Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Maybe I am a dumbass," Phoebe mutters to herself, looking around the thick foliage of the forest she's in. "But I'm a dumbass that's about to win a bet."
There are days when Phoebe wonders why her and Garrett don't visit each other more often. But after last week's visit, she understands.
It had taken only an hour for a ridiculous bet to be placed, and even less time for equally ridiculous wages to be agreed upon. Garrett spoke of a beach near a town where the skies are always gray, making it perhaps the only beach in the world their kind could safely visit. Yet, for reasons known only to a select few, no vampire had ever been able to set foot on it and live to tell the tale.
The bet is simple enough; visit the beach. If Phoebe visits first, she wins and Garrett can't join the next war that's started. If Garrett visits first, he wins and Phoebe must live in a city he decides upon for the next five years.
This is how Phoebe now finds herself at the edge of the small town of Forks, Washington, only a few simple steps away from being on the La Push reserve. It would take only seconds for her to reach the beach, take a picture, and leave to rub her victory in Garrett's face. Her instincts, on the other hand, are screaming for her to stay away from the reserve. Though no danger is immediately present, she can't help but to feel as though she's missing something major.
Unfortunately, when bets have been placed, Phoebe's pride surpasses her survival instincts. With unnecessarily bated breath, she steps forward.
"I wouldn't, if I were you," a feminine voice warns as someone jumps down from their hiding spot in the trees. The blonde vampire offers a kind smile, gesturing to the reserve. "The mutts don't take too kindly to vampires on their land."
"Come on, Rose," another person complains from the treetops, the ground shaking as his large body lands next to the girls. "If she wants to fight a couple of furries, who are we to stop her?"
Emmett knows he's not supposed to cross the treaty line, but no one ever explicitly said he can't encourage others to cross it. Besides, ever since Esme grounded him and Jasper from fighting each other, he's been desperate for any new form of entertainment.
Phoebe furrows her eyebrows together, attempting to figure out what - or who - the couple are talking about, but Rosalie speaks again before she can ask any questions.
"You're Phoebe, aren't you?" She asks, accepting her jaw dropping as an answer. "Alice saw you coming to Forks and wanted us to keep an eye out for you."
"Yeah," Emmett agrees, barely able to contain his excitement. "She said something about how only you would be able to find trouble in this trouble-less town."
This causes her to smile, hoping this meant that Alice had found the family she was looking for all those years ago.
"So, you two are a part of the Cullen coven?" Phoebe questions, connecting the dots. She wants desperately to ask about the man she had bumped into after meeting Alice, but ultimately decides against it.
It's Rosalie's turn to look surprised, though she's quicker to recover and nods. "I'm Rosalie and this is my husband, Emmett."
"And unlike Alice, I encourage any and all trouble you want to cause," he adds, a sly grin forming. "But only in Forks, of course. Nothing like that is allowed in La Push."
The bait works and Phoebe immediately rises to the challenge. "Fuck that, I'll do what I want."
Rosalie can't help but to laugh, practically able to hear Edward and Alice having heart attacks as their mutual adventurous friend bonds with her equally daring husband.
Miles away, the front door of the Cullen house slams shut as Edward sprints outside, and Rosalie doesn't need her figurative twin brother to tell her his anxiety has most definitely gone through the roof.
"Don't do it!" Edward shouts, reaching Emmett's side before Phoebe can even move. His panicked expression causes her to pause, but does little to actually deter her. "Why don't you come to the house instead? Meet the others, and Alice will be thrilled to see you again."
"Others?" Phoebe asks, wondering just how many more people there could be within the coven. "Who else is there to meet, besides Esme and Carlisle?"
Edward hesitates, struggling to find a good way to describe the newest addition to their family while not ruining the surprise either.
"Someone I think you'll get along with greatly," he answers vaguely, hoping it'll be enough to convince her. "Just please don't go to La Push."
"Full offense, but I don't exactly trust your judgement about who I would or wouldn't like. Especially since you killed the last guy I thought I would get along with," Phoebe remarks. "I'd rather take my chances with the furries."
She has nothing against Edward; in fact, she even considers the boy one of her few close friends. But something about being told what to do by an entitled vampire whose both, physically and mentally younger than her causes already problematically high levels of sheer spite to skyrocket.
Before anyone can grab her, Phoebe spins on her heel and crosses the invisible treaty line. Her satisfaction lasts only a second, though, as a large black wolf immediately barrels into her and knocks her body into the ground, leaving her gasping for air as he growls threateningly.
As the werewolf releases his hold on her pinned down shoulders, Phoebe can't help but to realize that her definition of furries is incredibly different from Emmett's.
"Sam," Edward warns. "She didn't know."
The three vampires step forward to prevent any further damage, variously threatening expressions on each of their faces.
"It's alright, it's my fault," Phoebe breathes out, carefully sitting up and holding up her hands in placating defeat. "He caught me slipping."
