Of three things I was certain. One, I'm too short for my own good. Two, I am nothing without my Ninja Mafia betas and thirdly, singing Taylor Swift songs and dressing up for prom does not make Twilight mine...*sob*

Silver Lining - Rilo Kiley

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I hissed at him and he had the decency to look ashamed. I strode up to him, arms still crossed.

"I'm sorry, I..."

I got up on my tippy toes, reaching his chest.

Damn their growth spurts.

"You're what? Sorry you had a pissing contest with that guy over me? Had to prove to him what a studley-dudley you are?" I poked his hard chest with every question.

My finger's gonna hurt like hell later.

He ran his hand nervously through the back of his hair. It was amusing that pint-sized me was making wolf boy scared.

"I'm waiting, Clearwater."

"I'm sorry, ok? I just get protective. He was such a skeeze, Bella, and I..."

I held up a finger to stop him.

"You don't think I can handle myself?"

"No, I mean..."

A flustered Seth was a funny Seth.

He placed his hands against the back of the truck and hung his head.

"Why does everyone have the same reaction when I do this?"

"Everyone? You routinely pretend to be the boyfriend of random chicks?" I stood beside him and forced myself not to pat his head. I was pissed and puppy eyes and self deprecation was not going to shake me.

"Leah got so angry," he mumbled. "I was only trying to look out for her."

I softened and touched the back of his head.

"I know, but sometimes it's a little 'me Tarzan, you Jane,' you know?" He raised his head. "I can take care of myself, ok?" He still looked devastated. "You know what? Let's do this... if ever I need you to come rescue me, we'll have a secret sign, or a word that'll give you full authority to kick ass so you can save me."

He brightened up considerably and rushed to get the groceries into the truck, more a bunny rabbit than a wolf. With the excitement of a ferret on caffeine.

"What's it gonna be? Should we have something like they do in the military?" He waved two fingers past his head. I twirled one finger near my temple in reply.

"We'll discuss this when we go home, now let go of those eggs. I don't wanna find them hard boiled when we get home, ya hear?"

He obediently dropped them into the bag and kept throwing suggestions at me as I drove. I let him continue, grinning occasionally as the ideas kept getting weirder and weirder until I finally had to cut in.

"Seth I will NOT howl like a wolf. I want to be saved, not make people want to save themselves!"

"Ok, but..." Thankfully he was cut off by the phone. We both scrambled in our pockets. It was his.

He didn't look too happy.

"Hello? Yeah. Fine."

I raised an eyebrow; he covered the speaker and whispered, "Leah."

He hissed back into the phone, "I can't do that...she'll figure...err...gotta go."

Leah wasn't giving in so easily.

He sounded livid. "No...don't do that. What do I tell...but how do I...Oh, crap."

He stared dejectedly at the phone. I wondered if he was about to throw it out the window. I prayed hard that he wouldn't. Someone was not going to survive that blow to the head.

"Sibling issues?"

"Yeah...err...Leah wants to find me a date for the wedding." He squirmed.

"But you're a groomsman, aren't you going to be hanging out with Leah anyway?"

"Actually, she'll be hanging out with Jacob 'cause he's the best man and..."

"...Leah's the maid of honour," I finished his sentence. "So why don't you and I hang out? I mean as friends? We'll laugh at each other's outfits, speculate on who's gonna have slutty wedding sex and you can watch me get drunk...Yay!" I did a fist pump with the 'yay' that died on my lips when I saw his face.

Was it because I said slutty wedding sex? I mean, it's a fact of life, yes?

"I don't want to be a pity date and I'm sure you want to take someone else." I couldn't place the tone in his voice. Was it sadness and...fear?

I patted his hand in reassurance. "Believe me Seth, unless I find a tall, dark and handsome guy at this play, which I severely doubt, you would be my perfect date."

"Tall, dark and handsome? That rings a few bells," his eyebrows rose up, punctuated by a mischievous grin.

"Dont even think about it."

"But Jac.."

"So is the rest of the wolf pack. Now shush."

"But..."

His phone rang again.

Saved by the bell.

"Someone's popular today."

"Hi...Mom," he looked at me from the corner of his eye. I assumed it was private and looked away, concentrating on the road. He carried on a hushed conversation, with words like "fine...called...I know" drifting in my direction. I assumed they were discussing the wedding, judging from the pained look on his face. He ended the call five minutes later, looking decidedly worse for the wear.

