Thank you so much for the reviews and messages left on/since the last chapter, it's most definitely appreciated! I would apologise for the fact that it's been a few days longer than intended between updates but I haven't been posting this for long enough to have created any sense of expectation for certain days etc, so just enjoy as and when chapters fall out of me, like now!

Chapter Four

Everyday since River's guilty confession, things had felt worse with each passing second. Her relationship with Skylar? A lie. Her attraction to Paul? Terrifying. School? Scarily close to an end, yet also stretching on for a shockingly long time.

It had only been a week, but what a week it had been. Skylar, the loving girlfriend that she was, had decided to surprise River by picking her up from school one day. River, for no good reason, had felt mortified upon seeing her girlfriend waving out of her window, parked just feet away from her bike.

Thankfully, when she woke again, it was Friday. She knew what Friday meant; it meant History with Paul. It also meant her favourite teacher, but still.

Later that day, as she walked into class, she couldn't describe the warm feeling that moved through her upon seeing Paul sitting at the back of the room beside her desk. She even smiled at him as she took a seat, though she was careful not to smile too much. She was still feeling embarrassed about how close she'd come to kissing him at that damn party. He must have thought the worst of her, so then she began to wonder why he was still being nice to her?

Her answer was clear. This really was some elaborate prank. Right? Why the hell did that idea feel so wrong? She felt dirty for even thinking it, but it wasn't exactly out of character for Paul, at least not for the Paul that she had known all these years.

Still, she took her seat beside him quietly, silently impressed when he pulled a somewhat worn looking notebook from his bag. Had he done work outside of class?

"Okay, class." Mr. Hart started, getting everyone's attention. "You've all spent the last couple of weeks choosing and studying a single period of world history between nineteen-thirty and nineteen-forty. You will all present your research to the rest of the class, and yes, this will count toward something. Those of you who do well, I will spend the next school year crafting you a glowing letter of recommendation for whatever college you decide to attend. Those of you who don't, well, you'll get nothing. You have the weekend to prepare." Oh. Oh shit. No no no. How could River's chance at a letter of recommendation suddenly hang in the hands of Paul Lahote? Fuck.

She turned to look at him as everyone around them began muttering, some excitedly and others miserably, just in time to see him almost use the wrong end of a pencil. Oh fuck.

She quickly nudged him, trying not to feel a faint pull of attraction when he looked innocently at her as if he was expecting to be scolded for something. "Did you hear that?" She asked him, hoping to high heavens that he would just hand over the project and comply.

Distractedly, he looked at where Mr. Hart had retreated to sitting behind his desk with a stack of papers, then back to River, shrugging. "We do good and he'll write us a letter?" He asked, clearly having heard and not cared.

Sighing, River took a moment to consider digging her own grave. "I need that letter." She stressed. "Like, if I want to go to a good college, I need to get that letter."

Then, Paul gave her a long look. Something in his expression changed, leaving behind a face of annoyance. One that she recognised. "Something wrong with the res?" He asked, a steely tone in his previously kind voice. What had happened? When she opened her mouth to answer, he spoke again. "I guess you think you're so much better than the rest of us because you get good grades, huh? We don't all get to move away and get good lives, River." Why did he sound so bitter?

The rest of the lesson, they barely spoke. Paul seemed to be seething the entire time and, at one point, even stood up and left to sit with Jared and Kim.

River, in all honesty, wanted to cry. She wanted to throw things at Paul. She wanted to call him an asshole and tell him that she was working her damn hardest to make a life for herself. Through it all though, she kept her composure, all the way until the bell rang and she rushed away to her next class. Math. It didn't help much that she freaking hated Math, but still, she wanted to do her best and get good grades.

It wasn't until later though, after lunch, that something happened that really threw her day off course.

She was walking from lunch to her locker when she clocked Paul across the hall. She paid him no mind though even as they got closer. That was, however, until she felt something throw her off her feet and into her locker. Had... had he just walked into her? Were they really back to that again? "Watch it." He grunted on his way past, leaving her with her back against a locker, shocked.

Clearly the students around weren't shocked, that was of course until River grabbed an open can of some shitty energy drink from a kid beside her and, ignoring the yelp of protest, hurled it at Paul's back, watching, satisfied, as the blue liquid exploded against the back of his shirt. He stopped in his tracks as everyone gasped. She couldn't believe what she'd just done for a split second. "Go fuck yourself, Lahote." She spat, watching as he spun to face her, fury across his face.

