(no subject)
Title Into the Sun, chapter five
Characters Leah Clearwater, Jacob Black
Rating R
Summary "Now it's time to get out of the desert and into the sun"
Word Count 3811
Notes Title and summary quote taken from "On your Porch" by The Format. Come join me in my first foray into the world of chaptered fics! Many thanks to my beta beautyfrompain! I can't believe it's taken me five months (!!!) to post this up. I mean, I've had it done for quite a while. I'm very sorry for the delay! Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner than that! Enjoy!
Previous Chapters
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Leah is sitting on her couch, working on a sudoku puzzle that she swears she’s already done before, when she has the sudden urge to take a walk through the forest. She sets the newspaper and her pencil down on the coffee table and stands up. When she looks around, she sees her brother leaning in the kitchen doorway. He’s giving her a look that burns through her, equal parts incriminating and curious. A smile dances on her lips and she laughs lightly. The pitch is shrill and she barely recognizes it as her own voice.
You can’t leave, Seth says, but his mouth doesn’t move. Leah doesn’t recognize his voice either, it’s got the boom and power that reminds her of something that she can’t quite place. She sneers at her brother, then brings her two open hands to her temples, making moose ears just like when she was little. She sticks out her tongue at him, but he remains unfazed. Leah pouts a little, then turns on her heel and heads out of the door.
The forest is dark, except for slivers of moonlight that break through the trees. Leah can hardly see two feet in front of her, but she knows the forest well. She walks forward, unafraid. She can taste the salt from the ocean on her tongue and feel the breeze on her skin. She closes her eyes for one second, enjoying the calm night, but does not stop moving. There’s a loud ‘thump’ noise and a pain in her foot. When she opens her eyes, she sees she is falling. Her foot has caught on a twisted branch. She hits the ground with no injury.
She looks up and there he is, standing right in front of her, arms crossed. His hair is long again, but he wears the same somber expression that he’s worn for months now. Leah, he says. His voice echoes throughout the forest. He eyes her up and down critically, and Leah can feel herself shrinking before him. After a minute of studying her, he crouches down and reaches his hand out to her. Leah looks at it, then hesitantly puts her hand in his.
His expression doesn’t change, though a coy smile creeps onto her own lips. He stares at her, intensely, then suddenly snaps his head up. Leah hears a faraway growling. He looks down at her, then back up into the distance.
From behind her ears, Leah hears a familiar voice yelling, “Leah, get up!” but she can’t quite tell who it is. Sam looks to her once more, with a sneer on his face. He throws her hand away from himself, disgustedly, and stands straight up again. Another call fills the air, but this time, it’s much louder. “Leah, get up!”
Leah wakes with a start.
Her eyelids flutter open and her eyes slowly adjust to the bright light. She blinks a few times, and images of Sam in the forest flash just beneath her vision. When her eyes are focused, she sees Jacob sitting at the foot of her bed. She thinks of her dream, and places the familiar voice. “Why did you do that?” she barks.
He throws his head back and laughs. The sound bounces off the walls in her small room. “Get up,” he says. “Put on clothes. We’re going to the bonfire.”
She groans again, buries her face in her pillow and attempts to kick Jake off her bed. He doesn’t budge and Leah wonders if he even notices it. After a few tries, she gives up completely.
“Get out of my room!”
Jacob laughs again. “Get up, let’s go. We gotta get to the bonfire before all the food is gone.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
He sets his hand on her back and leans in slightly. “It’s four o’clock, the sun is starting to set, you need to get out of your bed,” he says softly. “It’s Embry’s birthday. There’s a bonfire. The food is going as we speak.”
“Fuck Embry and fuck you,” Leah barks. “I was on patrol until six o’clock this morning. I need to sleep.”
A smirk dances across Jacob’s face. “There’s a case of Miller in my car, and if you get up, I promise that six of those beers are yours.”
Leah jumps out of her bed. “All you had to say was beer,” she laughs, grabbing a pair of shorts from the floor. Jacob chuckles and watches her as she pulls the shorts on and fastens the button. “If you yelled ‘fire,’” she says, digging through her closet for a decent shirt, “I wouldn’t have moved as fast as ‘beer.’”
Jacob laughs as she pulls a shirt from a hanger. “I’ll remember that for next time.”
Leah slips on a light blue button up, not bothering to undo all the buttons. Jacob eyes the shirt. It’s formal, and a little bit bigger than Leah. He knows he’s seen it before, but not on her. Leah notices him staring. “It’s Seth’s,” she says, as she rolls up the sleeves. “Or it was. He’s too big for it now. You guys are giants.” Jake looks up to her and smiles. “I didn’t grow that much. It fits me fine.”
Jake eyes her up and down once more. The first few buttons of the shirt are undone and the top of Leah’s bra is peeking out. He smiles. “It does.” Leah looks down, then sneers back at Jacob, fastening the next button up.
