"
As always in life, people want a simple answer... and it's always wrong.
"
- Susan Greenfield
Wallflower's Villain Origin Story pt.1
Embry was early to school. This simple fact had been a shock to many as the boy was usually seen walking through the halls moments before the bell rang or even later. Yet here he was, practically jogging to the library an hour before classes started.
It was the kind of thing that usually happened when somebody receives an email from a cute girl saying she told her family, a cult, and the tribal elders that she slept with you in 50 different places all over the rain forest. Harper's brain worked in magical ways and he just wanted to figure it out so he could get her to stop screwing with his life. He had to admit that he did walk straight into it when he had offered to be used as a cover.
He just didn't picture being used like that.
Harper had sat in her usual table in the back corner of the library, diligently working on making a new map. Seeing as her aunt oh so kindly ruined hers. Embry plopped down on the seat next to her and without a second thought, she pushed her notebook with the coordinates in it closer to him. Without a word shared between the two, they worked to hurriedly complete the map so that Harper wouldn't have a complete mental breakdown.
By the time they stopped there were about 10 minutes left before class. Embry made a move to leave the table when Harper's hand reached out to grab his wrist. He turned to her curiously and she immediately pulled her hand away.
Harper furrowed her eyebrows as she looked from her hand to his wrist. He was burning up. She shook her head, filing the thought in the back of her mind for later and looked up at him.
She could tell he had gotten ready in a hurry. His hair which had been damp when he had arrived had dried into nice waves that brushed his shoulders. He wore a pair of sweats and an ill-fitting hoodie along with his usual shoes.
God, he looked like such a slacker.
In like a hot kinda way.
"Are-are you-"
Before Embry could properly ask if she was checking him out she spoke over him, "Hey one of my friends, Mike Newton, is throwing a party in Forks and I was wondering if you and your crew wanted to come with?" She asked her tone dull.
Embry raised a brow as his eyes flit away from the girl and bit the inside of his cheek. Parties were not his thing. He didn't like them. Didn't do them. Didn't care for them. Much less the party he was expecting from a Forks kid it would probably be shitty. Embry looked back down at Harper who looked at him expectantly for an answer and he shakily nodded.
A smile broke out on her face and she nodded. At her pleased expression, Embry paled. He could remember the taunts and teases he had been getting for the past week about Harper and he wondered if she thought they were a thing.
Because they weren't. They were not anything besides two partners for the stupid bio project and Harper's independent suicide wolf mission. Was he leading her on?
"As a group of friends, though... right?" Embry asked, cringing at the question.
Harper's eyebrows stitched together and she quirked her head. "No as a flock, of course as a group, dummy," Harper said snarkily as she got up and swung her backpack on.
Embry couldn't help but let out that overwhelming breath of relief as he watched her walk away. "No, sorry I just-"
The girl had turned back to look at him worriedly. A complete 180 then how she had been a second ago. Concern fell on her features as she walked over to him. They were close. Too close. If someone saw them, which he was sure someone was, they would get the wrong idea. Harper raised a hand to his forehead before he could take a step back.
"You're burning up," she commented, the concern showing through her voice as her eyes stayed steady on his forehead.
She was touching him. Harper Young was touching him. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Why wasn't there a handbook for this kind of-
Harper looked back at him with that usual teasing and taunting gaze as her Grinch-like smile fixed itself on her face. "That's it, you're not stupid. Just delirious!" And with that, she turned on her heel and left the library.
Embry decided then and there that girls weren't confusing, Harper was.
When Embry had finally stumbled into Biology Sage was fully turned around in her seat talking to Harper about a recent 'bear' attack. Quil, who had been hanging onto her every word, looked up at his flushed friend with an amused glint in his eye.
The boy scooted his chair closer to Harper and Embry's table and leaned in close, waving Embry over to do the same. He did so with no hesitation. "A little birdy told me you and Harper-"
Like that Embry had pulled away from Quil with an upset look on his face. Quil's teasing face had turned into one of regret as soon as he caught Embry's angry features. "Dude, just stop," Embry had growled out seconds before Mr. Hunt walked into class.
