Don't own anything except OC's.

Chapter 6: First date

Middle of February 2006

I rummaged through my wardrobe all night and fell asleep in expiration, figuring I would be able pick an outfit in the morning with fresh eyes. When I awoke I rushed down to grab a bowl of cereal and greet my siblings before running back up the stairs. I tried on ten different outfits, disliked them and threw them around the room along with shoes and purses. As I slipped on a denim dress thing someone walked into my bedroom.

"Kimmy, what the hell has happened? Did a tornado hit or something?" Anna-Marie gasped, taking in the destruction of my bedroom.

"Yeah, tornado Kimberly," I muttered bitterly as I eyed myself in the mirror. The denim dress looked awful and made me look three sizes bigger than I actually was. "I'm looking for something to wear for tonight."

"Where are you going?"

Should I tell her? Anna-Marie wouldn't spread it around town if I told her. Although, in such a small town news travelled fast so no doubt everyone was going to know by Monday. I didn't know whether to think that was a good or a bad thing.

"I'm going on a date."

"No way! With who?" she squealed excitedly.

"Jared."

"Who? I didn't hear you?"

"Jared," I said without mumbling.

She screamed while jumping up and down and clapping her hands together. "That's brilliant, Kimmy!" she skipped over to hug me and then looked down at my outfit. "Not that, it's gross. Oh, I'll help you choose!"

"What's all the screaming about?" Mike yawned, scratching at the back of his head as he came into my bedroom.

"Kim's got a date!"

His nose scrunched. "Ew, gross." He swiftly exited, slamming the door behind him.

"When did Jared ask you out?" Anna-Marie asked, picking up a purple dress, examining it and then throwing it onto my bed.

"Yesterday in class," I answered quietly.

"That's awesome, Kimmy. You've liked him for ages!"

"I know."

"We're you going?"

"I don't know, he said he was just picking me up at five."

We made chitchat as she dug her way through my wardrobe. After five minutes of searching she threw a pair of skinny jeans at my face and demanded I put them on. By the end of her hunt she had thrown more articles of clothing at me to make an outfit, dark blue skinny jeans, a cowl neck cream jumper, tan boots and a cream pea coat. It was cute and I found myself relaxing a little knowing I at least looked presentable.

"Will you and Mike be okay until mom and dad get home?" I asked worriedly as my sister and I sat on the sofa to wait for Jared.

"It's two hours, Kim, we'll be fine," Anna-Marie replied, rolling her eyes. "You worry too much. Go and have fun for once."

My nerves started to kick in tenfold at quarter to five. I was actually about to go on a date with Jared Cameron, my dream guy since the age of ten. It was too good to be true, especially for me. Nothing good or lucky ever happened to someone like me. By the time Jared pulled up and beeped I was shaking. From excitement or nerves, I couldn't decide, maybe it was both. Stomach and mind swirling, I waved to Anna-Marie and walked outside, willing myself not to fall over or embarrass myself before the date had even started properly. He grinned widely at me when I slammed the car door shut and I almost lost my breath.

"Hey, Kim," he greeted calmly. God, why couldn't I be that cool? "You look beautiful."

My face bloomed red and I had to will everything inside me to burst just to whisper, "Thanks."

He smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. "So I was thinking we could go to a burger joint near Port Angeles. They do these killer sundaes that are about the size of my head."

I giggled. "Sounds good."

"I love your laugh," he whispered so softly I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear. Still, it made me blush.

We were silent as he sped out of La push and down the long road leading to Forks. His truck, that was bashed and rusty on the outside, was also the same on the inside. The radio looked worn out and old, the seats were scraped and tearing slightly, the dash was full of dust and in the back on the floor were so many cans of beer and pop it would have been impossible to count them all. If I looked under the seat I was probably sure to find some porn magazines or something, wasn't I? It was a guy's car, there was no doubt about it.

"So, what have you been doing before I picked you up?" Jared asked, smiling.

Worrying about this date.

