Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters.

A/N: Happy 2012! Someone had recently asked how to pronounce Kai, and I think I forgot to let them know. So sorry, and Kai is pronounced like K-i, just think of the beginning of the word Ki-te.

Read and Review. Hope you Enjoy!

Chapter Twelve

Late August

Collins POV

School was right around the corner. A couple more weeks of summer vacation, and then it was time to start my Junior year.

Was I looking forward to it?

Not really.

It was just more added stress onto my plate. How I was going to fit in everything that needed to be accomplished into each day, everyday was going to be difficult to schedule.

Mom, early this morning had dragged all three of us, plus Brooks to the mall in Port Angeles.

Currently Ava was in Barnes and Noble's, while Mom and Brooks were rummaging through the racks in Forever 21.

And here I was stuck in the Food Court, eating a vegetarian sub, while watching River scarf down half a pizza.

All meat.

Yuck.

"You disgust me," I commented off handedly.

He shrugged. Unaffected. "You know you want some. I don't know why you're eating that crap. I don't think a little meat will kill your training."

"I don't want to risk it," I mumbled, chewing a bit of bread. Tuna. It wasn't very flavorful. At all. "I think the tuna's making me sick. I probably won't be able to go hangout with Ash later. A pity. Really."

"Collins-"

"I was really looking forward to it."

Lie.

"You know," River started, and then actually had the decency to put down the greasy slice, before looking up at me. "You should really cut the guy some slack. I know you don't want to hear this, and I know dad's been riding you, but Ash has a lot of crap going on. I know. Being in his head sucks, Col. He's confused, and pretty damn frustrated. Doing what we do, the phasing, it isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Sure the speed, and strength is cool, but it's tiring. Patrolling, plus having to relearn everything. He can't communicate with us all that well still. It could be dangerous, if say an attack happened and we needed to take orders, and Ash couldn't understand the instructions. Add all the drama with you on top of that, and I'm surprised the guy hasn't had a breakdown yet."

Leave it to my idiot brother to turn a joke into a lecture. I took a breath, and folded my arms on the table in front of us. Leaning forward, I narrowed my eyes. "I get that, I do, and I bet dealing with me sucks, and I've tried- am trying to be nicer. Make it easier on him. But I have a lot going on too. Don't my feelings and my problems count anymore? School starts soon, I've been trying to get back into training since the cast came off. I've been making my self eat stuff like this," I gestured to my half eaten sandwich. "Brooklyn calls, constantly- not that I mind, but I can't fix everyone's problems. Sometimes, I just have to help me. You know? I need to do what's best for me. And if Ash has a problem with me, then maybe he should give me some space."

"You know he can't do that."

"He could," I countered, "if I stress him out as much as you're saying."

You could hear the screech of the chair as it shot back.

I winced.

River snatched up his trash. "God, when did you become so damn self-centered, Collins?"

"I. . ."

My voice trailed off, as he turned, indicating he could care less about my answer, before walking away.

I had to have sat there for at least ten minutes, brooding in anger. I couldn't believe my family. Next Ava was going to be on my case.

Spying a lone piece of pepperoni left in the card board box, I snatched it up and popped it into my mouth. Huffing, I chewed quickly before swallowing.

Was I really self-absorbed?

6 Hours Later

I was tired. I was cranky. And I was annoyed beyond belief. My muscles were aching from my workout I had completed not two hours before. And a massive headache was pounding in my left temple.

But what River had said earlier pushed me to accept Ash's pleading to hangout later that night. So, when he suggested that we go to some movie that had subtitles, I agreed with great reluctance.

It wasn't until after Emily dropped us off in front of the theater that I realized that Ash hadn't said much. Except for initial greeting, his hands had been glued to his sides the whole ride to town.

Debating whether or not I should comment on this, I walked through the door when he held it open for me.

'Are we getting popcorn?' I asked, watching his expression carefully. When dealing with a deaf person, facial expressions are everything. They give off the mood the person is feeling.

He nodded. Keeping his expression mild.

I stopped in front of him, holding my hand out, indicating I wanted him to wait. 'You alright?'

He raised an eyebrow. 'Fine. Just a little tired. Why? Do I not look okay?'

On the contrary, he looked amazingly cute, as always. But as I studied him, I could see faint dark circles under slightly droopy eyes. 'We didn't have to hangout, if you wanted to get some extra sleep.'

Ash's face darkened. Eyes narrowing, lips pursed outward. 'Like I said, I'm fine. The movie it starting. Let's get the popcorn.'

His hand movements were jerky, and abrupt. I didn't know what I had said, but clearly it was more than him just being tired.

Letting it slide, I followed as he led the way towards the concession stand.

Not even twenty minutes into the movie, I had glanced over to my left to see a passed out Ash.

When I scooted closer to him, to pry the tub of popcorn from his hands I heard the faint sound of him snoring.

He was an image of cuteness.

