Disclaimer: Nothing is mine except the plot.

A/N: Alright, so this is my third (!) Paul story. And I've decided to take a whole new path for this one. For one, this is no wolf story, so no imprinting either. This is an AU story on which I'll focus on Paul and his life. I thought it'd be nice to try a different approach. Especially because I already have two other stories in which Paul is a wolf. And anyways, I have this strange obsession with Army men, so Paul here is a soldier. I mean, I can totally picture him like that, can you? So that noted, I hope you guys will like it :) The first chapter will be is in his POV. Let me know how I did, because I'm very nervous about this one :)

Again this is not a supernatural story! But hopefully just as good!

Song used Paperweight by Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk

You Made It Back

Paul POV

It is funny how things work. Often I don't even have a clue how some things end up the way they end up. Questioning them would be a waste of time, for I knew I could rack my brains for answers I would never even get. Acceptance was a start, and if someone had told me that from the start it would've saved me a lot of migraines. And of course I never got those answers. Apparently I'm a funny guy once I have a migraine. Or that was what Angela told me. For someone so young she sure did have a tactless way of conveying things. Sometimes I wondered if she was not a thirty-year-old, stuck in a six-year-old body. Then again, I knew better. So I can safely say, that there is not thirty-year-old in my little sister's body. She's autistic. And I am the only one she comes remotely close to. I often wondered what was going on in that little head of hers. And if I asked I only got one sort of response.

"Angela is good at keeping secrets." She refers to herself as a third person. I never exactly knew when that started. Just, that it happened when our mother left. She was only a two year old. But from that moment, she was Angela, she was not an I.

I guess it was up to me to take care of her now.

"Paul, over here!" I looked up and saw Jared Purser. He beckoned me to join him and his fiancée Kim Mabe at the fire. La Push was famous for their bonfires and it was only natural we lived up to that. Tonight, First beach was filled up with La Push locals and some from Forks. There were even some familiar faces from Port Angeles.

I made my way towards Jared and Kim. Kim's smile almost blinding me. How someone could be so happy all the time surprised me. Her short hair was black and her russet skin was glowing in the dark. She was just like any other Quileute, physique wise. Same went for Jared. High cheekbones, russet skin, dark eyes and hair. We were nothing special honestly. If only the others saw that too.

"Paul!" Kim exclaimed. Her voice was pitched high, my eyes met Jared's and I knew our little Kim over here was a bit more than tipsy. She stumbled over her feet and I reached out to steady her. She latched onto my arm. "It's so good to see you! How have you been? How long are you going to be here?" She demanded. Her voice was surprisingly steady, but then again, her actions weren't. I guess she had to compensate somehow.

"A month." I responded. "Then I'll be deployed again." Jared gave me a tight smile and he reached out with his hand, hitting my bicep once.

"Good to have you here again, bro!" He said and I could see the sincerity behind it. Jared Purser was such a sap. I grinned, nodding at him.

"Good to be back!" I said and Kim pushed herself between the two of us. Her head reaching my shoulder. I raised my eyebrows, knowing what she was waiting for. "So give me the scoop!"

The scoop entitled Kim telling me the new gossip. La Push was a small reservation, nothing truly happened so us locals had to keep ourselves busy. Especially since it's been four months since I've last been here. Basically, it was just gossiping and yes, I felt like an old married couple as Kim filled me in but hey, it was tradition. And who was I to break our tradition. I sat down as Jared handed me a beer. The cold breeze evoked shivers on my russet skin and I gulped down some beer as I listened to Kim.

"Well, Sam Uley is now with Emily Young. He left Leah Clearwater a few weeks ago." I raised my eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Yup." Kim popped the p. "Horrible thing to do, if you ask me. But hey, who am I to judge, right?" She gave me another smile, her dimples showing. I shook my head. If Kim was good at one thing, it was judging people. She was like that. "Anyways, you remember Chief Swan, right? Well, Bella Swan and Jacob Black got together because Edward Cullen left town. But I wonder how long it will take before Swan will run back to Cullen." I scoffed.

"Not too long, knowing Bella." Jared scoffed from besides me. Capricious Bella Swan, she was a sweet little thing but looks can deceive and that's the case with Bella Swan.

"Anyhow." Kim interrupted, giving Jared a glare for cutting in. "There isn't much to tell you this time. I guess things are finally catching up huh?" I patted her head and she quickly moved away, smoothing her hair down again. "Oh, before I forget to tell you. There is a new girl in town." I nodded, not quite interested.

"Save it Kim." Jared piped up. "You're not going to play matchmaker."

She gave Jared an incredulous look. "That wasn't my intention Jared. I just said there was a new girl. Ava." She turned her eyes to me, there was a sparkle I didn't like. "Sweet person. You know the Phillips, right Paul?" I nodded.

