AN: Yes, I know I suck. I'm sorry!

To answer a common question I've gotten, I have no intention of having Bella phase. I know I make her Quileute a lot, but I just can't see her as a wolf. Leah is my only girl wolf. As for Embry, you'll see. All I'll say is his paternity does have an effect on his phasing.

Oh- and if you're bored, go look at Alex Meraz latest picture on twitter. He's embracing the thug life and it fits well with my story ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but some shirtless pics of Alex Meraz that clog up the memory on my phone. SM owns all.

Chapter 15

Bella POV
Sitting on that beach with Paul, I felt myself relax for the first time in months. There was just something about being here—with him—that just felt right. I felt like I was home.

It was still hard to believe how much my life had changed in just ten months. Ten months ago I was Charlie and Renee's daughter, Phil and Tiffany's stepdaughter, and the only relatives I had in La Push were a great uncle and some second cousins. One Saturday in late February changed everything.

My mom had decided she wanted to go to the Bahamas for spring break, but in the process of getting things ready she somehow lost our passports. Typical. While she was out at one of her pottery classes, Phil and I went into the office at home to try and track them down.

I had never understood why Renee insisted on being the one to file important paperwork, since she was the least organized person I knew. But what Phil found buried at the back of our fire-proof safe had literally changed everything I knew about myself.

It took me a few minutes to notice that he had gone completely still, holding something in his hand so tightly it looked like he would crush it. "Phil?" I asked, a little worried. "You okay?"

He looked up at me with eyes wide. He was a strange combination of absolutely shocked and intensely furious. I had no idea what could make him react like that, and I was starting to get scared. Shaking his head, he looked at the papers he was holding, shuffling them around as he compared one to another.

"Bella, we need to talk."

Paul's words shocked me from my trip down memory lane, and I shook my head to try and clear my thoughts. I looked over at him and was surprised by the serious look on his face. I didn't even think when I reached for his hand, but he moved it out of my reach at the last second, reaching up to comb it through his hair. Ouch.

I took the hint and shifted away a little bit, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. I would have preferred to climb up in his lap and have him wrap his warm arms around me and maybe lean up and press my lips to–

There was no stopping my blush when I caught his eye again. It was almost as if he knew what I had been thinking. And what the hell was up with those thoughts? Sheesh. "Um, okay. What did you want to talk about?"

He let out a deep sigh and looked out over the water. "It's about your school," he began, and then looked back toward me with an intense stare that held my undivided attention. "There are some…people…that you need to avoid."

I jolted a bit in surprise—that was probably the last thing I expected him to say. I was counting on Embry to show me around at school, since he'd been going there for two years. What did Paul know about Forks?

I turned my head and let out a sharp laugh as Jacob's words came back to me—he's fucked every willing female in the Pacific Northwest. "Look, if you want to warn me away from your past conquests then don't bother. I grew up in Arizona. I can spot a skank a mile away."

He reeled back as if I'd slapped him, and I thought I caught a look of hurt before he schooled his features. Ignoring my rather immature outburst, he continued, "There is a certain…family…in particular that you need to stay away from. They aren't what they seem. They–"

I jumped as Paul jerked his head to the side and shot a glare off into the woods. He made a strange rumbling sound that sounded eerily like a growl. I was embarrassed by how much that sound turned me on.

Looking at the sky, I noticed it was getting darker. I knew Charlie would be worried about me if I didn't head back to Billy's house, so I stood up and brushed off my jeans to start back. "Uh, thanks, Paul." I wasn't sure exactly what to say, with him in such a strange mood all of a sudden. "I guess I'll see you around."

I made it three steps before his hand caught my shoulder and stopped me, and I looked up to see him standing much closer to me than I expected. "Promise me, Bella," he spoke quietly, but with a commanding tone in his deep voice. "Promise me you'll stay away from the Cullens."

~oOo~

I didn't give much thought to Paul's words, and I didn't see him again before it was time for me to start school. Charlie had taken me up to register the day before the new terms started, so I had everything I needed.

"You ready to go, Em?" I stifled a laugh as he finished shoveling in the last few bites of his scrambled eggs, then ran upstairs for his backpack with a piece of bacon in each hand. I had never seen a boy eat as much as my little brother could.

My dad and Tiffany hugged me goodbye, and I went outside to crank my "new" truck so it could warm up a bit. I couldn't hold back a smile as I remembered the way my dad's face lit up when he showed me Billy's old truck. Jake had fixed it up—with Quil and Embry's help—and Dad said he knew I would prefer to drive myself and Embry to school, rather than have one of them drive us.

Embry ran out of the house and jumped in the truck, making the whole thing shake as he slammed the door. He sat quietly on the ride to school, understanding that I was more than a little nervous at the thought of facing an entire building full of new people. I pushed down another wave of resentment toward my mom for taking me away from here.

Shaking off those thoughts, I stepped out of the truck only to realize that Embry and I were now the center of attention of the entire Forks High School. Yay…

"C'mon, I see my friends over there. We'll start with them," Embry said as he nudged me toward a group of boys who were standing with their mouths hanging open. Great. A bunch of horny sophomores. Just what I need.

I didn't miss the looks on their faces when Embry put his arm around my shoulder and introduced me, and neither of us could miss the raised eyebrows and lewd hip thrusting they did either. Embry moved faster than I thought was possible, lifting his arm from around me and reaching over to punch one of the boys in the arm. "Knock it off, asshole. That's my sister!"

We both froze at his careless words, but the boys just laughed and they all started shoving each other as I stepped back out of their way. I turned back toward the school and was immediately faced with yet another boy. This one was tall and lanky, with wire-rimmed glasses and a wide, welcoming smile.

