tongue twister • paul lahote

ii

T H E  F I R S T  Y E A R Bella Swan moved to Forks, she had no impact on Jakob or Santana for that matter. A friend, maybe, but not much more. But only for the first year. After that, the small town was under her power. In her senior year, she began to make a lot of trouble for the two friends. Unexplainable trouble. Jakob grew distant from Santana. She had unintentionally been replaced by the new girl, and although it hurt, she found herself able to move on. While Jake rebuilt motorcycles with the thrill-seeking senior, Santana had found a bond deep inside her with two boys by the names of Embry Call and Quil Ateara. By no means could they replace the great grandson of Ephraim Black in her heart, but they came a close second. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, she built herself back up with their help.

While pushing Santana away, Jakob found himself slowly falling in love with Bella. Although she was just using him to fix herself, he fell for her tricks. His feelings for her caused him to forget about his abandoned best friend more and more each day. After all, forgetting is easier than regretting. He used his distraction to also forget about Sam Uley and his company for as long as he could. He knew what they wanted, but his life was his. He would make his own decisions on his own time, no matter what was thought about him.

"Whatcha thinkin' bout?" The question broke Santana from her thoughts. She shook her head and shrugged, avoiding the topic.

"What's it to you, Call?" she retorted to Embry and he gave her a lopsided grin.

"Just wondering if it was me." The flirting was unbearable. He was so awful at it, but it was still charming.

"You wish," she barked a humourless laugh.

"I can see it in your eyes, Tana. Your love for me is overpowering you." He still tried with her, and all she could do was raise her eyebrows in time with a slow nod. She gave a sarcastic noise of agreement, and the boy smiled, triumphant, obviously not picking up on her tone. They walked together down the asphalted road in the reserve, steps in time with one another. The mist in the air put a damp feeling on their clothes, but not on their mood.

"Have you heard from Jake lately?" She asked her companion quietly. Embry turned, his newly cut hair blowing in the slight wind. He gave her a look of sympathy and shrugged.

"We see him around at school. Other than that, no. He doesn't really speak to us anymore. That girl—the one who was all over the Cullen's before they left—seems to be the only one he speaks too. It's sad, really." She mumbled a 'yeah' in agreement, not having much input worth saying. It seemed to her as if he was lying, or trying to cover something up, but she let it go.

"So what was with the Cullen's, anyway?" Santana inquired. She'd been at the high school when they transferred a year ahead of her all the way from Alaska. She did her best in avoiding them. They gave her a vibe that unsettled her, and she wasn't going to get involved with them. "I never saw them outside of school. And where did they disappear to?" She asked as if her friend had all the answers.

"There's rumours that they're not like the rest of us." Was all he replied. "They left for their own good." She thought it best not to answer him, as they continued walking. "But they were only rumours," He added quickly, as if he regretted what he said. "Probably just weird to everyone because they aren't what we were used to." He covered himself up pathetically.

The sky was darkening with clouds, giving a strong sense to the two that it was going to start raining once again. It didn't bother them much. Walking in the rain was something you had to get used to when you resided where they did. When Santana felt the first raindrop fall and land on her head, she sighed. It was more comforting now than it was annoying. It was like the first drop signalled a break in the rain, and it all started falling at once. Embry reached out to grab her hand, and the two started off in a run.

"Where are we going?" Santana questioned, yelling over the rain.

"My house—we can stay there the night!" He laughed back, clearly finding small humour in the situation. They ran down a cutoff of the main road, and passed few houses on their travels. When they came upon a small, yellow house, Embry made a sharp turn into the driveway.

They ran up the front steps of the porch and the russet-skinned boy held the door open for his friend. She tumbled through the doorway, and he piled in behind her. The two stared at each other, breathing heavily, and dripping with water. After a few seconds, they burst out laughing at the state they were in. Footsteps echoed from the room next to them, as a woman appeared in the doorway.

"Em, what are—oh, hello." A short, dark haired woman smiled warmly at the girl as she stepped into the hallway. She returned her greeting, and turned to look at her friend for a cue to do something else.

"Mom, this is Santana. She's one of Jake's friends." He explained. Her confusion lifted and she reached out to shake her hand. Santana grabbed it, as the woman made her own introduction.

"I'm Tiffany, Embry's mother. I suppose you could have guessed that, though." She didn't even have to tell her, the two had such a striking resemblance. "Oh, Sam came over. He said they were having a fire tonight on the beach, and wanted you to come. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you brought your friend, either." She spoke to her son. He looked outside, and back at his mother.

"The weather doesn't look good for a fire, mom." He challenged.

"You know yourself that this'll be over within minutes. They seemed dead set on having you as company tonight, so you better go." She said and walked back into the room she came from.

"Sam Uley?" Santana questioned as soon as the boys mother was out of sight. "Since when have you hung out with him?"

"I wouldn't consider it 'hanging out'." He smiled and led her down the hall and passed his mother in the kitchen. He went straight towards a room at the end of the hall and ushered her inside. "Welcome to casa de Embry." She walked into his bedroom, and looked around.

"It's breathtaking, really." She teased and he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Crowley. It's classy." He retorted and collapsed on his bed.

'This ought to be an interesting night', Santana thought to herself as collapsed next to him. And right she was. Things never got boring at La Push