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Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I only own a vivid imagination… and a University of Florida acceptance letter.

Chapter 25

I stood with Edward in the forest, not too far from the school. "The wolves will be here shortly, I assume," Edward stated. I shrugged. I honestly didn't know. Seth was still pretty pissed about last night and so was I.

"Well, we can talk in the library. I doubt there will be anyone in there," I suggested. "I believe you're right," he agreed. We walked to the library in silence. I was too deep in my thoughts. I didn't want to talk about anything.

"Maybe you should call him?" Edward whispered once we were in the privacy of the library. I shook my head. Seth didn't want to talk to me. I doubt he'd even care. He had Christina. He didn't have to worry about me, anymore.

Telling Seth would be bad in every way. Either Seth wouldn't care about what happened, which would make me feel worthless and would solidify our relationship. Or Seth would probably care too much. He would come marching down here and try to pick a fight with Newton. Definitely not a good idea.

Edward chuckled. "I'm more inclined to believe that he would go with option number two," I nodded my head. Edward was right. Seth would probably flip his lid. I was so confused.

"I didn't mean to confuse you," Edward said softly. "I came here to talk to you about Isabella," he said, gauging my reaction. I rolled my eyes. Of course. I wasn't in the mood for this. "I feel like it's important that we talk about all of this," Edward argued.

"Where is she?" I asked. "She's in class," he answered automatically. I scoffed. "Don't you think Bella should be here? This kind of has something to do with her," I snapped. He rolled his eyes. "She's not here because I didn't know how you'd react. You'd probably say something to her that would make her feel worse than she already does," Edward defended. I have to give him that. Edward was always defending Bella.

"She should feel bad, Edward. You should feel bad. All of you should feel like crap. You left us. I mean, I thought we were friends. I could get over you leaving me; but Bella? Seriously? She was a zombie! I thought she was going to-," I couldn't finish my statement because tears started clouding my throat. What was with me and tears lately.

"Commit suicide," Edward finished, his skin paler than it already was. "I tried to fix her, Edward. I honest to god did. I would try talking to her and taking her out and shit. You know, so she wouldn't end up like me." I took a deep breath before I continued.

"Jacob helped her. When Jacob came in the picture, she was getting so much better than she was before. She actually smiled sometimes," I wiped my eyes again. I noticed Edward stiffen at Jacob's name.

"Then, Harry dies. Jacob needed her. Charlie needed her. I fucking needed her. To be a friend. No. She basically took a shit on my feelings when I worked so hard to get her feelings in order. So, now I'm trying to fix myself, by myself, because my "best" friend just didn't give a fuck," I confessed. I stood up. "Now, you tell her highness, that if she wants to apologize, that she do it herself and not send her bodyguard."

I was pissed all over again. I reopened old wounds. I gave Edward a piece of my mind. I didn't care how he felt about it. No one cared how I felt about it.

"She didn't send me. I came on my own accord. Good thing I did, too," Edward commented, trying to get me to calm down. "Why? Why do you care?" I turned around and glared at Edward, tears threatening to fall down.

"Bella cares about you. She misses you more than you could imagine. She thinks she's undeserving of your forgiveness-," "She is undeserving of my forgiveness," I cut him off. Edward held a hand up to stop me from snapping again.

"But she still wants to be your friend. She feels incredibly guilty for the whole thing," I rolled my eyes at him. "Why won't she say that herself?" I questioned. "You won't answer her phone calls," Edward supplied, a small scowl on his face. I guess that was true.

I shrugged. "If she wants to talk to me, she knows where to find me," I said before I left the library. If Bella's apology was good enough, I'd probably forgive her. I really did miss Bella. So many things had been happening lately. I really missed the normalcy that I THOUGHT was Bella.

The lunch bell rang and I stiffened again. I couldn't go in the cafeteria. Mike Newton would be there. I felt a cold hand reach out to touch my arm. "Yes, Edward?" I asked without turning to look at him. "You should sit with Alice, Bella, and I today. I don't think Mike would be stupid enough to try anything in a cafeteria filled with students, but you might be more comfortable with us. Also, it would give Bella an opportunity to apologize."

