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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄

"𝐎𝐇, 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄, 𝐋𝐈𝐙! Please?"

"Absolutely not."

"You're being unreasonable."

"I'm being unreasonable?"

"Yes! You are being so unreasonable."

Liz turned toward two trainers trying their hardest not to laugh at their patients bittering with raised brows. "Do you guys think I'm being unreasonable?"

Antonio and Shawn both replied at the same time. "No."

Nolan turned to them in disbelief. "Seriously guys? Where's the support?"

Liz rolled her eyes and sat up when Antonio was done stretching out her leg and turned to the curly haired male struggling to hold his legs up with his hands with Shawn there for support. "There is no way in hell I'm going to go to my sister and tell her I got her a stripper for her bachelorette party. Not to mention he is nineteen years old and the only thing he'd be able to do is take off his shirt."

"Have you seen me without a shirt?" Nolan boasts his own ego, lifting his black tee to reveal his hard abs. "I may be young but these babies say otherwise. Plus, I am nineteen, so it wouldn't be illegal."

Liz turned to her trainer with pleading eyes. "Tony, help a girl out."

"Hey, leave me out of this." Antonio says, patting the blonde on the shoulder. "Good work today, kid. It's looking like you might not have to wear that brace all the time soon if you keep this up. Just don't go falling out of any more windows."

Liz tried not to flinch at the lie she had to tell a few months back when she was attacked by James. Instead, she managed a stiff nod and a forced smile. "Right. I'll definitely be more careful."

Antonio just gave Liz a fist bump before walking towards the trainers locker rooms. Liz took a deep breath, turning her head only to see Nolan was now back in his chair and rolling up to her. "It's the wheelchair, isn't it?"

Liz couldn't help but chuckle. "What?"

"You don't want me to be a stripper for your sister's bachelorette party because I'm still in this damn wheelchair."

Liz scoffed at his ridiculousness. "You are insane, do you know that?"

Nolan blinked once. "Yes. You still haven't answered the question."

Liz wanted to strangle him. No, what she wanted to do was get into a time machine and go back to the day she agreed to befriend this lunatic. Because he lived all the way in Seattle, the only time the two saw one another was at physical therapy. The two have been texting back and forth and have even talked on the phone about nonsense. Then the next time the two saw one another, Nolan kept his promise and brought in a bag of milky ways, which were devoured in less than three days.

They mostly talked about sports and their shattered dreams, but it was becoming another friendship Liz didn't expect. She had even gone as far as to invite him to the wedding, but unfortunately he had to decline seeing as he can no longer drive at the moment and his mom has been working double since his accident.

"Reed, if I wasn't afriad Ester would murder me if I hired you to strip at her party, then you'd be more then welcome. But Ester just isn't into that stuff. I mean, her idea of crazy is renting the fancy private area at McClairin's, drinking wine and playing silly games and eating the best food in the state of Washington."

"Wow that sounds..."

"Boring?"

Nolan shrugged innocently. "I was going to say interesting but yeah, boring works too."

Liz chuckled and got up from the mat. "I need to go. Ester is picking me up any minute."

"Didn't take the motorcycle today?" Nolan inquired curiously.

"Couldn't. Ester and I are going to meet up with Danny to get a Christmas tree."

"You guys haven't gotten your tree yet? My mom had our tree up and decorated on Halloween night." Nolan comments, earning a questionable look from the blonde. "She's a Christmas freak. The house always smells like gingerbread and we always have eggnog in the fridge. It's like Santa's village threw up in the Reed household."

A wave of jealousy went through Liz, as his description sounded very similar to the past Christmas' with her parents. It was a bittersweet feeling. "I think our mom's would have gotten along." Liz states sadly, before shaking her head to get the thought out. "I have to go. Text me. Call me. Whatever the hell you feel like."

Nolan just chuckled to himself and wheeled towards the front desk as Liz headed towards the front doors. "Later, Chambers."

"Peace out, Reed."

Liz pushed the glass door open and was immediately hit in the face with freezing cold air. It has snowed a few times but was washed away by rain each time. The roads were extra dangerous because black ice was the worst, which is why Liz actually listened to Ester for once when she told her not to take her bike anywhere.

