Hello everyone! This is a Kim and Jared imprint fic. I've always thought that their story was cute and I've wanted to explore it. I'll probably do so again, so make sure to stay tuned.
I am aware that this story doens't quite fit the time stream that Stephanie Meyer created. In this story, though not explicitely stated, it comes off as if Embry, Jacob, Quil, and Paul have all phased by the time Jared goes back to school. That being said, it can be taken either way.
Please enjoy and remember that this is my work, though Ms. Meyer owns all the charaters.
Kim Connweller nervously sighed for the fifth time in as many minutes. She couldn't help but look at the clock, then away, then once more, having not actually read the digits the first time. The drab black clock read 1:08 p.m. If she looked hard enough she could even almost see the date underneath it proclaiming "two weeks since Jared left."
Kim, logical, intelligent Kim, knew that she shouldn't be so dependent on a man so she quickly banished the thoughts of him from her mind and instead concentrated on the lesson that Mrs. Brown was trying to teach about trench warfare. The lesson was fairly interesting; Kim loved history and she couldn't help but be intrigued by the intricate ways that the past seemed to pull together and form the present, like a giant jigsaw puzzle. She was fascinated by the way that the lesson would grow in her mind, a movie playing for only her eyes to see. Kim knew that she had a gift in understaning history, not simply because she could easily remember the facts but also because she could understand why the decisions that formed the world were made. Kim quite enjoyed learning more about her favorite subject, which was a major contribution to why history was her favorite class.
It wasn't, however, the only reason.
Since the beginning of the year Kim had had the luck and the privelage of sitting next to Jared Cameron, the love of her life. Kim would frequently day dream about Jared, about the two of them dating and one day getting married. She had even drawn "Mrs. Kim Cameron" all over the pages of her notebook.
For the past two weeks, however, the class had turned from her favorite to her most hated. Two weeks before Jared had left. It was as simple as that, really; she had no idea of where he had gone, no idea of who he was with, and no idea if he would ever return.
The wait was horrible.
To Kim, who logically knew that she wasn't involved in his disappearance in any way as she had never even talked to the man before, the only thing that she could think of that would help her heartache was to wait. Kim hated that plan. She wished that instead she could concoct a master plan like General Pershing had in World War I. She knew that battles couldn't be won sitting down, but that you also needed the right weapons before you could just go charging into war. Kim had no weapons to speak of. Having not ever actually talked to Jared—saying "bless you" after he sneezed last term didn't count, no matter how much she wished it did—she didn't have a lot of information to go on. Sure, she knew that he was left-handed, that he preferred to take notes in pencil but his tests in red pen, that he would squint when he looked at the clock even though he had perfect vision, that when he was paying attention to someone he would always cross his arms (right over left) and look right at them, and that he was without a doubt the most perfect man she had ever had the misfortune to not know. But really, Kim didn't know much more about him. She wished she did, oh how she wished and wished, but no one seemed particularly interested in granting her requests.
It was that moment that Kim fully realized she would have to make the first move. She had been hopelessly in love with Jared for more than two years, and hopelessly in like with him for at least one before that. Kim was tired of waiting for the fool—she thought it in the most sarcastic, if not loving, way—to notice her. She had sat next to him for all that time, god dammit! Why wouldn't he even look at her? She was going to just march right up to him, poke him in the chest, and ask him if he'd like to go out for ice cream. Kim nodded to herself, determined. Yes, asking a fool out for ice cream couldn't be all that hard to do.
When Jared walked in exactly three minutes and forty-eight seconds later, Kim was confronted with exactly how hard the little task would be.
Jared had grown, not just up, but also out. He had put on at least five inches, bringing his height to around 6' 4" and his muscles… Kim almost began to drool. They had to have almost doubled in size. Jared still possessed a wiry frame, but that frame now looked more like a man's than a teenage boy's. Kim couldn't help but think that it looked like her man's. His hair had been cut, a grief that he obviously wasn't yet used to yet. When he sat down at his desk he ran his hand through the shortened strands and seemed confused for a second when his hand emerged before it should have before he frowned slightly and sighed. Kim felt like sighing as well. When daydreaming about Jared she frequently wished to run her fingers through his long strands. Oh well, she thought. The other changes make this one travesty okay.
