LEGO HOUSE

nine. still you

▬▬ "THIS SUCKS." Cori huffed as she sat on a low tree branch just a few miles from her house. "I can't go to the beach, I can't go to my favorite stores. I can't even surprise Rachel at work like I used to. Damn treaty."

Paul chuckled as he leaned against the tree's trunk, his arms lazily crossed over his chest as he looked up at her. "Sorry, Munchkin." He mumbled. "I wish I knew what to tell you."

"Tell me I'll be okay." She blurted as she leaned her head back against the tree.

He let out a small sigh, then hoisted himself up, planting himself on the branch to the right of the branch she occupied. "You'll be okay. You're you. Vampire or not."

"I'd rather it be not." She mumbled as she turned to look over at him. "And I hate that. I hate that hate this huge part of who I am now. That I hate what I am."

"I know." He nodded. "But one day you won't hate it. You'll accept it, which will be really weird, then you'll grow to like it."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Kind of." He nodded. "I didn't want to be a shapeshifter, the tribe protector. I wanted to be a normal teenager. But things change. I turned into a wolf. I was pissed, I thought the legends were just that, legends. I was wrong. But later, I imprinted on Rachel and I got to know Sam. We became a family and I accepted that this is my life now. That this is what I am. And, honestly, it's not so bad. I mean, my dad and I don't talk like we used to, but when we do it's nice. And no matter why I phased..." He wasn't sure she knew if the Cullens were the reason he phased or not, and he didn't want to be the one to tell her. "It's pretty cool. I phase into a huge ass wolf."

She chuckled as she shifted a little on the branch, crossing her ankles. "Thank you."

"That's just my experience. But I think you'll be okay."

"Not just for that." She mumbled and his brows pinched. "You never stopped being my friend, despite what I am. Despite what happened. And I'm honestly so surprised you haven't tried to kill Emmett." She chuckled lightly as he shrugged. "You hate what I am, but you're still here."

"Yeah, but I don't hate you." He leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead. "You're still just a little munchkin to me. Always will be."

"I don't hate you either." She hummed, a smile pulling at her lips and he let out a breath of laughter.

"Thanks for clearing that up." He mumbled lsarcastically and she giggled, and all he could do was smile. She was still Cori, no matter the color of her eyes.

"Race you back to my house?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're on." He jumped down and phased before taking off and she laughed as she dropped to the ground and ran after him. It took no time at all for her to catch up to him and she waved, her tongue poked out as she passed him. He let out a low sound and pushed off the ground harder, caughting up to her again. Her laughter filled the night air, mingling with the breeze that shook the tree branches above them. And in that moment, she was sure she would be okay.

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▬▬ CORI HUMMED AS SHE bounced down the stairs, her steps feather-light. Charlie chuckled as he watched her jump over the last two steps before landing perfectly, her arms raised above her head. "And she sticks the landing." He mused and she laughed as she made her way over to him and plopped onto the couch. "You tried that when you were little, face planted on the floor. Had to take you to get stitches."

"I've been practicing." She shrugged and he let out a gruff laugh before raising a beer to his lips. "So, you got any plans today?"

"This." He nodded, looking over at her and she raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"That's it?" She huffed. "Man, you're old."

"I am not." He pointed his finger at her. "And, yes, this is all I have planned. Why?"

"Bella's hanging out with Jake. Noah and Carter are at work. Paul had some... family thing and he dragged Rachel with him. Jared and Kim are on a date, no way am I third wheeling. Especially not with those two, it's like they forget that they need air to breathe."

"And?"

"Jeez, old man, you're a cop. You should be able to suss out when your daughter is not-so-subtly trying to ask if you wanna hang out."

"Oh." He put his beer on the table and pushed the leg rest down before turning towards her. "You wanna hang out? With me?"

"Yeah. I'm officially caught up at school and it's basically over so I have no studying to do. And it's been a while since we've done anything." She shrugged.

"Okay," He nodded as he glanced around the room, hoping he could think of something to do. He stopped on a picture of him and Cori when she was six. She was holding a fish and had a wide smile on her face. "Wanna go fishing?" He looked over at her, his eyebrow raised.

"I'd love to." She nodded. "Let me get changed and we can go." She pushed herself up, happier than she had been in a while, and made her way up to her room.

Not even an hour later, the two Swans were in a small boat that floated on a lake. Cori had her hair pulled up into a high pony and a bright orange life-jacket over her sweater - Charlie's doing. She smiled as she looked over at him, it had been a while since she had spent any time with him and she missed it.

"You need a refresher?" He asked, looking over at the girl as she put a worm on her hook.

"Nope. I remember everything you taught me." She gave him a smile as she adjusted her fishing pole in her hands before casting her line.

"Good." He smiled, a sense of pride welling up in his chest, before he cast his own line. "So, you got any college plans? I know Bella's going to Alaska."

"I'm gonna take a gap year. Figure some stuff out, maybe travel a little."

He heaved a sigh. "So you're leaving me too?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'll always come back. Even if it is just to visit a couple times a year, you can't get rid of me."

The rest of the day was much of the same, he'd ask questions and she'd answer. She caught a fish before he did, and bragged for the rest of the trip. She even managed to get down a few sandwiches he had made for them - though swallowing them was a bit of a challenge. And she wanted to apologize to Emmett for all the times he ate lunch with her and all the sandwiches he ate while studying.

But she was more than willing to endure that slight inconvenience for the time she spent with her dad, because she knew that after graduation, the Cullens would be leaving and she would go with them.