Saturday, February 26, 2005, 10:00 AM
By the time I jogged back into our driveway, the sun was still low, the air sharp, and my brain was busy asking the same question it had been asking for weeks now: When the hell am I finally going to shift?
It's been a month since the whole… transformation situation started. A month of getting stronger, faster, and hungrier, but still not a single hint of fur or paws. At this point I was starting to wonder if maybe I was some kind of defective wolf. Like a late-blooming anime protagonist, except instead of unlocking a cool power-up, I was just getting freakishly tall.
My runs had gotten ridiculous. I used to tap out at thirty minutes and feel proud. Now? I'd somehow upgraded to three-hour sprints, no breaks, full speed the whole way, and apparently full speed equals eighty miles per hour. Which was insane. And also raised another question:
If I'm running at 80 mph, how fast are vampires? (Please let the answer not be "Mach 2.")
I'd mapped out my own little route through the woods, mostly so I wouldn't get lost and end up on a missing persons poster. It actually looped pretty close to the Cullens' place. The first time I saw it between the trees, I literally stopped mid-run. Their house didn't even look real, more like something from a fancy magazine spread titled "Modern Homes You Will Never Afford." Even now, every time I passed by, I slowed down just a little. Not stalking. Just… appreciating architecture. Totally normal.
Back home, I kicked off my shoes, immediately regretted it, and gagged a little.
Right. The poop.
Somewhere in the woods, a wild animal had left a steaming present, and lucky me, I had stepped directly onto it. Superhuman reflexes: 10/10. Superhuman awareness: 0/10.
So yeah, shower time.
Even though I barely sweat now, the smell of forest sticks to my clothes like glue. Wet earth, pine, moss. Wolf-boy aroma. Add the poop situation, and the shower became non-negotiable.
After scrubbing myself until I smelled like something legally allowed to enter human civilization again, I stepped out and grabbed the measuring tape I kept near the bed now. Not because I was obsessed, okay, maybe a little, but because every morning was a new episode of How Tall Is Mike Today?
I stood straight, checked the number… and groaned.
Six foot eight. Another half-inch in four days.
Everyone at school has been staring at me like I'd been exposed to gamma radiation. Even my parents didn't know what to do. My mom had tried to schedule a hospital appointment the other day, convinced I had some sort of horrifying hormone condition. It took me an hour, three cups of coffee, and a very desperate speech to convince her not to drag me into a doctor's office for a full-body mutant scan.
I threw the measuring tape onto the bed, ran a hand through my still-damp hair, and sighed.
"At this rate, I'm going to need custom doorframes."
…
After getting dressed, I flopped onto my bed and grabbed my phone. My thumb hovered for a second, and then I typed:
[Mike]: Hey, just making sure you're still up for the movie later and haven't decided I'm too much of an idiot to be seen with in public.
I hit send before I could overthink it.
With that existential crisis handled, I headed to the kitchen. Dad was already at the store, so Mom was sitting alone at the table with her coffee, watching something on the TV.
"Morning," I said, grabbing basically everything within reach: an entire stack of toast, half a dozen eggs, and the biggest cereal bowl we owned.
"Morning," she replied, eyeing my breakfast with raised eyebrows. "You know… at this rate, you're going to have to start working. Soon, we won't be able to afford feeding you."
I shoved half a toast slice into my mouth. "Mmf, I can't help it," I attempted, crumbs raining down like a tragic snowfall.
She laughed. "Either that, or you'll have to start hunting your meals in the woods."
…which was uncomfortably close to the truth.
I was halfway through my cereal when my phone buzzed.
I checked the screen and instantly felt a stupid grin spread across my face.
[Leah]: Yeah, doofus. Remember to pick me up at 6. And try not to say anything stupid in front of my parents.
The goofy smile froze, melted, and reformed as panic.
Parents.
Right. She had those. People I'd have to talk to. With my stupid mouth at that.
Mom watched the emotional catastrophe play out across my face like she was front-row at the theater.
When I finally lowered my phone, she sipped her coffee and asked, far too casually, "Okay. What was that?"
I cleared my throat. "Uh… I've got a date."
Her eyebrows shot up. "A date? Really?" She brightened immediately. "Did you finally ask Jessica out?"
I blinked at her. "Jessica? Really?"
Mom nodded. "Mike, that girl has been staring at you like a lost puppy for years."
And suddenly, with a jolt from the memories I'd inherited, I remembered.
Oh. Oh yeah. Jessica did have a crush on me.
