AN: Another idea from my head for a story. I don't own twilight, obviously.
School was in and Sam Uley was waiting outside on a bench with some friends for his fianèe Leah Clearwater to come out. The Tribal High School shared a campus with Forks High School, but the student bodies didn't mix. Rez kids stayed to their side of the campus and the white kids stuck to their side. But given Sam's size these days, the white kids were noticing his conspicuous presence. Sixteen year old Jared Cameron sat at his side; a quivering bundle of energy even after two weeks away from the general population to cool off.
In September, Sam had phased for the first time at eighteen years old. He had been out of his mind with fear and panic. It had taken a long time for Harry Clearwater and Billy Black and Quil Ateara Sr to calm him down and get him back into his human form. He had never been very trusting of authorities. His mother, Allison Uley didn't like the tribe's elders. She wasn't a bad person, but her track record wasn't without its fair share of blemishes. And neither was Sam's. He was mostly a good kid growing up. Occasionally joining in on a night of underage drinking at a house party. He'd gone through his smoking phase with Leah. And facing his fiancèe's father, the man whose daughter he was sleeping with hadn't been an easy prospect. Sam and Harry had never been close. But now they shared a secret that Leah didn't know.
Leah had forced a search, posted missing posters everywhere when Sam had gone missing. She hadn't reacted well when he returned. As far as she could see, there was nothing wrong with him. He'd grown bigger, more muscular, gotten a tattoo and a short hair cut. He was more tense and kept up his guard at all times. He wasn't the boy she had fallen in love with. But she was willing to work through it with him.
Things were still tense between them. She wouldn't share her bed with him as long as she sensed he had his guard up. As long as she sensed that he was keeping secrets from her. She was a smart girl. She knew when she was being lied to. With everything that was left unsaid, they still loved each other. It was hard to leave her at school knowing the Cullens were attending the school just across campus from her. It was a shame that when the treaty was made the schools hadn't been built yet. Why couldn't the Tribal school have been built in La Push? Because most of the rez didn't actually believe the old stories.
As though on cue, Jared had phased only weeks ago. Old Quil had said there were more coming. Paul Lahote looked close to phasing and Embry Call had been growing at a decidedly different rate from his friends. They knew Jacob Black would probably phase, he was next in line to be the Alpha. They had thought he would be second to phase after Sam had phased. But he was still as sunny as ever. Happy little punk didn't even look close to be phasing. Somehow, with Jared phasing, Sam found himself thrust into the role of Alpha. Leading and teaching. He just wanted to fuck off to college. Was that so much to ask? He wasn't interested in babysitting Jared or watching for a bunch of teenage boys phase. He was a young man ready for the next stage in his life. He didn't need this shit.
The Tribal school was let out first and Sam watched quietly for Leah with a small smile on his face. She was the only thing making phasing bearable. She had chosen to stick by him through all of this. She was amazing and strong and smart and beautiful. How man girls would stick by a boy after everything that had happened?
She came down the steps and a guarded smile reached him. He hated that. He hated that he had changed her like this. She used to run, flinging herself into his arms. Now, there was this wall between them and he was trying to figure out a way to do his duty to his tribe and keep their secrets. But he also had to find a way to get through to her.
He moved to stand up from the bench when she motioned for him to sit down with a smirk. She straddled him on the bench on the rare day it wasn't raining even though the sun wasn't out. Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer while the rest of the school emptied out into the parking lot.
The sickly sweet smell grew fantastically yanking his attention from Leah. Sam could feel Jared trembling beside him and placed a hand on him to steady the pup. Sam almost grimaced, he had only a few months more experience than Jared, hardly an expert. He grimaced thinking that he needed an Alpha, he was a pup. Who would steady him? So far, Leah was steadying him even if she didn't know it.
The white school was finishing their day and emptying out.
Sam recognized the Cullens across the campus in the other parking lot. He tensed seeing the copper haired blood sucker staring intensely at a pale brunette. He let loose a low growl. The leech shouldn't be staring at an humans. The vampire turned his dark hungry eyes on Sam. Not yet all black, at a hint of amber touched the edges. But it was clearly feeding time. All the more reason that he shouldn't be staring at the human.
They were locked in silent battle, staring each other down. Before Cullen finally moved to get into his silver Volvo. The rest of coven kept their eyes on Sam making his skin crawl like watching beetles scurrying under rocks.
"What was that?" Asked Leah now standing at his side. He hadn't even noticed when the three of them had stood up. "You gained a side kick and now you're as superstitious as the old fools down on the rez?" She referred to Jared and Elders. His jaw stiffened realizing how this looked.
"It was nothing." He replied stiffly pulling his keys out of his pocket and making his way to his beaten up old blue truck. His jaw worked and Leah recognized the mask tighten into place. She sighed.
"Sure didn't look like nothing." She muttered sullenly. She was tired of this dark place that Sam had gone to. She wanted to help him, if he would just let him. She glanced over at the brunette that the Cullen kid had been looking at. She was unremarkable but somehow, she had set off a glaring contest. But Sam hadn't spared the girl a passing look. It wasn't about the girl exactly, so what was it about? The puzzle grew and grew and none of the pieces would ever fit. Leah felt frustrated and angry and growing burn in her stomach as she felt her relationship with Sam slowly disintegrating day by day. It hurt. She could see where this was going. And yet he seemed to think he could keep these secrets from her while maintaining a trusting and committed relationship.
Leah had fought and fought. No matter how much she loved Sam, he wasn't budging. When they first dated, she had been warned that he would be like his father. He would abandon her on the rez with a baby. He was nothing like his father. But somehow, for all of his steadfast love and loyalty, it didn't look like it would be enough to pull them through.
