note: surprise mfs! i'm alive. hope everyone is staying healthy nd safe! it's been a while so if u need to, maybe reread prev. chapters 3 please read authors note at the end!
also i am on ao3 too but i only write haikyuu stuff there lmaooo if ur into that my username is chasingfivetwo
Teya Denev wasn't the type of person to dwell over things - she liked to live in the moment and firmly believed that if you kept stressing over events that already happened, you'd drive yourself insane. Of course, despite her motto, that didn't stop her from replaying her argument with Ariadne over and over again. She knew that Ariadne didn't mean it and her phone had nearly a hundred texts worth of apologies from her best friend but still, she wasn't quite ready to face Ari yet.
Usually, she would've completely forgiven her and left it behind in the past but their spat just happened to happen during a particularly bad time in Teya's life and she couldn't help but think of how shitty it was. She needed a little more time to get rid of any resentment that she was unknowingly directing at Ariadne.
Since Ariadne wasn't at school (probably nursing the world's worst headache) and Kim had finished early, Teya opted out of sitting with Odette Cunnings (her third option) and instead decided to do something different. Teya spent lunch at the library.
Their library wasn't especially large but she still struggled to find the textbook she was looking for (probably because she rarely ever even entered the library), and was checking the same shelf for the third time.
"Stupid fucking textbook," she complained under her breath as she slid her finger across the spines of the books. "Where the hell are you? I just need one stupid reference then -"
"Denev?" Startled by the sudden intrusion, she gasped loudly and fought the urge to scream when she spun around to come face to face with a chest. She stumbled back in surprise and tilted her head up to see an awkward looking senior.
At the sight of him, her fright melted away and was replaced with confusion - the only person less likely than her to be found in the library was Paul Lahote.
"Paul, you scared me," she replied breathlessly - she really didn't understand why guys did the whole 'address people by their last name' thing. He took a step back and put some space between them, becoming aware of just how close they were standing. Teya peered at him curiously - being in different grades and social circles, she'd never really had the opportunity to speak to him and the first thing she noticed that he certainly was handsome. Had she been in a better mood, she would've flirted.
"Sorry," he apologized, although Teya noted that he didn't sound very sorry. He leant against the shelf beside him with his arms folded and Teya wondered how the rusty shelf even managed to stay up considering the sheer size of him.
After a short silence, she finally prompted him, curious as to why he'd sought her out. "Did you want something?" As soon as she asked him, he seemed to lose a little of his confidence and he rolled his shoulders and averted his eyes.
"Yeah, look, I was just wondering - I'm worried about Ariadne and uh - she was a mess last night," he started off awkwardly. "And, I just wanted to ask if you could tell me what's happening. I think - uh - she might have some problems with her family? I just uh - wanna get a clue in?"
There was another drawn out silence and Teya just stared at him, shocked at what he'd asked.
What the fuck?, she thought to herself and she kept staring at him, waiting for him to retract the statement. Just who did he think he was to ask about Ariadne's personal life? He'd spoken to her about three times and suddenly he thought he could just know about everything?
Teya frowned before straightening her back and raising a single eyebrow.
"No offence but… it's kinda none of your business," she told him firmly after the initial surprise wore off.
"We're close," he reassured her. "I just - want to understand her more."
"Then she can tell you herself," Teya responded stiffly.
"Look I really care about Ariadne," Paul stepped in front of her, and in turn, she took a step back.
"Yeah, so do I," Teya couldn't seem to get her head around it all. Had she stepped into an alternate universe where Paul Lahote was someone who suddenly had the right to know things about Ari? Ari valued privacy and even if Teya was mad at her, she wasn't going to go behind her back and tell Paul all her business. Ariadne had been through enough gossip mills to last a lifetime.
"So you're telling me she didn't get drunk because of you?" Paul questioned, eyebrow twitching as he looked back at Teya's defiance.
"It's none of your business," Teya repeated.
"Look I'm trying to look out for her," he tightened his jaw and although he didn't make any other movements, she saw a flash of anger in his eyes and she immediately felt her stomach drop. She hadn't noticed how close he was standing to her and at the sudden chill in the air, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand.
Terror seemed to paralyse her and her eyes immediately sought a way to get past him - her fear hit her like a truck and a voice at the back of her head was telling her she was being overdramatic but she couldn't help feeling panicked. The library was near empty and Paul could just easily - he just looked so damn mad.
