Hi,

School is kicking my ass, and so is work... Is anyone down to live on an island? Also, I know this is random, but does anyone have any good Fic Recs? I could use something new to read, and I'd love to know what you guys like reading. I loved writing this chapter, I got a little bit of second-hand embarrassment, and I hope you all like it.

Take care of yourselves.

Always and Forever,

Ari.

Warnings for all chapters: Mentions of death, funerals anxiety, parental arguing, silent treatment, bullying, emotional abuse, discussion of death, implied sexual relationships, unwanted touching, sexual assault, suicide attempt using a medication, suicidal ideation, manipulation, panic attack, abandonment, stress, abandonment.

Disclaimer: I only own my O.C.s and parts of the plot you do not recognize from the Twilight Saga.

Chapter 32: Set the Mood

"He smiled, and his face was like the sun."

― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

10:50 a.m. La Push, Washington

I stared at the ocean, listening to Jay and Seth holler at each other in the water. Camping had been a bust since the guys grumbled about losing the leech, and I hated that they were working overtime to ensure it didn't come back.

"Sorry about camping," Kim murmured, handing me a cup of sweet tea. "I know you were excited about that," She bumped my shoulder, wiggling her eyebrows and grinning.

"We have little ears," I reminded, catching Seth's sheepish grin. Ever since becoming a protector, I had caught him listening in on conversations he wasn't supposed to be in. "Boundaries, Seth," I reminded gently, and he gave a thumbs up.

"So about Claire," Kim trailed off, wincing when Seth roughly shoved Jay into the water. I winced at the sound of his skin slapping the water. "That's gotta hurt."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing when Seth rushed to help Jay, apologizing profusely about his strength, and Jay brushed him off, taking the opportunity to pull him headfirst into the water. "Boys will be boys." Kim laughed, pulling out the food we packed for today. "What about Claire," I asked, taking the offered turkey sandwich.

Kim took her time unwrapping hers, taking a small bite. She chewed slowly, "how long have you known her?"

"Not long. We have art together," I added, finally unwrapping my sandwich. "She seems nice, and I think she's going to keep him on his toes," I murmured, taking a bite. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, she's quiet, and I think it will be the opposite once she gets to know everyone," Kim said, picking at her sandwich. "This is going to sound stupid."

"Doubt it," I sang, chuckling when she bumped my shoulder. "What's going on, you love my sandwiches, and you're picking at them like a baby bird."

Kim rolled her eyes, taking a bigger bite. I shook my head at her, keeping an eye on the two, waiting for her to get her thoughts together. "Don't get me wrong; Claire seems sweet. I just don't want you to forget about me." I rewrapped my sandwich, putting my arm around her. "I know, it's stupid."

"Kim, it's not, and I won't. How can I forget a sister?" I pushed my head against hers, squeezing her tightly. "I love you."

She sniffed, putting her arm around me. "I love you too," I grinned, letting her go, and sipped my tea. "I feel better."

"Good. Tell me how things are with the gift," I asked, unwrapping my sandwich again. I caught Seth craning his neck again, "Seth Clearwater, I won't make you breakfast anymore if you continue to eavesdrop."

"Seth!" Kim growled, and Seth ducked his head. "Your adorableness will not get you off the hook." She rolled her eyes when he batted Jay away, and they started bickering. I rolled my eyes at them, turning my attention back to Kim. "It's going good. I think. I can't believe it will be two years," Kim grinned, pulling out her phone. She showed the picture of the semi-finished blanket. "But, it's stupid. What will he use it for? He's like 1,000 degrees."

"Snuggling with his sweetheart on a cold rainy day," I wiggled my eyebrows, and she shoved me. "Think about it, Kim, you give it to him, and you made it with your two hands. Then it starts pouring, his temperature is cooler, but everything brings shivers, and you two decide to cuddle; then he stares at you and mph-" She shoved my sandwich in my mouth.

I glared at her, pulling it away from my mouth, only to see Paul hovering over me, and I gaped at his upside-down grin, "Don't stop on my account, babe. Setting the mood?"

