Blue Christmas

Jacob Black wasn't usually one to not enjoy a party with his pack brothers, but right now this cheery atmosphere that he and the rest of his friends were surrounded by was suffocating. His palms were sweaty, his eyes were dull and lacked their lively gleam, and the smile he was adorning was obviously forced and even looked painful to the few who noticed.

To him it was.

There was no reason to smile, no reason to be merry or joyous or any of that crap. There was no reason for him to want to be there. In fact, everything around him just made him want to book it out of there.

The Uley household was filled to the brim with grins, lively chatter and booming laughter while smooth holiday tunes blended perfectly into the background like a soundtrack. The air held sweet scents that were pleasing to most – like the pine needles of a newly chopped Christmas tree, homemade sweets that Emily made from scratch, and a few whiffs of special occasion wine, but to him it was too overpowering at the moment.

“Jacob, why don't you come join us?” Emily suggested kindly, nodding over to where Sam and a few others were looking at him expectantly with smiles.

“No thanks, Em,” he muttered softly, trying to not sound too sour as he took a sip of his spiked drink.

“Oh, come on, Jake,” she pleaded. “I know you're down about her being off at school and not being here, but she couldn't make it. It's no reason for your Christmas to be ruined.”

At the thought of his imprint being away at her university instead of there at home, he gripped his drink tighter in frustration. “No, Emily. Sorry.” He shook his head and took another gulp of his alcoholic beverage in an attempt to calm down, placing it upon the nearby table when he finished it in that one go. “I'm going to head home. Thanks for the invite.”

“There's no reason for you to act like a Grinch, Jake!” Embry joked from the group. Jacob didn't say a word in reply and stalked out of the Uley home in a steely silence after shooting Embry a glare. “C'mon, Jake! It's a joke!”

“Leave him,” Sam ordered. “He's upset and he doesn't need you pissing him off. This was supposed to be their first Christmas together. Let him cool off.”

“No one can take a damn joke anymore.” He muttered lowly, Sam shooting him a menacing stare like Jacob had done, the teenager smiling slightly as he took a few steps away from the overbearing alpha.

Returning to her husband, Emily sighed with a smile. “Maybe there'll be a Christmas miracle tonight,” she mused aloud, causing all eyes to land upon her.

“Emily,” Paul began, “you know something and you're not sharing.”

“I don't know something,” she replied through an ever-growing smile. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Sam smiled down at the love of his life. “You know you're not a very good liar, Em.” He kissed her lips tenderly and the rest of the group of males shuddered and made sounds of disgust. “Shut up!” The alpha yelled, causing everyone to erupt with laughter.



While Jacob headed home on his own, he could really feel the effects of the alcohol beginning to set in. He wasn't one to get drunk – he'd have a few drinks to socialize with his pack brothers and to have a good time once in a while, but this time he'd taken in one too many.

His mind felt a bit foggy and his footing seemed questionable as he swayed down the road. He knew Billy would have a good talk with him when he arrived home. While his dad knew his son was capable of taking care of himself, he still didn't like the fact that he was coming home when it was close to midnight in such a drunken state.

He wasn't sure if his current state of mind – or lack thereof, was what made him forget a majority of the walk home, but he was there soon enough. As he stumbled towards the front door and got out his keys, he tried to fit the small metal end into the tiny hole and cursed at it when his hand-eye coordination refused to cooperate. Leaning his forehead against the door, he knew he'd have to wake up his dad from his sleep so he could open the door for him, and as he raised his arm to begin pounding away, he caught it.

It was her usual fragrance of orange and vanilla, the aroma that seemed to calm him down instantly without fail. He softly scoffed to himself though, growing irritated at the fact that his mind was now playing tricks. However, when her warm, honey voice graced his ears, he sobered up immediately.

“Jake, you really shouldn't be getting drunk at this time of night.” She lectured.

He spun around on a dime and stared at her, taking in all of her features. Her bouncy, dark brown curls of hair swayed in a new gentle breeze, her chocolate eyes gazed at him with concern but also with love, and her lips slowly parted to reveal a dazzling smile that seemed to light up the surrounding area. Only one word could describe the way she looked, Breathtaking.

“You're back,” he breathed out, engulfing her in a hug before she could even register what he was doing. “You're back. Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?”

She giggled softly and nodded. “Yes, I'm back, and I just wanted to surprise you.”

He smiled and picked her up into the air, spinning her around and placing a kiss upon her lips affectionately, keeping her as close as he could to himself. “Consider me surprised then. I thought my Christmas was ruined when you said you wouldn't be able to make it.”

“Did you really think I'd let you have a blue Christmas, Jake?”

He shrugged and shook his head. “I don't know... but what I do know is that my Christmas wouldn't mean anything if you weren't here. I'd just be thinking of you and of how you weren't here – how we weren't celebrating together.”

Her heart fluttered at his choice of words and looking down at her wrist-watch, she noted the time. “Well, Jacob,” she started, standing upon her tip-toes and allowing her lips to brush against his own ever so softly, “merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” he whispered back, taking her lips with his own once more.