A Father's Teachings

by LittleBundleOfAcid

When Seth comes out as gay Bella discovers the shocking fact that Edward is homophobic. Startled by the fact that her fiancée could be so narrow minded, she decides she wants to know why. What she discovers is a secret that Edward has never told anyone...

Summary: When Seth comes out as gay Bella discovers the shocking fact that Edward is homophobic. Startled by the fact that her fiancée could be so narrow minded, she decides she wants to know why. What she discovers is a secret that Edward has never told anyone, something that even his family is unaware of.

Chapter One:

I squealed when Edward threw me over his shoulder and raced away from Emmett. Honestly, who had decided to include the human in the vampire game of "Hide and Seek"? I could not deny that it was fun though, being carried by my fianceé while Emmett counted to one hundred. The others had all taken off in different directions, though why was a mystery to me. It wouldn't exactly be hard for Emmett to find any of us, with those super senses vampires were gifted with.

The game was pointless, but it was the idea that provided the entertainment and I was not averse to getting Edward on his own in the woods surrounding his home. Edward was still insisting that we waited until our honeymoon to make love, but that didn't mean that I did not try to tempt him as often as I could. Besides, even though he always made us stop, I enjoyed the journey to the moment that he did.

Edward ran for a few minutes before finally stopping, and motioning for me to climb down. I didn't, and he gave me a look in warning before pretending to drag me off. I clung to him tightly as he tried to put me on the ground, as I knew that he was so scared of hurting me that he would keep me in his arms.

"Bella!"

"Edward!"

I spoke his name in response to mine, and smiled as I looked him in the eye. Leaning forward to press my lips against his, I was shocked when I suddenly landed up on the ground. Edward's fingers began to tickle me. They felt like feathers over my t-shirt, and I wriggled as I screamed with laughter. My fianceé's playful side was one he seemed to be releasing more and more often with me, and it was yet another side of him that I adored.

Edward seemed free when he wasn't worrying about hurting me or thinking about the future. Tickling me was something that he had not done often, but he was well aware of how easy I could be tickled. At the moment I was finding it hard to drag air into my lungs, and I tried to tell Edward this to no avail.

"Edward, I. . . please, stop! Can't, can't, can't breathe."

It took me a while to get the message across, but when I did he stopped immediately and curled up beside me. We both just smiled at each other for a minute or so before I broke the silence by speaking.

"Where's Emmett? Did he find anyone yet?"

Edward's eyes drifted down before he answered my question, and when he did I began to wish that I had not asked. He seemed to tense up instantly, and I realised that he was pulling back into himself.

"He found Rosalie. They're playing their own version of "Hide and Seek" right now. I suppose you could say that it isn't a very family friendly version."

It was easy to understand what he meant, and I didn't ask him anything else about it. Instead I kissed him, drawing his bottom lip into my mouth. I still wasn't allowed to go anywhere near his lips, but Edward at least tolerated more than he had at the beginning of our relationship. He kissed me back almost lazily. The kiss wasn't the most passionate we had ever shared, but I enjoyed it just as much. It was content, settled, confident and just us. We had overcome so much to just be together that moments like this mattered so much more than they would have had we not.

Being able to take the time – no, having the time to kiss like the world didn't exist and we could do what we wanted was everything. Edward was my everything.

"We should really go back home."

Edward's words were not ones I welcomed, and though I loathe to admit it, I displayed my displeasure with a pout that I knew was nowhere near as effective as Rosalie's pout. However, I still hoped that it was effective. I was happy here, with just the two of us in our own little world for a while. There was nothing to disturb us or call us away to do menial tasks for others. The two of could simply be just that – the two of us. We didn't have to be Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, we could just be Bella and Edward. There was no pressure for Edward to keep up his human charade, or for me to play along with it.

The sun seemed to appear suddenly, though I knew that it had really only been hidden behind the many clouds that always seemed to hover over Forks like a bad smell that just wouldn't leave. Though when I thought of it I should probably have been thankful that the clouds hung around so much. Otherwise it wouldn't have been suitable for the Cullens and I would not have met Edward. Funny, how I could even owe the hydro cycle.

A sigh escaped me as I realized how crazy my thoughts were becoming. For a brief second I wondered if I was crazy, but then came to the conclusion that it didn't matter whether or not I was. I would soon be a Cullen, and they were nowhere near normal enough to be considered insane. Hopefully I would fit right in with the rest of them.

"Bella? Honey, are you listening?"