“All right, perv,” she announces. “Let’s go, it’s beer time.” Leah turns to go, but Jake stands up and catches her hand before she’s out of her bedroom door.
“Wait,” he says, turning her right back around. He pulls her to him, placing one of his hands on her hip and the other on her face. He leans down and tenderly kisses her. When he goes back to kiss her again, Leah’s hands are on his chest, pushing him away.
Leah glares. “What was that?”
Jacob furrows his brow. “A kiss.” Leah breaks away from him, starting toward the door. “What, you didn’t like it?” he calls, following her out of the house.
Leah turns and leans on the hood of Jacob’s car, arms crossed. Jacob stands on her porch, a little deflated. “You don’t know me like that, Jacob.”
Jake crosses his arms over his chest, adopting Leah’s stance. “Then how do I know you?” Leah bites her lip and shrugs. Jacob sighs and jumps down from her porch, skipping the steps all together, then closes the gap between them in three long strides. “You’re my girlfriend, aren’t you?” Leah shrugs, arms still locked over her heart. “And you have been for, what, two weeks now?”
“I guess.”
Jacob places his hands on her hips once more and leans in slowly, until his face is an inch from hers. “And I can’t kiss you?” he says, his voice low and hushed. Leah dodges his eyes and pulls her face away from his. Jacob groans and steps away from her. “What are we, eleven?”
She shrugs again, not meeting his gaze. She turns away from him, and heads toward the passenger side door. “I don’t know, let’s just go, okay?” she whines.
Jacob groans again, then unlocks the drivers side door. He and Leah duck inside the car, and before Jacob can even put the key in the ignition, Leah twists herself around, reaching for a beer in the back seat. Jacob rolls his eyes. Leah pulls the tab of the beer open and takes a sip. Jake scoffs. He reaches over her body and pulls her seat belt over her, clicking it into place. He does the same for himself, then turns the ignition on. He throws the car into gear, backs out of her driveway and speeds toward the beach, all with a scowl on his face.
The car ride is silent, except for occasional slurps from Leah. When they get to the beach, Jacob parks the car and kills the engine. He unbuckles himself, then turns to the backseat and grabs the open case of beer. He throws his door open, drops the case of beer onto the road and is about to get out of the car when Leah puts her hand on his arm.
“Wait,” she mutters. Jacob sinks back into his seat and looks at her, one eyebrow cocked. She shakes her head a little, averting his gaze. “I didn’t mean it,” she mumbles. She looks back up to him and shrugs.
Jacob smirks. “No?”
Leah’s lips curl into a smile. “Nope,” she whispers, leaning into him. Leah’s hand travels up Jacob’s chest and onto his neck. Her hand finds purchase on his nape and she tugs gently at his hair.
Jacob’s lips meet hers and they part for him, easily. A smile creeps onto his lips as his tongue traces the points in her teeth. His hand finds its way onto her lap, then on her hand, where she’s still holding her warm beer. Soon enough, his tongue is tangled up in hers and he can faintly taste the beer she’s been drinking and the menthol from her cigarettes.
Leah moans softly into his mouth, presses her body as close to him as her seatbelt will allow. Jacob chuckles lightly, then slowly backs away from her. Leah keeps her hand on his neck, trying to pull him closer while she pushes as far as she can. The seatbelt locks into place, and Leah finds herself restrained. Finally, she gives in and undoes the buckle. She notices that she’s no longer holding her beer at the same time the seatbelt retracts.
When she looks up, Jacob is smirking and pounding down the last of the can. Leah playfully glares as Jacob crushes the can and slips out of the car. He throws the can to a garbage bin across the street. It travels in a perfect arch and lands gracefully in the bin. Jacob looks back into the car and grins at her.
“I wasn’t done with that, so that doesn’t count. I still get six beers,” she says, opening her door.
“Sure, sure,” Jake laughs. “Hey do me a favor and grab those Captain handles back there?”
Leah can’t help but smile as she reaches in the back seat for the bottles of Captain Morgan. She picks them up, steps out of the car and kicks the door shut. Jacob is standing close by her, case of beer in tow.
“You ready?” he asks, donning his usual stupid grin.
Leah scoffs. “For what?”
“Our debut.”
Leah is taken aback by his comment, but realizes that it’s true. Her stomach churns. She takes a deep breath and lifts up her shoulders. “No big deal.” Jacob chuckles and flashes her a big smile, then heads off towards the beach. Leah follows a step behind him.
She surveys the crowd. Off in one part of the beach are the council elders, sitting in a circle. Her mother is waving her arms around, and Billy Black is calmly nodding his head. Opposite from them, sitting at a picnic table, are the imprints. All of the younger girls are crowded around Emily, who is showcasing photos. Emily stops to point out a detail in a photograph and the other girls look to each other and smile excitedly. Leah scoffs as she passes them.
