Since I am autistic I am going to claim this and anyone who tries to fight me can square up at the 7/11 parking lot at 4am:
Nessie is autistic bc she prefers to not speak allowed and instead show you her thoughts and images, is super smart and fast learning, and because it’ll make smeyer mad.
I was driving down the provincial roads of Washington, going towards La Push, where my friend, Nessie, and her family were waiting for me. “Immortale” by Måneskin was bursting through my rental car, which Nessie had arranged for me, as I was hitting the steering wheel in the rhythm of the song. I loved that song so much, I was singing it at the top of my lungs - at least, the parts I knew how to say.
“Credimi, credimi, sono diventato immortale (Believe me, believe me, I became immortal).”
I was tired after flying for 20 hours and having to drive for another 4, but this song always brought my mood up. That, and the fact that I managed to sleep plenty of hours through the flights. I was counting down the hours until I reached La Push. It was Nessie’s birthday tomorrow, and she had invited me over to spend a few weeks with her and her family.
Nessie and I met when she came to my university as a study abroad student. At first, she only planned to stay here for a semester, but that turned into two semesters - the maximum time study abroad students were allowed to stay there. I was heartbroken when she had to go back home, but she had promised me she’ll do anything to meet again.
I didn’t know what it was with Nessie - or Renesmee, as she was officially named. She was such a fun person to be around. She made everyone feel welcome and happy, and she was probably the easiest person to get along with. She was up for anything, but she was also the most responsible out of everyone, kind of like the mom in our small group of her, me, and my four other friends.
I was getting more and more excited the closer I got to La Push, though I still had to drive within the required speed limits. It was really difficult to estimate the kilometers to miles, and thankfully the car was already in miles, but it was still difficult to keep up with the speed limits around here. The US was really strict with the speed limits, which I never experienced before, but better to be safe than sorry. I didn’t want to get deported or something, so I drove much slower than I usually did.
I liked driving fast, testing the car’s limits, as well as my own, and kind of brag about my driving to others. I liked driving fast, but I was also extremely cautious, and these two often clashed with each other. I would sometimes hate slow drivers, and other times I would wish other drivers drove more slowly. Unfortunately, I had terrible road rage in either case.
Fortunately, I was aware of where I could drive fast, and where I had better drive slowly and carefully. And these narrow, provincial roads were not made for speeding. They were steep from the constant rain, and they had too many turns to count - the very opposite of a road to speed on.
That, however, did not stop the asshole that was following me from almost bumping onto my car, speeding beyond my own comprehension, and almost colliding with the back of my car. Said asshole was flashing his car’s lights and honking at me as if any of these would actually make me go any faster. I was driving for over three and a half hours, just to come across this ass in the last 20 minutes of my driving.
The man kept honking and trying to scare me into speeding or moving over so he could run past me. I was a bigger asshole than he was and my anger rose rapidly as it usually did, so I stepped gently on my brakes, forcing him to step hard on his before he decided that enough was enough.
He stepped on his gas, and, with an abrupt movement, ran past me, before cutting me off and then speeding off like the ass he was. I sent a lovely open palm on his side, cursing him, and continued driving. My heart was beating fast all this time - a mix of fear and adrenaline, and I was slowly trying to calm myself down, but my hands were still shaking.
“Just a few more minutes, (Y/N). Just a few more minutes.”
I was trying to calm myself down, as I was known for getting too angry too quickly, and now, it was not the time for that. I had to remain calm and collected. It was Nessie’s birthday after all, and I didn’t want to ruin everything because of a random asshole. It would be the first time I met her family and friends, and I wanted to leave a good impression, not be the angry ass around here.
I reached the address she had given me after a few minutes. The house seemed small and old, slightly worn out by the rain and humidity, but the location, being slightly away from other houses around the area, offered peace and quiet. It wasn’t a place I would have imagined Nessie would be staying - she dressed too expensive, and spent a lot of money, at least when she was a study abroad.
“(Y/N)!” Ness ran up to me the second I walked out of my car. “I’m so happy you’re finally here! I missed you so much!” Nessie’s embrace was so tight and overwhelming, but warm and welcoming.
I took a step back to look at her. She hadn’t changed at all. She had the same sweet face, wavy curls, and bright smile as she always did.
“It’s nice to see you, too, Nessie. I missed you, too.” I answered back wholeheartedly, but the look on my face did not match my sincerity.
“Hey, boo, what happened? You don’t seem happy to be here.” Ness furrowed her eyebrows, looking at me worriedly.
