𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘚𝘐𝘟

(the cursed witch, act two)

THE MOTORCYCLES DIDN'T NEED TO BE HIDDEN ANY FURTHER THAN SIMPLY PLACING THEM IN JACOB'S SHED. Billy's wheelchair couldn't maneuver the uneven ground separating it from the house.

Jacob and Paul started pulling the first bike—the red one, which was destined for her—to pieces immediately. He opened up the passenger door of the Rabbit, his car that he had been working on, so she could sit on the seat instead of the ground. While they worked, Jacob chattered happily, needing only the lightest of nudges from her and Paul to keep the conversation rolling. He updated her on the progress of his sophomore year of school, running on about his classes and, of course, about Bella and his relationship.

Just then, a call echoed in the distance. "Jacob?" Someone shouted.

Nina looked up.

"Jake? Are you out here?" The shouting voice was closer now.

"Yeah!" Jacob shouted back and sighed. They waited through the short silence until two tall, dark-skinned boys strolled around the corner into the shed.

One was slender and almost as tall as Jacob. The shorter boy was more burly. His white T-shirt strained over his well-developed chest, and he seemed gleefully conscious of that fact.

Both boys stopped short when they saw Nina.

"Nina!" They smiled excitedly. It was Quil and Embry, Nina immediately recognized.

She lifted her hand to wave at them. "Hey, boys."

"So, what are you guys doing?" Quil asked, moving to shove himself in the small space beside the witch.

"Neens, Paul and I are going to fix up these bikes," Jacob explained. "She's going through a bad girl phase."

While the boys laughed, Nina rolled her eyes and threw a wrench in his direction.

"Hey!"

"What? I didn't throw it at you. I threw it near you."

While Embry walked over to examine the bikes, drilling both Paul and Jacob with educated opinions, Quil looked at Nina.

"What's this really about, witchy?"

Luckily, she saw that Jacob was still distracted. After a month of hanging around the reservation, she had told Embry, Sam, Paul, Emily and Quil about what she was. Jake was the only one that didn't know.

Natalie said she had to wait to tell him. Nina asked what for, but the woman only shook her head and said she would know when the time was right.

Nina hummed, shrugging her shoulders. "Nothing crazy. Just needed something to do to get me out of the house and out of Mom's therapy sessions."

She looked back and listened in on the three boys babble about the bikes. Many of the words they used were unfamiliar to her, and she figured she'd have to have a Y chromosome to really understand the excitement.

They were still immersed in talk of parts and pieces when she decided that she needed to head back home before Natalie showed up. With a sigh, she slid out of the Rabbit. Jacob looked up, apologetic.

"We're boring you, aren't we?"

"No." It wasn't a lie. She was enjoying herself—how strange. "Just gotta go before Mom gets worried."

"Oh...well, I'll finish taking these apart tonight and figure out what more we'll need to get started rebuilding them. When do you want to work on them again?"

"Could I come back tomorrow?"

Sundays were the bane of her existence. There was never enough homework to keep her busy. Although, on the plus side, she had become the top student in the school with how long she had begun to spend on her subjects.

Jake nudged Embry's arm, and they exchanged grins.

Paul smiled in delight. "That would be great!"

"If you make a list, we can go shop for parts," She suggested.

The boys all looked at her with unsure looks. "I'm still not sure I should let you pay for everything," Jacob sighed.

Nina shook her head. "No way. I'm bankrolling this party. You just have to supply the labor and expertise."

Embry rolled his eyes at Quil.

"That doesn't seem right." Paul shook his head.

"Paul, if I took these to a mechanic, how much would he charge me?" She pointed out.

He smiled. "Okay, you're getting a deal."

"Not to mention the riding lessons," She added.

Jacob grinned widely at Embry and whispered something she didn't catch. Pauk's hand flashed out to smack the back of Jacob's head.

"That's it, get out," He muttered.

Nina got out of the car, having to slide past Quil as she did so.

"See you tomorrow!" She called out as she walked out of the garage.

The witch chuckled softly as she walked back to her car, the distant sounds of the boys fighting fading the farther she got.

She beat Natalie home. When she got home, Nina was already cozied up on the couch with some old Disney movie playing whilst she ate a piece of leftover pizza.

The woman grinned at the sight, quickly changing out of her scrubs before joining her daughter.

