The grass is still wet from yesterday's rain. The bottom of Jacob's cargo shorts is soaked through as he sits, the moisture touching his butt. He looks around his front yard, there is no movement, no sounds. He slants forward and removes his hands from behind him, rubs them together to remove the mud and grass. Leaning, he puts his forearms on his knees, crossing them at the wrists. He inhales deeply, feels the moisture from the air in his throat, then exhales calmly, evenly. For once in his life, Jacob feels truly at peace.
That is, until Leah Clearwater comes sauntering down his sidewalk. Jacob sighs. She stops right in front of the grass.
"Can I come sit with you?" she says. Instinctually, Jacob nods, although he instantly wishes he didn't.
Leah walks toward him, and as she does, Jacob notes the squish of her bare feet on the wet ground. He reckons it's the only sound being made on the whole reservation. She stops right at his heels and sits in pike position, facing him. Her posture is anything but perfect as she rests her hands on her lap. She says nothing, only looks down, studying her hands in silence.
Jacob grows irritated with each passing second. Yesterday, he might have tolerated Leah. Honestly, yesterday he pitied her. But today, being with her feels like a chore. He assumed that today they would go back to hating each other.
"Why are you here?" he asks brusquely.
Leah shrugs. She looks up, and Jacob can't place the expression on her face. It's almost sheepish, but he knows for a fact that Leah Clearwater has never done a sheepish thing in her life. "Isn't it crazy that only two people can leave, and the res seems so much more empty?"
Jacob knits his eyebrows, he doesn't know what she's getting at.
"Anyways," she says. "Thanks, I guess. For yesterday."
Jacob's jaw falls. This is the first time she's ever said thanks to him, to anyone, probably. He looks up at her and she looks completely different than he's ever seen her. Her eyes are softer, her lips aren't pursed. Her head is almost bowed to him. The image of Leah confuses him, because he's sure that it isn't the same Leah that he knows.
Instead of saying anything further, he nods his head curtly. Leah does the same, then fixes her gaze back onto her hands in her lap. They sit in silence for what seems like hours, but now, Jacob doesn't feel resentment toward her.
His mind is a jumble as he recalls yesterday's events. He feels the same confusion, the same impulse to help her as he did the day before. For reasons he can't quite explain, he feels comfortable being with Leah.
And it confuses the shit out of him.
Before he can think about it anymore, the sound of a speeding car breaks the silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Jake sees a silver Volvo just past the tree line that separates the res from the outside world. The image immediately registers in his mind. As the car passes his house at lightning speed, he swears he can see Bella in the passenger seat.
A wild snarl escapes his lips. Leah looks up at him, then follows his line of vision to the rapidly disappearing car. Jacob is slowly lifting himself off of the ground, onto all fours.
"Jake," Leah says, low. "Jake, don't," she warns. But before she can stop him, he is bounding down the street. In a flash, his clothes explode off of him, and float back to the ground. "Fuck," she mutters below her breath.
Leah jumps up, sprinting after Jake. She keeps her eyes trained on him, pulling her clothes off as she goes. As she hops down the street, trying to get out of her shorts, she realizes how funny it is to see this huge dog chasing after the fastest car on the Olympic peninsula.
Once she's completely naked, she wills herself to phase. It doesn't take much for her to feel the red-hot sensation on her skin, and soon after, she's running on all fours. Jake, you ass, she says. Jacob is about a quarter mile ahead of her, but the car is nowhere in sight. It's not hard to figure out where he's headed, though, with vampire stench hanging thick in the air.
Stay out of this, Leah. Despite Jacob's warnings, Leah runs faster to catch up with him.
You have to stop chasing things that aren't yours! she says. Jake doesn't respond. Leah pushes forward, until she and Jake are shoulder to shoulder. Face it Jake, she doesn't want you!
Jacob turns his head to her and snarls. All of a sudden, he's no longer moving forward, but charging into Leah. His momentum sends the two of them tumbling into the middle of the street. Jacob rolls her around, so that he is on top of her.
Before Leah can do anything to protect herself, Jacob tears into her. He claws at her chest and bites at her face, completely disregarding the fact that she's a member of the pack.
Leah wriggles around underneath him, trying helplessly to turn him over. Jacob throws his head back, and in that second, Leah uses all her strength to throw him off of herself. Her force sends Jacob flying into a nearby tree at the edge of the forest, and as he hits it, its last leaves shake off.