Menacingly, he stalked a couple of steps toward her, making little work of Jared's clasping hands as they grabbed at his arms, shoving his friend into another locker on the opposite side of the hall.

River, for some ungodly reason wasn't afraid. Hell, she was mad. She had been waiting for the day that she got to throw hands with Paul for years, so if today was the day then so be it. "The fuck do you think you're doing, dyke?" Paul barked, getting close enough that River could have either kissed him or headbutted him, shoving her forcefully back into the lockers. It didn't hurt, but it sure was a shock.

"Put your hands on me again, you homophobic piece of shit!" She shouted, shooting a knee directly into his groin and shoving immediately, watching as he fell back, yelping and cupping his groin with an almost confused look pushing through the otherwise angry features.

Before he could do or say anything, Seth Clearwater and Jacob Black appeared, followed by Embry Call. Seth gently put an arm in front of River while the other boys tried to grab Paul. What they didn't account for though, sadly for them, was River's fiery attitude. While they worried about removing Paul from the hallway, River saw her chance and took it.

Years of boxing. She knew she could hit a target, so when Paul stood straight, anger evident in his eyes, she threw a fist and watched as she narrowly missed Jared's head, catching Paul's jaw just as Jacob managed to push him. She barely touched him, but she'd done it.

Effortlessly, Seth swung her quite literally off her feet and to the other side of him, quickly darting to Paul and helping the others with no thought as to whether or not he should protect himself against her. River had no qualms with Seth, so as students began to chant "fight" over and over, she scoffed and made to walk off.

Naturally, she didn't make it far before a teacher sternly pointed her toward the headmaster's office. Fuck.

.

.

.

.

.

"God dammit, River! You can't be running around school, throwing drinks and punching kids in the face!" If she was quite honest, River hadn't ever seen her da so livid as when he'd pulled up outside school, having been called in to take her home. The whole car ride home, she hadn't had so much as a peep out of him. The silent treatment was an effective one it seemed because, when they pulled up at the house, River felt ready to shit her pants. Alas, it had simply lead to this. The shouting. "Do you have any idea how this looks? What are you chances of getting into a decent college now, huh? I swear, sometimes it's like you don't even think. You didn't have long left, just one more year, but no, no, you couldn't help yourself, just had to go and get suspended for a week. Do you think I had time for this today? Well, I didn't. Oh, and you can kiss your privileges goodbye, young lady. You're grounded." And on and on it went.

Grounded. Of course she was fucking grounded.

Having cleaned all of the dishes from that night, River retreated to her room, having given up her cell, her laptop and her bike keys. Having a cop for a dad really did feel like a jailer at times, especially times like those. He'd allowed her to text Skylar to say that she was grounded and didn't have her cell, but that was it. She didn't get to see or reply to the response that came through quickly, nor did she get to go out. Oh no, she had a strict curfew now.

Outside her door, she could hear her parents' hushed whispers as they argued. Her mother, as always, was trying to see the best in her. She argued that young women didn't punch teenage boys for no reason. Her dad, however, he said that he knew that something like this would happen. He knew that she would take her fighting too far and that it would leave the ring one day. He was furious to say the least.

Laying on her bed, feeling banished to her room, she had no idea what to do to entertain herself. When she usually found herself alone in her room for extended periods of time, she had a phone, usually access to porn if she was being completely honest. She had a healthy relationship with self pleasure, so yeah, it passed the time, but she at least had porn or pictures that Skylar sent her. So yeah, that was off the table and she didn't have much else to do.

Luckily, as night fell, she made up her mind after alphabetising the books on her shelf. It wasn't a great idea that she'd had, but it was an idea.

For the first time, River was going to sneak out. Hell, maybe she'd stop by Skylar's and see if she wanted to fuck in the treehouse. Who was to say. The world was her oyster.

She made sure to wear warm, comfortable clothes and tried to, as silently as possible, push open her bedroom window. It immediately let in a draft, filling the room with an unpleasant chill, but she didn't care. She slowly slipped out of the open frame, glad that their entire house was on the ground floor as he feet made quick contact with the ground. So that the chill didn't give her away, she pulled her window entirely shut, knowing that she could simply push it open when she got back since she'd left it unlocked.

Once outside, she turned from the house and saw... Brooke? Oh shit. Brooke getting into her car.

At the end of the drive way, Brooke was just getting into her car and spotted River immediately. Was this is? Was she going to drop her in it with her parents? Of course she would. That was just who she was.

