Edit: 16/07/17 - Will be slowly editing old chapters in an attempt to finish this story.

The soft melody of the guitar fought to be heard over the boisterous chorus of male vocals. They harmonised quickly – the product of many other Saturday evenings spent the same way with a combination of good company, beer and fading sunlight. The ocean supplied the backing vocals, the sand their stage and the glow from the bonfire was their spotlight.

Leah was the only one seated on the sand. Her back was supported by Embry's legs as he strummed expertly at the instrument he treasured. As the alcohol consumption increased, bravado often won out over the need for pitch, and she lost herself in thought despite the competing voices and clanking beer bottles filling her ears. It wasn't due to the company. She had grown up with these guys and looked at them much in the same way she did Seth. They were her brothers and while she enjoyed this weekly tradition, it was hard for her to concentrate when someone was still missing.

Jacob. Just the thought of his name pulled a smile to the corners of her lips.

And she hated herself for it.

Their relationship was nothing more than platonic – she was going out with Embry, his best friend, and he was completely infatuated with the whore from Forks. I would be easier for her to maintain that resolve if, when she thought of him, her entire body wouldn't flush with warmth, her heart wouldn't start beating just that little bit faster and she her stomach wouldn't turn at the energy it took to deny the feelings she refused to acknowledge. Especially as she leant against her supportive and caring boyfriend.

It was Embry who forced them to bond. The two people closest to him in the world constantly fighting was causing him visible stress. What neither of them were prepared for was just how deeply they would connect through their mutually jaded outlooks on life. The Black family was touched by tragedy when Jakes mother was taken suddenly in a car accident, the same one that took the use of his father Billy's legs. Jake's childhood was its final victim, forcing him to compensate for what was now missing in his life as a career, nurturer, and able bodied man of the house. Leah understood loss and heartache, burying her father only a year earlier. Unlike Jake she also understood betrayal. Upon arriving home early one afternoon she found Sam, her boyfriend and first love, fucking her cousin on top of her own bed.

They'd both had their innocence ripped away from them and yet they found in each other a bond, born in their melancholy, that they hadn't known just how much they needed. It was one thing to have a supportive ear nod their understanding and offer what they thought was consolation; it was another to have someone understand the depths of your pain and, with just a look, assure you that you weren't wrong for your feelings, that you weren't a burden and that they were there for you if you felt like you made the decision to talk about it this time.

It took time for them to see this in the other, and they would occasionally laugh at how the walls they had built as a defence mechanism initially had them completely misunderstand the other. Leah though Jacob was obnoxiously positive and he had told her he thought she was overwhelmingly cynical. She would say something, he would comment on her pessimism with misguided advice, and she would retaliate until they'd both have to stop themselves from launching into a full-blown argument. When Embry asked them try and get along it was the excuse they needed to see things from the others perspective, and with only a few civil conversations they saw each other for the first time. Things they kept from their families, even their partners, they would talk only to the other about. Every conversation they shared brought them close together which for Leah, who lost her former closest confidant to her ex-boyfriend, restored her faith in the world again.

A regular fixture at these weekend bonfires, Leah sat anxiously awaiting his late arrival. She used him like an upper, knowing he could always make her feel better. She had no problem with that. She knew he did the same.

A familiar melody filled her ears, snapping her out of her thoughts. It was soft and slow, marred for only a second by the groan of a few in the group. Looking up at Embry, he brushed his hand through his hair before smiling lovingly down at her. He skilfully moved it back to the strings in perfect time with the intricate melody. This was their song. Embry had written it as a gift to her on their first date. A date that he worked pretty damn hard to secure. It cost him nothing and it was one of the most precious gifts anyone had ever given her. No comparison to the expensive trinkets Sam had used to assuage his guilt. The song from Embry came from love and nothing more. It was well known among their group and she loved that he had had no reservations in sharing it, despite the protests that often accompanied it.

She leant into him as he played, ignoring the rising chatter from the others in the circle for whom the song meant nothing. He finished on a lingering note as she smiled her thanks, leaning upwards for a kiss. As he bent forward, accommodating her request, the silence filled with the repulsed groans of several in their party, the loudest being from Seth.

"Okay, okay." He silenced the crowd quickly by starting something much livelier.

Leah ran her finger over a small patch of sand. She drew random patterns, giving none of them any real thought. Suddenly she stiffened as a light shiver ran over her skin. She felt as if she was being watched. Worse yet, she knew she was. Turning her head slightly she could see Sam looking at her from the corner of her eye as he took another swig from his third bottle of beer. He never contributed much and yet he insisted on being at every gathering. She knew why. They all did. He still wanted her.

A sickly, uncomfortable feeling washed over her and she stood up quickly, moving to sit on the log next to Embry. He had noticed Sam's stare as the song began and he protectively kissed her forehead as a warning to the older, larger boy. She moved into his kiss, lightly dusting the sand from her legs with her eyes turned only enough to catch Sam look away as he spat on the sand before him and taking another swig.

The guitar stopped abruptly and Leah followed Embry's eyes to find the one person she had been waiting for all evening. Jake made his way towards the group, his familiar and radiant smile, visible even in the dark. Cheers of welcome were followed by applause as he produced even more beer. Placing them in the cooler he patted Embry on the back before taking a seat next to him and ruffling his hand through Leah's hair. She shook her head in fake annoyance, taking a moment to force her smile from taking over her entire face.

Paul, clearly on one beer too many, used a bottle opener to tap at the empty in his hand as he got to his feet and commanded everyone's attention.

