Look, I'm sorry updating has been so sporadic lately. College just cannot be confined to a schedule. Now, I have good news for me, but bad news for you: I finally got a job! That might mean fewer updates, but I will not forget this story! Too many people will bother me if I don't. I figure I should do this again. It's been a while. I do not own Twilight or any of its characters or plot things. I own my characters and my plot things. I don't own any of the songs I mention either. These disclaimers apply to all past, present, and future chapters. Don't make me do it again.

I have decided to give the prologue to Dark Light to anyone who gave me a great review. I'll PM those to the deserving people in the next few days. However, to wingless angel: Since you didn't sign in or anything, I don't know how to send you the chapter. Please let me know how to send it to you! Your review was too amazing to ignore!


Katie's POV

I was worried. It was that simple. As soon as Seth pulled the car into the driveway, I knew this was going to end badly. Why, Katie, why would this happen to you? Because the universe hates you. I really need to stop talking to myself. Especially in the third person.

I knew this was going to end badly as soon as I saw the green sedan in my driveway. It just so happened that that green sedan belonged to the one and only Dr. Carvay.

Dr. Carvay was at my house. My parents didn't even know what happened to me! How could they have called the psychiatrist in to evaluate me when they didn't know anything was wrong?

I think Seth sensed my anxiety, because he held my hand tighter and gave me a reassuring smile. If only it was that easy…

"Thanks for bringing me home, Seth," I said. It was a ritual of ours when he dropped me off. If he wasn't coming inside, I would thank him, he would say no problem, we would say our goodbyes and he'd be off.

"I'm coming inside with you," he replied bluntly.

"No you aren't," I said just as bluntly.

"Whose car is that?" he asked abruptly.

"Don't change the subject; you aren't coming inside."

"Why are you so nervous about that car then?"

I paused. "It doesn't matter," I finally said.

He scoffed and got out of the car.

"Seth! No! Just go home!" I whisper-yelled at him. He grabbed my hand – gently yet firmly – and hauled me up the front steps. The door opened for us.

"Katie! Where have you been?" my father asked sternly, glaring heavily at Seth. Good. "Jeffrey came all the way from Seattle to see you!"

"Why would he do that?" I asked bluntly. A few hours ago I was in the middle of the forest bleeding to death. I'm allowed to be a bitch right now.

"To see how you're doing, of course," my father said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Who?" Seth asked.

"An old friend of mine, Jeffrey Carvay," my father said smoothly. "He stops by our place every now and then when he's in the neighborhood."

Thank God my father was a police officer. He's an excellent liar, and he knows people finding out I'm nuts would be bad for all of us. Wait… does that mean he doesn't trust Seth? Or is he waiting for me to tell Seth myself? God, this is all so confusing. Those sane girls have it so easy.

"Yeah, you can go home now, Seth," I said, glaring at him pointedly. He blatantly ignored me.

"Now, now, no need to shove the boy out the door," a smooth voice said. I would recognize that smooth voice anywhere. Dr. Carvay stepped into sight next to my father, a friendly smile on his face. He extended a hand towards Seth for a shake.

"I am Jeffrey Carvay, an old family friend of the Carter's. John has told me quite a bit about you, Mr. Clearwater," he introduced himself.

Seth took Dr. Carvay's hand and shook it with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

I was having a mini panic attack, but the men in my life were too busy with one another to notice. Thank God. Again. What was I supposed to do?

"I just wanted to walk Katie to the door, but I need to get going. See you later, Katie," Seth said and gave me a quick hug, then left.

I walked past my father and Dr. Carvay into the living room, where I took a seat and waited for the interrogation.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" my dad asked as he took a seat beside me. Dr. Carvay took a seat across from us, watching intently.

"Uh, good. Seth and I watched movies most of the day, and then I went over to the Cullens' house and played videogames," I answered, well aware that Dr. Carvay was analyzing every word I said.

"That's good. Dr. Carvay was in the area, and he wanted to check in on you," my dad said, nodding towards the doctor with multiple degrees sitting across from us. "I'll just, uh, leave you two to it."

He got up and walked into the kitchen. Dr. Carvay turned to me and smiled reassuringly.

