"You look nice." She said as I got in.
"Thanks." I murmured.
"It's not going to be horrible Wren." She patted my knee.
"I know." I relaxed a little. At least I didn't have to do this alone. It wasn't a long drive to the Clearwater house, then again, nothing was a long drive here. The door was open, and a familiar face popped out. Sue. She hugged mom, and then hugged me.
"The kids are in there." She told me. Mom and her had some catching up to do. Their house was about as big as ours. Although there was no boxes. It took me a second to recognize the two people in the living room. They didn't look like I thought they would. Leah had short hair now, and seemed colder than she was before. And there sitting in the recliner was - I think- Seth. He didn't look seventeen like we were. We were about the same age; or we were supposed to. He looked at least twenty, and tall. The recliner looked like it was one of those kids chairs. He had cropped black hair, and his skin was very tan. I looked at his arms, and legs that were revealed by his cut off shorts that went to his knees. He was very muscular, even for a lean body like his. I sat down next to Leah, I knew she seemed colder but she was radiating heat. She turned her head.
"Wren." She nodded. Definitely colder. She was tall too. She had always been average sized but now she seemed six feet.
"Hey Leah." My voice was quieter than I had hoped it would be. I turned my head towards Seth. He was staring like an idiot with his mouth open.
"You'll catch flies with your mouth open like that." I said, annoyed with him already. He was definitely the same Seth I had always known. He snapped his jaw shut and I heard Leah snort a laugh.
"H-hiya Wren." His voice was still babyish.
"Hiya back." I looked away, and was shocked to find that it was harder than it should have been to look away. We all sat quietly for a while, watching the TV.
"Dinner's ready." Sue said. I hadn't heard her come in. Seth bolted from the recliner and Leah did too. They hit their heads, I suppressed a giggle and stood up.
"Learn to walk Seth." Leah snapped.
"Jeez Leah." Seth let her go ahead. He turned around and looked at me. "You coming?" he asked, and gave a smile that made my heart jump. I felt my self blushing, and just nodded my head. I watched his big feet walking, and noticed that he had no shoes on and a string tied around his ankle. Just like those guys at the beach. I was staring so hard at his feet that I hadn't noticed he stopped and walked right into him.
"Ouch." I said, rubbing my nose. He was hot too, like his sister. I could feel him through his white shirt.
"Are you okay?" He asked turning around quickly.
"Your break lights are out." I said under my breath while nodding. He laughed, could he hear me?
We sat around a table, that was packed with food. I looked on the counter and there was even more if it was possible. I wanted to ask if they were expecting more people. Before I had even realized it, Seth and Leah had already made their plate. Or shall I say plates. I understood then what all the food was for. They each ate as if they had been starved to death.
"So how have you been Lily?" Seth asked with a mouth full of food.
"Don't talk with your mouth open pig." Leah said, rolling her eyes. He swallowed his food then asked again.
"I've been great." Liar. "You've really grown up." Mom said smiling.
"Seth's almost twenty-one." Sue announced. Something didn't click with me.
"I thought Seth and I were the same age." I said confusedly.
"I didn't grow for a while is all." Seth answered quickly.
"Oh." I still didn't understand, I was certain we were the same age.
We small talked after a while. I joked around about how much they were eating, trying to ease the tense feeling that had filled the room when I talked about Seth's age. I was full from my plate, and enjoyed watching my mom be happy. I hadn't seen her laugh like this in a long time. Leah got up and told Sue, "I'm going to go to work." She turned to Seth and gave him a strong look.
"Let me know if you need me." He said, sounding older than he had the whole time I had been around him today.
"It was really nice seeing you guys again." Leah said, sounding like the old Leah I had known before. As she walked out I noticed Leah had a piece of string tied around her ankle too. Like Seth; like the guys from the beach.
It was quiet for a few seconds before Sue said, "Oh, I've got some old pictures I found." She smiled brightly and got up to go to the bedroom; mom followed.
"And then there were two." Seth sighed.
"Yep." I played with my hair tie.
"Still scared of fish?" Seth asked. A rush of anger filled me.
"Yes. I meant to thank you for that." I looked at him with narrowed eyes.
He let out a booming laugh. That only annoyed me even more.
"What's so funny?" I snapped at him.
