Hello, friends! I'm cutting it close today on the whole Saturday-update thing (yes, it is still Saturday in my time zone...barely), so I'll keep this short and sweet. Thank you to everyone reading this story, and extra special thank you to everyone who leaves reviews. They make me so happy! Now, I hope y'all enjoy chapter 12!

Chapter Twelve

Paul

The last week had been a rollercoaster, but the past few days in particular had consisted of varying degrees of suckage. I'd thought when Anna knew the secret, I'd get to see her more. I didn't think the very day we shared it with her we'd be pulled into dangerous vampire drama with the Cullens, thus sucking up all my time and ruining my chances of spending some quality time with my imprint.

The highlights of those days were watching Anna from afar while I guarded the school. Even though Jacob tagged along more often than not, those were the times that kept me breathing. The worst of those days were the frequent meetings with the vampires. We had to strategize. Train. Whatever the fuck. It all meant the same thing—copious amounts of time with the Cullens, especially the one with all the scars who was apparently an expert.

My days were spent eating, sleeping, watching over the school, training, and patrolling. Not in that order.

Luckily I'd talked Sam into making the bonfire happen sooner rather than later, mostly because I enlisted the help of Emily. She liked Anna and felt sympathy for my current inability to see her at a time where she could see me too.

Finally on Friday I got to go talk to her. It ended up being more of a heart to heart and I cherished the shit out of it.

Now it was Saturday, steadily getting closer to the time I'd told Anna we were going to head to La Push, and I was a mix of excited and terrified I was going to fuck it up.

"She's nice, man," Jacob said as he lounged on the sofa. "She's not going to bite your head off or anything. Calm down."

I rolled my eyes because he was so clueless it was astounding. "That's not the problem, asshole, so it'd be great if you shut up."

He laughed and Felicity looked at me with a raised brow. "He has a point, though. She might get nervous, but she'll be okay. She's not going to get mad at you for it. She's actually really understanding."

It took a great effort to not scowl. "I know. She's my imprint."

"He's about to get territorial," Jacob murmured.

"Damn right!" I yelled. "It's not like I don't know her. It's not all about whether or not she'll be mad at me. I want her to be comfortable. I don't want her to be miserable. Other than that, she can feel however the fuck she wants to feel. I'll take her however."

"Paul…" Felicity started, her expression perplexed. "Are you being sweet right now?"

Now I let my scowl free. "As my best friend, shouldn't you be on my side right now? Why are you so surprised? She's my imprint. She's funny. She's beautiful. She's shy. Obviously I'm going to be whatever she needs me to be. If she needs me to be sweet, I'm all over that shit."

Felicity smiled. "There's the Paulie we know and love."

Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. "Now isn't the time to tease, doll. Tonight is important."

"And I'm telling you it'll go fine. Stop stressing."

"Easy for you to say."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Not really. She's my friend too. If this all goes badly, she might not want to be my friend anymore. It's not like I can take her side now."

Tipping my head back, I felt my shoulders tense. "Not the same thing. Not even close."

"But—"

"He's right," Jacob interrupted. "I know you like her a lot and she's been a good friend, but an imprint is…everything. That said, I think Felicity is right too—it'll be fine. When did you say she was coming over, anyway?"

I pulled in a deep breath, forcing myself to relax. "Six."

"Getting close," Felicity commented. "I wonder if she's super punctual?"

"Well—" I stopped. Replayed what we'd agreed to yesterday. "Shit. I don't think we ever decided where we'd meet."

"Okay…" Felicity said. "She's right down the hall. I doubt it's a big deal."

While I understood Felicity was only trying to keep me calm, her current ignorance to the girl she called her friend was making anger begin to trickle through my veins. "It's something she might be stressing about," I said tightly as I strode toward the door. I didn't wait for her or Jacob to respond before I left, heading down the hall toward Anna's.

A mere couple of seconds after I knocked, the door flew open to reveal Anna on the other side. I could hear her rapid heartbeat, and while she appeared slightly pale, she was okay. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey," I replied, my voice warm. All the tension that had been building within me evaporated. This was what I needed. This. Right here. "I know I'm a couple of minutes early, but I just realized I'd never said whether you should meet us at our place or if we'd stop by here on our way out. Sorry."

A shy smile crossed her lips, and I basked in its beauty. "It's okay. Thank you for showing up, though. I wasn't sure…"

I nodded. "My fault. I should have specified. Do you still need a minute?"

