Chasing Sunshine
Paul found it hard to keep up with Roisin as she bounded into the house and through the foyer. Thankfully, she came to a stop in the living room, her eyes roaming over the crowd, obviously searching for Mae.
He felt a bit conflicted. On the one hand, he had never seen her this angry before and part of him found it attractive. His imprint seemed to have a bit of bite, it seemed. He was struggling to stay focused, his thoughts wandering to how he could possibly get her away from the crowd and to her bedroom. (He really needed to stop thinking about making out with her at inopportune times.) On the other, from the murderous look on Roisin's face, he was beginning to think he might need to step in at some point. While he didn't think she was violent, there was a vibe around her that told him she was not even attempting to control her wrath.
Which was interesting, to say the least. Normally he was the one that needed to be calmed down or held back. He wasn't used to the roles being reversed. Especially so abruptly. It wasn't much more than an hour ago that she was stopping him before he punched the idiot at the theater. In his mind, it was completely uncalled for for him to follow them outside. Any idiot could see that Roisin was deeply disturbed by the movie - though he wasn't sure why - and having a panic attack. That she couldn't help it.
The guy was aching for a fight and at the moment, Paul had been happy to oblige. Until just one word from Roisin and the anger had completely dissipated. If he hadn't been sure about the imprint before, that would definitely have sold him. No one had been able to calm him down like that.
Paul glanced around the room, wondering just how Mae had thrown this together without Roisin knowing. He had to admit that the girl had impressive party skills.
Roisin then took off through the crowd towards the kitchen and Paul started to follow her when a strong hand landed on his arm, stopping him. He looked over, frowning at Embry.
"Hey, man! You made it! Was wondering where you and Roisin were," he shouted, a cup in his hand.
"We were on a date. Didn't know this was going on," Paul said looking around again. He noticed a few more unfamiliar faces than the last party.
Where did Mae even find these people?
"What? Seriously?" Embry asked. Paul looked back at him, seeing the confusion on his face. "But like… Mae and Roisin are best friends and all."
"They're fighting at the moment. And apparently this is Mae's way of getting back at Ro," he replied.
"Damn, she is spiteful," Embry replied, chuckling. "Though, guess that makes sense. She was a bit secretive when she called and invited us."
"Have you seen her lately? Where is she?" Paul asked.
Embry shrugged as he took a drink and Quil and Jacob walked up to the two wolves.
"She's here somewhere," Embry said. "Maybe the kitchen?"
"I need to find Ro," Paul said, looking around the party again.
"I would let them hash that out themselves," Quil said with a chuckle. "Mae said their fights can get epic."
Paul looked at him, frowning. Since when was Quil so chummy with Mae? Or well, more like since when had she started returning his texts?
"I'll go with you," Jacob said, a stern look on his face.
Paul rolled his eyes. He did not want Jacob hanging around, but it looked like he had no choice. So he sighed and started through the crowd towards the kitchen, Jacob with him as he scanned the various faces, finding more than a few of his old classmates.
"Find any more evidence since you got here?" Paul asked snidely. Jacob frowned at him, but kept looking around.
"Still trying to figure out who's making all those signs," he replied. "I think Mae is behind it."
Paul didn't respond. He was happy Jacob had moved on from Roisin, but at the same time, even if he was still undecided on Mae, he didn't think she would resort to vandalizing Forks and La Push. It didn't seem like something she would do from what little he had picked up on her so far. He couldn't picture her getting her hands dirty.
"And why do you think that?" he asked, humoring him.
"Just a feeling," Jacob replied, which didn't surprise Paul. All he had were "feelings" and hunches. "There's something weird going on and I think it's tied to them."
"Whatever," Paul said as they walked into the kitchen, seeing it full of people, but no Roisin. He sighed and started towards the doors that led to the back verandah that were thrown open.
"I'm serious. They move to town. These weird signs start showing up all over the place in Forks and La Push. These parties. And I know you've noticed the strange weather," Jacob continued. Paul stopped and turned to him.
