Author Note:
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, just my OC's and the plot.
I had trouble with this chapter due to the back story of Leah and transitioning her into the Twilight Universe. I hope you like it, please let me know what you think, and constructive criticism is appreciated.
In answer to the reviews posted before for this story, please see below for the answers.
Enjoy!
Chapter 5
When Leah next woke up, it was to the flight attendant shaking her shoulder.
"Excuse me miss, we have arrived." The nice flight attendant informed the groggy teenager, much to her displeasure. With a heavy sigh as reality once again smacked her in the face and she realized that yes this is her new life, she couldn't help but groan in despair. Unfortunately, the flight attendant took that as a groan for having to wake up from a nice nap, so she gave her a pitying look which did not help Leah's mood. Mood thoroughly darkened even further, she reluctantly got to her feet, slung her bag over her shoulder and left the plane.
The airport in Port Angelus is not big, though from what Leah has gathered nothing in Forks is big. Forks seems like one of those whole in the wall small towns, you know the ones, the gossip is real in those types of towns and everyone knows everyone. Reluctantly heading towards the baggage claims to, well claim her baggage, she noticed that her escort was already here. The man standing in front of the sheriff's cruiser looked nothing like Billy Burke. Seriously, if Leah was straight she would climb this man like a tree! The only thing that the movies and books got right about his looks was the fact that he had a mustache.
The man was about 6'3, broad shouldered that looked like he took care of his body enough to be fit and muscled, slightly tanned skin, messy brown hair that looked like the just had sex look to it. He had the warmest brown eyes that while warm, looked sharp. There were laugh lines around his eyes and mouth like he smiles and laughs a lot, clearly this man was not the introvert from the books! He wore his sheriff uniform complete with the cuffs, taser and gun still attached to his belt, clearly, he either just got off work or he will be dropping her off and then going to work. All in all, the man was very impressive and though he is a cop, the fact that he is different from both the books and movies helped relax her like nothing else. It made it easier to have to interact with this version of Charlie who is as different as her, than it would be if she was talking to a Billy Burke look alike. Talk about awkward!
"Hey Bells!" Charlie greeted her, though his voice was gruff-like it was no less warm. Leah could clearly tell by the look in his eyes and the way his tone softened when he said his daughters name, that he really loved his daughter. This made Leah feel uncomfortable, this man was clearly happy to see his little girl and she was nowhere to be found. Instead of his Bella, he now has a body snatcher from the future or alternate universe inhabiting his daughter's body. Though she won't tell him that, that would be a one-way trip to the looney bin and that is something she is desperate to avoid. Deciding that if she is to be stuck here, she mind as well start changing thinks sooner than she planned. If she must spend the rest of her time here, then she will damn sure make the most of it.
Leah always hated how Bella treated Charlie, like he was an inconvenience or a roommate. Hell, even in the book she refers to him as the perfect roommate! As someone whom has never had parents, being raised in the foster system her entire life, Leah could empathetically state that she would KILL to have a parent like Charlie. In fact, Leah resolves that unlike Bella, she would be open and honest with Charlie about everything, supernatural secrets and all. At least she will once she has built some rapport with him first.
"Hey Dad!" Leah called as she grabbed her bags and headed for him and his cruiser. Once Leah was in arms reach of the man, she dropped her luggage to embrace him much to his surprise. Seeing the surprise on his face at a simple hug from her caused some annoyance from her towards Bella. This man may be a stranger to Leah, but she can tell just from meeting the guy that he cares for his daughter. It seems that the same could not be said for Bella. With that rather dismal observation, Leah adds showing Charlie the love he deserves from his daughter that Bella never game him on her list of things to change.
Along with that, she should probably get used to others calling her Bella and maybe referring to herself as Bella as well. It is so weird to be referred to as Bella, the fact that it is the most pathetic character in Twilight franchise makes it even more cringe worthy. However, unless she wants to develop a complex or split personality, she should start getting used to this new if not radical change. Leah is not holding her breath of ever getting used to the change, much less overnight. Baby steps is the key here, the key to holding on to the little sanity she has left.
After a moment of awkward hugging, they separated, and Charlie got a good look at his daughter for the first time in three years. Charlie has heard from his ex-wife how it seems like Bella is different than she was before she stepped foot on the plane. Bella's naturally wavy chestnut brown hair that she clearly inherited from him is longer than before. Bella's skin while pale looks to be almost like an albino. Bella is still an absolute shorty at 5'0, compared to him she minds as well be a leprechaun! Bella's hazel eyes seem to be an almost chocolate brown today, which if he remembered correctly means she is either happy or content. It is when her eyes are green when she is feeling either mad, sad or really any negative emotions. Charlie always loved that Bella's eyes served as a mood ring of sorts, Bella is always so hard to read that the only way to understand her mood is to consider her eyes.
