"You got into a fight?"

Alex instantly shook her head. "What? No, Jordan. Do you listen at all?"

Jordan shrugged innocently at his sister over the video chat. "All I heard was the word fight and I immediately zoned out to imagine you smacking someone in the face."

The brunette narrowed her eyes at Jordan. She had video called him as soon as she got home from school to tell him about the nearly fight that happened between her two friends. Alex thought that her twin may have some knowledge on the topic and could give her some advice, since she ignored Paul, Jared and Kim all day and somehow she didn't think that would be possible to do forever.

"Don't look at me like that," Jordan defended himself, holding up his hand as if to stop Alex from interrupting him. "My attention span is short. Tell me again."

"Paul pushed Embry at the school's entrance, for no apparent reason at all. I have never seen Paul like that, he was like shaking in anger. It was so weird."

Jordan seemed to ponder this for a second and then had a sudden thought pop into his head, since the boy now had a shit-eating grin on his face that Alex instantly wanted to smack off. "I think I know what is going on."

"Whatever it is I know you are just bullshitting me, you have that annoying smile on your face that always gives your pranks away," Alex stated.

Jordan's face took on an offensive expression at his sister's words. "First off, I don't have a face and–"

"You do have a face," Alex interrupted Jordan mid sentence. "Mama and Dad imitate it all the time when they are bitching about you. But please, proceed."

"Are you dating any of those boys and just not telling me?"

This conversation had taken a turn that Alex hadn't expected. The brunette had to try stumble out a reply, but her mind was warping at her brother's words. How in the hell had he come to that conclusion? "What–I–No!"

"Lies!" Jordan was quick to respond to her defiance. "It's either that or one of them likes you, that is all teenage boys fight about. I'm presuming this Paul guy, since he was the one that pushed the other. Clearly jealousy."

Alex's cheeks unknowingly flushed at even the thought of a boy liking her. That was nearly impossible. "You're a teenage boy, have you ever fought over a girl then?"

"No," Jordan defended himself quickly. "But then again, I'm not stupid like the majority of teenage boys. Anyway stop deflecting! Do you think one of them likes you?"

"No way."

Jordan narrowed his eyes at his sister through the computer screen. "Why not?"

"I don't know, J," Alex didn't know how to express what she was feeling. The friends she had now were the first she really had in a while, Jordan and her family were all she ever saw the need for. Friends alone was quite a feat, but talking to other boys beside her brother was something that she was totally inexperienced in. "They don't know me that well and besides I just know Paul doesn't. Don't worry."

Jordan didn't say anything for minute. He seemed to be processing what the girl was saying. "If you don't think that a guy is going to like you, then you need to stop right now. You are the cutest, nicest and most hilarious person I know. Get out of your own head, you're an amazing person, Lexi and someone is going to snap you up one day. Just wait."

Alex couldn't fight the smile that erupted on her face from what her brother just said. His approval meant a lot and it was something that the brunette didn't have to do anything for at all – their mother had always told Alex that Jordan had been enamored with his sister the minute she was born after him. "Thanks, Jordan."

"I thought you said before that I was going to bullshit you." Jordan referenced to the grin he was wearing before that Alex had smugly commented on.

"Oh, you are totally bullshitting about the Paul thing. Trust me. I hope the last part wasn't though."

"As much as I credit myself, I couldn't make up all of that. Believe what I said, Alex."

♡♡♡♡♡

"Have you ever skipped school before?"

Alex shut her locker after depositing her Chemistry books to see that it was Paul who asked her this question. Her nose scrunched in confusion at what he was asking, but also at the fact that this was the first thing he had said to her since he pushed Embry over yesterday. Of course he had tried to get her attention in Gym, yet Alex ignored all of his advances. His texts also went unanswered.

Alex looked at Paul – with his high cheekbones and gorgeously brown hued eyes – and saw the same person she always did. He seemed open and friendly, which is the polar opposite of what she witnessed yesterday.

The brunette had no clue what she wanted to say to the boy and considering Paul wasn't going to mention it, Alex did the only thing she could think to do. Her locker shut loudly and she turned the other way, intending to walk to find Embry to sit with since it was now lunch. It's what she did yesterday and what she planned on doing for a while.

