AN

Bit of a longer, more lemony chapter for you here. I think I'll write about Saturday and Heather's visit and then do a little time skip to Bella's party. I feel like too much is happening with their relationship in just the first week. As always, feedback would be awfully appreciated.

As a side note, because you'll probably work it out anyway, I have no idea what American football entails. It felt like a good idea to include it at the time, but I definitely made a hash of that portion of the chapter. For starters, I'm not even American, but it seemed a little silly to conveniently move the family over to somewhere with a lifestyle I can understand. I'm giving it my best shot, based entirely off of high school movies I haven't seen in years.

The Right Reasons

Laura was waiting in my office when I came back from lunch. She was sitting in my chair, fingering the dent in the plaster I'd made earlier that week.

"Where's your brother today?" she asked.

"I took us out for lunch... I owed him from Tuesday."

"Mr. Watts was looking for her... something about incomplete math homework."

My insides recoiled, I knew it was a slight jab at my parenting skills. I shrugged it off.

"She did her best," I tried to maintain my external composure; "she was at it for hours."

"Not my problem. So, what happened here?" she pointed to the dented plaster.

"Must've rolled the chair into it," I mumbled.

"Someone had a little temper tantrum?" she chuckled. I couldn't tell where she was going with this.

"Don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

My nose wrinkled. Edward tapped lightly on the door and stepped into my office.

"Can I have word, Mr. Clearwater?" he asked formally.

I nodded.

"It's a private matter," he glared defiantly at Laura.

She stared back, an evil smile cracking on her face.

"Dude, she was chewing my ass!" I muttered, flopping into my chair.

"I've done my research," he replied quietly.

"Oh... and?"

"It's not an imprint thing."

"I'd figured that."

"It's not a human thing, either."

How stupid did he think I was? He laughed.

"Carlisle's going to run some bloods when he comes to examine her next week."

"So that's it?" he could easily read my disappointment.

"I have a suspicion."

"And you're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Who's the mind reader here?"

"Well, thanks anyway, I guess..."

"There's something else you want to know," he said, frowning at me.

"There is, but at the same time..." I showed him the image of Carlisle gasping as he lifted Orla's shirt the other night.

I saw him wince. That settled it for me. I really didn't want to know.

"I'll leave you to it."

My mood was fluctuating all over the place that afternoon. I knew Orla had double science with Jasper, who was probably only trying to make her feel better. I wasn't sure he quite understood that interfering with her emotions screwed mine over as well. I'd spent enough time with him to know which feelings were projected. Orla's natural mood was thoroughly hurt and miserable. I felt my imprint-stincts pulling me towards her, and I was doing some serious clock watching. Even Laura didn't try to bother me.

I was all set for packing up and rushing off to the science block to scoop her into a cuddle and beat the crap out of whoever or whatever had hurt her. The poster for the football tryouts practically kicked me in the gut as I left my office. Emmet's arrival added insult to injury.

I could feel Orla's presence coming closer and I turned to see her heading down towards the football fields with the other Cullens. She was a way off, and wouldn't have been able to catch my smile. But I could easily see that she'd been crying. I scowled at Jasper who bowed his head solemnly. I had to get this over with as soon as possible.

It was cloudy and there was a light breeze, but the early autumn temperatures were still pleasant even by human standards. Orla set on the bleachers wedged between Bella and Jasper. A smile pulled at her lips when she saw me looking and she gave a little wave. We both cheered up considerably.

I let my Beta voice take over to bark commands at the teenagers. In past schools, I'd often been criticised for having such a naturally soft voice, especially when compared with my appearance. I just hadn't been demanding or intimidating in the slightest. It was in the last school that Emmet had suggested using my Beta voice, after I'd accidentally used it to break up a fight. It was working a treat here.

Fear suddenly crept over me and I whipped my head around to Orla. A clutch of students were hovering over where she and the Cullens sat. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Edwards murderous eyes told me all I had to know. My imprint was being bullied.

I sank into a pit of misery, and to be honest I couldn't really tell if it was all Orla. I was pretty upset with what I had witnessed. I let Emmet take control of most of the afternoon and he picked most of the team. Edward, Jasper, Bella and Rose joined Emmet and I in packing away while Alice stayed with Orla. The rest of the school was deserted.

"You need to phase," Edward warned me sternly as we headed to the bleachers.

"I need to see Orla, thank you very much," I grumbled in reply.

But I knew he was right, I just wanted a moment first. I stood on the bench in front of Orla and helped her rise. She was cold with being so close to the vampires. Our arms encased each other almost instantly. She hooked hers around my neck and mine clasped her to my chest around her waist. I nuzzled into her hair, searching for her usual scent that had been tainted with the sickly sweet vinegar of the vampires.

I felt all my sadness melting away and I knew it wasn't Jasper. My imprint was content in my arms and I was over the moon. I left my arm around her waist as we headed to the car, thankful that no one was around to judge our actions towards each other.

"Seth!" I heard a squeal from the littlest Cullen who was charging towards me.

"Hey, Nessie," I said playfully, trying to keep up her 13 year old image in front of Orla.

