AN: If you guys are interested, the scene towards the end of this chapter is what made me pick Marshmello ft. Bastille - Happier as the theme song for this fic, so it makes awesome background music to this chapter :D

Chapter Six

Imprint

Jared was sure that he had done the right thing. So what if he still thought about his best friend when he was lying in bed alone? So what if Paul's scent had become near intoxicating after the shift? So what if despite his words, the lingering looks were still there… So what if he was completely in love with Paul Lahote? Jared didn't have much experience with love. It seemed like more of a thing women were into. Sure, he loved his mother, and on some level, had always loved Paul as a brother, but this was… this was painful. It was like every fiber of his being was drawing him to Paul. It wasn't an imprint – Jared wasn't that lucky. He had hoped for it, if only secretly. However, when Jared looked into Paul's eyes that day in the locker room, all he saw was the pain and confusion he had caused. It was terrifying to think that one day either of them could imprint and that would all be ripped away. As horrible as the pain was at times, it was the only thing remaining that proved to Jared that it was real… that they had been real.

He asked Sam to order him not to think of it when phased. He complied, but not without sighing and muttering something about stubborn wolves. They did their best to not let what had happened change them. They played video games and joked around, but there was always an underlying sadness. It became easier when Embry joined the pack, and easier still when Jacob and Quil followed soon after. It was like having several buffers between them. Jared took solace in knowing that none of the younger pack members suspected anything. It gave him the strength to keep it together.

He pretended to rip on Paul about all the women he's slept with, along with the guys. 'The man whore of La Push'. Just like Paul pretended to enjoy the title, despite the fact that Jared was sure it was too close of a comparison to his father than Paul would have liked. He pretended to not be bothered when Paul showed up to patrol dead on his feet, smelling of rose perfume and sex. He pretended to be tired so he could leave Sam's early that day. And he pretended he wasn't crying as his mother held him in the safety of his bedroom that still carried Paul's scent.

Over the months that followed, they fell into a routine. They were never the only two in a room, and there were no more sleepovers unless they both just happened to pass out at Sam's. There were no more unnecessary touches, and the lingering looks had stopped. It was easier – Jared realized – if he just avoided looking at Paul all together. Paul ran night patrols – he had volunteered for them. Jared suspected it was so that they were never actually running at the same time. Sam worried about them. He could hear it in his alpha's mind when it was just the two of them that ran. Paul had lost weight and was always angry. Jared hardly slept and had failed one of his finals – which meant he'd have to make up the class over the summer.

It was on the first day of summer school that things began to look up for Jared. He hadn't thought anything of it when Kim had asked to borrow a pencil. He knew her, of course – well, he knew of her. She had always just kind of been there. It wasn't until after his shift that he heard the way she giggled his name and stared at the side of his head when she didn't think he was looking. She was sweet and shy, so he never acknowledged it, not wanting to embarrass her. It wasn't until he handed her a pencil that he caught her eyes for the first time… and everything shifted.

The others congratulated him on his imprint. Emily squealed and demanded Kim be brought by as soon as possible. Paul… Paul mumbled something about patrol and hardly made it to the grass before ripping out of his clothes. Only Jared and Sam seemed to notice. Per Emily's request, Jared brought Kim by, effectively driving the wedge between him and Paul even deeper. When Jared told Kim the truth, she took it in stride, going as far as to kiss Jared without warning. It should have been amazing – she was his soulmate… But if that was the case, why did it feel wrong?

It terrified Jared to think that something was wrong with him on a fundamental level. He already turned into a giant wolf, he didn't need to be a broken one on top of that. He saw in Sam's mind how he constantly thought of Emily. He would do anything for her. Although Jared loved Kim, it wasn't in the way Sam loved Emily. He loved Kim like she was his best friend. He loved her in a way that indescribable. But in the back of his mind, Jared knew that he was still very much in love with Paul… and that terrified him. It terrified him so much, he played the part he was supposed to. He took Kim on dates and allowed her to sit on his lap. He kissed her goodnight when he walked her home and introduced her to his mother. He did everything but love her the way he was supposed to.

This went on for a month before Jared's guilt started to weigh on him. "My imprint is broken." He spoke to Sam in a hushed voice. It was the first time he had gotten his alpha alone in weeks.

Sam paused, brow furrowing as he looked up from one of his car magazines. "What do you mean your imprint is broken? Did something happen to Kim?" He could hear the edge in Sam's voice. Imprints were, after all, part of the pack.

