Jared shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wondering how he even fit in the desk two weeks ago. He could barely get his legs under now, and even then his knees were bumping up against the chair of the girl in front of him, a girl by the name of Karen who also happened to be his ex. She turned and shot him an annoyed look, adding "Keep your legs under your own desk, Jared."
"Yes, ma'am," he answered, mocking her nasally voice.
Karen huffed and went back to taking notes. Jared rolled his eyes and looked over at Paul, who was silently shaking with laughter. He had no doubt heard the exchange, and apparently found it amusing.
The old wooden door creaked open, letting in a gust of cold air. All the students, save two very large boys, shivered and pulled their coats tighter, turning to stare at the unwelcome visitor that was currently letting all the heat out.
Kim Conrad was not used to being late. But she didn't have anything to make lunch, and really didn't want to by Thursday Mystery Meat, so she decided to stop at the deli to pick up a sandwich before coming to school. She knew her mom would be upset for missing class, but she figured it didn't really matter all that much. She had an A in Biology anyway, what's one missed lecture, right?
Another thing Kim was not used to was Jared Najera's sudden and unbelievable growth spurt. He had to have grown at least six inches in the two weeks that he was out. And he all of a sudden was built like a football player, with broad shoulders and well defined muscles. Kim felt a sudden rush of blood to her cheeks when she caught him staring back at her with the same amazement that she felt. Stuttering through her poorly made up excuse for being late, Kim took her seat. Right next to Jared Najera.
Jared felt every hair on his body stand up when the girl came closer to him. He would never give Sam shit about Emily again, just the thought of having to walk away from her when the bell rang tugged at Jared's heart. He put away the thought, it was too painful for this moment. Right now, he would just be happy sitting next to…it suddenly dawned on Jared that he didn't even know his imprint's name.
Leaning over, he quietly asked her what her name was.
Kim turned to look at him, open mouthed. She knew Jared didn't take any particular interest to Kim, but this was too much. After all they'd been through, their mothers being best friends, he didn't even remember her name. Hell, even if their mothers weren't best friends, they went to a school with 347 students. Could it really be that hard to remember the name of one person, the person who sat next to you in at least one class for three years?
"It's Kim," she answered harshly. Jared didn't hear an ounce of hostility in her voice. To him, she was perfect.
"Kim," he whispered softly, more to himself than her. He smiled softly and looked into her glassy eyes, the color of that one black volcanic rock that started with an 'O.' He couldn't quite remember the name at that very moment; he was far to busy looking into her pretty black-volcano-rock eyes.
When the bell rang, Kim tried to pack up her things and leave as quickly as possible. It was true, she'd been hopelessly in love with Jared for years, but the sharp reminder that he had no idea who she was had hurt her. Jared suddenly reached out and took her hand. Shocked by the action and afraid of his unnaturally warm skin, Kim let out a small yelp and tried to pull away, but he only held on tighter.
Looking into her eyes, Jared finally noticed that she was angry. Not just angry in general, but angry at him. Irritation flashed in her eyes as she tried once again to get him to let go of her hand. He stubbornly held tight, and asked in a small, broken voice. "Why don't you like me, Kim?"
"You honestly don't remember me, do you?"
Jared looked at her, confused. Should he remember this girl? As far as he could remember, he'd never spoken to her before. "No," he answered hesitantly. It sounded like a question.
Kim sighed impatiently and looked at the clock. "I've gotta get to class Jared. You need to let go of my hand."
"I'll walk you," he said, swinging her bag over his shoulder. "Where do you go?"
"I can walk myself."
"Or I could walk you there. I like my idea better. Who do you have next?"
Kim could tell Jared wasn't losing this battle. She sighed in resignation, but part of her was ecstatic that Jared was finally noticing her. "English. Boehman."
"What a coincidence, I have math with Carter, who teaches right next door."
Kim wanted to remind him that he didn't have Carter until fourth period. Right now, second period, he had Spanish with Ramirez. But she bit her tongue before she openly admitted that she somewhat stalked Jared.
They awkwardly walked to room 258 in silence. Jared was still wondering why she was so angry at him. He thought back to the past eleven years of school. He didn't remember ever speaking to Kim. Hell, he didn't even remember Kim. And if he had done something to make her this angry, he thought he would remember something about it. Before they turned the corner that would take them to the English classroom, Jared grabbed her hand and led her out the emergency exit.
