The night was exactly what I thought it was going to be. It was exactly like every night we spent at Carter's lake house.

There was music blasting from the outdoor speakers, the smell of alcohol was wafting through the air as if the wind itself was made of vodka. The last of the summer heat was still present, even though the sun had disappeared from the sky hours ago. The stars were out in full force, brighter than we ever see them in the city.

It was the kind of night that you remember when you're fifty, your kids are grown and you can barely remember how it felt to be young, and all you have are memories. This kind of night birthed those memories, the laughter of a group of teenagers filling the night as if time was meaningless and we would be young forever.

Yet, it wasn't that kind of night for me, because there was a pit of anxiety in my stomach. I had no idea why, I had no idea what it was stemming from, but I felt it. It was dull, but nagging. A subtle inch in a place that I could never scratch.

"You're not drinking tonight?" Cain asked from beside me, no doubt questioning why there was only soda in my cup.

"Someone has to be sober," I shrugged, not wanting to tell him the truth. I felt like I had to keep my guard up, but I wasn't sure why.

"How many people do you think have had sex in that hot tub?" Cain asked, raising his cup towards the hot tub in question. I followed it, taking sight of the scene ahead of me.

Hot tubs, teenagers and alcohol was a hell of a mix. Whenever you put the three together, you can practically smell the raging pheromones it caused in the air. What I saw was proof of that- Noah and Olivia were almost one as they pressed their bodies against each other. Tyler was whispering into Trinity's ear, apparently their annoyance with each other from earlier had disappeared completely.

Seren was there too, sitting beside Jax. I was thankful that she hadn't seemed to be taken by the spell of Carter's hot tub just yet. Partially because I knew it would upset at least one of the guys, but mostly because it made me uneasy when she hooked up with people when she was so drunk. It felt like they were taking advantage of her, and the worst part is that I don't think they cared, or even considered her altered state while they shoved their tongues down her throat.

"So, let's get into it," Cain asked me, though I didn't turn to look at him. I kept my eyes focused on Seren. She had her head leaned back, resting it on the side of the hot tub. I couldn't tell if her eyes were closed, or if she was looking at the stars. A part of me hoped it was the latter, and that she was seeing the beauty that was still left for her.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, not sure what he was getting at.

"Who do you think has a better chance of getting with Seren," Cain explained, "Carter or Jax?"

As he said the words, Jax himself poked her on the shoulder. She raised her head slowly, blinking rapidly as if she had forgotten where she was. He was holding a joint out to her, and she took it instantly. At the sight of the rolled marijuana, she smiled.

"I mean, why do you think she would ever get with either of them?" I asked Cain, my voice coming out sharper than I meant it to.

"Well, I don't think either of them will ever give up on her," Cain responded, and even though I wasn't looking at him, I could feel him shrugging his shoulders.

"How long has she known them for?" I asked him.

"She's known Jax since middle school, and I think she met Carter freshman year," he said cautiously.

"If she's never expressed interest in them in all that time, don't you think she's probably just not interested in them at all? It's kind of gross to keep pressuring her to change her mind," I told him, watching Seren as she pulled the smoke into her lungs.

Her eyes were glazed; she watched the smoke as she exhaled. For a second, I wished I could know what was going through her mind as she watched the clouds of silver. She had this look on her on her face, one that looked like serenity.

That look came to an end as Carter spoke to her, his voice loud enough that even I could hear it over the music booming through the backyard.

"So you think they should just give up on the girl of their dreams?" Cain asked in surprise.

A deep breath escaped my mouth as I tried to find the words I wanted to say. "Do you really think she's the girl of their dreams? Or do you think that they just want her to be?"

Cain was silent, likely he was taking in my words. I wasn't sure if he would grasp the meaning of them completely, because I wasn't even sure if I had grasped the meaning myself.

We watched in that continued silence as Seren moved across the hot tub, I guess whatever Carter had said was enough to grab her attention. She stumbled slightly as she stepped through the water, until she fell on his lap. She leaned into his ear, whispering things that I'm almost positive she didn't mean.

"I really don't know what it is about that girl," Cain finally responded, "besides the obvious. It's like... I don't know, it's like there's more to her than that. It's like she's magic or something, the way that everyone wants to be with her."

"Maybe it's because we all know we can't have her," I mumbled, frowning slightly when I realized he was partially right.

"We?" Cain chuckled as he said the word. "So you're admitting it, finally."

"Shut up," I shook my head. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant... I think we all know that there's something there we can't see, and everyone wants to know what that something is."

And I had a feeling that the something was something dark. Maybe not black, but a chilling dark blue.

"Well," Cain's tone had changed, and I refocused my eyes on our current reality. "I guess you were wrong."

It didn't take a genius to realize what he was referring to, because Seren's lips were locked on Carter's. His lips were moving against hers, but she was as still as a statue. It was a stark comparison to the times I had seen Seren kiss other boys before.

Carter pulled away, his thumb dragging down her bottom lip as he looked at her with narrowed eyes. Not the kind of narrowed eyes that would suggest he was mad, no, these were the kind of narrowed eyes that form when you're wondering if what just happened was real life or not.

