Cherry Blossoms

C5

Cherry glared from Jacob's room window  at the rain that poured buckets full outside .

There would be no bonfire tonight that was for certain . She'd been looking forward to it as the sky had grown gradually darker .

Yes she'd been to bonfires before , but this one was going to be different . Jacob had told her that the council  of Elders were going to be there and they were going to share old legends .

She'd heard some of these legends before from Billy and even old Quil Ateara when she was just a little girl running around with Jacob and her other friends on the dirt roads of the reservation .

Old Quil had always been like a grandfather to her , letting her sit on his knee and giving her sweets .

Harry Clearwater was like Billy , another father figure ,that she adored to bits .

Now with this rain there was no way that she was going to be seeing them .

" I called Sam to take you home ", Billy's quiet voice  coming from the doorway brought her out of her thoughts ," he'll be here in five . Better get your coat ,Cherryldene ".

Billy sometimes called her by her full name ,no one else did . She didn't mind . It warmed her heart that someone remembered her as Cherryldene ,rather than Cherry .

" Thanks ,Billy ", she said softly and he gave her a quick nod before wheeling away .

She watched him go before grabbing her coat where she'd discarded it earlier when she'd entered Jacob's room .

A full five minutes later she sat stiffly beside Sam as he steered the truck down the muddy roads of La Push .

He hadn't spoken to her  when he'd helped her into the truck .

The silence wasn't the usual silence that came with their everyday interactions . No . It was different . Awkward even .

To make it more awkward was the fact that she had this weird urge to move closer to him . To touch him and feel his warmth .

That's why she sat stiffly . She was fighting the urge .

She hadn't forgotten her blunder of earlier when she'd hugged him intentionally .

He hadn't hugged her back which was to be expected . She hadn't given him the chance to even lift his arms ,let alone get a hold on her .

The truck suddenly lurched as it slid over the slippery road, causing her to hop and fall sideways against Sam who gripped  the steering wheel tightly struggling to keep the truck steady .

He shot her a quick worry filled  look, but saw that she wasn't hurt .

He was thankful that she fell against him and not forwards against the dashboard .  Atleast his arm was something soft that couldn't injure him .

His body tensed up when she  picked  herself up ,but didn't move away from him . Instead she cupped his bicep with both hands holding onto him for dear life .

Cherry felt him tense up ,but didn't care as she felt his heat seep into her skin , warming her cold hands and gradually her whole body .

For one silly moment she wished that the drive wouldn't end . That they could drive on forever so that she could hold onto him .

She understood that what she was doing was dangerous . He was older than her by far and probably more experienced than her , but she didn't want to let go . She didn't care that he was older . She didn't care that she was just a stupid fifteen year old girl who was still wet behind the ears .