My boyfriend was still a perfect gentleman after all this time. Tossing him the keys from my bag, he kissed my cheek and stepped forward to open my side door. Sliding in, I waited for him to get in the car himself and drive us home.

Some of the boys were already in our house when we arrived. They were playing Xbox in the living room or something.

"Hey Bells, you're out of milk," Quil called.

"Great," I groaned setting my things on the table. I had just gone to the grocery store and he had finished off the huge jug already.

"I'll get more later," Sam said kissing my temple as he dragged us to go upstairs.

"Should we leave?" Jared called to us as we disappeared.

"Yes!" I called, knowing that they were thinking we were about to have sex- which we weren't, I would never allow them to be in the house when that was going on (even though the guys could see it in Sam's head if he let it slip-which he often times did). Either way, I wanted some alone time with that man, and that meant without the guys. As Sam heard them shuffle out, I flung myself on the bed and let out a long tired sigh.

"They're gone," he spoke after a bit. Coming to lay down with me, I curled up against him and did my best to fall asleep.

It was around late afternoon when I woke up again. Sam was speaking hush on the phone outside on our balcony and the sun was shining against his skin.

Curling up to a pillow, I watched him talk to whoever it was on the phone and smiled in content. Those stupid and annoying frustrations about life and imprinting had gone away, and now I was just in euphoria- oh what the wonderful things sleep could do.

As Sam shut his cell phone, I readjusted some more and waited for him to join me.

"Hey," I smiled as he came back into the room.

"Feeling better?" he wondered stalking over to me.

"Much," I answered leaning up for a kiss. "Who was on the phone?" I asked as we pulled away.

"Quil," he said lifting me up a bit to snuggle on top of him. "Everyone is going to the diner later- wanted to know if we were interesting in coming."

"What time do we have to be there?" I wondered.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to go," he said softly while running his hands through my hair.

"Why not?" I asked turning to face him.

"A lot's been going on," he spoke. I rolled my eyes, knowing the real meaning behind his words. "It's our family."

"Who would understand if we skipped for the night," he shrugged.

"Sam," I groaned, burying my face back into the pillow. He continued to rub my hair with his hands. "We can still go- I just wasn't sure if you were up for it."

"Okay, let me go get ready," I breathed getting up.

"Oh no," he said dragging me back to him.

"Hey! wha-"

"We need to talk about this morning- and last night," he added thoughtfully. I groaned inside my head wishing I never promised to talk it over with him.

"Come on," he said patting the pillow on his lap that I once laid on. Huffing, I returned to my spot and got cozy on my back.

"So…" he wondered after a few seconds of silence.

"I was sleep deprived. My actions can't be taken seriously since I was running on three hours of shut eye and a cup of caffeine," I chalked up simply.

"Bella," he said trying to be more serious. Groaning out loud this time, I turned my head and looked up at him.

"I really don't know what to say. I was tired and moody- but I'm not now."

"You don't get moody," he said.

"It's called PMS- every girl gets moody."

Rolling his eyes he brushed some more of my hair with his fingers.

"Why the imprinting question last night?"

I shrugged, "Seth and Leah are going through a rough time. They were asking questions about it and some popped into my head."

"Like why I love you?" he wondered skeptically.

"Well...it was more like why you fell in love with me, but yes, essentially- that's what I wanted to know."

"What were they asking questions about?" he speculated. "They are wondering about us? Our relationship?"

"No not really," I told him while folding my hands over my stomach, "it was more just like them wondering if imprinting will ever happen to them. Seth was a little pushier with the topic, but it wasn't anything big. And Leah just felt a bit insecure- nothing I couldn't deal with."

"Pushy how?" he asked, slipping me that alpha voice as he picked up my words. Rolling my eyes, I reached up and stopped one of his hands playing with my hair. "Nothing to worry about- Seth just wanted to know some ups and downs of the whole imprinting mojo. He's really afraid to open up to someone and like them. He doesn't want anyone getting hurt."

Sam sighed, knowing the Emily situation just as well as me. "Did he say something to upset you?"

"Nope," I answered again, letting his hand go, "he just made me realize how lucky I was not to be a wolf and that I loved you with or without the imprint."

"Which," I huffed in continuation, "is why I wanted to know what made you fall in love with me. I knew my reasons for why I fell for you, but I never really took the time or thought of the insight of why you fell for me."

