Typical disclaimer applies: I don't own it, don't make any money from this, am just writing this for fun, yada yada yada

Hi guys! I'm really sorry for the long wait, but I am going through a shitty time right now and updating isn't one of the first things on my mind. Anyway, for those of you who asked, yes, I am re-writing because I needed some changes for the plot to work in the upcoming chapters. One of the changes will be that I am skipping those days where all they do is look at sights because I've never been in New York and don't really know what everything is like. The best thing I can do is google it, and it's still hard. So I'll just skip over that, but you will get to hear a few "memories" from the sights.

Anyway, read, enjoy, review :)

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Leah was surprised at how much she was enjoying herself here in New York.

The past four days had been … fun. They (Natalia, Sue and her, although Natalia sometimes couldn't come because she had to work) visited all of the main sights in New York: the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal, all of that Ellis Island stuff, two museums of art (which actually weren't that bad…), Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Ground Zero (really sad, but the memorial was pretty), Wall Street … her head was spinning from everything she had seen.

And now Sue was flying back to La Push. Today. In just a few, insignificant hours.

Leah could not imagine going home now.

She had just gotten used to a regular sleeping pattern, to not having to see the pack, to having private thoughts … to being herself.

Thank God she still had some time here. More than a week of wonderful-ness left, actually. And it would be just that … wonderful.

She knew she was overdue for a call back to La Push. Sue had phoned Seth two or three times, but just Seth, and probably just to tell him how to reheat the frozen dinners Sue had prepared.

Leah figured that if anything really important were to happen, somebody would make the expensive coast-to-coast call – and besides, it wasn't like Sue or Leah could come back any sooner than planned, and they couldn't be helpful from the other side of the country either. So technically Leah didn't care about what was going on there.

But she knew she still had to call. It was one of those unspoken rules she hated.

She hesitated for a moment, thinking about who to call. Seth? Probably not the best source of information. Sam? She really didn't want to hear his voice right now. Paul, Quil, Embry, Brady? Ha. Forget it.

Which left Jacob. Which was pathetic.

With a sigh, she dialed Sam's number. He was the alpha anyway, screw everything else.

No one picked up. Annoyed at herself for being relieved, Leah flopped down on her bed and just stared at the wall for awhile. Waiting … waiting … always waiting for something.

At noon, Natalia came upstairs and into her room. She found Leah asleep, and gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. "Honey, we're gonna leave in maybe twenty minutes," she said once Leah had opened her eyes.

"Okay. Let me just get ready real quick," responded the teenager. (A/N: in my world, our dear Leah is 18)

Natalia left and Leah sat up, yawning. She would liked to have said she was wide awake, but she was one of those people who needed a good ten minutes to really be alert after sleeping. Trudging to the bathroom, Leah threw a glance in the mirror.

Not a pretty sight. The pale-ish skin, the puffy, tired eyes, the messy hair …

Leah splashed some cold water of her face and then dried it off with a towel. There. That was as close as she'd get to washing it before leaving and maybe it would help reduce the puffiness of her eyes. She was hitting two birds with one stone, technically.

The concealer that had been in the drawer underneath the sink for the past few days was still there. Good. She was convinced it was Natalia's, but since it wasn't in Natalia's actual bathroom and just so happened to match her skin color she had been making use of it.

She ran a brush through her short hair and frowned at it. She really should scratch the idea of another Tragedy Haircut and just let it grow out. It'd be prettier that way, too. Besides, there was no more moping around for her. She had done enough of that before coming here.

No more negative thinking.

No more negative anything at all.

She jogged back upstairs to her room and changed her shirt. The other one was wrinkled from sleep. The jeans still looked fine, though.

The fact that she cared enough about her appearance to change her shirt because of wrinkles said something.

It said a whole lot.

Hours later, after coming back from the airport without Sue, Leah and Natalia were sitting in a coffee shop not far away from Natalia's apartment. Leah was drinking an espresso, Natalia a cappuccino.

"So tell me about your plans for the future," said Natalia, sounding unfairly optimistic.

Leah chuckled. "Yeah. That's the standard question, isn't it? Thing is, I don't know. I'm kind of … in a crappy situation right now. There's nothing for me in La Push, but damn, it's not like I can just pick up and leave. I mean, there's a lot of complicated stuff going on and …" she trailed off and sighed. Complicated – that didn't even begin to describe what was waiting for her back home.

She realized she actually wanted to tell her aunt, or anybody actually, this stuff. Well, the things she could talk about.

Leah went on. "I dropped out of high school in my senior year, which sucks. Without my high school diploma I'm really screwed, and I can't just go back to La Push High, because … oh, I never really liked it there and the problem is … the time. Basic schedule stuff, you know? I don't have time every school day from 8 am to 3 in the afternoon, and I can't just make time because I … work such crappy hours and …, oh God it's awful," she said, always pausing when she wasn't sure how to rephrase something.