Anna shook her head. "No…" She glanced behind her. I didn't know what she saw there, but when she turned around to face me again she said, "I'm ready."

"Great," I said, stepping back to give her room. She pulled her apartment door shut behind her, not bothering to lock it. Either her brother or one or both of her parents were on the other side, possibly watching, ready to lock up after we left. "All good?" I gestured toward the door.

Anna looked up from where she was adjusting the hem of her shirt over her jeans. It was a maroon hoodie, and the color was perfect on her. Then again, I wasn't sure there was anything that wouldn't look perfect on her. "Hmm? Oh. Oh! Yeah. Just my brother. My parents are…well. They're out."

Something told me there was more to whatever was going on with her parents than being 'out' but instead of taking the time to hash it all out right here, right now in the hallway, I filed it away in my brain for later and led her over to my apartment. Knocking on the door, I called, "Let's go, lovebirds!"

"So," I said as we waited for them to get a move on, "how are you?"

She blinked at me. "You saw me less than 24 hours ago."

I nodded, a grin on my face. "23 and a half hours ago, to be exact. So we're getting close to the 24 hour mark."

She snorted. "Ah yes, your stalker tendencies. Shouldn't you know how I am then?"

"No, no, no," I disagreed. "Not stalker. More like obsessive. So I still need you to tell me how you are. And please, be honest."

Her eyes were staring straight into mine, and while I could see uncertainty there, a warmth was seeping in too. "Honestly? I'm okay. Ridiculously nervous about this. But I'll be okay. Just…" She paused before continuing quietly, "Sorry in advance if I act weird. I'm not good with new people or large groups of people or…yeah."

"Hey," I said, reaching out to give her shoulders a quick squeeze. "You can act however you want. It's all good."

She bit her lip, but before she could say anything else the door to my apartment opened and Jacob and Felicity walked out carrying bags of shit. "Are we bringing the whole kitchen or what?"

"Oh no, Paulie, we don't need any help—thanks for offering, though," Felicity said cheerfully as Jacob juggled the keys to lock up behind them. "Hi, Anna!"

"Hi," Anna said while I stole the bags—that were very light and clearly full of chips—from Felicity.

"You're cranky today, doll," I commented, walking close to Anna as we left the building.

"You're reflecting today, Paul," Felicity responded.

I scoffed, dropping the bags in the open trunk before heading around and opening the back door of Felicity's car for Anna. She got in silently, and I took the passenger seat. Jacob was driving, and Felicity rode in the back with Anna. It was easier for Jacob and me to ride up front for legroom purposes. Besides, I could sense Anna's nerves working overtime as we drove and I didn't think me sitting in back and staring at her the whole time would be helpful. Instead, I kept up a steady conversation with Jacob while keeping an ear to where Felicity chattered away at Anna. Clearly Felicity was dominating the talk, but hopefully that would make her more comfortable.

When we parked close to the beach, I opened Anna's door for her. As she leaned out, I whispered, "All good?"

Her gaze was wide as it met mine, but she nodded. "I'll be fine."

I saw her hands shaking despite her confident words, but I ignored them. If she wanted to put on a brave face, I'd let her. The pack and elders were friendly enough. They wouldn't be assholes—and if they were, I'd fucking take care of it. "Okay," I said, gathering some bags from the trunk. "Stay close to me. I'll be sure to introduce you to everyone real quick. Rip off the band-aid and then we can move on."

"Cool," she said, a tremor in her voice indicating she didn't find it very cool at all. I respected her determination, though. I'd stick close by her tonight to make sure no one made her even more uncomfortable than she already was right now.

Jacob and Felicity led the way to the area where the fire was already started. As we got closer, people started to turn and look. Emily was smiling. Quil's face was curious. Embry had a smirk—one he'd better knock off his damn face before Anna got near him. I could tell she felt the growing number of stares in the way her steps grew more jerky, as if she were forcing herself to take every pace forward.

"Hi, guys!" Emily called when we got close enough. She rushed over to peek at what was in the bags we carried, throwing her warm smile at Anna. "Awesome to see you here, Anna."

Anna's lips curved in what was probably supposed to be a smile but ended up looking pained. Whatever; it was the thought that counted. "Nice to see you again."

"Come, come," Emily waved her over, "we'll start introducing you."

Anna stiffened, but I was already speaking, "Actually, Em, you lovely woman, if you'd point me in the direction of where I can put this shi—stuff down, I'd like to be part of the introductions."

