"
Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't.
"
-Bill Nye the Science Guy
Interrogations & Gambling
Jacob and Quil, contrary to popular (Embry's) belief, were both very receptive. They noticed a lot, especially Quil who sat in front of Embry in biology and had noticed him leaning in quite close to look at the girl's notes. The girl Embry had called a steamroller, a smartass, and perhaps worst of all an unbearable hag to the boys in private. He had made it known of his distaste of her and her big mouth and smug holier than thou attitude. But on Wednesday morning he seemed to sidle up pretty close to her. His eyes followed her even when they weren't close. Every time Mr. Hunt made a joke Embry's eyes went straight to her before he laughed.
In short, Embry was so pathetically crushing on this girl. Or so they think.
The two made it their mission for that lunch period to confront Embry at his obvious crush. The one they had made fun of earlier, but it was only so funny because he all but hated her guts.
Except they never did, because the darnest thing had happened. On that Wednesday afternoon, Harper Young sat at their table with Sage on one side and Embry on the other. Even Sage looked annoyed by how cozy the two looked.
Quil and Jake shared a glance. "What in the hell?" Quil murmured out before they walked side by side to the table.
"Hey, guys," Jake greeted cautiously. His eyes going straight to Sage who had mouthed, 'No fucking clue.'
Harper and Embry brought their heads up and mumbled out their own greetings before going back to their mumbling. Sage looked crossly at the boy and her friend for a second before sharing confused glances with Quil and Jake. Harper hurriedly checked her watch and cursed.
"Shit, I forgot my math homework, I'm going to head to the library, see you guys later," Harper called to the group in a rush as she juggled a mountain of books.
As soon as the trio made sure that she was out the door they turned to Embry in sync. The poor boy was too enraptured in his chicken nuggets to notice. That was until Sage shoved him so hard he almost fell off his seat.
"Okay, that was intentional, what the hell?" Embry spat, turning directly to Sage who looked at him coolly as she inspected her short nails.
"Oh," Sage started passively, "just that you're totally crushing on Harper."
Embry looked at Sage blankly for a second. Jake and Quil watched with anticipation at his reaction. His stony face changed when his eyebrow furled and his lips parted slightly. They could see him mouth the word 'crushing' several times. His brain was working so hard. And then as realization dawned on him his jaw had completely dropped and his eyes went crazily wide.
"No. No! No, no... No. Absolutely not!" Embry denied while shaking his head. The scene was comical enough that Quil laughed while drinking milk causing him to spill it all over his empty lunch tray. Jake and Sage turned to each other and gave twin looks of annoyance before Jake burst out into laughter.
"Okay, whatever you say," Jake said dubiously while shaking his head.
Quil's eyes narrowed as he certainly was not done with the subject. "Didn't you have that project thing on Saturday?" He asked watching Embry as his eyes widened. "What happened with that?" Quil's lips curled into a smirk.
"N-nothing we just, uh- we just finished the project," Embry stuttered out.
Harper really should have made a deal with someone who wasn't a complete shit liar.
"Harper's been blowing off our usual after school study sessions," Sage mused looking accusingly at Embry as if it was his fault she was bad at math. It wasn't that Harper stopped talking to Sage either, the two texted constantly and she had most of her classes with the girl, but still.
"Yeah, and you have been blowing us off after school," Jake mentioned. "Have you been going to Harper's?" Embry flushed scarlet and his face felt hot. A wide-eyed and in shock Sage sputtered out her disbelief.
Harper really should have made this deal with a better liar.
The truth was Embry had been going to Harper's after school, getting a ride from her back home. They spent most of it walking in the woods in quiet while they usually had their own headphones shoved in their ears. When Harper wasn't working the closing shift at Moonstruck's they did actually work on the project and it's presentation up in Harper's room much to the rest of the pack's chagrin.
But he couldn't tell them that. Because he could tell them they were just working on project stuff the trio would see right through him and his garbage lies! If he told them what was really going on then he'd be breaking Harper's trust. And she would be breaking his kneecaps
"Are you and Harper like dating or are you guys like casual?" Quil asked with a smirk. Embry's face got even hotter if that was even possible.
On instinct Embry stood up so quickly he banged his knee on the table causing several eyes to shift to the flustered boy. He tripped as he tried to leave the table and sputtered out a response of, "I need to iron my sweatpants," before racing off.
"How much do you want to be he went to the library?" Sage asked coldly staring at where he had left.
Quil and Jake shared a glance.
"I'm not betting anything against it," Quil had said simply, taking a bite out of a french fry.
"I'd bet my house on it."
Jacob would not have won a house.
Harper had spent the majority of her lunch period musing over the map of the Hoh rainforest she had printed out. Embry had suggested it and she couldn't help but agree that it was a good idea to mark where she had found the prints instead of just wandering out of there going by muscle memory. The girl had been going over her notebook where she had (with the help of some 21st-century technology) put the coordinates of the prints on the map.
