A/N: I own no part of Twilight. Sydney has proofread this. (Thanks, sis.) Rolling on to the next chapter. It's short but concise. Also, we've hardly put a dent in this story. There's still a loooooooooooooooooong way to go. Like, that long.

Enjoy!

X.

you were red and you liked me 'cause I was blue
you touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky
and you decided purple just wasn't for you

The trip back to Forks was quiet except for their syncopated heartbeats. That was what Leah focused on as they drove through the trees, reentering the badlands. With Paul, it was so easy to think they were in a movie; he exhibited that a timeless attitude that was impossible to mimic. He was eternal in her love-tinted eyes, but not even his shiny brown eyes could force her to forget the reality that she had to live in. She would try just as hard, though. He made her so optimistic that it was to the point of bullshit.

Dawn was just breaking when they ended up back in their hotel room, not quite back down to Earth. He sat in the bed, and she straddled him immediately, fueled by bravery and desire.

He said to be cool.

"I'm already coolest," she said before leaning in to kiss him.

He brought her dress up and placed his hands on her backside, bringing her in closer. He didn't engulf her anymore; now there was an equal mix of the two of them. Together, her world was lavender and it was undeniably beautiful.

They were together for what felt like hours. The morning sun created patterns on his skin through the shutters as he retreated to the shower. Leah didn't follow him. She didn't do anything but lay in bed and reflect. There wasn't much to reflect on; her mind had turned brand-new at the hands of Paul.

How did I ever live ina world without PaulLahote? The guy's all I know now.

They would have to come back down to Earth soon, but they took as long as possible. They both showered and then shared six secrets each. Each secret belonged to the both of them and would never be repeated.

Then they took a morning nap. In Paul's arms, in the white sheets that felt like nothing but them, Leah felt like the queen of the clouds. She couldn't remember what it was like going to sleep and praying to some god that wherever he was, he was safe. Now, he couldn't be safer.

When they woke up and returned to Earth in the afternoon, Paul almost ruined everything.

He drove Leah to Kim's house, where her mom thought she had been since Prom ended. He stopped the car just at the beginning of the large driveway.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"I've got business to take care of," he said.

Leah gave him a chance and tried not to get too upset too fast. She wouldn't destroy her emotions this soon, and so unwarranted. Paul was always hyping himself up, though. He was so into being cool and sounding cool that he didn't even know it, and it drove her crazy.

She tried to reason with him. "Why can't I come?" she asked. "Kim's not gonna care if I don't go to her house, and I know she'll make something up for me."

"Don't wanna risk it," he said like he was trying to be nice.

"Is it dangerous?"

"It could be."

"I'll wait for you, then," she said. As always.

He saved her heart when he told her, "Okay."

"Alright."

"I'll go by your house later," he said. "I won't be long. Trust me."

She didn't have much trust for him left. He was really good at making empty promises.

Leah was silent. She just glowered at him, trying not to get her feelings hurt.

"I love you," he told her. "Go in there and catch up with Kim. Then go home and get yourself cleaned up. I'll see you later."

"I love you, too," she said. "See ya."

He leaned in and kissed her hard, gave her the kind of kiss that left her tingly and lightheaded.

She got out of the car, waved goodbye, and made her way to Kim's house.

Leah couldn't even make it to the front door before turning around and just going home. She didn't want to see Kim right now; she didn't want to see or hear or feel anybody but Paul, and once again, he was just out of her grasp.

She tried not to get upset about it. Suppressing the pain she could easily make herself feel, she just focused on catching a bus from Forks to La Push. It took a while to get to the bus stop, but it would have taken hours if she had just walked home. She wouldn't even make it, Paul would just be dust, and her world would be in retrograde once again.

Her mother was sitting on the couch when Leah entered through the front door.

"Hey," Sue called without turning to look at Leah. She was in a lighter mood than usual. It was kind of scary. "How was Prom?"

"It was good," Leah said.

"See, I told you it'd be good. Did you and Kim have a good time?"

Leah just remembered now that Kim was a real person that she actually knew. She'd have to call her sometime soon when she recovered a little bit.

"Yeah, we had a really good time," Leah replied.

Sue finally looked over to Leah. "You look tired," she said. "And your hair's a mess. Whose jacket is that?"

Leah looked down at her sleeve, realizing that she was still wearing Paul's leather jacket.

"Oh, a friend's," she said lamely. "A bunch of us got food after Prom and it got really cold."

