A/N: Let's just get right to it shall we?
"Sweetheart...wake up sweetheart." feather light kisses landed on my eyelids. "It's time to wake up honey... wake up." whispers in my ear, hot breath washing over my neck and shoulder. Another kiss lands so lightly on my lips that I can barely feel it.
I bolt upright and my eyes pop wide open. I checked my alarm clock. Fuck, I still had 20 minutes before my alarm even went off! Even though I had time to sleep a bit longer, I knew if I tried it, I'd sleep way too long and end up late. I groaned and flipped back the covers as I slid out of bed to go to the bathroom. Maybe a shower would wake me fully.
I sighed as the warm water cascaded over my body, running my fingers through my hair to make sure it was properly coated with conditioner. WHAT WAS THAT? I asked myself. WHY DID I HAVE THAT DREAM? When I told Seth that I wanted us to be friends I meant it. This dream, however, was a little TOO friendly though. My subconscious needed to cool it, otherwise, it would be difficult to stick to the terms I had set for us. I rinsed myself off quickly and stepped out of the shower, wrapping myself in a fluffy towel. After brushing my teeth, I went back to my room to get dressed.
For my first day, I figured I'd wear something simple, going with a pair of lightly ripped jeans and a forest green turtleneck sweater. I styled my outfit with a pair of black combat boots with a chunky heel, a small pair of gold hoops, and a simple necklace. Deciding that I was too lazy to do anything substantial to my hair, I just put it up in a messy bun, allowing some of the wavy strands to fall around my face. With just a touch of mascara, I was ready to go. I checked the clock and noticed I had just enough time to go downstairs and fix myself something to eat. I grabbed my bag and rushed down the stairs to find that Emily was already awake and cooking a hardy breakfast.
"Wow, Emily this all looks delicious! What's the occasion?" I said.
"Oh, it's nothing special, a couple of guys from the pack usually come around for breakfast during the week before heading off to work with Sam. I do however have these..." she said before walking off toward the microwave. "Special blueberry pancakes just for you! Sam told me they were your favorite when you were little. Happy first day!"
"Aww, you didn't have to do that Emily." I smiled as I took the pancakes to the table.
"Of course, I did. I want you to feel at home here." she smiled back.
I grabbed a couple of pieces of bacon and some eggs off a plate in the middle of the table and started eating. I had barely tucked into my food when Seth came walking through the front door.
"Seth! Hey, you're early." I said. He came around the table and snatched a piece of bacon off my plate. As I swatted his hand away, he leaned in and said: "Hey, sweetheart." The feeling of his breath on my ear immediately made me think of the dream I had last night, and I blushed.
"I figured Emily would be making breakfast right about now and I thought I would come by and grab some grub." He said around a mouthful of the bacon he stole. "Besides, the earlier I got here, the more time I'd have with my favorite girl." He bumped my shoulder and gave me a wink, only serving to make me blush harder. We ate in silence for a bit until Paul, Jared, and Quil came crashing into the room. Almost on cue, Sam bounded down the stairs.
"Mornin' everybody!" He says as he places a kiss on the top of my head. He walks over to Emily and starts planting kisses all over the scarred half of her face. As soon as I finished the last bite of my pancakes Seth was up and ready to go.
"We should really head out now Lexi if you wanna have time to get settled at school before class starts." He said.
"Right! Bye, everyone!" I jumped out of my seat and reached for my backpack but before I could reach it Seth had already grabbed it and put it over his shoulder. "I can carry my own stuff you know." I crossed my arms, giving him a challenging look.
"Yes, and?" He said with an eyebrow arched.
"AND you should give it here!" I huffed.
"HA, you're hilarious pipsqueak! Let's get a move on." He walked out the door and started down the driveway.
"Walking to school with you is already proving to be a pain in the ass!" I shouted after him, trying to catch up with his long stride. He slowed down just a touch and then slung his arm over my shoulder.
