PREVIOUSLY-
He was asleep within a few minutes, and it wasn't long after that before I was, too.
When I woke, it was to a knocking on the door. I was still wrapped in Seth's arms, though I'd turned in the night and my back was against his chest. His arm was wrapped around my waist holding me to him. Then I realized there was light coming through the window. Oh no, we'd slept all night. I started to panic. Seth woke quickly and heard the knocking.
He went to go open the door and I heard Sue on the other side. "Tell Bella I called her dad last night and told him that she was too tired to drive back, so she stayed here with Leah and that I'd make sure she got to school on time."
"Thanks, Mom. How did you know?" Seth asked her, looking embarrassed.
"I knocked on your door at about 10:30 last night, but both of you were so peaceful sleeping. I know how hard it was for you the other night, and I knew it must have been a hard night for Bella too, so I wanted both of you to get some good rest. She does need to get up to get ready for school, though, because she still has the drive back to Forks." I heard Sue tell him. I couldn't begin to tell her how much I appreciated the gesture.
Seth nodded and closed the door again and came back to the bed, laying back down to look at me.
"I can't believe we slept all night." I murmured as I rubbed my eyes sleepily.
"Best night's sleep I've ever had." He said with a huge smile. "I don't want you to leave. I don't think I've ever been so comfortable in my life."
"Me too, but I have school." I muttered quietly.
"Will you come back after school?" He asked, pushing a piece of my hair out of my face.
"I will as soon as I talk to Charlie. I need to tell him about Emily's catering business. I can't fall asleep here tonight though, he'd start wondering why." I told him honestly and saw his face fall.
I couldn't help but want to see his brilliant smile again. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek, right at the edge of his lips.
I began to wonder what it would feel like to kiss his lips, and I hovered over them for a split second before I heard another knock at the door, causing me to pull away quickly. I could see Seth close his eyes and take a deep breath, smiling as he got back up to answer the door.
This time it was Leah. "I brought some clothes for your girl. I gotta say, Swan, I'm totally going to win this bet!" She said into the room. My face turned red. "My money is on within a week!" She handed Seth the pile of clothes and he closed the door again.
"Bet? What bet?" he asked me as he went to set the clothes in the bathroom.
"Leah told me last night that the whole pack is taking bets on when me and you get together." I told him, still feeling my cheeks burn.
"And she's going for within the week?" He asked curiously as I sat up, stretching.
"I'm going to kill you, Lee…" I heard Seth muttering as I closed the door and I giggled.
As I showered, I took the time to think about it. I knew I needed to wait to tell Charlie until he was officially 16. But that was just it, I only need to wait to tell him. It felt so strange. I'd only officially known Seth for 3 full days, and I was so attuned to him that I could feel his anxiety about the situation from the other room. He knew my feelings were changing, and his were to match. If I'd wanted to kiss him, then he did as well.
Could I really drag this out for a whole month? It was such a unique situation. I already knew he was my forever. I could feel it in my bones. Any feelings I ever had for Edward were gone. I knew that Seth would never leave me like Edward had. Was it wrong of me to want to be with him already? No, it wasn't. I was his everything, and I knew eventually he would be my everything, too. We would take things as slowly as I needed, so it wasn't like I'd be jumping into anything.
I even wondered if Seth would be able to possibly shield thoughts from the pack. If he could not think about it, then we could throw off the pack as well, leaving them surprised, too. I didn't count on that though. I knew it would probably be too difficult to shield thoughts from the pack, especially with how new a wolf he was.
I finished my shower and got dressed in the clothes that Leah gave me, not even drying my hair before I walked out the door, back to Seth's room.
He seemed to be waiting for me, because he was standing nearly right in front of the door. His anxiety was palpable as he stared at me with an unexplainable look. Deciding to fix it, I moved forward and put my hands around the back of his neck, playing with the hair at the base of his head.
He looked down at me for a second before I stood on my tip toes and pressed my lips to his.
To say there were fireworks would be an understatement.
He'd stood in shock for a single moment before moving his lips against mine and instinctively pushing me up against the bathroom door.
I could feel the current between all parts of our bodies that were touching, and I could feel the droplets of water from my wet hair dripping down his bare chest.
He pulled away and rested his head against mine, smiling. "Shut up, Lee!" He yelled quietly, and I wondered what she'd said. "So, what happened about waiting until my birthday?"
"We don't have to tell Charlie until then. In fact, we don't even have to say we're together until then…" I told him as he leaned down to kiss me again.
"My wolf wants everyone to know, but I can wait a month. The pack will know, though. I couldn't possibly keep this from my thoughts. Not when I want to think about it all the time." He said, kissing me once more. "I knew when you'd decided in the shower. I have to say, kissing my imprint was officially the best first kiss I could have ever had. You'll be my first kiss and my last."
That thought made me smile as I leaned into him. He was only the second person I'd ever kissed and the first one certainly never kissed me like that.
