CHAPTER 6. Scary Stories

Summary

Bella does not hear when her truck is dropped off later that afternoon, despite keeping an ear out for the engine's roar. The next day Jessica asked Bella what Edward Cullen wanted during lunch, noting that Bella looked mad and Edward had never sat with anyone but his family before. After lunch on this Friday, Bella overhears Lauren asking Mike why Bella doesn't sit with the Cullens from now on; Mike responds in a territorial fashion that Bella is his friend and she sits with them.

That evening, Charlie is excited about Bella's trip to LaPush. When she asks about camping at Goat Rocks, Charlie replies that there are too many bears there and most people go during hunting season. The next morning she meets the others going on Mike's trip in front of his family's store Newtons' Olympics Outfitters. They drive to LaPush and First Beach; Mike shows Bella the pretty colors of the driftwood fire, then Bella agrees to go on a hike to the nearby tidal pools when Lauren makes clear she didn't want to go. When they return, Bella sees some teenagers from the nearby Quileute reservation had joined those who stayed behind. The teens break off into different going on hikes or sticking by the fire, and one of the Quileute teens starts speaking to Bella: his name is Jacob Black and his father is Billy Black, who sold the truck to Charlie. He talks about building cars, as he had taken care of the truck before it was sold. When Lauren acidly brings up the Cullen family to Bella, an older boy from the reservation, Sam, says the Cullens don't come here.

Bella takes Jacob aside under the guise of flirting with him, walking down the beach. She gets him to speak about the Cullens, though Jacob was warned not to say anything about it. He explains the legends of his people, including the one about their people descending from wolves and there are werewolves among them. However, there are also cold ones, who are traditionally enemies of the tribal werewolves, except Jacob's great-grandfather made a truce with a pack of cold ones because they didn't hunt humans and were not a threat to Jacob's tribe. Nevertheless, there was a risk with the cold ones no matter how civilized they claim to be, which is why they are forbidden from the Quileute land. Bella asks how this fits in with the Cullens, if they're like the cold ones Jacob's grandfather met. Jacob answers that the Cullens are actually the very same ones, but with the addition of a new female and male to their pack. Bella asks what they are and Jacob responds they are vampires. Jacob clearly does not believe these legends and is delighted by Bella's goosebumps, which she says is due to his storytelling. Jacob asks Bella not to tell Charlie, since he was already mad at Billy for some of the Quileutes no longer going to the hospital where Dr. Cullen works. Jacob asks if Mike is Bella's girlfriend, as he seems jealous when they return to the campfire, and Bella says no. Bella invites Jacob to visit her in Forks when he gets his license, and says she will join Charlie the next time he visits Billy. On the ride home, Bella sits in the back with Angela and Tyler, which annoys Lauren in the front.

Notes

The Quileute connection to the Cullens is not only a key to the rest of the Twilight series but is keeping with the vampire formula. Often in supernatural tales, there are allusions to myths and legends regarding monstrous creatures - this sense of extreme longevity helps reinforce the sense of inevitability the threat embodies, as well as places its origins in an unknowable context, which is a cornerstone of horror. Jacob is an important figure because he confirms Bella's suspicions and represents the other major faction of supernatural monsters, the Quileute werewolves; it is ironic that he does not believe in any of these legends, as they become crucial to his life in future volumes.