the archway that led to the living room, a picture of Tama and Paul at one of his first games hung up on one of the walls in a golden frame. Even with the distance, Tama could see their smiles so clearly, she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so happy, so free. He held her up proudly, as though she was the trophy he'd won that night, and he'd told her that the moment he'd scored the winning goal, immediately running towards her and scooping her into his arms.

"A relationship just can't work right now," Tama said under her breath, though Quinn heard her clearly. The teen hung her head as she pushed away the food, thanking Quinn for it again and hoping she didn't take offense to the fact that she barely ate any.

Quinn inched closer to her, a comforting hand placed onto her denim clad knee as she offered a look of genuine concern and interest. "Do you want it to work?"

Tama looked at Quinn oddly, turning away from her to stare down at where her pale hand lay flat on her lap. She...didn't know how to answer Quinn's question without feeling or looking foolish. She didn't want to admit that sometimes she still dreamed about being with Paul, where they had nothing to worry about but each other, their friends, and their passions, but mostly each other. It was so selfishly wrong she always forced those dreams back with disgust, as though she wasn't allowed to wish for happiness unless it was for others. She even dreamed this way with her eyes open, whenever he'd walk into any room she was in and his scent would hit her, or whenever he looked at her, imagining his hands that gripped her waist earlier that day on the boat- "It won't ever feel like that again," Tama mumbled sadly as she spared another glance over at the photo that she was sure would haunt her in her dreams tonight.

"That's not what I asked you, Tama," Quinn said with a sad smile, already knowing where the girl's eyes had landed without following. "Of course it won't ever be the same, of course it won't be easy. If people stopped loving one another just because they had responsibilities like school or work, no one would love anyone and that would be just awful. We all have responsibilities, no matter how old or young. Choosing to love someone while working through them is love in and of itself, working through those responsibilities together is even more beautiful, it brings you closer. It seems like it already has."

They turned where Paul entered the kitchen, ducking his head a bit as the archway was just slightly lower than his height would allow. Tama's breath hitched just at the sight of him, clad in a dark top that was nearly too tight for his frame. She felt a small tinge of guilt at how much she enjoyed seeing his eyes instantly land on her once he was in her view, how he made his way straight to her with his dark eyes looking for nothing else in the room but her. He came up to the back of her chair, instinctively bending his head down so that he was even closer to her face but stopping himself before he could, his hand smoothing down her hair instead.

She hadn't need to ask if he was hungry, silently sliding over her unfinished bowl to him and watching as he dug in without sitting down. She finally turned away from the boy to find Quinn watching them with a hopeful smile, feeling her cheeks warm significantly. "How was it then?" the older woman asked her soon to be stepson nonchalantly, as though she wasn't hounding Tama about their love life just seconds ago.

Paul huffed out a grunt in between bites, not bothering to give a real response and Quinn didn't seem the slightest bit offended, this being a natural occurrence between the two. Tama nudged him in the ribs, the boy finally taking a break from the large bowl of stew that was already nearly done to stare down at her. Tama gently tilted her head in Quinn's direction and Paul sighed, "it was great until I spilled my guts over the side of the boat and Tama gave me a quadruple dose of sea sickness pills that made me vomit on the side of the docks too."

"Hey, I gave you the right amount! I told you not to eat all those skittles at once," Tama was quick to argue with a frown. Before Paul could say anything else in return, Quinn butted in, "ah, young love. I was just telling Tama that you guys should give it another go."

Paul hummed in agreement, taking Tama's glass of water and chugging it much to her annoyance. "We can agree on one thing then," he said with a shrug, staring down at his imprint with a look that screamed "I told you so", to which she rolled her eyes at.

"Yeah and I was just telling Quinn that I'd rather not, with being you so poorly mannered and all," Tama crooned with a sweet smile that wasn't at all genuine but had Paul nearly falling to his knees in front of her nonetheless, his lips parting ever so slightly as he sucked in a breath.

"I'll be good, promise," he quipped back, his lips pulling into a smirk, knowing that he had a similar effect on the girl next to him.

"Doubt it, " Tama and Quinn chorused before bursting into conjoined laughter that had Paul rolling his eyes and abandoning the now empty bowl and cup in the sink. The blonde spared a glance up at the clock on the nearby wall and squeaked, turning towards the two teens. "It's getting a bit late, no? Maybe we should all head to bed."

