"Meet me in outerspace
We could spend the night, watch the earth come up
I've grown tired of that place, wont you come with me
We could start again" 'Stellar' Incubus
The pieces had fallen, the battle had come and gone and there was nothing much else to do but gather up the living, bandage up the wounded and bury the dead.
The survivors were plentiful for both asides. Aside from the major causalities of Carlisle, Esme and Quil, many had escaped with minor injuries, at least minor in comparison of those left upon their hearts. Both the Cullens and the werewolves mourned greatly, neither seeing the end of their sadness in the following days of the battle. Yet, no matter how sad they were of the great ones that had fallen, they were still thankful for those who had survived and for each other.
The truce was settled, neither side could see the point of so much hate when those who fought for love and peace were slain so violently. It may seem strange to onlookers, a battle so ancient and practiced to fall so easily like a deck of cards but it had happened. Sam and Jacob shook hands with Edward and Bella, the newly pointed leaders of the Cullen clan as partners. Both clans established themselves as the protectors of the NW territory from any who threaten their way of life. They were sure word of their defeat of the Volturi would slowly spread around the world, so many of their clan had managed to escaped soon after Jane and Alec's demise. There would be others out there hungry with power, filled with confidence that they could take out a puny clan like the Cullens and their pet dogs. However, both the Cullens and the pack would be prepared for next time when it came.
--
It was unseasonably warm as tiny puffs of white clouds hung innocently in the air. After days of remaining inside the Cullen house, comforting each other in their grief, Nessie had quietly asked Jacob to go on a walk with her so they could talk.
They were a few yards from the house when Nessie stopped abruptly, playing with her hands and staring hard at a spot on the ground. Jacob kept his distance, not wanting to disrupt whatever kind of thinking process that was happening inside her head.
Jacob took a moment to appreciate the woman had Nessie had become in the past few weeks. She looked so much like Bella with bits of Edward splashed here and there. She had Bella's eyes, of course, the curve of her lip, her brunette locks and her mother's shy, awkward air that surrounded her. And yet, she had Edward's nose, his piano fingers and a sort of grace when she walked. She had grown up so quickly: it still amazed Jacob to know that not even a year ago, no one could've guessed a type of creature like herself could exist. And yet, here she was in front of him: living, breathing and thinking very hard about something.
"I'm leaving," she said abruptly, keeping her back turned against him. He could guess why she wouldn't look at him. The look of hurt that flashed across his face would've hurt anyone when they took a stab at their heart. Jacob had to take a moment to recompose himself, burying the hurt and ache that began to crawl across his chest like an expanding ink blot, before he could speak.
"Where are you going?" He asked, his voice a soft whisper. He wanted to sound strong but he knew this was no time to protect one's masculinity. She finally turned, her eyes slightly sad but with traces of confidence, like nothing in this world could change her mind.
"South America," she said, taking a deep breath before delivering the final blow, "with Nahuel."
"Oh," was the first thing to escape from Jacob's lips. He felt the urge to clutch his chest, stagger back or do something to show his physical pain but he stayed planted. He was now the one staring hard a spot on the ground, remaining focused so he would not stumble or fall over.
"I have to learn more about myself, my kind of people," she said in a rush of words, taking a step towards him but stopping, like hitting some type of invisible force field. Jacob was thankful for a moment, he didn't want her to close to him. "Jacob, I still love you. But I love you like a brother, doesn't that still apply to the imprint?" She asked desperately, he looked up and saw her hands he was admiring early were clutched in fists.
"I am whatever you need," he said, his voice gaining strength. "If you need a brother, I will be it. If you need a lover, I will be it. If you need a friend," he risked a glance up at her and was caught on her sad gaze, her desperateness for him to understand what she wanted. "I will be it. I will be whatever you need in life."
"Then Jacob, be my friend, be my brother. I could never want anything else, I need a chance to find whatever else is out there for me," she took another step forward but Jacob didn't lower his gaze. "Jacob, from what I've gathered in studying your pack for the past few weeks, your imprint and the sense of connection to another is from one person to another, it doesn't necessarily have to be returned. There's no cosmic obligation that I must fall in love with you and … and I know I'm not the one for you."
This woke Jacob out of whatever trance he was in. He blinked, confused until a certain name seeped into his mind.
"How do you know?" He asked, bewildered but relieved, all at once.
"Please, Jake, I might be physically young but I am pretty observant. I see how you look at Leah and how she looks at you back. No imprint can mask that type of connection."
Jacob couldn't help but smile at the thought. There was a connection stronger then imprinting? Not impossible, he guessed, but a very rare thing to find. He looked back up at Nessie, she still looked sad but she gave him a half smile, Edward's half smile. Before she could say anything, she closed the space between them and gathered Jacob in her arms. Jacob hesitated at first but soon responded to the hug and held her tightly. They spent a few moments in their embrace, memorizing tiny details to store into their memories for the next time they'll see each other. Jacob breathed in her hair, took it in his hands and felt the texture. He focused on her heart, storing the rhythm of it to his memory. He knew he loved her but it was a much deeper love then wanting to be with her romantically. It was more like a family love; a love that meant he would protect her no matter what came her way.
"Well, I must go say goodbye to my family, we want to begin our journey tonight," Nessie said taking a step back and fully looking at Jacob. He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets and kicking a mound of dirt.
"Sure, sure, I think there's somewhere I need to be too," he responded with the smallest of smiles.
--
Leah had disappeared again, overwhelmed with the happiness that the threat against her home had passed but sad because now things could settle again, now others could begin their lives with whomever they pleased but she was alone again.
She wasn't crying this time, if anything she was more pissed then happy. It seemed to be written by her ancestors that no phasing female could ever find happiness and settle down. She was young, yes, but she felt so trapped by the curse that hung around her. Like it was natural selection, her mistake could not reproduce and continue into the future. She was nature's anomaly.
