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Part IV- Imprint
Chapter 8- The Green eyed monster
Unknown POV-
"So what do you think Detective E?" I asked in all seriousness to my partner as I turned to look at him waiting to hear his observations on our current topic of investigation.
He frowned rubbing his chin with his hand dramatically as if deep in thought making me roll my eyes at his melodrama.
"I think there are definite feelings here, Detective C" he said finally after taking all the time possible in the world making me roll my eyes once again. Sigh.
"Duh State the obvious, why don't you" I said sarcastically, not even making the effort to hide my irritation.
He gave me a 'What the hell' look "I think we decided to be professional here Detective C and not criticize the other's analysis no matter how baseless or general they sound to us"
I sighed. Fine we will play by the rules tattletale.
"My apologies Detective E" I said as sweetly as I could muster "So like you said after observing our chosen 'subjects' I too think that there is more than friendship here"
"Hmm" he said again acting to don the fake cap of a deep thinker "So are they clueless or…" he trailed off at the end looking at me waiting for my answer.
"I think they both know somewhere down there of their true feelings for the other, but are probably too chicken to admit it. Maybe fear of it not being reciprocated"
He nodded his head in agreement "Good observation Detective C"
I smiled my best in pride, playing along "Thank you Detective E"
"So now the question remains how should we proceed?" he asked with a serious look on his face and I covered my mouth with my hand in an attempt to cover the loud guffaws that were about to escape. Seriousness and he were generally not considered as synonyms.
"Detective E, how averse is you to the idea of matchmaking?" I asked raising an eyebrow in question
"Considering the fact that I have been an equal part of our research, I wouldn't say much" he said with a sigh "Well of course I have my hesitance and would rather not agree to this but then again small sacrifices have to be made for the greater good and for the happiness of another"
I nodded my head at his words knowing the sincerity in them "But we do have one considered to be a big problem here, Detective E. I have reports that the girl chosen in our study is in a relationship with Jasper Hale residing in Forks who is the son of the local doctor. That can cause a hindrance in our investigation"
He gave me a look of sheer surprise "I am afraid you are mistaken Detective C and your source of information has probably misled you as I can assure that our subject and Jasper Hale are not together. All they share is a good friendship"
I gave him a contemplative nod surprised by his words and the surety they came with as I had been told otherwise from a very reliable source "So I guess the plot thickens and someone is creating misunderstandings between them both"
He gave me a long 'hmm' as if telling me that we will have to investigate on that later but for now we had other things to concentrate on "But how will we begin? They have been playing 'friends' since a month now and neither is ready to take the next step"
I sighed. Yes, that was unfortunately correct. It had been a month since they had become 'friends' now but yet neither was ready to accept that what they shared was more than friendship and they had feelings for the other though apart from them both everyone around could see this.
"I guess we can play it by ear or…" I stopped mid sentence as a plan formed in my mind causing my eyes to glint in mischief "or else we can set up such 'coincidences' wherein they are forced to accept and react on their feelings for the other"
"I guess you are right Detective C" he said with a huge grin as the wheels in my brain churned to plan the first of our many such 'coincidences' that would bring them closer.
One month earlier-
Bella POV-
Did you know hate, detest, loathe, abominate, abhor, despise, shun, execrate- all these different words and even some more share one thing in common. All of them in some way or the other mean dislike and the basic act to not like the other and yet with so many words that convey the same meaning, I still had no words that could clearly convey what I felt for Charlotte Williams or Cherry like she had told me to call her.
Did you also know that there is not one given word known to us that can describe the exact feeling of hating on someone, even before you knew their name or anything about them but still what I was feeling came close to this. I knew it was irrational, I knew it was uncalled for and I also knew that it was probably childish but still I did not care as something about her just caused me to not like her, instantly and intensively.
'Maybe it is jealously' a small part of me shouted in my head but I pushed that part down immediately. Of course I was not jealous. I had no reason to be so. So what if she was sitting next to My Paul on the small couch with his hand lying loosely on the back of the couch close to where her shoulders were or what if they were whispering at times to one another completely lost in their own conversation. No I was not jealous, I just had the intense urge to go and strangle her neck or better and less violent option yet, give her a one way ticket back to whichever hole she came here from with a warning to never come back or she would have to face the option A.
