Steamin' at the Seams

I almost choke on my pizza when Jacob walks in. I start coughing, but manage to stop and swallow before I, you know, die.

Jacob looks concerned for a moment, then his expression morphs to a cold mask.

"You have a date to a dance?"

"Why do you care?" I ask.

"I don't care, I'm just wondering," Jacob says in a very clarifying tone.

"Why are you wondering?" I demand.

"Maybe I think you shouldn't go," He says angrily.

"Why would you think that?"

"Maybe I think it's a stupid thing for you to do."

"Why the hell is it a stupid thing for me to do!? And if you don't care, why would you come all the way over here just to tell me not to go!?"

By this point, I'm standing up, halfway across the room towards him. Jacob starts walking towards me, but Will jumps in between us, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Jacob, she's got a point. If you're not going to give her a legitimate reason for why you're here, you should go," Will says. There's a warning in his words, but not one that I would expect.

Jacob breathes deeply a few times, his eyes shut, and I notice that his hands are shaking. I step back slightly.

After a few minutes of silence, Jacob opens his eyes and says "OK, fine, go to your stupid dance then."

He turns and walks out the door, shutting it behind him.

The moment he's gone, my mind is frantically probing the edges of the wound, as the numbness wears off slightly. I manage to keep most of the pain at bay, and I make my way back to the table.

"Jacob Black is an asshole," I say, taking a bite of my pizza.

"You don't really think that," Will says, sitting down next to me.

"You're right. But that doesn't mean that I don't wish I do," I say quietly.

-----

"Have fun!" I say, waving. It's Friday, and Will and Leah are going to the dance at school. Just like I planned, I didn't go to school today, and Will told Connor that I'm 'sick'.

Once they're gone, I'm by myself. Mom and Dad went out to Port Angeles tonight. You know, it's funny. My parents go out a lot. Weird.

I wander out to the kitchen, opening the cabinets and glancing inside as I pass each. We don't have anything good to eat.

Yes, ever since my morphine-numbness set in, I have been eating. I've gained like…a half a pound, I think.

I've been in a slightly better mood, too. I think that might be from the crazy thought bouncing around my subconscious that Jacob does actually care a teeny bit about me. It's probably not true, but if I'm not killing myself over depression, I don't care.

Apparently being lost in thought, wearing socks, and walking on a hard-wood floor shouldn't mix. However, being as awesome as I am, I do attempt to mix them. And consequently fall on my ass.

"Ow!" I say loudly.

Two ghostly laughs sound from behind me. I squeal, spinning around on the floor. Quil and Embry are standing behind me.

"How did you get in here!?" I ask, attempting to stand up but falling again.

They burst out laughing. Again. I frown up at them, waiting for their laughter to subdue. When they're quiet, I ask again "How did you guys get in here?"

"Your bedroom door was unlocked," Quil says, grinning.

"OK," I say, allowing that one. "Now that we're past the hows, why are you guys here?"

"We've come to kidnap you," Embry says, grinning evilly. "You're skipping your school dance, you have nothing to do. It's a Friday night."

"What are we going to do?" I ask.

"Bonfire!" Quil says, obviously pumped.

I laugh. "Can I change first?" I'm already wearing my pajamas, prepared for a night in.

"You have three minutes," Quil says.

Rolling my eyes, I scramble to my feet and go downstairs. Once down in my room, I change out of my pajamas and into a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a bright purple sweatshirt. I tug on a pair of Converse and snap a hair tie onto my wrist. I lock the door, grab my keys and my cellular, and sprint up the stairs.

"Did I make it in time?" I ask.

"Seventeen seconds left," Quil says proudly. I grin.

-----

"Who all is going to be here?" I ask warily. We're in Jacob's car – Quil and Embry 'borrowed' it to kidnap me – almost to the cliffs where the bonfire is going to be.

"Oh, you know, just Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim, Paul, Jacob," Quil says, almost whispering the last name.

"I hate you," I say darkly, sitting back in the back seat and crossing my arms. I can already feel the edges of the hole burning.