Hi everyone! A couple things before we get to the story:
(1) I'm going to be playing around with the timeline for the wolves, deviating a little from cannon but not by much!
(2) I really really liked a particular review on a previous chapter and I wanted to address it! stated that Kim is the "unknowing MVP of this fanfic" and I could not agree more! I have nothing but love for Kim, and I have big plans (suggested in another previous review) to do right by her by the end of this :)
While it is a little shorter, I'm a huge fan of this chapter because we really get more of Paul's personality as well as his friendship with Nina- which I'm super proud of!
With that, HERE WE GO!

X. Fated

The coming days were among the strangest- and worst- days that Nina could remember since her father's death, which held an anniversary that was also looming over her head like the dark rain clouds over their small reservation. November had set in with a vengeance, and Nina could feel herself getting sick with each passing day, headaches plaguing her from the moment she woke to the moment she fell asleep.

It was Thursday when Paul launched a snowball at her, and Jared hadn't been at school all week. There was nearly three inches of snow on the ground, a thin layer of ice beneath it already, and the car had practically crawled to school with Kim behind the wheel.

"I don't really think fifteen was necessary, Kimmy," Nina chuckled, rolling her eyes as she exited the vehicle, tossing her bag over her shoulder, "I think we may have even been okay at twenty."

Kim joined her at the back of the car, shuffling her boots through the snow with caution, her eyes only leaving them once to narrow at Nina, "Maybe, when you get your license, you can drive on the first snow of the year."

"Okay, okay, I see," Nina grinned, shaking her head slightly. She began towards the school, quickly passing Kim as she shuffled behind.

She was only feet from the car when a snowball struck her shoulder blade, shattering and dumping the majority of the powder into her hair. She spun around, her mouth already slightly agape, and her eyes landed on the culprit.

Paul stood just out of the treeline, clad in only a t-shirt and jeans despite the snow, a smirk etched on his face. His image brought a strange twist in her stomach. He hadn't even been at lunch those past three days, nonetheless having sat with them, and Nina was certain it was a result of the weekend's debacle.

In just a few large strides, he reached her, a slight twinkle in his eyes despite the strain in his jaw.

"Why'd you do that?" Nina asked. She glanced at him for only a moment before she returned to picking snow from her hair. Kim had stopped to re-evaluate her path to the school.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Nina lifted her head, her eyes narrowing at him. She swallowed hard.

"Do what?"

He shook his head, snorting quietly and leaning his face down towards hers, "You're too smart to ask such a stupid question."

Kim had changed course, searching for where the grass would be beneath the snow, and Nina spared a glance in her direction before lowering her voice and meeting Paul's stare.

"Kim is my best friend, and I'm not going to keep doing something that could ruin that."

Paul crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back as he shook his head. His eyes scanned the sky, and he sighed before he looked back to her.

"You don't get it, do you?"

Nina raised an eyebrow.

"Or even feel it? There's no way you can't feel it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugged, her eyes flickering to the woods behind him and shifting her weight.

"Yeah," Paul chuckled curtly, nodding. His smirk returned, "I bet you don't."

With that, he was moving past her, shaking his head slightly and loudly blowing out of his mouth. He had nearly reached the front doors of the school before looking over his shoulder and waving a hand.

"See you at lunch, Nina!"

She found herself rooted in place, her toes getting cold as the snow began to seep in, Paul's words bouncing off the walls of her mind. Her eyes found a dark patch in the woods surrounding the school, and the wind blew a sharp breeze straight through her denim jacket.

By the time Nina shuffled her way into school, she was late for homeroom. She ignored the glances from her classmates and teacher, sighing as she plopped into her seat. She rubbed at her temples, her seemingly never-ending headache flaring its angry head.

The day dragged by painfully, just as those before it had, and Nina couldn't shake the image of Jared's face from her mind- the roundness of his cheeks; the sharpness of his jaw; the soft, melted chocolate of his eyes. When she thought about it hard enough, she could even feel the comforting spark of heat tickle across her skin, as though he were touching it himself.

