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Brown autumn leaves billowed in from the outside as someone stumbled their way in through the café door. They were wearing an oversized coat with the hood flipped up over their head and a bright blue scarf wrapped around their neck, almost covering their face entirely.
"Bloody hell. It's freezing!" the messy pile of fabric said. A female, by the sounds of it. And someone who was clearly not from around here. She shut the door behind her and took a deep breath as the wind died down inside the room. Fallen leaves lay inside against the wall. Leah would have to sweep them up later.
"It's not," Leah said. The girl turned to look at her, finally meeting her eyes. Her large brown eyes squinted back at her as she used her gloved hands to try to push her scarf away from her mouth.
"I'm sorry. What?" she asked.
"Freezing," Leah said. "It's nowhere near freezing. "
The girl groaned, mumbling something about don't remind me before trying to take her gloves off. Leah watched in fascination as she seemed completely inept at the simple task most children had mastered by the age of five. Finally, her fingers were free from the gloves before she threw them down on the nearest table, grumbling the entire time. Leah watched, unable to look away. It was like watching a bird try to fly for the first time. Completely uncoordinated, and there was a lot of unnecessary flapping going on.
She then spent the next minute removing the scarf, two coats, and beanie she had hidden under the hood of her coat. The fabric piled high on the table.
'I hate the cold," the girl complained, finally stepping up the counter. She had long brown hair that curled around her face and over her shoulders. When she wasn't wearing so many layers, it was easier to see she was quite petite. Well, everyone was small in comparison to Leah. Leah gave most of the boys on the reservation a run for their money when it came to height and muscle mass.
"So, what's someone like you doing down here in sunny La Push?" The sun was actually out today, which was unusual for Autumn, but it didn't mean it was any warmer than when it was overcast.
"The beach?" she said, her voice raising at the end like a question. Leah just raised her eyebrow in response. The girl huffed out a breath in a small chuckle. "I just moved to the area and was sick of all the trees and the green and the brown… and wanted to check out the beach. See if I would feel a bit more at home out here." She sighed.
"I'm guessing First Beach is nothing like the beach from where you come from?" Leah couldn't pick her accent completely, but it wasn't American.
The girl chuckled and shock her head. "No. Even the sand is brown. Ugh," she shuddered a little and then froze. "Sorry… no… I didn't mean… It's just that… What mean is-"
Leah wondered how long she should let her go on before interrupting her rambling apology. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to judge you based on your opinion of our beach," Leah said with a smile. " I will, however, judge you based on your coffee order. So, what can I get for you today?"
The girl gave her a sheepish smile back before gnawing on her lip and diverting her eyes towards the cabinet of sweet pastries on offer. Leah had a sudden urge to run her thumb along her bottom lip to stop her from chapping her lips anymore than they already were. She blinked back out of her absurd fantasy when the girl spoke again.
"I would die for a latte, and maybe one of your…" she paused for a second before blurting out, "what the fuck is a cake donut?"
Leah burst out laughing and the girl blushed before quickly hiding behind her hands. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't mean to say it like that."
"It's kinda like a cake, but in the shape of a donut," Leah told her. "They are good for dunking in your coffee."
The girl scrunched her nose up at this idea. Clearly, something seemed off about the idea to her. "I think I'll just stick with a chocolate muffin, please."
"Sure, hon. Would you like any sugar or syrups added to your coffee?"
"Oh, god, no, and if you offer to add pumpkin to my coffee, I swear I will leave this shop immediately." She turned to look out the front windows, and as if on queue, a large gust of wind blew up a huge pile of leaves and they swirled around outside the shop door violently.
"Sure about that?" Leah asked, knowing full well that this girl had taken shelter in her deserted café to simply get out of the wind.
"Shuddup," she mumbled.
Leah took pity on her and didn't try to antagonize her further. Leah rung up her total, and the girl pulled out her purse, fumbling through the coins, looking for the right ones.
"So," Leah asked, while getting the milk out of the fridge, deciding she should probably get some work done. "Where are you from?"
"Australia. Uh, well, I was born in Port Angeles, but my mum left my dad when I was six months old and took me as far away from this place as she could get. Apparently, she shares my dislike for the cold."
The penny finally dropped as Leah took in her light brown eyes again. "You're Bells!" Leah said, startling the young girl. "Charlie, he is your dad, right?"
"Ah, yeah. Bella, actually. Only my, my dad calls me that. Do you know him or somethin'?"
"Yeah, he is my dad's best friend. Charlie talks about you all the time. He was so excited to hear that you were moving back in with him."
Bella tilted her head to the side like an adorable little puppy and examined Leah with her curious eyes. "Are you Rachel or Rebecca?"
"Neither," Leah offered, impressed that she knew any of their names. "I'm Leah Clearwater. Harry's my dad. This is our café."
Bella chuckled, hopefully having made the connection between the name of their café shop (written all over the back wall) and their last name. Clear-Coffee. Leah hated the name with a passion. It made it sound like their coffee was weak as fuck. However, as they say, beggars can't be choosers. There are only so many jobs on the reservation and nepotism has it's perks.
"Cool. I've heard him talk about Harry and Sue. Sorry I didn't know you… ah… It's nice to meet you, Leah. You seem a lot nicer than the girls at my school."
"Yeah?" Leah asked, carefully, not wanted to push. She was not someone who enjoyed small talk at the best of times, or any time of the day, for that matter. However, strangely, she was happy to hear anything Bella had to say.
The young girl went on to talk about the kids in her class. Explaining that one of the girls had picked on her because she didn't know any French. "Unfortunately, knowing Indonesian is not coming in very handy these days. I bet Lauren couldn't even point out the country if her life depended on it!"
Leah chuckled and silently hoping that she wasn't asked to point it out on a map either.