She was stubborn. She wouldn't give up just yet. Not until she was absolutely sure that she had done everything she could. She had planned on going to college with him. Getting married with him. And having children together some day. She wasn't ready to let go of that dream and would keep fighting with everything she had.
The drive back to the rez with Jared sitting in the bed of the truck passed silently. They were both deep in thought while the reflection of the dark woods passed over the glass windshield of the truck. Sam wanted to say something reassuring and healing. Leah wanted to beat him over the head with a rolling pin until he started making sense.
The Lahote driveway was filling up with cars fast and the sound of a bass boomed out onto the country road. Sam slowed down and pulled over.
"What are you doing?" Leah glared at him.
"Stay here. I'll be right back." He ordered her before jumping out of the truck.
"Stay here?" Leah mimicked him. He almost laughed for a second at her angry reaction. But there was nothing funny about what he was dealing with and it trampled on his sense of humour.
Paul Lahote was throwing a party at his house and last Harry had told him, the boy was going to phase any day now. Paul phasing in an overcrowded living room was highly probable and would be a disaster.
Sam would be happy to turn a blind eye to a party while the parents were out of town. But not now. Not when Paul was about to phase.
"Please?" Sam implored.
They locked eyes for a moment before she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. A smile twitched to escape, but he only nodded at her. She felt the truck move as Jared jumped out of the back of the truck.
The image in Leah's mind of beating Sam over the head with a rolling pin until he made sense turned into a crowbar. It suddenly struck her how ridiculous this was. Sam was throwing underage drinking parties just last school year in his mothers basement. They only had vodka and kool aid. The vodka had been pretty good, but mixing it with kool aid had been a disgusting experiment. She never had liked kool aid. Sugar water.
So with that memory brought to the surface, who was Sam to break up a party? What authority did he have here? None. What was wrong if they had a little fun? None in her mind. What was she waiting here for?
She had no intention of waiting here for him to break up a relatively innocent party. She climbed over to the drivers seat and turned over the engine.
Leah's hand was on the gear stick when Paul was dragged out of the side door of his house.
"You fucking prick, Sam! What the hell crawled up your ass and died? Huh? Get your fucking hands off me!" Paul was roaring like an animal. Leah smirked watching an angry Paul being easily handled by her man. Although, Paul was nearly as big as Sam. It should have been more evenly matched. There was something unnatural still about the Sam and Jared moved.
Witnesses had moved out of the house, elbowing each other and laughing.
Paul fell to the ground and started shaking like he was having an epileptic fit. Leah had never seen someone so angry in her life. Sam and Jared took one look at each other and snatched Paul off the ground and ducked into the woods behind Paul's house.
Leah sat in the truck confused and unsure of whether to make her point and ditch Sam at Paul's house or to go investigate what the hell they were up to. She realized that she was tired and frustrated with Sam's bullshit. She had been spending so many months trying to figure it all out. At this point, she didn't care what Sam's big secret was. She didn't care that she kept getting more pieces of the puzzle that would never fit. Leah just didn't care anymore. And with that, she drove home with Sam's truck. He was a big boy. He could find his own way home.
Sam recognized the sound of his truck pulling away over all of the other noises. His heart sank, but he couldn't say that he was surprised. He'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. He'd have to talk to her later and see if he could fix things up again.
Deep in the woods, he spent the night dealing with a newly phased Paul. Sixteen year old Paul was out of control. He would try so hard not to phase, the tremble and shaking would become him bouncing off the ground like a rubber ball thundering on the ground until he finally burst out of his skin again. It was as frustrating for Jared and Sam to watch as it was for Paul to try to contain.
Sam lamented that he was born before Jacob. If Jacob was just a few years older, it wouldn't be Sam's problem.
Paul wasn't any better by morning and there wasn't any way possible to visit Leah. Trying to keep Paul from exacting vengance on the Cullen's, in turn breaking the treaty, for fucking up his life, required constant babysitting. Sam had thought it had been rough training Jared but Paul was something else entirely. Sam had given up dressing Paul to try to save clothes until Paul resembled something close to being self-contained.
A week later, Sam hadn't made any progress with Leah. She wasn't returning his calls and wouldn't see him. He followed Harry's advice and backed off to give her time to cool off.
It was a sunny Saturday and Old Quil had asked Sam to take a look down on First Beach where some kids from Forks were having a party on the beach. He didn't want any drugs or drinking going on down there. Sam wasn't sure when he went from being a Protector against blood sucking evil vampires to security guard for the Quileute people. He had sighed heavily to let Old Quil know that he was being put upon but dutifully did as he was asked.
The air was brisk when he arrived at First Beach and he stepped in amongst a group of teenagers. The boys eager to meet some of the girls they saw across campus but never had a reason to talk to. He recognized Jacob Black and Quil Ateara amongst those present. The last pack only had three, so it was unlikely that these two would phase. It had probably missed them. Lucky little bastards. If they had been a little older, they had higher probability of phasing than Paul or Jared. Like himself, they were direct descendants from the last pack.
"Did you invite the Cullen's Bella?" A blond girl asked the brunette that I recognized from behind as the same brunette that that bloodsucker had been staring at. Why would she invite them? Had she made friends with them? Since when did the Cullen's befriend humans?
"The Cullen's don't come here." Sam informed them.
They hadn't noticed him walk up and looked up surprised. Sam was about to walk away, having confirmed that he didn't see any drugs or alcohol amongst the group when big brown doe eyes caught his.
So, what do you think? Keep going? I have a few a stories I've been thinking about. I know Sam and Bella has been done. But I haven't seen them really deal with the issue of Leah and Edward before. So I thought I'd give it a go.
