Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for all your reviews and adds. It means a lot to me to know that you guys are enjoying the story so far. I'm not so sure about this chapter but I hope you guys like it. I actually wrote it in about four hours all together, and I hope it isn't crap. Please let me know what you think and thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with the Twilight series.

Chapter 15

I slowly unwrapped my legs from around Paul, but he didn't let me go. I could see Jason's chest rising and falling rapidly as Jared and Sam were at his side and talking to him. Whatever they were saying obviously wasn't working. I swallowed hard and my grip on Paul's shoulders tightened while his arms tightened their hold on me as he sighed heavily.

"We can't sit out here for forever, Harper," Paul whispered and I finally looked away from my brother and at Paul. "I told you that we should have told him."

"I know," I said before I took a deep breath and tried to get my thoughts together. He raised his right hand from my back and pulled my braid over my shoulder so he fell down my back instead. "I didn't think he'd be coming out here. He made it seem like he was going to be hanging out somewhere else. Why is he here?"

"I don't know, but let's just get it over with, huh?" he asked and I bit my lip. The high from our previous activities was long gone and the fear of what Jason was going to do the second Paul and I reached the shore took precedence. "It'll be okay," he assured me before we started walking to the shore, holding each other's hands. When we reached the sand, Jason started for us with Jared and Sam hot on his heels. We stopped walking and while we waited for Jason to reach us, Paul pulled me closer to him and wrapped his right arm around me protectively.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to my sister?" Jason asked as he roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me out of Paul's grip. I was surprised he could get me away from Paul, but I had a feeling Paul let me go because he didn't want me to get hurt. However, Jason's grip was tight and I stumbled, which made me nearly fall and caused his grip on me to only tighten.

"Jason, you're hurting me," I shouted as I pushed against him and he turned his glare from Paul to me. I had never seen Jason as angry as he was that very moment and in all honesty, it scared the crap out of me. "Let me go," I managed and he loosened his grip on my arm, but didn't let me go.

"No," he said as he shook his head and looked back at Paul. "Are you going to answer my question?" Jason sneered. My eyes followed his and Paul was scowling as his shoulders and hands shook. I knew what that shaking would lead up to if he didn't get his anger in check, and thankfully Sam was quick to Paul's side.

"Paul, calm down," Sam ordered quietly as he grabbed Paul's left arm in pretty much the same fashion Jason gripped mine.

"I wasn't doing anything to her," Paul said through clenched teeth as his eyes flickered from Jason to me and back to Jason again. He was angry that Jason had grabbed me so roughly, that Jason had hurt me even though it had been unintentional.

"Then what was it I saw you doing in the water? You had your grubby hands all over her, forcing her to you," Jason said, his voice laden with obvious disgust, and I bristled at my brother's accusatory words and looked at him with wide eyes. He thought that Paul was assaulting me. I could hear Paul's growl before the rest of the guys came up to us. All of them were on edge and ready to get us out of the way in case Paul lost control.

"Jason," I said tightly, but Jason didn't look at me. "Jason!" I said as I smacked his chest hard with my free hand and he turned his blue-green eyes to mine. "We were kissing and we're allowed to do that because we're together."

"What?" Jason asked as he looked from me to Paul and then back to me.

"Paul and I have been seeing each other for the last couple of weeks," I said. The anger seemed to melt from his eyes, but it was still simmering there.

"You mean . . . he wasn't forcing you?" Jason asked the question like he didn't believe it, and I sighed quietly.

"You think I'd do that?" Paul snarled as he took half a step closer to Jason and me, but Sam held him back. I turned my eyes to Paul. Kim and Emily told me that on the occasions that Sam or Jared got a little riled up, they were the only ones that would be able to calm the guys down. Kim figured it was something to do with the whole imprint thing, so, I decided to give it my best shot so he wouldn't transform into a giant wolf in front of my brother and his blonde girlfriend who stood further down the beach with Emily and Kim. That would definitely be harder to explain than Paul and I dating.

