DISClaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer. I make no profit from this.

I am, however, quite in love with werewolves. And Jasper from the movie. His face is incredible, and he wants cake.

All the Britishness in this chapter is dedicated to ..x. ... Marmite will follow...

Hope you enjoy this.

-x-

"Hey," I grinned, "I'm terrified, but…" I paused, reluctant to say any more. "You don't know the half of it."

-x-

Seth's POV

I wrapped my arms around myself as I sat in their dining room. Her soft voice wasn't there. I couldn't hear her, but I wanted to be able to. It was kind of… reassuring to be within shouting distance of her, but terrifying to be so far away at the same time.

She stepped down the stairs supported by Jasper about twenty minutes after we'd arrived. Jake didn't look up, having been talking to Emmet and Alice about nothing in particular, I assumed she would have let him know Max was coming, but I was stunned.

Jasper had his arm around her, she was leaning her weight onto him. And he wasn't even fazed by it… well, if he was, he didn't look it.

She wouldn't look at me as he helped her over to the chair beside me, and she smiled up at him as he pulled away. He returned the smile and released her hand slowly.

"Thanks, Jazz." They seemed to be very… friendly.

A surge of jealousy hit me, and Jasper looked up at me, trying to suppress it for me. I half smiled at him, then he stepped back and left the pair of us sitting opposite each other around the dining room table.

"Max, I'm sorry," I started, but she was staring at me, confused.

"Why're you… you don't need to apologise, Seth…" she blushed and looked down at the glossy sheen on the table. "The vampires are nice." She gestured.

"I know." A small pause, "Max, I-"

"I haven't been upfront with you." She steps in before I can speak. "I should have told you- I mean I wanted to but I was a bit scared of… what you'd think…"

"Of what?" Don't tell me she had murdered someone. I thought to myself, then I looked at her, her nervous smile and her soft hands, curling themselves around her own wrists as she sat, looking terrified, watching my reactions.

"I…" She looked down and away. "S-Seth, you know I said I'd rowed with my parents a couple of months ago… then I flew over here last week… not even last week," She sidetracked herself, shaking her head a couple of seconds later, "Sorry… I mean… I wasn't totally honest."

Max's POV

I look at him, twisting my hand around my wrist and then moving to rub my elbow.

"I wasn't totally honest," I admit, feeling humiliated.

"What do you mean?" He's wary now. Damn… I don't want to…

"I… had a row with my parents, yeah, but what I didn't tell you is that… well, they didn't exactly throw me out." he looks up at me.

"You ran away?" he sounds shocked, but not… terribly so.

"Perceptive, you are." I've said it before, and I'll say it again. He grinned for a second, but it was replaced just as suddenly by the concerned gaze of five minutes ago. "Yes, I ran away. They weren't going to let me come out here, on my own, see, I'd just…" I stop, not really willing to let him know, "…" I stopped talking, running out of the words I could say that wouldn't hurt us both.

"Go on." He said softly, taking my hand, shifting his seat closer to me. I shuddered at his warmth again.

"I'd just… I'd come out of a…" I don't want to say it, because he'll know I'm stupid, and worthless, and he won't want to speak to me again. "It's ridiculous." I sigh.

"Max," His hand grazes the curve of my jaw and I submit. If he wants to know, he only has to say the word. "Please, Max. Tell me," He breathes softly, and I crumble.

"I… I…" apparently, I only know how to pronounce one buggering word. "I… it was an accident, OK?" I looked at him and then at the floor, "Ben - my brother… he was going off to uni…" He nodded, "And we were going to go out, on his bike - one last ride before he sold it." I told him to keep it, as well… "And there was… I just didn't see it, it was too fast - a car sideswiped us, and… just everything for the past six months has been weird and…" He pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me. I lost enough of my thoughts to forget that I had the solid, slightly painful, wooden arm of the chair digging into what Carlisle had said was a bruised rib.

"Is that all?" he paused. "I mean… not that it's not anything… but… you had me terrified that you'd murdered someone…"

"All?!" I yelped, "That… I thought you'd be… mad that I'd run away… left my parents…or something."

"Max." He pulled a face, "Right now, all I want to do, is get you home, and make sure you're alright. You've run away… and that was a seriously bad idea, because your parents are probably really worried, but I… I want to help you work it all out."

"You what?" I couldn't believe it. "Is this the imprinting thing?" I blurted, "Or would you do it anyway?"

He spent maybe two or three minutes considering it. I was surprised, again, that he didn't just reply reflexively, reply without thinking, or speak and run at the same time.

