Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!

The responses for this fic are insane! I love that everyone is enjoying this fic. It's really remarkable at how many people have reviewed the first three chapters. I'm in awe…it's just amazing and y'all have no idea how much I appreciate them! So, here's chapter four!

Playing With Fire
Chapter Four: Camaraderie

I didn't know why I was doing this.

Everything about the situation seemed to scream at me, "Don't do this, Bella! You don't have to go eat with them! You're hurting enough already!"

But, of course, I've always been stubborn. It's one thing that Edward always told me. I've always been stubborn and eager to please, and apparently those things were enough to find me in this situation. The only respite I found was on the way over to the simple little diner in La Push. Leah and Jake had taken their own vehicle, and that left Paul and I to another car - my own, rickety truck.

I don't know why Paul wanted to ride with me. It seemed rather odd, all things considered. I thought he would hate me for calling him out about his feelings for Leah, but he just followed me to my truck and hopped in the passenger's seat like it was no big deal. I didn't blame him. I would want to ride with someone who had nothing to do with imprinting as well.

Paul didn't speak, and I didn't prod him. It was rather nice, actually. Strange, too, but mostly nice. I guess Paul could be good company when he wasn't talking.

I followed Jake and Leah's car to the diner, and I parked side by side with them, only to see them exchange a kiss before climbing out of the car. My heart gave a painful little leap at that, and I wondered if I really was a masochist. I could've just said I wanted to go home, that I wasn't feeling good, but I didn't. I guess I was trying to prove to myself that I could go through complete and utter shit and still be strong - something I failed at when Edward left me a miserable and sobbing heap in the middle of the woods.

I climbed out of cab of the truck, Paul already standing outside in the slight drizzling of rain that surrounded us. I looked over at him, and saw that his dark eyes were fixated on me. I had a slight inkling of worry go through me at his gaze and then sighed. I don't think I'd ever be able to figure him out, not even if I got to know him as well as I knew Jake.

"Ready to go eat?" Jacob chirped, his white teeth almost blinding as he observed us.

I gave him a soft smile, trying to hide whatever I felt, "Yeah."

Paul grunted beside me.

We walked to the small diner, me and Paul keeping in step behind Leah and Jake, whose hands were twined together intricately. There goes my heart again, throbbing in my chest like some broken toy about to wheeze its last. My eyes focused on their hands a bit too long, obviously, and I forgot to watch where I was going.

My foot caught beneath the second step that led up into the restaurant and I stumbled, almost falling on my face, but a warm, helping hand encircled around my forearm, the grip almost painful. It was hot, too. Almost burning through my freezing flesh.

I looked from the strong, russet hand to meet the pair of eyes that belonged to the owner of the limb. Paul looked at me with very cleverly concealed concern, and said, "You okay?"

His voice was strange. If I didn't know any better, it was almost like he was actually caring about what was going on with me. It was almost like he didn't hate me, when I was sure he had every right to.

I felt my cheeks color despite myself, "Fine. Thanks."

Paul grunted and helped me to my feet. I accepted the help, but wondering why he had offered it in the first place.

The imprinted couple didn't even seem to notice my slight faltering, only went ahead and opened the door. We walked into the place behind him, and I don't know about Paul, but I certainly felt like a third wheel.

Jake bent down and kissed Leah's cheek and I inhaled a sharp little gasp that seemed to stab at my throat.

"I don't know why you came." Paul stated to me, simply and roughly. Like always. And I didn't need an explanation for his words, because they made all the sense in the world to me.

So, I said, "I don't either."

Paul scoffed and led me around to where the two other La Push natives were sitting. They looked happier than I had ever seen them - and that was saying something if I was talking about Jake, who used to always be happy before the whole business with Sam and the vampire hunting. I groaned, hating myself for being so jealous, for being so hurt when I should just accept what was going on and move on. But, then again, the situation with Edward had proved just how incapable I was of doing that.

At least this time, I was trying. Genuinely trying. No more of the zombie nonsense. Frankly, I needed to be alive. Once Jacob had helped me through the zombie days, I never wanted to go back. But, now…I don't know what I was going to do.

They sat down in a booth and Paul and I sat down across from them. They lifted a menu and started to point at various things that looked good to them. It was almost like we didn't exist. The waitress came by and asked what we wanted to drink - I ordered just a water, nothing fancy. I didn't feel like soda or juice.

