A/N: Thank you to the following people for their reviews:
YankieGirlNj,
VampireLover1994,
Renesmee17,
ariana kaylani,
mad-bout-horses-nd-cowboys,
lorri cullen,
Kathy Hiester,
irishfaery95,
KrysWalt,
DragonQueen03,
blood wolfe 92,
MerazWolfGurl13,
Anber,
EJacob24,
StealthLiberal,
LoveEverlastingFadesAway.
For the first time in a very long time, he was nervous.
He couldn't for the life of him figure out why Bella had been chosen as his imprint but the fact of the matter was that she had…..and there was nothing he could do to change that. He'd already tried denying the imprint and so far that had only brought pain which he knew without a doubt would worsen the longer he ignored the imprint. And he knew that Sam had been right when he'd said it was only a matter of time before Bella began to feel the effects of the imprint; for all he knew she was already feeling the effects.
Paul had no idea how he was supposed to tell Bella about the imprint. He knew that his previous interactions with her and behavior towards her would give Bella no reason to accept him and the imprint but he hoped that she would accept it nonetheless. But he was smart enough to know that the chances of that happening were tremendously low.
So with dread and nervousness consuming him he climbed into his car and drove to the Swan residence.
When he got there he saw Charlie loading food into Bella's truck.
"Hey Paul!" Charlie called to him
"Chief?" He responded
"I decided I would head on down to Billy's and just let you and Bella have dinner by yourselves."
Logically Paul knew it was better that Charlie not be there because of the things he would be telling Bella but the coward in him wanted to get right back into his car and go home.
On the drive there, he'd managed to convince himself that Charlie wouldn't be far enough away not to hear what was being said and he knew that Bella wouldn't agree to go on a walk or drive with him; so he'd thought that he would be able to get out of telling her about the imprint. But now that Charlie wasn't going to be there…..well, there was no reason and no excuse for him not to tell her. And quite honestly he worried that without Charlie there, Bella might actually go through with poisoning him.
"It'll be fine Paul."
"Huh?" He asked coming out of his daze
"You looked a little scared." Charlie explained
"Scared? Umm, no….nah….not at all." He rambled
"Hmmm; well I'm off."
"See ya Chief." Paul said with a wave
"Just so you know, I will be questioning you both about what goes on tonight…..so I expect you two to actually put in some effort to resolve your issues and get along." Charlie called as he backed down the drive way
Great. Paul thought to himself as he gave Charlie one last wave before making his way to the front door
"It's open!" Bella called out when he knocked on the door
Paul entered the house to see Bella descending the stairs and he cursed the imprint for the mushy thoughts that overtook his mind.
"Paul." Bella said when she reached him
"Bella." He nodded
"We can eat the kitchen or take it into the living room."
"Kitchen's fine."
"Ok."
When they entered the kitchen, Bella motioned for him to take a seat while she fixed their plates.
"I promise it's not poisoned." She said when she sat his plate in front of him
"Good to know." He replied
Dinner was a quiet and awkward affair, neither of them sure how to start the conversation or even sure that they wanted to. But alas the food was gone and there was nothing left for them to do but talk.
"I guess you should go first." Bella said
"Me? Why should I go first?" Paul asked
"Well… you were the one who created this hostility between us."
"Oh….I guess you're right."
"So…" Bella prodded
Paul figured that the only way to do this would be to jump right in.
"You know about the wolf thing right?"
"Yes." She nodded
"Well ummm, did Jacob tell you about imprinting?"
"Imprinting? No. What's that?"
"Well it's how we find our soul mate."
"By 'we' you mean the wolf boys?" She questioned
"Yes." He nodded
"Ok. But what does that have to do with anything? And what is imprinting exactly?"
"Maybe it would be better if I just described to you what happens when we imprint."
"Umm, ok?"
"Well when we look her, our imprint, in the eyes it's like everything else disappears. It's like everything and everyone that once mattered doesn't anymore; she's all we see and she becomes the most important person in the world to us."
"So basically it's like love at first sight?"
"Yes. But it's more than that. When we imprint we become tied to that person; our lives….our souls…our very existence become intertwined with hers and without her we couldn't exist."
