Hellos and Greetings! I needed a break from Duty of Heart and For the Love of Betting. It's basically just an overview of what life in La Push is a year after Breaking Dawn and showing relationships and mainly how Leah has grown as a person through the eyes of sexy 'Fuck me' Jacob Black. (;
Go get some yummy Jacob Black's POV, people!
I also have links on my page for this. Like, Leah's dress, Anthony, Quil, Leah, and Sue's cars (They'll be used in others stories). So you might wanna check that out when they show up in this story.
I don't own Twilight. I hate to remind myself that. -_-
Of all the things I still remember
The years go by and the time just seems to fly by but the memories remain
Nothing to lose but everything to gainReflecting now on how things could've been, it was worth it in the end.
~Chris Daughtry
I turned over in my somewhat small, uncomfortable bed and knocked my shrilling alarm clock off it's place on my nightstand. Wondrously, it shut up. I threw my legs over the side of my bed and with a sigh, heaved myself off the mattress. As I walked over to my dresser, I stole a glance at the newly bought and fresh tuxedo hanging from my closet door.
As I looked at it, my mind reeled with the day's events ahead. I dreaded putting it on. Ever since we became wolves, we try to wear as little clothes as possible. (e.g. no shirts or shoes half the time) It's just not as comfortable. And not only that, we have to all congregate in a small, did I mention hot, church. 16 wolves in a place like that causes more heat cause of our escalating temperature of a burning 108.6. Occasion? Sam was finally getting hitched. Yeah, 2 years later. But better late than never. Amazingly, I became one of his groomsmen. Don't ask me why, we never got along since the split of the packs. Frankly, we never really got along at first anyway. But when asked, I smiled and accepted the "honor". Emily most likely asked him to. I trudged to my small bathroom, stripped, and stepped into the shower.
As the warm water washed over my bronze skin, my mind began to drift. The first person I thought of was Leah. Leah and I have been best friends for a little over a year now. She kept my head on straight…and tried to knock it off on several occasions. Still my Beta, she was my biggest confident, the first person I thought of and ran to when I needed something. Likewise, with her. We laugh, we hang out together, hell, we became each other's pillow when we accidentally fell asleep in wolf form after a long, tiring patrol, and we developed a beautiful companionship. I've noticed how she's matured incredibly over the past years. Funnily, she was dating again. We all kind of picked on her and had fun with that fact. She really likes this guy named Anthony. He's a pale-face from Seattle. They've gone out quite a few times, I've met him also. He seems like a pretty cool guy, but don't they all. She kept true to her word and started college courses online and goes to yoga three times a week, which has helped. She's not as rash and abrasive but you can never take the fire out of Leah Clearwater. She still won't hesitate to chew you out or put you in your place.
And honestly, that's the thing I love most about her. She speaks her mind and with that, wears her heart on her sleeve. The most passionate women I have ever met on this planet whether anger or love was her. And because of that, she's been burned and scorned countless times because honestly, people take advantage of kind-hearted people. The last time I saw her was last night. We had met after patrol in our usual pack spot. Sitting back on my haunches, I had very cautiously (for the sake of my family jewels) asked her if she was sure of going tomorrow.
"What choice do I have? I'm the maid of honor." Leah replied, laying down on her belly next to me.
"You don't own them a damn thing." I said slightly irritated.
She shook her wolf-sized head, "I told them I would and I am. I don't go back on my word." And with that, she curled her feminine, grey-covered body into my oversized russet-colored one.
Loyal, honest, damn, I sound like I'm describing a dog. Leah was all those things and more, and truthfully, I was very lucky to have her in my life. I stepped out of the shower, almost slipping on the tile floor. Heh, forgot to put the rugs back from yesterday's cleaning. Great job, Jake. Thankfully, my wolf instincts saved my ass from being hurt really bad as I grabbed onto the edge of the counter. After recovering, I grabbed the towel from the rack and began to dry my short-cropped hair. I must have been in the shower for a while as the mirror was fogged up. I was using the towel to clean the mirror when my phone vibrated on the counter, signaling a new text message. I picked it up and read the screen, Quil. I was surprised it wasn't Leah. She texted me almost every morning. She must have too much on her mind.
Hey, you almost ready to head down to the church?
