{DAE'S POV}
The next day at school, I had done very well in not crossing paths with Paul, and I was quite proud of how little I'd thought about him. It's pathetic, but it's a start. I am glad today is Friday and I'll have some time to myself to figure this out over the weekend. This is when having no social life is a good thing.
"Daenarys?" I hear his voice behind me.
Crap... so much for that.
"Hi Paul." I turned to face him, eye-level with his collarbones. I'm pretty tall, but he's a freaking monster. I look up into his face. He starts talking again.
"I-I'm not sure what... what I was going to say to you, so I guess... I'm sorry I've been such a jerk."
"Well, um... thanks?"
"I don't have a reason or an excuse, I was just being… stupid. An idiot, really."
"Yeah, I agree with that. So what now?" I say, trying not to let myself care.
"Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" His question catches me off guard and I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Hang out?"
"When we do speak, I've had a good time. You're funny." He says, quieter now.
"I-sure. I'm right next door, we could meet up in the morning?" I suggest.
"I actually have to get to work in the morning, how about after lunch?"
"Sure, I'm pretty bitchy in the mornings anyway." He laughed.
"I have no trouble picturing that. Well, we should get to class."
"Mhm, see you. Oh by the way," He turned around as I called after him. I choose my words intentionally. "My friends call me Dae."
He smiled.
"Alright, Dae."
He walked off as I squinted at his back, trying to figure him out. I guess we're friends now, though.
The rest of the day passed as it usually does, aside from the raised eyebrow when Paul saw me looking at him from the other side of the hall. I raised my eyebrow back at him, both of us silently questioning the motives of the other. You could almost hear our silent, but mutual, 'what are you looking at?'
When I got home, Uncle Jay was on the porch, talking to Billy Black.
"Is that Daenarys? Man, has that girl grown!"
"Hi Billy, good to see you again." I greeted, slinging my backpack down and shaking his hand. Hugs have been difficult ever since he was put in the wheelchair.
"It's good to have you back on the res, honey."
"It's good to be back."
We chatted for a while about what cities I'd lived in since my last visit to La Push, a couple years ago. Eventually, I went inside, bidding both a good night.
Once I was alone and not distracted, my mind went to what "hanging out" means now. I run through several scenarios where 'hanging out' can mean casual sex, watching TV, going out, hiking, doing homework… I have no idea what it means coming from Paul. I fished through all the boxes I hadn't unpacked for a cute top to wear with my favorite jeans, and finally came upon something white and lacy. This will do. I set it aside and showered.
I went back into my room to dry my hair and put my pjs on, and heard a knock on my door.
"Dae?"
"Come in, Mom." I say, tossing my towel onto my desk chair and grabbing a comb. She comes into the room and sits on my bed.
"Hi honey, how are you holding up?" She asks. I stop combing my hair to think.
"I'm... I'm doing good. I really like having Uncle Jay around."
"Yeah, me too. It's nice to live with him again."
"How are you doing? How do you like working for that girl?"
"Onyx? It's so much better than waitressing. She's very easy. I think you'd like her. And maybe you could get her to... put more clothes on." My mom is not necessarily judgmental… but she kind of is.
"Yeah, you mentioned that before, what do you mean?" I ask. She sighed.
"The first day, I knocked on her door and she answered it, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a blanket."
"No shirt?"
"No shirt. It's the weirdest thing, she does it to be comfortable but honestly doesn't care what anybody else thinks. And I mean, it's her house, I guess. But she's... I don't know. She just dresses oddly."
"She sounds colorful." I say, scrunching up my nose. My mom hastily jumps in.
"She's a sweet girl, really. She has so much life in her. I'm surprised she's not more of a partier."
"I'll have to meet her sometime." I say with a shrug, not really intending to follow through.
"Why don't you go tomorrow? I'm not working and she might like the company."
"Tomorrow? I… I guess I could go in the morning…"
"Morning? What about the afternoon, you hate dealing with people in the morning."
"Well… I sorta had something planned tomorrow afternoon." I say, not making eye contact.
"Daenarys Winter, do you have a date tomorrow?"
I blush.
"No... not really..." She gave me a look. "Well, it's with the neighbor guy…"
"Really. 'That bitch,' Paul Lahote?"
"Yeah… that's the bitch. It's not really a date though."
"Is he interested in you?"
"Not that I know of. He hates me half the time. We just get a big kick out of teasing each other." I explain, realizing how weird that sounds when you say it out loud.
