Bella spent a long time in the bathroom, showering, blow drying her hair and inspecting her reflection. She wasn't sure if she should go home and do her makeup and find a nice outfit. She was excited to go on a date with Leah but dreaded having to get dressed up all fancy. She applied the only makeup she had packed and left in the bathroom, mascara and lip gloss. She then stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. As Bella entered the bedroom she noticed Leah standing in front of her closet, tapping her foot as she thought. Usually Leah watched Bella enter rooms due to her ability to hear Bella approach. Bella figured that Leah was so deep in thought she didn't hear her enter. Bella took this chance to quietly admire her girlfriend. She was dressed slightly different. She still wore a tight fitting white tank top but rather than her cut off shorts she wore tight fitting skinny jeans and she had socks on rather than her bare feet. Leah seemed to come to a decision and pulled a black leather jacket from her closet and put it on while turning around.
"Oh!" Leah started slightly as she realised Bella had managed to sneak up on her "how long have you been standing there?"
"Not long" Bella smiled moving over to her bag and looking through it. She hadn't packed anything nice for a date. But judging from Leah's outfit it couldn't be something too fancy which Bella was grateful for.
"You know if you want…" Leah trailed off, uncharacteristically unconfident.
Bella turned her head to look at Leah, slightly concerned at the change in character.
"You could leave stuff here if you know, if you want. So you don't have to riffle through a bag all the time. I uh cleared some space if you want." Leah was rambling "but you don't have to-"
"That'd actually be pretty great" Bella smiled at her reassuringly.
Leah looked relieved and showed Bella the room she had made in the closet. Bella smiled and stood with her bag, she moved to Leah's side and stood on her tip toes to kiss Leah's cheek.
Bella quickly dressed in skinny jeans and a thin hoodie that didn't have paint or drywall on it. She started putting the rest of the meager clothing she had packed for the weekend into the closet. She snuck a peak at Leah out of the corner of her eye and saw she was watching Bella with the dopiest love struck expression she had ever seen on her girlfriend.
"What are you thinking about?" Bella asked as she finished and turned to Leah.
"Just thinking about the future" Leah smiled sweetly but the dopey love face was more hidden.
"So where are we going?" Bella asked sliding her arms around Leah's waist.
"I thought we could go see a movie at Port Angeles" Leah grinned wrapping her arms around Bella's shoulders.
"Hey Leah!" Seth called from the kitchen.
Leah sighed "What?"
"Are you cool if Embry and I hang out here?" Seth asked with his puppy dog voice and Leah knew he would have his innocent puppy dog face to match.
Leah sighed even louder "If anything gets broken you pay for it, no one goes into my bedroom, if you eat all my food you're never allowed back into my house. And don't you two even think about inviting a bunch of the pack here."
"I swear we'll have the utmost respect for the house. Scouts honor!" Seth called back triumphantly.
"Yeah Leah, I promise too" Embry added.
Bella snickered and Leah looked down at her in her arms. Leah couldn't help smile at her a little.
"You're my witness that they agreed to those terms" Leah told Bella.
Bella nodded pretending to be serious then slipped out of her arms and took her hand. Bella lead her out of the bedroom and they passed the boys in the living room.
"Now Ms.Swan you have my sister back by 9pm!" Seth called after them.
Leah rolled her eyes as she pulled on her shoes.
"Remember who's house you're in and who can kick you out" Leah threatened.
Bella snickered as she pulled her own shoes on and turned to Leah when she was done. "I think it's kind of cute."
Bella hopped into the driver's side of her truck and was grateful Leah didn't insist on opening the door for her. Bella was beyond done with the whole overly chivalrous act. They drove to the movie theater in relative silence. About halfway Leah placed her hand on Bella's thigh and rubbed small circles with her thumb.
"Are you okay being open like this?" Leah asked, her voice full of concern.
"Hmm?" Bella didn't understand what Leah was asking.
"I mean are you sure you're okay openly being on a date with a woman?" Bella could feel Leah's eyes on her.
"It doesn't seem weird at all. I love you and I'm not too worried about what people think" Bella smiled out the front windshield but it quickly faded. "Are you okay?" Bella was suddenly very worried.
