It wasn't until the next night that I got any sleep at all, and of course, this sleep had a dream.

"Do exactly as I say," said a voice the moment my dream began.

"No," I moaned as soon as the dim scenario formulated around me. I did not want to do this. I wasn't ready yet, especially the with actual event just looming around the corner. Despite my silent pleas to wake up, I couldn't. Not tonight.

I groaned pathetically.

"Please no. I can't do this now," I said.

The dim glow of the wide window illuminated the equally wide space. Small white squares were on the floor, thick carpets. Now I could see the walls, a little discrete electronic pad next to the window. There was an empty piano near the center of the room.

The walls were blue in their shadows, but obviously meant to white under the light. Outside stretched out the long lawn, all the way out to the river that glistened in the moonlight.

As the dream unwillingly began like it always had, I felt the panic begin to rise, like a tank filling with water. My heart was pounding heavily, despite my trying to shush it knowing that Laurent would hear. The panic made my eyes water, and sob was desperately trying to break free.

"Don't," said the voice. My lip was trembling. The voice wasn't Laurent at least. "Do not panic or you will never see the dog again." I nearly collapsed in relief. My next exhale was loud in relief. This voice was Jasper. I remembered what Quil said about listening to what the owner of this voice had to say. If Jasper had any advice, even if it was advice conjured up from my own imagination, I knew he knew better than me.

I didn't move.

"It is extremely important that you look at this exactly the same way I would," Jasper said. I looked up and around me. It was not nearly as dark as it had been before in my dreams. I opened my mouth to question what he was trying to say.

Jasper answered my question before I could ask it, "From a military perspective."

This was confusing to me.

"I'm just a human," I responded to Jasper.

"You're not just a human," Jasper said. "You are a human who has crossed boundaries, tempered werewolves, and stood up to any creature that would demand the books. You are the best human for the job. The only one for this job."

I gulped as I began to circle myself, constantly looking over my shoulder for signs of Laurent. I heard a sound that made me jump. It sounded like a snap. Or maybe it was just a tree branch waving in the wind and slapping the side of the house.

"Relax," said Jasper. Hearing a wonderful, beautiful voice say this made it eerily similar to Laurent. I had to close my eyes and try to regain my bearings. I sighed heavily. I could do this, I could do this.

When I opened my eyes I was shocked to see something already standing in front of me. I opened my mouth to scream as the smiling, red eyes bore through me locking my eyes so I could not look away.

"Don't scream. If you scream you'll die. He'll know," Jasper instructed in a stern teacher's voice.

My mouth was still open. I was gaping at him, my words stammering in my throat as I suddenly had no idea how to communicate anymore. Laurent seemed to find this amusing. His long muscular body took another step forward, his pale hand stretching out to me.

"Lie," Jasper said. "Lie like you did last time you met him."

I was quiet. I couldn't say anything. Laurent inched closer. I struggled to keep myself from running as I cringed away, expecting his cold hard hand to touch me. I couldn't lie. I could barely move, let alone speak.

"Lie Cammy!" Jasper's voice ordered sharply, this time I did jump.

"I-I..." I was impressed at myself for being able to get that much out. Laurent paused, only briefly, not interrupting or speaking at all. His perfectly shaped lips curved into a closed mouthed crescent of a smile. My hesitation made my brain numb again.

His hand touched my cheek as his body seemed to move toward so graceful, it was like he was gliding or floating to close the distance between us. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here."

Laurent's smile widened. His lips revealed something I wasn't expecting. His teeth, though they were always dull looking like a canines, suddenly weren't human looking or even vampire looking. They were pointed at sharpened and shark-like, thin tipped triangles protruding from his gums.

I had never seen this in any of my dreams before.

I gasped. My hands flying up to cover my mouth in horror as I struggled to move away from him.

"No! No! Don't react! Don't let him frighten you!" Jasper shouted sounding almost angry, frustrated with my blunder. It was too late. My panic had already surfaced and there was no containing it now. I bolted, jerking as I turned to run. The moment my back was to him, cold impossibly strong arms belted across my waist and pulled me against him.

"Cammy! Get a grip!" Jasper ordered. I squeezed my eyes tight as the tears leaked through.

"I can't!" I sobbed loudly. "I can't do this!"

