Updated: November 28, 2014
Leah.
"Hey, Leah?" Logan asked from the doorway of my room.
"Hey! Have fun with my brother?" I taunted, looking up from the television show I was watching on my laptop. I paused it and pushed the computer aside. He walked fully into the room and came to sit next to me on the bed.
"Oh, yeah, thanks for that. I don't even like Call of Duty." He admitted, leaning his head back against my pillow.
"Aw, poor Logan." I teased and he nodded his head as if he had been put through hell by spending the afternoon with Seth. I had been worried about Logan being mad at me but he apparently hadn't heard what I said about not knowing him earlier. Even if he didn't hear me, I still felt bad and I made sure to be extra-nice to him as if to make up for it.
"You...you didn't tell your mom about...you didn't tell her you imprinted?" He asked, becoming serious. I slowly shook my head.
"Why?"
"Honestly? I thought she knew, Seth tells everyone everything and I assumed he had told her…" I admitted. "I'm going to tell her soon, it's just hard…things were really bad after Sam...after he imprinted on Emily so we don't really talk about imprinting or even anything too in depth with the wolves. She knows about everything to do with the wolves but it makes her sad because when I phased I made dad have-" I froze. "I'm sorry, I need to learn to shut up. You should have stopped me."
"No, no! You can tell me anything, I won't tell anyone and I'll do my best to not think about anything you say in wolf form." He quickly assured me.
"I'm fine, I don't have anything to say, really."
"Okay...if you're sure. If you want to talk about anything I'm here though, 'kay?" He told me. I nodded and picked up my laptop again. "I have to get home, you'll come over later though?"
"Sure."
He hesitated for a moment and suddenly leaned close to me. His smooth lips pressed against my cheek and I felt my heart rate go through the roof.
"Is that okay?" He asked as he pulled back.
"S-sure." I stuttered.
"I'll see you later." He confirmed as he got up and walked out the door without a second look back.
Few days later.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" I could hear a voice yell as I turned the corner onto Logan's street. What the hell? "All you ever do is take drugs and hang out with her!"
"Shut up!" That was Logan. My legs carried my faster as he continued to yell. "Don't talk about Leah like that!" I skidded to a halt in front of Logan's house. He was standing on the front lawn in a yelling match with his twin brother.
"She doesn't even like you! She's still in love with that Uley guy!" Zach continued to yell. It felt like a stab through my heart to hear those words. Logan's form was shaking and blurring uncontrollably now. The sad part was, I wasn't even in love with Sam. I loved him in a weird way but I wasn't in love with him. Not anymore. "She's using you as a rebound and to sell drugs too, she hates you!" I willed my feet to move the rest of the distance and threw myself at Logan, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck and forcing his face to press into my shoulder. His body vibrated violently against me, making me squeeze him tighter. I knew proper parodical would be to get Zach away and make sure Logan didn't hurt me but I couldn't move.
"It's not true." I soothed. "He doesn't know what he's talking about." Logan's vibrating hands rested on my hips and he took in deep breaths, keeping his face pressed into my neck and shoulder area. "I think you should go, Zach." I was surprised I wasn't yelling at him. I was staying perfectly calm while I stroked my imprint's short hair.
"What...what's wrong with...what the hell...is it the...what is that? What's going on?" Zach sputtered. At the sounds of Zach's voice Logan started vibrating harder, his hands digging into my sides.
"I really think you should go." I repeated.
"Fine! Just corrupt him even more!" Zach snapped. Logan growled against my neck. I heard Zach's stomping steps as he stormed away and then the slam of the front door.
"Shh…" I soothed softly. I knew what it was like to not be in control of yourself and how it felt to lose it in front of others. It made you feel weak and like there was something wrong with you. "You okay?" He nodded against my neck and took another deep breath. His shaking slowly died down to just a slight vibration. "Don't listen to him, kay? He doesn't get it."
"But he's right…"
"What? No he's not!" I pulled back slightly and forced him to look at me while still keeping my arms around his neck. Logan's eyes dropped down before shooting back up to meet mine.
"Yeah he is, you don't like me." He mumbled. My heart broke. Did he really think that? I might have said that I didn't like him but I didn't mean it. I did like him. A lot.
"No, he's wrong." I insisted.
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is not."
"Is too-hey! You totally just pulled a me." He accused, his manner suddenly becoming lighter and more carefree than it had been a minute ago.
"Oh no, you're contagious." I moaned, relaxing my protective stance now that he had calmed down. I leaned forward and pecked him on the lips for a brief second. We both froze, momentarily shocked as I pulled back. "I don't hate you, Logan, I promise." I mumbled, leaning my head on his chest.
"I guess I know that…" He responded a couple seconds too late.
