I don't really have words to explain my absence... life happens? But I was feeling down and found myself on the comments of this story, and I had to come back and carry on, and conveniently enough, the first half of this was already written.
I'm hoping to return to a somewhat consistent presence.
Thank you for all the love along the way, and thank you for making staying away so hard.
XVI. Harbinger
It was as though time stood still in that hallway on that once seemingly insignificant morning. Perhaps it was the pure elation of Jared's lips, full and soft and simply electric moving with precision and care against her own, his warm fingers working their way through the edges of her hairline as though she were all that was holding him to earth in that moment. Or perhaps it was the knowledge that by some stroke of unprecedented blessing, Kim would be able to know the truth- that she would feel the truth behind Nina's apparent betrayal.
And then reality, cruel in its attempts at humor, came crashing back around them in the form of a gasp as Kim's eyes found Nina and Jared.
Nina broke their kiss, pulling away and cringing at the fact that Kim was storming off down the hallway and that nearly everyone within a twenty-foot vicinity was staring. Paul was still in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, his eyes- when they were open- dancing with delight between Quil and Nina and Jared.
"This could not get any better," Paul howled, shaking his head as he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. He sighed between his teeth as he clapped a hand on Quil's shoulder, rattling the younger boy back down to earth.
He blinked rapidly, shaking his head as he faced the rest of them, eyebrows furrowing and his lips sucking into a thin line.
"Did that…"
The other three nodded, Paul's chuckle returning and Jared squeezing Nina once more with excitement. She smiled up at him instinctually, but her mind was still hazy as the fact settled in.
Kim was finally going to know.
Her smile broadened as she came back into the moment, watching Jared's profile with admiration as he spoke excitedly with Quil and Paul. She felt the blood rush into her cheeks as she relived the moments before; the feeling of Jared's lips on hers, the flutter that had began in her chest and spread to nearly every inch and tip of her body, the warmth that followed- settling into the edges of her throat and the soft skin of her lips.
His eyes flickered to her with delight, a corner of his mouth quirking upwards at her before he resumed conversation with the boys.
The warning bell rang and Paul began tugging at Quil's planted feet, his laughter still carrying down the hall as they went. And then Jared faced Nina once more as they began towards her own homeroom. She pressed her lips together, fighting a losing battle against the returning flush of her cheeks. She didn't need to look up to see the grin that was peering down at her.
"Was that okay?" Jared finally asked. They stopped beside the door to her classroom and she was forced to meet his stare.
"That?" Her voice betrayed her with a crack as she spoke, and she suppressed a giggle at herself as she shook her head. Jared's eyebrows creased.
"It was fine," she grinned.
"Just fine?" Jared raised an eyebrow.
She narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, it was fine."
"I'm pretty sure it was more than 'just fine,' Nina, I-"
"Mr. Cameron, do you have a class you need to be in?"
They looked over their shoulders as Nina's homeroom teacher spoke, and Nina brought a hand to cover her giggle as she looked back up at Jared, raising an eyebrow. "Do you?" She asked.
"I do," he responded to her teacher, bringing his eyes back to her, "we're gonna talk about this later, that kiss was more than just fine."
"Okay, we'll talk later," Nina chuckled, pleased with the way Jared narrowed his eyes at her over his shoulder as she shooed him with a gesture of her hand.
If possible, Kim's avoidance efforts had intensified since that morning's events. Nina was sure she had even left school by the time lunch came around, though she supposed Quil's behavior couldn't have helped the situation.
He was speaking excitedly as she joined them at the lunch table, narrowing her eyes at him as he carried on.
"I can't believe I never noticed before- Nina, how did I-"
"Would you shut up," Paul groaned. He tipped his head back, shutting his eyes and running large hands down his face.
Quil glared at him, taking a bite of his sub.
"Sam and Jared were bad enough, you're not gonna ruin my days at school with this shit too."
"Sorry that I just found my soulmate," Quil grumbled, rolling his eyes and taking an aggressive bite of his lunch.
"Just wait until Embry and Jacob hear about it," Jared chuckled, "they leave you alone for one day and you imprint."
"Okay," Nina interjected, leaning forward, "but what are the chances of that happening? You and Jared imprinting on best friends?"
"Ex- best friends," Paul pointed a finger in her direction.
Nina rolled her eyes, sneering at him before bringing her attention back to Quil.
"Probably about as good as the chances of high schoolers turning into wolves to hunt down vampires," Jared shrugged. He raised his eyebrows towards Nina and she playfully rolled hers, shrugging as well.
