A.N. Hello again everyone! Sorry about the wait on this chapter, but as you'll see it's pretty long, so you got a lot to keep you busy! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy! Please review!

It all began when Seth first imprinted. She was a pretty girl, with a pretty face, but nothing really special, yet she was the world to Seth. She was now the center of his universe, there was no more time for me.

I was a twenty-four year old woman still living at home, still counting on her younger brother to take care of her. That was beyond despicable.

My solution? I would go to Port Angeles and try to start a life. I know Jake would be pissed at me, but I would be back, I couldn't stay away from the place forever after all. It was my home, I'd miss it eventually, but I needed to get away from it for a while, away from all the painful memories, give myself some time to heal. If anyone could understand that feeling, it was Jacob. He had been the one to run away from his family and friends after Bella broke his heart after all, he was familiar with the hurt and the unstoppable desire to get away.

So, I got into my car and drove over to his place. It wasn't very far, only a mile or two, maybe even less. I was familiar with Jake's house. We had been hanging out a lot recently, despite his obsession with his part vampire imprint, Renesmee Cullen. The time he didn't spend with her was spent with me, which I appreciated, it made feel a little better about everything, but I needed to leave, that would be the only way for me to be cured for good, I could feel it.

As soon as I pulled up, Jacob walked out of the house, obviously expecting me, I did come over almost every day after all.

"Hey, Leah!" He called happily as I cut the engine and stepped out of my junky car. He had been the one to fix it on countless occasions, it had a habit of stalling at the worst times.

"Hey, Jake," I greeted, walking up to him.

"What's up?" He asked, noticing the look on my face. It must have been anxious.

"Well, there was something I needed to ask you," I told him, waiting to see if he was in the mood for discussions.

"Shoot," he said, obviously curious as he leaned against one of the porch posts.

"Um, well, I know this is sudden and everything, but, I need to do this, so please think this through, ok? Um, I uh, I wanted to leave for a while, you know, get away from everything, take a bit of time off, to you know, relax."

"Is this because of Seth imprinting?" He asked.

"Partly," I murmured, he waited for me to continue. "Jake, you know a lot of shit has happened to me, I just… I can't stand it here, it's like I'm being suffocated. Everywhere I go there's something that depresses me. I-I don't want to live like that," I confessed, feeling like an idiot. I was Leah Clearwater after all. Confessing was not something I was so willing to do.

"Alright, I don't mind, just don't be gone too long, I think I'll get sick of hanging out with little kids for a really lengthy period," Jacob shrugged, straightening up.

"What? Really? I can go?" I asked, amazed. This had been a thousand times easier than I thought it would be. I never thought he would give in so soon.

"Ya, of course. What? Did you expect me to say no? I'm not that heartless Leah," Jake responded, sounding a little stung.

"No, I-I know you're not, thank you, Jacob," I said, just able to resist the impulse to hug him. I don't think hugging your Alpha was a very good thing to do.

"No problem. Just one thing, keep in touch, ok? I want to make sure my Beta isn't in any trouble," he said with a grin.

"Ya, like I'd be in any trouble," I rolled my eyes, he laughed.

"You could, but you better call me, or I won't let you go," he warned.

"I know, I know," I said, waving my hand at him.

"So… when are you going?" He asked.

"Well, I was thinking tomorrow. Sitting around in this dump isn't doing me any good," I shrugged, he nodded.

"Well, I hope you find what you're looking for, Leah," he said with one of those radiant smiles of his.

"Trust me, so do I," I said, sounding a little unsure. He just laughed, and we continued with our original itinerary.

Of course, the difficult part was telling my mother, but she seemed pleased that I was going to go out on my own, said it would be good for me. Maybe she meant that it was good that her fully grown daughter was finally moving out of the house, I don't know, but I didn't really care. When I told my brother, he also agreed, but made it quite clear that if I needed anything to call straight away, I promised him I would.

