Chapter 16 - Confirmations and Decisions

Charlotte's P.O.V.

The next day, I bring up the subject of a cell phone at breakfast, to which Joe and Lizzy question Mary on how the heck I haven't ever had a cell phone yet.

"That's such an ancient idea, it's practically criminal!" Lizzy gasps. "I would've thought you'd know better, Mary Blythe!"

Mary replies, "Hey, ease up, okay? Until now, it hasn't really been necessary since Char's always at home and we pick her up from school anyway, and she hasn't really had any friends before this anyway, so—"

"Friends? Like that Cullen boy who dropped you off less an than hour after he picked you up on Saturday?" Joe asks, sounding passive-aggressive. "Are we sure those are the kind of friends we want to be encouraging?"

"Ease up, bro," Lizzy chides. "If he had brought her home any later or even at the exact time you specified, I still think you would've found something to comment on. Char, I think a phone's a great idea, and I plan to get you one asap. Any particular preferences?"

"No, just as long as I can use it is fine," I reply.

With this problem resolved between us, it's Lizzy who drops me off at school today. Today though, it still isn't Janice who picks me up, but Adrian. I guess this will be our permanent arrangement now? Or, at least I still hope so, given that I don't know how he feels about me leaving without saying goodbye yesterday, but he's here now, so maybe that's a good sign?

"Good morning," I answer to his greeting. "Um...to get right to the point, are you by any chance upset with me?"

"Upset? Why should I be?"

I sigh, stopping him before he drops me off at my first class. "About meeting with Seth yesterday and...not saying goodbye. I didn't realize until later and I just don't want you to get the wrong idea."

"Oh? And what is 'the wrong idea'?" he asks.

I bite the inside of my cheek. "I'd rather ask you about that first—"

But just then the bell rings to signal the beginning of first period.

"It'll have to wait until lunchtime, I guess," Adrian says with a sigh. "We made a commitment not to miss out on any more classes after all, right?"

I smile and let him go, supposing that this will buy me some time to better phrase what I have to say, but...there's a problem here somewhere, and I'm not good with leaving it unresolved. It may not be my place to get involved, but after how I felt like I was in the middle of things yesterday, I don't exactly want a repeat incident, or worse.

So, come lunchtime, when Adrian once again takes me to that same place in the forest and we sit down on the log, I question him about Seth directly. Maybe saying "Do you have a problem with Seth?" is a bit blunt, but if he wants me to explain, then I will. Thankfully, this doesn't seem to be necessary as, with a big sigh, Adrian launches into his explanation.

"First of all, Charlotte, I want you to know that it's both fair and unfair for you to ask me that. I get why you're asking of course, and that makes it fair, but it wouldn't be fair of me to push my opinions onto you like that." He pauses then, in a quiet voice, he says, "You seemed like you were really hitting it off with him yesterday."

I don't know what makes me think this, but what he's saying sounds kind of like a challenge, like he wants me to deny it or make some excuse. He's right in that it isn't fair to start off things like this, so maybe more from chagrin at the principle of thing than because I meant to be this blunt, I say, "Yes, I did. He seems really nice and I like him."

A long pause. "I see."

"Adrian, you still haven't answered my question. What is your problem with Seth? Did he do something to you...over the weekend, maybe? I mean, you didn't meet him before that, so it can't be any long-term grudges, right?"

"Strictly speaking, I don't have any direct problems with him," Adrian says, surprising me. "It's more that he's...look, I don't want to talk about it and I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask. Let's just say that it's better for everyone all around if we stay away from each other, Seth and me."

I nod. "Okay, I understand, and I won't push you into anything. The only reason I brought it up at all is because I felt really uncomfortable yesterday, almost like I had to choose between you or something; and I don't want to do that and hurt either of you, so I wanted to be aware of the way things are. But, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. Just...don't make this a 'him or me' thing, I mean." That last part definitely sounds presumptuous of me, but when Adrian doesn't call me out on it, I can only assume that he was thinking along those lines after all.

