Kismet

Chapter One :: Summertime Sadness

A/N: Forget just about everything you read of the story Twilight at this point.

Most things that are said to happen in the books will at some point happen, but only when it fits my story best. And they might appear slightly different than they did in the book, but that's just how it's going to have to go for this to work.

And Kim isn't some quiet, shy, only-attractive-in-Jared's-eyes, nice – to make it short, Kim isn't boring and plain like Bella believes her to be at first sight. Bella doesn't actually know the first thing about the girl, and I don't know who Stephenie Meyer intended her to be, but this is who I believe she is.

Pipa, Maia, Ray, Kane and Tag are my characters, as well as Nina and Nahuel. There will be many characters mentioned in this story that do not make appearances in the Twilight Saga. I'll mention them in the beginning of each chapter just so that you know they're purposefully original characters.

This is probably not a story for loyal Cullen followers.

"You know," Pipa says around her ice cream cone. "I don't really understand this obsession that you have for the boy."

I smile slightly to myself, shaking my head at her. "I'm not obsessed with him, Pipa. I don't have a voodoo doll of him, or stalk him, or do any other things that an obsessed person would do. I just like him is all."

"You told me that you plan on marrying him some day," Ray says, skeptic.

"I do," I assure her, smirking, making all three girls giggle.

"Don't take this the wrong way . . ." Maia says, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "But, really, why do you like him so much? He's not your typical heartthrob . . ." She trails off with a pointed look in his direction, where he sits in a group of chattering people in the ice cream shop.

She's not wrong.

Typically, girls my age – sixteen year old girls – go for tall, muscular, typically a bit older, manly man. This especially applies to Pipa, so I can understand why she wouldn't be able to grasp my adoration for Jared Cameron: a skinny, scrawny, barely-taller-than-me sixteen year old boy. "You don't really know him very well, so you probably don't know that he has a soft side." I stop talking to lick at the rainbow sprinkles and melted ice cream dripping down the cone.

"And how do you know that?" Pipa ask, her eyebrow raised. "I know that you guys are friends and what not, but you're not that close. You've never, like, hung out one on one or anything . . . Or have you?" She asks me accusingly, as if I would hold back such a major step in my relationship – or the unfortunate lack thereof – with Jared from her.

"No – but I've heard . . . And I've seen him with his siblings before. He's very sweet with them. He doesn't even mind playing with them at the beach or taking them places." I remember watching him swing his four year old little sister over the waves in the ocean – how cute they both looked together – and how his four other younger siblings crowded around him, squealing in excitement. "And watching five kids . . . I mean, I can barely handle the rugrats on my own, and I only have to watch them three days a week. He used to have to watch them everyday . . ." I trail off.

I mean, honestly – who doesn't love a man that likes kids?

"So you just like him because he's good with kids?" Ray assumes. "What? You're already naming your guys' future children?" She snikers, and the girls laugh while I roll my eyes.

I throw a napkin at her. "No! I told you that I'm not obsessed – that would definitely fall into the obsessed category. I just think it's nice – and different. I mean, how many guys do you know that would willingly and without complaint take care of five little kids? And actually enjoy himself?"

None. They know I'm right.

"Okay," Maia says, "then why else do you like him."

"Well . . . he's funny," I say, trying to come up with a mental checklist of all the things that I like about him. I have to admit that it's surprisingly hard to explain why I like him. I just kind of . . . Do. "And he's fun to hang around. He's athletic, and energetic – no one around him is ever bored." I smile as I say that, and then I shrug. "I don't know. I just like him. A lot."

Pipa scoffs. "You don't say?" She asks me, her tone positively dripping with sarcasm.

"Is that why you refuse to give any other guy a chance at you?" Ray asks, equally as sarcastic.

"I think it's cute," Maia jumps in on my defense. "And why does she have to date around anyway? What's the big deal? It's not as if either of you have a boyfriend."

"Oh, burn!" I smirk at my attackers, bumping fists with Maia.

Pipa's jaw drops, clearly offended. "Things with Kane and I are progressing rather nicely, if I may say so myself," she informs me, very much defensive.

I laugh. "That's what you said six months ago." I'm pretty sure her jaw hits her knee. She's left speechless. "Why aren't you hooking up with anyone else while you wait for him? Huh?" She doesn't answer me. "Exactly. Because you don't want to." I make my point.

