Thanks you for all of the great reviews! Here's my Thanksgiving treat for those of you who celebrate it. I'm thankful for the encouraging reviews I get from you guys. Keep them coming. For those of you who don't celebrate it, thank to you, too! I appreciate them so much! I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!

Leah's POV

Chapter 8

So, there I was, stranded at my house with Vincent in the middle of some Godforsaken blizzard straight from a Hellish version of Antarctica.

Okay, let me rephrase that so that I'm actually telling the truth this time: There I was, in my own corner of a chilly paradise, which only made sense with the guy I suddenly seemed to be pinning for, in a situation I could only thank whoever's up there for giving me.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Vince followed me up the stairs as I went to Seth's room, his cell phone light helping to guide him.

"What are we doing in here?" he asked me curiously. He must've realized that this was a boy's room. I think Seth's wall display of cars and female celebrities kind of gave it away.

"Seth's bound to have something warm up here," I commented as I looked through his drawers.

"Why wouldn't you get your own warm clothes?" he asked from behind me.

I rolled my eyes. "They're for you, smart one."

"Oh."

I found some sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. "These should be good, right?" I asked him. "I mean, maybe a little small, but-"

They're fine," he answered as he took them from me. "Thank you."

I nodded quickly, staring up at him. I know it might sound stupid, but I really couldn't seem to glance away from him that moment; those stupid green eyes of his wouldn't let me. It was like they were keeping me hostage in them.

Well, not entirely. If I said that, it'd mean that I wanted to leave them.

He broke the stare first, snapping me back in reality. "So," he started, "where should I change?"

"Oh. Um, you can be in here. I'll be in my room putting something on."

"Alright. I'll meet you downstairs?"

"Yeah." I baked away from him and to the door, shutting it softly behind me. It was a weird sensation, thinking he was getting dressed in there, and the only thing preventing me from seeing him was the wooden door. I bet I could take it down pretty easily, too…

My God, Leah! I thought to myself. Get your mind out of the gutter, would you?

Trailing back to my room quietly –without any visual aid, since it wasn't necessary –I was about to change into some baggy sweats, but a pink satin cami caught my eye. I had bought it awhile back, but never seemed to find any use for it.

I mentally debated with myself: to be warm and comfortable, or hot and potentially attractive.

The argument didn't last long, and I changed into the deep pink top that hardly covered my midriff, along with a white pair of sweatpants that weren't too oversize, but enough that they were hanging low on my hips.

I walked out my room and down the stairs, seeing his light peak out of the dark shadows.

"You didn't run into anything this time," he joked.

I glared. "Shut up, before I make you walk home."

He shined the light on me. He looked surprised at first –probably at my shirt –but before I could tease him about it, he continued. "There's no way I'm leaving you here by yourself."

I sat next to him on the couch. "What is it that you can do that I apparently can't manage here by myself? If you were back at your house when this happened-"

"I'd probably be out in the cold coming here. The street lights aren't even on. The whole rez might be in darkness."

"You'd come here?" I asked puzzled. I pulled myself together and tried my best to act indifferent about his words. "You still never answered my question. What can you do that I can't?"

"It's not about that, Leah," he sighed. "If I wasn't here I wouldn't know if you were alright or not. I'm not leaving." His words seemed to define more than him going back home, and it didn't go unnoticed by me.

I got up from him.

"Where are you-"

I cut him off. "Let's start a fire," I said as I looked over to the fireplace. "That's bound to get this place warmer." Absentmindedly, I offered my hand out to him to take.

It was strange how he took it immediately, without any hesitation. When he did stand onto his feet, neither one of us made an effort to let go. If anything, I think he actually squeezed my hot hand a little tighter as I led him to the fireplace. I only let go of him when I retrieved the logs to burn, which were lying next to the fireplace. Putting a spare match in, the place lit up almost instantly, the reddish orange hues lighting up the living room.

