Status: Hiatus until further notice.

Just Let It Go

Thirteen

I stood beside my mother in the bathroom. She was fixing up her make-up while I tied the back of Bethany's dress. We were amongst the first guests to arrive at the hall. The 'community banquet' was really just all of the people from our neighborhood gathering together in an expensive hotel just outside of Forks. Mother said it made us all classy and elegant, I said it was unnecessary.

Mother finished with her make-up and looked at us. She smiled.

“You girls are so beautiful, I'm sure everyone's going to be charmed by you two,” she proclaimed. I smiled back and nudged Bethany who kept the same stony face that she had all weekend. She was invited to a sleepover tonight but mother made her come here with us. No matter how many tantrums Beth threw, no matter how many tears she spilled, she still had to come.

Mother 'tsked' and walked out of the bathroom; we followed suit.

“C'mon Beth, lighten up, I don't want to be here either,” I said to her. She sighed and nodded.

“I know but it's still unfair,” she grumbled. I gave her a smile and squeezed her shoulder in support.

I tugged on the end of my dress as we walked into the banquet hall and were greeted by tons of people. My mother had a little too much fun picking out my outfit for this occasion. I wasn't exactly comfortable in the short dress that she chose for me.

I smiled at unknown people and I acted as the perfect daughter but within 20 minutes, I was bored. I didn't find anybody interesting to talk to. A few guys came up to me to offer to dance but I politely declined. I wasn't in the mood.

I sat by the buffet, eating a few grapes here and there. I looked at the time on my phone: 8:14 PM. A little over an hour had passed since we've gotten here. I was just about to put my phone away when it vibrated. A text message from Paul.

'If you're really bored, come out on the patio' it read. I smiled in confusion. I looked around.

My mother was dancing with a man that lived a couple of streets away while father was talking animatedly with a couple of friends from work. I could make my getaway easily. I grabbed my coat from wardrobe and headed to the patio.

The cold air hit me as I wrapped my shawl around my neck and put on my coat. It was dark, the only light was coming from the windows of the banquet.

“Hello?” I whispered tentatively.

“Over here,” Paul's familiar voice called out from my right. I smiled when I saw him.

“You've come to save me,” I said with a laugh as I walked over to him. I blushed when I saw him look me over slowly. Thank goodness it was dark.

“You look amazing,” he said and smiled down at me genuinely. I tugged at my dress shyly, not looking him in the eyes. Sensing my discomfort, he changed the subject.

“These things are always dull, I thought you might like to hang out with my friends and I instead,” he explained as we walked to his car.

“Defiantly! It was torture in there,” I breathed out as we got into the car and Paul started it.

It took us 15 minutes to get to La Push. We were going to 'Sam's house'. Apparently Sam had a small get together there with Paul's friends. But small was an understatement. When we drove up to 'Sam's house' there were about 6 different cars parked outside. Lots of noise was coming out of the house. I bit my lip nervously.

“Hey, what's up?” Paul asked me.

“What if they don't like me?” I squeaked out. I know it was silly but what if they really didn't?

Paul laughed.
“Are you kidding? They'll love you, plus you already know some of them,” he assured me.

“But look at me!” I burst out. “I look like a - I don't know- some kind of Barbie doll!”
Paul frowned squeezed my hand.

“You're gorgeous, now shut up and let's go,” and with those words he exited the car. I followed suit, still feeling uncomfortable. The chilly air was caressing my bare legs as we walked to the house. The laughter coming from there was even louder.

We entered the small house and Paul helped me take off my coat. I took a look in the mirror, deciding to put my hair up in a casual ponytail. Maybe that would make me look less like some snob. Paul took my hand in his and we walked into the living room.

I couldn't count too quickly but I noticed about 11 people in the small room. A few of them, such as Jacob and Embry, I recognized. There were a few howls and whistles as Paul introduced me to everyone around. The only three females in the room had different reactions to me: Emily was nice and complimented my look while Leah looked on with distrust.

“Tell me Sophie, what did Paul promise you to make you leave that party of yours?” a boy named Jared asked me with wonder. I laughed.

“He didn't need to promise me much to make me leave, it was very boring there,” I explained. I mingled amongst everyone, getting to know the people. They were all very nice and didn't show any discomfort. I excused myself and sent a text message to Bethany to tell her I was with some friends. If mother noticed that I was gone, at least she would know that I was with a friend.

As I was walking back to the living room, I noticed some photos on the walls. I shuddered when I saw some of them.

They were of the guys but they were next to wolves. In every picture there were wolves. Just wolves, the guys with wolves, a bunch of them or one.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around. Paul gave me a smile.

“You like?” he asked me and I frowned.

“So many wolves,” I simply stated.

“Yeah, they're really great animals,” Paul said. I shook my head.

“I don't think so,” I answered and Paul frowned.

“Why?” he asked and I shrugged and looked behind his shoulder. The guys were starting a playful wrestling match in the living room.

“I'll tell you later, let's go watch,” I said and motioned toward the living room. Paul looked at me suspiciously but went to the living room.

I sighed with relief.
♠ ♠ ♠
:D
It's nice, isn't it? We're going to find out a lot more about Sophie soon :]

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