A/N: Hi guys I haven't updates on ff in forever! I finally got around to making more chapters. This story has been in my head since I can remember and I'm finally going to complete it. Let me know what you guys think!
Growing a foot over the summer and gaining muscles over the past few months still didn't help Embry with the Girl Situation. Even now as Marcey Ren hugged Embry, practically stuffing his face in her boobs, Embry couldn't help but want to run away from her.
"Oh Embry, we were panicking. We thought you were gone!" Marcey wailed. Embry just nodded, trying to get as far away from her boobs as possible before a teacher saw. A month ago Marcey didn't even know his name, and now he was practically inhaling her boobs.
"I-I think Mr. Waters is coming. You should probably go back to your seat," Embry managed to sputter out before unhinging her hands from around his neck.
"Just know that I'm here for you, if you need to talk, Embry," Marcey said before slipping off his desk and giving him a big wet kiss on his cheek. Embry hastily wiped his cheek, earning a frown from Marcey.
Embry felt his cheeks boil hot as he slumped in his desk, refusing to look anywhere but his trigonometry book. A book that was so familiar to him a month ago, now he refused to even open it.
Embry had always had his heart set on being an astronaut since he had turned four years old. Unfortunately for him, he was too tall to be an astronaut. So after his growth spurt he had decided being just an engineer would be good enough, but when he first turned into a wolf four weeks ago, it all but crushed every dream he had, including finishing high school.
Ash from biology had recommended trying out for Chipendales, but Embry sucked at dancing and he didn't like the warm weather Vegas had to offer, so for the meantime Embry decided he would be a hobo.
He could live in the woods, no expectations, no Mom having to worry over you. No step dad checking in on you, no little sisters bugging you. Just Embry in his element, the dirt at his feet and the outdoors as his entertainment. And if you're a hobo all you have to do in trig is say take a nap for the rest of the class. And that's what Embry was going to do until Mr. Waters pulled him to the side while everyone was taking their test.
"What's going on?" Mr. Waters whispered.
Embry only shrugged knowing there was nothing he could say that would explain the three weeks that he went missing, or the last week of him not doing anything in class.
"You put us all in a scare those two weeks, especially your mother. . ."
"I know."
"No you don't. If you had seen how bad your mother had gotten you would tell us what you went through." Mr. Waters' voice had risen just enough to get the attention of one of the students in the classroom next to them, Embry could see his old friend glaring in his direction before going back to his packet. Embry knew Jake was angry at him, he just wished he could explain why he was being the way he was, he could use an old friend.
As fast as Embry began to shake, he stopped. He clenched and unclenched his hands and let out a shaky breath. It had taken Embry one week to phase back human, freaking out because you're a wolf is one thing, add that you never even knew about the legends, much less was something he was ever prepared for, it had scared him into running for hours on end before Sam had realized what had happened.
"Can I go take my test now?" He hated how Jake wouldn't stop staring, Embry wasn't the type to like the attention others gave him, maybe that's why he hid behind Jake all those years. It was easy to give Jake and Quil the attention as he got to sit and basque in the shadows, controlling all their shenanigans without getting an ounce of attention . Embry wished then that he could hide behind his old friend again.
Mr. Waters sighed and let him back into class, where Embry continued to take his nap.
Embry woke up just as the bell rang, and even though Embry was the furthest away from the door, he was the first one out, quick to find Paul or Jared. The smells still confused Embry to pieces, he was just glad he had gotten used to his overly sensitive sight. He practically took out an old pine tree when he thought a bug was a vampire, he shuddered at the thought of him losing it in the building.
Familiar hands clasped his shoulders, helping guide him through the stream of students. They all looked so small to Embry, the downside of having a mixed middle/high school and his growing almost a foot in such a short period of time. They were like little ants under a magnifying lense, and he was a child ready to stomp on them. He could hear Jared behind him talking, and Paul to his side, the buzzing around him was getting easier to ignore as he focused on Jared's voice.
"-so Sam wants us at his house after school-"
"Emily's making us food," Paul finished for Jared, Embry nodded at Paul, who was always too concentrated on himself to care about anything other than himself, but Embry chose not to vocalize that, he liked having his arms intact, thank you very much.