"You love me for it though." He responded smugly.
"You keep telling yourself that pal." I rolled my eyes and hid a smile.
"Is that you giving permission? Cause I'll take it!" He shot back. I couldn't contain my laughter then; it came out of me so fast it even made me snort. Which in turn made Seth laugh along with me. I was floored again by how comfortable we were with each other. Only Seth could make reconnecting like this as easy as breathing. He really is still the boy I remember from all those years ago.
"How are you still the silliest person I know?"
"I don't know, how do you still have the craziest laugh I ever heard?" He chuckled. I lightly smacked his chest with the back of my hand. "What? I think it's really cute."
"Whatever, my laugh is atrocious there is nothing cute about it," I said.
"Your eyes are gonna get stuck if you keep rolling them like that." He said, making me let out yet another loud cackle. "See, your laugh is super infectious and endearing. Besides, a girl as pretty as you has to have something wrong with her."
"You use that line on all your friends?" I said while trying to hide my blush.
"Only the hot ones." He smirked at me. Obviously, my efforts in hiding my blush were fruitless.
"Seth..." I started.
"Yes yes, I know. We're just friends. But, seriously though how can you expect me not to flirt at least a little bit when you make faces like that?" He was full-on grinning now.
"Why do you make it so hard for me to be stern with you?" I said, holding back a smile myself.
"You can't say no to this face." He shrugged. We settled into a comfortable silence after that and soon I was able to see the school in the distance.
I looked down at his arm resting on my shoulder and then up at his face. He really had grown up; it was like looking at a complete stranger, but he still felt so familiar. I leaned into his side and let out a small sigh as we walked onto school grounds. There were a few kids in the parking lot already. Some of them continued to mind their business while others stared blatantly at us.
"What are they staring at?" I asked.
"The new girl obviously." He chuckled at me. "You gotta understand, we get absolutely zero new students on the Res. It's all the same people we've been in school with our whole lives."
"Oh right, I guess I'm not really used to that anymore. Either way, it'll still be new to me. I didn't really have friends outside of you, Leah, and Jacob when we were little. I don't think I remember anyone." I said.
"They might not really remember you either but trust me when I say they all know about your return to La Push. Word travels fast around here and a new student is hot gossip." He said.
"Oh joy," I said sarcastically. We entered the small building and Seth quickly stepped into the role of tour guide. He first took me to the office to retrieve my locker number and a slip for all my teachers to sign today. When Seth notices my locker number, he gets this big wide grin on his face
"Well, well, well, would you look at that! Your locker is directly across the hall from mine. Now you'll never get rid of me mwahahahaha!" He joked.
"Oh no, whatever will I do?" I said dryly. He showed me to the locker, and I tested the combination on it to make sure it worked. We continued on in silence until we got to our first class. There were only a few students in the room and the teacher was already at his desk.
"Hey, I'm Lexi Uley. I'm new here." I said. He nodded and held out his hand. I just kind of stared at it wondering when he'd respond.
"I think he wants your attendance slip so he can sign it," Seth whispered from close behind.
"Oh crap, yeah," I exclaimed. "Here you go." He grunted at me, scribbled something on the paper, and handed it back to me. "Uh...thanks," I said and then let Seth lead me towards a couple of seats in the back. "So um, is he always like that." I nod towards the teacher at the front of the room.
"Oh, Mr. White? Yeah, he wants to be here teaching us even less than we wanna be here learning from him. He's kinda the worst." Seth explained.
"Huh, well, that sounds promising," I said.
"Don't worry about it, I promise it gets better. He's really the only one who acts like this." He reassured. I wish I could say the next fifty minutes flew by but sadly, they dragged on forever. Mr. White had the most monotonous voice I'd ever heard, I was starting to really hate Western civ.
"A/N: Please leave me a love note, some might call these "reviews."
Until next time,
Stay home, stay safe, and WEAR A MASK!/span/strong/p
