? What are we doing for food?” Jess asked.

“I figured we could bring like a picnic. Sandwiches and things like that.” I replied.

“Ang and I can handle the food this time.” Ben offered.

“I can make something for dessert. Like cookies or brownies maybe?” Jess added.

“That sounds good.” Mike said. “We can meet at the store before we go.”

“Sam said the falls are about an hour away, so we should meet there at like 9 or 10.” I said.

“We should shoot for 9, so we don’t have to rush, you know?” Eric added, and everyone nodded.

“I’ll ask Quil tonight. You should go ask Katie before she makes other plans.” Jess said, turning to Eric. He nodded, then nervously made his way over to her table. “So. Nearly 8 hours alone together and you just slept.”

I blushed, then added. “Did I mention I was sleeping on his shoulder?”

Jess screeched in excitement, and dozens of heads turned to look at her.

“Oops.” She said, no ounce of regret in her tone. “You definitely did not mention that!”

“Was it on purpose?” Ang asked.

“No.” I said, my blush deepening. “I didn’t even realize I was falling asleep on the way there. I just woke up on his shoulder a few hours later. He was sweet about it though.”

“And what about the way home?” Jess asked, bouncing in her seat.

“Well, I was cold.” I said, looking down at my lap. I glanced back at Jess before adding. “He told me to scoot over and put his arm around me. He’s just so warm, and I couldn’t help it. I didn’t wake up till we were in my driveway.”

“And?” Ang questioned.

“He carried my bag in, then said he’d see me Wednesday.” I said with a shrug.

“What’s Wednesday?” Jess asked, waggling her eyebrows.

“I’m tutoring Seth again, and I said I’d stop by his house after.” I replied, and Jess squealed again. “Jess, c’mon. People are staring.” I added, embarrassed.

“I can’t help it! This is all just so exciting!” She replied.

“So what else did you do at your mom’s?” Mike asked, tuning back into our conversation.

“She dragged me shopping for most of Saturday, and we toured the stadium Phil plays at.” I replied.

“And were you miserable the whole time?” Ang asked knowingly.

“Yes. I’ve lived with my mom for the majority of my life, she really should know how much I’d hate that.” I said.

“But I bet you didn’t say anything.” Jess added. “I bet you told her you had a great time.”

“I wasn’t gonna tell her I was bored out of my skull!” I defended. “I only had a couple days there, I could suck it up for that long.”

“So you shopped.” Ben said with heavy emphasis. “Did you get us anything?” He asked with a smirk.

“Oh! I completely forgot to bring them but I did get souvenirs for everyone.” I answered.

“I was joking, you didn’t have to get us stuff.” Ben replied with a laugh. I waved him off.

“Of course I got you guys stuff. It made shopping a bit more bearable, at least.”

“So what did you get us?” Jess asked. “Postcards? Magnets? Matching t-shirts?”

“You’ll just have to wait until you open it.” I said with a shrug. Jess pouted, but moved on.

“What did you guys get on the calc quiz?” She asked.

We talked about that, and our other classes, for the rest of lunch. The rest of the day went by much faster than the morning, and then I had a shift at Newton’s after school. Newton’s was surprisingly busy today, and it went by much faster than it usually did. After my shift I drove home, walking in to the sounds of some sports game on the TV. Dad was in his usual spot, drinking a beer as he watched the game.

“How was your shift?” He asked as I set my stuff down.

“Good. We were busier than usual.” I replied.

“I grabbed you a sub for dinner, it’s on the top shelf of the fridge.” He added.

“Thanks.” I said, grabbing my sandwich then coming back to the living room to eat. I was hungry, I hadn't eaten since lunch and finished my sandwich quickly.

“So. Did your mom’s plan of selling you on Florida work?” Charlie asked.

“Florida’s too humid. I think I’ll stick to Washington a few more years if that's fine with you?” I asked shyly. He smiled to himself before replying.

“That’s more than fine. This is your home, too. You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you want.” He replied, sounding almost embarrassed. “Did you have fun with your mom?”

“Yeah, it was nice to see her. Thanks again for letting me skip Friday so I could have more time there.”

“You’ve always been a good student, I knew it wouldn’t be a big deal for you to miss a day or two.” Charlie added. “I’m glad you had fun.”

“It’s good to be home, though.” I added. “I probably won’t be home for dinner tomorrow. I’m tutoring Seth again after school and I’m probably going to Sam’s after.” Charlie visibly perked up, and I held back a laugh.

“Well don’t stay out too late, it is a school night.” He said, trying to hide his enthusiasm by channeling a strict parent. I couldn’t hold back a laugh at that, but tried to muffle it as much as I could.

“I won’t, Dad. I’m gonna get ready for bed.”

“Goodnight, Bells. Love you.”

“Love you too.” I responded, giving him a one armed hug on the way towards the stairs.

I went up to my room, grabbing my pajamas before heading to the bathroom. I put my hair up in a messy bun then took a shower. It didn’t take long since I didn’t wash my hair, but I probably spent more time under the stream of hot water than I needed to. There was something so soothing about taking a hot shower before bed. It always made me sleepy, and had become a regular part of my nightly routine since moving to Forks. Once I was out I brushed my teeth and put on my warmest pajamas. It wasn’t abnormally cold, but I was really noticing the chill after a weekend in the heat. I got into bed, snuggling under the covers with an extra quilt thrown on top. I was out as soon as I shut my eyes, and slept soundly all night.

I woke up to weak rays of sunshine coming in through the window. I smiled as I got out of bed. Sunny days were rare in Forks, so I always tried to make the most of them. I got dressed quickly, heading downstairs in time to see my dad off when he left for work. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then left a little earlier than I usually did. It was sunny, but that didn’t mean it was any warmer. Yet the parking lot was still nearly full when I arrived, the other kids all having the same idea as me to soak up some sun before class. I parked next to Ang, and made my way to the picnic table where my friends were sitting.

“Hey, Bella.” Jess said, looking more awake than she did most mornings.

“Hey guys.” I responded. I sat next to Mike, who offered me a twizzler. I shook my head no. I may have a bit of a sweet tooth, but it was still too early for candy. We made idle chit chat for a while, and we were all shocked to see Eric pulling in with nearly 10 minutes before class started. He joined us, and I grabbed the paper bag out of my backpack with their souvenirs.

“Ooh are those our presents?” Ben asked. I laughed and then nodded. I pulled each out of the bag, passing them to my friends.

“There was this cool little store that had like a ton of novelty key chains.” I explained, each of my friends opening the tiny bags that contained their keychains. Mike laughed as he pulled out a keychain replica of a twizzler bag. We had to leave for our classes soon after, all of us disappointed to be going inside for another tedious day.

Notes:

One thing I feel like I really enjoyed in new moon was the whole dream revelation aspect. I really lean into that, having the answers subconsciously out of reach. I feel like it gave more of a mystical feeling to a story that really is pretty basic for a vampire/werewolf book. Also I love the dynamic of Charlie and Bella both wanting her to stay in washington a bit longer, and both of them being so awkward about it. like they're just vibing living together but they never actually want to talk about it... ALSO DISCLAIMER!!!! I don't remember if I even mention it before this chapter, but I'm sure some of you remember how in twilight theres like a weird amount of twizzlers? And so I wanted that to be like a thing, you know? But as I was putting this up i was like wait are twizzlers even popular in Washington? And apparently west coast goes for red vines instead? I guess my east coast is showing but I refuse to change it, even tho I don't even like twizzlers....

Chapter 36: Friends and Fajitas

I was in a bit of a weird place with work. I was in the middle of multiple projects, but there wasn’t really anything I could do at the moment. I was waiting for paint to dry in one house, grout to cure in another, things like that. At least that's what I used to justify patrolling in the middle of the day. It may have had more to do with the restless feeling that's had me on edge all day. And the fact that Bella was coming over tonight. I knew she was going to Seth’s first, but I just wanted to get home tonight and just be done. I wanted to have a normal night hanging out with my friends, then go to bed. As I ran my normal patrol route, I thought about my conversation with Bella the other night. I was being completely honest when I told her she was welcome any time. I really liked spending time with her, and I wanted to see her more. But her reaction is what got me. She seemed shocked that I wanted to spend time with her, like her presence was an annoyance at best. I’ve noticed before how she was always cautious with things like that, that she didn’t want to intrude. But she really just didn’t understand yet that she wasn’t. It felt like she belonged in our lives, she fit in so naturally that it would be impossible for her to intrude. Besides, with how often the boys were around it really would be more than welcome. I love them, but sometimes they needed a buffer. They still roughhoused and argued when she was around, but they were definitely more tame with her around. I’m not sure why, maybe somehow they have some sort of ingrained politeness that just barely managed to stick. Or maybe it is just something about Bella that makes the people around her lighter, happier. Regardless, it made my day better to have her around. I finished up my patrol in about an hour, making my way back home before going back to work. I had a few small projects I could finish today, and I worked at them until 5 o’clock.

The house was surprisingly quiet when I got home. I figured Bella wouldn’t be over for at least another half hour, so I went upstairs to shower before she got here. I was drying off when I heard her call from downstairs. I hadn’t noticed her truck approaching over the sounds of the water.

“Sam? Boys?” She called, and I heard the door shut behind her.

“Just me.” I called back. “I’ll be right down.” I dressed quickly, throwing on the first shirt and pair of shorts I found. I jogged down the stairs, heading into the living room where Bella was setting down her bag.

“Where are your two shadows?” Bella asked with a smile.

“I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually. Probably just in time for dinner.” I replied with an eye roll, Bella laughed, and followed me as I went into the kitchen.

“What are we making tonight?” She asked.

“Not sure.” I replied, looking through the fridge. “I haven’t gone to the store since I got back.”

“Let me look.” She said, stepping around me. She grabbed a few things from the fridge, then dug through the freezer. She made a triumphant noise, setting a freezer bag of something on the counter. I really did need to organize better, I didn’t even know what she’d found. From there she went to the cabinets, grabbing spices and a bag of tortillas from the bread box.

“How about fajitas?” She asked.

“Sounds great.” I replied. “How can I help?”

“You can start chopping the veggies. This is chicken, right?” She said, holding up the bag from the freezer.

“I think so?” I said, and we both laughed. We talked about our days as we made dinner, and were nearly done with the cooking when I heard the back door slam.

“God that smells good.” Jared exclaimed from the other room. Paul walked in first, with Jared stopping right behind him in the doorway.

“Hey, Bella. Sam.” Paul said with a smirk.

“Hey, boys.” Bella replied with a grin. “Why don’t you two set the table, food’s almost ready.”

“Sure thing.” Jared said, and they got to it immediately. I huffed a laugh, and Bella looked at me questioningly.

“If I asked them to do that, they’d argue about it for ten minutes first.” I replied to her unspoken question.

“They’d do no such thing. They’re sweet boys, they would never.” Bella said jokingly. The boys turned to me with innocent smiles just bordering on creepy, and Bella and I lost it. We couldn’t stop laughing, and the boys weren’t much better.

We all helped bring the food over to the table, putting everything in the middle buffet-style. The boys sat down first, sitting next to each other on one side of the table. Bella and I sat across from them, and then we started assembling our dinner.

“So what did you two get up to while we were gone?” Bella asked.

“Not much.” Paul said between bites. “Mostly just hung around here playing video games.”

“Paul and I tried to make pasta one night, like we did last Wednesday, and we nearly burnt the house down.” Jared added.

“So that’s what that weird smell was.” I said, shaking my head.

“Now I see why Sam was worried to leave you two alone.” Bella added with a laugh.

“Aw you were worried about us.” Paul said with a smirk.

“Yeah, I was worried. Worried you two would destroy my house. Apparently I wasn’t so far off.” I replied, raising my eyebrows at the two shameless boys.

“It wasn’t that bad, Sam. I did that thing with the baking soda and it put the fire right out.” Jared defended. Bella let out a shocked laugh, clearly thinking they had been exaggerating about burning the house down.

We spent the rest of the meal talking about Bella’s trip. Bella told us about her beach day, clearly exaggerating to make Paul jealous. The boys really were happy to see her, and we went through an entire meal without any arguments. There were never really any hard feelings when they argued, but it was nice to have a normal meal together nonetheless. The boys offered to clean up after dinner, then joined Bella and I in the living room. Once the boys sat down, Bella took out three gift bags out of her backpack.

“Ooh, did you get us presents?” Jared asked excitedly.

“Of course I did.” She said, handing us each a bag with our names on it. We each opened our bags, pulling out the souvenir tank tops she got us. Paul’s shirt had a little beach scene on it, with huge letters across it saying ‘beach bum.’ Jared got a blue tank top with a big alligator on it. And my tank top was a sunny yellow, with a little crab on the front pocket and ‘Florida’ in big letters on the back.

“What d’ya think?” Paul asked, pulling off his t-shirt and trying on the tank.

“Very nice.” Bella said, laughing at his antics.

“I’ve always wanted a pet alligator.” Jared mused as he admired his shirt.

“Thank you, Bella.” I said with a smile, before sending a pointed look at each of the boys, who then added their thanks. “I got you guys something, too.” I added, walking upstairs quickly to grab the bags from my room. I passed out the bags, and they each took out their stuffed animals from the aquarium gift shop.

“I love it.” Bella said, immediately hugging her penguin.

“Sam. Sam, look!” Jared said, pointing at the squid balanced on his head like a hat. Paul chucked his shark at Jared, knocking the squid off his head. “You’ll pay for that, Lahote!”

“Watch it!” I warned with a laugh as the pillow Jared threw at Paul missed, flying towards Bella. She batted it away with a laugh, hitting me instead.

“Oh it’s on now.” Paul said, smirking as he saw the look on my face. Bella ran, trying to hide behind the boys as I threw pillow after pillow at her. Jared and Paul took up defensive positions, intercepting the pillows and sending them back at me.

“Give up, Sam! We’ll never let you get her!” Jared said.

“Never!” I shot back with a laugh. I got a lucky hit in, the pillow bouncing off Bella’s head. The boys took that personally, sending a barrage of pillows at me. I threw my hands up, blocking my face as they hit me over and over. We were all laughing when we heard a big crash.

“Paul did it!” Jared said, immediately blaming him for the broken glass that was knocked off the coffee table. I laughed and rolled my eyes, walking over to the kitchen to grab a dustpan.

“You’re such a snitch.” Paul said, shoving Jared’s shoulder as they picked up the pillows around the room. Bella was back in her spot on the couch, smiling at the boys as they bickered.

Once I cleaned up the broken glass, I sat back in my spot next to Bella on the couch. We chatted as the boys played a video game, and before we knew it it was nearly 10 o’clock.

“Crap, is it really that late?” Bella said. “I need to get going, I’ll see you boys later.” She stood up, grabbing her penguin from between us on the couch. I stood too, grabbing her backpack for her.

“Bye, Bella.” Jared said, glancing away quickly from the game.

“Night, Bella.” Paul added, smirking as he won the race due to Jared looking away.

“Drive safe.” I said, handing Bella her bag. She slung it over her shoulder then pulled me into a hug.

“Night, Sam.” She said.

“Goodnight, Bella.” I replied.

Notes:

Fun fact I went away in feb and the last night I was away my older sister caught our oven on fire :( She just shut the door and it died off but still, no oven for like a week while we waited for a new one to arrive.... Anywayyyyyyyy here's another chapter! And like for those of you who are actually still reading this i've written 3 chaps today, currently working on chap 58... With no end in sight because i'm too attached to this story lol

Chapter 37: But you HAVE heard of me

The drive home went by fast. I spent the ride thinking about the rest of my day. How tutoring went with Seth, what we were gonna work on next week. I thought about school, too. About the quiz last period in calculus, and the paper in history that's due soon. I was still lost in thought as I unlocked the front door and went inside. I locked up behind me, absently saying goodnight to my dad as I made my way upstairs. It had been a long day, and I was exhausted. The last few hours with the boys, and with Seth, too, for that matter, had made the draining day much better. But I was still ready to pass out, and it was later than I had planned on getting home. I dressed quickly in my pajamas and brushed my teeth, skipping a shower and falling into bed.

I was running. Not really running, more like desperately stumbling. The forest around me was dark, darker than I’d ever seen it before. There was no bit of moonlight peeking through the trees, and the darkness was oppressing. I couldn’t see the ground, or my feet. But I felt like I knew where I was going, so I pressed on. Up ahead there was a brightness, a clearing between the trees. I stumbled out into the meadow, his meadow. My heart dropped into my stomach and I spun around wildly, looking for the red eyes I knew were coming. There was the snap of a branch from within the forest, and I strained my eyes trying to see. I needed to see. Why couldn’t I see? Another sound came from the forest, and my heart raced. I took a few steps back, not knowing what made the sound but I was sure I didn’t want to find out. I was brought back to the fear of that night. When I was alone in the forest, after he was long gone. There was something familiar about the sound, but I was more concerned with the sounds getting closer. It sounded like some kind of animal, I knew he wouldn’t make any sound until it was too late. It didn’t lessen the fear, though. Only made it worse knowing there were two things in these woods that were after me. I turned, looking behind me to see where I could go, I needed to go. But across the meadow was Edward, red eyes staring into mine. I turned and ran, knowing I was heading towards the animal in the woods, but needing to escape Edward more. There was some saying, about the devil you know and the devil you don’t? But I ran, tripping over the roots but staying on my feet anyways. Heading towards the sound, looking over my shoulder at Edward, who hadn’t so much as twitched. I turned back, looking directly into a pair of big brown eyes, far too close.

My heart was still pounding as I sat up in bed, the lingering sense of panic ebbing slightly as I looked around my empty room. It was just a dream. A bad dream, but a dream nonetheless. I looked over at my alarm clock, before laying back down. I still had a few hours before I had to be up, and I was determined to fall back asleep. I didn’t know if the nightmares would stay away, but a few more hours of restless sleep were better than not sleeping at all. I closed my eyes, focusing on breathing in and out till I drifted off again.

When I woke again, I was much calmer. It was a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off, so I sat up and shut it off before it would. I had the same alarm clock for years, but it still sent me into a panic when it went off in the mornings. I wondered if it was a natural defense that made me start to wake a few minutes before the alarm. Most days the alarm didn’t wake me, and I would naturally wake up right on time. I pondered that as I picked out my outfit, changing quickly before heading downstairs for breakfast. Charlie was at the table nursing a cup of coffee, and he sent me a small smile when he saw me coming into the kitchen. I filled my own coffee cup, warming my hands with it as I waited for my bagel to toast. We didn’t talk much as we both ate breakfast. Just comments here and there about the upcoming day. It was Mark’s birthday, a deputy at the station, and Charlie would be going to the diner after work to celebrate. I had work tonight, and Dad said he’d get me something to go from the diner. He asked how tutoring Seth went, and how Sam was. I asked about his plans this weekend, I’d heard there was a big game. We finished breakfast around the same time, both finishing our morning routines then going our separate ways. It was a little early for me to be leaving, and a little late for him.

It wasn’t sunny today, so I spent my extra time before class today reading in my truck. It wasn’t that cold, but it was drizzly enough to keep me inside. Once my friends arrived, we sat around in Mike’s suburban to chat before class. Morning classes went by fast, even my least favorite class, Calculus. It felt like the day had hardly started when I made my way to the cafeteria with Jess. Lunch today was some questionable looking stew, so Jess and I made our way to the salad bar instead. We were the first to arrive, so it was just the two of us sitting at our usual table. It was interesting, being in such a small school. Back in Phoenix, my highschool had over twice as many students as Forks High. I never really sat in the same spot twice in the cafeteria, there were a couple hundred other kids at lunch so I just sat wherever I could find a seat. Here every group had their own table, their own spots that were always the same in a sort of unspoken rule. Sure, we’d switch it up and sit in different spots sometimes, but it was our table. It was a similar unspoken rule that made it so the Cullen’s old table was always empty, too. I would’ve thought someone would start sitting there by now. The Cullens had only been here for two years this time, and this school year Alice, Edward, and Jasper had sat here with me and my friends. There was something about that thought that was bothering me, something about the last time the Cullens lived in Forks. I couldn’t quite place it, and it felt like deja vu. I shook my head a little to clear it, and turned back to Jess.