"Can we just ditch instead? I think my mom is going to lock me in my room if I'm late again." Embry was quiet as he weaved through the crowds, it was easy as everyone seemed to shrink back from the three boys.
"It's like you read my mind Call." Paul laughed, pushing him forward to the front of the school. Embry closed his eyes and let his other senses take control. He could hear every little thing around him, but as he concentrated he just heard the pounding of his feet and the people that moved away in front of him. He opened his eyes just in time to open the front door and the three boys ran to the forest.
"Last one has to help Emily with the dishes," Paul yelled. Embry sighed knowing that he was still the slowest but he quickly tied his clothes to his ankle and phased. The noise of cracking bones filled his ears, it was no longer painful to phase but the prickling feeling of the other two going into his mind was something he wouldn't be able to get used to for a while.
Embry grabbed his backpack in his mouth and bolted through the woods with his pack brothers. He watched through their eyes as they weaved through the trees and snow covered ground. Embry jumped and stepped where his brothers stepped, making sure not to leave too many tracks. Paul nipped at him to try to get him to trip, but Embry averted and yipped at him before speeding ahead.
He could hear them swearing in his head but he kept going.
It was the humming that made him come to a halt. He froze as he watched from behind the dead vines that hid him. He felt the others stop behind him, hiding as well as they watched the brunette hum to herself.
Embry could feel Jared's thoughts take a backseat as Paul's seemed to violently swirl in his head.
Embry could spot her a mile away, Paul just confirmed who she was. Alexandria King had better days but she looked pretty as ever to Embry. She was shaking something out of her hair before putting it up in a ponytail and trudging along the forest path. He could see the way she easily weaved through the bushes and rocks with ease.
Embry go talk to her-
-are you kidding? I can't talk to her- It was true, Embry had not been able to string more than two words around Alexandria King since he was in fifth grade and realized that she was the most beautiful thing in the world.
-You talk to her, she was your friend. Embry stepped back away from Paul as he growled at him, stepping on a branch and getting the attention of the brunette. Jared quickly phased out and threw on his pair of shorts to greet her.
"Jared what the fuck, you gave me a heart attack!" She swatted at the boy which he easily dodged.
"Relax, Alex. I was just looking for-"
"A shirt? Pants? Any type of clothing?"
"You're funny. You probably shouldn't be out here right now," He said as he put an arm over her shoulders and guided her through another direction.
"I shouldn't be here? Oo is it one of your cult meetings? Can I join?"
Paul instantly eased up and was no longer swirling obsessively in Embry's head. Embry kept watching the back of her head, she had mud caked on one strand of her hair and glitter throughout her clothes. Embry wondered if she knew that she had a "kick me" sign on her back.
Embry phased back and watched the two trudge along,there was something happening with the two to make his heart race- he could feel it in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut and clutched his chest, trying desperately to figure out what it was. There was a ringing in the air that sounded unfamiliar to him.
"I'm only going to my Uncle's, it's up the path, so I won't intrude in your super cool and mysterious meeting. I have a question: is joining your pack like joining a real gang?
"King, shut up will ya. Come on I'll walk you to your Uncle's place," Jared sounded annoyed, the way he always did when Paul was starting to get too much.
"Hey I'm just asking. There's just no way I can picture you as a gang member- and I'm only asking because if I can join can I not sleep with Sam, him and my brother look a lot alike -you'll do I guess-"
There was the sound of a smack and someone laughing. Embry looked back at Paul who started nudging him forward before sprinting in the direction of Sam's house. Embry shakily nodded and phased back trying hard not to think about how his heart had picked up. It was when Paul thought that if Embry hurried up he finally wouldn't be last, with that Embry bolted through the woods.
He made it to Sam's just as Jared phased in. Embry laughed before phasing back and pulling his shorts on, he was too busy wondering what happened to him back at the path to notice that his mother was standing in front of Sam's, arms crossed and with an unfamiliar frown on her face.
The frown was starting to become too familiar to Embry as he walked slowly up to his mom in defeat.Between styling hair and painting nails and adding the fact that there wasn't many people on the reservation- Alexandria resorted to helping others clean their homes, wrapping up presents (the Andersons, who were mad rich, always hired her when they needed their gifts wrapped in elaborate ways), and on the rare occasion (when she was strapped for cash and desperate) she would babysit.
