I Like Me Better

by pantheradraconis

Bella, after graduating high school in Florida under the roof of her mother and stepdad, moves to Forks, WA for her first year of college. She arrives the summer before and spends most of her time at the res with her friends Jacob and Leah, learning about the wolves and taught to fear the cold ones.

5. Feel Good

Title: I Like Me Better

Author: Pantheradraconis

Rating: M

Pairing: Bella/Rosalie, Edward/Leah, Emmett/Angela

POV: Changes, 3rd Person

Summary: Bella, after graduating high school in Florida under the roof of her mother and stepdad, moves to Forks, WA for her first year of college. She arrives the summer before and spends most of her time at the res with her friends Jacob and Leah, learning about the wolves and taught to fear the cold ones. On her first day of classes at Peninsula College, Bella runs into the most gorgeous girls she's ever seen and immediately becomes infatuated with her.

Chapter 5

Leah

Moving around her small bedroom, Leah tears through the pile of shirts in her laundry basket before turning back to her closet and clamoring through the piles in there. She just needed to find her purple haze t-shirt; she knew she had seen it not too long ago so it must be here somewhere. Normally she would simply grab the first t-shirt on the pile of clean clothes but lately she's realized that every time she'd seen Edward (she still shivered slightly when she thought his name), she'd been wearing black. Sure it was a different black each time, a different design, a different band, but it was always black. The few times she had ventured away from the comforting color had been in combination with a beloved concert or album. Such had been the case with her dark purple, Jimi Hendrix album shirt.

There had been a time, in another life, a life before werewolves and vampires, when Leah had cared about her image. A time when she would spend hours in a shop just to find the perfect summer dress, the perfect strappy sandals, the perfect jewelry accessory. Now she just hoped she didn't lose what scraps of clothing she had left. It was Jake who had found the score, a garage sale in Menlo with heaps of old band tees, bandanas, and lanyards; the remnants of a past employment that may not have been entirely legal.

"Whatcha lookin for?" Seth asks, waltzing into Leah's bedroom while sucking on a popsicle.

"A t-shirt," Leah answers without looking up.

"Well, you're in luck!" The teen laughs in his deep voice. "You're elbows deep in a whole pile of them."

Seth flops down on his sister's bed and stretches out; his legs dangling off the sides. He's taller than her now, and his once scrawny body has filled in making him a near replicant of their cousin, Jake. Leah looks down at the boy and blinks.

"Take that off this instant!"

"Wha…?" Seth starts to ask as his sister yanks him to his feet. His popsicle flies up to the ceiling as his vision goes dark. The shirt is yanked off his torso and he's left bent over and staring at the floor. Seconds before it lands, he swipes the popsicle out of the air and pops it back in his mouth before flopping back onto the bed.

"Why did you have my shirt?" Leah asks as she pulls the fabric up to her nose. "Ugh, it smells like teenage boy."

"Essence of Seth," her brother responds with a grin. "Good enough to bottle and sell."

"Yeah, as a biological weapon."

Leah grabs a bottle of perfume from her bedside table and sprays the shirt in a large "x" motion. She turns it around and does the same to the back.

"I definitely smell better than whatever is in that," Seth says with a gag. "That reeks of barbie hangovers and frat boy cu…"

Seth's words are cut off by a book knocking his popsicle stick out of his hand. He looks at his sister's angry eyes and shaking shoulders before he delicately stands and exits the room. Leah slams the door behind him and it swings back open from the momentum before gently closing.

She delicately pulls the t-shirt to her nose and gives it a quick sniff before pulling back, her nose scrunched up in distaste. Not sure what else to do, she simply shakes the shirt out, hoping it will dull with time.

"Leah, dear," her mother calls from the front of the house and Leah groans. Seth must have whined to their mother about her attitude. Whatever, it was his own fault for stealing her stuff.

Not bothering to call back, Leah grabs her car keys and moves down the cramped hallway. Their house is small, but she always felt it to be cozy. Like most of the houses on the Res, it's one level with the bathroom and bedrooms in the back and the kitchen opened up to the living room and front door. It was originally a two bedroom, but when Seth came along, her room was split in half with a wooden panel wall that gave her privacy of sight only. She could hear Seth's snores as if his head was next to hers.

"Give me the shirt," her mother says, reaching her hand out to Leah.

"What did he say? The shirt is mine," Leah throws back, exasperated. Why would he even bother to claim the shirt?

