Rachel had dark brown hair and big doe like eyes that made Sky just want to hug her. Jacob's sister was a nice height and she had a sharp voice and way of speaking that drew attention to her. Sky thought that she looked friendly… until she saw the way Rachel looked at Paul and instantly decided that she didn't like her anymore.

The two of them were each on a side of Paul, all three of their heads leaned forward to see the contents of Sky's hood. She was slightly irritated that she couldn't see properly and slightly irritated with the fact that she was so aware of Rachel and the way Paul's arm kept brushing against hers. She was very aware of the way Leah was standing off to the side, her hands in her back pockets as she watched the mess that Sky knew they had to look like.

A cigarette. For the second day in the row Schyleur Collins found herself wanting to use a coping mechanism that she typically used maybe a total of 8 times in a whole year. She stood up straight and took a step back. Paul gravitated in to her newly vacant space and Rachel seemed to just scoot with him.

Sky looked around Jake's shop. It was bigger than she thought it would be, but it was still crowded. It fit one vehicle comfortably, but he had somehow wedged a bike in to a corner. He had tools on practically every surface and he had a small armchair that could easily be older than him in a corner, near the door that led in to the Black home. Sky made her way around his garage, looking at the different tools he had hung up and the two other toolboxes lying around. Jake was serious at his craft. That much she was sure about.

Sky wedged her hands in her pockets as she looked out of Jake's garage. The reservation was quiet. It was quiet and it felt… home-y for lack of better terminology. And it was beautiful. It was beautiful in a way that she had never seen. It was beautiful in the fact that it was simple and it was history. It was where Billy and Uncle Charlie had hung out long before they'd met their wives. Forks and La Push were history for her family. Not much had changed around La Push. Just ages. But, the homes and the land and the feeling- that feeling that coursed through her was timeless. Timeless and perfect.

Sky licked her lips and turned back around to find Paul starring at her, one of his hands on something beneath her hood.

"What?" she put some of her hair behind her ears.

"You okay?" he checked.

"Fine."

He nodded at that and then ducked his head back beneath her hood. He was a boy. Sky understood that. But, he was not clueless.

She walked back towards her truck and yanked her door open, wiping her hands on her t-shirt before climbing in halfway to retrieve her cell phone.

Paul was very aware of what Sky was doing. He didn't even have to try. He knew that she was slightly irritated. He appreciated the way she kept herself together. He wasn't sure he would be able to do the same if they had reversed roles.

He and Rachel hadn't dated necessarily. They'd had sex… more than once and yeah, it drove Jake crazy, but Rachel was an adult and she did what she wanted. Paul had liked her… by his standards anyway. They weren't spending nights together or picking out wedding China by any means, but she wasn't one of the many girls that he slept with and never called again.

They'd talked about more. It had come up. Rachel had brought it up. Paul had diverted it a little. She had gone back to college. He had continued to do what he wanted and sleep with who he wanted. He was sure Rachel talked to someone where she attended school… but the two of them were… comfortable. They didn't have to define exactly what they had going on. They didn't have to label it. When Rachel was in town it was all about Rachel. He wasn't out at the bar or having sex with different girls during the time when she was home. He wasn't dating her, but he wasn't out trying to screw anyone else. It was progress. Or at least he was sure Rachel thought so.

He hadn't gotten around to telling her he had imprinted. Hell, he barely had time to take it in himself. Rachel wasn't on his mind. He had far bigger issues. He hadn't even paid attention to the fact that she would be out of school for her semester break. It was December. Christmas. Christmas was at the end of the month. Paul resisted the urge to curse aloud.

Sky was walking away, her phone in hand as he continued to work away. Her truck was being drained of oil so that he could start her off completely fresh and in the meantime, he wanted to check everything else on her truck. It was already in the garage and it just made logical sense to take care of everything in one visit.

