Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or anything you recognize.
Summary: Aviana (Ava) Davidson's been dating Jacob Black for two years. He's been pulling away from her for over a month but won't tell her why when she asks. He finally tells her, he's imprinted and he can't see her anymore. Ava runs off crying and finds comfort in the last person she ever expected, the guy that always acted like he hated her, Paul Lahote.
Her name is pronounced A-vee-ahna
The quotes come from
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CHAPTER 4
A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.
~Winnie the Pooh
When Ava walked into the kitchen Paul let out a sigh. He had no idea why he was acting this way, it wasn't the way he typically acted towards women. He knew he wasn't a nice guy, he went after what he wanted and didn't care about who was in his way or who he hurt to get it. The only exception to that had been Ava, she was the one girl he wanted that he never really went after and he had no idea why. For the past two years he had been nothing but mean and rude to her every time he saw her, especially if she was with Jacob when he saw her. He knew it pissed Jacob off the way he acted but he didn't care. The only reason he could give for acting that way towards her was that she was with a guy that wasn't him and he only had himself to blame because he never told her how he felt. She could have chosen him, it could have happened. He still felt the same way about her that he always had and now she was living in his house and he would see her every day. She also didn't hate him like he thought she did, after the way he acted she had every right to hate him. He was interrupted from his thoughts by Ava sitting next to him on the couch.
"Hey," she said and Paul turned to look at her.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm going to be living here now and I realize the two of us don't really know each other that well so I think it would be a good idea if we got to know each other better," she suggested. "I mean we've known each other for years but we don't really know anything about each other."
"I know," he said. "Ok," Paul shrugged. "You have a favorite color?"
"Purple." She answered. "you?"
"Green," he told her.
"So where do you work?" she asked.
"It's a small construction company. It can be hard work sometimes," he told her. "But I don't really mind." He added. "What about you."
"Nothing great I just work in an office entering things in a computer all day," she told him. "Not interesting at all."
"So was there another guy you might have liked besides Jake?" Paul asked curiously. "Or has it always been Jake for you?"
"No I liked another guy but he never seemed to like me and he never asked me out anyway," she told him and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Oh so if this guy had asked you out to you think you could have chosen him over Jake?" Paul asked curiously.
"I don't know Paul, he never asked me so I don't know what I would have done." She told him.
"Oh," Paul said. "Your relationship with Jake seemed perfect," he stated. "I would have never guessed you liked another guy."
"No relationship is perfect Paul."
"So you and Jake argued?" he asked surprised.
"Yes Paul, all couples argue, even imprinted couples, no one gets along all the time. Everyone has disagreements," she sighed. "Like I always wanted a dog but Jake would never let me get one," she told him.
"Well did you want some little yappy, ankle biter dog?" he asked wrinkling his nose.
"No," she smiled. "I wanted a Lab or Golden retriever," she told him.
"Oh." He said. "I would have let you get a dog," he told her and she smiled.
"Thanks but Jake always said no," she told him. "Guess I didn't need a dog when I was already dating one."
"So you hate Jake?" Paul asked curiously.
"No I can't hate Jake, I'm upset with him and mad at him for not telling me sooner, for stringing me along for over a month, but I don't hate him," she told him as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "The imprinting thing is part of who he is and he can't help that I can't hate him for that. Plus I knew this could happen I just chose to ignore it." she sighed as she propped her elbow on the back of the couch and rested her head in her hand. "But I can be mad at him."
"You can be mad at him as long as you want to," Paul told her and she smiled slightly.
"Yep," she replied.
"So do you hate the girl he imprinted on?" Paul asked curiously.
"Honestly I want to because she took Jake away from me," she admitted. "But also I realize its not her fault, she can't help Jake imprinted on her." She told him. "So do I get a name on that girl you liked but never told how you felt?" she asked changing the subject, trying to get the focus off of her.
"No," Paul told her. "And I don't want to talk about her," he snapped.
"Ok sorry," Ava replied quietly and they fell silent.
"Ava, its just better if she doesn't know how I feel about her."
"Why do you think that Paul?" she asked and he just shrugged. "Do I know her?" she asked.
"Can we just talk about something else?" Paul asked.
"Yeah ok," she nodded. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Do I get a name on that other guy you liked besides Jake?" he asked.
"No Paul," she said. "No."
"I know him then," he smirked.
"I'm not telling Paul," she told him.
"Ok then I guess we're going to have to find something else to talk about," Paul said.
"Guess so," she shrugged.
"So are you going to date again?" Paul asked curiously.
"Yeah eventually," she said. "I mean I'm not going to run off with the first guy I see or anything like that," she told him and he smiled. "And even though I haven't had sex in over a month I'm not going to jump into bed with the first guy I date or that makes some kind of move on me because that's not the kind of girl I am."
"How many guys have you slept with?" Paul asked as he propped his elbow on the back of the couch. He saw the shocked look on her face when he asked that. "Or is that to personal for us right now."
"No its not to personal Paul," she sighed. "We're going to be living together now I'm sure we're going to learn more about each other than we ever wanted to."
"Probably so," he agreed. "So are you going to answer the question?"