So, the next day I packed all the things I thought I would need, clothes, toiletries, cash, some food, you know, the essentials. I didn't exactly know where I was going, nor did I really care. All I wanted to do was get out of this place, be free, away from all the pain that lay heavily in my heart.

Soon, I was driving. On the road to Port Angeles. I was thinking then that maybe I'd go farther, like Seattle, ya, that was an idea, I'd go to Seattle instead, I mean, its not like I really had to be anywhere.

I ended up driving for most of the day, stopping only to use the restroom, I had enough food to last me the day. Later in the evening it began to rain. Damn, I hated rain. I mean, I lived in the rainiest place on earth, you think I'd be used to it by now, right? Wrong. On occasion it was nice, but really, who liked to be soaking all the time? I sure didn't.

Then, it happened.

So, I was almost to Seattle, right? I was getting all excited and planning on what hotel I should stay in, when my car just suddenly stopped, like in the middle of this long deserted road. I was so pissed off! The only person I knew who could fix my car, was Jacob, and of course, he wasn't here! I should probably know how to fix it by now from watching him so much, but cars were definitely not my forte. As long as it could drive and I didn't have to do anything to it, I was good. Yet, of course, right when I was almost to my destination, but still too far away to get help anytime soon, my car had to breakdown, perfect. Just my luck.

I sat there, staring at the steering wheel, hoping my angry gaze would scare it into working again. Sadly, I learned real quick that inanimate objects don't give a shit if you're angry or not.

That's when I heard a small tapping on my window. I slowly lifted my head from the wheel and nearly jumped through the roof when I saw a man standing outside.

He gestured to me to open the window, but I shook my head. I mean, he could be some weirdo or something! He gave me a smirk, and made the gesture again. Fine, whatever, he can go ahead and kill me, not like anyone would miss me anyways, so I rolled down the window.

"I couldn't help but noticing that you seem to be stranded," he said. No shit Sherlock!

"Ya, so?" I asked, my bitchiness showing, he just smiled.

"I thought you might need some help," he told me, innocently enough, but I wasn't going to fall for his charade. "If you pop the hood, I can take a look," he continued. I shrugged, doing as I was told. I mean, he can't make it much wore, can he?

Once the hood was up he walked around to the front and leaned over it. I couldn't help but look him over.

He was tall, probably taller than me, which was abnormal for anyone other than the pack. I stood at an incredible height of 5'7", something most males I saw would kill to have. He had blond messy hair that reached to about his earlobes with very pale skin.

"Try revving the engine!" I heard him say over the pounding rain, ripping me from my inspection.

I did as I was told, and amazingly, it worked. Wow, now I kinda felt bad for being a bitch to him, but only a little bit, Leah Clearwater rarely felt bad.

After he had closed the hood he came back around to the window and leaned on the door, his face almost inside of my car.

"Well, it should work good now," he smiled.

"Ya, thanks," I said, unsure what else to say to someone I didn't know.

"Where are you going anyways?" He asked suddenly. I gave him a dark look.

"Why would I tell you that?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, I was just curious."

"I'm going to Seattle," I caved, unsure why I did. This guy was weird.

"Really? I live in Seattle, do you?" He asked.

"No."

"Visiting someone?"

"No."

"Then why are you going to Seattle so late at night?" He wondered, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"I don't know, I just wanted to get out of the house, so, I came here," I shrugged.

"Do you know where you're staying?" He asked.

"Nope," I answered, popping the 'P.'

"Well, how bout you come stay the night at my place, I mean, most of the hotels are full," he suggested.

"I don't think that's really a good idea," I told him, preparing to leave.

"Aw, come one. I'm not gonna do anything to you, promise!" He said, a bright smile on his face. I think his smile rivaled even Jacob's. I deliberated. I mean, I didn't have any place to stay, and sleeping in my car didn't sound very appealing. If he tried anything I'm sure I could handle it. So what was so bad about it?

I sighed "Alright, I'll take you up on your offer, but only for tonight," I warned. His answering smile was radiant.

