Changing Colors Part Two
Title: Changing Colors Part Two
Author:
pnai_87
Rating: K+
Validation Beta:
majestamoniet
Written for
marblemeadow for the fic_exchange on
theair_thesun
Soooo sorry this is so late, hun.
The following week was hell.
It was like someone had turned up the volume on everything.
She could hear whispered conversations from across the room. She now recognized people by their scents. Her nose burned from the strength of it. Where she used to squint to see the board, she now could see perfectly. The sun nearly blinded her on her way to school. Everything was just so loud, so bright, and so damn strong. The sensory overload gave her a constant headache.
There was also the issue her appetite. She seemed to be always hungry, all the time. Never satisfied for long no matter how much she ate.
“It’s like she’s eating for two,” Lauren said snidely, one day at lunch.
It would’ve been a reasonable assumption, except for the fact that she hadn’t gained much weight. Sure, she got back what she lost during her months of depression, but now she was more solid than skinny.
If all that wasn’t strange enough, she could sense some kind of presence wrappings itself around her, binding her so tightly she literally trembled with the need to break free. Sometimes she could swear it actually spoke to her.
Home became her refuge. The quiet was soothing, and the familiar smells calmed her.
Her nightmares, though they haven’t complete stopped, were soon replaced by visions. Visions she could never recollect the next day, but always left her with a feeling of peace and general wellbeing.
The feeling dissipated as the pounding headache from the sounds and the smells returned as soon as she left home. Maybe she should try homeschool.
What was worse was what she’d come to refer to as the Presence. It seemed to be growing. She tried to ignore it as best she could, frightened by this intruder’s influence. Whatever it thought, whatever it felt was transferred to her. Despite being surrounded by people, it yearned for companionship. She found herself having mild panic attacks, feeling claustrobically confined within the grey walls of the school. The Presence was always restless, anxiously looking for something and pulling her toward somewhere. What or where she had no idea. She was constantly shaking now, certain that the minute she let go the Presence would take over and she’d be lost.
Feeling like she was heading straight towards crazy and unable to take it anymore she drove to the one person she knew would could give her the answers she needed.
She’d been thinking about what Jacob had said. “You have all the pieces…you just have to remember…stories.” The Cold Ones. How the Quileute people descended from wolves. She struggled against the ridiculousness of theories. Jacob, and probably his friends too, were wolves?
It was a pack of wolves that saved her from Laurant. That meant they were good, right? On the otherhand, it was a wolf that attacked her a few weeks ago. When all the weirdness started.
She almost slammed on the breaks as a terrifying thought occurred to her. Instead she floored it, her tires screeching as she made the turn to La Push. Billy opened the door before she could knock, probably hearing her truck pull up. “Bella?”
“Billy, I need-”
“He’s not in,” He said, cutting her off.
“I actually need to talk to you.” She picked up his hand, and placed it on her arm. He looked confused for a second, before his eyes widened, registering what she was trying to tell him. “Come in.”
Bella settled in the kitchen as familiar to her as her own. From where she sat she could tell that the milk was a few days shy of going bad, that there were several days of laundry piled in the room nearby, and that Jacob was sleeping in his room on the other side of the house.
“…like a daughter to me and you didn’t think it was important enough to tell the council? To tell me?”
Even though he had taken the phone outside, and was speaking under an angry murmur, she could still hear every word.
“We will do right by her, do you hear me? You come, bring the pack. Everyone, Sam.” He hung up, not waiting for a response.
“It’s not like someone got me pregnant, Billy,” She said lightly when he came in.
He sighed warily. “Jesus, what a mess.” He rolled closer to her. “Bella, what did you want to know?”
She couldn’t help but smile at him. “You can’t fix it, can you?”
He shook his head, looking grim. “When everyone gets here, we’ll make things right. You won’t be alone in this, I promise.”
