Jared's POV
The moon is still in the sky when the first beams of sun begins to break through, lightening the pitch black over La Push into a clear blue. The reservation is silent and still. All the little houses are dark, there's not a single car on the road yet, street lights are blinking out the higher the sun rises.
It feels like everyone in the Rez but me is asleep. Except maybe Sam, whose beginning his patrol as mine comes to end for the night. I run my way home instead of pacing myself, ready to climb into bed and sleep through school if I can. Maybe just the first three periods so I don't get held back. Another motivator is Kim. She's always get to school early, even stays after school for tutoring sometimes. Seeing her is the only good thing about school lately.
The faster I go to bed, the faster I'll sleep and get up so I can steal a glance at Kim. My paws pound down against the ground till clumps of earth jam in between my claws and get stuck in patches of my fur. Ignoring the sudden drops of rain coming down––the usual La Push rain––I put the last of my energy into my legs, and cross the last few miles in under two minutes. By the time I make it home my eyes are falling shut. It's tempting to just drop right here in my front lawn, curl up and pass out in the dewy grass. But I'm pretty sure a thousand pound werewolf would scare the mailman, and the rest of the reservation.
Instead, while it's still dark enough I push my body through the morph back into my human body. I don't even give myself a second for my spine to straighten out before immediately scaling the side of my house and making the two story distance in one jump through my window. How dim my room is is reliving, I'm glad I can get at least an hour of sleep till the sun finds its way in. I don't even bother with the mental debate about showering, skipping the fight altogether, I collapse into my bed, too tired to pull the sheets up to my chin, and black out.
Did I sleep? Or did I just blink?
Opening my eyes, I'm in the exact position when I first lowered onto my bed. Groaning, I angrily twist around, the bed squealing and threatening to give out from under me. Just as I snap my eyes shut again in an effort to fall back asleep, I hear them.
I shoot up in my bed, my nostrils flaring up as I keep the growl threatening to sound at the back of my throat. I'm on my feet by the time the knock lands against my front door.
"Oh," I can hear the shuffle of my dad opening the front door. "Hi boys... Jared isn't home."
"Mr. Cameron?" I can hear the low squeal of the hinges of my front door trying to close. "We just want to talk to Jared. We thought we could all walk to school together."
"Sorry, Quill. Jared isn't here..." Managing to cross my room in two leaps, I sink low to look down at Jacob and Quill hovering at my front door from my window. They don't look the same. There's a bad taste in my mouth while I take them in. Jacob shot up a couple of feet, he's taller than Quill by two heads and both my dad and Quill need to lean their heads back whenever they have to speak to him. Meatier too. His clothes don't fit right. Quil's hair is longer, his face is longer, while he looks like he's growing normally compared to Jacob, we never know when the change can hit.
"Then where is your son?" Jacob challenges, his dark eyes stormy.
"He's at his mom's this week."
"We just came back from her house. She said Jared was here this week." Jacob doubles down.
"Shit!" I hiss quietly to myself. My parents are the worst at lying. It won't be me who gets myself exposed, it'll be my parents.
"I...I guess he left for school already. Got up early––"
"We just want to talk to him." Quill pleads. "Please."
"I'm sorry boys. Real sorry." My dad does look sorry while he slams the door shut in their faces. My ears hearing the echo of the lock.
"Cowards." Jacob grumbles, storming off. Quill tries the doorbell one more time, but it's pointless. I lower the window, trying hard to ignore the doorbell and how badly I miss my friends.
I almost don't notice when Kim calls. I was dead asleep. I pick up by the last ring, the phone's ringing luckily jolted me up enough for me to roll over and answer. I had a hard time falling back asleep despite my exhaustion.
"Whatsup?" I yawn.
"Are you coming to school?" Kim's voice makes me smile lazily into the phone. Emily was right in the end. We've been talking everyday this week on the phone.
"Yeah, sure sure." I mutter, my eyelids as heavy as the rest of my body. "Why? Were you worried about me?" I smirk to myself.
"Jared, it's already lunch." I sit up so fast, the bed under me gives and crashes into the floor.
"Shit!"
"Are you okay?" Kim's voice rises.
"Yeah, all good." I lie, lifting up the entire frame to see the legs of the bed have all snapped in half. I carefully lower the twin back down, knowing my dad is going to kill me when he sees what his werewolf son did now.
"So I'll see you today before school lets out?"
"Why?" I smirk again, looking for my shoes. "Do you want to see me?" She goes silent on the other side of the line, and I already know she's that adorable shade of red she does when I use to tease her. Flirting with Kim is so much easier now over the phone. But if I still see her in person I'm done for. A nervous wreck.
"Should I start getting your homework from the teachers to bring it to you? Or you'll be here?" She dodges. Holding the phone back, I glance at the time. Sam has me for patrol soon, and a meeting before that. He wants to talk about who he thinks will turn next. And I'm sure he'll bring up Jacob.
