"If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself."

― George Orwell

Shay's head ached with all the thoughts pressing through her brain.

How had today started so normal and morphed into something so strange?

If she could ignore the fact that Jake had just skipped town and was seemingly still in love with Bella, she could imagine that he might like her. He was becoming a permanent fixture in her life and was always looking out for her. And now that they were friends, he easily offered up smiles and conversation that still felt like a special gift to just her.

But, no. Unfortunately, she couldn't ignore the Forks girl with a penchant for vampires and a part time interest in werewolves. How could she?

But why had Jake kissed Shay?

Could he just be all riled up from the grocery store? He wasn't in danger, not directly, but it was still a scary situation. She remembered the robber's hot breath on her neck and shuddered. Her nerves were frazzled enough without all this confusion.

She laid down on her bed when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. Taking it out, she was wasn't sure if she was anxious or relieved to see who was calling.

Swallowing, she flipped her phone open.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I heard what happened. I'm...are you okay?"

Shay sat up and bit her lip. She had been putting this off for too long, and she could really really use someone to talk to right about now.

"Can you come over?"

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

Kim sat cross legged on her bedroom floor, her teeth gnawing at her bottom lip. She looked a little disheveled with a bumpy ponytail and in an oversized shirt, but Shay guessed she had driven right over when she asked. Shay sat across from her, a pillow cradled in her lap, hugging it as she decided who would talk first.

She didn't have to wonder for long, because Kim suddenly leaned forward, her palms flat on the floor.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you. About your parents."

Shay shifted her legs, her eyes on the gray, fuzzy rug instead of Kim.

"Yeah, well it wasn't exactly a lie."

"It has nothing to do with you," Kim said adamantly, and Shay finally looked up at her. "And I was just lashing out."

"Yeah, but why?" Shay asked, flinging her pillow aside and drawing her legs up. She wrapped her arms around them as she regarded her best friend's hunched posture.

"I think I was...jealous."

"Jealous of what?" Shay scrunched her face. She had been analyzing their fight for days now, and that wasn't what she expected Kim to say. "You're the one who knew about everything, has a wonderful boyfriend, and a good family."

Kim drew her lips together and twisted her hands.

"For a long time, it was just me and you," Kim finally said, shrugging. "I look at people and...I lose my voice for a second. But you came to the school, and you were new and interesting, and you could've been friends with anyone, and you wanted to be friends with me."

"I think you are both overselling me and underselling yourself." Shay's anger was gone now, and she looked at Kim in pure curiosity. "But what exactly does that have to do with right now?"

"I don't know. We had our own world, and now-"

"-There's all these other people and wolves to contend with?" Shay asked with a smirk, making Kim finally smile a little.

"It was kind of nice. To have my own thing for a while," Kim said, immediately reddening as she heard what she said. "Not that I didn't want you to know! I wanted to tell you so many times. And then you found out, and...you didn't even talk to me about it. You were finally in on the secret, and you didn't come to your oldest friend."

"I didn't see it that way." Shay felt guilt creep up her spine. "I was just overwhelmed by everything and ignoring everyone seemed like the best option."

Kim took a deep breath.

"I know. But it was like I was back to the old Kim. And even though I had this new group to hang out with, they still all seemed to like you better. You're even friends with Leah. I don't even think she's ever addressed me by name."

Shay snorted, not bothering to touch that right now.

"Things are definitely different," Shay said, inching closer to Kim on the floor, her voice low. "But things were bound to change one way or another. We just have to adapt, and maybe it's good to have other people besides each other?"

"Yeah," Kim agreed, smiling at her. "But I kind of miss the quiet sometimes."

Shay laughed now, the tension leaving the room. She reached out to squeeze Kim's wrist.

"You're always gonna be my best friend, you know that, right?"

"I know," Kim said, squeezing her fingers back.

"So our fight it officially over?" Shay asked, raising her eyebrows.

"God, I hope so. Do you know how terrible lunch has been?"

"You know I've been eating lunch with Kala right?"

Kim chuckled and then her face immediately went slack.

"Wait a minute...you were involved in a robbery today! Are you okay?"

Shay laughed at the abrupt change and thought back to the grocery store.

"I'm fine. Well maybe I've gone crazy. Because I'm much more freaked out by the fact that I made out with Jacob afterward."

Shay let out a strangled laugh at the way Kim's eyes popped out of her head and she choked on her spit.

"What!" She coughed, hitting herself in the chest. "Where?!"

"In my kitchen."

"I can't believe it." Kim's voice was rushed, and she pressed a hand to her temple. "I can't process this. I don't even know all the questions I have to ask."

"I don't even know if I have any answers." Shay reverted back to hugging her legs with her arms—she felt like curling into herself was one way to hold herself together. The force of the whole day was raining down on her as she spoke.

"Let's start easy. Was it good?" Kim's voice turned conspiratorial, and once this was over, Shay knew she'd have to get her back by asking some candid details about Jared.