"What are we watching?"

"Pinocchio," Nina replied, setting her empty plate on the coffee table before pulling the blanket back up to her nose. She was about twenty minutes into it. "Want me to put it back to the beginning?"

"It's alright. Not like we haven't watched this a million times already," Natalie teased, chucking knowing both knew the script off by heart.

"Did you do anything special today?" She asked after a moment, making Nina turn her head to meet her gaze.

"Hung out with Jake and the guys for a bit after work. They were all working on his car... the Rabbit, I think."

Natalie believed her. Shockingly. Maybe she really was getting better at lying.

"That's good. You know, I think Paul has a bit of a crush on you."

"Ew," Nina mumbled. "He's like a little brother that won't ever shut up."

The woman chuckled. "I guess so. No one's caught your eye, though? Maybe..." She paused, trying to think of the best way to say it. "Maybe going back out there might be a good thing."

Nina recalled her past conversation with Sam and Emily and her idea of having a rebound.

"I thought about it," Nina admitted. "I was actually going to ask Kit if he wanted to go see a movie but... I felt guilty every time I looked at him. Why should I feel guilty? It's not like I broke up with him."

Natalie opened her arms and brought her daughter to her side. "That's just the mate bond, honey. You aren't meant to be with anyone else. But, since you were paired with an absolute sparkly moron that clearly doesn't have a fully formed brain and can't form any sensible thoughts—"

"Mom..."

"Sorry, honey," She gave her an apologetic look. "What I mean to say is that this feeling of guilt you are feeling every time you think about moving on is only caused by the bond. You aren't meant to move on."

"So I'm screwed?"

"No," Natalie smiled. "It'll take some time, but it's very possible. You just have to keep trying."

"Sounds like a lot of work..."

"It will be. But in the end, it will be worth it." Natalie paused and glanced at the TV. "Now shush. We're getting to the good part."

Nina hit a new record for herself. She slept four hours that night. She felt more rested than she had in a long time. She didn't trust it to last.

She got dressed quickly, throwing on the first things she found. She was excited, almost. Excited that she would get to see the boys again. She hoped they would all be there again. Something about them made her feel at home, almost.

Maybe she wouldn't have to remind herself to look interested and to nod or smile at appropriate intervals, the way she had to with almost everyone else. Maybe...but she wouldn't trust this to last, either. Wouldn't trust it to be the same — so easy — as yesterday. She wasn't going to set herself up for disappointment like that.

At breakfast, Natalie was smiling. Nina could tell she was happy about her newfound sense of self.

"What are you up to today?" She asked, as she set down a plate of french toast in front of the teen before sitting herself.

"I'm going back to the reserve. Jake's still got a lot of work to do on the Rabbit and he said I could attempt to help this time."

"That's good." Natalie grinned suddenly, "Just don't get too close to the engine–"

"That was one time!"

The woman laughed, looking down at her food for a moment. "Well, have fun then, okay?"

"I'll attempt to," Nina nodded.

A few minutes later, Nina was pulling on her raincoat at the front door. She felt slightly nervous as she slipped her wallet into her bag, but pushed it down as she slipped on her boots.

Outside, the rain came down like water slopped from a bucket. She had to drive more slowly than she wanted to; she could hardly see a car's length in front of her. But she finally made it through the muddy lanes to Jacob's house.

Before she'd killed the engine, the front door opened and Embry came running out with a huge black umbrella. He held it over her door while she opened it.

"Natalie called—said you were on your way," Embry explained with a grin.

Effortlessly, without a conscious command to the muscles around her lips, an answering smile spread across her face. A strange feeling of warmth bubbled up in her throat, despite the icy rain splattering on her cheeks.

Leading her back to the house, he held the door for her before closing it behind him. Inside, Jacob, Quil and Paul were sitting at the table playing a card game that was quickly thrown to the wind when they saw her.

"So where to, my mechanical friends?" Nina grinned, sitting down on the empty chair at the table in between Quil and Jake.

Jacob pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and smoothed it out. "We'll start at the dump first, see if we can get lucky. This could get a little expensive," He warned her. "Those bikes are going to need a lot of help before they'll run again." Her face must not have looked very worried, so he continued. "I'm talking about maybe more than a hundred dollars here."

Nina only shrugged. "I've got it covered, don't worry."

