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CHAPTER TEN: EYES OF MY ENEMY
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PAUL SWORE HIS HEART almost stopped beating when he arrived at school the next morning to find Maggie at her locker reading a book about vampires. It wasn't that he didn't expect her to be curious, especially after everything that had happened, but the realisation that she was so close to finding out what he was, well it scared the absolute shit out of him. In one way, he never wanted to tell her about anything. He liked oblivious Maggie. In another, however, he decided that he'd rather it be him than a dumb mythology book that wasn't even accurate anyways. Or worse, a confrontation with the very creature that had claimed her mother's life. He didn't know what he would do if she became another Delilah Sullivan or Carson Burns.
Paul let out a sigh as she flipped to the next page eagerly, running a hand down the side of his tired face. It was way too early for this.
"Hey."
Maggie looked up from her book in a daze, surprised to find Paul standing opposite her. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink with dark circles underneath his eyes, and yet he smirked down at her with his usual energy as she smiled shyly. "Oh, good morning, Paul."
"Morning," he replied before tugging at the collar of his shirt in annoyance, heat radiating through the fabric. Across from him, Maggie was tucked into a thick knitted sweater and she was still shivering from the wind blowing through the door every time someone opened it. She eyed his exposed arms with a frown and wondered how he hadn't managed to catch frostbite on the way there. "What are you reading?"
The question seemed to catch her off guard. Before he had a chance to read the book's name (or so she thought) she quickly closed it and placed it inside her locker. "Just a book my sister suggested." Her heart skipped a beat. Liar.
He nodded slowly, staring at her now shut locker door with a clenched jaw. Maggie muttered his name softly, frowning uneasily, before he met her eyes again and the look faded away. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later. We could go to the beach."
"You want to hang out?" she repeated, unsure if she'd heard him right. "With me?"
"Yeah," he grinned with pride as her cheeks flushed red. He had made her blush. "If you want to."
"O-okay," she stuttered, the words dying on her tongue as she tried to get them out. She winced, silently cursing to herself as his amusement only grew more obvious. "I'd like that."
He nodded, beginning to retreat down the hallway. "See you after school then."
Maggie watched him leave with a giddy smile on her lips. Even when he was out of sight, she stared down the hallway, unsure if what had just happened was real. Paul wanted to hang out with her. He wanted to know Maggie Sullivan. It made her insides feel warm in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. But of course, that feeling was squashed when Hayden arrived and in tow she brought a rowdy Quil, Embry and Jacob.
