Innocence~Seth Clearwater

Chapter 9

Five days into her suspension Jaiden was miserable. She still hadn't spoken to the wolves and she was grounded, but she knew who would make her feel better. She quietly opened her bedroom window and jumped to the ground before pulling out her phone and dialing his number.

"Hey," His voice came through the phone softly and hoarse. 

"Meet me at our spot in 10 minutes," She said in a tone that matched his. He made a noise of agreement before hanging up. She quickly jogged down the road until she reached the old preschool that was now empty. About 5 years ago they had added a preschool into the elementary school and since then the building had remained empty until she had fixed it up and turned it into a hangout. She walked in and turned on the power smirking as a string of Christmas lights lit up so you could see a couple of bean bag chairs and a pack of water bottles. She quickly picked up a Jack-in-the-box and spun the handle until it popped open and the little Jack was holding a  bag of weed and a pack of papers. She could hear him come in as she sat down with her back facing the door.

"Does your Dad know you're here?" He asked while she shook her head. "Why'd you want to meet me?"

"I don't know. Seth won't talk to me, Jacob's keeping secrets, you are the only person that's stayed by my side," She said while looking at him. His face looked like he was in pain by her words. "I know it was you that almost attacked me," She added as his jaw dropped.

"Are you mad?" He asked causing her to shake her head.

"I found out after Jacob got home I heard him telling my dad, I just don't get why Jake and Seth would lie about it," She said while Paul reached over and put his hand on her knee. 

"I don't know why Jake didn't, but Seth didn't want our friendship to be over. He wanted to make sure that even if you got mad at him you'd still have me," Paul said sadly while she pulled him into a hug.

"How mad is Seth?" She asked quietly as Paul lit a joint and passed it to her. 

"He's not mad at you," Paul said while shaking his head at her.

"He seems mad," She pointed out as she let out the smoke she had been holding in her lungs.

"He wants you to be happy and he thinks you'll be happier if he's not around," Paul said as he hit the joint. 

"That's not his decision to make," was all Jaiden said before she heard a loud banging on the door. She and Paul whipped their heads towards the door before they saw the red and blue lights flashing through the window. They both stayed silent while Paul held up a finger showing it was one cop. They quickly snuck to the back of the building leaving the joint behind. Paul cracked open the window as they heard the door opening and they climbed out before sprinting into the woods as they could hear the cop running towards them. Jaiden held back a laugh as she looked back and saw the cop trip over a tree root. She didn't recognize the cop but he didn't look much older than Paul.

"That was close," Paul laughed as they finally lost the cop. Jaiden could see Emily's house through the trees and her and Paul both walked towards the house while panting as they swore not to tell anyone inside what happened. 

"Aren't you supposed to be grounded?" Jake asked when he saw the laughing girl that entered the room behind Paul. She ignored the question as she and Seth awkwardly greeted each other. Everyone stared at the two before they quickly went into the kitchen to give them some privacy.

"How have you been," Seth asked while scratching his neck while she sat in a chair away from him. 

"Alright," she answer as she realized how much she had missed seeing his face.

"I wanted to call but I didn't know if you wanted me to," he tried to explain causing her to sigh.

"That would have been cool," she said awkwardly. She wasn't good with emotions and she didn't know how to express how much she had missed him. She decided to move so she was sitting next to him and he turned his body causing his knee to bump against hers and they both felt a jolt of electricity as they touched. 

"I um I missed you," Jaiden managed to stutter out causing Seth to smile. 

"I missed you too," He said quietly as he gently held her hand. He gently squeezed her hand in his before going to let go but she held on.

"I didn't mean what I said. I um I know you're more than just a friend I just got scared of how I felt," she spoke so fast it took Seth a moment to process her words.

"I overreacted. I was pushing you to feel the same way I felt and that was wrong," Seth said while gently squeezing her hand again. 

"We can take it slow right." She asked nervously.

"Of course," Seth nodded his head as a smile lit upon his face. She also smiled happily at him before leaning over and gently kissing his cheek causing him to blush. 

"I should probably get home before my dad notices I'm gone," She said while looking at the clock.

"I'll walk you," he said with a smile. When they got back to her house she snuck in through the open window and allowed Seth to climb in after her. As soon as he was inside she immediately laced her fingers through his and tugged him onto the bed to lay down. Neither of their smiles left their face as they slept.