"No, Kim is fine, it's me." Jared took a deep breath. How much longer could he pretend? Kim was already talking about giving Jared her virginity, and he couldn't do it – not when he was lying to everyone. "Sam… I… I'm not in love with Kim." He breathed, watching the shock play out over his alpha's face. "I tried to be, and I do love her. But it's not like you and Em. I don't feel pain when I'm away from her… I don't feel the need to protect her from any guy that looks at her… I just… I'm still in love with Paul." It was the first time Jared had said those words out loud. He expected it to be a load off, but it wasn't, not when he and his best friend hardly talked anymore.

Sam's eyes shifted to the door as the sounds of Embry and Quil approaching reached their ears. "Just… keep this to yourself for now. We'll talk to the council later this week. I don't want the rest of the guys feeling like they have a say in any of this."

So when everyone joined at Sam's for dinner, Jared slipped back into pretending. He held Kim on his lap, telling her how pretty her skin looked when she wore pink. It was after all, the truth. Her giggle was short-lived, dropping as the back door slammed behind Paul. Frowning, Kim turned to look at Jared. "He doesn't like me, does he?" Her voice was small, and it hurt Jared to know that she was upset. Because at the end of the day, she was still his imprint.

"I'll talk to him." Jared gave her a squeeze, kissing her temple before following the path Paul had taken. He didn't have to go far, finding a tense Paul pacing just inside the tree line. "Yo, man!" Jared called, jogging the few steps between them to close the gap. "You alright? You seem off." Paul's temper had always been a problem, but lately it had been even worse.

"I'm fine." Paul's voice rumbled out in a growl. It would have bothered Jared if he wasn't so used to it at this point. He missed the days when they could just talk. He missed the way Paul would whisper his name in a tone reserved just for him. "Just go back to your perfect-fucking-imprint."

Annoyance flooded Jared as he frowned. It was no secret that the others – excluding Sam – were not fans of imprinting. Jared wasn't too thrilled about it, himself, but Kim was upset, and despite everything, Jared wanted to protect her. "Dude, what do you have against Kim? She's like the sweetest girl ever. She knows you don't like her and it upsets her. That's not cool, man." He frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Did I do something to piss you off?"

Paul's laugh was short and cold as his onyx eyes caught Jared's. "No. Of course not. I probably just made the whole fucking thing up!"

Made wh- oh… With a shaky breath, Jared's arms fell to his side. He thought that Paul had moved on. He had been sleeping with a new woman every week. As horrible as it was, Jared found himself happy that Paul was upset over the imprint. It meant that a part of him – no matter how small – still felt the same way. "Paul… you know I… I didn't have any control over the imprint. If I hadn't… I don't know, man… maybe things would have been like they were before, but we never really talked about it, you know? We avoided talking about it." Even if Kim hadn't come along, would anything be different between them? Paul was always too afraid of what people would think, and Jared was always scared to push Paul too far and lose him forever… maybe that happened anyway.

"What was I supposed to say, Jare?" The familiar nickname sent chills down Jared's spine. He hadn't heard it in months. "We live on a reservation where everyone knows who we are! Do you think they would still see us as heroes is they knew we-" Jared's frown deepened as Paul's face scrunched. Even now, when it was just the two of them, he couldn't admit it out loud. "Just go back to your perfect Kim."

"That's your problem, Paul!" Jared nearly exploded, taking a step forward despite the shaking in Paul's shoulders. "You can't even say it!" He matched Paul's intense gaze, nearly growling when Paul looked away – ashamed. "Say it, Paul! Gay! We-" he gestured between them "- were gay – are gay! Shit, I don't know anymore!" Taking a deep breath, Jared tilted his head back to look upwards as his father's words rang in his mind. Real men don't cry for shit. "My imprint isn't perfect. I love Kim, it's true. I love her because of the imprint. I love her in a way that's indescribable, but I'm in love with you, Paul." The words – those heavy words he had held onto for nearly a year now tumbled past his lips as he met Paul's eyes. The shock there was nearly as powerful as something Jared could only identify as hope. "I was then, and I am now. I don't know what to do about it…" Jared's tone wavered as the weight of his internal battle bubbled to the surface. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Did he follow his heart and hurt his imprint? Did he lie by pretending to be in love with Kim, and hurt the one person he had ever truly loved? It wasn't until Paul's arms were around him, his strong shoulder pressing into Jared's cheek that he realized he was near tears.

"I still love you…" Paul's words were lower than a whisper. Jared was sure that if he wasn't a wolf, he wouldn't have heard them at all. Despite knowing that this would just complicate things further, Jared's arms tightened around Paul's middle. He hadn't imagined the whole thing. Paul had felt just as strongly. It was the first time Jared had any real confirmation of how Paul truly felt. The man was like an emotional vault. "But you imprinted… She's the best option for you." Jared expected Paul's words. They were, after all, what he had been telling himself for months.

