CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
VINDEMIATRIX
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The soft, golden glow of the sun slithers their way through the crevices of the curtains until they stain Eve's and Paul's skin until a dim shimmer appears early that morning. Through a heavy dousing of stress, the two were somehow able to fall under a peaceful slumber and while Paul was still washed away in the depths of his dreams, Eve was just peeling her eyes open to only snap them shut upon viewing the harsh glare of the sun.
She groans faintly, her hands balling into fists so they could rub off the exhaustion from her eyes. Her body was curled up and stored neatly to Paul's side where his arm still remains around her waist.
Cheeks tinting pink, Eve stares at his arm before cautiously removing it in order to escape her bed. All she could focus on then was going to her bathroom.
And with her mind determined on this, she gently eases herself off of her mattress and steadily makes her way to her door in an attempt to not awaken the boy. She does so without fault and soon, she's entering her hallway and targeting the bathroom door.
Except, before her hand can capture the golden doorknob, the wooden door pulls back to reveal Agatha already dressed and prepared for work. They gasp, stunned for a few seconds before her mother giggles. "Mornin'," she greets with a thick, sleepy voice. "I see that someone slept well. That graduation party, must've worn you out huh?"
Eve blinks, trying to regain her mindset before nodding her head. "Yeah," she whispers, "one heck of a party."
"I hope we didn't wake you up last night."
By her mother's pout, Eve frowns in bewilderment. They didn't. When Paul and she did arrive here, she was positive her parents were fast asleep.
"It was late when Jan and I came back," she clarifies, leaning against the doorframe. "We tried to be quiet since we knew you were asleep by then. Did we?"
"No," her daughter lies, fidgeting. "I just woke up and came here to use the potty."
It dons on Agatha then and she scolds herself underneath her breath. "Sorry, darling," she apologies, stepping aside to let her daughter through. "Listen, I gotta go to work. Jan made some waffles earlier and saved some for you." Then, before Eve could conjure a response, a wet kiss is splattered on her nose. "Love you."
"Love you too, Mommy," Eve whispers while watching her mother escape down the stairs before eventually closing the front door to leave for work. All the while, a sick - nearly toxic feeling blossoms in her gut. Waffles were Jordan's favorite and with the reminder of him comes the question of when?
When will the day come where her brother could finally reunite with his family? It was already killing Eve that she had to witness her parents mourn over a lost boy whose already been found. It's in her hopes that sooner than later will Carlisle allow Jordan to roam free, but as of right now, everyone in the Tobin family must continue to suffer.
In minutes, Eve was back in her room to only find Paul slowly awakening. The large boy was muttering incoherently underneath his breath while he hastily wipes at his eyes, forcing himself to stay awake despite his body screaming for more sleep. They both needed it desperately.
"Good morning," she greets and watches as his eyes flicker to her figure. "I would've thought you would be sleeping more. You looked exhausted."
"I am," Paul insists with a deep, sleep-deprived voice that causes her heart to skip a beat. "It's just that I felt...cold."
"But you're always warm," Eve argues, tossing herself back on the bed. Their eyes meet and Eve frowns at the sight of all the bags sketched underneath his eyes. "It must be rare for you to be cold."
"Well, it's not like that. I mean, you were gone."
"I was in the bathroom and I also talked to my mom," Eve explains. Before she can mention the fact that there was breakfast, Paul was leaning forward so his arms could capture her body and drag her until she's laying on his chest. For a moment because she wasn't expecting Paul to do this nor was she complaining, Eve is stunned; in the next, she basking in his warmth and his touch while simultaneously her lips are twitching towards the ceiling and her heart is buzzing with felicity. "You know, with you being all warm and stuff, I'm going to fall asleep again."
"It won't be bad," Paul tries to reason. His fingers run through her tangled but silky hair, gently patting down her skull and admiring how it almost twinkles with the sun's glow. "Besides, both of us like keeping close."
Eve studies them both; taking into consideration how close they were and how comfortable they were with one another. They were snuggling and her smile grew in size.
"And you're just so small and you fit perfectly with me," Paul continues and absentmindedly begins to twist her locks like they were a whip. "Kinda like two puzzle pieces."
She nods her head in agreement. "True, true. Jan made some breakfast if you want any. What do you even want to do today unless you have something planned or..."
"Breakfast sounds nice," he remarks. "Then, since it looks pretty nice outside...maybe we can go back to the beach. This time without any interruptions if you're cool with that."
Pondering over this idea, Eve finds herself relishing the idea of returning to La Push and spending some time with Paul. Therefore, she pushes herself off the said boy and hops off the bed where she's quick to steal her bathing suit from her dresser and in addition, snatching some regular clothes suitable for the weather.
"Okay," Eve announces, turning around to face Paul who appears amused by her quickness to gather her necessities. "I've got my stuff. Ready for breakfast and then the beach?"
