Imprinted: A Jacob Black Fanfic

Chapter 13: Cardigan

The plan for Margaret's transportation to and from work was convoluted, but necessarily so. Margaret was still staying at Emily's, though she had been taken home so she could pack a bag. She also still had to go to work. While she could have just driven her car there, Jacob was worried she might be attacked by their little blood-sucking stalker on the way. So obviously he had to go with her. But he couldn't drive her there and drop her off. Ms. Hastings would see that and Margaret would rather die than let the principal know she had spent the night with Jacob. Imagining the comments that woman would say made Margaret gag. So they did literally everything they could to make sure Ms. Hastings didn't find out.

Margaret would drive herself to school with Jacob in the passenger seat. Then she would get out and go inside after she chugged her morning caffeinated beverage. Jacob would then wait in the car (with the windows rolled down of course) until 8:05. At that point Ms. Hastings had to be in her office to give the morning announcements so there was no chance of her seeing Jacob. Then Jacob would roll up the car windows and run home. Because the man was half wolf and could literally just run home like it was nothing. Then he would make it back to school before the day was over, sneak back into Margarets car, and wait for her to get in so they could drive safely back to Emily's.

Was this a lot of steps? Yes. Was it maybe a bit much? Yes. But was it worth it not having to witness Ms. Hastings interact with Jacob? Absolutely.

The plan worked perfectly for a week. Sometimes Jacob would even bring Margaret a diet coke at the end of the day. Then that one fateful Friday morning ruined everything.

Margaret had no idea when she pulled into the school parking lot the trouble that awaited her. She was sitting there in blissful ignorance, relishing the fact that she had managed to make it to work early. Jacob had his hand on her leg. She had coffee with so much flavoring and sugar it was basically a dessert. Olivia Rodrigo was playing on the radio. Life was good.

Then she saw her. Ms. Hastings was standing right by Margarets parking spot.

"Get down," Margaret hissed at Jacob.

"Yes ma'am," Jacob whispered. Ms. Hastings wouldn't have been able to hear him even if he spoke at his normal volume, but Margaret still appreciated the sense of urgency. He had leaned his seat back and frantically started pulling cardigans over himself. "I don't have any problems with your cardigans, but why do you have so many in your car?" Margaret did have an excessive amount of cardigans in her backseat. It probably wasn't the best place to keep them, but it meant she always had a sweater when she needed it.

"I get cold," Margaret muttered out of the side of her mouth. She was pulling into her parking spot while Ms. Hastings stood there watching. Jacob was completely covered in various cardigans and sweaters. "Stay here until you know she's gone. I'll see you after work."

"What does she want?" His voice was muffled by the pile of sweaters. Margaret ignored the question and got out of the car.

"Good Morning Ms. Hastings," she put on her best smile and sweetest voice. She hadn't been this stressed since the time she was twenty and had to hide her alcohol stash from her parents.

"Hi there Ms. Skilling," Ms. Hastings waved back. "How are you?" She didn't wait for an answer. "How's your boyfriend?"

"He's good, he wanted me to tell you that you were always such a good teacher when he went to school here." Margaret hoped that if she reminded this woman just how much younger Jacob was than her she would calm down. Margaret was wrong.

"Oh did he say that? About little old me?" Ms. Hastings began fanning herself. "He's such a gentleman isn't he. Oh if he was here I would just hug him to pieces. I'd just love to give him a big ol' squeeze-"

"Anyways, how are you doing?" Margaret felt her face turning bright red.

"Oh you know, same old same old," Ms. Hastings responded. Margaret tried to move away from her car but Ms. Hastings wouldn't follow. "I had a question for you."

"Yes ma'am?"

"I was just wondering if you had an extra coat I could borrow today? I didn't plan on it being this chilly and I know you always have a stash of those cute little cardigans."

Margarets heart sank. She did always have cardigans on hand. She was always prepared to share. But they were currently hiding her boyfriend. "Um, yes I have a few. Let me pick one out for you." Margaret moved to the passenger side of the car. Ms. Hastings followed close behind. "Could I have a little space? My car is a mess and I'm embarrassed to let others see it."

"Oh, sure thing dear," Ms. Hastings took a single step back.

Margaret smiled sweetly to hide the swear words she was mentally hurling at this woman. She cracked her door open just enough for her to reach in and grab a black cardigan from Jacobs leg. Moving that cardigan wouldn't give him away.

"Here you go," Margaret handed the cardigan to Ms. Hastings.

"Wait, what about that blue one?" Ms. Hastings asked and pointed to the royal blue cardigan that was covering Jacobs face. "I think it would perfectly match my blouse."

Margaret died a little inside. That cardigan would perfectly match her blouse. So perfectly. "Um, that one actually belonged to my great aunt. It's kind of important. I'd rather not share that one," she lied.

"Then why are you keeping it in your car?" Ms. Hastings stepped right up to Margaret's car window and peaked in. "And that pile of sweaters looks funny. Why is your seat leaning all the way back?"

Margaret and Ms. Hastings stared at each other in silence. She desperately wracked her brain for the appropriate response. Her social skills had left her. For some reason she had no idea how to handle the fact that she was hiding her boyfriend under a pile of sweaters so her boss wouldn't flirt with him. Before she could think of a response Jacob stepped in. He sat up, sending cardigans all over the car. "Surprise!" he shouted.

Ms. Hastings squealed with joy. Margarets head started hurting.

Jacob freed himself from the pile of cardigans and climbed out of the car. "Good Morning Ms. Hastings. I just wanted to stop by and say hi. It feels like just yesterday you were my English teacher."

Ms. Hastings giggled and threw herself at Jacob. She hugged him so tightly Jacob almost fell over. Margaret just stood there and watched. She thought about stepping in, but that was above her pay grade. Ms. Hastings flirted and swooned for a few more minutes before Jacob finally cut it off.

"Well it was nice seeing you Ms. Hastings. But I'm sure you need to get into work." Jacob said while prying the woman off of him.

"It was nice seeing you too," Ms. Hastings waved. When she walked away she swayed her hips way more than she normally did.

"That could have been worse," Jacob said.

"It could have been better if you'd stayed hidden," Margaret said through gritted teeth. Ms. Hastings was still strutting her way into the building. Taking her sweet time.

"She would have caught on. That would have been harder to explain."

Margaret grumbled. She knew Jacob was probably right.

Jacob pulled Margaret in for a hug. She let him wrap his arms around her. He was warm and smelled like pine needles. Everything was alright. Margaret laughed at herself for how dramatic she had been. Ofcourse she didn't need to hide her boyfriend under cardigans. That was crazy. Ms. Hastings wasn't as terrible as she made her out to be. I had nothing to worry about, Margaret thought. I was just being dramatic.

Then Ms. Hastings screeched from the back door of the school, "Wait, did you ride here together? Did you two spend the night together?"

Margarets heart stopped. I will never recover from this, she thought. And she was right. Years later Margaret still had to get therapy to deal with the trauma of her boss finding out that she and her boyfriend spent the night. The innuendos still give her nightmares.