33: Katie

KATIE'S POVMarch 23rd

As school as the final bell rings, I fly out of the building and into the school parking lot, trying my best to avoid questions from the people I don't feel like talking to. Some of the people on this list include: Mike, who spent all lunch trying to get my attention, Jessica, who won't stop asking me about the Cullens, Eric, who's insistent on being my biology lab partner for the rest of the semester, and Lauren, who keeps asking for the juicy details of my spring break.

Edward and the rest of the Cullens coming back has been a huge talking point, because the drama spread quickly. While none of the details are exactly correct, the word is that Esme was not fond of the California weather. Carlisle had no problem getting his job back at the hospital. So, the kids were all re-enrolled into Forks High School. Yippee.

I was supposed to pretend like Bella and Edward had been talking for a little bit about him coming back; instead, I'd been ignoring and icing out everyone today. All this talk about the Cullens was driving me crazy. Especially after the other night's events. Any reminder that graduation was near meant that Bella would become a vampire soon.

"Hey, Katie," Mike calls, and I stop in my tracks. Great.

I turn to him, tugging down on the sleeves of my sweatshirt. I muster up all of my cordiality as I quickly reply, "What's up?"

"It's... I've been trying to talk to you all day. How was your spring break?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck. He's nervous.

"It's been... fine." I look over my shoulder, scanning the parking lot for Jacob. "Sorry, but I'm a bit of a rush. Can we talk tomorrow?"

He looks startled. "You're not going to track practice today? We have a meet on Thursday, you know. Aren't you competing?"

I bite my lip. "Of course I am. I just... I have plans today. I'll be at practice tomorrow, though."

"Oh. Okay," Mike replies, a little dejectedly.

I just smile apologetically back at him and wave, starting to head towards the street, when Mike steps in front of me. "Do you have a boyfriend?" He asks abruptly.

I blink. "Yes. Why?" I thought he had finally given all of that up, after my birthday.

He sighs. "That's what I figured. Do I... know him?"

"Do you remember Jacob Black?" Clearly he does. I'm just hoping that'll get him to drop the subject so I can leave.

"Oh. You're dating him? Isn't he a bit... I don't know, young?" He looks upset, and no doubt it's because of the fights they've gotten into. "I don't think he's good news."

"We're both seventeen," I say with surprise. "I'm a Junior, remember?"

He blinks. "Oh, right. I just forgot... you're in all senior classes. My bad."

"And I just think you two got off on the wrong foot. You don't know him very well," I say defensively. Mike blushes ever so slightly, so I adjust my backpack straps before I look back at him. "So..." I trail off, looking over my shoulder again for emphasis. This time, I see Jacob. He waves and starts heading toward me, smile getting wider as he sees Mike. I internally roll my eyes.

"Oh. Um, have... fun with Jared, I guess."

"Jacob," I correct.

"Sorry. My bad," he repeats disingenuously, and turns to leave before Jake can reach us.

I startle as Jake wraps his arms around my shoulders. "What was that about?" He asks chirpily, grinning at me with delight. I smile back, stepping out of his arms so I can look at him.

"You," I reply.

"Oh yeah? What about me?"

"Mike asked if I had a boyfriend, so I told him we were dating. He wasn't a big fan," I laugh dryly.

Jake lets out a low whistle. "I didn't realize our relationship was still secret, Katie. Should I be offended? Or apologizing?"

I roll my eyes. "I try to keep everything about me a secret while at school. All of your friends know we're together because you had no choice but to tell them. I, on the other hand, prefer to stay out of gossip." I turn back the way Mike left, frowning a little. "Although, I probably just guaranteed myself a bunch of talk tomorrow. He's got a big mouth."

Jacob wraps his arms around me, drawing my focus back to him. "Well, if they're going to talk, we should probably give them something to talk about." Then, he leans in to give me a kiss.

I cup the side of his face with my hand, reaching up to press my lips onto his. His lips are sweet and soft, and his body is so comfortingly warm against me. After a second, he pulls back, grabbing my backpack from my shoulders. "C'mon, let's go over to Emily's. Sam wants to debrief."

I interlock my hand with his free one, squeezing his fingers tightly. He's content, happy, but a little concerned. "It's okay. Bella won't tell on me. You don't have to worry about Charlie," I reassure quietly.

He smiles again, lowering his voice. "That's not it. Sam's a bit worried about the Cullens being back. I don't think we'll come to a good resolution today. The pack's restless. Especially with that bloodsucker still on the run."

I nod. "The Cullens say they want to help with the whole Victoria situation. Think the pack will go for it?"

"I don't know. We can see."

——————————

"Sam needs me," Jake says, as soon as we pull into the driveway, killing the engine. "Apparently there's some sort of... emergency."

I scoff. "By emergency, do you mean there's a fight?" I unbuckle my seatbelt and give him a knowing look.

He grins guiltily, leaning in to kiss me. "How'd you know?"

I roll my eyes, ducking out of his grip to prop the car door open. "Isn't there always a fight?" I laugh. "You have fun with that."

As soon as she sees me getting out of the car, Emily abandons her post watering plants, racing over to give me a hug. "Katie!"

I accept it happily, leaning into her. She smells like flowers and biscuits— a combination that is wholly Emily. "It's so good to see you," she continues, squeezing me tightly.

