A/N: Hi, everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while, but the last couple of months have been... garbage. Anyway, thanks for all the support and patience! You rock! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! Xoxo

As soon as she uttered the word 'werewolves', Kim felt stupid and wanted to take it back, because, if she hadn't said it, maybe they would still have a chance for normalcy, for the way they were before. But Jared nodded, she could see it clearly even in the dark and there wasn't a trace of humor in the uncomfortable sigh that escaped him as he said, "Again, not the place to talk about it, but yes." His voice was hushed, barely above whisper and Kim found it so odd. She'd never heard him whisper before. If anything, he was usually too loud.

None of them said anything else, so they just stood there silently, looking like an especially sad and unsuccessful drug deal. Kim felt like she should have questions, millions of them, but she couldn't think of any. Mostly, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was slowly but surely going insane. There she was, with two boys who claimed to be werewolves. Maybe they were the insane ones. Or maybe they wanted to turn her, too. She shuddered at the thought and looked up to the sky, wondering if there was supposed to be a full moon that night, but she couldn't see anything from the thick clouds. As if he'd read her mind, Jared whispered again.

"Well, technically, we're not werewolves, you know. We weren't bitten or anything. Full moon doesn't really affect us."

"Yeah, it only makes Jared more sensitive and bitchy than usual," Paul cackled. He wasn't really trying to keep quiet.

"Right, I'm the bitchy one. And stop shouting," Jared mumbled and shoved Paul. "Anyway, Kim, we can show you if -"

"No!" She yelled it more forcefully than she'd wanted and they all turned around to see if anyone else had heard it, but nothing so much as stirred.

"I mean, not tonight," she added quietly.

"Sure, yeah, OK," Jared said and she could hear the disappointment in his voice. "Whenever you're up for it. No rush."

"It's just… It's just a lot to process, you know?"

"For sure, for sure."

"And maybe, I don't know, maybe it would be a bit less fright– stressful I mean, if we did it in the daytime?"

"Yeah, probably. You're probably right," Jared mumbled. Again, they all stood silently, neither of them quite sure how to move on. Jared was the first one to speak again. "So, when-"

"Tomorrow. Let's do it tomorrow."

"Deal."

As she was walking back to her room, Kim stopped in front of her parents' bedroom and listened for a while. Her mother was a snorer (not that she would ever admit it) and, sure enough, Kim could hear the muffled chainsaw sounds coming through the door. Kim had always wondered how her father managed to sleep like that, with someone practically blowing raspberries into his ear every night, but at that moment, even she found the crackly sounds comforting. She sat on the floor, just listening, and then a strange wave of guilt washed over her, making her go weak. She'd never hidden anything from her parents, but they could never know about Paul and Jared. No one could ever know. Kim wondered if they'd told their own parents. Probably not. If they'd been smart, they wouldn't have told her either. So, why had they? How had they decided that she should be allowed to know? And why had they decided to tell her now and not when it first happened? Were they really messing with her, Carrie-and-the-pig-blood-style? Or was she just losing her mind? All the questions she couldn't think of in front of them now came popping like bubbles and her head suddenly felt so heavy. She scrambled to her feet, pressed a trembling hand to her forehead and ran to her room. Blood rushed to her face and she could smell nasty, sour sweat on her body, the kind she usually broke out in when she had an important test she hadn't studied for. She collapsed into her chair and took the deepest breaths she could. Breathe in, breathe out. Nice and slow. She felt faint and disconnected; there, but not really present. Her stomach churned and a little bit of bile came back to her mouth, but she just kept breathing deeply. In and out. Easy. After a while, her body relaxed a bit. She started breathing normally and her hands stopped trembling. What was she supposed to do? What could she do, other than listen to them and keep their secret? There was a notebook on her desk and she tore a blank page. She could do what she usually did – ask questions. But this time, she wouldn't forget a single one, no. She took a deep breath and wrote a big number 1 on the torn page.

Kim loved her weaving classes, she really did, but that Saturday she couldn't decide if the class was taking an eternity to finish or if it was coming to an end way too soon. Somewhere outside, Jared and Paul would be waiting for her and every time she remembered that, she dropped something or made a mistake. Mrs. Ateara, the instructor, tried to console her by telling her that our mistakes make our work unique. Kim thought they made her work look like trash. The basket she'd been working on looked crooked and pathetic and she was embarrassed to say it was the worst one in the entire group. She looked at Ali's perfect, pedantic basket and Ali saw it, the envious look. She gave Kim a smug smile and Kim wanted to throw something at her.

