By the Light of the Moon I Will Always Love You

The next day, Ariel arrived to school with a fresh face scrubbed clear of tear marks, her eyes were her icy blue, cold and sad. Jacob wasn’t there to see her in, his scent was old, and she missed it, wishing that maybe, today she could have seen him, smelt him...he always seemed so close, yet too far to reach out and touch.

Peter on the other hand, greeted her in calculus with a warm smile, which for a brief moment sent a warm rushing feeling through her body. Perhaps in the dark shadow that Jacob had left her in, Peter could be her sun, if not as a lover, as a friend. He had a likable quality about him, which she recognised as a dominant factor in his role as alpha male of the school. The boys wanted to be him, the girls wanted to be with him. Ariel did not know it, but the second she had stepped out of Edward’s Volvo, onto the smooth tarmac of the school grounds, she had stepped into the instant role of alpha female. She was beautiful, and did not have to earn the respect she needed, it was given immediately.

Peter was a guiding hand in her first week of the utterly terrifying new life of schoolwork. He helped her with her homework, sat with her at lunch and at all times that were not filled with conversation, stared at her with adoring eyes.

Deep down, Peter recognised Ariel as a tortured soul. He witnessed the brief moments when Ariel’s eyes, so desolate and sad, would become distant as if she were reliving memories that haunted her. He wanted to ask what was chasing her, what was causing her so much anguish but his conscience told him not to. It was a hurt so obviously close to her heart that Peter would never cause her such pain as to talk about it.

She had a secret, he knew that. There was a reason she looked the way she did, smelled the way she did. In Peter’s memory, he could never remember anyone that had ever looked so beautiful, so pure and so out of place. He believed that Ariel belonged in some other world, where magic existed A world where everything was good and nothing could harm her...she belonged with the world of the supernatural. He didn’t realise she was already in one, and now, so was he.

“Hey Ariel,” Peter sat down beside Ariel in their usual spot in the large cafeteria, by the window. The first day, Ariel had insisted on sitting here and often glanced towards the forest as if looking for something...or someone. They now sat here everyday, Ariel looking out the window, Peter looking at her.

“Good morning Peter,” Ariel murmured, her head resting lightly on the glass, as always staring at the trees.

“So...,” Peter toyed with the pizza in front of him. Ariel wasn’t eating. She didn’t eat anymore and Peter didn’t ask why ,“Some of the team are going to the beach this weekend, I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?”

Ariel turned away from the window for a moment and stared at Peter for several seconds. He stayed still under her scrutinising gaze, liking the devoted attention, “What beach?” she asked slowly.

“La Push...”

Ariel’s fingers made a strange motion, clenching into fists and relaxing instantly and Peter glanced at them for a moment, and then towards her face where he was quick enough to notice a strange agonised look cross it.

“Is something wrong? We don’t have to go...”

She blinked three times, and thought deeply. Jacob didn’t care about her...and if she went he’d find her scent. He’d inform Sam... If there was one thing Ariel had learned from high school, it was the act of rebellion. A strange smile crossed her mouth, her sharp teeth glinted, “I’ll go.”

~

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Jasper’s worry was laced in his voice, as he handed Ariel a sleeping bag, and another bag of a change of clothes she had packed for herself.

Ariel smiled, “I’ll be fine.”

“But what if you see Jacob, will you be okay with that Ariel?” Jasper seemed almost angry that she was going, and Bella smiled,

“Jasper she’ll be fine, stop worrying, let her go and have some fun...”

Ariel smiled thankfully at Bella and kissed Jasper on the cheek, “I’ll be fine Jazz, I promise...” She squeezed his hand and then ran towards the BMW that Peter was waiting in patiently. She hopped in and he smiled at her, “Your cousin’s protective of you...” He had noticed Jasper’s reluctance to let her go.

She smiled softly, “Yeah...he just worries too much.”

She waved at the anxious figure of Jasper as they drove off and he waved tentively back, “Be good sister,” he murmured.

Later that night, the flames of the bonfire flickered in Ariels eyes as she watched them dance, sitting close to Peter. She swigged carelessly at the bottle of whisky that was passed around to “warm” them up, knowing it would have no effect on her. Peter didn’t drink, and she was grateful...she didn’t really want to put up with a drunken teenager.

She watched him as he talked with his friends, witnessing how his blue eyes lit up when he talked about something he liked, it could be football, pizza, or the old TV shows he loved to watch the reruns of...she wondered sometimes would he believe her if she told him the fairytales of her kind...did he believe the way Bella had?

She stiffened as a strong wind blew over her, and as her white hair rushed around her face the unmistakeable spicy scent hit her like a wall of bricks. Her breath went short and she stood up immediately, reassuring Peter she would be alright as she walked towards the cliff.

She stopped in “their spot” where Jacob was hiding and waiting for her...

“What are you doing here Ariel?” his husky voice after so long pierced her heart and she closed her eyes, opening them slowly before answering..

“I’m here with friends from school Jacob, I’m not hunting and not for one second do I think that you thought I was...”

Jacob flinched at the word “hunting” and Ariel narrowed her eyes, taking a step away from him, “You didn’t have to come here Jacob.”

“This is my territory!”

“You didn’t have to come here Jacob; this is our spot, our cliff. You knew I’d smell you and you knew I’d come!”

Jacob looked away, his brown eyes troubled.Ariel stepped closer to him again, “Jacob...look at me.”

Jacob looked at her, and slowly placed his palm over her small cheek, stroking it softly. She was so close...

“What do you see when you look at me Jacob?”

Jacob furrowed his brow, “What do you mean Ariel?”

“Do you see a hunter; do you believe that when you look at me, you should be seeing a red eyed killer, a creature that has no other feeling but blood lust?”

“Or do you see me, do you see Ariel, the girl you love, your imprint...the silver eyed angel who will never leave your mind the way a brown eyed wolf will never leave mine...Do you see a girl who has no future, no past and no present...a girl who is waiting, waiting for an answer...a girl that loves you for you and who will never allow difference to pull us apart...”

“What do you see Jacob?”

Jacob opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say and Ariel closed her eyes against tears, turning away and hiding her face, his hesitation to answer scorching another hole through her already broken heart...

He reached out to pull her into his chest when a voice unfamiliar to him, but not to Ariel called her name and she stepped out of arm’s length from him to look at the boy stepping around a corner, searching for her.

Peter stopped as he caught sight of his friend and smiled, “Oh, there you are...I got worried when you didn’t come back.”

Ariel faked a smile, “I’m fine.”

Peter glanced at Jacob and Ariel cleared her throat, “Peter, Jacob Black, Jacob, Peter Leeson.”

Peter smiled, nodding at Jacob who scowled. Peter made a face, “Was I interrupting.”

Jacob narrowed his eyes, “Yeah you were so -”

Ariel cut him off, “No, I was just leaving...”

Jacob watched as Ariel walked away from him, his eyes following Peter as he placed his jacket over Ariel’s shoulders thinking she must be cold, and pulling her closer to him...