Updated: November 28, 2014


Leah.

"Hey."

"Hi, Logan." I sighed. My bed dipped down next to me. "Yes?" I glanced up from my magazine to see Logan's smiling face.

"Wanna go get some ice cream?"

"Um...no?" I answered, flipping to the next page in my magazine.

"Aw, come on, please?" He asked, nudging me. "My treat."

"I'm busy."

"You're reading last weeks copy of People Magazine, that is not what I call busy." He responded.

"Aren't you supposed to be with my brother?" I countered, changing the subject. I had to admit I was a little pissed at that. I knew I should have said something to my mom but I hadn't and I had missed the chance to tell her. It just didn't seem like something I could blurt out over dinner or during an episode of Top Chef. Hey mom, I'm not going to be alone forever? I have a permanent plus one? I didn't even know what I would tell her. She liked Logan - everyone liked Logan, except Jared - so I don't know why I wouldn't want to tell her. It just seemed difficult for me, I made it much more complicated than it really was.

"You know that I'm not here to hang out with Seth." He whined. "I like you better though but don't tell him that."

"Gee, thanks, I'm honored." I snorted, rolling my eyes and flipping to the next page in my magazine.

"Logan! Don't lie, we are best friends!" Seth called from his room across the hall.

"Sure, Seth!" He called back while shaking his head at me. I smiled, unable to help myself. "Come on, please go get ice cream with me." He pouted.

"No, I'm not going. I'm perfectly fine sitting here and reading my magazine on my day off." I explained, flipping the page again. He sighed dramatically and stood up from the bed.

"Fine, I'll leave then." He didn't move from his spot. "I'll just be going…" One small step towards the door. "Gone forever…" Another small step. "Off by myself, leaving you alone here, leaving you to-"

"Oh for god sakes, Logan." I grumbled, throwing the magazine onto the bed and getting up, starting towards him. I crossed my arms and half glared at him. "You are so annoying." He grinned at me.

"Are not." He taunted.

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are - oh god, I am not doing this with you. You are turning me into a three-year old." I complained, pinching the bridge of my nose. Logan's strong arms wrapped around my waist as he laughed.

"Aw, but you like me." He reasoned.

"No, I don't." I emphasized, crossing my arms and glaring up at him.

"Yes, you do." He teased. He was always teasing, always making a joke. I groaned and was about to respond but decided against it.

"You're so frustrating, Logan, I can't even deal with it." I sighed, uncrossing my arms and wrapping them around his neck in a hug. He smirked and leaned his forehead against mine.

"But you love it."

"Yeah…" I reluctantly admitted. His eyes shinned with victory as he closed the little distance between us and pressed his lips to mine. I smiled into the kiss, closing my eyes, and moved my hands to his hair. I loved kissing Logan. I didn't want to love it but I did. I loved the way he held me close and I loved how he could kiss me soft and sweetly or rough and passionately. I loved how he could make me forget everything with just his lips against mine. I sighed softly. Things weren't so bad when you looked at them while kissing Logan. Everything kinda seemed okay, everything seemed like it would work out.

"Leah!" A shocked gasp came from behind me.

I hated how I lost control of myself when I was kissing Logan. I hated how I didn't pay attention to my surroundings and I hated how I had been so excited about kissing him that I had forgotten where we were.

We both broke apart in surprise and I pushed Logan away from me out of habit. He sent me a quick glare and stepped back closer to me.

"Leah!" My mother repeated, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of us. "He is Seth's friend!" She emphasized Seth as if that would mean something major to me but instead it just made me mad. It made me snap.

"No, no he's not! He's not Seth's friend, he's mine! He belongs to me, not anyone else!" I growled.

"I don't belong to you…" Logan muttered. I shot him a glare and he quickly held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I do...whatever..."

"Logan, you should go." My mom said. Her jaw was clenched and I could tell she was very mad. It didn't happen often but when she did get mad, it was scary.

"No, don't even think about leaving, Logan." I ordered, reaching out and grabbing his arm.

"Leah Marie!" Mom snapped. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Seth in the doorway, looking weary of the situation. "Get your hands off of him immediately! You're an adult, start acting like it!"

"I'm-"

"You're eighteen! He's sixteen, a minor! You're. An. Adult!" She yelled back. I froze. Of course I knew this, I had thought about it a lot. I knew I was eighteen - technically an adult - and he was only sixteen - undoubtably a minor. But no one in the pack ever once mentioned it or looked down on me for it. Logan's mother hadn't said anything to me about it the few times I had seen her and Logan had never seemed bothered by it either. It made it easier for me not to care about it so much. My mom clearly cared a lot about it though, but, then again, she didn't know the full story. She didn't know that-

"You didn't tell her?" I turned my hard glare away from my mom to look at Logan with apologetic eyes. His voice sounded so hurt and from the look on his face, I could tell he felt betrayed.

