This has been my very favorite chapter while writing this story, and I just couldn't wait to share it with you all! Thank you all from the very bottom of my heart for all the love you continue to give this piece that is so near and dear to me.

I cannot wait to hear what you all think!


XV. Fatalism

Christmas came and went, and Nina was, again, overwhelmed with the way that she felt towards Jared's family. In addition to her own feelings, it seemed as though they too felt the pull towards her; perhaps it was fate.

Despite the joy that she felt with them and, of course, Jared, she couldn't get her mind off of Kim and her family. It was tradition that she'd join them for dinner on Christmas Day, and the thought of never doing that again hurt her. Once again, she found herself wondering if there would ever come a day that Kim would understand and be able to forgive her, though the odds weren't looking fantastic.

The rain washed away what remained of the snow from Christmas Eve, and by the time that they returned to school in the New Year, it was all but gone. Jacob returned to school with them on the first day back, his addition to the pack allowing for even more flexibility within their schedules, and Nina couldn't say she minded the extra time it had given her with Jared on occasion.

At first, she had felt rather strange walking through the hallways surrounded by the mountainous boys, but she- as the boys- had grown immune to the stares that came from their peers. She supposed it might not be as easy if she could hear the whispers about them like the boys could.

Seeing Kim in the hallways and noticing the way she changed seats in their mutual classes brought a tug to Nina's chest each time it struck her. She'd audibly sigh, and she even attempted to speak to her in their first week back at school, though Kim had averted her eyes and scurried out of the room or hallway before she could get to her every time.

"I just don't know what to do," Nina sighed. She dropped her head back onto the headrest, her eyes finding a spot on the ceiling of the car. "What if we go the rest of senior year and she still won't speak to me? What if she leaves for college and she still hates me?"

"It's all going to work out, Nina. I just know it." Emily shrugged casually, casting a grin towards her.

"But how do you know?"

Emily sighed, rolling her eyes playfully. "Why don't you stop worrying for right now and just take us for a drive? When is your road test? The 20th?"

"Yes," Nina groaned. She grabbed the steering wheel aggressively, rolling her eyes until she was facing Emily.

The older girl grinned at her, cocking her head towards the shifter.

Nina's road test had been scheduled and Emily had volunteered to not only be her practice passenger but also to lend her her vehicle to practice with until she found her own.

"Okay but-"

"Enough."

"Okay."

They returned from their drive just before lunch, and Nina had decided she hated driving. She couldn't imagine that Jared would be able to survive as her passenger with his motion sickness, and she had a heavy foot when it came to breaking. But Emily was patient, and she assured her that they'd have it under control by the 20th of January.

"Blueberry or plain?"

"Blueberry, please," Nina responded. She was haphazardly flipping through her driving manual as Emily pulled the trays of muffins from the oven. Her stomach growled with anticipation, but a vehicle rumbling into the driveway drowned out the sound.

Both girls turned their heads, their eyes landing on Paul's truck sitting untouched. In just a moment, a red pickup truck rolled into view, parking quickly beside Emily's car. They each raised an eyebrow, sharing a glance with one another. Nina's stomach did a flip.

The familiar sound of the boys whooping to one another filled the air, and Nina was pleased when Jared entered the house, smiling and glowing in Nina's direction.

He wiggled his eyebrows and made a face, cocking his head backwards in the direction of the door. Nina's eyebrows furrowed as her eyes followed his gesture, and he chuckled before grabbing two blueberry muffins from their tray- biting into one and handing the other to Nina. He spared no time in plopping into the seat beside her and yanking her chair towards him, and he was grinning at her through a mouthful of muffin and bringing a hand to rest on her knee when the door opened once more.

Embry stepped in, his eyes dancing with excitement and his lips pressed into a thin line as he held it open. Nina had only turned to Jared with question when a girl stepped in behind Embry, her skin as pale as the whitecaps on the ocean and her hair a dark curtain around her face and shoulders. She remained in the doorframe as Embry joined them at the table.

"Who's this?" Emily murmured. She looked between the boys.

Nina's eyes had yet to leave the girl as she tried to connect the dots.

And then it clicked.

