Ch. 25
Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh, My!

POV: Leah

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The months after Labor Day fly by. December brings us freezing weather and we're mostly cooped up inside.

It's a good thing, too. Classes are just about done for the semester. Bella and I are in the throes of studying for finals and have only a couple of days before we get on a plane bound for home. She is such the quintessential student. I've come to accept that her coping mechanism against homesickness is to study and work hard. If you are to ask Jake, it must do the trick to get her mind off of their long distance relationship.

I at least don't have that problem to contend with.

I'm ecstatic that Stefan left after only three intolerable days of me knowing he was just a few feet beyond our living room wall. I hadn't ventured further than my doorstep while he was around. I fought my body's constant urge to cast a shadow on Felicia's threshold each moment of every day that I knew he was staying next door.

If what Felicia says about why Stefan leaving is right, I find it extremely ironic that he'll likely be studying the Quileute Nation before long. Hopefully, I'll still be out here by the time he's digging around LaPush. Try as I might, I can't imagine someone as gorgeous as him doing something as boring as archeology.

On the day of Felicia's and my first meeting, I answered her eerie question about my thoughts on Stefan by simply shrugging it off. I'm fairly good at hiding my emotions like that. I told her that I hadn't really noticed him and that I hoped I'd be able to meet him if he was going to be our neighbor.

Basically, I lied through my teeth.

I had absolutely no intention of meeting him. My nonchalant reply seemed to have greatly pleased her. I, for one, was relieved beyond words when she told me that her brother would be leaving within days.

Once Stephan was gone and she settled in, Felicia made sure to invite me out on the town whenever possible. I start up a careful friendship with her. Bella, though, avoids Felicia like the plague. While Bella studies and works, Felicia and I workout and paint the town red together.

I find myself a begrudging admirer. She'd just started an accounting job, her schooling all but finished. It's hard to believe she's four years older than me, but sometimes it makes sense. She's uncannily clever and has a strong head for numbers. I want to be like her, confident and capable.

On our late nights, Felicia and I, together, manage to gather a line of guys nearly two city blocks long. It's great fun exercising the intoxicating power of beauty. For pure self-entertainment, we sometimes hold contests over which one of us will get the most free drinks from these superficial fellas. It makes me feel good that I'm at least in competition with her. I win these vixen games at least half of the time.

The thing that I find somewhat strange, however, is her steadfast determination to get me to hook up with someone, anyone. It's really weird. It's like what I've been trying to do to Bella and Jake to test their love. Like Bella, though, I can't seem to shake the distressingly strong hold of Stefan even with the smorgasbord of available guys his sister finds for me.

Felicia disdains Bella, calling her the much despised nickname, Izzy. Describing her as a stick-in-the mud and has all but stopped asking her to join us on our evenings out. The most excitement Bella seems to get these days is from holding study groups at our place. None of those male eggheads ever try to hit on either Felicia or me. Bella tells me they're intimidated. I tell her they're ridiculous. When Bella isn't studying, she's at the local children's center doing pre-requisite work for her major. She's happy, but not annoyingly so. I think she doesn't smile as often as she used to be because of Jake's absence.

I often hear Bella and Jake teleconferencing before dinner. She also gets a goodnight text from him before hitting the pillow. It's sort of sweet, I guess, if you're into that kind of thing.

Admittedly, though, technology does rock. Because of it, I am able to fend off my own sporadic homesickness. Seeing Seth's goofy face onscreen and being able to reassure my mom that I am doing fine keeps be fairly buoyant - for me, that is.

Today, I'm not feeling upbeat at all. I am stressed and am in need of a serious break. I am tired of studying. My eyes are bloodshot from staring at my business class notes and my performing arts history books.

I need to run.

This time, I want to run as a wolf. I've been avoiding phasing since Thanksgiving, thinking I might be able to beat it - to stop phasing, but today, I'm just going to do it.

It's times like these that I realize I love being a wolf, having the ability of superhuman speed and being able to touch ultimate freedom. So, I pull on my favorite running outfit, crisscross a string on my left leg, like I'd seen Jake do, and make for my favorite spot in the woods.

Darkness surrounds me, but my eyes adjust quickly. I don't phase yet, carefully pulling off my clothes in the moonlight and enjoying the icy air caressing my hot human skin. Before completely undressing, I decide to leave my workout outfit hidden in the undergrowth rather than tying it to me. I like the idea of being unencumbered tonight.