I nodded my head slowly. I couldn't live in fear of Mike Newton forever though. Yesterday it was the Cullens. Today, I'm sitting with them because I'm afraid of Mike Newton. Mike caught me on a bad day. I was already feeling emo. Tomorrow, I'd hopefully be back to my old self. I'd kill the mother fucker. I was planning my revenge when we got in the cafeteria. I wasn't hungry, so I sat down at the Cullen table right away without getting any food.

Kaitlyn shot me a confused look when she saw me, but I promised to tell her everything later. Paul told Kaitlyn everything, so she knew all about the Cullen secret.

I was too busy trying to remember where the Newton's lived that I didn't see Bella sit down. "Samantha?" she asked timidly. I was broken out of my thoughts and I gave her a small smile. With that, her eyes started to water up and she threw herself at me. She hugged me so tight that I could barely breathe. I patted her on the back awkwardly and she only held me tighter.

Alice laughed at me and Edward smiled. "I'm a dirt bag. I'm scum. I'm the worst person on the face of the Earth. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you! I'm sorry that you were a better friend than I was. Please? I don't want to not talk to you ever again. I wish there was a way that we could go back to the way we were. Is there?" she asked me, tears flowing down her face.

I felt awkward. I didn't expect her to do this. I thought she'd mumble an apology and that would be the end of it. I wasn't expecting her to literally throw herself at me. Edward was right. She really did miss me.

"I forgive you, Bella," I said, giving her a small smile. She hugged me again. I didn't know if I'd ever get used to Bella hugs. She kept making it awkward.

"Friends?" she offered. I smiled at her and nodded. "If you ever pull a stunt like that, I will hunt you down and shoot you like a dog," I said, smile still in place. Edward glared at me. "I have garlic for you, too. Don't think you're forgotten," I said giving him a playful glare. His glare slowly turned into a smile.

"Now that the heavy stuff is over and done with, tell me why you're wearing that?" Alice scowled, pointing to my attire. I shrugged. "I wasn't in the mood to get dressed up," I answered honestly. She rolled her eyes. "You're never in the mood to get dressed up. You're the daughter of Maryelle Davis!" she shrieked. I shrugged again. Didn't care.

"How are things going with you and Seth?" Bella asked suddenly. I didn't know how things were with Seth anymore. He hadn't text me or called me since last night. "I don't know," I replied honestly. Bella raised an eyebrow. I huffed a breath of annoyance and gave her the abridged version of everything that had been happening lately. Everything from Seth and I first dating to Mike nearly raping me.

Bella glared at Mike Newton. "Are you gonna call him?" she asked me, eyes still fixed on Mike. I raised an eyebrow. "Who? Mike?" She shook her head and laughed. "No, Seth," she clarified. I shrugged. "You think I should?" I asked. She nodded her head rapidly. "Seth told you to tell him everything important. I would consider this important," Alice added. I sighed. They were right. I had to give it a shot.

I pulled my phone out and called Seth. He didn't answer. I called him a second time, but this time he sent me to voicemail. He was avoiding me. I bit my lip, feeling my anger rise. He took my fucking advice. Of all the times I want him to take my advice, he does it this time. He's probably with Christina.

Thank god that the bell rang because I didn't want to be in the cafeteria anymore. Nothing like Science as the last period of the day to distract you from your life. I threw myself in the work. It distracted me. Besides, with all of the studying I had been doing lately, I wanted to show off my knowledge. I guess the studying bit was pretty much Seth's doing though.

After class was dismissed, I promised Bella that I would call her later on. I went to my jeep and waited for Kaitlyn to make her way to it. When she finally got there, she started bombarding me with questions. I ignored all of them. "Mike Newton tried to rape me today," I said as nonchalantly as if I were talking about the weather. This brought on another wave of questions.

I told her everything that happened and she was pissed. She made me promise to include her in my plans for Mike Newton. I agreed. She also made me promise to include her in my plans for Seth Clearwater. Once I told her that I wasn't going to do anything to him, she was surprised beyond belief. She was so sure that I would've marched over there and gave him a piece of my mind by now. I didn't want to. All I wanted was to go to sleep.