"Oh god of course!" Leah quickly answered. "I want to tell everyone you're my girlfriend, actually I think I have told everyone I know that you are."
The two laughed together lightly and Leah squeezed Bella's thigh. Bella parked the truck and the two hopped out. Leah took Bella's hand and they walked into the theater together. After purchasing tickets for a horror movie they stood in line for snacks. Bella shivered slightly and Leah looked at her concerned.
"Are you cold?"
"A bit, movie theaters are always pumping max A/C. I don't get it." Bella grumbled.
Leah chuckled as she removed her jacket and helped Bella into it. Bella didn't bother protesting because she knew Leah was only wearing it for show. Bella happily snuggled into the jacket, it was extra warm form Leah's body heat. As Bella ordered snacks Leah heard a man and woman whispering to each other but didn't pay attention to what they were saying until she picked up Bella's name. They were trying to figure out if the person beside Leah was in fact Bella. Leah turned her head and looked at the two and they immediately clammed up. They looked to be the same age as Bella and Leah figured they must be kids from school. Leah shrugged it off and helped carry the snacks to their seats. They settled in and watched the previews for a bit before Leah wrapped an arm around Bella's shoulders. Bella snuggled into her side, happily enjoying the heat and comfort. Leah noticed the young couple again and listened as they settled in a few rows behind her and Bella. The movie started and Leah forgot the young couple again, wondering why Bella chose a horror film. Though Leah wasn't complaining, she preferred this to romance movies. They happily ate popcorn and Leah noticed Bella didn't start much at the movie. Leah didn't understand how anyone could treat Bella like a glass flower.
"Why is it that all new age horror movies seem so unrealistic?" Bella whispered into Leah's ear.
Leah sniggered trying to hold back her laughter.
"Maybe it's because you've seen real monsters" Leah whispered back.
"Or maybe it's because I know I'll always have someone looking out for me" Bella whispered but kept her face close to Leah's.
"Hmm sounds pretty stalkerish" Leah mused her face inches from Bella's.
Bella rolled her eyes and closed the space between them and kissed Leah gently. They both jumped apart when a woman in the theater screamed loudly. Leah could hear Bella's heart pounding. She tightened her arm around Bella trying to comfort her.
"God, that was the scariest part of this movie" Bella whispered and turned her attention back to the movie.
Leah could hear the young couple behind them whispering again. She couldn't make out what they were saying though. There were too many loud noises from the movie and people screaming.
As the movie let out Bella and Leah followed the flow of people into the lobby. Leah had kept her arm around Bella's shoulders and Bella wrapped her arm around Leah's waist.
"I'm sorry the movie wasn't that good" Leah apologized as they slowly walked towards the arcade just off the lobby.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault I'm not a screaming mess" Bella grinned up at Leah.
"Yeah I was really hoping I could comfort you through the whole movie" Leah joked.
"Oh I bet-" Bella was cut off.
"Bella?!" A woman called not far from them.
Bella stopped walking but didn't turn, debating pretending not to have heard.
"I told you it was Bella!" The woman scolded someone "Bella-Bella, over here"
Bella had hesitated too long. She sighed and turned around, Leah following her lead. It was the young couple who had been whispering about Bella.
"Hey Lauren, what are you doing here?" Bella greeted, less than enthused.
"Oh just on a date with Tyler. We just saw that scary movie." Lauren responded.
"Cool, well good seeing you" Bella made to turn away.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your...friend?" Lauren eyed Leah's arm around Bella's shoulders.
"Lauren this is Leah, Leah Lauren." Bella spoke in a no nonsense tone of voice.
Lauren didn't seem to pick up on Bella's standoffish behaviour. Or she just didn't care.
"Oh Leah, you're Bella's old friend…" Lauren emphasised friend and paused before continuing. "Mike told us about meeting you. You're a boxer right?"
"Actually Leah is my girlfriend" Bella stated as if she was telling Lauren about the weather.
Leah was surprised by how blunt Bella was being about this. She hadn't expected Bella to be so open about them dating.
