AN: Sorry again! Here's the latest chapter. I kind of had a hard time finding a stopping place, so I hope it's not too awkward. I did post a new wolf drabble that's set a little off in the future of this story- it's Wolf Drabbles chapter 46.

Also, go look under my favorite authors and check out The Non-Canon Contest. They are hosting a Crossover Contest and I entered my very first crossover piece. The link to vote is on their blog under the bio page.

Chapter 17

Bella POV
I stomped upstairs and dumped my backpack on my bed, still furious at Paul's audacity. What the hell was his problem, anyway? He avoids me, then shows up at my house out of nowhere and yells at me? I don't think so.

It didn't take me too long to finish my homework, since my classes in Forks were much easier than my classes in Phoenix. When I heard Tiffany moving around down in the kitchen, I went down to help her out.

"How was your first day?" she asked, glancing up from where she was chopping vegetables for a salad.

I washed my hands and grabbed the head of lettuce, tearing it into an empty serving bowl. My voice was more than a little petulant as I muttered, "Fine."

Tiffany laughed and shook her head. "I'm sure it was. Anything you'd like to talk about?"

Thinking back over the day, I wondered if I could get at least one answer. Maybe she could tell me what Paul's problem was.

"Yeah, do you know why Paul hates the Cullens so much? He told me to stay away from them—twice!"

To my surprise, Tiffany groaned in what sounded like frustration. "Good grief. Whatever you do, don't let Charlie hear about that. He and Billy just now got over their fight about that family—he doesn't need to drag Paul into it too."

I stared at her blankly as she poured the vegetables into the bowl and began to toss the salad. She didn't look back at me as she continued speaking, trying her best to sound nonchalant. "So, when did you see Paul, anyway?"

Shoot. I guess I walked into that one. But what could I tell her? Embry knew I saw Paul on Christmas Day, but I didn't even tell him how long we talked. Since I'd made it clear I was irritated this afternoon, I figured I better tell her he had been around.

"Um, he was waiting here at the house when I got home from school. I guess he was wanting to see Charlie or something—he didn't say much." Yeah, because he was too busy invading my personal space and trying to intimidate me. And smelling soooo good…

Tiffany looked suspicious, but I turned my attention the dishes in the sink, washing the cutting board and the mixing bowls she had used earlier. I set them carefully into the drying rack and tried to find something else to distract me. The sound of my dad's car pulling up made me sigh in relief.

Embry came clomping down the stairs at the same time Charlie stomped up the front steps, opening the door with a gust of cool air and light rain. I peeked around the corner and paused for a minute when I saw the look on his face.

My dad looked tired, but more than that, he looked almost torn. Like there was somewhere else he should be right then, other than at home. I was worried until he looked up and gave me a huge, genuine smile that was very un-Charlie-like. "Hey, Bells! How was your first day?"

I blushed, embarrassed about my earlier sulking, and just waved him off as he hung up his jacket and gun belt. "Oh, it was fine. Pretty much what I expected." Sure, if I was expecting one of my oldest friends to show up at my house and yell at me for sitting by a really weird guy in my science class. How did Paul even know that anyway?

We sat down to eat and conversation was small while we dug into the delicious casserole that Tiffany had made. Embry talked about his various friends and what they had all gotten for Christmas, and I mentioned the names of the kids I'd met that I could actually remember. I didn't bring up the Cullens, though.

Dad seemed a bit distracted throughout the meal, but I thought he must have just a hard day at work. He surprised me, however when he finally spoke after dessert. "I was thinking of driving out to La Push tomorrow afternoon to check on Paul. He hasn't been in any trouble lately, and I wanted to let him know I appreciate that."

I nearly choked on my water and Embry leaned over to pound on my back until I caught my breath. Tiffany looked at me with narrowed eyes, but thankfully she didn't mention anything about Paul's visit to our house. She smiled at Charlie and nodded her agreement. "That sounds like a great idea. I'll have some food ready for you to take with you," she offered. "Maybe Embry and Bella would like to ride out with you and visit their friends as well."

I knew we would probably spend the afternoon with Quil and Jacob, but the butterflies in my stomach had nothing to do with my brother and his friend, and more to do with the first boy I ever kissed. The boy who was incredibly good at confusing me, and infuriating me all at the same time. Who knew, maybe I would see him on his turf this time. He probably had some more ultimatums to offer.

The next morning came much too early, and even the shower couldn't completely pull me from my sleepy haze. Embry and I met at the top of the stairs, both running a bit behind already. We grabbed our coats and some poptarts and headed outside into the cold drizzle.

As soon as I parked my truck, my eyes were drawn to a group of kids huddled around a silver Volvo. The Cullens were all staring at me again, though Edward didn't look quite as angry as he did the day before. I ducked my head and hurried inside, feeling a bit intimidated by their strange attention.

The morning was almost identical to the previous day, with one definite addition. Everywhere I turned between classes, when I stopped at my locker or walked to the next building, my eye was constantly drawn to Edward Cullen. I was fairly certain I hadn't seen him this much the day before, but he was suddenly everywhere I was, to the point that even Angela made a comment about his strange behavior.

"Is Edward Cullen following you?" she whispered as we walked to lunch. I couldn't resist a glance behind me, and I was only slightly surprised to see him standing near a classroom with his head bent down, talking to his sister.

I shrugged, attempting to play off my discomfort. "No… I don't think so, anyway."

