~A/N This is an impromptu, ongoing story of mostly fluff when I need a break from some of my other stories which tend to get a bit angsty. First chapter is a repeat of my 4th drabbles located in Sketches. For this story, Bella came to live with Charlie when she was 22, Jacob is 20 and the alpha of his pack. All the same faces, but a few unique changes you will soon recognize.

Prompt: Traditional picnic table setup for the 4th of July

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Celebrations

Life of the Party

"You sure about this, Dad?"

"Sure, I'm sure. Billy's like a brother to me. He told me to bring you." Charlie said it would be the perfect way for her to meet people since she was starting culinary school in the fall. She hadn't lived with him since she was little.

It was 4th of July weekend and Billy's birthday. There was going to be a huge celebration in La Push.

Her father introduced her to Sue and Billy first. Seth was the next person to greet her. He was very nice and chatty. Bella cautioned herself, He's a little young for you. She still enjoyed his company.

Seth introduced her to his sister, but she had fewer words other than, "Hey."

A couple of other well-developed men approached them. "That's enough Seth. Run along, go play somewhere else. We'd like to get to know Ms. Swan a little better."

She first extended her hand to shake the shorter, burly guy's hand that was the talkative one. "Quil."

The quiet, reserved one brought her fingers to his lips. "Embry."

She giggled and promised never to forget those names. Bella asked who else was in their group of friends. They pointed to a couple of younger, but not much smaller men.

"That's Brady and Collin."

Quil added ,"Jailbait." As if, she wasn't thinking about them like that.

He pointed to Leah who'd settled in between the long legs of another giant man. What did they eat in La Push?

"Sam's with Leah and those two are Jared and Kim. Don't bother saying 'hi,' they only notice each other."

Bella found out they knew all about her from Jacob, but how? She hadn't seen him since he was like five.

"Oh, Jake knows plenty about you from Charlie. He saw your picture and he had an unusual reaction to it."

"What does that even mean?"

"Break it up, you two dipshits. We're supposed to be welcoming her, not creeping her the fuck out."

A hot guy with the dark eyes, came out of nowhere. He held Bella still by both shoulders and leaned in for further inspection. She wasn't sure if she should slap him or pucker up.

"Um...Paul, I'm pretty sure that wasn't part of our job either."

"What are you..."

He seemed dangerous, "Checking for drool. You never know with those rejects. Welcome to La Push, baby. I'm..."

"Paul," she answered since Quil said his name already.

He threw his arm over her shoulder, "I like you already. If Jake doesn't hurry up... finders keepers."

"Where is Jacob and why do you all act like you're babysitting me for him?"

Bella looked around and swore all of them responded to her question, even Leah. They looked nervous. She jumped when the arm was removed from her and a distinctive growl came from the offender.

Paul retreated. The entire party came to a standstill.

Jacob... she presumed.

No words were spoken, just a penetrating stare that she felt to the bone.

Prompt: Blake Shelton's "Sangria"

Rules Were Made to be Broken

Bella took a few steps back. Something changed, but she had no idea what it was. She looked to her right and left, everyone seemed to be waiting for her reaction.

She bolted.

It was so unlike her to cause a spectacle, but Bella was so overwhelmed, she felt afraid.

Fifteen minutes later, she finally emerged from the restroom. Jacob was standing in her way. She contemplated shutting the door again, but he seemed different. He smiled and introduced himself.

"Hey, Bells... Sorry about that, I'm Jake."

He put her at ease after that. They rejoined the party. Jacob stayed close to her. She kinda felt bad that she was monopolizing all his time. After all, it was supposed to be a party for his father.

"My Dad's covered. I bought him an expensive fishing rod and I take care of him everyday."

She was impressed. Actually, Jacob impressed her in many ways. She eventually asked what the deal was. "What's with your friends?"

"What about them?"

"Well, it's Billy's party and they treated me like the guest of honor."

How could it feel like they were still communicating when no one was saying anything?

He held out his hand, "Take a walk with me." She grabbed hold and they went off by themselves.

He told her more about his life. He appeared to shoulder a lot of responsibilities, he had a strong bond with his friends she didn't fully understand. It was a tribal thing. She knew he was holding back a little but that was understandable. They'd just met.

"I'm starving." It seemed he'd skipped lunch, since he was busy getting to know her. They returned to the party. Jacob offered her a beer out of the cooler, but she made a face.

"Hey Sue, did you make any of that fruity stuff?"

"Sangria?"

"Yeah, I think Bells might like it." Sue brought her a glass. Bella agreed it was quite tasty. Quil turned up the music. A few couples started dancing. Jacob motioned out to where all the activity was taking place.

"You wanna?"

She took a few more sips of her drink, "Sure, why not?"

Jacob had been close to her for hours. He'd held her hand, brushed up against her, even touched her back. Every bit of contact from him made her insides tingle. When he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her flush against his body, she was seeing fireworks. The real display hadn't even started, but she didn't need it.

Bella worried about not meeting anyone interesting, that Washington was filled with flannel wearing, grunge band wannabe's. She'd been way off. Her fingers traced the edge of cotton that stretched over his bicep while they danced. No flannel there, although he'd look nice in anything.

Jacob bent down. It was happening so fast. She was dizzy from Sangria and lust.

She stopped him at the last possible second. "I don't fool around on the first date."

He chuckled, "This isn't a date."

~Thanks for reading.

New part soon to follow.