Arlo walks along the beach again, his music blaring in his ears. This has become one of his favourite places in the last few weeks but, sadly, he hasn't seen that girl again. The one who made his tummy do flips. Online school is fine, he's getting Cs and Ds, about average. Things are harder than back home, lessons wise; why so many types of maths? Back home you do one subject, 5 or so times a week, then you do two exams at the end - one with a calculator and one without. If you want the fancy stuff, you wait for the higher education hell that happens at 16.
Charlie isn't as bad as he thought. He can see why he barely spoke to him growing up - the man is awkward. Antisocial. Keeps to himself. Hopeless. Things are a bit easier now he's in the same room, but even then. Bella always has that boyfriend, Edward or whatever, over and Charlie really doesn't like him. Not at all. Arlo doesn't know what to make of him but from what he's heard? The whole relationship is weird. Bella seems whipped. But, so does he. The way he watches Bella sometimes is weird.
Charlie sometimes drops him off at the beach before work and Bella will get him on the way back. Sometimes Billy Black drives by and offers him a ride, though Arlo is yet to meet the Black kid Bella supposedly had a thing with. He's curious to see what the attraction is, compared to Edward.
As he walks, mostly watches his feet, he gets the same feeling in his tummy. He looks up slowly and sees the girl walking his way, dressed mostly the same as last time. She seems just as surprised to see him as he is to see her.
"Ello again." Arlo says, pushing his hood down. His floppy hair blows around so he pushes it back.
The girl smiles small. "Hello... I'm, uh, sorry about last time. You caught me off guard."
Arlo smiles, shrugging. "S'alrigh. I'm Arlo." He says, holding his hand out.
Leah can't help but smile as he flashes her a cheeky grin. They're about the same height, maybe he's an inch or two taller than her but there's not much there. "I'm Leah. Leah Clearwater."
"Well, Leah, it's good to meet you. And not scare you off with me ugly mug." He smirks. When she looks at him confused, he gives an embarrassed laugh and covers his face for a moment. "Argh, sorry. English slang doesn't settle well with yous. I basically said I'm glad my ugly face didn't scare you off."
"You're far from ugly." Leah blurts, blushing hard as Arlo does the same, both covering the moment with a laugh. "Sorry. I mean, you're a handsome guy. Don't refer to yourself like that." She says gently.
Arlo smiles. "I apologise. What brings you here then, Leah Clearwater?"
She blushes at the way he says her name. "I live on the reservation, Arlo Swan."
"Ughhhhh." He groans, throwing his head back. "You know my dad?"
"I do. He knew... He knew my dad. They were good friends." Leah takes a deep breath and forces a smile.
Arlo frowns as he looks at her. "Were? I'm sorry..."
Leah smiles small. "Don't be it's okay. It's only been a few months b-but I'm getting there. So, Arlo Swan, what brings you here?" She changes the subject, smiling to lighten the mood.
"I really like it here. We didn't have beaches back home, we're landlocked in Doncaster. And it's a good place to thing." He says, looking at his feet for a moment.
"That, I agree with." Leah nods. "Shall we walk?" She motions to the empty beach.
Arlo smiles and nods, turning around and slowly walking beside Leah. "Are you cold? You're barely dressed and have no shoes on."
Leah smiles. "Oh no. One, I'm born and raised here so this is nothing. And two, it's a warm day for here."
"Warm?" He laughs. "I'll take your word for it."
Leah smiles and glances at him occasionally as they walk. "You're here most days, right?"
He nods. "Yeah, dad and Bella take it in turns to drop me off. Billy Black helps out, you know him?"
"Billy helped raise most of us kids on the res at some point." Leah nods. And he's the elder of my pack. The father of the should-be chief.
"I keep forgetting everyone knows everyone here and I'm the only outsider freak." Arlo laughs.
Leah hates the way he speaks about himself. "You're neither of those. New people are always fun to meet, we rarely get those."
"The last one was my sister right? And her boyfriends creepy family before that?" He asks, looking over. He notices the way her fists cleanch at the mention of the Cullens.
"Yep." Leah simply says. "Anyway. I was gonna say maybe I could give you a ride occasionally?" She offers. Her wolf grins excitedly - yes yes yes! Any chance to get closer to her mate.
"I would want to put you out." He shakes his head.
"But Bella and Charlie are fine?" She teases.
Arlo blushes. "Ahh... Got me there. I mean, sure. If its no trouble."
"None at all, I wouldn't offer if it was." She smiles.
"Thank you... You're literally the first person I've met other than my family and Billy. Most people just stare still." He smiles small.
"No problem Arlo Swan." She smiles gently as they walk. Anything to be with you.
-
"Where are you going?" Bella yawns as she comes downstairs, having just woke up.
Arlo downs his coffee, cringing at the temperature. "Out."
