Hi guys! Sorry for the wait. 1: I was super busy, but 2: I was kind of struggling trying to figure out what kind of relationship traits I wanted Lena and Embry to have, and how their different personality traits came out while together. I think I finally figured it out, and this is my favorite chapter so far... I hope you love it!

PS: Sorry for being awol for so long! I'm back:)


Embry's POV

"Major, mega, ultimate news," Lena says to me as soon as I step into her house. I stop walking and cock my head at her. She is standing on the kitchen island in a tee-shirt, a pair of shorts that are so short it looks like she doesn't have any pants on, and her hair in a somehow shining, and sexy looking messy bun.

Damn it, Embry! I mentally yell at myself. She's 15! She's not sexy!

She begins pacing back and forth on the counter when I don't immediately respond. She has a spatula in her hand that she keeps hitting against her palm as she thinks. The sight is so funny I can't stop myself from laughing. I take a mental video; this is why I love Lena so damn much.

"Wanna know what it is?" She stops pacing and places her hands on her hips.

"Depends," I cross my arms. "Is it something that needs to be said from on top of the kitchen counter?"

Lena cocks an eyebrow at me. "Depends," She mocks me, "Do you have a problem with my being on top of the kitchen counter?"

I roll my eyes. "No. Just curious."

"This is big, Embry!" She thrusts her spatula in the air, getting a boisterous laugh from me. "Stressful. Good. Amazing. Incredible. Terrifying. Confusing."

My eyes widen at her. "Is your internal dictionary malfunctioning? Or are you just really into adjectives?"

"Mom!" She suddenly stands up straight, frozen, with wide eyes.

"Hit me!" Scarlett pops her head out from the side of the couch. I jump back; I hadn't even realized she was there.

"Picture this," Lena waves her hands as if setting the scene. "Young girl, kidnapped off the street. Thrust into the sex trade. Chains," Lena clicks her fingers. "I could dance in chains!"

"Okay," I clear my throat and hold my hands out. "No one in this room is being kidnapped into the sex trade."

Scarlett seriously ponders this for a moment as they both ignore me. I would wonder what the fuck is going on, but between the two of them, I have learned to just accept my fate of constant confusion and surprise. "I don't know," Scarlett finally answers. "It seems kind of…"

"Cliché," Lena finishes for her with a sigh.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Scarlett points at her. "What about something having to do with self-image."

"Everyone does that," Lena waves her idea off. "Plus I'm tiny. It wouldn't come off right."

"Agreed," Scarlett nods once.

"Hey Embry," Paul says casually as he strolls into the kitchen, ignores his daughter standing on the counter seemingly without pants on and his wife hanging upside down off of the couch, and opens up the fridge.

"Ugh," I scratch my head. "Paul, you got any idea what's going on here?"

He gasps. "You didn't tell him yet?" He yells at Lena.

My eyes widen.

"No time!" She exclaims. "I have no idea what to perform?"

"Perform?" I ask confusedly.

She nods. "A scout from the New York City Ballet is coming to see me at the show in a few weeks. I had a solo, but it's not good enough for New York City Ballet. God, if I had only known that he was coming earlier. I need something intense, something different but classic, you know?" She begins pacing again. "Nothing is good enough! There isn't enough time! Ugh! What am I doing to do?"

"Hold up," I say loudly. She turns towards me. "You're telling me that you have a scout coming to Forks Washington to specifically see you, straight from the company that you have dreamed of joining practically since you could walk?"

She nods.

"Lena!" I yell. "That's awesome!"

"Eee!" She throws herself off of the island and I dive to catch her.

"Jesus!" I gasp as I somehow manage to keep her tiny body from slamming into the tile floor.

"This is amazing!" Scarlett dances into the room, pulls Lena from my arms, and then begins dancing around the kitchen. "This is why we had a daughter! To be rich and famous and take care of us in our old age!"

I shake my head at the sight of the two, nearly identical blondes clumsily spinning around the kitchen. "You two have problems."

"Still," Lena stops dancing abruptly and grabs the side of the table to keep her vertigo from taking her down. "I need a theme. Something jaw-dropping. Preferably heartbreaking because I only like to dance to depressing themes."

"Queen of darkness, is that you?" I pretend to rub my eyes at her.

She rolls her eyes. "What's the point of dance if it's fake smiles and happiness. I need depression! Drama! Oooo!" She pops up. "What about murder!" She throws herself as me and hugs her arms around my neck.

"Lena," I hold up my hands. "Think about this for a second. You don't want to do this."

She bursts out laughing. I lift her off the ground and dip her, causing her to squeal, before she wraps her legs around my abdomen and I can finally get a good look at her.

"Isn't that amazing?" She is beaming. I smile, because it is impossible not to when Lena is this happy.

"It is. I'm so proud of you."

Lena blushes, which I love, because those are few and far between. "I need a theme."

