Fourteen Coins


"We're going on a trip!"

I looked up from my plate of food to stare at the boy across the counter.

"Cool. Quick question though, how do you plan on paying for this trip?"

He put a bright grin on his face. "I won it!"

This immediately had me worried.

"Oh Paul… please don't tell me you gave some person your credit card number over the phone. How many times do I have to tell you, those are just scams!"

This seemed to make him giggle. "I'm only joking."

"About the trip?"

"No, 'bout the winning. My mom's been wanting me to visit for awhile, and she had bought tickets, but they're expiring pretty soon – and, she even bought an extra ticket for my dad, but since he got work, you're coming in his place!"

"Who's to say I'm not busy?"

My mother poked her head in through the kitchen door. "Already called the school to tell them about your absence."

My face deadpanned. They must have planned this beforehand, obviously worried about me still attending school with vampires – who after three days still had yet to try anything. In fact, just yesterday Edward had given me a friendly smile when we walked by each other in the hallway. I truly thought that this stigma the council and pack had against the Cullens was ridiculous. Just because they're vampires, why shouldn't we give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that they mean no harm?

"Are you two in cahoots or something? Is this about the whole Cullen thing, because seriously, if it is-"

"It's not," Paul cut me off. "I just thought that you'd enjoy it – getting away from the rez that is."

As much as I wanted to believe that, I wouldn't doubt there was even the tiniest fraction in Paul that thought this was the perfect escape from my schooling.

"Well… I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so sure, why not."

Paul began cheering like a kid, and my mother could only laugh at the boy.

"When are we leaving?" I asked, swirling spaghetti around my fork before taking a bite.

"Early tomorrow morning."

I choked.

Soon enough, Paul was by my side with a hand on my back, but I brushed him off.

"I'm fine, really." I coughed out. "How do you expect me to get ready in less than twelve hours?"

"I'll help you."

"I've already bought you a suitcase as well." My mother said. I only sighed.

"You guys seriously have this planned out, don't you?"

They both smiled sheepishly.

I really didn't know what else to say – it was all so sudden. If I tried arguing about not wanting to go, I don't think Paul would try to force me, though he'd probably give me one of his horrible kicked-puppy faces for the rest of forever, and that alone had me wanting to just go along with it. Besides, maybe a trip away from La Push and Forks would be a good thing – to leave behind the supernatural for a bit.

There was a straight hour of packing – mainly me arguing about wanting to take books to study and Paul refusing to back anything but clothes.

"I promise you we'll be completely busy when were there, so you wont even have a chance to get any studying done." Paul said, tossing my photography book out and replacing it with a sweater.

"But I need to work on my project! Me and Angela are partners, and I won't be able to live with myself if I let her down on this." I said, picking the book back up and dropping it in the suitcase.

Paul glowered before sighing. "Okay, I'll tell 'ya what. When we get back, I'll help you research on that uh… pre-morty thingy,"

"Pre-morty thingy?"

"Whatever the f-… thing is called."

"It's Post-mortem, and I haven't done anything like that in months."

"Then what are you doing?"

"A research paper, but you know what, if I don't finish my part then I'll just tell Angela it was all your fault." I huffed, though quickly turned to the boy with a grin to show I was only joking.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Why are you even doing photography anyways?"

"Because I like it? Plus, I want to try and get a degree in it." I felt like I was stating the obvious.

The boy narrowed his eyes at me. "A degree? Wouldn't you have to like… go to a college with a photography program for that?"

"That's the plan."

I expected him to say something, but when silence lingered, I glanced back at him, shockingly enough he had an expression that looked gloom.

"What's wrong?" I asked, wondering what had cause the sullen look.

"I just never thought you'd really want to do that, I guess."

I raised a brow. "I'm pretty sure we've talked about this before. I've always been planning to go to college."

"Yeah, sure, sure. It's just… I just assumed you would stay here on the rez – maybe go to one of those like local colleges, that way we could still see each other every day."

