Latibule s. clearwater

Chapter 6

Hazel was smiling once again, feeling mostly at ease as she pressed on the piano keys in front of her. 

Music filled the room like a summer breeze, bringing smiles to everyone else in the room. The vampires bathed in it joyously, all staring at the young girl lovingly, content that they no longer have to be away from Forks. Bella sat in the room as well, also watching with gentle eyes and now fully understanding why the Cullens cared for Hazel so deeply. 

"I haven't really practiced since you guys left," she said softly after the song had finished. Both Bella and Jasper averted their eyes, feeling guilty. 

"Well it sounded perfect," Rosalie responded wrapping an arm over her shoulders and hugging her close. It was a strange sighting for Bella, who had never seen Rose act in such a way. But Edward knew his sister's usually self absorbed thoughts always changed when Hazel or Elliot were around. It wasn't as though he didn't know she loved him or their other siblings, but Rose's actions were never harsh or directed back to her own self image with Hazel or Elliot near. 

It was clear the whole family was stuck on them, Carlisle always more cautious of everything because he was Elliot's doctor or working closely with anyone taking care of him. Very few times throughout the young boy's life were spent outside of the hospital after that rainy afternoon Hazel had carried him in.

 It was terrifying for Carlisle, wanting nothing more than to save them all from any pain, change them and have them be apart of his family just as they've wanted. But Elliot was still far too young and Alice had recently had visions that weren't clear, too confusing for him to do anything about. As for Hazel, he knew he would never be able to change her until Elliot was healthy and ready, or if he didn't want to she wouldn't be able to leave her younger sibling. 

Esme knew of this hardship, her motherly instincts made her understanding but her mind made her greedy. The two children had her heart completely, just like how the rest of her children did. She tried not to get attached in the beginning but it was hopeless, and seeing how quickly the rest of the family accepted them made it harder to think of a time without them. 

Still, there was so much left to happen that was unclear.

***

Hazel was not at all prepared to walk into her brother's hospital room and see Elliot and Seth in the middle of a pillow fight. 

She gasped loudly, surprised to even see Seth in the room at all. Elliot and Seth looked over with guilty eyes and sheepish smiles. "Oh, h-hi Hazel," Seth said, hiding the pillow behind his back. 

Right away she smiled at him, giddy at his cuteness but was quick to shake herself back to reality. Turning to Elliot she went into full mother mode. 

"Carlisle specifically told you to stay in bed until the test results come back! I was gone for two hours and come back to pillow feathers everywhere, and when did you start to like Seth? Every time I brought him up you'd make jokes about him and how lame he was when around me." She signed.

"He stopped by right after you left and he's actually pretty cool. Are you sure you aren't just mad because I stole your boyfriend." 

"He is not my boyfriend!" 

"Yet!" Elliot retorted.

"Hey, Haze? I'm really sorry if I overstepped, he was just really bored and I figured he could use something fun to do," Seth apologized. He felt guilty. He hadn't intended to get Elliot in trouble, he had come by hoping for a better impression. Apparently he made too good of an impression this time. 

"It's okay. Do you wanna go for a walk and talk?" Seth nodded and Hazel turned back to her brother. "We will finish talking later." They both watched as the boy gave his best innocent smile, probably hoping that Seth would help his sister burn off steam so he doesn't get scolded more. 

For a minute the two walked in silence, feeling comfortable in the presence of the other. They had been hanging out a lot more since that day they baked in her home. He confided in her about losing his father recently and she told him more about what it was like before they came to Forks. 

"I'm sorry about getting all upset back there. I'm not used to anyone else being around Elliot and I'm already a bit overprotective when it comes to his well-being," she said. 

Seth watched her as she spoke, almost getting lost in the feeling of being around his imprint. "I get it. Leah was really protective of me when we were younger."

They soon found a bench to sit on, talking and laughing about childhood stories. "So you really went and told off those kids?" Seth said laughing.

Hazel nodded, "They were so mean to Elliot! He was so excited about his birthday and none of them showed up. They would always make jokes about the sick kid who missed so much school and so when I threw the little party in his hospital room and he started crying because nobody came, I marched right down to his school the next day and told off the kids. The teacher had security throw me out."

"How old were you?" 

She thought for a moment before breaking into laughter again, "Thirteen." 

As they sat in a cloud of laughter all Seth could think about was how lucky he was to have gotten Hazel as an imprint, and all Hazel could think about was how strange it was how comfortable she had gotten with Seth. She wasn't complaining though, the attraction she felt towards him was scary at first, still was, but every passing day she could feel herself fall more and more for the boy sitting next to her. 

And she loved it.