I squeezed her with my free arm and smiled over at Jake who was leaning against his truck. I'd half expected them to come to the tryouts... but I supposed they had other ideas after spending last night apart.

"Orla, this is my sister, Vanessa," I felt the cringe in Bella's voice as she used her pretend name. Renesmee was just too questionable.

The two hadn't properly met until now. I could see Orla was taken in by Nessie's beauty. She had a youthful expression, despite being physically around 17 years old, and a little eyeliner and blush when it was time for her to "age" could really transform her appearance. We'd settled on having her in 8th grade to give us five years in each location, and it was working out pretty well. Sure, everyone looked a little too old in the first year we were anywhere, but with puberty running riot in that age group, it was easily excused.

We parted, and I practically sped back to the house, barely conscious Jake was on my tail. I quickly changed into some running shorts while Orla put dinner on.

"You, me, talk," I said bluntly, collapsing onto the sofa.

I let Orla settle herself in next to me, leaning close against my side with my arm around her.

"So, you gonna tell me what happened at school today to make you cry?"

It was nothing, she wrote quickly, sighing.

"Didn't seem like nothing," I muttered, running my finger down her cheek. There was still a hint of redness in her eyes.

You weren't even there.

"You were miserable all afternoon. Don't you remember the stories? I feel what you feel."

It's just a story. It was nothing.

"You know I can make Jasper tell me, right?"

It doesn't matter. It was nothing.

She leant her head on my bare chest and let her finger run over my sternum. The conversation was banished from my head for the time being as my wolf enjoyed her touch. She knew exactly what she was doing as she took control of the situation, but I could see in her eyes she wasn't completely sure what drove her to it. Just an instinct, I supposed. Claire could have a similar effect on Quil whenever she was in trouble as a kid.

I knew I should stop her. This was a different kind of touch. She was pushing the boundaries of simple affection. I could have her right then and there if I wanted to, and I knew she'd be completely willing. But would that make me just as monstrous as her uncle? I could have slapped myself. Of course not. I was only acting as an adult, right? I was still physically the same as I was when I was 15. I was technically younger than she was. And then on the other hand I was a 132 year old shape shifting wolf. Why couldn't anything be simple?

But what was this thing that was stopping me? I'd come to the conclusion that it wasn't the age, heck, that was right out the window where I was concerned. And it wasn't the guardian thing, either. I wasn't trying to be a father to her, I was nothing more than a shelter, food and a friendly face in that respect. Then it clicked. My instinctive need to protect her was outweighing my need to give her what she most wanted. She might want this, but it really wouldn't do her any favours.

I looked into her eyes as she reached up and touched my lips. My eyes rolled back into my head and a moan escaped me. An angelic, teasing giggle filled the room as she slid into my lap and felt what was there. She'd made a noise that wasn't a scream. My heart soared as I came back to Earth.

"You'll be the death of me," I chuckled pulling her hand away from my face.

She frowned as I shifted under her, removing her new 'friend'.

I felt her emotions pass through me. Confusion, fear, excitement, and a tingle of happiness and relief.

"What are you thinking?"

She stared at her pad for a moment, and then back to me. She simple shrugged and gave a little snivel. I could see she was about to cry, but her emotions weren't sad or anything.

"I can't make it better if I don't know what's wrong," I murmured, pushing her first tear away with my thumb.

You said you want what I want. But we're still sitting here. So that can't be right.

"I think it's pretty obvious I do want it," I breathed into her ear, kissing her temple.

You stopped me.

I turned my earlier conclusion over in my head. I had to tread carefully to avoid upsetting her more than she already was. I knew she wouldn't appreciate the age gap – she'd feel insulted, as if she was just a little, broken kid.

"Why don't you tell me why you want it?" I mused.

Tell me why you don't.

I smiled, holding her closer to me. "I know I'm meant to be the adult here, but the unfortunate thing about our situation is that you're a hell of a lot more experienced in that department than I am," damn right, hundred and something year old virgin at your service. "The sofa before dinner isn't what I'd ever pictured my first time to be like."

We both blushed a little.

"Your turn."

I thought you'd like it.

"But why do you want to just... do it?"

She shrugged and I saw her wince at a memory.

"You're not here for me to just have my way with you as some sort of payment," I grunted.

She hid her face against me, clearly become anxious with the whole conversation.

"I want you to want it for the right reasons. And I'm not going anywhere in the meantime."

She looked up at me and I felt the fear slide away. She really had no idea how a proper relationship should work. By giving me pleasure, she felt it would make me happy and make me be nice to her, and I knew she felt a little pained that I'd rejected her advances. We ate comfortably, and I saw her eat just that little bit more before she pushed her plate towards me. I made a mental note to ask Edward if my theory about her intentions was right.

We cuddled comfortably in the den when I returned from my brief loop around the farm with Jake. It felt so good to run off all the stress of the day. It made all my wolf senses relax to get a good sniff around the place and make sure everything was as it should be. My earlier anger at the teens on the bleachers reflected itself in my speed as I dashed back and forth passed Jacob's increasingly irritated wolf.

I snuggled into her scent as she climbed into bed with me. The initial awkwardness of sharing the bed was completely gone now, as our arms and legs weaved together until she was completely swaddled up in my grasp.