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Have you read my latest out-take? It's completely Paul POV and sheds some light on events preceding this chapter. it can be found on my author page under Eye of the Storm (Chapter 2) Enjoy!

Suggested Listening: 'How To be A Heartbreaker' and 'Power and Control' by Marina and the Diamonds, 'The Fear' and 'Under The Same Sun' by Ben Howard, 'Can't Feel A Thing' and 'Nights Like These' by Lucero

Chapter Thirty: Can't Feel A Thing

Bella POV

"Are you alright?"

I looked up from the stack of boxes as I shoved the door shut with my hip. Mike was standing with a smoothie held aloft, straw to his lips and frowning curiously at me. It was the most outright acknowledgement I'd had from him in weeks - Jess ran a tight ship.

"Uh, yeah, why?" I said, readjusting the middle box in my grip. As it threatened to fall, he darted around the counter just in time to save it. He took the closer proximity as an opportunity to study me further.

"It's just, you keep coming out of the stock room with this weird look on your face. And blushing." he pointed at me. "See? You're doing it right now."

The urge to cover my cheeks with my hands caused the top box on the stack to tumble to the ground, the rest about to follow soon after before Mike abandoned his cup and just took them off me.

"Thanks," I breathed, relieved to actually be rid of the burden and wallow in my mortification. I turned away and crouched, feigning searching for something behind the counter to hide my expression.

"Bella?" Mike said, returning from re-stocking the display.

I popped up suddenly, looking anywhere but at him. "Yep?"

"Do you need to like, go home or something? Or... you know... the pharmacy?" he said, also avoiding my eyes. Clearly Mike equated weird-girl-behavior with feminine problems he was either too polite or too immature to outright mention. I hid the smirk at his shyness behind my hair.

"No, Mike.. I'm good. Really good."

Oh shit, I was blushing again. I hadn't been able to stop turning red or smiling since we'd opened up this morning, and in truth, why the hell would I want to? My life was finally taking a turn for the better, and last night had been one of the greatest I'd ever had. All day, my chest held excited flutters and butterflies were playing a game of Quidditch or something in my stomach - but it was the single best feeling in the world

Embry had escorted me to work, still smelling of his night of Bella Duty in the forest. I'd had to practically bite my tongue not to invite him inside with me and beg him to wrap me up in his arms so I could sleep better... but I wasn't sure it was a good idea. After what had happened between us in the dark of that store, I didn't trust myself;my little stuffed Ewok was probably a much more appropriate sleeping partner when Charlie was down the hall, and at least it smelled like him.

All I could think about now was when I'd see him again or when the next time I got to touch him was, and Em, well, he just took it all in his happy, easy-going stride. He was so self-assured that it started to seem like I was the only one who felt my world spinning out of orbit - but then he'd look at me, and just a glance at those dark, endless, expressive eyes and the unsaid words in them and I just knew.

He'd sat contentedly in my truck as I drove, humming 'Embraceable You' (the Sinatra version, I was informed) with a hand trailing out the open window and looking the same way he did when he'd just tasted something really delicious. All I could do was throw him sidelong glances and flush like some pre-teen at her first dance, his very presence setting me alight. I was changed, now, and although shadows of the old me still came through in the worrying of my lip, the need to show this guy that last night wasn't a once-off outweighed the shyness.

When we reached Newtons, hidden away from view, I paused to press him against the side of the truck and practically pounced. He left with ruffled hair and a smile like George Lucas had personally called to offer him lifetime supply of pizza - in exchange for a script - and I had no doubt that Embry knew what he'd let himself in for. Today was the start of us. My body felt like it was energised with a year of sleep, and my dreams had been a pleasant reprieve of soft touches, powerful muscles and heat. Beautiful, scrumptious, heat.

I was so lost in my little trip down memory lane, leaving Mike to wander off in search of work as I doodled on a notepad by the register, that I didn't hear the front door open.

"Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you. Embrace me, you irreplaceable you...In your arms I find love so delectable, dear...I'm afraid it isn't quite respectable, dear..."

"Where did I already hear that song today?" an unmistakable voice enquired, cutting out my off-key singing. My eyebrows shot to my hairline with a start, and I looked up to find Seth, dressed in a creased black t-shirt and cut-offs, watching me curiously. I instinctively took a step back, conscious of my scent and plastered on a surprised grin.

