Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Rabbit Meets The Magic Stick

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 08:

“Paul, Bella, come and take a look,” Aunt Molly called. The pair went to where Jake was sitting to take a look at the results of his perm.

“How do I look?” Jake asked, turning around with a huge grin on his face. “Do I rock this look or what?”

Paul and Bella turned to each other then to Jake with shocked expressions on their faces. Aunt Molly was still spraying loads of toxic hair spray on his layered, permed locks.

“Dude, um… that’s a lot of hair,” Paul stated.

“Jake, your hair. Oh my God. You look like one of those guys from those big hair bands that my mom likes.”

“I know, right? That’s the look we were going for. I wanted to blend.”

“Blend? Jakey, I’m going to have to give you some of that good conditioner I got from Sephora; otherwise you’re going to get split ends. You probably already have split ends.”

“Split ends? My clients do not get split ends,” Aunt Molly stated in a business-like tone.

“Yeah, well, then how come my friend here looks like he stuck his finger in an electric socket?”

“He does not! I think he looks quite stylish-like those nice boys in Motley Crue. Besides, since you weren’t willing to get a perm-someone had to. This was the style I originally had in mind for you.”

Bella’s mouth dropped open. “I’m happy with the style you gave me. It’s beautiful, thank you.”

“I thought you’d say that.” She patted Bella on the arm then turned to the kids. “Now, the three of you go and wait in my car. We’re going to the mall.”

“Don’t you have a salon to run?”

“I do, but this is an emergency. Helen can handle everything for the day.”

“Helen who?” Bella asked, suspecting the answer.

“Helen? What are you talking about? You must have misheard me.” Molly looked around wildly as if she was in a panic.

“You said the name Helen. I want to know who Helen is.”

Molly sighed. “Helen Swan, your grandmother. She’s the co-owner of this salon.”

“My grandma? Can… can I meet her?”

“No, honey, you can’t. That’s why I want you in the station wagon. Elders orders.”

“But… I never really knew her. You don’t understand. My dad… my dad, when he was…”

“Enough!” Aunt Molly snapped and sympathetically spoke, “Honey, I can’t hear whatever it is that you want to say because it will jeopardize all of our futures.” She stroked Bella’s cheek softly with her palm. “I’ll try to find some photos of Helen. I know it’s not the same, but… they’ll have to…”

“They’ll have to what?” another female voice interrupted. “Why do you need to find some photos of me to show this young lady and what’s all this about our futures being jeopardized?”

“Helen, I… I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Obviously.” The newcomer, a woman in her late thirties with beautiful, blonde hair and a twinkle in her eyes appraised the three teens, stopping abruptly at Bella. She turned back to Aunt Molly. “Does this have anything to do with the wolf pack and the vampires? Because, clearly, someone has turned my mother-in-law into a bloodsucker.”

The three teens stood stunned in shock. They had no idea that Helen Swan knew about the pack and the vampires. This knowledge wasn’t to be shared with anyone outside of the pack. Even Bella and Jake hadn’t known about the existence of the pack until yesterday.

“How did you find out?” Paul asked curiously.

“Oh, well, Molly told me. She’s my best friend. She can’t hide anything from me. I can be very persistent.”

Aunt Molly slapped a palm over her forehead. She hurried to the front door, locked it, and put up the ‘Closed’ sign. “This has gotten completely out of control. Helen, before I introduce you to the kids, call our clients to cancel our appointments for today. We have serious business to discuss.”

“Aww… that’s too bad, I was going to over-process Jackie Stanley’s hair… that bitch. Okay, what are we going to tell everyone?”

“Family emergency?” Jake offered.

Molly shrugged her shoulders. “Sounds good.”

Twenty minutes later, the kids were herded into the backseat of Aunt Molly’s station wagon. Helen Swan was riding in the front passenger seat. The five of them were on the way to the mall in Olympia.

“Alright, what’s going on?” Helen asked when they were finally out of town.

