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specialagentlokitty · 11 months

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Mr Evershed x Student!reader - run the town

Part 5:

You looked at Paul, and he grinned a little bit more, titling his head to the side.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Simple. Mum and dad are offering you a solution, you hand yourself in, and we’ll leave, no one else has to be hurt in this (Y/N).”

“You and I both know that’s not true. They’ll hurt people regardless, it’s what they do, right?”

Paul sighed, crossing his arms.

“Don’t act so entitled, it doesn’t suit you. Come on, we’re the same here (Y/N) we always were right?”

You looked at your twin brother, and slowly shook your head at him.

“We have nothing in common. The only thing we have in common is the fact neither of us will be missed when we die.”

Paul shrugged a little.

“Maybe you’re right. I could never be such a coward like you.”

“Only a coward comes to talk with a gang behind them.”

You gestured to the small group that were gathered on the other side of the street.

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?” He asked.

“You came to my town and expected me not to have people here?”

“You’re right that is true. But you know it’s only a matter of days until the rest come, right?”

“I’m aware yes. And I will be ready and waiting for that day.”

Paul sighed and he looked at you men around him then back to you.

“Just come with me willingly, they’ll go easy on you, and I’ll make sure they leave everyone alone.”

“You and I both know they won’t stick to that, they’re not exactly people who keep their word Paul. You should know that, or is that scar on your face not proof enough?”

He reached up, touching the right side of his face.

“Let me help you get out Paul. Let me help you.”

“I’m trying to help you here. They will kill you (Y/N). You know they will.”

“They’ll kill us both Paul. Don’t speak to me of things I already know, they’ve tried once, they’ll try again and it’s only a matter of time.”

Paul ran a hand through his hair.

“They’ll hurt him too.”

He pointed to Mr Evershed.

“If they so much as lay a hand on this man I will personally break every single bone in their bodies in the most painful way.” You hissed.

“They’ll hurt whoever they can to get to you, you know this!”

“And I am ready to put an end to this nightmare once and for all!” You yelled.

“This is bigger than you! Don’t put others at risk because of your own selfishness!”

You marched forward and stood in front of Paul.

“If you’re going to kill me then do it!” Paul yelled.

You look at him, and you sighed.

“I’m not going to kill you. Despite everything we’ve done to one another you’re still my brother, you’re my family, and I need you Paul. I need you by my side, so stay. Help me stop this once and for all.”

“I can’t do that…” he whispered.

Paul reached up, placing a hand on your shoulder.

“You’ve come so far, I don’t want to see you die so young (Y/N)… if you won’t come with me then run. Run as far away as you can…” he whispered.

“I’m done running. This ends now.”

You took a step back.

“I will burn this whole town and watch the sky burn with its ashes if I have to Paul.”

He looked at you.

“You’ve changed so much. You’re not the same scared little kid, are you?”

You smiled softly.

“There’s very little of me left, I have been so consumed by anger and hatred for so long it’s driving me insane day by day.”

You glanced st the floor before looking up at your brother again.

“You and I both wear the same scars, we share the same hurt. Why did you go back?”

“Because I was scared. I still am. At least being there I know they won’t hurt me as much.”

“If you’re here they won’t hurt you at all, I can keep you safe Paul.”

He shook his head.

“I can’t do that…”

You sighed, and nodded your head.

Walking over, you stood in front of him again.

“You’re my brother, and I love you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Paul placed his hand in the back of your head, putting his forehead against yours.

“I love you too. But if it comes down to it, you do what you have to in order to keep yourself safe, you get me?”

You clenched your jaw.

“It’s always going to be the same isn’t it? Me and you on opposite sides?”

“Yeah. But that’s just how it is with siblings.”

You smiled a little, placing your hand on the back of his head.

“We’ll always end up on the same road Paul, whether you want to admit that or not. We were going to rule the world side by side. If you change your mind come and find me.”

“I will.”

You nodded your head and you pulled away, holding your your hand, and he reached over, gripping your arm and you gripped his.

“I’ll rescue you.” You whispered.

“I know you will…”

Paul let go and so did you, and you took a step away from him.

“I’ll protect you.” He said.

With that, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and you watched him leave, and you turned around to Mr Evershed.

You walked past him back inside and he followed you.

“(Y/N)! Hey wait!”

He followed you through to your office and you took your blazer off, setting it aside you rolled up your sleeves and sat down, placing your hands together as you stared at the desk.

He walked over and stood in front of the desk.

“What’s going on?” He asked softly.

You looked up at him.

“I’m so sorry Mr Evershed…” you whispered.

He looked at you in shock slightly and you sighed, running a hand down your face.

“I told you to stay away. I told you this was dangerous, why didn’t you listen to me?”

“Because I’m worried about you.”

“And you’re in danger because of me!” You yelled.

You stood up, looking at him.

“They are going to come after you because of me! Because they see you as someone I care about!”

“What…?”

“You need to leave Ackley today. You need to go. Take whatever you have and leave Mr Evershed.”

“What do you mean I’m in danger (Y/N)?”

You ran a hand through your hair as you started to pace up and down.

“My birth parents are coming for me. And they are going to get to anyone they can to get to me. That includes you.”

“And Sam?”

“Safe. They wouldn’t hurt someone else’s kid. It’s any adults they can find they’ll go after. Please sir, just go.”

He watched as you stopped to look at him.

“This is why I told you to stop. Why I refused to go back to the school. I can.. I can get people to help you, stay with you.”

“And who’s going to help you?”

You furrowed your brows.

“You’re doing all of this to keep other people safe right? Well who’s going to keep you safe?”

“I don’t need to be kept safe. I have brought this upon myself. You haven’t. You didn’t deserve to be dragged into all of this and I’ll make sure they don’t hurt you.”

“What do you mean?”

You looked up at him and walked to your desk, grabbing a left you handed it to him.

“What is this?”

“My will. If I die, I want you to give that to Harry. I’ll have Bailey take you away from Ackley tonight, and I’ll have a small group go with you to keep you safe.”

“You can’t just ship me away!”

“And you can’t be involved! You’re not built for this kind of life!”

He nodded his head.

“Maybe so, but I’m already involved right? So I may as well stay. If I’m not safe, then the safest place is here, right?”

You nodded.

“Then it’s settled, if I’m already involved and in danger I may as well stay. You’re too young for this sort of stuff (Y/N), you can’t be doing this alone.”

“You don’t know the slightest thing about any of this.”

“True, maybe not. But I do know who to look after teenagers, I’ve been teaching them for years. And I do know about you.”

You looked at him.

“You’re not leaving are you?”

“No, I’m not. I’ll admit I’m scared, but I think part of you is scared as well.”

You sighed and gestured for him to follow you, and you took him through to a different room, full of screens showing every CCTV camera in Ackley.

You pulled up two chairs and sat down in one, and he sat down in the other.

“What is this?”

“How I keep track of what’s going in this town.”

“This is illegal.”

“Yes, you keep saying that about a lot of stuff I do.”

You rested your chin on your hand as you gazed at the screens.

“If you’re going to stay you need to stop questioning my actions. I will do what I must to keep everyone safe.”

“Okay.”

You twisted the ring on your finger.

“Sometimes I wonder what would happen if Felix didn’t take me in.”

Mr Evershed looked at you.

“Would I be more barbaric than I am now? I don’t know. Maybe any shred of sanity I have left would be fully gone. Maybe I would’ve already fallen to the fate we’re all doomed to.”

“What did your parents do to you?”

You looked over at him.

“If you think what I do is horrid, you wouldn’t want to know what they did to me.”

He furrowed his brows a little.

“If you want to know, I will tell you, but I must warn you, it is not a story for the faint of hearted.”

He nodded and you began to explain everything you remembered to him, and he listened in horror.

When you stopped talking, you sighed.

“My god…” he whispered.

“I developed such a tolerance for pain, I don’t think I can feel physical pain anymore. As the years slipped by I let go of my emotions slowly bit by bit until there was nothing. Until I became of cold hearted soldier.”

“I don’t think that’s true. You still have emotions, the conversation with your brother shows that, and the fact you were going to send me away to keep me safe, you do have emotions.”

You shrugged a little.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell if I did.”

You looked at your watched and stood up.

“I have to talk to the reverend.”

“You’re religious?”

“I’m not. My father was, the reverend helped him.”

You stood up and stopped next to Mr Evershed, looking down at him.

You slowly reached out, hesitated and put your hand on his shoulder.

“I really am sorry you got mixed up in this.”

You moved your hand and walked away and Mr Evershed sighed, watching you leave.

You did warn him, and he should’ve listened and now he was mixed up in all of this and he had no clue what was going on, all he knew was that he had to stay by your side so you weren’t alone

#ackley bridge #ackley bridge imagine #ackley bridge x reader #ackley bridge x you #mr evershed imagine #mr evershed #mr evershed x reader #mr evershed x you

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eileen-crys · 2 years

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Down in the Dungeons

Ch.24: “ It's driving me insane”

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22573960/chapters/99816621 (Words: +6k) Warnings for this chapter: Angst, Hurt/Comfort

The big party organised by Adam is approaching, but it seems that not everyone is enjoying their time at the castle. During Veronica's recovering, John has been bubbling up more negative feelings and now he has to face them. Meanwhile, Brian meets a special someone.

This chapter was meant to be more focused on Branita but once again I didn't manage to fulfill my plan, first I really had to close a couple of things about John and Veronica's part of the story. I hope you'll like this chapter anyway! The reason it took me so long is also because of the heavy dialogues and emotions involved, I care so much about this story and these character and I prefer to not rush their feelings 😅 The following one will be a fluff fest, I promise!

Taglist: @warriorteam1924 @john-deacon-fucks @deakysgurl @kiainspace @the-world-of-erit @tenementfunsterwithpurpleshoes @kinole009x @blossom-melina-burnickel @wilyserpent @annina-96 @john-paul-george-ring0 @idontknowhowthisworked @julescape @tiny-irish-warlock @finland-shoes (Please tell me if you want to be added/removed!)

#Down in the dungeons #ditd #rachelb's fics #rachelb's writing #queen fanfic #queen fantasy au #fantasy au #john deacon fanfic #brian may fanfic #roger taylor fanfic #johnica #johnica fic #branita #this chapter was a huge mess to write and I'm not totally happy with it tbh :(#too many characters

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grayblacklight · 8 months

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Alright, it's been a long time coming. Thoughts on ace attorney spirit of justice case 5, oh boy. I don't think a list will work this time around, this might end up being a rant... And that's WITH me splitting this case in half, I won't be talking about the trial in kurain this time around, that will have to wait

Spoilers under the cut

I can't believe I am saying this, I know this sounds insane, but... This should have been a 3 day trial. One of the biggest issues with this case is how many characters don't get enough screen time for their own good. A lot of stuff ends up getting rushed through and it's likely the reason this case doesn't really have the emotional impact of... Really any other final case in the main series. Meanwhile there are actually 3 cases already here, if the later two were just split into different trials, it would have given time for more of the new characters to interact with the main cast and develop. I know that's a bold claim, especially with the reputation 3-day cases have for dragging on, but I am going to explain my thought process here.

So, let's start at the beginning -

Durke comes back with the milk, and Apollo reacts about as well as you would expect. And also worse because Durke has a job for him on top of that; it's justified later, but there's a reason this scene ended up sticking with me:

Oh, and Datz is there too. Trucy, fortunately, is the gift that keeps on giving. The first portion of this case is the strongest, and she is definitely part of it; I don't think either of these characters would be very likable at this point if they didn't have a resident weird girl to bounce off of.

To be fair, Durke did at least bring Apollo a present, in the form of managing to track down a picture of his biological father and giving us his name - Jove Justice - but somehow I think Apollo would have preferred it if he just called occasionally...