Edward seemed amused by the fact that I had zoned out. It was clear through his expression that he believed me to be day dreaming or merely tired from the day. I hated that look on his face. For some reason it always made me feel like he was viewing me as one would view a child that had done something cute or amusing. The age gap between us seemed to be clearer than it had ever been in the past whenever he did look at me as he did now, and it was not a fact that I enjoyed being forced to the surface.

I was quite sure that Edward hadn't done it on purpose, and so far I hadn't told him how his behavior towards me sometimes made me feel. He wasn't aware of what it resembled in my mind, and I felt myself frown as I realized just how irritated I was that he couldn't tell what was wrong with me instantly. My brain's freaky frequency was something that I was glad to possess most of the time, but during moments like these I really wished that I could just open my mind and let him in to see my thoughts. The mere idea of him seeing my every thought was both exhilarating and terrifying.

The advantages of Edward being able to read my mind were largely outnumbered by disadvantages in my opinion, so perhaps it was a good thing that my mind was closed off to my fiancée. Many of the thoughts that existed in there were ones that I was quite sure he would not be very happy to be able to read. It was bad enough that he could hear the thoughts of those that I talked to and so found out what I spoke about when he was not there, but if he was able to read my thoughts straight from the source it would have been even worse.

Yeah, I was definitely going crazy. Otherwise, how could I have changed my opinions on Edward reading my mind? For all I knew I could have had a mental disorder. Bipolar disorder, multiple personality . . . there were so many possibilities that I didn't even want to think of it. I was being silly, that much I knew, but at least I was being silly with Edward beside me. I finally replied to his question, dreading leaving our little moment of peace here on our own.

"Yeah, I'm listening, Edward. Why wouldn't I be?"

I tried to appear casual, as though I really hadn't heard his first statement. It obviously did not work, but at least I made an effort. Edward seemed to realize that I didn't want to go back to the house yet, as when he replied it was not with what I had expected him to. My expectation of him repeating that we should probably go back to the house seemed to have been averted, and I gave him a small smile in thanks.

"Just making sure, Bella. You seemed to zone out there for a while. I was afraid some handsome fairy had flown off with you to the clouds. . . "

Even though his attempt at a joke was lame I felt like I owed Edward for trying to lighten up our moods again. I kissed his lips again, except this time I straddled him at the same time. His hands came to rest on my hips as we kissed, and I was glad that he hadn't just pushed me away like he had so many times in the past.

My hands crept under his shirt, sliding along his cold torso as though it was a piece of art. Edward didn't seem to approve at first, and so I stopped my hands from traveling any further upwards. They were only still for a second or two before I began to move them again, encouraged by the fact that Edward had moved one of his hands from my hip to halfway up my back. Under my shirt. Edward Cullen had his hand under my shirt, and he didn't seem to be stopping at just that.

I couldn't help but feel as if everything was suddenly going the way I wanted it to, but it was accompanied by the feeling that it would stop going my way soon. That was what always happened – Edward decided that we would stop, that it was too dangerous for us to go any further than what he had deemed safe.

At the moment however he seemed to want to go even further than he usually allowed us to, and I was certainly not going to start complaining about that. My hands were pulling at his hair before I even realized what I was doing, and I feared that he would finally realize what we were doing and stop. Thankfully he didn't, and I slid one of my hands out of his hair to slide down to his crotch instead as we continued to kiss. My finger traced over his zipper once before I began to pull it down.

Instantly Edward seemed to come back into himself. Our kiss ended when he pulled himself back – gently so as not to hurt me – and tugged my hand out of his hair. The other hand was pushed away from his crotch and hung by my side before I even realized that Edward had moved to remove it from his lap. Within seconds I found myself sitting on my backside beside him instead of straddling him as I had been just a short time previously.

It was a predicament that I had grown used to since the start of our relationship, but it seemed to be occuring more frequently since Edward and I had struck a deal about the wedding, our future attempts to make love and my being bitten and turned into a vampire. My fianceé seemed to be letting the stone hold grip he usually held onto his resistance with loosen up more and more everyday, and even though we always eventually stopped there was always an improvement. I wasn't going to jeopardize that by complaining to Edward right now.

My eyebrows creased together as I leaned forward so that I could see Edward's face again. It was strange – he seemed almost panicked.

"Edward, Baby? You alright? You look like you're having a panic attack or something."

He didn't reply for a few seconds, during which my mind attempted to provide plausible explanations for his reaction. It failed to come up with any I thought were possible, and Edward didn't help me any with vague answer.

"I'm fine. We really should go back to the house, Bella. The others – except for Emmett and Rosalie – have already gone back and Esme is cooking food for you. It's almost ready. Besides, it's going to get colder soon, and then you'll just become ill."

