Guess what?

I got grounded! YAY!

You don't even want to know my math grade. All I can tell you is that it was bad enough to get my computer taken away for two weeks. :)

Isn't that super!?

Anyway, here is the next chapter. ENJOY!

Chapter 5

My eyes fluttered and I heard someone calling me, trying to wake me up.

"Casey?" someone said, shaking me.

I opened my eyes and saw trees and sky. Sitting up, I saw Seth and Edward. I grinned. Seth and Edward exchanged a look. I think this did it. I suddenly broke out in hysterical laughs.

"Did is seriously pass out?" I howled in-between laughs. Seth helped me to my feet. The new angle of standing up made me laugh even harder.

"Yes, you did." Seth answered me.

The laughs came out even harder, if possible. "Oh. My. God!" I panted.

"Casey, what's so funny?" Edward asked, worried.

I pointed at him, unable to form words.

"Me?" he pointed to himself.

I nodded, bent over, and put my hands on my knees to settle myself.

"Why?" he asked, somewhat offended.

"I…ohmygod, I" I panted. "I…" I chuckled. "You're hot!" I shrieked and laughed even harder.

Seth and Edward shared a shocked look. "Casey, did you hit your head?" Seth asked.

I threw my hands in the air. "Apparently!"

"Alright, let's get you inside." Seth wrapped his arm around my waist, and I saw Edward shoot him an angry look, and Seth looked back at him defensively.

He led my through the front door and laid me on the couch. Edward and Seth were still standing in front of me, looking worried. I looked at Edward, and something occurred to me.

"What are you even doing downstairs?" I asked him.

A wave of hurt flashed across his face. I regretted even saying anything.

"Edward, she's delusional. She doesn't know what she's say-" Seth started. Edward put his hand up, silencing him.

"No, she's right."

I was barley paying attention as I was too busy chuckling softly to myself.

"Casey?" Edward addressed me.

I hummed in response.

He just looked at me for a moment. Okay, it was more than a moment. Seth cleared his throat eventually.

"I'm sorry. " Edward finally mumbled and walked away.

When he was gone, the laughter also left. Seth stood in front of me, looking at his feet. He seemed a little uncomfortable.

"Sorry for passing out so much." I whispered. He slowly smiled, but it faded.]

"I didn't mean it." My voice was drenched in guilt.

He shook his head, and walked over to sit next to me on the couch. "Don't blame yourself." He told me. "They were wrong, Casey. They should have told you a long time ago. They may think that they are protecting you, but…" he trailed off, looking for the right word. "They are hurting you more than anything."

I nodded.

"Seth?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"How do you know so much about me, and about what I'm thinking?" I wondered. "I mean, I've known you for two, or three days. How can you possibly know me so well?" He opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him. "And, don't say it because of imprinting. I know that already. I know that you are supposed to be devoted, and be what I need you to be, but it doesn't require that you understand me completely. Where does it say that you have to know me so well?"

"Well, by werewolf standards, we are soul mates." He started. "But, what if we are soul mates by human standards too?" he asked. "Do you believe in true love; not the werewolf kind, but the kind that brings two people together?" he asked me.

I looked up at him, trying to read him.

He sighed and continued. "You're right, it doesn't say anywhere that we have to be so much on the same level, and it doesn't say that we have to get each other so well. But, who says that we weren't always meant to be together, werewolf or not?"

I smiled at him as he leaned down to kiss me. It wasn't one of those overly passionate kisses, or a steamy one, it was one that simply said, "don't ever let this end". When the kiss ended, I sat up next to him on the couch and rested my head on his shoulder.

"So, Seth, is there anything else I don't know?" I looked up at him.

He thought for a second before answering. "Nope."

I sighed. "You have no idea how nice it is to be all filled in."

It was quiet for a moment when something hit me.

"Seth, can you tell me about you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the little things." I told him. "For example, I like to paint."

He smiled at me. "Lets see…" He thought. "Oh, Leah is my sister. I don't think I told you that."

"No, you didn't." I smiled. "Um…I want to go to art school, but my parents want me to be a lawyer." I told him. "They already made me sent an application to all of the leading schools." I sighed.

He was quiet for a moment. "My dad died when I was fifteen."

I looked up at him. He was staring at the wall in front of him and biting his lip. I didn't know what to say. I just kept looking at him. Eventually he tore his gaze from the wall. "But, my mom re-married." He said slowly. He cleared his throat. "She, um, she married Bella's dad."

He looked down at me and smiled. "I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to take you off guard like that." He said.

"No, its okay." I told him. "I'm…I'm sorry." I whispered.

In the following silence, we heard footsteps. I scooted over, so that I wasn't so much on top of him.

