A/N: I own no part of the Twilight Saga, though I'd have to worry less about college tuition if I did. Sydney proofread this chapter. (Thanks, baby g.)

If the first part of this chapter looks familiar to you, then it should. I wrote a one-shot called "His Strange Weather" a little while ago, back when I wasn't sure if this story was gonna work or not.

A guest reviewer asked for clarification on the pairings. At the next author's note, at the end of the chapter, I'll list all the pairings that happen in the timespan of the story. Spoiler alert!

Enjoy!

XII.

you are unfixable
i can't break through your world
'cause you live in shades of cool
your heart is unbreakable

As she had grown up in Washington all her life, Leah Clearwater had always been fond of the rain, but not when it worked against her. Washingtonians were funny like that.

Leah loved to watch the wet droplets slide down her bedroom window, but not down her arms. The static-like soundtrack was beautiful against her roof, but not on her head, on her clothes, or the sidewalk she occupied. The sky, too—a dark, gray abyss—was calming and damn near poetic when she watched from her screen door, but not when she was underneath it. The idea of experiencing the rain live was a strange one.

This weather was strange in itself because when it rained here in La Push, out in the worst of the badlands, it didn't usually storm. The rain here spoke for the rain in all of Washington: silently unnoticed. Today, a peculiar afternoon in the middle of July, it let out its emotions, no matter how abrasive. It stormed.

This weather spoke for Leah, too. Incredible. If only her words would speak for her instead, because as she slightly stared up at the one and only Paul Lahote, clad in a worn-out leather jacket (she hadn't given him his other one back yet), she had no words.

The only thing stranger than the weather of La Push was Paul's. His strange weather made him unidentifiable. Not like how he used to be.

Paul was too cool now—too cool for La Push, for Leah, for anything and anyone he'd left behind and returned to last May and left again. If it wasn't raining, he would hide behind his sunglasses again, even though he hadn't gotten beaten up again.

He lived in shades and shades of cool these days. Leah could tell and this was the first time she was seeing him again since May. His coolness had thrived in California for some time now, because palm trees were cooler than Sitka ones, because In-N-Out was cooler than Dick's, because rent higher than heaven was better than anything sensible. California was that kind of cool. Almost every cool person Leah had ever known that moved from someplace else and to her school was from California. It didn't matter where. Not Paul's kind of cool, though, merely because Paul was not cool.

Paul had been uncool since the dawn of time, and a crazy-ass, in the eyes of others, since the age of three. He'd been stricken with ADHD, and a heavy dose of it. He hadn't been cool when he randomly ran out of elementary school every two weeks, or when he hadn't been able to concentrate on his homework only to come home and have his dad beat the living shit out of him like the knowledge would come to him as quickly as the bruises did. That wasn't cool. It wasn't cool at all.

Leah supposed it was good to forget, and good to move on from the bad things of the past, but not from the good things. Even though she was angry, Leah was a good thing.

"Where've you been?" she asked him. He was so cool that they had to stand outside to meet again. She was practically drowning in the rain. Cool was not a synonym for sensible.

And it wasn't like she didn't know where he had been—he'd been in California since Tacoma was just too close—but she wanted to know what he'd say. Nothing simple, if he was completely cool now.

"Paradise," he replied.

Fucking knew it.

"I heard you've got your life made for you now," Leah said, wiping rain from her face, only for it to be replaced with new, fresh rain. "Heard you've gotten too big for the rest of us." It was like he was a celebrity, but the mental part of it had slipped out and become real. He'd always been a star in his own mind—Paul Lahote, extraordinaire of everything and nothing—and now it was almost real. Even as he was one of the most false, horrible people she had ever known, she knew he was being real in all of this. He was a living contradiction.

"Just a little bit," Paul said. Leah hoped he wouldn't make it as an actor—he couldn't hide anything for shit. His classic smirk made an appearance. Now Leah hoped to God he would never try to make it as an actor; he'd break character every time, all because he couldn't help it.

"What have you been up to?" she asked, itching to smile back. She hated him—she hated him so much—but she wanted to laugh like old friends, like they were kids who shared secrets periodically, like he hadn't broken her heart over and over and over again.

