Chapter 8

The rest of the night consisted of everyone telling stories and just laughing and having a good time. I learned more about each of the guys and was able to talk with everyone. We were all sitting in the living room- Sam and Jake were sitting on the coffee table, Paul and Jared were still in their love seat, Brady, Seth, Collin, Kat, and me were all squished onto the biggest couch, Quil was lounging on the floor against the TV, and DJ and Leah were leaning against the kitchen doorframe.

Suddenly everyone's eyes widened as they stared at something behind me.

Paul, Jared, Quil, and Jake all had evil smirks on their faces.

"This should be good." Quil whispered.

"What?" I asked, as I turned around to see what everyone was staring at.

Standing in Emily's front doorway with eight boxes of pizza was a soaking wet Embry Call.

"Hi guys." Embry said, giving the pizzas to DJ and walking into the living room. He smiled when he saw me and found a seat somewhere around the room. "When I said I'd be seeing you again Stevie, I didn't think it'd be this soon." He chuckled and I just nervously giggled, knowing he too is a wolf.

"Yea I accidently learned the secret, oops." He laughed and we explained how I watched Seth phase in the woods earlier in the day and then proceeded to have a panic attack about it at Brady's house. We all began to chat amongst ourselves again and things seemed pretty normal. I got up and sat next to Embry, hoping to find out why he had left the diner last week with no explanation.

"So, what happened last weekend…" I began, hoping he knew what I meant. He just smiled and sat back in his seat.

"What do you mean?"

"You kinda just up and left in the middle of our breakfast date." He sighed.

"It's a long story, but basically, we can't be together so I figured why waste time getting close when it's not gonna work out anyway?"

"Why can't we be together…" I asked quietly, hoping that I didn't imply that I wanted to be together- I was just confused. How does he know we can't be together? What would make him think that?

"Let's just say this guy I know has a huge crush on you and I don't wanna get in the way." His eyes flickered to something behind me but I didn't turn to see what it was. "Plus, he needs all the help he can get with winning you over speaking that he's been a dumbass about it for apparently quite a while." Who was he talking about? Who has a huge crush on me?

"Who likes me?" I asked, hoping he'd tell. He laughed and put his arms behind his head.

"Why don't you go ask your buddy over there." He said, nodding towards Seth. Seth looked like he wanted to kill Embry, but instead he got up and stormed out of the house, slamming the front door on the way out. I turned to Brady, hoping he could tell me what I should do because I was terribly confused. He just tossed me his car keys and nodded his head to the door where Seth just exited. I nodded and quickly ran after Seth, leaving Embry on the couch alone.

When I got outside, Seth was leaning against a giant tree, resting his head on his arms. I slowly walked over to him and stopped when I was a few feet away.

"You okay?" I asked. He didn't move.

"Yeah. Embry's just a dick sometimes." He muttered. I wonder why he was so angry at Embry? All he did was tell me to ask Seth who likes me. I wonder if Seth even knows.

"Just ignore him…" I said, not really sure how to comfort him. He began to shake slightly and I got concerned. "Seth…" I trailed of because the shaking got a little more intense and I had no idea what was going to happen. The guys had mentioned that they shake when they're about to phase, but how intense is that shaking when that happens? I took a step back and cracked a twig. This caught Seth's attention and he immediately stopped shaking and instead turned around to look at me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you again…" he looked at the ground and kicked the pebbles of the driveway. I took a deep breath, hoping to calm my nerves.

"Come on, I need you to drive me home." I tossed him the keys and walked towards the Jeep.

"We're taking Brady's car?" he asked as he followed.

"Yeah, I didn't drive here and he tossed me his keys anyway."

The ride home was quiet. I rested my head on the window and watched as the trees passed by. Seth pulled into my driveway and killed the engine. We both just sat there for a few minutes in silence until he got out and came around to open my door. He walked me up the steps and I went and sat on the porch swing that I loved oh-so-much. Seth followed behind me, sitting down next to me.

"So how do you like being a werewolf?" I asked.