She was already standing and stretching out with her hands above her head before the pair could answer. "Aaron's probably gone on to sleep by now and he'll be gone before either of you will be up. The guest room still doesn't have a bed and I highly doubt either of you will fit on the couch so just...keep your hands to yourselves up there, alright?"

Tama blushed at the insinuation while Paul exhaled deeply, "no promises." He groaned as Tama's elbow found purchase in the divet between his ribs and she shook her head disaprovingly before turning towards Quinn again, "night, Quinn. Thanks for the food, and letting me stay over."

Quinn shrugged her off, giving her another hug and reaching for Paul before she decided against it and awkwardly let her hands fall to her sides with a tired smile. "I don't mind at all, I didn't have the best home life either. I don't think I would've made it out of Texas alive if it wasn't for my friends and their parents taking me in."

Tama didn't know what to say to that, another layer to the seemingly bright eyed and bubbly blonde unravelled in front of her on the eve of her seventeenth birthday. Quinn turned on her heel after bidding them goodnight, reminding them to turn off all the lights before venturing upstairs. Paul felt the change in the atmosphere, tugging Tama's shirt gently as he followed after where Quinn had disappeared to. "Come on, I got some clothes for you."

"These don't fit," Tama told him with a frown as she entered the room from the adjoining bathroom, fresh from her shower after Paul. Her frown dropped as she noticed he still hadn't put on a shirt, remembering rather fondly he often went without one when he slept. He seemed to be taking her figure in with much less shame, his eyes raking up and down her figure without guilt.

He shrugged, "looks great to me."

Tama scoffed out a, "pig," under her breath. She ignored his obnoxious attempt at a pig noise, making her way towards the drawers she had often rummaged through. She smiled a bit as she found a shirt that was worth stealing and a pair of black boxer briefs, turning to see Paul sitting at the edge of the bed, watching her intently. She made a twirling motion with her finger as she ordered him to turn around, watching as he covered his eyes with his hands and childishly peeked through. She sent him an unimpressed glance and he smacked his lips, his hands leaving his face to cover his thighs, clad in black gym shorts, his voice gentle as he urged her on, "Ah, come on Tama, you're acting like I've never seen you naked before. It's alright, just go on and change."

"When pigs fly," Tama muttered as she held the oversized shirt and briefs to her chest, covering up the too small shorts and the tight fitting tank top that no longer fit the way they used to. She wondered how many of her clothes he'd kept after their breakup. She'd only kept the two...

"You want me to cover my dad in some glue and feathers, push him off the balcony?" Paul asked, pointing his thumb in the direction of his father's room with all the seriousness in the world, eyes hopeful. "Cause I'll do it."

Tama couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up out of her throat, covering her mouth as she didn't want to wake up his father or Quinn, knowing they were most likely asleep by the steady beat of their hearts down the hall. Paul grinned in satisfaction, raising his hands in defeat before he twisted his upper half so that he wasn't looking at her figure, hearing her murmur a low "thank you" as she stripped and put on the top and briefs, rolling them up a few times so that they fit. She groaned from the relief of being free from the restricting outfit and Paul whipped his head around so quickly he had to catch himself from falling off the bed.

He took in her new attire with a smile, running his hand through his short crop of black hair. "Just like old times, yeah?"

She smiled back, nodding as she made her way over to him, "yeah." She caught him off guard as she found purchase between his legs, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him close to her chest where her heart was beating at a steady rhythm, unlike his own. He wrapped his arms around her waist after a moment, his palms rubbing circles into her back as he held her closer. "Thank you, for today," she mumbled into his hair.

He tried to match his breathing to her own, his eyes closed as his cheek felt the coolness of her clothed chest. She was so much colder now but, he didn't mind, it felt nice against his skin that felt combustible. "Beats the whole 'sunrise vampire hunt' I had planned, huh," he murmured back, feeling her chest rumble against him with light laughter as she hummed an agreement.

"Always next year," she teased, her fingers running through his hair without much thought on her part, the action almost natural to her, like the position they currently occupied. Paul smiled to himself, nodding against her as he felt her head come to rest on his own, "and the next, and the next..."