"I'll be perfectly honest with you, Katie. Your father called me last night, sounding quite terrified. From what he said, I gathered you were doing quite well, but I wanted to make sure. Also, I had a feeling there would be things you could talk to me about that you might be nervous to talk about with your parents. From what I remember, high school is terrifying," he said calmly.

"Well, I feel… normal. Like I'm just a typical teenage girl dealing with typical teenage problems. I haven't had an episode or anything like that since we got here. I'm actually happy," I reported with a smile.

"That's good to hear, Katie. I knew you were going to make a full recovery. Tell me about school," he suggested.

"Well, since this is such a small town, there aren't a lot of new kids coming and going, so I was afraid everyone was going to stare and what not. But right before the first day, the school on the reservation was burned down by some stupid boys in town, so all of the kids that went there were transferred to our school. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly high on the gossip list like I expected. Actually, that first day is when I ran into my new friends from the rez. We met while we were getting our schedules," I informed him happily.

"That's great, Katie. I'm glad you're getting along here so well. Why don't you tell me about these new friends? I know your father was nervous about them at first," Dr. Carvay asked kindly.

"What do you mean, 'at first'? Daddy still doesn't like them," I said, rolling my eyes. "They're great, though. Brady likes music just as much as I do. He's been introducing me to all of these bands that go under the radar. I've been learning so many new songs lately! Oh, and Collin is hilarious. He's definitely the jokester. I swear, it's his life's mission to make as many people laugh as possible. And Seth… where do I start with how amazing he is?"

"It sounds like you like Seth as more than a friend," Dr. Carvay hinted.

I sighed. "I do. I really like him. A lot. There's just nothing I can do about it."

Dr. Carvay blinked. "Why not? He seems very fond of you, and he definitely is protective of you. He seems to like you just as much as you like him."

I blinked in surprise this time. "Well… maybe. But it doesn't matter. I haven't told any of them about… where I've been, and it just… I feel like it wouldn't be fair to Seth. I mean, I'm nuts! He deserves more than that."

"Katie," Dr. Carvay sighed. "Like you said, the hospital is where you've been, not where you're going. And where you are now and where you're going is what's most important."

"But –" I started to protest, but he cut me off.

"You like him, and he clearly likes you. How about a compromise? Seth seems like a trustworthy fellow. Tell him everything," he suggested.

"What?" I gasped. Why was there suddenly no air in the room?

"You say you would feel bad if you started dating him when he didn't know about you. So, let him know exactly what he's getting into. Tell him why you were in the hospital, what happened in the hospital, and how you've been declared mentally capable. He'll know everything, and he can decide for himself."

"I – I can't do that," I gasped out.

"Why not?" Dr. Carvay asked, looking genuinely confused.

"He – What if he tells someone? What if he tells everyone? His friends are my friends! They might all leave me if they find out! I can't do that!" I cried out.

"I have a feeling that if he wasn't trustworthy, you would never have trusted him as your friend in the first place. And it seems like you trust on him and rely on him a lot," Dr. Carvay replied easily. Damn him, he was right.

"I'll think about it," I said skeptically.

"Katie, you have a good chance at a normal life. Don't write it off just because you're afraid to try."

After that little heart to heart, Dr. Carvay had a quick chat with my dad, wished me luck, and left. I got ready for bed, being careful not to get water on my bandages, and went to bed. After texting Seth a quick goodnight, of course.

He sent a goodnight back just as quickly.


Seth's POV

After leaving Katie's house, I pulled over and called Brady and Collin. They would watch Katie for me while I talked to Edward and the rest of the Cullens.

The drive was quick, but it seemed like hours to me. Edward sounded… well, I'm not sure how he sounded, but I knew it was about my Katie, and I needed to know about it.

I left the car in the same place I had taken it from and hopped up the steps and into the Cullen house/mansion. Edward and Carlisle were waiting for me in the living room. Jasper and Emmett were playing Halo: Reach in the background, trying to figure out how a human girl beat them.

"Hey, guys! What did you want to talk to me about, Edward?" I asked. What can I say, patience is not a virtue I possess. Edward understood why, though.

Edward smiled a sad smile. Uh-oh.

"Seth, we have a bit of an issue," he started out. "It seems Katie knows a bit about vampires."

"What?" I gasped. Carlisle looked sad, but Jasper and Emmett paused their game to listen.