"I know." This time the words came with a look that immediately shut Leah up. She hands over the shirt with a small grumble and roll of the eyes. "I can't keep track of which shirt goes to which of you, so I'm sure I accidentally put it in Seth's room."

She carries the shirt with her as she pulls open the linen closet next to the bathroom door and grabs a dryer sheet. She then moves back to the kitchen table and starts rubbing the shirt with the dryer sheet on the table.

"He did mention you may have used a little too much spray to cover up his own stink…"

"I don't stink!" Seth calls from the front stoop.

"Yes you do, dear," their mother replies before continuing with Leah. "And I could smell this shirt before you even left your room, so I agree."

"I…" But Leah doesn't get the chance to say anything else.

"Here you go," her mother tosses the shirt back to her before taking a few steps closer. Leah feels her mother's strong hands grasp her shoulders and give a comforting squeeze. "I know you're nervous but you don't need to be."

"I'm not nervous," Leah grumbles as she fiddles with the cloth in her hands.

"I may not completely understand what you're going through," her mother says softly and lifts Leah's face to look into her own. She's nearly a foot shorter than her children, but her fierce love often causes Leah to forget her stature. "But I know what nervousness looks like on you."

Smiling brightly, Leah's mother steps back allowing Leah to pull the shirt on. The young woman lifts the shirt up to her nose once it's on and smiles. It still smells like the perfume, but it mostly smells like clean laundry.

"Thanks, mom," Leah says before taking a big breath. "I'll try to stay cool."

"You do that, and remember to stay safe."

For a quick moment, Leah is brought back to the sex talk she had to sit through when Sam and her were starting to get serious. She laughs knowing her mother is now talking about a completely different level of safety.

"I'll be back before dinner."

Her mother rests her hands on her hips and sighs. "I guess I'll be cooking up a feast." She then turns away and begins cleaning the already spotless kitchen.

Leah shakes her head and walks out the front door. With barely any effort, the lean girl leaps over her brother and heads over to her Blazer. Before she is able to start it up, Seth jumps in the passenger seat and starts playing with the tape deck.

"You're listening to Kiss?" He thumbs through the collection of tapes and pulls out Blood Sugar Sex Magik. "Let's get some real tunes in here."

Leah debates throwing him from the car but then decides it'll be more fun out on the open road. She smiles a little too big as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers start chanting. Seth grimaces in response but starts drumming on his legs as the music picks up.

"What's he like?"

The words surprise Leah and she makes the next turn wider than planned. The opposing traffic honks at her but she ignores their angry looks. She wonders why Seth is asking, it's not like he doesn't know; he's seen her thoughts, her visions of the vampire boy. He's seen what it feels like to be near him, what his voice sounds like, how his body tenses and relaxes, the same as hers.

Leah tightens her grip on the steering wheel and asks, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what does he like to do? Does he like music? What's his favorite food? How old is he? What's his middle name? Favorite color?"

Leah scrunches up her nose and frowns. "You know I don't know any of the answers to those." She growls out the words wondering why he's asking such ridiculous questions.

"How come you haven't asked?" Seth asks a little more quietly. His body is turned toward the window as if he's embarrassed for her.

"It's…" She grinds her teeth as she tries to find the right words. It's strange, it's unique, it's crazy, it's insubstantial, it's momentous. "It's complicated." She finally says aloud.

Seth nods but doesn't say anything else. He waits, too patiently for Leah's liking, and whispers along with the words from the album.

Maybe it was Seth's presence, maybe it was an unknown need to have a female perspective, but Leah finds her car stopping in front of Bella's house.

Seth hops out of the car and runs up to the door. He knocks at the same time Leah opens her own door. By the time she's to the front of the car, she can hear Charlie telling Seth that Bella isn't home. Leah stops and leans against the hood, crossing her arms across her chest. Charlie waves and she nods back, politely.

"Looks like she went to Port Angeles." Seth says as he makes his way back to her.

"I thought she didn't have classes on Wednesdays," Leah says, barely remembering what the text in her phone said. She pats down her pockets and realizes she hadn't bothered to bring it. That's fine, Bella and Jake are the only ones who ever text her. Sam used to, but that was old news.

"She went to some car show with some friends," Seth shrugs. He pats the car and smiles, "I'll let you get on to your date."

Leah rolls her eyes but tells him to be careful as he jogs down the road. He flips her the bird and ducks into the woods as she shakes her head.