"Bella Swan, who else?" Embry rolled his eyes as he bit into his muffin. Jared cackled, tossing his head back and squeezing at Nina's kneecap. She felt her face go blank as she met Bella's eyes, the implications of her relationships coming to the forefront of her mind.

"So…" Emily finally spoke, "you're the vampire girl?"

Nina suppressed a giggle, but Jared turned to her with a smirk nonetheless.

"You're… the wolf girl," Bella responded. Her eyes came back to Nina, moving between her face and Jared's hand. "Girls," she gestured towards them, chuckling.

Nina forced a smile, looking at Jared briefly before back to Bella.

"I'm Nina," she offered a small wave, pleased when Bella mirrored her gesture with a grin.

"Bella, but…" she pursed her lips and looked around the room, "you probably already knew that."

Nina nodded, shrugging a shoulder as she took another bite of her muffin.

"Muffin?" Emily offered one out. Bella analyzed it for a moment before nodding, stepping into the room and thanking Emily as she took it. Nina's eyes trailed along as she moved, the prospect of someone so human being in a relationship with a vampire being too much for her to comprehend in a single thought.

The door opened once more, Paul and Jacob shoving one another as they entered. Paul quickly plopped down at the table, grabbing a muffin and smirking over his shoulder at Bella.

"Sorry," he chuckled, turning his attention back to the muffin and taking a monstrous bite out of it.

Bella wordlessly followed Jacob back out the front door.

The boys fell unusually quiet as they dove into their third and fourth muffins, and Nina found herself and Emily staring at one another with confusion.

"What just happened?"

Nina finally spoke, her eyebrows creasing as she looked among the three boys. And then all at once they were laughing, bits of muffin flying from Paul's mouth as he slapped the table in front of him.

"Oh my God, manners," Emily scoffed, her face twisting as her eyes followed the muffin remnants.

"Why don't you tell them, big shot?" Jared laughed, gesturing in Paul's direction. He shook his head playfully at Nina as Paul began speaking, swiping the muffin bits into his hand and dropping them into his mouth.

"Listen," he placed a hand on the table, raising his chin with arrogance.

Embry and Jared groaned, rolling their eyes.

"Bella slapped Paul, and being the calm and in control guy he is, decided to phase and try to attack her," Jared explained.

"- and then," Embry interjected, pointing a finger at Jared, "Jake phased on the fly and kicked his ass."

"He didn't kick my ass!" Paul objected, shaking his head, "do you see a single mark on me?" He gestured towards his body, pointedly staring at Embry.

"Oh come on," Jared shook his head, waving a dismissive hand at him, "you could've healed on the way back."

"Exactly!" Embry nodded, smirking at Paul.

"Okay, okay," Emily interrupted, joining them at the table, "so now Bella Swan knows, even though Sam specifically told Jacob not to tell her?"

"You can thank our resident asshole for that one, Em," Jared chuckled, his voice muffled through another bite of muffin.

Nina stared at Paul incredulously from across the table, quirking her lips and shaking her head at him. His smirk met her with his usual arrogance, and he shrugged casually as he grabbed another muffin from the tray.


"Jesus, Paul, would you shut up?"

"I'm trying to help!"

"You're just stressing me out!"

Nina and Paul had been driving his truck around La Push and Forks for nearly two hours, and they were engaging in what felt like the millionth fight.

"If you parallel park like this tomorrow, you're definitely going to fail," he cackled. He shook his head and ran a hand down his face.

"That's because you won't shut up," Nina mumbled, raising her eyebrows. She inhaled deeply and shifted into drive, pulling forward and lining herself up with the vehicle beside her.

"You're thinking about it too much," Paul rolled his eyes. She glared at him from the corner of her own as she shifted into reverse.

They carried on similarly for some time before Paul turned to her with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, his lips curling upwards as Nina raised an eyebrow.

"Turn down this street," he chuckled, pointing to the upcoming right. Nina's eyebrow remained poised in his direction, but she did as he instructed. After another block, he pointed out another turn to take.

"Okay, okay, slow down…" he muttered. He rolled down the window and poked his head out, inhaling and nodding to himself.

Nina's eyes wandered around the silent street as she came to a stop along the side of the blacktop. A lone light shined through an upstairs window of the house they were parked across from. She turned to Paul with question.