"I'm sorry, Seth, but it appears the nomad vampire that's been lurking around Forks is after Katie. A week ago, Bella and I caught a glimpse of the nomad, and his face matches the one in Katie's memory," Edward said sadly.

I was speechless. My beautiful, fragile Katie, around a dangerous nomad? Why?

"Seth, when Bella and I found Katie, she started screaming because we reminded her of that vampire. She was terrified. We brought her here anyways, so Carlisle could treat her wounds. We owed you that much. Then her terror disappeared when she saw Jasper and Emmett playing that videogame. She began to calm down when Carlisle started patching her up while she was talking to them about the game," Edward said.

I was quiet for a few minutes, digesting the information. It was quite a bit to handle.

"Does that mean Katie already knows about vampires? Will it be easier to tell her about werewolves?" I asked.

"Nothing is going to be easy with her, Seth," Edward said sadly. "She's not sure what's real and what isn't. I… I'd like to say more, but I think you should talk to her about it. It's not my place to say."

"Thanks, Edward. You too, Carlisle. For taking care of her. I owe you guys," I said gratefully.

"Seth, you don't owe us anything," Carlisle corrected instantly. "When Bella was pregnant, Jacob came here to protect her. Leah came to protect you. You came became you thought it was the right thing to do. And none of us will forget that."

"No problem, Carlisle. Like you said, it was the right thing to do," I said with a smile.

"That's awesome and all, but you need to bring Katie back here soon, Seth," Emmett demanded. "I need her to teach me how to break a fatal fall from a cliff by by jumping on top of and assassinating an Elite." (This is an achievement in Halo: Reach. By the way, if you're into videogames, it is the most badass game I've ever seen! The graphics are amazing!)

"I'll bring her by when I think Alice won't jump her with a new wardrobe," I said happily.

"Which will be never!" I heard the pixie vampire call from upstairs. "That girl needs clothes that fit!"

I laughed. I would go and see Katie tomorrow, and hopefully everything would work out. My phone buzzed, letting me know I had a new message. Katie just wanted to say goodnight. I sent goodnight back to her, wishing I could send so much more. My undying love, that kind of thing.

Wait… when is anything ever easy for me when it comes to Katie?

That last comment was only proven more right when I went over to her house the next morning. Both her mother and father were home. Her father was glaring at me (I think he finally realized I was in love with his daughter) and her mother was glaring at me, too (I think she realized the same thing). For once, Katie noticed the hostile atmosphere.

"Hey, Seth, why don't we go take a walk? Dr. Cullen said walking around was good for head injuries a few days after the fact," Katie said lightly.

"Sounds good," I agreed quickly, but I wondered why she wanted to go outside. She was not an outdoors kind of girl. Her father gave me a warning glare, and I gave him what I hope was a reassuring nod.

I followed Katie outside and into the woods. We weren't walking for long when she stopped. We were less than two hundred yards into the forest.

"Seth, I'm your friend, right?" she asked nervously.

"Of course," I said quickly, trying to reassure her. Did she want to tell me she liked me? As more than a friend? Oh God, I hope so.

"And I'll be your friend no matter what's happened in the past?"

"Yes. Katie, what are you trying to say?" I asked, trying to figure out what the past had to do with us liking one another.

"Look, I - I just... Ugh! How am I supposed to say this?" she shouted frustratedly, throwing her hands up in the air, still not looking at me. I walked around her so she was facing me. She turned around. I took her by the shoulders and made her face me.

"Katie, you can tell me anything," I told her as sincerely possible. She blinked, and took a big breath.

"Seth, I'm crazy."

I laughed. "I know you are, Katie. What did you need to tell me?"

"Seth, I'm not joking! I'm crazy! Nuts! Off my rocker!"

"I noticed," I said dryly. "You're different, and I love that about you. Just spit out whatever you need to say."

"You - You idiot! I've already said it! I'm crazy!" she shouted at me, pushing against my shoulders. I held on tighter.

"What?"

"Seth, I've been in and out of the hospital since I was six. I was never physically ill. I'm not joking when I say I'm literally mentally insane."


Please review! If you haven't sent a review for the prologue yet, you can still send one for this chapter! And, my poll is still up. I'm still curious. But please review!