I cooked my dinner and Seth's, and immediately felt guilty when the Cullens refrigerator was depleted of milk. Seth, Jacob, and I were eating all of their food. Esme said it was alright, but I didn't believe her. I wasn't nearly as close as family as Bella was when she was still human. Edward heard these thoughts but didn't say anything. He agreed with me, and I knew this because he didn't comment.

I was here because Seth had found me. I didn't really belong; which gave me all the more reason to leave. Bella's words were stuck in my head for the rest of the night, "If you don't want to break Seth's heart, then don't leave, Eliza," but mostly the first part. Break Seth's heart…. Leaving wouldn't do that much damage, would it? I caught Edward's short, curt nod as he answered my thoughts.

I don't think they liked me much… Especially once they found out what I was. Uh, a Runner I mean. And with a team of fifteen vampires hunting me, I'm sure I made their "icky-"list instantly. No matter how kind they were, I think Seth was the only one who truly accepted me.

Seth was tired by the end of the day. Jacob made him run the perimeter again just in case, and when he was back I could tell the excitement from today was finally getting him. Usually that boy had so much energy; I was almost convinced that something was terribly wrong. Yet when I asked him if this was it, he just shook his head, smiled, and told me everything was "a-okay."

We were heading outside for the night (ha! You'd think that'd be strange to say, but it wasn't…for me at least) when Esme called my name. I turned around and Seth stopped with me, unwilling to release my waist.

"Eliza…with the, um… them expected in a few days, if you're staying with us-"

"Which she is," Seth interrupted. We all looked at him and his cheeks turned pink. "Oops! Sorry, go ahead."

Esme looked back at me. "Anyways, with possible visitors in the nearby future, and with the frightening news that there has already been one unwelcome guest in these areas… I was wondering if you wanted to stay inside tonight? I know Seth likes you by his side, so he's welcome to sleep here too. But I'm a little worried about what could happen while you two are asleep. We can set up a makeshift room for you upstairs. We have a guest room," Esme offered. I blushed.

"Um…" I didn't know what to say. Thank you, but no thanks? No…no, I didn't want to be rude.

"She has a point, Eliza. What if Karina, or…or Aaron" Seth spat that name "comes unexpectedly tonight or something? You'd be safer in here, I've gotta admit. Um…is it okay if I stay with you? Er, just in case," he mumbled.

I sighed, resting my head against Seth's bicep.

"I-If it's really alright with the others if I stay here tonight…" I asked warily, looking back at Esme. I wanted to make sure that they weren't forcing themselves to be nice. Esme smiled warmly at me.

"I'm sure it would be fine. Seth, you too. It's not like we're going to sleep or anything," Esme said, and then all of a sudden, she was standing in front of me. She looked at Seth for a moment and he took his arm off of me. I was a little frightened when he did this, only because I didn't get why he did. Then Esme's cold hands rested very gently on my shoulders and I felt comforted somehow.

"Eliza, don't you ever think you are not a part of this family. Even if Seth didn't love you, don't consider us compassionless monsters. If Seth had found you but didn't imprint on you, if he brought you back here all the same – which I am sure he would have done – we would have taken you into the family," Esme assured me. I blushed and I couldn't help but hug her. She hugged me back, making sure not to crush me with her vampiric strength. When she let go, I felt like crying.

"Th-thanks, Es-Esme," I choked out, trying to conceal the tears that were ready to pour from my eyes. Esme kissed me lightly on the cheek and walked off. I turned around to Seth and he was smiling tenderly. He used the edge of his tan index finger to wipe away the wetness on my cheeks.

"Shh…don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry," he told me and I blushed. Seth just grinned, and pulled me into his arms.

Esme showed me to a little room. I was actually surprised that it was small; since most other rooms in the house were fairly large. It had a queen sized bed in it, though, and Esme handed me the sheets so that I could make the bed. Wow, when they said that they liked to own things to keep up appearance, they meant it. They had, like, everything.

The clothes that I had, some of Alice's used-only-once-hand-me-downs, were in a laundry basket at the bottom of the bed, next to Seth's. I guess they assumed we were sleeping in the same bed together… When Seth and I both considered this, we were too embarrassed to talk for the next few minutes. It was absolutely fine when Seth and I would sleep outside, since he was always in wolf-form and I was in a bundle of blankets anyways, but sleeping together…in the same bed… under the same covers…? Yeah. That was pretty awkward.