"You can!" Jasper's frustration was evident through his tone, his coaching having accomplished little.

"Nice try, little one," I heard Laurent from behind me. I pulled and fought, desperate for any weak break in his hold that would allow me to run free and escape the empty Cullen house. That was impossible. I was only just human. There was no way for me to get away now.

Jasper sighed impatiently, and I knew I had failed. Cold, stone lips grazed my throat...


"Cam?"

I gasped out loud, having been violently rescued from my own dream by a new voice. As usual, my cheeks stung raw with the stream of tears. My breaths were heavy, still panicked and horrified. My room was dark, my purse was clutched to my chest, but there was something else. Someone was in my room.

Instinctively I reached across my bed for the nightstand where my cell phone rested. I flipped it open, the screen illuminated the room with a faint glow. Beside my bed was a massive body standing over me. The only surprise I felt was the lack of shock I had that I hadn't been alone in my room.

Paul stood beside the bed, a concerned look on his face. He very naturally moved onto my bed gently leaning beside me. I stared at him for a moment, confused. He looked so perfect, and how long had it been since he'd been in my aunt's house. How long had it been since I'd seen him away from the border at all?

"Is this part of the dream?" I blurted. My voice was ragged.

Paul's brow furrowed for an instant and then he laughed.

"Was I in your nightmare?" he asked curiously. I looked at him for a moment, much more serious than was natural for me. I shook my head answering honestly. I wish he had been. Paul looked concerned for a moment. He shifted a little more onto my mattress, pulling the rest of his body beside me. I sat up against the headboard until only my legs were covered with the blanket.

It was so natural the way that Paul adjusted to my movements, he sat on top of my comforter, to create a thin layer of distance between us, but the rest of his body commanded my full attention, pulling up beside me and his arms wrapping around my shoulders to pull me to him.

It was too tempting to cuddle into him. I allowed myself to press into his side and lean my head onto his shoulder. Paul squeezed me gently.

"Are you okay now?" he whispered in the darkness as the glow from my cell phone began to fade.

I nodded.

"Thanks for waking me up," I said. Hopefully his timing would be this good every time he had to save me from Laurent. I cleared my throat and looked up at him. "What are you doing here?" I felt Paul's hesitation to answer, hypersensitive to his motives.

"I just felt like I should see you tonight. Er... Today... You know... this morning," he said. His voice was tired. I could feel his exhaustion as his body was unwinding beside me. He seemed to notice that he was getting too comfortable, and his body shifted again.

"It's not Thursday," I said still dazed from sleep.

"I know. I just thought it would be... appropriate to see you today," Paul said cautious of his wording. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more for your birthday. I promise to make it up to you." My hopes soared and fell in one swoop of emotion. It frightened me the way that Paul could do that to me.

"Don't worry about it," I said.

"No Cammy. I'll make it up to you. Okay?" Paul said. I sighed heavily.

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to," Paul said eagerly.

"I know you're busy, Paul. I would rather you missed my birthday than you neglecting your duties," I said. Paul groaned under his breath. It was a low frustrated growl of a sound, that made me shiver. Paul inched closer to me, his warmth overtaking me in the February cold.

He breathed in deeply and I felt his face lean in against my hair. I leaned closer into him, I wanted to somehow mush myself even more to him, but I was afraid of leaving a Cammy-shaped bruise in his side. The stress was muffled by his presence.

"I can't wait until this is over," I heard him whisper. I smiled.

"Same here," I all but laughed in eager agreement. It was almost as though he could predict what was going to happen, knowing that I was about to go get myself in trouble. I smiled at him and he smiled back, his eyes soft and warm. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered once more, a wonderful overreaction to his nearness.

Paul leaned toward me and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes before relief could over overwhelm me. I had to swallow hard when I remembered that he wouldn't stay, that he couldn't stay. I sighed. Maybe if I let him pay me back for my birthday, I could ask him to stay with me forever and use some unknown werewolf power to stop time to make this moment stay with us.

"I love you," I blurted. The feeling was so overwhelming that I had to say it, or explode with the tension. Paul looked down at me, hesitantly. Then he snorted.

"You must," he answered. I beamed uncontrollably, my grin being so wide that it must have looked ridiculous. Paul giggled. "What?"

"You said you didn't think I loved you. At the beginning," I said, referring to the beginning of the book as though he knew when the book had started as well.