I hug her back with equal enthusiasm. "It's good to see you, too. How are things around here?" I ask, lowering my voice a little. I look over my shoulder, but Jake's already disappeared into the woods.

She hesitates. "A bit tense," she smiles warily, tucking her hair back to reveal her scarred cheek, "but for many reasons. Why don't you come in! I'm sure Jake and the rest of the pack will come inside in just a moment."

I nod, following her so I can shut the door behind me. "It feels like it's been forever since I was last here."

"Doesn't it?" Emily sighs, picking her watering can back up. "You really must come by more often. We all miss you."

I cringe. "I'm sorry. It's been chaos lately. Especially with the Cullens..."

"I can bet. Nobody's happy with that... arrangement. Jacob's been trying to diffuse things here, but Sam's worried."

"I wish we hadn't gone to Italy." I mutter bitterly, glad to have someone to vent to who won't go into offense. "I hate they they're back, too. It's... well, I'm sure you know the potential damage."

She nods. "I'm sorry."

I shrug. "Not your fault," I remark, and she just squeezes my forearm.

Emily has a way of making you feel like you're her favorite person in the world, just for spending time with her. I had forgotten how easy it was to talk to her. How she could turn the simplest of topics into an engaging conversation.

Less than half an hour later, the boys enter rowdily. Sam leads the group, smiling as he sees Emily. "Hello Katie," Sam calls as he walks over to her side. He kisses the top of her head gently, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Hey Sam," I acknowledge, and squeal as I feel a pair of arms sneak up behind me. I turn, see Embry's face, and smack his arm as hard as I can. "Embry!" I gasp, and he howls with laughter. You piece of shit! You scared me! I push into his mind.

"Is that all you got, Swan?" He doubles over, clearly unhurt. "You should have seen your face!"

That's when Jake, who came in to watch the last part of Embry's sneak attack, came to my side. With my mouth still hanging open, I look over at his face, only to see him trying not to laugh. I raise my eyebrows in challenge. Got something to say?

"Nothing," he raises his hands in surrender, slowly moving them around my shoulders.

"Nothing at all?" I challenge again, swatting his arms down and glancing at Embry.

Jake reaches over and pull Embry in a headlock. "Don't mess with my girl," he challenges weakly, but I can tell he's still on the verge of laughter. I roll my eyes again while Jared and Paul just cackle. But my heart skips a beat at the words my girl.

"Okay, that's enough," Sam calls, getting everyone's attention again. "We have some serious things to discuss. Primarily, what we're going to do about the vampire situation in Forks," he adds, glancing at me.

Sam extends his arms out, inviting everyone to sit down. I sit next to Jake on the couch and he wraps an arm around me, pulling me close to his side. I lean into his grip, tucking my own arm around his side and slightly rest my head on his shoulder.

"We could split shifts at the Swans' house, just like we did during break—" Embry suggests, but Sam holds up his hand.

"Their house is neutral territory. If we ran into any of the Cullen vampires there, we'd have no grounds to defend them— or ourselves." Sam's attention turns to Jacob and I. "Katie, do you know any of the Cullens' intentions for the... Victoria issue?"

I swallow hard. "I'm pretty sure the intention was that the Cullens wanted to take over."

"I don't trust them. What if—" Embry insists, fists clenched on the table.

"It is pointless to ignore their concerns. I'm sure the Cullens want the girls' protection as much as we do," Sam interrupts, an arm out to try and relax Embry. "Katie, can I trust you to help negotiate some sort of agreement that allows us to patrol the area? Or at least open the table for discussion with the Cullens?"

I nod. "Sure."

"Good. That's settled, for now. But... there's a more pressing issue on hand. It's about the Cullens' intent with Bella. Whether or not she's going to become a vampire."

My heart drops.

"She's not going to be a vampire," Paul sneers with disgust. "No way."

"Yeah, why would Bella want that?" Jared agrees, seeming entirely unworried. "Even if she is a vampire sympathizer, she'd never go that far."

After a moment, the boys realize what my lack of protest means. "Wait, Katie, she's not going to be a bloodsucker, right?" Embry asks, and I feel myself get pale. "Right?"

"She doesn't have much of a choice. There's this... well, let's just say that we were given an ultimatum. Bella becomes a vampire or she's killed," I blurt, feeling uneasy.

I feel Jake stiffen under my arm. "If the Cullens turn her, they break the treaty."

"Who gave you this ultimatum?" Paul mocks, unconvinced.

"There's this... vampire governing system in Italy. They're hundreds of years old and there are thousands of them. I'd suggest a fight, but... there's no hope. It's follow their orders or be forced to follow them," I choke out defeatedly, tapping my fingers on my leg. Jake, sensing my anxiety, lightly trails his hand up and down my back in a soothing pattern.

The silence that follows is painful. "Well, we will have to cross that bridge when we get there, then," Sam says finally. "For now, we need to get back out and look for Victoria before we lose any more daylight."

The pack agrees, mumbling. "Jake, you drive Katie home. You can scout by their house and head south towards the river. Jared and I will meet you there in an hour."

With assignments in place, the boys start ditching extra clothing items on the couch to prepare themselves to shift. In a minute, they've all headed out the back door, leaving it swinging on its hinges.

Jake detaches himself from me so he can pull me to my feet. "Ready to go home?" He asks gently.

"Ready," I agree.