I left to the bathroom to change into a pair of flannel shorts that ended just below my butt (although I loved Alice for letting me use her "old" clothes, her choice of clothing was a little too risqué for my taste…) and a tight, satin spaghetti strapped shirt – over my bra – that unfortunately had a v-dipped cleavage. The worst thing was that, these were the least revealing nightwear that Alice had. Of course, I could change into one of Seth's cotton tee-shirts but there was no way to escape the shorts.

I came back to the room and found that Seth had changed into a pair of sweats, but he wasn't wearing a shirt just in case he got a midnight call or something. He was lying on top of the covers, and I was guessing that it was too warm for even him under the covers. Or something along the lines of that. He smiled and sat up on the edge of the bed. I walked over to the other side, pulling myself under the covers and turning off the lamp on my side of the bed.

"What? No 'good-night'?" Seth teased. I rolled my eyes as he lay down beside me, still on top of the covers, and scooted up against me. His warm hand stroked my cheek and I leaned into his touch, sighing.

"G'night," I mumbled, moving closer. The covers prevented us from getting anything closer than an inch or so. I couldn't wrap my arms around him with all of these blankets separating us. From the expression on Seth's face, he was equally as frustrated about this as I was.

His frown soon became a look of innocence; a tiny, shy, and very persuasive look. His eyes would look down and then he'd look back up through his lashes at me, a couple times he did this. "You know…I'm sure I'd be able to keep you warm enough without the covers… if, er…if you don't mind of course," he offered. I smiled. I was actually relieved to get out from under the covers. I felt really isolated underneath the covers for some reason. Ugh. Or maybe I was just a pervert.

"Sure, sure," I mumbled teasingly, and threw the covers off of me. I bent over the bed and straightened the sheets again (I have an Obsessive Compulsion Disorder, I do believe) and then lay down on my side on top of them. I was facing Seth. He was smiling and his arms reached out and pulled me up against him. I buried my face in his chest and sighed. It was late, around eleven I think, and I was absolutely exhausted. Too bad I was kind of afraid to sleep tonight.

Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw Karina's, or Vincent's, or Aaron's face in my mind. Then I felt Seth stroke my back and kiss my hair, and I finally calmed down a bit.

"You'll stay with me, right?" Seth asked. Great. Of course he had to ask this.

I hesitated, biting my lower lip. I really hoped Edward wasn't listening right now.

I curled myself around him, one of my legs thrown over his hip as I dragged myself closer to him. I heard his breath catch…or maybe it was mine. Huh…such strange feelings. Ugh! And how old was I? How old was Seth? Fifteen. And he wasn't getting any older. So long as their were vampires in Forks, Washington – apparently the elders disregarded the fact that THE CULLENS POSED NO APPARENT THREAT AT ALL – Seth Clearwater would stay a boy of fifteen with the body of a twenty-year-old (and since the Cullens were planning on staying for a very long time, chances are he would never age). That ruled out any future romance or crap. Aw man.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course," I mumbled into his hot skin.

My answer didn't convince him.

"Really? You promise?" he asked seriously.

No... I couldn't promise to him.

"Seth," I sighed, uncoiling myself from around him and sitting up, my legs folding "Indian-style." He looked up at me, and I looked down, mainly at his hands while my much-smaller fingers played with them and then occasionally his face. "…No, Seth…I can't promise to stay with you. I-It'd be best if I left, you know that, right? I-I can't let them hurt you," I choked out in a whisper. I knew the vampires were listening to me downstairs. They were probably tired of this conversation by now.

Seth sat up, frowning, and pulled me into his lap, cradling me there.

"I'd fight for you, y'know. You're one of the only people in my life that I can't live without. Probably the only person, to tell you the truth. Just don't tell Jacob, Mom, or Leah, 'kay?"

I loved how he tried to ease the tension. I always sucked at doing that. He had a grin on his face when I looked back at him.

"I love you," I muttered to him.

His face grew worried. "But…?"

I sighed. "But…I can't just sit around here and let them come to me. The easiest thing to do is just go to them; get it over with. You'll be much better off in life without me. I'm sure you will. You'll find a nice, pretty girl who you won't be tied with by your life because of some magical wolfy thing. You'll love her because you choose to love her. A person like me is; well, me for you, the whole imprinting thing I'm talking about… L-Look, I-I'm just trying to say that I'm not healthy for you. Chances are, there would be some time in our life where I was going somewhere for the day to get out of the house and you had a duty to your pack or something, and then because of this whole imprinting thing, the minute I asked you to come with me, you'd have to disobey your Alpha's orders because the compulsion you have to come with me. It's not right. I don't want to take away your freedom. If what you want is me, right now, I'm here for you. But…I'm going to have to leave within the next day…I need to get to the airport. I need to get on that plane, and I need to get as far away as possible from you so that they won't hurt you," I finished my speech in tears. His arms were around me protectively.

