A/N: Holy pancakes! I didn't expect anyone to review/subscribe/add to favorites! Thanks to all of you who did, you totally made me day. I haven't figured out how to reply to reviews or anything but when I do, I promise to. Like I said, thanks for the early support! Maybe if you want to kinda a little check out my other story (The Imprint Chronicles)? But if you don't that's fine too :)

On to business, this chapter is both from Kim AND Jared's point of view. But it's not a repeat, so don't worry. Read and Review. Thanks, you're awesome :)

"Love is a many splendid thing! Love lifts us up where we belong; all you need is love!" – Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge

JPOV

I was on cloud nine, totally and completely elated. I felt like I was going to burst with happiness. I couldn't get Kim's face out of my mind. It was ridiculous; she had annexed myself as part of her, it felt. I had no choices to make anymore. Kim was like a beacon, reminding me where I was headed and what my goals were at all times.

It felt nothing like what I had imagined, nothing the way I had seen it in Sam's mind. His type of imprint was more of a reinvention of himself. Like he was never what Emily had in mind and when the imprint took over he suddenly became whatever she wanted in a man. With me it felt like who I am is exactly who she wants and she just took me, like I was on display and once she had her hands on me it was like I was part of her.

I wanted to scream and jump and throw myself off of a cliff. It felt like my body had been dead before, like a battery, and now I was recharged. I was quivering from head to toe and I needed to get rid of some of this energy. As soon as the bell rang I said goodbye to Kim reluctantly and made a mad dash for the woods. If I stayed with her I was going to want to stare at her and then that would lead to wondering how soft her silky hair would feel through my fingers or how smooth the skin on her cheeks was. And that was not good for my heart right now, which still felt like it was going to burst into a million pieces. I barely got my clothes off and into my mouth as Paul and I phased, taking off in the direction of the highest cliff in La Push. I was pushing my legs as hard as I could. I felt more powerful with Kim inside of me; I was bouncing off of the walls.

I phased back when we hit a break in the woods and barley got my boxers on before I was hurtling off the cliff. When I hit the edge I launched myself into the air and flipped as hard as I could. It felt like flying, like falling and soaring at the same time. Adrenaline was rushing through my body, coursing through my veins. I straitened out before I hit the water and I let myself sink a little before kicking myself back up. Paul had already jumped and hit the water after I came up. Paul and I laughed- him laughing at me more than at the excitement of it all as we swam toward the shore.

We collected our clothes back at the top of the cliff and headed for Sam's. I was starving, having not eaten at lunch. I was coming off of my high and my legs suddenly felt wobbly. I was emotionally exhausted and hardly made it through Sam's front door before collapsing on his sofa. Paul went immediately to the kitchen in search of food. I could hear Emily humming from the garden out back and the shower was running upstairs. She walked in and jumped when she saw me lounged across the couch.

"Jeez Jared, you scared me half to death!"

"Why, hello Emily dear! How are you this lovely afternoon," I smiled at her. Okay, so maybe my Kim high was not totally gone yet. She looked at me skeptically, assessing my grin and absolute disinterest in the small fruit basket filled with bananas, my favorite fruit, on the coffee table.

"...Sam...something's wrong with Jared." She called up the stairs. Sam came down the stairs in a hurry, buttoning his pants as came down the last step.

"What? What's wrong with Jared?" He asked in a flurry, looking between Emily and me immediately.

"He's not eating... and he looks like the cat that got the canary." She said looking up at him, the skepticism still written clearly on her face.

"Oh. I thought something was really wrong," he said, glaring at me like I was the one to call him down here for nothing instead of Emily.

