Chapter Text
Things haven't been the same in a while now, Willow Ateara thinks.
It all started with Sam Uley. Once upon a time, he was a normal, somewhat popular senior with a stable reputation and in a stable relationship with Willow's neighbor, Leah Clearwater. Willow wasn't that well acquainted with Sam (or Leah, for that matter), even if she was frequent guest in the Clearwater's home, but everyone knew everyone in La Push, especially if you were Old Quil's granddaughter, so she was friendly enough with Sam to notice him missing from the Clearwater's household when summer came around.
When he came back, though, just a couple of weeks after, Sam had turned into an entirely different person. Not only had he built insane muscles in two weeks, almost as if he had used instantaneous steroids, but he also cut his hair, got a tattoo, and broke up with Leah.
After that, things only got worse.
The second one was Jared Cameron. Willow doesn't remember much about him before he joined Sam's little gang (as she and Tess liked to call them), but she's certain that he's gotten taller and bulkier than he used to be. Jared used to be a lanky kid, some years ahead of her, who would make people laugh in the most unfortunate moments. She recalls Quil, horrified, as he told her how Jared had vanished for weeks and then returned following Sam like a lost puppy.
Then, he changed. The one who shall not be named.
Everyone in the reservation knew that the Ateara girl and the Lahote boy did not see eye to eye. It was a universal truth: Willow Ateara loathes Paul Lahote, and Paul Lahote loathes her back.
Hating Paul Lahote was the only constant Willow had in her life. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it happened or why it happened. All she knew was that, when Paul moved to La Push when they were eight years old, he decided to make her life hell for no reason, by picking on her over and over again until she started retaliating. And Willow Ateara was no coward, so she reciprocated his energy by making his life just as terrible as hers. That’s how they grew up: by frequently fighting with each other to the point of needing somebody to physically separate them.
Sometimes, it felt like they were fated to hate each other. Like there was a string pulling with energy so hostile that destiny itself decided that Willow Ateara and Paul Lahote would never get along.
So, of course, when he disappeared, Willow noticed right away.
She spent a month wondering where he would be. If he dropped out, ran away; if, for some unknown reason, he had finally decided to leave her alone. Whatever the answer was, Willow Ateara needed to know. She hadn't gotten a good night of sleep in weeks, thinking about stupid Paul Lahote's whereabouts.
And one day he just appeared again, two feet taller and suddenly muscular, as if he had spent an entire month hitting the gym. Not only that, he had chopped his shoulder-length hair into a shorter style and gotten a tattoo on his arm. Suddenly, he joined Sam and Jared and started acting as if the three of them owned everything in La Push.
Ever since that moment, Willow hasn’t seen much of Paul Lahote. He skips a whole lot of classes, and when he does appear, he doesn’t even spare her a glance. It makes her blood boil. He spent eight of her life antagonizing her every move, and now she doesn’t even exist anymore. Like she’s not worth even looking at.
When Willow saw him for the first time after his return, he wouldn't look at her in the eye. But he still sent her a smirk, as if he knew she was watching him. It was infuriating.
At that moment, Willow decided she wouldn’t waste any more time thinking about Paul Lahote. She was failing, badly, because every time she looked at his little friends all she thought about was how she hated his cocky, stuck-up guts. Asshole.
After the day Paul returned, Willow started to notice a pattern.
Embry disappeared the month after Paul's return. Quil was crushed, and the three of them organized movie nights and went out for fast food so he wouldn't think about his best friend abandoning him for Ulley overnight. And then Jacob also did, cutting his hair and crushing Quil's spirit for a second time.
Now, her brother was a bundle of nerves. "It's like they're waiting for me," he had said, once, when they were watching Christian Bale's Batman movie for hundredth time. "Like I'm gonna be next to join their little cult."
He was terrified.
And so was Willow, as she stared at Jared and Embry in the cafeteria and wondered who would be the next poor soul fated to follow Sam around for a lifetime. She just hoped it wasn't Quil.