But back to that job, because poor Apollo has just gone too long without having to do some random fetch quest instead being a lawyer,. so now he's tracking down the founders orb, aka the mcguffin from the first case. On the bright side, it means we get to see Pearls and visit the village from JFA, bringing our weird girl count back up to... Two. Yeah I forgot to mention, but Athena is busy getting Phoenix from the airport because the man still doesn't know how to drive, so Apollo really can't catch a break, or a therapist to help with his daddy issues for that matter.

Pearl, sadly, is exhibit A of characters that needed more screen time; she's only here in this one area to be a guide for the village, and not really anything else. She doesn't even get any particularly good character interactions - Phoenix mentioned in dual destinies that she was like Trucy's older sister, but there's not really much here to play into that. She's just not here long enough to make an impact outside 'oh hey Pearl is back' and it's kinda sad that she is kinda just limited to this one area.

Doesn't help that the introduction to Paul Atishon the politician - and I'll give you 3 guesses as to who the killer is- also happens in this area. And yes, he has a punchable face. He's a self-absorbed asshole riding the coattails of his grandfather's success who doesn't take constructive criticism and is constantly spouting lies and is casually harassing people and disturbing the peace as part of his campaign; the writers couldn't have made him more punchable. Well, the more annoying they are, the more satisfying it is to tear them apart and send them to (presumably) death row.

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exhibitphotopdx · 1 year

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The Hitchhiker

In my memory it is a Spring day, maybe early April, and the windows are down in my old Datsun as I headed out of Eugene toward Seattle and a rendezvous with a beautiful redheaded Welsh girl who had stolen my heart. The highway was just picking up a groove and I was probably listening to Paul Collins' Beat or Gun Club when just outside of Coburg I blew past a forlorn figure hunched on the side of the highway. He was rolled up like a potato bug, arms wrapped defensively over his head. It couldn't be anything but a silent plea for help so I pulled over. The figure didn't move. I backed up on the shoulder and still no sign of life. I got right up to him and honked and he....uncoiled. Taller than I expected, lanky and dark dirt brown, he took long strides to come up to the passenger window where he ignored the door handle in favor of sticking his face and shoulders through the open window.

"So what do you think about the whole Jewish-German situation? I think that if the Vulcan Army could be brought to bear everything would work out alright, y'know? And Spock and Kirk, they'd be cool and I think maybe we could have everyone be friends again!"

I've never seen anyone else with really YELLOW eyes but his were a wild combination of jaundiced AND bloodshot. Six or seven days of stubble on his face and dried spit in the corners of his mouth. More out of reflex than anything else I said the first thing on my mind. "Where are you headed?" He hopped in and in a tone that was both eager and matter-of-fact said, "Dammasch. I'm going to Dammasch. It's a hospital and it's my friends' birthday and I'm going to see him for his birthday and it's at Dammasch." I didn't know exactly where Dammasch was but it didn't take much to convince me that the state hospital for the criminally insane was a good destination for him.

We drove north and he talked. Mostly it seemed that he had seen a lot of science fiction and had somehow blurred it with reality and Germany and conspiracies. He told me that he had escaped from a Nazi prison that was hidden in Eugene and that his girlfriend had been a Jewish spy and that he had killed her (!). He had stolen NoDoz from a 7-11 and had been running through the hops fields for three days while "they" searched for him with dogs and airplanes and spy rays and tractor beams. Chewing dry NoDoz and stealing food from farms along the way. He had to escape because he knew it was his friends birthday and he had to see his friend. He had a present for his friend, a present, you see, and it was for his friend who was in the hospital at Dammasch and he had to take him this present. THIS present! He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a wadded napkin that he had tried to keep damp. Unrolled with shaking hands the napkin yielded a tiny little pot plant. All of three inches long and with just a first trio of leaves he had been pouring water into his pocket to keep it alive until he could give it to his friend, his friend in Dammasch. Whew.

I stopped at a truckstop above Albany so we could get water. I thought about driving away and leaving him but thought it unfair to the truckers and that it would probably wind up in some kind of brutal stomping when he tried to peddle these stories to them. As we got toward Salem, though, I wondered if I would regret not leaving him as he began to tell me about his mental prowess. He was a warlock, you see, and could steer the car with his mind. There was a jumbled story of eternal life that could be achieved by cloning someone but to clone a person you had to cut out the roof of their mouth and that was something he offered to do right there in the car. He would drive the car with his mind and all I had to do was lower my bucket seat and he would cut out the roof of my mouth and clone me. Right now. Right here in the car. I was calculating how hard a kick it would take to break one of his ribs or maybe jar that passenger door loose and kick him straight out of the car at 65 miles per hour. Then he told me where he had learned about cloning.

For a long time, no one knows how long, for centuries, there has been a war between the Anti-Men and the Satellite People. The Anti-Men are tall and thin and gaunt and tend toward very rigid fashion codes that wouldn't be foreign to a leather bar or Berlin in 1938. The Satellite People are bigger than raccoons and have fur like cats but with monkey fingers and curiosity. They jump up on your bed at night and will touch your face while you sleep. They have long tails. The Satellite People live in a cloud that orbits the earth and watch everything that happens down below. They're probably related to the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. And the Anti-Men hate them.

So on balmy summer nights, when the cloud dissipates and the stars twinkle in the warm clear sky, the Anti-Men will force orchestras onto flat bed railcars and ride across the open countryside. The orchestra plays and the Satellite People become more and more curious. The orchestra plays faster and faster and the Satellite People come down lower and lower to see what this amazing thing is, this orchestra on a train car, playing feverishly across the broad plains under starlight. And when the Satellite People reach a certain altitude, just close enough, giant spotlights mounted on the corners of the railcars are turned on and the Satellite People are stunned and drop from the sky like frozen lizards in Florida to be captured. And once captured they are cloned and turned into slaves of the Anti-Men, the roofs of their mouths cut out to create a race in chains. Enslaved forever.

And right about this point, and as he began to explain in great detail that his girlfriend had tried to enslave HIM and he had killed her in self-defense because she was working with the Anti-men....right about the point he began to get really insistent about the need to clone ME here in the car....here came the circular drive and sliding doors of Dammasch State Mental Hospital and I slid to a stop and he gathered up his damp napkin with the fledgling pot plant and crowed jubilantly that it was his friends birthday and he had a present a present a present for his friend and went loping gleefully, ecstatically, through those sliding doors and so passed from my trip and this story. Had it gone on any longer I suspect this would have a different ending but as it was I thought I had done a good deed by delivering him to this particular place and continued on my way to go see a beautiful girl in Seattle.

Now, you might think that such a thing would put me off hitch-hikers but in truth I took the new 205 cutoff around Portland and somewhere around the Estacada exit I saw a burly bearded biker-looking guy with a scrawled sign for Seattle. Thinking to myself that "nothing could possibly top that last guy", I pulled over and he limped up to the passenger side and heaved his bulk into the little bucket seat. Then took off his left leg and threw it in the back seat saying "that damned thing was about killing me! Say, buddy, do you know any Hells Angels? I'm a wanted man by the Angels and I'd just as soon avoid any of them so they don't do me in." And off we went to Seattle and perhaps the wildest night of my life but that's a whole 'nother story.

#redhead #nudeart #nudeinnature #story #hitchhiker #hitchhiking #pale girl

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therovers · 1 year

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omg when are too/billy gonna get back up! i dont even mean romance really, anything!

hi, sorry for leaving you on read for a few weeks (i hope it hasn’t been months but time is fake), but i’ve been behind on the show and didn’t want to say something that was suddenly incorrect.

anyway, i have enjoyed a lot of the todd and billy we’ve gotten recently, but it’s been…. compliacted. i know a lot of people hate summer and aaron and their «miserable little faces», but i have a huge soft spot for summer and would enjoy her in pretty much any storyline i think. that’s not to say i don’t have issues with the storyline, esther and mike seem crazy to me, i almost pulled my hair out in frustration when esther was like «this is god’s plan», because like…. if it was god’d plan that YOU should have a baby why is SUMMER pregant?? i don’t trust them. and aaron’s dad suck and they should not be selling a baby to pay for his anything. what the fuck.

but we have gotten some good billy and todd scenes from it!! in the sense that i’ve enjoyed their discussions and how they support each other and help each other understand and how their conversations have been a little bit deeper and more intense then what we usually get on this show. of course the actual reason for their discussion is stupid too, i don’t think billy being anti-abortion makes ANY sense for his character. so i’m ignoring that part of it 🤍

and i’m also so sick and tired of the paul/billy/todd dynamic. i liked it at first, summer’s three dad, but at this point i’m just screaming «why are you here!!» every time paul shows up, and honestly sometimes when todd shows up too. they driving me insane in so many ways, and it’s a shame because i really did like the trio’s dynamic with summer at first, she deserves all the support in the world!! but i am also invested in the romance side of it, and i wish they would just pick a winning side already. i would prefer it to be billy/todd, i think they have the deeper connection and i’m not a paul-fan, but right now i would be okay with any pairing as long as SOMETHING happens to that trio. (and if they’re not dating each other, why are they not dating anyone else?? this is coronation street, everyone has to be paired up with someone, and i feel like throwing some kind of romance paul, billy and todd’s way (with each other or someone else tbh) would make them seem less like sad single men too obsessed with their shared daughter.

(this all sounds very mean i know, at the end of the day i just want billy and todd to be together because right now my favorite corrie couple is literally bernie and dev and that can’t go on)

#sorry for the world’s longest reply?? this is what happens when i reply late #i bottle it all up and then it comes out like this lmao #coronation street #hope you’re doing alright anon 🤍🤍

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kirkjerk · 2 years

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Reread Tom Robbins' "Another Roadside Attraction". Like "Still Life with Woodpecker" (which I still rate as one of my all time favorites) it doesn't resonate for me quite as much on rereading, though I love the mystical and evocative squishiness of it all.

---

"...it had long been [Amanda's] theory that human beings were invented by water as a device for transporting itself from one place to another."

"When she was a small girl, Amanda hid a ticking clock in an old rotten tree trunk. It drove woodpeckers crazy. Ignoring tasty bugs all around them, they just about beat their brains out trying to get at the clock. Years later, Amanda used the woodpecker experiment as a model for understanding capitalism, Communism, Christianity and all other systems that traffic in future rewards rather than in present realities."

"Look, America is no more a democracy than Russia is a Communist state. The governments of the U.S. and Russia are practically the same. There's only a difference of *degree*. We both have the same basic *form* of government: economic totalitarianism. In other words, the settlement to all questions, the solutions to all issues are determined not by what will make the people most healthy and happy in their bodies and their minds but by economics. Dollars or rubles. Economy *über alles*. Let nothing interfere with economic growth, even though that growth is castrating truth, poisoning beauty, turning a continent into a shit-heap and driving an entire civilization insane. Don't spill the Coca-Cola, boys, and keep those monthly payments coming."

"Now here was Nearly Normal awakening her. He brought a cucumber sandwich and a half-pint of milk. Good. Food would revive her. The bread slices collapsed like movie-set walls beneath her bite; the mayonnaise squished, the cucumber snapped tartly like the spine of an elf."

"Meanwhile, Ziller was doing a bit of tasting himself. Amanda was melting from the glory of it. She felt like the frosting left on the spoon that iced the Cake of the World."

"As was my custom in such elements I hunkered against the rain, drew my head into my collar, turned my eyes to the street, tensed my footsteps and proceeded in misery. But my hosts, I soon noticed, reacted in quite another way. They strolled calmly and smoothly, their bodies perfectly relaxed. They did not hunch away from the rain but rather glided through it. They directed their faces to it and did not flinch as it drummed their cheeks. They almost reveled in it. Somehow, I found this significant. The Zillers accepted the rain. They were not at odds with it, they did not deny it or combat it; they accepted it and went with it in harmony and ease. I tried it myself. I relaxed my neck and shoulders and turned my gaze into the wet. I let it do to me what it would. Of course, it was not trying to do anything to me. What a silly notion. It was simply falling as rain should, and I a man, another phenomenon of nature, was sharing the space in which it fell. It was much better regarding it that way. I got no wetter than I would have otherwise, and if I did not actually enjoy the wetting, at least I was free of my tension. I could even smile."