It was a very strange kind of day. Nina enjoyed herself. Even at the dump, in the slopping rain and ankle-deep mud, that normally would have made her want to shoot herself.

The four boys were simply perpetually happy people, and they carried that happiness with them an aura, sharing it with whoever was near them. Nina laughed genuinely at the jokes they made, the playful taunts, and the fake boxing matches they got into. She imagined that was what it would be like to have siblings.

"This is a nice car you got, Neens," Embry commented as they loaded into the vehicle, three of them having to just about sit on top of each other in the backseat while Nina and Quil sat comfortably in the front.

"Yeah. Why's the stereo volume taped off, though?" Paul asked, fighting to move his arm against Jake's shoulders to point at it.

"I don't really like music now," She shrugged. "I like the quiet."

Paul frowned. "No, no. That can't be right. That sounds far too depressing." He fought once more to lean forward, his movement knocking Jacob into Embry, whose face then smashed against the window. Paul ignored it as he reached for the dial, ripping off the tape before turning the volume up.

Nina frowned when the sound of a familiar piano piece filled her ears.

"What's this shit? Sounds terrible," He muttered as he took out the DVD, handed it to Quil who placed it in a DVD case before he fiddled with the stations. "There we go! That's better, right?"

The witch chuckled at his taste in music. 'SexyBack' by Justin Timerblake sounded loudly from the speakers, but Nina couldn't hear it past the boys' terrible singing.

"Didn't realize you four were getting into acapella," Nina chuckled as they said the lines just about perfectly, adding on facial expressions.

"What else would we do with our free time, princess?" Quil laughed, "I'll let you whip me if I misbehave," He sang suddenly, cutting himself off.

Nina blushed and focused on the road. "Oh my god," She muttered.

The song faded soon enough and just when Nina thought they had calmed down, 'Don't Cha' by the Pussycat Dolls began to play. This wouldn't go well, she thought to herself when she heard them scrambling around in her back seat, most likely dancing to the lyrics.

"Don't you wish your ex boyfriend wasn't the Virgin Mary?" Paul sang badly, not at all getting the lyrics right. He must have talked to Bella at some point.

"Don't you wish your ex boyfriend was not pasty like Caspar?"

"Don't you wish your ex boyfriend had more than three brain cells?"

"Don't you wish your ex boyfriend had the ability to think things through?"

Nina grinned at all the direct hits toward the person she now called her ex boyfriend.

According to Jacob, they did get lucky at the dump. He was very excited about several grease-blackened pieces of twisted metal that he and Embry found; Nina was just impressed that they could tell what they were supposed to be.

After two hours of acapella, each song somehow adding a direct hit at the pasty vampire, they were at Checker Auto Parts down in Hoquiam. The time passed easily with the four boys who made it one of the most entertaining two hours of her life... Especially when they sang 'Man I Feel Like A Woman'.

During their time at Checker, the four boys bantered while Nina wandered through the store. After an hour or so, the boys found her parts in hand. They had found everything on Jacob's list and they felt confident they could make some progress.

The drive back to Forks was just the same as the way to Hoquiam, filled with terrible karaoke and bad attempts at recreating lyrics just to make a jab at the ex boyfriend they had all come to hate.

She hadn't forgotten the reason for what she was doing. And, even though she was enjoying herself more than she'd thought possible, there was no lessening of her original desire.

Nina still wanted to cheat. It was senseless, and she really didn't care. She was going to be as reckless as she could possibly manage in Forks. She refused to be the only keeper of an empty contract.

Getting to spend time with the four boys was just a much bigger perk than she'd expected. She was beginning to think of them as a second family, even. Though that thought had scared her slightly. She was terrified to let herself get attached again.

Billy wasn't back yet, so they didn't have to be sneaky about unloading their day's spoils. As soon as they had everything laid out on the plastic floor next to Jacob's toolbox, they went right to work, still talking and laughing while their fingers combed expertly through the metal pieces in front of them.

They worked quickly and were at ease through more than a few hours, though Nina had forced them to take a break by buying them a couple pizzas. She knew food would be the only way to distract them from the bikes.

The day passed too quickly. It got dark outside the mouth of the garage before she was expecting it, and then they heard Billy calling for them.

Nina jumped up to help Jacob put things away, hesitating because she wasn't sure what she should touch. "What the fuck even is this?" She muttered, holding up a floppy tool.

