Hey everyone. Sorry I've been MIA for almost a month. I swear, 2010 is just not my year. First, I lost my job and then about two and a half weeks ago I find out that my boyfriend of almost three years is a cheating lying bastard. I was a wreck for a while, but I have some of the best girlfriends in the world that helped me get through the worst of it. I'm still stinging, but I'm fine and will get better as time goes on. I'm already looking forward to the New Year and hoping that 2011 will be better. This chapter probably isn't my best since I've really only worked on it the last few days, but I hope you like it. Thank you so much to Ellenaw1 for all of your reviews, they made me smile and actually gave me the encouragement I needed. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think! I'll do my best to have the next chapter up within a week.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Twilight.

Chapter 11

His warm hand was on my lower back, gently pushing up my hoodie and my t-shirt and soon his calloused hand danced across the suddenly very sensitive skin of my back. I shivered at the contact and gripped his shoulder tightly as he pulled me even closer so I was lying across him. Suddenly, I was straddling him as we kissed. Both of Paul's hands settled on my hips and pushed up my hoodie and t-shirt a bit more and his hands were then settled on my bare waist, his thumbs running across my skin. I gasped when I felt his hands inching up further and I broke our kiss. I moved my hands to the blanket on either side of Paul's head before I pushed my upper body up from his and looked down at him.

"I think we should stop," I said as I breathed heavily and his brown eyes met my hazel. His lips were pink and already slightly swollen, so, I could imagine what mine looked like.

"Yeah, you're right," he said huskily before he licked his lips and pulled his hands out from under my shirts. He fixed them around my waist before he put his hands on my upper waist before he sat up with me still straddling him. I rose up so my weight rested on my knees and shins and my hands settled on his shoulders. For the first time ever, I was eye level with him and I smiled at him. "What?" he asked as he fought against a grin, and I moved my right hand to the side of his face.

"This is the first time I'm actually eye level with you," I said, voicing my thoughts.

"You were eye level with me a second ago," he teased and I blushed as I rolled my eyes and moved my hand back to his shoulder.

"Funny," I said and he grinned. I knew what I was about to say was going to pop the playful mood he was in, but it needed to be said. "Paul, I'm not exactly ready for anything more than kissing right now."

"Hey, it's okay," Paul said as his hands tightened on my waist and he pulled me a little closer to him. "We don't have to do anything more than what we were, and I'll never pressure you to do anything more. You say 'stop' and we'll stop."

"Thanks," I said with a smile and he smiled back before he closed the distance between us and kissed me chastely.

"I love you," he whispered and I smiled as he wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pressed myself against him. His arms wrapped around me with a chuckle before I kissed him again.

"I love you too."

That Monday morning, I was standing in front of the mirror that rested above my dresser and brushing out my long hair before I pulled it up into a high ponytail. I was dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a white long sleeved t-shirt with a dark blue t-shirt over it. It was still chilly outside, but not cold enough to warrant a jacket just yet and I didn't feel like wearing a sweater. I had just finished tying off my hair when there was a knock on my bedroom door. "Come in," I called, thinking it was Dad since he told me he arranged to go in late so he could give me a lift to school. Paul was supposed to pick me up because I was going with him to his house for dinner that night with him and his mom. When the door opened I looked through the mirror, surprised to see Paul standing in the doorway.

"Morning," he said with a smile as I turned around quickly and looked at him with wide eyes. I laughed quietly as I rushed over to him. He leaned down enough for me to reach his lips and I raised up on my toes and kissed him quickly. I moved back to my flat feet and smiled up at him as he righted himself.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him and he chuckled.

"Your dad has a surprise for you and I wanted to be here to see your face," he said and I frowned, which only made him laugh again. "Come on, get your bag." He turned around and went down the short hall before he descended the stairs. Still frowning, I grabbed my bag from where I had put it on the bed and followed him out of the room. I went downstairs to see Dad standing by the front door and smiling at Paul as he walked over to him.

"Do I even want to know what you two are up to?" I asked as I slowly started towards the door and they both turned their smiles to me.

"You'll know in about five minutes," Dad said and I frowned before they urged me outside. I laughed quietly and shook my head as I walked out onto the stoop, but stopped short when I turned around and saw a car sitting parked in the driveway next to Dad's.

"I know it's not brand new or look the best, but Paul and Jacob helped me get it running," Dad said from behind me, "and-," he made to continue but I turned around and hugged him tight, throwing my arms around his shoulders as I practically jumped on him. Dad chuckled before he hugged me back.

"This is so awesome!" I shouted as I turned around and ran to the car. I heard Dad laugh again, and Paul's deep rumble laughter before I heard them follow me as I opened the door to the car.

