Author's Note

Gah!

The reason why I haven't posted for a day or two [that's usually a short time, but to me it felt ridiculously LONG] is because

1. I haven't had time &

2. I had a major case of WRITER'S BLOCK. But, now that I have kicked it's sorry ass, here's this chapter! Hoo-ray!

Okay, so Questions:

teamjacob11: She feels guilty because she's in love with him [even though she hasn't even thought of or realized it yet, she is.]

Yodes: Gah! I do apologize for that. I really forgot to add some more of Cassie's reactions to him, but I completely forgot because I had so many ideas. But, thank you for pointing that out. Okay, lets just say...at first, she was a little nervous around him, but as time progressed, she grew comfortable around him. [Gawsh. How shit-ass does that sound?]

Invisible Truths: Your way over-due paragraph is at the end of the chapter.

metacognitive: Sadly not. But, of course he's going to have some more aprons in the future. I think of it as his 'trademark'. Maybe we'll see him pick up more personas in the future...?

Okay, I would like to thank you all for reviewing and your kick-ass comments! And hopefully you guys aren't PO'd that I didn't update yesterday.

Special thanks goes to jalapeno1011 for suggesting [part of] this chapter. It really helped with my brain block, and it was just perfect. Also for the others who posted suggestions, I've looked over them and may incorporate them into the story in the future, they were that good. Hopefully I'll remember when the time's right.

This may not be the best chapter, but hopefully things will pick up soon. So, I apologize ahead of time in case you don't like it. So, as always:

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own...aw, dammit! I just don't own Twilight! Satisfied Stephenie freaking Meyer?!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Talking with Emily and an Encounter

"Seth, you are officially deemed stupid gone crazy," I said, quirking an eyebrow as he emptied a whole bottle of ketchup into a huge balloon. It sloshed against the inside, making me grimace.

"Say whatever you want, Cassie," Seth said, grinning mischievously. "But I advise you not to tell the guys unless you want to be on the receiving end of my wrath."

"Oo, I'm so scared," I said sarcastically. I finally understood what Doctor Cullen meant when he said I would have 'bad days' and I would limp, but he didn't mention the pain. I'd kill him if he weren't already technically dead.

I hobbled over to the one of the chairs and eased myself into it, wincing as the pain flared up again in my thigh. Seth eyed me a moment before turning back to his evil scheme.

"And, tell me again why the guys deserve this?" I asked. He snorted, grabbing a jar of expired pickles from our refrigerator and examined it thoughtfully.

"Because, Cassie," Seth said. "They ruined my date and the only chance I had with that hot Spanish chick after I spent months learning how to speak the language. Now, if that doesn't call for payback, I don't know what does."

"But, shouldn't you just leave it to Divine Intervention? Let them give you justice so it won't be bad karma on your part?" I questioned, and Seth grunted.

"Too slow. I need to strike while the iron is hot, and when the guys least expect it. They think I'm over here watching you so you don't do anything stupid," he said, and I scowled darkly. "Which I am, but I'm also preparing for a war, too. Now, Emily, tell me: how fluffy are your pillows?"

"Seth, you are not going to massacre them by using my pillows," Emily said, stirring a pot of soup.

"How on earth are you going to even win, Seth? This is all just stupid, if you ask me," I said. Seth looked over at me exasperatedly.

"Cass, if you are not on my side, you are on their side. If you are on their side, then that means you are going to be annihilated by various food products. Now, if I were you, I would pick my side because death by ketchup doesn't sound very appealing," Seth reasoned. "Now, can you toss down the salt shaker for me, please?"

"Here," I said, chucking it towards his head. But, of course, he caught it expertly and started filling up another balloon.

"Cassie, which do you think stings more?" he asked. "Salt or lemon juice in the eye?" I thought about it for a moment.

"How about a mixture of both?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. His jaw dropped.

"Devious. Freaking brilliant. Hey, Em? Do you mind if I use, like, roughly…all of your lemons to make this concoction?"

"Take only half."

"Okay. So, do you have anything explosive like…bombs or something?"

I sighed. "Why on earth would you need explosives?" Seth snorted, looking at me disbelievingly.

"Uh, hello? We're dealing with temperamental werewolves here, and nothing is going to stop them from payback unless it explodes and is capable of maiming or killing them. Duh," he said, going back to rifle through the refrigerator.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wish me luck, my lovelies," Seth said to us, hauling his bag of evil towards the back door. I rolled my eyes at him, and Emily chuckled to herself.

"Just don't get killed, Seth," she said, taking a sip of her water. He snorted quietly, mumbling something about 'hormones' and 'insensitive women who deserve to have their tubes tied so as not to pass down their malicious genes'.

