Telephone Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters.

John slowly awakens from his slumber to the sounds of running water. Rolling over to his back, he lets out a huge yawn, stretching out his limbs and a deep growl escapes his throat. His thoughts flash back to last night's events and he can't help the frustration that builds up inside of him. He's not only frustrated because of the disappointing ending to his date with Leah but also because that wasn't him. He wasn't quite sure what happened and where it all came from…but, he can't deny the fact that it was nice. Feeling Leah's warm body pressed up against his, her voice sounding so light, soft and – John snaps out of his thoughts as his alarm goes off. With a groan of frustration he stops his alarm. He knows that he agreed to take things slow with Leah…and he wanted to at the time but now the thought of not pursuing her seemed ludicrous.

The wolf spirit inside of John seems to feel slightly the same way, his aggression was slowly building up and after last night – his wolf can only growl excitedly at the thought of Leah naked in the shower. John has caught a glimpse or two or more of Leah while she was in the midst of transforming in and out. Taking a few deep breaths, John tries to calm himself down, calm the wolf down as he hears the shower water cut off. A smirk graces his lips at the thought of Leah's surprise when she opens up the door to find him standing outside waiting for her. He's not sure why he never bothered doing this sooner? He just always waited in his room for her to finish up.

Getting up John silently moves down the hallway and leans back against the wall opposite the bathroom door. His heart begins to race as he can hear the soft muffled movements of Leah's towel gently rubbing against her warm skin. His muscles clench tightly as he hears the slow twisting of the doorknob and he closes his eyes, willing himself to calm down, to not lose control.

John's eyes open wide once he hears Leah's surprised gasp, his eyes traveling up from the soles of her bare feet, past her long tanned legs, her hips that are still prominent even with a towel wrapped around them, past her breasts that are covered modestly and to her face. The surprise is gone by the time he makes eye contact with her and all that remains is a small smile. He can tell that she's mentally laughing at herself for being caught off guard. He watches intently as Leah's lips part slightly and he finds himself unable to hold back any longer, his need to kiss her soft lips again drawing him in.

John feels the heat rolling off of Leah's body hitting his, the moisture that remained from her shower increasing the tingling sensation he is feeling on his arms, neck, chest and face. He moves in closer, blocking in Leah's body with his arms and adding pressure causing her to gasp as she feels the bottom of his boxers brush against her thighs. He groans internally as Leah bites on her bottom lip, looking up at him and he feels the need to nibble on it for her; to taste her – all of her.

"Lily." John whispers huskily as Leah eyes slowly flutter close and he leans in. The cool and sweet mint taste of Leah's breath closes his eyes. His heart is pounding in his chest and he can feel hers as her breasts press against his chest. His hands wrap around her waist before settling on her ass, squeezing and locking her in place against him.

"John." Leah moans out.

The loud shrill ringing of a phone cuts through the silence snapping Leah out of the moment. Opening her eyes, Leah realizes that it's her phone ringing and looks down the hall towards her room.

John feels his mood darken at another interruption; he can feel Leah's eyes on him as she stands waiting for him to release her from the hold. His fingers relax and they lightly graze the exposed skin at the bottom of Leah's towel. If her situation was different, he'd tell her to forget the call and let voicemail get it, but it's not; she's far away from home and not many people call Leah on her phone.

"John," Leah calls and with a defeated sigh, he steps back freeing her but still lets his fingers run across her smooth skin earning a shiver.

"Go answer it." John says with a small smile. Leah returns his smile along with a nod and moves quickly down the hall towards her room.

John keeps his focus on the wall, noticing the small smooth bumps and overlapped paint, trying to think about anything and everything outside of what could've happened between him and Leah. Morning wood was bad but this was even worse. With a low growl he steps into the bathroom deciding upon a cold shower to help get him through the day.

The moment Leah enters her room does hesitation hit her; she's unsure of who could be calling her. Her stomach begins to churn and flutter like there's a million butterflies in her stomach all just hovering awaiting her to answer the phone. Picking up the phone, she checks caller ID and breathes a sigh of relief to see it's only her mother.

"Morning Mom." Leah greets warmly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sue snaps angrily. Leah's warm smile immediately falls as her brow furrows and she begins to question whether or not her mother has that sixth sense to know when her daughter is about to become intimate with someone?