"Paul," I said sharply and he turned his angry brown eyes to me. "Take a deep breath and relax. It's okay." I watched him for a second as he took a deep breath through his nose and then settled back next to Sam before I looked back at Jason. Jason let out a heavy sigh before he let go of my arm and ran his hands through his hair. I rubbed at my sore arm while Jason lowered his hands and looked at Paul, the anger back in his eyes.

"You've been seeing my sister behind my back and weren't man enough to tell me," Jason said. "How could you work with me every day and not say anything?"

"She asked me not to," Paul said tightly, but I kept my eyes on Jason.

"Jason, Paul wanted to tell you, but I said we should wait. Don't be mad at him because of something I asked him to do," I said as I still rubbed my arm and Jason looked back at me.

"When were you going to tell me?" he asked and I shrugged, which made his eyes narrow. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Of course," I said. "I just didn't know how."

"You should have told me the second he started feeding you lines. I work with him," Jason said before he looked back at Paul. "I trusted you and you do this. She's seventeen, Paul, and she's been through more than you can even think of. You shouldn't even be thinking of her that way." I frowned and was confused by what he was saying, so, I looked at Paul. Judging by the stone like look on his face, Paul knew what Jason was getting at. "You touch my sister again, and I'll kill you. She doesn't need you breaking her down when she's only just got herself back together." Jason grabbed my arm again and started to walk away before I let out a cry of pain and wretched my arm from his grip. I wrapped my left hand around my throbbing arm and looked at my brother.

"Stop!" I said. "I'm not a rag doll so stop pulling on me like I am one!" Jason scowled at me and took a deep breath before his nose before he turned to face me as I rubbed at my arm again. "Paul didn't feed me any lines or do anything to make you not trust him. It's because of Paul and everyone here that I'm better, Jason, can't you see that? It's because of them that I'm not afraid to take out the trash or walk down to the mailbox anymore. It took us coming here and me meeting them to figure it all out. I know now that not every guy is going to do what he did to me, and it wasn't my fault. I'm not as broken as I thought I was."

Jason nervously glanced at Sam, Paul, and Jared, who had joined Sam at Paul's side. The others were close by, and I knew that they knew my secret. Jared had talked to me about it a few days after everything was out in the open. He explained the whole thought and memory sharing thing between the pack and how Paul wasn't the greatest at keeping things to himself just yet. I had been embarrassed at first, but Jared had promised that none of the guys thought any different of me. He had said that my past only caused them to want to protect me just as much as Paul did. Just like Seth had said, I was family and no one was going to hurt their family.

"They know, Jason," I said and his eyes widened. "I told Paul when we started seeing each other so he knew what he was getting himself into, and guess what? He didn't run away. He doesn't think I'm dirty or damaged. He cares about me as much as you do and he won't ever let anything happen to me."

"And the others? Why'd you tell them?" Jason asked, sounding more shocked than angry, but his tone was tight, so, I knew he was still upset. I took a deep breath and held Jason's gaze. I didn't actually say the words to the rest of the group, but technically I told them through Paul and I had my answer before I could really even think about it.

"Because they're my friends and I trust them," I said. I heard quick footfalls on the sand behind me before I felt Paul's hands on my waist as he gently pulled me back against his warm body. I hadn't realized until then that I had started shivering thanks to cool breeze that was blowing in off the water. The rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins at being caught by Jason had stopped me from noticing the cold and Paul's warmth was welcome against my chilled skin; so much so that I sank against his body trying to take in as much of his heat as I could. Jason tensed as he looked above my head and at Paul's face and I noticed his fists clenched at his sides.

"I don't know what you're playing at, Paul, but I -," Jason started, but Paul interrupted.

"I'm not playing at anything, Jason, I swear," Paul said, the deepness of his voice made his chest rumble slightly against my back and I caught myself leaning even further into him. "I care about her and I'd rather chop off my own arm before I did anything to hurt her." He took a deep breath above my head and his heated breath washed over me as he let it out through his mouth. "If that guy wasn't already in prison, I'd hunt him down and kill him myself." The venom in his tone was enough to know the sincerity of his words, and I put my left hand over his that rested on my waist to let him know that it was okay.

