"Rapture Found From Disaster"

By: Artie's Girl

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, except Haylie.

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Thanks to Jessyysaurrxx, for reviewing! I appreciate it!

Chapter 2: Fiery Beginnings

HPOV:

Everyone dies. It's the natural order of things. But the dead never think of how it's going to affect the ones they leave behind. It's not like my dad could help it. He couldn't. But that didn't mean that I was still suffering… that mom was still suffering. But how do you get through something like that? Friends. Friends get you through the tough times in your life. Seth was mine.

I sat on the cliffs of La Push. Hearing the waves crash down was the most peaceful sound to me. There wasn't much now a days that helped me become peaceful. A tear ran down my olive skinned cheek. I swiped it away. Dad wouldn't want me to cry. He would want me to celebrate the life he lived, not mourn the life he never got to live. I sighed and looked out over the cliffs. I wondered what it would be like to jump. I had heard that some kids did that. Cliff diving. They did it for fun. And it seemed like it was a way to escape. I brought my dark brown hair, almost black, in a sheet around my face. It was something I had been doing a lot lately. Ever since dad had passed away, and mom had moved us back to La Push.

I knew exactly why my mother had moved us back here. She was ashamed of what I had done, and no one here in this small little reservation knew about what I had tried on myself. We had lived in California, it was nice and sunny, I had had friends and a life there, but they hadn't been able to reach me. And at this point, I didn't think anyone could. Since we had just moved here, I didn't know anyone from La Push. Mom had her old friends here, but I had never been here before. I didn't really want to know anyone, but I knew I would have to make some friends, for my mother's sake. I stood up, and moved a tiny bit closer to the edge of the cliff. I stood there, and closed my eyes. I imagined myself jumping off the cliffs, flying through the air, and the wind rushing up to greet me. It was a nice fantasy until someone came up from behind me.

"Be careful." The voice said pleasantly.

I was scared so I jumped, and lost my balance. But before I could go over the edge, a pair of strong, warm, inviting hands enveloped me in a somewhat hug. His chest was huge, and warm, he was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt. I pulled back and looked into his face. He had dark hair and was skinny. But it wasn't frail skinny, he had lean muscle. He smiled down at me. Did I forget to mention he was tall? Much taller than me.

"You must be new. I'm Seth. Seth Clearwater." He chirped.

"Umm… Yeah I am new. I'm Haylie. Haylie Gomez." I replied.

"You don't look Mexican." He stated.

I laughed. I looked very surprised, this was the first time I had laughed since… dad.

"I didn't mean to offend you." He said right away.

"You didn't offend me. I'm part Mexican on my dad's side, and part Native American on my mom's side. But I looked in between." I replied.

"Ahh, I get it. Me I'm 100% Native American." He said, I laughed again.

"Why did you come out to talk to me?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"It looked like you needed a friend." He said, laughing a little at my expression.

He smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. This was turning out to be one hell of a day. First laughing, twice, and now I'm smiling. Something was bound to bring me back down again. I felt guilty for feeling this happy feeling, like I shouldn't be feeling it. I looked at the watch on my wrist, careful not to bring my sleeve up too much.

"I'm sorry. I have to go Seth. I'll catch you around." I said.

"Ok, Haylie. I'll probably see you at school." He said, looking a little dejected.

xXx

I walked away and went back home. The night passed on slowly. Dinner went by very quiet. I know I should have told my mother about Seth, but I wanted to keep him a secret. In case we didn't become friends at all. After dinner, I excused myself and went to my room. I changed into my pajamas, and looked at the jagged scars along my wrist. It reminded me of my failed attempt to join my father.

The next day came. It came too quickly. I had to get up early and get ready for school. I was nervous. Not as nervous as I had been in California after my accident. I quickly got out of my bed and headed towards the shower. Mom and I had moved into a small house with two bedrooms. The house was enough to get us by, not that I really wanted to be here. The water felt nice on my skin. I grabbed my strawberry shampoo, and began rubbing my scalp. I was soon out of the shower, and picking out an outfit for the day. Opening my closet, I picked out a black tank top, a black sweatshirt, and a pair of dark jeans. Then it was time to do my hair. I hadn't really tried to do anything with my hair in a while. I used to dress cute, with lots of colors and flair, but recently I had been dressing in darker clothes. They reflected my mood a little better. I brushed my hair and let it fall in front of my dark eyes.

Then I made my way downstairs where mom was seating at a table. She smiled at me as I came in. I didn't return the smile. It wasn't like I blamed her or anything; it's just that it was too hard being nice. I grabbed a pop tart from the counter and grabbed my backpack with supplies I would need for my first day. Then I said goodbye, and left. The walk to school wasn't that bad. It was nice, seeing the birds and other animals. Finally I got there, and when I did, I could feel all eyes on me, as I made my way to my locker. I quickly shut the locker, and looked around the school. It was small; I had the feeling that everyone knew everyone around here, and I would stick out like a sore thumb.

I walked into the cafeteria and that's when I saw them, the group of boys. One I recognized. They were all really tall, and had dark hair, and wore clothes that I thought were too cold for winter. They were talking and joking around, and I wondered who they were. I didn't wait long to find out, because I wanted to find my English class, and get a good seat, maybe somewhere in the back. I found a seat that was somewhere in the middle. The bell finally rang and in came the students. Guess who sat next to me? You guessed it, none other then Seth Clearwater himself. We didn't have a whole lot of time to talk during English, and I didn't have him in any of my other periods either. But he found me at my locker after school, and said that he and his friends were having a bonfire at the beach and that I needed to come. I said I would think about it, and he just smiled. After that Seth left, I was surprised he didn't try to talk to me some more.

