Keeping Secrets

by nrlmuffins

In the sequel to "Family Secrets" Brian Clearwater is finally comfortable being a werewolf when suddenly his world gets complicated again. He imprints on the one girl he was supposed to stay away from, his pack is growing, the school talking, and there's the constant vampire threat. If Brian wants to keep his friends and his secret, he'll have to learn to keep his mouth shut.

2. The Heart Sees

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye. -H. Jackson Brown

The thrill of imminent knowledge consumes me as I cross the threshold of Mrs. Garret's Chemistry room. Mrs. Garret is one of the oldest teachers at the school; she even had my parents. I'm expecting her class to be a hit-or-miss. She could be one of those older, experienced teachers who knows everything possible and loves her subject, or she could be sick and tired of Chemistry, merely counting down the days until retirement. Hopefully, it's the former.

My dad wasn't kidding when he said she was perky. Travel mug of coffee in hand, she personally greets every student as they walk through the door. "Good morning! Name?" she smiles.

"Brian Clearwater," I reply. She puts a hand to her heart and gasps as though she's having a heart attack. It scares me because, at her age, she very well could be.

"I should have known!" she gushes. "You look exactly like your dad! Or your mom maybe? Oh, I can't decide, but you are definitely their son!" She smiles warmly. "I was not the least bit surprised when they got married, because I have never seen two people more perfect for one another! They were both such joys to have in class, as I'm sure you will be, too!"

I smile politely. "Thanks." Dad was wrong. Perky is an understatement; this woman is almost too excited to function.

Mrs. Garret looks back down at her seating chart. "Let's see, you sit-" She stops and looks at me, her face a mixture of amusement and disbelief. After a moment's pause she continues, slowly and quietly, "Do you know that I, without realizing it, put you in the same seat your dad sat in? And right next to you is a lovely lady." She smiles in a mischievous and self-satisfied way. "Perhaps you'll make your own love connection here."

I'm so thrown off by her enthusiasm and boldness, that all I can say is, "Um, maybe."

She sets her hand gently on my shoulder and says kindly, "I'm sorry, I've probably come off a little strong haven't I?"

"No, it's fine," I insist, respectfully.

She smiles appreciatively. "You can go sit down, I promise not to bother you anymore."

"No, honestly, it's fine," I say, silently wishing I could get that in writing. She smiles again, then mercifully turns to harass the next person who walks through the door.

I take my seat in the back row. The seat to my right is currently empty, so I assume it's for the "lovely lady" Mrs. Garret mentioned. Hopefully she really is pretty, and I'll be free to admire her from the corner of my eye for the rest of the year. One thing I'm sure of is that, no matter who it is, I have no chance. It will take more than growth spurt and newly defined biceps to erase the past ten years from the girl's memory, though I can't help hoping she might notice. At least a little.

The bell rings to officially start first period, leaving Mrs. Garret to give the last few stragglers their seats. I try to tune out her overly happy voice, but perk up at the sound of my name. "Oh, yes, you're sitting next to Brian. He's right there in the back row."

I resist the urge to see who it is, and instead wait until she sits down. It's a good decision on my part, because as she angrily slams down her binder and plops into her seat I notice the name neatly printed on the cover of her planner.

Taylor Madison.

When I promised Kyle I'd be civil, it was for two reasons. One, she annoys me, and I can't afford to be annoyed at school. I'd planed on ignoring her anyway. Two, I assumed we'd sit far, far away from each other. But no. Yet again, I find myself mere inches away from the one person on Earth who truly hates me. This would be bad even if I wasn't a werewolf, (I'd have to resist the urge to dump acids or bases on her.) but now I have to resist the urge to literately murder her.

Thanks, Mrs. Garret.

Neither Taylor or I look at each other, but I am highly aware of her being there. It's almost as if I can feel her breathing beside me, wasting precious oxygen. I want to bang my head against the table, but I would probably break it.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" Mrs. Garret says, clapping her hands. "Sorry for the late start, but, of course, I needed to get everyone in their seats. Tomorrow we'll start on time." She pauses, smiling warmly at the class. "Are you all excited for today? A new year, with new opportunities for learning? I know that none of you slept last night, because you were so excited for today! Especially for Chemistry! Yeah? Yeah!"

Glancing around the room, I know I'm not the only one who doesn't quite know what to make of Mrs. Garret. Dozens of blank stares and mild smiles fill the room, and more than one of my classmates is dozing off.

"Alright," Mrs. Garret says, clapping her hands again. "Can anyone tell me what Chemistry is?"

