"Seriously, stop staring at me," Skylar grumbled, not even looking up. "I'm gonna punch you in the face."

Not being able to stay at her house, Skylar had sent a text to Charlie before running off to Emily's place. As it was, Emily was stepping out by the time the pair arrived but let them in, rolling her eyes at Skylar's light protesting. Light protesting, because honestly Skylar would cry if she had to go back home. It was scaring her that she was feeling more at home here in La Push than her childhood home in Forks. Regardless, Paul hadn't left her side the few hours they had been resting. In fact, his eyes wouldn't leave her face for more than a few minutes at most. Skylar would scold him, he would murmur out a small apology and would end up at square one all over again.

Sighing, Paul ran a hand over his face, leaning further back into the couch. "Like it's a crime to be worried about you. Hell, Skylar, I'm actually apprehensive about this whole fucking situation."

"I just need to distract myself right now," Skylar voiced carefully, not looking up from the worksheet in front of her. She had situated herself on the floor beside Paul's legs, the coffee table pulled up to rest her books on. "I'll deal with the whole thing later but I just want to be with you right now."

Paul took a second before answering. "You can't blame me for being concerned. I've never actually seen you do your homework before and it's a bit unnerving."

Grabbing an eraser, Skylar blindly threw it behind her, chuckling when she heard Paul's whine. He tried to muffle his laughter when he pushed her shoulder, the force of it making her topple over and land on her side. "Ow, asshole!" She shouted, twisting her body to glare at him.

"I'm... Shit, I'm sorry baby. Really – oh, oh! Don't get mad!" He tried to maintain the serious face but couldn't keep the smirk off as Skylar stood up.

Taking a glance down, Skylar snagged the textbook and launched it at him. Hitting him square in the chest, it thumped close as it trailed down to his lap. She bit her lip to contain her own giggles as he looked up, a wounded look on his face as she continued to laugh. Paul tossed the book to the side and reached to grab one of her folders, and despite her objections, hurled it back at her sending the loose leaf papers all over the room.

"Asshole!" She repeated, damn near throwing herself at him while trying to land a half way decent punch, swiftly avoiding his arms and aiming for his chest. Paul let her get a few in, faking an injury, before grinning and catching her arms, holding them together.

Paul hummed gleefully, raising an eyebrow. "What's the plan now, doll?"

"'M gonna punch that smug look right off your face."

Nodding as if interested, he kept her struggling arms in a tight grip. "With what exactly? Seeing how I have your arms, how would you attempt that?"

With her arms useless, Skylar tried to slide one leg off of his lap and attempted to force her other leg up to knee him. He saw this coming too and moved her so she wouldn't be able to reach him. Making sure not to throw her too hard, Paul held back his strength as he pitched her to the other side of the couch and quickly followed. Skylar held her now free arms out trying to both steady herself and keep Paul away.

She was trying not to laugh, she really was. With everything that had went down, she knew she would have to step up to the plate and deal with it eventually. But Paul... Paul had a way of making everything better. And so instead of overthinking she focused on trying to win the damn fight with him.

"This isn't fair!" Skylar grumbled as he caught her arms again.

Paul shrugged the best he could in his position, leaning over her while keeping his weight off. "You have to finish what you start, baby."

"When I'm finished, your ass is going to have to be admitted to the emergency room," Skylar grunted from the effort.

Paul snorted, lifting her arms above her head. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to kick you in the balls in a minute!" Skylar was back to shouting.

He smiled down, eyes crinkling at the edges as she lost steam. It was too much longer after that Skylar just gave up, glaring at him while she stopped trying. "I hate you."

"I love you."

Skylar felt herself tense up again without meaning too, her body reacting automatically. Paul slightly tensed up as well but tried his hardest to not let his face slip.

Before she could say anything, Paul quickly butted in. "It's different for me than it is for you. I know you felt something for me right after seeing me, but my feelings kind of advanced quicker. And I know I haven't known you for that long and that we're still not technically together but you are literally the only person in this world for me, and I will continue to be anything for you as long as I can stay by your side. I don't expect you to say it back right now, but especially right now, I want you to know that I will love you unconditionally."

Skylar blinked. "Well fuck."

Paul breathed out, the air fanning back the stray hairs on Skylar's face. "I hope that's a good 'oh fuck' because I'm seriously not letting you leave until I know you're going to come back."

"I think it's a good 'oh fuck,'" Skylar whispered, eyes still wide. "I don't want me or you to move, and I'm not running away screaming yet so I think we're good."

Shaking his head, Paul kept his gaze on hers. "Not thinking. I want to know you're okay, Sky."

"I'm okay. I wouldn't lie to you," Skylar's voice lowered, not breaking his eye contact.

"I know."

Skylar nodded. "Okay."

"This is not what I was expecting," Jared said, head tilting to the side as he walked in the door, Embry flanked on his side. "Try not to crush the poor girl, Paul."

Grabbing the same textbook resting on the floor, Paul hurled it at the boy, who simply turned around snickering. "Shut up Jared," he mumbled. Still, he pushed himself up in one motion and lifted Skylar up in the next.

It was just a bit too much for Skylar. The waves of emotions were coming in waves, and being caught in the vulnerable position that she was in by even Jared was making her uncomfortable. Embry caught her eyes and motioned for her to follow him outside.