"Welcome to the palace."

"What're you talking about?" She chuckled. She looked back at the white house, tilting her head slightly as she turned back to Paul.

"Bella Swan's house, duh," Paul spoke arrogantly, but his smile told another story.

"Oh my God," Nina rolled her eyes as she laughed, slapping in Paul's direction as she put the truck into drive and began turning around.

"Hold on, hey, hold on."

Paul's head poked back out the window, and with a roll of his eyes and a groan, he pulled his phone from his pocket. "Jesus Christ," he groaned, pushing at the buttons before pressing it up against his face.

"Head back to Em's- Sam, the leech has been in Forks."

He began speaking quietly to Sam as Nina began back towards the reservation, and her stomach leapt into her chest on occasion at the thought of being so close to a vampire. She stole a glance in Paul's direction, grateful to have him beside her as she drove too quickly away from Forks.


The pack extended their patrols into the outskirts of Forks after the redhead's scent was discovered around Bella Swan's house. They had chased the scent to the ocean before losing it, but Sam had made all the boys stay out that night just in case.

Following her driving exam, Nina wandered into Emily's house, Sam trailing in tiredly behind her- he had volunteered to accompany her so Emily could make breakfast for the pack.

Jared's eyes found her effortlessly, an eyebrow raising in anticipation as he set down his fork and knife. The rest of the boys' eyes followed his. Nina sighed as she faced them, raising her shoulders from their droop and shrugging. Jared frowned.

"I got it!" She squealed, pulling the temporary license from her pocket.

Jared was up from his seat in a moment, sweeping her into his arms and jumping up and down. The rest of the boys made sounds and remarks of congratulations. From over Jared's shoulder, Nina smiled as Sam gave her a thumbs-up.

And then the hunt for a car began.

She was sitting on the floor of Emily's living room, newspapers sprawled across the table with various circles scratched around potential vehicles. Embry sat on the couch behind her, peering over her shoulder occasionally and making sounds of disgust or appreciation, and Jacob sat in the recliner, scornfully watching a game show on the television.

"How hard is it to put new breaks in a car?" Nina asked, turning towards Embry.

He shrugged, "not that hard. Jake and I could do it no problem."

Jacob perked up at the mention of his name, facing them with a rather playful expression.

"I could fix mostly any of these cars you've mentioned."

Nina narrowed her eyes at him. "But you haven't said anything?"

He shrugged, a corner of his mouth tugging upwards, "Embry had it covered."

"What a tool," Embry chuckled, shaking his head. Jacob rolled his eyes as Embry slapped lightly at Nina's shoulder, "get it, tool?" He cackled, tossing his head back. Nina chuckled at him, shaking her head as she turned back to the papers in front of her.

As the weekend came to a close, Quil Ateara phased.

Embry and Jacob had gone careening through Emily's house, shouting and whooping as the news hit. They had insisted on skipping school the following day to work with him and show him the ropes, and Jared described to Nina the excitement that they radiated through the pack mind as they introduced him to his new life.

Nina decided that day to attempt speaking to Kim again.

"She's in the library," Jared told her. He had listened for only a moment before coming up with an answer, and Nina was once again struck by the strangeness of that in itself- his ability to hear nearly anyone in the building.

"Thanks," she murmured. She inhaled deeply and wiggled her shoulders, forcing a grin onto her face.

"You got it," Jared smiled at her, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Maybe," she chuckled nervously, cocking her head to the side and running a hand through her hair. She turned with confidence, making her way to the library and slipping in.

She spotted Kim at a table in the back and took one more deep breath as she approached her, composing her expression and swallowing. She sat quietly across from Kim, the other girl looking up with a start.

For a moment, they only stared at one another.

Kim had just placed a hand on the table when Nina pointed a finger at her, shaking her head.

"Don't. I want to talk."

Kim settled back into her seat, her lips a thin line. "I don't want to."

"Kim," Nina pursed her lips, "I'm not doing this for the rest of senior year."

"I don't have anything to say to you." Kim shrugged. She averted her eyes, biting at her bottom lip.

