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Chapter 6

You seemed to have a great time last night! Embry said in his mind as he ran about in the forest.

Of course I did! Seth replied.

Seth had gone to another date with Mel the previous evening. And that would be officially their fifth date. It had been about two weeks that Seth and Mel were dating and Seth was falling harder and harder for her each time. They had been to a movie the previous evening and Mel fell asleep halfway through it having been too tired from her long hours of rounds. So why might you ask Seth had a great time? Well throughout the rest of the movie Mel sort of slept with her head on his shoulder.

And his heart almost broke when the movie ended and he had to wake her up. She showered him with apologies. Seth realized she was never short on apologies.

'I'm so sorry!' Mel had exclaimed. 'You should've woken me up!'

'It's okay,' Seth had replied with a warm smile. 'Don't worry about it.'

'No, I shouldn't have fallen asleep like that,' Mel said. 'I hope I didn't drool on you or anything.'

Seth had to laugh at that. 'You didn't drool, Mel,' Seth had reassured her. 'And it's completely alright. You don't have to apologize so much.'

As far as the relationship went, they did embrace once or twice and he got an occasional kiss on the cheek from her which always sent him into a temporary coma. But Seth could understand that she was intentionally drawing back. Seth figured she wasn't ready for anything too serious as of yet and it didn't bother him. He could wait for as long as she wanted. It wasn't like he was getting any older.

True. Embry agreed. Progress?

Coming along I guess. Seth replied.

You know you need to tell her. Quil added.

'Course I do. But not right now. She'll freak out. Seth said.

Hear that! Jake's voice came in suddenly.

Yes. Seth's superior hearing missed nothing. It's going that way! And without a moment's delay he was heading off in the direction he heard the noise come from. It was a vampire, he was sure. No other animal could move that smoothly. And it was leaving a stench behind.

Jake and Seth collided in the same spot after running there from different directions. There was no sign of the vampire.

Shit. Jake cussed.


After the incident of the previous night, Seth could hardly get any sleep. He now knew for sure that there was a vampire loose out there and it made him sick with worry about Mel. She traveled from the hospital quite late at night didn't she? What if on the way-

Seth sat up on his bed and ran both his hands through his hair in frustration. He couldn't stay not knowing that she was safe!

And without a second's delay, and not even knowing what exactly he was going to say, he dialed Mel's number.

'Hello,' came Mel's voice. She sounded pretty tired.

'I didn't wake you, did I?' Seth asked. Now he wanted to kick himself. What if she just got home from her long hours and was just getting some sleep. He didn't want to wake her up!

'Oh, hey Seth,' Mel said, recognizing his voice. 'No, you didn't wake me. I just got home.'

Oh the relief! So she got home safe!

But Seth knew she wasn't any safer in her house than she was outside.

Now he was blank. What was he supposed to tell her?

Mel waited. 'Did you want to say something?' she asked, when Seth wasn't opening his mouth.

'Oh um yeah,' Seth said finally. 'I was just wondering if you were free tomorrow evening.'

'As a matter of fact I am,' Mel replied. 'You have something in mind?'

Seth smiled. 'I'll pick you up at seven.'

'Sure,' Mel said. 'I'll look forward to it.'

Seth's smile grew wider. 'Goodnight, Mel,' he said. 'I'll see you tomorrow.'

'Goodnight, Seth,' she replied and hung up.

Seth thought for someone who didn't know what to say over the phone when he dialed the number, the conversation went pretty well. He got up and stretched. Sleep could wait. He needed to keep Mel safe. Jared and Jacob were still out there searching for the vampire. But they were having no success whatsoever.

Seth came out of his house through the backdoor which led to the wilderness and phased. Right after that he headed towards Mel's house and sat hidden in the forest of trees near her house from which he could clearly see her house. The darkness and the dense growth of the trees kept him hidden and out of sight.

He saw Mel once when she came at the window. She leaned her head out and looked around the dark street and the forest beyond, almost like she was searching for something. After that, she pulled the window shut and Seth saw the light of her room go out.

Seth sat there the whole night. He couldn't relax until he saw Mel safely back to the hospital in the morning. Once she was there, he could be sure she was safe because Carlisle would be there with her.


Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The continuous sound of someone banging on the door was annoying Seth to no limit. He turned and stuffed a pillow over his head to keep the noise out. But like that was ever going to work. Sometimes having superior hearing sucked.

