(So I know I've been neglecting this story and for those of you who were patiently waiting for the next chapter I am so sorry. Here is the next chapter though at last. I hope you enjoy. I know I mixed up some events in the story timeline, but hopefully you guys won't mind too much. Also I'm trying to put more focus on Paul and Danielle for this fic since we all know what happens with Bella and Edward and also I wanted to let their relationship develop a little slowly and try to make them a little healthier couple despite the imprint thing though I know it's still moving a bit fast anyway because story hehe. Also I'm sorry if it's a little weird having Paul hang out with the Clearwaters, but I'm trying to keep things in order as best I can. I hope you enjoy this chapter though. Man I can't wait to get to the baseball game part. I own nothing but my OC.)
...
"Hey I'm home!" Charlie called into the house as he trudged in, hanging his gun belt up by the door as always before walking into the kitchen, where he found Dani rushing around setting some food on the table with an apron over the half sleeve casual swing dress she was wearing.
"Hey Dad! I made burger steaks for dinner. I hope that's okay. The fries should be done baking in about four minutes." She turned to check the timer on the stove before reaching to pull off her apron.
Charlie raised a hand in a halting gesture. "Whoa whoa!...Where are you off to in such a hurry? Where's Bella?" He asked, noticing that his other daughter was missing.
Dani gave him a slightly confused look. "Didn't she tell you? Edward picked her up at school to meet his family today." Her hands slowed as she attempted to untie the string around her waist.
Charlie facepalmed himself "Oh! That's right! I forgot. Well where are you going then?" Dani shrugged.
"Angela and I are going to La Push together." Sweeping past her Father, Dani hastily bent to peck a quick kiss to his cheek before rushing off to get her purse and shoes from the bedroom.
"Bye Dad!"
"La Push? You're not going to see that Lahote boy again, are you?" Charlie asked, moving to follow her from the kitchen.
Dani paused briefly halfway across the floor. "...Maybe. I promise we won't come back late." She promised as her Dad gave her a sidelong look.
"Are you sure Angela's okay with being a third wheel? I know you're trying to put your old man at ease, but...seems like a raw deal for her." He shrugged.
Dani shook her head. "She's not third wheeling, Dad. Eric's coming too and it's not really a date. We're just going to go hang out on the beach and cook out for dinner. Maybe play soccer." She shrugged one shoulder as she carefully tucked her hair behind her ear.
Charlie rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Okay. Just make sure you're careful with your arm and that you're back before it gets dark. What with these attacks and the killer still at large I don't want you girls taking unnecessary risks."
Dani nodded her head. "I know. I'll text Bella too to remind her." She dug through her purse for her phone.
Charlie sighed and nodded his head before turning to leave the doorway of his daughters' bedroom. "Great. You still got your pepper spray?"
Nodding again, Dani patted the side of her purse. "Right here. Both cans."
"Good. I hope Bella remembered hers." Charlie muttered, rubbing the back of his head again.
With a sigh, Dani dropped her phone back into purse and moved to follow her Dad out of her room and back down the stairs.
"Hey Dad?...Are you...really okay with me hanging out with Paul?" She asked slowly when her Dad turned to make eye contact with her a few steps ahead of her on the staircase.
He made a slight grimace. "Well...He's a good kid I suppose. Isn't he a bit old for you though?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.
Dani stifled a snort and lightly rolled her eyes. "He's only a year older than me." Charlie sighed a bit defeatedly at that, his shoulders slumping as if the feeling were sinking downwards from his mind.
"All right, fine. Just make sure you're home before dark like I said and be sure to tell that boy to keep his hands to himself." He grumbled half to himself, as he turned to head the rest of the way down the stairs.
Dani let out a sigh. "Whatever you say, Dad." She replied, skipping down the steps just as she heard the doorbell ring.
"Oh! They're here! I'll see you later, Daddy!" Dani rushed towards the door, almost tripping as she tried to put on her shoes while running. Charlie sighed again and shook his head.
"Have fun. We're still on for family dinner at the diner tomorrow, right?" Charlie asked, making Dani pause as she started out the front door.
"Of course! We can't break tradition." She grinned before pulling the door shut after her.
...
"And then, I kid you not, he full on crashed into the tree." Paul gestured with his hands, grinning as he reached the punch line of the story he was telling.
Angela let out cackle then clapped a hand over her mouth while Eric howled next to her and Dani snickered on her other side.
"No way!...That must have been priceless." Dani wiped tears from her eyes as she struggled to calm herself.
Paul nodded almost gleefully. "Oh it was. And we have yet to let him forget it." He smirked, running a hand through his short hair and making it stand up slightly.
