AN: I'd like to welcome you to my newest piece, "Fighting Murphy's Law," or FML (acronym pun intended). Murphy's Law can be most simply defined as "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." It is one of my mantras and I think it will be a fitting concept for this story. This is a warning to those of you who don't like angst. This will not be a light story. I've been brooding on a lot of ways to cause trouble for one of my favorite wolves, so nothing is off limits. The story is rated M for Mature. I can't say to what extent I'll be taking that rating, but expect dark themes, hurt, and adult situations. Lemons may or may not happen. I truly haven't decided, but we'll see. As usual for my fics, this one will be slash (M/M), so it's better for you to know that right off the bat if it's not your kind of thing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

As a special note, I'd like to dedicate this story to some people that I know have experienced a lot of downturns in life this year. Matt, Rich, and Seth, this one goes out to you guys. I sincerely hope that you find your way through your darkest times. You're in my thoughts.

All right, let's get this started.

"My name is Embry Call, and I have a problem." I thought as I worked on my latest carving. Wouldn't it be nice to just be able to admit something like that to the world?

I guess you could say that I really have a lot of problems. Firstly, I'm an outsider. There's nothing like being picked on for being from another place. You see, my mother is Makah, but she moved here to Quileute territory before I was born. She gained sanctuary by claiming that my father was part of their tribe, but they never actually pushed the issue.

Oh yes, my mother. We have what you'd call a standoffish relationship. It's not like she beats me or anything. She'd never want to pay me that much attention. In the rare instance that we do talk, it's never about anything good. Instead, she'll simply glance at me on occasion, a deep brooding look beneath her eyes. I don't have to be a mind reader to know what's going on. She resents me for our life, and I can't say I blame her. She was happy with her tribe, but then I had to come along. They'd never tolerate an unwed birth, so she fled. Now she was stuck here on a reservation that never accepted her, all because I had been born. I wouldn't be able to please her, and after all these years, I'd pretty much given up trying. I'd always be a failure in her eyes.

Speaking of my father, I've always wondered who he was. Was he even actually Quileute or had she just come to the nearest reservation and made it up? I guess it's a mystery that I'll never solve, but I've always been curious. Considering how ashamed of me mom was, I had no doubt that I'd have disappointed him just as much as I had her. It's not like he'd ever tried to get involved in my life. Did he even know that I existed? If he had, would he have cared?

I felt my phone buzz as I got a text. The prepaid phone took up most of the money that I was able to build up doing odd jobs for the neighbors that put up with me, but it was worth it. I put down the piece of wood that I'd been working on. Wood carving had become the one thing that I enjoyed while I was thinking. Completely unusual hobby, I know, but it was something that I didn't need others for. I'd started a few years ago when I saw some really impressive figurines. I saved up enough to buy a set of knives and a sharpener, so the investment was pretty low, which was a must when you didn't have much money. A lot cheaper than the video games that everyone else used to distract themselves. Not that anyone actually knew about this. The collection of figures that I'd made over the years was for my eyes only. Most of them were of wolves, which had always been an obsession of mine. Occasionally some other animal would catch my interest, but the wolf was my go to inspiration. I had a box of them as evidence.

The text was from Quil. Apparently he was hanging out with Jake as he worked on his rusty old Rabbit. That car was never going to be operational, but I admired him for trying. I stashed away all of my working materials before throwing on a t-shirt and heading over to Jake's garage. I'd been feeling a lot warmer lately, so I lounged around the house without a shirt whenever possible, but it's not generally an acceptable practice to walk around half-naked in public. Fully dressed, I headed out the door. The reservation is pretty small, so the 10 minute walk was nothing. Once I got there, Quil and I chatted as we watched Jake trying to take apart something in the engine.

I guess there's one more problem that I should admit to. It's the one that probably bothers me more than all of the others. See, everybody knows about the other insecurities that I have. Jake & Quil don't judge me for being an outsider or for the fact that I only know who my mom is. Both of them have lost a parent as well, so although it's not the same, they can relate to a certain extent to only having one parent. Albeit, they're closer with their parent than I am with mine, but that's just life.

No, the other problem that I had would compound all of the others. It'd definitely make me more of an outsider and probably lead to me being kicked out of my home, if not the reservation. You see, in recent years I've come to realize that I'm gay. The small-town mindset doesn't really stand behind such a thing, so it's the one thing I've never admitted out loud. Everyone just accepts me as being more soft-spoken and shy. Not that most people ever pay enough attention to notice, so it's not the hardest secret to keep.

