LET DOWN

three.           rachel

▬ CORI HUMMED HAPPILY as she sat on the floor in front of her new bookshelves, she had several piles of books scattered around the floor – she had them separated out by genre. Paul chuckled as he laid on her bed, she hadn't said much to him since she started organizing her books and he didn't really mind.

He had just missed her company. He had forgotten just how much he liked having her around in the two years they hadn't actually seen each other, other than skype. The past summer his dad had wrangled him a few college tours, and he couldn't say no and even if he had been in town, Cori had stayed with her mom and Bella. And the year before that, Cori had joined Lola and her family on vacation. They had gone to California and spent most of their time at the beach.

He rolled over and looked at the girl, who had pulled her hair up into a ponytail and had her sleeves pushed up to her elbows. "You know, Munchkin-" She looked up from the books in her hands, she was having trouble deciding which genre they belonged to, her eyes meeting his. "It's nice to have you back."

"It's good to be back." She smiled. "Now, shh, I'm busy." He laughed as she went back to sorting through her books, but the silence didn't last long when the door opened and the stairs creaked. They both looked up and a panting Rachel stood there, her eyes moving from the boy on the bed, who smiled at her, to the girl on the floor.

"Cori!"

"The books!" Cori shouted, her eyes wide, when Rachel started towards her. "Rachel, the books!" She shouted again and though Rachel moved fast, she missed each pile of books on her way towards the younger girl and when she was close enough she nearly tackled the girl to the ground. They hit the floor with an oof, but both laughed as they hugged each other.

"I think she missed you." Paul chuckled, his head propped in his hand as he watched the two girls try to sit up before they knocked heads, both groaning a little but it faded into giggles once they were both up and looking at each other.

"Oh, my little Cori." Rachel wrapped the girl in her arms again and Cori giggled, her smile wide. She loved hugs, she loved affection, and she loved that all of her friends knew that. "It's been too long." She kissed the top of her head.

"What are you doing here?" Cori asked, a chuckle behind her words and Rachel finally let her go, both girls moving to get comfortable on the floor.

"Charlie bought a truck off my dad for Bella." She told her, pushing her hair back from her face. "And Paul has been blowing up my phone about you being back, so here I am." She grinned, holding her arms above her head and Cori couldn't help but laugh at her before she registered what the older girl had said.

"Wait, he bought her a truck from Billy?" She asked and Rachel nodded, pulling her legs under her so she sat criss-cross. "Billy's here?" Rachel nodded again. Cori pushed herself up and made her way out of her room then down the hall. Rachel looked over at her boyfriend, a smile on her face.

"She forgot her shoes." She told him and he chuckled as he pushed himself up before pulling her up, placing a kiss to her lips before he grabbed Cori's shoes and a coat for good measure. Then the couple followed after the girl, Paul caught her at the door, his arm around her waist and she let out yelp, drawing the attention of those in the driveway to them. Rachel grinned as she waved at them, getting a confused look from Charlie but her dad laughed as he shook his head.

"What-"

"Shoes." Paul dropped them in front of the girl. "You just got back, can't have you freezing to death."

"Yeah, definitely not." Rachel agreed.

"Aww, you guys care." Cori gushed, quickly slipping her shoes on and she started for the door only to have Rachel step in front of her but before she could ask, Paul draped her coat over her shoulders.

"You're not in Arizona any more, Cor." He told her and she chuckled as she slipped her arms into the sleeves, even though it wasn't that cold, she loved that they cared enough to make sure she was bundled up.

"Can I go outside now?" She looked between them, like a child asking for permission from her parents.

"Yes." Rachel nodded and Cori giggled as she made her way out the door, she stopped on the porch, holding her arms above her head.

"Everyone can relax, I'm here!" She shouted before making her way down the stairs, the couple that followed her simply laughed, their arms wrapped around each other.

"Little Cori!" Jacob rushed towards her, scoping her off her feet and she giggled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her feet dangling. "Did you get smaller?"

"Oh, ha ha." She muttered as he put her on her feet, she shoved him to the side and stepped around him, missing the glare Jacob sent the boy that stood next to his sister. Paul ignored the look, he wasn't gonna let Jacob ruin the fact that his best friend was back in town. He could see just how happy she was to see everyone and he refused to be the reason that all changed. "Uncle Billy." She reached the older man, smiling as she dropped into his lap and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. His chair rolled back slightly, but Charlie quickly put himself behind it, stopping it from moving.

"How's it going, Little Bit?" He asked as she pulled back, but she didn't make a move to get up.

"It's great." She grinned. "All my favorite people are in the same place."

"I'm telling Becca." Rachel called out, knowing that despite the fact that her twin, Rebecca, was off traveling with her husband, who was a pro surfer, she knew that she loved Cori just as much as she did.

"Do it." Cori challenged, her eyes narrowed slightly, making everyone around them laugh, well, Bella simply chuckled lightly, not really getting the joke – Rebecca and Rachel often argued about which one was Cori's favorite. She had missed years with her dad in Forks, years where Cori visited him and made friends and had inside jokes that Bella wasn't a part of. "So, this is the truck?" Cori asked, knocking lightly against the cold metal as she pushed herself to her feet.

