PURSUIT // P. LAHOTE

[017]

"I don't understand why you won't let me help," Skylar complained. "I mean, yeah, I'm not the best at cooking but I'm pretty sure I can handle stirring a pot."

Emily paused, staring at her shoe before looking at the girl. "You actually told me that you caught a thing of water on fire. Skylar, I can't think of a way that's even possible. Jared's a decent cook, I'll let him handle the job."

Hearing his name, Jared peeked his head around the door frame a second later, winking at Emily. "I've got you girl."

"Ugh." They made valid points, but Skylar wasn't about that safe lifestyle. So she forced herself to walk from her spot in the kitchen to the living room, groaning as she flung herself on the couch. 

"That was like ten feet," Jared scoffed, making a face. "How much effort did that take you?"

Skylar just replied with a louder groan.

"Mhmm. You and Paul are perfect for each other." 

It was a rare occasion that Emily's place happened to be this empty. She didn't know where everyone else was, and frankly she didn't really care. With Emily having just left, all that remained besides her was Jared and Kim.

She wasn't really sure how they went from silence to a full on argument ten minutes later. 

"I'm just saying..." Skylar wasn't really saying it as much as she was yelling. "If you didn't think Prisoner of Azkaban was the best movie than you're wrong."

Jared waved his hand around. "How can you be so mad about my opinion? The second Deathly Hallows was the last chapter, and really captured everything in the book!"

"Yeah, well buddy, your opinion is fucking wrong. The third movie had the best story line and had the best characters. Plus, Sirius was actually alive."

Kim looked over, frowning. "Sirius dies?"

Jared slapped his hand up to his face. "Oh, good job Sky. She's only made it to the second book."

 "The movies been out since 2004!" Skylar argued back. "The book's been out even longer."

"I hope you're happy that you just crushed her dreams. She may never recover now." Jared, rather dramatically, clutched his imprints head and brought her close to his chest. "It's going to be okay, baby. We'll make it through this somehow."

Sighing, Kim grunted. "I really don't know why I'm with you."

"See!" He yelped, glared at Skylar. "Now she's talking crazy. It's already begun."

Paul emerged from outside, rubbing his face. "What are you guys talking about? I could hear you both screaming from outside." His walk was sluggish, and the bags under his eyes showed his lack of sleep. 

"You're girlfriend is crazy, and I'm never going to be able to look her in the eyes again," Jared quipped, pretending to sob. 

Skylar just rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Paul. "Wanna lay down for a bit?"

"Try and keep it PG," Jared whispered. "I don't want Kim to be even more scarred today."

Kicking his leg as she walked by him, she laughed at his cussing and followed Paul to the guest bedroom. After a few attempts, he successfully kicked off his shoes and fell onto the bed. Skylar let a small smile slip onto her face at the sight, easing to sit down next to him. Grabbing a spare pillow, she placed it in her lap and gently lifted his head to rest on it. 

Paul hummed as she started threading her fingers in his hair, using her nails to gently scratch. "'M sorry I didn't talk to you yesterday."

"It's okay, I think I needed a day to get my head straight," Skylar assured, tilting her head to look at him. "She, uh, came home yesterday. Talked to Charlie."