Eric let out a cough as he attempted to still his own laughter. "Man, I don't blame ya'll. I wouldn't let him forget it either." Leaning to the side, he grabbed the bag of marshmallows and attempted to toss one into his mouth before holding out another to Angela.
Picking up her roasting stick, Dani started to reach for a marshmallow next when she felt a warm hand brush against her arm which was now no longer being encumbered by her sling.
"Does it hurt still?" Paul asked, letting his hand drift away as Dani turned to meet his eyes. She shrugged carefully.
"A bit, but Dr. Cullen said as long as I'm careful, I don't have to wear the sling all the time anymore. Thank God." She delicately tried to stretch her arm, careful not to jar her shoulder too much.
Paul nodded though his expression darkened slightly. "That's good. Dr. Cullen is your regular physician?" He asked. Dani nodded.
"Yeah. At least for the past couple years. You don't like him?" She asked, furrowing her brows slightly at the look on his face. Paul shook his head.
"Nah, I hardly know him." He brushed it off. "You said your sister's seeing one of them, right? One of the Cullens?"
Dani nodded. "Yeah. Edward. He's...a bit strange, but so far he hasn't given me a good enough reason to chase him off. Yet." She amended and Paul sighed.
Raising an eyebrow at the look on his face, Dani reached for the bag of marshmallows and threw one of the powdery plush sweets at him, startling Paul as it hit him in the cheek.
"Hey! What was that for?" He demanded.
Dani shrugged. "You're being mysterious and broody. We're supposed to be having fun right now, remember?" She teased, reaching for another marshmallow and lifting this one to her mouth.
Suddenly she found the bag of marshmallows snatched from her before two of the soft pillowy sweets pelted her in the face. She whipped around with a gasp to see Paul with a mischievous grin on his face.
Dani gave him her best indignant look. "Now that was uncalled for." She muttered, crossing her arms carefully in a pouty manner. Shuffling into a standing position from his chair, Paul stuck his hand back into the bag.
"You started it, Swan." He countered. In response, Dani stood from her own beach chair, grabbing some potato chips from her plate before throwing them at Paul, eliciting a loud complaint from Eric.
"Awww come on guys! I wanted to eat a few more of those!" He gestured a bit dramatically at the bag of marshmallows Paul was still holding as he ducked and raised an arm to deflect Dani's attack.
"He's right." He popped a marshmallow into his mouth before grabbing another and holding it out to Dani in an almost placating manner. "Truce?"
Sighing, Dani reached to accept the marshmallow when Paul suddenly snatched it back, dropping the rest of the bag as he turned to make a dash towards the water.
"Seriously?" She complained half-heartedly and heard Paul laughing at her in response.
"You want it? Come and get it." He chuckled, turning to make a run for it towards the water.
Angela shot her friend a half amused and half questioning look as Eric hooted in mirth. With a shake of her head, Dani stood, brushing the powdered sugar from her fingers on the skirt of her dress before dashing across the beach towards the boy who was now ankle deep in the ocean.
"How are you are not freezing in there?" Dani called to Paul, getting only a playful and helpless shrug in return before he held out the marshmallow in a teasing manner at her again.
With a sigh, Dani kicked off her shoes and stepped carefully into the water after him, feeling her toes go numb just as she got close enough to try to grab the marshmallow from Paul.
"Oh come on!" She groaned, when Paul pulled it away again, lifting his arm so that it was well out of her reach.
Giving up, she started to turn to run back out of the water when Paul suddenly grabbed her around the waist, turning her around before holding out the marshmallow again.
This time he held it out to her so close that it almost bumped against her nose.
Looking at it, Dani gave Paul a suspicious look. "Are you just going to pull it away again?" She asked. Paul shook his head.
"No, it's yours. Go on. Take it." He said sincerely with still the slight laughing look twinkling in his eyes.
Still eyeing him with suspicion, Dani slowly reached for the sweet and closing her fingers around the end.
Paul quickly released his grip on the marshmallow though Dani felt a tingle at her fingertips when they briefly brushed against Paul's.
Looking up from the marshmallow which was now tightly gripped in her hand, Dani found herself looking up into Paul's gaze. He stared back, smiling a bit as light breeze picked up making Dani shiver.
"Are you cold?" Paul asked, suddenly sounding concerned. Dani gritted her teeth together. "A little." She responded just as an ice cold raindrop hit her in the face.
"Hey!" Both teens turned when they heard Angela calling from the beach. "Let's get out of here! I think it's starting to rain!"
Dani nodded and turned to hurry out of the water, hearing Paul sloshing up behind her.