"You know I want you to stay with me. But-! Ugh! It's just so annoying!"

"I know, I am!" I sobbed quietly.

"No! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Not you! Never you," his voice was softer at the end, gentler; like he actually loved me. Like he wasn't forced to love me.

We sat in silence as I calmed down.

"You know, even if I didn't imprint on you, Eliza, I'd still want you just as much as I want you right now. I'd still love you the same because, well…" Seth stopped and took a deep breath. I think the both of us had enough speeches for the rest of the night. He still laid me back against the mattress and hovered over me on his hands and knees. He lowered his face and kissed my lips once very softly.

"What we have is beautiful, Eliza," he breathed. Seth's voice was so tender, so full of love…It took nothing but those simple words to convince me that he was so very sincere, and so very in love with me. "It's magical, Eliza. This isn't something that, if I could, I'd turn off. If I had an on and off switch for whether or not I wanted to imprint on you, I mean, fall in love with you, then I'd smash it while it was in its 'on' position. I'd never give this up. I don't know if you've noticed how alive I feel when I'm around you," he murmured while he nuzzled my neck.

It made me wonder, as we were in such a position at the moment that could probably get us grounded if our parents were here (well, if my parents were alive, and our parents were here), if he really did want me. Like, want me, want me. I blushed at the thought because we were both so young. My heart was beating erratically inside my chest, my eyes fluttering back into my head when Seth kissed my neck very lightly, his warm breath blowing against my skin.

I wanted to get out of here now; to get away before we could do anything else that would definitely keep me here in Forks, Washington. But naturally at the same time, I wanted to stay. I was torn between two emotions, both over the same thing: Seth's safety. It also made me wonder if Seth liked girls who totally screamed, "Danger, danger: a bunch of unfriendly vampires are chasing me! Kiss me!" or…crap to that effect.

Seth sighed, stealing me from my epiphany. I looked back up at him. He quickly took this as an opportunity and pressed his lips against mine. Softly first, and then the kiss grew more passionate; a type of kiss we'd never had together before. There was still gentleness in the kiss, but it was definitely passionate. I sighed into Seth's mouth and he murmured my name. My hands found his very warm neck and pushed him down even more, and he gasped wildly at this, our lips moving against each other's.

From there, everything was a daze.

I think I fell asleep. No, I definitely fell asleep. When I opened my eyes I felt all groggy and I knew my equilibrium was off when I crawled out of bed. Um. Well first there was that issue.

Seth's arm was draped around me, heavy, muscular, and very much keeping me in place.

I had such a strange dream last night. It was about my future. Well there were two parts that I saw, really. One was of our possible future together. That one I hated the most; because in that part of the dream, Seth was naturally forever-young, and I was a forty-year-old or something. The other dream I liked the most. I was being told, over and over and over again by Vincent and Aaron that, thank goodness, Seth was alright. I was in a dark room, cornered by vampires, and I was so relieved that they were just telling me that Seth was alright. And I was so relieved! I was so happy to hear that Seth was alright! They were assuring me that Seth was alright. And that's all I needed. All I needed was to know that Seth would be alright if I went back to my Hunters. That would be enough. If Seth was unharmed, then I could die. With that little dream last night, and despite the conversation and the good-note that Seth and I had ended on last night, I knew I had made up my mind. I loved Seth. I was doing this for Seth, not to hurt him. He'd figure that out. I knew he could live without me.

I slipped out of his arm as carefully as possible. My bags… what did I need to bring? Only the contents of Vincent's package he sent me. Damn… Carlisle had the opened package the last time I saw it… I showered last night so I was all shaved and clean. I very quietly dampened a cloth and scrubbed my face with just pure water, then dried it off. I brushed my teeth, since they liked eating "clean" food. It was like I was going back to a routine I had. The old routine; before Seth came into my life.

I dressed into a short pink skirt Alice had, a pair of flip-flops, and a black boat-neck sweater. When I walked back to my makeshift room, Seth was there, still asleep. I contemplated going over and kissing him once on the cheek before I left, but instead I just blew him a silent kiss and crept down the stairs.