Another thing that Charlie noted that changed was that Bella seems to have become confident overnight according to Renee and even though it has been years since they last spent time together, he couldn't help but agree with her. The hug from her surprised him, he couldn't remember the last time she had hugged him, it had to have been when she was ten years old. Now she is hugging him! Also, he noticed she didn't even hesitate to call him dad. Since Bella and he are almost strangers, she occasionally slips and called him by his name. This is understandable due to the estranged relationship that they have, but it makes it even more weird that this time she didn't even hesitate in calling him dad. If Charlie didn't know any better, he would think that this wasn't his daughter but a body snatcher. He really needs to stop watching Stephen King movies!
"So, are you all set? This all of your bags?" Charlie gruffly asked, he really needed to get to work sadly and wanted to get his daughter settled before he left. Though Forks is a small town and crime is almost non-existent, the same could not be said for Port Angelus. As the Chief of Police, Charlie has jurisdiction of Forks, LaPush and Port Angelus. Though when it comes to LaPush, the most crime he has encountered was vandalism and drugs. Even then the drugs were recreational drugs sanctioned by the Tribal Elders and were thus considered legal under the religious protection act, some of those drugs were used in rituals to connect with their ancestors so all they must do is claim religious use and his hands are tied. Luckily, he is an honorary LaPush member and his best friend is the Chief of the Tribe, otherwise he would be blocked from doing his job at LaPush at all, it being Tribal Lands and all.
However, unlike his status in LaPush and Forks, he is just another cop when it comes to Port Angelus. The Chief of Police or not, he doesn't have the connections and pull that he does like LaPush and Forks and thus must work that much harder in Port Angelus. Building a reputation outside of the Chief of Police is hard work and if he expects the respect of the people in Port Angelus so that he can better do his job in the future, then he needed to work his ass off! Building CI's, investigating everything even remotely suspicious, proving that he cares for the people more than the politics and solving crimes without them becoming a cold case. This is what takes up most of his time at work and even when he comes home, he is always bringing files and notes home, hoping that a different environment will help him get perspective.
Now that Bella is home now though, he knows that she is more important than the many files sitting in his home office. Charlie wants to build a relationship with his daughter and he can't do that if his head is at work all the time. This might be a good thing as at the rate he is going, he will burn out soon.
Giving the bags at her feet a look of utter disdain, Leah just sighs in answer. Leah hated everything in her bags, the clothes, the books, she swears to everything holy and unholy that if she doesn't get clothes and books that were her style soon, someone was going to die. Leah would feel bad about making more work for Charlie, but ultimately doesn't give a shit because someone will most definitely find their way to the morgue. Dolefully looking at Charlie she practically pouts at him as she asks if there is an incinerator at his house to burn this crap and a decent mall to get better clothes. This startled a laugh out of Charlie and not a small chuckle, but a belly aching laughter. This caused Leah to smile softly, Charlie reminds her of Sara's father David.
David was a quiet man, a retired Marine who took to life like every day was his last. David was in service for fifteen years before a suicide bombing from the Taliban wiped out his whole unit, being the only survivor of his squid who was his family was the last straw for the man. He was honorably discharged with PTSD and was sent back home to find out that his wife left him for his best friend, his daughter had a girlfriend and he would spend the rest of his days in the bottom of a bottle. Before that epic clusterfuck though, he was the life of the party, always a trickster she had been told. Sarah would tell her of the hijinks her father got into and she took to the man as her idol. It nearly destroyed her when a year before the accident, David graduated from the bottom of the bottle to the bottom of a barrel. May David Markus Delaney rest in peace.
Leah forced herself to return to the present, it hurt her down to her very soul to think of Sarah and anyone relating to her. Leah knew that it would take a while, this interdimensional situation right now is distracting her, and she is under no illusions that when she eventually faces a life without her other half it is going to fucking hurt! Whether that dream she had on the plane was real or not, it wasn't nearly enough time to heal from her loss. Will there ever be enough time though? Leah did not just lose the love of her life, she lost her own life as well. Leah is in a world thought to be fiction, in the somebody else's body, with somebody else's name, with somebody else's family in somebody else's life. Nobody will call her Leah again, she won't roll her eyes at the endless jokes about her name and Twilight, she will no longer look in the mirror and see a sexy ass beast staring back at her. Leah will no longer see Sarah's face again other than her dreams and memories, she will no longer feel her body against hers, she will no longer hear her laughter, she will no longer hear the three words that makes her heart soar.
Leah didn't even realize that she was crying until she once again found herself in Charlies arms, his concern nearly palpable.
