Cats and Dogs

"It's raining!" screeched Leah as she stormed into the living room, not caring that she was dripping water on the carpet. "I don't care what the hell your problem is but I'm staying inside." She just glared at me before plopping down on the couch next to Jake and resting her feet on the coffee table.

"Well that was random," I said looking around the room for some support on the subject and finding none.

"Do you have to put your two sense into everything," hissed the female wolf. Now come on, I'm trying to be nice... ish. I hadn't ran away or clawed her face off yet and what do I get in return? Absolutely nothing.

"Yeah, I do." I answered, "it's a personality flaw. I have a lot of those." She rolled her eyes and leaned into Jacob who didn't push her away. Now that pissed me off, Leah and I were apparently both bitches, but I'm prettier, he should like me, or at least not want to rip my me to shreds.

"Leah, is there a reason why you're here?" asked Sam as he started to massage his temples. "Because I don't remember telling you it was okay to come back in." I had to bit my lip to keep from laughing when Leah's jaw dropped and her face turned a deep shade of red. Of course I was the only one that thought this was amusing so Seth turned and stared at me strangely as I slowly collected myself.

"I already told you," said Leah oblivious to my amusement concerning this situation. "It's raining," she straightened up and stared at Sam as if he was crazy. Trust me, I know that look.

"Okay, and?" he asked. "Why are you here?" There was no way in hell I saw that coming and my respect level for the black wolf raised several points.

"Sam!" she cried. "You don't honestly expect me to stay outside in this storm do you?" As if on cue a flash of lightning lit up the room and I mentally kicked myself for the pang of sympathy I felt for the girl.

"Yes, I do," said Sam. The duo stared at each other from across the room and you could literally feel the tension in that air.

"Um... I'm going to make lunch for everybody." Said Quil and he dashed out of the room before anyone had the chance to say anything.

"Sam," I said cautiously since I really didn't want to get into a fight today. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... let her stay." Everyone turned to me, even Jake seemed confused by my kindness.

"Why?" asked Embry, and he ignored Sam's look of disapproval. I could have said that I felt sorry for the girl, or that I didn't want to be on the receiving end of her anger right now, and maybe even said that she was starting to grow on me in the last five seconds I had spent with her, but no, I had to go with the cowardly way out.

"QUIL!" I screamed as I ran out of the room. "Don't burn anything I'm coming to help you!" I slid to a stop outside of the kitchen doorway but somehow managed to trip over my own foot and fall sideways onto the linoleum flooring.

"Are you okay?" asked Quil as he walked out of the kitchen and helped me back to my feet. "This is why you don't run indoors." I was led into the room he had just come out of and forced to sit on a hard wooden chair.

"I'm fine, dad," I whined. "God, why are you so protective?" That boy had the nerve to slap me upside the head and walk away.

"Don't be a smart ass," he ordered. Why does everyone say that? First Seth now Quil, well at least they admit I'm smart. "If you're going to help then come over here and assist me." I rolled my eyes I walked over to see what the dog had decided to make and was insanely relieved to see that it wasn't kibble.

"Hamburgers and hotdogs," I said peering over his shoulder. "That's so normal." Quil somehow managed to give me an obscene hand gesture while forming hamburger patties but he didn't say anything as a pot of water on the stove came to a boil and he dumped about twenty hotdogs into it.

"What did you expect?" he asked a little later and I was confused for a few minutes before remembering what I had said earlier.

"I don't know," I answered honestly as I placed a completed patty on a paper plate. "I know other shape shifters eat regular food, but you all seem more... canine than most."

"Seth was right," he said out of the blue. That sentence reminded me of something Jared had said earlier.

"You mean how I don't seem like a bitch whenever you talk to me one-on-one?" I asked quoting what I had heard on my walk over here.

"Yeah, it's really weird. I could easily say I didn't like you ten minutes ago but now it seems impossible to think of you as anything less than a friend." He looked over at me and I could see the honesty in his chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm a charming person," I explained, "I've only known you guys for what? A day and a half? And I already have three of you on my side. I give it month before Jacob is telling me he loves me and wants to spend the rest of his life with me and never wants to leave my sight. " He scoffed as I walked around him and started to grill the mountain of burgers.

"What?" I asked. "Leave him in a room with me for an hour and he'll be my boy toy before you know it." There was a chuckle from the other side of the house and I knew it had to come from Embry. No one else would have thought it was that funny.

"STOP LISTENING IN ON CONVERSATIONS THAT DON'T CONCERN YOU!" I yelled and the chuckling immediately stopped just to be replaced by howling laughter.

"I think you're underestimating Jake's ability to be a jerk," he said knowing that I could hear him and not needing to scream like I had. There was a loud slap and I knew Jacob didn't appreciate the boy's statement.

"Anyway," I said turning back to Quil. "What you were talking about happens alot. Some people can't help but love me while others want nothing more than to see me six feet under. There's no middle ground really," I flipped the burgers on the stove top grill and the dog just stared at the side of my head.

"Interesting," he said as if there was something else on his mind, "but enough about your strange personality. What do you like to do for fun?" I watched as he walked over to the table and sat down in the chair that he had placed me in earlier.

"I like to climb," I told him honestly. "Trees, mountains, buildings, it really doesn't matter as long as it's something tall." Without thinking about it I started to place all the hotdogs and hamburgers on buns and laughed when I realized how much food we had. We could have fed a small army and still have food left to give to the homeless shelter. "You?"

"Swimming," he said and moved the large platters of food off the counter before placing them on the kitchen table and retrieving several bags of chips and paper plates from the cabinet. "Favorite Color? Mine's blue."

"Black," I answered and when he gave me a strange look I continued to explain. "It's the color of the night and the moon raises in the night." I thought he would have asked about that but he merely shrugged and continued to help me get everything ready. "If you could have anything in the world what would it be?" If you ever want to know someone then ask that question because it says a lot about a person.

"My imprint," he said and I was tempted to scream "awe" at the top of my lungs and hug him. Thankfully I have some self control and spared myself that humiliation.

"You're such a romantic," I gushed and picked up the platters of food and waited for Quil to get everything else so we could serve the ungrateful group that was still in the living room doing only god knows what. "You see, I would have said my own country because I hate to follow rules." I had just finished that sentence as we walked into the living room and I sat the food down on the coffee table before retaking my seat next to Seth and Jared.

The smile that spread across my face when Quil sat down in the chair next to the sofa literally went from one ear to the other. Three down, five to go.

"So is this poisoned?" asked Jake as he eyed the food suspiciously.

"Of course!" I said as if it was crazy that he would even ask such a question. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't try to kill you along with everyone else in this room?"

"A normal one?" asked Leah.

"Exactly" I answered and took a hotdog from the pile before shoving half of it in my mouth and smiling like an idoit.