“Well.. Can I vent to you a bit?”
“Of course, you can. Come on, let’s go inside and you can tell me everything.” She took my hand in hers, and she led me into the house.
The same house that looked old and worn out on the outside was nothing like its interior. It was so warm and welcoming, beautifully decorated with warm, earthly colors, and was actually much bigger than it looked from the outside. Ness sat me down on one of the couches in the living room.
“Now, tell me, what’s got you so upset?” She smiled encouragingly.
“Well, someone almost crashed on my car. I was driving slow, not just because of the police, but, you know, the roads were steep and I was scared. He came behind me. He was running really fast, and he kept honking and flashing his lights. And I got scared, but you know me, I wouldn’t just let this asshole do whatever he wants. So, I stepped on my brakes, he stepped on his. He was really mad, he moved past me, and cut me off. He almost sent me off-road! So, I just showed him my open palm as he drove away. I still feel the adrenaline and the fear run through me. It felt like a near-death experience.”
Ness was looking at me shocked. “Because it was! (Y/N), you have to be careful around here. Did you, at least, notice his face or anything? Do you remember his car, his car plate?”
“Well, I did notice him in my mirror. He was…handsome, but an asshole nonetheless.”
“I’m sorry for that, sweety. I hope you are better now. Would you like to meet the rest of my family?”
“I thought you said your actual family would be away for the week.”
“Well, yeah, but I mean my La Push family; Brady and his family and friends. We’ll have dinner at Emily and Sam’s place. They’re like our mom and dad, even though they do have their own kids.”
“Oh, do you go there often?”
“Well, pretty much every day. Or every other day. Emily is the sweetest and her cooking is amazing. Brady and the others are already there.”
“The others? How many more are there?”
“Well, apart from Brady, Sam, and Emily, there are Jared and Kim, Leah and Angela, Seth and Daniel, Quil and Claire, Embry and Laura, Collin and Diana, and Jacob and Christine. Oh, there is also Paul, but I’m not sure if he’ll come. Everyone told him to be there, but you never know with him.”
“So, there will be just couples?” That made me nervous. I was definitely going to be left out.
“Oh, no, don’t worry. Even if Paul, who’s the only single, won’t come, we’ll still stay together. You won’t be alone. And the girls are amazingly sweet. You’ll see. Now, go get changed and ready for dinner. I’ll be waiting right here.” Ness took me to - I assumed - a guest room and gently pushed me in, closing the door behind me.
She had left some underwear and a red, long-sleeved dress with a deep V-neck on the bed for me to wear. I sighed sadly; I hated wearing dresses, and Ness knew that, but she may have had a reason to do so. Without questioning her intentions further, I went into the small bathroom and got myself cleaned quickly. I came out 10 minutes later and got dressed and ready within a few minutes. I met Nessie back in the living room.
“Wow, (Y/N)! You should definitely wear dresses more often. It looks beautiful on you.”
I turned around to look at myself in the mirror. Sure, it looked good but it was not as comfortable as my jeans and t-shirt. “I’m just doing it for you, Ness.”
“Mmh, sure, hun. Let’s go. The others will start eating without us.”
We walked outside and got into Nessie’s Volvo SUV Hybrid. Now, that was a car I knew Nessie would drive, ‘cause I knew she loved luxury. Ness was way more comfortable speeding through the narrow roads than I was, and yet she never crossed the other lane once.
Within a few minutes, we were in front of a house similar to Nessie’s, though this one was a two-floor house and it was literally surrounded by trees and woods. There were ten other cars in front of the house, which I assumed belonged to the people waiting in the house for us. Ness parked behind a truck and we exited her car.
“Everyone seems to be here, except for Paul, but it’s okay. I’ll be by your side, so you don’t feel uncomfortable. But I’m sure you will quickly feel at home. Everyone is very welcoming and kind.”
Nessie’s smile encouraged me and calmed me down a bit. I didn’t know what to expect coming here to this new place, meeting these new people who were already a big family. We walked up the porch stairs to the house. Most people were sitting in the front living room, with the exception of a woman and a man walking around in the kitchen, still preparing food and setting up the table.
“Hey, guys! This is my friend, (Y/N), that I told you about. She’ll be staying with Brady and me for a few weeks. (Y/N), these are my friends that I told you about.”
I greeted every single one of them before Ness led me to the kitchen. “(Y/N), this is Emily and this is Sam. They kind of are like a mom and dad to me, so I usually call them my parents, though they’re not too much older than I am.”