Paul also noticed and tugged Skylar's hand, face darkening the slightest bit but he reluctantly let go at her stubbornness. She could feel his gaze on her back, all the way up until she shut the front door behind her.

It was silent. Crickets had long come out and chirping and the scattering of small animals sounded out every few seconds. The sky was fading even more – with the moon being hidden by the clouds, it had taken on a more ominous feeling and Skylar had the urge to wrap the jacket tighter around her.

"I miss you." Embry's words weren't loud or accusatory. It was a statement, the truth, and it made Skylar's heart ache.

Leaning into her friend, Skylar sighed. "I miss you more."

"You're gonna be okay. I know it hurts, but let Bella go back with the Cullens if she manages to save him. You're kind of stuck with us for a while," he mumbled, lips turning up at the end.

"Did I not do enough?" Skylar asked. She didn't pity herself, but the thought had haunted her since the twins argument. "I mean, I saw that she wasn't going to change and I just kinda abandoned her."

Embry made a sound of protest. "She's not at fault for isolating herself, and you're not at any level of fault for continuing to live your life. Besides, you're the one who got her out of her room eventually. You did everything you were supposed to do, and now you have to do what's best for you."

Mulling over his words, Skylar's mind drifted. "Are you going to be okay?"

"It sucks right now." He didn't even try to bullshit her, he knew what she was talking about. With the conversation that took place weeks ago, it didn't take a genius to figure out that Embry held strong feelings for the girl next to him. "And it sounds cliché but I'd rather have you in my life, just the way you are as my best friend, than not at all. If I'm meant to find... my person, I will. Until then, I guess I'm a lone wolf."

Skylar chuckled. "It's not a bad title to have. You could even get a tattoo and everything."

"That would be fun to explain to her later down the road," he laughed.

They both turned around as someone cleared their throat. Paul was standing by the door, not looking quite as defensive as he did five minutes earlier. "You wanna get going?"

"Yeah." Turning to Embry again, she leaned up to wrap her arms around him, squeezing tightly. "Thank you for being in my life, Em."

Nudging her, he huffed out. "Shut up, Skylar. You know I'm here no matter what."

Letting go, Skylar took a few steps backwards to reach Paul. It was a silent walk to his truck, the engine rumbling as he turned out of the driveway onto the road. "Where do you want to go?"

Skylar, taking a deep breath in, shrugged. "It sounds awful, but I don't want to go home."

"Lemme take you to my place," Paul suggested, reaching across to take her hand in his. "It's late notice, yeah, but I guess I'll take you in. I might have to call my side chick and tell her to leave before we get there."

She let out a tired laugh, eyes closing as she relaxed. "If you're going to have a side chick, please be more respectful towards her by not calling her your 'side chick.' Make up a code name or something, I mean c'mon."

"Nah, the only one that's home is Dad." Skylar found it hard to concentrate on his words with his thumb rubbing back and forth her knuckles. "He might try to hit on you but other than that, he's okay."

"So you get it from your old man, huh?" She teased.

Turning towards her, Paul winked. "Something like that."

La Push wasn't a big place so it wasn't a long drive from Emily's place to his. Trying to be a quiet as he could manage, Paul creaked open the door and let Skylar in before shutting it behind him. The floorboards squeaked under them and Skylar bumped into a few things before they made it to his room. "Didn't realize he had already went to bed. We'll talk in the morning."

"Shouldn't he know I'm here?" Skylar asked, confused. "Probably wants to know who you're spending the night with."

He actually looked bashful. "You're not exactly a new topic. I've well, you know, talked about you and stuff to him."

"Mmm, hope I can live up to the expectations."

Paul didn't bother turning on a light in his room, but with the small streaks of light shining in from his window, Skylar got a decent idea of the layout. It wasn't big and the piles of clothes were stacked in the corners. All in all, a typical boys room.

He got settled his bed first, throwing back the covers and adjusting the pillows before reaching out to pull her in beside him. Waiting until she was comfortable, he finally rested against the mattress and tucked her in on the opposite side.

"Thank you for taking care of me," Skylar whispered. "I don't like it, but thank you."

She felt him shake his head. "Stop. Trust me, I know you're stubborn, but you need someone here."

It didn't take long for sleepiness to hit her, and she felt it getting harder and harder to open her eyes. Half in and out, Skylar turned to press her body against his. "Hey, Paul."

"Hmm?"

It took a moment, long enough that Paul thought she fell asleep. "I think I love you too."

The smile that came across his face couldn't be controlled, not that he even tried. "Okay. Hey Sky?"

"Mhmm?"

"I think I love you too."

yoooo, your girl finally updated. 

seriously sorry that it took this long. i've been in the process of moving and working through lack of motivation has not helped. i'd written a chapter but didn't love it so this is take numba two. all excuses aside, hope the chapter was worth the wait. 

since it just hit one in the morning and my computer is on its last percentage of battery i've haven't even thought about editing it but imma try tomorrow.

aaaaasssss (as, not ass) always, please give me any feedback that is not negative. if you have negative feedback, say it in a nice way or something will happen, idk what yet. we'll figure it out together. and i promise (!!!!) i will try and update soon. i think i've gotten my flow back so we'll shall see.