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All day, my mind whirled with questions about Jacob and Paul’s fight.

What happened to the both of them after Sam showed up? Why weren’t they in school? How did it even start in the first place?

Unable to concentrate on anything else, I had a pretty bad morning. I answered an obvious question wrong in Biology, I ran into Mandie in the hallway and knocked her Art project out of her hands, crushing it in the process (I apologized profusely and offered to explain to her teacher, which I did), and, to top it all off, by the time lunch rolled around, Jacob had not arrived back at school.

I swear, that boy is going to fail if he keeps skipping like this.

Nervous, I couldn’t muster up the stomach to eat anything. Kristina kept nudging me with her carrot sticks, while Leah gave them squeaky voices and chorused, “Eat me!” every few minutes. But food was the last thing on my mind, for once. Instead I devoured my fingernails, an old habit of mine, and rubbed at a headache forming at my temples.

When the bell rang, releasing us to go to our respective next classes, Leah cornered me on my way to the Gym and glanced down at me disapprovingly.

“You can’t run around not eating because your lover boy is gone from school you know.”

I sighed. “I know, Leah. I’m sorry, I just really wasn’t hungry.”

She narrowed her eyes, before scoffing. “Yeah. Whatever. Just don’t collapse in Gym because you’re malnourished. I don’t want to lug your fat butt to the nurse’s office.”

With that, she winked and ran the rest of the way.

I smiled a little, not hurt at all by her playful jab. I was, however, still thinking about Jacob. I knew it was irrational for me to dwell on the fight, but it was really all that my brain would focus on. And there was one specific, persistent, absolutely insane idea that I couldn’t lodge out of my brain:

That I was the reason for their fight.

“Those last three class periods were torture!” I wailed miserably as Leah walked me to my Hummer at the end of the day. I was going to drive her home today on a whim; I just felt like bringing my dear cousin home. The fact that we really were somewhat related never really registered with me, mentally and vocally I always just refer to her as one of my close friends. But, we are related. Which means that I really do have some of La Push buried deep in my veins.

“Seriously? That quiz that Foreman lugged on us was cake, sistah!” Leah joked, waving her hands about, “If you didn’t ace it you’ve gotta be the dumbest -- ”

I brought a finger to her lips, glaring into her brown eyes in the process. “Watch it,” I snapped. “While you might find yourself inhumanly intelligent, us normals have to study to ace quizzes lugged upon us by Creative Writing teachers. And I’ve not been able to grab a good night’s sleep in ages, so when, last night, I actually reached unconsciousness, I blew off reviewing those lame notes I forgot we took.”

Leah glanced at me in concern, “You okay, Heath?”

I nodded. “I’m fine.”

Well ain’t that -- not -- the truth? In all honesty, I was nearly flunking out of two of my classes (stupid Writing and stupid History), I couldn’t find peace at home to rest because I kept having that whacko dream, Janice was getting really antsy for no reason whatsoever lately, and really hung up on some weird secret stuff she’d been doing with Sue and Billy, and my fifteen-year-old little brother grew about a foot and got all moody and ill in about a week! Not to mention my ever-growing affections for the one and only Jacob Black, the school-skipping, Paul-punching boy wonder!

Aughh. I need a vacation or something. Christmas will make it better. Toys and cookies are yummy.

“You just had a two-minute pity monologue in your head, didn’t you?”

I snapped the head in question up to stare at Leah strangely, while simultaneously replying (without even a trace of honesty), “No…”

“Aha, yes you did,” she smiled and at once her teeth blinded me (these La Push kids have seriously white teeth, lemme tell ya), “Methinks you need some relaxation tonight. Girl time with Leah-poo!”

A peal of garish laughter erupted from my lips.

“Leah-poo? What the heck, Lee?”

She smiled mysteriously. “I can call myself whatever I like.”

The green eyes in my sockets rolled; Leah’s narrowed in slight annoyance at the gesture, but shook it off and grabbed my arm, decidedly dragging me off in a random direction.

“Wherewegoin’” I coughed, trying to resist her brutish strength, “Lemmegoyoucrazy!”

She cackled mercilessly, “No, you poor mortal. I’m dragging you with me to the Underworld for makeovers, mani-pedi’s and boy talk! Mwahahahahaha!”

Noooooooooooooooo!

And so that is how I ended up on Leah Clearwater’s black-sheeted bed, watching my toenails dry ten different colors while flanked on either side by Quil Aterea and Embry Call.

“Leah, I thought you said we needed girl time,” my eyes swept over the three-to-two boy-to-girl ratio in the room, “And yet there are more dudes than chicks here.”

She shrugged. “We don’t really know any girls except you, me, and Kristina.”

