Chapter 3
I got out of my car and went inside my house, it had started raining by the time I reached home. The door was unlocked so I got inside and locked. "Kim is that you?" my mom asked from the kitchen. "Yeah mom, it's me" who else would it be? I hung my raincoat and got out of my rain boots. When I entered the living room Cami was already watching TV, so I went straight to my room. I dumped my bag on my bay window and went straight to my small closet. I was shuddering because of the cold, I needed to get out of these clothes before I catch cold. I quickly changed into another pair of denim jeans and a full sleeves plain figure fitting white T- shirt.
Then I rushed downstairs, to the kitchen. Mom had already served the lunch, "Did you get wet again?" she asked me, and I shrugged and sat on my seat. It was lasagna for lunch this afternoon, I took my first bite when mom had given Cami her plate in front of the TV and sat with me lunch. "Mom, it's delicious" I complimented mom with a grin. She looked at me in amusement, "You look happy after a long time, is Jared back in school?" mom asked me, yeah mom knew about my crush on Jared. "Mom, he talked to me today, for the whole day!" I said excitedly, mom was a little taken aback by the news, it was discouraging really. "Really? He talked to you" mom was still not convinced, "Seriously mom why would you say it with such a discouraging amount of surprise" I frowned. "Kim, it not like that baby, I am so sorry, it is just that – he has never talked to you before" mom defended herself, "I know and today he was following me everywhere!" I agreed, even though it hurt to agree. "Well, maybe he finally noticed how beautiful you are" mom cooed with a huge smile.
I did not reply to that, I was not good at accepting compliments, so we ate in silence after that. After my lunch I decided to get some sleep, I was really very tired. I got under my sheets when it was raining heavily, and I fell asleep listening to the raindrops falling on my closed window. When I woke up I wasn't sure if it was night or early morning. I rolled over to check my bed side clock, it was 6 pm, so I stretched a bit and got out of my bed. I was eagerly looking forward to tomorrow morning, which when came was better than I expected, Jared waited for me in the parking lot, talked to me the whole day, at least his staring was more subtle than before. The whole week after that was spent like a fairy tale. I was really very afraid that it might break one day and it will crush my heart, I should have not let Jared get so close to me but it was too late now. I gave Jared my notebooks alternative days to let him complete his work, but he was still lagging behind, when I asked why that was happening he sighed and told me "Duty Calls." I even offered him to let me do his work, after all I had more free time on my hand than he did.
All this good time continued till Friday, I was getting late for my English class, we had to submit our assignment that day so I was taking it out from my locker. The hall was almost empty, I was so excited for this assignment, I was surely getting an A on this one, I had worked 2 weeks on this one, sacrificed my sleep for it! When I turned from my locker with my assignment in my hand, Ashley (a popular girl from our school) startled me. "Hey Kim" she said in a honey voice, "Hey Ashley" I mumbled. She had the traditional Quileute beauty, long shiny hair, beautiful skin tone, slim and curvy. "Is that your English assignment?" she asked in the same tone pointing towards my assignment, I nodded. What she did next happened quicker than I could register, she snatched it from my hand, "Hey!" I protested. "Now, don't be such a mean person Kim" Ashely told me, "What?" I asked in a brittle person. "See, you know Jared and I had a fling, well everyone knew that, but it ended long time ago, before he disappeared however, I was two steps away from getting him back, but then he disappeared and now that he is back he follows you like a lost puppy. So let's share, you can have him and I will have you A's, that is only fair you know" Ashley replied in a honeyed tone again.
I was at loss of words, tears welled up in my eyes and I knew I was too coward to fight with Ashley, so she walked away with my assignment in her hand. I sank into the ground, my back pressed against the lockers and my knees close to my chest, with my hands wrapped around my knees and I buried my face in my hands. I would never blame Jared for this, it was not his fault really, and who could stand Ashley? She was mean and rude. I didn't know how long had I sat in that position when Jared's voice startled me "Kim, are you hurt?" he was panicking again. I looked up although I knew my cheeks were covered with tears and tears were still flowing from my eyes. "Yes… No… Yes" I choked out, "What happened?" he bent down in front of me and sat there on his knees, "Ashley snatched my assignment from my hand" I started and told him everything. As soon as I was complete, his whole body started shaking terribly, his eyes were dark and cold and he was no longer the carefree happy Jared that I knew. "Jared – are you okay?" I asked in a brittle tone, he raised his hand to my cheeks but then held his hand back and dropped it to his side, "I will be back" his voice was barely audible.
He got up faster than I could process and darted to where Ashley had left, I got up behind him but froze in my place. What was he doing? Was he okay? He was shaking so terrible, like he was going to explode or something. I wrapped my arms around myself and stared dumbly at where Jared had disappeared. My English class had started long ago, and I did not have any plan to go to that class now, especially without an assignment. In a few minutes I saw Jared walking back to me, his eyes were still dark and he was still shaking as he made his way to me. He stopped a few inches away from me, "I am so sorry Kim" he said, not able to look into my eyes. "Why are you sorry?" I was confused, he handed me a pile of torn papers, I gasped when I realized it was my assignment torn into four pieces!