"Hi! I'm Eric Yorkie, and you must be Isabella Swan! Let me see your schedule—I can help you to your first class!" I took a step back and looked him over. He seemed harmless, just pushy. His polo shirt was buttoned all the way up, and his black hair was in complete disarray. With a glance back at my brother, I gave a half-hearted nod and followed Eric into the school.

The morning passed much as I had expected, with my new classmates introducing themselves to me and feigning interest in my life. Most were nosy about my reasons for moving to Forks, but I tried to sidestep their questions as gracefully as possible.

With Embry being a year behind me in school, we didn't share any classes. That left me open to the advances of all the boys in the school who had apparently decided that I was the shiny new toy. Mike Newton was the most persistent, and by lunchtime I had just about reached my limit of that boy.

A girl from my English class gave me a friendly smile and introduced herself as Angela Webber. I remembered meeting her at my dad's wedding a few years earlier, and my answering smile was genuine when she asked me to sit with her at lunch.

After standing in line for my lunch tray, I was less than thrilled to see the assortment of kids at Angela's table. Mikey was there, along with Eric, and there were two other girls who I had met earlier in the day. Jessica was friendly enough, but she was a bouncy, female version of Mike. Her friend Lauren, however, had stared down her nose at me as if I were a bug. The boy next to Lauren didn't his eyes off her breasts long enough to make eye contact with me, so thank goodness for small favors.

I was grateful that Angela had saved me a seat between her and Eric, as they seemed the least threatening. As I picked at my lunch, I answered their questions and glanced around the room as well. I had just glanced to my right when Angela nudged me.

"Hey, why is Edward Cullen staring at you like that?" she whispered, looking in the same direction I was.

I froze when I saw him—he was staring at me so intently, like he was trying to solve a difficult math problem or something. His piercing gaze made me a bit uneasy as I glanced around his table at his lunch companions.

The first thing that struck me was how they all looked so different from each other, but similar at the same time. They all had the same flawless, pale skin, but their hair was every shade imaginable. There were two blondes, one girl with jet black, spiky hair, and a huge boy with curly brown hair.

The one who was staring at me had the most unique color of all. Edward's hair was standing up, as if he'd been running his hands through it recently, and I couldn't decide if it was more of a reddish brown, or blondish red color. It was definitely striking.

Angela's words finally registered, and I sucked in a gasp of surprise. "That's the Cullens?" I whispered back furiously, trying to keep the others at my table from hearing my voice.

Her eyes widened as she nodded slowly, then leaned closer to me. "Why? Do you know them?"

I shook my head, glancing back at the boy who suddenly seemed to be looking anywhere but at me. If he weren't so far away, I would swear he knew that I was talking about him. "No, I don't. I just had a…friend… tell me to stay away from them."

I felt a painful tug at my heart as I thought of Paul. I thought I would have seen him again by now, but he hadn't stopped by the house at all, and every time we'd been out to La Push he was nowhere to be found. I was bordering on having to ask my dad if he'd seen him around. I missed him.

The bell rang before Angela could say anything more, and I followed her to our next class, with Mike tagging along as well. He seemed disappointed when he had to go to his assigned seat, but I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Mike was a little much.

I carried my schedule to the front of the room to ask the teacher where I needed to sit, and then turned to walk to the lab table he indicated. I froze for half a step when I realized that Edward Cullen was going to be my lab partner, nearly stumbling into the table as I did so.

I glanced his way as I set my bag down, and the chill that washed over me had nothing to do with the air vent blowing my way. This close, I could finally see that his eyes were an eerie flat black, and he was glaring at me like he absolutely hated me.

The next hour was incredibly tense, as Edward seemed frozen in his seat, leaning as far away from me as he could get. His furious gaze never left my face as far as I could tell, and I finally let my hair hang over my shoulder to block him from my view.

He shot out of his seat just before the bell rang, and I couldn't stop the tears from welling up as I battled with my insecurities and confusion. What on earth had I done to make him hate me so much?

I was actually relieved when Mike showed up at my table, offering to walk me to gym. I didn't have to dress out, thankfully, and I finally found myself heading to the parking lot to meet Embry and head home.

I spotted my brother at our truck, surrounded by the same group of boys from this morning. They were looking at something under the hood, so I doubted we would be leaving anytime soon. Boys.

A few rows over, I noticed the other Cullens standing around a silver Volvo, but Edward was nowhere to be seen. The other four were staring at me as I walked by, and I felt my cheeks heat up at their strange scrutiny.

A movement in the woods caught my eye, and I stared into the trees trying to see what it was, but I couldn't make out anything by the time I reached the truck. Embry talked a few more minutes before his friends all took off, and I cranked the truck and headed for home.

"How was your day?" he asked as I drove, and I couldn't hold back a smile at the way he was sprawled out on the seat.

"Nice of you to remember me, Em," I teased him. "I thought you were going to show me around."

We chatted back and forth until we reached the house, and he jumped out and ran inside to find food while I was still gathering my bag to step out of the truck. I had just closed my door when all the hair on my neck stood up and I felt intense heat at my back.

I turned around to find myself face to face with Paul for the first time in over a week, and my heart sped up in response. It took me a minute to realize that he was glaring at me, much the same way the Cullens had. His nostrils were flared and his teeth were showing, giving him a raw, feral look that made my knees go weak.

My eyes found his and he held my gaze for a few seconds more before speaking lowly. "I told you to stay away from the Cullens."

That was all he said before he turned and jogged off down the road, disappearing from sight around the next curve. I had no idea how long I stood there with my mouth hanging open, but I finally stomped my way into the house.

If Paul Lahote thought he could order me around, he was in for the surprise of his life.