“I forgot to ask yesterday, but did you talk to Quil about Saturday?” I asked.

“Oh yeah. So I talked to Quil on Tuesday, and he said he was totally in, which is so exciting. And then he said he’d talk to Jacob and Embry, too, and called last night to say they were going. I think I heard Eric asking Katie yesterday, but I didn’t hear what she said. And you asked Seth and Leah, right?” Jess replied.

“They’re both in.” I added as the rest of our friends sat down around the table.

“Who’s in?” Mike asked as he sat down beside me.

“Seth and Leah, for the hike. And so is Quil, Jake, and Embry.” I replied.

“Katie’s coming too.” Eric added.

“So everyone’s in, right?” Ang asked.

“Yep.” I replied.

“The suburban fits 9, and Sam’s truck fits 6, right?” Mike asked. I nodded, and he continued. “Who’s sitting where?”

“I wanna sit with Quil, obviously. And I’ll take Seth, too, he’s such a sweet kid.” Jess said immediately.

“Katie and I can sit up front with Mike.” Eric added.

“Okay so that leaves Leah, Jacob, and Embry for the last row. Ang and I can ride in Sam’s truck.” Ben said.

“Perfect.” I said. “It’ll be a tight squeeze in the truck so we’ll probably put most of our stuff in Mike’s trunk.”

“God, I’m so excited!” Jess squealed. “I love that we do stuff like this. Like it’s so nice to all hang out together and to hang out with our new friends and just have a good time. And I’m so excited to go somewhere new. Like I love the beaches in La Push and we always have fun hiking there or like doing bonfires but I’ve heard the falls are just really pretty and I can’t wait to see them.”

“We probably won’t be able to do many more hikes or bonfires pretty soon. The temps are already starting to drop.” Ben added.

“Don’t remind me.” Ang complained. “I’m already sick of the cold and it’s only October.”

“I’m not ready for winter. It was bad enough last winter and I was still in Phoenix for half of it.” I said.

“You think Tyler will hit you with his car again this year?” Jess asked seriously, and we all started laughing hysterically.

“Oh my god, Jess!” Ang exclaimed.

“You can’t just say that!” Mike added.

“What? It’s a valid question.” Jess defended, prompting another burst of laughter.

“If it happened again I would actually cry. That was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me.” I said, shuddering just thinking about it.

“It wasn’t your fault there was ice.” Eric replied.

“It wasn’t even getting hit that was embarrassing.” I added. “It was that awful neck brace. And the whole ambulance ride and my dad panicking when he saw it was me. It was mortifying.”

“And it was only like a week after you got here, right?” Ben asked.

“It was.” I confirmed. “I hate the winter.”

“I promise that if you get hit again this winter we’ll stage something even more embarrassing to happen to one of us the next day to take the heat off you.” Jess promised.

“Thanks, Jess. You’re a great friend.” I replied with a laugh.

“I know.” She said with a wink.

I looked up at the clock, noticing we only had 10 more minutes left of lunch. We’d hardly touched our food, too distracted by planning our upcoming trip. We didn’t talk much for the rest of lunch, too busy trying to finish our food. After lunch I had gym class, where Jess and I faked our way through an entire class of pickleball games against each other. Jess was a good sport, and we still managed to have fun even though I was basically incapable of playing the game correctly. We looked like we were doing it right when the teacher walked by, which was all that really mattered. Once gym was over I went to my last class, Marine Science. It was one of my favorite classes, and the only one I had with Eric. It was weird that in such a small school I still didn’t have many of my friends in my classes. I only shared one class with Ben and with Eric, and I only had two friends at most in any of my classes. We didn’t do anything exciting in class, mostly working from our textbooks in preparation for a lab we’re doing next week. I had just finished the homework that had been assigned when the final bell rang. I went out to my truck, saying bye to my friends on the way. From there I went to Newton’s, changing quickly in the bathroom before starting my shift.

I was tired when I got home. It wasn’t like my shift was any longer than usual, but I spent the entire time unloading new inventory. It wasn’t hard, just tedious. I did like my job, which was a little shocking considering it was me and an outdoor goods store. But it was close by, pretty easy, and paid fairly well. Plus I had an in from Mike, and we got to work together sometimes, too. I couldn’t imagine working at the diner or any other restaurant in town, my clumsiness would have me out of a job in minutes. But it wasn’t a very exciting job, and the tedious work paired with the small amount of customers today had me falling asleep on my feet. I was relieved to be home, and went right into the kitchen to heat up my dinner when I walked in. I planned on eating fast then going to bed early. After I ate, I said a quick goodnight to my dad before getting ready for bed. I took a quick shower, the hot water making me even sleepier than before. I dried off quickly, throwing on some cozy pajamas before going to bed. Sleep found me quickly, and I slept soundly the entire night.

I sat up with a gasp, flashes of the dream that had woken me up drifting just out of reach in the morning light. I couldn’t recall what it was about, but I remembered flashes of the woods, and of Sam’s eyes. I shut off my alarm clock, climbing out of bed and heading straight downstairs. Dad wasn’t awake yet, so I started a pot of coffee for the two of us. I sat at the table as it brewed, my head pillowed on my arms. I was still a little tired, even after turning in early. Dad came downstairs as I was pouring his coffee, mine already at my spot cooling. I passed him his cup as he walked by, then grabbed myself a bowl of cereal. We didn’t talk much over breakfast, both content to read quietly as we ate. Charlie with today's paper, and me with the latest book we were assigned for English. We didn’t talk until Dad was on his way out the door.

“I almost forgot to tell you, I’m gonna be working late tonight. Probably won’t be home till 8 or so.” Charlie said as he put on his jacket.

“You don’t usually work that late, is something going on?” I asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about, I just have a meeting with some of the guys from the forestry department.” He replied, waving off my concern.

“Okay.” I said, relieved. “Have a good day, be safe.”

“You too, Bells. I’ll see you tonight.”

I got up after he left, bringing my empty bowl over to the sink. I washed the few dishes from dinner and breakfast this morning, then went upstairs to get ready for school. It was cold, so I settled on an oversized sweatshirt and jeans for today. I wasn’t someone who was overly concerned with my appearance, but I did usually put more effort into my outfit. But I figured being warm and comfy was a bigger priority. After I was dressed and ready I gathered up my school things and went out to my truck. It was a typical morning. There was no traffic in town, just a few cars lined up to get into the school parking lot. Everyone but Eric was just arriving around the same time as I was. We chatted like we usually did, then went our separate ways a few minutes before the bell.

The rest of the day was perfectly average. Most of my classes were spent either reviewing quizzes or tests we just got back or doing what was pretty much just busy work. None of the teachers wanted to start anything new on a Friday, so it was an easy day. We talked about our trip tomorrow all through lunch, finalizing plans and whatnot. I was more than ready to leave when the final bell rang, bored from the day of reviewing and ready for the weekend. I said bye to all my friends, telling them I’d see them in the morning. Then I was off, pulling out of my spot and into the long line of practically every other student trying to leave the parking lot.

It wasn’t long before I was home. I went up to my room, setting my bag down with plans to not pick it up again this weekend. That was the perk of my teachers not wanting to start anything new, I didn’t have any assignments this weekend. I wasn’t really sure what to do now, the house was pretty tidy, Dad wouldn’t be home for dinner, and I had nothing to work on for school. I started a load of laundry, then flopped onto my bed. I was restless, in that weird sort of mood where nothing I did seemed to keep my attention. By 4 o’clock I’d given up on 4 separate books, channel surfed unsuccessfully, and seriously considered chopping off 6 inches of my hair. Maybe I needed to get out of the house.

I ran over to my desk, grabbing the little piece of paper with Sam’s number on it. I jogged down the stairs, nearly tripping in my haste. I grabbed the phone off the kitchen wall, leaning against the counter as I dialed Sam’s number. I tapped my foot impatiently as it rang, then went to voicemail. I didn’t bother leaving a message, and hung up the phone. It was pretty early, he probably wasn’t home yet from whatever project he was working on today. I could just go anyway, he did say I was welcome to just stop by anytime. Worst comes to worst I can just drive back home if he isn’t around. It does take a while to get there, he’d probably be home by then. And if he isn’t around maybe I could grab takeout for dinner and call it a night. Then it wouldn’t be a complete waste of time. Mind made up, I went upstairs to grab my purse.

30 minutes later I was pulling into the spot next to Sam’s black pickup. Part of me still felt a little weird just dropping by unannounced, but the rest of me was happy to see Sam, and to be out of the house. I grabbed my bag, then made my way over to the front door. I knocked a few times, then took a step back to wait.

“Coming!” I heard a voice yell from inside. The door opened a minute later to Sam, with a surprised smile on his face. “Hey, c’mon in.”

“Hey! If you have like plans tonight or anything I can go, but I didn’t really have anything going on so I figured I’d stop by. ” I said with a shrug, following Sam back inside. His hair was dripping down his back, like he’d just gotten out of the shower.

“I’m glad you did. The boys aren’t around tonight so my only “plans” were with the tv and a box of mac and cheese.” He replied with a self deprecating smirk.

“That honestly sounds great.” I said with a laugh. We went over to the couch, and I set my bag down on the floor beside my usual spot before sitting down. Sam tossed me the remote, then I started flipping channels.

“How was your day?” He asked.

“It was fine. We didn’t do much at school so it was pretty boring. What about you?” I replied.

“I didn’t do much either, I worked on my truck this morning then finished up a couple jobs this afternoon.”

“What was wrong with the truck? Should I be worried? You know that is my ride tomorrow.” I said, landing on some sitcom to watch as we talked.

“The truck’s fine.” Sam replied with a laugh. “I just did an oil change and replaced the brake pads. I probably could’ve waited till next week but I figured I’d do it today since I had the time.”

“Good. You actually got me excited for a hiking trip, I’d hate to miss it.” I replied.

We talked a little longer, before moving into the kitchen to make dinner. We made two boxes of mac and cheese, one of the regular stuff and one of the white shells. Once it was ready, we went back to the living room and decided to put on a movie.

“There’s nothing good on.” I complained as I flipped through channels.

“Gimme.” Sam said, holding out a hand. “We can just rent something.”

“Like what?”

“Have you seen the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie?” Sam asked.

“No… I haven’t seen the first one either.” I replied.

“Then that’s what we’re watching. They’re not that long, we can probably watch both.” Sam said before starting up the movie.

“But you have heard of me…” Sam quoted under his breath, partway through the movie.

“That’s like the tenth line you’ve quoted. How many times have you seen this movie?” I said with a laugh.

“It’s Jared’s favorite movie. Well his current favorite movie. So probably more than a dozen times. Now stop talking during the movie.” He mock-scolded.

“Sam you’ve literally been talking under your breath the entire time. I really don’t think you have a leg to stand on.” I added with a shrug. Sam chucked a pillow at me, and we turned back to the movie.

“I think I get it now.” I said as the end credits rolled.

“Wanna make sundaes before we start the next one?” Sam asked with a smirk.

“What kind of a question is that? Of course I do.” I replied. We gathered up the dishes from our dinner and put them in the sink. Sam scooped the ice cream, and I loaded our bowls with toppings. Then we settled back on the couch to start the next movie. I think this was just what I needed tonight. All of my restless energy was gone, and my stomach hurt from laughing so much. Spending time with Sam was as easy as breathing, and I hoped we could have many more nights like these.

Notes:

UGH!!!!!! This is one of my fave chapters,,,, at least like set up wise..... I'm so happy we're here hahaha!! It only gets better (and more emotionally confusing for our leads) from here on out!!! Uhhh a meeting with the guys from the forestry department (is that a real thing??? idk??)))) what could that possibly be about, charlie?!

Chapter 38: No thoughts, too sleepy

Maybe I was getting old, like the boys always said. I opened my eyes blearily, back cracking as I stretched out from my cramped position on the couch. I was still half asleep, and a little confused as to why I was on the couch still. I looked over at the clock, the green numbers flashing 10:30. I glanced up at the tv, still showing the rental screen for the second pirates movie. Shit. The movie. With Bella. I looked next to me to see Bella curled up fast asleep on her end of the couch. Damn it. I got up quickly, quietly making my way to the phone in the kitchen. Her dad was probably worried, it was pretty late and he probably didn’t know where she was considering this was a spur of the moment visit. I grabbed the note off the fridge with their home number and dialed.

“Hello?” Chief Swan answered.

“Hi, Chief Swan. It’s Sam Uley.”

“Hey, Sam. Is Bells with you?” He asked.

“She is, we both fell asleep watching a movie. I’m about to drive her home, I just figured I’d call first so you wouldn’t worry.”

“I appreciate that, but you don’t have to go out of your way. You’re a good kid. Respectful. I’m okay with her staying the night if you are.” He replied in a slightly threatening tone.

“Thank you, sir.”

“None of that sir nonsense, just Charlie is fine. Goodnight, Sam.”

“Night, Charlie.” I replied, hanging up the phone.

I walked back to the living room, where Bella was still sleeping on the couch. I didn’t want to wake her, so I grabbed a couple blankets from the linen closet and gently laid one over her. I took my own, then settled onto the recliner for the night. I wouldn’t have minded driving her home tonight, but I was glad I didn’t have to. I was tired, and I was glad to get an extra hour of sleep. I closed my eyes, pulled my blanket up over my chest, and fell asleep.

“Oh dearest alpha, you up yet?” Jared called, walking in through the back door. My eyes flew open, immediately looking over at Bella, who had also woken up from the yelling.

“We missed you on patrol last night.” Paul added. I groaned, could their timing be any worse? I looked over at Bella, expecting questions, but instead saw her rubbing her eyes, apparently not awake enough to process the boys’ words. The boys walked over then, both stopping in their tracks when they saw Bella laying on the couch. The look of shock, and then guilt, on their faces was comical, and I would’ve lost it laughing if I wasn’t annoyed with them for nearly spilling the secret. As it was I couldn’t hold back a huff of laughter.

“Hey, Bella. Sam.” Jared said nervously. Bella gave a little wave and yawned.

“So what’s going on here?” Paul asked with a smirk.

“We were watching a movie…” Bella trailed off, before quickly sitting up. “Shit. My dad.”

“He knows you’re here, I called him when I woke up last night.” I said, and she visibly relaxed.

“What did he say?” She asked, narrowing her eyes as the boys still looked back and forth between us.

“He said he was fine with you staying over, and something about me being a good kid. And respectful, I think?”

“Oh god.” Bella groaned, putting her head in her hands. “He thinks we’re together. Like together together.”

“Is he wrong?” Paul said under his breath with a snicker.

“Can it, Lahote.” Bella said with a glare, throwing her pillow at Paul.

“We should probably head out soon if we have to stop at Bella’s.” Jared added.

“Hiking trip, right.” Bella said, shaking her head a little. “Breakfast here or at my place?”

“I have cereal but that's about it.” I replied. “I really need to go shopping.”

“So my place. I can whip up some breakfast sandwiches for the road.” Bella decided.

“I just have to change then we can head out.” I said, then went upstairs to my bedroom. I put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, throwing a heavy sweatshirt on top. I probably wouldn’t really need it, but it would look weird if I didn’t dress warm. Especially being up in the mountains this time of year, even with my sweatshirt I was underdressed. I came back downstairs to an argument.

“Well it’s a waste of gas. Bad for the environment and whatnot.” Jared was saying. “Leave it here and you can come back with us after.”

“Technically I’ll be using the same amount of gas,” Bella argued. “I’d just be using it now instead of later.”

“So you secretly hate the planet, is what you’re saying.” Paul added.

“I need my truck, I can’t just leave it here forever.” Bella said, rolling her eyes.

“What are you three bickering about?” I asked with a smirk.

“I drove here last night, and I need to get my truck back to Forks. I said I was gonna drive it back now, and these two are apparently very concerned about my carbon footprint.” Bella replied.

“I think they’re just trying to make an excuse for you to hang out here after the hike.” I said with a laugh.

“You two could’ve just said that instead of arguing with me.” Bella grumbled, before walking out the door and to my truck.

“Ladies first.” Paul said, opening the door for Bella.

“No way. I want shotgun. You two can squeeze in the back.” Bella shot back. The boys got in the back without complaint, and we started the drive to Forks.

“Who’s riding with us today?” Jared asked.

“Ben and Ang.” Bella replied. “I’m thinking they sit in the back with Jared and I’ll sit in the middle seat up here?”

“Why does Paul get to sit up front?” Jared complained.

“It’s gonna be a tight squeeze in the back, and you’re a little smaller than him. It just makes more sense.” Bella said with a shrug.

“Take that, squirt.” Paul said with a snicker.

“And you’re more…” She paused, thinking of the word. “Inoffensive than Paul.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Paul asked, jaw dropped in mock offense.

“I think you know exactly what I mean.” Bella added, rolling her eyes.

“You really gonna let this stand, Sam. She called Jared small and me an asshole.” Paul argued jokingly.

“She didn’t say that.” I replied with a laugh.

“Well if the shoe fits.” Bella said with a shrug.

“I am hurt. Deeply hurt.” Paul said, hand over his heart.

“You are kinda an asshole.” Jared added.

“But you’re our asshole.” Bella said, before pausing. “That sounded wrong, but you know what I mean.” She added with a laugh.

Notes:

Heyyyyyy sorry anyone who may have been waiting since april or whatever for this..... Classic ao3 author excuses blah blah blah I'm back now.... I also feel especially assholeish cause this is one of my faves and i am sincerely sorry i left y'all hanging..... Oopsies

Chapter 39: *~*The Moose*~*

We got to my house about a quarter after 8. The driveway was empty, my dad probably having left early to go fishing. The boys followed me up the stairs, waiting as I unlocked the door.

“Make yourselves at home. I’ll get breakfast started then you can take over, Sam, while I get ready.” I said, heading right to the kitchen and taking things out from the fridge. Sam followed me to the kitchen, while the boys looked around.

“Bacon or sausage?” I called to the boys, who were now flopped on my couch.

“Both. Both is good.” Jared replied.

“What he said.” Paul added. I rolled my eyes, then grabbed both packages out of the fridge.

I got the food started, then went upstairs to change. It wasn’t too cold today, but Sam had warned me that it would be colder there. I put on a waffle knit long sleeve under my warmest sweatshirt, and added a pair of warm leggings under my jeans. I threw my hair into a loose braid, then went back downstairs. Sam was almost done with the food, and I got back to work assembling the sandwiches.

“Foods up.” I called. We still had some time before we needed to meet the others, so we sat down at the table to eat. Once we finished, we tag teamed cleaning up the kitchen then went out the door. It was a short drive to Newton’s, and we got there right as everyone else was arriving.

“Bella!” Jess squealed, running over to me as soon as I got out of the truck.

“Morning, Jess.” I replied with a laugh.

“How do I look? I wanted to be warm but also look cute, you know?” Jess asked, turning around to show off her hiking outfit.

“Looking good, Jess, 10/10.” I assured her. “C’mon let’s go see everyone else.”

Jess and the boys followed me over to Mike’s suburban where everyone else was meeting up with their stuff. I didn’t have much, just some water bottles and granola bars in my backpack. I also added a small first aid kit, knowing my luck. We all loaded our things into the trunk, everything we needed packed into various backpacks.

“Okay.” Sam started, getting everyone’s attention. “Has anyone here been to the falls before?” Everyone shook their heads no, so he continued. “Directions are pretty straight forward. We’re gonna take 101 for about 30 miles or so, then take a right onto Sol Duc road. It’s a dead end road, about 14 miles long with the trailhead at the end.”

“Sounds easy enough.” Mike replied. “Let’s get going!”

“C’mon, Seth, you’re sitting with me and Quil in the back.” Jess said, grabbing his hand and dragging him along.

