Super excited to start forming this sweet relationship between Jane & Seth.

Chapter 3 & 4 are already done and waiting, so let me know what you think of this chapter! If I get enough feedback, I'll post the next tomorrow night (Thurs midnight). I hope that you like it! Thank you for reading!


Two: Seth + Shirtless Dudes

Jane's POV

I racked with nerves as I pulled into the driveway of 8343 LaPush Road.

I didn't feel like I had to double check the house number with the sticky note that Dr. Cullen had written out for me, because just as he had described it, a small, red-sided house was staring back at me through my windshield. It was settled just a bit from the road, through a forest of trees outlined on all sides, making it feel more secluded than it actually was.

I was in the deep heart of the reservation, which was quite honestly a place that I had never been before. The farthest I had ever gone was the bookstore where I frequented as a customer until I was finally offered a job there, and even that was nestled into the popular part of town that neared the edge of the Res, close enough to La Push Beach which was a frequent spot for locals, yet still far enough to feel worlds away from the true Reservation.

I felt my grip tighten around the steering wheel as my automatic windshield wipers kicked on. It was barely raining- more drizzling, the sky a putrid grey color, which was the usual for Forks, Washington. It wasn't that I was nervous to be around people from the Reservation- even the thought was ridiculous to me; they had saved my life, after all. It was more-so the seclusion that the Reservation brought. I didn't like not having anyone who was making sure I got home safe.

Still, the realization of why I was here made me push past my worries and keep driving. I parked behind two trucks, which were the only other cars in the driveway, and then I sat for a minute before I killed the ignition. I was here to thank them, and their bravery deserved some bravery.

Here goes nothing, I thought as I opened my car door and stepped out.

I adjusted my top, my hair, and the basket I had carefully crafted, on my way up to the front door. I wasn't sure what the heck was going on with me; this was a 'thank you for saving me from being sexually assaulted' kind of visit, not a fashion show, but for some reason, I had taken an hour to get ready. Perhaps the truth was that I felt a deep need to make sure that my rescuers saw me in a different light; I wanted them to see that I was okay. That I wasn't the scared, weak little girl that had cried to them in her underwear. I wanted them to have a different impression of me...

I wanted Seth to have a different impression of me.

Even thinking about him set a flurry of butterflies free inside of my stomach. Perhaps this was some sort of Stockholm Syndrome, only instead of one developing it for their captures, they developed it for their rescuer. Maybe I was just idolizing him because he saved my life, but I couldn't stop thinking about Seth ever since he sat next to me on that horrible night. He was so kind. So sweet. So gentle and caring. And somehow, he even made me laugh when I wanted to cry.

They were all good to me, but Seth was special. I felt a particular sense of gratitude to him, because he truly had made me feel better. More than that, he had managed to make me feel safe.

I was sure that some pastries and candy couldn't ever repay him for that, but it was something. So, I made my way up the front steps, and I knocked on the front door.

I stood back, waiting for an answer that, unfortunately, never came. After a moment, I tried again. And then again... And then a fourth time. After that, I accepted the fact that they weren't home, and that Seth wasn't home, and I decided to leave the basket on the doorstep for them to find later.

I was walking back to my car when I heard laughter coming from the house, accompanied with the faint sound of voices. I froze, holding my head in the air as I tried to place the sounds, realizing that they weren't coming from inside of the house... but rather the back of it.

I debated with myself for a moment. I could have very easily left the basket at the doorstep and drove off without anyone noticing; but if I did that, I wouldn't get to thank them in person. Plus, I wouldn't get to see Seth.

Would you stop it? I mentally reprimanded myself.

Finally, I decided to stop being such a coward as my desire to thank them outweighed my fear of actually doing so. I stomped back up the stairs and grabbed my basket, making my way around the side of the house, and wishing that I had better people skills. In moments like these, I wished that I was braver.

Once I rounded the corner, I realized that there were many more people in attendance than I had previously anticipated. Though I had merely mentioned Seth's name to Dr. Cullen, he had assured me that this was the address that I could find them; little did I know that by "them", he meant all of them, plus a few more and some beautiful women that were making me feel incredibly insecure.

Even worse was that none of these beautiful people noticed me.

Not for the first time, I wanted to turn invisible.

Standing with the basket clutched tightly in my gasp, pressing it so tightly to my knees that I swore I was leaving marks, I tried to figure out what was the best way to announce myself. I figured it would help to try to spot a familiar face.

The first one that I noticed was sitting in a fold-up chair by an unlit fire-pit. He had a blonde girl on his lap that had her head thrown back in a laugh. When she dipped it back down, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he smiled back at her, running his fingers through the ends of her hair and looking at her with such affection, I felt like I was eavesdropping on something that I shouldn't have been.

Next, I noticed the one who had tried to give me his shirt; he was standing a little farther to the right, simultaneously flipping what looked to be saucy grilled cheeses on a grill as he played with a little girl who couldn't have been older than three. She was wrapped around his leg like a Koala as he swung her from side to side. He had his right hand held out in front of her face, as to make sure that on her swing back she didn't accidentally hit her head on the side of the grill, which was rather cute. Immediately, I realized that this adorable little girl had been responsible for the flurry of giggles that had drawn me here.

There was a group of women who were sitting around a picnic table, talking animatedly with one another, and then were was another co-ed group that were all standing together, all talking at the same time. I tried to make out faces, but I could only, really, see the backs of them, and I didn't know Seth well enough to be able to tell him apart from the rest.

I had never felt so out of place in my life.

I was seriously contemplating retreating in an attempt to not be noticed and go back to my earlier plan of leaving the basket on the front porch, when I heard one voice call out above the rest.

"No way! Look who it is!"

I cringed. There was no going back now.