Great. Makes it so much easier for me to determine what on earth I should do as far as this weekend is concerned—because, as of right now, both Seth and Adrian's invitations still stand.

Charlotte's P.O.V.

Later that night, Seth drops by as planned to meet everyone in my family. He also happens to be there when Lizzy presents me with my first cell phone, and therefore also ends up being my first out-of-family contact. Sitting on the front porch steps in the cool of the evening, he gives me both his store number and his personal cell.

"You can call me up anytime," he says. "I mean, uh...t-to let me know whether you're up for the bonfire this weekend."

If I had to describe Seth from what little time I've spent with him, this evening in particular, I'd say he's the friendliest, warmest person that I've ever met. Not only to me, but to Mary, Joe, and Lizzy, he was as casual and as open as if he was talking to people who he's known for years; and all of them, even Joe, were quite welcoming and invited him to stay for dinner as well. Once or twice as I passed by the kitchen on my way to the bathroom, I heard Mary and Lizzy whispering to each other about him, but I didn't want to hear anything they said in case it wasn't good. I've already gone through the motions of that with Joe and Mary Saturday night after they came home from hiking, and I don't need a repeat.

Once outside and alone though, something in me eases up and I settle back comfortably, wrapped up in a jacket and a poncho against the April cold. Seth showed up without a jacket, so for all I know, right now he's only wearing a t-shirt. Curious, I can't help but point it out.

"Don't you ever get cold?" I ask.

"Nah, I'm as warm as I need to be," he says, and then, for demonstration purposes I'm assuming, he takes my hand in his and indeed, he's burning.

"Are you always this way?"

"Yup, more or less." He laughs. "A lot of us Quileutes are actually quite warm."

"Quileutes?"

"The name of my people. I'm just letting you know this in case you end up shaking anyone else's hand when you say hi.U-um, again, I mean if you're coming for the bonfire this weekend."

I can't help but smile. "You sound like you really want me to go..." I say, just to throw it out there.

"That obvious, huh?" he asks, not even trying to deny it. "Yeah, I do, actually."

"Why?" I clear my throat. "I mean, you're being so nice to me, Seth, and we've barely just met. When we did meet, I thought that it wasn't even on the best of terms, but putting that aside, I really don't get it. Maybe you're just nice to everyone this way, I don't know, but I'm not used to someone taking such an interest in me."

Seth is quiet for a long time before finally answer. "Does it bother you that I do?"

"N-no," I reply honestly. "No, I like it, but I am wondering why." I turn my head towards him so he knows that he's got my full attention. "Like I said, it's unusual for me, and it would make me feel more comfortable if I knew that there's a reason behind it."

"There is a reason," Seth admits after an even longer silence, "but I'm not sure that I should tell you yet. It's just...it's involved, and the explanation is kind of long anyway." He lets go of my hand and scratches his head. "I'm not really good with explaining things and I don't want to give you the wrong idea about anything. It has a lot to do with...well, my culture and history and...yeah, I'm already making no sense to you."

He sounds really nervous now and it's making me feel guilty for putting him on the spot. Once again, I can't help but notice the difference between him and Adrian, especially as I sort of put Adrian on the spot earlier today as well, and his response was completely different. Of course, he didn't tell me any more than Seth's already told me—or not told me, I guess—but at least he was confident in what he was saying. For Seth, suddenly the bright perkiness and confidence from before is all gone, which...

Makes me feel closer to him, actually, since we have that in common with being nervous when we're put on the spot like that. As such, I understand his response better than I did Adrian's, and don't want to push him more than I already have. So, to divert the conversation and lighten the situation, I decide to go back to our tentative discussion about the bonfire.

"So, just as an early question, if I did agree to go to this bonfire, what could I expect there?" I ask.

And, like an on-off switch, Seth switches from nervous to enthusiastic in seconds. "Besides the cultural stories, food, and songs of our tribe, you mean? Well, it's an important gathering for practically everyone at La Push, so we host it down by the beach so there's a lot of space. Some people opt to wear cultural clothes, though I personally go dressed in jeans and a t-shirt myself. All of my friends will be there, and...word has it my sister's going to be back from...her trip, and so she'll also be there."

