Okay, sorry, I know I said I'd have one out today, and this took a really long time. Honestly though, I've done like five loads of laundry, not to mention that I had to wash and detail my dad's huge truck, which took all afternoon. So here's chapter eight, A Special Promise. Hope you like it.

In retrospect, I should have known that life didn't always go so perfectly. I was a fairly smart girl in high school. I should have been expecting something bad to happen; I shouldn't have had so much faith and trust. I should have known.

Life was perfect. Weeks passed and somehow, Sam only became more and more of the man I needed. He never failed to amaze me; he was always there.

Two weeks after our first kiss, it was a Tuesday and I had just gotten out of Spanish class. I walked to my locker and grabbed my lunch, and then I headed over to meet Sam, Jared, and Kiani at our table.

I got there just as Sam did and he smiled, giving me a kiss on my cheek as we sat down. A huge grin inevitably grew across my face, and my left cheek burned where his lips had touched it. We started eating our lunches—his was now homemade; ever since that first day Kiani had sat with us, he'd brought his own—and after a few minutes Jared made his way over to the table, with a glum look on his face.

"Jared, man what's wrong?" Sam asked as Jared pulled out his chair, plopping down with his lunch tray.

He sighed and said quietly, "Kiani and I broke up." My eyes immediately searched the room for her. She was sitting with a bunch of senior girls, throwing her head back and laughing. How can she be so happy if they just broke up? I thought.

"Oh, Jared," I said, instantly feeling sorry for him. "What happened?"

He frowned and looked me in the eyes saying, "I'm not really sure. Things just didn't really work out. I think it's mostly she wasn't that into me."

"I'm sorry," Sam and I both said at the same time. I added, "It's her loss."

Jared smiled. "Hey it's okay. We didn't get that serious, anyways."

I smiled at that, glad that he wasn't too torn up about it. Then he said, "Not like you two, that is."

I felt my dark cheeks warm as the three of us all laughed at that. Jared bounced back from that relationship quickly, and time flew by.

Three months later, Sam and I were still going strong. It was a Friday night, our usual date night, and mid-February. I was in the bathroom, curling my short, dark hair, waiting for Sam to pick me up. He had said we were going somewhere special.

After I was done, I changed out of my sweats into my new jeans, and threw on a long-sleeve yellow blouse. I opted for my flip-flops despite the cold; it was always cold. Just as I was applying cherry Chap Stick to my lips, the doorbell rang. I smiled; even after all that time, Sam still came to the door every time he picked me up.

I ran down the stairs and opened the door to see my very own beautiful Indian angel, smiling down at me, his dark eyes sparkling.

"Hey," I said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. I turned, locking the door on my way out because Seth and my parents had gone to the movies.

"Hi, Lee-lee," he replied, still grinning. We walked to his truck, where he, of course, opened my door for me and let me in. I slipped my seatbelt on while he made his way to the driver's side. Once he was in and started the car, his hand instinctively cradled mine.

"So where are we going?" I attempted to get him to tell me.

He shook his head with a smirk, saying, "Huh-uh. I told you. It's a surprise."

"Well, what's the special occasion?" I asked, silently wishing I hadn't. It isn't like an anniversary thing of some sort, is it? I wondered nervously. I still wasn't used to all of the boyfriend-girlfriend protocol.

He turned to me briefly with a very serious look on his face, to look directly into my eyes. "You." My face must have displayed how confused I was because he elaborated, "Everything I do is for you, Leah. Do I need a special occasion to treat you?"

I smiled and said, "No."

As the drive went on, I became even more confused. I had thought special meant a nice dinner in Port Angeles or maybe even Seattle. But we were driving away from the big cities, even deeper into the reservation, nearing the dark forests. Where are we going? I wondered over and over again.

After what seemed like ages, he pulled to a stop in what appeared to be a parking spot. Suddenly I felt a sense of déjà vu, but I couldn't be certain because it was dark. It felt like I had been there before… Sam turned off the engine and hopped out, hurrying to my side to get the door.

He took my hand back in his as he helped me out, and asked, "Do you think you'll be cold?"

"Will we be outside?" I asked, surprised. I thought maybe we were going to some unknown little restaurant for dinner.

"Of course," he said, and I could see his eyes light up with amusement from the dim glow of the stars in the sky. Hey! I can see the stars, I noticed, it's actually not cloudy. How beautiful! Sam's voice broke my thoughts and brought my gaze back to his face, "You really don't know where we are?"

I shook my head and he chuckled, pulling me towards the trees. Then it hit me. "Oh!" I exclaimed. "Our forest."

He nodded and laughed again, walking closer to me. I could feel the warmth from his body and it only drew me closer to him. We walked for a while, and I felt relieved and more aware; now that I somewhat knew where we were and where we were going.

