Bexxyy's Paul Imprint Contest
Title: Wave of Popular Feeling
Author: XxxwhenxturtlesxflyxxX
Rating: T
Pairing: Bella/Paul
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does. And Groundswell (Three Days Grace before they were Three Days Grace) owns the title for this thingy.
Well… hopefully this doesn't completely suck… I know it isn't my best, and by far it isn't my worst. At least the AWESOME chick that beta-ed (word?) this said she liked it, so at least I have some hope for it…
"Bella! This is the last time! I swear! You have done this time and time again, and I no longer have any control of you! I'm sorry! I just can't take it anymore! You are going back to Washington. Maybe your dad can get you to stop pulling your bullshit!" My 'mother', Renee, screamed at me. Come in after curfew just a couple of times, and you are an 'uncontrollable minor'. Sure, maybe it was 6AM, and I was supposed to be back by 10, but, oh well. Sure, maybe my actions have been 'dangerous' and 'stupid' and 'reckless', but I was a teenager. Isn't that supposed to be expected of me?
"Bella, are you even listening to me?!" Renee chastised me in her 'I'm angry, so you better listen to me' voice.
"No, not really, nope," I answered her, setting her on another yelling fit. Phil rolled his eyes at me. His look silently told me that I was being stupid.
Well, let me tell you a little about him. Phil was a major-league ball player, and my favorite daddy. He was pretty cool. He got me what I wanted, but he made me work for it. If it weren't for him, I would be one of those spoiled rich kid snobs that thought life should be handed to them on a silver platter. I probably wouldn't know the value of a dollar and how hard they are to earn without him making me work for it.
And then there was Charlie, my real dad. Sure, I loved him, but I didn't know him very well. He was more like a distant cousin. I knew he was a police man for the La Push tribe, and that he and my brother lived there together. I knew he was going out with a woman named Sue, but that was all I knew about him.
Then there was my brother, Sam. Sam was like an even more distant cousin. I never knew him very well. According to my father in his most recent letter, he was always hanging out with his group of friends. By the description, they sounded more so like a gang, than a small social group. My dad called them the 'pack'. According to my dad, they stuck together 'like glue to a peanut', but why there was glue even near the peanut was a mystery to me.
Soon, my mother and Phil got into it; she wanted me to leave, but Phil wanted me to stay. I was like a daughter to Phil because they couldn't have their own kids, considering that Renee had had a partial hysterectomy after an accident. Finally, my mother decided that I would go, despite Phil's efforts to try to convince her otherwise. I was due to leave in two weeks.
Those two weeks were dreadful. I had to say goodbye to all of my friends, leave my school in the midst of my junior year, and I had to leave my boyfriend, Adam. We promised to stay in touch, and try to make the whole long distance thing work.
Eventually, the two weeks were over, and I had to go. I would be taking a plane from Phoenix to Fresno and from there to Seattle. And then after I got to Seattle, I would take a smaller plane to Port Angles. It was there that Charlie would pick me up, and I would be doomed to the small-town life of the La Push Reservation. Talk about not at all fun.
The plane ride to Fresno was uneventful. I struck up conversation with the guy next to me about our favorite bands. Overall, he had the same tastes as me, but he liked rap, which was a big no-no in my book. We liked the same kinds of books - action and sci-fi. He said he could tolerate romance, as long as it had a lot of verve in it, which was the same as me. He seemed like a nice guy, so when we landed, we exchanged telephone numbers, so we could text each other. James, his name was.
The ride from Seattle was horrible. Somehow, I ended up next to a guy that liked to snore; so on the whole way there, I had that dreadful sound in my ears. Even after I got off of the plane, I could still hear it in my mind and ringing in my ears. I had to wait an hour before the plane to Port Angles left. Over the hour, nothing special happened. I had brought a book, and switched off reading it and text messaging Adam.
Finally, the plane was boarding, so I grabbed all of my stuff, and continued on the journey to my own personal nightmare.
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When I finally got to Port Angles, Charlie was there waiting for me where he said he would be. I never actually remembered him to be… that big. Sure, I remember him being larger than the average guy… but whoa. He was about 6 feet and seven inches tall. He was more muscular than Phil, which was saying a lot.
"Charlie?" I asked him.
"Hey kiddo, good to see you again, it's been what, five years or so?" He smiled at me, and pulled me into a hug.
"Yeah, something like that." He smiled again at me, and told me to follow him to his truck. A red Ford F350 Super Duty… I'm not surprised.
The ride to my new home was uneventful. We talked a little about life, school, friends, and other stuff. Charlie told me a little about Sue. He said she had two children, Seth and Emily.
