"Who have you been texting this whole time?"

Valeria quickly looked up from her phone to look at Angela. "I haven't been texting the whole time."

"Any time there's more than a five-second break, you're on your phone," Angela pointed out, smirking. "Even Jess has noticed. She's probably more concerned with finding out what — or who — has you so smiley and less concerned with winning the game."

"Well, they're gonna win, no doubt about it. It's the last game, they only need three points, and Jess is the one serving after the time out."

The Forks Volleyball team had made it all the way to the state championships in Spokane, and to show their support, Valeria, Angela, Mike, Eric, and Tyler had driven up to watch the final games of the tournament. They were playing a school from Pasco who was very good, but they didn't have Jessica Stanley on their team.

The captain was doing a fantastic job, and even when they lost the second match in the game, it was only by two points. Forks made up for it in the third match, which they certainly would win, as Jessica had the best serve on the team.

Valeria was having a great time at the game. Angela had painted Jessica's number on Valeria's cheek, and much to their embarrassment, Mike's entire face was covered in navy and yellow. Angela went for a more subtle approach, simply holding up a sign with Eric's assistance that said "Go, Jess! We love you!"

Angela had been right in her observations. When she wasn't cheering, Valeria was constantly checking her phone. And often, she'd open a new message with a smile on her face before quickly replying.

"You don't smile like that when your family texts you," she continued.

"I bet it's a boooy," Mike teased, dragging out the word.

"It is not a boooy," Valeria said back, glad she couldn't blush.

It was a boy, actually. It was the boy, Sam Uley. Valeria was very glad that Paul had practically forced Sam and her to exchange numbers. She had used it for much more than telling him when the cinnamon rolls were finished cooking.

Of course, they didn't text all of the time as Sam was busy running the pack and patrolling while searching for Victoria. And Valeria still had school and plenty of hobbies that left her forgetting to check her phone.

But after hearing she was leaving town and going to Spokane, Sam wanted to check in and make sure she was safe. Really, he knew there wasn't much that could harm the nearly indestructible vampire, and she wasn't even a full eight hours away from Forks by car — he could run there much faster if she was in actual danger.

The texting didn't stop after Sam initially checked in and told Valeria to let him know that she was safe. They kept talking, whether it was Valeria telling him something exciting about the game, or Sam informing her that Embry and Quil had done something stupid.

You'd think that Valeria's supernatural reflexes would be able to stop Tyler from snatching her phone, but she hadn't been paying attention to his movements. She turned quickly and frowned as he looked at her phone.

"Who is Sam with a blushing emoji, and why is he saying he missed seeing you today?" he asked, smirking as he raised an eyebrow.

Valeria quickly snatched her phone back before Tyler could look through any more messages — both the embarrassing ones and the supernaturally incriminating ones. "None of your business. Now pay attention. The time out is over."

While the game continued, Valeria made sure to keep her phone put away in her sweatshirt pocket, not trusting any of the boys to not grab it again. For a few minutes, they forgot all about Sam as Jessica scored the winning point.

Everyone cheered and ran out to the court to congratulate the players. Soon, they were receiving their trophies and changing before the long drive home. Instead of riding the bus back to Forks with the other players, Jessica opted for riding in Tyler's van with her friends.

It was in the van while Valeria was telling Sam that they were on the way home that she was once again caught.

"She's smiling again!" Eric called. "Tyler, grab the phone!"

"I'm driving, man," he said, scoffing.

Mike lunged across the back seat to try and grab Valeria's phone, but she easily slipped it under her leg and shot him an unimpressed look.

"Mike, you're a quarterback!" Eric shouted, shaking his head. "Those reflexes were pathetic."

"Why do we want Val's phone?" Jessica asked, turning to look at Valeria who was seated in the row behind her.

"Because she's got a boyfriend," Angela said in a teasing tone.

"No, I don't," Valeria insisted. "Sam is just a friend."