"Logan." I whispered as he wrenched his arm out of my grasp.

"No, save it. You don't care so I don't care." He snapped. "I'm leaving." He stormed out of my room and pushed past Seth.

"I hope you're happy!" I yelled, turning back to my mom with wet eyes. "He's going to hate me now and he's never going to talk to me again. He's going to leave me just like Sam and Emily and Daddy. Just like everyone does!" I pushed past her and Seth, rushing after Logan.

"Logan! I'm sorry!" I yelled as the back door slammed.

"Leah Clearwater!" I heard my mother yell but I ignored her, flinging open the door and running outside.

He was already gone.

Lucky I knew where he was.

I sprinted towards the beach, following his still fresh scent. I arrived quicker than I ever have before and even found myself slightly out of breath - but just for a moment.

"Logan." I gasped as I pushed apart the tree branches and moved into the tiny clearing just off to the side. It had a view of the entire beach, the cliffs, the endless water, and you could even see the outlines of James Island on a clear day. "Logan." I repeated, dropping to my knees behind him and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry. Please, please, don't hate me." He didn't relax under my touch like he normally did but he also didn't push me away from him.

"You didn't tell her." He stated, still sounding hurt. "She's your mom and she gets to know about all this supernatural crap. She gets to know about everything and she's allowed to fully understand imprinting but you didn't tell her." He turned his head to look at me sadly. "I wish I could explain to my family just how important you are to me. I mean, I know it's different for me than it is for you but I just thought you liked me a little bit. I thought you tolerated me enough to tell your mom that when I come over to your house, I'm there to see you, not your brother."

"It's not like that, it is that way for-"

"I don't hate you." He quickly interrupted, seeming to go over my previous words. "Lee's, people can fight and still care about each other. I'm not going to just walk away from you." He explained.

"You promise?" I asked softly.

"Come here." He sighed, pulling me around him and into his lap. "You're stuck with me because I've decided I kinda like you." I cuddled a little closer to him. "But you're totally telling your mom about us, not even joking."

"Okay."

"And when I come over your house I get to be with you, not your brother, 'kay?"

"Sure."

"And...well, I think that's it right now but I'll let you know if I have any more demands…" He admitted.

"You forgive me?" I asked. He sighed dramatically and made a show of thinking it over.

"I guess…" He hesitantly agreed, smirking down at me. I pulled his mouth to mine and kissed him for a few seconds but he pulled back before I could deepen the kiss. "Woah, woah. I'm a minor, Leah." He actually had the nerve to taunt me about that. I pushed away from him.

"Not funny." I moved a few feet from him and crossed my arms. He laughed and reached out, pulling me back to him.

"Oh you know I'm just messing with you. It doesn't bother me, honestly." He explained, still chuckling.

"Promise?"

"Of course, besides, we both look twenty-five anyway." He shrugged and I laughed. He smiled and shook his head, looking down at me. "I love when you smile. Like really smile, ya know? Not that fake smile you use when you're mad at me or when Collin is bugging you." I didn't answer. "Wanna get ice cream now?"

"Sure, Logan. Might as well."


Later that night.

"He's your imprint." Mom stated. I nodded my head. "And you didn't tell me." I nodded again to confirm. "And you...love him?" I hesitated. "Never mind, you don't have to answer that… He makes you happy?" I nodded immediately. She studied me for a few moments. "I'm going to bed, turn off the lights when you head upstairs." She walked out of the room and I heard her soft footsteps on the stairs.

Huh?

Is everything okay over there? Can I come over? My phone buzzed.

It's fine, I think. I typed back quickly. Sure, use my window.


Later that week.

I hit the doorbell a few times and tried to brush the water out of my face. Unfortunately, the rain didn't show signs of stopping - as usual - so as soon as I managed to wipe the water away, it was instantly replaced by more.

"I'm coming." I heard a voice grumble from inside. The door swung open and revealed Zach. His eyes widened as he took in my appearance. I was crying, something I hated doing, and I was soaked. "Leah?" He gasped, snapping out of his trance and pulling me inside the house. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"W-where's La-Logan?" I cried, continuing to push tears and rain water away from my eyes.

"He should be home soon...he was at Sam's I think." Zach explained. Oh, right, duh. Logan was on patrol. I had been stupid coming to his house but I just couldn't be at mine. Not when they were there. Zach sighed before hesitantly wrapping his arms around me. It was a nice gesture but overall kinda awkward. I knew Zach wasn't my biggest fan and yet he was trying to comfort me when he didn't even know what was wrong. "Aw shit, I don't know what to do with a crying girl." He admitted. "Just...don't cry…blue skies…" I choked out a muffled laugh at that one.

