✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

FOUR; KISSES & MISSES

     "EVERYTHING LOOKS ALRIGHT, Penelope."

     Carlisle Cullen examined the medical scan of Penelope's brain, ignoring the rigid glares coming from the men of her family. Penelope swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the hospital bed.

     "Do you feel any signs of throbbing pain or memory loss?" The vampire questioned. He kept his focus on Penelope, even if Billy was staring him down like a hawk. She shook her head, feeling a shiver run up her spine. She didn't enjoy her medical visits to the hospital. Billy insisted it was necessary to ensure Penelope would be okay.

     "Nope," she murmured. "Is it alright if I go now? I'm late for my tutoring session with Jared."

     "He should definitely not be your main priority right now," Jake glared at her. She shrugged.

     "Last time I was late, Jared called Charlie Swan because he thought I went missing," Penelope raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to go through that again?"

     Carlisle chuckled. "I'm sure Chief Swan wouldn't enjoy that whole ordeal. You're free to go, Penelope."

     "Thanks, doctor," she smiled softly. She bid goodbye to her father and brother before leaving the room. Billy turned to the man he was supposed to call his mortal enemy.

     "Is she really okay?"

     "Perfectly healthy. She shows no physical signs of the events of the car crash, and her mind seems to be progressing. Whatever Jared Cameron is teaching her must be working," Carlisle said.

     Jake scoffed. "I don't want you to ever say that in front of her. She already thinks too highly of him."

     "She's his imprint, Jacob," Billy reminded. Jake rolled his eyes.

     "Imprint or not, we're still following through with the plan, right?"

     Billy sighed, folding his hands together. This was not the life him and Sarah envisioned for their daughter.

     "I guess we have to."

✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

     "Jared!"

     The shapeshifter saw a blur of brown hair before he stumbled backwards, feeling Penelope's body colliding with his own. He laughed, wrapping his arms around her body as she kept a steady hold around his neck. "Hi, Pen."

     "I apologize for being late," she said. Jared closed the front door behind her. "I had my checkup with Doctor Cullen."

     Jared bit his tongue. The surname was enough to anger the wolf inside of him. "Is everything good?"

     "Great, actually. There aren't any dangerous scares that my father and Jake were expecting. I suppose they're waiting for my skin to fall off or something morbid like that."

     Jared's mother came around the corner. Her laugh echoed throughout the house, and Jared scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. His mother always tended to point out the obvious in Jared and Penelope's relationship, but he thanked the heavens that Penelope was too oblivious to understand any of it.

     "Hello, Penelope! It's so lovely to see you around here again!" She praised, enveloping the girl in a hug.

     Penelope grinned. "Nice to see you as well, Mrs. Cameron. How are you doing?"

     "She's absolutely fine," Jared quickly answered for her, pulling Penelope away from the main entrance and towards his bedroom. "We'll be studying, mom!"

     He shut the door behind him, and Penelope took a seat on his bed.

     She was now a regular visitor in his home, and she often stayed the night when their tutoring sessions ran late. Jake didn't like any part of it. Jared didn't know how he would react if he found out that Jared and Penelope now slept in the same bed instead of him taking a position on the floor. It recently became a regular habit, and Jared wasn't going to break it anytime soon.

     He observed his imprint as she took out her notebook and pen, ready to jot down notes for the day. He remembered Jake's plan that was told to him days ago.

     Billy wanted to get Penelope back up on her feet. She needed to start high school and begin her journey to discover what she wanted to do with her life. Billy said he would be happy with anything she decided to do, but Jared was hesitant in going through with the plan. He wasn't sure Penelope was prepared for the attention she was going to receive. Many people in La Push remembered her for her incident, and he knew she wouldn't be able to live that down.

     However, Jared offered to help in any way he could. Jake said she needed to be prepped for her entrance exam next month on a list of topics that the school provided for Billy.

     At the moment, Sam was giving Jared a break when it came to patrol shifts so he could spend his time teaching Penelope. Jake and Billy had yet to drop the news on her, but whenever Jared brought it up, Jake would mention that Jared hadn't told Penelope about the imprint either.

     He wanted to. No one knew how badly he wanted to, but he couldn't. He was too afraid of Penelope's response.

     "What do you want to start with today?" Jared smiled, joining her on his bed.

     "Do you think my mom would be disappointed with me?"

     He was taken aback by the question. He guessed it had been on Penelope's mind for a while, and he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Of course not. Why do you ask that?"

     She shrugged. "I'm not in college like Rachel or living in Hawaii like Rebecca. Even Jake has a job and he's going to school. I'm not doing anything."

     "Pen, you were in a coma for seven years. She would understand that you need time to recover."

     "Yeah, but she wouldn't have done the same," Penelope whispered, her voice growing smaller. "I know my mom. She would get back up on her feet like nothing had happened. She would put on a brave face because she wanted to protect us. She's the strongest woman in the world."

     Jared wanted to kiss her right then and there, but he settled for giving her a simple hug. He felt as if his heart was exploding. He never wanted his imprint to think she wasn't good enough. She would always be better than any person he would ever know.

     There was a gloomy feeling in his stomach.

     "Penelope, I should tell you something."

     Her eyes raised to meet his. The same eyes he fell in love with.