A silence fell over the lot of them as I tried to put a face to the voice. Eventually, one of them, the one who had been sitting with the blonde, stood up. He had a wide smile on his face as he approached; once he spoke again, I realized that it was him who had called me out.

"It's nice to see you," He continued, "I don't think we ever got to the name part, but I'm Embry."

"Hi!" I offered him a wide smile back; I was probably a little too enthusiastic, but just relieved that someone noticed me and they weren't looking at me like some sort of stalker. This could have gone much worse.

"Hi," He laughed just a bit. "How are you? You look less bloody today, so that's good."

"Embry," I heard a moan come from the table of women. I turned my head to see another blonde rolling her eyes at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What?" He laughed as he held up his hands. He had a mischievous twinkle in his smile that made me like him; why? I couldn't place it.

I forgot all about his mischievousness in an instant, instead completely stuck and dumbfounded by the fact that there were two identical women, here. This woman looked like a carbon copy of the other one, with just a few minor tweaks like a slightly different hair color and different ages. I looked between the older blonde and the younger blonde with such awe, I actually heard the younger one giggle.

I pressed my lips together and then quickly diverted my eyes to my feet, feeling particularly embarrassed for not being less obvious.

"Hey you!" Another voice piped up.

The one at the grill was approaching me, now. He had the little girl that had been on his leg pulled up into his arms, and he was casually tickling her as he walked, talking over her wild laughter. "How ya feeling?"

"I'm good," I nodded my head adamantly, "Feeling much better."

"Great!" He said, "I'm happy you're okay." He paused, stopping for a moment to frown as he stared at me; then, "Can I give you a hug? I feel like I should give you a hug."

"Oh!" I was surprised by this ask, but not bothered. "Sure!" I finally answered.

"Group hug!" Embry announced suddenly, "James! Seth! Get in here!"

Seth?

My eyes quickly began to dart around the yard, moving from face to face to face until I saw...

Seth.

Our eyes met in the same way that they had on that very first night, and like that night, he raised his hand and he offered me a small wave. "Hi Jane," He spoke softer than the rest.

I felt all at once exposed and safe. "Hi Seth," I couldn't help but smile as I spoke back.

I loved Seth's smile.

I knew that it was weird to love something about someone that I barely knew, but I felt like being assaulted sped that up, because that was the same smile that had made me feel better when I thought that no one in the world could make me feel better.

Suddenly, I was engulfed in a barrel hug. "Oh my God! It's you! I'm so happy you're okay!"

"Oh!" I stammered for a few seconds before being dropped back down. I stumbled a bit to find my footing, but then, I felt two more sets of arms wrap around us.

"Would you guys get off of her?" I heard a muffled, female voice demand.

With laughter, they listened, and only then did I get a clear look at the face of the one who had barrel hugged me in the first place. This guy was younger than the others who had rescued me, seeming to be even younger than me, but perhaps that was just the way that he had one of the biggest, most ridiculous smiles I had ever seen in my whole life.

I couldn't help myself.

I burst into a laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing. At his goofy, ridiculous, exuberant expression. At their lack of personal space. At all of them acting like me strutting into their backyard was a totally normal thing, not even wondering for one second how the heck I got their address or thinking to inquire about it.

"I would like to personally apologize for my son and my husband," A beautiful brunette spoke from her spot at the picnic table. "Embry- that one's not mine, so you can talk to Lena about that."

"Ugh, yeah- no. No ring, no responsibility."

I would have laughed if I wasn't so dizzy trying to figure out who was saying what.

"My son was super worried about you and is obviously a little too excited to see that you're alive," The one with the little girl spoke next. I felt like they were all working on one run-on-sentence at the same time.

"Your son?" I blurted before I could help myself, because this man couldn't have been older than his early twenties. Did he have his son at 11?

I heard the entire group laugh, which made me blush again.

"Ah!" Embry's eyes lit up. "Look Scar! Another blusher!"

I heard a gasp, and turned in time to see the older blonde look directly at me. Her face broke out into a happy grin in an instant. "Yes!" She threw a fist into the air. "Lone blusher no longer!"

I laughed awkwardly as I wondered what kind of name "Scar" was.

"I'm Jacob, by the way," The very young dad continued, pulling my attention back to them. "And this is Jason."

"Hi," I waved awkwardly. "It's nice to meet you with pants on."

Embry must have thought that was absolutely hysterical, because he was booming with laughter. "She's funny," He pointed at me. "Go Seth."

"What?" I asked.

"Yes," The very attractive blonde that was standing with Embry smiled at me. "Feel free to always wear pants when you hang out with my boyfriend from now on. You're, like, super hot."

"Ugh, thank you?"

"Let me introduce you to the gang!" Jacob continued without missing a beat. My neck snapped over to him so quickly, I felt dizzy again. "So," He pointed to the table of women. "The brunette one's Claire, the blonde one's Scarlett, and the hot, little one with the baby is Nessie, but she also goes by Jacob's trophy wife."

"I do not," I heard a flat voice respond.

I pressed my lips together. That was funny, but I didn't know if I was allowed to laugh at their inside jokes.

I waved at them collectively as they all mutually greeted me.

"Then over there we've got Jared- ignore whatever he says to you-, then his wife Kim- she's awesome, Paul who's married to the hot blonde that's way out of his league..."

"Thank you!" I heard her quip from behind me.

"... And that's my other son James, Quil who's married to the brunette who is not my wife, and... well, I think that's it for today. There are a lot more of us but not everyone's here tonight... Apparently we've gotten less fun with age." He turned to the group. "I got everyone, right?"

He's asking if he got everyone? Was that a joke? My head was literally spinning. Did he honestly expect me to remember any of that?

