Dusk till Dawn | Paul Lahote ✔️

Chapter 7

Glancing down at the list, I reached up to grab the last box of Fruit Loops cereal, puttin git in the cart. Dad had sent me to town with a list of things that we needed, and surprisingly the local grocery store had quite a bit to choose from.

Crossing that off the list, I had two more items to get. As I turned the corner I bumped into someone else's cart, jamming myself into my own cart. I hissed in pain, looking up to see who I had just bumped into - blinking in surprise at the familiar face. "Riley?" I asked, not having expected to meet him here in Forks.

He seemed apologetic, but his face lit up when he saw who it was. "Wow I didn't think I'd run into you so soon!" He commented, and flashed me a grin. "I never got your name." He mentioned and I chuckled. That was because I never gave him my name to begin with.

"Elaine Swan," I supplied, backing away from the cart and feeling relief. "You live in Forks?" I had thought he would have lived in Seattle, since that was where I saw him working at that stand.

"Yeah... I just work down at Seattle because there's not that many job opportunities in Forks," he admitted casually with a slight chuckle. "Plus, it gets me away from here when I need it... which is often. Saving up for college, you know." He shrugs, which makes me think he was still in school. Maybe a senior, if I had to guess. "You never texted me..." He trails off sheepishly, and I give him a sympathetic look.

"Sorry Biers, but I have a boyfriend," I told him, making him groan and I laugh at that. "You seem like a nice guy though. Maybe we can still be friends?" I offered, earning an embarrassed look from the boy in question.

Sighing, Riley gives me a reassuring look. "Sure, friends it is then. I should have known you were taken." I chuckle, giving him an amused look. "Hey even though you have a boyfriend, what if we hung out sometime as friends? There's this cafe around here that is good." He offers, smirking at me again.

"As friends?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes as he laughed and nodded his head. Sighing I give him a friendly smile. "Alright, friends. I'll text you later so you have my number." I'd have to let Paul know, so no miss-understandings happened with our relationship.

Communication was key when it came to relationships, and I wasn't one who beat around the bush.

Riley grins at me, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of us hanging out. "Cool. You won't regret it, I'm a great friend!" He winks, making me shake my head.

"I'm sure you are," I nod my head, not doubting that for a second. We talked for a few more seconds before I decided to finish my shopping. I had a few cold items in the cart and didn't want them to go bad while we were literally standing in the grocery store.

Keeping my promise, I texted Riley so that he'd have my number. He did seem like a cool dude, and I wouldn't mind having a new friend. If he could keep it that way.

Once I put the groceries away at the house, I decided to make my way towards La Push. Dad was going to be gone all night, and Bella said something about hanging out with Jake again so she wouldn't be home either. With all of my homework done for the week, I had nothing else to do than hang out with my new friends.

Walking into the house, I stopped short when I saw Embry sitting on the couch. "Wow, you too Em?" I asked him in surprise, causing the boy to snap his head up when he heard me walk in.

"Elaine!" Emily grinned at me when she saw me, placing some muffins onto the counter. She had some flour on her face, and I gave her a sweet smile as I walked over to her. "The boys will be back shortly. I wasn't expecting you today."

"I finished my work early. Bella's hanging out with Jake, and dad's at work... the house was lonely by myself." I admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck as Emily laughed. Picking up the table cloth that was on the counter, I wiped the flour off her face, giggling. "You'll become a muffin yourself if you're not careful, Emmy." I teased her with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes she gave me a look. "Har har," she laughed sarcastically. "Embry here was just keeping me company while the boys worked. They had an elder meeting to attend to." She explained and I nodded my head.

"Is it because of him?" I wondered, glancing over to Embry who was watching us with wide eyes. Emily nods, giving Embry a fond look.

"I'm right here you know!" Embry pouted, and I smirked at that. "You know?" He echoes, biting his lip anxiously. I nodded my head and he breathes out some air. "That makes this easier, thank God. I was going crazy not having anyone else to talk to about it!" He whines, making me laugh at him. "They told me I couldn't see Jake or Quil for a while. Not until I get my anger in control, but it is already!" He protests, pouting again.

"He does have easier control over the others," Emily surmised, "Sam has dealt with this longer, so he knows how to control it."

"Embry's just not an angry person," I bumped his shoulder as I sat beside him on the couch, earning a beaming smile from the boy in question. "I am surprised that you're a wolf though." I hummed, giving him a once over.

"Yeah, we all are." A familiar voice pipes in, making me beam in response as I see Jared, Paul and Sam walk through the door. I stand up, walking straight to Paul as he opens his arms up for me - kissing me on the cheek, before kissing me once again on the edge of my mouth. "Hey babe, what are you doing here?" He grins at me, obviously happy to see me.

"I thought I'd hang out for a bit. Dad won't be back until later, Bella's with Jake. So I have time to kill." I snuggle into his arms, sighing at the warmth he brought with him. It felt so nice to be in his arms.

"Jake's still hanging out with Bella, huh?" Embry echoes, a smirk on his face when I turned to look at him. "Did you know they were working on bikes?" He questions, snickering.

I laughed with him at that. "Yeah I knew. I was with them when Bella brought the bikes over. I did warn her what dad would do if he caught her, but she didn't care." I shrugged, though Bella was a big girl. She could do whatever she wanted, and knew her limits.

"Jake told me before I shifted that she hit her head against the pavement, bleeding a little, but wanted to go again. She's gonna get herself hurt one day with her theatrics." Embry chuckles ruefully, and I made a face at that. While he wasn't wrong, I hoped Bella knew what she was doing was dangerous. I had no idea where the thriller junkie came to be, and why she was all of the sudden getting herself into dangerous situations.

Paul noticed the look on my face and kissed my cheek. "She'll be okay, doll. Maybe she just needs to get this out now, since she'll be graduating soon?" He suggested and that did sound like a plausible explanation.

I just hoped that her theatrics didn't end up getting herself seriously injured one day, or worse... killed.