"Alright, who you go out with is up to you. But watch your step, sweet pea."
"I will, mom." She stood, and we exchanged goodnights before she went off to bed.
XxxxX
The next morning, I headed out to go find this Onyx creature.
My mom's instructions led me down the wrong street, but I finally found her house. I assume it's Onyx's because it's in one of the ritziest neighborhoods in the area, and there's a girl out front reading that looks like she could use a bra. When she saw me, she put her book away and stood.
"Hey, your mom said you were coming over today. I'm Onyx." She said, coming around the porch to open the picket fence gate for me. I try not to gape at the beautiful house she lives in – by herself? That still kind of weirds me out.
"Hi, I'm Dae." I manage, smiling faintly.
"Nice to meet you. Want a cup of tea?" Okay, maybe she's not that weird.
"I'd love a cup." I followed her inside, taking note of the beautifully decorated front room.
"So you live here by yourself?" I say, immediately cringing. Why is that my opening conversation starter?
"Well, mostly. My parents try to come home as much as possible. But business takes time and usually they're busy."
"That must be nice, having a whole house to yourself." I suggest, imagining everything I could do if I had a whole house to myself. I'd never use headphones at home again.
"Oh it definitely is. Most people think I get lonely, but nah... It's too interesting to be lonely."
"You could host a wild slumber party and they would never know."
"Oh I have," she giggled, pouring us tea. "So, if we're gonna be friends, you gotta spill about who you're eyeing at school."
"Uh, I'm not really 'eyeing' anyone, but I am going to hang out with Paul Lahote later today. So him, I guess. I don't really think anything is going to happen, though." I admit.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he acts like he hates me about 60% of the time, and I hate him the rest of the 40%. So that's not a great start." I shrug. "We do have a good time on the off chance that both of us are being chill."
"That's a start, right? I mean, a lot of the time, Paul just acts like he hates things because he doesn't want people to know that he really likes it." She explains. I raise my eyebrows. "I've known Paul for several years now."
"Gotcha. Okay, your turn. Who are you eyeing?" I ask her. She blushes faintly and smiles.
"I'm seeing a guy named Collin, do you know him?"
"I know who he is. He's cute, seems nice." I say, not really knowing what else to say.
"Yeah, I think so. He's fun."
"How long have you been with him?"
"Next week I think it'll be a month or so? He never really formally asked me out so it's hard to say. We've been hanging out for awhile, though."
"From the way you talk about him, it seems like you really like him." I smile. Onyx nods.
"He is pretty special."
I didn't stay much longer, wanting to clean up a little before Paul showed up.
When I got to the house, I found Uncle Jay snoring on the couch, the TV remote resting on his chest, rising and falling with each breath. I smile.
I'm halfway through brushing my hair out when I hear a knock on the door and I fly down the stairs, hoping it didn't wake up my uncle. I sneak a look at him before answering the door.
"Hi, shh, uncle's asleep. I'll be right there, I need to grab my stuff." I tell him before running back up the stairs and grabbing my bag.
You're just hanging out, Dae, no big deal, I remind myself. I ran out again, finding him sitting in his car with the engine running. I climb into the passenger seat.
XxxxX
{PAUL'S POV}
She got in my car, slightly breathless, and I could hear her heart beating rapidly. She buckles her seatbelt and starts talking.
"So, Paul, what are we doing?"
"Laser tag, you like it?"
"I haven't played much but I do like it."
"Good. I used to play with a friend of mine. That was a while ago, though, haven't played in years." I tell her.
"Does he not play anymore?" She asks.
"No." None of the wolves like to talk about why.
"Oh. Bummer."
"I mean, it's been awhile, and like… t's just... Well, he died." I said bluntly, grimacing. I ignore the wave of anger that always comes with thinking about him.
"Oh! I'm... I'm sorry I didn't..." She seems shocked, and I don't really blame her.
"It's fine." I lied. "It was a while ago."
It was a while ago. Ken was only 14 at the time. He was the next kid to phase after me. He died protecting the res, fighting a leech harder than anyone so that his little sister would be safe. Zoe wasn't told at the time, and she probably still doesn't know. She and the rest of the family thought he died being a careless, immature idiot. Even when Seth imprinted on her and she found out about the wolves, nobody really brought it up. He died being more mature than any of us. We don't talk about him anymore, knowing full well that any one of us could be next.
Another reason that I hate the bloodsuckers. Also the reason I try not to get close to anyone.
"Okay."
