CHAPTER 18
FACE PUNCH

JENNY had been bouncing on the back of her heels for several minutes. She waited by the door, looking out the window with the blinds pulled up. The pizza she ordered was supposed to have arrived five minutes ago, and Jenny was just so impatient that she had to wait by the door, sniffing around in an annoying fashion like an animal.

Margo had been watching her aunt with an annoyed stare before settling back into the couch. Jacob sat to her left, trying to keep his eyes focused on the TV while Margo was talking about the stupid busywork she had to do that day for the school's secretary, Mrs. Dooley. Jenny invited Jacob over for pizza that Thursday night, but it seemed that all she was paying attention to was the minutes ticking away until their food arrived.

All of the sudden, Jacob muted the volume on the television. Margo turned to her boyfriend and lifted a brow. "Can I ask you something?" He asked, facing her on the dark blue couch.

"Yeah, what's up?" Margo placed her elbow on the edge of the couch, leaning her forehead on her fist.

"Do you know much about Bella's ex?"

Margo's brow shot up again. She didn't feel like sitting so casually anymore, so she opted to sitting up straight. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words fell out. Knowing that he struck a nerve, Jacob clarified, "You know, that Cullen guy –"

"No, I know who you're talking about." She interrupted, putting out her hands to stop him. Margo paused. "Um – well, he was a weirdo."

A smile tugged at the edges of Jacob's lips. "I'm pretty sure someone could say the same about you."

"Watch it," she replied with a pointed finger. Margo then sighed, thinking over what she could exactly tell her boyfriend. Definitely not anything about her stupid mystery last year. That embarrassment would stay with her to the grave. "I mean, I know as much as you know. You said he was part of the cold ones and that scary story. He and his family disappeared at the beginning of senior year. None of us know why. I don't even think Bella does."

Jacob frowned, rubbing a hand over his mouth. Margo wanted to ask if something happened, or if Bella was okay, but Jacob was already answering her questions. "She froze today when I asked about him. I guess I can understand now." He looked at Margo, noticing her face twisting as to why they were together when Bella was supposed to be in class. "I think she left school early today so we could test-ride the bikes. Didn't go so well."

"What?!" Margo huffed angrily. "She left before our chemistry class to ride a bike?"

"Even worse than that," Jacob continued. "She got hurt. Busted her head open when she fell off one of the bikes. It happened so suddenly that I couldn't stop it. We took her to see your aunt at the hospital."

Jenny finally turned from the window on their door, releasing the shade. She nodded quickly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, yes. Stitched her right up." Before Margo could ask about it more, a pair of headlights flashed in the window beside Jenny. She threw her hands up. "PIZZA'S HERE!"

•••

After Jacob left, Margo realized that she totally forgot about studying for her Shakespeare test coming up in two days. She had planned on fiddling through flash cards that night, but had forgotten when her boyfriend made an appearance. Once she took a quick shower, Margo sat down at her desk and flipped through her flash cards for the test. However, as droplets of water from her wet hair hit the paper, she found herself growing frustrated, especially because she felt like she wasn't retaining anything. Jenny was already asleep, so she couldn't help her study either.

Deciding that she shouldn't be studying at eleven PM anyways, Margo sighed and walked to the bathroom. She shook out her wet hair again with a towel and combed through the damp strands. She then brushed her teeth quickly, making herself tired as she thought about her warm bed. When she spat out the excess toothpaste and washed out her mouth with water, Margo retreated to her room.

She sighed as her feet pattered softly back to her small bedroom. Margo placed her pillows in a comfortable position again and flipped up her comforter. She noticed her bedside lamp was still on, so Margo stepped over and reached out to turn it off. When she yanked down on the switch, she saw the dusk-covered forest outside her open window.

And then she saw the big golden eyes staring at her through the screen.

Margo shut the screen of her window with a slam, but the eyes were still staring at her. The form outside was large, with thick, black fur like a bear. It looked to be as tall as a horse, and its eyes shifted once they made contact with Margo's. She quickly pulled down her curtains in front of her window and threw herself into bed, noticing that she was breathing heavily.