"Okay, the graffiti, yea, maybe that could be Mae, though I doubt it. You have met her, right? She's a fucking princess, not a tagger. But you honestly think they can control the weather?" he asked, not bothering to hide the incredulous edge to his voice.
"Well… okay… but it is weird," Jacob said. Paul rolled his eyes and turned, continuing through the large kitchen.
"You're grasping straws, Black," he said.
"You honestly don't feel anything? There's something strange in the air," Jacob pushed.
"No, I don't feel anything. It's all in your head," he said. Though at the back of his mind, he realized there was a bit of truth in what Jacob was saying.
Things had felt a bit odd lately, but it was just his imprint, right?
Paul shook his head. He wasn't about to buy into Jacob's delusion. He pushed through the crowd and they stepped out onto the verandah. Looking around, he finally found Mae holding court on some chaise lounges, surrounded by a decent-sized crowd. At the same time, he noticed Roisin storming up to her.
Electricity crackled in the air around her. Eyes widening slightly, he pushed the feeling aside. He needed to get to Roisin before she did something she regretted. And at the moment, he wasn't sure what she would do.
OOOO
All Roisin could see was red as she strode up to the group surrounding Mae. It was a mixture of fae and mortals, though just as she was walking up, she saw a fae start to hold out a cup to Rosemary, the golden liquid shimmering on her face. Roisin's eyes widened as she ran up, knocking the cup out of her hand. It flew through the air and then landed on the patio, spilling its contents everywhere.
"Hey!" Rosemary shouted, glaring at her, though Roisin was now seething as she turned to the fae.
"Get. Out," she said, her voice low and her power barely restrained.
The fae shot up and backed away, his fear clear on his face as he saw the flames dancing in her eyes, felt the power pulsing off her. He then turned and disappeared into the woods. Roisin looked around, meeting the eyes of every other fae there. They all quietly turned and left. While normally Roisin didn't like it, she was grateful most everyone outside was drunk or distracted and didn't seem to notice anything strange going on.
She then turned back to Mae, her eyes narrowing. Mae didn't back down, instead rising gracefully to her feet.
"Sorry, but I don't remember inviting you," she said.
"I live here. And I said no more parties," Roisin said. "And fucking hell, you know what he was about to give her."
"So? Thought you wanted me to make more friends? That's all I was doing," Mae replied, a harsh edge to her voice.
"No. We agreed. Not like that," Roisin said, trying to keep herself in check. There were too many mortals around.
"Like you wouldn't do the same with your dear Paul," Mae replied.
"No, I wouldn't," Roisin said, unsure where this hatred of Paul was coming from. "And definitely not without his knowledge."
Mae snorted, rolling her eyes.
"What is going on, Mae?" Roisin asked, her anger slowly starting to abate as her hurt and worry took over. "Why are you doing this?"
"Could ask you the same thing?" Mae shot back. Roisin frowned. "Why are you pushing me away?"
"I'm not pushing you away," Roisin said.
"Maybe not intentionally, but you are," Mae snapped, taking a step closer to her, almost as though she was emboldened by the fact that Roisin wouldn't try anything in front of everyone. Not something she couldn't explain away. "Our friendship always came first, but now… now you've got Paul. And don't think I don't know that you and Sean have your secrets."
Roisin's eyes widened slightly. So Mae had caught on. Shit. She glanced around, seeing Paul and Jacob walking towards her and the fact that everyone outside was now watching the exchange. This was not the time nor the place to get into this.
"Look, if we could just go inside - send everyone home - we can talk about this. I'll tell you everything," Roisin begged. Mae smirked at her.
"No," she said. "I'm having fun."
"Mae-"
"I'm sick and tired of always doing what you want! What you say!" Mae exploded. "It's always, 'Mae don't do this.' Or 'Mae don't do that.' We ALWAYS do what you want!"
"For good reason. I'm trying to keep us safe," Roisin replied, trying to keep calm and lowering her voice so others wouldn't hear. Namely Paul. "You know this."
