Kiss Or Kill

Chapter 26

A/N: Clearing up the timeline a bit just in case anyone is confused:

May - Paul and Bella are officially dating,

Late August - School starts

Time skip to December - Paul & Bella have been dating for about 8 months now

Now on to the story... :)

It was now December and the girls had breezed through their first semester of classes and were finishing up last minute assignments and finals. They were happy and had enjoyed the time they got to spend with each other and people outside of the pack; it was nice to be able to have a life outside of La Push and their men.

Sam still hadn't told Emily about the vampire scents the pack had been tracking, but Jared had decided to tell Kim which only served to freak her out and she refused to leave the Rez unless accompanied by Jared.

The pack had begun to speculate that the vampire must be after something because the scent always followed a distinct path and seemed to be more concentrated along the treaty line which led them to wonder if what she was after was in La Push or Forks. Paul hoped it was neither and that the vampire was simply toying with them but there was this feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him that wasn't the case. Knowing all of this, Bella had increased the amount of time she spent in La Push, trying her best to ease as much of Paul's worry as she could. She made sure he was always aware of where she was and would inform him if those plans changed; Emily chalked it up to the two of them being in that 'lovey dovey' stage that all couples experience during those first few months and Bella made no move to correct her.

It was a Friday and a rare day off for Paul, he didn't have to work or patrol, and Bella wanted nothing more than to skip school and just spend the day curled up with him but he insisted that she go to school and that he would have a surprise for her when she got back. So she went to school and spent the entire day wondering what her wolf boy had planned.

While Bella was at school, Paul set about cleaning his house until every surface was spotless and the air held a fresh lemon scent. He then set about procuring a recipe for chocolate chip muffins, which happened to be Bella's favorite, and a mixer. The first batch came out dry and tasteless and he had no idea why until he was staring at all the ingredients set out on the counter tops and realized several of those ingredients had never made it into the batter. He tossed the first batch and looked over the recipe again, taking the time to measure out each ingredient as he read it and set it next to the mixer hoping that it would prevent him from forgetting anything. With everything measured out and ready to go he made quick work of adding everything into the mixer and then pouring it into the muffin pans, which were lined with those little paper cups.

While waiting for the muffins to bake he began prepping the ingredients for dinner; he assembled everything so that the only thing he would have to do later would be to put it in the oven and let it cook.

After that was done and the muffins had been set out to cool, he headed to the store to get some last minute items.

By the time her last class let out, Bella thought she was going to burst from the anticipation and excitement. She usually wasn't one for surprises, in fact she usually hated them, but she had a feeling that whatever surprise Paul had planned was going to be a great one.

"So what do you think he's planned?" Emily asked on the car ride home

"I have no idea but I can't wait to find out." Bella grinned, bouncing in her seat

"I bet it's something really romantic."

"Really? Paul's not really the romantic type though."

"But he does have his moment's right?"

"Yea."

The rest of the ride was spent with the two girls speculating over what Paul had planned and by the time Bella dropped Emily off, she was more nervous than ever.

Just as Bella started to leave Emily's house and head for home, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, how was school?"

"It was ok. What have you been up to today?"

"You'll see later tonight; that's why I'm calling actually."

"Huh?"

"Wear something nice and be at my house by 7."

"Ummm,ok."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

His request for her to where something nice had peaked her curiosity even more and if you asked her, seven o'clock couldn't come fast enough.

When she got home she ran straight to her closet and began looking for something "nice" to wear; she eventually settled on a dress, leggings, because it was winter after all, and a really cute pair of boots that Emily had somehow convinced her to buy when they'd gone shopping a few weeks ago. It still surprised her sometimes at how quickly she would agree to go shopping with Emily and Kim when asked; it might have a lot to do with the fact that they weren't trying to force her into it and they didn't demand she try things on.

Just as she put the finishing touches on her hair and applied a light lip gloss, Charlie poked his head in her room.

"You look nice."

"Thanks Dad." She smiled

"So I'm headed to Billy's, just wanted to say goodnight, good luck and have fun."

"Good luck? What do I need luck for? Do you know something?" She asked springing from her seat in front of her vanity and turning to Charlie who looked a bit like a deer in the headlights

"Uh … no reason; I don't know anything." And with that he quickly disappeared

Though she really wanted him to come back and tell her what he knew, it was almost seven which meant she would be finding out for herself soon enough.

When she pulled up in front of Paul's house she took in the lights strung around the house and wondered when those had been put up.

Paul heard the car pull up and took one more look around to make sure everything was in place, and satisfied with his handy work he headed outside to greet Bella.

"You look beautiful." He smiled, swiping a piece of snow from her nose

"Thank you; you look rather handsome yourself." She smiled, taking in his dark jeans and charcoal grey sweater that clung to his muscles beautifully

"Let's get you inside before you freeze." He said taking the bag from her hand and ushering her into the house

Bella couldn't believe her eyes; the sight before her was absolutely stunning.

"Paul this is gorgeous! Did you do all of this?" She asked turning around to stare at him disbelief

"You like it?"

Bella's response was to nearly tackle him in a hug and a kiss that convinced him he needed to be romantic more often.