A sudden gust of wind to my right tells me that Taylor knows the answer.

"Taylor?" Mrs. Garret nods.

"It's the study of matter and the changes it undergoes," she answers. I make a fist with my hand. I would have added that it is the study of matter's properties and components, but whatever.

Mrs. Garret beams. "Wonderful! Is Double Bubble okay?"

"Um, sure," Taylor replies uncertainly. Mrs. Garret takes a piece from a drawer behind her desk.

"I apologize in advance for my poor aim," she says just before tossing the gum to Taylor. It sails over everyone's heads, going nowhere near Taylor. Instinctively, I reach up and catch the corner of the wrapper with my thumb and forefinger, barely looking up.

Mrs. Garret stands in awe for a moment. "I see we have an All-Star catcher in this class! Thank you, sir!"

I nod and push the gum towards Taylor. Part of me wants to eat it, just to spite her. I probably would if Mrs. Garret wasn't watching.

"Chemistry is everywhere in our lives. Everywhere, everywhere," she continues. "Even in everyday objects." She holds up a can of Coke, then gives it to Ben Cameron. "Can you please read the ingredients, sir?"

He does, and she stops him as he says "acid."

"Acid," she smiles. "Now the acid utilized in soda won't harm the consumer, but wouldn't that produce some complications for the company trying to store the drink for shipment? Nick, what do they store Coke in?"

"Um, bottles or cans?" he answers.

"And what are bottles and cans made of?" she prompts.

"Bottles are made of plastic and cans are made of metal, right?" he replies.

"Always be confident in your answers," Mrs. Garret says, nodding in a motherly way. "And yes. Julia, why would that be a problem?"

Julia drops the hair she had been twirling around her finger, and turns to face Mrs. Garret instead of the window. "Um, I don't know," she mumbles.

"Yes, you do!" Mrs. Garret insists. "You're overlooking the obvious. What happens when acids come into contact with metal?"

"Um, can't they, like, eat through it or something?" she says.

"See, you knew that! Yes, acids can decompose metals." Mrs. Garret holds up the Coke can again. "So why can it be stored in a metal can? Wouldn't the acid decompose the metal before you were able to purchase it?"

Taylor's hand flies into the air again. I bite my tongue to keep myself in check. "Maybe the can isn't actually made of metal," she suggests. It's a stupid suggestion. I have a better one, and I raise my hand to say it before Mrs. Garret even replies to Taylor's.

"No, it's made with metal, but excellent suggestion! What do you think, Brian?" she asks.

"Since acid doesn't decompose plastic, maybe there's some plastic interwoven with the metal." Mrs. Garret beams while Taylor glares at me. It's a good feeling.

Mrs. Garret walks back to my seat and hand me the can, which I now notice is empty. "Could you please open up the can?" she asks.

"Open it?" I ask, confused.

"If you would, please, expose the inside?" she prompts. For a moment, I'm not sure what she's asking. Then I take each end of the can and start ripping it in half. Mrs. Garret nods encouragingly, so I completely tear the can in two.

"What does plastic feel like. Andrew?" she calls.

"Like, cool and smooth," he answers. She nods.

"Could you please describe what the inside of the can feels like," she instructs me. I run my finger along the inside of a can.

"Cool and smooth?" I reply. The cool part was just because of Andrew's answer. Everything feels cool to me now, so I'm not the best judge of temperature.

"So, what do you think?" Mrs. Garret asks. I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, Taylor steals my thunder.

"The can is lined with plastic to prevent decomposition of the metal," she answers pompously.

"Excellent!" Mrs. Garret smiles at Taylor and takes the can from me, returning to the front of the room. I can't help myself. I cave and turn to glare at Taylor for taking my moment. And for just being alive in general.

For a moment I wonder if I've died and gone to heaven. Never in my life have I experienced a moment of joy as pure as this. It's as if nothing I did meant anything until now. The world makes sense, and I understand my purpose in life. I feel like I've been lost my entire life, and finally found a GPS.

Taylor's annoyed glare melts into confusion. Her eyes narrow at the look on my face. I can only imagine my expression. She looks away, and I realize I've made her uncomfortable. That's the last thing I want to do, but at the same time I can't stop staring. The way her hair frames her flawless face, how her dark brown eyes shine as they catch the light, the gentle curve of her lips, I could go on and on. Somehow, in my hatred I missed all these wonderful, wonderful things. How blind was I?

