Inhaling the chilling air, I shouted out into the wind again. "Jake!" I called, jogging slightly to catch up with him as he stormed ahead. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" I shouted, feeling my temper rising quickly as he continued to ignore me, my eyes rolled in frustration. "Oh, for crying out loud Jacob, I'm sorry okay!" I stressed irritably, stopping as I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with his long strides any longer.
I didn't understand why he was so angry with me. It really wasn't a big deal. Yesterday I had gone on a semi-friendly date with an ex-boyfriend. He was still a part of my friendship group so it wasn't that unusual for me to hang out with him... we just happened to be alone yesterday.
Blowing things out of proportion was Jacob's thing, he believed that as my best friend he had a right to react like this when he found out that I was keeping things from him. I understood that we needed to tell each other stuff, I just hadn't had the chance to until today.
To be fair, it was all his fault I had gone on the date in the first place. Ryan was my first real-ish boyfriend seeing as we were only fifteen. It may have been love, I wasn't sure, but it was all I knew. It was the first time I had experienced it. We split up after only a short time together, he believed I was too close to Jake and that I had feelings for him.
Which I didn't.
After a few months of getting over my pathetic, childish heartbreak, and how I had clung to Jake in my times of need I began to realise that Ryan's reasoning was coming true. The more time spent with Jake the more I began to think of him as everything but just a best friend.
Dating was the only way I felt I could get over him. Jake that is. That way, I may be able to find someone else I can feel strongly for without letting Jacob ever know how I truly feel about him. That's where Ryan came back into the picture, he asked me out, so I said yes.
Jake only thought of me as a sister, a best friend, and I couldn't ruin what we had together by telling him the truth. It was a tough situation to be in and I'm sure many other girls had been in or are in the same position with their guy best friends. I couldn't allow myself to be strung along by a boy that doesn't even know what he's doing to me. It wasn't fair on either of us...
"What?" He snapped stopping a few feet in front of me, turning around with his arms crossed. He wanted me to say it again, the cheek of it! I clenched my jaw trying not to become too irritated with him.
He hated Ryan. Always had. His favourite words to describe Ryan were "asshole" and "douchebag". I didn't completely disagree, Ryan was sometimes overly confident. At the tender age of just fifteen he was allowed to play football with the seniors and ultimately that had gotten to his head and made him a little hard to be around sometimes, it just created an ego war between the two of them.
"I said I'm sorry. I should have told you I was going on a date with Ryan, but I didn't and I'm sorry." I apologised looking him in the eye so he knew I was being serious. Usually I wouldn't apologise but he was just so wound up by this I thought it would be the right thing to do.
As I watched him the long wisps of his hair escaped his loose ponytail holding his hair back. I hated it when he wasn't bothered by the hair brushing over his face, it would drive me insane.
"Ari, I didn't mean to get angry. I just want to know these things. I'm your best friend and how do you think I feel when I see you out with another guy without telling me. Especially him." He said stepping closer taking my hands in his, he's so over protective it really gets to me sometimes. I love it and I hate it. "I don't like it when we don't tell each other stuff. It makes me worry, you know?" I held back from squinting my eyes at him in annoyance.
He was watching me intently, the way his dark eyes were staring into mine begging for us to reconcile. If anything, he should be apologising to me for making me run after him.
After a few seconds I let out a sigh before biting my lip and giving in, allowing myself to step forward and hug him. To be honest it was just another way to keep warm, the wind was whipping around us and he just acted like a giant barrier. "I don't want to keep secrets from you. It was just a date, it doesn't have to mean anything." He held me tight, his arms fixed around my waist, as my head rested on his shoulder.
He was growing again, he wasn't that much taller than me, only by three inches for now. Something told me he hadn't quite stopped.
"Okay, I'm sorry for overreacting." He admitted, and I leaned back out of his arms to look up at his dark, intense eyes. All that for nothing when he knew he overreacted, typical.
"I forgive you." I said removing my arms from around his neck. "Now can we please go to the beach, Embry has been waiting for us for ages, we were meant to be there an hour ago." I begged, clasping my hands together like I was praying, batting my eyelashes and pouting like a child that wanted something.
"Sure, Blue, we can go now." He said pushing my shoulder lightly, making me stumble back a bit before I regained my balance on the gravel path.
"Yay!" I squealed whilst he chuckled at me. "Can I have a piggy back ride?" I asked knowing he would give in, perks of having a boy wrapped around your finger. Not that I was abusing that privilege, he liked doing it.
