The Twilight Series belongs to S. Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing with the characters.

AN: The muse and I have been at odds - neither of us could decide what we needed to happen. Thank you all for being so patient with me! I promise to get this finished up as soon as I can as I know I've got other stories that have been on hiatus for quite a while.

On the drive home Leah remained subdued. While she had driven to Seattle, she pleaded exhaustion and asked Rachel if she minded driving home. It would give her the opportunity to think.

She lay across the back seat and stared up at the dark grey fabric covering the car roof's interior. Tuning out Angela and Rachel's conversation and the low tones of the radio wasn't easy at first, but she managed to do it once she closed her eyes and concentrated.

She didn't have any paper with her and if she starting writing stuff down there was always a possibility that the wrong person would see it, so she settled for making a list in her mind. First, she thought about the facts—things that she knew to be important, adding the questions that lingered.

1. Bella and Edward dated, but their relationship came to an abrupt halt after the incident at her birthday party. Though Alice supposedly didn't see what happened, occurring.

2. Edward's ability to read minds except for Bella's.

3. The possibility of Bella could have a power—her mind being a shield. And what was a shield other than a way to keep something out? A wall of some kind. Wouldn't that make the mental portion of an imprint impossible?

4. Alice's ability to see the future. The fact she couldn't see the wolves, which would mean she might not be able to see Bella anymore. Would she have ventured to Forks to check it out? Or could she still see snippets of Bella? Or did she just not care?

5. The lingering venom in Bella. Could it have caused a change in her shield? How was it that the wolves didn't sense it? Did it matter whose venom changed you? Could that cause a glitch in your possible power? Or because the change wasn't completed, did that cause the glitch if there was one?

6. Bella knew about the Cullens and likely guessed about the wolves and pack. Emily slipped up and mentioned imprinting. Did Bella find a way to make an imprint occur?

7. Jared's refusal to accept the imprint and the differences that the imprints noticed in his and Bella's relationship. Was it because he or his wolf sensed on some level it wasn't a true one? Why didn't their relationship follow the same course?

It was a longer list than what she thought she'd have, but she could feel there was something that was missing. Something that would be the final key to solving the puzzle and she wondered if it was time to ask Jared. Their short conversation a couple of days ago hadn't addressed everything fully and her emotions had been too out of control to ask the questions that needed to be asked.

The three of them stopped in Port Angeles to meet up with Kim and Claire. They had picked out three dresses as possibilities for Angela and had them on hold at Black Diamond Bridal.

Kim and Claire were sitting on a chaise lounge talking quietly when the three of them entered the shop. They glanced up at the ringing of the bells as the door was pushed open. Leah hung back, feeling awkward as the four girls hugged, greeting each other enthusiastically. She was part of their group—yet not, an outsider who was different on nearly every level.

Even if Jared managed to break his imprint and choose her; it wouldn't be the same. She would never be one of them. She would still be a wolf—the only girl in a pack of guys. She understood her purpose and the reasons behind her phase, but it didn't mean that it didn't bother her.

Rachel and Angela had admitted that they all had difficulty letting Bella be part of their group. Bella was tolerated because she must be. If Bella wasn't an imprint—they would have no problem kicking her out of their club. But where did that leave Leah? Would they be willing to look past what she was and accept her?

It had been years since she had a relationship—a friendship with another girl. The last time was probably with the Black twins. When they graduated and moved away to college, she had been so tied up with Sam that she didn't realize how much she missed those special times with girlfriends.

She remembered doing something similar with Rachel and Rebecca. They didn't have very many dances at their school and in general, multiple grades were invited. It was Sam, Rachel, and Rebecca's senior year of high school; Leah's junior. The three girls had driven to Seattle and spent the day shopping and getting pampered at a local spa.

Her memories of that night were clear; barely fuzzy around the edges. It was the first time either of them went to the dance though they had been dating for over a year at that point. Maybe it was because it would be one of the last opportunities that they would have and that was why they had chosen to go. The reasons behind their decision weren't quite clear.

Sam didn't have the money to rent a tux. Instead, he wore a black suit that his mom had bought for him. The shirt he wore underneath was a simple buttoned plaid Henley. Not by any means what one would normally wear under a formal jacket, but it was quintessentially Sam. And if she was honest with herself, she loved the expanse of smooth, firm copper-colored flesh that was visible.