After Seth left, Emily smiled warmly at me. "Aren't men just the weirdest creatures?" I snorted a laugh, nodding my head. Emily smiled slightly, looking down at the bottle cap she was twirling on the tabletop. I watched as the cap spun faster and faster each time she twirled it.

"How is your leg, sweetie?" she asked kindly, and I wrung my hands in my lap.

"It's fine. You know, it just hurts a little," I said, eyes downcast and watched in mock fascination as the cap seemed to blur and blend together.

"Yes," she chuckled mirthlessly. "I know how it feels." I looked up at her darkened expression, but said nothing. Emily met my gaze and smiled bitterly.

"Tell me, Cassie, do you know how I got these scars?" she asked, running a slender hand over the scars that marred her beautiful face. My eyebrows furrowed, and I hesitantly answered.

"Yeah, you got mauled by a bear." After I said it, Emily gave out a breathless chuckle, shaking her head gently.

"No, dear. What really happened. Could you guess at that?" she asked, and I felt even more confused. I looked at the long claw marks that raked across her dark russet skin. They were vicious looking, pulling the right side of her mouth down into a fierce scowl, contradicting the other side of her face.

But, they were also eerily familiar, the way they were shaped and left deep impressions. They looked just like…

"Oh my God," I whispered. Emily smiled sadly at me, nodding her head. She pulled up the long sleeve on her right arm, revealing the same scars. Her slender fingers stroked them, and an almost sentimental expression took over in her eyes.

"It happened nearly ten years ago," Emily said quietly. "I was visiting La Push to see my cousin—Leah, who at the time was dating Sam. Unbeknownst to us, a little while before, the werewolf gene in Sam had made its presence known. Of course, only he and the elders knew of it while the rest of us were kept in the dark.

"When Leah introduced me to Sam, he imprinted on me. For the weeks I stayed, he acted strange, and tended to try and avoid me at all costs. I was confused by his behavior, but thought nothing of it. That is, until he broke it off with Leah…

"Leah was heartbroken, and that made me furious. I tracked Sam down at his house, and I just blew up. I let him know that he was a despicable, low-life scum and he didn't deserve Leah. Sam wasn't too happy about that, and he threw back some hot-tempered words of his own. We yelled at each other until we were hoarse and out of breath, but then I said something that went to far, and Sam lost his temper and phased." Emily paused for a moment, eyes scrunching together as she focused on a piece of memory.

"At the hospital," she continued. "I woke up, finding that the right side of my face was bandaged up and Sam at my side. I was infuriated, to say the least. I told him to stay away from me, and away from Leah. I didn't want what happened to me to happen to her. But, his action surprised and ticked me off even more: he disagreed with me, and vowed to make it up to me. As weeks passed without site of Sam, I grew depressed, completely oblivious as to why. And then the roses started coming…" she trailed off, chuckling to herself.

"I was adamant in my decision to stay away from him, but as Jake once so wisely put it: it's hard to resist that kind of devotion. Sam was the ultimate gentleman, and he didn't care that I was marred; damaged goods. He loved me unconditionally, and I fell for him," Emily sighed quietly to herself, twisting the diamond ring on her left hand. "And here we stand."

I looked down at me feet, barely reaching the floor. It was obvious that Sam adored, no, adulated Emily. But I couldn't help but think, did Paul see me the same way?

Emily patted my head, smiling kindly down at me. "Don't worry about it, Cassie. Paul loves you so very much, but it just isn't his style to wear his heart on his sleeve. But, if I know him, he won't give up on you; he's much too stubborn."

"So, you aren't going to hassle me to give Paul a chance?" I asked timidly, and Emily shook her head.

"No, Cassie. I went through the same thing you are going through, and I know what it's like. You should be mad, and you should make him work for it. When you're ready, you'll forgive him and take him back." Emily placed a motherly hand on my head, mussing it slightly. I nodded my head, smiling at her.

A timer went off, and the moment was gone. Emily stood up and went to the oven, putting on mittens to pull out a pan of bread.

"Everything looks okay. Cassie? Do you think I should make more—" There was a loud crash and raucous laughter outside. The smile left Emily's face and was replaced with a demonic look, and I immediately feared for the guys' lives.

Emily set the pan on the counter, slung her mittens down beside it and made her way towards the back door. Less than five seconds later, she was yelling at the top of her lungs at the guys, and I had the urge to plug my ears.

"You guys better clean this up or there will be no food!" she screeched, slamming the door behind her as she reentered the house. It was absolutely quiet outside, and Emily went back to the stove.

"What did they do?" I asked, and her nostrils flared.