Jason glanced down at my hand on Paul's before he sighed heavily and looked up at Paul. He just stared for several breathless seconds while the tension in the air around us built to the point where it was practically tangible. I realized that I had hurt Jason by not telling him about my budding relationship with Paul, but I was still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing myself. However, all I could do was hope that Jason wouldn't stop us from seeing each other. The ache that had been in my chest had been hard to deal with the first time around; I didn't think that I would survive it again. My grip on Paul's hand tightened and his grip tightened on my waist. I knew he was holding Jason's gaze, and he wasn't going to waiver.

"I'm not happy about this, not one bit, but I'm not going to stop you two from seeing each other," Jason said before he looked from Paul's face to mine. "I'm going to keep a closer eye on things now that I know, and you're going to tell me where you're going, who will be there, you'll call me every hour your gone, and you'll be home by curfew. There will be no more secrets and no more lies, is that understood?" I nodded before I caught a flash of gold in the corner of my eye that reminded me of the woman Jason had brought to with him to the beach.

"Okay, there will be no more secrets between us right?" I asked and he nodded his head, his eyes hard on mine. "All right, when were you going to tell me about her?" I said as I let go of my arm and gestured towards the blonde woman that remained with Emily and Kim. Jason turned around as the guys behind him parted so he could see the blonde looking on with her arms crossed over her chest and concern etched across her pretty features. Whoever she was, it was obvious she was worried that Jason was about to get jumped by the guys even though I could see that Emily and Kim were reassuring her that no one was going to get hurt. I raised an eyebrow when Jason looked back at me and he had the grace to blush before he cleared his throat.

"That would be Clarissa," he said. I could tell by his body language that Jason didn't like the fact that the tables were turned on him.

"So, when were you going to tell me you were seeing someone?" I asked.

"When I knew it was going to be more than a few casual dates," Jason said snippily.

"Hey, there's no need to get snippy. Don't you think you're being a bit of a hypocrite by yelling at me for not telling you about Paul when you were obviously keeping your relationship with her a secret?" I asked.

"That's different, Harper," he said and my eyebrow arched again.

"How?" I questioned.

"For three years, Harper, I wondered if you were ever going to live a normal life. When you started having one, you told me to go and get one of my own. I did, so, I'd appreciate it if you'd just accept my answer." I snapped my mouth shut at those words and Jason and I just stared at each other before I stepped away from Paul and walked over to Jason. I threw my arms around my brother's shoulders and he sighed heavily before he hugged me back.

"I'm going to guess by the hug fest that all is well in the land of Cavanaugh?" Quil asked and Jason and I laughed as we pulled apart and looked at the guys who were all looking at us expectantly.

"Yeah, all is well," I said back and they all let out a collective sigh of relief before Paul walked over to me and took my hand into his. Jason looked at Paul while everyone else started back up the beach.

"I'm putting my trust in you, Paul," Jason said, "and if you hurt her, I promise I won't be very forgiving. I don't care if you are the size of a Buick." I choked out a laugh and looked up at Paul who was fighting the grin from completely forming on his face. "Understand?"

"I understand," Paul said, his smiling winning just a bit.

"Okay, now that everybody understands everybody; how about we all head back to the group and you can introduce us to Clarissa?" I asked as I looked from Paul to Jason. Jason cleared his throat again and he blushed once more.

"Right," he said. "She's probably scared out of her mind since she just witnessed this whole thing." We started walking towards the others who were all introducing themselves to an overwhelmed looking Clarissa.

"I think she was more worried that you were going to get hurt," I said and Jason looked at me briefly before he turned his eyes ahead once more. As we walked, I took the moment to study the woman that seemed to capture my brother's eye.

She was tall compared to Kim, but I was also tall compared to Kim, and she had a slender build. The sundress she wore accented the slight contours of her body and her hair was long and hung straight down her back to her shoulder blades. She was very pretty with fine feminine features and as we drew closer I noticed that her eyes were brown and lined by thick black lashes. If she was wearing makeup, I couldn't tell, but she didn't need it. Her skin was flawless. I'd never seen her before, but that didn't mean much since I hadn't spent much of my time in Forks actually in Forks. I spent my days either in the house or on the reservation with the others. Jason smiled at her as he walked over to her and took her hand into his. We came to a stop and I looked up at Paul.

