Hiya! Here's another chapter, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own twilight . . . or do I? Ha ha, just kidding.
Flashback:
I stood there for about a minute, and then a grey wolf stepped out of the trees. He crouched down so I could climb onto his back, and then straightened up, his fur blowing in the breeze.
I hung on tightly as we whizzed through the trees, my hair billowing out behind me, and I laughed with exhilaration. It only took a few minutes for us to get to the Cullen's house and I slipped off Seth's back. He nodded towards the trees, and then disappeared into them. A few moments later, he was standing in front of me, human form, buttoning up his shirt.
"Did you like that?"
"It was . . . wow." I couldn't think of the right words to say.
"Come on." He laughed, and pulled me gently towards the house.
"Eliza! Seth!" Nessie greeted us when we came through the front door.
"Hiya, Ness."He grinned.
"Hi." I smiled at her, surprised when she bounded lightly forwards and hugged me. Jacob, as he always would, hovered next to her, smiling like he was the luckiest person in the world.
"Hey, guys." He said. I liked the way he said it – it seemed like I was already part of their family. The Cullen's were dotted in pairs around the house, and they smiled hellos at me as I went past. Alice and Jasper were cooking in the kitchen, their noses buried in a cooking book, Edward and Bella were curled up on the sofa in the living room, Carlisle and Esme were sitting in Carlisle's office surrounded by books, and Emmett and Rosalie were watching telly in the same room that Nessie took me to.
"You look tired, Eliza."Nessie noted, looked worriedly at me. I felt Seth tense.
"I'm okay, really." Nessie shrugged and dropped onto the couch, hitting Jacob with a pillow to make him move up. Emmett laughed, and Jacob scowled at him, but there was no anger in his eyes as he stood up to get Nessie a drink. Just love, adoration, peace, care . . . All the things I saw in Seth's eyes whenever I looked at him.
It felt so strange to know that I was forever bounded to Seth. I was now a part of him, and he was a part of me. I was a member of his family, his crazy werewolf family, and I was proud of it. I also knew that I would be spending a lot of time with the Cullen's, and that I would be very good friends with Nessie. Suddenly, I was curious about something.
"Nessie?"
"Yes?"
"How old are you?"I asked. She laughed.
"It's my fourth birthday next month." My mouth dropped open.
"Can you guess how old I am?" Seth asked me. I only realized when he said it that I didn't know his age. I studied his calm face, his muscled body, his warm brown eyes and his casually tousled hair.
"Twenty one?" I guessed.
"I'm seventeen."He smiled.
"Really?"
"Yeah." Wow. I thought about that for a while, my gaze flickering from Nessie to Seth. After a while, I became fascinated by the hundreds of photos in frames everywhere.
"Do you want to look at them all?" Seth asked me softly.
"Okay."We stood up, Seth's hand resting on the small of my back. My eyes trailed over the perfectly captured moments, lingering on any photos of Nessie or Seth.
"This room is called the photo room, you can see why! Look, they're the girls from our pack – the 'imprintees', Jacob calls them. There's Sam and Emily, Paul and Rachel, Jared and Kim and Quil with Claire." The photo had been taken on a beach; you could see the ocean in the background, pictured just as a huge wave was breaking onto the shore. The first person I looked at was Emily and her beautiful face, ruined by an ugly scar. Then, I saw the pretty little girl that Seth said was Claire. She looked about five or six years old, and she was held tightly by Quil. Rachel and Kim were very pretty too – they were suited perfectly with their partners. Was this what it would be like with me and Seth?
"I can be on it now."He grinned. "I took the picture, and I felt a little left out."
I couldn't help but smile back at him.
"Hey, Seth, why don't you show Eliza the pool?" Eliza suggested, snuggling into Jacob's chest. I hadn't heard him come back in.
"You have a pool?"I exclaimed.
"Yup – mum wanted it installed a little while after I was born. I've always liked to swim."
"Me too."I smiled. I did love to swim – I was the captain of the swimming team and I usually got up early on weekends to get to the pool.