"Bells?" Charlie murmured into her hair, the tears came faster as she heard both the concern in his voice and the name upon his lips. Leah couldn't speak over the lump in her throat, she couldn't go on like this. Something has to give, she desperately needs to claim a piece of the old her. Leah is terrified of losing herself to this reality, hearing that hated name makes her skin crawl in unease and she desperately wishes he called her by her true name. Like a bulb went off in her head though, she thought of something. In the books, it was alluded that not much is known about her life in Phoenix, which is why she can truly be herself when it comes to her personality. However, being able to freely express herself is one thing, her identity is the issue. Leah is sure that getting used to the name her new body has given her will take a lot of time, maybe never. But if she had a nickname, something that could tie her to her old life that nobody would bat an eyelash at because who is going to tell her what her nickname was from when she was in another state?
With that thought in mind, Leah thought of the numerous nicknames she was fortunate and unfortunate to be saddled with. There were the numerous names she had in the foster system, but she would rather not be called freak or the like. Besides, why would she want to associate herself with dark memories in this new life? So, anything associated with her time in the system is out. There were plenty of nicknames that Sarah and her family called her, unfortunately anything involving her love sends her into tears and she doubts Charlie's poor heart could handle his daughter burst into tears whenever he addresses her. As Leah despaired over being forever saddled with Bella, she remembered an old ex-girlfriend of hers two years before she met Sarah.
Michelle DeSalvidor, she was the most CAF (Crazy as Fuck) person she has ever and would likely ever meet. Michelle and her family came from Croatia three years before they met, and she and her entire family practiced voodoo. That is one of the reasons that their family left Croatia, that and it was getting too dangerous there. When Leah and Michelle met on the streets of New Orleans, it was lust at first sight. Michelle had a body like an hourglass, tattoos sleeves on her caramel skin of various skulls, quotes, snakes and flames. Michelle had piercings on her belly button, lower left lip, the left side of her nose, the right eyebrow, tongue, upper right ear and the lower left ear. She had midnight black almost blue long silky hair that reached her ass and razor thin eyebrows. The woman had a gorgeous body no doubt, but it was her eyes that always drove her wild. Those expressive and impressive violet eyes. Michelle was the master of poker faces, you would never be able to gauge her mood unless she let you, but those eyes would give her away every time you gazed into them. Out of everything about her looks, the one thing that Leah absolutely adored about her was her eyes. Leah has always had a thing for pretty eyes.
Leah and Michelle were together for two years, they were as different as night and day. Maybe that is why they got along so well. Where Leah is loud, confident, childish and mischievous, Michelle was her opposite. Michelle was a solemn type of quiet, observant, she had a quite type of confidence that when she spoke you listened even if you didn't want to. Michelle wasn't one for pranks or mischief, but she gave as good as she got. Unlike her childish counterpart, she was almost too serious and only let loose around Leah. As much as they were opposites though, they were crazy for each other, the sex was beyond amazing and creative and the romance outside of the sheets was nothing if not unorthodox, it was just so them. Leah could honestly say that besides Sara, Michelle is the only person Leah has ever truly loved and she too was taken away. Leah was about to propose when it happened. They were meeting at their favorite Cajun restaurant, Leah had the ring burning in her pocket as she fiddled with it nervously in her hand, the food and wine was ordered, Leah even wore a dress which for her is a feat. When an hour passed, and Michelle never showed up, Leah began to worry, Michelle was nothing if not punctual. So, an hour of being late was something to worry about. It wasn't until closing time at the restaurant at the end of the night when she got the call. An hour before they were supposed to meet, Michelle was gunned down by assassins sent from Croatia to kill Michelle and her family. The entire DeSalvidor family was killed while she was waiting at the restaurant to propose to her love. The only reason she was informed was because Michelle made her the executor of her estate and her will states that she gets everything.
After the funeral, she found a note for her telling her that she was expecting something like this to happen sooner or later. That was why she had left everything for her, including the DeSalvidor family ring that was passed down from mother to daughter for six generations. Michelle was planning on breaking that tradition and instead of passing it down to her daughter, she was planning on proposing to Leah with it. She went on to tell her how she had never known a greater love, than what she had with Leah. She signed off the letter with calling Leah her Divlja Ruža, or Wild Rose in Croatian. Anytime Michelle spoke in her native accent with that accent, to say it drove her crazy was an understatement. Leah can't remember for the life of her what made Michelle start calling her Wild Rose, but she remembers why. Michelle always told everyone and anyone who would listen that Leah was one wild woman, so she combined that description of Leah's personality with her middle name and thus the nickname Wild Rose.
After much contemplation and remembrance of a lover she had not thought of in a long time, not thought of but never forgotten, she had chosen the name she wishes to be called in her new reality. Slowly and reluctantly pulling away from the man that in any life she would be happy to call her father, she slowly looked into his concerned brown eyes. Surprisingly, his concern is what calmed her down from her melancholy more than the peace she felt about her decision to reinvent herself in this world while still clinging to her old one.
