AN: I'm back again guys! I really hope you enjoyed the previous chapter and that you continue to enjoy this fic. Please remember that I am always open to feedback and constructive criticism, so don't hold back ;)

The next morning after breakfast I waited for Seth to meet me. Time ticked by and I kept waiting until it was nearly eight 'o'clock and he still hadn't shown up. Paul and Jared had come and gone with my brother, so finally, I just grabbed my things and started walking before I was late for school.

When I finally made it to school I went straight to my locker, where I found Seth with a few friends across the hall at his. We made eye contact from across the hall and I smiled and gave a wave. I received a smile in return, but it wasn't the one I was used to. The one that reached his eyes and lit up the room. I put my bag away and grabbed the books I needed before heading off to class, doing my best not to peek over my shoulder and see if he would follow. I ended up being alone at our table in the back right up until the bell rang and he rushed to sit beside me.

Neither of us said a word, just stared ahead, listening to the teacher drone on and on. Until I decided I couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey." I whispered brilliantly.

"Hey." He whispered back.

"Uhm...so...uhm," spit it out already! "Where were you this morning?"

"Huh? Oh, were you waiting for me at Sam's?" He asked.

"Uh, kinda...yeah. I thought you'd be coming by again and we'd walk to school together." I said

"Oh, my bad. It's just, we didn't make any plans and I don't make it a habit to just pop in and walk my friends to school." He told me.

"Well, would you like to walk home with me today?" His expression twisted when I asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" My face fell.

"Like I said, I don't do that kind of stuff with my friends. Never have." He shrugged.

"I'm not just one of your friends though."

"Oh really? Then what are you Lexi, you made it pretty clear that friends were all you wanted to be. I'm just trying to follow your lead here."

"We're...BEST friends. We can walk home together without it being romantic. You were pretty friendly before." That sounded weak even to my own ears.

"That's because I LIKE you. I don't act like that with people who are just my friend and I can't trust myself not to be like that when I'm walking alone with you. So, like I said, walking home together is a bad idea for me. If we're just friends, then I need to treat you like one of my friends. If I don't, I'll just end up hurt, since you wanna keep denying what we already know is true." He whispered heatedly.

"Mr. Clearwater is there something you'd like to share with the class?" Mr. White asked haughtily.

"No, sorry sir." Seth replied and Mr. White went back to his lecture. Seth didn't say anything else to me for the rest of the class and when the bell rang, I finally had to ask,

"And what is it you think I'm denying?"

"You refuse to believe that this imprint doesn't have shit to do with our attraction to each other. That I would still want to be with you even if I hadn't." With that, he grabbed up his things and walked off toward his next class.

And that's how it went through the rest of the week. No more giant smiles, no huge bear hugs, no kisses on the forehead. I walked to and from school by myself. The only thing that hadn't changed was where I sat at lunch, but I guess that was a little different too.

I still sat with Seth and his friends, some of whom were quickly becoming mine as well, but I didn't sit next to Seth again; and though I could tell he was really trying to treat me like everyone else, things were still awkward between us. There was some pretty obvious tension between us, and everyone seemed to notice but chose to ignore it. The only person who seemed oblivious to it was Maria.

She immediately started taking advantage of the empty seat next to Seth and did anything she could to get his attention. Maria was always touching him and leaning up against his side. Seth never seemed to do anything that would encourage her, but he never discouraged her either, so I guess that was enough for her. Either way, it made me sick.

I hated seeing her fawn over him like that. What was I even thinking telling him to pursue her?! Why did I push him toward her of all people!? Why did she irritate me so freaking much?

It was now Friday, and I was chatting with Connie while we ate our lunch. Seth strolled into the cafeteria with some of our usual lunch pals including, you guessed it, Maria, who was hanging onto his arm for dear life. He shrugged her off in his usual gentle demeanor and strode over to the table with a lunch he'd brought from home.

"Hey guys" he said as he took his seat. I smiled and nodded at him and turned back to finish my conversation with Connie. I hadn't realized however that our discussion had ended with the arrival of Seth since Gabe was also with him. Connie and Gabe had officially started dating two days ago and were in their "honeymoon" phase, so he'd soaked up all her attention when he plopped down next to her. I chuckled and turned my attention to my lunch, taking a large bite of my sandwich.

"So... uh Seth," I heard Maria say across the table in a sickeningly sweet voice "are you sure you don't want it to be just us this Saturday?"

I had to give her props for trying again after he'd so blatantly pushed her date idea to the side the first time.

"Well damn! I completely forgot about this Saturday, are we still on guys?" Seth asked the table, completely disregarding Maria's question. She tried her best to hide her disgruntled expression.

"Yeah man, me and Connie are definitely in! I can fit about 4 people in my car with us." Gabe said.

"I can drive too, there's only 10 of us so the rest can ride in my car," Maria jumped in quickly, "you'll ride with me won't you Seth?" She added sweetly.

"Uh sure," he said noncommittally.

"When should we plan to leave?" Will asked.

"You said it was to Welcome Lexi to the Res, right Seth? We should leave out early and make a day of it. Go to the pier, ride the Ferris wheel or something, grab some food, see a movie." Connie suggested with a smile in my direction.

"That sounds like a lot of fun actually, but there's no reason to make it about me." I said.

"Nonsense, I'm sure we all agree that we're glad you're here and you've already told me how excited you were to move back. I'd say that's a reason to celebrate." Connie said.

"She's right Lexi, I can't speak for everyone but I'm very glad to have you back," Seth said with a blush. "Uh here. Back here, home in uh... La Push I mean."

"Right, yeah" I said trying to contain the smile creeping onto my face. Even though he was trying to treat me like his other friends, this was the first time he'd spoken to me directly since Tuesday. I was pleased to say the least.

"Anyway," Maria interjected after clearing her throat. "we should meet at first beach tomorrow morning. It's about a two-hour drive sooo… is 10 am okay?"

AN: I hope Seth's behavior in this chapter doesn't seem too unbelievable. His character in the series is shown to stick to his guns about things. He is able to see things from multiple angles and embrace things and people regardless of what he's heard or learned about something related to them. For example, how he treats Edward, Bella, and the rest of the Cullens. Coming to their aid with Jacob even though it means going against the rest of his pack just because its the right thing to do. I feel that he'd do the same with his own imprinting even though it hasn't always been shown in the best light and negatively affected his sister. Any way thats the end of my spiel lol.

As always, Stay home, stay safe and WEAR A MASK!