Each time she'd indulge in these thoughts and memories, they'd be rudely interrupted by the image of Kim- cheeks ablaze as she'd look at Jared, giggling after he'd say something, sitting in her room and chattering excitedly after all the days she'd helped them work on their English project.

By the time lunch arrived, Nina had thought herself into quite a sour mood. She found herself glaring aimlessly as she moved towards the cafeteria, Kim by her side.

"Isn't it weird that he hasn't been here? It's like last month when he was gone for so long… you don't think something's wrong, do you?"

Kim's words… stung.

They, as most things were that day, brought Nina's mind back to Jared- back to that past Saturday. Had he been missing school because of her? She struggled to believe that their small quarrel could bring him to miss that much school, but her conversation with Paul that morning had pointed to that same thought as well.

She forced herself to shrug a shoulder, struggling to meet Kim's eyes as she did so.

Kim's eyebrows pushed together.

"Did he seem okay when you were together this weeked?"

They pushed through the cafeteria doors. Paul was already waiting at their booth.

"Uhm, yeah, he's probably just caught up with work stuff again," Nina muttered, her eyes trained on Paul. He had already began eating, an arm casually tossed over the back of their seat, but his head was tilted slightly, his jaw moving slowly as he chewed.

Nina's eyes narrowed at him.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Kim nodded, accepting Nina's response and continuing forward, plopping happily into her seat across from Paul. Nina followed slower, edging herself in beside him.

"Ah, my lovely lunch dates," Paul chuckled through a mouthful of food.

Nina looked at him wearily, and he met her curious glance with a wink. She looked away.

Kim had just carefully unwrapped her sandwich when she began speaking.

"Paul, do you know where Jared's been the last few days?"

Paul's eyebrows flared upwards for just a moment before he acknowledged Kim's question, sending a glance in Nina's direction as he set down his food,

"Just some personal stuff," he shrugged, his voice unusually thick with something, "catching up on a little bit of work, too. That part's long overdue, though," he chuckled darkly to himself, picking back up his sandwich and chomping into it.

Kim hummed slightly, a slender finger toying with her own food, "Well," she hesitated, pulling her mouth to the side, "I hope he's okay."

Nina couldn't stop herself from sighing, and while Kim peacefully began eating, Paul's eyes flickered to her sharply, eyebrows creasing. She met his eyes briefly, but he looked quickly between her and Kim, his mouth opening slightly. Nina raised an eyebrow.

Paul shook his head back and forth slowly.

"Unbelievable," he muttered, finally breaking his stare on her.

Kim looked up for just a moment, though Paul had already began another attack on his food. Nina simply shrugged.

The rest of the day carried on just as slowly as the first half had, and Nina had yet to be able to decipher or even began to understand Paul's behavior that day. English passed by, as it had all week, the slowest, the emptiness of Jared's chair seeming, as him, larger than life. She wondered how he and Paul could possibly miss school as much as they had in the last few months, but that seemed at the bottom of her worry-list.

She knew she couldn't ignore Jared forever, though the thought of staring him in the face and pretending her heart wouldn't be racing seemed nearly impossible. How could she possibly pretend that the last month of their… friendship hadn't developed to the lengths that it had? And with that, how could she possibly allow it to go any longer and further increase the chances of hurting Kim? Paul's words hung in her mind like spiderwebs, getting caught each time she tried to form a tangible thought, bringing her back to them each time.

And not only did her guilt towards Kim and Jared sit heavy in her chest, but would she be able to bear never seeing Emily again because of her own selfishness? Just that weekend, she had designed an entire day to help Nina understand her own heritage better, and she had stormed out.

Paul's words from earlier in the day didn't have long to trouble her before he had supplied her with even more. He was waiting outside the English room when she exited, kicking off the wall and falling in step beside her, bumping at her rather obnoxiously as he did so.

"Tell Kim you don't need a ride today," he spoke devoid of any of his usual humor.

Nina raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

He stared at her, "Because I'm going to kidnap you."

She glared at him, sighing before opening her locker. When Kim arrived shortly after, she told her as Paul had instructed. Kim had looked between the two hesitantly but nodded nonetheless, grinning over her shoulder at Nina and waving to Paul as she went.

Paul wordlessly led Nina to the parking lot, passing by the remaining vehicles and reaching the street before he began speaking.