Now that Christmas was around the corner and she needed new supplies for her "salon". Desperate times called for desperate measures. That's why she agreed to cut class for two days (even though her grandfather told her no more cutting classes) and took on the task of babysitting the Young sisters and the Huautah siblings.
Having babysat her younger siblings since she was eleven meant she was a pro, it didn't mean she liked babysitting. It was easy to love children- as long as she wasn't in charge of them. If anything it drove her insane to be in charge of little people, but when the Young and Huautah family waved two hundred dollars in her face she gladly took the opportunity. Twenty-four hours of babysitting would be easy money, right?
The Young girls were the easiest to take care of, and Alexandria would gladly babysit them again. It was the Huautah boys that drove her insane. They were a menace in every shape and form. It's how she ended up two hundred bucks richer, but exhausted and covered in glitter and (what she hoped) was dirt, by Thursday.
She hurriedly walked down the path towards her uncle's house. She had promised Ms. Call that she would squeeze her in on Thursday to do her hair and nails.
Alexandria had felt awful for Ms. Call when her son went missing for a few weeks, she had gone over multiple times with her cousin to see if they needed anything. Now that Ms. Call was feeling better again she was up for her usual and Alex wasn't the one to disappoint.
As long as Alexandria King could remember she always had to work for what she wanted.
Alexandria was destined to be a great hairstylist with her own bitchin' salon-
One day.
Until then her uncle's garage would have to do.
She knew that one day the bare cement floors would one day be real cherry wood planks. Her creaky chair she bought off the forks parlor would be a brand new one with the plastic mat that she hoped to get soon. Her salon was clean and tidy, she even had a little tv and newspapers and magazines for entertainment. It wasn't flashy nor pretty, but it's what she worked for so far and she knew one day (if she really, really) worked hard enough she'd get her dream. Until then she was stuck in a small reservation with a garage as a salon (and no car).
She trudged along the path, humming to herself as she thought of the best hair dryer to replace her old one with. She sighed realizing that she was running low on nail polish and that she would have to stalk up on that as well.
Alex was so occupied with her thoughts that she barely registered the sound of a branch snapping before she saw Jared Cameron barreling down the steep hill to greet her. Alex covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream, her heart was racing as she tried to control herself. She began smacking at Jared.
"Jared what the fuck, you gave me a heart attack!"
"Relax, Alex. I was just looking for-"
"A shirt? Pants? Any type of clothing?" Alex snarked as she looked at the boy with wide eyes, he was only wearing shorts not even shoes.
"You're funny. You probably shouldn't be out here right now," she noticed how he tried to dazzle her with his bright smile, she rolled her eyes but smiled back anyways.
"I shouldn't be here? Oo is it one of your cult meetings? Can I join?" Alex felt him tense up, Alex learned from experience that the little gang that he ran around with didn't like being made fun of. Alex noticed how he licked his lips and was starting to look angry, so she egged him on.
"I'm only going to my Uncle's, it's up the path, so I won't intrude in your super cool and mysterious meeting. I have a question: is joining your pack like joining a real gang?
"King, shut up will ya. Come on I'll walk you to your Uncle's place," Alex liked the tinge of annoyance in his voice.
"Hey I'm just asking. There's just no way I can picture you as a gang member- and I'm only asking because if I can join can I not sleep with Sam, him and my brother look a lot alike -you'll do I guess-" Alex wiggled her eyebrows at Jared which got her a smack in the back of the head. She laughed maniacally but shrugged at him. Alex had never gotten why girls at school thought he was cute, she even remembered one of the freshmen last year doodling his name all over her journal, it was pathetic and she just didn't see it. Even after his transformation into a hunk.
"So is little Embry part of your gang now?"
"It's not a gang."
"Cult. Whatever. So do you guys have to cut off your friends entirely before joining the gang? Because that's lame," she asked when she looked up at him. He refused to look at her, he looked guilty.
"Look can you just tell Embry to be nice to my cousin when he breaks up with him. Quil's already a whiny bitch as it is- alright we're out of the woods you can leave now," Alex said nicely as she looked up at him and shoved his hand off her.
"If it makes you feel better, it's Paul who was the bad influence," Jared waved goodbye before running back into the woods. Alex sighed but walked down the street to the familiar yellow house.