I looked at Paul, who was staring at his own menu, but I could see the vague signs of irritation etched on his own forehead, his eyebrows knitted together in a sign I had seen all too often on Edward's face when I had said something particularly puzzling. Except there was no curiosity to the look. Only pure pain I could see. Surely, to anyone not looking, they would be unable to see it, but for someone who looked at him - really looked - they would see the damage this whole thing was taking on him.

It pained me to see him like this, for some reason.

To see the man who had been so adamant on getting me out of my funk and dragging my sorry ass back to La Push look like me at the very start of the day, except more angry and less depressed, was something that ached my heart for no sure reason.

Leah and Jake were whispering something to each other, and I had no clue what it was. No clue whatsoever. Again, it felt like we weren't even there. I felt the sense of aloneness sweep over me like a tidal wave. Though I was with three other people right now, I had never been surer of my status in the world.

Paul's hand clenched into a fist so tight that his knuckles turned white.

I gulped, hoping that Paul didn't phase right here and now. That would definitely not be a good way to end the day.

The waitress came by and took our orders, bringing back the drinks we ordered earlier. I sighed and lifted my water to my lips, taking a swig after I told the woman what I wanted to eat. Paul and Jacob held back in their orders, only getting two hamburgers each instead of the usual seven. Leah requested the same thing I ordered, chicken wings.

After the waitress left - not too long after, however - Jacob lifted Leah's face to his own and gave her a sickeningly sweet, loving kiss. I felt my stomach turn. Not because it was nauseating, but because…well, it made me sick. It made me think of the solid kisses Edward and I used to share. The delicate ones. The passionate ones. The kisses I would never feel again. I felt my eyes begin to water, and I was screaming at myself to not cry, not cry, not cry!

But there they were, traitorous tears streaking down my cheeks like they had almost all day.

Damn it. I thought to myself, cursing my weakness and how much I loved him. Damn him.

I felt eyes on me and I looked over to Paul, who was staring at me with some strange expression. I didn't know what it was, only that it made me feel uneasy. His dark eyes…there was something dangerous about them. Something different than Jake's easy gaze. It was more intense, more understanding than I had ever seen it. He stared at my tear-stained face and I saw his fist clench around the water that he had ordered, cracking the glass.

"Hey!" His voice was rough, and for a second I thought he was talking to me. I wouldn't be surprised. But his voice was directed to the two who were kissing in front of us. His fist encircled tighter around the glass, and another crackling sound greeted my ears.

Jake and Leah shot away from each other, looking sheepish, cheeks red and mouths parted in wonder. "What, Paul?" Leah demanded cheekily, almost like she didn't know what she had done and was trying to play it off.

"I went and got Bella for you, you two practically begged me to." He snarled, and for a moment, I was startled that he used my name. "And this is how you're going to treat her once she gets her act somewhat together?"

I froze, my mouth hanging open in shock.

Was he…standing up for me?

"What are you - " Jacob tried to protest, but Paul cut him off with a look of his intense, dark eyes.

"Do you know how much it took to get Bella here?" Paul started, his ferocity unsurprising, but stunning at the same time, "Did you know how much hearing about your imprint," he snarled the word, "hurt her? And yet, she got it together to get here, to try to act as if everything is normal, and you go ahead and fucking PDA in front of her the whole damn time?"

Leah and Jake were silent, the sudden weight of his words hitting them like a freight train.

"She didn't have to come here. But she did, because she obviously wanted to be as good a friend to you as you were when that leech left. She wanted to support you when she was the only one who would get totally hurt out of this whole situation. How fucking dense are you, Black?!"

He was shaking, trembling, and the glass shattered in his grasp. The shards of glass cut into his palm, but Paul looked like he didn't notice. They started to heal up right away, but the blood stayed on the table.

Jacob looked speechless. I know I sure as hell was.

My heart felt warm, though. It was almost like it was burning within my chest, as hot and sharp as Paul's grasp had been around my arm. Like he was squeezing my heart with his very hand, enveloping it with heat.

"I'm so sorry, Bells." Jacob said after a minute of shocked silence.

"It's okay." I murmured, a few tears still falling down my face.

"Me too." Leah said, looking at me with compassionate, dark eyes.

I nodded.

