1.) Hope
He turns his back on his brother and walks out of the Twister. He's feeling angry and curses everyone. He knows he still hasn't wrapped his head around everything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours, and he'll be damned if he has any idea what is supposed to happen next.
He has no idea where to go from here, but seeing sunlight—real sunlight—for the first time in what seems life forever, is a good start.
He's not even paying attention, and is honestly surprised to see Kate.
"You want some company?"
Right now? He'd like nothing better.
2.) Company
"Yeah."
In the coming weeks, Seth will wonder if that word damned or saved him. He sure as hell can't imagine being on the road alone, but sometimes when he looks at the young girl sitting in the passenger seat, he feels guilty for stealing her away.
"You didn't steal me," Kate said to him one night when he'd had too much to drink. He gave her a look. She tilted her head. "Well, not this time," she amended.
He never asks her why she came—doesn't think it matters—she's here beside him; and Seth thinks that's what matters.
3.) Clean
"You were right. The motel manager didn't ask about the blood," she says when she returns to the car. He's done this kind of thing enough to know to pick a motel in a shady part of town to hide out in.
Seth follows her into their room, but loses focus soon after. He manages to sit on the bed, but can't think farther than that. He needs sleep.
"First thing's first," he hears Kate's soothing voice. "Let's get some of that blood off,"
He doesn't even flinch when her towel covered hand reaches up and wipes away the blood.
4.) Relax
They stop at the beach one afternoon per Kate's request.
"We don't have time for this," Seth insists. "Gotta keep movin'."
His mind is always racing; trying to keep ahead of both the law and the vampires.
"We've been driving for hours," the young girl moans as she determinedly walks toward the calm water. "We need to take a break for a moment—gain some perspective, make a plan, something."
Seth sighs. "Fine," he says, "but plan first." Because you never know when a culebra's gonna jump out and ruin your day.
(And, yes, the water does feel wonderful afterwards.)
5.) Comfort
They both have nightmares.
Seth doesn't know how or why, but when he bolts awake, Kate's already awake as well. She just looks steadily at him—allowing him to make the first move—until he shifts closer to her.
He'll lay his head in her lap and she'll just hold him close.
Kate usually wakes him up with a sudden scream. She always looks around like a deer in headlights, her lips trembling uncontrollably. "It's okay," he'll whisper into the night air, "it's just me."
She'll throw herself at him and only then does she allow the tears to fall.
6.) Fight
They both have tempers.
Kate's the type to rein in her anger and act calm whenever possible. Seth knows that behind her still eyes and "Yeah, sure, whatever," is a pot getting closer to boiling over. When it happens—when the frustration cannot be controlled any longer—it's over quickly and an apology always follows.
Seth's different. He's quick to anger and slow to forgive. He raises his voice whenever he feels provoked, and he doesn't forget. He doesn't really apologize either, but Kate doesn't seem to mind.
"I know," she'll whisper later, "you just want me to be safe."
7.) Pretense
Seth Gecko is a fucking disaster and he'll be the first to admit it.
He's a criminal who is on the run, he's got a past that seems to fuck him up whenever it is most definitely not convenient, and he's got a present that isn't a picnic either.
Most of his stories are only half told, because when he realizes how much of it involves Richie, he clams up.
And here's this eighteen year old girl who sticks beside him anyway. She can see all too clearly what a massive fuck-up he is, and she doesn't give a damn.
8.) Broken
Sometimes, when he's had too much to drink and is feeling sorry for himself, Seth tries to convince Kate to leave. A part of him knows that this—wherever 'this' might be for the time being—is no place for a young girl.
Kate always shakes her head in a firm denial at his slurred command to just leave him there. "I've got no family, Seth," she tells him one particular night, her lower lip trembling. "Where would I go?"
"Hell if I know," he mumbles, busying himself so he doesn't see her tears.
He never brings it up again.
9.) Found
The worst of it is, most of the time, he can't help but like that she's around.
Her simple presence near him keeps Seth from breaking down in the middle of the Mexican desert. She hums in the shower and tells him corny jokes, fills the heavy silences with chatter and stories, and reminds him to breathe.
She's his calming presence and whenever he has to leave—to go out and get supplies or cash—he can feel a physical ache in his chest.
But the second he opens the door and hears her sigh of relief, everything is alright.
10.) Friends
It's a strange realization, and it seems to come out of nowhere, but one day it just hits him.
This young girl knows him better than almost anyone else on the planet—hell, he could probably throw the universe in there too—and he's damn certain he knows her better than anyone else too.
It's why she always asks for extra pillows from the motels they stay at.
It's why he grabs a cup of hot chocolate from the café around the street when he's gathering supplies, and asks for cinnamon in it.
"Friendship, Seth," she laughs. "It's called friendship."