Hey,

I hope everyone is staying safe. Thank you to those who have favored, followed, and reviewed you are my inspiration!. I hope you guys liked Chapter 5. I'm excited/nervous for you to read Chapter 6. I had a little bit of trouble writing this one, but I hope you guys enjoy it. I have posted Scarred Angel on Fanfiction, and Archive of our own as well. Enjoy!

Always and Forever,

Ari.

Warnings: Mentions of anxiety, silent treatment, stress, abuse.

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

Chapter 6: You've Got A Friend In Me

"Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it." ― Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

8:29 a.m. La Push High La Push, Washington

"Alex," I tried to get his attention, leaning against the locker next to his. I rested my head against the locker, wanting to bash the back of my head in. This was my fault and if I had just been a little braver at the beach, he wouldn't be ignoring me. "I'm sorry." God, what was I thinking?

He slammed his locker storming off towards our first hour. I grimaced, trailing after him like a lost puppy. Alex tossed open the door, not bothering to hold it for me. I rolled my eyes when it slammed shut seconds before I reached it. I wanted to slam my hand against the door, but I refrained. This was going to be a long day. I inhaled, trying to gather my patience. I yanked open the door, frowning when I noticed Alex sitting in a different seat. I walked to my seat, shrugging my bag off my shoulder so it hit the desk with a thunk.

I plopped down in my seat, laying my head on my bag. I just had to wait out his anger and then I could apologize and everything would go back to normal. I held my stomach when it growled, cursing myself for not setting my alarm clock. Today, I just knew I was going to die in the gym. I sniffed, trying to ignore the burning hunger in my stomach.

"Boo," I jumped, almost falling off my chair. Warm hands wrapped around my arm, steadying me. I glared at Paul as he laughed without shame.

"Funny," I added dryly, batting his hand away. I started digging through my bag, hoping that I had something to munch on.

Paul snickered, setting something wrapped in foil on my bag. "Forgive me?"

I eyed the foil, gently beginning to unwrap it. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face when I realized it was a blueberry muffin. "Totally forgiven," I tore a piece off, popping it in my mouth savoring the sweet bite. I was excited to taste the fresh blueberries. "You lucked out, I forgot to eat this morning and you caught me while I was hungry," I offered some to him.

Paul shook his head, a small grin still on his face. "I won't scare you anymore." I rolled my eyes at his obvious lie trying not to shove the muffin down my throat. "Promise."

"Mhm," I didn't believe him, as I took a big bite out of the muffin. I glanced at him seeing a look of awe on his face. I swallowed hard, realizing that I was too invested in inhaling the muffing to properly thank him. "Sorry, they are really good. Did you make them?"

"No, I burn food easily," He snorted, taking out his notebook. "A friend of mine did, I'll be sure to let her know that you like it." I smiled, looking around the classroom. I met Alex's gaze, only for him to roll his eyes and look away.

"My brother does too. No matter how much I try to teach him, he can't pick up the skill," I crumbled the foil, twirling the ball in my hands. "It was really good."

Paul sent me a smile, flipping through his notebook. "I need your opinion on something. You are amazing at your art and I wanted to try something. I wanted to see if I could get lost," I watched as he settled on a page, holding his notebook so I couldn't peak over. I smiled, when he mentioned that he wanted to get lost. That was the best feeling that I ever experienced and it made me happy that he wanted to try it out. "Don't laugh, it's not my best."

"I wouldn't laugh at someone's work," I murmured, hating when Alex did that to my work. My work was sacred and it gave me peace, who am I to mock something that someone worked hard at. "Let's see it." I perked up excited that he wanted to know what I thought. "C'mon I'm excited," I said, trying to retain my patience. I stretched my neck trying to peak over to no avail.

"Really," He held it closer to his chest, so I couldn't peak over. I pursed my lips, fighting the urge to gnaw on my lip. "Okay." He held it out to me. I took the notebook gingerly, turning it so I could look at it.

I grinned, wanting to trace the intricate sunflowers but I didn't want to risk smudging his work. It was beautiful, and the detail he had was extraordinary. "It's beautiful," I said, not wanting to take my eyes off of it. "The detail that you have in it is just… wow." I heard him laugh. I glanced at him, holding on to my train of thought when his eyes connected with mine. "I can feel the passion you have in this."

I looked at the drawing again, trying to memorize it. I gave it back to him, happy that he wanted my opinion.