:::
The can of sunscreen was acting like a pain in the ass for Eve. Repeatedly she smacked the bottle against her palm in hopes that it would function correctly, but with every hit that ignites redness to spread across her pale skin, the can refuses to allow more of its protected liquid to escape.
She grumbles underneath her breath, "This stupid thing."
Already yanking off his t-shirt, Paul raises an eyebrow at his infuriated Imprint. Even if it was hilarious to see her all worked up over a small thing, he knew her patience could only last so long.
"Hey," he calls out, and Eve peers up to him, "let me try."
"If you do that, can I lay out the stuff?" Eve asks, her fingers adjusting so she could jab her finger in the direction of her canvas tote bag that stores their supplies for the beach. With Paul's head bouncing, Eve wanders over to their little area in order to set up their towels and lunch.
The two did take some time to leave the house as they got distracted by the television. It was then that Eve learned that Paul also enjoyed watching Law and Order which made her inwardly squeal. That was two hours extra spent in the house before they eventually made their way to La Push.
Due to the weather being so beautiful this June day, numerous residents of the rez were already here. In the distance, children could be heard yelling and laughing in absolute glee while parents could be heard chatting up a storm while they worked away at their grills.
For them, however, they stuck to buying an assortment of snacks from a local gas station while Paul had prepared some turkey sandwiches for them to munch on.
"Got it!" Paul announces.
The can of sunscreen is tossed in her direction which she catches with ease. "Thank you. I swear you're lucky with crap like this," Eve mutters, shaking up the bottle before beginning to spray her arms.
Dark eyes follow her movements before he questions about her suit; all she wears as of now was a flowy, light dress and some sandals.
"It's underneath this," she explains, rubbing the sunscreen across her speckled legs. "Hold on a moment."
Tossing the can back to Paul momentarily, Eve yanks the light green dress off of her body in order to reveal her swimsuit, which she can hear Paul nearly drop the can at the sight of her suit. She couldn't imagine why he would appear so flustered at the sight of wearing such attire; in fact, Eve found herself looking dreadful without an ounce of makeup concealing her insecurities.
Maybe it's my acne. God knows Jordan would always poke fun of me and all my zits. In her conscience, she rolls her eyes at the reminder of when Jordan would call her zitzilla.
"What?" She demands in an amusing tone. "It's a swimsuit."
"That makes you look beautiful," Paul states without hesitance, his mahogany eyes tracing her figure before his blush intensifies. "And green looks amazing on you."
Fingers tracing her pine-green halter top, Eve finds her own cheeks burning and it wasn't the sun to blame. The words he utters - the compliments meant solely for her, leaves her love for him increasing. With every second spent with him, with every thought of him, her love for him was genuine.
And it didn't kill her now to finally acknowledge that she had feelings for him. That Eve Tobin did in fact have a crush on Paul.
"Thank you," she whispers, smiling silly. "But out of us both, you're the stunning one. I mean, you don't have a single pimple unlike me."
"Acne is normal," Paul defends and hands her over the sunscreen. "I don't have any because of the wolf part of me. I like yours."
At his words, she snorts. Paul found acne admirable and she has a feeling that it was due to her existence.
Once her body was lathered enough with sunscreen, her feet guide her towards the waters where surprisingly, she doesn't receive shivers from. It was warm — much more comfortable than before and she doesn't restrain herself from moving farther until the water tickles her waist and she's smiling like an idiot. It was almost childish to find water humorous, but Eve did and it felt refreshing to feel this sort of freedom.
With all the stress that's invaded her life over the last half of the year, it feels magnificent to take a break from it all. Plus with Paul added to the mix, it feels euphoric.
"It's warm this time," Paul comments as he intrudes the water. He stands close to Eve, grinning at the sight of her looking carefree at the moment. Paul knew all too well how much she needed it. "And it's finally a day where you can see the fucking sun for once."
Eve chortles at his words, "It's as rare a jackalope, but after knowing you and the Cullens, I'm starting to believe they may exist after all."
He shakes his head before shoving her aside until her head sinks underwater and she's squeaking in shock. For a few seconds, she processes the evil scheme he's just pulled and in the next few, she's diving back up and tackling the wolf-boy. He doesn't budge, yet with his laughter, he finds her attack less serious than she intends it to be.
"Fall over!" She commands, clinging to him like a monkey to a tree. "Fall over, c'mon!"
"I'm like a boulder," Paul gasps in between his fit of glorious laughter. Using his strength to the best of his ability, he plucks the small girl off of him before tossing her back into the ocean for only himself to dive under, picking her up once more, and pushing them back to the surface. Water trickles from their hair, tickling each other's skin while their heads are thrown back as their laughter increases and so does their excitement. "You're like a feather!"
