Author's Note: Woahhhhhh. Here I am. Again. With another somewhat, semi-consistent update. Whattttt? Am I on crack? Has someone been slipping me some caffeine pills? How have I kept up writing this consistently?? I don't know and frankly, I'd rather not jinx it, so let's not ask. But here we go again with another chapter guys, so buckle up, because this one might be a bit of a bumpy ride.

Please, do enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I only lay claim to my own thoughts/plots/OC's.

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Chapter Six

"Okay, well I don't remember that."

Paul raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, well I distinctly remember you mentioning something about you, and me, being naked at the same time, in the same place," he insisted. Leah so far had been successfully playing dumb as to what she'd said on the beach the day before. Somehow, it hadn't managed to piss Paul off. Yet.

She shrugged. "You must have had water in your ears or something, Paul, because I don't remember that at all," Leah continued, determined not to let down her charade. What had she been thinking by being so flirtatious with Paul? He wasn't going to let up about it. And he certainly wasn't going to forget it.

He made a 'tsk tsk' sound. "Didn't peg you for a liar and a coward, Clearwater. If you don't want to hold up your end of the deal, just say so," he taunted with a smirk.

Leah stopped in her tracks. They were aimlessly trekking through the woods. Somehow they had both ended up walking away from Sam's - together. To where? She wasn't sure. The sun was high in the sky and it danced through the trees, fractured light breaching the dense foliage. It was one of the more beautiful days that La Push had to offer: the weather warm, but still enjoyable. She didn't mind Paul's company. In fact, it was actually nice spending time with him. But he needed to let this go and now. There wasn't a chance in hell that she was going to go to that place with Paul. He was one of her pack brothers. And besides, she knew all too well where innocent flirting could lead. Leah was all for knocking down her inner walls and trying to let people in again, but doing so with another wolf was unnecessarily risky. At least, where anything of that nature was concerned.

Suddenly, an idea struck. She grinned broadly, but turned her head away from him, trying to hide it. Leah cleared her throat loudly.

"Well, maybe, you could jog my memory."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You know, I think if we had a race. And I lost. Then it might all come back to me." Leah dangled the bait right in front of him, knowing Paul wouldn't be able to resist the challenge. Any good wolf knew that the thrill of the hunt was the chase. He would agree and she would win. Then, she would be spared having to live up to her promise from the day before. If she was lucky, Paul might not ever bring this up again.

He seemed to be thinking on it particularly hard. Finally, he spoke. "And you'll remember everything? And stick by what you said?"

Leah smiled innocently. "I don't know. I guess you'll just have to win and see," she singsonged. Paul's eyes flashed dangerously and he gave her an absolutely sinful grin.

"Deal," he said in a determined, deep voice.

Her stomach flip-flopped. She worked to get the resonating baritone of that simple word out of her head. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure about her proposition. Leah swallowed thickly, trying to appear unbothered. She took a deep breath before speaking again.

"This is going to be a fair race. So that means no going wolf. And I won't bump into you, like I did last time. This one is going to be completely fair." She could feel her pulse picking up as a result of the challenge. She wasn't going to lose, not just because of the agreement at stake, but because Leah wanted to win. She yearned for the rush of exhilaration and pride brought on by victory. It was one of the things she enjoyed most from her pack days. Nothing could beat besting all the boys and coming out on top at the one she was good at - running.

"So what are the specifics of this race?" Paul asked, the corners of his mouth perking up. He thought he was going to win, she could tell. He probably assumed he wanted it more. But her body hadn't returned to its natural state in all these years she'd gone without phasing - Leah was still as strong and fast as the day she stopped shifting. She prayed that her relentless DNA wouldn't fail her today.

She walked towards the nearest tree, knocking it with her fist. "The starting point is here. And..." she trailed off, undecided as to where their race should end up. Her eyes scanned the forest, the cogs in her head turning. There had to be some distance to this race. It was true that her speed was unmatched by the other wolves in the pack, but that was partly because of her stamina. Paul needed to tire out before she did. Her eyes lit up and she gave him a mischievous smile. "The finish line will be the cliffs. Same spot as yesterday."

Not only would that be the perfect motivation to keep him going along with her ploy, but it would be an uphill run. Leah would win. Nobody's endurance could come close to hers and hopefully that would be the case today.

Paul grinned broadly. "You're on."

The tone of his voice sent shivers down her spine. He was determined. But so was she.