"Seth! Hey! What brings you here?" I squawked, feeling like he'd know exactly what I'd just been thinking about by looking at me.

"'Sup Bells," he grinned, burying his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. "I just came from lunch with Hannah."

I frowned. "Hannah... Oh! Ice-Cream-Girl?"

He laughed softly and nodded. "That's not her given name, but yeah."

"Things are going well between you guys, huh?" I said, unable to keep the teasing inflection from my query. He was still such a little sweetheart beneath the imposing appearance, and the thought of Seth in love and being cute with an equally-as-cute girl was irresistible. He ducked his head in an adorable display of shyness and nodded. When he straightened back up again, there was a distinct stain of red on his cheeks. Thank god it wasn't just me.

"Hope so."

I cooed - actually cooed - and pressed my hands together. "Oh my gosh, how cute are you?"

He raised his eyebrow, admonishing me and groaned. "Jeez, Bella, I'm not twelve."

I pressed my mouth shut and nodded, firmly reprimanded. "Of course not.. it's just. Aww!"

He rolled his eyes and backed away. "Oh god, what's with you?"

"Nothing," I said, feeling the paranoia creeping back in. Oh shit, he knows. Oh shit, everyone knows. Oh shit, Embry's going to freak...

"You're all..." he waved a hand over my general appearance, brow creasing, "...squeaky."

"Am not," I squeaked, negating my own protest.

"Are too."

"Nuh-uh."

"Okay, maybe one of us is twelve," he smirked victoriously. I narrowed my eyes, folding my arms but conceding defeat.

"So you decided to come here and interrogate your good friend Bella, I get it."

His face sobered slightly, catching my attention. It wasn't so often that Seth Clearwater's smiles got chased away. "Actually, I did want to ask you something."

My heart pounded, causing me to cough and try to cover the sound. Oh dear GOD, they're like human lie detectors. ABORT! ABORT!

"Uh... sure, what's up?" I said, voice shaking with pure trepidation.

"Have you talked to Leah today?"

At that, I could feel my heart rate return to normal and I sagged my weight against the counter in relief. I shook my head. "No, not since last night. How come?"

He frowned in disappointment and his shoulders slumped. "Damn. She left some time after midnight. Her car's gone and we haven't seen or heard from her all day."

My lips parted in understanding. "Ah... you're worried 'cause of the party?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I mean, she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself... but she'll at least phase in or leave a note or text or something. It's weird, you know? Mom's kind of freaked."

"Have you talked to Paul?" I asked, only realising what I'd said when a perplexed expression contorted Seth's face.

Foot, meet mouth.

"What would he know?" he asked, eyes searching my face - which suddenly felt like it was glowing bright red with the word 'GUILTY' scrawled across my forehead. I dipped my chin, picking up my abandoned pen again in the pretense of making a checklist.

I shrugged. "Uh, dunno. I think I heard them talking about taking a run today, or something." I was stuttering now. The jig was up. She was going to kill me.

"Huh," he said, tone dripping with skepticism. "Well, he's been patrolling all day, doing loops of the Rez, but he's alone."

"He is?" I said, starting to feel a sense of foreboding. Something was up - Leah wasn't the type to just take off, and if Paul wasn't with her, my money was on the chance that something bad had happened between them. Something bad enough to make Leah want to be alone. I didn't want to worry Seth more, though, so I just offered a kind smile.

"Well, she was supposed to call me today, and she usually keeps her promises, so I'll let you know if she does." I looked him in the eyes, trying for reassurance. "I'm sure she's fine. Just... clearing her head."

He returned the smile - though it was forced - and gave me a nod. "I'm sure you're right. Thanks, Bella."

"Any time. I care a lot about your big sis, you know."

He smiled - and it was genuine this time. "Yeah, she's pretty fond of you, too. I'll see ya later, alright? I'm taking over Swan Detail today."

"What about school?" I'd been under the impression that the younger wolves were encouraged to attend as much as possible.

He grimaced. "I still went, but I took a half day. Leah was s'posed to take the shift over from Embry this morning, but she didn't show."

That really was worrying - the way Leah talked about my safety, and how close we'd gotten lately told me that she wouldn't just shirk her responsibilities without good reason. Or maybe she just thought she was doing me a favour by giving me more Embry time?

"So I get to do the honours," he finished.

