Chapter 1.

Another first. First day at University of Washington. The halls of the school were crowded and I was constantly shoved back and forth. I breathed deeply to stop myself from punching the next person who touched me. My yoga classes started next week; I really needed them. I had moved away from La Push and relocated in Seattle. I found a nice apartment on the university's campus. I could hardly afford it and I might be working my butt off to keep it but, hell, I was in the city! And I was being independent...except for the few hundred dollars my mom was giving me every month. But other than that, I was totally independent.

The outside of the school resembled the white house in my opinion. It hadn't changed much since the 1800's but the inside was well renovated. The brown marble shone in contrast with the wooden walls. I felt insignificant in this place. This was a rich kid school. Thank God for scholarships.

The classroom was huge. There were several aisles with long desks that started at one end of the class and ended at the other. It was like this school was determined on having me touch the most people as possible.

Eventually my first class ended and I was back in the halls getting pushed and shoved.

"Come on" I muttered.

"Excuse me?" The tall sandy blond man was frowning at me. He took a quick glance at me up and down before grinning, "Come on" he imitated me, "Why isn't this hot guy talking to me?"

I raised an eyebrow at his lame attempt to hit on me. I couldn't even call that being hit on. I was to pissed to laugh so I just stared at him and hoped that he'd burst into flames.

"I'm Max." He offered me his hand for me to shake it.

I sighed and took it. I might as well have been nice...er. He wasn't being a jerk, although he did seem capable. I was starting the mental countdown for him to say something offensive, "I'm Leah."

"Exotic." He brought up my hand and I yanked it away before he could touch them to his lips.

"Not really." I turned away from him and started to my next class. I heard him following behind me and got irritated.

"You look exotic." He disagreed.

"Well, I'm 100 percent American."

"Ooh Patriot. That's hot."

"Goodbye Marc." I quickened my pace. He was not a friend I was interested in having.

"It's Max!" he shouted letting me go.

When I found my next class I took the second seat closest to the door. We were just a few seconds in and the teacher, Mr. Daniels, already had me interested with a little lecture he was giving about how if we failed he got paid the same salary.

The classroom door was opened and a girl walked in. She had a rich, brown coloured skin. Her hair was black, braided at the top and the rest was left out and curly. Her dark brown eyes almost appeared black but they shone as much as light coloured eyes would. Her heart was beating fast as she took the seat beside me. She smiled shyly and I froze. I never got awed by people's looks before but this girl was just on a whole other level of pretty.

"Name miss?" Mr. Daniels asked her, his face had gone hard and I frowned. It was the first day and it wasn't her fault she was late.

"It's, uh, Lindsey...Craig, Sir." She stuttered throughout her entire introduction. Her heart stuttered when she was supposed to answer the teacher.

"I don't appreciate people being late to my class Miss Craig. I find it disrespectful."

The girl couldn't keep her eyes focussed on one thing. They constantly went up to the teacher's face and back at her hands. She appeared to only look up out of respect. "I-I'm s-sorry, Sir." She cleared her throat, "Won't happen again."

Mr. Daniels grinned, "You're scared aren't you? You're about to crap yourself." Mr. Daniels seemed to be feeding off her fear. Getting stronger the more she stuttered.

Lindsey laughed nervously, "Not scared, Sir. Just a little embarrassed. And you're not helping." She muttered the last part under her breath.

I chuckled quietly.

"Anything funny Miss...?" Mr. Daniels had addressed me.

"Clearwater, Leah." I bit my lip and looked away from the slightly good looking dark haired middle-aged man.

"Well?" The teacher pressed.

"No, Mr. Daniels. Nothing funny in particular,"

"Then can I teach my class or what?"

I smiled at him and nodded for him to go on.

During the class, I kept peeking at the girl next to me. She was pretty, but there was more to her then just that. She had an interesting look. He brown cheeks seemed to have freckles. They were barely noticeable but I saw them. She had thick lips, the type that some girls would actually have surgery to get. I had to keep from laughing at a lot at the things she did unintentionally. Her eyes would focus on the teacher then they would drift away, she would jump in her seat when she realised that she had gotten distracted then start taking notes. She also yawned way more than necessary. It was past noon and she looked exhausted.

At the end of class I was more than eager to speak to her, "Hi!" I smiled.

She yawned before saying, "Hey Leah, I'm Lindsey." She smiled and picked up her notebooks and put them in her Hello Kitty bag pack. I thought the bag was cute despite its childishness.

"Yeah, I know. You made quite an entrance." I laughed.

She laughed—a real laugh not a nervous one like before, "Fashionably late, I guess."

"In order to be fashionably late you have to do something amazing." I mentioned as we walked through the crowded halls.

"No one can stutter like me when I'm nervous."

"It wasn't that bad."

She scoffed, "You're too nice."

I laughed and tried to remember the last time someone called me nice without sarcasm. I liked her; she had good taste in friends. I had a feeling we would be great friends. That's what I wanted and I felt a little crazy for wanting it so badly. I really wanted her to like me.

"Do you have any classes?" She asked me.

"Uh," I tried to remember my schedule and smiled, "No, I don't. Do you?"

She laughed, "If I had a class why would I ask you if you did?" She shook her head, "You want to get some coffee or something? I skipped breakfast, this morning and I live like 10 thousand miles away from here."

