The next day

I walked into Emily's kitchen and suddenly everyone turned around. They immediately stopped what they were doing to stare at me. They all looked like they were about to burst.

It only took a second more because Embry was the first to break. "Did you tell her?"

Wow. News sure travels fast.

Emily hit Embry then.

"Hey," he said out loud, "What was that for?"

Embry could never take a hint.

"He doesn't have to tell us if doesn't want to," Emily commented before she smiled at me.

I sighed. Emily wasn't being sly either. Her face gave her away. I could see that her eyes were all round and see was looking at me so eagerly. Kim was exactly the same way. Jared on the other hand was just silent and I couldn't tell how he felt.

They all continued to stare at me.

I just rolled my eyes. "Not that it's any of your business but I didn't tell her about us."

My words received mixed reactions. Emily and Kim's faces fell and they seemed a little upset whereas the guys breathed out a sigh of relief. I knew why Embry and Jared were relieved. Every time someone revealed the secret to an imprint, it was a complete disaster. There was no need to explain why Sam's inadvertent reveal had been bad and even Kim (who had been in love with Jared before imprinting) completely freaked out. She didn't handle it well and the days that followed were ugly. Me and the guys were the ones who had to pick up the pieces and look after Jared until Kim eventually came around.

"Aww Paul," Kim whined at me, "Come on. It's killing me to keep this whole thing under wraps."

I gave Kim a look then. Have you forgotten that you started hyperventilating and then passed out when you saw Jared as a wolf for the first time? It defiantly seemed like she had.

"You don't think I'm going crazy?" I asked her.

Kim bit her lip. "Sorry. I know."

Embry was at my side then. "Well he'll tell Zara whenever he's ready," he told Kim before turning to me, "Right?" He nodded encouragingly.

I felt a little sorry for Embry now. I know he wanted me to put off telling Zara for as long as possible because he really hated the reveals. He just couldn't stand any sort of confrontation.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes I will," I told him, "But it won't be for a long time yet."

Embry sighed out.

I turned to face everyone then. "You guys do realise that you're just giving me advice based on what you want?"

They all went quite then. Kim and Embry were soon feeling guilty enough to let the subject drop and slowly everyone went back to what they were doing before I came in.

Pheww. I quickly left the kitchen. I'm sure I can wait till after my patrol to eat.

Jared was following me as I walked out of the back door. He didn't say anything and I silently thanked him for that.

How long can I wait though? What if it's months or a whole year before I'm ready?

{}{}{}{}

After the patrol shift I came back to the house only to hear from Emily that Sam was waiting for me in the living room.

"I want to eat," I groaned. "And what does he want to talk about now?" I was cringing already because Sam's first attempt had been such an epic fail.

The next thing I knew though I was sitting on the couch facing Sam and Emily. He was leaning forward in his seat. "You know what's coming right?"

I tensed a little.

Sam just continued. "You haven't told Zara that she's invited to the bonfire this weekend."

I just crossed my arms. "That's because I don't plan to."

Emily was about to say something but she stopped herself.

Sam wasn't as controlled. He cocked an eyebrow. "And why not?"

I just looked at Sam like he was crazy. "I don't want her to hear the legends. I've been breaking my back trying to stop her from knowing."

Sam didn't looked amused. He was frowning now. "You have to start laying down the ground work Pau-"

"Not yet," I cut in.

Sam just sighed. "If you don't start then when you do tell her it's going to be even more of a shock."

Emily couldn't hold back any longer. "I agree Paul. I think that it'll be better if Zara slowly finds out beca..."

I shook my head then. I wasn't ready for this. "Listen I don't-"

"Paul," Sam said sternly.

I looked up at him then.

He was dead serious now. "You can't bury your head in the sand. You just can't afford to keep avoiding this…I can't let you do that because this is serious."

I threw my hands in the air. "Don't you think I know that?"

Sam nodded. "I know you do so you better get going and tell Zara to keep this Saturday free," he suggested.

I clenched my teeth. "Fine."

{}{}{}{}

The week seemed to fly by and before I knew it, it was Saturday night. I could barely stand still as Zara and I arrived in Billy's backyard. Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim and Embry were already sitting around the small bonfire at the bottom of the yard.

