This year, only Jessica and I were in the same biology class. Mike, Angela and Bella were not, anymore.
Thankfully, Mr Banner had walked in the class while dragging an old television with a cassette player about genetic problems. Although the subject was not the most interesting, it at least made me happy. We just had to watch the cassette play for a whole hour.
The class was, in general, silent but some whispers could be heard here and there. And Jessica and I weren't from the exceptions.
"I know you didn't fall for Paul, but there's really no one in La Push who caught your attention ? Really ?"
I didn't know why the first person that flashed in my mind when she asked thatwas Ricky. He was indeed, handsome. And it probably explained why I felt a little weird when he'd steal glances at me.
Did he feel the same thing too ?
No, probably not. I was the only one misinterpreting things in my mind.
"There is someone" Jessica realized, as I stayed silent a little too long. "Who is it ? Do I know him ?"
"You don't, and me neither." I answered, trying to make her excitement die down.
"So he's just someone you watch from afar ? Are you stalking him ?"
"I don't have time to stalk anyone. There's no one, I'm telling you."
"Liar."
Mr Banner hushed the class, looking at the back of the classroom where we were seating. I leaned forward and rested my head on my arms folded on the table and Jessica did the same to hide her moving lips.
"When you and that mysterious guy are official, you'd tell me right ?" she asked me which made her laugh.
Jessica simply didn't know how to give up. I knew that even if I insisted on saying that nothing would happen, she wouldn't believe me.
"Yes, Jessica. Don't expect it to happen though."
"I wish it does. It would do you know some good, you know. To have something less...complicated ?" Jessica said hesitantly, not sure if she had pulled the trigger on something she wasn't supposed to talk about.
I appreciated how careful she was being with her words, but wished she didn't have to. I was the one who needed to work on myself to not feel like someone was stabbing me whenever I'd heard his name.
So far, I was okay. Five months had passed since September, and so many things happened during this timespan that it didn't affect me anymore. Did it ?
"Thank you Jess."
Before I could bring my attention back on the front pf the class, I caught the sound of my phone buzzing in my bag. When I discreetly looked at the message that had been sent to me, I saw that it was from Jared.
Embry turned.
~~
I went to Emily's house after classes, hoping the boys would come back with Embry before night time.
This was getting out of hand. Like Sam said, the more we were and the more frequent the turns were getting. Age didn't seem to matter. Jacob, Quil and even Seth could turn any day, by now.
Besides, with that threat around Forks, it made me more anxious. We were just a bunch of inexperienced werewolves. We were now six, but only four of us could control our shifts, and maybe two of us would come out all right from a fight.
Training would have to wait. The most important task now was to guide Embry.
I was just starting my homework when I heard someone walk up the steps in front of Emily's house. As I was not used to his presence yet, I had to look at the entrance to recognize Ricky.
If this stupid sensation of having butterflies flying in my stomach didn't stop right now, I would have to punch myself. My body was ridiculously reacting to his presence and I didn't like that.
"Ricky ! How was school ?" Emily greeted him.
After hearing our warnings, Sam allowed Ricky to go back to school, although he only turned on Saturday. Contrarily to the rest of us, he was very calm and controlled which convinced Sam to send him to school. Considering the fact that he was only coming back now, it looked like he managed to not let any emotion trigger his shift.
He was better than the rest of us, on that.
"It was as usual. No one got killed. Where are the others ?" he asked, as he looked around with a frown on his forehead before he looked down at me, who was sitting around the living room's table.
"There's a newbie." I answered, which made Ricky's eyes become bigger. "The boys have been with him since early this afternoon."
"Shouldn't I go too ?"
I shook my head. "They have it all handled. And, although you have shown great control skills, you're also a newbie. You're still in your learning stage."
I was very composed and firm with my words and it made me realize that it was now easier to look at him without looking away as soon as our eyes would meet.
However, keeping the stance of the Beta the whole day was too draining for me to use it as an excuse.
"Sit down Ricky. There are snacks on the table. That is, if Aiyanna didn't eat all of them." Emily told him.
"I didn't. My brain is getting smashed with maths problems." I answered.
Ricky sat in front of me, and pulled out a pencil and papers from his bag. For what felt like an hour, we stayed in silence, doing our own homework while listening to Emily hum a lullaby softly as she did her hair. The scar on her face was now, the same color as her skin tone, contrarily to months before when it was darker.
