Night Call

Whatever you do, I'll do it too
Show me everything and tell me how
It all means something
And yet nothing to me.

Phil Collins - Strangers Like Me

I paced back and forth nervously, biting my nails as my feet skid across the hardwood floor in my room. The beating of my heart accelerated with each passing moment that brought me closer to my departure time. Just the mere thought of glancing at the clock sent me into a panicked frenzy. I was reaching my breaking point and the clock wasn't helping at all; the flashing numbers were mocking me. I wanted to trash the stupid thing, but it wasn't mine and I was raised to respect things that belonged to others, even if I despised them.

I chanced a glance at the clock. 7:48 I gasped. It was twelve 'till 8 and that was the time Jacob was supposed to pick me up from the treaty-line. I was going to be late.

"Dammit!" I ran out of my room and down the hall to the bathroom, glancing at myself quickly to make sure I looked decent before running back out and down the steps. Carlisle stood at the bottom with a pleasant smile and a jacket in his hand. He wore his usual casual/sophisticated attire and had his hair slicked back. Without saying a word I gratefully took the jacket from him and slipped it over my camo green long-sleeve. The jacket itself was puffy, white and had a fur hood. I had second thoughts about it once I saw the fur.

"Carlisle, is this a good idea?" I looked at the fur as I slipped the hood over my head. "Is this real fur?" I played with a few strands between my fingers. He gave me a 'hmm' and eyed the coat for a moment before giving me a unsure 'Yeah.' "What kind of fur is it?"

"It's custom."

I stared at him suspiciously as I continued to toy with the fur between my fingers. The thin strands of grey, white and black looking oh-so familiar to me. "What kind of fur is it?" I repeated my question, though this time I was much more hesitant about it.

"... wolf." We both gave each other the same look of uncertainty and in a flash I had it off. Yeah, I wasn't going to wear a jacket that was made with wolf fur. No way, no how. I held it out as Carlisle vanished for a moment then reappeared with a simple black, zip-up hoodie. I thanked him and followed him towards the garage, throwing it on as I walked, followed by my sling. Soon we were in the car and pulling out on the dirt path that led out of the forest and onto the road. Like in the house my heart was beating insanely fast. Carlisle must've heard it. "If you get uncomfortable just have Jacob bring you back to the line and one of us will pick you up, okay?"

"Alright." I didn't really pay attention to what Carlisle said to me after that. I stared out the window watching the trees that lined the road, peering into the darkness that seemed to swallow everything whole. I still felt nervous about Edward's warning and was still trying to decipher what it meant. I had stayed up countless hours trying to decode it to no avail. 'You haven't seen anything - not yet.' What was that even supposed to mean? Maybe he had forgotten that I knew about this world since I've read about it. No, that doesn't seem like something a vampire would do. A vampire never forgets.

I decided to push my troubled thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on what was most important. Right now it was the bonfire. Who was I going to meet there? Jacob, Billy Black and the pack was a given, of course they'd be there, I wasn't worried about them though. In the far recesses of my mind there was a nagging pull. I couldn't tell if it was from my own anxious emotions or a warning of some sort. I didn't know if I should listen to it or push it away.

It didn't matter. Whether it was my own sub-conscious becoming aware of the situation or some unseen force attempting to guide me I had to ignore it. One way or another I was going to the bonfire.

"... Okay?"

"What?" I looked back at Carlisle with a startled expression. "Sorry."

"I said you call me if anything happens, okay?"

I shook my head sadly. "I don't have a phone." He produced a small phone from his pocket and held it out for me. "Where did you get this?" I took it and examined it. It was small, dark blue and slid up if you pushed against the key-pad with your fingers. It was cute.

"Pre-paid. Just until we can get you completely settled in." I smiled graciously and thanked him. I still didn't feel right about taking things from them or wearing their clothes. It made me feel uncomfortable since I was raised to only accept things I have earned through hard work, not just because they were handed to me. I stopped trying to give things back when Alice stared me down after I refused to take a low-cut floral top she had gotten for me. After that I learned to never say no to Alice, especially when it came to clothes. She terrified me sometimes.

I looked up from the phone and glanced out of the windshield to see that we were approaching the line. Again my heart began to sky-rocket. "Hey," he placed a chilly hand over my own, "it's gonna be okay." He pale, pink lips quirked up into a reassuring smile. For some reason, I always believed what he told me. I nodded, fighting the knot that slowly began to form in my throat, making it that much harder to say goodbye. "Just be careful."

I exhaled deeply. "Okay. Thanks, Carlisle." I returned his squeeze and released his hand. Stepping out of the sleek Mercedes I could see Jacob sitting in the driver seat of his car, his knees practically peering up from behind the dashboard. It amazed me how someone so large could fit into a car so small. When I really thought about it it surprised me that I was even able to slap him with him being so tall. What was he, 6'7? Slapping him alone was a feat for someone who was only 5'2. I must've been the adrenaline rush.