"Yeah," she said. "So there was Jake and a guy I dated in school and one more guy so three," she told him.
"That's a small number," he pointed out.
"Well what's your number Paul, is it to high to count to?" she asked.
"Its not as high as everyone thinks," he admitted. "I didn't really sleep around that much in high school, a few girls of course, I don't know if I want to put a number on it."
"Why?" she asked. "Because the number is still growing and you're not the type of guy that's going to settle down."
"Maybe," he shrugged.
"So you don't want to get married and have a wife and kids, a family one day?"
"Well maybe I wouldn't make a great husband or father," he said. "Its not like my family was the greatest."
"Mine either Paul," she sighed. "But I don't think either one of us want to go into that right now."
"You're right," he sighed.
"So how about I go in the kitchen and see what you bought today and find something for dinner tonight for us."
"Sounds great to me!" Paul said happily and she got up from the couch and went into the kitchen and looked through everything Paul bought seeing that the only things he bought were food in a box, stuff he was used to just fixing for him. Ava walked back into the living room.
"Paul."
"What?"
"You know I do know how to cook stuff that's not in a box," she told him.
"I didn't know if you'd want to cook."
"I'll cook Paul so when you go to the store again I'm going with you," she told him.
"Ok," he agreed.
"Now I'll go stick something in the oven for us." She told him and turned and walked back into the kitchen.
Paul smiled when she walked away, she was actually going to cook for them, real food. He only had real food when he went to Sam and Emily's. He was actually looking forward to her cooking for him, Jacob always bragged on what a great cook she was. She walked back in a few minutes later with something to drink for each of them and handed one of the glasses to Paul.
"Thanks," he said surprised and she smiled and took a sip from her glass and sat it on the table.
"So what kinds of foods do you like?" she asked him.
"I like everything," he told her.
"I know that," she said and rolled her eyes. "You have to have certain things you like more than others."
"Yeah," he said.
"What are they?" she asked smiling.
"Chicken pot pie, Steak, I actually love to grill on the barbecue grill so anything you can put on there, I like everything." He told her. "What about you?"
"Well I like to barbecue to, spending the afternoon or all day outside," she told him. "I like chicken." She said and Paul nodded.
"So tomorrow's Friday," Paul pointed out. "You have any plans?"
"I think you know I don't."
"You want to make plans," he began. "With me?"
"Depends on what you want to do," she told him. "I don't know if I'm up to going to Sam's yet."
"You're going to have to see Jake sometime," Paul pointed out.
"I've seen enough of him today," she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "And I know I'm going to have to talk to him without yelling or running off eventually, I'm just not ready to do it yet and anyway Jake and his imprint belong at Sam's now more than I do."
"Why would you think that?"
"Well I'm not a wolf or an imprint or someone's girlfriend."
"But you're our friend and you belong there with us," Paul told her. "You can't avoid places because you might run into Jake and his imprint."
"I know Paul," she said and they fell silent.
"So," she said after a few minutes of silence. "What's your middle name?'
"Daniel," he answered. "Yours?"
"Jordyn," she told him.
"So tomorrow what do you want to do?"
"I don't know Paul what do you usually do on Fridays?' she asked. "You don't have a date or anything?"
"No date," he told her. "So we can go see a movie or something if you want tomorrow night," he said. "We can go bowling, play mini golf if you feel like it."
"Can we just wait until tomorrow gets here and figure it out?"
"Of course we can," he said.
"Thanks Paul," she smiled. "I'll check on dinner, I decided on the ravioli."
"Sounds good," he said and she got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. She opened the oven and pulled the pan out and stirred it with a spoon. She then turned the oven off and went to get Paul so they could eat.
"Paul," she called out and he got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. "Its ready," she told him and he walked over and got them some plates.
"You get what you want first," he told her and she put some on her plate and sat it on the table. Then she went to the living room to get their glasses and bring them to the table so they would have something to drink.
After putting what was left of the ravioli on his plate Paul came over and sat down at the table. Ava looked over at his plate and smiled.
"What?" he asked.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to just bring the pan to the table?"
"Maybe," he shrugged and she smiled and shook her head and started to eat.
"Its good," she told him.
"You didn't expect it to be?" he asked.
"I don't know what I expected, I usually cook," she shrugged and took another bite.
"Well if I knew you're cooking was an option I wouldn't have bought this stuff." He admitted. "I'm looking forward to tasting your cooking," he told her and she smiled. "Jake was always bragging about what a wonderful cook you are."
"Really?" she asked smiling.
"Yeah he said you were a better cook than Emily."
"Oh wow," she said shocked. "Emily's an amazing cook."
"I know she is." Paul said and the two of them fell silent as they continued to eat.
Once they were done eating Ava took their plates and glasses to the sink and started washing up the dishes.
"I can do the dishes since you cooked," he said as he stood up and walked over to stand beside her.
"I didn't cook Paul," she told him. "I opened a box and slid the contents into the oven," she added. "But how about when I do cook I'll take you up on that."
"Ok," he shrugged and walked out of the kitchen and went to find a movie to watch on TV.