As if that weren't bad enough, I'm in love. I know you're probably thinking that it's just some hormonal thing, but I recognize it for what it is. I'm completely in love with my best friend, Quil Ateara. His name alone is enough to make me smile. It's not just because he's one of the only people that's ever paid attention to me. I love everything about him. His personality is warming and friendly. He always has jokes. No matter the situation, he always makes me feel like I'm wanted around. If he figures out that I'm in a bad mood, he never fails to do something to cheer me up.

It didn't begin as love of course. We were just really good friends at first. When I first started school, most kids stayed away from me. Jacob Black and Quil were the exceptions and they'd done everything to make me feel like part of their group. Even as a youngster I had appreciated it, and that didn't change as the years passed. Slowly, however, my feelings had evolved. Call it puberty or whatever you want, but recently I had become completely enamored with him. Not that I'd ever tell him, though. He was always flirting with girls and had racked up more slaps for horrible pick up lines than I could count. It never deterred him, however.

"Yo, Embry, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" Quil suddenly asked.

I looked at him confusedly before realizing that I'd completely zoned out of our conversation.

"God, man. I'm starting to think that you've started smoking or something!" Quil chuckled, looking up at me.

It was weird having to look down at my friends. In the past several weeks I'd shot up several inches. I'd always been taller than Quil, but it was distinctly noticeable now. In addition, I'd packed on some pretty good muscle. I wasn't bulky or anything, but had a strong, lean figure. Not sure how it happened, but I sure as hell wasn't complaining.

"Sorry…what were you saying?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you were planning on going to the bonfire tonight. Jake and I were totally planning on heading over to it. Word on the street is that there might even be alcohol!" Quil rattled off excitedly. At 16 we'd never really had many opportunities to get drunk, so Quil was pumped to try.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. It's not like I have any plans tonight" I murmured.

"Awesome!" he said, slapping me on the back.

"You realize that the elders are going to be there, right Quil?" I heard Jake finally speak up from beneath the hood.

"Of course they will, at least at the beginning. That's for all the legends and stuff. It's what happens later that's better. Uley and his gang may not be good for much, but I've heard that they know how to throw down." He chirped.

Sam Uley was treated like a God among men around here. He'd gathered a pair of followers, all brandishing the same short hair and pumped up physiques. If I wasn't so intimidated by the 'hall monitors on steroids' as we so affectionately described them, I'd probably have to admit that they looked like an impressive group. There was just something off about them though.

As night fell, Jake finally stopped working on the car and went to get cleaned up. Quil and I waited for him before the three of us took off towards the beach. As always, the bonfire was burning fiercely and there was an awesome pile of food spread out over a few tables. We all grabbed some before sitting down to listen to Jake's father begin to tell the tribe's legends. Being around Jake and Quil so much, I'd heard all of these before. Billy Black was our tribe's chief, while Quil's grandfather was an elder on the council. Their families held a lot of power around here.

I listened to the stories and wondered if maybe these legends were why I'd always liked wolves. They always talked about how important the animal's spirit was to these parts. I guess growing up around the stories must have influenced me in some way. The elders always romanticized how wonderful the beasts were, acting almost as if they actually defended the tribe like their fairy tales said.

After a while, the legends ended and the older attendees took their leave. It wasn't too long before the bonfire became an all-out party. One of the older guys opened up the back of their truck, revealing several coolers full of beer. At a buck a piece, there was no doubt that Quil would be headed over there immediately. Sure enough, he returned with three beers.

"First round's on me" he said with a grin, handing Jake and I each a bottle. The music began to pump and people were dancing in a giant crowd. Quil was quickly in the middle of it, making a fool out of himself as usual. I chose to stay on the sidelines and nurse my drink. I'd given Jake a couple dollars and he'd brought me back another two beers and we just sat and chatted while watching the fire. It'd been a while since he hadn't been distracted by his car, so it was nice to actually catch up a bit.

After a while, I finished my third and headed to get another beer. I had a few more singles on me, which I was grateful for. I bought three bottles, planning to repay Quil by covering another round. I looked for him, but realized he was trying to chat up some girls as usual. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I was more disturbed by it than usual tonight.

I pocketed two of the bottles and opened the other, beginning to walk along the beach. I stopped walking once I finished the first, sitting down in the sand and looking out at the water as I began sipping on the next one. Considering that this was the most I'd ever had to drink, I had a pretty damn good buzz going on. I finished it and was about to start on the last one when I heard someone approaching. I tried to stand up, but stumbled back down to the ground and just sat there, feeling the world rocking back and forth.

