I think I'm lost without you [Paul Lahote]

Chapter Eight: And it would've been fun, if you would've been the one

"Yeah, me too." Noah smiled and was surprised to find she actually meant it.

She had been apprehensive about coming when Embry finally convinced her, but now, standing here with Paul, all her concerns melted away. This was okay. Even if this was a temporary thing, this was nice.

Sure, Noah was not blind to the fact that Jake was standing just a little ways away, trying to subtly throw glances her way. Or that everyone else was probably whispering about her. But Noah truly believed that Paul would fight anyone who tried to talk to her against her wishes and the thought was, well, comforting.

"Oh actually," Noah said, suddenly pulling her bag from her shoulders and rifling around. "I brought your sweatshirt to return."

Okay so that wasn't exactly true, but who could really prove that she had brought it to wear up at the cliffs? No one. And if anyone tried to, she would deny it vehemently. Noah held out the sweatshirt toward Paul but he just pushed it back into her hands. Should she have washed it before she gave it back?

"Why don't you keep it for a bit?" Paul suggested nonchalantly - trying very hard to act like it wouldn't make him the happiest man on earth to see her wear his sweatshirt again. "Temp's gonna drop in a little bit and I don't want you to get cold."

"No, I can't keep it," Noah tried to hand Paul the sweatshirt again but he just pushed it back with a laugh. Noah huffed, dropping her hand. "What if you get cold?"

"Don't worry about me, doll," Paul said, finally reaching out to take the sweatshirt, only to hold it over her head. Noah pouted up at it for a bit before slipping her arms in. Paul tugged it down so her head popped out. "My body runs hot."

Paul proved this by cupping her face with his hands. Noah gaped at him, trying not to pull back. He was burning up! But it did feel good on her wind-bitten cheeks and she hoped it at least partially covered her tomato red face. Paul dropped his hands with a pat.

"Do you wanna come sit by the fire?" Paul asked, turning towards the logs. "Billy is gonna start the legends soon."

"Billy?" Noah asked in surprise, as they started walking towards the fire. She hadn't seen her uncle since Jacob publicly denounced her in the school parking lot. He hadn't even called the house.

"Yeah, as one of the tribe's elders and chief, Billy is responsible for passing down the legends to us. Old Quil and Sue Clearwater are the other elders, but I don't think Sue can make it tonight." Paul informed, wholly ignorant to Noah's apprehension at seeing her uncle. "Not every bonfire is so formal but we all agreed this was how we should start tonight."

Noah remembered why she had agreed with Embry to come in the first place, and she wondered if the legends were somehow part of the answers she was promised. Granted it had been awhile since she had heard them, but that didn't make much sense. If she recalled correctly, they were just tales, fables that enriched their history like many other tribes, with some sort of moral message embedded.

As she was puzzling where this night would go, Paul brought her over to a log and they sat down. Noah thought she heard someone say that the elders were on their way down, so she took the time to survey who had assembled for the bonfire. Embry was sitting on a log across from them, scarfing down hotdogs like he was a competitive eater. Leah Clearwater was perched beside him with her arms firmly crossed. Noah wasn't sure if she was annoyed at the pig-boy next to her or if she was just unhappy to be at the bonfire in general - both seemed reasonable to Noah.

On the next log over, Seth and Jared were sitting, laughing loudly about something and Noah noticed that Kim was nowhere to be seen. But, against her will, Noah's eyes were drawn to the log next to Paul on her other side, where Jacob was looking at his shoes like a kicked puppy. She wondered if he had been warned before she arrived to keep quiet, he usually wasn't so reserved.