"John Paul, didn't you once do a painting on the inside of a parachute? And then repack the chute? So that the only way anyone could enjoy your painting was to jump out of an airplane and look up at it on the way down? What was the purpose of that?"

"I wanted to test the art lover's commitment. It might be desirable for museums and galleries to devise a similar test."

"Sexuality ringed Amanda the way a penumbra rings a shadow."

"You people, that fucking magician, I don't know all it is you've got yourselves into. But you wouldn't be in this mess with your government and with the Church if somebody had raised you with a little guts, if somebody had put the fear of God in you."

"You're talking about the fear of authority."

"Authority. Damn right. You never learned to respect authority."

"In order to be respected, authority has got to be respectable." Amanda whipped the custard with a wooden spoon.

"Oh? Our duly constituted authority isn't respectable enough for you."

"The only authority I respect is that one that causes butterflies to fly south in fall and north in springtime."

"You mean God?" "Not necessarily."

"Nothing to lose, Marx, and nothing to gain. Nothing to lose and nothing to gain. A man can be as free and happy as he wants to be because there's nothing to lose and nothing to gain."

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im-a-wonderling · 2 years

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Love & Hate, Part IV ~ Paul Lahote

Summary: Sick of his life being dictated by the wolf inside, Paul Lahote is determined to keep one choice for himself and never imprint on anyone. But the wolf has different ideas

Warnings: arguing?

Word count: 7.0k

Hugs of gratitude to @writing-on-the-wahl and @shieldmaiden-of-gondor for beta reading this! As usual, you guys were a huge help :)

Love & Hate Masterlist

Sam and Emily had been picked up by some friends, leaving me nearly all alone in a house that wasn’t my own with a teenage werewolf whose face I didn’t recognize and whose name Emily hadn’t mentioned. How many werewolves were there? Were they a garden-variety compared to vampires? Perhaps like a pigeon to peacock ratio?

Preferring crackpot theories to boredom, I pulled out my phone and braved the internet, diving deep into insane theories about werewolves and shapeshifters.

Some of the information was probably hogwash, but most of it was certainly hogwash, just like the beginnings of my research on vampires. The only difference was I’d had months to conduct my vampire research before coming to Forks.

I didn’t have months to break this bond.

I was on the verge of giving up for the day when a website advertising a few Quileute legends popped up. I hadn’t considered the possibility that the pack’s cultural background could be connected to their shifting, but that was an avenue to explore.

I typed ‘books on quileute legends’ into the search engine, and the address of a bookstore in Port Angeles popped up.

It was about an hour away.

But how to get out of house arrest long enough to drive there? I still didn’t even have my own car.

I looked up from my phone to see the werewolf sound asleep on the couch.

Some guard dog.

My eyes fell on Emily’s keys on the kitchen counter.

Bingo.

I tried to be as silent as possible as I walked into the kitchen, but my bad leg made a gentle thump every time I put it down to put weight on it, my cane gently tapping against the floor.

But the werewolf asleep on the couch was dead to the world. He needed to tell me the secret, because that couch was less comfortable than a marble floor.

Keys in my hand, I made it to the door and slipped out of it. Still no sound came from the house as I twisted the key in the ignition. I started to reverse as I put my seatbelt on.

I still wasn’t looking in my rearview mirror when a loud thud resounded through the car. I slammed on the brakes, my heart bludgeoning in my chest as I twisted to look behind me to see what I’d hit.

Paul stood behind the car, a hand on the trunk of the car where he must’ve slammed it down.

For a moment, relief coursed through me when I saw that he seemed unharmed, but the relief promptly ran from the chasing anger. I threw open the door, only to be dragged back by the seat belt I’d forgotten. I yanked myself free and stalked towards the thick-headed werewolf.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” I hissed. “I could’ve hit you!”

Paul snorted like the mere idea of the car hurting him at all was completely ridiculous. “What are you doing?”

My cane still in the car, I pressed a hand against the car to keep my balance, trying to slow my heart rate. “You gave me a heart attack!”

He jutted out his chin, stubbornness practically oozing out of his pores. “Well, I can hear your heart, and it’s just fine. What are you doing with Emily’s car?”

Deciding to ignore the comment about him hearing my heartbeat, I realized I couldn’t tell him about the plan to go to the bookstore. He already looked to be on the verge of going ballistic, and if I told him I was headed to Port Angeles without alerting him or anyone else, it might push him too far.

I needed to warm him up to the idea, which I didn’t have the time for now. “Well, what are you doing here?” I asked, trying to come up with an alternate excuse for driving away in the car. “Aren’t you supposed to be out in the woods, howling or something?”

“Where are you going on your own?”

Shaking my head, I put my back to him, limping back to the car.

“Hey, cinnamon sugar, I asked you a question.”

“And I have no obligation to answer it.” A grumbling sound came from the man behind me. I faced Paul, once more using the car as a crutch. “Did you just…growl…at me?”

Paul opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out, and his cheeks went slightly pink.

I tried to keep in my scoff, but I failed. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m headed to my apartment. If I’m going to be staying here, I need more than one outfit.”

“The same apartment where a vampire was seen?”

I opened the car door. “That would be the one.”

When I tried to get back into the front seat, a hand streaked through the air to block my path, restricting me from getting in the car. “You can’t go to your apartment by yourself, there’s a vampire out there!”

“You don’t know me. I excel at doing things by myself.”

“Well, I hear dying is a great activity to do on your own,” Paul said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. “Puh-lease, it'll take me, like, five minutes.”

A fire seemed to spark in Paul’s eyes. “All it takes is seconds for a vampire to sneak up on you, and just like that, poof, you’re dead.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Dead as in D-E-A-D, dead.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Am I supposed to be impressed that you can spell?”

“Dead as a doornail, dead.”

“I don’t have time for this.” I made to get in the car.

“What are you gonna do when you’re bleeding out like the landlord?”

That hurt. I glared at the werewolf, who immediately shifted his eyes away from me, like he knew he’d crossed a line. Or maybe he just couldn’t bear to look at me. “Fine. If you’re going to be petty about it, you can come.”

Paul jerked away from me, clearly spooked. “Me?” He let out a humorless laugh. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“You just chewed me out for almost going on my own!”

“Have Brady take you, he’s the one who’s supposed to be watching you right now.”

“Watching me? What am I, a toddler liable to burn the house down?”

Paul grit his teeth, sending a ripple down his jaw. “It’s not safe for you to be on your own, you know this. Personal comfort means nothing when it’s life and death.”

“Hypocrite.”

Paul’s mouth fell open slightly, and I briefly wondered if no one had ever called him out before. “Excuse me?” he asked, dangerously quiet.

“You’re a hypocrite. If personal comfort means nothing when it’s life and death, then why are you so set on not having anything to do with me?” Paul shifted slightly. “And furthermore, why did you agree to work together to break the bond if you’re not planning on being around me ever?”

The pinch between Paul’s eyebrows was the only indication that I’d struck a nerve. And the fact that nothing more came out of his mouth.

I ducked underneath his arm and got in the car, once again buckling my seatbelt. He stayed where he was for a moment before letting out a frustrated grunt and closing my car door before walking around the car to get in the passenger seat.

I didn’t even bother trying to hide my victorious smile as he settled into the car, closing the door and slouching in his seat.

Until he didn’t put on his seatbelt.

“Put your seatbelt on.”

It was Paul’s turn to get defensive. “What are you, my mom?”

My nostrils flared. “Put. On. Your. Seatbelt.”

“Jeez, someone forgot to take their chill pill this morning.”

“If we get in an accident, not having your seatbelt on can kill you.”

“Well, I’m a werewolf, and werewolves are practically indestructible.”

“Well, I’m not moving until you put your seatbelt on.”

Paul started muttering under his breath as he finally reached up to grab the seatbelt. “Control freak, trying to tell me what to do.”

With a scowl dark enough to blacken the sun, I reversed out of the driveway, cursing the existence of moody werewolves. Thankfully, we both stayed silent until we reached my apartment building.

But every now and then, Paul squirmed in his seat, like he was sitting on something sharp, and his nose would wrinkle like he smelled something foul.

I ignored him, pulling into the parking lot of my apartment. Paul unbuckled his seatbelt as I parked the car.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Escorting you to your apartment.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, I don’t need you with me. You can stay in the car.”

Paul pursed his lips. “How am I supposed to protect you from a vampire if you make me stay in the car?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he had a point. Annoyed, I shoved my car door open. “Alright, whatever. But you’d better save my life if the vampire actually does show up, or I’m going to haunt you.”

“You wouldn’t have anything better to do,” Paul shot back, getting out of the car and slamming the door.

Paul clearly didn’t know how to accommodate someone with a limp. When we started climbing the stairs, instead of staying beside me or even walking behind me, he’d climbed the staircase two at a time, waiting for me at the top.

I could feel his eyes on me, watching me struggle to keep the weight off my left leg. I was used to people staring at me thanks to the limp, but for some reason, Paul watching me was less comfortable than using a cactus for a bed. Maybe it was because he wasn’t staring at my leg or the cane, but at my face.

“Stop staring at me.”

“You flatter yourself,” Paul scoffed, but the weight of his gaze lifted as he trained his eyes on the floor.

Huffing and puffing like I was the big bad wolf, I finally reached the top, hunching over slightly as I tried to catch my breath.

I pulled the apartment key from my pocket and unlocked the door.

The first thing my eyes fell upon was the collection of pictures of the Cullen family, all spread out neatly on the floor.

As fast as I could, I slammed the door shut in my own face before Paul could see.

Paul swiveled to shoot a weird look at Y/N. “We can’t get your clothes from out here.” He reached for the handle.

Y/N’s hand shot out to prevent him from touching it. “Wait!” Her hand, soft and cool, closed around his wrist.

Paul jerked his hand away like he’d been burned. “Why are you being so weird?” he asked.

“My apartment’s a mess, will you please just give me a second to tidy up?”

Paul braced his hands on his hips. “Do I seem like someone who cares about tidiness?”

“Not even in the slightest,” she replied without missing a beat, “but I do.” Not waiting for his seal of approval, she opened the door, slipped inside, and slammed it shut.

Why was she refusing point blank to allow him into her apartment? Was she hiding something? Or was she simply trying to keep a boundary in place? And if she was keeping a boundary, maybe Paul needed to set some of his own. The wolf was causing him enough pain as it was.

But his curiosity got the better of him, and he pressed his ear up against the door, hoping for some clues as to what was going on in there, but all he heard was the shuffling of papers. “Are you planning on letting me in any time soon?” he complained.

“Keep your hair on!”

She was telling him to be patient when she’d obstinately refused to move the car until he’d put his seatbelt on? A type-A if he ever met one.

The wolf let out a mewl, clearly unhappy that Y/N couldn’t be seen, which made Paul grit his teeth. He went to kick the bottom of the door when the door swung open, causing him to lose his balance slightly.

The smirk on Y/N’s face egged at him, so he rudely brushed past her, intending to collapse on her couch and wait for her to finish.

Except there was no couch to sit on.

There was nothing to sit on.

There wasn’t anything.

He’d expected an apartment that could be featured on HGTV, decorated with strings of lights, pictures in picture frames, pieces of fuzzy furniture in pink, a white kitchen polished within an inch of its life. Instead, he was blinking at a sleeping bag and fewer cardboard boxes than he had fingers.

Paul couldn’t move from his spot. “Is this…” He swallowed, trying to wrap his brain around what he was seeing. “Is this all your stuff?”

“I’m not much of a material person,” was all Y/N offered as she limped towards one of the boxes.