I picked at the fire with the poker and rested my head on my knees, folding them into my chest.

"So," he said next to me, "whyis your mother in Forks?"

I sighed. I realized my mother and the people she spent time with weren't any of my concern, but that didn't mean it bothered the crap out of me sometimes.

"Do you remember Charlie Swan?"

He nodded. "I think he was the police chief in Forks. He and Billy Black were pretty close."

"Yeah."

A moment passed, "So, she's with him right now?"

I nodded.

A second later, he seemed to finally get it. "Oh," he said as if he had a miniature epiphany. "They're together, together?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think of that?"

I chuckled dryly. "What does it matter? It's her life."

"But it's your family. It affects you, too."

I sighed. I almost hated how right he was sometimes. "I know he's a great person, and I know my mom cares about him, but I just think… I know she's not doing it on purpose, but my dad died less than a year ago. I still hurt. How can she throw away twenty years of marriage in such a short period of time?" Or better yet, how could my mom heal so quickly after losing the father of her two children, her lifelong partner, and move on so easily, while I lost my boyfriend and took over a year to come to terms with?

He laid a hand on my back, and I could feel one of his fingertips on my hot skin. "He won't replace your father, Leah," he said softly.

"I know. And she can be happy, I get that I just…" don't like the fact that it's her father my mom had to choose.

To be honest, that really was the only major problem in this situation. There weren't many people I hated –not disliked, but truly and solely despised –besides Isabella Swan.

Oh, sorry, Cullen. Bella Cullen.

She had hurt my newly acquired best friend for months, pushing him to the brink where he actually had to runaway from his home. She didn't stop there, either; she had to get pregnant with what everyone thought could have been some kind of demon, and dumb Jacob stood by her the entire time, as did my own brother. I hated her when she was human, hearing how Jacob lover her in his thoughts, but knowing it wasn't enough –just like Sam and me.

Now that she was a bloodsucker, the hate ran deeper. Her only redeeming quality was the fact that she put herself on the edge of losing her own life just to have Nessie, and then risking it again with the Voulturi. That took some strength, I knew that much. Any person who cared that deeply for her child got a few points in my book.

That and the fact that I didn't think my alpha would like it very much of I picked a fight with her, were the only things keeping me from her throat.

"It's okay to feel like that, you know," he said. "You don't have to feel guilty."

"What are you?" I chuckled. "Some kind of psychiatrist?"

"I guess so. For right now at least."

He continued to rub circles on my back, and with each press, I relaxed deeper, his hands making goosebumps creep up and down my spine.

From behind me, I heard him shiver.

I turned quickly. Without thinking, I placed a hand on his cheek. He was still cold.

His eyes opened wide at my movement.

"I'm sorry," I said, afraid I was making him feel uncomfortable as I returned my hand to my lap.

"No, it's fine, honestly."

"You're so cold," I said worriedly.

"Yes, and you're so hot," he chuckled. He took my hand in his and laid it on his soft face. "You warm me up pretty well, Leah."

It took so much for me to remove my hand from his face and fingers, but I managed.

He looked worried a moment. "What's wrong?"

I got up quickly, and grabbed the throw blanket from the couch. Instantly, I wrapped it around his shoulders and sat in front of him on my knees, rubbing his arms in an effort to warm him up.

He smiled gratefully up at me. "Thank you, Leah."

I chuckled. "Why are you always saying my name every other sentence, Vinnie?"

He laughed. "It's a pretty name, is all. I like the sound of it, Leah."

I like the sound of you saying it, too, I thought. Instantly, I thanked myself for having the courage to put my hands on him like that. I was never one to take care of people, really, except for Seth, and my mom after my dad died. Even Sam wasn't a person I really took to heart to protect like I seemed to be doing so naturally with Vinnie.

I sat back on the floor, my eyes never leaving him. "Do you feel any warmer?" I asked.

"Yes, a little. But you must be freezing in that shirt."

