Story Quote: I want to ask you to be my inspiration. To infatuate my humble senses with your pure and unearthly fire, to startle my slumbering consciousness with a vivid rapture beyond imagination … but I cannot seem to find the right words to say.
The first week went exactly as it should have. Which is to say, they learned absolutely nothing except which teacher was lenient on tardies and which one liked to save trees by not handing out more papers than necessary.
Kennedy was also pretty sure that Embry was the mirror of her soul. They'd only had the one class together, but they'd spent most of the class period making ridiculously stupid jokes and quoting movies at each other. He had the same lunch, but he spent it with Jacob Black and Quil Ateara the Fiftieth, or however many times the name had been recycled.
Her eyes skated towards where her new friend was sitting, just near the other side of the cafeteria. He caught her eye and grinned, pulling a funny face, much to his friend's bemusement. Kennedy laughed, pulled the same face.
"How am I related to you?" Seth sighed, sounding reluctantly amused.
"You know you love me," she sang, batting her eyelashes at him. "Are you gonna watch my volleyball tryout?" she asked, fidgeting nervously in her seat.
It wasn't that she neededhim there, per sey, just that she preferred it. He was a bit like a lucky charm, and if worse came to worse, she could distract the competition with his adorableness.
"Of course!" he grinned, showing off his dimples. "I even made a sign. With glitter," he told her. Kennedy laughed, clapping her hands together in glee.
"You didn't."
"I did," he answered smugly.
They fist bumped before going back to their lunch. Sue had packed them an awesome Italian sub with chips and cookies, and a little bottle of Sunny-D because Kennedy was in love with orange juice. "So, how are your classes?" she asked.
"Not too bad, actually. And hey, any idea why that guy is staring at you?"
"Hm?" she turned to where her twin was looking. "Oh. Him." She waved a hand, turning back to Seth. "He does that, just ignore it."
"Ignore it?" Seth asked, exasperated. "You know who that is, don't you?"
"Mhm," she agreed, poking at the cookie. She couldn't tell if it was oatmeal with chocolate chips, or oatmeal with raisins. Knowing her mother, it was the latter. Paul Lahote, senior, and all around the stay the fuck away from boy of La Push. Kennedy was pretty sure he was the one who'd burnt down the gym last year.
Being small, La Push had a lot of gossip. It was a bit like a soap opera, actually, which was kind of pathetic. Everyone knew just about everything, and if they didn't, they made something up. Like her new friend, Embry; his mother, Tiffany, had moved to La Push when she was two months pregnant, no husband or boyfriend in sight. Which was enough to start some drama, really, except her friend looked a lot like his friend. And that kind of resemblance wasn't about to be ignored - at least, not behind their backs.
Paul Lahote was gossip, too. His father, Ethan, was born on the Rez, and moved to Tacoma for college. There, he met a woman named Alex Lowman, they got married, had a baby. Happy ending, or it should have been. Ethan showed up one day with an eight year old Paul at his hip, ranting and raving about 'that biker bitch' and her 'fucking biker brother.'
Needless to say, people talked. They talked even more when Paul showed less than stellar anger management. Even with the four year difference, Kennedy knew he was practically a permanent fixture in the principal's office; and that the only reason he hadn't been expelled was because Forks wouldn't take him if he was.
"Why is he staring at you?" Seth hissed, leaning across the table.
Kennedy shrugged, tangling her fingers in his. "He bumped into me on Monday," she told him. "Turned around like he wanted to slam me into a locker or something, but just ended up staring." Creepily, but she was a pro at ignoring it by now. "Now, he watches me whenever he can."
Seth looked stricken, and she could understand. Really, because she'd look the same way if some wannabe delinquent had spent an entire week eyeing her twin like a piece of meat.
"I figure, maybe if I ignore it, he'll go away." Which probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a try.
"Let me know if anything happens?" Seth asked quietly. Kennedy gave him a small smile, tightening her fingers around his for a second.
"If something happens, you'll know," she told him dryly, "Mostly because I'll be in the principal's office for kneeing a fellow student in the balls."
Seth laughed. "Yeah, that's about right."
She laughed with him, catching sight of Embry making another face it her. She pulled one back. Seth sighed. "And we're back to this."
Paul knew he was making an ass out of himself.
