Jared pulled his backpack tighter on his shoulder as he walked across the small, empty parking lot of the Quileute tribal school, his face set into a scowl and he muttered under his breath.
His first day back at school since he phased four months ago had not started well. His evening patrol had run late last night when the pack had picked up a foreign scent along the border of their territory and he had subsequently overslept, only to have been woken up by his mother screaming at him that she didn't care what he was dying of anymore, he'd missed too much school already.
To add to it, he had shredded his last pair of good pants and had no choice but to wear the cut off sweats he reserved for around the rez. Not that he minded of course, when you run as hot as a wolf, you could stand stark naked in the snow and still feel comfortable, but it was November in Washington State and it wasn't exactly warm so the shorts would stand out.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his hooded sweater, and walked down the now quiet corridor towards his English class, hoping that the teacher would let him slip in without any trouble.
"Ah!" His teacher exclaimed pushing his wire rimmed glasses back up his nose, "I wasn't aware we were gaining a new student today."
"No Mister Moriel it's me, Jared Leavitt." Jared flushed slightly, all hope of slipping quietly into his chair, gone. "I've been sick for…a while."
Mister Moriel's eyebrows knitted together as he took in Jared's appearance. "Well - you may take a seat. In the front please." He gestured to the last seat in the class in the front left corner of the room.
Jared sighed and walked quickly to it, all to aware of the whispering going on around him and his extra sensitive hearing allowing him to pick out exactly what they were saying.
"I heard he was sent to Juvi for dealing Crack!"
"Nah, I heard it was Steroid's. Look at the size of him!"
"OMG! Like didn't he totally used to be, like, freaky small? He's like, a total hottie now!"
He slumped into his chair, grabbing his notebook and pen from his bag and then dropping it to the floor.
"Right!" Mr Moriel clapped his hands together, "In the Lake Of The Woods, page two hundred and sixty. Mister Leavitt?"
Jared looked up at the teacher, who gestured him back towards the front of the class and handed him a copy of the book. "I expect you to have finished reading this by next Monday, in the meantime I suggest you borrow someone's notes and get up to speed on the class assignments."
He nodded and walked towards his seat as Mister Moriel called out to someone else. "Miss Catori, could you please share your notes with Jared?"
There was a little gasp from the desk next to his and a pen rolled and dropped. Jared quickly snatched at it before it hit the floor, and placed it back on the desk, chancing a look up at its occupant.
When his eye's met the surprised face in front of him, his breathing stopped and his stomach fell. The noises of the classroom merged into a low drone and the surroundings blurred until the only thing he could see was the face of the girl sitting in front of him.
"Are you okay?" A voice asked, and he tried to focus on it but his eyes didn't want to move.
"Jared! Are you okay?" The voice called again and he realised it was coming from her, and he shook his head, and the classroom came rushing back to him. He was sprawled on the floor, and she was on her knees next to him, her long dark hair falling over her worried face.
She reached a hand to his face and he immediately felt calm, but her forehead scrunched deeper. "You're burning up!"
"I'm fine." He mumbled, as she pulled her hand away and he made a move to stand.
"Are you okay, Mister Leavitt?" The teacher stepped forward, and held on to his arm to help him up. "Maybe you should go to the nurse; I'll get one of the boys to help you in case you fall again."
"No, no it's fine." Jared replied quickly. "It's just something that happens to me now. Side effect of my illness, my centre of balance is off a little, I'll be fine in a minute."
Mister Moriel nodded warily and walked back to the front of the class, while the rest of the students returned to their seats, chattering between themselves.
"Are you sure you feel okay?" A soft voice asked from beside him, "That was a pretty hard fall."
Jared felt his heart flutter at the sound of her voice, and his eye's zeroed in on her mouth. Her perfectly bowed, plump lips covered in a light sheen of clear lip balm that glistened as she spoke.
"Huh?" He asked quickly, realising that she had still been talking to him and she frowned again, bringing her perfectly arched eyebrows together above her dark, almond shaped eyes.
"I said, do want some of my soda, the sugar might help you feel better." She said holding out a half empty bottle of Coke, and he nodded, grateful for at least the distraction it provided as he tipped his head back and finished the contents of the bottle in seconds.
"Thanks…oh sorry!" He glanced at the empty bottle and blushed. "I'll replace it."
"That's okay; I can get another one at lunch. Here." She smiled, handing him a plastic wallet. "These are my notes for the class; keep them as long as you need."
Jared smiled dumbly as she turned her attention back to the front of the class.
When the bell finally rang Jared shot from his seat, his gaze still fixed on the girl next to him as she placed all her things back in her bag and zipped it up before standing inches from him.
