CHAPTER 32
IMPRINTEE RULES ON COLLEGE

FINDING Bella distraught in the second floor girls bathroom was not how Margo wanted to start her day. However, she really didn't want to have that conversation in the parking lot either.

She found Bella sniffling in the handicapped stall, when all Margo wanted to do was blow her nose before class. (It was allergy season and she was feeling a bit congested.) Margo knew Bella's voice from anywhere and cautiously approached the stall door. Bella saw Margo's dirty shoes from her spot on the floor, but she still jumped as Margo knocked on the door. "Bella," Margo said on the other side. "Are you okay?"

Bella sighed loudly before retrieving her backpack from the ground and standing up. Her sneakers squeaked on the floor as she unlocked the stall door. Margo noticed her eyes were a bit red. "Why did he lie to me?" She asked.

Margo looked around the empty bathroom for a moment and turned back to her friend. "Why are we both dating monsters?" She shrugged. "These are questions that can never be answered."

Bella rubbed at the bottom of her nose, causing Margo to hand her a paper towel. "I just don't get it." She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "They didn't tell either of us. Boys. Ugh."

"They were just trying to protect us – apparently." Margo replied sluggishly. "I guess I can understand Jacob's point of view. I have been stressing about my speech, and knowing about the multiple monster problems would probably make me stress more ... and now that I think about it ..." She sighed awkwardly. "Depending on my anxiety levels right now, I can understand why he didn't tell me. He didn't want to me to go crazy with finding out the truth of what was going on."

Bella crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, Edward should've told me." She approached the trash barrel and through her extra paper towel in it. Margo still stood by the stall, watching her friend with interest. Bella walked to the bathroom door and held up a stern finger. "And he's going to regret not doing it."

•••

Margo would be lying if she said she still wasn't slightly angry at Jacob for his actions this morning. Even after briefing Melinda on the affair as the last bell rang, her best friend told her she was being ridiculous if she was still mad. Margo huffed, wanting to drag her foot across the ground like a child. Maybe she was just being stubborn, and maybe Jacob had been considerate to not tell her when she was stressed about other matters, but ...

"I'm, like," Margo lowered her voice to a whisper as the two girls made their way out of school, "the imprint. If I'm so important to him and the wolf pack, don't you think I should've known?"

Melinda's dark boots clicked against the linoleum floors. "Well, if you are that important, then yes. But c'mon, Mar. All you've been talking about lately is that you've been stressed with exams and your valedictorian speech. The last thing you needed to know was the problem."

"You're right," Margo shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. "At least I'm not in Bella's position, where Edward just didn't fucking acknowledge to tell her anything." She rolled her eyes. "If she's directly involved, he should've mentioned it to her. He was clearly trying to protect her, but its more of a safety precaution to keep her in the know."

"You should take your own advice." Melinda muttered as she pushed open the door to exit. "Shouldn't you be keeping Jacob in the know that you're leaving for California to continue school?"

Margo halted her actions on the front steps of their high school. Crowds of students passed them on both sides as she whispered, "That's different."

"Is it?" Melinda asked, releasing a short chuckle. She looked away for a moment, eyes growing wide at the sight of something before her. "Look what we have here."

Margo finally turned her head in the direction Melinda was staring, and right below the steps of the high school's entrance was Jacob Black, leaning against his jet-black motorcycle. Melinda dragged her friend down the stairs with a wide smile, commenting towards Jacob, "I'm impressed."

"I figured that since I refurbished the Rabbit, this old bike needed a good clean too." He explained before reverting his dark stare to Margo. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jean, while his muscles were very apparent to Margo through his black t-shirt. "Hey, Mar. Are you still mad at me?"

Margo huffed loudly, and finally allowed a smile to tug at the edge of her lips. "No, I'm not mad. But you owe me something, Jake."

"What about an ice cream?"

"Right now?" Margo's brow shot up. "I don't know. I have a lot of homework ..."

Jacob placed his hands together in a pleading way. His lip pouted out like a puppy. "C'mon, Mar. We could go to the Rez; you could see everyone –"

Margo was ready to interject when Melinda elbowed her hard in the side. She looked at her dark-haired friend incredulously before turning back to Jacob. "I guess homework doesn't matter that much today."

Melinda shot her thumbs up, finding it difficult to hide her grin. Jacob placed himself on the motorcycle before Margo hopped on the edge of the seat. Jacob handed her his helmet for protection as Margo secured her backpack on her shoulders. "Hold on tight," Jacob instructed, revving the bike up.