"Sweet! Just follow me, ok?" He said, I nodded. He then hurried away from the window and back to his car that was parked behind mine. I rolled up my window and waited for him to get in front of me so I could follow him to his place.

I must admit, I was pretty nervous about this, but what else was I supposed to do? He had said all the hotels were full after all.

Thankfully, for the short drive into Seattle, my car drove perfectly, maybe even better than it had before.

As I followed my unknown savior through the winding streets, I couldn't help but dwell on this weird feeling that I had in the pit of my stomach. Was it nerves? I couldn't really tell, but I couldn't get rid of it, this strange feeling, no matter how hard I tried.

After about another fifteen minutes, we pulled into the back parking lot of a decent looking apartment building. It wasn't a high end place, but it definitely wasn't dumpy either. It made me kind of like it.

Before I even got out of the car, he was standing there waiting for me.

"Do you need help with you bags?" He asked as I pulled my duffel out from the back seat.

"No, I got it," I said huffily, but he just laughed and grabbed it from me. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Whatever, now I didn't have to carry it, it was his loss, not mine.

So I followed him and my bag into the building, and up four flights of stairs to room 401.

"Well, here we are," he said, letting me go inside before him.

It was a nice place, spacious, with a small kitchen to the far left, a dining area in front of that, and a tricked out living room to the right. It was obvious, when entering this house, what he did. Drawings, easels, pads of paper, pencils, erasers, and a large variety of other art supplies littered the expanse of the house. It was still strangely clean for a man's house. Everything seemed to be in a specific place, nothing was out of order, except for the half finished drawing that sat on the coffee table in the middle of the living room.

"It's not much, but it's home," he sighed, closing the door and moving freely into the house. I however was still rooted on the threshold, staring at the magnificent pieces of art that were presented before my eyes.

I watched a bird fly across a page, saw a flower slowly loosing it's petals, looked into the eyes of an old man that I could have sworn were looking right back at me with a look of curiosity.

"D-did you make all of these?" I asked, approaching the picture of the old man. I couldn't help but reach out and touch it, just to make sure it really was just a drawing.

"Naw, you kiddin'? My roommate did," he said.

"These are amazing," I responded, awed.

"Ya, they are, you can tell him that when he get's here, but in the mean time, are you hungry?" He asked, moving into the kitchen.

"Um, I'm fine, really, I brought food with me," I said hurriedly. I may be stubborn, but I didn't want to go eating all of his food. Even a female werewolf ate more than a usual woman would.

"Just answer the question," he sighed, giving me a stern look. I looked at him for a minute.

"Yes, I'm hungry," I said finally, he nodded, then proceeded to pull out ingredients.

"I hope you like chicken alfredo," he continued.

"Ya, I love it," I confessed, finding it weird that he was making my favorite.

"Good, so do I!" He smiled. "You know, you don't have to stand there, make yourself comfortable."

"Ok," I said awkwardly, moving over to couch and perching myself on the edge of it. "You know, you never told me your name."

"Oh, ya, I'm Michael Burks, you can call me Mike for short," he said cheerily from the kitchen.

"I'm Leah, Leah Clearwater," I told him.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Leah," I heard him say.

Our conversation soon died out and I was left to admire his roommates drawings and listen to him prepare our dinner. I couldn't believe that someone could do things like this. The way the pictures were drawn, it was as though you were looking at the real thing, it was breathtaking! I'd never been much of an art person, but seeing these, there was no way I couldn't say I at least admired the person who had the ability to draw these.

Just then, the door to the apartment opened, and as soon as I saw the man that entered, my heart stopped.

For once in my life, I didn't care about my sadness, I didn't care how pitiful I was, didn't care that I was useless. All I cared about was the beautiful man that had just walked through that door.

That little fantasy ended quickly however. I hurriedly shook my head and tried to act natural, while my mind was reeling madly.

Did I just imprint!? Holy shit! No! I can't have! This is insane! No! I can't imprint! I mean, it's me, Leah Clearwater! The bitch cursed with a horrible life for eternity! How can this even be happening?