It was clear to me that he was avoiding my question, but I let it slide. After all, Edward had let so many things slide with me in the past that I had lost count. If it was important then I trusted him enough to tell me, and if he didn't want to tell me then I wasn't going to push him to do so.

"Okay. Can we just. . . can we go to your room when we go back?"

I hurried to finish when I saw that he was about to interrupt me, sure that I knew what he was about to say. It wasn't that hard to guess, as Edward had said the same words to me so many times in the past that I knew them off by heart by now.

"We don't have to do anything, I just want to have some time with you, that's all. It's nice, being on our own for once."

Thankfully Edward agreed with me, so I would get more alone time with him once we returned to his – and soon to be mine – house. I was still reluctant to climb on his back, but I did eventually climb onto it after thirty seconds of Edward waiting for me to do so. The run back to his house seemed even shorter than the run from Emmett had seemed to take us. It was probably because I wanted it to last longer than I knew it would.

It wasn't as if I didn't want to go back and see the rest of the family. It was just that planning the wedding had taken up so much of our time lately that we rarely got time to just be a normal couple – not that we were a normal couple by any means. Unless a human dating a century old vegetarian vampire had recently become the norm in a small town called Forks, anyway. I enjoyed spending time with our family as much as I enjoyed spending time with Edward, but the latter seemed to be occurring less and less recently and so I wanted it more.

When we did arrive I didn't get off of Edward's back. I tightened my arms around his neck and placed my head on his shoulder, smiling when he grabbed hold of my legs again. Esme was still in the kitchen when we walked in and she was clearly found the site of me on Edward's back cute. In truth I just felt like holding onto him. I was in a clingy mood for some reason. Not that I minded holding onto Edward for this length of time.

"I take it the two of you had 0fun playing "Hide and Seek"? I know you need Edward's help to play, Bella, but it was still fun, was it not?"

Esme seemed to genuinely feel concerned that I had not enjoyed myself, so I quickly reassured her that I had. While her and Carlisle had not played – Esme had stated that she didn't want to "cramp their style and Carlisle was still working – she still seemed to think that it was her fault if I felt left out of something.

"Yeah, it was fun. At least until Emmett changed the rules. I think he kind of forfeited."

I grimaced at the mental images that flooded my head, and immediately wished I had stayed away from the topic completely.

"Bad mental images, Love?"

A nod was the only thing Edward received in reply to his question, but it seemed to suffice for him. He asked Esme if she could bring my food up to his room once it was cooked, as we were just going to relax up there. Esme being Esme immediately agreed even though I would not have thought anything if I had had to walk down the stairs for thirty seconds to eat it.

Edward pulled me round to the front of him when we reached his room, and allowed himself to fall backwards onto his bed. We laughed together as we bounced up and down for a minute or so, before our eyes caught and both of us moved our faces closer together so that we kissed again. This one was not like the one we had shared in the woods. It wasn't about us, it was about the passion and the passion wanted more.

Nothing stopped his hands from undoing the top buttons of my shirt, though I was shocked by the fact that Edward had been so bold as to undo them. He stopped when he had half of them open, his hands moving to cup my face instead. Edward quickly rolled us over so that I was under him when my hands begin to push his shirt off of his shoulders. There was nothing to indicate that he was going to stop this time, and for once it was me that begin to pull back.

Esme was downstairs, and I really didn't feel like losing my virginity with my future mother-in-law who was also like a surrogate mother to me downstairs to hear everything. Alice and Jasper were also downstairs, and though I was quite sure that they would all take off when they realized what Edward and I were doing I was still reluctant to continue. This was not what Edward wanted, and I did not want to break my promise that I would not insist on us making love until after we were married.

I tried to pull back from the kiss, and move Edward's hands from where they had begun to unbutton the buttons on my shirt again. There were very few of them left buttoned at the moment, and though usually I would not have thought that a bad thing at the moment it was. The members of our family downstairs had to be aware of what was happening, and they would know that I had been the one to stop. Hopefully Emmett and Rosalie were still playing "Hide and Seek" because otherwise we would never be allowed to forget this moment.

"Edward? Love? We can't – oh!"

I had no idea how he was doing it, but somehow Edward was sucking on my neck without giving into the temptation to bit me. If any more proof was needed that he could resist drinking my blood while we made love, this was it. It would be a handy little thing to remind him of later, but at the moment I needed him to stop. The fact that it felt absolutely amazing was irrelevant, and so was the fact that I wished with all my might that we could continue.

"Your family is downstairs and, and, and, Edward, we have to stop. You don't want to do this now; you want us to make love on our honeymoon. It's what is right, Edward, remember?"