Bella didn't seem to be in a rush, so Leah took her time getting the coffee ready, along with heating the muffin up for her. Bella ended up taking a seat closer to the counter, moving the huge pile of unnecessary (it may be cold, but it wasn't that cold) clothing along with her. Conversation flowed easily between them and Leah was genuinely sad when the new girl left an hour later, taking the laughter and chaotic energy with her.
Leah was, unfortunately, not the only one to take notice of the unusual girl with large brown eyes. She was the talk of the pack for the next few weeks, as they all took turns at bumping into her. No, that is not a euphemism. They would literally orchestrate bumping into her at the grocery store, or on the beach, or Leah's café (yeah, no, Seth, you are WAY too young), or even at her house ("Bella? What are you doing here?" Jake, you're an idiot).
Leah was, fortunately, the only one Bella seemed to be intentionally seeking out though. She visited the café every Saturday, and even one Sunday morning. However, when she flew in the door one Monday afternoon, Leah could tell instantly that something was wrong. It was like she was a live wire, flexing and un-flexing her palms, darting her eyes around the shop, taking in all the customers (of which there were three) before walking quickly up to the counter.
"Are you alright, sweetie?" Leah asked, neither even noticing the affectionate pet name she'd given her.
"I-I just got weirded out at school today by one of the kids in my class." Bella visible shuddered at the thought.
Leah started preparing Bella's usual coffee order, as she asked her what had happened.
"Well," Bella started, chewing on her lip again, as if she was unsure herself. "On my first day, I sat next to this boy in my biology class. He was acting really strange the whole class. He was gripping his chair like he thought it might run away on him or something, and I swear he wasn't even breathing."
A crawling feeling inched its way up Leah's spine as Bella continued her story.
"When the bell rang, he darted from the room inhumanly fast… I don't want to sound like I'm big noting myself or anything, but I got the impression he was trying to get away from me. I tried to brush it off, and it mostly worked." She stopped as she looked out the front window. "He was gone for almost three weeks. The rest of his family were still at school, but he never came back… until today."
"W-what happened?" Leah managed to get out.
"He introduced himself, as if nothing had happened."
"What's his name?"
"Edward Cullen."
Time seemed to stand still for a moment, as Leah's assumptions proved true. She froze, as her heart seemed to beat furiously, trying to get out of her chest. Or maybe it was her wolf trying to protect the innocent, vulnerable human in front of her.
"Do you know him?" Bella asked, breaking Leah out of her mild panic attack.
"The Cullens don't come here," was all she seemed to be able to say.
Bella eyed her curiously, opening and closing her mouth a few times as if she was going to ask more before just settling on, "thank you." As if she knew that Leah was promising to protect her.
After Bella took her coffee and apple pie to the table closest to the counter, she took out her some of her schoolbooks and spread them across the table, as if letting everyone know she was going to be staying awhile. She meticulously lined them up with her stationery and notebooks before starting on her homework.
When Leah had a moment, she texted her alpha, her ex, that they needed an emergency pack meeting. Tonight. She also texted Seth to come to the café immediately. Half an hour later, in hushed whispers, Leah explained the situation to her worried looking brother. Then, two hours after she arrived, after the sun had just set, Bella packed up her books and bid the Clearwater's farewell.
As soon as she left through the front door, Leah exited through the back. It took no longer than a minute of sprinting before she hit the treeline, phasing without bothering to remove and tie her clothes first.
What's wrong, Leah? Sam asked as soon as her mind linked with the rest of the waiting pack.
Leah didn't waste time relating the story Bella had told her, all awhile she ran towards the main road that led to Forks. Through the trees, she spotted Bella's ridiculous red truck and breathed a sigh of relief to have the girl back in her sights and under her protection.
We need to keep her on the rez, Jake tried to tell Sam.
And what would be our excuse? Sam said, asking the obvious.
Just tell her the truth, Jake argued. At which point the pack mind exploded, with all members voicing their very strong opinions on the matter.
She's not an imprint.
She's a pale-face. Not even under our protection.
All human life is under our protection.
And around and around they went.
Leah tuned them out, focusing on the brown hair she could see through the back window of the truck.
Quiet! Sam commanded, and a blissful quiet settled over Leah's mind. He issued orders, including a roster to watch over the girl they all felt ingrained to protect. He also arranged a meeting with the elders to discuss the possibility of letting the first pale-face in on the tribe's biggest secret.
Regardless of the danger Bella seemed to be in, as the target of some emo teenaged vampire, the elders refused to allow them to tell Bella or Charlie the truth. This news did not sit well with the pack, who vowed to continue to watch over her from a far.
In the days that followed, Bella visited the café every afternoon, which was of great relief to the pack. Leah tried to subtly ask about the boy from her class, but Bella just shrugged it off. "I told him to leave me alone," is all she would say. Bella was getting more and more twitchy as the week progressed, and the bags under her eyes confirmed the suspicions of the pack, that she was not sleeping well.
Days turned into weeks and before long, Christmas carols were playing in the café and the sleeting rain of December had returned. It was a Wednesday, the week before Christmas, when, once again, Bella came through the café door. However, unlike the day before, this time, she had a grin on her face.
"What's up, shortie?" Leah asked, unable to keep the smile off her own face.
"You got a passport?"
"Uh," Leah's thoughts rapidly went to her bedroom cupboard, where she kept her get out of La Push free card. "Maybe?"
"Pack a bag. We're going on a trip."
Leah knew it would be irresponsible, and she would be in so much trouble, but having Bella out of harm's way sealed the deal.
"Where are we going?" Leah asked, and loved the way Bella's face lit up at her answer.
"Home. Away from the cold, and the wet, even if it's just for Christmas. Come with me?"
"Always," Leah replied. She would follow this girl anywhere.