Author's note: Hey, first of all, thanks for reading! Here is chapter two and, just to let you know, the next chapter will take off right where this one leaves so it's not just a five minute conversation between them, haha.
"I'm not a kid, Sam!" came the response, loud enough for the whole pack to hear even though Leah herself was upstairs and the rest of the Quileute werewolves were sitting in the living room. An obvious annoyance was dripping in her voice, and the female werewolf made no attempt to hide her discomfort at the news. The rest of the pack sans Jacob, who had already been told he wasn't to join the patrol thanks to his actions earlier that day, were practically craning their necks to hear the conversation between their alpha and the bitter harpy they all knew and…well, loved wouldn't be the right way to put it. It was quite evident that she wasn't pleased with the idea of spending an evening sitting at home with Jacob Black when the rest of the pack would be out on a patrol.
Unfortunately for Leah, Sam was hardly in the forgiving mood and seemed quite determined to stick to his decision on her punishment. Though, even as he spoke harsh words that made Leah clench her teeth in anger, his voice was calm and steady with an obvious emphasis on what he thought was going to be best for the pack. "Leah, you showed us yesterday that you can't even control yourself around members of your own pack. How am I supposed to trust you to keep in line around whatever is out there?" he pointed meaningfully out the window, eyes trailing to the forest in which the patrol would be headed into. It wasn't the first time Leah had let her explosive temper get the best of her and it certainly wouldn't be the last, but Sam was only focused on the present.
Narrowing her eyes into a glare that would have scared off nearly anyone else, Leah folded her arms across her chest and dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands to keep from saying something she would later regret. "Fine," she said shortly, speaking through gritted teeth in what sounded like a forced response. "But I'm not going to cooperate with Jacob," she spat the name in fury, "Or be 'nice' just because you feel it's your duty as alpha to dictate our lives." Relaxing her tensed posture ever-so slightly, Leah took a deep breath and brushed a lock of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She closed her eyes gently, not trusting herself to keep control if Sam kept looking at her the way he was, and licked her lips. "Don't order me to do anything though, and I'll try to at least be civil tonight so you don't have to use that damn alpha power to force me into anything I don't chose on my own accord," she continued slowly, articulating each word. Leave it to Leah to find a way around being ordered into being nice, and still sound tenacious as ever as she admitted defeat.
Surprised by the abnormally easy victory, which was usually unheard of when dealing with Leah of all people, Sam cocked his head to the side in a fashion that was most certainly too dog-like for his own good and gave a wary smile. Though he was completely infatuated and in love with Emily, a part of him still cared for Leah and it warmed his heart to see her actually cooperating for once - it gave a glimpse of the old Leah and helped divert attention from the new, bitter, heartbroken one. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Sam ruffled a hand through his cropped hair and cleared his throat before speaking. "Glad you can see the light in the situation, Leah," he began coolly, pausing before more words formed on his tongue. "And I'll tell Jake you plan to attempt playing nice…He should be pleased." With that, the pack leader nodded once, as if affirming an unspoken comment to himself, and began towards the door, beckoning for Leah to follow.
Leah raised an eyebrow quizzically at Sam's subtle mention of Jacob being 'pleased' that she was going to attempt and act somewhat civilized. Unable to dismiss the thought from her mind, her imagination began to wander with explanations of his words. After all, if anyone else had said it, she wouldn't have even given them a second thought on the matter. But, since it was Sam and he hardly ever spoke without reason, one of the reasons he made such a good alpha, according to everyone but Leah, she couldn't help but think there was something more there. Though as much as she disliked being left in the dark, there was no way she was going to admit to over thinking such a simple afterthought, and didn't dare ask for Sam to elaborate. She didn't feel the need to break the silence that settled over her and Sam as they left the room but kept the scowl that had become somewhat permanent on her face there when they walked down the stairs, noting how all the pack tried to play it off like they hadn't been listening to the previous conversation. Rolling her eyes, she waved a hand in the hair dismissively and spoke in an irritated tone. "Come on now, we both know you were practically on the staircase trying to hear what went on so you don't have to act like you've been perfect little angels the whole time."
A few of the pack members, mainly the younger ones whom hadn't had as much time to get used to Leah's attitude yet, felt the need to stand up for themselves.
"I didn't do anything!" Brady, the youngest of the pack, said quickly as he ran a hand nervously through his hair, a habit he most likely picked up from idolizing Sam like most of the pack did. "Collin just said that we should listen in case you guys started fighting and we could break it up," he added, looking to Collin right after the last word escaped his mouth.
Collin, only fifteen as well, turned at the mention of his name and punched Brady in the arm with a growl. "Sneak," he grumbled under his breath, glaring at Brady before turning to face Sam and Leah, whom had both made it down the stairs by this point.