Mae laughed harshly and held her arms out.
"Look around, Ro! If they wanted you, they would have come by now! You're being paranoid!" Mae shouted. Roisin winced. That was definitely something she didn't want Paul to hear. "No one is coming for you!"
Roisin didn't reply, her thoughts going back to her memories. She knew she should tell Mae the truth. Only then would she understand just how much danger they could be in. That someone would come for her, if they weren't already looking - and she was pretty sure they were looking for her. But she couldn't right now. Not in front of everyone.
"Mae, if we could just go inside-"
"Fucking, stop it, Ro! I don't have to listen to you anymore! Isn't this what you wanted?! For me to be independent? Well, I am now. I don't need you! So you can go off and fuck your loser boyfriend. I'm staying right here and enjoying my party with my friends," she said, plopping back down.
Roisin took in a sharp breath, her anger spiking when Mae mentioned Paul. First of all, he had nothing to do with this - not to mention she wasn't even sure if he was her boyfriend - but there was no reason to drag him into one of their spats or insult him. Mae was baiting her and Roisin was trying so hard not to take it.
"He is not a loser," Roisin said, her voice low as an unexplained need to defend him came over her. She was trying, but dammit, her control was starting to slip. Mae just rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Yea, okay. You believe that," she replied harshly.
Without thinking, Roisin started to lunge for her, but strong arms came around her, pulling her back.
"Easy there, killer," Paul said as Roisin struggled to get out of his grip. Wow, he was really strong. She was stronger, but she knew that she couldn't use her full strength on him. That would raise too many questions. But it was hard.
Mae just raised an eyebrow at her, her smirk growing.
"Maybe you should ask him just what likes to do in his free time, Ro," Mae said lightly, her blue eyes settling on him. "He's got quite the reputation in La Push. What was it I heard… ah yes. He likes to fuck anything with two legs and tits. Doesn't that make you feel oh so special? You're just somewhere to stick it to him, Ro."
"Shut up, Mae!" Roisin shouted, still trying to break free from Paul's arms as her fury started to take over. She heard Paul hiss in pain and knew she was getting overheated, but in the moment, she didn't really care. "I'm going to fucking kick your ass!"
"Okay, this is over," Paul said, starting to haul her off.
"Let me go!" Roisin shouted, struggling a bit harder. Okay, he was a lot stronger than she had thought. "I need to beat some fucking sense into her!"
"Yea, that's not happening. You need to cool off," Paul replied as he easily lifted her off her feet and continued walking to the house.
Roisin continued struggling against his vice-like arms, kicking and shouting in frustration before she looked back over towards Mae, seeing her lift a glass to her with a smug grin. She then saw Jacob watching them, an odd look on his face before he looked over at Mae.
"I do not need to cool off," Roisin shouted as he stepped into the house and started through the crowd towards her bedroom, still trying to fight against his grip. For whatever reason, no one seemed to notice them or care.
"You do. Calm down," he ordered.
In an instant, Roisin felt some of her anger start to fade away. She quit struggling, making it easier for him to carry her. Paul finally reached her door and opened it, walking in. He shut the door behind them as he continued over and put her down next to her bed. She could still hear the music from the living room, though it was muted. Paul walked over, turning on the lamp on her nightstand. He then walked over and pulled the curtains shut so that they would have more privacy.
Finally, he turned to face her, folding his arms across his chest. His expression was stern, but there was a gentleness in his eyes.
"Okay… want to tell me what that was about?" he asked.
Roisin took a deep breath. Shit. Where to start?
OOOO
Paul watched as Roisin looked at the floor, fidgeting under his gaze. Like she didn't want to say anything. And really, he didn't want to push her, but he had heard the entire exchange. He had panicked slightly when he heard Mae bring up his past. But that was quickly pushed aside as he latched on to the other part of what Mae had said.
