Nessie told Seth about her plans with her new sorority sisters and found that Ian had invited him over as well. It was surreal to think about something as mundane as a get-together in the wake of the previous night. Seth seemed unsurprised at the news that Kat was still hooking up with her ex.

"Maybe she just needs the right person to help her move on," Seth said hopefully.

The pair walked together to the unfamiliar address. Nessie noticed that Seth had an unfamiliar drawstring bag on his back. He wore it backward so Nessie couldn't see the logo printed on the front. He was carrying a paper bag that smelled strongly of alcohol.

The house was only a few blocks from Seth's. Nessie heard it before she saw it. The music blared from the open windows.

"Is this a party?" Nessie asked.

"I don't think so," Seth responded.

Nessie listened carefully for the sounds beyond the roaring music. She could hear several voices, but not enough to be considered a party. The curtains were drawn, hiding the inside from view.

Nessie texted Holly to let her know they had arrived. Holly opened the door and waved them inside.

"Hey," she nodded to Nessie in greeting before turning her eyes to Seth. "It's Seth, right?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Nice to meet you," Holly said as she led them into the living room. Ian was seated on the couch. He raised his glass in greeting. Nessie's eyes widened as she took in the decor. The walls were plastered with posters and traffic signs. In the center of the room, there was a remarkably detailed 8ft tall replica of the Statue of Liberty made entirely out of beer and wine boxes. A string of incandescent Christmas lights wrapped around her, leading to a bunched-up ball of lights as her torch. The tip of her torch was fixed to the low ceiling.

Seth chuckled at the sight. "That's awesome."

"Is that the pizza?" A booming voice called from another room.

"No, it's just Nes and Seth," Holly replied. A couple of guys emerged from the kitchen. "This is Kyle and Liam."

"Sorry, I could've picked something up on the way over," Nessie said. She recognized him as the guy who had been fast asleep in front of KEN's frat house that morning.

Holly waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Pizzas on me."

Liam snickered at that response. Nessie figured there was some joke she wasn't in on.

"You came!" An excited voice called from the staircase. Nessie turned to see Sabrina bounding down the stairs two at a time. Her bleach-blonde hair was now dyed an unnatural shade of orange. She had a couple blotches of orange on her neckline.

Kat followed close behind. She gave Seth and Nessie a friendly smile.

The group settled in the living room around the statue. Seth opened the paper bag and pulled out a bottle of Everclear. Kat disappeared into the kitchen and came back with two red solo cups smelling of alcohol. She handed one of the cups to Sabrina.

"Could I have a glass?" Nessie asked eagerly. She had never had the opportunity to try alcohol before and she was curious to see how it would affect her. She knew her parents wouldn't approve, but they weren't here to stop her.

"Did you bring your own?" Holly asked.

Nessie shook her head.

"Yeah, sorry. Amy will chew us out if she finds out we gave a new member alcohol," Kat answered.

Nessie frowned. She looked at Seth and his bottle of vodka hopefully.

"It's Leah's…" Seth said. Nessie knew that was a hard no.

"So," Kyle looked at Seth. "Did you get it?"

Liam and Ian snickered. Kat looked at them suspiciously.

Seth swung the drawstring bag off of his shoulder. The front said Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He reached in and pulled out a handful of small chains. The trio of frat boys busted laughing at the sight.

"What is that?" asked Kat.

"It's the chains from SAE's toilet," Ian said between laughs. Holly stifled a laugh.

"Oh my God," Kat said, her face in her hands.

Seth was instantly apologetic. He shoved the chains back into the bag and swung it on his shoulder as if he could undo sharing the prank.

"What's going on?" Nessie asked.

"The KENs convinced Seth to prank SAE during one of their recruitment events," Sabrina explained.

"Can you at least wait until after recruitment before you start the prank wars again?" Kat asked.

"But that's when they're expecting it," Liam smirked.

Kat just shook her head and took a large drink from her cup. "At least that's harmless. You didn't do anything else, did you?"

Seth hesitated a moment too long before answering quickly. "Nope, that was it."

Kat groaned but opted not to press any further.

The conversation was briefly interrupted by the arrival of a pizza, which led to more snickers.

