Jacob and Embry were nice guys. They seemed friendly, if a bit disconcerting. Even was relishing the fact that Jacob seemed to have a thing for Tobias. The tall boy had barely taken his eyes off of his brother, much to Tobias' chagrin. Even had to stop himself from giggling as Tobias tried not to fall back asleep. Hangovers, not matter how light, always made him sleepy. On the sand, Embry and Andrew seemed to be having a similar situation. Even and Lucas exchanged looks and rolled their eyes.
"So Jacob, Embry", Even spoke up. Both tanned boys glanced at him. "Are there any good places around here? We haven't explored much yet".
"You guys just moved?" Jacob asked. Even nodded.
"Yeah. We have the house between here and the Cullen's property". Something in the boys' faces changed at the mention of the Cullen's. Even watched as they exchanged looks, a message being passed between them. Even was intrigued.
"The one in the forest, about ten minutes away?" Embry asked. Andrew nodded and something of relief seemed to flit across his face.
"Our territory", Jacob muttered, seeming pleased. Even caught the words and Tobias raised an eyebrow.
"Your territory?" He repeated with a unamused expression. Jacob grinned at them sheepishly.
"Yeah. It's nearer to the reservation than the town, so we sort of count it as being within the tribe lands", he explained. There was something missing from the explanation but Even didn't know what to ask.
"Whose the girl in your group?" Lucas asked. He was looking back at the rest of Jacob and Embry's friends. They were watching them. Embry turned and pulled a face at them.
"Who Leah?" Jacob asked.
"She's staring at me weirdly", Lucas said. He seemed unusually shifty about it. He had dated before, hooked up and flirted. But for some reason, he seemed shy almost. Even crowed with glee as he spotted the red tint to his cheeks. This didn't happen often but when it did, it was amazing. Prime drama.
"Lucas has a crush", he sang. Lucas scowled at him.
"On Leah?" Embry and Jacob laughed. "Oh man good luck. She crushed the last one to ask her out", Jacob chuckled. He gave Lucas a pitying look.
"That's so hot", Lucas sighed with a dreamy expression. "I'd thank her if she even spoke to me".
Tobias poked him in the head with the tip of his boot. "Get a grip Lucas. We don't need to see you drooling". Lucas swatted at him defensively.
"I'm no drooling".
"Yeah and Obama is white", Andrew smirked. Embry coughed to hide his chuckle.
"You guys are so mean", Lucas whined. He curled up into his coat, pouting. "To be betrayed by my own brothers like this. A tragedy". Even and Tobias grinned at him.
"You deserve it", Even replies teasingly. Lucas stuck his tongue out at him.
"You guys are brothers?" Jacob asked. He looked at them.
"Na", Tobias answered. "None of us are related. Even is my little stepbrother"-
"I'm taller than you", Even pointed out.
"We're all childhood friended though. Basically brothers". Jacob nodded at Tobias' explanation.
"Cool. Where do you come from?"
"Ashland, New York", Lucas answered.
"Hey Jake, Embry", a voice called. There was the sound of running footsteps and they all turned. The rest of the group down by the shoreline had split up. Most of them had walked off into the forest on the other side of the beach, disappearing into the trees. Three of them however, were walking over to them.
There was the girl, Leah. Even noted that she didn't look very happy, Probably having been dragged over. Lucas straightened as she approached. The look on her face was one of annoyance and distain. She was accompanied by two guys. One was around the same height as Jacob and Embry. He seemed to be 18 like them. He swung his arm around Jacob's shoulder with the familiarity of long friendship. The third guys being the younger boy. He was about 15 or 16, taller than Leah but shorter than Jacob. He had almost as much muscles as the rest of them, all tanned skin and shaped build. Even was complaining.
The guy smiled at them as he came to a stop. He looked them over with a eager expression. Even smiled at him as he turned his gaze onto him. Their eyes met and boy gasped and went still. Even quirked and eyebrow at the weird behaviour and looked around. Leah was watching the boy with a mixture of shock and anxiety.
"Um, oh shit", Jacob muttered, he ran a hand over his forehead. "This is Quil, Leah and Seth. They're our friends". Quil held out his hand with a smirk.
"Nice to meet you. I hear you're new, welcome to Forks". Tobias and Even both shook his hand. Andrew and Lucas stood up to do the same. Embry following.
"I'm Tobias", Tobias greeted. Quil smiled and nudged Jacob in the side.
"Oh my god", Seth squeaked as Even turned to him. "Hi I'm Seth. You're so pretty". Even's eyes went wide in surprise as a red flush covered his cheeks.
"Hah! Who's blushing now?" Lucas teased.
"Fuck off Lucas", he scowled. Lucas laughed and Even caught a soft look on Leah's face. It was only for a moment before her features closed off again.
He turned back to Seth. "Ah um, Takk? I'm Even". Seth mouthed his name and his blush deepened.