It didn’t make sense. She was a doctor. Didn’t doctors have insanely good salaries? Were student loans for medical school so large, it was financially impossible for Y/N to even buy a bed?

Everybody had a right to have a bed.

Eventually, Y/N finished folding her clothes and put them in a box. When Paul wordlessly held out his hands to take the box, she just lifted her chin slightly and limped for the stairs.

Stubborn woman.

She was even slower going down the stairs than she’d been going up. She struggled to hold the cane with the same arm as she held the box, using her free arm to lean all her weight on the railing, which creaked and groaned so loudly, Paul half expected it to come off the wall.

A man stood waiting on the first floor of the building, arms crossed as he watched Y/N’s ordeal to go down the stairs. His expression was downright unfriendly, and Paul sped up, trying to put himself in between the man and Y/N.

“Are you the new landlord?” Y/N asked, chest heaving as she came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.

“Yes. And you’re the girl in the apartment on the third floor?”

Y/N smiled at the man in a much more charming way than Paul’d ever seen on her. “That would be me.”

“The one who’s staying there illegally.”

Y/N’s smile dropped faster than a skydiver, and Paul stifled the urge to laugh at her dumbstruck expression. “I’m sorry?”

“There’s no record of your agreement with Daniel anywhere.”

“I gave him three months rent in cash!” The box nearly tumbled from Y/N’s arms, so she set it down on the floor. “ I’ve got two months left in the agreement.”

The man just shrugged. “If you want the apartment for two months, you’re gonna have to pay me.”

Y/N looked like she swallowed her own tongue. “I don’t have two months' rent just lying around. What’s the alternative?”

“The alternative?” The man shrugged. “The alternative is you clear out so I can let that apartment out to a paying customer.”

“I am a paying customer! I paid!”

“And I’m just supposed to take your word for it?” the man asked.

“So, wait, you’re gonna toss me out on the street?”

“I don’t see any reason not to.”

Y/N didn’t seem to have a response, and Paul deemed it was time to step in. “Come on, man, don’t you think that’s a little harsh?” He gestured to her cane. “You can’t just toss a cripple out on the street.”

Her head whipped around to look at him. “I’m not a cripple!” she snapped, with enough snarl to rival a wolf.

Despite the little yip from the wolf in his gut, Paul ignored her and addressed the man again. “She was the one who found the last landlord bleeding out. Have a little compassion.”

“You found Daniel?” the man asked, his entire countenance changing. “You were the doctor that tried to save him?”

Y/N regarded the man with an odd expression, one that Paul couldn’t decipher and wished he could. “Yeah,” she finally said, twisted her cane slightly.

The man looked at her then, really looking for the first time. Finally, he said: “I can give you two weeks,” he finally said. Y/N looked relieved, and Paul leaned down to grab the box. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to be the guy who kicked out a cripple.”

Paul heard Y/N suck in a breath and looked up just in time to see her face harden. “Don’t bother,” she said, her voice oddly calloused. “I’ll move out right now.”

She turned away from them, limping back towards the stairs.

The man merely shrugged and turned away, but Paul jogged to catch up with her. “What are you doing?” he asked. “He said he’d give you two weeks!”

“Like I’d want anything on behalf of being a cripple.”

Paul rolled his eyes. “Come on, he’s was helping you out.”

Y/N whirled around. “On what planet is calling me a cripple helpful?!”

Paul got the distinct impression that she wasn’t just talking about the landlord. “I’ve called you one before,” he said with a shrug. Too late, Paul realized that wasn’t the best defense as Y/N’s glower worsened.

Her voice was dead as she said: “I’m not a cripple.”

“What do you call the limp then? A sprained ankle?”

“My limp is none of your business.” She continued up the stairs at her labored pace.

Paul easily caught up with her. “So, what, you’re going to move all your stuff out of your apartment?”

“As you so astutely noticed earlier, I don’t have much.” He couldn’t tell if her strained exhale was her being irritated or out of breath from climbing the stairs.

“So you’re just going to have it sitting around in Sam and Emily’s living room?”

She stopped half-way up the staircase, wheeling to face him. “Maybe I’ll just ask Carlisle if I can stay with him.”

A snarl from the wolf broke through Paul’s lips.

Y/N snarled right back, in such perfect imitation of him, Paul could only stare at her.

“Don’t dish it if you can’t take it,” she hissed at him.

And with that, she started back up the stairs, leaving Paul standing by himself, feeling unusually hot.

In the end, as much as it pained me to admit it to myself, Paul was right.

My boxes made the cramped living room even more pressed for space, just like the guilt that wriggled its way into my already cramped mind. How much of a burden was I being on poor Emily and Sam?

The sooner I could break this bond, the sooner I could petition Carlisle to change me, and the sooner I could stop causing so much trouble for Emily and Sam.

It was time to go to that bookstore.

I’d driven my car home while Paul drove Emily’s, so I wouldn’t have to resort to theft to get a method of transportation. But how to get out of house arrest long enough to get there?

Ever since I nearly snuck out to go to my apartment, whichever werewolf was watching me watched me very carefully, so that was no option.

The more I pondered it, the more I knew Paul was my only bet.

I walked into the kitchen as casually as my limp would let me, ignoring Jared’s eyes on me. “Hey Emily?”

Emily looked up from cutting some vegetables. “Yeah?”

“Do you have Paul’s number?”

Emily’s scarred mouth stretched into a sly smile. “It’s impossible to stay away from them, isn’t it?” She chuckled. “I knew you’d come around.”

I just smiled, allowing her to think whatever she wanted to think.

But her smile didn’t go away as I copied the number into my phone and turned away.

“Where are you going?” Jared asked suspiciously as I walked for the door.

“I’m going to call Paul. If you’re gonna watch me, do it through a window,” I said over my shoulder as I left. I started to shiver as I walked a few yards away from the house, pressing the call button.

It rang a few times. “You’ve reached Paul,” Paul’s warm voice said, a great contrast to the cold air around me. “Leave a message.”

“Paul? It’s Y/N. Since I’m now officially on house arrest, I can’t leave without a werewolf escort, and none of your buddies are going to want to help me with research on how to break the imprint bond, so that just leaves you. There’s a bookstore in Port Angeles that might have some more information, so that’s as good a place to start as–”

A car pulled into the driveway, coming to a stop beside mine.

The pale skin of the driver made me freeze.

The vampire. But what was it doing here?

“Paul, I’m in trouble, the vampire’s here, at Sam and Emily’s.” I debated hanging up, but if these moments were about to be my last, I wanted everyone to know what had happened to me.

I could only hope Jared saw the vampire before the vampire finished with me and moved onto Emily and the baby.

The young woman got out of the car, resting an arm on the hood, jutting out her opposing hip as she looked me up and down. “So. You’re her. The doctor my granddad and boyfriend won’t stop talking about.”

Granddad? Boyfriend?

I glanced behind me at the house, and then back to her. “I’m sorry?”

She stuck out a slender hand. “I’m Renesmee Cullen.”

I gaped at her before remembering the phone. “False alarm,” I mumbled. “It’s one of the Cullens. Call me back so we can discuss the trip to the bookstore.” I hung up, looking at Renesmee. “You’re the hybrid.”

She spread her arms, as if showing herself off. “In the flesh. Well, no, not quite.” She laughed at her own joke.

In the meantime, I was struggling to wrap my brain around what I was seeing. The picture of her that was now hiding in the bottom of a box depicted her at about middle school age. How was it possible for her to have grown so quickly?

“Nice to meet you,” I managed to say. “You’re Jacob’s imprint, right?”

At the mention of his name, she beamed. “That’s me. Is he here?” She jogged up the steps to the house, leaving me standing alone outside.

Paul felt like dancing a jig.

His hair was finally long enough to braid. It was such a short and stubby braid, it could hardly be called a braid at all. But the sense of accomplishment he felt from that short and stubby braid, from the connection to his heritage?

It was priceless.

He grabbed his phone, intending to take a picture of the braid when he saw a voicemail from an unknown number that had showed up a few moments ago. Who would be trying to contact him who couldn’t do so through the pack telepathy? Curious, he put it on speaker phone and pressed play.

“Paul? It’s Y/N.”

Paul immediately pressed pause, breathing hard.

He was unprepared.

Everything about her, her smell, her ferocity was too much for him and never enough for the wolf. The sound of her voice was no different. Even as he tried to prepare himself, he knew he’d never truly be ready.

He clenched the edge of the table with his fingers, debating it’s fate before sighing and pressing play on the voicemail.

“Since I’m now officially on house arrest, I can’t leave without a werewolf escort, and none of your buddies are going to want to help me with research on how to break the imprint bond, so that just leaves you. There’s a bookstore in Port Angeles that might have some more information, so that’s as good a place to start as–”

She broke off mid-sentence, and Paul’s brow furrowed.

“Paul, I’m in trouble, the vampire’s here.”

His head jerked back to the phone, the tight fear in her voice making her heart race. Before he could make any conscious decision, his phone was in his hand, ringing.

“Hello?”

“Y/N? Where are you?” If he ran at top speed, maybe he could get to her in time to help.

“Ahh, Paul, thanks for getting back to me. What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I-what?”

“What…are you doing…tomorrow?” she said, exaggeratedly slow.

“I heard you the first time!” he snapped. “You said there was a vampire?”

“It was Renesmee Cullen, didn’t you listen to the whole voicemail?”

Paul simultaneously wanted to collapse in relief and flip the table for making him so worried for no reason. “No, because I called you as soon as you-” He cut himself off. He didn’t have to explain anything to her. Sighing through his nose, he tried to gather every shred of patience. “I have work in the morning and then a patrol, why?”

“After your patrol, we’re going to Port Angeles.”

“Why do you need me?”

“House arrest? Potential vampire after me? Is any of this ringing a bell?”

Paul fisted his free hand, annoyed by her superiority. “I don’t have time.”

“Oh, c’mon. I’ll buy you dinner. It can be our first date.”

Paul ignored the twinge in his chest at her flippant tone. “I’m not letting you pay for the first date,” he barked, wincing as soon as the words played back in his head. He wanted to smack himself in the face, waiting for Y/N to dig into him for the comment.

Of course, she didn’t disappoint.

“Sheesh, you’re so touchy.” He barely restrained his snarl. “Meet me at Sam and Emily’s tomorrow at 4.” She hung up without so much as a goodbye, and Paul set his phone down, trying to reel in his frustration.

If this was how a simple phone call with her made him feel, how on earth would he be able to handle an entire evening with her?

I drummed my fingers impatiently against my steering wheel, glancing at the numbers on the car stereo that read 4:25.

Of course the universe would force a soulmate on me that didn’t have basic punctuality or decency. It’d screwed me over before, why not again? It was just a free-for-all now.

As I’d left the house, I could tell by the hope in Sam and Emily’s expressions that they just wanted Paul and I to spend time together, hoping the bond would overpower us.

Well, they underestimated my willpower.

Despite his alleged burning desire to break the bond, Paul was reluctant to escort me anywhere or talk to me at all. I wasn’t sure what that meant exactly.

The car door opened, startling me, and a frowning Paul slid into the car.

“Finally,” I muttered, twisting the key in the ignition.

“Hey, I was on patrol. Searching for that vampire that’s after you, for that matter.”

When I turned around to look behind me to reverse, I caught sight of Paul’s hair. Before, his shaggy hair barely looked brushed. Now it was neatly pulled back into a short braid that stuck out from his neck. It was strangely becoming on him. “Your–” I began to say, but my voice sounded strangely tight. I cleared my throat. “Your comrades couldn’t do the patrol instead?”

“Listen, cinnamon sugar, you should be glad I took my time to grab a t-shirt. I could’ve shown up in nothing but a pair of shorts.” His face broke out into an arrogant grin. “You wouldn’t want me to arrive in Port Angeles that way, because my abs would cause a riot.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, until you opened your mouth.”

