AN: I wrote this because Jacob's sisters totally need to start existing. (Rachel was away at college at Washington State, right? So why the hell didn't she come home for the summer during Eclipse? I think Stephenie forgot about her.) I wanted to do a Leah piece that wasn't a cliché 'Leah imprints with Jacob or Mike Newton' fic, so I combined the two and… here it is!
Printing in Pink
The day Rachel Black came home from college was both the best and worst day of Leah Clearwater's life. She was on duty, running through the woods when Jacob popped into her head.
"Rach is back," he said. "Thought you might want to know."
"I'll be there in a bit," she responded. She had been pretty good friends with the twins, especially when they were little—since their fathers were always hanging out together, they'd go off together to play while their dads were fishing or watching sports.
She padded softly through the damp leaves on the floor of the woods, making her way towards the Black house. When she was on the edge of the forest, she phased back into her human form and pulled on the simple navy sundress she'd had strapped to her leg. She hadn't liked wearing dresses since she was about six, but unless she wanted to either go topless or have to carry around an extra piece of clothing, she was stuck with them. Sometimes, being the only female wolf really sucked.
Leah ran her long fingers through her once waist-long hair, now just below her chin, trying to tame what the wilderness had done to it. When she was satisfied, she stepped out into Billy's backyard. She made her way around to the front and knocked on the door. Jacob opened it, letting her in. The moment she stepped in the door, she heard a squeal and saw a pink blur rush at her before two tiny arms squeezed around her middle.
"Leah!" Rachel exclaimed. "I've missed you so much, and oh my god, you've gotten so tall! And you cut your hair!"
"Hey, Rach, I missed you too." Leah smiled—a real smile, something that was becoming increasingly rare for her these days. "You have to tell me all about college, I want to know ev—" Her voice cut off in a strangled way when the petite girl looked up at her. Their eyes met and something clicked inside Leah's head. Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no. "…everything," she finished weakly.
They sat on the couch, Rachel blabbering about how school was and her roommate and the fun she'd had being on the swim team. Leah was both not paying attention at all and absorbing every word she said at the same time. Her thoughts drifted from the way her pink t-shirt looked against her soft skin to the way her jean shorts curved around her thighs—and other places—to how pretty her thick brown-black hair was, pulled up into a high ponytail above her adorable face. But through it all, her mind was also buzzing with confusion. How could this happen? Dammit. This wasn't supposed to happen, no, not at all. If the boys imprinted on girls, why wouldn't a girl imprint on a boy? She almost felt dizzy. Maybe it's not a gender thing. Maybe wolves only imprint on girls, and just because I'm some freak exception to the "sons of Taha Aki" rule doesn't change that. She was beginning to feel nauseous. She never wanted to leave Rachel's side, but she also felt that she couldn't get out of there fast enough. She mumbled some excuse, having to help her mom with whatever, and let herself out. She barely noticed the strange, 'what-the-hell-is-going-on?' looks Jacob was giving her.
She ran into the woods, falling down into the wet leaves, shaking. This was never supposed to happen, her thoughts screamed.
"Dammit," she whispered. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" She threw a punch at the closest tree, a deep boom reverberating through the woods as she did so. She tried to calm herself, steady her breathing, keep herself from shaking. Don't phase now. You can't phase now. Paul and Jared are on patrol, they'll know and you can't have that right now. She gripped the tree, crushing the wood beneath her hands into splinters. This had to be karma, it just had to be. She'd tortured the rest of them for their imprints, and now nature was giving them the ammunition to throw it back at her. They'll find out, and then they'll never let you live this down. You'll be the butt of their jokes for the next decade. She looked down at the hem of her dress, scowling. Sometimes, being the only female wolf really sucked.