"The moron imprinted," Paul said, his mouth full so it really sounded like "gra mowon inrfinted" but Sam understood immediately, his face softening. Emily squealed and ran over to hug me; Paul just rolled his eyes and mumbled something along the lines of two-to-three odds. I was congratulated and given a run through of the rules... which sucked. Rule #1- No sex. Might as well say no oxygen... not that I had lost my virginity. Well, I was a half virgin according to Regina George of Mean Girls (I throughly enjoyed that movie). But still. No sex at first so I don't screw up the relationship. Rule #2- No stalking, because that's creepy. That rule was Emily's idea. Rule #3- Think before you speak. That was agreed upon by both Sam and Emily… I had a tendency to just kind of say whatever came to mind and we couldn't have me going up to Kim and saying "Hey, I'm a werewolf and you're my genetically/magically designed mate!" That would be bad. The other rules were stupid so I stopped paying attention…

I was definitely coming back to 'normal' Jared from 'crazy, psycho, in need of sedation' Jared. I felt tired again, leaden with content. I wanted to see Kim again, though.

I already knew her scent like the back of my hand; all I needed to do was retrace the old trail from school. I phased and doubled back toward the main road, catching the sharp scent almost immediately. I followed it past Sam's house and toward the upper part of the rez. I crossed the street at a dirt road and followed it until the end where an immaculate, manicured house sat. I could almost feel the Kim coming off of it. There was a wraparound porch with some chairs and lounges scattered about and tons of flowers and plants set neatly around rock gardens and trees. It was beautiful. I followed the woods back but couldn't circle the house; there was a cliff where the wood had been cut away and you could see the water and the sunset. I didn't want to risk getting seen so I went back into the front and down a little, crossing to the other side of the yard and moved up again until I was right outside the kitchen window.

Kim was sitting at the dining room table with organized piles of papers and books across from her. There was soft music playing from the stereo and her laptop was open to a desktop calculator. She stretched up all of a sudden and brought her head down on the table with a bang, groaning on impact. She just hurt herself. I wanted to run to her and touch her some how, make sure she was alright and ask her why she was going around banging her head into tables, but that hardly seemed appropriate so I sat by the window and watched.

She lifted her head again and got out of the chair at the head of the table, stretching her legs out this time. I hoped she wasn't planning on causing bodily harm to them. She closed her laptop and sighed, putting the piles of papers into folders and placing them neatly into the oak file cabinet on her way out.

She grabbed a box of raisin bran (gross) and some skim milk and made herself some cereal. What kind of dinner was that? She needed some meat... and potatoes... and something green. I was instantly concerned about her iron levels. She walked through the kitchen and into a small den and then out the sliding glass doors. She sat on a small chair cross-legged and watched the receding sun. She was going to get cold if she didn't put a jacket on soon.

Jesus, I knew the imprint thing was strong and I had felt its impact but now I was living in the aftershock. All I could think about was Kim, Kim, and Kim. Kim's Iron levels, the small bump forming on Kim's forehead, Kim getting cold. I watched her for a little while more; I wanted to stay there all night and watch, make sure she was safe, not that I could do anything if she hurt herself again. It's not like I could just pop out of her bushes, half-naked and say "Hey! Would you stop hurting yourself because what hurts you is killing me?" Yeah, that would go over well. When she turned off all of the lights down-stairs and ascended the steps I took off for my house.

I phased quickly and headed into the house. Mom was standing against the table waiting for me.

"Jared Michael Taylor, you better have been doing something for Sam or Emily because your father and I have been waiting since 6:30 for you, young man!" She threatened me. Mom was scary when she got angry. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face though. I picked her up and pulled her into a not-so-gentle hug. "Can't. Breathe. Jared!" She gasped. I set her back down and dusted off her shoulders.

"You are the best mom ever!" The Kim high was renewed once again.

"I don't even want to know. Dinner's in the microwave." I didn't even care that my mother was totally unenthusiastic about why I was dancing around the kitchen humming to myself. Mom kissed me on the cheek lightly and went into her room. Dad had already gone to bed, even though it was only 9:30. I ate quickly, barely tasting the food, showered and collapsed into bed, the exhaustion overwhelming me again. I yawned loudly before falling into the soft clouds of sleep.

