K. Sorry, but this is just some fluff (at least, it was supposed to be) that shows what Penny thinks about imprinting and the whole wolf situation. I'm reallyreallyreally sorry about my confusing timelines, but you can blame ardeeneethesardeenee. It's all her fault. She made me do it. Sorry. Don't hate me.

And I am truly sorry that I haven't posted in so long. But I've been so busy, you wouldn't believe it (and I'm sure you don't – but it's true!), and I'm sorry. Hope this fail makes up for it.

And also I just wanna mention how much I hate this chapter. I am so painstakingly sick of writing it. And I haven't written it in a month, but I just started again, and now I want it to be over. And it finally is. Thank goodness. *Big sigh of relief.*

Enjoy! (If you can. It sucks so much. Does it even make sense? Goodness knows it doesn't.) Read and review! And remember, I don't own the wolves or Twilight or La Push or anything. I don't even own the bookstore I created. But I own the guy who does!

Chapter 5

Penelope's POV

I crouch behind the couch for six minutes, allowing them ample time to leave. In the mean time I text Seth – I'm still in awe after two days of having this ring on my finger. My parents didn't bother freaking out once they saw the green. Mom realizes that it's my birthstone (I think she's suspicious considering it's on my ring finger), and Dad just acknowledges it's not a diamond. Kara and Lynn harassed me for a couple minutes before I swore on Seth's life it's just a promise ring (they know that when I bring him into it, I'm as serious as I possibly could be), and Noah, Gavin and Taylor don't care. They're eleven, but even Taylor didn't give me a second glance when I got home, which makes sense considering she's one of the most tomboy-ish girls you've ever met. I feel like she (maybe all of them) will phase in a few years…

As long as nobody hurts my baby sister, I won't have a problem with that.

I waltz into the kitchen (and no, that is not a figure of speech; I enjoy waltzing. I had to teach Seth and it stuck) and greet Frank and Debora Spencer. "Hey to you too," Deb says, hugging me around the shoulders. "Listen. My shift at the hospital starts in a few – want a lift?"

"No thank you, my bike is just outside," I tell her. Debbie's a nurse at the local clinic.

"Alright Penny – care for dinner?" Frank's gruff voice echoes through the house, and I accept the offer.

I scarf down some lasagna and then head to work. I wonder how the date (sorry, the study-session or whatever the hell they're doing) is going. I remember my first date with Seth… it's hard to forget considering we recreated it just two days ago. He was so nervous. So cute. I chuckle as I turn a corner, biking for seven more minutes until I reach the bookstore. The bell jingles as I walk in and see a single customer. Seth.

"Hi!" I run up to hug him before standing behind the counter. He sits on the old black loveseat, stuffs some fluff and springs back in the ripped corner, and looks at me adoringly. I smile but all I can think about is Adrienne. I remember when Seth told me about the pack. It was three weeks after we had started dating…

"Hey!" Seth says. "Wanna come to the bonfire tonight? The Elders will be telling the legends, and the whole gang will be there."

"Sure!" I kiss him and hold his hand as we walk to his house.

The bonfire is spectacular. We join everyone on a log and listen to the stories. I'm especially intrigued about the third wife. A sacrifice that huge – she cared immensely about her family, and I hope that I can be as loving and brave as she was.

This night makes me feel at home. Only three weeks have passed and I'm already completely and passionately in love with Seth, no matter what my parents say. I believe in true love, even in high school. I'm only fifteen, but I want to spend the rest of my life with Seth. I'm positive about it.

The full moon overhead is enchanting, and I realize that it's practically midnight. I'm starting to drift off when Seth says, "Penny? Are you awake? Can I talk to you?"

I bolt upright and force my eyes open. "Sure," I answer sleepily.

"Did you have a good time?"

"Of course! It was amazing! I loved all the stories."

"Well, that's the thing… They're not – they're – they're not just legends. They're… the truth."

