It wasn't until that evening that Sam was able to give him some time. So Paul went to finish his shift at the mechanic shop Jake owned, and then headed over to Sam's, just missing dinner. "There's leftovers in the fridge, if you want them," Emily said warmly.
"Thanks, Em," Paul said quietly. He helped himself, as Sam seemed to be busy wrestling one of the brats into their coat. It wasn't cold out, just windy. And the devils weren't built like the wolves – not yet at least. He scarfed it all down, not having really given much thought to eating all day, when Sam cleared his throat.
"Let's go."
"Go?" But Sam didn't elaborate. "For fuck's sake," Paul muttered under his breath, following after his esteemed Alpha with a last wave to Emily. He was led to a beach, First Beach, and he crossed his arms as he stared at the waves for a moment, before glancing to Sam. "So?"
"So, you're going to skip rocks until you can skip it fifteen times."
Paul blinked. Sure, the water was calm here, but that was a hell of a lot of times. "I… What the fuck will that do?" Paul snapped after a bit of hesitation.
"That's for you to figure out," Sam said simply. He picked up a rock from the sand, and sent it sailing into the sea. Paul counted each skip. Sixteen. Fuck him.
"I'm not going to keep throwing rocks for you to laugh and see how gullible I am-"
"When you run out of rocks, go back in the water and get them. And then start all over again."
"No," Paul said simply.
Sam seemed to be expecting it, as he always was. Fuck him and his patience. "Are you ever going to date her if you can stop getting angry? Do you want to stop getting angry, or not? Because then this is a waste of my time, Paul-"
Paul let out a breath that sounded too much like a growl. Sam shot him a warning glare. "Fine."
Sam nodded and patted him on the shoulder. "Good. I'm proud of you for trying this, Paul."
"Whatever," Paul muttered angrily and as he heard the Alpha leave, he picked up a rock and threw it out into the sea, watching as it plunked. He growled under his breath, his fists clenching.
He did his best to ignore the Swan Beach House behind him. He did his best to ignore the sounds of Bella laughing with that other friend of hers, and Angela and Leah. He did his best to ignore the sounds of her telling them that Paul was honestly not that bad, just a sore loser. Why they were talking about him, beat him. But she was saying his name. And fuck.
The rock fell into the water and he ignored the house. He ignored it all.
He had to or this would never work.
But a sniffle sounded from behind him and he knew it was her without turning around. He threw another, a bit more forcefully this time and it went farther, still plunking into the water with a splash. Fuck. "Why are you throwing rocks?"
"I don't fucking know," he ground out.
Bella moved to stand beside him and he could see that she was cold already, her jacket on but her arms were crossed, and she was narrowing her eyes into the wind – or because she was angry. He wasn't sure. He'd be angry if he was her. But she hummed, and the sound went straight through him, and he threw another rock with all the force he could muster. He was getting angrier and angrier the more she stood beside him. "You're a real dick, you know that?"
Paul almost snorted. "I've always known that."
"So, why are you throwing rocks?"
"Because I'm a dick," Paul muttered sarcastically. She snorted, having heard, and if wondered if it was because she found him funny or if it was because it was true. Perhaps both. He could live with both.
"No, that's not why. There's a reason."
So, he decided to be honest with her, for once. "Sam says that it'll help my anger."
"Oh..." She hummed thoughtfully and he tensed slightly at the sound. Jesus fucking Christ. Did she know what she was doing to him? "I doubt it." And just as quickly the warm feeling faded as he growled. "See?" she said glancing to him for the first time that night. "You're still pissed about everything."
Paul huffed, not bothering to justify it with a response, and threw another rock. It splashed as well.
"Just leave me alone, leech-lover."
It looked as though it was inspiring another topic change, which he was dreading. Couldn't she just fucking leave him alone? She was making his blood boil. And he felt like he was on the verge of wolfing out. And she was way too close. "Have you asked Jake about the Edward thing, yet?"
"No. Nor do I want to. I don't care about your leech." He didn't want to hear her say that fucker's name either.
"You obviously care enough for us sleeping together to be a problem for you," Bella remarked. "Which was something I was hoping on happening by the wedding, by the way." His wolf preened in surprise, but she continued off-handedly, making his mood sour. "He had this thing, sort of like vampire AIDS, only it was in his head, so he thought that if we slept together, he'd kill me. And he thought that if he did anything more than peck me on the forehead, it'd basically cause his morals to completely cave in on him and burn him alive. So, no, we never slept together. Never even made out. We... eugh." She nearly gagged. "He lived in the 19th century as far as PDA was concerned. Even Private Displays of Affection. So, yeah, he had a bit of a morality complex that doesn't fit todays casual vibe."
"You haven't slept with anyone supernatural?" Paul asked in surprise, but he needed to hear her say no, so he could put his mind to rest.
Bella snorted. "Does the pack count?" Paul growled. Why did he fucking ask? "Damn, you really are so easy to piss off. I slept with Embry, once, when he and Quil came down to visit me one summer." Embry? Paul would rip his ass apart. He knew. He fucking knew about the imprint. "We were drinking, and I'm surprised I was still walking. He was absolutely wasted. One thing led to another." Bella shrugged. "I'm surprised you don't know about it. Pack mind and all."
He just growled. "So, you've become a whore?" Fuck. He did it again. He was fucking it up. Bella shot him a glare. "You said it yourself. You've slept with a lot of guys." It was all he could think about from that conversation.
"And I'm not proud of it. But I haven't slept with a leech, and only one wolf. Compared to you." She looked him over, and snorted, as if she didn't like what she saw. His wolf practically whimpered. He was such a prick, and his wolf was such a baby. "You probably have more diseases than a rabid raccoon. I'm going back inside, it's cold." She turned. "And there are too many pricks around." He could hear her start to walk away. "By the way, you're throwing them wrong." He cursed, and she giggled as she continued up the path towards the beach house. "Asshole."
His fist clenched around a rock in his hand as he listened to her. "So, what's up?"
Bella snorted. "It's Paul, being his usual self. I never knew a dick could walk around uncensored, but the advancement of the media has surprised me."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He did it. And he was doing his best, and it still wasn't enough. Fuck it all.
He threw the rock in his hands and listened to it splash before he felt the familiar blinding heat. He was ready to phase. He barely made it to the treeline before he let out an angry growl and exploded. He snarled in frustration as he dug his paws into the ground.
"So… not so easy, is it?" Sam's voice sounded in his head. Fucking asshole. Paul blamed him for this shit. "Don't blame me for you being an asshole, Paul."
"Is Embry on patrol with you?" Paul demanded in a growl.
"Not until midnight."
"Good, because I'm going to fucking kill him." Paul took off in the direction of the Call household. That kid's ass was going to be smeared all over the fucking forest once Paul got his claws into him.
"Paul!" Sam cried, trying to halt him. But Paul wasn't listening. Embry would be meat on the pavement when Paul was done with him. How dare he fucking touch her? How dare he even think about touching her? Bella was his imprint, and that meant that no one fucking messed with her. Not even himself.
This story is being worked on all week, so there are many more updates to come! If you want to see any of my writing progress or how I'm coming along, check out my tumblr and twitter. I'll update there regularly.