She had gone all out, partially because Rachel and Rebecca had demanded it. She would be lying if she didn't admit that she enjoyed the day of pampering and trying on all those different dresses. The moment she slid the navy blue satin over her hips, pulling her right arm through the strap—she had known it was the one.

She felt like a fairytale princess. Grown-up and womanly; it was the first glimpse that she had of herself, which got her to start thinking about how close she was to that magic world of adulthood. It was a simple dress, barely adorned, but it was her. A bow with faux diamonds on the single strap and the dress was gathered in one other place, near the indent of her waist on the left side. Again the same faux diamonds embellished it.

Unlike Rachel and Rebecca's shorter dresses that showed long expanses of leg; she still wasn't sure how they had managed to get passed Billy's watchful eyes. Her dress reached the floor and she had to purchase a set of heels in order to keep it from dragging on the ground. A single slit in the long skirt gave small peeks of her leg as she moved around.

It had been a night she would always remember. Even though things between her and Sam hadn't worked out—Fate having other plans for them, she could still remember what it felt like to sway slowly in his arms. It had been before all the monsters and magic had torn them apart. Before she had realized that while she loved Sam, it wasn't the same connection she had with Jared.

Sam was the person she had loved before she understood the pain of loss. His disappearance and death had been hard, but she knew without Jared she would still be floundering. He had known what she needed even when she didn't. His presence and strength had pulled her from the murky abyss that she had fallen into. He pushed her when she needed it, held her when she cried and never once told her that she had to move on. He had allowed her to grieve.

Her musing was interrupted by Kim's voice. "Hey, Leah. It's nice to meet you…umm, not that I didn't know you before," she stammered. "I mean…La Push is a small place…we all know each other…damn it…I'm not very good at this, am I?"

"Not really," she answered with a small smile. The discomfort she had felt earlier had suddenly become more oppressing.

"Kim! You're embarrassing her!" Claire shouted as she nudged Kim out of the way. Turning to Leah, she introduced herself, "I'm Claire, but you already knew that. We met last year when you and your parents visited during Makah Days."

Leah nodded. While she was known for being outgoing—it was nothing compared to Claire. The girl was a wild child incarnate. She would walk up to complete strangers, telling them her life story at the same time she was fishing for details about theirs.

"Well, we've picked out three dresses for Angela. Personally I think my choice is the best, but we'll see," Claire explained. "I think Rachel's choice is up first."

Claire grabbed Leah's arm and pulled her over the lounge that she and Kim had been sitting on earlier. She had no choice but to follow Claire's lead as she was tugged downwards to sit next to Claire. She hoped it would be easy to make a choice because all she wanted to do was get home. It was too much work to quell her anxiety about whether she fit in with the imprints and if they accepted her or not.

A few minutes later, Angela walked out of the dressing room. Even if Claire hadn't told her that this was Rachel's choice. Leah would have known it. The dress was short and flirty. The purple fabric had a sheen that changed colors as it caught different angles of light. Then there were the layers and layers of tulle. It reminded her of a costume a young girl might wear when she was performing in her first dance recital.

The imprints each gave their opinion of the dress and how it looked on Angela. Leah remained silent. While she could agree the color contrasted perfectly with Angela's skin tone and hair. It just wasn't Angela—it didn't seem elegant enough.

Angela went back into the dressing room to put on the second dress. When she stepped out Claire squealed excitedly, "This is the one I picked."

It was another beautiful dress, but it still wasn't what Leah could see Angela in. Strapless with the bodice bejeweled; the teal color was the only thing she could admit was perfect. The dress was form-fitted from the bodice through to the hips and then the skirt billowed out. The heavy satin of the fabric meant the dress took on a life of its own, but the cutouts on the side were distracting.

Leah scrunched her nose at the dress. She seemed to recall hearing that Angela's dad was a pastor. This gown would possibly be just a bit too over the top and would end up getting Angela barred from leaving the house.

Angela turned and headed back to the dressing room for the final dress. When she came out a few minutes later, Leah groaned out loud. The dress was pink. Not just any type of pink, but hot pink. It looked like a confetti cupcake of pink had exploded on the dress. Another strapless gown, which led Leah to believe it was the style this year. This one had a short pencil skirt with a flowing sheer pink gauzy skirt that touched the floor.

The color looked good on Angela, but again Leah felt like it was off. It didn't feel like something the younger girl would wear. It was too Kim-like, which made sense because that was whose choice it was.

