Author's Note: Same drill - center italics are Leah's letter to Embry. Regular type, her internal musings as she writes. Happy reading!

Could It Be?
POV: Leah

The last time I'd handwritten a letter was back in middle school when we were practicing friendly letter format and we had pen pals from a neighboring reservation. I think about how different that letter, so eagerly written about the latest pop stars and dance styles is so different from the one I have in my hand. I can recall every tortured phrase and every nervous thought that occurred to me as I wrote it two days prior. The memories are so fresh, it's as if I'd just penned it moments ago...

____________________________________________________

Hey, EnviroGuy!

Have you imprinted yet?

You know, you'd make my life

a whole hell of a lot easier if you just did, already.

You will tell me when you do, right?

Put me out of my misery and all that?

Ha.

Sorry, I know. It is so totally wrong of me to

point at the gigantic pink elephant between us.

Totally inappropriate.

Totally me.

Sorry.

Truthfully, I'm really not sorry at all.

It just seems like the right thing to write to Embry.

After all, if he did imprint, my life would be easier, much, much easier.

I could stop thinking about him for one thing. I could just go on being my snappy, morose, and bitter self. Then, I wouldn't have to worry about being a cradle-robbing shewolf, or worse, have the constant headache of entertaining the thought that I might possibly want to be Embry's semi-serious, long-distance sort of girlfriend.

Sigh.....

Anyway, Embry.

Congratulations on the job! I knew that you'd get it!

When you didn't show up at the airport to let Jakey-poo lean on your shoulder,

I figured you were still out in California.

It was a pathetic display, by the way.

Wish you'd been there, we could have teased them together.

With Embry's farewell kiss a fading memory,
watching Bella and Jake say their goodbyes at the airport was,
one of the harder things I've had to do...
since finding out I was part of Sam's stupid wolf pack.

Is it as sunny as they make it out to be in all those angsty prime time shows?

Are you a surfer now?

That would be pretty hot, I think idly before going on...

It must be exciting for you to know what you want and to be able to do it!

I'm really happy for you and proud, too.

Thank you for the shirt.

It doesn't smell like just me anymore.

When I took it out of the wrapping, it was you and me, together,

which is really nice.

Really, really nice, actually. Mmm...
Wow, I can't believe how much I miss him...

I miss you.

Having it with me, wearing it, helps when I think of you.

I just don't want your scent to leave it.

You did wash it, though? Right?

I mean, that would be kind of gross.

You're right, putting pen to paper isn't easy.

I'm sitting in the woods, just outside of the house Bella and I live in.

The trees are different. The sun feels different.

The sounds are different. I'll put a leaf in the envelope so you can see.

I love the necklace you gave me.

I wear it.

A lot.

I like that you call me, Buttercup.

It makes me smile. It reminds me that I am a girl,

reminds me of a time when I was just a girl -

not this freaky, he-man strong, she-wolf thing,

who hangs around with smelly boys

who just want to kill stuff and eat it raw.

Yuck.

No offense.

The boys in the pack are gross, though!

Anyway, I digress.

When I look at your gift, my necklace,

it reminds me of the part of me that no one seems to see.

Somehow, it's the part that you are able to recognize,

the part you are always able to touch.

Why is that? I think before starting up my letter writing again...

School started yesterday and it's so exciting to be away

learning about fashion, stage life, and business.

I even took up yoga when you left.

I like it so much I even found a good studio out here.

It's... different... to be this

bendy.

Yeah, obviously, I have no idea what I want to do,

but I'm taking all of the prerequisites and hoping that if I stick through it,

what I want most will eventually bash me over the head.

Then I'll align my life to make it happen.

...Bash me over the head, and throw me into a tailspin -

sort of like what you did this summer -- to me.

Knowing you makes me different, too, Embry.

You make me see the person I used to be - a person I liked being.

Through your eyes, I can also almost see the person I'm going to become,

when I'm better,

when I reclaim the parts of me that I lost after Sam,

and create the new parts I have yet to discover.

Yeah, I still can't believe how much I miss him...

I miss you.

I said that already.

But I do, I really do.

And it's not just because you're really hot,

because you are, ;)

but also because ...

Because what Leah?

... you know me, and you still, amazingly, like me for it.

Maybe even more than just like? I think, dotting the "i".

I put my address, my cell number and my e-mail address

on a paper inside the envelope.

Don't lose it!

See you in January,

for that lovely wedding.

I heard you're standing in the groom's line.

Oh, yay!

Torture for the two of us!

Can't. Wait.

(That was sarcasm, if you didn't get that.)

I fuss over how to end the letter.

With love?
No.

Always?
Embry used that, not original.

See you soon?
But I won't!

Don't fall into the ocean, either?
Oh, yeah! what did happen to his cell phone?

