Better Than Revenge

Valerie's POV:

I had to break the string of cheese from my pizza to my mouth with my fingers. Only Emily, Sam, Seth, and I were eating at the table. Everyone else spread throughout the house.

A napkin appeared just when I’d needed it. I was about to wipe the grease from my fingers when I noticed something written on it in blue pen :

Hi

Across the table Seth was looking in the opposite direction, drumming his fingers on the table. I smirked and picked up the pen that had traveled along with the napkin.

Hi

I clicked the pen and slid it back across the table, making sure to keep it subtle. Just as Seth reached for it, Embry and Quil came rushing into the kitchen, pointing to their mouths which were sporting a pizza crust smile. They shoved the whole thing in their mouths and fixed the crust to cover their teeth. Sam just looked down and shook his head.

Embry and Quil are weird.

I laughed quietly and looked up at Seth again, still facing the other direction but smiling too.

That’s not the worst I’ve seen.

Please don’t share.

Don’t worry I won’t.

Paul’s reading over your shoulder.

I swiveled around to find Paul with his back facing me, peeking ever so slightly over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes to Seth before he was distracted by a question from Sam. I stared back down at our napkin notes and bit the end of the pen, debating on whether I should take the risk I was curious about. I scribbled it down.

Maybe we should talk somewhere else?

As soon as I’d written the question mark I crossed the whole thing out with one line through the middle. I decided that the one line wasn’t enough so I drew zig zags and swirls to cross it out completely.

Someone tapped on my shoulder and I jumped a little. It was only Quil, with Claire gnawing on a slice of pizza.

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?” He asked. I watched Claire wipe her fingers on the side of his pants.

“Nope. I’m a loser, remember?”

“Right. Can you watch Claire for a little while? I’m supposed to do it, but Sam is making us do some unnecessary crazy stuff for a few hours.”

I smiled at Claire when she shot a toothless one in my direction. “Of course.”

She became interested in something out the window and hauled Quil with her as she waddled away. I found Seth picking at his paper plate, waiting for my returning note.

Looks like I have to baby-sit tomorrow.

Quil’s making you baby-sit?

I don’t mind.

Yes you do.

No I don’t. I love Claire.

So do I, but I wouldn’t want to spend most of my day baby-sitting.

I told you I don’t mind.

Actually you wrote it.

I took a second to observe my surroundings. They’ve changed since I sat down. Sam and Emily were gone, but someone else was missing. It took me a moment to figure out who it was.

"Where did Jared go?" I asked out loud.

"He went to pick Kim up about 25 minutes ago." Someone answered from the other room.

Embry popped the pizza crust from his mouth. "It doesn't take that long to pick somebody up."

"It does when you're Jared and Kim." Quil laughed. "They're all over eachother, like ALL over eachother. It's gross."

"Hey." Paul's voice was muffled by pizza. "I'm trying to eat."

Seth cleared his throat impatiently, so I picked up the pen again.

When are we going to start talking like normal people?

Talking is for normal people.

Yeah that’s what I just said.

No, that’s what you just wrote.

My cheeks were hurting from smiling so much but I didn’t care at all. I hadn’t stopped since I’d seen him again. I went to write something smart back to his comment but the pen ripped a hole in the napkin. The ink ran out.

I looked up at him, sticking out my bottom lip. He did the same.

"Hey, Val?" It was Jacob's voice behind me, accompanied by running water.

"Yes?"

"Can you help me?" 

He sounded like a little boy, trapped in a large man's body. "I guess so." Seth dropped his lip. "I'll be right back."

He nodded a little.

I tried not to let it bug me. It was the second time Jake interrupted us.
I stepped up to the sink next to Jacob. "What do you need help with?"

He pointed to the faucet. "I can't get the water to run."

I stared at him. "But I just heard it running."

He shrugged. I should have taken Embry's giggles as a hint.

I turned the handle and a shot of water slapped my chest. I gasped, turning it off immediately. They all laughed at me.

I noticed the rubber band around the little hose and huffed. "Jacob Black!"

"I'm sorry, really." He was still laughing. "Embry made me do it."

"Liar!" Embry whined, even though he fled the scene when Jacob gave him a threatening look.

I snatched the towel next to the sink and patted my shirt.

"Aw, you're not mad, are you?" Jake lifted my chin to see my face.

I smiled. "You're annoying."

He kissed my lips once and checked my reaction again.

"Still annoying." I said, unphased.

This kiss was kind of unexpected. I knew he would kiss me again to convince me, but I didn't expect it to feel the way it did. I had to remind myself I was in Emily's kitchen with a bunch of other people in the next room.

"Still annoying." I giggled like a school girl, and then turned red.

He grinned and scooped me into his arms, carrying me back into the party. I rested my head against his and realized the questionable looks we were getting.

Then I remembered Seth.

My eyes darted the tiny space to find him, but after scanning twice, he was gone.

"Where's Seth?" I asked, afraid I already knew.

Emily shrugged. "He just said he needed to leave."

My heart sunk. I showed it, too.

Jake set me down on my feet, but I clung to his arm.

"We should play a game." Quil suggested.

Paul and Embry jumped up from their seats. "TOMAHAWK!"

"We have to wait for Jared and Kim so we have even teams." Jake hugged my shoulder to his side.

"Emily, do you have glow sticks?" 

She answered with sarcasm. "Oh yeah, let me just pull them out of my pocket."

"Wait, isn't there some in the freezer from that other time?" Paul dashed into the kitchen.

"The freezer?"

"They stay lit if you freeze them."

"YES!" Paul reappeared with a handful of frozen glow sticks. "I call team captain."

"No, you suck!"

They argued for a while, but I excused myself to use the bathroom.

I spotted my reflection in the mirror. It was strangely composed, but kind of solemn. I really wasn't in the mood to play, even though I knew it would cheer me up. 

I couldn't stop thinking about Seth, and it was wearing me out. And to know that I let him slip away was unbearable.

Maybe I'll never get him back. Not as long as she's still around. 

But then it hit me. I thought I wanted Seth to feel bad, but that wasn't what I wanted at all. I wouldn't feel like crap if I wanted that. I needed revenge, just not on him.

It wasn't Seth that I was after. It was her.

And she was gonna get it.