"That is…if you did fall for me," I said cautiously with my eyebrows furrowed after a pause of silence. He grasped my hand, which was lying back on my stomach and brought it up to kiss. "I fell for you- of course I did. A man would be crazy not to."

Rolling my eyes, I held back a small snort.

"I guess…there wasn't really one thing that sealed the deal for me," he said thoughtfully. "I just-…after imprinting and trying to get to know you better- which was hard to do especially when you kept pulling away," he commented with a small squeeze to my hand as he set it back down, "I found I loved you for you. It's cheesy and lame but I don't know how to explain it. You were independent, smart, stubborn, caring towards others more than yourself; you were loveable and sweet. You just-…were it for me. It was everything I pictured in a girl."

"Then why did you keep Emily around?" I wondered seriously. Seth brought up a good point. Emily wasn't the greatest.

"She wasn't always bad. Sure she wasn't the biggest fan of the guys, but not a lot of people are. They are a big Pack, one of the biggest in our La Push history. I couldn't blame her for that. Plus, she didn't really know much about us, other than that we were werewolves and I was the alpha."

"But you loved her right?" I asked. He hesitated, "I don't know if I loved her- its nothing like I love you."

"But that's because of the imprint," I explained.

"Is it?" he asked. "Who really knows what true love is like? There are no words to describe it. It's just a feeling. We all label it as love but we cant think of ways to describe the emotion. I could say I loved Emily, but I don't think that's true. There is nothing I can say to you that would explain how I feel when we're together, it's just how it is- and that's just what I call love."

Twiddling my thumbs, I thought about his words deeply. Yeah, I guess when you really were in love you couldn't explain it. It was just this feeling that caught your breath.

"I will say I liked her," he commented in our silence, "when I first met Emily she was really care free and we had fun. But as time went on, it faded away and nothing was like that anymore. She brought me down more than pulling me up."

"Do I do that to you?" I wondered craning my neck slightly to look at him thoughtfully, "we get frustrated at each other a lot."

"But isn't that a good thing?" he wondered, stopping his motions near my head to stare down at me, "Life isn't perfect and definitely doesn't run smooth; It's not fair and can hurt, but look at us. We make it through anyways."

"I just don't want to pull you down," I explained whole-heartedly.

"Never," he said with kind eyes, "I have, in no way, ever felt that way when I was with you."

"Even when I push you away?" I wondered.

"Not even then. I love it when I can finally get the truth out of you. It not only makes you feel better but me. You try to keep it all inside but you really don't have to. I'll always be here- you can trust me- but I understand that you have problems with that. Trust is a hard thing- especially in life."

"You read me well," I concluded.

"That's just another reason why we're meant to be," he said with a smile. "So why were you in that room at the Cullen's," he asked.

I shrugged and bit my lip, "that room held every emotion I bottled up for over a year. I guess I just wanted to face it before I pushed it away too far."

"That's it?" he wondered skeptically. I rolled my eyes and turned on my side. "I know you saw me in the boys' minds. I went catatonic and then pulled myself together with Paul. Then I took off for LA- and that's when I just went full on into my music. I barely slept, ate a few bites, and was always ahead of the ball. I pushed myself so hard and so much, that when you came back it just…it hit me again. And I started the cycle over. This house was another thing to keep me running."

"But," he prompted.

"Nothing, I wanted to start writing again. And I really couldn't get my heart in sync with my head. So I went up to the place that I thought would help me with that."

"You had me worried," he admitted.

"I told you not to," I said looking up at him, "I just wanted to face you were really here and I could let the emotions I had been holding up inside go."

"You could do that around me, you know," he spoke rubbing my hair.

"I know, but it's just easier to do it alone. I feel better that way," I explained.

"Why?" he wondered.

I shrugged, "I guess it's because I feel so weak. I hate that feeling. You're so strong all of the time; you barely have to depend on me, but me, I cant even go a week without some drama and falling apart."

"I don't mind you falling apart every once and a while Bella," Sam said softly, "I can take it. It shouldn't be something you are ashamed of doing. We can get through anything together."

"I know," I sighed, "but I just try to do it on my own- be independent and everything," I whispered softly. "Can we get ready now?"

"Yea," he said giving me a small smile. Propping myself up a bit, I gave him a kiss and went to get up. "Good. Now go call Quil, I'm in the mood for some eggs and toast."

With a nod and smile, he watched me get up and go to the bathroom before leaving the room himself. As I stood in the bathroom, I stared at myself in the mirror. I felt drained, yet at the same time I was at peace. Was that a weird combination? Did that even make any sense?