Near the forest, the younger boys in the pack gather around Seth, who is showing off his brace. They all “ooo” and “ah” when Seth illustrates how he fell off the tree with his good hand.
In the center of everything is the bonfire, where the older members of the pack are gathered. Each one of them has something in their hands, whether it’s a hot dog or a beer. As the two near the fire, all of the boys turn around to greet them.
A chorus of “Jacob!” fills the air, followed by an unconvincingly enthusiastic “Leah!” Leah’s shoulders sink. She glares in the general direction of the sound, but she can’t discern who said it.
Embry steps forward from the circle. “So you made it!” he says, taking the case of beer from Jacob and setting it down.
Jacob hugs Embry tightly, and Leah stands by, guarding herself with the bottles of rum. When they part, Jake exclaims, “Happy birthday!”
“It is, it is!”
Jacob motions to Leah. “We got you some Captain!” Leah takes it as her cue to showcase the liquor, so she fakes a smile and lifts up the handles.
“All right!” Embry exclaims, taking the bottles from Leah. He smiles at her genuinely, and she awkwardly bobs her head up and down. “Thanks!” Jacob flashes a smile at Leah, then heads off to the other side of the fire, where Quil is holding a hotdog for him. Embry makes a yipping sound and Jared’s head pops up. Embry throws the bottles up into the air and Jared catches them easily. Leah rolls her eyes. “Want a beer?” Embry offers.
“Sure,” Leah replies, trying not to sound too eager. Embry leans down and grabs two warm beers from the case. He pops both of the tabs open, then hands one to Leah. “To a long life,” Leah flatly toasts, tapping her can on his. Embry throws his head back and lets out a loud belly laugh. She doesn’t get what’s so funny, so she cocks her eyebrow and stares.
After a minute, Embry’s laughter transforms into a nerdy sort of snorting sound. Leah is still furrowing her brow at him. “Look at me!” Embry says. “I’m not getting any older!” Leah cracks a half hearted smile.
“I guess you’re right,” she murmurs. Embry smiles at her, though the gesture is skewed by the can at his mouth. Leah takes a big gulp of hers and the two just stand there for a while. Leah is about to leave when Embry opens up his mouth.
“I saw you two making out over there,” he says, gesturing with his beer to Jacob’s car.
Leah’s eyes go wide, and at first she doesn’t know how to respond. She decides on saying the first thing that comes to mind, “That’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Embry shrugs nonchalantly. “I mean, it’s not like I haven’t seen you guys kiss before.”
Leah shakes her head slowly. “That’s still pretty creepy.”
“I mean, it doesn’t bother me,” he says, taking another sip of his beer.
She sneers. “It definitely bothers me.”
Embry chuckles. “I mean about you two going out.” He kills the last of the can. “I think it’s cool,” he says, pitching the can into the same garbage bin that Jacob used.
Leah stands there for a second, eyebrow cocked. “You do?”
Embry shrugs again. “Yeah, why not? You two are good for each other. Jacob was all sad before, and you were such a bitch.”
Leah scoffs and tenses her muscles. “I can still be a bitch,” she retorts, defensively. “I am a bitch.”
Embry’s annoying, loud laugh fills the air again. When he comes down, he snorts, “Sure, sure.” Leah scowls at him, but he doesn’t notice. “You toasted to me,” he says, matter-of-factly.
Leah shakes her head at him, not quite sure what he’s getting at. “So?”
Embry chuckles again, then shrugs. “You want a hot dog?” he asks. Leah shrugs. Embry beckons to Jared. Jared chucks a bun to Embry, and he catches it easily. Jared then leans down in front of the fire and grabs a straightened out wire hanger with a hot dog at the end of it. He tosses it like a javelin across the beach, and Embry catches it using the bun as a mitt. Embry pulls the wire out of the hot dog and hands the whole thing over to Leah. “Enjoy,” he says, with a smile. Leah half-smiles back at him and he walks away.
Alone, Leah downs the rest of her beer, then turns to the garbage bin. She tosses her can lightly into the air, and smirks proudly to herself when it lands neatly in the bin. When she turns back toward the fire, Emily is staring at her from her picnic bench.
Leah glares and Emily lowers her gaze. “Leah,” she chirps, “would you like to see some photos from the hon-- from our trip?” The rest of the girls look up at her eagerly.
“No,” Leah barks, with a tone that screams “how dare you even ask?”
Emily sighs, then smiles and turns back to the girls at the table. Leah rolls her eyes, bringing the hot dog to her mouth. She nibbles at it absentmindedly as she stares off into the horizon. The setting sun lights up the edge of the ocean as it makes its descent. The sky above is turning a gorgeous purple color. Leah almost loses herself in the beauty of it all, but she is snapped back into reality.
