A/N: Get ready for some OOC Leah and Horny Bella hehehehehee
A lot happened. After I left the hospital I decided I'd be leaving Michigan. I decided that I need to go on that vacation. The one that I believe Carmen really told me to go on. If the last thing your best friend, your sister, will ever say to you is a promise of vacation- I figured I'd better do it. But before I do that, I figured I'd better go home to Forks.
I packed up the few things that I really needed in a back pack. It sat next to me on the train.
The events unfolded in my head over and over. When Mitch told me she was missing. I thought that there was hope. Maybe she just ran off with Braxton. Maybe she just went somewhere without telling me. But the very day after I got out of the hospital, they found her in Kitch iti Kapi. I really was too late. Mitch wanted to believe that I just jumped into the lake because I was having a lapse of insanity with my hypothermia. But the spirit of Kitch iti Kapi got to her too. Fulfilling his wishes. To see the fairest maiden in the land die in his place.
I'll never get the closure I need. I'm never going to be able to avenge her death. Because the man that killed her, has definitely passed on to the other side.
After they found her dead, I knew I couldn't stay in Michigan anymore.
I remember Mitch begging me to stay.
Mitch was a wonderful person, but he is just one of the many people, and beautiful creatures, that I would be meeting in my life. I told him he could stay in contact with me. And we would stay friends. And I told him if I was ever in a bind, he'd be the first person I called. He joked that only I could drown in the same lake twice in one day.
Hopefully the next place I go isn't surrounded by mystic lakes.
It's taking everything of myself to not breakdown. But Carmen knew. And I know. Slayers have an expiration date. Being a slayer is like always being ready to die.
I chewed on that for a while.
The Council did contact me shortly after Carmen was found. It isn't a strict rule, but is definitely highly recommended that that new slayers such as myself need to be with another slayer. They asked if I would like to be placed with any slayer in particular.
I remembered Liza. The girl that offered me a cigarette. I mentioned her. The council told me they would try to locate her and get back to me. They were very understanding when I told them I needed to visit my family for a while. I even mentioned the vacation and they approved my time off.
Some jobs women get maternity leave. We get bereavement leave. No set amount. Just whenever we need it. It's not likes it's a system we can abuse.
I wore Carmen's cross closer to me than usually. I caught myself admiring it more than usual.
I know that she will always be with me.
"Bells?"
"Cha -Dad!" I exclaimed when he finally came to view. He picked me up at the train station. His face looked so relieved. Like he was expecting a brainwashed zombie instead of his daughter.
I wrapped my arms around him and he hugged me tightly. "I missed you, Bells!" He said excitedly.
"Dad, I missed you so much!" I couldn't stop exclaiming.
We got out of hugging position and began walking out of the station.
"How was basic?" He asked.
The moment of truth...what do I say. "It was incredibly hard. But it was amazing. You wouldn't believe half of the stuff that I went through." I told him truthfully.
"Well you'll have to tell me all about it on the ride home. We do have a half hour drive."
"I can drive if you want!" I offered.
"No no no, you are not driving the police cruiser." He said with a laugh.
In several minutes we got into the car, my backpack in the back seat.
"Okay, so tell me everything from the beginning. Don't leave anything out." He said while starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.
"Wow, okay. So I arrive at basic. And I met this girl. Her name was Carmen. And we just clicked immediately. We decided from the very beginning that we were going to be partners."
"Partners?"
"Yeah, it's a new thing they're implementing. So we're never on our own. We always have someone by our side."
"Oh, I definitely like that. I'm glad you weren't alone, Bells. I know the break up with Edward took a toll on you."
"Dad, you called him Edward." I said with surprise. He never does.
"Eh, is that his name?" He said as a joke and a grin.
"Speaking of Edward, he actually desperately stalked me all the way to boot camp. But don't worry, I'm super tough now. I sent him back."
"Bells? Are you serious? I'm so proud of you. I always knew you could do better than that guy. He seemed pretty broody. I'm sorry he gave you trouble, but I'm glad you stood your ground." He said very proudly. Nodding occasionally while he talked.
"But Carmen… She didn't make it."
"Oh...Bells." He said softly. "She got sent home?"
"No, Charlie, I lost her. It's kind of why I came home. I told them I needed some time to grieve. I know I only knew her for a few months. But…"
"No, Bella. She was your friend. You are allowed to grieve. If it doesn't hurt you to do so, I'd love to hear more about her. Any friend of yours must've been the greatest."