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair and pinned it up. Padding towards the shower, I turned the water on hot and waited for the water to heat up. Setting out my towels, I quickly stripped down and stepped under the stream, Letting out a breath of relaxation, I had everything around me keep me calm. Within those minutes of stepping in the shower and washing my hair, Sam had joined me. He hugged me by the waist, humming in approval at the scent of my shampoo.

"Hi," I smiled over my shoulder.

"Hey," he said in a deep voice while kissing my neck and shoulder. Turning in his arms, I had his lips meet mine- locking us into a long passionate make out session.

"I'm almost done in here, we can get out in a few," I said softly as we pulled away. With the tiniest nod, he watched me close as I finished showering. When we were both out of the steaming water, we went out separate ways to get ready.

Pulling my hair through the fluffy towel, I pulled out some sweatpants from the drawer and grabbed and a tee shirt too. Sliding each piece of clothing over my body, I glanced into the mirror and gave my boyfriend a quick kiss as I passed him to go put my towel away.

He was waiting for me to leave the room with him; all ready and dressed in a dark grey tee and a pair of shorts.

"Lets go," I smiled wrapping my arm around his waist. He grabbed the keys as we passed through the kitchen and we walked out hand in hand to the car.

Our ride to the diner was peacefully silent. The atmosphere was so much different than when we stepped into the diner. The place was chaotic and jam-packed.

"Hey," I smiled to everyone as we walked in. Charlie and Billy were here too, which surprised me a bit. Leaning down, I gave my dad a quick kiss and told everyone hello. I sat next to Leah, pulling up a chair watching everyone dig into their food.

"I met his parent's tomorrow," Leah said casually as she squirted ketchup on her plate. I raised eyebrow at her and thanked Sue as she came behind me with a water.

"I'm freaking out," she murmured. "Not only am I meeting his family tomorrow but he wants us to move into his place together- in Port Angeles," she said to me.

"That's…far," I said thinking of her loyalty to the Pack.

"I know," she said with a worried glance.

"Have you talked it over with anyone yet? Sam maybe?" I wondered to her.

"No, Cole just sprung it on me today. Now what? I tell him our secret?" she asked slightly fearful. I sighed and shrugged, it seemed to be coming down to that. Glancing over at Sam, I found him talking with Jake and Jared, but every so often sneaking peeks at me.

"Maybe it wont be as bad as you think," I murmured as I observed everyone.

"Right," she scoffed, "because everyone in their right mind would take that kind of news lightly. He isn't like one of the people on the Res Bella, he doesn't even know the legends."

I went to speak again but was surprised when a plate of scrambled eggs and white toast was placed in front of me. How did Sue know? Looking around, my eyes landed on Sam. With a laugh, I blushed a bit and knew it was his doing- always the listener. 'Thank you,' I mouthed to him. He gave me one of those pearly white smiles and a nod.

"I think you need to talk to the elders with this, and I also think that maybe you should talk everything over with Cole. Maybe for right now, you can move to Port Angeles and that way we can get him familiar with all of the stories. Then it will be a bit easier to tell him the truth," I said shoving some food in my mouth while turning back to Leah.

"Think that will really work?" she wondered.

"The guys picking up your slack? - Maybe, if you do a lot of groveling, convincing, and are super lucky. As for the bon fires, they could definitely happen. Everyone loves getting together. It shouldn't be a problem as long as you can get your man there and listen to them."

"I hate this," she grumbled.

"Hate what?" I asked shoving more food in my mouth.

"Worrying if he will accept me or not. It's scary."

"It's life," I said pretty bluntly.

"I don't want him to hate me," she said sadly.

"Hate is a strong word," I stated, "and even to fuel hate, it still means he cares. Honestly, I don't think he could do that to you. He may be mad, upset and most likely fearful, but I don't think he would hate you."

"You're getting my hopes up," she tried to joke.

"I'm telling the truth," I said with a supportive smile. "Not everyone reacts bad, but I'm telling you right now, space is good. When the time comes, don't cloud him as much as you really would like to- it's not the best solution."

"Right," she breathed staring at her food.

"Hey," I said nudging her, "you still have to talk to the elders first. How did your mom take it?" I wondered.

"Haven't really told anyone yet," she muttered.

"Not even Seth?" I wondered. She shook her head. I contemplated how that was going to work out- Leah moving to Port Angeles. It wasn't going to go over well.