"How exciting for you," I deadpanned, watching him as he neared the door. Something occurred to me, then, and I decided to try my luck with the truth once more. I straightened up, bracing my palms on the counter and leaned forward.

"Hey, Seth?"

"Yeah?" he said. turning with his hand on the door. He glanced back outside, like he was distracted by something and keen to leave.

I frowned. "What's with you and Melanie?"

A shadow passed over his expression and he looked down, shaking his head.

"Nothing for you to worry about."

I leaned my head to the side. "Seth, come on.. I'm just asking as a friend. I've never seen you react to anyone the way you talked to her last night. Did something happen between you two? Is she-"

"She took what didn't belong to her," he bit back, cutting into my questions. My head jerked back in confusion.

"She... what? What are you talking about?"

"And if she was as great as everyone pretends she is, she would have given it back," he continued, disgust spitting from his words with a pointed look at me.

Realisation crept in, and I let out a breath. It was for me. He was still loyal to me all this time, despite my months in bitch-phase and barely seeing him. My heart softened along with my voice.

"Seth, it's not..."

"He was yours, Bella, and if she had any decency she would have respected that, and helped him fight it - but she didn't."

"But Emily..."

"Emily's my family. At least she tried to send Sam away, at the start. He was just too stubborn and messed up to let her. Who knows what would happen if the imprint gave the wolf a fighting chance."

Recognition came to me then - this wasn't about Melanie, or me - it was about the choice. It was about striving to preserve it when somebody took it away. His anger towards Melanie was just misplaced, because he wasn't mad at her. He wasn't simply upset that she hadn't sent Jacob away; he was upset because, of all people, Seth had believed that Jacob could fight imprinting, and that maybe one day, Seth could too. He was upset that Jacob hadn't been given a proper chance, or that he hadn't tried hard enough. His hero hadn't turned out to be who he thought he was.

"She just came into our lives thinking it was okay because she's got this special claim on Jake. Well she's wrong. There's nothing special about her, only that she seems to have all the parts of you that he loved, but none of the history."

My lips jerked, waiting for the right words to come to mind, so I could tell him he was wrong; that, although my self-esteem had been trashed and I'd nursed a broken heart for months, I was okay with it. That Jacob's imprint, although it had destroyed me, could end up being the best thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to tell him that through my hurt, I'd found someone who could read me like a book but still seemed interested in what I had to say. I wanted to tell Seth that I was falling for someone, harder than I'd fallen for anyone before because it happened all on my own, without mind-games or pressure that he wanted me first.

But I was too paranoid that he'd press me further, so I just said: "It's okay, Seth, I'll get over it." I smiled genuinely at him, and he eyed me with speculation. "Just watch me."

His lips curved in a small smile, like he was just indulging me, and he dropped his head once, reluctantly agreeing. "Alright, Bells." His eyes met mine again, and he jerked his head towards the door. "I'll be around. Let me know if Leah calls."

With that, he strode out into the afternoon light, and I was pulled back into my worry about my best friend. Mike was perched on a step-ladder, rearranging hiking equipment when I called up to him.

"Hey Mike? I gotta make a phone call, I'll be five minutes, okay?"

He nodded distractedly as I passed him, making my way to the office where I'd left my bag. I pulled out my phone and was disheartened to find that there hadn't been any calls or messages. Leah really was maintaining silence. I scrolled to her number in my contacts, placing the handset to my ear and listened with bated breath as the tone rang out and her voice cut in.

"It's Leah. Make it interesting." The signal sounded to start recording the message, and I wound a hand into my hair.

"Hey, Lee... it's Bella. Seth was just in Newtons asking if I'd heard from you. He seems kinda worried. Just let me know you're okay, yeah? Call me when you get this."

I pressed 'end' and sighed, tapping my foot against the large, painted steel desk in contemplation. This didn't feel right, at all, and all I wanted was to call Paul to get the full story. I just knew he knew more than Seth did; she'd been coping well when I left her house, better than I probably would have. Only one person could have seen her in between.

The last few hours of work passed without incident, but Leah was never far from my mind. Seth made small talk on the drive home, and I persuaded him to join me for dinner - we both needed the distraction of being with someone else to take our minds off of Leah, I think. It wasn't good to be alone, and Charlie was still working late almost every night.

