Love Is Flower Like

Chapter 22

Edited 05/30/21

Meadow walked into school on time for the first time in what felt like forever. She hadn't been on time since she first started shifting and she had wrecked her perfect attendance because of it. She threw her bag in her locker and grabbed the materials she would need for the first half of school.

Class wasn't the same anymore. She couldn't concentrate due to lack of sleep and her grades had dropped. It wasn't a drastic drop, but she felt she could do better than a B average. If she didn't get it together soon, she would be averaging a C. All her teachers had approached her about it, but she couldn't give them an exact reason. It frustrated her because she was doing the best she could with her situation.

When morning classes were over, she trudged to lunch. She was so hungry and wanted nothing more than to eat and take a nap. Thankfully, Paul had patrol, so he wasn't there to distract her from doing so. She entered the cafeteria and ignored the stares she received. Honestly, if they only knew she was busting her butt and ruining her already terrible reputation for their sakes; they wouldn't be gossiping like old ladies and pointing fingers at her if they did. She grabbed food enough for two people and sat down at a table by herself. She would've sat with Jake and Embry, but she didn't want to sit with them. She just wanted to be alone.

She scarfed down her food, not caring what anyone thought of her, and laid her head down on the cool solid surface of the table afterwards. She heard a bang and felt the table her head laid on vibrate. She sighed and looked up, only to regret it when her eyes met Quil's. She had avoided him for some time on Sam's orders. She felt guilty for keeping secrets from him when he was like family, but she didn't want to get on Sam's bad side again. He already didn't like her for some reason, so she wasn't about to give him another reason to hate her.

"You joined, too, huh?" Quil asked bitterly. She stared at him. She noticed the small dark bags under his eyes and wondered if the loss of his friends kept him up at night. She saw the hurt masked by the determination in his eyes and made up her mind. She nodded her head in affirmation.

"So, you're just gonna stop talking to me, too?!" he shouted. It garnered the attention of the few tables nearby and Jake's and Embry's attention from across the cafeteria. She met their eyes and they silently asked if she needed help. She declined it. She knew what she had to do. It might make Sam mad, but it wasn't like she was fully disobeying his orders. If Jake could get around Sam's gag order without consequences, then so could she.

"I'll talk to you," she said. Quil looked at her in surprise. He didn't know what to do with himself. Finally, he nodded his head and sat down across from her. She really wanted alone time, time away from others. Being in the boys' heads and them in hers for hours on end really drained her; however, she would do anything for family.

"You, uh, seem tired," Quil said after a moment of hesitation.

"Long nights," she said simply.

"You can, uh, lay down again if you want. Sorry," he apologized while rubbing the back of his neck. She shrugged and did so.

"You can keep talking. I'll listen," she said as she closed her eyes and settled her head on her arms. She saw him nod before her eyes slid closed.

"Why are you talking to me?" he asked. "Jake and Embry don't."

"You must have spent too much time around them to forget that they're idiots," she said. Quil snorted and Meadow let a small smile slip onto her lips.

"Sam told us not to tell Quil anything."

Meadow's ears picked up on the whisper from across the room. Of course it would be Jake to say something. He was protective of her and was displeased with Sam's actions, but he was a big hypocrite.