(Hello readers! Got a new chapter here for Dani Girl. I hope you like it even though I'm not really following Bella and Edward that much. I'm having too much fun trying to develop Dani and Paul more hehe. I own nothing but my OC.)
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"Okay. Spill!" Dani almost commands as she follows Bella into their bedroom to start getting ready for bed while their Dad cleans up in the bathroom.
Bella turned and gave Dani a questioning look which she in turn returned with a pointed raise of an eyebrow.
"Don't give me that. I lived here much longer than you and I know for a fact that Edward Cullen doesn't just suddenly decide to hang out with a random girl he meets up with in town. In fact, I don't even think the Cullens like going into town that much. They seem to prefer nature-y outdoor activities like camping and hiking." Dani shrugged her good shoulder before going to grab her pajamas from the drawer.
Bella shrugged back, hugging herself as if she were cold. "We just...we ran into each other that's all. I got lost coming back from the bookstore and he...came around the corner and stepped in when these creeps-."
"Wait wait wait! What creeps? You never mentioned any..." Dani trailed off and her face blanched as she turned to face her sister, pulling the Donald Duck t-shirt she liked to sleep in over her head.
Bella's face had gone equally as pale and she pulled her lower lip in between her teeth in anxiety.
"E-Edward saved me...N-now that I think about it, if he hadn't shown up and scared them off I could have been..." Bella shut her eyes and lightly clenched her jaw as her unvoiced realization flashed disturbingly through her mind.
Her eyes flew back open when she felt a hand touch her arm.
"Bells...are you okay?" Dani asked, sounding genuinely concerned as she searched her twin's eyes for any slightest sign that Bella might be hiding something bad, but Bella shook her head.
"N-no, I'm fine. Really it's just...scary thinking back on it..and what could have happened." Sighing Dani withdrew her hand and shook her own head back at her.
"Well I'm really glad nothing did happen. You know maybe Dad's right. Maybe it has been too long since the last time you were here." She murmured half to herself as she moved to sit on the edge of the bottom bunk.
Bella gave a light scoff as she went to go find her own PJs. "No it hasn't. What happened tonight was just a...freak incident." Then she paused as she picked up her pajama top.
"You're not going to tell Charlie are you?" She asked, Dani shot her a look over her shoulder.
"And upset him even more than Waylon's death already has? No way. Besides I think the fact that you got lost in Port Angelos was bad enough." She started to stretch her legs out in front of her when there was a knock on the door and Charlie peeked in opening it only a crack.
Bella quickly threw on her pajama top even though she was behind the door and out of her Dad's current line of sight.
"I'm uh...I'm done with the bathroom. It's all yours now, Girls." He jabbed his thumb behind him to point down the hall and Danielle nodded.
"Okay. Thanks Dad. Are you going to bed?" She asked and Charlie sighed. "Yeah I thought about watching some TV, but...I think I'd better just hit the hay. It's been a long day." He muttered and Dani nodded as Bella finished getting changed and walked around towards the door.
"You okay Bella?" Charlie asked looking at his other daughter now as Dani got up to pull the bobby pins from her hair.
Bella shrugged. "Yeah I'm fine." Charlie seemed satisfied by that answer. "Good. Well you two hash it out. Decide who gets the bathroom next." He awkwardly waved them off, turning to head for his own bedroom.
Dani stifled a laugh. "Okay. Goodnight Dad."
"Night Dad." Bella echoed quietly. Dani glanced at her as their Dad left, closing their bedroom behind him.
"Do you mind if I wash up first or...?"
Bella shrugged her shoulders. "No, go ahead. I can wait." She answered, moving towards the desk and turning on the computer.
Nodding gratefully, Dani moved to leave the room. "Thanks." She started to head for the door when a strange noise made her stop.
"What?" Bella asked, confused as she searched her sister's expression while Dani stepped fairly quickly across the bedroom to the window.
Carefully she pulled back one side of the curtain and peered out.
"I thought I heard something. It almost sounded like..." Dani started and trailed off. Bella blinked at her, getting up to join her.
"Almost sounded like what?"
Dani shook her head and turned away from the window. "Nothing. It was probably just a squirrel or something." She strolled back across the bedroom and pulled open the door.