"Ok then," She nods to herself and jumps back into the Blazer. She takes one slow breath before switching into drive and making her way to South Forks Ave. The museum entrance is marked with two wooden carvings of men holding a large toothed saw; the words Forks Timber Museum etched on the side. Edward's Volvo rests directly in front of the main entrance shining in expensive glory. At least he also showed up early so she wouldn't have to sit around with all these nerves.

Leah parks her old Blazer next to the pristine car and turns off the engine before the roar leaves her deaf. Clutching her steering wheel until her fingers turn white, she closes her eyes and listens to the noises of people in the museum. The driver's side door of the Volvo next to her opens smoothly and closes with a soft click. She can't hide the smile that touches her lips as she opens her eyes and sees the perfect face of Edward Cullen. He smiles back at her and waits patiently for her to join him.

Let's do this! She thinks to herself (and a little to him) before opening the door.

Bella

The teen can't seem to stand still. She's bouncing on the balls of her feet and smiling at every person that passes her by; most give her strange looks and pull their children closer. Bella can't get herself to care, she is just too excited. When she looks down at her phone for the fifteenth time, her mind barely registers the time of 2:45 PM, instead she searches the screen for any indication of a missed call or text.

As the parking lot begins to fill with more and more cars, Bella realizes a line is beginning to form at the gates. Should she get in line? Buy tickets? If she buys her own ticket but no one else's, would it seem rude? How many people are coming? Was it Rosalie and Emmett? Bella looks back down at her phone and brings up the conversation with Rosalie.

[Rosalie] Rosalie

[Bells] thks Rosalie! send u the deets 2nite :) :)

[Bells] As promsd! Show Airport. Gate opn 2 w/ 1st evnt roun 4

[Bells] It goes til 7, so whnever werks 4 u

[Bells] I def wanna c best n show! Tht jag looks crazzzyy!

[Bells] :) :) :)

[Rosalie] We will meet you at the entrance at 3 PM. Do not be late.

[Bells] OK! I will c u tere!

[Bells] :) :)

There had been a large collection of unsent texts for several minutes after that short conversation, but Bella had managed to keep herself from sending them. In the afternoon light, Bella stares at the word 'We' and wonders if she has enough money to cover everyone.

"Hi, Bella." The teen looks up to see Angela walking over to her. Her hand is raised to shield the bright sun and there's a smile on her face. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Hey, Ang! No, not for very long." Bella laughs and realizes Angela can tell she's lying. "Ok, I've been here since one. I actually got lunch at the food stand over there." She points at a greek food truck and laughs again.

"Should we get in line?" Angela asks.

"I was actually just debating that. Do you think it would be rude to go in before they get here?"

Looking out over the crowd of people, Angela frowns. "It's really sunny."

Bella shrugs, "You think this is sunny? You wouldn't know what to do with yourself in Florida!"

Angela smiles shyly and says, "I don't know if they're coming."

Tilting her head to one side, Bella frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just that, well…" Angela's voice fades at the same time a cloud floats lazily in front of the sun. She blinks a few times and lowers her hand. "Huh, where did that cloud come from?"

Bella nods, "I think it might actually rain. Welcome to Washington, right?" She rolls her eyes and points at a large collection of clouds. "That has been threatening to roll in for the last hour. Looks like it finally decided to make an appearance."

Angela laughs, which causes Bella to give her a strange look before shrugging and laughing as well. What else could she do?

"Bella! Angela!"

The teen turns to see Alice dancing her way up to where Bella and Angela were standing. Behind her is Jasper, looking like he needs to poop.

"Alice? I didn't know you were coming to the show." Bella says smiling. She leans in as if to give Alice a hug, but the tiny girl swivels and pulls Jasper closer to her. Bella leans back and pretends she was just fixing her hair.

"We were invited," Alice replies with a large, mischievous smile.

"It seems you have caught the attention of my sister," Jasper says through small lips. Bella leans in slightly trying to figure out if the boy even opened his mouth to speak but then realizes she's being rude.

"Sister?" She asks but at the same time her eyes catch a shimmer of gold hair. Her mouth speaks before she can stop herself. "Rosalie."

"Hey, BellaBear!" Emmett says from next to Rosalie.

Bella quickly turns her attention to the burly teen and smiles. "Hey Em. How's it hanging?"

"Slightly to the left," The teen responds before laughing. He leans into Jasper and pulls the boy away from the girls. His eyes drift towards Angela and a small smile appears; it seems almost unconscious to Bella and she sighs in response.