"Holly matches with guys on Tinder and promises them pictures of her tits in exchange for a pizza. Then she blocks them once she gets the pizza," Sabrina explained.

Nessie had no idea how to respond to that.

The group hung around chatting and laughing with their beverages. Kat excused herself to refill her cup in the kitchen. While she was gone, Sabrina scooted over, taking her seat and leaving room for her next to Seth.

Seth didn't seem to notice; his mind was elsewhere. "I was talking to Leah," Seth began, his brow furrowed as he chose his words carefully. "She said you told her about some kind of creature lurking around campus?" He stared intently at Ian.

Ian turned bright red and his frat brothers busted into laughter.

Seth looked at them with confusion.

"SAE got me," Ian admitted. "It was a prank."

Nessie stared at him in disbelief. "You're kidding."

Kyle shook his head. "Nope, we found one of the juniors wearing a werewolf costume in the woods this morning."

"That's crazy," Seth said. He met Nessie's eye skeptically from across the room.

Nessie used her gift to respond privately. I know what I saw. It wasn't a costume.

"Don't worry, this isn't over," Ian assured him. "We'll definitely be getting them back."

"What are you going to do?" Nessie asked warily, suddenly nervous he was going to end up in the woods face to face with the real werewolf.

Ian had a mischievous glimmer in his eye. "You'll see."

"Who's a werewolf?" Kat asked as she returned.

"Ryan, apparently," Liam replied.

Seth had completely forgotten about the conversation, suddenly realizing that Kat had no choice but to sit next to him.

She rolled her eyes and shot Sabrina an exasperated look as she took the seat.

As the evening grew longer, she got increasingly flirty with Seth.

"Have you been to Half Moon?" Kat asked.

"No, I haven't," Seth said.

"Oh my God, you have to go. It's the best bar in town," Kat gushed. She placed her hand on Seth's knee. "We should go."

"Absolutely," Seth responded. "I'm free tomorrow."

"Perfect!" Kat exclaimed. "It's a date."

"It's a date," Seth responded. A wave of pure elation illuminated his face—as if Kat had just given him the winning lottery numbers.

Sabrina and Holly exchanged an excited look.

Nessie watched the situation, wondering how long it would take Seth to remember he was only 20. He hadn't had much to drink, but Kat's hand on his knee prevented him from thinking rationally.

Nessie heard voices outside. As she looked around the room, she realized no one else could hear them over the music. Seth was too preoccupied to notice.

Nessie's view of the window was blocked by the cardboard Statue of Liberty. She chose to remain where she was as if she couldn't hear it.

"Light it," one of the voices hissed.

Nessie heard the flick of a lighter, followed by a strange hissing noise. She heard the plink of something hitting the wooden floor inside.

Ian's grin disappeared, replaced by a look of alarm as he registered the object thrown in through the window. Before he could respond, a loud whizzing noise began. Everyone jumped from their seats. Nessie moved into view and saw the bright jumping jack firework spiraling on the floor. The drunken college students were slow to process the situation.

Ian quickly downed the remainder of his beverage and trapped the firework under his cup.

Additional fireworks flew in, one after another. Ian stumbled back, knocking the bottle of vodka from the coffee table. The bottle shattered as it hit the ground.

Nessie realized in horror that the bottle of Everclear had shattered onto the spot where the Christmas lights plugged into the cheap extension cord. The vodka erupted in flames at the base of the cardboard statue.

A bottle rocket flew into the room, headed straight for Kat's face. Without hesitating, Seth snatched it out of the sky and snuffed out the flame with his grasp. She lurched back in surprise. Seth stood protectively between her and the open window.

Kyle lunged towards the open window and grabbed at the vandals, but they slipped through his fingers. He launched himself out the window to chase after them.

Nessie froze and watched the humans as she tried to figure out how to respond. "Do you have a fire extinguisher?"

"Yeah, it's under the sink," said Holly.

"I'll get it," Nessie jumped from her seat and leaped across the hall to the kitchen. She grabbed the fire extinguisher and raced back to the living room. She pointed the hose at the flames and squeezed the handle. She heard a crunch, but nothing sprayed from the nozzle. Nessie loosened her grip and squeezed again, but the handle did not depress. She looked down and realized she never removed the pin. When she did, the top handle fell completely off.