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Maia finishes, a smirk set on her lips.

Ray and Pipa say, "Whatever," at the same time, and we all go back to eating our cones, my eyes shifting back to Jared.

Someday.

Someday.

The annoying doorbell that my father insisted on installing chimes, and I lift my eyes up from my phone to greet the incoming customer. Or customers, I correct myself when two voices fill the silence of the otherwise empty poor-excuse-of-a-grocery store. "Hello," I say in the most pleasant tone I can muster up, "is there anything I can help you w - "

My voice cuts off when they step into my line of sight, my eyes instantly being drawn to the man farthest from me. He has to be at least six foot one and his entire body is layered in brawn. His pitch-black hair reaches his broad shoulders, and his mouth is set in a familiar playful smirk.

Is that "Jared?" I say his name in disbelief, completely ignoring the boy standing next to him. I just saw him a week and a half ago in the ice cream shop, and he looked nothing like this.

Mocha eyes flicker over to me and he gives me a friendly smile. "Hey, Kim," he says, his voice deeper than ever. "I didn't know that you work here."

"I don't," I say, before realizing that I am working today. "Well, not usually." Maybe I ought to start working here more often, though. I mean, if he's a regular here . . . It would totally be worth it. "Do you come here often?" I inquire, my smile growing wider when I realize that he's coming right up to the counter that I'm sitting at.

"Nah," he shakes his head. He leans against the counter, resting on his forearms so that his face is level with mine for a minute. "Kim," he murmurs quietly, and my eyes dart over to his friend who is standing a few feet behind him. "I was actually trying to get some booze for a bonfire a couple of my friends and I are having tonight."

Ah. So he's going to ask me for something. I raise my eyebrow, leaning back in my seat and putting my phone down so that I can cross my arms over my chest. "Is that so?"

He nods.

"And you feel that I can help you with that?" I ask.

Gesturing to the cooler in the back of the store, he says, "Well, this store does have a plentiful supply of what I'm looking for. All I need you to do is let me buy it." He finishes with a crooked smile, leaning even closer so that his breath fans out over my face with his exhale.

"And what's in it for me?" I inquire, fishing for an invite. I'm pretty sure that Jared knows I'm into him. I'm pretty sure that everyone knows that I'm into Jared. And that doesn't bother me – I mean, why would it? The kid is fine – even more so now. I'd love the chance to spend some time with him.

We'd actually be so good together. If he would just give me the chance to show him . . .

"You can add it to your list of selfless acts," he answers cheekily.

So, no invite.

Whatever.

I wave my hand in the air, "Go ahead."

Rejection sucks.

I stare at his ass as he walks towards the coolers, his friend a few steps ahead of him, only looking away when my phone vibrates. I pick it up and read the message.

So . . . your house tonight. You get the food, I'll bring the bitches.

See ya, babes! 3

~ Pipa

I roll my eyes at my friends boldness, quickly typing a response and putting the phone down just as several cases of beer are set down on the counter. "How did you carry all this over at once?" I ask, incredulous, but then I realize that I don't really care. "How many?" I don't feel like counting all this shit, and I don't think he'd lie to me. I mean, we are friends.

Even if I'm not invited to his party.

"Twelve total," Jared says, pulling out his wallet as I hop off the seat and work the cash register.

"Ok," I ring it up. "So . . . license, or some other form of identification," I hold out my hand expectantly.

He raises an eyebrow at me before shooting his friend a nervous look, suddenly not so flirty and cocky.

I giggle. "I'm just fucking with you. That'll be three-hundred and eight dollars and sixteen cents." He hands me the money, and I stop myself from asking how he has so much money on hand. Either he's into some illegal business, which might explain his rapid growth – steroids, perhaps? – or he collected money from everyone that'll be going to the bonfire ahead of time.

So that he wouldn't have to pay for all the shit. Which is the smart way to go, and probably what he did.

"And if you get busted by the cops," I say, giving him a pointed stare as I crumpled up his receipt, "you didn't get the shit from here."

He nods, assuring me that he won't snitch. "Thanks, Kim. You're the best."

I roll my eyes. "Now get out of my store," I demand, making a shooing motion with my hands, not wanting him to go at all.

I could stare at him all day.

Him and his friend chuckle at my antics – probably seeing straight through me – and waddle to the door with their beer. When they disappear from my sight again, I pick my phone up, ready to tell Pipa about Jared's new look.

