Disclaimer: I don't own this.

Chapter Three: Slept So Long

"Did you think it's cool to walk right up

To take my life and fuck it up

Well did you

Well did you

I see hell in your eyes

Taken in by surprise

Touching you makes me feel alive

Touching you makes me die inside"

Jay Gordon- "Slept So Long"

(Bella's POV)

All the way to the Clearwater's house, my heart was constricting with fear that Leah would say something nasty in front of Charlie. I just wanted her to at least like me a little bit.

When we pulled into the driveway, I felt like a hand was around my heart pulling me toward the house, toward Leah.

Jacob and I trudged into the house behind Charlie and Billy. From the sounds of it, the entire pack was here. Great, just what I needed. Sue met us at the door. When she saw me, her eyes filled with tears and she hugged me tightly.

"I know you'll break down Leah's tough exterior enough to get to her heart." She whispered in my ear. When she pulled back, she wiped away her tears and pushed Jake and I toward the living room. Sue and Billy took Charlie into the kitchen, where I could see Emily and Kim cooking something.

As soon as I stepped into the living room, three things happened at once. My eyes immediately found Leah without me having to search for her, her eyes snapped up to meet mine, and everyone in the room fell silent, watching us. I smiled at her. She smiled a little, and then turned away.

Sam cleared his throat. "Leah, why don't you take Bella for a walk?" He made it sound like a suggestion, but I could tell that he would order her to do it if necessary.

She silently stood up. She grabbed my arm as she walked past me and we went out the front door. We walked down the street in silence. I didn't know what to say to her, just like I didn't know what to say to Edward. Leah had led me toward the beach, when we got there, she led me to a piece of driftwood, and we sat down.

Neither of us said anything for a long moment. So I finally blurted out, "What are we Leah?"

"Nothing." Was her cold answer.

"Why not?" I asked, my voice wavering a little. She didn't answer, I continued, "I want to give things a try with you. Whatever these things are."

She looked at me and asked, "Why?"

I shrugged. "You interest me. I want to know more about you." She smiled at this.

"What about your bloodsucker?" She growled a little.

I shrugged yet again. "What about him? It's obvious I'm not meant for him." I smiled a little to show her I was accepting this imprint as long as she was.

She smiled. "We'll take it slow then. Friends for now?"

I smiled back at the hopeful glint in her eyes. "Friends." She leaned over and hugged me tightly. I tried to hug her back just as tight, but I wasn't as strong as her.

She released me and stood up. "Shall we go back then?" She held out her hand and I took it. She laced our fingers together for a minute, and then let go of my hand. We walked back to her house smiling and laughing a little. Leah actually was quite funny once you saw past her tough exterior.

When we walked back into the house, everyone turned to us with a smirk on his or her face. Charlie smiled, "Hey Bells. You and Leah have a nice walk?"

I nodded. "Yeah dad."

He smiled. "Good to see you finding a girlfriend outside of Angela and Alice." Quil smirked when Charlie said girlfriend. I looked down at my feet, trying to think of what to say to that.

Leah answered for me, "Yeah, Charlie, Bella and I are becoming great friends." She smiled at me, her eyes twinkling a little. Charlie went back to eating. Sue watched us with tears in her eyes again.

Quil said, "That's hot." Leah and I pulled our gaze from each other and glared at Quil. Sue handed me a plate and I went to eat.

After we had finished eating, Leah said, "Bella, come here. I want to show you my room."

I saw Quil glance up with a mischievous look on his face. Sam looked at him, effectively shutting him up. I walked up the stairs behind Leah and went into her room behind her.

It was nice, very un-Leah. The walls were a hunter green color, the carpet was just as dark and it matched well. She had posters hung on her walls of different bands, such as Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park, Craving Lucy and Dropkick Murphys. She certainly had an interesting taste in music.

Her bed was large and had a black silk bedspread. The floor had dresses, sports bras and shorts lying everywhere. There was a little pile in the corner of shredded clothes.

Leah closed the door behind us and went to sit on her bed; I followed behind her. She swept her hand through the air, "So what do you think?" She asked it so simply, but the look in her eyes told me her whole world depended on my opinion.

I smiled softly at her, "I like it. It's nice." She exhaled deeply, like a silent sight of relief.

She sat back on her elbows and asked, "So, as you can see, I go through a lot of clothes." She laughed a little. I joined in with her, enjoying the sound we made a little too much.

"It looks like it." I said softly.

She looked over at me. "Do you want to go shopping with me tomorrow after school? We can go to Port Angeles. I know Jake told me you hate shopping, but I need to get some clothes and we can go to a bookstore if you want, we won't be gone long." She rambled.

I laughed, "Sure, that sounds great, Leah." She smiled at me again.

"Do you want me to come pick you up or do you want to drive down to La Push before we go?" She asked.

I answered, "I'll come down here. I may need to speak to Jake before we go."

She nodded. "BELLA!" Charlie's voice boomed from downstairs. "IT'S TIME TO GO, YOU HAVE SCHOOL IN THE MORNING!"

"COMING!" I called back.

Leah stood up when I did. She pulled me into a hug and said; "I'll see you tomorrow." She pulled back and swiftly kissed my cheek before opening her door and going across the hall to the bathroom.

