Author's Notes: Long overdue.

Can I just say…thank you. To all of you.

This has been…unreal.

I can't believe this is over. I just…I can't. I cried. So. Freaking. Hard while I was writing this. I miss Seth and Willow already. And I'm sorry to say there won't be a sequel…I thought about it, but some stories are hurt by their sequels, and I think this would be one of them. Anyway, I don't know how I would continue this.

(Also, be on the lookout for a new fanfiction by me! It should be released within this week. It involves that Laurent we all love to hate, yay!)

Oh, and Eullyne, I do keep my promises. So don't be worried about this chapter. (;

I love you all. Listen to this song while you're reading. You won't regret it, trust me.

Chapter Twenty Four - Thunder

Today is a winding road that's taking me to places that I didn't want to go
Whoa (whoa, whoa, whoa)
Today in the blink of an eye I'm holding on to something and I do not know why
I tried

I tried to read between the lines
I tried to look in your eyes
I want a simple explanation
For what I'm feeling inside
I gotta find a way out
Maybe there's a way out

Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
Do you know you're unlike any other?
You'll always be my thunder, and I said
Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors
I don't wanna ever love another
You'll always be my thunder

So bring on the rain
And bring on the thunder

Thunder by Boys Like Girls

A few months later…

It was summer again in La Push. And, of course, impossibly hot.

The sun's rays seemed to melt and distort under one's dreary gaze; they dripped red and yellow onto a grey sky. Right now, it had just stopped raining, and the smell of wet dirt filled the air. That, and cologne that Paul had sprayed on excessively for his big date tonight. How in the world he'd gotten a girl I had no idea, but I had to admit that I was happy for him. He'd always been kind of a loner, so it was good to know that someone out there cared.

Good God, that sounded ridiculously cheesy. Like...God. Since when had I been such a huge sap?

I sat in front of Sam's house and tied my shoes. The boys were playing football a few feet in front of me, excluding Paul, who was driving off. Heather cradled Caroline and chatted on the phone to her friend Marnie from the library. She hadn't been working ever since Caroline was born, but her friends were constantly filtering in and out of the house or taking the both of them to lunch somewhere. It was good to know that she'd cheered up slightly; the first few months with Caroline had been awful, with her saying stuff about why did she have to be the one to get raped and pregnant - my only explanation was a pitiful "I don't know, that's just what happens." But she'd overcome her postpartum depression (at least, I guess that was what it was) and was now pretty much okay.

I finished with my shoes and looked up. Seth was attempting to take the football from Jared, but Jared threw it to Embry. They were running around so fast - I guessed this was the werewolf thing they had or whatever, and was glad that Heather was busy looking at Caroline instead of them - I could barely see what was going on. And then someone was getting tackled, the football was flying, Seth was catching it - ugh, I couldn't keep up.

"Yeah, I know," said Heather to Marnie. She paused as Marnie responded and laughed. I hadn't seen her do that in a while. "I know! But it's none of their business anyway."

Sam exited the house and got in his car with a list of groceries in his hand. A delicious smell wafted through the air before the door snapped shut behind him and I took in a deep breath. Emily's cooking. I'd looked at her cookbook more than once and followed its directions, but ended up with crap each time. I couldn't understand how she did it.

Heather hung up on Marnie and turned to me. "I saw you steal a granola bar from my purse a little while ago," she said. I opened my mouth to protest, but she continued, "No, don't even try to deny it."

"Ummph."

"Pfft," she responded.

"I feel sick," I said. "Kinda…er. My stomach hurts."

"Do you think you're pregnant?" asked Heather, patting Caroline's back as she coughed.

"No."

"How do you know?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I'm not. I mean…I don't think I am. And anyway, I took a test and it said negative. And I know those things can be wrong, but I just…I don't think I'm pregnant."

"Hmm." Caroline wrapped a tiny hand around Heather's finger, and Heather smiled, kissing her forehead. "Well, that was the same thing I thought, Willow. And look at what happened." She nodded her daughter.

"Just…eh. I dunno. I'm hungry," I said, trying to change the subject.

It didn't work.

"Oho, you're hungry!" said Heather with a teasing wink.

"God, Heather, people can be hungry when they're not pregnant!" I practically shouted. I knew she was just messing with me, but I was annoyed. I wished she would just shut up.

There was a sudden, deafening silence. I turned my head to the boys. They were all staring at me, frozen in action; Jared had the football in his hands, Quil looked like he was about to jump on Embry, and Seth, who had his arms in the air, looked positively shocked.

