Chapter Three: Lab Partners

...

"I'm not saying that I hate the vampires." Leah muttered under her breath, sparing the group in question a look over her tray of food. Jacob's eyebrows twitched at the proclamation but he refrained from saying anything in response. And instead opted not to call her out on the rather blatant lie.

She hated the Cullen's, that much was obvious. Although she never outwardly stated that she despised the fact that they were here and the pack had to dwell within the same vicinity as they did, it was rather apparent. She hated that their very presence made the kids from the Rex, well, shape shifters. Jacob merely bit the inside of his cheek to hold back the overwhelming urge to snicker at her declaration.

"Sure sure." He shrugged in response, handing the haggard looking lunch lady his fees before striding off toward the usual lunch table by the doorway with Leah hot on his heels.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" She hissed, slamming her plate down onto the table and sending its contents into the air if only for a moment. Jacob rolled his eyes and sank into his chair, taking in the familiar faces that framed his lunchroom peripheral.

Embry and Quil were already seated, having what appeared to be a heated argument over something only they understood. Beside them were a few people he hadn't expected to see. His jaw clenched reflexively as he stared into the eyes of Sam who had already been looking in his direction with heavy eyelids. The Alpha stopped mid chew and gave him a sly wink before swallowing the remains of what could possibly have been his sixth burger –judging by the other balled up wrappings on his tray-.

If the humans suspected anything, it was probable that they thought everyone from the Rez had tape worms.

The rest of the pack never sat near Jacob's immediate group. They usually occupied the corner, whistling at girls in short skirts and threatening any jocks who dared to venture within five feet of their table.

Sam flashed Jacob a satisfied smile, stretching back rather languidly in his chair as his hands gripped the edges of the table. Leah let out a harrumph as her gaze went from Jacob's face to where Sam and his posy crowded together. Jacob shook his head at her and she pursed her lips into a thin line, pushing her tray away.

She knew it unwise to speak.

Sam had stated earlier that he wished for the pack ot join forces both in and away from school grounds and this was just one way of doing that.

Leah hissed low beneath her breath as Paul inclined his chair closer to hers. He flashed her a set of pearly whites, slipping an arm around her shoulders as he absently munched on what appeared to be a fistful of fries.

Leah refrained from moving the hand in question as that would possibly lead to dislocating it and startling half the humans in the room when Paul pushed it back into place with a raucous laugh. On a good day, the two of them "got along" and Jacob was using that term loosely.

Leah tolerated Paul's existence well enough however, considering her new classmates were leeches, Jacob allowed the not so subtle kick under the table that was aimed at Paul's shin.

She was having a tough day after all.

"What are you doing here, Sam?" Jacob asked smoothly, feigning nonchalance like a pro. Sam's lips twisted up into a crooked sort of false smile and he slurped absently at the droplets that remained at the bottom of his apple juice before settling the carton down.

"Calm down, princess." He said after swallowing. "I am just carrying out the plan. We are going to join forces here immediately, especially when considering we will be seeing a lot more of one another in the nearby future."

Inwardly Jacob groaned at that. Sam's idea of bonding time required adrenaline pumping action and or half-naked bodies twerking around him…

This was definitely going to suck.

…

When Jacob arrived to Organic Chemistry, Sam was already setting up their lab station for experimentation. This was thankfully the only class they shared together and after much begging and puppy eyed stares, Jacob had given in and become Sam's lab partner. He was quickly surprised to note that Sam was actually a genius. He no longer fit the stereotype of the beefy no common sense wolf boy Jacob had thought him to be when they were assigned as mates all those months ago.

Jacob strode towards him, dropping his bag on the tiled floor. His eyes cut a glance toward the front of the room to where he would surely find the blonde Cullen and her giant black haired counter-part nestled close together. True to form, they were there working diligently and speaking in hushed tones.

They had been in Jacob's class all year and he didn't mind their presence all that much. He knew very little about them, didn't care to know more than he already did. They were seniors, they were together and they were vampires, ideally that was all he figured he needed to know on that particular subject.

He sighed, tuning his thoughts back to his own station of crazy.

He didn't have the time to think about them.

"Hi." Jacob said as he plopped himself into the available stool next to Sam's.

"Jakey." Sam grinned in response, tugging on his hair for good measure before pulling Jacob's stool closer to his. Jacob swatted his hands away and leveled him with a half-hearted glare before reaching underneath the desk to retrieve his books from the shelving unit. They were currently working on a chromatography lab and Jacob was convinced that their teacher, Mr. Hobbes, was adamant on pretending that all of his lab experiments where uniquely his own –and not just stolen from the other chem teachers before him-.

"So I was thinking." Sam began, gathering various materials from the shelves beside the lab table.

"Well that can't be good." Jacob interrupted, flipping lazily through his workbook as the skimmed over the instructions.

"Oh haha." Sam rolled his eyes. "On a more serious note, due to…yesterday's incident, I think that we should change shifts for patrol tonight." Jacob tensed marginally, fingers tightening around the pages that slid through his fingers. While he understood Sam's apprehension toward him working alone, had Leah not shown up when she did, saving that human girl would have proven to be quite difficult. But Jacob was perfectly capable working solo. He had run the perimeter plenty enough to know the ins and outs.

"I can handle myself, Sam. I do not need protection."

"But that's where you're wrong." Sam rebutted with a terse whisper. "You are going to get yourself hurt one of these times if I don't-"

"Don't what, watch over my every move? I have functioned perfectly fine prior to our parents agreement and will continue to do so until we are paired together."

Sam stiffened. "Fine." He, snatched the workbook from Jacob as he began to work with the filter paper.

…

Class dragged onward, tense and incredibly awkward. Their conversation was limited to monosyllabic questions and abrupt replies on either side. They finished quickly in the silence however, which was surprising. Typically they were too busy fighting or Sam was too occupied with attempting to feel Jacob up that they didn't have much time to focus on the actual assignment. Jacob was grateful for the silence although he was well aware that their little tiff would soon claw its way back to the surface and they would be bickering again rather soon.

"Sam." A breathy voice slithered in through Jacob's train of thought. Sam was setting out the filter paper to dry, jotting down some unintelligible scrawl in the margins of his workbook but he smirked at the sound. Jennifer Callum made move to sit on the edge of the neighboring desk, flashing a smile that was more carnivorous than sensual. She was one of those girls who was under the illusion that if she showed enough cleavage she could get anyone she wanted. It was a notion that was mainly true. Jacob hated her for obvious reasons... Not that he liked Sam.

Jacob rolled his eyes and glanced at the clock over Mr. Hobbes desk. The school day was coming to an end, which was rather fortunate for him.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Callum asked, tone nonchalant. "A couple of us are headed to the malt shop on Main Street."

Jacob closed his books and made move to approach the assignment slot, toting his complete lab list along with him.

"Sorry, Jen but I already have plans tonight."

Jacob inwardly cursed his heightened hearing. He stepped over the idle book bags and feet that were in his path and inserted his homework into the slot, earning a small smile from Mr. Hobbes who nodded him off. "I see that working with Mr. Uley has proven to be beneficial to the both of you." He grinned from behind his large lensed prescription glasses.

"You could say that." Jacob shrugged, spinning on his heel to find two sets of rather curious topaz eyes on him. Those eyes followed his retreat toward his desk.

Sam had finished dismissing Jennifer's advances and was beginning to clean up his things. He didn't say anything to Jacob when the final bell rang, instead he picked up his things, turned in his report and disappeared in the tide of humans that were already filling the hallway with laughter.

…