"Uh…washing up?" Leah answers cautiously.

"Don't get cute with me, Leah Michelle Clearwater." Sue snaps.

"Mom, just calm down, alright?" Leah asks feeling her heart racing.

What the hell is going on?

"Just tell me what's wrong? What's going on?"

"Why did you call Jacob?" Leah's eyes widen at the question and her chest constricts. "Billy called me to tell me that you called Jacob and he throws a fit." Leah slowly sits down on her bed shocked by the news.

"A – a fit? Why?" Leah asks out loud but the question is directed more so at herself.

How did Billy know? Did Jacob leave the Cullens and run to him? Guess he can't throw his tantrums in front of his precious Nessie. But…wait? Why is he upset?

"Listen to me, Leah. It's just best if you don't talk to Jacob, okay?" Sue says after letting out a heavy sigh.

"Why?" Leah asks with a frown. Deep inside her there is a small confrontation breaking out; the wolf in her remains indifferent to the news of her Alpha male's mood but the human side of Leah is concerned. "I heard that he was upset that I left,"

"You're happy up there, right, dear?" Sue whispers interrupting Leah.

"Yea, but," Leah's phone beeps and she pulls it away to see Paul and Rachel's phone number appear. "Look, Mom, Rachel's on the other line. Just let me,"

"Don't answer her call." Sue growls out and Leah freezes for a second at her mother's tone. Sue Clearwater was never one to be disobeyed and the respectful daughter in Leah gives pause – but only for a moment.

"Mom, it's just Rachel. I'll tell her I'll call her back." Leah states with a deep frown.

"LEAH, DON'T YOU DARE ANSWER IT!"

"I CAN TALK TO WHOEVER THE HELL I WANT!" Leah snarls into the phone. "Now you hold." Leah orders before putting Sue on hold to answer Rachel's call.

It's too damn early for this shit.

"Heya Rach." Leah greets with a tired sigh.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rachel demands, her voice cutting through the last vestige of Leah's good mood.

"Try that one more time." Leah growls into the phone. Whatever confusion or concern she may have had over her mother and best friend calling her at 5:15 AM is quickly melting away.

"You heard me, Clearwater. You called Jacob!" Rachel snaps, her voice loud, shrill and demanding.

"I did." Leah replies curtly.

"What the hell did you do to him?"

"I didn't do a damn thing to him." Leah growls out in her defense. "I – I…look what is the matter?" Leah asks with a sigh. The nightmares have always been something that was known amongst the Black and Clearwater family members but never addressed. The only ones to know that the nightmares are so closely tied together is Jacob and Leah. The pair was pretty certain that their family members had some sort of ideas about why they could be found snuggled up together.

Jacob was never questioned about the arrangement but Leah was continually interrogated on the matter; especially by Seth and Sue. Leah knows it's because they all worry about her and her feelings; her developing the wrong kind of attachment on her Alpha.

"Leah, I come over after overhearing Paul and Sam talking about Jacob having a meltdown in his room." Leah feels her breathe hitch at Rachel's words. "His room is trashed and he refuses to eat or even come out. So I need to find out what the hell you did or said to him."

Despite the confusion swirling around her over the situation and her own feelings all that Leah can seem to focus on is her own anger and frustration. She had woken up from a terrible dream, her first in a few months and due to a lapse in poor judgment she called Jacob for comfort.

"Listen I didn't do or say anything to him." Leah snarls angrily into the phone. "I called him and he got short and snippy with me." Leah states, her teeth grinding. "I did tell him to go back to bed and that I was sorry for waking him in the first place. You know what? Mom was right I shouldn't have bothered calling. What I do? Ruin his Loch Ness sleep or fantasies?"

Rachel bites her bottom lip as she listens to her best friend go off on the other line. She had woken up to low growls and curses coming from her husband to see Sam frowning at him. The two were unsure of what to do about Jacob and especially how to handle him. Despite her husband's protests, Rachel had walked out and took the short walk from her front door to Billy's back door to find Billy already on the phone updating Sue Clearwater.

Jacob was in his room, his back turned towards the door, glass on his floor and picture frames smashed. All of Leah's old pictures were strewn across the floor, dresser and his bed while the newer ones, holding the new pack, had been torn up obviously in a fit of anger and, possibly, jealousy. When Rachel had asked her brother what was wrong, his voice was hoarse, raspy and forced with a 'leave me alone' as the only reply.

"YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE?" Leah yells into the phone, snapping Rachel out of her thoughts and forcing her to pull the receiver away from her ear. "IF I'M SUCH A FUCKING NUISANCE AND ANNOYANCE TO HIM THEN LET HIM KNOW THAT I WON'T FUCKING CALL HIM EVER AGAIN! AND I'M CHANGING MY NUMBER!" Leah's anger takes over her as she recalls the hurt, pain and guilt that the pack had made her feel in the beginning. Everything was her fault back then and she was the scapegoat.

Why are they still blaming me? I'm not even there.

Hearing a creek, Rachel whips around to see Jacob looking at her, his shoulders slumped and a look of complete hurt and defeat is in his eyes. She knows that he can hear every word that Leah is yelling right now and it's hurting him – he's hurting that Leah doesn't know how he feels, doesn't know what's been going on and even if someone did tell her she'd probably not believe it.

"TELL HIM, ALL OF THEM, THAT I'M SICK AND FUCKING TIRED OF BEING USED. I'M ALWAYS AT THE ROOT OF SOMETHING. IF EMILY ISN'T HAPPY, IT'S MY FAULT! SETH CAN'T BE WITH HIS IMPRINT – IT'S MY FAULT! MOM DUMPED CHARLIE – IT'S MY FAULT! AND JACOB FUCKING BLACK IS BEING AN IMMATURE PRICK AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Rachel walks towards Jacob slowly her eyes desperately searching his own to only see only confusion and sadness. She had only called Leah because she had, inadvertently, hurt her brother and her ignorance of the whole situation was ridiculous, frustrating and caused more strife between the pack and family members involved. She didn't mean for things to become worse than they already were; Jacob was standing looking through her, his ears listening to Leah's rant and tirade, the realization of what this outburst could possibly mean. Leah was also hurt and Rachel is hit with the full force of the emotions that have lain hidden underneath the tough and overly-confident façade that was Leah Michelle Clearwater; she was hurt – hurting. Leah was always hurting and she masked it for the sake of those around her, her situation had improved slightly for a moment but there were unresolved issues that were just now being brought forward.

Rachel wants to say something but the words escape her and the only way she can see to make the matter better or to calm it down is to let Jacob talk to her. Jacob and Leah, both, have a tendency to be hot-headed and it takes someone special to calm either one of them down. As Leah can calm Jacob down and get him to focus on the importance of a situation, he possesses the ability to calm her down as well and make her see that she's not alone in her pain. Offering him the phone, her eyes begging for forgiveness, she's grossly disappointed as Jacob only stands, his shoulders slumped, and head hung low and loss washing over his features. Silently she pleads with him to take the phone and say something to her, to make everything right again, to right the wrong that has been done to her over and over again.

Jacob listens to Leah's hurt and angry voice over the receiver of the phone; he's only vaguely aware of Rachel's movements as the phone is placed near his ear. What strikes him more is that fact that he can hear the tears in her voice;

Leah's crying.

It stabs him in his heart that he's caused her this much pain and hurt; what hurts most of all is that he doesn't know even how to correct it. In a way, Leah is right about her rant saying that she is to blame for the pack's woes. As his mind plays over the past years he can see where Leah's thinking has stemmed from. Emily was forever unhappy about Leah whether it was or presence or absence that just seemed to grate Emily – but Emily never seemed to be happy unless Leah was miserable. His mind wonders if Sam has still been harassing his Leah while he was busy doting over Renesmee? Did Seth hold Leah responsible for cutting into his imprint time? When it was really his turn to patrol? Or maybe Leah needed his help doing something? The matter of Sue and Charlie was just a swarm of rumors leaving very few people who cared to even know the truth behind that relationship. And even now, Rachel had called Leah blaming her for his violent outburst. Sure Leah was the reason behind it but she wasn't the cause; his frustration and feelings of insecurity and inadequacy were the catalyst of the fit. He was jealous of this other wolf and sad that Leah was perfectly content and happy with a life that didn't involve him. She was right; he was being immature and prick. He was putting his own needs above Leah's – again. He just felt that she had called to…say that she was coming back home, that she missed him and that she 'loved' him.