"Uh," I said.

"I wasn't saying that you're pregnant," Heather went on indignantly, but slightly quieter this time, as she knew the boys were watching.

"I'm going to go see if Emily needs help with anything," I said, even though I knew she could manage by herself. I stood up, turned on my heel, and went into the house. Emily was cooking shrimp, and a basket of fresh bread sat smack in the middle of the dining table.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked. "Anything?"

She didn't look up, but I saw her shake her head. "No thanks." After a moment, she continued, "I wish Sam would get back. I need more stuff for this."

"Yeah," I said.

Well. This was awkward. The front door was open, and I was suddenly aware of the fact that everyone could see me through it. I wandered into the hallway, and looked at the pictures they had on their walls. There wasn't much; just some magazine clipping about a book and a few pictures from their wedding.

"So what's this I hear about you--" began a voice from behind me.

"I am not pregnant, Seth," I said, turning around to face him. And even though it's incredibly sappy of me to say so, I thought he looked as handsome as ever, with his windswept hair all over the place.

"Alright, alright. I believe you," he replied.

I walked up to him and put my hands on his shoulders. Even though he was impossibly tall, I'd grown a lot, and we were only a few inches apart. "You'd better," I teased him.

Seth rolled his eyes, but smiled. Then he took something out of his pocket and put it in my own. "Don't look at that thing until later, okay? When you're alone. And when you do, my response will be, 'Yes, that is what you think it is.'"

That sounded awfully suspicious, but whatever. "Okay," I said.

"Promise?"

"Promise. Is this like an early birthday present or a prank or…what?"

He smiled. "You'll see."

Sam walked through the door just then with a bag of groceries in one hand. Emily smiled at him and took the bag out of his hands.

"So I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," I said.

"So am I," said Seth. "I wish Emily would hurry up already."

From somewhere in the kitchen, Emily's voice shouted, "I heard that!"

The phone was ringing.

The phone was ringing, and, looking at the caller ID, I was more than a little pissed off. I picked up the phone and practically shouted, "What the hell do you want this time, Sean?"

"That is no way to talk to your father," he snapped back. Hypocrite. "And I do not want anything, I just want to know how my daughters are, so--"

"Oh, that reminds me. You're a grandfather. But anyway, what's your get-richer-quick scheme now?"

He took in a deep breath. There was a brief, shocked silence. "I'm a grandfather?" he croaked.

"Yeah. Heather had a little girl a few months ago."

"She…oh, my God. She had a kid?"

"No shit, Sherlock. How many times do I have to tell you? But I'm not going to talk about that since it's nothing you should be digging your nose in anyway. Why are you calling again?"

He, it seemed, was too surprised to get pissed at my rudeness. For once. A minute or so passed, and he began, "Well, Willow, I wanted to talk about your mother's life insurance--"

I slammed the phone down. And, probably for the better, unplugged it.

"Who was that?" Heather asked as I walked into the living room. She was wiping off Caroline's shirt, while Caroline herself squirmed around and smiled a toothless grin.

"Sean. He said his house blew up and his wife left him for another man and his kids joined the circus. And I laughed in his face."

I went upstairs, leaving behind an understandably confused Heather, and looked at the clock on my bedroom wall. It was nearly midnight. I hadn't had a really big day - unless you counted being accused of being pregnant and eating dinner at Sam and Emily's house as big - but I was already tired. All I did was crawl out of my capris, which were getting to be a bit too small, and flop down on the bed.

It was then that I remembered Seth had put something in my pocket.

I wanted to leave it for the morning, but knowing me, I'd probably forget about it. I sat up and turned on the light, blinking at the sudden brightness. My eyes were still getting used to it as I reached for my capris and felt around in one of the pockets, fingers freezing on a small, circular object.

"…my response will be, 'Yes, that is what you think it is.'"

No. Fucking. Way.

"Where are you going?" Heather yelled at me as I ran out of the house, having just thrown on my capris.

"Seth's house!" I shouted back.

I wanted to do something really girly and unlike myself, such as jumping up and down or screaming or throwing a fit or something. I was nearly doing all three by the time I arrived at Seth's house and pounded on the door with one hand, holding the thin, silver engagement ring with the other.

Seth answered and nearly had to cover his ears when I started shrieking my head off. "Seth! Oh my God! I can't believe it!" I flung myself into his arms as Sue cast us a confused look from the kitchen. "You -- oh my God, this is so like…I mean, when I reached into my pocket, I was like 'What the shit? There is no way!' and then I remembered what you said about it being what I would think it was and - and anyway, I totally say yes --"

"You did not," said a shocked Sue.

