A/N: Hope you enjoy!

Kim doesn't hear from Jared for three whole days. While it doesn't sound like a lot, and while she's certainly not the type to become insecure, it makes her nervous. Four days before her birthday, she finally admits to her mom that she and Jared got into a fight, and that he might not be coming.

"Honey, that's ridiculous," she says, pouring herself a tall mug of coffee. The colleges have just started their fall semester, and with that comes a wave of fresh communications majors interning at the radio station. "He loves you, he'll show."

Kim only shrugs, watching her mom pack her lunch box. She sighs, pushing Kim's hair back and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Seriously, sweetheart," she says. "Little fights break out all the time, it's nothing to worry about."

"It wasn't a little fight, though," she protests, sticking an apple in her mom's lunchbox. There should be something healthy in there, at least. So far, there's a bag of chips, pretzels, a cheese sandwich, and a couple brownies crammed in. Kim zips it up before her mom sees. "We were fighting about the future, about college."

"Oh, well, listen Kimmy, you should definitely go! With your grades—"

"Mom, I know! It's just not fair that I can go and he can't!"

"Well, why not? If Jared worked hard this semester, and maybe picked lacrosse and football back up, then he'd have a good shot." Kim shakes her head. She needs to talk to someone who understands. "And give Emily a call, will you? She's been trying to get ahold of you."

Kim flushes. It's not like she's avoiding anyone in particular, but she also doesn't want to argue with anyone either. Paul's probably rearing to yell at her. He's particularly protective of his pack, even her sometimes, but if she and Jared are in a fight, then he'll side with Jared. Same with Sam, which means Emily too.

"Yeah," she says listlessly. "I will."

Laura's going on a date today with some boy from Forks, which means she'll be busy all day. All that leaves Kim with is Eric, who's decided to becomes a human vegetable on their couch. With a world weary sigh, Kim grabs a bowl of cereal and plops down beside him.

"What are you up to?" she asks, taking a few bites. Eric makes a noncommittal sound, aimlessly flickering through channels. It's that point in summer where school looming, only a scant few weeks away, and it's too hot to do anything. In La Push, that means either hole up inside, or fight your way through the humidity to do anything.

"Are you going to hang out with your friends later?" she tries again, polishing off the rest of her cereal. Eric grunts, indecipherable, and Kim groans. "Come on, are you ignoring me?"

"A bunch of my friends went camping with their dads," he says flatly, eyes glued on the television screen. Instantly, Kim feels guilty. She might know who her dad is now, but Eric still doesn't. It's a secret their mom won't divulge. As a result, Eric's the only kid in his class that doesn't have a dad, or know anything about him.

"Hey, why don't we do something?" she suggests, putting on a cheery voice. Maybe that'll lift their moods. Eric deigns to look at her, quirking an eyebrow.

"What?" he asks.

"Anything you want," she says.

"Fine, but don't you still have to call Emily about the cake?" Eric reminds her with a sly grin. He knows how awkward and shy she can be on the phone, even to her friends.

"Asswipe," she mutters. "Fine, I'll call her and then we can go out."

"Don't take forever," he calls as she makes her way upstairs. Kim flops down heavily on her bed, grabbing her cell phone from the bed side table. She dials the number, squirming to get comfortable.

"Kim!" Emily's cheery voice puts her at ease and she smiles. It might've only been a few days, but she's missed her friends dearly. "Hey, ready for the big day?"

"It's only my seventeenth," she laughs. "It's not that important."

"Every birthday is important," Emily says sagely. "Did you decide what kind of cake you wanted?"

"Uh…" Actually, cake had been the last thing on her mind. "Surprise me. I trust you to make it awesome."

"Deal! It'll be amazing!" Emily agrees. "But, hey listen, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"Sure," she says hesitantly, pulling herself up so she can hug her knees.

"I, uh, heard about what happened," she says. "Me and Sam are sort of going through the same thing, I guess."

"Really?"

"I don't know if you knew, but two years ago, I got into Stanford, but I ended up not going, and it was sort of because of everything that happened," Emily explains. "All of that ended up on the wayside, but we've been talking about it."

"So, what happened?"

"Look, it's your life, and it's your choice," Emily says. "Love doesn't fade just because two people aren't around each other every day, you know?"

"I know, but it's not fair that I get the choice to leave and Jared doesn't," she counters. "That's why he's so mad."

"Oh, sweetheart, he's not mad, I promise," Emily assures her. "If anything, I think he's embarrassed that he overreacted."

"He didn't, though," she insists.

"Well, that sounds like something you need to talk over with Jared, but just know that you can make any choice you want to with your life," Emily says. "That, and you're going to have an amazing birthday cake."

Kim laughs, thanking Emily and letting her off the phone. Feeling decidedly lighter, she heads downstairs, grabbing her keys and jangling them at Eric to get him moving. He grins at her, jamming on his shoes and following her eagerly.

Kim drives them down to the diner to get milkshakes, then to first beach. A bunch of Forks kids are out, huddled in clumps on picnic blankets. She and Eric kick it on the sand, watching the waves. Her mind wanders to Jared, and how Emily had assured her he wasn't mad. She sighs. They can't keep doing this, having little spats and avoiding each other instead of facing the issue. She resolves to call him when they get home.

"Thanks for the milkshake," Eric says, jolting her from her reverie. She smiles at him, nudging his shoulder with hers.

"Don't worry about it," she says. She tilts her head back, trying to catch even a single ray of sun, but there's a flat layer of clouds obscuring the sky. At least it doesn't look like rain. "Want to do anything else?"

"Nah, this is nice," he says, laying back against the sand. "It's cool to just sit out."

"Ready for freshman year?" she says, poking his stomach. He squirms, giving her the stink eye.

"Don't remind me that we have to go to the same school now," he groans, throwing his arm dramatically over his eyes. Kim snickers, jabbing her fingers into his side until he jolts up, a mischieveous look in his eyes. He lunges, knocking her back into the sand and snatching her half empty cup from her. He scrambles to his feet, taking a few huge gulps, his own cup sits undisturbed and empty.

"Come back here!" she gasps, tearing after him. God, they haven't played around like this in years, maybe since she was in elementary school. Eric's fast, so he tanks most of her milkshake, saving only a sip when she catches up to him. Kim snatches it back, slurping the rest of it and sucking on the empty straw indignantly.

"Aren't you too old to chase your little brother halfway down the beach?" he asks, catching his breath.

"You're never too old to defend your milkshake's honor," she says sagely. Eric scoffs and Kim hooks her elbow around his neck, dragging him back to the car. She'd forgotten how cool he could be.

A/N: Just some nice family bonding! Let me know what you thought!