𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘌𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛

(the cursed witch, act two)

"OKAY, WHERE'S YOUR CLUTCH?"

Nina pointed to the lever on her left handlebar. Letting go of the grip was a mistake. The heavy bike wobbled underneath her, threatening to knock her sideways. She grabbed the handle again, trying to hold it straight.

"It won't stay up," She complained.

"It will when you're moving," Paul promised, sitting comfortably on the second bike.

"Now where's your brake?" Jacob asked.

"Behind my right foot."

"Wrong." He grabbed her right hand and curled her fingers around the lever over the throttle.

"But you said—"

"This is the brake you want. Don't use the back brake now, that's for later, when you know what you're doing."

Nina looked at him suspiciously. "Aren't both brakes kind of important?"

"Forget the back brake, okay? Here—" He wrapped his hand around hers and made her squeeze the lever down. "That is how you brake. Don't forget."

"Fine," She agreed.

"Throttle?"

She twisted the right grip.

"Gearshift?" Nina nudged it with her left calf.

"Very good. I think you've got all the parts down. Now you just have to get it moving."

Nina stared at him for a moment before she nodded, pushing away her nerves. She knew this would have to be dangerous in order to get what she wanted, what she craved.

She stared down the long stretch of dirt road, bordered by thick misty green on every side. The road was sandy and damp. Better than mud.

"I want you to hold down the clutch," Jacob instructed. Nina wrapped her fingers around the clutch.

"Now this is crucial, Nina," Jacob stressed. "Don't let go of that, okay? I want you to pretend that I've handed you a live grenade. The pin is out and you are holding down the spoon."

She squeezed tighter.

"Good. Do you think you can kick-start it?"

She glared at him. "I can hardly reach the ground sitting on this thing. Do you really think I can reach the kick-start?"

Paul chuckled from beside her, earning a middle finger from Jacob and a glare from Nina.

"Okay, I'll do it. Don't let go of the clutch." He took a step back, and then suddenly slammed his foot down on the pedal. There was a short ripping noise, and the force of his thrust rocked the bike. She started to fall sideways, but Jacob caught the bike before it knocked her to the ground.

"Steady there," He encouraged, though it looked like he wanted to laugh. Behind him, she could hear Paul giggling. "Do you still have the clutch?"

"Yes."

"Plant your feet as best you can—I'm going to try again." But he put his hand on the back of the seat, too, just to be safe. It took four more kicks before the ignition caught. She could feel the bike rumbling beneath her like an angry animal. Nina gripped the clutch until her fingers ached.

"Try out the throttle," He suggested. "Very lightly. And don't let go of the clutch."

Hesitantly, she twisted the right handle. Though the movement was tiny, the bike snarled beneath her.

Jacob smiled in deep satisfaction. "Do you remember how to put it into first gear?" He asked.

"Go ahead and do it," He told her when she nodded.

He waited a few seconds.

"Left foot, princess," Paul prompted.

"I know," Nina replied, rolling her eyes at him before taking a deep breath.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jacob asked. "You look scared."

"I'm fine," Nina snapped. She kicked the gear shift down one notch.

"Very good," Jacob smiled. "Now, very gently, ease up on the clutch."

He took a step away from the bike.

"You want me to let go of the grenade?" She asked in disbelief. No wonder he was moving back.

"That's how you move, Neens. Just do it little by little."

As she began to loosen her grip, she was shocked to be interrupted by a voice that did not belong to the two boys next to her.

"You promised not to be an idiot, Nina," The velvet voice fumed.

Nina gasped in shock, and her hand fell off the clutch. The bike bucked under her, yanking her forward and then collapsing to the ground half on top of her. The growling engine choked to a stop.

"Nina?" Paul had stood quickly and yanked the bike off of her with ease. "Are you hurt?"

But she wasn't listening. "I told you so," The perfect voice murmured, crystal clear.

Go fuck yourself, she thought to herself, looking up to see his familiar face. But she found herself unable to pull her eyes away from him. Just the sight of him made her heart feel whole again.