“I’m not sitting in the middle.” Leah said, looking between Jake and Embry.

“I gotta have a window seat too.” Embry added.

“Why?” Jake asked.

“So I can look at the view.” Embry replied. Jake shook his head, climbing into the middle seat next to Leah.

“Jared. Get in the back.” Sam said, giving him a stern look.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going.” He replied, climbing into the truck. Ang and Ben climbed in after him, then shut the back doors. Sam got in the driver’s seat, and I sat between him and Paul.

“Radio’s all yours.” Sam said to me as we pulled onto the main road.

“Why does Bella get to pick?” Paul complained.

“Cause I like Bella better than you.” He replied with a slight shrug.

“That joke doesn’t land when we all know it’s true.” Jared added with a laugh.

“When did I say I was joking? I am being completely serious.” Sam added with a straight face, and I lost it. Soon everyone was laughing, first at my laughter, then harder after seeing Paul’s pout. I flipped through a few radio stations, picking one that mostly played 80’s rock.

The ride went by quickly, and soon we were pulling into the trailhead parking lot with Mike right behind us. There were no other cars in the small lot, probably because of how late in the season we were. We all piled out of the truck, meeting up behind Mike’s suburban to get our stuff. I grabbed my stuff last, swinging on my backpack then turning to Sam.

“We ready?” I asked, looking to everyone for their agreement. “Lead the way, Sam.”

“There’s probably gonna be some snow after the falls, when we get closer to the lake, but it shouldn’t be too bad this time of year.” Sam said as we started our hike.

“I bet Bella’s gonna love that.” Jess added with a laugh.

“If I don’t make it out alive, tell my Dad I love him. And that it’s all Sam’s fault for planning this trip.” I added seriously.

“I wonder what the chief would do.” Mike mused. “He wanted to take Tyler’s license away after the van.”

“The van?” Embry questioned. I sighed deeply before replying, making the whole Forks crew and Sam laugh.

“Like a week after I moved to Forks it snowed, and the whole parking lot at school was iced over. This kid Tyler’s van slid on the ice and slammed into my truck that I was standing directly in front of. And so they called an ambulance, I had to wear a stupid neck brace, and my dad panicked. All in front of the entire student body of Forks high.” I replied, face getting a little warm just talking about it. “They didn’t make the guy I was with wear a neck brace, and the van actually hit him.” I complained.

“All he had to do was give them that look and they’d do whatever he wanted. Like right this way Mr. Cullen.” Jess mocked. “What a dick.”

“I didn’t know it actually hit him.” Eric added.

“He had his back to it, but it totally hit him. He was the traitor who told the EMT I hit my head on the pavement. And I did hit it pretty hard, but still. Traitor.” I replied.

“Was everyone okay?” Seth asked.

“Tyler needed stitches in his face from the glass, but Bella and Edward were both fine. Not even a scratch.” Ang replied.

“They didn’t even look at Edward, he just said he was fine and they let him leave.” I complained.

“I would’ve never passed up a chance to be checked out by Dr. Daddy.” Jess added absently.

“Oh my god, Jess.” Ang exclaimed as I burst into laughter.

“What? I mean, fuck the Cullens, but I have eyes, you know?” Jess defended.

“He had a wife. And kids. That were our age.” A laughing Eric added.

“All the kids were adopted, it’s not like he’s old enough to have kids our age. You cannot convince me that that man was a day over like 25 years old. There’s no way.” Jess replied. I lost it even more at that, starting to cry from laughing so hard. God, if only they knew.

“Are you okay?” Paul asked me, smirking.

“Not even a little. What the hell, Jess.” I replied through the laughter.

“Whatever. You all know I'm right.” Jess said.

“You guys remember when Quil had a crush on Embry’s mom?” Jake added with a smirk. Jess’ eyes lit up with curiosity, and Quil blushed.

“I was like twelve, and like Jess said, I have eyes.” Quil replied.

“Did you really have to bring my mom into this?” Embry complained, and we all laughed.

“Tiffany’s a beautiful woman.” Leah said seriously, patting Embry on the shoulder.

“How much farther till the falls, Sam?” I asked.

“We’re almost there, probably 10 or 15 minutes away.” He replied.

“Did you bring your camera, Bella?” Jess asked.

“It’s in the little pocket of my bag if you wanna grab it.” I answered.

“Sweet.” Jess said, rifling through my bag as we walked.

We kept chatting as we walked, the clicking of the camera a constant noise in the background. Jess and Leah swapped off, Jess playing Paparazzi and Leah taking pictures of the scenery.

“I can hear the water.” Jared said, picking up the pace.

“Really?” I asked. “I can’t hear anything yet.” We walked a little faster and sure enough within minutes we reached the falls.

“It’s beautiful.” I said softly, turning to Sam with a big grin. He matched my grin, moving to stand next to me where I was leaning on the railing of the bridge.

“Was it worth the hike?” He asked with a smirk. I rolled my eyes before replying.

“You were right, it was worth it.”

“Only three more miles till the lake.” He added, smiling at my groan.

“I’m not built for this.” I complained. “I have really tiny legs, I’m a very small person.”

“I thought you said 5’4 was perfectly average?” Sam asked innocently.

“Shut up.” I grumbled, shoving a laughing Sam with my shoulder.

“Is Sam being mean to you?” Jared asked, coming up behind me with Paul.

“I can beat him up if you want.” Paul added.

“Seriously? You don’t even know what I did.” Sam said with a huff.

“You were right, Sam, they do like me better.” I added.

“Damn right.” Paul agreed.

“I feed you, let you spend all your time in my home, and this is how you repay me?” Sam asked, hand over his heart. Both boys shrugged, not bothering to reply.

“C’mon, guys.” Jess called. “Let’s keep going.”

Sam took the lead again, with his boys right behind him. I lagged behind a bit, walking with Jess and Seth in the back of the group. I really wasn’t built for this. We played would you rather as we walked, doubling over in laughter at some of the more creative options. I never thought I’d have this much fun on the hike, but today was proving to be one of the best days I’ve had in months already. It was a little funny to think about how many of my ‘best days’ were spent with these people when not too long ago I was ignoring them, or didn’t know some of them at all.

“You think we’ll see any deer at the lake?” Eric asked.

“Just because it’s called deer lake doesn’t mean there's like always deer there. Like it’s just a name.” Jess replied.

“I mean, there could be deer there.” Quil added.

“When are deer even out? Like when do they do stuff?” Seth asked.

“I don’t know. Are deer nocturnal?” Ben replied.

“Technically they’re crepuscular.” Sam added.

“That’s totally a fake word.” Jess said, narrowing her eyes at Sam.

“I swear it’s not.” Sam defended. “It means they’re most active in the twilight hours.”

“Why do you even know that?” Jess asked.

“Deer are closely related to Sam’s favorite animal, the moose.” I said matter-of-factly, and everyone laughed.

“Why moose?” Ang asked.

“I don’t know, I just think they’re cool.” Sam said with a shrug.

“Are moose, what was it? Crespular?” Jess asked.

“Crepuscular. And yes, they are.” Sam replied.

“I think I’d want to be a moose if I was an animal.” Mike added.

“Really?” Leah asked. “I think I’d want to be a hawk, maybe.”

“Seth would totally be a puppy.” Jess added, ruffling his hair.

“And you would be one of those really loud birds that make that laughing sound.” Paul teased. “What are they called?”

“Kookaburras?” Ang suggested.

“Yeah, a kookaburra.” Paul confirmed with a smirk.

“I’d wanna be an iguana. Or some other big lizard.” Eric said.

“I think I’d like to be a beaver.” Quil added.

“Ang would be a cat. But a big cat like a leopard or some kind of lion, I think.” Ben said, looking consideringly at his girlfriend.

“I think Sam would be a wolf.” I added, noticing Jared’s eyes widen before making eye contact with Paul.

“And I think you’d be a squirrel.” Sam said, and we all laughed at the mental image.

“A squirrel?” I questioned with a laugh. “Why?”

“They’re small.” He replied with a shrug. “And accident prone.” My mouth dropped open and I smacked Sam’s arm.

“Rude.” I added.

“But true.” Jake added, ducking out of the way when I went to smack him, too.

“Yeah, you always see squirrels falling out of trees, or hanging upside down off a bird feeder.” Embry added.

“Or getting hit by cars.” Jess added with a snort.

“Jess!” Ang exclaimed. “We talked about this, you can’t just say that!”

“I hate all of you.” I replied, shaking with laughter.

“I think getting hit by a car as like a person and not like in another car is probably the funniest thing you can do. Only if you’re like fine, though.” Quil added.

“You won’t be laughing when you’re the one being loaded into the ambulance.” I grumbled.

“Oh no, he probably would be laughing.” Jake replied, looking Quil up and down like he was imagining him on the stretcher.

“I think maybe I’d want to be an eel.” I said, smirking at Sam. “I bet you’d love that.”

“I told you that in confidence.” Sam said with a mock offended look.

“Told her what?” Ang asked.

“That eels freak him out.” I answered with a smirk. Sam rolled his eyes at me, so I continued. “When he was 8 he went to the aquarium and this big puke green eel was stalking him through the glass. Freaked him out so bad he cried, and he still hates eels.” Everyone laughed, Paul and Jared most of all. Sam was shaking his head, but laughed along with us. We split up into separate conversations then, Sam falling back a bit to join me in the back of the group.

“You’re not afraid we’ll get lost without your guidance?” I asked, smiling up at Sam. He laughed, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t think it’s possible to get lost at this point, but I’ll keep an eye on them from here.” He replied with a lopsided smile.

“So you’ve done this hike before, right? When was the last time you were out here?” I asked.

“I think it was 3 years ago, maybe four? It was the beginning of the summer, and Aunt Shannon was visiting for the weekend. She was on a bit of a photography kick so she dragged Mom and I out here for the day.”

“Four years is a long time, are you sure you’re qualified to be our guide?” I questioned.

“I’m like an elephant, Bella. I never forget.” He replied seriously, tapping a finger on the side of his head. I burst into laughter, Sam quickly joining.

“Do you think we’ll get to any of your other hiking spots this year?” I asked.

“We could probably still do the Bogachiel river trail, it’s only 25 minutes from Forks. We shouldn’t need the whole day, so we can probably get to it before it gets too cold.” He replied. “I’m a little surprised you’re planning our next trip before this one is even over. We haven’t even gotten to the hard part yet.” I shrugged before his words caught up with me.

“Hard part?” I questioned. “What was it you said when convincing me to come? Oh yeah, ‘it’s an easy trail, just long.’ There shouldn’t be a hard part.”

“It’s not too bad, it just gets pretty steep and rocky the closer we get.” He added, laughing at the look on my face.

“Sam, I’m gonna die.” I whined.

“You’ll be fine, I’ll be right next to you. I promise I won’t let you fall.” He assured me.

“Again, you also promised me it was an easy trail. I don’t know how much I trust you right now.” I replied, narrowing my eyes at him. He laughed, putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side.

“I think our matchmaking worked. Look at Eric and Katie.” Sam said, nodding towards Eric, who was holding Katie’s hand as she climbed over a big root in the trail.

“Cute. But don’t try to change the subject, Uley.” I said in a faux-stern voice.

“I don’t think you’ve ever ‘Uley’d’ me before, you must be really mad.” He said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes, ignoring his comment as I looked at the forest around me. We didn’t talk much the rest of the way to the lake, both of us content to just take in the views around us. The trail did get pretty treacherous the closer we got, but I didn’t stumble, safely tucked under Sam’s arm.

Notes:

This one is almost entirely dialogue, which was honestly so fun for me to write and took like 5 min. i feel like once i get in the groove the characters sorta speak for themselves?? crazy. sorta random but based on my extensive use of google maps while writing this im fairly confident i could go to the forks area and navigate to all the twilight and my personal versions locations without gps... I also feel Bella's "i am a small person, im not made for this" attitude on a deeply personal attitude. im five feet tall and this shit's tough. Also I love the concept of the boys being super bad at keeping the secret but bella not noticing/ being like that's a problem for another day.... The puke green eel story is a true story, i didn't cry but they do still freak me out big time lol.

Chapter 40: Ah, Young Love

No one thought to wear a watch, so we didn’t know what time it was when we reached the lake. But the boys had been complaining the last 10 minutes that they were hungry, so I’d guess it was right around noon. They had surprisingly accurate internal clocks just due to their appetites. We didn’t walk very far around the lake before deciding on a place for our picnic. Ang pulled a few blankets out of her bag, passing them off to the guys to lay out while she helped Ben unpack the food. They’d packed enough sandwiches for us each to have two, and quickly passed them out between us. There was plenty of bickering over flavor, and a few slightly squished sandwiches being tossed and traded between us. Bella sat next to me on our blanket, with Paul on her left.

“You gonna eat that?” Paul asked, gesturing to the remaining half of Bella’s second sandwich. Paul and Jared had finished eating 15 minutes ago, and had been goofing around as the rest of us ate. Bella took one last bite before handing her sandwich to Paul.

“Go for it.” She said, laughing as he kissed her cheek in thanks.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Jared asked.

“You didn’t ask.” Bella said with a shrug.

“Cause taking people’s food is rude, I was being polite.” He argued.

“That's what you get for being polite.” Paul said, already done eating.

“God, I don’t wanna get up.” Jess said, leaning back with her head tilted back in the sun. It was warm in the sun, most of us had taken off our outer layers and were just sitting in our t-shirts. With the exception of Bella, who was still bundled up in her thick sweatshirt.

“It’s four miles back to the trailhead, right? We have plenty of time to just hang around.” Quil said.

“I’m gonna head down to the water. Anyone else wanna come?” Katie asked. Eric immediately jumped up, Leah and Embry right behind them.

“Come on, boys.” Bella said, Paul and Jared both trailing behind her as she made her way to the water. I smiled at the sight before joining them.

“I didn’t think it’d be this big.” Bella said as the four of us walked along the shore.

“That’s what she said.” Paul said, snickering with Jared.

“Shut it, Lahote.” Bella replied, laughing as she shoved Paul. “I was talking about the lake.”

“Really?” Jared asked. “I thought you were talking about Sam’s…” Jared trailed off, no doubt due to the elbow I jabbed in his ribs. He doubled over, laughing through a cough. Paul was doubled over, too, from laughing, and Bella was smiling at us with a faint blush on her cheeks. I felt my own cheeks warm, and hoped the boys wouldn’t notice. God, they’d be insufferable if they did. More insufferable than they already were. We walked along the water for a while, laughing and joking together like we always did.

“I’m just saying that sometimes it’s good to steal candy from kids. Like all that sugar can’t be good for their little brains.” Jared said, walking backwards in front of us.

“And I’m sure their parents appreciate that when their kids come crying about the mean boy who took their lollipops.” Paul said. Bella and I couldn’t stop laughing as the boys came up with more and more ridiculous things to argue about. Jared stumbled a few times, still walking backwards without looking where he was going.

“He’s definitely gonna fall.” Bella said, laughing as Jared tripped again.

“He’ll be fine.” I said with a laugh.

“Yeah, Bella, I’m fine. I do this all the time.” Jared said with a confident smirk, right as his foot caught and he went down. Hard. “Shit!” He exclaimed, all of us dissolving into laughter.

“Idiot.” Paul said, giving him a hand up.

“You good?” I asked as Jared checked himself over.

“‘Tis but a scratch.” He said, holding his arm out to show us a long, deep gash on the back of his arm.

“Oh god.” Bella said, hand over her mouth.

“It’s not that bad.” Jared said, crouching down at the edge of the lake and splashing water onto the wound.

“No, don’t put lake water in it! You know how much bacteria could be in there?” Bella exclaimed, looking a little green. “C’mon I have a first aid kit back in my backpack.”

“Seriously, Bella, it’ll be gone in a few hours.” Jared assured her as she dragged him towards the blankets, Paul and I trailing behind them. I sighed, mentally facepalming as he let that little wolf tidbit slip.

“Don’t downplay it, you probably need stitches.” Bella said, rolling her eyes at him.

“No, really.” Jared added, doubling down. “We heal fast.” Jared looked back at us for our agreement, mouth dropping open as he realized what he said. I raised an eyebrow, channeling the disappointed dad they always said I resembled. Paul was dying laughing, the ass. Bella didn’t pay us any mind, dragging Jared over and depositing him on the blanket next to her backpack. She pulled out a surprisingly well stocked first aid kit and got to work. She probably hadn’t noticed, but the gash was already a lot shallower than it had been.

“Do you want me to do it?” I offered to Bella, who was breathing shallowly through her mouth. “You’re looking a little green.”

“I’m almost done, it’s fine.” She said, applying ointment and a bandage. “It’s the smell of the blood. That makes me sick.” She added at our questioning looks. “I’m honestly surprised I didn’t faint.”

“You faint from the smell of blood?” I asked, thinking of the irony. The boys must’ve had the same thought based on their smirks.

“I practically had to carry her to the nurse last spring when we did blood typing in bio. And she didn’t even stick her finger.” Mike piped up from his spot on the other blanket.

“I got out of gym from that so it was worth it.” Bella added with a shrug as she rinsed her hands with water from her bottle.

“Are we ready to keep going?” Leah asked, walking back over to the picnic area with Embry, Eric, and Katie. She got mostly nods and some shrugs in response, and we all looked over to Jess and Seth, who were curled up together napping on the blanket.

“Who’s gonna wake them?” Jacob asked.

“C’mon, Jess, it’s time to wake up.” Quil said, being more gentle than I’d ever seen him.

“Huh?” Jess said, groggily sitting up and leaning into Quil’s side.

“We’re gonna keep going.” He replied.

“Sethy, wake up.” Jess said, gently nudging the younger boy.

“I’m up.” Seth said before curling further into the sweatshirt he was using as a pillow.

“C’mon, bud.” Leah said, walking over to the blanket and roughly pulling Seth to his feet. He stumbled a little before laughing, shoving his sister in retaliation. We all packed up our stuff, and started making our way around the lake. Once we circled the lake, we were back at the trail we had taken before. We started along the trail, going slower than before down the steep path. It only took a couple steps for me to realize Bella wasn’t following anymore. I looked back, seeing her looking apprehensive as she looked down the trail.

“Maybe I’ll just stay here. I didn’t mind camping, I’ll be fine.” Bella said, and I chuckled.

“C’mon, it’s not that bad.” I replied.

“For you, maybe. Small legs and lack of coordination, remember?” She added. I walked back up to her, and turned around.

“Climb on.”

“What?” She questioned.

“Climb on. I’ll give you a piggyback ride.” I replied.

“No way. Then I’ll die for sure.” She said, backing away from me slowly.

“I’m not gonna drop you, Bella. Climb on.” I rolled my eyes as she cautiously walked over. She grabbed onto my shoulders, doing a little jump to get on. I wrapped her legs around me, making sure she was comfortable, then caught up with the rest of the group. They didn’t notice our absence, too absorbed with Quil and Jared and their stories about wild animals they shouldn't have been messing with.

“This is actually pretty nice.” Bella said, and I smiled up at her over my shoulder. “Hey! Eyes on the trail, Sam.” I rolled my eyes, but looked back at the trail nonetheless. Bella continued, “Is this what it’s like for you? Being tall, I mean.”

“You’re a head higher than me right now, but pretty much.” I replied with a laugh.

“I didn’t think it would look this different.” She added, nearly falling backwards as she turned to look around.

“Careful.” I warned, tightening my hold on her legs.

“I want a piggyback ride.” Paul jokingly complained, getting everyone's attention. I looked up at Bella, knowing she’d be bright red.

“How did I miss that?” Jess said, shaking her head.

“You don’t notice much when Quil’s around.” Ang said with a pointed glance. Jess rolled her eyes, not embarrassed in the slightest.

“For such a nosy person you really can be oblivious sometimes.” Bella added.

“Okay, yeah, let's all just gang up on Jess now. I see how it is. Some friends you guys are. Jeez.” Jess jokingly replied.