She tried not to think about what she saw that night. It looked like a bear. It very well could've been a bear, but bears weren't that big. Nor did Margo ever hear of them heaving large, golden eyes. As Margo pulled her covers up to her chest, she tried to still her beating heart by shutting her eyes. Once again, she would try to ignore the scary quirks of her town. Everything was utterly normal, and she just had to get that through her brain.

If only she could make herself believe that.

•••

When Margo received a call from Bella Swan a few mornings later, she expected anything but Bella asking her to go on a movie date with her that evening. Margo had scratched her head, silently groaning at the thought of spending a Sunday night as the third wheel to Bella's date. "What are we even going to see?" She asked.

"Face Punch," Bella answered quickly. "A lot of people are coming, but I promised Mike I'd drive him there."

Margo's mouth had fallen open. "I am not –"

"You can even bring Jacob, if you want to!" Bella cut in, her tone turning to worry. "Please, don't make me go to this alone."

And thus, here Margo was, standing outside of the only movie theater in Forks. Somehow, she was able to drag Jacob there in her minivan. She tried to ignore the dark hue engulfing the town, which reminded her of the jet-black animal she saw outside her window last night. The brisk cold caused her to hug her arms around herself, because even her puffy jacket couldn't stop a shiver running down her spine. Jacob stood close to her, hanging an arm over her shoulders, as Mike Newton paced in front of them with worry. His face looked pale, and Margo found her eyes narrowing at his sickly expression. They waited for the rest to arrive as Bella paid for a group set of tickets.

"So Face Punch, huh?" Jacob began, turning his head towards Mike. "You like action movies, Mike?"

Mike cleared his throat. "Not really."

Jacob tried not to stifle a smile. "I heard it sucks. Bad."

Margo elbowed her boyfriend in the side, continuing to eye Mike's worried face. He started to sweat profusely. "You alright there?"

"Yeah, yeah," Mike nodded, "I'm fine."

"Well, you look kinda sick," she pointed out. Jacob looked away to hide his grin. "Why are you even here anyways without your girlfriend? Shouldn't you have came with her?"

Mike stopped his pacing to send Margo a glare. Before he could snap an ugly reply, Bella walked over to them from the ticket station, holding a set of papers in her gloved hands. "Jessica bailed," she sighed. "Angela got the stomach flu, so Eric's taking care of her. It's just us four."

"Great," Margo sneered, nudging Mike with her elbow as hard as she could.

Mike felt the impact in his side. He winced momentarily before muttering, "Awesome."

•••

Margo didn't realize how cringy action movies could be until she saw such an under-developed film like Face Punch. She was usually into funny and cringy movies, much like her favorite Scary Movie series, but this was just ... god awful. "Put your gun down, or I'm gonna blow your freakin' head off!" A character on the screen shouted. Margo held a hand to her mouth, trying to hide her cringing as she sunk lower in her seat.

To her left sat Jacob, with an arm hanging over her chair. On Margo's right was Bella, hugging her arms around herself as she noticed Mike's hand was out, waiting for her to take it. Mike stared at the screen with a slightly bored expression, but he almost seemed uncomfortable too. Margo looked out a bit, watching Mike's fingers dribble as they waited for Bella to take them. She couldn't believe that Mike wanted to hold Bella's hand when everyone knew that he was currently seeing Jessica. Margo wasn't the biggest fan of Jessica Stanley, but even she knew that was a dick move.

After not being able to endure the movie any longer, Margo leaned over to her boyfriend and whispered, "Wanna get some popcorn?"

"I never thought you'd ask," Jacob replied.

As a car was driven through a building in the movie, Margo and Jacob carefully slipped out. However, Bella's mouth dropped when she noticed her friends had sneaked out. Hopefully, they'd still be outside the theater when the movie was over. Her friends wouldn't just ditch her with Mike Newton, who wouldn't put his stupid hand away.

Margo held her jacket in one arm and a large bucket of popcorn in the other. She threw a piece at Jacob as they sat down on a set of stairs by their theater. "Now this," she said, "is so much better than that horrible movie."

"I saw you cringing," Jacob chuckled. "I feel bad we left Bella there though."