I couldn't believe I had kissed him. I wasn't even sure if that really counted as a kiss since it had been so brief but my lips had touched his and they were still tingling. I've been alone for so long, it's hard to imagine being with someone...even if Logan and I weren't very official.
"Come on." I sighed, pulling back awkwardly. "Milkshakes at my house?" He nodded his head and I slowly unwound my arms from around him before he did the same to me.
Logan.
"You coming to watch the game?" Quil asked.
"Uhh...I don't think so, I was gonna go see Lee- oh, hey, is she here?" I asked, feeling the familiar tugging sensation in my chest.
"I dunno." Quil responded, heading into the kitchen. "Hey, Em, got any food for your favorite wolf?" Emily laughed.
"Oh, I didn't know Sam was going to be back so soon." She joked. Quil shot her a look but happily excepted a fresh larger-than-normal cupcake from her.
"Is-"
"Leah's in the living room, I think she's asleep." Emily cut off my question, already knowing what I was going to say. I smiled.
"Thanks, Em."
I walked down the small hallway and into the living room. The television was already turned on to the baseball game. Jake was lounging on one of the chairs and Leah was curled up on the couch, sound asleep.
"Hey, Logan." Jacob nodded, glancing over to me.
"Hey." I smiled. "How long has she been asleep?"
"Not sure, at least an hour." He shrugged. "Probably waiting for you." It would be amazing if she was there because she wanted to see me but I knew that was highly unlikely. He must have seen my hesitation. "Dude, she hates it here. She isn't at Emily and Sam's because she likes the company."
"Maybe." I didn't want to let myself believe she was here for me and only me. There was no use getting my hopes up, every time I did she managed to crush them somehow. I picked her up, careful to not jostle her too much, before taking her seat and resting her on my lap. She moved in her sleep a little and curled closer to me. Moments like this made me feel like we were together. It made me feel like everything was perfect.
"Aw, so cute." Embry commented, walking into the room and taking a seat next to me on the couch. The couch shook and moved a bit.
"Quit it." I warned, shoving him. "She likes me best when she's asleep." He cracked a smile.
"She doesn't hate you as much as you think she does." He pointed out.
"Gee, thanks."
"No problem, I've got your back, dude."
Paul sauntered in with Collin at his heals. Collin was only a year and a half younger than me but it was always hard to tell with him and Brady. They looked older but they were just so young, the things they had done and seen were things that no fifteen year old should ever have to experience. But, then again, no sixteen, seventeen, or even twenty year old she have to do these things either. Paul came to a stop, smirking at me, and Collin crashed into him.
"Dude!" Collin muttered, rubbing his head.
"Wanna see something funny?" He asked the group. Embry nodded his head enthusiastically and I placed a protective hand on Leah's hip, giving him a wary look. He closed the distance between him and the couch Leah, Embry, and I were on.
"What are you-"
"VAMPIRE!" He yelled in Leah's face. She yelped and shot up, slamming her head into mine.
"FUCK!" She screeched, placing one hand on the top of her head and one hand on my cheek and lower jaw.
"Ow!" We both complained. The guys laughed and Seth, who had just walked in, gave me an apologetic look.
"Paul, what the fuck?" I asked, running the tips of my fingers over Leah's scalp, making sure she was okay. Of course, she was. Any bruise that might have formed was already fading. She looked around bleary eyed for second before sending a glare at Paul, groaning, and dropping her head to my shoulder. Paul laughed and flopped down onto the second couch. I wrapped my arms tighter around Leah and kissed the top of her head.
"See, told you it'd be funny." He pointed out. Leah flipped him off while still laying against me. "Aw, Lee-Lee, Baby, you know I love you. How 'bout you come sit on my lap?" I let out a growl and glared in Paul's direction. Then, to my horror, Leah pulled out of my arms and stood up.
"Woah, woah, woah; you're not seriously doing this, are you?" I asked, catching her hand. "I'm sitting right here." She glanced down at my hand for a split second and smirked as if considering it.
"No, but I am leaving. I've been here too long, I'm starting to smell like you guys." She said, wrinkling her nose.
"Well, you always smell like Logan, so…" Embry trailed off. I elbowed him.
"I'll come with you." I said quickly. I was only here because of her anyway, there wasn't a point in being at the Uley-Young household if she wasn't there.
"You don't have to, you can stay and watch...whatever is on."
"Mariners verses Rangers." Quil corrected as he walked in and flopped onto the ground. "Geez, Leah, you think after hanging out with guys everyday for over a year that you would understand something to do with sports."
"No, we can go do something else." I suggested, completely ignoring Quil. She pulled her hand from mine and sighed.
"Um…"
"Leah," Jacob spoke up, "he wants to hang out with you." She glanced over at him before back at me, chewing her lip.
"Oh...okay. Whatever." She turned and sauntered out of the room, leaving me to follow. I caught up to her easily as she walked into the kitchen and wrapped my arms around her middle, pulling her back to me.
