jared cameron. 1652 words.

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Kim had slowly gotten the message that you didn’t want to talk about Jared anymore, so she stopped mentioning him around you. She realized that your annoyance with him was more concentrated than usual. What you didn’t tell her was why. 

You’d tolerated Jared just fine. Even though he and his friends were usually obnoxious and cocky, you’d endured him because for some reason, his face made Kim happy. 

Until the diner incident. 

Damn, why did that boy get to you? You hadn’t ever cared about him — or wanted to — but ever since he’d stormed out of that restaurant, his expression of pain and hurt stayed solidified in your memory like a bad dream you couldn’t shake off. Though, that couldn’t have been because of you. He surely couldn’t have heard how badly you’d insulted him. No one could have heard. You’d been quiet about it. 

So him being angry and frustrated every time you saw him outside of school had nothing to do with you. Maybe something had happened with Paul and Embry. Maybe they’d gotten into a fight. Maybe they’d made fun of him one too many times — like you had. 

Friday after school, you hurried to your car, eager to turn on the heating and warm yourself up. Kim had coaxed you into coming down to the res and sleeping over at her house, and though you weren’t a big fan of the sickly girly things she had planned, you desperately wanted to something to pull your thoughts away from Jared. 

You’d promised to drive over to her place as soon as you grabbed a few things from home, which you assured her wouldn’t take too long. You quickly rushed up the front steps of your house and sprinted up to your bedroom, tossing your backpack in a corner and shoving essentials in an overnight bag. As you walked out of your house, you stopped short in front of your car. Jared Cameron was leaning against the driver’s side. 

His arms were folded over his bare chest, eyes narrowed in the same frustration you’d witnessed at the diner. You almost wanted to turn back around and lock yourself in your house, but decided against it. If he’d managed to find out where you lived — although that wasn’t really very weird in a small town like Forks — then what he had to say must have held some degree of importance. 

“What do you want?” you demanded. “I don’t have all day.” 

Jared scoffed. “Why are you always pissed at me?” he asked. “Jeez, you’re always glaring and talking shit behind my back to Kim. Ease up, will you?”

It took you a little by surprise that he was so upfront about it. He wasn’t wrong, really, but he certainly hadn’t wasted time getting to the point.

“Yeah, well, I’m doing it for Kim’s sake,” you said.

“‘Cause she likes me?” Jared shook his head, almost remorsefully. “I thought by ignoring her, I was letting her down easy.”

You really weren’t all that surprised. He treated Kim like she was invisible. You just hadn’t expected him to be so aware. Most guys generally weren’t when it came to things like romance.

“You should have told her,” you said. “She thinks the two of you will get married one day.”

“You think she’ll appreciate you telling me that?” Jared laughed. “Some friend you are.”

You gritted your teeth. “If you’ve come here to berate me, you can leave.”

Jared smiled. Shit, he really does have nice lips, you thought. A nice everything.

“I need to show you something,” he said. “Can you drive?”

“What the hell are you playing at?” you fumed, furrowing your eyebrows.

“Absolutely nothing. I just need to show you something,” he repeated.

Though you wanted to refuse and tell him to get lost and never set foot on your property again, you were curious to find out more about the mystery that was Jared Cameron. So, you jerked your chin towards your car. 

“Get in.”

“You sure you’re not going to murder me?” you teased.

Jared scoffed from in front of you, and though you couldn’t see his expression, you were sure he’d rolled his eyes. “Really,” he said, “is that how low you think of me?”

“Well, you’re in a gang,” you defended. “People talk. Everyone thinks you guys are in some sort of cult. How do I know you’re not getting ready to sacrifice me to some hippie god?”

His shoulders tensed, but his tone was forcedly light. “Don’t worry, I’d never do anything to hurt you.” It was such an odd statement, especially since you didn’t really know Jared Cameron all too well. But somehow, there was a heavy note behind his promise, as if he’d meant it from the bottom of his heart.

