PAUL'S POV

She nodded. She did feel it. I felt relieved.

"Can we at least give it a shot?" I pleaded.

She looked at me and I leaned my face closer to hers. Her breath caught.

"Okay," she breathed.

"Good," I sighed.

"Just don't punch anyone else in the face, alright?"

"I'll try my best," I muttered, fat chance there.

I watched Jared and Kim splash around in the water a bit, and then sat down next to Michelle. I really wanted to know who this Jesse person was and why he hurt her so bad. It hurt her even to talk about it. I knew I would find a way to get it out of her, just not yet.

"So what's your family like?" I asked her, changing the subject.

"Um, well my dad is amazing. He's a cop and he's so nice and smart and funny. And um… well my mom uh was really wonderful but she…"

"It's alright, you don't have to say it," I muttered, feeling terrible for bringing it up, all I was doing was making her recall painful memories.

"It's okay. She died in a car accident when I was nine, along with my baby brother Josh," she explained, looking out at the horizon.

I didn't say anything. I lived with both of my parents, so I didn't know what it was like to lose someone. I grabbed her hand, though, to comfort her.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'm an only kid."

"Do you like it?"

"When I was younger I wanted a sibling to play with, but I don't really mind now," I admitted.

We sat in silence for a while. Absorbed in our own thoughts. I was happy just to be sitting next to her. We were so close we were almost touching. For the first time, I noticed how thin she was. I could probably wrap my hand around her arm twice. It was a little concerning, but maybe she was just naturally skinny.

"You're so hot," she muttered.

"Why thank you," I said, smiling at her.

"Do, I mean you're really really warm," she said, putting a thin hand on my arm.

"Yeah," I muttered.

"Do you guys want to come back to my house?" asked Kim, running over to us, I was thankful for the interruption.

"Sure," we both said at the same time.

We followed her further down the street until we reached a tiny blue house. She brought us inside.

"Do you guys want to watch a movie?" she asked.

"Yeah!" said Jared enthusiastically.

MICHELLE'S POV

Paul and Embry fought over which movie they wanted to watch and I went in the kitchen to help Kim make popcorn. The boys finally settled on 'Thirty Days of Night.' I had no idea what it was about, but from the cover, it seemed scary. I wasn't one for scary movies, but I thought I would give it a try. I regretted it almost instantly. Embry and Kim loved it, but I was cringing into Paul's shoulder most of the time. He didn't seem to mind it. Eventually, he just put his arms around my shoulders and I hid my face in his chest. It should have been weird. I just met this guy, but it wasn't. I felt safe in his arms, but I couldn't look at the gore on the screen. It was a good thing I had only eaten six saltines today because I would have been sick for sure.

I didn't know how the movie ended. I couldn't stomach seeing another beheaded vampire. It was terrible. The credits started rolling when I finally looked up. Paul was looking down at me, amused. I blushed and looked away, but Jared and Kim were making out next to us.

"I should, uh go," I muttered.

"Yeah, I'm going, too," Paul said.

If Jared or Kim heard us, they didn't acknowledge that we had said anything. I headed to the door, feeling more uncomfortable by the second. I hadn't realized how late it was until we got outside and it was dark. Great. I was still shaken up from that damn movie. Paul walked beside me and I latched on to his arm. I couldn't help it; I was really freaked out. Plus I was freezing cold, even though it wasn't that cold out.

"You had to choose a vampire movie?" I accused.

"I thought the movie was pretty good," he said, smiling widely.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Why are you smiling?" I asked.

"It was just a really good movie," he sighed.

"HA right," I snorted.

"You don't like scary movies," it wasn't a question.

"Yeah. Especially vampire movies," I admitted.

"Why?"

"Have you ever seen a vampire movie without gallons of blood and gore?"

"True," he agreed, "Why does it bother you so much?"

Why was he so interested in this? "Because when I was six my brother tricked me into watching Blade and I had nightmares for month's afterwards."

"Don't worry, you'll be safe. The werewolves will protect you," he joked.

"Sure," I agreed sarcastically.

He snorted, but then his expression became serious, "I'll protect you," he whispered.

I turned toward him and he stared into my eyes. A smile played around the edges of my lips. Maybe he wasn't so much like Jesse after all. My stomach growled, ruining the moment. My damn stomach ruined everything.

"You're hungry," he laughed.

"Kind of," I muttered.

"You should eat something," he said.

"I guess," I mumbled.

"Good," he seemed generally concerned.

"Thanks for walking me home," I whispered.

"No problem," he leaned down and kissed me on my cheek. My skin tingled where his lips had been.

I turned and walked up my driveway to my new house, feeling happier than I had in a long time.

"Michelle, you're blushing," commented my dad as I walked through the door. He was working on his laptop, of course.

"Yeah, it's uh cold outside," I noted, "Sorry I'm home so late. I didn't realize the time. Do you need me to make you dinner?"

"No, I ordered pizza. There's some on the table if you want," he said, not looking away from his laptop.

"No it's okay, I ate at Kim's," I said, sprinting to my room.

I fell across my bed and was asleep in seconds.

I was wondering through the woods, lost. I had no idea how I got there and no idea where I was going. I just couldn't stop walking. I was cold and hungry. Suddenly, a vampire stepped out in front of me. I knew it was a vampire because it was hissing and there was blood dripping from its mouth. It stalked closer to me and I turned the other way, trying to run. But I was just too hungry. I fell to my knees as the vampire came closer. He was standing over me, his face contorted into rage. A huge bear jumped out from behind the trees and tackled the vampire to the ground. But it wasn't a bear, it was a wolf. A wolf the size of a horse. I tried to scream, but I couldn't. I watched the wolf roll around on the ground with the vampire until it finally killed it. I screamed then and the wolf looked at me and howled.