Summer is a great time in my life. No school, some side jobs, and time with my friends… and Leah of course. Of course, it won't officially be summer until Bella's graduation, which was today.
"Alright, girls time to go." Charlie shouted upstairs as I was zipping up my dress.
"Coming." Bella shouted down. Bella and I left our rooms at the exact same moment. I got chills seeing her in the yellow, the same yellow robe I wore when I graduated.
"Congratulations." I said to her with a small smile. Bella nodded awkwardly and we both walked down the stairs.
"Oh, Bella, it's finally happening." Charlie smiled, his eyes were glassy. I checked my phone as I walked out the door and I got a text from an unknown number.
Unknown Number: Hey! This is Alice, Bella gave me your number. Just a reminder that there is a graduation party at my house. Please make it.
Me: Of course!
Soon everyone and their mother, quite literally, Forks is a small town, were filling into the Forks High School Gym to watch the seniors in their awful yellow robes receive their diplomas. The first order of business for the graduation was watching Jessica's valedictorian speech, which I tuned out.
All four of the Cullens graduated, one after the other, Esmee and Carlisle were standing for quite a while. I swear, Alice smiled at me and Rosalie looked at me, but not like she was about to kill, so that's a positive.
Swan is pretty late in the alphabet so Charlie and I waited for a long time before Bella finally got to walk across the stage. It was pretty cool I guess, Charlie and I stood up, clapped, and Bella returned to her seat.
At the end of the ceremony, Bella, Charlie, and I gathered at the entrance of the school and asked some random attendees to take our pictures. However, I was really excited for the graduation party at the Cullens'.
I found an old dress in my closet and I was basically ready to go. By the time Bella and I drove to the Cullens' house it was sunset and the first of the party guests were arriving. Bella and I walked up to the door, however, the door opened before either of us could knock.
"Oh, hey," Rosalie said monotonously after she saw who was at the door. However, Alice skipped up behind her.
"Bella, Lizzy! I'm so glad you two could make it." Alice said, pushing Rosalie to the side. "Enjoy the party!"
I found an old dress in my closet and I was basically ready to go. By the time Bella and I drove to the Cullens' house it was sunset and the first of the party guests were arriving. Bella and I walked up to the door, however, the door opened before either of us could knock.
"Oh, hey," Rosalie said monotonously after she saw who was at the door. However, Alice skipped up behind her.
"Bella, Lizzy! I'm so glad you two could make it." Alice said, gently pushing Rosalie to the side. "Enjoy the party!" Bella was already inside, but Rosalie stopped me.
"Hey, ummm, thanks for talking to me the other night… It meant a lot. This sounds cruel, but seeing you cry made me realize how truly… human you are, and if you could feel empathy for me… maybe I'm not as much of a monster as I thought." Rosalie said, looking away from me. I pulled her in for a quick, ice cold hug.
"Rosalie you are not and never was or will be a monster." I whispered to her. "Also, the wedding dress was a great touch." I heard a quiet giggle from Rosalie before breaking away from her and walking into the Cullens' house for the second time.
The party was beginning to pick up a bit. Basically everyone from Bella's class was there. I said hi to Angela since she was probably the only one I knew. After a few minutes of the party, I felt a strange, warm, comforting feeling rush over me. I knew exactly where it was coming from just a few moments later.
I walked up one of the open staircases in the Cullens' house. I gasped when I saw who was up there. Four people turned around, all wearing black shirts, it was Jacob, Embry, Quil, and Leah. Now I know where the feeling was coming from.
"You invited me, remember." That's all I heard from the conversation that was going on between Alice, Edward, and Bella with the wolves.
"Hey, it's so good to see you again." Leah said, breaking away from her group, and wrapping me in the tight hug I was growing more used to. I saw a surprised look from Alice, as well as Edward. However, I noticed a stern look coming from Jacob. "Hey, um, I'll talk to you in a few minutes."
"What?" I asked, slightly confused. That's when I noticed Dr. Cullen, Alice, Edward, and Bella sneaking off outside with Jacob, Embry, Quil, and Embry. That's weird, I must be left out of something.