Leah knew what she wanted, she had known for a very long time, but finally when she was close to it, it slipped through her fingers. All because of a half vampire, half human girl who inherited some trait, some spark inside her that caused the imprint. What would she give to have that piece, a tiny change in DNA that caused Renesme to have everything Leah wanted?
What would she give just to be a girl with a crush, if you would dare call it so, on a boy? She wanted to strip away everything that made them different, abnormal and just be a boy and a girl who possibly stood a chance in the world.
Leah closed her eyes and let her mind stray, blocking out the sounds emitted by the forest. She tried to not hear the slightest rustle of the leaves, an animal possibly miles away scurrying, the breaking of branches and twigs by some unknown creature. Leah just wanted to be normal and she thought if she could pretend long enough that there was the smallest of possibilities that it may work.
"Hey," a voice whispered softly into her ear, startling her as she bolted straight up. The sky had significantly darkened since she had last opened her eyes, the sun had already gone to bed and now she was surrounded by the fading twilight. She had no idea when she had fallen asleep but it must've been for a great deal of time. She then remembered the disturbance and looked up to see Jacob's concerned face above her.
"Hey," she replied back almost causally, her voice deep and dampened with sleep. She cleared her throat and touched the back of her head, feeling twigs and dirt lodged into her hair. She cursed herself for looking like some recently unearthed hobbit. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, it seemed like you upped and disappeared," he said, holding his hand out to help her up. She looked at his hand and then up at him.
"Seem? It should be easy, just follow the scent …" she said, disregarding his hand and standing up on her own. She finally looked at him fully for the first time since the last time they were together; he somehow looked different to her. He looked lighter, in a way, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, a sense of hope returned to his face but she couldn't be sure. All she knew was something was different.
"Yeah, well, I really didn't want to phase to find you … to use my wolf instincts," Jacob said with a shrug, shoving his unused hands into his pockets.
"Yeah, instincts," Leah scoffed as she wiped away the dirt from her shorts and bare legs. "Instinct is a funny thin-"
"Nessie is gone," he blurted out, causing Leah to freeze mid-swipe. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise.
"What do you mean gone? Did the left over Volturi come back and I didn't know?" She asked, her heart dropping to the bottom of her stomach.
"No, no, no," he said, shaking his head with a smirk, this was another signal for Leah that something had recently changed. "She left on her own accord … with the other Halfling vampire child."
"Oh," Leah said with the slight nod of her head, becoming more and more confused by the second. "So, are you going to chase after her?" She asked with a small, mocking laugh.
"She said she didn't want me anymore then … then a brother, saying her happiness was elsewhere in the world," he said, chancing a glance at Leah who's attention was concretely set on some mysterious spot in the forest beyond. "So, I'm staying here."
"So, um, what does that mean about the imprint? I don't think I've heard of any legend where the imprintee breaks up with the imprinter," Leah said finally looking at Jacob, his eyes bore into hers and she froze in place. A cold chill ran down her spine but she held back a shiver.
"Well, I've thought a lot about imprinting lately, what it means for me and the rest of the pack … and you." Leah couldn't muster any words, feeling open and vulnerable like a pulsating wound. " … and I want to test a theory, would you like to help me?"
"A theory?" Leah couldn't help but smile back at this, science was never Jacob's forte in life but she wanted to see where he was going with this. "And what's your hypothesis, if you know what that is," she bite back as he took a step forward.
"Well, I do believe now that Nessie has somewhat broken the imprint by rejected me," he took another step forward, now he was within arms length of Leah but didn't tempt to grab her. "And that the threat to Forks and La Push has passed … for now," he added as he took another step forward, Leah could feel the heat radiating off his skin but didn't move. "I think I can see things more clearly. You see, I think it's the moment when one person looks at another and they know, beyond reason or doubt that the person they're meant for is in front of them. That's an imprint." He reached up and took a stray twig from Leah's hair, crushing it carelessly in his palm. "People can pass the ones they're meant for any number of times until there's that moment … that single moment that they know … "
Leah held her breath during Jacob's speech, her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest at any moment but she hoped it could contain itself for what was going to happen next.
"And Leah," he leaned down, his nose lightly brushed Leah's before he rested his forehead against hers, "I think you're it."
Their kiss was electric, like it could light up the city of New York for eternity. But it wasn't the electricity Leah first noticed when Jacob's lips crushed hers.
There was a strange sensation in her stomach; it felt like gravity itself had left Leah momentarily, like she was floating above them momentarily, suspended without support or a safety net. She felt like her ties to her pack, humankind, even earth itself had detached for a split second before something grabbed her, like something seizing her soul and bringing her to a new purpose, a new reason for Leah's existence in this life.
And that reason was Jacob Black.
A/N: First and foremost, I want to thank any person who ever looked at my story. The readers, the reviewers, subscribers, everyone who ever showed interest in my writing I want to thank you since because of your kind (and not so kind) words, I finished this story. I could never tell you how much I adore you all from the bottom of your heart. You make writers like me happy beyond belief.
I would also like to thank Stumptown coffee on Belmont and Starbucks everywhere for giving me the fuel to keep me sane and making this story possible.
Also, to anyone and everyone who helped me edit this story, Liz and Vonnie and Joanna. You guys are simply the best and I love you too.
Will there be a sequel to this story? I have no idea. I have ideas of what I could do but I will definitely approach writing my next story in less time (I've been writing this story for on-going year and a half. Wow!) I ask you to please keep me on your author alerts since I do write a lot of short, one-shot stories. Or follow me on twitter at melovecoffee.
This will not be my last, I can assure you this. - N
