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Chapter 18

Three weeks into the school year I had settled into a pretty standard routine and had become even closer with Anna. I had met her aunt, and I could see what Anna had meant when she said her aunt wasn't really liked in the town. She was an older woman with a terrible attitude. Like me Anna hadn't had the easiest last couple of years. She never knew her father and her mother died when she was fifteen. It had taken social services in Seattle a year and a half to find her mother's older sister, and Anna had moved in with her shortly after. It turned out that Anna and I had more in common than I originally thought, and I was determined to show her that she didn't need to hide away.

"Hey Anna," I said as I settled into my seat next to her at our table in physics. She smiled at me as she looked up and adjusted her glasses on her nose. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, you?" she asked and I smiled back.

"Good," I said as I started to pull out my things for class. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?" She shook her head negatively and my smile grew. Emily and Sam had invited Jason and me over to their place for a cook out, and Emily said I could invite a few of my new friends so everyone could meet. "Do you want to come to a cook out with me?" I asked.

"Where at?" she asked, actually looking interested.

"Friends of mine are having sort of a farewell to decent weather thing at their place on the reservation," I said. "Trevor's coming. Luke, Carl, and Kara can't make it, but Nora said she'd let me know at lunch." I had only invited Kara to be polite, but thankfully she turned down the invitation right away when I told her where it was. She had stormed off, so, I had asked Nora what her problem was and Nora quietly explained to me that Kara had been shot down by one of the guys on the reservation and it had been a rather humiliating experience for the cheerleading captain.

"I don't know," Anna said and I reached out with my left hand and clamped down onto her right forearm.

"I really want you to come, and I'll give you a ride so you don't have to ask your aunt to borrow the car," I said as I slowly took my hand from her arm. "It'll be fun and the guys will love you. Paul already likes you and he hasn't even met you yet." She laughed nervously before she tucked her hair behind her ears and let out a heavy breath.

"Okay," she said and I smiled.

"Great," I said. "I'll pick you up at ten and then I'll bring you over to my place to get ready."

"Ready for what?" she asked.

"The cook out of course," I said before I leaned in closer to her and continued my words in a hushed whisper. "Don't you want to impress Trevor?" I asked and her face blushed scarlet at my words before she quickly looked away from me and at the whiteboard in front of us. Anna didn't give herself much credit. She was very pretty, but she hid herself underneath far too big sweaters, baggy jeans, and her long locks that she never did anything with. She didn't have the perfect figure like Kara or Nora, and she was on the shorter side; but she was still pretty. She just never let it show.

"How did you know?" she asked in a whisper after several quiet seconds and she looked at me.

"Don't worry, you're not obvious about it," I assured her. "I just sort of guessed, and since he's not seeing anyone why not show him what you got?"

"I don't have anything," Anna hissed, her face flushing a bit deeper. "He likes girls like Kara or Nora or . . . or . . ."

"If you say me, I'll smack you," I told her pointedly and she sighed as she looked down at her notebook and textbook in front of her. The classroom had filled up, but Mr. Parson hadn't come in yet, so, I kept talking. "Anna, until I moved here I was just like you; worse even." She looked at me with a confused frown on her face.

"Sure you were," she said softly before she looked away from me again and I sighed.

"I know you don't believe me, but it's true," I said. "Look, all I'm asking for is an opportunity to show you that you're worth more than you think you are. Give me that and you'll see that I'm right." She looked at me and I gave her a small smile. She sighed quietly as she adjusted her glasses once more and turned her eyes away from me.

"Fine, but if you make me look silly, Harper, I swear I will never speak to you again," she said and I smiled.

"Don't worry, after tomorrow you'll be thanking me," I said just as Mr. Parson came in and I laughed quietly to myself.

"Hold still," I chided as I was doing my best to finish Anna's eye makeup the following day. Over the summer, Kim had taught me a few tricks to keep what little makeup I wore natural and light, and I was using them on Anna but with colors that suited her olive complexion. I had already fixed her hair by pulling it into half loose ponytail and curling it gently. I had also gotten her into clothes that actually fit her. I had to raid her closet when I went to pick her up and it had taken me nearly thirty minutes to find a pair of dark jeans that fit her right. I gave up on finding a shirt for her in her closet, so, I loaned her one of mine; a long sleeved pastel green cotton shirt that actually fit her better than it fit me.