I scoot away from him. "What? How? That – that –"

"The gang and I are a pack. A pack of shape-shifters. We can phase into wolves."

"Are you kidding me? I – wait, you guys are pulling my leg, aren't you –"

Seth looks at me with only sincerity in his eyes, and my smile turns back into a frown. "I'm sorry, Penny, but I'm not. We can control it – well, I'm still getting the hang of things since I only phased for the first time five weeks ago – unless we get really, really angry. I am getting better. Remember how I sometimes start shaking?" I nod. It happens quite often, if people made fun of me or him or the two of us dating. And it happens when the gang – er, pack – picks a fight with him. Sometimes he has to run outside, but it's happened less lately.

"Well, it means I'm about to phase. And the reason for all of this…" He pauses to take a big gulp of air. "Is vampires."

"Ha! Next thing you'll be telling me there's such thing as magic," I laugh nervously, trying to grasp such a concept.

"There's not. As far as I'm concerned, anyways. But listen to me, Penny. I could not be more serious. I'm really truly sorry for putting you through this, but… I want you to know. I need you to know, and understand, and accept it. Can you?"

"Seth, this is so much to take in," I say, my cracking voice a sheer whisper. I feel like punching someone in the face, crying my eyes out, and just falling asleep, because I'm so worn out, all at the same time. "Please don't tell me there's anything else…"

His face contorts into an expression full of sadness and sorry. What else could there possibly be to tell?!

"Well, there's… there's this thing called imprinting: it can happen when a wolf sees someone for the first time since phasing. If said person becomes the wolf's imprint, they fall madly, deeply in love. The wolf wants to, and will, do anything and everything for their true love. They'll be whatever is needed: a lover, a friend, a sibling. They will stay close when they're wanted, and, even though it will be the most painful experience ever, they will leave when they're not. They will be loving, and caring, and helpful, and honest, and all that their imprint could ever wish for. And, Penelope Ray McClearot, I happened to have imprinted on you."

Seth finally looks at me, showing a small, hopeful smile. And it disappears the moment I stand up and walk away.

I take a five minute walk to clear my head – a.k.a. I go a bit deeper into the forest and scream my head off. Once I have done that, I calmly walk back into the clearing, sit on the log where Seth is, and think a moment. His lovable smile is gone, and he's looking at me in wonder. I love him. I'll always love him. And, apparently, he'll always love me. So why bother trying to fight it? I couldn't last a second if I knew that Seth didn't care.

"I love you, Seth Clearwater, and I don't care if you're a turtle or a monkey or a dog – which, I suppose you almost are." I laugh, and Seth's face lights up. "I will never stop loving you, and I will love you more every day, and we will grow old and crinkly and wise together, and I will keep you forever by my side. I could never stop loving you. Nothing would make me do it. I would die, like the noble Third Wife in the story, rather than stop loving you. And – and –"

"You love me?" This is clearly all Seth heard of my romantic little speech. Goodness, I need to work on this boy. "That – that's the first time you've ever – ever – told me that," he stutters, and I realize that he's right. I've thought it a billion times, yet I wanted him to say it first. Well, that just ruined my moment.

"Oh, no, I –"

"I love you. I will never not love you – I couldn't. It would physically pain me to do so, and I – I don't ever want to think it again. I love you more than anything else in the world, and I will do anything and everything for you, and I would go to the moon if I had to, although it'd be pretty far and I'm scared that I would miss you too much, and I'll never stop loving you. I'll love you forever and always."

"I'll love you after forever and always ends," I counter. And I will. I kiss him softly, and feel like I could not be happier.

Seth touches my arm and I tumble out of my daydream. "Are you okay?"

"I – no. I'm so scared that Adrienne's – that something might happen to her. It was hard enough for me to hear it, and to know that my best friend is going to go through the same thing…"

He kisses my forehead, and whispers, "She'll be okay,"

I hope so.

Sadly, Seth had to go – his patrol shift starts at seven thirty. I kiss him goodbye, and am left alone with my worries.

