┏━━━━⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚⋆━━━━┓

AND THERE IT IS

NELLY KNEW SHE HAD FUCKED UP.

Granted, she should've known that any plan of Paul's was a shit plan to begin with; though, she'd been so sure that Embry wouldn't bat an eye at their newfound 'friendship'.

But after that reaction of his, and the way Jared began quietly collecting the scattered shards of glass with a grimace, she knew that wasn't the case. No, he was pissed.

And it seemed like she was the last person to figure out why, based on the way Sam's head fell into his hands— sort of like how a father would look while sat at the kitchen table, helping their kid with their math homework.

Frustration. Throwing in the metaphorical towel and succumbing to defeat, if you will.

"Shit," she mumbled, her gut nervously churning. "This is— shit..."

"What did I literally tell you," Paul laughed, though it quickly vanished at the tense air around them. His tone lowered, his mouth nearing her ear as he muttered, "you owe me twenty bucks, Nell."

"Oh fuck off!" she whispered back heatedly, shoving him away from her. "He looked like he went in there to find a knife and shank you!"

Paul blanched for a moment, gaze flickering to the door. "Shit."

Nelly couldn't do this right now, so she didn't even bother sparing anyone a last glance before she all but darted in the direction of Sam's back door. All the while, she was hoping Embry wasn't actively searching for ways to kill the Lahote boy.

She found him easily, followed the sound of pacing steps and ragged breathing that echoed from the living room. His fists were clenching and unclenching rapidly, and it made her hesitate in the doorway.

"Are you mad?"

Nelly almost wanted to slap herself for asking such a stupid question, especially after seeing the deadpan look he shot her way.

"No, I'm actually bursting at the seams with sheer fucking happiness," he replied, his pacing coming to a slow halt. "Of course I'm mad. Why are you suddenly so buddy-buddy with that jerk?"

"Oh, I'd hardly say we're buddy-buddy," she snorted, but that seemed like the wrong reaction based on the growl that reverberated from the Call boy's chest.

"He called you sweetheart," he grit out, annoyance coating his tongue. "Seems more than a little friendly to me."

Her own agitation seeped into the forefront of her mind at his tone. She barely thought before she was uttering out the words, "jealous much?"

In an instant, Embry was stalking up to her. She felt his breath on her face as he peered down at her, the corner of his lip twitching.

"Very."

Nelly swallowed around nothing, her agitation utterly deflated and replaced by a jackrabbiting heart rate. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh," he mimicked, his eyebrows flattening with neutrality. "Did you think I wouldn't be after that little show outside?"

The Sequoia girl nervously picked at the skin near her thumb, attention averting to the action rather than trying to return his scrutinizing gaze. "I—" she tried, trying to rack her brain for a decent answer to give him. "I didn't think..."

In truth, Nelly hadn't given much thought to Embry as anything but a best friend. She thought he had done the same, foregoing any romantic sentiments about the girl he grew up with. It was a silly crush, one she thought had been extinguished when he'd left her all alone that day.

The Imprint bond was making it harder on her, and it was making those crumbs of thought resurface even when he wasn't nearby.

A brother, a friend, or a lover. She never banked on Embry wanting to assume that third role.

He groaned, pulling at his hair with his hands. "You're so dense sometimes, it's unbelievable."

Then, his hands were dropping from his scalp. She felt his heated palms against her cheeks before she knew what was going on. Her breath lodged in her throat, her eyes shutting on their own.

Nelly Sequoia never really imagined what kissing Embry Call would feel like. She never gave it much thought because they were friends, and would remain so until their dying days; but that being said, the real thing was better than she could've ever dreamed.

Their lips moved in tandem, almost a practiced unison as though they'd been doing this act for centuries. For a moment, it was just the pair that existed— everything else was white noise, static, but them.

When one of his hands migrated to the skin of her waist where her cropped shirt had ended, she snapped to her senses. She pushed against his shoulders, and though he went willingly, he looked like he was a little confused in the face. "Wh—"

"You can't just do that," she said, trying to control the rise and fall of her own chest. "We're friends, Embry, and I—"

"I've never once regretted being your friend, not a single damn time, Penelope," he interrupted with a shake of his head, "but I've lied to you enough. So I can't lie to you and say I've never thought of us as something more, because I have."

Nelly's head was spinning, she knew she must've looked flushed. "You have?" she inquired, a tone full of disbelief.

"Of course I have," he breathed out, like he was getting some massive secret off his chest— and in a way, he was. "I've been a colossal idiot about it, yeah, but it's something I've felt since we met... before I imprinted on you at school."

"Well why wouldn't you say anything, you ass?" she whispered out, eyebrows furrowing on their own accord.

His thumb reached out to smoothen them, a wave of calm rushing over her. "Same reason you didn't," he shrugged, and there was a light smile gracing his features that Nelly wanted to soak up. "If you turned me down, I think I'd kill myself. Honestly."

The brunette scoffed out a laugh, rolling her eyes. "What makes you think I feel the same way?" she inquired with a joking tone, never one to love mushy conversations.

His eyes narrowed, though the lack of heat in his gaze told her that he was also kidding. "The Nelly I know would've just beat the shit out of me for pulling that stunt if she didn't feel the same," he answered, and Nelly honestly couldn't fight that one. "I know you."

And boy, Nelly certainly knew that.

She surveyed him for a moment, taking in his gleeful disposition that stood in stark contrast to the anger he radiated from just before. Her entire being felt so alive, so well, and there was a certain weight that vanished from her chest.

Was it time for her to throw in the towel— relinquish the hurt in her veins? Would she regret holding onto the past for so long, so viciously?

Nelly exhaled. "You're so hard to hate."

"...thanks? I think?"

Her lips were aflame once more.

˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚

Outside, where each shifter could literally hear what had just happened, Jared turned to Paul with his mouth agape. "You're a genius, dude," he said, finally putting two and two together.

Paul shrugged like it was nothing. "It was starting to get unbearable; I mean seriously, the two of them just needed to bone."

"Bone?" Sam repeated, before he visibly shuttered. "Don't ever put that image in my head again, Paul."

And poor Brady Fuller, his hand covering his mouth and skin turning paler than normal, voiced a similar plea.

"I'm gonna yack."

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚⋆

[ wyn's note ]

YES YES YES!!! twenty seven chaps later and the pookies have reconciled in the best way they could know how (by smooching durrrrr)

"i know you" by faye webster asf for this chap!

thanks for the love on this story yall!! all my love xxx