“You’re a real charmer, you know that?” Paul replied, looking out the window.

“Look who’s talking,” I mumbled. “And put your seatbelt on.”

Paul was really regretting letting Y/N talk him into working together.

Being in the car with her had been utterly maddening. As if the wolf wasn’t already causing him great pain by being alone in such a small space, the car had been full of her smell. Paul had wished he could roll down his window without having to explain why.

The wolf also kept noticing unhelpful things, like the fact that her shampoo was coconut-scented or the way her lips screwed up into a distracting pout when she was deep in thought.

Against his will, Paul glanced up from the book in his hands to look at that pout.

Y/N stood with all her weight on her uninjured leg, her cane resting against the bookshelf as she poured over a large book.

On the way to this bookstore, she’d informed him of the code words they were to use in public when discussing sensitive information. ‘Magician” meant vampires, ‘best friend’ referenced an imprint, and any time one of them mentioned Paul’s pet dogs, they were actually talking about werewolves.

Paul had scoffed and called her paranoid.

But he couldn’t miss the way the bookseller’s eyes lingered on the two of them even now.

Paranoid? Maybe. Smart? Clearly.

He hated the admission, even though he hadn't said it aloud. He didn’t have to say it aloud for the wolf to hear it and start to crow.

He shoved his book back into its place on the shelf. “Did you find anything?” Paul asked, hoping she’d say yes so they could go home.

Y/N looked at him with troubled eyes. “Apparently, your dogs can be best friends with someone as young as a baby.”

Paul immediately thought of Jacob and Renesmee, and how Jacob had imprinted on her when she wasn’t even an hour old. If he was being truthful, the age difference had bothered him too, but he wasn’t about to condemn his best friend in front of an outsider.

“Why don’t you look surprised?” Y/N asked warily. Then, it seemed to dawn on her. “It’s already happened, hasn’t it?” She slammed the book shut, looking disgusted. “What else have you kept from me?”

Paul sneered at her. “I’m not revealing all the trade secrets when we’re trying to…” He faltered, trying to remember the correct code word.

“When we’re not going to be best friends anymore.” Y/N’s voice was icy, and the simmering anger inside Paul rose up to meet it.

“Look, I don’t owe you any answers on anything.”

“Maybe not,” Y/N delicately grabbed her cane, “but I can hardly help you with breaking our friendship when I don’t know what you know. If everything is new to me, it’s going to slow me down. Speed is important to you, yeah?”

Paul nearly laughed, but the unimpressed look on her face sobered him.

She had a point. He had no idea if she had the capacity to be a real asset to him, but if she didn’t know anything about werewolves, she’d only be a hindrance.

“Fine,” he sighed. “What do you want to know?”

“Not here.” She limped over to the counter, placing the book she’d been reading on the counter.

The cashier eyed the two of them as he rang up the book, and Paul got a bad feeling. The man looked down as he put the book in a small bag. “Get a haircut,” he grumbled. Something similar to shame twisted in Paul’s gut, and he fought the urge to look down at his shoes.

“Get a personality,” Y/N replied, reaching over to grab the bag before the man could hand it to her.

Both the cashier and Paul watched open-mouthed as Y/N limped out the store. But while the cashier quickly looked away, Paul’s mouth stretched into a grin. When her snarky comments weren’t directed at him, he found he quite enjoyed the effect.

Which weirded him out, in a good sort of way.

“Where are you going?” Paul asked Y/N, catching up to her easily. “This isn’t the way back to the car.”

“I’m buying us dinner, remember?”

Paul blinked. “Wait, you were serious about that?”

“Well, werewolves eat dinner, right? Or is that something else you forgot to mention?”

All good will Paul’d been feeling evaporated, and he frowned at her. “Why do we have to eat dinner here? Why can’t we just go back to Sam and Emily’s?”

“For one thing, I’m hungry now. For another, I don’t want to force Emily to have to cook for us when we get back, because it’ll be late and she should be taking it easy.”

Paul blinked. He hadn’t thought of that. A small bit of shame trickled into his mind. “Alright then, where are we going?” he asked.

“First Street Haven. I looked it up before we left.”

Of course she did.

Paul walked a half-step ahead of Y/N the whole way to the restaurant, partially to annoy her and partially to keep her down wind.

When they walked in, after a few words, the smiling hostess started to lead them further into the restaurant, walking too quickly for Y/N to keep up. Paul tried not to snap at the people whose eyes followed Y/N as they walked past.

To her credit, Y/N didn’t give them so much as a glance. But Paul knew she was aware of their attention, could feel it just the way she’d felt he was watching her when she climbed the stairs of her apartment.

He quickly walked over to one of the chairs, pulling it out for her.

Y/N walked to the other chair, struggled a bit before succeeding to pull it out and took a seat.

Paul squashed whatever feeling started to surge in the wolf as he sat down. “You have questions, right?”

Y/N nodded.

“Then ask away.”

Y/N blew a lock of hair out of her face, still a bit out of breath from their walk. “How old were you when you first turned?”

“Sixteen.” He watched her closely for a reaction, but her impassive face yielded nothing of the thoughts in her mind.

“So you change on the full moon.?”

Paul barked a laugh. “Don’t believe what the movies tell you. I can shift whenever I want to.”

“Were you bitten?”

“No, it runs in families.”

Y/N’s eyes looked faraway. “I wonder if the gene is dominant or recessive.”

Paul didn’t have an answer for her, which made him feel stupid. He’d been horrible in all his science classes before dropping out of high school. He didn’t need to know about dominant or recessive genes to save lives from vampires. “When the bloodsuckers roll back into town, we all start changing. You know, the whole natural enemies thing.”

“Are all of them…” She gestured at Paul.

“Are all of them what? Devilishly handsome?”

She didn’t laugh. Instead she picked up the menu and opened it. “Are all of them as muscular as you are?” she asked without looking at him.

Paul squinted. Were her cheeks a bit pink or was that just the lighting? “We bulk up considerably when our body is preparing to shift for the first time.”

Y/N gingerly set the menu down. “Do all of them have a temper like yours?”

Paul sighed through his nose, irritated by how much her question irritated him. “I’ve always been…aggressive, but the wolf makes it worse.”

Y/N’s brows puckered. “But the whole ‘alpha male’ thing is a myth.”

“No, it is not.” Paul laughed. “Sam’s our alpha.”

She fixed him with a look that made him feel stupid again. “Yes, there is a hierarchy within a wolf pack, but the wolves don’t go around all the time asserting their dominance in a haze of testosterone, or they’d have no time for hunting.”

“Well, werewolves are different.”

“Apparently,” Y/N muttered, and Paul wanted to tear his hair out. Why was she being so difficult? Did she take pleasure in it?

Thankfully for the sake of Paul’s sanity, the waitress walked up to the table just then. “What can I get you guys started with tonight?”

“Uh, do you have a vegetarian burger?”

Paul stared at Y/N as she and the waitress started dialoguing.

No.

No freaking way.

His supposed soulmate…was a vegetarian?!

Someone cleared their throat, jerking Paul out of his horror. The waitress and Y/N were watching him with expectant looks on their faces.

Paul considered ordering a steak to make a point, but if he knew Y/N at all, he knew she really meant that she was going to pay. And after seeing how bare her apartment was, he couldn’t warrant getting something that expensive. So he ordered a burger.

A good old regular beef burger, thank you very much.

As the waitress walked away, Y/N folded her hands together, resting her chin on top of her knuckles. “What’s it like to shift?”

A smile flitted across Paul’s lips before he could think about it, and he quickly attempted to rearrange his face into a neutral expression. “The first time, it felt like I was too big for my own skin. Now it feels like…” He trailed off, sure Y/N was going to make fun of him if he continued.

“Like what?” she asked softly, no sign of her usual brisk tone.

“Like I can finally breathe.”

Y/N nodded. “Like taking your bra off after a long day of work.”

Paul felt himself turn beat red, and he tried to banish her statement from his memory immediately, but he couldn’t unsee the barrage of lewd images that popped into his head. “Urm…obviously I wouldn’t know,” he mumbled.

“I’d like to see that sometime,” Y/N mused.

He nearly squeaked. “See me…taking off your bra?”

Y/N laughed. Such a simple sound, and yet Paul nearly forgot how to breathe. “No, you shifting into your wolf form.”

Paul’s cheeks grew even hotter. She didn’t know that clothes didn’t shift with him, and he didn’t want her seeing…anything. “You’re not ever going to,” he said gruffly.

“Wait, why not?” Y/N whined.

“Because I said so.”

“Oh, you won’t shift for me?” Paul scoffed, but Y/N leaned forward, filling his nose with her spicy, sugary smell. “You won’t shift for your imprint?”

Paul nearly choked at the words, his eyes feeling like they were going to bug out of his head.

Y/N burst out laughing, like him doing anything for her was absurd, and got to her feet, saying something about going to find the restroom.

Meanwhile, Paul tried to even out his breathing despite the pain that was shooting through his chest.

The book Y/N bought had better contain some answers, because Paul couldn’t take this for much longer.

Y/N and Paul ate quickly with very little conversation, and before he knew it, they were back in the car.

Paul dug his nails into his palm, trying to ignore the way her scent called to him. If he never again smelled or ate anything with cinnamon or vanilla in it, he’d die a happy man.

That mouth, the wolf whispered, and Paul couldn’t stop himself before he looked over at Y/N to see a strange twist to her mouth. The wolf started to beg to know the meaning of that expression.

“Any other questions?” Paul finally asked, hoping more than anything she’d smile or frown, so he could gain some reprieve from that strange twist and get his wits about him.

Y/N scrunched up her nose, the smallest of motions, but it gave Paul a bad feeling. “What?”

“I wonder…do you think the imprint bond would be broken if I was bitten by a vampire?”

All the air whooshed out of Paul’s lungs, leaving him scrambling for air as his stomach churned painfully. “Pull over,” he gasped.

“What? But we’re not–”

“Pull over, now!”

Mercifully, she slowed to a stop by the side of the road.

The car hadn’t even come to a complete stop before Paul was out of it. He staggered as far away from the car as he could before his dinner came up. When the nausea subsided, he took several deep breaths, trying to use the sensations of the forest to ground himself.

Just the thought of her…of her becoming one of them was too much for the wolf to bear.

And quite frankly, Paul hated it too.

The thought of those fierce, beautiful eyes turning red or even amber like the Cullens made him shudder. He wasn’t fond of her smell, not in the slightest, but he couldn’t imagine her smelling like Renesmee or any of the other bloodsuckers.

It wasn’t specific to her; he’d feel the same way for anyone who mentioned becoming a vampire.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, wishing he could brush his teeth to get rid of the stink on his breath as he walked back to the car.

Y/N’s door was open, and she was on her feet, looking at him with great concern. Had she been attempting to walk over to him? To rub his back to help him feel better?

He decided he didn’t want to know.

“The burger must’ve been bad,” he said by way of explanation as he got back into his seat, leaning as far away from her as he could.

Y/N got back in the car without saying anything, but he knew by the skeptical flaring of her nostrils that she didn’t believe him.

He added “annoyingly perceptive” to his mental list of her attributes. If he ever needed to lie to her again, and a situation could arise that very well called for it, he’d have to be more convincing than that.

The wolf growled at the thought.

Part V

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wordofthewicked · 2 years

Text

Showtime- Paul Lahote

Fic description: A chance meeting one sunny afternoon on La Push brings you face to face with Paul Lahote. Your strange connection with him, and the fact that it was his soccer ball that broke your nose, you were wrapped up into an unseen world that lived in tandem with yours. How far are you willing to go for true love? How far are you willing to go to protect the people you love?