"Speaking of Clearwaters, can you take me over there? I promised I'd spend some time with Leah today. I'm sure they can give me a ride back," Kaitlyn said. I rolled my eyes. I really didn't want to, but I did.

When we got to the Clearwater's house, Sue invited me inside. She wanted to "talk" to me. I didn't want to fucking talk, I wanted to go to sleep. However, I didn't tell her that. I politely entered the house and followed her to the kitchen where she was making her famous chili.

"Are you and Seth okay?" she asked, getting straight to the point. I knew this was about Seth. I shrugged. I didn't know. Every time someone asked me about Seth, they would get a shrug. I didn't know anything.

"He seemed really upset when he came home last night," Sue commented, fishing for answers. I had to choke down a scoff. She didn't know the story and she had already come to her own conclusion. I had broken her baby boy's heart. Yeah, right! He broke mine first!

"He was really upset when he left my house last night," I confirmed, feeling my eyes watering up. Before Sue could say something, Leah came busting through the kitchen. "Mike Newton did what?" she yelled, racing towards me. I glared at Kaitlyn over her shoulder. She only shrugged unapologetically.

"Does Seth know?" she asked me, pulling me into an embrace. I shook my head. "What don't I know?" I heard Seth ask. I wanted to go to sleep. Why was all of this happening so quickly?

"What happened to you?" Sue asked me. I pushed myself out Leah's grip. I didn't want to discuss this. I wanted to forget that it ever happened. I wanted to forget that Mike Newton had his slimy hands on me. That he wanted to do more than just touch me.

"Nothing happened! I'm fine!" I said, making my way towards the door. "Mike Newton tried to rape your girlfriend today," Leah said, obviously angry. I kept walking towards the door. I didn't want to deal with this. I knew what Mike did today. Hearing it was a completely different thing.

I turned to see Seth staring at me, eyes wide, and shaking uncontrollably. I wanted to comfort him, to tell him that I was fine, to tell him that everything was ok. He was too far gone. He was going to phase. I only hoped that Leah pushed him out of the house before he phased.

Leah started pushing Seth out of the back door and into the forest. The minute that Seth would phase, the entire wolf pack would know what happened to me today. I've never felt so completely exposed.

I ran to the jeep and jumped in. I couldn't put the keys in the ignition because my hand was shaking too much. I grew frustrated and threw my keys down. I gripped on to the steering wheel, letting the sobs come quickly. I was crying and there was no stopping it. I tried, but it was impossible. Mike hadn't raped me. He tried to, but he didn't. I shouldn't have been acting so irrationally.

Seeing Seth so angry and sad at the same time was tearing me apart. I was to blame for that. If I had kneed Mike a little harder, then this wouldn't have happened. If I didn't need the fucking cigarette, I would've never left class. If I wasn't such a fuck up, I'd still be in New York.

I heard a soft tap at my window and I looked up to see Mrs. Clearwater with a sad smile. I wiped my tears and opened the door. "C'mon inside. It's going to storm. I don't want you driving in this condition." Was she talking about the storm or me being a cry baby?

She pulled me into the house and gave me a cup of tea to calm my nerves. She didn't pester me with questions but I knew that she was dying to know what happened. I told her what had happened and she only held me as I continued to cry.

After what felt like a few hours, she spoke. "Are you okay?" I nodded my head. I felt a little better, but I was still tired. "Just a little sleepy," I stated. She nodded her head in understanding. "You can go rest in Seth's room. I don't think he'll be coming home for a while. I'll call Amber and tell her where you are and not to worry. You should tell her about everything, though," she advised. I nodded my head and walked to Seth's room.

His room was a mess as it always was. There was clothes on the floor and food on his dresser. I rolled my eyes at how Seth-ish the room was and walked over to his bed. It had a thin blanket. I was surprised that he had a blanket at all.

I laid down on his bed and held his pillow close to me. It smelled so much like him. I nuzzled the pillow and fell asleep after the exhaustion that I had been through.