When Embry and Quil finally met up with Jake in the auto shop the boy looked at the two of them with teasing features until he caught Quil's guilty gaze. The boy furrowed his eyebrows and quirked his head. His friend shook his head and pointed to Embry who had annoyance lacing every feature. Jake nodded and brightened up, rambling on about something funny Chief Swan did the other day.
About halfway through the class, Embry realized he had forgotten about telling his best friends about the party. He audibly groaned at the thought. If he did he would definitely face teasing at the fact Harper was inviting them. God, she just made everything all the more difficult.
He knew, however, if they didn't tell him Jake would be peeved. It was a Forks party and he was sure the boy would jump at any chance to try and talk to his very very depressed friend. There was a low chance she would even be there. He rolled his eyes to himself and decided to rip it off like a bandaid while they were cleaning up.
"Hey, so um- Skunk," his new and creative nickname when he had caught the random stripe of white in her hair, "invited us to a party on Friday and I was wondering if you guys wanted to go." Embry tried hard to sound nonchalant. He tried his best and that wasn't enough.
He could see Quil biting his lip to keep his teasing smile away Jake looked dubious. "A party, huh?" The boy commented.
"It's in Forks, she said Mike Newton was throwing it," he added knowing that a name would strike a chord with a boy. He knew that Jake would beg him and Quil to be there once he had named dropped. Even though he and Quil would much rather be doing something else with their Friday night.
Harper liked being sweaty. It was a weird feeling to enjoy, but she thought it showed how hard she had worked to achieve something physical. A sense of euphoria washed over her as she completed her last lap around the track for her mandatory mile. It felt good. An exhilarating rush. She would've just kept going if she wasn't being timed or graded.
She would have to take up jogging. Or even cross country if she felt like it.
And while she liked being sweaty while working out the girl detested it the moment she stopped. It felt gross. Soon after the mile ended and she had cooled off to the satisfaction of the PE teacher she was allowed to go to the locker room.
What a perfect place for Sage to corner her.
The girl, who had been a severe asthmatic since she was little and thus was exempt from the mile, had waited until Harper got in to take her regular after gym shower before standing outside of it, blocking the entrance. It wasn't like any of the other girls used the showers, Harper was just a clean freak.
"What's up with you and Call?" She asked, tilting her head slightly so her voice was going into the shower and not into the locker room.
Harper paused, her hands still kneading into her hair and covered in shampoo. "What?" She asked incredulously.
Had the lie she told about her and Embry got out? Even worse: if Embry actually thought they were a thing. Was that why he asked what they were going as? Did he want it to be a - god forbid - date? Harper was distressed. She hadn't meant to lead Embry on and even then she was sure that he did not like her in the slightest bit.
"Yeah, you guys have both been super close and whispery lately... And you've been blowing off our usually Cafe study sessions," Sage explained unable to not sound slightly peeved. The girl had started to just start coming to Moonstruck with her math homework while Harper helped her out during her shift.
Harper felt guilt flood through her and bit her lip. "Oh my God, Sage. I'm so sorry. I hadn't meant to cut you off- god- I'm bad at friendships," Harper apologized missing the main point.
Sage clicked her tongue but nodded. "It's okay, Harper," Sage sighed out. "Okay, now Embry!"
Harper groaned. She wanted to bash her head against the shower tile. The girl would rather do that than talk about Embry. "Literally nothing is going on besides that project."
Sage raised a dubious eyebrow as she considered Harper's words. She and Quil were partners for the project and they just got the first part done yesterday, going to First Beach and collecting samples of microscopic species in the tide pools. The essay was written in an hour and was messy, but it would get them a B. Because while Mr. Hunt was a sucky teacher he was an easy grader. It was practically impossible to fail sophomore biology.
Another thing was that she and Quil didn't get as nearly as close as she and Embry did. The goofy boy had always been slightly frightened of Sage's harsh outer exterior. Or maybe it was her bad rep. But on the other hand, Harper was the biggest perfectionist Sage had ever met. If there was anyone who would spend that much time and energy in a stupid group project it would be her.
Yet, there was still the one thing that was bugging Sage about Embdy's newfound closeness with her friend. It was the way that she and Embry had been acting like they were keeping a secret.