I didn't want to intrude so I literally just stood near the staircase as the party happened around me. A few minutes later
"We're going to need to tell her eventually." Embry said, which gave all of the wolves an annoyed look.
"What's going on, Leah?" I asked. I regretted saying that when I saw genuine horror flash before her eyes.
"Lizzy, you're human, we don't want you to get in the middle of this." Dr. Cullen said, looking at me. Just then, Alice began to space out. Perhaps she was getting one of her famous future visions.
"Well, there's an army of newborns, strong, new vampires forming and we're their next target." Edward told me bluntly.
"Luckily, they have us to help fight them off." Jacob said with a smirk grin on his face.
"What's going to happen? What am I going to do?" I asked.
"Nothing." Leah interjected hastily. "I can't have you near this battle."
"A battle?" I asked, more exclaimed. Jacob shot glares at Leah who covered her mouth. "There's going to be a battle."
"Don't worry. We'll keep it far away from Forks and in the mountains." Embry said, Quil and Jacob nodded.
"Lizzy isn't safe." Alice said quietly. Leah snapped her head towards her with sheer panic. "Aro read Edward's mind in Italy, he knows that Lizzy knows."
"How will we keep her safe?" Leah asked with desperation.
"She could come to the rez during the battle." Jacob shrugged, Edward rolled his eyes.
"That's actually a pretty good idea." Dr. Cullen said, his eyes were shifting around. "The newborns won't come by there."
"I can be there, too, for extra protection." Leah said, looking at me. Then, Alice spaced out, another vision. This time, she smiled.
"Yes, that will work." Alice said. "Lizzy you won't even have to do anything. Just stay in La Push until it's safe."
"When will I know to go to La Push, when will it be safe?" I asked.
"I'll pick you up." Leah said, smiling to herself. Embry rolled his eyes.
"Well, now that the order of business is over, I can tell you don't want us around anymore so we'll leave." Jacob said, looking at Edward's disgusted face. I lost basically all interest in the party at this point.
The next morning, well, I didn't wake up until eleven am, but the next morning I tumbled out of bed, got ready for the day. I walked down the stairs and realized that Bella was probably gone already.
"Where's Bella?" I asked sleepily. Charlie was sipping a cup of coffee in the kitchen.
"She's at that Cullen kid's house. She's having a sleepover with Alice." Charlie said. "Glad you're up though." Unfortunately, Charlie's hope of spending the day with me was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Oh, Leah, what are you doing here?" Charlie asked with a smile on his face. My eyes widened in fear. It was finally happening.
"I'm here to take Lizzy on a date." Leah said, trying to hide her embarrassment. The look of shock on dad's face was priceless.
"Oh, umm, of course. Uh, Lizzy did you know about this?" Charlie was stuttering, poor thing.
"Oh yeah, sorry I didn't tell you." I said, trying to hide my fear and surprise.
"Oh well, ummm, don't stay out too late. Lizzy please be back by midnight. Uh, have fun you two." Charlie said, awkwardly walking away from the door.
"I'm scared." I whispered to Leah.
"Do you have any idea how painful that is for me to hear?" Leah asked, looking deep into my eyes. She pulled me in for a tight hug. "I will never let anything happen to you."
Then I found out how Leah got here. In front of my house was Emily in a small car. She smiled and waved at me and I waved back. Emily was giddy when Leah and I stepped into her car and she began to drive.
"We're going to have so much fun." Emily said as she drove us to La Push. "Don't you're welcome at my house for as long as this takes." However, the second I walked through Emily's door I began to panic slightly.
"This is so weird, I can't believe everyone is literally fighting right now. Someone could die! My sister is out there, she's human!" I was frantic, pacing around back and forth. I had no idea who these newborns were, or what was going to happen.
"Shhh, Lizzy, everyone is going to be ok." Emily said, grabbing my hand. Then, I felt Leah's gentle hands rest on my shoulders.