"Hey, are you free again tomorrow? I was thinking maybe we could play some Mario Kart together. We'll see if you're any good." He suggested, half teasing again by the end.
Sighing, Dani gave him an apologetic look. "Tomorrow's family dinner night with my Dad and Bella. Sorry."
"Oh. Well what about Saturday then? I can pick you up. You could...invite your friends again if you wanted to." Paul gestured to where Eric and Angela were hurriedly trying to pack up the picnic stuff from around the campfire.
Dani hesitated. "I'll think about it." She conceded. She heard Paul attempt to stifle a sigh at that. "Okay. Let me know." Paul agreed as they reached their cook out spot.
Grabbing a blanket from the ground, he draped it over Dani before pulling her closer to the fire. "Here. Stand closer to the fire until you've warmed up. Last thing I want is for you to get sick and then have your Dad blame me for it."
Dani chuckled dryly at that. "It would totally be your fault if that happened." She couldn't resist retorting and Paul laughed.
"Guess so." He reached to tuck a strand of Dani's hair behind her ear, making Dani blush and stiffen at the unexpected and tender gesture. Her heartbeat started to quicken.
"Hey Dani! Your Dad's calling." Angela apologetically interrupted the moment, holding out her friend's cellphone which was ringing and showing a picture of Chief Swan on the screen.
Suddenly realizing that it was starting to get dark, Dani groaned and turned to answer her phone.
...
"Hey Bella! Homework session plus movie night at Jess's. Want to come? Angela's going to be there." Dani invited, pausing as she started for the front door of the house.
"Umm...no thank you. Edward's coming to pick me up today." She attempted to smile casually, but Dani returned it with an arched eyebrow as she looked up from her Calculus book.
Dani raised an eyebrow.
"Again? What do you guys even do all the time? You never seem to have time to hang out with the rest of us these days." She responded, smirking a bit to hide her concern.
Bella's cheeks took on a reddish tint as she averted her eyes from her sister. "Just...stuff. We...go out to eat and go hiking sometimes...and we talk." She shrugged.
Slowly Dani nodded her head. "Uh huh...you sure you can't ditch for today and come hang out? I think Dad's getting suspicious of how much you're hanging around Edward these days." She shrugged.
Bella gave her a softly protesting look. "Charlie trusts Edward. He trust the Cullens. They're good people."
Dani nodded at this. "I never said they weren't, it's just...I feel like we haven't really been hanging out since Edward took you to meet his family. You're always out somewhere with him or...one of the other Cullens." Bella arched an eyebrow at her.
"You've been spending a lot of time with Paul too." She pointed out. Dani shrugged. "Paul's open to other people hanging out and we're not always together. Not like you and Cullen. Edward never seems to want to see anyone, but you. Not to mention he also seems to be allergic to anything connected to the Rez. It's a little...weird." She shivered lightly and Bella made a face.
"...It's complicated." She murmured in protest and Dani sighed, concedingly. "Fine, you're off the hook this time, but don't make plans for Sunday."
"Why? What's Sunday?" Bella asked, with a furrow of her brow.
"Game Day. Jacob and Mr. Black usually come down to watch with us and I need someone to rescue me before I die of boredom." Dani deadpanned, causing Bella to roll her eyes.
"Great."
...
"Dani!...Bella! Hey! What's going on with you two locas? It feels like I haven't seen you two in...what ages?" Jacob grinned as he hopped out of car the second after it was parked.
Bella averted her gaze, blushing lightly. "Yeah well...we've both been kinda...occupied." She muttered awkwardly.
Dani shrugged. "Yeah sorry. We were caught up with a couple things, but hey! Maybe next weekend you could join me and few others for a game night on the Rez? I've kinda been missing you too despite how annoying you are about whatever you're working on in that shed of yours." She chuckled and Jake laughed with her.
"All right. Touche. Just send me the dets and I'll see if I can clear my schedule." Turning, he moved to get his Dad's wheelchair out and set up on the asphalt and Dani followed to help him.
"So...as if hearing about one of you dating a Cullen wasn't weird enough, is what I've been hearing lately true? About you and Paul Lahote?" Jacob turned to side eye Danielle as he helped his Dad into his wheelchair.
Dani shrugged. "We've just been hanging out. Why? Are you jealous?" She joked and Jake scoffed. "No! It's just...Paul? Really?" He laughed as Billy glanced up at him.
"Paul Lahote is a key member of the Reservation Watch Group. He hasn't been any trouble for over a year, Jake. If you ask me, I say Danielle definitely could do much worse than him." His gaze flickered towards Bella in a meaningful manner.