Embry, Quil, and I were heading down there together. It just made things easier. I replied saying "Almost. Give me 10." and knowing that Quil is not the type of person to be late, I ran into my room and threw on the tux. As I realized, I was having trouble with the tie, I just left it around my neck, knowing that one of the guys would help me later. I ran back into the bathroom spraying on a decent amount of cologne and grabbing my house keys, phone, and wallet, I was out the door. Dad was already there, Sue had picked him up earlier on the way. Quil's new Infiniti came around the corner with Embry in the passenger seat. As opposed to contrary belief, Quil was actually a hard worker and had paid off the car completely. I opened the back door and laid my black suit jacket on the other seat on top of Embry and Quil's before I sat down behind Embry.
"'Sup man?" Quil said as he pulled off of the curb.
"Nothing much, you guys?" I relaxed into the seat knowing that the church was almost on the other side of the reservation.
"Going to a wedding." Embry joked. I could hear the smirk in his voice. I chuckled, "Really?" as I reached over to smack the back of his head. He heard me move and turned around to smack my face.
"Dude!" I exclaimed. We started to play fight until Quil intervened, "Hey! If you guys make me crash my baby, I'm going to kill both of you."
"Yeah, Jake. Calm down, dude. Jeez." Embry smiled and settled back into his seat.
Embry was such an awesome person and I loved him to death. Being the most rational and realistic of us three, Quil and I relied on him a lot. Without him, we probably would of ended up in a ditch somewhere or still in 10th grade (Yeah, we copied his homework. Fucker was smart as shit and a teacher's pet.) I used to feel bad for him. Just him and his mother ever since he was born because his asshole of a father left them. Six months ago, he told me and Quil he wanted to go to Carlisle and get a DNA test. Angel, his mother, won't tell him and he had to know. She was exactly like her name, an angel. Always sweet, always hard-working, and I never thought it possible, but when Embry confessed to her about everything, they actually became closer than ever before. But when it came to Embry's paternity, she turned into the devil real quick.
She and Embry have had countless fights about that, some where she even kicked him out of the house. Embry understanding the reason why Quil and I in particular would be weary, wouldn't have it done unless we wanted to. We wholeheartedly agree, Sam also. The weeks it took for the test to come back were the most agonizing. What if, what if not? Honestly, it wouldn't change Embry and I's relationship, it'd just mean we're blood related, we already act like brothers; same with Quil. The problem was knowing that one of our fathers cheated on our mother while they were pregnant which is hard to bear. I don't know who would have had it worse; me or Quil. Quil's father died when he was ten, would it be harder for him to know his father is gone and he committed such an act or for me to have to look at my father's face everyday and know what he did to my passed-away, angelic mother?
When the tests came back, it felt like Carlisle was going to say we had terminal cancer of something, that intense; not even reality TV couldn't copy it. And who was holding my large, calloused hand in her petite, smooth ones? Leah. And when we found out it was Sam, she smiled at me a sweet smile and then called me a "huge pussy" for being scared. I rolled my eyes at the memory. Sam took it much better than I thought it would. He walked straight over to Embry and grabbed him into a brotherly hug. It almost made me, a 7 foot, almost 300 pound guy want to cry. That's how sweet it was. Over the span of time that's passed, Embry and Sam have gotten closer. And to this day, it shows for Embry is Sam's best man.
We passed the Clearwater house on the way to the church. As we passed, I turned my head to see if there were cars in the driveway. Nope, Sue's Ford Explorer and Leah's Mustang were gone. For the rest of the ride, we just listened to the radio in comfortable silence. At arriving at the small church, we could see cars parked everywhere. In the parking lot, in the grass, some down the street. We knew Emily always wanted a big wedding but this was huge. People, some from Makah, some from La Push, and some pale-faces were dressed up in fine attire and either conversing and gathering outside or making their way inside the venue. Driving through the parking lot, we found Sue's SUV along with everyone else's cars but not Leah's. Driving around to the back…of course. Leah parked her 'Stang 50,000 feet away from everyone else's. She loved that car like a newborn child. It was Harry's in high school; a 1969 Black Mustang Mach 1. I tuned up the engine for her when she first got it at the age of seventeen and let me tell you, that engine could blow your ear drums, and that's just the way she liked it.
"Dude, park by Leah." I joked with Quil.
"You want me to not be able to have children, don't you?" Quil said back to me.
I chuckled, "It's fine, Q. She probably won't even notice."
He sucked in his breath. "Okay. It's your balls vs. her foot." He turned the car into the space and turned off the engine. We grabbed our stuff and headed to the church. It was starting to get hot, well to us, anyway. It was almost the middle of the day and the sun was at it's highest peak; not good for overgrown, temperate (figuratively and literally) wolves. Eventually we made our way to the guys' dressing room and as soon as we knocked, Sam opened the door and pulled all three of us into the room.
