Chapter 43

Music was blasting on the beach when the pack walked down the path to where the party was. Seth, Quil, Embry, and Paul were accompanying Leah and Anabelle. Paul mostly wanted to come and scare off anyone that got too close to his sister. There were a lot of teens scattered on the beach. From what she could tell, Anabelle saw most of the people there were from Forks.

She clung to Paul's arm, not trusting herself in walking by herself. "What kind of party is this?", She asked.

"I don't know. Leah just said there was a party she wanted to go to. Then all the guys overheard about it and wanted to come." Anabelle nodded and followed her brother to where the pack was standing by the food. She grabbed a cup from the table and filled it with Coke when someone called her name.

"Anabelle?" She turned around to see Danielle, Mike's sister walking towards her holding a red solo cup. "Wow, it's good to see you. You look good!"

"Thank you. It's good to see you too. It's been a while." A guy then walked up to Danielle before wrapping an arm around her waist.

"This is my boyfriend, Eric. He's also a friend of my brother's. Eric, this is Anabelle, the girl from the hospital I told you about."

"Nice to meet you, Anabelle. Are you a part of the group that just came?"

Anabelle nodded before pointing at the pack who were grabbing at the hotdogs and burgers. "Yep. That one is my brother," she said pointing to Paul, "and his friends."

"Where's Jacob?" Danielle asked, looking around for the tall, muscular native.

"He's not here. We uh- we broke up." Anabelle said shyly before taking a small sip of her soda.

"Oh, I'm sorry girlie. What happened?"

"We just got into a fight." She replied, not comfortable talking about Jacob. "My friend's calling me, so I should go. It was good seeing you."

"You too, maybe we can go dancing when I've had a few drinks in." Anabelle giggled at the way Danielle showed her cup of what she assumed was alcohol before taking a big sip.

She made her way to Seth, who was standing against a rock and eating a burger. "Hey Seth, not really into the party scene?"

"Yeah, I'm not a dancer." He told her. "Unlike those bozos over there." Anabelle looked at what he pointed at and giggled at Quil and Embry when they attempted to dance with some upperclassmen.

She looked to the right to see Leah dancing with a guy on the dance floor, a drink in her hand making her look away quickly. She did not want to see her friend grinding on a guy.

A few moments later Anabelle caught the eye of a guy with short blonde hair from across the dance floor. She gave him a shy smile before taking another sip of her soda. She then asked Seth if he wanted to dance to the slow song that started to play. "Sure, why not?" He replied.

She let him grab her hand before following him to the dance floor. They wrapped their arms around each other, hers on his neck and his on her waist. "I love this song," Anabelle whispered, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Is this the one from that sad movie we saw during spring break?" Seth asked.

"Yup."

A drop in the ocean

A change in the weather

I was praying that you and me might end up together

It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert

But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven

"Are you doing alright?" Seth whispered to her.

"I'm getting there," Anabelle replied. "I'm just trying to keep it together. All I can think about is him. And it's only been a week."

I don't wanna waste the weekend

If you don't love me, pretend

A few more hours then it's time to go

As my train rolls down the East Coast,

I wonder how you keep warm

It's too late to cry

Too broken to move on

"He's coming back. There's no way he can not see you for a long time. At least that's what Sam and Jared say. I guess you have to just wait till he's ready."

"I just hope he's not mad at me. I said some horrible things to him. When I heard about him and Bella, my insecurities got the better of me and my feelings turned to anger."

And still I can't let you be

Most nights, I hardly sleep

Don't take what you don't need from me

Just a drop in the ocean

A change in the weather

I was praying that you and me might end up together

It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert

But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven

"I'm sure he won't be too mad. He just needs time to cool off." Seth assured her. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"May I cut in?" Both Anabelle and Seth turned to the unknown voice. Anabelle recognized him as the guy she made eye contact with a few minutes ago.

She suddenly felt Seth stiffen and hold her waist tighter making her look up at him. A look of adoration came over Seth's face making her eyes widen. Anabelle looked at him in surprise. He just imprinted. She looked over at the unknown guy.

"Hi, I'm Anabelle."

"Ethan." The boy replied.

Misplaced trust and old friends

Never counting regrets

By the grace of God, I do not rest at all

New England as the leaves change

The last excuse that I'll claim

I was a boy who loved a woman like a little girl

And still I can't let you be

Most nights, I hardly sleep

Don't take what you don't need from me

Seth seemed to refocus on Anabelle who gave him a small smile. "I'm going to find Paul and the rest of the guys." When he left, Anabelle turned towards Ethan and let him hold her hand and place the other on her waist.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Ethan asked.