"Bella" said Cherry in her optimistic cheerful voice, rudely pulling me out of my envisioned perfect La- La Land wherein she would just disappear in thin air never to return again. How could someone be so perfectly happy and cheery at all times was beyond me but the Cherry that sat before me was a fucking ray of sunshine, which I repeat I did not like at all.
"Where are you lost?" she asked trying to get my attention once again "Paul here was telling me that the diner in Forks is the place to go to when you crave decent food in these parts so we were just thinking of going there. You in?" she smiled a big grin looking at me making the frown on my face widen.
God I hated her and her over exuberant self!
"Umm I am not sure. I have homework to do and…" I started making an excuse of the non-existent homework I had as no thank you but spending time with Charlotte Williams was really not on my to do list, now or ever.
"Hey Bella" said Paul interrupting "Come with us. It will be fun. You can do your homework later"
"Oh okay if you insist" I said with a smile, happy with the realization that Paul still wanted me there, ignoring the fact that I had just taken a very visible and noticeable 360 degree turn from my earlier stance of deciding to not go but I guess whatever, people change their mind all the time.
Now the only thing I needed to do was ignore Cherry like the plague the entire time that I was there. Should be easy, shouldn't it?
"Hey, even I am coming. I am hungry" said Jake from his place on the armchair in the ancient looking living room of Paul's house where we all were at the moment.
"Yeah me too. I am dying of hunger here" said Quil with a nod, rubbing his stomach to indicate that he was hungry making me roll my eyes at the over exaggeration in his tone. No one could tell that these bottomless pits had eaten Pbj sandwiches less than hour ago.
Embry murmured the same keeping his eyes on the Rubik Cube in his hands that he had been trying to solve unsuccessfully since the past half hour but he was still going at it, not willing to accept defeat.
"Kimmy and me are also in?" said Jared looking at Kim for her answer who in return just shrugged muttering "Yeah fine whatevs" giving me a look that clearly stated that Cherry and she were never going to be the best of friends.
I knew if there was someone who I could trust out of this bunch of traitors who had so quickly taken a liking to this unknown spoiling our peace and happiness Cherry in just the few hours that we had known her in, it was Kim. I don't know if this was a part of the 'girl best friend code' or this was just our friendship but if Kim did not like or trust someone around, I generally made it a point to stay away from them trusting her on her judgments even if I personally did not know them and Kim did the same for me trusting me on my judgments of who was good to keep near and who was not, knowing that we would not steer the other wrong.
I know I know Paul is an exception to that as Kim has left no stone unturned in making her hatred for him known but then again I had known Paul for years, longer and better than she had and secondly and more importantly he was my imprint and so obviously he could not be put under the same category.
"Great" said Cherry excitedly with a jump making me roll my eyes at her ridiculous over the top behavior.
The eight of quickly divided ourselves in groups of four so as to not take more cars than necessary with us and with that we left Paul's house for the Forks Diner with me begrudgingly being pushed into Jared's car as for some reason Embry and Cherry who were having an ongoing conversation on Star Wars wanted to be in the same car with Paul driving and Quil accompanying them who too wanted to butt into the conversation. So naturally that left me, Jared, Kim and Jake in the other car with Jared driving.
"God she is such a bitch" said Kim as soon as the car started and we were on the road to Forks.
"Kimmy, you don't even know her" said Jared exasperated at the same time as I exclaimed from the back seat "I know right!"
"Shush Jared, Girl talk" said Kim chiding him, making him sigh and shake his head at Kim's antics. Kim turned to look at me, ignoring the confused and honestly even a bit terrified expression on Jake's face as she spoke "You know Bella, I just don't get a good vibe from her. Something about her just rubs me the wrong way ever since we saw her for the first time. I just don't trust her and not just because she is that… that Paul's friend" she said with a confused frown.
I nodded my head in complete agreement mumbling a 'tell me about it' as I thought back to when I had seen and been introduced to her for the first time just this morning at First Beach out of everywhere.
Today had started off like any other Sunday with me running my weekend patrol that generally began at six in the morning and went on till ten with me running through the areas surrounding La Push and specifically our border separating the tribal lands from Forks twice to make sure that there were no unknown scents or new trails around and when I was reassured that there was no upcoming threat to the reservation I had howled our usual long howl which was an indicator to the other pack members that a patrolling shift had just been completed and there were no new vampire scents to worry of.