Instead, to River's shock, the younger girl rolled her eyes and nodded to the other side of the car. Inviting her in? Instead of questioning it, River scurried over and quickly hopped into the car, sliding in beside her sister. "Please don't tell Mom and Dad." She begged, knowing that her dad would be mad.

Brooke, shocking her again, shrugged noncommittally. "Whatever. Where are you going? Krystal and I are getting coffee with Nate and Thom in like a half hour, so it better be close." There it was. Where the hell was she going?

"Fuck." She hissed. "Uh, just go. You're going into Forks or P.A.?"

"P.A., fucking obviously. There's like, nothing at all to do in Forks." She scoffed as if it was the dumbest question she'd ever heard.

They drove in relative silence, picking up Brooke's friends along the way. River wondered how long she and her friends had been sneaking out for coffee runs but didn't ask. Instead, in true River style, she simply demanded to be let out on the side of the road at some point, knowing that she was close enough to walk home.

Brooke, also not asking any questions, all but raced away from her older sister the second she had closed the car door, simply telling her that she wouldn't tell their parents.

From there, River walked. She wasn't too sure where she was headed as she entered the woods, but she didn't feel at all unsafe. In fact, at times, she even felt more safe there than anywhere. It wasn't until she heard a faint howl in the distance that she began to question whether a night time walk was the best idea. She didn't even know what time of night it was without her phone, she just knew that it was dark and way past curfew.

Walking in no real direction, by the time she all but fell out of the woods, she knew exactly where her feet had taken her. She was on the beach. Or, if she jumped down the small ledge in front of her she would then be on the beach.

Once she jumped down and her feet met the sand, she began walking along the edge of the water, taking deep breaths in and huffing them out into her freezing hands.

She knew, in that moment, that this whole middle of the night outing was stupid, but she couldn't bring herself to care, especially not as she felt an all too familiar tug in her gut. The only different being, this time it felt like it was leading her somewhere. It wanted to be followed and to be known. It wanted to show her something.

For some reason, she decided to follow it.

For at least two miles, she trekked along the water front, then through more woods until finally, with tired feet and freezing limbs, she stepped into a clearing. All she could see at the other side of it was a cabin. It was tiny, as small as her living room really, but something about it felt so very much like home. It was only when she got half way across the clearing that she stopped herself and actually thought about what she was doing. Approaching a random house was insane.

"You're gonna get yourself murdered, fucking idiot." She muttered to herself incredulously, turning straight back around and taking just a few steps before a noise shocked her.

Correction. A voice. His voice. "River?" He called out, his voice carrying clearly across to her.

Shocked, embarrassed and freezing, she turned again, this time to face the cabin that now had a Paul hanging out of the front door. A shirtless Paul. "Uh... no?" She tried, immediately wanting to die. "I mean, yes. I, uh, got the wrong house." She called, knowing that her bullshit wasn't working on anyone with even half a brain.

She could see a smirk on his face from there and wondered briefly why she wanted to run to him. It had been less than half a day since she'd punched him in the face. Like, literally in the face. "It's freezing out." He called back, opening the door wider. "Come in."

Ah shit.

Complying, she hurried across the rest of the small clearing, not stopping until she was a mere foot away from his front door. She briefly asked herself if she wanted to be alone with Paul Lahote in his house, knowing that he lived alone, but quickly got over any worries when she felt a rush of heat on her face.

She quickly stepped inside, breathing warm air into her hands just in time to remember that he was shirtless and choke on her air, blushing madly. "Thanks." She muttered, embarrassed to say the least as he closed the door behind her.

Still smirking cockily, Paul stepped closer and took her icicle hands in his own, engulfing them in a heat that took her entire body a second to get used to. She couldn't help but gasp and look up at his face. She was thankful that she hadn't left a bruise. At the feeling of their skin touching though, his face changed. His smirk fell, replaced by a frown as concern brewed in his eyes.

Without another word, he pulled her from the front door just a few feet away to where he had a small fireplace. Only then did she actually break eye contact and glance around. His home, in spite of belonging to a teenage boy, was lovely. It was small, of course, with a couch that had seen better days being but a few feet from the front door facing the fireplace, a small kitchen area just the other side of the couch's arm and just two doors spanning off on the right of the main room, presumably to a bedroom and to a bathroom.

"Sit." He ordered, releasing her hands to motion to the couch, stepping away for just a second to stoke the fire and add another couple of small logs. "What brings you across this way?" He asked her while his back was still turning, turning with a blanket in hand that he quickly draped on her before she could answer. It felt teasing, like he knew that something about him had pulled her out in the middle of the night, but that was impossible.

