Howdy! I'll be honest, I struggled writing this for some reason. Not emotionally or anything like that, I just kept feeling a little stuck even when I changed the scenes and whatnot. I think I had such clear visions about where the story is going that I briefly forgot how to get it there, so I definitely apologize if it's all a little disjointed. I'm also conscious of the original story's timeline so I had to delete some stuff to make it fit in with that, though I'm considering writing my own timeline for some of the Volturi related stuff considering I've already changed Rasputin's gender to let Bella be a boy mom.
Anyway, thank you for getting this far, I really do appreciate it! Hopefully the chapter is okay in spite of the issues I had writing it. I will say, I think there will be more time passing between chapters (not just me writing them, but time between evens of chapters is what I mean specifically) as I'm getting closer to a larger plot point, so hopefully that's okay and not too jarring. I'll basically just be dropping us in on a few days and/or weeks as time progresses, but I'm hopeful that it works out okay/isn't too noticeable. Still, please enjoy!
The school parking lot was, sadly, full as ever. School was finally back in session, so it was to be expected. Still, that didn't do a damn thing to ease River's anxiety as she pulled her truck into a space and shifted the beast into park.
Beside her, she recognized Kim's car. It was small and beat up but reliable as hell. Apparently the thing had survived being rolled into a ditch and having a tree fall on it, all before she'd bought it. If the girl in question was to be believed, the tiny thing just refused to die, so that was what made it her perfect car. Something about knowing that she wouldn't ever get into a back wreck because the thing simply wouldn't allow it. River took that last part with a grain of salt.
Alas, with a glance, she confirmed that Kim wasn't in the car.
Just like Kim wasn't in the car, neither was Jared. In turn, Paul wasn't sitting beside her. So, she'd be entering school alone. It wasn't so strange given as that was how she'd entered just about every other day of her life, save for the time that she'd dated another girl on the res, but that hadn't been something that had lasted long.
She figured she should have been used to it and had nothing to be anxious about, but something about Paul having been called away by Sam on such a day had set a knot in her stomach. Nothing would feel right until she knew that everything was okay, she knew that.
As she clambered out of her truck's cab, she got a couple of looks. Only a couple. She knew why. Everyone knew her as the girl with the bike... more specifically, the girl who had come off her bike at the end of the last school year. Briefly, she wondered if they saw her truck as a sign of defeat. It was stupid, she knew, but part of her wanted to tell some of them that she had her bike again and that she was only driving the truck so that she could take Paul home with her. Home, where they now lived together, as a couple. Gods, the looks she would have gotten. They'd have thought her mad at best.
Without her jacket and helmet to hide behind, she set her face in a firm, unbothered look of absolutely nothing as she prepared to face the masses. She grabbed her bag, locked her truck and headed inside.
As expected, the halls were packed. There weren't all that many students on the res, but the school was small enough that it felt like a freaking mosh pit when they were all there.
The walk to her locker, mercifully, lead her to Brooke. They didn't really speak, but her sister offered her a second of comfort if nothing else before they were forced to part ways once more. One thing she noticed, though didn't mention, was Krystal, Brooke's stupid friend, was nowhere near the younger Nivalis or her friends.
In all honesty, her anxiety began to melt away pretty quickly. Home room was fine enough, as was Math, her first class. When it truly got better, though? Well, that would be the second that she felt something in her mood shift. No, not her mood. Paul's mood, that was right.
Through the bond, later on in the day as lunchtime neared, so too did he. With each step that he got closer to school, they both seemed to feel lighter for it.
Luckily, her last class before lunch was over quickly, so she headed toward her locker, glad to find Kim along the way.
"Hey!" The other girl, it seemed, was as glad to see her as she was. "What was this morning about?" She asked, clearly talking about how Jared must have been called away, too. Come to think of it, none of the guys seemed to be at school, not even the young ones, though River had briefly wondered if they just weren't ready to be back yet.
She shrugged as she swung her locker open and grabbed her lunch container. Beside it, Paul's food that she'd brought with her. How very domestic. She grabbed that too. "Honestly, no idea." She answered, having hoped that the other girl had maybe known more. "I don't think it seemed super serious though. I mean, Paul just kind of said he had to go, but he didn't, like, shoot off or try to send me to Sam and Em's."
"Hm." Kim nodded, thinking. "Could be a new phase. I know some of the new kids have started freaking one another out sometimes, they kinda feed off of one another."
River wasn't sure, but she was happy to take Kim's word for it. Paul honestly didn't like her being around the new kids so much, saying that they could accidentally hurt her if they phased too close, but he was going to have to get used to her being around them so she could tutor them.