"Sure, let's go to my car." We exited the school, into the chilly, fall weather. Lindsey already had a jacket on so I didn't worry about her being cold.

"You don't have to, there's a Second Cup five seconds from here." She informed me. I was happy about that. I needed my coffee in the morning sometimes and it would've sucked to have to drive back in forth for it.

We walked down the sidewalk in the direction of the Second Cup. I wanted to know more about her. I figured it was because she was my first friend and I wanted to know about my first friend. That was the only reason I was interested in her personal life. It was as if I were trying to convince myself. Strange.

"So Lindsey, 10 thousand miles from here? Where do you live?"

"Downtown," She answered before stopping to look both ways and cross the street even though the light was still red.

I shrugged and followed behind her. There wasn't a cop car in sight and how lame would it be to give a ticket for J-walking, "Downtown? Really?"

She nodded, "So far!" she groaned.

"How do you get here?" I questioned.

"Bus...and subway."

"Every morning?"

"I will be doing so every morning. Yes." We got to our destination and she opened the door for me.

Her coming from Downtown all the way to here every morning didn't sound fair. I didn't understand why she would go through so much trouble.

"Why don't you get a place on campus?"

She scoffed, "Because I'm broke." The thought was hilarious to her and she laughed hysterically. She had a nice laugh; it was a sound that didn't bother me in the least, "So I get the honour to live with my mother!" she didn't seem happy about that fact all.

"Why don't you go to a school closer to home, though?"

"I wanted to go to this school. It's a nice school and I'd never be able to afford it." She stood in the short line and looked up at the menu.

"Then how'd you get here?"

"Thank God for scholarships." She said and I froze.

She got a scholarship too. I wasn't one to believe in fate and things like that. But I had a very good...vibe from this girl. It didn't seem fair for a smart girl like her to have to drag herself across town to come to school.

"What are you having?" Lindsey snapped me out of my reverie.

"Oh, uh, large French vanilla cappuccino," I replied.

"Shut up! Me too." She squeaked before paying and taking both our cups.

"Oh no, you paid for me?" I complained and started digging in my pocket. I had to pay her back, she couldn't pay for my coffee. She did say she was broke.

"Don't sweat it Leah. I had one of those 'buy four and get the fifth one free' cards. You're the fifth." She shrugged and found us a seat for two. She gave me my cup and I opened it and inhaled the sweet vanilla scent, "You live on campus?" she guessed.

"Yeah, just got my first place," I beamed at the thought of being on my own again.

She sighed, "Independence. Sounds like fun. I still live with my parents." She blew in her cappuccino.

I cocked my head to the side. The fact seemed to upset her a bit. I wanted to make her feel less bad. I thought about my living situation and had and amazing idea that would forever change my life, "You know, I'm going to be working like a dog just to pay to live in that apartment."

"Sucks." She commented, "I work and still can't afford a damn scooter." She grumbled.

"You work? Where?" I leaned forward with curiosity.

Her eyes widened and her hearts started to beat faster. Was she nervous or embarrassed, I couldn't tell.

"At a restaurant," she recovered quickly.

"A restaurant?" she hadn't been very specific and I wondered why. I shrugged it off. She would tell me eventually, "Anyways, I think we had a good impression on each other and I think it would be cool if you were my roommate." I suggested.

She raised her eyebrow, "You want me to be your roommate?" she checked.

I nodded, "It's what's best for your education. And I really need help to pay for it. Plus, I like you."

"Wow! I'm so honoured." she giggled.

"You should be. I don't like much people." I confessed.

"Oh, then thanks." She said seriously.

"So you'll move in with me?" I asked, my voice hopeful. I really wanted to have her near me. She seemed like she would be the best person for me to hang out with. She looked like a long term, loyal friend.

"Sure," she took a sip of her drink and nodded, "That's hot."

"It sure is roomie!"

Chapter 2.

"Today's the day right?" Lindsey asked as we walked through the crowded halls, our books in hand.

"Yes," I nodded. Today was the day we would go to Lindsey's house and get her things. We started school a week ago and I still felt a strange pull towards Lindsey that made absolutely no sense. Lindsey didn't want to move in with a complete stranger, so for the past week we got to know each other. Lindsey was 19 and she was born in Tacoma. I would listen to her ramble about herself in my living room for hours without getting tired of hearing her speak. She had interesting stories. I also found out that the annoying boy—Max—that had harassed me in the halls on the first day was Lindsey's ex. Max was a rich kid, which made him cocky.

It was our last class and we were heading for my car. I was going to drive her to her house and pick up the boxes that she had packed. We put our books in the back seat of my silver 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer/a. I had to work long hours at a gas station to get a down payment on this used car. It was the first thing I bought.

The drive to Lindsey's house was about 30 minutes long, which meant it probably took her an hour to get here by bus and subway. Lindsey's house was a cute duplex. We went up the five steps to here wood, front door. She pushed the door open.

"Anybody home?" she called.

"No," a man's voice answered.

She giggled and went in. The inside was very beautiful. In front of the door were stairs. The walls were dark red. A thin wooden table with a vase was pushed against the wall at the left side of the house and over said table was what looked like an African painting of a woman in a haystack with her baby in hand.

I closed the door and behind it were suitcases and cardboard boxes.

"My things," Lindsey named and took the biggest box. Her feet shuffled beneath her as she struggled to see passed the giant boxed, "Door," she grunted.