Leah lined her body up with the tree, crouching down low. She braced her feet against the ground, ready to gain leverage for an aggressive take off.

He stepped beside her, assuming a similar position. Leah gave him one quick look, trying not to smile. She was excited. She was ready. This was everything she was built for - speed and strength and stamina. Paul nodded to her, looking almost as eager as she felt.

"Ready?" Leah started.

"Set," he responded.

She paused, taking a deep breath and focusing her energy.

"Go!" Leah shouted, taking off. Her feet pounded against the ground and air filled her lungs. The world was a blur passing her by. After only a minute of running she saw Paul catching up beside her.

She pushed herself faster, making sure he disappeared from the corner of her eye. Leah wasn't going to lose.

"So, tell me about Paul."

Leah scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "What's to say about him? He's an asshole," she answered simply. Dr. Castleman's face was carefully blank, but it didn't appear like that response would be the end all, be all of this conversation.

"Yes, well, we've spent quite a bit of time on Sam. And I've heard about all the others, but whenever I ask about Paul, that's all you seem to answer. Would you like to elaborate?" her therapist insisted. Leah's skin started to feel hot and she took deep breaths to calm herself down. "I see that mentioning his name brings out anger in you. It also seems to cause some discomfort. I think that if we fleshed out who he is, we might find something to work on there."

Leah had told him that due to her Quillette heritage, once the council members children reached of age, they were persuaded to spend copious amounts of time with each other. Supposedly, it was meant to bring the tribe's next possible leaders together to collaborate, preparing them each to take over the role of a council member one day. That was the simplest explanation that she could think of regarding her time with the pack and Dr. Castleman seemed to have bought it. At least, he hadn't given her the third degree on it - not like how he was with Paul right now.

She cleared her throat, leaning back into the soft cushions of the couch. Leah tried to think where to start describing her most unpleasant packmate, disregarding Sam, of course. "Well, for one, he's a hothead. He can get under just about anybody's skin and get into a fight with them. He'll argue with anyone about anything. And I seemed to be his target most of the time." Dr. Castleman scribbled something down, but nodded for her to continue. "And I don't know why he has to give me so much crap about being the only girl in the group. I know that history states women can't traditionally be in the 'boy's club.' But it's like, here I am, so why can't everybody just get used to it?"

Dr. Castleman paused. He seemed to be pondering something. He asked his next question slowly. "And did this Paul ever try to... woo you? So to speak." 'Woo'. She had to restrain herself from giggling. Sometimes her therapist spoke like one of the Cullen's, with their ancient and outdated tongue. He was an older man though, so she decided to refrain from being childish about it. If Edward had said something similar to her, back when they'd had one of their few conversations, she might have bust out laughing.

Did Paul ever try to 'woo' her? That was probably the nice way of putting it. "Yes. He hit on me. But he's a pig so..." she trailed off with a shrug.

"Did you two talk a lot?"

She rolled her eyes. "If you mean argue, then yes. We did. A lot. If I said the sky was blue, Paul would sit there and argue with me about it being purple. Anything and everything pissed that man off."

It was quiet for a moment before Dr. Catstleman spoke up again. "Now, Leah, I'm not saying that his behavior was acceptable, because frankly, the way you speak of him shows he might have deep emotional issues and a lack of maturity on how to interact properly or express himself appropriately in certain situations. Though, this is only an assumption. However," her therapist paused, tipping his glasses down his nose and peering at her almost cheekily. "Do you remember how in school, elementary boys would pull on girl's pigtails?" Leah nodded, frowning. She didn't like where this was going. "Well, it's because they don't have the linguistic nor societal skills yet in their grasp to simply say 'I have a crush on you'."

Leah gaped. She hurried to disprove his claims as her heart leaped in her throat. "No. No way. Paul might wanna get me into bed, but he doesn't actually like me," she refused.

He was misreading everything she was saying. Paul didn't like her. In fact, he hated her. Simply lusting after someone didn't mean that you were fond of them. Plus, she was in his head almost everyday. Leah would have known if it went beyond that. Wouldn't she? Paul was the most clever at hiding his thoughts though. He'd proven that time and time again by keeping some of his daily whereabouts and his home life secret from the group. Still, it seemed like such a stretch after all their bickering to imagine his feelings toward her being anything other than hostile.