Her phone vibrated from the nightstand and she sighed, already knowing who it was without having to check the caller id. She sighed as she lifted her head to glance at the buzzing device, much to Paul's displeasure, the boy attempting to pull her back to their previous position. "That's like, what, his fifth time calling in the last hour?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled as he had his face pressed against her clothed stomach.

Tama nodded, her fingers returning to Paul's hair as they kneaded and pulled in a way that was comforting to both her and him alike. "He gave me a key this morning but, I told him I wasn't coming back, not tonight. He feels bad." Just that morning, she thought to herself, how long had the day been?

"He should," Paul muttered, hearing Tama smack her lips in disagreement, removing herself from him once more to sit beside him on the edge of the bed. She brought her knees up to her chest, something she always did whenever she was being vulnerable and wanted to feel as unexposed as possible.

"He..." Tama started to defend him but her voice died out on its own, unable to produce words to come to Charlie's defense. She was tired of defending people; Paul, her mother, Sam and Emily, now Charlie, and even herself. It was absolutely draining coming to the defense of others, especially when they often failed to come to hers. Except the boy to her right, she thought, turning to see that he was already staring down at her, his hand hovering over her own hesitantly. She took it within her own hold before he could make the choice and for a moment they sat in silence, staring down at their conjoined hands.

"So you and Quinn are besties now, huh?" he teased, attempting to brighten her spirits, his fingers gently massaging her own, relishing in the way they felt against his.

Tama smiled, her eyes still focused on their hands conjoined, "yeah, she's not so bad, she's actually pretty sweet. She's a good wingman too, you should keep her around, give her a bit more credit."

Paul laughed, nodding in agreement before he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Yeah, apparently she is. She's good, too good; why she's with my dad though, I have no idea but, her positivity is like kryptonite to me. It's aggravating knowing people can be so happy when your life sucks."

Tama hummed in agreement, "I thought the same, down there with her, in the kitchen. But, it makes me feel better seeing her happy and not hiding in fear. It means we're doing something right; we're keeping people safe, like we're supposed to. It makes it all seem worth it."

"You think about other people too much," Paul said with a shake of his head, his expression unreadable. His words made Tama scoff as she felt, offended? She didn't know how the words made her feel.

"What, is it bad to think about our people and want them to be safe?" She asked incredulously, running her free hand through her hair, silently wishing she'd never cut it in the first place when her fingers gripped at the air too soon.

Paul shook his head again, releasing her hand and guiding her up the bed, pulling the covers back and keeping her near. He reached for the light, though Tama was able to see his face clearly in the dark without it. "No, I mean..." he trailed off as he tried to find the right words to say.

Tama stayed quiet as she let him, knowing that he often had trouble speaking, something he wasn't ever used to doing so often. She went without the blanket as she settled into bed, knowing she'd be drenched in sweat before dawn with the heat Paul possessed. She felt his hand leave her shoulder to travel down to her waist, pulling her closer to him until her head was pressed to his chest, hearing him let out a hum of content when he felt her cheek against his bare chest.

"You and Sam are really the only ones that think that way," he explained, his head resting against the headboard. Tama wondered how he even fit properly with his newly acquired size but didn't mention it. "The rest of us are focused on getting back to our old lives, that's what motivates us, more than anything. It's different with you and him, you worry about others more than we do. It makes sense, him being alpha and you being beta."

Tama was quiet for a while before she admitted in a near whisper, "sometimes I wish I was more like you and Tallulah."

"Selfish time bombs?"

Tama smacked his chest lightly, "don't talk about yourselves like that. I just...I wish I didn't care so much, not just about people but, in general. I think this would all be so much easier if I wasn't so in my head about everything. I've tried not to but, it's physically impossible."

Paul hummed in thought, stroking her lower back lightly while silence consumed them in a blanket of peace. Tama felt a weight off her shoulders as she spoke and Paul finally said, "I could teach you, not to care so much, I mean."

Though he couldn't see her, she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you tried that before, remember? I got grounded for the first time in eight years because of it." She heard Paul try and stifle a laugh as he no doubt recalled the trouble they often found themselves in only months ago. He gave her waist a playful pinch, kissing the crown of her head, "it was worth it though, right?"

Tama hummed to herself as she felt her eyelids grow heavier, "mmm, yeah. Always was."