contrasting colors || p. lahote

chapter one

August 13th 2005: 8:45AM

Molly lifted her head slowly from her damp pillow, the daylight shone through her blinds that she had forgotten to close the night before. The blonde grunted in discontent and sat up in her bed, pulling her comforter around her.

Two factors played into Molly being upset at the moment; one, it was the Saturday before the first day of school, so she had planned on sleeping until noon at the earliest, and two, she had snuck out with her boyfriend last night and returned just as the sun was rising, so she hadn't gotten much sleep.

The thought of last night's shenanigans made more anger bubble up in her chest.

Paul and Molly's relationship hadn't been rocky per say, but things had been changing, and that had led to a lot of arguments. But last night had been different, Paul had been a little more aggressive and a lot less loving.

Molly groaned again, but this time she did it while shrugging off her comforter and slinking out of bed. She walked up to her closet doors to look herself up and down in the mirrors. She pulled out the hair-tie that held up her long locks, letting it fall past her shoulders.

She ran her fingers through her hair as she examined the way the waistband of her leggings sat, hugging her wide hips, and how the tank top she wore made her shoulders look even broader than they were, making her waist look out of proportion in comparison.

Molly shook her head and slid open her closet, looking through for what to wear.

Sixteen years into life, and she was still incapable of brushing her teeth without getting toothpaste on her shirt. Today she happened to be able to rub it out, so she didn't have to do a wardrobe change.

Molly hurled herself and her yellow sweater, now with a large damp circle on it, down the staircase and through the front door.

The engine of the 1990 Toyota Land Cruiser that had been a birthday present from Molly's parents roared to life quickly and soon it was flying down La Push road twenty miles over the speed limit.

Molly had always felt comfortable in La Push, much more so than she did in Forks and a million times more than she did in Seattle, where she was born and raised for the first eight years of her life.

But only within the past seven months did she seek refuge there. As soon as she had met Paul, she would run to him when she was lonely or scared or angry, all of which she tended to be often.

Recently though, Paul hadn't been as comforting, he seemed to have begun changing overnight, and the way Molly felt about him had been changing too. Instead of Paul, she would escape to the beaches, often talking to the waves about her problems.

Soon, Molly found herself walking barefoot over the rocky shoreline, plopping herself down to sit against a large piece of driftwood.

"I thought I'd find you here." The voice was familiar, but unexpected. Molly looked her boyfriend as he sat down next to her. "Hi." She was still mad at his actions from the night before. "Why are you here?" She asked.

"I was looking for you, Mo. I didn't want you to be angry at me for too long, so I came to say sorry about last night." The blonde scoffed lowly. "I really didn't mean to make you uncomfortable like that." Paul scooted closer to Molly, his long black hair brushing against her arms.

"You know I'm not ready to do that yet Paul." Molly crossed her arms. "I know baby. I just haven't been feeling like myself lately and I'm stressed and I can't control myself."

Molly stood up and Paul followed quickly. "You being a horny teenager is not an excuse for making me feel like that." Molly stomped back up to where she had parked, Paul behind her like a lost puppy.

She turned around and leaned herself on the spare tire, Paul getting very close. Molly noticed his hands were clenched, his knuckles white. "I'm not horny, Molly. I love you."

The girl looked down at her feet, blushing. He had only said that a few times and she was still getting used to it. "I love you too, Paul."

His hands unclenched and a small smirk appeared on his face. Hearing her say it for the first time seemed to make everything that was falling apart in his life stick back together, even if it was just for the moment that her voice lingered in his ears.

Paul grabbed her face and kissed her quickly.

His lips seemed unfamiliar on hers, even though she used to enjoy doing this. He was growing and changing and acting funny and it was beginning to scare her. Over the past two weeks, he had grown half a foot and started filling out his lanky frame.

Molly missed her Paul. She did love him, so much; but she wanted things to go back to normal.

The waves were still loud past the tree-line as they pulled apart from each other. Their hands were clasped together, the two trying desperately to cling to what they had together.