"Will you tell me about her?"
Quil turned his attention to Nina as he spoke, his eyebrows creasing into a v.
She breathed out between her teeth, a small grin forming as she allowed herself to think of Kim and all that she had to offer to the world. As she thought, her eyes somewhat far away as they roamed Quil's face, she tried picturing them together- someone she had known and cared for for so long, someone soft, kind, good, being adored the way she was by Jared. It seemed too good to be true.
"Oh my God, will it never end?" Paul groaned again.
Nina ignored him as she began speaking, leaning forward on her elbows as she met Quil's anxious and curious stare.
"Kim isn't…" she paused, already searching for the right way to say it. "She's not like us-" she gestured towards herself and Jared, tipping her head slightly as she repeated the gesture between Paul and Quil. "She's not loud or bold or-"
"Fun in any way?" Paul interjected.
"Shut up," Quil and Nina spoke in unison.
With a wave of her hand in Paul's direction, Nina continued, "She's very opinionated, though, and she's not afraid of letting you know," she snorted, thinking back on their encounter in the library just the day before. "She's really smart- book smart. She's been talking about colleges for as long as I've known her."
Quil visibly deflated slightly, and she pushed away a thought before it surfaced in her own head.
"But more than anything," she grinned slightly as she spoke, "Kim is good. She's kind, and considerate. She's thoughtful. She'll do anything to help absolutely anyone- strangers, even," she shrugged with a sort of bafflement, the thought of doing half of the things Kim had done for others seeming entirely impossible on her part.
A grin had appeared in the corner of Quil's lips, his eyes twinkling in their glossy state, and Nina's chest warmed once again with excitement. She allowed her eyes to roam the cafeteria once with false hope that she may see Kim seated somewhere nearby- perhaps she may even steal another glance at her before the other girl's stare would turn harsh with disregard.
Nina wondered absentmindedly what it might be like when Kim began coming to Emily's- how the two would get along, if she would be overwhelmed by the chaos and rowdiness that had become a usual within the small cabin. It was strange, really, picturing the two components of her world finally meeting. How would Kim handle the revelation that boys they had known nearly all their lives were wolves? And even more than that, how would she handle the knowledge that they were soulmates to those teenage wolves?
She snorted quietly with a shake of her head, meeting Jared's curious eyes with a twinkle and a shrug.
As the day carried on, Nina couldn't help but notice that she was seeing Quil out of his usual routine, and she could only assume that he was following Kim.
By the end of the day, Paul had left school, claiming insanity on account of Quil's sudden obsessive behavior. The younger boy had smiled bashfully, shrugging a shoulder and carrying on as he was. As the final bell rang, Nina found herself and Jared at her locker, his fingers absentmindedly toying with a strand of her hair as she shuffled books between her bag and the locker.
"I don't know why you bring any home," he stated, gesturing his free hand to a book as it landed in her bag, "you don't actually need to study."
She shrugged, carrying on, "It just seems like the right thing, I don't know," she chuckled.
"Did you ever consider applying to colleges? You could definitely get in."
"Kim and I talked about it a couple times," she shrugged again, "but school's boring. I want to do stuff, not spend even more time in a classroom."
Jared hummed a response, nodding more to himself than to her. His hand dropped from her hair as she shut her locker, turning to look up at him. A smirk found his lips.
"So," he began. He tossed an arm over her shoulders as they began towards the double doors. "Is my kissing really just fine?" He raised an eyebrow in challenge, and she felt her throat dry slightly. A battle began against the flush daring to creep along her collarbones.
She forced a shrug, bringing her stare forwards as they reached the parking lot.
Jared stopped walking, his grip on her bringing her to a stop as well beside him.
"Nina," he sing-songed, grinning as he turned to face her directly.
She raised an eyebrow, "Hm?"
His eyes narrowed, but the broadness of his lips told a different story.
"I may not have had the most experience here," he chuckled, a ghost of a blush on his own cheeks, "but I think that kiss wasn't just fine."
Nina sucked her lips in, refraining from giggling at him. "Is it really that important to you?"
"Uh, yeah," Jared nodded, his eyebrows furrowing.
For a moment, all she could do was stare at him. The flush was winning, a dull pink spreading up the angles of her jaw and onto her cheeks. His eyes were ever-intense, and she swore she saw a hint of vulnerability within them.
Her heightened mood from the day's events pushed her forward on her toes, fingertips grazing the bottom of Jared's shirt as she pressed her lips gently to his. She held them there for only a moment before she was back on the heels of her feet, turning to resume their walk home.