Mouth agape, she stumbled over her words for a second. "I was just out. Walking." She told him honestly, saying nothing until he turned his gaze back to her with an unsure brow, now standing in his small kitchenette area, clearly not believing that's all there was to it. "My dad grounded me for punching you. I snuck out and started walking, I just kind of ended up here, I guess." Okay, that was near enough the whole truth, right?

He nodded for a second, filling a mug with something, coming back over and sitting beside her on the couch, placing the steaming mug in her hands. "Cocoa." He supplied, saying nothing more for a moment, clearly thinking. "I'm sorry he grounded you." He started, crossing a leg beneath him and turning his body to face her. Oh god, his body. River tried not to let her eyes linger but Christ. She hadn't ever really paid much mind to the male body. It wasn't that she was entirely gay, she was happy in her identity as a bisexual woman, but she'd always just felt more for woman and hadn't appealed to men enough to entertain the fantasy. Or so she thought. "I'm sorry for what I said, too. What I called you." Oh.

She nodded softly, thankful for the heat but ultimately wondering if this whole thing was some huge fever dream. Had she passed out in the cold somewhere? "I'm not sorry for punching you." She admitted, unable to hide a smile when he barked out a genuinely amused laugh. "I mean, I am, I guess. Just, you know, you were an asshole. I thought we were getting along and then you fucking threw me into a locker and called me a dyke. So yeah, I'm not sorry, but at the same time I'm sorry, I know I should have just walked away. That whole thing about violence not solving anything." She blushed as she rambled, looking down at the drink in her hands rather than at Paul.

"Did you hurt you hand?" He asked, shocking her somewhat. He cared about... her hand? Really? She almost laughed, but when he gently reached across and ran a thumb across her knuckles, she saw that he really, truly did care whether or not she had hurt her hand. "I think I got jealous." He admitted, drawing her eyes back up to his with his admission. He took a breath, clearly steadying himself, before opening up further. "It's no excuse for what I did or what I said. I guess, sometimes, it gets me down a little that I can't just pack up and leave. I don't hate it here or anything, it just ticks me off that everyone else can go off to college and see the world. I'm always just going to be right here, stuck in this little house." Watching him talk, River realised that there was so much more to him than she'd realised before now. Gods, was she stuck in some teen romcom?

Having warmed a little, she drew her legs up onto the couch, turning to face him a little better. "Why can't you leave?" She asked, then thinking better of the question. Money. No one on the res really had a lot of money, not lately. "Sorry. Have you ever thought about a scholarship? I mean, you've clearly got some sporty hobby just from looking at you, plus our school actually has a pretty great tutoring programme-"

"I can't." He cut her short, speaking softly but sternly. He clearly didn't really want to talk about, so she simply nodded. "That's not all that made me jealous." He them added so very quietly, looking almost shy for a moment.

Suddenly unable to breathe, River gripped the mug tighter. "Oh?" She choked out, feeling an all too familiar heat brewing. He hadn't even said anything yet and she was already feeling kind of horny? Christ on a cracker, what was wrong with her around him?

Shrugging sheepishly, Paul leaned heavily into the back of the couch, looking intently at her for a moment. "You're gay." It wasn't a question but a statement.

Gay. Gay? No. River had always thought so when she was younger, but she knew that she was very much attracted to men, she just wasn't the type of girl that guys went for, so gay girls were easier to pursue. "Bi." She decided on, looking embarrassedly down at her mug, taking a sip to fill the following seconds. "Is that why you shoved me? Because you thought I was gay?" Even though her heart told her that he wouldn't have done that, she had to ask.

Chuckling wryly, Paul shook his head. "I shoved you because I'm an asshole with zero impulse control." For some reason, she laughed. Actually laughed. It was funny in a way. "It didn't help, I guess, that I thought you were gay. I mean, I don't hate gays, I just... I guess I was feeling some things and-"

"What things?" She interrupted, simply needing to know as her heart skipped a beat.

With their eyes locked together once again, he smiled softly, sadly. "I think you know what things." He muttered honestly. "I know you don't feel the same way, and that's okay obviously. I didn't handle it well, like, at all. Maybe we could start-"

"Tell me." She couldn't help it, she had to stop him. What damn feelings was he talking about?

Looking like a deer in headlights, he looked utterly taken aback. "What?" He asked, seemingly confused by her request.

"How you feel." She clarified, feeling bold for a second. "I need you to say it." She added, feeling her heart beating a mile a minute. The heat in her belly began to spread, snaking through her body, feeling so very divine.