Candice walked in. She was looking down, so she didn't see Seth right away. "Hey, chicky." She greeted me. "I'm making stuffed shells, and I was wondering if you wanted cheese or…" She looked up.

"Oh, well hello there." She sounded shocked, and her eyes widened when she saw his arm around my shoulder.

"Oh, Candice this is Seth." I said. "Seth, Candice."

"Nice to meet you." Seth said, smiling.

"Nice to meet you too." Candice said, suspicion clouding her voice.

I jumped in on the conversation. "Candice, Seth lives down on the reservation." I told her.

"Oh, and is he a friend of yours?"

Seth and I grew quiet. We knew that we were more than friends, but to anyone else it would seem like we were rushing things. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." I told her.

She nodded and smiled, like she knew what was going on. I gave her an innocent look. "Anyway," she said, "We got some mail today from Dartmouth and Harvard." She picked up some letters and waved them. I groaned and stood up to take the letters from her. I sat back down next to Seth.

Dartmouth was a yes.

Harvard was a yes.

I put my head in my hands.

"Great." I mumbled. "Now they are really going to make me go."

"It won't be so bad…"Candice tried to comfort me.

"Yes it will." I sighed. "Any letters from that art school is Seattle?"

She shook her head sadly. I threw the letters on the counter and sat back, leaning on Seth. Candice cleared her throat, and we both looked up at her. "So, Seth, will you be staying for dinner?" she asked.

We both looked at Seth, waiting. His eyes flashed to my face before he answered. "Actually, I should probably get home for dinner."

I'm sure my disapproval of his decision was evident as he got up to leave.

I followed him into the front hall. "Please stay." I whispered just as he got to the door. He turned around and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his torso, pulling myself close to him. I pressed my face into his chest. He sighed and ran his fingers through my hair. "I'll be back tonight." He whispered into my ear, sending a chill through my entire body, before turning around, and strutting sexily down the driveway.

In a daze, trudged up to my room. Shutting the door behind me, I went to my closet and took out my easel and my pad of paper. After shuffling around through my closet for the right colors of paint, I held my brush in my hand, closed my eyes, took a deep breath and got to work.

0o0o0o0

Candice, calling me down to dinner, snapped me out of my painting phase. The beach background was finished, as was the upper half of the figure. The face was almost perfect, but the caramel skin was something that could never be re-created. I sighed as I continued to ponder, wondering what the proper mixture of colors would be to make the perfect, flawless color.

Candice called me again, and I put my brush down and ran downstairs.

Dinner was delicious as usual. We were eating late tonight, but still I couldn't find my appetite. This day seemed to be the longest of my life. I think it was safe to say that I was out of the denial phase, way past shock, and moving more towards acceptance. I wouldn't be fainting anytime soon.

The weirdest thing of all, I'd have to say, was seeing Edward. He was, for lack of a more appropriate term, very good looking. He looked no older than seventeen, but the black, depressed bags under his eyes suggested age. The way his face was always serious and emotionless gave away the fact that he was old and broken.

Anger flashed through me. Again the age-old question of "Why can't they just be happy with me?" arose. I shook it off.

When I was finished eating, I thanked Candice, and went upstairs to take a shower. I went into my room to grab my pajamas.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw the figure standing in front of the painting. Fear subsided when I realized that it was just Seth. I sighed.

Seth turned around, he was glowing. I, on the other hand, was mortified. Seth was not supposed to see my horribly embarrassing painting of him.

Seth chuckled. "Now, were you intending to put pants on the figure?" He asked. "Because if not, you'd need an accurate sense of what that looks like. I'd be delighted to provide you with that image, if it was for the sake of this wonderful portrait."

My cheeks burned.

Without a word, I walked across the room to my dresser and grabbed fresh clothes. I picked up the easel and put it in the closet.

"Don't be like that." He laughed.

I simply glared at him. "I need to take a shower." I said, turning around.

Seth grabbed me by the waist, and pulled me onto the bed with him.

"It was just a joke." He told me.

I grunted and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Casey" he clucked. "Come on, look at me."

I looked up at him slowly.

"It's not a big deal." He told me. "If I could paint, there wouldn't be one single painting that wasn't of you." He explained. "You're all I think about anymore." He said, nuzzling my neck." My heart swelled at this profession. I didn't feel as embarrassed anymore.

I sighed. "Regardless, I need to take a shower."

He chuckled and let go of me. "I'll be here when you get back."

I took my time in the shower, standing under the stream until the water ran cold.

The rest of the night was spent talking endlessly about everything there is to know about each other. By the time my eyelids started to droop and I curled up into Seth's chest, there wasn't one thing I couldn't tell you about him. But, the one thing I could tell you with the most certainty would be that he is prefect in every way…

And he's mine.