I felt an arm wrap around mines. I looked down to see that Zara was holding onto my arm as we walked. She was smiling. "Paul have you got ants in your pants or something?"

I couldn't keep my eyes focused on her. I was busy looking everywhere for Billy since he was the one dropping the axe tonight. "Is that a British thing?" I replied.

Zara just laughed. "No."

Billy wasn't around yet which was weird because this was house. Where was he? Hopefully he wasn't going to turn up.

There was a hand on my face then. I was being forced to look to my right.

Zara smile was beginning to slip. "What's up with you? You haven't been able to sit still toda-"

"Hey guys."

Suddenly everything went quite. I saw that the gang had stopped talking and were now staring at something behind me. Zara was staring in that direction too so I turned as well.

It was Jacob.

My forehead creased instantly. What is he doing here? This was a surprise. Why would he decide to show his face now?

Jacob was standing a few feet in front of us. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his denim cut offs and he had a guilty expression on his face. Maybe because he hadn't been around the gang for a while now. I half expected Bella to walk out from behind him but thankfully she didn't. I had a feeling that it was best to avoid the subject of Bella. There was no point asking Jacob what was going on. I didn't want to annoy him because he might leave. It's been more than a month since I've seen him. Well seen him not in wolf form. Jacob always left after his patrol to see Bella. God I hate that leech lover.

There was Zara's soft hand on my arm again.

I came back to reality then. Zara was smiling at Jacob but I wondered how she really felt. I hope she wasn't feeling awkward or angry.

Embry had already reached Jacob and he was soon hugging him. Kim and Emily smiled at Jacob from where they sat and Jared called him over.

Embry noticed that Jacob didn't make a move towards the bonfire. Instead he just stopped short of me and Zara. It took Embry a while to realise that he must want to talk to us.

"I'll go see what's taking Billy so long," Embry told the three of us before he quickly left.

Zara was the first one to break the silence. "It's good so see you Jacob."

Jacob just gave her a small smile. "Yeah it's good to see you too. It's great to see everyone actually."

Zara gave him an understanding look then.

Jacob just rubbed the back of his neck before he turned his attention to me. "I'm glad to see that you two are going out."

I just stared back at Jacob. I knew what he was making an effort to keep the peace so I tried to forget that he had had a thing for Zara.

"I'm happy about it too," I said before I held out my hand, "It's good to see you."

Jacob just shook my hand.

"You should start hanging out with us again," I told him.

Jacob faltered.

"You know, with all the guys," I clarified.

Jacob cautiously nodded then.

"The guest of honor has arrived!" Embry shouted out.

The three of us then turned to see that Embry was pushing Billy down the yard.

Billy and his chair moved passed us then. "Sorry I'm late."

I took the cue but unwillingly steered Zara towards the bonfire. Jacob followed behind and I noticed that Sam gave him a nod when he sat next to Billy.

Everything that happened next was a blur. I didn't remember much. I had heard the Quileute legends so many times that it was now like white noise. I lived parts of it anyway so i didn't have to hear about them. I sat ridged against the log that I was leaning on. The fire crackled in the middle of the circle and Billy sat tall in his wheelchair as we were all sitting on the ground. I watched as Billy's lips moved but I couldn't hear anything. All I was focused on was Zara. She was just leaning against my shoulder listening intently. She wasn't giving me anything to go off of. She was just transfixed by Billy. I noticed that at some point Kim and Emily looked at Zara. Sam even took a sly look but that was at me. I had a feeling he thought that if anything was going to spark a thought in Zara's head it was the way I was acting. I couldn't stop shifting as Billy spoke.

It's because I know I'm a shapeshifter!

The longer Billy went on the more I felt like a bear in a cage. I felt like the bars were closing in on me. It was crazy. How could everyone be so calm when they knew that Zara was listening? After all we were all keeping this big secret from her and we knew it.

Finally after what felt like hours Billy eventually came to the end of the last legend.

I exhaled loudly and my eyes closed for a second. Thank god this is over.

Suddenly I heard clapping.

I looked down to see that it was Zara.

"That was great!" she told Billy.

A ripple of laughter broke through the group but it didn't reach me.

