GOOD NEWS GUYS! PlagiarizmFactory took down my story! And everyone else's! Whether hacked or not, I'm not sure... but at least it's gone! Woot! Here's a chapter for ya!

MICHELLE'S POV

I just sat in the car for a while, trying to catch my breath and wondering what on earth I'd done wrong. He was going to kiss me. Isn't that what's supposed to happen? We'd be together and like happily ever after… right? Finally, I got my bearings and slid out of the car, slamming the door behind me. I took a deep breath and walked up to the door of Sam and Emily's.

Pushing the door open, I was hit with a loud "WELCOME HOME!" I jumped back a few feet, my heart pounding out of my chest. I felt a smile form on my lips as I took in the scene in front of me. Every member of the pack, well except for the obvious who was MIA, and their imprints were there. Little Claire bounced around excitedly, and everyone else was beaming at me. There was a homemade welcome home banner strung across the wall.

Blushing madly, I walked right up to Emily and hugged her, and then everyone else there. The hugged me back kindly, even Leah sort of. There was an awkward silence until Jared finally said:

"So where's Paul?"

"Uh… he wanted to take a uh stroll in the woods," I muttered.

"Well that's… nice?" Kim said, raising her eyebrows.

Another awkward pause.

"Food's ready!"Emily called from the kitchen.

The pack men stampeded into the kitchen, only to be blocked by Emily who was hitting a wooden spoon against her hand menacingly.

"Ladies first," Emily warned.

Kim, Claire, Leah, and I skipped past Emily and into the kitchen to get food. I'm not sure if Leah was allowed, because she eats as much as the guys, but I think Emily was trying to get back on her good side. With both Sam and Emily watching me like a hawk, I filled my plate with food and sat down on the couch between Kim and Seth. I was too worried about Paul to enjoy my food.

"Are you alright?" Kim asked me tentatively.

"I… I think so," I sighed.

"Do you need to talk?" she asked quietly.

That got me thinking, did I need to talk? I mean, I'd talked to Paul and my therapist, but maybe I needed a friend to talk about "girl problems" with. Kim was a great friend when we were close, our friendship had fallen apart through all the shit in my life. And I found myself missing the sleepovers and text conversations.

I opened my mouth to answer her with a heartfelt yes, but was interrupted when the back door slid open. Paul leaned against it, looking sorry. We made eye contact for a minute before he gestured backwards with his head. I sighed and nodded, setting my plate on the ground. Getting up from the couch, I walked over to Paul and followed him out the door. He walked to the edge of the yard and then turned around.

"What do you want Paul?" I asked softly, when he didn't say anything at first.

"I'm sorry… for running off on you like that," he said quietly.

"It's alright. I guess I understand," I shrugged, trying to waive it off nonchalantly.

"But it's not alright, and you don't understand."

I shrugged again, looking at my feet.

"Michelle, I'm not going to take advantage of you," Paul whispered.

"What do you mean?" I asked, "I'm not sick… or uh drunk. I know what I want."

"But you're so emotionally unstable right now," he said in frustration, "You don't even know what you want."

"Yes I do!" I insisted, "I want you!"

"But are you ready for that? The imprint works in different ways. I could be your-"

"Protector, brother, friend, lover," I said impatiently, cutting him off.

He chuckled lightly and pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear, "You sure are stubborn. But you certainly aren't ready for a relationship yet. Not the… serious kind. If we became involved… romantically… I would feel like I was taking advantage of you. You need time Michelle. Time to get back to a normal life."

I nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. Paul was doing one of those annoying things he sometimes did. He was making sense.

PAUL'S POV

I watched her walk back inside in sadness. After a minute, I followed after her, anxious to get some food. I knew I was hurting Michelle's feelings by rejecting her, but I knew what I was doing was the right thing. She wasn't ready, mentally or emotionally. She needed to mature and fully get over her father's death before anything else dramatic could happen.

"What was that all about?" Jared asked, sitting next to me at the kitchen table.

"Just sorting some things out," I shrugged, shoveling chicken into my mouth.

"Hmm," Jared mumbled.

"What?" I asked, my mouth full of food.

"Nothing," Jared sighed, shrugging.

I rolled my eyes and swallowed my food, "There's obviously something. Just spit it out."

"I was just remembering that all the guys expected you to be the worst imprint. We all felt bad for whoever would get stuck with you," Jared laughed.

"Well thanks man, that makes me feel pretty damn awesome," I growled, turning back to my food.

"I wasn't finished," Jared said, "Anyways, you turned out to be the best imprint of all of us. I mean, it's been almost a year and you haven't even shagged her yet."

I laughed but otherwise ignored the comment.

"See, you didn't even punch me when I said that. But seriously man, you've been pretty awesome with Michelle and I respect you for that," Jared said.

"Thanks man," I said, shooting him a grin.

"Yup. Well, I'm bored. Wanna play some football?"

"Sure," I shrugged, pushing away from the table and following him into the living room.

"Guys, football?" Jared asked.

Those two words got everyone off their lazy asses and out into the field to play a nice game of football. Or not so nice… Seth ended up with a black eye, Jared had a broken arm, Embry's missing some teeth, and I have a bruise on my forehead the size of Quil's fist. Which is why Quil has a broken collar bone.. Good thing we're wolves and heal quickly. But Michelle and the rest of the imprints don't have to know that;)

"Are you sure you're alright?" Michelle asked in a worried tone, holding the cold wash cloth to my forehead.

"I-I think I'll be okay," I said weakly, adding a cough for effect.

"Oh, you poor thing," she cooed, dabbing at the bruise and brushing my hair out of my face with her fingers.

If the circumstance had been different, the guys would have totally been making fun of me for milking my minor injury to get attention from my imprint. But Jared was next to me doing the same thing with Kim.

"Aww, Jare-Bear does your arm hurt?" Kim asked sadly.

"I hope so. But I'm being strong for… you," he said in a sob voice. Nice one Jared.

"Oh, baby," she cooed, kissing his cheek.

"Oh stop complaining," Seth growled, touching his eye and wincing.

"Don't be jealous," Jared muttered low enough so the girls couldn't hear.

"Fuck you," Seth growled, rolling his eyes. Someone's a sore loser.

"Hey! Be nice to Paul! He's hurt!" Michelle scolded, glaring at Seth.

She turned to me, "You just sit here, I'll take care of you."

Yup, taking that blow to the head from Quil was definitely worth this.

Review please! I'll love you for ever!

Oh, and like most stories I've written, I'm clueless as to how to end it because yes, it's going to be ending sort of soon. I might do a sequel, but probably not. Anyways, how do you want it to end? Kids? Marriage? It's really bad that I don't think my stories through, I know. Anyways, just wanted to know what you all want!