I laughed, "I'll take this one," I took the box from her and held it securely under my chin. Lindsey was about 5 feet 6 inches which made her 4 inches shorter than my 5'1o.

The sound of footsteps came down the stairs and I looked up to see a man with caramel coloured skin. He had a buzz cut and appeared to be in his early twenties. He wasn't wearing a shirt therefore strutting his athletic body.

"Hey!" he said to us. He stopped in front of me and took the box out of my hands to place it on the ground, "Hi, I'm James," he offered me his hand to shake it. James was Lindsey's older brother—half brother—it wasn't hard to see that fact. The boy was clearly mixed and Lindsey was not.

"I'm Leah."

"Oh, I know, you're the girl who's stealing my baby sister." He joked and punched Lindsey in the arm playfully.

"You jerk! That hurt," she complained and punched him back with force.

James frowned, "Why are you trying to hurt me?" he pushed her hard and she stumbled and flew into the wall.

"You douche bag! Why do you always have to embarrass..." Lindsey's sibling bickering made me miss my own irritating brother. I pulled my cellular phone out of my pocket and dialled his number.

"Hey Leah!" Seth answered on the second ring, "Miss me already?"

"You have no idea." I replied.

"How is it being in college with your own place? Did that other girl move in yet?"

"We're getting her things right now." I opened the front door and took the biggest bus and walked toward my car. I held the phone between my shoulder and cheek.

"It's funny how you we're all excited to be alone and now you're having some random girl move in with you." Seth mentioned.

"She's not a random girl; she's Lindsey." It was unintentional the way I caressed her name.

Seth didn't notice, "When are you visiting? Jacob asked. He misses you, he just won't admit it."

He chuckled.

I couldn't help but smile. I was being missed. Part of me thought that life in La Push wouldn't have changed at all without me. I was glad that certain people were actually sad that I left.

"I don't know, I was thinking next week. I could spend the weekend or something." I told him.

"I'll get my things out of your room by then."

I frowned, he better not have been hanging around in my room while I was in college, "What did you say?"

"I'm kidding Leah, jeez." He laughed, "Not that I'm not missing you or anything, but I have a date so..."

"You have a date? With a girl?" I said in disbelief.

"Bye Leah, love you."

"Mm hm," I hung up and opened the trunk to my car. I put the big box in it and went back to the house.

"...because you never help me with anything!" Lindsey was saying.

James sighed, "Well, let me get a shirt on." He headed back upstairs and Lindsey had a satisfied look on her face.

"I just got us a pair of strong arms." She grinned.

"Well, I'm hurt," I took two suitcases and went back to the car. We went back and forth from the car to the house till we had nothing more to pack. We thanked James for his help and we headed back to campus. The sun had set and it was now dark.

"You sure you want to do this?" Lindsey's heart beat had quickened.

"Do what? Move in? Yeah I'm sure." I assured her. I had never been surer of anything in my life. I felt like this decision had no down side. Lindsey would be a great roommate.

Lindsey didn't seem convinced and she looked at her hands.

"Lindsey, I'm sure."

Lindsey nodded, "Okay. I'm going to be such a good roommate." She looked at me, "I promise."

My eyes went over the soft features of her face, "Lindsey, you're really pretty."

She giggled, "Thanks, you're pretty too. OMG! We should celebrate, let's go home, get dressed then go clubbing."

"Legally, Lindz, you can't go clubbing."

"No, it's cool; I know this place that they never ask for ."

"It's a school night."

"What? Is your mom gonna punish you?"

I opened my mouth to argue then I remembered that my mom would not punish me because my mom wasn't here. "You're right Lindsey, we should celebrate, but nothing too over the top."

Obviously, Lindsey didn't know the definition of 'over the top'. The club she brought us to had a very long line. I should've seen this coming. When Lindsey came out in a gorgeous sparkling black dress, black stiletto boots and jewellery that looked heavy for her I should've known we weren't just going to iHop. When she forced me to wear her black butterfly tank top instead of a plain black t-shirt, that's when I should've said something. Now it was too late, we were already at the building. We had left our jackets in the car. The music was booming and smoke was coming out the front door with the bouncer.

Lindsey didn't wait in the line, she just skipped past all the people.

"Hey Ruffus!" she greeted the large muscular bouncer.

He grinned at her, "Hello Lindsey, how are you?"

"I don't know, that depends whether you're letting us in or not." She flirted playfully with the good looking man.

He looked at me, "I'm Ruffus," he nodded at me. He had a very deep voice, it went well with his muscular built. He reminded me of a buffer Channing Tatum.

"Leah," I smiled.

"You letting us in or not?" Lindsey asked, she had to shout to be audible over the music.

"When have I not let you in?" he moved the rope for us.

"You're the best Ruffus!" Lindsey jumped to kiss him on the cheek, "Come on, Leah!" she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the smoky building. The bar was at the wall right when we came in and went all around the room. The crowded dance floor was in the center of the room. Lindsey pulled me to the bar and sat on a stool. "Hey Leslie!" she shouted.

The bar tender was a thin brunette with red lips and tattoos all over her left arm, "Hey Lindsey, where's that cute boyfriend of yours." She had a thick southern accent.

"Ew! He was my brother!" she said with disgust in her voice.

Leslie shrugged, "He was really cute." She glanced over at me, "This your friend?" she asked while she dried a mug with a white cloth.