That someone could be looking for them. Meaning Roisin was in danger. Or could be - he wasn't completely sure since it sounded like Mae didn't think it was a big issue, but it was obvious that Roisin did. The constant moving now made sense. And he needed to know what was going on so he could better protect her. Even if it was an unfounded fear.
"Whatever it is, it's okay. But I need to know who's looking for you. So I can keep you safe," he said, keeping his voice gentle.
Roisin looked over at him, her eyes wide in surprise for a moment, but then she looked away, the surprise giving way to defeat.
"I appreciate it, but you can't," she said, her voice soft. "It's something I have to deal with."
"Okay, but let me help you," he said, taking a step towards her. He wanted to rush over and take her in his arms, but something stopped him. Roisin wrapped her arms around her and shook her head.
"Trust me. It's better that you don't get involved. Sean and I have it under control," she replied with a wince. She then looked up and met his eyes. "What was Mae talking about?"
It was Paul's turn to look away from her. He had hoped he wouldn't have to get into that right now. But it was clear she didn't want to talk about her issues. However, maybe if he was open about his, she might open up about hers.
He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyes still fixed on the floor. He then looked up at her.
"I wasn't always a good person," he started. Jared would probably kick his ass for that statement. "Or well… I was… a bit lost for awhile."
Roisin walked over and sat next to him, her leg pressing against his. Her nearness helped, but he found he couldn't look at her while he talked about this.
"After my mom died, I was just… angry all the time. I took it out on my dad - even though it wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. But didn't stop me from taking it out on pretty much everyone," he said. "I'm not trying to excuse it, but yea, that started it."
Roisin reached out and took his hand, holding onto it tightly. He felt calm spreading through him, but still couldn't look at her.
"I fell into the wrong crowd. And yea, slacked off. Got into a lot of fights. Lots of trouble. I was always angry. And… yea… I got around. Got a reputation," he said, wincing slightly. "It's honestly a miracle that I graduated high school or didn't end up in jail. But, um, my junior year… Sam approached me. Talked to me. Helped me. He and Jared, really." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I'm not proud of how I was. But I don't want to shy away from my past. I've changed. I've grown from that. I'm not like that anymore. I want to… do better. Try and make something of myself."
He looked over at her, not sure what he was expecting to see. He only saw understanding there. The imprint was so strong, he swore he could feel it pulsing between them.
"And I don't think about you. Not by a long shot," he added. "You mean… far more to me than that."
"I believe you," she said, almost as though she could read his mind. Knew that he was worried that she would think he was the same person as he was. "You said it yourself… people change. I don't think you're that guy anymore."
"I still struggle with it, though. The anger, that is. Sometimes it still gets the best of me," he admitted. "I would never, ever hurt you. But sometimes I do hurt people."
Roisin smiled wanly.
"You aren't the only one. As you saw tonight, I sometimes struggle with my anger as well. Sometimes people get hurt," she said, looking away. "And I don't worry about you hurting me. You can't."
He thought her word choice was odd - as well as the part about her hurting someone, he didn't think that was even possible - but that was at the back of his mind at the moment. She was accepting him. Most of him, anyway. She still didn't know about his wolf side, but he didn't want to push it. She was taking this rather well and he didn't want to tempt fate.
He pulled his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. He wanted to ask her to open up more. To tell him what it was from her past that was haunting her. But at the same time, he wanted her to tell him because she wanted to. And he could tell that right now she didn't want to. He wasn't sure if it was a trust issue or if it was fear, but he would be patient for her.
Roisin leaned her head on his shoulder, neither of them speaking for a few moments. Paul reached up and caressed her cheek, then pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear. Roisin looked up, meeting his eyes.
"Aren't we the pair," she said with a small smile. Paul nearly started, finding it far too close to what she had said to him in the dream.
"You feel calmer?" he asked. She nodded.
"But definitely think I should wait until tomorrow to talk to Mae again," she said, a frown coming over her face as she looked towards the door to her room.
"Yea, I think that's a good idea," he replied with a chuckle.
Roisin looked up at him, now smiling.
