Chapter Text
Port Angeles looked lovely during the day. In fact, it was actually very sunny in comparison to Forks’ gloomy clouds that muddled the sky. Bella welcomed the slight change in weather, enjoying the warmth that the sun’s rays casted upon her skin.
The group walked along the wharf toward the aquarium. The lone large building had a glass facade and colorful design. Upon closer inspection, a few decorative corals stuck out of parts of the dome-shaped roof along with a swirly and vivid pattern painted along the outside trimming. There was also a notable gigantic anchor statue that stood in front of the aquarium with a vibrant blue wave sculpture surrounding it, making it a visually striking feature.
Bella and the rest of the group filed into the line to purchase their tickets before making their way inside. There was a stand that held a handful of pamphlets which contained a list of exhibits and a map of the aquarium.
“Ooh, they have a sea otter feeding event in an hour,” Angela stated excitedly. As she scanned the rest of the list, her eyes widened. “Bella, there’s also a bat ray exhibit!” She exclaimed enthusiastically. “Didn’t you say they’re your favorite?” Angela asked.
“Oh my gosh, yes. Please show me,” Bella eagerly said, walking over toward Angela. The girl wore a smile as she stood beside Bella to show her where the exhibit would be on the map.
~•~
They had just finished exploring the aquarium and were now following Tyler who was ahead of the large group, leading them all toward the crab-shack nearby that he had been raving about.
Bella walked beside her friends as she eyed the bat ray shaped resin keychain she bought from the gift shop. She smiled, remembering her interaction with the baby bat rays. The worker had reassured her that it was okay to gently pet them on their pectoral fins and she did just that, not letting the opportunity slip away since the flat and triangular shaped critters were her favorite.
The brunette reached into her faded black messenger bag and brought out her keys. She held the metallic keyring and gently pried it open so that she could slip the new ornament alongside the mini vinyl record keychain Rosalie had given her. Bella gently held the round disc and smiled fondly at it before putting her keys back safely into her bag.
When the group reached the restaurant, the worker explained to them that they didn’t have any tables large enough to seat twelve people, so they split them evenly.
Jacob, Bella, Seth, Leah, Angela, and Jessica shared a table together while Eric, Mike, Tyler, Paul, Embry, and Jared shared the other table beside them.
Bella scanned the menu and settled on ordering crab legs and half a pound of shrimp with the special sauce that contained garlic butter, onions, Old Bay seasoning, lemon pepper, and other spices.
Eventually, the table was piled with saucy shrimp, crawfish, crab legs, lobster tails, grilled oysters, muscles, sliced sausages, boiled eggs, steamed corn and seasoned red potatoes. It was a mouthwatering sight.
“Alright, let’s dig in!” Seth exclaimed excitedly. He dug into his food and hummed in satisfaction, stuffing his face as much as possible with shrimp, muscles, eggs and potatoes.
Everyone else followed suit and not a single one of them seemed to care about getting their hands dirty.
Bella brought another sauce covered shrimp into her mouth, the liquid dripping down her chin. She hummed and did a little happy dance in her seat.
“You’re such a dork,” Jacob teased.
“Thanks, I’m well aware,” Bella said cheekily, embracing the term.
Leah noticed that Seth had finished his meal before everyone and proceeded to shamelessly glance at one of her crab legs every now and then.
She smiled as she shook her head at her brother’s tactless staring before placing the crab leg in front him. “Here. You need it more than I do, runt,” Leah said with a warm smile. Seth immediately beamed, his eyes shining brightly in adoration at his sister’s caring nature that rarely shown.
Angela quietly observed the siblings’ short interaction, adoring their bond.
“Ugh. Seth, can you at least savor the flavor? You’re practically inhaling it,” Leah said with a slight grimace followed by complete disbelief on her face as Seth gobbled the rest of the crab flesh in one go.
Jacob chuckled at the two as he removed the rest of the shell off of his last lobster tail. The boy dunked it into the sauce, making sure it was thoroughly coated before taking a big bite. He hummed in content and rubbed his hands together, mimicking Bella’s dance movement from earlier.
Bella laughed at her childhood friend’s mockery, lightly nudging him with her shoulder. “I think I’m going to order a meal to-go for Charlie,” she said. “I saw they had cajun fried catfish on the menu, so I was thinking of getting him that and the crab legs.”
