Hmm... okay, so I don't know how the timelines line up exactly in the book, but since I'm not incredibly concerned about being completely accurate (obviously), I'm going with it how I want to. ;) So no bitchin' to me, capiche? (Btw, there are like... five spellings for that word when I tried to google the right one. rolls eyes So annoying... lol!)

Alright, enjoy!

Two weeks. Two weeks and Jared was going absolutely, certifiably bonkers. He'd tried talking to Kim's friends the Wednesday that first week... and that didn't go over well. The guy had simply given him a look questioning his sanity, Holly had stared at him the whole time like he was a dissected frog, and Piper had interrogated him about why he was so interesting in Kim in the first place. Then that had continued on to reveal Kim hadn't said anything about him, basically ever, so of course they didn't even know she hated him.

Jared had returned to Paul and their table only to find the guy doubled over laughing, supposedly at the expression on his face. Paul said it looked "traumatized".

Jared knocked his chair over so he fell to the floor.

So week one went by with Kim saying "Hello" to him twice, both only after he'd greeted her, and one voluntary sentence to him. She'd asked him what the teacher had said the homework was. Jared gladly told her and spent the rest of the day debating if she'd only asked to talk to him or if she'd really not caught it.

He was hoping for the former. Paul pointed out the latter made more sense.

Paul "accidentally" ran into a door.

And the next day, Jared "tripped" while walking down the hall.

First day of Week Two was... alright, Jared could admit it was a disaster. Before the first bell even rang, Kim was talking to some guy. Not just any guy, though. One of the guys Jared used to hang out with, Robert. And Jared only needed a few moments of watching - not spying as Paul implied - to know that Robert was flirting with Kim to an outrageous degree.

And then in class Kim didn't look at him once, speak to him once, and had the stupidest little smile on her lips all of class.

Jared wanted to be the one to put a stupid little smile on her face, not Robert.

But still, the day wouldn't have been a disaster (just a tragedy) if it weren't for what happened between third and fourth periods.

Jared had been walking down the hall when he heard Paul's angry snarl - not something unusual, per se, but he'd gone to investigate anyway. Robert and two of his buddies were being regular ol' assholes. Sure, Paul was bigger than them - Jared figured that was part of the problem, actually. Before the whole transformation thing, Robert and most of his friends had been the most desired by the ladies. Being bested by an underclassman?

If ever there were people to personify the seven deadly sins, it would be these guys, and they would be Pride.

Paul was actually trying not to lose his cool, but the stupid fucks were blocking his way and shoving him. Jared watched as Paul clenched his fists so tightly the knuckles cracked loudly and turned bone-white. Then one of them said something that Jared didn't catch amid all the noise of the halls, but there was no mistaking the nearly-uncontrolled look on Paul's face.

So Jared - and he would admit that he did relish this part more than he probably should have - walked up and yanked Robert back.

He couldn't really recall what had been said between all of them - though he was positive he didn't mention Kim, thankfully, because that wouldn't have gone down well when she caught word of it - but the next thing he knew, him and Paul had the human guys down on the ground and were whaling on them.

Then - what do you know? - Paul and Jared were once again in the principal's office and Sam was talking to the guy with Old Quil staring at them and shaking his head.

Jared couldn't say if it was an amused shake or a disappointed one.

Paul and Jared were expelled for the rest of that day and Tuesday, and Sam made sure they ran constant patrol because of it. Paul whined that his paws were going to fall off, Jared moaned about how hungry he was... But it wasn't until Emily told Sam to let up that he did. All the more reason to worship Emily, Jared thought.

They went back on Wednesday and basically ignored everyone around them. Robert glared balefully at Jared, so Jared snarled back silently. No one messed with the Pack. Not unless they had a death wish.

So it was late Wednesday, basically after school, that the rumors started. Jared knew who had probably started them. Um, hello, who would have a reason to hate him? Besides Kim, that is? If you said Robert, you got it! It was stupid, petty stuff. But then, teenagers were, on average, stupid and petty, Jared mused. He wondered if he'd been as ridiculous as this before his transformation, and hoped he hadn't.