Around an hour after Seth had retreated back outside, there was a knock on the front door. I wasn't expecting anyone, and my feet almost tripped over each other in the quest to get to it, hoping it was at least some good news. I shouldn't have been surprised to find Paul on the other side, and he looked awful.

"Paul, come in," I said, stepping back. "Is Seth still outside?"

There was a slight shake of his head. "Nah, I'm taking over for the night. Think I'm freaking some of 'em out." His smirk was grim, and not the bright, mischievous one I'd become accustomed to.

"Still haven't heard from her?"

He let out a grunt. "It's not like she makes things easy on us." I looked at him sympathetically as he took a seat on the edge of the couch. "Guessing you've got fuck all from her too?"

"I left her a message after I heard, sent a few texts, but I haven't-"

Just then, a vibration from the kitchen table sounded out, and both our heads turned to the direction of the sound. Paul was on his feet before I was, racing to the phone and had it in his hand by the time I got there. I glared at him. "Ever heard of privacy?" I scolded, laying a hand on my hip.

He ignored me as he opened the message, the right part of his top lip peeling back in an angry sneer as his eyes raked over the screen. The phone started to creak in his grasp, groaning under the tightening of his fist.

"Paul! Hey, don't break it," I said, laying my hand over his. His skin was practically sizzling, and when I took the time to look, I could see the faint tremors of energy rippling over his muscles. He was close.

I dropped my tone to one I hoped was soothing. "Hey... what does it say?"

He finally released his grip and relinquished the handset, letting me turn it to face me.

I'm fine. Won't be back for a while. Let my mom know.

"Three fucking sentences? She takes off out of nowhere, leaves no note, takes her car so we can't follow her scent and we get back three sentences after a whole day of shitting ourselves?"

He was pacing now, trying to expend some of the pent-up energy and for the first time in months, I saw the Old Paul fully reappear. His teeth audibly grinded and muttered curses turned the air blue.

He needed to calm the hell down for a minute. I took the opportunity to move to the landline, flipping open Charlie's address book and unhooking the receiver of his ancient rotary phone.

"I gotta call Sue," I said, though I wasn't so sure he was listening to me.

After barely a ring, Leah's mother's voice croaked down the line.

"Leah?"

"Uh, no, Sue," I replied, instantly feeling guilty for giving her that split second of false hope. "It's Bella."

I heard a breath fan over the mouthpiece, and her voice lost its vigour. "Oh, hey, sweetheart," she said then, she seemed to realise how strange it was that I was calling the house. "Did you hear something?"

"She texted me. It wasn't much, but she said she was okay." I knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but Leah had asked - and Sue deserved a little peace.

"Do you know where she is? Is she alone?" Her voice was growing more frantic with each question, and my stomach clenched a little more with each word.

"She literally just told me she was okay and asked me to let you know she wouldn't be back for a while," I said apologetically.

Sue sighed in defeat once more. "I really don't like this. The fact she took her car? I mean, she's faster on paws than what that thing can go, from what I hear."

"Maybe she wanted some privacy... you know they can all hear everything. I'm sure she's just getting a little distance from the Rez and all this craziness for a while." I wasn't sure I fully believed it, but anything to ease a worried mind.

"I hope you're right. My first thought was that, if she took her car and some of her stuff, she might not be coming back."

Paul stiffened and looked towards me for the first time in the whole conversation, and I knew this wasn't going to help matters. I made my excuses with Sue, promising to update her and try to find out more from Leah, and hung up the phone.

"What happened, Paul? Did you guys have a fight or something?" I was almost afraid to ask; getting more nervous for his reaction to any criticism and I took a step further away. I hid the action with a lean against the counter. He was exuding power and rage, and I could feel the hairs on my arm stand up with the potency of it. He shook his head, turning to look me in the eyes, and all I saw there was desolation. He was lost, and his first reaction, as with most things, was aggression.

"No, the opposite. We just took a walk together...talked.. and then fell asleep. Together. She'd never allowed that before." He dropped his gaze, training it on his flexing hand, like he'd been clenching his fist so tight that his hand forgot how to straighten out. His lips formed a hard line, forcing stoicism.

I studied him carefully, knowing that there was more to this than met the eye, but Leah wasn't one to shy away from conflict in the least. She was more likely to challenge Paul to a brawl than storm off in tears.

Chewing on my lip, I opened up a reply to her message.

