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Playing With Fire
Chapter Fifteen: Vexation

Every cell in my body froze in that instant.

I found that I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything except stare at the marvelous intruder in my own private bubble. There was a faint voice in the back of my head, warning me that this was a very, very dangerous situation.

That voice sounded too much like Edward's…

I studied the person in front of me, looking at him with all the curiosity that I had once gazed upon Edward with. I felt my heart tug in two separate directions, one piece aching to head toward the creature in front of me due to his extreme likeness to the marble Adonis I once knew and the other piece, wrenching itself away from the whole, wanting desperately to get away. Knowing that this could cause nothing but harm for me later.

Rational thought and pure emotion warred within me. I found myself wringing my hands in front of me, to frightened - or too uncompelled - to move.

The man in front of me was tall, attractive, and lean, with an angular face and strong jaw. His blonde hair was tousled in disarray, as if he had really been running. The natural disheveled appearance of his hair was enough to remind me of Edward, but that was where the similarities ended.

Aside from the white skin and the inhuman beauty, this man was very different from who used to be my Edward.

He had a sense of dark humor that hung over him like a cloud. His eyes glinted like rubies set into a statue, somehow pretty and off-putting at the same time.

"You know my name," I mumbled, tingeing my words with sarcasm, "but I don't have the pleasure of knowing yours?"

What the hell was wrong with me? Though my voice was as quiet as I could make it, as insecure as I could make it sound, I was taunting the very thing that could kill me quicker than anything on this earth. Just one snap of those fingers could send me reeling into the nearest tree. Crush my skull. Snap my neck.

He grinned at me. I inhaled sharply, stunned at the beauty of him. He reminded me of a movie star, though I couldn't place my finger one which one. A gorgeous one, no doubt. The very sight of him was enough to make me yearn for the Cullens. Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward…

Edward, Edward, Edward…

"Riley."

I blinked a few times, "What…?"

He rolled his eyes, looking like he couldn't even be bothered to answer me for a good while. "My name. Riley."

His sweet, cold breath wafted over my cheeks, tickling my nostrils. He wrinkled his nose a bit before lifting a hand to bring a lock of my hair to his nose. I stood as stiff as a statue, not wanting to move even an inch.

"You smell like dog," he said simply. "Funny, I've heard the smell of your blood is infamous. Not even James could resist. But here you are, that lovely freesia smell almost masked by the scent of - "

"Bella!"

All the muscles in my body relaxed in that instant. That one, gorgeous sound, the calling of my name, came from the very person I'd been longing to see all day. My heart thudded in my chest, but I didn't dare turn around. I couldn't seem to force myself to look away from this being, the perfection of his features so like the Cullens that I didn't want to turn from it for fear of it disappearing yet again…

A hot hand on my shoulder pulled me back. I could hear muted growling from somewhere far away.

"Dog," he stated, clearly continuing his previous sentence. "Such a shame."

"Shame?" I could feel the vibrations from the person behind me, almost causing me to shake of my own accord. It wasn't Paul who held me back, it was Jake. I was shocked for a moment, until I saw Paul's face.

He was by my side. Far enough away that I wouldn't be harmed if he lost it. Now I understood. Jake had taken hold of me because Paul didn't trust himself to. Either that or he didn't care. I wasn't concerned about semantics at the moment.

Paul let a growl rip from his throat, one that sent chills down my spine. The harsh snarls continued from the woods around me. At least two that I could distinguish differences in. I felt my hand inch backward and take hold of Jacob's wrist, my fingers trembling as much as his entire body was. He held himself together, but looked over at Paul, "If you can't control it, go in the woods. We can't have a report of wolves here, Paul."

"Shut up," Paul snapped. "You're not Alpha."

"How amusing," Riley said, smiling lightly as he shifted weight to his left leg and crossed his arms. Jacob and Paul immediately stepped forward, Jake putting me behind him as he glared his challenge at the intruder.

"Give us a reason, bloodsucker," Paul said menacingly as he cracked his knuckles.

"Hm? I wasn't going to do anything." He looked at the two of them coyly, as if judging whether or not he could talk his way out of this one. His eyes had a very interested look to them. Not surprised, but intrigued. "What ever made you think that?"

"You're a bloodsucker."

Riley let out a laugh that sounded like the chiming of crystal bells. I immediately felt a pang for Alice, something that I tried to mask as quickly as I could, knowing how my face must have looked in that one instant I allowed myself to think of her small frame, twirling as if in a private dance recital.

"I suppose you dogs can't get past that, can you?"

"Pretty much our job not to," Jake said, dark humor coating his tone. I looked over at Paul, who was shaking so much that I was surprised the ground beneath my feet wasn't moving. I bit back a hysterical laugh at that image.

