Jessica

Guys are seriously, like, the fucking worst.

I'm convinced.

First there was Tyler Crowley. We dated in seventh grade for three weeks and then he had the nerve to give Lauren Mallory a sparkly pink valentine and I only got a stupid, boring red one that was the same as everyone else's. He was canceled so fast.

Then there was Edward Cullen and…fine…we didn't actually date. But we did in my head for five months! And then he had the audacity to ignore me and fall all over Isabella Swan the second she stepped foot in town. So rude.

Next was Mike Newton and, as much I hated to admit it, he was my one true heartbreak. Mike and I dated on and off junior and senior year of high school but once we both got to Washington State, we started seriously dating. We stayed together almost all four years until finals week, senior year, when I had come back from the library early and walked in to my supposed best friend — Lauren Mallory — making out with Mike on our futon. I never should have become best friends with Lauren. That Valentine in seventh grade was a god damn omen.

But I was really more mad at Mike. I had given six years and my virginity to that asshole for nothing! There's nothing like realizing the last six years of your life we're pointless.

So, I had taken my last few finals. And I had graduated. And I told Lauren to go fuck herself. And I moved back to Forks...or at least I tried. The plan had always been to move into an apartment in Seattle with Lauren and begin The-Rest-Of-Our-Lives with internships at Amazon. Lauren's dad had already signed a lease for us and I had been so excited that we had both been hired as junior marketing interns at Amazon. After everything that happened, I definitely couldn't live with Lauren and the thought of having to go to work with her everyday made me want to throw up.

Lauren had originally been falling all over herself to apologize to me but once she realized I wasn't having any of it she turned nasty and I wondered if she had ever really been my friend at all. She told me all of this was my fault. I wasn't nice enough to Mike and I didn't take care of him like he needed. Mike echoed her sentiments in adding that I was mean to others and cold to him. I didn't think I was cold when I had Mike's smelly dick down my throat but of course neither one of them seemed to think about that.

I am not the problem! Dumb boys are the problem!

So I told Amazon I wouldn't be taking the job and I told my parents I would be moving back home.

And then my parents told me that had separated after Christmas and would be selling our house so they could "move onto other ventures."

And then I had really lost it.

Per dearest mother my father was a cheating asshole and she was going to take half of his money. Per darling daddy, my mother was a gold digging slut and there was no way he was paying alimony. They had a buyer on my childhood home before they even listed it and had, instead, both signed one-bedroom leases in the newest upscale apartment complex that had popped up in downtown Forks. Like, seriously, who decides to get divorced and then moves into the same apartment complex? Sure, they were on different floors, but still.

My parents told me they wanted me to get through classes and senior year before telling me about the impending divorce. I had committed to Amazon back in January and they had no reason to believe I would ever be coming back to Forks again. So they played rocks, paper, scissors to decide who would have to change their apartment into a two bedroom to accommodate me, realized they both didn't want me, and then decided to rent me my own one bedroom apartment in the same complex. And on the first floor no less.

I was officially the unwanted daughter, the unimportant best friend, and the unlovable girlfriend.

So that is how I ended up here. In Forks. At The Chieftain Pub and trashed.

Well, I had been at the Chieftain Pub. Now I was out in the parking lot with the man who had been buying me vodka-crans for the last two hours.

"Come on, baby." He purrs in my ear. "Let's go back to your place." I hum back and continue to sway on my feet. I think he is asking me where my car is but I can't be sure. All I can think about is Mike. Mike Newton and his dumb face and how I was going to go home with this man and be anything but cold with this man...this man...this man who I forgot the name of...

"What's your name?" I slur. He laughs and half drags me a little more into the parking lot. I'm not sure if he answers or not but the next thing I know I am pressed up against the side of a car and his hands are groping me all over. His mouth is hot and slobbery on my neck.

"Stop." I say, getting a little clarity. "Stop." I repeat again a little louder, deciding I really don't want to do this.

"Come on, baby, we're having fun." The man says continuing to grope me and grinding into my center with his erection.

"Stop!" I shove weekly on his arms to try to force him off. I had fun dancing and drinking with him inside but, now that we're out here I am no longer having fun and the idea of bringing him back to the dumb apartment is the last thing I want to do. He is suddenly lifted off of me and I half collapse onto the pavement since I no longer have anyone to hold me up.

"She's not interested, she said to stop." A voice angrily says. "Go home before I call the police."

"Fucking tease." The man whose name I still don't know says. Even though I don't know the man and don't actually care what he thinks of me, the insult still hurts. I wasn't a tease. At least I didn't think I was. I had always slept with Mike whenever he wanted which was probably why I was so hurt by him calling me cold.

"Hey, are you okay?" My rescuer says. He leans down grabbing one of my hands and placing his other hand on my waist to help me stand back up. "Is there someone you want me to call for—" His voice cuts off completely as he stares at me.