Then he smiled, his expression changing so fast it almost gave Dani whiplash. "How are you doing, Bella? Adjusting to everything well?"
Seeming to startle a bit, Bella nodded, blushing again as she looked down at her feet. "Uh yeah...Yeah, it's been...great. Really great." She threw on a smile which made Dani smirk a bit.
"Hey! 'Bout time you got here. I got the Pale Ale inside. Hey Jake." The girls and Jacob looked up when they heard Chief Swan come down the front steps. Jake nodded in greeting to him.
"Hi Chief Swan. Don't worry there's no way my old man would miss a chance to watch a game on the flat screen." He grinned cheekily as his Dad shot him a look.
"Yeah well, I wasn't the one begging to go visit with the Swan Sisters again, Son. Especially Bella." Billy shot back, causing a look of utmost of mortification to wash over Jacob's face.
Bella shot him a questioning look. "Great...Thanks a lot, Dad." Jake muttered, dropping his gaze away from everyone. Dani saw Billy smirk a bit to himself.
"All right then, shall we go in? It's about to start." Charlie quickly checked his watch
Billy grinned and held up the paper bag he was clutching on his lap. "Absolutely. I've got Harry Clearwater's homemade fish fry ready to share." He shook the bag a bit and Charlie grinned back.
"Awesome! Let's go." He turned to lead the way back into the house.
Dani nudged Jake as a silent way of asking if he was okay as she and Bella fell into step next to him. He looked up and shrugged in a way that said "He's my Dad. What am I supposed to do?"
"So uh...did you find any leads on the Waylon case?" Billy asked in a low voice though not low enough.
Charlie sighed, pausing at the stairs. "Yeah uh...we found a footprint out at the crime scene today. A bare human footprint."
Billy frowned at this while Bella and Dani exchanged horrified glances. "Wait! A person did this?" Bella exclaimed.
"What kind of psycho would do such a thing?" Dani chimed in. Jake scoffed lightly. "A crazy one that's what. Walking around barefoot this time of year." He muttered.
Clenching his jaw, Charlie leaned to speak directly to Billy after glancing between his two daughters and Billy's son.
"Spread the word around about this around the Rez for me, would ya? Let Sam Uley know and keep the kids out of the woods until we get this taken care of."
"Oh will do." Billy said seriously, his head twitching towards where the three teenagers were before abruptly facing forward again as if he had changed his mind last minute. "Don't want anyone else getting hurt, now do we?"
...
"Are you sure you're not cheating?" Dani asked as she wrestled with her game controller trying to make her racer go faster.
"Pack's honor." Paul answered almost cheekily as his character passed the finish line first. "Second place ain't bad though." He leaned back on the couch and turned to grin at Danielle as Koopa crossed a few moments later.
She sighed and flopped back against the back of the couch. "You suck, Paul." Paul raised his eyebrows.
"What? I told you, you should pick Yoshi. You just didn't want to listen." He playfully nudged her in the arm with his elbow and Dani gave him a narrow eyed look, trying to ignore the tingling that started again when she met his gaze.
"Koopa Troopa never failed me before I raced you. How do I know you didn't rig something?" She retorted half playfully. Paul sighed.
"How would I rig Mario Kart, Dani?" He groaned, laying back on the couch as well and running a hand through his short hair. Dani sat up, looking at him.
"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure you did something." She said with a childish pout that made Paul chuckle a bit.
"All right fine. How about I don't use Yoshi for the next race?" He asked, sitting up and picking up his controller. Dani wrinkled her nose thinking as she stared at the stats from the previous race.
"Nah, I want a rematch." She picked up her own controller, shooting Paul an eager and somewhat mischievous smile before scooting up a bit onto the edge of the couch.
Paul gave her an incredulous look. "You sure?"
"Yeah come on! Let's play!" Dani insisted and Paul laughed, shaking his head. "All right." He hit the replay button and leaned forward slightly as well.
"Get ready to eat my dust this time, Lahote." Dani challenged playfully and Paul snorted. "Keep dreaming, Sweetheart."
"I play winner." Leah wandered over a few moments after the race started, plopping herself on a footstool nearby before settling to watch.
Dani frowned a bit in concentration, biting her lip when a Thwomp flattened her racer. Then she noticed that Paul had a red shell. "I swear to all that is good Paul, if you throw that at me I will kick your butt." She grumbled.
Paul smirked. "You can try." He tapped the button and Dani yelped in dismay until she realized he sent the shell forwards instead of backwards.
"Ugh...not funny." Dani shook her head, leaning forward again as Koopa got closer to Yoshi. Paul shrugged. "Sorry."