"It would have been easier to believe if you weren't so stubborn," he said. I looked down at the comforter, my fingers fiddling with the edge of the blanket.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm obsessed with you." I admitted this with shame, like it was a terrible secret. It was. Like my obsession with Twilight had been embarrassing especially in moments when I once answered "Well, its no irritable grizzly" when someone asked me how the new dish at Olive Garden tasted. Paul cocked a brow.

"Not as obsessed as I am," he said. I laughed out loud. Paul looked insulted. "Cammy, you're an imprint. You have no idea how much power you have over me."

"Yeah, but you're not crossing over borders, or constantly waiting for phone calls, or asking Emily how you're doing," I said. Paul stared at me, his fingertips gently touching my skin as his hand trailed down my arm to my wrist.

"And you are not denying your very nature by disobeying an Alpha's orders, you're not outside of my apartment every night just to make sure I haven't stopped breathing in my sleep, you're not creating distance between us just to make sure you're safe and consequently finding yourself unable to keep away despite the safety it would bring," Paul answered.

My heart hiccupped its next beat, staggered by the confession. We stared at one another for a moment. Then Paul cupped his hand softly at the edge of my jawline. Without seeking any permission to do so, he leaned in and kissed me once one the lips. I thought I was about to explode with joy, the emotion almost swelled over, drowning me in his touch.

I don't care what he said. I was obsessed with him. No one could be more obsessed with anyone imprint or not. This was the love that Edward and Bella had for one another. This was what I'd read about. This was embarrassingly the purpose of my life.

And maybe this was the reason that I somehow appeared in the Twilight universe. Tears rose to my eyes and before I could contain myself I wrapped my arms around my chest and buried my face in his chest. I sobbed lightly, scaring Paul as his hands pulled me away and he kept murmuring, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"You..." I cried. Before I could get anymore words out, I began to sob again. I had to take a deep breath to try again. "You're going to leave again."

"Cammy, I haven't gone anywhere," Paul said.

"Not like that..." I groaned pathetically. I struggled to realize what my own words meant. Paul looped his arm underneath the space behind my knee and effortlessly pulled me into his lap. The familiarity of the position nearly sent me into another fit of sobs.

"Cammy," I heard him whisper. I tried to contain myself to hear him. He rocked me gently. "I haven't gone anywhere. Trust me." This instantly soothed me. He was right. He never stopped caring for me. I knew better than to think anything different, despite my insecurities from the coldness between us.

"If I ever need you... I mean, really need you. You'll come running, won't you?" I asked keeping my eyes down.

"Faster than a vampire," he said. I smiled a little, softly to myself. His wording was not meant to be that intentional, but it was appropriate nonetheless. He kissed my cheek and the corner of my comforted smile. He was not very good at this un-imprinting thing. I was very glad for that.

"And for the record, I love you too," he added. I closed my eyes now completely relaxed. We were quiet for a long moment, even though my outburst had long since past. I found myself falling asleep against his chest, and his breathing was getting deeper, his muscles losing their tense rigidity.

"I think I know how to make up for your birthday," he said. My heart flew in immediate anticipation. I nearly knocked my head into his chin in my haste to look up at his face. Paul laughed quietly, his arms securing me to him around my waist.

"How about a movie?" Paul asked. I stared at him questioningly. His grin widened. "You said Jacob and Bella go to a movie. I was sent to go in discretely and make sure Jacob goes through his phasing okay. He is supposed to phase afterward right?"

I nodded. He grinned.

"Well, while you're Bella stalking, and I'm Jacob stalking, we might as well make it a stalking date," Paul said.

I just stared at him. I dropped my gaze, trying to make sense of his sudden affection. Was un-imprinting really supposed to go so far out of control that Paul would start making dates?

"Wow... This nightmare sure is taking a weird turn," I mumbled.

"Cammy," Paul said inviting me out of my thoughts. I looked back up at him.

"Yes! That would be great!" I said. I would allow myself to believe this was reality, because it was too wonderful to belong to my dark dreams.

"Great. What movie and what time?" he said, his white smile flashing across his naturally dark face.

"Um... Crosshairs this Friday, and I'm not sure when the movie start. There aren't any movie times to go with the listings in New Moon," I said. Paul started to chuckle until I shushed him, suddenly remembering that my aunt and uncle were the reason we were being quiet. I had forgotten all about their existence the minute I saw Paul in my room.