Nina narrowed her eyes, shaking her head slightly as a ghost of a smirk appeared on her lips. "I think you're lying. I think you have plenty that you'd like to say to me. You just won't."

Kim stared at her.

Nina leaned forward in her seat.

The air between them was thick, and it felt like a million eternities were passing by as they stared at one another. Nina would've killed to know what was passing through Kim's mind as her eyebrows furrowed and her cheeks hollowed and inflated.

And then Kim was pushing herself to her feet, shaking her head and gathering her belongings.

"I said I don't have anything to say to you."

Nina's lips parted with shock as Kim stormed out of the library, her tongue working its way around her mouth in aggravation. She remained at the table for only a moment before she, too, was hastily exiting the library. By the time she reached the hallway, Kim was long gone. She groaned loudly, dropping her head back and shutting her eyes.

"I really thought I had her," Nina shook her head. She rolled her eyes and pressed her head against the cool table. A hand of Jared's found her spine.

"Who's this we're talking about?" Quil asked.

He was seated with Nina and Jared at Emily's kitchen table as she ranted to Emily about her failed attempt at a peace treaty.

Paul groaned loudly from his spot on the couch, leaning up to speak over the back at them. "Get with it, newbie. Kim was Nina's ex bestie who was madly in love with Jared since, like, birth or something. Now they're in some sort of cold war."

Quil's eyebrows raised towards his hairline as he looked back at Nina. She pursed her lips and nodded slowly. He turned to Jared.

"Have you tried talking to her?"

Nina's eyebrows bunched together between themselves. Beside her, Jared wore the same expression.

"Okay, okay," Quil chuckled, raising his hands in defeat, "maybe that's a stupid idea."

"Maybe," Nina murmured, chuckling softly.

"Definitely," Jared nodded.

Quil narrowed his eyes at both of them as he pondered for another moment, dramatically tapping at his chin with a pencil. Nina couldn't help but notice his unusual excitement about joining the pack- Jared had expressed his own confusion at the fact. It had taken Quil a matter of a day to accept and embrace his membership in the pack, and Sam had given him the green-light to try a day at school the following day.

"I know!" He smiled, his eyes moving between them once more as he spoke excitedly, "I'll talk to her for you."

Once again, and for the second time that day, Nina was left with her mouth open with pure shock. She narrowed her eyes at him as she closed her mouth, searching for a word or a sentence in pursuit of some rationalization for his declaration. It was Jared who found the words first- or at least an assortment of them.

"What in that freaky head of yours would make you think that was a good idea?"

Quil shrugged, still smiling, "It'll be fine."

And so, the following day, Quil rejoined them at school. He found Nina's locker with ease, smiling as he greeted her, Jared, and Paul.

"Alright, where's our girl?" He clapped his hands together enthusiastically.

"She avoids me like the plague," Nina grumbled. She shut her locker, leaning her back against it as Jared snaked an arm around the base of her neck.

The four of them scanned the hallway before them, ignoring the ever-constant looks of suspicion from their peers around them as they searched for just one in particular.

"There," Paul cocked his chin as he pointed her out, a mere dark head of hair bobbing along in the crowd. Nina was sure that she would've taken an alternative route to her home room if there was one, but conveniently enough, there wasn't.

Quil had to step out only a stride to catch her arm.

"Hey! Kim, right? I…"

And then the words slipped from Quil's lips, leaving them parted with only the ghost of what he had anticipated saying to her. His eyes flickered around every feature of her face in awe, and Nina stared in bewilderment as he took on an expression she had grown to know too well over the months prior.

"Oh shit!" Paul cackled, clapping his hands and drawing the eyes of the hallway towards him.

Kim was lost as she stared back at Quil, and Nina was reminded of her own loss of reality as she had first seen Jared after his phase.

"Oh my God…" she breathed, turning to Jared.

His smile took up his entire face, and then he was grabbing her face and pressing his lips against hers quicker than she could have ever imagined possible, and it felt as though a weight was being withdrawn from her shoulders and a fire was lighting in the pit of her stomach as her fingertips found his wrists, embracing the kiss and the fact that Quil had imprinted on Kim and the idea that perhaps, maybe things may be okay. In that seemingly perfect moment, it seemed as though they may.