"I've got it," Sam said, appearing at my side and taking the bags from my hands. "Great to have you here, Anna. Paul, not so much."

"Thank you," Anna practically squeaked.

"You know I'm your favorite," I said, giving him a winning smile.

He rolled his eyes as he walked away, toward a table already overflowing with food. Why had we given up our stash if they already had all that?

"Introductions?" Emily reminded me, standing at Anna's side with a reassuring hand on her arm. Had I mentioned how much I loved Emily?

"Right!" I said, then cupped my hands around my mouth. "Hey! Everyone! Listen up!" Since most of them were already doing their best not to be obvious about staring—and failing miserably—they shut up real quick. "This right here is Anna. She's my…important person. I'm about to walk her around to meet all of you, and I'm warning you now that if you so much as look at her wrong I will end your sorry ass. That's all! Now stop staring!"

Most of the group laughed, but when I turned to Anna she was gaping. "Paul."

"Trust me," I said, "that made things better."

"It's a friendly group, Anna," Emily said, already beating me at the comforting thing. "And they're used to Paul. No one is going to hold him against you."

Anna snickered uncertainly. "Not entirely worried about how Paul acts."

"They're not going to hold you being nervous against you either," Emily added.

Pulling in a deep, audible breath, Anna nodded. "Okay. Let's start."

And so we did. I took her hand, and she didn't protest even a little—her shaking fingers clasping mine like a lifeline as I led her around the group. We started with the elders before working our way around the pack. Everyone was nice and welcoming…especially Seth, who I suspected was brewing a crush. I'd have to keep an eye on that. Then there was Leah who was never welcoming to anyone who wasn't her own imprint, and even he often got her extra bitchy side, who said hi and shook her hand but said nothing else. I'd almost bristled at her standoffish greeting but noticed Anna was more focused on Eli. She'd met him before so I figured her preoccupation was in seeing Felicity's ex with the woman he left her friend for. She didn't know about imprinting yet so she didn't understand, which explained the slight disapproval in her expression.

Afterward, we made our way back to be close to Sam and Emily. Felicity and Jacob had settled over there too, but were currently chatting with Quil and Embry across the fire. "Not so painful?" I murmured to her, jostling our hands between us.

"Definitely could have been worse," she said.

"And it'll only get better from here," I promised. "Everyone will get used to each other. We poke fun, but we're really tight-knit. And once you're in, you're in. No getting rid of us now."

"I didn't realize I'd passed the point of no return. I brought my receipt and everything."

It was so corny. But the way she said it, deadpan and without missing a beat, stopped me in my tracks. Literally. I stopped walking, pulling her to a halt with me, and threw my head back and laughed.

"Shut the fuck up, Paul," Jared called from where he sat with Kim, but he was smiling.

I flipped him off and when I finally regained my breath, I glared. "Have some respect in front of Anna and watch your fucking mouth."

"Oh yes," Anna whispered, "setting a great example there."

"Shush," I said to her, still grinning.

"Stop causing a ruckus and come sit down," Sam called.

When we finally took our places next to them, Anna solidly between Emily and me, Emily clasped Anna's free hand. "You're off to a good start."

Anna blinked at her. "What? I didn't do anything."

Emily's expression was knowing. "He doesn't laugh like that all the time."

I didn't?

"He doesn't?"

It was cute how our thoughts were on the same track.

Emily didn't answer directly, but she let go of Anna's hand and said, "This is going to be good for both of you. Now, how about we start making plates? The girls get to grab first because once the boys start digging in there's bound to be nothing left."

Anna's gaze flew to me, panic in her features. "Oh." Her hand was gripping mine for dear life.

"I can come with you, if you want," I offered. "I just can't make my own plate."

Anna bit her lip, uncertain. Then she shook her head. "No. I'll be fine."

Leaning closer, I whispered, "Are you sure? It's not a big deal if I go with you."

"I'm sure," she replied just as quietly. "I don't want to be…that weird."

I hated that that was her reasoning, but I respected her decision. "Emily will go with you. And I'm sure Felicity will head over too. And I'll stay right here."

Anna huffed a little indignantly before standing up and heading over to the food table. I kept my gaze on her as she grabbed a plate and started gingerly gathering snacks.

"Does she think they're going to bite her?" Kai asked.

My head whipped around. "Shut the fuck up."

He held up his hands defensively. "Just saying she doesn't need to be so careful with a bag of chips."