"Yeah, this is Leah. My roommate."

Leslie's eyebrows rose, "A roommate in college, eh?" she grinned.

"Less, you're sick!" Lindsey squeaked and reached to smack the bartender playfully on the arm.

I didn't understand the joke but didn't think twice about it."Hi," I said.

"What's your poison honey?"

"No poison, just Coke."

"I want a wine cooler, I don't care what flavour." Lindsey ordered.

"Comin' up." Leslie turned to get our drinks.

"Wine cooler?" I said to Lindsey, "Wow, you're a real risk taker."

"It's a school night." Lindsey took the bottle of wine cooler and started drinking it. My Coke came in a glass bottle and I began drinking my own.

"Come on let's dance!" Lindsey took my hand that didn't have my drink in it and pulled me towards the hot, sweaty dance floor.

I grimaced but let her pull me onto the dance floor. I didn't really like those kinds of parties but if she wanted to party...and we were celebrating. I was sure that with Lindsey; I would have loads of fun.

Chapter 3.

"I've never met anyone like her!" I was telling Jacob about how amazing my new roommate was. Lindsey had been living with me for a week and I had never been happier. She worked three days a week at an anonymous restaurant. I arranged my hours at the GAP so I wouldn't be home without her. She always cleaned up after herself and she was a cook. She cooked three delicious meals this week. And she was clean and absolutely hilarious. She had a few pet peeves but they weren't so bad, "She is so social. I swear, she's the most social person I've ever met. When we went clubbing, she knew everyone."

"You went clubbing?" Jacob noticed how unlikely it was for me to actually go to a night club.

I laughed, "I did! And I had fun." Lindsey was at work at the moment. They called in for her and she couldn't refuse the extra cash. I had no idea what restaurant was open at this late, but I didn't want to harass her about her personal life.

"Is it me, or have you changed a lot in the last two weeks?"

"You know, life before Lindz is kind of a blur," I joked. Life before Lindz wasn't exactly a blur, it just seemed uninteresting. I started to wonder how I ever had fun before Lindsey.

Jacob laughed, "Did you imprint on this girl or something?"

For a second, I thought back at the first time I saw Lindsey. How I had found her so interesting before she even spoke. Then I frowned, "Of course not." How come every time two people had an unexplainable bond, they always assume said person had imprinted.

"Calm down, Leah. I was kidding." Jacob defended himself.

"Oh! Oh, I know that. I was, uh, kidding." I grimaced at how ridiculous I must have sounded.

"Do you think you imprinted on her?" Jacob asked with concern in his voice.

"I didn't. I can't. It's impossible." It didn't make sense that two people of the same gender would imprint. If imprinting had anything to do with procreation, it made absolutely no sense. Not to mention I was straight. And so was Lindsey. We were both straight.

"I didn't ask if it was possible." Jacob said, "I asked if you thought you'd imprinted on her."

"How could I think that I imprinted." I was getting uncomfortable having this conversation with him, "Jacob, I know what imprinting feels like. I don't feel that for Lindsey."

"How do you feel about her?" Jake questioned.

"Jacob, I'm straight."

"I'm not questioning your orientation, Leah." He waited for me to answer him.

I sighed, "Lindsey makes me laugh. If I am having a bad day, I look forward to seeing her because I know she'll make me forget the crappy stuff. She's also an amazing person. She kind of reminds me of Seth; her chirpy attitude is contagious. We have everything in common...but at the same time she's my opposite...everything I want to be." A smile grew on my face as I realised how much I was starting to care for her. Even though we've only known each other for two weeks, I was so comfortable with her.

"Jeez, Leah, you sound like you're in love." Jacob laughed.

I sat up on my bed frowning, "Shut up, Jake! Why am I talking to you anyways? I'll see you tomorrow."

"Before you hang up," Jake stopped me, "Let me ask you this one question; have you ever looked into Lindsey's eyes before?'

I rolled my eyes, "Of course I have, they're brown." I answered harshly.

"No, Leah, I mean really look into her eyes." He clarified.

"Well, uh..." I didn't understand what he meant. Lindsey and I have had long conversation for hours. What did he mean? We've never had a staring competition if that's what he meant. We were two grown women; we didn't have to play childish games like that to have fun.

"I bet you ten bucks that you imprinted with this girl."

"And I bet that I didn't!" I retorted.

"Bye Leah,"

"You're a jackass." I hung up. I was going to spend the weekend at home in La Push. I was excited to see mom and Seth.

I heard Lindsey coming into the apartment. I jumped off the bed and ran out to meet her.

"Hey Lindz!" I stayed at my bedroom door. I didn't want her to think I was too clingy. I was so happy to see her though. I wanted to jump and dance with her.

"Hey Leah," Lindsey yawned, "I'm pooped." She dragged her feet towards me and kissed my cheek before going to her room that was next to mine. The apartment was a 4 ½ ; two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and living room. I initially wanted a one bedroom but they were all out. "What time you leavin' tomorrow?" she asked before taking off her jacket and tossing it on the sofa in the middle of the apartment.

"Early, it's a long drive."

Lindsey sighed and went to bed and I thought about what Jacob had said. It was nonsense. Lindsey was more like the sister god forgot to give me. She wasn't my imprint. Tomorrow morning I was going to look her dead in the eye and prove Jacob wrong; something I was almost giddy to do. I would love to shove it in his big fat nose.

