XIV. La Push.

I returned to my table after Edward had abruptly walked off. The three boys at our table had run off once again, leaving me with just Jessica and Angela. We ate in silence for the shortest seconds after the boys left, Jessica practically trembling in her chair as she waited to ask the question. I also waited for her to ask. I just knew it was coming the second I sat down at the table.

She pushed her tongue around the inside of her cheek as she turned to face me, not even bothering to hide her grin. "So what were you and Edward talking about?" She asked as she raised her eyebrows.

I light-heartedly rolled my eyes at her, a small smile tugging at my lips. "I invited him to La Push," I replied with a shrug of my shoulders, stealing one of the cookies I had gotten for Angela.

Her smile grew and she shifted her whole body in her chair to face me completely. Her food was now completely forgotten in the face of gossip of her friend's relationship with one extremely difficult boy. "What did he say?" She asked curiously.

I rolled my eyes again, filled with annoyance towards Edward Cullen. "Apparently, it's a little too crowded for him," I replied, raising my hands and making air quotations with my fingers as I said crowded.

"A little crowded?" Jessica repeated as her eyebrows furrowed and her head tilted to the side. "It's always quite there." She added softly and I sighed as my gaze fell down to my salad, picking at it with the plastic fork.

Angela glanced at me, eyebrows furrowing. "Maybe he just doesn't like the beach." She suggested softly as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe he just doesn't like me," I replied, and even saying the words stung a little. I glanced over to the Cullen's table, finding Edward staring at me with slightly furrowed brows. I looked away again as I pursed my lips. "I don't know."

I felt confused. He made me sit with him at lunch, walked with me to class, rescued me from the awkwardness of Mike Newton and his bloody finger, drove me home, and spent a few hours with me. But going out to the beach with me and my friends, that was pushing our friendship a little too far? If he didn't like the beach, he could have said that, not make up a lie, not that I could talk much about lies. 

Maybe I needed to rethink spending four hours in a car with Edward and his mood swings.

"You're the first person, who isn't one of his siblings, he has spoken to this much since they moved here." Jessica sided with Angela, both seemingly coming to Edward's defense. "I mean he's made you sit with him so much this week and he drove you home yesterday." She added as she briefly pointed her finger towards me.

"Maybe try and invite him somewhere else," Angela suggested as she offered me another cookie with a smile of pity on her lips.

"I don't know," I huffed softly as I accepted the cookie, eating it with pouted lips as I stared down at the table. "He's been so moody half the time we talk," I said and my gaze drifted towards the Cullen's table. Edward was staring in nothing particular, but he had a small smile playing on his lips.

"Yeah, he really does have that whole brooding thing going on," Jessica muttered as she followed my gaze, her eyes landing on Edward, whose small smile was not replaced by a thin line of his lips. "It's kind of hot." She added absentmindedly and I scoffed in amusement as I rolled my eyes. It was hot from afar until you had to sit through lunch with that attitude.

Angela shot Jessica a pointed look. "Aren't you and Mike like a thing?" She questioned as she quirked an eyebrow.

Whatever Jessica and Mike were nowadays, no one knew. They weren't even sure what they were. They weren't dating or anything close to that serious, but there was a lot of flirting since he agreed to go to the spring dance with her. I kept to myself that he wanted to ask me. I wouldn't ruin this for Jessica.

"Well, I can still find other guys hot," Jessica replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "I mean you'd be crazy not to find any of the Cullen's hot." She defended herself and I shrugged my shoulders at that. Couldn't argue with her there.

"Jess." Angela lightly scolded her as she shook her head.

"What?" Jessica whined as her eyebrows furrowed and she huffed. "I mean, even Doctor Cullen is hot." She argued as she waved a dismissive hand towards Angela. Again, I couldn't argue with her there. Their whole family were Greek Gods.

"Jess." Angela scolded with another pointed look before turning towards me with a small smile on her lips. "Just try and invite him somewhere else, Stas." She suggested.

"There's more to do in Port Angeles," Jessica added as she finally remembered her food and dug right back into her salad. "Invite him to the movies or something." She suggested as she shrugged her shoulders.

My head tilted to the side as I stared at my two friends, a small smile spreading onto my lips. "This really feels like you guys are trying to set me up with the guy," I muttered as I blinked at them.

"Prom is around the corner, you need a date," Jessica informed me as she took a few bites of her salad before looking up at me with a stern look. Jessica could excuse the spring dance but not prom. She'd drag me there in my pajamas if she had but I was going to prom.

I looked at her with a deadpan look on my face as I pursed my lips. "Prom is not around the corner," I replied with a shake of my head.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Fine, prom is around the next corner." She corrected as she shrugged her shoulders.

I chuckled softly and shook my head at her, just as the bell rang. "I have to get to class," I replied as I picked up my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. "See you guys after school," I said before grabbing my tray and walking away, disposing of it before going to class.

The rest of the day passed rather quickly. Angela came home with me so that we could drop off my truck and then Mike and Jessica came to pick us up with Mike's mom's minivan. Eric drove with Tyler and we met the two at the La Push beach.

It was windy and cold and the water was rough. I sat on the back floor of Tyler's van, next to Angela, watching as the rest loaded out the surfing gear. As they went off to the bathrooms to change into their wetsuits, me and Angela stayed.

"Hey Stas, do you want to walk with me?" Angela asked as she pulled her camera out of her bag. "I want to take a few pictures down the beach." She said as she pointed towards the sandy shore.

"Yeah," I replied with a nod of my head, climbing out of the van. We closed everything but kept all unlocked on the relatively safe beach. It really was quiet, with only a few kids from the reservation wandering around. Crowded my ass.

