𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙔 𝙏𝙒𝙊
ミ★ ( bewitched, act three ) ★彡

     Seeing Jacob Black at Forks High School feels like a fever dream. It feels weird to see him there knowing that he goes to school on the reservation; and it feels like her worlds are colliding to watch him intensely converse with Edward at the front of the building. Her eyes squinted as she tried to focus on lip reading the heavy and intense conversation between Jacob and Edward that was situated in front of the school while still sat in the passenger seat of Bella's truck.

"What the hell is going on?" Lilith questioned.

     "Yeah, what is Jake doing here?" Bella also asked as she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the truck, Lilith following after her.

     The two friends walked over towards them as Jake said, "Look, I'm here to warn you." Edward scoffed at him, "If your kind come on our land again..."

     "Wait, what?" Lilith gasped lightly as she looked between the werewolf and the vampire. Did this have something to do with whatever the Cullen family were up to last night?

     Jacob's eyebrows rose as he realised that Lilith had no idea what had happened last night and he was still keeping things from her even though he knows that Edward was trying to get her back, "You didn't tell her?" He questioned Edward, whose eyes were filling with rage because he was getting caught up in a lie.

     "Just leave it alone, Jacob." Edward grit.

      "What did he not tell me?" Lilith turned to Jake, figuring that he would be the one to actually tell her the truth while Edward would beat around the bush or tell her a lie—which it seemed that he had done already.

     "Emmett and Paul got into it last night. He tried to come onto our land—" Jake began to explain.

  Edward got into his face, "You should leave. Now."

     "Jake has a right to tell me the truth since you won't do it, and I have the right to ask for it. So, butt out, please." Lilith snapped, getting in between her friend and her ex-boyfriend.

     "She does have a right to know, she is the one the red head wants after all." Jake said and Lilith's jaw went slack.

     Things were beginning to make sense and the pieces were all falling into place as she realised what must of happened last night and why Jasper had asked her to stay indoors, "Victoria was here last night, wasn't she? That's why you made sure I stayed within the boundary." She turned to Edward. "And that's really what Alice had a vision about—thanks for lying to my face about that."

     "I was trying to protect you." Edward tried to defend himself and the blonde witch scoffed.

     "And I don't need you to protect me." She argued back, shaking her head before turning back to face Jacob, "Is Paul okay?"She knew that the both Emmett and Paul could stand their ground, but, she had no idea how heated it must've gotten last night and she knew that Paul was very protective of the treaty due to his views on the Cullens.

     "He's fine but he misses you." Jake responded, "As does everyone else." He quickly added.

     "Well, I miss everyone, too." Lilith pouted, "Sucks being grounded."

     "We could go now." Bella suggested and Lilith turned to face her scheming best friend with raised eyebrows. Bella shrugged slyly, "They'd never know."

     Edward opened his mouth argue about Lilith going over the treaty line but Lilith interrupted, saying, "I mean, they probably would. But, I'm sick of being stuck in my house all day, I need some freedom. I'll deal with the consequences after." School was the only time she could get out of the house and her parents had confiscated her phone because of her grounding, meaning she couldn't communicate with anyone from the pack or from school outside of school hours.

     It was safe to say that she was feeling trapped and it wasn't helping her anxiety one bit by being constantly stuck in her room. She even believed that even Dakota was getting sick of her at one point as well.

     "I'll drive." Bella said excitedly as she held up her car keys, she was happy she could spend more time with her friend outside of school as it's been weeks since they've been able to do anything fun.

     The two girls took a step towards Bella's orange truck when Edward grabbed onto Lilith's arm, making her snap her head around to face him, "Please, don't." He begged.

     "And why not?" Lilith retorted dryly. She couldn't understand why Edward was trying to be so controlling of her; he wasn't her dad, he wasn't her brother, he wasn't her boyfriend anymore—they weren't even friends. He had no ground to stand on to try and tell her what she could and couldn't do.

     "I don't trust them." He told her, "And I can't protect you if you go over the treaty line and something happens."

     Lilith looked over at Bella and Jacob and she gave them a look that asked them if she and Edward could have a moment of privacy before they would have to stand and witness another argument of theirs. When Bella and Jacob moved away, Lilith sighed and looked at her ex-boyfriend and gently moved her arm out of his grip, "They were all I had when you were gone. The pack won't hurt me, and if something happens, they'd look out for me. I'm not defenceless either."

     "That still doesn't change the fact that I don't trust them." Edward said back to her.

     "Well, I think you should start making an effort to trust them. They're like family to me now, and they were there for me when you weren't." The harshness started to come back in Lilith's tone. "And either way, I'm going to trust them—and don't try to change that or demand me not to—because we aren't together anymore, and you have no say in my decisions because they're mine to make." With that being said, Lilith turned around and walked over towards Bella's truck, leaving Edward standing by himself as he sadly watched his ex-girlfriend walk away from him and letting him think about how badly he had stuffed up.