“If it makes you feel better, Quil didn’t notice his sleeve was on fire a few days ago cause he was too busy gushing about you.” Jacob piped in, sending us all into fits of laughter.

“You know, that does make me feel better.” Jess said between giggles, nudging a blushing Quil with her shoulder.

“Ah, young love.” Seth deadpanned, and that was it. Jess sunk to the ground, laughing hysterically. Bella was crying from laughing so hard, holding onto my shoulders for dear life. The guys weren’t much better, Jacob was doubled over with his hands on his knees, Quil and Embry holding onto each other trying not to fall over. Seth was smug, laughing along as he saw everyone losing it. Leah was the most composed, wiping the tears from her eyes before snapping some pics of the chaos.

“Screw these guys, you’re my new best friend Sethy.” Jess said, wrapping an arm around Seth’s shoulders.

“I think we should be offended, but honestly I get it.” Mike added.

“Speak for yourself, Mike, I am offended.” Eric huffed dramatically. Katie rolled her eyes, her small smile showing how amused she was at his antics. I was a little proud of myself for that one. Inviting Katie, I mean. Maybe our meddling friends were right, sometimes a little push in the right direction was necessary. I glanced up at Bella, who was smiling softly at our friends. Jared caught my eye when I looked away, waggling his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes before pushing past him to start walking again.

“Back to it, people.” I added.

“Sir yes sir.” Jess replied with a mock salute. “You know, you’d probably make a good drill sergeant. I feel like you have that sorta energy. Like you’re very chill, but I think you could pull it off if you tried.” She added, much to the amusement of Jared and Paul.

“Thanks, I think?” I replied with a laugh.

“I don’t know,” Bella mused. “The boys don’t even listen to you.”

“I mean, we listen to him sometimes.” Jared added halfheartedly.

“We can’t listen to him all the time, the power would go to his head.” Paul said sadly, shaking his head. Bella laughed, and I rolled my eyes.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you boys to respect your elders?” Jess added with a snicker.

“Jess, I'm only a year and a half older than you.” I replied.

“And you’re already going gray. Sad, really.” She added. Suddenly I felt hands in my hair and I flinched.

“What are you doing, Bella?” I asked.

“Looking for gray hair. So far there’s none. And your hair is like really soft.” She replied.

“Thanks.” I said with a laugh.

“Oh yeah.” Jared piped in. “Sam uses like this fancy shampoo and conditioner. I can’t remember what it’s called but I always use it when I shower at his place and it smells really good.”

“It’s not really fancy, it's just not the 3 in 1 crap that you use.” I added.

“You seriously use 3 in 1?” Jess asked.

“Yeah, that’s not like weird though. Like how many things do you really need?” Jared defended.

“You can’t use just one thing. Like I have my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, deep conditioner that I use once a week, a bar of soap, and my loofah. Well the loofah probably doesn’t count cause it’s not really a shower product, just a thing that’s used in the shower, you know?” Jess replied, counting off each thing on her fingers. “So 6 things, not counting the loofah.”

“That can’t be normal.” Jared said, mildly disbelieving.

“That’s pretty average, it’s what I use.” Leah added, the rest of the girls nodding their agreement. Seth nodded too, and Quil and Ben looked a little sheepish. I huffed a laugh, expecting the next question before it came.

“So what stuff should I be using, not that I use the 3 in 1 stuff just checking I’m doing it right.” Quil asked Jess, rubbing the back of his neck. She went on to ramble off different brands and types of shampoos for the next 15 minutes.

“What were we even talking about?” Embry asked, looking overwhelmed from Jess’ rant.

“Sam being old.” Seth replied immediately.

“19 is not old.” I added, shaking my head.

“Well, I’m 14 so I’m pretty sure that does make you old.” Seth shot back.

“I’m gonna be nineteen in a couple months, Seth. Are you calling me old?” Leah asked threateningly.

“Of course not!” Seth replied, taking a big step back from his sister.

“Who has my camera? Can I have it?” Bella asked.

“I got it.” Leah said, passing the camera over my head to Bella.

“Smile, Sam.” Bella said, holding the camera out in front of us then blinding me with the flash. “Oops! How do I turn that off? Okay I think I got it.” She took a few more pictures of us then started snapping away, getting pictures of everyone from her higher vantage point.

“We should take a group photo when we get back to the falls.” Katie suggested.

“Definitely.” Mike agreed.

“Does the camera have a timer? Like so we can set it down to take it?” Ang asked.

“I think so?” Bella said. “Jess, do you know?”

“Yeah, it does. It’s the little button on the left. I’ll show you when we get there.” She replied.

“How far are we anyway?” Ben asked.

“Probably 20 minutes or so from the falls.” I answered.

“We’re that far already?” Bella questioned, turning back to look at the hill behind us.

“Time flies when you’re having fun!” Eric replied in the peppiest voice he could muster, sending us all into fits of laughter.

“Oh my god, never do that again!” Katie said in between giggles.

“No, no, no! You gotta do your whole speech at graduation like that!” Mike added.

“What speech?” Eric asked.

“The valedictorian speech, duh.” Jess replied.

“They’re not announcing that till like November.” Eric added, sounding confused.

“Who cares when they officially announce it, we all know it’ll be you.” Bella said, and I could tell from her tone she was rolling her eyes.

“Which, like, god knows how you get the grades you get when you’re late to your first class like every single day.” Jess added.

“I was 5 minutes late to English the other day and Mr. Berty gave me a detention. You walked in 5 minutes after me and all you got was a ‘Good morning, Mr. Yorkie.’ It’s honestly ridiculous.” Ben complained.

“It’s the same at our school with Embry.” Quil started. “The three of us got caught hiding all the chairs from the science room a couple weeks ago, and the teacher was like ‘we’ll talk about your punishments later.’ And so I get 3 days detention.”

“So did I.” Jacob added.

“And when we get to detention, and lo and behold, Embry’s not there.” Quil finished with a huff.

“I didn’t even have to apologize.” Embry added with a shrug.

“Why were you hiding the chairs?” Katie asked.

“We were bored.” Jacob replied, shrugging.

“You guys get more detentions than us now.” Paul added.

“And what do you two do to get detention so much?” Ang asked.

“Fights.” Jared replied seriously. The Forks crew, with the exception of Bella who knew them all too well, laughed, thinking he was joking.

“I don’t know why they’d even give us detention like all the teacher’s know we’re friends.” Paul complained.

“You broke Jared’s nose in the middle of the cafeteria last June.” Jacob added with a laugh.

“And now he knows better.” Paul said seriously, and we all burst into laughter.

“What do you even mean by that?” Jess exclaimed.

“He doesn’t know better.” I added, rolling my eyes. “You two still get in fist fights every other day.”

“Delinquents, both of you.” Bella said in a stern voice.

“You’re starting to sound like Sam.” Paul said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, what happened to us being sweet, innocent boys?” Jared added.

“That sounds a little creepy.” Leah said with a laugh.

“I never said you were innocent. I know better.” Bella added, and I couldn’t hold in a snort.

Notes:

Sometimes a found family is a couple that isn't actually a couple yet and their 13 fellow teenager children.... There's nothing wrong with that! also some of y'all may have noticed my habit of making jared have very random stories like today's about stealing candy from children... I just feel like those out of left field opinions seem very on brand for him. he's so dumb. i love him. also "and now he knows better" "what do you even mean by that??!?!?" i love a good vague comeback that doesn't quite make sense.

Chapter 41: Raised by Wolves

It wasn’t long before we could hear the water, and soon we were back on the bridge. I awkwardly slid off of Sam’s back, grabbing the arm he held out to keep from falling over. He really was tall, so it was a bit of a drop down. It was that moment when I realized how far Sam carried me, and I instantly felt my cheeks warm.

“Oh my god, Sam, you carried me for 3 miles.” I said incredulously.

“Mhm.” He agreed.

“You could’ve told me to get off! Like aren’t you exhausted?” I asked.

“I’m fine, Bella. You’re not that heavy.” He said with a shrug.

“Still. 3 miles.” I added, shaking my head.

“Okay come on people let’s take some pictures.” Jess said, herding everyone over to one side. “Bella, camera please.” I passed it over, then went to stand next to Sam. “Okay this is gonna take a picture every 15 seconds and I have it set to do like 20 so get it together everyone.” Jess added, before posing with Quil and Seth. Right before the camera went off, I felt Sam put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. I smiled up at him, barely registering the click of the camera. We posed nicely for a few more pictures before doing some goofy ones, including a picture of all of us picking up Seth. And then one of us dropping Seth. Oops.

“This was a good trip.” I said to Sam, looking out over the water again while Jess and Leah made sure we got some decent group photos.

“Even hikings fun if you’ve got good company.” He agreed with a smirk, poking fun at my earlier worries about the 8 mile trek.

“Bella, Sam, come on.” Jess called, gathering everyone so we could keep going.

“Need me to carry you again?” Sam asked, smiling at the blush I felt warming my cheeks.

“I think I’m alright.” I replied, nudging him before following the group. It didn’t take long for us to reach the parking lot, and soon we were on our way home. We sat in the same spots as we did on the way down, and I still manned the radio much to Paul’s chagrin. We spent the ride singing along to the pop station I put on, occasionally turning it down to talk about something that happened on the hike today. There were so many of us today, and so we all had stories to tell. Paul had a sharp eye, recalling every time someone tripped or stumbled. Especially Eric, who was distracted by Katie for most of the trip. Sam took great pleasure in retelling how Jared wiped out, with Paul cutting in to tell them about my queasiness at all the blood. The ride flew by, and it felt like only 20 minutes had passed when Sam pulled into the Newton’s parking lot. We all piled out of the truck, meeting up by Mike’s car to gran our stuff and say our goodbyes. I joined the boys back in Sam’s truck, Jared and Paul taking the backseat again.

“Where to, Sammy?” I asked, smirking as he rolled his eyes.

“Sammy?” Paul questioned, eyes lit up with glee.

“Don’t even think about it.” Sam warned. “We’ll go back to my place first, and then maybe we could go out to dinner tonight.”

“Are we invited?” Jared asked, winking when we made eye contact.

“Not anymore.” Sam replied with a smirk.

“C’mon, Sam, it was just a joke.” Jared whined.

“Yeah, Sam, you gonna let us starve?” Paul added. Sam rolled his eyes before turning to me.

“What do you think, Bella, should we let them come?”

“I guess we could let them come this time.” I replied with a shrug.

“Thanks, Bella.” Jared said in a monotone, like a kid learning about manners for the first time.

“Yeah, thank you, Bella. You won’t regret it.” Paul added with a wink, and we all started laughing.

“You two are ridiculous.” I said between giggles. We spent the rest of the ride talking about any random thing that came to mind. We pulled into the driveway at 4:40, piling out of the truck and into Sam’s living room. We all kicked our shoes off before going to our unofficial spots. Sam sat in his recliner, and I took the spot on the couch closest to him. Paul took the opposite end of the couch, with Jared in between. Jared grabbed the remote from the coffee table and started flipping through channels. Him and Paul debated what we should watch, eventually settling for some old black and white movie, the kind with lots of shootouts and guys in suits and fedoras. We didn’t talk much, mostly watching the movie and laughing at the nearly impossible shots the main character somehow pulls off.

“Dinner?” Jared suggested as soon as the movie was over.

“Sure.” I replied, Paul and Sam nodding their agreement. “We should clean your cut again before we go, you probably bled through the bandage.”

“It’s fine, Bella, I’ll do it later.” Jared said, waving me off.

“Do you want an infection?” I asked rhetorically, dragging him to the stairs. “Where’s your first aid kit?” I asked Sam.

“Under the sink.” He replied, looking like he wanted to go with us but ultimately deciding against it. Jared let me drag him upstairs, and sat dutifully on the lid of the toilet while I got out the supplies I’d need. I gently peeled off the old bandage and wiped away the dried blood.

“What the hell?” I muttered.

“What?” Jared asked, looking up at me.

“I swear your cut was way worse than this back at the lake.” I answered incredulously. I must’ve misremembered, all the blood must’ve made it look worse than it was.

“I told you it wasn’t that bad. Arm wounds bleed a lot, I think. That’s probably what made it look so bad.” Jared replied, his calm voice betrayed by the way he was nervously rubbing the back of his neck. It seemed like he was lying, and not very well. I shook my head a little, dismissing the thought as I deftly applied antibiotic ointment and a fresh bandage to the cut. Jared helped me clean up the bathroom, then we joined a slightly tense Sam and Paul downstairs.

“Okay, we’re ready.” I said with a smile, and just like that the odd tension seemed to break. We all pulled our shoes on and went back out to the truck.

“Where’re we going?” Paul asked.

“There’s one restaurant in town.” Sam answered. “Figured it’s a two minute drive for dinner there versus the 25 to Forks.”

“That’s fine with me.” I added, looking to the boys for agreement.

“How long do you think the wait’ll be on a Saturday?” Jared asked. “I’m starving.” He added, punctuated by the sound of his stomach growling. We all laughed, Jared smiling sheepishly but laughing along nonetheless.

“It shouldn’t be too long, we're probably past the usual dinner rush.” Sam replied as he parked the truck.

“Good. I didn’t want to have to eat Paul.” Jared added as he got out. “I mean I could do it, but I don’t think he’d taste good.”

“Like you’d be able to take me.” Paul shot back, rolling his eyes. We walked into the restaurant, the boys bickering behind us while we waited for the hostess. Sam’s assumption was correct, there wasn’t anyone else waiting, and it looked like there were a few open tables. We were seated a few minutes later, Sam sitting next to me with the boys across from us.

“So.” Paul started, looking between me and Sam. “What are we doing tomorrow?”

“I have some laundry to catch up on, and I should probably spend some time with my dad. I’ve hardly seen him since I’ve been back.” I replied.

“Okay. So we’re hanging out at Bella’s tomorrow.” Paul decided, the waitress arriving before we could reply. She took our orders, then we got back to our conversation.

“I don’t think she was offering to have us over.” Sam said dryly.

“So we can’t come over?” Jared questioned, narrowing his eyes. I laughed before replying.

“You’re welcome to come over, and stay for dinner. But I’m not gonna be doing anything exciting.” I said with a shrug. “I have to grab groceries too and probably clean my room. It’s still a mess from packing and unpacking.”

“That’s fine.” Paul said with a shrug. “Sam needs groceries too and it’s not like we have anything better to do.”

“Then I guess we’re coming over tomorrow.” Sam said. “Around lunch time? We can grab takeout from the diner on our way.”

“I definitely plan on sleeping in tomorrow so that works great.” I replied.

“God, me too.” Jared said, sighing dramatically. “I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately."

“You sleep like 8 or 9 hours most nights.” Sam added, raising an eyebrow.

“I know.” Jared sighed. “It’s been so long since I got a good, solid 10 hours.” I huffed a laugh, turning to see Sam rolling his eyes.

“I think I get like maybe 7 hours most nights.” I added.

“How are you alive?” Jared questioned incredulously.

“It’s not that weird.” I defended.

“Do you stay up really late or something?” Paul asked.

“Not really. I just wake up a lot. Like from nightmares and stuff and I can’t always fall back asleep.” I answered with a shrug.

“I can never fall back asleep if I wake up.” Sam added. “Doesn’t help when these two are over crashing around in the middle of the night.”

“We only made night breakfast that one time.” Jared defended, Paul snickering next to him.

“What’s night breakfast?” I asked, looking between the grinning boys and an exasperated Sam.

“Well, technically the day starts at 12 am.” Paul started.

“And everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And the first meal of the day.” Jared continued.

“And so one time, I woke up at like 1:30 in the morning, I think, and I was hungry.” Paul added.

“And so he woke me up and was like ‘hey Jared, my very bestest friend, won’t you help me make the most magnificent breakfast feast on this fine morning.’ And of course I agreed, being the amazing friend I am.”

“And so night breakfast was born.” Paul finished with a shrug.

“I woke from a dead sleep thinking someone was breaking in and it was those idiots trying to see who could flip a pancake the highest.” Sam added with an eye roll. I laughed, the boys smiling fondly as if it was a cherished memory.

“I would’ve won if the handle didn’t break off my pan.” Paul said.

“It was the crash of the pan falling on the floor that woke me up.” Sam told me, shaking his head at the memory.

The rest of dinner was great. I always had fun with the boys, and it was great to spend the whole day hanging out together. We were at the restaurant for a while, getting dessert too. By the time we made it back to Sam’s I was exhausted, much to Sam’s amusement since he carried me for nearly a third of the hike. I grabbed my bag from inside and said my goodbyes, reminding them I’d see them tomorrow. The drive home felt quick after the hour drive each way to the falls, and I felt myself perking up by the time I got home. I went inside, locking up behind me. My dad was on his recliner, half asleep with some game on tv.

“Hey, Dad.” I said as I walked into the living room. He jumped a little, closer to sleep than I thought he was.

“Hey, Bells. How was the hike?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.

“It was really fun. The falls were beautiful.”

“I’m glad you had a good time. I’m off to bed. Night, Bells.”

“Night, Dad.”

We both went upstairs, me to my bedroom and Dad to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I unpacked my backpack first, taking out all the stuff I brought for today and setting my camera on my desk. After that I found my pajamas, and went to the bathroom to shower. I wasn’t really gross from the hike or anything, but a hot shower felt incredible after being in the chilly weather all day. After my shower I went back to my room, shutting the door behind me. I botted up my desktop, digging around my desk drawer for the adapter plug for my camera. I found it, plugging my camera in and starting the upload process for today's pictures. It took a while, thanks to Jess and Leah and the few hundred pictures they took. I got up from my desk as it downloaded, going over to my radio and turning on some quiet music. I looked around my room as I waited, and I really did have some work to do tomorrow. Dealing with the clothes would be the first order of business, and hopefully one I could get done before Sam and the boys got here. I didn’t really mind them seeing the mess, but there really were clothes everywhere. Not even dirty clothes, really, just everything I’d taken out and tossed aside while packing. I started sorting the clothes as I waited, trying to figure out what was dirty among the various piles on my floor. I was about half way done when the download finished, and I decided to finish in the morning.

I had to hand it to them, Jess and Leah took really good photos. I scrolled through them, absently starring ones I wanted to print out later. I made a note to look into getting some of Leah’s pictures framed, a couple prints would look amazing downstairs, and I’m sure Sue would like a few for their house too. Jess had some amazing candid shots, but by the 10th picture I had started to notice something. It started with the first pictures by the falls. There were a few shots of Sam and I looking out over the water. I looked awestruck, and it was probably one of my favorite pictures of myself. Sam had the same look on his face, only he wasn’t looking at the scenery. He was looking down at me, smiling softly. I finally understood what Jess and Ang meant about the way Sam looked at me. But as I scrolled further I realized it wasn’t just him. For every picture of Sam looking at me like that there was one of me doing the same. I felt my heart racing. I hardly recognized myself, especially not the ridiculously fond look on my face. God, this is why they teased us so much. I mean how oblivious can we be to our own feelings? Or me to mine at least. I can’t deny it now, we didn’t look like we were just friends. But part of me was terrified. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, and what if Sam didn’t actually feel that way about me. I mean how many times have I teased him about those fond smiles he has for the boys. And in the back of my mind was him. Sam was nothing like him, but I was terrified nonetheless. What if this ended badly, what if he left, too? I don’t know if I could handle losing Sam, losing his friendship. I continued to overthink as I went through the rest of the pictures, barely registering them.