I feel like I came home to a more open, less gruff father. I feel like he's different now because he thought I was going to die too. And he must've realized that he might not have that much time left with me. So all the way home I told him about Carmen. How smart, yet rebellious she was. How loyal, and caring she was.
We pulled up to the house. And I stepped out and took a breath of fresh Washington air. "Home sweet home!" I said.
Charlie stepped out of the car. And closed the door. I noticed that there was another car here. One that I haven't seen before.
Charlie caught me noticing it. "Oh, Bells, there's something I have to tell you."
"Yeah, who's car is this?" I asked.
"Well, it's Leah's."
"Who's Leah?" I said trying to recall.
"Harry's daughter. Basically Leah wanted to switch to Forks High school so she could be apart of their Metals program. Apparently she really wants to be an Engineer. And in order to go to Forks you have to live in the district. Harry asked if she could move in for the rest of the school year and I said that'd be fine."
"Leah Clearwater...hmm…" I gasped, "Is she the girl that-?"
"Yes, Bella, before you say it, she is the one that took apart your Barbie jeep."
"Wow, and now she wants to be an engineer. What are the odds."
We began to head inside and Leah was sitting on the couch. She gave me a shy smile. She stood up from the couch and came up to the door.
"Bella, it's good to see you, looks like we're going to be roomies for the next week or so."
"Roomies?" I said allowed. She eyed me carefully. I paused. "Duh, of course. I don't know why it didn't click when Charlie said you were saying here. Of course we'd be sharing a room."
"I promise, I'm not super invasive!" She said with a laugh.
"No, it's fine. I'm only going to be here for a couple weeks. Maybe even just a few days. I promised my partner I'd take a vacation. I still need to figure out where."
I do realize I'm missing a lot of school too, but hey, I can always finish my last semester later. Besides, I might not even live to make it through college.
"What does that mean? Like you can literally vacation anywhere?"
I thought briefly and nodded my head, "Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I wouldn't want to vacation in Ethiopia, but you know what I mean."
"Wow, if I had that option I don't even know where I'd pick to go." she said in awe.
"I know, that's my problem!" I exclaimed.
"Alright, girls, Should I order a pizza for dinner?" Charlie interjected.
"Actually, I've been dying to make dinner. I know it's nuts, but I haven't cooked anything in weeks. Would you mind if I made dinner tonight?" I asked.
"That would be great, Bells. I'll let you get to it."
"I'll search the cupboards." I said in return.
Charlie left the room and Leah came over to the kitchen with me. "Bella, trust me. There is no food in this house. We're going to have to go grocery shopping. I'll drive."
"Okay, you drive, and what do you want for dinner?" I said.
"Let's do some pasta."
"Pasta does sound good," I agree. "Charlie, I'm gonna go grab stuff for dinner. Me and Leah will be back in a bit." I shouted up the stairs.
"Alright!" I heard him respond from afar.
I looked at Leah, absorbing her image. Generally pretty happy. Taller than me. Dark skin, and beautiful native american features.
"Let's get out of here." I said.
We headed out of the house. "Oh, they just opened a supermarket across from the sporting goods store too!" Leah mentioned.
"Nice, I can't wait to see it." I said.
I took a seat in the passenger side and Leah drove us there. It was a quick drive, Forks being such a small town.
The town looked almost the same as when I left it. Just as Cloudy, but possibly gloomier?
We pulled up to the grocery store. And immediately in my view is not one other than Alice Cullen.
I was trying to figure out how I feel. Was I excited to see her? Was I angry? Did I want to hug her or dust her?
Maybe I'll try to avoid her. She hasn't seen me yet.
She was just walking out of the grocery store when I arrived in the parking lot.
"Oh, there's Alice!" Leah pointed her out. Then she honked her horn trying to get Alice's attention.
Ugh, I thought.
"Alice and I became friends really quick when I started at Forks. She said she knew you really well. She's going to be so excited to see you!" Leah said excitedly.
"Leah…"I tried to say. "Never mind. Yeah, grocery shopping. Let's do it." I said trying to change the subject. I don't know how I was going to tell Leah about all this Cullen family drama.
Ugh, if this was still the week Edward left, Alice would be ashes right now. And then Mitch came into my life… forcing me to remember that all vampires are not bad. God, I hate the 50 shades of gray that is my job. My birthright. My destiny. This would be a lot easier if all Vampires were evil. That's for sure.
Of course Alice saw me immediately and ran across the parking lot to Leah's car. Before I knew she literally opened my car door and cried, "Bella! I thought I wasn't going to see you again!"