"I don't know why you insisted on putting makeup on me," Anna said as she sighed in defeat and held still so I could finish. "When I put my glasses on you won't be able to see it anyway."

"That's the point. You're not supposed to notice the makeup, you're supposed to notice the beauty it helps to enhance," I told her. "Trevor will be here in about twenty minutes and we've got to finish getting you ready." I put on the finishing touches and mentally gave myself a round of applause for doing it right. "Okay, open your eyes," I said with a as I pulled away from her. Anna did as I said and I smiled at my handy work before I held out her glasses to her. She sighed quietly and took the thin silver frames from my hand and slid them into place. "Here, take a look at yourself," I said as I handed her a mirror and she took it into her hands, but didn't look into it.

"Harper, are you sure this is such a good idea?" she asked. "I feel ridiculous in this outfit and I don't want to look like I'm trying to be something I'm not."

"Anna, just look at yourself in that mirror and tell me what you think," I said as I continued to smile at her. She huffed and finally raised the mirror to her face. She gasped and my smile grew.

"Holy cow," Anna said quietly and I laughed as she lowered the mirror from her face and looked at me in surprise.

"See how pretty you are when you actually let yourself shine; and you're not trying to be anybody other than yourself," I said. She smiled for the first time since I asked her to the cook out the day before and she stood from the edge of my bed where I had perched her so I could do her makeup. To my surprise she hugged me tight and I laughed quietly as I hugged her back.

"You're the first person to tell me I'm pretty since my mom died, Harper," Anna said quietly as she continued to hug me.

"And I'm positive I won't be the last," I said and she finally pulled away from me. "I think Trevor will like what he sees don't you?"

"I don't know about that, but . . . maybe," she said and I laughed again. Just then, Jason knocked on my bedroom door and I looked at it.

"Come in," I said and he opened the door.

"Hey Harp, Tre-," Jason stopped short when Anna turned around to look at him and he smiled at her. "Wow, Anna, you look nice," he said and Anna blushed a dark pink as she fidgeted with the mirror in her hands before she sat it down on the bed.

"Thanks," she said quietly and Jason moved his smiling face to mine.

"Trevor is outside," he said. "I'm going to go pick up Clarissa and I'll meet you guys at Sam and Emily's." I nodded my head and grabbed my bag from my dresser behind me. Jason left and I smiled at Anna who was back to her nervous self.

"Told you," she said and her blush raged yet again. "Come on." She swallowed hard and nodded before she followed me from my bedroom. Jason was waiting at the door for us and he let us pass before he followed and locked the door behind him. Trevor was standing outside his truck, leaning up against the hood, and looked our way when he heard us making our way down the porch steps.

"Sorry I'm early," Trevor said and I shook my head.

"I'm glad you are," I said. "I wanted to leave a little early to give Emily a hand." Trevor nodded as he glanced behind me, but as his eyes started back to me they stopped and settled over my shoulder at Anna who stood behind me.

"Anna?" he asked, sounding surprised and I turned around slightly and looked between the two.

"She looks nice, doesn't she?" I asked and Trevor finally looked back at me before he returned his eyes to Anna.

"Yeah," he said softly with a small smile playing on his lips. Anna didn't say anything; she just smiled shyly and blushed yet again.

"Well, let's get going," I said before I started towards my truck. I looked over my shoulder in time to see Trevor follow Anna with his eyes as she walked towards my truck before he cleared his throat, turned away, and walked to his own truck.

He glanced at Anna again as she climbed into my truck and when he felt my eyes on him he looked at me. I smirked and raised an eyebrow, which made him blush as he turned away and quickly got into his truck. I laughed and followed suit. As I started the engine, I smiled at Anna who was looking out the passenger window and at Trevor who was looking through his own window at Anna.

"Your first born will do," I said and Anna looked away from him and at me.

"What?" she asked sharply and I laughed as I put the truck into gear.

"After you two are married, I expect your first born to be named after me in some way. After all, he or she will have me to thank for you two getting together," I said and Anna's face flamed red.

"Nothing's going to happen," Anna said. "Come Monday he won't even look twice at me."

