A/N: So I had yet another idea for a story! I know, I've already got two stories on the go, but this idea won't get out of my head!

Don't forget to review after you read! It makes me so happy when you people do!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my own characters.

Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitors

Tam's POV

I wrapped my arms tighter around my knees as a cold breeze blew over me. I gazed out at the choppy waves that crashed against the sand of the beach I had found myself on. The water seemed so angry, caught in a mad battle with the land. I smiled slightly at my silly thoughts. The driftwood log that I was leaning against was slowly, but surely, getting increasingly wetter. I was already soaked so it didn't affect me too badly but it just made the whole experience a bit colder.

It had been ten months and six days since I was last able to look out on the world without a care in the world. Ok, I lied right there, I had lots of troubles, but this was different. I was free. I could walk along this beach as far as it would go and no one would stop me.

I would get up and take that walk if I could will my frozen limbs to move. Let's just say, I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion. I had on a pair of loose fitting, grey, sweatpants and a black, cotton, crew neck, t shirt. Not my choice, but I just had to deal with it. Who was it that said, 'when life hands you lemons, take the lemons, because hey, it's free lemons'? Because they spoke the truth. These clothes cost me nothing. I would wear them until I got my next set.

"Christ, does it ever stop raining?" I yelled up at the sky.

"No, not really"

"HOLY SHIT" I screamed, doing some sort of mad ninja roll across the beach.

I heard laughter and squinted up at my heart attack inducer. My eyes widened in fear. Oh my god, it's the mafia, I mentally screamed. There were two huge guys standing behind the log, and when I say huge, I don't mean your average Joe type big, I mean the size of freaking elephants. Ok, slight exaggeration, but I was in a pile on the floor looking up at this point. They looked to me as if they had been sent by a certain public service to take me away and I sure as hell was not having that happen.

I scrambled up, not having time to register the ice cold sand on my bare feet, and tried to sprint off. Unfortunately everything was against me. My muscles locked and I went crashing back to the floor just as two warm hands grabbed my arms. I was done for.

"Get the hell off me" I yelled kicking out and hitting my target perfectly between the legs. The arms released me and I smiled grimly as he winced and stumbled backwards. This gave me time to start crawling off... until I was full on tackled and collapsed flat on the floor with an oof as a body held me down.

"Calm down kid" said the guy who was on top of me.

"Well if you weren't so hell bent on taking me out then I would be calm" I said in a muffled voice, my face pressed into the sand. I heard both guys chuckle.

"Right, I'm going to get up. Are you going to run off?" asked the tackle guy.

I figured if they were here to get me, I wouldn't still be on the beach, so I nodded as best I could and grunted in response. I immediately felt the weight lift and a hand gripped my elbow, pulling me to my feet. I tried to wipe the sand off my face and clothes which was a partially successful endeavour.

"So what's a girl like you doing out here, in the rain, in hardly any clothing and no shoes? And why were you running away?" said the tackle guy. I eyed them both suspiciously before giving them an answer.

"I was taking a walk" I said stiffly. I could trust no one.

"A walk? Seriously? You must be crazy" laughed the guy who'd been on the receiving end of my kick.

"Yes a walk. Is that a crime?" I smirked to myself at my little private joke.

"Well, in this weather it is. We might have to arrest you" they both looked dead serious. Shit. I was frozen to the spot.

"So..." started tackle guy.

"What's your name?" finished the other guy.

"Why should I tell you?" my defences just kept going up, even though I had a strange sense that I should trust these strange giants.

"Don't need to be so uptight" laughed the kicked guy, he stuck his hand out, "I'm Quil, and this is Embry"

I eyed his hand suspiciously, before cautiously reaching out and shaking it. What are you doing? Step away from the freaky tall people, my brain yelled at me, oh shut up, I retorted. Yes, I'm weird and talk to myself, but there's no one else to talk to. I took a deep breath.

"I'm Tam"

"Nice to meet you Tam" said Embry shaking my hand as well. I suddenly felt quite guilty, a feeling that is not very alien to me, and turned my attention back to Quil.

"Sorry for, you know, my karate style kick" I said awkwardly scratching the top of my left ear. I had a habit of doing that when I was nervous or embarrassed, and it had been my downfall.

"No worries" smiled Quil, "how about we take you back to our hang out? You can get warm and cleaned up and I bet you're hungry"

"Err..." I started, beginning to panic.