He knew, okay, but he could stop. He ragged on Jared for doing exactly what he was doing when the older wolf had imprinted on Kim, and if he could stop, he would.
But she was just so damn perfect, he couldn't help himself.
He'd been a freshman when Leah Clearwater had been a senior; they hadn't run in the same circles, or had the same classes, but he'd known that she had two younger siblings. He hadn't paid much attention to it. Why would he? She was just some girl he'd gone to school with, she wasn't important.
He kinda wished he'd paid attention to it before. Maybe it would be easier, loving Kennedy the way he did if he actually knew her. Knew why she liked volleyball so much, what kind of movies she liked and if she was a picky eater.
She was completely unknown to him, and he hated it. He narrowed his eyes at her, watching the way she laced her fingers together with her brother's. She wasn't a small girl, not like Kim, who could probably star as a dwarf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He figured Kennedy was normal height, for a fourteen year old girl.
He cringed, dropping his face into his hands. She was fucking fourteen, he was in love with a fourteen year old girl. "Jesus, fuck," he sighed. He could just imagine what his uncle would say.
Nothing, actually, except laugh. Because his uncle was an asshole like that.
He looked back up, just in time to see her pull a face. He tracked the motion, growling. Embry Call. He was going to have to do something about that. His teeth snapped together, shoving down the wolf in him that wanted to rend the bastard limb by limb.
Sam said it was completely normal. That because he wasn't near her, wasn't talking to her, that his wolf would be more volatile.
"Because that's exactly what we need," Jared had muttered.
Paul could understand.
He wasn't exactly known for his self restraint.
"How long has he been staring at you, again?"
Paul came to alertness at the question. He needed Seth Clearwater to like him. Things would go so much easier if Seth liked him; he knew her twin meant a lot to Kennedy, so getting the boy to like him would be a step in the right direction.
Watching his sister like a fucking creep probably wasn't winning him any favors.
"Since Monday."
Fucking Monday. He hadn't wanted to go to school. Hell, he probably would've dropped out by now and gone back to Tacoma if his uncle wasn't so insistent on him finishing. Sam had sent him on patrol Sunday, and he hadn't gotten home until midnight. It seemed like his alarm went off ten minutes after he finally crawled under the covers. But his dad wouldn't let him stay home; Ethan didn't know anything about the Quileute legends being true, and Paul wasn't about to tell him.
Ethan Lahote couldn't keep his mouth shut about anything important.
A part of him thought that, maybe, if he'd stayed home, he wouldn't have imprinted on her. Wouldn't have accidentally bumped into her, with her pretty hair and stupid Guns 'N' Roses t-shirt.
That maybe, if he'd stayed home, he wouldn't have imprinted on a fucking fourteen year old girl.
He was going to end up in jail.
Not that it was new, he always thought he'd end up there, just not for statutory rape or fucking stalking a fourteen year old girl.
"Paul, buddy ol' pal," Jared called, sliding into the seat next to him with a shit-eating grin. "I can feel you thinking all the way on the other side of the cafeteria. What's on your mind?"
Paul's fist impacted with the older wolf's stomach. "Dick," he grunted, because the asshole knew exactly what he was thinking about.
Jared wheezed out a laugh.
I should've left for Tacoma as soon as I hit eighteen, Paul lamented. None of this shit would've happened.
Volleyball tryouts were held in the gym directly after school. It was a bit of a thing. La Push was too rainy for most outdoor sports, so volleyball and swimming were the school sports.
Kennedy was good at volleyball. She'd been on the middle school team, and saved up all her pocket money to go to a summer camp specifically about it. She was good.
She was also a freshman, and Coach Karr wasn't known for putting new meat on the team. The team was made up mostly of juniors and seniors, with a sophomore or two.
No freshman.
Kennedy shoved the doubt away, pulling her hair into a ponytail to keep it out of the way. She'd already put on her shorts, tight black spandex that covered her ass and nothing more, but that was the uniform. She was wearing one of Seth's old shirts, simple white Haynes, with blue paint splattered all over it.
She looked like a hot mess, but it was comfortable, and that's what mattered.
Kennedy walked out of the locker room, Coach Karr waiting at the door. "Name and grade."
"Kennedy Clearwater, freshman," she answered clearly, giving the coach a small smile. He grunted, holding out a sheet of paper with the number 17 emblazoned on it.
