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A/N: Sorry this took longer...but it is also longer. Hopefully that makes up for it. I sort of had a little plot problem but I think I'm all sorted out now. I wanted to post tonight so I apologize if it's a bit messy. I just know that when I put it off to proof then I never end up posting.
Anyway, you guys ROCK with the reviews. They make me write, lots and lots and lots.
THANK YOU.
-S
P.S. Lemme know what you think. :)
Miss Imprint
Chapter 23: Just
The winter was setting in and as I bundled down under my faux-fur lined jacket, I could feel it seeping into my skin. It was dark out. School started in about an hour but the house had felt too empty this morning. I had to get out. I had decided to walk—fresh air to clear my head but all it did was make my nose sniffle and my eyes water.
I slipped a beanie from my messenger bag over my ears and sped up my steps. I never realized how lonely La Push was until just this moment. Because somehow, since I was young, Seth had always been my shadow. It was weird existing here without him. We'd always been two pieces of the same mold, ready to go out and explore the world, but the prospect of leaving without him was slightly terrifying. Providence was a long ways away.
The road narrowed up ahead and I saw a flash of lights. A truck. My heart flared for a second. But then as the truck passed and I saw it was dull green not the putrid orange I was looking for, I was disappointed.
Of course it wouldn't be Seth. There was no reason for it to be. He shouldn't be. Neither should I want him to be there. And I didn't. Not really.
I shivered as the wind rattled its way through the slim pathway and let out a sigh of relief as I spotted the familiar peaked wooden roofs of our high school. The parking lot was mostly empty but a few cars were parked towards the rear.
Basketball practice was held before school. I only knew because Seth had wanted to try out last year. He didn't make it. Seth was pretty stellar at almost everything but basketball was not for him. Even I could play better than him.
I giggled at that and it felt good. Really good. Except I was thinking about him again and I needed to stop. I really needed to stop.
Ducking between the cars, I was just passing the gym when I saw Marcus walk out with a friend. Hastily, I slipped behind a vending machine eavesdropping as they approached. I needed to see if he remembered anything.
"Josh, you won't believe who showed up on Friday."
There was a slight jostling as his friend slipped an athletic bag over his shoulder. "Why—who? Was it that chick from third? The one with the big—"
"Fuck you. No it was Cassie Kennedy."
There was silence as his friend processed before he snickered. "You're shitting me."
"I'm serious. We hooked up."
"Fuck you." Josh exclaimed. "You're lying your balls off right now."
"Not even, man." Marcus was getting a bit agitated now. "She even left her fucking panties for me."
Josh shook his head. They were getting closer. "Whatever, man. If you're telling the truth, then you're dead as fuck. Have you seen Seth these days?"
"She fucking came on to me!" Marcus sounded faintly worried now. And then he went quiet. "Cassie?"
Shit.
I let out a long breath. And then stepped out from behind the vending machine as if it was something I did everyday. "Hey…guys."
Josh tilted his head downwards. "Cassie."
"Cassie will you tell this asshole that we hooked up?"
Smooth,Marcus. I thought to myself, realsmooth.I smiled somewhat embarrassed and shrugged.
Josh froze slightly, his mouth opening. He really hadn't thought I would do it. That was comforting. Strangely so. Josh Harper had been in my grade since grade school but we'd never been friends. He was nice—slightly unassuming and if I was perfectly honest fairly dull. He was one of those guys who orbited the personalities and gave supportive commentary but never offered any stories of their own. Still, it was nice that he thought so highly of me. Or used to.
He turned to Marcus. "You're fucking dead."
Marcus just shrugged, wholly unperturbed.
"Marcus—can we talk?"
He nodded, shoving Josh aside and slipping an unwelcome hand around my waist. "What up, babe?"
"Cassie," I corrected, firmly as I unwound his arm. "You can call me Cassie."
He raised an eyebrow before pulling me against a wall. "What's with the cold front?"
"Listen—I think—no, I know that I messed up on Friday, with you." I bit my lip. We were alone and Josh's lanky form was slowly slinking away and soon he would be out of earshot. "I'm sorry. No hard feelings?"
"That's not what I heard." He switched subjects, his voice curving wickedly as he pushed me into the wall, his fingers slipping under my shirt. But I never got to hear what he heard as just then footsteps interrupted us.
Vice Principal Davis raised an eyebrow at Marcus's fingers on my hips and our position against the wall. "Mr. South. You were just assisting Ms. Kennedy with her…?" He trailed off pointedly.
