Work Text:
Fandom: Twilight
Main Pairing: Leah Clearwater/Bella Swan
Side Pairing: mentions of one-sided Jacob Black/Bella Swan
Warnings: alternate universe; femslash; background het; and Bella Swan has a personality
Prompt: (Word) New
Summary: In which Bella Swan was more interested in seeing old friends than Edward Cullen.
Why Don't You Tell Me?
In her first week of school, Bella Swan found it odd how many of the male students were interested in her. She wasn’t the prettiest or the most athletic or even the friendliest. She was used to being invisible – having everyone walk by her without even glancing in her direction. Here, at this new school, people knew who she was and it seemed like everyone was watching. It was true since it was such a small school – a total of 500 students, which was the same as her graduating class - size back in Phoenix.
The feeling of being watched put her on edge.
Bella knew this interest would fade with a little time. As the new student in this small high school, she was fascinated, only because she was new and exciting .
But it was irritating, and Bella couldn’t wait for it to be over.
The only interesting thing happened at lunch when Bella saw the Cullen and Hale siblings.
“They’re all adopted,” Jessica Stanley explained, her voice above a whisper.
“They adopted Mrs. Cullen’s niece and nephew,” Jessica continued, pointing at the set of blondes. They were both gorgeous. It was the female that caught Bella’s eye. “That’s Rosalie and Jasper Hale.”
Nodding, Bella’s eyes remained fixed on Rosalie. She was gorgeous – probably the prettiest woman Bella had ever seen – with long wavy blonde hair and golden amber eyes.
“Those are Emmett, Alice, and Edward,” Jessica finished, pointing to the three others.
Bella glanced. They were equally as attractive as Jasper – less so than Rosalie, who was in a league all her own. Her gaze lingered on the short and pixie-like form of Alice. She was beautiful with short black hair and dark amber eyes.
As she looked over the family, Bella noticed they all shared amber eyes – of various shades. That was interesting.
“Apparently, Dr. Cullen and his wife can’t have children of their own.”
Jessica’s comment made Bella irritated. So what if Dr. Cullen and his wife adopted five children? What did it matter? Plenty of people adopted children.
Bella glared at her new classmate. “Why does that matter?” she asked, unable to stop herself.
Her question seemed to catch Jessica off guard. She opened her mouth before closing it. “They’re all together together ,” she continued, ignoring the question.
Bella nearly rolled her eyes at the newest comment.
“Rosalie is dating Emmett,” Jessica explained, pointing to the couple, “and Alice is dating Jasper.”
Humming, Bella turned her attention away from the five adopted siblings to focus on her lunch.
The rest of the day went by quickly. Bella concluded that Edward Cullen was strange after their Biology class and his sudden desire to transfer science classes. It was worth noting that Edward was absent the rest of the week.
When the final bell rang on Friday, Bella decided to arrange dinner at the Blacks’ house in La Push. She was eager to visit, having fond memories of playing with Rachel and Rebecca Black, Jacob’s older sisters.
She prepared chicken enchiladas with a few side dishes – beans, Spanish rice, fresh salsa, guacamole, and grilled corn salad – before carefully packaging them and placing them in her truck. Loading a few other things, Bella took off for the Blacks’ house. After a short drive, Bella pulled into a long driveway. She was surprised to see extra people.
As she pulled the key out of the ignition, Jacob came running towards her with three other boys behind him. Bella offered him a smile, making a mental note to let him down easily. It was more likely Bella would pursue one of his sisters.
“Bella!” Jacob yelled, waving at her.
“Jacob,” she responded, opening the door and climbing out, “and Jacob’s friends.”
“These are Embry, Quil, and Seth,” Jacob introduced. “Want any help?” Jacob was the tallest of his friends, standing three inches taller than Embry and five than Quil. Seth was the shortest and the youngest of the group.
Bella offered the three a wave before she started pulling dishes out of her truck. It was a good thing she cooked as her Nana Rose taught her. She prepared too much.
The four teenage boys took everything and easily carried it into the house, leaving Bella to close the door to her truck before following them inside. As she entered the house behind them, she found herself staring at a familiar face.
“Leah?” Bella asked, eyeing the young woman in front of her.
She was beautiful with russet skin, dark hair pulled back into a braid, and brown eyes.
The young woman’s eyes narrowed. “Bells?” she asked in response.
Bella nodded.
“You’ve grown up well,” Leah commented, her brown eyes taking in her childhood friend’s form.
The comment made Bella blush. “I could say the same thing about you,” she said before dashing towards the kitchen.