"Well, I did say we could watch a movie. Can't use the theater room, which would be better, but here is good enough," she said. Paul's eyes widened slightly. They had a fucking theater room?
Roisin laughed softly as she kissed his cheek and then stood, walking over to the entertainment center in the corner of the room. Paul had missed it the last time he was in here, granted he had been a bit preoccupied with getting both of their clothes off. He felt his face flush. While he wouldn't mind a bit of that again, he was in better control of himself tonight.
"What are you in the mood for?" she asked, now kneeling on the floor and looking over at him. He looked over at the collection of DVDs.
"How about… comedy? Think we could both use a bit of a laugh right now," he said, pushing up from the bed and walking over to kneel next to her, going over the titles. "Or maybe action… could help to watch things explode."
Roisin chuckled as she turned back to the collection, gliding her finger down the line. She then stopped and pulled one out, holding it up.
"How about a casino heist? Got a little bit of both," she said. Paul grinned.
"Sounds good," he said, standing.
While Roisin got the DVD set up, he walked back over to the bed, pulling his jacket off and then kicking off his shoes. He then got settled, not quite believing that just outside the door there was a raging party. Roisin then walked back over, the remote in her hand. She pulled off her own jacket and kicked off her shoes, then settled next to him, her head on his shoulder and started the movie.
"Shit," she said suddenly, sitting up. Paul looked over at her, an eyebrow raised. "Snacks." He chuckled and pulled her back against him.
"I'm good," he said, kissing the side of her head. She smiled.
"Okay."
OOOO
Roisin was a bit groggy when she came to. She noticed the music was gone, the lamp off, and figured the party had finally ended - whether by Mae or Sean. She had a feeling he was going to be pissed when he found out what happened tonight and wasn't eager to face that. He would likely be angry that she hadn't stopped the party.
Turning her head, she saw Paul completely passed out, his arms around her. Ah, that was why she felt nice and toasty.
For a moment, she just watched him, in awe of how peaceful and beautiful he looked. She reached out and pushed back a bit of hair that had fallen over his forehead. He stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. A small smile came over her face.
Yea, she knew about his past now, but she didn't care. The Paul she saw before her was kind and gentle, even if sometimes his temper got away from him. He was working hard towards a future that he hadn't quite figured out yet, but that didn't bother her. She hadn't figured hers out either.
But one thought had solidified in her mind that night. She wanted to be with Paul. For as long as she could. Realistically, she knew this wasn't possible. At some point, they would have to leave Forks. And she didn't think it was fair to drag him into her problems. Not when she couldn't even fully tell him the truth. By the goddesses, she wanted to tell him everything tonight. But she couldn't. It would put him in danger. Just being near her put him in danger.
And yet, she couldn't push him away. And didn't want to fight whatever this was between them. What it could be. Roisin decided not to think about it right now. She would just enjoy it for the time being.
Paul stirred and then blinked open his eyes. As soon as he saw her, he smiled lazily.
"What time is it?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Roisin looked over at the clock on her nightstand.
"It's about 3 am," she said. She turned back to him. "Do you need to get home?"
She seriously hoped he didn't have to. She wanted him to stay.
"Maybe," he said, starting to get off the bed. Roisin reached out to him, putting her hand on his chest. He looked down at it and then over at her.
"Stay," she said.
He didn't respond at first. He looked towards the door and then back at her. She could see that he didn't want to leave either, but he was unsure.
"What about your uncle?" he asked.
"I can take care of him," she said automatically. "It'll be fine." He relaxed at that. "But you can't be comfortable like that." She looked down, seeing he was fully clothed. As she met his eyes, she suddenly realized how that sounded, seeing his raised eyebrows and a playful smile on his face.
"I mean, you can come out with it if you wanted to get me out of my clothes," he replied.
Roisin rolled her eyes and laughed as she got out of bed, walking over to her dresser where she kept her pajamas.
"I meant, if you want to get more comfortable, you could. I'm changing into my pjs," she said, casting a playful look over her shoulder before she walked into her bathroom and changed.