"I'm sorry...I just…" I paused for a second and wiped more tears away, trying to decide if I should tell him. I knew I probably owed him some sort of explanation. "I got home and I caught my mom and her apparent boyfriend, Charlie, kissing and I just couldn't handle it. M-my dad hasn't even been dead a year and Charlie was his best friend...they just...shouldn't be together." Zach's eyes flashed in understanding and he pulled me back into a hug, tucking my head under his chin.

"I'm sorry, Leah. That sucks." He sympathized. I nodded and buried my face in his chest. He was almost like Logan. He looked like him and sounded like him and if you squinted then…okay, maybe not. He wasn't Logan.

"Why are you being nice to me?" I asked.

"Even if Logan's acting all weird, he's still my brother and my best friend. You're his girl so I can't be mean to you even if I do think you have definitely corrupted him." He shrugged.

Logan's girl.

That was an interesting way to describe me but I guess it was true. I was Logan's girl, even if we weren't in an official relationship.

"Logan's a good person." I defended. "You're right, though, he deserves someone better." Zach pulled back and shook his head.

"That's not really what I meant...I just don't want him making stupid decisions." He chose his words carefully.

"Logan's not on drugs, trust me...or at least trust him." I promised, hoping to display some truth as I wiped the rest of the tears away from my eyes.

"Okay…" Zach still sounded skeptical. "Come on…" He led me over to the couch.

"I'm all wet." I reminded him.

"Who cares?" He shrugged, pulling me down to sit next to him. We were quiet for a moment. "You know, my dad walked out on us when Logan and I were eleven and he now has a family in Hoquiam. He's only an hour or so drive away and we only see him once every few months."

"Logan never tells me anything." I mumbled, feeling sad that I didn't know too much about him. I knew he lived with his mom, Donna, and stepfather, Chris, who I hadn't met.

"Yeah, he doesn't really talk about dad to anyone...don't take it personally. But, anyway, my mom started dating Chris only a few months after dad left and I was so mad at her. I kept thinking that maybe my parents would work things out and they could get back together but that she ruined it by being with someone else." He shook his head slightly and I leaned my head against his arm, getting comfortable on the couch as I listened.

"Did it?"

"I don't know...looking back on it, probably not, they weren't happy so they split up. I guess Chris makes my mom happy and I guess she just didn't want to be lonely. Being alone sucks, ya know?" Zach continued. I nodded. I did know.

"It's just not fair, my dad loved my mom so much and then he died and now she thinks she can just replace him with his best friend and they can live happily ever after together. But they can't because it's not fair and it hasn't even been that long." I whispered. "And the worse part is, Seth loves Charlie. He thinks he's awesome but I think he can go be awesome somewhere else - preferably in Forks."

"Yeah, but you want her to be happy, right?" He probed. That was a stupid question. Of course I wanted her to be happy. Just not with Charlie. It hurt to think of her with anyone but dad but it hurt most to think of her with Charlie. What would dad think if he knew they were dating? Was he watching down on her and sad that she was with Charlie? Was he mad at Charlie? Or was he happy she wasn't alone? I liked to think that dad was on my side.

"Yeah...but not with Charlie." I insisted. He dropped the subject and I was glad, I wasn't in the mood to talk about it anymore.

"Wow, cuddling on the couch with Leah-freaking-Clearwater, this will be a great story. My friends will not believe this." Zach smirked and I suddenly saw the resemblance between him and his brother since that was something I could picture Logan saying. I laughed even though I still felt like having a pity-party.

"We are not cuddling, gross, that's not even funny. I can either lean my head on your shoulder or put my feet on your lap, it's up to you, but Leah-freaking-Clearwater doesn't cuddle. Just...gross." I shuddered, shoving him.

"Sure, Leah, you only cuddle with Logan though and don't lie about that because I know you sleepover, like, every night." He laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I felt my face heat up. "Oh don't worry, I won't tell my mom...or yours. I do think it's funny though...he keeps on insisting you two aren't dating and that he's just your plus one in life."

"Well, for the record, he has never once asked me to be his girlfriend or even on a date so…" I trailed off, thinking about what would happen if he did ask me out. I'd probably say yes. I decided.

"Haha, are you serious? What a pussy." Zach sighed. "He needs some major advice on girls, I might have to give him a talk." I laughed and rolled my eyes

"Aw, he's sweet, Zach, and he puts up with all my bitching so he's fine how he is right now, I'll talk to you if I need you to give him some advice." I responded, winking.

"What do you wanna watch?" He asked, picking up the remote and flipping through some of the channels.

"Can we watch Americas Next Top Model?"

"You're joking, right?" He sighed.


Logan.

I bounded up the steps, trying not to get anymore wet than I already was. The door was unlocked, like always, but as soon as I stepped inside I knew that something wasn't right. It wasn't necessarily wrong but it wasn't exactly what I had been expecting. My imprint's springtime fresh, citrusy scent wasn't what I thought my house would smell like but it did make me instantly happier.

