Here's chapter 2! I hope it's not too boring.

Twilight isn't mine!


When the Sun Shines Again

They leave the small town in Louisiana where they've been staying, in two days instead of one, because they had to pack.

Travelling with her isn't his favorite thing. People look at them and stare. Women at him and men at Bella. He wants to gouge out the eyes of every man he sees that looks at her like she's food in the Baton Rouge airport. He's always been protective of her, but now he's a little possessive too.

He's grown up nicely, but so has she. Now her girly body looks like that of a woman's and her pretty girl face has become more of a rare beauty all within the last four years. He can't really blame men from looking, because he looks too. She doesn't know she's really beautiful. That men see her as rare fruit fresh for picking.

If she were his, he'd make sure she knew. And maybe he'd gauge those men's eyes out. But she doesn't belong to anyone. And if she did he'd probably be the last on the list of potentials.

XXXX

On the flight she sleeps near the window with her head on his shoulder. Her hair is down and tickling his forearm. She's soft pressed up against him. And he soaks up all the contact between them he gets.

He's aware that she touches him less and less the closer they get to home. And he's aware that it'll most likely stop once they get to where they are going.

This shift in his relationship with her baffles him. He doesn't know exactly what spurred it, or how it developed. He knows that one day she seemed happier than he had ever seen before. And a big part of him had hoped that it was because of him. He'd even entertained the idea that she might feel for him how he does her.

But then she seemed more distracted. And then she asked about him imprinting someday.

Now they're on their way back home.

XXXX

The battle with the baby vamps had been going great. But Victoria showed up at Bella's campsite. Bella's scent had been masked, but Edward's hadn't been. Victoria had followed it to find Bella alone with him and a tent, and no Edward.

Her fiery red hair looked angry against the cold air and ivory snow.

He had been ready for a fight. His tan paws had danced in the white snow in anticipation.

Battle as a wolf had been decorated as glorious in the tribal legends. This was what the wolf fantasized about. But his exhilaration was short lived. She had another vampire with her.

It was Jacob who had ordered him to run, to get her out of there. Out of the state until it was safe. He had become Alpha within a split second.

Seth obeyed. He had to.

They were prepared for this.

So he ran with Bella.

When they reached the car hidden on the outskirts of Forks, Seth drove like mad to distance them from danger.

They'd learn later that Jacob had gotten to Victoria the minute they'd drove off, allowing them the time to escape.

They'd learn later the blonde vamp had gotten a hold of Jacob and Victoria got away. Edward had come to Jacob's rescue, but not before the vamp had nearly crushed Jacob to death.

They'd learn later that Jacob would heal fine. And he had become Alpha.

XXXX

They'd travelled south, wanting places where the sun shown the best and the brightest.

Seth slept as wolf in their motel rooms. And Bella stuck to his side like she'd known nothing else her entire life. For a while they were very vigilant of their surroundings. Almost to the point of paranoia.

They'd gotten a scare once driving through Eden, Idaho. They'd pulled over to sleep. In hindsight it wasn't the smartest thing to have done. But they hadn't had anything to worry about since Forks and exhaustion from running superseded commonsense.

Seth saw her before he smelled her.

"Stay in the car."

He jumped out of the car before Bella could realized what was going on.

The smell that hit him turned his stomach. To his super sensitive senses she smelled of rotting corpse and something terrible enough to burn his eyes.

His body vibrated the air like a jackhammer. He was distorting and couldn't keep track of himself as he tried to keep from phasing. It felt like he was misplacing himself and gaining it all back in split seconds.

She was a brown haired female. Her eyes were black and wild. She was hungry.

"Leave," his voice was commanding.

The growl that rolled forth from his chest was low and darker than the night that they stood in. It was a warning.

Fear shot across her face when she realized he wasn't as human as he'd appeared. Her kind wasn't the only monsters in the world.

"What are you?"

"I'm danger. And I will kill you if you don't leave now."

She was probably a young one. Not as young as the ones the pack fought. But young enough to be naïve of supernatural world she had been immersed in.

Seth hadn't seen a vampire moved that fast. One minute she was there and the next only her stink lingered.

After she was long gone Seth stood there still vibrating. He was trying to calm himself down.

When Bella placed her hand on his shoulder minutes later, Seth had come to understanding with himself.

He had to protect Bella better. He was only fifteen, but he had a job. That had been a close call. Nothing major happened, but any call was just too close.

XXXX

He'd kept her safe for about two years when Jacob had finally told them it was okay to go home. Edward was after Victoria.

They were sitting side by side in a diner in Utah when she told him that she wasn't ready yet. Seth initially had been surprised. Maybe even a little stupefied.

That past year they both seemed to could not wait to get home.

Though they kept contact with their parents, she missed Charlie and he missed Sue.

"You're not ready to go home," he asked, still in shock.

She shrugged her shoulders, while sipping her coke through her straw.

"No. I don't think I am," she looked to her left to see Seth's shocked face. She rolled her eyes in exasperation at him, "I'm not saying that I won't every go back. I just don't think I am ready now."

"What're you gonna do then?" He didn't ask her why.

"I'm gonna go south," she said, "Maybe travel to see Renee."

Seth shot up from the booth so fast their glasses and plates clinked and clanged.

