Sorry guys, my job is literally taking up all of my time. Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter.

A big thank you to everyone who reviewed. They make my day knowing what you think so please keep them coming :)

As always, I do not own Twilight. Just my OCs and storyline. xxx

An image of Lydia's face floated through Paul's mind as he patrolled the border of La Push; his large wolf paws treading on rain-covered, muddy leaves as droplets of icy rain soaked his fur. No matter how hard he tried, he could not rid himself of the sight of Lydia's crest-fallen face as he remembered how he had destroyed her self-worth with his cruel words.

Her face haunted him everywhere he went. In the privacy of his own home he allowed himself the luxury to ponder on his thoughts and actions related to his unwilling imprint, but when in the company of others he did no such thing. Paul detested weakness and he thoroughly believed that showing remorse for his wrong-doing would only portray him in a weak light.

However, as the days had passed, all of his attempts to keep Lydia off his mind had failed on more occasions than Paul was pleased with. With the added complication of the 'Pack mind', Paul was feeling ever frustrated with each and every day that came into existence.

Seriously, man, you're killing me. whined Jared.

Despite being miles away from one another as they patrolled separate areas of the border, Paul heard Jared's voice crystal clear within his head; so clear he could have been standing right next to him speaking in human form.

This self-pity thing needs to stop. It's driving me mad!

Rolling his eyes, Paul ignored Jared's words and focused heavily on keeping his mind off of Lydia. His attempts, though, were meaningless and soon enough - sooner than Paul would have liked - the girl who infuriated him like no other was once again the object of his thoughts.

Paul!

What? Paul replied.

Quit it with the wallowing already. If you feel that bad, just go and apologise.

Shut up, Jay. This is all your fault, anyway… you go and apologise. He huffed.

Jeez, let it go! I'm an ass, I know. But I didn't make you say those things to her and I never made her kiss you. Clearly, she likes you if-

She was doing it because she knew it would piss me off. Mission accomplished.

So, you're telling me you didn't feel anything? Not even a little bit?

Before he could prevent himself from doing so, Paul felt his mind slip back into the memory of the kiss; the sparkling light that burst through his mind and body as his and Lydia's lips had met became real once more.

Within the exact instant in which Paul realised he had revealed too much a string of profanities were released from him; a list so impressive that Jared was both shocked and in awe of the fact that he believed, had it been possible in wolf form, he would have blushed at the words that came from his best-friend.

I knew it! exclaimed Jared; his voice, echoing in Paul's head, with a combination of glee and smugness.

Anxiety quickly began to surge through Paul and he could feel his large, powerful wolf shape begin to shake excessively. Unable to stop the familiar process of shape-shifting, Paul quickly found himself standing, alone and naked as the day he was born, among the bare branched trees of the forest border.

Stalking towards a tree on his far right, Paul tried desperately to ignore the growing worry that was eating away inside of him. His feeling towards Lydia, whatever they now where, confused him beyond belief and he was adamant that no-one else would discover this development before he had time to understand it.

Pulling on the denim jeans and black t-shirt, Paul continued to walk bare-footed until he was met with the sight of the red-brick houses that were dotted around the reservation. From the market that stood on the corner, Paul knew that he was not far from the house of Billy Black and coming to a halt, he contemplated whether or not to go in search of the advice and understanding he so desperately sought. After all, there was a chance he would come face to face with Lydia; the very woman he had spent all week avoiding.

Scolding himself mentally for displaying cowardice, Paul surged forward and bounded through the twists and turns between the houses until he spotted the familiar orange truck that belonged to none other than Bella Swan; parked outside the Black home as it usually was on most days. Travelling up the steps, Paul stood on the wooden porch and rapped his knuckles on the bright red door.

A giggle sounded through the air and then the door was opened by a smiling Bella Swan, who immediately ceased doing so upon laying eyes on Paul.

"Oh. Hi, Paul."

"Bella." Paul responded, begrudgingly.

"Do you need Jake? I can go get him for you. He's just-"

"No." he interrupted; his body winding up tightly with unbearable tension as each second ticked by.