And any girl in my situation would have been thrilled to be here, sharing popcorn with Asher Uley, listening to him snore as he napped, clearly at ease with my presence enough to do so. They probably would have pulled his drooping head onto their shoulder.

But unfortunately, I wasn't any girl. I knew my actions- even the smallest ones would have dire consequences. In my world, holding your imprinter's hand, or even showing the least bit attention to them, is a huge acknowledgment. It didn't matter how much they said they'd follow your lead. I knew what would go down if I let things progress, even slowly. In my world, once the imprint pursues their imprinter in a romantic sense, it's all over with. You're labeled as one.

It wouldn't be just Collins or just Ash anymore.

It would be CollinsandAsh.

That's just the way it was.

And I wasn't ready to take that step. I had things in life that I wanted to accomplish first. I wanted to become a professional gymnast. I had to. I didn't train my butt off for half my life for nothing. I didn't force tuna down my throat for nothing.

Thirty minutes later, Ash was stirring and the popcorn was gone. God, I was a pig. I blamed the fact on the lack of plot in the movie.

Blinking rapidly, he focused on my face with a slight frown. 'Why didn't you wake me when I dosed off?'

Because you looked so cute.

Yeah. Like I was really going to say that. 'You were tried.'

Rolling his eyes, he yawned, before reaching his hand in the tub, and coming up with a handful of kernels.

'I was hungry.' I explained sheepishly.

'Thanks for leaving me some.' Cue playful, angry face. 'I'll go get more.'

'No butter,' I reminded. I at least had to eat somewhat healthy.

'I know,' he retorted cheekily.

I waited.

And waited.

And then waited some more, before I pulled myself out of the cushioned seat. He had been gone a little too long for my liking.

Walking briskly down the aisle, I pushed open the door, and blinked. Adjusting my eyes to the brightness of the room, before heading towards the direction where Ash should have been.

It took me a second, but I spotted him.

He was standing off to the side, looking down at his phone, a look of concentration on his face. To the right of him, behind the counter, a cocky looking teenager was talking loudly, snapping his fingers to get Ash's attention. But of course, Ash couldn't hear him.

As I approached, the guy, slammed his hand down, a second after Ash glanced up at him with a confused expression.

"Dude, what the hell! I have a line of people here. Take your popcorn, and move out of the way," the guy was speaking loudly, causing the people in line to look up and watch the exchange.

Flushing, I rushed over to them. Pulling the tub off the counter, I turned, shoving it into Ash's hands. He still looked so lost. Not understanding what was going on or being said.

"Sorry," I apologized quietly. People were so nosey nowadays.

"Yeah, well, tell your boyfriend to pay attention. There are waiting people behind him," the guy remarked haughtily.

Jerk.

Ash's hand moved to my shoulder. Trying to get my attention. Wanting me to look at him.

I shrugged him off, stepping forward, leaning a bit on the counter. "He's deaf, you idiot," I hissed harshly, before spinning around. I latched onto Ash's arm, and threw on last glare in the guy's direction, before hightailing out of there.

Once outside, I released my grip, and reached for my phone.

A hand shot out, pulling my phone out of my hand, and pocketing it. 'What just happened?' Ash asked, his face full of anxiety.

I was shaking. Angry at the guy for acting so careless, so rude, and ignorant. Not that he knew. Ash should have been paying a little more attention to his surroundings. 'Why were you looking at your phone? You knew there was a line behind you.' All those people just kept staring. I was slightly embarrassed, even though it hadn't really been that big of a deal.

'I was trying to text you, but I didn't have good reception. I wasn't sure if you had enough soda.'

God, now I really felt awful. 'Ash-'

'I'm sorry. You're right. I should have paid more attention.'

I sighed. It really hadn't been his fault. He couldn't control the situation that had just occurred back there.

All I wanted to do was call Emily and ask her if she could pick us up early. Hopefully she had finished her shopping.

'Collins?'

I glanced up.

Ash's face held such an earnest expression as he gazed down at me. 'What you did back there? Defending me like that. . .Thanks. It means a lot. . .To me. It means a whole lot.'

My mouth went dry, as his hand reached forward. His knuckles trailed from my cheek, down to neck, and then to my shoulders before he had me wrapped up in a hug.

Developed in a warm, softness, my breath became shallow, as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck. God, he smelled good. Really good. Like the leather from old books, the woods, and a faint boy smell. I kept my arms trained to my sides, curling my hands into fists.

Must. . . Not. . . Encourage, was the thought that was running on repeat in my mind.

Slowly pulling only his head back, hazel eyes peered into mine for a split second searching. For what? I had no clue, but I didn't have much time to process it.

Because a second later, Ash's lips were smashed up against mine.

Literally.

Smashed. Up. Against. Mine.

I had shared several kisses with a few guys from around the neighborhood before, so I had a faint idea about the mechanics of all this. But Ash. . .Ash had never been kissed before. I knew, because last month Ava had for some reason asked him point blank about it at the dinner table.

