Paul strode into Emily's house despite the dull pounding in his head. After heading to the annual post-graduation bonfire with Kourtney, it finally sunk in that he was now a high school graduate. Paul celebrated, to say the least. Sam must have had Jared standing close by from the way he immediately showed up after pounding down his 12th beer.

"Good morning Paul!" Jared and Embry yelled as he entered the kitchen.

"Shut the fu-"

Emily cleared her throat and glared at him.

"Sorry, Emily," Paul mumbled as he took a seat. The smell of banana nut muffins hit his nose. Despite it being his favorite, Paul pushed the basket of muffins away.

"Had fun last night?" Emily teased.

Paul only groaned. The groan only continued on as he heard Jacob and Seth approaching.

"Hey, Paul!" Seth exclaimed cheerily. Paul gritted his teeth. Being the youngest of the pack, Emily was more protective of Seth. Snapping at him would have proved to be bad for Paul.

"So twelve beers, huh?" Jacob said, looking amused.

"Shut up, Black!"

"You should get going," Jacob continued. "Leah's already started patrolling."

Paul's head snapped up.

"I'm patrolling with that-" Paul stopped and glanced at Emily who was watching him carefully. "Why-"

"Good morning to our new graduate!" Sam cried as he joined the group in the kitchen. After giving Emily a quick kiss, he turned to Paul, mischief twinkling in his eyes.

"You paired me up with Leah?" Paul asked. "I thought I was running with Jared today!"

"Yeah, but after he had to stay with you to make sure you didn't phase in your drunken state, I figured he needed a break. Leah was the only one who volunteered to take his place."

"Why?"

Sam shrugged. "She said she had plans later or something."

"I think she's going to see Cody," Seth said as he chewed on his muffin. "I still can't figure out if she imprinted on him or the other way around. But Cody isn't one of us, so I'm sure that means that-"

"Can't I switch with someone?" Paul asked. "I could use a break, too."

"It's not our fault you decided to get drunk last night!" Jared told him. Paul groaned for the third time in a span of ten minutes.

Emily walked over and placed a tall glass of water in front of him.

"Drink up!"

Paul picked up the glass and started chugging it down. As he set the glass down, he noticed the muffin that Emily placed in front of him. Getting ready to decline, Emily spoke up, "Eat it!"

He mumbled an, "Okay," before taking off a chunk and popping it in his mouth.

"What are you guys wearing for Sunday?" Quil said, turning to Jacob and Embry. "Do we have to dress up? I'm screwed if we do! I don't dress like the Cullens."

"I'm sure you don't have to dress to the nines," Emily said. "Sam has a few nice dress shirts if you need to borrow a couple."

"You're really going to a party at those leeches' house?" Jared asked.

"Can I come?" Seth asked.

"Wait, you're going to a party at those leeches' houses?" Paul asked.

"That's what I literally just asked!"

"Yeah," Jacob said, giving Paul a look. "Bella's my friend and she invited me and extended the invitation to Embry and Quil."

"And Kourtney!" Seth added. Jacob shook his head before turning his attention to Paul. Everyone in the kitchen remained silent as they watch Paul digest the information.

"What did you say?" Paul finally asked.

"Uh," Seth looked to Jacob for help.

"Bella also invited Koutney," Jacob finally explained. "She-

Paul immediately stood up, his hands slamming on the table.

"Paul," Sam said in a warning tone. Jared jumped off of the counter as Jacob stood up as well.

"Hell no, she's not going!" he cried as he made his way out the door.

"Paul!" Sam shouted.

"I'll go follow him," Jared said as he took off after Paul. Once he got into the forest, Jared phased.

'Where's Paul? He's fucking late again.'

'He didn't phase?' Jared replayed the scene in the kitchen.

'Great, more fucking drama. Tell him to hurry his ass up! I'm not patrolling the whole res on my own!'

Jared continued to run towards Kourtney's house. He slowed down as he approached the edge of the forest. He could see Paul running up to Kourtney's front door. He heard the three loud pounds on the door.

"Paul!" Kourtney cried as she opened the door and saw her boyfriend, huffing and puffing. "I thought you had-"

"You are not going!" Paul immediately said as he stormed into her house.

