𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

I was on the phone with Bella on Friday while she vented about Edward Cullen and how weird he was being. I was over at Paul's house waiting for him to get back from his pizza run, lounging on his couch in nothing but his t-shirt. My legs were thrown over the back of the couch with my head hanging off the side.

I tried to listen to her, trying to give my best advice, but all I could think about was Emmett, his golden eyes, and his biceps, god he had really nice arms. I felt kinda guilty for thinking about another guy while at Paul's house but, he was the one that completely rejected my idea of being something more, so I didn't care too much.

"He said we shouldn't be friends but then he came up to me at lunch and was saying that he wants to be friends? I don't know, he's being all weird ever since the accident when--" She cut herself off, stopping from saying something, "he's just being weird, you know? I'm getting all these mixed signals and I don't know what to do. So I invited him to LaPush tomorrow and--"

I cut her off this time, sitting up on the couch straight, "yeah, no, not a good idea, Is." I stated just as Paul walked through the front door, the smell of pizza coming with him. My mouth started watering but I ignored my growling stomach and kept talking. "The Cullen's don't come on the res."

"What do you mean?" I watched as Paul glared at the phone in my hand, obviously pissed at the mention of the Cullen's.

"It's some old legends, we're not allowed to really talk about it so, to sum it up, the Cullen's aren't allowed on tribal land. It'd break the treaty and all hell would break loose." I stood up from the couch, following Paul to the kitchen where he set the pizzas down, he always got two. One and a half for him and the last half for me. I swear that boy can eat anything.

"Treaty? Did they do something? Why would they be banned from the land? This makes no sense," she rambled on and I sighed.

"Sorry, Is, I can't tell you. It's like fight club," I opened one of the boxes and began plating myself a slice of pizza. "You can't talk about the legends with any outsiders." I took a bite of the cheesy goodness, nearly moaning as the taste exploded across my tongue.

"But you're an outsider," she defended just as I finished swallowing my bite.

I winced, not liking how she said that. Paul gave me a soft look and I wondered if he could hear Bella on the other end. "I was adopted, Isabella. By law I'm a Black, which makes me apart of the tribe. I mean it's not blood relation, but it's as close as you can get. You, on the other hand, have no ties to the stories. I can't tell you anything."

I sighed, when she didn't respond, going all quiet, "look, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, Is." I hung up and frowned at the phone for a moment before setting it on the table face down.

Paul's hand rested on my back, rubbing circles comfortingly. "You're not an outsider," he stated comfortingly, his glare and hard mask long forgotten.

I wet my lips, nodding. "You sure about that?" I asked, brushing my hair behind my ear as I turned to look at him.

Sometimes I got this feeling, like I didn't belong here. Like no matter how badly I wanted to be apart of the tribe, I never would be. The thought always broke my heart, especially when I thought about how if I don't belong here, then I don't belong anywhere.

I don't have any living family left. My dad died in the marines when I was 3 and then with my mom gone... Billy was all I had. The Black's were the closest thing to family I've got. I didn't want to not belong here with them.

Paul brought me into his arms, pulling me to his clothed chest. I instantly felt all the tension in my body ease up, like I was instantly put to ease. He was sweet when he wanted to be. I wrapped my arms around his waist, letting out a sigh. "You're more attached to this tribe than you realize, Liv."

I didn't think much on his words, just closed my eyes and enjoyed the comfort of his arms.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing distantly and I groaned in annoyance, rolling further into the pillow. Paul's arms moved from around my waist as he sighed and got out of bed. I heard his footsteps retreating followed by the ringing stopping and his voice saying, "hello?" God his morning voice was hot.

A few moments later Paul came back, "Liv, it's Bella." I sighed, pulling my face out of the pillow and rolling over to take the phone from his hand while he laid back down beside me.

"Hey, Bella." I said, my voice hoarse from sleep.

I rubbed my eyes, yawning as I looked out the window. The sun was out, which was nice. "Are you at a guys house right now?" She asked, sounding shocked.

My cheeks tinted pink as I remembered I'd never told her about Paul and our friendship of sorts. I cleared my throat and looked down at the russet skinned boy who was smirking up at me. "Yeah, it's not a big deal," I said, climbing over Paul and getting out of bed to head into the kitchen. Coffee was calling my name.

"Did you stay the night?" She pressed.

I sighed, "yeah, I did. Look, we can talk about it later, what time are you coming?"

"I'm already here, it's eleven, Liv."

My eyes went wide as I looked at the clock on the wall that read 11:15. God, I'd slept forever. "Goodness, alright, well I'll be down at the beach soon. I just have to get ready. I'll see you soon."

I hung up and went back into the room, beginning to search for my clothes on Paul's messy floor. The boy really needed to clean, but I wasn't about to nag him about it. I pulled on my jeans and hoodie before making my way into his bathroom to finger through my hair and brush my teeth.

Even though we weren't dating or anything, I kept a spare toothbrush over just in case I ever stayed the night. Paul didn't mind.

"Rushing out of here?" He asked, stretching on the bed.

I nodded, rinsing my mouth and looking in the mirror. I didn't look too bad, just a little tired. I cringed as I noticed the hickey on my neck. Jake was going to be pissed about that one. "Yeah, Bella and her friends are at the beach, I was gonna meet up and say hi."

I would offer him to join since I knew Jake, Quill, and Embry would be there but he didn't hangout with any of the guys anymore. Over the last couple months him and Jared just disappeared and started hanging around Sam Uley all the time. They cut off their hair, got tattoos, it was weird and I'm not sure what that was about but, whatever.

"I'll see ya later, Paul," I winked at him as I exited the room, making my way out the house and to my car.

The drive to the beach was a short one and it wasn't hard to find Bella's friends since they were the only group of teenagers on the beach. I parked next to the van and got out, shivering as the cold wind hit my frame.

I walked around the van and seen the same group of people from the other day, all talking and laughing-- which stopped when I approached. Awkward. I waved, giving a small smile, "hey, uh where's Bella?"

Jessica, who was dripping wet in her wet suit, replied, "she walked off with some guy, Jake I think?" I didn't miss the way she shared a glance with the guys. I felt entirely unwelcome in their group, a feeling that wasn't hard to miss.

I nodded in understanding, "oh, cool. Well, just tell her to call me when she gets back, it's way to cold to be chilling out here." I forced a laugh and they all nodded before I turned and left.

I guess I'd wait for Bella to get back and then maybe she could come stay over tonight or something. I needed a girls night, I think.