Chapter 14)

Bella's POV

Shopping with the girls is actually nice and enjoyable. They don't badger me into every outfit there is. They actually let me make my own decision on what I want to try on, unlike Alice where she wants me to try on everything while ignoring my lack of consent. We spend quite a few hours in Port Angeles before we are ready to head home.

With a couple cute outfits each, we are all set for the start of summer. I can't wait to wear them. I actually picked out a couples dresses, skirts, shorts, jeans, and shirts. The jeans and shirts people would expect. But the other stuff, not so much. No one ever really saw me in that stuff besides the Cullen's when Alice would play Bella Barbie. Cue eye roll.

When it came to shoes, I wanted to stick with sneakers or boots because I don't want to test my luck with heels just yet. I know I'm more graceful now, but I don't want to take the risk. Rachel and Nicole, however, insisted on me getting a couple pairs of heels. For once, I let in.

Arriving in Forks, I drop Rachel, Nicole, Claire, and Haley off at the house, so they can take everything in and start unpacking. But I doubt they'll do it with their hands. I apologize to Leah as we pull away from my house to head to La Push. I know we are going to be cutting it close to dinnertime and I'd hate to make her late for Sue's home cooked meals.

*Seth's POV*

I'm laying on my porch with my head propped up by my hands, when I hear the others getting close. Smiling, I stand up eagerly, ready to welcome my brothers back. Then I remember what I want to talk to them about. I quickly run my hands up and down on my face. God, how do I explain this to them? I hope Bella won't be mad at me. I really hope she understands.

Everyone emerges from the woods and stops in front of me. "Hey, guys. Nice to see you again." I say softy.

"Hey, Seth." Sam replies shifting from foot to foot. I can tell he doesn't want to be here right now. He'd rather be with Emily. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

Sighing, I decide to start off light. "First off, Leah imprinted."

Sam sucks in a sharp breath as a few people gasp. "With who?" Flies quickly from Paul's mouth.

"I'll get to that later. I kind of used that as a breaker. What I really want to talk about it Bella." A few eyebrows rise as I mention her name. "Well, you see, the thing is, Bella is different from the last time you've seen her."

"What do you mean different?" Jacob questions before I can get another word in.

"From what I've told you Jake, you know she's been hanging out with Leah and I. She's really fun to hang out with. Either she hangs out with us in La Push, or we hang out at her place with her cousin and his friends. Man, her new house is really nice," I blurt out without thinking.

"Her house?" Edward yells in disbelief.

Shit. "I shouldn't say it's her house. I mean, she lives there and all, but it's not in her name. He cousin Nick bought it. He's a pretty cool guy and we get along okay. We would probably get along better if he wasn't my sister's imprintee."

Paul scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Greaaat. So Jake is after one Swan while Leah is now after another Swan."

A growl passes through both the lips of Edward and Jake. I shake my head though. "Nick isn't a Swan. He's related to Bella through her mom's side. But anyway, back to Bella. Since she's been hanging around us, I'm sure Alice hasn't been able to see her." I glance at Alice and see her nod before I continue. "Then that means no one has seen her since she changed. Okay, now when I say change, I really mean she changed. Like a lot. I don't know Bella before you guys left, but what I remember from Jacob's memories when he was phased, she was a shy girl. She isn't that shy anymore. She's very confident and says what's on her mind. Her appearance has changed as well." Before I can stop myself, I'm flooded by a memory.

A knock on the door makes me get up from the couch. I groan as my sore muscles stretch. "Coming!" I shout to the front door.

Pulling open the door, I come face to face with Bella freaking Swan. Being the teenager I am, I can't stop myself from gawking at her once again. Her perfect curves. Plump, perky breasts. Small height as her head stops right above my elbow. Her lightly colored hair. When I look at her face, I'm greeted with her perfect white teeth, smiling brightly. Her icy blue eyes hold a playfulness to them as she realizes I was checking her out.

"Ready to go out?" Her musical voice asks.

"Y-Yeah, Leah is finishing up in the bathroom. She'll be right out. Where's Nick?" I ask as I usher her inside.

Bella's long caramel colored hair swishes from side to side as she walks through the threshold. "Oh, he's waiting in the car. He's really excited to be going bowling. Nice idea, by the way. You just gave me a way to embarrass him. He cannot bowl to save his life. He hasn't realized Leah is coming though. I'm sure he'll freak out and I can't wait for him to get embarrassed in front of her," She giggles and punches my shoulder lightly.

I laugh loudly as I push her gently. "You mean Nick isn't as perfect as Leah makes him out to be? He actually has flaws! And it's the easiest game in the world." Bella nods her head as her eyes shine with happiness. Leah emerges from the bathroom which makes Bella bound up to her. They both embrace each other in a hug. With their difference in height, it was hard to keep a straight face. We were always getting strange looks because Bella is so short now. I never really asked her how short she was, but it is pretty freaking short. Maybe I should ask her sometime.

