A/N:If you don't like the characters or plot, then don't read. This is slightly AU as fair as Lana and their ancestry and stuff like that. But the main premise will not change.
DISCLAIMER: I only own my OC, nothing else.
WORD COUNT: 3, 708
Chapter 22
We Need to Talk
The whole week had been boring, but in the best way.
There was no vampire issues to worry about, no recently turned werewolves spitting and roaring at her, no sisters screaming in the middle of the night. It was just usual school drama and Lana lived for it. She hung out with Jessica and Angela Friday night- they went to the movies together. She had invited Bella but her older sister was more interested in sulking over Jacob's silence.
Sometimes she wished she could tell Bella the truth just to give her a piece of mind, but that would be a betrayal to the pack- to Paul. So she remained silent, despite the guilt pooling heavily in her belly.
It was late Saturday morning and Lana was flicking through her chemistry book while carefully spooning oatmeal in her mouth, Charlie had left with Harry while it was still dark out for their weekend trip and Bella was still asleep, thankfully her nightmares had stopped, but Lana remained skeptical, she was still on guard. She had just turned the page to some kind of slime experiment when her phone pinged with a text:
"Hey, little one. I just finished patrol. Want me to come pick you up and take you to Seth's?"
Lana checked her phone and grinned before texting back, "I'd love it if you could. I'll be waiting in the backyard. Bella's still asleep, so it'll be fine."
"See you soon xx"
Ten minutes later, she was sitting on the backyard porch steps with a full belly and using her cardigan and backpack as a pillow when she heard the familiar heavy sounds of Paul running toward her.
She opened her eyes to see a massive silver wolf loping toward her, dark eyes bright and tongue lolling from the side of his mouth. "Someone's excited to see me." Paul was like a massive puppy sometimes as he stopped in front of her only to start bouncing on his feet, tail swishing excitedly. Lana got up from her seat, pulling on her crinkled cardigan and slung her arms through the backpack straps before taking the steps down. She reached out and Paul dutifully dipped his neck for her to stroke the crown of his head.
Lana loved Paul's coat, admiring the dark silver as it shone in the sunlight with hints of black throughout.
It was thick yet not as coarse as she had originally thought, it was actually soft, especially behind the ears and the younger Swan wasted no time in scratching just behind them, giggling as Paul whined in contentment and his back leg kicked at the ground. "You can be so cute sometimes, like a big fluffy puppy." Paul grumbled at that, dark eyes fixing on Lana and she rolled her eyes, "big, fluffy, dangerous puppy." Paul dipped his head once in a nod and she snorted in amusement. He leaned forward and bumped his nose against her belly, pushing at her tanktop with his wet nose. Lana groaned, pushing his nose away, "yes I ate! I ate oatmeal. Are you happy?!"
Instead of nodding his head or circling around her like he usually did, he lay on his stomach and rest his head on his paws. With a soft huff, he flicked his head up in the universal sign of, 'hop on'.
Lana smiled and pressed a kiss between his eyebrows and climbed on his back, resting between his massive shoulders and she slipped her arms around his thick neck, her fingers digging into his thick fur, "okay, let's go!"
Paul's purr rumbled through his body and he turned away from the house and gently began to pad away from the house. As soon as the thick brush of the woods sheltered them from wandering eyes, Lana felt his body coil like a spring and she squeaked in anticipation, tightening her hold on Paul and he sprung into action. The air whipped around her, blowing her hair back and the scenery around them was like a blur.
The speed was exhilirating as judged by her whooping as Paul sped across the forest, vaulting over fallen logs with ease and taking harsh turns just to hear Lana's giggles bless his ears. Paul barked, making Lana squeal as he sprinted into a small clearing and proceeded to do donuts around the area as if he were chasing his tail. "Paul!" Lana's voice was breathless with laughter as she clung to the wolf, the world spinning around her, "Paul, I'm gonna be sick and you better stop before I puke on you!" She hid her face into the fur at the base of his neck, groaning for added effect.
Paul paused in his sporadic circling, wheezing at her theatrics.