Now that everything around us was calmer and no nomadic vampires had trespassed into our land in close to two months, things were relatively easier and stress free. Gone were those hectic days when we had to patrol for a stretch of eight to nine hours at a go or patrol throughout the night and these days it was more like one of us patrolled in the morning for a few hours and the other patrolled in the evening with Sam, Levi and me rotating our shifts so as to be convenient to all and to say that I was glad for that would be an understatement.
I had quickly phased back to human untying my shorts and loose tank top from my leg and getting dressed again before taking notice of my surroundings. I could smell the salt in the air and could hear the waves crashing onto the shore. It smelled of serenity and comfort and with the intention of spending a few relaxing moments by the ocean I had walked out the woods making my way towards first beach that I could see clearer with every step that I took ahead.
Surprisingly today was one of those days when everyone in La Push had the same idea of fun and relaxation and so First Beach was packed with a few of the regulars of the res, some teenagers and families on a picnic from Forks and even some tourists who were visiting Forks or nearby and had thought of visiting our famous beaches that La Push was known for.
Jake, Quil, Embry, Jared and a few others I recognized from around were deep in the water splashing each other with the freezing water in a loud and even violent game of Marco Polo while Kim and a few other girls from school were sitting on the mats placed, too involved in a talking or rather gossiping session.
"Hey Bella" said Samantha as I walked towards them, joining them on the mats and quickly getting engrossed in the hot topic they were talking of, which at the moment was boys.
Now that we were attending Forks High for an unspecified period of time and were constantly in contact with the male population of Forks High, many of our year girls had found themselves admiring the 'fresh meat' around as they had put it.
"Mike Newton hands down" said Clara another classmate of mine, only to get several 'Eww' in return "What? He is cute, if only that Jessica Stanley would get her grubby hands of him, he could be mine" she continued with a wink.
"Yeah he is" said Ava playfully with a nod "Only if you interested in the underage babyish kind where whenever you go out, people assume you have robbed the cradle because of his immaturity and puppy like behavior" she said eliciting a laugh from the rest of us "No thank you but I prefer my men to be more like well, men. Now Emmett Cullen could be my type but then again like they say all the hot ones are either taken or gay"
This started an entire discussion on the Cullen men and their good looks while I kept my lips tightly shut knowing well that the reason for their allure was to catch the attention of the humans around and these clueless, free from the burden of knowing of the supernatural, girls had no idea of that.
"But have you ever seen their father Dr. Cullen?" said Samantha with a sigh "That man just reeks sex and oozes manliness. I saw him the other day, out with his wife, helping her buy groceries. He is just so gentle and dreamy. I want such a guy in life"
"But, honestly" said Clara "Have you seen our Quileute boys? They can give the Cullen men a run for their money. Look at Sam for that matter those abs and that chest can…"
"Eww" I said interrupting her before she went any further "He is my brother Clara, I don't want to hear all this about him and he is very well taken for that matter"
She shrugged "Just stating a fact honey but yeah, Sam, Jacob, Embry, even Quil if you see from one side or are suffering from a vision problem and even Jared" Kim raised her eyebrow at that looking as threatening as can be, daring her to finish the sentence "who is good looking but is already taken and is very loyal to our very own Kim" continued Clara getting a nod from Kim "can easily give a run to the Cullen men. Anyways who doesn't like the Tall, dark and handsome type"
"Wait" interrupted Samantha looking appalled "How can you not count Paul Lahote in that list? That is just unfair to womanhood everywhere"
That caught my attention and I straightened at my place, somehow managing to not growl at them for talking about my imprint like this, like he was 'fresh meat' for them to fawn all over.
"Yeah" said Ava with a dreamy look on her face "Now that guy can do things to my insides with just one look"
I growled at her, unable to control myself this time around ignoring the rational side of my brain. How dare she talk about Paul like that? He was my Paul. Mine!
"Whoa" said Ava taking a step back "Are you okay?"
Before I could threaten her with maiming if she ever spoke or even thought of him in that manner, I heard another voice and instantly my nostrils flared with a familiar scent, decreasing the pull that lay constantly within my chest.
"Hey" said Clara getting our attention "Who is that with Paul?"
All of us simultaneously turned to look in the direction in which she was pointing only to see Paul standing beside a tall blonde girl who was clicking photos of the ocean using her phone camera, with a big admiring smile on her face.
