Hells Angel

Avery stood awkwardly in the driveway, watching as the boys (men?) stopped playing basketball and looked at her. She waved slightly. She wasn't used to feeling awkward in social situations, even if they weren't her favorite place to be. “Hi.”

“I met you last night, right?” Quil said, tossing the basketball to Sam.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

Quil smiled. “Well, okay then.”

“Don't be such a creep, Quil, stop staring,” Linley said. She looked back at Avery. “Do you play basketball?”

She shrugged. “I can. I'm not pro or anything,” she said.

“Well take that jacket off and play!”

“Not everyone wants to play, Quil,” Linley said. “Okay, so you know Quil. That's Sam, the smaller one is my brother Seth, Paul is the one wearing the headband—and you don't look cool, by the way—and... Hey, where's Jacob?”

Sam walked over to the girls, pointing over his shoulder. “The hammock,” he said. “Look, Lin, he's really not doing well, okay? I don't think this is the best time for your overpowering personality.”

Linley looked hurt for just a minute before rolling her eyes. “He's been in a funk for months. He needs to get out of it.”

“He watched her die, Lin,” Sam said quietly—he didn't want the new girl to overhear.

“He'll be fine as long as you idiots let him move on,” Linley said. “He's miserable because you guys don't make him get out there and do anything.”

“Because he's mourning!” Sam yelled.

Linley stepped back. “You can talk to my brother that way, but not me,” she said, shaking her head. “Back off, Sam.”

“You have no idea what he's going through, Linley,” Sam said, his voice softer. “Don't force him into anything.”

Avery pushed their conversation aside, not wanting to eavesdrop. She set her purse down next to the house, removing her jacket and setting it on top. “Let's play.”

“Hell's Angels?” Quil asked.

“It's a...thing with me and my dad,” she said.

“It's a biker gang that originated in L.A. that deals drugs and hangs with prostitutes,” Jacob mumbled as he walked through the center of the 'court' to his back door.

“You don't know anything about the Hell's Angels,” Avery said, a hard edge to her voice. She knew the reputation her father's club had and she had the tendency to get very defensive when it came to them. They might not have been the nicest guys, or the ones who always followed the law, but they were good to her and treated her well. Up until her father decided to leave.

Jacob scoffed, looking over at her. “Look at you. Leather jacket, all black, pretending to be something you're not.”

“You want me to give you a reason to have those puffy eyes? I'm not afraid of you. Talk shit about my father again, I dare you,” she said, staring him down.

“This is awkward,” Linley whispered, loudly, to Sam. She had never seen someone stand up to any of her brother's friend, let alone a girl who stood easy six inches shorter than Jacob, looking at him as if he were nothing.

Jacob frowned. “You know nothing about me or what I've been through.”

“Right back at you, buddy,” she said, crossing her arms.

He looked at her up and down, shaking his head. “You're not even worth it.”

Avery laughed. “Good to know you're still wasting your breath, then.”

He stared at her.

She stared back, raising an eyebrow. She wasn't going to back down from a staring match.

“Whatever,” Jacob muttered, looking away and walking back into his house, slamming the door.

Linley walked over to Avery, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Gotta admit, you have guts, girl. But uh, maybe that wasn't so much guts as it was—“

“Stupidity,” Sam said.

“Well, I was going to say it in a more delicate manner,” Linley said, “but yes, stupidity.”

“I'm not going to let someone I don't know talk bad about my father when he's clueless. I didn't come here assuming to know anything about him and yet he spouts off what he reads on Wikipedia and expect me not to stand up for someone?” Avery shook her head. “No deal. I don't play that game.”

“We need more girls like you around here,” Quil joked. “Still up for a game?”

“You bet.”

+

“Okay, you're pretty good,” Quil said, giving Avery a high five. “I need water and sustenance. Who's with me?”

“I will take you up on that water business,” Avery said, sitting down in the middle of the court. She ran a hand over her hair; her bangs were now matted to her forehead and she tied her hair back.

“Here ya go.”

Avery caught the water bottle he threw at her and opened it, taking a drink. The rest of the guys were drinking water or eating some chips, just talking amongst one another.

“Don't take what Jacob said too personally, Aves,” Quil said. “I can't indulge too much but someone really close to him died this summer. And he's clearly not getting over it anytime soon.”

“I probably shouldn't have been so rude,” she said, shrugging. “But I know what the assumptions are about the Hell's Angels and my dad's not like that anymore. Besides, the Angels were like family to me for years so I get really defensive.”

“He hasn't been the same. If you had come in May, you would've have seen an entirely different Jacob,” Quil said, taking a drink of his water. “But then this whole thing with Nessie, and Bella and Edward left—which everyone else here is thrilled about—but he's really torn up about it. And I guess he feels like none of us understand or will sympathize because we hate Bella and Edward,” he explained.

“But you guys are his friends. Even if you didn't like them, you should be there for him,” she said.

Quil laughed, softly. “Aves, we're guys. We don't to the whole...girl talk, sympathy, cry-on-my-shoulder thing,” he said. “We man up.”

Avery rolled her eyes. “Stereotypes. Gotta love 'em.”

“So what's your story?”

She shrugged. “New girl. Invading a group of friends and pissing people off within the first five minutes?” she suggested, laughing.

Quil smiled. “No, really.”