Lana rolled her eyes at the sound of his wolfy laughter. The first time he'd ever laughed as a wolf, she had thought that he was having some kind of asthma attack and tried to get him to phase back to human form which only made him laugh harder. Embry was the one to explain that he was laughing while the others were too busy finding the amusement in her worry as well. Now she laughed at it, finding the memory of her attempts to coach a hysterical wolf-Paul to breathe while he was on his back, tongue lolling out from the side of his mouth with his legs kicking in the air and wheezing even harder.
Paul hummed softly, craning his neck to check on her and hopped on his hind legs to jostle her. Lana sat up and reach over, tugging on his ear softly in her own way to let him know she was actually okay and he barked in acknowledgement before continuing his way through the forest and eventually stopped just outsite the treeline opposite Harry and Sue's. Paul, ever the gentleman, lay on his belly to aid Lana. She thanked him softly and gently slipped off his back, keeping her back toward him as she shrugged off her backpack and opened it up, taking out two rolled up packs of clothes. She blindly reached behind her with one hand, holding out the rolled up shorts for him to slip on before he had to leave.
She felt his gentle human touch as his fingers slipped against the pulse point of her wrist, tracing the curve of her arm and she fought back the smirk that threatened to curl her lips before his own fingers curled around the shorts, compressing the canvas material and took it from her grip. Lana heard the soft rustling of the material as he slipped the shorts on, "all good." She turned and smiled as Paul took her in his arms, pressing a loud, sloppy kiss to her cheek that made her laugh. "You gonna be alright here on your own?"
"I'll be just fine. Leah's going out with some friends to Port Angeles and probably won't be back before ten. I'm just looking after Seth until Sue gets home, Harry and Dad have gone fishing and you know how they are." Lana sighed, running her hands along his upper arms. "Seth's been wanting to throw me a birthday party anyway."
"Wasn't your birthday in July?" Paul asked, confused.
"Yeah but Seth forgot so he wants to 'make it up to me'. I keep telling him he doesn't have to, but you know how he is." Lana smiled endearingly over at the house where Seth and Sue were currently waiting for her.
"You know he's a teenager, he's old enough to look after himself." Paul said, his eyes drifting over to the house as well.
"It's more Harry and Sue not wanting him to be alone. Leah's hardly home these days, after that whole Sam and Emily thing- she's gotten pretty bad. Really bitter about it. I mean, I don't blame her. Sam should have done it a whole lot better than he did," Paul's gaze on her was mindful, full of unspoken words that were loud in their silence, "I know! Not my place." Paul hummed in agreement, swaying her from side to side. "We'll probably go for a walk on the trail later if its still clear."
"Just be careful. I heard its gonna rain pretty hard later today." Paul warned softly before pulling away and Lana dug into her backpack, pulling out the other roll of clothes for him. He took the offered clothing with a soft look, leaning down to press another kiss to her cheek which Lana reciprocated, "thank you, little one."
"Be safe out there, Paul."
"You too, Lana." And with a long look, he slowly backed away before turning and being swallowed by the brush.
Lana walked up to the house and smiled brightly as Seth came bounding out of the house like a bullet, running toward her with his arms open. "Lana!" He threw himself into her arms and she chuckled, tightening her embrace around him.
"Hey buddy," Lana rocked from side to side before pulling back, "so, what's on the agenda for today?"
"Well, Mom is gonna be gone until like 6, and I missed your birthday so we need to do something. How old are you now? One hundred? Five thousand?"
"Sixteen, you little snot!" Lana pushed him away playfully and he snickered.
"Well, it's not a birthday until I'm there, y'know."
"Oh, sure." Lana teased as they walked back into the house, brainstorming ideas, "because you, Seth Clearwater are the center of my universe."
"Oh, yea~!" Seth drawled and barely managed to dodge Lana's swift ninja hand with a squeal before she chased him into the house.
The morning went by quickly.
They ended up finding an old box mix of birthday cake. What neither Lana or Seth had thought to do, was actually read the instructions and they came out with a lumpy, half wet and half dry mixture that when cooked crumbled out in burnt crisps. Drowning it in sprinkles and chocolate icing was a good call by Seth- the sugary soup cancelled out the bitterness of the charcoal pieces that Lana could barely identify as cake.
They still ate the whole thing, in some form of defiance- as stated by Lana, 'the cake gods will not rule over us on this day!'