"I think…" He said slowly after those long three minutes, "I think it's amplified by the imprinting thing," He breathed in and out slowly again, determined, I'm sure, to throw me by being a prat… but a lovely prat, "But…" He said even slower, "I think I would have done it anyway…" he smiled, "at least I hope I would have done it anyway."

I felt myself leaning forward and tried to stop, but couldn't. I could feel his breath against my cheek, his heat pressing against my chest,

"Max, I- Oh," Carlisle broke our little moment up, holding a cumbersome ice pack. Aren't they all? I sighed and felt Seth wrap his arm around my waist, lift me to my feet and set me down. I leaned against him as the vampire doctor crouched down and wrapped the ice pack around the swollen ankle I was determined to put my weight on.

Seth looked at me sideways as I lifted my foot gingerly, took a step and fell backwards. I was inches from the floor when I felt his arms around me. His strong, muscled- stop.

Mackenzie Scott.

Stop and control yourself. I know you don't want to, but you should. If that Edward Cullen can read minds like he said he could… you could be in big trouble right now.

I laughed to myself and wrinkled my nose. Seth looked at me again, tilting his head slightly as he locked eyes with me.

"I think… if you want to, you can go home, Mackenzie. Seth will look after you." Carlisle directed his soft gaze at Seth for a few seconds. "No exertion, give her something to eat, and get her to bed."

"Yes sir!" He grinned, a little too enthusiastically.

"He said no exertion," I whispered as Carlisle walked away, laughing softly at nothing in particular, and Seth wrapped both his arms around me tightly, "Prat."

"Thank you," He paused, "I think?"

Seth's POV

"Don't take it as a compliment," She grins and bats me lightly on the arm, "Let me go, please."

"Fine," I smirk, watching her limp to the seat beside mine. She was having trouble. I had to help "Here." I lifted her from her feet and placed her in the seat gently. "We'll have to wait for Jake to say his…" I smirked, "Long goodbye to Nessie." She laughed and folded her arms, shaking her head. "Then I can get you home."

I pushed back my seat, watched her as she pulled her hair softly, wincing as it caught her stitches.

"Max," I breathed, closing my eyes and pulling her closer, into my arms. She pulled away, embarrassment making her cheeks burn bright pink and her eyes shine with tears of frustration, or fear, I wasn't sure. "Come on, it's not-"

"Don't," she said softly, "I don't think I'm worth your time, Seth." she pulled away and limped from her chair, refusing to let me help her.

"Max-" I stopped and scooped her up in my arms, "That's it. I'm taking you home." I said, half expecting her to argue. Her fingers wound into my hair and she pulled herself closer to me. Sudden change of heart.

"You really don't care, do you?" she asked softly, her face buried into my shoulder, muffling her words. I shrugged gently, trying to avoid hurting her any more. "You don't care who, or what I am… You lo-" I had to cut her off. I didn't want to admit it in a house full of people who didn't know I'd imprinted.

"To be honest, Max, it wouldn't make a difference to me if you were the queen of England, or a lion tamer… or whatever." She sighed against me, her shoulders dropping slightly to fit against mine, her soft fingers tightening her grip on my hair.

"What about a runaway?" She breathed into my ear. "Would you be put off by that?"

"Wouldn't bother me for a second." I breathed into her ear. She sniffed and smiled at me, I could feel my heart racing in my chest and I pulled her even closer. I didn't want to lie - because I was a little worried that she would want to go home… and leave me, but I thought that this was what she needed to hear. "I can't be bothered to wait for Jake." I blurted, suddenly determined to get her home, and hug her to sleep again. "He can run."

"Run?" I felt her look up at me, and then shake her head. "That's harsh, Seth."

"Yeah, well I don't want to be-"

"I didn't say you had to explain yourself," She smiled, "Just that it's mean."

"Oh." I paused. "Weird, you English." she smiled and stuck her tongue out at me, "Next you'll be wanting…" I paused again, thinking of the stereotypical British person, "Cricket on the sports channels and drinking warm beer-"

"Don't forget tea," She grinned, then gently tapped on my chest. "Let me down, please."

I placed her gently on the floor and helped her limp into the hallway. Edward was playing the piano with Alice, Bella sitting cross-legged on the floor beside them, her head against Edward's knee. She looked up at us and smiled; Edward cut off mid-bar and looked up at us. Alice smiled and looked over at Jasper, watching him warily for a second. He nodded at her and she turned back to playing happily. They knew we were going home. Of course they did - Alice knew as soon as I had decided Jake could run.