"It's pretty cool I guess. I missed not being able to go to school for that week but…" he trailed off.

"Wow. You're the only kid I've ever heard say that he actually missed going to school." he laughed.

"Yeah, well I wasn't allowed to see any of my teachers and classmates, or Kat." I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry, I didn't miss you that much." He added. I playfully shoved his shoulder and he just laughed, looking down at his feet.

"Seth?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Hm?"

"Why'd you get so mad at what Embry said back there? About someone liking me and you knowing who it is." I've been dying to know who this mystery man is that apparently has a crush on me.

"Cause he says things that shouldn't be said and it's just aggravating. He shouldn't have said anything to you about anything. It's none of his damn business how I feel about- Never mind." he stopped talking and stood up, walking to the railing across from us.

"How you feel about what?" I asked, slowly standing up and following him.

He smiled down at me, "Nothing, you need to go to bed, it's late and you've had a really long day." I looked at my watch and saw it was almost 2 in the morning. "Plus, we have school tomorrow." He added.

"I'm skipping. F that, I deserve a day off after what I went through today." I thought back to what happened earlier in the afternoon, shocked that that all happened only hours ago.

"Yea, you deserve some time and space away from all this." Seth said, looking hurt.

"I plan on sleeping all day and just crashing in my room. I'd say you could join but you're probably busy…" I trailed off, partly hoping he wasn't busy.

He smirked, "Are you asking me to skip school with you? Because if so, then I'm free all day." I gave him a hug before walking to my front door.

"Well than hopefully I'll see you tomorrow Seth." I gave him a smile before walking inside and going upstairs to my bed.

I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon and syrup. I looked at my phone to find out it wasn't actually morning, it was afternoon- 1:26pm to be exact. I sighed and rolled over, wanting to go eat but not wanting to get up. I had no idea who was even cooking, my mom and dad should be at work, Selena's at school, and DJ doesn't cook. I debated going to check but decided I'd lay in bed a little longer and scroll through the apps on my phone.

About five minutes later I heard light footsteps on the staircase and then my door creaked open. I lowered my phone to see who was coming in and smiled when I saw Seth holding a giant tray of food.

"Aw man, I was hoping I'd be able to get up here before you actually woke up." He whined, kicking the door shut behind him. I laughed and sat up, making room on my bed for the two of us.

"What is all of this?" I asked, looking at everything on the tray. There were two glasses of orange juice, a giant bowl of fruit, and two plates stacked with French toast and bacon. It all looked amazing!

"It's an apology. For all the crappy things I've done these past two weeks. From ignoring you all week, to ditching you at the club, to lying about everything, and then to scaring you yesterday." Seth set the tray down on my bed and sat across from me. "Stevie, I feel so incredibly awful about everything and I know this doesn't fully make up for it but I'm hoping it's a start." His eyes were full of guilt and sorrow and It almost hurt me to look into them.

I grabbed his hands and smiled, "Seth, I forgave you last night for everything that's happened. I know you had no choice but to keep the secret and lie to me and it's okay. As for scaring me, well, that's all been taken care of and I'm okay now. It wasn't your fault, I shouldn't have been in the woods anyway. You're fine bub." I leaned over and kissed his forehead.

He beamed up at me and I couldn't help but laugh at how happy he looked. "Now let's eat, I'm starving!"

The rest of the day was pretty eventless. Seth stayed and watched a movie with me but had to leave around dinner time for his patrol shift. Apparently, the guys take turns running around the border of La Push to make sure no vampires get in without them knowing. He promised he'd come back later just to check up on me and make sure I was still okay. I told him I was fine but he insisted so I didn't argue too much.

I showered, ate dinner, and relaxed for the few hours that Seth was gone. DJ had come home while I was eating but didn't stay too long because he had patrol after Seth. Around eight o'clock I warmed up a giant plate of pasta for Seth and made two cups of hot chocolate, one for Seth and one for me. I brought it all out to the table on my back patio and cuddled up with a blanket and waited for Seth. DJ said they switch at eight and that he'd probably just come right through the woods in out yard.

