After her strange, late night chat with her grandma, Kim couldn't sleep for a very long time. She ended up googling Sam and found practically nothing. He had an ancient Facebook account which hadn't been updated or posted on for years and he was listed on the tribal website as the contact person for Quileute Search and Rescue Service.
She'd fallen asleep at some point, but ended up oversleeping, so she missed her weaving class and was late meeting Paul.
She was in front of Paul's house at 11:40. He was already out, sitting on the hood of his dad's truck, dressed in a pair of ratty jeans and a faded Pearl Jam T-shirt.
"You're late," he stated.
"Pot, kettle, black. Let me use this chance to remind you that you DIDN'T SHOW UP yesterday."
"Okay, so we're even now," he shrugged.
"WHAT. How's that even remotely similar? And how are you not cold?" Kim asked and wrapped her cardigan tighter around herself.
"What can I tell you, I run hot," he said with a lascivious wink.
"That's gross."
"You know, I think I liked you better when you were scared of me."
"Don't flatter yourself, I was never scared of you," she lied.
"You were. Everybody is."
"Well, maybe that's a sign that you should work on your attitude."
"I probably should, but you know. Ain't nobody got time for that," he slid of the hood and they got into the truck.
"The truck is cleaner," Kim blurted out and wanted to slap herself for prying.
Paul scratched his neck. "Yeah, my Dad is on a kind of sabbatical from drinking. Hopefully this time it'll last longer than a week," he mumbled and clenched his jaw.
"I'm sure it will," she answered, even though she had never officially met Paul's dad and didn't know anything about him.
Paul didn't offer a comment and Kim wondered if he got upset by what she'd said, so she spent the rest of the drive silently cursing her big mouth. They soon reached their trail and found that there was another truck trying to park nearby. Kim's heart lurched at the thought that it might be Ricky Akuna, but then Paul said, "Oh, look, Lover Boy's here," and she realized that it really was Jared's truck, which didn't help her pounding heart whatsoever.
"Let's find another place," she quickly said.
"No, I really like this trail," Paul smirked.
"You haven't even seen it! Come on, don't be a jerk!"
"Then don't be a fucking pussy! Why are you so scared?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you. Come on, Paul. Please."
"No."
"Why not?!"
"Because you're being a pushover. You like the guy, talk to him. It's as easy as that."
"He has a girlfriend. And you said that she would kill me if she thought I was trying something."
"Oh, please. Jackson's going to kick his ass to the curb as soon as she finds someone better."
"And I'm supposed to do what, wait for him to pick me as a consolation prize?"
"Come on, Connweller. Don't be a baby."
"No. He doesn't even like me. And I can live with that."
"Well, he doesn't really know you, does he?"
"Whatever. You can go alone, if you want, I'm not leaving this car."
He scratched his chin and nodded.
"Wanna bet?"
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"I bet Lover Boy would like to see the picture of your notebook. In fact, I think I'll just go and show it to him right now. Like you said, you can live with that," he grinned and started getting out of the truck. Kim blanched.
"Don't you dare. Stop. Paul!" But he was already out, calling out to Jared.
"Yo, Cameron! What's up, man?"
Jared got out of his truck and waved and, of course, Sophie soon appeared next to him. Kim stumbled out of the truck and hurried after Paul. She grabbed the back of his T-shirt and pulled hard.
"Don't say anything. Don't be a dick your whole life, Paul, please. Please."
"I thought you didn't care."
"I never said that."
He just smiled at her but didn't stop. He kept going towards Jared and pulling her along, as if she were a toddler.
"Hey," Paul said with an idiotic grin when they finally reached Jared and Sophie.
"Hey, man. Hi, Chris," Jared smiled at them and Kim's heart sank deeper into her chest. Chris? Seriously? It was a perfect moment for someone to play Alicia Keys' You Don't Know My Name.
"It's Kim, actually," she mumbled.
"Right, sorry, I-"
"Seriously, bro. There are, like, twenty people our age around here. It's really not that difficult to remember everybody's name," Paul teased and gave him a playful thump on the shoulder.
"Look, man, I was trying to apologize before you interrupted me, so, I'm very sorry, Kim. Do you have a problem, Lahote?" Jared hissed. His usually smiling face turned a bit red and it became harsher, more angular. He definitely wasn't smiling now. Kim had never seen him angry before and it made her take a step back. Why on Earth was he so angry?
"He was just joking, Jared," she said.
"No, he was being an ass, like always."
Kim tried to pull Paul away, but he wouldn't budge; first, his smile faded and he just blinked at Jared, then he clenched his jaw and grew serious. She pinched his arm, but he ignored her. The two boys just stared at each other, like in a particularly bad western movie. Kim looked at Sophie for support, but she only stood there, eyes wide with excitement, thrilled about the oncoming fight. Oh, for fuck's sake.
"No, man, I don't have a problem, I just want to point out that it's lucky you're a pretty boy, because you sure aren't very smart," Paul sneered.
Everybody stood in silence for a moment, taking in Paul's words, then Jared's hands started shaking. Kim remembered something Paul had said about Sam, how he had looked at Jared as if he had thought that Jared might explode. At that moment, it seemed that Sam was onto something.
"Okay, let's just go, Paul, it's really fine," she pleaded again, but the moron just stood there stubbornly.
"Yeah, Jar, who cares about Connweller's name, anyway," said Sophie, who had finally snapped out of her daze and gently touched Jared's arm.
Jared blinked and looked at Sophie, then at Kim, as if he'd just realized that they were present, too. He looked at his hands, which were still shaking, then balled them into fists.
"You're lucky that these girls are here, Lahote," Jared snarled, hands still shaking.
"Maybe I'm lucky you're a fucking cowa- "
"What the hell is the matter with you two?!" Kim yelled. "I just want to do the project. Can we, please, just do the damn project? Let's just go, Paul, come on."
"Yeah, Lahote, better listen to your girlfriend," Sophie sneered.
"Shut the fuck up, Jackson. And I'll see you at school, Cameron," Paul glared at Jared.
"Looking forward to it," Jared snapped. "Sophie, let's go. We'll find a better place." Sophie took his hand and they left, Sophie struggling to keep up with Jared's stride. Paul and Kim watched Jared's truck accelerate, tires screeching.
"This wasn't my fault," Paul stated, even though it sounded a bit like a question.
"I'm surprised to say that it really wasn't. Even though you really could keep your mouth shut once in a while."
"What the hell's wrong with Cameron, anyway?"
As she watched Jared's truck take a sharp turn, Kim didn't know what to say.