Steamin' at the Seams

I bounce in my seat, looking around at the small town. It's Sunday, and we're on our way to meet up with Quil. Will laughs. "Excited?"

I grin. "Just a little."

I read off the directions that Maggie gave us, and Will pulls into the parking lot at the store. Quil walks out, grinning.

I roll the window down. "Hey!"

He laughs at my enthusiasm. "Hey, guys, what's up?"

"Nothing a-tall," I say. "So…where are we going?"

"My friend Emily's house," Quil answers. "Mind if I ride with you? I don't have a car and it's just easier, plus I'll be able to give you directions as we go."

"Yeah, that's fine, hop in," Will says, unlocking the doors.

Quil slides into the back seat and leans forward, looking out the windows. "So, did you miss me?"

I laugh, and Will smirks. "I'd say Lacey did, seeing as she was bouncing in her seat the whole way here."

Quil laughs, and I fold my arms across my chest. "I'm a very excited person, geez."

Quil tells Will where to go, and soon we're pulling up to a small house surrounded by woods. The house looks kind of sad, but it's brightened up by the windowbox and brightly painted door.

"Now, I think it's going to be Paul, Jared, Embry, Seth, and Emily here," Quil says as we walk toward the house. "And hey, don't stare. That makes Sam mad."

I nod, not knowing what he's talking about. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

"Will, Lacey, this is Paul, Jared, Seth, and Emily," Quil says as we walk into the tiny kitchen. "Guys, this is Will and Lacey, the ones I told you about, who just moved to Forks."

There are three huge boys sitting around the small kitchen table. They have the same copper-colored skin, and the same short, inky black hair, just like Quil. They could be brothers. None of them is Embry, though. I guess maybe he's coming later or something.

Emily, I assume it's Emily anyway, is standing at the counter with something, and she turns around with a bowl of chocolate chip muffins in her hands. My eyes are immediately drawn to the three scars slicing across the side of her face. Three dark, angry lines pull the corner of her eye down, and drag her mouth into a lopsided scowl. The other half of her face, though, is beautiful. Ah. The reason not to stare.

Her face breaks into a smile when she sees us. "Hi, so are you two the fascinating duo Embry and Quil met yesterday?"

I grin. "I suppose we are, but I don't know about that whole fascinating part."

The boys around the table laugh.

"I'm Paul," One of them says, standing up to grab a muffin from Emily's bowl.

"Jared," Another says, raising his hand in a slight wave.

The third boy, the youngest-looking one, says "I’m Seth, but I guess you figured that out."

I grin and Will laughs. Quil takes a muffin, walking to join the other boys at the table.

"Help yourselves to the muffins," Emily says as she puts the bowl on the table. "But I would get one now if I were you, before these pigs eat them all." As if to prove her point, Paul starts on his third muffin.

I laugh, taking one and joining Emily, leaning against the countertop. Will joins the boys at the table. They immediately start a conversation about some baseball game that was on last night. It seems like baseball is all Will ever talks about to anybody he meets.

"So, how do you get thrown into this mix?" I ask Emily, flicking my hand at the tableful of male bonding.

She smiles a small smile. "Did they tell you about Sam?" I shake my head, taking a bite of my muffin. She continues, "Sam is like…head of the pack." She laughs a little. Inside joke, I guess. "They're all best friends. Sam is also my fiancé. These boys are like my family now." The expression on her face as she looks at them proves it.

I smile as I look at them, too. "Will sure seems to be fitting in." He's waving his arms around to emphasize some point. Dork.

Emily laughs. "He sure does. How close are you two in age?"

"He's 13 minutes older than I am," I reply. "And he never lets me forget it," I add darkly. This makes Emily laugh.

The door opens, and we all glance up. Another huge Quileute guy walks into the kitchen. Quil wasn't joking when he said that all of his friends were like that.

"Hey, Sam," Jared says. The boys at the table resume their conversation as Sam walks across the kitchen. God. You wouldn't expect someone that big to be so fucking graceful. He's the biggest of all the guys I've seen, I swear.

So, this is Emily's Sam. When he looks at her, the perfect calm on his face is exchanged for what can only be described as a look of love. He says her name before kissing her lightly on the lips. Then he turns to me.

"Hi?" There's a slightly questioning tone to his voice.

"Hi, I'm Lacey. My brother Will and I met Quil, Embry, and Leah yesterday, and they invited us to come hang out," I explain.

"Ah," Sam says simply. He glances at Quil, and I follow his gaze. Quil is looking at his friend with a slightly guilty expression on his face.

Will turns to look at Sam as well. "Hey, I’m Will."