“Leah!” Jacob calls. She locks eyes with him. He smiles sweetly, then mimes a cup in his hand, tilting his head back. Leah smiles back and leans down, grabbing him a beer. She tosses it across the fire, and Jacob catches it with ease. He smiles for her once more, then pops the tab of the can. He leans back and downs the can in one swift movement. When he looks back up, he sees that Sam Uley has appeared at his side.
Sam is standing tall and proud, with his arms crossed and his chest puffed out. Jacob cocks his eyebrows and rolls his eyes, scoffing at Sam’s display of masculinity. Jake lifts the beer can to eye level, and with perfect form, tosses it across the beach and into a garbage bin. Sam doesn’t move, just continues staring off into the distance. Jacob chuckles to himself underneath his breath, then adopts Sam’s pose. The two stand there, still as giant statues, and it’s hard to tell who is the leader of whom.
A second passes in silence. Jacob can feel the tension hanging thick in the air, he breathes it in calmly. Finally, Sam clears his throat. Jacob smirks to himself.
“So,” Sam starts. “You and Leah are a thing now?” he says, putting extra emphasis on the last two words.
Jacob scoffs. “Don’t be mad cuz I didn’t ask your permission.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob sees Sam’s jaw tensing. “I’m not mad at that,” Sam says, teeth clenched.
Jacob cocks his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“You know what could happen,” he says. He clenches his jaw once more. “One of you,” he says, “is going to end up hurt.” His tone makes it clear who he is talking about.
“Like you hurt Leah?” Jake bites.
Sam turns his head toward Jacob, then squints his eyes. “That’s different,” he insists.
Jacob laughs just loud enough for Sam to hear. “It is different,” he says. He turns to face Sam, glaring at him. “Because I would never do that to her.”
“You think you know everything,” Sam quips. He drops his arms to his side and leans closer to Jacob. His eyes flicker away from Jake for a second, focusing on something in the distance, but when he looks back at Jake, his stare is as intense as ever. “I hate to break it to you, Black, but there are some things that just can’t be fixed.”
“What?” he scoffs. Jacob doesn’t dare break Sam’s gaze, but he thinks he knows who Sam was looking at.
Sam takes a tiny step closer to Jacob, closing the small space between them. Sam leans in until their foreheads are inches from each other. “It was all fine and well when it was your damn Rabbit,” he hisses, “but Leah has a heart. She’s not a project, Jacob, she can’t be rebuilt like a damn car, so just leave it behind.”
Jacob stands still for a second, stunned by what Sam said. A white hot sensation flows through his veins and he can feel his skin starting to ripple. He squeezes his fists and his jaw tightly, breathing deeply to calm himself. “I won’t hit you,” he says through clenched teeth, “because you’re the alpha.” He looks up to Sam, his eyes filled with fire. “But remember how easily that can be changed.” He glares at Sam once more, then turns to walk away. He takes two steps, then turns back to Sam and says, “No one will ever hurt her as much as you.” He turns back around before he can see Sam’s reaction.
When he looks up, he notices that all the other people on the beach have frozen to watch him. He continues down the beach, fists balled up and jaw set tightly. He’s halfway down the beach and to his car when he passes Leah.
“Jacob,” she calls, but he doesn’t stop. “Jacob!” She runs toward him, follows after him as he marches to his car. “What’s-”
“I gotta go,” Jacob interrupts, shrugging her off. She stands in place, confused, as Jacob makes his way out.
She shakes her head and runs to catch up with him again. “Wait! Jake! Wait!” she calls.
Jacob turns on his heel suddenly, causing Leah to crash into him. Jacob reaches his hands out to her, placing them on her biceps. He squeezes them, almost too tightly, and gazes deep into Leah’s eyes. He’s searching for something, but Leah can’t tell what it is. His intensity is starting to scare her, but he’s not letting up. Then, as suddenly as he caught her, he is crushing his lips against hers.
He kisses her hard enough to bruise, but somehow, she doesn’t mind. He breathes heavily and the warm air tickles Leah’s cheek. Jacob stops and backs away from her. He looks at her again, but his eyes are softer this time. He purses his lips together, then sighs heavily. “I’m with you because I want to be, okay? I like you,” he says, each word heavy with meaning. “Not for anything else. I like you and I want to be with you, okay?”
Leah’s brow knits together. She stares at him, utterly confused. “What?”
Jacob bites his lower lip, then removes his hands from her. He shakes his head. “I gotta go,” he says, turning toward his car. Leah watches as he walks away, then looks behind her. She catches eyes with Sam, who makes no effort to hide the fact that he has been watching the two of them. She lowers her gaze, embarrassed, then looks up to Jake.
“Wait!” she calls, running after him. “Jacob, wait!” She looks behind her once more, at Sam and the rest of the pack. She turns forward and picks up her speed. “I’m coming with.”