He paused for a second when he heard Sky on the phone with someone. Leah said that she was heading in the house for the bathroom or water or something. Paul hadn't really heard her. His hearing was concentrated on the conversation Sky was having, her voice a soft flowing one that he was sure she didn't use on him. She called the person on the other end "sweetheart" and laughed at something they said.

He took a deep breath as he stood back to his full height. Frustrated and curious. That was what he was. Rachel looked back over her shoulder before standing up straight. Paul really took her in for the first time since he'd seen her. Her black hair was a little shorter, like she'd cut it. She had on some jeans and a plain black t-shirt. She wiped her hands on a towel that she'd shoved in her back pocket upon entering her brother's garage.

"Paul Lahote has a girlfriend," she smirked and shook her head as if amazed.

Paul leaned against Sky's truck but didn't say anything. He studied her. He let his gaze wash over her. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"I never thought I'd see the day," she offered him a smile before shoving the towel back in to her back pocket and mirroring Paul, leaning against the truck and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah," he searched his mind for something else to say, anything at all in honesty.

"Jesus, Paul," Rachel elbowed him, "Tell me about her."

"Like?"

"I don't know," Rachel shrugged, "How'd you guys meet?"

"She's Isabella's cousins."

"Isabella?" Rachel turned her side to Paul to face him, "Like Charlie Swan?"

"Charlie's her uncle," Paul said simply.

"So my dad knows her parents?"

"Her mother," Paul assumed, "She's Charlie's sister."

"Hm," Rachel shook her head at that, "I don't think she likes me."

"Probably not," Paul brushed it off, "We did have sex," he said matter-of-factly.

Rachel laughed at that, a short chuckle.

"But she's special."

"You think so?" he turned his head to the side and took her in.

"You're claiming her as a girlfriend," Rachel said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You never," she said the word slowly and deliberately, "never," she repeated, "claim a girl."

"Right," Paul rolled his eyes, "God, Rachel, I'm not a dog that humps every leg I'm shown. I have standards."

"You do," she admitted, "those standards are normally old enough to consent, breasts, and long legs."

Paul shot Rachel a look that caused her to smirk.

"Shut it," he grumbled.

"I'm happy for you, kid," she said softly, focusing her eyes straight ahead.

"Yeah," Paul turned his gaze to the door where Leah had vanished.

"What changed?" her voice was quiet, soft, a whisper, a vast contrast to the way she normally spoke.

"What?"

"You were anti-relationship and love and monogamy," she scoffed, "You never wanted to date seriously," she paused and pushed her black hair back, "What happened?"

"Life," Paul said simply, pushing himself off of Sky's truck.

He wasn't going to talk about this with Rachel. She didn't know about the pack. And he wasn't going to tell anyone about some love at first sight crap that had happened. It would be stupid and pointless. Talking about Sky with Rachel was just that- stupid and pointless.

Rachel scoffed at that and pushed herself off of the truck as if mirroring him.

"Be good to her if you care about her, Paul," she said simply.

Rachel hit him on the back softly, letting her hand rest there just a little bit too long before heading towards the door that would lead her in to the house that belonged to her family.

Paul changed Sky's oil and then went in search of her. He didn't actually search for her. He was concerningly aware of where she was at all times. He found her circling Jake's house as she continued to talk on her cellphone a good, 25 minutes after the initial conversation had begun.

He stood and watched as she paced, her eyes on her feet as she did so. She seemed to be in her own little world. She was talking and radiating happiness and Paul decided that he liked this Sky significantly. He also noticed that like him, his imprint was aware of his movement. Her head snapped up and turned to his direction and she mumbled her goodbyes before closing in on him.

"Done," he said simply.

Sky nodded at that and then glanced behind him. Paul didn't bother turning around. He looked down and at Sky who still had her phone clasped in both of her hands. He knew that it was Rachel when he heard her car start.

They stood in silence. Sky watched Rachel back out and head towards the road. Paul watched Sky.

"She's pretty," Sky said simply.

