Chapter Thirty-Four
October
"You two are really creepy, you know that, right?"
Jared immediately turned with a huge grin across his face at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. Then he actually processed what she said and he frowned.
"We aren't creepy," Jared proclaimed. "Well," he immediately back-tracked, "Maybe Paul is…"
"Dude," Paul protested, finally turning to join in the conversation, "You sleep under Kim's window as a wolf most of the time when you don't have your little sleepovers. I'm pretty sure that makes you a hell of a lot creepier than me."
And then he promptly went back to staring intently across the cafeteria.
"You sleep under my window sometimes?" Kim questioned in surprise.
Well damn. He'd wanted that to stay a secret.
"Thanks for that," Jared muttered to Paul. "I'm so glad things that get seen in the pack mind stay in the pack mind."
"I thought you were okay with not sleeping over as much?" Kim questioned now, dropping into the empty seat beside Jared.
Jared sighed heavily. This was a conversation he wanted to avoid, because he knew Kim would probably get upset—or, even worse, offended—and that was always a situation he liked to avoid. There was no way around it now, though.
"I said that I understood why you wanted less frequent sleepovers—I guess I can be a heavy sleeper at times," Jared resolutely ignored Paul and Kim's twin disbelieving snorts of laughter. "But I never said I was okay with it. There isn't really a situation where I'm okay with spending any amount of leach-free time away from you."
"That's actually really sweet," Kim said with a small smile. And then, in a move he probably should have seen coming with his supernatural reflexes, she smacked his arm with the pile of textbooks and homework she was holding. "Next time just come inside. I'd rather chance getting caught by my mom than have you sleep outside in the rain. Boys. Honestly," She muttered the last bit in exasperation to herself. Then she shook her head and refocused her attention back on Jared. "But like I was saying before, you two are being incredibly creepy right now."
"What? Why?" Jared questioned in confusion.
"Jared," Kim began slowly, "We are in the middle of the school cafeteria."
"Yeah…" Jared agreed just as slowly. This wasn't news to him. Lunch time was basically his favorite part of the day because it combined his two favorite things: food and Kim. Hmm…but maybe he should stop listing them in that order…
"And I know that Sam is worried about certain others phasing, even though…" she paused briefly to look around and make sure no one was listening in. They weren't, of course. It would actually be pretty impressive if anyone was eavesdropping, actually, seeing as the thereof them were sitting at a secluded corner table and the other tables in their immediate vicinity were very much deserted due to the wariness the rest of the school exhibited toward the two pack members. "Even though the Cullens are gone. But is the school cafeteria really the place to have a stare-down with them? It really isn't going to help all of those rumors going around now about you two being in Sam's gang."
"Who gives a shit?" Paul retorted before Jared could say anything. "They're all going to gossip anyway, even though none of it is going to come anywhere close to the truth: that we are the way we are now to protect all of their asses. Trying to be subtle won't help shit."
Jared barely contained a sigh as Kim glared reproachfully at Paul for his language. Having Kylie around helped, but Paul was still going to be, well, Paul. There was no changing that. Well…maybe an imprint…but no, it was no use suggesting something that very likely wouldn't happen.
"He's right, you know," Jared stated softly, drawing Kim's attention back to him. "An asshole, yes, but also right. Sam gave us orders to watch out for Jacob and Quil, just in case, and people are going to gossip about us either way. So long as we avoid confrontation, being obvious about what we're doing is the most straightforward way to go about things."
"I suppose that makes sense," Kim admitted reluctantly. She seemed to hesitate for a brief moment as if she already knew the answer to her next question, then asked, "What happens if one day you can't avoid confrontation?"
Again, Paul spoke up before Jared got the chance.
"Then the pack secret won't be much of a secret anymore."
November
Jared was glad that Emily and Kim were friends. Really, he was. As much as he loved her (which was quite a lot), it was good that she had at least a bit of a life outside of their relationship.
Except when their 'girls day' meant that Emily left behind a grocery list for Sam, who then forced Paul and Jared to come grocery shopping with him because they were "eating him out of house and home anyway, so you can just suck it up and help carry some bags because otherwise there won't be enough food to last the night." Grocery shopping was pretty high up on Jared's mental list of things he would rather not be doing (just under 'not spend time with Kim' in fact, which made this whole outing even more worse, in his opinion). It was just cruel and unusual punishment, in his opinion. There was so much temptation surrounding him on every single shelf, and so little money in his pockets with which to give in to that temptation.
In short, grocery shopping sucked.
"How long do you think it will take for those three to run away after they notice us here?" Paul suddenly questioned under his breath, nodding his head down the aisle.