"Yeah you should come. Emily's a great cook, you'll love her, and the rest of the guys are great as well. You might actually get on with Leah the way you took Quil down" said Embry laughing and shoving Quil's shoulder at his last few words. I couldn't help the small smile that played on my lips. It sure did sound inviting.

"Maybe for a bit" I said scratching my ear once again. It had been a long time since I'd had proper human interaction so I felt awkward and out of place, but deep down I craved normality.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived outside the most amazing looking cottage. It was nestled amongst the trees and had a wonderful homely feel to it. You're going soft, my inner voice told me but I just shrugged it off.

About ten metres from the house, I just froze. What the hell did I think I was doing trusting these guys? I should be running for the hills right now and here I was about to meet their extended family. Shit. I had to leave, run, NOW! I turned slowly hoping Quil and Embry wouldn't notice, but as I took off I crashed into what felt like a brick wall.

"Ow, shit" I cried as I fell onto the ground, splattering mud everywhere. Great, my only set of clothes officially ruined. I looked up at the brick wall and noticed it was another huge guy, but he was even bigger than the first two I had met.

"Oh sorry, here let me help" he said in a very deep voice, offering me his hand. I stared at him for a while before taking his hand and being hauled to my feet. There was no point trying to dust myself off, the mud was stuck.

"I'm Sam Uley, this is my place" he introduced himself but I remained silent, "so, what brings you to this part of the woods?"

When it became obvious that I wasn't going to answer, Quil piped up.

"We found her on the beach, thought we'd bring her here because she was in a bit of a state"

"Yeah she full on kicked Quil right where the sun don't shine" laughed Embry before Quil smacked him upside the head. I couldn't help the smirk forming on my lips.

"This true?" said Sam addressing me, I just nodded in response, "nice one. He needs to be taken down a peg or two sometimes"

I laughed out loud at that. At least these guys didn't seem to hold grudges. I decided I may as well start talking.

"I'm Tam"

"Well it's nice to meet you Tam" said Sam smiling warmly at me. I felt a lump rise in my throat. If only they knew, I sighed to myself.

"Oh boy, I can smell muffins" yelled Embry, pushing Quil out of the way and running into the house. Quil was quick to follow him and I just stared after them.

"Maybe I should just go" I said pointing back the way I had come.

"Don't be silly, guests are always welcome" said Sam smiling and pulling me by my shoulders into the house. I flinched at the contact but let him drag me along.

The sight that greeted me was quite amusing. There were huge guys everywhere and a few girls dotted around. Two of the boys were having some sort of wrestle on the floor while the rest of them spurred them on. I spotted Embry and Quil stuffing their faces with muffins while a woman was smacking them on the arms with a wooden spatula. I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at the scene.

Sam left my side and scooted over to the spatula wielding woman before peppering her face with kisses. I smiled at the gesture. He obviously loved her very much.

I wrapped my arms around my body and shivered a little as the wet, muddy clothes clung to my frame. Sam jogged back over and dragged me towards his girl.

"Tam this is Emily, Emily, Tam"

"Hi" I said giving a small wave. I tried not to stare at her. She had long scars running down the right side of her face but even then I could see that she was incredibly beautiful and I felt ashamed to be in her presence in my current state.

"Hi Tam" she said enthusiastically, causing me to smile at her.

"Nice place you've got here" I said flapping my arm at the room, "sorry for making a mess"

"Oh don't worry about it, it's nothing compared to what these guys can do" she slapped Embry with the spatula as he reached for another muffin.

"I'll introduce you to everyone" said Sam before turning and shouting for everyone's attention, "this is Tam"

"Hello" I said smiling around at them.

"That's Jared, his girlfriend Kim, Leah, you already know Quil and Embry and those two idiots beating the crap out of each other are Jacob and Paul. The other three will be back soon"

There were various shouts of hello and even one 'you totally rock that look' which I rolled my eyes at. For some bizarre reason, I felt like I belonged here. Maybe it was just my previous lack of personal interaction, but these guys were really like the family I never had. I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt a hand on my shoulder and I span round to find Emily smiling at me.

"Why don't you get cleaned up? You could take a shower and I'll have your clothes washed and dried within an hour" my mouth fell open at Emily's suggestion.

"What? No, I couldn't- I mean, I should probably get going anyway" I said, trying to find an exit with my eyes.

