There was a sudden knock on the bathroom door, "Elle? You okay?"
"Y-yeah I'm fine," I stutter out nervously, "I'll be out in a sec, Jay," I heard his footsteps recede and took a couple of deep breaths before unlocking the bathroom and walking back to the living room. The conversation the guys were having immediately stopped, "way to make a girl feel comfortable, guys..." I grumble.
"Sorry we just don't want to run away again," Quil stated.
Embry raised his hand, "Embry you slap him, I slap you," I smile, "I appreciate the honesty Quil, thanks."
Embry's eyes widened a bit as Quil smirked, "no problem," then quil turned to the rest of the pack, "ha! I got my own bodyguard now, you guys can suck it!"
I go and sit between Jacob and Quil, "look I'm not gonna run away again but I would prefer honesty when you guys talk to me, it's why I like Quil; I feel like he's incapable of lying... well, at least, lying well."
"Hell yeah, coma girl," he raises a fist for a fist bump and I obliged before Quil furrows his brows, "hey, wait a second!"
I simply laugh at his realization, "You and Quil is not a friendship I saw happening," Jacob interjects, "mostly 'cause he's so annoying."
"Like your one to talk," Quil shoots back with a playful smile as they tease each other. The rest of the guys joined in and tried to say who was actually the most annoying.
After a bit of back in forth between the guys I spoke up, "so, This whole imprint thing...," Everyone suddenly shut up and I look at Paul, "what happens now?"
Paul uncharacteristically straightens his posture before speaking, "The nature of our... relationship is determined by the imprintee not the imprinter," he says softly, "so technically whatever you want to happen."
He looked away from me in an anxious manner and I could tell he was hiding something from me, "right... and what aren't you telling me."
"Nothing," his jaw tensed.
"Paul-," Sam and Jared both started to say.
"It's nothing," he repeated firmer which quieted the other two.
I raise a brow at Paul and with a straight face, "you're keeping things from me again? Seriously?"
"It's nothing major...," he shifts his gaze.
"Promise me then."
"What?"
"You told me you never break a promise...so promise me that it's not a big deal and I don't have to know," I crossed my arms. By the way he was acting it was obvious that he withholding critical information. Whether or not he answered I would gain information. If he chose to lie and promise me it was nothing, then I would know that his promises meant nothing and I couldn't even begin to trust him. If he tells the truth I'll gain insight on the pack and their wolf culture.
He huffs, "I can't..."
"Then tell me Paul... it can't be any worse then finding out you're a wolf shifter."
"I don't want to influence your choice... I want you to choose what you think is best," he puts his head on his hand and mutters, "you deserve it and so far it hasn't been me."
"That's what information is for you dingus...," I roll my eyes, "I need to know what I can so I can make an informed decision on what to do. otherwise how would I know if my decision would negatively impact you or the others."
"Don't worry about me."
I blink a few times before turning to Emily, "Sam imprinted on you right?"
She nodded.
"Then tell me something, was Sam this angsty and stupid when he first imprinted on you?"
Leah, despite having previously been in a relationship with Sam, guffawed.
Sam looked at her and scowled but said nothing while Emily spoke up, "...yeah."
Sam turned to Emily, "what?! I was nothing like Paul!"
Emily made a motion with her fingers that meant 'a little bit' while scrunching up her face.
Sam actually pouted.
I burst out laughing and so did Leah, she must have come to terms with Sam and Emily's relationship even if their public displays of affection still seem to make her slightly uncomfortable. It was absurd to see how Sam went from being serious and intimidating to looking like a sad little puppy dog, "dude, your face!"
Sam looks at me with a little frown and I had to hold my stomach because I was laughing so hard.
"It's not that funny," Sam says.
"I'm sorry... I- it's just, I've never... I've never seen you so... upset about something this ridiculous before," I said between laughs as I tried to calm myself down, "your usually way too serious for your own good.
"So my pain causes you happiness," Sam said slightly amused.
I make the same gesture Emily had made just minutes before with the same exact face she made. as soon as Leah broke down laughing all the progress I had made to calm myself down was thrown out the window.
Me and Leah probably laughed for a solid two minutes, "ok ok ok,... sorry I'm good now... I think," I say slightly giggling
"That's the first time I've seen you laugh like that," Paul suddenly says with a small smile on his lips.
"And it was at yours and Sam's expense," I playfully tease.
He shrugs, "as long as you're happy."
That was all it took for my smile to fade, "that's the third time you've implied that you don't matter."
He didn't say anything. He only looked down and swallowed harshly.
"And don't think that I forgot that you need to tell me what you're keeping from me. Come on, I can handle it."
He sighs, "Promise?"
I smile and repeated what he had told me, "I promise, and I never ever break my promises."
He lets out a light laugh though his smile doesn't reach his eyes, "...the bond that formed when I imprinted is incredibly strong for wolf shifters. It's hard to stay away from our imprints. It... it hurts when our imprints are far from us."
My eyes widen slightly, "physically or emotionally?"
Paul grimaces and Jared answers for him, "both."
"So when I wasn't talking to you guys...," I hang my head, "I-...sorry..."