Her heart was hammering against her chest, and she swallowed thickly. Maybe if she stood her ground, he'd leave her alone. She was Teya fucking Denev, she could handle herself; at least that's what she told herself.
"I - cornering me in the library and accusing me of being a bad friend is not looking out for her," She wondered if he could hear the shakiness in her voice . "Now please leave me alone."
Almost as if he could smell her panic, Paul immediately flinched and took a huge step back so that there was a space between them. That didn't alleviate her fear and she was still shaking slightly as he moved away from her.
"Fuck, I'm sorry - I don't really know what I'm doing," he ran a hand through his jet black hair and had his jaw clenched tight enough, she was sure he would shatter some teeth. He took another step back and even though they were now a good three feet apart, Teya's panic still didn't completely subside. "Sorry… I just - I'm frustrated."
"Clearly," Teya breathed out.
"Yeah well - I'm-" Again he broke off and Teya wondered how it was that Paul was this supposed womanizer when he was seemingly the opposite of 'smooth'. "Look… I like Ariadne. And I'm worried for her."
"Okay, if you're interested in a girl, it's probably best not to piss off her best friend."
Paul opened his mouth as if to say something but decided against it and instead just squared his shoulders and gritted his teeth. "Sorry for bothering you." He didn't give her the chance to reply before he stalked off, shoulders shaking so badly, it looked like his bones were threatening to jump out of his skin.
"What a bipolar asshole," Teya muttered, eyes following him until she was sure that he'd left the library.
Still feeling jittery, Teya decided to abandon her search for the history textbook on British Imperialism that she needed and instead hurried out of the library, head down and hands clutching the strap of her bag tight enough to make her knuckles go white. Just as she rounded the corner, admittedly walking faster than she should be when turning abruptly, she felt her head collide with a hard object.
"Fuck!" she hissed as she flew back, legs turning to jelly as she bounced off someone. Just as she was about to lose her footing and fall on her ass, a warm hand reached out to catch her shoulder and pulled her upright.
"Shit, sorry! Are you okay?" A voice over her head asked her although it was hard to make out what they were saying as she felt as if she'd just been hit over the head with a frying pan.
"I'm fine," Teya muttered as she clutched her throbbing forehead, despite being the complete opposite of 'fine'. Whoever she had just run into was built like a truck and her ears were ringing from the contact of her head and their shoulder.
"Are you sure? Your forehead is really red," as Teya looked up (through blurry vision), she felt her chest go tight at the sight of a worried Embry Call hunched over her, inspecting her forehead. "It's super red."
"I'm okay," she replied again although honestly, she was feeling a little woozy.
While she's always been quite vocal and confident with her obvious attraction to Embry (she was proud of the fact that she'd always found him cute even before he grew six inches and a six pack), she suddenly felt shy at the close proximity between them. It also didn't help that he stood more than a foot taller than her and she was in direct eye line with his chest.
Suddenly remembering that the last time they spoke, Embry was standing in Ariadne's room arguing with Paul as her best friend passed out, Teya immediately tightened her stance.
"Uh…" His hand flew to the back of his neck and he scrambled back to create room between them. Teya had fantasised 'accidentally' bumping into him many times and in her imagination, she'd flirt and he'd blush and be endeared by her but in real life, she only felt awkward and embarrassed and completely unsure of what to say. In her fantasies, he'd catch her by the waist and she would say something incredibly smooth but she hadn't expected his body to so fucking hard and she was more concerned with whether or not she was concussed (seriously, were his bones made out of steel or something?) rather than what to say to him.
"Did you - uh manage to get Ariadne to sleep?" Thankfully, it was Embry who broke the silence.
"Yeah," she nodded carefully, left hand still pressed against the sore spot on her forehead where she was sure a bruise was forming.
"I wasn't doing anything weird," Embry added hastily. "It was just bad timing."
"Right, yeah," Teya nodded again. Again, they lapsed into a longer-than-necessary silence; Teya was sure that if her head wasn't pounding and she wasn't in such a sour mood, she'd be charming the pants off him (literally).
Embry seemed as if he was going to leave but just as he made a move to walk past her, he stopped and looked back down at her. "... Is everything okay with you two?"
