I told myself that I would never ever ever EVER EVER write a Twilight fic, but here I am with what is probably one of the greatest stories I've ever written.

What to Know Before Reading:

1. This story is canon through Breaking Dawn and takes place a year after, which means I'm putting it in late 2009/early 2010. (I'm going by the publication date in '08 as the year BD took place.)

2. Seth is 17 in this story, as is the OC, Annie.

3. This story is Werewolf-centric. I'm not a big fan of Bella or the Cullens, though they will eventually be making a small appearance in this story from time to time because Seth is close with them.

4. This story is written in a section/drabble form (each chapter is made up of different sections/drabbles.) Whenever you see the words 'I,' 'me,' or 'my,' that refers to the OC, Annie.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight novels, or any of Stephanie Meyer's characters. Anything you recognize is probably not mine, while anything you don't (including the plot for this story), belongs to me.

Chapter 1:

"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another." – Thomas Merton, Love and Living

To Seth Clearwater, 'imprinting' had always been an optimistic term.

Imprinting was a spectacular sight to behold – an event that he had admired and always looked forward to experiencing for himself. To find someone you could spend the rest of your life with; someone who you could relate to, care for, and love more than life itself seemed to be the key to happiness.

He envied most of the guys for it, though he would never confess that out loud - Sam with Emily, Jared and Kim, Paul and Rachel, Quil with little Claire, and even Jacob with his half-vampire infant imprint. To have that kind of connection with someone – to find the other half of your soul – was something that he had only dreamed about. It seemed like…

Well, it seemed like a fairytale.

He knew there were downsides, though. He thought about the bad things that resulted from imprinting every time he glanced at Emily's scars; he saw it every time he caught his sister giving these long and painful looks to Sam when she thought that no one was looking.

Seth knew there was pain; he knew that all of the imprints had to go through some sort of obstacle before getting their own 'Happily Ever After's,' but despite these downsides he could not find it in himself to control his anticipation. His mother had always called him a hopeless romantic, and she had been right. He wanted to find his true love, his soul mate; he would give anything to have a family of his own. It was all he ever really wanted.

Even seeing that elated bliss inside the heads of the other imprinted guys made him crave that kind of connection even more. If the feeling was so grand just by seeing it in someone else's head, then it must have been pretty fantastic to feel it for yourself.

With this craving in mind, Seth found himself actively searching for her wherever he went: the beach, school, the grocery store… no one was safe from his wandering eye. There were many girls that had shown interest in him, of course – some gave their shy smiles with their twinkling eyes in the hopes that he would approach them, while some of the braver ones would take matters into their own hands and attempt to start a conversation with him.

But none of them had ever been 'The One.'

Of course, he wasn't the only one without an imprint. Collin and Brady seemed fine without it, happy that they didn't have to be tied down while they were still so young. When confronted with Seth's questions, Embry said that he was indifferent about the imprint. He was not going out and making lasting relationships, but was not actively searching for his imprint either. He was completely content with being single for the time being.

And as for Leah…

Well, Leah was a whole different story altogether.

By his own observations, he seemed to be the only un-imprinted guy who wanted to find his soul mate. Embry was happy with the company of just his friends, Collin and Brady had satisfied themselves with one-night stands, and Leah seemed to be fully content with being alone and using her rage and self-pity to make herself into a better wolf.

And as always, Seth was alone.

Eventually, after becoming tired, angry, and frustrated with the fact that the Spirit's seemed to be purposely keeping his soul mate from him, Seth stopped looking.

But then again, maybe that was a good thing. After all, love usually finds us whenever we aren't actively searching for it.

International Blvd., Seattle, Washington:

The flight from the Louis Armstrong International Airport to the Seattle-Tacoma Airport took a little over six hours. It was not long by normal standards, but it seemed to go on for ages.

Sitting in between my elder brother, Eli, and my younger sister, Charlotte, I was kept awake during the entire trip despite the fact that all I wanted to do was give in to my exhaustion and fall asleep. I couldn't, however. It was tough to fall asleep when on one side I had my brother sending me endlessly worried glances every other minute, and on the other, my sister had sprawled across both her own seat and mine in an attempt to take a nap. Obviously it had worked, because she had fallen asleep twenty minutes into the flight and had not woken up since.

It wasn't until the plane had landed and the passenger's started to gather their luggage from the overhead compartment that I finally spoke up against my brother's constant staring. "Would you stop worrying, Eli?" I commanded, "You look like you're about to give yourself an ulcer. Chill out."