What about Paul?

He watched me as I typed, the wrong angle to be able to read the screen, but waited once I'd pressed 'send' for the telltale vibration. There was a dreadful pause where we said nothing, and then her message came through.

Tell him not to look for me.

My eyes closed at that, knowing what this was going to do to him. A day not knowing where she was had been enough to make him regress back into the hardened, antagonistic vessel of rage that falling for her had defeated. If Leah didn't come back soon, I wasn't sure she'd have much of a welcome.

"What's it say?" he asked, fixing his stare on me while I tried everything to avoid it. I put the phone behind my back childishly and shook my head. "Bella," he said warningly, "Fucking tell me. Was it something about me?"

My vision snapped to his automatically, and he knew from the action that he was right. His eyes narrowed. "Is she fucking me over?" He leaned over me, using his size as a scare tactic. I knew he was no threat - I knew him too well to really be afraid of him - but my gut reaction was still fear. There was still a wolf right under that facade. I stared up at him, chewing over my options, and sighed in resignation.

"She doesn't want you to look for her."

He let my words sink in as he leaned back, and a sarcastic snort came from his throat as he entwined his hands on the top of his head and twisted away. "She's a little fucking late for that." he turned to me again. "I spent the last fourteen hours looking for her. It was a full six before it even occurred to me that she'd taken her car, and I ran two hours in every direction for a trace, coming up with nothing. This is bullshit!"

His roar was punctuated as his left fist flew out at the wall, but he reigned it back at the last second, pulling it up to rest against his forehead. He puffed out a frustrated breath and doubled over, the shuddering in his muscles ebbing away.

I started towards him. "Paul, I'm sorr-"

His head snapped up. "Don't. Just... no offense, Bella? But shut the fuck up."

I pressed my lips together obediently, and nodded, awkwardly crossing my hands in front of my jeans. He leaned back heavily against the wall, head giving out a little thunk as it made contact with the surface. His eyes opened slightly and he peered down at me, saying nothing for several moments.

"You think I should listen to her?" he asked.

I shrugged one shoulder, setting the phone down on the table beside me as I perched against the edge.

"I'm worried about her," I said, using my finger to nudge the device around in circles as I thought. I looked up at him, needing him to get how much this meant. "But Paul, what do you think will happen if you don't respect her wishes?"

He jerked his head. "She'll toss my ass to the curb. Probably tear me a new one first."

I quirked my lip in resigned agreement. He knew her just as well as I did. Probably better. All Paul needed was someone to agree with his rational side every now and then. "There you have it."

His brow creased with the close of his eyes; long, calming breaths practically steaming from his nose as he forced himself to comply. It didn't work all that well. He pressed the heels of his hands into his eye sockets and grunted. "I fucking hate this. I don't know what I did!"

"I don't think you 'did' anything, I think maybe it got too much for her. The party, being with you-" I started to say, before thinking better of it. Maybe being with Paul had become too much for her, but it wouldn't help to speculate on it, for either of them. "I think she just needs some space, some time alone to clear her head. We can't deny her that."

His jaw was firm as he nodded his head, eyes hard on some internal conclusion. "Guess I've waited long enough. She should just make up her mind soon, though."

The unease I hadn't realised was there subsided, and my shoulders sank in relief. If Leah got some time alone, the better the chance that she'd come back with a clear head and a better attitude to the whole situation.

I hoped.

After that, he had to leave. One look at him and I knew instinctively that staying in one place wasn't what was best for him right now, and that if he had to, the nervous energy pent up in him would be released in less than wholesome ways.

After a quick call to Quil for replacement - who informed me that I was cutting into his precious Xbox time - Paul was off. I tried occupying myself with cleaning up the kitchen, but my mind couldn't seem to stray from the weight of the phone in my pocket.

Quil wouldn't be here for at least ten minutes. I pulled the phone out and stared at her name in the contacts. I just needed that little bit more reassurance, and maybe if I could convince her that it was just me around, she'd open up a little.

The phone rang out endlessly, until, just as I was sure it was about to go to voicemail, she answered. I sank into the couch, breathing relief that she'd given me a chance.

"Hey."

"I wasn't sure you'd pick up."

"Me either."

"Where are you?"

There was a pause, in which she seemed to genuinely debate coming clean. "Somewhere different." I knew better than to push.

"Are you alright?"