"I'm freaking out!" He said as he started to pace across the room. "What if she doesn't want to marry me anymore? What if she gets cold feet and doesn't want to be with me anymore?" I've never seen Sam so…nervous, out of control; it was a pretty weird sight. He already had on his suit minus his shoes but his shirt was half way open and his tie wasn't fixed. He continued his excessive rambling while Embry, with a bored face, walked over to him, stopped his movements, and slapped him across the face. Thank you.
"Get it together, man! If she didn't want you, she would of left already!" Embry reasoned. After Sam recovered, he smiled gratefully. "Thanks."
"It's my job," Embry replied as he patted Sam's back. "Now go finish getting ready."
Jared and Paul were also Sam's best men and they sat down on the sofa. The pups were also in the room but they were too busy playing with their games to notice Sam's breakdown or our entrance. They looked adorable in their black suits and ties; some too big. Although, some took theirs off. I shook my head and smiled as I walked over to the 'little ones' as we called them and spotted Isaac leaning over to watch Mason, an older pup, play on his PSP, cheering him on. I grabbed him and tickled him in his baby-like stomach as he cried and laughed.
"Jake!" He cried when he saw my face and he hugged my neck in a vice grip. I chuckled as he didn't let go. He could never get enough of me. Ever since he met me, he had instantly become my favorite, as I with him. He was like the little brother I never had, instead I got double trouble in the form of Rachel and Rebecca. Yeah, God made a good call on that one. He was the second youngest at the age of 8. The youngest being Gabe who was 6. The Volturi confrontation had started a whole chain reaction of phasing. The ages of shape shifters gradually becoming younger and younger. It was hard for them and their families, we had to sit them down and tell them everything. Luckily, all of their parents accepted the fact and helped in the best way they could. Because they're so young, their phasing is so out of control. We can't send them to school so either their parents home school or Rachel, since she became a teacher, teaches them.
All of them started to turn to me, saying various "Hey Jake!"'s. I looked down as I felt a tug on my pants and saw little Gabe with his big, green eyes ask, "Jacob, where's Lee-ah?" That's when all of them started to get excited, "Where's Lee?" "Is she here?" "Did you see her?". No one knew if it was because of wolf instincts or because they generally liked her (Don't see why…don't tell Leah I said that.) but ever since they met her, the pups all fell in love with Leah. In wolf and human form, they would all pile on top of her or bite her tail or ears, things like that which were really cute to watch. The really cute thing was that she never pushed them off or told them to leave her alone, she loved them.
Although, when they asked, she told them she had no favorite, green-eyed Gabe was her beloved. When he got too tired of trying to keep up on patrol, she would pick him up by the scruff of his neck and carry him for the rest of the trail. When his fur got dirty, she would clean it by licking till it was the original color of very dark brown; almost black. At pack meetings, the pups usually fell asleep and he was always the first to drift off and where did he sleep? Right in Leah's arms or lap. When we took naps between patrol, she would curl her body around Gabe's as to protect him from harm. He was a very awkward pup; tripping over his overgrown paws a lot and every time, Leah was there to push him back up. You would think she imprinted on him, I voiced that to her and almost lost my life. Gabe's mother was never around, she always had to work because his father had leukemia and couldn't work because of the chemo. Because of his mother, it's probably why Gabe is so attached to Leah. He sees her as a mother. Quite frankly, they all do.
I put Isaac back down and said, "You guys will see her later." as I made my way the door. The little munchkins had reminded me to go find her. Gabe followed me and grabbed my finger, "Promise?"
I smiled and ruffled his raven-colored hair. "Of course."
He seemed very satisfied with my answer as he went bouncing back to the others with a huge smile on his dimpled face. I slipped out of the room and found the girls' dressing room. As I knocked on the door, I could hear Sue's voice.
"Sam! I told you, you can't see her bef-" Her voice got louder until she opened the door a crack. When she saw me, she swung open the door and grabbed me into a hug. "Oh! It's you, Jacob! You father's looking for you, you know. Come on in!" I smiled at her and walked into the room. Girls were everywhere. Emily was seated down at a vanity. I almost couldn't see her petite form behind all the women around her. Rachel was fixing her makeup while Kim styled her hair and Emily's mother, Jacqueline, was talking to Emily, looking on the verge of tears. Rebecca sat on the window seat with a little 9 year old Claire in her lap. She and Kaleb, her husband, had come from Hawaii for the wedding. The only reason she came was for Leah. Rebecca has never liked Emily for what she did to Leah. Of course, she doesn't know about imprinting. I don't think that would make her change her mind anyway. Rebecca was a pea in one hell of a pod with Leah, both being tomboys instead of girls like Emily and Rachel who weren't as heavy duty.
