Seth loved his birthday. That was especially true when he could say that he turned sixteen today. It was the age of freedom for most, when they could get their license. Seth didn't feel excited in that way. He'd already had more than the freedom a license could afford since becoming a wolf at fourteen.

Still, there was something about the age that made it feel like a milestone. In two years, he would be an adult. That thought was shocking. He wasn't sure if he was excited for it as much as he just embraced it. He was a year older, a year wiser. He had more ammunition when he attempted to be taken seriously by the guys.

He had a feeling it wouldn't help, but at least he had it.

Everyone he cared about was gathered in the Clearwaters' backyard, talking loudly amongst each other and eating far more food than should have been possible. It was a picture perfect birthday party, possibly the best of Seth's life. That might have been heat of the moment hyperbole since this party was no different than most of his birthdays since he'd outgrown themed parties with a guest list of everyone in his class. But right then, being surrounded by it, Seth felt like this one was the best.

The icing on the cake was looking across the yard and making eye contact with Al, who was looking right back every single time. The edges of Seth's mouth turned upward before he looked away, trying to tune back into the conversation he was supposed to be having with Jake and Embry. He'd lost track of what they'd been discussing, but when he tuned back in, Jake was talking proudly about something Nessie had done while Embry kept glancing at Leah and acting like no one would notice.

The lack of attention they were showing to each other, let alone Seth, gave Seth the courage to be more daring with his looks at Al. It took a while, about twenty minutes when some of the guests had begun leaving, but eventually, Al stood up from where he'd been sitting with Nick and Ethan. He disappeared into the woods in the direction of his house as if he were leaving, but Seth saw the short glance he sent his way and knew what Al expected.

Leaving your own birthday party before half the guests were gone was frowned upon. To top it all off, a large portion of the guests were wolves with supernatural senses who would pick up on where Seth was going. Seth drummed his fingers against his thigh as he tried to figure out what to do.

Jake wandered off to check on Nessie. Embry remained standing beside him, but they'd dropped the pretense of carrying on a conversation. Seth tried to stop himself from glancing at the tree line that he knew would show him nothing new, but frequently, he couldn't help himself.

Ten minutes passed from when Al had left before Embry nudged him on the shoulder. Seth glanced over, feeling embarrassed because of the direction his eyes had been in when Embry caught him.

"Yeah?" he asked, trying to sound casual and failing. He wanted to slap himself. It wasn't like he had done much that was suspicious if he could just keep the tone of his voice neutral.

Embry smirked. He knew something, and Seth shifted on his feet, expecting some sort of comment. He knew it was Embry, the wolf most likely to go easy on Seth no matter what his suspicions were, but it still felt like any positive reaction was too much to hope for. He couldn't shake the fear that came over him at the thought of being found out.

Instead of answering him, Embry inclined his head in the direction of the exact place Al had disappeared. Maybe he'd seen it all. Or maybe he'd only just caught Seth a second ago.

"Go after him," Embry whispered low enough that only the two of them would hear. "I'll cover for you here."

Going into a near state of panic, Seth found it difficult to breathe, and his heart hammered in his chest.

"You-You-" He didn't know what it was he wanted to say. There were no words to adequately question Embry about what he'd said. Anything Seth asked would reveal himself, and he couldn't know for sure what Embry thought he knew. He was also very aware of the wolves around them.

Embry smirked, but he didn't respond to Seth's stammered attempt at speech. Perhaps he was thinking about how easily they could be overheard too. If he was, Seth was grateful that he wasn't proclaiming it to the world like most of the guys might have in his place. Instead, he inclined his head again in the direction of Al's disappearance and mouthed "go."

This time, Seth listened. He didn't bother to glance back at the crowd. Except he didn't go in the direction Embry had motioned towards. He didn't dare be that obvious. He entered the forest in the closest spot he could do so and headed far enough in to be out of sight. Only then did he begin to worry about tracking down Al.

He knew where the other boy was. There was only one place he could go and expect Seth to easily find him. It was doubtful that Al was sending him on a long hunt by tracking his scent or something like that. He just hoped that Al hadn't given up on him now that it was nearing half an hour since he had left.

