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SEE HOW IT GOES

THERE WERE NO CARS PARKED IN THE FULLER FAMILY'S DRIVEWAY.

If it wasn't for the blaring pop music coming from an open second story window, Leah would've thought no one was home. At least if no one was home, she could've chickened out and used that as her excuse to anyone that asked if she went through with her plan.

The Clearwater girl didn't actually have a solid plan, despite telling others she did. And by others, she meant the very persistent Nelly Sequoia.

She was gonna wing it, and she wasn't scared of much, anyways.

So why was it that her palms started to sweat the minute she pressed on the doorbell? Why had her breathing started to kick up when she heard the pitter patter of feet running towards the door from down the flight of stairs.

The red door was wrenched open, and Leah couldn't help the shocked noise that bubbled from her chest.

Akira was standing there with a gigantic hoodie on, the thing looking like it was made for someone over eight feet tall, reaching her mid calf. Her face was covered in a pale green face mask, a single cucumber slice in her hand.

What an odd sight to see

"Oh!" she exclaimed, face full of surprise. "Hey Leah."

"Is this a bad time?" Leah immediately asked, ready to turn around and climb back into the car. "I can come ba—"

Akira waved her hand, stepping back from the doorway. "You caught me mid-self care, but it's no biggie," she shrugged, a happy smile on her face. "Come, come! I should have an extra face mask."

When Leah made no move to actually enter the threshold, Akira ended up rolling her eyes before pulling the file inside by her wrist. She kicked the door closed behind them, helpless as Akira began leading them up the stairs. The cucumber eaten in less than five chews.

Her hand still latched onto Leah's wrist, grip unwavering until they reached her bedroom.

It was so Akira, to put it plainly; the walls were pink, covered in magazine posters and cut outs of various famous people. Something foreign settled in Leah's gut at the fact that the posters were an even mix of male and female celebrities.

She watched the girl rifle through her desk drawer, making a noise of accomplishment as she fished out a blue and green package. She tossed it at Leah, the girl catching it immediately, before quirking an eyebrow up. "I'm just here to talk to you, not..." she held the face mask up lamely.

Akira pursed her lips, sitting cross legged on the floor. Snapping her fingers to the spot before her, she gestured for Leah to sit. "You either put that face mask on, or you leave," she said. "I have one afternoon of self care freedom a week; don't disrupt the routine, Leah."

Leah found that she couldn't argue with that, and promptly sat down. Ripping open the package, she had the slightest clue as to what to do. "Could you—"

She couldn't even finish the sentence before it was plucked from her hands. In a second, Akira was slathering a thick, charcoal grey substance across the bridge of her nose. "So, what'd you wanna talk about?" she asked, wiggling her own eyebrows.

Well, this was it. "You know about the pack, thanks to Nelly," she started, and that earned her a giddy nod from the younger girl.

"Yup— at first I thought she was having a total psychotic break, but it was nice to know she wasn't."

Leah chuckled, watching the girl's focused face. "Did she tell you about imprints?"

Akira hummed, shaking her head. "Nope, but something tells me you're about to."

"It's what happens when Quileutes find their soulmates; like, when you see them for the first time, you just have this.. feeling, I guess," she explained. "Nelly knows how it feels first hand."

A flash of silence as her hand stilled. Her eyes then widened in realization. "Wait, that's why she and Embry are so grossly in love again?!" she sputtered out, fingers falling into her lap. "Wait— Jared and Kim...?"

Leah nodded. "Yeah, them too."

"Those bitches," she all but shrieked, and Leah couldn't detect any real malice in her tone. She hmpfed under her breath, fingers dipping back into the charcoal mixture to resume her task. "They're gonna get an earful from me— like hello, this is something straight out of a freaking romance movie!"

"Don't be mad at them," Leah said, "they couldn't say anything because you're not their imprint."

Akira nodded, swiping some face mask over Leah's cheek. "Makes sense," she haphazardly responded, and the Clearwater girl intently watched as her words registered in the girls mind. The way Akira's gaze flickered from Leah's cheek to her eyes, the way her finger stopped moving. "Wait—"

"Whatever it is you're thinking, it's probably right," Leah rushed out, painfully aware of the gobsmacked look on the girl's face.

"You're—" she tried, blinking owlishly at Leah, "we're—"

"Yeah," was her plain response. "Since Tate's funeral."

Outrage bursted in her brown eyes. "Leah, that was weeks ago!" she screamed, hands flailing at her sides. "And you're just casually telling me that we're soulmates now? Bound by the damn soul, soulmates?!"

Evidently, Akira wasn't pissed at the fact that they were indeed bound by the soul, no; she was pissed that it had taken this long for Leah to fess up about the whole damn thing. She'd carried this a secret the whole time, all while she visited Akira's workplace just to spend time with her.

Leah's hands came out before her in defence. "I haven't really been processing it well," she said as her excuse, and boy was it ever a genuine one. "The only reason why I'm here is because Nelly threatened me, said she'd blab if I didn't."

Akira's blatant anger fizzled into indifference. "So, you're here because of Nell, and not because you wanted to share the news with me."

Leah knew she'd fucked that one up. "No, that's not—"

"If you wanna ignore the fact that we're soulmates, or imprints or whatever, we can do that," the Fuller girl said, trying to reassure Leah. Only now, she wasn't looking at her at all. "We can ignore it, surely. I'm just, I guess I'm sorry that it didn't work out in the way you—"

"An imprint can be a friend, a sister, or a lover," Leah tried to explain further, a little anxiousness seeping into her tone that she tried to mask with a neutral face of her own. "It's not that I'm unhappy with what happened; I've been spending the last few weeks trying to figure out what I could be for you."

Akira looked at her, then. "Oh," she replied. "Well, have you figured it out?"

"Depends on what you want," Leah shrugged, before tacking on a, "I sprung this onto you, and the last thing I want is to pressure you into this shitshow."

Akira nodded, processing the information she was given. There was a beat of silence, one that had Leah's palm start to sweat once more, but she saw the girl's lips quirk up.

"I'd really like to be your friend, Leah," she breathed out, and the Clearwater girl felt herself immediately nodding along. "Then, whatever happens can happen, I guess."

"Friends— yeah, I can do that."

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[ wyn's note ]

leah and kiki are friends for now because yeah, this is p sudden ( lee's letting her do her own thing and kira's letting her figure her shit out) it's the best of both worlds, truly.

also ofc akira believes in the whole soulmate shtick — she's a romance lover till the end of time (she watches to all the boys ive loved before twice a week)

mayhaps this friendship will turn into smth more in the future ???? wink wink u know i love me a future chapter.

all my love xx