"If he was just a friend, you wouldn't be hiding the phone," Mike pointed out, smirking. Then he looked to Jessica, whose eyes were wide. "She spent the whole game texting this Sam guy."

Jessica, who thrived on gossip and boys, reached across the seat and grabbed Valeria by the shoulders. "Tell. Me. Everything."

"It's nothing—"

"Valeria Cullen, you have never once shown interest in a boy or girl," Jessica interrupted. "If you don't tell me, I will become relentless. I will terrorize you and your family in search of information. You will never get rid of me."

Valeria sighed and leaned her head against the headrest, shutting her eyes. "His name is Sam," she said, giving in.

"I already know that," Jessica said sharply. "Is it Sam Johnson? Or that eleventh-grader Sam Turner?"

"You guys don't know him. He doesn't go to school at Forks," she said, shrugging. "He's already graduated too."

"So, has he asked you out yet?" Jessica pressed. "Ooh, are you bringing him to Prom?"

"It's not like that."

"V, I was not joking about asking your family. I'll call Bella right now and get her to harass your siblings," Jessica threatened.

"Jess, you can't say anything about him to my family or Bella. Not even his name." Valeria knew all hell would break loose if they found out about Sam through Jessica Stanley.

"I smell drama", Eric said in a sing-y tone. Angela chuckled and pushed him back so that she could look at Valeria.

"Why can't we even say his name?" Angela asked.

"Our families just don't... get along," Valeria said, sighing. "At all. They can't know we're friends."

"Or more than friends," Eric muttered.

Jessica suddenly squealed, and everyone covered their ears. "This is just like Romeo and Juliet!"

"Babe, they both died in the end," Mike reminded her.

"Okay, without the death, obviously," Jess told him, rolling her eyes. Then she focused back on Valeria. "Actually, before you guys left and came back, Jasper was very creepy. What are the odds that he'd murder Sam if he found out?"

"Definitely not zero," Valeria said, making sure she said it in a joking tone. Of course, Jasper trying to kill Sam was still on the table, but her human friends didn't need to know that.

Naturally, everyone laughed, not taking her seriously. "Please, Rosalie is the one to worry about," Tyler told them. "She's super mean and protective about you, V."

Both Rosalie and Jasper had a different motivation for being so protective of her. Valeria had died in an unfortunately similar way to Rosalie, which was partly why Emmett felt a need to save her. Rosalie would always have a soft spot for her because of that.

As for Jasper, before gaining her gift of humanity, Valeria's control was horrible. He grew a strong connection with her while trying to help her adjust to a life of vampirism, and even after she got control, that bond remained. Valeria was like a little sister to all of them, but for Rosalie and Jasper, the relationship ran deeper.

Meaning that Valeria's friends really had to keep this to themselves.

"Okay, but like, is he hot?" Jessica asked, biting her lip and eyeing Valeria. "He must be super hot to be able to catch your eye."

"Perhaps," was all she said, biting the inside of her cheek.

"That means yes!" Jessica squealed. "Pictures?" Her smile turned into a pout as Valeria shook her head. "Fine. Describe him to me."

Valeria sighed as if she had asked her to do something incredibly inconvenient, which wasn't the case as they had a long car ride ahead of them.

"Well, he's tall and muscular — just as big as Emmett, really. Tan, dark hair—"

"Eyes?"

"He has them." The guys snorted at Valeria's joking answer while Jessica sighed. "Brown eyes. And I feel all warm when he looks at me."

"Oh my god," Angela said, giggling. "You so like him."

"It's not a big deal."

"Um, wrong." Surprisingly, it was Angela and not Jessica to point out. "The fact that me, Jess, and Bella all got boyfriends before you is wild. You're beautiful, sweet, and basically perfect."

"And yeah, you've got the whole attention span of a ten-year-old, but that's really more adorable than annoying," Jessica added, meaning it nicely. "I honestly thought I might die before this happened, meaning I will need constant updates in order to remain alive."

"Really?" Valeria asked, raising an eyebrow. "You'll die if I don't keep you updated on the nonexistent relationship between Sam and me?"