"I hate you," I heard a low grumble from just a few feet from me.

"Oh no! How could I forget?" Jacob laughed easily. "Sorry Lennie! And that's Lena. She's Scarlett and Paul's daughter and she's also dating Embry, but that's a sore subject for Paul right now so I suggest you probably don't bring that up."

"Oh!" My eyes popped.

"He's kidding," Embry rolled his eyes.

"Is my dining room wall kidding after my husband took a baseball bat to it?" Scarlett asked with narrowed eyes.

"Princess," He teased, "I told you I'd fix it!"

"Can you fix the fact that you used to bone her, too?" Lena smiled a tight smile up at him.

"Lena!" Paul's sharp voice cut through the air. "Never say 'bone' again. You know what, while you're at it, just never speak again and I think my ears will be safe."

She giggled.

Her boyfriend slept with her mom? Were they joking? Regardless, what an odd dynamic.

"Well," I cut in once there was a slight break in the continuous banter. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm probably not going to remember any of your names or who you're married to, but I'll certainly try."

"I'll make you a Venn Diagram," Seth spoke for the first time since originally greeting me.

My eyes flashed to his instantaneously. He was walking towards me with his hands in his pockets. He looked cuter when there was only one of him.

The thought made me laugh to myself.

Only, he caught me.

"What?" He cocked his head, a smile playing on his lips.

"Oh, nothing," I bit the corner of my lip, suddenly embarrassed. "It's just, I'm noticing that you look a lot different when there's only one of you. I'm pretty sure I was seeing stars when we met."

Seth laughed gently, but it was Embry who answered for him.

"So, Jane, what do you think? Is he hot or what?"

Lena slapped his chest. "Ignore him," She rolled her eyes before settling them on me.

"Ugh, alright." I failed at hiding a blush. Of course, I thought Seth was hot. Was I being that obvious?

"What did you bring?" Seth was obviously pretending like he didn't hear them, his voice so sweet and soft, that it took me a moment to figure out what he was referring to.

Oh!

I held the basket out in the air for him. "This is for you," I smiled as I said this. "For all of you, actually. I made the doctor give me your address and wanted to drop it off myself. I'm not really sure if this is an appropriate gift to thank someone for saving your life, but I figured, it's better than nothing. I made cookies and brownies and then filled it with some candy and chocolate and-,"

"Say no more!" Embry pretended to charge at me as he grabbed the basket from my hands.

"That was really sweet," Jacob ignored him.

"Very sweet," I heard one of the women from the table behind me agree.

"Awe!" The petite one that Jacob had referred to as his wife- I totally forgot her name- clasped her hands together and pouted her lower lip. "I love her."

I cocked my head at her. They barely knew me; and why did they know so much about me? I was so confused...

Seth took a step forward, immediately pulling my attention. "Sweet," He agreed with a small smile, "But you know, you really didn't have to do that, Jane."

I frowned at him. "I know," I replied. "But I wanted to. I know that you said that anyone would have stopped, but anyone didn't stop. You stopped. Let me say thank you. Please."

Seth's lips played with a full smile for a while before he finally settled on one. God, he looked good wearing a genuine one like that. "Okay," He shrugged his shoulders. "If you insist. How are your cookies?"

"Amazing, if I do say so myself," I bragged openly.

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows in intrigue.

"Old family recipe," I shrugged.

"Oo!" Embry suddenly shouted, "There's a card!" Immediately, he tore it open and began reading if off as an announcement.

Dear Seth + shirtless dudes,

Thank you so much for saving my life. You guys rock!

Love, Jane

"Ha!" Embry pointed at the note. "This is cute, Jane. Thanks!"

I chuckled in response. "You're welcome. Glad you like it."

"Seth plus shirtless dudes," Jacob grinned. "I'll take it!"

I bit the corner of my lip. "Check the bottom of the basket," I told Embry knowingly.

He appeared confused for a moment, before he boomed with laughter, pulling four extra-large shirts out of the basket and holding them up. Thankfully, the whole group seemed to get a kick out of my joke, which I was relieved about.

"This is awesome, Jane," Embry smiled at me. "Want me to rip Seth's so that he has to go shirtless?"

"Oh my God!" His girlfriend shoved his arm. "Leave her alone, Embry! You're like a toddler, I swear."

"You make out with toddlers, Lena? That's weird," Was his clever retort.

"Why the fuck is anyone making out with my seventeen-year-old daughter is the question," Paul's tone was short.

"Would you give it up already?" Lena groaned. "It's been over a year!"

"Can't," Paul shook his head. "My eyeballs. You destroyed my retinas."

"It's called having daughters," One of the other ones- Quil, I was quite sure was his name- jumped in. "Luce came home the other day announcing that she has a boyfriend. I didn't even know that eight-year-olds could have boyfriends. I feel like killing myself off now so that I don't have to go through the stress."

"Let's all shut the fuck up so that the misogyny doesn't get on our dinner, shall we?" Lena suggested with a large, sarcastic smile.

"Language!" More than one person reprimanded at the same time.

I giggled once again. These people might have been a bit off, but they sure were funny.

"Lena!" The older blonde piped up. "Grab that bag of sour patch kids and get your perfectly toned butt-cheeks over here."

"You got it, girl!"

Scarlett turned to me. "Jane!" Her eye-catching blue eyes surprised me. "You should stay for the bonfire!"

"Yeah!" I heard a chorus of them reply.

"Oh, wow," I nervously shuffled on my feet. "Thank you so much, but that's really not necessary."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jacob waved his hand.

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "We saved your life. You have to stay, now."

"That's not what I was going to say," Jacob nodded his head. "But the point is, we want you to stay."

"Yeah!" Nessie interceded. "We want you to stay!"

