A/N: Yes I know, TWO CHAPTERS IN THE SAME DAY! I thought it would make up for how long it took me to update at all. Sorry guys, school is kicking my ass. Anyways please enjoy!
For the rest of the day, Seth walked me to all of my classes, even the ones we didn't share. At lunch, I sat with him and his friends.
"Hey, guys, this is Lexi, she just moved back here from Florida." He introduced me with a big smile. I listened as he ran through a list of names that I was honestly struggling to remember. I'd be sure to make more of an effort if I get to talk to any of them. Most everyone seemed excited to meet me, but there was one person at the table whose enthusiasm seemed a bit insincere, though I couldn't say what for. After the introductions, Seth proceeded to pull my chair out for me.
"Why thank you, kind sir," I said with an old-timey kind of accent as I took my seat.
"You mocking me girl?" He smirked.
"So, what if I am?" I grinned cheekily.
He leaned in with his arm around the back of my chair, "Well then I'll have to get you back for it, now won't I?" I couldn't help the blush that rose to my cheeks, he definitely had me flustered.
"So umm... are you guys...dating?" Asked one of the guys across the table.
"Dating?! What? No...we're just old friends" I said in a panic and I felt Seth back off immediately. He'd thrown on an easy smile, but I could see behind it that my words had hurt him. I felt a pain in my chest at his unease.
"Oh, my bad, you just seemed kinda close." The guy said with a look of disbelief.
"Yeah Gabe, we go waaay back. Its just been a long time since we last saw each other." Seth interjected.
The rest of the lunch period was spent getting to know the people I was sitting with and I realized that I'd already had class with most of them. With only two classes left in the day, lunch had me feeling reinvigorated. When the bell rang Seth grabbed my bag and slung it over his shoulder much like he did this morning, despite my protests.
"It's the least I can do." He'd said and placed a kiss on my forehead. We started walking to class, this time with some of his friends from lunch in tow. For the most part, we just made small talk. That is until one girl from the group sped up to walk alongside Seth.
"So, Seth...did you say that you and the new girl aren't dating?" She asked. As much as I tried to ignore it, my ears perked up a bit at this question.
"Yeah, uh sure sure." He said nonchalantly.
"Oh, that's great because I was actually gonna ask if you wanted to see a movie with me this weekend?" She said with a smile. You could almost see the hearts in her eyes.
"Oh my gosh, Maria that sounds like a GREAT idea!" He said with extra emphasis on great. "So thoughtful of you to think of a way to welcome Lexi back home to La Push! In fact, we should all go, right guys?" He asked the group, seemingly missing the point of Maria's invitation. I could see that some of them were holding back laughter, but everyone agreed. "Then it's settled, we can all carpool to PA this Saturday. We'll talk about the details later this week." We all nodded in agreement as we entered the classroom. I caught Maria glaring at me as Seth directed me to a table in the back of the room. The class was brought to attention almost immediately and though I tried my best to pay attention I was dying to say what was on my mind. So, I did.
"Seth, you know that girl Maria was asking you on a date, right?" I said softly.
He leaned towards me a bit and whispered back, "yeah I know." I balked at this.
"So why did you turn it around and invite everyone? She's been glaring daggers at me ever since." I said glancing at her scowling face across the room.
"Because I'm not interested. Never have been." He shrugged.
"And why not?"
"There's only one girl I'm interested in. It's always been that way." He leaned back in his chair then and stared ahead at the board. I blushed lightly and did the same. I continued staring straight ahead when I added, "I think you should give her a shot."
"Is that what you want?" He shot back I could see his frown out of the corner of my eye.
"I don't want you to give up on having a life outside of me just because the ancestors say we're soulmates or whatever," I said honestly. He gave an exasperated huff.
"If that's what it takes to make you understand that my choices have nothing to do with the imprint and that I'd be interested in only you without it just as I am now, then sure. I'll give it a try."
Seth was quiet for the rest of the day, seemingly deep in thought. Barely uttered a full sentence to his friends when we left school. Barely uttered a single word to me as we walked home. It was awkward, to say the least, and I couldn't think of a single thing to say to get rid of the tension that was created undoubtedly by my words to him in class. When we'd finally made it home, I had to stop myself from sighing in relief. He handed my bag back to me and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.
"See ya, sweetheart." He winked at me.
"Wait, uh...do you wanna come in? Hang out for a while? We could watch TV or..." I trailed off.
"Nah, I should get home. Maybe some other time?" He shrugged
"Yeah sure. Bye then." He was already jogging away by the time I finished saying goodbye.
I walked into the house, feeling a little weird. I couldn't really put a name to my emotions at the moment.
"Hi Lexi, how was school?" Emily asked from the kitchen, startling me somewhat.
"It was fine. Seth introduced me to some of his friends." I noticed her smile fell just a fraction when I said his name, but I ignored it.
"Oh, that's just great!" She responded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, uh, I'm gonna go upstairs and get started on my homework for the week." I went up the stairs and shut myself in my room, taking a deep breath as I did. "Shake it off Alexis," I whispered to myself.
I shot my mom a text letting her know that school went well and that I'd be doing homework for the rest of the day. I then decided I should text Nicole and let her know how I was settling in. It was only 3 pm here so it shouldn't be too late back in Florida. Once that was done, I pulled out my binder full of catch up work and got to it. I'd been working for hours when I heard a knock at my door.
"Hey sis, you gonna come down for dinner?" Sam asked, peeking his head into the room.
"Dinner?" I looked out the window then and saw that it was now dark out. "What time is it?"
"Seven." He chuckled. "Get lost for a bit?"
"You have no idea." I laughed and got out of bed.
I spent the rest of the night enjoying my brother's company. Our conversation was easy and full of the familiarity I'd always had with him. I stopped for a moment to really soak in the fact that I was back home. This was my new normal and I was so glad to have it.
A/N: Please leave a review for me, my loves.
Until next time,
Stay home, stay safe, and WEAR A MASK!