The next morning I woke up early. I had a few hours' drive ahead of me for the day. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I was flossing when Lindsey came in her usual T-shirt and no pants. She got hot at night time.

She yawned, "Morning Leah," she bumped my hip and reached for her tooth brush. She brushed her teeth, "I bought bacon," she told me after spitting in the sink.

"Awesome," I left the bathroom and went in the kitchen. I reached into our old white fridge and got the pork bacon. I threw it on a pan and started humming tunelessly to myself.

"I can't believe you're leaving me." Lindsey pouted and skipped into the small kitchen. The fridge door bumped me when she opened it to get some orange juice, "I'm sad."

"I'll text you, and every time I'm bored I'll call." I promised

"You better." She threatened and poured two glasses of orange juice.

I almost forgot about my conversation with Jacob. I didn't know how to approach Lindsey. I shrugged and just went for it, "You want to hear something funny?" I asked her.

Lindsey's face lightened, "I always want to hear funny things!"

I smiled. If she were my imprint I might've melted. But Lindsey's positive attitude did nothing but put me in a good mood, "We've never really stared into each other's eyes."

Lindsey's face fell flat. She seemed insulted or maybe frightened of what I had said. She turned her head and drank her juice, "Uh...what are you talking about?" she said as if she didn't understand.

"Well, I don't know. I just think it's weird."

"Huh." Was all Lindsey said before heading for the sofa and turning on the plasma screen T.V we got from her house. We were getting cable this weekend.

"Don't you think it would be good for our friendship to...try?" I pressed.

Lindsey's heart sped up and I worried if she was okay. "Uh..." Lindsey swallowed hard, "Okay," she agreed and got up. She walked toward the counter and faced me. Lindsey looked at my face and I looked into her eyes. I didn't feel the rush of emotions that happened when we imprinted, I felt nothing. Yet again, Lindsey's eyes didn't meet mine.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, not understanding the situation. Lindsey wasn't looking at me, except she was looking at me.

Lindsey swallowed hard and took my cup of juice and drank half of it, "Leah, I have a confession to make." Lindsey's heart rushed even faster.

"What's wrong Lindz?" I was concerned and I knew something was bothering her. My heart gave a painful squeeze at the idea that I had upset her.

Lindsey started pacing back and forth, "I have this...thing." she said

I raised an eyebrow, "A thing?" I repeated.

"Okay, not a thing. An issue." She corrected herself.

"Okay..." I pretended to understand and hoped she was going to explain further.

Lindsey's breathing sped up, "I'm sorry. I'm really nervous...I have a sort of...social-phobia."

My eyes widened at the word she had used. I didn't know what a social phobia was. I figured it was a fear of being social. That made no sense because Lindsey was the description of social. She had so many friends and everyone who met her loved her right away. She was popular in high school and middle school. She was a cheerleader for crying out loud. She was the type of girl I hated at school yet I adored her despite her bubble gum attitude. Anti-social was not a word I would've used to describe Lindsey.

"Lindsey...I don't understand..."

"I can't look you in the eye Leah. It scares me." She admitted, "When I look in someone's eyes...I feel like they're boring into me. Like they can see everything I've ever done." She shuddered, "I can't do it."

"Lindsey, you know I would never judge you. You don't do anything."

Lindsey scoffed, "If only you knew," she muttered so low that only someone with superhuman hearing could hear her. Sadly for her, she was in the presence of someone with superhuman abilities, "I try to...look, but it goes terribly. My mouth gets dry, my hands get sweaty and start shaking, I stutter immensely and I wish that I could just run away and hide."

"Oh Lindz," I left the stove and went over to hug her, "I never knew...It's okay, Lindsey, it's no big deal."

"That's the thing, Leah, it is a big deal."

I pulled away from her to look at her face. Lindsey's eyes never met mine. Now that I was aware of it, I didn't understand how I never noticed it. It was obvious that her eyes were wondering. "What do you mean?"

She sighed and turned her head away from me. She did this often but I always thought she was thinking. Now I knew it was something bigger, "Max...we did more than just fool around in high school. We dated, for a long time."

"You guys were in love?" I guessed.

"He was in love. And I was young...and he was rich. We slept together...a lot." She groaned clearly ashamed of her actions.

I grimaced. Something about her confession bothered me. I convinced myself that it was the regret she was feeling. Her regrets were upsetting her and that upset me. "I don't understand what that has to do with your phobia."

"Max didn't understand why I never looked him in the eye. He told me he loved me and I'd look away. We made love and I'd look away. He broke up with me while making love." She laughed a little, "It didn't hurt my feelings and that broke his heart."

I stood there shocked. I hadn't expected that at all. Lindsey had a social-phobia. It didn't fit. She had a very bad case of social-phobia. Such a bad case that it caused her to break someone's heart. It caused her to be broken up with during sex and it didn't hurt hef at all.

"I know," Lindsey said as if she heard all my thoughts, "I'm a monster."

Chapter 4.

I grimaced. This was definitely more than I could handle in the morning. I wanted to help her with her problem but I felt so uncomfortable. For the first time, Lindsey made me uncomfortable. "You know, Lindsey, maybe I should go now, I'll get there sooner." I went to my small room. It a gross yellow colour that I wasn't found of. Lindsey suggested to paint it, it was on our 'to do' list. My twin bed was pushed up against a corner and my clothes were still in suit cases. Lindsey and I would go furniture shopping when we had the time and money.

