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𝑮 𝑳 𝑰 𝑻 𝑪 𝑯
❝   𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚜?  ❞

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ㅤ"𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍 𝐀 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄?" Victoria asked, her face showing her surprise. Never had she heard her niece actually show any interest in any of the boys in town, so this came as a shock when Maria came to her asking for advice. "With who? Do I know him?"

"Probably not," Maria giggled. "His name's Paul, and he lives down at the rez."

"Oh, one of the Quileutes?" Victoria hummed in interest. "He's not part of that cult I've been hearing about, is he?"

"They're not a cult," Maria scoffed, earning her a look from her aunt. "The Swans are close with the Blacks, remember? So, when Bella decided to...visit Jacob, I came with, and I met them. They're nice."

Victoria gave her a thoughtful look. "Well, if you say so. I know you're a smart, young lady and that you know what you're doing."

"You really think that?"

"Of course," Victoria pretty much cooed, pulling her niece in for a tight hug. "You're Tony Stark's daughter. Although, thankfully you're not as...eccentric as he is. Probably influenced by either Pepper or Happy."

Maria grinned. "Yeah, Pepper and Happy were always there when I was growing up. I'm pretty sure it was Pepper that bestowed upon me the ability to be mature."

"Well, it was definitely not from your father," Victoria snorted. It was moments like these that made her reminisce on her younger days, when she and Tony were growing up and were as carefree as ever. She remembered how bright Tony was at such a young age, just like Maria. But after his parents passed, it was as if the light left his eyes, and he took a turn for the worse. She was glad that he was still able to raise Maria and mold her into this beautiful and elegant lady she is now despite all his struggles.

"So, what do you think I should do?"

"Well, I think you should dress up a little," Victoria teased. "It's your first date ever and I want it to be perfect! I'll even help you plan your outfit, not that you even need my help." She winked.

Another giggle erupted from the orange-haired girl. "Love you, Aunt Vic."

"I love you too, ladybug." The two exchanged smiles. "Well, tell me about him."

"Oh, well, first of all, he's gorgeous..."

The next morning, Maria made sure to wear an outfit that was practical in Forks' weather, but still a little dressy so she could impress Paul. She realized early on that she got cold a little too quickly, having grown up in Malibu where the sun pretty much always shined, and barely any rain touched the ground. So, she decided on wearing a brown trench coat on top of a white turtleneck sweater, partnered with skater jeans. She then paired it with some white chunky sneakers.

Stylish and practical, she thought herself, nodding at her reflection in the mirror, before grabbing her wallet, purse, and car keys. She held all three in one hand before getting a hold of her phone to check the time. Twenty minutes to spare.

For the entire night, she and Paul playfully argued about what the plan for their date would be. Paul, at first, thought Maria wasn't being serious when she told him that she would be the one to pick him up. Of course, the Stark girl was adamant about keeping her word, and told him that she'd be picking him up from Emily's place after his patrols. Paul couldn't do anything but agree to his imprint's terms.

It didn't take long for her to arrive in front of Emily's house, with Jared and Embry standing shirtless outside. Their eyebrows were furrowed in concentration.

Embry whistled under his breath. "That is one nice car."

"Agreed," Jared crossed his arms, eyes trained on the car's details.

Maria rolled down her window as she came to a stop. "Why are you guys just creepily standing there?"

"They're jealous 'cause I get to ride your car," Paul scoffed, walking out from the house. He met eyes with the orange-haired girl and he swears to God his heart fluttered for a second, not that he'd admit it to anyone.

"You know, I was half-expecting you'd be shirtless too," Maria laughed, unashamed in the fact that she was checking him out. He ditched his typical no-shirt-only-shorts get up and was instead wearing a white t-shirt underneath a jean jacket along with actual jeans, partnered with simple running shoes.

"I had to dress up," he smirked. "Wouldn't want anyone getting distracted over my amazing body." At his words, both Jared and Embry pretended to throw up, causing Paul to hit them both over the head.

Maria shook her head at their antics before gesturing Paul to get inside. "Come on, I'm hungry."

"Yes ma'am." Paul didn't hesitate to hop into the passenger's seat. Closing the door, his eyes trailed over his imprint's features as if he couldn't believe he's even sitting right next to her.

"You okay?" Maria smiled at Paul after she waved goodbye to the boys and rolled up her window. "You look like you drooled a little."

"Haha," Paul rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep himself from grinning. "So, where are we gonna eat?"

"You know, I thought about it all last night," Maria began as she drove away from the house and got into the main road. "And I was like, I had the perfect idea!"

"Which is?"

"Let's get cheeseburgers!"

Paul let out an amused laugh. "Are you serious?"

"What, you don't like cheeseburgers?" Maria jutted out her bottom lip, in a way that Paul found so adorable, he had to keep himself from cooing.

"I do!" Paul laughed. "I just didn't expect it from you!"