For the umpteenth time I believed, I sighed and gathered my papers together to put them back in my bag.
"What are you doing ?" Ricky asked.
Confused by his sudden question, I frowned. "I'm done ?"
He stretched his hand towards me, inviting me to give him my sheets. "Can I see ?"
I hesitantly obeyed and watched him check what I did. He used his own pencil to cross the wrong answers I had written. I guess the worse of all was watching him put interrogation marks. It was like I was being corrected by a teacher right in front of me. It made me feel bad about myself.
I waited, playing with my fingers, as if I was waiting for the outcome of my trial.
Ricky, the nerd. That was how Paul had called him the first day we met him. He sure was different from the rest of us, who were just satisfied with being average.
"The first ones are correct, but the rest..." Ricky trailed off, his eyes moving from my sheets to me.
When he looked up at me, he probably saw a girl completely oblivious as to why she was wrong. If I wrote these answers, it was because I thought they were correct.
He sighed, and changed his seat from in front of me to beside me before he proceeded to become a Calculus teacher for the rest of the afternoon.
How ironic was that ? Just an hour ago, I was the one telling him that he still had lots of things to learn, and there he was, enlightening me on a subject I sucked at.
~~
The boys came back in the middle of the night. Ricky, Emily and I already ate, thinking that they wouldn't be back before tomorrow morning. While I was washing the dishes, Ricky volunteered to rinse them.
The fact that the boys were already back was actually a good thing. It meant that it was easier for them to help first turners turn back to human.
When Sam walked in, his first actions were to go to Emily and kiss her. I quickly turned my head towards the sink, as I didn't wish to see their performance.
I looked at Jared and Paul, but only saw them...without Embry.
"You brought him home ?" I assumed.
"He was exhausted. Sam had to carry him back. I think he started sleeping as soon as Sam picked him up." Jared answered.
Well, turning into a wolf did take a lot of energy, and probably too much energy for someone of his age.
"How was it ?" I asked, and this time, Sam answered.
"He was terrified of us and the fact that he shapeshifted. He thought we were either dealing drugs or a sect."
I scoffed. Did we really look like that from a stranger's perspective ?
Well, we were indeed, always together, we didn't interact with normal people as often as we used to and I wouldn't be surprised if we were caught not dressing according to the weather.
Of course, from a stranger's perspective, we'd look weird, maybe dangerous.
But the advantage in La Push was that, most people knew our history, and although not everyone believed in the legends, they probably heard of them at least once in their lives.
"Is he going to have his ceremony too ?" Ricky asked.
I stopped washing the dishes and turned towards Sam, as if he had been the one asking the question. "Sam, I think we should be a little more organized with the ceremonies from now on. We're not safe from welcoming a new wolf in the following days. The elders have their own lives to manage as well. We can't keep calling them every two days."
"You're right."
"What about the training ? When do we begin ?" Paul intervened.
"What training ?" Ricky asked.
Sam explained everything to him, from the scent he had caught to the fact that him and I were thinking of taking the time to train individually but also together to work better once we'd have to face a threat.
In the meantime, I finished the dishes and rinced the last cups before I dried my hands.
"I think we should push it to tomorrow. At least Embry will be there." I suggested.
Sam nodded. "You guys eat and rest until tomorrow. I'm on patrol tonight, Paul you join me in the morning."
"Yes, sir." Paul answered.
I walked up to the table and packed my stuff. It was already late and school was early. The little amount of sleep I'd be getting tonight was not right.
"I'll be here by 4pm tomorrow. Is that good for everyone ?" I checked with them as I put my bag over my shoulder. They nodded. "See you tomorrow, then !"
~~
Last night's training was actually better than I expected. I thought it'd be harder since I couldn't turn yet, at least until tomorrow, and because I couldn't communicate with the boys through telepathy, but the fact that I was the only one talking without being interrupted had actually been a good technique.
I taught them everything I knew about vampires, from their characteristics to the way they had to be amputed of their body parts and then burnt to be considered dead.
If the hunt hadn't happened last year, I wouldn't have had access to this much information. At least something good came out of it.
Although I wasn't as agile and fast in my human shape as vampires were, I used my heightened senses to play as the prey for the four of them. Embry had watched from his seating position on Emily's porch, his fear almost palpable from behind me. Sam had spent the day with him, and helped him cut his long hair. I could really see the difference between his first days and Paul's and Jared's first days. He seemed more fragile and maybe more scared of us.