An hour after their stomach-aches had settled, they had taken a hike over one of the popular trails that lead to a beautiful clearing- they were lucky it was empty today.
Seth and Lana lay on the forest floor, watching the sun trickle through the canopies overhead, "hey, Lana. Can I ask you something?" His voice was small, quiet. As if this was something he shouldn't be talking about or was scared to.
"What's up, Seth?" Lana was concerned, he was always such an upbeat kid. To hear him a little solemn and quiet put her on edge.
Seth sighed, his eyes never straying from the canopy, "I've got a feeling. . .that something bad is gonna happen."
Lana watched the younger teen with careful eyes. She didn't know much about what was going on, but there was a reason that the pack was patrolling so dilligently. There was definitely something happening behind the scenes but Paul wasn't able to tell her and she would respect Sam's decision as the Alpha of the pack even if it annoyed the hell out of her, "what makes you say that?"
Seth pursed his lips in thought, shifting his head atop his folded arms, "I don't know. Just this feeling I've got in my gut." His expression was one of bewilderment, like not even he could understand the reason behind his unfounded worries. "Hey," he turned to his side and Lana did the same, facing each other, "promise me you'll stay safe, okay?"
Lana was taken aback by the purity of his promise and his heart, "o-of course." She cleared her throat, swallowing down the oncoming tears and she looked back up toward the sky as to hide her tearful eyes- even though the sky was a watery blur of blues, whites and greens. "I promise."
(..)
The rain was heavy when Paul picked her up in his truck with Sue and Seth waving them off.
Lana was stuffed from the disaster cake and tired from her and Seth's hike on the trail where he surprised her with a small little gift.
It was a little wolf keychain that he'd wittled himself. She could see the small divots in the tiny charm and where the wood was sparse where he overwittled, but it was a beautiful gift and she loved it and immediately connected it alongside her keys. She was instantly rewarded with Seth's heartwarming smile and a tight hug with a soft, 'glad you like it.'
Now, she was curled into Paul's side as he drove carefully, the rain beating hard against the metal of the roof but it was soothing as was his warmth.
"How was patrol?" She asked quietly, almost sleepily.
Paul huffed in amusement, "nothing of interest to report, ma'am." He shifted for a moment before saying, "Bella was at Jacob's today."
Lana sat up a little straighter, her gaze fixed on Paul's profile, "she must have gotten sick of waiting on him."
"Sounded like it. She thinks Sam's at fault for his radio silence."
"He thought he was the reason for you guys changing and hanging around Sam more and more, until he phased for the first time. He must have told her as much." Lana shivered involuntarily at the memory. Paul had been working her up to seeing him phase in front of her and it took a while for her to get used to it, the innate feeling to flee from the danger was present but when her brain separated the incident from Paul's deliberate shifts to Jacob's raged state, she got better- found it easier to experience him phase.
"Hey, it's alright. You've been doing great since then, little one." He let one hand go of the steering wheel, working the other one to a more controllable spot on the wheel as the other curled around her shoulders, nestling Lana closer. "She seemed pretty broken up about it. I just need you to keep a clear head about this, okay?" His warning was not without cause, she'd nearly run herself into the ground looking after Bella after Edward and his family disappeared and she was still recovering from it.
"Did I ever tell you that I would email Rosalie and Jasper after they left?" Her voice was quiet, shy even and she played with her nails, picking at the corner of it.
Paul hummed quietly, letting her know it was okay and that she was safe to express herself, "no, I don't think you did. You were close with them, weren't you?"
"Not close, per se. But we were. . unlikely acquaintences."
"So, friends." Paul teased and Lana rolled her eyes but nestled closer, resting her cheek against his hot shoulder.
"Anyway, I would email them all the time. Asking them why they left so quickly, what happened between Edward and Bella that caused such a massive reaction. I know it had something to do with Bella's birthday party, but I just don't know what." Her hand mindlessly drew patterns on the back of his hand, searing the skin with her delicate touch and Paul fought to keep his eyes on the road.
"Bella hasn't said anything?" Lana sighed at Paul's query.
"She can't even say his name, so I doubt she's mentally strong enough to sort through that night's events with me." Hazel eyes watched the droplets of rain pelt the windshield, the scenery dark around them. It was like they were in their own little world. "I should have been there with her. I should have backed out of game night and went to be with my sister."
