Regan Hamilton was wary of hot days in La Push.

In all her life, only bad things happened on hot days on the reservation. Some instances of this theory included when her father had announced to Regan and her sister that he had met a woman in New York and had fallen in love with her. It had been ninety-six degrees out. The next instance was when her sister told Regan and their mother that she wanted to go live with their dad and step-mother. It had been eighty-nine then. Then there was the whopping hundred degree day, when she had fallen off the bluffs trying to go cliff diving and almost drowned. If it hadn't been for Blake Cooper, one of the marine life scientists from Forks, she would have died.

So, when Regan looked at the thermometer that hung outside the window in the front yard of her house, she wasn't excited for the day's events.

Especially since she was supposed to hang out with Leah today.

Leah Clearwater had been Regan Hamilton's best friend since birth. It was only natural. Sue Clearwater and Tammin Hamilton had been best friends through high school and college. Sue had been nineteen when she had Leah, and Regan's own mother had been twenty. Leah and Regan had grown up together, had gotten through the rough years by each other's side. They were the closest thing to being sisters without actually having the same blood run through their bodies.

Leah wanted to hang out because her boyfriend of two years, Sam Uley, who had proposed three months prior, was "becoming distant." Those were Leah's words anyway. Regan was sure it was a bit hyperbolic, since Sam always seemed just a bit distant in Regans opinion, and Leah leaned more towards the side of overdramatic in the scale of reacting. As Regan pulled on her clothes for the day, she did wonder if the weather outside was an omen. Like maybe Leah wasn't being overdramatic at all. But again, Regan had always recognized Sam in a crowd as the one who looked highly uncomfortable being around people. He was better with groups of two or three. Hell, he had even been weird sometimes when Regan was around. She supposed he just liked to be around Leah and his mother and not many else.

It wasn't that she didn't like Sam. He was nice enough, and he seemed to really like Leah, which was really all a best friend could ask for. However, according to Leah, the Clearwater girl felt as if that was changing. As if Sam suddenly didn't like her as much as he had. "Was he getting cold feet?" "Did he not want to marry her anymore?" These were all questions Leah had cried to Regan the night prior, when she had called Regan in a panic at three in the morning, asking if they could hang out and talk the next day.

That was how Regan found herself driving in her small red buggie to the shore of the beach. Regan saw the ocean before she saw Leah. The waves crashed against the sand in a rhythmic pattern, the white foam dissolving once it hit the sand, burning from the unusual heat of the sun. Regan smiled. The beach was one of her favorite places in the world. It was where she and her mother had gone for their weekly picnics when she was younger. It was where she and Leah had thrown muddy sand at one another. Surely nothing bad could happen here. Surely this whole thing with Sam didn't matter here, in a place as beautiful as La Push. It just wasn't possible. Not today, not the next day.

She saw Leah sitting on a bench next to the bonfire area, arms folded around herself. Leah never sat like that. She always sat with her back straight and arms at her sides, her own personal way of showing people she was confident with herself and didn't think she was weak. Now, she had her arms wrapped around her knees, clad in dark denim jeans, and had her chin resting on her fingers. Regan walked over to where Leah was sitting and plopped down next to her, giving the Clearwater girl a smile.

"Hey, Lee," she said with a grin. When Leah didn't smile back, Regan tried not to let her grin falter. "How about this weather?"

Leah snorted at that, and Regan was happier to see that she was making at least some progress. "We're talking about the weather? Really?"

"Well, I mean, this does only happen like once every five years," Regan replied, gesturing to the sunlight that shone brightly above them. It got quiet then, Regan itching for Leah to start the conversation so she wouldn't have to. She wasn't good with feelings. The only real boyfriend she'd ever had wasn't exactly the best example. They had only dated for five months before he had told her things weren't working out and they had split. Simple as that. Sam and Leah were engaged, for Christ's sake. It wasn't like they were some couple in middle school, skirting around the "I like you, do you like me" act. They were real. And Regan didn't have knowledge of something real like that.

"I don't know what's going on with him, Regan," Leah whispered. She fingered the ring that rested on her hand, twisting it around like it was comforting. "He's been so distant lately. First it was the mysterious sickness. My dad was over at his house every two seconds, it seemed like." Regan vaguely remembered when Harry would excuse himself to go over to Sam's house, claiming that he was helping out the violently ill Uley boy. "And then it was the calling me and telling me he couldn't hang out with me for a while, until he was better. I didn't give a shit if he was sick. He's my fiancé. Isn't the saying sickness and health meaningful to him?" Leah shook her head. "But every time I tried to go down there, my dad would bark orders at me to stay home." Regan remembered this, too. She hadn't ever been around when Leah and Harry had gotten into deep arguments when Harry had prohibited her from visiting Sam until he was ready.

"And then there was the haircut and the five second visits. He stopped by to tell me he was better, he was sorry, and then he went back home. Like I hadn't spent nearly a month wondering what the hell was going on with him. And now, he's only hanging out with me for an hour at most before he runs off into the woods, like some freaking animal." Leah leaned back against the table, sighing. Regan followed her actions, pressing her back against the slightly warm metal. It was silent for another few seconds before Regan heard Leah breathe deeply. "Regan, do you have any idea what's happening to my husband?"

