A/N: Review, review, review! Here's chapter 2!

Chapter 2: Skinny Love

Paul's POV:

Why must Leah be such a bitch? I know it's probably not that easy to be in the house of your ex-boyfriend who is now married to your cousin, but still, no reason to take it out on everyone else. The poor girl, Riley, or whatever her name is, Emily's niece, probably feels like major shit now. Emily stared at Leah with a death glare, while Sam started to tremble. "Leah, your actions are not acceptable in this house. Raegan didn't deserve how you just treated her." Sam growled, trying to keep his composure. Leah simply rolled her eyes, paying close attention to her nails. "Yeah, well it's not my fault you and the home-wrecker over here decided to take in a head case just because you feel bad for her."

"She's your cousin too, Leah." Seth stated seriously. She rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, well no girl like that is a cousin of mine." She said with a laugh. Angry, I decided to see if this Raegan girl was okay. I know how it feels to be under Leah's heat if anyone does. So deciding that my food would be there when I got back, I marched over to the bathroom and knocked on the door tentatively. "Hey, you okay in there? Emily wanted me to go and check on you." I lied smoothly, hoping she didn't realize no one asked me to check on her, I just did because…well, I just felt like I should. No response. Thinking it was going to be a while, I leaned against the door, when suddenly, the door gave way, and within a time span of 3 seconds, Emily's niece was lying on the floor. "Whoa, are you-" I started, when suddenly, my eyes met hers.

At the drop of a hat, I realized nothing else mattered to me, nothing at all. My friends, my family, nothing. She was the only one who mattered to me. She sat on the floor, holding her head, when I really, really looked at her. Long, dark brown wavy locks cascaded down her back, blue green eyes that looked like the ocean stared back at me. Her large eyes brought out the delicate, doll-like features of her face, which like the rest of her body, was a glowing white. Her cheeks had what seemed to be a permanent blush, bringing out the freckles that rested under her eyes and across the bridge of her nose. She appeared to be petite and short in height, not that that mattered to me. She was absolutely stunning, and I loved her, I knew I did!

Wait, what? Love? No, no, no! I hate the idea of imprinting! I can't love her! My feelings of love and care for her soon vanished, and anger took its place. I couldn't love her, I just met her! I don't like her, and refuse to like her! With that, not even bothering to help her up, I took off.

"Hey, where're you going, Paul?"

"What's the matter?"

I heard their concerned voices, but I needed to get out of there. I couldn't be around her. I heard footsteps behind me, but not caring, I slammed the front door behind me. "Hey, man, wait up! What's wrong?" said a voice I quickly recognized to be Jacob's. Not stopping, I phased right then and there, and took off into the woods. I heard the sounds of clothes ripping in the distance as I ran into the dark forest, and soon, the sounds of paws hitting the ground joined mine.

"Hey man, wait! What's going on?"

"Dude, stop! Chill!"

Soon, I came to a halt, and started swiping my claws at a nearby tree. "Ugh! No! I can't believe this shit!" I screamed in my head. 4 other wolves surrounded me, begging me to tell them what happened. Not even having the words, I recalled to the event that occurred moments before. They all stared at me, obviously shocked. "This is great, man! Congrats!"

"You imprinted! Woohoo!"

"Wow, man, I never thought I'd see the day!"

I growled. "Shut the fuck up! This is not great! This is not something to be congratulated for! Are you all stupid?!" I said menacingly, continuing to rip apart the poor tree. "Don't speak to us that way, Paul. Calm down, we can talk about this is in a peaceful way."

"Fuck you!"

"I command you to stop, and listen!" Sam shouted. Much to my protest, I lowered myself down onto my belly, muttering an apology. "So you imprinted on Raegan, correct?" Jacob asked. I nodded my head, and suddenly her face came into my mind, and all my angst washed away, welcoming feelings of desperation and love. "If you don't calm down, you won't be able to see her again. You don't want that, do you?" Sam asked. I quickly shook my head. Not see Raegan again? He couldn't do this to me, I like the idea now! "Then focus on phasing back. We have many things to discuss. Since she is Emily's niece, I want to make sure that this is for the best." Sam explained. I quickly nodded my head. "Sam, I promise to take care of her, I promise! I won't mess this up. Please let me see her, it hurts! It hurts not to be near her!"