"They managed to uproot every living thing in my garden, destroyed all of the ornaments, and everything is coated with expired and outdated food from those damned balloons Seth made. Those boys, I swear!" she growled, yanking a bag of frozen chicken strips from the freezer and slammed the door. I winced as Emily ripped open the bag with one vicious tug and shoved them into the microwave. Her fingers pounded on the buttons of the machine and she slammed the door shut.

Emily turned to me and smiled apologetically. "Hormones," she said sheepishly, and I grinned.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Fwif imph gudd, Emfifly," Quil said, shoving yet another piece of chicken down his throat. I played with mine, tearing into little bits to make it look like I ate something. Jake eyed me warily.

"Are you going to eat, Cassie?" he asked, sounding like a reprimanding father. I rolled my eyes at him, tearing off yet another piece of chicken.

"I'm not hungry," I said simply, tossing a bit at his forehead. He rubbed his forehead, and Emily looked at him sternly.

"Jacob, leave the poor girl alone. If she doesn't want to eat, she doesn't have to."

"Oo! Can I have her food?" Seth asked, flinging his hand up in the air like he was in elementary school. Emily glared at him, and I shoved my plate towards him.

"You can have it, Seth. I'm going to go home, guys. I'll see you later," I said, standing up and heading towards the door. There was a chorus of goodbyes as I left, and I didn't miss the sad look in Emily's eye as I passed her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I turned the key into the lock and opened the door. The television blared in the living room and I could hear Embry and Al talking quietly.

"Tell him that she doesn't like showy things; it's just not her style. She also doesn't really care for flowers either, so tell him that's out. And she doesn't—"

"What are you guys hissing about in here?" I asked, flipping on the living room light. Al squeaked, and Embry jumped. They were on the couch, looking at me as if I just asked for directions to Narnia. "Well?"

"We were…well, we were," Al stuttered, looking at Embry.

"We were just discussing what we think Pamela Anderson likes in men, is all," he answered, and I looked at him strangely.

"O…kay," I said, heading back upstairs. "I'm going to bed. Night, guys." I went up the stairs slowly just in case they said something else, but they didn't.

I walked into my room, stretching. The pain flared in my back, and I grimaced lightly. I ambled over to my chest-of-drawers and pulled out my pajama pants and shirt. I tossed them carelessly onto my unmade bed and reached to take off my top when I caught my drapes open. I snapped them shut, self-conscious. Would Paul have seen me?

I flushed brightly at the thought, and continued to undress out of my clothes. Gingerly, I put on the light pajama shirt so it wouldn't weigh down on my sensitive back. I thought about Emily, and how she had forgiven Sam.

She told me I should make him work for it, and I would. It's just that I hadn't even given him the chance to; I just shut him out of my life completely. Was it fair of me to do so, or was I just being stubborn? I sighed in frustration, both at Paul and myself. Why did this relationship have to be so complex?

I pulled back the covers on my bed and lowered myself gently into the spot. The pillows were soft, and the blankets comforting, but they didn't do my insomnia any good. I tossed and turned for hours, sighing and grumbling in aggravation.

I flipped over onto my right side, staring into the darkness. A sliver of moonlight peaked through a crack in the drapes, casting itself onto the floor. Paul popped into my mind, and I scowled half-heartedly. Was he outside again?

There was only one way to find out. I sidled out of the bed and wandered over to the window. I pulled back a side of the curtain gently to peep through it. I felt silly when I didn't see Paul's sleeping figure on the lawn. I pulled away from the window, trying to push back the stinging hurt and disappointment I felt. I brushed my hair out of my eyes, and bit my lip.

I looked back outside—convincing myself that I didn't care that he wasn't there—and stared at the large moon. It cast a pale light on the surroundings, and the large, looming trees of the woods threw even larger shadows. I turned to look at my messy bed, and then back outside. I sure wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, so why not?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I snuck out of the house, closing the front door behind me as gently as I could. The night air was cool, unlike the humid summer days. I made my way across the lawn and sat down in the place where Paul usually lay at—a place, I noticed, where he had an excellent view of my room.

My cheeks tinted pink as I lay out on the dewy grass. I placed both arms behind my head, and crossed my ankles over one another. The wind rustled the trees softly, and I closed my eyes at the soothing rushing sound it made. I faded into unconsciousness and dreamed about Paul.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A soft crunch of leaves woke me up. My eyes fluttered open, and when I turned to the direction of the sound, I saw the large silver wolf laying but a few feet away from me. I snapped up into sitting position, wincing as the pain flared up again.

Paul whined softly, concerned. I shook my head at him, and he quieted. His dark brown eyes scanned over me, looking for any opened scratches. When he didn't find any, he rested his head onto his front paws, his gaze never leaving mine. Before, when I looked at him from far away, I couldn't make out the sadness in his eyes. But now that I could, I felt pained that I was the one who put it there.