"As much as I can be. Sorry if I worried you."

"It's fine, I'm just glad you've been in touch."

"I wasn't gonna be. But I remembered what it's like to be stuck at home wondering."

I nodded, though she couldn't see, picking at a stray thread on the armrest. Leah had spent way too long worrying about what had happened to someone she cared about, why he wouldn't take her calls, why he froze her out. "When are you coming back?"

"I don't know, I just need... time."

A long pause ran after her words, and the question burning my mouth finally got the better of me, needing to be free. "Is this about Sam... or Paul?"

She didn't reply straight away, like she wasn't completely sure of the answer herself. I could hear muffled sounds of traffic in the background, like she wasn't too far from a busy road, but was indoors. As the time came when I fully expected her to tell me to mind my own business, she surprised me when her voice came out soft, vulnerable, and like how I'd imagined Leah had sounded before her life became a joke soap-opera.

"I needed him."

I frowned, not sure about the vague direction she was going. Had she gone to see someone? Someone she had to see after everything that had happened?

"You needed..."

"And he knew. I fucking needed him and he knew I did and he turned up at my window like some perfect teen-movie cliche."

I huffed out a breath, my heart aching because Leah - strong, resilient, hardened Leah Clearwater - had forgotten how to open up and let somebody in. "Leah, there's nothing wrong with leaning on someone."

"There is when they get pulled out from under you, and you're left laying in the dirt. Pathetic." Her tone was once again hard, filled with disgust for herself and the situation she viewed as a failure.

"You don't know that's going to happen, Lee. You and Paul..."

"No, I don't, but it's not just about us. I made a promise to myself that no guy was going to worm their way in, even human, and what's the first thing I do? Screw around with a fucking wolf and develop feelings for him."

"It's not like he's just anyone, Leah. Paul knows you. He knows everything you've been through and he cares about you more than I even thought he was capable of. You should have seen him earlier, he was a mess."

A snort. "See? If I'd told you six months ago that Paul Lahote was going to go all pussy over a girl, you'd have laughed in my face."

"It's not a weakness. Just a day without you and he's freezing up again... it's not good."

"It is for him. There's a reason why he was the way he was, and now look. He's wasting his energy on worrying about me when he shouldn't care. He should close himself off. It's better for everyone."

"That's not fair... he can't help his feelings for you."

"Yeah? Well I can. I'm not like you, Bella. I can't just pretend that this isn't a huge mistake and continue on with my eyes closed."

The harshness in her words cut deeply. Was that really how she felt? Like I was being stupid and naive to take a chance on Embry?

"I see."

"Don't get pissed at me. You know I'm right," she said admonishingly, but her tone softened again. "Look, I wish I could be like that. I wish it was as easy for me as it is for you, but it isn't."

I didn't know why she seemed to perceive it that way. The doubts about Embry and I gnawed at me still, every time I gave it too much thought. It was only when I was in his arms or feeling his lips on mine that they were silenced. But I wasn't at a point where I could fully vocalise them yet.

"You're making it harder than it has to be."

"No, you don't get it. I'm making it easier. I need time to think... but I know what has to be done now. This needs to stop before it goes further. It's better for everyone."

My heart dropped, leaden, into my stomach. She couldn't be serious.

"Leah..."

"Don't start, okay? Just... don't."

Her words were laced with such finality that it chased the protest right from the tip of my tongue. I closed my eyes, dreading how this was going to end. "Okay. Just... do me a favour? Think a little more about this. Take all the time you need."

There was a bitter laugh that didn't last. "I plan to... but if you're holding out hope that I'll change my mind, I wouldn't hold your breath."

"I won't." I knew as I said it, that it would be useless. Leah had made up her mind, and the fallout was going to be horrendous. A soft yip from outside signalled the end of the conversation, and I rose from the couch. "I gotta go, Lee. Quil's here. Take care of yourself, and stay in touch, okay?"

"Sure. I know I don't have to tell you to keep a lid on this."

"Of course. Bye, Leah."

"Talk to you soon, Swan."

The next morning, I woke with a scream.

"Quil, what the fuck?!" I screeched, pulling the covers up around my neck in a gesture of discomfort. He was sitting on my window ledge, legs dangling away and down to nothingness, head turned to look at me, eyes hard with contemplation.