"Well, hopefully, she follows our lead." Margo grabbed a handful of popcorn and poured it in her mouth.

Jacob moved closer to her on the plastic step to eat the buttered snack. He laughed slightly at his girlfriend stuffing her face. "God, that Mike guy seems like such a marshmallow. Bella needs to start hanging out with guys who laugh at the gore that makes weaker men sick."

"Not everyone can be like you, Jake." Margo replied, nudging him with her arm. The lights above them flickered, but they thought nothing of it. The building was old, after all. "We've had beef since I told him I liked him in sophomore year, and he completely rejected me. Any chance that I can make his life a living hell is excellent for me."

Jacob laughed loudly. "What a moron," he replied, grabbing one of her hands instinctively. Jacob looked at her starry-eyed, dazzling at her sudden awkward expression. He watched her look down to move hair out of her face, but Jacob did it for her, reaching out to place a strand of light brown behind her ear. "Every time I look at you, I feel ... so lucky that we met."

Margo blinked quickly. "I'm sorry, I probably just looked like a crazy person." She used her free hand to rub at her forehead. "I've never done this before, or felt ... I don't know."

"Neither do I," Jacob said, accompanied by a laugh. "I know it's only been a few months, but ... I think – no, wait. Let me start this over." He shook his head, looking down at his feet. "I think I'm sort of –"

Margo cut him off, simply because she was smart enough to know what he was going to say and she wanted him to save it for when he knew, not thought. She lifted their conjoined hands to his cheek and asked, "Why are your hands so warm?"

Jacob furrowed his brow. "Uh –"

"I mean, they usually are, but –" She placed their hands on his forehead, feeling the radiating hotness over his eyes. "God, it feels like you have a fever or something."

Jacob released her hand, feeling his forehead as Margo set the popcorn bucket at their feet. She was right; his head was burning like a fire. Suddenly, every part of his body was warm. He could practically feel his blood pumping through his skin, but he was then distracted by two people coming into their view.

Bella and Mike appeared by the staircase, with the male rubbing at his mouth. Bella frowned and balanced on the heels of her shoes. "Mike needs to go home," she sighed. "He got sick just now in the bathroom. He might have the bug that Jessica has."

Mike nodded from Bella's side, earning a glare from Margo. "Maybe it's your karma for going on an almost-date without the girl you're supposedly seeing," she muttered.

"Hey, I heard that," Mike snapped, pointing to Margo. "Maybe you should keep your long, pimply nose out of my business. Not everyone wants to hear what you think." Both Margo and Bella's mouths dropped. Mike's blood-shot eyes shifted to Jacob. "Why are you looking at me like that, kid? What's your problem?"

Jacob snarled, "Right now, you're my problem." He stood up fast, moving close to Mike. "You don't talk to my girlfriend like that, buddy. If you're feeling sick, maybe you should go to the hospital. Want me to put you in the hospital for that back-hand comment?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Margo exclaimed, stepping up to Jacob and holding him back. He was younger, but much taller and stronger than Mike. Bella also put out her hands to stop Jacob, both knowing that he could, indeed, put Mike in the hospital. "It's okay, Jake. I think he gets it."

Jacob breathed heavily through his nostrils, and Margo felt the warm air beat down on her forehead. She removed her hands from where they were placed on his chest, feeling his hot temperature exude from his own shirt. She then grabbed his arm. "You're ... burning up," she mumbled, "really bad. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I don't know what's happening," he whispered, and Margo wondered if she was supposed to hear. "I gotta go."

Jacob quickly pushed past Mike with his built shoulders, releasing Margo from his grip. Bella called out, "Wait!" But Jacob wasn't stopping. He walked straight out of the hall they were in and out to the main foyer of the theater. After sharing a glance with Bella, Margo began a sprint to follow him.

Once she was in the foyer, she saw nothing. Margo spun herself around. No sign of Jacob. How could he just leave? She was his ride. Margo pushed out of the entrance, tugging on her jacket as she looked to her right and left. She pushed her hair away from her eyes while the wind blew it forward. Nothing.

Jacob Black had disappeared.

•••

A/N: I wasn't gonna update today because notifications have been funky but ya know sCREW IT