Like father like son. She thought. Before she could think about what question to ask first, she felt a prickling in her skin. Instinctively, she looked and she saw them. Sam Uley and his band of hulks. Anger poured through her like lava. She was out the door before Billy could stop her.
She stormed across the yard and shoved Sam a step back. “What did you do?”
“Bella-”
“Why couldn’t you leave him alone? Did you think he wanted this?”
The man next to him snarled. “What did he tell you?”
“Paul, calm down.” Sam said warningly.
A vicious growl ripped through her. The Presence felt her anger, and was fueling it. It wanted her to attack. “Nothing! Do you think he tells me anything when-” She started shaking now. She just caught sight of a girl walking out of the forest. They followed her gaze and immediately tensed.
“Shit.” Jared muttered.
“Bella, you need to calm down.” Sam’s voice was low, and could almost be soothing. Had she not been so pissed.
While Bella was sure she didn’t know her, the Presence recognized her instantly. The shaking got worse, the Presence insisting to be let out. “C-Can’t…too…much…” She clutched her chest, her head going blank from the pressure. Soon she was exploding out her skin. Literally.
Covered in snow white fur, she crouched in a defensive posture. The shock was enough to snap her back.
‘Whatthehellwhatthehellwhatthehell.’ White fur, four legs and…a quick glance told her the slight weight at her flank was indeed a tail. ‘Whatthehellwhatthehellwhatthehell!” Suddenly she felt the presence of others.
‘That answers that question.’ Sam. That was Sam’s voice.
‘Huh, so that’s actually not a myth.’ And Jared.
Paul didn’t say anything but she got the feeling he was eagerly waiting for her to lose it.
She ignored him and concentrated on the new wolf. The one she’d first seen those weeks ago. ‘You!’
’You think you can take me, leech lover?’ A girl’s voice now, just as angry. Bitterly so. ‘Just try it!’
‘That’s enough, Leah!’
Leah? Leah Clearwater?
There were four of them and only one of her. The Presence was determined not to back down. She was back to being as pissed as it was. She thought maybe she’d go for Sam first.
‘Aww, c`mon, Bells. You don’t wanna kill Sam.’
Her head snapped to the russet wolf approaching from the house. ‘Jacob?’
He seemed to grin at her. Tail actually wagging.
The others slowly receded.
‘You…gonna be okay there, Jake?’ Sam didn’t want to leave him with the crazy girl.
‘Yeah, I got her.’ Then it was just the two of them.
He approached her slowly, which irked her and the Presence simultaneously. He chuckled, ‘That’s your wolf, Bells.’
Her wolf. Of course. Funny thing was, the closer he got the calmer she became. She knew Jake. Going with instinct, she knelt to the ground and waited. Despite its earlier aggression the wolf wanted to be acknowledge by him, even accepted by his friends.
Jake took his time. Circling her, stopping to scent here, or brush there. Finally, he stretched down next to her and licked her neck. ‘You’ll do.’
She leaned against him for a moment, and then felt every part of her shrink until she was herself again. Jacob shifted, and she felt him drop a shirt on her bare shoulders.
“You’re a werewolf.”
“Yes.”
“Because Leah bit me, I’m a werewolf too.”
“For what it’s worth, she’s feels like shit about it.”
She sighed. “What am I going to do?” There’s no way she could have a normal life now.
He put a comforting arm around her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.” She leaned into him as she did in her wolf form. “Plus it’s not all bad. We’ve got speed like you wouldn’t believe. It’s like outrunning wind.”
She perked up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. In fact,” He stood, and helped her up, “I’ll race you to the west side of the Rez, Emily’s house.”
“You’re on!” Without waiting she took off. “Last one there’s a rotten werewolf!”
He took off after her laughing.
She had wanted to change. She still had too many questions and uncertainties, but with Jacob on her side, everything would probably work out the way it was meant to.
THE END
(-)(-)(-)
"If the prompt seems to be for a much longer story, you may have to focus on just a single aspect of the prompt or on a shorter moment in time" Missed that part of the instructions, or unconsciously ignored it. Hope you like it!