"I'll have to sneak you in. You're still a youngin'" I said ribbing him lightly.

"Yeah? Well maybe you'll luck out and they'll give you a senior discount," he said. I smacked him in the shoulder, and he complained playfully. As if I could do any damage to him. Finally he clasped my hands together so I could stop hitting him and then he planted a deeper kiss on my lips.

Sheer bliss hazed over my brain. You know someone loves you when they kiss you like that, morning breath and all. His lips pressed into mine, prying them open and deepening it even more until the shivers of pleasure rippled down to the tips of my toes that curled in reaction.

I was hardly helping the kiss at all, but didn't stop him. Anything but. I encouraged him to move whichever way he pleased until he decided to pull away. Our faces inches apart we both smiled at one another, Paul's face darkened a little almost embarrassed.

"As good as I remembered," he murmured almost surprised. His smile fell a little bit. "I can't make it for Thursday. But I'll be there for Friday. I promise. One gory movie coming up." He began to move.

"I have to go to school," he said. I was surprised to feel the coolness when his heat moved with him.

"What? But you were up all night," I said.

"I'll be fine," Paul answered confidently. He complete moved off of the bed and bent down to pick something off of my floor. I couldn't seem it in the dim light, only feeling a thin step. When I picked it up, petals floated from them.

I suppressed a gasp. It was a tattered yellow flower.

"What's this?" I asked.

"I got you a rose," he said cheerfully. I melted a little as I saw his smile. "I kind of snapped it off of the Yorkie's rose bush next door. I was planning on giving it to you covertly, but I heard you and you're awake so I might as well give it to you in person."

I smiled softly.

"What brought this on?" I asked him.

"Well, I didn't really come through for your birthday. I wasn't about to let you go through Valentine's Day empty handed too," he said. That stunned me. How was I so clueless to the time? It was Valentine's Day? He noticed my dead stare.

"Well that makes me and Bella both schmucks, I guess," I said. Paul looked at me confused. I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." Paul rolled his eyes and reached out to ruffle my hair.

"Don't worry about it. I stole a flower. It's not exactly an Audi A5," he said shrugging.

"It's better," I interrupted twirling the flower in my hand. Bella was right. These sort of presents were much more heart warming than scholarships, forged documents, or cars. Paul took in a breath, obviously meaning to respond to that, but he hesitated and changed the subject.

"Friday we'll go to the evening showing a little early so we beat them there. Sound like a plan?" he asked.

"Definitely," I said. Paul smiled. He walked over to my window and pulled it up with ease. I cocked my head to the side. "Is that how everyone gets in and out of my house so easily? The window?" I said nodding to the window.

"No. This just happens to be the one night someone remembered to lock the backdoor," Paul said. My brows went up. His smug grin returned and he slipped his leg through the space he'd created and gracefully landed on the lawn. He closed the window behind him.

I waited a moment watching after him. Then I turned to stare at the opposite wall replaying the conversation. I smiled upon remembering that I had a date. Not a kidnapping, not a scheduled meeting at the border, not being caught in enemy territory. Paul and I were going to mutually agree to go somewhere and be together.

I smiled at no one.

Yes, this was definitely too good to be a part of any dream I would have.


You don't realize how wonderful petty little worries were until you've had mountainous problems that were constantly in danger of forming a paradox to the novel it was about. This worry I was referring to, was what I was going to wear. And so I floated through the remainder of the week easily, a yellow rose sitting in the plastic cup, since the only vase Aunt Debbie had was an eighteenth century replica that she had collected from one of her many travels.

Knowing my luck, I decided to go the unbreakable route. I was right to. I'd already knocked the rose over twice. I opened my closet, and sifted through the clothes Alice and Jasper had gotten me a year ago.

A year ago...

It was a wonder that a film of dust hadn't collected on these clothes. I settled for v-neck red colored shirt that was a soft material I didn't recognize, but felt wonderful against my skin. Then came the miracle-working, butt-enhancing jeans. I turned around in the mirror.

Why weren't all pants like this? Was it some secret formula the clothes company refused to share?

"Cammy!" I heard Aunt Debbie cry from down the hallway.