All of these things happened in less than a minute, and I was left breathless as his soft hazel eyes turned to look at me.

"Oh, hello, are you one of Mike's friends?" He asked kindly, a strand of his lustrous brown hair falling into his face, he quickly pushed it back into place.

"Well, I guess so, but, I found her stranded near the Fed. She said she was getting away from home, but didn't really make plans to stay anywhere, and you know how hard it is to find someplace last minute. So, I invited her over!" Mike finished.

The other guy was silent, looking at me with a curious expression on his face. Had he felt that strange shock too?

"Oh, um, well, I'm Damon, it's um, nice to meet you," he said nervously, waving at me from where he stood.

"I'm, Leah," I answered, relieved that my voice was at least steady, but Damon seemed nervous.

"Aw, don't get all shy again, Damon!" Mike complained from the kitchen, Damon blushed slightly, glaring over towards the kitchen.

"Ya, well, it's your fault for bringing strange people in all the time," he scoffed, slipping off his shoes.

"I-I um, I'm just staying here for the night, I don't plan on staying long-term or anything," I assured him. It sounded like he didn't like me being here.

"Oh, uh, don't take it the wrong way. I don't mind that you're here," Damon corrected, looking nervous again. "You don't seem as crazy as half the other's Mike has helped off the streets," he said with a shiver. I suddenly felt kind of sorry for him. It sounded like Mike did this a lot.

"Well, thanks," I said, then noticed the picture of the bird behind him, and made the connection. "Um, are you the one who drew all of these pictures?" I asked.

"Oh, ya, you like them?" He asked with a smile, dropping into a big comfortable armchair.

"Ya, they're really amazing!" I complimented, he blushed, but continued to smile.

"Ya, she thought I made 'em!" Mike laughed from the kitchen.

"You can't even draw a stick person," Damon joked, an adorable smile on his face, my heart throbbed painfully. I deserved this pain. I deserved seeing my imprint but not being able to have him. I deserved it. I was hopeless.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked suddenly, I looked up at him, looking into his flawless face. This beautiful creature was definitely too good for me.

"Ya, I'm fine," I shrugged.

"You sure? You looked a little sad there for a minute," he said, looking genuinely worried, my heart throbbed again.

"No, I'm alright, really," I told him. He nodded, but continued to look at me as he picked up the half finished drawing that was lying on the table.

"Ok, soups on, guys!" Mike hollered from the kitchen, Damon and I jumped. I slowly got up and headed to the kitchen, Damon following me. I helped myself to a plate of the steaming noodles and settled myself back on the couch. Mike was already sitting in the armchair, slurping up a large quantity of noodles.

I cautiously picked up my fork and stabbed a small piece of noodle, carefully placing it into my mouth. Amazingly, it was actually really good, that's when Damon entered the room and sat on the opposite side of the couch. Even that proximity to him was making my senses go mad. His mere presence was driving me insane!

To disguise this abnormality, I ate my food silently, complimenting how good it was, mike beamed.

"I'm glad you like it! See, if Damon tried to cook, he'd burn the whole complex down!" He laughed, I couldn't help but laugh a little too, Damon blushed and glared at mike, he just smiled.

The evening continued in silence as we ate and watched hockey, one thing that I could really get into. By the end of the game we were all at the edges of our seats screaming at the screen.

"Come on you pussy's! Get the goal!" Mike yelled.

"Aw, why did you do that? That was so stupid!" Damon groaned.

"Go! Go! Get the goal! Yes!" I cried, slamming my fist triumphantly into the arm of the couch.

I was actually have an unexpectedly good time. It was just like being home with the pack.

"Wow, that was one hell of a game!" Mike praised, standing up and stretching. "Well, I'm gonna head to bed. I have to wake up at five tomorrow," he groaned.

"Why do you have to get up so early?" I asked.

"I need to make up some classes I missed. It's not really a big deal," he shrugged.

"You know, you wouldn't have to make them up if you just went to them in the first place," Damon pointed out.