Walking towards the treaty line I glanced at the ground wondering how it would look if there really was a line. I stepped across and waved goodbye to Carlisle as I neared the passenger side of Jacob's Rabbit. The paint looked lightly faded but other then that it was fine. From inside I could see him reach over and pull up the lock, the car moving as he did. I opened the door and sat down, closing it softly after pulling my feet in.

It was slightly awkward. He looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't quite sure, pulling the corner of his lips between his teeth, both hands gripping the wheel. He seemed both nervous and agitated. He looked lost in thought. It was obvious he wasn't going to be the one to initiate the conversation.

"So... are we gonna go?"

He shook his head snapping out of whatever thoughts he had. "Oh! Right." He shifted into drive and did a U-turn heading back down the road he had come from that led to La Push and First Beach. The drive was silent - the lack of sound slowly beginning to drive me insane. I wasn't much of a talker, but whenever I'm put in a awkward situation or a place I don't want to be I always have a tendency to ramble. Since it was Jacob, I didn't know what to talk about.

I didn't know him as a person, only what I got from the books. Bella wasn't the most reliable narrator.

The silence was like the darkness, it wrapped around me tightly, squeezing tighter and tighter until I reached my breaking point, pushing me to the edge, suffocating me in its grip. The minutes ticked by painfully slow and thoughts on whether or not I had made the right decision filtered though my mind. In the car I had told myself that no matter what I was going to the bonfire, but that's when I was in Carlisle's car. Not that I actually am on the other side I didn't feel as confident.

Jacob seemed to catch onto my distress and cleared his throat, dragging me away from my troublesome thoughts and back to reality. His eyes shifted around, looking everywhere but at me. "So... how's life?"

I laughed, I couldn't help it. Of all the things to ask it was 'how's life?' How could I answer a question that to others seemed to simple, while I found it one of the most difficult to answer. What do I say? 'It sucks man, I'm in a different world.' That wouldn't work. Any truthful answer I had was thrown out the window. So I settle on something that was vague yet still held some truth.

"I've been better." Jacob seemed to sense there was an underlying message in my words and smiled. I found his smile to be quite beautiful. His teeth were white, contrasting well against his copper skin that seemed to make them that much more noticeable. He may have not known the meaning, but he knew there was a lot more behind it. "How about you?"

"Alright. Just been working on this," he patted the wheel, "and a few other things."

"You like to work on cars?" It was a silly question to ask. Anyone who's ever read Twilight knows for a fact that working on cars was his passion. But of course, Jacob doesn't know that. "How many have you worked on?" He grinned at my questions, obviously pleased that they were about an interest of his and not on something like the weather.

"I love working on them... I like to use my hands." From the corner of my eye I could see him staring at the road as his lips quirked into a smirk. Have my ears deceived me? Did Jacob Black really make a sexual joke? If it were anyone else I would have laughed it off, but since it was him I couldn't help but blush. I had to remind myself that fictional character or not, Jacob Black was still a guy and prone to guy behavior - including sexual innuendos. "And I've worked on a few things."

"What about you."

"No, I don't use me hands." His eyebrows shot up in amusement and he shot me glances, the corners of his mouth pulling up into a grin as he suppressed a laugh. I realized what I had said and gasped. "Oh my God, no!" My reaction and look of sheer horror must've been what did it for him because he burst out laughing, his eyes squinting into black slits and his palm smacking against the steering wheel. I covered my face when I felt my cheeks began to heat up in embarrassment. I tried to hold back my own laughter but failed - his laugh was so gleeful.

We both wore smiles on our faces for the rest of the ride to First Beach.



We reached First Beach, turning off the road and onto a dirt path that led to what was supposed to be parking for cars, but looked more like cars lined up next to each other unevenly. Several meters away from the cars was a fire. Around the fire sat several people who talked among themselves. Jacob pulled up next to a grey truck and parked.

We were finally here.

"Ready?" Jacob looked down at me as he opened his door. I nodded my head and climbed out of the car, the sound of both doors slamming catching the attention of those that sat around the flames. All heads turned towards us. I looked at Jacob who didn't seem to notice everyone staring as he began to walk towards them. I quickly walked after him, practically jogging in order to keep up with his long strides.

As we approached the group I was only able to recognize a few. Billy Black was pretty hard to miss. The others I recognized were Sam, Jared, Paul and Emily. Another person I was able to recognize even though I haven't met her was Leah. She sat at the end of a log with her arms cross and an irritated frown on her lips. She radiated 'fuck off.' Next to her was who I assumed was supposed to be a young boy but looked like a young man. That must be Seth.

I smiled. I always liked Seth. His character always left me smiling.

As we neared I noticed that all of the boys had paper plates in their hands that were stacked with hotdogs. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head at the amount of food there was. No way was Emily able to make all this on her own.

"Jake's here!" The boy who I assumed was Seth exclaimed as he pointed in our direction. "And he's got a date!" I felt my face heat up again as they made cat-calls, earning a glare from Sam that silenced them. Now, Sam wasn't a character that I particularly like. From the very first time we meet him he just rubbed me the wrong way, but man was I glad he was around tonight.

