Title: Vocalise

Author: pantheradraconis

Rating: T

Pairing: Bella/Rosalie

Summary: "From calm and serene to I want to rip you to shreds. Sometimes getting to the part where you can say I love you and never question it is a pain in the arse." - Review from ChesireMonkey. Alice saw a vision involving Rosalie and Bella. What did she see? And how will it affect everyone around them?

Vocalise

By pantheradraconis

Chapter 35: Bella

A/N: So mary ali cullen came up with the great review of 'Hey, I don't know Spanish, what's up?' To which I replied, 'Yeah, me either. Let me fix that, lol.' So the last chapter was re-posted with the Spanish translations at the bottom of the page. Thanks again to mione03, there is a small amount of Spanish in this chapter, with the translations at the bottom. Thanks mione03!

[edit] All translations are in bold italics next to the line actually said in Spanish. So, when Nahuel said ""I always knew I was teimoso hardheaded," he didn't actually said 'hardheaded'.

"He is completely insufferable!" Bella listened vaguely to her friend's continuous rampage while staring out across the wild expanse of forest. She sat on a high rock at the near top of the same mountain on which Huilen and Nahuel's home resided. The air was cooler and lighter in the high altitude, but Bella found it comforting in a strange way. Her head seemed to want to float away, a slight dizziness made her sway in the wind. It reminded her of how sick she used to get. The headaches, the churned stomach, the way her body would sweat while in a cold chill. She closed her eyes, wishing her body to free fall; when she opened them, when she awoke from the faint that overtook her, she would be in those cold strong arms.

"Are you even listening to me?" Bella opened her eyes, still standing and untouched, and looked over her shoulder to the somewhat irritated Leah. "Because if you aren't then I might as well just go back to the house. I mean, Nahuel's house." The tall, dark-skinned girl looked over her hands before she continued pacing. "I don't know what's wrong with him. He's in there just making candy. Who spends all day making candy? And when he isn't gorging himself on the stupid butterscotches, he's hunting. Hunting! How could he just… murder… those poor people?" Bella's features softened for the first time that afternoon.

After the initial shock of Leah imprinting on Nahuel, and the ridiculously long amount of time it took to explain what exactly Leah is, to Nahuel and Huilen, Bella and Leah found themselves invited (although hardly unanimously) into the home to live. Quite surprisingly, Leah seemed to be the only one having a problem with the newly formed pack. (Well, coven to everyone else.) Although it was controversial to say Nahuel was happy to have Leah around, no one could doubt he was curious about the shape-shifter. Only a week prior, the two got into a very heated argument about the differences between werewolves and the Quileute tribe wolves. The shouting could no doubt be heard a mile away, but in the end, the two actually agreed that Leah wasn't a werewolf. Neither seemed happy with the agreement, but Bella figured it was because they agreed; if that even made sense.

The next big argument the two had was over Nahuel's hunting practices. Bella and Huilen had sat down to discuss the issue and although Huilen did understand Bella's arguments of why she doesn't drink from humans, the older vampire had no wish to change diets. As she put it, "Humans are a lesser mammal than vampires, therefore they are an excellent food source. Much the same as a human might receive nourishment from a mountain lion or a wild bear, I drink of a human." Bella left the conversation with requesting that Huilen and Nahuel hunt without Bella and Leah, and neither judge the other's choice. Nahuel and Leah's argument did not end on such amiable terms. The two screamed each other hoarse before finally deciding simply to not speak directly to one another for several days. They did, however, manage to argue by simply saying things to Huilen and Bella while the other was within hearing distance. It was after two days of the passive-aggressive movement that Huilen threatened to bury the two alive: together. Leah and Nahuel quickly separated themselves.