"Lena," I laugh. "Why don't you just enjoy the moment. We can think of themes all day tomorrow if you want."

She grins. "Maybe."

"I know you can't do that," I laugh and set her down, knowing full well that until she picks the perfect theme and music and choreography for this dance, it will be all that she will be able to think about. "Worth a shot."

"Ugh, you should have seen their faces Embry!" Lena closes her eyes as if remembering the exact moment. "You should have seen them when the teacher announced that a scout from The New York City Ballet was coming to our little show just to see me. Me! I thought they were going to somehow murder me with their jealousy."

I laugh. "Good. They needed to be put in their place." I wink at her, though Lena just giggles. After Lena got back from practice the day after the whole car bullshit, she told me that she talked with her dance teacher about what the other students had done to her car. I usually wouldn't have believed her, but she came out of practice twenty minutes late and in deep conversation with the teacher. The teacher even hugged her when she left- yes, the same teacher who referred to her as a hooker on more than one occasion.

Two girls were suspended from the company, which in a dance company this prestigious, was huge, huge news. Basically, it was Lena pressed charges or they accepted their suspension. Now, I think, the rest of them are too scared to ever pull anything like that again, though I wouldn't turn my back on them for a second.

Lena decided that she didn't want to tell her parents, and though I originally was super against the idea, I have to admit that I understood where she was coming from. I mean, she was embarrassed. It's hard for a kid to tell their parents something like that, and I know that it is, in fact, hard for her to admit that she was bullied by them. I decided that I would respect her wishes on the subject and not say anything, but if anything at all happened again, even the slightest of offenses, Scarlett and Paul would hear about it in explicit details.

So, I put a fresh coat of paint on her car and everything was basically good as new.

Lena leaves the room to take a phone call just as Lena is explaining in detail how every girl reacted.

"We should celebrate tonight," Lena smiles widely. "Let's go out! Get food! Tacos!"

"Tacos?" I laugh. "What's so celebratory about tacos?"

"Nothing," She grins, "But you could order a margarita and let me drink it."

I roll my eyes. "Nice try, kid."

"You'll never guess who I just got off the phone with!" Scarlett bounces excitedly into the room. I actually have to take a deep breath; I am not used to these two being this excited. Between Scarlett and Lena, I can always somewhat expect a little darkness.

"Ali's coming for dinner! Can you believe it?" She asks me. "I didn't even know she was in town."

My eyes immediately dart to Lena. Her hands had dropped and her once excited face has turned into a straight, unreadable one. She makes eye contact with me and holds it, almost as if she is waiting to see what I have to say about it.

"G-great," I clear my throat. "Yeah. Lena and I saw her at the store the other day. I told her to call you."

"Really? This is awesome!"

I nod but go to stand next to Lena now. With how she reacted last time, I am thinking that I should tread lightly now.

"Ugh, we could still go to dinner if you want," I tell her, trying to sound casual.

"Do you want to?" She looks up at me.

"I want to do whatever you want to do," I tell her, hoping that is the right answer here.

She rolls her eyes. "Nope. This is perfect. Can't wait!" Her sarcasm is so thick I could probably bury myself in it.

The rest of the Sunday is spent rather casually, though I find myself spending most of my time with Paul because Lena refuses to speak with me. By the time Ali gets here, I am actually relieved just because Lena has to actually talk now.

Lena comes out just before she comes through the door with a simple black dress on and her long blonde hair parted down the middle. She looks good; a little too dressed up for a family dinner, but I refrain because I woild not like to die tonight.

Scarlett gives her an excited hug; they were best friends, and then Paul, and then me. I can practically feel Lena's eyes scorching into me; if she would kill me with a stare she probably would. When Ali goes to hug Lena, I nearly jump in front of her to keep her away from the scary blonde with anger practically evaporating off of her, and I know that Scarlett and Paul can tell too. They keep looking at her odd out of the corner of their eyes, though Ali doesn't seem to catch it.

"Lena," Ali pulls away. I take a deep breath; thank God she didn't stab her while she had the chance. "It's so nice to see you again! How's dance."

"Fine."

I clear my throat. "Actually it's a bit of a celebration tonight. Lena's got a scout from the New York City Ballet coming up to see her."

"What?" Ali gasps. "That's amazing! Good for you!"

Lena smiles but it doesn't even get close to reaching her eyes. I gulp. Is it getting hot in here?

"Is everyone hungry? We're just about done in here," Scarlett pokes her head into the kitchen.

"Scarlett," Ali gasps. "Did you learn how to cook?"

I burst out laughing. I can't help it! "Oh God no!"

"I was about to say!" Ali laughs with me.

Lena bumps her shoulder as she slides past her to get to the table. Ali stumbles back a little. "Excuse me," Lena calls over her shoulder, flips her hair, and then takes a seat.

Holy shit.

