if you're wondering:

CURRENT YEAR: 2009

SETH CHANGED: early 2006

NEWBORN ATTACK: JUNE 2006

RENESMEE'S BORN: SEPTEMBER 2006

VOLTURI VISIT: DECEMBER 2006

Oh, and Seth and Elsie (and Collin and Suze) are currently in their JUNIOR YEAR!

So, this is my first story with an imprint focus. I'm just experimenting, but I hope you like it!

"My heart is yours to fill or burst, to break or bury, or wear as jewelry, which ever you prefer."

~ "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional

Seth's POV

"Don't let them kill me. Please!"

I laugh loudly at her words, but the thought of it makes my heart clench. I throw a look at Elsie—short for Elizabeth—and she honestly looked afraid. "El, they're not even hard," I tell her, nudging her with the soft bright yellow ball in my hands.

Elsie shrieks. "It's yellow! I keep on telling you, I always get hit with the—" Just then, a ball flies in between the two people standing in front of us, and hits Elsie in the shoulder. We watch as it bounces off and lands on the floor a few feet away, both of us noting that it's yellow. She groans, and gives me a pointed look, before stomping over to the back of the gym, where everyone who's out has to sit, mumbling under her breath.

It's seventh period, P.E., and we're playing dodge ball. Elsie has this superstition that the world is conspiring against her, because all of the balls that she gets hit with are yellow. It's kind of hilarious. I look briefly over to wear she's sitting, looking annoyed. I can't help but smile. A friend of mine, Collin—one of the boys from the pack—sends me a look from across the gym, where he's standing and talking with Suze, one of Elsie's friends—and his imprint—but I pretend not to notice.

Ever since I imprinted on Elsie two years ago, I've been getting crap from all of the other guys for not telling her. But it's different for me than it was for any of them—Elsie's my best friend, and was before I phased. I didn't want to ruin anything. And besides, she has . . . a boyfriend.

The thought of it makes me want to kill someone. Instead, I concentrate on one of the guys on the other side, nailing him in the chest. He groans, but goes to sit out. Another guy, next to him, aims at me, but I snatch the ball before it can touch me. He goes and sits out, too, but since I caught the ball, I gesture for Elsie to come back in the game. She frowns, but trudges back over to me.

"Why couldn't you let me stay out?" she says, looking sullen. A ball flies at her, and she cringes. I grab it before it can hit her. And what do you know? It's yellow. She grimaces. "I hate dodge ball."

I laugh. "That's an understatement, I think," I say, before running forward and nailing Collin, who's not paying attention.

He groans, and, seeing that it's me, shouts, "Come on, Seth! Give me a break!" before walking angrily to the back.

I walk backwards, to wear Elsie's standing, and examine the dark circles under her eyes. I nudge her shoulder gently, breaking her from her thoughts. "Oh—sorry, Seth," she says, rubbing her eyes and leaning into me slightly. I study her worriedly. "I just—" she starts, and her eyes fill.

"Bad day?" I ask, gently, my arms aching to hold her.

El shakes her head. "Bad week," she corrects.

"Is it the insomnia again?" I ask, picking up a ball that rolled into my foot, trying to act like I'm participating and not freaking out because my imprint is so miserable. I throw it at one of the other kids, and miss. When Elsie was younger, her older sister died in drunk-driving accident, and she's had trouble sleeping ever since. A few months after it happened, she was diagnosed with insomnia, a sleeping disorder. It went away for a little last year, but then started to come back. Her parents think it's chronic.

Elsie starts to nod, but then seems to hesitate. "Among other things," she says finally.

I frown, but pretend to be studying the other team. "What other things?" She doesn't respond. Worried, I turn to look at her. She's tilting her head back, her fingers under her eyes, and I can tell she's trying not to cry.

"El," I start, but she drops her hands and meets my eyes. A tear falls, but she hastily wipes it away.

"Can we please not talk about it now?" she snaps. "Later, all right?" She must be able to tell I'm really concerned, because she adds, in a less harsh tone, "I promise."

I nod, and rub the back of my neck. "Of course," I say. "I'm still taking you home, right?"

Elsie sighs. "Could we go somewhere else first, maybe?" she asks. "I mean, if you don't have anything—"

"Not if you want me to hang out with you, I don't." Jacob is holding a sort of meeting between our pack and Sam's tonight, but Elsie was my priority, and Jake and Sam know that.