"Lizzy, do you know how badly I wish I was out there, killing those bloodsuckers… I mean the evil vampires. My brother is out there, too. I want to support my pack, but…" Leah was upset.
"You're right. I shouldn't be complaining. You know, thank you so much for helping protect us. Leah you are sacrificing so much for me, thank y…" I was going on a nervous ramble.
"You know what I'm about to say." Leah said, smirking. I rolled my eyes.
"You're my imprint, it's my job to protect you." I said, imitating Leah. She laughed. "This is some date."
"Oh, am I intruding on a date here?" Emily asked, her grin was mischievous. "I totally forgot, I have run some errands in town." Leah blushed, Emily was wasting no time, leaving us alone in her house.
"Have we… kissed yet?" I asked. Leah snapped her head around.
"No…" Leah said, her voice trailing off. "What do you mean by yet?"
"I mean… we're basically predestined to be connected together forever. We might as well kiss." I said. I don't know why, but I was nervous. Leah didn't waste any time, she swooped towards me quickly, and our lips touched. I closed my eyes, and the feeling I got after first being imprinted on rushed back to me.
"Wow, I'm definitely glad I imprinted on you." Leah said, looking at me with adoration.
By then it was noon. Hours were beginning to pass. We were technically on a date, but it was unsafe to leave the house. Emily wasn't coming back anytime soon, she texted Leah saying she was staying with her family in the Makah Tribe for the night.
The day was spent playing cards, trying to find something to watch on TV, and seeing where Emily kept all of her baked goods. However, most of our "date" was spent just talking, getting to know each other. I found myself able to talk to Leah for hours on end. The universe knows what's up with this imprinting business.
Soon the sun was down and it was dark. However, in the middle of our UNO game, Leah's face fell and she dropped her cards. She had two wild cards and some plus twos, she wasn't messing around.
"We need to go, now!" Leah rushed towards the door, but she waited for me.
"What's going on?" I asked, confused. "Who's hurt?"
"It's Jacob." Leah's words hit me like a knife. I felt guilty for the slight relief I felt when I realized it wasn't Bella. The two of us rushed towards Jacob's house. It was pitch dark and we stumbled around, but we knew we made it when we saw the small house, surrounded by the familiar faces of the wolf pack.
"Thank goodness you're here." Bella said. The second our eyes met, we immediately reached towards each other for a hug.
"I'm so glad you're safe." I said. Then, there was something I didn't expect. Dr. Cullen stepped out of the Blacks' house. He gave me a small, polite nod before the other conversations continued. Soon, Bella was inside the Blacks' house to see Jacob.
It was just Sam, Paul, Jared, Embry, Quil, Seth, Leah, and me. I also noticed that Leah had her left arm wrapped around my shoulders. Their stern, worried faces broke when I saw Paul crack a small grin. Sometimes I wish I had their telepathy. Then, they all began to chuckle quietly and Leah was blushing.
"Hehe, not bad Leah." I was able to understand the implication of Paul's sly comment. "I'm so sorry, Lizzy." Paul said jokingly. Jared and Embry began to rough up Paul a little bit for embarrassing Leah and I. We couldn't help but smile.
"Jacob wants to talk to you, Lizzy." Bella stepped out of the Blacks' house. I nodded before walking away from the wolf pack and into the house. There I saw Jacob, covered in sweat and bandages.
"Hey, Lizzy." He said weakly. "Your sister rejected me… again."
"Damn, that sucks. Sorry about that." I said. "She's in love with Edward unfortunately."
"Well, at least you're normal." He said with a small smile. I playfully rolled my eyes. "Is my wolf telepathy broken or did you and Leah really kiss?" My blush answered his question, Leah and I have been blushing a lot lately. "Well, glad we have at least one Swan on our side."
"I'm not taking sides. I'm just a human trying to navigate a world of vampires and werewolves." I said with a small smile.
"Eh, you should probably go back outside. Leah's getting jealous." Jacob said with a small, pained laugh. I smiled and slowly walked back outside.
