⌜ chapter eight ⌟

"Angela and I missed you last night." Bella says as she and Jay sit in the parking lot at school. It was quiet the whole ride over, no more than the sound of the rain hitting the roof. "Feels weird not having you around all the time like you used to be."

"I couldn't have gotten in anyway."

"I know." She nods. "Edward tested it right after Marie did the spell... I appreciate everyone putting in the extra effort to protect me and my dad."

"It's what we do, Bell." She says, glancing over at her.

"Are you okay, Jay?" The older girl asks. "I thought things would be getting better now that you and Paul have worked things out. You seemed better the past couple of weeks."

"I am." The little brunette offers her a small smile as she sits up straight in her seat. "I've been a little stuck in my head since I woke up. I had a dream about my mom last night, and it got me thinking about my family. I promise, I'm okay. Just...having a moment."

"How are you doing with everything?" Bella asks. "How are you..."

"Dealing?" Jay supplies. "If I'm being entirely honest, I don't really know. Some days are easier than others, I guess. Today's just one of the harder ones."

"Have you seen Kim lately?" She asks, and the younger girl only glances at her by means of response. "I think you should go to La Push and see her. I'll even drive you; we'll both hang out for awhile... We can go to the beach, like we used to do all the time."

The little vampire smiles as she nods. "I think that sounds like a good idea...but are we sure that one Mr. Squidward can survive without you for that long?" She asks, seeing Edward making his way over to the orange truck that the girls are sitting in.

"He'll have to." Bella says, and Jay's smile widens as she looks over at her.

Jay's door opens, and her eyes narrow as she looks at Edward. "You're actually in a good mood for once." He muses, and she flips him off. "I think time at the beach will do you some good."

"That's progress in your clingy issues, but the eavesdropping still needs work." Jay tells him, and he smirks as she looks at her, then his gaze turns to his girlfriend.

"We should all get to class."

"Yes, before he misses out on the opportunity for yet another diploma." The youngest pushes past him as she drops to the pavement. "The world may implode if Edward doesn't graduate again."

"She really seems happier to you?" Bella asks after rounding the front of the truck; Jay's already disappeared into the school.

"Ever since she came back to school after the almost-incident with Laura." Her boyfriend nods as he looks down at her. "I was only giving her a hard time just now."

"Good." She takes a deep breath as she looks in the direction that her friend vanished.

"Her happiness means a great deal to you." Edward says, and she nods as she turns her gaze to him.

"I wasn't doing well when Jay and Jeremy decided to sit with me during lunch; they pulled me out of it." She tells him — that time isn't something that she talks about often. "The nightmares stopped because of them. So, I want to help her like she helped me."

—

Jay, Kim, Bella, and Marie are all laughing as they watch the pack fight while the boys attempt to play football. It used to be more civilized when Paul and Jared were the only wolves involved in the game. Now there's Paul, Jared, Embry, Jacob, and Quil...and none of them seem all that interested in playing fair.

"Paul cheated." Marie says, and Jay looks at her.

"How do you know? You were staring at the sky until they started arguing."

"Jeremy was watching." She tells her, and the younger girl pauses a moment as she looks between her and the boys.

"Is he here often?"

"They all watch over us quite a bit." She says. "I just don't usually say anything because it's hard to grieve and move forward if we're still talking like they're standing with us."

Jay takes a deep breath as her gaze returns to the guys. "So, Paul cheated, huh?"

"He wasn't past their touchdown line when Jake tackled him, so the points shouldn't count for him and Jared. Jeremy thinks he knows it too, but he won't admit it." She explains.

The youngest gets to her feet and then walks over to the boys. Embry seems rather amused when he sees her, and he tosses the ball over when she holds her hands out. Paul's eyes zero in on his imprint, and he shoves Jake away from him as he turns his attention to her.

"Pride is a sin." The little brunette says as she looks up at him. "It's also not an attractive trait."

"I think I'll be alright on that last bit." Paul smirks, and she shakes her head as she narrows her dark eyes at him.

"And cheaters never prosper." She adds, tossing the ball to Jacob. "Jeremy saw the play."

He glances around, though he knows that he won't be able to see his friend. "And what's our ghostly referee have to say on the matter?" He asks, his eyes settling on Jay again.

"Jake tackled you before you hit the touchdown line." She tells him. "You should learn to swallow your pride, babe. It shows growth."

