Ethereal

Chapter 1

There are two people I value most in this world:

Seth, my best friend since the beginning. Sue Clearwater, Seth's mother, always likes to tease us of how we have been attached by the hip since the moment we met when we were children. In the moments when I needed comfort, I never cried alone. He's always been there for me, wrapping me up in his arms and telling me corny jokes; his very presence helped soothe me. I love Seth, he's genuinely the most important person to me.

Sam, the man who basically adopted me when I was a young child. I never knew my parents, and with a big brother figure like Sammy I've never felt the need to. The man has helped me through thick and thin, helped me through my depression all these years. On the days where I hit rock bottom, Sam would stay with me or make sure someone was always with me to make sure I was never alone. Sam is my rock, and I don't know if I would still be here without him.

"Kai," Seth quietly mumbles my name as his lips brush against my ear, his warm breath fanning against the side of my face and I let out a soft hum in reply. "What're you thinking about?"

I turn my head to look back at him. We were currently sitting in the sand on the beach of La Push, my back to his front and his legs on either side of mine.

"You," I reply with a smile and brush back some of his long brown hair from his face. He returns the smile and grabs my hand, pressing a sweet kiss to my palm before bringing my hand back from his face and setting it on my lap, then we both turn back towards the ocean.

Seth doesn't say anything for a minute, only wrapping his arms around my torso and hugging my body close as he buries his face in my neck.

"I love you." Seth says, his lips moving against my neck as he talks. "I know," I smile and turn my head to press a soft kiss to his cheek, "I love you too B." My smile only gets bigger when I feel the happiness radiating off of him from the name I've used to address him since we were kids, a shortened version of his middle name.

The hour of time that we spent sitting there felt hours together. It's times like this that I enjoy the most, getting to spend time with my best friend, just the two of us as we bask in the comfort of being in the presence of the other.

We stay until the sun sets, the beautiful hues reflecting off of the ocean. Together we watch as the sun descends and the night turns dark, the waves growing in size from the glowing moon.

"Mom wants us home for dinner." Seth's voice breaks my gaze from the waves. I close my eyes and let out a sigh.

"I know." I respond quietly, not wanting to disturb the quiet of the night. After a couple moments, Seth begins to stand knowing that I won't move unless forced.

"Get up, seriously. If we're not home in time for dinner again tonight then Mom isn't going to let us come out anymore." Seth all but whines as he attempts to pull me off the ground where I have made myself comfortable. I look up at him and pout, "I don't wanna go." Seth rolls his eyes but can't keep a smile from slipping onto his face.

"I'll carry you?" Seth suggests innocently and I smile and nod my head eagerly. "Piggyback?"

I stand up and wipe the sand off of the back of my pants before hopping on to Seth's back, letting out a loud laugh when he spins me in a quick circle.

Soon enough we are back home, the smell of Mama Sue's homemade chocolate chip cookies drifting through the house. Seth sets me down as we walk in and we take our shoes off, setting them to the side of the door. We walk to the kitchen together, and I smile as I see Sue taking a pan of freshly baked cookies out of the oven.

"They smell great momma!" I exclaim happily as I skip over to her and give her a kiss on the cheek. Sue sends me a soft smile.

"Hey Kai. Hey Seth." She sends us both a smile as she sets the cookies down to cool down. "Are you staying for dinner?"

I nod and let a dramatic pout slip onto my face. "I think Sammy is getting tired of me complaining about never being able to stay for dinner so he told me I could but I have to be home right after."

Sue shakes her head and laughs. "That boy is too strict on you, I swear. He rarely let's you stay out past dark."

"I don't mind," I'm quick to assure, feeling a need to defend Sam since there are reasons I have to be home at certain times. "Sammy lets Seth stay over whenever he wants to, so that's good."

Sue continues to smile and gently pats my head as she walks me. "Surely Seth isn't your only friend, honey?"

I snort, a blush covering my face as I quickly reach my hand up to cover my mouth and avert my gaze somewhere else as Seth laughs. "That was an accident! Pretend it never happened!"

Seth continues to laugh as Sue begins to laugh softly too. Seth walks over to me and pulls me to him, pressing a kiss to my forehead before pulling me to him in a hug.

"That was adorable, Kai." He sets his chin on the top of my head and sways us back and forth as he continues to laugh at my blushing face.

I let out a whine of embarrassment and push him away from me before finally turning back to Sue so that I can finally answer her.

"No I hang out with Jake, Quil, and Embry sometimes, but Quil is really loud. I hang out with Paul and Jared too but that's just because they're friends with Sammy so that automatically makes them think they're honorary big bro's, as if Sam isn't enough to handle. Plus Leah likes me a lot which is kind of surprising since I know she hates Sammy. Other than that though, I like spending most of my time with Seth." I smile at her, my cheeks still burning from Seth's teasing me earlier.

Our conversation pretty much ends there as Seth and I sit on the chairs at the counter, waiting for Sue to make the finishing touches to dinner.

After dinner Seth, Leah. and I cleared the table and cleaned the dishes as Sue and Harry sit together at the table.

"Goodnight Sue, Harry. Thank you for letting me stay over for dinner!" I smile at the Clearwaters as I put my shoes on, about to head home.

"It's no problem dear. Tell Sam to let you come over for dinner more though, we miss you Kai." Sue replies with a smile and wave and Harry returns the sentiment. Saying my goodbye's I head outside with Seth.

"You aren't walking me back home Sethhhhh." I whine as he continues to press that he IS in fact going to walk me home.

"I don't like it when you walk alone." Seth says with a small frown on his face. I pull him into a hug and just stand there for a minute, holding each other.

"I'll be fine, I promise. I'll call you when I get home, okay?" I reassure him, my voice slightly muffled against his shirt. His arms tighten around me and I know he's not happy but he'll cope. He grumbles out a defeated fine against the top of my head and smile triumphantly.

"Ouchy!" I pull away from him when he pinches my side. "Rude."

"You should get home before Sam never lets you stay for dinner again." Seth says and I nod in agreement. He leans down to press a soft, lingering kiss on my forehead before letting me go for real this time.

"Bye Sethy, love you!" I say as I start to walk away, realizing just how late it had actually gotten.

"I love you too Kai." He says back, his eyes following me as far as they could until I disappeared from his sight.

The walk home was quiet and quick. I hear whispers through the wind as I walk, a breathy exhale of consistent secrets of the trees being whispered in my ears. I close my eyes and pause, tilting my head. "A wolf following me?" I mutter, the wind carrying my whisper to the twitching ears of the wolf in the treeline, their paws slightly tripping over themselves in surprise. I shake my head and open my eyes, continuing the walk home.

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