Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Summary: Leah attends the Graduation party at the Cullen's, and comes away with far more than she ever thought possible. An imprint. AU. Re-post.

a/n: this story was written as a gift.

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[ I ]

There are some people who you look at, and you can just tell how their story will end. I don't know what it is; they have everything going for them, yet it will never be enough. But when I look at you, I just know instinctively, that despite the odds against you and although life will always find a way to test you, someday you'll have everything you want. Your ending will be a happy one.

A Premonition - Lang Leav

(11th of June 2006)

Jesus Christ, Leah thought as she entered the Cullen crypt, her hand automatically flying to her mouth and nose to try and stop the disgusting aroma germinating inside the mansion, from clouding her senses. The stench was truly unbearable and she was glad that she'd skipped her mother's meatloaf dinner with Charlie Swan otherwise one of the unsuspecting party goers would definitely be wearing it on their shoes.

Embry Call smirked as he nudged her with his elbow. "Gross, right? Don't worry. After a few times you get used to it."

"I can't believe Jacob comes here willingly." She whispered to him as she huddled closer to him, using his wolfy scent to try and block out the burnt sugar and saccharine cherry smell. She knew as soon as the party (if one could even call it that) was over, she'd be stripping down and scrubbing her skin raw with anything citrus based in her mother's bathroom, to counteract the current eye watering smell.

"He doesn't have a choice. Bella is always here." Embry replied, draping an arm over her shoulder to pull her close. As far as Leah was concerned, Bella punching Jake in the face a few days before should have given the stubborn wolf boy the impression that she wasn't really interested in him or his lips.

Leah's brows rose as Embry's arm settled around her but she chose to remain quiet. Even if he was pushing his luck and trying to get fresh (again), at least his natural aroma was putting a stop to the horrid scent burning the hairs inside her nostrils. She almost laughed at his attempt to make it seem as if they were a couple to the inquisitive stares they were receiving around them.

It wasn't that Embry was unattractive, and he was actually not bad looking with his deep set eyes, long lashes and never ending smirk (he must have learned that from ass-faced Paul). It was the fact that Leah couldn't get past his age. Sixteen was way too young for her to even contemplate him being anything but her brother's friend (or hers, which he kind of was). Not that he looked sixteen. Hell, Jacob, Quil, Embry and her own brother Seth (a fourteen year old for Christ sake), were all taller than her and looked at least in their early twenties thanks to phasing.

"Did I mention how nice you look tonight?" Embry added as he looked down at her from his 6'4 frame. She guessed that even though jeans and a LaPush Tribal School jumper wasn't fancy, it was about as fancy as her clothes got nowadays. Raggedy shorts and tank tops or too-short summer dresses had replaced everything nice she once owned. No more satin, or chiffon, no more skirts, or heels. All of the superficial items in her life had been stripped away, along with her femininity. She didn't even know why she needed boobs anymore (or why Embry was staring at them). Instead of a raggedy Anne, she felt like more like a raggedy Andy who sometimes lost his temper and turned into a massive snarling beast. Okay. Sometimes was probably the understatement of the year.

"Damn it. Will you focus? Don't make me regret bringing you, Leah." Jacob snapped, though his eyes never left the path in front of him, nor stopped looking for little Ms Paleface.

Leah scoffed. She hadn't even said anything and he'd singled her out. Nothing like a little male chauvinistic behaviour to start the already wonderful evening of being forced to attend a Graduation Party for Isa-idiot Swan at Leech Central by a jerk ex-boyfriend Alpha in the form of one Samuel Uley (dickhead extraordinaire). Sam hadn't wanted any of them to go in the first place until Jacob threw a fit in true Jacob-Black fashion. Of course Seth had wanted to go as well but even though Sam was Alpha, her mother was ranked higher when it came to her younger brother, who had been forced to stay home and finish his English assignment. At least her brother was going to make something of himself, unlike the losers she was currently with. She didn't even know if they were still attending school (probably not) from the amount of time they hung out at Sam and Emily's place and ate the finance-stealer's muffins.

"Whatever, Black. It's not like I even wanted to come to this twat-fest. Seth couldn't come, and I was the only wolf available."

Sam was with his precious Emily (no doubt staring into each other's eyes), Paul was studying for his GED by distance (thanks to dropping out early because of his temper) and Jared was running patrols (always a suck).

A low warning growl from Jacob had her tensing in annoyance. Clearly, with Sam having made Jake Beta, the job title was already getting to his overblown ego. She felt her bones and cartilage roll under her skin at the threat, her teeth pinching her bottom lip as she held back the urge to phase and go postal on his ass. Blood flooded her mouth almost instantly as her teeth nipped the inside of her lip.

"Guys (and girl), we're at a party. Let's just enjoy the free food and then get the fuck out of here." Quil butted in, slapping Jacob on the back.

A brief sigh escaped Jacob's mouth before he nodded and unclenched. "Yeah, you're right. I'm going to look for Bella. Just hang out until I'm back. But keep an eye out. If any of the Cullen's feel extra thirsty tonight, we need to protect the kids here."