Bella rubs her eyes as she notices he's fully dressed in a baseball tee, black jeans and his usual pink socks and creepers. His shaggy hair is pushed back messily, in its usual crazy state. "Oh?" She raises an eyebrow.
Arlo goes into the hall and grabs his coat. "Yep." He says, opening the door as someone knocks. "Your creeps here." He calls to Bella, walking past Edward and jogging down the drive. As he reaches the path, Leah pulls up in a black truck.
Edward frowns as he and Leah lock in a glare. Bellas eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Oh..." She mutters, watching her brother drive off with a quileute.
"Does he know anything?" Edward instantly asks, his eyes wide as he looks at his love.
Bella looks at him, still tryna process. "No? I don't know. I didn't know this was a thing-"
"Go get dressed, now."
"Where are we going?" Bella asks, shrieking as he picks her up and sets her down on her bed a moment later. "Jesus, okay!"
He pulls his phone out and talks too fast for her to hear as she changes, his back to her as she does. She ties her hair back and slips a hoodie on, tying her boots. He picks her up again and she groans, letting him buckle her into the car. "What's going on, Edward!" She demands.
"Family meeting." He says simply, speeding away.
"Awh... I'm included?" She asks, her heart fluttering. Hes bringing her to a family meeting!!
"Yes, it concerns your brother." He says, parking outside the house.
He and Bella rush inside, his family all waiting - Bella realises thats who he called. She looks around the room. "Okay... So what's wrong with my brother? Other than the fact he's my brother and he sucks." She tries to joke.
"Your brother... And a quileute." Rosalie snaps. "Our enemy."
"Oh. Well, I didn't know." Bella tries to reason.
Jasper leans on the wall at the back. "He could be in danger. Or be a danger."
Bella rolls her eyes. "Oh cmon, you guys haven't met this kid. He literally couldn't hurt a fly. He has the attention span of a goldfish, he literally gets distracted at a leaf falling." She laughs, remembering just the other day when they were having a conversation and he zoned out watching raindrops race down the window.
"He's a stranger to us, Bella." Alice says gently. "I can't see him." She admits.
Bella frowns. "Maybe he's like me..." She looks to Edward.
He takes a deep breath. "In a way, yes. I hear him, though, like i do your father. If I tune in, I catch the odd thought. He's harder - his thoughts chaotic. The adhd, anxiety, paranoia, they all make it harder to make out something coherent. I think."
Bella frowns deeply. "What are you all saying, he's a danger? What do you mean by that? What does it mean?" She demands.
"It means... We may have to deal with him." Emmett says as everyone else is too afraid to say the words out loud. He wishes he hadn't. None of them were prepared for the wrath of Bella.
-
"Okay, okay, next question. Favourite movie?" Leah asks as her and Arlo walk along the beach.
Arlo thinks for a moment. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Or The Cat in The Hat. They're about the only movies what can hold my attention." He admits. "Yours?"
"I don't really do movies. I've never seen-"
"Leah, if you dare say you've never seen either of those, I think this small friendship we got here is gonna end."
Leah smirks. "I haven't seen either of those... In a long time." She lies.
Arlo smirks. "Mm maybe we'll have to change that."
Her heart flutters; he likes her. Not necessarily in a romantic way, but he likes her enough to want to make plans to hang out, even if they are vague plans. "I'd like that. What, you've not gotten bored of me? This is like our fifth time hanging out, you must be bored." She teases.
Arlo laughs. "Nah, not yet. Maybe next time."
Leah giggles. Her smile slowly fades as she sees Jacob and Sam stood by her truck. "Hey, why don't you run and grab those coffees? I need to grab something from my truck." She says.
Arlo nods and smiles as he walks ahead, off towards the small hut that sells coffees. Leah slowly walks over to the truck as her face hardens. "What the hell do you want."
"The boy. Why?" Jacob asks.
"He has a name." Leah snaps.
"Answer the question, Leah." Sam orders.
Leah sucks her teeth, hating to be ordered around by her ex. "Why the boy? I don't know, why Emily?" She sasses.
Sam's face drops as he instantly clicks, Jacob taking a moment. "No... Oh, Leah, you idiot." Jake snaps. "You too?"
Leah glares. "I barely know the kid. I ran away the first time I met him. You think I wanted this!?" She growls. "I didn't ask for this, and I'm not even sure I want it, but Arlo is easy to talk to. He's different from you assholes, he wants to spend time with me. He makes me forget everything."
"You can't forget, Leah. It's dangerous." Sam snaps.
Leah laughs. "No, Sam, you guys are." She shakes her head, storming away.
Jacob hits her truck angrily. "Stupid, stupid-"
Sam grabs his arm. "Enough... Nothing can be done. We have to preserve our secret as long as possible. We'll discuss with her soon."