ok so this is a powerful chapter...sort of =/

let me know what you think of it!! i need some reviews to know if i should continue with this or just stop

read and review

oh and one more thing...at the ending like the last paragraph ok that was an experience i had once...when i blacked out...so if you don't understand it then just ask me ;]

r&r

Chapter 5

Slipping Away

Maybe I was wrong; maybe I shouldn't have gotten myself caught up in this sort of situation. I never considered myself normal, but apparently I was so much more normal than most people in this town. This wasn't something I planned or hoped would happen. I never would've dreamed that someone I cared for, yes cared for, was not human. I thought about it for days, trying to come up with an explanation for this, but nothing clicked. I would say that he was a superhero or something, but I didn't really think that superheroes…imprinted. And that too, what was imprinting exactly? I only knew a little bit about it and now I regret not listening to the teacher in my biology class. I couldn't bring myself to look it up on the internet because I was scared to find out about it and then find out that Seth was some sort of…animal. But I guess I should just look…well check at least. But if Seth was some sort of animal in a way, then I could accept it…I guess.

In school Seth talked to me like he usually did and we would walk to school together like normal, but I didn't feel the same. I really did try to let things go back to the way they were before I knew that Seth was different, but it was starting to bug me really badly. I didn't let that show though; I acted as normal as I possibly could in front of him.

I need to figure this out…today, if not today then as soon as possible. I'll go on the internet and do whatever it takes to find out. I just need to know. Seth wouldn't say anymore about it…he just acted normally and it was driving me crazy! It was as if he was trying to make it seem like our conversation on Saturday never even happened and I was getting so frustrated. But I guess I was more frustrated with myself more than anything because I was being stupid. I liked Seth, a lot and thinking about this and how this could change everything seemed to make me feel…scared, because maybe if I found out then I wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore and I didn't want it to be that way right now. I cared about him more than anyone here…so in a way…I didn't want to figure this out…

So complicated…

__

When the final bell rang and eighth period let out I slowly went to my locker, cautious of every step I took. When I got all of my books into my backpack, I stood there for a moment. I wasn't ready to get home…really I wasn't. Maybe I shouldn't think about this anymore.

I looked over at Seth, he looked as happy as ever, talking to the other Quileutes and laughing. His beautiful smile was breathtaking and I was mesmerized by it. I stared in amazement at how swiftly he moved and how his muscles flexed as he took his books out of his locker.

"Vanessa! Guess who just asked me out?!" a voice from behind me made me jump.

I slowly turned around and put on a fake smile. Casey was one of my best friends and I usually wanted to talk to her, but right now I was hoping that she would leave me alone.

"Who?" I asked, trying to sound curious.

"Eric Hamilton!" she jumped up and down and squeaked an annoying noise. I wasn't very happy at the moment so I just half smiled at her and threw my backpack over my shoulder.

"That's great Casey," I glanced back at Seth once and caught him looking at me. He didn't walk over to me or even smile like usual, I guess he could sense that I wasn't feeling well.

"Vanessa, stop staring at him!" I shot my head around and Casey's eyes were flashing between me and Seth, "I know you like him, but don't be so weird about it."

She started laughing and I rolled my eyes. She just thinks she's better than me now because she got asked out by some guy that she doesn't know anything about. I don't understand how you could like someone just because they look good.

I glanced back one more time and saw that Seth was no longer by his locker. I looked around the hall, but he wasn't there.

"I got to go, I'll talk to you later Casey."

"Ok, bye, I'll call you," she said.

I sighed, "Yeah, sure."

I wasn't in the mood to talk to her right now. I just wanted to get rid of all of this confusion. I needed to go somewhere alone and think for a moment.

As I walked out of the school I tried to think of a place I could go to where no one would bother me. Usually I would go home with Seth, but not today. I wanted to go alone and hopefully he would understand that and respect that.