"I didn't know you were gay" Lauren made a face.
"Yeah I'm full of surprises" Bella responded in monotone.
"I thought you were dating Edward. When did that end?" Lauren was pushing for more juicy gossip details.
Leah could practically see the annoyance rolling off of Bella.
"Hey, Lauren. It's been good to meet you but I promised Bella we'd play a game of air hockey" Leah made the excuse and tried to move on.
"So a boxer huh?" Lauren walked beside the two with Tyler trailing behind.
"Hey Lauren" Leah let her wolf surface slightly, knowing just the slight hint of predator would be felt "how about you leave us to our date?"
Lauren stopped walking instantly and Tyler almost walked into her back.
"Yeah-yeah of course. See you at school tomorrow, Bella" Lauren made an attempt to smile in a friendly manner.
Bella just nodded once and Leah lead her into the arcade.
"Man, I wish you went to school with me. I could really use that fuck off aura you give off" Bella mumbled.
Leah laughed and gestured to the air hockey table. "I apparently promised you a game of air hockey" Leah stated.
"Well then get ready to lose, Clearwater" Bella smirked almost rivaling Leah's own smirk. They played a couple games of air hockey and Bella won every time, it was always a close game but somehow she would win. Bella had a sneaking suspicion that Leah was letting her win. There was no way with her super speed that she was unable to stop Bella from scoring. They laughed and were looking at the arcade games when Bella pointed at the prize booth. Leah looked where Bella was pointing and saw a stuffed husky that was white and grey.
"It kind of looks like you" Bella giggled. "She then pointed at a black german sheppard "and that one is Sam"
Leah laughed too and pointed at a brown chihuahua "that one is Jacob"
Bella laughed loudly and caught the attention of the employee working there. They looked over at the two and gave their mandatory smile before moving on. Leah lead them to a circular machine. It had a single light traveling around it and players were meant to stop the light right in front of them. Leah put $2 in the machine and watched the light complete one circuit. Once the light came around again Leah stopped it perfectly. The machine started pumping out a long chain of tickets. Bella watched as she did this two more times. She was 100% sure Leah had let her win now. She wasn't upset at all, just kind of disappointed that she'd never be fast enough for Leah. Leah scooped up all the tickets and grinned like a small child. Bella's thoughts were quickly pulled back to the moment as she watched a giddy Leah quickly walk back to the prize counter. She pointed up at the grey husky and exchanged her tickets for it. Leah came back to Bella and presented her with the stuffed dog. Bella held it in her hand and smiled. It was about the size of an average teddy bear and was surprisingly soft.
"Thank you" Bella grinned at Leah.
"You're welcome" Leah was beaming.
Leah was giddy with excitement. She hadn't felt this good in many years. The last time she had been on a date had been ages ago and even then she didn't feel the same excitement she felt right now. Leah glanced at the large clock on the wall and frowned a bit.
"I forgot to ask earlier this weekend but do you have any homework?" Leah looked a little disappointed.
"Just a bit but I can finish it later tonight" Bella reassured her, not wanting their date to end.
"Bella, it's 8pm on Sunday" Leah looked appalled "that doesn't leave you a whole lot of time"
Bella shrugged.
"C'mon lets get you home" Leah shook her head in disbelief, she didn't want to be the reason Bella failed a class.
Bella grumbled her protest but followed Leah out to the truck. She had left her school bag in her truck all weekend, not wanting to deal with it. They drove to Charlie's house which didn't take long but Bella didn't hop out.
"Are you leaving?" Bella asked sadly.
Leah glanced at the clock on the dash."I don't have to right this second but I've got patrol in about 15 minutes" Leah frowned slightly.
They sat in the truck in complete silence for a few minutes, neither wanting to leave the other. As the minutes ticked by Leah sighed heavily and leaned over, kissing Bella's cheek. Bella turned her head and kissed Leah on the lips, wishing she could stay here with her forever. Leah chuckled lightly and broke away from their kiss.
"I'll call you after school tomorrow?" Leah asked.
"Can you come back here when you're done patrol?" Bella pouted.
"I wont be done until 4am" Leah informed her as her answer.
