Penname: Martyni

Story Title: Publicity Shy Outtakes

Story Link:

Chapter Number & Title: 2 – The Aftermath of Hurricane Emily

A/N: Alas, Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight not me, and the Beeb owns Strictly. But the plot is mostly mine.

Thanks as ever to my wonderful betas Mcc101180 and rodeomom_95.

Contains some Turkish/Urdu terms (I'm not trying to be clever, honest…). As usual there is a glossary at the bottom to help.

Want to know exactly how the break-up went? I sure do…

An Accompaniment to chapter 11

Leah POV

I was warming up and chatting with the cameramen when Sam walked into our studio.

"Can I talk to you, Leah?" He looked solemn and I didn't like it.

"Sure, what's up?"

He walked us to the corner of the studio.

"It's about me and Emily."

"You and Emily? What about you and Emily?" I asked. "You've only met my cousin once."

"More than once actually," he stated, "but once was all it took. It was love at first sight."

I felt like I'd been slapped. I didn't say anything. I just stood there open-mouthed as he dug his own grave.

"We didn't mean to, and we didn't want to go behind your back, but we can't resist one another. It's kismet. I'm sorry. I entirely understand if you want to pull out of Strictly."

That did it. I saw red.

"Love at first sight? LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!" I yelled. "If you think love at first sight is real then you don't know the first fucking thing about love. Love is about knowing someone, knowing their faults as well as the good points and loving them in spite of it.

"You know nothing about Emily. How can you possibly love her if you don't know her? Can you really love someone who has cheated on at least three of her boyfriends? Who used to kick sand in my little brother's face when she knew no adult was watching?

"You know what love at first sight is? It is a fantasy. It comes from Greek literature. The best that can be said about it is that it is lust. Will you still lust after Emily first thing in the morning? Before she has makeup on? Perhaps a few spots and a 'tasche that needs to be bleached? How about when she is seventy and her tits are around her waist?

"Don't dress up your feelings for Emily as anything more than lust. You just fancy her more than you fancy me, and you thought that calling it love at first sight would cushion the blow. Well, guess what? It didn't. So stop trying to appease your guilt by apologising — it might make you feel better, but it doesn't help me."

To his credit, Sam did look really apologetic. He hung his head in shame. "Sorry."

"Fuck you." And with that I walked out without looking back.

A/N

Dictionary

Kismet: Destiny (From Turkish or Urdu)