I went home, mom was at work, and I started on my homework. It didn't take me long. Trigonometry wasn't that hard and English reading Romeo and Juliet wasn't difficult either. So I finished everything I had to do, and got done just in time for my mother to come home. She smiled when she came in, and I smiled back at her. Mom came and set her things down next to mine on the kitchen table and went over to the fridge.

"I thought you and I could spend some time together tonight. If you'd like." She said, hesitantly.

"Umm…" I said.

I didn't really want to hang out with my mother, but I didn't know what else to do. Then I remembered, Seth and his invitation.

"I got invited to a bonfire tonight from my friend Seth. Would you mind if I go?" I asked.

"Seth? How come I've never heard of him before?" She asked.

"I just met him yesterday, and he's in my English class. So can I go?" I asked again.

"If you'd like, just don't be out too late." She said.

xXx

So I finally finished getting ready not too much of a difference, except that I pulled my hair back out of my face with a black head band. I threw on some sneakers, and said goodbye to my mother. Then I headed down to the beach. I had forgotten my sweatshirt, and was just in a navy blue tee-shirt. But I didn't want to go back; I was already half-way there. When I finally did get there, I saw Seth standing with the boys I had seen earlier. But they weren't the only ones here. There were girls around here too. The girls didn't equal the guys though. I moved closer to everyone, and the fire that they had started. Seth looked over at me, as did the others, as I approached.

"Hey Haylie!" Seth exclaimed it seemed like he was bouncing up and down, now that I was here.

"Hey Seth." I said, I couldn't help but smile. I had to admit I did feel a little giddy.

Seth introduced me to Sam, Jared, Paul, Quil, Embry, and Jacob, as the boys. Though I'm not sure I remember all the guys' names. And then he introduced me to the girls. Their names were Emily, Leah, Rachel, and Kim. They were all nice enough. I felt kind of awkward around them, mainly because I didn't know them at all. I barely knew Seth. I sat around at the fire, and Seth came and sat next to me.

"I like your hair like that; it showcases your face, and your eyes." He said.

A slight blush rose on my cheeks, and Seth laughed. I smiled.

"Thank you. I'm glad I came here." I replied.

"Me too. So what's up?" He asked.

"Not a whole lot. I got out of hanging with my mother, due to the bon fire. How did you get this started anyways?" I asked, feeling the cold night air on me.

"Sam and Paul are really good at using resources to start fires and survive and such. But enough about them, how about you?" He asked.

"What about me?" I replied.

"Well where are you from originally?" He asked.

"California. Dad was born there, mom was born here. Mom moved for college where they met, had me." I replied.

"That's cool. I've never been to California before. What's it like?" He asked.

"Sunny. Warm, and busy. Much different from here." I replied.

We sat there in silence for a while. I stared into the flames, as they licked the wood. I watched as the boys and girls paired off, leaving only three boys talking to each other. I shivered, cursing myself for not bringing a sweatshirt or jacket. I was hoping Seth didn't see, but he did. Because the next minute, he stood up, and two arms came from behind me, holding me close to him. Seth was extremely warm, but he had barely anything on.

"There, that better?" He asked.

"Mhmm hmm." I said, not trusting myself to say anything else.

We sat there for a while, it was nice. This felt different. I mean sure I had had a few boyfriends, but it was something just fit together. We sat there in silence for a while, and then I checked my watch. I shook out of Seth's embrace, and turned to look at him.

"I got to go Seth. I have a curfew." I said.

I think he could tell I was pulling away from him, because he looked sad. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and averted his eyes from me.

"Ok. Can I walk you home?" He asked.

"No I live just down the way, I'll be fine." I replied, moving away from the fire, in order to begin walking home.

Before I could move anywhere, I backed into a mass of warmth, and I looked up to see Sam.

"Let Seth walk you home, Haylie." He said in a tone of authority.

"Please, don't worry about me--" I started, but Sam shook his head.

"I insist. Its cold and I don't want anything bad happening to you. We would never forgive ourselves." He said.

I noticed the "we", in that sentence. I could see I wasn't going to get out of this, in any way. I shrugged.

"I guess." I replied.

"Thank you." Sam said.

I waved to everyone, and they waved back. I turned back to Seth, whose mood, had clearly improved seeing how Sam had stepped in. I smiled back, I couldn't help myself.

"Ready?" I asked.

"You bet!" He replied.

We walked to my house, and I shivered again, I missed Seth's arms wrapped around me. He could tell that, because as soon as I shivered, the arms wrapped around me again.

"You don't have to do this you know?" I asked.

"I want to. You're a really nice girl." He replied.

I stopped, and turned to face him. I couldn't see his face, not right now at least. I sighed.

"Seth… I'm not looking for a relationship… right now. I hope you know that." I replied.

"I know. I can wait." He said.

We got to my house, and Seth unwrapped his arms around me.

"I will wait for you Haylie." He said.

And with that I went inside my house for the night.

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So I am not sure I like this chapter. It is way longer than any other of my chapters, so let me know what you think. Please and thank you!

-Meg