Part Two Part Four

General Masterlist

Showtime Masterlist

TW: none that I can think of

~~~

Part Three

“Y/N? Can you just stop walking away for a second?” Paul called after you, as you raced down the front steps of the cabin.

You weren’t quite sure where you were going, but you felt like the walls were going to suffocate you. You were trying your best to ignore the prying eyes that were watching from around a roaring bonfire they somehow had time to set up, but it was hard when you knew that once he phased, they’d have access to Paul’s thoughts. There was nothing that could stay between you two- no private moments, or even a conversation about everything you’ve been told today.

“I know it’s difficult to comprehend.” Sam began, as he followed you out into the yard as well. “Believe me- we all have been there. When I phased for the first time, there wasn’t anyone to help me. Jacob’s father explained as much as he could, but there hadn’t been wolves in our tribe for a very long time, not since Jacob’s grandfather almost 70 years ago. He knew the legends, but the stress of actually going through the change wasn’t something anyone knew about. I had to figure things out alone- and it wasn’t easy. I know this seems absurd and impossible, but please, think about how hard this is for all of us. For Paul, especially.”

“What happens if I refuse?” You asked, turning around. “If I say no to this life, to this… soulmate relationship?”

Sam sighed, shaking his head. “Y/N… I don’t want you to think you are being forced into anything. You need to know you have a choice here.”

“I want to know the truth- you owe me that much. What would happen if I did?” You insisted, crossing your arms.

Paul was standing between you two, looking like a dejected puppy. You wanted to comfort him- which angered you slightly, knowing that this supernatural connection was the only thing making you feel that way. Or at least you thought so.

“We don’t know for sure- it’s incredibly unlikely for the feelings to be unreciprocated as a wolf and their imprint are perfect matches for one another. And again, there haven’t been shifters in our tribe in many years. There are stories that have been passed down, however, from a very long time ago. What you need to understand about imprinting is that being away from your imprint is physically painful- the only relief is their presence. Losing your imprint, whether to death or rejection, is said to be as painful as having a constant heart attack, usually driving the wolf to suicide in response. Like I said- there’s no relief from the normal pain we feel being away from them, let alone the pain of losing them.” Sam explained, the gravity of his tone making you feel empty inside.

You nodded in response, not trusting your voice in the moment. If you rejected this life, it was likely Paul wouldn’t be able to handle the loss. It wasn’t like you had much of a choice.

Still, looking at him, you felt that it didn’t quite matter. Without the imprint, you would have been attracted to him. Without the universe pushing you into his arms and cementing your place in his life, you would have been lucky to catch his eye. And you couldn’t deny that the imprinting affected you as well. You knew there was a weird pull you were attracting you to being next to Paul, the way he made you feel calm and safe, even as a stranger. It was like love at first sight- though you would have been crazy to admit that yesterday. Standing here now though, it didn’t seem as insane as you thought.

“We don’t have to rush things, you know. We don’t have to even be together romantically, either. Whatever you’re comfortable with. Just… please think about it, okay? Take time to process it, but don’t reject it just because it’s overwhelming. Please.” Paul spoke, his hands glued to his sides in fists, his body tense.

You shook your head slowly, “It’s a lot to take in, I guess. I mean- everything’s different now, isn’t it? The whole world that I had known is gone, disappeared within an afternoon.”

“It isn’t gone- it’s just different now. It’s a new world that’s opening up to you, not erasing the world you know entirely.” Paul explained, his tone soft and filled with a slight air of desperation.

You stood there, unsure of what to do. Where did you go from here? From this sudden revelation, this certainty you’ve never had before. Nothing you could decide on felt right.

“Do you want me to take you home? I can drive you back now, give you time to think it over?” Paul asked gently.

“No,” you shook your head, taking a step back. “I mean… I don’t know.”

You turned away from him for a moment, trying to collect your thoughts. Jumping into this was crazy, but you knew deep down that turning away wasn’t an option. At least not one that you’d consider.

You turned back around, looking over at Paul. His eyes seemed slightly pained and he was nearly bouncing on his heels in anxiety. You sighed, reaching a hand to pinch the bridge of your nose gently.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…It’s overwhelming. Some guy I don’t know is standing here telling me I’m his soulmate and if I say no he’ll die.”

Paul nodded, swallowing harshly. “It’s okay, I know. It’s a lot to take in.”

You nodded back, staying silent for a moment and looking around. The rest of the pack was sitting around the fire on the side of the house, watching you intently. Kim and Emily were imprints as well, and they seemed so happy and full of life when they were around their wolves. You thought about what that would feel like.

“I can do friends.” You spoke, hugging your arms around yourself awkwardly. “We can be friends for now.”

Paul’s face lit up immediately, a wide smiling taking over it. “That’s all I’m asking for. I just want to have you around.”

You smiled slightly towards him, and Sam seemed to be satisfied with your response. Or perhaps he determined you weren’t a flight risk anymore, you weren’t entirely sure. He walked over to the fire and sat down next to Emily, wrapping her in his arms.

You gestured towards the group, “Shall we join them?”

Paul nodded and began walking over with you.

“Is it… really painful? Being away from me?” You asked, your voice quiet.

Paul sighed, shoving his hands in his front pockets. “Yeah, it is. I didn’t… I didn’t want to tell you that. I wish Sam hadn’t. I don’t want you to think that you have some obligation to be around me.”

When you reached the fire, the group was silent still, watching you two interact with interest. Paul gestured for you to sit on the last log, before sitting beside you. He kept distance between your bodies, much more than he had been keeping since you two met.

“Don’t I?” You prompted, tilting your head at him. “Isn’t this some sort of obligation to be around you all the time?”

“No,” Paul shook his head, then paused for a moment. “Well, maybe. I don’t want it to be an obligation for you. I want you to enjoy being around me, enjoy being friends with me. It’s important to me that you’re happy, you know?”

You nodded slightly, looking over at the way the other imprint pairings were wrapped around each other like they couldn’t bare to be apart. You wondered slightly if that was your fate- to be so tied to someone else that you couldn’t function without them. Then again, maybe that’s just what love is, inherent connection that you can’t survive without.

Perhaps tying yourself to Paul wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Perhaps it would be like falling in love, but knowing that they loved you back more than anything else. Isn’t that what people search for? Fight wars for? The feeling of being wanted, being needed? The finality of it all scared you a bit, but it also sounded nice. Secure. A life you could build where you never had to ask for anything, never had to want more from your partner. It couldn’t be that bad, surely it could be the foundation for happiness.

Paul nudged you a bit, furrowing his eyebrows. “Penny for your thoughts?”

You smiled at him, shaking your head slightly. “Just lost in thought, I guess. Trying to process everything.”

“Don’t try and do it alone.” Emily spoke up, her warm smile making your chest heat up slightly. “You’ll drive yourself crazy. Maybe you, Kim, and I could hang out together this week. You can talk about how you’re feeling with everything, and we can do our best to help. We know what you’re feeling, we know how hard it can be.”

Kim laughed a little. “Jared imprinting on me was the best thing that ever happened. I’d been waiting for him for so long, I never thought he’d look at me like this.”

Jared kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”

“It’s alright. You found your way to me eventually.” She responded, resting her head on his shoulder.

You couldn’t help the small smile the crept it’s way across your face. The happiness that radiated from the couples was almost stifling, and it definitely wasn’t something that you were sure most people felt. If the imprint bond was something deeper than normal love, which it evidently was, you couldn’t imagine what they must actually feel like. How beautiful it must feel to love someone that much.

You looked back at Emily. “I think I’d like that, actually. Since I can’t talk about this with my friends, it would be nice to talk through it all. Understand how you guys felt about it, how you managed to come to terms with everything.”

Emily nodded, listening to you intently. “It’s hard, especially the beginning. The more you learn about it, about how it affects you as well, it’ll make more sense. You need to process the wolf stuff before you can begin to unravel the imprint stuff. Just live with it for now, give yourself some time before you try to find answers or meaning in it.”

You listened to her words, thinking over them carefully. Give yourself time before trying to find answers or meaning. That wasn’t something you could do. You couldn’t just sit here and not try and comprehend everything you just witnessed, everything you just found out.

“How about tomorrow morning? We’ll be out all day, so why don’t you three get together here?” Paul offered, his tone hopeful.

Kim and I looked at each other knowingly.

“As much as I would love to, I’m still in high school. I’ll be in school all day tomorrow.” You replied, realizing that tomorrow would be Monday. “Plus that doesn’t feel like enough time to process anything. Or at least not we’ll enough to be able to talk to Emily and Kim about it.”

“No, you’re right. I’m sorry, I just want to do this right for you. I also forgot you’re in high school still- I dropped out a while ago and it feels like a lifetime.” Paul admitted, smiling bashfully.

“Only a few more months until I’m not, and I’ll finally be out and in college.” You gushed, before stopping yourself and thinking.

College was your logical plan- you’d always wanted to study to be a Geneticist, something that fascinated you. Top of your class, straight A’s in every subject- you were on track to attend John Hopkins in Baltimore, a school known for their Microbiology and Genetics programs.

You had gotten in, and in a few weeks you planned to be sending in your deposit and committing to moving across the country and starting a new life come fall. Opposite ends of the continent, away from Paul.

“College, huh?” He spoke, itching the back of his head. “I was never one for school- not the book type.”

“Not everyone is. In fact I’d say most people aren’t- our brains aren’t wired for studying and reading. We’re made to be outdoors, creatures of nature more than anything.” You answered, staring into the roaring flames.

Kim, who seemed increasingly eager to get to befriend you, piped into the conversation. “Have you looked into any schools yet?”

You nodded, doing your best to stay uplifted and excited to learn more about Paul and his makeshift family here and not focus on the gnawing feeling in your chest. “Uh- yeah. I applied to a few, but I haven’t committed yet. I have until the end of April to pick.”

“That’s awesome. What’s your top choice?” Emily asked, leaning her head on Sam’s shoulder.

“Oh I’m not too set on any particular school. Just keeping my options open.” You answered nonchalantly. “What about you all. I’m assuming most of you had to drop out of school once you phased, yeah?”

Jared, not taking the bait, tilted his head. “Where did you apply? Any place we’ve heard of?”

“Oh uhm… probably not. I just went for smaller schools, less main stream kind of thing.” You nodded, realizing that Paul was being unnaturally quiet.

“You can be honest, you know.” Paul spoke up, nudging you with his shoulder. “I want to learn as much as I can about you today.”

You sighed, looking down at your hands. “John Hopkins is my top school.”

“Where is that?” Sam asked, furrowing his eyebrows together.

“Baltimore.”

Embry and Quil whistled in sync, their eyes widening. Baltimore was a long while away, and you knew that wasn’t going to bode well for either you or Paul.

“That’s… quite a far distance from here. Is that the appeal?” Kim asked, propping her head on her hand. “I apologize for being nosy, but you’re the first imprint that I’ve been around for. And I’ll be honest- I never thought Paul would be the next one to find his.”

“Oh? Please fill me in on those details.” You asked, eyes widening with interest.

Kim laughed a little, but Jared shot her a warning glance, which caused her to quiet down. “Paul’s always been more of a… lone wolf, if you will. It’s interesting to see him with you. Even in a day he’s changed.”

“Kim…” Paul warned, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m just saying!” She yelped, raising her hands up in surrender. “Your tough exterior can’t be that surprising to them and it’s nice to see you… I don’t know. Lighter? More relaxed.”

You smiled at Paul and nudged him this time, “You a brooding bad boy type then, huh? I think the leather jacket kind of gave you away.”

Paul looked over at you, smiling back. “I wouldn’t say brooding bad boy. I’m just known to be a bit… hot headed.”

Jared laughed, shaking his head. “A bit?”

“Mmmm… and as your imprint it’s my job to make sure you don’t wolf out because of that?” You questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re not responsible for my actions. That is the idea though- that an imprint is the best person to calm us down.” He responded, not meeting your gaze anymore.

You hummed quietly to yourself, thinking it over. “Yes… that does make sense. Do other strong emotions invoke it too? Or just anger.”