"Still dizzy?" She asked softly, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"A little, yeah." He nodded, and breathed deeply, filling his nose with her scent. "Would you…"
"Hey Jared, right?" A nasally voice chirped next to them, and Jared turned to see a tall, slender girl, book in hand looking expectantly at him. "I'm Rosa."
"Yeah I know who you are; we've been in the same class since first grade." He replied cocking an eyebrow.
"Yeah, anyway." Rosa shrugged nonchalantly and carried on. "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go somewhere with me after school."
"Actually I'm busy after school." He said, glancing at the now empty space in front of him where she had been standing and he look towards the door to see her throw a small wave in his direction before she disappeared.
"Maybe tomorrow then?" Rosa asked, "Or we could go…"
"No, I'm pretty much always busy." Jared nodded, ignoring the angry snort the escaped her mouth as he turned away from her and ran into the corridor.
"Hey!" He shouted, as he dodged between the moving student body, following her scent. "Hey, Kim?"
Kim turned her long hair whipping behind her as she stood waiting for him to catch up to her.
"Why did you walk away?" Jared asked stepping next to her.
"Oh," she said, her eye's widening a little in surprise "I thought that you and Rosa…"
"I was wondering?" He said quickly, cutting her off. "If you'd let me buy you that coke, and maybe dinner?"
"What? Why?" Kim frowned.
"Because I owe you a drink and to say thank you for looking after me back there." He smiled nervously, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
"Is this a joke?" She asked cocking an eyebrow.
"No, I'm completely serious. Let me take you to the diner in town after school." He asked and Kim nodded, her eye's never leaving his as her cheeks bloomed pink.
"Okay, that would be…that would be nice." She smiled.
"Okay, good." Jared's face split into a wide grin. "I'll wait at your locker for you after the last class."
He watched as Kim sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed nervously on it, before she turned away and disappeared in to the library.
Jared stood watching the door swing shut behind her, chuckling when he heard her squeal with delight on the other side.
"Let me carry that for you." Jared said, tugging Kim's backpack from her shoulder and slipping it over his own.
"You don't have to do that!" She blushed and moved to take it back but Jared quickly turned his shoulder away and out of reach. "What if you get dizzy again?"
"Trust me, I'm absolutely fine." He smiled, pulling open the door to the diner and letting her step inside first. Kim turned abruptly and put her hand back to his forehead.
"But you're still so hot!" She exclaimed.
"Nice of you to notice!" He quirked, cocking an eyebrow.
"You know that's not what I meant!" Kim scowled, the pink blush that was becoming oh so familiar to him, spreading across her face. "Not that I never noticed that before." She added so quietly that even his sensitive ears almost missed it.
He bit back the smile that threatened at her words and motioned her towards a booth, waiting for her to take a seat before slipping in opposite her.
Kim grabbed a menu and looked over it, her lip going back between her teeth as hers eyes shifted between food options and the boy sat staring at her from across the table.
"You didn't have to do this you know?" She said, laying the menu back on the table. "It was just a Coke."
"I know I wanted to" he smiled back, "and for the record, it was more than 'just a Coke'."
"So." Kim pursed her lips. "How come you were gone so long? I mean there were tonnes of rumours…"
"Such as?" Jared pressed.
"Juvenile Detention for drug dealing, boot camp, Mono, Gonorrhea." She blushed and shrugged, "So what's the truth?"
Jared smirked, "Well nothing quite that much fun. I have a…rare genetic disorder." He shrugged, "No one in my family knew about it, but apparently it's something that a great grandfather of mine had and it skipped a couple of generations."
"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, "Are you? I mean are gonna…"
"Die?" He chuckled "No nothing like that don't worry. It just accelerated my growth a hell of a lot, and it means that sometimes I can't control my emotions as well as I used to. That's why I was away for so long, I had to get a handle on it all. I was angry for a while, a little unpredictable."
Kim sat back in shock. "I'm sorry, I've scared you haven't I?" He winced.
She shook her head and stood up, and Jared let out a resigned sigh, letting his head drop into his hands. He felt the seat next to him sink down, and a hand grip his wrist.
"You didn't scare me." Kim whispered as he looked up her. "I don't think you could ever scare me."
"Can I take your orders?" Asked the server who appeared at their table.
"Oh yeah, sure! I'll have the turkey and bacon club, fries, extra crispy and a Coke please?" Kim smiled and turned to Jared who sat with his mouth slightly agape.
"And you?" The server prompted, as he shook his head a little and grinned back a Kim.
"A girl after my own heart! I'll have what she's having."