Bella sighed and went to sit back down at the desk. "Probably." She glanced over her shoulder just as the door swung shut after Dani.
...
"Okay Bella, I'm done. You can...What are you doing?" Dani paused, the towel she was using to blot out her hair nearly falling out of her hands when she re-entered the bedroom and saw the image that was on the computer screen Bella was looking at.
Jumping, Bella hurriedly shut off the monitor. "Uh n-nothing." She stuttered. Dani raised an eyebrow then strolled briskly across the room towards the desk.
Eyes widening, Bella rushed to stop her from getting to the computer. "No don't!" She tried, but Dani leaned around her and hit the button on the bottom of the screen, making it come to life again.
"Vampires? Since when are you into this kind of thing?" Danielle questioned, straightening after quickly reading over the screen her sister had been on.
Blushing furiously Bella shrugged and clicked off the browser. "Since...recently." She shrugged. "I've just been...kind of curious ever since Jacob told me about some of the Quileute legends when we went to the beach."
Dani sighed. "But they're just stories. I mean no one aside from maybe a couple of the elders really believe that the Quileutes were once descended from wolves or that they battled against actual vampires. I mean, get real Bella." She gave her a skeptical smile.
Bella nodded her head. "Yeah I know it's just...I was just wondering if I could find anything else about it. It was an...interesting story." She shut down the computer then got up, stretching one arm than the other over her head before turning to head out to the bathroom.
Dani shrugged. "Okay." Turning she sat down in the desk chair Bella had just vacated and set to work blotting out her hair, waiting until she heard the bathroom door shut and lock before turning the computer back on.
After doing a brief google search, she shut it back down, draped the towel over the back of the chair before climbing up into the top bunk.
There's no way she's taking any of that seriously. Like come on...shapeshifting wolf people and vampires? Get real.
...
"Bye Dad! Angela and Jess are here!" Dani called down to her Dad, rushing down the stairs while pulling her purse strap up from her elbow to her shoulder.
Charlie turned over his right shoulder to look at her when she finally made it down to the ground level. "Oh...okay. Is Bella going too?" He asked and Dani paused with her hand on the doorknob
"No, she said she just wanted to stay home and read today." She shrugged and her Dad nodded. "Okay. Have fun! Wait! Where are you going?" He asked, doing a double take.
Dani shrugged her shoulder again. "To La Push. I'm...meeting a friend." She finished lamely though her Dad didn't seem to be suspicious.
"Oh. All right then. Try to be back before five. We're going out to eat at the diner again tonight." Dani nodded in acknowledgement.
"Okay. Bye!" She hurried out the door, waving at her friends before getting into the backseat of Jess's car.
Jessica turned and smirked at her as Dani buckled her seatbelt. "So...ready for your hot date?" She teased and Dani playfully scoffed.
"It's not a date."
"Oh yeah? Then what is it?" Jess asked and Dani shrugged. "We're just meeting up. We'll eat, maybe talk, hang out and that'll be it."
Jess and Angela exchanged glances. "Ohhh right...so a date." Jessica joked and Angela chuckled. Danielle huffed and shifted to face the window.
"Chill it, Dani. I'm messing with you. So for real now, are you ready for this? I don't think you've been to meet a guy somewhere like this in like...well ever." Jessica took a quick peek behind her as she backed carefully out of the Swan's driveway and onto the main road.
Dani sighed and carefully stretched her legs out as much as she could in front of her.
"I guess so. I mean, I kind of already know who he is, but I guess it just feels kind of weird because he used to be considered bad news until Sam Uley took him under his wing and before the group La Push trip he never really paid much attention to me."
Angela nodded with a furrow of her brows. "Well, we'll be right there the whole time so if he tries anything we'll have your back." She promised and Jess nodded in agreement.
Dani gave them a slow grateful smile. "Thanks."
"So, what's Bella doing today?" Jess asked and Dani shrugged. "Who knows? She said she wanted to read, which sounds like her except..." She paused and trailed wondering mid-sentence if she should say anything about the paranormal research she caught her sister doing the other night.
"Except?" Jessica pressed and Dani finally shook her head. "Never mind. It's probably nothing."