Eli just glared. "Can you blame me for worrying? I wanted to drive here. You know Dr. Sanson said that he didn't recommend flying in your condition."

I scowled; the mention of my former oncologist back home in Louisiana was enough to make me cringe. "Announce it to the world, would you?" I suggested sarcastically, crossing my arms over my chest as he reached up to grab our luggage. "Besides, Dr. Sanson is a crackpot and the drive here would have taken two and half days. Honestly, that would have done more harm than the plane."

It was obvious that Eli was not in the mood to argue – he never was, these days. Instead, he turned to our sister, "Charlotte, wake up."

Charlotte, who was already slowly forcing herself awake at the sounds of commotion that were taking place throughout the plane, yawned. "Are we there yet?" she mumbled curiously, stretching her arms into the air.

"Yep," I responded, forcing a smile onto my face. "We still have a little drive to make before we reach our new house, though."

"What's the name of our new town again?"

"Forks."

Charlotte wrinkled her nose. "I miss my friends," she commented suddenly, tugging the belt loop on my baggy jeans. "I miss the Quarter and the food and the streetcars. Do they have streetcars here?"

Eli was the one who answered. "We know how to make all the dishes from back home, and I don't think they have streetcars –"

"And if they do, they're not like the ones back home," I muttered.

"Annie," he warned, sending me a glare before turning back to Charlotte. "Besides, you'll make lots of new friends when school starts. Both of you will," he said, sending me a pointed look.

I scoffed, and resisted the urge to say how much I doubted his words.

Charlotte just frowned. "It's not the same. I don't want to make new friends, I want my old friends back."

"This is going to be good for all three of us," Eli stated assuredly. "Annie's new doctor is here, and the fresh air will help her stay healthy. Don't you want that?"

"Don't say things like that," I burst in, slightly angry. "You can't ask her those types of questions. She doesn't have to feel guilty for wanting her home back."

Charlotte looked down at her feet, knowing that another fight was clearly brewing. "I don't want Annie to be sick. I just want my friends, too."

"We all have to make sacrifices. All of us." He gave us a stern look. "This is our home now, so you might as well grin and bear it."

I frowned, pulling my warm knit cap down so that it covered my head to my ears. This overprotectiveness thing he has going on is getting completely out of hand, I thought to myself, following as we slowly trickled down through the rows of seats to reach the next section of the airport.

Eli gestured to several rows of seats lining the walls. "I'll go and get the rest of the luggage. Why don't you go and sit down? I know you're probably tired."

I was tired. Honestly, with a combination of the jetlag and the ever-present weariness that accompanied me on a daily basis, I was absolutely exhausted. But I refused to show it. "I'm fine," I responded, not wanting to give him another reason to worry about me. "I've been sitting all day."

"Annie," he ordered, "sit."

Not in the mood for arguing, I did as I was told. I didn't particularly blame Eli for his protectiveness or stern attitude, despite the fact that it aggravated me to no end. I understood his concern; he was only worried. Anyone would be.

"Sissy, are you okay?" Charlotte asked, her tone conversational. She took a seat next to me, her short legs hovering over the ground.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at Charlotte's observation; Eli's worrisome attitude must have been rubbing off on her. "I'm fine, sweetie," she answered. "I just really want to go back home."

"Me too," sighed Charlotte. "How long are we staying in Spoons?"

"Forks," I corrected, amused. "That would be Forks, not Spoons."

"How long are we staying?" she repeated, ignoring my correction.

We watched as Eli struggled to pull several large suitcases off of the conveyer belt. "Indefinitely, I suppose."

Charlotte fiddled with the strap of her carryon bag before staring straight at the far wall determinedly, as if she could burn a hole in it with just her gaze. "Oh."

I felt a surge of pity flow through my body. Charlotte was just eight years old; being that age was supposed to be all about fun and new experiences without the added stress and tragedy that she had already experienced. I reached out and hugged her, kissing the top of her head in an attempt to be comforting. "It'll be okay, sweetie. Who knows, it might end up being fun; like an adventure! There's lots of trees and hiking paths to explore in the woods, and there's apparently a really nice beach on the reservation there."

"But you won't be able to do all that stuff with us," Charlotte shot back, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.

