A/N: Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Summer stretches out endlessly for Jared, and the second he steps out of his last final, he plans on spending every second possible with Kim. He walks Kim to her car, kissing her deeply before he leaves.

"You guys are gross," Paul tells him matter-of-factly when he gets into his truck. Jared rolls his eyes, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"I know," Jared says smugly, pulling out of the parking lot a tad too fast. Paul shakes his head, kicking his feet up on the dash. They roll down the windows, sunlight streaming in. It's a rare sunny day, complete with warm weather.

They make their way to Jared's house, parking their asses on the couch and firing up the Playstation. Parker gets back from school soon after, joining them for a bit.

"What's up, bud?" Paul greets him, not bothering to look up. Jared grins at him, scooching over to let him sit. He loves his nephew, of course, but they're not really close. There's a weird age gap, for one, and they like different things. He and Carey are sort of the same way.

"Is this all you're going to do all summer?" he teases quietly. Jared scoffs, playing absently. Paul's going to win, he knows, so there's no point in trying.

"What are you going to do all summer?" he teases back. Parker shrugs, watching the game.

They hang out like that, the three of them, until Carey gets home. She presses a kiss to Parker's temple, ducking down to ruffle both Jared and Paul's hair.

"What are you boy's going to do tonight?" she asks.

"Kim's busy tonight, so I'm substitute girlfriend," Paul snarks, grinning viciously at Jared. He flushes a little, swatting at him. Wisely, Parker ducks out of the way, laughing at the ensuing play-fight.

Jared hooks an elbow around Paul's neck, hauling him down into the carpet. The wrestle for a while, the two of them struggling to knock the other over. Lately, Paul's control has been staying steady, so Jared been a little more careless than normal.

They break apart when Carey hurls a pillow at them from the safety of the couch, where she and Parker are both huddled.

"So, you and Kim are pretty serious, huh?" Carey asks with a smirk.

"Yeah," Jared admits, blushing hard now. Paul cackles. Jackass.

"They're in looooooove," Paul sing-songs. "He's totally whipped."

"Shut up," Jared mumbles, a goofy smile cropping up on his face. Since it's Kim-induced, it's not like he could beat it down even if he wanted to.

"Invite her over," Carey says. "Mom keeps telling you to, and you keep dodging her."

"Yeah, I'll ask her," he says. Carey grins, pleased.

"Paul, you staying for dinner?" she asks, shrugging out of her blazer. Paul grins at her lasciviously, looking her up and down. Jared rolls his eyes. He'd tackle him, but Carey can hold her own.

"I'll stay as long as you like," he leers.

"Well, in that case," she says brightly. "You know where the door is!"

Everyone laughs, even Paul. Carey whips up hamburger helper, which isn't near enough to feed two teenage wolves, but they'll probably grab a pizza before they head up to Sam's for patrol. Dinner is quick, and they tear out, already running a little late.

They drive out to Forks for the pizza, gobbling it up as they drive back down. At Sam's, Emily, saint that she is, offers them fresh baked cupcakes. There's a pile of wedding magazines sprawled out on the counter.

"Are you guys finally doing some planning?" Jared asks, leaning against the counter to wait for Sam.

"Just some inspiration," she says. "Sam's going to make me an archway."

"Fancy," Paul whistles, flicking through the magazine with an expression of cautious curiosity.

"You two ready to go?" Sam asks, finally emerging from the back room. All three of them wrap Em in quick hugs, jogging out into the tree line. Jared wriggles out of his clothes, already shaking. He stashes his clothes in a tree, in the high branches. The wolf pushes against the seams of his mind, begging to be released.

Jared takes a deep breath, letting the wolf take over. It doesn't hurt anymore, but it's a strange transition from human to wolf, pressure rippling through his whole body.

Soon enough, three giant wolves stand in the clear. Sam shakes his head, coming into his wolf self. Jared's the easiest transition, plus his senses are the sharpest. He looks around, mapping out a perimeter. There's not much out, a few deer, and what sounds like a mountain lion, maybe fifty miles out.

Ready to go?

Hells yeah, what's the plan?

Perimeter sweep. Paul, you're with me, we're going east to west. Jared, you're north to south.

Roger.

Stay in hearing distance.

With that, the three take off. Jared keeps a sedate pace on his route, sweeping through while keeping a careful eye. He can smell the lingering bleach reek of bloodsucker, maybe ten or fifteen miles out.

The leeches have been particularly careful to stay on their side of the border, but they're all still a little on edge. Jared snaps a few birds that fly too close, snickering to himself as they fly helter-skelter.

He runs his route twice, half listening to Paul and Sam debate about stupid shit. His mind wanders back to Kim, predictably, and he thinks about bringing her home for dinner. She's been over to hang out a few times, and she's met pretty much all his family, but they've never done formal dinners before.

Eventually, Sam calls them back, satisfied that the rez is safe for now. Jared shifts back first, snagging his clothes from the branches. He dresses, waiting for Sam and Paul to shift back. Paul scowls, eyeing both Sam and Jared.

"All you guys ever talk about is your fucking girlfriends," he grumbles. Sam shakes his head, running a hand through his hair.

"You're getting shaggy, oh leader-o-mine," Jared says, bumping shoulders with Paul. He jogs up ahead, whining to Emily about how Jared and Sam ignore him.

"You've seriously never had Kim over for dinner?" Sam asks, quieter. It's not like Paul won't hear, but they like to pretend they have privacy.

"Not really" he mumbles.

"Damn you move slow," Sam chuckles, shoving him on ahead of him. "How long have you guys been together? Like six months?"

"About," Jared admits. He crosses into the house, hurrying to the relative safety of Emily.

"Jeez, Sam, go easy on the boys," she laughs once Jared's done complaining. Chagrined, Sam wraps his arms around Emily's waist, tucking his face in her neck.

"Good to go?" Jared asks, shoving a cupcake into his house. Emily snickers, laughing at him behind her hands. Sprawled out on the couch, Paul makes a whip sound. At Sam's okay, he jogs out, leaving Paul to figure his own ride out. A little petty sure, but he deserves it.

The ride back to his house, Jared mulls over what to say to ask Kim. At home, he kisses his mom in greeting before he heads upstairs, commandeering the phone. He dials up Kim's number, praying she'll answer and not her mom. As much as he likes Ms. Conweller, she's a little intimidating.

"Hello?" Someone must've been listening to her prayer; Kim's sweet voice fills his ear and he grins.

"Hey, It's Jared," he says.

"Hey, what's up, how was your patrol?" she asks, sounding a little breathless. Grinning like an idiot, Jared flops back onto his bed.

"Good," he tells her. "Nothing really happened."

"Well, that's good for us, huh?" she laughs.

"Hey, listen, I have something to ask you," he says, a little nervous. "Do want to come over for dinner, like formally? Like with my mom and Carey?"

"Oh!" For a second the line goes quiet, and all Jared can hear is breathing. "Like an official girlfriend dinner?"

"Yeah," he says, suddenly breathless. "Officially."

A/N: Alrighty, so things are becoming more serious! Also, we get to see Jared's family a little more!