"I tried to reason with Ashley, but she tore your assignment into pieces before I could do anything, I am so sorry Kim" he was barely audible. "It isn't your fault Jared, thanks for trying at least" I told him, but he was still shaking and not looking into my eyes. My hands were shaking too and my heart was beating fast even in this bizarre situation, I finally managed to keep my hand on his shoulder and his eyes finally found mine, "I don't blame you" I told him truthfully, his shaking slowed down and then finally stopped and that was when I dropped my hand with a sigh. "Are you going to the class?" he mumbled, "No, I cannot go there without an assignment" I told him. I walked across the hall and threw my assignment in the dustbin, "I will see you in Biology" I told Jared without looking at him and walked away with my bag hung on my shoulder.
When the fresh air hit me, rather than feeling better I felt nauseous, how had I let Ashley ruin my perfect A? Why was I so weak? I was angry – not at Ashley but at myself. I wanted to cry but I could not cry right now, I had no reason to cry. Well, I might as well get suspended if someone saw me roaming around so I went to the sick room immediately. Ms. Hopson looked up to me from her book, she saw something in my looks which alarmed her. "Are you okay dear? Have you been crying?" she asked getting up from her seat, I nodded weakly, "I am having terrible stomach cramps" I lied, it sounded like the truth though. "Oh, Okay – lie down, I will get you some heating pads" Ms. Hopson told me. I made my way to the bed and dumped my bag near it, I removed my shoes slowly and got on the bed, and curled in a ball.
Ms. Hopson bought me a heating pad and then went back to her seat and started reading her book again. I was happy to be left alone, it was good that today was Friday, I will just go to Mrs. Mills and tell her everything that happened and tell her that she could give me an F as well, because she would definitely not give me two more weeks to complete my work so what was the point? After the hour passed in sick room, I got up from the bed and quickly wore my shoes and walked up to Ms. Hopson, "Thank you Ms. Hopson, I feel much better" I told her with a weak smile, "Eat something dear, it will help" she suggested me as I returned her the heating pad, "I will" I replied before walking out of the sick room.
Lily must be worried about me since I never showed up in English so I quickly walked to the cafeteria. She was sitting there alone on our table, when I sat with her she was startled. "Where were you?" she hissed, I sighed and narrated the whole story, "I will kill that bitch" Lily hissed again after my story, "It's okay, I don't think that would solve anything" I shrugged, "But Kim you worked so hard on the assignment, you know Jared was so silent and sad in the whole class" she told me, "I think he feels guilty" I told her, "No, it was not the guilty sad, it was the sad – sad" Lily tried to make me see the difference but it made me laugh, why would Jared be sad? "Okay, I am going to get something to eat" I told Lily, "Okay" she mumbled and went back to eat her food. I picked up cereals for today that was enough for me.
When I came back to my seat I saw Jared or Paul weren't at their table, my eyes scanned for the whole cafeteria, "Are you looking for Jared?" Lily asked, I looked at her and nodded, "He stopped to talk to Mrs. Mills" Lily told me, "Okay" I mumbled before taking a spoon full of cereals. I almost choked when out of thin air Jared appeared and sat next to me with a grin on his face "Oh my god" I breathed, "I am sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" Jared sincerely apologize but did not drop his grin. "It's okay" I assured him with a weak smile. "Kim, I have solved your problem" Jared told me happily, "What problem?" my eyebrows were creased together, "The English assignment problem, please stop worrying about it, I promise you are getting an A" Jared promised, "How?" my voice was barely audible to myself but somehow Jared had heard, "Do you trust me?" he asked seriously, a sparkle of hope in his eyes.
"Yes" it was the truth, I did trust him. He had held my gaze with his eyes and both of us were inclined towards each other when we spoke those last words. It was like his eyes were searching my soul, he looked at me with adoration, love and respect. My heart did summersaults again, but I did not drop my gaze, actually I could not drop my gaze. Lily coughed hysterically after a few seconds breaking me and Jared out of our trance. I felt the heat raise up to my cheeks again, and I looked at my table, "I will see you in the next class" Jared said awkwardly, "Yeah" I mumbled. I heard him get up and walk away from our table. I quickly shot up my head to Lily, "What was that?" she spoke every word slowly, "I don't know" I breathed, "well, it looked like you two were going to kiss" Lily squealed, it made me turn into a tomato again "Shh" I hissed, "It was nothing like that" I assured her, oh how I wish Lily was telling the truth but she wasn't.
The rest of the day was very uneventful, Jared disappeared after Biology class, and so did Paul. He hadn't returned my History notebook before he left, so I could not do my History homework today. I wondered what Jared was going to do about my English assignment. Maybe he would stick those sheets together and submit them, but I remember throwing them in the dustbin, so that wasn't a possibility, what would he really do?! I laid awake for most of the night again, thinking what had happened in past one week, my life had changed a lot! The last think I remember was that I closed my eyes remembering the first day Jared had looked at me and gasped, like he had never seen a girl like me. It wasn't possible, he had obviously seen many more beautiful girls than me, but what if he wasn't just playing a prank? What if he was really trying to be my friend? What if Jared Cameron had noticed Kim Connweller after all?