"No, if you have something going on, it's okay. It's really fine, S—"

"Nope. It's set. You're coming over tonight," I tell her, "And you're staying for as long as you want."

She meets my eyes. "Thanks."

I smile. "Don't mention it."

Coach Martin blows his whistle, and tells us to go and change out because we only have eight minutes till last bell rings. I squeeze El's shoulder, and head in the direction of the guys' locker room, but she grabs my arm. I look back.

"Really," she says. "Thanks."

We look at each other for another second, but then I just smile again. "Don't worry about it, El." I turn around, and run into the locker room, hoping one of the showers will be empty still.

Elsie's POV

"Have you broken up with Ben yet?" My friend, Suze, asks me the moment I sit down on the bench in the locker room to take off my sneakers.

"No," I say, shoving my shoes back into my locker and taking my dress out of my bag. It's short and flower-covered, and I love it. I pull my shorts off, so I'm standing there in my white boy-short undies and blue P.E. shirt.

Suze, throwing her shirt off, gives me a look. "I thought we agreed you'd do it today."

"I know, but—"

"No buts."

I take my shirt off, and slip my dress over my head. I walk over to the mirror in the corner and pull my messy, wavy, brown hair out of its ponytail, wishing it were longer. "But I don't even know if Seth likes me like . . .well, the way I like him."

Suze sighs. "Of course he does! And even if he didn't—which he does—it's not fair to Ben. You don't like him anymore, and you have to tell him that."

The rest of the girls start spilling out of the locker room, and I glance at the clock on the wall. One minute until class gets out. I slip on my sandals, and pick up my backpack.

"I know I have to tell him that," I tell her, but she just shakes her head, and grabs her stuff.

"No, El, you don't." We start heading out of the locker room. "If you did, you would have done it already." She pauses just before we reach the door, and turns on me. "Something else is bothering you about this, and it's not that you think Seth doesn't like you. So what is it?"

I look away. "I don't want to lose him," I say finally, quietly. "He's really the best thing in my life, Suze. Remember how I was in freshman year, when he disappeared for all of those months?"

Suze nods, stiffly. "You were miserable," she says. The bell rings, but neither of us moves.

"Worse than miserable," I respond, scuffing the side of my sandal with my other foot. "I was so depressed." I look back up at her. "And I don't think he knows that. I really, really, don't think I could take him leaving me again."

Suze looks uncomfortable. "El, he had—"

"I know he must have had a reason, Suze. But he never told me what that reason was. He didn't talk to me for almost that entire school year. It was the worst year of my life."

Suze looks sad. "He's not going to leave you," she says. "I promise."

I wish I could believe her.

Seth's POV

When the bell rings, and I see that Suze and Elsie still aren't back from the locker room, I meet eyes with Collin, who's across the gym, talking to some other guys. He shrugs, but says something to the guys he's talking to, and then jogs towards me.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" I ask him, tilting my head in the direction of the girls' locker room.

Collin rolls his eyes. "How am I supposed to know?" he says. We watch as everyone else slowly files out of the gym. Collin shuffles his feet. "Should we—"

"No. They're probably just talking. We'll wait a few—"

"But what if—"

The door opens then, and Collin immediately cuts off. Suze walks out first, and meets my eyes. I try and convey my question in my eyes. She shakes her head sadly, before turning to Collin and running into his arms. He kisses her softly, and then pulls her towards the gym doors.

"What was that about?" he says, and the doors shut behind them and I can't hear her response.

Elsie lingers in front of the locker room door, looking dejected, but I walk towards her, and take her hand. I squeeze it tightly before dropping it, and say, "Well, what do you say?"

El's lips quirk up in the corners. "Please get me out of here."

I laugh. "Your wish is my command," I say, and Elsie starts heading for the door, which leads out to the back parking lot, where my old Jeep Wrangler is waiting.

When I bought it, it looked like crap and wasn't even running, but, after a few months of me, Jake, Quil, and Embry working on it, it was like a completely new car. We also fixed up all of the dings and got the paint refinished, so now it's black and glossy. Of course, we installed a new radio, too, but, otherwise, it's a pretty nice car. The seats are black leather, and everything works great. Elsie sometimes jokes about her only hanging out with me because I have such a cool car (which I always respond to by saying that she doesn't even have her license, so she didn't really have much choice but to have me drive her around—even though I have to say I love driving her around—to which she responds by hugging me and telling me—jokingly, of course—how much she loves me—if only—and how I'm so awesome).