A cough brought her attention back to the front of the room. Mrs. Brown was looking right at Kim, her eyes slightly narrowed. Kim had been caught staring at Jared. "Ms. Connweller, if you please, why weren't the trenches dug in straight lines?"
Kim cleared her throat. She knew the answer from a book she had read months ago, a good thing as she couldn't recall Mrs. Brown stating the reason; she had been too locked up in Jared. Kim nervously cleared her throat again before evenly saying, "Because of the gun men." At Mrs. Brown's look, Kim continued, "Enemy gun men would attempt to cross no man's land and invade the opposing side's trench. If they succeeded, the whole line could be killed by that one man's machine gun. As the trenches were cut in a zig-zag pattern, a gun man would have to shoot, then run, then shoot again and continue like that all the way down the line. Because of the design of the trench, the opposing side would have more time to take out the gun man and minimize the damage that he would have caused." Kim coughed and looked down, cheeks enflamed. She knew that her answer was right but she was still embarrassed to have been called out. The redness on her cheeks was made worse a minute later when Jared, quietly but clearly, said "Nice job."
Kim couldn't speak. She had an opening to talk to him but all that she could do was to tuck her chin further against her chest, blush, and smile. She wasn't sure how she responded, "Thanks, Jared," a minute later, but she managed it.
Class seemed to tick by slowly after that. It took Kim a few minutes to calm her beating heart and when she did finally look up, Jared was intently listening to Mrs. Brown. Kim turned to the front of the room so it would appear as if she was doing the same but instead she used the time to plan out how she would confront Jared after class. She wanted to talk to him before he joined up with his friends, that much she knew. She was much too terrified to take on all of them. She also knew that she would go up and poke him and ask him out for ice cream. The idea both terrified and thrilled her more than she thought it would. She figured that Eye Scream for Ice Cream would be the best place to go, though the creepy eye in their logo had always scared her more than she liked to admit. Kim debated if having a set location would be better or worse when asking a boy out, but before she could come to a decision, the bell rang.
Kim quickly jolted up, as if she had been hit with a cattle prod. She tried to quickly stuff all her notes, her book, and her pencils back into her backpack as fast as she could but Jared was faster. He was up and out the door before she could even locate the last zipper. Kim rushed on, determined.
When she left the relative safety of the classroom, her determination ebbed. She was too late; he was already walking away with Paul Lahote, Jacob Black, Quil Ateara, and Embry Call. Kim's head began to sag and her chin almost took its familiar place against her chest before she quickly snapped back up and to attention. She had a plan, and she was going to stick to it. She was no General Pershing but she was Kim Connweller and she was determined. Kim quickly did an about face and marched right up to Jared until she was standing in front of him, face to chest. The five massive boys went completely silent and stared down at the small girl who had just penetrated their circle.
Kim quickly brought up her right pointer finger and poked Jared in his very firm pectorals, then couldn't help it when her hand automatically smoothed itself over the muscle, half in apology and half in wonderment. She had never touched anyone so strong before.
Kim thought it best to keep her eyes on his chest, and on her hand which still rested there, when she nervously asked, "Jared, willyougogeticecreamwithme?"
All she heard was silence for a minute before she heard Paul begin to laugh behind her. She felt her shoulders curl up, protecting herself, before she heard Jared ask a confused, "what?"
Kim took a deep breath and, realizing that her hand was still smoothing itself over his chest, quickly removed the appendage and locked her hands together in front of her stomach. She slowly repeated, "Jared, will you go get ice cream with me?" After a few seconds and still no response Kim began to babble. "I was thinking that we could go to Eye Scream for Ice Cream, but the giant eye on the window kind creeps me out and makes me want to scream, so we could also do something else, or…" Kim trailed off, her gaze still firmly on his chest.
Jared bent down slightly and raised her chin until their eyes met for the first time. His eyes, his big, deep brown eyes, were swimming in and around her, she could practically feel it. The pupils dilated in shock and then slowly returned to normal at the same time as the corners of his eyes creased in a smile.
"Yes, Kim. I would love to go get ice cream with you."
As of now this is a one-shot. It will most likely remain as such, though I do kinda want to add on a second chapter. I think I'll see how the reveiws and the demand goes. That being said, please review.