"You think she might be planning on getting together with Edward Cullen today?" Jess asked the question casually. This made Danielle whip around from the window.
"What?...Why would you even...? What the crap, Jess!"
"Dani, come on. Did you not see the way they were looking at each other in the parking lot? Something is definitely up with them. Especially given that Edward's never been interested in any of the girls in our year before your sister showed up." Jess muttered the last part most likely to herself, but Dani sighed at her explanation.
"But it doesn't make any sense. I mean, he clearly couldn't stand my sister the first time they met and now all of a sudden because he saved her from being lost in Port Angelos and gave us a ride back home, you think he might be smitten by Bella?" She asked.
Angela shrugged. "Love works in mysterious ways, Danielle. Maybe he wasn't even mad at Bella at all. Maybe he was annoyed by something else and it only looked like he was irritated with her."
Dani chewed on her lower lip. "Maybe." She conceded a bit reluctantly, not really buying into Angela's theory.
As a few minutes passed in awkward silence, Dani glanced away from the window when some semi-loud pop music suddenly boomed from the car speakers.
"All right, enough about Bella and Edward now. I'm betting that if today goes well, you'll be going to Prom with this Paul guy." Jess said with a smirk, peeking at her friend through the rearview mirror. Dani lightly shook her head.
"I don't know, Jess." She muttered. Angela tried to conceal a grin. "Should we place actual bets on it?" She asked playfully. Jess nodded eagerly.
"Heck yeah! Three large hot cocoas says Dani ends up dating Paul by the end of the month." She predicted and Dani amusedly rolled her eyes.
"Fine, you're on." She shrugged dismissively, turning to face out the window again.
"But I'm still not going to Prom."
...
"Hey! You made it!" Paul grinned happily as met Danielle at the door. Nodding back, Dani smiled back at him, hoping Paul couldn't see how nervous she was.
"Yeah well, I wasn't going to just stand you up or anything." She shrugged and felt a tiny bit relieved when Paul chuckled.
"Cool. Well, I already grabbed us a table and I ordered you a pepsi. I hope that's okay." He said sincerely while motioning to the small couples table that was situated near the middle of the cafe.
Dani nodded her head at it. "Cool. Thanks." She responded equally as sincerely back to him and Paul's grin seemed to widen.
After they'd both sat down at the table and the waitress came and took Dani's order, the bell at the door jingled and Dani peeked through her peripherals to see Jess and Angela slipping in acting as if they'd just arrived.
"Sooo...tell me a bit about yourself Dani. I mean I know you live in Forks and you have a twin sister and a Dad who's a cop, but...what else is cool about you?" Paul asked, leaning his elbows against the edge of the table.
Dani shrugged, looking back at him over the rim of her glass of Pepsi as she took a small sip from the drink.
"Ummm...I play the violin. I actually got my violin from my Grandma on my Mom's side."
"Oh really? That's cool. Do you play any sports?" Paul asked, taking a swig from his own soda as he talked.
Dani shook her head. "Not unless you count the random soccer scrimmages I sometimes have with Jake and the guys down here. I'd much rather play music or hang out with my friends though." She stated matter of factly before straightening her posture.
"What about you? I know you like soccer, but what else?" Dani asked a bit teasingly. Paul's face took a slightly reddish tint.
"Uhhh...yeah I'm so sorry about that." He averted his eyes.
"No, I know. You've...kind of told me every time we've run into each other." She retorted half teasingly with a soft chuckle and Paul looked back up chuckling with her.
"Right. I'm sorry about the repeat apologies, it's just..." He gesticulated with his hands for a moment then paused. "...well ever since that day I've been...kind of thinking a lot about you." He admitted a bit sheepishly.
Dani raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?" She asked. Paul shrugged. "I don't know. It...it's kind of hard to explain." He seemed to sag a bit in his chair. Dani leaned forward a bit on the table.
"I'm listening." She said quietly, hoping she sounded encouraging and not like she was trying to force an answer out of him.
Paul sighed. "Cliff diving." He said after moment, confusing Dani. "What?"
"I like to go Cliff Diving." Paul explained himself with a slightly awkward chuckle. "Have you ever been? It's fun and it gives you a real rush." He smirked.