"I'll leave the window unlocked" Bella said as she hopped out of the truck, leaving no room for argument.
Leah laughed and hopped out of the truck too. "I guess it's a date then"
Bella grabbed her school bag and stuffed husky, looked over her shoulder and smiled at Leah before walking into the house. Leah jogged down the street and into the forest before phasing.
Leah felt like her patrol was taking extra long but 4am finally rolled around. She gained a second wind as soon as she was free to leave. She ran to Bella's house and phased back just inside the forest. Once she was dressed she jogged back down the street. She looked up and down the street to make sure no one was looking before she scaled the tree outside Bella's window. As promised Bella had left it unlocked and it was open a crack. Leah gingerly opened the window and climbed through. The room was dark but she could see almost perfectly due to her heightened senses. She saw on Bella's chair there was a folded piece of paper with her name written on it and on the back of the chair hung her jacket. Leah picked it up and read; "Leah, I didn't know if you had a chance to get a change of clothes when you left so I left these incase you wanted them." Leah found a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top. She smiled to herself and looked over at her sleeping girlfriend. She was snuggled tightly in her blankets, cuddling the stuffed dog Leah had won her. Leah quickly changed, leaving her dirty clothes and shoes on the ground beside the chair. She gingerly climbed into the bed with Bella and almost instantly Bella rolled over to face her. At first Leah thought she had woken her up but was reassured by Bella's deep breathing. Leah pulled Bella into her side and closed her eyes. Leah fell asleep almost instantly, she was exhausted from her long day.
Bella woke to her alarm clock and turned it off as quickly as she could. Leah sat up, groggily and looked at Bella disoriented by her surroundings.
"Shhh, it's okay go back to sleep" Bella reassured Leah as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Leah mumbled incomprehensibly and laid back down falling asleep almost instantly. Bella quickly got ready for school and took one last peek at Leah before leaving. Charlie had left for work early that morning and Bella was glad he hadn't checked on her before he did. How would she explain that to him? When Bella arrived she parked and went to her locker like normal, ignoring everyone as she went about her day. School ticked by slowly and when the bell rang signaling for lunch she wondered if Leah would be awake yet.
"Hey Swan!" A male voice called out.
Bella turned to face the direction of the voice. A guy she vaguely recognized was waving at her as he approached with two of his friends. She eyed them skeptically. She had seen them in her other classes and knew the one guy only by his last name, Smith.
"Yeah?" She asked, confused.
The guy who had spoken slung his arm around her shoulders, like they were old buddies.
"I heard you were on a date yesterday" He grinned down at her.
"Yeah…" Bella didn't understand why this mattered and didn't like his arm around her.
"I heard you were making out with a girl" one of the other guys piped in, loudly.
Other conversations in the hallway seemed to die out and attention was starting to shift to the four of them.
"That's none of your business" Bella answered coolly as she shrugged out of the first guy's arm.
"Awww come on Swan, you're like one of the boys now" the second guy whined.
Bella started walking away, ignoring their stupidity.
"Yeah, tell us all the juicy details" Smith pushed as he walked up beside her and slapped her ass.
Bella stopped walking and turned to face Smith.
"Don't you ever touch me again" she said calmly before walking to the women's bathroom, where they couldn't follow her. She was angry and when she got this angry it made her cry, which she hated because it made her anger look like weakness to others. She knew Leah could calm her down though, Leah could make her feel better about anything. Bella pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Leah.
"Bella?" Leah's voice was a bit groggy.
"Oh, did I wake you? I'm sorry, go back to sleep." Bella tried to keep her voice sounding as normal as possible.
"What's wrong?" Leah suddenly sounded very alert and she could hear shuffling on the other end of the line.
"It's nothing, just boys being stupid" Bella could feel an anger tear roll down her cheek.
"What's wrong?" Leah asked again, refusing to let it go. Bella could hear wind on the other end of the line.
"Where are you?" Bella asked, confused by the loud wind. She didn't think it was that windy outside.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Leah's breathing sounded a little laboured now.