I held my hand out to him hesitantly, motioning for him to come closer. Paul blinked for a moment, his tail wagging gently. After he saw that I wasn't taking it back, he crawled towards me on his belly, making me smile. When Paul was in my reach, I stroked his head gently. He closed his eyes, his lips pulling up into a wolfy smile.

"I guess I've been a little bitchy, haven't I?" I asked softly. Paul's eyes opened, and he seemed to glare at me for a moment. I ignored him and continued. "Well, I have been, and I'm sorry for that. I should have given you a chance, but I suppose I didn't." It was quiet for a moment, and Paul looked at me questioningly.

"I talked to Emily today," I said quietly. A look of recognition flashed in his dark eyes, and he immediately looked somber. "She told me about what happened to her and Sam. How it took her a while to forgive him, but given the chances she gave him, she was able to do it within good time. And I realized that I had been selfish, only wanting to wallow in my self-pity so much so that I didn't even bother giving you a fair chance," I explained quietly. Paul whined again, and I chuckled at his protests. I petted his head again, and he quieted.

"But, Paul, I've decided that I am going to give you a chance," I said and Paul's tail started to wag so hard that it was a wonder he didn't fall over. I shook my head at him. "It's not going to be so easy, Paul. I want us to start over and be just friends. And, after that, we'll see where it goes, okay?" To my amazement, Paul nodded his head, just like he would do if he were in his human form. I immediately felt silly for expecting otherwise.

Paul lowered himself onto the ground beside me, and I leaned into his shaggy fur. What sounded like a purr emitted from his chest, and I smiled. His warmth surrounded me, and my eyelids fluttered closed.

I felt Paul's fur recede, and his warm arms encircling me. The last thing I heard before falling into a deep sleep was Paul whispering my name.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, so I read that you guys wanted them back together AND some wanted Paul to pay. Well, we've got a combination of the two. Paul and Cassie will be JUST FRIENDS until Cassie feels like Paul has redeemed himself. Damn straight. Also, the reason why I didn't have Emily tell the story about Leah and her angst is because...well, Cassie needed guidance in her situation. Leah's story will be told later on.

To Invisible Truths [I'll try to make this as long as possible since my fingers already hurt from the ANs and the story]:

You have a GPS?! I ate mine. It didn't taste too good. I was looking for you last chapter! I was like, "Where the hell is my damn review?!" And, yes, I was terribly upset. I agree; last chapter was...eh. And so was this chapter! Hooray!!!...no. :)

I love your french. *.* Is anyone really a morning person? Not unless they're the devil. Only evil starts early in the morning. I rode a horse once or twice. Last time I did, though, it threw me off. Yowch! I've been terrified of riding one ever since. You have an exam? I've been out of school. Pshaw. And you do make the kickass reviews. I literally laughed my ass off when I saw how long your review was. I even showed my sister. She was like, "What the [bleep]!"

Last book I read was Graceling by I-Forgot-Who, but it was so kickass. Porcupine? Never heard of it. Sounds unique. For the clothes I wear, I'm pretty content with baggy pants, a t-shirt, and my big hulking hoodie with superheroes on it. Even though it gets to be over 100 degrees outside, you can bet your ass I wear it. One of these days I'm going to turn into bacon...yum.

Your stories aren't sucky. I read the one where Bella pushed Edward out of the tree and I thought it was adorable/hilarious. I just forgot to review for it. I haven't read the other one, though, and for that I apologize for my laziness!

My vision sucks ass, and I have to wear some super strong glasses. It sucks to have the vision of a mole. xD

I have wavy weird-brown hair that I have to straighten now. It's getting too long [it's at my shoulders. Blech] and it weighs itself down so it doesn't have as much body as it once did. No! I also have hazel eyes that change from brown-geen to golden-brown. One time my eyes had so much gold in them my friend said I looked like a Cullen. That was a marvelous day. And, the weird thing is that my golden-brown eyes match the lower parts of my hair. Literally. In my room, the walls are bare. Yuck. One of these days, I'm just going to splash paint around for the hell of are so lucky to have a room with personality. Envy...

I wouldn't go as far as to say I might even compare with Daddy's Little Cannibal, but that was very sweet of you to say so.

Ow! My fingahs just popped! I've got to stop before I wind up in the hospital. So, thank you so much for that spankin' awesome review, and I better here from you!

As for the rest of you guys, I'd like [LOVE] to hear more from you guys. Perhaps some more suggestions, too? Okay, I've got to go before my fingers fall off. So, REVIEW! Please?

PS: Thanks europ92 for the review and adding my story to your community! Mwah! Kisses!