Imprints 2: Growing Up Quileute

Ch- 7

=Masen's POV=

I tried to play it cool and was failing horribly.

Various classmates looked over at me, some obviously talking about me but I couldn't care less.

Not now.

I'd struggled with it before. The looks, The whispers...I'd never been able to get use to it, but as I stood here waiting in the school parking lot leaning against my car for Sara to show up...I was finally able to drown it.

A group of giggling freshmen girls walked past me and I sighed at the all too familiar lust filled looks most girls gave me; I sighed.

Okay maybe I hadn't learned to drown it out completely...and whilst I'm not blind to the fact that girls look at me like that, I couldn't help that I liked the fact that Sara also looks at me with desire. She'd even gone so far as to alter her wardrobe to try and gain my attention, as if she didn't already have it.

I knew from the moment I first saw her that she was different.

She didn't have to show off her assets or be flashy with money the way some girls do, no, Sara is beautiful all around, and I adore that she's comfortable in her own skin and okay with just being herself...or rather, she was...and while I appreciated her efforts I'd have to find a way to let her know she didn't need to change who she is to try and impress me, i adore her just as she was.

And my attraction for her had little to do with her looks, obviously she's gorgeous, but she's also beautiful on the inside too.

When all the other girls plotted and schemed of ways to get me to ask them out, Sara was the only one to show me kindness and befriend me.

And to hear this group of friends being talked about around school, they were damn near gods...they were the best looking, most popular, but only hung out with one another. So to have Sara trust me enough to bring me into her inner circle if you will...It meant the world to me.

I'd been bold earlier, finally daring to make my move and ask her out.

Of course she's turned me down...but not before suggesting that we go on an actual date...I'd definitely be asking her out again soon now that she'd basically given me the green light to do so.

Just then Sara began to make her way toward me and I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face, the way she looks at me made me want to reveal my true feelings for her (if they weren't already abundantly obvious).

But instead I decided to enjoy her lovely face just a few moments longer.

I easily lifted my hand and tapped my right temple. Everything around me went dead silent and stilled.

And just like I knew it would...

Time had stopped.

Just like some of the others in my family I was born with a gift, one I used from time to time as a child to steal dessert or trash my broccoli...I never got away with it though as Dad could always read my mind and called me out on my wrongdoings.

But now...I used my gift of time manipulation to steal a couple of unguarded moments with Sara, I stepped away from my car and walked up toward her. I wanted to touch her... Just a caress of her cheek, me gently holding her hand...an innocent first kiss.

But I wouldn't, for one It's be done without her consent and for two, to do so would pull her into this "in-between" I was currently in.

You see time consists of three main parts; Past, Present, and Future but for time manipulators, there is a fourth part, and we call that the In-Between. It's a part in time, where time stands still, and no matter how long you stay in the In-Between you will always go back to the time in which you initiated the time stop.

It can drive a person mad if used too much...and my Grandfather had only ever met one other Time Manipulator when he was staying in Volterra, a young woman had been brought in because of this gift and resented to the Volturi but she'd already been half mad from spending too much time in the In-Between.

I sighed and went back to my leaning post against my car, closed my eyes to try and seal this moment into my mind and tapped my left temple, slowly sound faded back to normalcy and when I opened my eyes Sara was once again walking toward me.

"You ready to go?" I asked as I moved from my car and walked with her to the passenger side.

"Are you sure your parents won't mind?" She asked nervously. "...We could go to my place, I know my mom and Dad won't care, plus the guys are always over there anyways."

As much I adore that she likes the idea of me at her place and possibly hanging out with her friends, I want my alone time with her.

"I'm positive." I said as I opened the passenger side door for her. She blushed ever so slightly as she got into the car "...plus they aren't home right now." I assured her then closed her door and jogged over to the driver side, we took off and began to talk about the upcoming game. As we pulled up to the house she gasped.

"You guys really cleaned the place up." She stated.

"Yeah, my mom can be a little OCD sometimes." I covered up, it would take a normal human weeks to get everything that was wrong with the house when we moved in, done. "Plus she hired gardeners and service men to repair everything."

Sara nodded shyly, I had noticed that most of the families that lived in this town were around middle class, Sara's family was considered upper-middle class since her father had his own business and her mother is a partner and partial owner of the Newtons Olympic Outfitters, a sports store of sorts...both of which do fairly well from what I could tell.

I opened her door and helped her out of the car, "don't be nervous." I whispered.

"I can't help it." She whispered back. "Growing up we were told this place was haunted." She giggled.

I joined her laughing.

"Well," I said as I opened the door and showed her in, "I haven't seen any ghosts, but this is home."

She walked around in awe.

"It's not very private." She said pointing to the windows.

"We don't exactly have neighbors." I replied.

I love how easy it is to be around her, like I almost don't have to hide a secret. Then reality kicks in and I have to remind myself that she's a human and I could potentially harm her.

I took an involuntary step back, she didn't see me, but I knew I would have to keep distance between us, the urge to touch her as much as possible was growing too strong. Maybe one day we could be something like my parents were, but for now she is safer with a little bit of space.

We worked on the project and once she called it quits I showed her around the house.

"This is the office, it's just full of old family pictures and junk like that." I admitted. "Sometimes my Mom works in here.

"What does she do?" She asked.

"She's an editor...she's always loved reading so she figured why not get paid for it."

"Nice...Can we go in?" She Sara smiled and added. "I'd love to see baby Masen photos."

I chuckled, "sure we can go in, but most of my childhood photos are either in the den or my parents bedroom."

She walked around the office then stopped at the book shelf.

"No way!" She sounded shocked as she looked up at a photo.

"Excuse me?" I asked as I made my way across the room, she reached up and carefully took the older picture down from one of the shelves.

"Who is this?" She asked as she waved the picture around.

I could tell something about this photo in particular had upset her.

I took it from her hands to get a better look at it. It was a photo from before my parents met, my mom was standing in front of an old clunker of a truck alongside her childhood friend.

"Oh, that's my mom and her old family friend." I filled her in, then my brain suddenly began to work, and just as I came to the realization she voiced my thoughts.

"Are you freaking kidding me...Masen, Your mom was friends with my Dad?"