Chapter Text
Embry wasn't in school on Monday, of course.
I'd known he wouldn't be, of course, and so I wasn't surprised to see his empty seat second period. Jared and Paul, in the their seats in the back, were whispering loud enough that I could catch some of what they were saying-- or, more accurately, my hearing had improved enough that I was able to make out even their soft whispering.
Sam, I gathered, was still out in the woods with Embry, who'd take another day or two before he could actually shift back. They didn't mention Embry's name, of course, but Jared mumbled something about wanting to "stay out there" with Sam, and Sam telling him he couldn't miss too much school. Paul let out a small cry of pain, and I guessed Jared had just elbowed him in the side.
I understood what that meant. Sam was less concerned about Jared missing an extra day or two, and more about the questions that might arise if both of them were out at the same time, right when Embry was also out. And letting Paul go to school on his own really was out of the question. I almost felt sorry for the guy.
Quil, however, confronted me as soon as I got to the cafeteria at lunch time.
"Why didn't you tell me Embry wasn't in class with you?" He didn't so much as glance at my tray, piled high with food.
"Was I supposed to?" I asked, sitting down and shrugging. "I just figured he was feeling a little under the weather or whatever."
"Yeah, that's what the secretary told me when I asked," Quil said, his forehead wrinkling. "Think there's something really wrong, or did he just decide to ditch?"
"Embry?" I responded in disbelief, without thinking. Ditching… wasn't exactly Embry's style.
"Yeah, you're right, that's stupid," Quil said, sighing. "He wouldn't do that."
"I guess he was coming down with something," I said, trying to sound as though I'd just thought of that. "Probably why he was acting weird last week." Which wasn't technically a lie.
Quil's eyes went wide, and then he looked down and bit his lip.
"You think so?" I could hear the guilty tone in his voice. "Man, and here I was getting angry at him when-"
"You were worried," I reminded him, gently. "With good reason, apparently. But hopefully he'll be feeling better soon." I did not say "back to normal"-- for Embry, there was no more back to normal, and I couldn't get Quil's hopes up like that.
"Maybe you're right, but I'm going to stop by after school to try and… I don't know, cheer him up or something," Quil said, shrugging. And then his expression turned sly. "You going to come with me, or will you be busy with Bella again?"
"Yeah, I'll come with you," I said, pointedly not answering the second part of the question. I didn't know what time Bella was coming over, but there was plenty of time to stop by Embry's house, especially considering that he wouldn't actually be home.
Clearly done with the Embry discussion for the moment, Quil tried a few more times to provoke me into talking about Bella, but I continued to ignore his attempts, and he finally just sighed and moved on.
Not that I thought he'd given up-- Quil could be like a dog with a bone sometimes, stubborn and pigheaded.
There was no one home when we got to the Calls' house. I assumed Embry was still having trouble shifting back, and his mother was at work. (I tried to remember what she'd been told about where he was right now, but nothing came to mind. Had I ever been told what excuse she'd been given?)
Now Quil was annoyed.
"So he did ditch," he said, scowling.
"Or he's resting and doesn't feel up for company," I suggested. "I didn't really want to be around people when I was sick a few weeks ago, either, remember?"
He tilted his head slightly, and then shook it.
"Jacob, the house is empty," he insisted. I didn't ask how he knew that. After all, I could tell that, too.
Did Quil realize his senses were getting sharper?
We split up after that, Quil heading home while muttering obscenities under his breath. I sighed, knowing however annoyed he felt towards Embry right now, it was only going to get worse.
By the time Bella came over, nearly an hour and a half later, I'd already gotten back from the store with drinks and snacks and had gotten through a few more chapters of my book as I sat on the front porch, waiting for her.
We headed back to the garage, exchanging pleasantries, but before we got there, Bella's tone turned concerned.
"You seriously aren't sick of me yet?" She looked up at me, and there was something nervous in her eyes.
"Nope," I told her, very serious. "And I'm not going to be, either."
"Jacob," she said, looking down. " Really, I don't want to be a pain."
"Bella, I want to spend time with you," I insisted. "That's what friends are for, okay? No more of this 'are you sick of me' business."