Dani felt the blood drain from her face. "Are you joking? I can barely swim and heights are not my thing." She said with a slight shudder just as the waitress came back with their plates.
"You could jump from one of the lower ledges." Paul suggested casually as he reached to pick up his burger.
Dani shook her head, stabbing her fork into her salad. "Yeah no thanks. I think I'll pass." Paul nodded concedingly. "Okay fine. Uhhh...I like cars too. Like fixing cars and maintaining them. And...occasionally I like playing video games too." He shrugged.
Dani calmly slipped a piece piece of lettuce into her mouth. "Really? Do you play any Mario Kart?"
Paul raised an eyebrow. "Only all the time. Do you?" He asked, chewing on a large bite of his food.
Dani shrugged. "Only when I was at Jake's house and he wasn't working on a car. With my Dad, orchestra rehearsals and all, I don't really have a lot of time to play video games."
Paul nodded. "Well maybe you could come over to my place some time. We could play all the Mario Kart and Smash Brothers you want."
Dani nodded back. "Maybe. I still have a couple weeks on the sling left before I can play my violin again." She smiled a bit to herself. Paul swallowed his bite of burger before continuing.
"What's your favorite racer?"
Dani shrugged her good shoulder. "Koopa Troopa."
"Koopa? Really?" Paul asked, sounding a bit skeptical. Dani shot him a questioning look. "What's wrong with Koopa?"
"Nothing! Nothing! Just...Yoshi's better." He explained casually with a wink. Dani lightly scoffed. "Whatever floats your boat, Dude." She teased him playfully, her gaze lingering on Paul's dark brown eyes as she slurped a spoonful of soup.
As Paul gazed back at her, Dani felt that tingle down her spine again. Then Paul laughed. "You're kind of interesting, Dani. I'm glad you agreed to meet me here." He grabbed a french fry.
Dani looked down at her plate. "You seem pretty cool yourself. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about coming since...well you know-."
"My reputation precedes me?" Paul interrupted and Dani looked back up at him.
"Uh...yeah."
Paul nodded before waving his hand dismissively. "I get it." Dani scooted up a bit in her seat.
"But...I can kind of see that you're not Big Bad Paul anymore. Well not really anyway." She shrugged. Paul arched an eyebrow and sniggered making Dani freeze a bit.
"What?"
"Big Bad Paul? Really?" Paul began to laugh harder and Dani felt her cheeks turn crimson.
"Stop laughing! I'm not the only one who used that name for you, you know." She started to hug her injured arm a bit insecurely and Paul raised his hands in the air as if he were trying to talk down a frightened animal.
"All right! All right! Sorry. It's just...God! That's too funny! Big Bad Paul?" He tried and failed to stifle his laughter.
Sighing, Dani stood abruptly from her chair and turned to head for the door. "Whoa! Whoa! Wait! Dani! I'm sorry!...I'm really sorry. I promise I won't laugh at you anymore. Just please don't run away." Paul begged, catching up to Danielle and grabbing her by her good arm before she could storm out of the cafe.
Dani hesitated. "You promise?"
"Scout's honor." Paul held up his hand in an oath taking gesture. Dani raised an eyebrow. "Are you even a boy scout?"
Now it was Paul's turn to roll his eyes. "Fine, I swear as a member of Sam's pack that I won't laugh at you anymore today. Deal?" He amended, holding out his hand for a shake.
Dani slowly took his hand. "Okay. So you guys call yourselves a pack?" She asked, curious. Paul shrugged. "Yeah...it sounds better than gang, right?" He grinned.
Chuckling, Dani nodded in agreement. "Yeah I guess so." She retracted her hand from his grip after another moment, shaking her hand out a bit as the intense warmth that had eradiated from Paul's hand to her own began to ebb off.
"Whoa, your hands are really warm. You're like a walking space heater." She joked, Paul let his arm drop back at his side with a sheepish smile. "Oh yeah...it's a Quileute thing. We're some of the hottest guys around, you know."
Dani snorted out a laugh at the goofy gestures he made. "Wow, that was corny." Paul shrugged. "So, shall we go back and finish lunch then?" He gestured back to where their table was.
Dani chewed on her lip. "Sure." She moved to follow Paul.
...