"What are you here for?" Paul demanded, shoving his shaking hands into his jean pockets. The tendons in his neck were so tight I thought they might snap through the russet skin of his throat, like cables breaking free from a bridge.

Riley cocked his head to the side, the growling increased from the woods, and Jacob stepped forward. "You should know it's open season on vampires," he said, his posture languid and almost feline in nature.

"Isn't it always open season on vampires for your kind?"

Paul snarled at him.

Riley flipped his hand in the direction of the woods. "Call them off. I'm not going to hurt her. She's just an item of interest. Infamous, you could say."

"How do you know of her?"

His eyes flashed in thought for a moment, "Old friend. One of the Cullens."

"Which one was that?" Paul snapped. I could hear the distrust in his voice.

"Jasper," he said. My heart lurched at the name.

Paul looked at Jacob, his eyebrow quirked a bit. Jake shook his head and sighed, "No. He hasn't broken the treaty. We have no proof. If he is with the Cullens, and we breach the treaty first…it won't be pretty."

"His eyes are red," I pointed out. "The Cullens drink from animals, their eyes are gold because of it. He obviously prefers humans." I wasn't sure what I was doing, talking out like that. But it had to be said.

"I've…fallen off the wagon recently." He ran a hand through his windswept hair. "I am remiss about it, but I am no threat to you, Bella. I just wanted to make your acquaintance. I've heard how…intriguing you are."

"From the Cullens," Paul deadpanned, as if he everything but believed this mysterious stranger.

Riley rolled his head back and forth, as if he were trying to crack his neck, though no sound came. No need for that when your bones were as good as steel rods. I watched him warily from my position safely behind Jacob. I felt safe, despite everything, because I knew somehow that Jacob would die before he let anything happen to me. Maybe that applied to Paul as well, but I wasn't going to push it by thinking so.

"That's what I said." Riley inhaled through his nose, wrinkling it slightly.

"Don't come near her again."

I froze, almost as shocked as I'd been in the beginning, when I had first been faced with the creature in front of me. Paul was…being protective? Sure, it was his job, but that was against Victoria…unless…

I didn't speak my concerns, didn't want to make my words real by blurting them out so randomly. I clamped my teeth shut as Riley moved a bit. Luckily enough, the parking lot was close to empty, save for a few stragglers at the very front, closest to the school. No one was paying attention to the little mini-drama involving the age old conflict that warred between werewolf and vampire. I'd address my thoughts later, where I couldn't be easily killed.

"I'm not sure who you think you're talking to, wolf," Riley replied, rolling a wrist casually. There was something about him that screamed new. He seemed confident in his body, not overtly cautious. There was also a slightly crazed look in his eyes as he stared at me. He must have been remarkable under control for someone who craved human blood.

But, then again, that was only a theory.

"I could ask you the same thing, leech." Paul clenched his fists so tightly I could see the tendons sticking out in his forearms. Somehow, I found myself wanting to reach out and spread my fingers over the muscle, as if the action alone could release some of his tension. Which was shocking in and of itself because an urge to touch Paul - even if it was only his arm - was one urge that I did not need to have.

Riley sighed and turned to leave. I was shocked at his audacity, to turn his back on a pair of werewolves that clearly outnumbered him. He hissed something I didn't hear - I could hear the sinister tone the phrase itself was in - but whatever it was caused Jake and Paul to stiffen and angle themselves in my direction.

And then, just like that, he was gone.

I stared out to where he had been standing, looking at my truck as if it held all the answers to the universe. I imagined that his handprint had been permanently imprinted onto my door, something that made me want to wrench it from its hinges.

Instead of doing that, I simply asked Paul, "What'd he say? Before he left?"

Paul turned to me, seeming somewhat surprised that I had addressed him instead of Jake, whose hand was encircling my wrist for some reason. His eyes darted downward to see Jake's fingers curled around my arm before he answered, a careful note in his voice.

"He said we should watch you more closely."

Paul drove me home after that. I didn't have it in me to protest. I was bone-tired and very weary about my surroundings. I thought back to what had gone down, how I had probably almost died in that very instant. Or maybe not. If my theory was correct, then I didn't have to worry about him all by himself like that.

I decided to test out the theory against Paul, "I think he might have had something to do with Victoria."

I saw Paul's knuckle tighten around the steering wheel. For a second I was fearful that he would end up breaking the thin ring, but he reeled himself back before looking at me, "Yeah."

"Is he?" I asked, slightly stunned at the word.

Paul shrugged, "Could be. I'm surprised you thought of it. Saves us the strife trying to tell you, I guess."

"Strife?"

"Well, since you seem to have a certain soft spot for the bloodsuckers, I thought you might have been hesitant to believe that scenario."