I woke up a few hours later to a dark and hot room. I almost forgot where I was. The events of the day came flooding back to me. I had a headache from all of the crying and I had no idea where the Clearwaters kept their pain medication.

"You're awake," I heard one of my favorite voices say. I nodded my head, knowing that he probably saw me in the darkness anyway. We were quiet, neither one of us knowing what to say and everything we wanted to say, we didn't know how to say it.

Seth ran a hand through my hair and pulled me to him, his lips locking against mine. I could feel every emotion that he was feeling. I felt anger, sadness, and regret. I felt relief and love.

I broke the kiss, softly pushing Seth's shirtless chest. Did this guy ever wear a shirt? "Are you okay?" I asked him, still breathless. He gave a bitter laugh. "You're asking if I'M okay? I wasn't the one who was nearly-," Seth couldn't finish his statement and he didn't have to.

I hugged him, trying to get as close to him as possible. "You looked so mad," I commented. He took a deep breath. "Mad doesn't even begin to cover it. I was literally going to kill him. I was going to end his life, Samantha. He deserved it." Seth called me Samantha again. I knew that he was serious.

"He didn't do anything," I assured Seth. I could feel small tremors going through his body. "He almost did. What if Edward didn't show up? You would've been-," Seth couldn't say the word. It was like the word was cursed. I guess it was.

I maneuvered myself so that I was straddling him. He was sitting up and I sat on his lap, facing him. Chest to chest. "I'm okay, Seth," I told him, searching for his eyes in the darkness. He pushed his lips onto mine and flipped us over so that he was on top of me.

"How did you stop yourself from killing him? Did you kill him?" Seth shook his head. "Luckily, Sam, Jacob, and Paul were phased so they stopped me. I can't imagine anyone else being able to stop me," he confessed.

He buried his face in my neck again, inhaling my scent. He had to know that I was okay. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "What do you have to be sorry about?" he asked, face still pressed up against throat. "Last night. I was so angry. I just… I'm so afraid of you leaving me again, Seth. It scares me," I confessed.

Seth pulled himself away from me and looked at me. I could feel myself on the brink of tears. God, I was so fucking emotional nowadays. "The last time we broke up, I turned back into someone that I never want to be. I feel like when I'm with you, I don't have to worry about being an emotional wreck. I feel like I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not. I love who I am when I'm around you. If you left me again Seth, I don't know if I'd be able to go on. I don't think I'd even want to," I said, letting the tears falling freely again.

"Shit," Seth whispered, rolling over and pulling me with him so that I was laying on top of him. I could hear his heart beating and it kind of relaxed me. "I love you, Baby Doll. I was a wreck too. I'm too deep in this. I wouldn't let you leave me. I'd fight you to keep you," he whispered into my hair. "I don't want you to feel like you can lose me, because you really fucking can't. Fuck the imprint. We really don't need it. Without it, you'd still be stuck with me."

"I called you today and you didn't answer me," I said, fighting back my tears. "I didn't want to have this conversation over the phone. I wanted to do this in person. We deserved that," he said, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

"Our relationship means more to me than a stupid dance with Christina," he admitted. "If you don't want me to go, then I won't go." I shook my head. "Go." "NO. I don't wanna go," Seth argued. "I want you to go," I told him honestly. "Tough luck. I'm not going," Seth said before he kissed me.

He put both hands on the side of my face and deepened the kiss. His tongue entered my mouth without warning. He pulled my body closer to his. I could only breathe Seth in right now. Oxygen didn't exist.

"We need to stop. My mom is in the house," Seth whispered before he pressed his lips back to mine. He moved his lips down to my neck and started biting softly. "S-s-s-Seth, if you think we should stop, then why aren't you stopping?" I asked, trying to remember to breathe.

"I can't. I really, really, really fucking need to-," Seth didn't finish his statement. He pulled my shirt over my head. I could feel exactly what Seth needed because it was pushing up against me.

I wasn't chickening out this time. I needed this too. To hell with everything else. We weren't going to stop this time.

Wowzers! A lot of stuff happened in this chapter! A lot of drama! So, tell me what you think. Do you think they're going to do the deed?

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