Just as predicted, Ester was waiting out front just like she said she would. Liz moved quickly towards the silver Dodge, swinging the door open and sighing happily at the warmth blasting through the vents. Ester smiled at Liz warmly before pulling out of the parking lot. "So, how was PT?"

"Great. Tony said I'll be able to take this brace off soon. Well, when I'm not going for long walks or anything."

"That's amazing," Ester beamed, keeping her eyes on the road.

Liz only let the silence fall between them for a couple seconds before she broke it. "Are we meeting Danny at the house or at the garage?"

Ester gripped the steering wheel and shifted in her seat. "Actually, we are picking him up at Sam's house."

To say Liz was surprised would be an understatement. "Oh."

The situation revolving around Danny and his werewolf transformation has been a very touchy subject in the Chambers/Black household. Last week, Liz had discovered that there are actually shape-shifting werewolves. It was a surprise, yes. A big surprise actually and she wondered what other supernatural creatures are out there that she doesn't know about. But Liz likes to believe she handled it well. It wasn't the first supernatural reveal she has had to deal with. And it made sense since the tribe legends were correct about the Cullens. Why couldn't there be werewolves whose soul purpose in existing is killing vampires?

But the person who did not handle it too well, the one who was oblivious to the realities of this world up until a week ago, was the oldest Chambers sister.

Liz thinks about Ester's reaction to it all on a daily basis. Why? Well, because Liz doesn't think she has ever laughed so hard in her life.

Liz knew Ester wasn't going to believe it. Even when she was threatening Danny that she was going to tell her if he didn't do it himself, she knew Ester was going to think Liz had simply lost her damn mind. So when Danny sat Ester down to explain everything, Liz being right there in order to back him up, Ester's laughter was very predictable. She has always been a very realistic person. She always thought Billy's stories of the tribe legends were just that. Cute, made up, silly stories.

Sure, she let Danny explain himself before she bursted out into histeria. He told her that everything she has heard about the tribe legends were true, that the reason he ran out of the house that day after being bedridden with a fever was because he felt like his insides were about to explode. He ran to his father's place on the verge of shifting for the first time. He told Ester how terrified he was, how he didn't know what was going on. And when he did phase, it was the worst feeling in the world.

He told her that Billy had contacted Sam who immediately came with the others and helped him calm down enough to phase back. He told her that he couldn't risk being around her when he was a loose cannon, despite the others claiming he was probably the one with the most control after having the gene triggered out of all of them. It was still a risk, one he was too scared to make.

Danny had stopped for Ester to say something. Anything. But the oldest blonde just sat there on her couch, staring at him with her doughy eyes, blinking at him to process everything. Liz swears Ester sat there in silence for a solid two minutes before she exploded in fits of laughter.

It was uncontrollable. Ester was practically rolling on the floor, wondering who put them up to it. Liz did her best not to join in, knowing that this is a natural reaction because it was very ridiculous to the rational mind. When faced with the impossible your mind tries to rationalize the situation with logic. And Ester was not one to believe in the impossible.

That is until Danny had to go with plan B. He took his fiance to the backyard, which wasn't much of a backyard since the house was surrounded by woods, and he phased right in front of her.

Now since this was Liz's first time seeing the transformation, she was a bit startled by the enormous rusty brown wolf that appeared where her soon-to-be brother-in-law once stood. Liz did not know what to expect, but he was twice the size of a regular wolf. He almost towered over both of them. Liz had felt her heart pick up, that's how amazed and a tad frightened she was.

But it wasn't nearly as bad as her sister's reaction. Liz can still hear the echo of Ester's scream. It was so loud and high pitched that their closest neighbor had called them a little later to make sure everything was alright. It was one of those horror movie kind of screams where the survivor girl finds the first dead body. Liz is surprised she didn't shatter one of the windows on the house.

Then Ester attempted to run away. That's where it got interesting. Because she didn't make it far before she slipped on mud and slammed to the ground, hard. There was a loud thump and everything.

That is when Liz started her own laughing fit.