"Relax Paul. Calm down and breathe. You will see her soon."

"How soon? Today? I need to see her Sam, I need to make sure she's okay! She was on the floor when I saw her, is she going to be alright? Is she hurt?"

"RELAX PAUL."

Only focused on seeing Raegan again, I finally phased back. Sam, Jacob, Quil, and Jared were all back in human form. Sam chucked a pair of shorts at me, and I quickly put them on. "So I can see her now, right? Right?" I asked persistently. Sam cut me off with the raise of his hand. "We still need to talk about this. Now, I know you realize that you want the best for her. But many mistakes can be made-"

"I won't hurt her! I swear! Please!" I begged desperately, tears rising to my eyes. Why was he torturing me like this? "-And I know you don't want to hurt her. But accidents happen, and that's why you must promise me you will be on your very best behavior. No impulsive behavior, no quick temper, nothing. Understood?"

I nodded frantically. Come on Sam, damn it!

"Now, Emily and I have discussed the reasons upon why Raegan is here with us, and from what I gathered, I think it is important that Raegan has a FRIEND. Not a lover as of right now, but someone who can watch out for her. Raegan has had a rough growing up, and both Emily and I aren't sure exactly what we are dealing with since it is too early to tell. But I need you to promise me you will take it slow." Sam explained seriously. I processed everything he told me, letting it soak in, and nodded. "Good. Now you can go in and see her."

Without a second thought, I sprinted my way back to Emily's house.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Raegan's POV

Emily sat me down at the table, apologizing over and over for Leah's actions. Leah seemed to have taken off somewhere, probably angry. Seth, Emily, a few girls, and a boy Emily regarded as Embry looked at each other knowingly. "I'm just really c-confused. W-What would make him do that?" I asked quietly. They all gave each other that knowing look again, and Emily cleared her throat. "I'm not really sure, Rae, but can I ask you to do something for me?"

"S-Sure."

"Be nice to Paul? He really likes, um, making new friends, so he may want to get to know you better. Even if you don't want to be friends with him, which I'm not saying to do because Paul, is um, a great friend to have, be kind. I know you are, but he gets his feelings hurt easily." Emily explained uneasily. I nodded my head, still confused. Suddenly, the front door slammed open, and the man we were just talking about walked through…with no shirt. "You know, I have something to do…so I'm gonna leave…." Emily started, quickly getting up from the chair. Everyone else at the table followed her lead, making excuses about having to do something.

I was all alone with a ginormous, muscular, attractive Native American guy with no shirt.

"Hi. My name is Paul. Sorry I took off before, I suddenly….remembered something! So, what's your name?" the guy said happily, a broad smile lighting up his face. Had I not been so freaked out, I would have thought he was handsome. I struggled to find words to say, and every time I was about to say something, that insistent smile with loving eyes froze me up.

"M-My name is R-Raegan… Raegan Y-Young."

At the sound of this, his smile brightened even more if it was possible, and I shied away from his gaze. "Raegan! That's an interesting name."

"…M-My mom only thought of a b-boy's name…"

"Well, it's still really cool. Tell me about yourself. Wanna play a game? How about I ask you a question, you answer, and then I answer back?" he insisted. Why was he being so persistent? Why did he want to get to know me all of the sudden? His smile faded at my lack of response, so I quickly nodded my head. His face lit up again. "So, what's your favorite color?"

I blushed. "I-I…I never really thought about it, I guess."

"What? You've never thought about your favorite color?"