There we go… I had spotted the package on the kitchen counter and picked it up, hugging it to my chest. I was halfway to the door…getting closer…only about fifteen feet…

"Eliza?" a voice so low whispered to me. I gasped, jumping just slightly as I turned around. Thank goodness it wasn't Seth. But worse…it was Bella. Her arms were crossed and there was a disapproving look on her face. I sighed.

"Look, Bella…I'm really sorry I came here to Forks… I shouldn't have… so I'm taking myself out of the picture," I explained, whispering as low as I could. Surprisingly, no other vampires joined Bella. She was frowning.

"You're really leaving?"

I nodded.

Bella sighed. "What did you say to Seth?"

My eyes widened… I blushed.

"Um…We just ended on a good note last night, so…I thought that'd do," I murmured.

"You really shouldn't do that to him, Eliza. Seth is the sweetest guy you'll ever find-"

"Which is exactly why I don't want to lose him! Well… I mean… W-What I'm doing, I won't b-be losing him… I'll, uh…I'll just be making him safer, y'know?" I whispered.

Bella scoffed.

"Can you cut the crappy drama, Eliza? He loves you. So, so much. He'll kill himself if you leave. He'll never leave the house. If you go away, he'll have no reason to live. He'd throw away his life for you. And by the way you're acting right now, it'd so not be worth it," she taunted.

She was trying to convince me to stay. She was being mean because she thought that I'd fall for it and that I'd try to prove to her that it so was worth it by staying. I wasn't convinced, though. I knew what I had to do. The one person who could possibly stop me was the one person whom I was doing this for; the one person whom I was so desperate to save. So desperate that I'd practically commit suicide to save.

"Tell him I'll always love him. Please tell him that," I begged her.

Suddenly her face softened. "We don't want you to leave, Eliza. And, you know, Emmett's really frustrated at you," she added with a little smirk. My eyes widened.

"Huh?"

"Yeah. He's mad 'cause he thinks that you don't believe we can take your Hunters down like this" she snapped her fingers "but if you stay… you'll make him happy – Emmett can have a really big ego sometimes – and you'll definitely make Seth happy," she continued.

I paused and bit my lower lip. So…so tempting to stay for Seth…and, uh. I guess for Emmett too.

"No, Bella. I just can't do it. I can't put all of you in danger like that," I muttered, and rushed outside before I could hear a reply from Bella.

I was outside in the freezing cold, and was looking for a single soul.

"Leah?"

There was a growling coming from the bushes. I knew it was her.

"Leah…I'm sorry I came here. I just wanted to tell you that. I know you're upset that your brother imprinted on me. But I need to ask you a really big favor; and yes, you, not Seth. No one else but you 'cause you're probably the most willing one to go along with this plan," I began. Leah stalked out of the bushes, her glowing eyes making me cower at the sight of her wolfen beauty.

"…Leah, I'm going to find the vampires that hunt me. I'm gonna go to them before they can come here and hurt Seth. I'm gonna kill myself for his safety," I explained to her. I saw her eyes light up in the light of dawn, and her tail wag. She was happy. At least I was making someone happy. But some day in the future, while I'm watching down on Seth in heaven, he'll be happy too; he'll be happy, too, that I left him.

"But…I kind of need a ride to the airport…can you help me out there?" I whispered to her. She immediately shifted angles and bent down so that I could climb on to her back. Which I did. Her fur coat wasn't as silky and smooth and warm as Seth's. I sighed disappointedly, and she snarled. I shut myself up after that, carefully grabbing on to her fur and burying my face in the back of her neck.

The wind flew around us…for about ten seconds. Leah skidded to a stop, and I gasped.

"Leah? What's wrong?"

She snarled, but not at me. At the creature in front of us. The whimper…Oh…oh…the whimper!

I felt like crying. I leapt off of Leah's back with the package in my hand and I stood just in front of her.

The gangly little fifteen-year-old was in full wolf form, sadness in his eyes, and a frown on his face. I was crying now.

"Bella told you, didn't she?" I whimpered. Seth whined. I looked at his pose. He was horizontally blocking the path in front of me and Leah. His legs were spread out and they didn't look so firm, a little wobbly actually. His ears were flat against his giant skull, and his tail was tucked against his belly. I bit my lower lip.

He nodded, finally answering me.