"So, Bella, Renee sent me all of your stuff. It has arrived, and is piled up in the room that is to be yours - down the hall, the last room on the right. The living room is on the right when you walk in from the garage. The kitchen is parallel to it. The laundry room is next to the half-bathroom next to the garage. My room is down the hall, on the left, and Sam's is the one that is right before yours," he explained, motioning towards the direction of which he was talking about.
I thanked him, and walked towards the room that I could now call mine. As I walked in, I appraised its appearance. It seemed nice enough; with its plain dark green bedspread with a lighter shade of green on the walls. There was a desktop computer on a desk in the corner, and had a nice window on the east side of the room. As Charlie had said, all of my stuff that was sent over was piled in the corner of the room. I ended up deciding that now was the best time than ever to start unpacking. So I grabbed all of the hangers that Charlie had put in the closet, and started the task.
About two hours later, I heard what sounded like a herd of cattle entering through the front door. I heard the muffled sound of someone's voice and I think they said that they wanted food…?
I decided to go investigate, taking Charlie's most recent letter of Sam and his gang's personalities to the kitchen. I briefly skimmed over it, while taking a seat on a barstool. I heard Sam telling them that his sister was temporarily going to live with him. Wow, great timing, Sam. Two minutes right before they were actually going to meet me.
Then someone wolf whistled at me and I turned to see who it was. It was some guy that I had never seen in my life. That, and the close proximity that I found him to me, made me shriek. That caused all of the rest of the guys to run into the kitchen to see what was wrong. One didn't even look at me, and just headed to the refrigerator. He grabbed out some cheese and then lunchmeats.
"Make me a sandwich, please?" I asked the guy. He grunted in response, and kept looking for bread and condiments - I assumed.
"Bella, nice to see you, again," Sam said. He was the old one – the only one that said anything.
"Hey, Sammie, I see you brought home your friends." Grins and nods filled his facial expression. I laughed, and directed my attention to them.
They all looked the same, but yet, so different. They were bulky and nice looking. They said hi, literally, all together in the same tone of voice. It was a little creepy, but kind of cool. I looked at them, grabbed the letter, and stood before the one closest to the pantry. I glanced over him, and then continued to do that with the rest of them.
After I assessed them all, I told them that I was going to guess who they were, by their appearances. I told them that Charlie had given me a brief summary of each of the guy's personalities, not their looks and told them not to comment till the end. A couple of them nodded and smiled, but some looked at me like I was mental. It was okay with me; I got those looks from people all the time. Sam laughed and moved out of my way.
I stood in front of the original guy. "Okay. I think you are Paul – the smart ass." He looked at me weirdly. Guy number two: "Jared, the dumb-ass." Guy number three: "Embry, the pervert." Guy number four: "Quil, the dork." Guy number five: "Jacob, caring one." Guy number six: "Collin, the deranged one." Guy number seven: "Seth, the sweet one." Guy number eight: "…and you must be Brady, the one that is always hungry," I announced. The last guy was the fridge, so I figured that that one had to be right.
"No, Bella, not at all," Sam said, laughing at the guy's expressions. "Seth and Embry were the only ones you got right," he said, trying to control his laughter.
"Hmmm, that sucks. So… which is the one with his head stuck in the fridge?" I asked, looking at all of the stuff he had removed from within it.
"That is Paul, the smart-ass," he said, shaking with laughter.
"Oh, okay." I nodded in understanding. "I want ham with American cheese!" He Okayed that, found all he needed, and grabbed the bread from inside the microwave.
"Mayo or mustard?" he asked in his deep, masculine voice.
"Both." He stayed looking at the sandwich, not even looking at me once. Now as I think back through the moment they came in the door, he didn't look at me once. He was focused on eating… or avoiding looking at me at all costs. It was weird, but I had gotten that from my mother before, so it didn't bother me too much.
Sam had all of the boys give me a brief introduction of themselves. Embry was quite proud that I had gotten him right… one look at him, and it was easy to see why I did. Seth seemed quiet, a sweet little guy. I could secretly tell that he was relieved that I had not mistaken him for one of the other guys.
Finally, when Paul finished making me sandwich, he looked at me. Our eyes met. It was the first time that I had ever seen his face, and I was captured by his great looks, defined muscles, and gorgeous deep brown eyes. There is no doubt in my mind that I found him attractive, but he continued to stare at me. After about thirty seconds, it was weird. He was just staring at me like a blind man that had seen the sun for the first time in his life.
I was starting to fidget. All the guys were looking at us weird. I was looking at Paul weird and in return, he was staring at me in a different kind of weird.
I didn't like it at all.