"Chasing dreams and paper and all that," he replied. "I've really got things made—it's awesome."

Leah raised a brow. "Real shit?"

"Real shit. The realest shit."

"That's great, I guess." Her tone dipped into sarcasm, but he didn't catch on too quickly. He wasn't quite on her level.

"It's amazing. It's like…" Paul looked like he was going to drown in the rain, but he was so into the moment, the coolness of the moment, that he didn't mind. It just made him cooler. "It's like my world is impeccable. Unbreakable. It's fantastic."

"I know," Leah said, her voice full out sour. "Your world is really unbreakable. That probably explains why you ran off so fast last May and now you're acting like it never happened."

She was still angry, but she knew she should get over it before it hurt her even more. Her love with Paul had been part-time, just like all the other love around here. Why was she so surprised? Maybe it was because she thought they had been special when in reality, they were as ordinary as everyone else. They weren't special at all.

"Oh, Lee. Your passive-aggression hasn't died, has it?"

"Actually, a little passive-aggression a day keeps me up a level like you wouldn't believe."

He chuckled, but it was hardly audible under the sound of the rain.

Leah didn't get the point in any of this. Were they supposed to be catching up? A part of her wanted to know what he'd been doing, how he'd been living, but another part of her already knew that it wasn't legal, so it didn't matter. He had run away to get away from the trouble only to find more of it. And because she was notoriously passive-aggressive, dripping with sarcasm, and the queen of sly digs, it also didn't matter that she was going to set herself up for disappointment. He was good at being fake, and she was good at that.

"Walk with me?" he asked, turning his body in the opposite direction, looking over his shoulder at Leah. He wasn't even an actor to her; he was a full-on motion picture of his own. A lovely vision in black and white, that was what he was. So Leah walked with him. As much as she hated him and all that he'd done to her, she couldn't think of a day when she wouldn't walk with him. She had never missed out on that opportunity because he was too magnificent to deny. He was hardly real to her sometimes, and that was where the damage came in. She often saw him as a force or a concept or a work of art as opposed to a person, and she hated to admit it. She was completely tangled in him.

"So, who's got your heart today?" Leah asked him, and it wasn't even passive-aggressive or rude; that was just how Paul functioned. It was a natural law that Paul was capable of loving everyone and everything, just not all at once.

"This girl named Belén," he says, bringing out his Spanish accent. "Belén Gutierrez."

Leah fought the urge to roll her eyes. There was only one reason why he was into this Belén, probably: he was embracing his half-Mexican heritage, so he had to put his hands on anything remotely Latina, which was also probably why he had spent time in California. He had infamously been one to fall in love with beautiful names, regardless if the person was beautiful or not. That was why Leah hardly ever stood a chance with him.

"¿Cómo es ella?" Leah knew Paul got a kick out of the Spanish language, and she was better at speaking it, whereas he was better at understanding it. He loved hearing her speak Spanish.

"Ella es muy bonita y le gusta bailar."

Leah smiled, not at the importance of what he said, but the choice of vocabulary, and, of course, the way he said it. He was still on the first level of Spanish vocabulary. Belén was very pretty, and she liked to dance. Amazing. Incredible. So cool. As if Leah wasn't like that, too. Paul was totally in it for the name. The only thing he loved more than women was their names, and she didn't even have to ask him that. She knew it because she knew him, all the facets of him. What made it even worse was that she knew the real him yet he still chose to be a fake in front of her.

Rain soaked through Leah's light jacket, lighter shirt, and nearly impermeable exterior personality as she walked close to Paul. She was totally calm except for the brewing underneath her skin that made her burn up. She was surprised she wasn't steaming yet.

Paul was so difficult: he was unfixable, and his heart was absolutely unbreakable. She could hate him all she wanted, but she could never hurt him no matter how hard she tried. What was even worse is that California hadn't made him unbreakable; he'd been that way almost all his life. All it had taken was one break from his father, and suddenly, he had become solid. In two pieces, but two solid pieces.