Sabrina grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and threw it at the fire. The blanket flopped to the ground. It helped to smother the flames on the ground, but the cardboard monument had already caught.

Ian and Liam started pulling everything away from the center of the room to prevent the fire from spreading. Nessie followed suit.

The flames quickly worked their way up the cardboard and the room began filling with smoke.

"What are you waiting for?" Sabrina questioned. "Put it out!"

Nessie stared at the broken fire extinguisher helplessly. "It's broken."

"What?" Holly said. She turned to glare at Liam. "I told you not to get the Craigslist extinguisher.

"It was a good deal," Ian defended.

"Now you know why!" Holly yelled. She ran to the kitchen.

Seth grabbed Sabrina's arm and dragged her behind him as he ushered Kat out the door. Liam followed close behind.

Nessie stared helplessly at the broken extinguisher. Was it actually faulty? Or did she break it with her strength? She considered her options. Was there any other way for her to release the contents without revealing her strength?

"Where's the baking soda?" Holly called.

"We're out," called Ian.

"How can we be out?"

"We needed it for a prank."

"All of it?"

"It was a big prank."

Holly came back into the room. She looked like she was considering using Ian's body to smother the flames.

She grabbed the extinguisher from Nessie's hand. "You aim the hose."

Holly used the broken handle to cram the plunger down. The extinguisher roared to life, spewing a cloud across the room.

Nessie aimed at the flames and began spraying the fire erratically.

Before she was able to finish putting it out, Holly was unable to hold it any longer. She dropped the extinguisher.

"We need to get out," Holly gasped. She fell to her knees and started crawling towards the exit.

Ian started coughing from the smoke and fell to his knees. Nessie helped him back to his feet and dragged him towards the door. Most of his weight was on Nessie's shoulders, but everyone was too preoccupied to notice her inhumane strength. She stepped past Holly who had collapsed. She lay unmoving on the floor.

As she got outside, Seth rushed past, back into the smoke. Nessie lowered Ian to the ground on the sidewalk. Seth returned moments later carrying Holly over his shoulders in a fireman's hold.

Liam was already on the phone with 911.

"Is the fire out?" Kat asked.

Seth shook his head as he laid Holly in the grass. "The smoke got too thick."

Kyle reemerged from the alley with an angry look in his eye.

"Did you get them?" asked Kat.

Kyle shook his head.

I'll catch them, Nessie projected her thoughts to Seth. She took a step towards the alley. He grabbed her arm.

"Don't," Seth warned.

"Give me that bag," Kyle pointed to the SAE bag on Seth's back. Seth obliged.

Kyle dumped the contents into a bush the walked over to the window where the vandals had launched the fireworks. Kyle shoved the abandoned lighters and unlit fireworks into the bag and dropped it at the scene of the crime.

"What just happened?" Seth asked. "Is this because I took those chains?"

"I doubt it," Kat shrugged. "How would they have known you'd be here?"

Seth took a deep breath to try and stop himself from shaking. "Kat, I am so sorry… If I had known—"

"Don't apologize," Kat cut him off. "This isn't your fault."

"Why don't you guys go home?" Ian suggested. "We'll talk to the fire department."

"That's probably a good idea," Kat said as she glanced at Sabrina.

Nessie realized that Sabrina was deathly pale. Her eyes were glazed over and a bead of sweat was visible across her forehead.

"Maybe we should take you to a hospital," Nessie suggested.

Sabrina closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'll be fine. I just need to lie down."

Seth and Nessie walked Kat and Sabrina to the sorority house. Nessie watched Kat plug in the code to unlock the door. There were only a few girls in the common area, including Sage and a girl named Ashley. Sabrina slumped down onto the first available sofa.

Kat gave the concerned onlookers a brief synopsis of the night's events while Sage ran to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Ashley thanked Nessie and Seth for bringing the pair home, hinting that they shouldn't stick around. Kat rolled her eyes.

"Is your hand okay?" Kat asked Seth. "I can grab our first aid kit for your burn."