"Oh come on. Come on..." Dani chanted as the third lap drew closer to an end.
Paul hummed in amusement. "Sorry Dani, looks like Yoshi-." He started to gloat until a cushion hit him in the face surprising him. "Hey!"
"Dani wins!" Leah grinned at the screen, purposely avoiding eye contact with either Paul or Dani. Dani shot her friend a suspicious look.
"What was that? I wanted an honest rematch, Leah."
"Yeah, what the heck Leah?" Paul chimed in, narrowing his eyes in Leah's direction before picking up his controller from the floor.
Leah shrugged and looked over at Danielle. "Just helping out a friend." She quipped with a laugh.
Dani let out a breathy sarcastic laugh in return. "Well thanks. Now we've got to have another rematch." She straightened up in her seat, turning to Paul.
"Hey you three! Come get a blueberry muffin before the others eat them all." Mrs. Clearwater walked into the living room and Leah stood from the footstool.
"I'll grab us some muffins. When I get back I'm playing the winner." She pointed at the duo on the couch and Dani nodded. "Sure thing. Thanks Leah."
Paul sighed as they started a new race. For awhile they played in silence with the occasional reaction noise between them.
"So...have you heard about the mystery killer around Forks?" Dani muttered a little after they'd both started the second lap.
"You mean the one near Forks that killed a guy on a boat? Yeah. Sam has us all taking turns running patrol around the area. It's his night tonight and I'm taking tomorrow's shift." Paul answered readily without looking away from the TV.
Dani clenched her jaw. "The guy who was killed was my Dad's friend. He's been kind of frantic ever since trying to help every neighboring police department track down whoever did it." She sighed as she attempted to hit Paul's racer with a green shell.
"He even has me and my sister carrying two cans of pepper spray in our purses."
Paul turned his head slightly towards her at that. "Wow. Can't say I really blame him though. Especially if what you said about your sister being a walking danger zone is true." He grinned and made Yoshi bump against Koopa as they rounded a corner.
Dani narrowed her eyes. "You have no idea. Sometimes I'm not entirely sure how she's still alive right now." She half joked, glancing at Paul quickly before refocusing on the screen.
"I was actually going to introduce you guys today, but she ran off with Edward again." She sighed, flicking the control up in a swift motion to make Koopa do a flip in mid-air.
"Edward? Again?" Paul furrowed his brows. "Unfortunately." Dani clarified. "They've been dating or something for a few days now and it's like they're joined at the hip. Bella hardly does anything anymore besides hang out with him."
Paul's expression darkened a bit at that though Dani didn't notice being too invested in the game. Then as they neared end of the final lap, Dani went for a playful jab at Paul's ribs.
"Hey! I thought we agreed, no cheap shots!" Paul protested, laughing a bit as he neatly dodging her before continuing the race.
"No!" Dani groaned as Yoshi just barely managed to stay ahead of Koopa for the win. Paul sighed and leaned forward to set his controller on the coffee table.
"Nice try, Swan." He grinned.
Dani poked her tongue out at him. "One of these days I will beat you in a race fair and square." She challenged and Paul shrugged amused. "All right. Whatever you say."
He reached to grab the TV remote and Dani gasped when his arm brushed against her fingers. "What?" Paul looked so alarmed that Dani laughed and quickly shook her head to assuage him.
"Nothing. Just...I'm still not used to how warm you are." She gently shook out her fingers before placing her own controller down on the coffee table.
Almost immediately Paul's expression smoothed. "Oh. Sorry. I forget about it sometimes now." He shrugged with another impish grin.
Dani raised an eyebrow at him.
"Um...are you two okay? Who won?" Leah suddenly reappeared in the living room, a small plate of muffins in her hand and startling Dani into averting her gaze once she realized they had been staring at each other a little too long.
"We're good. Dani lost the last race so it's you and me now, Leah." Paul grinned holding out the controller Dani had just put down to the other girl while reaching for a muffin off the plate at the same time.
Dani sighed and started to get up from the couch when Seth suddenly jumped over the back of it, landing almost in a heap on the seat beside her.
"Cool! Mario Kart! I'm in!"
"Not so fast, Bro! I already called it." Leah retorted shoving the plate at Paul after grabbing the controller.
Dani glanced over at her friend. "Um, maybe we could do multiplayer this round?" She glanced at Paul and he shrugged with a mouthful of blueberry muffin. "Sure. Move over, Kid!" He slid in between Seth and Dani, smiling at the latter after getting settled.
"Dani and me vs. the Clearwaters?" He suggested and Leah shot him a look. "You're on."
...
