I want to apologise for the long delay in getting this chapter up, I have come up with ideas for this story and writing the chapters. I just need to fit them all in now as they are not in order, I have even written the last chapter.
I want to thank everybody who reviewed, I replied to some and I am sorry if I didn't reply to your review. I read them and an so grateful for all of your responses.
I apologise if there are some errors in this chapter, its gone midnight in the UK and I am tired, but i really wanted to get this up tonight.
Friends
By the time we got back to the Black's, Billy and Jake were laying the table with dinner. I followed dad and sat at the table watching as Jacob brought plates and bowls full of meat and potatoes to the table.
"Bella, would you like anything to drink?" Jacob asked.
"Water please."
"I will have a beer, thanks Jake." Dad spoke, making Jacob jump and walk back into the kitchen.
Within seconds Jacob was back with a glass of water and a can, I watched in silence as dad opened the can and took a big mouthful.
"Its ok Bell's, I will just be having the one. I have to drive home and be up early for work tomorrow."
"I wasn't going to say anything." I mumbled feeling my face get hot.
"Come on then eat up before the food gets cold." Billy called out causing me to jump as he wheeled himself towards the table.
We sat in silence eating; I could feel Jacob staring at me in-between mouthfuls. I made sure to keep my head down and concentrate on my food, ignoring him as best I could. I had a feeling that he had a crush on me, in some ways I understood being fifteen and hormonal. But I was not going to encourage him even if I had to be rude.
Once my plate was clear I got up and walked to the sink, running the tap and putting soap in the sink.
"Bella, leave the dishes Jake can do them later. You are our guest please take a seat and relax." Billy shouted out causing me to drop the plate in the sink with a loud bang.
I sat back at the table and listened as dad and Billy made plans to have a fishing weekend away in a few weeks time.
"Bella, would you like to hang out in the lounge and maybe watch a movie?" Jacob asked coughing a few times in only what I could guess was embarrassment and shyness.
"I can't tonight I already have plans."
"I didn't know Bell's, what are you doing?" Dad asked sounding surprised.
"I'm meeting somebody on the beach at seven."
"Male or female?"
"Come on Charlie, leave the poor girl alone. Are you meeting Paul?" Billy asked unable to hide the grin on his face when I looked up.
I nodded a yes before putting my head down to hide my flushed face.
I listened to the conversation at the table between Billy and dad, I was aware of Jacob staring at me with a scowl on his face. I ignored him completely, not interested why he was staring at him but it still made me uncomfortable.
A few minutes to seven I got up from the table and said to goodbye to everybody before walking to the front door and stepping outside.
"Bella, wait up I need to talk to you," Jacob suddenly called out catching the front door before it could shut.
"What do you want Jacob? I need to be at the beach at seven." I asked, turning around to look at him.
"I just wanted to warn you about Paul, Bella he is in a gang with two others. The whole tribe is scared of them apart from the council of elders, they seem to think they can do nothing wrong."
"Jacob, whatever gave you the idea that they are in a gang?" I asked.
"Well they all hang around together, and there are rumours going around the Reservation that they forced some kid from a neighbouring Reservation to leave here."
"So you have come to the conclusion that they must be in a gang. Speak to your dad Jacob, and he will tell you what they do for the Reservation." I explained, trying not to sound too patronising.
"He doesn't tell me anything, I'm just warning you to be careful with Paul, and he is supposed to be the worst."
"Jacob, I don't know why you are trying to stop me from being friends with Paul. They are not doing anything wrong."
"I see that he has told you a load of lies then."
"He has never lied to me, I don't think he ever will." I told him raising my voice slightly.
"Well I have warned you Bella, don't come running to me when he hurts you." Jacob slyly replied.
"Black, you need to go back into your house." Paul spoke as he stepped out of the forest.
I looked towards Paul briefly and then looked back at Jacob, I took a step back when I could see that he was shaking slightly and both of his hands were at his sides in fists.
"Bella, come over here, please." Paul whispered to me loud enough so I could only just hear him, I completely turned around and walked quickly to Paul's side. He put his arm over my shoulders and pulled me slightly behind him.
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Jacob growled, causing me to flinch further behind Paul.
"If you let me Jacob I am be a friend, or I could be your worst nightmare." Paul growled back.
"This is not over Paul, Bella I didn't mean to lose my temper with you. If Paul ever hurts you then I am here for you." Jacob replied back sounding calmer. He turned and opened the front door before slamming it shut.
"Are you ok Bella?" Paul asked, pulling me closer to him so I was no longer stood behind him.
"I'm fine, is Jacob going to phase?"
"Not for a while, but I need to tell Sam before we go to the beach so he can keep an eye on him."
"Paul, we don't have to go to the beach tonight, I don't think we will have time after going to Sam's."