"Oh? You have a sister?" I pick up on the one piece of info that I can actually relate to from what he's said.

Seth laughs. "Yeah, older sister, same as you and Mary. She's kind of the same way towards me as Mary is towards you, actually."

"Overprotective?" I prompt.

"You got it."

"Tries to keep you safe by keeping you from experiencing more of life?"

"Yup."

"Sets curfews and checks your diet?"

"Well, she used to, but let's just say that she could start up again at any moment." Seth sighs dramatically. "You'd think that since I'm a grown man she'd lay off, but—"

I laugh. "Oh yeah, that's right! By the way, how old are you? I mean, I hope that's not rude, but you sound like you're around my age, so if I didn't know any different, that's what I would've guessed."

"Age is just a number," Seth replies. "But let's say I'm over twenty but under thirty."

I shrug, not willing to push on what might be another sensitive topic. I know it's a sensitive topic for Lizzy, since she's pushing thirty and thus lamenting her "biological clock", but I never knew that men would be self-conscious about their age as well. Then again, Joe and my dad are pretty much my only examples of men, and they always joke that they were pretty much born middle-aged, so for them it wouldn't make much of an impact either way. No standard rules for these things.

"But anyway, don't let her presence there stand against your decision," Seth continues. "Just think of the stories, songs, and food. Myself, I think of the food especially, and believe me when I say that it's a worthwhile temptation."

I'm being pushed further and further into accepting Seth's invitation even though it's early on in the week, but...guilty as I feel towards Adrian, the truth is that there's no pressure to accept Seth's offer if I want to. And I do, it all sounds so wonderful and unique. Besides which, logic would point out that while Adrian and I can go hiking any weekend, this bonfire is only happening this weekend specifically; as such, it's really a no-brainer which offer I should accept.

But I haven't been thinking about this logically so far—au contraire, I've been thinking about it in terms of principle, like accepting one offer means an automatic rejection of the other person. Right now, I only hope that I can explain things to Adrian in a way that he'll understand and therefore won't be hurt.

Wait, does he even know that Seth invited me? I don't think I mentioned it, especially not after he let me know in no uncertain terms that he's not on friendly terms with Seth, for whatever reason. So then...what do I tell him?

Taking things one step at a time, I go ahead with my first decision so as to get it over with and thus feel that I have some support behind me: I may be unsure before making a decision, but I'm rock solid on my choices afterwards. So, no matter how Adrian reacts or what I'll say to him, at least I'll have one decision written in stone.

"You know," I say to Seth, and reach for his hand once I feel my hands getting cold. It seems a bold enough move, but I was right in thinking that Seth wouldn't mind. Testing boundaries just a little bit more, I shift closer and then hitch my breath in surprise when he wraps an arm around me. I feel tension in his body, but then when I lean into him I realize that it's just from hesitation. I'm surprised at myself for this sudden move, but I need the support in order to get out what I want to say.

"You know," I repeat, "with all the things you've told me so far, you're doing a really good job of selling me on why this bonfire is a great idea. And so...as of right now, I'm going to say that yes, I'd really like to go."

There's no way that I'm imagining how his arm tightens around me once I've said this.

"I'm glad I could convince you," he says after a few moments of calm silence. "In that case, I'll look forward to this weekend all the more."

Through his hand, now encircling both of my on my lap, I feel his heartbeat—or is it mine? In any case, it's rapid, and doesn't calm down until we've separated and Seth leaves with a cheery goodbye.

And maybe not even then.

A/N: Okay, so we've given Seth a cuddly moment and therefore a head-start in this chapter, but don't despair in that there will be a lot of likewise moments with Adrian. More or less, I want to bring out this love triangle into its deeper stages before switching back and forth between our two main guys.

As always, please do follow, favourite, and review if you're reading this story! More upcoming in the next chapter!