smitten [s. clearwater]

the chronic avoidance of la push

-

-CHAPTER THREE: THE CHRONIC AVOIDANCE OF LA PUSH-

-

Seth sat on the couch in Emily's living room, only half listening to what the others were saying and doing. Embry was more involved, but he didn't need telepathic behaviors to know that he and Seth were thinking the same thing: how could they have hurt Delilah this badly? How did they hurt Delilah so badly she wouldn't talk to them or curse them out? How did they hurt her so badly that they hadn't seen her at La Push even though they've had a tradition of going to play soccer every weekend?

"Quil, you have to go talk to her," Seth said, facing the boy across from him and Embry. "You're the only one she doesn't hate."

He shrugged. "I think that Paul or someone should go. She needs a friend, not to be convinced that you two really weren't gaslighting her," Quil said with a shrug. "Besides, I'm still on good terms with Delilah and I'm not ruining it because you two are idiots."

"Don't even ask me to go." Paul, who had just entered the kitchen, knew that he would be next in Seth's line of requests thanks to Quil's suggestion. "What's the big deal with this anyway? Did you imprint or something?"

Seth and Embry both grew quiet. Seth only nodded and Embry looked at him remorsefully. It was no secret to anyone that saw interactions between Seth and Delilah that they had feelings for each other. While Delilah was better at shoving it down in favor of school and to keep her friendship stable, Seth constantly teetered on the edge of whether or not he should tell her how he felt. Now it felt like he was forced to tell her, even if he wasn't ready to. That's what he had done outside Jillian's bookstore, wasn't it? Hastily admit his feelings in hopes of her forgiving him?

"Okay, then invite her to the bonfire. It's an easy cop out," Paul drawled. "If I had an imprint, that's how I'd tell 'em."

Embry sighed. "He's right. She's entitled to know about it before she's thrown into some werewolf-vampire fight."

Quil nodded. "It's a really great idea, except she's not talking to either of you and I'm not getting involved."

All three of their heads turned to Paul, who viewed Delilah like a very distant stepsister. He would interact with her when needed, but it would be mostly begrudgingly. "No."

"It's for an imprint," Embry leveraged.

"We would do it for you," Seth stated.

Quil shrugged. "I honestly don't care that much. Delilah and I are fine."

Under Embry and Seth's expectant stares, Paul caved. "One time. And if she says no, I'm doing nothing else." He sighed and stood up. "All I wanted was a goddamn bag of chips."

-

Jillian wasn't worried about Delilah and neither was Angela, who started to spend more time at the Albright house, something she did when she either didn't want to babysit her brothers or her parents were fighting. The night of their fight, two nights prior, Delilah skipped dinner and cried herself to sleep. While this behavior would be enough to worry, say Angela's mother, Jillian knew her daughter too well.

The next afternoon, she left the store in Harley's care with the instruction to call in case of an emergency. Standing at the bottom of the stairs as Angela settled into the couch with her favorite Afghan, she shouted, "The Breakfast Club is going on in five, four, three, two-" Delilah was sitting on the couch before she even got to one because of the way Jillian stretched out the counting.