"What're you doing? Is something…" Her warm voice was filled with anxiety.

"I'm callin' home Bella," he looked down at his only friend as her dark eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes were full of innocence and excitement. He liked the strange brown of her eyes. He only knew of one other person having those exact same eyes. And it was because of him that Seth was doing what he was doing now.

"Why?"

"To tell them we aren't coming yet."

"We? Seth…Seth what are you talking about? We?"

"What Bella, thought I'd let you go off and have all the fun by yourself."

She looked up at him incredulously. Then that looked turned into a glare.

"Listen Seth, I don't need a babysitter, okay? I'm an adult," she crossed her arms, "Besides you have school and La Push to get back to," her smirk almost seemed triumphant.

He had gotten his GED months before they had left. He had hated school. And the Cullens weren't in Forks. The reservation had more wolves than they needed now.

When he told her she just huffed. She crossed her arms tighter around her body and poked her lip out childishly.

Adult his ass.

When they were back on the road she blasted the radio load enough to give him a mild headache. And she didn't speak to him for a whole hour.

XXXX

They traveled for a while, visiting the sites of the southern states.

Seth found himself really liking Bella. She was obviously smart and mature and pretty. But that wasn't all she was. He liked that she was just fucking goofy too. She laughed at stupid shit like people tripping over cracks in the sidewalks. She'd even laugh when it was her who was being tripped up.

Of course he'd never let her fall.

She had a pottie mouth too. But only when she was super excited about something.

He found out she was a fan of the old cartoon movies. She'd bought the DVD's of The Jungle Book and The Aristocats, right off the shelves of a Wal-mart in Texas, all for $60 so she could have digital copies for her iPod. She added more movies as they traveled. She'd make him watch them with her. And then he found that she knew all the words to all the songs in the movies. She'd sang "I Wanna Be Like You" at the top of her lungs while she danced around.

She didn't sing that well. And she had no rhythm whatsoever, but he'd watch her more than he would watch the television.

In those moments he'd find the Bella was crazier than he expected. But he enjoyed watching her just be, without a care. It had begun to happen a lot. He stop being surprised when she would just bust out laughing for no apparent reason other than thoughts in her head. Or when she'd just burst into song mid-shopping.

But one time she completely surprised him.

They were in a music shop when he found out she could play guitar. She had set in the back of the shop, surrounded by amps. People were everywhere. Music was everywhere. But there she was, an acoustic in her hand. The calm in all the chaos. Her hair was trimmed towns ago, but it had grown back to reach just pass her elbows. It hung around her face and around the body of the guitar as her fingers picked out the notes to "Dust in the Wind".

He had watched entranced. Her fingers moved cautious, but sure. He'd guessed she hadn't played in a while. Sometimes the strings buzzed and sometimes she'd pluck the wrong note.

When she was done she'd looked up at him, eyes bright, and smiled triumphantly, biting the corner of her bottom lip. He just smiled back.

He'd seen her through Sam's mind, broken. And again through Jacob's mind, healthy and maybe content. But he'd never seen her so beautiful.

XXXX

They ended up in Louisiana because neither of them had ever been. And Bella had relatives who used to reside there. She'd told him they were all gray and dead though, their existences just whispers of ink on paper and faded photographs in Renee's attic.

They settled themselves in a small apartment. Bella took some art courses at the community college and he dabbled with English.

Money wasn't much of a problem. The Cullens had long ago made a savings account for Bella as soon as she and Edward became serious. The Cullens weren't in Forks anymore. And she and Edward weren't together, but the money was still hers. A lot of money was still hers.

They did have jobs.

They traded off shifts in a library in a parish two towns over from East Baton Rouge.

He began to love the south. He began to love life outside of Washington with Bella. There were no vampires or wolves. Just him and Bella.

Things weren't perfect. Things were just right.

XXXX

They're on their way back into Forks when they stop at a convenience store.

He glares at a punk with a pimply face and hair more white than blonde. He's sitting behind the counter openly staring at Bella's chest as she's trying to reach him the money, grab her stuff and cover her chest from his sight. He's making her uncomfortable. His name badge says Nick is happy to serve you!. Seth wants to glare a hole straight into Nicholas's spotted face.

When she's finished paying Seth stays behind. He grabs the first thing in his sight from atop the counter and pushes it roughly towards the kid. He does this all so he can glare at the little shit a bit longer. It's when the kid bristles and shrugs one of his shoulders, that Seth has some small satisfaction.

"What man, can you blame me?" the kid squeaks out. His voice sounds like he's just hit the middle of puberty.

When he's out of the store he looks at the item he's just spent $2.08 on. A pack of tangerine flavored tic tacs lies in his hand. Bella's favorite.

He looks at the girl waiting inside the car. Her head rests against the window.

She hasn't said much to him. In fact the last time they communicated she had just nodded her head.

She's so fucking stubborn sometimes. And he didn't care what anyone said, giving someone the silent treatment is someone being mean too. And just freaking cruel. Silence was loud.

His best friend wasn't talking to him anymore. And he found that that really hurt.

He thought back to what the kid had said.

"No I don't blame you kid," he whispered to himself, "I can't blame you at all."


No promises, but I hope to have the next chapter up next week. Don't hold me to that though.