As I reach around to unhook my bra, I suddenly realize the birds are silent. In my bare feet, clothed only in my underwear, my hands pause. I prick my ears to listen for anything unusual. The woodland animals sound like the first night I phased - absolutely silent, aware that a predator is among them. Since I haven't hunted here, they don't fear me. So, their silence tonight is especially curious. I nervously glance around, straining to listen.

The absence of sound from the small animals that usually rustle in the forest, sends goosebumps up my arm. I hear the shriek of an unfamiliar avian predator from above. A falcon, I think randomly. All at once, I feel the weight of someone, or something, watching me, and for the first time in these woods, I feel vulnerable, conscious of my near nakedness.

I continue my search, moving only my head. At last, I spot something moving mid-way up the trees.

I focus my gaze and am greeted by hungry, verdant eyes.

They aren't human.

I shimmer into my she-wolf body, prepared to fight, but as soon as my transformation is complete, I turn to face an empty wood.

I phase back, quickly pull on my clothes, and sprint all the way home.

I am breathless. I stop a moment, catching a whiff of something unfamiliar in the cold night air, but it's gone. I shake my head, pull open the front door and slam it shut, decisively turning the lock.

"Bella?!" I shout, "Bella?!" I find myself unable to keep the nerves from my voice. I stealthily make my way to her room, needing her presence to stop this uncontrollable trembling.

As I near her room, I hear strains of a guitar coming from behind the door. There's a pleasantly familiar, deep voice singing a song I've heard somewhere, but can't quite place.

Oh no...

no fricken way...

I peek inside and watch Bella, gazing lovesick at her screen, smiling at Jake.

He's on screen strumming a guitar!

And singing?!

Whoa!

All my fear about the unknown thing in the woods leaves me for just a moment as I watch lover boy on screen. I can't decide whether to laugh or be struck green with envy.

I somewhat recall telling Jake to get over himself, to find a new hobby after he'd called and I had to stand there listening to him whine about Bella being too busy with work to keep in regular touch with him.

I remember taunting him about how his work mustn't be up to snuff at the new mechanic job he just landed if he wasn't attracting customers, and that he must be failing out of school if his senior classwork wasn't enough to occupy him while Bella was making something of herself.

He'd cussed me out before hanging up on me. Who would have thought he was actually listening!

Crybaby!

Funny, I guess he took my sarcastic advice. That was months ago!

I paused to take in the music. It was a love song.

Ick.

The thing of it is, Jake isn't half bad. Not that I'm ever going to tell him that.

Undetected, I close the door softly, take in a deep breath, and loudly fling the door open. Bella turns in surprise toward the ruckus I'm making. Her hands fail to cover the screen and hit the mute button on the keyboard before I see.

"Are you killing cats in here?" I shout, loud enough to ensure that Jacob hears me over his crooning. I snicker to myself.

I am rewarded with Jacob stopping mid-stanza to glare at me through the computer screen. I give him a smug smile back. He shrugs off my bad attitude and begins his gag-worthy, prolonged goodbye to Bella. I am slightly sickened at the sweetness of it, impatient for my turn at the camera as I recall the reason why I am back home without my long desired run.

I had been ready to confide in Bella. But in the lamp-light brightness of her desert colored room, I change my mind. With her eyes wide at my insolence, finally protected from all the mythological insanity of Forks and LaPush, I realize I don't want to shake up her somewhat normal existence. I'll talk to Jake first and then I'll tell her, I promise myself silently.

When I start to fear Jake and Bella might start making kissy faces at each other, I elbow her away from the computer and move to take her place. I stare into the camera, holding onto Jake's stare a little longer than normal. He seems to catch onto my unspoken message to contact me later. Just to make sure, I glare into the camera for good measure and make my own gruff goodbye.

I hit the offline button before Bella can get back on. She sees me do this and stands with her hands on her hips clearly annoyed at my intrusion. I pretend not to notice her anger, but she blocks the door, my only way out.

"And to think," she snaps out at me, her index finger harmlessly poking at my shoulder, "I was going to warn you about Stefan being back to visit Felicia."

As I hear his name fall from her lips, I feel a primitive tug inside of me, an incessant pull that that has me making my way to Felicia's front door.

Bella's mouth hangs open at my unexplained, sudden departure.