"I would have chosen you." The words were past Jared's lips before he could stop them. They both stood in the silence under the weight of them. According to the stories, Jared shouldn't have even be able to think such a thing about his imprint, nonetheless say it. Even when Quil imprinted on Claire, he never said a bad thing about it. "If I could undo it, I would. I love Kim, but I'll never really love her the way I love you." Pulling back, Jared looked into Paul's eyes, wanting to see them up close again. He missed the way it felt to just… be with each other.

"Me too." Paul responded in a whisper as he caught Jared's face, his thumb running over his cheek. Jared's eyes closed as he leaned into the familiar touch that still managed to send sparks throughout his body. How could this ever be wrong? How could they ever find anything more than this? "I would have put up with it all. I would have told the council to go fuck themselves. Shit, I would have moved off the rez if that's what it took…" The idea was inconceivable now. But in another life, they would be on the beach in California. "But you imprinted on Kim." Jared's eyes opened slowly as Paul's forehead came to rest on his own. "And maybe one day I'll imprint too and we can forget-"

"I don't want to forget, Paul." Jared cut him off with a slight growl. He was tired of running and pretending. He was tired of hurting when here, in Paul's arms, he felt more content than he ever had. Before he could think better of it, Jared tilted his chin to catch Paul's lips. The kiss was slow, and tender, and everything Jared had been wanting. Kissing Paul was like finding the other half of himself. He did love Kim, but he couldn't pretend anymore that she was the one he was supposed to be with. Not when every fiber of his being told him that it was Paul. It had always been Paul. "I couldn't ever forget you…"

Paul said nothing as he walked them backwards quickly until Jared was pressed between him and a nearby tree. "I meant what I said – on that message the day I saw you after your shift. We can figure out something." Paul's voice was a whisper as his lips brushed Jared's with every word. Jared knew the message Paul was talking about. He had listened to it a hundred times. Even now, it was saved to his phone for those nights he really missed Paul. "If that's what you want…" He pulled back just far enough to catch Jared's gaze. "Shit Jare, I'll tell the whole fucking world if that's what it takes."

"I can't lie to Kim anymore…" Jared breathed as his hands moved over Paul's chest before threading in his hair. "I love her like she's family, and it's not fair to pretend that I want to be with her." He hissed as Paul pressed their bodies closer together still, his lips moving over Jared's neck. "It's not going to- to be easy. I have to talk to the eld-" Jared's train of thought derailed as Paul's hot tongue moved over his flesh.

"We'll keep this a secret until then." Paul breathed. Jared was terrified for the pack to find out, and he knew the locals would tear them apart, but there was no possible way it could be worse than pretending that he didn't love his best friend. "Just like the old days."

"Really you two?" Sam's voice cut through the lust-driven haze that seemed to surround them. Paul pulled back, allowing Jared a clear view of his alpha. Sam didn't look angry or uncomfortable, he just looked like a parent chastising a couple of teens. "You're lucky I talked Kim out of coming out here herself." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm not going to tell you two what to do, and I don't fully understand how you're even able to go against your imprint like this, but I suggest you two keep it to yourselves until we can talk to the council."

"That's the plan, Sammy." Paul smirked as he turned fully, leaving Jared feeling very exposed suddenly. "But just so we're clear," his face grew serious as he looked back to Jared "I'm not ashamed of shit anymore." Grasping Jared's chin, Paul pulled his lips forward in a searing kiss. It was only when Sam cleared his throat that Paul pulled back with a crooked smile. "I'm starving. Think dinner's ready yet?"

AN: Okay, so this should be the last chapter with a large time skip. In this chapter, we circled around to the oneshot that inspired the story, just from a different pov, which was where I really wanted to get to since writing it. Now, the real story begins lol. You guys seriously have no idea how many times I stop writing and just go 'meh heart'. Seriously, I have no control over these characters lol. It tears me apart just as much as you guys. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that this will end happily.

As always, special thank you to those of you that took the time to review! YaleAceBella12 & CowgirlKelly – thank you so much for reading/reviewing/enjoying :D

Ana Quinzel – You have no idea how much that means to me! I've always been 'sexually fluid', basically, if you're hot, you're hot, but since I'm married to a man and we're monogamous, I just say straight lol. I got the idea of Paul/Jared in my head one day because of the way their friendship is always described as super close, but all the fics I found were essentially just one-off smut pieces. I think the greatest love stories are the ones that have to be earned. I mean sure, bits and pieces are a little exaggerated, but living in a small community like a reservation would certainly have its own set of challenges. /long winded explanation no one asked for.

Basically, thanks so much! lol