"Well, that's it for today, ladies," Mrs. Ateara said, with a small clap. "Your baskets are going beautifully and if you were a bit distracted today," she gave Kim a kind look, "we'll just keep going until we get it right! I'll see you next week!"

A shiver went down Kim's spine. She was packing her things slowly, dragging her feet. How was she supposed to do this?

"Kim, is everything all right?" Mrs. Ateara asked kindly.

"Uh-huh. Peachy. Just a little sleepy today," Kim lied and prayed she wouldn't blush.

"Oh don't worry about that, it happens to the best of us. If you need need anything or just someone to talk to…"

"No, honestly, I'm fine. I'll see you next week."

"All right, honey."

As soon as she exited the small building of the community center, Kim was slapped in the face by the freezing wind and also the realization that Jared and Paul, the two idiots, we're standing just outside, attracting the attention of all the women exiting the center.

"Dear God, it's too easy to forget that these boys are still not legal," said Mrs. Brown, whose son was Kim's age, making Kim sick to the stomach. "The things that I would do-"

"Hey Kim!"Jared yelled at the exact moment. Several women, including Mrs. Brown, turned to look at her. Kim's face turned into a volcano, burning red. She lowered her eyes, trying to pretend she didn't hear him, but then Paul yelled, "Connweller! Here!" Mrs. Brown raised an eyebrow at Kim, clearly impressed.

"Well, good for you, baby. You'll need to tell us your secret next time."

"No, it's not - I'm not… I'll see you next time," Kim stammered and rushed towards Paul and Jared, feeling that several pairs of eyes were burning holes in her back. Those gossips would tell her mom everything, for sure.

"So much for being discreet," she hissed at the two of them. "Maybe you should have taken a megaphone, just in case the other half of La Push didn't hear you."

"Oh, OK, Miss Popularity, are you ashamed of being seen with us?" Jared teased and Paul laughed loudly.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you said we were supposed to keep this on the down low? Would you call this down low?"

"We are your friends from school, Kim, what's the big deal?''

"The big deal is that they are going to tell my mom, Jared," she waved her hand in the vague direction of the women. "And then she's going to ask questions and tell me I'm supposed to be hard-working and not chasing after boys and… you know what? It doesn't even matter. You wouldn't understand it. Where's the car?"

"We came on foot," Jared said sheepishly.

"Of course you did," she huffed. "Let's parade in front of the entire town."

"Will you give him a fucking break, Connweller? This isn't exactly easy for us, either. And, where we're going, well, you can't really park a car there, you know."

"Where are we going?"

Jared pointed to the forest. "Down that trail and then a little deeper."

"How deep are we talking about?" Kim gulped.

"Deep," Paul gave her a sly smile.

The forest was closing in on them. Like a living, breathing thing, it crept up closer and closer, pressing onto Kim's sides, making her feel small and breathless. The deeper they went, the narrower it seemed to become. The trees huddled closer together, the terrain became rougher. Everything seemed quiet and still, but Kim couldn't shake the feeling that strange eyes were watching them, following their every movement. It was almost like the forest didn't want them there.

The boys didn't seem to mind. Jared went first, eyes trained forward, focused. Paul was behind her, looking slightly bored. The two of them walked like they knew every step, every rock and tree, which made Kim wonder whether they were the most dangerous thing one could encounter there.

As her breaths came in white wisps, she could only think about how she didn't want to die there, among those trees, and be left to desompose. A shiver went down her spine and, as if he could feel it, Jared extended his arm to Kim, his eyes still scanning the trees. She grabbed his big, shovel-like hand instantly, ashamed to be such a coward but too scared to care. Behind her, Paul snickered like a particularly mean toddler. She glared at him.

"Just a bit more," Jared squeezed her hand lightly and warmth shoot up through her icy fingers. So, that's what Sophie felt every day they'd spent together, this strange electric current that went straight to your core and warmed your body. Kim shook her head trying to focus; she couldn't be daydreaming about Jared in a moment like that. They walked for a while, Kim stumbling over rocks and fallen branches, clutching Jared's hand for support, until they reached a small clearing.

"This is OK, I guess?" Jared turned to Paul, who just shrugged.

"As good a place as any."