We hop into the car, and Elsie immediately reaches for the radio. I shake my head good-naturedly, and I can see Elsie smile in the corner of my eye, which just about makes my day.

"Where to?" I ask, backing out of the parking space.

Elsie looks out the window a moment. "Where are Suze and Collin heading?" she asks, her eyes following Collin's old pick-up out of the lot.

I furrow my brows. When did Jake say everyone was coming over? Was it four, or five? "At Sam's, maybe?" I phrase it like a question, and Elsie can tell that I don't know a hundred percent. She pulls out her cell.

"Hold on," she says. "I'll call Suze."

I pull back into the space so the car behind me can get through.

"Hey, Suze?" she says, uncertainly. I can hear Suze and Collin arguing through the phone, and I don't think it's because of my super werewolf hearing.

Yeah, Els? Hold on one sec. She says something to who I assume is Collin still and then returns. Sorry about that. What's up? Did something happen with Ben? Or, er, Seth?

I pretend to not hear that, because Elsie clearly doesn't think I would be able to.

Elsie turns red, and throws me a nervous glance. "No! No, everything's fine. It's just Seth and I were wondering where you were heading."

Oh, we're going to Sam's. The guys are all doing something tonight, and that doesn't start until around five, but Collin and I are just gonna head over early. He'll probably hang out with Sam, but I'll just help Emily make dinner. You guys can totally come and—hold on. I hear the muffled sound of Collin's voice. Yeah, Collin says he's sure Sam and Em wouldn't mind. Just head over whenever you want.

"Okay, Suze. Thanks! I'll see you in a little." Elsie hangs up the phone. "They're going to Sam's. They said we could come," she says, not looking at me.

I watch her, until she turns her head to look me in the eye. "What's wrong?" I ask her.

Elsie sighs. "Were you going to ditch Sam's to hang out with me? You really didn't need to do that, Seth. I told you that. I always feel like I'm ruining your plans."

My eyes widen at the mere thought. I start pulling out of the space again, and out of the lot. "Els, I have no idea what you're talking about. I love having you around, and the guys do, too."

Elsie looks away again. "That's not what I mean." She doesn't add anything else, so I decide not to push it. The rest of our drive to Sam's is quiet, but not uncomfortable. My head is pounding, though. Being next to her—so close—and not being able to touch her, hold her, causes a sort of indescribable pain.

You can't do this for much longer, I tell myself. You need to tell her. Soon. My hands clench on the steering wheel, and my hands shake. We pull up at Sam's, and Elsie opens her door, but doesn't get out, waiting for me. Collin's car isn't here yet, so they must have stopped somewhere first, maybe at his place or Suze's.

"I'll be there in a second," I say through my teeth, glaring through the windshield. "Go inside." Elsie hesitates for a moment, but, seeing that I'm not moving, gets out and walks quickly up to the front porch. She looks at me one more time before going inside. The minute the door closes, I punch the steering wheel and groan. "What are you doing, Seth?" I ask myself, I put my hands in my hair. Pain burns behind my eyes. "What are you doing?" I lay my head back against the seating rest, and rub my eyes. You're messing things up, I tell myself. You're a dead man.

I groan through my teeth. What am I doing? Someone taps on my window, and my eyes fly open. It's Suze and Collin. I slowly open the door, and Suze steps out of the way. She studies my crazed expression, tangled hair, and red tinged eyes.

"I take it things aren't going well," Suze says.

I give her a look, and laugh without humor. "You could say that."

Suze sighs. "I tried to talk to her again today. She won't listen." I draw in a deep breath through my teeth. Suze looks uncomfortable. "She's still hurting from the first time."

"What first—?" I cut off. "No. She can't be. I didn't mean to do what I did. I . . ."

"I know, Seth," Suze says. "But she doesn't. And she's scared. She's afraid you'll do it to her again."

"Never. I couldn't. That's not—"

"Seth," Collin cuts in. "Elsie doesn't know that. And the only way she's going to is if you tell her."

"But what if I mess everything up? What if she doesn't even want to talk to me anymore?"

Suze rolls her eyes. "That's the worst excuse ever. Has that happened yet?"

I hesitate. "No, but—"

"Did Kim run when Jared told her?" Suze cuts in.

"No—"

"Did Rachel run when Paul told her?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Did I run when Collin told me?"