     He cleared his throat. "Do you know where Jake works?"

     "Yeah, he works with Sam and you," she explained.

     "But do you know what we do?"

     Penelope racked her brain. Jake never told her what he did; she only knew he was gone most of the time because it was one of the job requirements. There weren't many job occupations in La Push to begin with, so she was sure she could figure it out.

     "A restaurant? There's a diner on the other side of town," she guessed. Jared shook his head.

     "I'm afraid it's bigger than that, Pen. I wish I could work in a normal restaurant."

     He was looking at her palm before he intertwined their fingers together. She felt like the missing piece of his puzzle.

     "Are you okay?" She said, reaching to touch his cheek.

     Their eyes locked together again. Jared couldn't hold himself back anymore. He moved his head and pressed his lips against Penelope's.

     She froze. She had no idea what to do. Was this her first kiss?

     She pushed away from him. He was breathless, and at a loss for words. He reached out for her, but she didn't accept him.

     She fled.

✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

     Jake heard the screeching sound of his sister and the slam of his front door. She was calling out his name as if it was the only word she knew.

     "Christ, Penelope. I was about to have my nap."

     There was an expression of extreme terror that crossed Penelope's face. She began rambling before she could stop herself. "I don't know what happened. He was acting so odd and he was going to tell me this secret, but then he stopped. He stopped and he kissed me? Why would he kiss me? I don't understand. Was that my first kiss? And then I just left him. I feel so bad, but I didn't know what to do. I don't know how to kiss someone else. Was he expecting me to kiss him back? Why would he-"

     "Penny, please," Jake stopped her talking, placing his hands on her shoulders. He looked her dead in the eye. "Did Jared kiss you?"

     She nodded. Jake clenched his teeth. "I'll kill that smug bastard."

     Penelope winced at the curse words. She grabbed Jake's upper arm, which felt like a solid rock.

     "Jake, wait. Please help me understand."

     He looked into his sister's orbs, which were filled with nothing but confusion. He exhaled and rubbed his eyes. "Penelope, Jared likes you. Not in the friendship kind of way, but the way mom and dad loved each other. I don't know what happened between you two that made him think he could kiss you," Jake's fists tightened. Jared was definitely going to receive a lot of wounds from him. "But I know he wouldn't do it unless something really happened. I understand you're worried right now, but you need some rest. I'll talk with him."

     She stared at him sternly. "Jacob, I don't want you hurting him. He's still my friend."

     He didn't promise anything, but kissed her forehead. "Go to bed. I'll handle it."

     Penelope trudged off, her mind swirling with vivid thoughts.

     Jake didn't have to go far to find the man he was looking for. Jared was standing in the woods, clearly appearing as if someone had crushed his heart.

     "What the hell did you do?" Jake asked, approaching him.

     "I was caught up in the moment," Jared frowned. "I didn't mean to. She just looked so gorgeous sitting there and I couldn't help myself."

     "Too much information," Jake's face twisted in disgust. "She's freaked out."

     "I know. After we pulled apart, she looked like she had seen a ghost." He buried his head into his hands. "I ruined it all, didn't I?"

     "Not if you man up and tell her about the imprint."

     "Should I bring up Bella while you're calling me a coward?"

     Jake growled. "That's a different situation, you know that. Look, Penelope has no idea what's happening between you and her right now. Either you tell her or I do."

     "Fine, fine," Jared surrendered. "Give me a night to think about what I'm going to say. This isn't exactly a smooth conversation."

     Jake crossed his arms. "Otherwise, how is she doing with those list of topics for her exam?"

     "You know, I think she would take it more seriously if you and Billy actually told her why she needs to study so hard."

     "Should I bring up the imprint while you're judging me and my father?"

     Jared glared at him.

✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪

     Penelope was trying her best to avoid Jared Cameron at all costs. He had been over at the house every day of the week, but she pleaded for Jake to tell him to leave. She wasn't ready to see him and discuss the previous events.

     She couldn't even believe it had occurred in the first place.

     She had no choice but to face him when Billy scolded her for avoiding her tutoring sessions. She was forced to walk over to his home, although she would've preferred ignoring him for the rest of her life.

     Jake made her feel a little guilty when he explained that Jared was beating himself up for his mistake, and he would do anything just to get Penelope to hear him out.

     She knocked on his door. There was a silence before it swung wide open.

     He didn't know what to say. She was finally here, ready to listen. Jared invited her in, and skipped the casual greetings from his parents. They went straight to his bedroom, but Penelope fidgeted in her spot. The awkward tension was killing her.

     "Pen, I want you to know that I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable like that. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing, and I wasn't even thinking. It was so stupid. I don't want you to read too much into the situation, okay? I was being selfish."

     "Jake said you liked me," she said timidly. "You like me in the way that parents like each other."

     Jared was going to kill Jake. The next time they were scheduled to run patrol together, he would do it silently so no one would notice.

     "Pen," he sighed loudly. "It's complicated."

     "Tell me. You know I hate it when people keep stuff from me."

     Jared gazed outside of his window. The sun was shining, but it was still hidden behind the clouds. Paul and Embry were running their shift at the moment.

     He took Penelope's hand in his and motioned outside.

     "I'll show you."

jared you shouldn't be kissing girls who just awoke from being in a coma