"Wanna go get some pizza?" I asked. She shook her head yes.
"Then America's Next Top Model?" She suggested. I sighed and nodded my head. I had learned that America's Next Top Model was her favorite show and had the joy of watching it with her a few times. "Yay!"
"Hey guys. Are you gonna stay for dinner?" Emily asked, walking into the kitchen from the hallway that led upstairs.
"Nah, we're gonna head out now actually." I explained. She nodded her head and pushed a plate of freshly frosted cupcakes towards us.
"Want one before you leave? It's a new recipe." I nodded my head avidly and unwrapped an arm from Leah to grab one. Leah hesitantly did as well.
"Yum." I sighed.
"You better not be getting crumbs in my hair." Leah warned, looking up at me. I shrugged and had another bite.
"These are really good, thanks Emily." Leah said, using her finger to lick some frosting off.
You could have heard a pin drop in the house even if you didn't have supernatural hearing abilities. The rowdy wolves in the living room had suddenly gone silent and Emily stood frozen, completely shocked. There was two silent beats while Leah ate her cupcake before I spoke up.
"Come on, Lee's, let's get going."
She nodded and even let me keep an arm around her as we walked out the door and down the driveway to her truck.
"So is this like a date?" I asked as she backed out of the driveway. She snorted.
"Pizza and America's Next Top Model? I don't think so."
"Aw, come on, I'll use some cheesy pick up lines and even kiss you at the end of the night." I joked but instantly regretted it. She had stiffened slightly and I knew why. Things had been a little tense since she had kissed me. I knew she still had issues about Sam and about imprinting. I hadn't expected her to kiss me anytime soon but then, out of nowhere, she had pecked my lips. I hadn't even realized it happened until she had pulled back. I really wanted to kiss her again though, a real kiss, but I was too scared to. What if she rejected me like the first time I had tried to kiss her a few weeks ago. I had been trying to work my way up to kissing her. Hand holding, more contact, kissing her cheek, nuzzling her neck.
I was getting there.
Slowly.
"We'll go on a date a different time." She answered softly.
"Yeah, I'd be the one driving if we were on a date anyway." I responded, trying to steer the conversation away from a place she probably didn't want it to go. This was progress though, she had never mentioned anything about us being together in any type of way other than as semi-friends.
"Probably."
"And what would we do on this date - hypothetically of course." I mused.
"Dinner and a movie like all those other people who go on first dates." She said. "We'd act like humans."
"Okay." I said slowly. "I can act like a human, I was one for the first sixteen years of my life."
"Okay."
"Okay."
She pulled into the parking lot of the little pizza place just outside of La Push in Forks. It was probably the busiest place in the entire town. There was a bar, a few basic arcade games in the back, and semi-decent pizza. It was constantly populated with people looking for a night out, teenagers who couldn't get out of La Push or Forks, and those who just are looking for somewhere to hang out.
"Hmm...so let me guess, you're gonna want grilled chicken pizza." I asked, throwing my arm around her.
"Maybe."
"That's a yes."
"You're a loser."
"You're a loser."
"No I'm not!" She defended.
"Suuuuure." I teased, winking at her. She huffed and moved out of my arms, walking ahead of me. "Babe? Come on!" I called after her, following her into the pizza place.
"You did not call me babe." She accused, glancing up at me. The nickname had kinda just spilled out of my mouth before I even thought it through but I played it cool and shrugged. "I am not your babe."
"Sure you are." I smirked.
"I'm your plus one, there's a difference." She insisted.
"Mhm." I responded, slipping my hand into hers as we stepped up to the counter area to order.
"What can I get for you guys?"
"A large grilled chicken pizza." I ordered. The guy who was the cashier punched our order in the system and I couldn't help but notice how his eyes trailed over Leah and her low cut tank top while she obliviously scanned part of the restaurant. I let go of her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against my side as I shot a glare at the guy.
"Seven dollars, ninety-nine cents." The guy muttered. Leah reached into her pocket but I had already given the guy a ten.
"My treat." I insisted and she shrugged. I stuffed the change into my pocket and led her away from the counter to wait for our food.
"You can remove your hand from my waist now, he's not checking me out anymore." She smirked nonchalantly. I narrowed my eyes at her playfully. "But seriously, hands off." I sighed dramatically but did as she asked.
"You know, we can-"
"Logan!" A voice I recognized called. We both turned in the direction of the voice to see my mom waving us over to a table. I glanced over at Leah, unsure of her reaction, but she just shrugged and followed me over. "Hi Leah." She greeted. My mom didn't fully understand what was going on between us - hell, I didn't even know - but I told her that Leah was important to me so she promised to be nice to her.
"Hey Donna." Leah greeted, waving slightly.