“I don't know,” Avery said, surprised at how easy it was to talk to Quil. “My dad wanted us to get away. He wanted us to have as normal of a life as possible after my mother died and...somehow we ended up here. I really think he pinned a map to the wall and threw a dart and this is where it landed, because I am in the middle of nowhere.” She paused. “No offense,” she stated as an afterthought.

“You really have to love this place to say,” he told her. “The reservation is...more like a brotherhood. You wouldn't believe how close we all are here.”

She nodded, slowly. “I can imagine. You probably all have a long, complicated history.”

He laughed. “You have no idea.”

Avery sat there for a few minutes, listening to everyone's conversations before standing up. “Could you point me in the direction of the bathroom?”

“First door on the right,” Sam said.

“Thanks,” Avery nodded, walking into the back door and into the kitchen. It was small, with off white and green tile on the floor, a small wooden table to her right, cabinets to the left. She turned towards the hallway and located the bathroom, washing her hands and face. After a minute she left, eyes falling upon the door across from it. It was cracked open and she could see Jacob leaning against the wall, eyes shut, shirt off. She watched him for a minute and jumped back when his eyes opened, landing on hers.

“What?” he asked, walking over to the door and opening it.

Avery sighed. “I was just looking around,” she said.

Jacob nodded, eyes blazing.

“You're mad. I understand. I'll just have Linley take me home,” she said, crossing her arms.

“That'd probably be smart,” he said. He went to shut the door but Avery stuck her foot in the frame, stopping him. “Can I help you?”

“Look, I don't know you, but I know you're sad. And it's not my place and you don't care, but I lost my mother and... Moping around about it, refusing to talk to anyone, it didn't help. Maybe it was just me but... Staying in a funk will only make it worse,” she said, reaching to touch his hand, surprised at its heat.

He jerked his hand back. “You don't know me, Avery, you're right about that.”

“I'm not good at the whole empathy thing, Jacob, but I'm trying,” she said, getting defensive at his standoff attitude. She was never one to open up or talk to people about their problems. She wasn't even sure why she was trying with him when she knew he wasn't going to talk.

“Well, stop trying. I didn't ask for your help or empathy,” he spat.

Avery rolled her eyes. “Okay. I'm sorry about Nessie,” she said.

Jacob's eyes darkened. “I'm going to kill Quil.”

“He was just explaining why you're so upset,” she told him.

“It's not his place,” he growled.

“You are such an asshole.”

“Excuse you?”

“I'm here, trying to apologize for being a bitch earlier—which is not something I ever do, by the way, because my father raised me to never apologize for who I am—and you couldn't be a bigger asshole,” she said. “I take back my apology.”

“Good. I didn't want it in the first place,” he said, leaning against the door frame.

Avery took a step back.

“Nervous?” he asked.

“You're a giant,” she said, calmly. “And I have a personal space issue, so yes, I'm a little anxious when someone invades it.”

Jacob smiled, a real smile, the first one in months.

Avery's eyes widened in genuine surprise. “Are you high? Did you just smile?”

Jacob laughed. “No, I'm not high. And I'm trying to figure out why I'm smiling.”

“It's because I'm amazing,” Avery whispered loudly.

“If you say so,” Jacob said. He paused for a minute, looking Avery up and down. “I'm sorry if I implied anything negative about your father.”

Avery shrugged. “I'm used to it, with the jacket and all. I just got so used to jumping to his defensive whenever someone even mentioned it. Everyone remembers the bad things they did, but none of the good, like the charity events and the Olympic Torch running,” she told him. “It's just hard to stop something you're so used to doing.”

He nodded. “I get it.”

She looked up at him. “So...?”

“So...?” he mocked.

“Are you going to apologize for acting like a total dick?”

He scoffed. “Are you kidding me? You took back your apology!”

“Because you were acting like a dick!” she said.

“If you apologize, I'll apologize,” Jacob said.

“No deal. I did once so now it's your turn,” she said.

He shook his head. “You took yours back so, technically, we're at square one.”

“Well, then technically? I don't care.”

“So you're not apologizing.”

“Hell no,” she said. “Are you?”

“Hell no,” he mocked.

Avery frowned, looking down at his chest for a brief second then back up at his eyes. “You're still in my personal space.”

“You can leave at any time, princess,” he said, a mocking smile on his face.

“Asshole,” she muttered, turning around and walking out of his house, back to the yard. The door slammed shut behind her and the guys and Linley turned to stare. “What?”

“You look pissed beyond belief,” Linley said. “What happened in there?”

“I think I should go home,” Avery said, nodding, picking up her jacket and purse. “Yeah, going home would be wise.”

Linley nodded. “Okay. I'll be back later, guys,” she said. She waited until the two of them were in her car and headed back towards her house before she spoke. “Are you okay?”

“I wasn't prepared for this,” Avery said softly, looking out the window.

“Prepared for what?”

Avery sighed. “Feeling like someone has the power of turning my whole world upside down with one look,” she whispered. “I hate feeling like I'm not in control of something. And I know it sounds insane but... I don't know. There's something really weird about Jacob.”

“Yeah, he's freakishly gorgeous,” Linley said. “I'd date him in a heartbeat if he ever looked at me like he was interested. But he never has. He was all about Bella for so long and then she married Edward and...I think that's when he realized that was it.”

“God, I'm so not ready for all of this drama. Maybe my dad should just home school me.”

“And miss the fun of of who's dating who?” Linley joked.