Bella POV

I stood in Jake's garage, my mouth slightly ajar, staring at him. Slowly I started to smile and then laugh nervously.

"Haha, Jake, you got me." I started to laugh a bit more genuinely.

Jake stared back at me his eyes full of anger but it slowly faded to pitty.

"Bells...I'm not joking. She imprinted on you as soon as she made eye contact with you last week."

"Yeah, right. She hates me, she took off after I said sorry about her dad. I've seen the way Sam looks at Emily, Leah didn't look at me anything like that. Nice try."

I was starting to question if Jake was actually serious. I didn't like that I was actually considering it, and I started to get a bit agitated with Jake. This joke wasn't funny anymore.

"Bella," Jake's voice was soft, almost apologetic "look at me, she doesn't hate you. She hates that she's so different. She already struggled with being the only female shapeshifter." Jacob trailed off for a second, ran his hand through his hair with a sigh and leaned against a crate. "I heard her thoughts, she's trying to fight the imprint, but under all her anger I can see the imprint. Her heart is calling out to you and she can't stand that she can't do anything about it."

I stood there not able to fully hear what Jake was saying to me. I felt like I wanted to throw up but I also felt a strong tug to go to the Clearwater's.

"I'm sorry Bells, this isn't supposed to be how it happens…" He looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry I reacted the way I did too. I guess it just sucks, you know, that now it's official that we'll never be together."

I blinked at him, still dumbfounded. "But I mean…" my voice was just barely over a whisper, "you said imprints could be anything"

His face screwed up a bit and he opened his mouth like he was going to say something and then decided against it.

"Imprints could be rivals?" I asked weakly, my voice cracking in the middle of the question. My heart aching at just the thought of not being able to be close to Leah.

"That's not really how it works Bella. We don't really know why the imprint happens. Sam thinks it's so the bloodline continues but…" He trailed off probably figuring out Leah's anatomy didn't exactly work like that the same time I thought it.

"I have to go," I said curtly

"Bells, just stop for a second. This doesn't have to be a bad thing." He reached out for my arm and I quickly backed up, almost tripping backward on the door frame.

I spun around and ran from Jake's garage to my truck, not bothering to check if he was following me. I quickly jumped in and the beast of a machine roared to life. My truck complained when I threw it into drive and accelerated too quickly. Leah imprinted on me? Did I already know that? Part of me knew the answer to that was yes. I was hyperventilating and laughing hysterically. Pure joy and complete loneliness didn't mix well together, I felt like I was going a little insane. Maybe I am insane now. There was a large lump in my throat that somehow sunk into my heart, making it feel heavy. It was hard to see the road around my tears but I couldn't figure out why I was crying. Was I mad about Leah imprinting? No, part of me craved her attention, yearned for her to just hug me. The hole I felt in my chest when Edward left me was nothing compared to the heartbreak I felt right now. All of the wolf dreams were suddenly so clear now, I could see how much I craved her company now. The tugging in my chest flared aggressively at me, annoyed that I wasn't giving into it. My heart ached because Leah didn't want me. Jake told me so, she was fighting against the imprint. She was angry at the imprint for making a choice for her. A choice she didn't want. She didn't want me. My tears turned to body-wracking sobs. Why wasn't I home yet? I should have made it home by now, I just need to be in my bed. I took in the road I was on for the first time since I started driving. I was still in La Push, confused I tried to rein in my emotions a bit so I could concentrate on where I was. Surprisingly, it was pretty easy to pull myself together. The tugging in my chest was almost completely gone now. I pulled into a driveway and wiped my eyes, squinting through the rain that was coming down pretty heavily now. With a sudden start, I realized I was at the Clearwater's house. I sat up straight in my seat and stared at the vaguely familiar house, my truck still idling. I wasn't sure how much time had passed as my joy and deep sorrow fought for dominance. The front door opened and I saw Sue Clearwater step out onto the porch.

"Bella?" She yelled over the rain and my truck.

