"Bella stop."

"Please… stop."

"Bella."

She finally stopped on the dirt road and turned to him.

She was tired, her knees weak from a day at school.

She just wanted to go home in peace.

But no.

Obviously, he wasn't going to allow her to ignore him for any longer.

But Bella was done.

She was at her limit.

"What? What could you possibly want from me, Paul? Why won't you just leave me alone?"

For reasons unknown to her, tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Well?" She snapped when he said nothing.

"Bella I…"

"Shut up! I am tired of your bullshit! I just wanna be alone again! I don't want you to be everywhere I go!" She screamed, her voice cracking a little.

Paul stared back at her, his eyes hollow.

She felt as if he was looking into her soul.

They stared at each other for a while until she finally cracked.

"I don't understand. Why would you be mean to me? What have I ever done to you?" She knew that she sounded like a child right now but she also couldn't care less.

Then it was quiet again; for the longest time.

"What is this about?" her voice sounded tired; as if she had no fight left in her what so ever.

"I want you."

She stared at him, unsure of what to do.

"I want to get to know you." He corrected himself before he scared her off.

"Why?"

"Because I want to make peace with you… because I don't want you to hate me."

Bella stood and stared at him; he seemed genuine but could she really trust him? That was the question that haunted her.

She felt like she could trust him.

"So your cookies, they were like a peace offering?" She finally understood.

"Yes!" He replied as if he had been waiting for her to catch on for days. "I wasn't trying to piss you off Bella, I swear."

She watched him, looking for any signs of untruth.

She didn't find any.

"Ok." She answered him. "Well, see you around…" She turned on her heel before her arm was gripped and pulled back gently.

"Don't leave yet… I haven't been close to you for so long." Bella was sure that she wasn't supposed to have heard the last bit, but she did.

The wind blew through her hair and she shivered.

Then he embraced her; the cold fled from her body.

Her cheeks flamed and she tried to push him away…. But he held onto her tighter.

"Don't fight me, Bella. Just enjoy the contact." He told her as if he knew something she didn't.

"Paul, let me go!" She struggled but it was no use; he just held her even tighter.

"I-I can't breathe!" Paul loosened his hold just a little.

"Please Bella, don't push me away. I just need…" He didn't finish his sentence.

She had never heard him sound so vulnerable.

Bella's struggles decreased to nothing; she felt like he needed this.

She wasn't sure why, but she'd give it to him.

"… Stop following me around." She mumbled into his shoulder after a while.

"I don't."

"Yes, you do. You're always watching me. Even when I can't see you." She grumbled.

"And how would you know that?"

"I dunno, I just now okay."

He chuckled in reply.

"You know, this doesn't mean anything. I still hate you." The wind blew and she clutched onto him. She hated the wind.

"I know, Bella."

Over the next few days, Bella tried not to think about what had happened, whenever she did her cheeks flamed.

After that day, whenever she saw Paul in school, he'd wave at her or come over and ask about how her day had been.

Most of the time, he'd give her a hug.

Sometimes she'd look forward to it. Those times were becoming more frequent.

There was something about his touch that made her feel like everything was okay. It made her feel safe for once.

He didn't actually bother her as much as before.

She was actually starting to like him; he turned out to be a cool guy.

But there was still a part of her that hated him, and whenever he was around the memory of him stamping all over her brother's cookies with his designer shoes popped up in her head.

It was like a love/ hate relationship but only on her side.

Or like/ hate relationship.

Or maybe tolerance/ hate relationship.

Bella jumped as a tray slammed on the table beside her, disturbing her thoughts.

"So you and Paul, huh?" Bella calmed as she saw who had made her jump.

"Oh, it's only you." She giggled at Qahla's stance. Her hands were balled and her body was rigid as if she was on a clothes hanger or something.

"Bella, you and Paul? Really? He's an asshole! And… and he sleeps with anything on legs! I'm pretty sure he has something…" Qahla's rant continued on for another half a minute.

"You done?"

"Yes." She replied as she flopped down onto a chair. A single tear fell from her eye but she rubbed it away before Bella could see it.

"There's nothing going on between me and Paul, Qahla. I guess we're kinda friends now?"

Qahla seemed to relax a little at that.

"Are you sure Bella?" She placed her hand on Bella's knee and peered up into her eyes. "Nothing's going on?"

"It's not like that."

Later on that day:

Bella looked over at the window again; what was that? Nothing.

But she could have sworn she that she saw something silver peering out to her house from the woods. A large animal? Probably.

Bella didn't mind too much, she had always been one for nature but this had been the fifth time that she'd seen this particular… whatever it was.