"I'm glad you like it," Paul said, setting the notebook on his desk

"How did it feel to get lost for a while," I asked, keeping my eyes on the drawing. "Did you enjoy it, or was it not your thing?"

"It was alright, but I found that I felt better when I had something to keep me grounded." I nodded in understanding, everyone had their own ways of doing something. What worked for me, may not work for someone else.

"It's different for everyone," I shrugged, flipping through my own notebook. "But it was a beautiful sketch and you should be immensely proud of yourself."

"If you keep up the praise, I'm going to start blushing." I snorted, pulling two pens out. I doubted it very much, I thought as I offered him the pen. "What are we going to draw today?"

I tapped my chin with my pen, before shrugging. "You chose."

Paul hummed clicking his pen rapidly. He stopped abruptly, "Eyes." I grinned trying to pump myself up for the challenge, spreading my notebook so we each had a page. "Alright, what's our topic for today? You start."

"Favorite childhood memory," I stated, starting to sketch out a pair of eyes. I frowned when I realized that today, eyes were gonna be my kryptonite. "Or what do you like to do in your free time?"

"Decisions… Decisions." Paul smirked, peeking at my doodles. "I'm going to do both since you offered both." I quirked my eyebrow at him, glancing over at his drawing smirking when he covered it protectively. "In my free time, I enjoy eating, sleeping, carving, surfing, and playing video games."

My pen froze when he mentioned surfing and all I could see was Paul sitting on the water waiting for a wave to come. I scribbled out the eyes I had been working on, moving to the middle of the page starting to sketch a single eye. I glanced at Paul quickly, seeing him set his pen down with a wide grin."Favorite childhood memory has to be the time my dad and I went sledding, and I was at the top of the hill by myself and I went down the hill crashing into him." I giggled, staring at him in disbelief. "Laryssa, he flew up in the air."

"Ouch," I tried to push down my giggles, only for a loud snort to escape when I couldn't hold in my laughs. I slapped my hand over my face, trying not to flush red. I grabbed my water bottle, taking a large gulp feeling embarrassed when I caught a few stares from my classmates. I picked up my pen again, trying to refocus on what I wanted to draw. "Sorry," I murmured hating when that happened and it happened way too often for my liking.

"Don't apologize, it's cute." I swallowed hard, feeling my hand start to tremble, causing my eye to come out lopsided. "So favorite childhood memory and what do you do in your free time?"

I let out a small sigh, thankful that I didn't have to reply to the first part. "Uhm, I li-like to eat, read, sleep, paint, try different recipes, sleep, and study constellations." I leaned closer to the paper, trying to lightly sketch a man on a surfboard. I bit my lip, deciding what my next painting was going to be. "It's hard to pick one. But I guess the one I like the most is when my dad and I had a paint war. It was him and I vs my mom and Jay. We won," I added smugly, remembering how upset mom was at first because we ruined her brand new white blouse. It had been totally worth the scolding my dad and I had gotten.

"Constellations," Paul murmured, letting his hand brush against mine. "What's your favorite?" I stopped drawing, faltering at his question. No one had ever asked me that. I shook the thoughts away, telling myself this was because of the biography and it was why he was asking.

"I don't have one," I said, wrinkling my nose at my sketch, my hand wasn't working today and my art was suffering. "Favorite thing to eat?"

"Steak, hands down. With garlic butter and potatoes," Paul rubbed his stomach, licking his lips as if he could taste it. "Or brownies, they are my favorite."

"Mhm, that does sound good." I could feel my mouth start to salivate at the thought of a big juicy steak. "But not the ones with nuts," I asked, frowning at my sketch. If Alex were to see it, I already knew what he would do. Since it wasn't my best, even for a doodle and he would scrap the duds.

"Not the one with nuts. How did you know?" Paul questioned, peeking over at my doodle. "What's wrong?"

I set my pen down, grimacing at my doodle. "My hand isn't working, I have to scrap it. It isn't perfect." I set my pen down, tracing my fingers over it. "Kim told me," I added, starting to rip the page to toss it.

"I think it looks good," Paul murmured, showing me his. I smiled at his cartoon eyes. "You shouldn't scrap it even if it isn't perfect." I bit my lip looking down at the page. "Perfection is overrated."

I nodded, tearing the page out, setting it on my desk. "How so," I asked, starting to sketch out the eye of Sauron. Even if it was a dud, I could always make it into something else. Perfection in my art was how I managed to get the project with Mr. Harlson. Perfection is how I got the opportunity of a lifetime.