"Ruža," Leah softly murmured to the still concerned and now confused man. Seeing him squint at her in confusion, Leah smiled softly if not sadly at him. No doubt due to not only the name, but the near perfect Croatian accent. It seemed all her old lover lessons in the language and its dialect was not forgotten after all even after all this time; just like riding a bike.
"It means Rose in Croatian, it's a nickname a dear friend of mine once gave me," Leah softly clarified. Leah felt a mix of melancholy and fondness at the name. Though Michelle was her girlfriend and one of her greatest loves, she was also her friend, so she wasn't lying exactly. Hearing the fondness and love in his daughter's voice as she spoke of this friend of hers, Charlie's eyes softened. It didn't take a cop to know that this friend meant the world to his little girl, though someone observant would be able to deduce that this friend of hers is dead and had been for a while. Instead of apologizing or expressing his condolences like most people would, Charlie understood that some people would find no comfort in empty platitudes no matter how long ago that loss was. So instead he just nodded and resolved to help his daughter honor her old friend by using this new name for her. Charlie understood that Bella was seeing this as a new beginning, if she wanted to completely reinvent herself with a new name, then he will let her. Anything that helps make her life here longer and happier he will do it, no matter what and how long it takes.
"Ok Ruža," Charlie fumbled with the word and terribly butchered the accent, but Leah was happy that he was trying. Leah knows that not everyone will agree to call her by her new chosen name, but she is glad that at least at Charlies she is free to be her new self, name and all. Giving Charlie a soft appreciative smile for his acceptance, she foisted her bags onto her shoulders and followed Charlie to his cruiser. Once they were in the car and all situated, they continued the four-hour ride back to Forks.
Author Note 2:
So, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter!
I am trying to be realistic in transitioning Leah into the Twilight Universe. I have read too many SI fanfictions where the character easily accepts and adapts to the verse they are plopped into. I am in no way flaming those stories, I actually quite enjoy them to be honest. But in this story, I am taking a traumatized young woman, whom has just witnessed her girlfriend's death and was placed in the verse of the one story that she has always hated. The one story that her girlfriend loves and was cause of contention between them. Put yourself in her shoes, she would not immediately accept this and would be even less enthusiastic inhabiting the life of the one character she hates the most. This woman has lost her life, her lover, her name, her body and her world. This is going to be a slow transition for her. At this point in time, the only thing she likes about this universe is Charlie, everything else is going to be a challenge for her. I promise thought that she will eventually come to terms with the situation and it will shift the Twilight dynamic a bit. For now, until she comes to terms with her new reality, I will refer to her as Leah. When she accepts her now life I will change it to her new name.
Now enough of that! Onto answering the review comments and questions! From recent to oldest:
To TheReaderofGods: At the moment, I have no idea who I am going to pair her with. I know that like most of my Twilight fanfictions Leah is a lesbian, so I will be pairing her with a woman. I will not be pulling a Chasing Amy. But at this point of time, I have no clue. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them and will take them into consideration.
To lynettecullen: This is in a way a "Becoming Bella Swan" type of story, but in a realistic way. Remember, Leah is not a Twilight fan and is clinging onto her old self with a passion. Once she assimilates, she will become…let's say the better version of Bella Swan. As of now, she only is in body.
To page0turner: I am glad you like this story! I agree with you, I can't wait to make everyone in the story squirm and defy their expectations. I am not an Edward fan, but I know some people are, so I will try not to bash him in this story…too much. But he makes it so easy! All I can confirm, is that he will be in for a shock once it finally sinks in that this Bella is most certainly not his Bella anymore.
To Debbie Hicks: I don't know if you meant to post that on a story of your own? Or if this was your comment for this story…but I don't understand the relevance with my story. You might want to double check it and post it on your own story and watch out in the future where you post things. Some people would sooner take your work as their own then warn you. Other than that friendly warning, if you edit it up a bit, spelling and grammar wise, it sounds like a good story plot. Though everything seems scattered a bit, like a thought process, I could see this becoming a story. Good luck!
To marlastiano: First off, I apologize for making you sad. Though the chapter was supposed to be a sort of closure for Leah and Sarah, I have no intention of bringing Sara into this story again. Will they see each other again? I don't plan on it, but who knows? Maybe she might either in dreams or after a brief death. I do plan on having her feature in flashbacks and mentions, so Sarah is not completely written off. Sara is one of the most important people to Leah and has helped shape Leah into the woman she is now, it would be foolish of me not to completely write her off. But sadly, she is dead and won't be a comeback.
To Guest:I plan on Leah eventually getting along with Rosalie and Leah, if only due to their similar names and personality. Although, they will clash, and the friendship will be more like frenemies for a period of time. Those two people are the only ones I am absolutely sure of at the moment though. Will that change, and will I ship Leah with either of them? Who knows. But I first need Leah to grow as a character before I can establish whom I will pair her with and who to add to her circle of friends.