"Plus, we're having bonfire pizza!" Scarlett announced giddily.

"Oh, yum!" I pretended like I had any idea what that was.

"And Seth has to make you a Ven Diagram," Lena spoke without looking up from the Sour Patch Kids bag.

"I do love a good Ven Diagram," I lifted my eyes to look at Seth.

I was trying to gauge his reaction as to whether he wanted me here or not. Only, his gentle, kind smile was confusing. I couldn't tell if he was just a genuinely sincere and sympathetic person, or if he was being like this because he actually wanted me to stay.

"I haven't made a Ven Diagram since high school," Seth said. "I'd be happy to, though. Just remind me what those are, again?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I forgot," I teased him. "Do doctor's not use Ven Diagrams? Too low-level for such an intellectual?"

Embry was hysterically cackling again. That man sure laughed a lot.

"Gee," Seth was laughing now, too. Only, Seth's laugh was much gentler. It wasn't as exuberant as Embry's; in fact, it as much quieter, but his chest shook as he did it. It looked real- in many ways, it looked exactly how Seth appeared: Genuine to the core.

"Got something against doctors, Jane?" He finished.

"A lot, actually," I admitted with a guilty smile. "I'm getting my degree in neuroscience, and all the med students consistently mess up my lab. They think because they're going to be MD's they own the lab. Little do they know that I mess up all the settings on the microscopes just to annoy them and make them look dumb."

Seth's eyes closed as he shook his head with honest laughter. "That's vicious, Jane," He teased me, before inquiring further. "Neuroscience, huh? Should I even be talking to someone that smart?"

"No," Lena's answer was flat.

"Thank you, Lena," Seth's voice was suddenly tense. "Want to sit?" He gestured towards two lawn chairs right next to the picnic table.

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling too big. "Sure," I whispered, nodding my head at the group before taking a seat.

Once Seth sat down, I felt all at once excited and completely overwhelmed with him sitting so close to me. This close, I could make out all of his features, which would usually have been more grounding, if he wasn't absolutely, positively perfect.

Seriously.

Seth had skin that was practically shimmering, the kindest, most gorgeous smile I had practically ever seen; plus, he was sweet.

"So," Seth rubbed his palms on the tops of his thighs.

"So," I swallowed down a nervous giggle.

"How much longer do you have before you finish your degree?"

"About another year," I pressed my hair behind my ear.

"Oh yeah?" Seth seemed quite impressed. Then, he seemed confused. "But, aren't you only 19?"

I frowned. "How do you know how old I am?"

Seth appeared immediately guilty. "I sort of checked in on you at the hospital, later. I hope that's okay..."

"Oh," I swallowed down a scream. "Yeah. That's fine."

Only, it wasn't fine.

It wasn't fine at all.

It was freaking amazing!

Seth had checked on me?

Seth had asked about my age?

Why?

I didn't want to let my mind wander much further, because I was quite sure that I would make something out of nothing, which I sort of already had.

I forced my mind back on track.

"I might have skipped a grade or two," I admitted.

Seth raised his eyebrows. "A grade or two?" He repeated.

"Maybe," I nervously bit the corner of my lip. "Does that make me weird?"

"Not at all," Seth appeared genuinely confused. "But I'm sure it made you feel weird. How did you like school, being so much younger than everyone?"

At this, I felt myself blush. "Well," I began, feeling a tad uncomfortable with my unconventional upbringing; though, Seth's eyes were so open and non-judgmental, I felt free to tell him the truth.

"My parents were pretty religious. They homeschooled me until I was finished with middle school. I went to actual, physical school for the first time when I went to Forks High."

"Oh wow," Seth nodded his head casually. "How'd that go?"

I couldn't hold back a laugh. "Not well."

Seth laughed along with me, but I could tell that he wanted more info, so I wasn't surprised when he asked for it. "Why?"

"I did that whole, typical, high school girl falls for the older, hockey-playing guy."

"Hockey," Seth scrunched his nose. "Don't you know that all guys who play hockey are assholes, Jane?"

"Now I do!" I giggled. "But I was very naïve at the time. When I started Forks High, I was a 15-year-old junior. Let's just say that my parents tried everything, including a purity ring, to keep me from being boy crazy, but I ended up being worse... Hockey player boy crazy."

"Oh no," Seth groaned. "Your poor parents. How'd the purity ring work out?"

"Well," I shrugged. "It's still on my pinkie," I held it up as a sort of token, watching Seth's eyes widen in surprise. "But that might just be because said hockey player boyfriend had more girlfriends than I could fit rings on my hands... at the same time!"

Seth appeared disgruntled. "Sounds like a great guy."

I shook my head, a smile on my face as I pressed my hair behind my ear. How was it that in a few minutes, Seth was able to get me to talk about someone who I rarely ever brought up- let alone, talk about him with a smile on my face. I felt embarrassed for oversharing, but he had asked.

"You live and you learn, I guess," I shrugged, peaking back up at him from underneath of my eyelashes.

"That is definitely true," Seth let out a long breath. "I've dated a few doozies, myself."

My smile faltered just a bit, but I managed to hold it in place rather well. Internally, though, I was frowning. I didn't like thinking about Seth dating; I also didn't like thinking about how beautiful the girls must have been that he dated. I could only imagine the kinds of girls that Seth had been with.

"So you're religious?" Seth's next question surprised me.

I peered around nervously, feeling a bit self-conscious, only to find that everyone was engaged in their own conversations. I felt a bit more comfortable to be honest.

"I'm a Christian, yeah," I replied softly.

"That's cool," Seth quipped.

I offered him a pensive expression. "Yeah?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah," Seth laughed easily in response.

"Are you?" I felt compelled to ask.