"In the bathroom!" I responded as I got to work on the straightener. Aunt Debbie stopped short in the bathroom.

"Oh," she said surprised. She looked me up and down. "You're going out?" I stopped.

"Did you need me to do something? I can do it before I go," I offered quickly. Best to get any chores over and done with now. She came into the bathroom to watch me get ready and cocked her head to the side.

"You look great," she said. I blushed deeply.

"So do you," I said politely. Aunt Debbie made an unamused face in the mirror in disbelief.

"I mean, you're making yourself look nice. Do you have a..."

"Date?" I offered when she was at a loss for words. She was silent, her eyes wide waiting for my answer. Oh. That was what she was getting at. "Yeah. With Paul."

"Paul? You mean Paul from La Push?"

Was there any other Paul?

"Yeah," I answered.

"Honey, isn't he sixteen?" she asked.

"Yes, I think so," I said.

"You're eighteen," she said.

"Yeah," I said still not sure what she was getting at.

Aunt Debbie stared at me in the mirror. I stared back.

"Isn't he a little young? I mean..." Aunt Debbie's words trailed off again. I waited for what she was getting at. So what if he was a little young. What was the big deal? "You know... I don't want you getting in trouble." I made my eyes wide and innocent.

"Paul won't get into trouble. And he's very mature for a sixteen year old," I said.

"Its not just him I'm worried about," she said. I waited, still confused. "Cammy, you're technically an adult. He's still a child. I just want you... to be careful." I tried to understand what she was saying. I still drew a blank. "So don't do anything brash." I thought about that.

Then the light bulb came on over my head.

"Oh," I said thoughtfully. Then the significance of our ages and a romantic relationship became clear. "Oh! Oh god! Aunt Debbie!" Aunt Debbie blushed as deeply as I did. I couldn't look her in the eye as I gazed down at the make up scattered across the ceramic top.

"I'm just pointing out that... If you have a relationship. A physical one I mean..."

"We're not going to have sex!" I blurted. The 'S' word made me blush even worse. Geez, Bella had to get a sex talk from Charlie, but I was getting a statutory rape lecture from my aunt. Sorry Bella. I've got you beat there.

Aunt Debbie sighed, equally flustered as me.

"Well, obviously you know what you're getting into," Aunt Debbie said.

"Or rather what he's not getting into," I heard Uncle Bob add unhelpfully from the kitchen as he worked on dinner. Aunt Debbie and I exchanged horrified looks and I shuddered. Aunt Debbie glared behind her down the hallway.

"Bob!"

"I was just saying..."

Someone knocked on the door.

"Thank God!" I blurted and ran for the front door with vampire speed. I shut it behind me and nearly ran into Paul on the doorstep. My face was probably still red and seeing Paul didn't help my blushing. He had a light jacket, and a white under shirt beneath, with khaki cargo pants. Paul cocked a brow at me. He smirked a little.

"You're not going to invite me in to meet the family?" he teased.

I held the door handle as if to keep my aunt and uncle inside and Paul outside.

"You already know them. And trust me you don't want to go in there," I said. Finally I forced my fingers off the door handle. It was immediately replaced by Paul's hand. He led me down the steps. I refused to look over my shoulder back at my aunt and uncle who may or may not be peering through the window and analyzing our interaction.

He led me down to the black Ford down where he usually parked, behind the Audi. He opened my door for me, and let me slide in first. In an instant he was already in the driver's side. He grinned at me, seeming far too excited and happy to be nervous.

I liked seeing him this way. So I had to ask.

"Does Sam know you're doing this?" I asked.

"I've conveniently left out the mentioning of your presence while Jacob stalking and timed my phasing around his. He better not after the trouble I'm going through," Paul said. My grin widened. It was rebel Paul! Back from his dormant state!

I would have hugged him to greet back my rebel, but he was driving at the moment.

We drove to through the town to the movie theatre. My heart was thumping wildly, truly happy again. This was such a release, the failure of the un-imprint theory. It was malicious and selfish of me to hope that it was doomed at the start, but moments like this made me thankful. After all, if you wanted something badly enough, you had to fight for it.

Halfway there, my thoughts began to turn to darker subjects again. As I thought about my inevitable task, the strange shark toothed Laurent from my dream, and how unusually talkative Jasper had been. What this was supposed to mean, I wasn't sure.

