*DISCLAIMER- I do not own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does.*

A/N: Alright. Let me say that I'm extreamly sorry about the huge gap. My computer is a demon from Hell that hates me with a passion and decided to be handicaped for two weeks. I'm sorry. Really. I'll try my best for another update next week.

Chapter 6… Does Your Mother Know?

Bella POV

I didn't understand anything.

No, strike that. I didn't understand what the hell was happening with my heart. With my soul.

My heart, my soul, it was as if it was being torn. Ripped, torn, shredded, cut, chopped, diced into tiny bite size pieces, and then dived into piles of two. I felt as if I should be named "Two Face," due to the fact that one side of me wanted to jump Paul and kiss him till I couldn't breathe anymore, but the other wanted to tackle Jared and hug him and get to know him and kiss him and… I wanted to be near to both.

I didn't understand.

And when I looked into the navy blue eyes of the wolf, I felt another cable in my life. I felt like I was the red flag tied around the rope used in Tug-A-War; I was being jerked one way, and then another in the same second. It felt like another person was staking a claim in my life, which was probably the case in this situation. But I didn't know anymore. Everything seemed to be blurring together in a mass of confusing words and images that made no sense no matter what order they were placed in.

I wanted a way out.

A way out of this darkness that had taken over my sight and replaced the world of which I stood with memories and thoughts the bounced around the inside of my skull; stinging my mind like wasps, never stopping.

I felt my body move, shifted by warm hands. But I couldn't do anything. I was a prisoner in my own body; my bones, my muscles, my skin all trapped me in and mocked my feeble attempts at getting free.

I wanted to scream. Wanted to shout. Wanted to be held in warm arms. I wanted to cry my frustration away. I wanted Paul. But, at the same time, I wanted Jared, although I didn't even know him. And that really scared the fuck out of me.

"Bella. Bella, come on, baby. Wake up. Seriously. Don't leave me sitting here! Or else I'm going to have a heartastroke from sitting here worrying, and no one is going to be here to cal 119 if you're passed out! Or worse yet, I'm going to go gray! Can you see me with gray hair, Bella? Because I don't want to anytime soon. So wake the fuck up! My clothes are going out of fashion, for Christ's sakes! Seriously. Wake up!" Someone was shaking me slightly, trying to break me from the darkness. But I knew as soon as the word "heartastroke" was uttered, that person was Paul. He was such a silly.

The darkness started to subside, and I felt that if I tried to open my eyes now, they would actually obey my commands.

"Paul…" I whispered as I opened my eyes, flinching slightly at the sound of my voice. It sounded rough and manly; like I hadn't used it in forever.

But I flinched even more when my vision started to come to. Images of the world before me seemed to like to fly together and merge with one another in the most annoying, frantic way possible. Nothing was legible. However, as soon as the world started to blend together, it separated. Like oil in water, the dirt separated from the trees. The stars from the moon.

"Paul, where's Jared?" I whispered, not even knowing why I asked. But I did. It just seemed important to me that I knew were Jared was. And I had no idea why.

As Paul came into view as I sat up, I knew it was a bad idea to have asked that. For Paul's face was marred in a look of disgust and anger.

"Paul? Hello? You in there?" I knocked lightly on his head, getting a small smile out of him , but his eyes still stayed the same; hurt, angry, sad. "You haven't said one word to me since I awoke. And right now, it's really starting to make me panic." I rambled.

Paul rolled his eyes, his hard look disappearing as he caught my smile and returned it, "Bella, yeah I'm here. Sorry. Just… distracted." He said as he looked off into the forest, but he quickly snapped his head back in my direction. As if he was trying to cover up the fact he looked over there; like he was trying to hide something from me.

"Jared's over there." He looked pointedly in the forest when he saw the confused look on my face.

"Oh." Was all I said, there wasn't much I could say. I didn't want to get him mad.

"Yeah, 'oh.' Did you want to see him? Am I not enough for you, Bella?" He asked cynically.

I gaped at him. How could he think of such things? He was my best friend; of course he was enough for me! But… Jared. Where did he fall into play with things?

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I'll just leave you to get to know Jared; I know he's dying to get to know you." Paul spat before he stood up, turned and began stalking off towards the woods, shaking violently as he went.

I ran. Ran to Paul. I wasn't sure why, but it just felt as if it was the right thing to do. I felt like I needed to go to Paul. I couldn't bear the thought of him turning his back on me and walking away.

Paul froze in place when I finally caught up with him and placed my small hand on his broad shoulder.

"Bella." He whispered in a rather snippy tone of voice. "What."

My eyes narrowed.

"What the Christ do you think, Paul? I am not letting you away from me. I spent how long with you ignoring me and shit, and when I finally get you back, you turn and walk away all because one of your half-naked-wolf-brother-man-child-persons walks out of a woods and stares at me, and I fainted? Damn it, Paul! You better get used to being with me again, because I am not letting you away from me for a longass time, Paul Freeman!" I seethed.

Paul closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose, as if he were contemplating something extremely hard.

"Bella. I have patrol right now. I'll take you home, but I need to get back to it, or Sam will have my ass." Paul stated in a rather matter-o-fact way as he slowly opened his eyes and lowered his hands.

I looked into his eyes, my own narrowing slightly once more.

"Paul Lander. Does your mother know?" I asked suddenly.

"Know what?" he asked suspiciously, not sure of where I was taking this.