Focus! Leah!

Ugh. This sucks.

So I just do what's easiest...

- Leah

____________________________________________________

Ending my trip down memory lane, I hand the letter to Jake who stuffs it into his backpack. We're expecting the airport shuttle any moment. Bella's sitting on the couch, trying very hard not to look dejected. Let's just say she's a really bad actress.

Jake grabs me up into a fierce hug.

"Take care, Leah," he says quietly.

"Hey, you gonna go all crybaby on me?" I ask roughly, pulling out of his embrace, wiping at my nose to cover my own sniffle. "Don't worry Jake. Really. We'll be fine."

"Tell me, again, why am I leaving?"

"Because you love Bella and you want what's best for her. That's why you're leaving her with me!" I say with a really hyperbolic enthusiasm, trying not to show that I care at all that he's going away. It was nice to have him around. Really.

"Oh, yeah, that's riiight!" he says, slapping his forehead.

We stand facing each other, grinning like fools.

"Hey, Jake," I say more seriously this time. "Will you promise me something?"

"Why, of course, Leah," he says in a mocking tone that has me giving him the stink eye, "after you've been such an angel to me these last few days? How could I not?"

I smirk, thinking about the neon marker warrior paint I drew on his face while he napped, and the detailed map I handed him on the second night. I'd drawn and labelled every lake and stream around our place and laughed uproariously when he actually used it.

"Smart ass."

"Bitch."

"Enough, you guys," Bella quietly interjects from her seat.

We both roll our eyes at her.

"What is it, Leah?" Jake asks, seriously this time.

"Promise me you'll call me, or let me know if..." I waver, not sure if I should ask this. The airport shuttle pulls up to the door. "... if Embry imprints," I finish my whispered request hastily. "You tell me first. OK? Please?"

Jake stands there though the van driver is honking impatiently. I see understanding flash in his eyes.

"Sure. Leah. Sure."

I let out a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding. I quickly say my thanks and push him toward the door.

Bella and I both frame ourselves in the window as we wave goodbye.

After we watch the shuttle pull away, Bella wanders around the living room and I move into downward dog on my eco-yoga mat. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch her fingers linger on the frame of a picture I took of her and Jake on the porch. It's one I'm really proud of and one I plan to submit for a grade in my beginner's photography course. I snapped it on the first day of his arrival, right before we headed off to the Dartmouth student mixer. It is a profile shot of the both of them, the light perfectly illuminates them, focusing on how they have eyes only for one another.

Not wanting to show how much pride I have in having taken it, I sit cross-legged in Cobbler's Pose on my yoga mat, and make faces at Bella while she straightens the photo on the fireplace mantel.

"I meant for that to be a personal momento," I snip, slipping into Warrior One pose. "Why do I have to be subjected to the happy couple whenever I walk in here? Can't you put that in your room?"

"I thought yoga was supposed to bring you peace and tranquility," she questions serenely. I almost want to bark out a laugh, but don't want to show her how much I appreciate the sarcasm.

Instead, I shoot her an exaggerated look of exasperation, followed by pretending to gag, indicating to her how queasy I'll get if she leaves the photo on the mantle and not in her room where it truly belongs.

She turns to admire the picture again, and I can't help but take some pride in the how she gazes at the photo, saying how the shot was skillfully made. Though glowing inside, I paste on a scowl before she turns to look at me.

The sudden sound of a U-Haul truck scattering gravel in the driveway catches us both off guard and I quickly end my workout. I leap onto the couch to peer through the front windows. A long appreciative whistle escapes me as I look at the very masculine body climbing out of the truck's cab. I catch Bella's eye, cock an eyebrow, and send her the universal girlfriend-to-girlfriend "you've got to get a look at this mighty fine specimen of man right here" kind of look.

She kneels on the couch beside me to stare at the backside of the bohunk. She and I exchange appreciative smirks. He's at least an inch taller than Jake. From the looks of his skin-tight, Banana Republic, black T-shirt, he's got a nicely built torso. His blond hair glints golden in the sun and is just long enough to show a wave in it. His profile is heavenly. And...

Oh!

I vaguely hear Bella commanding me to wave at him. My hand is frozen in mid-air and my breath catches when I lay eyes on his perfectly formed face. The amusement I registered in his emerald green eyes turns into something else entirely when he meets my gaze.

I gulp audibly.

I frisson of awareness sizzles between us.

Fathomless verdant eyes.

Ohhhhhhhh.......No! no! no! no! This can't be happening!

I hear my internal shouts and pleas with myself to snap out of it.

I can't seem to think beyond the mild irritation of my own persistent refusals to accept what is clearly in front of me. I don't want it, but no matter how much I might desire to listen to my inner voice, I can't seem to tear my eyes away...