O! I Forgot to say earlier, (as it was 6 in the frickin morning...) Kai won't be losing herself and become a baby machine, I actually like Kai, im not about to do that o.o
We had dinner while I filled out paperwork, and slept together in the most literal sense of the word. No funny business, just literally talking about about our lives, where we grew up, funniest fuck-up etc... I laughed more that evening than I had in years. I was getting more and more comfortable around him, he made it easy.
I woke up the next morning and slipped out of bed quietly enough. He had his arm wrapped around my waist but sliding down the bed and standing up worked out well for me. Even the floorboards were in my favour, none creaked.
I closed the door quietly and I passed by the doors on my way to the kitchen. They left there from yesterday behind my couch. I looked at the clock, it read out 9:22 AM and I looked back at the doors. TIME TO HAVE MY PRIVACY BACK.
I'd gotten the metal hinges screwed in on the door after a bunch of measuring and pencil marks. Thank goodness this was a dark wood, otherwise I'd have to find an eraser. I stood up and looked between the door and the frame, thinking of the best way to lift it and set the hinges in the holes. I leaned down and gripped it from the sides and deftly swung it, trying to not fall over and wake up Sam.
"Kai, what are you doing?" Sam's voice sounded from next to me and I jumped. The man was silent as hell and he scared me. I almost dropped the door but he held it up from one side, looking down at me with a raised brow. Fuck his wolf strength. THAT WAS HARD WORK TO LIFT IT AND HE DID IT BY A FRIGGIN CORNER.
"What does it look like?" I asked sassily and stuck my hands on my hips. He cracked a smile as he took in my posture.
"Okay, better question, why didn't you wait until I was awake?" He moved me over gently and turned his head to look at me as he set it down in the frame. I glared at him and the door.
"I wanted to do it." I said miffed that he'd swooped in and stolen my thunder in the project. He rolled his eyes and picked it back off the hinges, handing it out to me to take.
"You already did it, the thunder is gone, Sam." I said flatly, I was pouting and I knew it was silly but god dammit. I was excited to do that. He sighed and put the door back on the frame as I started down the stairs. He went to the kitchen as I turned the TV on and there was a knock on the door. It was quick and I looked at Sam confused. He shook his head and went to the door before I could get to it.
"What do you two want?" He asked gruffly and crossed his arms as he leaned on the frame, staring down at them.
"Food." It was Jared and Paul and I paled. If this was going to be a normal thing the food bills were going to be through the roof.
"Fine, but you two are going to have to pay for it next time you eat here. You eat like a friggin' army." I said as I peeked around Sam's head. They grinned.
"You didn't tell her?" Jared asked curiously, looking between us and I turned to Sam. What exactly was he supposed to tell me?
"Oh yeah. The tribe pays for food bills, babe. Sometimes part of the electric and water if we have money left from the groceries that month." Sam said with a sheepish grin.
"The tribe pays for your food?" I asked with raised brows as we moved from the doorway and let them in. I mean, I knew there were fees from the events put on by the tribal council, the bonfires, barbeques, surfing and cliff diving competitions being a few, but now it made so much more sense of why.
"Yeah. We have a budget commitee for it, well I mean we have old Quil." Sam nodded and then shrugged. I shrugged too, well thank god for that. They'd eat me out of house and home.
"Hows pancakes and bacon sound?" I called out as I went to the kitchen and started going through the cupboards for the mix and the rest of the ingredients. They followed me in, talking amongst each other and slapping Sam on the back.
"Great." They said and I turned around, giving them a sweet smile as I turned on the stove and put everything on the counter. I looked up at the clock it read out 11 AM, I had to get a move on if I was going to make it to the center on time.
"Great! Theres everything, the stoves on, follow the instructions on the box and don't burn down my house! Bye!" I said merrily and Jared and Paul paused, staring at me with a open mouth as Sam smirked. He wasn't going to be cooking, he'd make them do it.
"You heard the woman, start cookin'." Sam sat down, still only wearing a pair of sweatpants as I ran up the stairs and they disappeared out of sight. There were a chorus of 'COME ON MAN's' and a 'Thats so wrong. you're alphaing us into cooking for you.' I giggled at the complaints and went into my room, rifling through drawers for clothes.
"JARED. THATS NOT HOW YOU FLIP IT." I could hear Paul yelling as I finished curling my hair and went down the stairs. I peeked around the corner to see Sam washing dishes while Paul and Jared smacked each other with two spatulas covered in pancake mix. I snuck up and stole the top three pancakes off the plate, it was only 11:15AM. Awesome time skills, Kai. Thank you, Kai.
"NO. NOT FOR YOU, KAI." Paul turned and yelled at me while I shrugged. He was such an angry munchkin.
"She needs lunch, Paul." Sam said from behind me and I watched as Paul just glared at me and the pancakes I was sticking in a ziplock bag. Not the most nutritious but it'd work. I backed away slowly when an arm wrapped itself around my waist and pulled me gently back towards its owner. Paul made eye contact with Sam and rolled his eyes, turning back to his pan. Jared was snickering as he flipped another pancake then pouted when it splattered across his pan.