Edward seemed to freeze at my words, and he moved his head from my neck only seconds later. He pulled away from me, and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Once he was there he seemed to sit still, the other thing I could see moving his lips. It was difficult to make out what he was saying, so I moved closer to try to hear what his murmurs contained.

"It's what is right, Edward. It's what is right."

He seemed to be repeating the same words to himself over and over again, almost as if he was trying to convince himself that they contained the truth. I placed my hand on his shoulder and a kiss to his neck to try to calm him before I spoke.

"If we did anything then you would drive yourself demented thinking about it. We agreed we would wait until our honeymoon, and I promised that I wouldn't pressure you anymore about making love before then."

I lowered my voice, even though I was well aware that the other vampires in the house would still be able to hear what I was saying.

"Besides, your family is uh, kind of downstairs, and I really don't think either of us want to lose our virginity with them listening in."

That earned me one of those crooked smiles that I loved so much. It was quite peculiar really, how Edward and I seemed to have swapped roles. In the past he had always been the one to pull away and tell me that we had to stop. Now I was the one pulling away and convincing him why we couldn't go any further.

"What did I do to deserve you?"

Edward's question was clearly rhetorical, but I had still intended to reply until he kissed again. It was a mere peck, but his lips lingered for a few seconds before he pulled back again. My answer as to why arrived in the form of a knock on his door.

"Bella, Honey? Your food is ready."

Esme's voice blew fears that Emmett had arrived to tease us out of the water. I had forgotten that she had told Edward that she would bring my food up when it was ready.

"You can come in, Esme."

It was obvious that they were only speaking aloud for my benefit – well, on Esme's side at least. If Edward had been on his own then she would have possessed no need to speak, though he still would have had to answer her aloud. Esme opened the door quietly, and laid the try she had with her on the bed beside me.

"I'm afraid it's a bit . . . colder than it was a few minutes ago, but it's still hot enough to eat. Enjoy, Dear."

I'm quite sure my mouth dropped in shock. As Esme walked back out the door after giving both Edward and I a (and it could have been my imagination) cheeky smile. Surely Esme couldn't have been referring to. . . no! Oh my . . . the mortification! I put my face in my hands as I blushed; only lifting it when Edward put a hand on the end of my back.

"You should eat your food before it gets any colder. We could allow it to get colder if you want, Love?"

"Edward!"

I went as if to swing my hand to slap him in the arm before I thought better of it. It would only serve to injure myself instead of him, so instead I pushed him. It had no effect, but Edward was gracious enough to move a couple of inches to pretend that it had had some effect, no matter how miniscule he pretended it was.

He caught my hands in his and held them together in jest before pulling me closer.

"You really should eat, Love."

Sighing I turned and began to eat my dinner. Esme was a marvelous cook, especially for someone that had not needed to eat human food for just under a hundred years. I was still amazed at the lengths that she went to when making sure I was comfortable and her cooking was just a small symbol of this. It made me feel accepted, like I was a member of the family already, even before I married Edward.

It didn't take me long to eat – it was only lunch and not very large. I was finished within a few minutes and Edward offered to take my tray down to the kitchen rather than me going down myself. While Edward was downstairs I decided to put on some music. I searched his vast collection until I found Debussy, the composer bringing back memories of Edward and I. I couldn't believe that it had been so long since that night in Port Angeles.

My fiancée was standing in the doorway when I placed the CD in the player, and a content smile was on his face. It grew when the track I chose began to play. "Clare De Lune" held even more memories, both of time I had spent in Phoenix and time I had spent with Edward. All of them were happy memories, and I would be happy if they were the memories that I always associated with the song. This memory would hopefully be another triggered by hearing it, but it was one that I was sure I would remember anyway.

I couldn't breathe. Jake had me crushed so tightly to his chest that I could literally not breathe. His hugs had always been tight, but since he had begun to shift they had become even tighter. I was roasting but I still managed to hug him back. When he finally let go of me and moved back a step I took in a deep breath, bent over and started to act like I was out of breath. Deliberately over acting was not something that I did often, but in this instance I was sure that Jake would find it funny.

"Can't, no, can't breathe!"

After a few seconds I straightened up again, and laughed along with my best friend. I hadn't seen Jake in nearly two weeks, and I had missed him. He had invited me to go to a bonfire that the pack was hosting in Seth's honor tonight. He had yet to tell me why it was in Seth's honor, and I got the feeling that it was something he was not sure how I would react to.

"Missed ya, Bells. Been kinda boring around here with a klutz to make fun of. I've had to try to entertain myself. It's quite the challenge, honestly."

