Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight universe, Stephenie Meyer does.

And pretty much all other characters, including Freddie and Maribel, belong to the universe created by the talented yay4shanghai! She is amazing, and you'll have to read her stories to understand this. I want to thank her for allowing me to write this, and also helping by betaing it.

I also recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, Dll10, and intiMACYx33. They're great, and worth reading!

This story takes place during 100 Years of Solitude... Okay, Maybe Just Five.

Well, this time the update was quicker! Another thanks to everyone who reviewed, and also yay4shanghai for beta'ing this!

Hope everyone enjoys!

Chapter Twelve - Questions and No Answers

October 28th 2038

I furrowed my brow and bit my tongue lightly between my two teeth, trying to concentrate on this last bit of homework. It was harder with Freddie sitting just across from me, of course. He was distractingly playing with a pencil, bouncing it up and down, making a muffle tapping sound as he watched me.

His hand was sculpted around it, strong and graceful. I couldn't keep from flitting my eyes from his hands, to his eyes, and then back to my homework when he'd raise an eyebrow at me in question. Finally, I scribbled out my final mistake-riddle sentence and pushed away from the table to stretch.

"Done?" he asked smoothly, calculating. I blushed and nodded. He took the paper and swept it to his side of the table, his eyes scanning through every word with care.

"Good job, this is your best work yet, Mari!" he praised, the hint of a smile gracing his face. I wished he would smile more often; it made him look so much more… handsome.

"Thank you, Freddie. I called Soli with a few questions before you got here, though, so I still didn't do all of it on my own," I admitted with a sad little sigh. Freddie had encouraged me to try and get through a paper without any help, just to see where I was at, but I couldn't help but call Soledad in Canada from where she and Randy were going to college.

He pursed his lips a little, and then shrugged. "You did your best, that's the most important part. You'll be able to do this by yourself one day anyway," he assured me, placing his hand on my arm and then pulling me close. I tried to calm my heart as I sunk into his warm embrace, but it would not listen. It beat at double the rate like a jackhammer.

He was so hot, but it felt so right. It wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest. I wanted him to keep on holding me, but he pulled away before I could hold him in place. He shifted almost uneasily and took a step away from me, which I pretended not to notice.

"It's about time I should head out for patrol," he sighed, glancing towards the door. I grimaced.

"Again? You had to go out this morning, too!" I complained. He smiled a little wider now, which made my heart triple its efforts to pound out of my chest.

"It's not really patrolling per se, Mari, it's more than I need to get used to being an alpha," he explained, though it didn't give me much solace. He paused on his way out of the apartment and turned back, "You will be okay alone here, for just a little bit, won't you? You could go and hang out with Annie if you want."

I nodded my head at once, "I will be fine, Freddie. No worry about me," I warned, shaking my finger at him. I did not want him to be concentrating on me so much when he was doing something so important for his pack.

I couldn't help but feel a little prideful as I watched him leave, knowing that he was the leader of everyone else, that he was so important. I sighed, draping my figure across the couch.

Sometimes I didn't like wasting my time with him doing schoolwork, though I understood it was necessary. It's not like I didn't spend the majority of my time with him on most days, but I liked to get in every second I could.

I drifted to the bedroom that had become my own and snuggled into the covers, pulling them tight around my shoulders and biting my lip. It was a fourth the size of my former room, but I loved it so much more. I wasn't a prisoner here.

I hesitantly picked up the phone Freddie bought for me, running a finger over the smooth pink cover. I didn't know how to put much use to it, I only ever called a few people, but Freddie had insisted on it in just in case of an emergency.

I flipped it open and scrolled through the numbers until I found the one I was looking for. I pressed Talk and it automatically dialed, something that I found quite nice. It rang only once before Soledad answered.

"Maribel, I know that you need help with your homework, but I honestly think that I am not the one you should ask. Freddie would much rather help," she sighed. I rolled my eyes to the ceiling.

"It's not about that, Soli… I need to ask you a, um, question," I said, my voice sounded suddenly nervous. But I was more confused. I had no idea what was going on, what my newfound emotions for Freddie meant. It was exhausting to try and keep up with my thoughts and try to understand what they meant.

"Oh," she paused, "what's up then?" I took a deep intake of breath, twirling the soft fabric of my pillow between my fingers.

"Well, I wanted to understand, uhm, how it is that imprints work?" I stammered, trying to think of the correct words to ask. She was silent for a long time, and then she burst out laughing.

My cheeks turned redder and redder the longer and harder she laughed. "What is so funny?" I snapped, embarrassed. She abruptly stopped, but I heard vague chuckling from the other end of the line.