Not being able to take the torture of the pestiferous sound anymore, he got up and threw the pillow away and headed downstairs.

'WHAT?' he barked at Brady who was at the door.

'You were sleeping?' Brady asked, taken aback. 'Weren't you supposed to help us clean the junkyard today? Jake's gonna be angry.'

'Bite me!' Seth said, clearly still annoyed. What fucking junkyard was this guy talking about?

'You and Jake are the ones who throw stuff around,' Brady said. 'So shouldn't you be the one cleaning it up?'

Oh the garage backyard.

'Go away,' Seth said. 'Clean it up yourselves. It's not like you and Collin are ever busy or anything!'

'But-,' Brady was about to protest.

Seth slammed the door on his face.

'Yeah, Seth, that's real nice!' Brady yelled from the other side.

Seth let out an exasperated sigh and trudged up the stairs and collapsed on his bed again. But he couldn't sleep. He wasn't one of those people who could go back to sleep like nothing happened once he was woken up. He calmed himself by cursing Brady for a while and then got out of bed grumbling to himself.

It was five in the evening. It was still two hours till he had to pick Mel up. Truth be told he didn't have anything planned. He had gone out to Mel's last night and the whole time thoughts about the vampire played around in his mind. It had been some time since an unwanted vampire had paid Forks an unfriendly visit. At around eight when he had seen Mel safely back in the hospital, he had come home and crashed in bed without any further ado. He wasn't worried though. He never had anything planned for their dates. But somehow none of them were ever a disaster. Maybe he could give the guys a hand in the whole garage cleaning process before setting out for Mel's.


Mel got back from the hospital at six. She let out an exhausted sigh as she stepped foot in the house. Setting down her backpack randomly on the sofa in the living room she went upstairs. She needed to get fresh and change fast. Seth would be coming to get her in an hour. She could've refused to go out with him tonight because her shift ended just an hour before. But she couldn't understand why she didn't. She always looked forward to spending time with Seth. And she knew what she was doing was wrong. She shouldn't be with Seth. She should've refused to go out with him. She was only endangering his life by staying with him and growing attached to him. But somehow she couldn't help herself. He had this effect on her that she couldn't quite explain. When she was with him she momentarily forgot about everything troubling her life.

She turned on her laptop to check the mail. Her dad might send her something. It was the only way left that he could communicate with her, since she didn't get his calls and neither his post cards. She didn't tell her dad where she was. But she sort of suspected that her dad had already guessed.

The internet there sucked so badly. She had to wait for it to dial and get a server. Putting it on dial she went to the washroom and took a quick shower. When she returned, she saw that her internet was connected. She logged in her account and clinked on her inbox.

She had a few new mail messages. One of them was from her dad.

Hey Mel,

I'm guessing you're not getting my postcards anymore. Well I'm in Antarctica now. Believe it! It's a surreal experience but it's fucking freezing here! Excuse the language. I don't have much time to write anything else. But I'm hoping I'll be out of here soon. Stay safe, baby.

Love, Dad!

It was so like her dad to be with the penguins like there was no care in the world. The email made her smile. She missed her dad a lot. More than she let on. She wanted to see him so much but she knew it was best she didn't and this thought depressed her to no bounds.

She wrote a quick short reply to her dad. And returned to check her other messages. Some were from her friends from back home. She didn't open them. She never did. It was a life she had left behind; it was best she didn't have anything to do with them anymore.

But there was another message. She didn't recognize the address. Out of curiosity she opened it and her heart froze.

On the message were four words but they were strong enough to give her the goose bumps.

WE WILL FIND YOU!


Seth was about to set out to pick Mel up when his phone buzzed in his pocket. The caller was Mel. Slightly confused, he received the call without delay.

'Mel,' he said over the phone. 'Hey, I was just coming over.'

'Yeah, hey Seth,' Mel said. 'Um can you not come over right now?'

Seth's furrowed his eyebrows. 'Is everything okay?'

'Yes, everything is fine,' Mel said.

'Then may I know why you were canceling our date tonight?' Seth asked.

Seth heard Mel's soft laugh on the other end. 'I'm not,' Mel said. 'You just don't need to come over. Can I meet you at the beach?'

'Of course,' Seth replied. Her mere presence was enough for him.

'I'm sorry, if it's any inconvenience,' Mel said. 'I'll explain when I see you, I promise.'

