In the two weeks that they have been back in Forks, Simon had found himself in the hospital on three separate occasions. The first time had been due to Mike getting a concussion. Jess and Angela were preoccupied, so Simon had volunteered to drive the male to and from the hospital as he went in for a check-up. Carlisle had needed him to grab a few things the second time, and Angela needed help watching her two brothers on the third occasion as they had to get some shots.

During his time there, he had tried his best to avoid everyone else. This time, though, he guessed his luck wasn't in his favor.

"You're Simon, aren't you?"

The male in question spun around at the unfamiliar voice, only to see a woman with cropped black hair. She was dressed in scrubs, so he knew that she must be a nurse or something along those lines.

"Uh, yes?" He found himself answering, though his confusion was rather visible.

"Charlie's told me about you," She spoke as she moved closer, holding her hand out for him to shake. "I'm Sue Clearwater. I'm surprised this is the first time we've met. You're the kid that helped Bella out of her rough patch."

Simon didn't know what it was, but he found himself liking this woman. Beside the faint smell of wolf on her, she seemed friendly. He shook her hand, cringing away slightly as he heard her sharp intake of breath when she felt how cold his temperature was.

"You're one of them," He heard her mutter as she dropped her hand back to her side. "Your eyes are black. What's your diet? Human or animal?"

He cleared his throat as he averted his gaze, shoving his hands into his pocket as he spotted Angela down the corridor with her brothers. She spotted him, too, waving him over with a look of aspiration as she tried to stop Isaac and Joshua from running off.

"Neither, if you can believe that," He murmured loud enough for her to hear. He shot her a small smile, abiet apologetically. "Excuse me, sorry, I have to go help my friend. It was nice meeting you, though, Mrs. Clearwater."

He left before he could hear her respond, heading down the hallway to help Angela.

***

"Are you sure it's good?" Jessica asked him for what seemed to be the eighth time within the last fifteen minutes. "I just...I want it to be perfect, you know?"

They had been discussing her speech for graduation ever since they had met up at the diner. Bella and Edward had gone to spend the day in their meadow, and Simon didn't tag along after found a text from Jess, asking him for help. They had been going through it bit by bit since they had gotten there, and Simon was a bit surprised by how much he liked it.

"It is perfect, Jess. Just don't trip on the way up, and I promise you that you're going to kill it. It's amazing. I'm not even the one graduating and it's still inspiring to me. You're going to do great."

Jess grinned at her friend before she checked the time. Her eyes widened in shock and she quickly stood up.

"Oh my god, I didn't realize what time it was! I was supposed to meet Mike like ten minutes ago," She gave him a quick hug, calling out over her shoulder as she ran off, "Bye, Simon!"

Before he could move to get up, someone slid into the booth across from him. His first thought was that she looked familiar, but he couldn't place who.

"Uh, can I help you?" He asked, becoming more confused by the second as he realized she smelt like a wolf.

"I'm not supposed to be here, but you left my mother with questions. She's concerned," She spoke as she reached forward, dragging Simon's untouched plate of food across the table toward herself. "So what are you doing here? I'm Leah, by the way."

Simon let her take the food, knowing that he was never going to eat it anyway.

"You're Sue's daughter," He said as he finally placed why she looked familiar to him. "As for what I'm doing here, you're going to need to be more specific. Here in this world; no clue. Here in this country; I was born here. This town; it's got nice people. This diner; I work here, and it's like the only place my friends want to eat. This booth, well; the window has a nice view of the woods. Which one were you questioning?"

She shot him a look, obviously not amused by his sense of humor.

"You're not a Cullen. Your eyes are black. Mom said that your diet is different. What do you want? What are you doing here in Forks?"

"Different?" Simon mumbled to himself, "My diet's not different. It just rarely exists. I only drink from willing participants. My eyes are black, because I'm so hungry all the damn time. There's one person I drink from, but she has better things to do than sit around and let me use her. She's not my own personal blood bag. I've lived hungry for years. I don't even need to feed anymore. It just helps me keep my sanity."

Surprisingly, Leah didn't have a comeback to his statement. She had paused halfway through eating her burger, not believing what she had just heard.

"...Okay then..." She mumbled, setting the burger back down on her plate of food. "What are you doing in Forks, then? I thought this was Cullen territory?"

"It is," He spoke quietly, glancing briefly out of the window to avoid meeting her gaze. "I'm technically a Cullen, too. Esme's my sister. I'm not necessarily considered one of them. They're family, but...it's not exactly a place I fit in at yet. I wasn't planning on sticking around for long. I'm not in the treaty, so I didn't want to ruin anything for them. But um, plans changed."

He didn't know why he was telling her so much. He doubted she cared. They had only just met, and she was a wolf, after all. They were supposed to hate each other. But as he looked back at her, he found himself opening his mouth to continue speaking.

"Bella's my mate. She's dating both Edward and I, and I'm fine with that. I'm just sometimes worried that I'll fall into second place. It won't happen. Izzy's not like that. The thought of it just makes me anxious."

"I...I know the feeling. Being replaced isn't a great experience. It sucks. Especially after already feeling so out of place."

Simon looked at her in surprise, not having expected her to say anything relatively along those lines. He remained quiet for a moment, and then he found himself speaking before he could stop himself.

"Whoever they were, I could go kick their ass if you want me to," He flashed her a grin when she snorted, watching as her cheeks flushed red.

They sat in silence for a minute before he found himself reaching across the table, holding his pinky up.

"I know you said you aren't supposed to be here, so I won't tell if you don't, either."

She shot him a weird look, but she then reached forward and linked her pinky with his.

"Our little secret," She murmured to herself, before she quickly stood and walked out.