Poor kid, what were these women doing to him?

The weeks passed and soon we were getting into the rhythm of things. I cooked and he cleaned as a way of thanking me for cooking for four people instead of just two. There were a few hilarious moments, like when I woke up late one night to find Seth trying to move the "sea of boobs" into his room. When he saw me, he immediately stopped, stretched his hands in front of him and made zombie noises while dragging his feet back to his room. He denied all knowledge of it the next morning. I made him watch "Gossip Girl" with me as punishment but his whines only added to the guilty pleasure. We'd both go shopping once a week, always avoiding Jason's line. He looked relieved, occasionally throwing a grateful smile my way for not setting Seth on him. We both started our internships and in the evening we'd tell each other about our day. Me having to run after 6 year olds in tutus while the Director I assisted looked down the pianist's top and him raving about the amazing pieces of art he was helping conserve. I always felt like the bitchy one after our conversations.

Stupid wolf boy and his I-poop-butterflies attitude.

I loved him though. He was the perfect sunshine to my doom and gloom and he didn't seem to mind when I ranted against everything with a pulse. What I seemed to mind was the alarming rate of phone calls and texts he kept getting. He would excuse himself from the table at least once during dinner and after a while he resorted to leaving it on silent.

I tried asking him about it one afternoon but he deflected like he was on some secret mission. I assured him that if he ever wanted to talk about it, I was there.

"Thanks, B."

"What have you been watching ...S?"

"Hey, Chuck Bass is kinda my idol, ok?"

"Your secret's safe with me, Seth, until you annoy me or I need something really bad."

He laughed before his cell phone went off again. He held up a finger apologetically.

"I need to take this."

"Tell them to STFU, Seth!" I yelled at his rapidly retreating back.

He flashed me a grin and closed his bedroom door. I wondered if he had a girlfriend I didn't know about.

Nah...His girlfriend must be pretty scary to make him look like that.

I realised I had to buy some milk and eggs cause we were running dangerously low. I wrote a note to Seth telling him I'd be gone for a while cause I needed to go to the bookstore as well and not to worry if I got a little late.

Since Seth wasn't around I bantered with Jason. He thankfully didn't ask about Seth, as if mentioning his name would make him appear. Instead we stayed in safe waters. He attended a local college and there was a new bar open a few blocks away from the apartment and the price of tomatoes was on the way up.

My next stop was at the book store. I bought a few classics, bypassing the vampire craze that was going on in the young adult section.

Edward would be so amused.

I bought a book on Art History for Seth, making sure that there were more pictures than words. I knew Seth would be more willing to read than Jacob but I didn't want to take a chance. The last time I gave Jake a book with no pictures, he used it for target practice. Paul was not amused. In fact, I remember learning a few choice curse words that day, not to mention the flurry of fur and teeth that seemed to go on forever, the book lying ripped to shreds on the ground nearby.

What a way to go, Poe.

I got back to a silent apartment. I dropped my keys on the table and looked around to see if Seth had gone somewhere and left me a note. My note had been moved from its place, which meant he had seen it. I tentatively called out his name, knowing that his super hearing would pick it up but there was no answer.

He wouldn't leave without telling me.

I went upstairs and knocked on his door. There was no answer so I jiggled the handle. It was unlocked. I pushed the door open, one eye closed in case I saw something that would scar me for life, and entered his room. It was surprisingly clean apart from some clothes on the floor. His bed was empty. I was just about to panic when I heard a whimper from the bathroom.

"Seth, are you in there? Are you ok? Do I need to call a doctor?" I placed my ear against the door, waiting for a response. After a few seconds of hearing the frantic beating of my heart, I heard another whimper, louder this time. I knew I had to do something.

"Seth, I'm coming in. I swear to God if you're in there doing things that will make you go blind someday, I will kick your ass so hard you're gonna be calling ME your alpha."

He whimpered again as I pulled the door handle, praying simultaneously that it would be unlocked, that I wouldn't see anything that would require therapy and that he wasn't hurt.

My first prayer was answered as I slowly pushed the door open. I tiptoed past the sinks and whispered his name. I was greeted with a low howl and a whimper as an over-grown wolf looked woefully at me from inside the bathtub.

Ok hamsters! Vote time! I wanna write a different POV for the next chapter so you (yes YOU!) get to decide whether its Jacob, Edward or a mystery guest (dun dun dunnnnn) . So tell me when/if you review and make my day!

I pink puffy heart all of you!