FIVE. MY MOTHER LOVES EVERYBODY BUT ME

"Girls, say hello to our new friend, Eli!" Otto held his arms out, presenting the half-Quileute teen to his friends. Mike grinned, ruffling Eli's hair, and she swatted him away, looking forward at the two strangers before her. One was tall with dark hair and glasses, the other was slightly shorter with a light brown ponytail and a thick scarf around her face. "Eli, this is Angela, and this is Jessica."

"Hey, nice to meet you," Angela smiled warmly, stepping forward to give Eli a friendly embrace. Jessica didn't do the same, she only waved a gloved hand in her direction. "Mike said you all met at the diner?"

"Yeah, they came and sat with me," Eli responded, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "They don't look like creeps, so I thought what the hell and tagged along. I hope that's okay."

"More than okay," Angela assured her, but Jessica didn't say anything. Eli couldn't see her lips behind the scarf, so she decided not to think about whatever expression the young girl had. "Have you just moved here?"

"Moved back," Eli accepted the conversation invitation, falling into step with the spectacled girl as they walked into the cinema. "I used to live here, but my parents divorced so I moved to Portland with my dad. I was born in the Reservation."

"I love that part of town," Angela grinned, digging around in her pockets for a ten dollar note to buy her ticket. "We go to La Push beach sometimes; the guys and Jess like surfing. Eric's part of the group, he just couldn't make it tonight. Something about a prom playlist. Do you have prom at your school?"

"It's been and gone," Eli replied as she handed over her cash to the employee, who exchanged it with a small piece of paper with the movie name printed on it. "I skipped it, but I don't mind. I had my prom at my old school, so it's not like I missed out on a whole lot."

"Yeah, ours is a little bit later than everyone else, which sucks," Jessica finally piped up, causing Eli and Angela to turn around. She'd finally taken her scarf off to reveal a soft, rounded chin and rosy cheeks. "But it's always a lot of fun. Maybe we can get Otto to take you."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Eli chuckled softly. "I've just met you guys, I don't want to gatecrash anything else. It was really cool of you to let me come to this."

"No problem," Jessica smiled, and Eli was slightly relieved that she wasn't hostile. "I mean, now you've got friends in town if you get sick of the ones in the Reservation."

"I've known them since I was a baby," Eli shrugged her shoulders, before eyeing the girl with a joking expression. "I get sick of them before I see them coming."

Angela giggled softly as they trailed through the establishment, the boys on their tail. They were digging into the food they had bought (despite having eaten the majority of Eli's dinner), which meant there was a trail of popcorn and M&Ms in their wake. "C'mon let's get in our seats. Jess will probably want to sit next to Mike."

Jessica flushed a little, though she grinned, nudging Eli excitedly. "He asked me to prom. I totally thought he was gonna ask Bella Swan, but he didn't and now she's going with Edward Cullen. He's so hot, like, god tier, but he doesn't talk to anyone...except, well, Bella."

"Yeah, Mike mentioned the Cullens," Eli followed the two into the theatre, sitting herself between the two. "He said they were pretty weird and the doctor had some sort of dumb rivalry with my mom."

"Who's your mom?"

"Grace Kamai?" Eli answered, and the two girls straightened up considerably in recognition.

"Oh my God, I love Nurse Kamai," Jessica gushed, just as Otto had done earlier. "If you ask, she gives you a doctors note that lets you out of school for a couple of extra days. And she has a huge box of candy in her office with a sign that says 'help yourself'. She's the best."

Eli gave a tight lipped smile. It seemed her mother was kind to everybody except her. "I guess she's left a pretty good impression on the town."

"She was dating Sheriff Swan for like, five years," Jessica continued to ramble, leaning into Mike a little as he sat next to her. The blond smiled a little awkwardly, before shoving a handful of chocolate into his mouth. "They were the talk of the town, I wonder what happened."

"Yeah, I wonder," Eli hummed in response, though part of her felt it was her mother's incessant nagging. Funny, how her mother seemed to love everyone but her.

★☆

"How come you left school so fast?" Quil's concerned voice bled through Eli's phone the next Monday afternoon. The device sat on the dashboard of her car with the speakerphone on so that she could focus on the road, though it wasn't much help considering she was seeing red anyway. 

"I'm pissed at Paul," she huffed in response, not noticing how her knuckles were starting to change colour as she gripped the steering wheel. "He didn't bother showing up for school today so I was left to work on our Shakespeare project alone. Again. This is the third time he's done this! I went up into Forks to clear my head. I just...I'm so angry."