"Jared!" Kim protested. "What the hell-"
Her complaints were abruptly cut short when Jared clamped his hand over her mouth. "Shhh," he whispered. "I need to talk to you."
Kim pulled her face away from his palm. "Well I need to take an English exam," she hissed.
"Boehman will let you retake it. I'll have my dad talk to him, they were best friends."
"Kinda like our mothers?" she muttered.
Jared froze. "What?"
"Never mind. Look, I really wanna go to college, and playing hooky is frowned upon in the academic world, so can you please let me go to class."
"I'll take care of it, Kim, trust me. Nothing's gonna go on your permanent record." He began leading her toward the door again, and Kim was nowhere near strong enough to fight him. He took her to his car, an old Ford Mustang, and threw her stuff in the trunk.
"Aaiii," she gasped. "You probably squished my iPod," she said through clenched teeth.
"I'm sorry." But he didn't sound regretful at all.
Once they left the parking lot, Jared floored it, tearing through the streets of La Push. Kim fiddled with the radio so she wouldn't have to see the scenery fly by them. Jared made it to Second Beach in record time- a drive that would take Kim at least fifteen minutes, he made it in five. He parked on the far end of the beach, closer to the woods. It was more secluded there, less chance of being caught.
"Kimmy," he began.
"It's Kim," she said flatly.
"You don't like Kimmy?" he asked.
"No."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." And he did sound apologetic. "I won't do it again, pinky promise." He held out his giant pinky, which was almost he size of Kim's index finger. She smirked and wrapped her comparatively small pinky finger around his. "Well, I wanted to ask you, are our moms really best friends?"
She hesitated for a moment before responding. "They even set us up on a date once."
Jared's jaw nearly hit the gear shift. "We went out?"
"It was a long time ago."
"How long?"
"We were in the sixth grade." She smiled half heartedly. "I left my diary out on my dressing table and my mom found it when she came in to vacuum. I had written something about how Amanda, my best friend, had a date with a boy the coming Friday and all of my other friends had some kind of 'thing' with a boy, except for me. So my mom called your mom and asked her if she'd set you up with me. You asked me to go to a movie with you over the weekend. I was so excited, it was my first date. I painted my nails and wore my favorite sweater and had my older sister do my hair. Your dad drove us to the movies. When we got there he have you some money and you told him it was too much, tickets were only ten and you ate at home so you weren't getting any popcorn. And he was like 'Jared, I brought you up better than that,'" Kim changed her voice so it was deeper. "'You know that on a date the gentlemen always pays.' I didn't want you to get in trouble, so I told him I had my purse with me. He said that was nonsense, and that you would pay. The movie was awful, but you kept making these side comments, so I had a good time with you. Afterwards, your dad was a little late picking us up after the movie, so we got ice cream and sat next to the window so we could see your car. I was having so much fun, and you seemed to like it, too. We were laughing about something when you let it slip that your mom told you she'd get you a cell phone if you took me out on a date."
"Oh no," Jared interrupted.
"Oh yes," Kim laughed. "I was so mad. I didn't talk you at all the rest of the day. And when I got home I started crying to my mom about it and she looked guilty about something. My mom's a horrible liar. I hate her for passing that down to me. But I knew something was up, and I knew that she was good friends with your mother, so I kinda figured. And you came to school Monday with a brand new phone."
"Conrad," Jared whispered. And more boldly, "Kimberly Annette Conrad. Your dad owns the supply store, your mom keeps records at the council office, and you have a sister who got a scholarship to a university in California. You were scared of talking and Mrs. Dalloway thought you were the best reader in kindergarten," Jared's face lit up when he heard Kim giggle. Turning to look at her, he said softly "I remember you."
"It's about damn time," she said playfully.
He smiled when he saw that she was smiling. It was a natural reaction, his imprint was happy so he was, too. They sat in a comfortable silence, occasionally making small talk, neither wanting to go back to school.
"Jared," Kim broke the peace first. "I was late coming to school, and..."
"I should get you back on campus," he said, sadly.
Kim sighed. "Yeah, you probably should. But..."
Jared looked up hopefully. "But?"
"But we could, like, hang out at lunch or something, you know?"
Jared smiled. "Yeah, lunch sounds perfect. And we could go to the movies or something, too."
"Did your mom promise you a new car?"
"No," Jared laughed. "But Fate promised me the perfect girlfriend."
Author's Note
I sort of feel like that's the end, but let me know what you think. Thanks for the support!