Kim laughed, and I wanted to disappear into the sand. "What mood?" Jared popped up beside Kim, "Rys, you got a little something," He gestured to my cheek.

The sand shifted beside me, and Paul swiped his thumb across my cheek before putting it in his mouth and sucking it clean. I flushed, catching onto him and what he was trying to do. I fought against my fight-or-fight and shoved the rest of my sandwich in his hand, "stop it." Paul smirked, and I felt like my skin was on fire. I glowered at Kim and Jared, snickering with each other at my mortification. "I hate you all."

"We are only teasing," Paul wrapped his arm around my waist, kissing my cheek. I turned to look at him, "There is my favorite sight," His fingers stroked my cheeks.

"So we were thinking," I pulled away from Paul, turning back to face Jared and Kim. "We should have a bonfire next weekend unless you go camping?"

"We probably won't have camping plans for a while," I added, ignoring Paul's breathless "What?" Jared snickered, hiding his face in Kim's hair. I closed my eyes, giving myself a second to try and shove my embarrassment to the side. "It wasn't an innuendo. You know what, I am just going to quit talking." I put my hands over my face, wishing for the sand to swallow me whole.

"So, camping is off the table, apparently," Paul teased as he rested his head on my shoulder, and I took my hands from my face to glower at him. He moved, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. "Bonfire sounds good. What do we need?"

"Drinks, maybe we can grill up some food," Jared grinned, leaning over Kim, "Coconut brownies."

"Yes, coconut brownies," Kim leaned against my other shoulder, fluttering her eyelashes. "Pretty please." I glanced at Paul, quirking my eyebrow at him. His lips quirked, and he shrugged. "Are you guys having a conversation without speaking?"

"You and Jared do it all the time," Paul rolled his eyes, pulling back to eat the sandwich. I bit my lip when I noticed some mayo at the corner of his lips. I moved, taking a napkin, and dabbed the corner of his lip. "I liked my way better."

"Noted," I cupped his chin, kissing the corner of his mouth. I pulled back, brushing his heated cheeks. "So cute." I grinned, turning back to Jared and Kim. "Any other requests besides coconut brownies?"

"For you two to get a room," Jared whispered to Kim, and she grinned, shoving him, trying to smother her smile.

"You payin," I asked, and Paul snorted, kissing my cheek. Jared laughed, holding his hand out for me to high-five, and I slapped his palm.

"We agree too!" Jay shouted, waving his hands from a distance. I rolled my eyes, glowering at Seth. He tried to hide behind Jay, which was almost funny because he was bulkier than my brother.

"Watch this." Jared stood, waving his hand for Seth. Seth paused before shoving Jay into the water. He hung his head, walking slowly to Jared. Once Seth was within reach, Jared tossed his arm around his neck, pulling him down. "So Sethie, I'm hearing we have an eavesdropping problem. Should we push more homework and patrolling down to once a week instead of three?" Seth shook his head vehemently, glancing back at the three of us settled in the sand. His puppy eyes tugged at my heartstrings, "They aren't going to help you, so no more eavesdropping, right?"

"No more, sorry," Seth frowned, and Jared let him go.

"Thanks, Seth," I said, my stomach swirling at his sad face. "Are you and Jay hungry? Do you guys want your sandwiches?"

"Sucker," Kim coughed, and I glared at her. "His puppy eyes got you?"

"Babe," Paul murmured, and I put my hand on his leg, glancing at him, telling him to trust me. He nodded, rubbing my hand and taking another sandwich.

"Shove it, Kim," Seth nodded, moving away from Jared and kneeling at my knees. I held out four sandwiches for him to take, and he reached out to get them, and I grabbed his outstretched hand, yanking him closer, grinning at him. "You tell my lovely manipulative brother that if he keeps pressuring you, I will make him clean all the restrooms with a toothbrush. Okay?" Seth bit his lip, nodded, took the sandwiches and rushed back to where Jay was at. "Still a sucker?"