Characters Leah Clearwater, Jacob Black
Rating R
Summary "Now it's time to get out of the desert and into the sun"
Word Count 3811
Notes Title and summary quote taken from "On your Porch" by The Format. Come join me in my first foray into the world of chaptered fics! Many thanks to my beta beautyfrompain! I can't believe it's taken me five months (!!!) to post this up. I mean, I've had it done for quite a while. I'm very sorry for the delay! Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner than that! Enjoy!
Previous Chapters
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Leah is sitting on her couch, working on a sudoku puzzle that she swears she’s already done before, when she has the sudden urge to take a walk through the forest. She sets the newspaper and her pencil down on the coffee table and stands up. When she looks around, she sees her brother leaning in the kitchen doorway. He’s giving her a look that burns through her, equal parts incriminating and curious. A smile dances on her lips and she laughs lightly. The pitch is shrill and she barely recognizes it as her own voice.
You can’t leave, Seth says, but his mouth doesn’t move. Leah doesn’t recognize his voice either, it’s got the boom and power that reminds her of something that she can’t quite place. She sneers at her brother, then brings her two open hands to her temples, making moose ears just like when she was little. She sticks out her tongue at him, but he remains unfazed. Leah pouts a little, then turns on her heel and heads out of the door.
The forest is dark, except for slivers of moonlight that break through the trees. Leah can hardly see two feet in front of her, but she knows the forest well. She walks forward, unafraid. She can taste the salt from the ocean on her tongue and feel the breeze on her skin. She closes her eyes for one second, enjoying the calm night, but does not stop moving. There’s a loud ‘thump’ noise and a pain in her foot. When she opens her eyes, she sees she is falling. Her foot has caught on a twisted branch. She hits the ground with no injury.
She looks up and there he is, standing right in front of her, arms crossed. His hair is long again, but he wears the same somber expression that he’s worn for months now. Leah, he says. His voice echoes throughout the forest. He eyes her up and down critically, and Leah can feel herself shrinking before him. After a minute of studying her, he crouches down and reaches his hand out to her. Leah looks at it, then hesitantly puts her hand in his.
His expression doesn’t change, though a coy smile creeps onto her own lips. He stares at her, intensely, then suddenly snaps his head up. Leah hears a faraway growling. He looks down at her, then back up into the distance.
From behind her ears, Leah hears a familiar voice yelling, “Leah, get up!” but she can’t quite tell who it is. Sam looks to her once more, with a sneer on his face. He throws her hand away from himself, disgustedly, and stands straight up again. Another call fills the air, but this time, it’s much louder. “Leah, get up!”
Leah wakes with a start.
Her eyelids flutter open and her eyes slowly adjust to the bright light. She blinks a few times, and images of Sam in the forest flash just beneath her vision. When her eyes are focused, she sees Jacob sitting at the foot of her bed. She thinks of her dream, and places the familiar voice. “Why did you do that?” she barks.
He throws his head back and laughs. The sound bounces off the walls in her small room. “Get up,” he says. “Put on clothes. We’re going to the bonfire.”
She groans again, buries her face in her pillow and attempts to kick Jake off her bed. He doesn’t budge and Leah wonders if he even notices it. After a few tries, she gives up completely.
“Get out of my room!”
Jacob laughs again. “Get up, let’s go. We gotta get to the bonfire before all the food is gone.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
He sets his hand on her back and leans in slightly. “It’s four o’clock, the sun is starting to set, you need to get out of your bed,” he says softly. “It’s Embry’s birthday. There’s a bonfire. The food is going as we speak.”
“Fuck Embry and fuck you,” Leah barks. “I was on patrol until six o’clock this morning. I need to sleep.”
A smirk dances across Jacob’s face. “There’s a case of Miller in my car, and if you get up, I promise that six of those beers are yours.”
Leah jumps out of her bed. “All you had to say was beer,” she laughs, grabbing a pair of shorts from the floor. Jacob chuckles and watches her as she pulls the shorts on and fastens the button. “If you yelled ‘fire,’” she says, digging through her closet for a decent shirt, “I wouldn’t have moved as fast as ‘beer.’”
Jacob laughs as she pulls a shirt from a hanger. “I’ll remember that for next time.”
Leah slips on a light blue button up, not bothering to undo all the buttons. Jacob eyes the shirt. It’s formal, and a little bit bigger than Leah. He knows he’s seen it before, but not on her. Leah notices him staring. “It’s Seth’s,” she says, as she rolls up the sleeves. “Or it was. He’s too big for it now. You guys are giants.” Jake looks up to her and smiles. “I didn’t grow that much. It fits me fine.”
Jake eyes her up and down once more. The first few buttons of the shirt are undone and the top of Leah’s bra is peeking out. He smiles. “It does.” Leah looks down, then sneers back at Jacob, fastening the next button up.