Jared looked where Paul was indicating and barely contained his eye roll. Figures. At the end of the aisle, standing around the small selection of candy the rez grocery store had to offer, were none other than Jacob Black, Quil Ateara, and their other friend, Embry Call.
"Probably as soon as Sam speaks to them," Jared muttered back, noting Sam's change in posture as he very clearly noticed their two most-likely future pack-mates.
Sure enough, after some very awkward greetings and an inquiry after Jacob's dad and Quil's grandpa from Sam, the three boys hastily made their excuses and left the store.
"No worries," Jared clapped his Alpha on the shoulder once the three boys were gone, "I find you just as terrifying. So, are we done here, yet? Because if we stay in here much longer, I'm going to have to add those cheese balls to the cart, no matter what Emily's list says."
Sam merely rolled his eyes. "You need to stop thinking with your stomach so much."
"I am a growing boy and I need my food," Jared retorted as they made their way up to the cashier.
Checking out was as speedy of a process as Jared could hope for, considering the amount of food they were purchasing. When they finally made it back out to the parking lot, however, he found an entirely new reason to wish that it could have gone just a bit faster.
"Look, man," The unmistakable sound of Jacob Black's voice easily met the ears of the three wolves from around the corner of the store, "We said we aren't interested."
As one, all three wolves came to a sudden halt, halfway between the grocery store and Sam's truck. Jared's nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply.
"Do you smell that?" He questioned.
Paul frowned. "It smells like—"
But he couldn't finish because suddenly Sam was off, sprinting to where raised voices were now easily discernible. In a flash, Jared and Paul were off after him.
They found him just behind the grocery store, and caught up to him just as Sam was wrapping one hand around the neck of an unfamiliar-looking man and pinning him against the brick wall. Jacob, Quil, and Embry were all scattered in a loose semi-circle behind Sam. A small plastic bag almost went unnoticed by Jared at the feet of the stranger, but the white powder in it made Jared's nose twitch again.
"What's your problem, man?" The stranger demanded…well, it came out as more of a wheeze due to the chokehold Sam had on his neck.
"Your kind isn't welcome here," Sam ground out.
Quil, Jacob, and Embry all looked slightly terrified now, Jared contemplated as he stepped up to flank Sam on his right side. If only they knew it was because he was fighting the urge to phase into a giant wolf that the sudden surge of anger caused.
"I was just minding my own—" The man choked out, but Sam cut him off.
"Bullshit," he bit out sharply. "I know exactly who you are and what you're here for. I've heard about your dealings up on the Makah rez. These kids aren't interested and no one else in La Push is either."
"You can't make me—"
Sam gave the briefest twitch of his fingers and the man's already red face began to purple.
"My friends and I—" Sam nodded his head to indicated Jared and Paul on either side of him "—are happy to escort you off the rez. And we'll make sure to keep an eye out in case you ever…forget you're not welcome here."
Sam released his grip on the man's neck now, but he barely had a moment to catch his breath before Paul and Jared each grabbed an arm and began dragging the drug dealer away.
As they were rounding the corner of the grocery store again, Jared easily made out the murmur of one of the three boys still standing back there.
"This doesn't mean they're not in a gang."
December
Jared glanced over at the passenger seat for the third time in as many minutes, only to see Kim still staring resolutely at the plastic container in her lap, her brow furrowed in contemplation. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at the sight. She really was completely adorable when she worried.
Speaking of worry…three…two…one…
"Are you sure, though?" Kim questioned.
"Pretty sure, yeah," Jared replied, a reassurance he was giving not for the first time in their short car ride.
"'Pretty' sure?!" Kim exclaimed suddenly enough that Jared actually jumped in surprise. Alright, so how shrill her voice could get when she worried definitely wasn't what he would call adorable. "Jared! You have to be completely sure! This is a life or death situation! It's not too late yet; we can still turn around and go back—"
"Kim," Jared cut her off as he pulled to a stop and put the car in park. "First of all, no, we can't go back because we're here. And second, I am completely sure that you made enough cookies."
"But I only made—" Kim tried to protest, only for Jared to cut her off again.
"You made four dozen cookies, babe," Jared stated, turning the key to switch off the car before he turned fully in his seat to face Kim. "That means a dozen for each of the three of us and then another dozen for you and Emily to split, plus whatever else Emily has spent the day baking up."
Kim sighed. "I know. But it's our first Christmas together and I just want everything to be perfect."
"And having hundreds of cookies at the pack Christmas party falls under the category of 'perfect'?" Jared couldn't resist teasing.
"Shut up," Kim retorted instantly, trying and failing to hold back her grin. "When you put it like that, I just sound ridiculous."
"But have I told you how beautiful you are today?" Jared questioned earnestly.