"Yeah what about them?" I asked. The Phillips were a wealthy family that was respected highly by the council. Their children had moved to another state, so now there were alone. The Phillips were an eighty something year old couple that we all regarded as Nana and Pops. They were incredibly nice and we often wondered what happened to their children. Last I heard was that Ryan Phillips moved to New England. Settling down there with his family.

"Well, Ava is their granddaughter." Kim looked at me expectantly.

"And?"

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, the thing is. I met her yesterday and she teaches piano lessons to the locals over here. She's really good. She graduated from Juilliard you know." Kim added.

"Then what the hell is she doing here?" I demanded. If she was as brilliant as Kim thought she was then what was she doing in this hole?

Kim shrugged. "Not exactly sure. There was an accident with her parents and well. They passed away." I softened hearing that. "I guess she needed her family." That was understandable so I nodded. "She's supposed to be here somewhere." Kim said. "Do you want to meet her?" She asked, her eyes already searching the crowd and I raised my eyebrows.

"Uhh, no thanks Kim. I'm pretty good here." She shrugged, flicking her hair with her hand.

"Suit yourself."

Kim didn't say anything about the Phillips anymore. And soon I was overwhelmed by our friends. Seth Clearwater, Jacob Black, Embry Call, Quil Ateara, Brady Miller, Collin Webber, Sam Uley and Leah Clearwater. Only I didn't speak with the latter. She chose to steer away from me. I guessed it was because of Sam. He even had the fucking audacity to introduce Emily to me when Leah was seeing all of it. I was torn between pounding his face or comforting Leah. Leah and I had a history. She was there for me when I needed her and I was there for her when Harry, her father, passed away. And then I went to Iraq. Slowly we lost touch as she got more involved with Sam and soon there wasn't much for us to talk about. But she still was someone I held dear, Sam or no Sam.

I never thought of being in the army. I sort of ended up there. And I was content with that. Heck, I had no other aspirations at all, this was all I knew. Content was the best I could do, so complaining was out of the fucking question. I grabbed another bottle of beer and nodded to Jared that I was going out for a walk. He nodded and bent down to kiss Kim before moving towards me. He grabbed his sweater and shrugged it on as both of us moved down the beach. Passing many fires and people. Most of them drunk. I guess that was the best they could possibly do. Twenty-five and the only thing to look up to was a bonfire in La Push. Yeah, it could be worse.

"So how was it there?" Jared asked. Jared always was one of the closest friends I had. I was truly lucky to have him around, despite my many flaws and stupid actions of years ago, he still stuck around. I shrugged.

"Don't ask." Was my standard answer and Jared didn't push me. He just nodded slowly and put his hands in his jeans.

"Picked a date for the wedding?" I asked. I wanted to keep the conversation flowing. I couldn't afford my mind to stray.

"Yeah, we were thinking of doing it next summer. So you'd be here with us." I smiled nodding.

"I'll be here." I promised.

"You better. Kim is going to skin you alive if you use another excuse, man! And I'm not going to hold her back this time." I let out a laugh. My laughter echoing in the silence now we've reached the cliffs. Kim has threatened me more than once, but all of them were empty. As if she'd harm me. She was far too fond of me to do such a thing. I let out a deep sigh. My breath cool in the summer air.

The summers in La Push never were warm. I remember that it even snowed once, that was a few years back. Naturally, all of us got used to the chill and we now learned to adapt to the weather. We don't let it rule our activities. It safe to say that once you're used to it all you can appreciate the beauty that surrounds La Push. The tall, dark trees. The eerie forests. All of it was frighteningly green but I barely saw that in Iraq. And I never realized that I missed it, till I got back.

A loud, piercing shriek however, cut off any trail of thought and my eyes snapped to Jared. His eyes stood wide and surprise was written all over it. I knew that this was no shriek of fun. Both of us moved to the cliffs and we climbed to the top in record time. Voices were now getting louder and I was able to decipher words from each other. There was an overload of testosterone, that was obvious.

"Let me go!" She sounded agitated and her voice was high. I reached the top of the cliff the second I saw her fall to the ground. Her dark hair was messy and her jeans were ripped. I wasn't quite sure if that was the intention or if it was the consequence of those dicks. She was surrounded by three guys. Two of them drunk and the other well on his way.

"Hey, let her go!" I yelled. A rush of anger went through me. Ganging up on a girl was one of the few things that truly pissed me off. She was roughly pulled to her feet and I felt my breathings halt the second our eyes met. Her eyes were a simple brown but God, it was beautiful. Her face was dirty with tears and sand. Her round face stood shocked. I had no fucking idea who this girl was.

"Why don't you get lost Masen!" One of them exclaimed and I saw to my irritation it was Drake Garwin. If I had to have an arch-nemesis it had to be him. Both of us hated each other's guts. "We're just having fun."

"Yeah." One of his puppets chimed in. "We're just showing Ava how to cliff dive." My eyes met Ava's again and I could see that this was everything but fun. "Wanna demonstrate Masen?"

"Let her go Garwin!" I said steadily and to my surprise I moved forward, ready to pull her out of Garwin's grip.

