𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓

 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 

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╰┈˚ · ° .   SEPTEMBER 13, UNTIL THIS YEAR IT MEANT NOTHING. Now, it was the date of Bella Swan's birthday.

The night before, late in the night, I had to still close my eyes and let sleep overtake me. Paint colored my skin like its own personal canva. A paintbrush was stuck in my hand as I tried to finish the painting that I had promised Maddison-– one of the things that she was going to give to her sister for her birthday. It was a meadow, a place Bella had apparently talked to her about with stars in her eyes.

I had procrastinated too much, and now, in the early hours of that Tuesday morning, I rushed to finish the painting. But I had promised to my friend that she would have her gift ready, I wasn't going to backtrack now.

"Beatrice."

I had been so immersed in my work that I had completely lost focus of the world around me— something not unusual when a paintbrush was in my hand— I had not even heard the wolf climbing up the window of my bedroom.

"Fuck." My hand slammed over my chest at the sudden noise, fear making my heart beat too quickly and hands weakening the hold on the brush nearly making me drop it. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"What are you doing still awake, Little Arsonist?" Paul's eyes narrowed into slits as he kept all his focus on me.

More often than not, the wolf these days would sneak into my room late at night. I had come to wait impatiently for those moments when it was just us. Sleep came easier when he was with me.

"Finishing Bella's gift." I replied, coating my brush with a new layer of color.

"It's 3AM." Paul deadpanned, his arms crossing over his chest looking like he was about to lecture me.

"I might have lost track of time but I'm almost done."

"For fuck sakes." he groaned, falling back on my bed, "Can I at least see it?"

"Nope."

"Oh come on." He pleaded.

"No."

"Can I see your sketchbook at least?"

My cheeks immediately heated. Sharing my art wasn't something that I would do usually, but showing it to him felt even more personal, like flaying open a part of myself that was too vulnerable.

Catching the glint in his eyes from my peripheral view, I knew that he was aware of it. "What? You have naked portraits in there?" he snapped his fingers as if he just got a sudden thought, "Don't tell me that it's full of drawings of me?" I came to learn that Paul just loved to tease me.

"Stop it." I said, evading his eyes.

"You do, don't you?" He laughed suddenly, slapping a hand over his mouth to make it less loud because of the hour, "You did draw me."

"You are delusional." I scoffed. He was right, there might have been a few drawings of him in there, not like I was going to tell him that. "Again, stop it."

"Stop doing what?"

"Oh you know it, don't try to act all clueless now."

"Go out with me."

The brush in my hand did clatter on the floor with my surprise this time. It was sudden, the change of topic shocking me completely. I turned towards Paul knowing that my eyes were wide, I did nothing to cover what I was feeling, "Are you asking me out?"

"Yes."

Now my cheeks felt like they were on fire and I knew, that even with my warm brown complexion, my cheeks had to be a shade darker, "Paul–"

"Go out with me." Step after step, like a wolf nearing his prey, Paul stalked forward.

"On a date?" I had to make sure to steady my voice because I was sure that otherwise the words would have come out like a squeak.

"Yes, Beatrice, on a date." He chuckled. His feet touched where a few inches away from the leg of my stool, and hand titled my chin until I could look only at him, in his mesmerizing mahogany eyes that never failed to steal my breath away. Paul leaned forward until he could almost brush his nose against mine, "Go out with me."

"What if I say no?" I asked, my chest heaving, eyes moving from his lips and back to his eyes. I didn't want to say no.

"I'll ask until you say yes." He grinned smugly. Paul was sure of himself, his confidence was not a surprise, but with all the time that I had spent with him lately, I had started to recognize his true feelings. He was worried about my reply, about me saying no, he was just not showing it. As I hid behind a cold stone facade, he hid behind a cocky mask.

"Yes." I said, "I'll go out with you."

══════ 🜂🜁🜃🜄 ══════

╰┈˚ · ° .  It was late Wednesday afternoon when my phone rang. I had just finished my shift at The Claw— the corner store where I worked with Jared— ready to get out of there because I couldn't wait to fall asleep.