"I'm here to see Billy, actually."

Surprised by the turn of events, Bella moved aside and welcomed Paul inside; eyeing him carefully as he stood almost statue-still on the edge of the room, only inches away from the front door like he was ready to bolt at any moment.

"I'll… just go get him."

Hurrying away, Bella headed towards the kitchen where she had left Billy just a few minutes ago.

"Hey, Billy, Paul's here."

"Paul? I'm sure he's supposed to be on patrol right now."

"Yeah, he's meant to be but he's here and he wants to speak to you."

Wheeling himself away from the kitchen table, Billy stopped once he was closer to Bella and from his position he could spy Paul, pacing up and down, in the living room. A frown graced Billy's aging face, making his wrinkles appear more prominent.

"Bella, can you tell Jacob I need to him to take Paul's place on patrol. Please." he emphasized when he saw Bella about to argue. "I have a feeling Paul's going to be here a while."

_

"Lydia! Wait up!"

Hearing her name being called, Lydia stopped in her tracks and spun around to see just who it was that was shouting out to her and her eyes made contact with the shining green orbs of none other than Liam Swan; the one and only family member living in Forks, aside from Sheriff Swan, of Jacob's beloved girlfriend, Bella.

Incidentally, he was also one of Lydia's closest friends within the context of her college studies and, with thick, chestnut brown hair that stopped just before his rounded ears, a slim but defined physique, full, soft lips, and a height of just under six feet tall, he was also one of the most good looking men Lydia knew.

"Hey." replied Lydia, giving Liam a smile that matched the own that graced his face. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." he shrugged as they walked together. "Just the usual. How about you?"

"Oh, you know… crazy family, even crazier friends. Nothing too exciting." Lydia mused; deliberately keeping her mind off of the events of the Pack night out days before.

The two friends continued to walk on as throngs of people, dashing around in their busy lives, passed them; snippets of conversation taking place between the two in an easy, relaxed manner that only came with a trusting friendship.

As they approached the exit of the college campus, that was located on the outskirts of Port Angeles, they came to a natural halt. A somewhat nervous laughter seeped from Lydia's lips, and she found herself shuffling from one foot to another as she began to burn under Liam's inquisitive gaze.

"What? Do I have something on my face? Oh god, I have food in my teeth don't I? Why didn't you tell me?!" she began to ramble.

Her worried trailing of babbling speech was cut surprisingly short by the unexpected sensation of a pair of lips attaching themselves to hers; a pair of lips that belonged to the man standing in front of her.

Feeling her eyes widen with the shock, it took Lydia's brain far too long to realise that Liam was kissing her with a sweetness she had never before experienced. His hands invaded her personal space with an intrusion that was not wholly unwanted; one hand resting tenderly but firmly on the curve of her waist, and the other cupping her cheek softly.

In the long seconds that the kiss lasted, a brief flash of an emotion that felt much too similar to guilt barged its way through Lydia's core and into her heart. Accompanying it was her inner mind's illustration of Paul. The memory of the kiss she had shared with Paul - the one she had forced upon him - tugged at her for her sole attention. Where it that had come from, she could not say. She could not give reason to her actions. Her closest estimation was that it came from more than just mere impulse; it was akin to instinct - and acknowledging that terrified Lydia deeply.

Shaking her head, Lydia scolded herself and focused herself on Liam and his soft lips. However, the shaking of her head had broken the spell of the kiss and Liam pulled away with a frown; concerned he had ruined his friendship - and hopes of a romance - with Lydia Black.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that." blurted Liam, dropping his hands away from Lydia immediately.

"Liam."

"Seriously, let's just forget about it, okay?" he stuttered over his words; stalking forward in search of the street where he had parked his car earlier that day and causing Lydia to run after him.

"Liam, just wait."

Wrapping her arm around the black leather jacket that Liam wore, Lydia forced Liam to stop in his tracks.

"I liked it. The kiss, I mean. It was… nice. I was just surprised, that's all." she stated with honesty.