Molly took in a deep breath. “Helen, remember that you’ve been my best friend since we were in kindergarten and that you’re good with weird.”

“She’s like you,” Paul noted, looking at Bella.

“Don’t compare me to my mother-in-law,” Helen snapped.

“I’m not your mother-in-law. I’m your granddaughter.”

“Excuse me? Did you just say that you’re my granddaughter?”

“Uh-huh.” Bella nodded her head with wide, innocent eyes.

Helen turned back to Molly and whispered, “Is the girl okay? She seems a bit unstable. Maybe she smokes marijuana or snorts cocaine or something.”

“I beg your pardon! I would never abuse my body that way,” Bella snapped, incensed at her grandmother.

“Helen, just let me drive and explain things. Don’t interrupt me no matter what.”

“Fine.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled at Molly. “Well?” she prompted when the latter had not spoken yet.

And with that, Molly delved into a thorough explanation of who the kids were and the events that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours. She didn’t leave anything out; she even told her about Bella not being able to get a perm because she had the lead in Grease. Helen Swan’s reaction was completely not one of shock or surprise, but of joy. She climbed into the already crowded backseat of the station wagon, sat on Jacob’s lap, and hugged Bella. “My grandbaby. Oh, look at you. You’re so precious. You take after me in looks.”

“Um, I thought you said that I looked like your mother-in-law.”

“I wasn’t looking closely enough. You obviously have my eyes and my cheekbones. Oh, and such healthy, healthy hair. And your teeth, they’re so straight.”

“I had braces until last year.”

“Braces?” she asked horrified and shook her head. “That must have come from your mother’s side of the family. It couldn’t possibly have come from my side or the Swan side. Who is your mother anyway?”

“Helen, you can’t ask her questions like that. You’ll jeopardize her future. It’s bad enough that you know. The elders are going to throw a fit. Seriously, you aren’t even supposed to know about the existence of wolves.”

“All you need to know is that my mom is a very sweet lady and she doesn’t like being compared to people who others hold up on a pedestal,” she told her, remembering how Renee hated how Charlie always brought up Helen Swan whenever they argued.

“Bella!” Aunt Molly warned. “Nothing, absolutely nothing, about the future is to be shared.”

“Oh, don’t yell at my grandbaby!”

“Um, excuse me?” a male voice interrupted.

“Yes?” Helen asked Jake.

“How long are you planning on sitting on my lap?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, honey. Why don’t you sit in the front seat? I want to sit with my grandbaby.” She studied Jake’s face. “Oh, you look just like that nice Sarah girl who Billy Junior knocked up last year. You must be a heartbreaker.”

“People do say I look like my mom.”

“Oh, you do. You do.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s too bad she got involved with the Black boy. I hope he makes something of himself. Hopefully, the birth of the twins will kick him into shape. Are Rachel and Rebecca still adorable?”

“Not really. I like to think of them as Cruella and Devilla.”

“Oh, my. They must take after your grandmother.”

“Helen, would you stop asking the kids questions? The less they tell us, the better it will be.”

Helen simply rolled her eyes then turned to Paul. Jake took the opportunity to escape to the front seat. “You are one gorgeous, young man. Who is your mother?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Finally, an intelligent one!” Aunt Molly commented.

“I know you’re Adam’s son.” She smiled. “Oh, he’s such a good boy-a bit of a follower. He needs more backbone, and he needs to stop being led along by a leash and think for himself.”

“Uh, you should tell him.”

“I should?”

“Uh, yeah. Definitely. And while you’re at it, tell him not to wallow in depression so much and that alcohol doesn’t solve anything. Bad things happen to all of us; the important thing is to move forward in life.” Paul figured that his father might need a bit of good advice from someone. It couldn’t hurt, could it?

Helen stroked his cheek. “You poor boy. I can tell that you’ve seen so much in your short life.” She nodded her head knowingly and whispered, “I’ll do my best.”

They all continued chatting throughout the trip, making the drive to Olympia go by in no time.