"KIM! YOUR FRIEND IS HERE!" I heard Cami shout, "KIM!" she shouted again, I groaned and looked at my bed side clock, it was 10:30, what was Lily doing here so early? "KIM!" Cami sounded annoyed now as she pounded on my door, "I am up, I will be there in 10 minutes" I told Cami, "Okay, come quickly" Cami said and I heard footsteps running away. It was really annoying how a ten year old can get on your nerves. I threw my legs off my bed, and went to my bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face before I went down to meet Lily and ask her what she was doing here so early? She would not mind my white shorts and black figure fitted but comfortable tank top, would she? Nope, she had seen me at my worse. I was glad that my hair were okay, otherwise she would make fun of me. I looked at the stairs as I rushed down to avoid tripping but when I looked up to see Lily, I froze at my place.
It was not Lily who was standing in the living room talking to my mom, it was Jared Cameron! His eyes flickered at me and then his mouth hung open at my sight, I realized what I was wearing was not decent enough for him to see. "Hey Kim" he greeted me, his eyes still ready to pop out any second, "Hey Jared" I replied awkwardly, he shook his head as if trying to shake some thought away. My mom was grinning behind him before she disappeared and left Jared and me in the living room alone, "What are you doing here?" I asked walking up to him, "I – uh – I came to return you notebook" he said straightening his hand out in which he held my notebook. I took it from his hand and said "You did not have to go out of your way to return my notebook, you could have returned it in the school" "I also wanted to see you" he told me absentmindedly, "I mean – I knew you were upset and everything so – I thought I could see if you felt better now" he corrected shutting his eyes tightly. "I am much better thank you" I replied as my heart skipped a beat. We both looked at each other without speaking a word for a long moment before he broke the silence, "I have to go now" he said with a frown, "Okay" I mumbled, "See you on Monday Kim" the way he spoke my name rang a thousand church bells and I swear I could hear the angels and cupid sing somewhere close by. "Okay Jared" I replied in my dreamy state, he gave an award winning grin before he walked out my living room and I stood there looking at where he disappeared.
"Wow" I heard my mother's voice. I quickly shut the door and turned to my mom, she was grinning and had placed her hands on her waist as she looked at me "Why didn't anyone tell me that Jared was here?" I hissed, "Cami told you right? That your friend was here?" My mom asked tilting her head to one side, "Yeah, but I thought Lily was here" I answered, "That guy came all the way to return your notebook" my mom sounded surprised, "Yeah" I sighed dreamily, "Kim, he is head over heels in love with you" my mom said in a matter-of-fact voice as she slowly nodded her head, her statement made me blush, "No, he isn't, he just wants to be my friend" I told mom before running upstairs to avoid any more of the awkward conversation.
Once behind my door, I hugged my notebook tightly to my chest as I felt my heart pounding. It isn't possible is it that Jared was head over heels in love with me? I could not help but dial Lily's number, "Hello" she said in a sleepy voice, "Lily, you will not guess what just happened" I squealed, "What happened?" she was still sleepy, "Jared came to my house!" I almost shouted out of excitement. "What?!" she was up now, "Tell me every freaking detail" she continued, "Okay, so I was sleeping and Cami said that a friend is here for me, I thought it was you so I went downstairs and saw Jared Cameron standing in my living room talking to my mother, and the way his mouth hung open, Lily I was not hallucinating, he came here to return me my History notebook and then he said he also came here to see me since I was upset yesterday" I told her in one breathe, "Did you brush your teeth before meeting him?" Lily asked me seriously, "Yes, I also washed my face thankfully" I told her as I nodded my head, "What are you wearing?" she asked, "My white shorts and black tank top" I told her quickly, "The loose one?" she enquired, "No" I snorted, "I threw that one away long time ago, the figure fitting, that keeps me warm, and is still without sleeves" I told her slowly as I tried to make her remember, "you mean you were looking hot" she stated, making me blush again.
"Lily, this really happened!" I breathed, "I think Jared likes you Kimmy" Lily said seriously, "I don't think so, I mean it has been only a week since we started talking, how can he just start liking me all of a sudden?" I reasoned with her, "Well, I don't know about that, but I see it in his eyes" Lily sighed as if she was remembering something, "Thanks for listening to me Lily" I told her genuinely, "C'mon, you are my best friend, I will always listen to you, and this was a serious matter" she told me. We talked a few more minutes and then hung up, I finally went downstairs and ate my breakfast in silence. What an amazing start to my day, and as expected, since Jared's face was the first face I saw when I woke up in the morning, my rest of the day went amazing!
A/N: Hey Readers,
Thank you so much for such amazing responses on my FF. I need to tell you that I am going to keep the Twilight timeline as it is in my story, and I hope I am doing justice to my characters. Please keep sending me your opinions, they mean the world to me. Also, I want to clear this out that English is not my first language so please forgive me for my mistakes, I am trying my level best here. Thank you guys, don't forget to leave me a review and hit the favourite or follow button if you like the story. :D
-JT