I had been clicking through quickly but I stopped dead when I reached the group photos at the falls. I remembered it now, the click of the camera the last thing on my mind as Sam put his arm around me. I’d never seen that look on my face before, not even in pictures with him. How could I be so blind? I panicked, jamming my finger on the button to shut off my computer. I put my head in my hands, letting myself panic for 30 seconds. Once the time was up, I shut off the lights and climbed into bed. This was a problem for tomorrow. I’m tired, not thinking straight. I’ll deal with it in the morning. Sleep on it a bit. It’ll be fine. I closed my eyes, trying to relax enough to sleep. Shit. Tomorrow. How could I forget Sam and the boys spending the day here? I swallowed down another wave of panic, focusing on deep breathing in an effort to fall asleep. It felt like it took hours, but I finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

I dreamt I was in the woods again, the eerie green light fading as I ran further into the trees. I knew something was chasing me, and I knew it was getting closer. I wanted to look back, to see my pursuer, but I couldn’t. I could only run, stumbling over roots and rocks and trying desperately not to fall.

“Bella, hurry!” A voice called from up ahead. I knew that voice, I’d know Sam’s voice anywhere. But I knew the next voice, too.

“Why are you running, Bella?” Edwards' silky voice asked, shocking me with how close it was. He was almost upon me, and I sped up as much as I could. I knew if I looked back I’d see him on my tail, the thought of seeing his bright crimson eyes sending my heart into overdrive.

“Bella!” Sam said, sounding scared but relieved as he caught me in his arms.

“Sam, we have to go! You have to run, he’s here!” I yelled, trying to drag him deeper in the woods with me. We turned to keep running, but it was too late.

“Bella, stop.” Edward urged, his voice still unwavering and calm despite the long chase. Edward leaned into a crouch, and I panicked. Sam spun, shoving me behind his back as he got in between me and the vampire.

“Sam, no!” I cried, but he didn’t listen. I tried desperately to drag him away, still trying to run from it, from this nightmare that has to be a nightmare, right? This can’t possibly be happening, right? They’re gone, he left, just please, please let me wake up. Faster than my eyes could track Sam was gone, a huge black wolf seemingly bursting out of his body. For a split second he turned to me, and as I looked into those familiar brown eyes I knew it was still Sam. Sam was the wolf. Before I could begin to process that he launched himself at Edward, and I woke up with a scream.

I sat up in bed, chest heaving. I listened for the sound of Charlie’s door, or his footsteps coming towards my room, but it seemed my scream hadn’t woken him. I tried to regulate my breathing, to ward off the panic attack that was trying to claw its way out of my chest. I felt a strong sense of deja vu, like I was moments away from seeing the big picture. I suddenly remembered that niggling thought from Florida, from when I first met Sam, and the beach with Jacob. There was something I had been forgetting, but I remembered now.

Wolves.

I remembered the story now, the one about Jacob’s great grandfather and the treaty with the Cullens. It seemed impossible, but that’s what I thought about the Cullens, too. Jake thought it was just a scary story, that's probably the only reason he even told me. But if the Cullens were what he said they were, then the story must be true. I mean how else would they have found out about the Cullens? I should’ve asked him about it, I mean he did know that those stories were how I figured it out. “The Cullens don’t come here.” Of course there was more to it, of course he knew. That’s what drew me in, what had me trying to flirt with Jake for information. Sam was serious when he said that, his tone brooked no argument. This whole time it was because he knew. Part of me wanted to believe that was it, that Sam just happened to believe the stories. But there were too many coincidences, too many things that don’t quite make sense.

God, just today alone would’ve been enough to figure it out if I had been paying attention. Maybe not figure it out but enough for me to be suspicious. I thought back to the hike, when I actually said I thought Sam would be a wolf. Apparently I was more right than I thought. I remembered the look the boys exchanged, Jared’s too wide eyes. That boy had the most open face I’d ever seen, it was a miracle they’d kept the secret this long. And then the cut. He tried to play it off when I was changing the bandage, but I knew he was lying about something. But I’d forgotten that he’d already told me. He said it would be gone in a few hours, that ‘we heal fast.’ How many times had they let something slip and I was just too distracted to notice? I mentally replayed the last few weeks, thinking back on old conversations to see what I could remember. I suddenly remembered this morning, and put my head in my hands. I had chalked it up to being half asleep, but the boy's words made a whole lot more sense now. Clearly Sam was in charge, I would’ve guessed that just from the way the boys trail after him. Calling Sam the ‘alpha,’ talking about patrol? I thought their guilty looks were for waking us up, or for interrupting, maybe. But it was for nearly revealing their secret.

I was reeling, how could I have missed this? I mean how could I have forgotten that part of the story to begin with? I know I was all wrapped up in the vampires but the existence of werewolves seems like a monumental thing to just skip over. And what does that say about me? That I’ve only loved two guys in my life and neither of them were fully human.

Wait. Love? Fuck. My heart skipped a beat and my breathing started to pick up again. I finally realized today that I maybe had feelings for Sam, but love? Part of me denied it, I mean we’ve only really known each other for a month. But the more I thought about it the more I realized it was true, and the more I panicked. I know I told myself it was a tomorrow problem, and technically it was tomorrow at this point, but I wasn’t ready to face it yet. To actually think through all the scenarios running through my mind a mile a minute. It made sense, though. I mean, I spent so much time with him, and it never felt like enough. And I never felt like I needed time apart, like I needed space to recharge after being together all day. Just this weekend I spent over 24 hours with him thanks to our impromptu movie night and sleep over. But it was all happening too fast, too much too soon and I just couldn’t deal with this right now. I shook my head, trying to clear it before I got up and quietly made my way downstairs. It was still early, only around 3:30 in the morning. I grabbed a glass from the drying rack by the sink, filling it with some cold water from the tap and heading back upstairs. I took a few sips as I tried to relax, mentally writing up a grocery list as a way to distract myself. My eyelids started to droop as I planned out my day, trying to ignore the fact that Sam and the boys would be here for most of it. I laid back down, still thinking about sorting laundry as my eyes slid shut.

It wasn’t sunny when I woke up, but it was bright enough that I could tell it was already mid morning. I rubbed my eyes as I sat up, last night's revelations instantly coming back to me with a gasp. I shook my head, stubbornly putting it out of my mind. I was determined to have a good day, a productive day. And spiraling over Sam and their furry little problem seemed like a good way to not do that. I grabbed some clothes from the ‘clean’ pile on my floor, pulling on a soft long sleeve and one of my only pairs of sweats without holes. I trudged downstairs, throwing a few slices of bread into the toaster. Charlie left a note on the counter telling me he was fishing with Harry this morning but he’d be back in time for dinner. I spread peanut butter on my toast, grabbing a notepad and sitting at the table to eat and write up a grocery list. Paul said Sam needed to get groceries, too, so I could save the shopping till the afternoon. Once I finished eating I made my way back upstairs and started on my room. It didn’t take as long as I thought to sort out my clothes and get most of the clean clothes folded. I had a couple loads worth of laundry to do today, and I should probably do a towel wash too if I had time. I brought the first load to the bathroom, starting the wash then bringing the basket back to load up the rest for later. Once that was squared away I gathered up all the cups in my room. I wasn’t normally a messy person, but I always ended up with a few empty water glasses spread around my room. I brought them downstairs with me, then went about cleaning up the kitchen. I went through the fridge first, tossing any old leftovers or spoiled fruit from the drawer. After that I started on the dishes, and I was just finishing up when I heard the knock at the door.

“It’s open!” I called, mentally preparing myself for an afternoon of pretending everything was fine.

“Hey, Bella!” Jared said happily as he carried a bag of takeout into the kitchen.

“How’s it going, Jared.” I asked, already relaxing from his happy demeanor.

“Pretty good, pretty good.” He replied. “How goes the cleaning?”

“I don’t have much left, mostly laundry.” I answered. Sam and Paul walked in then, Sam carrying another bag from the diner.

“I got you a burger and fries.” Sam said, setting down his bag and starting to pull out the food.

“That sounds incredible.” I replied. “I’m starving.”

“God, me too.” Jared said, Paul nodding in agreement.

“Could you grab the ketchup, Paul?” I asked.

“Yup.” He replied, opening the fridge and grabbing the bottle. “Ooh I’m gonna steal some barbecue sauce, too.”

“For what?” I asked, trying to think of what the diner served that would go with BBQ and coming up blank.

“My burger. I put barbecue on my burger and then I have a barbecue bacon burger and barbecue bacon burgers are much better.” He replied.

“I feel like…That was just. Just way more words than you needed to use.” Jared trailed off. Sam and I started laughing, half at the befuddled look on Jared’s face.

We started eating our lunch, and I found myself thinking about how much the boys eat. I’ve thought about it before, wondering if there was something in the water in La Push. Not only did they eat more than anyone else I knew, they were big guys. I mean they all have a good half a foot on the guys from Forks, and even a few inches on the bigger guys at the rez, too. And they were pretty buff, too. Like yesterday, when Sam carried me for 3 miles on his back. It was odd. Maybe it was a wolf thing? It would make sense, I mean running around as a wolf must burn a lot of calories. And from a biological standpoint there must be something altered in their DNA that would make it possible. It seemed a little weird, thinking of the science behind mythical creatures, but from what I knew of vampires there were reasons for the different characteristics they had, scientific explanations for different parts of the transformation process. I shut down that train of thought, realizing I’d been a little too quiet. Jared and Paul didn’t seem to notice, and were chatting away. I looked over to Sam, who met my eyes with a slightly concerned look. I smiled softly at him, trying to reassure him that I was fine. Then Paul dragged him into the conversation, and I made an effort not to disappear again. There’ll be plenty of time for overthinking later. I tuned back into the conversation right as it was turning into an argument.

“That detention was not my fault.” Paul argued.

“Uh, yeah it was. You were the one who threw the first punch.” Jared shot back. Sam looked at me, rolling his eyes.

“You goaded me into it.” Paul added, throwing a french fry with surprising accuracy in between Jared’s eyes.

“Can we please not throw food in my house?” I interjected. “It’s like you two were raised by wolves.” I added with an eye roll, trying to repress my smirk when Sam choked on his water. “You good, Sam?” I asked innocently as Jared slapped his back.

“I’m good, just went down the wrong pipe.” Sam said with an odd look on his face. I was finished with my food at that point, so I gathered up my trash before standing.

“I’m gonna go swap the laundry, I’ll be right back.” I said, tossing my trash then heading upstairs. As I walked into my room I heard quiet laughter from downstairs. It was Paul and Jared, I’m sure, finally able to react to my comment without attracting suspicion. I huffed a laugh, grabbing my basket then heading to the bathroom.

Notes:

To the commenter that i told id have a new chap up in a few days... A week ago... sorry bud! No real excuses, i just forgot again lmao... Also small little author story,,, i am a 5 foot tall girl,,,,, i have a few tall male friends with a habit for randomly picking me up when we go out drinking.... One time one of the guys stuck me on one of his shoulders, walked around with me up there, and did not put me down for 45 minutes? Wild. It was very fun being tall for once tho. On to the chapter,,, i love giving them slightly stupid slip ups about the furry little problem... It's just too funny to me. This is a big one too..... Lots of things happening!! Don't get too excited tho, i totally dragged out the reveal that she knows the secret for my own entertainment lol.

Chapter 42: Dinner with the Chief

“Shut up.” I grumbled, shooting a look at the two laughing boys.

“She made a wolf joke!” Jared added between laughs. “And you literally choked!”

“I just swallowed wrong, I didn’t choke.” I defended with an eye roll.

“You choked, Sammy.” Paul added with a smirk.

“Don’t call me that.” I warned, shooting both boys a stern look.

“What’re you gonna do about it?” Jared asked.

“Hmm… Double your patrols, maybe.” I replied, and the boys rolled their eyes. Bella came back in the room then, and the boys looked at me with wide eyes. God, it was a miracle she didn’t know already with how suspicious those two acted sometimes.

“Help me clean up?” Bella asked, looking at me. The boys smirked, taking the out and going into the living room to check out the Swan’s tv. We worked together to clear off the table, then started the washing up. We didn’t talk, working in companionable silence. We joined the boys in the living room after, squeezing in beside them on the couch. I was surprised Bella didn’t take the recliner, instead jamming in beside me in the too small space the boys had left.

“What’re we watching?” Bella asked.

“Field of Dreams.” Jared answered, and Bella rolled her eyes.

“Not a fan of baseball?” Paul asked.

“I’ve seen this movie a hundred times probably since moving here. It’s one of my dad’s favorites.” She answered with a fond smile. “And I’m not a big baseball fan, or sports fan in general.”

“You don’t have to be good at sports to watch sports.” Jared added.

“It’s just not that interesting to me.” She replied with a shrug. We watched the movie for a while, Bella making us laugh with her ability to quote almost every line. We chatted for a while after the movie was over, then decided to head to the Thriftway.

“Are you gonna make us sit in the back again?” Paul asked, not even waiting for my answer as he climbed in the back.

“You know it.” I replied, smiling as the boys went into the back. Bella climbed into the passenger seat, instantly reaching for the radio dial. The store was only a few minutes down the road, and soon enough we were parking. We piled out of the truck, letting Bella lead the way.

“Jared or Paul, one of you grab us a cart.” Bella instructed, pulling out her shopping list.

“Yes, ma’am.” Paul responded, grabbing a cart and following her diligently. I didn’t have my own list, but I only had a few basics to pick up.

“Hey Bella…” Jared started.

“Yeah?”

“Could we make cookies tonight?” He asked.

“Sure.” She replied with a smile.

“You spoil them too much.” I added, shaking my head but unable to hide my smile.

“It’s not just them, I know you’ll eat half the cookies yourself.” She replied, rolling her eyes at me. My smile widened, and I nudged her shoulder with mine.

“You’re probably right about that.” I said, laughing at the glare she shot me for knocking into her.

“Can we get cocoa puffs?” Paul asked, Jared already throwing them in the cart.

“You gonna pay for them?” I asked, already knowing his answer. He didn’t even reply with words, just rolled his eyes and kept pushing the cart.

“No respect, Sammy.” Bella added. We continued through the store, the boys adding countless extra items in the cart. I didn’t realize how many things they had added until we were loading up the conveyor belt.

“This is why I never bring you two.” I said exasperatedly, with Bella laughing at the look on my face.

“You never buy enough snack food.” Jared added with a shrug. We checked out quickly, then loaded our bags in the bed of the pickup. When we got back to Bella’s we all grabbed a few bags, bringing everything in in one trip. Bella unloaded her bags, instructing us where to put away the different things she handed us. I only had a couple bags of things that needed to be refrigerated, and she jammed them into the fridge alongside her groceries. I stuck the rest of my bags out of the way on the counter, and we got to making the cookies.

“Stop eating the dough!” Bella chastised the boys, her stern tone betrayed by the laughter she couldn’t hold in for long.

“Bella, it’s not even dangerous to eat cookie dough.” Jared defended.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s just a myth.” Paul added.

“I don’t care about that, I’m sure it wouldn’t affect you three anyways.” She waved them off. “But we need the cookie dough to make the cookies.”

“What'd’ya mean it wouldn’t affect us?” Jared asked curiously. I sighed internally, again with Jared acting all suspicious and reading too much into throwaway comments.

“You guys are built like tanks, I’m sure you could handle a little salmonella. Especially if you could supposedly overcome rabies.” Bella said with a smirk as she finished putting the cookie dough on the tray.

“I could do it!” Jared added. “I’m immune!”

“We should really test it one of these days.” Paul said with a mischievous look.

“No.” I said firmly, making Bella burst out laughing. “Don’t even think about it.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Jared asked.

“You could literally get rabies and die.” Bella replied.

“Again, immune.” Jared stressed.

“Well let's keep testing that whole salmonella immunity, you two can clean up in here.” I piped in, putting an arm around Bella and pulling her with me out of the kitchen. I glanced back at the boys, already bickering over who would wash and who would dry.

“I don’t think that’s how salmonella works.” Bella added, plopping down on the couch with me, still nestled under my arm.

“I know, and I’d hope they do too. But it's their turn to wash up anyway.”

“Right, so we don’t spoil them.” She replied sarcastically.

“What are you suggesting?” I questioned.

“You’ve spoiled them just as much as I have, and for longer.” Bella added with a shrug.

“Whatever.” I said, huffing a laugh.

“I was thinking about making chicken pot pie for dinner. Do you think two will be enough?” Bella asked.

“Two should be plenty, thank you.” I replied.

“It’s no problem, I know how much you and your boys eat.”

“Does your dad know we’re gonna be here tonight?” I asked.

“No, but he’ll be happy to have company. And you know how he and Billy have been, he’ll be thrilled that you’re here.” Bella replied with an eye roll.

“I bet he’ll get a kick out of the boys.” I said sarcastically.

“They’ll be fine.” Bella defended. “Maybe they don’t listen to you but they’ll be on their best behavior if I threaten their cookies.”

“What about our cookies?” Paul asked as they joined us on the couch.

“Oh nothing, just that you won’t get any if you act up in front of my dad.” Bella replied innocently.

“We’ll be on our best behavior. Promise.” Jared said, Paul nodding along.

“See.” Bella said to me with a big smirk. I shook my head and smiled, she really was getting good at this. We hung out for a little while longer, pausing to take the cookies out of the oven. Before we knew it Bella herded us back into the kitchen to start making dinner.

“Okay I need someone to peel and dice potatoes, someone to chop the other veggies, and someone to cube the chicken. You three can decide who does what.” Bella instructed as she got out the ingredients she needed.

“I call potatoes!” Jared exclaimed.

“I guess I’ll chop the other veggies.” Paul added. We got to work doing our tasks while Bella prepared the crust.

“How’d you learn how to cook so well?” Jared asked Bella.

“I learned some from my grandmother when I was pretty young, and the rest I picked up from watching cooking shows and trying different recipes from cookbooks.” Bella replied. “My mom was never a good cook, so cooking was my responsibility growing up.”

“Jeez. I still burn eggs.” Jared added, and we all laughed. We kept chatting as we prepared the chicken pot pies, then went up to Bella’s room after putting them in the oven.

“Well this is nice.” Paul said, plopping onto the bed with Jared doing the same. Bella shook her head at their antics before heading to the bathroom to grab her laundry. I sat in her desk chair, idly spinning while we waited for her to come back.

“So what are you guys up to this week?” Bella asked as she sat on the floor to sort her laundry.

“Not much.” Jared answered. “Paul and I have a few tests this week, and it’s my mom’s birthday Wednesday so I’ll be home for dinner that night.”

“Oh god, I forgot those tests were this week.” Paul groaned.

“I have a pretty busy week, Mrs. Connweller decided she wants her kitchen redone now and she wants her living room rug replaced, too.” I added. “What about you?”

“I have tutoring with Seth tomorrow, and work on Tuesday and Wednesday. I think we’re starting a group project in chem this week, and I’m really hoping we get to pick our partners.”

“Who’s in your chem class?” I asked.

“Mike and Ben. I don’t really talk to anyone else in that class, and apparently it’s a pretty big project so it would just be awkward to go to some random kids house, you know?” Bella replied.

“Yeah, I’m glad our teachers stopped trying to separate me and Jared.” Paul added. “Like I’m fine with everyone in our grade but it’s so much easier to work with him.”

“We’re always together at Sam’s anyways so we usually work together on stuff already.” Jared added.

“By ‘work together’ they mean they split the work and then copy over their answers.” I said to Bella, who laughed.

“That is working together, Sam.” Jared defended.

“It’s cheating.” I corrected with an eye roll.

“Tomato, tomahto.” Paul said, waving me off.

“We’re both still doing work, and I’m learning by reading his answers. C’mon, you agree with me, don’t you Bella?” Jared argued.

“It is technically cheating.” Bella replied, and the boys both groaned. “But I’m not really one to talk. For most of the books we’ve done in English since I got here I reused old papers from Phoenix.” She added with a shrug.

“See, Sam, everyone cheats.” Jared added, gesticulating wildly.

“I didn’t cheat.” I replied.

“Yeah, cause you were a goody two shoes with no friends.” Paul shot back.

“Paul!” Bella scolded, and we all laughed.

“She was right yesterday, you are an asshole.” I added, and Paul threw a pillow at me.

“Everyone just calm down!” Jared said dramatically, getting up to stand between us like he was breaking up a fight. Bella started laughing, and Jared grinned smugly.