"We are not going to Sam's, he is running patrol at the moment so I can phase and tell him. Come on we will have to cut through the forest on the way to the beach so I can phase." Paul replied grinning as he turned around and dropping his arm and taking my hand as he walked towards the forest.
We walked deep into the forest before Paul let go of my hand and started to walk off towards the trees.
"Paul don't leave me here, alone." I begged, taking a step towards him.
"Bella, I'm just going to step behind the trees so I can phase. I need to take my clothes off otherwise they will shred, and I need room to be able to change into my wolf. Stay where you are and I will be able to see you, just give me a few seconds then I will be back out in my wolf form." Paul called out as he carried on walking towards the nearest trees.
Less than a minute later, Paul stepped into my line of sight in his wolf form. I took a step forward and raised my hand. Paul walked slowly towards my hand and then rubbed his muzzle against my hand.
We were stood not moving for a few minutes as I slowly ran my hand across his muzzle and then over his head. I automatically stepped back when Paul moved, I stood motionless as he slowly led down. I sat down next to him and continued to move my hand across his head and slowly going down to the fur on his body.
A short while later Paul moved his head causing his muzzle to push me slightly towards his body, I looked at him confused when he done it again. After the third time I was almost sat on top of his body, when I realised what he wanted me to do.
"You want me to sit on you?" I asked
I watched as Paul nodded before pushing me again with his muzzle.
I climbed on to his back, and automatically wrapped my hands around his neck as he stood up. I held on tighter when he started to move deeper into the forest. I couldn't stop the shriek leave my mouth when he started to speed up.
"Not so fast Paul." I yelled out, scared that I might fall off. He slowed back down to a fast walk and I slowly started to relax.
A short while later, Paul stopped and led down, I looked around and I could see the beach in a break in the trees. I climbed off, and ended up on my butt when my leg slipped. I looked down and moved my legs relieved that I was not hurt before I stood up.
"Bella, are you ok?" Paul asked as he stepped out behind a tree.
"I didn't hurt myself, Paul I am a klutz sooner or later you will notice that." I replied feeling myself blush so I looked away.
"Come on, I still need to build us a fire before we can sit down and talk." Paul said as he took my hand again and walked us out of the forest.
I sat down on the sand, as Paul ran back into the forest returning moments later with his arms full of sticks and logs. I watched silently as he laid the logs down and then places the sticks on top of the logs. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and started to light the sticks until most the sticks were alight, Paul ran back into the forest, returning again with an arm full sticks.
"Bella, I'm not going to tell you who you can and can't be friends with, and if you want then you can be friends with Jacob Black. But you need to be careful around him. I spoke to Sam and he thinks that Jacob will probably phase in the next few weeks if he is provoked." Paul explained while he continued to feed the fire.
"I'm not really friends with Jacob; he is almost two years younger than me. We only talk because of our dads."
"Sam is going to speak to Billy tonight; it might be a good idea if we both stay away from him. For some reason he doesn't like me, and him hearing you talk about me seems to make him lose his temper. "
"That's fine, I really don't have anything in common with Jacob." I told him as he come to sit down next to me.
"I think we need to get to know each other, I will start and ask you questions and then you can ask me the same questions."
We spent the next hour talking about our likes and dislikes, this included food, hobbies and anything thing else that we could think of. I began to realise how much in common we have with each other, we both liked to read. But whereas I liked romance and Shakespeare, Paul liked to read thrillers and murder mysteries. Paul loves all types food apart from mushrooms, I was sad for him when he admitted that he didn't have any hobbies as being a wolf and working doesn't leave much time for anything else.
"Tell me about your childhood Bella?"
"My parents divorced when I was a few months old, my mom left my dad taking me with her. I don't really remember but I've been told that we moved around a lot until we settled in Arizona. Every summer I would come to Forks for a few weeks and spend time with my dad."
"Did you not miss your dad? How come you didn't for any other holidays?" Paul asked.
"Of course I missed him; we have only really bonded as father and daughter. But my mom needed me so much; she was not so good with paying the bills or making sure there was food to eat. Going to appointments and things like that, it was down to me to make sure she remembered everything, she also could not cook, and I would worry that she would burn the house down if I was not there to cook." I told him, and then watched as he started to look at me with pity.
"So you always had to be responsible? Did you ever do things you shouldn't do?"
"What do you mean by that Paul? Yes I had to grow up fast; yes I was probably more responsible than most people my age. But it doesn't mean I was unhappy growing up, I still had a good upbringing." I snapped at him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean anything like that, I just couldn't imagine being able to do all that from a young age. What did your friends in Arizona think?"
"I didn't really have any friends there, I liked to read a lot and plus helping my mom out took a lot of my time." I replied while looking down at my hands and twisting my fingers over each other.
"That makes sense." Paul mumbled loud enough so I could hear only just him.
"What does?" I asked confused.