"Perfection gives unwanted stress and worries, it's bad for the body," Paul murmured, starting to draw a different set of eyes. From his tone, it sounded like there was more he wanted to say but he held back and I wasn't one to push. I nodded, knowing how stressed and worried I tended to get with the project. "My turn. What are you really bad at that you'd love to be good at?"

I swallowed hard, trying to focus on one thing instead of the ten that were circling my head. "Wanting to speak my mind," I settled on the one that I wanted to be better at. "What about you?" I asked, even though I couldn't imagine him being bad at anything.

"That's a good one," Paul said, setting his drawing on mine. I looked at the different sets of eyes, semi envious of him drawing them so easily. "I want to be better at having patience." Patience has been my savior when I wanted to murder Jay.

"I can understand that," I murmured, thinking about the multiple times' Jay tested mine.

"Okay, class!" I glanced up seeing Ms. Blu holding up a piece of paper. "I know you are having fun with your biographies, but I need you to fill this out." I took the papers from the girl in front of me. I handed one to Paul, grimacing at the yearbook survey. I didn't know a lot of people in our senior class. "Set them on my desk when you're done."

"Are they mandatory," Justin yelled out, waving the paper mockingly.

"No. But I would like you to participate," Ms. Blu sighed, turning back to her computer.

I stared at the paper, jotting Kim and Jared for the best romance. I wrinkled my nose at the rest of the questions, not knowing who to put. I pulled out my phone, letting my relief hit when I realized we only had four minutes of class left. I set the half sheet in my folder, signing my doodle. He leaned over signing his name quickly, crumbling the slip. "What class do you have after this?"

"I'm an aide for Mr. Kim," Paul said, grabbing my foil ball. I nodded, he had been my favorite teacher last year. I had hated math but he made it bearable. "Mind if I walk with you?"

I glanced at Alex seeing him laughing with Lisa. I sighed knowing there wasn't going to be a chance to speak with him. "Not at all," I said, closing my notebook. I set it in my bag, trying to swallow the hurt I felt. I stood when the bell rang, fixing my jeans. Paul stood, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, walking beside me to the door. I glanced at Alex, noticing him ignoring me. Paul opened the door letting me walk out first, I smiled in thanks quietly walking beside him.

"Are you alright," Paul asked, walking so he battled the other students. I was grateful for him because I didn't want to deal with the crowd.

I didn't want to bring him into my drama. I had already made him an unsuspecting accomplice and I didn't want him to be in the middle. He didn't deserve to be shoved into Alex and I's mess. "Yeah."

9:57 a.m. Hallway, La Push High, La Push, Washington

Paul stared at Laryssa, wondering what was going through her mind. She stopped beside Kim, sending her a small grin, running her fingers through her hair. Jared nudged him, furrowing his eyebrows silently asking him what was wrong. Paul shook his head, knowing that Laryssa had no reason to trust him yet. She barely knew him and he knew that she wasn't sure of herself. He fought against the urge to ask her again. Part of him didn't want to leave her since they only shared one class and he knew he would only see her briefly at lunch. He hated that he couldn't talk to her and risk pissing off her territorial friend. He eyed her again, seeing her stare pointedly at her shoes.

"So Laryssa," Jared started causing her to glance at him. "Paul mentioned you were coming to the beach. Do you know how to surf?"

"No, I never learned," She said, fiddling with her fingers. "I'm not very good with balancing," She laughed, tugging her hair into a messy bun. Paul wanted to reach out and tuck the strands of hair away from her eyes.

"Maybe Paul could teach you," Jared suggested, tucking his hands into his pocket. "He's been wanting to surf for a while now."

"I'd be happy too," Paul added, watching her glance at him doubtfully. "That is if you don't wanna attack the water," He couldn't help but tease her. He was thankful that Kim and Jared stepped away.

"Ha," She smirked, staring at him. "Funny." Paul grinned back, seeing the pink flush across her cheeks. He so badly wanted to reach out and stroke her face. Patience, he reminded himself. He would be content with just being her friend if that is what she wanted. "I'm going to get dressed. See you," She smiled, backing towards the locker room. "Maybe you can teach me to surf another time, I'm still attacking the floor and I'm not ready to take on water quite yet." She laughed, sending him a wave before she ducked into the locker room. Paul grinned after her, happy that he was able to make her laugh.

"If you keep staring at the door, people are going to think you're a creep," Kim poked his side, rushing into the locker room slamming the door behind her.