I raised my eyebrows at him in disbelief, and shoved at his chest while I snorted. The day I believed that Jake had had a challenge entertaining himself without me was the day that Edward allowed me to jump off of a cliff without protesting.

"As if, Jake. I wasn't born yesterday you know. I'm still older than you, even if you try to cheat with our ages! I'm quite sure that Embry, Quil and the rest of the pack kept you entertained. You don't need me to babysit you all of the time!"

"But Bella!"

The whine that I could hear in Jake's voice was clearly put on, and I ignored it as he continued on. I did feel a bit sorry for him after a while, but I was mostly just amused.

"Embry's been busy with the pack and evading his mom – she's still mad at him because he can't tell her that he's a wolf so he has to keep sneaking out. Quil's been all "oh Claire, I'll do anything for you! Claire, do you want to go to the beach? You want me to brush your doll's hair? Okay, which brush should I use? Oh Claire, I love you forever and ever and ever and – oh, you want me to put Scooby Doo on tv? Okay, I can do that!

Everybody else has just been busy, and you totally aren't buying into this are you, Bells?"

I shook my head in response, smiling as I did so. I really didn't buy into it. Maybe the Quil bit, and perhaps the Embry bit about his mom, but the rest he was just using as an excuse. I was just happy to be around him again.

Edward had not been too happy when I had told him what I had planned to do for the day. He never was happy when I decided to go visit my friends in La Push, but it was Jacob that made him conscious of exactly where I was going. He still seemed to think that I would just leave him for Jake, even though we were engaged. It was cute that he was capable of becoming jealous, but it was rather annoying when I wanted to go somewhere with Jake.

Jake was my best friend, and hanging out with him was something I enjoyed. I wouldn't be able to do it for much longer – once I was a vampire our friendship would more than likely be over. After I was turned we would be enemies. Jacob hated vampires. He called them "bloodsuckers" and "leeches". The fact the the Cullens had chosen not to drink from humans was irrelevant to him. It didn't matter – they were still leeches. Some of the pack – Seth for example – understood why the Cullens were different to other vampires. Jake did not. Everything seemed to be in black and white for him. There was no shade of grey that he was uncertain about. It was not something I liked to dwell on, but it was something I had to consider.

Jake was unaware that I intended for Edward to turn me. I wasn't about to tell him either. It had taken long enough for him to get over the fact that I was going to marry Edward. Jake had only returned from Canada three weeks ago. His behavior now was the polar opposite of what it had been when he had first returned. At least now he didn't appear to be mad at me. He had even agreed (finally) to go the wedding.

"You're a real whinge bag sometimes, you know that Jake? I mean it! Don't you look at me that Jacob Black. I'm right. As I have already stated, I'm both older and wiser than little old crybaby you! I'm quite sure everyone else would agree with me."

This time he opted out of replying, instead just throwing his arm around my shoulder and guiding me into his house. I was a bit surprised when I saw Seth inside, watching sports with Billy. If the bonfire was being held in his honor wouldn't he have been helping organize it? It started in less than an hour, so he was cutting it a bit short.

"Hey Billy, Hey Seth."

I received a wave and a nervous smile in response. Seth's smile piked my curiosity, and I couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the impending bonfire. Surely he couldn't be worrying about it, could he? It was only going to be the Pack, their imprints, the Elders (of course) and me. I suppose if you added them all up it was quite a large number, but it wasn't as if there was anyone there that didn't like him. Well, there was Paul, but I was quite sure that Paul hated most people. Actually, it wasn't even that he didn't like certain people, he was just a bit. . . intolerant of human beings in general. Even I understood Paul. He was a jerk, but when it mattered . . . he came through. In my experiences with him anyway.

"So Seth, you looking forward to your bonfire?"

The three men in the room (could I really refer to both Jake and Seth as men?) seemed to tense up at my question and I was reminded of Jake's earlier reaction. I was really getting the feeling that they didn't want me to know what the bonfire was for yet. The only thing I could rule out was that it was his birthday, as Jake had reassured me that I didn't need to bring a present to give to Seth at the bonfire. I had been worried that I would be the only one to turn up without a gift. If I had then I would have been mortified.

None of them seemed to be prepared to answer my question, so I asked another question while I frowned. It couldn't be that bad, honestly! Men were so dramatic and confusing sometimes – and they said that women were bad!

"What's it for? Jake here refused to tell me, something about it probably being better if you told me. I swear, if it turns out he was lying and it isn't even in your honor then I'll kill him. Don't have a clue as to how I'll manage it, but I will. A crowbar should do some damage, right? Or I could get a tire iron. . . Seth? You gonna answer me at all?"

