For all the people who have put me on Author's Alert for my Harry Potter stories, I have this to say: I AM SO SORRY!

I know I've been terrible about updating lately, and it's because I have the worst case of writer's A.D.D. ever. So I know I'm making some Harry Potter fans mad by writing a Twilight fanfic, but I'm about to make some Twilight fans mad, too. I don't like Twilight. I didn't really like it before all the hype came up, and I still don't. But I thought the werewolves were pretty cool, so here's a story about them. For anyone with me on Alert who doesn't want to read this, feel free to take me off that list. I won't know the difference, and you probably have put For the Pursuit of Happiness on alert anyway.

. . .

Some people called me Nani.

Some people called me Young.

My full name is Nalunani Young. My parents told me that in Hawaiian, it means white wave, and I think it's a pretty name.

But, right now, my parents were not the nicest people on the planet.

"You have got to be kidding me." I said flatly, staring at them. "What exactly possessed you to think I would want to move to a reservation?"

"It's not that we think you want to." said Mom, looking uncomfortable. "We're just... Having some problems right now."

I studied her movements. She looked back at Dad behind her, but the ring on her finger was not shifted. Dad's hand was firm, but not too much so, on her shoulder. This wasn't a divorce problem. I was safe.

But, whatever it was to make Mom talk like that, I figured it was better if I just did what they told me.

"Will we be moving indefinitely?" I asked.

"Well, no-o..." said Mom slowly.

"You're gonna be on your own for now." said Dad. "Until we can get things sorted out. Then, if all goes well, you'll be home before long."

"And if all goes bad?" I asked.

They looked uncomfortable, then Dad said, "Then it will be indefinitely."

I closed my eyes for a moment and counted to five. They weren't telling me what was wrong, and at this point I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. "Who will I be staying with?"

"Your Aunt Emily." he said.

I recoiled. "Emily? But... isn't she into, like, dangerous stuff?" I asked.

"Is that what Micheal's been telling you?" Mom asked abruptly. "I swear, your cousins sometimes..."

"She's not dangerous, Nani." Dad said. "She's the nicest person I know, and I would know, being her brother."

"And how long will I be staying if all goes well?"

They looked at each other. "We... aren't sure. But it will be less than six months. And then you'll be home, with us again."

I sighed, but decided not to argue further. I wasn't sticking around, and that was that.

. . .

The next morning, I was at the airport boarding a plane to Washington. All I had was a suitcase and a messenger bag filled with all my important things. Money, pictures, keepsake items, the like. Mom hugged me tightly before I went to board the plane. "Things will work out, you know." she murmured. "You'll be back before you know it."

I nodded, trying to keep tears out of my eyes. I honestly tried to believe that, and held that thought all the way onto the plane, where I slumped into a seat and pulled out my ipod.

The flight was only three hours, and it couldn't have felt long enough. I was landing before I'd even finished the soda the flight attendant brought me.

As I was entering the new airport, a woman with three thick scars on her face ran up to me. "Nalunani!" she exclaimed. "You've gotten so tall!"

"It's Nani now." I corrected, not unkindly. She wasn't a terrible person, I was just a little intimidated by her. The scars were a hard thing to get past.

"Oh, okay. Well, come on, Nani, let's go get your bag and we can go to my place." she said, leading the way to the baggage claim.

When we got out to the car, I found someone else sitting in the driver's seat. "Nani, this is Sam." she said as the stranger tossed my bag into the trunk as though it weighed nothing. "He's my fiance."

"I didn't know you were getting married." I mumbled, getting into the back seat. It was obvious the car wasn't used very often, but I didn't mind. Old things didn't bother me very much.

It was another short trip from the airport to the reservation, La Push, and, as much as I didn't want to, I found I really liked Emily's house. It was small, old, and simple, with Native American décor all around. "Where do I put my stuff?" I asked, looking around.

"Oh, just put it by the door. We'll get you all unpacked later." she said, already going around the kitchen and making food.