"Alright, we need a game-plan here," Embry began. He placed a large hand on the coffee table, looking around Emily's small living room.
Jared sat in the recliner to the side with Nina in his lap, while Quil sat directly across from Embry on the floor.
"This isn't the NBA finals, stupid, he's just talking to a girl," Paul called from the kitchen. He spoke through a mouthful of deli meat as he poked through the refrigerator.
"She's not just any girl!"
Paul spared only a moment to roll his eyes at the younger boy's outburst before he resumed his attack on the fridge, left painfully unprotected by Emily.
Only a handful of days had passed since Quil imprinted on Kim, but it had felt like an eternity for those around him. He moaned and complained of having to wait to be with her, and each time, he was met with a glare from Jared, as the older boy would utter something about patience.
"Well it doesn't help that she hates you two," Quil grumbled one morning. He gestured lazily at Nina and Jared as the former swapped out the contents of her bookbag and locker.
She turned to him with a glare, shaking her head, "She doesn't hate us."
Quil cocked his head to the side, shrugging, "You could've fooled me."
Nina scoffed lightly, her nose crinkling with distaste. Jared chuckled from behind her, running a hand affectionately down the length of her hair before taking his place at her side.
During lunch, later that day, Nina watched in horror as Quil passed by what had become their usual table. He spared only a toothy grin over his shoulder as he exited the cafeteria, and Nina, Jared, and Embry wasted no time in fumbling out of their seats and bustling out the doors behind him.
"What do you think you're doing?" Embry whispered loudly, "this is not a part of the plan!"
"I'm going to have lunch with my imprint." Quil smugly spoke, lifting his chin as he carried on in front of them.
"We don't even know where Kim eats lunch anymore," Nina pointed out. She looked up at Jared for support, though his pursed lips betrayed her. She turned to look up at Embry on her other side. He snorted out a laugh and continued facing forward.
"Maybe you don't know where she eats anymore," he mused, tapping his ear, "but some of us are well aware of all her lunchtime chats with the librarian."
"Ugh," Nina groaned. She rolled her eyes at him, playfully shoving away Jared's hand as he grabbed for her arm with it.
They reached the library shortly and watched with anticipation as Quil confidently strolled in through the double doors. Nina found herself pressed against the small, rectangular window, watching as Quil found Kim with ease.
He had managed to sit across from her before she looked up, eyebrows raising with curiosity as he casually began eating his lunch- ignoring the glares from the librarian's desk.
"What is he saying?" Nina whispered.
"God, you are so human," Embry laughed, shaking his head. Nina rolled her eyes for only a second before they returned to Kim and Quil.
"Could he be any dumber?" Jared chuckled.
"What?" Embry raised his eyebrows, "he's asking her about that book she's reading- he's learning about her interests!"
"That's an accounting textbook," Jared shook his head, "can Quil even spell accounting?"
"Accounting?" Nina raised onto her tippy toes, her nose grazing the window as she squinted her eyes, "Kim's never talked about accounting."
"Oh wow, Jared can see shit the rest of us can't, that's so surprising," Embry waved his arms as he spoke, rolling his eyes playfully.
"Oh shut up," Jared pushed at him.
In just a moment, the two had long forgotten Quil and Kim and began wrestling in the hallway. Nina continued her attempts at gauging the conversation taking place in the library. Kim was watching Quil's face as he spoke, her expression unreadable. Something fluttered within Nina's chest at the thought of their conversation going well, and she found herself hoping and hoping that this was a sign things were looking up.
And then Embry's head hit the library door, a thud rattling the hallway and a small dent forming from the force of his supernatural skull. And Kim's dark eyes fluttered up and met Nina's, and her mouth clamped shut in a rather unpleasant frown, and then she was grabbing her belongings from the table and bustling towards the very door Nina was peering in through.
She had only a moment to step back before Kim was pushing the door open, narrowing her eyes sadly at Nina briefly before carrying on down the hall.
"What did you do?" Quil met them in the doorway, arms thrown up, eyebrows creased together.
Nina's mouth opened and closed a few times, her head shaking slowly. She wordlessly turned to Embry, still on the floor beside the closed door, laughing and rubbing at the back of his head. In front of them, Jared stood hunched over, cackling as he gripped at his stomach.
"You still think she doesn't hate you?" Quil sighed before running a worried hand through his curls, shaking his head and marching down the hallway in Kim's wake.