I scoffed before looking down at the frayed edges of my sweater. I really should go shopping some time or another. Vaguely, I wondered when was the last time I had actually bought a piece of new clothing. Maybe I should call Angela later…but would that be a smart idea? I pursed my lips and pulled the sleeves of my sweater over my hands.

"Then again," he continued, "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. You're not necessarily stupid."

I stiffened before looking over to him, renewed rage in my tone, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

I saw a flicker of amusement cross over Paul's face before his eyes set gravely, "You tend to hang out with things that are bad for you."

I felt a jolt of something - anger, sadness, desperation? - stab through my chest, catching both the holes at the same time. I clenched my chest, let in a shaky breath.

He didn't seem to notice my preoccupation, just kept driving, though I saw the look of vague interest in his eyes, almost as if he wanted to ask me why I was grabbing my chest like a girl possessed. I was almost grateful that he didn't, though somehow the sound of his voice was more soothing than I would have liked to admit to myself.

I felt a smile - bitter and amused at the same time - cross over my face, "I suppose you're right."

I looked at Paul, saw the way his lips curled upward in victory over my statement.

"However…you might view the people I hang out with as 'bad for me', but I didn't." I turned to look out the passengers' side window. "I still don't."

"Not even when they have the potential to hurt you in the end?" he asked, his voice drawling and unconcerned - to anyone that didn't know him. I admit, not even I knew him as good as, say, Leah or Sam, but I could figure him out better than I thought I could when this whole thing started.

"Nah," I said. "I'll just have to get stronger."

That was a feat in and of itself. The girl speaking was the girl who still had metaphorical holes in her chest, feeling as real as if they had been carved out with a scalpel without anesthesia. Though that girl still existed - painfully so, most times - she felt like she was changing, felt like maybe she could get through life without the constant overhang of lost love, brutally ripped from her fingers at such a young age.

I felt myself smiling, a strange and bitter contrast to my usual awkward grin, "One day, I'm going to remember them with fondness."

Paul had been looking at me this entire time, something that I didn't ignore as easily as I could have. It was strange, having someone's eyes on you that you didn't ever really want to not have look at you. It was strange and frightening at the same time. "Really," he said, a statement more than a question.

"Maybe the key to growth is letting go." I shrugged.

Paul snorted, but I continued. It was rather nice being able to talk about this stuff, even if it was with him. Especially if it was with him.

"Maybe one day I can think of them with fondness," I continued, "without it hurting so badly I can't breathe. Maybe…I can be happy again. Maybe one day I can genuinely be happy for them, without it being forced."

There was a moment of silence in which I felt utterly stupid. Those thoughts were feeble at best, still masked by my mindset of loving both Edward and Jacob so badly that it was physically painful. But there was a muted quality to the edges now, something that I couldn't place. Maybe the beginning of something completely new and different? That muted quality was quickly lost, leaving me with the exposed nerve endings that were my feelings.

I felt my cheeks turn red, more heat than I had the mental capacity to remember entered my cheeks. I hadn't remembered the last time I had blushed this hard. Or opened myself this much - without the other person eventually leaving me.

The thought that Paul might one day leave was jarring enough to make me bite my lip. But, then again, I had to get over that. I had to learn how to stand on my own two feet, without the help of another.

But, my mind nudged, it's Paul.

And I couldn't afford to think like that.

The silence went on for a while, until we ended up parking at my house. Paul jumped out of the cab and I followed, walking up the steps to the porch and trying to not stare too hard at the taut muscles of Paul's back.

There was a moment in which Paul opened the door and sniffed the air, the routine looking for the scent of vampire, I knew. Then he did something completely unexpected, at least to me.

He turned around and motioned me ahead of him. As we walked up the stairs - me leading - he said, "You can, you know."

I paused, turning around to see his face. He looked as if he were warring with himself against saying those words, like he wanted nothing more than to absorb those syllables back into himself and act like they had never even been a formed thought in the first place. His nose was wrinkled in an expression of distaste, but his eyes were earnest.

However, I was confused. "What?"

He begrudgingly opened his mouth again, his lips snarling over the word, his shining white teeth bared as if I were the enemy. "Be happy again."

The phrase itself came out like more of a growl, and I felt myself doing something that could have labeled me as insane - I laughed.

Somehow, Paul looked relieved that I had chosen to laugh at his strange sentiment, said through clenched teeth in a voice that was more suited for a battlefield than it was talking to a girl on the stairs.

"You're really something, you know that?" I told him as I kept walking. I could be as flippant as I wanted, but my heart was thudding in my chest at his words, a strange and foreign feeling when not equated to either Edward or Jacob.

"I could say the same for you."

I felt a smile curve my lips.

For once, I felt that the notion of being happy wasn't so farfetched, after all.

End Chapter Fifteen.