A/N: Okay, do not expect too much angst and drama, 'cause you're not gonna get it.

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Angel's wings and pastel shades

A brief recap on 2004:
Me, Leah Clearwater, aged eighteen. My
-father died
-boyfriend dumped me for my bubbly cousin
-life fell apart

The neon sign reading Marlette's Bar was standing out in the gloom of the night as I parked my car and stepped into the torrential rain. Despite the distinct cold and the more than abundant downfall of rain, my feet were dragging as I walked into the warm interior of the bar.

The wave of vaguely familiar faces would probably have incapacitated me more had I not been so prepared. As things stood, I waved regally, and they settled down. I'm fine, I'm fine. Truth was, they'd been so very ready to watch my breakdown that they hadn't even thought about the possibility of my smiling and pretending it was all okay.

Rebecca was waiting at a table, her eyes fixed on mine, gently guiding me through the crowd. Come on, Lee, I could all but hear her say. Becky, who almost certainly would say stuff like he was no good for you anyway, he was a pretentious son of a bitch, yet somehow manage to make it seem less annoying than it would have on someone else's lips.

I remembered the savage simmer of hatred, like a volcano waiting to erupt, the poison in my veins I'd felt distinctly when Sam told me. It was like there was someone else inside me, someone who would claw both Sam's and Emily's eyes out and leave them for dead cheerfully.

I smiled.

A brief recap on 2005:
 -Bella Swan came into town
-people began avoiding me
-I realized I'd never kissed a boy other than Sam
-I hated the world

I recognized the look on Eric's face as he asked for a word outside. It was the Leah, You're Pissing Customers Off look, the Leah, You're Fired look. And I'll be damned if I didn't feel a bit disappointed.

Ever since the Great Escape, which had involved me running off to Seattle, of all places, I'd been, pretty much, a royal bitch. I'd made people hate me and gone a bit blunt when it came to pain (both causing it and having it). But I had to have a way to take all that energy away, since I couldn't just sit around and let all that anger rot everything I'd had.

So I'd taken up a waitressing job at a local bar. It spared me the grief of my mother's daily lectures via the phone. And for what it's worth, I'd really given it the best I had.

And once again, it wasn't good enough.

I racked my brains, trying to figure out how I'd pissed Eric off. I'd made a real effort to be polite, if not pleasant, and Eric himself encouraged standing up for myself when the patrons were 'too forward', to put it in his terms. Eric was probably the only exceptional man in the entire planet, being both funny and nice. All other men were, basically, scum.

"What is it?" I asked, sounding hostile. Well, if I hadn't gone with hostile, I'd probably end up defensive anyway, which was worse.

"Visitor for you." He said, his green eyes critical. For all the three months I'd worked for him, never did I hint that I had any living friends or kindred, and he hadn't asked. Then, abruptly, "I don't get what the deal is with you, Leah. You don't look like someone who should put up with this shit. But," he looked defeated, "I guess it's none of my business anyway."

I was touched. Truly, I was. "Thanks, Eric." I said, not trying too hard to explain, though he deserved an explanation. "You're a great guy."

He nodded, his mouth a thin line. He gestured at the back door, meaning my 'visitor'. I sidled off, not feeling too happy.

I became unhappier still when I saw who it was. Though 'd seen him for approximately five times, he was unmistakable. You just don't make them like that in Seattle.

"Hey, Leah."

He was leaning against the wall, all six to six and a half feet of him. He'd cropped his hair, and the new haircut had taken something from the hint of boyishness from his face, making it look more serious. He had, I noticed, grown sexier.

"Hello, Jake." I arched my eyebrows to indicate that I was listening.

"So, Seattle, huh?" he said, not looking at all awkward. For such a big guy, he had a strange grace. "Seems kinda clichéd, after the Rez."

I shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not." I stared at the hood of his car, like it just might give me a way to frame the question in a comparatively inoffensive way. "Um, so, what're you doing here?"

A bright grin; here was a guy who wouldn't ever have a Friday night free. He reminded me of his sister, actually. Same energetic personality, same magnetism, same mischief. "Everyone misses you, Leah. I'm the one your mum picked to pass the message."

Come to think of that, "How's , you know, Seth? And Mum?"

"Seth's fine. Got himself hitched." He all but glowed with joy. Christ, I've never seen anyone so cheery. Jake, I was beginning to see, had some serious growing up to do if he were to go through life unscathed. "And Sue's fine, too."

I smiled. It was hard not to, in his presence. "Well, I'm glad to hear that."

There was another silence.

"Come home, Leah." He said, suddenly. "No one quite got over losing you. It's hell, living back there. Seth's messed up, I'm sorry, I tried, but he really is on the brink of disaster. And your mum hardly notices, she's so torn up about you. And Becky," his eyes, already burning, grew soft with hurt. "Becky's not the same since Daniel broke up with her."

"He WHAT?" I screeched. He looked guilty.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you that. But he backed off a couple of weeks after he'd proposed." He seemed older all of a sudden, like he was someone else, someone who had more responsibility than he could bear. And tired, so very, very tired. "She cried for days. But they told me not to tell you any of those things."

"Why?" I whispered.

"'Cause they didn't want you to come just for them." he replied. "Maybe they thought it was wrong. But, Leah, I think that's bullshit." I was taken aback. Normally, it was me delivering the blunt truths. "I think it's high time you came back. Please."

I inhaled the warm summer air. I'll miss this, I thought. The heat, the people. Eric.

But I was kidding myself if I thought I belonged anywhere but in La Push. La Push, where there was a haven for any troubled soul. It would always be my picture of a perfect place.

"Okay," I said.

A/N: Originally meant to be a one-shot, but it proved to be too damn long. Apologies if I have mangled the characters and timelines beyond recognition.

Reviews would be lovely.