Rebecca had a look of indifference as she watched Emily being doted over. Claire screamed "Uncle Jakey!" She climbed out of Rebecca's lap, ran over to me in her pink, sparkly flower dress and hugged my muscular legs. I got down to her level and said "Claire-bear! You look like a princess, sweetie!" She lit up at that and said "You should see Aunty Lewah!" And after kissing me on the cheek, she bounded back over to Rebecca.
"What if he's not nervous like I am? I mean, you're supposed to be nervous, it means you're excited! What if he changes his mind?" I heard Emily cry from the vanity. Hmm, this seems strangely familiar. Too bad, Embry wasn't here. Well, I don't think he would of slapped Emily out of it anyway. "Trust me, he's a wreck. You look beautiful." I decided to say.
Emily turned to me and even with the scars, she did look beautiful. She smiled a grateful smile just like Sam had. "Thank you, Jacob."
"I've come to steal your maid of honor." I joked.
"Leah? Oh, she left a while ago. She said she something about getting some fresh air." As Emily said that, I saw Kim roll her eyes. She always had to be the bitch to Leah, Rachel did also, which put a huge cavern in our relationship. They thought that Leah wasn't good enough to be an imprint and that's why she became a wolf. Fucked up, right? "Thanks, Em." and with that I knew just where to go. The beach wasn't far from the venue; just a walk through the forest. As I emerged through the bushes, I find her just like I knew I would; staring at the ocean with her eyes closed and her bob cut length, styled hair blowing in the wind. From behind, she looked gorgeous, so I knew she did in the front. Her pink, strapless dress hugged all of her curves in the right places and Leah had a lot of them. I remember Leah bitching and complaining about the dress; detesting the color, but I can't deny that it was a very nice color on her. The softness of the light pink brought out her bronze skin. Her bare feet were buried into the sound and I saw her silver heels in her hand. I quietly stepped out of the underbrush and made my way to her. I grabbed and hugged her by her waist. She didn't even move or open her eyes.
Disappointed, I asked, "Why weren't you surprised?" I was so excited for her reaction. Leah doesn't get scared or surprised often but when she does, it's the funniest, overdramatic reaction I've ever seen, she totally freaks out.
"You're not as quiet as you think, Black." She finally opened her eyes and looked over her left shoulder at me with a small smile adorning her full lips.
"What are you doing out here?" I questioned even though I knew the answer. "Thinking" she replied. "And don't ask 'about what' 'cause honestly, you can't afford my thoughts." She smirked as she turned around in my arms to face me. Holy shit, she looked heavenly. The makeup she wore was natural and only enhanced her features but that's all she'll ever need. Her chocolate brown eyes were shining and her eyelashes were super long, her hair was slightly curled and her lips only had clear lip gloss. She had on simple diamond earrings and a necklace. And truthfully, the bodice of the dress drew attention to her chest and her breasts looked perfect. She still kept her hair short, which I liked. She said she didn't want to grow it all out to what it used to be 'cause then as a wolf, she'll look like someone stuck a thousand balloons and rubbed to where all her fur stood out.
"Oooohhh, shit! She got me. Using my poverty as a joke." I held my heart in fake pain.
"You're not poor, Jake." She laughed.
"Yes, I am. Why do you think I hang out at your house all the time? Cause you actually have food!" I pouted.
"What? All this time, I thought you just liked watching my body." She played.
"Damn, you just keep catching me today." I shook my head in amusement. "On a serious note, how are you?" She knew what I meant.
She thought about it, then looking in my eyes, she smiled. "I'm great, Jake."
"I'm proud of you, Leah." I meant it, too.
"Don't be proud yet. The ceremony didn't even start yet. I still have time to freak out." This was true. "Ahh, but I know you won't." I assured her.
"Come on," she grabbed my hand. "Let's get back before the pack thinks I finally threw your ass over the cliff or Anthony thinks I got kidnapped."
"Finally? And You brought Anthony?" I let her drag me threw the bushes. Damn, she, at only 180 pounds could carry my 300 pound fat ass?
"Yes, finally. I've been trying to forever. And he is my boyfriend." I could hear the excitement in her voice as she said 'boyfriend'.
"Hey, I heard the giddiness in that. Someone's excited about a boyfriend." I teased in a sing-song voice. "I'm excited for you. Now you can finally get some and stop being a bitch." She let go of my hand causing me to fall back. Luckily, I caught myself before falling. "Never mind."
She laughed and waved me to follow.
