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Chapter 24

Three Months Later

"Jason stop pacing you're making me nervous!" I snapped as I looked up from the gifts I was wrapping on the coffee table and up at my brother who was pacing behind the sofa.

"Am I crazy?" he asked me as he finally stopped pacing and I laughed lightly. "Come on, Harp, don't laugh at me this is serious." He walked around the sofa and sat down and looked at me before he rested his elbows on his legs.

"Do you love her?" I asked and he gave me a look like I was stupid for asking the question, which made me smile as I returned my attention to the gift in front of me. "Well, we both know she loves you."

"Will you just answer my question," he said and I laughed again, but didn't look at him.

"The fact that she has the ability to transform into a small horse sized wolf doesn't bother you, right?"

"Harper," he said warningly and I looked up at him expectantly before he sighed heavily. "No, it doesn't," he said tightly and I nodded before I returned my eyes to my work. Jason had been let in on Leah's big secret shortly after they started dating. He'd taken it rather well to everyone's surprise.

I had thought for sure he was going to need some time away once Leah told him, but his reaction was pretty much the same as mine to the whole thing. He had just needed an hour to process everything and then it was like it was before she told him. One thing about Leah's situation with the pack that I wished was the same for Paul was she didn't have to patrol anymore. Jacob, since he was her Alpha, had given Leah a reprieve from her duties to the pack. He had said she had been through a lot and deserved some time to actually enjoy life. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Leah wouldn't be joining then any time soon.

"I don't think you're crazy," I said finally. "I think you're crazy to be so on edge about it. You already know what she's going to say."

"I don't know that for sure," he said heavily as I finished taping the wrapping paper to the box that held Anna's gift and I looked at him. He was leaning back with his right hand running down his face before it fell hard into his lap.

"Do you honestly think the girl is going to tell you no?" I asked.

"It's only been three months," he said and I smiled.

"Jason, you could have asked her after three days and she would have said yes," I said, which made Jason smile. "I'm sure you're worrying yourself over nothing."

"You're right," he said and I nodded.

"Finally, we agree on something," I said and he tossed one of the small throw pillows at me. I laughed while he chuckled and stood from the sofa and walked to the foyer where he slid on his snow boots and grabbed his coat. "So, are you going to ask her tonight?" I asked and he took a deep breath before he nodded his head.

"Yeah," he said and I smiled before I quickly stood from where I sat on the floor and rushed over to him. I hugged him tightly and he laughed before he hugged me back. I pulled back from him, but kept my hands on his shoulders as I looked up into his eyes.

"Do you have Grandma Rose's ring?" I asked and he nodded while he patted the front left pocket of his jeans with his empty hand. Grandma Rose had been our father's mother. She had given the engagement ring she had received from Grandpa Oliver, who had gotten it from his own mother, to our dad when he asked our mom to marry him, and mom had left the ring to Jason in her will. Now, Jason was going to give it to Leah over a quiet dinner in Port Angeles after he asked her to marry him. "She's going to love it," I said as I lowered my hands from his shoulders and he smiled.

"I hope so," he said.

"It's from you, Jason, and it comes from a line of love filled marriages. Mom and Dad's isn't the last one that ring will know," I said. His face grew serious for a minute before he moved his coat to his left hand and brought his right hand up to my face. "What's wrong?" I asked and he shook his head.

"As weird as this whole thing is with Leah and the guys, I finally understand," he said and I frowned. "I haven't had the guts to tell you, but I'm feeling brave all of a sudden."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"When Leah told me everything," he said as he lowered his hand from my face, "I realized that Paul really was the reason behind you coming around and that Paul wasn't the bad guy I used to like to make him out to be." I smiled at him and nodded. When he learned about everything, he had simply looked at me questioningly and I had nodded in response. We never talked about it until that moment and in a way I was glad we were.

"You had a hand in it too," I said. "If you hadn't have decided to move and to Forks, Washington of all places; I wouldn't be me again." He scoffed a quiet laugh before he nodded.

"I guess this move really was the best thing we could have ever done, huh?" he asked and I nodded before I hugged him again. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "Don't stay up to late, okay? You've got classes in the morning."

