A/N – Hey everyone! Imprinting stories have always interested me, and the Paul/Rachel stories are sadly lacking, so I'm attempting one. As I was reading some of the other stories on Fanfic, I got an idea. Rachel must've had some type of life from college outside of La Push. She is a strong, beautiful, young woman. She wouldn't just drop her prior social life. So I thought, that maybe, just maybe, she had some friends or maybe a boyfriend before and/or when she met Paul? *evil grin*

Oh, and this is set around late Eclipse

Disclaimer: I only own Chris and the plot. Everything else is SM's.

Chapter 1

Rachel's POV

I looked at the house in front of me, the same house that I had escaped a few years ago, and a wave of sadness rolled over me. It hadn't changed much. It was still small, with peeling paint. It still had the small garden in the front. And I realized that though it might always look the same, mom would never be back, and she would never be there to congratulate me on finishing college. She would never get to meet my boyfriend, Christopher (Chris), who I'd been dating for almost a year. And I would never get to feel her hug me again, because she was gone. And she wasn't coming back.

"Rachel?" Chris asked me.

I looked back to him, snapping out of my daze. I quickly exited the car, helping Chris grab some of the stuff we had brought.

Chris was a very good boyfriend, even though we had been having some arguments recently. He was kind most of the time, funny (well, sort of…), and he knew me pretty well. He was 5'9'', and he was skinny, but very slightly muscular. He had tanned skin, but nothing compared to my natural color. His hair was a sandy brown. He did have a small temper, though. He was fine until he was angry. If he was, then you'd better watch out.

We finished getting all of our stuff from the cab, and started to carry it to the house. Chris knew about my family, and I had told him all about La Push. He wasn't staying with me, but at a hotel half way between here and Port Angeles. He was going to get a job their anyway, so everything just worked out perfectly. He came with me today so he could meet my family.

We got about four steps away from the curb before we heard a loud, "Rachel?" from the step.

Less than a few seconds later, Jake was rushing over to me, scooping me up in a big hug.

"Jake! Put me down!' I yelled, laughing. After a moment, he did.

"So, you must be Chris. I'm Jake," he said cheerily, extending a hand.

"Hey, Jake," he said, grinning back." They shook hands, and that's when Dad rolled out onto the porch, smiling to me.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, running to greet him.

"Hey, baby," he told me, hugging me close.

"Dad, this is Chris," I said, pointing to him as he came up, "and Chris, this is my dad."

"Nice to meet you," Chris said politely, extending a hand.

Dad shook his hand, then turned to me and said, "I think I like this one, Rachel," which made me turn a nice shade of cherry red.

***

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting to know everyone, but Chris did eventually have to go back to the hotel he was staying at. He said his goodbyes, and then he left.

"I really like him, Rachel," Dad told me.

"I guess I can let him continue seeing you," Jake agreed, smirking slightly.

I rolled my eyes at Jake. "Like it was your decision in the first place. And Dad, you only like him because he likes the same sports team. I'm going to go take a walk to the beach. It's been forever since I was last here, and I want to look around. I'll be back soon."

"Okay. Be safe, Rachel!" Dad called as I left.

The walk to the beach was a quiet one. I briefly wondered if Leah was still here. Back in school, she, Becca, and I were all really close friends.

I stood, looking over the water when it happened.

"Rachel? Rachel Black? Is that you?" someone called. It was Embry. He, Quil, and two guys I didn't know.

I decided to mess with them. He never could tell my sister and me apart. "Maybe. Are you sure I'm Rachel?" I asked.

He froze. "Ye- no," he settled for.

Quil took a good look at me and said, "Yes, it is Rachel." Quil, on the other hand, could tell. He gave me a hug.

"Good to see you again, babe," Embry said, giving me his own hug. I rolled my eyes at him. Flirt.

Someone cleared their throat.

"Oh, Rachel, this is Jared," he pointed to one of the two boys," And Paul."

Paul looked up from the ground when his name was said. He looked very board to me, but as soon as his eyes met mine, there was an almost instant connection. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped a few inches, my face must have looked confused, because Quil, Embry, and Jared all turned to look at Paul. I could tell that they were having a hard time not bursting out laughing, but I couldn't figure out why.

"So, Rach," Embry began, swinging his arm around my shoulder. "How was college? Got any… special friends?" I noticed that Paul had slowly began to narrow his eyes at Embry. What was his problem? Even I knew that he was kidding. Embry was cute in a kid way, but he was my little brother's best friend.

I rolled my eyes at Embry. "Well, for your information, college was good, and I do have a boyfriend. His name is Christopher, but he prefers Chris, and he's in the area at the moment looking for a job in Port Angeles." I shook his arm off of me.

If Paul looked ticked before, he was livid now. I couldn't even tell why. We didn't even know each other. It was starting to weird me out.

"Well, I should be going soon. If anyone sees Leah, tell her I said 'hi' and that I'm in the area, if she wants to do something."

I began to walk away when I heard a confused, "Leah?"

I turned. "Yeah, why?"

Jared continued to talk. "Are you guys friends?"

Quil rolled his eyes and answered for me. "Please. When Becks, Rach, and Lee, were all still here, the three were almost inseparable."

"Quil," I began, acting shocked, "who told you our secret code names!" I whispered the last part. They all, save Paul, began to laugh. Paul was still just staring at me as though I was his Beauty and he was The Beast. It kind of freaked me out, but I realized I sort of didn't mind. Paul was actually very handsome.

I turned from him, and left, calling out a quick goodbye to everyone. As soon as I had turned to my street, a few blocks away, I heard loud, obnoxious laughter coming from behind me. I had no doubt as to who it was coming from.

When I reached my house, Dad was nowhere to be seen, but Jake was lounging on the couch.

"Dad's out," he told me before I could ask. "How was your walk?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Good. I ran into your friends."

He sat up, suddenly curious. "Who?"

"Quil, Embry, Jared, and Paul." I told him. When I said Paul's name, it somehow felt… right. My voice caressed it more than the other names. This didn't escape Jake's notice.

"And?"

I looked at him. "And what?" I asked innocently

"How are they? What did you think?" He was less curious now, but more suspicious.

"Well, Quil can still tell who's who," I began. Jake nodded, unimpressed but still suspicious. I continued, "Embry is still the world's biggest flirt." Jake nodded again. "Jared… well, I didn't talk long enough with him to get much of an opinion."

"What about Paul?" He asked. Jake looked down right suspicious. There was no curious about it.

"Paul… well, he was looking at me weird," I admitted.

"What's weird?" Jake asked. He looked angry now, more pissed off than anything else.

I answered hesitantly. "He was just staring at me. Don't get so worked up about it."

He took a few deep breaths. "Fine. I'm going out. I'll be back later."

As I went to bed that night, I was almost positive that I could hear the faint sound of a wolf howling.

A/N- Hit or miss? Should I continue? (The next chapter would be parts of this, but in Paul's POV… and maybe you'll get to know what happens between Paul and Jake. *smirks*) But seriously, please leave a review. It's just a few seconds of your life to tell me what you think!

~Alex