"What, are we feeding an army?" I asked, looking at all the ingredients she was setting out.

Sam laughed. "No, but that's close."

"Teenaged boys." Emily specified. "They'll be arriving soon."

"Am I gonna know why?" I asked.

"This is their hangout." Sam said. "You'll understand when they get here."

I didn't have to wait long. It was only about fifteen minutes when a freaking herd of guys trekked into the room. "Sam!" called one of them, doing a bro-fist thing with Sam. "Who's the girl?"

"My niece." said Emily, carrying a bowl of something to the table. "Where's Seth?"

"He'll be coming in soon." said another guy, already eating. "Man, I'm starving!"

"Leah held him back." said the one with the shaggiest hair. "She was yelling at him about cleaning up a mess last I knew."

I shook my head and curled up in the corner of the couch. My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I slipped it out and saw Mom had texted me.

Everything going OK?

I flipped open the keyboard and gave the generic answer. Yeah, Mom. All fine.

"Seth! Buddy, hey!"

"Man, Leah is like your mom! Tell her to lay off!"

"I would, but then she'd claw my eyes out."

Are you sure? We can bring you back if you really hate it.

No. Too much inconvenience. No, really, it's all right. I meeting new people now.

"Who's that?"

"Yeah, Em, I don't think you told us her name."

"Nani Young. She's Greyson's daughter."

"Oh, really? I didn't know he had... a..."

Talk slowed to a halt. I turned to see what had happened and caught the youngest-looking guy immediately tear his gaze away. They were all looking at him in a stunned sort of way.

"No way." one of them laughed quietly.

A few of them clapped, some of them patted him on the back and said stuff like, "Way to go, man!"

"Sam," I murmured as he came over. "Who are these people?"

He seemed a little distracted for a moment, then looked at me. "Huh? Oh. Yeah, Nani, this is Jacob Black, we call him Jake, this is Embry, and Quil is the one already stuffing his face, Jared in the corner, Paul, and... Seth." He lingered on the last name, like something set the kid apart from the others. "Guys, Nani's gonna be staying here a while. Greyson and his wife need to sort some things out, so she'll be here. I shouldn't need to say this, but, come on, guys," he said exasperatedly. "Treat her like a lady. Like Emily, even."

"Yesh, shir!" said the one named Quil, his mouth full. Jake hit him on the back of the head.

"I know you." I said, looking at Jake. "I've seen you in, like, family pictures and stuff."

He shook his head. "Not me. Probably my dad, Billy. Him and your dad used to be, like, best friends or something. Still are, I guess..."

A few of the guys were still teasing Seth about something, but he looked more embarrassed than like he was joking around. "I, uh, I'm gonna sit over here." he said quietly, sitting at the table and not looking at me.

I watched him go curiously. "Am I having a negative affect on people?"

"Hecks to the no!" said Jared, flopping down beside me.

"He just gets nervous around pretty girls like yourself." said Embry, sitting on my other side.

"You got a favorite color, pretty miss?" asked Jared.

"Orange." I answered automatically. These guys seemed like fun. "You?"

"Gold."

"Black."

"Plaid." said Paul, joining in from behind me. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

The three looked at each other with knowing expressions, then they looked back at me. "One last question,"

"Just so we're clear,"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

I was taken aback by the question. "Er... no?"

"Wha-at?" said Jared, looking overly shocked. "You, Gorgeous? I wouldn't have believed it."

"Definitely letting all this pretty go to waste." said Embry.

"Such a shame." tsked Jared.

The three of them looked back at Seth, who had turned bright red and was focusing intently on the patterns in the table before him.

"Knock it off." said Sam, hitting Jared in the back of the head as he walked by.

"We were just getting to know her!" he complained.

"Don't pick on the little guy while your doing it. Think of how you would feel." Sam said knowingly as he left the room.

What? I felt like I'd just completely missed half the conversation happening right in front of me.