I blushed even harder, staring at my hands. "I… I guess not. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, you don't have to be sorry. My favorite color is blue-green. Especially when it's the color of someone's eyes." He said lovingly. Freaked out and scared to the max, I gave him a weak smile. "Y-You know, P-Paul, I'm really tired. Can we c-continue this some other t-time?" I asked quietly. In all my life, that's probably the boldest I have ever gotten with anyone. He frowned, a pained look on his face, and I left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been almost a week and a half since I first arrived at Aunt Emily's, and I've barely muttered a word to her or to anyone. I usually just stayed in my room, reading and rereading the books I brought with me. I didn't even eat at meal times, because I knew all of Sam and Emily's friends would be there, so I would wait until they left, reheat whatever was leftover, and eat alone. But that would never stop that Paul guy from asking. 3 times a day, he would knock on my door and ask if I wanted to eat with them, and I would never respond. However, today was different.

I must have left my door open, so as lunch time arrived, Paul walked right in. Surprised, I scrambled to my feet and dropped the book I was reading. I hurriedly sat on the bed, not knowing what to expect. "Do you want lunch, Raegan?" Paul asked in a quiet, tired voice. I looked up at him, making eye contact with him-anyone- for days. He looked exhausted and worn out, bags under his eyes. I blinked at him.

Sighing, he started to leave, when he turned back around. "Is…Is that 'The Outsiders?" he asked timidly. I nodded slowly. "I hated that book. You can so tell a girl wrote it." He muttered. Surprised he was talking to me, and surprised that he disliked one of my favorite books, I shook my head. "I-It's a really good book. It tells the story of true friendship." I whispered. He must have been just as surprised, and stared at me. "Yeah, well, that wouldn't happen in the real world, and things wouldn't have gone down the way they did if it were a real guy talking." he explained, a smile forming on his face. I shook my head again. "No, no. Y-You have to look at it from P-Ponyboy's personality. He's much more sensitive for a boy. He's no D-Dallas." I said back. Grinning, he playfully rolled his eyes. "It was still so stupid. I mean really? Who names their kids Ponyboy and Sodapop?"

"You're r-reading into the story way t-too much."

"Well, I still feel like it needed a more manly touch. Maybe then it would have been better."

I nodded, taking his idea into consideration. "M-Maybe. But it's still a n-nice read." I replied. Paul's smile was on full display, despite the fact that I was disagreeing. "This is nice." He said suddenly, waking me up from my thoughts. "What's n-nice?" I asked timidly.

"For a while, I thought you would never talk. To anyone. And now you are."

"Y-Yeah…I'm sorry."

"If you are sorry, you would do something to make it up to me."

At these words, I froze up. Folding my arms across my chest protectively, I looked away. He must have seen my change in demeanor, and quickly rushed to restate his thought. "No, no, no. Nothing bad, no! I was just saying you can make it up to me by having lunch with me."

"…Lunch?"

"Yeah, that's not so bad, is it? Just lunch. We can talk about more books, right?" he asked hopefully.

In my 16 years of life, I've never wanted to not disappoint someone in my life. I don't know if it's because I found his persistence and hope questionable, but I nodded my head. "Sure. L-Lunch."

XXXXXXXXXX

After getting changed into a pair of dark wash jeans and a large, oversized off-white sweater (since it's October), and my pair of brown boots, Paul and I left. Emily practically gawked at me as I told her Paul was going to get me lunch, and after a few minutes of blatant shock, she nodded her head and said to have fun. "You look nice in that sweater." Paul said as we were heading out. What the heck? I blushed and turned away. "I-I meant comfortable. You know? And comfort makes people look nice." He stammered. It made absolutely no sense, but I nodded a thank you. We got to his car, which was a rather large, black truck. He easily climbed in, while I struggled due to its height off of the ground and my shortness. "You okay over there?" Paul asked teasingly. I nodded, and once again landed back on the ground after a poor attempt to hoist myself up. Suddenly, I felt two strong hands hoist me up into the passenger's seat without any struggle. I looked down to see Paul, a smirk on his face with an eyebrow raised. "If you needed help, you could've just asked."