"Oh, and Kim?"

I drop my phone, my hand flying to my chest.

"Oh – sorry," Jared says, chuckling at my expression. "I didn't mean to scare you."

I clear my throat. "It's fine." It's totally not fine. My phone better not be fucking broken. "Did you forget something?"

"No. Well, kinda. I just wanted to invite you to the bonfire," he said, and my lips pulled into a smile. "You can bring whoever you want, too."

"Thanks," I say, sincerely happy that I did get my invite, even though I can no longer go since my friends invited themselves to my house tonight. "But I already have plans tonight." With my girls. "You have fun, though."

"Alright," he shrugs, heading back towards the front door. "I'll see you later, Kim. Thanks again!"

"Damn," I sigh, keeping my eyes locked on the man running with the ball in his hands. "He's even better looking now than he was when I saw him a few weeks ago in my father's store."

Pipa whistles, pulling her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose as if it would help her get a better look at him. "Girls, that right there is puberty done oh so right." They giggle and I sigh again. "I can't believe that you didn't tell us he invited us to his bonfire until the day after," Pipa whines then, plopping back down on her towel, putting her sunglasses back on the correct way.

"We totally wouldn't have minded going," Maia murmurs, before looking back down at the open book in her hands. "We would have had fun and you could have hit him up all night."

Ray sits up, resting her weight back on her hands in the sand. "I mean, you're apparently going to be married someday," she says teasingly. "We might as well get used to spending time as the third, fourth and fifth wheel to the love that you two share."

I shoot her a dirty look before turning back to the football game taking place a little ways down the beach. "Paul seems to have gone through the same growth spurt that Jared did," I mutter. He's not quite as tall as Jared, but he's certainly as muscular as him. If not more muscular. Which I hadn't even realized was possible for a sixteen year old boy. But Paul doesn't carry it quite as well as Jared does, looking more stocky, his body seeming to be crowded by rippling muscles.

He doesn't look bad.

But he doesn't even come close to measuring up.

"Can you please explain to me, again," Pipa gives me a pointed look, and Ray giggles, "how you're so sure that you're destined to be Mrs. Jared Cameron?"

I roll my eyes, turning around to face her and crossing my legs pretzel style to be more comfortable. I play with the sand near my feet while I respond. "I just know," I murmer, "I've always known." I look up from the sun that I drew in the sand to lock eyes with Maia, who was now also listening intently. "I know who he is. I know what he stands for. I know that he wants to take over his father's construction business when he's older. And I know that he doesn't see me as anything more than a friend right now," my eyes shift back to his running form, and a small smile takes over my face. "But that's just right now. He's still young – he's not looking for his one right now."

"You shouldn't be, either," Pipa pipes in, cutting off my next sentence.

Maia shushes her before turning back to me, her eyes expectant. "You were saying?"

"But when he is," I continue as if I hadn't been interrupted, "it's going to be me. And I don't mind waiting until then."

"You're such a hopeless romantic," Ray teases me, nudging my knee with her toes. Maia and Pipa agree with her, Maia with adoration in her tone and Pipa a little more mocking.

Just as I'm about to respond, a large shadow overtakes me, blocking out the sun that I'd felt at my back and causing me to turn around to see what had caused it. I'm pleasantly surprised to find Jared standing before me in all his sweaty glory. "Oh, hey Jared. What's up?"

"Just playing some ball with the boys," he answers. "Would you wanna come join us? We could use a few more players."

My answering smile almost breaks my face. "I would love to," I say, ignoring when Pipa coughs the word 'you' as I say 'to'. "We'll be right over."

"Cool," he gives me a wide smile before jogging back to his group of friends.

"I hate you," I say to Pipa, my tone conversational.

The girls laugh.

As we're gathering up our belongings, Ray says, "You know, he clearly likes you."

"I know."

"Yeah," Pipa agrees. "I know I tease you about crushing on him and whatever, but I really do see how you guys could work. I can hardly believe that you guys aren't together."

"Yet," Maia adds in. "We can hardly believe that you guys aren't together yet."

"I guess the rumors are true," Ray mumbles, popping a pretzel in her mouth. "They really did start their own little gang."

I frown, watching as Jared and Paul work together to push Embry off of the cliff, sending him down to the water in a flawless dive. They both jump in after him, not as gracefully, but with more force. They hit the water with a crack that I can hear from my place at the beach, easily half a mile away. The water explodes around their massive bodies, and they pop up in the water shortly after they go under, splashing each other as they do.