"Yes," she huffed in annoyance.
"Are you sure?"
Quite fed up with Embry and his stupid friends who suddenly thought they could have an input in her friendship despite having never been involved before, Teya shot Embry a cold look that caused him to cower slightly. "I'm not really sure why you or Paul think you have-"
"Paul?" Embry looked completely taken aback at being put in the same boat as Paul of all people.
"- any right to the personal relationship between me and Ari but newsflash - you don't!" Teya scowled angrily. "Stop harassing me about it, alright? I don't know if it's completely escaped your mind but the way you guys are so invested in Ariadne's life is super weird!"
"I-"
"And I know you climbed through her window last night because I would've seen you if you went through the front door, which is not okay!" Now on what seemed to be a rant, Teya continued on, allowing her anger to control her words. "So just - just - just fuck off, okay!
Embry stood in silence, staring down at Teya, seemingly stunned by her outburst. As soon as she realised what she'd said, Teya breathed in a few calming breaths and pinched the bridge of her nose - she had no idea she even had a temper until right at that very moment and it was vexing to say the least.
"Look, I'm really not in the mood to deal with anything right now okay?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Embry apologised immediately, and unlike Paul, he seemed genuinely sorry to have set her off. "I just wanted to know if Ariadne was okay, that's all."
Feeling a little guilty that she'd snapped at him when it wasn't even him that she was really angry with, Teya breathed in deeply once more and looked up at him.
"I'm not exactly… happy with her right now but she knows that I'll forgive her and have her back," Teya replied back truthfully. "You know, It's pretty shitty of you to become friends with someone and then to just suddenly drop off the edge of the world and start ignoring her."
"I didn't mean to do that," Embry shook his head, guilt written all over his face.
"Yeah, probably not but for future reference, try not to be such a dick about it," she added, making sure to give him a good stink eye.
"I won't," he promised back, looking sincere enough that Teya didn't question it.
"Good," she nodded.
"Great," he finished, looking not unlike Mason when he wished to annoy her. "Your forehead is still really red, are you sure you feel okay?"
"I'm fine," she lied through her teeth. She was actually pretty sure her forehead was already bruised but she wasn't about to whine to her long-time crush about it. She felt like too many strange events were happening and she just wanted to go home and get her head around everything. "It's a little sore so I think I might just go home. See you around, Embry."
Normally, she would probably try to get him to walk her home but she decided against it; he'd just politely decline her anyways like he always did whenever she attempted to flirt with him. She brushed past him and considered stopping by the nurse's office to get some ice.
"Teya!" Embry called out to her before she reached the exit and she turned around to see him looking a little nervous. "Do you want me to walk you home?"
Well then.
xxx
If Ariadne had remembered how much of a terrible driver Kim was, she probably wouldn't have agreed to get in the car with her. Being sober while driving in the car with Kim was bad enough but to do it while hungover? A total nightmare. It seemed that Kim didn't know how to drive at a normal speed and it was almost as if she went out of her way to drive over potholes.
"Kim, please if you love me - drive better," Ariadne moaned when Kim suddenly screeched the car to a sudden stop so she could let pedestrians cross the road.
"Look, I still haven't gotten used to driving stick okay," Kim bit back defensively as she blatantly ignored the car behind them that beeped their horn. "Ugh, this is why I hate Forks. The drivers are such assholes."
Although there were no more pedestrians needing to cross, Kim was still a little unsure with the gear shift and had been stationary for the last minute.
"C'mon!" The driver behind them beeped their horn loudly and shouted from his blue Jeep.
Ariadne flinched at the sound and groaned when Kim stuck her hand out the window to give the car behind them the middle finger.
"Fucking bite me!" Kim yelled back before putting her car into drive and jumpily surged forward, almost triggering Ariadne's gag reflex. "Whoops - sorry Ari."
Ari waved off her apology silently (fearful that if she opened her mouth, she'd throw up) and just focused on breathing through her nose. The rest of the trip was more or less the same and Ariadne truly believed that it was through her sheer power of will that she didn't jump out of the car and hurl her guts out on the pavement. By the time they arrived at their favourite bakery (it took several attempts before Kim managed to park successfully), Ariadne was green and trudging behind Kim who walked like she was on a mission.