Still shaking off the bad feelings I got about him touching me, I thanked him and we took off. The ride was mostly silent, with Paul attempting to start conversation. I would just nod or say a one word answer, never looking at him in the eye. We finally pulled into a place called 'Sue's Diner', and made our way inside. "Why hello, Paul, who is this?" said a friendly looking woman with an apron, slightly older with smile wrinkles around her eyes. "Sue, this is Raegan. Raegan, this is Sue, Seth and Leah's mom." Paul explained. Sue, out of nowhere, enraptured me in a hug. "I must be your aunt in some strange way then! Oh, honey, I'm so glad you are here. How is your mother? Is she here too?" she asked. I froze at her mention of my mother, and shook my head. She frowned, but gave me one last squeeze before she led us to a booth in the back, then headed off to the kitchen.

I looked at the menu with steady focus so I wouldn't have to look at Paul. He already seemed to know what he wanted. Wait, was he going to pay for me? Should I have brought money? "P-Paul, I didn't bring money with me."

"No worries, I was going to pay for you either way."

"A-Are you sure? I could just get some water…"

"Like I said, no worries. Order whatever you want."

Paul smiled at me, and unlike before, where this would make me uncomfortable, the warm and genuine vibes it gave me made me smile in return. Our waitress came over, and we both, ironically, ordered the same exact thing. "So 2 diet cokes, 2 grilled cheeses, 2 orders of fries, and 2 orders of tomato soup?" the waitress asked in a bored tone. We nodded, and Paul snuck me a smirk when he thought I wasn't looking. "So, what other books have you read?" Paul asked curiously, one hand resting under his chin. "W-Well, I've read a lot of books…you name it, I've probably read it." I said quietly, yet confidently. Why was I so comfortable around him? I just met him! I didn't even speak to Aunt Emily like this! He chuckled. "What's your favorite book?" he asked. The question kind of caught me by surprise, and I took a minute to think. "Well, I think it would have to be either 'A Slice of Cherry' or 'Animal Farm'. I can't really decide." I said honestly. He raised an eyebrow. "I've never read either of them. What are they about?" he asked.

This led to a whole hour's worth of conversation of me explaining the books, him asking questions like an interviewer, and me basically talking about why I liked them. I never had anyone ask me about what I liked so intimately before, and I wasn't really sure if I was completely comfortable with how comfortable I was around Paul. Anytime I would try to climb back in my shell, Paul was practically ready to wrench me right out. I wasn't even stuttering when we were talking! Not ever having had a friend before, is this what having a friend is like?

XXXXXXXXXX

Paul's POV

I'm not going to lie. I hate reading. I hate having to sit down with a book and focus. I hate really anything that requires focus, unless I'm patrolling, because at least there's a chance I get to kill something. But my lunch date thing with Raegan literally made me want to read every book ever written.

Raegan. She was so smart. Like, scary smart. Shy and quiet, but she was really opening up to me when we got to talking about what she liked to read. Every time she spoke about a book, her eyes would stare right into me, and the words would flow out of her mouth like a waterfall. It was fascinating just to hear how she used certain words; how she explained things. A few times, she tried to retreat back in to herself, but in acts of desperacy, I would quickly ask more questions for her to answer.

I had dropped Raegan back at her house, where Emily was anxiously waiting on the porch swing. Now, trip 2: go to the library.

I know what you're thinking, and I know how stupid I must look. I mean, I've never even been to the library. I didn't even know we had one until I was paid the check at Sue's, and quickly asked her where it was.

Heading inside, I signed up for a library card (because I'd probably be back, whether I liked it or not), and looked through the aisles. After asking a few library attendees where 'Animal Farm' and 'A Slice of Cherry' were located, I got them, got a few other books that kind of looked big and important, and left.

After I got home, I ran up to my room, put the books on my desk except for 'Animal Farm', sat down on my bed, and started reading. It's gonna be a long night.

A/N: That's it for chapter 2! Review! If you want a better image ask to how Raegan looks, look up 'Emily Rudd'. She's really popular on Tumblr and in my opinion, beautiful! Also, I highly recommend reading 'Animal Farm' and 'A Slice of Cherry'!