Margo noticed students eyeing the pair on the motorcycle as she wrapped her arms around Jacob's lean torso. She rested her chin almost near his shoulder and muttered, "Try not to howl during the ride."

"No promises," Jacob replied as they bounded out of the high school parking lot.

•••

The ride to La Push wasn't too long on the bike. Even with a helmet, Margo felt the wind whip through her hair. She could practically smell the salt off the ocean as they rode past it. They stopped off at the small convience store Margo usually bought Jenny's favorite food from, and picked up two ice cream sandwiches. They ate them like two kids outside the store, leaning on Jacob's bike before departing into La Push. Margo had never felt so carefree before, but the the awkwardness of the motorcycle did cause her grip to tighten around Jacob's torso. He never minded his girlfriend's touch though.

Jacob slowed the bike once they neared Emily Young's house. The moss hanging against the shingles of her home had grown since the last time Margo was here. Emily had planted fresh flowers for spring in large pots on the deck. Margo liked seeing the fresh tiger lilies; they were one of her favorite flowers.

As Jacob parked his bike near the deck of Emily's house, Margo heard a group of feet sprint out of the old home. The Quileute wolf pack hollered at Jacob's presence, but once their eyes landed on the imprint, they called Margo's name out. The boys engulfed her in a large hug, and Margo felt like her insides were being squeezed out. Jacob broke the hug up quickly, muttering, "Alright. Enough with the hugs."

Margo pushed a strand of hair behind her ear once she was free. She let out a breath of relief and greeted, "Hey, guys." She looked at all their bright smiles, but was surprised to see Quil now a part of the pack. "Wow, Ateara. I really have been gone for a bit."

"Finally made the pack," Quil said while lifting his hands in triumph.

Embry had a large smile on his face until his voice lowered for a moment. "So, is – um – how's Mel? She's kinda stopped texting me, which I get, but ..."

"She's doing great, Embry. She got a lot of acceptances for colleges and is using her cheerleading scholarship to head to school out-of-state." Margo replied, holding her hands behind her back. "I'm sure she'd appreciate you asking."

Embry nodded quickly, rubbing the back of his neck, as Jared pushed through him. He held a half-eaten chicken leg in his hands. "Thank god, you finally came back, Margo. Jacob told us he made a big mistake and he wouldn't shut up. Maybe now we can finally get a break from Jacob's obsessive inner monologue."

Paul agreed and slapped Jacob's arm, barely making him flinch. "I know she's in school, but maybe I should call Margo!" Paul mocked.

"I wish Margo would text me!" Jared continued.

Embry chuckled loudly. "No, Margo needs to focus on school! I hope she doesn't call!"

"Maybe I should call Margo and hang up!" Quil added.

Jacob tried to hide the sudden redness in his cheeks. Margo laughed softly, turning to Jacob's flushed face. She nudged his side playfully as he rubbed at the back of his head. "Okay," he said, "you guys can shut up now."

Before the pack could say anything else, a tall, muscular girl walked of Emily's house. Her dark hair looked wet, and she wore only a pair of long shorts and a striped tank. Her face was long, but pointed. Her eyes formed into slits at the sight of Jacob, before they landed on Margo, and her face seemed to soften.

"Margo, this is Leah Clearwater, Harry's daughter." Jacob introduced the two girls. "She just joined the pack a couple months ago with her younger brother, Seth."

Margo remembered Emily's story about Leah in that second. She could practically see the heartbreak still on her features, and it made Margo sad. "Hi," she smiled, shaking Leah's hand. Her skin was extremely warm, even warmer than Jacob's. "Nice to meet you."

A corner of Leah's lips curled upward for a short moment. She looked back to Jacob behind Margo and glared at him before sprinting away. Margo looked over her shoulder, watching Leah jump up on a small hill amongst the trees and shift into a wolf. Her eyes almost bugged out of her skull at the sight of a female shifter. She didn't know those existed.

"She hates most of us because we have an imprint and she doesn't," Jacob whispered in Margo's ear, causing her to turn back to him. "Fun, isn't she?"

Margo wanted to argue with his point, to say that Leah was only acting that way over the heartbreak she suffered in the past, but she kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to babble about an experience that wasn't her job to be shared. She then heard her name being called from inside, and when Margo looked back, she saw Emily bounding her way with Sam on her tail.