"Shh. Shhhhhh. Shhh-udup!" He instructed the already quiet crowd. "Okay, so, I would like to sing a song to my girl Rachie. Rachie baby, this one's for you."

He clicked his fingers towards Embry to play him in but didn't say what song he was about to sing. Continuing to click on a count of four he launched into the chorus of some eighties rock ballad as Rachel tugged at his jacket in a plea for him to sit down. Embry hurried to accompany him on guitar as the other boys supported him with shouted backing vocals.

Paul had a habit of irritating Leah and after the unsettling glare of Sam she was in the mood to pick a fight. Frowning at his moronic display, she opened her mouth to tell the idiot to shut his trap and sit down. Reading her like a book Jake stopped her before she got a chance.

"Heeey, Lee - I've got something I really need to ask you. Mind walking with me?"

Embry shot him a look of thanks. The both of them had witnessed enough Leah vs. Paul battles to know they never ended well. Leah complied, slightly annoyed at the obvious attempt to silence her while grateful for a moment with Jake. They began to walk until the sound of butchered hair metal started to fade.

"Nice save." She said, while nudging him with her elbow.

"I don't know what you mean?" He shrugged back, with that trademark grin she loved.

She laughed and then shuddered at an especially cold gust of wind. Before she could protest, Jake had removed his jacket and had it wrapped it around her. Knowing better than to fight his act of chivalry she accepted it and smiled her appreciation as he shrugged it off again. It was heavy with his scent and she stealthily took a deep breath as she pulled it tighter around herself.

They walked silently for a full minute as Leah waited for him to speak. He could always pick up on her mood, sometimes before she had it figured out. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, a slightly mischievous smiled raised one side of his mouth. Clearing his throat he turned to her with a serious look on his face.

"So that question..." He started.

"Go for it."

"Well, I have this friend..."

"Do I know him?" she asked.

"No."

"Huh, someone you know that I don't? Weird. What's his name?"

"It's possible. And it's...Blake."

"Blake. Of course. Is 'Blake' short for anything?"

"I think its short for...Blacob…actually. A family name he inherited, from the old country."

"Hmm, what country would that be?"

"Ah," he paused for a sometime before settling on his answer, "Sweden. It's Swedish."

"Right, sure."

"Well, now that we've determined that Blake is a living, breathing person with a rich family history, can I ask my question?"

"Go for it."

He stalled again, taking a look back to the group and seeing Paul was still standing but now he was doing some sort of dance routine.

"So, Blake, he was thinking about … getting his hair cut. See, at the moment it's a little shaggy. He's not sure if he should keep it that way or go shorter."

"Number 2 all the way."

"Ah…what? How do you figure that?"

"Well, I have absolutely no idea what he looks like so why not?"

"Fair point. People often describe him as handsome – a 'bronzed god' even."

"And by 'people' I assume you mean, you?" Her eyes grew wide, "Are you in love with him?"

"Okay, I think it's time I make a confession."

"I knew it!"

Jake's straight man act faltered as a small smile crept up at the corners of his mouth.

"Look, I've told you a hundred times, I'm about 80% sure I'm straight but if that number changes, you'll be the first to know."

She burst out laughing.

"The real confession was that Blacob...well...it's me Lee. I know, take a moment to wrap your head around that."

Leah let out an exaggerated gasp.

"This changes everything!" She stopped for a moment and looked him up and down. She loved his shaggy hair. When he laughed he would do a small head flick at the end to keep it from sitting over his eyes. She adored it and would try to make him laugh just to see it.

"Let me tell you Lee, there is no way this head is getting a number two. I've been down that road before and it's not happening again."

"In all honesty I prefer it this length. Not much longer though or you'll need to start wearing guy-liner and skinny jeans."

"Ooh, I'd look good in some red skinny jeans."

Jake laughed, providing an example of the head flick that she loved. She struggled to keep her eyes from revealing just how easy it was to be enthralled by him. It was so easy to feel good about herself with Jake. His positivity was infectious.

They turned back around, confident that Paul was done with his song-and-dance routine. The group of before were getting closer once again and the two friends walked along the beach, bumping one another as they approached. Leah could now make out Embry's smiling face flagging her down. There was a new addition sitting next to him. A figure that stuck out amongst the golden brown bodies around the glow of the bonfire.

Bella Swan had the figure of a twelve year old boy. It still amazed the slender but curvy Leah Clearwater how a grown woman could show almost no sign of puberty. Her skin was pasty, as if untouched by the sun, and her hair was a flat brown. Regardless of all of that, there was not a person on earth of whom Leah was more jealous.

Jake left her the second Bella came into view. Running towards her, she stood up to wrap herself around him. They fell into a kiss that made Leah embarrassed as she dropped her eyes to the ground. She saw Jake pull away as she lifted her head and caught Bella staring directly at her with a smirk on her face. As quickly as it happened it was gone again, leaving Leah questioning herself for a second. Embry's large hands slowly moved over her waist as he pulled her in for a hug. She looked away from the loving pair and placed a light kiss on Embry's cheek.

As she sat back down at Embry's side she tried to ignore the attention-commanding couple that sat opposite her. Bella was positioned on Jake's lap as he held her in place with two strong arms around hers. He was talking into her ear and she was giggling while putting on a show.

He was truly and completely enamoured by her.

But Leah couldn't dwell on it. If she did she would have to ask herself why when she was lucky enough to have Embry in her life. It was an answer she didn't want to hear to a question she refused to acknowledge. Settling further into Embry's arms she wrapped Jake's jacket even tighter around her.