Cause Baby, You're My Better Half

“Roni, if you don’t get your butt down here right now, I’m leaving you,” yelled Paul from the bottom of the stairs. I smirked. I knew he would leave without me; mom would kill him if he did.

“I’ll be down in a minute Paula,” I called back just to get under his skin. I heard him growl and something clattered to the floor. He better hope it wasn’t one of grandma’s vases. I looked at myself in the full length mirror on the back of my bathroom door and smiled at my work. I was wearing a yellow knee length sundress, a gray hoodie, and black converse. My hair was up in a messy bun and I had on eyeliner and mascara. The only thing I hated was the braces on my teeth, but hopefully I would be getting those out soon.

“Finally,” Paul sighed over dramatically.

“Don’t be such a drama queen,” I scoffed flicking my hair behind my shoulder. He rolled his eyes, but said nothing. I followed him out to his truck and got into the passenger seat. Paul turned on the car and in a few moments we were on ware way to the beach. I couldn’t wait to get there seeing as my best friend of all time was waiting for me there. “Hurry up Paul, I need to see my sister,” I whined.

“I don’t see how you can hand out with that whore,” he grumbled possibly hoping I would hear. Boy, was he wrong.

“Paul you jackass, take that back,” I screeched, whacking his arm. He didn’t even flinch.

“I’m not going to take back the truth. Beth is a whore and there’s no denying it,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “I mean, she’s lade almost every male in the school.”

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. “Come off it Paul, you don’t even know the new Beth. You haven’t seen her in over a month thanks to Sam,” I mumbled the last part, but he heard it.

“How many times do I have to tell you that Sam isn’t a bad person,” he growled. Yes growled as in dog growl. Can you say weird?

“Yeah sure, like teaching you to take steroids is a good thing,” I scoffed gesturing to his body. He rolled his eyes pulling into the beach parking lot. “Weirdo,” I muttered under my breath before hopping out of the truck. I trudged toured a huge group of people gathered around a fire. I quickly detected Beth standing with Tory and Ella, a couple friends of ours. “Suppy guppys?” I smiled walking up to them.

“Yo dog, how you been hanging?” asked Beth in her gangster impersonation voice.

“I’ll answer is you promise never to do that again,” I laughed taking a seat on the ground in between her and Tory. “Hey Tory,” I grinned at her.

“Hi Roni,” she smiled back her perfect smile. Tory was a sweet gal with short brown hair that went to her ears, tanned skin, and she was tall. I envied her for all of it, but mostly her strength. She looked like a tooth pick, yet she was the strongest girl in the entire school. Every girl envied her, just not her bipolarness. Oh and she was hot. No, not like that you perv. She’s hot TEMPITURE wise. She’s always burning up, but never sick. It’s crazy really, but oh well.

I then Turned to Ella. She was a sweet gal herself, but with a lot more kick in her. She had dark red hair—fake, of course—hazily green eyes and she was pale white, quite unlike any of the rest of us. She was also very short, but that didn’t mean anything. She was a fighter girl and no one messed with her unless they wanted a broken face. “Hey Ella! How’s everything?”

“Lovely,” she joked rolling her eyes. “Kevin is an ass and I’m going to break up with him tomorrow.”

“He sure is,” Beth nodded in agreement. If you’re feeling lost, Kevin is—soon to be was—Ella’s boyfriend and he was an ass. He cheated on Ella twice with the school preps and treats her like shit. She’ll be better off without him.

“He’s a loser,” I assured her.

“Who’s a los-” Paul started too asked, but stopped suddenly. I looked behind me and just to see him staring at Beth and she was staring back. I gave then both confused looks and turned to Tory. She was trying to hold in laughter and out of the corner of my eye I saw Ella was just as confused as I was. It was known through all La push that Paul Wither and Beth Tucker hated each other. But now they were just staring into each other’s eyes.

“Beth,” I growled, pinching her butt.

“Owe, what’d you do that for?” she cried glaring at me. Well, if it got her out of the trance she was in with my brother, I was cool.

“Are you okay?” I asked, giving her my best concerned look.

“Yeah,” she answered confused.

“Why wouldn’t she be okay?” Paul asked in a voice filled with worry. I stared up at him, my mouth wide open as he looked at my best friend with loving concern.