"Kimmy, sweetie - can you just slow down for a sec," Ari called out as she pulled her jacket tighter against her frame. "I don't feel too good."
"Sorry," Kim glanced back at her and waited for her to catch up by the door so they could enter the store together. "By the way, have you finished your history project yet?"
"Nowhere near," Ari huffed as she pushed the door open into the bakery. Thankfully it wasn't too full with only one other girl there, eyeing out the cupcakes on the far right side of the shop.
"You and Embry haven't been working on it?" Kim frowned, looking scandalized at the idea of an unfinished project.
"Don't talk to me about that asswipe," Ariadne scowled as she inhaled the smell of freshly baked pastries. It was an absolute travesty that the closest (and best) bakery was a forty minute drive from her house.
"What happened?" Kim arched an eyebrow at Ariadne's uncharacteristic response. "Lovers spat?"
Ari ignored the lovers comment (it seemed that no one in the entire world seemed to believe that she and Embry were just friends - it was as if the concept of a female and male being platonic was impossible to grasp). "He's completely ignored all my calls and hasn't done anything for our project since the first part. Stupid prick - seriously, if I fail history because of him, I'm gonna kill him."
"Maybe he's going through a rough patch - I haven't really seen Jacob and Quil around either. Maybe something happened?" Kim offered and while Ariadne knew that it was likely that it was something to do with the whole werewolf thing, she had to admit that she was a little hurt that Embry hadn't at least given her some kind of message that he was fine. She thought that they were friends and she'd tried her utmost hardest to ensure him that she'd never pry into his private matters but that didn't mean she didn't want to at least know if he was okay - even Jacob had managed to send her a text. It was short and concise (hey ari, sorry about cancelling again. see you around) but still offered her something.
"Well, even Jake managed to spare me a text this morning," Ariadne grumbled and felt her stomach grumble at the sight of her favourite vanilla cake - the smell was damn near mouthwatering.
"They'll come around," Kim shrugged before she moved towards the caramel slices (they were her weakness). Ariadne didn't bother replying, knowing that Kim probably wasn't even listening anymore and moved towards the cupcakes instead. The strawberry icing was Mason's favourite. Before she could flag down the worker and ask if they had any strawberry cupcakes left at the back, she felt someone step behind her.
"Hi - um - hey!" Ariadne spun around at the sudden greeting, and came face to face with the other customer that had been standing in the corner when they'd first arrived. She looked around Ariadne's age but she'd never seen her before so it was likely that she was from Forks. The girl was looking at her with nervous eyes and there seemed to be a small blush beginning to form on her pale cheeks.
"Uh… hello?" Ariadne responded awkwardly and tried to catch Kim's eye but the older girl was too busy picking out her caramel slices to notice.
"I'm sorry it's just…did you just say um Jake and Embry?" The girl didn't meet her eyes and nibbled on her lower lip after she asked.
"... Yeah," Ariadne was a little suspicious and was slow to answer the girl's question. She stared at the Forks girl and studied her closely - she didn't look very familiar.
"Uh - I'm Bella. Bella Swan," she finally said after a moment's silence as Ariadne stared her down. The name registered in her mind and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Ariadne Walker," she returned somewhat reluctantly - while she'd heard about the girl (mostly through gossip) , she still didn't understand why she was being approached by the Forks girl.
"Er, I - I'm sorry if this is weird but - I overheard your conversation and I - were you talking about Jacob Black?"
Ariadne blinked, bewildered by the random question. "Sorry?"
"Um, you mentioned Jacob and Embry and well Embry isn't really a common name and you look like you're from La Push - I mean - not that there's a certain look to people from La Push - it's just that you're um - well you - not to - um, you're -"
"We're Native - yeah go on," Ariadne cut in (admittedly a little rudely but at the rate Bella was going at, she wasn't going to stop being so awkward any time soon).
Bella flushed, obviously embarrassed and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um, I'm a friend of Jacob's and I've been getting radio silence from him but you said he texted you? Can I - uh - I just want to know if he's okay. That's all."
She seemed so desperate and her pleading eyes stirred some pity in Ariadne's stomach - she somewhat knew that Bella had always been close with Jake and it was clear that Bella really cared about him so Ariadne relented fairly quickly.
"It wasn't much of a message," she admitted honestly. "He just apologised to me for ignoring me and said he'd see me around."