And now, six hours later, Leah stood close to tears and no less understanding than when the two had last spoken. Bella looked over her friend, wishing there was something she could say or do, but continued to have trouble concentrating on the conversation. Her mind kept clouding over with memories of blonde hair, red lips, startling golden-violet eyes…

"This is just ridiculous." Leah sighed out. "This is it, there is no more. It's obvious that I was not meant to be a shifter, or whatever, and that fate is just screwing with me once again." Becoming more defiant, the young woman stood tall and looked out over the treetops, not seeing anything. "We'll just leave. I don't need him; he's nothing to me. We, we can just… We can just keep going south; make our way to, to… What the heck is south? Antarctica? Forget that, we'll get on a boat, go East or West, or just, somewhere far away from here."

Bella was mixed with emotions, both of joy and fear. "If we leave…" How will she find me? "Where would we go?" I don't know if I want to live without her. "What would we do?" I don't think I could live my life not knowing. "Won't you regret leaving?"

"Do you regret leaving?"

Yes. "I… No, of course I don't. But I needed to leave. You and Nahuel…"

"Me and Nahuel are nothing. Remember what I said in the cave? Before the blood suckers showed up? No offense, by the way."

"None taken." Of course I remember, you said we could make it work, together.

"Well?" Leah asked, taking a step towards the shorter girl. "Let's forget all of this, and let's go."

Bella thought it over. Could she really just leave it all behind? It's not like it would be the first time she ran away from her problems. Was this a problem? Maybe for Leah, but for her? She was happy here; At least, happier than she had been. But was that because of Huilen and Nahuel, or was it because of Leah?

Bella looked over her friend; she was beautiful, in her own way. She was tall and had well defined muscles. Her hair was cropped short, framing her face to make her look younger. She was kind hearted, sweet, and loving. Could I?

The young vampire took a step towards the other girl and reached her arms out. The two girls clenched hands tightly. Bella stared into Leah's eyes; they were so gentle, thoughtful. Leah pulled Bella closer, the two soon encompassed in each other's arms. Bella searched her friend's face, her high cheek bones, her smooth chin, her full lips.

She is beautiful. I could… I could do this. I'm going to do this.

Bella leaned in slowly, cautiously. Pausing just before their lips touched, the smaller girl breathed in deeply, eyes still open, waiting for something. What are you waiting for? Leah's eyes were closed, her breathing slow, but her heart beating twice as fast as normal. Bella wondered if her own heart would beat as fast, if it still beat at all. She wondered what this moment would have felt like before. Before Leah turned into a shape-shifter, before Bella was turned into a vampire, before Rosalie…

The young girl closed her eyes tightly, stopping the invisible tears. Rosalie isn't coming and this is a good thing. Bella finally closed the distanced between herself and Ros… No, it's Leah; beautiful, kind, loving Leah. She moved her own body against the warm, skinny figure. She rubbed her hands across the bony shoulders, pressed her lips hard against the full lips and clenched her eyes closed, trying not to think. Their lips moved fast and uncoordinated. Leah's hands tangled their way into Bella's hair and across her shoulders. Their mouths opened and they began to search each other. Search for something Bella almost immediately knew could not be found, but she continued to search harder.

Bella could feel the rising heat from the girl, but neither moved for anything more. The excitement rose, and then fell once more. The craving, having never appeared, had nowhere to go, and with a silent agreement, the two stopped. Bella looked to the ground feeling as though she held some sort of fault. That if she had only tried harder. But when Leah loosened her grip around the girl, leaving only her left hand on the vampire's shoulder, Bella looked up to see the same guilt staring back at her. The recognition was quick and as Bella laughed lightly, Leah smiled and leaned back on her left foot, right arm reaching up and around to the back of her own neck.

A hissing sound came from their side and the two girls looked over to see Nahuel, one hand opened, a small mountain cat running off into the woods behind him, the other hand holding a small pile of what looked to be his butterscotch candies.

Bella's eyes went large and she started fumbling over silent words, stuttering out an apology. It went completely unheard.

"I came with a peace offering." The boy's voice was low and soft. It was the first time Bella had heard him speak without any trace of anger. It was also the first time she was ever afraid of the hybrid.

Leah dropped her left hand from Bella's shoulder and took two steps back.