Paul rolled his eyes, grasping my wrist. The heat that made its way from his fingers and into my skin was enough to make a chill run down my spine, despite its warmth. "Do you feel like staying? Honestly. Don't give me no bullshit martyr answer."

I paused, knowing that if I said I wanted to say, Paul would decipher the lie, and scream at me. Instead, I said what I felt, honestly, at the time, with a smile of all things, "I would like to go home, actually."

Paul gave me a rough smile, "Good. I'll drive."

He pulled me up, giving the imprinted couple a look, and said, "See you two later."

I waved in a flimsy manner, and gave the two a smile, "Bye."

They waved back in a silent goodbye, obviously thinking about what Paul had said.

Frankly, Paul couldn't have been more right. I don't think I could have said it better myself. I wished I had the guts to do what he did, but I knew that what he had said was for his benefit just as much as it was for mine. He didn't like seeing his Leah with Jacob, just like I didn't like seeing my Jacob with Leah. It was a strange cycle, but I wasn't complaining. He got me out of that awkward beyond awkward situation, and I was grateful.

We trudged through the rain, which had gotten heavier since we stepped foot in the diner, and walked to my truck. It was the familiar silhouette that made my heart warm and long for home. I wanted desperately to see Charlie, to let him know that everything was fine. He knew nothing about the events of today, and I didn't know if I wanted him to know. I sometimes liked having Charlie in the dark, because then he was less likely to pity me, but I knew that Billy would probably tell him sooner or later.

Ugh.

I opened the door as Paul walked over to the driver's seat. Usually, I would be wary of anyone driving my truck other than me, but at the time, I wasn't worried about it.

We pulled away from the diner, and I felt a weight be lifted from my shoulders. It was like I didn't have to put on a charade any longer. Or, at least, around Paul. It was strange, almost like I had this heavy mask on the whole time and only now it was lifted from my person.

I breathed in deeply, feeling the cool air slide down my throat, before I looked over to the hot-tempered werewolf that was clenching the steering wheel as if it were his only means of survival. He drove surprisingly well, much to my relief. The last thing I needed was to get in a wreck after everything.

He looked over at me, "What?"

"Nothing." I said, looking down at my hands. I just realized that they were shaking, and I quickly stuffed them into my pockets. I was suddenly afraid to look weak in front of this man, who had seen me at the worst of the worst just earlier today. And now he was standing up for me and driving me home. Could this day get any weirder?

I didn't think it could, until I asked, rather civilly, "Would you like to eat supper at my house?"

Paul slammed on the break a little too hard, almost causing me to hit my head against the dashboard. "What?" He repeated for the second time, except now it was laced with surprise, and maybe a tinge of concern for himself. He knew my dad was the chief of police here and maybe he thought I was going to let Charlie lay him a new one.

Quite the contrary, actually.

I didn't want Charlie to do anything to him. Just treat this guy civilly. Just like I would be treating him. I guess a part of me wanted to thank him for standing up for me, when I had been to beside myself with sadness to do anything about it. And I guess, for just a bit, I felt indebted to him.

He was the one who had made me see reason when I was weeping on the side of the road just earlier today. He was the one who felt the same sense of utter hopelessness that I did, though it was different in each cases in the literal sense, it was the very same in the broad spectrum of things - we both loved people we shouldn't. And now, Paul had defended me when I could hardly speak due to the pressure consuming me.

I felt like I at least owed him something.

I also figured that a hot meal was the least I could do. Despite the fact that I had gone from hating him with every fiber of my body to feeling a kinship with him to feeling respect for him all in a span of mere hours, I thought the least I could do was invite him to my house and cook up a decent meal for him.

That's if he would take the offer.

He looked at me, and before he could say anything, his stomach growled in the most cliché manner imaginable. I had to stifle a laugh - it was an odd sound in my throat. I didn't think I'd be able to laugh again after the whole ordeal that had happened. But then again, I was wrong.

I guess it couldn't have been all for me. I wasn't that self-absorbed anymore, I didn't think. Paul probably got a bit annoyed at the loving couple himself and wanted it to stop. For the sight of their loving gazes to be saved only for when they were alone. I knew that was how I felt.

It was very possible that Paul had only stood up for me because he wanted them to stop for his sake, and he knew that they would if he brought my name into it.

But, somehow, I doubted it.

Though Paul was rash and hotheaded, he didn't seem like the type to use a woman to get what he wanted.