"Theres talk of a stranger coming onto the reservation. He's an english major working on his thesis. It's focused on native american mythology and tribal legends. We're looking for a place for him to stay. Any ideas?" Sam was speaking to me and I wasn't sure why he was about the tribal council's ideas and plans. I shrugged and thought back, I had a spare bedroom open now that I was living here alone. I could clear out the remainders of my mother's clothes and ship them back to her.
"Oh! He could stay with me. I have the spare bedroom and you guys are over here anyways so you can keep an eye on him! Please Sam?" I decided I wanted this person to stay with me, I was hoping it'd bring in some extra income as I was working minimum wage at the community center. Plus no one here was very welcoming of the 'pale faces', if you were from a reservation it was fine. If not, you weren't treated nearly as nicely by the locals. No one stopped to say hello, or helped you carry anything.
"I don't like that idea, Kai." He said quietly and I rolled my eyes at the protective qualities coming out in his voice.
"Sam. If he has no other place, he's staying with me. I need the extra income anyways." I remembered that I could command him at least on some level so I tried to get all the commanding qualities into my voice as I turned around and looked up at him.
"Fine. I'll talk to Billy." He narrowed his eyes, he knew what I was doing and apparently so did Paul and Jared.
"OOO. WHIPPED." Jared yelled out laughing as he high fived Paul. I rolled my eyes and kissed Sam softly on the cheek. He cracked into a small smile as I waved bye. I ran out the door and hopped into my car, cranking up the heating and humming to myself as I pulled out and went to the center.
I'd been assigned to the arts and crafts room, at this time of the day it was mostly toddlers. They'd leave when five o'clock hit and their parents came for them, then came the teenagers and school kids.
The toddlers were fine, you let them run themselves out through colouring and paper mache, just make sure they didn't eat anything. I'd been asked by 3 kids so far to go to the bathroom. Emily, Lee, and Anna, I think were their names.
I was a new person and while some welcomed me, those three did not. They were quiet, scared, and unsure of me so I was all smiles and soft voices. The guy I'd been partnered with for today focused mainly on feeding them, his name was James Michaels. He was nice enough to me, just quiet, which suited me fine. I was nibbling on the pancakes I'd brought in when the really shy one, Emily kept inching closer and closer, looking at my pancake.
"Emily? Would you like a bite?" I sighed and kneeled down to her level, ripping off a piece and handing it to her. She nodded shyly and inched closer, taking a nibble out of the piece I ripped off. She hugged my hand and ran back off to the glitter table. I sat back down in the chairs next to James.
"That was adorable." He remarked with a smile, looking at me.
"She kept inching closer, it was creepy. It was like she was stalking my food." I responded with a grin, I'd work on this guy. He and I were going to be friends by the end of the day, I swear to god. He reflected my expression and let out a chuckle.
"A lot of the kids will do that till they get used to you being here." He said, looking back at the room, he actually had one in his lap anyways, filling in the colouring book he had brought from home. I think the child's name was Peter.
I looked around the room, taking stock of who was where and what they were doing. They had little groups all mashed together, three girls were quietly colouring and sketching while two boys were having a finger painting fight on paper thankfully. All the colours and materials were non-toxic and washable simply because we had kids in here. Crayola was our close companion.
"Oh yeah? You have any great first day stories?" I leaned on the table that was between us and he raised a brow, nodding slowly.
"Well tell me then!" I said with a smile and watched as he began to relax. His shoulders unlocked and he shifted a little, getting more comfortable in his seat before telling me the story. He was basically attacked by toddlers with markers, glue and glitter. All thanks to his partner for the shift telling them that they should play with him because he might be lonely. I was laughing pretty hard as he got to the part about the glitter. The little boy in his lap abruptly ripped out a piece of paper from the book and hopped down, walking over to me. Both James and I watched him curiously
"For you, Ms Kay." Peter said shyly and had the piece of paper inside his curled fist. He looked worried so I took it with a smile, he smiled back after. He wasn't quite good at the name game yet but I had a feeling he'd figure it out at some point.
"Thank you, Peter. Its pretty." I said as I looked at it, it was half torn but I think used to be a cat that was coloured green and purple. He grinned back at James who gave him a thumbs up.
It was time for the kiddies to go home, five o'clock came by fast and it wasn't surprising that most of the teens and below weren't stepping foot in the art room. It was full of kids. Sometimes a sibling would come in and hand us their lunch or dinner and we'd drop it in the fridge until the child would get hungry.
"Peter Green, Arts and Crafts room. Your mother is here." As the kids were called up, one partner would go with the child, it was a hand off and this time it was my turn. I stood up and looked for Peter, he came skipping out of the group of boys with finger paints and went to hold my hand. His was wet and sticky with the paint and I cringed. James laughed as he took in my face, getting the kids dressed up with jackets and boots.