“I’m sure he’s gonna love it,” Jacob assured with his signature warm smile.
Bella walked over to the counter and greeted the worker that stood there. “Hi, I’d like to place an order to-go,” Bella stated.
“Sure thing, what would you like?” The worker inquired with a friendly smile.
The brunette placed an order of the catfish and crab legs with corn and potatoes.
The worker smiled, “Will that be all?”
Bella nodded and handed over the amount that was due.
“If you leave us a review, you’re welcome to choose from any of our seafood plushies displayed behind me,” the worker informed Bella and pointed at the stuffed toys on the wooden shelf.
“Oh, cool. I’ll do that right now,” Bella said.
After submitting her review, the worker waited patiently as the brunette scanned the items. “Could I get that one please?” Bella pointed at the jumbo crab plush.
The worker giggled. “Awesome choice.”
Bella held her crab plush in the crook of her arm and her takeout in the other. When she approached the group, several of her friends were highly amused when they saw the stuffed toy she carried.
After the rest of the group was finished with their meal, they paid for their food and went over to Tyler’s parents’ lake house since they didn’t need to be home until late afternoon.
~•~
“Wow, you have a ping-pong table and billiards?” Seth asked in astonishment as he entered the den of the house, his eyes wide in wonder.
“Yeah, my parents bought them for me as a gift,” he explained.
Jared whistled. “Sweet,” he admired. “Are we allowed to play?” He questioned.
“Yeah dude. Go ahead,” Tyler encouraged with a smile.
Paul, Jared, Embry, and Jacob surrounded the billiards table and began to form teams.
Tyler and Mike announced they would play video games in the loft area, and Eric made his way to one of the reclining chairs up there to watch. Jessica also bounded up the stairs, stating that she wanted to watch them play as well.
Bella, Angela, Leah and Seth settled on playing a round of ping-pong.
“Bella, can I be on your team?” Seth asked.
“Sure, I don’t mind,” Bella stated.
He smiled before turning to glance at Leah, giving her a knowing grin when she met his gaze.
“I guess that means you and I are together,” Angela said as she shyly sidled up beside Leah.
Leah’s heart skipped a beat. If only Angela knew just how significant that sentence was.
“It seems so,” Leah said, her lips turning upward into a soft smile.
The group spent a good amount of time playing before calling it a day and parting ways.
~•~
Jacob lowered the volume of the music when he noticed that most of his passengers were sleeping except for Leah.
Bella had her hood on while she slept and her head was leaning on her jumbo crab plush. Seth’s head was tilted back with his mouth slightly open as he snored lightly, and Angela was sleeping soundly against Leah’s right shoulder.
Jacob smiled at the sight. The dynamic in the pack changed the moment Leah imprinted on Angela. Their female pack member wasn’t sad or bitter about Sam and Emily anymore. In fact, the three were slowly beginning to interact in a much more pleasant manner which eased all of the awkward and unwanted tension within their group. Jacob thought the shift made the pack’s bond even stronger now that there was no longer a rift.
Bella stirred slightly in her sleep until she slowly stretched her limbs, and sat upright. “How much longer?” Bella asked.
“About thirty minutes,” Jacob answered.
Bella nodded and sent Charlie a text to let him know her estimated time of arrival. As she was about to put her phone away, she received a text from Alice.
Alice’s text message said: Esme made extra berry cobbler and was wondering if you and Charlie would be interested in taking the rest off her hands. Let me know asap! :)
Bella typed out her response, not needing to ask Charlie for his input since she knew cobbler was his favorite. She let Alice know that she and Charlie would be happy to receive the dessert. Barely a minute later, she received another text from Alice asking for her address so that she could drop off the pastry. Bella complied before informing the girl that she would be home before 5pm.
~•~
Bella was the first to be dropped off. She gave Jacob a quick hug in the car before waving goodbye to Leah and Seth. She would’ve said goodbye to Angela as well, but the girl was still in a deep slumber and she didn’t want to wake her.
The brunette bounded up the short steps with her crab plush in hand before heading inside her house. She placed the stuffed toy in her room on top of her bed and went downstairs to get a drink of water.
Minutes later, the doorbell rang. Bella checked the peephole before opening the door.
