Jared felt awful. He was hoping he'd have a moment to talk to Kim before Kaisner's lesson started but just as he opened his mouth to apologise to his imprint, seated beside him, Kaisner rolled in the TV cart and the class cheered.

Once the history documentary started, the room was too quiet to even whisper so Jared took out a notebook and started to pen an apology. He glanced beside him.

Kim kept her head tilted down, avoiding Jared's gaze. She'd caught him looking in her direction a few times so she hid behind her long hair. She was mostly embarrassed. Of course, he was messing with her. It's some kind of sport for guys around here; making a girl think she's desirable and then ripping the rug out from under her.

Jared swallowed and read over what he'd written so far.

Dearest Kimberly,

I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.

Jared stared at the paper. Unsatisfied, he crumpled it into a ball. What a pathetic attempt at an apology. Jared scratched his head and looked around the room, tapping his pen repetitively. He caught Delilah's eye who smiled and waved at him.

Jared turned his attention back to the front of the class just in time to witness Kim scowling at the exchange.

Fuck me. Jared slouched in his chair.

The morning dragged on but noon finally arrived. Kim made haste to pick up Paige from the daycare center. The quicker she could get the brat lunch, the quicker she could drop her back off at the daycare so Kim could hang out with her friends.

That was the plan, at least. However, once they got to the diner, Paige started making a big fuss about wanting to eat at the restaurant and not go back to daycare.

"Okay! Fine! Oh my god! Fine!" Kim shouted at Paige just as the 4-year-old started to go into hysterics. Kim couldn't believe it. Her life was being controlled by a preschooler. She clutched the crisp $10 bill in her hand, looking up at the menu. Kim wasn't really that hungry. And the kid's meal was only $4.50. Kim could pocket the remaining $5.50 and use the extra cash to buy more cheap makeup since Mrs. Connweller had confiscated her previous stash.

Kim collected the kid's meal and escorted Paige to a booth.

"Aren't you hungry?" Paige asked her big sister, when she noticed that Kim didn't get anything for herself.

"No. I'm not. Eat your food," Kim said, tapping her fingers on the table. She glanced through the large glass windows across the street to McKay's Drugstore. That's what she'd do. She'd drop the kid back at daycare, go get herself some makeup so that stupid Jared Cameron could really see what he was missing. The thought gave her a spark of satisfaction. It was a plan.

"This is yucky," Paige complained, pulling apart her sandwich, "there's pickles on it."

"Since when don't you like pickles?" Kim narrowed her eyes on the little girl.

"I don't want it," she pouted.

"Don't be difficult," Kim said, pulling the plate towards herself, taking the pickles off the sandwich and then sliding the plate back, "there. No pickles."

Paige looked unimpressed, "I want something else."

"Paige," Kim said, trying to muster patience, "this is what you get. Okay. Eat your sandwich. Please," Kim said, attempting to use Mrs. Connweller's stern mommy voice.

The preschooler pouted and picked at her food until a waitress finally had pity on Kim and brought Paige a plate of fries and chicken nuggets.

"Um, excuse me," Kim said to the waitress, "we didn't order this."

"I've got one her age," the waitress said, sympathetically, "it's on the house…bless you, darling. Being a Momma is the hardest job," she said and moved on to the next table.

Kim nearly had to pick her jaw up off the table, "christ," she put her head down. The waitress thought Paige was her's.

Kim waved at the kind waitress as she left the diner, holding Paige's hand, "are you happy?" Kim asked the 4-year-old. She got what she wanted; to eat in the restaurant and not have her yucky sandwich.

"My tummy hurts," Paige complained.

"Well, that's not a surprise," Kim muttered, "a big greasy plate of nuggets and fries will do that to you."

Kim looked down at her wrist watch. Fuck. It was 12:48. There wasn't enough time to get Paige back to daycare and then come back to McKay's Drugstore to buy her makeup. Kim bit her lip. Fuck it, field trip. She held onto Paige's hand tightly and dragged the 4-year-old with her across the street to the drugstore.

"Where are we going?" Paige asked, skipping along.

Kim stopped dead in her tracks outside of the store. Shit. If Paige went in there with her she'd witness her buying makeup. She'd for sure tell Mrs. Connweller. And asking Paige to keep a secret at her age was pointless.

Kim gulped and kneeled down in front of Paige, smiling, "I need to go in the store for just a second. Do you think you can be a really big girl and wait outside for me? Can you do that? You'd have to be like a really, really big girl?" Kim said, speaking slowly.