"you're here now, that's all that matters," Paul says quickly as if he was anticipating my apology.
I offer him a regretful smile before asking, "anything else I should know?"
He takes a deep breath, "the imprint bond can be broken by the imprintee."
I sit up straight and a bit more attentive at that, "it can?"
He nods yet lets out a depressive sigh, "look, I know you weren't exactly thrilled to find out I had imprinted on you but can you at least act a bit more disinterested..."
"I wasn't- I mean it's not- I didn't mean it like that," I sigh, "it's just this imprint thing scrambled your brain into thinking I was more important than anything in the world if I were to brake it then you could go back to how you were before and you wouldn't be in pain just from being too far from me."
He furrows his brows, "if that's what you want then break the bond."
"Paul," Sam warned.
Jared spoke up, "there's a bit more to know before-," Paul grabbed Jared's shoulder.
"It's what she wants."
"Do you really think she wants you dead?!" Jared countered.
"Wait what?! Dead?!" My eyes widened in horror.
"Jared!" Paul growled.
"Yes dead! if you break the bond he'd most likely die or at the very most be an empty shell of his former self!" Jared yelled obviously frustrated at Paul's lack of self-preservation.
"She didn't need to know that! Now she won't choose what she wants because you had to guilt her into not breaking the bond!" Paul stood up.
"And I'm grateful for it," I say calmly amidst all the chaos. Paul met my eyes, "do you honestly think I hate you enough to want you dead?"
He shrugs his shoulders haphazardly, "I haven't really had the best track record when it comes to getting you to like me."
"Are you stupid?!"
"See? I always seem to make you mad."
"This isn't a joke Paul! It's your life and the fact that you would choose not to tell me something that could potentially kill you is insane!"
"You're my imprint! I'll give you whatever you want whenever you want! Whatever you decide I'll respect it! You're the only thing that matters! compared to you I'm-," he starts rambling.
"Just as important," I continue for him, "You matter Paul. Just because I'm your imprint doesn't make me more important than you. just because you have this instinctual need to protect me and 'give me what I want' does not mean you forgo your own life and happiness. You were your own person before you shifted and imprinted on me, and you still remain your own person so don't treat yourself like any less than that."
Paul sat back down without a word or meeting my eyes. His leg started to bounce up and down.
"Look at me, Paul."
He bites the inside of his cheek fidgets with his fingers.
I stand up and force myself between him and the table as i sit on it and grab his face, "look at me."
Finally his eyes meet mine.
"I will not break the bond. I will be your imprint until the end of time and you want to know why?"
"Why?" He asks with a pitiful face, giving me an odd sense of Deja vu.
"Because you don't deserve the pain that I put you through. Because you are just as important as me. Because you are Paul freaking Lahote, the hot headed idiot that this pack loves and that I'm just starting to tolerate. I mean come on I can't have you die just when I started to get used to you, right?" I let out a playful smile, before cupping his cheek, "basically, I won't break the bond because you deserve to live."
He leans forwards and hugs my torso while still seated, his head lays buried in my lap it's an awkward position but I could tell he needed comfort. I run a hand through his hair and then in circles on his back, "thank you..." I hear him whisper.
—————
After all the theatrics from both sides of the imprint bond had played out, the conversation shifted into a more educational one were the boys informed me of there wolf skills, positions in the pack were, and other things like that. I had stayed seated next to Paul after my declaration to never break the bond. He didn't speak directly to me unless it was correct one of the others from the pack. Not that it bothered me. As we are right now it's hard to imagine things not being so stilted between us. The only time we've actually spoken to each other smoothly and genuinely was when we were each in emotional turmoil; if that's the only way we can communicate I doubt we'll be able to form a connection, or a conducive one in the very least.
I shake my head and try to change my train of thought by asking a question, "Hey guys, just curious; which one of your guys have imprinted? I know about Sam and Emily, if I had to guess, Jared and Kim probably," he nods confirming my prediction, "who else has imprinted?"
"Imprinting is not common occurrence, even amongst wolf shifters," Sam states, "only me, Jared, Paul and Quil have imprinted."
I quickly shift my gaze to Quil, "what? Wait, I haven't seen you with a girl."
He smiles, "that's because I only see her on the weekends when I don't have school."
"Who is she?"
He purses his lips, "before I tell you that you have to understand that our relationship is nothing like Sam's or Jared's."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean she's like my little sister and I'm 100% sure it will stay like that."
"Oh, so it's platonic? Why did you have to preface that?"
"Because i didn't want you to freak out and think something else when i said I imprinted on Claire, Emily's 2 year old niece."
My eye widen, "you imprinted... on a 2 year old?"
Quil puts his hands up, "like I said we have a different type of relationship. The spirits wouldn't have allowed me to imprint on Claire, otherwise."
"It's just the way Paul explained it, he said your imprints become 'your reason for living', I thought that sort of implies romance," I say a bit weary.
"Not at all it just means that or imprints are incredibly important to us," Quil calmly explained, "Claire is really important to me and I will never let anything happen to her but I'm obviously not in love with her... that would be super creepy."
"You can say that again," I mumble.