I remembered when we would go to First Beach with my high school friends and would see them there. Embry was always seen with Jacob and Quil while Paul, Jared and Sam would hang out together more often. It was common to see the two groups come separated, although they were familiar with each other.
I guess what Embry needed was someone he could count on. A sort of anchor. And judging by how the night was going, I suspected that someone to be Jacob.
The movie theater had been packed with people who actually came to watch the movie we came for.
Our group, which consisted of Mike, Jessica, Angela, Eric, Bella, Jacob and I, had managed to find rows of four seats on the sides.
While Jacob sat in between Bella and I, the rest of them sat in front of us.
I could almost touch the discomfort of the row I was sitting on. Whatever the seating position, I didn't think it would have gotten better. Thankfully, Jacob had unconsciously acted as a barrier between Bella and I.
Mike's and Jessica's reactions made the whole experience funnier than it should be. I found myself trying to contain my laugh more than once. Towards the end of the movie, another scary scene came on the screen and this one seemed to have set Mike off because he grabbed his coat and stood up. Jessica grabbed his arm, pleading him to stay. In this dark room, Mike had served as her support.
"Don't leave me alone." she hissed.
"I can't do this." Mike refused and stood up anyway.
As Mike walked down the stairs to reach the exit, he startled again when viewers screamed as another horrible scene came on screen. This time, Jessica shook her head as if she couldn't take this anymore, grabbed her coat as well and followed Mike. Although they didn't stay until the end, they watched the main part of it which was enough to be proud of them.
The movie ended twenty minutes later. Angela, Eric and I started debating about it as we joined Mike and Jessica who were sitting on one the seats at the entrance of the cinema, waiting for us.
"I already selected the next movie for you. I hope it's going to be the cheesiest movie you'll ever watch in your life. I better not see you close your eyes, make a face of disgust or hear one complaint, you hear me ?" Jessica threatened me once we were in front of them.
"It wasn't funny to you ?" I asked her, acting surprised.
"I'm going to have a doll running after me to end my life in my nightmares tonight and you're asking me if I found it funny ?"
"Mike, you didn't pee youself, did you ?" Eric asked him. Mike glared at Eric but stayed silent, which made Eric laugh at him. "You did ?"
"Shut up, Eric."
"It's almost 9pm, are you guys still in for eating ?" Angela intervened.
"I think I'll go home. I don't feel well." Jacob spoke for the first time.
"See ! It was scary !" Jessica insisted.
"You have a temperature, Jake" I heard Bella tell Jacob, from behind me.
I stared at Jacob whose arms were wrapped around himself as if he was cold. Jacob raised his head and saw my eyes observing him. It didn't take long for him to frown and avoid my gaze.
"Are you okay, Jake ?" Bella worried.
"I feel weird. I think I just need some rest."
I walked up to them. "I'll drive you home." I offered. "I need to drop something at Harry's house anyway." I lied.
"I can..." Bella started objecting before I cut her off.
"I'll do it. If he's really not alright, I doubt your car can bring him home in less than two hours."
It was probably the first time I spoke to her in months. I hoped the tone of my voice was enough for her to understand that I wouldn't take no as an answer.
Bella sighed, knowing that I was right, and brought her attention back on Jacob. "Text me when you're home." she told him.
Jacob could only nod.
I said my goodbyes to the others and let Jacob follow me to my car.
"Are you cold ?" I asked when I noticed that even inside the car, Jacob kept his arms wrapped around him.
Jacob answered by shaking his head from left to right.
When I pressed the back of my hand on Jacob's forehead to feel his temperature, I was not surprised to feel that our temperatures were similar. It made no doubt now.
Jacob pushed my hand away from him, and glared at me.
"Don't touch me. If that's how you and Sam make people enter your sect, I don't want to be a part of it." he started accusing me, as I expected.
I scoffed and started driving out of the parking lot. "We're not a sect, Jacob."
"Is it drugs then ?"
I rolled my eyes, even though I knew that his questions were legitimate. He would know sooner than expected what the pack was really about.
"I know we're not the best of friends but trust me, I'm not the one who would touch these things."
"I don't care." Jacob said in a groan of pain. He sat further into his seat and leaned his head on the headrest with his eyes closed.