She didn't seem to know what to do with that, staying quiet until we reached the garage and she saw what I'd done with her bike.
"Jake, you're amazing," she murmured, and I couldn't help but laugh. Bella never changed.
"I get a bit obsessive when I have a project," I told her truthfully. No need to mention that I'd also been having trouble sleeping and these bikes were a welcome distraction. "I know, probably not particularly healthy, but, well, you know."
"Maybe we should mix it up a little," Bella said, looking concerned. "I have work tomorrow, but on Wednesday you should come to my place."
"And do what, homework?" I laughed, and she shrugged.
"We probably should, you know," she reminded me. "We ought to at least try being responsible."
I sighed and pulled out the soda cans as we agreed to spending two afternoons a week on homework.
On Tuesday afternoon, I let Quil drag me back to Embry's house which was, once again, deserted. I hoped he'd been able to shift back by now, so he was probably crashing at Sam's place.
I tried to remember when he'd come back to school last time. Friday, maybe? Or had it been Monday…?
Either way, I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with Quil, hoping to pull him out of the annoyed funk Embry's absence seemed to have put him into.
"You don't think… Jacob, what if something's really wrong?" He threw the ball into the hoop that hung over his garage, and it flew in perfectly. I caught it as it bounced off the ground.
"I'm sure Embry is fine," I told him. Then I glanced over at the porch, where his grandfather sat, eyes closed, on a rocking chair. I wasn't fooled-- the old man was definitely paying attention to what we were doing, listening in on our conversation. I wondered if Harry had told him and the others about my conversation with Leah.
Either way, Old Quil was definitely worried about me and Quil, as he ought to be. Until now, he and the other elders had suspected that we would probably shift, but they couldn't have known for sure. It had been at least a few centuries since the last time any pack had had more than three members, and it had been over a year since Paul's shift. At least some of them had probably hoped it was over, that no one else would be changed.
But now that Embry had phased, all bets were off.
The fact that I understood didn't make Old Quil's presence any less frustrating. I had to be very careful with what I said here.
"So he's, what, playing hooky? By himself?" Quil asked, hands on his hips, as I tossed the ball.
"I don't know why you're assuming he isn't just sick," I told him, shrugging. The ball bounced a few times before rolling to the side. Neither of us picked it up.
"He wasn't home, Jake," Quil said, throwing his hands in the air.
"I don't know what to tell you," I said with a sigh. I really didn't-- I hated lying to him, but there was no truth I could really give him that would make any sense. "I'm sure he'll be back sooner or later."
"Maybe…" said Quil, wrinkling his forehead. "I just can't shake the feeling that we're missing something."
And that wasn't like Quil at all. Had he been this suspicious last time? I wasn't sure-- I just remembered that I'd thought the whole thing was weird, even before Embry had come back all freaked out.
Quil, though… he just wasn't the kind of guy who worried about things like this. Or anything, really. That was one of the best things about Quil-- he wasn't a worrier, didn't spend ages thinking over every little choice he made. With Quil, it was usually all instinct and snap decisions. And while that had gotten him into trouble more times than I could count over the years, it meant that once his trust was earned, it never wavered.
Quil thinking, however? That could be… dangerous.
But not with this, not now. What was the harm, really? I couldn't tell him the truth, of course, but he'd find out himself within a few months. And if, in the meantime, he tried to puzzle all of this out on his own? Who would it hurt, really?
It could change things, I considered, slightly nervous for a moment. All of my plans, the ones I'd worked so hard on, relied on me knowing exactly what was coming.
But I'd already started changing things. And I really didn't want to lie to Quil any more than I had to. So why not let him try to puzzle this one out?
"What do you mean?" I asked, my back to the porch. Not that it would stop the old man from listening in on our conversation, but at least my expression wouldn't betray me. "Missing what?"
"There's something familiar about this," he said, shrugging. "But I can't remember what it is."
"Well, let me know if you figure it out," I said, smiling.
"Yeah, yeah," he said. Then his eyes flickered past me, up to the porch. "Any idea why my grandfather is looking at you so weirdly?"
"Who knows why any of the old men do anything?" I bent down, picked up the ball, and tossed it back to him. "It's your shot, anyway."
