Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Thanks so much for the reviews! I really appreciate all of them. It's nice to know readers are still reading and liking this fic after such a long hiatus. I really will try to get this finished. I have a lot of inspiration and a general idea of where it is to go. Hopefully y'all will stick with me on this crazy PaulBella ride! Thanks so much for your support! Here is the next chapter!

Playing With Fire
Chapter Eight: Visitation

I never thought things could get any worse.

Now they had.

I sat in the kitchen, tapping my foot as I watched the clock tick away. It was only minutes after the chill-inducing conversation I'd had with Paul, and I was awaiting Angela's arrival for whatever it was that we were doing. I sighed as I leaned my head on the table, feeling completely and utterly useless. Now I had two bodyguards on me just because of some stupid, red haired vampire with a grudge.

I admit, I was aggravated.

As much as I wanted to retreat into my shell and get away from it all, I knew that I couldn't. The pack was just doing what they could to help me. It just so happened that Paul was an integral part of keeping me safe. And I knew, no matter how much I wanted to reject the notion, that just his presence made me feel safer. It was silly and stupid of me, but at least someone was looking out for me, no matter how much I hated it. I hated knowing that I was the one putting them in danger, that I was the one that was causing them this.

"You really don't have to do this," I said, almost pleading.

Paul was leaning back on the back to legs of his chair, his feet propped up on the table. His hands were behind his head and I wondered how in the world he kept his balance like that. I shook my head. He was a werewolf, after all. "Do what? Does this bother you?"

"More than you know."

"Why?"

"Everyone's putting themselves in danger because of me. Someone might get hurt - "

"Our job is to dispose of bloodsuckers that endanger Forks," Paul said, his words clipped and measured. "Not everything is about you, even though you have a good deal to do with this. If we get hurt, it's because of our own stupidity, not you."

His crass words somehow reassured me, even though I was sure it was a jab at me at the same time. I sighed and pressed my cheek harder against the table, wondering what Angela would think when she arrived, seeing that I had a huge guy from La Push sitting at the table with me. A guy that wasn't Jake.

"Who's coming over again?"

"Angela. My friend."

Paul snorted, "And here I thought you didn't hang out with humans."

I lifted my head to look at him, seeing that he was staring at me with deeply disguised interest. I felt my lips twist into something approximating a smile. Most likely that smile looked a tad too self-loathing, "I suppose you're right, to an extent."

"You're human, you know."

I blinked, "I know."

"Just so you know, it isn't a crime to make human connections."

"Then what is this?" I asked wryly. "You're a werewolf."

"Call of the wild?"

It was my turn to snort a laugh. Paul took his feet off the kitchen table and let the chair hit the floor on all four of its legs. He walked out of the kitchen just as a knock resonated throughout the house. For a moment, I was intrigued at his senses. It was something that had always fascinated me about Edward, and even Jacob. How Jake could transform from someone that was equally as clumsy as me into someone that moved without even rustling the fallen leaves on the ground. I wondered idly if Paul had been like that, too. A clumsy human transformed into a graceful being by the power of his ancestors.

Somehow, when I looked at him, I doubted that Paul could have ever been as clumsy as myself.

The door was opened, and I heard Angela's exclamation of surprise. Paul chuckled throatily and let her in. I watched as Angela entered the kitchen, her face as red as a strawberry. She wrung her hands as if she were nervous. I saw Paul behind her, watched as he gave me a nod, and sprung out the door. Most likely he would be in my room soon enough, like he did earlier. I didn't even hear the door shut behind him.

I sighed.

"Hey, Angela," I said, giving her a smile. She returned the gesture and sloughed off her backpack, letting it fall to the floor before she took a seat across from me.

Her cheeks had yet to turn back to their normal, pale shade, and she managed to get out, "Who…who was that?"

I rolled my eyes, thinking of how pleased Paul would be if he knew how flustered he made Angela. "Paul. He's…a friend."

"Why doesn't he have a shirt on?"

"Oh…" I murmured. I hadn't even noticed that he was shirtless, "Er, I really don't know." Now it was my turn to look like a tomato. "I think he's just hot-blooded."

"I'll say," Angela said, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder.

I found myself laughing at her insinuation.

This kept on for a while. It was nice, hanging out with people who struggled with normal teenage problems and not a vampire hell-bent on revenge or a shattering heart as the result of a love triangle gone bad. I smiled and laughed at the appropriate portions of whatever story she told me. She ended up confiding in me that Ben and her broke up over a matter of trust. Apparently, he was uneasy with her around other guys and she couldn't take it anymore.

Somehow, I understood how she felt.

"I didn't want to," she said. "I really loved him, but…well, when things don't work out, they just don't work out."

I smiled gently at her. I could recognize by the way she talked that she had been wanting to get this out for a while. I knew the pressure of having a damaged heart with no one to listen. I knew what it was like to not want to bring it up at all. I still didn't want to talk about Edward with anyone, but at least I could think his name now without the ragged hole ripping even further.