"Who will do the honors?" Jared tried to chuckle but it came out weak and nervous. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"Nah, I say you do it," Paul replied. "I'm only here for Connweller's hilarious reaction, after all."

"Right. Yeah. Sure," Jared turned a little pale. Kim's hand started sweating inside of his giant one.

"Jared, you don't have to… I mean, if you're uncomfortable…"

"No, no it's… We should do it. Yeah. Don't worry," he gave Kim a shaky smile. "Well, you should stand over there with Paul, you shouldn't be… You shouldn't be so close to me when I... phase. So..."

Kim reluctantly let go of his hand and joined Paul, who slung his left arm over her shoulders and casually leaned onto her. She had just started thinking how nice it was to be so casual and friendly with them when Jared started removing his T-shirt. He grabbed it from the back of his neck and yanked it over his head like every bad boy in every romantic movie ever. First, Kim's jaw dropped at the sight of his smooth, firm torso. It was pure, lean muscle that seemed to stretch forever. She felt her cheeks getting hot and she had to look away. As soon as she did, every little alarm in her brain went off and her heart went insane in her chest. She jumped away from Paul so fast that he almost lost his balance and fell.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" She yelled at Jared. "Why are you removing your shirt? Why is he removing his shirt?"

"Jesus, Connweller, calm down-"

"Paul, do not fucking tell me to calm down right now! You dragged me here and now Jared's taking his clothes off-"

"Kim, no! Nonono, I'm not, it's not- It's a misunderstanding!"

"Then what the hell is this? Why are you half naked?"

"He's about to be butt naked, but-"

"What?!"

Jared ran to her, arms raised in surrender but she started backing away and he stopped, looking between her and Paul like a lost puppy.

"Kim, wait! Hold up. Just… Let's go calm down for a bit, OK?"

"Well I'm sorry, but I'm kind of scared of being raped and murdered in this forest, still have to forgive me for not being fucking calm!"

"Oh please, like we have to rape anybody to get laid," Paul rolled his eyes. "I mean, look at us. I know that Cameron isn't always the sharpest tool in the shed –"

"Screw you," Jared yelled.

"– but seriously, he more than makes up for it with his body. The clothes don't change when we do, dummy. This isn't like, a superhero universe. We don't have fucking stretchy costumes. And clothes cost money. So, we have to take them off if we don't want to rip them."

"Oh," was the only thing Kim could manage, after some consideration. Her heart was still beating way too fast and her mouth was completely dry.

"But you're kind of right, Cameron should have warned us before flashing his bare ass."

"I am still in my jeans, moron. I'm sorry, Kim. I really didn't mean to scare you."

"It's not entirely your fault, Akuna really did a number on her," Paul mumbled.

"Akuna? What...?" Jared's eyes narrowed.

"It's nothing. Forget about it," Kim mumbled, widening her eyes at Paul.

"What about Akuna?" Jared asked again through clenched teeth, looking at Paul.

"He was being a creep, as usual," Paul scratched his neck.

"And you're just telling me this now?"

Vibrations started going through Jared's body, as if it was being charged by low level electricity.

"There's nothing to tell, and even if there was, why would he tell you?" Kim frowned.

"Because... we're friends. I… Care about you."

Kim raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh. Well, he grabbed my arm and I got really scared but-"

"HE TOUCHED YOU?!"

"Well, yeah, but Sam was there and he -"

"Sam was there and he didn't tell me?!" The vibrations got stronger and faster, and Jared's frowning face contorted, as if his skull was trying to pierce its way through his skin. He clenched his teeth again and a hissing sound came through them. His jaws suddenly became longer and his skin seemed to stretch. Before Kim could even think about doing anything, Paul had reached her in two steps and pulled her back. And then it happened. If she'd blinked, she would have missed it. It was as if Jared skin was being ripped at the seams and a completely new creature was climbing out. His jeans and sneakers burst off of him and pieces of denim flew around like confetti; only the rubber soles of his shoes remained whole when they hit the ground.

A strange sound escaped Kim's mouth, something like an inhaled scream and Paul tightened his grip on her shoulders and pulled her further back. Her knees went weak and she would have fallen had Paul not been behind her. There was a giant creature in front of them. Almost the size of a horse, a brown wolf with black fur around its eyes and nose stood where Jared had been standing seconds ago. They weren't lying. There was no prank. They really changed into wolves.

"Lesson number one," Paul said, still holding her close, "never, ever, stand near an angry wolf just about to phase."