"Oh. Well… good… because I really want to do it again… and again and again."

Closing the small gap that stood between them, Liam stared down at Lydia and sighed heavily; preparing himself to say the words he had been keeping locked up inside of himself for months on end.

"I like you, Lydia. I mean, really like you. You're smart, and funny, and beautiful, and I would be eternally grateful if you would take pity on me and let me escape the friend zone just long enough to prove to you that I'm worth taking a chance on."

Silence expanding outwards into the air, Lydia contemplated her feelings for a moment. Unsure of which course of action she should take, whether the risk to their friendship was too great, and knowing the judgement she would face from the elders due to her unwilling bond with Paul, she struggled to reconcile her heart and mind.

"Lydia-"

"Tomorrow. You can pick me up at 8." she replied with a smile; hoping she would not regret her choice later on.

"You won't regret this, Lydia Black."

"I'd best not, Liam Swan." she answered back, allowing him to kiss her once more.

_

"Why is this happening to me?" Paul half-shouted in frustration, as he packed furiously back and forth across the wooden flooring of the Black's family living room.

"It's all part of the process, Paul. The Spirits chose her-"

"Screw the spirits! What about what I want, huh? I should be able to choose my own goddamn imprint!… I don't even want a bloody imprint!"

Wheeling himself into Paul's path, Billy graced the young, volatile man with a knowing look.

"Paul, I know you didn't just come here to wear down my floorboards and yell about how much you hate your imprint. My daughter, by the way. You'd do well to remember that."

"Sorry, Billy." responded Paul with a breathy sigh; flinging himself down onto the sofa and holding his head in his hands.

"You came here - to me - for a reason. You've never been this worked up about the imprint before so what's changed?"

"I don't know." a mumble belonging to Paul replied.

With a wry smile, Billy faced Paul.

"Has this got anything to do with the kiss you two shared last week?"

"How did you know about that?"

"It's a small community, Paul, people talk. Plus, Jacob came home pretty mad about it." Billy said with a half-smile plastered on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

Running his fingers through his short, black hair, Paul stared Billy straight in the eye.

"I swear I didn't kiss her first. I never even kissed her back."

"So I heard. I also heard you reacted in a rather… explosive way."

Ashamed, Paul lowered his eyes and focused them entirely on the grain of the dark wood floor panels.

"Yeah… Sorry about that. I shouldn't have said those things to her."

"No. You really shouldn't have, but Lydia shouldn't have pulled that stunt. Neither of you are completely innocent in this. Now, how about you just tell me what's bothering you so I can try to help?"

Gulping, Paul strove to find the correct words that would give the clearest explanation to his feelings as of late.

"When she kissed me… it was like… I don't know. It was like everything had fallen into place. Like everything made sense. My mind exploded and my wolf… What does that even mean?! Some messed up shit is going on ever since she kissed me and I can't make it stop, Billy."

Knowing it would be highly inappropriate to laugh in the present situation, Billy settled on a smirk and placed a hand on Paul's shoulder.

"You want to know a secret?"

"Huh? Yeah… sure. Whatever."

"When I first met Lydia's mother, I couldn't stand to be in the same room as her."

"What?" Paul asked; open-mouthed with disbelief; knowing the stories of how truly in love Billy had been with his wife before her death a decade before.

"It's true. She hated me too."

"But, you were married."

"Years later, yes. We'd grown up a lot by then. I'd come to realise that we were good for one another. We learned to look past the things we didn't like and embrace the things we did. Our marriage wasn't perfect but we loved each other. Maybe, this change in you and Lydia is a similar thing. You've both been fighting it for so long, and you and I both know that it's a fine line between love and hate."

"I'm not in love."

"I'm not saying you are. All I'm saying is that something has clearly changed. The Gods chose you for one another for a reason. Instead of fighting of all the time, maybe try listening to what your instincts are telling you. Being friends is always a good place to start."

Dubious, Paul rolled his eyes at Billy but thanked the man nonetheless.

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