Okay, well, I am aware I haven't updated in a while and I am incredibly sorry for that. I just haven't been inspired, or in the mood for writing this chapter, not a good excuse, I know, but I am super-di-duper sorry. I know, i'm really lame :( Thank you all for your patiences, it means a lot to me.

Special thanks to those of you who reviewed: Auphora66, said dance, candelifera, Bible Chick, bingo1000, ImprintOnMe, Aeieo, Dreamin.of.Scotland.and.Mexico, Siren to the Werewolves, carconee, StalkerishEmmettFan, witchbeth, irene0222, AmberGlow2, Soccerdog12, Twilight of the Dawn, the werewolf loverr, thank you all so much for reviewing :D lots of hugs!!

anyone else who is too shy to review but who is reading, I really want to thank you too!! :)

A special thanks to Superdani, without your enthusiasm this chapter wouldn't be right now. thank you!! your great :D

If you find mistakes (grammar, punctuation, etc,) please dont kill me, I know, I am a horrible editor, but I've been trying really hard lately. Just message me and i will go back and change it. thanks. :)

I hope to make the next chapter better than this one is. It's more private conversations between them. Intimate secrets and whatnot. I'm looking forward to writing it, so it will probably be posted soon. Don't hold me to it, you know how I procrastinate. That's just the way I roll. :P

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT

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I promised myself I would be absolutely open-minded about this 'date' with Paul. I would try to get to know him better, as a person, and try to get the image of a giant wolf out of my mind whenever I saw him. I would see if he was an arrogant person and decide if I wanted to be around him. This would be my deciding night. I had made him promise as we drove in the car, the only conversation we had, that he would be absolutely nothing but himself. No fake, arrogant, haughty Paul. Just normal, human Paul. That was my only condition to this date.

"Sorry, I know it isn't much. La Push doesn't really have fancy restaurants and I didn't want to take you too far away from Jakes house, you know, in case of an emergency." Paul said as he helped me out of his grey little car. He hadn't said much to me on the drive to the restaurant, just gave me long glances that made me feel uncomfortable, half because I wanted him to watch the road, half because I didn't know what he was thinking about as he stared into me. I wished Jacob had come with us to lighten my spirits, but he had refused when I had invited him to come before we left. He looked as though he may say yes at first, until Paul shot him daggers with his eyes. Jacob then proceeded to decline my invitation.

The place wasn't that bad from the outside, it was small, but looked cozy. The sign simply read 'The Fallen Tree' How romantic, I thought sarcastically. Actually, when we entered the wooden building (did I mention that a lot of the buildings in La Push are wooden?) the lighting was dimmed and the tables all each had a small candle on them. It almost reminded me of a setting in a movie with the red tablecloths, slow music playing in the background, soft lighting. A pretty young waitress in her white shirt- black pants uniform greeted us with a brilliant smile, I was sure her teeth actually gleamed white. Her nametag read 'Gloria' and she escorted us to a booth near the back. Paul helped me into my side and gave me a tiny grin, he liked it back here I could tell, the privacy of it.

"Can I get you something to drink to start, hun?" She directed her voice to me, paper and pen in hand.

"Ice water please," I smiled shyly at her. I hated ordering at restaurants, I found it intimidating. Clark had always made fun of my public speaking skills, though I didn't find it very funny.

"Paul?" she asked; her polite tone dropping as she shrugged to the side to look at him. He scowled back.

"Coke," I didn't fail to notice how they disliked each other; I looked away to the wall, pretending to admire a painting of a creepy moose, "I'll me right back with that." She placed my menu in front of me and dropped Paul's in front of him with a bit of attitude about it, they weren't fond of each other. Gloria then walked away from us.

"What's that about?" I whispered lowly to Paul across the table from me.