I felt a sharp pain, as if he had just jabbed my heart with a knife. I knew that going to college would mean leaving Paul, and I damn sure hated that fact, but I felt like he would at least understand. It would be different if we were dating or something, but I didn't even know if Paul wanted to even do that despite how I was practically throwing myself on him, telling him to date me – metaphorically that is.

"I mean, you did say that you would follow me wherever I went – even to Antarctica." I reminded him. This seemed to brighten the mood, as he let out a light chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess I did say that. I don't think it'd be easy, though."

"How do you mean?" I asked, confused as to what would stop him.

"Well uh… I'm kind of in the pack."

"You could leave it."

"It's not something I can just leave, Seth. We're protectors, so we have to protect our home."

I wanted to say more, but something in the back of my mind reminded me that one day, it was quite possible for me to be in that pack, and that alone turned my stomach. Being bounded to La Push didn't seem like the most appealing thing in the world.

We let the subject drop.

"So," I said, zipping the packed suitcase closed. "what should I be expecting anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Paul asked.

"With the whole flying thing – I've never been on a plane before."

"Well there's not much to it really, it's like sitting in the same seat for forty minutes during class, only in this instance, your flying through the air in a metal contraption at deathly speeds."

"Sounds like a fun time," I grinned. "though, it is getting late, so we should hurry up and get some sleep."

I didn't get much sleep – the bags under my eyes showed that clearly. It was still pitch-black outside when we got up, though Paul didn't seem to mind it, as he bounced around my room all jolly-like, bringing all our stuff outside and into the back of the truck, and it couldn't have pissed me off more.

"Hey, Seth-"

"WHAT." I snapped, clearly showing just how grumpy I was.

"Wow, you really aren't a morning person," Paul laughed. "I'll tell 'ya what, I'll drive so you can get some sleep on the way to Port Angeles, 'kay?"

There was a moment of pouting on my part, before stiffly shuffling over to the boy to give him a hug. "Thank you." I mumbled into his shirt.

He kissed me on the head. "No problem."

That woke me up.

My mother came down the stairs to give us a hug goodbye, along with Leah surprisingly.

"And tell your mom I said hi!" She shouted from the front door, which Paul gave her a wave and a smile.

We hopped into the truck, and Paul roared the engine to life before turning the heaters on blast. I sat in the passenger seat, practically shivering to the bone. Paul gave me a look, gesturing me to come over to him.

"Oh right, radiator." I remembered, shifting over to the middle seat to buckle myself in, to which I then pressed my whole body into his side, feeling his warmth engulf me.

It was still pitch-black out, so the roads were relatively empty. We were driving for a good twenty minutes before I finally fell into a dreamless sleep, and the next thing I knew, I was being awoken by Paul, telling me we were there. I felt some relief, as I did feel much more rested. We got out of the truck and walked around to the back to haul the tailgate down. I felt a bit insulted that Paul only let me carry the small stuff, while he took both of our huge suitcases, and a backpack that he brought.

"You do realise I could've carried more, right?" I stated as we went through the revolving door into the airport.

"Seth, you do realise that this weighs practically nothing to me, right?"

"Yeah, but still…" I couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty.

"You worry about the strangest things, you know that?" He looked down at me as we got in line for the luggage check.

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it's cute." He smiled.

I could only gawk from behind at him as he strolled on forward.

He was making it obvious now. I was one-hundred percent sure that he liked me, so even more reason I question why he didn't just tell me yet. Was I supposed to tell him? Did he want me to say it? If anything, if he imprinted on me, he should be the one to say it, dammit.

After the luggage check, we still had half an hour to kill before we could even board, so Paul dragged me to a small coffee shop in the airport. The place was relatively packed, so Paul and I thought it would be best for me to save us a seat while he went up and ordered.

Now, I'm not usually one to get jealous, especially when I had no reason to be, but for a moment when I glanced up at the lineup Paul was in, I saw two girls chatting away to him – both clearly admiring.