Jared looked up from his plate and waved. "Hey, Eve!" He spoke with a full mouth, a small piece of hotdog meat fell back onto his plate. I returned his wave with a laugh. He grinned and ate the fallen meat. I was both disgusted and amused.

Next to me Jacob sighed in annoyance and placed a hand on my back guiding me towards empty seats, which happened to be between Sam and Paul. I felt awkward sitting down next to Paul. I knew his imprint was Jacob's sister, but he hasn't imprinted yet - sadly. He gave me a flirtatious smile and asked me how I was. I didn't know how to respond to his flirting and shrugged shyly. I wasn't a shy girl, but when a tall shirtless, muscular guy flirts with you it's pretty hard to remain calm. I wasn't attracted to him, but he was attractive.

"Back off, Paul." Jacob warned in a boring tone. Thankfully. It would have been worse if he actually sounded upset - people would suspect we're together if he did.

"Why? Is she yours?" Paul challenged him, a glint in his eyes. Jacob glared at his friend and was about to reply but was stopped by Sam who spoke in a deep, firm, alpha-like tone. Paul smirked wickedly, obviously enjoying the fact that he irritated Jacob. Sam then turned his attention away from the two boys and focused it on me, a thin smile gracing his lips.

"Evelyn." He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I'm glad you decided to come, though we were surprised when Jacob told us." I could feel everyone staring at me in curiosity. They must've known who I was already from being informed by Sam and through the telepathic connection they have when in wolf form. But knowing wasn't the same as seeing. "Let me introduce you to the others. This is Quil, Jared, Seth and Leah." He gestured towards the four sitting on one log. "That's Brady, Colin and Embry. Next to me is Billy Black - I think you've already met. And next to him is Sue Clearwater." .

Billy Black sat front and center in his chair with Sam on his right and a an older Native-American woman on his left. She wore a kind smile and had gentle eyes that glistened in the fire light. All the boys smiled and gave me waves while Leah refused to acknowledge me altogether. I didn't mind though

"Good to see you again, Evelyn." Billy smiled, his eyes glistening in the fire light as well, shifting between Jacob and I. I already knew why Billy kept glancing at us the way he did and tried my best not to encourage his behavior, but it's hard to dissuade an old, hopeful man.

"It's good to see you again too, Billy." I them looked to the woman sitting next to him and smiled kindly. "Hi, I'm Evelyn."

"Sue," she inclined her head like Sam had done, though her's seemed less formal and more of a casual greeting. He smile faltered when her eyes landed on the sling holding up my broken arm. "I'm sorry to hear what happened."

I flexed my fingers nervously and placed my right hand over it protectively. Next to me Jacob began to shift in his seat. "Oh, it's fine. It's just broken." I shook my head nonchalantly. I could see Sam, Paul and Jared glance at Jacob them remembering the incident in the woods and the re-breaking of my arm. I ignored them.

Conversation started again and soon everyone was back to talking among themselves once the introduction was over with. I found out that all the boys were quite nice, some more friendly then others. As expected, Seth quickly became my favorite and even though he nearly resembled the others in stature I still found him extremely adorable. Because I found him to be so adorable it was easy for him to make me blush. I wasn't attracted to him but man did he make me smile and laugh.

"You're cute." Seth blurted with a chuckle, a large grin on his face. I found his laughter endearing and couldn't help but smile shyly like I did with Paul, but it was more from giddiness rather than embarrassment.

"... thanks." He seemed to find my shyness amusing and grinned wider as he took a large bite from one of the hotdogs on his plate.

Jacob remained silent as he sat next to me, only speaking to tell Paul to back off whenever he made a move on me. He wasn't serious but it still seemed to irk Jacob. I brushed of his silence as something usual and sat in my own silence observing everyone. A harsh wind suddenly swept through making the fire dance and plates fly. I wrapped my right arm around myself tightly to preserve heat but it was hard to do since I only had one good arm to hug myself with.

Paul noticed my shiver. "Cold?" I nodded as my teeth lightly chattered. Even though I had the hoodie on I still wasn't used to being in a place so cold. Paul smiled and lifted his arm and gestured for me to get closer to him. I was willingly obliged wanting nothing more then to find a source of heat, but as I began to scoot close I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders from the other side and pull me away from Paul.

I looked down at the large, copper colored arm and followed it up until it led me to the face of one Jacob Black who glared at his friend. It startled me and I was about to protest until I felt the heat radiating from his body. As much as I wanted to yell at him and tell him I wasn't some toy to be claimed I desperately wanted to feel warmth and he provided it.

He glared back at Jacob, whose arm tense and tightened around me. With a huff Paul looked away and Jacob's arm relaxed.

"Still cold?" I looked up at him and shook my head and let myself lean into him, though I was careful to not seem so intimate about it.

"Thanks."

He nodded, staring off into the distance now seeming miles away. "Sure, sure." Billy then spoke up bringing everyone to a silence and from their conversations. He gave Jacob and I another look before announcing that it was time for him to tell the stories and legends of their tribe.

So I sat and waited for him to begin with Jacob's arm still around me and nervousness creeping up on me.