"Paul," I whispered while Jason talked to Clarissa and everyone else. Paul looked down at me, his eyes scanning my face before settling quickly on my eyes. "Could you get me my towel from my bag, please?" I asked and he nodded before he kissed my temple and walked over to my bag where it sat on the blanket under the umbrella.

"Harper," Jason said and I looked away from where Paul had squatted down to dig through my bag and at my brother. The others had scattered from where we stood; Quil was tending to Claire who had woken up from her nap while Sam, Emily, and Kim were cleaning up the remnants of our meal and packing everything away; and the rest of the guys had resumed their football game down three players. "This is my girlfriend, Clarissa." Paul came back to me then and wrapped the large beach towel around my shoulders, his large hands rubbing my arms through the thick cotton fabric. I hissed and winced a bit as his hand rubbed against my still throbbing left arm, but I forced a smile on my face as I looked at Clarissa and pulled the towel a little tighter around my still chilled body. Now that we were close to her, I noticed she was about my height and I assumed she was around Jason's age.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Harper," Clarissa said. Her voice was very soft, sweet, and, to my surprise, laced with a gentle southern twang. "Jason's told me so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Clarissa, and I wish I could say the same," I said. "Jason didn't tell me he was seeing anyone, but it's good to know when he was going out he wasn't sitting at a bar drinking alone." Clarissa laughed lightly as she laced her arm with Jason's and looked up at him before she looked back at me. Paul's hands had settled on my upper waist and when I heard him chuckle I thought it would be only polite to introduce him to Clarissa. "The big brute behind me is my boyfriend, Paul," I said as I nudged my head back and gently hit his shoulder with the back of my head. His grip tightened on my waist and he pulled me closer to him. That was the first time, out loud anyway, that I had referred to Paul as my boyfriend.

"Judging by everything that just happened, I'm going to venture a guess that Jason found out you two were dating today, huh?" she asked and I nodded, a sheepish smile on my lips. "Well, it looks like today was full of surprises for everyone."

"Yeah, you could say that," Jason said. The air around the four of us got awkward when no one really said anything else. Clarissa seemed like a nice enough girl, but I wasn't exactly sure about her yet.

"Jason, are you and Clarissa hungry?" Emily called, popping the awkward bubble around us and drawing all of our eyes to her. "Surprisingly, we've got a few leftovers. It's not much, but enough to satisfy an empty stomach."

"I could eat," Clarissa said and I looked at her to find her smiling at Emily before she lowered her hand from Jason's elbow to his hand and the pair made their way over to where Emily stood with a smile on her face. I let out a heavy breath I hadn't realized I had been holding before I slumped against Paul's broad chest.

"How about you throw your clothes on and the two of us get out of here?" Paul whispered into the top of my head before he placed a coy and subtle kiss on my still wet hair. I turned around as he wrapped his arms around me completely and looked up at him.

"Where are we going to go?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I don't know, but it's gotten a little crowded around here don't you think?" he whispered and I glanced over to where Jason and Clarissa stood, plates in hand as they talked with Sam, Emily, and Kim. Jason was glancing over to where Paul and I stood, and I knew that despite his words, Jason was worried. He was worried that I was going to get hurt, and that I wouldn't recover from it. I returned my eyes to Paul and smiled up at him as I rested my hands against his chest.

"Okay, but how about we just walk up the beach for a while? If we leave, Jason will probably throw a fit," I said and he smiled.

"All right," he said and I pulled away from him before I walked over to the blanket. I dried myself off as best I could and pulled on my jean shorts and tank top. I didn't put my sandals back on because my feet were covered in sand and we'd be walking along the beach. I'd just end up taking them off. I looked over at Paul and saw him talking to Jared as he tugged his t-shirt back on. I smiled at them when they looked my way before I walked over to where Jason stood and tapped his shoulder. He turned and looked at me and I gestured behind me.

"Paul and I are going to walk along the beach," I said. "We won't be gone long or go too far, so, don't worry." Jason let a breath out of his nose before he nodded. I smiled at him and kissed his cheek before I turned around and walked back over to Paul. He took my hand into his and the two of us started walking along the beach.