Her therapist crossed his legs and leaned forward slightly. "I'm not going to say anything definitively, as I do not know the young man. However, Leah, I want you to see some perspective on this. You said that Paul argues with everyone, but with you the most. Perhaps, from what you've told me, that's because you were easily triggered and always ready to fight back? But the way you speak about him, that he 'could get under just about anybody's skin', it seems he could have been brawling with any person there, but instead he singled you out." Leah nodded, trying to let her mind be open to what her therapist was communicating and not immediately dismiss his words as idiotic. That was her instinct, to brush aside his assumptions as simply a misunderstanding. Yet, Dr. Castleman understood her more than almost anyone else. It was hard to picture what he was saying being the truth, but he had been right about a lot of things in her life that she'd been too blind to realize until now.

"Okay," she replied hesitantly, waiting for him to go on.

He pushed up his glasses and tilted his head forward, his salt and pepper hair and laugh lines making him appear very wise. "Well, the old saying that states 'opposites attract' is simply, in most cases, untrue. It's those that have the most in common who are drawn to each other, whether that be in friendly type of relationship or in a romantic one. And if you had to say, based on everything you've told me and what you consider to be true, who do you have the most in common with?"

She didn't even need to give him an answer. Dr. Castleman probably didn't need one either. He'd seen the truth she'd been denying clear as day. Who started fights with anyone and everyone? Her. And Paul. Who hated people with a passion because of their past experience with them? Her. And Paul. Who did the group least appreciate being in their midst? Her. And Paul.

"Well, goddamn, Dr. Castleman. I think you might be right."

Her legs were beginning to ache. Leah had been running up the cliff side, trying to reach the very top, for far too long. She was starting to regret choosing this course for the destination of their finish line. What kept her going was knowing that Paul was still behind her and she would have to press onward to keep him there.

With another burst of adrenaline, she pushed herself. Leah could almost see the break of light in between the trees that would lead to the cliff top. She was so close. She could do this. Paul's breathing and feet pounding close behind met her ears, giving her the motivation to keep moving forward.

Their species were much more capable than the average human, but it was only in their wolf form that they reached their top physical condition. Being human and exerting herself this much was far more difficult than it would be had she been phased.

Leah tried to distract herself from her burning legs. She pictured reaching the clifftop and jumping into the cool water below as a reward for her effort in this race. Her body was coated in a light layer of sweat and she was starting to feel very overheated. It would be the ultimate reprieve to this workout from hell.

Finally, she broke through the trees. After making it the last couple feet to the cliffside, she collapsed on the ground, laying there with a large grin plastered on her face. Leah had done it. She'd won. Euphoria and endorphins, from the exercise and from her triumph, coursed through her veins.

Paul followed close behind her. He had a surly expression, but he wasn't as mad as she'd thought he would be in his defeat.

"I…" she panted, trying to force out the rest of her words. "win."

Paul sat down beside her, growling lowly. "Whatever," he grumbled, kicking his legs out in front of him. He was also breathing hard, exhaling and inhaling harshly through his nose.

Leah peeked at his face. He had a deep frown set on his mouth, but he wasn't being unnecessarily hostile. After being beat, the old Paul would've been raging for a fight by now. She guessed that he must have calmed down in the years she'd been gone, at least a little.

Leah continued to stare at him. There was a light sheen of sweat coating his forehead, glistening off his rich, brown skin. She could almost see his heartbeat throbbing at the pulse point on his neck. She could certainly hear it. It practically pounded in her ears almost as loud as her own. His chest was shimmering with perspiration and she realized that he would probably need another shower after just taking one. She didn't really feel bad about that fact. He looked good, as his best, after pushing himself so hard.

Actually, he looked really good. Leah wondered why she had never fully appreciated that before. His body was better than any celebrity in a magazine, lean yet muscular, and his face was chiseled as if from stone.

Her pulse raced as she continued to ogle him. Adrenaline was still coursing hot in her veins and it caused a series of inappropriate images, concerning Paul, to flash before her eyes.

Paul's turned his head to meet her stare and she realized she had been looking at him for far too long. He didn't seem to mind though. He met her gaze head on, eyes blazing.

Leah's lips parted and suddenly she wondered what it might be like to kiss Paul. What would it be like to kiss anyone? She hadn't been with another person in any sort of romance way since Sam. She hadn't even wanted to. It had taken her a long time to feel the way she did now. When had she last experienced any of these emotions? With Sam? It was all so new and confusing, it was like she was in middle school again, getting ready to kiss her first boyfriend behind the bleachers of the football field - all nerves and uncertainty.