Seth led me through a few long hallways – the house was huge – and finally stopped outside some glass patio doors. He held the door open for me, and the familiar smell of chlorine wafted over to us.
The room was big, of course, and the pool took up over three quarters of the space. White, comfortable looking loungers surrounded it, and a huge chandelier hung directly in the centre of the room. The walls were made of glass, like a massive conservatory, and there was a fantastic view of the green hills and the leafy forest. But the first thing that caught my eye was the water.
It was purple!
Seth laughed at my bewildered expression. "Bella wanted mirrors at the bottom and on the sides of the pool – god only knows why. We had them fitted, and she realized that they reflected the purple ceiling. She kinda liked it, she thought it looked mysterious, so she kept it."
I looked up at the bright purple ceiling and laughed.
"Nessie must have a swimming costume you could borrow, if you want to go in."Seth said.
"Really? You don't think she'd mind?"
"Of course not! We'll ask her for ne now."
We made the rather long journey back to the 'photo room', and Nessie happily fetched a yellow bikini for me to wear.
"Do you want me to come in?" Seth asked.
"If you want to."
"Sorted! I have some swimming trunks in the changing room from last time. I'll change into them – follow me, Eliza, I'll take you to the other changing room."
The changing rooms were at the end of the hallway, one on the left and one on the right side, near the patio doors. He opened the door on the right side for me, looking a little worried about leaving me for two whole minutes. I watched him go into the other room, then shut the door behind me to get changed.
Seth:
I quickly shrugged out of my clothes and pulled on the black swimming trunks, thinking of Eliza's beautiful face. It took approximately ten seconds to change – I was used to taking my clothes off and putting them back on whenever I phased.
I turned to glance in the mirror, and did a double take when I saw my reflection. I looked so different!
You could tell I was completely changed by the happy, warm glow in my eyes and the glow to my brown cheeks. Eliza had made me so much more peaceful and relaxed. Even when I was worrying I was still happy.
I slipped outside into the hallway, and I could hear Eliza inside the room. I leant against the wall, waiting, and she eventually appeared in Nessie's yellow bikini. Wow, it looked even better on Eliza than it did on Nessie, and Nessie was half vampire!
The bright yellow material was in perfect contrast to her golden brown skin, and I could see her whole, perfect toned body.
"Ready?" She asked me, tying her silky, honey coloured hair into a high ponytail.
"Let's go." I grinned, and pulled open the door for her. Eliza went to the side of the pool and dipped her toe daintily in the water. She smiled and raised her arms above her head, bending her knees slightly. In seconds, she had dived smoothly into the water and emerged above the surface on the opposite side.
"Impressive."I grinned, and dived in after her. I resurfaced and shook my wet hair, spraying droplets everywhere. Eliza was standing chest deep in the water, the mini waves breaking against her shoulders.
"Wanna race?"She offered, her eyes shining.
"Against a werewolf?" I laughed. I knew she was a good swimmer already, but she had no chance against someone with as much strength as me.
"I'll give it a go." She shrugged.
"Okay, if you want to."I grinned. "To the wall and back. Ready, set, go!" I shoved myself away from the wall, my legs kicking like they were in fast-forward mode and my arms propelling me forwards.
I reached the other side in only seconds.
Eliza was fast, for a human. By the time I was back where we started, she was only a few metres behind.
"Damn it." She complained. "How'd you get here so fast?"
I laughed. She was obviously used to winning – being around vampires and werewolves wasn't going to be easy for her.
Suddenly, Eliza disappeared underneath the water. I sucked in a breath and ducked down, my eyes stinging slightly from the chlorine. I could see Eliza – a blurry brown shape and a flash of yellow, her hair floating around her like a halo. Blue was everywhere, endless, trapping us in this beautiful world. Eliza was swimming away now, and I followed. We were out of her depth, but I could just touch the floor with my toes. I was the shortest of the usual pack, but I was a good foot higher than Eliza.
We broke the surface at exactly the same time, panting. Once or twice, my legs brushed against hers and a fire erupted inside me like lava running through my veins. I could see in Eliza's eyes that she felt it too.