"Do you get to pick the person?"
"No. It's completely out of our control."
"So what you're saying is: you look some girl, and it could be any girl, in the eye and suddenly you're in love with them and your life basically revolves around them?"
"Yes." Paul nodded happy that she understood things so far
"But what if it's someone you don't like? I mean can you just ignore the imprint or something if that happens?"
"We could try but it causes immense pain to do so. And eventually we're left with no choice but to give into the imprint."
"Ok….So what does any of this have to do with me or your dislike of me."
"Did Jacob ever tell you why we phase in the first place?"
"No." She replied shaking her head
"The presence of vampires is what causes us to phase."
"The Cullen's." She whispered
"Yes. Now you have to understand that I phased before you ever moved back to Forks and I blamed the Cullen's for that."
"I don't understand where you're going with this."
"I've never been particularly happy about being a wolf and I hated the Cullen's for causing the wolf gene to surface. If they'd never come back to Forks I'd still just be a guy from La Push…..a guy who had dreams, none of which involved staying in La Push for the rest of my life. But when I phased I was forced to give up any dreams I'd had of getting out of here. You see…being a wolf also means that I am bound to protect La Push which means that I can't ever leave."
"Ok, but what does that have to do with me?"
"Well when you came here and started associating with them and eventually dating one of them….I hated you by extension. And then when they left and I saw in Sam's head how you were that night he found you in the woods I couldn't understand how you had loved them. So that day when I actually met you, that day on the beach,"
"When you called me a 'leech lover'?"
"Yes. That was the day I imprinted on you. And I was so angry that I'd imprinted on someone who had willingly and knowingly associated with the ones responsible for my phasing. So I decided I would try to fight the imprint."
Bella was speechless. She was convinced that she hadn't heard that…..that he hadn't said that…..it couldn't be...no…no…no…no…..
"What did you say?" She whispered
"I imprinted on you."
He watched as her eyes widened and her breath quickened. He just knew that his heart was about to be crushed.
"You….you….imprinted. On me?"
"Yes." He nodded
"But you've been so mean and nasty and hateful." She said in disbelief
"Because I was trying to fight the imprint." He explained
"So you don't want me?"
"I…..I didn't want you at first but it wasn't for the reason's you're probably thinking."
"Explain." She demanded
"When I'd imprinted on you, I'd just gotten the job down at the station. My being a wolf and the duties that go along with that make it difficult to really have and keep a job. So when this one came along it was perfect because it wouldn't really interfere with my duties as a wolf. I didn't know how imprinting on you would affect my job seeing as how your Dad is my boss. And well it was no secret that you were still hung up over that Cullen guy…and I didn't see how I could compete with that."
Bella was silent for a few moments; she stared at Paul trying to determine if he was being honest.
"So it wasn't that you didn't want me…you were afraid?" She asked
"Yes….I don't really have anything to offer you and as I've already told you I can't leave La Push; I didn't think you would want to be with a guy who's stuck here for the rest of his life. And then there's money….I don't have the kind of money the Cullen's have; I can't give you all kinds of expensive gifts."
"For one…..I don't care about money. I wasn't with Edward because of how much money he had or what he could buy me. In fact, I hated it when he would buy me things, especially expensive things."
"Oh." Paul sighed
"You know the one thing I hated about Edward and the Cullen's in general?"
Paul just shook his head.
"They were always deciding things for me; it was almost always about what they wanted and as long I wouldn't come to harm then their decisions are what stuck. When the Cullen's were here it wasn't often that I had a choice in anything. After they left there wasn't anyone there to decided things for me anymore. Sure I missed them but for the first time in a long time I was making decisions for myself. And the more I made my own choices the more I realized how much I hated having that taken from me."
Bella paused a moment, hoping that Paul would understand what she was trying to say.
"I think I get it." He said
"Do you?" She asked
"My decisions regarding the imprint were all about me; what I thought and what I felt. I'd assumed a lot of things, all of which I now know I was wrong about. I took away your choice in the matter because of the choice I feared you would've made."
"Yes. Had you told me about the imprinting from the very beginning I probably would've accepted it right away….but you didn't tell me."