"So he's coming back?" Bella brightened considerably and Ariadne couldn't help but think that maybe Jacob wasn't as close to Bella as she thought since he hadn't bothered contacting her.
"I'd assume so."
"Do you know where he is right now?" Bella asked, looking a little bit more urgent.
"No idea, sorry," Ariadne wasn't sure how much more she needed to emphasise how little she actually knew about Jake's situation before the girl in front of her understood.
"But he's fine?" Bella pressed on.
"According to the text he sent, he is," Ariadne supposed and she couldn't help but think that Bella Swan was awfully nosy.
"Good," Bella breathed out a sigh of relief and her entire posture shifted - as if a weight had been physically lifted off her shoulders. Vaguely, Ariadne wondered what kind of relationship she had with him to warrant such a reaction. "I'm really sorry again for being so … weird. I was just - I was really worried."
"It's cool," Ariadne shrugged honestly, fascinated by the way Bella seemed to blush more than any other person she'd ever met in her life.
"I know this is going to be weird-"
"At this point, I think I'm immune," Ari snorted, mind wandering
"Can I have your number?" Bella blurted out, somehow managing to look both determined and incredibly embarrassed.
"Oh…" Ariadne cocked her head to the side and pondered for a moment - while the girl in front of her was undeniably quite pretty (a little too pale for her tastes but pretty nonetheless), she honestly wasn't very interested. "I'm not really looking for a relationship right now to be honest - or even a fling."
"Huh? What? No!" Somehow, Bella seemed to blush even harder as her eyes went comically large. "No! I'm not - I wanted your number so you can update me on Jake since he's not talking to me - I have a boyfriend!"
"Oh, that makes more sense," Ariadne snorted, not at all embarrassed by her misinterpretation (in her defense, she was hungover and tired). "I guess so - sure."
She reached out for Bella's phone and the girl handed it over clumsily, watching eagerly as Ariadne punched in her phone number (saving it under Ari, alongside a heart).
"Bella! Cupcakes!" The owner of the bakery called out with a box in hand that he placed onto the counter.
"Thank you again," Bella smiled before she collected her cupcakes and made her way to the exit. Ariadne waved her off and watched as the pale girl ambled towards an ugly red pickup truck that looked two miles off of completely falling apart. As she watched Bella almost stumble into a lightpost, Ariadne couldn't help but think that despite the fact that it was likely that Bella was well intentioned - perhaps Ariadne should've remained quiet about what she did know about Jake.
xxx
By the time she and Kim arrived back at her place, Ari's headache had subsided but she still felt nauseous whenever she moved too quickly. While she'd always been a relatively good drinker (in the sense that she could outdrink most of her friends, if not all), she'd unfortunately suffer from the worst hangovers known to man. She'd be bedridden all day and would eat enough food to last her a week - it was almost so bad to make her consider never drinking again (almost).
So needless to say, if Ariadne had to make a list of the top three things that she wanted to avoid at all costs while completely hungover it'd be - loud noises, excessive talking and too many questions (having to think with a pounding head = bad).
All three things came in the form of Seth Clearwater.
"What are you doing here?" The question tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it as she opened the door to reveal an oversized sixteen year old, holding three pizza boxes. When she had heard the bell ring, she hadn't wanted to answer the door (she was hungover damnit!) but Kim was too busy re-reading her chemistry notes and hated breaking concentration so Ariadne was forced to get the door (and it was her own house).
"You didn't come to school today," he didn't answer her directly and merely grinned at her. "And you look terrible."
"Wow, La Push has its very own Sherlock Holmes," she grumbled in aggravation although she still tried to flatten her messy hair with her hand. It did nothing to help her hair's case and she gave up after realising there was no way she could make her hair look presentable.
"I heard you were hungover so I bought some food - can I come in?" Again, Seth was great at evading questions and just looked at her expectantly.
Ariadne had several questions floating around her head when she heard his request (how did he know she was hungover? Why did Seth of all people want to come inside her house? How was he only wearing a thin shirt when it was so cold?) but the enticing smell of cheese pizza silenced her thoughts and made her mouth water.
"Come in," she immediately moved aside and ushered him in, eager to get her hands on the cheese pizza. She had no idea how he knew that was her favourite food (did the wolves just sit around and discuss every piece of information she shared with them?) but she didn't care. The young teen smiled brightly and didn't hesitate to enter, making his way to the kitchen as if he lived there himself.
