𐂂

.𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐢.
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉
.𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐢.

Calawah River Park &
The Wallow's Cottage.
Forks, WA.
May 2010

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐃, she swore it was the only thing in the room that wasn't covered in dust. She let out a deep breath, trying to understand everything that had happened over the course of the last week. It was a Friday today, but it felt more like a Monday. Does that make sense? It made sense to Evee, though she felt like every day was a day to dread now of days.

"Evee, why don't you go to the park down the road to read, some fresh air will do you good." Thackeray suggested kindly from the corner of her doorway. Thackeray Wallows was a quiet mannered man, the kind that could sneak up on a mouse. He didn't talk much, unless your name was Evangeline Wallows, then he talked plenty. For some reason Evee and Millicent were the only ones he ever really did talk to, or maybe they were the only ones that were quiet long enough to listen.

"Okay Gramps." Evee agreed, finding his suggestion to be desireable. For once it wasn't raining outside in overcast Forks, so why not take advantage of the rareness. She rolled off her bed, grabbing her book and slipping on some shoes. Thackeray nodded with a smile, walking back down the hall and passing Logan.

"Where are you off too?" Logan asked, leaning against her door frame. It really was impossible for him to ever leave her alone, but she was his little sister, and all he had left. He felt a need to protect her at every moment, fearful to loose her after he had already lost so much.

"The park." She answered curtly, grabbing her coat from her hanger and pulling it over her shoulders. "And I'd like to go alone." She demanded.

"I wasn't planning on accompanying you," Logan defended himself, earning a 'yeah right' look from his younger sister. He rolled his eyes in annoyance at the sarcastic look on her face, "just be careful."

"I was planning on it." Evee huffed, brushing past him with book in hand and scurrying down the staircase as if trying to escape his neck breathing. She couldn't quite understand why he had suddenly started acting so aware of everything she did. It was as if since their mom and dad died, he had decided it was his job to parent Evee. Though Evee just got annoyed by this, considering she just wanted her big brother, not another parent figure.

The walk to the park was a short one, only half a mile from her house. Evee never minded walking, unless it was in the blasted heat-which was quite the opposite of Washington's weather.

The weather in Forks is rainy and cold, like the kind you'd see right out of a Tim Burton film. Evee always loved Tim Burton films, just like she loved the rain and overcast skies. Most people, like Logan, found it repulsing and mucky. Evee on the other hand actually found it quite lovely. The constant haze of gloom oversetting the town was somewhat perfect to her, as if a gentleness touched the town itself. Or perhaps she was just someone who liked to romanticize the small things that seemed odd or unsatisfying to others.

Evee walked through the park, listening to the birds sing and the leaves in the trees rustle with the wind. Evee always loves birds, they were so free and in their own little world. She was currently looking for the perfect reading spot, something very specific would be her ideal but she tried not to be picky especially in a area foreign to her.

She finally stumbled upon a clearing, a little bit away from the path. It probably wasn't the best choice to leave the marked path since she didn't know the area well, but she trusted herself. There was a park bench next to a large willow tree, it was as close to perfect for a reading spot as Evee could ask for. So there she sat, reading a copy of The Waves by Virginia Woolf, a novel she quite enjoyed. She had taken up reading some of her aunt Millicent's books, they were old and the words were tricky at times but they were fascinating classics.

Evee's mid-day reading was then interrupted by a boy, who looked to be about her age, hauling himself out of a bush and plopping onto the bench a few feet down from her. On a normal occasion, which this was not, she would've just gotten up and moved. But this boy interested her, considering he was sopping wet and missing a shirt and it was only in the mid 50s this evening.

Evee found him stupidly handsome. His skin was tan and his eyes were dark brown, his hair was dark like his eyes and his build was muscular. She took about thirty seconds to study him before he finally noticed her.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed, grabbing the backpack at his feet and searching it hastily. He grabbed a shirt from the bag and quickly pulled it over his head and onto his body, covering up his once exposed skin. "Sorry sorry, I really didn't see you. . You see no one ever really comes to this bench and I-" He stopped when he realized she was holding back a laugh, "are you laughing at me?" He asked lightheartedly, a soft laugh beginning to fall from his lips in response.

Evee couldn't help it, she busted out laughing. "Yes I'm laughing at you why wouldn't I be I mean come on look at yourself! You're soaking wet in this weather, and you just fell off a park bench." She looked at him like he was crazy, but not in a 'oh my gosh I'm terrified of you' crazy but more like the kind of your crazy you would call your friend for eating something weird.