Alex didn't make it far at all before a hand was gripping her wrist softly. "Alex, please."

In the short while that Alex had known Paul, she didn't think she had heard him use his manners often. He was used to getting what he wanted easily, especially when it came to girls. They fell into his hands without a second thought, but Alex was different. He didn't just want her to accept his advances, he liked how she wasn't afraid to run away from him and feel nervous.

"What, Paul? If you aren't going to even acknowledge what I saw the other day and what you did then I don't want to hear i–"

"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm sorry that I'm stupid and let my anger get the best of me, especially in front of you. That's the last thing I wanted. I don't want you to be scared of me."

Alex didn't know what part of that to react to. One thing she knew was that she wasn't scared of Paul, sure she thought it was a terrifying situation to see your two friends fight but Alex knew there was something else going on. It was an unprovoked attack that made no sense to the small girl. "I'm not scared of you."

Paul almost seemed surprised at this fact. He had seen what his anger could do to people, it had scared them away before and the idea of Alex being one of those people made his stomach turn. "Really?"

"I mean, the situation itself was scary and seeing you act like someone I didn't know was scary, but I'm not scared of you," Alex assured the boy, watching his face as he let a relieved smile come on to his face.

"I will tell you why I got so angry, but you are going to have to come with me. I have a ton of explaining to do and it may include a demonstration."

Alex's brow furrowed in confusion at the mention of this as it made no sense to her. There were a lot of unknowns surrounding Paul but none that she thought needed demonstration. "It's not even me that needs explaining to. Embry is the one you pushed, go skip class with him."

"I don't want to skip class with Embry, I want to do it with you," Paul almost whined to the girl in front of him, completely forgetting that he was yet to let go of her wrist. Alex hadn't noticed either, their skin was almost made like it was supposed to touch. It was so natural.

"Well, I am still mad at you. Have you even apologized to Embry yet?" Alex was quick to come to a defense but something inside her new where she would end up soon.

Paul let out a sigh at the excuses this girl was coming up with. "I have actually, I apologized yesterday. You wouldn't have known though since you avoided me like I was the plague."

"Did Embry accept this apology?"

Paul's dark eyes rolled at the girl in front of him. "Yes he did, although he was rightfully a bit pissed off. For someone who claims to not be a big talker, you sure are good at coming up with excuses."

"No."

It was Paul's turn to be confused at Alex now instead of the usual roles the two assumed. He let out a small noise of perplexity, while Alex's mouth pulled up in a smile at how his eyes scrunched shut slightly at the confusing answer from her. It was cute. "No, I have never skipped class before. I'm innocent, remember?"

"I don't know if innocent is the right word," Paul seemed to think to himself for a second before his eyes locked with hers. "I would probably call you beautiful. It's more fitting."

Alex's cheeks flamed in the familiar state of blushing that happened too often when she was around Paul. She couldn't help but think of the conversation she had with Jordan yesterday. "Smooth."

"I just say what I see," Paul reassured the girl before he cleared his throat. "Alex Santiago, will you please skip class with me so I can show you something? School is pointless anyway."

"I don't know about pointless," Alex responded to the last words Paul spoke. "Most people need school, but yes. I will."

That made Paul smile bigger, which in tow did the same for Alex. She would have thought her mind would be warping at the prospect of skipping class, especially with her Calculus teacher being an old woman who took shit from no one. This wasn't the case however, Alex felt at ease with no nerves coursing through her body. Perhaps it was the person that was gripping her wrist.

Paul started to lead the girl to the school's main door with his hand still encircled on her wrist.

"I'm still kind of mad at you, remember that," Alex stated to the boy, having to take a few extra steps with her short legs to keep up with Paul's longer strides.

Paul moved his hand so that it intertwined with Alex's fingers, encasing them with his own. Their hands meshed easily, without a slither of a doubt from either of them. "I can deal with kind of mad."

Alex's smile only grew bigger as she walked out of the La Push High doors.

♡♡♡♡♡