The meal goes slightly better, but that is probably because Lena stops talking altogether. She keeps pushing her food around her plate but not really eating it. It isn't until she is asked a direct question when things start going downhill drastically.

"So Lena, when's the show?" Ali asks excitedly.

"Two weeks," She responds with about as much emotion of a rock.

"Ooo that's not too far at all!" Ali beams; I have to hand it to the girl, she is not letting Lena's obvious distaste get her down.

Lena narrows her eyes at her, and I know her well enough to know that she doesn't like how unaffected she is. "What do you do again?" She begins slowly.

Oh no. "Ugh- Lena," I clear my throat. Everyone looks over at me. "Are you going to eat that or have you actually become that cliché dancer anorexic chick we joke about?"

Scarlett and Paul chuckle, but Lena doesn't even blink.

"I'm eating," She responds, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh leave her alone," Ali pats her shoulder. Lena stiffens. "And besides that's not funny! Some girls really struggle with that!"

Lena looks at her sideways. "Did you?"

"Oh, no," Ali giggles. "But I had a friend that did."

"I was about to say." Lena widens her eyes, gives her the up down and then looks away.

Ali's mouth drops.

"Lena!" Paul scolds.

"So, Ali," Scarlett cuts in. "Embry told me about your dad. I'm really sorry to hear. How's your mom?"

The conversation turns to the conversation of Ali's dead dad, and thankfully Lena isn't psycho enough to make a rude comment during that. After that, Scarlett is actually the one that keeps the conversation going, all directed at everyone else except for Lena. And right after desert when Lena asks to be excused, Scarlett responds "yes" immediately, whereas Paul was about to fight it. I look at him and shrug; there are some moments when we just have to surrender to the fact that Scarlett is going to get teenage girl things that we may never, ever get.

Before desert I excuse myself quickly to go check on her.

"Hey Lennie," I knock on her bedroom door. No answer. I open it anyways.

"Don't you know how to know?" Lena seethes, bunching her dress into a ball and pulling her tank top, which is at her stomach, all the way overtop of her body. It reminds me to the time when I had accidentally seen more of her. The images flash across my mind and I am fucking putty. She is perfect. I've never seen a more perfect woman in my life.

Shit.

Shit!

She isn't a woman, Embry! I mentally slap myself for even thinking such a thing.

"So, you gunna tell me what your problem is?"

She rolls her eyes. "I don't have a problem."

I widen my eyes at her. "If this is you not having a problem I really wouldn't like to ever experience you with a problem."

"Why do you always have to make a joke, about everything?" She suddenly explodes.

I blink at her. "What?"

"It's annoying."

"You know what, what's your deal? You're being a bitch to everyone tonight!"

"I am not being a bitch!" She yells back. "Do not call me a bitch!"

"I didn't call you one I said you were being like one," I roll my eyes. "And you aren't actually a bitch so that's why I'm so bothered with you acting that way."

"You know what," Lena crosses her arms. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh you don't want to talk about it?" I retort, beginning to actually get ticked off. "Yeah well you don't have that choice."

"Yeah I do. So get out of my room."

"No."

"Yes!"

No!"

"Get out of my room!" She screams, and suddenly, the black dress is coming straight for me. I manage to jump out of the way before the fabric could do any real damage, not that it would in the first place.

"What the hell, Len?" I demand.

"You don't listen to anything I want, ever!" She is suddenly screaming.

"What do you mean I don't listen to you?" I retort. "All I do is listen to you because you never let me talk!"

"That's because I know what you're going to say and I don't want to hear it so just shut up!"

"What the hell? How would you know what I was going to say? That's not even possible!"

"Oh well I do, okay, I do! You're going to say that I'm being stupid and irrational and then tell me what to do like a five year old because I'm never allowed to have an actual opinion or be respected in my own decisions!"

"Why would I say that?" I yell at her. "I don't even know what you're mad at me about?"

"How do you not know?" She screams, and suddenly her voice is cracking and raw at the ends like it always gets before she is about to cry. "You say that I'm crazy and that I need to be nicer but don't let me make my own decision about how I want to be!"

"You're not even making any sense!" I actually laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of this fight. "I never said that!"

"I have to act exactly how you want me to and I can't have my own opinions about people because I need to be sweeter. That's what you're saying!"

"I never said that!"

"Basically!" She throws her hands up.

"Alright," I pinch the bridge of my nose between my two palms. "Do you not understand how completely insane you sound right now? You're literally making things up in your head and then saying that I said them."

"Why would I need you to say it if I already know what you were going to say?" She cries.

"You are fucking crazy!" I finally explode.

"I am not crazy!" She screams. "And you don't love me. And you're going to run off with some stupid brunette kindergarten teacher who volunteers with fucking autistic children in her spare time and I'm going to be left here all alone because all I care about are stupid dances and not helping the blind." She crosses her arms and drops down to the edge of the bed, sobbing silently to herself.

