Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Twilight. And the song credit goes to Relient K.

Yet again you guys are awesome.

"Why don't you come right out and say it?

Even if the words are probably gonna hurt

I'd rather have the truth than something insincere.

Why don't you come right out and say it?

What it is your thinking though I'm thinking it's not what I want to hear."

Come Right Out And Say It

There was one thing I had never would have expected to happen in a million years. Kevin left his wife; oh but there was more. Kevin was expecting an illegitimate child with his best friend. I knew I probably shouldn't have grinned like an idiot when he informed me of that, but I couldn't help it; I had always liked her and tried to convince Kevin to date her. Jolie was also beautiful inside and out unlike Kevin's soon to be ex-wife.

That wasn't all of it either; they were moving out here to get away from the bitch. I was excited; I hadn't seen Kevin in a while and now I was going to be an aunt! Before I hadn't wanted to be an aunt, but with a different mother for those prospective children I was happy.

"You should probably wipe that smirk off your face." Jake whispered over at me as we waited impatiently for Mom to return with Kevin and Jolie from the airport.

"Can't I be happy to see my brother?"

"I know the real reason." Jake said.

"Hey, you never met the bitch."

"No need for harsh words, Hallie." Jake laughed and stuffed a handful of potato chips in his mouth.

We sat in silence for a while until finally I heard the crunch of gravel in the driveway followed by the sounds of doors slamming shut. This was it; I was about to see my brother again! I dashed out of the house and right into Kevin's arms.

"Hey sis." He laughed as he held me tight.

I would have held on longer, but I wanted to see Jolie. I pulled away and looked down into the face of my niece or nephew's mother. She looked nervous; I didn't blame her. But little did she know that I was practically overjoyed that my brother had had an affair! I didn't hesitate; I pulled her into my arms. As I eased away I noticed her nervousness had disappeared to be replaced with a glow of happiness. Jolie was small, so her six month belly was huge on her small frame.

"Come on, I want to introduce them to Billy and Jake." Mom stated.

"You'll have to pry the chips out of Jake's hands first." I laughed as I followed behind them into the house.

***

"You're twisted you know that right?" Derek stated as he watched me move about the kitchen getting dinner ready for our guests.

"I know, but what makes you say that right now?"

"If it was what's her face she would be banned from this house." Derek replied.

"Hey, she didn't like me and the feeling was mutual. How does that make me twisted?"

"I was just thinking back to that ridiculous grin that appeared across your face when Kevin called you to tell you the news."

I chuckled, "I'd call that an evil grin actually."

"Whatever; so who is coming again?"

I pulled the roast out of the oven and stirred the gravy before I replied. "Mom, Billy, Jake, Kevin, and Jolie."

"I hope you made extras with Jake around."

"I'm not stupid."

"Never said you were."

"You implied it."

Derek sighed, "Alright, I'm leaving before you whip me with a towel or something."

I laughed at his retreating form and went back to stirring the gravy. When dinner was just about done I heard a knock on the door, and rushed to answer it. Derek beat me though and pulled open the door to reveal Paul. What was he doing here? He barely spared Derek a glance as his eyes sought out mine, and when they connected I sucked in a breath. Something was wrong with him.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I grabbed his arm and started to pull him inside towards the couch.

"Hallie, he's bleeding!" Derek yelled as I pushed Paul down on the couch.

Derek ran into the kitchen as I examined the back of Paul's head; sure enough there was a wound slowly oozing blood all throughout his hair. Derek came back with some towels in hand and pressed one to the back of Paul's head.

"Should I call 911?" Derek asked.

"What's going on?" Jake asked from the open door.

I watched as his eyes went from Derek, to me, and finally to Paul. His eyes widened slowly and he ran over to the couch. Derek went to greet Mom and the rest of them while Jake pulled away the towel and looked at the back of Paul's head.

"It stopped bleeding." He declared. "Look, I better get Paul to the doctor. Dinner smells delicious Hallie, I'm sorry I can't stay."

I blinked at him confused as he practically yanked Paul up off the couch and led him past everyone to get outside. After they were gone we stared at each other for a minute before Derek finally clapped his hands together and led everyone in the dining room.

"Hallie has made a delicious meal, so we better eat it before it gets cold." He announced to them.

I smiled gratefully at him and started place the trays full of food on the table before my guests. But even as laughter filled the dining room I couldn't shake the picture of Paul's bloody head or the look in his eyes. When his eyes had met mine something had clicked within him; like everything was okay now because he had seen me.

I spent the rest of the night in a daze, but thankfully no one seemed to notice. After they had all left and the dishes were done, I flopped down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Derek was in his favorite chair reading a book; so I knew he would leave me be.

"Are you alright?"

So I was wrong; it wasn't the first time.

"Yeah, I'm just tired."

"Are you sure? I consider myself your best friend you know, you can tell me anything."

I smiled, "Aw, thanks Derek I think of you as my bestie too."

"Seriously Hallie, just say it."

"Say what?"

"You like that Paul guy."

I bolted upright to look him in the eyes. "What?!"

He grinned and put his book down on the table, "You heard me."

"I do not like that Paul guy."

"Okay, so maybe you don't like him per say; but you can't deny that there's something about him that intrigues you."

He had me there so I didn't say anything. I lay back down on the couch to avoid his all knowing eyes, but I still heard his satisfied chuckle; the bastard.