"Did you guys just order pizza? Ours should be out soon, you should sit with us." She encouraged, looking hopefully at me.
"Oh...um, we were actually gonna take ours to-"
"Sure." Leah interrupted. I raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean...might as well." She shrugged and glanced up at me. I grinned down at her and winked. My mom smiled at us happily, I knew she missed me. Zach huffed and scowled at the two of us. Zach wasn't as understanding as mom and I sent him a smile hoping he would return it.
He didn't.
It wasn't my fault he hated me.
Okay, maybe it was a little bit…
But it wasn't my fault that I turned into a wolf. I couldn't control that. I couldn't control that I disappeared for a week and a half or that I was suddenly obsessed with Leah Clearwater. The funny thing was, if he wasn't so mad at me for supposedly "taking drugs and being brainwashed by the local cult", he would have congratulated me. Leah-Freaking-Clearwater was occasionally giving me the time of day. Everyone knew Leah was amazing. When she was at La Push High everyone wanted to be her friend and all the guys wanted to date her. She was gorgeous and had this attitude about her that people remembered. She left an impression on you that you couldn't ignore. Zach, me, and our group of friends had done our fair share of talking about how hot girls like her - and sometimes even her - were.
"Great! Take a seat!" My mom responded enthusiastically, scooting her chair over. Leah glanced back and forth between my mom and now pouting off brother, probably trying to decide which one was worse. She must have decided my mother since she slid into the empty seat next to Zach. Zach looked pissed that we were eating with them and he looked pissed that Leah was sitting next to him.
"So what have you kids been up to?" She asked, pouring some more soda into her glass from the pitcher that was on the table.
Running through the woods, patrolling the lands, talking about our nonexistent relationship. The usual.
"We were just at Sam and Emily's watching the game." I explained.
"Well, I was sleeping." Leah muttered too low for Zach or my mom to hear. I sent her a smirk.
"How's your head, Lee's?" I asked.
"Great. Thanks for asking." She responded curtly, sending me a little glare, but then reaching up and brushing her hand over the spot she had slammed into my jaw. Mom gave me a confused look.
"Leah was taking a catnap and Paul startled her. She hit her head pretty hard on this ridiculously good-looking guy." I explained. My mom seemed to ignore the ridiculously good-looking guy part and glanced over at Leah looking slightly worried.
"He's always been a trouble maker, are you okay?"
"Oh...yeah, I'm fine. That semi-average looking guy has a really hard head." She responded casually, without missing a beat. I winked at her, doing my best to hold back my laughter. Even Zach's lips twitched slightly.
"It's surprising he has a hard head since he clearly has no brains." My mom responded, not even looking the least bit apologetic. My mouth dropped as I turned to look at her. Leah and Zach both burst out laughing before high-fiving.
And, just like that, Leah and Zach suddenly got along.
They bonded over the mutual dislike of me.
How ironic.
My twin brother and my soulmate bonding while teasing me. I could't decide if this was good or bad. Probably bad.
Probably really bad.
"I hear he has a ridiculously good-looking brother though if you're interested." Zach piped up, winking at Leah. She laughed and I sent him a glare even though I knew he was kidding.
"Ooh, maybe I'll take you up on that offer. Logan gets kinda annoying after a little while." She admitted, smirking at me.
"Leah!" I complained, making both of them laugh.
"Donna Rainey?" A voice called from the bar area. My mom pushed her chair out.
"Food's ready!" She said excitedly. "Can one of you refill the soda pitcher?" Zach nodded and stood up too.
"Yeah, I got it."
I reached out and grabbed both of Leah's hands as they walked away. She smiled hesitantly and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table but letting me keep my hold on her hands. I imitated her position.
"Thanks for doing this...it means a lot. My mom doesn't get what's going on and she thinks I've been brainwashed or something and, well, Zach hates me, so…" I trailed off and grinned at her.
"He doesn't hate you, he hates me because I'm a bad influence on you." She insisted. "There's a difference."
"Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes and lifted her hands closer to mine, placing a kiss on one of her palms.
"But, since I'm having dinner with them, we are watching two episodes of Americas Next Top Model." She responded cheerfully. The smile on her face was so genuine that I didn't have the heart to groan. She was happy. It was easy to see that, at this very moment, she was as happy as I had ever seen her. And that made me happy.
"That's fine - you know I have a crush on Tyra anyway." I teased. She scrunched up her nose.
"Ew! You know she's crazy, right?"
I pressed my lips against hers and kissed her hungrily, crawling on top of her on the couch. I honestly wasn't sure how it had happened but one-second we were watching television and then she had looked up at me and then she had ended up underneath me with my mouth against hers.
But she was kissing me too, it wasn't one sided, it wasn't awkward, it was perfect. We were perfect together.
And we were happy.
That was all that mattered anyway.