My smile turned into a grimace. "I'll be able to do some stuff. I can go to the beach and make sandcastles with you, and swim in the ocean. I can go hiking, too…"

Even as the words slipped out of my mouth, I knew that they weren't exactly true. With my basically destroyed immune system, I was a lot more prone toward getting infections and would have to be careful about going in the water at the beach. Hiking would be safer, but it would take a lot of time; I would get tired easily, and I highly doubted that Eli would let me go even if I had some sort of adult supervision.

I would honestly be lucky if I could make it ten steps off the front lawn without him breathing down my neck at every passing moment.

Charlotte didn't look like she believed me either but did her best to put on a brave face. I didn't blame her; my words sounded flat and hollow even to my own ears.

"Alright guys," said Eli, juggling several bags and suitcases as he approached. "Ready to go and see our new home?"

Charlotte and I exchanged looks. Our answer was utterly plain on our faces, but we refused to say it out loud: No.

Highway 101-N, Forks, Washington:

In a small rental car from the airport, our happy little family made its way down the long stretch of highway leading from Seattle to Forks. If anything could be said about the drive, it was that it was extremely odd. For miles, the city stretched out around us. Buildings and large shopping centers towered above each other; cars drove quickly along the highways eager to get to their destinations, and the only foliage in sight were patches of grass spread here and there and a few clumps of trees scattered around to add life to several intersections.

But then about ten minutes out of Port Angeles, it was like we had stepped into a brand new universe. The tall buildings and stores had been traded with thick and dense foliage, the trees piling on top of one another on either side of the road. Green leaves floated gently onto the street in front of the car as the rain trickled down the windows. Houses came few and far between; some were in thick huddles, closed off together on small back roads before breaking off into thick forest once more.

"We are literally miles away from civilization," I commented from my spot in the passenger seat. I rolled down the window slightly to get a whiff of the fresh air. "I thought we were moving to a small place, not a complete ghost town."

"It'll get a bit more populated once we reach the town," responded Eli cheerfully. "It doesn't look like this everywhere in Forks, I promise."

"I'll believe it when I see it," I stated.

Eli glanced in the rearview mirror to make eye contact with Charlotte before speaking. "Before we get to town, there's something that I want to discuss with both of you."

I watched as his hands tightly clenched the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. "We're listening."

"I know that neither of you wanted to be here," he started. "I didn't want to move either. We all had a life back home, but now it's time for us to start a new life. We're going to do our best to make a home here."

Eli had so many responsibilities on his shoulders that it was sometimes easy to forget that he was only twenty-four and struggling to raise the sickly teenager and the quickly growing adolescent that had suddenly been thrust into his lap. He had things that he wanted to do with his life – dreams and fantasies and expectations of a future that should have been a lot different than the life we were living now. But all of those dreams had been crushed, and I couldn't blame him for wanting to have a new start.

I leaned my head against the headrest of my seat and waited for him to continue, suddenly weary.

"I know it's going to be hard and that it's going to be a struggle," he said. "But I think that this will be good for us. Annie, you have your new doctor, and you both get to go to new schools."

I cringed inwardly. The thought of having to go to a brand new school for the end of my high school career was not very pleasant.

"The three of us have a chance to be a family again, so I really think that we should count our blessings. I want full cooperation from the both of you. What are we?"

"A team," Charlotte and I answered simultaneously, sounding a bit robotic.

"Exactly," Eli confirmed. "We're a team."

Taking a deep breath, I nodded in confirmation. If he wanted me to be brave and deal with their situation, then that is exactly what I would do. I would smile and laugh like normal, despite the fact that my insides were literally attempting to kill me.

If he wanted teamwork, then by God, that's exactly what he would get.

Swan Residence, Forks, Washington:

About half an hour away, Seth Clearwater was falling asleep at the kitchen table in Charlie Swan's house where he was having dinner with the police chief and his mother. Seth rested his head on his hand, slowly feeling his eyes blinking shut as his mother and Charlie chattered on about something that he didn't care about.

"So tell me about this new Deputy," Sue said, taking a bite of the chicken she had cooked.

"New deputy?" Seth mumbled questioningly, his interest slightly peaked despite his exhaustion. It wasn't often that new and interesting things happened in Forks or La Push, so he took the excitement when it came without complaint.

Charlie nodded as he took a sip of his drink. "Moving up here from Louisiana. I think he's coming with his two younger siblings. Don't know much about him except that he had to take in his two sisters recently because their parents passed away."

"How old are his sisters?" his mother asked.

"I think he said twelve and seventeen," Charlie stated, rubbing his chin. "Don't really remember, to be honest."