I pulled my shirt over my head and started digging in my suitcase for clothes.

"Great, so now you think I'm a freak." Lindsey said, sounding as if she knew this was going to happen, "Leah, I'm not crazy or anything. I have friends and stuff; I just don't look them in their eyes."

"No, Lindz," I pulled down my pant and put on some dark jeans, "I don't think you're a freak. I just really got to go." I started looking for a shirt.

"Wear red, you look best in red." Lindsey murmured. It came naturally to her to tell me what to wear, she didn't think twice about it, "Are you mad that I didn't tell you sooner or do you think I'm a bad person because of what happened with Maxwell? Leah, no disrespect, but that's none of your business."

I put on the red tank top, "What? No. I don't care about that,"

"Do you want my cardigan? It'll go with your outfit."

I was momentarily distracted. The black cardigan would look good with the dark jeans and red shirt. I shook my head clear, "No Lindz, I'm fine. Give me some laundry though and I'll do it at my mom's house."

Lindsey sighed and went to her room. I heard her turn off the stove before coming back with a big black garbage bag. "Here," she dropped the bag on the floor.

I put on some boots and took the two garbage bags—one with Lindsey's stuff and one with mine—and headed for the door.

"Don't be mad." Lindsey begged.

I dropped the bags at my side to open the door then turned to face her, "I'm not mad," I told her. I was just surprised and I wanted to see my family. A part of me was upset by what Lindsey said but I couldn't place what had upset me and what part of me was feeling upset. It was an odd feeling.

"Look, I can do it." Lindsey grabbed my face and the sudden movement made my heart nearly jump out of chest. It was still hammering as Lindsey closed her eyes to center herself. She opened her eyes and looked at me. She was staring hard at my nose. I rolled my eyes.

"Lindz," I said.

"I'm sorry! I can't!"

"See ya in a few days." I pulled her hands out of my face and starting walking down the hall that had other apartment doors on each side of the wall, "Cable is coming either tonight or tomorrow morning and the chicken in the fridge is about to go bad. I left money for milk and bread on the counter." I called over my shoulder and pressed the button to go down on the elevator. We were on the second floor but I was tired this morning.

The building was a kind of apartment building that housed the kids from the college. We were all students living in this apartment building. I pitied the land lord.

I threw the two bags of laundry in the back seat and started toward Forks then La Push, my home. I couldn't get Lindsey out of my mind; I hoped I didn't upset her. I didn't do anything though, so it would've been ridiculous for me to have hurt her feelings. It was the morning and she shouldn't have come to me with her problems so early.

I was getting angry and childishly turned everything in my head to make it seem like Lindsey had gotten in my face this morning. I felt so much mixed emotions about the conversation this morning. I couldn't explain any of them and that angered me. I started my deep breathing exercises. I turned on my music and tried to tune out the out world as much as I could while driving.

When I got to my house, Seth was already in the driveway with a big smile.

My lips twitched but I didn't smile. I didn't want him to know at what point I was happy to see him. I was probably being dramatic, but he actually looked bigger, but it had only been 3 weeks, he looked the same. I parked my car and got out.

Seth's pulled me into a hug instantly. In the few years, Seth had actually gotten bigger than I was. Something I didn't appreciate at all. A part of me wanted to be bigger than him forever.

"Hey, Seth," I struggled to say and patted his back.

"Leah, I haven't missed you at all." He grinned and went up the steps and into the house.

"I have bags," I informed him.

Seth sighed before coming to my car and getting the two garbage bags, "Here for five seconds and you already telling me what to do." He muttered under his breath.

I chuckled and went up the steps and into my childhood home, "Mom! I'm here!" I was in the living room and yelling at the top of my lungs.

My mom came down the steps with tears in her eyes, "Leah," she crowed and hugged me.

"Okay, mom, it's only been a few weeks," I said even though I was fighting back tears of my own. I hugged my mother and I felt Seth wrap his arms around us both.

"I wanted to be part of the moment." He said.

I laughed and squirmed out of the hug, "Okay, that was fun."

"It'll get funner," my mom smiled, "We're having a little dinner party. Jacob, Quil and your other wolf friends will be attending."

My eyes widened. I knew I'd be seeing them but I didn't know we'd be having a dinner party. I hoped that she didn't mean all my wolf friends.

My mother recognized my horrified expression, "Don't worry, Leah, I didn't invite Sam and Emily. I'm not completely clueless."

I groaned. That was even worse. Now Sam was going to think I was intimidated by him or something. He probably thought I was still crazy for him. I wasn't exactly over him, but I wasn't in love with him either. What I was feeling was my business and now Sam had his own idea of what he shouldn't be thinking about in the first place.

I took out my cell phone and texted Lindsey:

GOT HERE SAFE. LUV U. I sent her the message and smiled at my mom.

Seth chattered about school and sports while mom and I started dinner for 100 people. My mom brought it upon herself to invite my pack, Sam's pack—minus—and she told them to bring a guest if they wanted. I wasn't excited to have all those guys with their imprints. That was most likely going to be their plus one. Who else would they bring? I was frustrated with my mother but I knew she meant well. Sometimes I felt like she didn't know me at all.

We were hardly finished putting the food on the table when someone knocked at the door. It was Jacob.

"Hey Leah," he said while grinning.