"We should get out." I said after a long while. We had been in the water for nearly an hour.
Eliza nodded and swam gracefully to the side of the pool, lifting herself onto the ground and standing up in one swift movement. I tried to be as quick and efficient, but somehow, even though I was a werewolf, I couldn't quite manage it.
She laughed lightly at my attempt and disappeared into the changing room. I went into mine, changing as quickly as possible again. I rubbed my hair with a towel, glanced at the unrecognizable face in the mirror, and stepped outside to wait for Eliza. She emerged from the room a few minutes later, her damp hair straight instead of wavy and no makeup. She looked absolutely, undeniably beautiful.
"What?"She asked self-consciously, noticing my staring.
"Nothing."I murmured. "Let's go."
It felt completely natural to take her hand. She didn't object, so I held it all the way back to the photo room.
Jacob and Nessie were still curled up together on the couch. I wondered when they would get together as a couple – soon, probably. The age difference didn't seem to matter much, as Nessie was mature for her age, and Jacob was happy to do the things that she did.
I vaguely wondered if Eliza and I would ever be a couple. If she didn't want to, then I didn't. Of course not – her feelings came first.
Besides, I didn't feel like I loved her in that way. I wanted to be close to her, to hold her hand and comfort her, but not a romantic way. She was only fourteen, and I knew she had strong feelings for a boy called Danny. She said he didn't seem to notice her though.
Apparently, Nessie was helping her out with Danny, but their method didn't seem like it would work to me. If only they could make him jealous . . .
"Hey, what do you want for lunch?" Nessie asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Oh . . . um, I don't really mind." I sat down on the couch next to Eliza and slipped my arm around her shoulders. I hated the idea of not being able to touch her - I constantly brushed my fingers against her skin to make sure she was actually real.
The rest of the day passed much too quickly. It seemed like only minutes before we had to go back to Eliza's house in case her mum came home from work early, but it was actually nearly six o'clock.
I had to phase, so we went into the back garden. Eliza walked silently, daydreaming, and I wondered what she was thinking. I ducked into the trees to undress, folding my clothes neatly so I would be able to carry them easily. After I had phased, I quickly rejoined Eliza. She gazed at me, her beautiful eyes shining in the sunlight.
"You know, you kind of remind me of a dog I had when I was little, Jack." She grinned.
I barked a laugh, and looked at her adoringly with my wolfy brown eyes. She reached forward to run her fingers through my sandy fur, her eyes changing from jokey to fascinated.
She climbed onto my back, clutching handfuls of my fur, and I began to run.
When we reached her house, she slid down from my back and unlocked the front door. Her mum's car wasn't in the driveway, so she obviously wasn't home.
Eliza flopped onto the couch as soon as she was in, smiling rather dreamily.
"Do you wanna watch a movie? My mum won't be back for a bit."She asked me.
"Sure."I answered. Eliza stood up and led me to a huge walk in cupboard, with shelves full of DVD's.
"Pick one." She told me, laughing at my startled expression.
"Um, this one."I said, grabbing the first DVD I saw. It was a horror movie with a picture of a werewolf eating a woman on the front. Eliza laughed.
"Definitely that one!"She giggled. "We can make it like a cinema; I think there's popcorn in the kitchen . . ." She wandered off and I followed, glancing at the pictures of her on the walls.
I watched silently as she made the popcorn, so mesmerized that I barely heard the popping. She poured the popcorn out of the carton into a big bowl, and then walked back to the living room. She reminded me of Alice in the way she walked – of course she wasn't as perfectly graceful or flawlessly elegant as her, but they both had that same flowing daintiness, like a beautiful dance when she took a step.
I sat down on the couch, not realizing how quiet I was being, and watched her close the curtains. It went quite dark – the curtains were deep purple, and didn't let much light through. There was enough to see her give me a devilish smile, then start the DVD. She came and curled up on the couch next to me, our arms just touching.
Eliza laughed at a couple of things – the things that were supposed to be scary, but she stopped when a werewolf was killed.