"You think so?" I asked as I glanced at her while driving and she nodded. "Okay, I'll bet you lunch for a week that by the end of the day today, Trevor will ask you out on a date."

"You're on," Anna said after she scoffed and I smiled. I was pretty sure that come Monday, Anna would be buying my lunch.

"Paul!" I shouted happily after I parked my truck, climbed out, and spotted Paul just as he was coming out of the trees dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of jean cut offs. I left the others behind as I ran over to him and he scooped me up into his arms. I laughed as I hugged him and then kissed his cheek. "Missed you," I said as he settled me back on my feet and he laughed.

"We had dinner together last night, you couldn't have missed me that much," he said. I raised an eyebrow as I fixed my sweater and looked up at him.

"What? You didn't miss me?" I asked and he smiled as he raised his hand to my face and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Of course I did, but during my patrol last night I made a pit stop," he whispered before he leaned in close to me. "Do you know that you talk in your sleep sometimes?" I felt my cheeks heat as he chuckled.

"You didn't," I said and he smiled.

"I did, and you shouldn't leave your window cracked. It would be different if you were on the second floor or something, but anyone could climb in since you're on the ground floor."

"That explains why the window was closed this morning," I said and Paul's smile grew. "So, are you going to tell me what I said?"

"Oh no," he said as he shook his head negatively. "I'll take that to my grave." I pouted and smacked at his chest, but he caught my hand and pressed it firmly to his chest as he started to lean into me. However, it was then that I remembered Anna and Trevor and I quickly pulled away from him. "What's wrong?" he asked with a frown and I gestured behind me. He looked up and over my head while I turned around and headed towards Anna and Trevor who stood by our parked trucks looking at Paul and I curiously.

"I forgot about Anna and Trevor," I said as I started walking towards the trucks. "You finally get to meet them." Paul chuckled before he caught up with me and took my hand as the two of us walked over to Anna and Trevor. "Sorry guys," I said with a light laugh when we reached them. "I hadn't seen Paul for a little while and when I spotted him I got a little excited." Anna laughed and handed me the keys to the truck.

"You left it running," she said and I blushed as I took the keys from her.

"Thanks," I said before I closed my hand around the keys and then brought my hand to Paul's arm. "Guys this is my boyfriend Paul; Paul these are my friends Trevor and Anna." Paul smiled and held out his hand to Trevor first.

"It's nice to meet you," he said and Trevor shook his hand, looking slightly intimidated. Trevor wasn't small, at six feet two inches, and he was a star guard on the Forks High School basketball team so he had a bit of muscle to him; however, he paled in comparison to Paul. Trevor let go of Paul's hand and Anna shyly shook his hand. "Harper's told me a lot about you guys."

"Are Emily and Kim inside?" I asked as I looked up at Paul and he nodded. I let go of his hand and grabbed Anna's. "Come on, let's give them a hand. They've got to get enough food ready for a small army and the more hands the better." Anna laughed as I started to pull her along, but stopped to look at Paul. "Introduce Trevor to the guys, would you?" I asked and Paul smiled before he nodded and Anna and I continued on our way to the house.

"You'd think she was a princess or something," I said bitterly as I checked the very large pot of boiling potatoes that would be mashed to go along with the hamburgers and sausage Sam was grilling.

"Who are you talking about?" Kim asked with a laugh as she sauntered up to me and I sighed as I put the fork down on the counter.

"Clarissa," I said tiredly and Kim laughed again. "It's not funny. Even Anna's been helping get everything together, but she's settled herself in that damn chair and you'd think the world would end if she had to get up to do anything other than take a piss." I was beyond frustrated with Clarissa and how she was treating everyone that day.

"Whoa," Kim said as her laughter died down and took in what I said. "Language Harper," she teased and I rolled my eyes.

"Sorry, it's just . . . argh! She drives me insane," I said. "I know Jason cares about her and she's Trevor's cousin, but I cannot take it anymore. It's like she thinks she's better than all of us."

"Probably, but there's not much you can do," Kim said. "She's got her claws firmly into him and I don't think she'll be letting go anytime soon."

"I just hope she keeps her claws to herself," I said. "I can't shake the feeling that she's working up to something."

