Seth stood alone by the lake, staring out into the dark moving water. It was rather quiet out and the sun was hiding beneath some clouds. It looked like it would probably rain later on. He took his old black dress shoe and smoothed it over the sand along the shore. He was nervous inside. Actually, nervous was an understatement. He was freaking out.
For some odd reason, now that Alice was human, Seth felt more anxious about her meeting his family. He didn't even know why. But he was also excited. He wanted his family to accept her and his decision to get married. He was young, but it was kind of a trend these days. From the day Alice and Seth shared their first kiss, he was in love. His heart beat for her. She was a part of him. That night at the hotel proved showed how much he cared for her. With every kiss and touch of his hand, there was love and tenderness.
He turned his head, looking for her. But he could only see the castle and a few other students scattered across the grounds. He was so used to her being by his side within seconds. Of course, now she wasn't a vampire, she was a human. A human with a beating heart of her own and blood and veins. Who would have thought that that could mean so much?
Seth continued to wait by the shore, his hair short and spiked. He was dressed sharply with a dark red long sleeve button up shirt with a white shirt underneath and black pants. He wanted to look nice for the occasion.
Alice ran.
It felt so odd now, to run. She wasn`t nearly as fast as she used to be, but she was fast for a human. Her feet pounded against the ground in a regular pattern. She couldn`t hear the wind rushing past her very well--which bothered her more than she thought it would-- and everything seemed sort of muffled. Still, it was all worth it. There was real blood running through her veins, her own blood. Type O-, to be exact. She had figured it would be oh-neg because of the blood she drank as a vampire. But she didn`t really know how she was actually human.
She was runnign out the front door of the school and instantly spotted Seth by the lake. It was hard to miss him, really. Or maybe that was just her. She was beside him in an instant. She bounced up next to him, grinning. Her long dark hair was blown over her shoulders and her eyes were bright blue.
"Hi, love." She said breathlessly. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she could feel it. It made her happy to be able to know it was there. It made her feel human. The dress she wore had black lace at the top and billowed down in bloodred waves to her knees.
Seth sighed, happily, when he turned and saw her. The first thing he did was press his hand against her chest, feeling her heart beat. It was just too unbelievable. She really was human.
"Hi." He said with a broad smile. He hugged her for a moment and kissed her head before parting and looking out across the lake. "So are you ready to meet them? We have to go outside the gates before we can apparate."
Alice squeezed his fingers as he took her hand. His skin was no longer hot and burning, but the same. Sometimes warmer, sometimes cooler. It was just odd.
"I know. Let`s get going, I don`t want to be late." She said, bouncing up onto the balls of her feet. Suddenly she leaned forward and kissed him quickly, smiling. Ever since the morning she discovered she was human, she had been happier, bouncier, and all-around lighter. She was bubbly all the time. Besides, what was there to be depressed about when you had everything you ever wanted?
Seth laughed and started walking.
((I'm fast forwarding nowwwz.))
Suddenly they were standing in the middle of a gravel driveway along a quiet street. This was Seth's driveway. His house was behind them. It was a brick two story home with shrubs and flowers planted all around it. Baskets were hanging from the end of the ceiling on the porch. His Mother loved flowers. He squeezed her hand and led her to the front door and knocked on it quickly.
Alice looked up at the house, scanning everything. She was anxious to meet Seth`s parents, but excited.
"Do you think they`ll like me?" She asked suddenly, smoothing her hair with her free hand.
((Shortnessss.))
"Of course." Seth replied shortly. Just then the door had opened and there stood Seth's father, Jason. ((Coincidence. Haha.)) He was a tall, strong man. He had even darker skin from years of working out in the sun. He had Seth's facial features and his hair was more gray speckled with black. A broad grin stretched across his face as he patted his son on the shoulder, his blue eyes falling on Alice.
"This must be her." He said in a deep voice. "I'm Jason." He said, holding out his hand to shake.
Alice squeezed Seth`s hand as the door opened. She lifted her electric eyes to the man that stood before her. He was obviously Seth`s father; they had the same face, just different eyes.
"Hello, I`m Alice Brokeheart." She said with a smile and she Jason`s hand. She smiled softly, glancing at Seth.
"It's nice to meet you." Jason said smiling. He opened the door for them to come in, and closed the door behind them.
"Wendy, Seth and his girlfriend are here." Jason called from where they stood. "Come on, she's in the kitchen." He led them around the corner to the left and into the kitchen, where a brunette with those forest green eyes sat at the table reading a magazine. Her eyes went up to meet the trio and she smiled warmly.
"Hello." She said softly. "I'm Wendy. You must be Alice." She looked at her son who put his arm around Alice's waist.
"Let's sit down." He said.
Alice followed Jason into the kitchen and leaned into Seth when he put his arm around her. He was a huge comfort to her, as she was suddenly shy about meeting his parents. She hadn`t been before when she was immortal. They would die eventually while she lived on, but now she was going to spend her life with their son. She didn`t doubt that she would marry Seth. Not any more.