"You’ve been staring at them for ten minutes now. It's getting really creepy.” Willow looks over to Tess as she mumbles. from the seat beside her, staring at her calculus worksheet as if her answers are going to write themselves in twenty minutes. "Call isn’t even that cute. Stop ogling him”
“I was so not ogling him.”
“Well, it’s between him or Cameron, and none of them are your type,” she smirks and shrugs. “Or they are and I just don’t know. I thought Travis was your type.”
“He is,” Willow rolls her eyes and sighs, defeated. “Besides, that’s not why I’m staring at them.”
The other girl sends her a pointed look, red hair perfectly styled and lips still shining with lip gloss.
“Well, then,” Tess smiles softly, “What’s on your mind, Will?”
"It's just so weird. Embry used to be at our house every day, and now it's like Quil and I never existed. Same with Jake. The boys used to be best friends, and now they don't even acknowledge him."
Tess stares at Jared and Embry, pondering. She hums thoughtfully and then says:
"Maybe they had a good reason," she wonders out loud and goes back to staring mindlessly at her homework.
"Like joining a gang?" Willow questions, still watching the boys hollering across the crowded cafeteria. “I wouldn’t stop talking to you if I joined one.”
"You wouldn’t because we would be in it together,” Tess jokes, white teeth shining bright. "Or you would probably be the leader.”
“No, you’re totally the leader,” Willow retorts. “Who else would make me cliff jump in the middle of January?”
Tess snickers once again. Willow ignores the way Embry's shoulders shake as if he were laughing at their joke too. He could be laughing at anything. Her staring is just plain creepy by now, she concludes.
"For the love of God, don't tell me the two of you are creating a cult as well," Quil’s voice announces as he makes his way over to their table, holding a tray with way too much food in it. “I don’t think I can deal with any more craziness.”
“We’re not,” Willow shoots back.
Tess laughs, mindlessly sketching her textbook. “Yet.”
Quil's shoulders slouch. In response, Willow straightens up. He looks infredibly anxious as he sits down, fingers fidgeting and a sour expression on his face, trying not to look at Embry just a few feet away. Willow's expression hardens, and she looses her appetite all too quickly. Tess stops staring at her worksheet and looks at Quil, eyes softening.
"How you're holding up?" Tess asks. Quil looks at her like the question annoys him more than the situation itself.
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about that," he bites into an apple, and then resumes: "Both of you."
His sister raises an eyebrow at him. Quil ignores her and stares at his tray.
“What are your plans for today?” he says, mouth full. Willow grimaces, and Tess mumbles something about it being “gross, dude.”
"Tess and I are going to Seattle to watch that new vampire movie tonight. Do you wanna come?” Willow asks, hopeful.
Tess continues. “Oh, yeah, it could cheer you up!”
“I’ll pass on girl’s night today,” Quil says, then looks up to their unimpressed faces and blinks. “I totally would, but I think I’m going sick. I’m even skipping work today.”
Willow’s smile falls. Quil hasn’t been feeling well for weeks now, but every time they mention it to their mother or grandpa, their relatives just shake their heads and say it will pass. They have been vague and ominous about several things ever since Sam disappeared, and Willow's head starts aching just from thinking about it.
Tess raises her right hand to his forehead and frowns deeply. “Holy shit. You're burning up.”
Willow reachs out to him and jumps in surprise once she senses how hot he actually is. Quil’s skin is scalding, warmth spreading everywhere around him, and he’s not even a little phased by it. How can he still be alive? Honestly, Quil looks slightly irritated at the fact that the girls are touching him.
Quil shrugs, taking their hands away from his forehead. “I just run hot, I guess.”
“So do I, Quil,” Willow argues. “But not that hot. That’s insane.”
“It’s actually impossible, did you know?” Tess replies and then starts ranting about body temperatures and things that Willow and Quil, who excel mainly at humanities, sure as hell don't understand. Willow never knows how Tess manages to be a genius at science but somehow completely suck whenever she needs to calculate something.
“You're sure you’re going to be fine on your own tonight?” Willow asks him quietly once Tess is too invested in her scientific discoveries to notice they're not paying attention.
