"
I don't have a feeling of inferiority. Never had. I'm as good as anybody, but no better.
"
- Katherine Johnson
Discovery
"Dude, stop staring," Quil had whispered to his friend. Embry finally tore his eyes away from the laughing and happy go lucky group. Or rather one person.
Harper Young was starting to annoy Embry. He wasn't sure if it was because she got all the answers right in class. Or actively argued with the teachers when they were in fact wrong. Or that she had taken to calling him Embryo. In short, Harper was grating on his nerves and he couldn't wait to get the project over and done with.
Quil, Jake, and Sage (who had started sitting with them when she wasn't in the library with Harper) all looked at him with raised eyebrows and knowing expressions. Oh, yeah. Another annoying thing was that his entire friend group was sure he was harboring a crush on the girl.
Like that would ever happen.
"I'm not staring, I'm observing," he stated pointedly. It was a lie and they all knew it.
Sage and Jake both snorted. The girl wiped a fake tear from her eye. "Oh, Embry," she chuckled, "I didn't know you were funny!"
Embry glared as the three laughed. "I'm just confused why she's hanging with them," he defended himself.
That was the real mystery. La Push was a small reservation, everybody knew everybody and aunties gossiped. Everyone seemed to know Harper had family here and she's staying with them, but as to why she had started hanging around Sam Uley and his lookalikes was beyond most of them. They all acted like she was their younger sister or something.
"Okay, you got me there," Quil admitted with hums of agreement from Jake.
Sage looked unconvinced. "Why should it matter?" She asked the group.
Jake, Quil, and Embry were all trying to stutter out a response. "Be-because they're druggies! They do steroids and who knows what else, they-they're like a gang!" Jake had said between clenched teeth at the girl who looked at him cooly.
"I just think you don't like them because your dad totally approves of them." Sage had struck a nerve and Jake had clammed up, digging into the sandwich he brought from home.
Quil shook his head. "I don't like them because they look at me like they know something I don't and it's kind of terrifying," he said earnestly. Jake pointed his sandwich at him and nodded, black hair flowing with the motion.
"Also," Embry added with a smile playing on the corner of his mouth, "I definitely think they're overcompensating."
Harper was a goal-oriented person, a busy body if you will. Yet with no Claire to look after and Emily promising that she didn't have to do chores (it was what Sam was for, she had joked), Harper was getting bored. She had her review homework, the only new thing she was learning the Quileute language. And so her job hunt had begun. She wouldn't mind having some extra money in her pockets or something to help Emily out.
It wasn't like Emily or Sam had minded especially with how often the pack was over. And with that thought in mind, Emily had tossed her a newspaper with the job opening highlighted. The fifties themed restaurant, Moonstruck Diner, was just off the rez and in dire need of a waitress. Who was a better fit for the position than Harper? Probably a lot of people, but Harper was desperate for something to do. That was her excuse for Emily as she bounded out of her room that Friday after school to pick up an application and maybe a milkshake with Paul trailing after her.
Harper had been in La Push for almost a week and she could already feel that sandbag of pressure lift off of her bit by bit. She had Sage who had always offered to hang out after school to go to some local cafe on the rez to study. The two growing closer through the study sessions which had quickly turned into Harper helping Sage with her math homework and Sage helping Harper with her Quillayute. Or they would somehow both abandon the homework to explore First Beach, which as Harper had predicted, was freezing cold. She also had struck up a friendship with Kim, the two bonding over a couple of book series they were obsessed with.
Everything was great! Everything except for the fact that Harper couldn't go anywhere without being in the company of Jared and Paul. She hadn't had any chances to go into the woods and look for any more proof of the mega-wolves, as she had dubbed them. Harper had been waiting for Saturday to come with the excuse that she and Embry would not be productive with Paul or Jared there. It was a completely palpable lie as well given the seething glares to her lunch table she caught coming from the boy and his friends, Quil and Jacob. She practically had most of the research for the project done anyway and was using Embry as an excuse to go looking through the woods for some pack animals.
The bell dinged as Harper and her bodyguard entered into Moonstruck Diner. The floor was a black and white checkered print. The walls were pale pink, almost white, and were covered in random license plates and street signs. They were all so immaculately clean that Harper assumed they were new until she caught a date in one of them reading 1948. There were various brand signs hanging as well, mostly Coca Cola. Neon lights traced the perimeter of the walls, illuminating everything even though it was still light out. The seats and tables were both chrome while the seat covers and tabletops were the same minty baby blue that the waitresses wore.
Paul hummed appreciatively as he looked at the short blue and white uniform the waitresses were wearing. Harper in the span of a week had also learned that Paul was the biggest flirt she had ever met. She was also grateful he had decided to put on a shirt and jacket with their little expedition when she saw how one of them was looking at Paul. Although she was sure he enjoyed the attention he received from them.