It was seriously something you had to be there to see and definitely something she regretted not getting on video. Liz didn't care how much of a serious moment it was. Seeing Ester land on her back and laying there covered in mud... it was priceless.

Thankfully Sam was there to help her up because Liz had clearly been incapable. She could barely stand, she was laughing so hard. But it seemed to piss Ester off so much that she forgot about her fiance turning into a gigantic wolf long enough to tell Liz to shut up. Of course, Liz didn't because the scene just kept replaying in her head and after confirming that Ester was alright, she had to excuse herself inside in order to calm herself down.

Danny had phased back and was trying to calm Ester down, but the oldest Chambers sister was so freaked out that she went to get cleaned up and have a few minutes to herself. Afterwards, that is when the three of them finally and truly talked, Sam had left to give them some privacy to work everything out.

Danny explained everything and this time, Ester believed every word. Liz had to chime in to confirm everything he told her, especially when it came to vampires. Now that was something that really startled Ester, especially about the Cullens which Ester immediately began questioning Liz. The younger blonde told her sister everything, how she just found out about Danny and the others but she knew Jasper was a vampire as well as their family for a while.

Then Danny explained about the imprint. Liz didn't totally understand it all. Apparently it's something a wolf does when they meet their soulmate after their wolf gene is triggered. Danny told Ester that the minute he saw her, slapping him and yelling at him, he knew. He has always known she was his soulmate way before phasing for the first time, the imprint just confirmed what he has known since he saw her on that roof at that party.

Ester needed time. She basically told both Danny and Liz that she will be back, ditched work and went out to the bar with one of her friends and got pretty wasted. Danny, who worried that Ester was not going to handle this well, basically spent the whole night waiting for her to come back. Ester didn't come home until three in the morning when she stumbled into the house with the help of one of her bridesmaids, Bianca who had watched out for her and passed her off to Danny. She drunkenly called Danny her soulmate just as he picked her up and carried her to bed.

The next morning, everything was right again. Sort of. Liz woke up and found the two love birds in the kitchen, hugging and kissing each other's faces off. It made Liz happy to see, knowing that two people who are meant to be managed to make it work.

That doesn't mean Ester has fully accepted her new reality nor has she stopped asking as many questions about it. Being around the other guys in Sam's 'pack' is still very strange for her, but Ester's comforted knowing that she knows two of them. Sam because Danny has always been pretty good friends with him even before shifting and then Paul, because Ester has always viewed him as a little brother despite his and Liz's fall out.

"I'm fine, Liz." Ester stated after a moment, making a left turn.

Liz shook her head. "I didn't say anything."

"I've accepted it all." Ester once again stated firmly.

"I know you have."

"So what if my soon-to-be husband turns into a giant wolf or that there are vampires roaming around or that my sister dated one?" Ester stated, letting out an uncomfortable chuckle. "I've totally wrapped my head around the fact the world I live in isn't what I thought it was."

"I never said you didn't." Liz mumbled, knowing this was going to be another one of her 'interrogations' as Liz so kindly likes to call them. 

"Good." Ester breathed out and then the car went quiet once again. Liz changed the station to get it off the Christmas songs and waited, because she knew Ester was nowhere near finished. She only had to wait two minutes before Ester turned to her. "Do you mind me asking something about the Cullens?"

Liz froze. That is not what she expected the older blonde to say, seeing as how Liz had managed to keep all the questions about the Cullens and the fact she knew she was dating a vampire very, very brief. Especially when the pack had even tried to get more information on what she knows about them. Liz didn't say anything to them. In fact, she told them to go screw themselves. The Cullens are a sore subject for her, Danny knows that more than anyone.

Besides, she was not about to spill their secrets to them. She just... couldn't.

Ester basically got all of her information on the vampire subject from Danny and the others in the pack. But Liz knew Ester was dying to ask Liz more but respected her wishes, knowing how Liz felt on the subject. This is the first time Ester truly asked if she could question her about it.

After a long pause, Liz leaned back into her seat and kept her eyes glued to her fidgeting hands on her lap. "Depends... what do you want to know?"