Standing up coolly, as if imitating Sam's incessant patience, Jared looked around slowly before meeting Sam's eyes and smiling slightly. "Does this mean we're leaving now? Kim wanted me to be back by ten and if we leave - "
A temperamental Paul interrupted Jared's request for a departure, with a rather irritated look and shaking fingertips, though the tremors calmed almost immediately with a sharp warning glance from Sam. "And your precious Kim is certainly more important than everything else the pack has to worry about, right?" he asked sarcastically, though there was humor in his eyes.
Jared shot him an icy look before turning back to Sam, his eyes hopeful. Sam nodded slowly, turning around as if to make sure Leah hadn't ran off already before looking back at his pack. "As soon as Jacob gets here, we can leave…" he replied diplomatically, eyes wandering towards the door as footsteps could be heard from outside. As if on cue, Jacob opened the door, not bothering to knock before entering, something that Leah took a mental note of as the scowl on her face deepened. He looked somber, as if still feeling the guilt of being punished by Sam for losing his temper earlier. Sam smiled slightly when Jacob entered, walking up to him and giving him a friendly pat on the back in greeting, along with a look that was almost sorrowful, as if Sam didn't want to be put in the position where he had to punish him. "Hey," he said, though quieter so the whole pack couldn't hear him, "Hopefully this'll teach you not to let her push your buttons, though we all know it's what she does best. Anyways - she promised to be on her best behavior tonight, if it's any consolation. We'll be back by a quarter 'til ten to make sure you're still alive." Sam gave a light chuckle at his own laugh, drawing the attention of the pack back to him and he turned to face them in return. "Come on now, guys. Why are you sitting there like a bunch of useless dogs? Let's go!" though his words could be taken as demeaning, the laugh afterwards negated any negative intentions and the whole pack rose simultaneously, a few stifling laughs as they filed out the door behind Sam.
After a few seconds that were sufficiently awkward after the door had been shut, leaving Leah and Jacob alone in the living room, Jacob cleared his throat, causing Leah to look up from the floor. "I can't believe they're out on patrol and we're stuck here…" he said with the slightest hint of resentment as he voiced his thoughts about the situation. As if his voice was a greeting, Jacob then proceeded to step inside the room, jumping over the back of the couch to position himself stretched out across the upholstery - making himself right at home.
His obvious lack of respect made Leah practically fume with anger but, remembering what she had told Sam, she merely clenched her teeth together to try and calm her nerves. "It's not the stuck here part that I'm annoyed with," she started slowly, trying her best to keep her explosive temper under control. Though, as determined as Leah was not to slip-up again, she allowed herself a bit of freedom. "It's the company it has to be with." Her words were simple enough, though obviously accusatory in meaning and getting the point across that she wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of spending an hour with Jacob.
Looking up from his comfortable position on the couch, Jake cocked an eyebrow and blinked at her response. At least she didn't seem as bent on getting under his skin this time 'round, and Sam said she would be on her best behavior…So why not try to press his luck a little bit and see what would happen? It wasn't like he had anything better to do. "So you still don't want any help?" he asked lucidly after a short pause, seemingly unphased by her previous words.
Slightly confused by his response, Leah narrowed her eyes into a slight glare at his words, not willing to admit to her dubiety. "No," came the terse reply, with a practiced tone of confidence that didn't sound uncertain at all, thank God. "And if I did want help," she added with a slight sneer, "The last person I would come to would be you."
Feigning a look of surprise at her reply, when he truly expected nothing less from the bitter werewolf he knew all too well, Jacob grinned. "I was just thinking that you might have changed your mind, ya' know," he said, with a nonchalance indifferent enough to make Leah begin asking herself questions. "After all, it's only a matter of time before you realize I was right - you can't go through life on your own." Harmless enough in tone, if a bystander was listening in on the conversation there was no way he would be able to see the hidden intentions and conniving double-meaning of the words. In fact, he would probably just think that Jacob was trying to be nice, not get a rise out of his fellow werewolf by exploiting an obvious sensitive spot.
Almost immediately, Leah's whole body tensed and she found her hands curled into fists, nails close to drawing blood from her palms as she dug them in, hoping to release some of her inner anger on herself rather than on Jacob, as much as he deserved it. Though, just as Jacob had hoped, a nerve had been struck and it couldn't be calmed that easily. With one swift movement, Leah was standing in front of Jacob on the floor, leaning threateningly over his body. Jabbing a finger at his chest, which she hated to admit was more muscular than she would have thought, she gritted her teeth together before speaking. "If you think," she began, voice filled with an accusatory spite, "That you can just march in here and start up right where you left off last time, referring to the unpleasant event that got us both stuck here in the first place, you, Jacob Black, are terribly mistaken." With that, sensing that she was beginning to cross from the civil line she had vowed to stay on, Leah was huffing away, straightening her back and brushing a lock of stray hair from her face. It was obvious that she was trying to dismiss all ties to their conversation on the beach, and how they had realized how alike they were in nearly everything. Temperament, obstinacy, fire, passion, loss…But neither were the easiest people to deal with, and Leah wasn't planning on starting any new friendships just because she found someone whom could possibly relate to her.