"I need to go, Seth," I told him in a whisper, and then I heard the most painful, agonizing yowl ever. Seth was shaking his head violently. Leah stood behind me, growling. Seth looked up at her, his eyes wide, and he shook his head in terror. I took a step toward him.

"Did Leah tell you I asked her to take me to the airport?... I need to get away, Seth. Away from you but just to keep you safe," I told him. He yelped, closing in the space between us with half a stride. It was a little shocking when I was suddenly knocked to the ground unharmed, and Seth was hovering over me. He whimpered, leaning down and licking me from my waist up. I gasped, feeling all slobbery and wet now.

"Seth!" I groaned. "Ugh! I'm all gross now… I have to shower and change clothes an' stuff now," I complained. Leah, behind us, snorted, and I heard her footsteps receding back into the dark. She was convinced that Seth would take me back home. When I looked back up at Seth, there was a weak, lifeless grin on his face. Still a grin all the same. I glared at him suspiciously. "You evil, adorable little dog," I mumbled and there was a little laugh in the back of his enormous throat. "You did that on purpose so I'd have to stay here longer," I glared at him. His grin was gone. His eyes were begging me to stay. I could tell.

"Seth…I need to go now," I told him firmly, like I seriously was talking to a dog. He whined, resting his nose on my forehead for a second. "I love you too, Seth," I breathed and he whimpered now. "I have to! It's all for your safety, y'know," I told him, whining now to be released. My heart was thumping nervously in my chest. If I didn't get there in time…

Seth wasn't hovering over me now. He was beside me, his paws over his face, whimpering. I scooted over next to him, draping myself over his warm neck and stroking his shoulder. "Seth…I need to go," I repeated, once again. His low keen was painful to hear. I sighed, kissing his furry neck. Pulling myself away from him, quite reluctantly, I checked the timer. I had a little less than two days…

I hesitated, knowing that I'd totally regret it if I chose to –

"W-Well… I guess I can't deny Emmett the satisfaction of kicking some bad-guy butt..." I decided, though that wasn't the real reason. I looked into Seth's big brown eyes and he was finally happy. I knew he had caught on that I had decided to stay. He whimpered, not out of disappointment, but I'm guessing with happiness now. He licked my shoulder and I couldn't help but groan and then laugh.

All of the Cullens were in the living room waiting for us when we got back. I turned a bright red seeing Esme's and Bella's happy faces, and then Emmett's wide, pearly-white-toothed grin. Carlisle had a warm smile on his face, Jacob looked a little reluctant to smile though. Rosalie was in a corner and I think Alice looked pretty happy. She was standing with Jasper, his arms around her waist.

The first thing I did was apologize.

"Sorry, uhm… about basically everything. Bella's right," I chuckled "I'm such a big drama queen."

A couple people laughed. Esme was over by our side and she hugged me. "We're glad you didn't leave, sweetie," she whispered. I glanced up at Seth, and he was smiling his "imprint-expression" down at me. I blushed again.

"Cool, so you're staying? Does that mean I can kick some bad-vampire ass?" Emmett spoke up. A lot of us laughed now at his enthusiasm.

"I'm going to feel guilty about it for a while, you know," I warned them. "That means a lot of apologizing and a lot of drama," I teased.

"S'okay. Seth'll find a way to shut you up," Jacob said, winking to his pack mate. I blushed and when I looked up at Seth, his cheeks were red too.

"It's still gonna suck 'cause I have to grow up and you don't," I pouted to Seth. He flashed a smile at me and hugged me closer.

"I don't know, maybe I'll end up controlling myself so I'll be able to age again," he whispered to me. I remembered what Seth had told me; about the one chance that would make them age again. I shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe I'll just get bitten by a werewolf and turn into one like you," I joked.

His laugh was a short "HA!" but very loud. "Like I haven't heard that one before!" he grinned as he led me back upstairs.

Bella stopped us, though.

"Hey, uh, Eliza?" she called. We turned around, only up a few steps. "…Just wondering but…why do you smell like dog slobber?" she asked, wrinkling her nose and fanning one hand in front of her face for dramatic, teasing effect. I blushed.

"Long…story?" I think she heard the question mark at the end of my "explanation" because she laughed.

I felt Seth's stomach rumble against my side, and I grinned up at him.

"I'll make the shower short so that you won't starve to death," I assured him, rolling my eyes. He blushed with embarrassment and kissed my lips.

This is where everyone goes "Awww! A happy ending!" HA! Yeah right. This is just the beginning.