As Leah and I finished our conversation, I found my dad picking one up with Sue. They seemed a lot closer than times before. I wondered when Charlie was really going to take a bigger step in the relationship.

"Ready?" Paul wondered, waiting for me as I came out the bathroom. Shooting him a small smile and nod, I followed him out of the diner. A ways away in the parking lot I could see Leah talking to Sam, and by the looks of things it wasn't going to good. Billy was adding his two sense with the pair and it didn't seem to help any.

"What's going on?" I cut in, coming outside, before Leah would do something she would regret.

"We can't tell him anything," she seethed at the men.

"Leah," Sam said cautiously. He gave Paul a look to pull me back a little bit, which he did.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"We can't tell Cole anything. Leah im sorry, but we can't go around flashing this off. It's supposed to be a secret. We have to keep it under wraps and he's not…" Billy trailed off.

"my imprint," Leah finished with a small shake.

I bit my lip and looked at the three. Sam looked guilty, Billy seemed stubborn about it and Leah just looked upset.

"Billy, we aren't asking to tell him the truth, we just want to get him familiar with the legends," I tried.

"And you don't think he will catch on Bella?" he asked me. I sighed.

"You know like I do that there is something different with these boys and telling him the tribal legends, I'm sure he will be a quick one to put the pieces together."

"But-" I tried again.

"It wont happen Bella," Billy said in a strict tone. Sam shot the elder a look, almost saying 'watch your tone' as he snapped at me. Grabbing Sam's hand, I held it in mine and tried to feel what he was feeling.

"I need to get out of here," Leah mumbled as Seth came out of the diner to join us. Nodding, I watched her run off and let my heart sink for the girl.

"It's not fair Billy, you know it," I spoke softly.

"There is no way I would be able to convince the other elders Bella, this is how it has to be," he spoke almost feeling guilty too.

"There has to be another way," Sam spoke up. "We need to at least try."

"Sam," Billy spoke in a tired tone.

Paul cleared his throat, which made us all look. Seth was standing near us, somewhat confused by what was going on.

"Has anyone seen my sister?" Seth wondered. Paul glanced over at us, I bit my lip, Sam sighed, and Billy looked away.

"I have to go get Liam from my mom's," Paul said excusing himself.

"Jake," Billy called, rolling his chair over to him so he could get away.

"Bella? Sam?" Seth wondered, still waiting for an answer.

"She um-…" Sam started with a hand on the back of his neck.

"She went out for a quick run. Something about stretching her legs and getting away from all the stress of everything," I said, hoping I wasn't really lying.

"Oh, okay," Seth said now a bit suspicious. "Is she okay though?" he thought before turning to walk off.

"Yea, she'll be fine," Sam said coming to hug me. Nodding, Seth flashed us a small smile and then went to go talk with Jared and Kim.

"Please tell me I just said the right thing," I pleaded.

"Yea baby, you did," he said kissing the side of my head. With a long sigh, I leaned into my boyfriend and wished things were just a bit different. This wasn't fair. Secret or not, Leah should have a right to tell her boyfriend.

Sam tugged on my hand and guided us to the car.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Billy is partially right," Sam sighed, driving away. I snapped my head away from the window over to look at him.

"What?"

"Come on Bells, you know its somewhat right," he said trying to ease the situation by taking my hand in his.

I sighed and leaned my head back against the seat. Thinking it over for a few minutes, I did come to the same conclusion- Cole would have figured it out easily.

"It's just not fair," I whined as we came to a slowing stop, pulling up to our house.

"I know baby," he said squeezing my hand one last time before getting out of the car.

"What do you think will happen to Seth when he finds out?" I wondered as we both came around the car.

"It's not going to be good," he said groaning a tad. He ran a hand over his face and I tucked myself into his side to ease his pain. Sam opened the front door for the two of us and I let out a pleasing sigh. It felt good to be home; like truly home.

"What?" Sam asked, coming behind me as I stood in the kitchen.

"Just thinking," I smiled as he snuggled into me.

"About what?" he asked kissing my neck a bit.

"Being home," I breathed.

"Do you consider this place your home? You like it right?" he wondered, tilting his head to look at me.

"I love it," I confessed, "this place is perfect and I love it, almost as much as I love you," I teased softly as I held his arms with mine.

"Good," he chirped, giving me a quick kiss before running his lips over my mark. A shiver passed through my body and I swore to myself, knowing I would never get used to that feeling.

A/N: Poor Leah =(
Do you think she should be able to tell Cole the truth?