Taylor glances out of the corner of her eye, and her lips twitch upon seeing that I'm still watching her. Reluctantly, I turn towards the front of the room. As much as I wish I could continue to soak up her beauty, I take comfort in feeling her relax beside me. Her comfort and happiness is more important to me.

I give Mrs. Garret my best attempt at attention, but her other intro-to-Chem experiments have less than no appeal to me. The only thing that matters to me is the girl to my right. And I was worried I'd have to try not to kill her in this class.

With a few minutes left in the second period, Mrs. Garret makes an announcement that sends my happiness through the roof. "The person at your table will be your lab partner this semester. You will need to be able to work cooperatively and trust one another in lab, so I feel we need some time to get to know one another. The rest of the period is yours, but I want to see some bonding!" She glances around the room, staring us down with a smile. Then she adds, "While I would never listen in on your private conversations, I do want to see some chatting. Yes?" A few people nod vaguely. "Okay, the rest of the period is yours," she repeats.

Thrilled, I turn to Taylor. "So, how was your summer?"

"Why were you staring at me?" she demands, completely ignoring my question.

"Sorry, I was zoning out. I didn't realize I was doing it," I lie, fairly convincingly. She bites her lip and surveys me cautiously. "I'm sorry." She doesn't say anything, so I add, "Your idea about the can not being made of metal was really good, I wouldn't have thought of it." Okay, maybe I still think it was stupid, but even so, I want her to feel smart.

Instead, she continues to study me before finally asking, "Why are you being nice to me?"

I would honestly like to know the answer to that myself. I can't understand or explain these feelings I have for her, but I know that it's the greatest sensation I've ever experienced, and I don't want it to end. Since that explanation sounds both fruity and borderline psychotic, I settle with, "Look, we've been at war since we were eight. Don't you think it's time for a cease-fire? Especially since we'll have to handle actual fire together?"

Again, all she does is stare me down, as though waiting to discover some kind of ulterior motive. If she didn't look so beautiful with one eyebrow raised and her lips pursed, I might be getting annoyed. But I'm not. I'd be content to watch her watch me all day. Eventually she asks, "Is this because of Kyle?"

For one sad, unforgivable moment, I have no idea what she is talking about. Then it hits me- Kyle. Her boyfriend. My best friend. My number one. Shit.

"Well, that's part of it," I admit while attempting to suppress the guilt surrounding the discovery that I have a thing for my best friend's girlfriend. "But also, we're in tenth grade now. I think it's time to forgive and forget."

She continues to observe me, a softer expression coating her face. "Okay, yeah. But if you're just messing with me-"

I stop her mid-warning. "I promise I'm not." Her eyes don't leave mine as I raise my right hand as a sign of sincerity.

"So," she says slowly. "How was your summer?" Her tone suggests that she can't believe she's actually asking this, and isn't sure if she should care about the answer.

But I do answer, and she answers about her summer. In those last eight minutes of second period, Taylor Madison and I have our first real conversation. It's weird, but wonderful and magical. Even she seems to enjoy herself as we talk and laugh pleasantly. As the bell rings, she quickly gathers her things, smiling slightly from our conversation.

"Bye, Taylor," I say, waving.

"Bye, Brian," she calls, looking back with a "did that just happen" expression on her face. I smile to myself, and let the memory of her mask the void in my soul that was created the second she left my sight.

Alex walks through the back door and continues through the kitchen, down the hall, and into his room without breaking stride. Mom acts fast and calls, "How was your first day?"

"Fine," he says while slamming the door. It's a good thing I'm in a great mood, or I'd be mad at him for being rude to my mom. As it is, I barely register the hurt expression on her face. What's wrong with me? Taylor, that's what.

"How was your day, Brian?" Mom asks distractedly, still staring sadly towards Alex's room.

"Excellent," I breathe, grinning widely.

Mom turns to me, taken aback. She stares at me almost as though experiencing a déjà vu moment. "Oh?" she asks carefully. "When it did get 'excellent'?"

That strikes me as an interesting question, but I answer anyway. "First period Chemistry."

"You like Mrs. Garret that much?" Something about her face leads me to believe that's not what she's really asking.

"Well, I like where she had me sit," I reply, smiling again. "I like my lab partner a lot."

Mom closes her eyes and shakes her head, smiling softy. "Brian," she laughs softly.

"What? Mom, what's going on?" I demand. She's being very cryptic.

"Honey, did Jake tell you what imprinting was?" she asks. It sounds familiar, but if he mentioned it, it was during that night he threw an insane amount of information at me. I only retained the basics.

"I don't know. What is it?" I say cautiously.

