Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Here's the latest chapter! I am so glad that y'all enjoyed the last chapter.. It really is nice that everyone is enjoying reading this story, and I hope that y'all enjoy this chapter. So, without further ado, here's chapter ten!

Playing With Fire
Chapter Ten: Eyes

I drove to school that day with a flurry of thoughts in my mind.

Why had I been so comfortable with Paul in the room? Why did his words always have the power to affect me? Why did I make him breakfast? And, more importantly, why did I feel that painfully familiar tugging in my chest when I saw him asleep?

The whole thing was enough to make a girl sick.

Despite the sick feeling that was threatening to overtake me, I found that I was still smiling as I pulled into the school parking lot. It was a strange feeling, being able to smile that much about something as simple as a friend.

Friend? I didn't know why that word rubbed me the wrong way.

Ally?

Comrade?

Protector?

None of them seemed to fit like I wanted them to, so I decided to leave what I had with Paul as ambiguous.

I got to school with time to spare, so I studied in my truck for about thirty minutes before I went in the school.

However, as soon as I stepped outside the truck, I felt something sinister.

It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured over my head at that moment. The cool breeze wrapped around me, intensifying that very feeling of foreboding. I found myself shivering, even thought it was a rather nice day for Forks. There wasn't anything I could find that would help me through this. I could think of nothing.

I tried to wrack my brain for what it might be.

I thought back to what had happened yesterday, to the vague feelings of unease that I had frequently been subjected to. This was more intense than all the others. I couldn't even find it in me to move from the spot I stood in. I knew I shouldn't have been that worried, since Paul and Embry were supposed to be watching over me, but I couldn't help myself.

I was terrified.

No one else was in the parking lot. Victoria could attack me and no one would be the wiser.

A part of me wanted to cry out, to shout for someone, but I knew that would be foolish.

"Hey," a voice said from right behind me.

I opened my mouth, a shriek already forming at the base of my throat. Before I could scream, however, a large hand clamped down over my mouth. It was warm - no, hot. It was almost as if this hand was made of fire. It sent chills through my body, despite the sheer heat of the person. I hadn't realized I had squeezed my eyes shut until the voice told me to look at him, which I did.

Paul.

I couldn't accurately describe the relief that washed over me at the mere sight of the man. It was as if every muscle in my body had been tensed, ready to fight or run for my life because I thought Victoria was so close. Now that I saw that it was Paul, every part of me relaxed. I had gripped his wrist in reflex, and I dropped my hands. They were warm now, just from being in contact with the werewolf.

Paul looked at me, raising his eyebrows in an unspoken agreement. Even though he said nothing, I could almost hear his voice chiding, "No screaming, okay, Swan?"

I nodded and he dropped his hand from my mouth. I found that I was inhaling shaky, uneven breaths, and that my hands were trembling.

"P-Paul," I stammered, trying and failing to keep eye contact with him. I found the urge to throw my arms around his neck, which I deftly avoided. That would not be the best thing to do right now, not when I was pretty sure he disliked me.

"Sup," he casually stated. He shoved his hand in his pockets before scanning the woods around the school. "She's here. But you know that already."

I found myself nodding wearily.

"Embry is out in the woods with Sam, Jared, and Jacob. They're chasing her. We've got a good lock on her right now."

I interpreted the look on his face the best I could, "But you're not promising anything."

"Nah, I'm not," he replied. "But I can promise you one thing - that leech isn't getting near you while we're here."

I felt my face turn red at his words. They were intense, something that made a chill go down my spine, but for a completely different reason. I found that I had pulled my sleeves over my hands, a nervous habit of mine, and was worrying the frayed threads. "And Charlie?"

"Sam has a plan," Paul continued. "I'm not sure if you'll like it much, but we think it's a pretty good one."

I raised a brow at him, beckoning him to continue.

"We're going to try to get the two of you to stay in La Push as often as possible. Either at one of the wolves' houses or something like that, during the day. Just to be able to keep a better eye on you. Charlie loves to fish, so he and Billy can keep occupied that way. The bloodsucker can't come into La Push, you know. You'll still be able to sleep and everything at your house, and I'll still be there. This is just for extra protection, you see."

It started to drizzle, the water coming down in a fine mist. I shivered just a bit before saying, "Sounds good to me…I just don't want to be a burden. Passed on between houses…"

Paul snorted, as if that idea was completely ridiculous, "You are no burden."