Paige nodded.

"Hmm, I dunno," Kim stood tall and put her hand to her chin, "you'd have to be a really big girl," she said sizing her up.

"I can do it!" Paige scowled at her older sister's insistence that perhaps she wasn't, in fact, a really big girl when, in fact, Paige regarded herself as, in fact… a really, really big girl. And the suggestion of her being otherwise was insulting.

"Okay," Kim turned and walked in with a smirk. Kids are so easy.

Kim gave the store clerk a shy smile and wandered to the back of the store where the cosmetics were kept. McKay's Drugstore was a small family-operated business. They didn't carry a lot of beauty products. What small makeup selection there was, looked especially picked over. Kim's eyes scanned the shelves, clutching onto the remaining $5.50 of Mrs. Connweller's lunch money. Kim chewed her bottom lip. All of the Clarence and sale items were gone with only the stickers remaining on the shelves. The cheapest items she could get were a Maybelline mascara for $3.99 and a brown Revlon single eyeshadow for $2.99. Even before sales taxes, that was $1.50 more than what she had. She didn't have enough money for both and it was only Tuesday. Mrs. Connweller didn't pay Kim her weekly allowance until Friday and that was only if they could really afford to. Money was tight; the family had their oldest in college and their youngest in daycare. Neither were cheap.

Kim stared down at the cosmetics in her palm. A heavy wave of disappointment consumed her. Kim deserved to have a little bit of happiness. She worked so hard. She did so much for her family, taking care of Paige while her mother worked and her father was deployed. It wasn't fair that she wasn't allowed to have fun like all the other kids. She had responsibilities while all her friends had sleepovers and boyfriends and trips to the beach on weekends. She'd briefly thought that maybe she too could have something for herself. A boy she liked wanted to call her. For as high as Kim's hopes were yesterday she felt so very down in the dumps today.

Kim swallowed. It wasn't fair. She deserved to have these stupid insignifcant cosmetics.

"You doing okay, back there?" the store clerk asked from the register at the front.

Kim jumped, "um, yeah! Thank you. Almost done," Kim swallowed, sliding the $2.99 eyeshadow into her coat pocket. Kim dragged her feet to the front of the store, her face heating up.

"Is that everything?" the clerk asked Kim as she put the mascara on the counter.

Kim nodded. She was a ball of nerves; guilt gnawing at her stomach, leaving her somehow hot and cold at the same time.

What am I doing?

It's not that Jared was stalking Kim… He just wanted to keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe. That's at least what Jared told himself while he stealthily walked yards behind Kim and her little sister towards the diner.

He sat across the street, on a park bench. He listened to their conversation with his supernatural hearing; Paige whining about wanting to eat in the diner until Kim gave in… Kim begging her kid sister to just eat her yucky sandwich... the waitress having pity on them and thinking that Kim was the young girl's teen mom.

Jared admired her. Despite Kim being short at times with her sister, she did manage to have an abundance of patience for the little girl.

Jared kept watch over the two from afar. Especially when, for some reason, Kim disappeared into McKay's Drugstore and told little Paige to stay outside. He watched as the little girl kicked rocks on the sidewalk. He watched as she ran her tiny fingers through the dusty chalkboard sign out front. Then he watched as she proceeded to hide behind the chalkboard sign and giggle; a fun game to play on her big sister.

Kim's hands shook as she exited the shop. She knew she'd done wrong. The stolen eyeshadow burned a hole in her pocket. She considered turning around and confessing to the shopkeeper. Perhaps tomorrow she'd come back to the scene of the crime and return the eyeshadow from where she took it. No one would have to know.

What am I forgetting? Kim stopped in her tracks.

Jared could hear Kim's heart freeze and then bang speedily against her chest. Kim turned around and around, looking up and down the street.

"Paige!?" Kim shouted, terror filling her for what could be happening to her little sister because she was selfishly committing petty theft. "Paige!?" Kim screamed.

Jared quickly jogged across the street, "Kim! Kim!" he waved and pointed to the chalkboard sign where the little girl was hiding. Jared didn't call Kim by her full name this time. He didn't feel right about it after what he did — failing to call her when said he would. He decided that he'd have to earn that privilege.

Kim whipped around and pulled Paige out from behind the sign by the hood of her coat.