Seth appeared to greatly ponder this for a moment. "Well, I'm not not one. I mean, I believe there's something that's greater than all of us out there, you know? I just don't necessarily know what that is or who that is, and I don't think that one group of people is going to get to Heaven or whatever if it does turn out to be true. I think it would probably be anyone who had good intentions."

A smile pulled up on my lips. "I think that makes a lot of sense."

"Yeah?" Seth's smile faltered. "I hope I didn't offend you."

"You didn't. I think that the whole point of faith in general is just to have something that makes things make sense. Like, there's hope even in the worst of things, like death. If you believe in faith, death is really only sad for the people that get left behind."

Seth's eyes deepened as he thought this through. "Hm," He sat back in his chair. "I like that, Jane. I've never really thought of it that way, before."

"Granted," I winced. "There are also Christians who believe that dancing is devil worshiping and that women were created to be help-maiden's to their husbands; so, what do I know?"

Seth's laugh was so sweet, I wished that I could have bottled it up and kept it forever, pulling it out when I needed to be reminded of the good that was in the world.

"More than them," Seth tilted his head in my direction. "Trust me."

"I do," I answered without thinking.

I noticed Seth's lips drop, not into a frown, but rather into a neutral expression. His head slowed, and his eyes became deep and unreadable; but one thing was for sure, he was staring at me.

And I was staring right back.

"Food's ready!" Jacob's announcement scared the bejesus out of me. I gasped up, only to look back at Seth, ready to pretend like nothing had ever happened, as I covered my face in shame, only to find him laughing.

"You hungry?" Seth asked. He pushed himself into a standing and rocked back and forth on his heels as he awaited an answer.

"Sure!" I nodded before I went to stand, myself.

"I'll get it for you," Seth's tone was casual.

I hesitated, not quite sure what to say. "Are you sure?" I questioned.

"Yeah," Seth nodded his head, seeming a bit perplexed as to why I was perplexed, while the truth was that I had just never had a guy treat me like this, before. I had never had a guy be so nice.

I had never truly been treated with respect.


Dinner was delicious, and by the time it was over, I was absolutely stuffed.

Lena and Embry had come over to sit by Seth and I as we ate, and I found myself really drawn to both of them. They were a funny pair, those two; Lena was all sass and Embry didn't seem capable of ever being serious, but they were both hysterical.

Once I found out that Lena was a dancer for a California dance company, one of the top in the country, apparently, the majority of the conversation was consumed by me asking her questions and her answering them.

I apologized multiple times for my intrigue, but I was honestly just really curious. I told her that the only thing that I knew about dance was what my mom and I learned from Abby Lee Miller on Dance Moms, which she found to be quite funny. She explained to me how her life was very different, and I was amazed that they actually enlisted the help of a private jet to fly her to and from practices on the daily; that kind of stuff just wasn't heard of outside of novels and movies.

What really drew me in, however, was the passion that Lena had for her craft. It was inspiring. You could see how much she loved it while she talked about it, and it made my heart ache in a way that was so familiar, but also so unfamiliar at the same time. It had been a long time since I felt the urge to play.

A very long time.

And here this loud, exuberant blonde was making me want to, again.

After we finished eating, Seth's friends set up a bonfire. After a few failed instances of inquiring if they wanted me to leave, eventually Embry just told me to shut up, which made me laugh, and also stopped me from asking again. It wasn't that I wanted to leave- quite the opposite, actually- it was just that I didn't want them to feel like they were trapped with me, here. Seth and his friends were being so nice to me, and they barely knew me. A part of me still wondered if it was simply out of pity, which was why I kept offering them an out.

Most of the older adults broke off as the night grew on, but Seth, Lena, Embry and I stayed planted where we were. It was surprisingly easy, how the conversation flowed between the four of us.

I swore, we would have stayed out there all night, if it wasn't for the storm.

A storm that practically came out of nowhere.


Seth's POV

All four of us were soaking wet by the time we got inside.

More importantly, I now knew that a white corset was completely see-through once wet.

Fucking fantastic.

Only, I hadn't seen any parts of Jane that I would have felt guilty about ogling, for she had her hands crossed tightly overtop of her chest, concealing herself with a bright, red blush and sexy, wet hair that made her look like she belonged on the cover of the Victoria's Secret Swimsuit Edition.

I had already known Jane to be beautiful; hell, the vision of her standing in the hospital window had been implanted permanently inside of my mind. Every, single part of her- every, single feature- they were delicate, as if they had each been innately crafted; looking at Jane, I felt more inclined to believe in a God after all, because there was no way that she was accidental. Every part of her was on purpose.

So, it wasn't a shocker when she stunned today like I expected her to- but what I hadn't intended for, was the wild amount of sex appeal that she carried with her like an invisible cloak.

Jane was the sexiest woman I had ever seen, and that wasn't just the imprint talking.

She was sexy because she was unwaveringly herself. That, and her collarbone and her legs and her lips and her full cheeks and the amazing curves of her body. Oh, and because of the way her boobs looked when she was holding her arms overtop of them, pushing them together. Thank fucking Jesus Christ or whoever was up there for rain.

I really needed to be more respectful.

The girl had a purity ring, for crying out loud. Although, I couldn't grasp from her response if she actually withheld that odd, seemingly outdated standard, or if she simply wore it for her parents' sake. I couldn't help but wonder, though, even though I knew it was none of my business if she had or hadn't. Besides, it wouldn't have changed the way I viewed her. The only thing that I hoped, was that the dick hockey player was kind to her if she had been physical with him.

If not, I had someone else to behead.

"I keep clothes here for when I sleepover," Lena began, literally ringing her hair onto the Black's kitchen floor as a cold shiver made her entire body quiver. I noticed when Embry noticed out of the corner of his eye; immediately, he pulled her into him casually, as if he didn't even have to think about keeping her warm.