“All right, perv,” she announces. “Let’s go, it’s beer time.” Leah turns to go, but Jake stands up and catches her hand before she’s out of her bedroom door.
“Wait,” he says, turning her right back around. He pulls her to him, placing one of his hands on her hip and the other on her face. He leans down and tenderly kisses her. When he goes back to kiss her again, Leah’s hands are on his chest, pushing him away.
Leah glares. “What was that?”
Jacob furrows his brow. “A kiss.” Leah breaks away from him, starting toward the door. “What, you didn’t like it?” he calls, following her out of the house.
Leah turns and leans on the hood of Jacob’s car, arms crossed. Jacob stands on her porch, a little deflated. “You don’t know me like that, Jacob.”
Jake crosses his arms over his chest, adopting Leah’s stance. “Then how do I know you?” Leah bites her lip and shrugs. Jacob sighs and jumps down from her porch, skipping the steps all together, then closes the gap between them in three long strides. “You’re my girlfriend, aren’t you?” Leah shrugs, arms still locked over her heart. “And you have been for, what, two weeks now?”
“I guess.”
Jacob places his hands on her hips once more and leans in slowly, until his face is an inch from hers. “And I can’t kiss you?” he says, his voice low and hushed. Leah dodges his eyes and pulls her face away from his. Jacob groans and steps away from her. “What are we, eleven?”
She shrugs again, not meeting his gaze. She turns away from him, and heads toward the passenger side door. “I don’t know, let’s just go, okay?” she whines.
Jacob groans again, then unlocks the drivers side door. He and Leah duck inside the car, and before Jacob can even put the key in the ignition, Leah twists herself around, reaching for a beer in the back seat. Jacob rolls his eyes. Leah pulls the tab of the beer open and takes a sip. Jake scoffs. He reaches over her body and pulls her seat belt over her, clicking it into place. He does the same for himself, then turns the ignition on. He throws the car into gear, backs out of her driveway and speeds toward the beach, all with a scowl on his face.
The car ride is silent, except for occasional slurps from Leah. When they get to the beach, Jacob parks the car and kills the engine. He unbuckles himself, then turns to the backseat and grabs the open case of beer. He throws his door open, drops the case of beer onto the road and is about to get out of the car when Leah puts her hand on his arm.
“Wait,” she mutters. Jacob sinks back into his seat and looks at her, one eyebrow cocked. She shakes her head a little, averting his gaze. “I didn’t mean it,” she mumbles. She looks back up to him and shrugs.
Jacob smirks. “No?”
Leah’s lips curl into a smile. “Nope,” she whispers, leaning into him. Leah’s hand travels up Jacob’s chest and onto his neck. Her hand finds purchase on his nape and she tugs gently at his hair.
Jacob’s lips meet hers and they part for him, easily. A smile creeps onto his lips as his tongue traces the points in her teeth. His hand finds its way onto her lap, then on her hand, where she’s still holding her warm beer. Soon enough, his tongue is tangled up in hers and he can faintly taste the beer she’s been drinking and the menthol from her cigarettes.
Leah moans softly into his mouth, presses her body as close to him as her seatbelt will allow. Jacob chuckles lightly, then slowly backs away from her. Leah keeps her hand on his neck, trying to pull him closer while she pushes as far as she can. The seatbelt locks into place, and Leah finds herself restrained. Finally, she gives in and undoes the buckle. She notices that she’s no longer holding her beer at the same time the seatbelt retracts.
When she looks up, Jacob is smirking and pounding down the last of the can. Leah playfully glares as Jacob crushes the can and slips out of the car. He throws the can to a garbage bin across the street. It travels in a perfect arch and lands gracefully in the bin. Jacob looks back into the car and grins at her.
“I wasn’t done with that, so that doesn’t count. I still get six beers,” she says, opening her door.
“Sure, sure,” Jake laughs. “Hey do me a favor and grab those Captain handles back there?”
Leah can’t help but smile as she reaches in the back seat for the bottles of Captain Morgan. She picks them up, steps out of the car and kicks the door shut. Jacob is standing close by her, case of beer in tow.
“You ready?” he asks, donning his usual stupid grin.
Leah scoffs. “For what?”
“Our debut.”
Leah is taken aback by his comment, but realizes that it’s true. Her stomach churns. She takes a deep breath and lifts up her shoulders. “No big deal.” Jacob chuckles and flashes her a big smile, then heads off towards the beach. Leah follows a step behind him.
She surveys the crowd. Off in one part of the beach are the council elders, sitting in a circle. Her mother is waving her arms around, and Billy Black is calmly nodding his head. Opposite from them, sitting at a picnic table, are the imprints. All of the younger girls are crowded around Emily, who is showcasing photos. Emily stops to point out a detail in a photograph and the other girls look to each other and smile excitedly. Leah scoffs as she passes them.