The more I compared my life before with my life now, the more I realized that I had so much more potential than I'd ever dreamed. I'd been so shallow with my thoughts before, with Edward. I'd wanted the immortality, the beauty, the flawlessness, the impervious and unchanging nature that comes with being a vampire, but maybe Rosalie had been right.
Everyone has flaws, it makes them who they are. Vampires might not have many physical flaws, other than the bite marks Jasper carried, but they were stuck. Unchanging, unable to move forward, a flaw in itself. Trapped in teenager's bodies and minds forever. Looking back on it, I couldn't believe I'd ever wanted that for myself.
I realized now, having this imprint, that I don't think I ever truly loved Edward. I was infatuated with him, most definitely, as he was with me, but it wasn't true love. To him, I was a puzzle, the only silence in his life, I was his singer, something he craved. To me, Edward was a curiosity, an enigma, the supernatural in my mundane human existence, the ability to make myself more.
But I didn't need to be more. I was humans, and like the saying "To err is human".
"Another rabbit hole?" Seth asked as he carefully brushed my hair from my face, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, I'm sorry. It was like I had an epiphany." I muttered to him, blushing embarrassingly.
"You want to tell me about it on your drive to school?" he asked, looking over at the clock with his eyes opening a little.
"Oh crap! I'm going to be late if I don't head out now…" I scrambled to make sure my hair was okay in the mirror. "You said you want to ride with me?"
"Yeah if you'd be okay with that? I can hop out before you get to the school parking lot and run back. I'm still out of school for two weeks, so it's not a problem with me." He told me nervously.
"Yeah of course I want you to come." I told him, looking in the mirror again, being paranoid.
"Bells, you look fine, I promise, perfect even." Seth whispered in my ear, sending shivers up my spine, before turning my head and kissing me again lightly.
"Mmm, but you're biased." I responded with a smirk as he pulled me out of his room, holding my hand.
"Of course I'm biased, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong." He winked before shouting goodbye to his mom and escorting me quickly out to my truck.
Once we were on the road, I relaxed, knowing I was going to (hopefully) be just on time for school. I didn't need them calling Charlie.
"So, are you going to tell me what you were thinking about before?" He asked as we chugged along in my big red tank.
"I just realized how much I've been missing out on by not seeing the bigger picture, you know? Like before, I was so consumed with this idea of immortality and the benefits that come with it, that I would've given anything to have it. I was so naïve. I wish I could've seen it that way then. I would have lost so much." I told him, essentially pouring my heart out.
"So, what made you change your mind?" He asked quietly, but curiously.
"The imprint made me realize a lot of things that I hadn't thought of before. I guess it made me grow up, too. But not just that, when I saw Sam with Emily, and Jared with Kim, I knew I wanted that type of love, that type of life. I've always wanted to be part of something bigger. I was an only child split between two very distant type of parents. I'd thought the Cullens were the perfect family, but they were too perfect, you know? The pack is a real family, one with flaws, but with happiness, comfort, the ability for growth. Eventually everyone is going to have kids and grow old and not have to sit around never changing, just like a statue, and then have to watch everyone they've ever loved die around them. What I'm trying to say is that I'm happy, Seth. I'm so glad my life turned this direction, and it's mainly because of you." I explained, nearly at the point of tears as I continued to drive, unable to look at his face.
Instead, he slid closer to me and ran the back of his finger gently down the side of my face. "You will have what Sam and Emily and Jared and Kim have, I can promise that. We've got so much time, Bella. Maybe not as forever teenagers, but we have a whole lifetime. I-uh- I know it's kind of embarrassing, but I can't get that vision of our possible future out of my head. We just look so happy. I know we have a long way to go before we get there, but we will." Seth said to me in a not-so-teenager type of way, making my heart flutter with every word.
"So, what are you going to do while I'm at school?" I asked him after a few minutes of silence.
"Probably play video games and probably go on a run with Sam. Yesterday Quil and I raced to the Canadian border, which was awesome, by the way. I won, but that's probably because I tripped him with a log." Seth laughed lightheartedly. It was good to hear him joking again, especially after our serious conversations of the past couple days.
"Enjoy it while you can. You'll be back at school before too long." I winked at him before pulling off the road, just before the school.
"You're coming to the res after you talk to Charlie, right?" Seth asked quickly.
"Yes, I promise, now go before I'm late for school." I told him. He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss, then pulled away smiling, muttering something about that being the 'best feeling ever'. I completely agreed.
I walked into school with a smile on my face, ready for whatever the day was going to throw at me.
A/N- I toyed with this one for a while, debating on whether or not to have them kiss so soon, but I really couldn't help it. I've been a teenage girl. Hell, I got married at 17 years old (and here I am over 10 years later, still married to the same man -who was 2 years older than me- and we have 3 beautiful children). The emotions I write are pulled from my own personal experiences, and I hope that comes across as real as they feel in my mind. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! As always, please review and let me know what you think.