"You're being an ass," I corrected, anger running through my veins.

"Both of you be quiet," Sam instructed. "Kai, leave Anna alone. She's not doing anything wrong. Paul, you were right. He's being an ass."

Kai sighed. "Just making conversation, jeez. We all tease. And you two seem happy together. Good for you, man."

I nodded at him, not willing to verbally thank him when he'd been a dick mere moments before. I looked up in time to see Anna heading back over, Emily and Felicity on both sides of her. The other two were laughing, but her head was down. When she made it to me, I reached out a hand to hold her plate while she settled beside me.

"Thanks," she said, sounding fine. But she wouldn't meet my eyes.

"You okay?" I glanced at her plate. "You could have grabbed more, you know?" There was one hotdog, a few Ruffles, and a small handful of Doritos on her plate. "I know Emily said us guys can pack away the food, but there's more than enough for you to have your fill too."

She shook her head, finally meeting my gaze. "Please, Paul. Don't make a big deal. I know I could have taken more but…not now, okay?"

The pleading in her eyes nearly broke me. Why were we even here again? If she was having such a hard time we should leave.

Before I could suggest it, though, she said, "I'm fine. Just not super hungry right now. Go make your own plate before it's all gone."

She didn't want me to focus on this. So far she'd been doing great, so I trusted her word. "Be right back," I said, then practically sprinted into the fray around the food table. I piled two plates high, and even snagged an extra cookie for Anna in case she wanted one. It took elbowing Jared in the face and getting a return jab in the ribs, but it was worth it.

When I walked back to Anna, she smiled at me. "You survived."

I smiled back. "Barely. But I fought the good fight to return to you. What's my reward?"

"Uhh…" she tapped her chin in thought. "I'll restrain myself from thinking how much of a dork you are for five whole minutes?"

I gasped. "Five whole minutes? What a gift."

She giggled, and my heart warmed. "Shut up and eat, Paul."

"Ooo, I like you bossy."

Her cheeks turned pink, and while it was lovely, I didn't want to push too much farther right now in a situation where she wasn't fully comfortable so I did as she asked and started eating.

Felicity took that chance to butt into our little bubble, though. "You're so smitten, Paulie. It's cute."

"I'm always cute, doll," I corrected. "But yes, thank you."

We started bantering as we plowed our way through our plates, and I kept an eye to Anna picking slowly at her food, occasionally speaking to Emily but mostly keeping to herself. I tried to draw her into mine and Felicity's chat but she wasn't very receptive. Her expression when I'd mentioned the food stood in the forefront of my mind, and I wondered if she was just unnerved by eating with everyone? I'd have to ask later, when we were alone.

For now, I tried to keep attention off of her. I talked with Felicity. When that dried up, I had no problem speaking louder so more people around the fire would hear me and talk too. Mostly I was trying to keep attention on me and off my very tense imprint while I felt she needed it.

Apparently this worked because even with her nerves, she cleared her plate. Once she finished, long after I'd devoured my two overflowing plates, I took her now empty one from her hands to discard with my own. When I returned, I knelt in front of her. She peeked up at me with shining eyes. Damn, they were beautiful.

"Anna," I started solemnly. "I have a gift for you."

"Oh no," she said.

"Oh yes." I grinned, pulling the cookie out of my pocket. "I have saved you the most delicious of delicacies. It would do me a great honor if you'd accept it."

She closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them. "You are ridiculous."

"Does that mean you won't accept my gift?" I asked. "I'm heartbroken."

"Oh, just give her the cookie and get back in your seat, boy," Old Quil said from his spot not far away. "I'd like to get these legends going sometime tonight. Besides, that poor girl has a lifetime to deal with your antics—give her a little rest for now."

Anna quickly grabbed the cookie from my hand, her expression tight. I winked at her, letting her know no one was really mad. Everyone was amused. This was a lighthearted friend outing. We were meant to joke around and tease. "Ouch, old man. Way to give me away early."

He chuckled. "I'm sure she already knows you're a basketcase."

"I take offense to that."

"You'll get over it. Now." He clapped his hands, and any other chattering around the fire ceased instantly. "We're all here to hear a telling of the legends, correct? Let us not waste time before it gets too late. Anyone need to get up? Do anything?" There were denials all around. "Good. Then I'll begin."

Thank you so much for reading! It'd make my day if you took the time to leave a review with your thoughts. Until next time, stay safe, friends! :)