"Sam," Sam says, a friendly grin on his face.

Just as Sam finishes speaking, the door opens again. Embry comes in with yet another giant kid. He's pretty big, bigger than Sam, with his glossy black hair falling over his forehead. His skin is gorgeous russet brown. His eyes seem to hold a sadness that drags him down.

"Look who I found," Embry says.

"Hi," The other boy says in a quietly husky voice.

"Jacob!" Quil yells, standing up quickly. The other boys follow, with similar exclamations.

He's looking at his friends at the table, and when he sees Will, he looks questioningly at Sam. Then, he notices me. His eyes first go wide, then they harden, the sadness disappearing.

Sam walks over to him, his eyes full of concern. "Jake, are you OK?"

Jacob nods slowly, looking at Sam. "Yeah, I'm fine. A lot better now."

"You sure?"

Jacob sighs. "Yeah."

"OK." Sam says simply. He walks back to Emily.

"Where were you?" Quil asks.

Jacob shrugs, chuckling. "Canada. I just…ran. And now I'm back."

"But –" Quil starts, but he stops at the look on Jacob's face.

"Later, OK?" Jacob asks, in an almost pleading voice.

"Alright," Quil agrees, sitting back down at the table.

"So, what brought you guys to Forks?" Emily asks me as Jacob walks across the room. It's a pretty obvious subject change, but I go with it.

"Our Dad works for an insurance company and they transferred him," Will explains.

"Oh, OK," Emily nods.

"Hi, I’m Jacob," Jacob says as he leans against the counter next to me.

I smile. "Hey, I'm Lacey."

"Hey, Jake," Quil calls. We both look over. He points to my brother. "This is Will."

"Hi, Will," Jacob says, laughing. Will laughs too. Jacob turns back to me. "So, you guys just moved here?"

I nod. "Yeah, from Baltimore."

"Oh, that's cool," Jacob says.

We fall into silence. I watch the other people in the room, our new friends. Sam and Emily are talking quietly, heads bent together. They seem…right together. Perfect, almost.

Will and the other guys are having a very animated discussion about something. It seems like they're on the verge of breaking into an argument. I smile a little and glance up at Jacob.

He's staring at me, a hard expression on his face. He looks almost confused.

I tilt my head to the side. "What's up? Do I have dirt on my face or something?"

He grins. It's not a happy smile, though. It seems almost sarcastic…bitter. "No, don't worry."

"What were you staring at, then?" I ask, laughing.

He shakes his head. "It's nothing, forget about it."

I shrug skeptically. "Whatever."

"Hey, Lacey, do you want to come to a bonfire tonight?" Emily asks suddenly.

"Uh, sure," I answer uncertainly.

Her face breaks into a big smile. "Great! Do you know where the cliffs are?"

I shake my head, and Sam says "That's OK. Jacob, do you think you could drive her out?"

"I don't think –" Jacob begins, but Sam cuts him off.

"Jake. It's a little car ride. Just do it." It sounds like a simple request, but some force behind the words 'do it' make it seem more like an order.

I glance over at Jacob. He looks like he's waging a fierce internal battle. After a few moments, he says "OK, fine. Whatever you say." He says the words in a bitter, sarcastic, almost mocking tone, and when he glances down at me, his eyes are full of pain.

I quickly look away, back at Will and the table full of huge Quileute boys. I watch them, and listen as they pepper Will with questions about our life back in Baltimore.

"How tall are you?" I glance up at Jacob. He's looking down at me, his expression…amused.

"I'm 5'5"," I answer. His smirk grows. "How tall are you?"

"6 foot 7," he answers proudly.

"Wow," I say. "Freak," I add under my breath. He laughs.

"Lacey, we have to go," I hear Will say.

I make a face. "Fine."

"Hey, meet me at the store at six-thirty, and I'll take you out to the cliffs," Jacob says.

I nod. "OK, six-thirty it is."

Will and I say our goodbyes and walk out to our car.

"That Jacob kid was weird," Will says as he maneuvers the car down the road.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"The way he looked at you," my brother says. "Half the time he was glaring at you like he hates you, and then he'd be staring at you like he's in love or something."

"Weird," I agree. I didn't notice Jacob looking at me like that… "Hey, can you get me to the store here by six-thirty tonight?"

"Sure, why?"

"Emily invited me to a bonfire tonight, and I'm meeting Jacob there so he can take me," I explain.

"Alright, just…be careful around that kid," Will warns me. He's silent for a few minutes before exclaiming "Hey, why wasn't I invited to this thing tonight?"

I laugh at the look on his face. Priceless.