Mom takes a deep breath and says, "It's sort of like the werewolf equivalent of love at first sight. But it's more than that. When Jake explained it to me, he said it was as if gravity didn't hold you to Earth anymore, but that she did-"

"You'd do anything, be anything for her," I finish. "Yeah, Jake did tell me this. But what-"

Mom cuts me off this time. "You imprinted on your lab partner. I knew it when I saw your face." She smiles and bites her lip. "It's a look I've seen about a million times."

"So what does this mean now? We're like- soul mates?" I have to admit I like the sound of it.

Mom nods. "More or less."

I still don't know how to react. "But, what am I supposed to do now? Are we supposed to start dating or something?"

"No, not exactly. You're going to want to do what's best for her. You won't start anything romantic until she starts it," Mom says.

"I won't?" I find that hard to believe considering all the romantic, fruity, incredibly embarrassing fantasies I've been having all day.

"Well think about it," Mom continues. "What's more important to you? Being her boyfriend or being whatever she needs you to be? Even if it's just her lab partner for now?"

I don't even hesitate before answering, "I'll be the greatest lab partner she could ever ask for." So fruity, but so true. What's wrong with me? Well, at least I like it. It's stupid, but I love this.

Mom cocks her head to the side and watches me like I'm a little puppy or something. "Yeah, you imprinted on her. What's her name?"

"Taylor Madison," I breathe, relishing the sound of her name on my lips.

"That girl who knocked your front teeth out with a Frisbee?" Mom gasps.

"Yeah," I admit.

"Seriously? You imprinted on the girl whose mother called me, screaming, because you pushed her into the creek behind the school?" Mom shakes her head, half amused, half dumbstruck.

I nod, then change the subject. "Who else do you know that imprinted?"

"You'd be surprised," she laughs. "It's supposed to be rare, but the last pack was huge, so the probability went up I guess."

"Yeah, that makes sense. But who do you know?" I prompt. "You said you've seen that look a million times."

"More like a million times a day, really," she amends. "Dad imprinted on me." She blushes slightly and pushes her hair behind her ear.

"Really?" I gasp. But it makes sense as I think about it. The way Dad loves her is like nothing I've ever seen except-

"Yeah, and same with Uncle Paul. He imprinted on Aunt Rachel," Mom continues.

"Anyone else?" I ask.

"Let's see- Seth, Paul, Jake, Quil, Jared, and I feel like I'm forgetting someone." She pauses. "Oh, of course! Sam. Yeah, he was the first actually. First to phase, first to imprint."

"Sam who?" I ask. He was first? I wish I could have talked to him about a month ago.

"How many Sams do you know?" she ask incredulously. "Uley. Sam Uley. Kyle's dad."

I close my eyes and swear under my breath.

"What?" Mom asks.

Oh, nothing, it's just that I forgot for the second time today that Taylor was dating my best friend. I imprinted on my best friend's girlfriend. My best friend, who has an excellent chance of being a werewolf himself.

"Taylor's dating Kyle," I grumble, still not opening my eyes.

"Oh," she says tonelessly. "That could be a problem."

I look up. "Really?" I ask sarcastically. I take a deep breath, trying not to flip out on my mom.

"Well, look, Brian, you aren't going to start dating her right now! Eventually, maybe, but not yet!"

I know she was trying to console me, but it doesn't work. "So, I'm going to eventually end up with my best friend's girlfriend?"

"I mean, not necessarily," she amends quickly. "It's her choice, after all."

"But probably," I say matter-of-factly. She doesn't answer.

"He's been dating her one day and now I have some freaky wolf claim on her," I moan. "I'm a terrible friend!"

"No, you're not! You have no control over this! And you aren't going to be trying to steal her!" She still isn't helping.

"I can't even tell him, can I?" I say, more to myself than her. Still, she frowns and shakes her head.

I run a hand through my hair, at a loss for words. I want nothing more than to make Taylor happy, but would doing that hurt my friendship with Kyle? Is it even possible to have them both in my life?
The phone rings, and Mom quickly grabs it. "Hello?" she answers. "Hey, Paul, we were just talking about you! What's wrong?" her voice turns abruptly serious. "Uh huh. Okay. Yeah, no, I got it. Well, he'll get it anyway. Yeah, okay. Bye."

She hangs up and turns to me. "Ready to officially be the Alpha?" she asks.

I'm thrown off by the subject change. "What?"

"You have your first pack member," she elaborates.

My brain freezes. I can't think. I can't react. Somehow, my mouth moves anyway. "Who?" I hear myself ask.

"John."