"It's a strap wrench, witchy," Paul told her from over her shoulder.

"Just leave it," Jacob said from the far side of the garage. "I'll work on it later tonight."

"Don't forget your schoolwork or anything," Nina told him, not wanting to be a bad influence on him. She didn't want him to get in trouble.

Jacob snapped the light off, but through the darkness she could hear the boys laughing, the sound guiding her to follow them.

"Are you gonna come back anytime soon?" Quil asked as they reached the witch's car.

Nina paused, holding the car door open as she shrugged. "Is tomorrow after school okay?"

They all nodded quickly, excluding Jacob, who had run inside the house to distract his father from looking at the garage.

The drive home wasn't terribly long. There was hardly any traffic, so Nina got home within 17 minutes. Through the drive, the absence of the rowdy boys had faded, which left Nina to flood in anxiety.

She knew for sure she wasn't going to get another four hours of sleep anytime soon.

Nina stayed up late. She sat uncomfortably at her desk, textbooks surrounding her as she worked on the history project Mr. Erikson had given out on Friday.

She planned out the essay longer than she needed to, scrolling through the textbook and marking any page she found that could be somewhat valuable. After four hours, when the clock struck 1am, she finished typing and had printed it off and shoved it into her backpack.

Sighing, she leaned her head against the desk. That was all the homework she had, which left her with absolutely nothing to distract her from the sleep that was trying so hard to overcome her.

Eventually, against her own will, she fell asleep in the chair, her head rested against her shoulder with her arms crossed.

Neither the sleep deprivation nor the time spent with the boys could keep the dreams away.

Nina hated herself for it. She hated that in every dream she saw him. She hated that she longed for it. She hated that when she watched him leave; she followed.

She woke up shaking, her limbs fueled by the familiar burn she had gotten used to once again. The blanket she had held to her lips muffled her sobs.

She waited for two hours before the sun started to filter through the fog outside her window. Through the burning pain of her magic, she felt an ache in her back and neck, most likely caused by the uncomfortable position she had slept in.

School was easy. She met Bella in the parking lot who had been alone, leaning against her truck as she wrote out something in her notebook.

"Hey, Bells." Nina greeted, trying to push down her nerves.

The human looked up quickly. "Oh. Jesus, Neens," She let out a heavy breath. "Morning."

Nina chuckled softly as she moved to lean beside her. "What are you working on?" She questioned, glancing down at the girl's notebook.

Bella stared at the notebook for a moment before looking at Nina. "French... I think. I can't read this shit."

The witch smiled as she pulled the notebook from her hand and glanced over at the words. "Definitely is French. I've got a free period today if you want some help with it."

Bella nodded quickly, "Please? Miss. Spades is killing me."

Nina remembered the first day she had come to Forks High School—how desperately she'd wished that she could turn gray, fade into the wet concrete of the sidewalk like an oversized chameleon. It seemed like she was getting that wish a year too late.

It was like she wasn't even there. When she walked through the halls, no one bothered to look. Even the teachers' eyes slid past her seat as if it was empty.

The first classes of the day went by quickly. It was nice having Bella around again. Nina really had missed her, and she honestly felt awful for pushing her so far away.

When her last class before lunch finished, Nina walked out and was met by the familiar human. Bella was leaning against the lockers across the hall with a grin on her lips.

"Are you gonna sit with us, or are you going to continue being a loner and sit outside like a serial killer?" Bella asked, linking her arm with Nina's before they started to walk through the hall filled with students.

"What?"

She shook her head. "Forget I said that. Come on," She pulled her into the cafeteria. "It's time for you to be social again."

"I don't like being social–" Nina groaned.

"Well, too bad! I don't care. I'll even sit between you and Kit to stop him from trying to kiss you."

By the time they reached the familiar lunch table, it was already full. Mike was there, Jessica and Angela, Tyler and Kit, and Austin Marks—older brother to the boy with the motor cycles—was next to him. Nina wondered how long he'd been sitting there, unable to remember if this was the first day or something that was a regular habit.

She was a little annoyed with herself. It almost felt like she had taken a four-month vacation and had only just come back.

When she sat down, their eyes all cast toward her but were quickly shot down when Bella glared at them.