Together, she and Kim headed outside to sit on the bleachers. It was cold and rainy, but there was a slight cover over some of the lower seats, so they sat together with their lunches and waited for the guys.
With each minute that they waited, eating together in comfortable silence, the guys grew closer. There was a moment where both girls looked sharply to the tree line, having felt something, only to laugh as they caught one another. It almost felt ludicrous, but they were happy to be able to share their madness with one another and laugh together.
From that very tree line, the guys emerged. Well... most of them.
"Where is he?" Kim asked as Quil reached them.
"Yeah, I'm missing one, too." River piped up.
Seriously, how the hell were Paul and Jared the only ones missing? That was some specifically bad luck.
Quil's laughter, stifled by a swift punch in the gut from Embry, was initially their only answer. Then, however, came Embry's laughter, too.
"Guys." Kim whined. They stopped. "Where are they?"
The two morons looked between one another, then at Seth. He was grinning as always, but not giggling like a little girl like they were. "Well," Embry started, stifling his laughter for a second. "You could say that they're both covered in shit."
"You could say?" River asked, immediately curious. "What does that mean?" She then asked, glancing at Kim, seeing that she looked equally confused. Seriously, there weren't too many things that could have meant. In fact, as she thought about it, she struggled to conjure up anything but the obvious. They couldn't have actually been covered in shit. They just couldn't, right?
Sighing, Seth shoved his brothers playfully. "Jared kind of fell over and got covered in deer... droppings." River found it adorable that Seth didn't want to cuss in front of them, but how exactly did that relate to Paul? "Oh, then he figured it wasn't fair that Paul got to see River if he didn't get to see Kim, so-"
"Oh my god, what did he do?" Kim demanded, eyes wide. "Seth, tell me he didn't-"
"He bear hugged the shit all over Paul!" Quil burst into a fit of laughter.
River sat there, utterly shocked. Maybe she'd heard that wrong. "He..." She started, trailing off. Looking at Kim, she could see the look on the other girl's face. Disgust but not shock. Oh god. "I'm sorry, he did what?" She asked, glancing between all of them. No. He wouldn't have, would he?
So, naturally, Quil and Embry took turns relaying the entire thing to them, right down to the thoughts that were going through all of their heads at the time.
"He wiped deer shit..." River started, still perplexed.
"On Paul?" Kim finished, clearly still hoping that this was all some weird joke that they just weren't getting. "Like, actually on him?"
"All over him!" The two idiots laughed at the same time.
Huh. Well, that hadn't been on River's bingo card for the start of the year, that much was for sure.
Seth eventually revealed that both of them had managed to duck behind where the groundskeeper kept his tools in an outbuilding. Apparently they were, if Seth's above average hearing, hosing one another down entirely naked so their clothes didn't get dirty or wet. Neither of them wanted to touch the smeared poop, so it was taking a while.
There wasn't all that much of the lunch period left, so the guys went inside as River and Kim laughed, finishing their food. Neither Paul nor Jared showed up before lunch was over, so the girls headed inside for their next classes.
As they walked, River felt something. It was the bond, she knew. Paul was getting closer.
Clearly Kim felt it too, stopping just inside the doors and telling River that she planned to wait for Jared.
River, however, nodded, waved and carried on. She had a class to get to and she wasn't going to slack for so much as a second now that they were together. She just had to grab her History book from her locker, then she'd be in her favorite teacher's room once more. Mr. Hart, garbage can of a man that he was, was going to be a welcome sight after so long. After all, she'd not seen him since before her accident and, well, he'd been her favorite freaking class for a reason.
As she neared her locker, so too did Paul. She wasn't quite as skilled as Kim or Emily at telling how close her imprint was, but the tension in her body was easing with each step closer that he took.
Seth had said the groundskeeper's shed, right? Hell, that wasn't far from the main building.
Swinging her locker open, she grabbed the books that she'd need, feeling any anxiety melting away as she rummaged around her backpack for a couple of pens. The likelihood of Paul having one was slim to none, so she grabbed two. Then she felt him.
No, literally, she felt him.
Thick, strong arms went either side of her locker as his firm chest pressed so very gently against her back.
Beside them, conversation stilled a little. People were curious. "Dude, put your freaking drink down." One guy hissed to his friend, clearly remembering how River had snatched and tossed someone's drink the last time Paul had cornered her against the lockers. Oh, how the tables had turned since then.
Around them both, conversation fell entirely silent as she turned in his arms, reaching to close her locked. Only, she couldn't. He'd trapped her by the door, leaving no room in his embrace for her to do just about anything. "Can I help you, Lahote?" She asked easily, cocking a brow.