"And this is First Beach" said Paul smirking "the one I was telling you yesterday about and the one you wanted to see last night itself, not willing to wait until today"
The girl turned to look at Paul and mumbled a 'smile' before her phone camera was clicking multiple photos of him, not even offering him the time to react.
The green-eyed monster reared his ugly head within me and before I knew it or could think about it, I was on my way, up from where I had been sitting with the others to where he stood with that strange girl.
Who was she? I had never even seen her in La Push before. How did Paul know her? And why was she clicking 'his photos'?
And more importantly why was she here in the first place? She was definitely not Quileute and it did not look like she lived in Forks from her appearance and dressing sense.
She was tall say 5.8 or so and had long pale blond hair that cascaded down her back in curls almost like she had spent hours perfecting them. Her eyes were blue and she had the body of a person who worked out, with her curves being perfectly shown in a pair of branded short shorts and a tight fitting top.
And I so did not like her. I did not care who she was or even what her name was. I just knew that she should leave and go, never to return here again.
"Paul" I shouted with a friendly, as much as I could manage in this situation, wave standing in front of the both of them.
"Hey Bella" he said with a huge grin "How come you are here right now?"
I gave him a 'isn't that obvious' look "It is Sunday. Look around you. Half of La Push is here"
He gave me a nod of agreement at that.
"So who is this?" I asked him trying to keep my voice as friendly as possible which was a very difficult task in the given situation.
"Oh" said Paul with a short laugh "Sorry I forgot to do the introductions. Bella, this is Cherry, my good friend from Pittsburgh and cherry, you know Bella Uley, my best friend growing up"
"Cherry" I frowned ignoring the fact that I was probably being impolite "What kind of name is that?"
She laughed in a bell like voice which made me want to strangle her "It is short for Charlotte, Charlotte Williams. I prefer to be called Cherry, anyways I have heard so much about you. It is good to meet you, Bella" she gave me a genuine smile which made me feel bad for being so catty, for a second or two before I regained control over myself.
No she was not welcome here. She should just leave. She had no business being so close to my Paul.
"I wish I could say the same" I mumbled under my breath forcing a smile on my face as I said through gritted teeth "Yeah same here"
"Hey Paul" said Jared as he and Kim came to where we were standing. Kim gave me a look asking me 'who is she?' pointing with her eyes to Cherry as I shrugged. Even I had no idea who Cherry was and more importantly like I said, why she was here.
After the basic introductions were done, we all sat down on one of the empty mats and conversation began, majorly revolving around Cherry and Pittsburgh and how she had come down from there especially to see Paul who was one of her good friends and who she was missing immensely.
It was as if Cherry had an innate ability to know how to push my buttons because I was so close to just phasing and ripping her apart not even caring that the main purpose of why I was a shape shifter was to protect human life and not harm them.
A shudder of anger though had coursed through my body when I had heard that she was currently staying at his house instead of booking a hotel room or something in Forks or even better and further away, Port Angeles. Why couldn't she just stay in a hotel? Why did she need to live at his house? I had used my senses to scent the air and their clothes but there was no smell of Paul on her or her clothes which had led me to leave a breathe of relief. So, they were not involved in any way whatsoever at least that was what their scents said.
I know it probably made me look like a terrible person to doubt Paul like this but I could not help myself. The idea of him being with her or anyone for that matter was enough to make my entire body shake in anger and to let the she-wolf inside me get feral and attack whoever stood opposite her.
Soon Jake, Quil and Embry too had joined us returning from a quick swim and Quil being the jovial jokester that he was had kept the rest of us entertained before Cherry had suggested that we all move our party to Paul's house where she could make her special Pbj sandwiches for the rest of us as it was almost noon.
Though what was so special in making Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches was beyond my understanding. It was hardly an achievement that could be spoken of.
"Bella" said Jake nudging me to get my attention bringing me back to the present where I was sitting in the car with Jared, Kim and Jake on my way to the Forks Diner "Kim has been calling you for a while now" he clarified.
I nodded my head in understanding looking at Kim who rolled her eyes.
"I was asking you how is Leah now. Did she talk to Sam?"