I wondered if I would ever be able to do that with Jane. I wondered what it would feel like if I did.

"You can totally borrow," Lena continued. "You're staying over, right?"

Never, in the entire 17 years of knowing Lena Lahote, had I loved her more than this very moment.

A sleepover with Jane? Don't mind if I do...

Only, Jane didn't appear convinced. "Oh," She frowned, seeming caught off guard by the offer. I wondered how weird this must have been for her; sure, for my friends and I, we already considered her family- but Jane didn't know anything about imprinting. To her, we were just odd, overly-friendly people who constantly showed a lot of PDA.

I sure hoped that she liked them as much as they obviously liked her. I hoped the same for me, too.

"Well, I wasn't planning on it," She finished.

"Don't be ridiculous, Jane!" Lena chuckled. "It's a freaking hurricane out there. The only way home is if you decide to kayak."

Jane's sweet giggle was music to my ears. I could have listened to her laugh all night and never grown bored.

Still, Jane didn't appear entirely comfortable with the idea. "I'm sure it's not that bad," Jane began, just as a roar of thunder shouted in response.

I would have laughed if I wasn't concerned about her feeling uncomfortable. There was no way in hell that I was going to let her drive home alone, but if she insisted, I would have driven her.

"Yeah, no shot," Embry pulled his face away from his phone before holding out his screen for us to take a look. "Severe storm and flood warnings until three am. There's no way you're driving in this."

Lena rolled her eyes. "That's his macho-male way of saying that we'd worry about your safety way too much if we let you leave right now. Won't you stay? There's a second bed in the room I'm staying in. I can teach you how to give a lap dance."

"Lena!" Jane gasped.

"Come on," Lena laughed, obviously joking.

Me? I stayed silent. I wasn't about to disagree about anything regarding Jane and a lap dance. Lena could teach Jane that any day.

Jane nervously bit the corner of her lip, a habit that I had already begun to notice her doing when she was nervous. "You're staying over?" She asked her.

"Yeah, of course," Lena sighed as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

Jane peered down at herself. "I'm inclined to say yes," She spoke slowly. She picked her head back up and offered Lena a hopeful smile. "But is there any way that I could take a shower? I think my toes are freezing off."

Lena rolled her eyes. "Of course you can shower, idiot."

She grabbed her hand, and led her up the stairs, the sounds of giggles following after them as they retreated. Yet just before Jane was out of sight, I noticed her look back. If just for a split second, she looked right at me, and it made me want to go outside and slash all of her tires so that she could sleep over every night.

Instead, I decided not to act like a serial killer, and go take a shower of my own. Much like how Lena kept clothes at the Black's, but for very different reasons, every phasing member of the pack kept a stockpile of clothes over here, which had sort of become our group hangout spot after Sam had phased out.

The newer members of the pack didn't appreciate it as much as the older one's did, but for us original phasers, we were grateful for Jacob in a way that I didn't think any of us would have been able to express. Although I knew that Sam had good intentions, Jacob didn't hold the same strict black and white view of our duties as Sam had. When Jacob took over as alpha, and when he opened his house to us, it became apparent that Jacob wasn't only worried about our duties to our ancestors- he was more worried about our quality of life.

Things had gotten a lot better once Jacob was in charge.

He also had never, ever alpha'd any of us- except for that one time that Embry accidentally phased during foreplay with Lena.

We didn't talk about that.

Once I was showered and in clean clothes, I forced myself to focus on my phone long enough to distract me from going up to see Jane. I didn't want to be too forward, but I also was dying to see her. I didn't want her to fall asleep before I got the chance to say goodnight, or make sure that she didn't need anything. What if she didn't have enough blankets? What if she was cold? What if her pajamas were uncomfortable? What if she was scared? What if the pillows hurt her neck? What if she needed three pillows instead of two?

Essentially, I was losing my mind.

I threw my arms out and dropped back onto the bed with a thud, laughing up at the ceiling.

We were in the first-floor room of the house that Nessie had set up as a bedroom for us wolves, whenever we might have needed it; a room that we had lovingly penned the name of "Werewolf Hotel". It had been a lifesaver for late night rotations, especially during exams. I wondered how odd Jane would have thought it, to find a room with five twin beds.

Only, the Werewolf Hotel had little to no privacy, which was why I wasn't able to hide my minor mental breakdown from Embry, who was currently looking at me like how I looked at my psych patients.

"You good?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Jane," I moaned.

Embry laughed. "Imprinting is something, huh?"

"I just spent five minutes worrying that she wouldn't like the pillows."

"Hey," Embry's voice was positive. "At least she's not a newborn baby that you'll raise and then develop sexual feelings for... And at least you didn't used to have threesomes with her dad."

"Okay!" I sat up, clapping my hands and then literally shaking the thoughts out of my head. Before Scarlett and Lena, Paul and Embry were a disgusting pair- only getting more disgusting when they were being dickheads together. Some of the things that I saw in route I could never, ever, ever unsee. Paul and Embry were the ones who needed religion.

"You win," I shot over my shoulder.

We laughed for a moment, until we fell into a comfortable silence. Embry and I had never really been all that close until the last five years or so. Now, we were best friends. But before that, I wasn't sure how exactly it happened, but I do know that we had begun gravitating towards each other once I got accepted into medical school.

It wasn't that I respected Embry more than the other guys- just that we were more alike than we originally realized. Embry had a unique perspective when it came to Lena, and I remembered the one time he had explained it to me after one-too-many beers around the bonfire. I hadn't ever forgotten it. He told me that he wanted to make himself the best person he could be, so that when and if Lena ever decided she wanted to be with him, she would pick him because he was worthy of that choice, not just because she loved him, or because of the imprint bond. That was why he went to law school. That was why he worked his ass of pulling all-nighters and then opening his own firm.