"Hey Dad! I'm back!" Danielle called into the house as she ran inside through the front door, pulling off her sweater as she got into the living room.
"Oh. Hey! Your sister showed up awhile ago too. With Edward." Charlie murmured as he brought his attention back to the game on the television.
Dani joined him on the couch. "Edward's here?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and peering around as if they might be nearby.
"No, he was." Charlie shook his head, scratching at his chin before continuing. "Apparently he invited Bella over to his place tomorrow after school."
Dani whirled to face her Dad. "Really? Moving kind of fast, isn't he?" She said a bit warily. Charlie shrugged.
"What do you mean? Bella just said he wants her to meet his family. I think more guys ought to do that when they choose to take a girl out if you ask me." He reached into the bowl of chips he was cradling in his other arm and grabbed a tortilla chip.
Dani shook her head. "I guess." Helping herself to a chip, she stood up from the couch and turned to head up the stairs. "I'm going to see what Bella's up to." She shuffled around the couch.
Charlie looked back up at her. "So how was your lunch date with Paul?" He asked. Dani paused at the bottom of the stairs.
"Good. We uh...I might be going to watch him play soccer sometime." She shrugged just as her phone vibrated.
"Oh. Cool. You know Paul is a part of Sam Uley's reservation watch group now? Has been for the past year. They've been helping to keep everyone safe from the mystery attacks. He's a good guy." Charlie continued and Dani nodded as she finished reading the text she'd received.
I had a good time today. I'd like to hang out again sometime. If you want.
"Oh yeah. I know." Turning, she jogged up the stairs and to her room, stopping when she spotted Bella sitting by the window in her office chair.
"Hey Bella!" Bella jumped then quickly threw on a smile as Dani walked across the bedroom and pulled up the old rocking chair their Dad never moved out of the bedroom.
"Oh. Hey Dani. How was your uh...lunch date?" Dani shrugged. "Pretty good. Dad said you went out with Edward. How did that go? What did you guys do?" She asked casually using her toe to rock the chair a bit while folding the other leg underneath herself.
Bella shrugged, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Just...we just went for a walk. In the woods near here." She turned the chair around away from the window.
Dani raised an eyebrow. "A walk in the woods? Does Dad know about that? You know he just told us doesn't want us hiking while these bear attacks keep happening." She crossed her arms.
Bella shook her head. "No, but...Edward was with me and his family goes hiking all the time so...I was fine." She tried to justify herself.
Dani gave her an incredulous look, but let the topic drop, dropping her gaze back down at her phone as she did so. "Okay. But if Dad finds out, I know nothing about it."
She began to type out a response to the text she got earlier. "No problem." Bella shrugged, picking up her own phone and sighing.
"What?" Dani looked up from her phone. Bella shook her head. "It's just...Edward asked me to come meet his family. You know like...officially. Tomorrow after school." She gestured stiffly.
Dani inclined her light lightly to the side. "And the problem is?"
Helplessly, Bella shrugged her shoulder. "What should I wear? I didn't exactly bring a lot of my wardrobe from Phoenix, you know? Tank tops and shorts don't really cut it here." She murmured.
Dani gave her a look. "Dude, are you being serious right now? Since when do you care so much about clothes?"
Bella shook her head. "I don't know. I just...want to make a decent impression on the Cullens, that's all." Dani sighed and put her phone down on the arm of the rocking chair.
"Edward must have made you one heck of an apology. I mean, I've never seen you like this. I expect Mom to be the boy crazy one, not you."
Bella blushed, averting her gaze. "Kinda. I just...he's not like what everyone thinks he is." She shrugged half-heartedly. Dani shrugged back.
"If you say so." She looked back over at her phone when it vibrated again.
Leah C.
Call me ASAP. I need all the dets!
Paul L.
Up to catch a movie next Friday? I think the new King Kong is out.
"Who are you texting? Paul?" Bella asked, her eyes following her sister for a second as Dani hovered thumb over the two texts she got.
'Yeah. And Leah. I'll answer them later though. We got to get started on dinner before Dad orders pizza again." She grinned a bit and Bella returned it. "Yeah I never thought I'd get tired of pizza."
Dani chuckled. "Welcome to life at home with Daddy." She joked. Bella smirked.
...