"I did," replied Seth, grinning as he kissed my forehead.

A small explosion went off somewhere. Sue let out a shriek and ran over to engulf us in her arms. "No way! Oh, you're growing up too fast! Slow down already!" She looked like she might cry when she finally let us go about five minutes later.

I just smiled. I honestly couldn't have been in a single better place in the world. Here I was, surrounded by people who loved me - especially Seth. My fiancé.

Fiancé.

What a wonderful word.

Planning a wedding is hard. Especially in the summer, when you're constantly fanning yourself or having heat stroke or sweating. And everything is worse when you're seventeen, still in high school, and have people telling you every now and then that you're too young just so you can bitch at them.

This happened more than once. And I knew I was young, and I knew that I'd only met Seth a year ago, but I'd made my decision and was sticking to it. So screw you, middle-aged woman who noticed my ring one day while I was at the store and scoffed at it, wasting ten minutes of my time on asking me if I was pregnant and kids these days and blah blah blah. That was her problem, not mine.

I'd found a nice white dress with a ruffle skirt and that fell just above my knee (I was actually going to pick out some neon-colored number just because I could, but eventually decided against it) and had the list of who would be attending. There was still a month to go until the big day and I felt like throwing something every five minutes - it was crazy. But it was going to be worth it, I knew. So I just put up with it all.

One day, I was walking along the street when I noticed a pitiful rosebush that seemed to have drowned in recent rain off to the side. It reminded me of my first day in La Push for some reason. And then there was La Push alone, I thought, after picking up the pace again. So much had happened here, I realized. I'd gained a best friend, fallen in love with him…lost my virginity…gotten engaged…and was soon to be married right on its shores.

Damn. This place really was something else.

For some reason, I'd been emotional a hell of a lot lately, and now it happened again. A rush of memories bombarded me - arriving here in the moving van, meeting Seth, kissing him for the first time…it was strange to mentally replay all of that, as though I'd turned back the clock and found myself in those situations again. And I don't know why, but my upcoming marriage and relationship with Seth had never seemed as real as they did in that moment.

"Hey," said a familiar voice from behind me.

I turned around to see Rochelle, the girl who'd borrowed my phone so long ago, grinning at me. I smiled back. Some way or another, we'd become good friends. When I wasn't at Seth's house, I was at hers, eating French candies her butler gave us and listening to her tell stories of New York, where she'd moved from. When I asked her why she'd come here, of all the places, she said her mother was recovering from a nasty divorce and wanted to get as far away from her ex-husband as possible.

One obvious thing about Rochelle was that her mother was insanely rich, but something about her you could only know if you got close to her was that she didn't flaunt it all over the place. "Too cliché," Rochelle said when I brought it up. "And it's just stupid. I mean, I might have more money than that old guy with the parakeets down the street, but who cares? I don't. Honestly."

"Hi, Rochelle," I said to her now. "What's up?"

"Mom's being a bitch."

I nodded; considering all that I had went through with Ciara, I couldn't have understood more. And, just like my late mother and I, Rochelle and her mom were constantly arguing. "What's it about this time?" I asked.

"She found a pack of cigarettes under my bed. Hypocrite. Like she didn't start smoking when she was fourteen. But anyway, how are you? You look kind of…teary-eyed."

"I'm fine. Just…just pre-wedding emotional crap. You know."

"Yeah. I think I do." Rochelle flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and squinted at something behind me. "I'm always here if you need me, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks."

"Hey! Look! There's Jacob!" Rochelle squealed, completely ignoring me, which she surprisingly usually didn't do. I rolled my eyes; she'd been crushing on him ever since she arrived here. I turned around and sure enough, there was Jacob, stepping onto his front porch. "I should go say hi," she said, barreling past me.

Honestly.

"She's got no chance," said Seth as he appeared around the side of Jacob's house, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head.

I sighed. "I know. What's up with Jacob, anyway? He always seems so…down in the dumps. Is he depressed or something?"

Seth took some time to answer that one. When he did, he lowered his voice, even though Rochelle was babbling away at Jacob so loudly she wouldn't have heard him even if he shouted. "You could say that. About…I think it's been a year and a half…ago, Jacob fell in love with a girl named Bella. The problem was that Bella was in love with a vampire named Edward."

Vampire?

