ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʟᴇᴛᴛᴇʀs | Twilight

𝐱𝐱𝐢.

| ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴏɴᴇ |

It had been less than twenty-four hours since Hazel had learnt of the Quileute secret. Some part of her still couldn't believe it, but when a frantic Bella called, sputtering out the word werewolf, she knew it wasn't a dream. Afterwards, once both girls had calmed down, Bella pleaded with Hazel to come down with her to the Reservation. It hadn't taken much for the girl to agree, and soon Hazel found herself casually talking with Bella about it as she got dressed.

"It didn't seem real at first," Bella told the curly-haired girl on the other end of the phone. "I thought I was crazy, but then I connected the dots and, it clicked into place." She paused. "How did you find out? Christian?"

"Yeah, he told me," Hazel laughed, pulling her long-sleeve over her head. "Well, I mean, he didn't tell me, per se, he kind of vaguely explained it to me. Last night, he just called me and began talking about this one Quileute legend I already heard a thousand times.  The dots all sort of connected at that moment, though."

"Yeah," Bella breathed.

"Anyway, if you're going to pick me up and take me to the Rez, I'm all ready to go," Hazel informed the girl.

"Okay, cool," Bella murmured. She paused as if checking the time. "I'll see you in twenty, okay?"

Hazel hummed in reply. Bella uttered a quick 'goodbye' before hanging up the phone. With an extra twenty minutes and no chores to do, Hazel decided she would sit and read.

She picked up her well-worn copy of The Catcher In The Rye -- which had several pages folded from her brother's younger years of climbing on bookshelves and throwing books onto the floor -- and opened it to the page she'd marked with an old movie ticket. Hazel found herself quickly and deeply immersed in the story. By the time Bella had pulled up, she'd lost complete awareness of her surroundings, and Anthony had to march over, bookmark the page with her ticket and snap the book closed. She could only glare at her brother for a moment before she realised the doorbell was ringing.

"Sorry, Bells," Hazel apologised with a sheepish grin as they climbed into Bella's truck. "I got caught up reading." She buckled herself up and turned her attention to the brunette. "So, what are we going to do up there? Talk? Maybe I can finally beat Valentina in that game of Jenga and win the bet." Hazel turned away as she muttered the last sentence, earning a concerned look from Bella.

"I don't know yet, Hazel," Bella replied, turning her eyes back to the road as she began the engine. "We'll see when we get there."

"Okay," Hazel shrugged with a smile. "And, uh, on the way there, you might want to inform me on how Jacob told you. I kind of get the feeling that they promised to keep quiet or something, which is why Christian was all nonsensical. I wouldn't be surprised if Loverboy found a way around it, too."

"Loverboy?" Bella laughed. She shook her head. "Jacob, like parkoured up to my room last night, actually--"

"Cause that's not weird--" Hazel muttered.

"--and he mentioned the Quileute legends like Christian did for you. It was one story that he told me last year." Bella continued, ignoring Hazel's comment. "I figured it out after he left. I had a dream about it. We, uh, we didn't get to talk about it much."

"My guess is the boys found out," Hazel spoke. 

"He apologised, too."

"Why do I get the feeling he was shirtless through all this, too?" Hazel hummed, flicking her eyes to Bella. The long-haired girl stayed silent for a moment. "He always is nowadays, so I'm not even going to act surprised at this point."

Bella sighed. "Yeah, he was."

"Called it!" Hazel cackled, bringing a small smile to Bella's face. "Christian's like that, too."

"Uh, Hazel?"

"Yeah?"

"I, uh, does Christian have hot skin when you touch him? I--I know it's an odd question, but I just thought that maybe it's a wolf thing?" Bella glanced at her. Hazel nodded in response.

"They all do." Bella raised her brow at the girl. "The guys that are a part of Sam's little group all have, like, scorching skin. Bella Swan, don't you dare give me that look. Ever since Christian began hanging out with the, I have too. Then the others joined, so I've become super close with them all. They're almost like my second family." Hazel smiled fondly at the thought.

"So, Christian didn't have any bad blood with Sam?" Bella frowned.

"No," Hazel replied. "They began acting weird at the same time almost, so I guess that they changed together. Sam went first, then Christian close after. At the Rez, Chris is like Sam's right-hand man. They're best friends." Hazel shifted in the seat. "They probably had no option but to lean on each other to get through it."

"How old was Christian?" Bella inquired.

"16. Sam was a little older, but it didn't matter," Hazel chuckled. "First time I met Sam I was in shock at how close they were. If it weren't for the obvious difference, you'd think they were brothers."

Bella nodded. Hazel noticed a slight smile on her face.

The truck pulled up at the Reservation after several more minutes of driving. Hazel climbed out immediately after Bella did, following her as she marched up to the entrance of the Black residence.  The curly-haired girl stayed a few paces behind as Bella knocked on the door. Mere moments later, Billy Black appeared and opened the door to them.

"Bella, Hazel," he greeted with a nod. Hazel waved in reply.

"I need to see him," Bella told the man, clearly referencing his son.

"He's not in," Billy retorted. It was clear, however, to both girls that he was not telling the whole truth.

Before Billy or Hazel could say another word, Bella pushed past the man. Hazel sputtered at her curtness.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I really need to see him," Bella spoke as she walked further into the home.

Hazel watched in horror for a moment, and Billy called out her name. He moved his wheelchair out of the way, looking back at Hazel. She turned to the man, sheepishly grinning at him.

"I'm so sorry, Mr Black," she apologised before hurrying after her friend. "Shit, Bells, she cursed when she found Bella in Jacob's room. The boy himself was sleeping, and Bella was staring out his window. Hazel grabbed her arm, hoping to tug her back out. "Come on, Bella. You can't just barge into someone's room!"

Then, without warning, Bella stormed out of Jacob's room. She watched after the girl before whipping her head to the window. She could see Sam and the other boys stalking toward the house. Hazel knew immediately that Bella would confront them, and hastily followed her outside.

"You idiot!" She cursed the girl, flying past Billy Black without another word.

✰

A/N: well, well, well, well, well. i just want to say that i adore the wolf pack, and the next scene really makes me smile. i don't know if I'll publish it today (i probably will) but i want you to know that the sad stuff is gonna happen in two chapters and there's nothing you can do to stop it. (also, what do you think of the cover?)

also questioning if i should bring victor back at that time too just for a lil extra drama. all i know is that it's probably gonna be a hella long chapter. 

anyway, feel free to comment a question or a suggestion, i love seeing them. i hope you have a wonderful day! until next update :)