I absentmindedly push buttons on the cash register while thinking about Adrienne. I really don't want her to get hurt – but on the other hand, I don't want her to hurt Collin, either. I can't even talk to her about it because she doesn't know yet! I hate keeping her out of the loop – but now I'm not sure that I want her in it. If Collin hadn't imprinted on her, there wouldn't be a problem. But maybe it was meant to be. And soon we can talk about everything! … If she doesn't run away or do anything drastic. I didn't, but I'm less dramatic than Adrienne. Everything in her eyes is a bit more extreme than it really is, and this news – wolves, imprinting, vampires – might make her hate Collin, and me, and Seth, and everyone… and I'm so scared. I don't know what to do. It can be so frustrating, this whole idea of wolves. Although I love the pack – they're my family. And I couldn't imagine life without Seth… so maybe soon she won't be able to imagine life without Collin. I really, really hope so…

"Penelope?"

"Hm?" I look up to see Mark Woodley, the store owner, glancing over my shoulder.

"How exactly did we sky rocket in sales as of two seconds ago? The cash now says forty thousand as today's total," his eyebrows are raised in a combination of disappointment and amusement.

I shrink into my stool, utterly embarrassed, as Mark resets the machine. I hear the bell ring and look up to see the three bitches of my grade walk in. It's Veronica Wolfe (super-sweet Victoria's evil twin sister), Chelsea Smith, and Sabrina Arishnikov. Kill me. (They hate me – the rumours range from 'she'll put out for a doughnut' to 'I can't believe she's cheating on Seth – and with Marcus! He's such a freak of nature – but at least they have something in common.')

The trio walk across the room and start looking at novels in the romance section before starting a hushed conversation that I can clearly understand. "My dad said that those wolves are at it again," Chelsea says. Her father, John, is extremely into hunting and has a few police officer friends, so he knows all about the pack (but, obviously, not everything about them). They saw me in the woods with Seth a year ago, and since they enjoy doing everything they possibly can to piss me off (for example, taking my clothes from the gym change room and hanging them on the stair railing), they've taken an interest in … exterminating the pack.

"So what'd they kill this time?" Veronica asks, plain interest streaming from her voice.

"Billy Wringer is missing, and there was a blood trail leading into the forest," says Chelsea dramatically. The other two girls give appropriate gasps as horror sets into my gut.

Vampires.

The remark just screams it. If only Seth had stayed a little longer… I listen more carefully as the conversation continues. Billy, a senior at our school, has been gone since Thursday night; I'm surprised that more people aren't aware of it. Two days is often enough to hear about something in our small community. I'm also surprised that a vampire would be so careless as to leave a trail of blood – they're probably a newborn. That scares me even more.

The girls give me a nasty look and then walk out of the shop without buying anything. I doubt they even planned on it. Since the shop is empty, I call Seth – no answer. He must have phased already. I sigh and try Emily's house. She picks up after a few rings.

"Hey Penny! How are-"

"There are vampires here. At least one, anyways. Billy Wringer is missing – the guys still in high school will know who he is, just ask them. There was a trail of blood leading from his backyard into the forest, and John Smith is blaming it on the pack."

I hear Emily take in a sharp breath, and then quickly relay my message to Sam. "Sam's just gone to tell everyone. Thanks Penny."

I hang up, wait out the next hour of customer-less boredom, and then head back to Adrienne's, worry filling my mind once again. But I put on a happy face and hide behind the couch.

Not being able to tell my best friend half the stuff that goes on in my life sucks.

(And I'm really truly sorry that that last line turned out so sucky too.)

So what'd you think? Please review! Even to tell me how sucky it was! I meant it to be fluff, and it mostly was, but I also kinda just added a new thing. Vampires. Whoops. That wasn't supposed to happen, but it did, and now I'm just rambling as I so often do. Alright. Review please! I'll probably hopefully totally post sooner!

Love and hugs!

Seeweed.