"I won't," I said as I pulled away from him and smiled. The following day was the last day of school before the two week holiday break, and I was looking forward to the days off and dreading them at the same time. On Christmas Eve I was going to officially meet Paul's parents. I'd talked to both of them on the phone, but had yet to meet them. His mother was especially anxious to meet me because she wanted to see the girl that tamed her 'Pauly' as she called him. "Good luck, even though you don't need it," I said as he shrugged on his coat and pulled on his beanie.

"Thanks. I might be home late."

"Or not at all," I added and he rolled his eyes, but a grin was on his face nonetheless. "Drive careful, okay? It's supposed to snow later tonight."

"I'll be careful," he promised and with that he left the house. I walked over to the door and locked it before I went back to wrapping gifts. When I was done I had a physics test to study for, which meant at least an hour of cramming.

"Harper," a soft voice whispered as a gentle hand ran through my hair. I sighed quietly as I slowly opened my eyes only to see Paul leaning over me and I frowned when I saw him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked and he laughed.

"Hello to you too," he said and I smiled as I sat up only to groan at when my back protested. I had fallen asleep on top of my physics textbook at the coffee table in the living room. "What's wrong?" he asked as I tried to rub my back.

"I don't recommend falling asleep hunched over a table," I said. "It kills your back." He smiled and he shifted so he was kneeling behind me and started rubbing my back. I lowered my hand and sighed in contentment as his fingers worked magic against my aching muscles. "Mmm, thanks," I said and he laughed lightly. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine," he said and I sighed quietly. I started studying at seven, but I was pretty sure that I hadn't made it past the first page of my notes and textbook.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I closed my eyes while he continued to rub my back, easing away the knots.

"I tried calling you about five times, and when you didn't answer I panicked a bit," he said and I smiled. I opened my eyes and looked over my right shoulder to see him smiling slightly as he looked back at me.

"A bit?" I asked when I saw that he was shirtless yet again and wearing a pair of half hazardly pulled on sweatpants. "Did you phase and race over here when I didn't pick up after the first ring of the fifth call?"

"Pretty much," he said with a grin as he stopped rubbing my back and settled on the floor next to me, his back resting against the coffee table so we faced each other.

"Well, I'm fine and in one piece," I said and he nodded before he took my left hand into his and laced his fingers with mine. "How'd you get in?"

"You told me where you guys hide the spare key, remember?" he asked as he chuckled lightly and I felt like such an idiot. I was pretty sure my brain had melted out of my ear while I had been asleep.

"Right," I said and he continued to smile at me.

"Trying to learn through osmosis?" he asked as he gestured to my book with his head and I raised an eyebrow.

"You know what osmosis means?" I asked, jokingly of course and he knew it because he rolled his eyes.

"And here I thought you loved me for my mind. I'm not just a beauty, Harper," Paul said and I couldn't keep the serious expression on my face anymore as the smile that I had been fighting finally broke free. Paul joined me and laughed.

"Of course you're not," I said with wink and he shook his head before he leaned into me and kissed my forehead. I sighed quietly and looked at my textbook and open notebook. "I think it's safe to say that I'm going to fail my physics test tomorrow if I can't even make it through studying for it."

"You'll do fine," he said. "You're smarter than you give yourself credit for."

"At least you have faith in me," I said with a smile that he easily returned. "Even though you came here out of worry for me, I'm glad you're here. I've missed you lately." We hadn't spent a lot of time together over the last week. We'd been talking on the phone, but I'd been helping Anna in her search for a Christmas present for Trevor and a nice dress to wear to his family's house on Christmas Eve. Trevor's parents had invited her to join them for their family dinner, which was a formal affair and meant that she felt pressured to look her best. Even though she'd met his parents in passing during her employment at the market, she was a nervous wreck just like I was.

"I've missed you too," he said with a smile before he leaned in and kissed me gently. I'd missed his kisses even more and I deepened the kiss as I raised my right hand to his head and held his lips to mine. Eventually he pulled back slightly, but he pressed his forehead against mine as we both caught our breath. "So, Jason out with Leah?" he asked and I couldn't stop the giggle from escaping my lips.

"Yep," I said and he pulled his head back and looked down at me.

"What's with the smile?" he asked with a frown at my amused expression.