Paul smiled at me, amused. "Before Jared imprinted on Kim he went out with her. Jared broke up with Gloria but she just couldn't leave it alone. I just got so fed up of her constant whining that they could work it out. She tried to make Kim's life a living hell too, which got me even more pissed off. Jared wouldn't say anything to her and finally I let my temper get the best of me. I screamed at her in front of the entire school in the cafeteria one day at lunch to stop being a creepy stalker and leave him alone, I still don't regret it, she's a popular bitch. She hates me; I'm surprised she's being so civil to you. She's being nicer to me than I would be if I was her." He looked over his shoulder in the direction that Gloria had gone. "I suppose I wouldn't have brought you here if I had of known she worked here. She'll most likely poison my food." He grinned, but there was a tiny bit of actual worry in his eyes. It made me laugh a little bit. He liked when I laughed, pure pleasure lit up on his face that he was able to accomplish my laughter. It didn't surprise me that random people in La Push disliked Paul but I was glad they didn't have anything against me. Against me yet anyway, who knew what I would do wrong here? At least he stuck up for his friends. That showed loyalty, didn't it? Did Paul loose his temper a lot with his friends? A lot of them could handle it, being... werewolves. I cringed at the thought of saying that. It seemed so surreal to me still. Mythical creatures. The guy I was sitting across from at this very moment was a wolf. But he wasn't likely to loose his temper with me, not with his...imprint? There was need for worry; I'd seen it in everyone's faces. They were anxious and afraid for me, to see what would happen. He had gotten angry and frustrated at me at Jacobs house, but I wasn't afraid of being hurt by him. I was just as frustrated and upset with him as I was sure he felt. Then again, I couldn't explode into a giant wolf.

"Do you know what you're getting?" I asked him, opening up my own menu, turning my mind away from the thought of his wolf form as it snuck into my mind, and away from if Paul got angry at me and exploded.

"Umm," He looked down at the menu in front of him. "I'll probably just end up getting what you're having, times two."

"Times two?" I asked sceptically.

"What? It takes a lot to keep a werewolf going. Look at me," He gestured to his large exterior, grinning devilishly.

"Oh. I see." I replied simply. Of course it did. I was dense. I was surprised he had used the word 'werewolf' so casually. It sounded very odd to my ears. No one would be able to hear our conversations anyway from where we were away from the main part of the restaurant.

"What are you getting?" Now it was his turn to be sceptical.

"Why? Are you a picky eater?" I grinned, trying to lighten up my uncomfortable mood. I was pretty much okay now with him, but still slightly on edge. It was odd how easy it was to be with Jacob, but not to be with Paul, who wouldn't judge anything I do as bad or wrong. My morals were seriously messed up.

"Nah, but if it's a veggie plate, I think I'll pass." He smiled back.

"Well, I was thinking about getting a salad," He cringed a bit, "But then I thought about a burger and fries." I watched for the reaction on his face.

"That isn't very fancy food; I'm not that poor you know. I can pay for something more... exotic." He probably would have gagged at that sentence if someone else was with him, but for me he got it out.

"That's quite alright. I'm not really one for exotic foods." I assured him.

"Three hamburgers and fries then?" He made sure. I nodded and closed my menu, placing it on top of his own that he had never opened.

Gloria came back shortly after that with the water and coke and took our orders, then left us again.

"So what type of music are you into?" Paul asked as soon as she had walked away and was out of sight.

I had just taken a big drink of water and had to swallow, "Umm, like bands? Or do you mean classical or hip-hop?" I tried to classify the question.

"I mean what artists. Who is on you iPod right now?" He leaned in closer to me across the table.

"Well, I've always has this kind of obsession with Muse. I think they're brilliant." A smile lit up his face. "You like them too?" I smiled, surprised he had heard of them. Not many Americans had. A radio station in London had gotten me hooked on their music when I had lived there.

"No, I think the lead singer has a whiny voice. Continue," He prodded, smile never leaving his face. He didn't like them, thought Matthew Bellamy had a whiny voice, but yet was pleased I liked them... okay?

"I like," I let my voice drag out on the 'like' as I thought about it. "I have an odd passion for Blink-182. I love them. I think they're hilarious and most of their lyrics mean something important. They aren't afraid to embarrass themselves. I think that's great."

"They're not bad. Who else?" He was very interested on the topic of the type of music I liked, smiling happily as he listened.

"I don't know...uhm... My Chemical Romance isn't bad; I'm a fan of Breaking Benjamin because of my friend Alex. He loves them, got me hooked. I guess its okay because I got him obsessed with The Killers." I smiled at how close Alex and mines music tastes were. He liked music that made your ears bleed and had extremely complex lyrics, I was pretty much game for anything he was. How many really bad indie concerts had we gone to I had lost count. "Who do you like?" I asked, honestly curious.