And somehow Jake had gotten into my life, wormed his way there, and stayed. Boring his own hole into my chest, like Edward had done so masterfully before.

But, unlike Angela, I couldn't talk about my predicament with her. I couldn't talk to anyone, really. No one knew about Edward's secret - or the wolves, other than the pack themselves - so I was really in a spot of bother. But it was okay, I assured myself, I have been in that spot for as long as I can remember. Ever since Edward left me in the woods. I've survived. Somehow, I felt a bit stronger because of that, though the bouts of weakness still hit me like a truck. I sighed and leaned back in my chair, thinking back to that very moment when my life turned upside down. Thinking of Edward's eyes, and the way that he had tensed up beside me in Biology class. Thinking of seeing his marble skin, sparkling in the sunlight, for the first time. The hole in my chest gave a lurch, and I clenched the front of my shirt as if to keep myself together.

After all those months as a zombie, I realized that I had an issue now controlling what I thought. Jake had opened something up within me, and it was going to be harder closing it now than when it was just Edward I was mooning over.

Too late, I realized Angela was addressing me, "What?" I croaked out.

"Are you alright?"

I shook my head and gave a shaky little laugh, "Yeah, yeah, of course."

Angela gave me a smile and asked if I could help her with her English homework, which I obliged to. I believe this was one of the parameters for our hanging out this afternoon anyway, so I took her homework and started to help her conjugate verbs and all the other things that usually came with this until I heard a knock at the door.

I looked up from the work and then told Angela to wait a second. I got up and walked to the door. For a moment I wondered who it could be. If it was Victoria, she wouldn't have even knocked. I couldn't think of anyone else who would want to visit, actually. I opened the door and came face to face with Leah.

"Sup," she said casually, flipping some of her hair over her shoulder. The weather around here usually made my hair wave out of control, but hers was as pin straight as ever and as glossy as the models on television.

The images of the last time I saw her flashed through my head. The loving looks exchanged between her and Jacob, the way they kissed without any regard to me or Paul. Then Paul's face, indignant and angry, flashed through my mind.

"Hey." I said bluntly, not wanting to bother with pleasantries. I wasn't sure why she was here, but I was sure it wasn't about anything good.

Leah's gaze then moved over the top of my head. A wry smile came across her features, "I see Paul is taking his new job very seriously."

I knitted my brows together before turning around, seeing the tall, strong form of Paul standing at the top of the stairs, a foreboding and odd look on his features. His hands were down by his sides, and very faintly I could see them shake.

"I wouldn't give him too much leverage, though," she said sneakily. "He's bound to invade your privacy sooner or later."

She was acting far too light for me. Like she didn't even consider what she did wrong. I felt my temper start to flare. "Listen - "

Leah put up her hands in front of her, "Hey, hey, now. No need to go all bitch mode on me. Paul did plenty of that yesterday."

"I have every right - "

"I came to apologize, girl."

I stopped short. Okay, this was not what I was expecting.

"What?"

"You deaf, too?" she questioned, but by the joking glint in her eyes I figured she wasn't serious. "It was a shitty thing of me to do. Of us to do. To you. You know…all that. Paul was right, as infuriating as it is to say those words. I was a bitch, and I hope you can forgive me. Us. You know."

I stood there, "Where's Jake, anyway?"

"He's been out patrolling since you and Paul left. Hasn't had a break since. If that wasn't the case, I'd assume he'd have been her earlier with roses or some shit."

"I hate roses."

Leah snickered, "Me too."

Even though yesterday was a low for me, I couldn't help but think it was very considerate of Leah to come by and apologize when she really didn't have to.

"Thanks…for coming over. Um," I held out my hand, "no hard feelings."

"Yeah. Good." Leah smiled and took my hand.

I turned around to see if Paul was still at the top of the stairs. He was gone, but there was a slight sense of security that filtered through me in the fact that I had been right - he had gone up to my room to wait it out, to see that Victoria didn't sneak up there when I wasn't in there. Somewhere, around the woods, I knew that Embry was out there, making the rounds near my house.

"Do you want to come in?"

Leah shrugged, "Don't have nothing else to do."

"Well, thanks…"

Leah snickered and made her way inside the house. I turned back into the kitchen and told Angela, "Sorry, looks like we're going to have another guest."

I turned around, expecting to see Leah sitting on the couch, but instead saw that she was right behind me, almost towering over me with her model-like height. I jumped, startled at her sudden proximity. I hadn't even heard her move.

"This is Leah Clearwater," I introduced, "And Leah, this is Angela Weber."

"Nice to meet you," Angela said politely, giving a slight wave. Where I would have been awkward beyond belief, Angela screamed poise and eloquence.

"Same to ya," Leah said before moving to sit down at the table.

I sat down between both Leah and Angela and went back to Angela's English work. It was odd, sitting here with a bunch of people that I ordinarily wouldn't have hung out with. It was odd, yet…comforting. Comforting to know that I had people who cared - even if they did it in their own unorthodox way.