But Jacob would be phasing tonight. Another week and Bella was going take matter into her own hands to find the meadow on her own. I turned to look at Paul again. I could hardly believe he was here. Not just any Paul. The rebel Paul.

My Paul.

I grinned at him. He glanced at me out of his peripheral vision and one of his hands left the steering wheel to pick up mine. The action was familiar again. There was no love lost between Paul and I. It was as though nothing had changed at all.

Thinking about Laurent again, I realized that Paul's sudden change in attitude might be some sort of cosmic gift. A karmic balance for the horror and distress I would be in Laurent's presence. It may not end well. I might die or I might be changed before I could stop Laurent.

This may be the last time Paul ever felt like this toward me. My stomach twisted nervously at that thought. My reverie was broken when Paul squeezed my hand gently. His gaze met mine at the stoplight. His eyes changed my mood entirely.

"I was just thinking about how glad I am that you're here," I said. He smiled in response.

"So was I," he said. His hand covered mine enveloping it in his warmth.

We arrived at the movie theater about a half hour early. We'd both approximated that Bella and the gang would most likely go to the seven-thirty showing, seeing as that was the only reasonably timed one that was at night like Jacob had said it would be.

Paul was a little flustered to have to take out money from his wallet and hand it to me so that I could the tickets. I frowned at the cash in my hand and looked back up at him.

"No, Paul. I've got the debit card Edward gave me," I said. Paul frowned right back at me. "What? It's no money out of my pocket, no money out of yours. This one is on the vampire."

"No. This one's on the werewolf," he argued.

"But this way no one has to pay," I said putting on a smile. Arguing wasn't getting me anywhere.

"Will you please let me buy you a birthday present?" he asked crossly, playfully annoyed.

"But..." Paul was still frowning. He put his hands on my shoulders, and spun me around so I was facing the ticket booth. He gently pushed me toward the ticket person who was eyeing us suspiciously. I turned to look over my shoulder as I handed over the money.

My buying the ticket wasn't even that necessary. It wasn't as though they would bother carding Paul. He looked like a college student.

"Two for Crosshairs," I said sliding the money in through the hole in the plexiglas.

Paul insisted on food as well, so he got three hot dogs, and I got a bag of M&M's. We shared a large coke, too. We found some seats in the middle of the row in the center of the theatre. An upside to our early arrival.

We sat in the large theatre on our own, nothing but the sound of emptiness and crinkling wrappers from our food echoing.

"Theatres are creepy," Paul said off handedly.

"I know," I said, uneasy in the quiet. The only part of my that felt protected was my right side that was directed toward Paul. He was already finishing his first hot dog. I watched him, his appalling manners somewhat nostalgic.

"What?"

"Nothing, you big pig," I responded. He held up his hands defensively.

"Hey, when you jog twelve hours a day you'll be snagging all the calories you can too," he said. I snorted at his use of 'when'. As though I would ever even jog one hour a day. I popped an M&M in my mouth watching the movie trivia flash on the screen, and consequently thinking of Quil.

"You know, Jared and I were going to go see this before the whole Jacob thing came into play," he said.

"Really?" I said. Made sense I guess. "What've you heard about it?"

"Its supposed to suck," he admitted.

"Wonderful," I said sarcastically.

"Yup. Nothing but carnage and unnecessary gore," he said. I turned to look at him. Uh oh. Another complication. It was amazing how much I seemed to forget about myself in my distraction of living in the Twilight world. I hadn't even thought twice about the movie.

"Gore? As if blood and guts?" Paul smiled. My face was suddenly cold, like I could feel the blood rush out of it.

"Is there some other type of gore I don't know about?" he teased.

I didn't respond. He stared at me. His jaw fell in sudden understanding.

"You're kidding me."

"I don't have a strong stomach," I admitted with a small shrug. Paul was still staring at me. The blood returned to my face quickly to blush. I looked away. "I'm a movie wuss. Gore and scary movies really get to me. I don't know how I keep getting into these situations where I have to watch these terrible movies."

"If you don't like horror or gore, then what are you doing reading a vampire book to begin with?" he asked.

"My friend told me it was a good book," I said defensively. Paul shook his head slowly. Then he chuckled at my embarrassment. He lifted the arm rest between us and wrapped his arm around me.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked.