"Linkin Park mostly. What's your favourite movie?" It figured he listened to Linkin Park. Angry, bitter lyrics. I liked them too, but it fit Paul so well.

"The Graduate. I love Dustin Hoffman. He's so versatile it's amazing." The rest of the evening went on like this. He would ask lots of random questions about my favourite things and different people. Flowers, stones, colours, places, actors, activities, things about my family, old friends. He wasn't very thorough answering my questions about him though, only the barest details. Just question after question about me. I hated talking about myself but the smile on his face and the happy look in his eyes made me keep going. He only stopped the questions when the food came but in between bites there would be more.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile to Gloria. She smiled back and sent another dirty look to Paul before walking away. I tried to suppress my laughter until she was safely out of sight.

"If I die within the next twenty-four hours, you'll tell the police she poisoned me, right? Maybe even avenge me death? Okay, don't do that, you might be locked up, but you'll have her arrested, wont you?"

"Of course." I now laughed freely with Paul. I no longer felt uncomfortable with just him and I after he practically knew everything about me. Who knew how long that comfort would last? But I thought I may as well laugh while I still felt as ease.

Watching Paul eat was absolutely disgusting. He had no table manners at all. Food flew out of his mouth and he was worse than watching Alex sip soup or eat spaghetti, it would wind up all over his face and in his hair. With Paul he tried to push as much into his mouth as possible and then take a sip of his coke, the pop dribbling down his chin because his mouth was at its maximum food capacity. As much as it made me want to vomit at this typical teenage boy behaviour, I had no control over the laughter that came from the amusingly disgusting scene.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to chew with your mouth shut?" I asked after him jokingly.

He swallowed the big lot of food in his mouth and took another drink to wash it down. "Nah, my mom died when I was seven. She wasn't much of a role model or much of a mother then anyway."

"Oh. I'm really sorry about that." I bowed my head slightly, sorry to have brought that up.

Paul shrugged, "Not your fault." He said, taking another big bite out of his second hamburger.

I was pretty much full after that. I hadn't finished all of my fries and I still had a small piece of the bun from my burger left on my plate. When Paul had finished his he eyed my plate with hunger. I pushed my plate toward him.

"You want them?" I asked, smiling. I hated when food went to waste. That would be a major plus to having werewolves as friends; they always seemed to be hungry. That must be good for La Push's economy, I thought. Paul smiled sheepishly as he accepted my plate and popped some fries into his mouth.

The bill came shortly after that but Paul wouldn't tell me how much it cost. I wasn't a complete imbecile, I knew how to multiply and then add on the percent of the tax. But I don't think Paul thought of that. I didn't mention how much it cost either; it wasn't that expensive for a few hamburger meals, but it was sweet of him to pay anyway. He also tipped Gloria; he didn't say why because he showed nothing but contempt for her all throughout our time there as she did to him, but I guessed it was because she was so kind to me. After having Paul scream at her once for picking on a girl he wasn't even with, he would have really had a go with her if she made a comment about the girl he was with. And because I'm his imprint that would have really set him off. The thought made me shiver to think of the waitress ripped into shreds, pieces all over the ceiling and the walls. How morbid, I chided myself.

Paul helped me out of my booth and walked me to the door. The rest of the people in the restaurant watched us with plain curiosity, I took it that Paul didn't go to places like this often, and if he did he probably wouldn't take many girls. There were whispers and strange looks. Paul scowled at anyone he saw doing this. There were some local girls sitting near the front of the restaurant that started giggling at us, me more than him I supposed, his hearing was better than mine. He growled lowly as a warning, starting to tremble, and they stared back with fright on their faces and then quickly diverted their eyes. Did they know what he was? Or were their instincts just kicking in, warning them they'd gone too far? His steps started to go towards them.

"It isn't worth it." I whispered, rubbing my hand on his arm. His face didn't look satisfied, but he stopped trembling and continued on our way to the door.

"It would be a lot easier for me to just carry you." He told me, his voice a tiny bit on edge, still ticked about the girls.