I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out of the car. "Alice, come on, I'm tougher than that."
"You?" she questioned. "Bella, you're the most uncoordinated person I know! I've missed you so much! Bella, I wish Edward had let me contact you!"
"Alice, you know if you really wanted to contact me, you would have." I said trying to not sound too cold.
Leah was getting out of the car slower than me. She finally got out and closed her door behind her. "Hey, Alice. Cool to see you outside of the school for once!" Leah said happily. I don't think she heard me and Alice talk at all.
"Likewise, Leah." Alice said with a softer tone. "What brings you to Groceryland?"
"I'm making dinner tonight. We're having Pasta. Not sure what kind." I said a bit abruptly. "Alice, I'm going to talk to you later. Get my number from Edward. I bet you anything he has it somehow." I said with a laugh.
"But Bella-"
"Alice, I'm not kidding." I said shortly. "We'll talk later."
Alice walked away with her tail in between her legs. Leah just seemed shocked. She was speechless. I could tell by the look in her face that she had at least 5 questions.
"Sorry about that, Leah. Things are just messy right now. You'll have to excuse that behavior." I explained.
"Yeah, no, it's okay." she said quickly. And we started into the grocery store. We began picking out the things we needed, just scanning quickly through each aisle. Leah went on about her internship she got at the plastic plant in the town nearby. I didn't mean to lose interested.
But then I saw him. From behind I noticed his arms, tanned, with tight, rippling muscles. His shirt, that fitted him just right. Next thing I knew I realized I was admiring his ass. And I quickly turned away.
Why did my insides suddenly feel so hot?
"Leah!" I stage whispered interrupting her. "Who is that?" I gestured in his general direction. After that he finally turned around. His hair was now cropped short, but his boyish features remained the same. I recognized him instantly and my face turned red.
"Bella! That's Jacob!" She said quietly while laughing.
"Oh, my god. Puberty hit him hard!" I said quietly. "I haven't seen him since...May of last year?"
"Yeah, he started hanging out with basically...a gang."
"La Push has a gang?" I joked.
Next thing I knew Jacob was there right behind me. "Bella!" He greeted me.
My face was still red as ever. "Jacob, my god. You look so different."
"You do too! Have you been working out?" He asked.
I laughed. "I did join the military, Jake." I said.
"You still have that blush though." he joked. "You're not too different. We should totally hang out later." He mentioned. " Hey!" he started suddenly, "What are you pretty ladies doing tonight? We're having a bonfire!"
"Well, Bella is making us dinner, but I'm sure we can head over after that! The usual spot?" Leah asked excitedly.
"Yup, right near the beach." He said.
"We'll see you then." Leah said.
Jacob walked away, and Leah turned to me. "Bella, I'm so going to help you get that." She said deviously.
I gasped, "What?"
"Bella, you're totally into him, and it's completely obvious. Besides, you need to start thinking about a rebound. Tonight, I am your wing woman."
"Leah!" I gasped, completely embarrassed. There's nothing like Forks that completely makes me sink back to my old Little Bella ways. I thought about mentioning Mitch. I really cared about him...but he wasn't exactly a rebound. Maybe Mitch was the one that made me realize that i'm ready to get back on the dating scene.
"Come on, Bell, we have to finish up shopping so we can go home and get ready."
We came home, with a sense of urgency.
"Bella, what do you plan on wearing?" Leah asked me
"Um…" I thought for a moment while i was getting all of my supplies together for dinner. "Jeans and a teeshirt. But like a cute teeshirt." I said. "Probably my leather jacket too. I'll probably get cold."
She chewed on that for a second, "Okay, good idea. So you don't look like you're trying too hard. You're a genius."
Charlie overheard us, "Where are you going tonight girls?" He said as he walked around into the kitchen.
"Oh! You'll never guess." I said. "We saw Jacob at the grocery store, and he invited us to a bonfire tonight. You don't mind if we go, right?"
"Not at all, I'll just be watching the game. No curfew or anything, "He said "But try not to get into trouble."
"You got it, Charlie." Leah said. "I know Bella is a wild one, if I catch her acting out of turn, I'll just go and reel her in!" she said with a laugh.
"Bella." He said. "Wild one." He said. "Nice one." he scoffed and walked away.
A/N: The next chapter may or may not include some delicious lemony goodness, and I'm holding it hostage unless I get some reviews. And none from you, Debbie Hicks. You send me nothing but nonsense. If you're a Bella and Jacob shipper, you're definitely going to enjoy this next chapter. Please please please review!
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