“Hey guys, what’s-” Jared stopped looking from Paul to Beth and back again. He let out a sigh. “Not you too,” he laughed shaking his head.

“Now him to what?” I asked looking up at Jared with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing to concern yourself with Roni,” he said looking down at me, then back to Paul. “Let’s go Paul, Sam will wanna talk to you.” He grabbed Paul by his upper arm and drug him into the forest.

“If Sam wants to talk to him, then why would he take him into the forest?” Ella asked what I was thinking.

“Who knows, whose guys are nuts,” I shrugged turning to Beth. She had a dazed look on her face that made me want to gag. “Beth, are you ok honey?” I asked patting her shoulder.

“Of course,” she replied in a dreamy voice. A freaking dreamy voice! Can you say weird?

“Beth, why the hell here you and Paul staring at each other? You hate each other,” I pointed out in case she had forgotten.

“I don’t know, but there was something about him that I can’t explain,” she giggled. Giggled! Something was terribly wrong here and I was sure as hell going to figure out what it was. I made up my mind that I was going to yell at Paul about it when he came back.

I didn’t have to wait long for him. Twenty minutes after he left, he came back and this time with the whole cult including Embry Call. I growled. Those buttholes had not gotten him into their dirty little club.

“I’ll be right back,” I mumbled to my mom and Sue Clearwater, who I had been talking too and stormed up to Paul, ignoring the other three steroid takers. “What the hell Paul?” I asked with raised eyebrows and my hands on my hips, most likely looking like our mother when he came home at three in the morning.

“What do you want Roni?” he asked in an agitated voice, looking toured where Beth, Tory and Ella sat eating the food that Emily had gotten out.

“I wanna know why the hell you told me that Beth was a whore on the why here and then when we get here you look at her like she’s your life source,” I yelled, but not loud enough for anyone but the four giant boys in front of me to hear.

“Look Roni, I can’t explain it so just let it go?” he was asking more than demanding, which made me even madder. He wanted me to forget about something that had to do with my best friend? Oh, hell no!

“Paul you’re an ass,” I growled and whacked his arm. I suddenly caught Embry Call looking at me and turned to him and said angrily, “Why are you staring at me?!”

“I,” Embry started but was cut off by Paul.

“Oh, hell no!” He was growling and shaking. Wait, shaking? What the hell was that about?

“Roni, get back,” Sam Uley ordered me. Since it was Sam who asked, I didn’t do it.

“What’s going on?” asked Beth suddenly at my side, looking worriedly at my brother. When Paul saw her, he stopped shaking and smiled a huge smile at her. She blushed, but smiled back. Blush?! Beth never blushes! Can you say weird?

“Oh my God! Does no one but my find this crazy?” I asked gesturing to Beth and Paul. Sam didn’t move, Jared just shrugged and Embry was staring at me again. That boy was about to get it. “Would you stop fucking staring at me?” I all but screamed at him.

He looked taken aback. “I-I will if that’s what you want?” His chocolate brown eyes looked into mine and my mind suddenly went black. Why was I mad at him again? Why was I mad at all? Then, it all came back and I scowled.

“It doesn’t matter if I want you too, it’s just downright creepy,” I informed him, my voice still hostile. He looked hurt, but at that moment I didn’t care. I grabbed Beth by her arm and dragged her away.

“Hey, what was that for?” she whined looking over my shoulder at what I’m guessing was Paul.

“I’m going to knock some sine into you,” I growled opening her car. I pushed her into the drivers’ seat and shut the door, walking around the care and getting into the passenger’s seat.

“Where to?” she asked seeming a little to her old self from thirty minutes ago.

“You’re house,” I said. She nodded and started to pull out of the parking lot. Before she took off, I slipped a glance to where Paul was. He looked upset and angry, but there was longing there to. I mentally rolled my eyes. I was turning away when my eyes stopped on Embry for a moment, totally without my permission mind you. He was staring at me, the same longing from Paul’s eyes in his own and there was what also seemed to be love. I turned away. What was up with him? He didn’t even know who I was, didn’t know my name and yet he was looking at me like he really truly loved me! Can you say weird?