A/N: This is a Sabine/Dominic pairing from the book series Seer. Also, italics are Sabine's thoughts and bold italics are Opal talking inside Sabine's head.

Disclaimer: I do not own this book series.

Always Here

"I'm really sorry, Sabine," Josh DeMarco, my boyfriend, said as he looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. "I really love you, just not in that way anymore. Can we still be friends?" I nodded, forcing a smile, but inside I was crying.

I went through the rest of the day as usual, acting like nothing happened. When I got home, I would take a bath and drown my sorrow. I could tell Penny-Love tomorrow.

When I got home, which was a little later then usual because I had to walk instead of getting a ride with Josh, I saw Dominic sitting on the porch swing with Dagger, his falcon, perched on his arm.

I tried to walk past him quickly, with my head down and my blonde hair with a single black streak, the mark of a seer, hiding my face. I wanted to avoid him, but no such luck. He stepped in front of my path as Dagger went flying off somewhere. My heart started to pound. Weird things happened when I was alone with Dominic, weird feelings aroused, feelings I didn't want to deal with right now.

He looked at me sternly as I tried to avoid his gaze. "Can you please move?" I asked. He didn't move, of course. "Why didn't you get a ride with your wannabe magician boyfriend?" he said sneeringly. My heart clenched at the mention of Josh, but I didn't let Dominic see that. "He was busy," I muttered.

"Then why didn't you call me to come pick you up?" Dominic asked. I wanted to get away from him because I could feel my tears coming. I had kept them inside all day and now they had to come out.

"Because I wanted to be alone," I said, keeping my head down to hide the tears flowing down my cheeks. I felt a rough hand under my chin, lifting my head up to face Dominic.

"What's wrong?" he said gently, his roughness gone. I just cried harder, not being able to stop my tears. Strong arms surrounded me, and I was pulled against Dominic's chest, as his arms wrapped around me and he pressed his lips into my hair. I sobbed into his shirt, soaking it. When I felt like I couldn't cry anymore, I pulled away from Dominic, wiping my eyes with my hand.

"Better?" Dominic asked, smiling at me. I smiled back and nodded. "Now are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Dominic asked softly. I bit my lip and took a deep breath. I owed Dominic an explanation.

I sat down on the porch swing and Dominic sat next to me, waiting for me to speak. I started with a shaky breath, even though there really was a very short explanation to my tears.

"Josh broke up with me," I said, not looking at Dominic. I thought he'd laugh or be disgusted at me, since he seemed to think human company was overrated and he preferred animals, but he didn't. Instead he said in a sincere voice, "Why?"

"He said he didn't love me in that way anymore," I bit my lip and looked up at Dominic. I was surprised to see him look angry and wondered if he was angry at me. He probably is, I thought. He's probably angry at me for being such a baby about this. I stood to go inside to take a bath and drown out today's sorrows.

As I walked past him to go into the house, he gently grabbed my wrist and swung me around to face him, while he stood up. "I'm not angry at you, Sabine. I'm angry at that loser. He's a fool to dump you."

I smiled, feeling grateful. Dominic smiled back, and I felt my heart start speeding up and warmth spread throughout my body. There was a fire in his eyes and it felt like a volcano was erupting. I sucked my breath in sharply. I was distinctly aware of Dominic's hold on my wrist.

I gently pulled away, breaking the contact. I didn't understand these feelings for Dominic and a part of me didn't want to. They were powerful and wild and completely confusing. They were unlike anything I've ever felt before.

I ran quickly into the house, past Dominic, who was looking confused. I rushed up the stairs and past my grandmother's office. I closed the door to my bedroom and went to the window. Dominic was walking to his barn apartment, his head hanging down in dejection. Dagger was swooping around him, but Dominic didn't lift his arm for Dagger to perch on.

I was sure I was the reason he looked so down, but I wasn't sure why. Yes you are, a sneaky voice inside my head said. Opal, I thought. What do you mean? I asked her, annoyed. When will you stop denying the truth? Dominic feels something for you and if you weren't so dumb, you'd realize you feel something for him, too, Opal said in her snappish voice. I blocked our connection without responding. I don't know why, but I had a hard time believing Dominic could love anyone who wasn't an animal.