Near the forest, the younger boys in the pack gather around Seth, who is showing off his brace. They all “ooo” and “ah” when Seth illustrates how he fell off the tree with his good hand.
In the center of everything is the bonfire, where the older members of the pack are gathered. Each one of them has something in their hands, whether it’s a hot dog or a beer. As the two near the fire, all of the boys turn around to greet them.
A chorus of “Jacob!” fills the air, followed by an unconvincingly enthusiastic “Leah!” Leah’s shoulders sink. She glares in the general direction of the sound, but she can’t discern who said it.
Embry steps forward from the circle. “So you made it!” he says, taking the case of beer from Jacob and setting it down.
Jacob hugs Embry tightly, and Leah stands by, guarding herself with the bottles of rum. When they part, Jake exclaims, “Happy birthday!”
“It is, it is!”
Jacob motions to Leah. “We got you some Captain!” Leah takes it as her cue to showcase the liquor, so she fakes a smile and lifts up the handles.
“All right!” Embry exclaims, taking the bottles from Leah. He smiles at her genuinely, and she awkwardly bobs her head up and down. “Thanks!” Jacob flashes a smile at Leah, then heads off to the other side of the fire, where Quil is holding a hotdog for him. Embry makes a yipping sound and Jared’s head pops up. Embry throws the bottles up into the air and Jared catches them easily. Leah rolls her eyes. “Want a beer?” Embry offers.
“Sure,” Leah replies, trying not to sound too eager. Embry leans down and grabs two warm beers from the case. He pops both of the tabs open, then hands one to Leah. “To a long life,” Leah flatly toasts, tapping her can on his. Embry throws his head back and lets out a loud belly laugh. She doesn’t get what’s so funny, so she cocks her eyebrow and stares.
After a minute, Embry’s laughter transforms into a nerdy sort of snorting sound. Leah is still furrowing her brow at him. “Look at me!” Embry says. “I’m not getting any older!” Leah cracks a half hearted smile.
“I guess you’re right,” she murmurs. Embry smiles at her, though the gesture is skewed by the can at his mouth. Leah takes a big gulp of hers and the two just stand there for a while. Leah is about to leave when Embry opens up his mouth.
“I saw you two making out over there,” he says, gesturing with his beer to Jacob’s car.
Leah’s eyes go wide, and at first she doesn’t know how to respond. She decides on saying the first thing that comes to mind, “That’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Embry shrugs nonchalantly. “I mean, it’s not like I haven’t seen you guys kiss before.”
Leah shakes her head slowly. “That’s still pretty creepy.”
“I mean, it doesn’t bother me,” he says, taking another sip of his beer.
She sneers. “It definitely bothers me.”
Embry chuckles. “I mean about you two going out.” He kills the last of the can. “I think it’s cool,” he says, pitching the can into the same garbage bin that Jacob used.
Leah stands there for a second, eyebrow cocked. “You do?”
Embry shrugs again. “Yeah, why not? You two are good for each other. Jacob was all sad before, and you were such a bitch.”
Leah scoffs and tenses her muscles. “I can still be a bitch,” she retorts, defensively. “I am a bitch.”
Embry’s annoying, loud laugh fills the air again. When he comes down, he snorts, “Sure, sure.” Leah scowls at him, but he doesn’t notice. “You toasted to me,” he says, matter-of-factly.
Leah shakes her head at him, not quite sure what he’s getting at. “So?”
Embry chuckles again, then shrugs. “You want a hot dog?” he asks. Leah shrugs. Embry beckons to Jared. Jared chucks a bun to Embry, and he catches it easily. Jared then leans down in front of the fire and grabs a straightened out wire hanger with a hot dog at the end of it. He tosses it like a javelin across the beach, and Embry catches it using the bun as a mitt. Embry pulls the wire out of the hot dog and hands the whole thing over to Leah. “Enjoy,” he says, with a smile. Leah half-smiles back at him and he walks away.
Alone, Leah downs the rest of her beer, then turns to the garbage bin. She tosses her can lightly into the air, and smirks proudly to herself when it lands neatly in the bin. When she turns back toward the fire, Emily is staring at her from her picnic bench.
Leah glares and Emily lowers her gaze. “Leah,” she chirps, “would you like to see some photos from the hon-- from our trip?” The rest of the girls look up at her eagerly.
“No,” Leah barks, with a tone that screams “how dare you even ask?”
Emily sighs, then smiles and turns back to the girls at the table. Leah rolls her eyes, bringing the hot dog to her mouth. She nibbles at it absentmindedly as she stares off into the horizon. The setting sun lights up the edge of the ocean as it makes its descent. The sky above is turning a gorgeous purple color. Leah almost loses herself in the beauty of it all, but she is snapped back into reality.