"Leah?" I called, walking into the living room. She was sitting on the couch, leaned against Zach while he had an arm around her and they were both staring at the television. Normally this wouldn't have been a concern but she had that look in her eyes. Leah had this look she did - a lot, but not so much around me - where she would just stare at something, completely expressionless. It was usually when she was upset and didn't want to talk about it or when she was thinking about something way too hard. I hated that look.

"What happened?" I asked, struggling to move at a human pace as I walked towards them, my eyes focused on Leah. She didn't answer but I didn't miss the pure relief that washed over her face and broke her out of the trance. I crouched down in front of them and flickered my gaze over to Zach.

"She was standing outside like a stray cat, I decided to let her in, thought maybe we could keep her as a pet." Zach explained. I didn't find his explanation very funny and turned my attention back to Leah as she pushed away from him and practically fell into my arms. I held her close and stood up, pulling her with me and letting her wrap her body around me. I loved having her so close.

"What's wrong, Baby?" I whispered but she just buried her face in my chest. I glanced over at Zach and noticed the water marks on his shirt. I sniffed the air and held back a whine of pain. "Were you crying?" I asked. I could smell the saltiness and I wanted to kick myself for not being there when she had obviously needed me.

"No!" She insisted but I saw Zach nod his head.

"Her mom had her new boyfriend over and I was nice enough to comfort her. You're welcome." My brother drawled.

"I'm sorry Lee's." I apologized, trying to show her how sincere I was. "You're soaked, let's get you some dry clothes." She nodded and let out a deep breath.

"Wait! She wasn't done explaining this to me." Zach pointed out, gesturing to the television as Tyra Bank's face appeared on the screen and Americas Next Top Model came back from a commercial break.

"Seriously, Zach?" I asked. The sad part was that I knew he wasn't joking. I left him alone and carried Leah towards the stairs to go up to my room. "I have some of your clothes, you can change and then maybe tell me what happened." I suggested.

"Okay." She responded, snuggling close to me. I sighed and held her closer. She wasn't usually like this - not that I minded - but I knew this meant she was upset. She had expressed before about how she hated the thought of her mom dating Charlie. As far as I knew, they hadn't really made it official or anything but something must have changed. I placed her on my desk chair and walked over to my dresser. I had thrown all of her clothes in the bottom drawer incase my mom walked into the room. Over the past week, various articles of clothing had been left in my room. A tank top here, a pair of shorts there, panties casually slung over the lamp. Dammit, I really hope mom didn't come in here

"Here you go." I said, handing her a pair of mesh shorts. She had already stripped off her jeans and tank top, leaving them in a damp heap on the ground. It was a good thing she wasn't human, she would have definitely caught a cold by sitting in those. She slipped on the shorts and, before I could give her a shirt of hers, had already grabbed one of my oversized T-shirts and put it on.

"Thank you." She muttered, looking around awkwardly. "I shouldn't have come here, I'm sorry, I just didn't know where to go and you always make me feel better. I just didn't think-"

"Stop, Lee's." I insisted. "Don't apologize. I'm glad you're here and you know you can always come to see me. I wish I had been here sooner but everything was okay with you and Zach?" I closed the distance between us and wrapped her in my arms.

"Yeah, he was really nice…" She answered, yawning. I lifted her up and walked over to my bed, laying down before settling her on top of my chest. She made herself comfortable and rested her head in the crook of my neck.

"Okay, tell me what happened."


"Psst, psst!" A voice whisper yelled. I shifted slightly. "Psst, Logan!" I opened my eyes and blinked a few times at the bright light. The bedroom light was still on. Zach was leaning against the door, smirking.

"What?" I groaned, being careful not to wake Leah up.

"Leah told me you guys weren't dating." He stated simply. Great. I thought. He woke me up to remind me of something I hated knowing was true. Best brother ever.

"Yeah, I've been telling you the same thing for weeks." I muttered, annoyed.

"She also told me that you've never asked her out." He scolded, crossing his arms. What was this, an interrogation? I clenched my teeth and willed myself not to yell at him. If I did, that would wake Leah up and I didn't want to do that.

"It's none of your damn business." I snapped.

"Hey, I'm just saying. If you don't make a move soon, you'll be stuck being her booty call forever." He responded, easily. I opened my mouth. "And don't say she doesn't like you like that because a girl doesn't show up crying at a guys house if she doesn't like him."

"Leave me alone."

"Mom and Chris should be home from their date soon. I'll cover for you." He said, ending his 'wise words of advice'.

"Thanks." I sighed. "I owe you."

"Yeah you do." He flipped off the lights and shut the door behind him.

"Logan…" Leah sighed softly. At first I thought she was awake but then she cuddled a little closer to me and remained asleep.

Aw fuck.

I love her.