"Put it on, stand in line in order."
Kennedy nodded, doing as she was told. As soon as she was in place, she looked into the crowd, catching sight of Seth immediately. she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Idiots," she cooed.
Seth and Embry were at the top of the bleachers, standing on the seats and wildly waving their signs around. She hadn't realized they'd worked together on them.
Seth grinned at her, doing a little hip wiggle and shimmying the sign.
'KENNEDY IS MY BUMPER' was written out in neon pink, purple glitter glued out in a swirly pattern than was probably supposed to be a volleyball. Art wasn't exactly her twin's forte.
Embry shoved her twin playfully, jumping to where Seth had been and waving his sign frantically. 'BUMP AWAY THE COMPETITION, KEN-KEN.'
"Idiots, the both of them,' she laughed, wiggling her fingers at them. They crowed, Seth calling out "That's my sister!" and elbowing Embry.
The girl next to her laughed. "It's kind of cute," she admitted, holding out a hand for Kennedy to shake. "Mia Westerling, senior."
"Kind of," Kennedy agreed, offering her hand as well. "Kennedy Clearwater, freshman."
"And you're trying out?" Mia asked, surprised. "I mean, good luck, but -"
"I'm going to need it," Kennedy cut in dryly. "Yeah,. I figured, even if I don't make it this year, he'll no my face next time."
"Not a bad idea." Mia shifted next to her, poking at the '16' on her chest. "I hate wearing these."
Kennedy made a noise of agreement. "They get in the way," she sighed, pulling her arms up to mime bumping the ball. The paper scraped against the inside of her arms.
"I know, right?" Mia cried, poking one last time at the sign. Kennedy grinned, glad to share her distaste with someone new. She blinked, then turned toward the double doors that lead into the school.
Paul Lahote met her eyes, and Kennedy sucked in a terrified breath.
She'd avoided looking into his eyes since the first time she'd bumped into him. Because it was terrifying, the amount of love she could see. He didn't know anything about her, he shouldn't look at her like that, but he did, and that scared her more than anything.
Coach Karr blew the whistle, calling everyone to attention.
Kennedy looked away from the imposing eighteen year old.
AN: okay, so here's chapter three. I didn't get everything I really wanted, because I wanted Kennedy and Paul to actually talk, but whatever. A big thank you, to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorite.
But a couple of things need to be covered.
One, yes, I messed up on Harry's name last chapter. I'll get around to fixing it eventually.
Two, the AP class lasting only for the first term - I talked about it with Nessafly, but just in case someone else is curious about it, too. AP classes are different across the state. I don't know how Washington does it, but I do know how Florida does it, so that's the system I'm going by. Core AP classes, like AP Science or AP Lang, last the entire year. But Humanities isn't a core class, its an elective that happens to have a mirror class in college. It only lasts for one term. AP Exams happen about a week or two before End of Course Exams - so during that week, anyone who took AP Humanities (first or second term) would get a pass out of class to take the exam. That's how I did it, so that's how Kennedy is doing it. I would change it, but I have reasons for not doing so.
MischevievousAngel0923: I can certainly tell you don't like imprinting, yes. And I'll do my best to keep the story to what I said it would be - but I have to point out that, at the end of the day, this is an imprinting story. Kennedy is not the type of girl who'll except imprinting as an answer, though. I plan on using this line eventually, but I'll write it here for you: "I refused to be loved for anything less than everything I am, Paul. You know nothing about me. Until you know everything about me, understand everything about me, you don't love me. Don't tell me you do, not until then. Because I wont. I wont tell you I love you until everything about you is something to me."
If you cant tell, Kennedy is a romantic. She wants an all consuming love - but you'll notice, in the last scene, she doesn't want it right away. She's terrified that Paul can love her like that, and she has every right to be. Its unnatural. She's going to make Paul work for it, because that's what she deserves. I wont write anything less for her.
You'll also notice (I hope) that while Paul is imprinted, and happy about it, he isn't actually happy about it. No eighteen year old wants to be in love with a fourteen year old. Sorry, that's just my opinion.
As for the Sam/Emily thing - I never actually thought about it, but I definitely did after reading your review. I have something in mind for it already, so thanks for that:)
Anyways, hope that answers everything, or at least you're not too disappointed with the idea.