"What do you mean?" she asked with a frown and I sighed before I tucked my hair behind my ears.

"I don't know, but I've been fighting the feelings for a while," I said. "Trevor told me she's a bit stuck up but that she has a softer side. I think the soft side is just covering up her true nature."

"Which is?" she asked and I smirked.

"A succubus," I said and Kim laughed so loud that several heads looked in through the patio window.

"Everything okay in there?" Jared asked and Kim quieted her laughter by covering her mouth with her hand, but she wasn't able to stop laughing.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Kim just thinks I'm a comical genius," I said with a too sweet smile and Jared obviously didn't believe me but he humored me.

"Okay," he said before he went back outside and I laughed when Kim smacked my arm.

"What?" I asked and she smiled at me.

"You are evil," she said.

"No, I'm not. I just don't like her," I said, "and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," Kim said and I sighed.

"I'm worried that she's going to do something to cause problems between Jason and me," I admitted, all humor aside, and I think Kim realized the shift in my demeanor because her face drew serious.

"If she does, I think Jason will see through it," Kim said and I nodded, hoping she was right.

After dinner, my brooding mood lifted and Sam had built a fire in the fire pit. Kim and Jared sat on one of the logs while Emily and Sam sat close by. Thankfully, Jason and Clarissa had left ages earlier along with everyone else leaving only the eight of us settled around the fire since DJ was already tucked into bed. Paul sat in front of one of the large logs and I sat in front of him, in between his legs and wrapped up in his arms. I was very warm between the fire and Paul's body heat, but I didn't mind. I was too comfortable to move and I had the best vantage point to watch the budding romance between Anna and Trevor.

The pair sat kiddy corner from where I sat, both sitting on top of one of the logs and sitting rather close to each other as they talked. The wind had blown a few strands of Anna's hair free and my smile grew as I watched Trevor gently tuck some of the strands behind Anna's ear. To her credit, she didn't look away and blush. She just smiled softly at and quietly thanked him.

"What has you so happy?" Paul asked in a whisper and I turned my attention away from Anna and Trevor and looked over my shoulder and up at Paul's face. He was smiling at me and I wondered what was wrong with me that I was focused on Anna and Trevor when I had my amazing boyfriend holding me tightly.

"I'm just satisfied with my matchmaking skills," I whispered back and he chuckled under his breath.

"What?" he asked and I gestured with my head towards Anna and Trevor. Paul kept his head tilted down so he was looking at me, but looked up with his eyes towards the couple. "Anna and Trevor?" he asked. I nodded when his eyes returned to my face and he smiled before he leaned into me and kissed me chastely. I sighed quietly when he pulled his lips from mine and rested his forehead against mine.

"Paul," I said softly and he lifted his head from mine and looked down at me. "I love you." I hadn't said those words to him very often since the first time I told him, and I didn't know why I felt so compelled to say them to him just then. He smiled down at me and raised his right hand from where it rested over mine on my stomach and ran the back of his knuckles against my scarred cheek.

"I love you too," he said back and I smiled as I closed the small distance between us and kissed him chastely before a throat clearing broke us apart. I turned to my left and looked up to see Anna and Trevor standing there.

"Trevor's going to give me a ride home, Harper, if that's okay with you," Anna said and I noticed that they were holding hands.

"Sure, that's fine," I said through my smile and Anna bit her lip.

"Don't let me forget that I owe you lunch on Monday," she said and my smile grew as I turned my eyes to Trevor who was grinning like the cat that got the canary.

"See you on Monday, Harper," Trevor said and I nodded. "Thanks for having us over," he said as he looked at Sam and Emily. The couple smiled together and Emily nodded.

"Thank you for coming," Emily said. "It was a pleasure having you here." With a final wave the newly formed pair made their way around the house to Trevor's parked truck.

"What was with the whole lunch thing?" Paul asked. "You lit up like a Christmas tree when she said that."

"I made a bet with her that Trevor was going to ask her out by the end of the night, and when he did she had to buy me lunch for the week. That was her way of telling me I won the bet," I said. Everyone laughed and Paul kissed my temple before he tightened his arms around me.

"You are too much," he said into my hair before he took a deep breath.

"You love me anyway," I said.