     "You okay?" Bella asked as Lilith closed the car door and placed her seatbelt on.

     "I just can't wait to relax, and hopefully have one of Emily's muffins again." Lilith responded, making Bella chuckle at her before starting the truck up and driving off, following after Jake on his motorbike towards the reservation.

     "Should we really be doing this?" Lilith asked, beginning to regret her decision in coming knowing that the consequences from her parents for leaving without permission were going to be big. "I am very much still grounded, remember?"

     "Sam will talk to your parents." Jake said with a light shrug. The Bailey parents respected Sam's opinion and he was sure if Sam said something about lightening her grounding, they most likely would. Because while they were angry at their daughter for leaving and lying to save Edward in Italy, they care for their daughter's happiness almost the same amount as her safety.

     The girl heard multiple footsteps against the deck and she turned around to see Paul, Embry Jared and another one of the pack boys running towards them, "Hey, look who's back!" Embry said excitedly as he jumped off of the wooden deck.

     "Quil?" Bella looked at the unknown pack boy to Lilith with shock, "You, too?" Bella hadn't been to the reservation for the last week or so and she was surprised at how much really could change in that week because Quil was apparently not showing any signs of phasing previously, according to the rest of the pack. She felt horrible because Quil must've felt left out and confused as to why his friends all began to disappear on him and join this mysterious gang on the reservation all of a sudden, and without warning.

     "Yep. Finally made the pack." Quil said with a smile on his face while Jared let out a small muffled laugh as he nibbled on the chicken drumstick in his hand, "Glad you're here though, Lilith. Maybe I can finally get a break from the boys' obsessive inner monologue."

     Lilith's eyes widened at Quil's comment and Jake smirked as he said, "Told you they missed you." He told her and then proceeded to mock them all, "I wish Lilith wasn't grounded. I wish Lilith were here because she's super nice to me. I wish Lilith was here and she could help me a potion to make me super strong—"

     "You weren't supposed to hear that one." Embry whined, interrupting Jake as the boys laughed along with Bella and Lilith.

     Their laughter died down as a woman with short black hair and a matching tattoo on her forearm walked passed them, she stopped as she reached the group and glared lightly at them, her gaze lingering on Lilith, "Lilith, this is Leah Clearwater. Harry's daughter."

     Bella had met the rest of the Clearwaters at Harry's funeral, but, Lilith was yet to meet them due to the fact that she was in Italy, saving Edward and then was grounded for the last few weeks. Lilith's eyes softened as she realised who she was from the stories that Emily had told her and from what Sam and Jake had announced on the beach a few weeks prior, "I'm really sorry about your dad." She told her.

     Leah didn't say anything as she just simply scoffed at her and walked off with Lilith trailing her with her eyes that couldn't help but look confused. "Fun, isn't she?" Jake commented.

     "Bella, Lilith, hi!" Emily called out from the house as she and Sam began to walk out towards them and join the rest of the pack. She hugged Bella and gave her another hello before moving towards Lilith and pulling the blonde into a tight hug, "I was wondering when we would get to see your face around here again."

     "Same here." Lilith said into the hug, feeling content within it, "It seems my parents took it literal when I told them they could ground me for the rest of my life." She joked, making Emily chuckle lightly and shake her head.

     "Don't worry, I'll get Sam to talk to them." She whispered into Lilith's ear sneakily before pulling away from the hug and winked at her, causing Lilith to smile.

     "Sam, we good?" Jake questioned the alpha.

     "We're good." Sam confirmed as he pulled Emily close towards his side, leaving his hand resting on her hip, "She won't be getting through our line anytime soon."

     Lilith let out a sigh, "I'm really sorry you guys have to deal with this." She said to them, putting her face in her hands. She felt horrible that the pack had to be involved to try and help and deal with the whole Victoria mess that she was involved in. She hated that people were having to fight her battles for her, she hated it even more when she didn't have any other choice but for them to do that when she didn't have magic. But, now that she did have it back, she didn't want them to take all of the heat. She didn't want to see them get hurt—especially if she's the reason why they are hurt. It would crush her.

     "It's okay, Lil. We know it's not your fault." Sam shook his head, "And we've been dealing with vampires for a long time, this isn't anything knew for us."

     "I still hate that I brought this vampire to you." Her nose scrunched. If it weren't for Victoria, they most likely wouldn't have to deal with any vampires at all since the Cullens usually stay out of their hair.

     "Don't worry, you little munchkin, she won't get the drop on us." Paul winked as be began to spar with the air.

