Hey! So, thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or favorited last chapter. I hope you enjoy this. And thanks for reading.

I still don't own 'em.

Bye!

Leah sat on her mother's porch swing, one leg tucked underneath her while the other rested on the floor, gently rocking her back and forth. Her parents' wedding album lay in her lap, open to their first photo as a married couple. She used to picture her and Sam ending up like her parents. Sitting together on their front porch, watching their grandkids play in the yard. Then the werewolf stuff happened and he imprinted on Emily, leaving Leah heartbroken and believing that true love and forever was just a delusion mothers told their daughters so they didn't grow up bitter and alone.

After Sam, Leah had convinced herself she was never going to find anyone, and she had been okay with that; seriously she had been. So what if the love of her life was with her cousin. So what if she was stuck as this mutant, shapeshifter thing. She was perfectly fine being by herself. She didn't need someone to complete her because she was completely fine by herself.

She turned the page on the photo album, eyes resting on one picture, smiling at the funny faces her dad and Charlie made at the camera. The picture below it was of Charlie dancing with her mom, while her father danced with some woman Leah didn't recognize in the background. The last photo, on the page, was of her parents posing with Charlie.

It made her think about her mother and Charlie. They weren't exactly dating, but they weren't exactly seeing anyone else either. Leah didn't mind, she liked Charlie a lot, but her ideal vision of her future wasn't having Bella Swan as her step-sister. Nothing against Bella, but Leah still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she threw her entire life away, practically her entire future, on some guy she only knew a little over a year. At least her mother knew Charlie for nearly twenty-three years; had, in fact, gone to college with him; admitted, after far too many shots of vodka, that she had had a giant crush on Charlie.

At least her mother got to pick who she wanted to be with both times.

Leah chuckled humorlessly, closing the wedding album. She placed it next to her, pulling her left leg onto the swing, resting her chin on her jean clad knee. Emmett Cullen had been circling the back of her mind all day. She remembered their brief conversation the day before, out in the woods, just the two of them. He had been surprisingly easy to talk to; or not so surprising seeing as they were apparently made for each other.

Leah hadn't seen Emmett since their talk. Jacob would say she was being a coward, hiding out in her room, avoiding him, but she had several assignments to finish and didn't have time to think about her messed up love life (or lack thereof). She also shoved Jacob off her roof when he started teasing her about 'hiding.'

"Hey." Leah looked up, smiling when she spotted Emily walking towards her. She was carrying a cloth-covered basket, her dark hair done up in a thick braid down her back. She was like a walking embodiment of a fricking princess, even with the scars covering half her body.

"Hi," Leah greeted moving the album so her cousin could sit down. Emily sunk into the cushion, letting her basket rest in her lap. "So, what's up?"

"I made your mom some snickerdoodles," Emily explained nodding at the basket. "And Jacob told me what happened…"

"Is he telling everyone?" Irritated, Leah leaned her head back, running a hand down her face. "What did he say exactly?"

"That you imprinted," Emily said softly, using her feet to gently rock the swing. "He wouldn't tell me on whom, but he said you weren't taking the news well. I thought this would be great for you, Leah. I mean, after Sam…" Guilt crossed her cousin's face, and Leah felt her irritation melt away.

"He's not who I expected," Leah admitted lifting her head.

"Isn't imprinting about expecting the unexpected?" Emily questioned with a small smile. "I mean, I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Sam, remember?"

"Ah yes, if I recall correctly you kept telling me to leave him. 'He's not good for you, Le-le. You'd be better off dating that med-student.'"

"I don't sound like that," Emily protested, but she was unable to fight a smile. "So, who did you imprint on? Does he have, like, fifty tattoos and a Harley?"

"Yes, and a nose ring because there's nothing I find sexy than a nose ring," Leah joked listening to her cousin giggle next to her. "Nah, he's…" How exactly did she describe Emmett? She didn't even know anything about him, other than he was giant and a vampire. "I really don't know, yet."

"You'll just have to get to know him," Emily said slowly, pushing the cloth aside and offering Leah a cookie.

"Easy for you to say," Leah stated, taking two cookies. "He's got a viper for a wife."

"Oh." Emily frowned, knowing firsthand what it felt like take a guy from someone else. "What are you going to do about her?"

"I don't even know if I want him yet."

"But he's your perfect match, Le-le. Of course you want him."

"There are no rules that say I need to be with him, Em," Leah pointed out more harshly than she intended. "Sorry," she apologized, wanting to wipe that dejected look off her cousin's face. "I just…" she drew in a deep breath, letting it out in a snarl. "I really don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Sorry," Emily murmured looking down at her knees.

"It's fine," Leah said vaguely waving her hand. The two cousins fell silent, Emily continuing to rock the swing while Leah studied the porch's floor. It was nearly fifteen minutes before the silence was broken again.

"He's a vampire," Leah admitted, knowing she couldn't keep this secret forever.

"Wow," Emily breathed, her dark eyes wide, mouth open slightly. "How did that…?" she cleared her throat, shaking her head. "Wow."

"Yeah," Leah muttered resting her chin on her knee again. "Wow."

Twilight

Emmett parked his jeep just on the edge of the border of the Quileutes' territory, leaning over to open the passenger door. He straightened, studying the line, knowing he wasn't about to get his head ripped off for crossing it, but still wary. He recalled, back when Victoria was alive, having a run-in with the wolves while chasing the red-head through the woods. They weren't above removing his head then, and that had only been a year ago. It still baffled him how much things could change in such a short period of time.

"I'd ask what you're doing here, but I think I already know," a soft voice said from the woods. Emmett snorted, shaking his head, watching as Alice shot out of the forest. Climbing into his jeep, she shut the door behind her.

"I smelled you about a mile back," Emmett informed her, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"And I saw you here two weeks ago," she retorted her golden eyes resting on the side of his face. "You've been flickering in and out of focus for a while now."

"You could have warned me."

"I didn't know what it meant." It troubled her that she hadn't expected imprinting. Emmett doubted anyone could have predicted that, especially when Alice's visions didn't exactly work when it came to the wolves. "Rosalie isn't going to be happy."

"What?" Emmett turned, eyebrows furrowed, noting the grim look on Alice's face. He read what she meant after a second, eyebrows raising slowly. He shook his head and said, "I'm not going to…"

"Em, let's be real," Alice said softly, looking away from him. "You've started fading out more and more lately, and a few times I couldn't see you at all. You can fight it all you want, and I don't want to see Rose get hurt, but you know who you're going to choose."

"You can't know for certain," Emmett argued only half in denial. He hated himself for admitting it, but Alice wasn't wrong. The pull to go to her, to Leah, had become nearly unbearable, to the point where he could no longer ignore it.

"Rose is in denial, too," Alice whispered before getting out of the jeep. "Just remember, no one blames either of you." She then shut the door, disappearing into the woods, just as Emmett heard a motorcycle roar to life. He almost started his car and drove away, but figured it wasn't worth it, and got out.

He leaned against the hood of his jeep, watching as Jacob approached. The younger guy skidded to a halt right on the edge of the line, turning his bike off. He gave Emmett a curious look, one eyebrow raised, before nodding his head, giving Emmett permission to follow him. With a small sigh, Emmett returned to his vehicle, starting it just as Jacob kicked his bike back to life, slowly following the wolf over the line and towards La Push; towards Leah.