"I just..." Ester trailed off, trying hard to find the right way to word this. "I'm still in shock if I'm being honest. And you know me, I try to gather all the information I can so I can understand it better."

Liz pinched the bridge of her nose, frustration shooting through her. "Please just ask your question, Ester."

"How did it work?" Ester inquired, her voice soft as she made a right turn. "I mean, you and Jasper. How did that work?"

Liz didn't respond right away. She wasn't surprised by this question, because Ester had asked Danny it when they thought she went up to bed the other night, but Danny said he doesn't understand it. Ester knows that the Cullens were different. That they did not hurt people and Liz had given out information about how they drank animal blood and not human. Ester knows all about the treaty, as does Liz which actually explains a lot when she thinks about it.

When Liz didn't reply, Ester sighed. "Lizzie, I'm sorry. I know it's such an insensitive question. I just... Danny and the others have talked nothing but horrible, horrible things about vampires. How they are soulless monsters. I just don't understand how you can knowingly date one of them, whether they are 'different' or not."

Liz finally turned to look at her sister. "When you first met Jasper, what did you think of him?"

Ester was taken back. "W-What?"

"Erase the fact that you now know he is a vampire and all those horrible things the pack has told you about them. Think back to when he first introduced himself to you. What did you think of him?"

Ester's mouth was ajar in surprise as she stammered to find the right words. "I-I guess I thought..." She paused, letting her shoulder sag a bit. "I thought he was a nice and handsome man. A gentleman too, with polite manners."

"You are right. He is all those things and more." Liz informed her sister in a whisper. "He is more than that to me, Ester. He made me feel alive at a time where all I wanted to do was die. Emmett, his brother, he's the reason I'm even a senior this year. When you forgot my birthday and I thought my friends had too, they took me out of school and made sure I had an amazing birthday. And against my objections, Alice bought me that outfit I wore on my first date with Jasper, the one you loved so much. They did so much and more. Now, does that sound like soulless, heartless monsters to you?"

Ester pulled into the dirted driveway outside of Sam's place and put the car in park before looking over at Liz. She did her best to remain emotionless, trying not to let herself break from bringing up all these memories just so she can prove a point.

Finally, Ester shook her head softly. "No. It doesn't. But-" Ester hesitated.

"But what?"

"But why did they leave? Why did Jasper break your heart like he did?"

Only one answer was suitable for this question. The memory of Bella's birthday party. Of her getting that stupid paper cut and Jasper losing control and Liz being stupid by trying to calm him down. The memory of their fight outside the firehouse and then her breakdown outside their abandoned house. It was all because of one reason and one reason only.

"Jasper and the Cullens are not monsters." Liz tells Esters, swallowing the lump in her throat. "They are cowards. That is why they left. Things got hard, and they gave up. He gave up on us."

"Liz-" Ester tried to say but Liz turned up the radio on the station and then crawled into the backseat, just as Danny was now jogging towards the vehicle. Ester dropped the subject because she wasn't about to mention the fact that Liz had used present tense in her argument and not past. Instead of 'he was more than that to me', Liz said 'he is more than that to me'.

But Ester sure as hell wasn't about to point that out.

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𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 her intense migraine could occur, it had to be in the middle of her sisters bachelorette party. One that, as the maid of honor, she had to organize and host. The medication is barely working and she feels slightly light headed, but Liz has always tried not to let this piercing pain affect her and she was not about to do it now.

It was December 20th, meaning not only is there two weeks until the wedding but there are five days until Christmas. It was currently snowing out, but thankfully McClairin's restaurant had a warm fireplace burning in the room, beautiful white lights everywhere.

Everyone was here, even Rachel and Rebecca Black who had flown in last night just for this. They will be staying for Christmas and until the wedding. Pretty much all the legal adults were working on their second bottle of wine, Ester at the end of the table wearing a stunning short white dress and matching white heels. Liz had even bought a short veil for her to wear, clearly not the actual one she is wearing at the wedding.

Liz felt a little depressed that she wasn't having more fun. She had planned this whole thing, with the help of Bianca and Lola with setting everything up. If it wasn't for her head pounding, she knows she would be counting the time until the actual fun part begins, something Liz had talked to all the bridesmaids about earlier this morning about the best game they were going to play. Ester has no idea, she thinks this was it. Drinking, laughing, and eating food.

