"Kimberly Anne Connweller, get up this instant!"

I groaned, rolling further into the mass of blankets I was sleeping under. Kim could hear her mother shrieking and stripping away the covers off of me. I slowly opened her eyes to see my mom's small face distorted in annoyance, half her hair was straight, the other half a mess.

"Kimberly, how many times do we have to do this?" My mom reprimanded, pulling on my arm trying to get me out of bed. "You need to start taking full responsibility for getting yourself up. You're sixteen for God's sake!"

"I'm up, mom," I groused, shaking my messy hair and jumping onto the wooden floor.

Alaina Connweller wasn't someone you wanted to anger. She nearly went on another rant as when she noticed my bare feet. I grumbled something about wearing socks to bed next time, before walking over to her window to open the curtains.

"Hurry and get ready, I'm taking you to school," Mom said before walking out of my small room.

I glanced out the window and sighed. It was foggy outside, everything was green and gray. It was another typical cloudy day in La Push. I quickly took out a pair of jeans, a long turtleneck, and my winter coat and made a mad dash to the bathroom.

I was running late, so a warm shower was out of the equation. Splashing cold water onto my face, I nit-picked all the things I disliked about my face. My face was slightly off-balance; wide face, high cheekbones, lips too full that overwhelmed my pointy chin, and a broad nose. My eyes were dark and my skin was the same russet color as any other Quileute tribe member. I guess my hair was okay, on good days at least. It was long, thick and black and it a bit too flat and wispy sometimes. My mother had insisted on not letting me chop it off and always made sure I slathered it with oils and aloe vera to keep it healthy. It was one of my favorite things about me.

I grabbed a tube of mascara that helped elongate my long eyelashes. I didn't like wearing too much mascara, because I felt it brought too much attention to my small eyes. I dabbed some concealer on my trouble spots and called it a day.

I bounded down the stairs where my little sister Katie was waiting for me. She leaped into my arms and shoved a half-eaten waffle into my mouth. I swallowed it, before laying a small kiss on her forehead and ruffling her wavy hair.

"Come on, mommy's taking us to school!" She squealed taking her sparkly pink backpack and jumping out the door.

Normally, I'd walk her towards the bus stop that would take her to her school and then walked the rest of the way to my school. I was just happy I wasn't going to trek through the mud today, it had poured down on La Push last night and everything was muddy.

"Okay, honey, have a nice day!" My mom beamed as we pulled up to the La Push High School drop off. We had already dropped off Katie. "I won't be home until late tonight. So help out your dad with dinner, please. I don't need him nearly burning down the house again."

I giggled at the memory and assured her that she won't come home to a half-standing house. I slipped out of the car and was immediately attacked by my best friend Tally. Tallulah Locklear was a very small girl who was just bursting with energy.

Her dark curly hair was frizzy and her eyes were wild as she grinned up at me. She grabbed my hand and guided me inside. Our best friend Grace Hemlock was already waiting for us with drinks by our usual table inside the cafeteria.

"Hot cocoa for my favorite girls," Grace smiled as she handed us our drinks. Her glasses were all fogged up but I could still the twinkle in her eyes. "You're lucky I'm such a good friend."

"Thanks," I grinned taking a sip of the hot cocoa and relishing its warmth.

"Oh my Gosh! I almost forgot!" Tally exclaimed slapping her forward. Her eyes were wide with excitement and her grip on my wrist was deadly. "Guess who I saw yesterday?"

"Bigfoot," Grace deadpanned, picking up her notes and revising them.

Tally snorted," No silly! But it might as well been-he got as big as Bigfoot!"

"Who?" I questioned eagerly. Her buzzing excitement was making me nervous.

"Jared Cameron."

I felt a flutter in my stomach at the mention of his name. I had the biggest crush on him ever since freshman year. He had been in one of my classes and I thought he was incredibly sweet and cute. We had briefly talked when we were paired up as partners, but nothing much blossomed after that. We were acquaintances at best, and I thought my feelings would disappear after the school year had ended. I was wrong.

"Here we go again," Grace smirked as she looked at me pointedly.

Tally squealed, clapping her hands exuberantly. Her large eyes were watching me closely. I guess she got the reaction she wanted because she slammed her palms on the table and continued.

"Oh my God, Kim, he got huge!" She looked like she was on a verge of hysteria. Her hair was completely frazzled and her hands were waving around animatedly. "I mean, he was already, bulking up, but he looks big. Like, his arms are the size of both my arms. No-wait I lied, they're probably bigger. He and Paul look like gym rats, I swear."

"Paul Lahote?" Jared didn't really hang out much with Paul Lahote.

"Mhm," Tally smiled. "I saw them hanging out by Kenny's convenience store with Sam Uley."

"That can't be good," Grace input, setting her notes aside. "My dad says Sam's a weirdo and a bad influence."

"Your dad thinks everyone is a bad influence," Tally stated, waving her off as the bell rang.

We jumped to our feet and quickly dispersed, heading to our classes. I went through the first few periods mechanically, everyone kept murmuring about Jared and Paul being back in school and how different they looked. My stomach felt queasy and my muscles bunched up.

I was a nervous wreck by the time I got to my fourth-period class. I had History with Mr. Jones and I sat right next to Jared Cameron. I quickly sat in my seat and waited for him to show up. The room broke out into whispers as a familiar figure walked into the room.

I nearly gasped aloud when I saw him. His once-long hair was cropped short, his usually bright face was grim and downcast. He had been gradually getting taller and more muscular, but it was more pronounced now as he towered over Mr. Jones. It was cold outside, but he was only dressed in a regular T-shirt that strained against his round muscles.

"Mr. Cameron," Mr. Jones smiled up at Jared who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. "I'm sure Miss Connweller will be more than happy to let you borrow her notes."

Jared only nodded before looking up to meet my gaze. Something shifted in his eyes, I don't know what it was, but it made me tingle all over. His dark eyes were glossy and his lips twitched. A surge of emotions washed over his features before settling to a broad grin.

All he did was glance at me from across the room and everything changed.

A/N: So this is my new Jared/Kim story I hope you enjoy it. It is totally different from the other one I wrote (and unfortunately abandoned).