Bella caved and recapped the whole thing to her and finished with "don't worry though, if it happens again I'm going to use my boxing lessons to kick his ass"
Bella could now hear chatter in the background on Leah's end.
"Where are you?" Bella asked, already fairly certain she knew the answer.
"Near the cafeteria. What's this guy look like?" Leah asked calmly like she was asking for the time.
"Leah, no" Bella left the bathroom and jogged towards the cafeteria. "You can't get too angry here" She could see Leah not too far ahead of her now.
"Don't worry, I just want to talk to him" Leah hung up, knowing Bella wasn't far behind her. Leah entered the cafeteria.
Bella jogged up to Leah and stopped beside her.
"Which one is he?" Leah asked again, scanning the cafeteria.
Bella was still pissed at Smith and if Leah was going to use her predator intimidation on him Bella kind of wanted that. Bella pointed to a boy sitting at a table not too far from them. The other two were with him Bella noted as she followed beside Leah.
"Smith?" Leah asked once she reached the table.
He looked up first and the rest of the table stopped talking to see what was going on.
"Yeah who's asking?" He smirked at her then looked at Bella waggling his eyebrows at her.
"Do me a favor, Smith, stand up real quick" Leah said fairly calmly.
"Why?" He asked but obliged as he stood, now standing a few inches taller than Leah.
"Cuz it wouldn't be fair to punch you if you were sitting down" Leah smirked and before Smith could react she punched him right in the face.
Smith crumbled to the ground and his friends at the table all stood quickly, ready to fight. The cafeteria was now silent as everyone watched what was happening. Bella grabbed Leah's arm, slightly horrified by what she had just done but also satisfied. Smith's two friends helped him up and Leah could see his eye was already swelling, he was getting ready to swing at her. Gingerly, Leah moved Bella out of the way and grabbed Smith's arm as it swung at her. She used it to redirect him so he stumbled towards the table, off balance. She then grabbed him by the shirt and hoisted him off the ground before slamming his back into the table top. The wind instantly left him and Leah leaned over top of him.
"If you or any of your little friends put a hand on my girlfriend again I'll break every single fucking bone in it." Leah threatened and her wolf begged to be released. She was pacing just below the surface, she wanted this guy's blood. "Do you understand me?" Leah growled.
Smith nodded and Leah could smell urine. She released his shirt and took a step back to see Smith had wet himself. Leah turned to his friends and they both jumped back a step.
"Ms.Swan!" An authoritative voice boomed through the quiet cafeteria.
Bella and Leah looked in the direction of the voice and saw the school's principal.
"The sheriff has been called and I must ask that you and your friend come peacefully to my office." The principal looked past them at the boys also involved in the situation.
Leah nodded once and started walking towards the principal, Bella following close behind. As they walked students jumped out of their way giving Leah a wide berth.
"Jordan, Matthew why don't you help Liam to the nurse's office?" The principal suggested.
Leah could hear them shuffling behind her but they were walking in the same direction. All five of them arrived at the main office and the principal sat Leah down in a corner as far away from the other students as he could. Liam's two friends escorted him into the nurse's office but sat in the main office once he was there. They all sat quietly as they waited for the sheriff's department to arrive. Bella wasn't exactly excited about having this happen. She knew she'd have to explain it to her father one way or another. When Charlie walked in followed by one of his deputies Bella groaned.
"Bella, what happened?" Charlie was full of concern then he spotted Leah "Leah what are you doing here?"
The deputy moved to speak to the principal and started scribbling into his notebook.
"Hey Dad, it's not as bad as they're going to tell you" Bella tried to reassure her father.
This set off warning bells in his head and once he saw that Bella was okay he turned into Chief Swan turning off his parental worry.
The deputy walked over to Charlie and glanced down at his notebook.
"Ms.Clearwater assaulted Mr.Smith unprovoked in the cafeteria" he read off before looking at Charlie "the kid has a nice shiner"
"Ms.Clearwater please stand and place your hands behind your back. You are being detained for assaulting a student on private property" Charlie instructed.
Leah did as she was told and felt the handcuffs tighten around her wrists.