"Fine, I believe you," with that Sage stalked off to leave Harper to finish her shower and wait for her at the end of their locker row to finish up.
There are certain truths that the universe holds true. The sun is a star. Humans are mostly water. Jared Cameron tells Kim Baxter everything.
He simply can't help it. She supersedes everything else as his imprint. And that includes Sam's weird alpha thing. So when he snuck into her bedroom after her parents fell asleep to cuddle and she asked about the meeting with the elders he couldn't not tell her.
And so at the lunch table, Kim was brimming with questions and to mainly look for evidence that Embry and Harper were a thing.
Paul had sat down at the table after the couple, immediately taking notice of Kim craning her neck to look at the lunch table she usually sat at.
"Do you still think they're gonna, you know?" Kim asked vaguely as they looked at the table, noticing Jake and Quil sitting down.
Paul shrugged. "If we exterminate the leeches in the vicinity, then no," he put bluntly as he picked through his lunch ravenously.
Jared nodded in agreement while Kim's eyes locked on her target. Harper and Embry walked together, though an uncomfortable distance separated them. Sage put herself between the two as a barrier and soon enough she locked eyes with the pouting girl.
Harper didn't know what came over her as she stood and walked over to the staring girl.
"Oh no," Kim mumbled out causing Jared to turn and look at the cause of the shine.
"Wha- Oh no," Jared said as he caught sight of the girl.
Harper stopped at the head of the table and Paul lazily swung his head to look at her with a teasing smile. The one he usually wore back in her first week and she liked them.
"Anything we can do for you, Harpsichord?" Paul asked the girl with a raised eyebrow.
Harper glared down at the three of them and nodded. "Actually, yeah you can," she snapped.
They hadn't noticed when the cafeteria had gone so quiet.
"If you could keep your stares to yourself that'd be fantastic," she told them. The girl made a move to leave when a voice stopped her.
"Come on, Harper, don't be like that," Paul whined.
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop as Harper turned back around. "Stop overcompensating for your shriveled steroid dick. Stop talking to me and my friends. Stop looking at me and my friends. Just stop it!" Harper said between clenched teeth before stalking off. The girl had grabbed her bag from her table before she and Sage, who had followed her, left the cafeteria.
Jared let out a morose sigh. "Well, there goes the make sure Harper has a good time in school order."
Paul looked at the spot she had left crossly. His fist was clenched so tightly he broke the plastic fork with ease. The sound of plastic shattering alerted Jared to look up at Paul who was shaking. The last anyone saw of those two that day were both of them running out of the high school and to the forest.
Jake, Quil, and Embry looked dumbstruck. The trio of boys stared at Paul and Jared who abruptly left and then to Kim who grabbed both of their backpacks and walked off. Their minds were reeling.
"I think that was the hottest thing I have ever seen," Quil murmured out.
Embry didn't bother glaring at his friend and instead picked through his lunch. Sure Harper yelling out the people they hated was very, very satisfying. But it wasn't hot. He wasn't sure why he was getting so angry, but when Jake hummed in agreement he snapped his head up to meet theirs. "No comment," he grumbled out before looking to where she left. "And shut up."
Harper and Embry did not go to the woods like they had the past couple of days. She did not wait to pick him up and he didn't bother looking for her car. When she arrived at Emily's she went straight to her room and changed into her uniform before leaving the home. Harper had picked up a shift at Moonstruck as if she was being honest, she was way too embarrassed to be seen with Embry.
She worked her first shift in a somewhat silence, heavily involved in her work of serving food with a smile and giggling at unfunny jokes to get a bigger tip. Harper couldn't hide her joy when Eli came through the service entrance and out by the counter, hurriedly tying his apron.
"Oh thank God you're here," she gushed out unable to hide the smile from her face.
Eli couldn't hide the blush that rose to his cheeks and he ducked his head, a prominent smile placed upon it. "Yep, as always eight to midnight," he said sheepishly.
Harper had been busying herself restocking condiments, napkins, sugar, and salt when he had arrived. When she heard him come through she had all but rushed over to the counter, grabbing a rag and wiping it down so she had an excuse to being this close to him.
