Disclaimer: Anything that you recognize does not belong to me. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

"Hands back, hotshot," I ordered, swatting Seth's hand away from the batter. He gave me a dirty look, before once more reaching out to slide his finger through the yummy goodness that is cookie dough. I laughed, before pushing him on the shoulder toward the door, shaking my head at the smile he sent my way before stumbling out, his finger going to his mouth. Rolling my eyes, I glanced at the clock, before turning my attention back to the task at hand. Leah's graduation party was only an hour away, so I needed to make sure I finished the cookies in time.

A few months had passed since Leah had showed up at my house, distressed over her relationship with Sam. As far as I knew about the whole ordeal, they had been able to sort out their differences, though they still had a few more fights than they used to. According to Leah, Sam never had much time for her and when they did make plans, he usually ended up canceling at the last minute with some lame excuse. I thought about two weeks ago, when I was having my own graduation party. Leah had showed up that morning in an awful mood. Sam was supposed to attend with her, but canceled with the excuse that his mother needed his help organizing the attic. It didn't offend me by any means, but the kicker had been that the Uley home does not have an attic, so it had been easy to see through Sam's lie. When she had tried to call his buff, he merely brushed her off.

The minute I arrived this morning, Aunt Sue wasted no time in putting me on kitchen duty, while she and Mom went and 'supervised' the assembly of the tent. Every now and then from my spot in the kitchen I could hear orders being given to Sam or my dad or Uncle Harry. I idly wondered how Seth had escaped that duty, though I didn't dwell on it, instead putting my efforts into finishing up the cookies.

I was just taking my last batch of cookies out of the oven when the door opened and a large figure came inside, catching me off guard. I gaped, wondering who on Earth the handsome specimen was. He was all broad shoulders and rippled muscles and he was certainly a thing to behold. Even in a dress shirt that was entirely too small and a pair of slacks that were a little on the short side, this guy effortlessly oozed sex appeal. Shaking my head, I forced my eyes back to his face, and it was then that I could feel my cheeks fill with color. I had just been unabashedly checking out Sam Uley.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice, as he was too focused on taking off a pair of dress shoes, mumbling to himself. I vaguely remember Leah freaking out about this growth spurt, though I had honestly thought she had been exaggerating. Closing my mouth, I returned my focus once more to the cookies, willing the blush to leave my cheeks.

"Oh, hey Emily," Sam's voice seemed to be a little bit deeper than I remembered it, and I found that it made him even more attractive. I needed to pull myself together. Nothing good would come of finding Sam attractive, I was sure of that. I made sure to keep my eyes off of him, as I mumbled my greeting to him. "It smells delicious," Sam said, thankfully unaware of how crazy I felt in this moment.

I forced a smile, glancing up at him. He was busy surveying the island, which was currently filled with an assortment of food. "Agreed. Aunt Sue has worked really hard," I explain needlessly. Sam wasn't paying any attention to me though, he was too busy eyeing the macaroni salad. "Uh, I'm sure you could help yourself. I don't know if anyone has had a chance to be the taste tester," I offer, feeling awkward, though I know I need to brush it off. It's in that moment that Sam finally looks up, a grin on his face. It looks as though he's about to say something when our eyes lock. The change in his demeanor happens so quickly that I'm startled. The smile is wiped off of his face and he looks as though someone has sucker punched him in the gut. "Sam?" I question.

Sam is completely unresponsive and I feel trapped in his gaze. The heat that never left my cheeks only intensifies as I do my best not to squirm under his intense stare. I feel frozen in place and all I can do is stare back at him. There's a war of emotions on Sam's features and I don't even know where to start with trying to decipher any of them. I'm so los in Sam's gaze I don't even know how much time has passed.

"Emily!"

Leah's voice comes from the direction of the stairs and I glance at the door waiting for my cousin's arrival. Nothing happened between me and Sam, that much is obvious, but I feel guilty and awkward none the less. I turn to back to check on Sam, but he's gone. His shoes are where he left them and the door was left wide open in his hasty retreat. I feel wrapped in a blanket of confusion as I stare at the door, barely registering Leah as she enters the room.

"Was Sam just here?" Leah sounds baffled as she glances between me and the door. Her brows are knit together in confusion and her mouth is starting to set in a firm line.

"Uh," I attempt in what I am sure is a most eloquent manner. "He…uh, was fine, we were talking about food, then I don't know what happened," is my feeble way of giving an explanation. I can see Leah pausing for a beat, her eyes on me as if she is trying to solve the puzzle that is Emily, but she apparently comes up short. I wish there was something more I could offer Leah, in terms of a better explanation, but as I am not entirely certain what happened myself, I've got nothing.

An exasperated sigh is the only response Leah offers as she makes her way toward the door. When she's outside, I rest my hip against the counter, chewing thoughtfully on my bottom lip. I can hear her ask her mom if she saw where Sam went, and a heavy feeling settles in my gut. What just happened here was not okay. Whatever it was, there's no explanation for it.

The party begins and ends with no sign of Sam. I spend most of the evening talking with random relatives, a lot of them the ones I saw nearly two weeks ago at my own graduation party. Occasionally Megan makes her way to my spot to comment on the sour mood Leah seems to be in. Honestly though, I couldn't blame Leah or her sour mood. Sam's disappearing act on a day that's kind of important would have caused a rift in any relationship. What was worse was thatLeah had not been able to get a hold of him. As soon as his mom got to the party, Leah had cornered her. Not being experienced in the art of lip reading, I wasn't exactly sure what was said, but I could tell from Leah's expression that it did not have happy news for her. When she attempted to leave to go and find him, Aunt Sue had put her foot down. I had heard what was said in the conversation though, as I had been at the table to witness Leah's temper tantrum. When Aunt Sue insisted that she could not leave her own graduation party, Leah had sent Seth on her behalf to look for Sam. When Seth came home half an hour later empty handed, Leah had been devastated.