As the four of them discussed the dresses, Leah wandered off. She slowly walked around the store, looking at the various fabrics and colors. Her mind wandered to what she knew about Angela and the things she had liked about the dresses and what she didn't like.

Her hand flitted about the fabrics, cataloguing the feel of them. The satins, silks, and taffetas. Personally, she had always been drawn to darker fabrics. They brought out the inky blackness of her hair and the golden color of her skin. Angela wasn't as pale as most white kids Leah knew and her features had an exotic aspect to them that had her wondering whether she had some Native American or Middle Eastern in her blood.

She had nearly walked around the entire store when her body stilled, her hand frozen on a royal blue and black dress. She pushed the gowns surrounding it away and gazed at the dress. It was simple, yet elegant—just the right amount of decoration to highlight Angela's beauty, but not overpower it.

She grabbed the gown off the rack and walked back over to the imprints. Angela had changed back into her regular clothes. The decision over which dress Angela should wear still hadn't been decided. She wondered if Angela was having a harder time deciding because she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

Leah held the dress toward Angela, interrupting, "Will you try this one on?"

Angela looked at Leah and down at the proffered gown. "Sure." She grabbed the dress and headed a final time to the dressing room.

"You didn't like the other ones?" Kim asked quietly.

Leah's gaze fell to the floor; she wasn't familiar with this feeling, this need to be recognized as part of something. Her place was so tenuous within the group that she wished she had never spoken up. It wasn't her place. They hadn't asked for her help or opinion.

Rachel seemed to recognize Leah's hesitation and walked over to stand next to her childhood friend. She wrapped her arm around Leah, giving her a gentle squeeze. "It's okay if you don't."

Before Leah could open her mouth to respond, Claire and Kim's shocked gasps filled the air. "Oh, my gosh!" Claire began excitedly. "It's perfect!"

Leah pulled her eyes from the floor and looked up at Angela. Her hunch had been right. The sheen and colors of the fabric highlighted Angela's skin and hair to perfection. The slit in the dress' skirt made it daring and sexy while remaining glamorous. The ornamentation wasn't distracting, instead it pulled your eyes toward Angela's face and the small peek of leg one would get each time Angela stepped forward.

Angela stared into the 3-way mirror and smiled. The dress made her feel beautiful, confident, and sexy all at the same time. She could imagine Jake's mouth dropping open when he first glimpsed her and the fire of desire in his eyes.

She barely noticed as Claire, Kim, and Rachel crowded around her, enthusiastically praising the dress and discussing what accessories were necessary. Her eyes met Leah's in the mirror and she mouthed, "Thank you."

When Leah arrived home, it was long past twilight. Seth sat at the kitchen table with Jared. The two of them were sharing the leftovers from the night before. To admit she was shocked would be an understatement, but considering that Jared didn't go running the moment she crossed the threshold meant Seth was successful in removing the order.

Seth glanced her way, greeting her first. "Hey, Leah. How was your day with the girls?"

"It was interesting." Her words weren't a lie either. She had met two vampires, found out how Bella had come to have venom in her body, and had befriended the imprints.

"Angela get a dress picked out?" Jared asked.

She nodded. "But don't think that you'll get me to reveal what it looks like," she began jokingly. "I'm sure Jake's curious and all, but I swore on a stack of Cosmo's that I wouldn't reveal it. How'd things go today?"

"Not too bad," Seth answered. "I worked with Sam first and we got the order situation figured out. Then I worked a bit with the rest of the pack. Jared helped me drop mom's car off at the hospital. Dad was pretty tired, so she said it was for the best that you went with the girls."

"She wasn't upset?"

"No, why would she be? She worries about you. They're thinking they might release dad tomorrow evening, but most likely it will be the following morning."

"That's good."

Their conversation stalled as there were too many uncomfortable topics they were trying to avoid. She wanted to talk to Jared, but she didn't want to kick her brother out of the house. The silence seemed to drag on forever until Seth abruptly stood.

"Well, I'm gonna go and patrol with Embry and then I'm spending the night at his house. I'll see you later."

She watched as Seth walked toward the door. What exactly had happened since she had left this morning? Seth was trusting Jared to be around her and alone? The world had rocked off its axis that was the only explanation she had.

He opened the door and was half through it before he turned back to say, "I won't say anything to mom and dad this time, but dad mentioned he wanted to talk to you two tomorrow."

Half a second later, the door was closed and he was gone. All thoughts of talking to Jared left as she realized they were alone for the entire night.

FF_8756144_36 03/26/2013 1:48AM