Jared looks even more different than he did the last time I saw him – during the football game over a month ago. He has to be at least six foot five, probably two-hundred and fifty pounds of sheer muscle. He cropped his hair short, shorter than he used to keep it, which was already pretty short in comparison to other boys on the reservation.

And he looks really good.

"So what does this mean for your guys' future?" She asks with her mouth full.

I crinkle my nose in disgust as I catch sight of the chewed up, soggy pretzel in her mouth. "Ray, just because he's made himself a steady group of friends doesn't mean that he's participating in illegal activity," I explain, rolling my eyes at her dramatic nature. "You, Maia, Pipa and I hang out, just us, all the time, and we're not doing anything bad."

"They just pushed Embry off the highest cliff. Nobody jumps from that high up, Kim. Nobody," is her response.

As if she actually knows what she's talking about.

This time, my eyes roll of their own accord. "Well, apparently all three of them are named 'Nobody', because all they of them just did that in a clearly recreational fashion."

She's quiet for a full minute before she speaks again. "You're blind to your man's flaws."

"I'm not blind to anything," I disagree. "I recognize mal-intent when I see it, and that's not what that was. That's not something that Jared is even capable of."

"Oh," she says in a voice that is supposed to be imitating my own. She doesn't even come close. "Dearest, noble Jared, he could never even crush the smallest of ants on the sidewalk . . ."

"The only thing amusing about that sentence was how horribly you failed at imitating me. And that was only barely funny," I inform her, ignoring the glare that she gives me, instead watching as the boys swim back to shore.

"I can't believe summer is already over," Maia sighs, her head rolling off the end of my bed, her long, dark hair sprawling out over the floor. "It feels like it just started!"

"It's always that way," I say, and Maia and Ray nod in agreement. If I'm being honest . . . Part of me is actually happy to be going back to school. While I do love lounging on the beach and at my pool all day, and while I like that I was able to save up some cash this summer from the few days that I worked at my father's store . . . I like being near Jared. I like having excuses to talk to him.

And those are two things – two important things – that summer doesn't have to offer, that school guarantees.

Biting my fingernail, I glance over to where Pipa sits with her long legs pulled up, her chin resting on her knees as her thumbs type away on her iPhone. Her and Kane actually ended up making it official about a week ago, and now, whenever she's not with him – which isn't very often – she's talking to him either online or through the phone.

It's partially annoying, but so fucking adorable that I can't bring myself to really be angry about it.

That doesn't stop me from teasing her though. "Oh Miss. Pipaluk," I call her, using her full name. Her eyes snap up off her phone, a wide, flirty smile on her face. I don't even want to know what they're talking about. "How's it going with Mr. Kaneon – whatever the hell his name is."

"Kaneonuskatew," she answers, her tone dreamy.

Ray snickers. "Imagine screaming that name out during an orgasm."

"Wouldn't be very easy to do . . ." Maia answers, giving her a playful look. ". . . Unlike you."

I nod my head in agreement. "She's right, Ray," I say.

Ray is our group's resident hoe – a term that is more of an endearment than an insult. But she is the most experienced out of the four of us.

Especially me, having only been kissed once in my life. And I'm talking about a quick peck on the lips.

"Fuck you guys," is her response. She waves her middle finger in the air from her spot on the floor where she sits with her laptop on her thighs. She's probably on tumblr. Or facebook, I correct myself when she speaks again. "Hey, check out this pick that Nina put up from the party last night," she murmurs, turning the computer around on her lap so that we can all see the screen.

The picture is of Ray, Maia, Nahuel – a guy that Ray has been hanging out with more recently – Nina, and Jared, who has his arm wrapped around her shoulders, and is giving a cheesy smile to whoever is taking the picture.

I couldn't go to the party last night because I got stuck third-wheeling it with Pipa and Kane at the movies last night. They're so sweet together it's almost sickening. And now, seeing the picture, I'm really wishing that I would have just chosen to go to the party. I should have known that Jared would be there.

I should have been there so that it'd be me that he had his arm around in the picture. Or so that I at least had a chance of being in Nina's place.

"You might just wanna move on now, Kimmy," Ray says, closing the laptop and putting it to her side before sending a smirk in my direction. "You know, Tag was asking about you all night."

