LONELY | JACOB BLACK

PROTECTIVE OF YOU

I yawned, and opened my eyes gently. The sun beamed through the windows in beautiful rays, and i snuggled further into the sheets. They smelled nice. Like him. I sighed contently. Oh Jacob, what was I going to do with you?
I grimaced as i recalled everything that happened last night. I brushed off those thoughts for later. From what i remembered, it's Tuesday morning and i need to get ready for school. The time on the wall of seven-thirty made me crawl out of bed like a vampire.

I sat up, trudging my way to the bathroom. Two doors down on the left.
The house is completely quiet as i brush my teeth and do my skincare. It's fine - Jacob Black never struck me as an early bird.
As i assessed my eyebags in the mirror, i clanced down at my torso; a sweater, too many sizes too large hung from my body like a warm blanket. My face went beetroot red. I forgot I'd raked through Jacob's draws to find a sweater. I hoped he wouldn't get angry.

When i walked into the living room, the echo of his presence was still there; his blankets thrown to the side, yet the boy was gone. I decided to distract myself by making scrambled eggs for the two, humming out of tune as can be.

The sound of approaching voices seeped through the open window.
"Hey Jake, your girlfriend's awake!"
And to my surprise, six half-naked boys wandered into the room, with the same buzzed hair and the same tan skin. There were three i recognised; Quil. Embry. and Jake, who half-smiled at me upon walking through the cloakroom - and three others who i had never seen before. They assessed me up and down. Jake frowned at them distastefully.

"Whatcha makin' California?" Embry sat on the kitchen counter opposite me. "Hey, don't sit on the counter. I was making scrambled eggs for me Jake and Billy, but I guess I made too many." I sighed sliding my abomination onto a plate in the centre of the dining table. It attracted the others like flies. "That's perfect, I'm starving." One of the unfamiliar boys grinned at me, picking up a plate.

"Sadie, these are my.. friends." Jacob crossed the room to my side. "That's Paul," Paul winked. "Jared and Sam," Jared was grinning at me, and Sam nodded. "And Leah. Seth isn't here."
To my embarrassment, i hadn't even notices the black-haired girl slumped in the rocking chair across the room, flicking through a magazine. It appeared that she didn't seem to notice me either, with a frown across her face. I glanced up at the clock awkwardly. Ten thirty.

"Uhm guys.. not to be a mood kill but we are like, two hours late for school."
"Oh, we don't go to school on tuesdays." Quil jumped in. "I can drop you off if you want?"
I shook my head. "If you guys aren't going in then neither will i. Not Like my mother would be bothered anyways.." i trailed off, and Jake watched me, concerned. Honestly, at this point it was rather hilarious how pathetic she was.

"And you all have matching tattoos?" I ran my fingers across Jake's arm. It pictures two wolves, with intricate patterns and details. I didn't realise the others were laughing until i looked up at Jacob. He was blushing dusty pink. I let go of his arm hastily. "It's a Quilluete thing." I nodded.

The others broke off into boisterous chatter. I turned back to Jacob, who leaned on the counter. I glanced down, confused.
"Oh! Sorry about that, it was cold in the night with all the windows open..."
"Don't worry about it. Keep it, Looks good on you."
I grinned pulling the hood over my head. "Thanks!"
"Erm, I'm going to go get dressed and go for a drive. I'll be back in a bit." Jake nodded.
"Alright, i was busy anyways. Stay safe, alright?"
"Alright."

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I'd driven half an hour south and found a forgotten trail. It branched off deeper into the forest, and i followed it careless as to how i would find my way back.

The walking gave me time to think; about anything and everything that had happened. I tried to be sad about everything, but i couldn't, no matter how hard i tried. It was like Jacob had mended the hole in my heart and it had never been there. I felt more in control, more present in the last few days than i had in my life. He reminded me of California - not physically; but mentally. The memories of my old life felt good when i was with him.

I was then confused to why i even cares about my old life. I had no friends - barely any family near us - and i was miserable when i wasn't surfing, but it was picture perfect either way. A loving mom. A loving dad. A cliche boyfriend, in a cliche neighbourhood. Before the death of my dad, the alcohol, the money-greediness, the random reach out to my Grandmother who was in the brink of death for just a few dollars and a free house. It was sick.

I was just about to break through the shrubery to a meadow on the distance, when two figures appeared out of nowhere. I ducked behind a tree trunk, and with shaking hands, peered around the corner.
There was two boys - definitely from the reservation, with the same russet skin and black buzzed hair as the others -  no older than thirteen in the middle of the clearing. I frowned squinting at them from around a treetrunk. What were they doing out here? It was miles away from anywhere.

"...my arm healed so fast! Jake told me i had fast regeneration, even for a werewolf." One said proudly.
"Yeah, but Jake was always the fastest. Remember when that vampire crushed him and we had to carry him home?"
"Sheesh, Jacob is so heavy." They laughed, standing on top of a chopped treetrunk.
"Are you gonna go first."
"I was the first to transform wasn't I?"

And in the matter of seconds, one of the boys had leaped from the trunk into the air, arms stretching for the sky, yet there were no arms; only a pair of thick jagged paws which turned into a body of grey fur.
This little boy had turned into a wolf right before my bulging eyes, a wolf that flopped to the floor, whining as it stood up to full height. And the wolf was tall. So tall.
I screamed, running for my car, tripping over the shrubbery beneath my feet. When i looked over my shoulder, the wolf only watched; it didn't try to follow as i hopped into my car and soared back down to the reservation.

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How had he let me be under the same roof as a werewolf? The dots connected in my mind. The matching tattoos, the same buzzed hair, the half-naked outfits, appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the night. I could laugh.

Billy was fixing his car on the flat part of the drive, he nodded, and i smiled. "Billy." He nodded to me.
The door was unlocked. I swung it open loudly, closing it securely behind me."
"Welcome back California." Paul said, his eyes glued to my ass. Jacob growled. How ironic.
"Cut it out Paul."

"So, you guys are werewolves?"