"You're proving to be a lot dumber than I originally thought," he began, Nina's eyes flickering to him sharply, "so I'm sure you have done this at some point."

"I'm not-"

"I'm talking here," he glared at her out the side of his eye, continuing. "Have you ever been cliff diving?"

She nodded.

"A total rush, right? When was the first time you went?"

While she struggled to see where he was going, having just previously called her stupid, she answered.

"I was…" she thought, "probably twelve?"

"Did someone tell you not to do it?"

She inwardly rolled her eyes, a breath coming out of her nose, "Yeah, my mom."

They were still walking along the side of the road, beaten-down snow crunching beneath their feet. Nina noticed that Paul was wearing sneakers and a t-shirt, still no jacket or boots.

"But you did it anyway, yeah?"

Nina nodded.

"Why?"

The question, simple as it was, stopped her mind from its previous reeling. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she remembered that first time. It was a memory so seemingly insignificant. She decided that a simple answer was the only appropriate one.

"I wanted to," she shrugged a shoulder.

"That's what I thought you'd say," the corner of his mouth quirked upwards.

"What're you-"

"Still talking," he wiggled a finger in her face. She pulled her head away and glared at him.

"So, you did it anyway because you wanted to, simple as that, right?"

"I guess?"

"No matter what someone else wanted, you did what you wanted. Did you love it?"

"Cliff diving?"

"Yeah, that's what we're talking about."

"Yeah, I guess."

"No more guessing," Paul shook his head, "are you glad you did it anyway?"

"Sure," she nodded, her curiosity growing.

"Okay, great!" He exclaimed, his excitement seeming inappropriate for the nature of the conversation. "So you and Jared can be together." He nodded his head confidently as he spoke.

Nina stopped walking, her mouth falling open. It took Paul a moment to realize she was no longer with him, but he stopped finally, turning around and raising an eyebrow. His face was much more pleasant than it had been all day.

"Hey… why'd you stop?"

"What're you talking about?"

Paul raised an eyebrow. They stared at one another, one look of confusion mirroring the other.

"You two are making it so complicated," Paul finally spoke, shaking his head incredulously, "it's supposed to be easier for people like you. You like him, he likes you, so you get together," he shrugged, nodding once again to himself. He spoke as though it was the easiest thing he had ever said.

"I…" she failed to find the words, shaking her head. Her mind was both cluttered and painfully empty.

"Just like cliff diving!" Paul gestured towards her, "You did it because that's what you wanted to do! You didn't care what anyone else wanted, just you. So do what you want to do here, and be with Jared!"

For what felt like an eternity, all Nina could do was simply stare at him, mouth slightly open, eyebrows creased together. The cold had become a distant memory having been walking with him, and the street was- per usual- empty, leaving them with Paul's unprecedented enthusiasm and her own pure confusion.

"I don't even know what to say right now," Nina finally breathed out, shaking her head. A corner of her mouth quirked upwards as she looked back at Paul.

"Listen," Paul rolled his eyes again. Nina wanted to slap him when he acted so arrogantly, and she had even seen Jared do it once or twice. "It'll all make sense once Jared talks to you," he shrugged, beginning to walk once more, "but you've gotta get over this little drama queen thing you've got going on."

"What do you mean it'll all make sense?" She carried on behind him, picking up her pace to try to catch up to his side.

They were nearing her house.

"I, quite literally, can't get into the details with you, but it'll make sense," he shrugged once more, his usual air of arrogance returning for a moment.

Failing to make sense of Paul's bizarre omen and equally fearing bringing on another, Nina remained quiet until they reached her driveway. Paul strode along beside her as though he hadn't spent the entirety of their walk speaking insanities, his chain held painfully high, his strides full of forceful swagger. She wished she understood even a fraction of it- or him.

Nina assumed that their silence would signify the end of their walk together, but he spoke once more as she was crossing the threshold of her property, his voice thick with pomposity.

"You can, even if it's pretty stupid," he cocked his head to the side, "keep up this whole, ridiculous no-speaky thing with Jared. But Sam's making him come back to school tomorrow, and I doubt you'll want to explain to Kim why you're not talking- if that's really your issue."