The other wolves are all laughing as she turns around and walks away from them. Paul's eyes are still on her as he fights a smile, then he runs after her and grabs her by her waist.

Jay laughs as his arms snake around her and he lifts her off of her feet. "You're supposed to be on my side." He says as they stumble forward a few steps, and she then steadies them.

"Maybe I'm supposed to keep you honest." The brunette counters as she turns in his arms. "I'm always on your side, but that doesn't mean I have to let you cheat."

"Can you two flirt later?!" Quil calls from where the others are waiting. "If this keeps up, we'll lose Jared too, and then the game's over."

"He doesn't want the game to be over yet because Jared and I are winning." Paul tells his imprint, and she smiles as she looks into his dark brown eyes.

"If you can win fair and square, why cheat?" Jay questions, and he shrugs.

"Maybe I just like picking a fight."

"Oh." She nods. "I already knew that much." She hums, and Paul chuckles as he looks down at her.

"Will you come over tonight?" He asks, and she sighs as her hands run down his biceps.

"And incur the continued harassment and questioning of Damon?" She shakes her head. "Not tonight."

"He's taking his parental duties seriously, I see." Paul says, and she scrunches her nose as she nods.

"It's both annoying and slightly adorable." The brunette smirks. "He's trying to do what Ric would do. Truthfully, I think I need the normality of the authority figure."

"Another night then." He leans down and kisses her forehead, and she smiles as she closes her eyes.

"Hey." Marie gets their attention as she jogs over to the pair. "Sorry to interrupt the adorable moment, but I have your father on the phone and he won't leave me alone."

"This usually works." Jay takes the phone from her and hangs up on Damon. "I have Bella with me, so it's not important enough for me to care at the moment."

"I'm sure he won't be annoying as all hell tonight." She muses, and the younger girl chuckles.

"Can we get the game going again please?" Embry asks as he makes his way over to them, and the two girls turn to him. "You two being all imprint-y now is great and all, but—"

Jay nudges Paul, who was mocking his pack brother, and he then looks down at his imprint. She motions toward Embry, and he looks over to find the younger boy staring slack-jawed at a very confused Marie. The curly-haired girl raises her eyebrows as she looks up into his dark eyes.

"Are you... Is he okay?" The little witch breaks eye contact with Embry to look back at Jay, and she smiles as she looks at her best friend.

"No." Paul shakes his head, laughing, and Jay elbows him in the ribs. "Hey! You've never felt it from this end. Alright? It's like the wind gets knocked out of you and your brain glazes over at the same time."

"I'm confused." Marie mutters as Embry clears his throat.

"Is it always this awkward?" He asks as he rubs the back of his neck, and Paul nods.

"Pretty much, yeah." The older boy tells him.

"I... Oh." The witch's eyes widen, and Jay chuckles as she looks between the two of them.

—

It's after nightfall now, and the Salvatore brothers are sitting on the front porch as they wait for the girls to get home. Stefan's been getting on the older boy's nerves, laughing because he really doesn't seem to have much control when it comes to Jay.

"Do you have any suggestions here?" Damon questions, and his brother shakes his head as he looks away from him. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know how to raise a teenager." He tells him, swirling the bourbon in his glass.

"I've noticed." Stefan says, and his eyebrows furrow as he looks back at him.

"Shut up."

Paul's truck pulls up outside the house then, and the two girls get out. Jay starts skipping up to the steps, and Paul chuckles when he sees how irritated Marie is with her best friend. She's been bugging her about what happened with Embry ever since it happened.

"At least she's in a good mood." Marie says, watching as Jay tells the boys what has her in such high spirits. "So... What now?" She asks, turning her head to look at Paul.

"No clue." The older boy says, looking at her in the backseat. "That's for you and Embry to figure out."

"And we just pretend it's not weird that he dated Jay?"

"I don't think she seems all that bothered by it." He says, motioning to the brunette as she starts arguing with Damon because she hung up on him earlier when he wanted to talk to her about something. "Besides, there have been more awkward imprints than this one."

"Really?" She asks, and he nods as he returns his gaze to her.

"You guys are gonna be fine, trust me." Paul tells her. "It just takes some time."

"I guess there are way worse things in the world than being imprinted on by a nice guy...even if he did date my best friend. Thanks, Paul." Marie says, and he nods.