Edward's gasp pulls me out of my memory. My eyes grow wide as I realize what I just released. I wasn't planning on letting him see her in my thoughts. I was just going to warn them and let them find out on their own. Shit, Bella really is going to kill me. Edward stares at me with questioning eyes. "Yeah, that's really her. I told you she changed." I confirm in a small voice. Suddenly I feel guilty..

"What are you talking about?" Alice asks. "What do you mean changed?"

"Bella has blue eyes and light brown colored hair." Edward answers not breaking eye contact with me.

"Like she dyed her hair and got contacts?" Rosalie inquires as she rolled her eyes.

"No." I state.

Everyone turns to me with puzzled looks. "What do you mean no?" Comes from Jacob.

"I mean, she didn't dye her hair or get contacts-"

"I'm not following," Emmett interrupts.

"If you'd let me finish-" However, I don't get to finish as I hear a vehicle approaching. My eyes grow wide. No! They shouldn't be home this early. "Shit!" I panic.

"What's going on?" Jared asks.

"Bella's here!" I state frantically. "Her and Leah are about to pull into our driveway. You need to hide right now. She can't see you yet." I begin shoving at Sam, trying to get him to hide in the woods. Hopefully if Sam moves, the others will too.

"Why do we need to hide? It's Bella Boo! She loves us!" Emmett sings happily.

"Not right now. She is angry and upset with you guys leaving and changing when you were coming back. Please," I beg. "Please just hide in the woods until she's gone. She's just dropping Leah off."

I look at Edward with pleading eyes, hoping he understands what I'm trying to get at. "Okay. Okay, let's hide." He agrees while motioning everyone into the woods. I sigh in relief as they disappear into the trees.

*Bella's POV*

As we pull into the Clearwater's driveway, Leah stiffens. "He didn't," She growls.

"Didn't what?" I ask a little confused. I stop the truck and put it into park.

"Bella, stay in the truck." Leah instructs as she opens the door. She quickly steps out and slams the door shut.

Of course, I don't listen and Leah groans as I step out of the truck as well. "Can't you just listen to me just this once," She whines.

I stick my tongue out at her playfully. "Nope." I smile as I spot Seth sitting on the porch. "Hey, Seth!" I greet cheerfully and wave. "Man, you should have come with us. There were tons of pretty girls you could hav-" I stop midway as I notice the tension between brother and sister.

Leah is having an intense stare down with Seth. He won't make eye contact with her, which makes me a little curious. Has he done something to her stuff? What's going on? Seth's head lowers and nods as if he's answering a silent question of Leah's. "Are you out of your mind!" She shouts at the top of her lungs. It makes me jump since I wasn't expecting it. I looked at her dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry." Seth whispers dejectedly to Leah.

"Don't apologize to me!" Leah snaps at him and lunges. She phases before her feet even hits the ground.

Seth takes a step back, and throws out an "I'm so sorry, Bella.", before phasing himself.

A snapping of a twig makes my head snap to the forest. I can't see anything with my new eyesight, so I brush it off. It was probably a small animal. Leah, however, growls fiercely. Furrowing my brows, I looked between Leah and Seth. Her hostile position starts getting me thinking.

Then it dawns on me and I took a step back in retreat to my truck. "T-They are here. Aren't they?" I choke out.

Leah looks at me sympathetically while Seth hangs his head in shame. I hear the footsteps hitting the ground before I can comprehend them. Wide-eyed, my head snaps to the edge of the forest. The pack and the Cullen's emerge slowly. Curious faces scan mine. A few gasps fade with the wind. Undoubtedly shocked at my new appearance. I mean, I am shorter since they last seen me. And my eyes and hair were different, too.

My eyes flash in anger before turning to Seth with accusation. He whines and lowers his head to the ground. "How could you?" I scold him. He whines again as my blazing eyes stare him down.

"Bella?" Alice takes a step towards me. She stops short when Leah moves to crouch in front of me. The sadness in Alice's eyes almost made me forget why I was mad. It almost made me run forward and hug them. Almost. But they left and I was mad. And upset. How could they have left me and forget to call? How could they constantly change their plans without thinking of me?

This time Edward moves forward. Upon seeing him, an intense pain shoots down my spine and settles at my tattoo. "Love?" He questions while extending his hand towards me. I flinched away as the pain flares around my tattoo. Not only am I feeling this pain from my tattoo, but my chest starts to feel like it's constricting. When the pain starts being too much too handle, I pull my arms around my midsection. Much like I did when he first left me. Edward sucks in a sharp breath. He knows that motion all too well since I've done it in front of him a couple times when he first came back. I glance at Leah and catch her eye. I sends her an apologetic smile as she nods back.

In a split second, I turn and book it towards my truck. Everyone is so shocked at my sudden movement that they didn't move at first. I don't know if they are shocked I ran away from them, or if it's because I didn't trip. However, as soon as I get into my truck and start it, they begin to process I am leaving. They start moving from their spots when I peel out of the driveway as fast as I can.