Along the way, thoughts of Al warred with thoughts about what had happened with Embry. He was nervous about what Al could have wanted enough to pull him away from everyone, even though it was probably for nothing more than talking. Yet that was almost of second importance to what had happened with Embry. Seth had never expected something like that, and it had thrown him for a loop.

Al was sitting with his back against their usual tree when Seth made it to the clearing, and Seth let out a sigh of relief. From the way Al's eyes were already watching him, Seth could tell that he'd been listening to him approach. They smiled shyly at each other. Seth wasn't sure why. They'd gotten over their bashfulness a long time ago, but this was also the first time they had met out here, just the two of them, as the sun was beginning to set below the horizon.

Neither one of them said anything, even a hello, as Seth settled down beside Al.

Seth gave Al a few moments to begin to speak. He didn't, and Seth, whose own mind was trying to sort out what had happened to him, had to share it with Al.

"So," Seth began, causing Al to look over at him again, "I just had a strange moment with Embry?"

Al looked at him in confusion and with what might have been a hint of fear. "What happened?"

Seth shrugged because it still felt unbelievable. "You left, and I didn't follow right away. That would've been too suspicious, right?" Al offered him a short nod. "But I was waiting, trying to figure out how to follow without raising attention, and Embry told me to go. It was like he knew I was following you, but I don't know if he did because he didn't explain himself. Just gave me this look that made me feel like I'd be an idiot if I didn't do what he said. So I left Embry to come up with a cover story for me?"

He didn't mean for the end of his explanation sound like a question, but it did. Al had a look of concentration on his face. His brow furrowed as he stared in thought at a tree across from them.

"That is strange," he said. Then he sighed like he was disheartened. "I guess it's not surprising that if someone found us out it would be Embry."

Seth had to admit that Al had a point. It wasn't something he'd bothered to think about because he had been determined to keep his secret from everyone, but Embry was by far the most observant of the pack. He noticed everything about everyone while a lot of the guys couldn't notice something happening right under their nose. Sometimes Seth wondered how Jared had even noticed that he'd imprinted on Kim after years of being oblivious to her.

Al leaned his head back against the tree trunk, staring up at the canopy. Sunset was darker in the forest than it would have been otherwise, but there was enough light that their heightened vision couldn't detect much of a difference.

"I almost want them to figure it out," Al admitted, causing Seth to turn to look at him.

"What?" Seth exclaimed. "You'd rather that than having control over when it happens?"

Al shrugged, reluctant to look Seth in the eye. "I would like to have control over it. I just think them finding out on their own would have some benefits. I'm not going to bank on it. But you have to think it could be easier, right? If they figure it out, I don't have to make a huge deal about it. I don't have to say the words."

"You can't just not say the words forever," Seth pointed out even though it was a sentiment that he still had to remind himself of regularly.

"Obviously, but that would, like, ease me into it…You know?"

Seth didn't have a response. It didn't make sense to him, and he was struggling to understand. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he'd already said the words to someone once before. Coming out to the pack still sounded terrifying, but it was easier for him to believe that he would be capable of it someday. Al hadn't had that moment that could have helped him in the same way. Not yet anyway.

"I get why getting out of doing it yourself could be appealing," he responded carefully. "But I wouldn't understand doing it that way. Not that I'd judge you," he added quickly at Al's deepening frown. "It would be your decision. I do think that you'd regret it though. That's why it bothers me. Having someone else do it for you wouldn't make things easier in the future. The biggest reason to come out is that you stop being scared of yourself, Al."

Seth hadn't realized how passionately he felt about that concept until he had said those words. He felt winded from his speech, which had gotten him more animated than usual. Al fiddled with some blades of grass, shredding each of them before plucking another from the ground.

"I know," he said with a sigh. "I do, and I wouldn't actually do it."

They fell into silence again, neither knowing what to say. These moments had been agonizing at first because Seth had felt a need to fill them, to say something that would make him seem cool or, at the very least, like he wasn't boring enough to have nothing to say. Now there was a sense of comfort in the silence.

Despite having had a small disagreement moments before, Seth wasn't worried about impressing Al through a steady stream of conversation. There was a bond between them that wasn't going to be broken by something superficial. Somehow, getting to sit there in silence with Al was enough to make Seth's birthday all that much sweeter.