Seth watched as his mother picked up his empty plate and took it over to the sink with her own and Charlie's. She tsked in pity, ever the bleeding heart of compassion. "Such a shame. They're so young."

He knew exactly how it felt to lose a parent at such a young age, so he could relate. "Are they going to Forks high?" he inquired curiously.

"I'm sure that the oldest is, but I'm assuming the twelve-year old is going to the junior high school."

"You should invite them over for dinner sometime," Sue suddenly stated cheerfully, smiling as if this was the greatest idea she had ever had. "As a welcome to Forks type of thing."

Charlie and Seth exchanged glances.

"I don't know, Sue," Charlie responded slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Nonsense," the older woman continued, making Seth roll his eyes. His mother was certainly a force to be reckoned with, and Charlie, who was completely smitten, didn't stand a chance against her. "It'll be nice. It's not the best being new in a strange town and not knowing anyone."

"Bella seemed to do just fine," Charlie pointed out. Then he muttered, "Even got herself a husband out of the deal."

Seth covered his mouth as he choked back a laugh.

"But these people aren't Bella," Sue insisted. "This wasn't the first time that Bella came here, and she knew people. They – what's his name?"

"Elijah Stratford. He said that people call him Eli."

"Well, Eli Stratford and his sisters have never been here before and they don't know anyone. You're the Sheriff, Charlie. You're supposed to make people feel safe and welcome."

"Yes, but I'm not the welcoming committee, Sue," Charlie shot back, leaning back in his chair.

As his mother turned to glare, Seth finally let out the chuckle he had been holding in. "You might as well just give in, Charlie. She's not going to let this go."

He waved a hand, as if to deem the subject closed. "Fine, I'll talk to him when he starts work on Monday. Are you happy?"

"Delighted," said Sue, giving a cheerful smile. "And of course," she continued, looking right at Seth, "I fully expect you and your sister to be here and be presentable. Who knows? You might make a new friend."

Not wanting to hurt his mother's feelings with the fact that a lack of friends was definitely not a problem in his life, he kept quiet. If anything, he said to himself bitterly, thinking of the pack, I have too many friends, as it is.

"Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered. Seth would most certainly be there; he would never dare to disappoint his mother.

"You said they were from Louisiana?" she asked.

Charlie nodded in confirmation.

"Hm," she said thoughtfully, "I wonder if they would like Harry's fish fry. Louisiana is really big on their seafood. Think that would be appropriate?"

Seth stood up and stretched, before walking over to kiss his mother on the cheek. "I'm sure they'll love whatever you cook," he complimented sincerely. "And sorry to cut this short, but I really need to head to work."

The two adults exchanged a look. They both knew that Seth didn't have an actual job.

"Okay, sweetheart," Sue said. "Do you know how late you're going to be? Because you need to get some sleep, Seth. You look terrible."

He didn't have the heart to tell her that falling asleep wasn't really the problem. For some reason, every time he drifted off into dreamland, he was plagued with horrible nightmares that he couldn't remember once he woke up. Normally the lack of sleep wouldn't bother him, but people were starting to notice.

"I won't be too late, mom. I promise," he reassured. "Maybe a little after midnight. Oh, and Leah should be getting home in about an hour, so she'll be there whenever you get back to La Push."

Sue accepted this answer, knowing fully that it was the best she was going to get. "Okay, well be safe then."

"Always," he said, giving her one of his famous smiles.

After waving a quick goodbye to Charlie, he was out the door and heading towards the trees, stripping out of his clothes as he went and hoping that no passersby were looking out of their windows to get a free peep show.

Hey, dude. Embry's voice asked. How was lunch?

It was good, Seth responded, heading in the direction of his hometown. His paws pounded comfortingly against the grass, and he was happy to have something familiar to enjoy in his strange life. Nothing interesting, really.

Embry was quiet for a while, before – New family moving in? Let's hope it isn't another 'Bella Debacle.'

Despite his wonderful relationship with the Cullen's, Seth whole-heartedly agreed. None of us need any of that ever again.

Damn straight.

And with that, all thoughts of the upcoming dinner were wiped completely out of his mind.

Oh, by the way, said Embry. Before I forget, the guys were planning on going to play some football at the beach tomorrow. You in?

He didn't have anything better to do, and Embry knew it. Sure, sounds like fun.

Ah, football. Maybe it would be the distraction that he had been searching for.