What the fuck? I scratch my head at that one.

"Lena, I honestly have no idea-,"

"You know what just stop. Just stop!" She holds her hands up.

"Stop what? You won't let me speak!"

"I know what you're going to say!" She screams. "And just don't okay? You should just go because I'm not going to stop!" She throws her hands up and then covers her face with her hands again as she continues to cry.

"Holy shit," I mumble to myself. "Lena. I don't know what I did but I'm really-,"

"This isn't about you!" She screams.

"And there you go again not letting me speak," I sigh.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say anyways so why talk," She swipes at her eyes.

"But you don't even know what I have to say!"

"I definitely do, so."

"No you don't," I argue, completely exasperated and entirely confused at this point.

"Pretty sure I do."

"Lena." I finally give up on trying to argue with her and cross the invisible fence between us. I kneel down in front of her. "What's going on? You can tell me."

She bites the inside of my lip which means that something is definitely going on. "Nothing," She responds after a moment.

"Lena," I moan.

"I'm fine," She narrows her eyes.

"You're not fine, Lena," I moan. "Tell me."

"I'm fine!"

"No you're not."

"It's nothing!"

"It's not nothing, Len!"

"I'm jealous, okay?" She explodes, her cheeks flaming red. Her admission was kind of a given, but her embarrassment was not. Lena rarely ever blushes anymore, and I am wondering why she is doing it now.

"You don't say," I cross my arms at her.

"Yes, actually!" Lena moans. "I am ridiculously, insanely, certifiably jealous! God I hate this!"

I can't help but laugh. The only thing worse for Lena seeing girls obsess over a guy, is actually being the girl to obsess over a guy.

"It's not fucking funny, Embry!" She blushes again and then swipes the rest of her dried up tears away. Thankfully she has finished crying for who knows what reason.

I sigh and let my arms drop. "Alright. Let's talk. Why are you jealous?"

Lena scoffs and matches her gaze with mine. "That's your ex-fiancé, Embry."

"Ex-girlfriend," I clarify, "Of fifteen years, by the way, you psycopath."

"It doesn't matter," she rolls her eyes.

"But why?" I push.

"Did you have sex with her?"

Lena is staring me dead in the eyes and I am just trying to figure out how to breathe correctly again. Sex? She's- she's asking me about sex? I struggle to find my voice.

"Th-that's none of your business, Lena."

"Nothing is ever any of my business!" Her voice grows louder again.

"Lena," I begin, holding my hands out. "Stop yelling. I don't want to fight with you."

"I am not yelling!" She screams.

"Lena," I moan.

"I know you did," her eyes drop and suddenly she is playing with her fingers in her lap.

"How?" I ask, exasperated.

"I can tell," she mumbles. "How long did you date her?"

My brain is still having trouble working correctly. "A few years."

"How many?" She pushes.

"Two," I sigh.

"Great," Lena moans and then drops her back onto the bed. "You had 2 years of sex with her."

My eyes widen. I have no idea what the hell to say to that.

"So," I try to get somewhere with this conversation besides my sex life. "You're jealous?"

"I don't understand why I would have to repeat it again."

"Why are you jealous, Lennie?" I decide to go sit next to her on the bed and soften my voice, hoping that this may help her calm down. "I'm all yours. You know that."

She sits up, catches my eye from the side and holds it for a moment. "You're not all mine," she mumbles, and suddenly she is red again.

I swallow. "What?" I begin; I mean, she can't possibly mean what I think she-

"You slept with her."

I am momentarily frozen- shocked into paralysis. Am I crazy, or did Lena just admit that she wants me, like that? Lena just admitted that she wants me... physically? My heart rate is nonexistent and my jaw is so tight I think I may break it if I try to move it.

I am confronted with a brick wall of conflicting feelings. On one hand, I am jumping for joy that she may feel the same way about me physically that I have been feeling for her lately. I love Lena, and so I would love it if she wanted me. But on the other hand, on the only hand that really matters in this moment right now, is that she is fifteen years old. She can't like me like that.

"L-Lena," I try, and then have to clear my throat. "Let's- let's just stick to the Ali subject at the moment, alright?"

Lena's eyes are shooting fire again. "Why do you want to talk about her so badly?"

"Wh- that's the whole issue, isn't it?"

"No!" Lena suddenly has tears in the corners of her eyes once again. "Not at all!" She crosses her arms tightly and bites the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. I hate that I am the one to make her feel like this, but in all honesty, I don't know how to deal with her admission. I'm not ready. I'm not prepared and I am at a complete loss. I don't even get what set her off in the first place, and to be honest, the entire first half of this fight was like she was speaking a different language; I'm so fucking confused.