I was becoming more and more agitated as I waited for him to answer me. Perhaps I had become a bit snappy, but I wasn't going to bite his head off or anything. Surely Seth knew that.

"I imprinted. "

When he did eventually answer he seemed to think I would be mad at him for it. It was great news, and I didn't understand why he seemed to believe that I would react badly to it. Sure, I still had some reservations about the effectiveness of imprinting – I was a big fan of free will and choosing who you loved – but I could see the advantages of it too. Besides, the girl he had imprinted on was a lucky one.

Seth was a great guy. He didn't possess an overtly big ego, was genuinely nice and was good looking – though that trait came from his status as a wolf. It was clear that he would do anything for those he cared about, and I was happy that he wasn't on his own anymore. Hopefully the girl he had imprinted on would be accepting of the truth in the tribe's legends.

Smiling happily, I questioned Seth further. Why had he been so reluctant to tell me that he had imprinted? It wasn't exactly a bad thing!

"So who is she? Does she know that you're a wolf yet? How about the pack, have they met her? What's her name? Come on, Seth, even I wouldn't get mad about you imprinting! It's hardly a bad thing."

I waited for him to tell me about his imprint. All the others seemed to love talking about their imprints. In fact, it was quite hard to shut them up once they started. Yet, Seth seemed to be reluctant to tell me anything about the girl he had imprinted on. Surely he was happy about imprinting on her, right? There was no reason for him not to be, after all. Every other shifter that had imprinted in the past seemed to adore their imprints. Quil couldn't get enough time with Clare, ever, and Sam . . . well; Sam would do absolutely anything for Emily. Jared was the same with Kim.

Still, Seth didn't seem to be his usual, bubbly self. Sometimes I even believed that he was channeling Alice simply just to annoy me. He was so young compared to the others that I forgot about the age gap sometimes. After all, they all looked around the same age appearance wise. Inside they showed their true ages though, and it was at times like this, when one of them was particularly nervous that it was easy to see that they really were just a bunch of teenage boys, given kick-ass powers.

"Umm. . . my imprint is uh, I mean. . "

Seth was stumbling over his words. I wasn't going to kill him just for telling me the name of the girl that he had imprinted on! I wasn't quite that cruel. Actually, I would not have considered myself cruel at all.

I was still confused when Jake rolled his eyes in that impudent, childish way that he always carried off perfectly and butted in. He had obviously become annoyed with Seth's slow method of getting the information across to me, and so had more than likely decided to save him the bother. However, it was likely that he was just impatient. Jake was my best friend, but even I was aware that he had the patience of a two year old.

"Seth imprinted on a guy. Which makes him gay, which is what he's worried you won't react well to. I told him that you wouldn't care – you aren't like those narrow minded fools that think being gay is wrong or anything! The guy he imprinted on is named Elan. He's from the reservation. Yes, he knows about the legends being true. He doesn't care. Elan is totally in love with Seth too. Calls him his "Sethyboo Bear". Cute, right? The pack have met him. Everyone likes him. Well,. Except for Paul, but Paul doesn't like anyone. You know how intolerant he is of human beings in general. You'll meet him at the bonfire, if we ever get there."

He paused for a second while I stared at him in shock. I didn't know how to react. It wasn't as if I suddenly hated Seth or anything – if he liked guys, well, then he liked guys. I just wasn't sure what I was supposed to say. Was I supposed to congratulate him on coming out of the closet? Or was I supposed to act like it was nothing and just carry on like normal?

It wasn't like Seth had suddenly become a different person – this was just something I had not been aware of before. His sexuality didn't change him from who he was – unless he intended to go on the pull that was. His imprinting had ensured that him going on the pull was quite impossible, though.

"I think I covered everything, didn't I? Bells? You okay there?"

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and decided to reply.

"Yeah, I think you covered everything I asked. So, when you imprint on Elan?"

Seth seemed to let out a breath he had been holding and laugh nervously. He was obviously relieved I had not freaked out, and I was touched by the fact that my opinion meant so much to him. I was glad to count him as one of my friends. He was the only wolf that I was sure I would still be able to refer to as that after Edward bit me and I become a vampire like the rest of the Cullens.

"A week and a half ago. We met at the beach and boom, that was it. No going back for me, anyway. I'm just lucky he was already out of the closet. Would have been hard if he had been straight!"