She offered Paul a small smile and then looked back down at her phone as she side stepped around him. Paul grabbed her by her wrist partially out of sheer reflex.

"We had sex," he said lightly, he and Sky still beside each other, facing opposite directions, "We never dated. There was no 'we'. Being a 'we' with a girl for me was never a thing. And it's done now. That's it."

They stood in silence again, Paul's hand still wrapped around her wrist.

"I didn't ask you to explain yourself to me," she said softly.

"I know."

Paul scoffed. She was an awkward one. He let her wrist go and both of their arms fell to their sides. Paul spun around. He threw an arm over Sky's shoulders and he started to lead her back towards Jake's garage.

They were silent a lot. Paul liked the silence. He didn't deal well with talking. He didn't like it. He didn't like expressing himself. Sky seemed to appreciate the sentiment. They walked in silence around Jake's house without any form of agreement and when Paul sat on the second step, Sky sat on the top one.

"My brother is expecting his first child to his fiancé," Sky blurted.

"Hm," Paul leaned back on his elbow, his hair brushing against Sky's legs, "How old is he anyway?"

"24," Sky leaned back on her own elbows.

"Engaged and expecting," Paul whistled, "Wow."

"24 isn't that young," Sky felt the need to defend her brother's choices, as if it for some odd reason mattered what Paul thought of Jack, "They're both in the military. They're financial stable and they're in love."

"Would you do it?" he countered.

"Do what?" Sky leaned forward, setting her hands on her knees.

"Get married at 24," he clarified, "and start an entire family."

"I don't know," Sky admitted, "Why? Are you offering, Lahote?"

Paul scoffed and opened his mouth only for his words to die on his lips. A howl tore through the otherwise silent reservation and Paul was to his feet quickly. He grabbed Sky by her hands and pulled her quickly off of the stairs, just in time for Leah to bound out of the back, pulling her shirt off as she went. She threw it to the side.

"Stay inside Jake's house," Paul pushed Sky's hair back.

She nodded as she watched Leah push her pants down her hips and abandon her shoes quickly.

"Was that-,"

"Seth," Paul interrupted Leah as he took off full speed towards the tree lines.

Leah cast a quick glance at Sky before running off after him.

Sky stood frozen for a few seconds. They had just run off in to the line of trees and vanished. She wondered if they were shifting in to those giant dogs. Wolves. She corrected herself. They were wolves. She took a calming breath. She was fine. Everything was fine.

She collected the clothes that belonged to Leah and then made her way in to the Black house through the back door. The house was empty. It was quiet, but not silent. She found Billy Black sitting at the kitchen table in his wheel chair.

"Paul told me to stay here," she blurted and then regretted it.

Of course she had taken his heed, but Paul didn't have the authority to welcome her in to someone else's home. Billy simply smiled at her and gestured to a chair at his table. She made her way over and silently sat down, setting Leah's clothes in her lap.

"Would you like something to drink?" Billy looked down at his mug in front of him.

"No, thank you."

"Okay," he shrugged and took a deep breath, "Violet Swan," Billy said the name with a chuckle as he picked his mug up.

"Were you close with my mom, Mr. Black?"

"Call me Billy," he corrected her firstly, "but we were…" he paused to choose his next word carefully, "aware of each other."

"Aware of each other?" Sky repeated.

"Yes," Billy offered her a small smile, "I was close with your uncle. We spent a lot of time together. It was hard to not notice that there was a girl living with him. Especially when you're a teenage boy."

Sky smiled.

"What was she like?"

"She was a strong girl," Billy took a drink out of his mug and then set it down and ran his pointer finger over the rim of it, "She had an unbendable will. She had sass to spare. Your mother was quite a fighter."

"I can actually see that," Sky admitted.

"She fought girls and boys alike," Billy chuckled "Harry and I were always mediating for her. Charlie wasn't one for confrontation," he sighed, "She was beautiful. Your mother," he clarified, "and smart. She loved being on the reservation."

