SUNDOWN

The Text

Paul had texted me apologizing for what he had said in class earlier that day. One thing led to another and we kept texting the entire night.

Paul

I am glad you didn't find what I said in class insulting I was just trying to be funny but I guess it didn't come across like that.

                                                                                                                               Alana

It's okay it just caught me off guard. Thanks for reaching out and apologizing. 

Paul

Actually, that wasn't the only reason I was reaching out. I was wondering if maybe you would be willing to tutor me in math? I know you are really smart.

If you don't want to I understand.

                                                                                                                            Alana

Yeah, of course, I can help you out in math. I'm not the best and there are still things that I don't understand but I guess we can figure it out together.

Paul

Great thank you! Would you be able to meet tomorrow at my house?

I hesitated at first, I wasn't sure how to feel about his request I hadn't known him for long, and being the daughter of the chief I knew about stranger danger from a very young age. But something about him made me feel safe.

                                                                                                                              Alana

Yeah, I am down to meet tomorrow. What time should I head over?

Paul

Great, does 11 work for you?

                                                                                                                             Alana

Yeah, that works for me. See you tomorrow.

I went to bed that night with a huge smile on my face because I was going to go over to Paul's house. I felt giddy like a little girl and I couldn't control it. 

When I woke up I was so excited I took a shower and started getting ready before realizing I had nothing to wear. Maybe that was an exaggeration but it felt like none of my clothes were enough anymore. I ended up deciding on a plane long-sleeved t-shirt with buttons down the front and some bell-bottom jeans with black Converse. I decided to leave my hair down since it was still wet and take a claw clip with me to put it up later on. I put on some mascara, gloss, and concealer on my undereyes. As I was walking out I found Jared in the hallway. He stared at me before saying "Where are you going so dressed up?" I sighed loudly, Jared was the one person I was trying to avoid because I knew that he would make my morning a living hell if he saw me "dressed up" which wasn't any different from what I normally wore. Jared was the typical brother who liked to make my life a living hell by constantly making jokes about me. Even though he annoyed me he was also very protective over me and genuinely cared about me. I had gotten really lucky to have him as a brother. I decided to ignore him as I walked down the stairs but that didn't stop him from making the situation worse. "Hey, Mom did you see Alana is trying to look good for someone? I wonder who it is?". "Leave your sister alone Jared she has the right to go out with her friends just like you do!" My mom yelled at Jared. I thanked my mom for having my back while letting her know that I was going to go over to a friend's house. I wasn't sure my mom or Jared would approve of me going over to Paul's house alone. I said goodbye to my mom and raced out the door before Jared could ask any more questions.

First thing in the morning Paul had given me his address so that I could drive over. When I pulled up to his house I got really nervous. I had had a crush on him forever and now being in front of his house made it seem like I was dreaming. I finally gathered the courage to get out of my car and walk to the front door to knock. After the first knock, he opened the door as we both admired each other before realizing we were still standing at the door. He led me into his house into the living room where we were going to be studying.

"I'm alone today so you don't need to worry about anyone interrupting us. Do you want something to drink?" he asked. "No thank you" I responded. Everyone at the reservation knew about Paul's complicated living situation with his parents. "What are the parts you need help with?" I asked as we both settled into the couch leaving space between us but still close enough to share a book. Paul explained to me what he needed help with as we started from the beginning. After half an hour of studying Paul interrupted me saying "I am honestly getting kind of bored do you want to take a break and go walk on the beach." I hesitated at first because I wasn't sure I wanted to be seen with Paul since I hadn't told anyone where I was going to be. Then I remembered that Jared would most likely be with his friends somewhere else and the guys would probably be in Jacob's garage fixing cars or motorcycles up. "I'm not dressed for the beach right now since I wasn't expecting it to be this chilly out but sure lets go." I said "Don't worry you can borrow one of my sweaters" He said I put the sweater he had handed me on and it fit me like a dress and it smelled like him and I don't think he would get this back. As we walked to the beach since it was close to his house we tried to get to know each other more by playing 20 questions.

Paul: "What's your favorite color?"

Alana: "Blue like the color of the ocean"

"What is your favorite color?"

"I think it would be green"

"What is your favorite food?"

"Any type of pasta I love pasta!"

"What about you?" 

"I like all types of foods but if I had to choose I would say pizza or hamburgers."

We continued this all the way to the beach laughing and joking as we got to know each other. When we got to the beach it was pretty much deserted only a few people were surfing and there was a van in the parking lot but other than that there wasn't much. We had decided to keep talking as we walked back and forth down the beach. As we were making our first round heading to the parking lot I noticed some familiar people gathered around the van. When I got a closer look I saw that the people I had seen were Bella, Jacob, Quil, and Embry and now they had noticed me too.