Paul, seemingly not understanding what was being asked of him, shook his head gently. "River." His voice sent shivers down her spine and she couldn't help but lean a little closer.

"Paul." She heard the rasp in her own voice, feeling all worry and doubt fly from her chest, leaving a confidence she hadn't felt before in her.

"You have a girlfriend. You have a whole life ahead of you. You're going off to college-"

"Paul, I need to know. I need to know that I'm not crazy; that I haven't been going insane all this time. Fuck, I need to know that if I'm crazy then you are, too." And there it was. Because, at the end of it all, she needed to know. She needed to know if whatever she had been feeling all this time was real. She needed for him to tell her.

"Wait, you... you feel it? You feel it, too?" At the shock on his face, she could see that he truly hadn't expected that. She almost laughed. Was he blind?

She scoffed, shaking her head and biting her lip for just a second, incredulous. "Of course I freaking do. God, for weeks I've been going insane trying to get you out of my head. I can't even have sex without... fuck." Oh shit. She caught herself too late, wide eyed, embarrassed. Fuck, why did she have to ramble.

Naturally, she had definitely caught Paul's attention. "Without what?" He asked, seemingly feeling bolder now. He'd liked what she'd said, that much was clear.

"Oh, god. Please, please forget I said that." She buried her face in her now warm hands, letting her forehead rest on the mug as she began to pray for the ground to swallow her whole.

"River." Paul growled, eliciting a gasp from her as he softly peeled her hands from her face, bracing himself on an arm behind her head, closer with each passing second. "Without what?" He demanded, dark eyes looking down, boring into her.

Suddenly, she couldn't stop herself. She needed to tell him. "Without wondering why her hands feel too small. Without wondering if her skin was always so pale. Without feeling like I'm in the wrong relationship. Without feeling like I could finally feel something if I was with you."

And there it was. The truth.

Not wasting a single second more, he was on her. His lips on hers. His hands cupping her jaw, holding her head. Her hands on him, feeling the raw power of his muscles over her. It felt right. It didn't take long for his tongue to beg entry, nor for her mouth to all but fall open with a breathy sigh.

It wasn't until River's cocoa fell and covered her chest that they parted, panting. "Fuck, I'm sorry." Paul jumped up, shooting away to grab a cloth.

Still in shock, River sat up. She'd just kissed Paul Lahote. She had just kissed Paul freaking Lahote! "Oh my god." She didn't even have energy to worry about the cocoa, instead standing quickly and following him into the small kitchen area.

When he spun with a cloth in hand, she shoved him back, approaching with no hesitation as he hit the counter behind him and dropped the cloth just in time to grab at her as their lips met again. She pressed her body firmly against his own, practically clawing at the back of his neck, desperate to keep them together. He, in turn, spun them on the spot, pinning her against the refrigerator, running his hands down her body until he was grasping her hips almost painfully hard. She fucking loved it.

She wasn't sure how long they carried on like that, but what shocked her from their moment, ironically enough, was when she raked her nails down his chest and stomach, causing him to lightly jerk his hips into the bottom of her belly. He was hard.

When she pulled away, she closed her eyes, feeling his lips immediately find way to her neck. It was almost enough to pull her back in. Almost. "Shit." She cursed just loudly enough for Paul to pull away, hair messed from her hands, and look at her, confused. "Penis." She said, trying to catch her breath.

He chuckled and stepped back just a little, looking down at himself with a nod. "It is." He confirmed teasingly, leaning in and laying a toe curling kiss on her lips before pulling back again. "You can ignore it if you want? We can keep on making out?" She could tell that he meant it, that she didn't have to touch him, but she felt a little bad.

"Won't it... hurt you?" She asked, blushing as it became increasingly obvious that she really hadn't thought this through.

He shook his head with a grin. "It doesn't hurt. It can get a little sensitive, but it doesn't hurt. Guys just say all that crap about blue balls to get laid." He told her, looking a little bashful. "I'm guessing you haven't touched a guy before?" He then asked.

River chuckled and shook her head. "The only dick I've touched had been silicone and attached to a harness." She admitted, letting her hands slowly trail from his stomach to the waistband of his shorts. "I have a feeling I don't have to ask how much experience you have with girls." She then added, smirking a little up at him with a slightly raised brow.

His face fell a little. He didn't seem upset, but slightly damper. "You know, to officially set the record straight, I made out with Heather Estry two grades ago and that really has been it."