Gosh she can be boring sometimes.

Right now, they were playing 'How well do you know the bachelorette?' Liz handed out the printed papers she made up a few days ago and gave everyone pens, while Ester eagerly waited for the five minute timer to go off.

"Oh come on!" One of the bridesmaids, Lola, complained from the end of the table. "How the hell are we supposed to know your middle name if you never told us?"

"It's always been a big dark secret." Bianca added.

"It was never a secret," Ester mumbled, sipping her red wine.

"Well, just know that because you've been so reluctant to tell anyone, I took a guess and put something ridiculous." Lola stated firmly. Liz looked over at her older sister who just shrugged innocently.

"You know what, I'm doing that too." Said Bianca.

Ester giggles. "Take your guesses, ladies. Only one of you will get it right."

Liz chuckled, clearly knowing she was referring to her and completed the questionnaire. "That's alright. I definitely do not know your drink of choice nor who the hell was your first kiss. I don't think you ever told me that."

"Oh, I know! I know!" Bianca raised her hand eagerly.

Lola immediately slapped her arm. "Then write it down."

"You all are better than us. I think the only thing Rachel and I got right was how many siblings Ester has and how did the groom propose. I don't even know how you two met." Rebecca explains, putting her pen down with a sigh, her twin following in suit.

"I honestly can't wait to read all of these." Ester giggled.

Liz stood up as soon as the timer went off. "Pens down everyone and pass the papers to me." As Liz collected the paper, she put them to the side and turned back to the group. "Alright. Those are going to be looked over by Ester who will reveal the winner at the end of the night. But now, we have to get into the best part of the night."

"Uh oh," Ester chuckled, clearly a bit buzzed from the whine. "This sounds serious."

"Oh it is. Ester Chambers, before this night is officially over you must complete this entire list." Liz pulled out the fancy paper she printed out earlier this week when her Nana gave her this idea. "It's time for the scavenger hunt!"

All the girls cheered but Ester who was wide eyed in confusion, but not upset. "What?"

Liz leaned down to her older sister and grinned. "You thought we were going to sit on our asses all night? Oh, Ester, Ester, Ester. Do you not know me at all? When have I ever been known to sit still for long periods of time?"

Ester rolled her eyes but the smile never left her face. "What about when you have one of your movie marathons?"

Liz thought about it briefly. "That's a different story. Now would you like to read the list or shall I?"

Ester looked at the paper being dangled in her face before looking at the other girls who were all basically jumping from excitement in their seats and Ester sighed and snatched the paper. "Give me that."

"Alright. Rules are simple. The bride-to-be must complete everything on the list but if she wishes to pass the task off to one of her bridesmaids, then whatever bridesmaids is picked must complete the task. The bride only has three passes. Each task is worth five points and for each task the bride fails to complete, must take a shot and a point is deducted. If the bridesmaid she had picked fails, the bride must take her shot."

Ester was laughing as she read over this scavenger hunt list. "Lizzie, where in the world did you come up with these tasks? Find a man with the same name as the groom and take a picture with him? Announce something embarrassing to a room full of people? Get marriage advice from a stranger on a napkin? Get carried across the threshold of a bar by a stranger? Lizzie!"

"Blame Nana!" Liz informed with a bright smile. "She is the one who came up with most of the tasks."

Ester raised her brows questionably. "Nana told you to put 'ask a stranger for a condom' as a task?"

"No, of course not." Liz brushed off, grabbing her water bottle. "That was my idea."

"Elizabeth!" Ester squealed, just as all the girls cheered and basically dragged Ester out of the restaurant where a limo was waiting for them. The bride-to-be skids to a stop and turns to Liz. "Where the hell did this limo come from?"

"It's from all of us." Liz says gesturing to the bridal party. "We all chipped in. Well, my half came from Nana since I do not have a job and because she determined you have an amazing time."

Ester shook her head in disbelief. Bianca immediately went to the limo and opened the door. "Well, come on now! We can't disappoint Nana!"