Marcus opened his mouth to reply but I cut him off before he could say anything obnoxious or incriminating.
"With my Cha-cha, Mr. Davis. Isn't that right, Marcus? We're doing a project—you know feel the culture, learn the language." I was rambling but he looked vaguely like he bought it—or he stopped paying attention. At that point, I would've taken either.
"Of course." He replied stoically. "Ms. Kennedy, I'd like a word, if you wouldn't mind."
"Sure." I untangled myself gratefully from Marcus. "Keep those shoulders up, Marcus." I smacked him harder than strictly necessary and grinned as he winced.
Mr. Davis led me into his office and then gestured to the chair across from his before sitting down. "I hope Mr. South was not bothering you too badly, Ms. Kennedy."
"No—no, just a project." I smiled as innocently as I could. I waited a beat, and then smoothed down my jeans. "Mr. Davis…was there something you needed?"
"Ah—yes. We've had two new students. Marcus—you've obviously met and Ana Sable who has just moved here. I was hoping you would take Ana under your wing, show her around."
I let out a relieved breath. I could have sworn I was getting dragged in here for a punishment. "It's not a problem at all."
He hesitated. "I've assigned Seth to offer Marcus a tour—I trust that won't be an issue." He tilted his head and I had a feeling he had overheard more of our conversation than he was letting on.
I just smiled somewhat sheepishly. "I'm sure Seth will be fine."
"Excellent. I knew I could count on my top two." He shuffled through a stack of papers on his desk before huffing a breath in frustration. "I am working on breaking in a new assistant and he insists on organizing." He shrugged before raising his hands in defeat. "Ms. Sanchez in the guidance office will have Ana's new student form for you to look at. Make sure you pick it up after school, she begins tomorrow."
I stood as a bell rang in the distance. Was it already eight? I must have spent more time listening to Marcus than I had thought. "I should get to class."
"Of course, Ms. Kennedy." Mr. Davis stood before extending a hand. "Congratulations by the way. "
I tilted my head quizzically. "For…?"
"Your acceptance." He smiled. "The Rhode Island School of Design is incredibly selective and they chose well."
"Oh, right. Thanks." I had forgotten. Or it had just slipped away. Somehow in everything that had happened, it had just become less important. But I felt a small sheen of pride. I'd done it. I'd done what I'd wanted to accomplish. And then the sadness came back. Because Seth wasn't coming with me. He was staying here.
"That will be all, Ms. Kennedy."
And it was.
I heard the raised voices before I heard what they said but the tone was enough to make me quicken my pace to main hall. It was just after the final bell and a small crowd was watching warily. It was Marcus and Seth.
"You're fucking bitter, aren't you Clearwater?"
There was a beat of silence. And then, in a hilariously deadpan voice, Seth said "If you look to your left, the gym, originally constructed in the early 1950s still exists in the same form that it was built in."
Marcus didn't seem to want to let it go. He was sprawled across a bench, his backpack on the ground, slightly open. "It doesn't bother you at all, that I got it before you did?"
But when Seth replied he wasn't angry or upset, just nonchalant. And part of me knew that he was just avoiding an altercation, but I still felt a jab of pain as he replied, "Cassie can do whatever she wants." He let out a long breath, running his fingers through his too short hair and then visibly calming down. "As I was saying the gym has actually been elevated to a local monument which means we can't actually upgrade it. Sucks for the basketball team." He scuffed the ground.
"Cause if it were me," Marcus continued, ignoring Seth completely, "it would kill me that my girlfriend dropped me for a drunken hook up."
Seth froze for a second and I winced. He knew I didn't drink. He knew because we'd promised each other on the night Sue McCallister was killed in the fourth grade by a drunk driver that we'd wait until we were twenty one. "So that's it. Tour's over. Have a good life." Seth back away, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. His back was tense and through the thin cotton undershirt he was wearing despite the frigid temperatures, I could see his muscles coiled. He was nervous about shifting.
"I heard you're with the new girl." Marcus sat up then, his eyes twinkling wickedly as he watched Seth tense. I froze on the edge, perversely curious to see Seth's reaction.
"I heard you are the new girl." Seth quipped but he was starting to get defensive. I'd seen that tilt to his head. He was starting to getting agitated. To consider what it would be like to swat Marcus across the parking lot. He wouldn't of course. He never would. It wouldn't be a fair fight and if Seth was anything it was fair.