“As far as we’ve seen, anger is the only thing that unintentionally causes it. However, anxiety or fear can make it difficult to phase back.” Sam answered this time, his presence as the Alpha unwavering.

You nodded at this, looking over at Paul. “Well lucky for you, I am the most level headed person I know. I rarely get angry, much more into blaming myself and getting sad about it instead. Plus, I’m great at calming people down.”

Paul smiled, tilting his head at you. “Do your parents fight a lot?”

“What?”

He shook his head, and cringed a bit. “I’m sorry, that was a weird question. I just meant that… you know. You blame yourself when people get angry, you know how to calm people down. I didn’t know if your parents… sorry it’s none of my business, I know.”

You nodded as understanding filled you. Evidently he was used to people from broken homes, which made you curious about his life. “No, no. You’re okay, I just didn’t understand why you were asking. My parents are great, honestly. I’m really really lucky. They’re the most doting and caring people ever, and I don’t know what I would do without them. My older brother, though, had a lot of anger issues growing up. It wasn’t really his fault- he had severe ADHD that my parents didn’t understand, and he didn’t get the help he needed. It made him angry, and he got into a lot of fights at school. He’s better now- he went off to college for business, and now works at some fancy company in Seattle. Still, I learned quickly how to calm him down when he got angry. It was rarely ever aimed towards me- we were really really close growing up and he’s always been fiercely protective over me.”

“That sounds hard, dealing with that as a kid.” Paul answered solemnly.

“Not really. I wasn’t usually around when he was angry, most of it happened at school. I just felt helpless. I always looked up to him, and seeing him struggle sucked. It took a lot out of my parents, but they eventually figured out what he needed and got him help once he was in high school.” You answered, thinking back to the times you watched your mother break down crying when she thought no one could see. “What about you? Your family?”

Paul looked away and into the distance, pausing for a moment. “My family is… complicated. Not much to say other than that.”

You hummed, knowing that you’d have to circle back to that topic when you were alone. You were sure the rest of the pack already knew, but you didn’t want to probe him for more information.

“So what about you all?” You asked, looking around the fire. “I want to get to know you guys too, since we’re going to be spending a lot of time together.”

You spent the rest of the evening laughing and getting to know the pack. You finally found out which was Embry and which was Quil, though you’d still be surprised to see them apart. The pack was loud and goofy, and felt like a big makeshift family. It was warm and comforting to be around them- something you had a feeling you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere. They treated you like you were family, too. Making jokes at your expense, including you in on inside jokes when they were brought up.

You left the cabin feeling warm and happy, and excited for the rest of the week to come. You were busy with school and clubs, so you weren’t going to be able to meet with Kim and Emily until Thursday. Paul was eager to spend more time with you too, so you promised him when the pack came back to the cabin on Thursday, you would stay there until curfew. Despite the warnings you had given yourself about being careful with this, you secretly felt Thursday couldn’t come soon enough.

_____

Tag list:

@sorrow-and-bliss @fangirling-4-ever

#twilight #paul lahote #jacob black #leah clearwater #sam uley #wolf pack #embry call #seth clearwater #jared cameron #quil ateara

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it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream · 3 years

Text

Opposites Attract (Paul Lahote x Reader) Chapter 3

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Warnings: Swearing

Word Count” 2.1k

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-Your POV-

They were running at a speed that seemed impossible, their size alone, impossible. The shear beauty of the animal, breath taking. This wasn’t the first time you’d dreamt of giant wolves. They visited your dreams frequently, leaving you with all sorts of un answered questions, leaving you the next day, searching “What does seeing giant wolves in your dreams mean?” Yup, you were that kinda girl. You thought there was an answer for everything, and there probably was, but you weren’t going to find the answer on google search.

You don’t know how long you’d been in the car for. All you knew was you were in pain, then it seemed to ease and a sense of comfort washed over you. Your head felt as if it were floating, snuggled into something warm and soft. A pillow perhaps? You didn’t open your eyes to check, the pain in your abdomen and now across your whole body blinding, you’d woken a few times with a jolt, and then you passed out again.

The next time you woke up you weren’t moving at all, which you were grateful for, the pain mixed with the motion of a moving vehicle didn’t do anything for your stomach, travel sickness was the bane of your life. Instead you found yourself in a room, the blinds drawn closed, the door shut, your body, in different clothes. A mens t-shirt? When did you get changed? Where were you? You looked around in a daze, sitting up slightly from the comfort of the pale yellow duvet set. Wooden log walls, photo frames scattered on every surface, subtle lighting and a wall lined with books, the smell of home cooking wafting through from the kitchen. You were in Emily and Sam’s guest room, how did you know this? Well for one all of the frames had pictures of the happy couple in, two, you’d stayed over once before, back when you’d been caught in a freak storm with Leah while on the beach. You vaguely remembered the place. You didn’t come over often, what with Leah and Sams history, that and as much as you liked Paul, sometimes you’d be nervous to bump into him. Paul! Speaking of Paul, you groaned and flopped back into the fluffy bed sheets. Paul was at the hotel when the pain started… where was he now? Did he drive with you back home?

You were about to get up when Leah came bounding through the door. “Oh good I thought I could hear you awake in here.” She grinned at you. “You look like you’re feeling much better!” You pat the space beside you and Leah climbed in snuggling up to your side.

“So, on a scale of one to ten how bad was it.” The big ‘It’ being how bad was the show in front of your long term crush. Leah shrugged as she looked at you.

“Nothing was baddd… everyone was just worried about you, you seemed to be in some serious pain, hence why we thought it best to cut the trip short, it’s probably better that were home, it was early hours when we got here so Sam said we could just crash at his.” You raised your eye at you best friend. She was being awfully calm about the whole situation. She said Sams name in a sentence and didn’t get herself worked up. You looked down at yourself.

“And the clothes? Or lack there of….” That’s when Leah grinned. You didn’t like the way she was looking at you. You inhaled the scent that was on the shirt. Sandel wood and aftershave, a hint of sea salt probably from the misty air outside.

“That’s Pauls t-shirt Y/N” Your eyes went wide and you knew you were blushing.. did that mean he had undressed you. Leah noticed the panic in your eyes.

“Before you get worked up he just leant the t-shirt knowing you’d be uncomfortable in your dress, I changed you.” You audibly gave a sigh of relief, not knowing how you’d react if the guy you’d been in love with since second grade had finally seen you in your underwear. “He stayed in here with you last night you know, to make sure you were okay. He wouldn’t leave.” Leah was now proper up on one arm looking at you. You didn’t know what to make of it. You didn’t think Paul had even known you existed… You were taken from your train of thought when something started dinging. The mobile on the bedside table started beeping as texts came through one by one. Oh god, you hoped Leah hadn’t told your parents about your episode at the hotel, the last thing you needed was for them to worry. However, you realised when you picked it up, it wasn’t your phone.

The screensaver was a picture of the guys from the res, all goofing around, it looked like it had actually been taken in Emilys kitchen. It had to be one of the guys. You realised it was Paul’s after remembering what Leah had said about him staying for some of the night. He must have forgotten it when he left. You didn’t mean to see the message but it automatically came up on screen when you tilted the Iphone in your hand.

“Such a shame we had to cancel our date last night handsome, still on for tonight?” There were a bunch of emojis next to the text, the purple devil, aubergine, water droplets. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out whoever this girl was motives were. At first you were embarrassed, to the point where your mouth was kinda slack and Leah was asking you what was wrong. Then you were pissed.

“He’s such a dick, honestly. I don’t know why this makes him a dick, i’m just so mad. I know I’m not the prettiest, or the funniest, or most talented or anything but jesus christ I wish he would just notice me for once instead of these girls who will put out at the drop of a freakin hat!” Leah had taken the phone from you to see what you were talking about. She groaned and then noticed your whole body was shaking, in a flash she was at the door calling for Sam and the others. All you could see was red. Your vision totally blank, the covers under your hands balled up in your fists tight, your body shaking, heating up. Somewhere in the background you could hear someone shouting at you to calm down, but this time you couldn’t. You heard the sound of ripping and then all of a sudden the world around you changed. For one, everything in the room seemed to get smaller, or maybe you got bigger? You were still angry and started lashing out, only to be tackled by something from the side, leading you to smash through the wall of the wooden house. You still didn’t understand what was happening, until you heard them in your head.

“Y/N CALM DOWN! We know this is scary but you need to calm down.” It was Sams voice. In your head. Or maybe, the voice was coming from the 8ft black wolf hovering over you. You didn’t scream, you didn’t even seem scared, and it’s because you realised, you were a wolf too.

-Paul’s POV-

Y/N was safe, sleeping soundly in the room next door, or so Paul thought. It wasn’t until he heard the shouting that he knew something was wrong. Leah called for help and before he knew what had happened there was a bang and Sam was tackling a wolf on the ground outside the house.

A white wolf. Small, slim, bright, with a single grey patch of fur around an eye. Paul shifted instantly, realising the unknown wolf in front of him was in fact his imprint. He let out a low growl to Sam, even though he was the Alpha, Paul didn’t like the fact he’d just tackled his girl. He looked her over, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth almost comically, all the while Y/N stood staring and the grey wolf now in front of her, he could hear through the bond that she’d just imprinted, feel it too. Now she knew.

-Your POV-

“Hold the fuck up.” You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Part of you couldn’t tell if you were in a dream or had just gone plain crazy. The other part of you knew that everything was real but you just couldn’t process the information quick enough. “So you’re telling me, that our ancestors were these shapeshifters and the gene was passed down to us to allow us to shift into giant wolves and hunt down vampires. You know, Vampires, ‘I want to suck you blood’, creepy pale strong immortal beings with no soul? And werewolves, I mean, Shifters..” It was insane.

“Anddd to top it off, the man i’ve had a crush on since 2nd grade is my imprint, the person I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life?” You glared at Paul who had the audacity to wink in your direction. Looking around you noticed the other faces, all amused at your outburst. Okay, so this wasn’t a joke, it was some sick reality you were now a part of. You hadn’t looked in Leah’s direction yet, pissed that your best friend had kept such a massive secret from you. Obviously you knew it wasn’t her fault, she wasn’t aloud to tell you the tribes secret, they didn’t know that you would be another female shifter, apparently your kind were rare. It still stung a little.

“What really sucks thought Y/N, is that you’re gonna have to cut you beautiful hair short, our human hair mimics the length of our wolf hair, hence why each of us one by one cut it all off.” Quil sat back and shrugged and Paul growled lowly, not lowly enough for heightened hearing.

“Why now. Why. I-I have school and I have things I want to do with my life.. I can’t be a shifter..” Reality had started to sink in and you found it difficult to breath. It felt like everyone in the room was staring at you and it didn’t help that you could also hear what everyone was basically saying. Your chair was pushed back with a screech, falling over and hitting the wooden floor.

“I-I need to get out of here, I need a minute..” You were out the door in a flash, Leah and the boys running after you. Somewhere in the distance you could make out Sam telling Paul to calm down and then heard what sounded like wolves shifting but you’d already made it to the tree line, being able to run faster than you’d imagined still in your human form.

The air was colder the higher up you got. You didn’t know how long you’d been running for but it had been a couple of hours before you finally stopped. In the middle of nowhere, high up in the mountains you let out a scream, one that sent flocks of birds fleeing from trees, the notes of your anguish scattering in the breeze. Everything would be changing now, life as you once knew it was gone. Part of yourself would never be yours again, having to follow a pack system. Another part of you was giddy at the thought that the man you’d been in love with your whole life turned out to be the one destined for you all along, it only took shifting into a wolf for you both to realise just how compatible you were.

