Bienvenido, mis amores. This chapter's title is a nod to a little known track by Australian metalcore band Void of Vision called - you guessed it - "Year of the Rat". The version featuring Jacob Charlton of Thornhill is the superior, imho. Happy reading!

Chapter III - Year of the Rat

Leah Clearwater was hot.

The thought rose, unbidden and unwelcome, in Bella's scattered mind. The girl was tall, lithe and lean. Her skin shone in the bleak light, that beautiful russet brown she associated with members of the Quileute tribe, and it was flawless. Nary a pimple or scar in sight. Her pitch-black hair hung in a mass of light waves to her shoulders, parted in the middle. It framed her chiseled face, drawing attention to her cheekbones and full, red lips. Bella understood that she must have looked like an absolute moron, invalid and gaping, as Leah's eyebrow rose in confusion. She was waiting for an answer, Bella knew, but she needed a minute to reset her brain. Once the heat flooded her cheeks and rose up to her forehead, and she was sure that she had to look like a lobster fresh out of boiling water, she cleared her throat and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just lost in thought," she finally replied.

"You're Chief Swan's kid, right?" Leah asked her through the window.

"Bella, yeah," she replied. "And you're Leah, I hope."

Leah – she knew it was her, it had to be – furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side. "You hope?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I told your dad I'd find you," Bella waved her hand lazily, hardly noticing Leah's face close off into something hard and cold.

"I was at Billy's, your mom called him. They were gonna cancel their trip, it was a whole thing. I figured the last thing you'd want is for him to come looking for you, so I…volunteered? Is everything okay?" she asked when she finally noticed how ridiculously pissed off the older girl looked. "Did I say something?"

"I don't need a rescue mission, Swan," Leah spit out.

"Whoa, hey," Bella huffed, holding her hands out in surrender. "That isn't what I was trying to do at all, I just thought –"

"Lying there like a baby deer in the fucking woods," Leah muttered under her breath. "Pathetic. And you thought what? You'd come and help me through my terrible breakup?"

"Well," Bella trailed off, trying very hard not to show how much that comment affected her. "Well, yeah. I mean, no. I hoped, maybe we could help each other. Jake's cool, but he doesn't really get it."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm fine," Leah said shortly. "I don't need your help, and I have no interest in helping you."

"Oh," Bella breathed, ignoring the stinging in her eyes. "Okay. That's fine, too. I just – uh, I'll let your dad know you're okay."

"Don't bother," Leah told her. "He doesn't really care anyway."

"That's bullshit," Bella bit back, suddenly furious. "You didn't see his face when your mom called. He looked sick to his stomach worrying about you. Seth, too."

"Leave," Leah snarled.

"Come on, Leah, please," Bella begged. "I just want to talk, really. We don't have to talk about Edward or Sam or whatev –"

If Leah looked pissed before, she positively radiated violence now. She started shaking wildly and before Bella had a chance to react, Leah reached through the window and grabbed a fistful of Bella's shirt, wrenching her halfway out of the car. Not one to just sit by and let something happen to her, Bella shouted nonsense and grasped Leah's hair, pulling it as hard as she could.

It dawned on her that Leah wanted to hurt her, that she was being forced into a fight. The thought of fighting Leah – a girl she wanted to befriend, to help – horrified her. But she didn't have much of a choice. Bella had no experience in fighting, but the fundamentals seemed easy enough. Hit a lot, and hit hard. Leah looked like a demon, all black eyes and snarling teeth,

"What the fuck is your problem?" She yelled at Leah, wincing as the girl – who was much taller – threw an elbow into her ribs. "Let me go!"

Fortunately, Leah listened. Unfortunately, Bella's body was mostly out of the truck by then, and instead of sidling safely back into her seat, she fell headlong over the side and cracked her head on the asphalt. Her vision blurred violently, and when she tried to stand, she fell back to the ground instantly, and she lost consciousness.

When she came back to the land of the living, she was lying on a tattered leather couch in Billy's living room. The air smelled faintly like cigarette smoke and mint, and Seth Clearwater was leaning over her, pressing a rag to her temple. She groaned, winced at the ache in her head, and tried to sit up.

"Whoa there, Bells," Seth said, helping her up. "You alright? Leah was freaking out when she pulled up."

"She what?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, she pulled into Jake's driveway like, five minutes ago with you in the passenger seat, passed out cold. You got a nice cut on your head."

"Shit," she muttered. "Charlie's gonna kill me. Do you have your license?"

"Naw, I'm only fourteen," he said. "Jake doesn't either."

"Great," she said. "Help me up, kid. I have to go to the hospital."

Once she was on her feet, the blurry shapes in her vision cleared, and oddly enough she felt perfectly balanced. She moved toward the front door, dragging her feet. She pulled her phone of her pocket, ignoring the blood on her hands, and called Charlie to give him a heads up.