"Now is not the time, but soon I will explain you might take it the wrong way if I tell you now."
"Ok, so you know about my childhood. What was yours like?" I asked changing the subject.
"My dad worked hard, and drank even harder. You know how that ended; I don't really like talking about it much. But I will say that when my dad was not drinking, he was the best. He taught be how to build walls and carpentry, how to fish and live of the land."
We sat in silence a few minutes when I could hear Paul's voice sounding chocked and his breathing sounded harsher. Once he seemed to have calmed down a little bit, I looked up ready to ask him some more questions. I could see his eyes watering and him blinking quickly, and I knew he was trying to not cry. I scooted closer to him and took his hand him mine.
"I miss my dad so much, but at the same time I hate him for leaving me." Paul whispered, gripping my hand tighter.
"We can change the subject if you want?" I asked him, not wanting to see him so upset.
"No it's ok, ask away, but please don't ask me anything about my dad."
"Ok" I nodded. "So you live with your mom now?"
"No, two weeks after I phased, she met somebody and left the Reservation. She didn't abandon me, but I couldn't leave the Reservation. So she now lives on the other side of the country I think, she still pays the mortgage and the bills for the house my parents bought when they got married."
"Does she not visit here?"
"No, she has not been back since she left. She calls about once a week, and sends money for birthdays and Christmas."
"And you can't visit her?" I asked.
"Not at the moment, with me phasing into a wolf I'm kind of tied to the Reservation. Plus I don't know where she is exactly, she won't tell me or she moves around a lot. I'm not really sure, but I know that she is not with the same man that she left here with." Paul explained.
"Oh" was all I could say.
"So let's change the subject, what do you want to do in the future?" Paul suddenly asked, he looked upset, so rather than asking him anymore question about his family, I thought about what I really wanted to do.
"I'm thinking of taking a year off, I've always been a grade A student. I feel like I want to get a job and earn some money before going to college."
"So you want to go to college?" Paul asked.
"Yes eventually, I want to be a teacher, like my mom. I love reading, and it would be great to be able to teach children how to read." I answered him, surprising myself that that was want I really want to do.
"So you like children?"
"I don't know I used to go into my mom's class sometimes and help her with the children. Some I thought was cute, others I just wanted to tell them to sit down and calm down. But she taught in kindergarten, and I want to teach older children." I answered him, feeling relieved that I finally knew what I wanted to do with my future.
"I don't think I could be around young children, they seem so loud. But then that could be the wolf hearing."
"So what future plans do you have, once you no longer need to be a wolf; or is that a lifetime time thing?"
"I don't want to be a wolf for the rest of my life, at some point I want to go to college. I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but I do want some sort of qualification behind me."
I looked around and suddenly realised how high the moon was, I didn't wear a watch so I had no idea what time it was but I had a feeling that it was late.
"Paul, do you know what time it is?"
I watched as he looked up at the moon for a few seconds before answering me." It's close to midnight; do you need to get back?"
"I don't have a curfew, but I think my dad might be waiting for me at Billy's."
"Come on, I better be getting you back. I don't want to upset the chief by keeping his daughter out late." Paul replied with a smirk.
We walked back carrying on our conversation about the future, I asked about the cabin I had been given, and I found out that Paul and Sam were going to be updating it. When I asked about having a say, Paul seemed happy with it saying that it was mine and I would be the one living in it.
When we reached the Blacks, the house was in darkness and my dad's cruiser was gone.
"Bella, I will come with you. Just in case you break down or something." Paul demanded as I made my way to my truck.
"You don't have to; I will be fine going back on my own." I insisted, not wanting him to go out of his way for me.
"It's an imprint thing; I will only phase and follow you home anyway."
I nodded and got into the truck, Paul got into the passenger side. We made small talk making arrangements to meet up the next day on the beach. Before I knew it I was pulling up outside my house.
"Paul do you want to use my truck to get back?" I asked as it started to rain.
"No, its ok I have to patrol now so it would easier if I just phase back."
I nodded before getting out of the truck, Paul walked me up to the porch and watched as I got my key out and unlocked the door.
"Well I will see you tomorrow then." Paul spoke turning around and walking away from the porch.
"Ok" I answered as I walked into the door and stooped.
"Paul" I called out as he started to make his way towards the wood.
"Yes"
"Can we try and be friends?" I asked, knowing that if I didn't ask now I would probably never get the nerve to ask him.
"Of course we can Bella; I want to be your friend. Go inside and lock yourself in, if you need me then sit by your window and when I run patrol past here I will see you.
"Bye" I called out before closing the door and locking it.
I got ready for bed smiling, glad that I had made a new friend today. Somebody who was not rich, somebody who knew how to work hard for what they wanted in life.
I got into bed and feel to sleep almost straight away, once again dreaming of Paul's wolf, knowing that maybe one day friendship would only be the beginning.