     Lilith made a face, "You're not giving much confidence in you with those fighting skills." She said jokingly and Paul instantly dropped his stance and looked at her with a look of offence.

     "On that note, let's go inside." Emily said, changing the subject and lead everyone back inside—minus Bella and Jacob who went off on their own towards their workshop to work on the bikes that they had put together months ago—and they sat down at the dining table to just catch up.

     "So, Lil, did you give Edward the good old left, right, goodnight combo for us?" Jared suddenly asked as he too began to spar with the air.

     Paul quickly grabbing him and pulling him into a headlock, "That's my thing!" He exclaimed while Jared tried to get him off.

     Jared finally got Paul off of him and the boy got up and walked over next to Lilith, sitting down next to her and rested an arm around her shoulder, "And I doubt she did. Our munchkin is a lover, not a fighter."

     "But, she definitely would've chewed him out with her words." Embry chimed in, "Jacob's thoughts were loud and clear when he was listening in on her giving Edward a piece of her mind today."

     Lilith couldn't help but blush, "He was listening?" She whined.

     "Jake's nosy—and a shit-stirrer. Don't act surprised." Jared shrugged as he picked up another piece of chicken.

     The blonde witch looked up and Emily and she recognised the sympathetic look on her face, but she looked slightly pained, "Are you okay, Em?" Lilith asked her, the boys turning their attention to Sam's fiancée.

     "I feel like I should be asking you that." Emily responded, slightly catching Lilith by surprise. Ever since Emily locked eyes with Lilith, she could sense that something was off. It wasn't like when she didn't have any magic type of off, and it wasn't when she didn't have Edward type of off. It was something else and she couldn't pinpoint what it was. But, Lilith still looked slightly dead inside.

     "I just haven't been sleeping well. I'm okay though." Lilith told her.

     "Still?" Emily's eyebrows furrowed, not understanding what could be keeping her up at night still, "Are the nightmares back?"

     Sam looked at the blonde and noticed her shuffle in her seat, a small sign she was beginning to get uncomfortable. He breathed in and could smell the anxiety coming off of her. He knew that it wasn't Emily making her uncomfortable, but, the situation that Lilith was in—and maybe she also didn't feel comfortable talking about what she was going through in front of the pack boys, "C'mon, boys, let's give them some privacy." Sam said as he stood up from his chair, sending them each a stern look to not complain about it. She's uncomfortable, let her talk to Emily alone, he said into the pack link and the boys instantly got up and began to walk away towards the workshop with Bella and Jacob.

     Lilith watched as the boys all walked into the tree line before turning back to Emily and let out a shaky sigh, "Tell me what's going on, I'm worried about you." Emily said as she reached out and placed a hand over the teenage witch's.

     "I—I don't know what's going on with me, but, it's freaking me out to no end. I can't shake this feeling that someone is watching me and I don't feel safe in my own home because of it." Lilith confessed and Emily's eyes widened, "The boundary spell is still up and that makes me feel a tiny bit better, and I make sure to lock all the windows and doors and close all of the curtains and blinds, but... it still feels like they're there."

     "Do your parents know about this feeling of yours?" The woman asked. Normally, if a witch was sensing something, their gut is rarely ever wrong. She didn't want to blatantly tell her that because she could tell the teenager was afraid, but, maybe if she told her parents they'd be able to either tell her that she's worried about nothing or they'd take care of it.

     Lilith shook her head, "They'd either lose their minds or they'd call me crazy." She answered, "But, I only just got my magic back after not having it for months, and I'm still not used to having it. So, I think my paranoia might just be a really bad side effect."

     "I can have Sam organise someone to come around the house and check on it every now and again just to be sure?" Emily offered. If having some of the pack patrol around the Bailey home made her feel safe, she was sure that Sam would be okay with something like that. She could tell that he had a soft spot for the blonde witch—as did the rest of the pack as well—and he would do anything for her, much like herself.

     Lilith couldn't help but shake her head in refusal, "No, I can't. You guys have enough on your plate, I don't want to add to that."

     "Are you sure?" Emily persisted.

     "I'm sure." Lilith couldn't help but meekly smile to try and put Emily to ease, "But, I'd love to talk about something else right now. I could use the distraction from all the problems in my life right now." She didn't want to let her know that she probably would be keeping up this horrible sleeping pattern of staying up until early hours of the night, making sure that no one would come into her home unannounced and then proceed to have horrid nightmares when she would eventually fall asleep. But, she didn't want to add to the list of problems that the pack had to face, she felt horrible enough that they have to keep chasing Victoria out of their territory and protect her from the red headed vampire.

     Emily let out a defeated sigh and then began to inform Lilith on everything else she had missed in their time apart, making sure to not skip a single detail so witch felt like she was there with them. Which Lilith couldn't help but appreciate as this was exactly what she needed at that moment.