"Yes, hi. I`m Alice Brokeheart." She greeted Wendy as she sat down. She felt self-conscious and nervous, and she hadn`t felt that way in over two centuries. Was it because she was human now and what people thought of her would matter?
Seth sat in a chair beside Alice, his Mother and Father sitting across from the couple.
"So...." Seth sighed, leaning back into the hard wooden chair.
"Where are you from dear?" Seth's Mother asked in the same soft tone. A Motherly tone. Jason was eating a piece of candy from a bowl on the table.
"Help yourself." He said.
((This sure is an exciting conversation. ;) ))
Alice smiled at Jason, taking a long look at the bowl of candy.
"No, thank you." She said kindly, then looked to the woman. "France. I lived a couple miles from Paris in the nineteenth century. Moved to London about fifty years ago, and I`ve been going to Hogwarts for the past ten, studying the unique classes they have to offer." She told. She wondered if she would make Seth`s parents uncomfortable talking about her old life, her past life, it seemed.
She wondered if they knew she was human.
"France. I went to Paris when I was only a third year. It's a beautiful place. I love the---." Wendy was cut off suddenly as Seth cleared his throat.
"Mom, Alice and I are getting married."
It felt as if the whole world had gone silent. His heart started to beat really fast. Seth sucked in a deep breath and took Alice's hand.
"You're...what?" Jason said. Obviously his wife was too shocked to say anything else. "Seth, you're only 17. You've got you're whole life ahead of you. You haven't even graduated!" Jason brought his hand to his forehead and groaned. "We haven't even met her family or anything."
"Well, actually, I don`t really have any family. Seth is sort of my family now, and you have an extremely responsible son." Alice jumped in. She still had an amazingly persuasive voice; you didn`t easily forget how to do something you`ve done for two centuries.
"Seth`s of legal age, and I`m plenty old enough. Really, we`ve thought about it. In fact, we sort of split up when he came to take care of you." She nodded to Wendy. "We both know what we felt while we were apart, and we realized that we couldn`t be apart.
"I love your son, and I know that he loves me too. Really, I would appreciate your blessing in our joining. Seth`s family means a lot to me since I have none of my own."
"I can't stop you." Seth's Mother said. "But I do not think you are ready one single bit. Marriage is a big step in life and you should wait until you are older and a little more mature."
"You aren't pregnant." Jason said, looking at Alice. It was a mix between a question and a statement.
Alice felt blood rise into her cheeks, and it was such and unexpected sensation that she trembled slightly.
"Uhm, no. Absolutely not. I mean, there`s no way. I can`t get preg--" She broke off suddenly, her eyes staring off into nothing. She very well could get pregnant now. The question was, when exactly had she become human. "I`m not pregnant." Alice started again. "There`s... no way."
There were two sighs of relief coming from the other end of the table.
"I think I'm due for a nap." Seth's Mother said, standing up suddenly. She walked around and gave Alice a hug. "It was very nice to meet you dear." Before another word was exchanged, she disappeared down the hall.
"It's probably best that you two head back to school." Seth's Dad said. "It was nice meeting you Alice. You're a very sweet girl."
Seth stood up and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
This went well....
Alice slowly stood up, looking at the place where Wendy had disappeared. Well, that hadn`t been what she`d expected.
"Did I... did I do something wrong?" She whispered, moving closer to Seth. She felt so small, like she was a bug that had been stepped on. It was odd.
Seth hugged Alice and looked at his Father, who was looking at him with a disappointed look.
"No. You didn't." He whispered in her ear. "Let's go."
He started to lead her out the door.
Alice started to follow Seth, but pulled away. She turned on her heel to look at Jason. Eye contact, standing straight. Right then she looked like a vampire, somehow intimidating.
"I don`t really understand why you aren`t happy about us being together, but I`d like to say a few things. First, Seth came home to you when his mother was sick, without question. I knew it was hard for him because it was hard for me. You have an amazing, wonderful son, and I hope you know that. Second, I`m not a vampire. He told you that I was because I used to be. I don`t know how I changed, so don`t ask, but I am indeed human. Despite how prejudiced some people are to vampires, I hope you and your wife are not. None the less, you won`t have to worry about that anymore because I`m not undead. Maybe that will change your opinion of me."
She waited a moment before turning back to Seth and taking his hand, now ready to leave.
Seth couldn't help but to smile as they exited the house. As they proceeded down the driveway, he put his arm around her waist.
"Alice, let's do it now."
Alice smiled and leaned into him. She felt light and bubbly, like she had swallowed extremely carbonated water.
"What, love? Do what? Seriously, you`re going to be vague now? I can`t read your mind, ya know." She said in a teasing tone, bumping him with her hip.
Seth laughed and then stepped in front of her, placing both of his large hands on her shoulders.
"Let's get married. Right now. Just...just you and me." He had this crazy, wild look in his eyes. He was excited and was grinning. "Whaddya say?"
Alice stared up at Seth with her huge, bright blue eyes. He hadn`t even given her a ring yet, and she had figured he would want to wait. They hadn`t planned anything. Well, at least not together. Alice had had her wedding planned since she was human the first time.
"I-- sure. Let`s go get married!" She giggled. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. Who cared if his parents saw?