“Hi, sweetheart.” Emily hugged me tightly, and I could feel all of my stress washing away. “How are you? I bet you had a long and tiring trip. Are you hungry? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Yeah, well, it was long for sure. 20 hours flying, 4 hours driving. It was…something else. I am a bit hungry, thank you.” I chuckled.
“Nessie, get (Y/N) to sit down in the meantime. Everything will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Where are the kids, anyway?” Ness wondered, and I remembered she mentioned Sam and Emily having children.
“Oh, they’re up in the Macah rez for a few days. It’s not often we have guests around, and the kids haven’t seen my parents for a while now, so I thought that it would be a good time for everyone. Go sit down now.” Emily gently pushed us towards the living room.
Ness went straight into her boyfriend’s, Brady, arms, and they leaned on each other. I went to sit nearby, looking around at all the happy couples, sitting in the living room, embracing one another. I felt like a fish out of water, being the only had around who had no one to hug and lay down next to or on. I felt awkward, to say the least.
Ness broke the silence. “So, where is Paul anyway?”
“He needed to break off some steam. Apparently, he got road rage again. But Sam told him he has to be here, so he will come eventually” A guy, I think his name was Embry, answered back.
“What’s new, really?” Another guy commented, and everyone around laughed.
I didn’t know who Paul was yet, but he sounded like an angry guy for sure. Looking at all the people around me, I didn’t know if I would like to cross paths with him. It wasn’t that I wasn’t someone who got angry too quickly for no reason, but at least, I didn’t want to have to deal with someone who acted the same way as I did. Calm people brought me calmness, and I preferred to be surrounded by them rather than people who were similar to me.
“Well, speaking of road rage, someone almost crashed into (Y/N) on her way here.”
“What? How? Who?” A girl asked upset.
“I don’t really know. Some guy. I was driving slow because I was scared, I didn’t know the roads, and I wasn’t going to drive too fast around here. And then this guy comes speeding behind me and he almost crashed into my car. I slowed the car and he got angrier, so he drove past me and almost threw me off the road.”
“That’s terrible, sweety. Are you okay now?” Emily asked concerned, now standing across from me.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Everything is fine now.” I smiled at her, slightly moved that she showed so much interest and cared for me.
The next few minutes went by with everyone talking, asking me questions, and commenting on my answers. Overall, they were really nice people, and I saw why Ness was so happy to be around them. They didn’t make me feel nervous or anxious; on the contrary, they made me feel very calm and I could easily open up to them, though there seemed to be something they hid from me, which I wouldn’t question them about, at least not yet.
The conversation was interrupted by a guy entering the house with heavy steps. He looked frustrated at something, as he went to sit alone at the dining table in the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at him, but no one dared to say anything, as if they knew better than to irritate him even more.
It was only when he turned around to ask why nobody had eaten yet that I recognized who he was. The man looked around everyone until his eyes fell on me. He looked at me shocked, almost as if he froze in his place, unable to say anything else.
I felt my eyes almost popping off, as I turned to Nessie and whispered. “Ness, that’s the one who almost threw me off the road earlier.”
I was literally fuming. I was driving towards Emily and Sam’s place for the dinner Emily was preparing for Nessie’s friend who would be arriving in town today. She would be staying at Nessie and Brady’s house for a few weeks, and Nessie asked us to be as discreet as we could about the shifting thing around her. Not that I would be around her or the others as much; I didn’t like these big gatherings anymore.
Everyone was hanging out with their imprints, and I would be the only one who had been and will be alone, so after some time, I started ditching all these meetings and dinners. I would have ditched tonight as well if it weren’t for Sam forcing me to come along. I was already angry, but I was trying to control my anger, so as to not risk exposing our secret to Nessie’s friend later.
But I was running late, and I was already pretty angry about it, thinking every complaint the others would make the second I arrived there. To add to my anger, there was a car in front of me driving so slow, it almost made me crawl out of my skin. The driver, a woman, was driving too slow for my liking as if she had never driven here before. I couldn’t help myself when she refused to speed up.
I started honking and flashing my car’s lights at her, hoping that she’d wake up and step on the gas a bit. She looked me through the mirror, angry but smirked a bit, before stepping on her brakes, forcing me to step on mine to not crash with her car. Not caring if Chief Swan or any camera caught me, I stepped on my gas, driving quickly past her car, and cutting her off by stepping on my brakes.