"Hey hey, this is perfect swimming weather what do you mean?!" The boy defended himself, placing a hand in his heart and nodding factually. "You're not from around here I can tell, any local knows May is just fine swimming weather."

"Yeah and thank God for that, that means I'm sane. . . I'd like to keep my toes thank you very much." Evee placed her book mark in her book and closed it shut, placing it on the bench beside her and standing up to extend an arm to the boy on the ground. "What's your name crazy guy?"

"Seth Clearwater," he answered, taking her hand and letting her help him up. "And you are?"

"Evangeline Wallows, but everyone calls me Evee it's less formal." She nodded, for once Evee didn't feel weird while talking to someone. She couldn't even explain it, she had just met this guy and already felt so comfortable around him. It was like she knew him. . but the thing is she didn't know him, she didn't know him at all.

"Wallows-? Are you related to Millicent and Thackeray?" Seth asked eagerly, obviously knowing her aunt and uncle and from his reaction he knew them well.

"Yeah, so I'm guessing you know them?"

"Yeah they're great family friends of mine, your Aunt babysat me and my sister when we were little. She's a great woman, makes the best brownies I've ever had!" He explained with the biggest smile on his face. He took a moment to run a hand through his soaking wet hair, wiping his hand on his shirt afterward.

"Yeah her baking is great, I think I'm gonna ask her to teach me how. I'm a monster in the kitchen." Evee joked, but not really joking, because yes she was awful at anything involving cooking or baking. One time while making cookies with Jonah they somehow burned the entire batch and had to restart, and burned the second one too, after that they gave up and just bought some cookies from a pack at the dollar store.

"I promise you aren't worse than I am, my mom said I'm not allowed anywhere near the kitchen unless she's with me." Seth laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Hey-idea! Maybe we can learn how to cook together, dangerous and dangerous cancels each other out right?" He suggested, nodding like that was the best idea in the entire world.

"Probably not the greatest idea-" Evee trialed off, watching his face drop a bit before continuing her words. "But I think we could give it a shot sometime." She added, watching the light return to his face and his smile widen. She couldn't believe that she was already making a friend, she usually had such a hard time. Maybe Jonah was right, maybe Forks wouldn't be so bad.

Seth put a hand up to his heart, "I'm hurt! You don't think it's the greatest idea? I think it's the best idea in the whole world, we'd totally cancel each other out." He assured, nodding his head confidently as if making a great point.

"Oh my apologies, Im sure it's the best idea ever. ." Evee corrected herself, nodding along with him, "we won't burn the house down or anything!"

"Exactly! Wait-" Seth stopped and a laugh fell out of his lips, she laughed with him and for a moment the boy felt like time itself froze. Her laugh. It was so pretty. He immediately felt himself get nervous, not knowing exactly what to say now, I mean now he felt nervous because she seemed so perfect. What was he supposed to say to someone that seemed so perfect? "Your laugh is really pretty." He blurted out, immediately regretting it and wanting to shove his head under a hot iron. What were you thinking Seth you can't just say that to a girl you just met! She's gonna think you're crazy!- He inhaled sharply, he didn't mean to compliment her out loud. "Sorry- I uh- oh gosh I'm making this worse." He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down in embarrassment. "I didn't mean that to sound as weird as it did."

"I uh-" Evee was shocked at his forward comment and a bit flustered. She felt her cheeks warm up, wishing she had a tan to cover it up but knowing her face was probably tomato red from his compliment. She heard his apology and immediately shook her head, "-no, no, don't apologize if you meant it."

Seth was taken back by her words, "I mean of course I meant it-"

"Then don't take it back." She blurted out, cutting him off. She was obviously just as nervous as he was. "Don't make it awkward" she added with a soft smile.

"Okay then I don't. . ." He let out a soft breath of relief, "then I mean it."

"Well then thank you for your compliment." Evee smiled. She was shocked at her own confidence in the situation, it was different around him. . . As if she didn't need to pretend to be someone else, or hide under a shell. She couldn't quite understand it, or even begin to explain it. It was like she had known this boy her whole life.

"You're most welcome." Seth smiled charmingly, his nervousness visibly fading from his tensed shoulders as they softly fell back into a rested position. "Well, I better get back home in time for dinner, it'll be getting dark going on twenty minutes or so." Seth explained, hinting toward her probably needing to head home too.

"You're right." Evee sighed softly, upset that she had to say goodbye to this random guy that seemed like someone she already knew so well. "Well it was nice meeting you crazy guy." She joked.