While watching the scene unfold, I felt just the slightest bit of anger, and I glared at the two figures as they both continued talking – that is until Paul said something to them, and they both went partially wide-eyed. Paul then looked in my direction and pointed a finger at me. I sat up, confused at the gesture. The two girls then looked in my direction and gave a friendly smile and wave; I stiffly did the same. After the two girls got what they wanted, the left the lineup, and as they walked by me, I swear I could hear one of them say "It's always the cute ones who are gay."

This shocked me. For one thing, that completely confirmed that the girls were probably hitting on Paul, but even more shocking was the fact that Paul had straight up told him he liked guys. He told two complete strangers without any worry.

I could only aspire to have that much confidence.

He returned with two coffees, a bagel and a sandwich, and while I quickly thanked him, I couldn't help but confess to him;

"I wish I had your confidence." I said with a sigh, tearing a piece off the bagel and popping it in my mouth. He gave me an amused look.

"Whatcha mean?" He curiously asked.

"I overheard those girls talk about you telling them you liked guys."

He only shrugged. "It's no big deal. Believe me when I say I can be pretty damn cowardly at times."

"Bullshit. When have you ever?"

He shrugged again, though this time, he gave me a strange look.

The airport intercom announced that the flight from Port Angeles to Tacoma would soon be departing.

After walking through the metal detectors, we were then on our way to board, and that's when I felt a sudden rush of anxiousness overcome me. Paul seemed to notice this as well.

"What's wrong?" He seemed concerned.

"N-nothing. It's just uh…"

"What, are you nervous?"

"Kinda." I smiled, though it was forced.

"There's really nothing to be afraid of." He said pulling me into a side hug while rubbing my back.

"I know, I guess it's just because it's my first time."

"Don't be such a flying virgin." He teased, which had me immediately pushing him away with a mock-glare, though I couldn't help the smile that crept up on my face.

We soon boarded the plane, and as we walked down the isles of the plane, I quickly remembered something important.

"Oh god," I whispered to the boy walking in front of me. "are we even sitting together?"

It was my first time, so I didn't want to get stuck with a stranger, though Paul immediately calmed my worries when he showed me the seat numbers. He was Twenty-A and I was Twenty-B. When we found our row, Paul insisted that I have the window seat, saying that it was 'the best experience'. Whatever that 'experience' was, I was very sure that I probably wasn't going to enjoy it all too much. He then showed me how to work the tiny TV screen on the back headrest that each passenger had.

Overall, it was going well, and I was doing fine.

That is until, the plane started moving. My stomach started churning as we did what seemed to be loops around a runway, until the loops came to an end, and watched as the whole world outside the window became slanted. I had to look away for a moment, covering my mouth and pray that I didn't throw up. Paul took out a paper bag from the seat in front of him, ready to act if anything did happen. Though, after a good ten minutes, the churning stopped, and I was finally able to relax.

The first half of the forty-minute flight was just me trying my best not to think of the fact that at any moment we could crash, and the second half was spent with myself and Paul looking through a Skymall magazine, laughing at the absurd things that it advertised and the wacky pricing that came along with it.

I could only feel relief when a voice over the intercom announced we would soon be landing in the Seattle-Tacoma international airport.

Getting off the plane into unknown terrain felt bizarre, but in a strangely amazing way. It was exciting, and as we entered the airport, I couldn't help but gaze around with a goofy grin on my face.

"Oh wow…" I said in awe, taking in the magnificence of it all. Paul merely smiled down at me before taking one hand and dragging me to baggage claim. It took about twenty minutes to get all our stuff before leaving through the airport doors.

I noticed the slight pause Paul seemed to make when we got outside; his nostrils flared slightly, and his brow furrowed. He then quickly waved down a cab, and Paul so generously loaded our stuff in the back before we got in. He then told the cab driver to take us to someplace called 'fourteen coins', which I soon learned was a restaurant. Paul asked the cab driver to say put, saying he'll pay the extra fee.

As we sat down in a booth, a waiter came along to take our order. Paul of course ordered a disgusting amount of food, and I merely ordered a burger and fries.

"So, how are you enjoying Tacoma so far?" He asked, taking a sip of water.