"Sorry I-I don't have super strength," she sputters, freeing herself from his hold to stand back on her own two feet. "If I could throw you around like you are with me, I totally would."
The boy beside her hardens his expression to the point where Eve can't figure out if he's pissed or just faking it all together to get her moving. To get her rethinking her choices.
"Really?" A low whistle shoots out of his lips. "Let's see if the tiny ginger could overthrow the big Quileute, huh?"
On their own accord, her lips twist into a devilish smirk that reveals she would like this challenge. She liked playing along like this; to where they could both jokingly threaten each other to see if they could battle. Depending on the situation, Eve could win. It was obvious Paul would win in terms of physical strength, but in mental strength, Eve Tobin could overthrow him without breaking a nail.
"I bet I could," Eve continues on with their fake quarrel. "I bet I could get you down on your ass and kiss my feet and apologize for ever doubting how strong I can be."
"Everyone knows you're a strong girl," Paul fights back, tapping her nose with the tip of his finger and watching as her skin glows right after. "But I bet I could have you thrown back into these waters before you can even blink."
Purposely, Eve doesn't allow her eyes to close as she stares down (or really up) at her Imprint. Then, as she understands that Paul was serious about his plans, she grumbles, "You wouldn't dare."
Although she could be a quick girl, Paul was quicker. His hands the water with a loud splash! before it sprays in her eyes and blinds her momentarily...just enough time to pick her up again and laugh viciously when she starts kicking at him.
"PAUL LAHOTE! I SWEAR-"
"You're already wet, so what's the point in getting even wetter?" He wonders in a thoughtful voice that makes her glare at his stupid, stunning face. Their eyes meet and his expression falters under her heated stare. "Or...I could put you down and we could go eat..?"
"I would like to eat," Eve informs him and without another word being said, he places her back on the ground. "Thank you."
"Of course-" Begins Paul but before he could apologize for pestering her, water is thrown at his face and all he can hear besides his wild cursing was Eve giggling up into the sky as she races towards the shore. "I AM SO GETTING YOUR ASS!"
Whipping her head towards his barreling form, Eve shouts, "I have none so what are you going to get!?"
The answer came in him flinging her over his shoulder and marching them towards their little picnic all the while Eve slams her palms repeatedly on his back. No splotches of scarlet would appear nor would he grunt in pain — there was no sort of response from Paul besides his already occupied goal of eating lunch.
Soon enough, her bottom met sand once more and her body - cold and trembling from returning to land - is warmed and tingling as she bakes underneath the sun. Her cheeks are burning, the stretch of her smile causes her cheeks to push up and her nose to scrunch in such an adorable fashion that Paul finds himself making heart eyes at the sight of her feeling so ecstatic. Knowing he played a role in why she was feeling this way did something to him, something Eve couldn't decipher, but she knew he was glad that he could make her this happy.
"I think we should do this more often," she suggests, watching as Paul pulled out their turkey sandwiches for lunch along with two cans of lemonade. "Going to the beach and doing fun stuff."
"Fun stuff, you say?" Paul mumbles as he sits criss-cross in front of the freckled girl. He slips the sandwich onto her lap before taking a bite of his own.
"Yeah."
"How about this?" Paul begins once he swallows his food. There's a thoughtful look dancing across his complexion that worries Eve. "When all this shit of a war is done and over, we go out?"
Not even taking a bite yet, Eve chokes. She coughs into her arm, trying her hardest to remain neutral and not reveal her glowing face to Paul because she never very well he'll tease her to no end. To fathom that Paul would want that — to go on some sort of date with her releases a swarm of bees in her stomach. It wasn't butterflies because they weren't as belligerent as the tiny, winged angels. Her entire stomach was on fire and her mind wouldn't stop screeching.
"With-with me? You wanna go on a date with me?" It's out of character for her to have trouble understanding, to act as clueless as she was now. Even Paul cracks a laugh at her stuttering.
"Yeah, obviously," Paul states boldly and grins in triumph as her blush darkens. "If you're up to it, I wanna take you out. We could go to a drive-in — I think one may be up in Port Angeles. There's a skating rink twenty minutes west of here or I could try to ask pipsqueak about some park he goes to." At the mention of Seth's horrendous nickname, Eve smiles through her nervousness. To go on a fate with Paul, as scary and unbelievable as it seems, she couldn't help but feel her gut already having the answer for her.
"When the shit of a war is over," gently Eve tells Paul who's halted his rambling of date ideas, "we go on a date. I think- I want that. I think that sounds wonderful."
His smile seemingly melts away her anxiety about this plan. "Then it's a deal, sweetheart."
Bending over, Eve places her lips on his cheek. "It's a deal," she agrees.
A/N: We're progressing from friendship to an eventual romantic relationship 👀
btw can't wait to write their date ✌😌
any mistakes will be fixed later. don't forget to vote, comment, and follow! love you all!!