Soon the guys were on their feet. Emily was trying to get them to calmly walk to Billy's kitchen, where her food was waiting. Kim smiled and just shook her head as Jared eagerly pulled her towards the house.

I lingered beside the bonfire because Zara did.

She was moving towards Billy. He smiled up at her as she approached him.

Jacob was already standing behind Billy's chair, waiting to wheel him back up the yard.

Zara stopped in front of Billy. "Oh my god Mr Black. You really do know how to tell a story!" she gushed.

I flinched at the word 'story'.

Billy just laughed. "Well thank you my dear. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Zara nodded enthusiastically. "I really did. I mean you should be an English teacher because the way you told those folklore's. Ahh, I almost believed it as fact!"

I instantly tensed up.

Even Jacob seemed a little put out.

Billy was the master though. He just gave a small bow of his head. "Well then I've done my job and I might just look into becoming a teacher."

Zara giggled then. "Please do because then I won't fall asleep in classes anymore."

I silently watched Billy and Zara continue to banter as I held my chest. Oh man...their having fun while i'm here about to have a heart attack.

{}{}{}{}

Zara was still as happy as she had been when we were at Jacob's house. Me, on the other hand, I still couldn't relax any of my muscles. I was tense and on edge as Zara and I left for our nightly walk on the beach. It's like I was afraid that any minute now Zara would be piece things together and totally freak out. We arrived at the beach in no time but my mouth still felt dry and I could barely swallow. I had to act normal though because from the way Zara was acting it seemed like she was still oblivious to my secret. Then again why would she think that the Quileute legends were real? After all Zara, only noticed that I bunked off school and sometimes my body started shaking that wasn't much to go on. It would take quite a leap for her to think i was a werewolf but even knowing this i still didn't feel any better.

My mind continued to race though as Zara and I walked on the sand.

Suddenly she turned to face me. "Hey…what's up?"

The tension increased inside my body. "Nothing."

Zara just frowned. "It must be something you haven't said a thing since we left Jacob's."

I just scratched my head. "Er…"

"Has it got something to do with seeing Jacob again?" Zara suggested.

I jumped on the excuse that Zara gave me. "Yeah, you know it's been a while."

Zara just nodded and thankfully she let the subject drop.

She was soon smiling again. "Well I had fun at his house. Mr Black tells the Quileute story way better than the book does."

I stopped mid stride. My heart froze and I couldn't breathe again. "W…hat?"

Zara just kept smiling. "He tells it better than the book," she repeated for me.

I was start to choke on my words. "W-where did you...get a book of the Quileute legends from?"

"Oh well, my parents took me and Fabien to do all the touristy things when we first got to La Push," Zara answered. "I just found it interesting and bought the same book as you but yours is way nicer than mines. Yours looks all old and like an original but mines just looks commercial."

I was on the verge of a panic attack. My breathing got faster. With fear, I was slowly realizing that I had absolutely no control over my secret. I couldn't keep it from Zara no matter how much I tried. She could find out from anywhere. After all she already knew about the legends before today….

I felt a hand on my face then.

This broke me out of my thoughts and I looked down to see that Zara was staring at me. "Come on cheer up Paul," she said then with a slight laugh, "For some reason you look like you're going to your death."

My heart was sinking to my feet. I really am.

Zara started stroking my face when I didn't say anything. Her smile was slipping because I wasn't retaliating. She was frowning now and looking at me with confusion. "What's gotten into you?"

I closed my eyes for a millisecond against the feel of Zara's soft fingers. "Nothing," I said and when I opened my eyes I saw Zara's skeptical look, "It's…just going to be a little hard to get back to normal with Jacob," I half lied. It had been a thought that was bugging me but that wasn't what was affecting me right now.

Zara just pushed out her lower lip and made her puppy dog eyes. "Aww Paul."

I forced myself to smile. I had to snap out of this or Zara would start to get suspicion about what was really bothering me. "You have to keep the fact that I care a secret," I joked.

This finally made Zara smile again. She pouted a little then as she pressed a finger to her glossy, pink lips. "Your secret is safe with me. I won't say a word."

She winked when she finished and this did something to me. Suddenly I was kissing Zara. I couldn't control myself when she was this cute plus kissing her made me forget about things.

And there were things I wanted to forget about right now.

Aww poor Paul