"Kimmy!" Seth greeted the senior enthusiastically when he caught sight of her hunched over a chemistry textbook with a highlighter in her mouth and two pencils in her hair.
"Seth?" Kim's head shot up at the sound of the familiar voice and she looked more than surprised to see him "What - oh, are you here for Mason? He's not here."
"Nope, I'm here to see Ariadne." He shook his head and laid the pizza boxes on the bench and opened them, having the decency to look slightly abashed when one of the pizzas was revealed to be half eaten. "Sorry, got a little hungry on the way here."
Not caring in the slightest that he'd eaten some, Ariadne merely reached across him and grabbed two slices, slapping one over the other before taking a huge bite.
"Mm, this is so fucking good," Ari moaned and she swore fireworks exploded behind her eyes as soon as the cheesy pizza hit her tastebuds. Seth and Kim made small talk but Ariadne didn't pay them any mind (not that she could hear them over her own chewing).
"Shit, Ari, slow down you're gonna choke," Seth watched her in both disgust and awe. Ariadne paid no mind to his warning, if he was hungry as her, he'd be eating the same way.
The doorbell rang once more (when did she become so popular, honestly) but Seth being the sweetheart that he is, was kind enough to get the door for her. When Seth returned from answering the door Ari was going to thank him but stopped when he saw who trailing behind him.
"Hey Ari," Embry greeted her with a casual wave before turning to Kim. "Hi Kim."
He gave her a friendly smile as if he hadn't been ignoring her for the last two weeks. Despite her best efforts, Ariadne felt a rush of annoyance at the sight of Emrby's smiling face. On one hand, she was definitely upset that he thought he could just smile at her like he hadn't been a terrible history partner but on the other hand, he didn't owe her any explanation, right? It was hardly his fault that she felt closer to him than he did to her.
For once she allowed herself to be annoyed.
"Get out," she mustered up her strength to give him the foulest glare she could possibly procure. He looked guilty only for a second before he tried to slide onto the stool beside her but she quickly made a movement to shove him aside. "I don't let shitty history project partners in my house."
"I bought vegetarian fried rice," he pushed atop her head to stop her movements and showed her the plastic bag in his right hand.
"Do you really think I'm such a glutton that you can just waltz back in here just because you have food?" She scoffed incredulously and tried not to think about how good the fried rice smelt — she wondered if he bought spring rolls as well.
"Everyone can be bribed with food," Embry declared and to her amazement, opened the bag further to show spring rolls as well.
"... Fine, you can stay," she huffed and snatched the bag out of his hand. Just as she moved closer to take the food off his hands, she caught a whiff of a very familiar perfume. "Were you with Teya?"
"I - uh, walked her home," he explained quickly and handed the food to her.
"And how did you end up walking her home?"
"Well, I kinda ran into her - literally - and I was worried she'd faint or something on the way home so I walked her home," he shrugged as he watched her take a spoon of fried rice into her mouth without even blowing on it first.
"Right," she chewed slowly and squinted at him.
"Did I see you last night?" She asked suspiciously after shovelling another spoon of rice into her mouth. She had vague memories of seeing him but had hoped to god that it was all a drunken dream.
"Yeah, I dropped by… with Paul," Embry spoke slowly, looking weirdly uncomfortable.
"You came with Paul? Oh god, I thought I just dreamt that," her cheeks were bulging with food and her response came out muffled but Embry didn't seem to have any trouble understanding her.
"No, that happened," once again, he made an odd face and shared a look with Seth.
"I didn't say anything weird, did I?" She wasn't sure if she felt nauseous because of the potential embarrassment she was facing or because of her lingering hangover.
Instead of soothing her fears, Embry chose to rouse them by saying, "I guess it depends on how you define weird."
"Did I flirt?"
"No more than usual," Embry assured her with a slight smile but she noticed that he was still a little reluctant in what she shared with her.
"... Kill me," she groaned and rubbed her eyes, her headache had practically disappeared and all the food was doing wonders. "Just tell me the worst of it."
"It wasn't anything bad!" Embry reassured her but she couldn't find it in her to believe him.
Swallowing her pride, she asked the question that had been on her mind since he admitted to seeing her last night. "Did I try to kiss you?"