"Nothing much," I lied. "Just watching telly and stuff. You?"

"Stopped Paul from beating up a tree," he chuckled lightly at my surprised face. "He has temper issues."

"Really? I never noticed."

He laughed, a booming, carefree laugh that made my insides tingle. "Yeah, he's pretty intimidating sometimes."

"Only a little."

"He's a good guy, though," he shrugged. "He just needs to work around some things. Enough about Paul anyway, what's your favourite colour?"

"What?" I laughed, "You're seriously asking what my favourite colour is? That's so cliché."

His eyes danced with mirth as he sent me a happy glance. "I want to know everything about you. I guess that's a pretty good start."

"It's dark brown."

The same colour as your eyes.

"Unusual, I like it," he winked, I blushed.

"What about you?"

"I suppose I like green, like the trees," he nodded to the forest surrounding us. "How's that one for a cliché?"

We started a conversation about all the different animals that could be in the forest after that. Thanks to Jared's relaxed attitude I was a lot calmer than I thought I would be. I thought I would have fainted at least twice at this point, but all I was doing was laughing along with Jared as he described seeing a fish doing summersaults in the river once. We pulled up outside a small diner and before I could even blink Jared was at my door opening it for me. I blanched slightly, I thought guys only did that in movies.

Inside the diner was a typical American style diner. Red leather seats, white plastic tables, black and white checked flooring and people waiting tables in 50's style clothing. Jared led us to a small table in the corner which we silently plopped into. The way I was sat meant the only thing I could see was Jared, which, by the way, I was totally fine with.

"Hey, I'm Cindy," a bored looking woman with brown hair said, chewing loudly on her gum. "What drinks do you want?"

"A coke," I responded immediately.

Jared smiled, "Same."

The woman sighed and walked off as Jared zoned his eyes on me. Despite all my instincts screaming at me to look away, I couldn't. I found myself hypnotized by him. "Twenty questions, I'll start. What's you favourite animal?"

I chuckled softly at him and said, "A dog, I think. Yours?"

"A wolf," he smiled like he had just told a funny joke. "What's your favourite food?"

"Ummm, chocolate brownies, you?"

"Anything that's edible."

I couldn't stop smiling as he continued to ask me some cliché questions. I had dreamt of this moment for years and I felt like pinching myself as his knee grazed against mine. I, Kimberly Connweller the nothing special girl, was on a date with Jared Cameron, gorgeous hunk that practically every girl at La Push High wanted to go out with. That made me feel anxious. Why was Ion this date and not some popular, pretty girl? There were plenty of girls in Forks and La Push that would have said yes to a date with Jared, so why had he asked me out?

Cindy the waitress came over and ordered our food and then tottered off to some guy at the counter covered in tattoos and munching on a hamburger the size of a plate.

"I have a question," I said shakily.

"Okay, what?"

I took a deep breath, gathering the little confidence I had to ask the question. Did I even want to know the answer? Maybe I should just stop—no. No, I needed to know. "Why did you ask me out?"

Jared looked confused. "Because I like you."

"But why?" his face scrunched up even more. Maybe this was a bad idea, but I couldn't back out now. "Why now? Why me? You could have asked anyone out and you chose me, why?"

"Because you're Kim."

I softened at his words and nervously fiddled with the straw in my coke. "I'm not cool," I blurted without time to think. Afterwards my whole body burst into a sweat of embarrassment and I ducked my head behind my hair.

"I don't care," he replied simply. "I find it refreshing that you're not obsessed with gossip and don't care about when the next party is. You're kind and caring and loving and smart and real. Plus, you're beautiful, which is an added bonus."

"But what about everybody at school—"

"Fuck them," he scoffed and I blinked. "If they have a problem then its there's to deal with. I like you Kim and I want to give this a chance, do you?" he asked almost worriedly.

Blushing wildly, I nodded.