Seth reached down and grabbed his bag, his watch falling out while he did so, but he didn't notice it fall and neither did Evee. "It was nice meeting you too new girl," he smiled returning the little nickname bit. He pulled the bag over his broad shoulders, shoving his hand out toward her. "I uh- never shook your hand before."

"Oh- yeah okay." Evee smiled, reaching out and shaking his hand. Their hands lingered intertwined for a moment before she let go, looking down to hide her flushed cheeks. His palms were soft, and his hand felt just right in her own. It was the kind of connection that Evee felt like she read about in Jane Austen novels, the longing and the passion, she felt all that in one handshake-or maybe it was just her romanticizing a handshake, just like she romanized just about everything.

But from the look on Seth's face, Evee could tell the feeling was mutual. He tried to hide the smile that pushed at his lips but definitely failed at doing so. Evee noticed his smile was slightly crooked. He had one of those smiles that you wish you could capture and look back on in a time of great sadness, the light up your world kind of smile.

"Bye Evee, it was awesome meeting you!" Seth nodded his head firmly and waved goodbye before jogging back into the bushes.

"You know there's a path right?" Evee called out, laughing softly at the boy's choice of direction.

"This way's faster!" He called back, his voice sounding further away. Evee laughed out in response and she could hear his laugh in the distance.

Evee let out a soft breath, a little upset that they had to say goodbye so soon - hopefully she'd see him again. She reached down and grasped her book off the bench, the cover was cold against her palm sending shivers down her spine. She pulled the book to her chest, looking down and noticing something laying in the grass. She reached down and grabbed the small object. It was a brown leather watch, she turned it over and the letters H.C. were engraved in the back of it. It must've been Seth's, it was right where his bag had been.

Evee got home just in time for dinner, she could smell it before she opened the door. It was her Uncle Thackeray's favorite meal, cottage pie and brownies for desert. Evee noticed how her aunt made it pretty often, she guessed it was just a little something she liked to do for him. Evee admired that about her aunt and uncle, they did little things for each other. . . Thackeray would make her tea every morning and take it up to her room before she got up, and he'd bring her flowers every Thursday night. Unlike her parents, her aunt and uncle had a healthy marriage. If someone asked Evee to describe soulmates she would say Thackeray and Millicent Wallows.

"It's really good Grams." Jonah complimented, shoveling a big bite of Shepard's pie into his mouth.

"Thank you deary." Millicent returned, smiling widely as she took a sip of her drink. The woman was very poised in everything she did, she even spoke gracefully. Sure, she was strange and peculiar in so many ways, but then again so was Evee- maybe that's why they were so inseparable. Evee remembered looking up to her so much as a young child when she'd come and visit, and she still admired her so much even years later.

"I met someone at the park today." Evee stated, taking a sip of her drink before continuing her question now that she had their attention. "He said he knows you guys, Seth Clearwater?"

"Oh yes we know Seth and his family very well, we used to watch him as a boy." Millicent answered, looking to Thackeray who nodded in agreement with her. "He was always a gentle child, very sweet and caring."

"He's still sweet." Evee smiled to herself, taking a bite of her food. She glanced over at Logan and Jonah who shared a mischievous, knowing glance to one another. She waited till she swallowed the bite in her mouth to address their looks. "What?" She demanded out of the two, annoyance lacing her tone.

"He's still sweet." Logan mimicked in a dramatic high pitched voice.

"Someone has a crushhh~" Jonah teased, tapping his fork on her plate a few times to mess with her.

Evee swatted the fork away, "oh shut up- both of you!" She groaned, her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment at their teasing. "Grow up."

Thackeray smiled at them as he watched them, looking to Millicent who was also smiling. A look of love in his eyes set in as he looked upon his wife, the kind of look that you only saw in those trashy romance movies-yeah, that's how Thackeray looked at Millicent.

"He left his watch, well I think it's his." Evee stated, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the watch. "H.C?" She asked her aunt and uncle, expecting them to know who's initials it might be engraved on the watch.

"Hand it here." Millicent asked kindly, her voice like soft silk. Evee reached out across the table and Millicent gently took the watch from her niece's grasp. "H.C. is Harry Clearwater, Seth's father." She explained. "He tragically passed away from a heart attack not too long ago, it was a terrible loss, the entire town mourned for him . . . this was his watch."

The table got quiet, the kind of quiet that makes you shuffle your feet in discomfort. Evee immediately felt sorrow for Seth and his loss, mainly because she understood the exact pain felt when loosing a parent.

"Seth's going to want that back, you should take it to him tomorrow." Thackeray spoke up, breaking the silence. Millicent looked up from the watch when Thackeray spoke, as if broken out of a trance.