Okay, so maybe this whole interaction looked a little performative, but she wasn't doing it for the people watching. She was just acting however felt natural with Paul. He was, as always, her only concern. She didn't give a damn what the kids around them thought, not now that she was looking up into his eyes. Gods, his eyes. She silently wondered how she hadn't noticed how dreamy he was before he'd imprinted on her. Of course, she put that down to how they'd been around one another, but still.
As whispers began to fill the air, other students wondering what the hell she was going to do, a nearby door opened. Mr. Hart, River knew. It was his room, at least.
"Mr. Lahote," The grumpy teacher began, already sounding tired. "I do hope that I can trust you not to be acting a fool so very early on in our new semester."
Briefly, River felt something familial from the sour man. He was using his voice, his very authority, to try to protect her from who he deemed to be a threat.
Then, in the same second, Paul leaned down. "Hey." It was quick and brief as he pressed his lips to hers, but she kissed him back.
The kiss was barely a second long, but it was done. Gods, she hadn't ever been that person before. PDA was something that she hadn't ever liked. Sure, holding hands or whatever was fine, even a peck or whatever else, but a kiss while the world was watching? From anyone else, in any other scenario... well, none of that mattered. With Paul, everything felt right.
"Hey." With a chuckle and a snort, so very aware of all of the stunned faces looking their way, River playfully shoved Paul away from her. She turned, closing her locker, using the single second in which no one could see her to steel her resolve. No one else mattered, only him. She didn't have to give a fuck what any of them thought, not so long as she had him.
The bell, loud and clear, was her saving grace. It rang out harshly, sending students stumbling off to their classes.
Sure, there were a few murmurs, but it wasn't much. She saw Brooke as she headed to class, earning a supportive smile from her sister.
As they headed to Mr. Hart's class together, River felt her chest tighten. As quickly as it did, Paul reached out and took her hand. He'd felt what she'd felt, so she took his hand with a soft smile and passed the teacher in the doorway.
"I'm glad to see that you're getting along this year, Mr. Lahote and Miss Navalis." He said both sternly and firmly, but she saw it. That tiny smile that hid behind the newly thick moustache that sat atop his upper lip. It was in his eyes, too. The smile, not the 'stache, of course.
A short cackle of laughter came from within the room. Jared, River knew. "Oh, they're getting alo-ong." He sang out, turning the latter half of the word into some fake, high pitched moan.
As a blush consumed River, she ducked her head and dropped the eyes of her teacher. She didn't want their first interaction of the year to be this, yet there they were. Mr. Hart simply rolled his eyes and let them carry on into the room and to their seats. "Do you think your final grade last year reflects on you well enough, Mr. Cameron, that you should already be making such comments in my class?" He asked quickly, silencing everyone. River's heart dropped. "To answer, no. Your grade is a reflection of the very quality of your so-called humor. Poor. Abysmal, even."
No one so much as breathed out of turn, taking their seats. Though, through the bond, River could feel something from Paul. She didn't dare turn to look, but she was certain he was grinning and doing his best not to laugh.
Class went well enough, something that she was thankful for. Being back at school, in her favorite class, was honestly perfect. She ached a little from her healed injuries, realizing that writing was a bitch on her wrist now, but that was just something to get used to. She certainly didn't plan to shy away from the year, nor from its challenges, so she'd take the aches and pains in her stride and adjust accordingly. Nothing was going to stop her this year, nothing.
With no more comments from Jared or anyone else, History was a breeze.
She got all of her work done quickly enough, even having time to help Paul. She was quiet about it so as to not disrupt the class, but she gave him some pointers on pulling the right pieces of information from the textbook, structuring his answers and whatnot. Mr. Hart, with little more than a glance, silently confirmed that he had no issue with her behavior.
Once class was over, however, when they were all filing out of the room to get to their next classes, he stopped her in the door. She was last, thanks to her seat at the back, so no one was held up behind her. "Miss Nivalis." All it took was her name, spoken in that low, authoritative tone, for her to stop.
Paul made to stop too, but she waved him quickly on. He went with a faint pout, though she figured he only went just around the corner. "Sir?" She stilled in the doorway as students in the halls hurried along.
The short man before her looked up at her for a second before sighing. "I'm glad to see that you're well again after your unfortunate accident at the tail end of our last year." He told her, sounding sincere as he spoke.
"Thank you, sir." Her crash, barely a few short months ago, felt like it had happened a lifetime ago. Had she and Paul really only been imprints for so little time? She almost couldn't believe it. Only, as she though and counted back, it really was the case. She certainly knew why her folks had been as concerned as they had been, taking it all in their stride eventually. Only, they didn't understand. They couldn't ever understand the bond that she and Paul had. They didn't know the security that was guaranteed in her relationship, not like she did.