I laughed at his words, and instantly felt the atmosphere in the room lighten. Jake and I stayed for a few minutes after Seth was "outed" by him, before leaving to go to the bonfire. We had to drive, because it was too far for me to walk. Billy wasn't going tonight, something about a match he wanted to watch. In truth he had gone off on in a big speech about this game and the players and how the fans had been waiting for so long. Apparently it was a once in a lifetime chance, and he didn't want to miss out on it. If I was honest, I had tuned out after a minute or so. Seth and Jake had seemed to listen attentively, but I had no interest in sport. Besides, I did not understand a word of the terminology Billy was using. The same thing tended to happen whenever Charlie started talking about the match on tv. It was a guy thing, and I was definitely not a guy.

The bonfire was already blazing when we arrived, the rest of the pack gathered around it. I could see Jared hugging Kim from behind, as the two of them laughed at Quil trying to catch little Clare. It was unusual to see her here – her parents were not in on the secret, so she couldn't go. I guessed that she was staying with Emily and Sam for the night. Quil had more than likely offered himself up for babysitting duties. He was a glutton for punishment when it came to his imprint, but somehow I don't think he saw it as a punishment.

Jake and I settled down beside Embry and Paul, though I wasn't very happy about the latter. Seth seemed to be waiting for someone, and I assumed that it was Elan he was waiting for. Hopefully I would get to meet him soon. From what I had heard he seemed to be an . . . interesting character. Jake had described him in a way that made him seem to be the perfect match for Seth. He was older than him. I think I could remember Jake saying that he was twenty four. He was supposedly quiet at first and then just as bubbly as his "Sethyboo Bear". A snort escaped me as his nickname for his boyfriend crossed my mind. What had possessed him to call Seth that was beyond me and my wild guesses, but as long as it worked for Elan, I guess.

"How are the wedding plans going, Bella? Edward's sister still pushing everything along?"

Emily seemed to be genuinely interested, and I was happy to talk to her. However, Jake seemed a bit uncomfortable and annoyed at her choice of topic so I did not go into much detail. There was no need for me to explain everything after all. All of the pack and their imprints were invited to the wedding, though I knew that most would not go. Those that did would only be there for Jake. I was not delusional enough to believe that they would all show up to show their support for me while I said "I do" to their sworn enemy. They would more than likely just be there to make sure that Jake did not lose his temper and start a fight with the Cullens – hell, knowing Jake as I knew Jake, if he lost his temper then he would break the treaty.

"It's going fine. Alice is. . . organizing everything. She drags me in to remind me that it's actually my wedding, but other than that I pretty much get off scot free on the planning part. It's great."

Emily seemed to sense that I was reluctant to talk about the wedding more in front of Jake, and didn't push for any more details. I was glad that she didn't, because Jake had seemed to tense up more as I spoke. I really did not feel like pushing my luck regarding my best friend's acceptance of my impending marriage, but I didn't want to be rude to Emily either.

After an awkward few seconds of silence, Sam asked Jake about some part he was trying to find his car. The conversation seemed to flow more easily after that, but I was still glad when I saw Seth approaching with another man. He was skinny, short and definitely not a wolf, so I assumed he was Elan. The way Seth put an arm around his waist and pulled him closer as they walked confirmed my thoughts, and I smiled at how relaxed they seemed to be together. The imprint had only happened a week and a half ago, but the two of them looked like they had been in a relationship for years. They were both so comfortable around each other . . . it was truly amazing.

The few reservations I had left about imprinting seemed to disappear as I looked at the two of them. They hadn't chosen to fall in love, the imprint had done it for them but when I thought about it, who did choose who they fell in love with? It wasn't voluntary. You did not just look at a person and think "I'm going to fall in love with them". It was already decided for you. So yeah, maybe the wolves had less choice in who their "one" was, but in the end was it not better that they had reassurance that they were the "one"? Most people had no idea if they really were in love for the rest of their lives, or the next month, but the Pack knew that they were. There were no "what if", "maybe" or "possibly". It was definite. Full stop. No chance for misinterpretation or misunderstandings.

Seth was beaming by the time he reached us. His imprint seemed nervous though. The short man kept looking at me. It was obvious that he wasn't sure who I was or why I was there. I wasn't Native American so I obviously wasn't part of the tribe and I was not a wolf or an imprint of a member of the pack. Jake had told me that Elan had not had it easy for a long time. His family had thrown him out when he had told them of his sexuality at nineteen, and he was used to people shunning him. Small towns were not exactly the best for open minded people.