"So good," Shay said, her voice sad. "You kind of hope people that handsome would be bad at something."

Kim laughed outright, shaking her head.

"Only you would be angry someone was a good kisser."

"Well it's inconvenient—knowing that now I have to sit next to him and know he's a good kisser. It's really making my crush on him much worse."

"And when did we establish you had a crush on him?" Kim asked softly, crawling to sit next to Shay and press their knees together.

"I think my body established it a long time ago," Shay moaned. "But my brain realized sometime in the past few days."

"Okay, but you sound very sad for someone who just made out with their crush."

"I feel so," Shay waved her hands. "Weird! And it's so stupid because we are just starting to know each other, and he likes another girl, and I'm not sure why he even kissed me at all—"

"Shay, relax," Kim put a hand on her knee, calming the bouncing Shay didn't even realize she was doing. "Do you know how crazy I felt when Jared imprinted on me?"

Shay let out a low hiss of air, her eyebrows knitting together.

"What's 'imprinted' mean?"

If Shay had thought Kim's eyes were wide when she told her she kissed Jacob, they were practically falling out of her head right now. She flushed a shade of cherry and pressed her hands to her eyes, letting out a noise somewhere between a moan and a curse.

"Um," Kim said, shaking her head with her hands still over her eyes. "I'm not sure I can tell you. Kind of another wolf thing."

"But I know the other wolf things," Shay pressed, her need to know increasing with every tense moment. "What is it?"

"I don't think I should tell you."

"Why not? Best friends forever, remember?"

"You're already using that against me?"

"And I will for the rest of my life," Shay said, crossing her hand over her heart.

Kim didn't laugh and seemed to be having even more internal conflict as she stood up, starting to pace the floor.

"I mean...it's not that bad. I don't know why they haven't told you anyway. It's not a huge deal. Well in concept, it is...but the premise of the idea isn't monumental."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shay asked, her eyes following Kim's stuttered steps and incoherent rambling. She pushed herself to her feet and sat on her bed so she didn't have to stare up at Kim's face.

"Okay. Okay. Just...don't tell them I told you," Kim said, putting her arms back to her sides.

"I won't tell anyone."

"Imprinting is sort of like, well Jared said at least, it's like love at first sight. Although, it doesn't always have to be romantic. It's when a wolf knows he's found the person he's going to care about most."

For the eighteenth time since finding out about the supernatural, Shay's head spun with new information and even more questions.

"Really?" She asked, her mind filling with images of romantic movies. "Like soul mates?"

Kim relaxed her rigid back a little, slumping across from Shay. Shay watched as the bed sank, Kim facing her, her face suddenly dreamy.

"I think so," she breathed. "It can happen to someone in the pack, the first time they see that person after they phase."

It clicked for Shay and she snapped her fingers.

"So when Jared came back to school that day..."

"Yeah," Kim said, and Shay knew she had lost her now, with her eyes slightly glazed and a loose smile on her face.

Shay couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy at the revelation, quickly replaced by guilt. She should be happy Kim finally got the guy she wanted.

"What does it feel like for you?" Shay asked quietly, holding her head in her hand.

"It's not as intense as Jared. I think. I don't know for sure. It was kind of different for us because I already had a life long crush on him. But for me, it's like a consuming connection and pull to be around him."

"Different for you? So others have done it too?"

Kim got a little more awkward again, her eyes darting to Shay's ears instead of her face.

"Well, Sam and Emily were the first. And now Paul and Rachel," she said, cracking her knuckles.

Shay sputtered. Paul and Rachel! That explained the weird party moment. And Jacob's anger. And his weirdness. And why he almost phased that night—but why didn't he just tell her?

And Sam and Emily?

Shay's mind flung back to lunch with Leah, of her telling Shay how she used to date Sam. And then...he must've imprinted on Emily. Did it suddenly erase his history with Leah? Shay felt her stomach start to roll, her heartbeat quicken.

Shay's next question came out raspier than she intended.

"And did Jacob imprint on Bella? Is that why it's so weird with them? Did she...ignore it?"

"No," Kim shook her head. "He didn't imprint on her. I think he might've wanted to, in the beginning. But some things aren't meant to be."

Shay felt a soaring relief in that statement, but for some reason, she couldn't make herself feel happy for too long. Something was nagging at her, the whole day feeling like a gigantic headache threatening to bring her to her knees.

"Why would this have to be a secret?" Shay asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You know them. Everything's on a need to know basis." Kim shrugged.

"Hm." Shay still felt odd but Kim was watching her expectantly, so Shay shook away the bad feelings and cleared her throat.

"Well I'm happy for you," she said, doing her best to muster a smile in Kim's direction.

And for some reason, Kim's smile back was just as strained.

Thank you for all the reviews - it's always so fun to see your reactions and thoughts! More drama to come!