Jared's POV
"She friend zoned you." Paul snickers, waving back at Kim as she waves at our table.
"Shut up." I grind out through a mouthful of sandwich.
The cafeteria is nearly empty, but when there's not a rainy day in Washington State, everyone rushes to go outside. Paul and I are always in the outdoors now, patrolling in the thick of woods or the edges of cliffs, so we opted to eat in. For a full day of school it wasn't so difficult. Neither of us had to sneak in or skip, or were falling asleep. Everyone stopped whispering about us a few weeks ago, and the staring finally stopped.
It was feeling like a normal day, then Paul pissed me off.
"To her, you're just her buddy who holds her books and copies off her homework." Paul shrugs at me, crossing his arms behind his head.
"Shut up, Lahote." I nearly kick at his chair, but I stop myself, remembering what Sam always says about keeping control around the locals.
"You missed your chance with her alrea—"
"Paul, shut up." I growl, so deeply it is unmistakably inhumane. Monstrous.
"Is that a threat lover boy?" Paul challenges with a sick smirk. I should calm down. I should look around to see if anyone is in range of being mauled or if someone is recording us on their phone or something. I should take a deep breath, or leave the school while I still have some control.
I don't do any of that. Instead I charge at him and tackle to the floor.
"Take it back!" My voice is deafening as I roar, completely unrecognizable as it echos in the near empty cafeteria. Paul booms back at me, a disturbed and savage roar devoid of any words. I feel Paul's nails scrape across my skin, already sharpening into claws as they sink in, but I ignore it.
I think I hear someone scream or maybe somebody chanting fight. I can't see nothing else but red and Paul. I tear at him, not satisfied till there's nothing left of him. I can feel Paul's fists landing against me, but I'm too angry to feel the weight of the impact. Paul's too far gone to feel my blows either, but it doesn't stop either of us from throwing all of monstrous weight into it.
"Hey! Hey! Stop it!" Something lands against me, but I shake it off. Or maybe throw it off.
I taste blood.
"JARED STOP!" Then ice cold water hits us. So frigid it completely shuts the wolf out for just enough for some of the anger to subside for a moment of clarity. I remember where I am, hearing everything all at once, from my harsh breathing to the murmur of the crowd. It immediately gives me a headache. The headache only gets worse as I force all what's left of my right mind into calming down enough to stop the phase.
I nearly loose my grip. Paul rages on, trying to shake off the principal, the gym teacher, Jacob and Embry off his back, who all hang on for dear life as they pull a thrashing Paul off me. One of them must have dumped the water on us. Paul and I are completely soaked, but it doesn't stop him. He swears at me, snapping his jaw at me like a rapid dog.
"Paul," My throat sounds rough, and I hope people mistake it for raspy instead of unnaturally deep. The whole school presses down on the windows, watching us like animals in a zoo. It makes me feel less like me and more like the animal I keep trying to fight for control. All the eyes practically burn against my tan skin, and all I want to do is bolt. Nothing would be safer than running so deep into the woods no one would be able to figure out if I'm in Canada or the US.
"Mr. Cameron!" The principal booms, catching me about to make a run for it. "My office!"
Kim's POV
I want to see Jared.
But he found me before I had the chance to even worry about him.
I wasn't sure if he was still in the principal's office or if he was sent home. Instead, he was waiting alone in the school parking lot leaning against an old black truck. I didn't mean to practically run to him, but when his eyes found mine across the lot I dropped my books then broke out in a jog across the grass. I didn't even know I was running till I reached him, feeling slightly comforted by just the sight of him.
"Jared." I pant, my chest rising and falling unevenly. My brown eyes scan over his face, and it's only for a second that I feel relief. His face completely unblemished face. There's no bruising or scratches or blood, his face is not even red. I heard the fight was so bad there was blood. That the four people couldn't tear them apart and had to throw water on them.
Jared is perfectly fine.
Not a hair on his head is even moved. His clothes are not even damp. As if he dried instantly like a furnace. As if the fight never happened.
"Kim," He sighs, one hand reaching up to clamp down nervously on the back of his neck.
"You're okay." I breathe, hands reaching up on their own to grasp him around the arms. Despite all my worries, all my anxieties, it feels like the whole world recenter around us from how solid and safe he feels under my grip. As if the world stop turning just how I stopped breathing when I heard some freshmen talking about it in the halls, but now it's spinning again.
"You're heard." He grimaces, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"The whole school heard."
"Shit. Of course they did. It's a small school."
"Are you okay?" I interject, pulling him in closer by his sleeve. He follows my touch, inching in till there's only a few inches separating the two of us. Dropping my hands back to my sides, I try to fight off the urge to take hold of him. To throw my hands around him and breathe him in like he's the most precious thing.
"More than okay." He nods stiffly. His eyes painfully follow mine as they run over him, checking him again for any sign of a fight, but he's perfectly okay.
"You got in a fight with Paul." I didn't ask, I stated.
"Yeah..."
"Paul? Paul Lahote? You two are inseparable. He seemed fine when we all hangout the other day. Why did you fight?" My stomach churns at the pained look he gives me.
"We told the principal we were just wrestling, and it got out of hand. We just got too rash too quickly." He excuses.