Something about it triggered a thought in her mind.

Where was her sketchpad?

She looked around the living room and in her backpack; it wasn't there.

Whatever. She thought; she'd get a new one tomorrow or something.

Bella turned her attention from the search and concentrated on what she was doing before, trying to stick a needle in her arm.

When she attached the little brown bottle as she always did, she realised that there was a little more in it than usual. Bella shrugged.

It should have been okay.

She exhaled as she squirted the liquid into her system and waited for her body to take over.

But this time it was different; Bella's body began to feel mighty heavy all of a sudden.

She swayed and held onto the easel to help her balance; instead she ended up pulling it on top of her instead.

Then it went black.

Bella's eyed fluttered openly slowly; she felt disorientated in the least.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she found herself, not where she had expected to be, on the floor of her living room, but in a hospital room.

She surveyed the room properly and thought; how did she end up here?

Why did she end up here?

Those were the questions that ran through her mind.

"What were you thinking?" Bella's eyes snapped to the left and widened.

Paul.

Why was he here?

Why was he everywhere she went?

And why was he half naked?

She had only just noticed that he was only wearing a pair of cut of Levi's.

Bella wanted to be angry.

She wanted to tell him to get out of this room… or preferably, her life…

But she didn't have the energy for that.

She was just tired.

"What were you thinking Bella?" This time his voice was a little louder and she was sure that she could feel the heat of his anger from where she was lying.

She looked away from him and frowned.

"It's none of your business."

"The hell it isn't!" He growled; she kept her eyes concentrated on the vase next to the window.

She refused to look at him.

Bella really just didn't have the energy.

He had no right to talk to her like that.

After a while she heard him stop pacing and sit down next to her on the chair.

He exhaled heavily.

"I just don't understand Bella. Why would you do that to your body… Your mind?" She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her blanket up and over half of her face.

"You could have died, Bella." The pain in Paul's voice made her turn to him.

He looked kinda broken.

They were silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry Bella. I should have protected you, I should have been there faster…" Bella cut him off.

"Wait, you brought me here?" He nodded.

The wheels in Bella's head began to turn and she shuffled away from him a little.

"How did you know where I live? Why were you at my house? How did you know I collapsed?... Are you stalking me?" She asked all at once.

"Calm down Bella." Paul pleaded as he moved towards her.

She shuffled away some move but had to stop before she fell off of the bed.

"Don't tell me to calm down you… you perv!" Paul recoiled as if he had just been slapped.

Perv?

Perv?

He had been called a lot of things in his lifetime but 'perv' sure wasn't one of them.

"Nurse! Doctor! Somebody!..." She screamed; Bella needed this creep to get out her room now.

"Hello? Anybody pl…" A hot hand clamped over her mouth and she stopped talking.

"Shut up already!" Paul growled as he bent down next to his stool and picked something up.

It was Bella's sketchpad.

"I just came to return your sketchpad. You left it in the cafeteria." He grizzled before slowly removing his hand from her face.

She didn't start screaming again.

"Oh."

"Yes oh."

It hadn't occurred to her that she hadn't asked why he knew where her house was or how he got inside.

They were both silent for a while again.

But it was comfortable.

"Bella, can you promise me something?" She blinked in reply.

"Promise me you won't do it again." He pleaded.

She just wanted him to leave, and she was so tired.

So she gave him what he wanted.

"I promise."

"You're lying." He said surely; her eyes narrowed and then softened almost immediately.

"Yeah, I am." Bella's voice was tired.

"Please Bella." Paul pleaded as he moved closer to her, cupping her hand in his.

She looked down at their hands, feeling a little guilty and then back at his face.

"I can't." Her voiced cracked as she answered.

She couldn't stop.

"I can help you, Bella. I'll help you."

She wanted to laugh but she could see the seriousness in his eyes.

"Paul, I'm fine." Bella whispered, a lone tear ran down her face.

Paul shook his head.

"Look around you Bella. You're in a hospital bed. Does that seem fine to you?" He asked her seriously; she shook her head and more tears fell.

Soon, she was wailing as she cried.

"Shh." Paul soothed her as he sat behind her in her bed; her back leaning on his hot, broad chest.

She didn't even see him move.

The tears must have been clouding her vision.

"You're okay Bella." He whispered.

After a while her breathing calmed, and the tears stopped.

He rubbed his hand over her thin back and whispered to her again.

"This doesn't change anything, you know. I still hate you." Bella sniffled as she turned into his body, trying to get as close to him as possible.

He relaxed her.

Made her feel safe.

"I know Bella." Paul answered.

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