"So why did she leave?"

"Well," Sam shrugged, "No matter how much of an athlete your mother was she couldn't outrun the memories."

"Memories," Sky pressed, "of what?"

Billy sat silently for a little.

"Teenage love," he smiled at her and then set each of his hands on one of his wheelchair wheels, "You should have some tea," he added as an afterthought.

He wheeled away from the table and towards his stove. Sky resisted her first thought which was to jump up and rush to his side to help him. She knew that he was a grown man and that he had been mostly taking care of himself. She didn't need to coddle him. He would probably be horrified. She took a deep breath as she leaned forward on to the table.

Billy rolled back to the table and set a mug of what looked like green tea in front of her. She picked it up and took a small sip. They sat in silence as they drank.

"I know about the shifting," Billy said finally setting his mug back down.

Sky's head lifted and she looked at him silently. He shrugged.

"What?" she held her mug in both hands.

"If you wanted to talk," he offered, "about Paul," he added.

"About Paul?"

"He imprinted on you," Billy said as if it was common knowledge.

"Yup."

"And how do you feel? About the imprint?"

"Okay," Sky said simply, "He's nice."

Billy scoffed at that.

"Paul Lahote," he shook his head, "Nice," he chuckled, "That isn't usually the word associated with him."

"I can tell," Sky smiled at the older man, "by the way the pack acts around him."

"You'll be good for him," Billy picked his mug up again.

"Maybe," Sky picked hers up as well.

The two of them sat in silence. She wasn't sure how long they did so. She knew that the silence gave her mind time to roam and when the front door flew open she hopped to her feet almost instantly, causing her tea to slosh around the mug, little splatters littering the table.

Sky was both relieved and disappointed to see her cousin Bella in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Bella," Billy greeted.

"Hey there, Charlie," Bella said between breaths.

She was breathing hard as if she had run to the house.

"What are you doing here?" Sky closed in on her cousin.

"Edward brought me to the line and I ran here from there. You weren't answering your phone and his family had a…" Bella paused, "safety issues," she finished lamely, "and I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"The line?" Sky raised an eyebrow.

She knew when Bella was bullshitting her and this was one of those times. Bella was not a good liar. She had never been a good liar. Ever.

"Edward and his family aren't allowed on to the reservation," Bella said and then she turned to face Billy and walked around her cousin to go hug the older man, "It's nice to see you again," she continued on as if she hadn't just told her cousin that the entire reservation had a restraining order on every single member of her boyfriend's family.

Sky took notice.

She walked over to the sink and got a towel to wipe at the tea she'd gotten on the table as Bella and Billy made idle and polite conversation. Bella asked how Billy was doing. Billy asked about Charlie. They gave each other a knowing look when they thought Sky wasn't paying attention.

Schyleur wasn't sure how long it was that the three of them sat at the table together. The time seemed to move at a pace slower than any she'd ever been faced with. The seconds felt like minutes and the minutes like hours. She was almost possible that Paul had run off a simple 15 to 20 minutes earlier but she felt as if he had been gone for days. She was worried. She had the sinking feeling in her stomach she always had when she watched politics and thought about the possibility that her family could be deployed.

Sky drank two cups of tea and was on her third when she heard what sounded like yelling. She and Bella both looked at Billy before hopping to their feet.

"Thank you for having me, Billy," Sky left her mug on the table before heading towards the back door.

"Anytime," he called after her.

She knew that Bella was on her heels, wanting to know the outcome of whatever the issue was.

When Sky walked out of the back door, the wind was blowing. She pushed her hair back and she squinted. She saw Embry, Jared and Sam closest to her. She looked around again. It was Paul's voice booming louder than the others. She should have known. Paul was off to one side with Leah and Seth. The other side was occupied by Quil, Jake, Collin and Brady. They all looked like they were not in the best of moods and Sky was okay with that. She looked Paul up and down. He was walking funny and strangely ahead of Seth and Leah. To say Leah look livid was an understatement.