"Oh don't be silly" said Emily, dragging me towards the stairs, "I insist. You can borrow some of my clothes while yours are washing, they might be a bit big for you but they'll do the job. And I have so many shower gels you can go wild and make sure to wash your hair, there's mud in it. Right here's the bathroom, just drop your clothes outside the door and I'll leave a fresh pile outside for you, oh and there are fresh towels in the cupboard next to the shower"

I stood momentarily stunned at Emily's rambling. No one had ever thought to be that kind to me and all I could do was nod, wide eyed at the woman in front of me before being pushed into the bathroom.

I stared around the room. It was small but incredibly clean, considering all the people that obviously spent time here. I gazed at the shelf above the sink which held every flavour of shower gel and shampoo known to man. I had a sniff of nearly all of the bottles before deciding on cherry blossom shower gel and black cherry shampoo and conditioner, because yes, I love cherries. I put them in the shower ready to use before quickly stripping off and dumping the clothes just outside the door then locking the door, just in case.

After what was possibly the best shower I have ever had, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me. I stood in front of the mirror looking at my reflection. My russet skin seemed to glow. I was originally from La Push but my parents had taken me down to California when I was only a few months old so I knew nothing about my roots. My parents had never told me anything, they were too busy getting wasted, and they probably didn't even notice me go missing.

I swiftly unlocked the door and grabbed the clothes that were on the little chair before locking myself back in. I dried off and held the clothes out in front of me. There was a pair of faded blue jeans and a light pink long sleeved top. I shrugged and pulled them on. They were a bit big but I wasn't going to complain when Emily was being so nice. I rubbed my hair with the towel and left it loose. It was nothing special, just your average straight, chocolate brown hair that went a couple of inches past my shoulders.

I folded the towel and put it a stool before making my way downstairs. I had never felt so clean. I went over to Emily and she beamed at me. What shocked me was when she pulled me into a hug. I vaguely patted her on the back, not really knowing what else to do. No one had hugged me since, well, I can't even ever remember being hugged which brought another of those annoying lumps flying into my throat. When she released me I smiled nervously at her.

"Thanks so much Emily"

"Oh it's no trouble, and anyway I heard it was Sam that made you fall in the mud so cleaning your clothes is the least I can do" she exclaimed, her smile radiating happiness and warmth, "now, would you like some lunch? I've made sandwiches and saved some from the walking rubbish bins"

I couldn't help but laugh at her description of the rest of the people in the house.

"That would be great, I'm actually starving" I said smiling at Emily. I know she couldn't be much older than me, maybe 7 or 8 years, but if I had to choose a mum, she would be the perfect model.

Emily set a plate of sandwiches on the table and we both took a seat. It wasn't long before the rest of the guys had crammed themselves into the vacant seats and were trying to pinch as many sandwiches as they could. It was a very funny sight to see, several grown guys fighting over a few small cheese and pickle sandwiches.

"So what brings you to our part of the woods?" asked Jacob while the others obviously found that question funny and started howling with laughter.

"Nothing much, felt like a change of scenery" I said with a shrug, not meeting any of their gazes.

"Well, this is the perfect place to start if you want a change. It's one of those places you never want to leave" said Jared with a grin, staring at Kim.

"We all know why Jared wants to stay though" said Paul high fiving Embry and wiggling his eyebrows. I couldn't help laughing along with everyone at that comment.

"Shut up man! You'd understand if you actually had a girlfriend" retorted Jared, resulting in a round of ooo's.

"Ha ha burn!" yelled Embry.

"Whatever" snorted Paul adding an "at least I wouldn't be whipped" which got everyone going and Jared getting a bit agitated.

"Tam, your clothes are dry if you want to change into them" said Emily from the doorway. I leapt up and followed her into the next room.

"Thanks so much for this Emily, it means a lot"

"No worries" she said beaming. I swear that smile is permanently on her face. I quickly changed into my grey sweatpants and black t shirt, feeling my mood darken as I put them on.

We went back to the guys who were howling with laughter again, this time at the expense of Quil. I took a seat next to Leah who looked at me and grinned.

"Is it true you kicked him in the balls" she asked, obviously very amused.

"Maybe" I said grinning like a Cheshire cat and winking at Quil who was busy blushing like a tomato.

"You did!" exclaimed Leah wrapping an arm round my shoulders and laughing.

"It was his own fault if I'm honest" I said shrugging, the grin fixed in place.

"You were freaking out" mumbled Quil picking at a sandwich.