Things happened in fast forward after that. Garwin, thinking he was funny, pushed her over the edge. Her scream still echoing before she hit the water. I cursed and pushed Garwin out of the way before I jumped in after her myself. It was hard to calculate the fall once the lights are turned off and I had a hard time to see anything. I hit the water and the freezing temperature took my breath away. I wasn't quite sure how long it took me to scratch up my bearings but suddenly I could see something white and I hoped it was Ava. I swam towards her and grabbed her arm before I pulled her up. She wasn't responding and I wondered why she wasn't swimming. The waves weren't that dominant, she should be able to swim out of the water.

Once the air hit our faces she gasped and I could see that she had swallowed a lot of water. Her cold hands grabbed my shoulders and her nails dug into my skin, most definitely leaving an imprint. I wrapped one of my arms around her waist before I moved back to the shore. A crowd already forming. A rush of anger went through me again, how fucking stupid could Garwin be? If this was who I thought it was then he was in a shit load of trouble. You don't push a Phillips over the cliff without paying the price. Stupid ass.

At some point I didn't have to swim anymore and I swung Ava in my arms, her head lolling against my arm. I shook her a few times as I moved to the beach but she barely responded. Her skin was starting to turn blue and I tightened my grip on her, pressing her closer to me, hoping she'd be able to use my warmth as her own. God, please don't die on me. I chanted.

"Ava!" Someone exclaimed and I saw it was Leah. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"Garwin pushed her off the cliff." Leah cursed and I laid Ava down. Her head balancing on my hand. I pushed away a few strands of wet hair and cupped her cheek. Shaking her again. "Ava? Can you hear me?"

"She needs CPR!" Leah said and I pressed my lips together, knowing she was right. Well, fuck!

I quickly pressed my lips against hers, prying them open before blowing some air. She reacted immediately and I was grateful for that. Her eyes snapped open and she coughed loudly, I turned her on her side, the water pouring out of her mouth. So she did swallow a lot of water. I found myself rubbing her back in a comforting way and I quickly stopped. What was I doing? And why were my lips tingling?

"W-what h-happened?" Ava stuttered and she tried to sit up straight. I grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed her on her back again.

"Take it easy." Leah ordered. Behind her were Jared and Kim. Kim holding a blanket and she quickly wrapped Ava in it. Ava gave Kim a grateful smile and I could see the small dimple in her left cheek. A strange churning in my stomach appeared.

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch!" I muttered lowly as Jared re-told the story to Ava. I could see the brief panic in her doe like eyes and I felt some pity for the girl. This wasn't really a nice way for a new start, or was it? Ava's eyes then turned to me.

"-good thing Paul was around!"

"Y-you jumped in..." She was shaking and I pulled her closer to my side. "after me..." She blinked a few times. I nodded. My cheeks felt warm and I realized there was a blush on my face. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." I muttered and I gave her a smile when suddenly I heard a siren. An ambulance.

"Someone must've called the ambulance." Kim noted and I could see Ava cringe. The embarrassment clear on her face. I found the sight slightly amusing. But only because she would scrunch up her nose, making her dimples even more prominent.

"But I'm okay!" She protested and she turned her eyes to me again. I found myself drowning on dry land. "Thanks to Paul."

"Yup, that's Paul for you!" Leah piped up. I could hear the mirth in her voice. "Our own local hero."

She didn't avert her eyes, despite the mockery from the others and I realized that she had no eye for that. I pulled away from her drowning gaze and realized that I was soaked myself. And now the cold was truly getting to me. Suddenly a dark blue blanket was wrapped around my shoulders and I saw Kim behind me. She gave me a smile before pecking me on the cheek. Her eyes filled with sibling affection. I ruffled her hair in response. I could see the EMTs move in our direction. Apparently we had attracted a crowd. Suddenly I felt a weight against my chest and as I looked down I saw Ava's head resting. Her eyes were closed and a stab of panic went through me. I shook her gently and her beautiful eyes opened sluggishly.

"Don't fall asleep." I ordered. I hoped the tone of her voice wouldn't chase her away. "Come on." I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her to standing position with me. The EMTs were now with us and I pushed her towards them. "Check her out first."

"I'm alright." She protested. "I'm just tired." The fatigue in her voice was very obvious to hear and I felt a slight wave of worry wash over me. The EMT gave her a soothing smile in response and lead her to a more suiting spot as I was confronted with another EMT.

"So what happened?" He asked and I glanced at the back of Ava's head.

Maybe she felt it, or maybe it was just me but she turned around and our eyes met again. And despite the fact both of us were moving in different directions I felt something. Something I couldn't explain. It took hold of me and filled me up with unfamiliarity. I wondered what the fuck it meant. I wondered if I was the only one who found it important enough to care.

Ava gave me a smile.

Or maybe she felt it too.

"No fucking idea, man." I muttered to the EMT. "No fucking idea."

A/N: So how was it? Gag worthy? Or should I continue?