The cafeteria was buzzing with excitement because the earlier rain had changed over to a light snow. I didn't see what the big deal was—cold and wet was cold and wet. Nothing to be excited about.

As I walked to biology, I became more and more nervous. I still had no idea what Edward's problem was, but I wasn't exactly looking forward to another tense hour seated next to his furious glare. To my surprise, Mr. Banner waved me forward and told me that my lab partner had changed classes, and he was going to reassign me to work with Angela since I was so new to the class.

The rest of the afternoon floated by without another glance of Edward Cullen, and I hurried to my truck to meet Embry as soon as the final bell rang. Charlie was waiting for us when we got home, and the ride to La Push was fairly quiet.

We spent a couple of hours with Jake in his garage, and Dad invited the Blacks back to our house for supper and to watch the game. All in all it was a pleasant evening, but I couldn't fight the pang of disappointment I felt when I didn't see Paul.

~oOo~oOo~oOo~

Paul POV
Sam ordered me to go to school on Tuesday, saying some shit about me needing to keep up my reputation so I didn't make the pack look bad. The only reason I agreed was because he said he would meet with the vamp doctor and then go keep an eye on my Bella at school until I could get there.

I couldn't keep still the whole morning, and my eyes kept drifting to the window as if I could see her if I looked hard enough. Fuck, I couldn't get her off my mind. It wasn't even just the wolf—it was me. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and kiss her 'til she couldn't think straight—right there at that school in front of all those stupid human boys, and those fucking bloodsuckers.

Shaking my head, I tried to think of anything else to get my dick to settle down. I slipped into math class and took my regular seat at the back by Jared. He was half asleep after running an early morning patrol, and I amused myself by balancing pencils on his head and watching them roll off when he twitched.

Toward the end of class, my leg was tapping restlessly and I knew I wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. I needed to see her. I turned to let Jared know I would be slipping out, but the look on his face made me freeze in my tracks.

He was leaning half out of his chair, turned toward the girl on his right. It looked like they had both reached for a pencil—probably one I had dropped—and they were now stuck staring at each other. I recognized that damn awestruck look on his face and knew what it meant. Jared had imprinted.

I couldn't take it anymore and I jumped up to head out the door, not even responding when the teacher tried to call me back. I had to get out of there.

Sam started to gripe as soon as I phased in, but I replayed the scene from my math class and he stopped his protests. Damn, so much for imprinting being a rare thing, he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper in the pack mind. We're three for three so far.

I shook my head and snorted a laugh. It's not like the damn elders had any idea what they were talking about anyway. All they had were a bunch of old stories and a few handwritten accounts from past packs.

I had almost forgotten about the unwelcome dead students at Bella's school, until I ran up and almost choked on their stench. That's when I realized that Sam was phased in their territory. Yeah, I talked to Doc Cullen this morning and we worked out an agreement. We can phase wherever Bella is, and they have been told to keep their distance from her. The one that was sharing a class with her had his schedule changed—see?

I looked in the window to see Bella sitting with a tall girl, and no bloodsuckers in sight. Sam nudged my shoulder as I settled down to watch, and then he turned and ran back the way I came. He was just out of sight when I remembered. Thanks, Sam. You know, for watching out for her and stuff.

He just laughed and kept running. I have a feeling we'll be keeping our eye on that girl for a long time. She looks like she'll keep you pretty busy.

I had no idea what he meant by that, but I wasn't going to waste time wondering. The ache in my chest was eased now that my imprint was in my sight, and I was practically skipping as I followed her home.

Bella and Embry went straight from her truck to Charlie's car when they got home, and I felt my excitement grow as I realized they were heading for La Push. I was busy trying to come up with a way to "run into" Bella, and I almost missed Charlie's words as he dropped them off at the Blacks. "I'll be right back after I check in on Paul. Tell Billy to have a beer waiting for me."

Shit, Charlie was coming to my house? What was he doing that for? I didn't have time to wonder as I sprinted through the woods, phasing back in the treeline and only making it as far as my shed when Charlie pulled into the driveway.

Thinking fast, I pulled on my gloves and started pounding on my bag, hoping that would explain why I was half-dressed and soaked by the rain. I pretended not to hear Charlie's approach, not looking up until he called my name.

"Hey, Paul! Didn't mean to interrupt."

I shook my head and pulled of my gloves, reaching for a towel to wipe the rain off my face. When I looked up and met Charlie's eyes, I realized I hadn't seen him since Bella dropped the bomb about her birth father.

It wasn't a new situation for me to be keeping secrets from Charlie—I'd been doing it for years, and would continue to as long as I was a wolf. What was different was the fact that this secret was so personal to him, and held the power to hurt him so badly. I had never been in this situation before, and the weight of responsibility hit me hard.

I shook my head and tried to focus on the conversation. "Oh, no, Charlie. It's fine. I was just, uh, working out a little. What's up?"

Charlie blushed and looked around the yard as he scratched his neck. "Well, I hadn't seen you around the station lately—not that that's a bad thing. I just thought I'd let you know that I appreciate you staying out of trouble. I'm proud of you, son."

Fuck. I didn't know how to feel about that. I hadn't made a conscious decision to stay out of trouble—I'd just been more than a little distracted by following Bella around. I had a feeling that Charlie wouldn't be so gracious if he knew that.

Charlie's next question caught me even more off guard. "So, is your dad around?"