"Oh, Mari. You have no… idea. I wish somebody knew how imprinting works. Everyone does, believe me. But it's a total mystery. Why are you asking me this?" I didn't answer, because I honestly had no idea myself. I heard her gasp, as if something had clicked.

"Ooh, Encanto, don't tell me you're craving to… be with my brother?" she laughed in Spanish, talking a mile a minute in excitement. What did she mean, 'be with'?

"I do not know what you are talking about, Soli," I told her, biting my lip. It was frustrating sometimes, realizing that I knew little of the world. But it was also very embarrassing that Freddie's family talked about such things so openly! I didn't mind so, so much anymore, but it was rather uncomfortable.

"Ah, come on, Mari! 'Be with' means, like, kissing and holding hands, or at least for you," she gave a short laugh, "It means you want to be closer to the person," she spoke softer now. I paused, furrowing my brow more.

"Alright, I understand that part. But I… don't knowing how to, um, act, on these emotions. What should I say to him?" I asked nervously. She sighed loudly.

"Look, Mari, I am really happy that you care a lot about my brother. Actually I'm fucking thrilled about it but, since he's my baby brother, I am going to draw the line on figuring out how you're gonna, err, be with him."

I didn't have any siblings, but I was still understanding of the fact. I told her so and she said she had to go, saying something about distractions. I stood from my bed and paced around the room after dropping my phone on my bedside table.

I was going to have to figure out some way to tell Freddie on my own. I could hardly go any longer; it was like new instincts were taking over me. I battled a deep sigh that was threatening to escape, swallowing it down and stowing it away.

It was an only an hour later when Freddie came home, swinging me up in his arms and giving me a hug. We prepared our dinner as usual, and it was only when we sat down to eating that I became nervous about telling him but now was as good a time as any.

I stirred my extra-super spice induced fajitas around my plate with a fork, avoiding his penetrating gaze. His milk brown eyes were as serious and unwavering as ever, focused on one thing. Unfortunately at this moment, that thing seemed to be me.

"Maribel, what is wrong?" he asked finally, concern ringing his voice. I bit my lip, opened my mouth, and then closed it. The sigh I swallowed back before suddenly flew out of me.

"Oops," I mumbled, and then sighed again, "I am just confused, Freddie. I don't understand," I groaned, my head starting to throb.

"Understand what?" he asked, probably thinking it was some American custom I was talking about or something.

"I called Soledad earlier, because I was confused…" I glanced up at Freddie, who looked just as bewildered.

"Maribel, what's wrong?" he asked, now concerned. I thought about that. Was anything wrong?

"Nothing," I breathed, "Nothing is wrong. I just am not knowing what to do. You see, I am… thinking strange, strange thoughts," my voice was barely above a whisper as I finished. My cheeks burned with embarrassment and my heart thudded with disbelief that I was actually speaking to him about this.

But I had to know if he felt the same way. I had to. He was silent, and I didn't dare look up to see his face. I bit my lip the longer the quiet went on. Tears started to sting my eyes, but before they could squeeze out, Freddie's arms were around my waist, pulling me onto his lap and hugging me tight to his chest.

"Don't get upset, Mari. It's fine, it's fine," he assured, rubbing my back. I choked back the tears, rubbing my eyes to remove all trace of them. I hiccupped once and was then calm. Freddie turned to face me, still stroking my hair gently.

"I just... just don't know what to do. Do you think of me, in any way?" I breathed shallowly. He was silent, but only for a moment.

"Maribel…" he seemed at a loss for words, something I had never dreamed possible. I met his eyes and gazed into them, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Maribel," he started again, "I don't know if you, if you realize what you're feeling. I don't think that… I mean, it couldn't possibly be…" he shook his head, closing his eyes. He pressed two fingers to each of his temples and rubbing hard.

"Freddie, are you alright?" I asked timidly, brushing my fingers across his arm. He shivered at my touch and then slid me off his lap, slowly returning to his own seat. I watched him closely the whole time, searching desperately for some sort of sign, though of what I wasn't sure.

"You're only fifteen, Maribel. I think you're just going through some new things, you admitted it yourself…you're confused. It's as simple as that."

He flashed me one of his rare smiles, and started eating again. I looked at my own food, more puzzled than ever. Freddie was so smart, he was almost always right. So why did I have an odd feeling about his words?

My stomach tumbled and somersaulted uneasily. I stole a glance up at him and saw he was still focused on his food, swirling it around on his fork absentmindedly. I looked at my fajita again and shoved a piece of it down my throat, swallowing despite myself.

I hardly tasted it.