And walked to the back of the Ateara property to the old garage. Alex went down the small steps of the garage and made a beeline for the bag that had her clothes and quickly set to wash whatever was caked in her hair.
It wasn't long before she heard a car pull up next to the garage/salon. She could hear Ms. Call stopping to greet her aunt and have a chat with her as another set of footsteps walked towards the garage and gingerly opened the door.
"Can I come in?" A soft voice asked, Alex was all ready to tease the boy
"I don't know, can you?" She laughed, she turned around to bring him in. Walking up to him ready to pull him inside when she froze.
Alex was going to have to stop calling Embry a kid. She had no idea how the man in front of her was going to fit through her small door.
"Damn were you rolling around in the mud- so you were with Jared in the forest, too?"
Embry only shrugged at the older girl, trying hard not to give anything away. Alex saved her comments as she looked at Embry, she hadn't really seen him since he went missing. He probably had been rolling in mud, there were a few sticks that stuck to his shorts and he had no shoes, like Jared had. At least he had a shirt on, she wasn't sure she would survive the rumor of a shirtless boy going into her garage.
The biggest problem with looking at Embry was that he cut his hair. Alex could have sobbed but held it back due to shock. Embry had had such pretty hair. When he wasn't feeling too shy (a rare occasion) he would let her practice different braids.
Embry, who used to be lanky and average height, now towered over her with enough muscles to put him on the front of a workout magazine. Alex had heard the rumors, but she knew how the rumor mill worked at school. . . She thought it was a joke. Alex rubbed her eyes, thinking it was still a joke. The kid (Sorry the man) wouldn't look at her but gave her a sheepish hello, Embry might have been shy but he was never rude. After the initial shock wore off, Alex did what Alex did best, which was tease Embry Call.
"Hey did you know steroids shrink your testicles?" Embry stumbled down to his seat and grew red as he tried to be polite. Alex handed him a juice and some cookies as she went in depth of the downsides of steroids, poor kid looked deathly embarrassed, refusing to make eye contact like always.
Tiffany Call came in shortly after, pausing her son's embarrassment momentarily.
"Hi Ms.Call! I was just talking to Embry about the disadvantages of anabolic steroids!" Ms. Call was more than happy to join the discussion as Alex started on her hair. Thankfully the conversation had drifted and soon Alex got on the topic of what highlights Ms.Call could pull off.
Embry eventually found amusement in the coloring pages he found and happily colored, hoping to avoid getting his nails painted, or worse his hair.
"Why would you cut your hair Em?" Alex asked as she started on his mom's nails, Embry got to choose the color (pink, his mom's favorite color). Embry, who had joined them after he ran out of coloring sheets, only shrugged as he moved around the nail polish in no particular order.
Ms.Call sighed. "He won't answer you. I've asked him a thousand times, his step dad has asked a million times, even his little sister can't get an answer out of him." Alex just worked on Ms.Call's nails.
"Ever since he started hanging out with those boys-"
Alex glanced up to look at Embry who looked conflicted as he held her tiny bottles of nail polish in his hands.
"If it makes you feel better, Ms.Call, Sam's group actually helped Paul. Embry will hopefully get out of his teenage rebellion phase soon."
She smiled at Embry then, he returned it but looked away quickly before she could notice him blush.
Alex finished her nails and promised to watch Embry as she went back to the main house to talk to her aunt.
"You owe me one. Here," she teased before handing him a wet towel. He brushed off the mud that had been caked on him for the past hour.
"So were you two sacrificing chickens?" She earned a small laugh from him before he shook his head.
Embry wasn't so sure what possessed him to do it, but he looked at her then. Eye contact had never been his forte, but now as he looked at the girl who insisted on teasing him, he realized he should do it more often. One second a warm spark-like feeling was in the air that made him gravitate to her, and the next-
It felt like a hard pull to the right direction, a breath of fresh air after being underwater for too long, it sounded like lightning striking, it felt like-
Like two broken magnets becoming one.
Embry looked down at his imprint and smiled, he finally saw her. He noticed how her breath hitched. He liked how her dark eyes set on his.
Alex just continued to stare, with her too wide eyes. Embry instinctively brought his hand up to her face and rubbed his thumb against her cheek.
"I'll see you later, Alex."
That was probably the most he had ever spoken to her