Paul assured him he had. But then, Paul hadn't been Mr. Intelligent himself beforehand, so Jared wasn't sure he trusted his opinion.

Thursday, and the rumors had gotten worse, more nasty than ever, and Paul began to glance apologetically towards Jared whenever a particularly horrid one reached their sensitive ears. Jared glared at Paul. It wasn't his fault and he had no reason to act all apologetic. It was unnerving to see the hardass acting that way and Jared told him as much as they went their separate ways to class.

Jared lounged back in his seat during that first class, daring anyone to approach him with his eyes when they caught his gaze. Even the teacher spared him a curiosity-filled gaze a couple times. Crossing his arms over his chest, Jared simply stared ahead of him, not looking at anyone, not doing anything. He honestly didn't care what they were saying.

Except for the fact that Kim was hearing it. And keeping as far over in her seat as she could. And eyeing him uncertainly. And so very obviously nervous.

Jared took off during lunch to go slam his fist into a tree several times. So what if he accidentally broke the poor thing in half? It was a tree, it'd keep growing. Trees fell over all the time.

He ignored the sympathetic stare of Paul as he stalked back towards the school.

Thursday, Jared seriously considered the virtues of ditching school as he sat in his seat during breakfast. Robert was still flirting with Kim, who was even flirting back now. Her friends' faces were approving, even. And the rumors were still spinning. And Kim was still avoiding even looking in the direction he was in.

At least she wasn't pressing as far away from him as possible, he mused, watching her from his peripheral for a few moments during class. Sam would have reamed him out for ditching, so here he was. Suffering.

Then the stupid teacher told everyone to turn to the person next to them and complete a worksheet. The girl on Jared's other side turned the other way quickly enough that Jared raised a brow. Damn. It wouldn't have surprised him if she'd gotten whiplash from that move.

Reluctantly, he glanced over at Kim. Who was fiddling with a piece of paper uneasily. Jared sighed. After a moment, he tried to make himself look smaller, more harmless, less scary... anything.

"Should we get started?" he asked quietly.

After a moment, Kim took a deep breath and smiled slightly at him. A real smile, even. Something in Jared released at that moment and part of him let out a huge breath and relaxed.

"Yeah," she agreed, scooting her desk closer to his. "Here," she added, pushing her book so it was between the two of them. Jared hadn't even bothered to bring his out.

Jared was secretly thrilled. Sharing a book meant they had to sit pretty close together. Their arms constantly brushed as they put their heads together and spoke quietly.

Kim was trying very very hard to keep her breathing steady. And to not purposefully brush against Jared's arm. Damn, he was warm. How was he not flushed and sick with fever?

A small part of her was still uneasy about the rumors that had been going around. Because they sort of made some kind of sense. They took his long departure from school, his trigger temper, his size, his hanging out with Bad Boy Paul, the Elders being involved... the rumors took everything that had been bothering her recently and put it all into a package that made sense.

Except... they were about Jared. And, looking at him now, he didn't seem to be the threat that the rumors painted him as.

He actually just looked tired.

And glad someone was talking to him.

How lonely, Kim suddenly realized. Within days, the whole school had all but shunned him. Except for Paul. The past couple of days, that was the only person Kim had seen talking to Jared. Whether or not he cared what people were saying, that had to affect a guy somehow.

Inwardly, Kim sighed. She still wanted to hate Jared for what he'd done. But she was finding it harder and harder as time went on and it didn't happen again. Was she supposed to condemn him for one horrible remark, when he'd been nothing but kind and polite, even sweet, since? It didn't seem fair. Just as judging a whole demographic of people for the actions of a few wasn't fair.

She'd love an apology, but he didn't even know what he did. And Kim honestly couldn't decide if that made it better or worse. Better, because maybe he hadn't even realized who he was talking to. Worse because... he didn't even remember who he had been talking to and what he'd said.

Right now, though, Kim decided... right now, she was going to simply treat him like she would any other guy. She wasn't going to think about the past couple of weeks. She wasn't going to think about the rumors. She wasn't even going to touch on the feelings she still felt.