"Does your mother know that last summer, you met some very good friends by the names of Jack Daniel and Samuel Adams?" I asked smugly, remembering all the times I had to take care of his drunk ass.

Paul's eyes grew so wide, I feared they would explode. He knew what I was saying, oh he knew, and what shocked him was that I would actually threaten him with that. He thought that I was against blackmail. But he, obviously, was wrong.

But as soon as his eyes grew, they snapped back into size, and then narrowed dangerously at me. He was trying to call my bluff. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't bluffing. I was serious… somewhat…

"You wouldn't." he growled.

I smirked as I flipped my phone open, and took my sweetass time going through my pictures to find all of those I had taken of him smiling hugely, hugging a bottle of some form of alcohol or another.

"See this picture, Paulie," I showed him a picture of him puking his guts up as he clutched a bottle of Vodka, "This will be sent to your mother in three seconds if you don't Flippin' Promise me that you won't do that to me ever again. That you'll be there for me again." I threatened, my voice cold as ice.

"Bella. Be reasonable. That's a little far, don't you think?" Paul whined.

"One…" I began my counting, showing him how serious I was about this.

"Bella!" Paul screamed.

"Two…" I raised my eyebrow as I drawled out the word.

"Fine, Bella!" Paul shouted. "I will fucking Flippin' Promise you that I will not leave you ever again, and I will always be there for you. You know that anyhow. I don't need to stay away from you anymore, now that you know." His voice grew to a whisper as he stopped speaking.

I smiled hugely and extended my middle finger to him, which he grasped with his own middle finger and shook.

"Promise, for real?" I asked innocently.

"I fucking Flippin' Promise, for real." Paul rolled his eyes.

"Good." I whispered as I dropped my hand and launched myself into Paul's arms.

God I missed him…

"Come on, Bella. Let's go! I need to get back to patrol, and your childish antics are making me later and later and Sam's going to bite my head off if I don't get back soon!" Paul rushed his words out, but in a mocking way. As if he really was going to be in trouble, but he didn't give a shit about it.

I nodded my head and saluted him as a solider would.

"Sir, yes, sir." I shouted in the most serious voice I could muster, however, my smile broke through at the end of my words.

Paul rolled his eyes at me and picked me up without any warning whatsoever and flung me over his shoulder, his hand resting on the back of my thigh.

"Paul!" I squealed. "Put me down!"

I kicked at the air, doing no justice to the situation whatsoever.

"No." he said simply as he marched through the woods towards my house.

"Ugh. You just have to be an ass and carry me, don't you?" I whined.

"Yep." He answered shortly, but smugly.

"Couldn't you at least gimmie a piggy back ride? Those are fun." I pouted like a second grader.

"No! I happen to like this way better. More fun." He chuckled as he slapped my ass.

"Paul Freeman! You promised you wouldn't do that to me anymore!" I gasped in mock horror.

"Oh, bite me. What are you gonna do, Kitten? Hit me? I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm much more durable now. Your weak hits don't do much justice to me anymore." He retorted smugly.

I smirked and did as he said, and bit his shoulder.

He jumped.

"What the shit, Bella?" he gasped.

"You said to bite you." I shrugged.

"Sarcasm, Bella. Sarcasm. Learn to use it." Paul muttered.

"Sarcasm, eh? Never hear of it. Enlighten me, please." I replied innocently.

"Bella… Bella… what are we going to do with you?" Paul asked as he neared my window.

I shrugged as he put me down, and launched myself back at him, embracing him tightly. Silently trying to tell him how much I missed him.

"Right, well, night." He whispered as he detached himself from my grasp. "I'll come by when patrol is over. Promise."

"Kay. Night, Paul. Happy patrolling." I smiled as I climbed back into my dark room.

I looked back into the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of Paul before he became one with the forest, but what I saw was far more intriguing.

Two eyes. Two dark eyes. Two navy blue eyes. Jared's eyes. I latched onto them, of course, greedily staring into them. Greedily thinking of how I wanted to get to know the stranger. Greedily thinking of how I wanted to kiss him, to hug him, to be with him.

But when two mismatched eyes came into view, higher up and next to the blue ones, I latched onto those instead. Thinking of all the good times Paul and I had. Paul and I. It just sounded good…

What about Jared? Something inside of me screamed.

My eyes flickered between the eyes.

And, so, this was the part where I broke eye contact.

This was the part where I have an inner-monologue on the importance each seem to have in my life.

This was the part where I admit I had no fucking idea anymore for the hundredth time.

And this, this is the part where the hole in my heart begins to tear open some more.

A/N: I really hope you guys like this chapter. It's pretty much fluff. And, yes, me and my friends do "Flippin' Promise" each other... It beats a "Pinkie Swear" by far... don't you think?

Who here gets why it's called a "Flippin' Promise"?

Highfives and shoutouts to those of you who do.(:

***I've been debating weather or not to change this to Rated M... Show of hands: Who wants this to be M, and who wants it to remain T? Cause I need to know.

Also, I think I might start up a new story soon with Bella/Seth, and I think it will be Rated M, check it out if and when I put it up, yes?

Reviews make me happy. So make me happy, yes? ;D

Playlist: The Ready Set, Punk Goes Classic Rock (yes, I listened to that whole CD as I wrote), Dance Gavin Dance, Bedlight For Blue Eyes, and Anarbor.