"I'm really glad you went, Lee," Sue said. "I'm glad you got the experience."

"Yeah," Leah said absentmindedly. "Me, too."

Leah showered again and changed into sweats before going to sleep. She had nothing to do but wait for Paul. What other way to waste time was there other than to sleep? She was starting to feel herself turn into Emily. She wished she could console in her over shit like this, but Emily was busy recovering through self-care. Leah would have to be strong and be there for herself, but her mind was still somewhere in the school gym, so recovery would have to wait.

Leah slept until twilight. She fluttered her eyes open to see the pink and orange light creep through her window blinds. It was her favorite time of day, but the scariest. So much could change in so little time.

She went into the living room to discover that the house was empty. Sue was probably at work or Billy Black's house, and Seth was likely on the other side of the planet. The kid was never around. He was sixteen now and had friends who could drive, so he thought he was hot shit.

Leah sat on her couch and looked out the window. She waited for the sound and image of a loud, rusty lemon of a car pulling into her gravel driveway. Paul had been back in her life for less than twenty-four hours and he already had her looking crazy over him. He had that kind of magnitude whether she liked it or not.

Eventually, Paul's car did pull into the driveway. Leah went out to her porch and waited for him to come out. He walked up to her porch wearing aviator sunglasses and an unfamiliar scowl.

"Hey," she said easily. "Nobody else is home, so if you wanna come in, you can."

"I'm sorry," he said in an unapologetic tone, "but I can't do that."

"We can go somewhere else, then," she said.

"Leah, I have to go."

She clenched her jaw, trying not to get upset again. "Where?"

"I gotta go back to Tacoma," he said. "California, if things get really bad. I can't be around here anymore."

"Well, I'm not gonna let you go until you take off those fucking sunglasses and have a real conversation with me."

Silently, he took them off. His left eye was red and swollen. It was like he had just been socked in the face.

Leah's mouth fell open. "Have you been around your dad?" she asked murmured.

"Lee, I gotta go."

"Have you been around your dad?" she repeated, louder. "'Cause I'll fucking kill him."

"It wasn't my dad!" he yelled. Then he lowered his voice and took a deep breath. "Look, Lee, I really gotta go now."

"You keep saying that," she said, annoyed, "but you never tell me why, Paul. Cut to the fucking chase."

"It's not good for me to be around here," he told her. "Look, trouble follows me everywhere I go, and things and people are a little too close around here. It's a small-ass world, and I gotta get out of it before I get fucked up even more. I gotta get far away from here."

"Who's after you?" Leah asked. "I swear, we can get the police on it or something and we can help you and get you out of this sh—"

"I'm in too deep," he said. "It's not safe for me anymore."

"So you're just gonna go," she said with a nod. "You came back after almost three years to fuck me and tell me you love me and now you're just gonna fucking leave me like garbage."

"I'm sorry, Lee."

"You better be fucking sorry."

"Well, I am!" he shouted. "Leah, I'm fucking sorry."

"Sorry doesn't mean shit to me," she said. "I was so fucking sad because of you, and when you came along just now you changed everything. Paul, you made me forgive you for being a piece of shit by never calling or even trying to talk to me, and then you messed all that up because you're a fucking asshole. You're such an asshole, you know that? I don't care if you've got problems or trouble or whatever, Paul. I don't care. You're always in trouble, and you always know how to get out of it. But you fucked up real bad this time—do you even see that, or do you just not care? You can't come into my life again and change me in just a day and then decide that we don't mean anything."

She was such an angry crier. Hot tears ran down her face, but she didn't care that she looked stupid. She could never look as stupid and foolish as she felt.

He was silent as he looked down at the porch.

"So here's what you're gonna do," she said. "Just so we're fucking clear, you're gonna stop being a coward and you're gonna look me in my eyes and tell me that I mean nothing to you. Tell me that all that has happened between us doesn't mean shit to you, and I'll understand."

He looked at her with his brown eyes, but all she could see was the bruise. He didn't say anything.

"I love you, Lee," he said, "but—"

"But you gotta go," she finished, nodding. "So get fucking going."

He turned around and went back to his car. She didn't give him another look as she went back into her house and slammed the front door shut. She left her heart out on the porch. Without Paul, she didn't need it anymore.

He didn't hear her, but before he left, he said, "I'll be back. I'll try."

Paul was always trying.

A/N: And? Review!

Best,

HS