Seth was still talking, oblivious to my shock. "So she went off with Edward and got married to him…and Jacob's been pretty messed up ever since. I understand where he's coming from…I mean, if I was him…but I'm sure that, wherever Bella is, she's in good hands. I met Edward. We were friends. He's a good guy."

"You met Edward?"

"Yeah."

"But…I thought that you guys hated each other…the whole vampire and werewolf thing, I mean." Rochelle was walking down the street now, out of earshot, with Jacob sitting on his porch and staring at a chunk of wood on the ground. I guessed that her attempts to hit on him had failed.

My feet were starting to hurt, so Seth and I sat down on the grass while I shot him a confused look. "That's true. We…don't get along with them, really. But Edward was different. I…well, this vampire came along to try and kill Bella, and I helped Edward get rid of her sidekick. Once you do that…once you unite like that…it's hard to hate each other."

"Wait. Wait. You…you beat up a vampire?" I whispered - probably from the surprise.

"Yeah," said Seth again.

"Why didn't you ever tell me this?" I demanded.

"You never asked."

"How am I supposed to ask about this if I never have had any idea that you kicked vampire ass?"

Seth laughed. "I guess I didn't consider that bit."

"Well, tell me about these…vampires. The one that came after Bella and the one that was helping her. What were their names?"

"Victoria and Riley."

"How did you beat them up?"

"Well, first of all…"

"I'd like to propose a toast to a totally kick ass girl by the name of Willow right about now," said Macy, one of my friends from school, holding up her (obviously spiked) soda can and attempting to keep a straight face. That lasted for about two seconds, and then she started giggling all over the place, more than a little tipsy by this point. "To--to Willow," she gasped, clutching at her stomach.

Rochelle, Kim, and Aubrey, another girl from school, rolled their eyes at her. And then they said to me with identical smiles, lifting their sprites (nobody had been able to get alcohol except for Macy, who refused to share), "To Willow."

That had to be the fifth toast of the evening, but I didn't complain. I didn't mind the attention for tonight - but I guess that's what happens during your bachelorette party. We'd decided to throw it at Rochelle's house, considering that we would probably wake up Caroline if we threw it at mine. Caroline had the flu, so Heather had stayed behind to help her instead of hiring a babysitter and going here. She apologized about a hundred times beforehand, but I told her that it was okay and she eventually stopped.

Macy, finally regaining her composure, reached over to lay one hand on Rochelle's stereo and crank the volume up. Bouncy, pop beats filled the room. I tried not to wince, but apparently I did: Macy doubled over laughing again after looking at my expression. "Oh my God," she said. "Your face is priceless right now. Honestly. Just go look in the mirror."

"Speaking of mirrors," said Aubrey, "I do believe it's time for your makeover."

Normally I wouldn't have put up with it, but the night before my wedding definitely wasn't supposed to be normal. And anyway, even I would admit that I was supposed to look good on my wedding day, so I just smiled as Kim started digging through Rochelle's enormous cosmetics box.

"Okay, I think curly hair would work well for you," said Rochelle. "But tonight is all just practice, you know - so we'll know what to do when tomorrow comes and won't have to waste too long on making you up."

"This feels weird," I said as Macy put curlers in my hair.

"Oh, I know how that is," said Rochelle. "I used to be such a tomboy - I didn't start wearing makeup until I was like…fifteen. It was insane; took me forever to get used to. And even though you look beautiful without any makeup on, it's, you know, mandatory on your wedding day. Don't worry about it. We won't make you look like a psycho or anything. Less is more, you know."

I just nodded.

Some time later, after having various beauty products slapped on my face, I tried to make myself comfortable while Macy and Kim did my nails. Rochelle said (she'd been surprisingly quiet for a little while, and I'd almost forgotten about her being there), "So how do you feel, Willow?"

"Uh. What do you mean?"

"About tomorrow. Getting married. That's huge. I mean…if I were you, I'd be freaking out and crap."

"Who says I'm not?" I replied, but I couldn't help but smile.

"You don't look like it to me."

"Trust me, I am," I told her. "It's insane. I never thought that I'd be getting married at seventeen, you know…and now I am to the best guy on the face of the universe and it's tomorrow afternoon and I think everything's ready but I bet it's not and…and…yeah. I'm definitely not relaxed."

"Try to be," said Kim. "After all, what could go wrong?"

"Everything," I moaned, as it all caught up to me.

"That's the spirit!" said Kim, slapping me on the back so hard it hurt.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" I barked.