Stratford Residence, Forks, Washington:

The new house was two stories tall, but was still slightly small. Overgrown vines and moss crawled up the sides of the house and wrapped around the poles that kept up the weather-beaten porch. Weeds spread throughout the entire yard, and the house would be a pure and shining white if it weren't completely covered in a thin layer of dirt.

"You're kidding me," I stated bluntly, watching as my brother pulled our luggage out of the trunk of the rental car. "This is where we're living?"

"Come on," Eli urged, waving a hand at the house proudly. "It's nice. Vintage, like the plantation houses back home."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Just not as large," he continued, "and a little less... clean. Hey, at least it has character, right? Doesn't that count for anything?"

"No. And how the hell are you going to get it clean?" I inquired, leaning against the side of the car and staring judgmentally up at the house. "I thought you were going to be busy with work?"

"Not twenty-four hours a day," he said. "I'll have time to do stuff. Won't take long to pressure-wash the walls of the house, and Charlotte can help with dusting and mopping and things like that."

"And me?"

"You're going to help your sister unpack her stuff. Nothing strenuous."

I scoffed.

"I'm serious, Annie," he warned, his tone urgent and stern. "You can't overexert yourself, okay? Especially not once you start your treatment."

I frowned as he picked up the bags and made his way up to the porch with Charlotte trailing hot on his heels. "You can't overexert yourself, Annie," I mocked, imitating his voice, "Not once you start your treatment, Annie. We're going to have to treat you like a damn invalid for the rest of your freaking life, Annie."

Sniffing in distaste, I eyed the house once more. Despite my issues with it – mostly the fact that it wasn't the one we had lived in for years in Louisiana – I had to admit that it was kind of quaint. Plus, it helped that the inside made up for the outside.

"Nice, isn't it?" Eli asked smugly, handing her one of her suitcases. "There are two rooms upstairs, plus a bathroom connecting them. I'm assuming that you and Charlotte will take those. Think you'll be okay with the stairs?"

"I can handle a few stairs," I commented, hoisting the bag over my bony shoulders.

"Well then," he gestured toward the small staircase.

"I want the bigger one!" Charlotte yelled, rushing up the stairs.

Much to Charlotte's disappointment, both of the rooms were about the same size. I trudged up the stairs slowly and settled into the unoccupied room. A large white metal bedframe holding a clean mattress was placed on one side, while a large white dresser was pushed against the opposite wall next to a small closet.

"This is it, Annie," I mumbled to myself, tossing my bag on top of the mattress. "This is your life now."

"Hey," Eli leaned into the room, knocking on the wall to alert me to his presence, "I was thinking about ordering some pizza for supper. You want cheese or pepperoni?"

"Cheese," I answered.

"Gotcha," he stated, pulling his phone from his pocket. "So, nice room, isn't it?"

It really was. The room was both simple, yet elegant, and I felt myself slowly falling in love with it. "It's nice," I shrugged, not wanting to give my brother any satisfaction.

He smiled mischievously. "You love it."

"It's nice," I repeated, unzipping the suitcase. I pulled out my various possessions and slowly started to put everything away into the drawers and closet, hoping that he would take a hint and just leave me to be by myself.

"I know that we didn't come here in the best of circumstances," Eli started, drumming his fingers against his leg nervously. "But I really want to try to make this work for the three of us."

"I understand," I told him sincerely. "And I'm really grateful for everything that you've done for us. I know Char is, too. You're a good big brother."

He smiled, happy and looking grateful at my words. "That means a lot, Annie. Thank you."

"Anytime."

"And since we did all of this so suddenly and I have to go to work on Monday, why don't we go to the beach tomorrow?" he asked.

My mouth dropped open in awe, but my eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're going to let us go to the beach? What's the catch?"

He nodded, smirking. "No catch. It might be a little too cold to swim, but we can go sit in the sand. And I'm sure Charlotte would like to look for some seashells or something. It'll be fun."

"Sounds good to me."

He was gone a few seconds later and I listened as he trailed down the steps, his voice telling me that he was ordering the pizzas.

I sat on the bed slowly, taking in my new surroundings. "Time for a fresh start, Annie," I murmured to myself.

A fresh start…

It sounded almost… nice.

Ten points to anyone who catches the Agents of Shield reference in this chapter.

Note: The 'Quarter' that is mentioned in this chapter is a reference to The French Quarter in New Orleans.

Once again, this chapter was edited on October 31st, 2014 for errors and updates.