Chapter 1. Calm

Leah let out a soft sigh as I shifted her weight slightly. Carefully, I eased my self sideways towards the edge of the couch, moving Leah's sleeping form with a practised ease. I knew I didn't need to be so careful. Leah slept deeply, so much so that I could probably have dumped straight her onto the floor and she wouldn't have noticed. Still, it seemed rude to treat my girlfriend of almost three years like that. I continued with my delicate operation.

Once I was free of her, I stood up and stretched. I felt slightly achy. Probably just the hours I'd just spent lying on the couch with Leah, watching movies until she'd fallen asleep. I was pretty tired too. A quick glance at the clock told me that it was a little after one in the morning. I was grateful that Sue and Harry, Leah's parents trusted me enough that they didn't come chasing after me when Leah didn't come home overnight. It was one of the few advantages in growing up on the reservation, and having known Leah since childhood.

I staggered to the kitchen to get myself a drink of water. The evening seemed to be strangely warm, and the sensation of the cool liquid in my mouth was a relief. I drank down the first mug and then a second before going to look for something to eat. It wasn't hard to find. In fact, there had been a cupboard dedicated to snack foods ever since I'd turned twelve and started developing the typical teenage boy appetite. Of course, I wasn't in that phase of teenage life, but nevertheless I'd never quite gotten over the insatiable need to eat. In fact, I could have sworn that it had been worse than ever lately.

I heard a muffled grunt from the living room, and I headed back, bag of crisps in hand. Leah opened her eyes and looked up at me bleerily. "Didn't you think to get me one as well?" she said with a sleepy grin.

I chuckled softly. "I thought it might have gotten messy if you'd tried to eat while you were sleeping. Hold on." I turned tail and headed back into the kitchen. As I rummaged through the bag, trying to find Leah's favourite flavour, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the dark windows. I blinked. I seemed to be taller somehow. Looking back to the window properly now, I frowned at the image of myself. No. I was imagining it. I grabbed the bag I'd been hunting for and went back to Leah. She grinned and tucked in almost as greedily as I did.

There was a moment of silent eating and then Leah looked up at me. "Sucks you'll be going away to college in a month. No more bringing me my favourite crisps in the middle of the night."

I grinned. "Well, I could, but it'd be a bit of a trek."

Leah curled closer to me on the couch. "I guess I'd better make the most of this now then. No more going home for me."

I smirked. "Yeah, Harry and Sue might not mind you spending a few nights a week here, but I somehow suspect that they might have a problem with us moving in together."

"We're not moving in together." Leah's eyes sparkled with amusement. "I'm just moving to this house. I like it better than mine. It's just co-incidence that you happen to live here too."

"And what if I lived in the Black's house. Would you like this place more still?" I asked, curling the empty crisp packet up in my hand and lobbing it at the waste paper basket.

Leah was idly rolling her crisp packet up into a tube. "Oh, I think I might have developed a liking for their place instead." She tied the tube into a knot and set the packet on the coffee table.

I laughed. "You're terrible, Leah Clearwater."

"As are you, Sam Uley." She prodded me playfully as she spoke, and I swiped her hand away, using the same movement to curl my arm around her and pull her close to me again.

"Ah, but you love me anyway" I said, planting a kiss firmly on her lips. She kissed me back for a moment, before breaking away to whisper, "I do."

Her lips met mine once again, and all I could think about was how I never wanted this to change. Never. Even though I was going away to college, I was coming back for her. For my Lee-lee. I couldn't imagine any other life. It didn't matter that we were only eighteen. It was going to be Leah and Sam. Forever.