Just as Callas got out of the office and Henry said goodbye, she noticed Jacob still waiting for her. She walked down the stairs, not sure if she should bring up what the boys did. Technically, they didn't do anything wrong, but they were still rude. Maybe they were still annoyed about the spaghetti incident that Henry mentioned, although that would be a bit petty of them. It would be stupid to hold a grudge over someone because of spaghetti. Jacob looked up from his phone. Callas internally groaned, forgetting to get Henry's number. Jacob smiled at her, holding out the helmet.
"Hey, Cal."
"Hey, Jake." Callas fumbled with the helmet. Jacob chuckled, helping her put it on.
"I heard the Coach is impressed with you."
"Surprisingly so," Callas responded. "He also told me things that I didn't really need to know."
"Hanson?"
"Does everyone know?"
"It was the first thing he told us."
"Unbelievable." She rolled her eyes, getting on the motorbike behind Jacob.
"I can take a look at the locks today, if you'd like?"
"That would be great, thanks." Callas nodded as Jacob kicked off, being one of the last remaining vehicles in the parking lot before he drove off.
Deciding if she should question Jacob back at the house lingered on her mind. On one hand, she could get a bigger picture as to why the boys didn't like Henry, maybe she would actually get the spaghetti story in full. But, on the other hand, she didn't count on it. She wasn't sure if that was why the whole group didn't like him or not—or if it was just, heavily, a Paul and Jared issue. Quil had been there, but he didn't say anything, maybe he didn't hate Henry like the other two, he just tagged along in case anything was to break out amongst them.
In some way, Callas saw Quil as the neutral one of the group. He didn't seem as involved as the others seemed to be. Although the flashbacks of the P.E. lesson could disprove that fact entirely. Callas wasn't sure what to make of any of the boys yet. That included Henry, Jacob, and Embry. She just wanted to get a bigger or full picture of what she was dealing with, so she knew what topics to stay clear of and what she could try and worm out of them. Something told her to just leave it alone entirely as well, but how could she be friends with all of them if they weren't going to get along civilly? Hopefully, Jacob had some answers.
With her arms tightly around his waist, hoping that he didn't drive the way he did that morning, she laid her head against his back. She felt comfortable with him at least, maybe it was something to do with those six years growing up together, or maybe it was because he didn't really seem to have an opinion about most things. He was warm, which Callas was glad about, especially as it was raining slightly and it was late autumn in La Push by the sea. Silas did say the sea brought the cold with it. She let out a sigh, watching the dark tinted trees blur passed the visor of the helmet.
Strangely enough, Reed was also warm like Jacob. Maybe it was just boys of La Push type of thing. Henry was from Alaska, so it didn't apply to him. But Embry had been warm, really warm. She hoped none of the boys were ill. So, in a way, she really hoped it was just 'the boys of La Push' type of thing. A blush came to her face when she thought back to the day before when she walked into Embry. Well, body slammed into Embry. She couldn't quite figure out what she felt when she saw him, her mind couldn't get around it, it was a mystery to her. It was just a silly crush, nothing more, nothing less.
Jacob turned down a road to the highway, they were close to the house. The journey wasn't that long from the high school, even in walking standards. Hopefully, the beach was the same, she did want to visit at some point. Maybe Henry would like to go with her, or even the boys. Just not together, apparently. It wasn't long before Jacob pulled down the road and headed towards Callas's grandparents' house, which was technically her house now as well. Which was still a weird thing for her to admit. One thing that puzzled her was that it didn't bring as many memories of her mother back to the surface compared to the thought of Utah and her father. Maybe it was because she didn't really know her that well.
Jacob parked the motorbike and killed the engine. "How bad was my driving this time, Cal?" He took off his helmet.
Callas got off the motorbike and rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm alive, so, I'd say it's an improvement."
"You were alive this morning when you got off the bike."
"A small part of me died."
"Didn't you say you wanted more action in your life?"
Callas paused. "Yeah... Oh, just shut up, Jake." She pulled a face, making him laugh.
"You still want me to check the lock?" He teased.
"Yes," she wasted no time in responding quickly.
"Okay." He held up his hands in defeat, taking the helmet from her, hanging them off the motorbike handles.
When they walked inside, Zeus was already waiting for them. Callas absolutely loved dogs. She petted his head before he padded up to Jacob. Jacob smiled and crouched down, stroking Zeus's head before kissing his nose, standing back up. Anya greeted them from the kitchen, Silas popped his head out to say hello as he went back to continue helping Anya cook. Callas led Jacob upstairs, although she knew he probably already knew where to go.
She heard him chuckle when they walked into her room. "How many books does one girl need?"
"This isn't all of them." She grinned as she dropped her bag on the bed, Jacob doing the same.
"Nerd." He chuckled.
"Intellectual," she corrected. "Can't say the same for you," she joked.
"Which window is it?" Jacob ignored her joke but shook his head with a small smile.
