A/N: Hey, everyone. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Enjoy!
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It was a particularly slow Monday. The day was murky and cold and the incessant drizzle had made Kim's hair look like a raccoon's tail. She was struggling with her locker which was defying every law of physics and wouldn't open. Kim pushed and pulled and hit it to no avail.
"It's two thumps up, one down and a quick pull," said a familiar voice to her right. Jared. Her heart skipped a beat. When did they start having casual locker conversations? Less than 24 hours ago he wasn't sure about her name. Kim eyed him suspiciously but did as instructed and the damn thing opened.
"How did you do that?"
"What can I say – magic," he smiled.
There was no trace of the angry Jared from the day before. Kim wasn't sure how she'd ever thought that Paul could be considered more attractive. With his tall, athletic body and a beaming, dimpled smile, Jared was fit to star in a Netflix teenage rom-com.
"Well, thanks," Kim mumbled, unsure what to do next. Would it look weird if she just turned around and started rummaging through her locker? Would it be weirder to just look at him and wait for him to speak? Why were social interactions so hard?
"No problem. Look, Kim," he hesitated. "I just… Well, I wanted to apologize for how I behaved yesterday. I know it's no excuse, but I was having a really shitty day and I've been feeling a bit under the weather for the last couple of days, so…"
Kim blinked at him. Was this really happening? And on a Monday, too? Jared Cameron was apologizing to her? She shook her head. Why shouldn't he apologize? The fact that he was gorgeous and popular shouldn't give him a free pass. Still, it was Jared. And they were talking to each other. It was big. She tried to sound neutral, but she was glowing inside.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. Paul was only teasing yesterday. He meant no harm."
"I know, I know. I'll talk to him later. I just… I don't know, I just wanted to say this. And I did know your name, it just slipped my mind for a second. We don't really hang out much," he said sheepishly.
Much? They didn't hang out, period. Her heart sank a little. His name would have never slipped her mind. Not even for a second.
"It really doesn't matter. Again, you should apologize to Paul," she tried to sound indifferent.
She wanted to leave it at that, but something made her add, "And, for the record, we've never 'hung out'." Technically, that was a lie. There was that one time in middle school, when people still liked Kim and invited her to things; it was somebody's birthday. Was it Mattie Stone? For some reason, all of them got Twix and Jared bit into both bars at once. When Mattie pointed out that it was a strange way to eat Twix and that you should eat them one by one, Jared said that he did it so they wouldn't feel lonely without each other. It was the day Kim realized she liked him.
"Well, maybe we should change that. Are you coming to the bonfire on Friday?" he asked.
Kim snorted. Was Jared so clueless to think that she actually got invited to those parties?
"The bonfire is for the basketball team and the people they invite."
"Right. So, you're coming with Lahote?"
"Why would I come with Lahote?"
"Um, aren't you two together?" He scratched his head.
"What? Why would you think that?"
"I don't know, you seem pretty close, so I just assumed…"
"We're not together. I'm not even sure we're friends," she mumbled.
"Right. Well, you should come anyway. You can be my guest," he smiled and her knees turned into jelly. Was it really necessary for him to have dimples? Hadn't he been blessed enough?
"Um… yeah, thanks, but I'm not sure if I'm going to make it. I have… stuff," she somehow squeaked out and instantly her face got all red and hot. If he noticed her pathetic lie, he didn't show it.
"Well, if you find the time, it's on Friday, First Beach, around 7-ish. I have to go now, but I'll see you around, ok?" He winked.
"Yeah, cool, ok, great." Why was she such a spaz?
Jared waved and was gone.
The everyday struggle of avoiding the cafeteria during lunch was especially difficult that Monday. The library, Kim's usual spot, was closed because Doris, the elderly librarian, was sick. It started to rain outside, so eating lunch in the school yard wasn't an option. So, Kim found herself standing in front of the school cafeteria, dreading the thought of getting in. To sit on the side, reading a book, while everyone else was chatting and laughing with friends seemed like a high school movie cliché she couldn't avoid. She shuddered and pushed open the door.
The cafeteria smelt like mystery meat and sweat. It was even louder than Kim remembered, so she hung her head and quickly moved to the back of the room. To her surprise, Paul was already there. He was sitting alone, munching his way through a reddish heap of what looked like spaghetti Bolognese. Kim hesitated. Maybe he wanted to be left alone and didn't want any company. Maybe he didn't want her company. She stood there, unsure whether to find another empty table, when he looked up.
"Hey," he mumbled.
"Hey. What are you eating?" She scrunched her nose.
"My only cooked meal of the day," he gave her a sour smile. "It could be anything, really," he shrugged and moved his things to the side. Was that an invitation to sit down? She fidgeted a little and he rolled his eyes at her.
"Are you just going to stand there like a weirdo?"
She sat down.
"That smells… I don't know what it smells like," she said, taking out her own lunch. It was a chicken salad sandwich, apple juice and a blueberry muffin. Compared to Paul's lunch, it looked like Gordon Ramsay had prepared it, not Kim's mother. Kim split the sandwich in two and put one half on Paul's tray. She did the same with the muffin.
"You should really avoid mystery meat days. I don't think anybody knows what they put in it," she said.
Paul frowned a little and for a second, so she thought he would refuse her offering, too proud to take anything from anyone, but he simply stated, "When you put enough salt in it, it tastes just fine." He proceeded to shovel the spaghetti into his mouth and when he was done, he took a big bite out of the sandwich. Kim's eyes widened.
"Are you really going to eat all of that?"
"I'm a growing boy," he shrugged.
He ate so fast; she couldn't keep up. It was like watching a traffic accident, horrifying, but it was hard to look away.
"So, I saw Jared today," she started, trying to distract herself from his eating. "He said he would find you and apologize."
"He did. He probably got scared that I'd break his pretty face."
"Why are you always so mean to everybody? He apologized. That's something, right?"
"Well, I said that I wouldn't break his face, didn't I? What more do you want?" Kim just shook her head at him.
"He told me about the bonfire, said I should come," she blushed.
"Are you going to?"
"I don't know. I don't think so."
"Why? You have another weaving class?" he snickered.
"Screw you. I'll have you know, that's my way of making a contribution to keeping Quileute traditions alive."
"Whatever. But, about the bonfire. You should go. Have some fun."
"Look, even if I went, what can I actually get out of it? I don't really drink, I don't really dance, I don't really know or like any of those people."
"Neither do I. Well, except the drinking part. Still, it's fun sometimes. It's a change."
"And above all, the only boy I do like, doesn't really know my name."
"So, the fact that Lover Boy doesn't like you means that you can't go anywhere for the rest of high school? For fuck's sake, Connweller. He isn't the only guy in this school."
"Well, I don't like anyone else."
"Well, maybe you should."
"Like who?"
"Like… Anderson, for example."
"Anderson?"
"Anderson. He's not ugly, he's not dumb, he's less of a moron than most. He's single, an athlete. You could meet him at the bonfire."
"Are you telling me I should just settle?"
"I'm telling you that you should have some fun. You shouldn't spend your life dreaming about things instead of actually doing them. I mean, if you wanna pine over Cameron, that's your choice, but it's a dumb one. Think about it, you have nothing to lose."
"Fine, I'll think about it."