"So does this mean you won't accept the imprint?" He asked, his heart aching at the very thought
"If I were to do such a thing it would only cause pain for the both of us I'm sure. So I'm going to accept the imprint but you should know that this won't be easy."
Paul couldn't believe his ears; he had expected he'd be leaving the Swan house broken and miserable but Bella had accepted the imprint. He wanted nothing more than to bring her into his arms and hold her there forever.
"Paul!"
"Huh…what?" He jumped
"You spaced out. I was trying to tell you that I'm going to need some time to think about things."
"Oh."
The elation he had previously felt gave way to worry.
"Whatever I decide doesn't just affect me, so I can't make this decision lightly or without a considerable amount of time spent thinking about it."
"But you said you were accepting the imprint!" He cried
"Yes, but don't I get to decide what type of relationship I want to come from this?"
"Yes….but what's there to decide?" He asked
"Is there some rule that says our relationship has to be a romantic one?"
"Well, no….but all the guys who have imprinted are in romantic relationships."
"Well goodie for them. But I'm sure the guys who have imprinted didn't hide it from the girl they imprinted on. Am I right?"
"Yes."
"And would I also be right in assuming that they weren't hateful towards their imprint?"
"Yes."
"But you did hide it from me and you were hateful towards me. So what makes you think I would jump into, or even want, a romantic relationship with you?" She asked
Paul had no response for that but Bella could see that he wasn't happy. She took notice of the sneer beginning to form and just knew he was about to lash out at her.
"Now before you go getting your briefs in a bunch, keep in mind that this is your fault."
"My fault? Now look here," And just like that 'Angry Paul' was back
"Don't go pitching a fit because you're not getting your way. And if you want me to even consider a romantic relationship with you then I suggest you get rid of the attitude." She snapped
Paul growled but otherwise remained quiet.
"You brought this on yourself! If you had just told me about the imprint from the very beginning we might've been well on our way to happily ever after and all that jazz. But no, you got scared and instead of handling things like a man you tucked tail and tried to ignore the imprint. Now considering that I've spent this entire evening being nice and civil and didn't go off on you when you told me you'd imprinted on me, I think the least you could do is accept the fact that I need some time to think things over and decide where I want things to go from here."
Deep down he knew that she was right and it wasn't fair nor did he have the right to be angry or lash out at her. But he was so used to hiding behind a mask of hatred, arrogance and anger; it was his only way of protecting himself from getting hurt and it had worked just fine…until now. The imprint had given Bella a power that no one else had ever had; with just a few words or one decision, Bella could destroy him.
"You're right." He finally whispered
"I'm not sure I heard correctly. Could you repeat that please?"
"I said… you're right." Paul responded
"I know that must've been very hard for you to admit so I won't tease." She grinned
"Gee thanks…" He muttered
"Now as far as this whole imprint thing goes, I will tell you that we're going to start off as friends." She said as she began clearing the table
"Friends?"
"Yes."
"I guess I should just be grateful, huh?" he sighed
"Yep." She nodded
"Ok."
"Goodie….now let's go in the living room, watch some T.V. and act friendly."
"Umm, sure." He replied
"Hopefully, Dad won't ask too many questions if he actually sees us getting along."
"Gotcha. I do have a question though."
"Yes?"
"Why are you being so nice about all of this?"
"Well I figure I could be mean and hateful but considering you've been rather nice and civil tonight, I see no need for me to be that way."
"Oh."
When Charlie got home he was surprised to find Paul was still there; he was even more surprised to find that Paul and Bella were actually getting along. Seeing them interacting so civilly, he decided that they must've worked out their issues and there was no need for him to question them about how the night had gone. He spent a few minutes watching T.V. with them before saying goodnight and heading to bed.
"I should probably head home; I've got to work in the morning." Paul said after Charlie had gone upstairs
"And I've got school." Bella said standing from the couch
"So umm, I'll see you later?" Paul said when he reached the door
"I'm probably gonna be down in La Push tomorrow night."
"Oh, ok."
"Well, good night." She said
"Night." He replied walking out the door
A/N: As always reviews are welcomed and appreciated.