"Good, because I think this could work," he reached over and placed his boiling hand on top of mine. I didn't have the confidence to grab hold, but I didn't pull away either. "And I'm sorry I didn't do anything before this," he admitted in a quieter, softer tone. Almost like he was embarrassed. "I should have taken more notice. I was stupid and immature, but a lot has happened since then. I've finally realized that the world doesn't revolve around parties and being popular, there's a lot more to life than that."

I stared at our hands for a moment and then slowly looked back to his eyes. He was gazing at me with a fiery look that made me want to vomit. It was so intense, so utterly mind blowing that I couldn't hold it for very long. Uncomfortable, I shuffled in my seat and anxiously licked my lips.

"Here's your food."

Cindy put our plates down, effectively ending out "hand holding". I felt the need to slap her.

I ate four fries with ketchup and then looked up to Jared. "Do you have any siblings?"

Of course I knew the answer, but I wanted to end the tense atmosphere that had entered our booth. Everything had been going so smoothly before I brought up my worries. Trust me to ruin the easy feeling of the night.

"Yeah, I have a little sister, Katrina," he smiled wistfully. "She's ten. You have a younger sister as well, right?"

I nodded. "Anna-Marie. I have a younger brother, too, Mike."

"What do you parents do?" he asked casually, munching away on his monstrous burger. He had ordered the extra-large meal.

"They're solicitors," I whispered. I hated talking about my parents, they had always been a sore spot for me.

"Oh, that's cool."

"Not really."

His eyebrows knitted together. "Why—"

"What about your parents? What do they do?"

I wasn't going to tell him about my parents yet, if at all. Jared, as far as I knew, had the perfect family life. His parents had been married for twenty years and were still very much in love. He and his sister we exceptionally close, something I had witnessed many times when he went to wait for her outside the middle school section of the our learning building. They weren't rich or unusual, they were just a typical loving family. What would Jared think when he found out that I saw my parents for less than an hour every day? Sometimes I could go weeks without talking to them and they never battered an eyelid. Since the age of ten when my grandparents died I had been left to look after my siblings while they stayed in Seattle for "business". They had never cared for us, we were the result of pressure from my grandparents (in my case) and broken condoms (in Anna-Marie and Mike's case). He would probably run for the hills after learning how messed up our family life really was.

"My mom works in a bakery in Port Angeles and my dad is a police officer," he said proudly.

I smiled at his bright face. "They sound cool."

"They're amazing," he beamed, taking another bite of his burger. "And Kat's turning into a really good soccer player. My dad's so proud. She won a medal and everything the other month for scoring four times in one game."

I happily listened to him babble away about his family, occasionally laughing at their antics and the sweet stories Jared told me. The more he went on only confirmed the fact that I couldn't tell him about my parents. He was probably imagining our families getting together and having game nights and hearty meals around the dinner table while talking about stupid sitcoms on the telly. That our mom's would gossip about the latest La Push scandal while hugging and kissing each other, and our dads could bond over football games and beer. What if he knew that my mom hated to be touched so much that I couldn't actually remember the last time she hugged me? Or the fact that my dad hated football with a passion because he could never play it properly and that he hated the taste of beer? What if he found out that all they could talk about were work and money and how disappointed they are in me and my siblings?

He would probably shit his pants and run home to never look back or speak to me again.

I was in too deep. I was too happy to let him go yet.

Once we had finished Jared ordered our desert and turned to me. "You're going to love it," he said and just because he sounded so happy I felt myself tingle. "They're delicious."

He was right, it was delicious. It was about the size of my head and had about five different flavoured ice-creams in the big glass, topped with nuts and a wafer. I was ready to burst after five bites and it had only made a small dent into the massive foundation, Jared finished the rest with graceful ease, making me wonder where the hell he put it all.

Afterwards, he put some money down and the table and motioned for me to follow him. Raising my eyebrows, I obeyed, trailing beside him as we walked back to his truck. Once again he held the door open for me and I stopped myself from swooning.

"I thought we could stop at the beach," he explained as he pulled out the parking lot. "It's not raining, for once, and I love the beach."

"Sounds perfect."

