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ZERO; THE FIRST TIME

     "SHE'S BEAUTIFUL," the woman spoke fondly, gazing over Sue's shoulder to take a look at her newborn baby.

     Sue, who was holding back tears, smiled up at the woman. "Thank you. Did you just have a child yourself?" Sue thought it was clearly evident — there were bags under the woman's eyes and worry lines on her forehead.

     "Yeah," she chuckled lightly, a sense of disbelief in her tone. "I wanted to give my husband some time alone with her. He's very anxious about being a father."

     "Your first?"

     The woman laughed. "Yes, and our last. I don't think I can endure what happened in there again."

     Sue glances down at her daughter, who was just a few hours old. "I was thinking of having a boy, actually. A few years down the line, maybe," she muses, stroking her daughter's forehead.

     "You're my new hero," the woman jokes. "I'm Julie, by the way."

     "Sue."

     The two shake hands before someone's calling Julie's name down the hallway. It sounds like her husband and Julie is suddenly gleeful.

     "Looks like he's had his fair share of bonding time. Say what, let's set up a play date for these two. Who knows? They might be best friends," Julie grins, proud of herself for coming up with the proposition.

     Sue nods, smiling. "That'd be great. I'll make sure to come find you later."

     And sure enough, the two women exchange numbers and promises to set up future play dates. The promises turn into reality once the two mothers realize how much their girls loved each other, and when they learned to talk, there's continuous pleads to go back to each other's houses and have another play date together.

     They never expected for both the girls to actually become best friends like Julie predicted. They never expected for Sierra Lee to become such an important person in Leah Clearwater's life. Leah wishes that they knew — that they could save her from all of the pain and heartbreak.

     Because Leah remembers their first day in preschool together. She remembers Sierra turning to her with eyes wide, fear coursing through her veins. Leah, who was fearless even from a young age, didn't really share the same attributes. "We'll be fine," Leah remembers whispering to Sierra, squeezing her hand to calm her down.

     Leah remembers their first day in middle school together. Sierra had rushed up to her with pure joy, red circle earrings swaying as she walked. Leah remembers her exclaiming the words "We're big kids now, Lee!" before taking her elbow and dragging her to their first class.

     Leah remembers their first day in high school together. Sierra was still wearing those red drop earrings, but no one commented because Sierra was a ball of sunshine and whoever hurt her would get a mouthful from Leah. "Thank you for being my friend, Leah," Sierra whispers to her when their freshman year ends.

     And that's all they will ever be — friends. Leah will make damn sure of it.

     Unlucky for her, the universe has other plans because instead of having Sam Uley, a nice home in La Push, and a stable major at a local college, Leah is left with a shapeshifting gene, her ex-boyfriend as her alpha, and an unrequited imprint.

     She'd never imagine that the unrequited imprint would be Sierra Lee — her best friend who was now happily engaged to another man.

angst!! fluff!! who knows what this story will be with my indecisive ass