"Sure, hop on." He crouched slightly so I could jump on his back. Once I was on, we were off to the beach.
I smiled into his shoulder as I recalled him calling me Blue. Our friends and Jake himself all came up with that nickname for me since we were little kids and it was because of my eye colour. Being half Quileute on my father's side, I have his colouring, but I take after my mother who has dark blonde hair and blue eyes. My hair is dark brown due to the mixture of my dad's black hair and my mom's blonde. My eyes make me different from the rest of the kids living on the Reservation and growing up I got picked on by some of them that lived here, it made me feel like a complete outcast compared to the rest of the tribe but I'm one of them nonetheless. It's died down now that we're older but Jared, my older brother's friend, still likes to pick on me every now and then.
Despite being Quileute I don't live on the Reservation. My parents separated about ten years ago so during the week I live with my mom in Forks with my little sister Catori, who is 15, and we spend our weekends at my dad's who does live on the Reservation. He lives there with my older brother, Jesse, he just turned 18.
Jesse goes to high school with the other Quileute kids, whereas I'm stuck going to the public school in Forks. I suppose it's not that bad, it just sucks being away from all my friends on the Res, but it just makes my weekends more special.
Currently, I'm a junior in high school, which makes going to separate schools even worse as my closest friends would be in my grade, but I only have to deal with it for a little over a year and then I'm done.
Jesse and the rest of the Quileute kids have been close to me since we were babies. We also have two cousins who are the sons of our dad's sister; Paul who is 18 and his little brother Alex who is 13. Paul also happens to be my brother's best friend so I've always been close to him, he's like an older brother as well as Jesse. My other closest friends are Embry and Quil, who I've grown up with alongside Jake but I also have those who are off the Reservation. Like Ryan for example, he's part of my group at school which consists of my two girl best friends; Scarlett and Cassidy, and the guys; Ryan, Robbie and Jason.
I've only ever considered Ryan as a friend since we broke up, but last week he asked me out to the diner just as a 'friendly' date and I had put him off for so long that yesterday I finally agreed to go... you know after being forced to and the threat of losing a bet of $20 to Scarlett I had to go. Jake just happened to see me when I was being dropped back home at my dad's yesterday and got in a strop. Me showing up at his house this afternoon finally got him to speak to me after about twenty dodged calls.
"Did I tell you that Bella is moving back to Forks?" I asked as we reached the trail that took us down the hillside towards the beach. The closer we got to the coast the wilder the wind got, why did we choose today to go to the beach? The grey clouds that were rolling in from the ocean didn't look very inviting.
"No, wow it's been so long since we last saw her. How comes she's moving back?" He asked as he jogged down the hill a bit making me bounce slightly.
"Err Aunt Renee remarried and she wants to go travelling the country with her new husband, so Bella made the decision to come here. Uncle Charlie is happy about it." I smiled slightly as I rested my chin against Jake's shoulder. "I'm sure Billy will take you down to see her when she arrives."
"Yeah, probably. I guess that's why dad has me working on our old truck. He was saying how Charlie was looking at buying it. I guess it's for her." He sighed, and I could picture him rolling his eyes. He liked working on cars for fun not as a chore.
Bella is my cousin. My mom's sister is Bella's mom. We look nothing alike and we very rarely saw her when she did come to visit. We haven't heard from her for almost three years, of course we get cards for birthdays or Christmas, but I haven't seen her in person for so long. It feels weird that I'll be seeing her everyday now because of school, it was like going from one extreme to the other.
"Are you excited to see her?" Jake asked bringing me out of my thoughts as we reached the top of the beach. The even colder sea air finally hitting us as he dropped me onto my feet.
"I guess so, but I just don't know what to expect." I admitted pulling my jacket around me tighter, my teeth chattering from the cold breeze.
"What do you mean?" Jake prodded as I pulled my beanie down over my ears before stuffing my hands into my pockets.
"We have always been so different. Never been interested in the same things or ever had anything in common. I'm just worried that we won't get on." I sighed as Jake wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me into his body. I sighed in content as I felt his body heat being transferred to me.
"I'm sure you'll be fine, you're family." He reassured, and I smiled up at him as we made our way to our usual spot where the rest of the group was waiting for us, the fire already lit and burning. The orange and blue flames dancing together to make a slight sea green colour.
From what I could see, Embry and Quil were wrestling as usual whilst the rest of the group were settled around the fire on large slabs of driftwood washed onto the beach from the sea. The group was mostly made up of the boys and myself but occasionally Sam would bring his girlfriend Leah along, and Catori would make an appearance too.