We wandered down the beach, walking along the water as Angela snapped a few pictures of everything "I've been thinking of asking Eric to the spring dance." She muttered softly as we came to a stop near some big boulders.

"You should ask him." I encouraged her with a nod of my head, offering her a small smile.

She pursed her lips, her gaze falling down to the sand beneath her feet. Her eyebrows slightly furrowed and doubt filled her facial features. "Do you think he'd say yes?" She asked softly as her gaze turned to me.

"Of course, he'll say yes, Ang." I insisted as I hooked my arm in with hers and she huddled a little closer to me as a cold breeze blew over the beach. "Stop underestimating yourself." I lightly scolded her as my eyebrows furrowed.

"Won't it be weird though?" She asked softly as we slowly made our way back towards the vans, arms still linked and still huddled together for warmth. The long-sleeved shirt and hoodie I wore quickly became useless against the weather.

"No," I replied with a shake of my head. "Girls are supposed to ask the guys." I reminded her before coming to a stop and turning to face her. "Look, take control. You're a strong independent woman." I insisted.

"I am?" She asked softly as she raised her eyebrows.

I chuckled softly and briefly shook my head. "Yes, you are, Ang," I replied, nodding my head and offering her a smile. "Come on, let's go back to the vans." I insisted, nudging her before turning to walk again.

By the time we returned, so did the rest. Tyler was already running off to the water with his surfboard while the rest fixed their suits. They seemed a little less experienced than Tyler and I believed Jessica now that Eric had only stood up on a foam board one time.

I sat on the floor of Tyler's van once again, with Angela sitting on the passenger seat, helping Jessica tie up the back of her suit. I had a wool blanket wrapped around me, watching the three get ready for their surf. I felt cold just thinking of them in that water. Whether I liked the cold or not, I wouldn't be caught dead in that water in this weather.

"Ana!" Jacob called out as he approached me and my eyebrows furrowed in surprise. Two of his friends were following behind him. Just like Jacob, they had tanned complections and long black hair. The three boys greeted my friends before their attention turned to me.

"Jacob, hi." I greeted him with a smile, waving at his two friends who returned a wave. "You stalking me?" I playfully asked Jacob as I raised my eyebrows, my smile growing a little.

"You're on my rez, remember?" he reminded me as he sat down next to me on the floor of the van and his two friends stood in front of us. "You surfing?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow as he nodded his head towards the rough waves crashing onto the sand.

I shot a quick glance at the water before turning to him, shaking my head. "Oh, not a chance in hell I'm getting in that water." I denied, wrapping my blanket a little tighter around my body and he chuckled.

"Keep her company," Jessica spoke up as a smile tugged at her lips and she glanced between the three long-haired boys. "Her date bailed." She added.

"He's not my date, Jess." I replied as I shot her a pointed look that clearly read 'Please shut up' in the nicest way possible and even Angela elbowed Jessica in the side to quiet her.

"What date?" Eric asked curiously as his eyebrows furrowed and behind him, Mike stared at me with furrowed eyebrows, his face close to turning into a scowl.

"She invited Edward." She replied, ignoring both my and Angela's previous silent pleas for her to be quiet. She was lighthearted about it though, just teasing me.

"I was trying to be polite." I defended myself as I shrugged my shoulder, leaning my head against the opened slide door of the van, my lips pursed as I felt all eyes on me.

"I think it's nice she invited him. No one ever does." Angela defended me as she also shrugged her shoulder and I glanced to the side, giving her a thankful look as we shared a small smile with each other. One thing about our quickly blossoming friendship, we'd always have each other's back.

"Because Cullen's a freak." Mike snappily replied to Angela's statement of Edward never being invited anywhere.

Something inside me, deep inside my chest, did not like Mike's words or his tone of voice. I insulted Edward all the time. But I was allowed to because he was my friend; sometimes. And sometimes he was an annoying asshole and I had a right to feel angry with him. Mike had no right. He didn't have a right to call Edward a freak. He was annoying and a bit of an asshole, admittedly he was weird and confusing, but he wasn't a freak.

One of Jacob's friends scoffed in amusement, glancing at Mike over his shoulder. "You got that right." He agreed with Mike as a grin tugged at his lips.

A strong urge to defend Edward filled me. "Yeah, and you guys are jerks." I snapped at them, shooting a glare in both boy's direction. From the side of my eye, I could see Jessica and Angela share a small smile at the fact that I defended Edward.

While Jacob's friend remained unapologetic for his feelings towards Edward Cullen, Mike turned to me with a slight frown. "Sorry, Ana." He muttered softly, but I knew the apology wasn't all that sincere.

"It's still the truth." Jacob's friend muttered with a roll of his eyes and Jacob's leg shot out, lightly kicking the long-haired boy in front of him.

My eyes squinted at Jacob's friend. "You know him?" I asked as my head tilted to the side and my eyebrows furrowed.

"The Cullens don't come here." The boy responded with a shake of his head, not really answering my question directly but answering it in some way I guess. My eyebrows furrowed at his words. Maybe Edward's reason wasn't really just because the beach was crowded.

I turned my head towards Jacob. He'd give me answers, I was sure of it. "Jake, you want to go for a walk?" I asked as I pushed my blanket off my shoulders and climbed out of the van. "Look at tide pools?" I asked as I nodded my head towards the beach. Jacob was all too eager to come with me as he climbed out of the van and followed me.

----

I love Ana and Jacob's friendship in book 1!!!

Do not worry, there's not gonna be a love traingle between Ana, Edward and Jacob. It's more of one sided feelings because Ana only has eyes for one sparkly boy. There's alos no imprinting on children, so don't worry.