Running With Wolves

After Charlie had roared out of the school parking lot, Bella knew her wishes of a quiet morning were dead. Mike didn't know how to respond to someone singling him out in such a crass and violent manor, so he stood frozen in place as his face turned beet red. The rest of the students didn't know whether to watch Bella's reaction or Mike's. Charlie was like a hurricane, and the silence of her aftermath was deafening. Bella didn't want to deal with the chaos that would inevitably ensue once everyone's shock wore off. She quickly walked toward the building she had first period in.

Lunch was a trainwreck, as Bella knew it would be. She sat at her usual table in silence as Mike griped about her sister. "She's crazy, I swear. I didn't even call her that, why would I call the police chief's daughter a whore?"

"Because she is one" Lauren Mallory added snidely.

Bella was seeing red. How dare they think they could get away with calling her older sister a liar and a whore. Before Bella got the chance to speak, however; Angela called them out on their bullshit.

"Mike, I was there when you called her that, don't try to get out of this. And Lauren, really? He could've just as easily said the same about you, and regardless of how true it is or isn't, You should know better than to perpetuate that sort of hate against another woman. I thought you were better than that, so thank you for proving me wrong." And with that, Angela stood up swiftly. Grabbing her and Bella's lunch trays, she indicated with her head that there was a vacant table across the room they could sit at. Bella was quick to follow, knowing if she remained much longer she would likely explode.

"You can't stay here forever, Junior."

Fucking watch me.

"Everyone falls off of the fucking turnip truck, Billy."

"That they do. But they also get their asses back on the turnip truck and off my damn couch."

Charlie groaned, all anger draining from her in an instant. She still took her sweet ass time getting off of the couch. "Sorry." She grumbled, abashed.

Charlotte had gone over to Jared 's house after dropping Bella off yesterday, and was so exhausted she passed out on the nest of blankets she'd made for herself on the floor of his living room. Jared chuckled to himself when he registered the soft snores emitting from his friend.

Jared had let her sleep, and for once that's exactly what she did. Charlie was so drained that she slept through the entire day on the Cameron's living room floor in a pile of blankets and pillows. For once, her mind didn't torment her with endless nightmares, in fact Charlie didn't dream at all. The only reason Charlotte woke up before noon the next day was because Jared nudged her awake and handed her a plate of food he'd made for her before kissing her forehead on his way out the door for patrols.

Charlie wasn't willing to risk overstaying her welcome, so after quickly eating the breakfast Jared had made her and making a thank you note for him, she decided to walk over to the Black's house. She knew Jacob was worried about her after she fell apart in the forest, and knew he wouldn't be happy until he saw her for his own two eyes.

When Billy informed her of Jacob's whereabouts, mentioning that his friend, Quil, had phased and that he was somewhere in the forest trying to get him to phase back, she got grumpy. The irony of the situation served to piss her off further.

Thus Charlotte found herself laying on the couch and watching last week's episode of that new show 'Supernatural'. Under all the grouchy anger, she could admit that part of her really liked this show, and really hoped it got picked up for a second season.

Billy had come in after a few hours of Charlie hogging his couch and finally put his foot down, so to speak. He wanted his couch back, dammit! First Jake and his friends, then the wolf pack, and now this? He just wanted to sit and watch the game.

Charlotte was still cantankerous, but she understood where Billy was coming from.

She decided to go take a walk through the forest to clear her head before heading home to chase whatever girl Paul had screwed the night before out of the house. She knew how Paul worked, and he'd be upset at her for not coming home last night, so she knew he'd found someone to sleep with, because he liked to show he cared about her by pissing her off. He'd been this way since high school. And since those days, Charlie would always antagonise Paul, playing 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?' by Shania Twain on repeat. It was something she'd done since they were in high school. Typically it was meant as good natured teasing, but she felt as though this time might have a bit more accusation behind it than normal.

Putting her steel toe combat boots back on, Charlie trudged to the edge of the Black's property, letting out a long-suffering sigh as she set foot into the familiar woods.

Victoria wasn't sure how she'd never smelled the strange human she'd encountered in the forest. Even her target still had a distinctive scent, though it was dampened by the overbearing au de wet dog. She'd resorted to rifling through school records and student files in order to figure out who this young woman even was.

Normally she wouldn't bother going to such extremes, after all, who cares about one human having no discernable scent? But this human unnerved Victoria. The hunter's presence screamed 'Danger!' in a way no other human could, a way that no human should. Victoria found her to be almost as frightening as the enormous wolves the young huntress ran with.

Saying Victoria was surprised when she came upon Charlotte-Anne Swan, the silver eyed huntress that haunted her thoughts, wandering alone in the woods would be an understatement.

Charlotte had her back to the vampire, and was so deep in thought she didn't notice her hair standing on end until it was too late.