I didn't have to guess what Seren's face looked like as she stared back at him. It was blank. There was nothing.

"Am I?" I said to Cain, "am I really wrong?"

"Hmm," he hummed out, watching as Seren pulled herself from the hot tub. She walked away once her feet were on the ground, she didn't spare Carter with a second glance.

She walked towards us, but like I feel whenever Seren walks towards me, I didn't think she actually saw us. Like we were invisible, or simply just pieces of furniture in her eyes, she walked right by us towards the table that held the booze.

"Bro," Cain elbowed me, "look how pissed Jax is," he whispered, trying to fight his laughter.

But, I didn't think it was funny, because as I looked at Jax, he held the kind of anger that could be felt by anyone in proximity to him. He was glaring at Carter, his mouth formed into a nasty scowl.

"That dude," I started, pausing as my eyes continued to roam over his face, "he's kind of weird. You ever get that vibe from him? Like, he's... I don't know, off?"

"Jax? Off?" Cain seemed shocked by my observation. "Nah, I don't see it. I think he just gets in his head about Seren."

As Cain said her name, as if it was on instinct I looked back towards where I had seen her last. I felt my face furrow as I found she was no where to be seen. I glanced around the backyard, as I wanted to confirm that she was safe, before I caught sight of her.

She was down at the dock, staring at the water with the same expression that she wore when she looked at the smoke her lungs exhaled earlier. Like the lake was peace, and she wanted that peace for herself.

"I'll be right back," I muttered to Cain, my feet moving before I could stop them. I had no idea what I was doing, all I knew was that the pit of anxiety in my stomach was screaming at me.

And, it seemed my instinct were right, because as I approached the end of the long dock, each of my footsteps causing the wood to sway slightly beneath my weight, Seren was standing at the edge.

She was standing on the ledge, no, she wasn't just standing there. She was preparing herself.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Seren," I let out, my voice sounding much calmer than I felt. She had to know that swimming while drunk was a bad idea, right? She turned towards me, her eyes growing wide like she was a deer caught in headlights. She looked as if she was about to commit a crime, and I had caught her in the act.

"Yeah, that's what my brain said too," she slurred out, though she only continued staring at me for a second before she spun back around, looking at the water ahead of us with a yearning in her eyes that I had never seen from her before.

"Alright, I think it's time for bed," I rushed out, stepping towards her and gently grabbing her arms. I held them there, as if I was worried she would try to jump in the lake anyway.

"You think it hurts to drown?" She muttered out, the question barely discernible through the slur that accompanied them. She looked towards me as she said it, and that look of yearning was still there.

But there was something else that was there, and it looked like desperation. My stomach fell to my knees in a horrible way, a fearful way. A terrifying way. Her words set off every single alarm bell in my mind, and as if they were a call to Henry, he flashed through my vision. All the warning signs that I had missed from him, I could see them as easily as if they were a movie playing in my head.

Don't let her fall.

"Uh. Yeah. I do," I stuttered, trying to keep my voice from showing the emotions that were swirling inside me. All I wanted was to get her away from the water, as if it would erase the thoughts from her mind. I pulled carefully on her arms so that she turned around. When she was facing the house, I began to gently push her in hopes that she would walk. Thankfully, she did, but it wasn't an easy walk. She could barely stay upright, and the thought of Carter kissing her while she was in a state like this angered me even further.

I knew the rest of the group was looking at us curiously as we walked by, but I didn't care. All I wanted was for Seren to be in room, asleep, so that I knew she wasn't trying to hurt herself. Was that what she was doing? Was that what she was planning? Was it simply a drunken question, or was it more?

Was she really about to fall?

Was Henry right?

I led her up the stairs until we came to the room I knew was hers. I opened the door and Seren staggered inside. She walked towards the bed as if her body was heavy, as if she was made of lead and each step was weighing on her muscles. She climbed into the blankets, not bothering to change from the wet bikini she was wearing.

"You okay?" I asked from the doorway. I wasn't sure what answer I was expecting, because my question was deeper than the two simple words. Though, I so badly wanted to know the answer, I wanted her to look back at me and say, I'm okay, Zane. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

"Do you care?" She breathed the question out as if it was her last ounce of oxygen in her lungs, her eyes closing as if they were far too heavy to keep open any longer.

Like she was a rock thrown into a deep and restless lake, I knew she was gone further than my words could ever reach. She had already sunk into the sleep that was calling her.

But that didn't stop me from answering.

"Yeah, Seren, I do," I whispered as I closed the door, thankful that at least now she was safe.

Though, I wondered if she would ever know just how much I do care.

The End of Notice Me

As most of you know this book leads directly into See Me. If you haven't read See Me yet, you can find that story by clicking on my profile.

Thank you to everyone who took this dive into exploring Zane even further with me. I hope that you feel you know him better, and Seren better, and you can connect the writing in this story with the writing in See Me.

I don't have to tell you just how much this story and these characters mean to me. I love them so much, and I hope you love them all too.

This story will eventually be published in paperback like See Me, and it was likely be expanded as I do that.

This is not the end of the See Me universe! The next book will be Trust Me, which takes place after See Me.

I love you all, so dearly.

Tella