magic, jasper hale [1] ✔︎

25. Back in Forks

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After that first ruff night in Seattle, Magnolia and Elton spent the rest of their trip enjoying themselves, till it was finally time to return to Forks.

Magnolia's shoulders dropped with relief when the lunch bell rang. At vampire-like speed, she gathered her bag and left the classroom. She was on a clear mission to the cafeteria. "Magnolia!" The familiar voice of Angela caused her to stop in her tracks and turn around. "Hi!" The girl spoke out of breath, from running, Magnolia guessed.

"Hey, Angela. What's up?" Magnolia smiled politely, shifting her bag to a more comfortable position on her shoulder.

They began walking together. "Oh, I just wanted to walk to the cafe with you...and see if you'd sit with us?" The hope in Angela's voice made Magnolia's heart clench.

"Oh," Magnolia had expected them to be less open about her return to the group. "You sure? I thought Jessica referred to me as a buzzkill, the last time I asked."

Angela laughed awkwardly. "She didn't mean it!" They made the turn into the cafeteria. "Plus, I miss you. A lot. We used to be close and I miss that."

They both stopped for a moment, Magnolia looking down at the shorter girl. Angela wasn't one to verbally plead or beg, but her big puppy-dog eyes said it all. Magnolia sighed, looking around for Elton, before nodding. "Sure. Why the hell not?"

"Great!" Angela squealed, taking Magnolia's hand and pulling her to the table where Mike and Eric were already waiting.

To Magnolia's surprise, their faces lit up at the sight of Angela towing her towards them. "Maggie!" They cheered simultaneously. Magnolia offered each of them a small smile as she sat down. "How was your little trip to Seattle?" Mike asked, leaning forward on the table.

It had been so long since Magnolia had talked to her old friend group, she felt like she didn't know how to act around them anymore. "Oh, um...it was actually really fun."

Eric nodded with a sigh. "I bet ya needed to get out of Forks, huh? Ow!" Angela had elbowed him, hard.

Magnolia shook her head with a chuckled. "It's okay, Angela. I actually did. The air felt so thick here, you know?"

Mike and Eric nodded. "Absolutely."

"Totally."

A loud shout startled all of them. "Is that you, Magnolia?!" The unmistakable squeal of Jessica caused Magnolia's stomach to churn in annoyance. Jessica was one thing she didn't miss from this group.

Two skinny arms wrapped their way around Magnolia's shoulders and squeezed hard. "Hey...Jessica," Magnolia managed to squeeze out. "How are you?"

Finally, the girl's face came into view, as she sat on the opposite side of Magnolia. "How am I? How are you!? You've been gone forever!"

Magnolia looked over at Angela, desperate for help, but the girl wasn't even looking over. "Haha, it hasn't been that long, has it?"

"Hey, I uh, saw something in the woods the other day!" Angela had finally come to Magnolia's rescue. She was glad at the change of subject — the subject of her.

"Oh yeah," Jessica drawled. "Like what?"

There was a shift in mood in Angela, Magnolia caught it immediately. "It was jet black, stood on all fours and was still taller than a person," She looked over at Magnolia for a moment. "A bear, maybe?"

"Or an alien," Mike laughed. "You're lucky you didn't get probed." He was the only one at the table to laugh at his sad attempt at a joke.

"Well, I saw it." Angela huffed. Magnolia felt a nudge from Jessica, causing her to look up. Bella had just walked up to the table, looking sadly awkward.

She moved to the empty spot next to Mike and started to sit down. "Yeah, you're not the only one. My dad's been getting reports at the station," She huffed as she sat in her chair. Magnolia couldn't look away from her. She looked so much better from that day on the reservation. "Like five hikers have been killed by some bear. But they can't find the bear."

Angela turned to Eric with an I told you so expression clear on her face. Eric laughed awkwardly. "Last time you clowns doubt my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Magnolia couldn't stop herself from blurting it out. Angela blushed.

"Uh, yeah. There's a lot you missed," She chuckled. "I'll catch you up."

Magnolia listened the best she could to Angela, but she couldn't focus, with Bella sitting right next to her and Mike flirting like his life depended on it, she couldn't help but listen in. He was obviously asking her on a movie date, but Magnolia felt slightly proud as Bella turned to ask them all. "Um...do you guys wanna come see...face punch?"

"Face punch!" Eric cheered. "Yeah, Mike remember we were supposed to see that? The trailer was crazy!" He started to make explosion noises.

"Movie night with Bella!" Jessica cheered rather unenthusiastically.

Magnolia turned to Bella. "Me too?" She pointed to herself. She was under the impression that Bella didn't want to be her friend anymore.

Bella smiled softly, reaching to place a soft but hesitant hand on Magnolia's forearm. "Of course. You're always welcome, Mags."

The swell of Magnolia's heart was almost too much to bear as a smile spread across her face. "Great...see you tonight."

•

Magnolia had driven herself early and to her surprise, Mike was just as early. He and she talked awkwardly outside of the theatre for around ten minutes when none other than Jacob Black approached. "Jacob!" Magnolia was surprised to see him. They hugged briefly. "Bella invited you?"

He nodded, smiling brightly. "Yup! Good to see you, Maggie," Some more time went by as Bella bought the tickets and it was obvious there was tension between the two boys, but for what reason is what Magnolia couldn't figure out. "So...face punch. You like action movies?" Jacob asked Mike, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Mike shook his head, looking anywhere but at Jacob. "No, uh not really."

"I heard it sucks," Jacob chuckled. "Bad."

Mike huffed, finally turning to the younger boy. "Are you even old enough to-to see this movie?" Magnolia raised a brow as she leaned against the theatre wall, watching the two. Now she knew what this tension was about — Bella. "I mean without adult supervision?" Mike sneered.

"Yeah, well she's buying my ticket for me." Jacob smiled smugly.

Bella finally returned from buying the tickets, putting an end to the boys' bickering. "Um, Jessica bailed and Angela got the stomach flu so Eric's taking care of her," She looked between the three of them. "So...it's just us four."

"Great," Mike huffed. "Just great."