Author:
pnai_87
Rating: K+
Validation Beta:
majestamoniet
Written for
marblemeadow for the fic_exchange on
theair_thesun
Soooo sorry this is so late, hun.
The following week was hell.
It was like someone had turned up the volume on everything.
She could hear whispered conversations from across the room. She now recognized people by their scents. Her nose burned from the strength of it. Where she used to squint to see the board, she now could see perfectly. The sun nearly blinded her on her way to school. Everything was just so loud, so bright, and so damn strong. The sensory overload gave her a constant headache.
There was also the issue her appetite. She seemed to be always hungry, all the time. Never satisfied for long no matter how much she ate.
“It’s like she’s eating for two,” Lauren said snidely, one day at lunch.
It would’ve been a reasonable assumption, except for the fact that she hadn’t gained much weight. Sure, she got back what she lost during her months of depression, but now she was more solid than skinny.
If all that wasn’t strange enough, she could sense some kind of presence wrappings itself around her, binding her so tightly she literally trembled with the need to break free. Sometimes she could swear it actually spoke to her.
Home became her refuge. The quiet was soothing, and the familiar smells calmed her.
Her nightmares, though they haven’t complete stopped, were soon replaced by visions. Visions she could never recollect the next day, but always left her with a feeling of peace and general wellbeing.
The feeling dissipated as the pounding headache from the sounds and the smells returned as soon as she left home. Maybe she should try homeschool.
What was worse was what she’d come to refer to as the Presence. It seemed to be growing. She tried to ignore it as best she could, frightened by this intruder’s influence. Whatever it thought, whatever it felt was transferred to her. Despite being surrounded by people, it yearned for companionship. She found herself having mild panic attacks, feeling claustrobically confined within the grey walls of the school. The Presence was always restless, anxiously looking for something and pulling her toward somewhere. What or where she had no idea. She was constantly shaking now, certain that the minute she let go the Presence would take over and she’d be lost.
Feeling like she was heading straight towards crazy and unable to take it anymore she drove to the one person she knew would could give her the answers she needed.
She’d been thinking about what Jacob had said. “You have all the pieces…you just have to remember…stories.” The Cold Ones. How the Quileute people descended from wolves. She struggled against the ridiculousness of theories. Jacob, and probably his friends too, were wolves?
It was a pack of wolves that saved her from Laurant. That meant they were good, right? On the otherhand, it was a wolf that attacked her a few weeks ago. When all the weirdness started.
She almost slammed on the breaks as a terrifying thought occurred to her. Instead she floored it, her tires screeching as she made the turn to La Push. Billy opened the door before she could knock, probably hearing her truck pull up. “Bella?”
“Billy, I need-”
“He’s not in,” He said, cutting her off.
“I actually need to talk to you.” She picked up his hand, and placed it on her arm. He looked confused for a second, before his eyes widened, registering what she was trying to tell him. “Come in.”
Bella settled in the kitchen as familiar to her as her own. From where she sat she could tell that the milk was a few days shy of going bad, that there were several days of laundry piled in the room nearby, and that Jacob was sleeping in his room on the other side of the house.
“…like a daughter to me and you didn’t think it was important enough to tell the council? To tell me?”
Even though he had taken the phone outside, and was speaking under an angry murmur, she could still hear every word.
“We will do right by her, do you hear me? You come, bring the pack. Everyone, Sam.” He hung up, not waiting for a response.
“It’s not like someone got me pregnant, Billy,” She said lightly when he came in.
He sighed warily. “Jesus, what a mess.” He rolled closer to her. “Bella, what did you want to know?”
She couldn’t help but smile at him. “You can’t fix it, can you?”
He shook his head, looking grim. “When everyone gets here, we’ll make things right. You won’t be alone in this, I promise.”
Like father like son. She thought. Before she could think about what question to ask first, she felt a prickling in her skin. Instinctively, she looked and she saw them. Sam Uley and his band of hulks. Anger poured through her like lava. She was out the door before Billy could stop her.