And Jared seemed to truly appreciate it. He grinned at her, joked with her, made casual talk. It was easy and normal and had no undercurrents of anything else whatsoever.

Jared almost managed to forget about Robert, because right now, Kim was talking to him, more than she had since... ever. He was pretty sure that even before his transformation they'd never spoken as much as they did Thursday.

Thursday was the best day ever.

Paul even quit with the irritating apologetic and sympathetic looks. It was great.

At least... it was great until Jared overheard one of Kim's friends talking with her after school.

"I am so excited for you!" Piper squealed, grabbing Kim's hands and jumping up and down a few times excitedly before yanking Kim in for a hug.

Kim looked slightly amused, slightly embarrassed.

Piper pulled away again. "What are you going to wear? Where's he taking you, anyway? Somewhere casual or romantic or-"

"Piper!" Kim laughed, shaking her head. "It's just a first date, relax. You act like this is my possible future husband or something."

Piper gave her an exasperated look. Like Kim had just missed the entire point. "For all you know," she pointed out seriously, "he could be."

So, Thursday was the best day ever gone bad.

And Paul started with the sympathetic looks again.

So Jared waited until they were well out of sight of the rest of the students, almost to Sam's... and punched him in the face. "Will you stop that!" he snarled.

"Stop what!" Paul snapped back, fists clenched and getting in Jared's face. "You're the one looking like his damn world if fucking on the brink of Armageddon!"

"It's none of your fucking business!"

"Yeah? Well you get in mine all the damn time! How do you like it?"

Jared growled and shoved Paul back. "What? You'd rather I let those assholes piss you off until you phased and got in trouble with Sam and the Elders?"

Paul snarled, shoving Jared back. "I had things under control."

"Bullshit."

Then they were on the ground, wrestling and punching. It didn't stop until Sam showed up and pulled them apart, glaring. "Knock. It. Off," he growled threateningly.

And they stopped.

Damn Alpha orders.

Jared and Paul glanced at each other... and started laughing at the mess they were. Dirt and leaves were in their hair, on their clothes and skin, and both had bruises that were already healing yellow. As Jared watched, Paul's cut lip closed up and he swiped the blood away. Jared yanked his finger back into place with a grimace.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Fucking pups," he muttered, leading the way to his house.

Friday, Jared didn't talk to Kim of his own choice. He was afraid that if he tried to, he'd say something stupid. Like... ask her why she was going out with someone else and who it was. And then maybe he'd go and beat the asshole up. Especially if it was who he suspected it was.

Jared really fuckin' hated Robert.

Somehow, though, he made if through school without killing anybody or phasing or getting in another fight with Paul. He did his homework at home, then went over to Sam's house. He fell onto the couch, grabbing another plate of food even though he'd had dinner at home, and glanced at the TV.

"What the hell are you watching, Paul?" he asked in disbelief.

Sam snorted. "That's what I wanted to know."

Emily and Paul both responded, which led Sam and Jared to glancing at Emily in shock. "Halloween."

As they grinned at each other and started discussing the apparent epicness of the stupid movie, the phone rang and Sam got up to answer it. Jared wasn't paying too much attention until he heard four key words.

"The leeches are gone."

Both he and Paul shot upright, staring towards Sam, who was frowning as he listened to Billy Black explain on the phone that the Police Chief's daughter, Bella, was missing. He'd suggested to Chief Swan that Sam and the pack could help out since they "knew the woods" pretty well.

Sam hung up and glanced at them with a raised brow.

Paul shrugged. "Hell, why not?"

Jared nodded as well. Missing girl after leeches go missing too? Not the best of coincidences.

"What's going on?" Emily demanded.

As Sam went over to explain everything to her in a hushed voice, Paul and Jared went outside.

Sam joined them, and Jared spoke up. "Hey. How're we going to carry our clothes? I mean, we're going to look for her as wolves... but I doubt the pale faces would like a wolf finding and dragging her back. And the Chief would probably shoot us if we were naked around his daughter."

Paul snorted a laugh.

Sam looked off contemplatively. "Hmm..."

