Okay, so from now on updates may get a bit wonky. Uni is starting and I can't promise when the next update will be, but I'll do my best to keep to the 10 day updates.

"You're leaving?"

I roll my tongue around my answer, explicitly ignoring the look of abject betrayal painting Seth's face. "I'm still going to be here for Christmas."

"You're still going." I sigh and Seth's voice turns pleading. "Is this because of what Paul said? He's an idiot, he never makes any sense. You shouldn't let him get to you. Sam's already given him a good Alpha-style scolding anyway."

For a second my resolve falters, I quickly shake my head and set my jaw. "No, that's not it and, although I appreciate your words, they cannot make me stay. Seth, you probably won't understand this for a long time – I didn't either until recently – but there are things bigger than this. What I have here isn't healthy and it isn't home." He opens his mouth to protest but I talk right over him. "I thought it would be good to come here, and maybe I was right one way, yet the point of the matter is…I don't belong here anymore."

"Leah, that's nonsense! You know you're always welcome-"

"That's the problem," I stress and grab his hands, squeezing them in mine. In the distance I can see Edward's head tilting toward us and try to stifle my irritation at his eavesdropping. "Being welcome and sticking down a post claiming residence are two entirely different things." I chew on my lower lip, down trodden by the glare in Seth's gaze. "Listen, one day, when you find your soulmate, you're going to be stubborn and devoted and possessive. When you imprint it's like waking up to find there's only one person in the world that truly matters anymore. It's going to take time for you to come to terms with what you're feeling – heck, I'm still working it out – and it's going to be hard."

"Jacob and Nessy don't seem to be troubled." Seth accuses.

I shake my head and hold his hands that tiniest bit tighter. "Not everyone is that lucky, Seth. Just…just look at what happened with Sam and me." I earnestly urge him to understand my meaning. "The people that are outside of your imprint get left behind, thrown on the back-burner, placed second. I know how it feels to be that person, Seth. And I know you are feeling it with my absence. What you need to understand is that the imprint places you with the other half of yourself. It's impossible to disregard a connection like that: no matter whom the other people are or how much they mean to you."

His eyes flicker and his lips twist. "This isn't just about you leaving anymore, is it?"

The hapless smile and shrug I offer him has Seth sighing and attempting to extract his hands – I hold them tight, unwilling to let him escape.

"Did mom tell you?" There's the undercurrent of anger in his tone I'm well familiar with. It's a trait of the wolf, of the animalistic betrayal he must be feeling.

"She's worried."

"She doesn't need to be, it's none of her business. She can't just go around telling people-"

"She a mother, Seth," I firm my tone and shake him in my grip. "Of course she's going to worry. There's no guarantee that things are going to work out for you. She knows how it feels to see a child go through that."

His gaze burns, "I'm not Sam,"

"I never said you were! Seth, please, just listen to what I'm saying."

"I am," he stresses.

"No, you aren't." I complain, knowing I'm coming off as the whiney older sister but unsure of how else to broach this subject. "You don't understand the magnitude of this."

"I like her, Leah, I really like her."

"And Sam professed to loving me before he met Emily." We're both silent after these words, Seth's eyes reflecting the smidgen of resentment he must hold for Sam, his Alpha, for this truth. I soften my tone. "This girl doesn't know our history; she's not going to understand if you suddenly ditch her for her friend or another person that's new in town. I, at the very least, had the comfort of knowing why Sam left me. I didn't like it, but it was something to cling to – a reality that kept me afloat. This girl isn't going to have a life raft to cling to, Seth. She'll be sky diving without a parachute."

The tremble in his lips speaks more than his next words. "You can't tell me I need to stop living my life because of something I might never find."

"I'm not going to." I assure, releasing his hands to cradle his face. "I just want you to understand, you need to know what you're doing with this girl. You need to be ready to take control of the situation if anything like this happens to you. It won't be easy – no, I can assure you it's going to be hell – but I want you to be prepared."

"I know, Leah, I saw it too. I might not have known what was happening, but I saw you crying as well. I hated Sam for some time as well. And I don't want to be him. I'm not going to be him." Our eyes meet and hold. "And Jenny isn't you."

A lump wriggles its way up my throat, but I don't back down. My hands have fallen away but my brother replaces my hold with his. Seth's eyes are alight with words he isn't saying and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in hearing the rest of it.

"I don't know if it will work out for us, but I like her and I'm still just a kid. We're not going to be stuck in the same situation as you were. I can't tell you how, but I know it." He shakes his head, the toe of his right foot bumping into mine. "I'm not going to hurt her that way."

I sigh out a chuckle. There's nothing more for me to say, no line that will make Seth change his mind. I'd like to believe him, I would, but it's much easier said than done. I try shaking off the heavy topic, pressing my lips to his forehead quickly before twisting my body so that we're both staring out into the forest. "Have your math marks improved at all?"