In my defense, I'd been a little distracted lately with things like growing almost a foot in a month and becoming a supernatural track star and not exploding into a wolf in the middle of the school cafeteria or something.
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh, no. It's not Jessica."
"Oh?" Mom leaned forward, all interest and excitement now. "Then who is it?"
"A girl from the rez," I said, trying not to sound too proud and failing. "Her name's Leah."
Mom smiled in that warm, mom way that makes you feel five and sixteen and eighty all at once. "Well, you'll have to bring her by soon so I can meet her."
I felt my face heat. "Yeah. Maybe. Eventually. If I don't embarrass myself into early retirement first."
She just chuckled, stood up, and ruffled my hair like I wasn't six foot eight.
"You'll definitely embarrass yourself," she said matter-of-factly. "But don't worry. Your father used to do it all the time as well, yet I still married him."
I groaned. "Thanks, Mom. That's extremely comforting."
"It should be." She kissed the top of my head, fortunately I was sitting, or she would barely reach my chin. "Now finish your breakfast, Romeo. You'll need the energy."
…
The knock on the Clearwater door echoed through the house.
"Seth, get that," Sue called from the kitchen.
"Why me?" Seth grumbled from the couch. "Why can't Leah do it?"
"Because your sister is upstairs," Sue replied without looking up. "And you're closer."
On the other end of the sofa, Harry chuckled at his son's sulking and turned the TV volume up a notch.
Seth dragged himself to the door with all the enthusiasm of a kid being sent to do chores. He yanked it open, then stopped.
He had to tilt his chin way up.
Standing on the porch was the palest boy Seth had ever seen. Not just pale, PALE. Blonde hair, blue eyes, freakishly tall, and wearing a nervous smile that only made him look weirder. Seth instinctively began to close the door right back on him.
"Wait!" the giant boy blurted, one hand catching the edge of the door. "I'm here for Leah. You're Seth, right? Me and your sister are going to the movies."
Seth stared at him, suspicious.
Who in their right mind wanted to go out with his sister? Violent, temperamental, punches-first-asks-later Leah?
He turned his head toward the living room and half-shouted, "Dad! Some weird guy says he's taking Leah on a date!"
Harry's head snapped around so fast the couch squeaked. His eyes landed on the boy at the door, on the pale face, the ridiculous height, the nervous expression, and his jaw slowly tightened.
No. Absolutely not.
No daughter of his was going to be seen with a boy who looked like this. If Leah was going to date someone, it should be a Quileute boy. A normal one. Not some towering, goofy-looking outsider. He could already hear Billy laughing himself breathless if he ever found out.
Harry pushed himself up and marched toward the door. "Move, Seth. I'll handle this."
Seth stepped back but lingered close, eager to watch the disaster unfold.
Harry planted himself in the doorway like a very determined bouncer. "And who are you, boy?"
The kid straightened like a soldier. "Mike Newton, sir. I'm… I'm a friend of Leah's. We're going to the movies. Can you tell her I'm here, please?"
Harry frowned deeply. He knew the Newtons, everyone did, but he couldn't remember their kid being this tall. It didn't matter. He wasn't letting this proceed.
"Well," Harry said stiffly, "Leah didn't ask for permission. And I'm not letting her go out this late."
Mike blinked, checked his watch, then looked back up in confusion. "Uh… it's just five."
From the kitchen doorway, Sue had been watching the entire exchange with increasing amusement. But when Harry started inventing imaginary rules, she finally stepped in.
"Mike, right?" she said warmly, walking over and grabbing her husband's arm to pull him aside. "Why don't you come in? Leah's still getting ready."
Mike looked startled but grateful as she ushered him inside. Sue opened the fridge and held up a soda can. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Oh, no, thank you," Mike said politely.
She handed him the soda anyway.
"Hey, that's my soda," Seth complained.
Mike immediately turned and held the can out to him. "Sorry. Here, you can have it."
Seth froze, embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. "No, no, you can have it. It's fine. There's more."
Sue hid a smile. Harry sulked back to the couch.
A moment later, footsteps came down the stairs and Mike looked up.
And froze.
Leah descended the last few steps in simple makeup and a casual but clean outfit, nothing extravagant, but more put-together than the previous times he'd seen her. Enough to make him forget how to breathe for a second.
He shot to his feet so fast Seth flinched.
"Whoa," Mike said softly. "You look… beautiful."
Seth made a face like he'd just tasted something sour. Sue's smile widened, delighted at the awe in Mike's expression, that was how a boy should look at her daughter.
Harry's scowl deepened, but one pointed look from Sue silenced him instantly.
…