My subconscious mind was looking for images of Kim. It used the ones from today, analyzed them, and then started looking for more. I saw her answer a question that had the whole class stumped in AP Chem. I saw last year when I asked her for a pen in Geometry-little snippets of things. I could see that she had sat at the same lunch table as me only on the opposite end. Even from times when she wasn't the imprint she was beautiful. I was flashing through these images when suddenly I was pulled into a memory so clear and vivid I don't know how it didn't make itself present until the middle of my reflective dreams.

I was in a tight, constricting black suite, my mother next to me in a black dress. Black everywhere. Mom said a girl in my class had lost her mom, the lady that she worked with at the gallery on the weekends. I couldn't put faces to the names but I knew if I had lost my mother so quickly I wouldn't be able to stand at her casket and shake hands and say 'Thank you for coming'. I wouldn't be able to hold it together. I felt horrible for the girl, whoever she was. She was turned to the side so I wasn't getting a great view of her face. She was small and her posture was bent under the weight of grief. She looked fragile, so when it was my turn, I automatically pulled her for a hug. I didn't know her, no, but I know that I would need as many people as possible to hold me together. She went rigid for a second and then squeezed back enough to let me know that I had done the right thing. I kissed her temple lightly, trying to exude that someone felt for her. I mean, we all did, but a handshake and a smile wasn't a sufficient way to hold someone together in a time of need. I didn't look back, afraid that I would cry if I saw the pain her eyes felt.

I caught up to my mom and grabbed her hand. I wanted her to know that I wouldn't be able to make it if she wasn't here. She squeezed my hand, letting me know it was understood. My dad caught up to us and put his arm around my shoulder and we walked out of the backyard where the service was being held. I knew that backyard; it hadn't changed one bit. As we walked around I took one more look at the girl and she was easily recognizable this time.

I woke with a start, my heart clenching so painfully I thought it was trying to kill me. I had tears running down my face almost immediately. The pain Kim had felt on that day was directly correlated with what I was feeling now. The affect of the imprint carried over to the memory. I buried my face in my hands and tried hard to stop the flow of tears. I needed to see Kim, I wouldn't be able to comfort her but hopefully just seeing her would put me at ease. I was out of my window in a matter of seconds, grabbing a pair of pants that were tied up in some string under the window (mom's idea). I phased midair and took off running.

I could hear her deep, even breathing from the window and I instantly felt warm again. I climbed the tree that was right next to her room, the only room with sound coming out of it. Where was her dad? I threw that thought aside when I reached the top and looked into the window. Her small frame was curled into fetal position and she was shivering, trembling from cold. I opened the window without thinking and entered her room. It was moderately sized with lavender walls and a dark hardwood floor. I sniffed the air, looking for some type of blanket material. I opened the door leading out of her room and walked down the hallway. There was a linen closet right before the bathroom and I looked for something warm. I came back with three blankets and laid them over Kim's restless form, one on top of the other, quietly. I watched her from her desk chair until she stopped shivering and then left reluctantly. It was 3:00 am and I only had another three hours to sleep so I hauled myself back home and into my bed as fast as possible. I was asleep in a matter of seconds, content now that Kim was warm.

I know it's creepy, me going to see a girl that I really only met today in the middle of the night and then breaking into her house, but I equated me being Jared and her being Kim with making it okay. It was acceptable because I had good intentions… it wasn't stalking… yet.

KPOV

I woke up sweating. I was drenched, covered in what felt like hundreds of blankets. I threw them off and immediately got up. It was 4:25. An extra ten minutes! How exciting. I descended the stairs quickly and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, gulping it down in a matter of seconds. My head was spinning with the heat and my body was struggling to keep up with my fast pace. I leaned against the counter and rubbed my head. My stomach was churning and I made a dash for the bathroom, almost missing the toilet. I hate a lot of things like peanut-butter and crying and dirty socks but I absolutely hate throwing-up. I groaned and laid myself down on the cool tile.

I felt better, still hot, but the head spinning was going away. I jumped into the shower and nearly screamed when my overheated skin was hit with the freezing water. I didn't even wash my hair or anything, just cooled myself off and decided to go back to bed. It was too early in the morning to be dealing with this.