My face flushed. So he had noticed it. "The rest of my laundry wasn't finished yet," I lied.

"Not that I don't like it," he said quickly. "It's very pretty."

"Thanks."

"Maybe…" he scrunched up his face in concentration, and then relaxed it as he stood to his feet.

Before I could ask what he was doing, he walked behind me, and sat down quietly. I could feel his legs on either side of me, and the deep blue blanket wrapped its way around my sides. His arms made their way around my waist, holding my middle to his strong chest. I could easily feel the slight contours of his muscles through Seth's shirt, which was too small on him.

When he felt me freeze at the sudden contact, he started to back away.

"No," I said quickly, too desperately for my taste.

He chuckled in my ear and went back to his previous position, wrapping himself around me tighter.

"Why don't you relax?" He wasn't asking it accusingly; he said it soothingly in my ear, and it stroked me like a mental caress as if he were willing me to do so.

I laid back into his chest, the back of my head resting on his shoulder.

"That's better," he said quietly. "It's a win-win situation. I get to share your precious body heat, and you can still wear that pretty shirt."

I laughed. I didn't fail to realize how easy it seemed to be with him; how it wasn't something I had to concentrate too hard on for once.

Without warning, my eyes drooped shut, the only sound I could hear being the peaceful hum of our synchronized heart beats together as I drifted.

The first thing I noticed as I reeled back to consciousness, before I even opened my eyes, was the fact that I wasn't on my bed. Well, any bed, actually. I forgot what had happen, thinking the day before must've been one of those stupid dreams. Only a dream could've had me wrapped up in Vinnie's arms.

But unless I was still asleep, I was incredibly mistaken.

The first I noticed when I opened my eyes was that it was still dark outside, only a little bit of light shining through the blinds in the living room. The next thing I saw was a black shirt. That most certainly belonged to Seth, but there was no way even with his werewolf growth spurt that he could've gotten too small for that shirt.

Moving my head just the slightest, I saw was an image I didn't think I would ever forget.

He wasn't perfect, I knew that. But that fact seemed to make him more real, more tangible to me. For the first time, I could really look at him without the fear of him looking back at me. His pink lips were only the slightest bit parted as he breathed softly, his eyes shut. He was completely at ease, his face completely serene.

He was so beautiful.

We were still in our previous positions in a way. I was spread against him, his arms still attached to my waist as we lay on the carpeted floor.

Without thinking –once again; he had me acting compulsively way too much –I took a hand from in between our bodies and combed my fingers through his dark hair, its soft texture addicting to my fingertips.

His eyes slowly blinked open, and when his mind finally registered, he smiled. "Good morning," he said, sleep still evident in his voice as his eyes squinted to adjust to seeing me.

"Hi, Vinnie." Smooth, Leah! That's all you can manage?

He reached a hand up and touched my cheek lightly with the back of his hand. "You look very beautiful in the morning."

I chuckled, trying to work off the blush. "You think you're still asleep, Vinnie."

He shook his head. "No, I know I'm awake. Not fully here, but I'm awake."

"Well, let's wait for you to be fully here before you start calling me beautiful."

"If you want, not that it really changes anything though."

He put his arm back around my waist and held me close to his body, as if I could vanish at any moment; as if I really was a dream.

And in that moment –when I rested my head back on him and shut my eyes, trying to hold unto this for as long as I could- I felt more complete than I had in a long time.

Leah and Bella's relationship had to be put in there. It may not be the nicest of things, but who really believes Leah would be sugary sweet to her, anyways?

I thought Vinnie being half asleep was pretty funny. You know how everyone can say stuff they may not have when their half there.

There's only one more chapter to the "Wanted" chapters of the story. After the next one, it'll be the second part [but still contained into the same] entitled "Needed." *Hint hint* there's going to be a turning point.

Cocoa

P.S. I loved the movie. No one better bash it while I'm around.