"Yes," Jessica said stubbornly, crossing her arms.

"I don't know, V," Mike said, putting his arm around Jessica's shoulder. "You say it's nonexistent, but considering your families are in a turf war—"

"I didn't say turf war—"

"Considering your families are in a turf war," Mike repeated only louder, ignoring Valeria, much to her amusement. "He's risking a lot to be just friends with you, so there's probably some feelings on his end too. I've seen enough movies to know about these things."

"They do call him the Master of Love," Eric claimed.

All the girls in the car scoffed at his words. "No one calls him that," Angela said.

"They totally call me that," Mike defended.

"Really?" Jessica asked. "Who is they?"

"They... are the people that call me the Love Master," Mike said, shrugging awkwardly.

"I thought it was the Master of Love?" Valeria asked, giggling.

"It's interchangeable," Tyler backed him up.

"Yeah. Interchangeable," Mike repeated, a smug look on his face. "Val, you can come to me anytime for advice about Sam, free of charge — for the first visit at least."

"Second time is half off," Eric added, grinning. "And you get a discount each time you refer a friend."

"Yeah, no, this sounds like a solid business venture," Valeria said, nodding. "I'll be sure to come to you with all my future love woes."

"You can thank me by letting me sing at your wedding," Mike told her.

"Yeah. Not gonna happen," she said in a flat tone.

"The wedding or the Mike singing?" Tyler asked.

Valeria laughed as she shook her head. "Neither, dumbass."

"Then I don't see what the harm is in promising Mike that he can sing at your and Sam's wedding," Eric mumbled.

She shared an amused look with Jessica and Angela before sighing. "Fine."

Mike perked up and leaned closer. "Really? You gotta say it. I gotta hear you say 'Mike, I super swear that you can sing at my wedding when I marry that Sam guy I totally didn't think I was gonna marry.' Say it."

Valeria glanced at Jess as if to say 'you could do better' before sighing once more. "Mike, I super swear that you can sing at my wedding when I marry Sam—"

"That Sam guy," Mike interrupted. "It's gotta be correct."

She rolled her eyes before continuing, and Mike mouthed the words along with her. "—that Sam guy I totally didn't think I was gonna marry."

"Yes!" Mike exclaimed, punching the air happily. "You won't regret this. You'll be old and reminiscing about how your best friend Mike serenaded you and your husband to Kokomo for your first dance."

"Woah!" Valeria said, putting up a hand. "No one said anything about the first dance."

"It was implied."

"I like how you chose to point out the first dance part," Angela said, "and not The Beach Boys song part."

Valeria shrugged, thinking of Alice, who no doubt already had Valeria's future wedding planned no matter who she married. "Really, I'm just picturing the horrified look on Alice's face at the whole tacky ordeal, and it makes it a little worth it."

"Um, I am not tacky."

☽︎

"Hold still."

"I'm not moving."

"You just took a bite out of that chicken leg, Jared!"

Once again, Valeria had found herself at the treaty line. It was there that she stumbled upon Seth, Quil, and Jared, two of whom Valeria had yet to meet.

Since arriving, Jared hadn't stopped devouring the huge bucket of chicken he had brought with him. Any time Quil or Seth tried to grab a piece, Jared would smack them and yell, ending with half-eaten chicken spat all over them.

Together, Quil, Jared, and Seth were a chaotic bunch. They were boisterous and constantly shoving one another. Valeria knew for a fact that adding Embry into the mix would make it even worse, but couldn't wait for the day to see them all interact.

Sam had told her that when Embry and Quil were together, there were lots of bets thrown around, usually on who would win in a fight. There may or may not have also been a bet going on between the two on when Sam would tell Valeria about being his imprint — he had hit them both on the back of the head and forced them to do two patrol shifts in a row after learning of it.

Valeria had come to the forest with her sketchbook and some soft pastels to work on a landscape, but found three new muses instead. The boys insisted that she draw them as they were much more interesting to look at than trees.