"You didn't know. You cannot go putting this on yourself." His voice was strong, unyielding. Their was truth in his words and his concern for her was palpable, shifting the air around them as he squeezed her closer, "you are not responsible for Bella. And it's wrong of her to assume you'll drop everything for her, just because she's so used to having you there." It was the same conversation they'd had when they'd rekindled their friendship in La Push, but the guilt from back then didn't wane inside her chest. Paul's presence in her life made all the difference these days. She no longer moped about the place in self-pity but remained her vibrant self despite what happened between her, Bella and Jacob- especially Jacob. But that didn't stop her mind from ticking over as she lay in bed- reliving the events that lead to this point, critiquing them without an ounce of naivete.
The only explanation would have been that this wouldn't have happened had Lana had been there with Bella.
"Hey, where'd you go, little one?" Paul recalled her attention and Lana made a soft noise, turning her head to look up at his profile- his eyes darting from the road to her, "lost in your thoughts, again?"
"Mmm," Lana hummed, "do you think I should ask her about it?"
"You have nothing to lose by asking a simple question." Paul shrugged, his fingers gently creating patterns on her shoulder.
"Apart from my sanity if we end up fighting."
"You've always been a little unhinged, little one." His teasing remark was met with Lana's wheezing laughter as she fell back against the seat, Paul laughing just as helplessly as they drove down the highway. The car ride was quick after that and she kissed his cheek in thanks before getting out of the car, booking it for the front door as she used her backpack as an umbrella.
With a weary sigh, she shut the front door behind her and set her soaked backpack at the front door on the mat so it didn't track in water. She toed off her shoes and walked into the warm house- so Bella must be home if the heater was on.
"Bells, you here?" Lana called, peeking into the kitchen.
"In the living room, Lala." Bella called back and Lana peeled off her soaked cardigan as she did, "hey, you." Bella greeted her softly as soon as Lana came into view who awarded her a sleepy smile, "here." Bella stood up from her place sitting on the floor at the coffee table and grabbed the blanket thrown over the couch. Lana took a seat and Bella bundled her up, "how was Seth?"
"Good, getting older. He's almost taller than me now." Lana fished her keys from the pocket of her jeans and showed Bella the gift, "he made me this for my birthday."
Bella took the tiny charm in between her fingertips and smiled softly, "that's so sweet of him." The charm jingled as she turned it in the light of the living room before letting it fall back against Lana's keys.
"Yeah, he's a sweetheart." Lana set the keys down on the coffee table and took a quick peek at Bella's English homework, "oof, comparing symbolism of Othello into modern day relationships, huh?"
"Yeah, did you figure out a quote that works for the one about reckless love?"
"Uhh," Lana clicked her tongue, searching her mind before she snapped her fingers, "then you must speak. Of one that loved not wisely but too well." Lana leaned over and took Bella's highligter, flicking to that particular quote and underlined it for her, "that was one I thought worked best for that prompt."
"I was thinking Desdemona's line to Emilia, 'I think the sun where he was born drew all such humors from him.' She was reckless to not see that Othello was jealous and hid behind her delusions."
"Maybe, but I always thought Desdemona was just naive. She adored Othello and couldn't percieve the idea of him not trusting her, I mean, even when he's just about to kill her, she only says to him, 'kill me tomorrow; let me live tonight.' That says to me that she accepted her fate and didn't even try to fight him on it. She still loved him throughout it. I'd say the one that best embodies reckless love to me would be Othello, but I guess it's all up for interpretation that's what Mr. Bertie said."
"I guess." Bella hummed in thought, turning back to her textbook.
Lana chewed on her lower lip in worry, silently working up the courage to broach the topic she'd been wanting to for months on end. She pushed away the need to keep on the safety topic of homework and tucked a wet lock of hair behind her ear before taking a deep breath to steel herself, "hey, I wanted to ask you about what happened."
"Huh? What happened where?" Bella turned back to her little sister, chewing on the cap of her pen as blue ink smudged in between her fingers.
"At the Cullen's place on your birthday."
I'd just like you all to know that I have a poll up on my page pertinent to this story, so if you'd like to check it out- please go to my page and vote!
Thank you all so much for reading!
-myheartbelongstoaboywithalimp