"Bells? What's up?"

"Hey dad, don't freak out. I gotta go to the hospital."

"That's twice in two days, Bella, what the hell?"

She sighed, stepping outside to get some fresh air, only to come face to face with two enormously pissed off Quileutes. Jacob Black and Leah Clearwater both stood on the porch, staring one another down like a duel in an old spaghetti western. The moment she stepped onto the porch, however, they both turned to her. Jake looked ecstatic, relieved, and a million other things Bella didn't have the patience to deal with, and Leah looked…well, like Leah, just less pissed off, and Bella felt weirdly proud of the beginnings of a black eye she saw on Leah's face.

"Bella?"

"Yeah, dad, I'm here. I was looking for Leah, figured I'd stop by First Beach. Slipped on some sleet in the lot and fell. Cracked my head in the parking lot."

She saw Leah's eyes shoot wide at the blatant lie, but ignored it after hearing Charlie speak again.

"Jesus. We're coming back now."

"No! No, I'm alright, really. I'm gonna head over to see Dr. Gerandy. I'll get the all-clear and come back to La Push right after."

"Get Jake to drive you over."

"He doesn't have his license yet."

"You can't drive yourself to the hospital, Bella. You could have a concussion."

"Dad, I'm fine," she said, as a trickle of blood ironically dripped over her eyebrow.

"I'll take you," Leah said quietly.

"Leah said she'll take me," Bella told her father flatly. "I'll call when I leave the hospital."

"Okay, okay. Be safe. Love you."

"Love you too."

She hung up and chewed on her lip for a minute, waiting for Jake to say something. When everything remained awkwardly silent, she rolled her eyes and stepped forward. Leah was there in a moment, and Bella couldn't help but flinch.

"Are you alright?" the older girl asked her, eyes wide and fearful.

Bella never counted herself among people known for violence, or even anger, really. She simply wasn't the type to see red, or to hold a grudge. But seeing Leah Clearwater pretend to be concerned over injuries she caused made Bella feel like breathing fire.

"I'm fine. Where are my keys?" she said shortly. Jake handed them off, and Bella walked over to The Thing.

Just as she opened the door, a brown arm shot forward and closed it right back. Bella turned and locked eyes with Leah, waiting.

"What are you doing?" Leah asked her.

"Going to the hospital," she answered blandly.

"You told Charlie I was taking you."

"I lied. Did you think I would be comfortable around you after this?" Bella hissed as she pointed to her temple. "I drove around for ages looking for you, and the only thing you did was beat the shit out of me and throw me out of my truck."

"You did what?" Jake roared, storming up to Leah. "What the fuck is your problem, Leah?"

"Jake, butt out," Bella demanded. "Just – go inside and help Seth. Please."

"Hell no," he refused harshly. "No, this is too much. You don't have to deal with her every day like the rest of us do, Bella. She's been an ass for months now, but I didn't think she would actually hurt someone."

"I didn't mean to," Leah said, suddenly frantic. Bella thought she saw the girl shaking again. "I swear, I didn't mean to. I just heard – I just heard Sam's name and I snapped. I didn't realize what I was doing until you shouted at me."

"Jake," Bella said. "Go. This is between me and her. If I need you to be my knight in shining armor, I'll ask. I'll be fine, I promise. And hey, not a word to Charlie."

"Fine," he huffed, glaring at Leah. He stalked off and threw the front door open as he went inside. Bella could feel his eyes on her through the window as she turned back to Leah.

"I get it," Bella said honestly after a quiet moment. "I do. He was probably your entire world, right? Felt like he was your entire reason for existing, that you were nothing without him. And when he left, it was like you had this gaping hole in the middle of your chest."

Leah looked angry again, but after a minute the shaking stopped, and she nodded sadly.

"I wanted to hit something, too. I wanted to burn down the entire world and laugh and make snow angels in the ashes. That was after I spent three months staring out of my window like a zombie. I get it, Leah, I do. But I didn't hurt anyone."

"I didn't –"

"Mean to, I know," Bella said. "But I don't really care. You still did it. I just wanted to be around you, to have someone else who knew what it was like that wasn't my dad. But I don't feel safe around you. You take your anger out on the people who want to help you, and I don't want to be around a person like that."

Leah nodded again but said nothing.

"So," Bella said, handing her keys to the older girl. "Take me to the hospital, wait for me, bring me back. And that's it. We never have to talk again."

"Okay," Leah whispered as she climbed into the driver's side.

"And don't worry, I won't tell Charlie," Bella said as she stared out of the windshield. "You don't have to pretend to care to get yourself out of getting arrested. I'm no snitch."

Leah said nothing as she pulled out of the driveway.

A/N: So, yeah. I had originally meant for Leah and Bella's first meeting to be more of a love-at-first-sight thing, where they instantly got along. But the words led me elsewhere, and I'm working with it. Crazy kids...