Maria giggled. "Well, that's what we're getting, and you can't change my mind!"

It didn't take long before they arrived at the nearest Burger King. They parked right outside and Maria practically skipped inside after locking her car, with Paul following closely behind her, lips quirked in a small smile. How this girl could be so happy and excited over a cheeseburger, he'll have to ask later. After getting their burgers and sodas, they decided to sit right next to a window.

"So," Maria started, unwrapping her burger, "like you said, I already know your furry little secret. Let's actually get to know each other now." She took a bite off her burger, pointing at him as she chewed before quickly swallowing. "You first."

Following her actions, he took a bite off his burger before swallowing. "Well, my name's Paul Lahote, as you already know. I'm 17, and I pretty much stopped going to school after I started phasing." He took another bite. "Honestly, I never had the best grades. That, and I had a 'reputation'."

Maria hummed in curiosity. "What kind of reputation?"

That's when Paul's ears turned pink again, and he slouched in response to his embarrassment. "I was, uh...a bit of a playboy." Taking a sip from her coke, Maria nodded her head with a shrug. "You're not bothered?"

"Not really," she admitted. "My dad used to be one, and I don't know, I don't judge. Different people need different ways to let off steam. Guessing by your anger management issues, you have a lot of steam to let off."

Paul let out a breath. "That's...not far from the truth, actually. Parents divorced when I was a kid, and I had to live with my dad. I didn't like him," he admitted, "still don't. My mom was loving, he..."

"You don't have to elaborate, if you don't want to."

"I do," he interjected. "It's just hard to explain, and it's...I've never even said any of this out loud before. People only thought I was a delinquent so they mostly stayed away, and my dad was barely in my life despite us living in the same house. So," He shrugged. "I slept around, got into way more trouble than I should especially with my anger issues. Then I shifted for the first time."

"Now you have a family," Maria smiled.

"Yeah," Paul cleared his throat, taking a sip from his own cup of coke. "Your turn."

"Well, my name's Maria Ayutthaya, and I'm actually using my mom's maiden name," Maria smiled. "My mom died when I was born and she pretty much just dropped me on my dad's doorstep. He didn't even know he'd gotten anyone pregnant, but then I came into his life. He was pretty unstable...he was kind of like you." She realized. "Slept around and all that, even had an alcohol problem. He did try to change for me, and tried his best to raise me better than his own dad did."

"But then, why are you using your mom's name? Why not your dad's?" Paul furrowed his brows. "From what I can tell, you guys sound like you're pretty close."

Maria pursed her lips. "We are. It's just...I can't tell you much about my dad without giving away who he is."

"Wait, is he like, a celebrity?" Paul raised his eyebrows, his mouth gaping when she hesitantly nodded.

"Kind of, and no one knows I exist," Maria chuckled. "He tried to keep me away from the struggles of being somewhat of a public figure, and he's even more glad of his decision after what happened a couple of months ago."

"And I'm guessing you can't elaborate," Paul nodded. Both had finished their cheeseburgers at this point, and were both just finishing off their large drinks. "I get that."

"Really?"

"I mean, yeah," he shrugged.

Maria intently stared into his eyes. "You know, this is my first date. And I never expected to be this comfortable...and it feels like, I don't know, it feels...right. And it doesn't make sense why I feel this pull towards you. I have a feeling it has something to do with you being a supernatural creature."

Paul took a large gulp from his drink. "I think it would be better if I explained it in a more...proper setting. You finished?"

"Yeah," Maria was confused, but she needed answers. "Let's just throw these and head back to Emily's place, yeah?"

"Yeah."

They had light conversation in the car, but both had thoughts running through their minds. Maria was curious and was trying to figure out what it was that Paul was going to tell her. As for Paul, he was nervous and wondered that maybe telling her wouldn't be a good idea. But he shook those thoughts away and instead looked forward, seeing Emily's place come into view.

"Where are we going?" Maria asked, letting Paul lead her into the woods after they stepped off the car. "You're not leading me to my death, are you?"

Paul chuckled in response. "Of course not, you can trust me."

"As if that makes it less ominous," she scoffed. "Why are you even leading me this far into the forest?"

"So no one will eavesdrop."

"Ah, so the boys know what we're gonna be talking about, got it. So, it does have something to do with you guys being shapeshifter," Maria nodded, before she stopped walking when Paul did.

Paul turned back to look at her straight in the eyes. "You already know what we are, but what you don't know about is...imprinting."

"Imprinting?" Maria furrowed her brows. "Like, with ducks?"

"Well," Paul nervously chuckled. "For us shifters, imprinting is like...like when you see her, everything changes." Maria began to frown in both concentration and confusion. "All of a sudden, it's not gravity holding you to the planet...it's her. Nothing else matters." He took a deep breath. "You would do anything, be anything, for her."

Maria's eyes widened in realization, and she took a deep breath before speaking. "And you...imprinted...on me."

"Yes."

"Oh."