"Gotcha!" the little girl giggled.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Kim scolded Paige, falling to her knees and hugged her baby sister tightly. "You scared me," Kim squeezed her. Kim looked up at Jared, "thank you," she said, gratefully even though he'd done nothing to earn it. The kid hadn't gone anywhere.

Kim's heart continued to pound, though less rapidly than before. Jared sensed Kim's relief coming off her in waves. He was happy that he could be here with her.

"Am I in trouble?" Paige asked.

Kim exhaled, "no," she stood up, taking her hand, "just… don't ever be out of my sight again, okay?" Kim struggled to catch her breath. She looked at Jared with tingling hot cheeks, "thanks," she repeated herself.

"I'll walk with you back," Jared offered.

Kim could have told him to get lost but she didn't. Jared was glad for that. They walked in silence; Kim and Paige, hand-in-hand and Jared tagging along, slightly behind. Jared couldn't stop looking at Kim. She was beautiful. Perfect. The wind caught her hair, throwing a fresh gust of her saccharine scent in his direction. He wanted to get closer to her. He fantasized about nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck and inhaling her sensual aroma — peppermint? He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it reminded him of winter.

Kim's heart was still thumping loud and every few seconds she would take a deep shaky breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. Jared could tell that she was still rattled.

By the time Kim and Jared dropped Paige off at the daycare center, they were already late for class. Jared had Spanish but he was in no hurry to get back. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with Kim.

Kim didn't speak during their slow walk back to the high school. Her eyes were downcast. Jared could tell something was weighing heavy on her mind. When her head finally lifted and her eyelids blinked, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Fuck. Without contemplation, Jared's instincts took over and he did what he had so badly wanted to do yesterday when Kim was hurting because of her braces. He stopped Kim by taking her arm and pulled her against his chest into a compassionate embrace.

"It's okay," Jared spoke tenderly and brought his large hand to cradle her head against him.

Kim sobbed, "I'm so sorry," she apologized for losing her composure and tried to pull away, embarrassed to be weeping on him. It seems like her limited interactions with him lately have all been her being a complete spaz. Jared didn't allow her to escape his embrace.

"You had a scare," Jared rationalized, "you just need a minute," he whispered. Jared's heart warmed. Having Kim in his arms was everything he'd imagined it would be but better. Her winter peppermint scent was intoxicating and he took full advantage of their proximity to inhale as much of her as he could into his lungs.

"I don't know what I would have done if something happened to her," Kim whispered against Jared's chest.

Kim leaned into Jared's embrace. He was warm. So warm. His chest was hard; his entire body felt like he had a concrete layer of muscles underneath his skin. He smelled good too; like pine… or maybe or cedar. His scent reminded her of a candle she had in her bedroom called Black Tea Rose.

Having last names so close together in the alphabet meant that they'd shared assigned seating most of their lives. Kim didn't know if he reminded her of the scented candle in her bedroom or if the candle reminded her of him.

Perhaps she bought it because, subconsciously, she wanted his scent to permeate her bedroom. So that she could feel close to him. Especially, during those intimate and quiet moments — late at night — when she'd soothe herself into a tranquil slumber through soft caresses of her nether regions which so often concluded with toe-curling rapture.

Kim inhaled a shaky breath. His scent conjured many delicious recollections of succulent orgasms.

"I'm sorry… Kimberly," Jared swallowed, picking up the scent of Kim's arousal.

Kim looked up at him. Jared's eyes were soft and remorseful. She didn't say anything.

"I should have called you. It's just…" Jared inhaled deeply, concentrating hard on what he wanted to say. It was difficult to focus when he could so clearly detect pheromones wafting from the pooling of arousal between her thighs, "I really, really, like you," he confessed, exhaling a lungful — well… half confessed, the truth being that he was hopelessly in love with her — "and I was worried that I'd spoil my shot with you… I was going to call but then my frien-" Jared stopped himself from throwing Paul under the bus, that detail was irrelevant, "look, it was dumb not to call you. I'm sorry… and if you'd be so kind as to give me another chance," Jared breathed in deeply, "I hope that tonight you'll accept my call."

Kim pinched her lips together to keep from grinning like an idiot. So he did like her after all? It wasn't just some big joke? Splotches of deep red bloomed on her smooth russet skin.

Kim nodded, "so you're going to call me, tonight?" she could no longer hold back her smile.

Delighted to see her cute metallic grin, Jared smiled warmly at the moon-faced beauty and nodded, "I promise."