"Well, I'll never heal if my body doesn't get used to it." The pain killed and his invitation was somewhat inviting, but I did want to get better so it wouldn't look too conspicuous to my parents.

"You know, if you were a werewolf you'd of healed already by now. One of the upsides to the curse." He sighed as he opened the passenger door of his car, helping me in and then shutting it with a bang afterward.

We drove again in silence, but I was now more relaxed with Paul. I had some questions for him.

"How many...vampires," it felt odd saying that word, "Are there actually around here?"

"Just the occasional ones passing through. There were a group, house, cult, whatever, living up in Forks. Seven of them. They recently added another member to their... family."He spit out that word. "Jacob wouldn't let us kill them, even though they broke the treaty."

"Why would Jake get any say in that? I thought Sam was in charge." I said, confused.

"Jakes second in command around here. The pack has to listen to him too. His great grandfather was the last chief, so it really has to do with ancient respect issues." Paul explained as he drove, keeping his eyes now on the road. Go Jake, I thought internally.

"Why'd he let them go if they broke the treaty?" They must have trusted these vampires.

"Bella," He pronounced the name like it was a bitter poison in his mouth, his face scrunched up. I didn't pry into that reaction.

"How did the vampires survive if they weren't allowed to bite people? Was it only in La Push they couldn't kill?" I decided to ask, that was also confusing me.

"First of all, biting someone and drinking their blood isn't the same thing. Biting them changes them" So someone had been changed. "Secondly, to answer your question, they hunted animals, not humans. I was hoping they'd slip up ever since I'd been changed, but they never did. Then they left soon after I had my first phase, so what the hell was the point of all of our suffering and becoming werewolves if we got no action? If they were just going to leave? It wasn't fair. But then they'd made a miscalculation about some other bloodsuckers, leading them here, leaving the girl unprotected. That was one good thing about her, she was always entertaining, bringing hell wherever she went. We got to fight with a few leeches until the 'civil' ones eventually came back." he scoffed. "And then there was this big war shit with a bunch of stupid newborns; that was fun while it lasted I guess. I killed off one on my own, six accompanying Jared and Sam." The thought of Paul frightening vampires, that he could die, gave me chills of fear up and down my spine, and also made me angry. I didn't want him to have to, but I kept my mouth shut and let him keep talking. "After that there were very few other leeches that came around here, except for the Cullen's, the ones in Forks. Then they broke the treaty when they changed Bella and fled." Bella was the girl? A few days at the cafe when Jacob had stormed out, the girl Embry has told me about, the one who had pained Jacob.

"Were 'Bella' and Jake... close?" I asked quietly, looking at my hands folded on my lap.

"He didn't imprint on her if that's what you mean. No, I mean, he loved her, and I'm sure she might have loved him too, maybe. It was just that the leech loved her too, and she loved him more. It pretty much killed Jake."

"That's sad." I didn't really know what else to say.

"Yeah, it is. But that's his story. This is ours." He smiled at me, his deep brown eyes penetrating into me, I smiled back at him at rested my head on his warm shoulder, not really thinking, it just felt so natural. He stiffened for a moment, and then his whole body seemed to relax. He didn't make a comment on this position.

"Are you tired? Do you want to go back to Jakes?" He asked; concern in his voice.

"No!" I answered too quickly, and too loudly. Paul laughed at me happily. I blushed, my face felt even hotter now than it would be if I had just left it on his blazing hot arm. I was afraid that if I left Paul, he wouldn't be the same person he was tonight with me, he'd transform back into the arrogant Paul. I wasn't ready to give this Paul up yet, I didn't want to admit it, but I liked spending time with him. "I mean," I corrected, "Its early yet, can't we go somewhere else?" I sat up, turning my body to face him.

"I think I know the right place." He said, smile alighting all of his features. "It may take a while to get there though." He warned.

"That's okay, I don't mind." I leaned against his arm again, closing my eyes, again. I smiled with content as I listened to the sounds of the vibrating car, the quiet night, Paul's even breathing. Forget my pillow, this seemed like heaven now. I was absolutely at bliss and I wasn't too sure why. I was so at ease, so peaceful. This felt right.

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