“The chief's home.” Paul said, stupidly announcing it before he was even out of the cruiser.

“Really?” Bella asked, getting up to look out her window. Her eyebrows rose when she saw he was in fact there, and turned back to Paul. “How’d you know?”

“I heard the car door?” Paul said, sounding like he was even questioning his answer. Bella looked like she was gonna argue for a second, before shaking her head.

“Sure you did.” She said under her breath, before continuing. “C’mon then, let’s go say hi.” She got up, quickly putting away the piles she’d folded then heading downstairs with the three of us trailing behind her. She led the way to the living room where Charlie was hanging up his coat by the door.

“Hey, Dad. I’m not sure if you’ve formally met but this is Paul Lahote and Jared Cameron.” She introduced, gesturing to each boy in turn. “They’re staying for dinner tonight. And Sam, obviously.”

“Nice to meet you, chief.” Paul said, reaching out to shake Charlie’s hand. Jared followed, expressing a similar sentiment.

“Nice to meet you boys.” Charlie said with a small smile. “How’re you doing, Sam?”

“I’m doing well, Charlie. What about you?” I replied.

“I’m good, thanks.” He replied as the oven timer went off. Bella went into the kitchen, shutting off the timer then pulling the pies out of the oven.

“Paul, Jared, come set the table.” Bella called from the kitchen.

“Best not keep her waiting.” Charlie warned with a chuckle. The boys went in to help, then Charlie turned back to me. “So how’s work going? Still keeping busy I hope?”

“Work’s been good. I’m starting a new project tomorrow that’ll take up most of this week, and I’ve got a few more lined up already for the next few weeks too.” I replied, following Charlie to the kitchen table.

“I’m glad to hear it.” He replied.

“Okay, guys, help yourselves.” Bella said, sticking serving spoons into the pies then stepping back. Paul and Jared immediately filled their plates, and I rolled my eyes. Charlie grabbed his dinner next, then I gestured for Bella to go next. After I grabbed my food, I took my spot at the table next to Charlie. Bella sat across from me with Paul next to her, with Jared squeezed on the side between Charlie and Paul.

“This tastes great, Bells.” Charlie said.

“I can’t take all the credit, the boys helped too.” Bella replied with a smile.

“Hardly. We just chopped stuff you did all the real cooking.” Jared argued.

“Yeah, that’s why it’s edible. I mean you know what happened last time the two of us tried to cook.” Paul added.

“Do I wanna know?” Charlie asked with a huff of laughter.

“They tried to make themselves dinner at Sam’s when he was in Seattle and managed to start a small fire. Apparently it went right out when they threw baking soda on it but they probably shouldn’t be trusted alone with the stove.” Bella answered, laughing at the boys who merely shrugged in response.

“Every time those two are alone in my house I worry it won’t be there when I get back.” I added, shaking my head. Bella and her dad laughed, while the boys smirked at each other. “Don’t get any ideas, that was not a challenge.” I added, and Bella laughed even harder.

Notes:

I'm lowkey still hungover from a Halloween party last night so we're still in no thoughts head empty mode lol. Just some fluffy found family shit with some slight hints from Bella that she ~knows~

Chapter 43: Jess Stanley and the Gym Class of her Dreams

It was different having dinner with my dad and the guys, but it was a good different. I wasn't quite sure what my dad would think of Jared and Paul’s antics, but he seemed just as amused by them as me and Sam were. We spent the whole meal laughing, then spent some time watching the game with Charlie. Before too long Charlie went upstairs for bed, and it was time for the boys to head out.

“Here.” I said, attempting to pass a bag of extra cookies to Sam.

“I’ll take those.” Paul said, snagging the bag before Sam could, and I rolled my eyes.

“You better share those.” I warned, before pulling him into a quick hug.

“I’ll think about it.” Paul said with a smirk. “Bye, Bella.”

“Night, Bella.” Jared said, lifting me off the ground as he hugged me.

“See ya, Jared.” I said through my laughter. Jared set me down, then made his way out to the truck with Paul. I turned back to Sam, who had been watching the boys and I say our goodbyes with a small smile.

“Thank you again for having us, and for letting us barge in on your quiet Sunday.” Sam said.

“Not so quiet after all.” I said with a smirk.

“Definitely not.” Sam replied with a huff of a laugh. “Goodnight, Bella.”

“Night, Sam.” I said, pulling him in for a tight hug. He really was warm. It was probably a wolf thing, and I’m sure the boys were just as warm, but it was different with Sam. There was something about him, and I never wanted to let go. Reluctantly I released him, smiling to myself as he held on a second longer. “Drive safe.” I added as he walked out the door. He nodded, and I locked up behind him. We had cleaned up the kitchen while the cookies were baking, so I was able to take a quick shower and head right to bed. I fell asleep quickly, still tired after last night's revelations.

I had hoped for a dreamless night, but as I woke up I had the hazy remnants of another nightmare on my mind. Only it wasn’t really a nightmare, just an unfortunate memory. I had dreamt of that night, the night he left. It felt like I was there for hours, and no one had ever found me. I wonder what would have happened that night if Sam hadn’t found me. Would I have died of exposure? Or maybe that animal I’d heard sniffing around would have gotten me. I was lucky Sam had found me then, right after I had heard the noise…. Wait. Sam. Sam was the noise. Of course! It made so much sense now. That was how he found me, that’s why he was there that night when he was virtually a stranger. Not just to me, but a stranger to my dad, too. It was odd that he would’ve been there when it was really only my dad’s friends and coworkers searching that night. I wonder if he heard me, like how Paul heard my dad get home last night. Or maybe he could track me by smell? That was a dog thing, right? Wolves probably have a good sense of smell too. And that would certainly explain why the animal didn’t bother us. But who else knew his secret to bring him there? Billy or Harry must know. What am I thinking, of course Billy knows. He knew about the Cullens, believed about the Cullens. He knew it wasn’t just some superstition because he had the proof that the stories were true. God, just thinking about all this was making my head hurt.

I looked over at my alarm clock, seeing it was about to go off. I quickly jammed the right button to turn off the alarm before the blaring noise had a chance to start. I made my way to the bathroom, getting dressed before heading downstairs for breakfast. My dad was at the table, looking up from the paper when I walked in.

“Morning, Bells.” He said with a smile.

“Morning.” I said through a yawn. I threw a few slices of bread in the toaster, then sunk into my chair.

“Sue invited us to come over for dinner tonight. Figured it was a good day since you’d be up there for Seth’s tutoring anyways.”

“Okay, do we need to bring anything? Maybe the rest of the cookies?” I suggested.

“We’ll bring the cookies, that should be plenty.” He replied. My toast popped, and I stood up to butter it. Dad was getting up when I sat back down, and said a quick goodbye as he left for work. I ate slowly, still thinking about my dream last night. I’m sure there were other things I was forgetting, little hints of what they were that I didn’t notice at the time. Or things that had puzzled me that can be explained away by their secret. I’m sure they’ll come back to me in time, or I could just ask the boys. If yesterday's choking incident told me anything, it was that they were extremely aware of their secret. At least after the fact when they realized they let something slip. I mean just saying ‘wolves’ in relation to the boys had Sam spitting out his water. How many times did I notice Jared’s comically wide eyes and dismiss it? Or just laugh at it and move on. That might be the worst part. That it took so long for me to figure it out when I already knew the answer. But it wasn’t like the Cullens, who were so obviously different the second I met them. It’s easier to solve a riddle when you have the question already. There was nothing odd about the boys, other than the fact I got along with them so naturally, became so close so fast. A tiny part of me was upset they didn’t tell me, but the rest of me knew they probably had a good reason. I mean who else do I know that would believe them other than me?

I was lost in thought too long, and jolted when I saw the time. I ran upstairs to brush my teeth, narrowly avoiding an ER visit as I tripped up the stairs. I walked carefully downstairs after and out to my truck, trying to avoid injury. Well, further injury. My knees probably had twin bruises already from hitting the stairs. I made it to school a few minutes before the bell, rushing to the locker room to get changed for Gym.

“You’re cutting it a little close.” Jess commented.

“I lost track of time.” I replied. “Wish I had missed gym entirely but what can you do?” I added with a shrug, and Jess laughed.

“You’ll be fine, it’s still pickleball and you weren’t that bad. And Coach Clapp doesn’t care if we just play against each other the whole period so it’ll be fun.” Jess added.

“I guess.” I said doubtfully, following Jess out into the gym to get out rackets. We went to the net set up in the back corner of the gym, Jess’ go-to spot so we could talk and slack off without Coach Clapp noticing.

“So what did you do yesterday?” I asked as we started playing.

“Not much, really. I did some reading for English cause I was pretty behind. Oh and I talked to Quil again on the phone last night. He hasn’t asked me yet, but we’re definitely at first date stage now. He seemed to be hinting at it, you know, but I don’t think he’s decided what we’re gonna do yet. I’ll give him a few more days, but if he doesn't think of something before then I’ll pick and just ask him out myself. And you know I’m not all old-fashioned and stuff and I don’t need to wait for him to ask but I’m always the one to ask and to plan stuff, you know, and sometimes I just want to be surprised on a date.” She replied, gesturing wildly with her racket and missing my surprisingly decent serve.

“I’m really happy for you, Jess.”

“Thank you.” She said with a smile and a little happy dance. “And what did you do?”

“Not a ton. I cleaned my room, did some grocery shopping. Sam and the boys came over for a while.” I replied casually, smirking as Jess perked up even more.

“Sam came over. You should’ve led with that! How long were they over, what did you guys do? You didn’t mention your plans on Saturday did you know you were gonna hang out? Details, Bella!” Jess demanded.

“They brought over lunch from the diner around noon, and stayed till like 8 or 9. We watched a movie and went to the grocery store. Then they just hung out in my room while I put away laundry, and we cooked dinner and ate with my dad. Oh, we made cookies, too. And I didn’t know till Saturday night that they were coming over.” I replied, Jess hanging onto my every word. “Jared asked what we were doing tomorrow when we were at dinner and him and Paul basically invited themselves over. “

“At dinner? What dinner?” Jess asked excitedly.

“Well I left my truck at Sam’s that morning so I rode back with them after the hike. And we were hungry so we decided to go out to dinner before I went home. It was the four of us so don’t go making a whole thing out of it.” I answered, already anticipating more questions about dinner.

“Why was your truck at Sam’s?” Jess asked with a growing smirk. Shit. I’m never gonna hear the end of this. I groaned, rubbing the back of my neck anxiously before answering.

“I fell asleep there Friday night.” I said sheepishly and Jess squealed, making half the class glance over at us. “C’mon, Jess, stop.” I begged, my cheeks instantly turning bright red.

“You fell asleep at Sam’s house!” She exclaimed.

“We were on our second movie, and it was late, and we both just fell asleep I guess.”

“Wait, both. It was just you and Sam? Oh my god!”

“Nothing happened!” I defended, still beet red. “We just fell asleep on the couch, I barely even knew what day it was when Jared and Paul came in and woke us up with their yelling.”

“Was your dad mad when you got home?” Jess asked curiously.

“He was already out fishing or something. And he knew I was there, Sam called him a couple hours after I fell asleep.” I replied, and Jess’ eyebrows rose comically high.

“Chief Swan let his teenage daughter spend the night alone with a boy?” Jess asked incredulously.

“He’s surprisingly laid back as a parent, but he did sort of threaten Sam.” I added. “Not in so many words, but I guess he said something about Sam being ‘respectful’ which is pretty much a threat coming from him. And also definitely means my dad thinks we’re together so that was a little mortifying.”

“This is amazing.” Jess said, looking over her shoulder and cursing when she saw Coach Clapp actually walking around to check on the games. “We’ll talk later, get Ang up to speed.”

“If we have to.” I complained halfheartedly. I was actually looking forward to it, it would be nice to talk to someone about it, and about my recently discovered feelings. We got back to our game, which had been at a standstill ever since I first mentioned Sam. Jess didn’t have a chance to say anything else that period, and a pop quiz in Calc made it so we couldn’t talk again till lunch. And we didn’t talk about it then either after the bomb Eric dropped as soon as he sat down.

“I asked Katie to be my girlfriend.” Eric said quickly, met by exclamations of shock (and the passing of cash between Ben and Mike).

“And she said yes.” Eric added, sounding like he couldn’t believe it himself. It was all we talked about over lunch, and the rest of the day, too. Before I knew it the final bell rang and I was on my way to Seth’s.

“C’mon in.” Seth called as soon as I knocked on the Clearwater’s front door. I let myself in, finding Seth already set up at the dining table with all his notebooks and binders.

“How’d you do on your paper last week?” I asked, setting my own stuff down on the table and getting down to business.

“I got an A!” Seth enthused.

“That’s awesome, can I see?” I replied, and Seth handed me the paper. I skimmed the paper while Seth told me about his day, and updated me on what he was doing now in his English and Science class. I made a few notes of things to work on with his next paper, but I was really happy with how he was doing. We got a lot done this afternoon, and Seth was actually starting to enjoy English now that he better understood what he was doing. We were just finishing up when Leah got home, followed soon by our parents. Harry and Dad got to grilling out back, while Sue made some sides in the kitchen. While they cooked, the three of us played card games in the living room.

“Do you have any fours?” Leah asked Seth with a smirk.

“C’mon, Leah! How do you keep doing this?” Seth complained, handing 3 fours to Leah.

“Trade secret.” She answered, winking at me who had been mouthing to her which cards Seth had the most of. “Got any eights?”

“What is this witchcraft?” Seth complained, handing over a couple more cards. Leah and I dissolved into laughter, explaining our cheating in between fits of giggles. Seth hit us each with a pillow, but laughed right along with us. That was when Sue called us in for dinner, and we quickly put away our cards. We lined up behind our parents to grab the food they’d lined up buffet style on the counter. I sat at the table next to Seth, with Leah sitting at the head of the table closest to me. Across from me was my dad, with Sue sitting in the seat next to him. Harry was across from Leah, sitting at the other head of the table. Dinner was great, and I surprised myself by grabbing thirds of the homemade mac and cheese. We were all laughing through dinner, Leah and I taking our jobs of teasing Seth very seriously. He was such a sweet kid, but gave as good as he got, leaving all of us in stitches at some of his comebacks. We sat around the table talking for a couple hours, talking long after we’d finished our food. Before too long we took our leave, citing school and work in the morning.

Dad got home right after me, not having lingered like he did when we had dinner at Billy’s. Not any gossip from tonight, apparently. It wasn’t that late, but late enough to call it a night. I was thankful once again for the light homework load this year, I wouldn’t want to stay up another few hours tonight. Dad got ready for bed first, then I took over the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. I was in bed by 10 o’clock, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I woke up with a start, after dreaming for the first time of my birthday party. I could still hear the snarls, and the glass breaking. It was an hour before my alarm, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. I got out of bed and got dressed, feeling a phantom pain in my arm where the glass had been embedded. Dreams like this always hit me extra hard. It wasn’t like my other nightmares, where I could wake up and know it wasn’t real. But this was real, it happened, I could’ve died and it’s barely been a month since that night. And how many times since then have I gotten a paper cut? I couldn’t remember an exact number, but I had gotten one while working at Seth’s just last night. It was ridiculous when I actually stopped to think about it. I had almost died over a single drop of blood, from something as simple as a papercut. And he had made it ten times worse by shoving me out of the way. One drop of blood turned into a gushing wound, and could’ve easily cost me my life, could’ve made him attack me. God, I was so stupid to get involved with him at all. I mean how many times was my life actually in danger around him? How many times was it in danger without me even knowing? I thought back to that first day of school, when he told me later the handful of times he planned on killing me that day. How could I be such an idiot?

I firmly told myself to stop thinking about it, and went downstairs. I still had some time before I would’ve normally woken up, so I had time to make a real breakfast. I didn’t make anything fancy, just grabbed the pancake mix and whipped up a batch for Dad and I. He came downstairs a few minutes later, and poured himself a coffee. I wasn’t like him, I didn’t need a coffee every morning, but with my early start I decided to pour myself a cup too.

“Thanks for breakfast, Bells.” Dad said, smiling as he drenched his pancakes in syrup.

“I woke up a little early, figured you wouldn’t mind some pancakes.” I replied, smiling as he huffed a laugh.

“You have work tonight, right?” He asked after he finished his food.

“Tonight and tomorrow, till 9.” I replied.

“I might not see you tonight, then. I’ve got an early meeting with the park rangers tomorrow, so I’ll probably be in bed already.”

“Everything alright?”

“It’s nothing to worry about yet. We’ve been getting some reports of bear sightings pretty close to town. Now that’s not uncommon around here, but there’s been some sightings of multiple traveling together.” He answered. “No one’s encountered them on the trails or anything, but make sure you bring your bear spray if you go in the woods.”

“I will.” I responded distractedly. Dad didn't pay me any mind, putting his dishes away and saying goodbye as he left for work. I was stuck on the bears, wondering if maybe there was more to it. I remembered the guy at work that had seen 3 together, right by the town line. Suddenly I remembered telling Paul about the bears, and the way he couldn’t hold in a laugh. Bears don’t travel in packs, but wolves do. That would explain Paul’s reaction, but could they really be that big that they could be mistaken as bears? I tried to remember more from that day with Paul, and then I remembered the shorts. I thought it was so weird that somehow Paul just ripped all of his shorts, but it made so much more sense now. I mean it wouldn’t make sense for clothes to just pop in and out of existence when they turned into wolves. But what did they do with their clothes? Oh my god, did they normally just strip in the woods? I mean it can’t be practical to just destroy their clothes all the time. I thought back to the day in the woods, when Sam found me. I remember noticing that he was only wearing shorts and a pair of boots. He must’ve had to carry them somehow in case he found me, and I’m sure the cold didn’t bother him with his insanely high and likely wolf related temperature. I looked up at the clock, cursing as I realized I was running late yet again.

Notes:

If anyone ever picks up on the improper grammar of "me and so-and-so" mind ya business. I know it's not correct but I talk like that and always will! I do not care enough to change it cause it sounds less formal and more natural anyway! As I was editing this I realized I had them make cookies already and had them make cookies again after dinner? Last minute cuts! Oops! Also,, just had to take advantage of Bella knowing without actually talking about it yet to have her consider the clothing aspect,,,, totally one of the funniest new moon things to me is everyone just shredding their clothes.

Chapter 44: Oh look! Bella's working!

It was only Tuesday morning, and already I missed Bella. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I felt like I needed to see her. It wasn’t quite the same as with the boys, but there was part of me that just wanted to see her, to check in and make sure she was okay. It was ridiculous, I mean I spent the entire weekend with her. She was just at school and at work and living her normal everyday life. There wasn’t any threat to her, but I couldn’t help but worry. And I do worry about the boys, I worry about them almost constantly, but I knew that they could protect themselves in a way no one else I knew could. Maybe part of it was leftover protectiveness from that night, when I went into those woods expecting to find a body. But I found Bella, alive and safe, and that protectiveness increased tenfold as she became one of the most important people in my life. And I knew she was fine, I was sure she could handle more than most just based on the fact that she had before. I mean she faced an entire coven of vampires and survived. No matter how harmless they supposedly were I remembered how she looked that night, and yet here she was now like it never happened.

I put those thoughts to the back of my mind, and got ready for the day. I was off to a later start than usual, so I settled for a few pieces of toast for breakfast. I got dressed quickly, and ate in the car on the way to Mrs. Connweller’s. We spent a while going over exactly what she wanted, and then I called in an order to the hardware store. It wouldn’t be ready for several hours, so I set about starting the demolition. There wasn’t a ton to do in the kitchen since we’d decided to refinish the cabinets instead of replacing them, but it still took a while to tear up the floors in there and in the living room. From there I started prepping the cabinets and got everything set up that I could before I picked up my order. It took up most of the day, and soon I was making the familiar drive to the hardware store in Forks. I grabbed some supplies for myself, too, so I could start working on the guest bedroom. I didn’t have plans of when I’d tackle that project but I figured it would be good to have what I needed on hand for when I did get around to it. I got what I needed, and grabbed the order I’d called in earlier. It didn’t take long to load it all into the bed of my truck, and soon I was headed back to the rez. I spent the next couple hours priming the walls and the cabinets for painting. After that I called it a day, and drove the 3 minute drive home.