"What's this topic you're dying to talk about," he teased.
"How do you know I'm not just excited to see you," she said with a pout. At Eli's knowing brow she deflated and sighed. "Okay fine, you got me."
Eli shook his head and let out a little laugh while disappearing through the back to grab the clean dishes to restock those behind his counter. When he came back Harper was practically vibrating in her seat. She practically exploded when he gestured for her to get it out.
"Okay, so you know the project I was telling you about?" Eli nodded. "Well, the guy I'm partnered with and I have started to become friends and my friends and his friends both jumped to this conclusion that 'hey they're dating' even though we are most definitely not and it's super annoying!" Harper complained out in a rush.
Eli let out a low whistle as he digested the information. He could help but feel a little lighter at her annoyed tone about being connected to her partner. "That's rough, buddy."
"I know! And I've tried to get them to stop, but they're just-ugh, y'know?" She said all flustered. Eli nodded because he did know. "And I just don't know what to do," she threw her hands in exasperation.
Eli pursed his lips as his hands found the last glass. "You could always just make it clear that you're with somebody else," he suggested.
Harper furrowed her brows and puckered her lips as if she just took a bite of a lemon. "Who would I do that with?" She asked swiveling around to face him.
"Well, preferably someone attractive," Eli gestured to himself and Harper giggled. "Someone who you won't have to be seen with them so they don't get too suspicious about them not being close to you at school," he gestured to himself again and even more vigorously causing Harper's eyes to widen as Eli did have a point. "And someone that you'll have an opportunity to show off soon, sometime like tomorrow at a party."
"Eli," Harper began her tone deadly serious, the boy's eyes dropped as he thought he would have to face rejection tonight, "would you like the honor to be my fake boyfriend?"
Eli broke out in a grin and nodded. "I would like nothing more," he said with a smile on his face before the two parted.
Harper did have a customer's to get to, Sam, Paul, Jared, and Emily. The girl couldn't help the glare that rose to her face at the sight of the man next to her lovely aunt. She could, however, help the customer service smile. "Hi, welcome to Moonstruck Diner this lovely evening. Our specials today are our Out of This World Meal Combo, which comes with your choice of burger, shake, and fries, or the Rocket Dogs," she said while putting down the menus politely in front of them. "Can I start you off with any drinks?" She asked while pulling out her pad and pen from where it sat behind her ear.
Paul gave Jared five bucks. He definitely thought she would have been cursing them, dragging their names through the mud. Harper's customer service smile didn't dim. "We'll take four Out of This World combo things with regular fries and burgers, four chocolate shakes, and four glasses of water," Emily answered, collecting their menus while Harper nodded writing it down on her pad.
"Is that going to be all?" She asked with that stupid customer service smile fixed to her face. The four nodded and she smiled, collecting their menus.
As soon as Harper turned around she was scowling. The girl worked aggressively as she put the menus away and brought out the cups. She tore away the paper and put clipped it up so the fry cook would be able to make the burgers. Soon enough the table had its waters and Harper turned away from the quartet.
"Harper, wait," called Sam.
Harper froze in her spot, unable to hear anything but blood rushing to her ears as she turned around. "Yes, sir?" She asked bound to that stupid customer service smile. Harper ignored Paul's snort.
"You need to stop going into the forest, for your own safety," Sam said calmly.
Harper narrowed her eyes. "Sam, I think you know that you don't control me. I'm not some dog and I'm not going to blindly follow you. I do what I want when I want, where I want," she scowled out as the bell dinged before turning away to grab the four ginormous meals. She coolly set them down on their table in silence.
"Just holler if you need me, enjoy your meal, have a lovely night," Harper growled out and turned away to go and finish her shift in silence.
"I told you she wasn't going to like that," Jared commented lightly.
"Shut up, Jared!"
***
Amber Midthunder, Harper's fc, has such beautiful hair oh my gooddddd. Also, I really like the friend/flirtationship she's cultivating with Eli and I'm tempted to have her have like a fling with him before getting in a relationship with Sage, bc she's the type of person where she usually has to be friends with someone before doing anything with them. y'know. also, Jared Cameron's big fat mouth will be a tool used for later.