I always thought that the most admiral part of it, was that he didn't really have to do it to get the girl. Although it was always, always made clear that every imprinteé had their choice, history had proven that the guy gets the girl. Although Embry and Lena might have had a more tumulus relationship than others, the odds were that the imprint bond would have ended with them as a couple.

But Embry still did it.

And I saw the kind of life him and Lena were planning. I listened to the trips they were planning and the future they were imagining, and I knew that no matter if I never imprinted at all, I had to do the same. I stopped messing around with the idea, and put my application in for pre-med the next day.

"I like her," Embry suddenly announced.

"She's cool, isn't she?" I immediately responded.

"Yeah, she is," He agreed. "I'm glad she's okay."

"Me too," I looked down at my hands. "I want to ask her about it, but I don't want to bring it up if she's uncomfortable talking about it."

"I usually just drive right into the uncomfortable stuff, but I seriously wouldn't take advice from me."

I laugh incredulously, because it's true.

After a moment, Embry actually gave some advice. He wasn't as clueless as he tried to pretend he was. "If she wants to talk about it, she'll talk about it."

I took that in for a moment, before I finally couldn't take it anymore. "I'm going to go say goodnight," I stood up.

"Be good," Embry replied, his eyes locked on his phone. "Can you send Lena down when you do that and give us maybe, like, ten minutes?"

"Ten minutes?" I scoffed. "Dude, she deserves at least twenty. What's the matter with you?"

Embry shook his head, dropping his phone and then placing his hands behind his head. He had a large grin on his face as he crossed his feet. "I was trying to be a good roommate. And I think the question you should be asking is what is wrong with you? If she needs 20 minutes, you're not doing it right."

I shook my head as I walked towards the door. "You have problems. Should I remind you that Jacob and Nessie will kill you guys if they catch you? You know their rule."

"Ok, dad," Embry wiggled his feet. The rule in question, was that the guys slept in the room on the first floor while the girls took the one upstairs; oh, and absolutely no hokey pokey.

This might have sounded ridiculous, but if you put a group of imprinted couples together, you have no idea how much sex will go on. Nessie just wanted to make sure her house remained a sex-free zone for the sanity of herself and her family. Honestly, Scarlett and Paul had ear-assaulted any discomfort I might have had at listening to other people have sex, a hell of a long time ago.

Knowing this, I could only roll my eyes at Embry's causality. Leave it to him and Lena to break the sex rules. "Just be quiet," I told him."

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked. "Go talk to Lena!"

"You two are disgusting," I shot over my shoulder before I took a leap for the stairs.

I was careful to be quiet as I passed by the babies' rooms, heading towards the edition that Nessie had coordinated in order to stay in the house with so many kids, along with the need of multiple guest rooms and accommodations (aka the Werewolf Hotel).

The guest bedroom door was closed once I reached it, and just as I raised my hand, I heard giggles. I hesitated for just a moment, loving the sound and wondering what they were talking about that made Jane so giddy; but, not wanting to invade her privacy, I didn't let myself listen for longer than a few seconds.

"Come in!" I heard after I'd knocked.

I pushed the door open, hesitantly poking my head into the room. "Decent?" I asked with my eyes closed.

"Nope. We're naked and having an orgy."

I opened my eyes, ignoring Lena and connecting my eyes with a red-faced Jane, who was sitting cross-legged on top of the bed.

"Embry booty called you," I told Lena over my shoulder.

Lena scoffed. "Please, I booty called him!"

"Have fun," Jane called after her as Lena used her dance skills to expertly sneak down the stairs and into Embry's room.

Once she was gone, Jane and I both looked at each other, sharing a look that was only the kind of look that the wildest couple I knew, could illicit.

"I am so sorry," I sighed, closing the door before crossing the room to stand in front of her bed.

"About what?" Jane giggled. "I think she's so funny."

"Jane." I waited until she looked at me. "She's nuts."

Jane giggled like a little girl- it was adorable. "Okay. She's nuts and funny. What's that Alice in Wonderland quote again? All the best people are a little mad?"

"Whatever you say," I mumbled to the both of us.

"You can sit if you want," Jane offered, smiling sweetly as she patted a spot on the bed in front of her.

Fuck, this girl was too much. I wondered if she had any idea how sweet she was as I sat down on the edge of the bed; even though she had invited me, I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, even for a second, which was why I made sure to put some distance between us.

Now eye-to-eye with her, I suddenly had no idea what I had been so impatient to come up here and talk to her about. "So," I began lamely.

Jane's shoulders rose and fell slowly as she took a deep breath. I had to gulp to keep from staring at her collar bone; something about it was calling to me, right now; in fact, it had been all that I could think about since the moment I saw her for the first time, today. That top should have been worshiped for what it did to her chest.

"So," She whispered in response.

I pressed my lips together to conceal a smile. "You took a shower."

Jane seemed to fight a smile of her own. "Yeah, I did."

"That's good," I nodded my head, mentally berating myself for being such a dumbass. I might not have been an Embry or a Paul, but I hadn't ever had issues talking to girls, so why now- why when it counted, was I struggling to find the words- and not even the right words. Honestly, any words would have done!

Apparently, Jane wasn't having the same issue. "Hey Seth?"

My eyes met hers. "Hey Jane."

Her lips pulled up into a hesitant smile. This close to her, I could see that she had freckles, which I hadn't noticed before. Her skin was clear and practically shimmering. Her hair was tied into braided pigtails. I just wanted to hug her and never let go.