"Okay... What's the real reason?" He sighs at how I could tell he's not telling me the truth, looking frustrated and embarrassed. "Was it... was it your anger management?" When I ask his eyes clamp shut while his jaw tightens. Jared swallows before tightly nodding yes, looking miserable.
"Yeah. Something like that." He states lowly under his breath. "Now both Paul and I are suspended for a week."
"No. You two were just catching up. You both were making up most of everything you miss."
"I know." Jared nods solemnly. "We both already missed so much school. This suspension means we're gonna flunk. We're probably going to end up having to repeat the year or summer school."
"Summer school isn't that bad." I try to be hopeful. What was left of the sunny day suddenly vanished, the clouds storming over back to their signature Washington State gray. It was gloomy again when we least needed it.
"Paul would rather drop out than do summer school." Jared groans, shaking his head. He's beating himself up over this. Pummeling himself worse than he did with Paul.
"You won't flunk out. You'll make up the work. Both of you."
"That's too hopeful. We're flunking."
"It's only a week worth of stuff. You'll both make it up."
"A whole week on top of the weeks Paul and I just stopped coming to school, and all our of skipped classes and absences." The sun is now completely clouded over with thick coverage of gray. Without the heat from the sun it was getting chilly, so chilly the cold seeped through my sweater in warning of the possible rain.
"And you both made most of that up. This is a set back, not a failure. You're not flunking out. I know you're too smart to flunk out. After tutoring you I know on your worst day you're a C student. You're gonna make it up. I'll bring your work everyday after school. Paul's too."
"You were already doing that." Jared sighs. "You don't have too anymore."
"No!" I can already see it. This is the exact beginning of the end of Jared's school career. I know he didn't even want to come back to school when he first went missing. It was a fight to just get him to come back to school. Now he's more than ready to give up. He doesn't want to repeat the year––he won't. He won't do summer school. He'll just stop coming altogether, then dropout. "Jared, you can work all day now on what you missed. Then I'll come after and work on it with you. You're not going to flunk. It's just a bit more work."
"Paul's not gonna pass." He sighs, looking guilty.
"Yes he will."
"How are we going to get him to come back to school?" Jared doesn't ask me, he looks like he's asking the universe.
"You and Paul fight all the time." I point out.
"Not so bad we get suspended. Paul isn't angry at me, but he won't come back to school after this." Jared drops his head into his hands, rubbing the tension out of the lines of his unbruised face.
"You can't make him." I start, only for Jared to interrupt me.
"No one can make Paul do anything he doesn't want to do." He sighs.
"But, we'll bring him his work anyway. Work on your assignments, and just maybe Paul will join our study group."
"You sound like my cousin Sam. He always says when it comes to Paul, don't bother talking to him or trying to force him. He always tells me the best I can do by Paul is to lead by example."
"I think that's good advice. You're only sixteen, Jared. You already have to be responsible for you. Don't blame yourself for Paul."
"Ever since the Change... this change from anger management Paul is the only one who understands me. He's the only one who isn't afraid of me. Paul and I are like brothers. I can't leave him behind like this."
"You not flunking out l doesn't mean you're leaving him behind. Not at all—"
"Jared!" Someone cuts me off, this time it's not Jared. Jacob Black, Embry Call, and Quil Ateara start heading over to us. Jared groans as they approach, looking completely overwhelmed. His body tightens up so tautly I swear it'll give and rip, as if his whole being is holding on by a tread that is a moment's notice from snapping.
"Shit. I should have paid attention." Jared whispers to himself. Feeling out of place, I give Jared a warning look, silently asking him if it's alright to for me to witness the upcoming moment between former friends.
"Jared, man." Embry nods at Jared as they approach. Not having much emotional capacity in him left, Jared turns his back on them, ready to leave. The sky is a complete slate of dark and stormy gray now, all traces of light gone. The air is chilling over, just as a few drops of rain begin to trickle down.
"We just wanted to see if you're alright." Jacob speaks up, trying to get Jared to turn back around. All four of them square off, each unmoving and anxious. They all make me feel small, and inappropriate for staying around.
"We did stop you from you and Paul tearing each other apart." Quil states, looking just as worried as his friends.
"I didn't need your help." Jared sighs. He didn't say it to be cocky, but as if their inference was a hazard. "But thanks."
"We still always got your back." Jacob insists, which earns a soft nod from Jared.
"That's good of you, but you don't have to look out for me." Jared glares down at his shoes, focusing on one spot while his nose flares up. His chest rises and falls unevenly, ragged, too quickly.
"Oh Paul Lahote is looking out for you? The kid we had to pry off of you? He's not looking out for you. He got you suspended!" Jacob shakes his head, his face knotting up.
"I'm looking out for him." I finally speak up. I said it as a murmur under my breath so quietly I don't expect anyone to hear me. The wind is louder than me. Yet, the relieved look on Jared's face is evident he heard me. Jared turns around to stand his ground, narrowing them with a stern look.
"I don't expect you guys to get it. Paul's isn't bad. He's more good than mean, and no one gives him a chance. So I'm not going to stand here while you pretend you know him, no one really does." Jared states before telling me to go back to class, then storming off.