"Nina?" Paul shook her shoulder.

"I'm fine," Nina mumbled, dazed.

She was more than fine. His voice ran through her head like a delicate song.

Her mind ran swiftly through the possibilities. There was no familiarity here—on a road she'd never seen doing something she'd never done before—no déjà vu. So the hallucinations must be triggered by something else.... she felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins again, and she thought she had the answer. Some combination of adrenaline and danger, or maybe just stupidity.

Paul was pulling her to her feet. "Did you hit your head?" He asked, his hand reaching up to touch her face, trying to find any bumps on her skin.

Her eyes only moved when she saw him fade into the wind.

"I don't think so. I didn't hurt the bike, did I?" This thought worried her. She was anxious to try again right away. Being reckless was paying off better than she'd thought.

"No. You just stalled the engine," Jacob said, lifting the bike up and kicking out the kickstand. "You let go of the clutch too fast."

Nina nodded in relief. "Let's try again."

"Are you sure?" Jacob asked.

"Positive."

This time, Nina tried to get the kick-start herself. It was complicated; she had to jump a little to slam down on the pedal with enough force, and every time she did that, the bike tried to knock her over. Paul's hands hovered over the handlebars, ready to catch her if she needed him.

It took several good tries, and even more poor tries, before the engine caught and roared to life under her. Remembering to hold on to the grenade, she revved the throttle experimentally. It snarled at the slightest touch. Nina's smile mirrored Jacob and Paul's now.

"Easy on the clutch," They reminded her, voices in sync with one another.

"Are you trying to kill yourself? Have you seriously become that stupid?" His familiar voice spoke, his tone angry.

Nina smiled tightly. It was still working. She ignored him as she looked at Paul. The two boys wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, and if anything did, they would take her to a hospital.

"Go home to Natalie. Please."

"Ease off slowly," Jacob encouraged her as Paul moved out of the way.

"I will," Nina nodded. It bothered her a bit when she realized she was answering both of them.

Trying to focus this time, to not let him startle her again, she relaxed her hand by tiny degrees. Suddenly, the gear caught and wrenched her forward.

And she was flying.

There was wind that wasn't there before, blowing her skin against her skull and flinging her hair back behind her with enough force that it felt like someone was tugging on it. Nina was sure she had left her stomach back at the starting point; the adrenaline coursed through her body, tingling in her veins. The trees raced past her, blurring into a wall of green.

But this was only first gear. Her foot itched toward the gearshift as she twisted for more gas.

"No, Nina!" The angry, honey-sweet voice ordered in her ear. From the corner of her eye, she could see him watching her in horror. "Watch what you're doing!"

It distracted her enough from the speed to realize that the road was starting a slow curve to the left, and she was still going straight. They hadn't told her how to turn.

"Brakes, brakes," She muttered to herself, and she instinctively slammed down with her right foot.

The bike was suddenly unstable underneath her, shivering first to one side and then the other. It was dragging her toward the green wall, and she was going too fast. Nina tried to turn the handlebar in the other direction, and the sudden shift of her weight pushed the bike toward the ground, still spinning toward the trees.

The motorcycle landed on top of her again, roaring loudly, pulling her across the wet sand until it hit something stationary. She couldn't see. Her face was mashed into the moss. She tried to lift her head, but there was something in the way.

Nina was dazed and confused. It sounded like there were three things snarling — the bike over her, the voice that stood above her, and something else....

"Nina!" Jacob yelled, and she heard the roar of the other bike cut off. The motorcycle no longer pinned her to the ground, and she rolled over to breathe. All the growling went silent.

Nina opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she could see him standing above her. He was in the same suit she had last seen him in. He looked like an angel.

He stared down at her sadly. It looked like he was about to say something, most likely something condescending about her reckless acts, but he faded once again when Paul walked through him.

"Nina!" Paul crouched over her anxiously. "Nina, are you alive?"