"You can't go anywhere without these," Dad said and I turned around to grab the keys from his hand. I hugged him again and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you Dad!" I said and he smiled at me before he patted my cheek. I smiled before I tossed my bag into the car, it landing soundly on the front passenger seat. I turned around again and moved past my dad to Paul. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and I heard him sigh quietly as he wrapped his arms around me in return. "I'll drive out to your place after school," I said quietly into his chest before I pulled back and he smiled at me as we looked at each. He nodded and I pulled away, climbed in the car, put on my seatbelt, and started it up. I waived at them before I pulled out of the driveway and was on my way to my first day at Forks High School.

"Hey, you must be Marisol," an overly cheerful voice said as I came out of the office, schedule in hand. Dad had signed me up a little later than he intended, so, I had to stop at the office to get my things before I went to my first class. I practically jumped out of my skin as I turned to my left and saw a tall blonde haired girl with streaks of pink in her hair. The pink surprised me, but it actually suited her.

"Um, yeah, how did you know my name?" I asked and she laughed quietly.

"Small town, even smaller school," she said. "I'm Robin. I went with my mom to welcome you and your dad when you first moved here, but your dad said you were over in La Push."

"Yeah, I spent most of my time there really," I said with a small smile before I looked down at my schedule. I wasn't trying to be rude, but class started soon and Robin was just a little too cheery for me at that moment. I was in a great mood and everything, but I was trying to find my way around. My anti-social tendencies were starting to rear their head again, despite the fact that hanging out with everyone on reservation made me open up a bit. I was comfortable with them, here I didn't know anyone.

"Here, let me see your schedule. I can tell you where your first class is," she said and I looked up at her smiling face before I handed her my schedule. She did a once over and grinned. "We have the first four classes together," she said as she looked back at me and held out my schedule. I took it from her and smiled before she suddenly laced her arm with mine and started leading me through the hallway. "We should get to class," she said happily and I laughed quietly as I nodded. The stares I received did not go unnoticed and I felt slightly uncomfortable, but Robin's presence was comforting now and not as off putting. "So, why did you spend most of your time in La Push? I mean, we go there sometimes to First Beach, but there's really not that much else to do there."

"My boyfriend lives there, my friends too," I said and Robin laughed quietly.

"You've only been here for, what two months, and you've already got yourself a boyfriend?" Robin asked and I glanced up at her and laughed as I shrugged. "The guys are going to be so disappointed," Robin said with a soft sigh and I frowned as I glanced up at her again and she smiled as she glanced at me.

"What?"

"You'll see," she said with a smile. "Nick is in our first period." I nodded, not really knowing where she was going and when we reached out room, she let go of my arm before she led me inside. "Hey Nick!" Robin called to a lanky, shaggy dark haired boy, with a pair of dark square framed glasses on his face. He smiled when he saw Robin and his smile grew when he saw me.

"Hey Robin," he said as the tall blonde sat down in the chair next to him in the back of the room and I sat down in the desk in front of her. "Marisol, right?" he asked as he looked at me. I nodded as I gave him a small smile and put my bag on the floor next to my seat. "I'm Nick," he said as he held out his hand and I laughed quietly before I reached over and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you," I said and he grinned as he let go of my hand and sent a wink my way before he opened his mouth to say something. The charming smile he put on let me know that whatever was about to come out of his mouth was about to be some cheesy pick up line, however, Robin cut him off.

"Easy, cowboy, she's taken," Robin said with a chuckle and Nick looked at her before he looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged and nodded my head as felt my cheeks heat lightly with a blush.

"Well, that doesn't mean we can't be friends," Nick said with a grin and I laughed softly and nodded my head.

"I don't see why not," I said with a smile, but before we could talk much more the bell rang and the classroom filled with students that all seemed to look my way before they talked quietly amongst themselves, glancing at me every so often, and the teacher walked in.

"Okay, settle down everyone," the older man with a graying beard said as he put a tan leather bag down on the desk up from and smiled at the class. "Welcome back to the familiar faces," he said as he scanned the room and stopped as his eyes landed on me, "and to new ones," he finished still smiling, and I blushed when practically everyone turned in their seats to look at me. I forced a tight lip smile and wished I had worn my hair down so I could hide behind it. The teacher looked away from me then and pulled some papers from his bag, which he said was the syllabus before he started handing them out. Everyone finally stopped staring and I sighed quietly as I took the papers from the girl in front me and handed the last one to Robin. I felt like I was an animal at the zoo on display the way everyone had been looking at me, and I really hoped it wasn't going to be like that all day.

Apparently, I could hope all I want but hoping did me little good. Robin seemed to be my saving grace all day, and even though I found her a bit too cheery that morning I really liked her. I liked Nick too. He was, like, genius level smart and sweet when he wasn't being flirty. At lunch, I was happy to find out I wasn't the only one he flirted with because he flirted with Robin and Beth and Melissa, who I had met at lunch. There were a couple of other guys I met at lunch, Kevin and Luke, but they were content to just stare at me during lunch. I liked to know what they found so interesting, but I ignored them and just talked with Robin and the other girls.