"Besides I'm dating someone anyway."
"Wait! what?!" I yell, "since when!?"
He laughs, "a couple days ago... we just went on our second date yesterday."
"Ok you have to give me details, what's her name?"
He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, "actually, Their name is Aspen."
I tilt my head but follow his lead regardless of my confusion, "What are they like?"
He slightly blushes and shrugs, "they're nice, fun, and pretty."
The boys start to tease him for his obvious blush.
"Shut up guys... we only just started dating so I don't even know if they really like me," just then his phone rang and his face went from annoyed to delighted, "it's them!"
I laughed, "they have incredible timing... oh and if you two do decide to make it official I want to meet them."
He smiles and gives me a small nod as he walk outside to answer his phone, "hey, aspen!"
The front door closes and I can't hear anymore, so I pout, "aww I wanted to eavesdrop.... Oh! someone use your super hearing, what's he saying?"
Brady laughs, "he's just planning another date with them."
—————
Somehow the informative meeting had turned into us piling on the couch to watch movies and make fun of them. I stayed with the boys until it was around 8 pm, "I should get going guys it's getting dark."
"Aw what?" Quil says, "we just got you back."
I smile, "I'll be back, besides I don't want Paul over here hurting too much."
Paul looks up, "I told you it's fine."
"So you don't want me to come back on the reservation?" I raise a brow.
"I- I didn't say that...," he looks away.
"Good because I'll be coming by more often."
"You don't have to do that for me..."
"Who said it's for you?" I tease, "I gotta come and get more info on Aspen, or maybe have some awesome girl time with Leah, or hang out with my lucky charm, Jay."
"I should have guess you'd say something like that," he rolls his eyes yet a small smile tugs at his lips, "come on," he says as he gets up.
"What? Why?"
"You said you should get going, I'll take you back."
"Jay can-," I start to explain.
"He only has his bike with him and your dad hates it when you ride it," he says pointedly with a dubious face, "I'm the only other one here that owns a working car other then Sam and he's hosting everyone tonight so he can't exactly leave."
I purse my lips, "right...that makes sense," I get up and silently follow him.
Before the front door closes behind me I hear Quil, "that can't end well," along with a small slap.
————
The ride was silent, painfully so. Paul's knuckles were white from holding the steering wheel so tight, "I would've thought being around your imprint would calm you down not tense you up," I mumbled.
"It usually does... at least for the others," he says a bit rigid.
"Then why is it so hard for us to be around each other."
He shrugs, "a cruel joke the spirits are playing on me probably," he sighs, "look, I don't want to be this stiff around you all the time, I figured the more we hang out the more we'd get used to each other and maybe be friends or at least not find every waking moment we're next to each other awkward."
"Comfort through exposure?" He nods and I continue, "would that even work?"
"Worth a shot," he shifts in his seat, then looks at me, "right?"
I nod, "I mean I did tell the guys I would come over more often but I don't think that will help..."
"What do you mean? It helped today didn't it?" He looks at me briefly before turning his attention back to the road.
"We only spoke to each other when we needed to. We ignored each other most of the afternoon."
He purses his lips, "I guess you're right... we'd probably have to stay locked in a room together to actually speak to one another."
"Or a car for that matter," I slightly smile and so does he.
"Yeah, Look at us having a semi-normal conversation for once, I'm proud of us."
I giggle under my breath, "I guess exposure does work... it just has to be us though."
I go to look out the window when he speaks up, "then let's do that..."
"Huh?" I quickly face him.
"We hang out alone just the to of us together to get rid of all this awkwardness between us," he states without looking at me.
"You mean like a... date?"
I seemed to have surprised him considering he hit the brakes suddenly and looks at me before slowly driving off again, luckily there was no one behind us, "w-what? No. I mean just in a way to get comfortable around each other and get to know one another."
"So... a date?"
"I- that's not what I- well I guess- no. Look we go out as friends, that's all I meant," his cheeks heat up and he refuses to look at me, "and even if you wanted to call it a date it would be like a friend date not like a date date."
"A friend date? do people even do that?" I ask skeptically.
"Sure they do... I think... look it doesn't matter this is just something we need to do to get over our aversion to each other," he huffs out.
I nod taking a deep breath, "yeah okay... a friend date. I think I can do that."
He smiles, "We can hang out every couple of days to just get used to it, unless you'd rather it be less often."
"No it's cool I guess... I mean we'll be seeing each other regardless we might as well get comfortable around each other too," I fiddle with my hands and look out the window.
Ironically, the silence came back in full force. Thank the lord it was only five minutes before we got back to my house. Any longer and I would have flung myself out the window.
Then again maybe I should have because when we arrived Bella and Edward were standing in our driveway talking. I saw Paul's body language transform into a hostile one. His breathing became erratic, "I'm getting out with you."
"Paul-," I tried to stop him.
"I have to make sure your gonna be alright," he parks and pulls the door handle to get out of his car.
Great.
Just Great.
<><><><><>
You can Interact with my story in any way you like but I love when people comment so I can interact with my readers.
Anyways have a great day and if no one has told you today: The world is better with you in it, love ya!
Word Count: 3340