"Uh, this one." She pulled the curtains back and showed him the window. "I'm surprised it's not open, it was when I got home yesterday, and when I woke up this morning. Now seems to be the only time it's stayed lock, it's taunting me, it knows you're here so it's making me seem crazy."
"No, you talking like that made you seem crazy, Cal." Jacob looked back at her, messing around with the lock. She sat down on the end chest, watching him.
"So, I have a question..."
"Go on." He raised an eyebrow.
"It's about Paul and Jared."
"Please tell me you didn't start to think Jared was the best looking out of all of us." He paused, turning around to look at her.
"What? No!" She laughed. "Wait, that sounded mean. Let me start again. He's attractive, not that I'm attracted to him... I'm not saying that someone else wouldn't be..." She groaned, tugging at her hair.
"He's attractive but not your type," Jacob corrected her.
"Yeah, that's what I was going for," she mumbled. "But neither of them seem to like Henry." Jacob tensed up. "It seems like you don't either, why?"
"It's a pac—It's hard to explain."
Callas raised an eyebrow. "Was it the spaghetti incident?"
"The what?"
"Last year. He said it had something to do with spaghetti in the canteen."
"Is that what he's referring to it as?" He chuckled.
"I guess. Whatever 'it' is." Callas lifted her fingers to air quote.
"It's not really my place to say, but we've never gotten along."
"So, it's like a group issue with Henry." It wasn't a question.
"You could say that." He shrugged.
Callas wasn't really getting anywhere with those questions. If anything, he was still as cryptic as Henry was when she asked him, which didn't help her in any way, shape, or form. Maybe she should go straight to the source. She did have Jared and Paul's numbers, hopefully, she could coax them into telling her what their issues with Henry happened to be. Callas continued to watch as Jacob huffed out in annoyance as he fiddled with the lock.
"I don't understand."
"What?" Callas moved herself from the end chest and stood beside him.
"I definitely checked this last week, it was fine." He looked up at her quickly. "It's still fine," he reassured her, "but it has weird scratches on it."
"It wasn't me." She held her hands up in surrender.
"No, no. I'm not blaming you. They're on the outside. Like something was trying to get in."
"La, la, la, shut up." Callas blocked her ears.
"What?" He chuckled at her.
"I don't need any horror movie type crap in my life, don't say stuff like that, Jake."
"I could seal the window for you so it never opens?"
Callas nodded. "Yes."
"But I can't right now."
"Jake!"
"What? My stuff is at my house."
"I don't feel safe right now." Callas crouched to the floor like she did that morning after she got off his motorbike. "I'm not sleeping in here, but I can't sleep in Reed's room, he'd get suspicious."
"You can stay at mine?"
"I have to be up early for school, my stuff is here."
"Okay, how about, now just bear with me on this." He held his hands out to let Callas allow him to explain before she interrupted. "I go home—" She went to talk. "I get extra clothes and stay here for the night. I start late tomorrow so it's not like I have to rush."
Callas paused. "You sure?"
"Cal, we're friends. We used to have baths together."
"We won't be doing that anytime soon." She pointed at him.
"Duly noted." Jacob nodded.
"Your dad would be okay with it?"
"I'll let him know I'll be here, he'll understand."
"I'll have to ask Nana and Gramps." She sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"It's just a sleepover, I can sleep on the floor."
"You won't sleep on the floor, you're not an animal, Jake." She shook her head. "You can sleep in my bed. It won't be weird, right?"
"I can't see why it would be." Callas could hear something in his voice that said otherwise.
"It's just a sleepover. Like you said."
So, it was settled. Jacob went downstairs with Callas, he said he would be back. Anya said she'd wait for him to get back before she dished out the dinner, Jacob seemed happy enough with that. Callas guessed he liked her cooking, she couldn't blame him, Anya was a great cook. Luckily, neither Anya or Silas seemed to mind Jacob sleeping over, they said they understood if Jacob was okay with it. In the living room, the fireplace was lit, Zeus had his head resting on Callas's lap. She was beginning to worry about Jacob.
She couldn't even go upstairs to her own room, she was too scared to go alone. Especially after what Jacob told her. Something tried to get in. Although the room was warm, she shivered. It freaked her out. When Jacob's motorbike rumbled down the road, Callas could feel herself relax. Anya set the table out for them. Silas was in his usual spot, opposite Callas. He was still reading the newspaper. Surely, he had read it cover to cover about ten times that day already. Reed was in his usual spot, Anya seated next to him. Thankfully he didn't mind Jacob, in fact, he took a liking to him.
Something inside of Callas made her lose part of her appetite. She was in her usual spot as well, Jacob was opposite Reed, near Callas. He seemed to notice how unnerved Callas was, he brought up stories about his father and his family, trying to brighten Callas's spirits, which seemed to work. Jacob was pleased when he saw her eating normally again, as was Reed. Reed wasn't sure why Jacob was staying over exactly, but he knew Callas was friends with him, they had some history together, so he let it go. Both Jacob and Callas hoped that nothing bad happened that night, that everything would prove to be normal.