"No," I said determined to not leave my duties for a little thing like queasiness. Paul and I watched the movie trivia a little longer, until the questions started to repeat themselves.

"Next time we'll see a better movie," he said. My heart fluttered at the mention of 'next time'. Next time indicated another date, another time with Paul. I tried not to smile as big as I wanted to. Hopefully I would live long enough. I swallowed hard. But next time? Did that mean that Paul was breaking down?

Did that mean he was going to forget orders and let me go to La Push to see him as much as I could?

I immediately banished that thought. I would not let my hopes run away with me again.

There weren't very many people in the theatre. I guess word had spread that this wasn't the greatest movie in the world. It wasn't long before we saw Bella making it up the steps chattering happily with Jacob behind her. Behind him, Mike was dragging his feet. The moment they turned around up the stairs, and I realized that Jacob might recognize Paul and me, the lights dimmed and the previews began.

Talk about your good timing.

Paul and I were quiet as we heard them slide into the aisle behind us. Paul and I looked at each other. Then three sat right behind us, Mike accidentally kicking my seat in the process. Paul looked over his seat and then jerked his thumb over his shoulder. He was shocked.

The theatre was practically empty and they were going to sit behind us?

I shrugged and just put my finger to my lips.

We sat through the previews, most of them other movies with gore and killer monsters. Stuff that made Paul smile and shake his head or roll his eyes. I guess psycho serial killers didn't really make the top ten scariest things for him anymore. I had to hand it to him, it seemed pretty ridiculous when you had your own personal werewolf bodyguard.

Funny, how I kind of wondered what these movies Bella always mentioned were actually about. But this movie had no plot whatsoever. Really. The unrecognizable actor just burst into a warehouse and started shooting up a table where a bunch of drug dealers were playing cards.

One bullet landed in one of the bad guy's neck, blood and fragments of the shattered throat spurting out a disgustingly long distance and splashing on the card table in slow motion for effect. I grimaced and Paul laughed when I hid my face into his chest.

"Gross..." I moaned. He patted my shoulder and cooed something in Quileute that sounded patronizing. He chuckled when I glared at him. That was the longest two hours of my life.

Mike suddenly got up, kicking my seat again and went straight for the stairs in the middle of the movie. I remembered the flu.

"Oh great," I said.

"What?" Paul whispered in concern.

"Mike, are you okay?"

Paul and I turned around instinctively. Bella met eyes with us both. I froze and looked at Jacob who was looking at Paul and I oddly. Paul and I quickly turned around. I hoped he didn't recognize us. I cringed at Paul, who was biting his lip nervously.

"Oops," he whispered. He checked again. This time Mike made a break for the stairs running for the long hallway and the door. Bella and Jacob followed. I looked at Paul worriedly. His expression softened. "Don't worry. Maybe he won't mention this to Bella. I think the guy blowing chunks will be a distraction."

"You think he recognized us?" I asked.

"Yeah," Paul said, bluntly honest.

I groaned.

"This was a bad idea," I said. Paul patted my shoulder again.

"Maybe it was. Are you interested in seeing the rest of the movie?" he asked motioning to the screen. My brows knit at the sight of the unarmed cop-gone-bad dragging his body under the table, and the good guy casually walking by and stomping on his already broken leg with another sickening crunch.

"No. Let's go," I said, trying to make my voice louder than the bad guy's yowls of pain.

We went out through the emergency exit, the fire alarms not going off as the signs promised. I guess it was just a ploy to deter people from sneaking friends in. The freezing air hit us immediately. In my haste to leave the house, I had forgotten to get a coat.

I shivered.

"Oh, Cammy. This is Washington. It's a place where you need jackets at night," Paul teased lightly. Meanwhile, he was shrugging out of his coat. He put it over my shoulders, grinning at the very date-like gesture. I grinned back and accepted it without complaint. It was too warm, like it had just come from the dryer.

I loved the feeling. There was nothing like having a werewolf boyfriend.

Boyfriend, right? Well, he was an imprint for sure. That was good enough for me.

We walked, our steps slow and meandering under the bright lights from the parking lot. We walked beside one another toward the car.

"I hope I'm not sick by the end of the night," I commented. I looked at him. "Do you still get sick or do you have an inhuman immunity system too."