I had been lucky to have the experience of both a big city and a small town. It had certainly widened my acceptance of most things, anyway. Though even that stereotype seemed to be changing. I hadn't heard a homophobic comment from anyone in Forks – well, outside of school that was. Teenagers – especially boys – seemed to find it funny to make remarks about it sometimes. It was weird that I thought of "teenagers" as different to me. I was only eighteen, but I no longer thought of myself as a teenager. In fact, I had not thought like that in a long time. It really was quite peculiar.

"Hey guys!"

Seth looked at me before glancing back to Elan. He tugged his boyfriend forward slightly, as though telling him that none of us would bite. I waited for him to introduce us, not wanting to be impolite or come across as obnoxious.

"Elan, this is Bella. She's the girl I was telling you about. The one that - "

"Vamp girl?"

I blushed when Elan interrupted Seth, but felt slightly better when I saw that he too was blushing. He had obviously spoken before thinking. It wasn't like he was being offensive or anything – the guys from the Pack had called me "vamp girl" enough times that I had realized it was not an insult. It was just a name they had for me. Paul was the only one I slightly disliked to hear call me that, but that was because . . . well, he was Paul. The chance that he meant it as an insult was so high that it could not even be considered a chance.

"Yeah, Elan, Vamp girl."

My blush grew when I realized that the others were chuckling at my reaction to Elan's words. They were doing this on purpose! I knew they were. Jake especially.

"It's nice to meet you, Elan. I wish you the best of luck in surviving spending time with these doofuses."

Jake put a hand on his heart and acted innocent as he exclaimed his defense loudly. It was so Jake that I could not keep a straight face, and bent double in laughter. He was so funny sometimes. . . It was moments like these that reminded me why I put up with his not so great moments when he decided to act like a jerk.

"Excuse me now! You did not just call me a doofus, Miss Swan! I am anything but a doofus, thank you very much."

My eyebrows rose as stopped laughing to reply. It was a later reply then I would have preferred, but at least I managed to reply. There had quite often been times when I had been laughing so hard that I had been unable to give Jake a reply. They were quite embarrassing, when I thought back over the memories of those moments in retrospect.

"You're right, Mister Black. I did not just call you a doofus. I called all of you doofuses. Plural, Black. Though I do disagree with your last statement."

Normally we would have continued for a few minutes, but Sam cleared his throat loudly before we could, almost as if he had foreseen the next few minutes. Hmmm, maybe he was the one channeling Alice and not Seth! It was quite possible. At least in my book anyway. If vampires and werewolves could exist then why couldn't werewolves channel a pixie – like vampire's ability to foresee the future?

"Yeah, they argue a lot, Elan. They're just messing about though, trust me. They're really the best of friends."

I heard Seth whispering to his boyfriend as they sat beside us, and felt embarrassed once again. Jake and I had just been having a laugh as per usual, but after we had our laughs I couldn't for the life of me figure out why we had found what we had found funny hilarious in the first place. Most of the time it was silly and did not make sense. Maybe that was why it was funny? Sometimes something being so funny it did not make sense could be funny at that moment in time and not afterwards.

We chatted about just some things in general for a while, and I soon learned more about Elan. He was quite funny, and after a while he seemed to come out of his shell and begin to talk more. It was as if he had still been gauging my reaction to him and the fact that Seth had imprinted on him.

"This is your first time hearing the legends, right Elan? I mean, I assume it is anyway."

Elan nodded in reply and smiled excitedly. I could see why he was so excited. Seth had probably told him some of the tribe's legends, but there really was nothing like hearing them around the bonfire from the mouths of the tribe's leaders. I was looking forward to hearing them again myself – though I nearly always fell asleep before they finished. It wasn't that the legends were boring. In fact, they were far from it. It was just that I got so tired out from the excitement that I just. . . conked before they finished. Jake and I expected it now, even though I had been to less than half a dozen bonfire gatherings with him.

When the telling of the legends did begin it was a bit unusual. Billy wasn't there to tell them tonight, so it was different elders telling his part of the story. It just seemed weird to me, and I could tell that everyone else found it a bit different than usual too. It wasn't bad, just different. I looked around those sitting around the bonfire as I listened to the tales. My eyes landed on Seth and Elan, the latter sitting on the former's lap. My eyes caught them just as Elan turned his head to face Seth. Seth leaned forward slightly and pecked him on the lips, and both of them smiled, obviously elated that they could act like – no, be a couple in front of everyone. They seemed so comfortable together already that it was almost surreal.

It was when I saw that the others all appeared to be looking at the same thing as me that I realized that the pack had changed. This wasn't a normal occurrence – hell, imprinting was (supposedly) rare enough without a member of the pack imprinting on the same sex. Everything had changed, yet somehow . . . somehow it already seemed like nothing had changed at all. Like this was the way that things had always been.