When she emerged in a matching pajama short set of soft gray jersey, Paul was already under the comforter, his shirt gone. She stopped, her eyebrows rising as a spike of excitement coursed through her.
"Oh my god. It's like you have one thing on your brain," he said, pulling the comforter back to reveal that he was still in his boxers. Roisin chuckled and walked over, cuddling up next to him.
"As I recall, I'm not the only one that had that on the brain the night we met," she said, looking up at him. Paul just shook his head, pulling her closer to him.
Once they were both settled, Roisin found she couldn't sleep, acutely aware of how close their bodies were. It wasn't necessarily that she wanted to sleep with him right now, but this was pretty intimate. And while today was technically only their third date, she felt like they were closer with everything that had happened. That no matter what, she could trust him.
"So, Ro… I wanted to ask you something," Paul said. She glanced up at him, finding he wasn't look at her.
"What is it?" she asked, hoping it wasn't something she couldn't answer.
"So… Mae called me your boyfriend tonight…"
Roisin's eyes widened slightly. That was not what she was expecting.
"Yea?" she asked. He looked down at her. Even in the dark, she could clearly see the hesitation in them.
"I was wondering… if you thought maybe… I know it hasn't been that long, but… do you think of me as your boyfriend?" he asked, fidgeting slightly. Roisin chuckled as she sat up slightly.
"Paul… are you asking if you can be my boyfriend?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her. He met her gaze and nodded, a smile appearing.
"Yea, I am," he said.
Roisin leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"Then my answer is yes," she whispered.
Paul grinned and pulled her closer, this kiss deeper than the previous one. She didn't intend to let it go further, but it was really hard. Normally, she wouldn't have any qualms about it. But there was something different about Paul. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Despite everything saying that this relationship was impossible - at the very least it would have an expiration date - she wanted it to work. And she wanted to take it slow. Let it build up.
So with great reluctance, she finally pulled away and settled her head on his chest.
"Night, Paul," she whispered.
"Night, Ro."
She then smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and found herself drifting off to the sound of his beating heart.
OOOO
Gotta love how fast that imprint pushes things. ^_^ I love writing the sweet moments with Paul and Ro. But yea, we're going to get into a huge onslaught of info hitting everyone in a bit (seriously, it's making my head spin a bit and I'm writing it). The action is about to pick up (because I can't write a story without drama) and truths will come out.
Oh, and something I meant to mention with the last post – this is why you shouldn't drink and post, folks – I went back and did some editing and re-posted a few chapters. You don't really need to go back and reread all of them. I mostly just took out that other fae knew who Roisin really is (being the Summer Court princess/royal fae) because I realized that made no sense if they're supposed to be in hiding. Though I did rewrite some of the last chapter and ended up adding 100-200 words to it, so up to you if you want to reread it.
But yea, very quickly realizing this is the most complicated story I've attempted. Just with all the subplots/secrets/sheer amount of characters. And all the stuff that I've changed as I was writing, so having to remember to go back and change things in earlier chapters (mostly ones that I haven't posted yet). But I just finished Chapter 22, so from there out I'm going to write in chronological order (or at least try to stick to that) so that hopefully I won't trip myself up. But if you come across inconsistencies, let me know and I APOLOGIVE PROFUSELY! I'm not sure why this is the one story I'm running into this issue with since I have so much of it written and have been editing every day. Usually I'm better at this…
Anyway…
twilightlover427 – Dude, I get happy when I get an email saying that you've commented! Thank you! I love your comments and I'm happy that you're enjoying this story. I'm having fun with it as well. ^_^ And I do have one book on Amazon. It's called "A Walk Among Goddesses" by E. Kalka. It's supposed to be a trilogy, but I barely have any of book 2 written. Hopefully I'll get that series finished… maybe if I wrote less fanfiction, haha! But yea, the main characters are Athena and Artemis (the actual Greek goddesses) set in modern times. I was honestly just happy that I finished an original fiction and published it.
Thanks so much for reading and following!