"Trying to knock this pessimism out of you."

"Well God, you don't have to be so violent."

"Done!" Aubrey and Macy sang at the same time. Rochelle told me to stand up and I did as she dragged one of her many full-body mirrors over. I scrutinized my reflection carefully, barely even realizing my mouth was open. I looked so…different. But in a good way, in the very best way. I never thought I'd say it, but I looked great.

"Give me that," I heard Rochelle say, and I watched her in the mirror as she took a ponytail holder from Aubrey. She put my hair up, adjusting a few curls so that they hung loosely around my face, and smiled at her handiwork. "You look beautiful," she said to me.

The girls behind me nodded in agreement, and I felt a sudden need to go around and hug them all. Instead, I just wrapped my arms around Rochelle as a wave of emotion washed over me. "Thank you," I whispered, tears clogging up my voice. "Thank you so much."

It was time.

I was about to faint. Or die. Or both. It was time.

"Oh, my God," Heather whispered again and again and again. "Oh, my God. Holy shit, this is really happening. Oh my God…Willow. I can't believe it."

"I know," I said. I could hardly stand. Somebody was about to need to call an ambulance. But there was no going back now - I was in my dress, in my shoes, had my hair and makeup on…and everyone was waiting. For me. A crowd of people were sitting down at the beach and waiting for me.

There was a knock on the door. "Are you done yet?" Embry called. I laughed a little as Heather answered with,

"Yes, you buffoon. Now stop hurrying us along and get your ass in the car."

"Okay, God. No need to be grouchy." Embry's footsteps scurried away.

"You can do this," said Heather, putting a hand on my shoulder. Her voice was thick with tears. "Just stay calm."

"Okay," I said.

We stood there for a moment, looking at each other in silence, before Heather turned on her heel and went through the door. I quickly followed her.

We climbed into Embry's car while my intestines wrapped themselves into a knot, and Embry drove off. It wasn't long before he stopped, and we stepped outside. There was sand beneath my shoes and I stared at it, taking a deep breath. Then I looked up at Embry again. I can do this.

"You okay?" he asked as he looped his arm around mine.

"Yeah. Fine. Let's do this shit," I said in attempt to lighten the mood, staring straight ahead and trying to remind myself to breathe. Embry laughed, and we started walking.

Embry coughed something under his breath, and the youngest-seeming one, the one with the weird expression, stepped forward shyly, but somehow with determination. He had sandy blonde hair that stuck up all over the place, but still looked nice, I guess. In a way. Quil and Embry exchanged a grin behind his back, and Quil laughed again.

"Seth Clearwater," the blonde said (still with that expression), holding out his hand like Quil. I shook it and he ran his thumb over the back of my hand, seeming to feel the soft skin there. His hand felt warm. Almost too warm.

"I'm Willow," I said again. "Good to meet you."

"Willow," he repeated, saying my name as though it was sacred. He was still holding my hand, and for a wild moment I thought he was going to kiss it. But after a moment, he just dropped his hand, letting it fall loosely to his side.

Considering the fact that I'd never gotten married before, I didn't expect the memories. I gasped a little for reasons I still cannot figure out, and Embry tightened his arm around mine reassuringly.

We were at the aisle now, and I felt about twenty pairs of eyes on me. I was only searching for one, however - Seth's. When I found him standing next to the preacher, looking beyond incredible in a simple grey tuxedo, I smiled. He grinned right back.

"And the thing with imprinting is that…some people never find their imprint, but others…well, they do. And…I've found mine." Seth coughed.

I immediately felt a surge of jealously. "You have? Who is she?" I demanded, and realized how petty I sounded. But still.

"Well…" Sam stood up and paced around the room, stealing glances at me every now and then.

The suspense was driving me insane.

"Go ahead and say it," I told him.

"I know, I know, but I'm trying to think up my response." Eventually, Seth took a seat next to me and breathed in a deep breath. He took my hand in his and stared deeply into my eyes as he replied with…

"It's you."

It all happened so fast; one second, Embry was at my side, and the next he was scurrying off as dead silence filled the air. I nearly fell over, needing stability, reassurance, something, but Seth squeezed my hand and calmed my dancing nerves.

I barely even heard the vows the preacher was reciting, I was so wound-up; I just nodded along and said "I do" whenever he prompted. One thing I do remember, however, was when the preacher said this:

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

I was vaguely aware of noise somewhere - cheering, I guess - as Seth smiled at me again and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close, before gently brushing his lips against my own.

THE END