The bell ringing brought a swift smile on Paul's face, at last they can spend the rest of the day together. Everything was prepared, the car, the food, and the tickets. All that is needed now is Rowan. A crowd of students hurried down the stairs, all of them rushing to get out the school premises. Paul waited patiently , ignoring the lingering gazes of other females, with some of them shamelessly pointing straight at him as they giggled to themselves. He didn't notice it before and he wouldn't have noticed if they weren't being so obvious about it. Paul didn't like the attention, at least not anymore.
Paul turned away from their ogling, his face forming into a scowl. He crossed his arms and waited more, hoping that she would turn up soon. Then he felt like he could not wait no longer. Turning around, Paul decided to enter the school, worried that something was holding Rowan up. But he didn't have to go further as he caught her voice, along with other voices greeting her happy birthday. From where he was standing, all he could see was the Cullens and Paul grew irritated at their close proximity.The Cullens can't be trusted.
There is nothing good that comes to humans that associates themselves with bloodsuckers and he could only hope that Rowan would share what the pack feels regarding their kind."There's someone here for you," Edward smirked " We'll go now" . He placed his arm around Bella, gently pushing her towards the front entrance of the school. "See yah around Row-Row!" Emmett said, earning himself a glare from Rosalie.
All of the cold beings were fast to disperse , leaving Rowan and Paul alone. She waved as she met him halfway, tiptoeing so she could properly hug Paul. The simple gesture easing away the tension and the formed line on his face, beaming at her, he ruffled her hair. "Happy Birthday" . She grinned at how easy his anger melts away, Rowan felt that she could get away with everything, at least most of them.
Briefly pouting, she wasn't sure how long the secret with Noah would stay hidden, maybe she should just tell Paul about it. Perhaps later, once they enjoyed the rest of the day. Hand in hand they walked out of the school, both in the bestest mood as they look forward to their celebration together.
The two were in high spirits when they arrived back to reservations, Rowan carried some shopping bags that Paul bought for her as he carried all the dirty dishes and all of the other things that he considers too 'heavy' for Rowan. The promise of telling Paul the truth was fast forgotten as she relished the rest of her day. Billy waited for them at the front door of the house, eager for all of them to start dinner together, him being with John was too awkward. "What took you so long?" he asked as Rowan leaned in to plant a sweet kiss against his cheeks, Paul stood behind , meeting his gaze directly. "Sorry Billy, we lost track of time" he said , not really apologetic judging from the nasty grin that Billy could see.
"As long as you are here now" John appeared from behind, his eyes flickering between Rowan's and Paul's. "I'm sure you're hungry now Row, let's eat inside" Rowan shook her head, declining the offer. "Well I'm too full right now, but I bet this guy can eat again" All of them went inside in silence. Rowan quickly went to the kitchen to help prepare dinner for them, Jacob was already there, helping himself to the food ."Jake, don't eat it all!"' she said as she playfully hit him in the shoulder.
In the dining room, the three sat in silence. Paul noticed that there was this sick sweet smell around John, a scent that Paul and the others from the pack knew too well. It doesn't resemble the Cullen's or Victoria's, his thoughts diving deeper and deeper as his protectiveness grew. Is there another vampire lurking in Forks?
John could not handle the tension so he spoke "Billy, I hope you don't mind if Noah visit the house"Billy turned towards John,frowning "Rowan's best friend from Toronto?" Billy asked. John nodded "Yes-the only one. Can you believe it , Rowan didn't even tell me where he was staying" he mumbled a couple things after, upset that he was not able to see the kid that he treated like a son. How can Rowan keep Noah from him?
"Rowan told me he was sick,"Paul remarked, his eyes slightly wide "and that he couldn't make it to Seattle?" John's lips grew thin, his brows knitted tightly together. Rowan has told him that Noah safely arrived in Forks all by himself . "Oh. yeah, I forgot about that" he said too quickly. 'I'm getting old so I forget things". John's nervous laughter gave it all away as Paul grew suspicious. The tension rose again between all three.