"Considering we've only been here for about half an hour, it's really cool," I said truthfully. "this restaurant is really nice."

"They make the best burgers," Paul said excitedly. "I remember when I was little, I always use to beg my parents to come here."

This made me smile.

"When are we going to see your mom, anyway?"

"Well, she said she had to run some errands with Jackson, so were meeting them in an hour."

"Jackson?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Oh yeah, her fiancé."

I sat back in my seat, wide-eyed. "Since when did she have a fiancé?"

"About a few months now – they met sometime last year. Did I not tell you about that?"

"No."

"Huh," He shrugged. "Well don't be nervous about meeting him because I haven't either."

The waiter soon came around with our meals. Paul had ordered what looked to be about two plates of food, and even the waiter had a slightly disgusted face when Paul started digging in almost immediately.

We talked more about what we'd be doing for the next two days we planned to stay. Paul had a whole list of ideas, like visiting Owen Beach along with a trip to the local zoo and aquarium. He must have gone through a lot of work to prepare all this, so I felt slightly warm-hearted to know that he did it for me.

But that's just the way Paul was – always thinking about others before himself.

After we finished, we got back into the taxi that had been waiting for us, and then Paul once again told the driver to head to North End 48th street. It was about a thirty-minute drive, and the entire time I just gaze out at all the scenery, finding everything so beautiful. I felt as if though I were in another country, and the rising sun so bright in the sky merely added to that.

We eventually pulled up to the side of the road, overlooking a one-story home that was painted a beige color, with a huge lawn that was lined with large trees, almost blocking sight of the whole house. Paul paid for the ride, which had come to over a hundred dollars. I still hadn't the clue where he had gotten all the money from. As we were unloading our things, a figure came out through the now open door from the house, with what appeared to be a butter container in hand.

Paul's mother, Lily, looked the exact same since I last saw her, and that was probably a good five years before.

"Oh, there's my big man!" She said with joy, scurrying over to hug Paul. I immediately noticed the way Paul's face scrunched up, and his nostrils were flaring yet again. He tried to hide it right away by putting a huge smile on his face.

"Hi, mom." He said with just as much warmth as she did, though his voice shook slightly.

"And you," she turned to me. "Oh Seth, you've grown up so much!" She pulled me into a loving hug. I peaked over her shoulder at Paul, fully expecting him to be happy, but he was the exact opposite. He almost looked furious, his eyes darting around everywhere, searching for something.

"Well, I need to just run this thing of butter over to the neighbours right quick, so I'll see you both in a few." She winked, before skipping off to the house next door.

The next thing I knew was Paul had a death grip around my arm and pulling me towards the house.

"W-What the," I struggled, trying to break free. "What are you doing!"

"Get in the house." He commanded, pushing me towards the door.

"Paul, what's going on?"

He got up right close to me, his voice barely audible.

"Vampire."

My eyes went wide.

"W-what? What do you plan on doing?" I became scared, but not for myself, but from the fact that Paul might try to fight it – alone.

"I'm going to hunt it down and kill it."

"You can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" He asked me, showing just how serious he was.

"The rest of the pack isn't here!"

"I can do this by myself."

"Paul, just think about this!" I hissed at him, clearly distressed by the situation.

He took a step back, before his voice came out lower and more frightening then I have ever heard. "Get in side right now."

He had never used such a tone with be before, and even though I didn't want to, I found myself immediately backing up, before turning and retreating into the house. When I closed the door behind me, I turned to look through the window next to the door, only to see Paul had disappeared from the front yard.

My nerves were shot, and at that moment, I don't think there was a single thing that would've kept me calm. I began pacing back and forth in the little porch, counting the seconds that passed, deciding that if he didn't return within two minutes, I would head out and look for him.

That's when something caught my eye.

A figure had peaked in through the doorway. It was a man, and he looked confused.

"Um, hello… who are you exactly?" He asked me. I began questioning who the man was, though I remembered that Paul had said his mother was engaged, and I quickly put a name to the face.