"I'm great!" Nina smiled, as her vision cleared more. She flexed her arms and legs and was relieved when everything moved as it should. "Let's do it again."

"I don't think so." Jacob sounded worried. "I think I'd better drive you to the hospital first."

"I'm fine," Nina reassured them, sitting up.

"Um, Nina? You've got a huge cut on your forehead, and it's gushing... blood?" Paul informed her, though it sounded like more of a question.

Nina's hand hesitantly reached up to her head. When she pulled her hand away, she saw her fingers covered in a thick sapphire substance.

Her eyes widened as she looked up at the two. There wasn't really any way to explain this.

"Shit," She muttered. She had been so distracted she hadn't even thought over this possibility.

While Jacob stared at the strange coloured blood that coated her skin, Paul only sighed and ripped off a piece of his shirt before holding it tightly to her head.

"Come on. We'll take you to Sam's place. Emily can patch you up."

"I'm fine," Nina insisted. "It's just a little blood." She glanced at Jacob and she could see his mind running. For a moment, she was sure she would see steam running out of his ears.

"Just a lot of blood," Paul insisted. "I think you might need stitches."

Paul glanced back at Jacob and sighed. "Jake, stop thinking. Come here and help get her up before I tell Bella you let her only friend go on a death cruise."

Jacob straightened up at that. Bella would be pissed and would most likely throw a wrench at his head. Quickly, he moved to grab Nina's left shoulder while Paul grabbed her right, still keeping his shirt held tightly to her head. Together, they lifted her slowly, trying their best to be gentle.

When she was stable on her feet, Paul took one of the bikes back to get her car.

"Can I ask?" Jacob whispered. He had taken over Paul's position and was now holding the shirt to her bleeding face.

Nina sighed. "I'll tell you later. Can you just... make sure he doesn't take me to Sam and Em's? I wanna go home. My mom can stitch me up if I need it."

The boy stared at her for a moment. Paul was approaching steadily in Nina's car. He nodded then. "Okay."

Paul got out of the car quickly when he parked it in front of them and returned to the witch's side. "Help me get her inside," He ordered.

Jacob nodded, opening the passenger door.

Nina sighed. "I'm fine. You don't need to baby me."

Paul glared at her. "Nina. You just flung yourself in the air and a 300 pound bike landed on top of you. You're lucky you didn't crack your ribs."

"I know. But I didn't. I'm fine. Can I just go home?"

He stared down at her. Jacob was already in the driver's seat.

"You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I can have my mom take a look if I keep bleeding, okay? You should take one of the bikes home. You probably shouldn't just leave them here."

After a few more minutes of convincing, Jacob had begun to drive down the road and back onto the highway.

"Are you still okay?" Jacob checked as he drove down the winding road, the familiar cliff coming into view.

"Yeah." Nina convinced. "It's just a scratch, really."

"I'm going to disconnect your foot brake tonight," He warned her, earning a laugh.

"How bad is it?" She asked when they began to approach her house.

He glanced at her. "You look like hell. When you wash off the blood, it'll be better."

"But do I look like I tripped in your garage and hit my head on a hammer?"

Jacob shrugged. "Sure, I guess so."

"Good. That'll be my excuse for this."

He parked in her driveway behind Natalie's white Cadillac. "Natalie home?" He asked, and Nina nodded. She wasn't. Her car had been out of commission that week and she had been getting a ride from one of her work friends.

"How are you getting home?" Nina asked.

"I'm gonna stop at Bella's place. I'll probably just stay the night and have her drive me home tomorrow."

Nina nodded. "Good. Promise you won't tell her about this? I don't want her stressing—"

"About the fact that her best friend is going slightly crazy? Sure. I won't tell her," Jacob teased. "But if she asks, just know I'm terrible at lying to her."

"I'll tell her," Nina promised. "Just not right now. I've got some things I need to figure out first."

Natalie's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Nina's weak explanation about tripping.

"Do you think it might be best to just stay out of the garage altogether, Nia?" She asked later that evening over dinner.

