Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga, only my original characters (Astoria, Ezra, Asher, Gideon, Tobias, Dr. Reed, and Evan). Enjoy!

Chapter Two

If there was one thing Paul Lahote never liked, it was changed. Sure, he was known for being a tough guy because of his appearance along with his cocky demeanor and short temper but deep down he was scared of changes.

The reason? His parents' divorce and being separated from his only sister when he was eight.

But the moment he had laid eyes on Astoria Reed, all his fears with change suddenly disappeared. Paul felt like his whole world suddenly shifted and he knew things were about to change in his life with something good when her dark brown orbs met his brown ones; he suddenly had the urge to know everything about her and be whatever she needed him to be.

He knew that it was out of character for him to freak out but he just didn't care anymore, Paul just wanted answers and advice which was why he was already on his way to Emily's place after school finished. Sam was the only one who can help him with this since he was the first one to experience all of whatever the fuck is currently happening to him right now

"Well hello to you too," Emily — Sam's fiancée — greeted him, placing a tray of huge muffins on the table. Her eyes narrowed towards the younger boy. "What's wrong?" she inquired, looking worried.

Paul took a huge muffin from the tray, stared at it for a moment before taking a bite. "Just...do you know where Sam is? I need to talk to him," he answered her.

"He's at the back, probably fixing the fence," she said, motioning towards the back door.

Before Emily could ask him any more questions, he quickly made his way to the back of the house and spotted Sam who paused from what he was doing, "Hey, no news on the redhead?" he asked.

"Aside from the fact that she tried to cross the border, there's nothing new really," Paul replied, leaning against the fence. "Oh, right, have mention that I imprinted on the Reed girl?" He casually added.

Jared suddenly appeared beside him, looking like he just got back from his patrol. "The Reed girl? What her name again? Oh right, Astoria. She's cute," he grinned, nudging Paul in the arm playfully. "I knew something was up when you were looking at her like some kind of lovesick puppy. Oh man, you're already whipped!"

Paul growled at Jared, shoving him aside. "Would you shut the hell up? This is why I wanted to tell Sam alone," he glared at his friend who still has a shit-eating grin on his face before heading back inside to get more food.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked, turning his attention back to Sam.

"Be her friend or whatever she wants you to be, let her feel the pull on her own and just see how things progress from there," Sam advised, "Also a word of advice, try not to lose your temper around her. You don't want her to get scared and run away so soon before you can even tell her about this whole imprinting thing," he joked, patting him on the shoulder to which Paul just grunted in agreement.

A couple of days had passed since Ezra had gone back to the university and left the four younger Reeds who had also started at their new school. The twins were already adjusting just fine, even Astoria as well. Though things were slowly becoming better for her, the twins, and Ezra, it wasn't the same case for their youngest brother. She had noticed that Tobias was avoiding them at school, Astoria wished that him avoiding them in the hallways was the only worst thing that could ever happen but she thought wrong.

She was on her way to meet with the members of the Creative Writing Club when she noticed her father walking out of the Principal's Office, Astoria quickly went to his side.

"Dad? What are you doing here? Did the twins already cause trouble?" she asked, half-joking and also praying that it was indeed the twins who got in trouble and not Tobias.

The older man just shook his head and heaved out a sigh, "I wish it was, but no," he trailed off. "The school called, they said Tobias has been skipping school for two days now," he continued, massaging his temples.

Astoria bit her lower lip as she listened to her dad, "I guess that explains why we felt like he was avoiding us and don't see him at lunch sometimes," she commented.

"I don't know what to do with him anymore, sweetheart, I've been trying so hard to understand him because I know that your mother's passing hit him the hardest. All I want for him is to finally be okay," Dr. Reed admitted, his voice quivering a bit.

Astoria placed a hand on her father's shoulder, "He's going to be okay dad, and I'll make sure of it," she reassured him.

Her father flashed her a sad smile and hugged her tight before leaving to find Tobias. She felt bad for her father, he was already doing so much and was trying very hard to be there for all of them even though he was busy with his job at the hospital. Astoria had always thought that she and her three older brothers were lucky to be adopted by him and their late mother because they made them feel like they were their own.

"Eyes on the hallway, new girl," someone suddenly spoke, interrupting her thoughts.

Astoria paused from walking to look at the owner of the voice, a smile formed on her lips when she saw Paul. Something about those brown orbs of his makes her feel safe and, weirdly enough, calm. She remembered when they first met a couple of days ago at the beach, Astoria could not look away from his gaze not until Gideon's annoying scream broke her reverie.

"Oh! Hey, sorry about that. I almost bumped into you," she apologized, smiling weakly.

Paul eyed the girl in front of him, trying to think of a better way to ask her if there was something wrong without being a creep. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Astoria replied, somehow feeling better that she ran into him. "I'll see you around, Paul," she walked past him but stopped just to wave before finally disappearing from the hallway.

He stood there watching her retreating figure with a slight smile on his face.

"Jared's right. You really are whipped," Embry teased as he stood beside him. Paul shoved the younger boy aside and left him by the lockers to go on his patrol.

After her club meeting, Astoria headed straight home to check if Tobias was already there, only to find him sitting on the front porch with his head in his hands. She parked her beloved mint-colored Vespa scooter and quietly sat beside her little brother, poking his cheek with a cold carton of their favorite banana milk to get his attention.

"Dad talked to you already?" she asked him, trying to be mindful of how he was feeling at the moment. The younger one nodded then took the banana milk from her, murmuring a 'thanks' before drinking it.

"You know that you can always talk to any of us whatever it is that you're feeling or going through," Astoria reminded him.

Out of the five of them, she and Tobias had always been the closest. Her late mother once told her that she wouldn't leave Tobias' crib after they came home from the hospital when he was born, but things changed when he began distancing himself from everyone after their mom passed.

A sigh escaped from Tobias' lips, getting up from where he sat and walked inside the house to lock himself inside his room.

Astoria pursed her lips, trying to think of another way to get him to talk to her. She hated seeing her little brother hurt or sad. She looked up at the darkening sky, mentally asking for their late mother's help, and unbeknownst to her, a pair of glowing eyes watched her every move even as she went inside their house.