a/n—I completely forgot to mention the timeline of this story at the beginning of the last chapter, and I feel like that might be a good thing to at least be aware of. Never fear, though, I am rectifying that exclusion right now so that we're all on the same page.

I have attempted to stick to the timeline of the books as much as possible while also interpreting information that isn't exactly dated to the best of my ability (And, honestly, the best way it works for this story). So, the way I see it, the timeline goes something like this: This story begins around the end of Twilight, just before the beginning of summer vacation. At this point, Sam has been a wolf for nearly a year but has only very recently imprinted and broken up with Leah. He did not imprint immediately after phasing, but it seems like Jared did, as he imprints on a girl he sat next to all year, implying it's the end of the school year when it happens. Jared and Paul phasing roughly coincides with Victoria, James, and Laurent coming to Forks.

I hope all of that makes sense, and also thank you for the lovely reviews from the first chapter-they all made me want to update sooner than I'd originally planned (hint hint, nudge nudge). I'm glad people seem to be enjoying the story.


Chapter Two

Jared hadn't wanted to go back to school after discovering that he had inherited the ability to shape shift into a giant wolf whose purpose was to protect the tribe. No, he would have been perfectly content to remain a wolf all day, patrolling the perimeter of the tribal lands and making sure nothing…unwelcome entered them.

But there were just three short weeks of school left before summer, now, and Sam said he had to go back. Of course, that was mostly because Sam knew Paul didn't have a complete handle on his phasing yet, a lot of the time, and it would be best if Jared could keep an eye on him during the school day. Also, education was important, or so Sam had decreed.

Personally, Jared thought Paul just shouldn't come back to school, even if there were only three weeks left, but what Sam said was basically law, so here Jared was. A teenage werewolf stuck in school. No, wait, scratch that thought. He was a teenage werewolf stuck in school with a truckload of make-up work from all of the days he'd missed since first phasing.

And Paul wasn't even in half of his classes.

Speaking of classes…he'd been so busy thinking about how much he'd rather be out running that he'd completely lost track of time.

And that was how Jared found himself speaking to his first period history teacher in a whisper five minutes after the bell signaling the beginning of class had rung.

"We're taking a test today," Mrs. Reynolds was saying, "But you won't be ready for that until next week, at the earliest."

Jared couldn't help but nod listlessly. Joy. So much work to make up.

"For today, just try to get caught up on the reading," Mrs. Reynolds continued, "And, once someone has finished their test, I'll have them give you their notes to copy."

Jared nodded once more, then turned around and made his way to his seat, completely ignoring all of the stares he was getting from everyone in the class. Well, everyone in the class except for the girl in the seat next to his. The corner of his mouth twitched in the barest hint of a smile. Finally. Someone who had something better to do than stare at him as if they'd thought they would never see him again, or to judge whether or not he was using steroids, as he'd heard a few people debating in whispers upon his arrival at school today.

After sitting down, Jared dutifully pulled out his textbook and flipped through the pages until he reached what he was mostly certain was the correct chapter. And then, after glancing up to make sure the teacher was no longer paying him any attention, he rested one elbow on his desk and promptly fell asleep with his face resting in his hand.

It was bliss after the few short hours of sleep he'd gotten after running the boundaries with Sam the night before.

And it was bliss that was interrupted what felt like seconds later when he heard, rather than felt, someone sliding something onto his desk. With a slight start, he opened his eyes, worried it was the teacher, ready to hand out a detention for sleeping in class. Because that was just what he needed right now: even more time spent doing anything school-related when he could be out running.

But then he heard a soft voice to his left. If it hadn't been for his newly enhanced hearing, he was quite certain he would have missed it.

"Mrs. Reynolds said to lend you my notes."

Oh yes, she'd mentioned something about copying notes, hadn't she? Hmm…and if the direction of the voice was anything to go by, apparently he was borrowing them from the girl who hadn't been openly gaping at him as he sat down earlier.

Opening his mouth to thank her—for more than just the notes, not that she would know—Jared turned to his left, only to meet the most gorgeous pair of brown eyes he had ever seen.

And it wasn't just her eyes, Jared quickly realized. They were framed by the longest pair of lashes and set in a face that truly had no equal. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He couldn't look away. Indeed, he would be content to spend the rest of his life staring at this girl sitting next to him. Who wanted to spend their time running around as a wolf and hunting down vampires? Not him.

He was pleased to see that she stared right back, and he smiled widely at her in response. Except…did she look confused about something? Oh, she had spoken to him, hadn't she? The correct thing to do was reply, wasn't it? Yes…that sounded right…

"Thank you," Jared barely managed to breathe out, gaze still locked on her beautiful face.