Walking hand-in-hand down the beach with Jared had been in my dreams more than once. Normally, the dream ended with us doing some naughty stuff near the rocks… oh, God, now I was blushing. Jared had his eyes on the road so he didn't notice my mortification. If only he knew I had dreamt about us having sex on the beach.

My heart doubled in speed at the images and the endless possibilities. God, I really needed to get a grip.

He was the one doing most of the talking on the way back, I was too embarrassed to say anything though I hadn't really did anything embarrassing… I had just thought it. Every time he looked at me, I blushed. He probably thought I had something wrong with me. Soon my face was going to be permanently stuck bright red, I'm telling you.

He pulled up in the first beach parking lot and helped me out of the car as my legs started to feel like jelly. I smiled shyly at him as we began walking down the sand. Jared reached out and gently took my hand and I had to stop myself from gasping and hyperventilating. He was really warm, like a radiator on full blast, and it made me shiver at the contrast between him and the bitter wind. Seeing this, Jared pulled me closed and my breath caught in my throat.

It would be really embarrassing if I fainted on him, so I tried to calm myself by staring determinedly ahead at the trees.

"Do you have any hobbies?" he asked, his deep voice cutting through the silence.

"Not really," I admitted. "I have too much homework to have hobbies."

"Yeah, too true."

My stomach did flip-flops at the closeness of his voice and I found myself instinctively turning towards him. He stopped walking to stare into my eyes and my feet stopped moving on their own accord. No one had ever stared at me like that before. From anyone it would have been flattering and warming, but from Jared it was knee-wobbling and heart soaring. I had dreamt of him staring at me like that a million times and now it was happening it was too good to be true.

My heart came to a screeching stop and then started up again at triple the normal speed when he cupped my face with his hands. My skin burned pleasantly under his tender touch and I leaned into him.

"Kim." He murmured, his lips hardly moving.

My lips twitched into a small smile and his whole face glowed with bliss. This was it. This was the moment everything I had ever wanted since the age of ten came true. Jared Cameron was going to kiss me. Butterflies erupted into my stomach and my heart beat so fast it resembled a humming birds wings. Then his face come a centimetre closer… then another… then another… and finally—

"OWWWWWWWW!"

The wolf's howl shocked me so much I jumped back in fright, only for Jared's hand to slip from my face and leaving me feeling a little bit emptier. Jared looked a mix between happy, angry and apologetic. The wolf howled again, this time even louder than the first. Jared cursed under his breath though I caught it and peeked at me with sorrow ridden eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kim, I have to go."

"What?"

"I need to do something," he growled, taking my hand and pulling me down the beach. I unconsciously let him, my body still shocked from the mixture of Jared's almost kiss and the howl of the wolf. He held the door as I climbed into the car and rushed to his seat, slamming his foot down on the peddle as soon as the door was shut. I was too astonished to say or do anything than just sit and stare ahead.

"I'm sorry, Kim," he said as he pulled outside my house. "I'll see you on Monday, okay?"

I nodded blankly and got out the car. Jared raced off before I had the door fully shut. It wasn't until I got into the house that I started to the react.

What the hell had just happened?

Had Jared nearly kissed me? Had he wanted to kiss me? Why did he go off so suddenly after the wolf's howl? What was so important? How did he know he was needed?

I had been on a date with JARED CAMERON!

Was it a good date? Was I too awkward and geeky? Did he like me at all? Was I just a game or an experiment? Had he meant what he had said in the diner?

I grabbed hold of the sofa to steady myself as my legs became weak from over-thinking. My brain was starting to sizzle at the edges, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking about him. The date had been so good, weird, over-whelming, light, serious and amazing that I couldn't figure out what to think of the whole thing. All I knew was that his reaction to the howling was one of the strangest thing's I had ever seen. The question was, why had he acted like that?

I needed sleep.

Thoughts?

Thanks for the reviews, favourites and alerts! It's a bit late because I went away for a week. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and don't be afraid to ask questions!

-Laylax