you'd think double imprinting would make love easier, but for paul lahote and cole foster, it only seems to make things more complicated.
paul lahote x male!oc
imprints / best friends to lovers
pre-new moon - ?
updates wednesdays & saturdays
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chapter six; ANOTHER DAY ON THE JOB.
"DO I just pretend like nothing happened?" Jared questions from the passenger seat of Cole's Ford. He leans against the door, his palm cupping his cheek as his eyes slowly trace the high school parking lot. It's drizzling slightly, obscuring his view of the large double doors that remain open until eight when students are officially late.
Cole hums, his fingers fiddling with the radio as he hunts for a good song to occupy his dizzy brain with. He usually drops Paul off, but since Paul decided he was better off skipping school today, Cole decided he'd do Jared a favor and accompany him on his first day back to school since his shift.
"It's what Sam and I did," Cole admits. He grips his steering wheel absentmindedly, eyes glued to his rearview mirror. "It's hard. You'll get some looks. People will ask questions. But at the end of the day you have a job to do and the opinions of some kids doesn't have anything to do with it."
"Right . . . " Jared trailed off, but he didn't seem convinced.
Cole remembers how hard it was. He was so young that he was able to get away with the social aspect of it all, but the mental weight never left him. He was never a liar. Growing up he was the most honest boy he'd ever met ━ even when it came to being honest versus hurting someone's feelings.
But ever since shifting and imprinting, he's become accustomed to the lies. He tries to convince himself that just one little change in his story won't hurt anything. No one will ever know. But he knows. And that's the part that tears him apart from the inside out. Paul might not know how much he's lied over the course of their friendship, but he will.
One day he'll know and it'll all come flowing back to Cole like a river whose dam collapsed. He won't be able to hide, and he knows he'll never be capable to lie again when that day comes.
He tries to keep it to himself, but he can see it in Jared's eyes. He isn't a liar either. It's already bad enough that he forced himself to wear a long sleeve shirt to hide the ink on his right shoulder. But how will life go past that point? When he has to take it off and let everyone see? How would he be treated?
"Look," Cole sighed. Jared's head didn't move, but his eye flickered to his left. "I don't have any advice for you, man. I can't help you feel any better about this. No one can. But it's either lie to the people you care about in order to protect them or tell them the truth and put yourself and everyone you know in danger."
The truck was silent for a moment.
Then, Cole was watching Jared push the passenger door open. He chose to stay quiet, eyes curiously tracing Jared's face as he pushed the hood of his vest jacket over his head. He grabbed his backpack from the floorboard, tossed it over his shoulder, and then held two fingers to his forehead before saluting.
