Veiled [Seth Clearwater]

White Nights

"My God, a moment of bliss. Why isn't that enough for a whole lifetime?" ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky 

That night after the kiss, Grace could not stop thinking of the worst case scenario. She tried to pretend as if nothing ever happened between them, only something did and it affected both of them in a way that Grace was scared it would. If they broke up, their friendship, their perfect little bubble she was so happy with, would explode and she would be left with nothing. She was getting too close to him, it felt as if she was starting to become dependent on him to feel happy and she hated that, she knew it could only end badly. The two of them spent every moment they could together and his mere presence filled her with so much joy it was hard to think she was the same person a couple of months ago. But that's also what scared her. So she did her best to go on like nothing changed, hoping Seth would go along with it and he did, because he was so far gone for her that we would have went along with robbing a bank if she asked.

Seth loved spending time with her and it was even better now that the rest of his brothers knew, although he did regret it from time to time when they would nag him about being in the friend zone or always having to lie. He didn't enjoy lying to her but if it meant keeping her safe, he would tell her anything. There were some moments when she would get that skeptical look on her face but she wouldn't press it out of respect for Seth and whatever he was going through, and he loved that about her. He loved the kiss, but also hated it because not only did he now know what he couldn't have, he was also aware that was also all he ever wanted, it's almost all he ever thought about. His pack brothers volunteered to pull extra shifts if it meant they didn't need to be around him and his dumb thoughts.

Seth walked right into the house, announcing his arrival. The King's never locked their door, which annoyed Grace till no end and made Seth worry about her more but the other family members knew that as long as no one knew, it would be fine, the only thing was, all their friends knew. Bonnie, Grace's 'aunt', was standing in her usual place behind the counter in the kitchen, making breakfast. Nina, the younger of Grace's cousins was sitting at the table with her friends.

"Hey!" Nina called, not removing her eyes from her phone.

"What's up Seth?" Laura asked with a smile. Leo, the small shy boy smiled and waved awkwardly, despite knowing Seth for a while, and hanging out with him regularly.

"Hey guys!" He greeted warmly.

"Seth did you eat breakfast yet?" Bonnie asked, moving a fresh plate of pancakes to the table. He nodded but she set a place for him anyway, the same way she did every morning. Bonnie King would never let you leave her house without eating. It was a wonder how everyone who lived there was so petite. He sat at the table, setting his phone and keys down, ever since he got his licence, he shared the car with Leah but because of the high amount of vamp activity, she rarely went to school anymore so he always got the car and drove all the way to Forks to pick up Grace. She was hesitant at first, not wanting him to go out of his way for her but was more grateful than anything because of how busy Bonnie was. And lately he had been going the extra mile and dropping off Nina and her friends at school. Laura thought it was just him trying to suck up to Bonnie but was thankful she didn't have to walk.

Seth smelled Grace down the hall, her perfume wafted vanilla and when he heard the click of the door, he braced himself, as he did every time he saw her, because if he didn't then he would lose it and look like an idiot. She walked in yawning, shoes untied and hair unbrushed, she looked the same way she always did when she was up late reading, she looked tired as hell.

She plopped into the seat next to Seth, unconsciously leaning to him, Seth's eyes traveled to her lips out of habit. He was sad that he couldn't remember the feeling of her lips on his and that only made him want to kiss her more.