Wednesday afternoon, I went over to Bella's for homework. Luckily, Bella had no idea how well I usually did or didn't do in school-- I'd always been a decent student, even if my grades weren't top-notch like Embry's-- so the fact that I breezed through most of my assignments didn't phase her.
I tried to help with cooking dinner, but she waved me off, and I muddled through my geometry on my own as well as I could. (It didn't matter that I'd already learned it before when I still had to actually calculate and write out all of the stupid proofs.)
On Thursday, I worked on the bikes in the garage on my own-- I'd invited Quil to come over and give me a hand if he wanted, but he was too busy brooding over the Embry situation or whatever.
On Friday, however, things changed.
Embry was back.
His schedule had been suddenly changed, as I'd known it would. Sam had had the elders pull some strings to get him moved into most of the same classes as Jared and Paul, which was a nice idea in theory, but wouldn't exactly be practical once there were more wolves in school than the three of them. And it didn't work for Embry's junior level classes, which his mom would absolutely have found strange if he'd suddenly decided to drop after pushing so hard to take them.
This actually meant we had more classes together now, as I already had several classes with the guys this semester. I wondered, for the first time, if that had been intentional-- if Dad, knowing what was coming, had arranged for me to be with them from the start.
I watched Embry walk into homeroom with what I hoped was an appropriate mixture of surprise and concern. It didn't matter, anyway-- he didn't even look my way, too busy staring at the floor and hunching down his shoulders to make himself seem smaller. He looked scared, and now I could understand that fear for what it really was. Last time, I'd assumed the fear had been of Sam, that the older guy had done something to freak him out and strong-arm him into the stupid gang, but that wasn't it.
What Embry was afraid of was himself. He was doing his very best to keep a lid on the fierce, fast-changing emotions coursing through his body, but he also knew that one slip could be fatal-- not for him, but for anyone who happened to be too close to him.
He glanced up at me as Jared wrapped an arm over his shoulder, discreetly directing him to the back row, and I gave him a small smile.
At lunchtime, Quil plopped his tray down at the lunch table with a loud clang.
"Alright, that's it, this makes a whole week that Embry's been gone, I'm going down to the store after school and getting answers from his mom, because this is ridiculous."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, gesturing to the far table in the back corner where Jared and Paul always sat. They were there now, Embry sitting between them and picking at the food on his tray. "He's right over there."
Quil had whirled his head around and was scanning the cafeteria as he spoke.
"What are you talking about, he wasn't in any of the classes we have together-" He paused, mid-sentence, as he finally spotted Embry, who'd sat up a little bit straighter in his seat. "What is he doing with them?"
"I think his schedule changed," I said, addressing Quil's first point. "He was in all of my classes this morning, even though we usually only have third period together on Fridays."
"That doesn't explain what he's doing over there," Quil said, now staring at me like I'd grown a second head. "Embry hates those guys. And so do you. Why aren't you-"
Embry, I noticed as Quil ranted, had gotten out of his seat. Jared grabbed his arm, whispering something, but Embry shrugged him off and walked over to our table.
"Jake," he said, and Quil froze.
"Hey, Embry," I said, waving a hand in greeting. "Glad you're feeling more… yourself."
His eyes widened, and I wondered if I'd said too much.
"Look, about what happened on Sunday," Embry started, twisting his fingers together uncomfortably.
"Embry, man, you want to tell us what's going on?" Quil spat out, but Embry ignored him, looking at me nervously.
"I just wanted to say," Embry continued. "Well, you know-"
"Is this about what I told your mom?" I asked, smiling up at him as if nothing weird was going on. "I figured you just needed some space or whatever, and had given her my name as an excuse, so I covered for you. Don't worry about it, okay?"
"What?" He now looked extremely confused. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Jared and Paul looking our way, clearly listening in on every word, the same way Embry had been.
"Did something else happen to you on Sunday?" I said, as Quil continued to splutter.
Embry looked at me for another long moment, and I guess he didn't find anything strange in my expression, so he just sighed.