But she and Paul weren't going to kiss. At least, she didn't want them to. Or, well, she did. But the rational part of her still didn't want that to happen. Sure, anyone could break your heart, but entangling with a wolf, it was almost guaranteed. Even if things never went so far as to involve emotions, it still wasn't a smart idea. They were starting to be companions and one kiss could ruin all of that. Leah didn't want to spoil her chances at friendship with him after so much hatred had once been shared between them. She was trying to mend that fence, but this, whatever it was, wasn't the way to do it.

Paul was suddenly over her, leaning down so that his face was flush with hers. He pinned her arms to her side, studying her intently.

He didn't say anything and she didn't either. Leah knew she should probably escape or protest or do something, but all of her willpower was slowly draining away. Neither of them moved an inch. They simply stared at each other, eyes searching. She swallowed.

Leah didn't want this. Or did she? God, it would feel nice to have another man's lips on her own. But why did it have to be Paul? Why couldn't it be someone who was nice and level headed and normal. Someone who wasn't a wolf. Someone that it could be simple and uncomplicated with.

His breath ghosted over her mouth and suddenly her stomach felt hot. Leah didn't know what to do. The situation was rapidly getting out of control. Paul licked his lips and a tendril of energy pinged from the top of her body down to her lower half, before settling in her gut.

His nostrils flared and suddenly his eyes were dark - nearly black. She held her breath, captivated by the look he was giving her.

"What do want from me, Leah?"

It was a legitimate question, but there was more to it underneath the surface. He was asking for permission, something she had never thought Paul would have the decency to stop and consider. She always thought that if a woman gave him the signal, then he would be ready and raring to go.

And Leah had given him a lot of signals. She wasn't trying to, really, but her body was acting of its own accord.

"I don't know," she finally answered, now out of breath for a completely different reason.

His face leaned down. Leah wondered if she should let this happen. This could go so very badly, in more ways than one. She couldn't do this. She wouldn't.

That didn't matter though, everything in her still wanted to.

Right before his lips met hers, she managed to snap to her senses. She rolled away, out of his hold that went surprisingly slack.

"No."

"Leah-"

She shook her head, trying to clear it. Leah couldn't backtrack years worth of pain for a single moment of pleasure. She wouldn't let herself. She had come so far after so much heartbreak. She had been down this road before and it led to a dead end. Leah couldn't let a person like him - a wolf - in.

What had happened to her all those years ago? That hadn't been her fault. She'd been ignorant, unknowing of imprinting and werewolves and what the future would bring. But this? If the same situation was repeated all over again, with her no longer in the dark? Well, then, that would be her own fault.

And as much as she wanted it in the moment, Leah couldn't do something with Paul just for the fun of it. That never ended well. Someone would end up getting hurt and it would most likely be her.

"I- I have to go," she said abruptly.

Paul stood to his feet slowly. His face was a mask of stone, revealing nothing. Leah felt bad - bad for letting it get this far. She didn't want to bruise his ego or hurt his feelings or whatever it was that he was experiencing at this moment because of her actions. But it was better things stopped right here - for him and for her.

He didn't say anything as she did what she did best - run. Leah needed to be alone. She needed some time to sort everything in her head and figure out where it was coming from. Why was she feeling this way? What could she do to stop it?

And what did she really want from Paul?

Paul didn't try to follow her. He didn't do anything as she took off, moving faster than even before. Leah found energy that she didn't know she had left. It was built up inside her, ready to burst. The last thing she heard was an enraged yell and the sound of wood snapping.

And then she was gone.

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What's gooood, y'all? Okay, tell me how you liked that chapter. I told you this one was going to be a bit of a bumpy one. So, I really want to know what everyone thought. Also, should I change the rating to M, yet?? I'm not really sure when to do that. I don't know if this went far enough into the M territory or not to be classified as such.

Let me give a shout out to my reviewers, brankel1 and Glykal, for reading and reviewing each and every one of my chapters so far. I really love you guys and it means a lot that you've stuck with me through my sporadic and slow updates. Thank you InitialsLK as well for your support.

Glykal, your review was so helpful and so inspiring. You really understand and reflect on the writing and your encouragement about it is so appreciated. I really love the feedback. You've helped to keep me motivated and honestly, I couldn't be more thankful. I hope you keep enjoying this story.

And I hope everyone liked this chapter because I really liked writing it. Please, if you are enjoying this story, follow/favorite/review! I'll see you all next time, my faithful readers!