"He's right." Millicent nodded in agreement with her husband, "I can give you the address and you can go first thing after breakfast." She reached across the table to hand the watch back to Evee.

"Okay, yeah, I'll do that." Evee nodded, taking the watch from her aunt's gentle grasp and tucking it carefully back in her pocket.

"Of course she'll do that." Logan commented smartly, giving his sister a knowing side eye. Evee elbowed him in response, earning a table full of laughs.

Clearwater Residence.
La Push, WA.
May 2006

"𝐌𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐌 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄!" 𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍- the smell of stew and baked potatoes filled his nose, making his mouth water in hunger. "Smells good Ma!" He exclaimed, practically skipping over to his mother, Sue, and placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Someone seems chipper." Leah commented from the dinner table. She was setting the table, she had beat Seth too it-which meant that Seth had to clean up the table after dinner. Their mom had this rule, whoever doesn't set the table has to clean up the table. So he and Leah would always race to try and set up the table first, since it was a lot easier than cleaning up the table.

"I'm always chipper." Seth defended himself, "and not fair Leah, I wasn't home." He huffed, earning a 'ha' look from Leah.

"No your sister's right, you've got this glow about you." Sue agreed, looking her son up and down with a raised brow. "You met a girl." She stated matter of factly.

"What? How'd you know??" Seth questioned, his jaw dropping slightly. His mother really did have a knack at knowing all, it kind of freaked him out sometimes.

"A girl? Where'd you meet a girl?" Leah asked, her older sister mode activating. Her brows furrowed, and her arms crossed across her chest.

"Oh quit that Leah." Sue laughed, picking up the plates she had just dished up. She walked over to the table and set them down, "come eat up."

Leah's posture wavered a little at her mother's words, making Seth grin and chuckle behind his hand. She hit his shoulder when he chuckled, her way of saying 'shut it.'

"Really mom, how'd you tell?" Seth asked eagerly as he sat down, leaning forward in his seat. He was anticipating her answer, was it really that obvious he had met a girl?

"Because you have that look on your face." Sue stated, taking a bite of the bread she had just dipped in her soup.

"What look?"

"The kind of look that Sam had in his eyes when he met Emily, or when Embry met Johanna. . . the look of love my son." Sue explained. She glanced at her daughter when she mentioned Sam and Emily, feeling bad about bringing it up but knowing it was a look that Seth could recognize.

"That's crazy ma, I just met her! I can't love her. . . " Seth said, pursing his lips slightly and looking down. He thought for a few moments before looking back up at her, "-can I?" But deep down he knew he did. He did love her.

Sue merely shrugged her shoulders, "can you?" She asked him, raising her brows at her son and smiling down at him.

"No, he can't." Leah answered moodily, standing up abruptly and leaving the room. "And imprinting isn't love, it's an animalistic instinct that's all." Leah declared matter of factly, more so speaking to herself than anyone at the table.

"Leah you're soup-" Sue called, being cut off before she could finish her sentence.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Leah interrupted from the other room, jogging up the stairs to her room and closing the door.

"I shouldn't have mentioned Sam and Emily." Sue sighed, placing a hand on her brow. "It wasn't right of me, there are other analogies I could've used besides them."

Seth put a hand on his mother's shoulder, "It's okay Mom, Leah needs to get over him sooner or later - it's not fair for us to tiptoe around the subject of Sam especially when he's so involved in our life." Seth explained wisely.

"You have your father's wisdom-" Sue smiled, leaning into his embrace and hugging him tightly. "Your heart is just as big as his too. . . never change my son, ever."

"I won't, I promise momma." Seth hugged her back, letting out a soft breath of comfort as his mother held him. He and his mom had always been close, she was probably his closest confidant-more so than even Jake or Embry. And their bond had gotten significantly stronger ever since his dad had died, they both needed each other more now than ever. Leah needed them too, and they needed her, but Leah couldn't see that yet.

"I'm gonna go to bed." Seth stated, letting go of his mom and dipping his head so she could kiss his forehead goodnight.

"Good, you need your rest." Sue nodded, "goodnight my sweet boy."

Seth made his way to his room, immediately pushing the door shut and dropping to his ass against the door. His head suddenly was pounding in the most excruciatingly terrible headache. His thoughts flooding back to that moment. Back to her.

Seth remembered the way it felt, the second his eyes met hers-the most perfect baby blue eyes he had ever seen, soft pink lips, rose tinted cheeks, and honey chestnut colored hair-the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

He remembered the feeling, that fire igniting in his heart and rippling through his body. Suddenly, nothing else, no one else, mattered. It was only her. She was his everything.