Nina panicked, worried that Natalie might put down some sort of prohibition against her going to La Push, and consequently her motorcycle. But Nina refused to give up. She had seen him. He was right in front of her. She'd take all the pain in the world to see him again.

"This didn't happen in the garage," She spoke quickly. "We were hiking, and I tripped over a rock." It was very possible.

"You went hiking? Since when do you do that?"

"Working with Mike has rubbed off on me. He goes on and on every day at work about how amazing it is. And when you spend three days a week selling all the virtues of the outdoors, eventually you get curious."

Nina was surprised how well she had gotten with making lies, especially believable ones.

"Just be more careful, okay? And next time, call me right away. You're lucky you didn't need stitches... Who saw?"

The younger witch knew what she was referring to immediately. "Just Paul. But he already knows what I am." She left out Jacob. She didn't feel like being scolded. It would only make her pounding headache worse.

"Good."

"What exactly is this?"

"This is our date, that isn't actually a date," Kit explained with an easy smile as he led Nina down the main street of Forks.

"You're taking me on a date... here?" Nina glanced up at the building in front of her unsurely. "This is a library, Kit."

"Exactly." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up the large staircase leading up to the double doors. "Who would go to a library for a real date?"

He held the door open for her, smiling at the librarian before pulling her through the aisles of books.

"We could have just gone to see a movie, you know?"

Kit shook his head, "Nothing good's playing. All scary movies."

"I could deal with it–"

He sent her an amused look. "Deal with it by the popcorn machine, you mean?"

He got her there; she had to admit. She knew that would bite her in the ass one day.

"Fine. What books are we getting?"

Kit grinned widely. "I'm glad you asked–"

Time moved quickly. They did as much as one could do in a library. Worked on any projects their teachers had given them, chased each other through the aisles and earned amused glares from any workers, and read stupid joke books to each other.

Soon enough, the sky turned dark, and they were being kicked out by the 70-year-old librarian who was tired and wanted to go home early.

Shockingly, Kit hadn't even attempted to flirt with her. Though, he had admitted that Bella threatened to knock out all of his teeth if he tried anything when Nina questioned him. Once again, she'd have to thank the Swan.

It was a pleasant distraction from her inner turmoil. Kit was easy to be around when he wasn't looking at her like a sad puppy.

When they reached her car, Kit paused. His hands reached down to hold hers.

Nina took a quick step back. "Kit," She warned. "We can't."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Why not?"

Chewing on her bottom lip, she avoided his gaze.

"He's not coming back, Nina. You need to get over it."

"Kit... I just need some more time."

"It's been months, Nina. He left you. Not the other way around. You gotta let him go now."

Nina's eyes turned sad. Kit didn't seem to notice and if he did, he didn't seem to care.

"He probably never even loved you."

She couldn't meet his eyes. The words, although they were true, cut through her like a knife.

"I, um..." She trailed off, grabbing her keys. "I should go home. My mom said not to be too late–"

She unlocked her car quickly and walked around, only to be stopped by his hand grabbing her wrist.

"Nina–"

"It's fine." She pulled her hand out of his grasp. "See you at school, Kit."

From the inside of her car, she waited, watching as he got into his own car and drove off. She could feel the tears building up in her eyes, burning her.

She rubbed harshly at her skin, taking in heavy breaths before starting the car and driving down the familiar roads.

She didn't go home, though.

Knocking softly on the door, she stood in the pouring rain and waited. She was soaked by then. In the ten minutes it had taken to get there, the rain had turned from a soft mist to a heavy downpour, something that was ordinary in Forks.

The door opened soon, and a feeling of warmth flooded through her at the sight of them.

"Can I stay tonight?" Nina asked, her voice rough, the words shaking.

Nina was immediately pulled inside and into their arms.

"Of course you can, Neens."

The witch buried her head in their shoulder. "Thanks, Bells."

a/n

disrespectfully, fuck you, kit. no one likes you.