"No, but—"

"No buts!" she argues, and I get the feeling that her conversation with Elsie was similar to the one we are having right now. "The answer is 'no'. Just plain and simple 'no'. Seth, you're her best friend. She wouldn't give that up for anything." She must see that I'm about to say something back, because she adds, "Not even for Ben. Not even for me. And that last one is saying a lot."

I look away, and rub my neck. My brow furrows. "Do you really think so?"

"We know so." Collin wraps his arm around Suze's waist. "Now, I don't know about you . . ." He shoves my shoulder lightly. "C'mon." I get out of the car, and follow Suze and Collin up the stairs, to where the love of my life is waiting.

Elsie's POV

When we pulled up at Sam and Emily's, I can't help but notice the way that Seth's jaw is clenched tight and his hands are shaking. It happens sometimes, when he's upset or angry, but didn't start until after those few months when he didn't go to school—when his dad, Harry, died. I start to get out of the car, but when Seth doesn't do the same, I stop.

"I'll be there in a second," he says, not looking at me. "Go inside."

I jumped out of the car—and winced.

Ouch. That pain in my stomach again, the one that's been keeping me up at night. Sort of a gnawing, like something's eating its way through my back. I push the pain away, and run up the porch stairs. I glance back at Seth one more time—he's still sitting there—but feel like I'm going to collapse, so I quickly open the door, which is—as usual—unlocked.

It helped a little if I bent over, so I did exactly that the second I shut the door. Grimly, doubled over, I make my way past the kitchen, where I can hear Emily bustling around, and down the hall to the bathroom. At first, I think I'm going to throw up, but then the pain disappears, as quickly as it'd come. I straightened and regarded my reflection happily. Then I leaned forward, seeing my own dark blue eyes narrow in suspicion. There, right there, on my nose, were seven freckles. I sigh, and leave the bathroom, heading for the kitchen.

Emily, who's standing at the stove, grins at me—on the right side of her face, at least. Everyone had heard about the freak bear attack three years ago. It was so awful, especially because she was—and, truly, still is—so pretty.

"Elsie!" she exclaims cheerfully.

"Hey, Em," I say back, smiling, too. "Where're Bonnie and Sam?" I ask. Last year, Emily and Sam had their first kid—an adorable little girl with curly black hair and gorgeous brown eyes.

Emily rolls her eyes. "Out back with Sam and Embry."

I walk up next to her. "Want some help with dinner?"

Emily picks up the pot of pasta and turns off the stove before dumping it out in the strainer. She glances up at me, smiling again. "I'd love some. I think Suze is coming too, which is great, because we all know how much the boys eat."

I laugh lightly. "Seth clears out the entire refrigerator whenever he comes over."

The front door opens, and Suze walks in, arm-in-arm with Collin, Seth trailing behind. Suze grins at me and kisses Collin on the cheek before pulling away to give me a hug. "Hey!" I say, trying to pretend not to notice how awful Seth looks. His eyes are rimmed in red, his face pale, and his hair sticking up in messy tufts.

Collin clears his throat. "Seth and I are going to go out back."

Emily sighs. "The farther the two of you are away from the food, the better."

Collin just shakes his head and smiles, but Seth doesn't have any reaction in the slightest, other than rubbing his eyes and following Collin out the back door. Emily turns on us the moment the door closes.

"What is going on with Seth?" she exclaims. "I haven't seen him look like that since—well, in a while."

Suze looks away, but I shrug my shoulders. I honestly have no idea. Emily and I both look at Suze. Understanding dawns on Emily's face, and she immediately turns to the refrigerator, taking out butter for the pasta.

She says, back to us, "Elsie, go ask Sam what he thinks the boys will want tonight, if you don't mind, so we can get started, and see if Bonnie is ready for dinner. Suze, do you think you could go and check on the garlic bread that's in the oven?"

Trying not to be offended, I walk over to the back door, and pull it open. I start walking down the back steps, so I can head over to where Bonnie and the boys are, way out by the trees, but suddenly the pain strikes again, and my breath catches in my throat. It was bad—worse than ever before—a deep, twisting burst of agony that made me double over almost immediately. I scramble for the railing on the stairs, but before my fingers can reach it, everything goes gray.

What do you think? I was having a lot of trouble with names-I kept on changing Seth's imprint's before I came up with Elsie, which I'm still not a hundred percent sure about. If i change it, i want to change it early on-like now-so if you have a suggestion and really hate the name "Elsie", just let me know! Also, about Suze, i just realized that Seth's mom's name is "Sue" but . . . oh well!

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT!

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