So I grabbed my sandwich and backed out slowly to the living room. I slowly turned away, and turned on the TV. Sam just laughed – he laughs a lot.
"Paul, do you want to go outside with me?" Jacob, the one I mistook for Quil, asked him. Paul replied with a small no. When I turned back, to see what was going on, he was still staring right at me. I shrunk back in my seat. And this time, all of the guys laughed at me.
It was a little weird, I thought as I ate my sandwich slowly whilst watching the start of a rerun of CSI. Eventually, I heard Sam and the boys go outside. Seeing as the TV was on commercial, I put it on mute. From where I was positioned, I could hear Embry laughing obnoxiously. He said something about how he just about seen everything now and then he made some jabs pointed in Paul's direction about imprinting. Also about how he never believed that the most heartless of them all could imprint. And it was on Sam's baby sister, too.
I was curious as to what imprinting was. Paul was heartless? He seemed lovingly enough, even if he was a little… creepy. I flipped off the TV and shoved the rest of the sandwich down my throat. Then I proceeded to throw the plate it was on into the sink, and walked back to my room. As I reached my room, the first thing I did was push the computer's 'on' button with my foot.
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As soon as it started up, I went to some word site. It had thesaurus references, encyclopaedia references… dictionary references. I quickly chose dictionary and then pounded the word 'imprint' into the search bar. Most definitions were normal.
A mark caused by pressure. I was pretty sure that didn't apply as to what Embry was referring to. Most of the rest were similar to that. But, there was one in specific that caught my eye - it referred to zoology. It was: an attraction between members of the same species.
It was… odd, for lack of a better word. If this was similar to what they had meant by imprint, that was a little awkward. But then after much consideration on this matter, I decided to ignore it for the time being.
After a while on debating what to do next, I opened my inbox to check my email. Phil had sent one asking if I had got there okay, and asked a lot of questions on La Push. Has anything interesting happened yet? Anything funny? What did Charlie say? Did he laugh if something funny happened? When did you get there? Was the trip good? Meet anybody new yet? Any perverts that I need to fly to Washington to beat up? And so on, and so forth. I answered all of his questions. Renee sent a couple, asking if Charlie had straightened my act out, yet. I just told her there was nothing to straighten out. I saw one from Adam, telling me to call him as soon as I had got the message.
"Hey Bella," he said when he answered on the first ring. He sounded… guilty?
"Uh… hi?"
"Bella, I have some bad news… We can't be together anymore." That was why he sounded guilty…
"Okay…" I told him… in a tone that suggested for him to continue.
"Bella… I met someone else… I'm sorry…"
"Alright… bye," I said coldly and then hung up on him. After the phone call, I was a little depressed. Not over the fact that he had told me we couldn't be together, but over the fact that he couldn't even tell me why or who it was for… and that I had lost his friendship. I knew that it was coming soon, and knew that we would never last. We were not meant for one another… Or at least that was what I kept telling myself…
The truth was that I was completely in shock. I thought Adam could have been 'the one'. Nut apparently I was wrong not to mention extremely depressed. In that brief little phone call, I had lost my best friend, and my boyfriend. And the worse thing was; I didn't even try and fight for him… I just gave up. That was what scared me.
The next few days had been wallowing in self-pity. It would have kept going on for longer, if Sam and Charlie hadn't forced me to get off my ass and do something productive. To be honest, it really did help me by getting out of that stuffy room. Eventually, I started to laugh again, and go back to my old self. Paul still looked at me weird. In my depression stage, in my temporary breaks to get food and stuff, he looked just as messed up as I did. It was like he was on the outside, looking in. He just wanted to help, but couldn't figure out how to.
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"Bella get your skinny little ass over here!"
"Yes, oh dear brother of mine?" I sang out to Sam.
"You want to go to the bon-fire with Paul? He is too afraid to ask you, himself!" I looked at Paul and Sam weird.
"… Uh… uh… uh… Sure…?" I didn't know what else I was going to say. Paul glared at Sam, but was blushing, so it was kind of funny.
"Bella, you really don't have to go it you don't want to…" Paul choked out.
"It's alright, I want to go." I smiled at Paul. He grinned back at me, and told me when it was and when he would pick me up. He gave me a brief synopsis of what would happen… food, legends, and all of the tribe elders. Then… he told me he would have a surprise for me on that night - that he would show me something I have never seen before. That just pissed me off, because now I desperately wanted to know. It was two days from then… I still had a lot of time to prepare…
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Shit…
Those two days passed by quick... Now, Paul was coming to pick me up, and would be here in less than an hour. I was having a little difficulty with my hair…. I finally straightened it, but it wouldn't set right. I just threw it up in a ponytail. I decided to go plain. I wore dark jeans, and a Taking Back Sunday shirt with just a little mascara. That was as good as it was going to get. I went to the living room, and turned on the TV to a judge show. The case was actually pretty interesting.