"It just feels like - "

To my utter surprise, Paul took his index finger and pressed it to my forehead. Even with just the pinpoint of pressure against my skull, I could feel the intense heat coming from him. It was enough to make me want more of that touch, more of being around him. Not only that, but I wanted to know more about him…wanted to find out just what was behind him. I wasn't sure where those odd thoughts were coming from, but…but…

I really didn't know what to think anymore. Paul's contact with my skin was making my thoughts blurry.

"Shut up," he said, though his tone was slightly playful. "You are no burden. And if you think so, I might just not show up next time. Hell, I'll throw you to that bitch myself."

I winced at the harsh language, as well as the image he created. Somehow, being betrayed by him would be the worst thing I could think of. After everything I've gone through, he'd somehow stayed by my side, making me keep a level head, making me see sense when I'd gone too far into myself. I'd only really known him for a while, but it seemed like so much longer. I guessed near-death situations do that to a person.

He took his index finger and made a trail from my forehead, down the side of my face, ending up at my cheekbone. He let his thumb join in and wiped some rainwater from underneath my eye. A trail of fire followed his every touch. I found that my heart was racing, that my whole body had tensed up once again. Gone was the relief his presence brought, and in its place was a whole new, different, confusing beast.

Then, out of nowhere, he removed his hand completely and flicked my nose.

"Ow!" I shouted, the moment broken. I grabbed my nose and looked at him, insulted and surprisingly hurt. More than that, I felt a strange sense of disappointment. At what, I had no idea. Frankly, I didn't want to know.

Paul grinned down at me, watching with satisfaction as I rubbed my nose. No doubt it was turning an awful red color.

"You suck," I told him.

Paul shrugged before grinning in an impish way, "First time I haven't been the one saying that to a girl."

The blush that overtook my face then seemed to take less than a second. I stuttered and stumbled over my words, my brain trying to wrap around what he just said. I felt like I was going to explode at how embarrassed I was.

"Hey, I'm surprised you got that joke, little Swan," Paul took his knuckles and rapped them atop my wet hair. The action - and his hands touching me again - got me blushing even more.

"Shut up."

Instead of coming back with another comment, he shook his head, almost like he was disbelieving.

"You're so…innocent."

The way he said that wasn't…insulting. It was more of a incredulous statement. One that he didn't disagree with, but one that he was particularly interested by. He didn't look like he was going to comment on anything else, but he did look like he was maybe not as put out with me as he seemed on a daily basis.

"I'll be around," he told me. "So don't freeze up on a test or anything. I'll be patrolling the woods around the school, all day. I'll be here when you get out."

Those words were surprisingly earnest, ones that made my heart slightly jump. It was strange at how he could make me feel like that now, when I thought I could never have that jolt of the heart ever again…

"Thank you," I said.

"Just doing my job." He nodded at me before bounding off, faster than I'd seen anyone non-vampiric run. I watched as he melted into the fringe of the woods, and then heard the telltale howl, then nothing else.

I didn't know why, but something about his last comment made a feeling of sadness settle over me.

Just doing his job, I thought, a strange solemn feeling coming over me. That's all I am.

The day passed by quickly. Faster than I'd ever expected it to. I found myself going through the motions, constantly looking over my shoulder in perverse expectation of Victoria being there, all flaming hair and blood-colored eyes, razor sharp teeth bared in a snarl.

Several times I'd jump when someone would touch my shoulder. It was foolish, because it was only Angela or Mike wanting to know if I was okay. I told them I was fine, each and every time. There wasn't anything that I could tell them, really, unless I wanted to put them in danger. Or have them think I was insane. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation.

I found myself driving home before I knew it. The creepy feeling of being watched had left me, but I couldn't help but stare around at the woods as I drove, half-expecting Victoria to suddenly shoot out of the woods and tip over my car. My fantasies never happened, thankfully. If they had, well…

I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

I parked the car in the driveway, somehow wishing that I wasn't alone right now. I'd be alone until Charlie got home.

Or that was what I thought.

Paul was sitting on the steps leading up to the door of my house. I got out of the car in slight shock, wondering vaguely what he was doing here. I approached him with caution, the words from earlier today ringing through my head.

Just doing my job…my job…job…

I couldn't rid those words from my head. It was like they were a particularly nasty disease, intent on making me completely and utterly miserable, like I had been before I had befriended Jake.