But something had happened, something bad enough to make fear skyrocket to the youngest Swan as she breathed anxiously through the phone and mumbled the words with a coat of dread. Bella Swan had disappeared and she couldn't track down any of the Cullens.

The second time that my phone pinged was when I was driving the small distance to reach Forks. It arrived in the group chat coming directly from Sam.

The Cullens were gone.

It might have been something to rejoy in— our mortal enemies leaving, but at that moment, it only fomented the question of where Bella was. Did she leave with them?

The yard of the Swan residence was swarmed in blue and red lights from the various police cruisers, volunteers were already littering the space and helping in whatever way they could.

"Maddi!" I called my friends' name, she was shaking with fear in the arms of her best friend, Jacob Black, as one of her hands was held in a tight hold by Amelia. Billy Black and Harry Clearwater were both there, supporting their friend and helping him to search his missing daughter.

I passed them with a nod, giving a hug to my friend before I turned to Charlie, "I told Sam about this. Him and the guys are searching the woods for Bella and I'm sure that they will find her soon, Chief Swan."

Jacob let out a loud scoff. It wasn't a secret his hatred towards our group, most of all Sam. I was almost sure that half of the rumors about us being in a Cult and Sam out leader had been created by him.

"Thank you, Beatrice."

We left the adults there, moving near the entrance of the Swan residence. Embry and Quill had arrived too, just at the same time as Kim.

"Do you think she went with the Cullens?" I asked, it was definitely a possibility. Bella Swan was utterly in love with Edward, she was not going to be left behind, not if she had any choice. But if that was true, we all knew that it was just a matter of time before Bella's heart would stop beating in her chest and her blood would be replaced by venom.

"Why? Where did the Cullens go?" We all turned simultaneously towards Quil. How had he not heard that the Cullens were gone? As I drove here, I was sure that I had seen at least five bonfires being lit to celebrate their departure.

Even if not being aware of how real all the myths were, everyone in the Rez had a grudge against the Cullens. The Legends were enough to ignite the embers of everyone's hatred, or maybe it was something in our blood altogether that made it all so easy to dislike the family.

"They are gone, Quil." Kim told the boy, bewilderment showing on her face .

"Gone?" A grin was fast to spread across his lips as he cheered,"Hell yeah." Noticing our mixture of glares and disbelief looks— this wasn't the right place to celebrate since the missing girl could have been easily moved away with them, running away from home— the boy cleared his throat rather awkwardly, "I mean, I'm sure, like— she-"

"Shut up, Quil." Jacob cutted his friend off from continuing his anxiety-filled rumbling. I noticed how he tucked Maddison closer to him, almost as if to shield her from Quil's words.

We were all thinking the same thing. Was she with them? Did Bella go with the Cullens?

And Jacob was quick to voice something related to that question, "She is still here." He stated, like he wanted to believe it, like he needed to believe it. "She did not go with them."

I wasn't the only one to notice how Jacob clenched his jaw, anger clouding his eyes for a fraction of a second alongside jealousy.

Kim did too— and Maddison. She shrugged his best friend's arm off her shoulders, and the earth witch was quick to drag her to her side in comfort. "Sam, Jared and Paul will find her, don't worry."

"Yeah, how?"

Slapping his twin's head, Mia glared at Jacob, "They know the forest like the back of their hand. Now stop it with all this incessant hate. Keep it for another day, now it's not helping." she hissed the words, a warning to not make things worse for the family of the missing girl.

It took hours, but finally, Sam— bare chested and only wearing some cropped pants— emerged from the forest, and Bella Swan was in his arms.

At first sight it was clear that the girl was shivering, on the verge of hypothermia, but what was most worrying was the flood of emotion escaping her that us witches easily caught with the help of our empathic gift.

Bella Swan was completely and utterly heartbroken.

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone! The Cullens are gone!!!! The New Moon plot begins now, guys. I will never forget Edward for leaving Bella that way. How could you?! In the woods? Have some class and dump her anywhere else where she might not risk to actually die. 

Beatrice and Paul are ready for a date but who knows what the future awaits them! I can tell you, a lot awaits them.Is it good, is it bad, you'll know it soon! Date ideas?

Thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Thursday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