Eventually, I heard the door bell ring. There was Paul.
I walked to the door to let him in, but guess who beat me? Charlie…
He was going to give him the 'You hurt my daughter, I hurt you' speech… which I didn't understand because he was going to the bonfire, too. Him, Sue, Emily, and Seth. Sam also said that his girlfriend, Leah, and her father, Harry, would be attending too.
"Hey, Bella," Paul breathed. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks…" I said.
"Alright… are you ready?" I nodded, and grabbed my jacket.
He led me to his car, and opened the door for me. It was a nice car - Chevy Impala. Overall, there was just small talk. He seemed nervous.
Finally, I just blurted out without thinking: "Are you acting fidgety because you imprinted?"
"How do you know about imprinting?" Paul asked me, an odd look on his face.
"I don't know anything about it… I just heard Embry making fun of you for imprinting…" He just said it was nothing, but it was definitely something.
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After everybody ate, Mr. Ateara, Quil's grandfather, started telling the legends of the Quileute Reservation. How they descended from wolves and the wolves were appointed to protect the tribe from the 'cold ones', a.k.a. vampires.
"Bella, I am actually a werewolf," Paul finally admitted after a long silence in which he seemed to be debating over something important.
"Paul… honey… do I need to take you to the doctor…?" Everyone started laughing, but I was left in the dark… I never liked it there.
"No, I will show you." He got up, but I pulled him back down, asking him if he was okay.
He finally convinced me that he was alright, and I let I him go….
About a minute later, a big puppy came out from the trees. I tried to lure him over with an extra hotdog that I stole from Embry, but he looked at me like I was mental.
"Sam, you can tell Paul to stop being stupid. We all know he can't change into a werewolf."
"Bella honey, that is Paul." The explanation seemed simple… but too complex at the same time.
"No. PAUL is in the forest being stupid. This is my new puppy, Moni."
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They finally explained to me that Moni was indeed Paul, because they had Brady phase where I could see him. It was a good thing he had an extra pair of shorts, that boy, because those clothes on him were ripped to shreds.
"So… how does 'imprinting' fit in with this werewolf stuff?"
"Did you already tell her about imprinting?" Embry asked Paul.
"Well… no. He didn't tell me, but I like to eavesdrop… so… yeah." I butted in before Paul even had a chance to answer.
Mr. Ateara began to explain. "Bella… how do I put this in terms you can understand?"
"Uh… I didn't think I was that dumb… but okay. I like simple stuff. It is easy to understand." I gave a big grin, causing him to chuckle at me.
"Okay. Imprinting… it is like love at first sight, in a way. Only, imprinting is permanent, and true. Once one imprints, they are bound to the imprinted person for life… like soul mates."
"Okay. So… how do I fit into this whole imprint-werewolf stuff?" I asked, confused.
Paul came out from the bushes, and started to speak, "Bella, I imprinted on you." His words were spoken sincerely as he gazed into my eyes.
That was around the time that I fainted.
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When I came back to consciousness, the first person I saw was my dad. Sitting right next to him was Sue.
"… Bella, honey, are you okay?" I heard Sue ask. Sue had taken a liking to me at the bonfire. Emily didn't seem to like me much, though.
"Yeah…" I said, sitting up. I had just convinced myself that the whole bonfire scenario was just a dream.
"Bella! Thank God, you're awake!" Paul exclaimed as he practically threw himself in the doorway.
"Yeah… so… was the werewolf-imprint thing real?"
"Yeah, Bella, you're my imprint."
"Okay…." And then I got my dad to drive me home.
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"Um… hi. Bella?"
"Yeah… Who is this?" I asked sleepily. I had just woken up. Seriously, who calls people at 3AM?
"Paul, if this is you again, you better have something good to tell me," I muttered through the phone.
"Bella, this is James. I'm in Washington… Would it be okay if I went over?" He was calling… for this? And at three in the morning? I don't even know they guy well, for fuck's sake.
"… Uh… Call again at a decent hour, and then maybe you can. Bye." Then I hung up. Then I fell back into a dreamless sleep.
In the morning, James called again. He asked the same thing - If he could come over. I asked Charlie if a friend could come over. He said it was fine, but that he couldn't stay here or anything. I agreed, and told James what he said. We agreed to meet at the beach… he didn't need to know where I lived, quite yet.
When I finally got there, a few hours later, James was waiting for me. He greeted me with a hug.
"Hello to you, too, James."