"Lena," I sigh and kneel down in front of her once again. I take her hands in mine and rub my thumbs against her soft skin. She stares at the movement instead of staring at me. "I'm sorry, okay? About everything. I'm an idiot. If you don't want Ali around anymore than she won't be."

"You'll still see her though," Lena rolls her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't need you to explain it. I know what you're thinking."

"Lena," I take a deep breath as to not lose my cool again. "For the tenth time: No. You do not know what I am thinking or what I am going to say. Would you stop that?"

"Ali probably does," And as she says her name, the distaste is evident in her voice. "She probably knows a whole lot about you that no one else does."

"That's inappropriate and you know it," I tell her, "And besides, it doesn't mean anything."

"It means everything!" She argues.

"Lena, I drop her hands and instead place my palms on her thighs. New tactic. "Do you really think that your parents hadn't slept with other people before they met each other?"

Her mouth drops. "Embry! Ew! What the hell is wrong with you? Those are my parents you're talking about!"

I stifle a laugh. "Your mom- definitely not. But your dad had. That doesn't make him love your mom any less."

"But my mom and my dad have sex." She shivers. "A lot of sex."

I chuckle. "They're married."

She rolls her eyes. "Who waits for marriage now a-days? You didn't. If they're extremely overactive sex life is any indication, they didn't either.

"You're missing the point," I sigh.

"If I was my mom I would have killed my dad for that. It gets on my nerves, even thinking about my dad, as weird as it is, being with someone else. It's the same with you. You belong to me. And some girl thinks some parts of you belong to her."

I raise my eyebrows at her. "Lena, I don't belong to anyone. You don't own me. That's not right."

"I don't care. I hate it- thinking about it."

"Lena," I struggle with my words for a moment. "I'm not sure how to make you feel better about it besides her not coming around anymore. It happened. I can't take it back."

"I really don't want to talk about this." She stands abruptly. "Besides I don't care."

I reach for her wrist as she walks away. "Hey, wait a second. You do care."

"No I really don't." She pulls her arm out of mine.

I moan. "You're allowed to have feelings, Lena, and be a girl."

"Oh so now I'm not a girl," She crosses her arms.

"Again," I grit my teeth. "Never said that."

"I don't care about anyone," she blinks at me.

"Right."

"Do you?" She asks, a little shyer this fine.

"Hm?"

"Do you care about... me?"

I gulp. "Of course I care about you," I dance around the subject. "You're my best friend."

She frowns. "But, do you have Ali-type feelings for me?"

I blink at her. "I don't feel anything for Ali."

"But you did once. Do you have feelings for me like you used to have for her?"

I am stunned into silence again. This time her question is blunt.

My chest is screaming at me to say yes. Tell her everything. Tell her that I'd rather die than think about myself being with another girl that wasn't her and didn't have huge, beautiful big eyes and light blonde hair and perfect cheekbones. I want to tell her that she smells like vanilla all the time and when I fall asleep I use her pillow because it makes me feel warmer inside and calms me down.

But I can't.

I just can't.

"Lena," I begin cautiously.

"Are you going to sleep with other girls?" She asks suddenly.

I am taken aback. "Fuck Lena! Would you relax about my sex life? Jesus."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know." I lie.

Lena flinches. Her face a controlled expression if I've ever seen one before. I can't tell that I hurt her, but I know that I did... and that scares me, because she has never hidden her feelings so well from me before.

"Great." She smiles suddenly, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "That's good."

She slips through the door and I am left shocked and confused.

I am too stunned to think.

It wasn't what I thought it would be, but now, it seems dumb to have expected anything else. Lena's stone cold to the rest of the world, but I just never thought that she would be with me. What the hell did I just do? I wonder.

Lena avoids me for the rest of the night. Even when I try to act normal and direct questions her way, she either pretends like she didn't hear me or starts telling a story that interrupts me. She is so good at it I wonder if anyone notices.

When I went to help her with the dishes she expertly spun towards the refrigerator to "pour herself a drink" so that she wouldn't have to be near me. When I tried to sit next to her on the couch later, she got up to "grab a blanket" and then took a seat in the recliner.

When it came time for me to leave, I didn't even get eye contact when I went to her room. "I have to go to an emergency rehearsal!" She called out her bedroom door.

I'm not sure whether that was a lie or not.

All-in-all, I don't even poke Ali when I say bye to her in the driveway. I merely wave and offer her a warm smile, hoping that it doesn't come off rude; at this point, I am convinced that Lena will completely cut me out of her life if she by chance saw me hug Ali out of her bedroom window.

I am not taking any chances.

Of course I slept with Ali, I mean, we dated for 2 years. I almost proposed to the girl. But it was so damn long ago; it's not like I think about sleeping with her when I see her. I had loved her once, I really had, and I had physically loved her too. But I don't know how to explain to Lena that what I felt for Ali has absolutely nothing on what I feel for her, without telling her that I have romantic feelings for her.