Now all of his hopes are slipping away and he can't find the right words or energy to even correct it. A part of him is screaming at him to say something and stop her before she makes a very Leah-like decision and never calls back. There's another part of him that is silent and is trying to formulate the perfect answer – but this part is working fast enough.

"SO I'M DONE WITH THIS! DON'T FUCKING CALL ME, I'LL CALL YOU!" Leah screams still under the impression that she's talking to Rachel and the line goes dead. The moment is gone and Jacob sighs, shutting his eyes, shaking his head and without a word or even a glance at Rachel he turns and heads back to his room. There are no feelings of hurt, regret, remorse, hatred, jealousy or defeat – his body, thoughts and feelings are numb. Collapsing down on his bed, Jacob shuts his eyes and slowly he drifts into a dark and dreamless sleep.

Leah sits seething on her bed, her eyes stinging and the taste of blood on her tongue from the multiple bite marks on her bottom lip. A growl escapes her throat as she forces herself to place her phone down calmly at her side. Shutting her eyes, she breathes in deeply trying to control the building rage that is threatening to overcome her. Her thoughts play over the angry calls that she received from both Sue Clearwater and Rachel Meraz blaming her for Jacob's actions. She wasn't his fucking keeper and this was actually the first time she'd spoken to him since she left; she knows now how foolish she was to have tried to contact him directly.

"Uh…she's going to have to call you back." Leah's body tense as her head whips around to see John standing in her door, the cordless phone raised to his ear and his eyebrows hidden beneath the fringe of wet hair. "I can't make that kind of promise, Sue." John answers, his eyes looking at Leah taking in every detail of her body, facial expressions and most of all her eyes. "Bye."

Leah turns her head away looking straight ahead at the wall before her. Her temper is starting to get the better of her and the wolf inside of her is clawing desperately to be unleashed; they'll run if she's allowed out. Running always makes them feel better but they have work, school and a cell phone number to be changed.

"Lily, calm down, please." John whispers as he sits down on the bed next to Leah. He watches as Leah's body tenses slightly the moment he sits down on the bed, his weight shifting the mattress and causing her to fall slightly into him. The contact of their skin sends a shiver from the contact point to both of their spines; one of bashful contentment and the other with biting frustration. "Do you want to talk about it?" John asks and sighs as Leah growls at his question taking her answer as an obvious 'no'.

Running a hand through his hair, he looks at the woman beside him and silently curses the morning. He's not heard most of the conversation but he can tell that it's been a heated one judging by the tone of both mother and daughter. Then to hear Leah's outburst about her being responsible for something involving her former Alpha only frustrates him more. All the time he's put into trying to convince Leah that she's not responsible for the actions and series of events that involve others – forgotten. It was like building a sandcastle and then some asshole walking up and knocking the whole thing; after all the planning, working and detail work to have it all come crumbling down around you.

"I'm just fucking sick of it all. I mean I'm not even there and yet Mom and Rachel seem to find it fit to blame me for Jacob throwing a temper tantrum." Leah states exasperatingly, her arms out straight before her as if the mess was right before them. The news catches John's attention and he turns his head to look at her, a deep frown on his face and his brow creased.

"What happened?" John asks seeing as how now Leah is ready to tell him what spurred the argument to maybe get more details.

"I called him,"

"Why?" John asks trying to control the rush of anger and jealousy inside of him. He'd been thinking of Leah while in the shower, how great her body felt pressed against his and how soft her lips were against his own. Leah wasn't the docile type of woman and responded more freely with those who were straight-forward and aggressive with her. The decision to openly pursue her more seeming to be a decision that both man and wolf could agree on because it wasn't round-about, it was subtle and a clear, concise decision.

"I don't know." Leah lies and John flinches at the blatant lie hanging in the air. "Look I'm going out for a while." Leah says quickly getting up and walking around the bed towards her closet. She quickly grabs an oversized t-shirt, throwing it on before reaching into the drawer throwing on a pair of shorts. John doesn't turn around giving Leah the required privacy and trying to figure out if letting her out in such an overworked emotional state.

She sits by the river, silently staring at the rushing water, a cool breeze kicking up and spraying her face with a light mist. The rushing water is nothing like the crashing waves on the cliff back in La Push. There is no rhythmic beating or pattern that she can distinctly pick out. With a sigh, she gets up and stretching out her legs, turns and runs into the forest. Over the months, she's learned the layout of the territory and can run it in her sleep.