I groan. As if that would make me feel better right now.

I'm not stupid. I know I'm a good looking girl. I mean, I'm five foot seven with long legs and a slim waist. My mother gifted me with her rather voluptuous curves – meaning my rump is on the larger side of average and my breasts are on the larger side of bimbo-worthy. There are various guys that have tried to hook up with me over the years.

But I don't want them.

I want him.

"I know, I know," she puts her hands up in surrender, "you only want him. I just thought that I should let you know that you have yet another admirer. And not a bad one, either."

Rowtag – or Tag, as everyone calls him, is actually a pretty decent guy. He does well in school. He's a good friend, and really just nice to people in general. He's pretty flirty, but that's not really a problem – he tones it down whenever he zones in on one girl. He and his now ex-girlfriend Moe dated for five months before he broke it off because she was sleeping with her boss – which is ew, by the way.

But he's still not for me. "Well," I shrug, "I'll keep it in mind, I guess."

Pipa makes an indescribable noise. "What would hubby Jared think about you keeping other boys in mind, though, Kimmy?" I roll my eyes at her, picking a book up off of the floor and chucking it at her.

My room is a mess.

I should probably clean in.

"Awe – is this your diary?" She coos adoringly, flipping through the pages of my personal life.

"I have one, too," Maia says, catching my attention. "From Mr. Muscow's English course, right?" I nod in answer and she continues, "Yeah, he has everyone start one up and keep it throughout the year. He didn't read it or anything, but he said that it was a good way to practice writing. I threw mine out at the end of the year, though." She waves her hand in the air uncaringly, "Ain't nobody got time for that."

"Did you write about Jared at all?" Ray asks teasingly, although I'm not embarrassed in the slightest.

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

"How cute – you even signed your name at the bottom of each page," Pipa coos, tracing her fingers over the paper. "Sincerely, Kim Connweller." Her eyes flicker over to me, "Seeing as you and Jared will be married sooner than later, I think that it would make more sense for you to sign your name as 'Kim Cameron', don't you think?"

My eyes roll.

She picks up a pen and starts writing in the journal – probably 'correcting' all the places that I'd written my name.

I let her have her fun, instead turning to Maia and Ray. "I say that we make a pact for this year," Ray announces, popping up off the floor to grab something out of her bag. A Cosmo magazine. "All hands on the paper," she demands, standing in the middle of the room.

"We're swearing over a fashion magazine," I ask sarcastically as I walk over to her.

"Hush," she orders, before place one hand on the magazine and closing her eyes.

Maia, Pipa and I all do the same.

"This year . . . We're gonna do it up, girls. We're gonna go to every party – keep our grades up. We're gonna get Maia to loosen her grip on her virginity" – we all laugh when Maia slaps her arm – "and we're gonna work hard to get Jared to recognize his destiny as Kim's betrothed."

Now I slap the bitch.

"And we're gonna work to get Pipa to stop being such a pussy every time Kane comes around," she continues.

"And we're gonna work to make Ray stop being such a slut." Pipa finishes.

"Agreed," we all say at the same time, laughing and falling back on the floor as Ray gives us all dirty looks.

I can just feel it.

This year is going to be big.

. . . I just wanted you to know, that baby you're the best . . .

. . . think I'll miss you forever, like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky . . .

. . . later's better than never . . .

. . . summertime sadness . . .

A/N: So there's the first chapter.

If you're curious as to what my original characters – and Kim – look like, I can tell you which actors I visualized as playing their parts when writing this.

Kim = Caitlin Mooney-Fu (who I actually find to be rather pretty, though Stephenie Meyer clearly didn't intend for the character to be)

Pipa = Jessica Szhor

Ray = Shay Mitchell

Maia = Odette Yustman

Kane = Steven Strait (how he looked in The Covenant)

Tag = Tyler Posey

Jared is still represented by Bronson, but just imagine him taller and more muscular. And, of course, imagine that he actually can transform into a wolf. Lol!

In case any of you were confused about if he's imprinted on Kim yet, I'll let you know that he hasn't actually seen her since his transformation. The times that she did see him was right before – and since Jacob beefed up before his transformation in the book, I decided it would make sense for that to happen to Jared as well.

By the way, this story is a replacement for the first Jared / Kim story I wrote.

As always, let me know what you think!

~ Madison ~