I need to talk to someone. Actually, I need to talk to Lena, but I can't. I can't talk to her about these feelings because she's a little girl and I'm supposed to be the adult here and there isn't anything to talk about because these feelings aren't allowed to exist.

While usually I would head for Scarlett, I can't exactly bring up inappropriate, sexual feelings towards her own daughter and expect her to be of any help.

So instead, I head for the only two people who may have a little bit of insight on this particular fucked up situation, and turn right towards the Ateara household.

"Mommy! Embry's here!" Little Sky Ateara pulls me into the foyer and shuts the door behind me. He reaches for my hand again and leads me into the kitchen.

I am confronted with two, screaming twins and what I hope is baby food coating the floor.

"Sky, are you- Sky!" Her eyes widen when she sees me. "I told you not to open the door!"

"You said not for strangers," Sky frowns. "It's Embry!"

Claire blows her hair out of her face and gives Sky a serious expression. "I am pretty sure I said for anyone, Sky."

"No you didn't," she squeaks back.

"Ugh!" Claire moans and starts stripping the twins. "Embry," she finally acknowledges me. "Hi. Sorry, things are just crazy tonight."

"I can see that." I tilt me head at one of the twins, which one I will never know, who is currently screaming and laughing as Claire holds her upside down. Of course Quil would get all girls.

"Could you- ugh. Are you like in an emergency or something?" She peers up at me nervously.

"Nope. What do you need me to do?"

"That's okay," Claire's shoulders drop. "I'm sure you didn't come here for that. If you're looking for Quil, he's out on patrol. I'm so tired, both twins are sick and I'm just so overwhelmed and I can't reach him and I can't think and-,"

"Claire." I place my hand on her shoulder as she swallows down sobs. "It's okay. Really. Give me them. What do they need? A bath or something?"

"Oh Embry," Claire rubs at her eyes, and I suddenly remember her as a five year old being chased by Quil through Sam's house on Sunday night dinners. "You don't have to."

"It's really not a big deal," I lie to her, because after today, dealing with two sick toddlers is the last thing I want to do. "I used to take care of Lena all the time."

She nods begrudgingly. "Well," she looks nervously around the room. "If you really don't mind, it would really help if you could bathe them so I could clean up the kitchen."

"You got it, Claire-Bear."

"Are you sure, Emb?" Claire asks nervously, but at this point I already have Kate's feet in my hands and Hope tucked under my arm like a football.

It's actually quite ironic how in the midst of trying to grapple and understand these new feelings for Lena, I am thrown back into the world of caring for toddlers. Cleaning Kate and Hope reminds me of when I used to do that for Lena. It reminds me that Lena is still just a little girl.

I clean them both up and then help them into their pajamas and put them in their beds. When I finally return to the kitchen, Claire is looking much less suicidal as she finishes up running a damp cloth over the newly cleaned kitchen countertops.

"Oh Embry!" She jumps at me when she sees me.

"Oh?" I laugh and catch her.

"Thank you so much. You saved my life."

I chuckle and set her down. "Yeah, yeah. You know I did that for you a few times when Quil was busy and you were being a devil."

"Great. Now I really owe you," Claire rolls her eyes.

I laugh. "Where is he, anyways?"

"Coming back soon," Claire smiles.

"Is he going to stop phasing soon?" I ask her, distaste evident in my voice.

Claire shrugs. "He doesn't have to."

I scoff and bite back what I really want to say. Don't get me wrong, I fucking love Quil like a brother, but Claire and him had kids very... young. They got married at 18, pregnant at 19 and then twins at 20. No one else seemed to find a problem with that, but for some reason it has always irked me. Claire never had a boyfriend, she didn't go to school. She didn't experience anything.

"You're going back to school, right?" I push.

Claire rolls her eyes. "Duh. Quil would kill me. Opposed to contrary belief, I was the one who wanted kids so young."

I sigh. "I remember." I rub my eyes, reminding myself yet again that Quil only has Claire's best interest at heart, and quite honestly, it isn't any of my fucking business.

"Hey," her voice suddenly drops. "I'm fine though, really. I mean, yeah Quil's been busy lately. But, I mean, he's my Quil."

"No Claire- it's- it's not that. I know you guys are great."

"Oh," her shoulders relax a little. "Well than, what is it?"

I sigh. "I need some advice. About… Lena."

Claire's eyes widen but then a knowing smile quickly spreads across her weirdly mature face. "I was wondering when this would happen," Claire crosses her arms smugly and then leans against the cabinets.

I moan and rub my face. "It's way too soon, I know, okay? I feel disgusted even talking about it out loud."

Claire cocks her head at me. "You think? How old is Lena again? 17?"

My eyes widen. "Fifteen."

"Fifteen?" Claire gasps. "What? No way! That girl is not 15!"

"Tell me about it," I moan.

"Wow," Claire giggles. "I honestly thought that she was older."