"What? What are you talking about?" Kourtney asked as she closed the door. She turned around. Paul still had his back to her and she could see him slowly moving his head. "No one's home if that's what you're trying to listen for. What's wrong, baby?"

Paul turned around to face her.

"You are not going to that lee-, uh, to Bella's graduation party!"

"Excuse me?" Kourtney said, crossing her arms.

"You're not going," Paul repeated.

"Because?"

"I said so."

That reply received an, "Oh?" coupled with a cocked eyebrow from Kourtney. It was a sign that Paul touched a nerve, but he didn't care; he held his ground.

Kourtney finally sighed. She got close to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Paul, I know you have a problem with Bella, but I like her. She's nice."

"She's stringing Jake along!" Paul cried, pulling away from her. Being that he couldn't tell her the real reason he didn't want her at the Cullens, Paul was grasping at an excuse for Kourtney to not go. "She knows Jacob is in love with her and she still sticks with that boyfriend of hers."

"Jacob just has a little crush on her," Kourtney said with a laugh. "He thinks he's in love with her. And Edward is really nice too."

"Ed- you've met him?" Paul shouted. The thought of a leech being close to Kourtney just didn't well with him. He didn't care if they were 'vegetarian vampires'; he still didn't trust them.

"Paul, stop yelling!" Kourtney noticed how Paul suddenly started to take deep breaths. She slowly placed a hand on his arm and softened her voice. "Yes, I met him briefly when I went to get my hair done for graduation. He was nice and polite-"

"And good looking right?" Paul asked. He knew it would be a yes. He was well aware that the Cullens were known as the most attractive family in all of Forks.

Kourtney gave him a look and then slowly smiled. "Are you jealous?" she teased.

Paul felt the vibrations start. It didn't go unnoticed the Kourtney.

"Baby, are you okay?" Paul knew he needed to get out of there. "Paul, I was joking!"

Paul shook his head as the vibrations grew stronger. He saw Kourtney make a move towards him, but he backed away and moved around her.

"I gotta go!" he cried.

"Paul, I'm sorry! I was joking! I don't care about hi-"

"You're not going!" Paul yelled again. "It's settled!"

Kourtney's apologetic demeanor quickly disappeared. She gave Paul a look.

"It is not settled!" she yelled back. Paul groaned in frustration and turned to leave. "Don't leave! We're not done talking about this!"

Paul ignored her and flew out the front door. Kourtney ran out to the patio and watched as Paul headed into the forest.

"It. Is. Not. Settled!"

.-~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.

'Why does she have to be so God damn stubborn?' Paul huffed as he ran away from Kourtney's house.

'So what happened?' came Quil's voice. It didn't take long for Paul to realize that everyone else had phased in.

'I told her she wasn't going.'

'How'd that end up for you?' Leah asked smugly.

'How do you think? He's out here phased and complaining about how stubborn she is,' Seth piped in.

'It was rhetorical Seth!'

'Face it, bro. She's going whether you like it or not,' Jared told him.

'I'm gonna change her mind.'

'I bet you, you won't,' Jared were heard throughout the pack.

'I'm with Jared,' Embry said.

Paul growled, giving the rest of the members a glimpse of fear that Jared was right.

'No! I'm going to make sure she doesn't go!'

.-~*~-. -~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.

Kourtney was ready to head to her room to get ready for bed when someone knocked on the front door. She showed no surprise when she saw Paul standing out on the porch. He gave her a small smile. She crossed her arms in return.

"Kourt," Paul began when he received no other greeting. "I'm sorry, babe. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

He stopped, waiting for anything from Kourtney.

She only continued to look at him.

"Uh," Paul cleared his throat, trying to see if he missed anything else.

"You forgot the part about how you demanded I not go, like I didn't have a choice in the matter," she finally said.

"I'm sorry about that," Paul said quickly. "I know you get along with Bella, but…"

"You don't. Which is why I wasn't going to force you to go with me," Kourtney explained.

"I'm gonna be honest, Kourt," Paul said. "I really don't want you going. If you do decide to go, then that's your choice; I know I can't stop you. But I'm not gonna lie and say that I won't be upset or even mad about it."