"Dude, I thought you were going to kidnap me, I had every right to freak out" I defended. Leah burst out laughing as well as everyone else.

"Now you, I like" she said in between her laughter.

"Awh man, you got Leah to be nice to you" whined Embry, "why can't you be nice to me Leah?"

"Because you are an annoying jerk" she responded, "Tam is a cool bean" I had to laugh at that.

"Emily I'm hungry" I heard someone whine from the door.

I looked up to see three more guys walk in. Two of them looked about the same age and maybe a year or two younger than me, despite their bulky appearance, and the third was, well, one word- wow! He looked about my age and had muscles like all of the others, but there was just something about him that made me look twice. And his face, wow, I had never seen anyone that hot in my life. If there was anyone I could compare his features to, they would have to be a god! I ripped my eyes away from him so I didn't look like a right stalker, but luckily none of the others had noticed my staring and were trying to grab as many sandwiches as possible before the three newcomers got to the table.

"Collin, you're always hungry so quit complaining" said Emily passing him a plate and rolling her eyes as he started devouring the food.

"Did you save me some too?" asked the other younger one as he pushed Collin out of the way as he tried to get to the table.

"Brady, seriously, you think I'd forget you?" Emily laughed as Brady's eyes lit up as more sandwiches were brought out, "Seth, you want some too?"

Seth. His name was Seth. What an amazing name. Stop drooling, my inner voice said sternly. I snapped back into reality in time to catch the most amazing sound, his voice.

"Since when have I ever denied food? Get out of the way pups, Seth's coming through" he said pushing Collin and Brady out of the way and grabbing a plate for himself.

"Manners boys" shrieked Emily, "we have a guest"

"What? We never have guests! Has someone imp-" started Brady before being cut off by Jacob leaping on him and everyone yelling 'NO'. Bit weird if you ask me.

"No, boys, this is Tam" said Emily gesturing at me.

"Hellooo" I said smiling and waving at the three boys.

"Oh hi, I'm Brady, officially the youngest but officially the bestest" said Brady puffing his chest and stretching his hand across the table. I shook it laughing.

"Nice to meet you Brady, but I have a feeling no one agrees" I laughed raising my eyebrow and pointing to the other put-out looking people.

"Too right" confirmed Paul, "Brady's the worst"

"Hey!" complained the younger boy smacking Paul.

"Boys" cried Emily in exasperation.

"Oh right, sorry Em" grinned Paul and Brady.

"I'm Collin" said the other boy with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too" I said smiling, "let me guess, you're the best as well?"

"What? No, I'm just the cool one" he said winking and I laughed.

I laughed and turned to look at hot Seth, I mean, Seth, just Seth. He was staring at me, his mouth hanging open, a sandwich halfway to his mouth. He wasn't blinking, it just looked like he was frozen in time. When I met his gaze I couldn't look away. I felt like the world had stopped turning as I looked into his beautiful brown eyes. It was like it was just me and Seth, no one else mattered. I wanted to go to him, to wrap my arms around him and never let go.

I was brought out of my ridiculous daydream when Sam clapped Seth on the back and I looked away, much to my distress, and glanced at everyone around the table. They had all gone quiet but were grinning like idiots. Leah, who still had her arm around me, squeezed my shoulder.

"I'm glad it's you" she whispered in my ear. I turned to look at her, confusion clouding my face, but she just winked and laughed.

"Nice one bro" said Embry and Jacob, high fiving each other.

"You best watch out with this one Seth, she kicked Quil in the balls" laughed Paul, making Quil mutter angrily to himself and Seth look worried. Why would I want to kick Seth? He was hot, and he wasn't trying to kidnap me.

"Right we" Jacob said, pointing to everyone, "are going to go do... guy things"

"Hey, I'm a girl" protested Leah before Jacob shot her a glare, "fine I'm coming"

Everyone except Seth got up and pushed and shoved their way out of the house. The two of us were left sat at the table, Seth staring at me, and me twiddling my thumbs nervously. Then a thought suddenly occurred to me, what if Seth recognised me and that's why he's staring? I started to panic. I had stayed here long enough, I should get going. I started to move and Seth was next to me in seconds. Wow, that was fast.

"Are you ok?" he asked looking panicked himself. My eyes darted around the room, I had to get out.

"I'm fine, I just- I have to go" I gasped making a break for the exit, but a warm hand grabbed my elbow, stopping me.

