Slashed
A Leah Clearwater Story

Summary: Leah's wolf-form is a burden in many ways. Now her choices cause her to break a hold and a promise to someone that once meant everything. Takes place some time between New Moon & Eclipse.

A/N: Leah is one of the most interesting Twilight characters to me, especially because of her relationship with Sam. I feel terrible for what she has to go through as a member of the wolf pack, so here's a little fic to muster some empathy for her. If you can understand what she's feeling, I've done my job. Read, review, and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I'm no closer to owning the Twilight franchise than I am to speaking Swahili, but at least I have Rpattz locked in my basement, singing "Never Think" to me for the rest of my life.

Kidding, of course.

Onward!


Her reflection was a lie.

Leah Clearwater was barricaded in her bathroom, staring back at the mirror on the medicine cabinet door.

Her shaking hands clenched either side of the bathroom sink. She took deep breaths through her mouth, trying to slow her heart.

But her own dark gaze was boring into her, reflecting back.

Her eyes, her mind, her body, were no longer her own. She shared them with an animal.

"Leah!" Seth whined obnoxiously, pounding on the door. "C'mon."
"What?" She snarled back, not opening it.
"You've been in there almost an hour."
"So?"
"Soooo," he said, drawing out the word but lowering his voice, "I've gotta go."

His pleas were unimpressive.

"Go outside," Leah snapped. "You're a boy."

The door began to tremble. Seth was obviously holding onto the knob.

Leah wrenched open the door, Seth standing on the threshold.

"Cool it," she growled, her own limbs shuddering in response. She exhaled again. "Go find a nice bush somewhere."

Seth glared at her as she shut the door in his face.

Leah went back to the mirror. She wore only shorts and a camisole, and her long, jet black hair hung bone-straight down her back.

Back when she had cared about school, her hair had been her pride. Her girlfriends envied it still; how it skimmed her elbows, and Sam—

Sam.

Her heart did its familiar, jolting kick start, sending a particularly vicious ripple down her spine. A growl rose in her throat but she choked it back. The growl died, but it triggered a memory she could not suppress.

---

Leah dropped her schoolbag on the floor, restocking books from her locker for her next class.

She felt a tap on her left shoulder and turned around. No one was there.

"What—?"

Sam Uley had sidled up next to her locker, grinning at the first bemused, then annoyed expression on her face.

"Sam," she sighed, trying not to laugh.
"Hey," he said nonchalantly, flipping through her Biology textbook.

The late bell rang.

"Thanks. Now I'm late," she chastised him, taking back the book.

He pulled her to him by the waist, catching strands of her hair in his hands.

"Why did you sneak up on me?" she asked, pouting.

Sam kissed her lightly on the lips before answering.
"Two reasons. One, I like to watch you when you're not looking."

She smiled.

"And two…because I knew you would fall for it."

Leah pushed against his chest and stuck out her tongue, but Sam didn't let her go.

Instead, he trickled her hair through his fingers.

"I love your hair," he murmured, brushing her cheek with it.
"Never cut it," he said seriously, meeting her eyes.

The world fell away.

"Never," she replied, somewhat breathlessly.

He kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Promise."

It wasn't a question. It was a command. How could she deny him anything? To her, he was everything.

"I promise," she said, and they walked off to class.

---

The memory had forced Leah onto the toilet seat, her eyes screwed up and her knees drawn to her chest.

I promise.

But promises could be broken. Sam was proof of that, as were the slashes in her heart for him.

I love you, Lee-lee.

The whispered words shot through her like a bolt of lightning. She heaved herself over to the mirror again, this time with a pair of scissors in hand.

This was why she'd been in the bathroom for over an hour, pitting her emotions against her logic.

Long hair just didn't suit a werewolf. It got in the way. Seth had cheerfully shaved his head a week ago, after he'd realized he could transform. Leah had refused.

But now, she had no other choice.

She brushed her hair carefully, smoothing out the tangles and splitting it down the middle.

She picked up the scissors and held half her hair taut.

The blades scraped against each other as they came apart. Leah moved them to the hair across her shoulder, hesitating.

Her hand jerked up several inches, and before she could change her mind, she quickly sawed the hair off right below her ear.

She allowed herself a small gasp, refused to examine the ragged, uneven ends, and then began the other side.

"Leah?"

Sue Clearwater's furtive knock pushed the unlocked door open, tapping against Leah's bent elbow.

Leah stepped back, and Sue surveyed the scene before her.

Long strands of black hair littered the floor and the rim of the porcelain sink. Her daughter was standing in front of the bathtub, her hair slashed off below her ears, the rest of it bunched in her hand, her eyes wide.

"Oh, Leah," Sue whispered, throwing open the door so it ricoched off the wall.

Leah's eyes filled with tears. The limp locks fell from her fist and silently hit the floor. She bit her lip, trying not to cry.

Sue walked over to her daughter, now her equal in height, and folded her into a hugh. She fingered what was left of her hair, and felt Leah begin to sob.

Leah knew she wouldn't transform now—she wasn't angry. She was miserable. Her heart was breaking for her and Sam all over again, and for her father, and her new, wolfish burden. The most terrible thing to ever happen to her—not only did it make her an outcast in her own pack, but subservient to a man she wanted to give nothing to, anymore.

The pair of them fell to the floor, holding each other, tears streaming down their cheeks. They watched each other without a word.

Finally, puffy-eyed and sniffling, Leah handed her mother the scissors so she could even out the cut.

But before she turned to Leah, Sue faced the mirror and slashed off her own shoulder-length hair.