So I looked at him, studying his features with weary eyes, wondering if he would accept my invitation or not.

"I don't need your pity, leech lover." He said, his eyes hard as stones.

I was shocked at his words. The insult burned the edges of my heart, but I tried to ignore it, "It's not pity, Paul." I said tenderly, shocking myself, "It's gratitude."

"Gratitude, huh?" Paul snorted as he pulled into my driveway. I wasn't surprised that he knew where I lived, though I knew I should be. Forks was a small town. Everyone knew everyone. Not to mention the fact that Jake had been having his wolves patrol by my house ever since he found out I was the one Victoria wanted.

Or, well, wants.

The fact that the wolves still haven't caught Victoria was a constant prickle in the back of my mind. Something that caused shudders to ripple down my spine just at the sight of my own house, knowing that there could be a maniacal red head out there, ready to kill me and Charlie at a moment's notice.

No one could save us if she got her hands on us first.

I shivered, despite the warmth of the truck.

Paul looked at me, sizing me up, it seemed. I felt my cheeks color like they always did when people looked meaningfully at me. I turned away, looking out the window of the truck, and said, "You don't have to. I was just trying to be nice."

"Nice?" The word seemed like it didn't exist to Paul.

"Yeah, nice." I snapped back, not even bothering to look at him.

Paul suddenly started to laugh. It was a rough, untamed sound, too uncaring to even bother with it being attractive. But the dissonance within it made it sound pleasing to my ears. It was such a far cry from Edward's musical laughter or Jake's gleeful hollers… It was kind of…wonderful in its own way.

I didn't know what he found so hilarious, but somehow I didn't care. I just watched how his eyes crinkled at the edges, lost some of the hardness they had before, and saw his lips stretch so wide that it showed almost all of his teeth, strikingly white against his dark skin.

He seemed to finally gather himself together long enough to say, "Nice. Right. You?"

"I'd like to think I'm not an outright bitch most of the time." I told him matter-of-factly.

There was a small smile that came over his lips, and his eyes didn't hold the mocking look they usually had. There was a softness that came over his features that seemed to bring a whole new side to him that I had yet to process. It was all so strange that I struggled to process it.

He then grinned at me just as his stomach growled, "Well, hopefully your old man can cook because it looks like I'm gonna take up your offer." He smarmily stated, "Since, after all, you made me leave the diner in the first place."

"Hey!" I shouted at him, indignant, "I did no such thing. You left and dragged me with you!"

"But you know you wanted to leave." Paul edged on, grinning like the very wolf he was. "I was just helping things along."

I decided to ignore him, and instead stated, "My dad isn't cooking. He can't cook his way out of a paper bag."

"Then…take out?" Paul quirked a brow at my statement.

"Nope." I said, opening the door and stepping out into the now pouring rain, "I'll be cooking."

Paul turned off the engine of the truck and tossed me the keys, which I clumsily dropped into the nearest puddle. I had to dig to get them out, and sighed when I found them. He then turned to me with a grin on his face. "Dazzle me with your cooking then, Swan."

I ignored the sharp pangs that resonated through my chest at the casual word dazzle. Strange at how just a silly word like that could make you wish you had never uttered it in reference to a man you loved. I pushed the feeling to the side, knowing that I would have to deal with it later. Preferably not in front of Paul, who I was trying my hardest to get along with right now - surprisingly, after his little stint at the diner, it wasn't that hard.

I grinned at him through the rain, and through the tears that threatened to prick my eyes at the remembrance of all I had lost.

"You'll be stunned speechless."

From the look he was giving me now, compared to the one he had fixed me with earlier that day, I think he already was.

End Chapter Four.

There it is! Chapter four is over and done. And…just wow. The responses I keep getting for this fic are absolutely dumbfounding. In a good, amazing, wonderful, spectacular way. I love to hear everyone's opinions and the fact that everyone is enjoying this little story of mine is just enough to make me SO incredibly happy.

This chapter had some slightly playful PaulBella interaction towards the end. I enjoyed writing that very much. Haha. They're still a LOOOONG way from becoming a "couple," but they have to start somewhere, right? This is one of those slow burning stories that I just love so much. Haha. Sooo…that's all I gotta say right now other than THANKS AGAIN for the lovely reviews! I appreciate them so incredibly much!