Emily spoke up from behind them. "Either you carry your clothes, which might be cumbersome... or tie them to yourselves."

They glanced at her and she shrugged. "I could tie them to you after you phase." She shifted uneasily at the thought and Sam tensed. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. "Well? Go get furry, and I'll grab some string."

Sam let out a low, foul curse as she slipped back inside, but they all did as she said.

Once their clothes were tied securely to them, they took off towards Forks.

Of course, they had to phase back upon reaching Chief Swan's house, to look like normal people and all, which made it hard to figure out how to tie the clothes back on afterward. They managed - sorta - and went back to searching. Jared's mind was in a whirl.

Damn they stink! Paul complained, sneezing for the hundredth time. It fucking burns!

Jared snorted. No duh. At least it makes them hard to miss...

Focus. Their scents are all over here, we have to find the Swan girl's among the stench.

Yeah Boss.

Shut up, Jared.

Is that-

Jared!

Jared snickered slightly, putting his nose to the ground again and trying to pick up any scent under that of the leeches. It was interesting, he had to admit. Once one got past the initial smell, it was possible to pick up on separate scents. He had picked up on four so far, and knew that Paul had found one that he hadn't. So five. And there had been seven bloodsuckers.

Got it! Sam thought triumphantly. I'm going to change back so as not to scare her. You two start heading for the house again.

Got it, Paul thought.

Roger that Boss. They felt Sam's mind presence disappear. Hope she's alright, Jared thought quietly.

Paul's answer was just as quiet. Yeah.

When Sam emerged from the forest with the girl, Jared shook his head angrily. Obviously, they hadn't hurt her physically, but the girl looked like she'd been traumatized. It made Jared almost weak with relief that those parasites could never get near his Kim.

Sam had them stick around until the doctor assured everyone Bella Swan was alright, just exhausted. Chief Swan shook Sam's hand, thanking him profusely for their help.

When the reached the rez again, Jared couldn't help but keep running to Kim's house. Neither Paul nor Sam tried to stop him or said anything about it. Sam planned on simply spending the night with Emily, and Paul was planning to celebrate the disappearance of the leeches.

Jared slowed when he reached Kim's house, edging as close as he could. He crawled on his belly under some bushes that were almost right up at the side of the house and hid there. Listening. Kim was already home, probably had been for a while since it was almost two in the morning. At least... he hoped she'd been home for a long while.

She was sleeping soundly, and the quiet steady sound of her breathing soothed Jared. She was safe and well in her bed. Unlike that poor Bella Swan...

The window next to Kim's was pushed open, and the little boy stuck his head out, searching. Jared almost grinned. The kid had seen him one night when Jared had been less careful than he should have. His parents and Kim didn't believe him, but the boy was determined to see the wolf again. Sometimes, Jared let him. It was harmless.

"Wolf? You out there?" the kid muttered. He wouldn't think the wolf could understand him, of course, but Jared bet he did it just to make himself feel better.

So Jared backed out of the bushes and let Kim's little brother see him, just a quick look, before going to the other side of the house until the boy went back to bed. Then Jared returned to his sentinel point, settling in to listen to Kim breathe. Sam had excused them from patrols tonight, which meant Jared could probably hang out here until it was almost time for work. Then he'd dash home, shower and dress, run back...

God, he sounded like such a stalker. But he couldn't help it... he felt calmer around Kim, and after tonight, all he seemed able to think of was Kim in Bella Swan's place.

He didn't like it.

Jared closed his eyes to the sound of her calm breathing. She was safe. And the leeches were gone. Jared finally let that hit him fully and relief washed through him. Maybe with the leeches gone, no one else would phase. It'd just be the three of them - four counting Emily - and nothing would rock the boat. Jared could deal with that.

Sighing, he drifted off to sleep.

Ehhh... I don't know if I like the second half of the chapter. shrugs Ah well. ;) Win some lose some. Hope you enjoyed!

Oh, and I'll TRY to update before next Thursday. I move in to the dorms that day, then I'm gone that weekend, then classes start the Monday after that... So I'll once again be busy and I don't know when I'll update after that. So I'll try to get you one before then, just in case it's a while.