River and Mr. Hart moved on quickly from talk of the accident, just mentioned for long enough to be glad that she was nicely healed up.
"It's good to see you helping Mr. Lahote with his work. An improvement of quality would do him the world of good." As he spoke, his features remained stern. All but his eyes. There was something almost soft in them. "I do so hope, however, that the cost of this isn't your own grades." Ah, there it was.
Smiling somewhat sheepishly, she shook her head. "I plan to ace your class, sir. I know that I failed the final assignment last year, but I still plan to get as close to a perfect grade as I can this year." She told him honestly.
Content with her answer, he nodded. "I look forward to seeing that happen." With that, he was done.
She didn't wait around, knowing that their brief word was over. So, with a nod and a smile, she skipped off, finding Paul almost immediately outside the door. He said nothing about it as she took his hand and dragged him off to her second favorite subject. Phys Ed.
Upon getting there, she was pulled aside yet again, this time by their gym coach. Away from the prying eyes and ears of the other students, he told her that he'd seen her dad in the grocery store and had, apparently, agreed to give her relative free reign on her time in his class when it came to anything physical. He trusted her to know what she needed to do in order to prepare for her fight, something that both shocked and excited her.
With a little convincing, she managed to wrangle Kim as a helper. Needless to say, the other girl was glad to be out of group.
"I hate running." Kim told her once they were in their kits and outside, on the field with the other students.
The first day back and all those poor bastards were being told to run laps out in the cold.
Snorting, River nodded. She didn't hate running, but she sure understood not enjoying it. Honestly, she considered herself lucky to enjoy cardio.
So, as the other students ran laps, Kim and River did whatever the hell they wanted, mostly just chatting.
Granted, River did work out, but Kim? Well, she sure as shit didn't.
While River did sit ups, Kim helped her out by holding her feet and counting aloud. While River ran laps, Kim timed her and shouted encouragement. While River did burpees, well, Kim timed her and shouted encouragement again. It was an easy enough pattern to fall into. The only thing River decided they couldn't do was sparring. She couldn't risk accidently hurting the other girl and having Jared storm over, not to mention the fallout it could cause with him and Paul.
No. Sparring was very much off the table.
Still, they had an eventful hour, one that left River sweating profusely. If there was one thing she'd always been good at, it was structuring her own workouts. Sure, the gym would have been a little better, but she did what she could without any prep time.
Long story cut way short, the first day back at school was anything but the nightmare that River had worried that it would be. She and Paul got plenty of blatant stares, most of all when he tried to back her up against her truck, but she'd been quick to shove him away with a loud laugh and wrangle him into the car, informing him firmly that they weren't going to be that couple.
Later that evening, they sat at the dining together and did their homework together.
Paul made a few comments about teachers who gave homework so damn early in the year, then a couple about how they had like a week to do it all, but he quieted quickly when River simply told him that this was how they were going to keep on top of it all. Anything at all for her, even homework.
When they were finally done, she made it well worth his time. Hey, maybe she could Pavlov's Dog him. Or, more accurately, Pavlov's Wolf. Pavlov's Spirit Warrior? Whatever, the point still stood.
Oddly enough, the homework after school, sitting beside one another at the table followed by the sex, dinner and then bed, it all brought her back around to that whole feeling of domesticity.
It all made her think of getting home after work in a few years' time and doing the same things. Maybe she'd finish work and tutor the younger kids through their senior years. She sure hoped so.
Doing all of that with Paul sounded like some kind of distant dream, one that grew ever closer with each homely task that she caught either of them in. Even watching him cook had made her feel all warm and loved like some kind of damn simp. As she noticed that though, it only made things more intense as she decided how much she freaking loved it. Watching him do the smallest, most menial tasks brought on such intense waves of love that they practically floored her, especially when it was dull stuff like watching him leaf through a collection of recipes that her mom had given him.
Seeing him worry about her protein intake, weirdly, was hot as fuck. Domesticity rocked.
Yeah, super freaking short chapter, I'm sorry! I just needed to post to get this out of my brain so that I can move on to the next chapter, hopefully it was all okay though.
Thank you so much for making it this far, I really appreciate this whole mess being read by just about anyone other than me out there, so thank you again. Please feel free to let me know what your thoughts and/or feelings are/were on this whole thing, I absolutely adore getting messages or reviews. Whether you do or don't, please still have an awesome day! See you (hopefully) next time!