A million thoughts were running through my mind.

I'm kissing Ash Uley!

Ash Uley is kissing me!

This isn't right. Stop it now, before it gets out of hand.

He may not know what he's doing, but his lips were sure warm.

Urg.

I gave in for a half of a second, contributing a slightly, very faint pressure to the kiss, before pulling back.

A whimper sounded from Ash's lips. It was a sad sound, one that made my heart hurt.

But I couldn't lead him on like this. Making sure there was at least a two foot distance between us, I regarded him carefully. He was looking down at his shoes. The visible little V was etched between his eyebrows.

'Sorry.' He threw the sign out, still not looking up.

I held out my hand, silently asking for my phone.

He handed over, making sure not to touch my skin, before stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Apparently there would be no discussing what had just went down.

Collins' POV

Early September

"Trade you? This food sucks," Brooklyn protested, spitting out the taco concoction the lunch ladies had whipped up into her napkin.

We were currently in the school cafeteria. School had officially started a week ago, and it had been over two since I had had an interaction with Ash.

For the past two months he had been constantly around. A silent shadow. Always looming, waiting to protect me from danger. And I had to admit I had gotten used to it.

But now, it was weird.

He wasn't there anymore. At least, not in my line of sight. Or by my side. He hadn't gone out of his way to spend time with me since the night at the theater.

If his gaze ever ran into mine, I'd get the occasional, 'hello,' and that was if I was lucky. And I wasn't being over dramatic. I wasn't Brooklyn. I didn't thrive on drama. . .Most of the time. But he was seriously everywhere at school. Not in my classes, obviously, but in the halls, the parking lot.

And as of right now, the cafeteria.

"What do you think this stuff is made out of? Left-overs from last year?" Brooklyn was jabbing a spork into the veggie mixed casserole. "Can I have some of your sandwich? Hannah made you peanut-butter and banana on wheat right?"

"I made organic peanut-butter and banana on whole-wheat," I correctly, distractedly, scanning the tables. My eyes searching out for Ash. And after a minute I spotted him. He wasn't hard to find. For the past week he had been sitting alone. But today, his younger brother Mason was sitting across from him.

They weren't sitting too far away. But Mason was excellent at signing. His hands were moving too fast for me to make out whole sentences. I caught simple words, like 'her' and 'just' and 'don't'. And as for Ash, he was signing just as quickly, if not faster. From his expression, I could tell he was annoyed at whatever Mason was saying. His posture was tense.

"It must have been some kiss," Brooks laughed. Hand shooting out, she snagged half my sandwich. Breaking it into small bits, and then piling them into her mouth. "His brother's one heck of a kisser too, if I do say so myself," she mumbled around the peanut-butter.

My head snapped back to our table. "You kissed Mason?" I was appalled.

Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "God no. What kind of person do you think I am? He's fourteen. Cute, but too young. I'm talking about Hunter."

"You kissed Hunter," I hissed loudly, and then slapped my hand over my mouth. Looking around, making sure no one had heard, before giving her a disapproving look.

She smirked, looking triumph. And then her lips drooped as she took in my angry features. "What?"

"He phased. He could imprint any day now. What do you think you're doing?" I questioned.

Brooklyn cocked her head, before squaring her shoulders. "I only kissed him. Relax. It wasn't that big of deal. I probably shouldn't have even told you," she ground out, defensively.

"Do you even like him?" Honestly, I was curious. She had never shown an interest in Hunter before. I couldn't even picture it. Brooklyn was so smart, when she wanted to be. And Hunter. Well, Hunter was just dumb. Plain and simple. I didn't care much for him.

"No, I don't. And didn't I just say it wasn't a big deal. Collins, seriously just forget about it."

I wanted to, but I couldn't. "You know, if you're still having a hard time, you can talk to me. I know, I've been busy, but-"

"You just can't drop it, can you? I don't need this right now. Kai's been acting strange. Mom and dad are arguing constantly over it. And all I wanted to do was have a little fun you know? Make-out a little with Ash's stupid brother didn't seem like it was that big of a deal. Who gives a crap? Certainly not him."

"Brooklyn-"

"If he imprints, I'll back off. Okay?"

I held up my hands. Surrendering. There was no point in going further. "Okay," I echoed.

Brooklyn's expression thawed slightly. "I just need a distraction right now. That's all it is. Promise."

I nodded. Letting her know I was fine with it, even though I really wasn't. "Fine."

I kept silent after that. Eating my food, quietly, before letting my eyes scan over to the table where Ash was sitting, briefly.

And then I did a double take.

Because there was another person who had joined them at their table.

A girl, a strikingly beautiful blonde was perched on the end of her chair. Leaning closely to Ash. So close that she was practically touching him.

What the heck?

I narrowed my gaze, before squaring my shoulders.

AA/N: Sorry to leave it there. I'll update soon! Reviews are love, please send me some. . .They also motivate me! =)