And now Harper was staring at it curiously. The tracks around the perimeter of where the forest went around La Push and then where the ravine was. The ravine where she had seen that scary lady. Harper would bet her lunch money, not that she had any because Emily insisted on packing her one, that the wolves went on the other side of the ravine as well.
Other than that there appeared to be no rhyme or reason as to where they went. The patterns were wild and seemed specifically made to throw somebody off. Either that or she was just paranoid.
It was frustrating. Like she was playing a game of chess that she was certain she was winning only to be left with a single pawn and facing a dastardly loss. Three moves to checkmate. Harper wrote down 'intelligent' in her list of attributes of the wolves.
As far as she knew they were just bigger than regular wolves and probably had some strength that showed that as well. That and they somehow knew she was tracking them. Or they were just wolves and did what they wanted.
The exasperated girl tugged at her loose hair in annoyance before folding the map up before she ripped it to pieces, shoving it into her pocket, and made her way to her class. She would figure it out. She promised herself she would.
Harper loved working at Moonstruck. Ms. Mooney, the owner, was kind if not a bit eccentric. Her coworkers were nice and the hours were great. The worst part was the customers but that's any service job for you. Harper had also gotten into the routine of working with Eli.
Eli was great. Nice, funny, kind, knew how to laugh at his own mistakes and fix them. He was also very nice to look at in his uniform. After the first time she had gotten leered at by a guy in his forties she had stopped doing it to him.
The two were the regular closers after Harper had gotten properly and sufficiently trained by Bernie, a 20-something waitress who lived in Forks (Bernie could probably step on Harper and she would thank her). Another great thing about Eli was everything was so effortless with him. He was so easy to talk to and there was no awkward phase.
Especially since he had seen her completely wasted and vice versa, but that was beside the point.
That night the two were closing and Eli was very passionately talking about the human version of a manic depressive episode, Bella Swan. Harper had heard the name a couple of times in passing during the party or from Jake who was apparently in love with her. She happened to like Eli's very honest take on the girl.
"She's just so tragically pathetic without this guy," he had complained as he expertly swept the diner. Harper hummed in acknowledgment as she sprayed the cleaning solution on the table. "The literally dated for like six months and now she's like a shell."
Harper shrugged but couldn't help but feel kind of disgusted. "Was it like an unhealthy relationship?" She asked curiously. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Eli give a shrug.
"Probably, she was like obsessed with him. Relied on him for everything," Eli retold while Harper scrunched her nose up.
Harper could never imagine relying entirely on anyone else. People let others down and it'd be a cold day in hell if she had ever let something like that remotely happen to her. "That's... icky," Harper eloquently put.
Eli snorted but still nodded. "Jess has been going out of her way for two months now to invite her to everything and she just shoots her down." Eli shook his head in disgust. "She's just sad and isn't doing anything about it and Jess is super worried that she's going to hurt herself to feel something," He explained.
Harper's features softened at the description of the girl. "Self-harm and self-destructive tendencies are things to watch out for," Harper commented, disappearing into the back to grab the mop. She could hear Eli's bitter bark of laughter from the dining area as he turned up the music. Elvis was blaring through the restaurant. "Did you like her?" Harper asked curiously.
Eli shot her a wide-eyed and shocked expression. Shaking his head and hands wildly. "No, no! No. Very much I did not!" He said earning a genuine laugh from Harper. "I'm not the type to fall for..." Eli struggled to find the proper word to describe how he felt about Bella. "If she was a spice she'd be flour."
"That wasn't what I meant, but okay," Harper let out a giggle at his insinuation of the question, and at the insult, she shook her head. "What kind of girls do you fall for?" Harper asked coyly.
Eli's deep eyes widened, looking almost blue from the way the neon reflected off of him. He wasn't sure if Harper was just a flirty person like he thought he was, or if she was just asking. He didn't know what to make of her batting her long eyelashes or anxiously bitting her plump pink painted lip. Suddenly his mouth felt very dry and his palms were clammy.
"I- uh I... I'm- uh-" Eli was stumbling over his words and the only thing stopping him was Harper's enthusiastic and full-bodied laugh. She shook her head, deep and dark shiny hair that she had straightened flowed with the movement. He smiled sheepishly at her and she smiled back. Eli didn't have trouble when anybody flirted with him. She made him nervous and giddy and comfortable all at the same time. It was different, but Eli like it. He liked it a lot.
"Hey, Mike's throwing a party this weekend, do you and Sage wanna come?" Eli asked, dodging the question of who his type was after Harper had left it alone for a second.
Harper beamed at him. "I would love to," she said earnestly before biting her lip. "Is it a big party, I just know some of my La Push friends who would like to come and I don't want to impose if it's like a small get together," Harper explained her initial question in a rush.