Fuck you, Leah Clearwater, he spits. Leah gets on all fours and phases back to her human form. She picks herself up off the ground and dusts the road tar off of her skin. She touches her face, then looks at her hand, looks at the blood dripping from her fingertips.
"You asshole," she spits. Jake phases back to human form as well, stands up, and picks wet leaves off of himself. "Who do you think I am, Emily fuckin' Young?"
Jacob snorts. "You mean Emily Uley." Leah's breath catches in her chest. Jake smirks at her, but his expression fades as her face pulls together. Leah is baring her teeth at him, as if she were still a wolf, and a low growl is rumbling in her throat.
With a wild cry, Leah runs at Jake, tackles him to the ground and begins punching him. She grunts as her fists land across his face, his shoulders, his chest, each hit making a satisfying "crunch." Despite the fact that she may very well have broken his collar bone, Jacob's last comment leaves him with a smile.
"Fuck you!" she yells in between hits. Jacob ignores the pain in his chest, and reaches his hands out in an attempt to grab Leah's arms.
"He doesn't want you, Leah!" he taunts, hands darting around to catch hers. "He doesn't love you!" Almost as if to prove him wrong, Leah coils her arm back and sends it flying toward his lips. Jacob's mouth fills with blood, but he ignores the taste and grabs Leah's fist.
She continues to punch him with her left hand, but it's obvious that she's growing tired. He takes advantage of this and throws his hand out to grab her other fist. Leah pulls her arms back and forth in an attempt to set herself free, but Jacob keeps a firm grip on her.
Leah quits moving, and the two just stare each other in the eye. They are both panting heavily, their chests rising higher than ever before. Without breaking eye contact, Jacob leans his head to the side and spits out the blood in his mouth.
The two of them are breathing silently, now. A drop of blood from Leah's forehead falls onto Jacob's chest. The look in both of their eyes changes from hatred to slight embarrassment. They are both acutely conscious of the other's presence.
Leah pries her fists out of Jake's hands, and this time, he obliges. She steps up off of him, then stands above him. "I could spit on you right now," she says. "I want to so bad." She wipes her forearm against her face, wiping away the blood, sweat, and dirt. With her bloody arm, she leans down and offers her hand to him.
Jacob takes it and pulls himself up. They both look down at themselves, dusting themselves off. Jake notices a wet spot on his abs. He touches his fingers to it, it's warm and slick. When he figures out what it is, he realizes he's been holding his breath.
Jake glances up to Leah, who is still dusting herself off. A pang of guilt courses through his veins. She is covered in blood, from the top of her forehead down to her chest. Jacob's jaw falls and his face heats up. Despite all of the gashes on her face and body, he feels attracted to her. He doesn't know why, but he doesn't believe it's because of her nudity. He's seen her like this before, but now, some animalistic sense is pulling him to her.
Leah looks up to see Jacob staring straight at her, mouth agape. When they lock eyes, both of them replace the looks on their faces with that of pure terror. Leah instinctively reaches her hand down to her groin, and drapes her other arm over her breasts. Jacob follows suit, and cups his hands over himself.
They stand facing each other for a minute more, not saying a word. Neither of them knows what to say. Neither of them wants to make the first move. The res is silent, and the only thing that either of them can hear is their quiet breathing.
Jake feels the pull in his stomach again, almost as if his body is telling him to be near Leah. His mind is telling him to stay away, but the pull is winning the battle. After what seems like days, Jake drops his arms and takes one cautious step toward Leah. She gasps, startled by his movement, and leans backward a little.
"Leah," he says. He reaches out one hand toward her, taking another cautious step.
Jake takes another step, but this time, he moves confidently. "Leah, we're both broken people." He lifts his hand up, offering it to Leah. "We can help each other," he says. He almost sounds ashamed. Leah looks at his upturned palm for a second, then places her hand in his.
Jacob puts his free hand on Leah's cheek. He studies her face, notes the drying blood, the scars already forming. He rubs his thumb along the apple of her cheek, feeling how soft her skin is. He studies her full lips, her straight nose, and then her eyes.
Jake's breath catches in his chest. She looks different than Jake has ever seen her. Her eyes are so clear and so honest. For the first time in his life, Jacob sees Leah as a woman, and not as some bitter bitch.
Unaware of what he's doing, Jake leans in and reaches his lips toward Leah's.
His movement slows, and their lips are micro-millimeters from each other. Then Leah stops.
She looks up to him with puppy dog eyes, and Jacob sees an emotion in them that registers quickly. Fear.
Before he knows it, Leah is running away, bare feet pounding against the damp forest floor.