We made our way down the winding footpath towards the group. Jake in front of me trying to block some of the wind. We should not have come to the beach in January. My eyes were watering from the coldness.
"Saved your life!" Someone screamed in my ear as my legs were kicked from beneath me and I lost my footing in the sand almost falling flat on my face, my hands stuck in my pockets, so I wouldn't be able to break my fall.
I braced myself, before the idiot who scared me, grabbed a hold of my arms stopping me from falling and experiencing a mouthfull of sand. Once I was balanced again I spun around only to be met by my obnoxious older brother who was smirking at me triumphantly.
"Jesse you are such a dick!" I said shoving him back as he and the rest of the group laughed at me, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Jesse looked like my dad despite being slightly taller than him. He had jet black, silky hair that fell past his shoulders and light brown eyes that had come from my mother's dad. He had tanned, russet skin as well but was darker than me due to me taking after our mom.
"Hey, it was only a joke!" He protested with a chuckle, trying to grab my wrists as I continued to shove him.
"I don't care! It's scared me." I said folding my arms across my chest.
"Aww Ari, come on, lighten up." He said pulling me into a hug that I didn't return. I was practically squished against his chest with my arms stuck to my sides.
"You're still a dick." I said though it was muffled against his chest.
"Yeah well you'll have to live with it." He said pushing me away slightly, so he could walk over to the group.
"Thank god it's only on the weekends." I smiled up to the sky, mouthing thank you.
"Don't be a little brat." He said stalking past me and taking a seat on a log beside Paul.
I put my middle finger up to his back before moving and joining Jacob on a log near the fire.
After that it turned dark quickly and the sound of the rough sea getting louder against the rocks was the warning sign of a storm that was soon to be rolling in and that it was our cue to leave the beach and return home. I said my sad goodbye to the boys and my brother before parting ways. I hated going back to mom's on a Sunday night, sometimes I wished I could just stay with dad, so I could be with all my friends.
After repacking my things, I drove down the winding road back towards home. The rain started pattering against my car as I reached the outskirts of Forks and by the time I got to my street it was like I was driving through a monsoon with the y hick streams of water gliding down the windows blurring everything in the darkness.
I was surprised to see Uncle Charlie's cruiser parked outside the front of our house. The street lamp directly above it illuminating it with an orange glow through the rain. I pulled up onto my space on the driveway, grabbed my duffel from the passenger's seat, and made a run for it towards the house, not that it mattered I was soaked through as soon as I stepped out the car anyway.
Mom opened the door quickly, literally pulling me in from the rain and fussing over the state of me. "Oh, Aria why didn't you put your hood up?" She scolded lightly, and I rolled my eyes.
"I did mother." I said sarcastically, shrugging off my wet excuse for a coat. "It blew down because of the wind."
"Don't start Aria." She warned, taking my coat from me and pushed me out the hallway and into the kitchen.
Uncle Charlie was sat at the breakfast bar, his hands clasped around a steaming coffee mug. Bella looked like Aunt Renee, they had similar features but Bella inherited Uncle Charlie's dark hair and eyes. He had curly dark brown hair and a moustache, heavy, tired eyes and a slightly wrinkled face. The effects of stress from being the police chief of Forks.
He and Aunt Renee split up when Bella was a few months old and Bella only being six months older than me, neither of us have ever known them together. Even though we aren't blood related he's still close to mom, her sister leaving brought them closer together as friends and mom helped a lot when Uncle Charlie's parents died.
"Hey kiddo." Uncle Charlie greeted with a smile. They were rare. He was a very quiet man, he didn't really express his emotions and mom always bugged him for it.
"Hi Uncle Charlie," I walked over to him and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a quick hug. "What brings you here on this very rainy evening?"
"I was just asking your mother some questions about the high school. I have to enrol Bells." He explained, and I nodded, kicking off my boots by the back door.
"She's home next week, right?" I asked trying to make conversation.
"Yup. I'll be getting her from the airport around two in the afternoon on Sunday." Mom came back into the room then and our attention was drawn to her.
"I suggest you go shower. Don't want you to catch a cold." She said pointedly at me and I subtly rolled my eyes but agreed.
"I'll see you later Uncle Charlie. It was nice to see you." I smiled at him and gave him a wave before I exited the kitchen and made my way up to my room.
Bella being home will be good for Uncle Charlie, he's so alone in his house and living with Bella might perk him up a bit. Hopefully it'll do all of us some good having our missing family member back.