midnight | paul lahote

chapter 7 | the fine print on imprinting

La Push High was your typical small-town high school, aside from the apparent werewolf infestation. At least Margery had a few friends to suffer with. Paul was in the year above her, while Quil was the same age as her, along with Embry. 

Her first day wasn't so bad, considering her schedule had been messed up and she'd been placed in a few classes with the seniors since she was in mostly AP classes at her previous school. Paul kept her entertained through those classes with sarcasm uttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to pick up on. 

Margery easily settled into a routine over the next few months, finding herself extremely comfortable in La Push. She befriended Bella Swan unintentionally after running into her at a diner in Forks with Paul.  Paul warned Margery about Bella's affiliations with the Cullens, but Margery waved him off and argued that the Cullens had never caused any trouble since the treaty had been signed. Bella loved the socks that Margery had knit for her.

Things between Margery and Paul were starting to shift into thick-tensioned encounters. Paul would embrace the slender girl in a bone-crushing hug after not seeing her in a few days. Margery would find herself waking up in her bed after falling asleep cuddled into a large wolf in the garden. Margery would invite Paul over to teach him a new recipe that she'd learned. Paul would bring her to Emily and Sam's for movie nights with the pack, where they would wind up sharing the loveseat.

Overall, Margery was settled in quite well when her visions began to happen more frequently and they were more powerful than ever before. She was slamming her locker shut when a glimpse of sharp teeth dripping with blood flashed in front of her. She dropped her books, startled, and began to crumble under a sudden and overwhelming weight. She could see Paul running towards her when she hit the floor.

Margery woke up, squinting under the impossibly bright lights. There was a hand in hers, and she looked to her side to see Paul and a nurse standing behind him. Margery sat up on the gurney, wincing when her head began to throb.

The nurse stepped forward, a bottle of water being offered to Margery as she spoke, "your boyfriend tells me you didn't eat this morning. You understand how dangerous skipping a meal can be now, I presume?"

Margery furrowed her brows as she sipped at the water, distinctly remembering her and Paul stopping for breakfast that morning at Sam and Emily's with Quil and Embry. A glance at Paul, however, had her nodding her head and replying, "yes, ma'am, won't happen again." 

The nurse smiled softly, handing her a granola bar, "well, I'll give you a few minutes to gather yourself, I trust this young gentleman will get you home safe? I've already given you an excused absence for the rest of the day." She promptly left the room after thanks from Margery.

"Boyfriend, huh?" Margery quipped, sipping the water slowly. 

"She made that assumption, I was a little too worried to correct her, sorry. Your visions are getting worse. What was it this time?" Paul asked, holding out his hand for her as she went to stand. 

She took his offered hand without question, replying, "the redhead vampire, I think. Her teeth, to be specific."

"Think we should go see Gran?" He asked, guiding her through the hall.

Margery shook her head, stopping to grab her book bag from her locker, noticing her books had been placed neatly at the foot of her locker, so she put them away inside. "She's driving me nuts with all the stress about these premonitions. I know I have to face this at some point, but I'd rather not do that today. Could we go out to the forest? To our spot?" She made a point to bat her lashes at the boy, knowing he was a sucker for it.

He agreed rather quickly to her plan. And that was how they found themselves lounging in the middle of the forest, in a little clearing they had made their own. Fairy lights had been strung around and between the trees, a small tent had been pitched amidst the twinkling lights, and there was often an old radio playing some Fleetwood Mac on a CD player. It was protected from the weather by a spell that Margery had cast over the area, which was particularly helpful on days like today, where it hadn't stopped raining all day. 

They were both laying inside the tent, Margery reading aloud from one of the several books stacked near the back. A small lantern cast shadows on the side of the tent, flickering ever so slightly with the gentle breeze. Paul was laying on his side, his head propped up by his hand, his other arm is used to trace patterns on Margery's back as she laid on her front, propped up on her elbows to read the book.

Eventually, they agreed to head back to the cottage, where they knew Gran would be waiting for them, with dinner prepared, no doubt. She didn't ask where they'd been when they got in a little later than usual, just smiled and gestured to the stove, where a boiler of soup was simmering. As they ate the meal, Margery decided to let Gran know about the vision she had at school, to which Gran responded in a knowing manner that she would make a cup of tea with some new herbs before bed, and that should help.

Paul bid his farewell to the two women after helping with dishes, off to patrol with a few other members of the pack. Margery retreated to her bedroom to continue knitting a sweater for herself. 

Just before she was getting ready for bed, Margery wandered down to the kitchen, where she found Gran had laid the kettle on the counter with the jar of herbs beside it, with instructions written on a note. She boiled the tea and poured herself a cup, sitting down on the couch in front of the fireplace to drink it.

The young witch rinsed out her cup and added another log to the fire before making her way up to her room, unlocking the window on her way to bed. 

It was a restful sleep, that is until around just after midnight, when Margery caught a flash of sharp, bloodied teeth in the black void of her dreamless sleep, and the next she knew, she was crying in Paul's arms. He was rubbing her back, whispering in her ear comforting words, rocking the two of them back and forth as she was cradled in his lap like a child. She sniffed, wiping the tears away furiously with the back of her hands. 

He kept rocking her, kept rubbing her back and kissing her hair in between the words he whispered until he noticed she was calmed down. "You ok now?" He asked, pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes.

She didn't look at him right away, she was staring down, off in another world until his hand came up to tilt her chin, making her catch his eye contact. "Sorry, I just--It keeps happening, every night. The same damn dream," she froze, before continuing, "and I wake up screaming, crying for you. Why? Why does it have to be you?"

His heart nearly shattered hearing her say that; hearing her admit she was having trouble understanding their bond, but he kissed her hair again, and said through a sigh, "I don't know, but I do know for as long as I'm alive, you won't be alone. I will be here, tonight, and every night, unless you tell me to go."

She nodded, wiping away a stray tear that had fallen, then thought for a moment before speaking, "Oh, Paul, I didn't mean that in a bad way towards you, it's just--why did you have to get dragged into this? Why did I have to fall for you at the same time as I'm having visions of a vampire killing me?"

"You fell for me?" Paul countered, a grin quickly appearing on his face.

Margery's eyes widened and her hand came over her mouth, realizing what she'd just said. She crawled out of his lap and tried to burrow under the sheets to hide, but he just chuckled and burrowed under them with her.

Their breaths mingled under the sheet, and after a few moments of staring into each other's eyes, Paul took the initiative and pulled Margery in for a kiss with his hand on her cheek.