"Please don't go" he pleaded, his eyes full of sadness and pain. I didn't like seeing that look in his eye. I decided I would stay even if it got me in trouble again but I had to make sure Seth was ok. What the hell? I don't know him, he doesn't matter, my mind yelled at me.

"I'll stay" I mumbled, "sorry, I just thought- never mind. Sorry this is a really bad introduction, let's start over. I'm Tam"

I held out my hand and he stared at it. I was about to pull my hand away, feeling like a fool, when he grabbed it and held it in his big hand. I gasped. It felt like an electric current had run through my hand, but it felt good, like my hand belonged in Seth's.

"Seth" he said simply. His voice was amazing. Not as deep as most of the others I had met today but it was by far the best of all of them.

"It's nice to meet you Seth" his eyes seemed to light up as I said his name and once again as our eyes met, time stood still for me. I couldn't look away this time. Then Seth cleared his throat.

"So, Tam, are you from around here?" he asked never once letting go of my hand and I felt my heart rate pick up as he said my name, I felt my walls coming down completely for this stranger who had captured my heart. What? Captured me heart? Where the hell is this coming from? My mind was spinning, full of unanswered questions.

"I was born here but I moved to California about 4 months after I was born" Too much Tam, way too much.

"Oh, cool. I've lived here forever, it's really great here, you'll love it" said Seth beaming.

"I probably won't stick around" I mumbled, sadness filling my heart as Seth's expression dropped.

"What? Where are you going?" he asked squeezing my hand a little tighter. Shit, bad way for the conversation to go.

"Umm... just around... you know... I travel a lot" I finished lamely, hoping he wouldn't see through my lies. His face crumpled and I instantly felt bad.

"Oh" was all he replied. There was a slightly awkward pause.

"Want to play 20 questions?" he asked, his face lighting up again. But I couldn't, he might find out too much.

"Sorry, I don't like that game" I said with a sigh looking away from Seth. I didn't want to see his face looking sad again. Cue yet another awkward pause.

"Want to watch a movie?" I looked up, you couldn't go wrong with a movie so I nodded. Seth dropped my hand and pushed me into an adjoining room.

"Got many good films then?" I asked trying to start a conversation.

"Tons" said Seth grinning, "you can choose"

I sat on the couch and peered at all the titles on the shelf while Seth stood waiting for my decision.

"Zombieland" I concluded flashing Seth a smile, causing him to smile aswell.

"You sure? Wait, are you even old enough to watch it?" he said suddenly looking shocked. I rolled my eyes.

"Seth, I'm sixteen, just put the movie on" he grinned and proceeded to put the movie into the DVD player.

Seth walked back to the sofa and sat down next to me, making my heart soar as I thought of this god wanting to sit next to me. The movie started and I leaned back into the sofa getting comfy. I couldn't help but laugh at parts of the film. My favourite bit was when the main guy started hitting the girl with the toilet lid. Seth laughed at all the parts I did. I loved his laugh, it was so warming and several times I looked up and grinned at him. The best part? He was always grinning right back. About an hour in, the rest of the guys and Leah came back in.

"Oh cool, Zombieland" said Embry flinging himself down next to me causing me to leap towards Seth, who just laughed. Somehow the group managed to fit themselves into the tiny living room.

"Are Brady and Collin allowed to watch this?" I whispered to Seth, glancing worriedly at the two youngsters.

"They've seen worse, I'm sure they'll live" laughed Seth putting his arm around my shoulders. My heart pounded like it wanted to escape. My mind was screaming at me. Oh my god! Totally hot guy has his arm around me! I didn't really know what to do so I just leant back into Seth's side, making myself comfortable. It just felt so right, but who was I kidding, nothing would ever happen, I had too many problems for anything like that.

After the movie everyone was discussing the best way to kill zombies, even getting a demonstration from Paul who attempted to get Quil in some sort of crazy head lock.

Everything seemed so perfect. Definitely too good to be true, a dream maybe? Maybe I was still on the beach? Yeah, that would be it. I was asleep on the cold beach and there was no such person as Seth. I had to pinch myself before realising it was all happening.

Then it was ruined. The most perfect day I had ever had in my life. Ruined by the sound of unfamiliar voices and bright lights. I closed my eyes as I heard the first shouts.

"Police!"

A/N: So there's the first chapter of my new story! I had a lot of fun writing this so I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Please review!

-Lem x