She couldn't make him better, either, but when he called out for truth and honesty, he called for her. He always did. He lived for love—even the bad kind and the fake kind—but when he wanted the real deal, he knew what it was and where to find it even if he didn't always go there. His relationship with Leah was so unbalanced; his heart was closed and full, yet hers was open and empty. She'd give everything, though, and he wouldn't. He wasn't real enough. There was nothing she could do about that, either.

"When will you go back to California?" Leah asked. It was a more straightforward and honest question to ask than just How long will you be here? She could also save herself from the further heartbreak earlier. Any amount of time he said he'd be here would never, ever be enough. She couldn't do anything about his strange weather, and it shouldn't have taken her so long to realize that.

"Soon," he said. "Before you'll get used to me again."

"I don't think I could ever get used to you again. Not even if you stay here with me for the rest of my life."

Knowing Paul, her words didn't even hurt him. Nothing hurt when your heart was unbreakable.

He looked down at her with a look of understanding. Hopefully, he understood himself. It shouldn't matter if Leah did.

"I guess it's time for me to go, then," he said, not at all out of spite. There wasn't a hint of bitterness on his tongue. He'd always been that way: pure.

"Okay," Leah responded. "Okay." She was not as solid or hard or mean as she thought she was.

"I'll see you around?" he asked.

She knew damn well she'd see him around, but he wouldn't keep his eye out for her since he had better things to be searching for. "Maybe."

He wasn't headed toward a car or anything—just away from her, just like old times. Just lovely. "I'll be praying," he said.

Leah nodded her head up and down. That was all he was about when he wasn't chasing his unrequited dreams, even since childhood: he'd be praying for peace, love, and Leah to find something new, just like he had. He was okay with letting her go, and she hated that the most. He was also done with trying and all about praying. He was too cool for her, but not above praying for those who needed it.

What a savior.

He turned around completely and began to walk away without even a wave in Leah's direction.

"Stay cool," she called to him, watching the droplets of water drip down the back of his leather jacket.

"The coolest," he responded.

Paul didn't go back to California. He lived with Embry in La Push, but he spent most of his time in Port Angeles with Belén until she broke up with him after two weeks of dating. He never came through with their plans and was always running off, so she got sick of it like anyone else would. At least Leah wasn't the only girl he did that with.

By the middle of July, summer had gotten boring already. Waking up on Embry's living room couch everyday, Paul realized that La Push bored the shit out of him, and so did the people. These people weren't his real friends; he only hung out with them because he'd grown up with them, not because he wanted to be with them. Embry stayed cooped up in his room, on his computer, and Seth was there occasionally, but all he did was sit in Embry's room, too.

Whenever Paul asked what they were doing, Embry just brushed it off and said it was unimportant. It turned out that they were trying to locate Embry's father just so Embry could finally know who he was. Paul didn't know how that was gonna work out, but he wished them the best of luck.

Alone, Paul tried to see everybody he had once known and somewhat missed. Jared was busy getting ready for college, which made him mostly unavailable. Kim was great and all, but she was a clear gateway to Leah, and he was not about to upset her again since he didn't have an immediate death wish. Sam and Emily were nowhere to be found and Paul wasn't up for searching for them. Quil was just an idiot. That left Paul with Jacob. He didn't miss him that much, but he'd be the safest to deal with.

Paul found Jacob in his garage, working on a car. It was an old Volkswagen Rabbit, and Jacob had built it from scratch. He had started building it when he was a sophomore, and he was finally getting it finished this summer. What had started as broken-looking parts was now a shiny red car that was just about equipped for driving.

"Didn't think you'd ever finish it," Paul said as he walked into Jacob's garage.

Jacob turned around. "Oh, hey, Paul." He went back to work.

Paul walked around the garage, looking at all the tools lying around. As much as he dealt with cars, he had never learned to fix them up. The skills would probably come in handy soon; his new car had some bad brakes. "'Sup?" he asked.

"Uh..." Jacob was more focused on the Rabbit. "Just working on this. Almost done." He used a wrench to tighten something, and he set it down when he was done.

He went into the driver's seat of the car and started it up. It hummed to life, and Jacob smiled.