"Genius, take down the mastermind," Jared sat beside Kim, holding his hand out for a sandwich, and Kim set one in his palm. The wind blew, and I shivered, leaning against Paul.

Paul wrapped his arm around me, offering his sandwich. I took a bite, humming in contentment. "Let's go for a walk after we finish." I nodded, closing my eyes, relishing in the sun.

1:25 p.m. La Push, Washington

We walked along the beach, gaining some distance from the others, and he humored me as I swung our hands back and forth. I bent down, picking up a broken shell, intrigued by the unique color. "It's such a nice day today," I murmured, moving closer and resting my head on his shoulder.

"Sweetheart," I glanced at him and saw his crestfallen face. "I'm sorry about our plans." I dropped the shell, taking his other hand as I moved to stand in front of him. "That stupid leech ruined everything."

"Paul," I rubbed his knuckles, "I know it sucks. You don't have to be sorry about things that aren't in your control. I'm happy just spending time with you; however, we choose to spend our time." I let go of one of his hands, cupping his cheek and brushing my thumb against his skin. I stared at him, taking in every detail, trying to memorize everything about him. "Camping was just one option. I'm sure we can come up with other options," I smirked, trying to memorize the golden flecks in his eyes.

"Mhm, like what," Paul moved his hand, letting it rest on the small of my back. I tried not to think about how nice his hand would feel against my skin. Paul moved closer, and the golden fleck became more prominent, and I let my hand drop, holding his arm. I tilted my head back, brushing my nose against his skin, "set the mood for me."

I knocked my forehead against his chin, trying to push my embarrassment down; I wanted to give it to him. He still hadn't realized that all he had to do was ask; I would happily give it to him. I closed my eyes, feeling his chest rumble from his low chuckles. "It's you and me on your comfy bed, quiet; the only two things we can hear is the breath from the other and the loud heartbeat," I started, unable to look at him, and the chuckles stopped, his hand on my lower back pushed against me, holding me firmly to him. "I can feel every inch of you against me, and you are so warm, balancing perfectly against the room's coolness." I opened my eyes, trying to find the courage to look at him, "I have my hands on your cheeks; the stubble from not shaving feels prickly, yet, I love it so much, and I know I have the whole world in my hands. I can see your beautiful brown eyes, and you smile as you look down at me. The smile where you are fully smiling, not your usual half smile. The one that is reserved for the people you love. The only thoughts going through my mind are how much I love and want to kiss you." I stopped, peeking at him from under my eyelashes, and my body flushed when I saw his pupils' size, and it felt like he was hardly breathing. "My thumbs catch on your lower lip, and you press a kiss to them before leaning down, knocking your nose against mine, and then our lips meet, and I am lost in you...in us... Nothing will disturb us." I squeezed the hand that I was holding, finally looking up at him, "did...did I set the mood?"

Paul squeezed my hand back, bringing my hand up to his lips, pressing his lips against the top of my hand, holding it there as he stared at me. He guided my hand to his heart, and I could feel it pounding wildly in his chest. Paul took his free hand, cupping my jaw, his finger stroking my lower lip, as he breathed deeply, "You..." He started, shaking his head, his full grin stretching across his face, but he kept trying to smother it. "Laryssa, my heart," I stared at him, trying to figure out what was going through his mind. "You set the mood and obliterated most of my thoughts." I couldn't stop the grin that broke out on my face. Paul finally stopped trying to smother his grin, and his thumb still stroked my lip, and my lips craved to meet his. "I love you so much, my firecracker." He finally moved, and I surged to meet him, connecting our lips.

"Get a room!" I pulled away from him reluctantly, flipping off Jay and glaring at him. He cackled, running back down the beach. I silently plotted his death, groaning when I realized we were interrupted again.

"Help me hide a body?" I asked, letting my head fall against Paul's chest, and he laughed. "Please, lover?"

He squeezed me to him, "I'd miss the little punk."

I clicked my tongue, "unfortunately, I would too. Wishful thinking then." I looked at him again, "Torture then?"

"I can get behind that," Paul smirked, leaning down and brushing his nose against mine, before kissing my lips.