"Yep." Billy nodded, reaching over to pat the side of the truck, a certain kind of affection in the gesture. "She's old but she's a beaut."

"Can I drive it?" Cori asked, turning towards Bella.

No hesitation. "No."

"But I have my license." She whined. "And I passed on my first try, unlike some people."

"Hey, leave me out of this." Paul narrowed his eyes at her, getting a grin from the girl and he rolled his eyes as Rachel rubbed his back.

"Still no." Bella shook her head.

"Please?" She asked as Bella turned away from her and climbed into the truck, closing the door behind her.

"No."

"Pretty please." She hoisted herself up, the toes of her converse against the cold metal as she held herself up with her arms, the window was open. "With cherries on top?" Her feet slid, getting amused chuckles from Charlie and Billy, and just when she was about to give up an arm wrapped around her torso, holding her up, taking all the weight off of her arms but she kept her hands on the door. She knew it was Paul.

"No."

"But Bella!" She whined childishly and Bella looked at her, her eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll be really careful." She stuck her head into the window, almost nose to nose with the older girl, not having to worry about holding herself up anymore.

"Can I drive it first?" Bella asked, her eyebrow raised slightly.

"That's not a no. I'll take it." She grinned. "Onward, Pauly." She pointed towards the house and the boy chuckled.

"Am I just supposed to carry you everywhere now?"

"Oh absolutely." She nodded and he shook his head, but carried her to the house, Rachel laughed as she followed the two and Charlie gave Billy a confused look.

"She's definitely unique." Billy mused and Charlie nodded then Bella turned the key and the trunk rumbled to life.

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▬ PAUL'S EYEBROWS PINCHED the second he reached the top landing of the stairs leading up to Cori's new room, he had a few bags of chips, a few cans of soda and a jar of salsa in his arms. "What are you two doing?" He asked, eyes on his girlfriend and his best friend – Cori was on Rachel's shoulders trying to reach the top of the bookshelf.

"Putting my books up." Cori shrugged, going back to the task at hand and Rachel wobbled a little. "Stay still."

"I'm trying. You're getting heavy."

"Suck it up."

Paul sighed, putting the food on the nightstand before making his way over to them. "Cori, fall backwards." He held his arms out and the girl turned to look at him, throwing Rachel off balance but the boy was quick to steady her. "Come on, Munchkin." He told her and she sighed and let herself fall backwards, knowing he'd catch her. And when she was off her shoulders, Rachel let out a grateful sigh.

"She's being dramatic. I'm not that heavy." Cori mumbled as Paul put her on her feet and moved to rub his girlfriend's shoulders, lightly kissing the side of her head. "Am I?"

"No, you're not." He told her.

"I need to work out more." Rachel muttered, her eyes closed for a moment before she opened them and saw the snacks on the nightstand. "Oh, food." She moved away from Paul, his hands falling to his sides as she made her way over to the chips and ripped a bag open.

"It's break time." Paul lightly pushed Cori towards the bed. "And I'll put the books on the top shelf."

"He's so helpful." Cori grinned as she sat next to Rachel, who nodded, her mouth full of doritos.

After their break, Paul had done as promised and put the books on the top shelf, but not without detailed instructions from Cori, who was a bit weird about how her books were placed on the shelf.

By the end of the night, all of the books were placed on the shelf and the three lay sprawled out on Cori's bed. The youngest had her eyes closed as she held onto Rachel's arm, she was on her side between the two. Paul chuckled a little when he looked over to see that Cori was curled up against his girlfriend.

There was a knock on the door and Cori groaned in response, then Charlie made his way up the stairs, stopping on the last step. "Uh, it's getting late. Maybe you two should head out. Ya got school tomorrow."

"Yeah." Paul nodded as he sat up, running his hand down his face, looking over at the two girls. "Just gotta wake them up."

"All right." Charlie nodded and descended the stairs, closing the door behind him.

"Hey." Paul shook the two girls, his voice quiet so he didn't scare them. "Come on, baby, we gotta go." He placed his hand on Rachel's shoulder and she smiled as her eyes fluttered open. "It's late."

She nodded as she sat up, carefully untangling herself from Cori, but the blue-eyed Swan stirred and sat up. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, it's late." Paul nodded and she nodded her head, rubbing her eyes. "You go back to sleep, we'll see you later."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "We'll even pick you up from school."

"Okay." She hummed, crawling across her bed until she face planted into the pillows. Paul chuckled as he pulled the cover up over her and tucked it around her. "Thank you." She mumbled, her eyes closed and he patted her back before he stood up and took Rachel by the hand,

"Goodnight, Cori." Rachel called out over her shoulder, smiling at the girl before she and her boyfriend left the room, Cori's soft snores filling the otherwise quiet space.

⚘‎ nova speaks┆i just love the friendship
between cori, rachel and paul!!