She looked at me angrily, shouting but I couldn’t hear her, before I sped up once again, leaving the bitch behind. My heart was beating fast with anger, and I couldn’t force myself to calm down, no matter how much I tried. I changed the course of my route, going to my house instead. I quickly sent a message to the pack group chat, letting them know what happened, before I ran towards the woods, bursting out of my clothes, and running.
———————————————————-
I had been running for about half an hour before I decided that I was calm enough - not completely, but enough - to go by Emily and Sam’s for dinner. I quickly went back to my house, took a quick shower, threw some clean clothes on me, and hopped in my car, driving towards the house where everyone had been waiting for me.
Reaching the driveway, I parked beside the last car that was parked there, which happened to belong to Nessie. I stepped out of my car and jogged towards the house, stepping in with heavy steps. Everyone was already sitting in the front living room, talking with each other, until I stepped into the house which made everyone stop and turn to look towards me, as I walked towards the kitchen and sat on a chair at the dining table.
“Why hasn’t anyone eaten yet?” I looked around at the familiar faces before my eyes fell on the most beautiful creature I had ever met.
And then, the world around me stopped, and I could not focus on anything but her. It felt as if the whole world narrowed around me, and that girl was in the center of the new world that was created around me. I was looking at her bright eyes that shone under the sun, her perfect skin, her perfect face. I could see our whole life pass before me. I could hear her gurgling laugh, and see her eyes twinkle. It was the most beautiful and breathtaking spectacle I had ever seen in my whole life.
And then I came back to reality. Everyone was looking at me shocked, as the girl looked confused, being the only one around here who did not know what had just happened to me. Nessie, who looked shocked at first, quickly grew frustrated, leaving Brady’s side, as she came towards me and pushed me off of my chair.
“Are you serious, Paul? You almost threw her off-road, and now…this?!” Her eyes were popping, full of anger and disbelief.
I didn’t understand what she meant by that, until I looked back at the girl, letting Nessie’s word sink in. And then, I realized that it was the same girl I almost bumped into with the car; the same girl I was honking and flashing my lights at; the same girl I almost…killed? All because of the anger that took me over.
I stood up, walking slowly towards her, unsure of how she felt. “Hey. I’m… I’m really sorry. I have no idea what’s gotten into me at that moment. I’m really sorry for everything.”
I saw her gulping. “It’s okay.” Her voice was trembling.
“No, (Y/N), it’s not okay. He could have gotten you killed! For no reason!” Nessie spat.
So, her name was (Y/N). Her name flattered my insides and made me want to melt from all the attraction I was feeling for her right now.
“Nessie…” Brady silently begged his imprint to calm down.
“No, Brady, he should feel guilty. You almost killed her. My best friend!” Nessie looked at me. “Your imprint!” She barely whispered, so only the pack and I could hear.
“Nessie, please don’t give it any more time than it already has. It’s fine. I’m okay. Nothing happened. What’s done is done. Yelling and arguing about it won’t change anything, so just let it go.” (Y/N) tried to calm her friend down, but I could only hear her soft voice in my ears.
I felt incredible shame and guilt. Even if she wasn’t my imprint, I only now realized I could have actually killed a human because of my anger. I had never been like that. But my day was terrible - I had to stay longer at the mechanic shop I was working at, because of a customer arriving at the last minute, and I was already late for dinner. However, that was no excuse for my behavior.
I slowly walked towards (Y/N), feeling so guilty. I leaned in front of her and took her hand in my own hands. She looked at me shocked, and I could feel she was getting uncomfortable, but I had to do this.
“I’m really sorry, (Y/N), honestly. I don’t know what’s gotten into me and I acted like an asshole. I never meant to scare you or even dare to kill you. I would have never imagined you were so important to m…Nessie. I’m really sorry for my behavior. It was inexcusable. I hope you can forgive me and we can start over.” I let go of her hand, and stood up, extending my hand toward her. “Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Paul, Paul Lahote. The hothead around, and probably the biggest asshole you could ever meet.”
(Y/N)’s shocked face was immediately replaced by a smirk and a chuckle, as she shook my hand. “Hi, Paul. Nice to meet you, too. I’m (Y/N), (Y/N) (Y/L/N). As much as it doesn’t show right now, I’m the hothead around my own family, and probably a bigger asshole than you are.”
“I hope you can still forgive me.” I smile slightly at her, not knowing how she felt about me.
“That may take some time, Paul, but I can definitely try.”
I was going to work my ass off for (Y/N) to forget and prove to her that I can become the best man she had ever met.