With each passing moment of Sam not arriving, the dark cloud that hung over the tent grew. Megan had made the comment that if the party didn't wrap soon, Hurricane Leah would break it up on her own. I feared that she might have been right. It wasn't until Leah had snapped at Great Aunt Greta that Aunt Sue realized she needed to break up the party before it was too late. Thankfully, Great Aunt Greta was pretty senile, so the moment she was bundled up to leave with everyone else, she had pretty much forgotten that she was supposed to be upset with Leah, and had slipped her an extra dollar of monopoly money. Like I said, the woman was senile.

Not even a minute after her party was over, Leah had disappeared. I wasn't surprised. I had suspected she would go on her own hunt for Sam. An hour came and went, and Leah still hadn't returned from her hunt, and I was starting to grow anxious, though Aunt Sue hadn't seemed so concerned as her and my mother whispered back and forth in the kitchen. Eventually, Megan gave up on waiting and left with my dad and little brother in tow, along with Claire and Nick.

Unfortunately for Seth, he became my companion as I awaited Leah's return. We were in the middle of playing Go Fish, and I know I was the worst kind of competition. I was too distracted with trying to hear what my mom was whispering about with Aunt Sue and too worried about Leah returning to pay any kind of attention. Which probably explained why Seth suggested we play this.

"It's been like this for a while," Seth admitted quietly, and I finally gave my younger cousin my full attention. He was studying his cards, a frown on his features, right before he looked at me. "It seems like he's been pulling away the last few months, he's been so busy. But he's been pretty vague about what he's doing, and it's stressing her out."

"She hasn't talked to me much about it," I confessed, looking once more at the door, willing Leah to come through. "I mean, she's mentioned stuff here and there, but she never said it was so bad."

Seth shrugged, glancing at the door with me. "She's not been herself." I studied Seth while he studied the door. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, and I wondered what he was thinking about. I know he liked Sam, though I doubted he cared for him very much at this point in time. Still, this was a lot for his plate. He still seemed so young, especially to be as insightful as he was.

Our game resumed after a moment of awkward silence. This time around, I made sure that I paid more attention, which resulted in Seth upgrading our game play from Go Fish to Speed, which turned out to be a lot more fun.

We were on round five when Leah burst through the door. She looked unhappy and when Aunt Sue came from the kitchen to give her a look, Leah shook her head before bounding up the stairs. Seconds later, her door was slamming shut. I looked after her, debating whether or not I should go after her. I glanced at my mom, who was standing right behind Aunt Sue, and both of them shook their head 'no' in slow motion. I frowned at Seth, no longer in the mood to play cards.

"We should probably leave now, Emily," my mom said softly.

I began gathering my things slowly, hoping that Leah would come back downstairs so I could say goodbye, but I knew there was probably a fat chance of that. After saying goodbye to Seth, and giving Aunt Sue a kiss on the cheek, Mom and I headed toward the door. I glanced back once more, hoping Leah would have a change of heart, but no sound was coming from upstairs. Opening the front door, I began to walk out onto the porch, when I was stopped in my tracks. Walking up the driveway was the source to all of Leah's problems. His head was down, and his hands were shoved into a pair of cutoff jeans. His whole body posture seemed defeated, but I had to remind myself that Sam Uley did not deserve any pity.

As I made my resolve, it was then that Sam looked at me. He looked distraught, and no matter how I tried to talk myself out of it, there was still a pull at my heartstrings. I stepped back, allowing Sam to enter. Sam shifted, seemingly uncomfortable. Everyone in the room stared at him, as he looked toward the stairs. Leah must have been looking out her window when Sam was making his way toward the house, because she was halfway down the stairs, her arms folded across her chest and staring daggers at Sam.

"We need to talk," Sam said quietly.

"Ya think?" Leah asked sarcastically. Seth awkwardly made his way to the kitchen, and I wondered if I should follow. I couldn't leave yet, because I had a feeling Leah might need me later.

"Do you, uh, want to take a walk?" Sam asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He was completely ignoring everyone in the room, not even bothering to make eye contact with Leah. It was obvious this this aggravated Leah even more, as she laughed humorlessly at Sam's suggestions.

"No thanks, I got all of my exercise in earlier when I was roaming the rez looking for your dumbass!" she exclaimed. "Whatever you want to say to me, you can say it right here, right now. I'm not waiting anymore. I deserve an explanation, Sam. I've been pretty patient." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aunt Sue make a face at that, and I had to fight back a smile, as this was definitely not a smile kind of moment.

"Leah, please, let's take a walk," Sam urged once more. He glanced at Aunt Sue and my mom quickly before turning back to her.

Leah stood defiantly, shaking her head vigorously back and forth. "No, Sam, whatever you have to say, you will say it right now. I am not going anywhere with you, especially if I am not going to get the explanation I deserve!"

There seemed to be a lot of hesitation on Sam's part, but he finally looked up at Leah. Squaring his shoulders, Sam seemed to gather his confidence around him and he was standing taller. "It's over."

The silence that hung in the room after that statement shocked every party involved. Leah had clearly not been expecting that, as her charade fell instantly, and she let out a strangled sob, before she scrambled back up the stairs. I turned, ready to shout at Sam, but he was already gone. He must have slipped away silently as we all stared after Leah. I didn't even bother glancing at my mom this time, instead rushing up the stairs after my best friend.

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