"Struck a nerve, huh?" Marcus stood, his fists bunching and rubbing against each other like some weird pre-game ritual. "Worried she's going to come begging for it like your other-"
But he never finished because Seth shoved him hard against a wall. "I said, stop." He was shaking. I could see him from here.
Marcus's eyes had gone wide. I don't think he thought Seth would ever retaliate. I didn't blame him. Before this mess, I wouldn't have thought he would have either. But apparently the imprinting changed everything.
I was just about to run in and pull them apart when Mr. Davis blew his whistle. "South. Clearwater. My office, now." His voice had gone incredibly soft and I bit my lip nervously. Seth shook his shoulders back and stepped back as if Marcus had burned him.
He turned away and froze as he caught sight of me. And for the first time in my entire life, I didn't know what to say to Seth Clearwater. The silence didn't last long, because Mr. Davis grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to the office. Well, more like Seth let himself be hauled to the office. Marcus followed the pair, his shoulders high up around his shoulders.
"Ms. Kennedy, what can I do for you?" Ms. Sanchez pushed a pair of emerald spectacles up her nose before blinking at me in curiosity.
"Mr. Davis said that you had a new student form for me?" I hesitated for a moment as I tried to remember her last name. "Ana…something."
She nodded. "Of course, Miss Sable, she's just the sweetest thing you've ever met. It's impossible not to love her."
I raised an eyebrow before shoot her a thumbs up. "Awesome. Thanks for the paper work."
"Anytime, Cassie." She grinned. "And don't worry. You're still our favorite."
I laughed at that one before waving goodbye. Somehow it was more comforting than I thought it would be.
I was just about to take a look at Ana Sable when I bumped into Seth walking out of Mr. Davis's office. "Hey Seth."
He smiled halfheartedly before glancing nervously at the clock above the door. He was late. Probably. Before I started to think about who was waiting for him, I waived the papers at him. "You got new student duty too, huh?"
He nodded and then shook his head in slight disbelief. "He's a fucking douchebag, Cassie."
"I..." I didn't know what to say. "Maybe he's just new." But it sounded lame and hollow, even to me.
"Yeah," Seth scoffed, "I'm sure that's it." He stood up straighter. "Look I've gotta go—just." He broke off abruptly and then ran an agitated hand through his hair.
"Just what?" It was strange to be hanging onto his every word like this. Before it was almost like every word that I got was his but now I was starved. Going days without a single word. And so now, when he was giving them so freely, I just felt like I couldn't get enough. Even though I shouldn't want them. Because I was done with this. He was done with this. I needed to move on. But I couldn't. I felt tethered to him. "Just what, Seth?"
"Just he's a douchebag." Seth smiled his charming little half smile and for a just a second I felt like it was me and him the way we'd always been.
And then Marcus walked in. "Aw, a reunion. How precious."
I could have killed him just then. Just outright murdered him for taking my moment away.
Seth just held his hands up in surrender and backed into the door. "I'll ca—I mean, I'll see you…around, Cassie." He'd almost said call. I knew it, he'd almost said call. But he wouldn't call. And he probably wouldn't even really see me around. Just at school and then we'd graduate and I'd go to Providence and he'd be here and we'd lose touch. And for the rest of my life, I'd regret that I'd ever let him go before I had to.
When I looked up again Seth was gone and Marcus was watching me with uncomfortable focus. "We need to talk Cassie."
"I think we don't need to do anything."
He laughed cruelly. "That's just it, isn't it Cassie? We didn't do anything that night."
I froze at that. He couldn't know that we didn't sleep together. Because if he did then Seth might find out and then everything would come out and Seth would never forgive me. Because I'd caused all that pain. I should have just talked to him. I should have just told him what Alice Cullen had told me. But I hadn't trusted him enough to do that. And that would hurt him far worse than the cheating." "Leave me alone."
"Fine." He held up his hands mockingly. "Run away Cassie."
I walked out that door as fast I could and then as far away from Marcus as I could get. I needed space. And I needed to think. And I needed to speak to Alice Cullen. My plan was unraveling too fast for me to catch the ends.
I stumbled as I rushed to get away from campus and the forms I'd gotten from the office spilled onto the floor. I pulled them together and re-stacked them hastily. But then the picture on the front of Ana Sable caught my eye and I groaned.
"Oh, fuck me."