I saw that Leah had adopted Paul's position from before, leaning back in the chair so that it was supported on two legs, her feet propped on the kitchen table. Her hands were in her pockets, though, and I wondered how in the world those Quileutes managed to do something like that. Must be an inherited thing.

There was a lot of talking now. Where Angela and I had been comfortable with our silence and occasional talk about Mike or Jess or anyone, Leah loved conversation and most of it included words that would make Paul blush. I could see why Paul was in love with her. In many ways, they were alike. But they were also different, I'm sure. What their relationship would have been wasn't something I wanted to dwell on. It was just too sad. Leah was an interesting addition to our little study group, I'll admit.

After a while, I looked up to see that it was time for Charlie to get home. I told Angela that I had to get started on dinner and rose from the table, getting things ready.

Angela rose from her own seat shortly afterward and said, "Well, I guess I'll be getting home, then."

"Yeah, me too," Leah said, rising and cracking her back.

"Oh," I said, looking at the two girls standing around the table. "Okay, then. Well, it was nice hanging out."

"We'll have to do this again sometime." Angela offered as she gathered her things up.

"Hell yeah," Leah said. "I hang around too many guys lately."

"I know the feeling." I said, smiling, and yet fighting the pang in my heart from her insinuation, knowing that Jacob was the one that she was spending the most of her time with. The one that probably shared warm grape sodas with her in the garage now, instead of me. Ugh, feeling this way was the worst. It was like being attacked on all sides - Edward, Jacob, Edward, Jacob. No remorse from any corner.

I'm an idiot.

Leah and Angela left at about the same time, leaving me to fix Charlie's food by myself. Not that I would've asked for their help. I sighed and started to make the beginnings of spaghetti. Not hard to do, which was what I was looking for. I sighed as I stirred the sauce. Pausing to roll my sleeves up, I heard a voice call to me.

"Better pay attention. Wouldn't want a repeat of last night."

I jolted, not expecting to hear that voice, so familiar now to my ears, call out to me.

"Shut it, Paul."

A smug sense of satisfaction came over me for mouthing off to him. I didn't even know why. There was something different in my jawing with Paul than the petty fights with Lauren. Maybe because it was somewhat fun to have a verbal sparring match with Paul - even though I ended up the loser more often than not, I realized.

Clapping reached my ears as I started to stir the sauce again. "Brava, little Swan. Great comeback."

It might be fun, but he was so infuriating.

I wondered if the fact that I enjoyed fighting with Paul was related to my zombie days. Feeling irritated at Paul was much better than feeling nothing at all, I realized. It would help ease my father's mind, knowing that he was probably thinking about me relapsing back into just going through the motions because of Jacob this time, and not Edward. It was almost like when Jake had helped me for that short amount of time before he imprinted. He was like a personal sun, one that I could always go to for comfort. And now I had lost that forever. I had nothing except the smartass that stood near me, grinning down at me like the wolf he was, waiting for me to give him something to criticize me about.

"I'm guessing we'll be graced with your presence for supper tonight as well," I said, injecting as much sarcasm as I could into that sentence.

"Guy's gotta eat. Besides, I haven't been stunned speechless by your cooking yet."

"Not my fault."

"Yeah, actually, it was."

I turned to glare at him, but he was smiling away. The smug bastard. I gave him the stoniest glare I could manage and then turned back to my spaghetti. I didn't hear him move around, but I saw that he was loping to the kitchen table to sit down. There wasn't even the faintest sound of the chair scraping against the wood floor to give him away.

"Do all Quileutes have stealth like that?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Like…both Jake and Leah…you, too, move and it's like…I can't even hear anything. Your footsteps aren't even audible…"

"It's a wolf thing, I guess." I could practically hear Paul's shrug.

"Leah isn't a wolf."

"Not everyone is a complete spaz like you, Swan."

I turned around at the tone of his voice. Still stirring the sauce, I looked at him, studying the contours of his face. His eyes were set deep in thought, wondering at what I'd just said. Even the tone of his voice as he'd spoke before seemed to be far away, thinking about the words that I'd spoken without any thought as to what they might mean. I thought it was a meaningless connection, but obviously Paul thought differently.

"Everything okay?"

"Just make your spaghetti and stop worrying."

"I'm not worrying."

"That's not what your eyes say," Paul said, giving me a chill. He rose from the table and moved to the living room, but not before sticking a finger in the spaghetti sauce and having a taste. "More salt."

"You just have an uneducated palate."

"Better than being uneducated in everything."

"You shouldn't talk about yourself like that."

"Aw, nice to see that little Isabella's insults have at least reached second grade level."

"It's on par with your brain level, then."

Paul was grinning toothily, looking down at me like I was an interesting little kid he liked to pick on. I could still see that there was something else bothering him, a strange kind of darkness playing in the back of his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it, and then moved to the living room. "Yell in case anything catches on fire. Then I'll know to get the hell outta here."

"Doesn't your dog nose compensate for that?"

I could still hear Paul's laughter from the living room. The only indication that I had that he had sat down was the television blaring.

Somehow, everything suddenly felt more right than anything else I'd experienced in the past few months.

End.