"You're gonna be mad at me for going to that party?" Kourtney asked. Paul nodded. "Why? Is it because of Bella or because of Edward?"

Paul's eyes darkened at the mention of Edward. Kourtney recognized that it was the same look he had earlier. She quickly stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

"Paul, I don't like Edward!"

"Neither do I," he told her, trying to steady his voice. Kourtney sighed.

"Why?" Kourtney cried. "There has to be a reason! I kind of understand why you dislike Bella, but Edward?"

"Look, the best explanation I have is that he and I just don't get along. Never have, never will."

"I didn't even know you knew him, let alone talked to him."

Paul shrugged. "I've, uh, bumped into him a few times. All those times didn't exactly lead us to be the best of friends."

Kourtney sighed again. Feeling himself calm down, he slowly pulled her closer to him. Once she was close, he bent down and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm sorry," Paul murmured. He buried his face in her neck. Kourtney eventually wrapped her arms around him.

"It's okay," Kourtney said. Paul pulled away and placed his lips on hers. He soon deepened the kiss and Kourtney reciprocated his intensity. Paul jumped back as a howl cut through the air. It sounded close by.

"Damn it, Jared," Paul mumbled. Kourtney straightened herself out. She felt her cheeks redden. The sound of a vehicle approaching caught the couple's attention.

"I guess he was just warning us," Kourtney said as she watched Cody pull up the driveway.

"Ever heard of a shirt?" her brother called out as he got out of the car. Paul immediately crossed his arms across his chest. Kourtney tried not to notice how this move made his arms bulge out more.

"It's getting late, isn't it?" Cody asked as he stopped between the two.

"We were just talking about something," Kourtney told him. She gave him a look. Cody continued to stay where he was.

"I'll call you," Paul finally told her. She gave him a smile and a wave as he made his way to his car.

.-~*~-. -~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.

Paul pulled up to Emily's house feeling pretty good about himself. He was able to change Kourtney's mind about going to the leech lover's graduation party that was being held at the leech's house.

"I'm guessing you were successful?" Emily asked as Paul walked in the house.

"Yup!" Paul cried just as Jared barged in behind him yelling "Nope!"

Paul whipped around and Jared smirked at him.

"Kourtney's still going," Jared said.

"What?" Paul asked. "How do you know?"

"Because I heard everything…and then some."

"What-" Sam began, but was shushed by Emily.

"Dude, I apologized!" The room got quiet.

"And then what?" Emily finally asked.

"She forgave me!"

"O…kay. And some time in your conversation Kourtney said the words, 'Okay, Paul, I will not go to Bella' graduation party'?"

Paul got quiet.

"I mean…I told her I'd get mad at her if she went."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"She's still going, bro," Jared laughed. He clapped Paul on his shoulder and made his way towards the kitchen.

"No, she isn't!" Paul cried for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

.-~*~-. -~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.

The following day, Paul was back at Emily's after a night of patrolling again. He kept an ear out for his girlfriend. He had a plan in pace to keep her from going to the graduation party.

Paul groaned when he heard a few of the pack members approaching. He was hoping to get to talk to Kourtney without them trying to mess him up.

"So, how-"

"Shut up, Jared!"

"I'm guessing you still haven't changed her mind?"

Paul remained quiet. He wasn't going to say a word. A car door slammed and Paul shot out of his seat. He ran to the front and was able to intercept Kourtney before she got inside.

"Ow!" Kim cried. Paul didn't realize that Kim was with Kourtney.

"Sorry, Kim," Paul said quickly. "Uh, Jared's inside. I just need to talk to Kourt."

Kim nodded and left the two alone.

"Where's the fire?" Kourt joked.

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to go out with me and my dad tomorrow?"

"Out? You mean, out to fish?"

"Yeah, you promised my dad you'd give it another try. The weather is better. The fish are out and biting."

"Well, what time did you have in mind?" Kourtney asked.

"Maybe after breakfast?" Before lunch maybe even?"

Kourtney was thinking it over. Paul held his breath.

"Can we do it maybe next weekend?" Kourtney asked.

"I mean, tomorrow is supposed to be a pretty good day."