It was the certain way that Leah said "husband" that made Regan's heart clench. Leah knew that this was the man she was going to marry. There was no point in beating around the bush. Even if they weren't technically husband and wife yet, Leah knew that that's what they really were. Soulmates. Regan had remembered the first time Sam had asked Leah out on a date. Leah had known then, too. And there was a dull ache that reminded Regan that she'd never had that in her life.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Leah," Regan promised, reaching over and squeezing her best friend's hand. "You know how crazy Sam is about you." Leah would have to be stupid not to see it. Sam idolized her.

Leah nodded, but it didn't look like she believed a thing Regan said. "Yeah," she said distantly, like she was thinking of something else. "It's just something that's been eating away at me." Leah let out an annoyed snort. "Plus, the only reason Dad let me leave the house was because I basically took a blood oath that I was going to see you and not Sam." She looked at the watch that rested on her wrist. "I should get back before he thinks I've escaped."

"Are you sure?" Regan asked. "I could tell him you were with me the entire time." Leah nodded and gave her a grim smile.

"It's fine, Regan. I just needed someone to talk to who wouldn't treat this like it was no big deal. You made me feel loads better." Leah stood from the bench she was sitting on and Regan held her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun's rays. The Clearwater girl reached down to give Regan a quick hug, sending a tiny smile her way once they pulled away from the embrace.

"I'll see you later, Lee," Regan muttered. Leah nodded before she walked off, starting in the direction of her house. The Clearwaters lived close enough to walk to the beach instead of driving, like Regan had to.

This was turning out to be an awful hot day, like all the others in La Push were. Regan sighed and leaned back against the table, welcoming the warming metal now that she had gotten used to it. Her mind couldn't stop racing, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for why Sam was avoiding Leah like the plague. Had she done something to piss him off? Had they gotten into an argument? Even so, Regan didn't believe it would drive Sam to ignore Leah. She had never seen someone so adoring as Sam Uley when it came to her best friend.

Just as Regan was relaxing underneath the sun, trying to figure out the new mysterious enigma of Sam Uley, there was a rustling coming from the trees, from where Leah had just exited. Regan sat up, blinking her eyes against the brightness of the sun. She threw her hand over her eyes once more and saw Sam Uley walking towards her, his strides long and purposeful. He was wearing the thinnest tank top she had ever seen, probably due to the weather.

"Speak of the devil," Regan muttered.

Sam had made his way over to where she was sitting, walking past her without so much as a nod. Regan blinked in confusion. That wasn't like Sam at all. Rude was exactly a word anyone used to describe him, and it was certainly out of character from the man who hung out with she and Leah. Once he was a few feet away and Regan truly had time to process that he was dead-set on ignoring her, her annoyance flared.

"Hey!" she called, gaining enough courage to decide to stand up. "Uley. What tree branch crawled up your ass?"

Sam stopped walking, his shoulders going still before they gently started to vibrate. It was the smallest of tremors, but Regan saw them. They moved throughout his muscles like he was a toy and someone had wound him up. "I don't know what you're talking about," Sam replied, his voice deep and dark and unbelievably angry. It almost made Regan turn back.

Almost.

"Like hell you don't," Regan said, marching up to him with steps a lot less cool and calculated than his had been. He was still looking straight ahead as she stood face-to-chest with the humongous man, almost as if he were trying to keep his temper in check by not looking at her. "Leah's been worried sick about you. You know that right? And you've been parading around here like a cowardly little freshman boy."

"You don't know anything," he snarled, snapping his head up to look at her with a look of contempt. The look on his face was filled with such animosity that it made Regan step back in surprise. Like vapor, however, the second he looked at her - really looked at her - his glare softened, turning into something that looked like a mix of shock and wonder. His eyes were wide; his lips lifted, just slightly, at the corners; his face lost the previous anger and hostility it had held. It was the kind of gaze she had seen many times, directed at Leah. The same look of amazement. Regan rose an eyebrow, gluing her hands to her hips as she tried to focus on something that didn't make her feel so uncomfortable.

"Hello?" she snapped, waving her hand in front of his face, which was still frozen in the same expression. "Are you even paying attention to me?"

He simply continued to stare at her, jaw locked and eyes wide with surprise.

"Okay, Uley," she spat out angrily. "You're obviously off your rocker. Just fix things with Leah, alright?"

And with the parting words, Regan stomped away from the man, muttering about how much of an ass he was being. She didn't look back, didn't see how he was staring at her. It was only then that Sam let a small smile spread across his face. He needed to talk to Harry Clearwater about what had happened. About how imprinting might have been rare, but Sam was one of the lucky ones. That he had found her.

"Regan Hamilton," he whispered, the name sounding foreign on his tongue. Foreign, frightening, but wonderful.

Before he talked to Harry, though, he was going to take it all in. All the shock, all the surprise. And then he was going to wonder why he never noticed Regan Hamilton before.