"Here you go"Rowan placed the roasted vegetables first then the huge roasted chicken that she has made yesterday. The two dined in together without hesitation, relieved that they have an excuse not to talk. Paul however, was taken by his thoughts. "You're not eating?" Rowan said as she sat herself next to him "Jake will eat it all if you don't hurry" . Jacob himself sat next to Rowan as well, taking some pieces of chicken and vegetables for himself as he glanced between Paul and Rowan. With his superior hearing, he was able to catch the conversation between Paul and John, and while he loved to see Paul distracted enough to eat most of the food, he didn't want to spoil Rowan's birthday.
Chewing quickly and downing all the contents with coke, he gestured for her to lean closer to him. "Peanut face knows about Noah" Rowan bit her lips, standing up quickly, she excused herself. "I- just have something quick to do". The rest groaned , not wanting to experience the awkwardness again.
"What should I do ?" she paced back and forth in her room. Suddenly, there was a knock on her room, leaving her no time to think at all. "Yes? I'm just- just folding clothes !" she rolled her eyes at how stupid her excuse was, finally letting go of the shirt she was folding over and over again.
"It's me" Rowan placed the shirt back into her closet, and sat down on her bed. Paul walked in with her permission , his expression unreadable. "I wanted to tell you , believe me, I really do" She said staring at her hands, her voice timid. Paul sat himself next to her and held her hand. "Just tell me"
"Noah was bitten. I asked the Cullens for help and they found him, all alone. They're taking care of him" Finally meeting his gaze, she leaned closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder as her hands gripped his shoulders. "I'm sorry Paul, I didn't want to hide it from you. I just didn't want you to be angry or hurt each other"
"I know" he patted her back a couple of times, troubled that his imprintee was upset, overriding his own feelings about the whole matter. Their closeness sparked foreign feelings for Rowan, as her face grew warm, she buried her face on his chest. Paul turned as he heard footsteps approaching, slightly irritated at the interruption. " I should say I am sorry for interrupting - but not really, hands off pup" Jacob walked in and squeezed himself between the two. "So, Noah is a vampire huh"
"Yes"
"Then you can't see him anymore" Jacob said sternly. Paul didn't say anything as he did not want to land himself on her bad side, and he was glad enough that it was Jacob that was the first one to forbid her. "He will not hurt me Jake, he's learning to control his thirst" Rowan reasoned, though she was sure that no matter what she says, he won't be convinced. Jacob laughed mockingly for some time , not believing her at all.
"Those bloodsuckers can't be trusted !" Jacob's tone rose so did Rowan's. She felt indebted to the Cullens, they have done so much for her and she has to defend them against Jacob's harsh words. "They kill humans for crying out loud, don't be stupid Rowan" Paul growled momentarily, not liking the words Jacob was using towards his imprintee. He had to close his eyes and focus, now was not the time to lose control.
"The Cullens helped me when they didn't have to ! and I trust Noah with my life !" They stood up and faced each other, their faces red from anger. "and I am not stupid"
"Bella has been in danger ever since she met them, and now Victoria's targeting her "
"So all of this is about Bella again Jake?" Paul stepped between them, attempting to diffuse the unease between the two. "Easy now" he said softly, finding it odd that there would be a moment when he was the one that is calm, those situations are sure hard to come by. And since he was the one that has to be calmed, he found himself without the ability to ease the tension away.
"Stop waiting on her, she won't come back to you" Jacob's jaw tensed. He was about to say something but chose not to, pushing away Paul, he left the room abruptly, slamming the door roughly behind him.Rowan trembled as the ferocity of emotions ran throughout her body, when will Jacob understand that Cullens are the enemies? Paul held her close to him for comfort, relaxing him as well in the process. "Jake didn't mean it Row, and I am sure you didn't mean it too" He kissed her on the temples then led her back to her room to give her time to recollect herself.
The exchange was clearly heard by Billy and John downstairs who just stared at the food in wonder. "This chicken is good" John said. "Yeah it is" Billy took the fork again and started eating.