“Hey, Sam.” Jared called as I walked through the door.

“Hey guys. What’re you up to?” I asked, joining the boys in the living room.

“Just some study guide we have to fill out for our test on Thursday.” Paul replied, swapping papers with Jared without missing a beat.

“You know you can’t swap tests, right?” I questioned.

“We probably could, actually.” Jared mused. “Our usual teacher has been out this week, and the sub is really frazzled.”

“We’re too much for her.” Paul added.

“Not us specifically, but like our class in general. I doubt she’d notice if we swapped. Too busy ripping her hair out in frustration.” Jared continued.

“It better not be you two specifically causing her trouble. Anyone with the patience to teach you two must be a saint.” I replied.

“Oh, I forgot to mention it but we have a half day tomorrow.” Paul said.

“Why?” I asked. It seemed a little random, and they hadn’t mentioned it till now.

“Parent teacher conferences. I thought we’d have to go in with our parents but apparently that’s only for the trouble makers.” Paul replied.

“We’re no longer delinquents, we should celebrate!” Jared added.

“You could help me at Mrs. Connweller’s.” I said, and Jared visibly deflated. “And we could grab pizza after.”

“Now that’s more like it.” Jared said, nodding to himself.

“So what’s for dinner tonight?” Paul asked, and I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t know, what are you making?” I asked.

“Very funny, Sam.” Paul deadpanned.

“I don’t know, maybe chicken tenders and mac ‘n cheese.” I suggested.

“Did you get the white shells that I like?” Jared questioned seriously.

“I did.”

“Excellent.” Jared said, nodding decisively.

We had a pretty normal evening, eating dinner in the living room while some movie played. The boys played some video games, with the winners playing me in each game. I wasn’t any better than them, the opposite really, but I still had fun with them. We decided to head out pretty early to patrol. All three of us were tired, me especially, and so we decided to get out early so we could go home early. That didn’t mean we were sloppy, though, and we still did a thorough patrol of the rez, and throughout Forks as well. Everything seemed normal, and soon we were heading back to my house. We phased back in the woods behind my house, then went in through the back door. The boys grabbed their stuff, then left to walk home. It was just past 9 o’clock, but I made my way upstairs to get ready for bed anyway. I took a quick shower, toweling my hair off roughly before getting into bed. I was asleep within minutes, dreaming all night of Bella’s laugh, and the boys as they roughhoused. Of my family, my pack.

I woke a little earlier than usual, and decided to get an early start. I took the time to make a pot of coffee as I got ready, and took it to go when I went off to work. I had a very productive morning, and we got a lot done this afternoon, too, with the boys’ help. We called it quits around 5, stopping home to shower before heading into Forks for dinner. We went to the one pizza place in town, and the boys hopped out of the truck faster than I thought possible. They were already ordering when I got inside, merely waiting for me to pay. The restaurant was pretty dead, and we got our food quickly. We decided to eat there, too hungry to wait till we got back to my place.

“God, I love pizza.” Jared said with a sigh. “I love this pizza. The garlicy crust, the slight sweetness of the sauce. It’s incredible.” I rolled my eyes, but Paul nodded along seriously.

“You two are ridiculous. It’s just pizza.” I replied.

“Just pizza? Just pizza? How dare you!” Jared exclaimed with a hand over his heart.

“Maybe you don’t deserve any more pizza.” Paul said, dragging the box closer to them.

“Fine, this is the best pizza I’ve ever had. There’s never been a better pizza in the history of everything.” I said with a laugh. “Now can I have another slice?”

We finished not too long after, and decided to head home. The boys argued as we walked to the truck on who got shotgun, and then on who got to pick the music. I solved the second one pretty quickly by smacking both their hands away and picking the station myself. We had just left the parking lot when Paul interrupted.

“Oh look, Bella’s working. We should go say hi.” He said, nodding to the Newton’s parking lot.

“Yeah, Bella’s working. She doesn't need you two bothering her when she's trying to do her job.” I replied.

“We’re not gonna bother her, Sam. Maybe we’ll buy something.” Jared added.

“With what money?” I asked, knowing I was the only one with a wallet on me but pulling into the parking lot anyways.

“Quit complaining, Sam, we know you wanna see Bella more than we do.” Paul said, slapping my shoulder as we walked towards the store.

“It must be a pretty boring job on nights like this, there’s no one else here.” Jared said as we walked in.

“Bella!” Paul called, walking in like he owned the place.

“Quit yelling.” I chastised.

“Hey, guys!” Bella said, walking up from the back room.

“How’s work going?” Jared asked.

“You’re my first customers in like 2 hours. I’ve just been unpacking new stock all night.” She replied. “What brings you guys here?”

“We just had a few pizzas and then Paul saw your truck here and wanted to come pester you.” I replied, and Bella laughed.

“Well you guys are more than welcome, I’ve been so bored tonight.” She replied and the boys lit up.

“See, Sam, I told you we wouldn’t be bothering her.” Jared said.

“Bella’s nice and actually likes our company.” Paul added.

“I don’t know, it might not be our company Bella likes.” Jared said, and Bella turned bright red.

“Why don’t you two go look around.” I said to the boys. “And don’t break anything.” I added, seeing Paul eyeing a display of fishing poles and nets.

“I hope you don’t mind, I passed your number on to Ang. Her parents are looking to redo their screened in porch and I figured you’d be up for it. And I figured it would help expand your business to get some clients in Forks.” Bella rambled, sounding slightly nervous.

“Thank you, I don’t mind at all. That’s really great, actually.” I said with a grin that Bella soon matched.

“Good. I didn’t wanna overstep but it seemed like it was right up your alley.” She replied, before we both whipped around at the sound of a loud crash.

“Oops?” Jared said sheepishly, and I sighed.

“Clean that up, Bella shouldn’t have to clean up your mess.” I instructed the boys before turning back to Bella. “I can’t take those two anywhere.” I added, and Bella descended into laughter. Her laugh was contagious, and soon I was laughing too. As soon as we stopped we looked over to the boys, who were muttering in confusion at the display they had knocked over. This was enough to send Bella back over the edge, laughing even harder before she composed herself and went over to help.

“Thank you, Bella.” The boys chorused after they finished fixing the display, and Bella huffed a laugh.

“There wouldn’t have been anything to fix if you listened when I told you not to break anything.” I added.

“Technically we didn’t break anything.” Paul replied, and I shoved his shoulder.

“C’mon, you two caused enough trouble for one night. We should get going.” I said, and both boys groaned.

“We just got here!” Jared complained.

“And you managed to knock down the whole fishing display in less than two minutes. You’ve done enough.” I added, and Bella couldn’t hold in her laughter at the look on the boys’ faces. We all said our goodbyes, the boys heading out to the truck leaving Bella and I alone.

“Any plans for this weekend yet?” Bella asked.

“Not yet, you’re welcome to come over whenever, though.” I replied.

“I definitely will.” She said, before pulling me in for a quick hug. “I’ll see you then. Goodnight, Sam.”

“Goodnight, Bella.” I said, releasing her. I looked back as I walked out of the store, smiling back at a now blushing Bella who had been watching me leave.

“You guys are disgusting.” Paul said with a snicker as I got in the truck.

“Shut the fuck up, Paul.” I replied, and Jared huffed a laugh. I pulled out of the parking lot, wondering to myself why I put up with them anyway.

Notes:

Babes I am so sorry,,,,, turns out having a 40+ hour work week and a bf and my beloved dog going through cancer treatment makes it harder to post regularly and I could've sworn it hadn't been that long. Oopsies! Fun fact,,,, I don't like pizza. Idk why but I just can't eat it.

Chapter 45: Wanna kiss or something?

I was actually on time Thursday morning, not that I wanted to be there at all with Calc first period. I spent the time before class chatting with Ben, Ang, and Mike, with Jess being her typical morning self and mostly just resting her head on my shoulder. After that I was off to Calc with Jess and Ang, ready for another mind numbingly boring and tedious lesson. English flew by in comparison, and then it was time for Chem. Mike and I walked together to the chem building, then took our spots at the back of the room. Our spots were made up by two lab tables pushed together, to make room for our trio. Most of the classes were smaller than ours, so no one else used our combined table. It worked out pretty well, this way we didn’t have to move it back after every class. Ben joined us a few minutes before class, and we spent that time talking about Jess’ upcoming Halloween party. She’d decided to switch it up this year, having the big party with most of our classmates the night before Halloween so we could spend the actual day with just our group. Our group was a lot bigger now, with 15 people if you included our friends from la push and Katie. 

 

“Have you invited Sam, Jared, and Paul yet?” Ben asked. “I think Jess already talked to Quil and had him pass it on to Jake and Embry.”

 

“I knew I was forgetting something. I’ll call them later.” I replied. “And I talked to Seth and Leah and they’re in.”

 

“Katie’s in too. And Jess enlisted her to spread the word to her grade about the party.” Mike added. 

 

“Were there that many people last year?” I asked curiously. 

 

“Most of our grade went last year and a handful from each of the others. I think it was like 60 or 70 people that ended up going.” Mike replied. 

 

“Jess really goes all out for Halloween.” Ben added. 

 

“That’s insane.” I replied, trying to imagine that many people in Jess’ house. It was one of the biggest in town, but still 70 people sounded like a lot. 

 

“It’s supposed to be pretty warm this year so we’ll have the deck and backyard set up too. It doesn’t seem like that many people once you’re actually there.” Mike assured me. Class started then, and we spent the rest of the lesson going over our big group project. 

 

“Presentations start November 2nd, so you guys have a little over a week to work on it. I know Halloween’s next weekend so don’t wait till the last minute, I will not be granting any extensions. You’ll be working in groups of 3 or 4, and you can pick your own groups.” Mr. Molina said before instructing us to get to it. We only had a few minutes left in class, so we spent the time figuring out the logistics of it. 

 

“I have work tomorrow and Saturday so those are out.” Mike said. 

 

“I’m tutoring Seth next Tuesday, then work Wednesday and Thursday.” I added. 

 

“I work Saturday and Tuesday.” Ben added. “How about tonight? And maybe Monday?” 

 

“Tonight works for me.” I replied, and Mike nodded along.

 

“We could do it at my house?” Ben suggested, and Mike and I both agreed. The bell rang after that, and we went our separate ways. After chem was history, and then it was finally time for lunch. I walked to lunch with Jess, who updated me on the current guest list. 

 

“So you still need to talk to Sam and the boys, but the rest of the la push crew is coming. I told Quil to invite some of the kids from their school, too. I invited our whole grade and I’ve kinda thrown it out there to anyone who’s been around when I was inviting people so there’s gonna be some seniors coming I think and a couple dozen sophomores that Katie invited. We might hit a hundred people this year, so I really hope it doesn’t rain. We’re not gonna have room inside if it does. Austin Marks’ little brother is probably coming too, he was with him when I invited Austin and Connor and he seemed excited so I wasn’t gonna say no . So that’ll probably add up to a handful of freshmen if he brings some of his friends.” Jess said as we made our way to the cafeteria line. 

 

“Is your mom okay with a party this big?” I asked, astonished by how much her list had grown since we first talked about it. 

 

“She doesn’t care. As long as no one spikes the punch bowl we’re good. And she’ll be upstairs the whole time with a couple of her girlfriends so she knows we’ll keep it relatively tame.” Jess replied. “Like I wouldn’t care if people drank but my mom would totally kill me if anyone did at her house. And everyone knows that from the other parties I’ve thrown so it should be fine.”

 

“Have you picked out your costume yet?” I asked. 

 

“No and that reminds me!” Jess replied, turning around to look for someone in the line behind us. “Hey, Katie, you’re sitting with us today.” Jess ordered, then turned back to me. I looked at her curiously, but she waved me off in favor of getting our food. I followed her over to our usual table, where she shoved Mike out of the way to make a spot between her and Ang for Katie. 

 

“Okay so what is this idea you mentioned earlier?” Ang questioned.

 

“Girls weekend!” Jess exclaimed. “We can sleepover tomorrow and go shopping in Port Angeles on Saturday to get costumes and stuff for the party. Maybe on Sunday we could meet up with everyone for lunch or something too?” 

 

“That sounds amazing. I can never decide on a costume so I could really use you guys’ help.” Katie said. 

 

“That sounds really fun.” I agreed. 

 

“Are we staying at your house, Jess?” Ang asked. 

 

“Yeah, that would probably be easiest if we get decorations and stuff for the party.” Jess answered. 

 

“What kind of stuff do you still need for the party?” I asked.

 

“Mostly snacks and like cups and drinks and stuff. It’s gonna be bigger this year so I wanna up my decorating game, you know? And I wanna get more of the like pumpkin carving tools so we can all carve pumpkins on Halloween. I wanna try to make caramel apples too so we should get the stuff for those and make them on Sunday maybe. I think those stay good for a while, right?” Jess answered. 

 

“My mom makes those sometimes and they stay good for a few weeks usually.” Katie added.

 

“Perfect.” Jess said.

 

“We should probably take my truck to get the pumpkins so we’re not getting Ang’s car all muddy. It only seats three though.” I said.

 

“Maybe we’ll wait till next Friday to get the pumpkins. You guys are gonna come after school to help set up, right?” Jess questioned, looking at the boys as well. 

 

“We’ll be there.” Mike confirmed, the rest of us voicing our agreement. 

 

“Bella, are you fine with one of the guys taking your truck to get the pumpkins? I don’t know if I can spare you from the decorating crew.” Jess added. 

 

“That’s fine. Maybe not Eric though.” I replied. 

 

“Hey! I’m not a bad driver!” Eric defended. 

 

“But can you drive stick?” I questioned, knowing his answer.

 

“Oh, right.” He replied, and we all laughed. 

 

“I’ll probably send you guys to get the pizza, too. I know I technically can get it delivered but I’m ordering like 20 pizzas and I’d feel bad making someone try to deliver that themselves.” Jess said. “Oh, and ice. We’ll need like 6 or 7 bags for the coolers.” 

 

“We can handle it.” Ben said, so Jess moved on. She spent the rest of lunch going over decorating logistics and trying to estimate how many rolls of streamers we’d need. After that I had two more classes, then I was off to Ben’s to work on our project. I hadn’t been over to Ben’s before, even though it was only a few streets away from my house. Mike and I parked on the street, then followed Ben inside only to be jumped on by an overexcited golden retriever. 

 

“C’mon, Finn, let them in.” Ben scolded, and the happy pup followed him further into the house. We set up in the living room, sitting on the floor around the coffee table with all our stuff scattered around us. Finn laid next to me on the floor, resting his big head in my lap as we worked. We spent the next few hours working on our project, trying to get as much done as possible. Between our work schedules and busy weekends we didn’t have much time to work on the project. 

 

I left around 7:30, getting home a few minutes later. I spent the rest of the night working on homework in my room, trying to get as far ahead as I could with the weekend’s assignments. I worked diligently, only stopping when I realized the time. It was nearly midnight, so I gathered up my pajamas and quickly showered and got ready for bed. I fell asleep quickly, and for once had good dreams all night. Breakfast was a quiet affair. Dad had already left for work when I got up, so I ate my toast by myself while reading more of my book for English. After I ate I quickly got together my things for the weekend, hastily scribbling a note for my Dad reminding him of where I’d be tonight. I did see him when I got home last night, but he was half asleep on the couch. It couldn’t hurt to leave him a reminder. From there I was off to school, where I impatiently trudged through today's classes. Jess was the most impatient out of the four of us, and she was nearly vibrating in excitement all day. 

 

“Excited?” Jess asked as she came up behind me. 

 

“Of course.” I answered with a smile. We were on our way to the parking lot, then off to Jess’ house. 

 

“It’s Katie’s first sleepover with us so I’m thinking we keep it classic tonight. Movies, pizza, ice cream sundaes, the works you know? And gossip of course. Then maybe waffles for breakfast and then we’ll head to Port Angeles.” Jess added. 

 

“That sounds great.” I replied, and Jess barely let me finish my sentence before continuing. 

 

“We’ll stop at thriftway for all the snacks on the way home tomorrow and grab something to make for dinner. And then it’s candy apple making and lunch on sunday. Do you think we should go for lunch in La Push? I don’t know if it's a new cook at the diner or something but the last few times I’ve gone my foods been way overcooked and I’m just over it at this point. Might be easier to meet out there for everyone anyway.” 

“Sure?” I said, a little taken aback by just how much information she threw at me.

 

“Hey, guys!” Jess yelled to Eric, Ben, and Mike across the parking lot.

 

“Yeah?” Eric yelled back. 

 

“Noon on Sunday we’re meeting up in La Push for lunch. Don’t be late.” Jess instructed. The boys nodded, then waved as they got in their cars. 

 

“You know where my house is, right?” Jess asked Katie, who had just arrived with Ang in tow. 

 

“I think so?” Katie replied. “It’s on that street just past the bank, right?” 

 

“Right. You can just follow us, too. I mean Bella’s truck is hard to miss.” Jess added. 

 

“Stop hating on the truck.” I complained, and Jess rolled her eyes.

 

“Sorry, girl.” Jess said to my truck, patting it on the hood, and we all burst out laughing.

 

“Okay, let’s go.” Ang said, grabbing Jess’ arm and dragging her to her car. 

 

We drove to Jess’ house, then got set up in the living room with snacks and a movie. We had a lot of fun, and it was nice getting to know Katie. She was a sweet girl, and I was glad we made time to get to know her outside of the huge group outings. I hadn't really noticed her much before homecoming, but now that I had I realized she didn’t have many close friends at school. She mentioned an older cousin a few towns over she was close with, but other than that she mostly just had acquaintances she sat with sometimes. It reminded me of myself when I lived in Phoenix, I didn’t spend time with anyone from school. Just me and my mom against the world. I didn’t realize how lonely I was until I got here, until I had those close friendships I had never had before. Regardless of how it played out with Eric, Katie would have us now. 

 

We didn’t stay up too late gossiping like we usually would, all of us were too tired and decided to save that for tomorrow night. By 11 o’clock we were setting up the couches with blankets and pillows and settling in for the night. We fell asleep quickly, and didn’t wake up until well into the morning. By the time we got up Mrs. Stanley was already gone, probably at brunch or something with her friends. Mr. Stanley was gone too, off at whatever business-type job he had that none of us really knew much about but kept him plenty busy according to Jess. Or maybe it was law related? I wasn’t sure, and Jess didn’t really know either. We set out to make our breakfast, making a huge stack of waffles.

 

“Do you guys have any ideas of what you’re gonna be for halloween?” I asked. 

 

“Not really.” Ang answered. 

 

“I’m sure we’ll all find something good. There’s no Spirit Halloween but all the little boutiques go all out and get pretty big costume sections. Worst case we just improvise something simple with like normal clothes. Like school girl Britney or something.” Jess added, and I huffed a laugh.

 

“I don’t know if school girl Britney is the type of costume we’re going for.” I said, and Jess shrugged. 

 

“Maybe you aren’t.” Jess said with a leer, and we all laughed. 

 

“Do you guys want syrup on your waffles or should we cut up some fruit to put on them?” Ang asked, rummaging through the fridge. 

 

“I do fruit, but Jess and her sweet tooth will want the syrup.” I replied.

 

“You have more of a sweet tooth than me.” Jess argued.

 

“Jess you’re literally eating pop rocks right now. They’re literally like all sugar. And it’s like quarter after eleven that’s just weird.” I argued back. 

 

“Whatever, don’t get all huffy cause I’m more fun than you. I know I’m cooler than you but you don’t have to take it so personally, Bella, jeez.” Jess replied, trying and failing to keep a straight face. I threw a blueberry at her, accidentally hitting her in the eye, sending all of us into raucous laughter.