What a good kid. Never did drugs or got into fights or got anyone pregnant, either. I'm such a good fucking kid.

"Done," he said.

"Cool," Paul replied. "I was thinking we could whip down to Ocean Shores. I'll cover gas."

"Can't, sorry," Jacob said, still in his car. "I gotta go to Forks."

"For what?"

"You know Charlie Swan, the one cop from Forks? Probably not. Well, his daughter's coming home next month and I've gotta make sure her truck still works. I was supposed to be taking care of it all year but I didn't. She only drives it around during the summer, anyway."

"You never told me about this girl," Paul said.

"That's because you've been gone for years, so you don't really know shit. And that's also because she's about as important as every other white girl who lives around here. She never comes down here to the rez and I haven't hung out with her since we were seven. She's strictly Forks-oriented."

"Oh. Well, we should go down to Ocean Shores soon, anyway."

"I'll think about," Jacob said. He wouldn't actually think about it. Paul was such a hothead and a mystery, especially now, that it'd be impossible to sit in a car with him for almost three hours. He understood that Paul was lonely since he had left everyone and acted like he was better than everyone, but that wasn't Jacob's fault. Paul had thrown himself out of the loop.

Paul was already out the door by the time Jacob got out of the Rabbit.

Paul didn't have the slightest clue as to what to do or where to go, so he just walked. La Push was a really small area, anyway. There was no way to get lost.

He had just gotten past Jared's house when he saw a blue pickup truck packed with boxes parked in front of a house. It was more of a cabin, all woodsy and secluded. Paul went to see what was going on.

He went down a long dirt driveway until he saw Sam walk up to the pickup truck to get another couple of boxes. "Hey, Paul," he said.

"Hey," Paul greeted him. "Moving day?"

Sam nodded. "Yup. Grab a box and help us out."

Paul grabbed a box from the truck and followed Sam into the house. Paul had seen it before, but he couldn't remember who used to live in it. Emily was making her way out the door as Paul and Sam entered it.

"Hey, Em," Paul said.

She smiled at him, but she was clearly holding something back.

"Em, have you guys decided on which room is gonna be the baby's?" Leah's loud called from inside the house.

Fuck, Paul thought. Leah.

Paul ended up walking right into Leah, and he had to pretend like he hadn't had the greatest sex of his life with her. She gave him a look that shook him to the bone. "Watch where you're going," she told him, her voice soft, quiet, and as cold as ice. Then she followed Emily out to the pickup truck.

"I didn't know you guys were having a baby," Paul said to Sam as they set the boxes down in the spacious living room. "Congrats, man."

"Thanks," Sam said. His tone was always the same: serious. Paul could never tell if he was happy or sad or angry or anything. He was totally stoic all the time.

Emily and Leah reentered the house and walked down the hallway. Paul heard Leah murmuring to Emily, and he knew it was about him, but he didn't care.

Just let her talk. Talk is all she is.

Paul helped bring all the boxes into the house and then quickly went home. He wasn't proud to admit that Leah had run him out with his tail between his legs, but he wasn't prepared for her whiplash just yet. Even though he played it cool, she was capable of stinging him every single time.

A/N: And that was chapter twelve, thus concluding what I call the high school arc. The next couple of chapters are gonna move the perspective over to Bella and Jacob. Get ready.

And for the definitive list of pairings, not in chronological order (spoiler alert):

-Leah/Paul

-Paul/Bella

-Jacob/Bella

-Bella/Edward

-Bella/Kim

-Jacob/Leah (maybe)

-Emily/Sam

-Emily/Embry

-Leah/Emmett

-Kim/Jared

-Paul/Rachel

-Kim/OC Ashley (circa. chapter 8)

-Quil/Claire (doesn't last long, I promise)

So as you can see, everybody kind of gets with everybody. I wish there was a way to clarify that in the story stats, but I didn't put pairings there for that reason alone. And the characters should be listed as Leah, Bella, Paul, and then Jacob, in order of importance, but this website put it in alphabetical order, which is annoying. So there you go.

Feedback is appreciated and thanks as always,

HS