"She liked the drawing," Paul said, walking down the empty hallway. Jared slung his arm over his shoulder, pulling him so he was hunched over. Paul elbowed him, standing so he wasn't hunched over.

"I told you she would," Jared grinned, holding out his fist for a fist bump. Paul bumped his fist, trying to figure out where he wanted to get the wood for the carving.

His thoughts flashed to Cody, trying to shove the anger down. He touched Laryssa and Sam had forbidden him from going near the punk without his brothers to hold him back. "Cody?" Paul knew that Jared shared multiple classes with him and he wanted to know that he was being kept away from Laryssa and Kim. Paul took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. His mind flashed to the nail marks on her skin.

"Still an ass, but he won't be going near the girls," Jared grumbled, clenching his fists. Paul knew that Kim finally told him what was going on and they all agreed to watch out for them. "Jake is going to watch out for Kim when she has Cody in class with her. The others will keep an eye on Laryssa, but it's easier since she doesn't have classes with him." Paul nodded, wanting to know how he got to her. He breathed in deeply, fighting the urge to go and slam him against a locker for even daring to touch her. "You know what Sam said," Jared reminded, looking at the empty hallway. "Laryssa denied that he did it. Maybe one day she'll tell you if he did or didn't."

Paul grimaced, remembering the smile she sent Embry. He saw her reaction before the smile and his whole being was telling him that there was more to it. "I know," He snapped, rubbing his face. This was the one thing he despised about the imprint. He wanted to take her and hide her from the horrors the world had to offer, but he couldn't do it.

"He won't get to her," Jared reassured, taking off towards his class.

Paul glanced at his watch, heading to Mr. Kim's class. He thought back to her praise to calm himself down and how beautiful she was when she smiled. He had been embarrassed to show her his work. The embarrassment was worth having her mesmerized by something he drew for her. He was excited for the day where she would look at him like that. He opened the door, nodding to Mr. Kim as he took his seat at the back of the class. He reached back pulling out the files Mr. Kim left him, starting to grade the freshman's assignments.

11:54 a.m. Cafeteria, La Push High La Push, Washington

"Alex, I'm sorry." I sighed, sitting across from him. He ignored me, getting up from our lunch table heading to sit with Lisa and her friends. I watched her greet him enthusiastically. Alex grinned back at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. I shook my head at him, knowing that he wasn't in the mood to talk. It was my own fault and I had to deal with the consequences.

I glanced around the cafeteria, seeing the other students blatantly stare at me. I flushed knowing that they were probably going to gossip. Alex and I had sat together ever since freshman year. I stood up grabbing my chocolate bar, walking towards the doors not wanting to endure the stares. Just as I reached the door a warm hand grabbed my wrist. My eyes trailed up seeing Kim's grinning face, she tugged me towards her table. I wanted to cry in relief, I didn't want to be in the hallway alone again. "He'll come around," She murmured, pulling me so I sat next to her. I glanced around the table, sending a small smile to Embry and Jake. "Where are the others?" It had been a while since I had spoken to Jake and I wasn't sure how he felt since I was hanging out with his group.

Embry moved so he was sitting next to me. "That's all your eating," He eyed my chocolate bar in disbelief. I rolled my eyes at him, seeing his mountain of food.

I picked up my bar, rolling it in my palm. It was the only thing that helped me when I was stressed and lately, my intake had risen. "Yup," I smiled, setting my water bottle on the table.

Kim bumped my shoulder, setting a bag of pretzels and orange in front of me. I shook my head at her pushing it back, I didn't have the stomach to eat that. "Pretzels and chocolate go together," She put the bag in front of me.

"Are you trying to diet," Embry asked, setting an apple beside the bag of pretzels.

"Who is on a diet," Jared questioned, sitting beside Kim kissing her on the cheek.

"Laryssa," Paul murmured, sitting in the seat that Embry sat in. "Hey. You're not eating?"

I smiled at him, hoping that he or the others didn't mind that Kim invited me to sit with them. "No, I'm just not very hungry." I set Embry's apple beside his milk, hoping he would just leave it. "Thank you though." Embry looked like he wanted to slide the apple back but he refrained.

"You should eat something," Paul frowned, looking like he wanted to give me his tray. "You don't need to diet."

I opened my mouth to try to tell them that I wasn't dieting, but Jake beat me. "Laryssa doesn't like to eat anything other than chocolate when she's stressed." I bit the inside of my cheek, cursing him internally for blurting out my business. I froze clenching my hands tightly, not wanting to talk about my stress.