I didn't know the way to the little pond, though; because our first kiss was the only other time he'd brought me there. Finally, I could see the clearing in the tree branches and began to bounce a little bit, excited to reach our spot. Sam noticed my heightened excitement and chuckled again. I was glad he'd brought us here, and of course it was special, it just wasn't what I had been expecting.

We reached the shore of the small body of water, and found the log to sit on again. It was even more beautiful than the last time, if that was possible. The moon was full, lighting up the entire area, reflecting off of the water to make everything brighter. Thousands of stars twinkled in the sky, and again I was glad that I could actually see them for once, with the absence of the constant cover of clouds.

He put his arm around my body, acting as my own personal heating blanket, and I snuggled closer into him. "Thanks, Sam," I said softly, not wanting to disturb nature in all of her beauty, "You were right. This is special."

He kissed my head and laughed yet again. What is SO funny? I thought. "Lee-lee, coming here isn't the special part."

"It's not?" I asked leaning my head back to see his face. Out of nowhere, he dipped his head and put his lips to mine, kissing me upside down.

When he broke our kiss, he laughed again and said, "Sorry, that was random. You just looked so cute like that, I couldn't resist." I laughed. "But no, Leah, the place is special, but not what I was referring to."

I was still a little taken back by the unexpected kiss, and extremely confused. "Okay…" I said, prompting him to elaborate. He pulled my body around, turning me so that I was sitting sideways on his lap.

"Lee-lee, I want to tell you something." His deep brown eyes searched mine. I waited for him to continue. "You know you mean the world to me." I nodded, unable to speak, holding my breath. "I've never met anyone like you. From the first day I met you, when I saw you sitting at that table in the lunchroom, it was like gravity was pulling me towards you. At first I thought it was just because you were so beautiful." I blushed. "But then I talked to you. And you were just so…intriguing. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

I concentrated very hard on his eyes, the way the moonlight hit them and they sparkled. My eyes trailed over his face, his perfect skin, the curves of his lips. He went on, "And then, above everything else, there was the…there is the…the electricity." He rubbed my hand with his and I knew exactly what he was talking about. I nodded, urging him to continue. "When I'm not with you, even for just a little while, I get anxious and time moves exponentially slower." I couldn't believe what I was hearing; he was describing how I felt about him, not the other way around.

"Leah, I am completely and totally in love with you. I love you." I felt a tear that I hadn't even realized forming stream down my face. I'd never felt anything like I did in that moment; there is no word to describe it. My body swelled with warmth and I felt like my heart was about to explode.

Despite the combustion threatening to happen inside of me, I somehow managed to place my right hand on his cheek and pull my face close to his, so that I was only an inch away. I kept my eyes on his and said, "Samuel Uley, I love you, too."

Suddenly the tension emitted from the space between us was released as our bodies reacted to the "gravitational pull," as he had described it. His lips moved in time with mine, and my hands found their way into his hair. His hands slid to the small of my back, and I almost couldn't stand the pleasure pulsing through my veins.

I pulled my left leg back, tucking it under me so that I was facing him head on, instead of sideways. I don't know how long we sat there kissing each other, but I wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon.

Eventually, though, Sam did pull away. I kissed his jaw, not ready to stop. He chuckled and the rumble of his chest did strange things to my body when we were that close. "Hold on," he said, "I have something for you."

I pulled my head back and untangled my fingers out of his hair so he could proceed. He shifted me so he could pull something out his pocket. "I want you to know, Lee-lee, that you can trust me. I really do love you, and I fully intend to keep loving you." He gently took my wrist and wrapped something around it. I dropped my eyes from his to examine the bracelet. It was an intricately braided, woodsy bracelet, made out of leather. On the drawstring there was a beautiful bead that you slid up and down the notches to adjust the tightness. I fingered it slowly.

"Thank-you," I said, "It's beautiful." I kissed his cheek quickly, and continued to examine the jewelry.

"It's a promise. Well, a symbol of my promise to you. You can always trust me, Lee-lee. I will always love you."

With tears in my eyes, I kissed him again.

So I spent some time today doing a little research, trying to think & figure out the timeline more accurately, and I realize that Leah is probably more likely a freshman when she starts dating Sam, and I'm sorry if my timing is a little bit off. Once I'm more sure, I might go back and change that. And also, I am trying to hammer out when exactly Leah's world collides with Bella's. I know the first time Bella meets her is the spaghetti dinner when Leah's talking on the phone the whole time. I currently don't have my copy of New Moon; I'm lending it to a friend and I was wondering if anyone knows exactly when that dinner is (and is it at the Blacks' house?) and what page number all that is? If you know or have a couple minutes to look for that for me, it'd be great. I wasted a lot of time trying to find that online today.

Anyways, like always, tell me what you thought.

Pretty pretty please review!