I walked down the street and stopped when I stepped onto the concrete. I looked all around me, to my left houses lined up next to each other; to my right the sidewalk led to a pathway into the woods. I turned to the right and started walking on the pathway that led through the trees. I glanced back once and then I stepped over a log that was on the ground and made my way through the trees, taking in the scent of moss as I stepped through the ferns. I could hear bugs buzzing in the air and when I passed each individual tree the sound got louder. I walked slowly and kept a steady pace. And then I stopped walking for a moment, just taking in the beautiful scene all around me. I closed my eyes and took one deep breath of the fresh, misty air. It was peaceful here and I needed this peace.

I started to hear footsteps behind me. I opened my eyes and twisted my body around to see if someone was there. I scanned the trees as best as I could, but no one was there.

Soon enough I started walking again, trying to go a little quicker just in case. I stared at the forest in front of me and walked straight making sure that I kept my ears open for the footsteps. Suddenly a disturbing noise to my left startled me even more. I started running now, no longer on the path. I didn't even know where I was going; I just kept running deeper and deeper into the forest. Then I heard a snarl in the distance and stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't go further if there was something there, but I couldn't go back either. I looked all around me to see if there was any way I could go. To the right were more trees, maybe safe, maybe not. I would have to take that risk. I started hearing the footsteps again and I quickly darted through the trees, taking the risk and hoping that I would be safe. I looked back once and started to lose my footing. I fell onto the ground and felt something scrape the skin on my left arm. I screamed at the pain and looked down and saw that my arm was starting to bleed. The cut was deep and it was painful.

"Crap," I said to myself, whaling in pain.

I had cut my arm on a piece of tree wood that was broken up. The edges were all sharp and I could see a little bit of my blood on it. I put my hand over the cut that went from my wrist and almost to my elbow and I slowly got up. My arm was pulsing and throbbing and I could see the blood starting to drip onto the forest floor. I quickly turned the other way and walked. I didn't know where I was going, I was lost, but hopefully I would make it home somehow. I looked down at my arm and saw that it was full of blood. It started to make me feel light headed, but I tried to keep my focus on where I was going.

I could hear a grumble in the distance, but I didn't stop. I needed to get home immediately so that this wouldn't get infected. I kept a quick pace and shook my head a couple of times so that I wouldn't get dizzy. The grumbling started to turn into a growl as I walked through the trees. I searched for any sign of the pathway that I took to get here, but I couldn't find it. I could feel the blood starting to soak my shirt so I started to walk even faster, almost running now.

A foul smell made me wrinkly my nose. It was getting worse as I kept walking forward; I tried not to pay attention to it. I breathed through my mouth now and I could hear the growl once again. I started to slow down realizing that whatever was making that noise was only a couple feet in front of me, through the trees that stood there. I took a big gulp and crept towards it, not sure if this meant danger. When I rounded two evergreens I saw a man crouched over something. He had golden blonde, curly hair. The growl was coming from deep inside of him. I stopped and stood there, starting to feel myself get light headed again.

My eyes stayed on this man and I tried to see what he was doing. His head cocked up and he slowly started to turn my way. My eyes widened when I saw that he was very pale and his eyes were a coal black color. He had blood on his lips, which terrified me. I looked down to see that there was a dead animal carcass on the ground, it was lifeless. The man stood up now and stared down at my arm that was bleeding. He licked his lips.

I didn't know what to do, but right now I knew that I would most likely die if this man hungered for me in some strange way. He grinned an evil grin and took one deep breath. I tried to stay calm, but as the blood from my arm kept dripping and as the man kept staring at the blood like he wanted it I got frightened. I shut my eyes tightly and thought that this couldn't be happening to me. I wasn't ready to die, not now. I was only fourteen.

"Help!" I shouted in terror.

A growl came out of the man's mouth and he bared his teeth at me.

I started to panic because I didn't know what to do at this point. I felt like I was in a nightmare, one where you're about to die, but you wake up. And right now I wish I could wake up so this would all be over with, but this was no dream. This was real.

I was ready to give up and let this happen, let this be the end of my life. People say that your whole life flashes before your eyes right before you die, but it wasn't. I stood there with my legs shaking and my arm still throbbing, ready for death and ready for what was coming. I didn't want to watch this monster kill me so I closed my eyes and kept them shut. I tried to drown out the sound of his vicious growls, but it wasn't working and I didn't want to try anymore, what was the point?