"Yeah, I get that babe, but I don't want to smell like ocean and sun and fish before Bella's party."

"TOLD YOU!" Jared screamed from inside.

"What-"

"You're still going?" Paul asked, sounding annoyed.

"I told you I was going to."

"And I told you that you weren't."

Kourtney sighed.

"We are not fighting over something as stupid as me going to a party that I was invited to!"

"Baby, you can go to any damn party you want. I don't care. But-"

"It's just Bella that you have a problem with?"

"Exactly!"

"Paul!" Kourtney cried, exasperated. "I am going to Bella's graduation party. She was nice enough to invite me."

Kourtney paused as she heard footsteps approaching. It was the three musketeers.

"Jacob, Embry, and Quil are going!" she cried, pointing at them. "Why aren't you jumping down their throats?"

By this point, Paul was starting to feel the tremors again. If only he could just tell her that he didn't want her walking into a house full of leeches.

"Uh oh," Quil said.

Paul glared at the three.

"Run it off, Paul," Jacob told him.

"Who do you thi-"

"Run it off, Paul!" Jacob said again. He passed by the third in command and whispered, "I'll try and convince Kourt not to go, alright?"

Without waiting for his reply, Jacob put an arm around Kourtney and led her inside.

"What is his problem with Edward?" Kourtney asked. Jacob only chuckled.

"He's not the only one who has a problem with Edward," Jacob told her as he led her to the kitchen.

"I know what your problem is, but what's Paul's?"

They both took a seat at the table. Kourtney looked at him, waiting for an answer.

Jacob sighed and drummed his fingers on the table.

"He just doesn't like the dude," Embry said as he entered with Quil.

Kourtney rolled her eyes.

"But why?"

"Haven't you ever disliked someone because you just do? Like just seeing them or knowing they exist makes your blood boil?"

Kourtney cocked an eyebrow at Embry.

"He got into a fight with Edward's brother before, so his dislike actually extends towards the whole Cullen clan," Quil said.

"Wait, what?" Kourtney cried.

"Yeah, what?" Embry asked, giving Quil a look.

"Uh, yeah," Jacob said, clearing his throat. "All we really know is that things got heated between Paul and Edward's brother Emmett. Rosalie, Emmett's girlfriend and Edward's adoptive sister got involved and, yeah. Just bad blood all around."

Kourtney sighed.

"Fine," she groaned. "I won't go." She stood up. "Tell Paul that I went home."

Jacob, Embry, and Quil looked at one another before watching Kourtney leave.

"She doesn't sound too happy," Quil stated.

.-~*~-.-~*~-. -~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~-.

"Hey," Paul said as Kourtney made her way out of her house.

"Hi," she replied. She sat on the first step and Paul followed suit.

"You left."

"Yeah, I was just getting tired."

"Look babe, I'm sorry-"

"It's okay," Kourtney said, finally turning to look at him. "I'm not going, okay? So let's just move on."

As happy as Paul was, he felt guilty. The feeling was eating away at him and he knew it had to do with the bond. Kourtney wasn't happy therefore it was affecting him. He groaned.

"What?"

He gave a frustrated sigh.

"What, Paul?"

"Go to the party, babe," Paul said, sounding defeated.

"No, it's-"

"Go, babe. I'm being selfish and unfair," he told her, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry."

"A-are you sure?" she asked uncertainly. She felt Paul nod. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and gave him a tight hug. "If it makes you feel better, I can take Kevin with me."

"You not going will make me feel better," Paul muttered.

"Paul!" Kourtney whined. "Do you want me to go or not?"

"Yes, go!" Paul finally answered. "Take your cousin with you. The three musketeers are already going to be there, but the more that can keep an eye on you the better."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Paul said. "Let's just move on from this, like you said, before I change my mind."

AN: Just a quick update for you readers! It's been a long time since an update and I apologize. I was having a hard time writing this chapter, so I decided to split it so I can at least give you a chapter, even if it is short! I'm hoping to have another chapter up soon! Thank you for sticking with me even though I suck at updating lately! Comments are always helpful! It gives me motivation and helps with writer's block! Thank you, readers!