If she wasn't so embarrassed, she might've laughed at how red his face was.
"Oh my God, I did, didn't I?" She groaned and put her head in her hands, purposely ignoring Seth's amused laughs.
"No!" His tone mirrored how he sounded when she had asked him if he liked her. "No we didn't - you didn't try to kiss me! And I didn't try — we didn't try to kiss each other!"
Embry stumbles on his words some more until Seth takes the opportunity to tease him. "Wow Ari, you must be a terrible kisser if Embry's this worked up ober not kissing you."
Embry reddens further and Ariadne finds it so cute she almost wants to forgive him for ghosting her.
"I'm not that bad of a kisser," she told Seth while sharing an amused look with him.
"I think I'm gonna need proof," Seth flirted back and that was what finally snapped Embry out of his stuttering mess and he glared at younger teen, barking at him not to be so cocky before he pulled him into a headlock. The boys wrestled around her kitchen for a while and Ariadne allowed them to while she focused on finishing off her food.
Eventually, they calmed down and joined her to eat. They joked around like usual but Ariadne still didn't fully relax back into her usual dynamic with Embry and instead mostly spoke with Seth. After a few hours, both Seth and Kim left while Embry elected to stay so it was just him and Ariadne.
"You're mad at me," Embry raised an eyebrow when it was just them two, washing the dishes.
"No, I'm not," Ari denied immediately, scoffing. She deliberately avoided eye contact and nudged him over so he wasn't standing so close to her.
"Is it because I - uh - took a break without letting you know?"
"It's fine," Ariadne waved it off, feeling awkward and embarrassed. "Just because we're history partners doesn't mean you have to tell me anytime you're gone."
"We're not just history partners," Embry shook his head and reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, surprising her. "I've been through a lot these past months and you've helped a lot. You're probably one of my closest friends and I was an asshole for just ignoring you randomly. I'm sorry and I promise I'll never do it again."
Embry was never a man of many words but the few sentences he said was practically an essay in his terms. Ariadne turned to face him and was a little touched at the sight of sincerity etched into his expression. Dropping her shoulders, she let out a sigh that she'd been holding in for what felt like a week and offered him a smile.
She never could hold a grudge.
"Thanks, Em," she looked up at him with bright eyes and a smile full of promise. "You're one of my closest friends too."
Before he could reply, Ariadne reached up and pressed her soapy hand against his nose and laughed loudly. Embry didn't reply and instead stared at her for a few moments and couldn't help but think how lucky Paul was to imprint on her.
a/n: sorry this super late :(((i accidentally deleted my tumblr (don't ask me how) that was dedicated to answering questions and posting fic-related content but i made a new one so if you're interested you can find me at lilithdancer . tumblr. com
tbh i was going to stop writing this but i read all the reviews again and i just couldn't so thank you to everyone who has reviewed
maybe i hinted at embry x ari but it's not in a love triangle way i promise. it's in 'embry is a moody supernatural teenager and ariadne has weird daddy issues so their emotions are everywhere and so strong that sometimes it's hard to distinguish with a deep platonic bond and sexual love' way lol
altho i don't think the actual ROMANCE is going to be like the forefront of this fic? i mean there'll definitely, eventually be more romance between paul x ariadne but i also want to explore a lot of other relationships in this like the friendship between ari, teya and kim and even with some side of jared x kim and maybe even teya who i have something planned for but i'm not sure it'll be well received lmao - i'm not 100% sure yet but yeah, tell me what you think! i just don't want to write the imprint as this all powerful bond that makes someone love another person (even if canonically, that's essentially what it is lol)
paul obviously was in the wrong for asking something personal like that but keep in mind he has no idea how to go about this imprint thing and he's really just trying. but teya had every right to deny him that information. although her reaction to him might clue you in into what she was gonna tell ariadne before their argument.
also i'm honestly taking liberties with the twilight timeline LOL sorry but i haven't read it or even watched it since i was like 13/14 (so like 6 years ago lol) hahahaha so this is set like during eclipse i guess ?
and everyone thinks that mason is gonna phase and yeah, no that's not gonna happen. he's just a moody teenager with daddy issues who happens to be tall. ariadne is about 5'7 so it'd make sense if mason is tall too since they're siblings