"Hi!" He laughed, and let me out of the hug.
Soon, we were into a lengthy conversation. He told me about his life, and why he was there. Then he asked about anything that was new in my life. If there were any guys harassing me, or if I liked them. He said he was a good listener, and usually pretty good about giving advice.
Eventually, I cracked and told him the situation with Paul… with a lot less details.
"Well, Bella, I honestly think you should give it a shot. He sounds like a good guy, and seems like he really likes you. If I were you, I would at least give him a chance. Besides, he sounds cute." He gave me a wink, and laughed with me. By the way, James is gay.
"Thanks, James, you really helped me. If not for the advice, just for listening as well." He gave me a hug, and then we went to my house. When I jumped into my truck, I realized that James and I had talked for over three hours. He really was a good listener.
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James had to leave the next day. James had easily become my best friend in a matter of just a few hours. He showed me why he liked rap, and now, I at least liked a couple of the songs. I decided to go try out James' advice with Paul.
Paul was coming over with Sam, or so he said. By he, I mean Sam.
As Paul walked into the door, I was nice… or at least trying to be. I suck at being nice. Not exactly in my forte and usually not until I really know someone.
Paul seemed like he was in a slump. He saw that I was at least trying, and asked if I had grasped the fact that he was a wolf. I ended up telling him I did.
"So… would you like to try, again? I mean, actually get to know me? You don't have to just jump into a relationship with me. I'm not going to push you to do something that you are not ready to do or want to do." I agreed, and we were going to go on a date later on that day.
A few hours later, I was ready, and waiting on Paul to get there. Isn't it usually supposed to be the guy waiting on the girl, instead of the other way around? So anyway, I was waiting for him to get there. He was like 15 minutes late. By then, I was already watching Everybody Loves Raymond. When he finally got there, Charlie answered the door. I barely noticed him walk into the room - I was too busy watching the show.
"Bella, are you ready?"
"SHH!"
"Are you ready to go?" he asked again.
"I was, 15 minutes ago. Now, you are waiting for me. When Everybody Loves Raymond is over, then we can go, alright?" I snapped at him.
After it was over, I told him I was ready. What? I'm not going to stop doing something, just because he finally got there. I got in his car, and we started heading the direction to Port Angeles. On the way, we talked. That was all we did. I learned that his favorite color was green. He didn't have a favorite food - if it was edible he liked it. His dad died in an accident a few years back, and since then his mother drowned herself in work, rarely ever surfacing.
He asked me about my life; about why I came to La Push, who my friends were. My favorites - color, food, book, movie, pattern, and all there really was to know about him.
When we got to Port Angeles, Paul pulled into a parking lot.
"Bella there is a little bit of a walk to where we are going, is that okay?" he asked and I nodded in reply.
"So… Bella, tell me more about you.
"Well, I was born in Forks. I lived in La Push until I was about five. Then Charlie and Renee got a divorce. We moved to Phoenix - where she was originally from. After a few years, about twelve I think, she met Phil, my step-father. Phil was always good to me. He was more of a father to me than Charlie ever was." Paul turned, and headed north. "So… since then, I had lived with them. Phil is a major-league baseball player… so, that's about it." He nodded, and led me into a park. It was a nice little park, a lot of benches with a playground and swings.
I sat down on one of the swings as we approached. Paul stood behind me, and started pushing me. As I was swinging, he started joking with me, making me laugh. It was really quite sweet. After I stopped, I was still laughing.
"Gosh. That was so much fun. I haven't done that since I was a little kid," I said, still laughing. He smiled at me, and then started laughing.
When I finally calmed down, Paul told me we were going to go eat. We walked until we came to a nice looking restaurant - La Bella Italia.
"Table for two, please?" Paul asked the hostess.
"Right this way." She led us to a table in the back. She gave us out menus, and told us that our server would be with us shortly.
Eventually, the waitress came out, and asked us what we wanted. I could tell she was drooling over Paul, and surprisingly, it bothered me. He ordered the mushroom ravioli, and I ordered the same, because I didn't look at the menu, at all.
"Bella, I know I haven't known you very long, but, I love you." I felt like he was looking into my soul.
"Paul…" I wasn't sure how to say it. "I think…. I think I love you too," I softly told him.
He smiled, and took my hands into his. He leaned over the table and kissed me. When he pulled away, I smiled, and leaned back into the kiss.
I was in love.
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Thank you, dustyrose03!!! Charlotte, you rock. Thanks for beta-ing this. I loves you for doing this for me!!! (Read her stories, they are REALLY good… EVEN if I only read one, I can tell she is awesome at writing.)
I hope you enjoyed this. :D
~Mari