"Oh, you must be Jackson!" I said, sounding as if I had just seen a ghost.

"That's right… and you are?"

"Oh, I-I'm Seth, Paul's friend."

His face lit up, the gears in his head finally shifting as he seemed to know who I was.

"Oh, right. Lily said Paul was bringing his friend. Well it's very nice to meet you, Seth." He said, sticking out his hand.

I went to shake it, though when my hand grazed his, I felt myself pull back slightly, as his skin seemed to be freezing.

"Oh, sorry," he laughed. "I had just been washing the dishes – we kind of ran out of hot water."

"Ah," I laughed, before reaching out yet again to give a firm shake.

At first glance, the man was quite handsome. His face looked perfectly sculped, and he had big blue eyes. He was pale though – almost unhealthily so. He looked so strangely familiar, but I couldn't exactly remember where I would've seen him before.

"Well, please come in and make yourself at home." He said gesturing past him. "Where is Paul to, anyways?"

I had completely forgot about Paul, and it had already been two minutes. I felt panic start to bubble up once again, though it completely erased when Paul came barging the front door.

"I looked everywhere around the area, but I couldn't seem to find-" He cut himself off when his hand shot up to his nose to pinch it, acting as if he smelt something horrible. And as his eyes shifted away from me, they landed onto Jackson before going wide.

For a second, he froze up.

"Why hello, Paul," Jackson said warmly, sticking out his hand. "I'm Jackson. It's very nice to meet you-"

Paul threw me back behind him, letting out a long and threatening growl. I could only gape at Paul, wondering what his problem was, growling at his mother's soon-to-be husband like some wild animal.

Like a defensive wolf.

And that's when it clicked. Jackson looked so familiar because I had seen him before – or well, I had seen his kind before.

He was a vampire.

Paul was shaking violently now – just like that time in my driveway – and I knew I had to do something before it was too late. I darted around the boy, taking his hands in my face.

"Paul, you have to calm down." I whispered. "You can't do this here. Please, please calm down."

I was begging him, though I feared that he saw Jackson as a threat to me, and nothing would get through to him; his shaking only worsened.

"Paul, it's just Jackson. It's Jackson, your mom's fiancé. Paul, you cannot do this here. Please, please don't do this."

He looked into my eyes, and the shaking suddenly stopped.

He then ripped open the front door and walked out, dragging me along. It was when we reached the end of the driveway that Lily returned.

"Paul, Seth, where are you two going-"

"Your husband is a disgusting bloodsucker." Paul said with so much venom.

This shocked her for a moment, before turning to an approaching Jackson with a worried look. "You told them?" She seemed upset, though not as upset as Paul looked.

Both me and Paul were taken back by this. She knew her husband was a vampire. I stiffly shifted my head towards Paul, seeing how he looked beyond shocked. There was a beat of silence, and I was afraid Paul might explode with rage.

"Y-… You knew…?"

"I didn't tell them, actually." Jackson spoke in a calm and cool voice. "How did you know?" He asked Paul, sounding just as confused as I was about the whole situation, though still looking mighty defensive, as if Paul were some wild animal about to attack him. He wouldn't be wrong.

"Oh please, I could smell you the second I got out of the cab. Your kind all smell alike."

"H-How would you even know that?"

"BECAUSE I KILL YOUR KIND, YOU FILTHY LEECH!" Paul roared.

"Paul," I warned with an unsteady voice. "Please, just calm down…"

"Why the hell should I, Seth? Please, tell me why in the world I shouldn't kill this… thing!"

Lily stepped in front of Jackson defensively, which only made Paul let out a hiss.

"Paul, what is the matter with you?" She demanded to know, looking quite frightened.

"What's the matter with me?" He asked disbelievingly. "What is the matter with you! How could you possibly be engaged to… to… a bloodsucker!" He stepped in their direction, and Jackson swiftly pulled Lily behind him before baring his teeth.

"Maybe you should leave." He spoke in a monotone voice, now looking threatening like an actual vampire.

"That's a good idea." I agreed, to which I turned to Paul. "Let's just take a walk to calm down, okay?"

