Realizations

I felt the breeze envelop me as it whipped at my face. There was no place for tears in the woods. Any sign of weakness and you're noted as helpless, without defense. That's how the woods worked after all, the bottom of the food chain had the least respect. And in many ways, life was like that too. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, afraid of keeping them closed too long, and took the time to mull things over. The chilled winds grew colder, and consequently drew my hands to either arm to rub them vigorously. Am I angry enough to transform?

Almost.

"You can't run away from everything."

I jerked my head around, letting my mouth fall at the sight of Sam. I shook my head and began to walk forward.

"You're doing it again." And he quickly caught up with me enough to grope my arm.

"Don't touch me." I snapped.

"It isn't Emily's fault."

I let out a derisive laugh, finding the situation the opposite of humorous, "It is Emily's fault! She didn't have to go off with you Sam! If she really cared at all about me, she would've been on my side, and left you all alone – exactly what you deserved."

He only stared at me, and his face made me want to scream.

"Can you just leave me alone." She demanded in a whisper.

"And what about Paul?" Sam inquired, his voice skeptical.

"What about Paul?"

"He imprinted on you, Leah! Don't you understand it better now? What happens when you imprint? Do you see how out of nowhere and sporadic it is?"

I was silent.

"It sneaks up on you and you don't see it coming. I wasn't planning on imprinting on Emily, it just..happened. Just like I'm almost sure that Paul didn't see this one coming." He raised his hand and placed it behind his head.

"Which part didn't you see coming? The part where Paul imprints, or the part where I finally have another chance at being happy?" I raised my voice at him, causing a nearby squirrel to run from a thorny shrub and up a tree, to safety.

"What's that supposed to mean? That I don't want you to be happy?" He pointed to his chest gruffly, "Crap, Leah, I never thought you'd think so low of me."

"You didn't answer the question Sam."

He breathed in deeply, "I don't have to answer anything."

The frustration bottled inside of me was ready to explode, "Yes you do! You owe me at least that much."

"Do you think Paul's going to do that for you? He's a kid, he doesn't know how to be a man and take responsibility. He's just a kid."

The only thing I could think to do was laugh, an insane kind of laugh. A laugh you only heard when I was really about to lose anything holding me up. "Okay. That's just great. That's an excellent answer, thank you."

"What we had, we'll never feel with anyone else, and you know it."

For a second, I wanted to agree. The moments we shared together were the most carefree times I could remember of my life. But I couldn't keep living from memories, feeding off of them as if they were really happening again. My life had to go on, and I had to create new memories of my own. Ones that could last me forever, and not just in my mind.

"Your right, I never will."

Sam looked surprised at my answer.

"Because the next time I fall in love, it'll be better. We had our time Sam, and now it's gone, and we can't change that. And now, that I've fully realized that, I know that I can let someone else in – someone that wont have the chance to regret leaving me."

And after my enlightening monologue, I walked off, leaving Sam alone to his thoughts. And for the first time, I didn't care if he were to suddenly decide to leave Emily for me, because I wouldn't take him back either way. I brushed past him, hitting his arm as I walked and with a new wave of enthusiasm headed home, with the comforting silence of my solitary footsteps tapping against the rocky dirt terrain.

I figured Seth would be home, because when I passed by Emily's, it seemed like everyone was already gone; and I'm almost sure it was safe to assume that it was because of me. As I approached my house, I noticed the large figure of a boy sitting upon the steps of my poorly lighted porch. Mom had been pestering me about changing the lightbulb for days, but I would always forget, and I suddenly hated myself for being so irresponsible. I would've normally assumed it was Seth, but this guy was bigger, stronger. I softened my pace, and stopped just outside my front lawn, still on the street. Not even at my feeble attempts at squinting could I make out a face, so when I saw him stand, I stiffened, ready to transform if I had to.

"Relax Leah, it's just me."

I kept my defensive stance, "Paul?"

"Yeah, don't attack me or anything." And as he drew closer, I was able to confirm the stranger wasn't lying.

"Hi." I said stupidly.

"Hey." He laughed shortly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I just wasn't sure if you were coming back to Emily's, and…uh..i wanted to see how you were."

"Why does everyone keep asking me if I'm okay? I'm not dying or anything." I crossed my arms in front of me.

He laughed again, but this time softer, "Because when people care about someone, they want to make sure they're alright – it's kind of a normal thing."

I smiled, feeling a tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something that hadn't happened since my first couple of months dating Sam. This wasn't a signal of readiness to feel things again, but only a sign that it was, indeed, possible to do so in the future.

"Well, thanks. So then, how are you doing?"

His lips curved into a modest smile, "I'm doing pretty well right now."

"Good."

"I don't want to be a mood kill or anything, but I kinda heard what you told Sam."

I narrowed my eyes, "How do you manage to eavesdrop on all of my conversations."

He shrugged apologetically, "I can't help it, it's like my wolf senses are always turned on." His big brown eyes bore into mine, making me feel as if there wasn't an actively functioning world around us, "But that isn't the point. I'm glad you stood up to Sam, it was about time you set him straight."

"Yeah, well, I think I've told him the same thing a few times, but just – never out loud."

"You're pretty badass if you ask me."

I laughed, "I think you're the only one that thinks that. I'm sure everyone else see's me as a psycho."

"Hmm..probably, but I think it suits you. This new 'I can chop your head off' Leah."

Admittedly, I thought so too. I'm not as naïve as I used to be, although with naivety came a lot less worries, but I needed the wake up call.

"Sure." I smirked, breaking our stare, "I think I'm going inside, it's getting late." I motioned back at the house.

"Yeah, you probably should."

I could tell he was waiting to meet my eyes again, so I spared him a cursory glance and began to traipse down the grassy path to the porch, when I heard him call me again.

"Hey Leah."

I turned around, "Yeah?"

"How are you?"

I couldn't help the smile overtaking my face, "I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm perfect."

And with Paul's final note, his way of reassuring me he cared, I turned the doorknob open and smiled at him, just before I shut the door.

A/N: Hey guys(: I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but I hope it was worth the wait for you all.

So, I hope you all enjoyed the Leah/Paul fluff at the end of this chapter, because I sure did !
This is the official ending to the story, I know it was pretty short, but that's sort of how I intended it.
I'm not sure about a sequel yet, but make sure you add me to your author alerts just in case I decide to do so.

Thank you guys for reading and for all of your wonderful reviews-they made me so happy(:

The End (Officially)