Unfortunately, this didn't appear to alleviate any of the confusion on her face. And now Jared was at a loss. Clearly she was looking for some kind of explanation to…something. And obviously Jared needed to be the one to give it to her. He'd do anything for her.

Except now she wasn't looking at him anymore! Why wasn't she looking him anymore? Wait, where had that random person come from? And why had he handed a folded piece of paper to this beautiful girl? Oh dear, and why didn't Jared know her name? He was sure there had been someone sitting in the seat beside him all year. And he was mostly positive that it was this girl…but why had he only just noticed her now? What was wrong with him?!

But no! That wasn't important right now! Why was she frowning? What had been on that piece of paper? If the look on her face was anything to go by, it had upset her. What had it said?!

Oh no! And now it was getting even worse. She was getting up and throwing her bag over her shoulder, the piece of paper clutched tightly in her hand. Jared could only watch helplessly as she walked away from him and up to the teacher's desk. What was happening?!

"Mrs. Reynolds, I need to leave," He clearly heard her whisper to the teacher.

"You go right ahead, dear," Mrs. Reynolds responded after glancing over the note that the girl showed her. Jared couldn't help but get slightly put off by this. Why did the teacher get to know what the girl's note said? And, more importantly, why was she leaving the classroom? What was going on? Jared didn't want her to leave! He wanted to stay with her forever.

That was it! He shouldn't have thanked her earlier. Clearly he should have asked her to marry him instead, and then they could be together forever. Ooh…but maybe that should wait until he figured out what her name was.

Hmm…he could do this. He was sure he'd seen her before—though clearly he'd never looked at her properly. And obviously she'd been sitting next to him in history all year, of that much he was certain. History…Oh!

Quickly, Jared flipped open the cover of the girl's notebook. He made sure to take extra care though; he wouldn't want to damage anything that belonged to someone so perfect. That accomplished, he haphazardly scanned the inside cover, searching out the elusive—and incredibly important—first name he just couldn't seem to come up with on his own.

Kim.

Her name was Kim. It was as perfect as the rest of her. Jared gave a sigh of contentment. And that was when his brain finally kicked in.

What the hell had just happened to him?

But even before he finished asking himself the question, he knew what the answer must be. He'd seen this behavior before…or, rather, he'd heard it…thought it, even. The way he'd just been obsessing over Kim (Ah, so perfect) was just the way Sam always seemed to be thinking about Emily. His imprint.

Jared frowned to himself. No, that couldn't be right. Sam had explained imprinting to him. It was supposed to be rare. So rare that Sam hadn't understood it at first when it happened to him rather recently. And then that got Jared thinking about when Sam imprinted. If that's really what was going on here, he hoped things worked out better for him and Kim. Hopefully she wouldn't be dead set against spending any time with him because he'd dated a girl who was as good as her sister. Oh no! What if Kim did have a sister? And what if Jared had dated her? What if he'd completely broken her heart and Kim hated him! That would explain why she hadn't paid him any attention when he'd gotten to class today…Kim probably hated him.

And speaking of class…it seemed like everyone was standing up now. Ah yes, the bell had rung. It was time for the next class. Jared stood up as well.

Maybe Kim would be in his next class! Was it bad that he didn't know if she would? Actually, he knew it was bad. It was so bad. He should know whether or not he had any more classes with Kim. No, wait. Forget about classes. He should know where Kim had gone. But how would he find that out?

By this point, Jared had slowly made his way up the aisle and was almost to the door, but then he caught sight of Mrs. Reynolds preparing the room for her next lesson. That was it! Kim had shown Mrs. Reynolds the note.

"Um…excuse me," Jared said after the briefest moment of hesitation.

Mrs. Reynolds looked up, a pleasant expression on her face. "Can I help you, Jared?"

"Uh…" How to phrase this without sounding like a crazed stalker? Jared looked around wildly until his gaze landed on the notebook he was still holding. "Kim lent me her notes," He said quickly, holding the notebook up for the teacher to see. "But then she left, and I don't know where to find her to give them back."

"Oh, Kim had to leave," Mrs. Reynolds replied, a look of concern crossing her features. "There was some kind of emergency with her sister and they couldn't reach her mother. But I'm sure Kim wouldn't mind if you kept her notes for a bit longer. I'm sure you'll need some more time to copy all of them, anyway."

"Yes…time…" Jared muttered distractedly.

"Now, you should really be getting to your next class," Mrs. Reynolds told him pointedly, nodding in the direction of the door. "You don't want to be late for that one as well. I dare say you've already missed enough school."

"Yeah…class," Jared muttered now, still distracted as he spun on his heal, almost mechanically, and exited the classroom.

Well, at least he'd learned something good. There wasn't anything wrong with Kim, at least. Nothing bad had directly happened to Kim. But it wasn't all good news. She really did have a sister. This might not end well.