 

“Okay, c’mon, let’s eat so we can get going. Jess needs a minimum 3 hours to decide what she wants, for some reason.” Ang said, and Jess huffed dramatically. 

 

“I’m not the only one who takes a while to shop. I seem to remember going to 3 extra shops last time cause you couldn’t decide on your homecoming dress.” Jess added.

 

“It was worth it, though, you looked amazing, Ang.” I added, Katie nodding along. 

 

“Of course she did, that wasn’t the point.” Jess replied. 

 

"The point, I think, was that we need to start eating.” Katie reminded her with raised eyebrows.

 

“I’m working on it.” Jess said, kneeling on her counter to rummage through her cabinets. “Where the hell did the chocolate chips go?” 

 

“I’m gonna start eating.” I said, bringing the big plate of waffles to the table, Katie close behind with the fruit and other toppings. 

 

Breakfast was unsurprisingly noisy, and took longer than I would’ve thought possible. But soon we were off to Port Angeles. Ang had a nice little car. It was older, like most of the vehicles around Forks, but it was dependable, and had much better gas mileage than the truck. I sat in the back with Katie, Jess sitting up front to be the navigator. Not that Ang really needed the help. It’s more likely Jess just wanted an excuse to man the radio for the trip. We made it to the city around 1:30, and soon we were walking the streets. Jess led the way, she was the most fashion savvy of all of us, and she knew the city better too since her cousin lives here. 

 

“Oh my god I have a great idea!” Jess exclaimed, stopping in her tracks outside of a toy store’s window. “The big yellow snake! Do you see the vision?” 

 

“VMA’s Britney?” Katie guessed.

 

“Yes!” 

 

“Jess you’ll be freezing. She was basically wearing a bikini.” I reasoned. 

 

“C’mon, it’s iconic. It would be such a great costume.” Jess argued, but continued walking towards the next shop anyways. 

 

“I’m sure there’s some other Britney costume you could do?” Ang suggested. 

 

“None that would be worth it with this weather.” Jess grumbled as she led us into another little shop.

 

“This place is so cute.” Ang said, looking around at all the decorations. 

 

“Oh my god!” Jess squealed. 

 

“What?” I asked from a couple racks over. 

 

‘Look at this Poison Ivy costume, it’s so cute. Katie, you should totally try it on. I mean with your hair, it’s perfect.” Jess said, grabbing the costume off the rack and dragging a laughing Katie to the dressing rooms. It ended up being a perfect fit, and Jess was right, it was super cute. Katie bought it right away, then helped us as we perused. The rest of us didn’t find anything special, so it was off to another store. 

 

“What do you guys think about matching costumes? Too cheesy?” Ang asked, holding up a pretty blue dress and a peter pan costume. 

 

“Oh my god, that would be so cute!” Jess exclaimed. “It’s not cheesy at all you and Ben are goals and I’m sure he hasn’t picked out anything yet. Do you think Quil and I should do matching? I was talking to him last night and I know he hasn’t got a costume yet either. I know we haven’t gone on an official first date yet but we’re practically together, you know?” 

 

“I say go for it, both of you.” I added. 

 

“Friends do matching costumes all the time too, Jess, I don’t think it would be too much too soon.” Katie said.

 

“Now I just have to find costumes…” Jess mumbled to herself, quickly sifting through a rack of costumes. 

 

“Peter Pan is perfect for Ben, he’s supposed to be short, right?” Ang said as she found the correct sizes of the costumes.

 

"Oh my god, Ang!” I exclaimed before we both dissolved into laughter. 

 

“Okay, I’m gonna find the fitting room. Be right back,” Ang said after we composed ourselves. She was back a few minutes later, doing a little spin to show off her dress. From there we went to 4 more stores, still trying to find a decent costume for Jess and I.

 

“Jess, come here.” Katie called. 

 

“Whatcha got?” Jess asked, coming up behind Katie. 

 

“Dorothy, wizard of Oz?” Katie suggested, holding up a blue and white checkered dress.

 

“Katie, you’re a genius!” Jess squealed. “This is perfect. Quil can be the scarecrow, maybe. Not too romantic but still matching, and less facepaint than the tin man. Hmm, do you think they have a scarecrow costume here?” She continued, already perusing the nearby racks.

 

“So it’s just you left, Bella.” Ang said, still looking through the costumes trying to find something for me.

 

“I think I’ve got something, too.” I said with a smirk, pulling out a red and white dress with a matching red cape.

 

“Little red riding hood?” Ang questioned. 

 

“I’ll grab the wolf ears, too. Maybe Seth could be the big bad wolf?” I added. 

 

“Not Sam?” Jess asked with a smirk.

 

“I’m sure the boys already roped him into some group costume.” I replied breezily, but the real reason was that I wanted to see their reactions. I couldn’t spoil the surprise by telling any of them. I knew I’d tell them I knew eventually, but what better way to mess with them in the meantime. Jess and I took our costumes to the fitting rooms, trying them on quickly then checking out. 

 

“Where to next?” Katie asked.

 

“Well, we still need decorations and then maybe ice cream?” Jess said. We went to a few more shops to grab what we needed, then found a little ice cream place by the docks. 

 

“So…” Jess started. “Can we talk about how Bella and Sam had a sleepover the other night. Alone .” 

 

“What?” Ang asked incredulously.

 

“I already told you Jess it wasn’t like that. ” I replied, cheeks burning.

 

“So what was it like?” Katie questioned, leaning closer across the picnic table we were eating our ice cream at. 

 

“Well it was Friday, the day before our hike, and I had nothing to do. So I drove out to La Push to Sam’s and hung out there for a while. Jared and Paul weren’t there, so just Sam and I had dinner and watched a few movies. I guess we fell asleep during the second one.” I said with a shrug. 

 

“And Sam woke up after they’d fallen asleep and called Chief Swan and he just let Bella sleep over, isn’t that crazy.” Jess added. 

 

“Not that crazy, I mean it’s Sam .” Ang replied. “He’s a very trustworthy guy. And he’s so polite, too.” 

 

“What did they say? When Sam called?” Katie asked. 

 

“I guess Sam was gonna wake me up and drive me home, and was calling so my dad wouldn’t be worried about where I was. Then I guess my dad said it was fine if I stayed over, and said something vaguely threatening about Sam being a good kid, and responsible. Which for him was basically a shovel talk, so that was mortifying.” I answered.

 

“Was he like that with Edward?” Ang asked curiously. 

 

“God, no. He was way worse. When I like officially introduced him to Edward he was literally cleaning his shotgun in the kitchen. And he would never have let me stay the night at Edward’s, even with his parents around. He really didn’t like Edward.”

 

“Well, he was right. Edward’s a dickhead.” Jess said bluntly, making all of us laugh. 

 

“I think we’re missing the important part.” Katie piped in.

 

“And that is?” I asked.

 

“That even your dad thinks you and Sam are together.” Katie added with a smug smile. I blushed, but didn’t say anything.

 

“What, no denial about how you’re just friends ?” Ang questioned with a smirk.

 

“We are. Just friends. But maybe I wanna be more than friends?” I replied, trailing off at the end. Jess squealed, pulling me into a hug.

 

“God, I’m so glad you finally admitted it.” She exclaimed, doing a little happy dance. 

 

“So what are you gonna do about it?” Ang asked.

 

“I don’t know. What am I supposed to say? Hey Sam, I know we’re like really good friends, but I’m actually in love with you. Wanna kiss or something?” I replied, flustered and slightly defensive. 

 

“Bella!” Jess shouted. 

 

“What? I’m not good at this stuff.” I said with a shrug.

 

“I think she’s reacting more to you admitting you love him.” Katie said matter-of-factly. 

 

“Oh.” 

 

“Yeah, oh. You can’t just drop a bomb like that and move on.” Ang said. “We need details!”

 

“I don’t know, it just sorta happened? I only realized last weekend when I was looking at all the pictures Jess and Leah took. Why didn’t you guys tell me I looked so sappy and lovesick when Sam was around?” I argued.

 

“What the hell do you mean, we told you dozens of times!” Jess shot back.

 

“You didn’t believe us! From day one I was nagging you about it.” Ang added. 

 

“Saying he was making eyes at me is not the same thing! I had no idea I was doing it too!” 

 

“I thought you were already dating when we were on the hike. I didn’t find out till I was talking to Eric about how cute of a couple you two are.” Katie said with a shrug.

 

“See!” Jess exclaimed.

 

“Okay, fine, you all told me but I was too in denial to notice, apparently. So what do I do about it?” I asked.

 

“Ask him out! There’s no way he’ll say no.” Jess replied. 

 

“Or just talk to him about it. You guys are practically dating anyway.” Ang added. 

 

“And who knows, he might think you already are.” Katie piped in.

 

“No way.” I said, starting to worry about that possibility. 

 

“You two are more affectionate than Ben and I, and we’ve been together for like 8 months.” Ang said. 

 

“God, you guys are not helping.” I whined, much to their amusement.

 

“Okay, enough chit chat. We’ll talk more about this later, I’m sure, but we got things to do.” Jess said, before ushering us back to the car. “We need to grab the food and like plates and cups and things. And get something for dinner, too.”

Notes:

Fun fact,,, I have a whole other doc for this story with like little notes for each day, the class schedule I made, who's in what class, names of all the characters I include and their age/other things I usually forget. Which further into the story is so helpful cause I do introduce a few randos or give the parents first names and I don't wanna forget them lol. One of the "things i forget" notes is literally "jake didn't give her a dreamcatcher cause i forgot and then bella said she hadn't seen him in forever" which is lowkey an important note cause i love the lil dreamcatcher and i actually have a replica i got off etsy lol. In case you happen to be wondering in the story it is currently Thursday Oct 22 at the start of the chapter! ANYWAYS,,, onto the chapter. Idk what it is about Eric but my Eric is not the best driver, chronically late, listens to pop, etc and somehow it makes perfect sense in my brain? And Ben, he's a dog guy. And he's golden retriever bf so obv that's what he has... I also like to think Jess doesn't actually know what her dad does? Like she's not stupid, but he def works for some corporation that she knows the name of but doesn't actually know his title/position and doesn't really care to? Another tangent on her dad,,, I always picture Pierce Brosnan for some reason? He hasn't even like physically been present in the story other than Sam seeing him way back at the pizza place with Jess and her mom... I know it's my story so i can make anything canon but my unofficial stance on his job will be that he IS Pierce Brosnan but his real last name is Stanley and Brosnan is a fake,,,, and the people of forks including Jess don't realize it's the same guy! ANd i'm pretty sure I made Jess/Bella/Ang watch Mamma mia at some point?? So even better! I am rambling a lot,,, I am a bit overtired lol. Also I'm living for Bella fucking with them with wolf jokes, little red riding hood and whatnot. Its funny to me and its my world my rules!! Also the title references something Bella said at the end and i ALSO thought it would be funny to give y'all some false hope lmao

Chapter 47: They're on Their Way to Rob a BANK

“I’m bored.” Paul complained.

 

“Well what do you want me to do about it?” I asked, rolling my eyes at his dramatics. 

 

“I don’t know? Call Bella to hang out maybe?” He replied, and Jared nodded along. 

 

“I already did earlier, I don’t think she’s home.” I replied.

 

“Damn.” Jared said with a sigh. “Call her again.”

 

“I’m not gonna call her again, clearly she’s busy.” I answered. 

 

“No, you just don’t wanna look desperate.” Paul teased.

 

“I think you two are the desperate ones. Can’t even handle one quiet weekend in.” I added.

 

“Whatever, Sam. You’re just jealous.” Jared shot back. 

 

“Yes, I’m so jealous of you two. I’m glad we could finally talk about it. I mean it was eating me up inside. Hey!” I shouted as Paul chucked an empty glass at my head. “If you break it you buy it.” 

 

“Like you’d ever not catch it.” Paul said with an eyeroll. The phone started ringing, then, and Paul perked up. “Maybe that’s her now.” 

 

“I doubt it, I didn’t leave a message.” I replied as I went over to pick up the phone. “Hello?”

 

“Hey, Sammy.”

 

“Hey Aunt Shannon, how’s it going?” I replied, and I heard Paul and Jared sigh from the living room.

 

“Good, good. I have a conference this weekend, in Port Angeles. I was wondering if you were around tonight, maybe make the drive and meet up for dinner in the city with your favorite aunt?” 

 

“You’re my only aunt.” 

 

“Semantics.” She replied, and I could vividly picture how she was probably waving me off. She always talked with her hands, even on the phone. 

 

“I’d love to. I can leave now? I’d get there around 4:30.” I added.

 

“Get where?” Jared called from the living room.

 

“Dinner in Port Angeles.” I replied.

 

“What was that?” Aunt Shannon asked. 

 

“Jared. Asked where I was going.” 

 

“Oh are the boys over? They should come too. The more the merrier.” 

 

“You say that now.” I warned. “We’ll be there soon. Where should we meet you?” 

 

“I’m staying at the Port Angeles Inn, room 22.” 

 

“Sounds good. See you soon.” I said. 

 

“See ya.” She replied, before hanging up.

 

“We? We’re going too?” Paul asked.

 

“Yup. Let’s go.” I replied, slipping on my boots and heading out the door. The boys stumbled along behind me, trying to put on and tie their boots as they went. 

 

“So is there an occasion you forgot about? Your aunt’s birthday or something?” Paul asked as he climbed in the passenger seat.

 

“No, Aunt Shannon had some kind of conference, for work. I guess she had some free time so now we’re going for dinner. And she was nice enough to let you two tag along, so I expect you to be on your best behavior.” I replied. 

 

“Ya, ya we’ll try not to embarrass you too much.” Jared said, slapping me on the shoulder. 

 

The ride went by fast, and soon enough we were on the outskirts of the city. Jared and Paul spent the ride people watching, making up stories for various people in the cars around us. 

 

“That little old lady has a secret gambling addiction.” Paul started. “She doesn’t play poker, or the little slot machines. She likes the horses. Likes to bet on the long shot, and loses big when they don’t place well. She has a nice car, but she’s on the verge of having it repossessed.”

 

“You guys are ridiculous.” I said, shaking my head. 

 

“You see that gray car, with the 4 girls? They’re on their way to rob a bank .” Jared said.

 

“You’re so bad at this.” Paul said, turning to look at the car. “Hey isn’t that Ang driving?”

 

“What?” I said, looking towards the car they were talking about.

 

“No shit. There’s Jess and Bella and Katie, too. See Sam she wasn’t ignoring you.” Jared added.

 

“I didn’t think she was ignoring me.” I grumbled. The light changed then, and the girls took their turn, heading back towards Forks.

 

“Small world.” Jared said. 

 

“Yeah, it is.” Paul agreed. “Weird how we just happen to see our friends so far from home, on the way to rob a bank .” Paul added sarcastically. 

 

“I’m sorry I’m not as creative as you but I’m trying, okay? Sam’s not doing any good ones either.” Jared argued.

 

“I’m not doing any cause I’m trying to pay attention to the road. You know, so we don’t crash and die?” I added.

 

“Buzzkill.” Paul fake coughed. We got to the hotel soon after, getting out of the truck and making our way to room 22.

 

“Sammy!” Aunt Shannon exclaimed, pulling me into a hug as soon as she answered the door. The boys shared a look, a spark of mischief in their eyes. I leveled them with a glare, before turning back to my aunt.

 

“Hey. This is Jared, and Paul.” I introduced, gesturing to each boy in turn. 

 

“Hey! You can call me Shannon, or Aunt Shannon, I’m not picky.” She said with a shrug. “You guys good with italian?” 

 

“They’ll eat anything.” I replied, and we set off for the restaurant. It was a quick walk, the restaurant being in a building on the same block as the hotel. We didn’t wait long for a table, and soon we were sitting around the table chatting as we waited for our food. 

 

“So you two are juniors, right?” Aunt Shannon asked.

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Jared replied. I snorted at his attempt to be polite, knowing what was coming.

 

“Ma’am? Do I look old enough to be called ma’am ?” Aunt Shannon asked incredulously. “Don’t answer that, I don’t think I wanna know.” She added with a huff. Jared looked at me with wide eyes, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter. 

 

“So what’s new, Aunt Shannon?” I asked, once I had stopped laughing.

 

“Not much. I started a new yoga class with some of the girls from work, it’s not really my thing but we go to the cafe next door to gossip after and that’s definitely my thing. But enough about that, I wanna hear the rez gossip.” She replied, before turning to look between Jared and Paul. “Did our Sammy drag his head out of his ass and ask Bella out yet?” I let out a groan, and both boys snorted. 

 

“Of course he didn’t.” Paul replied.

 

“Those two are ridiculous.” Jared piped in. “Every time we’re together Sam just looks at her all gooey-eyed and just somehow ends up with his arm around her shoulders.”

 

“Or holding her hand after some lame excuse.” Paul added.

 

“Keeping her from falling is not a lame excuse .” I argued. 

 

“You say that, but then you’ll keep holding her hand for another hour.” Jared shot back.

 

“I don’t think she was in danger of falling off the couch the other night.” Paul added with a snort.

 

“Okay, that’s enough.” I grumbled, my face feeling a little hot. 

 

“No, no. Ignore him. I wanna hear more.” Aunt Shannon said, leaning forward in her seat. 

 

The waitress interrupted then, with all conversation pausing as we dug into our meals. It was a nice restaurant, and I felt like we looked a little out of place. I mean we were wearing fairly nice shorts, and our shirts didn’t have holes or anything, but you could tell we weren’t the usual clientele. Aunt Shannon looked the part, dressed fairly formally in a nice blouse and blazer from her day at the conference. The boys may not look right in this fancy restaurant, but they were polite and weren’t rowdy, which was more than I could say for some of the other people in this place. 

 

“God, this ravioli is amazing.” Shannon gushed. “You guys wanna try? I’ll trade a ravioli for a bite of that chicken parm.” She offered, gesturing towards Jared’s plate.

 

“Deal.” Jared said before spearing a ravioli. Aunt Shannon reached across the table, grabbing a bite of his chicken. 

 

“So?” I asked Jared. 

 

“Delish.” He replied.

 

“So, Halloweens coming up, you guys got anything fun planned?” Shannon asked. 

 

“Jess, one of Bella’s friends, always throws a big halloween party. So we’re doing that Friday night, then all of our friends are sleeping over and we’re gonna spend the day there carving pumpkins and watching scary movies, stuff like that.” Paul replied. 

 

“Have you guys picked out costumes yet?” She asked. 

 

“I think we’re gonna be pirates.” Jared answered.

 

“I’ll be Jack Sparrow, and Jared’ll be Will Turner. Maybe Barbossa for Sam?” Paul added.

 

“When did we decide this?” I asked, looking between the boys.

 

“I don’t know, at school maybe?” Paul replied. 

 

“You guys should grab your costumes here, they’ve got tons of stuff at the shops.” Shannon added.

 

“We probably should pick out something, it’s this week.” I agreed. “I’m not being Barbossa though, just putting that out there.”

“C’mon, Sam, you have to match.” Jared whined.

Notes:

Anotha one,,,,,,,,, I am rereading all this as I post cause it has been a hot minute, I really like a the beginning of this one "Damn. Call her again." Also like my note in the last chapter, idk what Aunt Shannon does for work other than it being in Seattle,,,, I made her up, I should know? But I don't! Maybe it'll come up eventually. And also I have him say "you're my only aunt" but there apparently (according to the illustrated guide thingy) an aunt and uncle on his dad's side? But as far as I am concerned they are not in the picture/not considered family to sam. Also another over the top detail I looked up a hotel near Bella Italia (literally directly behind it),how many rooms it had, etc. I am insane but I like accuracy! And ya, I did make them go to the same place bella and edturd did cause i thought it was funny! AND YA AUNT SHANNON GOT ~THE~ RAVIOLI!!!