This is the truth, you know.

“So Quilly, Emmy, and Sethers are the replacements!” Quil finished, adding a clap at the end, the likes of which seriously made me stop and question his sexuality for a moment.

I sighed, grabbing some hot pink nail polish and gesturing in Embry’s direction. He tilted his head and asked me what I wanted. In response, I dipped the brush in the cool liquid, tenderly wove it in his direction, and splattered it all over his right hand.

“Heather, what the! -- ” Embry looked at his now tinted arm and gave me a look of extreme incredulity.

“If I’m getting a manicure that looks like it was applied by a three-year-old, you do too Buster.”

And that was how I spent a solid two hours giving three Quileute boys (who, in previous encounters, have shown they are very fond of their masculinity) glittery & mismatched manicures. Quil seemed quite up for it, but Leah had to bully Seth and Embry into participation. We made a bet to see who could beat the other in chess (the only game the Clearwaters had locked up in their closet); loser(s) wears his/her fabulous new nail art to school tomorrow.

Defying all odds, I won. And it was with that satisfaction that I laid down on Leah’s floor that night, imagining Quil, Embry, and Seth parading around school with all that I’d done to their fingers in full display. The yellow light of the full moon filtered through Leah’s simple curtains, and softly, I howled at it, laughing as I rolled over, silent fatigue coming over me. My mind was blank as I drifted into a dull sleep, and all was well.

j a c o b

For some, odd reason, I felt like I was flying. Underneath my airborne body spanned a beautiful green-blue ocean… the ocean that kissed the edges of First Beach. As I began to recognize my surroundings, I became more aware of my situation. I was soaring high above the forests of La Push, straight to the top of the mountain. I welcomed the height with a jolt of bravery, and soon my bare feet were touching down on a picnic blanket, complete with basket and customary lunch. Delectable-looking sandwiches were laid out on plates, and there was a tub of red jell-o jiggling beside a large pitcher of lemonade. I marveled at the sight of this strange occurrence, but thought nothing of it; I merely sat down and began to eat.

Not a second later than when my fingers grazed against a turkey sandwich did a loud screech of thunder tear across the sky. Confused, I glanced up, to see only the most pristine weather conditions imaginable. Shrugging, I turned back to the sandwich.

Instead, I received an eyeful of Jacob.

There he was, lying diagonally across the edges of the blanket not graced with pleasantries. Shell-shocked, I blinked, trying to figure out where he possibly could have come from. One minute, I was alone, and the next, he was just… there… with me. I didn’t really find myself complaining, though, as I reached once more for the coveted hoagie and was allowed to grasp it and bring it to my lips. It tasted divine; Like love and happiness and warmth and hugs and kisses all wrapped together in a little piece of turkey nestled between two slices of bread and flanked with lettuce, cheese, and pickles.

For a while, Jacob and I ate in silence. It was as if all noise had ceased to exist, because I couldn’t even hear the crunch of the pickle chips when they crumbled at the mercy of Jacob’s incisors. The weather was perfect; The wind was blowingjust enough to cause a slight breeze, but the golden sun beat downjust enough to cancel out any discomfort. I drew in a deep breath just as branch snapped nearby.

Alarmed at the sudden return of sound, Jacob and I both turned our heads to see a shimmery figure appearing beside us. It was faceless yet at the same time so painstakingly beautiful that I could not bear to look away.

It -- I think it was male, it had no feminine qualities at all, despite the glittery aura surrounding it -- took a slight step forward, and I merely stared, transfixed.

It came closer once more.

Without warning, Jacob lunged at the beautiful thing. The being reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, tensing and dodging Jacob’s well-placed attack. In horror, I watched them begin to battle.

Both were moving so fast that they were simply blurs, yet their faces were shining brightly. Jacob’s russet skin contrasted violently with the pale whiteness of the thing’s facial area, which was still blurred and oddly misshapen… and,horrifying.

It suddenly became clear that this unnamed beast was a friend to neither I nor Jacob. Things I hadn’t noticed before, like a sickly reddish tint to its eyes, and sharp, razor like teeth, made its entire appearance more frightening than beautiful. In seconds, the face of this monster drew clearer, just as it overtook Jacob completely, throwing him down on the rough ground and standing over him victoriously.

It threw back its head in preparation for the final blow, and then…

I woke up, freezing cold, on Leah’s bedroom floor. It took me a good minute or so to figure out that I was surrounded by two very concerned teenagers. Leah and Seth looked down at me, panic readable on their faces. They were calling my name, but their voices sounded so far away…

My stomach twisted roughly, and I had barely enough time to make it to the bathroom, before I vomited into the toilet, ridding my body of the memory of that horrid dream in the process.