Alice, Jasper, and Edward stood in front of her doorstep.
“Hey guys,” Bella greeted.
Alice subtly scrunched her nose at the strong scent of a wet dog. “Bella do you have any pets by any chance?” Alice asked.
Bella furrowed her brows at the random question, but shook her head nonetheless. “Nope. I’d like one though,” she stated. “I’m just not sure if Charlie would agree.”
“I understand,” Alice said. “I was just wondering because I get a little anxious around dogs,” the pixie-looking vampire quickly uttered out when she realized how odd her question was. She cleared her throat, “by the way, here is the cobbler.” Alice presented a tin tray covered in foil. “I hope you like it,” she said.
Bella too a step forward and carefully took the tray from the girl. She gave them a warm smile as she said, “Thank you. I really appreciate you guys dropping this off.” Her smile then widened. “Cobbler is actually Charlie’s favorite, so he’s gonna be thrilled to see this once he gets home. He should be here any minute actually.”
Before Alice could utter another word, a car horn honked twice as it pulled up in front of the house. “Bella, you forgot Charlie’s takeout!” Jacob informed loudly through the passenger side window.
When he emerged from the vehicle, his eyes locked onto the three figures beside Bella. His nostrils flared at the strong scent of the vampires.
All three pairs of golden eyes directed their gaze at Jacob.
“Okay, well that explains the wet dog smell,” Alice said very quietly for Jasper and Edward to hear.
Jacob clenched his jaw, his impeccable hearing picking up on the remark. As much as he hated being around the Cullens, he was forced to tolerate the pale faced bloodsuckers, regardless of their golden eyes and so-called vegetarian diet.
He held the plastic bag that contained the seafood and walked over toward his childhood friend. Leah and Seth watched cautiously from the car, suppressing the urge to growl at the presence of the Cullens.
Jacob smiled at Bella as he walked by the golden-eyed beings and noticed that the brunette’s hands were full.
“You want me to take these inside for you?” Jacob offered as he held up the takeout and pointed at the tray Bella was holding.
“Oh, sure. Thank you. Just set it on the table please,” Bella smiled gratefully after handing the tray over to Jacob.
“Rodger that,” Jacob said before going into the house.
Charlie’s police cruiser pulled into the driveway as Jacob came out of the house. The police chief greeted his daughter after he locked his car.
“Bells,” he greeted with a small smile. “Jake,” he gave a nod to his best friend’s son.
“Evening chief,” Jacob greeted.
“And who might you all be?” Charlie inquired politely. “Friends of yours, Bella?”
Bella nodded. “Yeah. Dad, this is Alice, Jasper, and Edward Cullen,” she introduced. “They came by to drop off the cobbler Esme made,” she added.
“Ah. Well, it’s nice to finally meet you lot,” Charlie acknowledged, sticking his hand out for a handshake toward Edward.
Edward had his hands in his pockets and stared hesitantly at Charlie’s outstretched hand.
Charlie seemed to sense the boy’s reluctance, so he brushed it off by clearing his throat and retracting his hand.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m just feeling a little under the weather,” Edward tried to explain.
“Gotcha,” Charlie nodded.
There was an awkward pause before Bella interjected with, “Uh dad, your food should be on the table.”
Charlie took the hint. “Right,” he said as he turned to the group and politely excused himself.
Jacob said goodbye to the man as he passed by before announcing to the others that he would be taking his leave as well. The boy gave a small smile to Bella before making firm eye contact with Edward as he walked by, aware of the vampire’s ability to read people’s thoughts: Bella and Charlie are important to me. I don’t know what your intentions are with either of them, but just know that the pack will be keeping a close eye on you all.
Bella was oblivious to the tension between the two as she regaled Alice with the highlights of her trip.
Edward broke his gaze from Jacob’s retreating form. “We should go too,” Edward announced a bit hastily, causing Alice to glance at Jasper as he sensed Edward’s unease.
Alice turned toward Bella with a sheepish smile. “Ugh. I was hoping we could talk more,” Alice sulked before perking up to bid the human farewell. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Bella.”
Bella nodded and kindly responded with, “Yeah, you too.”
Bella stood by the front door of her house and waved goodbye at her two groups of friends as they drove off in different directions.