midnight | paul lahote

chapter 3 | cliff diving

In the short time Margery had been staying on the reserve with her grandmother, she'd become quite invested in the garden her gran had. A small shed in the backyard had been converted into a greenhouse and was filled with beautiful plants of varying sizes. Vegetables were planted in rows around the greenhouse, and flowers lined the inside of the small fence, which became the support for several vines and flower types in places.

Margery enjoyed the garden, almost as much as her gran did. She often spent her time either plucking at hideous weeds, or watering the plants, or knitting in the porch swing. She appreciated that her gran had accepted her introverted ways.

It was on a Sunday sometime after her second week of living there, that she was introduced to new people. Her distant cousin, Quil, had planned to hang out with his friend, Embry. Gran had asked Quil to invite Margery, which he agreed to, although not without a little complaint. Everyone knew better than to say no to one of Gran's requests. They were never without reason.

When it came time to go out with Quil and Embry, Margery got dressed in a tank top and jeans, pulling on a cardigan she'd knit a while back, although it still fit due to her unchanging measurements. She donned her white Converse and bounced down the steps of the house, going to sit outside and wait for her cousin and his friend. 

They showed up a few minutes later, and the three got into Margery's vehicle since she'd offered to drive. "So, where are we going exactly?" 

"La Push Beach, it's just a few miles down this road. You'll know it when you see it." Quil responded.

Sure enough, she pulled into a small parking area overlooking the beach in question, and she was struck by the beauty of it, even if it was foggy today. Both the boys jumped out of the vehicle immediately, and Maggie followed them into the wooded area, pulling at the sleeves of her knit cardigan. "So, what exactly is it you guys do here?" Maggie asked curiously, peering around at all of the trees and plant life surrounding the beaten path they were all walking along.

"Cliff dive." Quil casually stated over his shoulder.

Margery was taken aback by this statement but continued following her cousin since this intrigued her. They came to a clearing eventually, a small grassy and muddy area just on the cliffside. There were two boys already there, and they were introduced as Sam Uley and Jared Cameron.

"You can never show up on time, can you?" Embry called out, and Maggie turned to see another boy joining them. She glanced back over to the cliff, biting her lip as she knew it was a long drop. She wasn't sure she entirely enjoyed hanging with her cousin and his friends. 

Then, she looked at the boy who'd just shown up, as Quil introduced her to him. The boy's name was Paul. Their eyes met, and she froze. It was like a wall hit her, and her eyes became devoid of any emotion as scenes began flashing in her mind. 

Paul stood next to her, their hands held tightly between them. The redhead before them bore her teeth, trying to intimidate them. 

In Margery's room, she and Paul laid side by side on her bed, staring at the ceiling. They conversed, the sound being lost as she began hearing someone yelling her name.

"Mags! MAGS!" Paul's scream ripped through the air, and it broke her heart. When she glanced to her right, she understood his painful cries. She was lifeless, two puncture wounds on her neck dripping blood. Above her was the redhead from before.

Finally, the vision changed, and she could see herself cozied up with a large wolf in the forest, knitting needles in her hands. She was knitting a baby sweater.

Then, a woman appeared before her, but she wasn't anyone Margery recognized. This woman was tanned, had long black hair, and deep brown eyes. "Margery, it's time. Go to your gran, she'll explain it all." The woman whispered to her. Margery took notice of the paint on the lady's face, black and white lines creating designs.

With a gasp, Margery came to, her green eyes wide with shock, and then pain as a headache became quite clear. The pressure built up in the back of her head, and she groaned as she rubbed at the spot. 

She glanced around nervously at the group of boys as they all looked between Margery and Paul. "Uh, Margery? You were just staring at Paul for, like, a really long time." Quil said, placing a hand on her arm gently. 

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry." She said, deciding nobody needed to know the things she'd just saw, "guess I blacked out for a second."

"Right, well, how about we do a few dives and we can head back to Sam and Emily's?" He suggested, and she agreed, smiling.

The boys began jumping off the cliff one by one, but Margery stayed back, choosing to sit in the grass instead. Paul joined her, giving her an awkward glance. "Do you guys come out here a lot?" Maggie asked, trying to return to normal, but she couldn't get the visions she'd seen out of her mind. 

"Yeah, this is a regular occurrence. We're all kind of adrenaline junkies." Paul replied, watching as the last boy in line ran and leapt from the cliffside. 

"Of course you are." Maggie chuckled, "why don't you show me how it's done, then." It was a challenge, plain and simple.

"Gladly." Paul reciprocated her attitude, smirking as he stood and pulled off his hoodie. He tossed it at her side, tugging his shoes off as well. As he ran towards the edge, he yelled, "your turn next, Mags!"

Margery was stunned by his shout, mostly by the sudden pet name. It set butterflies loose in her stomach. Then, she realized what he'd said. Her turn next. 

Margery was not someone who usually took on such a childish dare. But, the disorientation from what she'd just experienced (could that be considered a hallucination?) altered her thoughts. She shuffled a little closer to the edge, glancing down where Paul was already swimming to the beach. This was new to her. She wasn't an adrenaline junkie, but she could swim, and it sort of looked like fun. The drop was quite tall, but Maggie had made up her mind. 

She wanted to try new things while she was living with her Gran, and this seemed like a perfect first step. She began tugging her shoes off, her socks as well, placing her cardigan neatly on the ground next to Paul's sweater. She contemplated taking off her shirt and jeans and decided she would rather let the boys see her underwear than have to walk around in soaked jeans. She hated the feel of wet denim.

By the time she was almost entirely naked, the boys were jumping off the cliff a second time, barely giving her a second glance. She thought it peculiar that the group of teen males hadn't even looked at her scantily clad body. She looked over the edge after watching Embry jump once more, the last aside from Paul. 

"You're nervous."

Maggie jumped, nearly falling off the edge if it weren't for a hand circling around her wrist and yanking her back. Settling herself, she answered, "it's that obvious, huh?" 

"C'mon, on the count of three," Paul suggested, his hand sliding down to clasp hers.

"Okay." Margery agreed, trying to calm her nerves as they began counting together. 

"1."

"2."

"3!" 

The two teens ran, jumping off the cliff. Their hands released once they'd jumped, and Margery felt free for just a few moments. Her hair whipped wildly around her, her smile wide, and then, she came into contact with the water.

A/N: Okay, didn't anticipate this to happen so early on in the book, or for this chapter to be so long, but I knew I wanted Paul and Margery to have a bond aside from the obvious imprint bond, and more will be explained about Margery's abilities, and how magic works in this book. This is not going to be about Margery being some all-powerful being who can stop wars, nor will it be about her being some lame little damsel that Paul needs to save constantly. Also, I'm fully intending on including a full guideline on what magic can and cannot do in terms of this book, because I don't want to be making it up as I go.