The girl rolled her black eyes and walked up to the counter where a boy about her age was wiping it clean. He had deep brown, almost black hair that was swooped up in a quiff and eyes the same color. She assumed he was probably from Forks as he looked very white. He brought his head up and smirked lightly before seemingly remembering that he was working. In a word, he reeked of boyish charm as he gave her a smile showing off a row of perfectly white teeth and a dimple. He wore a white button-up shirt, a white apron, and a black bow tie along with a cap. She could spy a gold chain peeking out from his collar.
"Hi, what can I do for you?" He asked politely. Harper decided that he had to be using a customer service voice. It was bright and almost too kind. Nevertheless, she smiled and opened her mouth to answer when she had been so rudely interrupted by the older boy next to her.
"She was wondering about the application," Paul answered bluntly, crossing his arms and scowling at the younger boy. Harper snapped to him and scowled back before turning to the boy who nodded, his smile never dimming.
"Let me get it from the back," he said, turning around and leaving. He turned back and looked at Harper, shooting her another smile and a wink.
As soon as he was out of sight Harper slapped Paul's arm. "You are unbelievable," she hissed out. "And I thought we were going to get milkshakes too." The first cute guy she sees that she knows will not know her for her reputation of being a massive nerd that she had already got from being in La Push and Paul was scaring him off.
Paul furrowed his brows before rolling his eyes. "Please, you were practically drooling," he scoffed. "If you're so thirsty I'm sure-"
Harper slapped his arm again, her cheeks burning a bright and unruly red. "Shut up, Paul," she whined watching as the boy came back. She hurriedly tried to make it look like she wasn't previously smacking Paul for being an embarrassment.
He shot her a truly award-winning smile as he slid the application over to her before reaching his hand out for her to shake. "I'm Eli," he introduced shooting her a wink.
Harper could feel the blood rush to her cheeks, it was not from embarrassment. Not in the slightest. She gave him a similar smile. "Harper," she responded. All she could think about was how nice his hands were. Soft and warm, not clammy or calloused. And then she thought about his eyes. Oh my God, his eyes.
"Well, Harper," his smile never left his face and Harper could feel herself float to cloud 9, "I certainly hope you get the job." She liked the way her name said coming from his own mouth. It was nice and flowed smoothly.
"Me too," Harper said dreamily.
She was taken out of that when Paul cleared his throat, eyes jumping from Harper to their conjoined hands. "Harpsichord, we gotta go," Paul said jokingly, although the scowl marring his face was anything but.
Eli, who had turned to look at Paul, swiveled his gaze back to Harper who looked like she was arguing with Paul without saying anything. It appeared as though Paul had won when she dropped his hand and gave him a reluctant wave goodbye.
"Wait," Eli called, grabbing the pen and pad from his apron pocket. The boy hurriedly wrote down his phone number and reached over the counter to give it to Harper.
Harper watched on with wide eyes as Paul pocketed the piece of paper. Her jaw dropped as she turned to glare at the older boy. Eli's face completely fell. "Paul what the-" Harper began in a hushed shout.
"Come on, grandma, we have to go," Paul exclaimed leading her out the diner. As soon as they were out the door Eli could see her swat Paul's arm. He could see Paul reach into his jacket pocket and pull out the paper. The older boy held it above his head. He watched on as Harper kneed him so he doubled over and took it out of his hands. Eli chuckled to himself with pink cheeks before going back to cleaning the counter.
As Harper plopped herself into the driver's seat she felt a sense of satisfaction as Paul scowled at her on the passenger side. She turned to him, lips quirking into a smile as she typed in the number.
"We don't have all day, old-timer," Paul grumbled out. She could see him fidgeting and sighed. Her fingers typing as she sent a text to Eli. The boy beside her turned on the radio to his desired station and looked at her expectantly. "What?" He asked when she did nothing but stare at him.
"How many times were you dropped on your head as a child?" Paul rolled his eyes at the question and held up a singular finger. A laugh rippled through Harper and she finally pulled out of the Moonstruck's parking lot.
After Harper had been left by Paul who unceremoniously fell out of the jeep as she parked in front of Emily's house she decided that she was going to have one of her walks through the woods. The teen ran upstairs in a hurry, grabbing one of her older and smaller backpacks, throwing a flashlight, a journal, a ruler, and several disposable cameras (for evidence purposes) in it. As she walked out the door of her room the girl backtracked, sticking her phone in her pocket and grabbing her pepper spray.
Harper snuck passed Emily and was out the door in an instant, running through the trees to find herself in the thicket of the woods in no time. A smile broke out on her face and she began her trek through the woods.
In no time she had found her first piece of evidence. The prints were clear and Harper had been right to say that they looked nothing like a bear's. More dog-like. The girl rummaged around in her bag before pulling out her ruler. She placed the ruler on the ground next to the print and grabbed the camera, catching some shots before recording everything. How big it was (8 1/2 inches) how deep the print was (2 inches), and then she caught the next one, six feet away. She repeated the process over and over again as the prints we a trail leading her through the forest.
A horrifying thought swept through her brain like a hurricane. The forest she's in is a rain forest. The last time it rained was about an hour ago. The mud was still fresh. The prints were fresh. That meant she could have literally been following the wolf around this whole time. Harper pulled out her phone and after a quick google search, she knew that regular wolf prints had nothing on the beast she was tracking.