"Sorry, I did knock. You're a heavy sleeper," he replied, without a trace of genuine apology. I frowned at him, scrubbing both hands over my eyes with a groan before pulling the covers back and sitting up properly.

"You scared the crap outta me, Jeez. What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk, Bella," he said, his voice even and serious. Instantly, a chill ran through me and I bolted up.

"What happened? Is it Embry?"

His lips quirked on one side in threat of a smile, but he shook his head. "No, well, kinda. I think you and me are due a very serious conversation."

"About what?" I said, cracking my neck and moving to pick a hooded sweatshirt from the back of my chair. The chill coming in the window was only exacerbating my discomfort.

"You have to be careful with him."

"Careful how?"

"With his heart. You have to promise me not to break it."

My eyes widened, wondering if we were really having the 'what-are-your-intentions-towards-my-friend' conversation. By the look on Quil's face, I knew better than to laugh at the idea. He was dead serious.

"Can't this wait until after I've had some coffee?" I groaned, my posture slumping as the fear ebbed away and the weariness crept back in. He didn't answer, just held his harsh glare, urging me to respond properly. I rolled my eyes. "Quil, I'm not gonna break his heart."

"Can you promise me that? Embry's a sensitive soul. His heart is like a fragile flower, just on the verge of blooming. A step in the wrong direction, and you could crush it."

This time, I did laugh, louder than was probably polite. "Oh god, are you kidding me? Quil..."

"He needs to be treated with tenderness... he'll be loyal and true and he'll give you everything and it's not fair if you're just gonna take all of that for granted. He's risking a lot here.. and you need to be sure about this."

"Quil, we're still just figuring everything out-"

"Promise!" he snapped petulantly, like a kid losing patience with their mother. My brow creased, and I nodded with hesitation.

"Yeah, I promise."

He watched me carefully, clearly gauging how genuine I was being. "You're the first girl he's ever really liked, you know."

I nodded, actually hearing it for the first time, but deep down, this wasn't news to me. "Yeah, I know."

"A lot of people wouldn't really give him a chance, 'cause of his dad, and all. He's a great guy." He was picking at the paint on the ledge, his voice dropping uncomfortably at the sincerity of the moment.

I smiled. "Yeah, he is."

His eyes snapped to mine. "And you, you've been through a lot. I want you to be sure about things now, and not go running off at the first sign of trouble."

Then, everything clicked into place. Quil had been phased the entire night, witness to the turmoil Paul had been going though because Leah left him without an explanation. He was afraid that one day, I'd do the same to his best friend.

"I won't I swear."

"Even when Jake finds out?" he asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, standing in front of him now. It was rare that I'd ever seen Quil so open and earnest, like he had a real responsibility to honour. It warmed my heart that Embry had a friend who cared so much.

"Because it's not going to be pretty. I wasn't kidding when I said you guys have to tell him."

I nodded, "We will. We just need to find the right time."

"Well make sure it's soon... you're kinda killing me here." His hand weaved across his chest to knead at the muscles at the back of his neck, doing little to relieve the tension I knew he carried there.

I felt a stab of guilt at putting him in the middle of all of this. "I'm sorry. It's part of the reason we didn't tell you. We don't want to hurt anyone, Quil."

His face softened, and all trace of seriousness filtered away. "I know. I just had to be the bad cop for a sec. Think Charlie would gimme a job?" he asked, raising a brow. I huffed out a laugh.

"Sure, you were very intense. I'm impressed."

He nodded proudly. "I'd make a great cop. Imagine the chicks I'd get with that uniform..." Suddenly, he snapped his palm to his forehead. "Cops! Perfect! I'd better write that down," he said, turning to poise himself to leap off the ledge.

"What are you talking about?" I called, stepping closer before he got away.

"Oh, just deciding what kind of outfits to request for the strippers at your birthday party," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

My eyes widened, and I shook my head. "Oh no... you are not serious!" I yelled, watching as he vaulted towards the tree and swung to the ground without effort. He shot me a mischievous look over his shoulder.

"Aren't I?" he said, sprinting towards the tree line were another wolf, Jared, was just coming into view. Before I could ask another question, he flashed me an unwelcome view of his butt and phased in a burst of chocolate fur.

I grumbled at the sight of his retreating tail, gritting my teeth at the chorus of taunting barks that signaled his departure.

A/N: Let me know what you thought :)