When my last class let out for the day, I practically ran to my car because I wanted to get to Paul's mom's to help her start dinner. However, I wasn't quite to my car when a familiar voice called out to me. "Hey Marisol!" I stopped and turned around, my ponytail flying over my shoulder as I did so and I saw Nick jog over to me from where he stood next to an SUV with Kevin, Luke, Robin, Melissa, and Beth. "We're heading over to the diner, grab a basket of fries and hang out. You want to come with?" I glanced back over at everyone and saw the girls wave at me. I smiled and waved back before I looked at Nick.

"I'm sorry, maybe tomorrow," I said. "I'm actually going out to La Push this afternoon."

"Why?" he asked with a small frown and I laughed.

"My boyfriend lives there and I'm having dinner with him and his mom," I said with a smile as I took a step back and his mouth made an 'o' shape.

"Tomorrow then?" he asked as he pointed at me and I laughed again as I nodded.

"Tomorrow," I said and he grinned as he nodded. We parted ways and I was on my way to La Push.

"I'm serious, I felt like an animal at the zoo all day," I said as I sat at the dinner table with Paul's mom, Vivian, and Paul. Vivian laughed quietly she continued to eat her dinner and Paul just grinned at me as I explained how I felt my first day of school.

"I'm sure they're just interested in the new girl," Vivian said and I looked at her, my fork in my hand. "It'll wear off after a while."

"I hope so," I said with a sigh and Vivian laughed quietly once more.

"Plus, you're a pretty girl. You're bound to turn a few heads," Vivian glanced at Paul and I looked at him too only to see his grin gone and a scowl on his face as he glared down at his plate. Vivian and I looked at each other and shared a small smile with each other.

"Maybe," I said teasingly, my eyes still on Vivian but I could feel Paul's gaze lift up to me. "There were a couple of guys that stared at me during lunch. It was weird, but flattering," I said. Vivian and I went back and forth, teasing Paul of course, but when I saw his hands start shaking I knew it was time to stop teasing him. I didn't really want him phasing in the middle of the dining room.

"However, all the guys are a little too small and pasty for my liking. I like them tall dark and handsome," I said as I turned my eyes to Paul and in place of the scowl I saw the smirk that always seemed to appear when I complimented him in some way. "You have nothing to worry about," I assured him and his grin morphed into a smile before he put a large spoonful of potatoes into his mouth. I laughed quietly as I looked at Vivian who winked at me as she smiled.

Dinner went on with pleasant conversation and Vivian practically shooed us out of dining room and kitchen. We walked out, laughing quietly with our fingers laced together. I started towards the couch, but Paul pulled my hands towards the short staircase in the small foyer. I frowned as I looked at him and he gestured towards the stairs with his head. I smiled and nodded my head as I followed him upstairs.

"I cleaned up a bit before you got here," he said before he opened the door on the left at the top of the stairs and I followed him inside. His room looked like what I expected an eighteen year old boy's room would look like. It was a small room, but it was comfortable and lived in; and smelled nice actually. It smelled like Paul. There were band posters on one of the dark blue walls and a small desk. There was a double bed with its covers throw up in an obvious attempt to make it, but it wasn't exactly neat. He closed the door behind me and I turned to my right and smiled up at him.

"It's nice," I said and he shrugged as he put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "It is," I said as I grabbed the front of his t-shirt and Paul smiled as his hands left his pockets and settled on my upper waist.

"So, you like it when guys stare at you?" he asked and I rolled my eyes as I slid my hands to his sides.

"No, not really. I was only teasing," I said. "It made me uncomfortable actually. You know I don't like a lot of attention, and before you say anything you looking at me is different." He smiled before he leaned down and kissed me soundly. However, before it could get any more intense, I pulled away from him. "Please tell me we didn't come up here to make out while your mother's downstairs." Paul laughed before he moved away from me and to his closet.

"That's not a bad idea, but sadly no," he said as he pulled a sweatshirt from out of his closet and tossed it at me. I caught it easily and frowned as I looked down at the much too large light gray hoodie before I looked back up at him as he walked closer to me. "I wanted to go outside, and it's gotten a little colder," he said with a shrug before he opened his bedroom door. "I don't want you to get cold."

"That's sweet," I said as I walked out of his room, pulling the hoodie on before walking down the stairs. We walked out the front door and Paul caught my hand before I went down the porch steps. I looked at him and he gestured with his head towards a porch swing I hadn't noticed when I first gotten there. We walked over and Paul sat down on the swing, pulling me into his side as I too sat down next to him. I tucked my legs under me as I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes as he wrapped his left arm around my shoulders and held me close. He pushed against the wooden porch, swinging us gently.

"Marisol?" Paul questioned after several quiet seconds of us just sitting there together and I opened my eyes and raised my head to look at him. "If anyone gives you a hard time, you'll tell me right?" he asked as he looked at me. The look on his face was serious and I found myself nodding.

"I will tell you, I promise," I said and he sighed quietly before he kissed my forehead. He was far too overprotective, but I wouldn't have him any other way.