Awkward silence. I hoped she wouldn't ask how he died. She's smart and would see right through the story we've used for years.
"So do you usually take your dates to play laser tag?" She asks, breaking the silence.
"Nope. Movie, dinner, home. Or sometimes bed and then home." I add in, wondering if it would be a deal breaker for her. I continue talking when she doesn't react. "But nothing good is showing now so I had to pick something else." It's not a lie, but not the truth either. As much as I don't want an imprint, some part of me tells me I can't treat her like any old date. She's different.
Plus they really didn't have anything good on.
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I feel kinda special that I get a different date than the standard, even if the reason isn't something I can control... Thanks."
"Sure." I try to sound indifferent but she looks at me sideways without moving her head. She's picked up on the fact that I'm glad she's glad it's not a movie and dinner.
"Do you really like me for who I am?" She asked suddenly.
"No. I don't." I'm trying to keep her as far away emotionally as I can, so I don't really know what her personality is like.
"So why are you taking me out?" She sounds suspicious, and with my reputation, I can't blame her.
"I have to. I can't not." I'm being cryptic and stupid; I sigh. "Its too hard to keep avoiding you. Hopefully you never have to know why. I wish I didn't know myself. I wish I could've stayed out. Since I couldn't protect myself, I have to keep you out of the world I live in as long as possible. If I can, forever. Not because I necessarily dislike you; because you deserve better and I wouldn't condemn anyone to my life." That... Was a lot more dramatic than I wanted it to be. She's very confused now.
"Well, what a cheery light-hearted gentleman on our first date!"
"Rule #1 about Paul Lahote. I am never cheery or light-hearted. And gentleman is rare, don't get used to it."
Neither one of us said anything else until I parked and walked swiftly around the car to get the door for her. She had already started to, but I opened it all the way and offered my hand to pull her out. I swear, that girl is nothing but legs. My small car didn't make it east on us tall people. She giggled. I raised an eyebrow. She raised one back at me. Well I guess neither one of us is all that forthcoming with explanations. I force myself to be okay with that when we enter the building.
As we got geared up and started playing, I remember how much I like laser tag. Dae isn't half bad herself, although she's not the best at hiding. My wolf reflexes kept wanting to kick in to push me further ahead, but I tell myself that would be cheating. I don't need to do it to win, and I don't think I would feel successful for winning if I cheated. We ended with me just a few points in front, and Dae giggled as I grinned. I caught myself quickly and eased my face back into its usual non-descript expression.
"I thought you said 'Paul Lahote is never cheery or light-hearted.'" She mocked my voice using her fingers to form air quotes.
I shook my head.
"You caught me at a weak moment..." She kept staring at me with her head tilted to the side slightly and a smirk on her lips until we both started laughing. "Okay you're right. I had fun."
"What? Did Paul Lahote just admit to enjoying something? That wasn't sex?"
I rolled my eyes, interrupting her,
"The man-whore rumors are hugely exaggerated…" I interject. She smirked and continued.
"Enjoying said activities with a decidedly unsexy girl?"
I frowned. Even if I don't like her, I can't stand when someone else doesn't like her, even if that person is herself.
"I don't want you to ever call yourself unsexy. You're so much sexier than all of the girls in school, because this," I brush my fingers over her cheeks, "is your real skin, and this," I ran my fingers from the front of her scalp down to the ends of her jet black hair, "this is your real hair. You aren't fake like the painted bitches in school. And that makes you way sexier in my eyes."
"You... You think I'm sexy?"
She looked up at me with her wide, doe-like eyes.
"You're not just sexy, you're a gorgeous woman, don't you forget it."
"Wow, Paul. I think you actually have a heart."
Her statement took me by surprise.
"I-I have a heart." I whispered. I do, and I don't know why or when I decided this, but I want her to know that. I took her hand and placed it over my heart as it beat rapidly from the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "This is what you do to my heart whenever you're near me, whenever I think about you, hell, whenever someone mentions your name."
"Paul-"
"Daenarys."
"You're serious."
"I am."
"You're right, you do have a heart. That's really important to me."
"It's really important to me too." I say in mock-seriousness, deciding I've had enough of this sappy shit. "I'd keel over and die if I didn't have one." Her hand, which I hadn't released from against my chest, jerked itself away as she laughed and smacked my shoulder.
"You...ugh!"
"I'm serious! I need something to keep my blood moving!" I chuckled as we got into my car.
"You moron..."
"Yep."