River couldn't help but laugh. She knew that wasn't true. Half the girls in school had claimed to have had sex with him. "Paul, Lisa Hawthorn told everyone about the birthmark on your ass. Good try though, bud." It was true. She'd told everyone for weeks how Paul had taken her virginity in the woods and how they'd carved their initials into a tree stump somewhere. River wasn't too sure about that last part, but the first bit? She believed that.

Stepping back, Paul shook his head, looking a little more amused now. "She knows about the birthmark because Jared pantsed me on the beach right in front of her. We never even made out."

She found herself having to stop and think. How many girls had lied about this? Or, more importantly, was Paul lying. "Okay, so how many girls? Be serious."

Looking into her eye, he told the truth. "I made out with Heather. That's it. I know I kind of have this attitude and I know what the girls at school say, but really, I haven't slept with any of them."

Oh shit. She couldn't believe it. "So you're saying that I've had more sex than you?" She asked, almost not believing what she was saying.

He shrugged, seemingly amused by it all. "I'm actually just an inexperienced virgin. I considered it once or twice when the girls at school started to notice me, but when they all started claiming they'd had sex with me, I realised that they just wanted a story to tell. Plus, in case you didn't notice, I'm kind of an asshole with a small group of guy friends. You think I get time to run around playing hide the sausage?"

Paul Lahote was a virgin. It almost didn't seem possible. "Oh my god." River muttered, pushing him away gently. "Paul, I'm so sorry. I believed all those girls. Fuck, I think everyone did. God, to think, I almost just went to fucking town on you-"

"Don't let me stop you."

"Paul." She scolded gently, making him laugh.

"Me not having had sex isn't the end of the world, you know." He teased, stepping back again and picking the cloth up that he'd dropped.

"I almost just grabbed your dick, Paul!" River, for some reason, was mortified with her actions.

Still laughing just a little, he began to gently dab at where he'd spilled her drink on her. "And I'm telling you, I wouldn't have minded!" He jested. He knew he wouldn't have minded, but he still respected the pace she wanted to take. "Look, if you want to have sex right now, then I'm game. If you want to sit on the couch and paint my nails, I'm game. I don't really care what we do, I like being around you." Oh. That made her heart swell, that was for sure.

She thought for a moment before responding. "I've only had sex with three girls. I have no idea what to do with a guy. Seriously, I've worn a strap, but a real dick? No idea."

"That's okay. The last boob I touched was two years ago, I'm not exactly swimming in experience."

Then, in a split second, River remembered. "I have a girlfriend." She said into the room. "Fuck, I have a girlfriend. Oh god, I have to break up with her. This isn't fair on her, I have to-" Paul caught her arm just as she went to shoot away, steadying her.

He held her still for a moment before gently cradling her head in his hand, brushing his thumb over her temple. "River, it's gone midnight, I think she can wait until morning." He told her, smiling gently. "You can crash here. I'll take the couch. There's a heater in my room, you can hang your clothes on it."

Gone midnight? Jeez, it was later than she thought. "Fuck, I need to get back."

"Right now? You're wet and it's freezing out there. Just stay until morning and I'll walk you back."

As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't stay. She shook her head. "My dad will kill me if I'm not there when he wakes up." She told him, letting her head fall back against the refrigerator with a groan.

Smiling sadly, Paul nodded. "Okay, but at least change out of those clothes? I've got a dresser full of sweatshirts and pants that aren't wet. Just head into my room, door on the right. Bottom drawer on the dresser." He stepped away, pointing toward the room, and ushering her along.

"Thank you." She blushed a little, remembering that she was in fact still freezing cold and in wet clothes. She went into his room and changed quickly, finding a pair of grey sweats and a black sweatshirt, both of which looked warm. She tried not to think about the fact that she was in Paul's room, purposefully ignoring the bed as if it didn't exist.

She wanted so badly to just fall asleep on his couch, but she knew that if her dad woke up and found her gone that there would be hell to pay and she really didn't have the energy for that, not today. It was decided minutes later that, against River's wishes, Paul would walk her home to make sure that she made it okay and to, if needed, help her climb back through her window.

Alas, upon them reaching the end of her driveway, she saw that, through her closed curtains, her light was on. With Brooke's car nowhere in sight, she knew what it meant; her dad had checked on her only to find an empty bed.

Fuck.

Okay, admittedly I had wanted to wait a couple more chapter before they came together but I was in a zone and that is where we're at now.

I don't know if anyone wants a warning for a sex scene (are they still called that in writing?) if I was to write one in a later chapter, so if anyone has any thoughts on that then please let me know! Also, just general thoughts and feelings please, I live for that!