"But that's no fun!" Mike cried, a huge smile on his face. "Anyway, are you ok with sleeping on the couch, Leah?" He asked.

"Oh, ya, that's fine," I said quickly, my attention thankfully drawn away from Damon and onto Mike instead.

"Ok, I'll grab you a couple blankets and a pillow," he said, heading down the hall.

"Leah, you know you can sleep in my room if you want. I'll take the couch," Damon suggested, I blushed.

"I'm ok with the couch, really. I don't want to be any trouble," I said.

"It's no trouble," he smiled.

"I-It's ok, I'll be ok on the couch." He just shrugged, picking up the remote and flipping through channels, trying to find something else to watch now that the game was over.

Mike came back then and handed me a thick comfiture and a fluffy down pillow.

"Here you go, hope you'll be warm enough," he said.

"Oh, I'll be fine, don't worry," I smiled, internally laughing at his worry. Me? Cold? Ha! That was laughable!

"Ok, well, I probably won't see you till like noon, so, hope you sleep well, and you can't leave without saying goodbye to me, you hear? So when I get home tomorrow you better be here," he warned. I sighed, he was kind of annoying, but he did let me stay here, I couldn't be a bitch to him.

"Ya, ya, I'll be here," I said, waving him to bed with my hand.

"Good," he smiled. "Well, goodnight," he waved to both of us before heading down the hallway and closing his door.

Once Mike was gone the silence became absolute except for the T.V that was still being flipped from channel to channel. He finally settled on a pretty promising looking comedian.

"You know that awkward feeling you get when you're all alone with strange people? I kind of think it's funny, cuz then why are you with 'em anyway, huh?" The comedian asked to a fit of laughter from the audience.

Damn, that was definitely Deja Vu! Why did things always have to end up so weird like that?

We continued watching this mildly funny guy, yet when I glanced over to Damon, I saw him drawing and not even paying attention to what was on T.V.

"Um, are you even watching this?" I asked him.

"Not really, do you want to watch something else?"

"Kind of," I admitted. He smiled and tossed me the remote. I caught it and changed the channel, I knew there was a marathon of House on and I really didn't want to miss it.

"You actually like stuff like this?" Damon asked suddenly as House stuck some lethal looking instrument up some kids nose to pull a series of toys out.

"Ya, I think it's pretty funny, actually!" I said, laughing as they explained why there were so many toys up the kids nose.

"Ya, I guess you're right, it is kind of funny," he chuckled, turning back to his drawing. I couldn't help but watch him for a minute as he began to make the little intricate feathers of the peacock he was drawing. It was magnificent! Even without color! You could practically see the kaleidoscope of colors in the feathers just with the grayscale he used, it was breathtaking. I hadn't even noticed he was watching me until I realized he wasn't drawing anymore, I flushed.

"Oh, sorry! It probably bother's you when people watch," I said, quickly turning away.

"Not really," he shrugged.

"It's just fascinating how you can do that," I told him, amazed, he chuckled.

"I don't know, it's like second nature to me now."

"Ya, it probably would be if you did for a while. I can't draw at all, well, except stick people. I can draw some pretty awesome looking stick people, little mittens and all!" I joked, he laughed at that, I smiled.

"Very creative. I'm sure the mittens add a nice touch."

"They do. Really bring out the picture, you know?" We both laughed at that.

"You know, you're pretty funny," he said, I flushed.

"No I'm not, I'm just good at making wise cracks," I said.

"Funny wise cracks, then," he corrected, I shrugged, accepting the compliment. "Well, I'm gonna turn in. You don't mind do you?" He asked.

"Um, no, this is your house after all," I reminded him, he chuckled.

"Ya, but I feel kind of bad leaving you out here by yourself," he said, looking up at me through his hair.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, I'm tough," I said, flexing my arm, he chuckled again.

"Alright, well, I'll see you in the morning, Leah," he smiled, I smiled back.

"Yup, I'll be here," I promised.

"Good," he said, then put his drawing on the table and went down the hallway, closing his bedroom door behind him.