Nina pursed her lips at him.

"This sorta thing is pretty rare, I hear…" he shook his head as he spoke, his eyes unfocusing for a moment, "I wouldn't screw around with it."

While she raised an eyebrow, Paul seemed to pay no more mind to it as he turned around and continued down the street. Nina remained in her driveway for a few more minutes, pondering what he could've possibly meant by such a thing, failing each time. Her eyes flickered to the woods once more as she ascended the front steps, the sensation of being watched gnawing at the back of her mind.

The following morning, Nina woke up with a peculiar buzzing in her chest. It made her uneasy as she got ready for the day, her headache still prominent, her dread palpable. The thought of seeing Jared again made her heart vibrate with excitement and thunder with disappointment, and she hadn't been able to escape from Paul's words from the previous day. She swallowed it all down and smiled as she got into Kim's car.

Kim and her vehicle crawled along the road again, and once or twice, Nina swore she saw her friend smirking in her direction, an unusual- but not unheard of- act from her.

Nina began walking to the school with Kim behind her, shuffling her feet carefully along as she had the day before, and she was nearly to the front doors when she saw him.

"Morning, girls," Jared smiled, holding open the door with an arm- muscle flexed- and smiling down towards them. Nina felt electric to be beneath his gaze once more, and her throat went dry.

She approached him wordlessly, any coherent thought slipping away before it was finished, her head feeling strangely normal by comparison to the days prior. His heat touched her as she reached the top step, and he raised an eyebrow, his lips twisting into a grin.

"Nice chat with Paul yesterday?"

Her eyebrows flared upwards, lips parting, "How did you?" She spoke quietly, casting a look back at Kim as she reached the bottom steps.

"Let's talk in English?"

She nodded without a second thought.

He smiled once more at her, holding the door open for Kim as well before following the two into the building.

As though the days leading up to it hadn't been slow and dreadful enough, the nest of butterflies that had settled into Nina's stomach at the thought of a talk with Jared in English was enough to push the day to infinite levels of difficulty. At lunch, the boys joined their booth as usual, their seating arrangement as it had always been.

"Jared," Kim began, her voice twisting with her body as she spoke his name, "where were you all week?"

Her confidence when speaking to him had increased ten-fold, though Nina found it difficult to be excited for her in that particular area.

"Just had some stuff come up," Jared spoke rather casually, "nothing big."

Paul snorted, shaking his head. Jared glared at him from across the table.

By the time that English had finally come, Nina was ready to leap from her skin. While her headache had miraculously died away, it was replaced with the vibrations.

Both she and Jared arrived early, and she was pleasantly surprised when he knelt down in front of her desk, resting his arms on it and staring at her. His eyes twinkled, but there was something different in them- nerves, perhaps?

"We need to talk, and you need to listen, and you need to be open-minded."

Nina nodded sharply, though the furrowing of her eyebrows gave away her hesitation.

"I have to tell you something… something pretty big," he chuckled nervously, scratching at the nape of his neck, "something I didn't want to tell you for a while, but it looks like it's my only option now."

Nina swallowed hard, her nerves already dancing with anticipation.

"Okay," she finally forced out, nodding once more.

"We can head to Sam and Emily's after school?"

All she could do was nod again, "Okay, yeah."

The bell rang, and the room was nearly full. Jared stood and wandered to his seat, and all Nina could do was sit and stew in her own theories. While the vibrations inside her chest and mind continued, her thoughts raced for any indication as to what Jared may have to tell her. Paul's words joined the buzzing chaos, and she connected that they had been a premonition of what she was to learn, but she still came to a dead-end as to what it might actually be.

The final bell of the day rang, and Nina began gathering her things, looking up to find Jared by her side. She told Kim, once again, that she wouldn't be needing a ride home. As she and Jared exited the building, she pulled her jacket closer to her body and subconsciously took a step closer to the personal heater at her right hand, soaking in the familiar heat he emitted.

As they walked comfortably together, Nina was painfully unaware that her life would never be the same after that day, though she smiled nonetheless at the handsome boy beside her, allowing herself to believe that that was all he was.