My cheek where she kissed me burned a little. I wasn't sure if it was from her heat or from her kiss. I placed my hand over it anyway, enjoying the tingling feeling her lips left. My mind started to wander how it would feel to have her lips on mine and maybe a few other places.

"BELLA!" Charlie called again. I pulled myself from my thoughts and ran down the stairs.

I caught a knowing glance from all the boys. That's really getting old, I thought and followed Charlie out the door. I could still feel where Leah kissed me. I basked in that feeling all the way home counting down the hours till I would see her again.

-The Next Day-

(Leah's POV)

When Bella was sitting on my bed next to me, I couldn't stop myself from thinking all those dirty thoughts about throwing her down next to me and fucking her senseless. That was a bad idea considering my mom, her dad and the pack were all downstairs within hearing distance. When I finally did have sex with Bella, I could guarantee she would not be quiet.

I shouldn't be thinking these thoughts right now. I was sitting on my couch waiting for the time when Bella would get here so I could be alone with her. Alone time with Bella. I rubbed my thighs together and then stood up. I couldn't fucking take being away from her.

I grabbed my mom's keys and started out the door. When I drove up to her house, I noticed her truck was in the driveway. So the bloodsucker must have taken her to school. I checked the time on my cell; it was almost time for her to get out.

I drove up to Forks High, carefully controlling my thoughts in case her bloodsucker was around. She walked out of the building, holding his hand. I fought with myself to control my shakes, my thoughts and my jealousy all at one time. Not an easy feat, I'll tell you that.

Opening my car door, I called out, "Bella!"

She turned toward me and waved. The two leeches turned toward me with looks of disgust on their faces. Bella loped over to me.

"Hey, Leah. I thought I was coming down to La Push first?"

The two leeches walked over to stand behind her. I shrugged, "I was bored as shit and I figured I'd save you the driving time. You want to go now?"

She nodded and started to walk toward the passenger seat. Edward stopped her, "Bella, you are not going with this dog. Going to a bonfire with Jacob is one thing, but going somewhere with this one is another thing."

'Fuck off leech.' I said in my thoughts. He glared at me but other wise ignored me.

The little pixie leech asked, "Where are you going?"

"Shopping." I answered.

Her face fell. She looked at Bella, "You never shop with me."

Bella looked pained. "We're not shopping for me. Leah needs clothes and we're just getting stuff for her."

The pixie nodded, but still looked sad. I huffed, "If we're done here, I'd like to get to Port Angeles today."

Edward glared at me and started to say something. Bella cut him off, "Edward, listen. Leah is my friend, okay. She asked me to help her get some clothes, and I agreed. Plus, you know Charlie wants me to have friends outside of you, Alice and Jake."

He just said, "Have fun then." He kissed Bella's lips and he and the pixie left. I climbed into the driver's seat and waited for Bella.

After we had been driving a few minutes, Bella said, "I'm sorry about him."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault." I said quietly.

When we reached Port Angeles, my mood had improved a little. I was still a little irked about Edward kissing Bella, but I was trying not to let that bother me. We went into a clothing store, where I picked out some simple dresses I could slip on and off easily.

Bella kept me company, giving me her opinion on things and even picking out a few for me. I was perusing through some dresses, when I came across a dress that was perfect for Bella. It was just about knee length, had a beaded bodice and was a beautiful sapphire color. (Picture on my profile.) I pulled it off the rack and turned around to find Bella.

She walked over to me when she saw me looking for her. She saw what was in my hand and said, "Isn't that a little small for you?"

I shook my head, "It's for you." I held it out to her.

A horrified expression crossed her face. "I thought we were just shopping for you?"

I shrugged. "This is perfect for you, Bell, and it's for your graduation. Go try it on."

She reluctantly took it from me and walked into the dressing rooms. I stood outside and waited. I looked around the shop, there were only three other people in here; one was the cashier, whom was talking with two other girls on the other side of the store.

Bella's voice came from the other side of the door, "Can you come zip me up?" I opened the door and stepped inside.

I stood just behind Bella. I took the zipper in my hands and zipped the dress up. When it was zipped, I let my hand trail lightly up her spine all the way up to her neck and down her shoulder slowly. Her skin was like silk under my fingertips. Perfect, smooth, and creamy white; she was gorgeous. Bella started to sway a little from my touch. I placed both hands on her shoulders.

"You okay?" I asked seriously.

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm uh, just dizzy. I think." She walked out the dressing room door and looked in the mirror. I walked out behind her.

"You look gorgeous." I told her truthfully. She blushed and looked away. I didn't know if it was from my compliment or the fact it was a girl who complimented her beauty. She mumbled a 'thanks' and then went to take the dress off.

We walked over and paid for our clothes and then walked out the door. It was relatively early so Bella said, "Do you want to go back to my house? I can cook us some dinner. I know Charlie will be hungry when he gets home."

"Sure." I answered as I pulled the car onto the road. Any amount of time I got to spend with her was pure gold to me.

A/N: I am seriously loving all the reviews I'm getting from you guys. Remember, I have pictures of what Leah, Bella, and Edward look like on my profile along with Bella's dress from this chapter. Also, there's a poll on my profile regarding future lemons. Vote and let me know.

~LCM~