Black Fire

-Jake-
"Hey, I was using that," I protested when Shane snatched the spatula out of my hand.
"Jacob, you were abusing the poor pancakes," she shot back. "You don't deserve a spatula."
"I was not abusing the pancakes!"
"Yes you were," she said.
"No I was not."
"You were."
"Not."
She stuck out her tongue and I just couldn't take it anymore - neither could she; we both burst out laughing.
"What happened here," dad asked from the doorway, chuckling to himself. I'm sure we were a sight, laughing our asses off, covered with flour, arguing about pancake abuse.
"Breakfast in the Black home," Shane replied with a grin. "Shenanigans are part of a balanced meal."
He just shook his head with a grin of his own and rolled over to the table. "The sausage is done," she explained, loading each of the three plates with an appropriate helping of links, "but Jacob was abusing the pancakes."
"Best kind," he said. "Abused pancakes have more character than pampered and preened ones."
I stuck out my tongue at her and she just rolled her eyes, still grinning. "Point taken." She stacked my 'abused' pancakes onto the plates and we all sat down to eat.

"So," dad asked when we were almost done with breakfast, "what do you two have planned for today?"
I shrugged. "Nothing really," I replied. "Hadn't thought about it."
"Well, I have band practice," Shane said in an overly-peppy way, though it didn't seem to be sarcastic. "The guys get to pick the set we practice today - I kind of like being surprised."
"Cool," I said and kind of trailed off as if I wanted to say something more. I did - I wanted to ask if I could go with her again.
"Jakey," she said in an almost chiding tone as if she were talking to a child who was lying to her or making a pathetic attempt to keep a secret from her. "Do you want to tag along again?"
I couldn't help laughing just a little. "I've got nothing else to do," I replied - as if I needed an excuse for wanting to go.
She grinned. "Good, because the guys would tear me a new one if I didn't bring you. You help set up, you critique, and you may well be able to contribute, too."
I gave her a playful shove. "You could've said that in the first place!"
"Well, yeah," she said, "but what fun would that have been?"

-Shane's POV-

"What's this big gig you guys are practicing for, anyway," Jacob asked as we walked to Seth's; it was a longer distance to Seth's than Jared's but we wanted to walk anyway. Actually, the longer distance was probably why we chose to walk.
"No, no, no," I chided. "It's a secret, you'll just have to wait until the show."
"I'll just ask Seth when we get there," he said. We were almost there already. "He'll tell me." With that he took off, grinning. I followed with a grin of my own and we were still neck-and-neck when we came to a stop in Seth's backyard, chuckling.
"Mornin' guys," I greeted cheerily. They didn't look quite as happy.
"Shane," I heard in the form of a question from the back door and all semblance of happiness drained from me. "Shane Dawson?"
I desperately wanted to not even glance over, to pretend I never heard him. But, I had to. "Taylor," was all I said.
I immediately wrapped my arms around my brother from behind; as soon as the name passed my lips every muscle in his body was tensed, his nostrils were flared, his upper lip was twitching, his eyes were tight, a low growl was escaping his lips, and he was shaking so much that he was practically vibrating. If I hadn’t done something, Jacob would have killed him or, at the very least, beat the ever-lovin' p*ss out of him.
Not only was Taylor there, but he had his arm around Leah's waist. 'Stupid little girl has no idea the sh*t she's getting into'
"Jakey, calm down," I murmured in his ear. "He isn't worth it, and I couldn't stand it if you got in trouble for hurting him."
"What about him hurting me," he murmured back, still in a sort of growl.
"Yeah, right," I replied skeptically. "You think he could so much as put a scratch on you?"
At that he chuckled and nodded once, a gesture meant to say he'd be okay if I let him go, so I did.
"So," Taylor asked with a vague nod toward Jacob, "who's this excitable guy?"
"Jacob Black," Jacob answered simply.
"Taylor Brightley," the prick replied, offering his hand with an exaggerated grin.
Jacob just looked at the hand like it was a dead rat being offered to him. Taylor eventually dropped the hand, smile wavering.
"So, you're the half-brother Shay always went on about?" I noticeably winced when he said 'Shay'. Jacob, most of all, noticed.
"That I am," he replied, struggling to do so un-snippily. "And you're the ex she has to be bribed to talk about." I actually smiled at that. He was referring to how I wouldn't tell him about Taylor unless he told me about Bella.
"I suppose I am."
"Maybe we should leave," Leah said, starting to tug at Taylor's arm.
"Actually," he said, "I think the Blacks and I should have a little talk. Shane? Jacob? Come inside with me for a minute or two?"
We glanced at each other, then back at him, and nodded. He held the back door open for us then met us in the small den, where I immediately shoved him against the wall so hard he got woozy.
"I thought you didn't like 'feather-head, cousin-fucking, dirt-skinned Quileutes,' Tay," I growled. It felt good to throw his own old pet-name back at him angrily.
"I don't," he replied. "But my parents dragged me to Forks to see some family, and she'll keep me entertained through vacation. You know I like virgins."
I punched the wall beside his head and nearly put a hole through it. "You go ahead and be a pathetic excuse for pond scum, Taylor," I said. "But, you leave me and my people out of it! Tell Leah it's over before you scar her forever, then leave us all alone."
"I'm not going anywhere until I get what I want." I was about to break his face, I swear to god, but Jake came up right behind me and caught my arm in mid-swing.

-Jake-
"Shaney," I cooed. "Remember, he's not worth it. If I can't break some bones for what he did to you, you can't break them for what he is doing to Leah."
Still slumped against the wall, the dirt-bag laughed almost hysterically. "My god," he said. "You two are even worse than cousin-fuckers, aren't you? Well isn't that just precious? Jakey and Shaney : Dirt-Skins in Love."
We both turned on him with ungodly death glares. "If you tell a single soul that you even considered that," Shane spat, her voice taking on a supernatural tone, "you will burn, and I will love every fucking moment of it."
She sounded absolutely serious, and she looked absolutely capable. The pupils of her eyes seemed to have overtaken the irises, pure black replacing the amethyst I adored. I noticed that her two sharp teeth were extended just slightly, more capable of causing damage, and I only then noticed how sharp they really were. Most disturbing of all, the fist I'd stopped from colliding with the dirt-bag's face had come undone, and forming in the palm was a perfect little ball of purple flames.
"Shaney!" My slightly panicked call seemed to snap her out of it and the fireball just sort of fizzled out of existence.
"Think it's freaky now," the dirt-bag asked. "Just wait until the first time she bites you - you're just enough of a sick freak, you'd probably like it."
I couldn't be bothered to stop her this time - Shane popped him, caught the nose and mouth both. It looked like it must have hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.
He crumbled to the floor and we just walked away, back outside to rejoin the others.

"Go pick your boyfriend up off his ass and get him the h*ll out of here," Shane advised Leah calmly.
"Don't come back to shout about it, just grab him and leave," I added. She did just that.
Shane sighed. "Are we gonna practice or what?"