"Well hopefully she can get some relaxation this weekend," Jared pulled himself away from his food when the table went quiet. "School's stressful. I'd bring ice cream but I don't want it to melt."

I let out a small sigh, thankful for cover.

"I'm nervous about the test too," Embry said, shoving a handful of tater tots in his mouth. "I stress eat," He offered with a mouthful of food. I laughed at him when he patted his imaginary belly. I didn't bother paying attention to the rest of the conversation. I glanced at Paul, seeing him slowly start to eat his food. He caught my gaze, smiling at me. He turned his attention back to his food and I took the opportunity to stare at him for a few moments. His gray shirt was covered in lighter spots from when it drizzled earlier. There were a few small drops of water that clung to his hair. I felt eyes on me and I turned to see Jake frowning at me. I tensed knowing that he caught me looking at Paul.

I picked up my chocolate bar, knowing that I should've just gone to the hallway. I was intruding on his friends and I'm sure he didn't want me ogling at his friend. He didn't like it when I tagged along when we were younger. I fought the urge not to fidget to bring further attention to myself.

I pulled my phone out looking at the time. I had twenty more minutes before lunch ended and I wasn't sure if I should just make up an excuse to leave. Kim turned to me, standing, "come with me?"

"Where are you going," Jared swallowed hard, getting ready to stand. She set her hand on his shoulder pushing him down.

I nodded, grabbing my bottle getting ready to shove my things in my bag, "The guys will watch it. I forgot something at my locker, we will be right back." Embry nodded, setting my back on the chair I had sat in. I followed after Kim, thankful that I was able to get away from Jake's frown. Once we were out of the cafeteria I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Was I right that you needed a moment? Or did I read that wrong?"

I glanced at Kim, wondering how I was able to gain her as a friend. "I needed a moment," I sent her a small smile, leaning against the locker. "How did you know?"

"I have superpowers," Kim smiled, linking her arm through mine. "I just had a feeling after what Jacob said." I bit my lip, trying not to be upset at what he said.

"It doesn't matter," I offered the lie. It did matter to me, but I wasn't going to make it a big deal.

"You can tell me if it did," Kim said, starting to walk down the hallway. "You don't have to keep it bottled up."

I stopped in the middle of the hallway, feeling all of the anger and hurt that I kept bottled starting to rise to the surface. Even though Alex tended to stress me out, I felt so alone without him. I looked at Kim, feeling my eyes start to water. Her eyes widened, before she tossed her arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a tight hug. I listened to her comforting words as I tried to stop the flood of tears. "He won't speak to me," I whispered, wrapping my arms around Kim. "It's my fault, it's all my fault."

Kim pulled away, rushing me towards the girl's bathroom. She ducked in seeing a few freshman girls primping in the mirror. "Out. All of you," Kim shooed them all out, ignoring the glares. "Now," She pushed the last girl out, turning to face me. "Laryssa, it's not." Kim grabbed some paper towels, wetting the rough material, dabbing it gently underneath my eyes. "It's not. You tried to talk to him several times and he's being childish," She sighed, tossing them in the trash. "I know you miss him, you went from talking to him every day to hardly speaking at all. It's okay to miss him, but he's not ready and he should tell you that he isn't ready instead of giving you the silent treatment."

"I think I lost him, Kim," I wiped my eyes when I felt more tears fall down my cheeks. I hated myself for crying, but I couldn't stop the flood. I felt panicked at not having Alex. He was all I had and without him, I had no one.

"If you did then it is his loss," She wet another paper towel, catching the tears. She sighed, setting her hands on my shoulders. "You told me earlier that you didn't know who you were without him, and maybe you should take the time to find out. But I want you to know that you aren't alone. You have me." Kim smiled pulling me into a tight hug. "God, I hate that you are feeling this way." I hugged her back, wiping my eyes. "Stick with me this week. Give him time."

I nodded, pulling back with a watery smile. I glanced in the mirror seeing my face blotchy. When we went back I knew that they would know something was up. "I don't want to intrude, Kim," I voiced my concern.

"You aren't. You won Jared over the second you gave me brownies and Paul won't mind at all," Kim soothed my concerns. "Don't worry. Trust me." Kim grasped my hands, sending me a wide grin. "Now, take a deep breath, and let's go back."

Let me know what you guys think!

Edited on May 1, 2020.