"You owe me ten bucks." I smiled smugly.

"Well, hi Jacob. It's been three weeks, how are things?" he made a monologue of what I should have said.

"Hi, Jacob," I rephrased myself, "How are things and where's my ten bucks?"

"You didn't...?" he eyed me suspiciously.

I shook my head, "Can't. Tried, didn't work,"

Jacob sighed and rolled his eyes before digging in his pocket and handing me a wrinkled bill.

"Thank you." I snatched it and put it in my bra. I saw Lindsey do it and it seemed more practical then digging in my pocket all the time.

The house slowly started to fill with more of my old friends. We sat outside on the balcony and ate our food off of plates on our laps. Embry and Quil were there. Jared brought his

Kim and Paul brought his Rachel. I didn't really consider them as friends but they weren't enemies either. I was 90 percent sure that Paul only came because he heard there would be food. I was very surprised when Danielle came. Danielle was a friend of mine from high school. We hadn't stayed in contact after I left for college but she was a friend and a decent human being. Other of my high school friends came too and I was glad to see some of them.

Lindsey crossed my mind way more then what was necessary for my own taste. We sent each other text messages back and forth. It had only been a few hours since I'd left the apartment but I missed Lindsey so much already. I couldn't help but think about what Jacob had suggested. It didn't make sense for me to have imprinted on Lindsey but did anything make sense? It was a stupid thought to have crossed my mind though. I wasn't attracted to Lindz in that way, Lindsey was my best friend. That didn't mean I didn't imprint on her though, I could be her imprint and her best friend. I didn't understand why these thoughts flew in my mind. I didn't want to imprint on Lindsey. If anything, I really didn't want to imprint on her, that would just complicate Lindsey's already complicated life.

As the evening progressed and I saw how the guys were with their imprints, I knew I hadn't imprinted in Lindz. The way they looked at their imprints, they way they held them close to themselves, I knew I hadn't imprinted on her. Lindsey wasn't the sun to a blind man's eyes and I never felt the urge to hold her tight to me. Lindsey was Lindsey, plain and simple.

Don't want to ruin it for y'all, but the punch is coming :) Slurp!

Chapter 5.

I had a lot of fun that weekend with my family but I was more than eager to see my happy little roommate. In my car, I was excited and almost jumpy to see her. I stopped at Domino's and picked up a large pepperoni and cheese pizza. The scent was filling the car and my mouth watered.

I parked the car in front of the apartment building and grabbed the pizza. I was so excited to see Lindsey that I forgot the bags of laundry in the trunk. I shuffled in my pocket for my keys and opened the door. I ran up the stairs two steps at a time till I realized how ridiculous I was acting. It was just Lindsey, she wasn't going anywhere. I slowed my pace and walked up the stairs like a normal person. I walked down the halls of the second floor and stopped at my door number. I tried opening the door and it was locked so I used my key.

When I opened my door happiness filled me. I was back at my beloved apartment. I had missed my beige walls and the black leather sofa in the middle of the room, two bedrooms on the right side of the apartment, the kitchen and the bathroom at the left. I was truly blessed to have found this place.

"Leah!" Lindsey squeaked. She ran to me wearing her inside clothes. Her inside clothes consisted of some blue Versace—yeah, Versace—jeans and an ugly navy blue, long sleeved shirt. She said the Versace jeans were inside clothes because they were ugly and too blue. Lindsey was weird like that. The pants were a gift from her rich aunt.

Lindsey had the biggest grin on her face and she grabbed my face when she reached me. My heart hammered in my chest. I didn't know what she was doing.

Lindsey closed her eyes and took deep breaths before looking at me with her big brown eyes.

At that moment, nothing else mattered. It was as if I had found my purpose in life. I wasn't here for school, I wasn't a wolf to protect humans from vampire, I existed for Lindsey. She was all that mattered. She was what was keeping me stable. All the wounds that my heart had ever endured had vanished. Lindz didn't heal me, but offered me another heart, a better heart. She wasn't just everything to me; she was the only thing to me.

I knew what had happened to me. I didn't want it to happen but it did. Even though I was ruing this, I couldn't bring myself to curse it. It was Lindsey, she was my Lindsey. And she was beautiful.

Lindsey's heart raced and I could hear her breath coming up in short gasps. She was probably frightened at the moment, or at least very nervous.

I forced my lips to move and curve upwards to a smile. I wanted her to know that I wasn't judging her. I would never judge her. She was perfect.

Reluctantly, Lindsey pulled her gaze away from mine and started panting, "Woh!" she said breathlessly, "That was really something else. I didn't see that coming. Did you feel it?" When Lindsey looked at me she caught my eye. I felt as though my knees had gone weak.

"Felt what?" I asked clueless. I knew what she was talking about, of course I felt it, but how was I going to tell i her that I felt it?

Lindsey seemed to have gotten lost in my eyes as well. If I could get lost anywhere, it would be in those eyes. It would be like swimming in a lake at midnight. Silent and refreshing, "I...don't know." She answered.

I wasn't sure how long we stood there in silence staring at each other but Lindsey had gotten uncomfortable and spotted the box of pizza. I could've stayed there for hours looking at her beautiful, flawless face. I never noticed how amazing it was. I was so awed by the fact that I had found my other half—my soul mate—that I didn't pause to ask myself questions. Like why was I so hopelessly in love with this girl. It was odd that I hadn't realised that I was looking at a girl.