“You don’t need to stop going out 'cause of me,” he mumbles, exasperated. “I'm a grown man, you know.”
“You’re sixteen,” Willow retorts.
“So are you. What’s your point?” Quil shoots back, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. She rolls her eyes.
The Ateara siblings can’t spend a day without bickering. It doesn’t mean it gets better, though, even if you have been their friend for 10 years. This is when Tess realizes they’re not paying attention to her and sighs, finally attempting to finish her worksheet.
“I hate you guys so much,” She mumbles, but it goes ignored by the twins.
“Can you stop being such a dick and let me worry for once? You’re my brother. You know I worry about you,” Willow retaliates sharply.
At this, Quil goes soft, brotherly irritation seeping out of his features. He grins at her, like he has done time and time again since they were kids whenever the two go into a fight. He puts his hand on her shoulder gently.
“Willy, I’m sure I can handle it,” He says. “I’ve been through worse. Besides, I’m the brother, I’m supposed to be taking care of you. Don’t think you’ll get out of talking about that Travis guy, okay?”
Willow groans.
“That’s so sexist, Quil.”
Quil laughs, and suddenly Willow feels as if everything in La Push is normal again.
Hours after school, the Ateara household is filled with a Taylor Swift song blasting from Will’s radio – one that Quil claims is annoying, yet knows every single lyric to – as the girls put on make-up and do their hair. Willow doesn’t actually do much to hers; she was born with a mane of wild, frizzy curls, and she prefers no styling them, in contrast to Tess' always perfect hair. Tess brushes her red hair in an attempt to tame rebel strands that might fall away from her ponytail. Together, they loudly lipsync the words to “Picture to Burn” while twirling and giggling.
“I can’t believe you made me like country music,” Tess remarks, frowning jokingly.
“I don’t even think of it as a country anymore,” Willow giggles and then continues to apply pink lipgloss over her lips carefully. “I love her too much, I fear.”
“You certainly do.”
Willow’s room looks just like her, Tess has told her a million times. The walls are painted white, but there is so much music and movie merch covering it that it almost looks like a rainbow. Fairy lights are decorate both the ceiling and the enormous wooden bookshelf full of books Willow is too much of a procrastinator to read. The girls stand in front of a mirror stuck in the bedroom’s door, making the final arrangements before heading out.
Tess looks lost in thought for a moment as she smooths her pleated skirt. “Are you sure your mom is fine with you crashing at my place tonight?”
“She’s got a 24-hour shift, and Quil’s gonna stay at Grandpa’s. Why? Are your parents sure?” Willow stares at the blue sundress she’s got on, trying to decide if she should bring a jacket or not. Seattle is usually colder than La Push during the night.
“Hell yeah, dude. My mom loves you more than she loves me,” Tess fakes a sad face and Willow snickers.
“Shut up, she does not!” Willow settles on bringing a leather jacket, grinning.
Once they’re done, Will and Tess stare at each other. It’s definitely too much for just watching a movie, but it’s girl’s night. They like putting an effort to look better than usual on their weekly arrangments. Willow picks a backpack with her pajamas and some essential items from the ground and they head downstairs. Quil has already gone to their grandfather’s house.
(“I know exactly what Quil needs, okay, honey? Don’t worry about him,” Her grandpa’s thin-tenor voice told her over the telefone earlier that day. “Nothing’s bad gonna happen to him on my watch. It’ll pass.”
Willow had simply smiled and muttered. “Thanks, grandpa. See you tomorrow.”
“Be safe, Will.”)
When the girls enter Tess’ car, Willow can’t shake the feeling of unsettlingness that washes over her. There’s a hole in her chest, despite her heartbeats growing frantic by the minute. Something is wrong, she thinks. She’s not sure she wants to find what.
Tess looks at her mid-panic and asks, worried. “Hey, are you okay?”
Willow is not sure what encourages her to say “yes”, despite being in the verge of an anxiety attack. For some reason, her grandfather’s words ring in her ears.
It’ll pass. It’ll pass. It’ll pass.