A noise in the trees startled me and the creature stopped growling. I couldn't bare to open my eyes. Whatever it was was now standing right in front of me. Maybe, it was another one of them. If it was then I hoped that they would kill me quickly so I wouldn't have to suffer.

I felt someone grab my hand and my skin suddenly felt warmer. I slowly opened my eyes.

"Seth?" I whispered.

How did he know I was here?

He was standing with his back towards me, his hand was still intertwined with mine even though it was full of blood. I could feel him shaking and the vibration of his skin startled me a little bit. I looked over at the blonde male who was now in a crouched position ready to attack. There was no way that Seth could take this thing down, he looked like stone. I didn't want Seth to do this; he couldn't risk his life just to protect me it's not worth it.

"Jasper, don't make me do this, not in front of her," Seth's voice was shaky and he sounded angry.

"Jasper?" I whispered low and looked at the man's black eyes and pale face. Seth knew who this was?

"Seth…" the blonde's voice was trembling, "I…can't…"

Seth protectively stood in front of me with his arms hovering by my hips. I could see his arms shaking more and more. I tightly squeezed his hand and saw the blonde lick his lips again when he saw the blood on my arm. It was as if he wanted it, like he was craving it. The man started growling again and took one step forward. Seth let go of my hand and stepped away, but still kept his arms hovering by my hips.

"I…" the male said between growls, "I'm sorry…Seth."

He quickly crouched down.

"No," Seth snarled.

I stepped back in fear and hoped that Seth would do the same. Maybe we could run away and he wouldn't be able to catch up to us. I kept taking slow steps back, but Seth didn't. He stood there, shaking. It was as if he was going to fight this thing. I didn't think he could. A low growl came out of Seth's mouth and I stared at him. What was he doing?

"Don't," I said. He looked at me for the first time, his lips were quivering and he had a frightening look in his eyes.

"Close your eyes," he demanded in a harsh tone.

I shook my head in denial and set my eyes back on the monster that was about to attack Seth. But he seemed like he didn't want to. It was like he wasn't in control of himself.

Then Seth turned back to the blonde one, getting ready to fight him. I held my breath knowing that this was it, the end of Seth's life and mine. I wondered how much pain my mother would feel when she realized that I was dead. And how much pain Seth's family would feel.

My thoughts were disrupted by the sound of Seth's snarl. He was shaking more than before and I took another step back in fear.

Then, suddenly, Jasper sprung into the air and…

My eyes widened from what I saw. There standing right in front of me was a…wolf. It was big, bigger than a regular wolf and its fur was the color of Seth's hair. No, this couldn't be him. It couldn't be Seth, not my friend. He seemed to be protecting me though, like Seth always did and he wasn't going to attack me. I wasn't scared of this wolf like I was scared of the other creature he was trying to protect me from. I strangely felt…safer.

The wolf leaped into the air and slammed the blonde man onto the ground. My legs were shaking and everything was starting to get dark. I fell to the ground and watched in horror as the wolf and the pale one fought each other. Little specks of black came over my eyes and now I could no longer see. I had to listen to the snarls coming out of both creatures mouths. I could hear both of them fighting each other right in front of me. The ground shook and I was scared because I didn't know if the wolf or the other monster was winning. I would hope that the wolf was ok though because…it was Seth…and I was certain that it was him.

Then a second later my head fell onto the ground and I no longer felt or heard anything…

***

It was as if I was having a dream, but this was so much more different. Everything was black except for a light coming from what seemed like a doorway. And in that doorway was a figure standing there. I couldn't decipher who it was, but I was hoping it didn't mean that I was dying. I had come so close to death, but I would hope that it didn't have to end like this. I would hope that I wouldn't have to bring pain to my mother now...she had already gone through enough and this wouldn't make things easier for her. And Seth, I didn't want to have to lose my friend. I cared about him, more than he even knew and more than I could even describe. And now I didn't understand…I couldn't think I couldn't remember what happened…it feels like I've just slipped away and nothing could save me now…