She stormed across the yard and shoved Sam a step back. “What did you do?”
“Bella-”
“Why couldn’t you leave him alone? Did you think he wanted this?”
The man next to him snarled. “What did he tell you?”
“Paul, calm down.” Sam said warningly.
A vicious growl ripped through her. The Presence felt her anger, and was fueling it. It wanted her to attack. “Nothing! Do you think he tells me anything when-” She started shaking now. She just caught sight of a girl walking out of the forest. They followed her gaze and immediately tensed.
“Shit.” Jared muttered.
“Bella, you need to calm down.” Sam’s voice was low, and could almost be soothing. Had she not been so pissed.
While Bella was sure she didn’t know her, the Presence recognized her instantly. The shaking got worse, the Presence insisting to be let out. “C-Can’t…too…much…” She clutched her chest, her head going blank from the pressure. Soon she was exploding out her skin. Literally.
Covered in snow white fur, she crouched in a defensive posture. The shock was enough to snap her back.
‘Whatthehellwhatthehellwhatthehell.’ White fur, four legs and…a quick glance told her the slight weight at her flank was indeed a tail. ‘Whatthehellwhatthehellwhatthehell!” Suddenly she felt the presence of others.
‘That answers that question.’ Sam. That was Sam’s voice.
‘Huh, so that’s actually not a myth.’ And Jared.
Paul didn’t say anything but she got the feeling he was eagerly waiting for her to lose it.
She ignored him and concentrated on the new wolf. The one she’d first seen those weeks ago. ‘You!’
’You think you can take me, leech lover?’ A girl’s voice now, just as angry. Bitterly so. ‘Just try it!’
‘That’s enough, Leah!’
Leah? Leah Clearwater?
There were four of them and only one of her. The Presence was determined not to back down. She was back to being as pissed as it was. She thought maybe she’d go for Sam first.
‘Aww, c`mon, Bells. You don’t wanna kill Sam.’
Her head snapped to the russet wolf approaching from the house. ‘Jacob?’
He seemed to grin at her. Tail actually wagging.
The others slowly receded.
‘You…gonna be okay there, Jake?’ Sam didn’t want to leave him with the crazy girl.
‘Yeah, I got her.’ Then it was just the two of them.
He approached her slowly, which irked her and the Presence simultaneously. He chuckled, ‘That’s your wolf, Bells.’
Her wolf. Of course. Funny thing was, the closer he got the calmer she became. She knew Jake. Going with instinct, she knelt to the ground and waited. Despite its earlier aggression the wolf wanted to be acknowledge by him, even accepted by his friends.
Jake took his time. Circling her, stopping to scent here, or brush there. Finally, he stretched down next to her and licked her neck. ‘You’ll do.’
She leaned against him for a moment, and then felt every part of her shrink until she was herself again. Jacob shifted, and she felt him drop a shirt on her bare shoulders.
“You’re a werewolf.”
“Yes.”
“Because Leah bit me, I’m a werewolf too.”
“For what it’s worth, she’s feels like shit about it.”
She sighed. “What am I going to do?” There’s no way she could have a normal life now.
He put a comforting arm around her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.” She leaned into him as she did in her wolf form. “Plus it’s not all bad. We’ve got speed like you wouldn’t believe. It’s like outrunning wind.”
She perked up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. In fact,” He stood, and helped her up, “I’ll race you to the west side of the Rez, Emily’s house.”
“You’re on!” Without waiting she took off. “Last one there’s a rotten werewolf!”
He took off after her laughing.
She had wanted to change. She still had too many questions and uncertainties, but with Jacob on her side, everything would probably work out the way it was meant to.
THE END
(-)(-)(-)
"If the prompt seems to be for a much longer story, you may have to focus on just a single aspect of the prompt or on a shorter moment in time" Missed that part of the instructions, or unconsciously ignored it. Hope you like it!