I nod.

"She certainly doesn't look 15," Claire murmurs.

"Claire," I moan. "You're not helping."

"Right, sorry," she clears her throat.

"She's acting… differently. Actually, everything is different lately. I mean fuck- sorry about my language- but fuck, Ali comes around for dinner and it's like I made out with the girl in front of her!"

Claire laughs. "I'm sorry," She quickly covers her face with her hand. "Are you talking about the Ali that I think you're talking about?"

I blink at her.

She laughs again and presses her hand to her chest to try to stop. "Wow," She breaks, "That's just really funny."

"Trust me, Lena pissed off is not funny. It's miserable actually," I shiver at the memory.

"I didn't mean her," Claire cocks her head confusedly at me.

"Huh?"

"I meant you," Claire raises an eyebrow at me and then crosses her arms overtop of her chest. "You honestly thought that bringing Ali over for dinner was a good idea? You're seriously surprised at that reaction? Are you out of your mind?"

"Okay I didn't fucking bring the girl! And I am so sick and tired of the Ali shit!" I finally explode. "I promised the girl that I would marry her, and then dropped her as soon as I saw Lena! She's the most understanding human being I've ever met and I'm not going to ignore her just because Lena's uncomfortable with it."

"But Embry," Claire shakes her head. "Lena doesn't know that. In her head, you keep bringing over our ex fiancé that you can't speak anything but high praises about."

"Well she would know if she listened to me once in a fucking blue moon."

"But it doesn't matter what you say," Claire shakes her head. "Trust me. Her whole life you've been telling her the same things. She doesn't care what you say. It's what she sees. And she's seeing you being kind and respectful and loving to a girl that you used to date. Hey, actually, weren't you engaged to her?"

"Holy shit," I moan and rub my face angrily. "At this point I don't even care if we were or not."

Claire giggles. "Alright. You want advice or just to complain some more?"

"Complaining sounds good."

She sighs.

"I'm kidding," I grin at her. "Give it your best shot kiddo."

"Best shot," She scoffs. "I went through this crap. I know exactly what you need to do."

I raise my eyebrows at her. "You do?"

"Yep," She pops the "p" at the end. "Interested?"

"Only if you keep it broad and don't go into too much detail," I shiver.

Claire grins. "Deal."

"So what should I do?" I sigh and lean forward. "Stop talking to Ali? Tell her what's going on? Tell Lena that she's too young? What?"

"None of the above," Claire sighs. "Look, Embry. I get that she's too young. Anyone with a brain knows that, but she's also your imprint. It's a different situation, and it should be treated like so."

"Okay," I speak slowly. "So you're telling me to just… go for it?"

Claire's eyes widen. "What? Embry? Are you out of your mind? She's fifteen!"

"I thought that's what you were saying!"

"No! Goodness," Claire giggles. "I'm saying to be honest with her. Tell her that you're feeling conflicted about her. Tell her that you're feeling different kinds of feelings for her that you don't understand that you're not ready to explore yet because she is too young, but that she isn't alone. Just… acknowledge her feelings. She probably feels like an idiot."

"But why?" I finally let the tension fall in my shoulders to speak with her honestly. "Why would she think that Claire? I've never once made her feel like that."

"It's not you," Claire sighs. "If she's anything like me, than she couldn't possibly imagine that you would ever have those kinds of feelings for her. She feels like a pathetic little girl who has a crush on her older best friend. And I'm telling you right now that you bringing Ali around, an ex-girlfriend who is your age with a real job and a real, what she views it, chance with you, is making it much, much worse. Much worse."

I take a moment to take this in. "So, ditch Ali?"

Claire shrugs. "Well, you don't have to ditch her. But maybe don't bring her over for Sunday night dinner anymore." She giggles and smiles jokingly at me.

"I'm an idiot," I stand with a laugh.

"And Embry, whatever you do, just don't go over there acting like nothing happened."

I blink at her. "Huh?"

"Oh please," Claire rolls her eyes. "It's your MO."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

She starts rattling off a list on her fingers. "You punch Scarlett in the face, bring her food and pretend like it never happened."

"What?" I gasp and sit up in my seat. "I never hit Scarlett!"

"Kitten fight club," Claire giggles.

I scratch my head. "You remember that?"

"Duh," She rolls her eyes. "You think Lena is jealous? Imagine how jealous I was watching Quil train Scarlett all day. She's all blonde and all boob."

I can't help but laugh. "But still, that was different Claire-bear. You know I would never actually hurt Scarlett."

"You made fun of Lena's first dance show, made her cry, and then went over the next day and never mentioned it again. You forgot about her audition, and then you went to dinner every night at her house until she started speaking to you again. You-,"

"Okay, okay! What the hell, Claire? You know between you and Lena I sound like the worst guy in the world!"