Anabelle shook her head. "Seth's not my boyfriend. He's just a friend. A brother, so to say."

It's just a drop in the ocean

A change in the weather

I was praying that you and me might end up together

It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert

But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my

Heaven doesn't seem far away anymore

No, no

Heaven doesn't seem far away

Heaven doesn't seem far away anymore

No, no

Heaven doesn't seem far away

Oh, oh

"I hope I wasn't interrupting something. Your friend looked a little surprised when he saw me. It was a little weird."

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," Anabelle assured him, glancing at Seth who was talking with Paul but looking at Ethan discreetly. "So," she said, changing the topic of conversation. "What made you ask me to dance?"

A drop in the ocean

A change in the weatherI was praying that you and me might end up together

It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert

But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven

You are my heaven

Ethan looked down sheepishly. "I wanted to ask your friend. But I didn't know if he was into guys." The music ended and Anabelle stood still. She had so many questions but she needed to make sure Seth was ok.

"Let me just, uh. Stay right here. I need to uh, do something." She quickly made her way off the dance floor before walking towards Seth who looked scared and was slightly shaking. "Are you ok?"

Seth quickly grabbed her hand and led her in between two cars parked in the grass. "I imprinted." He whispered hurriedly. "And I don't know what to do."

"Wait Seth, are you gay?" Seth bowed his head in embarrassment. "It's fine that you are Seth, but why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to tell you, believe me, I did." He replied. "And I know you would understand me, considering that it doesn't matter to you who you love. And when you did come out to me, I felt good enough to do the same." Anabelle smiled at him. She had come out as bisexual in the 7th grade when she stumbled across the word in a book. She had been curious and looked it up, only to relate to it at just 12 years old.

The next day she had told her brother, who was very accepting, and her father, along with Seth when she got to school. He had asked what it meant, and she explained what it was. Seth thought it was cool and felt proud that she was being herself.

"But after you started dating Jacob, and me entering the pack, I pushed that part of me away. The only person who knows is Leah, and I begged her to not think about it at all when we phased. I didn't expect it to bite me in the ass." Anabelle giggled before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Well, I'm happy for you. You found your person, and his name is Ethan. He told me that he only asked me to dance because he didn't know if you wanted to. So, I suggest you go talk to him because he's looking at you." Seth shyly looked to his right and saw his imprint looking at him before giving him a small smile.

"I'm going to introduce myself," he told Anabelle, who gave him a thumbs-up before walking over to Paul.

"Are you doing ok?" Her brother asked, giving her a bottle of water.

"I'm doing good. I'm just happy that I got out of the house. It's been fun." Paul hugged her and tucked her into the side before kissing her on the forehead.

"Who's that talking to Seth?" he asked, pointing to Ethan. Both guys were talking quietly amongst themselves before they both laughed at a comment Ethan made.

"That's Ethan, he asked me to dance earlier and we sorta became friends. Seth was with me so I guess they're friends too. He's pretty nice." Paul nodded before pulling his sister to the dance floor.

"Come on, I"m feeling dancey." Anabelle rolled her eyes before following her brother and dancing to the cha-cha slide that was playing. She laughed loudly when Quil and Embry joined only for them to trip and fall over their own feet.

She knew this was going to be a tough summer but she also knew that it would get better. It had to.

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Anabelle groaned loudly as sunlight poured through her window. She grudgingly sat up before rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and getting out of bed, stretching as she did so. She then made her way to the bathroom to take a hot shower, her body feeling sluggish from the night before. The pack had all gone back to Emily's around 2 o'clock in the morning before crashing in the living room. Most of them had been drinking but all of them, as wolves, had a high alcohol tolerance. But that didn't mean that they had no effect on alcohol.

After a ten minute shower, Anabelle stepped out before drying herself with a towel and blow drying her hair. She also brushed her teeth before putting on deodorant. She then walked out of her bathroom and dressed in a t-shirt and jean shorts, making sure to put on tennis shoes instead of sandals.

While tying her shoelaces, Anabelle's phone started to ring. She quickly finished tying her shoes before she grabbed her phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Honey?" Anabelle gasped loudly before taking a deep breath.

"Jacob?"