"So great to see you!" Emily exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Margo. She still smelled like warm, blueberry muffins. "I was wondering when I'd see you again, but Jacob has told us that you've been busy with school."

"Being this year's valedictorian isn't as easy as everyone thinks it to be," Margo chuckled once she leaned away from Emily.

"Oh, yeah!" Jared said, ripping his teeth into the chicken leg. "Congrats on your valedictorian thing. What are you doing for uni –"

Margo gestured to her neck in a cutting motion for Jared to halt his sentence, to which he automatically stepped back. Thankfully for Margo, Jacob wasn't paying attention as he talked to Sam, who arrived just at his fiancé's side. "We're good," Sam said, finished his conversation with Jacob. "She won't be getting through our lines anytime soon."

The rest of the pack clapped and began to run off into the woods. Emily shook her head, looking at them as if they were children. Margo could understand the feeling, but Jared's comment seemed to be the only thing invading her brain. She looked back to Jacob and laced his fingers with his own, relishing the warmth they gave her. "Hey," she murmured, "wanna go take a walk on the beach?"

•••

Margo walked hand-in-hand with Jacob down First Beach, allowing the harsh wind to blow her hair in different directions. Jacob chuckled as Margo's own hair hit her in the face a couple times, but she found it difficult to laugh when she knew the topic she needed to bring up with him. Margo tried to focus on other things, like the way her shoes were filling with wet sand, or how the low tide was causing the air to reek.

"You seemed to dodge Jared's question about graduation, right?" Jacob said, bringing Margo out of her own head. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she nodded quickly. "College, graduation ... we haven't really talked about it yet."

Jacob furrowed his brow, but continued his happy expression. "I didn't think there was a lot to talk about."

Margo wrinkled her nose with confusion. "Did you think that I wasn't going to college?"

"No, no. I just didn't know you were thinking about it." He turned his head slightly towards her, noticing that her eyebrows were creasing. "I sense anger."

"Of course, I'm thinking about it, Jake! I've been preparing for college for two years!"

Jacob's grip on her fingers grew tight, which caused Margo to swallow down her agitation. He eyed her suspiciously. "So where are you going for college?"

Margo bit the inside of her cheek, taking a long moment to pause. Jacob sighed loudly and turned to walk closer to the water. His shoes crackled in the rocky sand. Margo's hands balled into fists as she gathered the courage to spit out, California. She never had trouble voicing her opinions, but she simply couldn't in that moment. Despite the aggressive wind, Jacob still heard her say, "University of San Francisco."

He immediately turned, mouth dropping in shock. "You're going back to California?"

Margo inhaled the smelly sea air carefully. "Just for four years, Jake –"

"Four years too long!" Jacob exclaimed, grabbing a rock from the ground and hurling it in the air. The stone whizzed across the other end of the beach.

"I can still visit on winter and summer breaks," she continued in a pleading tone, "and ... and ... we can try to video calling –"

Jacob shook his head quickly. "This is not happening," he whispered to himself, but Margo was close enough to hear it.

"I can't just not go to college, Jacob!" She screamed, throwing her hands in the air. "I want to be a teacher, and you can't do that with just a high school degree!"

"Do you –" He paused, taking a moment to exhale heavily through his nostrils. Jacob closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself. "Do you even realize how physically painful it is for me if we're apart? It sucks when you're at the other end of town for a mere seven hours, and now we're going to be millions of miles apart for four years?!"

Margo rubbed at her eyes. "You can ... I don't know, visit me often. Or –"

Jacob scoffed, "You know that won't work. I can't just leave the pack every week, and I don't have the money for multiple plane trips."

"Well, I don't know what you want me to do. I've committed to this university and I'm not backing out of it." She replied, mouth forming into a hard frown. "There are no imprintee rules on college."

Jacob spun back to the shore and walked towards it. He sighed loudly, sticking his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. Margo slapped her hands on her sides, exclaiming, "So you're going to ignore me? Really?" He didn't answer and continued looking at his feet as the water almost washed upon them. Margo swallowed hard and muttered, "Whatever."

Margo had almost expected an outcome like this, but she didn't want to face it. Perhaps, she did this to herself for waiting so long. However, she knew that it would've been painful for Jacob no matter what. Once she trekked all the way back to Emily's house, she refused to talk about the matter, but both Jared and Quil still drove her home in Sam's truck. She stayed quiet in the back seat the whole ride home, replaying the conversation often in her head.

•••

A/N: 2,719 words of pure dramaaaaaa