A few minutes later she walked in the living room and joined Paul on the couch.
"You get everything done?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"I almost forgot," Paul said as he stood up and reached in his pocket and pulled something out of it. He sat down and handed it to her. "I got you a key made so you would have your own key," he told her.
"Thank you," she said as she took the key. "You didn't have to do that."
"Ava, you live here now and you need your own key to the house." He told her and she smiled.
"So you like chicken?" she asked.
"Yeah, I like everything." He smiled.
"Even vegetables."
"I'll eat them," he said as he wrinkled his nose, definitely suggesting he wasn't fond of them.
"Vegetables are good for you," she told him. "I know all you guys never get sick and are always healthy but us normal humans have to eat our veggies and take care of ourselves." She told him. "And we still get sick."
"Weren't you sick a few weeks ago?" he asked. "I remember Emily mentioning it because she was making you soup and Leah was going to bring it to you or something."
"Yeah I just had some kind of stomach virus but it lasted two and a half days for me," she told him. "Jake wasn't home."
"Where was he?" Paul asked curiously.
"I don't know," she shrugged. "With his imprint maybe."
"He should have been taking care of you." Paul told her.
"Maybe," she shrugged.
"I would have taken care of you," he said quietly.
"What?" she asked surprised.
"Nevermind." He said. "Please forget it."
"I…." she began. "Fine. I'm going to take a shower and put on my pajamas and get out of your clothes."
"Ok," he smiled and she stood up and walked out of the room.
Paul covered his face with his hands when she left.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked himself. "I'm not a nice guy to anyone," he sighed and uncovered his face. "And how could I have said that..I would have taken care of you. Why don't you just tell her you like her Paul," he said and he looked to the hallway she had just walked down to go shower. He really wanted her….wanted her to go out with him and like him the way he liked her. He seriously wanted to ask her out. He really didn't know how to do that exactly, he had never wanted to do that before make a girl like him. Yeah he had wanted Aubri to like him but she rejected him before he even had a chance to get her to like him. It probably wasn't even worth it, since she would never like him like that anyway. He let out a sigh and grabbed his cell phone from the table and called Embry.
"Hey Paul," Embry answered.
"Embry where are you?" Paul asked.
"I'm at home," he answered.
"Are you by yourself or is Leah there with you."
"I'm by myself," Embry said. "Why?" he asked confused.
"I've been thinking about what you said. You know about sweeping Ava off her feet."
"Something you've been thinking about huh," Embry said.
"Yes but you know I'm no good with all that romance stuff," he said. "But she doesn't hate me if that helps."
"It actually helps a lot," Embry told him. "You just have to be nice to her Paul, don't snap at her, ask her how her day was," he suggested. "Bring home dinner as a surprise so she doesn't have to cook." He went on. "Go somewhere she wants to go even if you hate it. There's lots of things you can do. You just need to treat her well Paul and its not going to happen overnight," he told him. "Just be careful with her, she's already been hurt enough by Jake."
"I know she has," Paul sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't even think about being with Ava."
"Paul I didn't say that, just be careful and you know its going to take awhile. She's going to have to trust you first, you'll have to be just her friend first."
"I know, thanks Embry," Paul said.
When Ava went to her bedroom to get her pajamas and things she needed to take a shower what Paul said ran through her head. I would have taken care of you. She had no idea what made him say that or why the thought of Paul taking care of her made her heart race. He couldn't possibly like her or have any kind of feelings for her like she used to have….who was she kidding she still had those feelings for Paul. She let out a sigh and walked to the bathroom to take her shower and get ready for bed.
Once she was dressed she went back to the living room to see if Paul was still in there watching TV.
"Paul," she said and Paul turned and glanced at her, he couldn't stop his eyes from traveling her body. She was wearing a pair of shorts that were really short and showed what great legs she had, he imagined having those legs wrapped around him as he kissed her perfect lips that looked so soft. As he let his eyes continued to travel her body he noticed she was wearing a cami top that fit tightly to her body, showing the curve of her breasts and what a perfect figure she had. Ava was incredibly beautiful and sexy and he had no idea how he was going to be able to keep his hands off of her.
"Hey," Paul responded snapping out of his trance. She walked over and sat down by him.
"So are you really serious about doing something tomorrow night?" she asked.
"Yeah I am," he smiled.
"And you'll do whatever I want?" she asked skeptically.
"Yeah babe, I'll do whatever you want," he winked.
"Paul," she said slapping his arm playfully.
"Yes, I'll do what you want tomorrow."
"Even if its something you'll hate?" she asked and Paul thought about Embry's advice, being nice and doing something she wanted to do even if he hated the idea.
"Especially if its something I'll hate," he admitted.
"Why?"' she asked.
"I'm not a jerk all the time Aviana," he shrugged and she smiled.
"Just most of the time," she teased and when Paul looked at her he saw she was smiling.
"Yeah," he said.
"I'll think of something, I kind of have an idea but I'm not sure."
"Alright just let me know."
"Ok Paul," she said. "I'm going to go to bed, I'll see you in the morning."
"Ok good night Ava."
"Good night Paul," she said and stood up from the couch and walked away.