We walked the hallway in quiet. I wasn't a big talker in the first place and I wasn't sure what to say to the 4 year old. I pushed open the doors to the waiting room and watched the madness inside. Parents were with kids, some yelling, some crying, some just waiting in line at the receptionist's desk to be signed out. Peter let go of my hand and worried for a second until I watched him run into a brown haired woman's arms. She gave me a smile and I gave a thumbs up.
I went back inside to the kitchen, there were a couple of long haired teenage guys sitting around a table in there, drinking soda. They looked about 16 and above, the talking stopped as I came in. We made awkward eye contact for a few seconds as I turned around to grab a glass and fill it with water from the tap. It was filled and I turned to walk back out when one of them spoke to me.
"Hey! You're the new girl, right?" His voice was deep but friendly, he was interested. I turned back around and nodded.
"I'm Kai Waters. Just moved back here." I said as I looked at him, curious. He nodded and smiled.
"Jacob Black, Embry Call and Quil Ateara." He responded to my introduction with his own and his friends. He was definitely the more forward one as the rest looked rather off putted by the situation. I recognized the names as the tribal council's sons or grandsons.
"Awesome, well I have to get back to supervising." I said with a raise of my water glass as I turned to dump it out in the sink.
"Where at?" Jacob asked and I raised a brow.
"Arts and Crafts center." I responded blankly, smirking at the look he made after. He wasn't so sure about going in there with all the kids.
"Well maybe we'll come by later, after the energizer bunnies have gone home." He said with a wink and I rolled my eyes, smiling at his joke. He meant after the kids had all been picked up. I gave a thumbs up and left, going across the hall to the arts and crafts area.
I opened the door and closed it, there was someone else in the room. I could see them out of the corner of my eye. I looked up, Sam was here...talking with James. What the hell. It was like he heard me because as I thought that, he looked up and zeroed in on me. He cracked into a grin and waved at me, James turned around and gave me a small smile, still shy.
"Hey Sam, what brings you to the arts and crafts room?" I said awkwardly as I took in his appearance. He had on a t-shirt that should have been loose but was stretched across his chest like paint. He needs bigger clothes, the man was a frickin giant.
"Oh, you two know each other?" James asked curiously, looking between us. Sam grinned and I nodded slightly. I wasn't sure how to act in public with him, I was hoping he'd know what to do because I didn't.
"You could say that." I said looking at Sam for reassurance, he rolled his eyes and pulled me closer to him via my hand. It just so happened that was the paint hand.
"Is that finger paint?" Sam asked incredulously. He held up our hands, still not letting go and I broke into giggles and nodded.
"Peter was finger painting when she took him outside." James supplied quietly, taking in our hands. Sam nodded understandingly.
"So why are you here on your week off, Sam?" James got back on subject, trying to ignore the third wheel he was in. I frowned at this and tried to take my hand back but he wasn't having any of that.
"Kai, actually. You only grabbed lunch so I made some rice and chicken and came here to bring you some." He said to James then turned his head to speak to me, I nodded.
"Well, James, you feel like eating rice and chicken with us?" I asked and motioned to the table next to us.
He nodded and sat down. I refused to sit in Sam's lap and make it even more awkward for James so I pulled up one of the neon coloured plastic kid's chairs. Sam sat down next to me and opened the container, hiding a smile at my sitting position. I noticed he only brought two forks and apparently James noticed too as he started to get up, I held up a hand same time Sam did.
"Its fine, man. We can use one fork and you use the other." Sam said and I lowered my hand, nodding. James looked between the two of us carefully and sat back down. Sam handed him the smaller container then leaned down into the bag and grabbed the much larger one.
I waited for the look of shock to pass James's face but he just started eating. Oh yeah, Sam worked here too. I guess this was a normal thing for him. Conversation passed easily between the three of us, with Sam grinning and laughing every joke or two. Around 9:30 he left taking Peter's drawing with him, James and I started to clean up the art room, apparently Jacob and his crew never came in. Or if they did, I didn't see them.
"So I'm not sure when you two got together but I don't think I've ever seen Sam laugh that much in a week as he did in the past two hours." James remarked quietly as he stacked all the papers back together in the corner. I paused and shrugged.
"He does that a lot around me." I said softly, not looking at James. I was focused on wiping the mess of glitter off the table and into the trashcan. He'd been dropping little comments like that around me, trying to get information out of me. I was refusing, shutting down every little interrogation.
"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" He stopped stacking papers and turned to look at me, I looked up and grinned. No, I wasn't going to make this easy at all. He sighed at my look and began to help me pull the trash can outside to be picked up by the cleaning staff.
"So do we just go home now that its all done?" I asked curiously, looking at James. He was pulling on his jacket and shoes.
"Yeah, its all done. Good job on your first day, Kai." He said with a congratulatory pat on the back as he walked past me. I grinned as he left and waved. He waved back and the door shut behind him. I was alone in the hallway.
Time to head home.
AND END SCENE.
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