'Don't worry about it Mel,' Seth said. 'It's no inconvenience. Infact if you must know I had nothing planned as it is.'

Mel laughed. 'I'm not surprised. Thanks, Seth. I'll see you in a few.'

'Right, bye,' Seth said and they hung up.


Seth waited at the beach, enjoying the cool, sea breeze that blew past him. He wondered what could have happened for Mel to make such a sudden change of plans. He heard her car approach even before it came near the beach where he was standing. She stopped the car and got down from it. Like most times, the beach was sort of empty, except for a few passersby every now and then.

She approached him with quick strides and a smile on her face. She was wearing a white t shirt with a black jacket and a pair of brown long shorts and flip flops on her feet. When Seth looked at her carefully he could say she looked very exhausted or shaken up about something. Immediately his heart was filled with concern.

'Mel, are you okay?' he asked urgently, walking some way towards her.

Mel smiled. 'I'm fine,' Mel said the smile still on her face. 'Just a little worn out I guess.'

'Then you should've told me,' Seth said. 'I wouldn't have minded. If you wanted to stay in and rest I would've completely understood.'

'It's okay,' Mel said. 'I didn't want to stay home anyway.'

'Are you sure?' Seth asked.

'Yes, Seth I'm sure,' Mel replied. 'Can we sit down?'

Seth nodded and they settled on the soft sand.

'I needed some fresh air,' Mel confessed. 'The constant smell of the hospital can really get to you sometimes. And going someplace busy was just giving me a headache. Sorry.'

'You don't have to apologize,' Seth said. 'Like I said, I didn't have anything planned.'

Seth looked at her. She had no make up on her face. She looked like she had just gotten out of a hurried shower and put on the first clothes she found in front of her. She didn't even take the time to dry her hair. The breeze was doing a pretty good job with that though. Even with the whole simple look, she was the most beautiful sight Seth had seen in his life.

'It's always so calming here,' Mel commented, hugging her feet close to her.

'Yeah,' Seth agreed. 'It always has been.'

Mel felt calmer. She was in the brink of mental hysteria the moment she saw that email. Even though an email couldn't possibly mean that they had found her, still it scared her. It reminded her brutally and strongly about something she tried not to think about. For some time all she wanted was to feel safe. And miraculously, she always did whenever she was with Seth. She didn't have any explanation for that either.

Whenever she was with him, she could forget her troubles for a while and enjoy herself. She could leave everything that she tried so hard to leave behind, whenever he was with her. That's why she couldn't stop herself from meeting him again. It made her want to kill herself. She was such a hypocrite. If Seth would fall into any trouble because of her…she didn't want to think about it.

'What are you thinking?' Seth asked and Mel realized she had been quiet for too long.

'Nothing much,' Mel lied.

'Missing home?' Seth asked.

'Not really, no,' Mel answered truthfully this time. She didn't miss home, not when there were people out there who wanted to kill her. 'I like it here.'

'Glad to hear that,' Seth smiled. He could guess Mel was hiding something but he didn't push her. He realized she should be able to tell that to him in her own time. So he conveniently changed the subject.

'Tell me something about you,' he said. 'You hardly talk about yourself. And you basically know my whole life history.' Except for my big secret of course.

Mel laughed. 'Okay,' she said. 'What do you wanna know?'

Seth shrugged. 'Anything you might wanna tell me,' he said. 'School life, past boyfriends?'

'If you must know I was the biggest nerd in school,' Mel said. 'Complete with braces and all. Not a pretty sight.'

'That's not possible,' Seth said.

'You are just saying it because you haven't seen me back then,' Mel said. 'I passed out of high school a year before I was supposed to. Believe me I was a BIG nerd.'

Seth chuckled. 'Sort of hard to believe.'

Mel smiled. 'And boyfriends? Well, I never had much luck in that sector.'

'You're joking,' Seth asked.

'Nope,' Mel said. 'Guys passed out or ran for it if I approached them in high school. So yeah, I didn't have any boyfriends in high school. Hell I never went to prom or any sort of school dance for the matter. College was different. I finally got my braces off and everything. Went on a few dates never got serious because of all the time I needed to study.'

She was quiet for a while and Seth guessed she was holding something back. Then she suddenly shook her head and started talking again.