Jasper stepped forward, Carlisle joining him, as Esme bustled through with some biscuits.

"I thought you could take these with you," She said softly, "Carlisle said you should probably get some sugar…" before Max could reply, she had pushed the packet into her hands and stepped back to watch. Carlisle nodded and smiled at her before turning to Max.

"That was what I was going to say. Mackenzie, I… think you should go home and get some rest," a small pause, "Maybe come and see me in a week or so, we can look at those stitches." She nodded, and Carlisle stepped back. Jasper watched her for a second, waiting to speak as she squeezed the end of the biscuit packet between her fingers.

"You'll kill those biscuits," He laughed and she looked up, grinning.

"Thanks, Jazz." She smiled, warily holding out her hand. He took it, and she winced at the cold touch of his skin, but didn't pull away. I was impressed. They shook for a minute, and he released her hand.

"You're welcome… although, I'd rather you didn't do it again… I might not be there next time." I was stunned as he smiled, winked and then turned to me. She was watching me too, a beautiful smile on her face.

"Rose is fixing Jake's bike, so…" A small pause, "You can take the truck."

"Thanks." I lifted Max into my arms and she shrieked in surprise.

"No problems, man." Jasper nodded at the pair of us, "See you guys soon."

"Yeah."

I carried her to the truck.

Max's POV

"Carlisle said you needed sugar…" He smiled as he set the blue and white mug in front of me, an hour after we'd left the Cullen household, "And…" He blushed intensely, "You said you were English." Only then did I peer into the cup.

"Tea?" Oh, God… don't tell me he's trying to make tea. I closed my eyes and picked up the mug, hoping against hope that somehow, some way, a box of PG Tips, or Twinings had made it across the pond in some freak accident involving mislabelled shipping crates.

If I didn't drink it, I would probably offend him, though, and I didn't want to do that... I was reluctant to hurt him at all, so I picked up the mug, closed my eyes and sniffed the stuff. It smelled familiar enough, so I thought it would be a good idea to give it a go.

I didn't expect Seth to be a pretty decent tea maker. Nowhere near as good as mum, or Ben, but… close.

"Not bad for a first time, Seth." I said as I sipped the hot liquid, rejuvenation seeping into my veins along with the warmth. "Of course… it's a little fortnight…"

"What?" I looked up at him and grinned. "What do you mean… fortnight?"

"It's too weak… a play on words, you know?" His face lit up as he comprehended it. "Now you get me."

"That's exactly the sort of thing Quil would find funny." Is it now? Any clues who Quil is, or are you just going to let me stew?

"Quil…?" He looked up at me, realising I had no idea who, or what, for that matter, he was on about.

"I'll tell you tomorrow… and maybe you'll last the day without severe injury." He smiled and I laughed. Suddenly, Seth looked at the biscuits Esme had given me. They were sitting on the sideboard, but I didn't fancy them, really. The tea was good. Really good, actually.

"You're actually a pretty good tea maker, Seth," I muttered, finishing the mug with a long gulp. He watched me swallow the last of it, almost eagerly, I suppose.

"Was that a compliment, or are my ears playing tricks on me?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't say anything." But I winked and he almost ran across the room at me. "What are you doing, Seth Clearwater?" his eyes were a little wild and he seemed not to know himself as he picked me up for about the thirty fifth time in two days, and held me in his arms. This wasn't a carry lift, more an off-the-ground-hug. Which was nice, but I wanted to make it just that little bit more comfortable.

I pushed him away, he let me take my rightful place on the floor, beside him, and I pulled him back to me, into a tight hug.

Seth's POV

"You ever tasted tea, Seth?" I smiled as she looked up at me. I'd forgotten she was short… well, average for a human, but… still shorter than me.

"Nuh-uh…" I lost the power of speech and shook my head like a little kid as she smiled and stretched up on tiptoe one-footed. My arms tightened around her and I felt her hand on the back of my neck, pulling me down to her level.

My lips touched hers and the world melted. She tasted like sugary tea, I suppose - I had put about six spoonfuls into the cup, and the slightly odd taste beneath that must have been the tea. Well… I had to say it was pretty alright, but I preferred strawberries and cream.

-x-

A/N: Please review and let me know how I did... :P

Awwh for strawberries and cream... and I will follow with Marmite for you, Rose...

I'm really glad you all like it... so i'd appreciate more feedback...

And i'm really, really happy that you keep reading :)

Love you guys

xxx