Running With Wolves

Chapter 5

Charlotte found it amusing to watch Paul fuss over Bella. It was nice to see Paul genuinely cared about her family's well being. Charlie had assumed all those months ago that Paul had been happy about Laurent's death because he'd gotten to kill a leech, but seeing how he cared for and doted on Bella, she realized now that it was killing two birds with one stone. Paul had chased after Laurent to protect a Swan. The fact that Paul would protect her sister even if he called her a leech lover spoke volumes to Charlie. Her heart leaped joyously at the thought, then promptly sank. Oh shit, I'm in love with Paul Lahote.

Charlotte needed to go somewhere, do something. She needed to get out of the house or she might just explode. "Has anyone informed the Elders of this yet? Because I think they deserve to know what's going on." she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "No, but I'll be sure to tell Billy all about it when I get home." Jacob replied, dismissive. "Perfect, I'll drive you home then." Charlie smiled at the large teen, grabbing her keys and walking out the door before he had the opportunity to protest.

Charlie didn't stop to check if the Quilleute Chief's son was behind her or not, she just walked over to her gentle giant and hopped in, slamming the door behind her. She had her head on the wheel when Jacob finally swung himself up into the truck. Without lifting her head off the wheel, Charlie turned to face him. He was alarmed to see the vulnerability in her features. It was rare for Jacob to see Charlotte so open, and he was terrified by what he saw. Her silver eyes didn't hold their usually ever-present gleam, instead they held pain and defeat. Jake didn't know what the hell had happened, but he knew he hated seeing Charlie like this.

"Why'd it have to be him." She groaned, finally peeling her face off of the truck, looking away from the boy beside her as she began to drive. "What?" Jake asked, perplexed.

"Paul. I- I love him."

"Well duh."

"No, dumb fuck, I love Paul."

"Yeah, I know."

"You what?!"

Charlie pulled over sharply onto the side of the road. They hadn't even made it 5 minutes down the road, but that didn't stop her from turning the key in the ignition and jumping out of Dorothy. "C'mon, Boy-o, we're taking a detour." She said before shutting the door. Charlotte waited for Jacob to get out of her truck before locking it and walking past him into the forest.

Jacob trudged after Charlie as she marched through the forest. He wasn't sure how she didn't trip at this time of night, according to her truck's dashboard it was 4 am, and yet Charlie could navigate the forest as though it was midday and sunny. She walked until the road disappeared from sight, then walked some more. Suddenly, Charlotte came to an abrupt stop, forcing Jacob to take a step back in order to not run into her. He watched as Charlie sank to her knees and let out a guttural yell so loud it woke up the forest around them.

Jacob didn't know what to do when Charlie began sobbing uncontrollably. Charlotte always hated showing emotion in front of people she doesn't trust implicitly, and Jacob understood that to some extent. So he decided to sit on the soft earth beside her and wrap his arms around her, silently praying that this memory would be one that the pack was never privy to.

Charlotte had called her dad last night after Bella passed out on her couch to make sure he wasn't panicking over Bella's whereabouts, and to mention that she'd be dropping her sister off at school. So there she was, pulling into Forks High School's parking lot on a Monday morning, Best Damn Thing by Avril Lavigne blaring through Dorothy's speakers as she circled the lot for a place to park.

"You'd think people would get out of the way of such a huge fuck ass truck, but no," Charlie groaned, "they just oggle it and almost crash into my precious baby in the process" Tyler swerved to aviod the black elephantine mass of metal on wheels and Charlie flipped him off. Finally spotting a parking space, Charlie gunned the engine, knowing that some other snot nosed student would take it if she didn't. The person she happened to cut off was a very sickeningly familiar blond.

Charlotte couldn't help herself, she'd had a bad fucking night, okay? Besides, she was a bit of a tease. As Bella stepped out of the truck, she looked over to see her sister's door was open and Charlie was hanging out of the towering truck, shouting at the boy pulling in across from them.

"Hey, Newton!" She called, stifling a laugh as the blond spun around to face them and instantly paled. "I see you still have a nose! What a pity," She tutted, "I'll be sure to hit you harder next time you think it's a good idea to call me a whore." And with that, she flipped him off too, before swiftly launching herself into her beloved Dorothy and taking off in a squeal of rubber and Avril Lavigne's voice exclaiming she's "the best damn thing that your eyes have ever seen" at top volume over the roar of the V8 engine.

This was the Charlie the world saw. The Charlie that listens to music as loud as she can. Who wears what she wants when she wants to. The one that cuts her hair because someone tells her she should grow it out. Who doesn't wear lipstick unless it's an odd shade that pisses people off. The Charlie that got a tattoo when she was 16 without her dad knowing. The Charlie that gave society the middle finger at any and every opportunity possible.

Not the blubbering mess she was a few hours before, falling apart over stress and lack of sleep and being in love with her best friend. The Charlie that sobbed and snotted all over her sister's best friend in the woods at 4am. Who was carried back to her truck and driven to the Black's house by Jacob. The Charlie who poured her heart out to the only person around who could possibly understand. The one that greeted Billy with a tired, weary approximation of a smile. The Charlie that didn't say a word to anyone. Who took a nap on Billy's couch at 4 am.

People were horrible enough to her already, she didn't need them to see her like that. Because fuck Mike Newton and the horse he rode in on.