Eli deflated slightly before bringing himself back to his usual sunny disposition. "It's cool. Yeah, totally invite them!" The way Harper smiled at him made it all worth it.
Harper was used to coming home to a full house of shirtless annoying men. It was expected at this point. She had not expected to see the tribal elders sitting at the table, looks of seriousness etched into their faces while The 'Roid Club + Emily stood around them. Harper certainly hadn't meant to open the door with a bang and draw attention to herself. The door just stuck sometimes.
She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks and a deep blush settle into them as the attention was now on her. The three older gentlemen looked up at her in confusion while the shirtless freaks + Emily looked at her in concern. That was until she recognized one of them as Harry Clearwater, who she was related to somehow. Harper didn't know.
"Hi?" Harper said, confusion evident in her voice and mannerism as she looked to Emily for help.
"Harper, this is Billy Black and Quil Ateara III, we usually just call him Old Quil though," Emily introduced. "And you know Harry." Emily's voice reeked of nerves. "They're the elders on the tribal council," the girl informed. Harper nodded as her own grandmother was an elder.
Harper waved and moved out of the doorway. "What's going on?" She asked, her eyes shooting daggers to Sam who looked stoically back. He had phased enough to not let Harper get under his skin anymore, but she didn't know that.
"What are you doing with the Call boy in the woods?" Question Old Quil abruptly.
Harper quirked her head as she looked down at him, her brows furrowing in confusion. "Are-are we breaking any tribal laws by collecting moss and bugs and various species of fungi?" She brought out her nervous voice. Trying her hardest to hide the fact she was 100% tracking down the wolves.
"No laws are being broken," Billy said as he looked at her with an analytical gaze.
"We were just wondering because Emily found this while doing your laundry," Sam butted in holding up the map Harper had been working on earlier in the day.
Harper shut her eyes lightly and cursed. It had been a mistake to change at home. It had been a mistake to leave the map in her back pocket and not put it somewhere safer. She had made a mistake.
"What are you tracking, Harper?" Harry asked, his tone kinder, and more curious. He was less accusing than any of the other men in Emily's home. Harper bit her tongue as she tried to think of something, anything that wasn't wolf-related.
"I mean no disrespect," Paul and Jared held their breathe because they knew she did, "but it really isn't any of your business," Harper said in a deadly calm. The eyes of the elders stared into her and she rose her nose up.
"Harper, if you don't tell me I'm going to ruin it," Emily threatened. She stepped over to Sam and took it from him before walking steadily to the sink.
Harper held her breath, eyes wide as she watched her aunt move. "You wouldn't dare," The girl whispered.
"Try me," Emily shot back. Harper didn't move a muscle as the staredown commenced. She could feel their gaze on her. After a moment of silence, Emily crumpled up the paper and shoved it into the garbage disposal and Harper leaped forward ready to dig her hand in there before a pair of disgustingly warm arms wrapped around her. Her aunt ran the water and turned on the garbage disposal.
Harper stilled in Paul's arms as she heard the sound of her hard work being torn to pieces. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, she couldn't freak out. She couldn't do it. Paul had let go of her when he felt her heart rate drop and Harper snapped open her eyes.
Lie.
"I mean, considering it was just a map with all of the places I've screwed Embry, congratulations," she said snarkily before rushing up the stairs to angrily and aggressively finish her physics and math homework assignments.
Lie better.
When she had reached the top she looked down at them with an air of superiority. "And what makes you think that was my only copy."
Paul, Jared, and Sam looked at each other each with varying gazes of bewilderment. That was until Jared pulled out five dollars and begrudgingly handed it to Paul who took it smugly. "I told you she was a player," he snapped lightly.
Emily looked horrified at the two of them. "You-you bet on my niece," she screeched out lightly. "No-uh... No muffins for either of you!" She shouted at the two of them. Both of their faces had dropped completely. They glared at each other before crossing their arms and looking away. Not able to stand the sight of the other.
"Okay now that we got that pressing matter out of the way," Sam said with the utmost seriousness. The affronted stares of the elders turned back to him and softened as they looked at their golden boy, their protector, their warrior, their wolf. The adjectives they used to describe Sam Uley are endless. "We need to talk about leech sightings."
Harper had turned her music all the way up and climbed out of her window and onto the roof. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number with shaky hands only to reach his voicemail. "Hey, Embry. I may or may not have done something really stupid or utterly genius. Call me back when you get a chance, Scaredy Cat."
***
Their relationship really is just walking in the woods and science and music and nicknames and ugh chefs kiss bc they're just teenagers and teenagers think everything means dating.
Also nicknames bruhhhh I love them. Harper is a bruh girl. She wouldn't be caught dead typing 🥺🥺🥺 Sage, contrary to popular belief is one of those 🥺 girls