"Nothing. Its just you're so cute when you're mad." He said between taking deep breaths. His large hand was clutching his stomach. I felt my heart flutter, and my face turn red. I stuck my tongue out at him. That only made him laugh again. I got up, and walked outside; I seriously needed to cool down. I felt the cool breeze hit my face when I opened the door. I welcomed the soft raindrops hitting my face. I closed my eyes, and a face that I had only known to hate filled my thoughts. What was this person doing to me?
"I didn't mean to make you leave." A husky voice said behind me. I jumped a few inches in the air. I hadn't heard him come up from behind me. I didn't think a guy that loud could be stealthy. I shrugged, and closed my eyes again, leaning against the rail of the porch. I felt my body shiver, I was starting to get cold but I didn't want to go back inside. A warm arm wrapped around my waist, a hot body was suddenly behind me. My eyes widened with shock. "Is that better?" He asked in my ear, his breath hot against my face.
I wanted to say no. I wanted to turn around and punch him for being too close, I would've too any day. I've done it a few times in the past when guys got a little too friendly. But I found myself leaning into his body, nodding. I was in the perfect temperature. I had the right amount of cold from the rain and the right amount of heat from Seth. Wait, Seth? No. This wasn't happening. Seth was the last person I'd ever be with. Then why was my heart fluttering like it was? He started to turn me, not forcing me or pushing me; but guiding me to turn. He placed a hand on my face, and leaned down. He kissed me softly, and I was surprised that I was kissing back. It was like I wasn't in control of my body, but I liked that he was kissing me for some reason. Seth smiled against my lips then kissed my nose. I had to remind my self to breath, the air seemed to cause me some awareness. I was suddenly aware with the fact that I was just kissing a boy that I had previously sworn to hate, a boy I didn't know very well, a boy that changed his age. I opened my eyes to see him staring intently at my face. I kept taking deep breaths, hoping not to lose my control.
"Uh. What just happened?" I asked, my voice was barely over a whisper.
Seth laughed softly. "I'm not exactly sure." He smiled at me.
My fast fell into a pout. That wasn't the answer I was gunning for.
"What's wrong?" Seth asked, placing both of his hands on my face.
"Nothing." I shook my head a little. "Its not nothing. See, I'm not that girl."
"What girl?"
"The girl that makes out with strangers." I looked down, unable to look into his eyes.
"Wren, we aren't strangers." He said, pulling my chin up so I would look at him.
"Aren't we? I mean, you definitely aren't that boy that used to chase me around with a fish anymore. Especially since you're suddenly three years older than me." He winced at that last part. "And I'm not the girl that got gum in her hair." I whispered. I definitely wasn't that girl anymore.
"Wren." He said my name as if it was holy. I shuddered a little, and closed my eyes. "Wren look at me." He sounded like he was pleading. I opened my eyes; his face looked like I was hurting him. "Wren, there's forever to get to know someone." He said; I believed him. Although I had always been against that saying since I was young.
"And what if you don't like what you get to know?" I was still whispering.
He gave a small smiled then said, "I don't think that's possible." I felt a tear escape from my eye. I never cried in front of anyone. Not since I was little. "Don't cry love." He wiped the tears from my eyes. I wrapped my arms around him, and tucked my head into his chest. He was a foot taller than me, which only made me feel weirder.
"You're a freaking giant." I said. He laughed at my statement.
"Are you getting cold?" He asked me.
"No, I don't think I'd be cold in a blizzard if you were with me." I reached up to his head -- I had to stretch to reach his head. "Seth! You're burning up. Are you sick?" I stepped back to look at him. He didn't look sick, only amused.
"Not sick. I'm just really warm." he grabbed my wrist and pulled me close to him. "Unlike you, so stay close. I don't want you to get too cold." He said into my hair.
"Cause we wouldn't want that." I put my arms around his waist again.
"Definitely not." He pulled my chin up to kiss me. It wasn't as soft as before, but he felt like he was holding back. I shivered, not because I was cold.
"Wren? Are you ready to go?" My mother called from inside the house. Seth moaned annoyed.
"One sec mom." I called back.
"Come by tomorrow." He whispered to me.
"Alright." I kissed him a few more times before composing myself and walking back in.
"Ready?" My mom asked, with a few pictures in her hand.
"Sure." I said, wishing I didn't have to go.