"No, nothing important," he lied, slipping his hands back into his pockets and slumping his shoulders again. I wished there was something else I could say, some reassurance I could give him, but the timing just wasn't right. I wasn't ready to spill any of my secrets just yet, and he didn't need me right now, not the way he had on Sunday.
"You going to sit down with us, or what?" I asked, as though this was just another normal day, and he shook his head. Without another word, he spun around and headed back to his pack.
"What was that about?" Quil demanded. "What happened on Sunday? Does it have anything to do with whatever that," he gestured at Embry's new table, "is about?"
"Look, Embry's mom called my house Sunday morning, looking for him," I told Quil, shrugging. "He'd told her he was headed to my place. He wasn't actually there, but I told her he was because I thought that was what he wanted."
Quil gaped at me.
"And you didn't think to mention this at any point this week?" He was yelling now, loud enough that kids and a couple of the other tables glanced our way before dismissing whatever it was we were talking about as unimportant.
"It didn't seem important?" I said, digging into my food. "So the guy wanted some space without his mom hounding him, what's the big deal?"
"What's the big-- Have I stepped into some kind of weird twilight zone?" Quil demanded. "Embry's been out all week, and you didn't think to mention that he never came to your house when he said he would? And now he's hanging out with Paul and Jared like he's suddenly part of Sam's little gang or something, and you don't even seem upset even though I know you can't stand those guys anymore than he could."
"It's not like he told me he was coming over," I mumbled around a mouthful of food. "And they're not that bad, really."
"Okay, someone here is losing it, and I don't think it's me," Quil insisted.
"Quil, man, aren't you the one always saying that Embry and I are blowing the whole Sam thing out of proportion?" I reminded him, continuing to eat my lunch. Quil had never exactly liked Sam's gang, but he hadn't been weirded out by them the same way Embry and I had. He'd figured it was no big deal, something that would blow over sooner or later. I guess whatever his grandfather had told him was more convincing than my dad's insistence that I'd "learn about it when I was ready" or whatever.
"Yeah, well, maybe I was wrong," he said, glaring at me. "Doesn't this seem weird to you at all?"
"Of course it does," I told him, which wasn't a total lie. Everything was weird for me these days. "But I trust Embry. Whatever's going on, he'll tell us when he's ready, right?"
"I guess," he mumbled, arms crossed. "Unless he's in trouble and doesn't want to get us involved."
"Embry? In trouble?" I laughed. "We're talking about the same guy, right?"
"It's not funny," Quil grumbled. "What if something is really wrong here? Like… you remember what happened to Paul, right?"
Of course I did. Paul had been a normal guy, with his own friends, his own life. And then he'd shifted, been out of school for a few weeks, and started avoiding all of his old friends. These days, you basically never saw him without Sam or Jared around.
"Well, they don't look like guys in trouble," I said, tilting my chin to gesture in their direction. Quil's eyes followed my gaze to that far table, where Jared and Paul were goofing off, clearly trying to cheer their new packmate up. Embry's shoulders were still slumped, and his eyes were still downcast, but he did have a small smile on his face, and I was glad, even if it burned that I couldn't be over there with him.
"Whatever," Quil said, finally digging into his own lunch. "You want to pretend everything is hunky-dory, I'll follow your lead for now. But I get to say 'I told you so' when it turns out I was right and this is some weird cult or something."
"I'm sorry, Quil," I whispered quietly. If he heard me, he chose to ignore it. We ate the rest of our meal in silence.
Bella came over to the garage again after school, and we laughed and joked around. I didn't mention anything about the Embry situation-- or the Quil situation, for that matter. What was I supposed to say?
It was just one more thing to feel guilty about.
Get in line, I thought. I'd made the right choice. Quil would understand.
At least, I hoped he would.
Saturday was another homework day, and on Sunday, the bikes were finally ready. I waited, though, not calling Bella until the afternoon. There was no way I was going to risk her spotting Sam and the guys cliff-diving.
Whatever else happened, I was not going to have to pull her out of the sea in a storm this time-- or, if I did, at least it wouldn't be after she'd idiotically jumped off a cliff because I'd let her think that was a good idea.
When I finally did call her over, I couldn't shake the feeling I was forgetting something. Something important.