He looked over his imprint. She was fine. She looked fine, just a little concerned. His arm was hurting but it wasn't anything he hadn't dealt with before. He closed in on the two girls, giving Bella all of his attention.

"Tell your little friend to stay on his fucking side of the treaty line," he barked at her.

Sky initially jumped.

"I- what?" Bella looked around at the faces around her.

"Emmett," Jake said quietly, "He crossed the line and he and Paul got in to it."

"Go home," Sam spoke to the pups.

Collin and Brady looked too pleased to get away from a pissed off Paul, who took a step back remembering that his temper did, in fact, flare. Leah and Jared collectively closed in on him. Seth, Quil and Embry closed in on one side of the group a little farther away to watch things unravel while Jake and Sam were on the other. Leah grabbed Paul's shoulder and seemingly popped it in to place. Paul growled through clenched teeth.

"The next time he crosses that line I'm going to rip his fucking head off of his shoulders," he ground out, "The fucking leech got away because of him!" Paul glowered.

"Paul," Jared said his name quietly.

Paul shot him a look that caused him to raise his hands in surrender and take a step back.

"I can't control what Emmett does!" Bella argued, "And I'm sure it was an accident."

"Accidents cost lives, Bella," Leah shot her a look.

"We don't need any fucking help from them!" Paul added.

"The treaty's been in play for years," Jake added.

"And they've never crossed it on purpose," Seth added.

"They haven't been around long enough to!" Leah snapped.

"The reservation has been fine for generations!" Paul snarled "Until she," he spat the word, "had to show up."

He was furious. His hands were shaking and Schyleur was surprised by the amount of anger he could exhibit. She subconsciously stepped in front of her younger cousin.

"You need to chill the fuck out," Sky stood up taller.

She was still shorter by him, but stepping down was not something that she was taught. And imprint or not she would stand with family above some guy she barely knew.

Quil, Embry and Seth all exchanged glances. Sam and Jake took a few subtle steps towards them. Leah was visibly surprised by the outburst.

"You're on her," he pointed at Bella, "side."

"I'm always on her side!" Sky snapped, "What is your problem?"

"My problem?" he clenched his fist, "My problem?!" he repeated, "My problem is your fucking idiot cousin!" he yelled, "She's the reason we're even in this stupid mess!"

"This stupid mess?!" Sky's voice raised slightly.

She felt Bella's hand on her shoulder.

"Everyone would have normal lives if it weren't for Bella's stupid fucking leeching friends and her blood sucking boyfriend! Instead, Brady and Collin will never have a childhood and everyone else keep getting forced in to these stupid," he shouted the word, "relationships that make no fucking sense!" Paul paused when Sky looked at her cousin over her shoulder, "God," he scoffed, "You didn't even tell Sky that you're the reason she's been pulled in to all of this stupid supernatural shit," he rolled his eyes and took another step away from them, clenching and unclenching his fist, "You're a piece of work," his veins in his arms were very easily seen.

Paul took a few quick shallow breaths and Leah put a hand on his shoulder as Jared, Sam and Jake closed in on him.

"I'm fine," he snapped.

Sky took a quick shallow breath and Paul turned away from her and Bella. He cast a quick look at her over his shoulder and then he sprinted off and back in to the trees.

"Jared, Leah, Seth and Quil," Sam didn't look away from the two girls on Billy's steps, "Go in after our boy. Don't make contact and if he's just running it off and not being an idiot, leave him alone. He'll return when he's ready."

Sky took a quick breath. She wasn't frozen in place anymore. Her chest was slightly heaving and quick warm tears were falling from her cheeks. Sky took the two steps down and then she made a quick speed walk to her truck. She climbed in and yanked her glove compartment open. She hit her fist on her steering wheel until she couldn't physically find it in her anymore, and then she laid her forehead on the same place she'd hit and she cried.

She had no cigarettes to smoke.