'I met this guy about two years back,' she started and Seth could tell by the look on her face that it wasn't something she talked about a lot. 'He asked me out and we went out for almost six months. He was nice, charming and patient and I thought he genuinely cared for me. Well, at least that's what his actions towards me implied. And being the kind of unfortunate person I am, I fell for him.' Mel heaved a sigh. 'It was later that I found out that his only intention was to jump into bed with me. I waited half a year to actually give in to this and the very next day I found him openly cheating on me.' She paused for a while trying to believe that she was actually talking about this. 'He told me this had been going on for a while. What struck me most was the fact that he didn't even seem sorry about what he did. And what was I supposed to say?'

Seth was appalled. What sort of a guy would do that to her? Involuntarily his hands had balled to fists and his jaw hardened. But he was safe; over the years he had mastered complete control over his transformation.

'I thought I loved him,' Mel went on. 'But the moment I found out about everything that was going on I had no feelings left for him. I was broken for a while, but it was because I felt more sorry for myself than because of anything else. I didn't date after that preferring to busy myself in studies and med school activities.'

'I'm sorry,' Seth said. He wanted to say something more. Something that would make Mel forget about that bastard and make her feel better. But he couldn't think of anything else to say.

Mel smiled and looked at him. 'Why are you sorry? It's not like you're the one who did it.'

'Tell me the guy's name and everything and just give me the signal and I'll bring his bones back to you,' Seth offered.

This time Mel laughed.

'I'm dead serious,' Seth said. Truth be told, he was.

'Thanks Seth,' she said. 'But I think getting punched and losing a tooth in front of a naked woman in your bed is humiliation enough.'

'You did that?' Seth asked, this time smiling himself.

'Yeah,' Mel replied. 'The moment I walked in on him sleeping with my classmate. I was pissed.'

'Bravo,' Seth said. 'But Mel, my offer still stands.'

'Thanks Seth, that means a lot,' Mel said. 'I never talked about this to anybody. I just wanted to get it off my chest. It's not something I want to hold onto you know. Thanks for listening.'

'You can tell me anything you want, Mel,' Seth said.

The breeze became cooler and Mel hugged her jacket closer to her body.

'You're cold,' Seth said and moved closer to her that now there bodies were touching.

Mel didn't object. She welcomed the warmth.

'Why are you always so warm?' she asked. 'It's very unnatural.'

Seth smiled. 'Beats me,' he said. 'But I'm not sick if you're going to ask me about that fever again.'

Mel smiled. 'I wasn't going to,' she said.

'Okay,' Seth said. After a short pause he asked, 'Random question?'

'Ask away,' Mel said with a soft laugh.

'Favorite activity?'

'Reading, I think,' Mel replied. 'You're turn.'

'Taking things apart,' Seth said. 'It's weird I know. But I also love taking a nap once in a while and eating. Favorite book?'

'There are too many!' Mel said. 'I can't pick a favorite.' Then she thought about for a while. 'Maybe Pride and Prejudice. But there are so many others as well!'

'Into happy endings?' Seth asked.

'Yeah, I'm a sucker for happy endings,' Mel admitted. What an irony!

'What made you want to become a doctor?' Seth asked.

'I wanted to help people,' Mel said. 'Car maniac?'

Seth laughed. 'You could say,' he said.

'What got you interested?' Mel asked.

'Jake,' Seth said. 'He's like my closest friend. Almost like an older brother to me. He's the first maniac of the bunch.'

'Favorite cartoon?' Mel asked.

'Dexter's Lab,' Seth said. 'And Power Puff Girls.'

'What?' Mel laughed. 'Power Puff Girls, really?'

'What, Susan watches it a lot and it sort of grows on you,' Seth defended himself. 'Favorite place?'

'As much as it kills me,' Mel said. 'I'd have to say, the hospital. Favorite person?'

Apart from you. 'My mom,' Seth sad. 'And Jake. Favorite mode of travel?'

Mel shrugged. 'Never thought about it. Car, I guess. Favorite color?'

Seth was thoughtful for a while. 'Pink,' he said.

'Seth seriously,' Mel said laughing.

'It's true,' Seth replied. 'I mean, it used to be green before I met you.'

'What could I have done to cause such a drastic change in your favorite color?' Mel asked, good humouredly.