She felt fear shiver up her spine. The wolf she's been tracking had to be as big as a fucking horse. Which was scientifically impossible. No wolf had been sighted that big in a while. Wolves shouldn't even be in this forest. And then another thought struck her out of nowhere. It wasn't scientifically impossible. Not really, when she thought about it. Everything known to man at one point had been impossible. What if it was just some evolution? Why? She had no idea. Discovering a new species of wolf, however, left her tingling and with a newfound sense of excitement, she continued her process.
She was smart, that didn't mean she had a lick of common sense.
Harper was glad she had brought that flashlight as night had fallen quickly, as expected. Darkness soon encapsulated her and yet she still kept following those tracks, And then she heard it, a ruckus of twigs snapping and leaves shaking. Harper ran forward, breaking into a clearing to see not one set of prints, but at least three. It all made perfect sense. There wasn't just one insanely large wolf here, because evolution certainly didn't work like that, but a whole pack of them! The smile on Harper's face spoke volumes.
Harper hurriedly snapped the pictures, awkwardly holding the flashlight in her mouth. She then quickly decided after her flurry of photography to abandon her print method and follow a random set of tracks to see where it would take her. She was running low on film after all.
You could imagine her surprise when she saw Emily's house through the trees at the beginning of the track. It was like they had just appeared out of nowhere. The girl furrowed her brows as she looked around for where the prints came from and saw nothing. She sighed before deciding that it must've stepped through the moss as not a single impression could be found.
Harper's eyes widened at the realization that not only were the mega-wolves running all over the forest, but they were ballsy enough to come close to humans. Harper gave a deep before trudging out of the woods and into Emily's house.
Emily looked at Harper from where she had stood leaning against the kitchen counter. Her arms crossed and she was scowling. Harper felt her blood run cold as she remembered the promise she had made the other day. Specifically stating that she would not go into the woods.
"Are you insane, Harper?" Emily asked rhetorically.
"I uh, I just-" Harper stumbled through her words.
"You what, Harper! The woods are dangerous," Emily enunciated. "We told you about the bears." For a second Harper wanted to show her what she found, explain that there weren't bears in the woods, but huge ginormous wolves.
But then Harper realized than Emily would probably think she was crazy. And it wasn't like wolves were any less dangerous than bears so Harper clammed up. "I'm sorry, Auntie Em," Harper mumbled out. She was intently studying her toes.
Harper could hear Emily sigh, she peeked up to see the woman run a frustrated hand through her hair. "Please stay out of the woods. Harper, promise me," Emily pleaded. Her niece didn't make any promises this time and instead just numbly nodded. Emily didn't like this and shook her head, lips pursed. "Dinner's on the table," Emily informed before huffily going to her room.
Harper looked dejected and didn't bother to touch the could meal laid out. She was tired and just wanted to go to bed. The girl trumped upstairs and closed the door to her room quietly Before she could even think about going to sleep her phone rang, or well vibrated considering Harper's distaste of calling or being called. Harper rolled her eyes as she brought the device out of her pocket, a smile breaking out when she caught the name.
"Hey, Sage what's up?" She asked only to immediately be met with pulsing dance movement and Sage's yells.
"Do you want to go to a party?" The other girl asked with a shout. Sage looked around at the crowd. It was just a bunch of privileged white kids from Forks. She had known a girl there who she had been seeing but had abruptly left her to go 'walk her cat'. Safe to say Sage needed someone else there.
Harper bit her lip and looked around her room. Since unpacking, she had finally put up the decorations that she had in her old room. A periodic table was hung up on the wall by her desk along with a framed drawing collage of her favorite women in science. There were a couple of blown-up images of different types of cells along with a poster of Einstein sticking his tongue out and another of a UFO. There were also relics from her tribe scattered around the walls or her desk. She spotted her textbook and lit up for a second before realizing it was a Friday night and Sage would absolutely call her out on her bullshit.
"Sage, I don't know," Harper said hesitantly.
"I'll pick you up, we can stay at my house after," Sage said, trying to sweeten the deal because frankly, Jessica Stanley's parties sucked without anyone else to make fun of the Fork's kids antics. The music was okay, but there were too many people she didn't know. She could hear Harper sigh on the other line as she stepped outside of the house party. Sage fiddled with her keys as she waited for Harper's hesitant answer. "We can watch 10 Things I Hate About You after," she pleaded.
The other girl was a goner at the promise of her favorite movie. "Fine," Harper grumbled. "You better not be picking me up after drinking." Harper rushed to her closet, pulling out everything she thought would look appropriate for a party.
"Pinky promise, babe. Pinky promise," Sage told her while climbing into the seat of her mom's old yellow VW Beetle. "Trust me, you'll have fun."
***
I'm just saying that Quil and Jake are 100% those friends that would tease relentless if they found out you had a crush. Sage and Embry are more chill about everything. Also yeah Eli's a sweet sweet summer child of happiness. He's going to be Embry's foil for a bit.
If this isn't embry for the next couple of chapters than idk what
Also a psa