The thought of Jacob's smiling face somehow took me aback. I stopped in my tracks, thinking of his grin, ever-present and contagious, his laugh, his jokes… It all looped in my mind, confusing me even more.

Edward, Jacob, Edward, Jacob…

When did my life begin to revolve around men?

Paul was looking at me, his eyes seeming to stare straight through me, exposing everything I was thinking, leaving me vulnerable. I wanted nothing more than to hide myself from that gaze and the confusing things that it made me feel.

He rose from where he was sitting, obviously growing impatient at my slow pace. He walked up to me and heaved a large sigh. "Seriously? You're about as slow as - what's wrong?"

I looked up at him, cursing myself for not having been born with the ability to hide my emotions well. "I'm fine."

"Oh, shit, I thought we were past this whole I'm fine nonsense."

I felt myself blush for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. I wasn't sure what to say to that. I looked for anything to say, anything that would make what was really bothering me not embarrassing, but I found nothing. Silence enveloped us.

Paul seemed to realize that I wasn't going to tell him what was bothering me, so he just got on with what he was here for, "La Push. Let's go."

I blinked several times, almost floored with the sudden declaration, "What?"

"Don't you remember anything we talked about this morning?"

Just doing my job…

"Of course," I lied.

"Liar," he said cheekily.

I rolled my eyes. "It's really annoying how you do that. Know everything."

"I don't know it all," Paul said, giving me a toothy grin that somehow made the hair on my neck stand on end. "You're just easy to read."

"By that logic, shouldn't you know what was bothering me?"

"Oh, let's not go into that Lifetime shit."

"I don't watch Lifetime shit," I mocked the last two words in a very bad approximation of his deep voice.

"Huh." Paul began to move to my car, an amused smirk on his face. "I suppose I don't know everything."

"Got that right," I mumbled.

"You know, I can still hear you when you mumble like that. It's not just bloodsuckers that have excellent hearing." Paul pointed to one of his ears with an all-knowing grin that made me want to smack him. He then started to chuckle and before I knew it, he had slung himself into the passenger's seat of my truck.

"Yes, Paul, hop right in." I rolled my eyes and walked over to the driver's side. I hefted myself into the cab and shut the door.

"Let's get this show on the road! Emily's making stew!" Paul smacked the dashboard twice in his haste. "C'mon, Bella, let's go!"

I froze for a moment, taking in the fact that he had called me by name and not by Swan. Sure, he'd called me by name before, but never so casually. It was always as if my name was an insult, a curse that he was too eager to let loose. But now, he said it as if we were friends. Maybe.

I supposed I was delusional.

I cranked the truck and pulled out of the driveway, all the while listening to Paul's complaints about how slow I was going, how Emily's stew would be cold by the time we got there, that the other wolves would have eaten the stew by the time we got there. It seemed I rolled my eyes more times during that car ride than I had in my entire life. It was almost comical, the way he was mocking mashing the gas pedal on his side of the car, with his large fingers loosely wrapped around the handle at the top of the doorframe.

I drove calmly down the road that led to La Push, finding that I actually was enjoying this ride up there, despite the doubts during the day. I found that I craved Paul's company, which was a bad thing. The very moment I decided I wanted something was the moment that it was taken away from me for good.

I decided I would never admit to myself that I enjoyed Paul's company. I couldn't. There was too much at risk. Paul had taken my crumpled, broken self and put me right, and somehow I hated imagining a time when he wasn't around, a time in which I would have to let him go, as well. I hated thinking of it like that, but that was what life had taught me. As soon as you had something you wanted, it was ripped away from you in a cruel twist of fate.

I didn't want that to happen again, especially not with this strange man that had somehow wormed his way into my life.

I glanced out the corner of my eye, only to find that Paul was watching me, his eyes in thought. As soon as he caught me looking at him, a smile came onto his face, "Eyes on the road. Chief Swan would not be impressed."

"Oh, shut up."

The bite with which I had intended to say those words fell short, leaving me grinning and feeling light-hearted. Another dangerous thing to experience in regards to my past.

Everything in the past few days had happened so suddenly, but there was one thing that I was completely certain of.

Paul, this man with the grins and the snark and the completely infuriating demeanor, was more important to me than I had originally realized.

End Chapter Ten.