I looked at him quickly and saw that his eyebrows were frowned. I hoped he wouldn't change inside my car. We had to reach La Push or at least a secluded area with an easy access to the woods. And I had to find a way to warn Sam without making Jacob panic.
I started to drive faster, moving past vehicules who were driving too slowly for me. I kept on being honked by other drivers who didn't know about the urgency of the situation.
"How do you feel, Jacob ?" I broke the silence that reigned inside the car.
I had to know how he felt for me to figure out at which point of his turning he was and at the same, estimate how much time I had left.
"Worse, since you keep zigzaging."
"Sorry, I'm just trying to bring you home faster." I explained to him. "But other than the fever, what do you feel ?"
"Why do you want to know ?"
"I just want to help you."
"Is that what you told Embry before you took him in ?" Jacob accused me. His eyes were now open, and were glaring at the side of my face. "You even cut his hair ! How sick is that ? And you're telling me this isn't a sect ? I saw him with Sam yesterday !"
Jacob was getting angry, which was not a good sign. Any emotion could be a trigger to his turn at the moment. We weren't close enough to Forks, much less to La Push which was another 20 minutes away for him to give in to his anger. I had to find a way to calm him down even though I knew that my only presence was enough to set him off.
"It is not what you think, Jacob." I tried to find the right words to answer to his accusations. "Embry is fine. We didn't do anything to him, nor are we planning to. We're just there to help him."
"You sound exactly like the head of a sect."
"Have you been in a sect before ? How come you keep saying that word ? How do you know so much about them ?"
"How dare you ?"
"I'm just asking. Jeez, calm down."
"Don't tell me what to do."
"Okay, sorry."
There was a silence, but I caught Jacob clenching his fist as it started shaking. I glanced at him and saw him again, with his head against the headrest and his eyes closed. He was trying so hard to keep himself together. We were 45 minutes away from Forks. If only he could at least wait that long...
I focused on the road, not wanting to annoy him with my questions. If he needed answers, I'd wait for him to ask for them.
"What did you do to him ?" He asked.
"We didn't do anything to Embry. All of this come from ourselves. We're just together to help ourselves out." I told him.
"Is it a sickness ?"
"You'll feel sick at first, but then it will get better. We can call Embry and tell him to join us at your house, if you want. Maybe he'll guide you better than I will."
I knew how close Jacob was to Embry just by the sound of his voice when he worried about him. His anger was legitimate. His friend suddenly started hanging out with the one guy they were hating the day before.
"Guide me ? You even brainwashed him." he accused me again, his anger rising up again as he opened his eyes to glare at me.
At this point, I felt like every word that could come out of my mouth, would be turned into an accusation from him.
"Jacob, calm down, damn it ! I'm trying to help you and all you think of doing is accusing me. Embry is fine, we didn't do anything you think we did to him nor will we do anything to you. Now shut up, and make sure you control yourself until we at least get to Forks." I bursted out, which would normally boost his anger rather than calm him down.
But surprisingly, it did. The pain was getting stronger, I could see it in his face expressions.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and started dialing Embry's number. The phone kept ringing until I was invited to leave a message. I grunted and tried calling him a second time, but again, nothing.
What could he be doing at this hour ? He wasn't supposed to be in patrol tonight. It was too soon for him. Did Sam send him home ? Was he already sleeping ?
This gave me no other choice.
I pressed the number three, which was my shortcut to call Sam and waited. Sam was the only one who'd have his phone with him at all time. It was his only way to get in touch with Emily once he was outside.
Thankfully, he answered.
"Jacob and I are coming back from Port Angeles. He's not feeling well." I reported. "Can you warn Billy and Embry please ?" This request was more to reassure Jacob with names he trusted.
"He's turning ?"
"Yes. We'll be in Forks in about 20 minutes. I think I can only make it to La Push in 40 minutes."
"Who are you talking to ?" I heard Jacob ask, but didn't anticipate him to grab my wrist and snatch the phone from my grip. "Sam ?!"
His hold was getting stronger as he kept glaring at the name that appeared on the screen. Jacob turned his head towards me, and although I had to keep my eyes on the road, I could feel his desire to hurt me.
"Screw you and your sect." he said, before his grip around the phone became stronger until it literally bent in his hand.
And then, the passenger door that was once locked was forced open, allowing him to plunge out of the car.
"JACOB !"