I put my clothes back on and walked back to my room, throwing the blankets off and opening my window wide. I had the chills now. I obviously can't seem to keep my body regulated and I groaned again at the cold. I pulled a blanket back up and promptly fell asleep. I was exhausted and I haven't even been awake for more than a half-hour. I didn't even care how I ended up with fifty blankets on, I just fell right back asleep and put my phone on silent. I had the same repeat of dreams I'd had last night. Jared, Jared, and more Jared. I wasn't complaining.

I slept till nine and then went to barn, rode a gazillion horses and went home exhausted. I wasn't paying attention so when Jared said "Hey, Kim," from a chair on the porch I nearly screamed. "Don't do that Jared!"

"Sorry," he said apologetically, "but I have your work for today. You didn't miss much though."

"Oh... thanks," I said, grabbing the folder he handed me. I unlocked the door and flicked the lights. "Want to come in?" I asked, unsure if that was an okay thing to ask to someone that just started taking to me.

"Sure!" He exclaimed exuberantly. I smiled at his enthusiasm, dropped my stuff in the foyer and went into the kitchen.

"Iced Tea?"

"Yes, please." Wow... polite. I grabbed two glasses from the cabinet and poured even amounts in both. I could feel his eyes on me. I turned around and saw him eyeing my apparel. Boots, half-chaps, frayed pants, and a long-sleeved shirt. I was a wreck and I probably smelled like horse manure. He didn't wrinkle his nose at the smell or look at my clothes with disdain. Just curiosity.

"I look like a mess, I know," I smiled at him.

"No, you look cute." Then he gave me the 'Jared Smile'. Sa-woon. Cue heart stutter. We sat at the small table and sipped our drinks slowly.

"So, how are your horses?"

"They're good." What did he want me to say? I wasn't about to go into elaborate detail on Nova's inability to keep himself in a frame over a fence or how Fiona refused to use any impulsion no matter how hard I jabbed her with my spurs. I could go on for days about my horses but I'm pretty sure Jared would not want to listen to me ramble on and on about things he wouldn't understand.

"Come on, Kim. I know you can talk about those horses for hours, I've seen you do it with Mina. I want to learn; I want to talk about all that cool stuff and all of those cool words that use too." I was shocked. He wanted to learn about things that held no appeal unless you could apply them.

"No, you really don't. I really could talk for hours, Jared. I don't want to subject you to that kind of torture." He laughed.

"No really, come on, teach me." His eagerness was irresistible. The puppy eyes were killing me.

"Okay, you asked for it. Well I have three horses, 'Supernova' a.k.a. Nova, 'Pensé Bonne De' a.k.a. Fiona, and 'Adrenaline Rush' a.k.a. Jazz."

"Why do they have two different names?"

"Because they're supposed to have a barn name that sticks with them forever and a show name that can change and is based on what type of horse or discipline they are." He looked thoroughly confused now. So I went into an elaborate explanation of horse-shows. He looked completely ruptured with all of this boring horse stuff.

It was ridiculous; no one besides my barn friends even cared a little about my horses. They were such a big part of me and to have Jared freaking Taylor sitting at my kitchen table, drinking iced tea and listen to my stories and facts was invigorating. I knew he was paying attention because he asked a lot of questions and would add his input the more I explained. He laughed when I told him I was fearless on a horse. He looked horrified when I told him that I had three broken hands, five concussions, a bruised spleen, and an unaligned spine to prove it.

When I was done talking my brains out I asked him about football. I had the gist of the game but didn't know the specifics. I payed attention but I also watched his lips forming around words and the wild hand gestures that he made. I smiled when he became frantic at recalling near impossible plays that him and Paul had pulled off. They were quite the team, apparently.

We talked for nearly three hours and it was around 9:30 by the time he left. I was filled with happiness, skipping around my house doing this and that with a smile on my face. It was a Tuesday and I was smiling. It's the freaking apocalypse! How was it that just talking with Jared put me on cloud nine?