"I don't need a walk-"

"Paul," I cut him off. "We are taking a walk."

Though proving difficult, I eventually pulled him away from the scene, and into the forests next to the house. Paul held my hand with such a tight grip that it felt like my bones were about to break, though I didn't speak up.

"She's engaged a leech, she's engaged to a leech, she's engaged to a leech…" He kept repeating, as if he were trying to convince himself. He looked as if he had gone mad. It was scaring me.

It wasn't long before Paul let go of my hand, swinging his fist into a tree. To my surprise, the tree shook under the force, and when Paul's hand moved away, there was a large dent.

He stopped walking then; he merely dropped to the ground, clenching his face as he began shaking once again, only this time, I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to stop it. He was heavily panting, his teeth clenched so tightly and saliva flying out through the cracks. He seemed as if he were about to explode, so I put much space between us, and watched at a distance as the boy's spine let out one final shiver.

He then blew up into a humongous wolf.

I let out a gasp, taking in the process that had happened so swiftly. I recognized the wolf, as it was the dark silver one that had scared me so bad it made me fall off that hill.

Its dark eyes bore into mine.

"Paul?" I asked hesitantly, wondering if he could understand me.

He let out a big huff, slowly and cautiously pacing over to me, one paw at a time. When we became face to face, I could feel his hot breath hit me in rhythmic blows. It felt so bizarre – to be standing in front of the thing that only a month ago would've scared me shitless. I couldn't help but admire how beautiful Paul was in a way. His silver fur shining so majestically, his eyes that same chocolate brown color, and his body so incredibly massive. He truly looked like something that could kill a vampire in mere seconds.

Then, a gigantic tongue escaped through his lips and licked the whole side of my face in one motion.

"Oh, gross!" I complained, stumbling back a few steps. "Paul!"

He began letting out more huffing sounds, which I could only assume was the wolf version of laughing. I walked back over to him, lifting my hand slightly.

"Can I?" I asked. He let out a breath, so I took it as a yes.

I pressed my hand to his face, feeling the soft texture of his fur. Paul immediately began rubbing himself into my hand, which I then letting out a light laugh. He may have looked like a wolf, but he was acting like a puppy dog, craving my attention with much need.

He then took a few steps back before turning around and sitting down on all four paws. His head then turn around and looked at me before shifting towards his back. I knew what he was indicating, and my eyes only widened in response.

"You can't be serious."

He let out a low growl.

"Paul, is that even safe?

This time, he let out a long breath which I picked up as him sighing.

He wanted me to sit on his back, so he could do god knows what, and strangely enough, as time ticked by, I felt myself wanting to really try it, and that seemed very, very stupid. I knew though that Paul wouldn't let me do anything if it meant putting myself in danger.

One hesitant step at a time, I walked over. As I stood next to him, I realised even when sitting down the way he had been, his head was still leveled with mine. In one quick move, I hopped onto his back, before quickly trying to balance myself out.

"Do I just… hold on to your fur?" I asked, which he then shook his wolf head up and down. He looked so silly doing the gesture.

I then did just that, feeling my hands rub into his fur before practically using a death grip. I wondered if I was in anyway hurting him, but he didn't even seem to even notice. He then swiftly rose off the ground. I felt myself yelp in response, and then we were off.

At first, I didn't even know what I was experiencing, as everything seemed to happen so fast. My mind then came to the realisation that we were running – at incredibly fast speeds for that matter. I was petrified for a good minute before I felt myself ease, to which I then found that I was quite enjoying the experience. It was truly amazing, though my grip on Paul's fur only got tighter. I watched as different shades of green zoomed on by me, everything in such an unfocused blur. We must've been going at speeds after than any race car. After a good minute, I felt myself laughing out loud, as I was simply exhilarated by what was happening. It was like something out of a movie.

A few minutes later, Paul eased down to a stop. His head looked back at me, and I couldn't help but give him a humungous grin.

"We so have to do that again!" I cheered.

He merely let out more wolf laughs.