"I," She sighed. "I don't know how to say this- honestly, I don't really know what to say, but you and your friends..." She shook her head, clear emotion revealing itself behind her eyes. "You've all been so kind and accommodating to me... I don't think that one cookie basket, or even 100 cookie baskets could ever fully explain how appreciative I am, but..."

"But?" I asked after she failed to continue.

Jane took another deep breath. "I just want to make sure that you're not all doing this because you feel bad for me."

I felt the air leave my lungs. "Jane," I began. How could she have gotten it so wrong?

"But I don't want to seem like I'm ungrateful!" Jane added rather panickily. In her alarm, she reached out, and she grabbed my hand.

I stared down at where she was now holding my hand, and I suddenly had no idea how to speak. Jane's hands were petite, and soft, and delicate. Everything about her was gentle. I wasn't sure how a woman like this existed in a world that could be so unkind. I couldn't imagine anyone ever being able to be unkind to her.

"Jane," I finally spoke after a minute or so of silence. I gulped, wanting to look at her, but afraid of what I might say if I did- alas, I just couldn't help myself, so I took the risk.

Jane's eyes seemed to have grown twice their original size, and they were glassy, practically see through, the browns of her eyes holding so much dimension, that I swore I could make out a dozen different colors that didn't yet exist. The liquid that was pooling behind her eyes finally broke free, and a single teardrop fell from her eye and began making its' way down her cheek.

"Jane," I tried to make my voice even gentler when I said her name, because the first time wasn't good enough. I wasn't sure how to do this, but I knew that I wanted to try. "Why are you crying?" I offered her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. I hesitated for only a moment, before I took my thumb and swiped it across the tear on her cheek, stopping it before it could go any further.

Jane's lips parted.

"Um," She pulled the corner of her lower lip into her mouth. "I'm not sure."

I chuckled, gently swiping at her chin to try to make her feel better. When a small smile encompassed her beautiful features, I knew that, somehow, it had worked.

"We're not being nice to you because we feel bad for you, Jane," I told her directly.

"Okay," Jane replied, but she still looked unsure. I was certain when she added, "Are you sure?"

"Jane!" I laughed. Feeling more confident now after all the touching on both of our parts, I took a leap of faith. I slid my hands across her cheeks and held them in my hands. She seemed even more delicate when I was holding her; I couldn't put words to it, but something about Jane made me feel like she was fragile. Of course, she was smart, and she was capable, and she was independent, but there remained something breakable within her that made me feel like I didn't want to touch her with too much force- like I was afraid that she would break.

"Yes," I whispered to her. "Yes, I'm sure, Jane. If you don't believe me, just look at Lena."

Jane appeared puzzled. "What about Lena?"

I actually had to laugh. What a question. "If Lena didn't like you, you'd know. I promise."

Jane smiled just the tiniest bit. "Promise?" She repeated. The hopefulness in her voice made me want to somehow make sure that no one was ever able to let her down.

"Promise," I whispered back.

Jane's lips parted again. I noticed her eyelashes flickering; her eyes searched from my eyes to my lips to my arms and then back to my lips, again. I felt the energy shift between us, but as much as I wanted her- I wanted to show her how much I respected and cared for her, more.

I gently brushed my thumbs across her cheeks just once, and then I pulled away. Now, I leaned forward on the bed as I spoke to her. "Why do you feel like that, Jane?" I asked her. "And why does it make you upset?"

Jane blew a puff of air out of her mouth. "I don't know," She had honesty behind her eyes as she answered my questions. "I guess I just don't understand why you're all being so kind to me."

This bothered me. "Do you think that there's a limit on the number of nice things that someone can do for you?"

Jane let out a surprised laugh, and then another one. She stopped it by biting the middle of her lip, seeming embarrassed as she swiped a piece of hair behind her ear. "I guess not," Jane admitted. Then, she quickly swiped at her eyes. "Oh God," Jane rolled her eyes up at the ceiling. "Look at me. I'm so sorry, Seth. I'm a mess. I promise I'm not usually like this."

I fought a smile. "Don't apologize," I told her. "I like you how you are."

"You're something else, Seth," Jane giggled. "But, thank you. For everything."

"You're really going to have to stop thanking me one of these days," I smiled at her.

Jane shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Maybe tomorrow," I laughed.

"So," Jane pursed her lips, cautiously peering at the door. "Do you think it's safe for you to go downstairs, yet? I'm sleepy."

I chuckled, but then I stood up. "Probably not," I told her honestly, "But I'll wait on the couch."

"Oh," Jane frowned. "No, Seth. You don't have to do that."

"I like couches," I nudged her shoulder. "So you can relax."

A brilliant, shimmering smile engulfed Jane's face. "Seth," She sighed. "You just have this way of making me feel better."

I was momentarily taken aback. What could I possibly say to that? How could I ever be as genuine as her?

Then, the prettiest face smiled at me as she spoke oh, so sweetly, "Goodnight."

So I said, "Sleep well, Jane," as I walked towards the bedroom door.

"Goodnight, Seth."

I flicked off the light.

"Goodnight, Jane."

"Night," Her shadow responded.

"Night, Jane."

With that, I closed the door behind me, and I put that particular interaction to memory. I never, ever, ever wanted to forget that. I wanted to remember the first time that Jane had said goodnight to me for the rest of my life.

... And I wanted a million more goodnights.


Is anyone else loving Jane and Seth's sweetness? Their contrast to Embry and Lena has me cracking up! Follow, favorite & review if you haven't already - I will be updating & posting weekly!

Chapter 3 & 4 are already done and waiting, so let me know what you think of this chapter! If I get enough feedback, I'll post the next tomorrow night (Thurs midnight). I hope that you like it! Thank you for reading! -N