"Stop by his house and talk to him, then," Quil suggested, the crashing waves in the background suggesting he was at First beach, likely with Jacob and Embry. "He can't avoid you in a tiny place like this."

"I just need to clear my head," Eli muttered, before yelping as a bang sounded from the front of the truck and she was forced to a stop. "Shit!"

"What happened?" Quil gasped out on the other line. "Is everything okay?"

Eli felt frustrated tears welling up in her eyes. Nothing had been going her way today. The last good time she'd had was the movies a few nights ago, and since then it had been nothing but mess. "The truck's broken down."

"Where are you? I can pick you up-"

The phone battery then conveniently cut out, leaving Eli in silence staring at the smoking engine of the truck. She squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled before she forced open the car door, her feet hitting the gravel road. Perfect.

"Damn it!" she cried, kicking the wheel of her car angrily. She leaned up against the side of the vehicle and ran her hands through her hair. Her phone was dead, her truck was cooked, and she was in the middle of nowhere. She'd had a shit day at school, seeing as they were supposed to continue their Much Ado project, but Paul hadn't shown up. So, she took a drive, hoping to get lost for a little bit and get home before dinner.

Then, her brother's piece of shit truck decided to break down on a road where no cars seemed to pass her by. As far as she was aware, there was nothing for miles; no busy traffic road, just forest and a cool evening freeze. In complete honesty, she was fully prepared to sleep in the vehicle, wrapped up in her jacket and the blanket she had thrown in the backseat for the times Embry wanted to have a picnic.

The teenager sighed irritably and lowered herself to the ground, her eyes averting to the haunting forest opposite her. The trees were dense, sheltering out any source of sunlight, which meant she would be shivering soon enough. She hated being alone sometimes; it left her with her thoughts. The main one at the moment seemed to surround the selfishness of Paul. Why did he have to be so inconsiderate?

She was so busy cursing the Lahote boy's name that she didn't hear the sound of a car driving down the road. It was only when the brakes smoothly stopped and a glint of cherry red appeared in her peripheral vision. Eli lifted her head and squinted her watery eyes a little, noticing a head of blonde hair staring her way. She cleared her throat and ran a hand through her hair. "Hi."

"Hi," it was a woman. The first thing Eli noticed was how beautiful she was. She'd seen gorgeous people before, but no one like this. She was stunning, but not in a normal way. She seemed almost unearthly, like a movie star or a character from a novel. 

Eli pushed herself up to her feet and brushed herself off. The woman looked over at her truck and nodded towards it. Eli glanced back and tucked her hands in her pockets. It wouldn't hurt to ask for some help; there must have been a reason for the woman to have stopped. "Uh, you know anything about fixing cars?"

The woman almost smiled.

★☆

Her name was Rosalie Hale. She did, in fact, know a lot about cars. It felt like only seconds had passed before she was leaned over the engine, knowing exactly what to fix and how to fix it. She moved with ease, no sign of distress in her face, only a slightly furrowed brow of concentration. Eli gave her enough room to work, picking up that the stranger probably wasn't one for conversation. She seemed cool though. Mysterious, but cool.

"Flip the ignition," Rosalie instructed, and Eli hopped into the front seat, turning the key. The truck sputtered a little before it roared to life, with power it didn't seem to have before. Eli grinned and cheered loudly, bouncing up and down in her seat, causing Rosalie's lips to curve a little. Eli allowed the car to warm up and jumped out, not hesitating in rushing forward to embrace the blonde girl.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver," she said brightly, letting go once she noticed Rosalie tense a little in discomfort. She scratched the back of her head, smiling gratefully. "This road's empty, I'm surprised you found me."

"I guess you were lucky," Rosalie responded in her soft voice, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Her eyes averted to the piece of crap car that was rumbling in an unhealthy manner. Eli noticed that there was unusual shine to her irises, but Eli couldn't pinpoint it. "You should think about replacing that thing; it's cute, but I'd say it's got about two months left before it breaks down again."

Eli chuckled. "I guess I'll just have to deal with it, then. There's no way I can afford anything else right now."

Rosalie quirked a brow, turning back to her. Eli now noticed what was different about her eyes. They were golden. 

"Thanks for all your help, though," Eli grinned, choosing not to mention the oddity. Maybe she wore contacts, though that was a little weird, especially in the middle of a forest in a forgotten Washington town. "I don't know how to thank you."

"Don't mention it," Rosalie muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just...pick a better place to break down next time."

Eli grinned.

★☆