“Leah!” Jacob calls. She locks eyes with him. He smiles sweetly, then mimes a cup in his hand, tilting his head back. Leah smiles back and leans down, grabbing him a beer. She tosses it across the fire, and Jacob catches it with ease. He smiles for her once more, then pops the tab of the can. He leans back and downs the can in one swift movement. When he looks back up, he sees that Sam Uley has appeared at his side.
Sam is standing tall and proud, with his arms crossed and his chest puffed out. Jacob cocks his eyebrows and rolls his eyes, scoffing at Sam’s display of masculinity. Jake lifts the beer can to eye level, and with perfect form, tosses it across the beach and into a garbage bin. Sam doesn’t move, just continues staring off into the distance. Jacob chuckles to himself underneath his breath, then adopts Sam’s pose. The two stand there, still as giant statues, and it’s hard to tell who is the leader of whom.
A second passes in silence. Jacob can feel the tension hanging thick in the air, he breathes it in calmly. Finally, Sam clears his throat. Jacob smirks to himself.
“So,” Sam starts. “You and Leah are a thing now?” he says, putting extra emphasis on the last two words.
Jacob scoffs. “Don’t be mad cuz I didn’t ask your permission.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob sees Sam’s jaw tensing. “I’m not mad at that,” Sam says, teeth clenched.
Jacob cocks his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“You know what could happen,” he says. He clenches his jaw once more. “One of you,” he says, “is going to end up hurt.” His tone makes it clear who he is talking about.
“Like you hurt Leah?” Jake bites.
Sam turns his head toward Jacob, then squints his eyes. “That’s different,” he insists.
Jacob laughs just loud enough for Sam to hear. “It is different,” he says. He turns to face Sam, glaring at him. “Because I would never do that to her.”
“You think you know everything,” Sam quips. He drops his arms to his side and leans closer to Jacob. His eyes flicker away from Jake for a second, focusing on something in the distance, but when he looks back at Jake, his stare is as intense as ever. “I hate to break it to you, Black, but there are some things that just can’t be fixed.”
“What?” he scoffs. Jacob doesn’t dare break Sam’s gaze, but he thinks he knows who Sam was looking at.
Sam takes a tiny step closer to Jacob, closing the small space between them. Sam leans in until their foreheads are inches from each other. “It was all fine and well when it was your damn Rabbit,” he hisses, “but Leah has a heart. She’s not a project, Jacob, she can’t be rebuilt like a damn car, so just leave it behind.”
Jacob stands still for a second, stunned by what Sam said. A white hot sensation flows through his veins and he can feel his skin starting to ripple. He squeezes his fists and his jaw tightly, breathing deeply to calm himself. “I won’t hit you,” he says through clenched teeth, “because you’re the alpha.” He looks up to Sam, his eyes filled with fire. “But remember how easily that can be changed.” He glares at Sam once more, then turns to walk away. He takes two steps, then turns back to Sam and says, “No one will ever hurt her as much as you.” He turns back around before he can see Sam’s reaction.
When he looks up, he notices that all the other people on the beach have frozen to watch him. He continues down the beach, fists balled up and jaw set tightly. He’s halfway down the beach and to his car when he passes Leah.
“Jacob,” she calls, but he doesn’t stop. “Jacob!” She runs toward him, follows after him as he marches to his car. “What’s-”
“I gotta go,” Jacob interrupts, shrugging her off. She stands in place, confused, as Jacob makes his way out.
She shakes her head and runs to catch up with him again. “Wait! Jake! Wait!” she calls.
Jacob turns on his heel suddenly, causing Leah to crash into him. Jacob reaches his hands out to her, placing them on her biceps. He squeezes them, almost too tightly, and gazes deep into Leah’s eyes. He’s searching for something, but Leah can’t tell what it is. His intensity is starting to scare her, but he’s not letting up. Then, as suddenly as he caught her, he is crushing his lips against hers.
He kisses her hard enough to bruise, but somehow, she doesn’t mind. He breathes heavily and the warm air tickles Leah’s cheek. Jacob stops and backs away from her. He looks at her again, but his eyes are softer this time. He purses his lips together, then sighs heavily. “I’m with you because I want to be, okay? I like you,” he says, each word heavy with meaning. “Not for anything else. I like you and I want to be with you, okay?”
Leah’s brow knits together. She stares at him, utterly confused. “What?”
Jacob bites his lower lip, then removes his hands from her. He shakes his head. “I gotta go,” he says, turning toward his car. Leah watches as he walks away, then looks behind her. She catches eyes with Sam, who makes no effort to hide the fact that he has been watching the two of them. She lowers her gaze, embarrassed, then looks up to Jake.
“Wait!” she calls, running after him. “Jacob, wait!” She looks behind her once more, at Sam and the rest of the pack. She turns forward and picks up her speed. “I’m coming with.”