Quil and Seth had opted to pose with Quil shifting into his wolf form, and Seth sitting on top of him. Jared lazily sat on the ground and leaned against Quil's legs while continuing to eat his chicken.

"But if I stop eating, I'll starve," Jared whined childishly, his mouth full.

"Jared, you've consumed at least two full chickens since meeting me," Valeria said as if he needed reminding.

"Don't you have super speed? Paint faster."

"You can't rush perfection," Valeria said, turning her nose up. "Move out of the way, and I'll just draw Quil and Seth. They're behaving and deserve a nice portrait."

"No," he whined, pouting. "I wanna be in the family portrait."

"Then stop eating and moving," Seth told him. "You'd think you were the one with the short attention span."

Quil huffed before quickly moving his head. In a second, he had the bucket of chicken between his teeth. Then he reared his head back without warning, causing Seth to almost fall off, before throwing the food off into the trees where it disappeared.

Jared watched it go with a defeated look on his face. "My chicken," he mumbled sadly.

"I'll give you money for twice that much chicken if you let me finish this," Valeria said, giggling. "Jared, it was literally you who begged me to draw you guys instead of the land. C'mon."

"This better turn out way nicer than the drawing that Sam has stuck to the refrigerator," Jared said, going back to leaning on Quil's legs.

A small smile overtook Valeria's face as she worked on Seth's hair. "He stuck it on the fridge?"

"Yeah, and that little note you sent the muffins in," Jared told her, snickering. Quil then kicked Jared, per Sam's request.

The Alpha of the pack was on patrol with Jacob and overheard that embarrassing detail spread by his second in command. Then he watched how Valeria shyly looked down, her smile getting a little wider at the information.

"You wouldn't have to be embarrassed if you'd just, I don't know, tell her," Jacob thought snarkily. God knew if Bella had been his imprint, he'd have shouted it from the rooftops for all to hear.

"Uh, maybe because they're enemy species, and if her family found out they might break the treaty or run away with her," Quil stated in his head. "Plus, he's trying to romance her."

"Sam hasn't done any of the romancing," Jacob pointed out. "Seth made first contact. Paul got her number. Embry set up the drop off schedule for Sam to meet her at the border every few days to receive baked goods. Everyone but Sam is romancing her."

"Well, I can't really flirt when one of you dumbasses is always around," Sam said, scoffing. He knew that Jacob was just teasing him though. They all knew that Sam had spent many afternoons sitting with Valeria alone at the treaty line. Whether she was painting or working on homework or exchanging stories with Sam, it was time well spent.

Valeria's favorite moments had been when Sam told her old stories about his ancestors that he grew up on. They weren't all necessarily stories about the spirit shifters — some were bedtime stories his mom would tell him. He'd finish one of his stories and ask for a story about growing up in Puerto Rico in exchange, eager to know everything he could about her.

Sam loved listening to Valeria tell stories simply because she was horrible at it. She'd start off by describing her summers at her Abuela's house and seeing her first movie in a theater but then veer off on a tangent about how movie theaters needed a better butter system in order or get all the popcorn covered in butter. Then, of course, that got her thinking about the first Harry Potter movie which then led to the show Glee somehow and the story ended with her telling Sam how Rachel Berry was the worst.

"Wait, what were we even talking about?" Valeria had asked, tilting her head and giving him the most adorably confused look.

Sam had simply smiled back, finding the way she so easily jumped from topic to topic without meaning to quite endearing. "The first time your grandmother took you to a movie."

"Oh! Right, so she didn't want to pay for the—"

Jacob bumped into Sam to get his attention once more. "Seriously, just tell her. She might not even say anything about it to her leech family."

"I'll tell her," Sam said more to himself than anyone else. "Eventually. When the moment's right."

Unfortunately, the Alpha wasn't aware of the growing newborn vampire army that would arrive in the coming weeks. That certainly would ruin all future moments to come.

And Embry would lose out on the betting pool.