"Where's Eric today?" Jessica was asking Angela. Nina remembered Bella mentioning they were still together, something that shocked both girls considering how Angela had felt about him the year prior.

"Eric's got the stomach flu," Angela said in her quiet, calm voice. "Hopefully it's just some twenty-four-hour thing. He was really sick last night."

Angela looked different. Her hair had changed, and she had grown out her layers and gotten a new pair of glasses.

"What did you two do this weekend?" Jessica asked, not sounding as if she cared about the answer. Nina figured that this was just an opener so she could tell her own stories. She wondered if Jessica would talk about Port Angeles with her sitting two seats away? Was she that invisible, that no one would feel uncomfortable discussing her while she was there?

"We were going to have a picnic Saturday, actually, but... we changed our minds," Angela said. There was an edge to her voice that caught Nina's interest.

Jessica, not so much. "That's too bad," She said, about to launch into her story. But Nina wasn't the only one who was paying attention.

"What happened?" Kit asked curiously.

"Well," Angela said, seeming more hesitant than usual, though she was always reserved, "We drove up north, almost to the hot springs—there's a good spot just about a mile up the trail. But when we were halfway there... we saw something."

"Saw something? What?" Kit's eyebrows pulled together. Even Jessica seemed to be listening now.

"I don't know," Angela said. "We think it was a bear. It was black, anyway, but it seemed... too big."

Jessica snorted. "Oh, not you, too!" Her eyes turned mocking. It was comforting to know Jessica hadn't changed. "Tyler tried to sell me that one last week. You're not going to see any bears that close to the resort."

"Really," Angela protested in a low voice, looking down at the table. "We did see it."

Jessica snickered. Mike was still talking to Tyler, not paying attention to the girls.

"No, she's right," Nina threw in impatiently. "We had a hiker in just Saturday who saw the bear, too, Angela. He said it was huge and black and just outside of town, didn't he, Mike?"

Nina wanted to fall into a sinkhole. There was a moment of silence. Every pair of eyes at the table turned to stare at her in shock. Nobody moved.

"Mike?" Nina muttered, mortified. "Remember the guy with the bear story?"

"S-sure," Mike stuttered after a second. She didn't know why he was looking at her so strangely. She talked to him at work... didn't she? She thought she did...

Mike recovered. "Yeah, there was a guy who said he saw a huge black bear right at the trailhead—bigger than a grizzly," He confirmed.

"Hmph." Jessica turned to Angela, her shoulders stiff, and changed the subject.

"Did you hear back from USC?" She asked.

Everyone else looked away, too, except for Mike, Kit, Bella and Angela. Angela smiled at the witch tentatively, and she hurried to return the smile.

"So, what did you do this weekend, Neens?" Kit asked, curious, but oddly wary. Everyone but Jessica looked back, waiting for her response.

"Friday night, Jessica, Bella and I went to a movie in Port Angeles. And then I spent Saturday and most of Sunday down at La Push."

The eyes flickered to Jessica and back to her. Jessica looked irritated. Nina wondered if she didn't want anyone to know she'd gone out with her, or whether she just wanted to be the one to tell the story.

"What movie did you see?" Kit asked, starting to smile.

"Dead End—the one with the zombies." Nina grinned in encouragement. Maybe some of the damage she'd done in these past zombie months was reparable.

"I heard that was scary. Did you think so?" He seemed eager to continue the conversation.

"Nina had to leave at the end. She was so freaked," Jessica inserted with a sly smile.

The witch nodded, trying to look embarrassed. "It was pretty scary."

Kit didn't stop asking her questions till lunch was over. Gradually, the others were able to start up their own conversations again, though they still looked at her a lot. Angela talked mostly to Mike, Kit, Bella and Nina, and, when Nina got up to dump her tray, she followed.

"Thanks," She said in a low voice when they were away from the table.

Nina looked at her. "For what?"

"Speaking up, sticking up for me."

Nina shrugged, trying to hold on to her smile. "No problem."

Angela looked at her with concern, but not the offensive, maybe-she's-lost-it kind. "Are you okay?"

This was why she had been slightly happy Angela had been busy Friday night–though she'd always liked Angela more. Angela was too perceptive.

"Not completely," Nina admitted. "But I'm a little bit better."

"I'm glad," She said. "I've missed you."

The witch smiled, finally not having to force it.