Embry and Quil were laughing while Jacob’s eyes were wide and Seth glared at her.
“You and Leah?” Jacob asked, his tone a little heartbroken.
“Maybe,” Bella answered with a shrug. “She is my type.”
Jacob sighed, looking a little upset.
Seth’s glare increased. “My sister isn’t in a good place for a relationship, right now,” he snapped.
“That’s for Leah to decide,” Bella told Seth, her eyes narrowed, “for herself.”
Tension settled between Bella and Seth.
“I warmed the oven,” Embry said, cutting into the conversation.
Bella nodded, quickly getting to work and ordering her group of teenage assistants around. It seemed the boys were willing to work and eager to eat, making them excellent assistants.
The evening passed quickly. As they were pulling the chicken enchiladas out of the oven, Bella’s dad pulled up in his police cruiser. Billy Black got to work on directing Jacob and his friends to set up extra tables and chairs before setting the tables. During dinner, Bella ended up seated between Jacob and Embry and across the table from Billy and Charlie.
Dinner passed with laughter and stories, and Bella eagerly listened. While she wasn’t fond of the rain and gloomy weather, she was excited to be here. Billy was quick to share embarrassing stories about Charlie while Charlie would share some about Billy, and Jacob would offer embarrassing stories about the duo. Embry and Quil had stories about Jacob and his sisters. Seth would chime in from time to time while Leah remained quiet, smiling and sipping her soda.
When dinner was finished and the dishes were cleaned, Bella found herself sitting on the back steps. She wanted a moment to herself. While she liked the lively atmosphere, it was slightly overwhelming to be around so many people. Bella was used to it being her and Renee, and later Phil.
As she took in the fresh air, Bella found herself staring up at the night sky. She could see more stars here than she could in Phoenix.
“It’s nice to see some things never change,” Leah announced as she joined Bella on the steps.
Bella blushed. “That was years ago,” she whispered. “I was eight .” As a child, Bella liked to sneak away and stare at the stars.
Leah laughed. “I thought it was adorable,” she teased, bumping her shoulder into Bella’s. “I still kinda do.”
A silence fell between the pair. It was a little awkward since neither of them knew what to say.
“How’s school?” Leah asked, breaking the silence after a full minute.
“It’s fine,” Bella answered with a shrug. “A lot smaller than I’m used to, and most of my classes are easier.” Back in Phoenix, she took all Honors and AP-level classes. Forks High School didn’t offer any.
Leah hummed. “Favorite subject?”
Shrugging, Bella answered, “Biology or English, I guess.”
Next to her, Leah rolled her eyes. “Don’t guess,” she told her childhood friend. “You might not know yet, but you will.”
“English,” Bella offered. “I like to read.”
“You still love the classics?” Leah asked.
Bella laughed, nodding.
“Have you made any new friends?”
Looking at the older girl, Bella shook her head. “Not really,” she replied, truthfully. If Charlie, Bella had four new friends – Lauren Mallory, Angela Weber, Ben Cheney, and Connor Weston. “You know how socially awkward I am.”
“You might have outgrown it,” Leah stated. “Is there anyone you want to befriend?”
“I’m not sure,” Bella shook her head. “I briefly wanted to befriend the Cullens and Hales.”
The mere mention of the Cullens and Hales had Leah growling. “You don’t want to befriend them,” she said, quickly, “or their kind .”
The comment about ‘their kind’ had Bella frowning. “What do you mean by ‘their kind?’” she snapped. “Adopted children?”
Leah licked her lips. “It’s a tribe thing,” she whispered. “We’re under strict orders to ignore the Cullen family and not to interact with them.”
“Why?” That was very interesting .
Leah shook her head. “The Elders didn’t say,” she answered. “They told us, and we’re expected to listen.”
Bella nodded, accepting the answer. She knew Leah. Her father was an Elder with Billy and Quil’s grandfather, and she was a good daughter, known to listen and follow directions without argument.
“Wanna go to Port Angeles tomorrow?” Leah asked.
Perking up, Bella looked over at her friend. “Leah, are you asking me out?” she asked, a teasing tone in her voice.
“Not yet,” Leah answered, truthfully. “I’m simply asking a nice girl out, wanting to get to know her better before I try to date her.”
Brown eyes widened as Bella stared at her friend. she wasn’t expecting such a blunt and truthful answer. “Yes, I’ll go with you to Port Angeles,” she agreed, “only if we can–”
“Visit the bookstore,” Leah finished, cutting her friend off. She offered a cheeky smile.
Bella laughed.