ASPEN ? Paul Lahote [1]

thirteen

"I'm Seth by the way," the boy said, already taking a bite of one of his cookies.

"I'm Aspen. It's nice to meet you, Seth."

"My dad told me about you, actually. He said a pretty girl finally got a hold of Paul so we have someone else to knock some sense into him," Seth mentioned, a shadow softly casting over his expression at the mention of his late father.

A blush cascaded her cheeks as she offered an empathetic smile, placing the platter down so she could give her attention to the sweet boy in front of her. "He was a very kind man, Seth. I don't know if you would want to hear any more condolences after today, but I'm sorry. Your family didn't deserve that. No one's does."

A deep breath from Seth was all that was heard as the two stood there against the kitchen counter. He turned ever so slightly, cookies now sitting on a napkin beside him.

"I wish I was angrier. But I think I am just too sad by it all to feel angry," he admitted. "Plus, now I have to deal with the other thing." Aspen could only assume he was talking about shifting into a wolf. "But I think it's pretty cool."

"I can't say I have any experience in the department of turning into abnormally large wolves, but I do know how to be a friend. If you ever feel the need for one outside of these crazy boys, I can be there," she responded.

It was sudden and unexpected, but arms fully engulfed her in a warm and tight embrace. Seth Clearwater had found himself hugging Aspen tightly, her words settling over him and being exactly what he had needed at that moment. Aspen brought her arms around the boy and squeezed him back.

He pulled away, and Aspen could tell he was slightly embarrassed with his own actions, but she filled in the moment with much-needed respite.

"I bet if we took half these cookies for ourselves and ate them on the couch, no one would notice."

Seth's face broke out into a wide grin. "Let's do it."

☼☼☼

About an hour later, Aspen found herself slumped on the living room couch next to Seth and was soon joined by Embry. Practically melting into the cushion, she hadn't realized how much she had done through the day until she sat down, and it all settled into her. That, and the amount of cookies she and Seth had consumed, was finally weighing down on her.

"I swear Pen, when all this is over, we will actually get to hang out again. I miss our movie nights," Embry said, "that's if I can tear you away from Mr. Hardhead once and a while," He continued as he rolled his eyes.

Aspen giggled because she felt his presence before she saw him reach over the edge of the couch and flick the side of Embry's head.

Her bright blue eyes trailed the profile of Paul as he practically shoved Embry from the spot next to her, fell into the seat, and joined the conversation. His arm lazily draped around the back of the couch. "You act like I've stolen her from you, Call," Paul commented, his fingertips grazing the wispy strands of hair that cascaded around Aspen while he spoke.

Aspen rolled her eyes as she responded, "I was your friend first Embry, don't worry. Paul will have to deal with it." Her shoulders felt heavier as his arm made its way across her back, absentmindedly pulling her into his side.