Being in a limo surrounded by rowdy, loud drunk twenty year olds did not help the agonizing pain in her head. Basically they went to two different bars and have completed almost everything on the list. Ester had already used her three passes so the rest she was forced to complete on her own.

Bianca was forced to get the condom from the stranger because Ester was way too shy, even drunk and Bianca was more than happy, and had even gotten the man's number so things were looking up for her. Kaylie, Ester's friend from nursing school, unfortunately had to get a lap dance from the first guy willing for a whole song. She was clearly uncomfortable and not happy about it, seeing as the guy willing was very drunk and kind of smelly.

Rachel got the next pass, but was strangely more than happy to do it seeing as she had to announce an embarrassing moment that happened to her. She got on top of the pool table in the middle of someone's game and got everyone in the bar to be quiet so she could tell them that when she was a freshman in high school a boy she liked was asking her to prom that she was so nervous and excited that she ended up puking on his shoes. Somehow that got her cheers and everyone did a shot.

Liz was having a very hard time keeping up. All the other girls were now clearly plastered and having the time of their lives while Liz felt like the entire room was spinning and she is the only one who hasn't been drinking.

When Ester was trying to find the oldest guy at the bar to ask to dance, Liz slipped out of the door, desperately needing a break from all the madness. The cold winter air smacked her in the face, causing the blonde to immediately regret not grabbing her sweater that was hanging on the back of her chair at the bar. The blonde moved down and took a seat on one of the benches, leaning her elbows on her knees and resting her head in her hands.

Everything was spinning. The pain had escalated to the point where she wanted to claw her own eyes out. It was excruciating. She hasn't had one this bad in a couple months. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and pass out, screw being the hostess and only sober chaperone. All she wants is to take another pain pill, place a cool washcloth over her eyes and attempt to get some sleep. She was so over tonight.

If things couldn't get any worse, one of the car's alarms started blaring obnoxiously loud. It did not help at all and when Liz looked up, all she saw was a car flashing lights, but nobody was around that could have set it off. Liz stared at the vehicle in the parking lot, before scanning the lot. The sound of the door to the bar opening caused her attention to turn, and she saw some guy running out to clearly shut off his car.

Putting her head back in her hands, Liz tried her best to ignore the freezing air and focus on the fact that this night was almost over. Once Ester completes the list, she is calling it a night forcing the driver to take them all home.

Footsteps sounded heavily behind her. They sounded like they were coming right behind the bench but when Liz turned to look over her shoulder, no one was there. Twisting around both ways, Liz felt a shiver run down the spine of her back when no one was around.

Something was wrong.

Liz didn't know what or how, but something was definitely off and she immediately became alert and aware. Liz got to her feet and once again scanned the whole parking lot and the tree line behind her. Her instincts and years of watching horror movies told her to get the hell out of there and go back inside. But before she could really listen to her logic, something caught her attention in the dark tree line. Something that rattled her bones to the core and made her knees quiver.

Far in the distance, was a figure with long, fiery red hair and a pair of crimson red eyes that basically lit up the darkness.

Liz felt like she might be hyperventilating, she was frozen in pure fear. "Victoria."

"Liz?" A voice said from behind her and Liz basically jumped out of her skin. Turning, she saw Kaylie standing there, staring at her curiously and strangely, the least drunk out of all of them. "Is everything alright?"

Liz immediately turned back to the tree line but she was gone. Or was she even there? Was Liz's lack of sleep and migraine messing with her head? The last she heard, Victoria had long since disappeared. Jasper said as long as he and their family was there, she and Bella wouldn't have to worry. But they left.

Does Victoria know this? Am I hallucinating? What if it was all in my head? But... what if it wasn't?

"Liz?" Kaylie called out again, and Liz shakingly took her hand and pulled her towards the bar.

"Let's head back inside, please."

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Long chapter! Hope you guys liked it!

Next chapter will be Ester and Danny's wedding day! And that means after that, the three months fill in gap is now over and this story will now get back to following the New Moon plot. So, things are going to get interesting! I have plans!

(Secretly can't wait for the return of Jasper. It's gonna be messy with his return but I just miss writing him.)