Seth looked at her for a while, then lifted his hand and softly touched her cheek with the back of his hand. As though it was a reflex action, the color that he loved to so much rose in her cheeks. Mel was a little shocked by the suddenness of it all but she couldn't move away. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She had a funny feeling in her stomach and she thought she felt her heart skip several beats all at once.

'That,' Seth said softly, leaning closer to her. Their faces were so close that they could feel their breaths on each other. 'And that,' Seth said, his thumb lingering dangerously close to her lips.

And then his lips were on hers. She didn't pull back. She was much too shocked to. As soon as their lips met something inside them exploded. The instant Seth felt her cold lips against his warm ones; he knew he was done for. He could never kiss anyone else for as long as he lived. The kiss was being imprinted on him just as strongly as she was. He was under a spell, her spell. And he never wanted it to break.

Mel's conscience was telling her to pull back but her body wasn't permitting her. She was finding her soul being ripped apart by the internal struggle of her body against her mind. She knew she wasn't supposed to do this. It would only make Seth fall in danger. She couldn't imagine him getting hurt for her. Everyone who would be involved with her could be killed just like her. Seth was the last person she wanted dead. But his lips felt so good against hers. Almost heavenly, like those set of lips were made for her. She couldn't pull back. She wanted to kiss him back.

'Mel, I love you,' she heard Seth's soft words against her lips and hearing it, her mind won the battle. Her hands slid down his chest and then gave soft push as she pulled back, looking at him with surprise in her eyes. He loved her? He couldn't. She was danger to him.

'Seth, what-,' Mel started looking into his earnest brown eyes with shock in her own hazel ones.

'I'm in love with you, Mel,' Seth repeated determinedly. He needed to tell this to her. And he did.

'Seth I-,' Mel didn't know what to say. Was she in love with him? She didn't know. She didn't even want to find out because all she was feeling right then was fear for him. She needed to get away from him so that he could stay safe.

'You don't have to say it back or anything,' Seth said, finally seeing Mel in dilemma. 'I said it because I wanted to. I don't expect to hear it back.'

Seth thought it was still too early for her to say it back to him. He had no idea that all Mel was thinking back then was to save him from all the trouble that she could cause him.

'I should go,' Mel said, finally. Why was she feeling like her heart was being torn apart to pieces? Why were her eyes burning so much? She stood up and looked away hating the tears that were threatening to fall.

'Alright,' Seth said quietly. 'Will I drop you off?'

'That won't be necessary,' Mel said. 'I have my car.'

'Mel I-,' Seth wanted to say something to make all the discomfort go away. He was such an idiot. He didn't need to spill his guts so soon!

'Bye, Seth,' Mel interrupted him. 'I'll see you later, okay.'

Seth couldn't make himself speak. He watched as Mel crossed the distance to her car, got in and sped away. Once she was out of sight, frustrated and angered with himself, Seth kicked at the sand hard, the sand billowed around in the breeze as a result, almost expressing its own frustration at being kicked at.

'Shit,' he cussed. He had to go to Mel and say he was sorry! He had to make things right. Or he wouldn't be able to live with himself!


Mel sped home; the tears that were threatening her for a while now flowed freely down her face. She entered her house and shut the door behind her, leaning against it she collapsed down, the tears falling continuously.

Why did she pull back? If it was the right thing to do then why was she crying? Why was it feeling like she was being ripped apart? Why did it hurt so much to see his face so filled with hurt when she abruptly left him there? Why did she feel so elated when she heard him say that he loved her and her mind right then filled up with concern for him and pushed her back?

She knew the answers to all those questions. She knew them very well.

She had fallen for Seth Clearwater. She had fallen hard.


BFABB, kat246, YuriLovesSparkles and MissCoppersMom thank you sooooo much for your reviews for the previous chapter!

Thanks to Fukuko-chan, JLovesEmbry, kat246, megggaroni, EmilyAnn07, Nurseratchet, misaai, jonesn353402, suzie1107, vivekalove, MoonWolfRunner, haterslovetohateme1234, runawaycherry93, BlondBanana, Mrs. Brianna Emmett Cullen, addcleric, Ashes2Dust18, helloyellowmeadow, skyfulloflighters0000, YuriLovesSparkles, Noble Korhedron, MissCoppersMom, Kiarra24, jazzyjeff1410, Jessley, TheHotPinkRose and panda1012010 for putting this story in your story alert and/or favorite story list! It really means a lot! I hope i didn't miss anyone!

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