"Damn, Em, we were wondering where you went. Are you drunk?" Quil asked with a smirk.

I remained silent, electing to simply look out at the ocean. When I didn't respond, Quil plopped down beside me.

"Come on, Em. What's wrong?" he asked concerned.

"Nothing's wrong. Just go back to the party" I said as cheerily as I could.

"I've known you long enough to know when you're lying to me, so spill it" he demanded.

I sighed. After all of these years, Quil and Jake could see through me. "I'm in love with someone, all right?" I said deflatedly, hoping that he'd leave it at that.

"Really? I've never seen you actually take an interest in anyone. Who is she?" he asked as his curiosity grew. Of course he wouldn't drop it.

"None of your business. Now, will you please just let me drink?" I tried to joke, but he was having none of it.

He tackled me to the ground and began poking at my sides, tickling me the way he had when we were younger. It was one weakness that I'd never been able to overcome.

"Just tell me who it is!" he said, unrelentingly continuing his assault.

"No!" I yelled between laughs. He pushed on, however, and I knew that he'd never give up. Couple that determination with one too many drinks and I blurted out the one thing that I never wanted to.

"It's you, dammit!" I yelled, immediately causing him to freeze.

"What did you say?" He asked, looking down at me.

"I…uh…shit…" was all I could come up with. Elegant I know. In my lockdown, I wasn't even able to play it off as a joke.

In an instant Quil was up off of me and walking up the beach.

"Quil, wait!" I yelled, stumbling to catch up to him.

"Stay away from me Embry. I'm sorry. I…I can't deal with this." He said hurriedly before walking back towards the fire. I stopped in my tracks. What had I done? This was the whole reason that I'd never wanted to tell him my feelings. A tear ran down my cheek as I realized that I'd probably just lost the only two friends that I'd ever had. With that thought, I took off towards my house, feeling a burning pain running through my chest.

Quil's POV

I had just gotten home from the bonfire. I left directly after walking away from him…Embry. Those words had been the hardest that I'd ever said. I turned my back on my best friend and basically told him that I wanted nothing to do with him after he'd admitted that he cared about me. What the hell was my problem? Embry didn't deserve to put up with someone like me.

You see, I've known that I love Embry for a long time. Hearing him say that he cared about me was one of the greatest feelings ever. And what had I done in response? Shunned him like everyone else had in this town. I knew how he'd feel. In a single word: crushed. It's the same way I'd have felt if the situation had been reversed.

You may be wondering why I did it. Am I just that cold that I don't care about my best friend's emotions? No, if that were the case I wouldn't feel like shit right now. I would never toy with Embry like that. The truth is it was fear. Fear of my family's reaction. I knew my grandfather's opinion on homosexuality being wrong. He'd instilled that thought in me for as long as I can remember. He was a man of traditions. That included tribal conditions and what was "right" for the world. A man loving another man didn't fit into that. I also fear the town. I know that I'd probably be kicked out of the house if he found out. Where would I turn? The reservation was close-minded. The people regularly make crude jokes and insult anyone for "acting like a fag." Gotta love the small town feel sometimes. In general, I guess it was a fear of being looked at with disgust. Knowing that I'd never be seen as me. I'd be hated because I didn't fit in with the standard. As much as I loved Embry, I couldn't face that. I was pathetic.

I figured that if I presented myself to enough girls, I'd eventually get straightened out. I was willing to do anything to not be a leper. Everyone just thought that I was a horndog, but the truth is, I really just wanted to find some way to take my mind off my true feelings. Guess that desperation didn't work in my favor though. I could never hold a relationship. Hell, I rarely got past the first 10 seconds without getting laughed at or slapped, but when I did, I could never make it seem right. I loved one person, but I couldn't let myself cave in to those desires. As much as it hurt to think about, maybe it'd be easier if he hated me for what I did to him. He deserved better than a coward and if he thought I was just a jerk, maybe he'd get over it. I just needed to put on a smile, tell my jokes, and act like nothing was wrong. It's the outer shell that everyone knew and loved…

Well, that's the first chapter. Hope that you enjoyed it. This is just the start of what I have in store for our young half-Makah wolf. As a note, the primary POV will be Embry's, but occasionally I'll throw in another view to provide information (or just because I want to). I do hope that you'll voice your opinion on the story. Feedback really does help me as a writer, and I'm curious what you think, positive or negative. Also, as a note, the updates for this one might be a little slower for a while. Wanted to get it started though...