***

So what if Paul intrigued me? Of course I was going to be curious about someone who acted pissed at me one second and then acted like he actually liked me the next. So it made perfect sense for me to find out where he lived and head over there to make sure he was okay. It's what any respectable person would do after someone showed up on their doorstep bleeding.

Manners didn't explain why I had butterflies in my stomach all of a sudden as I drew back my hand to knock on his front door. I ignored them and waited for someone to answer the door. Imagine my surprise when Paul opened the door in nothing but a pair of boxers. I blushed and quickly forced myself to look above his neck.

"Hi." He grinned.

I knew my face was burning red, and I knew he had to see it. "Hi, I came to see how your head is."

"Oh it's much better."

"Okay great, then I'll be going." I said and spun around.

"Hallie."

His voice stopped me in my tracks and I was powerless to stop myself from turning around to meet his grinning face.

"You were worried about me weren't you?"

"What?"

"Just admit it."

"Well you came to my house bleeding of course I was worried; I didn't want a lawsuit or something if you died." Lame, I know.

He just chuckled, "Hallie, you are a bad liar."

"Fine, I was worried alright? Now if you'll excuse me I have to go."

Before he could say one more word or send me one more cheeky grin, I spun on my heel and got the hell out of there. I did my civic duty, I knew he was alright, but that didn't stop the pounding of my heart or the sweat on my palms.

***

I hated nights like these; nights when all I managed to do was toss and turn instead of actually sleep. My blankets were too warm and suffocating and after I kicked them off I stared up at the ceiling helplessly. Finally I realized that I would never slip off into slumber on my own, so I got out of bed and headed towards the medicine cabinet in the kitchen.

I fumbled around in the dark of the hallway, searching for the light switch to the kitchen. It took me a minute but when I finally found it I breathed out a sigh of relief. Blissful unawareness here I come. I grabbed a sleeping pill and went to the sink to grab a glass of water. I was about to pop the pill in my mouth when something white streaked by the window.

I froze and stared at my reflection in the window for a minute before I finally pressed my face closer to see outside. I saw nothing for a few seconds, but just as I was about to look away I noticed it. There was a man standing by the woods looking right at me. I jerked back from the window and pulled the curtains over the window tightly, but I still felt exposed.

I abandoned the pill and ran around to check all the locks. Once I was satisfied I ran into Derek's room and shook him awake roughly.

"What the hell?"

"Derek, someone was outside watching me!" I shrieked frantically.

"You were probably dreaming." He mumbled before he turned over and closed his eyes again.

Some friend! I was scared shitless and all he wanted to do was roll over and sleep some more. I wanted to check out the window again, but I was afraid he would still be there watching me; an evil grin on his face. I ran to my room and found my tennis racquet and held it tightly in my hand as I went for the phone. I didn't know who I was going to call, but I was going to call someone.

I dialed the first number to come to mind and sighed in relief as Jake's voice came over the line.

"Jake? There's a freaky white guy outside my house and he was looking at me!" I shrieked.

"Hallie?"

"Who else?!"

"Okay calm down, I'll be over there as soon as I can."

The line went dead then and I hung up the phone feeling slightly better, but not quite. I wouldn't feel alright until Jake was here and had fully inspected all around the house. I waited on the couch, my racquet clenched in my hand, for Jake to come.

I heard howls coming closer and closer to the house and started to freak out a bit more. Great, not only did La Push have creepy guys that lingered outside houses, but there were wolves! Great, just great. There was a loud bang on the door causing me to jump and let out a small shriek at the same time.

"Hallie open the door!" Jake called through the closed door.

I walked to the door, racquet still in hand, and opened the door for Jake. He was only dressed in a pair of cutoffs but that didn't stop me from throwing my arms around his neck and hanging on to him for dear life.

"Is that a tennis racquet?" He asked with a little smile as I pulled away.

"Yeah, was he out there?"

"He's gone…from around here at least."

"You'll stay with me right? Derek didn't listen to me; he just went back to sleep."

Another howl pierced through the night sky and Jake looked over his shoulder. He looked back at me with a sheepish look on his face and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I have to go."

"What?! You can't just leave me!"

"Trust me you'll be fine alright?"

He walked away before I could protest. I slammed the door behind him and stood there for a minute fuming before I was scared shitless yet again. There was no way even a sleeping pill could put me to sleep now.

I was about to go turn on the TV when there was a loud pounding on the door. I jumped again and opened the door cautiously, racquet poised and ready. Before I could even say a word, or drop my racquet, Paul pulled me into his arms.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. He didn't let go and I found that I really didn't want him to. With his hot arms wrapped around me I felt safe. I somehow managed to put the racquet down and squealed when Paul swung me up into his arms.

"What are you doing?!"

"Taking you to the couch."

I thought he would set me down but that was not the case; he sat down and cradled me in his lap. His arms tightened around me, as if he was afraid he would lose me or something. I tried to pull away, but he only pulled me closer. I sighed in defeat and relaxed against him, letting his warmth soak into me.

"How did you know about the creepy guy?" I asked a bit tiredly, surprised to feel that my eyelids were droopy.

"Jake."

"Oh."

"Go to sleep."

"Don't tell me what to do." I said half heartedly.

"You know you want to." He grinned.

The last thing I saw before my eyelids finally won was the grin on Paul's face.