I sighed "No, they did not talk or solve anything out. Leah walked out before he could tell her anything and now she is upset at me also for trying to meddle. The only person she is talking to since yesterday is Allison, though she is still staying with us and Sue, Harry and Seth keep talking to her on the phone"
And to add onto that, Emily who had left for the Makah reservation a few days back as she had some work to attend to there, had literally warned me before leaving that she would be back to make Sam 'hers' as she had put it and so Sam at the moment was furious as well as terrified of what cunning plan Emily would hatch next.
"Oh" she whispered with a sad expression on her face
Soon we parked outside the Diner and made our way inside to the table where the others were already seated. After placing our orders deciding through the short menu which though was limited was very confusing to the boys who just could not decide what they wanted to eat, we sat back to talk.
"Yo, Cherry" said Quil getting her attention "What do you people in Pittsburgh do on the weekends? For us weekends basically mean spending the entire day on the beach"
Cherry got into a detailed description of how her weekends generally went like and how she often partied through the night which was enough to widen my eyes in shock while Jake, Quil, Jared and Embry looked at her in amazement as if they were in the company of a celebrity and Kim just scoffed in disgust, not at all impressed by her.
Paul's eyes met mine half way through her answer and he questioned me with his eyes if I was okay, a gesture that warmed my heart. I gave him a nod with a small smile as he too then went back to listening to her, adding in her story as and when he thought to, letting the conversation flow.
"Oh, Paul" said Cherry mid way to eating her burger "I forgot to tell you. A mail had come for you at home. I have got it with me. I will give it to you later"
I stopped in my tracks hearing her words and I could see everyone around me had also heard and taken notice of them, well all except Paul who just nodded his head in agreement munching on his French fries.
"Home as in?" asked Kim, surprisingly being the first one to break the silence "You both live together?"
The green eyed monster once again roared within me and at that minute I hated Cherry even more than it was humanly possible. I held my breath as I waited for Paul to answer, hoping that we had been mistaken.
Paul nodded his head looking confused by the serious look on our faces "Yeah we were roommates. We shared an apartment back in Pittsburgh" he continued when he saw the shocked expression on our faces "It is not that big a deal guys. I at times even forget that she is a girl. There is nothing feminine about her. She curses more than me for that matter and was messier than me when it came to keeping the apartment clean"
He wriggled his eyebrows at her as she flipped him the bird followed by an intense tissue papers squeezed as balls fight. They were just friends, anyone could see that from how they behaved around the other but still I did not like it, a bit.
She was a threat and I wanted her gone, away from me and away from Paul.
"So what else is there to see around here?" asked Cherry garnering responses such as Third beach, Forks Timber museum, Rialto Beach and the tide pools over there "Ooh can we go to see the tide pools" she said excitedly looking at Paul who just shrugged in agreement "Why don't you all also come along? It would be fun"
A murmur of 'Sure' resounded at our table with mine and Kim's being more hesitant and reluctant than otherwise and soon we were back on our way to La Push to see the famous tide pools though after reaching our destination instead of accompanying them all the way to see the sights, I decided to just sit and relax on one of the pieces of driftwood, a short distance from the water. The blowing cold wind felt amazing on my face and I just closed my eyes to breathe into it, letting the wind do its work of calming me down.
"Feels good right?"
I opened my eyes to see Paul sitting next to me, too enjoying the sudden chill of the wind ignoring the fact that he could probably fall ill because of this. He was not a shape shifter yet and I had to remember that and with that in mind I shifted a bit closer to him to keep him warm with the help of my heat, not giving any attention to the part in me that was rejoiced to be this close to him.
I nodded my head in answer "You didn't go to see the tide pools" I stated rather than questioned.
He shrugged "Seen them many times before and Cherry had enough company with her to keep her entertained and amused. I saw that you were sitting here alone so decided to spend some time with my new friend"
I blushed at his words mumbling a shy "Yeah?"
He nodded his head "So Bella Uley, tell me about yourself?"
I gave him a confused look. That was his first question and his way of starting our conversation?
He shrugged "What? You only said that we will start being friends from scratch, on a clean slate so I need to ask this question"
A laugh escaped my mouth at the innocent look on his face as I opened my mouth to answer his question.
A/N: I know Paul is pretty much oblivious in this chapter but from personal experience I know such men who just don't understand the feelings and vibes going on around them, no matter how strong and obvious they are. Be rest assured though as Paul and Bella will be talking about her fears and worries in the coming chapters.
Also I have a question for the readers, who do you think the unknown POV in the beginning belonged to? Please let me know what you think and thank you for reading.