paul lahote | imprinting [2]
paul lahote. 1186 words.
previous part.
a/n: sorry that this is so late, guys! school is a bummer and there isn’t enough time in the day to write. but i hope you enjoy this ❤
When Quil had invited you to hang with him down at the beach, you almost died of shame remembering the events of a few nights prior. The res party had been a complete disaster. Not only had a possessive stranger hit on you but juvenile delinquent Paul Lahote had jumped in to rescue you for a reason that was completely unknown to you. The way he’d acted, you would have thought he was jealous, but that couldn’t have been the case. He’d never said a word to you before – never even looked at you before – so whatever it was had to have been personal between him and that boy. That was the only explanation you could come up with.
“It’ll be just the two of us,” Quil promised. “Come on, (Y/N), we haven’t hung out since—” But he’d stopped himself short. He wasn’t allowed to mention the party, not when you still burned with shame every time you thought about it.
“Fine,” you agreed. “But only for a few hours. I have homework to do.”
And so you found yourself walking along the shore with Quil, hands stuffed in the pockets of your jacket. It was particularly cold that day, even more so than usual. You could feel yourself starting to regret going out, but Quil was chattering so happily to you about a new movie he’d seen with Embry that you decided it was worth it. It didn’t take much to make your best friend happy.
“Also, you want to know something funny?” he asked. “Embry said that Paul Lahote was asking about you.”
You stopped short. You could barely hear the waves rolling onto the shore with how hard you were breathing. If you’d been cold before, it was nothing compared to the ice that seemed to be spreading through your veins.
“He did what?”
Quil snickered. “Well, I know you said I can’t mention the party, but apparently he’s been going around asking people if they knew you. And you can imagine how freaked Embry got when big bad Paul Lahote came up to him after class and questioned him, too.”
Your knees turned to jelly and you were forced to take a seat on a large log of driftwood to keep yourself from falling. Your voice was barely above a whisper. “And what did Embry say?”
“He told him the two of you really didn’t hang out – which is true and Embry is kind of salty about it because he thinks you don’t like him, and I told him that’s bullshit and that you like everyone but he actually thinks you have something against—”
“Not important, Quil!”
Quil grinned. “Right. Sorry. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Paul’s got the hots for you, which is cool but he’s kind of weird. The whole bunch of them are.” His grin faded as he stared behind your shoulder, eventually turning into a full-blown grimace. You glanced back in confusion and paled.
“Speak of the devil,” you muttered.
On the other side of the beach was Sam’s gang. Paul was talking animatedly to Jared and Sam, but then his eyes met yours and he froze in his tracks. He the same look on that he did at the party, like he was in a trance that he couldn’t snap out of on his own. Jared elbowed him and jerked his head in your direction, mouthing something you couldn’t make out.
Paul started running towards you.
Quil tensed like he was getting ready for a fight, but something in your gut told you he could never take Paul. Not like he needed to anyway. Paul wasn’t going to hurt you. He wouldn’t go through the trouble of saving you from the overly flirtatious stranger at the party if he was going to do even more damage.
“(Y/N),” he said when he reached you. A shiver ran down your spine at the way he said your name. “Can I talk to you?”
Quil gave you a pointed look, silently urging you to refuse, but you were far too curious to listen. Your fear of him and his gang was replaced by a foolish eagerness; everything about Paul drew you in.
“Sure,” you replied. “Walk with me.”
You left Quil behind and set off with the tattooed boy. Neither of you spoke for a good few minutes, letting the tension around you grow thicker. What was his deal? Were all boys this confusing?
“Listen, I’m sorry about the party,” he blurted. “I shouldn’t have snapped like that.” But by his tone, you could tell he really didn’t mean it. It didn’t seem in his nature to be sorry.
“Do you have beef with that dude?” you asked. “What’d he do to you?”
Paul stuck his hands in the pockets of his cutoff shorts, the muscles in his abdomen hardening. He was gorgeous, that much was certain. Just being around him made it hard for you to think. You knew you were probably going to end up saying something stupid in front of him – like admitting how pretty he was.
“He didn’t really do anything to me,” Paul said. “It’s you he was bothering, and I guess I just… I just snapped.”
A million questions burned on your tongue, but you held back. Paul didn’t look like he was finished talking and you didn’t want to risk him being cautious.
“I must look like a freak to you, huh?” He laughed forcefully though there was clearly nothing funny. “There’s just something about you that I can’t get over. You’ve been in my head since the party.” Paul wrinkled his nose. “Jeez, that’s so cheesy.”
You smiled warmly and slung your arm around his neck. It was a friendly gesture that took him by surprise – though, really, there was a little more than friendship on your end. Admittedly, you were a little taken aback yourself by how at ease you were around him.
“If you wanted to ask me out, Paul, you could have just said so,” you teased.
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re willing to let me take you on a date?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that what you’ve been hinting at?”
Paul’s gaze was a million miles away, like he was thoroughly confused by your assumption. For a second, you turned cold with worry that maybe you’d misinterpreted his behavior and that he wasn’t actually into you, but then he grinned.
“Sure. Yeah, I’ll take you out.”
You talked for a while longer about where and when he was going to pick you up, and then the two of you headed back to your friends. Jared pulled Paul into a headlock as soon as the boy left your side, and it looked like he was going to be in for one hell of an interrogation. Judging by the looks Quil was giving you, you were in for the same treat.
“What happened?” he whispered as Sam Uley’s gang started to put distance between them and the two of you.
You shook your head in disbelief, a thin smile on your lips. “Apparently, I’ve got more game than I thought.”