I felt my stomach drop and played with the thought of just driving away without saying anything. But she would know it was me, everyone in La Push knew Charlie bought Billy's old truck for me. And if I drove off without a word it would definitely make it to Charlie and that wasn't a conversation I wanted to have. At least that's what I told myself as I stepped out of my truck and jogged to the front porch.

"Why don't you come inside? It's pretty awful out here." Sue smiled at me warmly.

I just nodded, almost numb in shock and followed her inside. The house felt familiar and smelt great. I looked around a bit and recognized a few pieces of furniture, but a lot had changed since I was last here. Sue walked into the kitchen and I followed.

"Are you looking for Leah? I think she should be back soon." Sue smiled brightly.

Did she know? I hadn't hung out with Leah in probably eight years or more. Was it really that long since I had last seen Sue? I mentally shook myself and blushed a bit as I saw her expectant face.

"No, I uh…" I stuttered nervously "I came by thinking Charlie might be here."

My excuse was weak and I could see Sue thought so too but she didn't push it. Seth came down the hall, yelling as he did.

"Who was it, mom? Sounded like Billy's old truck" Seth's face lit up when he saw me. "Bella! How's it going?"

All I could do is stare at him. He was huge, not like Jake huge but he was only fifteen and he looked eighteen. Then I saw the tattoo. Seth followed my gaze and looked down at his arm, then back at me.

"When? What?" I turned to look at Sue, wide-eyed. DId she know? She smiled at me with a mixture of sadness and pride.

"Around the same time as Leah, but Sam keeps me home studying most of the time" He explained with a grimace.

My heart jumped at the mention of Leah's name. That had explained why I hadn't seen him around but I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My emotions were already shot from earlier so I just nodded and tried to compose myself.

"So what brings you around?" He has to know if Jake knew he must know. But was she really why I was here? Yes, I couldn't lie to myself. I just wanted her to hug me, it's all I craved. The gaping hole in my chest demanded remedy.

Before I could answer the back door opened and Leah stepped in soaking wet. Her eyes found mine instantly and I saw a brief flash of excitement, quickly replaced by disgust and anger. I took a step backward thrown off by the rejection I felt. She went to take a step forward a momentary look of concern on her face before she decided against the step.

"What are you doing here?" She practically spit from clenched teeth.

I just stared at her as the hole in my chest seemed to rip a little wider, I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself. As soon as I wrapped my arms around myself her entire body shook so violently that water was flying off her body, like a dog shaking after swimming.

"Leah." Seth sounded concerned.

She looked at him with a pained expression, turned on her heel and ran back into the rain. I stared at the back door, my arms uselessly wrapped around the hole that kept growing in my chest.

"Hey, Bella. Why don't I drive you home?" Seth offered, giving me a sympathetic look.

I just nodded and followed him out to my truck. We drove in silence and I was grateful for it, I didn't trust that I could function properly. Once I was home I went straight to my room, not bothering to change out of my damp clothes and curled up on my bed. What was happening to me? I loved Edward, why is that so hard to believe now? How could just looking at Leah make me completely change my feelings towards someone I was ready to die for? The tugging in my chest was starting to ease up slowly. I sighed in relief as it did and uncurled myself. As the tugging eased, even more, the hole in my chest seemed to heal itself a bit. I let out a content sigh again and curled up in the blankets. I was just starting to realize how emotionally drained I was. I closed my eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

I was sitting on a fallen tree with my eyes closed, I could feel a warm arm wrapped around my waist. I sighed contently, it was spitting but we must have been under the canopy of trees because I was only feeling the slight mist. I opened my eyes and looked up to see Leah's beautiful face. She turned and smiled down at me, causing my heart to flutter. She laughed lightly and tightened her arm around my waist, pulling me closer into her side. I smiled wider and tilted my head to rest my head against her shoulder, my hand coming up to rest on her thigh. I felt her cheek rest on the top of my head and I let out a content 'mmm'.

"This is nice," Leah whispered.

I nodded under her cheek, causing my hair to tickle her face. She laughed and pulled her head back up, I pouted in protest and whined: "No, Leah come back."