Chapter Forty-Eight

As Jared led Kim out of Sam and Emily's house, he wanted nothing more than to sweep her off her feet and rush her back to his house where they could spend the rest of the day locked away together in his room. However, he was quick to recognize several flaws with that plan.

First and foremost, it was apparently still the weekend, which meant that neither his mom nor his dad would be at work right now. And they might give him a lot of leeway with his "tribal responsibilities" but there was no way he was going to be able to sneak a girl past them and keep her presence a secret from them for the entire afternoon. Being a teenager living with his parents was a real tragedy sometimes.

Next, Kim was technically watching her sister right now. And while Jared might try to convince himself that Paul was clearly on top of taking over that responsibility and was more than welcome to take over watching Kylie so that Kim didn't have to, for all he knew Paul was going to be the person Sam sent out on patrol after eating. And he knew Kim would feel guilty about leaving Kylie to be watched over by anyone else in the pack.

And lastly, well…he loved spending time with Kim, he really did—especially since it had been a few days since they'd been able to spend a meaningful amount of time together. But…well…to be honest…Jared was hungry. The single muffin he managed to snag back at Emily's was tiding him over for now, but just barely. Clearly the best plan of action was to not go too far away from his primary food source.

And so a walk on nearby First Beach it was. Walks on the beach were romantic gestures…right?

"How are things going with the pack?" Kim asked after they'd been walking silently for a few minutes, their clasped hands swinging slightly between them.

Jared sighed. He knew she was asking about Quil, but there was no use in trying to avoid what else the pack had been dealing with since he'd last seen her.

"I think Quil is adjusting well," Jared said slowly. "And we've already gotten the chance to see how he does in tough situations…because that redheaded leech showed up again last night."

The slight tensing of Kim's hand in his was the only outward sign of distress she displayed at this news.

"She got away again?" Kim asked, her voice even.

"Yep," Jared said shortly, frowning as the events of the previous night came to the forefront of his mind. "Paul almost had her, too, but she crossed over to the Cullen's territory. We think she's figured out where the treaty line is, because she followed that boundary the whole time she was being chased."

Kim frowned slightly. "Paul can't have been happy about that."

"No…no he was not," Jared sighed. Not knowing how she would take the next bit of news, his free hand came up to run through his hair nervously. "It was actually pretty bad. Um…the Cullens were kind of also chasing her at the same time. Paul almost got into it with that big Cullen; Sam had to Alpha order him to back down."

Now it was Kim's turn to sigh, and Jared could tell that she understood what he hadn't said.

"That's why she got away," Kim shook her head. "It wasn't because she actually got away this time, it's because everyone chasing her got distracted."

"Exactly. And Sam is making us run more patrols than ever because he's determined not to let her slip away again."

"I guess school ending soon will be good for you guys, then," Kim commented. "That's one less thing taking up time in your day."

"Ugh…school," Jared groaned. "That means finals are coming up, aren't they?"

"Next week," Kim confirmed. "But every single teacher has been warning us about that since forever. You need to pay attention more," She informed him, with a nudge of her elbow into his side.

"I pay attention to you," Jared said with what he hoped was a smoldering grin but, judging by the way Kim rolled her eyes at him, was most likely not. "What more could you possibly want from me?"

By this time, they had reached First Beach and walked a significant distance in the opposite direction of the few people enjoying the cloudy Sunday afternoon on the shore. Kim made a beeline for a nearby fallen tree at the treeline and Jared didn't put up any resistance as she pulled him along after her. It was only a matter of moments before they were seated on it and Jared wrapped his arm around Kim's shoulder, pulling her firmly into his side.

"Speaking of school," She began slowly, "Is Sam going to let Quil go back anytime soon? I know there's bound to be an adjustment period, just like there was for the rest of you, but it would be a shame for him to miss out on the end of the year…what if he misses all of his finals and fails and has to repeat sophomore year?"

"The elders wouldn't let that happen," Jared waved off her concerns. "They haven't let the rest of us get kicked out of school, after all." Now it was Jared's turn to roll his eyes. "As for Quil, I don't think there's going to be much of a problem with letting him be around regular people soon. He's definitely not someone we're going to have to spend much time worrying about losing control and phasing in front of anyone; he's too…happy for that."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Kim stated, and he could easily hear the laughter in her voice.