Her paws coming to a halt, her body tilts a little from the momentum causing her to two tap the rocky surface beneath her. She looks up at the mountain before her, trying to find the best way to get up; she's not as agile of a climber in her wolf form like the others. It's a challenge that she loves and has only succeeded in twice – out of 32 attempts. With a huff, she opts out on climbing the cliff face and moves towards the trees.

She's not afraid of falling; especially since she knows that he will never let her fall. Throwing a quick glance back Leah can see John following not too far behind her. He's not left her since the argument on the phone with Rachel Meraz. She had to get out, get away from her phone, the accusations, the blame and the anger. She couldn't get over how her own mother and best friend had called blaming her for Jacob's outburst. She, in turn, responded back with her own backlash of anger and overflowing emotions.

Leah can feel John's interest peek as her thoughts slip to the words that she yelled into the phone at her very pregnant best friend. He remains silent, letting her sort through everything in her own head, at her own pace while still giving her plenty of space. He's not demanding her to just 'deal with it' or even trying to convince her that 'they didn't mean it'. She's spent her entire wolf existence listening to the same excuses over and over again – from Sam, Emily, Jacob, Seth, Sue, Billy, Embry and on and on.

The run up the mountain is easy and is over too soon for the frustration still lingering just under the surface. Slowing down her pace, she walks to the edge of the rocky cliff and lays down and with a heavy huff. Her head resting on her paws and the sun's rays warming her fur. She can hear John shaking out his fur roughly before he sits down a few feet away from her. The comforting closeness that the two have shared over the months is gone. She doesn't want it nor does she need it; she does need a soft, placating attitude to soothe her when what she really wants to do is run full out until her paws bleed and then turn and attack the source of this surge of emotions – Jacob.

A prickling of annoyance shoots up both wolves spines at the mention of the name. Leah isn't sure whether it's stemmed from her own emotions or maybe from John's. An image of Jacob pops in her head, a smug grin on his face as he rolls his eyes. It's a memory of Leah's from another moment in time where she felt like this once before. He had followed along behind her, very much like John, as she ran her anger out – or tried too. It's always interested Leah that she could never out run her own emotions even in her wolf form as if they were always somewhere ahead of her.

But Jacob had phased back into his human form and sat beside Leah scratching and petting her head. The only thing to keep her from biting the condescending hand was an alpha command. He talked to her about the fight, what was said and how she reacted and felt. He was explaining it all away while still throwing insults at the other party involved. Somehow he had calmed her down but it's plain to see that the issue has never really been dealt with – she's still carrying that baggage around with her.

'You need to learn how to let it go.' John states finally breaking their silence. There are no other words or thoughts on how he feels the best way for her to achieve this end. Whether it's because he himself doesn't know how to do it or maybe it's just something that she's expected to learn on her own is debatable.

An eagle screeches high up in the sky and Leah's eyebrows raise as she watches the bird soaring; its wings spread wide, riding on the cliff's updraft as it surveys the land looking for prey. She finds herself envying the bird and its freedom to rise above it all. She was born grounded; her wings long since clipped and never meant to grow back – ever. There was always someone or something to come along and trip her up just when she felt that she had the perfect rhythm or pace to move along in her life.

She feels pretty certain that she's partly to blame for all of her setbacks and failures. Leah Clearwater has never been wholesome, pure and perfect. Her parents cursed, her friends and cousins fought, she had popularity in high school but that's never meant to last. Her girlfriends were few but great; they were gossipy and unique. Talking about people and making jokes on others was how they bonded and passed the time; they weren't cruel with their jokes and kept it strictly between them. They fought and argued same as all people do and sometimes they made up. The boys were just that – boys. They were rude, crude, and crass. Their jokes were dirty, perverted and insulting. They were competitive, aggressive, abrasive and brutal. A loss said that you were weak and a win meant you were the best.

She's had to learn how to balance being a human, a wolf, a girl, sister, daughter, friend, ex-girlfriend, cousin, beta, housekeeper, employee and Council member all at the same time. These last years have been spent with one of the most isolated groups on the entire rez. Her humor is a variant between the many lives she's been forced to live. She knows more sex jokes than any other female should probably ever learn and she knows that sometimes she's a pariah amongst most female gatherings.