This man is the most beautiful man I have ever seen. He has perfectly bronze skin and hair that looks intentionally disheveled. I want to reach up and run my hands through it to see if it feels as silky as it looks. And his eyes. Oh my god his eyes. They are captivating chocolate pools of goodness — I can just tell.

"Are you okay?" He repeats, sounding a bit more anxious, "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm okay." I promise, nodding my head and taking a step forward to try to move away from the sedan the other man has pressed me against. I stumble and my rescuer winds an arm around my waist to catch me and hold me up.

"You can't drive." He states. "I can bring you home."

"No, I didn't drive here." I start. "I live right over—" I cut off suddenly, realizing I definitely shouldn't be telling random men where I live. The Sussex Gardens Apartment Complex was right across the street and it had seemed like a good idea to walk over to the bar earlier. It definitely was still a good idea since I wasn't in any condition to drive but the prospect of walking back seemed daunting.

"Hey— didn't you go to...do you...um...weren't you friends with Bella Cullen?" The man asks. I look up at him in surprise. Bella was not someone I thought about often and hadn't thought of in a while. "You look kinda familiar. I'm good friends with Jake."

"You mean the guy who Bella led on then ditched when Edward came back?" I ask, thinking back on our senior year of high school.

"Uh, yeah." The man lets out a laugh in surprise. "That's him."

"It was for the best." I sigh dramatically, trying to walk forward some more but needing him to continue to hold me up. "Jacob was way hotter than Bella, it was never going to work out."

"I'll be sure to tell him that." The man grins down at me and I wonder what it would be like to kiss his lips. They look so inviting. "Let me bring you home, please?" He asks and I'm pretty sure I would do anything this man asked of me. "We're basically friends of friends."

"I'm Jessica." I introduce. I didn't really consider Bella my friend and I didn't know Jacob well enough to consider him anything but I do want to trust this man.

"I'm Seth." He responds, grinning at me. "Do you live in those apartments over there?" He nods his head in the direction of my complex.

"How did you—" I start to question.

"You keep looking over there." He explains. "And if you didn't drive then that's the closest place in walking distance."

"Okay." I finally agree to let him bring me home, convinced he's not going to murder me and deciding if he does want to do anything else I would probably be down for it. I stumble forward gripping his shirt and he pauses, looking down to assess me.

"How much did you drink?" He asks.

"I don't know." I shrug. "That guy just kept buying me drinks." I had lost track at five and genuinely had no idea how much I had really had. When I had arrived to the bar hours earlier, I had been nervous to be there by myself and quickly downed two drinks in the first fifteen minutes. I wasn't someone who went out by themselves but I realized I really didn't have any friends to call. I still saw Angela a couple times a year but Whitman College didn't graduate for another week so she was still in Walla Walla. I had a couple other friends I had made in college but none of them were anywhere near Middle-Of-Nowhere-Forks. I had spent the last eight years with Lauren and Mike. They were my people and I hadn't made any other deep connections. I was pretty sure I had fucked up my social life forever.

"Okay, don't freak out." Seth says and in one fluid motion, he scoops me up and into is arms. I let out a yelp in surprise and grip his biceps.

"Don't drop me!" I gasp. He laughs and the sound calms me down immediately.

"Drop you?" He chuckles. "You're so tiny. Why wouldn't I be able to carry you?"

"You think I'm tiny?" I ask, perking up at that.

"Uhh, yeah?" He answers, crossing the street and starting down the path towards the apartment complex.

"That's nice of you to say." I sigh. "One time my boyfriend — well my ex boyfriend — tried to pick me up to make out against a wall and then he fucking dropped me."

"He sounds like the worst." Seth says loyally.

"He really is." I mumble, leaning my head against his shoulder.

"Do you have a key card to get into the building?" I dig into my pocket and pull out the key fob attached with my apartment and mailroom key and hand it over. He taps the key fob to open the front door and seems to effortlessly carry me into the building balanced with one arm. I half expect him to put me down and say goodnight but instead he pauses and looks to me for direction. "Which way?"

"Down four doors on the right." I gesture, waving my hand in the direction of my apartment. "One-Oh-Five." He pauses in front of my door and gets the lock undone before carrying me in.

"Wow." He says quietly once he flips the lights on. "This is a really nice apartment."

"It's a dumb apartment and I hate it." I grumble. He carries me into the one bedroom and lays me down carefully on the unmade bed.

"It seems pretty great to me." Seth says, smoothing some of my hair away from my face and tugging on my heels to take them off for me. "I still live with my mom."

"Lucky." I mutter, wiggling my toes once they're free from the death trap high heels.

"I'm going to go get you some water? Maybe some Advil?" He suggests.

"Thanks, Seth." I yawn, rolling over.

And then I'm asleep.

Welcome to my newest story! I recently read a few pairings of these two and couldn't get this out of my head. I'm hoping to update twice a week but we will see how everyone enjoys it. Please review and let me know what you think! :)