I turned back to the window and saw Dominic chopping wood. Penny-Love was coming up the driveway and she waved to Dominic. He waved back, his expression unreadable. Penny-Love was completely in love with Dominic. I saw her enter the house and heard her bounding up the stairs. She burst into my room with the energy only a cheerleader seems to have.

"What's up, Sabine?" Penny-Love exclaimed excitedly, and then she sobered. "I heard about what happened with Josh." "So it's all over school?" I asked, looking down. Penny-Love sat next to me on the window seat and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It will be okay," she said reassuringly. "Everyone will forget it in a couple of days."

I nodded glumly, then a thought struck me. "Hey Penny," I began nervously. She turned to look at me. "Do you still like Dominic?" I asked quickly. She shook her head no, then smiled at me. "Not anymore," she said. "He's not very talkative. Besides, he already loves someone else."

She was looking at me very intently. "What?" I asked, uncomfortable. "Sabine, let's take a walk," she said, sighing. "OK," I said, getting up. She did the same and we walked outside.

I avoided looking at Dominic as we passed. He was still chopping wood. Penny-Love and I walked in silence for a while, heading into the forest at the back of Nona's house. Finally, I couldn't take it and asked her where we were going. She just said "You'll see," and continued walking.

I followed her and soon we arrived at a clearing. She stopped and turned to me. "We're here," she said, announcing it like it was something grand. "Where exactly is here?" I asked, looking around. The clearing was circular with trees surrounding it.

"A place where we can talk alone," Penny-Love said, turning to me. "About what?" I asked, not wanting to know the answer. "Dominic," she said wickedly. "Why would we talk about him?" I asked confused.

Penny-Love rolled her eyes at me. "Don't play dumb with me, Sabine. It's obvious you like him and I know he likes you." "What makes you think I like him?" I asked, somewhat scared of the answer.

"You always get quiet when anyone mentions him," she said matter of factly. "Well what makes you think he likes me?" I asked. "He wouldn't go out with me and when I asked him why, he said he already loved someone," Penny-Love said, staring straight at me. "I asked him who it was and he said you. He told me not to tell you, but I think this is a special circumstance."

I leaned against a tree, looking at the ground and trying to digest all this information. Does Dominic really love me? My thoughts were interrupted by Penny-Love. "Look, I hate to leave, Sabine, but I have a cheerleading practice." I nodded and watched her walk away. After a few minutes, I straightened up and started walking home.

The sun had started to set by then. The path was kinda dark and I was having trouble seeing where I was going. I was also absorbed in my thoughts.

I heard a hissing sound behind me and I turned around slowly. There was a long green snake and it was slithering right towards me. I screamed and ran away from it.

Branches tore at me as I ran, pushing through the leaves. I didn't stop until I broke through the trees. I looked around and realized I was behind the tool shed. Nona's house was to the right of me.

I looked behind me, but didn't see any snake. Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, however, Dominic came running up to me. "Sabine, are you okay?" he asked, his blue eyes full of concern. "I heard you scream."

"I ran into a snake," I said looking up into his eyes. The same feelings I had earlier overtook me and I felt hot all over, but this time I realized that I really liked this feeling.

Dominic started speaking again and my eyes were drawn to his lips. "There doesn't appear to be anymore snakes," he told me, smiling. I couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm glad," I whispered, noticing how close we were standing. "Dominic," I said softly, knowing what I wanted to say but not sure how he would react. "I owe you an apology. I ran away from you, when you were just trying to help me. You've always been there when I needed you." I bit my lip and looked down.

Dominic's hand under my chin caused me to look up. "What are you trying to say, Sabine?" he asked, taking a step closer to me.

"I like-er-no-I love you," I whispered softly. "I love you, too," he said, before his lips descended on mine. The kiss was gentle yet passionate and Dominic pulled me close to him as he wrapped his arms around my waist. My arms went around his neck.

When we broke the kiss, we were both panting a little. Dominic put his hand on my cheek and whispered ,"I am always here for you, Sabine." I smiled, as nothing else needed to be said. I had lost a great guy that day but I had gained something infinitely greater.