Tobias was sniggering next to him. Even turned to him pleadingly. "hjelp meg. Han er så søt", he whispered. Tobias shook his head, obviously taking to much joy in this. Even groaned and buried his head behind his guitar. This was so awkward and embarrassing.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lucas", Lucas was grinning at Leah. She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded, not saying anything. Lucas faltered at the lack of answer. His grin faded and he scratched his head nervously.
"I'm Andrew", Andrew nodded at them. Quil perked up and pointed at him.
"You were the guy who shunned Embry because he didn't know Tolkien!" He exclaimed. "Dude, he came to me last night and stole all my books. I've been trying to get him to watch the films for years".
Andrew laughed as Embry glared at his friend. "Not knowing Tolkien is a travesty".
"I know!" Quil stated. "Have you read the maze runner series?"
Andrew lit up. "Minho was my favourite character. And what happened with newt, that was harsh".
"I can't believe this", Quil was grinning excitedly. "I can never get these two to read. We just spend all our time in Jacob's garage".
"You a mechanic?" Tobias asked Jacob. The tall boy perked up now that Tobias was talking to him. Quil has moved from his side to stand next to Embry as him and Andrew got into a energetic conversation about books and movies.
"Cool", Tobias nodded. "I'm shit at that sort of thing but it's still cool though".
"So what do you do?" Jacob asked. Tobias pulled out his drumsticks.
"I play drums, video games, cook". They dissolved into a separate conversation about the latest grand theft auto game. Even sighed and glanced between the two groups. Seth was still watching him and the staring was making him uneasy.
He glanced at Lucas. The curly haired boy was watching Leah with a dumbstruck expression. Even poked him and he startled. "So are you two siblings?" He asked.
"Yeah. Leah's nineteen. I'm sixteen", Seth answered.
"Nice, I'm twenty. Andrew and Tobias are nineteen and Even turned eighteen last week", Lucas replied.
"Oh, happy birthday", Seth grinned. He looked like a puppy. Even shifted and ran a hand through his hair nervously.
"Takk", he replied. Lucas rolled his eyes. "Thanks", Even repeated in English. Awkward silence descended between them.
"So do you play? It's a nice guitar", Leah spoke up. She was obviously taking pity on Seth, who was still staring. Even nodded.
"Yeah. We're a band. Tobias is on drums, Lucas and I sing, and Andrew is on bass".
"That is so cool!" Seth beamed in awe. "Can we see you guys play sometime?"
"Sure", Lucas smiled at him. "Do you have any favourite bands?"
"Oh Leah and I really like the Wildlings", Seth answered. Even felt a spark of pride as Leah nodded along with her brother's statement.
"They're alright", she shrugged.
Lucas looked like he had won the lottery. "What's your favourite song?" he asked her eagerly. Leah smiled and Even was concerned for a minute that Lucas might faint.
"I like Running girl".
"Really? That's off the second ep, Gibbous moon", Lucas stated. He seemed impressed. "Most fans just know their Album, 'underground'".
"Do you have a favourite song?" Even asked Seth softly. The boy perked up.
"Yeah. I mean, all their songs are good. Especially the hits 'Sleeping underground', 'chaos coronation' and 'Teething'. But the song 'Leaving it blue' has really spoken to me recently", Seth seemed a little sad as he spoke. Leah placed her and on her shoulder and they shared a glance. Even knew the song he was talking about. It was off their very first ep, 'wild ones', and he had written it in memory of his dad. It was a slow and sad tune, not one of the fan favourites.
"I like that song to", Even smiled at Seth. The boy smiled softly back.
"Guys", Andrew called. Everyone broke away from their separate conversations. "We need to arrange a movie day. Have a hobbit and lord of the rings marathon", he declared.
"Oh heck yeah", Lucas added. "We can do popcorn and milkshakes".
"You're lactose intolerant", Even deadpanned. Tobias snorted.
"I like living on the edge. Besides milkshakes are amazing. I can make a almond milk one".
Tobias gave Lucas one of his looks and turned to look at everyone. "Sure. You guys want to come?"
"Yes!" Quil answered for them all. Embry and Leah both shot him frowning faces but didn't protest. "We're all free on Wednesday".
"You guys work together?" Even asked.
Seth shrugged. "Something like that".
"That's settled then", Tobias said. "You know where we live. Juts turn up around eleven or something".
"Do you want my number?" Jacob asked him. Tobias nodded.
"Sure. Guys swap numbers". Even, Andrew and Lucas all pulled out their phones. For some reason, none of the others had their phones on them. Andrew luckily had a pen and they each took turns to write their numbers on hands. Leah refused to allow Lucas to write his number so he wrote it on Seth instead.
Even was hyper conscious of the heat of Seth's skin as he scrawled the digits onto the back of his palm. He finished and gave the pen to Tobias.
"I suppose I'll see you on Wednesday then", Seth muttered. Around the , everyone was saying goodbye. It was late in the afternoon and they had to go home and have food. Even was starving.
"Yeah. It should be good", Even smiled at him as he turned to get him the car. He pushed his guitar into the back seat as Andrew and Lucas got in the front. "See you then". He waved as he climbed in. The car pulled out of the car park. All of the new friends watching them go.
Unedited