"Seth . . ." She murmured, her eyes wide, frightened. Oh no, she was only fourteen, and I hadn't even thought to check the suitable age label on the DVD.
I spotted the DVD case on the table, and I could just see the age. It was an 18.
Eliza was clutching my shirt now, her head buried in my chest. The girl who loved the werewolf was being brutally killed, her blood pooling on the floor.
"Shh, it's okay." I murmured. I hurried over to the telly and turned the DVD off, rushing back to the couch to comfort Eliza. She wasn't crying or anything – something had just hit a nerve.
"Can we watch a different one?"She whimpered.
"Of course - which one would you like to watch?" When she was thinking about it, her mobile rang.
"Hi, mum." She said, pressing it to her ear. She remembered the croaky voice.
There were a few moments of silence as her mum spoke, and Eliza grinned.
"That's fine mum. I'm in bed still, and I feel terrible, but I'm fine on my own. I'll see you later then, bye. Love you too." She hung up and smiled at me.
"My mum's at an unexpected meeting – she won't be home for a couple of hours."
I laughed. "That's good, then. Now, what DVD did you want to watch?"
"Titanic."She finally decided.
After about ten minutes, we were settled down, watching Titanic. Eliza said it was her favourite film, but I had never seen it.
Eliza would fidget uncomfortably at the more intimate scenes, not comfortable being this close to a boy in this situation though. I gently wiped away her tears when she cried at the end, tenderly stroking her cheek.
"Sorry."She mumbled.
I smiled warmly. "Don't be."
"My mum will be here soon."She said, glancing at the clock. It was 10pm.
"Let's . . . talk."I suggested. We had talked so much already, it was hard to think of anything we hadn't already discussed. I suddenly remembered a thought that I had earlier.
"About this Danny person," I began. She looked at me curiously. "I have a way you could make him see how much he's missing out on."
She leant closer without realizing it, interested. "What's your idea?"
"You could always make him jealous."I said.
"How?"
"By pretending to date someone, of course."
She looked shocked. "Nobody would pretend to date me just so I could get a guy."
"I would." Eliza's mouth fell open with an audible pop.
"Are you serious?"She asked me.
"Sure – you won't have to kiss me or anything, don't worry." I assured her, laughing.
"Well . . . okay! You really think it will work?" She looked excited, but not entirely convinced.
"I know it will."
"How will we do it, though?"
"I'll figure something out." I promised.
Just then, we heard a car in the driveway.
"Oh no, Seth! Hide!"Eliza whispered urgently. I gave her a quick hug, so quick that my arms barely felt her skin, and then ran up the stairs three at a time.
I ducked under Eliza's bed and tried to stay absolutely still, listening downstairs. Eliza must have been pretending to sleep, because I couldn't hear any talking going on. Then, I heard feet coming up the stairs, and I held my breath.
Eliza's mum went into the bathroom, and she must have taken a shower, because I heard water running. I waited, afraid to move.
Eventually, her mother left the bathroom, and I heard her bedroom door slam.
I waited some more.
It must have been about half an hour later that I heard her mother's gentle snoring. I quietly crawled out from under the bed crept downstairs, as quiet as possible.
Eliza was awake and sitting up. She smiled when she saw me, and shifted her position so there was room for me on the couch.
"Hi." I whispered softly.
"Hi."We didn't say anything after that. It didn't feel as if we needed to. For a while we both just sat there, not touching each other, just thinking, until eventually she curled up into my warm chest.
She rested her cheek on my shoulder, her blue eyes gazing into mine. I stroked her hair absentmindedly.
For a long time, we stayed like that. We had no need to speak out loud – it was almost as I could tell what she was thinking without her talking, and it was clear she felt the same way.
Eliza wasn't used to staying awake like I was, and I watched her eyelids close as she slipped into a peaceful sleep. I wanted so badly to join her, but I just couldn't risk her mother finding me.
We would have to tell her mother soon, but not right away. Neither of us were worrying about it.
For now, it was just me and Eliza, together.