We made it back just in time for the ceremony. The Cullens had just arrived. Our alliance has grown and even turned into a friendship over the past years. Even Leah is starting to feel comfortable around them. She loves Esme 'cause honestly who can hate Esme? And her cooking is 'fucking indescribably great' as Leah puts it and she usually says that while her mouth is full with it. She can't hate Carlisle either. It just annoys her when he always seem prepared to stick a needle in her and take samples of her blood tissue or something like that. She and Emmett butted heads but she does admit he's hilarious which is true. Jasper and Alice were friendly but not as talkative to her as the others.
Leah and Rosalie were inseparable, though. Every day, they talked and did this or that. I know I never saw it coming. Yeah, who thought the Bitch of La Push and the Bitch of Cullen Manor would become friends? And now they tag team; Leah's been sneaking her dog jokes to use on me, I know she has. Backstabbing hoe but sadly, I love her. And who did Leah avoid like the plague? Bella and Edward. Now there's a couple Cullens, Leah wouldn't mind ripping apart if it came to that. She can't be hateful to Nessie, not even Leah's that mean but she was afraid of her, no matter how many times she denies it. Leah and I greeted and chatted with them on the way in. I grabbed Nessie and swung her around in her white dress while her bronze ringlets fell around her face and she laughed the most angelic giggle I'd ever heard.
Before I got too carried away in Imprint land, Leah tapped my shoulder telling me to head this way for the bridal party entrance. Before we left, Rosalie hugged Leah and whispered in her ear but I couldn't hear. Leah and Embry were already together while I took my place beside Emily's sister from Makah. She was pretty cute, her name was Elizabeth and she was three years younger than Em. I tried to focus as the a melody started to play and Embry and Leah stepped out onto the aisle.
As Leah and Embry walked down the aisle, I could see Sam watching her and his gaze almost broke my heart. She gazed right back at him and they were looking at eachother like they would never see eachother again. Through all the drama and all the broken hearts between them, I knew, hell, everyone knew they still loved eachother. No imprint could hold up against true love and that's what Sam and Leah had. True love, tortured love, failed love. The kind of love where you watch and admire from afar and that's all they could do.
I wanted to rip off my suit right off my body after the ceremony. That's for sure. And I wasn't the only one. Paul, next to me, was very uncomfortable and was loosening his tie almost every five minutes. I still kept a close eye on Leah, watching her expression and body language searching for any signs of an emotional breakdown. With every vow, every loving touch, and every longing gaze, she stood her ground with her head held high and with the final kiss, she clapped and smiled with everyone else. On the way back down the aisle, instead of walking back with Elizabeth, I grabbed Leah and slung my arm over her strong shoulder. She grabbed my hand and smiled a million watt smile. I returned it and whispered, "You did it, chick. Now let's go slammed!"
Let's just say, the whole rest of the wedding was a fucking blur. After dinner and all the boring traditional stuff no one cares about, Leah went crazy. She danced with every single person including Sam and was all over the place. Seth might be happy all the time but when Leah got like this, she was a fucking firework. Anthony could barely keep up with her and when she and him disappeared for a couple hours and Leah came back in an even happier mood, we all know what happened there.
hat bartender needs to cut off Leah before she starts kissing random people 'cause girl was drunk as hell. Well, Sam and Emily's fault for having an open bar with the ex-girlfriend/ex-best friend here. We all danced and had a really awesome time. Even the Cullens danced, who knew they were actually pretty good. The party didn't stop until early in the morning when I actually got the courage to come within 20 feet of the craziness that is Leah Clearwater.
Anthony had gone home earlier, he had to get up early for work in the morning so I walked Leah to her car, she was normal now again. Thank God, normal Leah Clearwater is bad enough. As she was still laughing and reeling over the night's events, I asked incredulously, "Leah, how many drinks did you have?" I couldn't help but chuckling. She paused from trying to find her car keys in her clutch, turned to me, and said "What? I was too busy having fun to even get to the bar." So…that wasn't 'drunk as hell' Leah in that building. That was just 'Fuck the world, I'm going to have fun!' Leah. Both of our eyes widened at the realization and we bust out laughing till we cried and dozed off on the side of her car.
I woke up with a start and a scream; quite girly, I might add, while Leah laughed her ass off revving the engine of 'Stang in my ear. I jumped into the passenger seat and we tore off through the parking lot, as the morning sun creped up behind the clouds. Yep, just like normal.
Thanks for reading! Please review! And check out my other stories, For the Love of Betting and Duty of Heart. Love and kisses. (:
You just gotta love Twilight.
~GottaLuvTwilight15