"I'm just saying," Claire giggles. "You have a terrible habit of not being able to confront conflict."

"Not really. I just don't deal with bullshit. If she has a problem she can tell me. I don't need to sit there guessing and telling her sweet, stupid things."
She sighs and shakes her head. "You are hopeless. Poor Lena. But then again, poor Embry." She blinks at me. "You do realize that all of this actually might not work at all because Lena is the polar opposite of me, right?"

Before I have a chance to panic about that, the back door slides open and Quil steps through. "Clairey, I'm sorry babe I- Oh." Quil's eyes widen. He looks from me and then back to Claire. He turns back to me. "You're not who I was expecting to see looking hot in a tee-shirt."

I roll my eyes. "I'm out. Thanks for your help Claire. Quil, you're an idiot. Claire's great."

"Ee!" She squeals and high fives me excitedly as I shake my head and slip out of the back door. I think I know exactly what I need to do.

I go right to Lena's. I don't even bother using the door; instead, I climb the short, ivy-covered ladder attached to the side of the house and am pretty sure that I break her window to get inside. I slip into blackness and immediately notice a bulge underneath of the sheets where her tiny body is lying.

I close the window, for it is quite bitter tonight, and I don't want her to experience a chill.

"Mmm," Lena mumbles audibly and then rolls from her side onto her back. She rubs the backs of her hands against her eyes and then stretches her arms high above her head. Her back arches as she cranes her neck and stretches.

Jesus, Lena.

I sit down on the edge of her bed. "Lennie," I say softly.

Lena gasps and suddenly jumps up. I wince back in surprise for a moment before my eyes grow wide.

"Who's there?" Lena asks, suddenly sounding exactly like the little girl who would have me check underneath her bed when she got scared that a monster was hiding there. She clutches the covers tightly in her fists and holds them in a death grip at her chest.

"It's just me, Len."

Lena's breath literally explodes out of where she was holding it in her chest. "Embry! What the hell? You scared me to death!"

"I'm sorry," I say.

"No you're not," She moans and sits up in bed. "What do you want?" She mumbles. "I'm sleeping."

I chuckle. "Got a pen?"

"No?"

I sigh and stand up. I disk through her desk drawers and find a small pad and pen. She is sitting up, frozen, watching me as if I have lost my mind, as I scrawl out exactly what Claire suggested, with a little bit of modification. Lena is a lot different than Claire; if I tell Lena that I have feelings for her, I know that she will push the issue. I just know it. Patience has never been her specialty.

I fold up the piece of paper and then toss it at her. "Here." I say and then sit on the edge of the bed once again.

She looks at it funny, and then slowly opens it back up.

I watch her as she reads it, remembering exactly what I had wrote:

Alright. Since you're being so damn difficult. Here goes:

1. No feelings for Ali. Zero. Noda. None.

2. My sex life is none of your business.

3. Please stop thinking that you know what I'm thinking when you don't because you're usually wrong.

4. Never ever leaving you. Promise.

-Love, Embry

Lena's lips pull up into a wide grin, and suddenly, she is lunging at me. She smells like my favorite strawberry shampoo and is soft like it, too. Her skinny arms wrap tightly around my neck as she breathes against my neck. My muscles tighten immediately.

Fuck.

NO.

I scream at myself for becoming so physically affected from the lightest of her touches.

That's enough- I tell myself. Never again.

"Thank you," Lena says earnestly.

I nod. "I'm sorry it had to be in a note. I didn't know how to say it."

"I like it better that way," She admits quietly.

"Not that you would have let me say it," I mumble.

"Hm?"

"Go back to sleep," I nudge her shoulder. "Unless you still have that emergency midnight rehearsal."

"Shut up," She grumbles and pulls on my hands. "Stay."

"Lena," I begin uneasily.

"You have to stay! We fought. Now we made up. Now you have to stay. Rule."

I roll my eyes. "Rule, huh?"

"Basically a commandment."

"Wouldn't want to disobey the Lena Church Almighty." I help her back underneath the covers and then tuck them in tightly to her sides. "Sorry I scared you," I tell her once again, taking a seat next to her.

"You're going to stay, aren't you?" She asks, her voice sounding hopeful.

"Yeah," I stroke my finger along her cheek and then lightly press my fingertips beneath her eyes, checking for puffiness. "You were crying?"

She pulls her face away. "No."

I let it go, though I know she was. I lie down on top of the covers next to her and offer her my arm. She twists it underneath her and finally rests her cheek in my palm, closing her eyes. "Sorry," She says after I am sure she is asleep.

I run my fingers along the tip top of her spine, right underneath of her neck, as a response.

"Don't be."

Lena sighs. "Even though you basically gave me a low-grade heart attack, I'm glad you came. I just figured that you would pretend like it never happened."

Seriously?


What did everyone think of their first taste of Lena and Embry going completely psycho at each other? Let me know below!