And then Jacob was gone, leaving them standing next to the snacks table (which was probably not the best place to leave a bunch of shape-shifters who each owned an embarrassingly large appetite).

Leah wanted to laugh. Kids? They were all fucking kids (yeah, she was almost twenty and more like a young adult), including the wolf boys in attendance. Going up against ancient vampires was going to be a freaking riot if they did actually decide to eat the Forks High graduating class of 2006. They may as well have not come at all. Four wolves against seven vampires? The odds weren't good and even though Leah hated everyone, she wasn't ready to die today.

"Oh, shit. There's a chocolate fountain." Quil gasped, moving closer to the flowing chocolate lava liked he'd just been graced with the face of God. Leah hoped he would at least not put his face under it like the true canine he was.

Wiggling out from under Embry's arm she took two steps to the side, putting a little distance between them. She could hear some of the comments coming from a group of girls who were standing near the wall, assessing their every more. They seemed to be very interested in both Quil and Embry (or rather the way they looked), and she could have sworn one even threatened to faint when Jacob had walked past them earlier. The comments, however nice about the boys, did not extend to her.

'Is she, like, doing them both?'

'Urghhh, look at her shoes'

'Some girls have all the luck'

'She'd be pretty if she didn't look so sour'

The drinks table seemed to be positioned in a different part of the room so instead of lingering around the two wolf boys who were way too interested and generally unfazed in eating snacks prepared by vampires, she moved through the crowd of teens, careful not to shove them too hard, otherwise she would definitely throw them across the room with her wolf strength.

As her hand reached out to grasp one of the red cups filled with god-knows-what, a sickly stench burned not only her nose, but her retinas (she wasn't sure that was even possible but her eyes were definitely watering like crazy). She could almost see the shadow that the creature behind her cast as the table darkened.

"If you want the good stuff, it's in the kitchen," the deep voice drawled, almost in humour.

Slowly, inch by inch, she turned on her heels (well, dirty sneakers). Lifting her chin, she glanced up at the monster in front of her. He was taller than Embry, but not as tall as Jake, but compared to her he was at least a foot taller. Curly black hair, golden eyes, and a mischievous smile is what she was met with. In hindsight, it could have been worse. The military vampire was actually the one they'd been told to pay particular attention too, especially after the almost-bit-your-ass mishap on Swan's birthday.

"You must be Emmett," she said sharply, her backside nudging the table behind her as she pressed away from the vampire who truly knew nothing of personal space.

"How did you know?" he asked, almost as if he were excited. As if he had suddenly found a new toy or play thing.

She tapped her temple as she stared at him, not daring to blink.

"Ahhh, Jacob told me about the mind link thing. That must be cool right? Being able to read each other's minds, talk, and strategise when you're taking down vampires. My brother Edward has a similar gift, but he can only read current thoughts. Totally lame compared to yours."

Only one of Leah's brows rose. She was going to freaking kill Jacob for telling the vampires about the mind link. What else had he told them? This was not good. Sam was going to throw a fit. She smiled a little to herself wondering who would actually win in a fight between them. Jacob was growing at an alarming rate and had even surpassed Sam in height and weight. Maybe she would tell Sam herself. He could stand to be knocked down a few pegs (even if it was Jacob was doing the knocking).

"So - you want me to show you where the sweet stuff is? All of the stuff out here is for the weak humans. A she-wolf like yourself deserves something - stronger."

Leah glanced over at the snack table to find that both Embry and Quil had disappeared (some friends they were). Shrugging her shoulders she looked up at the bear sized vampire. "Sure, lead the way. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?"

"Atta girl. Come on. You know, I can already tell we are going to be great friends."

Leah couldn't help but snort at his proclamation. Especially since the glint in his eyes looked as though he was being serious.

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Sitting on the counter top Leah's legs swung side to side as her palm cradled the small shot glass. The sweet strawberry taste burned on the tip of her tongue but instead of feeling alarmed that a vampire was literally force feeding her alcohol, she felt content instead. Perhaps the alcohol was actually taking effect.

It had been a long time since she'd been to a party (her and Sam's engagement party being the last) and she couldn't help but scowl at the one which would eventually come up (Sam and Emily's engagement party). Her life truly sucked and if she was honest, she missed her-Sam. She missed his shoulder length hair, his shy smile, kind eyes and his huge hands as they held her tightly. Now he was nothing but Emily's-Sam, which was a complete opposite. He had turned into nothing but a scowling dictator with a crew cut, complete with jacked up testosterone and a need to be half naked at the best of times.

"I can't believe you don't feel the effects," Emmett grinned as he concocted another especially made drink. "In the 70's I worked at a bar in Manhattan for a winter. The patrons always wanted to play drinking games and I'd have to come up with the poisons of choice for the night. Seeing as humans suck when it comes to holding liquor, they usually only lasted a few rounds."

Leah smacked her lips together. "What was this one called again?"

"That was a Strawberry Shortcake. Normally it's a cocktail but with a little tweaking you can really make anything into a shot."

"And that one you're making?"

"This one, this is called the 'Hot Damn'"

Leah couldn't help but bark a laugh. "Really?"