Just liked DJ said, Seth strolled out of the woods in gym shorts a few minutes after eight and when he saw me, he jogged up the steps and took a seat right next to me.

"Here ya go." I said, handing him his mug of hot chocolate and a plate of pasta. His eyes lit up at the sight of food.

"What's this for?" he asked, not wasting anytime shoving food in his mouth.

"An apology. Kinda. For freaking out so much yesterday and having a panic attack and not trusting you. I should've known you'd never hurt me and I'm sorry if I insulted you or anything." I mumbled quietly. He gave me a big smile and grabbed my hand, rubbing his thumb over my fingers.

"Stevie, you have nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything that a normal person shouldn't do." He laughed, "You saw your best friend turn into an animal, it's normal to freak out about that." He was right, but I still felt bad for some reason. I just nodded and rested my head on his shoulder while he continued to lightly rub my hand with his thumb. He finished eating and placed he plate and mug on the table next to him.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked, looking up at him. It's been bugging me how he's been acting with me all week- the protectiveness, the stares, and loving looks. And with what Embry said last night about Seth knowing who likes me, I needed to know if my thoughts were correct. If Seth liked me more than a friend.

"Of course, what's up?" he turned so he could face me better and I sat up straighter.

"What did Embry mean last night? When he said someone has a crush on me and that you know who it is?" his eyes dropped to the ground and his thumb stopped moving. "Last night you said he knew how you feel about someone. Seth, is there something you're not telling me?"

He didn't answer at first, but then sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Embry knows I have… strong feelings for someone and he just likes teasing me is all." He said, turning to look at me.

"Strong feelings for who?" I asked. He didn't answer. "Two weeks ago, I heard you and Leah arguing in your back yard. You said that you're in love with someone." He still didn't comment. "Seth, who are you in love with?"

He took a deep breath and stood up, moving to sit across from me on the short bench near the edge of the patio. "You, Stevie." My heart skipped a beat, shocked at what just came out of his mouth. Now way was Seth in love with me, it wasn't possible. We were best friends and nothing more.

"I…I don…Seth I …" I stuttered. How do I even respond to that? Deep down I knew it was true, the signs were all there. The loving stares, the flirty moments, the protectiveness. Deep down, I knew a part of me was in love with him too, but I could never act on it, I couldn't risk losing this friendship.

"Shush. Let me finish." He smiled and took a deep breath. "I've liked you since the sixth grade Stevie. That first day of middle school when you wore that polka-dot skirt and the shirt with the heart on it. Your hair was down and all curly and we both walked to school together because we were both so scared. That was when I knew I liked you more than a friend. But when I saw you on the first day of high school…oh my god…that's when I knew I loved you Stevie. You were wearing your favorite pair of skinny jeans with the flowery top that made your brown eyes shine. And you let Kat straighten your hair for the first time ever. And remember all the times we would hang out and have movie nights, just the two of us. They were the best. And we would watch scary movies, and you would act all tough in the beginning, but by the middle of the movies, you were hiding under the blankets on my lap. Or when we would just disappear for the day in the woods and go to our favorite meadow that we found a couple years back. I know this is random that I'm suddenly telling you this, but Embry's right. Somebody likes you, a lot. And I want you to know that it's me." He said, as he stepped forward towards me. "I love you Stevie." He whispered.

I was at a loss for words. I can't believe this. Seth, my goofy, funny, weird, happy-go-lucky best friend, loves me. He's been in my life for my entire life. I've always done everything with him. We grew up next door from each other. We lived our lives together, through thick and thin he was always there. Yea we've done things on our own, met other people, lived our lives, but we never let that come between us or separate us.

"Stevie," he whispered, leaning in closer to me. His face was a mere inch or two away from mine.

"Yeah?" I breathed.

"Can I kiss you?"

I nodded. His hand cupped my face and I just sat there as he smiled and leaned in, closing the small space between us.