"I don't get sick. Why are you going to get sick?" he asked.

"Mike's sick. Bella's going to get sick. Jacob's going to phase. It's not supposed to be a fun night for anyone. I don't know why I should be so different," I said. Paul looked at me. It began to drizzle lightly. "It's just a stomach flu."

He sighed.

"I hope you don't. We're going to have our hands full with Jacob the next few days," Paul raised his head as if to search for him. He, Bella, and Mike seemed to still be inside waiting for Mike to recover. "If you're going to be sick, I at least want to be there to make you feel better."

I pressed my lips into my smile.

"And I promise not to hold it against you if you puke on me on the way home," he said. Yes, this werewolf must love me. I linked my arm into his the rest of the way across the parking lot until he had me safely in the car. The drive home was silent aside form the radio.

His hand found mine, linking fingers over the gear shift.

The soft rock melody filled the car, and the air around us was like inhaling happiness. Yes, I had to survive this meeting with Laurent. I had to get it over with and I had to at least have a second date with my own imprint.

I bit my lip at that thought, the fear dulled by a new determination, a stronger will to live.

We were home too soon. Paul parked the car and walked around to open my door again, the rain splashed around us. I jogged to the front porch, Paul easily keeping pace beside me. We stopped underneath the porch as I fiddled with my purse and scrambled for my keys.

We were both soaked, dripping. The only part of me that wasn't soaked was my top half and every other portion protected by Paul's jacket. He gazed down at me and reached out to untuck my hair that was caught underneath the collar of the jacket. I stared up at his tall height pressing my lips tight in my smile.

"What are you smiling at?" he teased.

"You're just so darn pretty," I said. He snorted out a laugh. It was true, no matter how I'd said it. The rain had plastered his white shirt to his body and the cargo pants clung to his muscular form like he was modeling them.

Maybe I should forget my jacket more often. He was quite a sight.

"Oh," I said suddenly remembering. I started to pull my arm out of my jacket so I could give it back to him. He stopped me.

"No don't," he said pulling my arm back into the sleeve. I watched his face. He smiled at little. "I like to see you in it. Even if its kind of big on you." Kind of? I was swimming in it. His hand straightened my collar again and then traced the line that led to the pearl necklace I always wore now. "The necklace too. You're definitely a pearl girl."

I smiled.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"But you could be wearing a potato sack and I would still think you looked sexy," he said waggling his brows. I blushed and he smiled that smile he had when he knew I was getting embarrassed over a compliment. With that he made his face serious and finished leaning in to catch my lips on his.

The relief was the same as it had been the other night.

His warm lips were soft on mine, but steadily moving rougher against mine. His hands still on the color of his jacket, he pulled me closer and I stood on the tips of my toes, trying to ease the strain it took for him to bend down. He ended up simply picking me up to finish the kiss.

It ended almost mutually sudden.

"Oh," he said nearly breathless. He seemed to suddenly remember something. "I have to get home."

"Home?" I felt confused by the word. His kisses had a tendency to make me forget the meaning of words. Then I remembered that other people existed in this world other than Paul and I. "Right. Jacob. You better get there." Paul nodded and pulled unwillingly away. My hand had somehow found his, instinctively trying to hold onto him a little bit longer without me knowing.

I forced my hand to loosen its grip.

Paul licked his lips and fidgeted looking desperately back from his car to me. He seemed torn.

"Don't worry. We'll have lots of time. Jacob's only going to through this once. He'll need you," I said hating myself for encouraging him to be on his way. Paul sighed.

"Right," he said. As soon as he started to pull away, I remembered something, gasping with the suddenness of it coming to mind. "What?"

"Paul promise me something and you make sure everyone in the Pack knows too," I said urgently. Paul nodded quickly. "Promise me that when you start to talk to Bella, and Jacob joins the Pack, that none of you will mention me to her. Not a word! Do you understand?" I may have sounded a little more aggressive than I needed to.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because Bella isn't supposed to know about me. We don't need any paradoxes to the story. Okay? Please?" I asked now pleading. Paul looked at my seriousness and then shrugged.

"Sure, I guess," he said. I sighed in relief.

"Okay. Thank you," I said. Paul nodded once and then jogged into the night, toward his car. He drove away quickly, like someone who was late for something. I sighed heavily watching the red tail lights spin around the corner.


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