He makes no comment on my blatant change of subject, instead choosing to link his fingers with mine. "They're better than yours were when you were my age."

I snort. "That's not saying much."

A shrug makes out hands bounce between us. "I'm not divulging my math marks until you tell me something about him."

"Him who?" I purse my lips innocently.

"Oh please, don't play dumb."

I grin. "What do you want to know?"

Another shrug, this time accompanied by the beginnings of arm swaying. "I don't know. Do you…like him?"

The laughter that bubbles from my throat is clear and painfully amused. "Rarely. He can be pretty rude and cold when he wants to be." I breathe a heavy sigh with a smile tilting my mouth. "But I love him, even though he's a butt most of the time. He means well, in his own way."

"Does he have a name?"

"Does it matter?"

His face twists in mild annoyance but when I laugh he joins it. "I'm just curious."

"Hmm, Klaus," My eyes train on a patch of sky filtered between the overhanging branches of ancient trees. "His name is Klaus, short for Niklaus. He's a bit taller than me, just enough that if we-" My cheeks instantly burn and I shake my head, Seth's brows raise and a knowing smirk does nothing to help my dilemma. "Never mind that. Anyway, oh!" My eyes bug, for a moment I wonder if it's okay to tell anyone. Surely it wouldn't be a big deal. Right? I throw caution to the wind. "He's a hybrid."

"A what-now?" Seth's voice mirrors my initial confusion.

A sense of giddy pride makes my chest puff, "He can turn into a wolf as well," Seth's jaw drops and my cheeks heat again, "He's also a vampire."

One second, two pass before: "Huh?"

"Yeah. I was pretty shocked when I figured it out." I click my tongue. "His father was a werewolf and his mother a…"Witch. I stall, holy Moses, this all sounds super crazy out loud. Seth must think I'm making is up. Mystic Falls was so full of weird that I'd forgotten just how strange it all was. I cringe. "Well, I never thought I'd end up with a vampire."

Slowly he shakes his head. "I'm pretty confused right now."

"Ha, me too,"

The silence drags on and he squeezes my fingers. "Does it hurt?" I look at him questioningly. "Being apart from him?"

I cast my eyes to the forest. "No, not in the way you mean anyway. I've lived all my life without him, being away from him isn't going to turn me into a withering mess. But it hurts," I lift our joined hands to my chest. "It hurts in here, I guess. Longing mostly. Kinda like when we were younger and we'd go on camping trips without mom. It's that kind of hurt, but stronger."

Seth nods slowly. "Okay. Okay, I probably can't make you stay then, can I?"

"No, you probably couldn't."

X|X|X|X|X

The vampires are as creepy as I remember them being, their stillness and lifeless stares. I wonder why Klaus isn't like them: crystal death. Not that I mind, I prefer him the way he is, more human.

Nessy's the only spark of life among them and we all sit and watch her talk animatedly from the couch. This must be the total sum of their ability to feel alive. I can't image how horrible it must be – perhaps I hadn't noticed it before, but I do now and it causes pity to well up in my chest. After being with the Mystic Falls vampires the painful reality was that I'd grossly underestimated the Forks vampires. Their seemingly soullessness makes sense. The way they cling to the human world for scraps of what they used to be is painful at best. It makes them real I guess, eternal anguish and all that jazz.

Jacob and Seth are shoving their faces with the food provided by Esme. Surprisingly this time I don't deny the meal out of contempt but due to lack of hunger. Nessy's liveliness is intoxicating, fulfilling. I could watch her speak for hours – just like the rest of the undead in the room.

A door to the left opens and I turn my head to it. No threat, just the pixie and the cowboy. Esme stands from her seat, everyone else frozen to their spots, entranced by the half-vampire whose face is flushed in excitement. The mother of the vampire group welcomes the two and speaks to them in hushed tones so as not to interrupt the show.

I turn back to Nessy, just catching her excited exclamation on how good strawberries tasted in pancakes.

"Leah?" My eyes turn to find Alice. "Can I have a word?"

I untangle myself from the too soft couch and delicately follow Alice out the room. Esme retakes her seat and Jasper claims a spot by the wall.

"What's up?" I ask when the door has closed behind us and Alice stands illuminated by a filtered ray of sunshine. She's glowing; I don't even try to understand why.

"I got a call earlier."

My ears instantly prick and my heart pauses in trembling hope. He called. Klaus called. He must have. I don't know why the thought has me wanting to cry. I chew at my lip.

"A woman named Hayley say's you need to come home." I blink at the vampire, momentarily stumped in my crushed hopes. "And that if they don't see you within the next two days they're coming to fetch you."