"And now you're being a suck up," Kim told him, finally removing her seatbelt and opening the car door. "Come on, we're late because you drive like the old man you are."
"Hey!" Jared protested as he scrambled to get out of the car, "One year does not make me old!"
As Jared predicted, four dozen cookies was, in fact, more than enough of a contribution to the pack Christmas party. This was especially true since Emily had, predictably, well, he didn't want to say she went overboard with her cooking…but after five platefuls of food, even Jared was starting to feel a bit full. And there was still plenty left to eat.
Jared was quite certain this was what heaven must be like.
Just then, Kim snuggled deeper into his embrace where they were sitting together on Sam and Emily's couch.
"I don't think I've ever eaten so much in my entire life," She moaned into his chest. "I'm never going to be able to move again."
Correction: This was heaven.
"Can I have everyone's attention, please?"
Sam's voice distracted Jared from his contented thoughts and he shifted his head minutely so that he was facing his Alpha now. Sam was sitting on the arm of the other couch, his arm wrapped around Emily's shoulder as she leaned against him from her seat on the couch. Jared grinned at the sight.
More than a week ago he had phased in to take over Sam's patrol and gotten a brief peek into the other man's normally strictly-controlled unfiltered thoughts. He had a feeling he knew what was coming…
"Em and I have an announcement to make," Sam said, a wide grin spreading across his face. Emily wore a matching one.
"We're getting married!" Emily exclaimed jubilantly.
"We wanted you guys to be the first to know," Sam continued, glancing down to share a loving look with Emily as Paul and Jared wolf-whistled.
Almost immediately, Kim was up and out of Jared's arms, re-settling herself on the other couch beside Emily, offering her congratulations and gushing with the other girl over the ring she wore on her left hand. Jared continued to grin as he stood up now to offer his own congratulations to Sam.
Life really was perfect.
January
"I love this part," Kim sighed happily.
"I know," Jared replied, amusement lacing his tone. "You mention that every time we watch this movie."
They were currently seated in the family room of the Connweller house, snuggled together on the couch in front of the TV where, at Kim's request, one of her all-time favorite movies was playing. Kim chose that moment to tilt her head up and frown petulantly at him.
"Jared, this is only the second time we've watched this together," She stated. "That's much too soon to make fun of me for thinking we are about to hear what is, by far, no matter what you think, the greatest presidential speech in cinematic history."
"He's talking about an alien invasion."
"You're a boy," Kim poked his side for emphasis (which, for the record, he only actually noticed because he was looking when she did it, but she probably didn't need to be clued into that fact, even though it would probably get her even more riled up, and there really wasn't anything cuter than an extremely riled up Kim, in Jared's opinion, anyway, but he really digressed now). "You're supposed to like movies about alien invasions."
Now Jared frowned down at her, that teasing glint still in his eyes. "Weren't you lecturing me just yesterday about gender stereotypes?"
"You're impossible," Kim informed him staunchly.
"Impossibly in love with you!" Jared declared.
"Impossibly cheesy, more like," Kim retorted with a grin. "But I guess I love you, too, anyway."
"You guess? You guess?!" Jared demanded. "Oh, no, you didn't!"
And in the next moment, Jared had Kim pinned underneath him on the couch while he tickled her mercilessly (an act of retaliation whose choosing had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it meant he was now straddling his girlfriend as she wriggled underneath him attempting, in between bouts of laughter, to free herself from his crutches; nope, it was a total coincidence that this was the situation he'd just put them in). And, being the loving boyfriend he was, he refused to back down until she admitted there was no guessing about it. Until, that is, a sudden panicked howl rang out from somewhere in the La Push area, easily reaching his ears from wherever it came from due to his wolf senses.
Immediately, Jared froze at the sound, his sense on high alert. That wasn't the alert howl they were supposed to use for vampires, but the unmistakable panic to it had Jared worried. Of course, now that he thought about it, nothing about the howl sounded familiar.
"Jared?" Kim's voice broke Jared from his thoughts. He looked down to see her staring up at him in concern, even as her chest still heaved lightly from her laughter moments before. "What's wrong?"
"I have to go," Jared said suddenly, pushing off of the couch (and Kim, unfortunately) and standing up. "I—I don't know what's wrong. I have to go," he repeated swiftly, before spinning on his heel and making his way for the door.
Two steps away from the couch and he realized what he had just done. Looking back over his shoulder, Kim was still lying on the couch, an expression that was a mixture of concern and confusion etched across his face. In a flash, he was kneeling back beside the couch, face-to-face with his girlfriend. He briefly captured her lips with his before resting his forehead against hers.
"I'll call you as soon as I know what's going on," he promised, "I love you."
And then, taking full advantage of his wolf-heightened speed, he was back on his feet and out of the front door before Kim could reply.