"You know it," he whispered and I laughed as I rested my head against his shoulder. Despite my earlier mood, the day had turned out pretty well.

The following week went by pretty quickly and I had never looked forward to a Saturday more than that one. I was spending the day alone with Paul, and I was excited because it had been ages since we had a whole day to do whatever together. I woke up early and was heading into the bathroom when I heard giggling coming from Jason's bedroom. I rolled my eyes and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind me rather loudly so that Jason and Clarissa knew I was awake. It made me sick that he brought her to the house all the time, but he was happy and my feelings towards Clarissa really shouldn't get in the way of that.

I showered and shaved as quickly as I could because the faster I got out of the house the better. I towel dried my hair and decided to let it air dry the rest of the way. I got dressed in fitted gray t-shirt, black zip up hoodie, and a pair of light wash jeans. I grabbed my phone, keys, and coin purse from my nightstand before I made my way out into the living room and then into the kitchen. The sight that met my eyes when I walked into the kitchen made me want to puke. Jason had Clarissa pinned against the counter as he kissed her and I rolled my eyes.

"It's a little early for that guys," I said dryly as I walked over to the fridge and grabbed the carton of orange juice while Jason broke away from Clarissa, who I heard sigh. I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured myself a glass of juice.

"Are you going to Emily's?" Jason asked and I glanced at him to see him wipe his lips as he looked at me. I shook my head negatively as I put the juice back in the fridge and grabbed my glass from the counter. "Where are you going?" he asked while I took a drink of my juice.

"I'm spending the day with Paul," I said after I swallowed and lowered my glass. "I'm not sure where we're going yet because we haven't really talked about it."

"You know, Harper, I really don't think that you should be dating such an older man," Clarissa said and I frowned as I looked at her.

"Paul's twenty-one, Clarissa; not thirty-one," I said and she sighed quietly as she walked over to Jason's side and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Paul's a nice guy and all, but do you really want that kind of reputation? We live in such a small town and people like to talk." She was standing there in the middle of my kitchen in a pale pink silk robe that barely reached the middle of her thighs and she was seriously calling my reputation into question.

"Well, I haven't had sex with him and we've been dating longer than you and Jason; so am I really the one that has to worry about my reputation?" I asked and Clarissa's eyes flashed.

"Harper," Jason said tightly and I looked at him. "Apologize."

"No," I said and Jason raised an eyebrow. "If anyone needs to apologize, it's her. She made me sound like people think I'm the town whore, and you let her say it."

"She's got a point though, Harper," he said and I was floored.

"I'll be eighteen in October, Jason, so, it doesn't really matter that he's three years older," I said. "Do you honestly think he's pressuring me to move faster than we are?" He pursed his lips together and I shook my head in disbelief because his expression was clear. He did think he was pressuring me, and there was little doubt in my mind that Clarissa had planted those seeds into his head. "You'd think he'd do that despite knowing everything? Jason, you know Paul. Don't let her tell you what's going on when she doesn't know anything." I slammed my glass onto the counter, spilling the juice everywhere, but I didn't care. I pushed past them and stormed over to the door.

"Harper!" Jason said sharply and I stopped before I turned around to look at him. "Give me your keys. You're not going anywhere."

"You want the keys? Fine," I said before I tossed them at him. "I'll walk." I stormed out of the house and instead of heading towards the road, I ran into the trees knowing Jason wouldn't think of looking for me there, but in my anger I wasn't thinking clearly. If I would have, I would have realized what a bad idea going off into the woods was; especially when I didn't have the slightest clue where I was going.

I'd been walking for nearly thirty minutes when I realized that I was lost and the panic slowly started to settle in. I grabbed my cell phone out of the pocket of my jeans and I flipped it open to call Paul only to have 'no service' flash on the screen. I let out a frustrated sigh as I looked around me, but I recognized nothing and after I was done spinning around I couldn't even tell which direction I had come from to begin with. Tears of frustration and fear lined my eyes before I let out a quiet sob and sank down onto the damp earth beneath a large oak tree. Who knew what would come across me before anyone else found me; if anyone would find me.

I drew my legs close to my chest and wrapped my arms around my shins before I rested my head on my knees and cried. I was so stupid.