"He's still not over her," Alice says conspiratorially, but loud enough that Bella is pretty sure Angela can hear.

Rosalie steps up to Bella and Alice, crosses her arms, and sighs. "He needs to be."

Bella looks back and forth between the two teens before asking, "How do you two know each other?"

Alice raises an eyebrow before laughing; the sound reminds Bella of bells ringing in a church. The small girl turns to Rosalie and says, "You didn't tell her?"

The blonde rolls her eyes. "Didn't seem pertinent information."

"Tell me what?" Bella asks.

"Why mister, she's my sister!" Alice squeaks out before laughing and twirling her way out of the conversation.

Bella stares at the small girl until she twirls into Jasper, his own arm seeming to reach out to her before he even turns his head. Watching the group, Bella realizes Angela had also moved into the line and she was left standing in front of Rosalie. Alone.

"I'm sorry!" She squeaks out loud enough to make a guy to her left falter in his step before realizing she wasn't talking to him. "That was rude. Hi, Rosalie. How are you today?"

The blonde squints slightly, seeming to decide how she wishes to respond to Bella. The brunette merely smiles, glad to be in a conversation with the blonde at all. The moment stretches on just long enough to cause Bella to squirm. She opens her mouth to say something, anything, but Rosalie smirks, causing Bella to immediately swoon.

"I'm well, thank you for asking." Rosalie looks up at the line and crowd and asks, "You're excited for the show?"

"I am! This looks like a great turn out. You can tell just by the amount of people that have shown up." Bella turns her body toward the entrance and reaches out to grab Rosalie's arm; she quickly hesitates and drops the arm slowly. "There's going to be a whole row of punch buggies!"

A soft laugh from her left and Bella beams with pride once she realizes it's Rosalie laughing at her.

"They're not called punch buggies; no one actually calls them punch buggies."

"Oh, I can most certainly confirm they are called punch buggies." Bella replies adamantly. Rosalie merely rolls her eyes.

Alice pops back over to the two teens and hands over two tickets before disappearing just as quickly.

"Wait!" Bella calls but the girl is already nowhere to be seen.

"Is something wrong?" Rosalie asks, examining her own ticket.

"I feel bad; I was going to treat you to this show."

"Why?"

"Well, because…" Bella looks down at her hands as she starts twisting them around themselves. "I asked you here so I should be the one to pay."

"That's silly."

"Why do you call that silly? It's basic dating 101."

"It's silly because we're rich. Why wouldn't we pay for this outing?"

Bella couldn't help but notice how Rosalie ignored the date comment and nearly burst with excitement. And then the next set of words processed in her brain. "Rich? We?"

"Right," Rosalie sighs. "Basic spiel. We're adopted and all siblings. Jasper and I are twins, we kept our last name Hale. There's Alice, Emmett, and Edward, whom you haven't met. Our parents are Mrs and Dr Cullen."

The words roll off like a well practiced speech and Bella remembers Angela mentioning how Emmett had been new to her school. Bella had done the long speech at new schools plenty of times while her and Renee travelled about, and knew the pain of having to repeat herself a million times. Sometimes she would make up fantastic stories about being captured by spies and how Renee and her were fleeing the Nazi government. But those stories tended to get Bella detention. Lots of detention.

"The basic spiel," Bella replies with a knowing nod. "And the doctor dad definitely denotes dinero."

Another smirk and Bell nearly lost her footing.

"Let's go check out this car show." Rosalie says softly. She reaches her arm out for Bella to take (which the brunette grabs almost greedily) and the two teens cross into the event.

"Take my hand in the middle of a crisis/Pull me close, show me, baby, where the light is/I was scared of a heart I couldn't silence/But you make me, you make me feel good/I like it" - Feel Good by Gryffin f Illenium, Daya

A/N: This chapter was really hard to put together! I'm having a lot of issues trying to find the line between Leah hating her wolf self and having issues with the pack and especially vampires as a whole, but being irrevocably in love with Edward. It's a very hard line to stay in. And since the chapter has taken me so long to write, I've decided to split up the dates going on. Next chapter will have the full dates with Emmett (because this is totally a date with Angela despite her not wanting it to be - that is actually fun to write!), Rosalie (who is completely ready to admit Bella's interest in her, if not anything more), and Edward (as he tries to understand Leah a bit more). Tell me, any exciting events you had on a first date? Any complete failures?