She's angry, volatile, violent, vengeful, loyal, a loner and yet pack oriented. She's not perfect and knows that she never will be; people don't like her and she doesn't like most people. No matter what she does it feels as if it'll never be good enough for those around her and that idea stings her heart.

'Lily,' John whispers as he gets up and lays down next to Leah. John watches with a pang in his heart as a huge single tear rolls down the side of Leah's face; her fur turning a darker grey from the wet trail it leaves. Immediately he licks it away, covering her muzzle and face in wolfish kisses trying to convey warmth and assurance that he's with her and he won't turn on her so.

John wants to tell her to not feel that way but inside their current forms, he's unable to see how to even form the words to speak it. Her pain and sense of loneliness is overwhelming that he can only whimper while rubbing his head roughly against hers. John has never, personally, felt such feelings before and as words escapes him, he does the only thing that he can think to do but promise Leah that she will always have him by her side, that he'll always back her up and support her.

Images of a man, an older man with long silvery gray hair tied up in a ponytail appears in his mind's eye. John doesn't recognize the man but can sense Leah's overwhelming love and need for him – her father. He can feel this man's warm arms surrounding him, both of them, in a tight embrace as they listen to his steady heart beating inside his chest as it rumbles from the speaking of his deep voice. There is comfort, security and love in that moment but it is short lived as he suddenly gone and the image is replaced with the image of the same man, the russet skin now paling, his eyes bulging, his hand clutching at his heart as he gasps desperately for air.

The image becomes too much as they are both hit with the sudden realization that he's dying; the anchor, weight, support – rock of the Clearwater family is dying. Throwing their heads back both let out a painful howl; it's mourning for not just Harry Clearwater, as John will soon learn, but for all of those lost suddenly and unexpectedly.

Their cries echo throughout the mountain range causing animals to stop and become alert. Even the few humans nearby freeze hearing the saddened calls of two wolves; their location unknown but the pain and sorrow in the cries touches them deeply that they can't help but stop, taking a moment to say a silent prayer to hopefully ease the pain of the two animals' loss.

A/N: This is a short chapter because the original was getting really long and it has to be broken up into two parts. Sorry for the long delay but I've had to deal a lot with this chapter and the last. It really hurt to write that chapter and I just needed a break from brokenhearted and confused Jacob Black. He's really just a naïve innocent in this story…in comparison to the other Blackwater angst that I've written in the past. But I'm started to feel slightly better. I've had this flu bug for a week and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm eating solid food again! YAY! I'm drinking water and don't feel forced to do it. HAZAH! And I've only slept for a total of 17-hrs today! And that's not in a row. So…yea, so there goes the update that I promised and here's hoping I can buckle down and get the Halloween story out.

Oh! So…get this! On my way home from work, because even with the flu I'm a glutton for punishment and would like to use my sick days for days where I can goof around instead of sleeping, I see this guy brushing his teeth! O_o? It kind of caught me off guard because my eyes registered what I saw before my brain had a second to process it. But have any of you ever seen someone brushing their teeth outside their place of business? I mean is there some crazy bathroom monitor that'll jump out the stalls and scream, 'YOU CAN'T DO THAT HERE!'? I mean if so they need to use their time for more good and stop those who don't wash their nasty hands during this cold and flu season. Nasty doorknobs probably made me sick. *grumbles* But…I don't know…am I the only one to find it weird? I mean dude didn't even have a cup to like rinse or nuthin.

What else…uh, the fox has not been back. I repeat the fox has not been back; so hopefully, he's either out looking for the WILF that requested and so many others have asked or he decided that there was nothing to be had around the huge house with the crazy black girl yelling at wild animals. I really hope it's the first one. =P But you all know what to do at this point and if you've seen Paranormal Activity 2 tell me what you thought of it. I'm so excited to go see it! The idea of a baby and dog being scared shitless is just too tempting NOT to go see. I mean I've seen the mom being dragged down the stairs but what if they drag the baby! HILARIOUS! Yea, that's right, I said it. I live with a 3-yr old and startling her is sometimes the highlight of my day; after our hugs, tickling matches, 'I'm-NOT-tickling you' matches and our harmonize the other's name.