"I guess I can finally tell you without ruining the surprise," I said and he raised an eyebrow. "Tonight, Jason is asking Leah to marry him." Both his eyebrows rose and his mouth fell open slightly.

"Seriously?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, with our grandmother's ring and everything. I've been dying to tell you since he talked to me about it a couple of weeks ago, but he made me promise not to say anything," I said and he looked away from me and at the floor behind me. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked and he looked back at me.

"Nothing," he said softly. "What does the ring look like?" he asked and it was my turn to frown.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious," he said, a small smile coming to his face.

"Well, it's not gaudy," I said as I pictured the ring in my mind. "It's a nice white gold band with a small diamond surrounded by a cluster of smaller diamonds. It was our great-grandmother's ring originally before she gave it to Grandpa Oliver when he asked Grandma Rose to marry him. Grandma Rose gave it to Dad so he could give it to Mom and during the reading of our parents' will; we found out that Mom left the ring to Jason. It really has more sentimental value than monetary, and I think Leah will really like it."

"Is it the kind of ring you'd like to have?" he asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe," I said.

"Do you know what kind of ring you would like?" he asked and I found myself shrugging again. "If you had to describe your dream engagement ring, what would it look like?"

"Are you trying to get ideas or something?" I asked, finally catching on to the reason behind the game of twenty questions we had going on.

"Humor me," he said with a pointed look and I sighed quietly as I took a minute to think. I wasn't big on jewelry in the first place and I knew that whatever Paul picked out would be perfect, but he wanted an idea and I hadn't the slightest clue what to tell him. "You have to have some sort of idea what you'd like, Harper," he said gently as he urged me on.

"Something simple," I said finally as I looked back up at him and into his eyes, "a single stone, but not a huge stone, and maybe just a plain band or a small design on it." I sighed quietly as I gently shook my head. "I guess I really don't know. I've never really thought about it." He nodded and I let go of his hand and moved so I was straddling his legs with my hands on his shoulders while his found my hips. "Did telling you about Jason asking Leah get you thinking about it again? You haven't brought it up since September." He sighed quietly as he gently ran his thumbs along my hips.

"Just because I haven't brought it up, doesn't mean that I haven't thought about it," he said simply. "I just want to make sure that when that time officially comes that I get you a ring that you'd be proud to wear, something that you'll love and never want to take off."

"Paul, I will love anything you pick out for me because it'll come from you," I said before I raised up slightly and pressed my lips to his. He kissed me back while his hands slid from my hips and grasped my backside, which made me gasp and pull my lips from his. "You and your wandering hands," I whispered and he grinned, the seriousness that had been in his eyes just seconds ago was gone and replaced with the playful shine that I had come to know much better over the last few months.

"I can't help it. You're always so tempting," he said through his grin. He kissed me again and I melted against him, my arms going around his shoulders while his left hand tightened its hold on my butt while his right gently ran over the back of my thigh. My hands were just starting to wonder when Paul broke the kiss. "I should go," he said softly and I opened my eyes.

"Why?" I asked and he smiled as his left hand left my backside and settled itself on my hip.

"Because you need to study and I've got patrol tonight with Jacob and Embry," he said and I sighed before I nodded my head and climbed from his lap. He adjusted himself a bit before he stood and I stood with him.

"Be careful," I said as I looked up at him. He smiled and placed a chaste kiss on my lips.

"You don't have anything to worry about," he said gently. "We haven't had any problems in a long time. We only patrol to make sure it stays that way."

"Still," I whispered as I put my right hand on his chest and he covered my hand with his.

"I'll be careful," he promised me and I nodded before he kissed me again. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," I said and he slipped away from me and to the door. He winked at me as he opened the door and went out into the cold December air with practically no clothes on. I laughed and shook my head. "You're crazy but I love you," I said quietly before I walked over to the door and locked it before returning to my physics notes and my preparation for the utter failure of my test.

"As I predicted last night, I'm pretty sure I just failed that test," I said as I walked out of physics and headed to lunch with Anna who laughed.

"Whatever you say, Harper," she said with a shake of her head before she let out a startled gasp. I frowned until I saw Trevor slide up beside her with his arm securely around her waist.