"Both." I answer. If I hurry I can see Kim before I'd have to go. "I miss most of the day. But I'll be in time for the rest of the day." I get a whiff of me and wince. I have to shower. I smell like a wild animal. I nearly crack the floor in rush to the shower.
"And if I don't see you?" She asks.
"So you do want to see me." I chuckle knowing she's probably red in the face. "Then I'll come see you after school and take you on that date."
"Just don't miss class." She squeaks, ending the call before I can embarrass her more.
After a very quick and cold shower, I walked instead of run to school. I didn't want to waste that shower to have Kim think I smell bad. By the time I snuck through an open window in the empty art room it's the last period.
I thought I'd have more time with her. Three periods at least. Just as I sneak into the hall, the bell lets all the students out for the day. Kids flood the hall, lockers open and teachers lock their rooms for the evening.
"Shit." I groan, seeing a family frown from the other side of the corridor.
"You said you'd be here." Kim doesn't look pissed or pouty, but very concerned.
"And I am here. Technically." I try to joke, but her face doesn't budge. I can already feel the urge to bend down and kiss till she smiles on my back like an actual weight.
"I'm not going to be the one who flunks tenth grade." She insists, handing me over the missed work. "You don't even have your book bag or a pencil."
"With all the school days I missed I'm positive I'll be in summer school." I sigh, glancing down at my phone for the time. Do I have enough time to spare to be with Kim if I run all the way there?
"If you want I can help you stud––"
"What I want," I couldn't help it any longer. I close in on her, backing her into the wall as I tower over her. It's not close enough, I want to be closer. I want to kiss her till she can't catch her breath. I want to pull her into a empty classroom and learn every curve of body. I want her to call me her boyfriend, because in my mind that's what I already am. I want to tell her. But I struggle to get a grip when it's too late. "I want to take you out."
"I'm still not sure that's a good idea." She breathes, looking up at me with like I'm dangerous. I force a few steps back, sucking in mouthfuls of air like Sam always tell me too. Of course she doesn't when I do that. I have to remind myself how Kim has wanted to ask her out since I can remember, and how I always teased her for it.
"Look," I can't concentrate on Kim's saying. She's flustered. I can smell it off her, and it's the most baiting smell, something between the woods after it rains, and something unbearably sweet like flowers or ripe strawberries before you sink your teeth in the first bite.
Another deep breath. This time through both my mouth and nose.
"Get back to me about the summer school thing." And she's off to meet her friends.
Paul already at Sam's when I run into the kitchen through the back porch. Emily lets out a surprised yell as I come storming in on all fours.
"No werewolves in the house!" Sam orders as I straighten up, already in mid shift.
"You already broke my table." Emily warns, hands gripping onto the new kitchen table protectively.
"Sorry. Sorry. Relax." I grumble, slamming down onto the nearest empty chair to put my sneakers on.
"What's wrong now?" Paul rolls his eyes, already knowing what's bothering me. "I thought you made progress with the phone thing." Paul shrugs.
"Me too." I grunt. "But she keeps saying no whenever I try to ask her out. She won't have it."
"Geez, at this point, I'll ask her out for you." Sam tries at a joke but it doesn't land.
"Don't." Is all I growl.
"You guys really have this all wrong." Emily looks like she wants to mention how she's the only girl and we're in desperate need for another. "Asking her over and over isn't going to get you anywhere. It's creepy."
"But she's my inprint––"
"And she's a human teenage girl who doesn't know that, and is probably just as confused as you are." I throw myself back into the chair instead of evening out my attitude like I should, only for Sam to tell me not to act like that to Emily. Em hesitates before lowering down into a chair next to me, with Sam protectively circling in just in case I snap at her.
"You don't have to worry. Kim's crazy about you. Everyone in La Push knows that. She's loved you before she even knew she liked you. She's liked you for just about forever, even when you didn't. You haven't always been nice to her about it––"
I growl under my breath and Sam shoots me a warning growl back. I immediately shut up. Emily waits it like she's not being interrupted by animals.
"Anyway, she's hesitant about how you're suddenly coming out of nowhere with this pressure. One day Jared Cameron is laughing about the dopey girl with the silly crush, to the next demanding she goes out with him. Give her some time to adjust, and meanwhile try––"
"Romancing her. Ohhh Jared and Kim sitting in a tree. K-I-S" Paul snickers.
"Shut up!" Sam barks and Paul just quietly laughs to himself.
"No, Paul's right." Emily nods. "Small gestures like hand holding or walking her home make a world a difference. Baby steps."
"Baby steps?" I ask, finally calmed down. "How many baby steps?" Emily gives Sam a knowing look, and he actually goes sheepish, scratching the back of his neck and trying not to smile.
"As many as it takes."