I work such crappy hours?, she thought. What kind of a weird non-explanation is that, anyway?

"What's keeping you in La Push?" asked Natalia, seeming genuinely curious.

"I don't know. Where else can I go?"

"Good point," murmured Natalia. "You know, if you theoretically had your high school diploma, you could just go off to college someplace far, far away from La Push and be rid of it all."

"I don't think leaving La Push is that easy. It's kind of like … I have an obligation there, you know? I can't just pick up and go off to college. And besides, how would I pay for it? Money isn't something we have too much of," Leah said wistfully.

Natalia grinned. "You're thinking that if your family had more money and maybe lived somewhere else, all of your problems would be solved."

Leah smiled, too. "You make it sound like a bad thing to think."

Natalia shrugged, still grinning. "I think you should get your hands on a diploma. And then you should move away."

"It would be a great plan, you know, except for the first part is kind of hard. Like I said: I can't change my schedule to fit in with any potential school needs."

"You could earn your high school diploma online, you know."

The suggestion hung heavily in the air for a few moments.

"It's not really something I've ever looked into," said Leah, avoiding the subject.

"I have," countered her aunt. Damn, she seemed determined. "I'm sorry if you think I'm violating your personal space, but I even have a list." Natalia chuckled and looked down at her lap, a little embarrassed.

Leah was trying to decide whether or not to be insulted that Natalia was pretty much planning her future for her when the said aunt interrupted her thoughts.

"Look, before you get angry at me," Natalia said, trying to explain. "Your mom – my older sister – has told me so much about you all, and La Push, and … I just, I guess I can understand you, you know? Well, maybe less of that, but I want to help. I … I…"

"I'm not a charity case," said Leah in a strong voice.

"No! You're not! But you have this spirit around you, and I just… I don't know."

Leah picked up her empty espresso and stared the non-existent contents down. What the hell was this, anyway? Had her mom dragged her here so Natalia could get all positive-outlook pep-talk on her? Oh, to hell with it all.

"Let's go shopping," Leah said determinedly.

"Okay," said Natalia, quickly finished her cappuccino and picking up her purse. They both acted as if the coffee shop incident had never happened. And after a minute or two, they resumed chatting and bantering like they had been before. All was forgiven, if there had ever been anything to forgive.

One pair of black leggings for Leah, a red trench coat for Natalia, a white blazer and a long necklace (both for Leah) later, the duo found themselves in a shoe store. More specifically, Otro Vez, a medium sized place that had just opened a few months ago. According to Natalia, at least.

"I really like this store, you know?" said Natalia as they entered. "The shoes are pretty and they won't fall apart in two seconds. And there are no designer brands or anything so normal people like us can afford them. It's still pricey, but this is where a lot of people go for their quality shoes now."

"You looking for anything specific?" asked Leah.

"Yeah … Sue told you about Justin, right? Justin Rowster? We've been together for years now, and have talked about getting married. You haven't met him yet because he's not here. Justin was on a business trip, in Florida, actually. He works for an advertising company and was meeting up with an important client over there."

Leah mm-hmmed.

"Anyway, he'll be back tomorrow, but then he still has to work and all. But you'll probably meet him in 3 days, because he's taking me to this classy little restaurant he found. You'll be alone at my place. You could always find yourself a party or something, if you want. But anyway. The restaurant. I have this new little black dress and I need shoes to go with it. So that's what I'm looking for. Is there anything particular you want?"

"I need both flats and heels. You said this store is a bit more expensive?"

"Right," said Natalia. "But there's this huge, gigantic shoe store not far away that's cheaper. We can go there, too."

And go there they did, after Natalia had found a delicate pair of silver high heels at Otro Vez. Leah was impressed; the store really was enormous. She ended up buying black pumps and pretty ballerina flats. And she had fun.

That evening, before falling asleep, her mind kept returning to one thing: online high schools. She knew she would never make it out of La Push without her diploma, and she knew she wanted out. More than anything, right now.

Leah made a mental note to find out more about them. There was no way in hell she was going back to La Push High, that was certain.

She wondered what the guys would think. Not just about her thinking about an online high school, but about the things she was doing here in general. She knew they never thought she was the type to buy high heels or necklaces or blazers or leggings or any of the things she'd found today.

And as much as she wanted to, she couldn't just say screw them. She didn't care about their opinion but couldn't stand all of that babyish teasing. As if they had nothing better to do.

In short, Leah was worried. About going back to La Push, about people's reactions. She knew she seemed tough, and she was, but she couldn't take souvenirs from Happy Leah's world back to Bitchy Leah's. Because Happy Leah was not at home in La Push.

Otro vez is Spanish for "again". I decided it sounded cool.

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