Flowers for Lilah (Seth Clearwater)

chapter nineteen

  I wipe the stray tear from my eye and instantly feel embarrassed. I hope these two didn't think I was some over-emotional, silly girl who cried easily. But from Emily's warm arm around my shoulder, and Kim's kind eyes; I can tell they aren't thinking that at all. And from the fuzzy feeling in my chest, I think I just gained two friends in La Push, something I never thought I'd do.

I giggle a bit, "I think you two are my first friends I've made in La Push," I confess, knowing they won't judge me. I had been in La Push for a few years, but mostly kept to myself. Everyone knew how my parents had horrifically died, and steered clear of me, unsure of how to address the situation.

"I hope you know that means I expect you to hang out with me all the time now!" Kim is so animated when she talks, her almond shaped eyes widening, "I'm surrounded by too many boys," she whines.

"You're not wrong there," Emily snorts.

I giggle, "I'm going to go try to wash off my face," I break out of Emily's embrace and cautiously take off towards the bathroom in the back of the house. After splashing my face with cool water a few times to hide any trace of my tears, I emerge from the bathroom and nearly crash into someone- or I guess I could call him a brick wall. Paul Lahote, I knew him from school.

"Oof!," I let out, bumping into his body- which felt abnormally hard. I jumped back like I had been stunned, and looked up.... way up. He was about a good two feet taller than my small frame. I felt dwarfed next to him. I immediately switch into my terrified-Lilah mode: my most painfully mortifying mode in my opinion.

Mainly because he looks like the scariest person I've ever met- with a big scowl on his face- I start rambling, "I-I'm so so-sorry Paul, I didn't mean to r-run into you-"

Paul looks down at me, like he barely felt me even slam into him and shrugs lazily, "Lilah, right?"

"Y-yes," I nod a little too aggressive to be normal.

He nods for a second, "Cool. Are you always this shy?"

I'm thrown into frantic silence, unsure of how to respond. I didn't want Seth's friends to think I was weird- I wanted them to like me. So, like word vomit, I stammer out the truth: "Painfully."

He cracks a smile, "Well, I wouldn't be a good host if I didn't offer to help. Follow me." He takes off without another word, I hesitate for a second before following down the short hallway, though a thick wooden door... into the garage? Quil, a boy I had met before, was sitting on one of the worn tan couches.

"What are we-" I begin, but I'm cut off by Paul handing me a can.

"I told you, helping. Drink that, It'll make you feel less nervous." He nods to the can in my hands, sensing my unease, he rolls his eyes, "trust me."

Quil opens his own can and nods, "Lilah, Seth practically grilled us all week about how you are shy and we have to be extra welcoming, so we're inviting you to the man cave."

"T-thanks, I think," I open the can and take a long sip, blech. Not a fan. I pull a face.

"It gets better the more you drink," Quil explains to me, taking a swig from his own can, and Paul sinks into the ran couch next to him. I take a cautious seat in the recliner next to the sofa, it's equally worn out. "Lilah, you gotta tell us, does your grandpa really hate Seth as much as it seems?"

Paul bursts out laughing, loud enough to make me wince a bit. "Your grandpa is savage!"

I blush, and take a long sip of my drink to hide my blush, "You've seen that?" I wonder what else these guys have seen when they've phased- us kissing? I hoped not.

"There no hiding anything with us," Paul laughs, "The way your grandpa slams the door on him if he enters the house too slowly,"

"That time your grandpa polished his guns and made Seth watch-" Quil chimes in.

"Or the time your grandpa just grilled Seth about his entire sexual history-" Paul cackled.

OH MY GOSH. I had never knew about these encounters between the two of them, I knew my grandfather grumbled around him and wasn't exactly warm... but questioning about his entire sexual history? I didn't even know what Seth's answers would've been, it seemed just wrong that my Papa now did.

"I can't believe you all know about that," I'm amazed, "I didn't even know about it."

"Oh, we see everything," Quil said darkly, tossing me another can, and I realized mine was now empty. I nod in thanks and open it, taking a long sip.

"Everything." Paul deadpans for effect, shooting me a suggestive look.

"H-have you seen-" i can't stop myself from asking, "like, me kissing Seth?"

"Seen it." Paul confirms.

"Also have seen it replaying over and over in Seth's mine like a broken record," Quil snickers.

"And all his inner thoughts about it. If you think his babbling is annoying, you should hear the kids mind." Paul complains loudly.

"Oh no!" I moan loudly, mortified. "i can't believe this! We've only kissed a few times!"

Paul snorts, "Don't worry about it. Trust me, the thoughts from Sam and Jared are a thousand times more disgusting." I instantly feel a pang of pity for Emily and Kim, if they knew, I'm sure they'd be horrified.

The two break off into a complaining rant about the vivid thoughts of Sam and Jared, and how they practically should be kicked out of patrol with those who hasn't imprinting, just to not annoy the living daylights out of them.

"Lilah! Thank God I found you!" Leah's relieves voice echoes through the garage some time later. My lecture about why the wolves should be a little more cautious to ensure they aren't running across peoples gardens (which Paul and Quil seemed to find hilarious from the way they were chuckling) was forgotten when I saw her. We had been talking now for a long while, my skin had adapted the chill of the garage, a pile of cans sat in the middle of us. I had never drank before, but now i could see why people did it. I felt fuzzy, in a good way. A happy fuzzy, I wasn't so nervous anymore. I hadn't stuttered or blushed once since polishing off my second drink: everything was just humorous. I liked it.

"Leah!" I exclaim, excited to see my friend. I jump off the couch and practically leap into her arms, luckily she caught me easily, before putting me down and eyeing me suspiciously, then her eyes trail to the situation at hand. Her face morphs to annoyance, "Seth is going to kill you, Paul."

"Me?" He clutches his heart dramatically, "Quil is here too!"

"Quil too. Seth is going to kill both of you." Leah rolls her eyes, "Idiots."

"Why is Seth going to kill them?" I cock my head, stumbling slightly as I made my way back onto the couch.

"Really?" Leah ignores me and stares at Paul, "You got Lilah drunk?"

"She had like two beers," Paul rolled his eyes.

"She's ninety pounds soaking wet!" Leah shot back, and reaches out to grab my arm, her grip firm, as she pulls me out of the garage, "Cmon, Lil, Seth'll take you home." I follow behind her blindly as she pulls me, the room spinning a bit.