"I don't know what I'm doing." The smooth voice continued. "I am 155 years old and I have never experienced this." He dropped the candies to the ground. "I always thought I was strong, independent. I could take care of my tía, make up for all of my mistakes. Make up for the destruction my very life created." He moved swiftly to Leah, a short gust of wind kicking up the leaves and dirt from the ground. "I thought that if the time ever came, if the person ever showed up, I could…" He reached his arms out, touching the sides of Leah's waist gently. "I thought I could love her."

Bella stiffened, afraid for her friend. But what could she do? Yes, she was stronger than Nahuel, but she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want anyone to get hurt. She tried to speak again, but her voice disobeyed.

"I always knew I was teimoso hardheaded, but to think that this, seeing you in the arms of another, is what it took for me to realize. Te quiero. Te quiero y tengo miedo de ti. I love you. I love you and I am afraid of you."

Leah reached out her own arms, placed her hands on Nahuel's shoulders, pulling the shorter boy in. She leaned down and kissed him softly. Bella could feel the heat from several paces away. She could hear their breathing: quick and inconsistent. And she could hear both hearts beat quickly, but in perfect rhythm as if they were one heart.

The kiss was slow, but gentle. When the two parted, Leah sighed happily. "You know I still don't know Spanish, right?"

"We will not be remedying that any time soon. How else will I get away with saying stupid things and not getting in trouble?"

"I agree." Leah replied without skipping a beat. "We are definitely going to keep arguing." She then pushed the short vampire away and jogged into the forest. Bella heard her cursing as she continued away. "Stupid hybrid!"

"It is love." Nahuel whispered to himself before taking off after the shape-shifter.

Bella watched the two figures disappear quickly. She turned around to face the mountain's edge. Looking out she saw nothing but empty space; and she felt a loneliness so strong that for a single moment, she thought of falling. At this height she would land bruised, but hardly broken. She imagined the air blowing across her body, the excitement of flying at incredible speeds; closing her eyes, Bella imagined the feeling of being caught.

She then leaned backwards and fell the 5' to the ground behind her, her hard body sinking into the soft dirt to hit the solid rock beneath. She closed her eyes and wished for a sleep that would never come.

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The arguing didn't stop. If anything, it increased beyond anything Bella or Huilen could expect. As for Leah and Nahuel, it seemed a natural routine. They argued in the morning, fought in the afternoon, cursed at one another or ceased speaking in the evenings, and in the night, well, they yelled for different reasons.

One thing Bella did find interesting, was Nahuel's presence in Leah and Bella's 'vegetarian' hunting. The hybrid scowled at the bears, avoided any type of bird, and even spit out the blood of a spiny rat, who quickly ran off. Bella absentmindedly wondered if the thing would become a vampire rat. What he did find to be the perfect prey (once even admitting the hunt was more exciting than any human he had pursued) was the jaguar.

On one such hunt, a month past Leah and Nahuel's announcement of undying love for one another (Bella was both pleased and tired of seeing the two together), the pair had bolted after a particularly quick jaguar. Each travelled at amazing speeds, attempting to outrun the other. Bella stayed back; although she was considered more a vampire than Nahuel, she could not compete with either the hybrid or the wolf's speed.

Trying not to feel left behind by the couple, Bella found her own prey. After cleaning herself up at a river, she made a long detour around the mountain's northern border, before heading back to the house. She moved at a human's pace to stretch out her time. During the last few weeks, Bella found herself pushing away from the other three and feeling less and less at home in the Andes mountains. As the young vampire hopped over a fallen tree, she noticed the entrance of a cave in the distance; the same cave where Huilen and Nahuel found the two travelers. Bella felt herself drawn to the cave by an invisible force. She stopped in her tracks, staring at the small entrance, a dark shadow flashing against the inner wall.

Bella's breathing ceased. Her legs felt like heavy steel. Her head swam with thoughts of the impossible. But there it was, there she was. Rosalie stood at the cave entrance looking out into the forest. Looking directly at Bella.

A/N: And she's back! Love it, don't you?

Spanish translations in the order they appear:

"teimoso" – hardheaded

"Te quiero. Te quiero y tengo miedo de ti." – I love you. I love you and I am afraid of you.