"I'm fine, it didn't burn me," Seth lied. He held up his hand as evidence. Nessie could see the faint scar from where his injury had already healed.

Kat looked at him in surprise. "How? You grabbed the bottle rocket right beneath the flame."

Seth shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it wasn't that hot."

Kat looked like she wanted to say something else, but she stopped herself.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave. It's after visiting hours," said Ashley.

Kat glared at her. "They're helping me get Sabrina home."

"It's fine, we can go," Nessie said, not wanting to start a fight.

"See you Monday?" Seth said hopefully, reminding her of their date.

"I'll text you," Kat replied. Her attention shifted back to Sabrina.

Seth's face fell as he turned to leave with Nessie.

A familiar Volvo was waiting at the curb. Nessie immediately jumped to defend herself with her thoughts. The effort was in vain as it was Bella behind the wheel, not Edward. Bella kept her expression neutral, but anger radiated from her as if she were Jasper.

Nessie approached the vehicle cautiously—as if she were approaching a dangerous animal. Bella rolled down the automatic windows.

"How did you…" Nessie started.

"Alice saw the house after you left," Bella's eyes narrowed. She gestured for Nessie to climb into the vehicle.

Nessie obliged. Seth started to follow suit, his expression a guilty mirror of Nessie's.

"You can go home Seth," Bella said as he opened the car door.

"Are you sure?" Seth asked, verifying he was in the clear.

Bella nodded. "You should call your mother."

"Right," Seth said as if he was just remembering he wasn't actually a member of the Cullen family.

Nessie shot him a look of betrayal as the Volvo pulled away from the curb. Bella didn't say a word as they drove to the house. Nessie wanted to match her silence, but curiosity got the better of her.

"What did Alice see?" Nessie asked.

"She saw your friends speaking with the firefighters and the police."

"Is everybody alright?" Nessie asked.

"Nobody was seriously injured," Bella answered, "but there will be structural damage to the ceiling above the fire."

"That's good," Nessie said as Bella pulled up to the house. She didn't say anything else until they were inside. The entire family was waiting for them. Their expressions ranged from amusement to concern.

"You're lucky you two left before the police showed up," Bella growled.

Nessie tried to keep her irritation from seeping into her thoughts. "Mom, it's fine. I didn't do anything."

"One of your friends will get a citation for drinking underage," Alice said.

"Are you serious?" Nessie said in disbelief.

"Were you drinking?" Bella hissed.

"No!" Nessie answered. Emmett seemed disappointed. Edward's eyes narrowed as Nessie's thoughts revealed her failed attempt to obtain alcohol. "Did they at least catch the guys who started the fire?"

Alice shook her head. "The fire department will lead an investigation and conclude the fire was started by negligence and electrical failure, not arson. They'll get another citation for the fire hazard."

"That's so unfair," Nessie exclaimed. She recalled how the fireworks caused Ian to fall.

"They should've been more careful," Edward said as he saw Nessie's memory.

"Maybe you should stay away from these people," Rosalie suggested.

"They didn't do anything, this wasn't their fault," Nessie defended.

"But they brought it on themselves," Edward said. "Some people are a magnet for danger. It's better to avoid potentially compromising situations."

"Nothing happened," Nessie pushed. "I wasn't in any danger. I wasn't even alone. Seth was with me the entire time."

"That's another thing we've been meaning to talk to you about," Carlisle cut in. "Now that he has imprinted, you need to keep in mind that his priorities have shifted."

"What are you saying?" Nessie said. "You think I can't trust Seth?"

"No, of course not," Carlisle said. "But keep in mind he will put the girl ahead of you."

Nessie thought about what had occurred at Holly's house. Seth hadn't spared her a passing glance as he'd rushed to get Kat and her friends to safety. Plus, he'd begged her to join the sorority.

Edward's eyes narrowed at Nessie's thoughts.

"Maybe it would be best if you dropped the sorority," Edward suggested.

"That's ridiculous," Nessie said. She recalled how badly she wanted to be in the sorority. She wasn't dropping now.

The family discussed the situation and eventually, Nessie agreed to stick to social events on campus for the time being.

Chapter Playlist:

Check Yes Juliet - We the Kings - Seth

Project - Chase McDaniel - Kat