"So, are we still on for pizza and movies at my place tonight?" Trevor asked and Anna and I nodded. Clarissa had moved out of Trevor's house shortly after her break up with Jason, so, I didn't have a problem with going over to Trevor's anymore and we'd been planning the small get together for the last week. Trevor's parents would be leaving for Seattle that afternoon to pick up Trevor's sister, Lauren, from the airport and were going to be staying the night in the city so they didn't have to make the four drive back through the snow and the dark.

"Yeah," I said. "Jared's giving Paul a ride up here and he's going to ride with me to your place after school." Paul was really phasing and coming up to the school that way, but I couldn't tell them that so Jared had 'volunteered' to give him a ride.

"Great," Trevor said as he looked down at Anna. "So, have you gotten my present yet?" he asked and Anna blushed lightly while I smiled. Trevor knew Anna was having a hard time finding him a gift and he enjoyed teasing her about it.

"You know I haven't," she said weakly and he pulled her a little closer to him.

"It's all right, babe, you don't have to get me anything," he said before he kissed the top of her head.

"Of course I have to get you something, but you won't help me out by telling me what you want," Anna said as she looked up at him.

"I've already got everything I want," he said with a small shrug. "I've got the prettiest girl in Forks on my arm and not a care in the world right now. I've got it made." Anna's blush only deepened as she looked away from him and tucked her hair behind her ears before she adjusted her glasses on her face. Anna didn't think very highly of herself still, but Trevor made a point to remind her just how beautiful she was. I think it was finally starting to work since she no longer rolled her eyes or protested his compliments.

"So, did Leah say yes?" Anna asked as she looked at me and I smiled at her.

"She did," I said and Anna smiled in return. "Jason was just getting home as I was leaving for school. Go figure," I continued as I rolled my eyes and Anna laughed as the three of us walked into the cafeteria.

"What are you two talking about?" Trevor asked with a small frown as we walked to our usual table. We'd stopped sitting with Trevor's other friends when Kara started giving Anna a hard time. Jealousy was an ugly thing and Kara couldn't really handle the fact that Trevor loved Anna and not her.

"Jason asked Leah to marry him last night," I said as I sat down in my seat and pulled my lunch from my bag. I had packed a lunch that morning since I had extra chicken salad from the night before that I didn't want to waste.

"Really?" Trevor asked as he unwound his arm from Anna and placed his bag in an empty chair.

"Yeah."

"That was quick," Trevor said and I shrugged.

"It's not like they're getting married tomorrow," I said. "They love each other and something tells me that they're one of those couples that'll be forever." Trevor just smiled and shook his head before he said he was going to grab some food and left Anna and I alone.

"Do you really think that they'll be together forever?" Anna asked as she pulled out her own lunch and I looked at her, a small smile coming to my face as I took in her curious expression.

"I do," I said seriously and she smiled sadly as she looked away from me. I watched her eyes scan the room and I could tell the exact moment her eyes landed on Trevor.

"I'd like to think that Trevor and I could be together forever, but we're both still young and with us going to different colleges the chances of us staying together aren't that great," she said as she kept her eyes focused on him across the room. "He's probably going off Florida next year and I'll more than likely be in Chicago. He'll be surrounded by girls that I couldn't ever compete with on my best day, and it'll only take one night for me to be a distant memory."

"Anna, Trevor loves you and he wants to be with you. He's got a better head on his shoulders than most eighteen year old guys," I said and she looked at me then.

"My dad loved my mom at one point, but he left her. He left me," she said, finally voicing the insecurities I knew she had. Her mom died and that was why she now lived with her aunt since her father wanted nothing to do with her. "How do I know Trevor won't do the same?"

"Talk to him about it," I told her.

"I can't do that," she said as she shook her head and I smiled at her.

"Yes you can," I said. "If I could tell Paul everything that happened to me, I think you can tell Trevor how you feel." She took a deep breath and nodded her head before she smiled.

"You're right," she said lightly. "I'll talk to him about it, but not tonight. I want to have a nice time tonight and no more serious talk." I laughed and nodded my head before I tucked into my lunch. Trevor rejoined us and kissed Anna's cheek before settling into his seat next to her and the conversation Anna and I just had was forgotten for the moment and we were once again the teenagers we were supposed to be.