"It wasn't unprovoked!" Bella protested as she stood. "Liam slapped my ass, Leah was just trying to protect me"
Charlie looked at Bella for a second then turned to his deputy.
"Detain Mr.Smith for sexual assault on a minor" Charlie then lead Leah out to his cruiser and helped her into the backseat. Bella followed them and Charlie turned to her.
"You can't come in the car with us, this is already complicated with you being my daughter. I can't have people thinking I'm playing favorites" Charlie sighed.
Bella nodded once to her father then looked at Leah in the back of the cruiser. Leah smiled at her like they were just playing cops and robbers. Bella sighed heavily and walked over to her truck.
When Bella arrived at the station both Liam and Leah were sitting, handcuffed, in chairs opposite some desks. Liam was now wearing a pair of sweatpants that looked to be three sizes too large rather than his soiled jeans. Liam was speaking to Charlie and Leah was sitting patiently, probably listening to what was being said. Leah smiled at Bella, like nothing was wrong. Once Charlie was done speaking with Liam he came over to Bella.
"Follow me" Charlie said, leading her to a chair opposite yet another desk.
"I need your statement about what happened"
Bella nodded and began telling Charlie about how Liam had slapped her ass. Liam muttered something she couldn't hear but Leah stood up and there was a snapping noise. She then pointed at Liam and yelled "you're a fucking piece of shit". On each wrist was a piece of the handcuffs no longer attached to each other. Everyone in the station was staring at Leah in disbelief except Bella, she was looking at her in horror for what she had just exposed.
"Oh damn, Chief I think your handcuffs are faulty" Leah said sheepishly as she sat back down.
Charlie stared for a second before shaking his head and moving to Leah to replace the cuffs.
After everything was documented and Leah was recuffed Charlie gathered the three of them.
"Alright let's see here. Bella you have the choice to press sexual assault charges against Mr.Smith who now at 18 would be tried as an adult. Mr.Smith you have the choice to press assault charges against Ms.Clearwater who would also be tried as an adult." Charlie explained.
"I don't think I would need to press charges if Leah wasn't in trouble…" Bella trailed off.
Liam understood loud and clear. If he didn't want a sexual assault charge on his record he needed to drop his against Leah. "Yeah Chief, I think this was all just a big misunderstanding. I don't want to press charges" Liam said sheepishly.
"Alright that's settled then. Robert can you take Mr.Smith back to the school?" Charlie asked the deputy that had been assisting him through this whole thing.
The deputy nodded and unlocked Liam's handcuffs, leading him outside.
Charlie unlocked Leah's handcuffs but didn't move to allow her to leave.
"Don't get me wrong Leah, I really do appreciate you looking out for Bella but you can't be assaulting kids in school. You got lucky he was 18, if he had been a minor I don't think you would have gotten off easily." Charlie sat down heavily in his chair.
"I know Chief Swan, it won't happen again as long as those idiots keep their hands off Bella" Leah grinned at him.
"Again, I appreciate you looking out for my daughter" he studied Leah then Bella "when did you two get so close?" He noticed how the two gravitated towards each other.
"I've been trying to figure out how to talk to you" Bella started, hating having to do this on the spot. "Er, Leah and I are dating" Bella blushed lightly.
Charlie's eyes bulged and he sat forward on his chair before he managed to compose himself. He looked at Leah who was still sitting in the chair opposite Charlie's desk. Leah nodded and then shrugged at Charlie.
"How about you come over for dinner tonight, Leah?" Charlie finally managed to speak.
"Sounds great Mr.Swan" Leah grinned, her smile echoing the bright smile of her brother.
Leah and Bella left the station holding hands. They stopped beside Bella's truck and Bella looked up at Leah.
"I love you, but please never get arrested ever again" Bella furrowed her brows.
"I wasn't arrested, just detained" Leah smiled sheepishly.
Bella narrowed her eyes at Leah. Leah held her hands up defensively.
"Yeah okay, I'll try not to get into any more trouble"
"Good" Bella stood on the tips of her toes and kissed Leah quickly. "I've gotta get back to school. I guess I'll see you for dinner"
"Yeah, I'll see you later" Leah smiled before jogging towards the woods.