The two of you had been walking in the woods outside of La Push for a while and your legs were getting tired. You were supposed to have been at Kim’s house half-an-hour ago but Jared’s company was somewhat addicting. Though you knew it probably wasn’t smart to entrust yourself to him, especially considering the fact that you’d always adamantly claimed he was bad news, you couldn’t help it. There was something about him you couldn’t shake off.

You reached an opening in the trees, which gave way to a small clearing. Tall grass swayed softly in the breeze with a grace that made the movement look like a foreign dance. A crisp winter air scraped through your lungs sharply, but the pain felt oddly comforting to you.

“It’s beautiful here,” you marvelled. “Is this what you wanted to show me?” Jared glanced at you and the corners of his mouth tugged upwards into a crooked smile. “You think I brought you out here to show you some grass?”

It was your turn to roll your eyes. “Very funny. Get on with it.”

His demeanour changed in an instant, face hardening gravely. It reminded you of the diner incident when you’d insulted him — though you still thought it was impossible for him to have heard you.

“(Y/N), please don’t freak out, okay? The last thing I want is for you to be afraid of me.”

You crossed your arms. “Why does it matter if I’m afraid of you?”

“Because believe it or not, what you think of me is important.” He grimaced. 

“But then again, I already know what you think of me. What was I — the offspring of a toilet and a garbage can, with the personality of both?”

You changed colour. The nagging voice in the back of your mind telling you that he’d heard you at the diner had been right all along. “It was a joke. I didn’t mean it.” And looking at him, you really hadn’t. He wasn’t as bad as everyone else had made him out to be.

“Yeah, sure.” Jared sighed and then unbuttoned his shorts.

“Woah!” you exclaimed, shielding your eyes. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Showing you what I am.”

You cringed. “What you are? Jared, if you brought me out here to see you naked, what you are is a pervert.”

“You’re such a child,” he groaned. “Turn around if you’re so bothered.”

Reluctantly, you turned around and lowered your hands. Your face was burning at the thought of Jared without any clothes on. Though you were utterly confused as to why there was a need for him to take his clothes off in the first place, you couldn’t lie and say that you weren’t curious about what he’d look like naked. Imagining it made you warm all over, partly with excitement and partly with shame.

And then something wet nuzzled your palm. You wheeled back — and your heart almost stopped in shock.

Where Jared had once stood was a massive wolf, and massive was an understatement. On all fours, it was taller than you, with short and thick chestnut hair and black around its eyes. Your breath lodged itself in your throat, burying every scream with it. You paled and felt the earth beneath your feet sway, falling to your knees painfully.

Slowly, the wolf poked its nuzzle into your hand again and then lowered its gaze submissively. There was nothing threatening about it, despite its size. The fear you had initially felt was replaced by a numbing calmness.

“Jared?” you whispered.

The wolf nodded.

“So,” you began, “you’re not in a gang. You’re in a pack. And Sam Uley’s the Alpha?”

Jared nodded, eyes fixated on the road ahead.

“And you’re the Beta.”

Another nod.

“Why did you tell me out of all people? If it’s such a guarded secret, why let me in on it?”

He sighed, keeping one hand on the steering wheel of your car while rubbing his forehead with the other. “I wasn’t supposed to let anyone else know,” he started. “Sam’s orders have to be obeyed whether we want them to or not. But he said the only exception was if we imprinted.”

“What does that mean?”

Jared glanced at you out of the corners of his eyes. “Imprinting is when you find your soulmate. The person you’re supposed to be with. The one that was made just for you.”

You stared at him — at his unrecognizable expression — and breathed in shakily. “And I’m your imprint.”

He nodded again.

“Well, that makes me feel like a total idiot,” you moaned. “And Kim’s going to hate me so much.”

“(Y/N), even if I hadn’t imprinted on you, the chances of me getting with Kim would have still been slim to none.” Jared grinned. “You were more my type anyway.”

“That’s a shitty way to ask me out.”