"Honest. A bit of Whiskey, touch of Rum, splash of Vodka, topped with orange juice." Emmett moved around the kitchen, adding all the ingredients to the shaker as he spoke. Clipping on the lid after adding some ice, he shook the metal canister with vampire speed then popped the lid and poured the new drink into a clean shot glass.

Passing the small glass to her, he watched excitedly as she placed the cool edge to her warm lip.

"Bottoms up." He winked, as she downed the liquid.

Coughing a little, she had to gain composure. She still couldn't believe she was getting drunk with a vampire (even though technically it was only her doing the drinking). "Now that one, that was good."

"Awesome. Man, it's so cool to hang out with someone who actually enjoys my talents. None of my family can drink alcohol and Bella is well - against it or something." He grinned dopily as he moved to read a few of the labels on more alcohol bottles he was pulling out from the pantry.

Fucking hell. He was going to have her shit faced if she spent another half hour with him.

"Maybe I should find the others," she announced as she scooped herself off the bench and landed on her feet (thankfully). When she looked up she could swear the vampire pouted at the admission. "This has been fun (probably more fun than I've had in months) but I really need to go. Maybe we could - ah - do it again."

Emmett gained his grin back. "Hell yes, you know where I live. Come by any time."

Leah threw him an awkward wave and sauntered off, concentrating hard on not tripping over her own feet. Burying her hands in the pockets of her hoodie she noticed that some of the guests had already left and there were only a few kids standing around still talking or dancing. She could swear that she had only been gone for thirty minutes but given that this party blew, she wasn't surprised that people were already leaving.

Using her instincts she followed a long hall which opened into another sitting area. She hovered in the doorway, pressing herself against the wall to listen. The discussion sounded heated from what she could tell, and she really didn't want to get any closer to the horrid burnt aroma of the multiple vampires standing in the room. Even though the smell alone was powerful, she could tell all three wolf boys were also in the room, along with one annoyingly idiotic human. Isabella Swan's life was literally lifted straight out of a soppy teen novel. On one side she had a one-hundred year old vampire fighting for her love, on the other, a teenage best friend werewolf, who was seemingly forever in the friend-zone. She couldn't help but scoff at the ridiculousness of it all.

Laying her head back against the wall, and out of sight (probably not out of smell range though) she listened in on the conversation.

"They're after Bella? What the hell does this mean?" Jacob asked in an urgent tone. God, everything about him was urgent.

'Do this, do that. Bella is so awesome. My head fits up Bella's ass. Look guys, I'm a dumb shape-shifter with muscles and dreamy looks. Pat me and I'll tell anyone our tribal secrets'

"It means an ugly fight, with lives lost," came a honey voice which Leah assumed was from the Doctor. He sounded older somehow, or at least more intelligent than the rest. Definitely more intelligent than Quil.

With curiosity getting the better of her, she couldn't help but peek around the door frame. It had been the doctor who spoke and it looked as though all the Cullen's (having never met them but only seen them in Jake's head) were present. Well, except for Emmett who was probably trying out some more recipes and hopefully not feeding them to the human teenagers.

She could see Jacob look to Embry and Quil who were standing off to the side, their faces scrunching of their own accord. Leah liked to think it was the smell of the room but Embry had already implied they were kind of used to the gross state of affairs by now.

"Alright, we're in." Jacob said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the blonde doctor.

We're in? Oh hell, no. What the hell did that idiot just sign us up for? If this has anything to do with Bel-

Time seemed to slow down as she caught movement out the corner of her eye. To the far side of the room stood Bella. But that insignificant human didn't matter. It was the tall, bronze haired man standing protectively behind her, holding her as if she were dust and would slip away. He seemed to scowl as he turned, golden eyes scanning the room only to stop and land on her hidden form in the doorway.

Leah stumbled back, feeling as though she'd been hit directly in her chest by an oncoming car. Her eyes trembled as she landed back on her ass, making a splat as she hit the cool floor boards beneath her. Her breath turned to shallow pants, as if all the air in her lungs was being sucked out. Her body tingled with electric currents, willing her closer into the room and straight into his arms. The steel cables that held everything she kept close to her heart; like her family, LaPush, even her collection of trinkets from a Sam she no longer recognised, began to sever, like a giant guillotine cutting through their very existence.

Grasping a hand over her chest, she squeezed her eyes shut, willing them to come back, willing them to have meaning and to remain the most important things in her life instead of the man who belonged to Bella Swan.

"Leah?" Quil's voice rang out in question having no doubt heard her panic, his meaty footsteps soon following.

"Something's wrong," Edward's voice drawled, as if he weren't standing in the room exactly fourteen steps away from her, but rather right next to her ear.

Without a second thought and in a blind panic, Leah scurried up from the floor and bolted through the Cullen house to the forest, leaving an array of humans (and Emmett who had witnessed the whole thing) in a flutter of confusion.

'No way, no fucking way. It has to be the alcohol. Fucking Emmett! Snap out of it Leah! Shit. You did NOT just imprint on Edward Cullen.'

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