You’d been alone with your thoughts long enough when you heard a twig snap in the distance. The hairs on your arms stood up and your heart started beating rapidly, turning, you calmed when you noticed a familiar figure walk out into the open.

“Paul.” You could feel the bond running through your veins, seeing him helped you breath better and the physical need and urge to be in his arms was too strong. Like he sensed it too, he was over to you in a flash, taking you in his arms, your body pressed against his, his nose buried in your hair breathing in your scent, like he was saving it to memory.

“Y/N, it’s all going to be okay, I promise, nothing bad will ever happen to you while i’m around, I know it seems scary now, but it won’t be like this forever. You’re already so strong, and I’m lucky that fate paired me with you.”

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Yoooo. I hope you liked this chapter, I’ve had some writers block recently, just trying to keep going. I’m still not sure what direction I’m taking this fic, I do know however that this is set at the beginning of eclipse! So watch out for some vampire action!

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creativeashproductions · 3 years

Text

Reluctant Vacation // Charlie Gillespie

Summary: The niece of the infamous Kenny Ortega had its advantages and disadvantages, you received insight on his projects but felt guilty saying no. Kenny seeing the exhaustion pulling you down invites to the set of Julie and the Phantoms where you rediscover your love with the field.

Warning: Swearing and fluff.

Words 2.2k

A/N: I do take requests. It may take a bit to get to them but I’ll post some.

Please ask to be tagged in my inbox because I can’t promise you will be through commenting on the posts!

Masterlist

The sigh came from deep in your chest wanting to drop to the floor for an exhaustion induced nap, but an airport wasn’t the best place. Large sunglasses obscured people from seeing the deep bags under your eyes on the way to the film lot. It was coming full circle, the change different from the frantic schedule you had had recently. When Kenny called you hadn’t hesitated in packing and buying a ticket.

“Miss Y/L/N?” The voice pulled you from your thoughts as a man holding a card with your name displayed. He was of Puerto Rican descendent with a young girl beside him with similar features, “I’m Ricardo. This is my daughter Madison.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m-“

“Y/N Y/L/N.” Madison supplied with a beaming grin on her face having recognized you from your role as Sabrina in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina along with movies.

All you could do was send a fragile smile in response after a long sleepless flight to Canada.

Madison’s eyes saddened at the exhaustion you carried, “I can fangirl later. You looked really tired.”

“Kenny saw and asked me to come over the guise of help, but he knows I need a break. He’s lucky I don’t need to be on set for a few weeks.” You replied, covering a yawn as you found yourself at a car, the walk a blur.

Unintentionally you found yourself asleep in the backseat the moment you settled back there for the drive. You had filmed in Vancouver before, so it wasn’t a huge deal, and the Reyes’ duo didn’t have the heart to wake you up.

“We’re here,” Madison whispered with the back-car door opened. Your eyelids fluttering at her voice, giving Madison a closer look at your face.

Walking on set, you saw Kenny giving one of his pep talks before he cut himself off at the sight of you. The actors surrounding him furrowed their brows as the legendary director power walked to a person concealed behind Mads.

“Sweetheart.” Kenny beamed, pulling his niece in for a hug before leaning back to scan her features, “You need a nap.”

“I need to meet your new cast.” You snickered stepping around the man to the three actors he had abandoned to see you. You found amusement in their widening eyes at the sight of the Y/N walking to them.

“Oh, my shit.” Owen gasped freaking out as the actress co-starring in the new Spider-Man trilogy came closer.

Last night Owen, Charlie and Jeremy had hosted a movie night in the rented apartment the first two rented. They had quickly made their way through Captain America: Civil War before watching the following movies with Spider-Man. You had a cameo in Captain America: Civil War before becoming a star in Homecoming and Far From Home.

“We manifested her.” Charlie hissed frantically fixing his set costume growing a blush at the smile you wore. He could feel the hair stylist on standby glaring at his tousled locks.

The girl in question came to a stop before the three guys portraying the phantoms of the show in the second season. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the expressions each one of them had.

“Hello.” You greeted flattered when the tall blonde one turned a blossom pink at the voice of an angel. Charlie and Owen had developed celebrity crushes on you.

In revenge, Tori, a returning choreographer and background character, saw Charlie’s expression along with a familiar girl. After filming season one ended the previous year you had stopped by during the filming process of CAOS to catch up with Kenny. Tori had been there and you two became friends.

“Hey!” Tori grinned, pulling you into a hug, “These three binged your MCU movies last night, and Charlie’s wallpaper is you.”

“Tori!”

“This is what you get for telling Booboo about the poster!” Tori called to the Canadian boy jogging out his area. Charlie’s cheek darkened more than Owen’s as your smile grew bigger.

“No worries Ghost. Luke definitely my favourite character and gotta say you should have been on Charmed more than two episodes.” You supplied walking backwards to Kenny once more yearning for a night’s rest after the flight.

“Holy shit.” Charlie choked smacking Jeremy’s arm repeatedly, “She knows me. Oh, oh, OH. She’s seen me-“

“-Getting it on for a scene.” Jeremy snickered as his friend grew more and more flustered, “That was tame compared to her and Tom going at it.”

Charlie’s face dropped being reminded of the explicit scene you had done with Tom Holland in the movie that came out near the end of 2020. The Devil All the Time was the only film out of the MCU you had done with Tom. You had played the promiscuous daughter of a devout, loyal churchgoer and close friend of the preacher.

“Didn’t they date for a few months?” Owen questioned thinking back to the media mayhem during the virtual press for the film.

Owen was correct with the chemistry between you and Tom it was natural you would do interviews together via shared video chats. Charlie watched every single one that came out with interest. He hadn’t even expected the film to do so dark and explicit, but you had a natural talent.

“English, handsome, actor-“ Charlie started to list off on the English actor with a far more extensive list of credits. Charlie felt like a Canadian child in the city of Los Angeles compared to your leading man.

“-runs a charity with his family.” Jeremy continued raising one eyebrow, “At least he isn’t tall. You’d be fully screwed.”

Charlie shoved his teasing friends away with a smirk of his own as the trio continued on to the film. Charlie put his feelings on the back burner to focus on the storyline and emotions of the scene.

“Spider-Man Three baby!” The English accent shouted from the phone with only an ocean separating the two actors. Tom hadn’t even greeted you before screaming at the news you both received; despite the scripts from a few weeks prior the sequel had fully been greenlighted

Your head tossed back at the childlike glee on the older adult, clearly displaying the two years really mean he was two years old. After meeting on the set of Civil War along with Harrison, you had become friends. Followed with the following MCU appearances, it had been a surprise to be cast in Devil All the Time.

“Insane.” You started making your way through the set to where Kenny had texted you from. It was closing to the end of your vacation.

In the few weeks, you had reconnected with Tori on her breaks along with becoming good friends with the cast members. Something clicked between you and the core four of the show even if Madison sometimes still got starstruck.

“Did you read the script?” Tom questioned quirking his infamous eyebrow his fans wholly adored. You found it amusing, to be honest, that every character he portrayed had the same eyebrow.

“Not fully. I’m surrounded by people, and unlike you, I prefer not to jeopardize my career with marvel.” You teased glancing up as Charlie and Owen made their way over, “I’ll be flying out in a few days for filming.”

Tom nodded his head, “I got get back. Jacob and Haz are visiting. Remember to film the announcement! Bye Love!”

You gave a thumbs up before Tom ended the facetime glancing up at the duo who each raised their eyebrows. Charlie’s mask nearly breaking at Tom’s goodbye. Charlie could feel the cover of his feelings falling more and more each day.

“Announcement?” Owen questioned, slipping his jacket on over his shoulders having changed from his Alex outfit.

“Nothing.” You waved it off, starting to walk backwards with a smile that Charlie thought made your eyes shine brighter than stars.

The boys followed behind on the walk to the house Jeremy and Carolynn had decided to rent during filming. You had been crashing there as Jeremy didn’t want Carolynn to be alone with his filming schedule. It also gave the perfect place for your plan. Last few nights you had binged the marvel movies again ending with Far From Home.

The living room was decked out by Carolynn with your help from earlier as she was the only know that knew. Everyone settled in the living room with Mr Reyes there as well who had quickly become a father figure to you.

“So, I wanted everyone here for a reason. I’m sure you’ve noticed I’ve been reading a script and I have something to open.” You started thanking Jeremy as he brought in the package, he had no clue of the contents, “Now nobody says any spoilers for season two.”

You turned on the camera Paul Becker had supplied with a small smile having already filmed the opening sequence. You sat on the floor in the camera shot, opening the big box to hand out the smaller boxes to your friends. Charlie, Owen, Jeremy, Madison, Savannah, Booboo and every else glanced at the non-descript red box.

“Open them.” You urged grinning as the room went silent except for the tape ripping off the packages.

In each individual box was marvel themed candy, a plushie of Spider-Man along with signed cards from the Avengers actors and the MCU Spider-Man cast. At the very bottom, all it said was to look up at you. Instead of facing them with their looks of shock, you addressed the camera.

“Tom and I are so incredibly happy to announce that Spider-Man 3 is in the beginning process of filming.” You beamed at the camera listening to the intense noise of your friends screaming, “we can’t reveal anything else about the film, but the script is immaculate as usual. You’ll get to see Harper on the screen once more.”

“WHAT!” The collective scream behind you came as you waited a second before ending the video. You’d have to replay it before sending to marvel for the finishing touches with Tom’s version and then you could post it on Instagram.

“Surprise!” You spoke to the group behind you all in states of excitement, “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to tell you guys! I got the script a few days before I came.”

“Holy shit.” Owen spoke, laughing at he shook his head, “You managed to get autographs from fucking Iron Man himself.”

“I got connections.” You snorted meeting the gaze of Charlie, “Nah, Downey’s kids came for a visit, and I kept them company. Downey offered to do anything, and I took the favour.”

The surprise wore off as the group mingled, but Charlie’s eyes stayed pinned to your form as you sent a message to Tom. Locking your phone to noticed his eyes.

“Hey Charlie.” You smiled, sitting on the couch next to him. His expressive eyes showing a silver screen of emotions you couldn’t quite decipher.

The corner of his mouth tilted up in response to the way his name rolled off your tongue, sending his heart stuttering. A cold sweat appearing when you grasped his hand in yours in a confident manner.

“So, you leave soon?” Charlie murmured moving closer to hear you among the chatter of the group. Your lips turned down for a split second as you felt the sadness of leaving.

It was refreshing to be on set without the demands of makeup, costumes, filming and choreography. To see the action and magic but not be part of it was a definite change you had needed desperately. But to leave Charlie hurt.

“My call time is in three days. Need to get ready to bring Harper Osbourne back to the big screen.” You replied, loosening your grip on his hand, “I don’t really want to go back. I’m gonna miss you…and everyone else of course.”

Unaware to the eyes watching in anticipation you and Charlie conversed further on the upcoming months. To the great disappointment of the house began to clear out, Owen for an early call time. Savannah was meeting with her brother, and Mr Reyes was taking Madison home.

It left Jeremy and Carolynn to retire to their bedroom while you stayed on the couch with Charlie for longer. The emotions building from the prior weeks, bubbling to the surface. Hearts thudding in their chest Charlie leaned in glancing at your lips; yours glancing at his.

Who moved first couldn’t be known, but as your lips brushed together just barely you felt grounded and peaceful. If he leaned closer, you wonder what the kiss would make you feel.

“I’d like to kiss you.” Charlie murmured startled at the confidence he had gained, “But before I do. Do you have something with Tom?”

“Other than onscreen chemistry? Absolutely nothing.” You spoke barely louder than a whisper to the boy that had become so much more than some actor.

He was Charlie. The goofy boy that put a smile on anyone’s face with an impromptu concert in the middle of a crowded street. He lived life to the fullest without any regrets. He was passionate about his work, music and the environment.

Those thoughts evaporated when lips met another pair of lips in what might be described as the best kiss ever. No fireworks felt as Wattpad would say, but instead, it was the heady warmth of hot chocolate on a cold day; a warm shower after a long stressful day. It was home and perfect.

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