Jared couldn't help the over-exaggerated groan he let out in response. "Quil is like an over-energetic puppy. He thinks phasing is the greatest thing since sliced bread—he literally said that: 'phasing is the greatest thing since sliced bread.' That kid is ridiculous."

"First of all, you're the same age; he's hardly a kid compared to you. Second of all, I agree with him—phasing is the greatest thing ever."

Jared gave Kim an unimpressed look. "Phasing is great, but I can definitely think of a few things that are better. For example: sleeping in is amazing. Phasing is just…eh…in comparison, these days."

Kim's lips quirked up in a half smile, and Jared only had to spend the briefest of moments trying to figure out what would bring out that expression, before she simply said, "Phasing is the reason I have you."

That brought Jared up short.

"I—" Jared began to respond, but then cut himself off. Because what could he really say to that? Because…well, she was right, wasn't she?

If Jared never phased…if the Cullens never returned to Forks to set all of this in motion…the pack wouldn't even exist right now and Jared would never have imprinted on Kim. And a world without Kim in his life…it wasn't something Jared liked to think about.

"I think sometimes it's easy to forget that even though you're being entrusted with this huge responsibility and it's some of the most tiring and plain old tough work you'll ever do, it's not all kill or be killed. Sometimes this whole phasing thing brings out some good stuff, too," Kim said. By this point, Jared had turned to face her fully. So he didn't miss the way her cheeks darkened when she continued, "At least, I think there are some good things about phasing."

"I think you're the best thing about phasing," Jared stated simply.

When Kim opened her mouth to respond, Jared rushed to continue before she could cast any doubt on his agreement with her.

"I don't know that I've ever thought of it that way before now, but that doesn't make it any less true," Jared told her earnestly. "I'm not just saying that to agree with you now."

"Do…" Kim began, then hesitated before continuing slowly, "Do you ever wonder what we would be like right now if you hadn't phased and imprinted on me?"

Jared couldn't help the frown that crept onto his face now.

"I don't like to think of a world without you in my life," Jared gave voice to his earlier thoughts. "And I don't like to think too much about 'what ifs' anyway. But…I'd like to think we would have found each other eventually. I don't think it would have been in high school…I don't want to think about how long it might have taken me to finally get my act together and notice you without imprinting. But the Spirits brought us together because we're soul mates. I don't think that would change if phasing wasn't a thing."

Kim simply stared at him for a moment. And then a wide grin split across her face and Jared released the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in anticipation of her response.

"I guess that just proves we really are soul mates," Kim stated, "Because I also don't have much faith in non-mythical-creature-related-you-and-me. Too blind and too shy."

"'Too blind,' huh?" Jared questioned, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. Very deliberately, he raked his gaze across Kim's features. He took a moment to congratulate himself on the blush that quickly spread across Kim's cheeks, to her ears, and down her neck—he'd seen just how far that blush could spread in the right circumstances.

And then he pounced.

In the blink of an eye he had Kim pinned underneath him across the fallen tree; she barely had enough reaction time to wrap her arms around his neck in surprise at the sudden movement.

"I think I might still be too blind," Jared informed her, brushing his nose gently with hers. "Do you mind if I take a closer look?"

Kim opened her mouth to reply, but whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a loud growling noise. Jared was slightly embarrassed to admit—even if only to himself—that it took him a moment to realize that the sound came from him. More specifically, his stomach.

"Hungry?" Kim questioned, her eyes clearly amused.

"Starving," Jared admitted reluctantly.

"We should probably head back, then," Kim's response was just as reluctant.

Jared sighed, shifting slightly to bury his head in the crook of Kim's neck and shoulder. "If we must…"

He felt, rather than heard, Kim's laughter. He didn't see what was so funny—this was the first time in days that he was able to spend quality time with his girlfriend, and this was how his traitorous stomach treated him?!

"I think it's a must…" Kim said slowly. "After all, it just gives you more energy for later…"

Even faster than before, Jared was up and off of Kim, this time holding his hand out to help her up as well.

"What are we waiting for, then? We've got places to be!"