"You got pizza." Lindsey smiled shyly. She reached for the pizza and walked to the kitchen counter.

"Did we get cable?" I asked nonchalantly and passed her into the kitchen to get some drinks.

"It came a few hours after you left, actually."

"Any good channels?"

"Um...yeah," Lindsey opened the box and inhaled the pizza. I was afraid that now that me and Lindz had imprinted it would be awkward between the both of us. But of course, with Lindsey Alexandria Craig there was never a dull moment. "F! That's good."

I chuckled, "Yeah, I didn't get the meat lovers 'cause I know you hate that."

"Ugh! I do! It looks like you could literally feel your arteries clogging."

I laughed, "I like it."

"Pig," she muttered and giggled.

I laughed louder and took out two cans of soda. I pushed the can of diet soda to Lindz and she smiled with a mouth full of pizza. She was so darn cute!

We sat on the sofa watching some good old cable T.V. We chowed down the whole pizza and Lindsey was breathless from all the food she ate.

"Did you go to yoga today?" I asked Lindsey. Lindsey and I went to yoga together on weekends when we had time. For Lindsey, it probably was a pretty dry weekend which meant she had time.

"Yeah, I went with Leslie."

I felt my body stiffen automatically and jealousy flooded me. The thought of being replaced by some random stranger made my stomach clench, "The bartender?" my voice came out harsher then I meant it to.

Lindsey didn't notice my tone, "She's a friend." Lindsey shrugged, "I called her and we went out."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm telling you now."

"Oh! Yeah. Right." I felt stupid for bombarding her like that. So what if she hung out with Leslie. Leslie was nice...she was also pretty. Prettier than me? Maybe. She was probably even hot if you were into the Kat Von D type thing. Lindsey wasn't into that...was she?

I was slapped by some sense. What did I care if Lindsey was into that kind of thing? Lindsey was straight...and so was I, I thought.

"Oh! Shoot! Look at the time!" Lindsey exclaimed, "I have a class early in the morning. So I'm going to take my shower then go to sleep." She went on her knees and kissed my cheek. My heart raced and the skin on my cheek tingled. Lindsey always kissed me on the cheek. Why was it doing this to me?

Lindsey scampered into the bathroom and I lied down on the sofa.

I had imprinted. My life wasn't my life anymore. It was a string that was now braided with Lindsey's life. I wasn't my first priority anymore, Lindsey was. It was ironic that I actually wanted this. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What did all this mean? Was I gay now?

Wait. No. I wasn't gay—lesbian, whatever—I liked boys—men. I had dated plenty of men. I dated Sam and...I frowned at my short list of exes that included Sam and two other boys in middle school. I wasn't lesbian. I thought I'd know that simple fact about myself. It wasn't brain surgery or a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, it was sexual orientation. I liked boys—men. Ugh!

"Don't look, I'm indecent!" Lindsey said and I heard her bare feet run across the apartment.

Despite the key words don't look, I sat up anyways to look. It was as if every time someone told you not to look at something, that's when you wanted to look the most. I shouldn't have looked, although, I didn't regret it at all. Lindsey came running out in nothing but panties. Hot pink, frilly underwear.

My heart sped up and I felt my throat close up completely, "Sorry," I chocked. Lindsey surely didn't hear me. I lied back down and breathed heavily. I saw Lindsey naked! I had already seen her in an underwear and bra—we were roommates—but not completely naked. I felt bad for thinking about it—Lindsey wasn't aware that I saw her—it was so sleazy. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something else. It was impossible to think of something else. Images of her long smooth legs, her small waist, her perfect breasts... She was truly gifted.

Lindsey came out of her room with a handful of clothes that she held to her chest, thus covering herself.

I was gross. I actually hoped that she would drop an article of clothing so that I would be able to see her boobs again. Hadn't I seen enough a few short seconds ago?

"Sorry," she giggled and closed the bathroom door behind her.

"My pleasure," I bit my tongue and plopped back into the sofa.

I tried to convince myself that I was normal, that all girls went through a certain time in their life when they found a girl extremely attractive in a sense that they've never been more attracted to any man this way, ever. I was going through that phase. I wasn't lesbian, just...confused...because of the imprint. The imprint was making me think that Lindsey was my life partner when actually; she was just my best friend. That made enough sense to me. I looked at the T.V and tried to see the images, but all I saw was Lindsey; her eyes, her smile, her gorgeous cheek bones...butt cheeks.

"Ugh!" I got up and stomped to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and looked inside it. It was full of food. I wasn't hungry; I had just eaten 2/3 of a pizza, I was just trying to distract myself, to think of something other than my amazing imprint. She was so perfect and amazing. My imprint was way better than the other wolves imprint. She was prettier than Sam's imprint and smarter than Paul's imprint, she was nicer then Jared's imprint and way cuter the Quil's imprint. I had the best best friend/imprint ever. Best friend; that worked.

Lindsey came out of the bathroom and stood up straight in hopes that she was nude again. I was too hopeful to be disgusted by myself.

She wasn't naked but she was gorgeous. Her full, luscious lips were stretched into the most gorgeous smile I had ever had the luck to see, "Night." She kissed her two fingers and stretched them towards me. I leaned towards her and she touched my lips.

I felt my knees go weak and I had to grab hold of the counter to not collapse.

Oh, yeah, I was so gay.