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When I was sixteen years old, I moved to Forks to be closer to my dad, Charlie, and give my mom, Renee, some much-needed space to be a newlywed to Phil.
Forks was so different than Phoenix. I don't think I have ever seen more green in my entire life. In Phoenix, it was almost always dry and hot whereas in Forks there seemed to be varying amounts of cool and rain. It was something that wasn’t bad, but so different.
On the rare days that it didn't rain, my dad would drive us to La Push. That’s where I met Leah. Leah was different than any girl I could ever imagine. She had no boundaries. She always spoke her thoughts, and she had nothing to hide. If she was pissed, she was pissed. If she was happy, she was happy. It made me realize that the friendships I thought I had in Phoenix wasn't truly real. They weren't fake, but we never really delved into things we found important.
On meeting Leah, I realized that she would always be a true friend to me. Her friendship was based on things we could talk about. We didn't go to high school together, but we saw each other all the time. You would think that I would have lacked in not having too many friends at Forks High School, but I didn't.
On my first day, I met Angela. She was the photos and graphics editor for the school paper. She was constantly in the background taking pictures of the staff and students. You could barely see her because she was invariably taking pictures, too quiet and shy to try to attract attention to herself.
The first time I approached her, it was like pulling teeth to get her to open up. In time and patience, she finally let me in. By the time our senior year came around she was one of my closest friends. She would join Leah and I when we would go to Port Angeles together. We would do so many different things jointly. Leah loved to go to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe art work. Angela loved to take pictures, so we would spend hours walking along the waterfront. Unfortunately, we didn't have our passports, so we couldn't go to Victoria yet.
I had a love of journalism, so I would often go to the offices of local newspapers and ask writers questions about their profession; what they loved and hated about it. I wanted to learn from them and from their opinions. After talking to them, I realized I wanted to go to college for journalism. My family supported my decision.
When I graduated from Forks High School as a valedictorian, I was so excited. My mom, dad, and Leah were all there for me. I had learned weeks before that I was offered a full ride scholarship to UW. The best news was that Leah and Angela were both moving to Seattle with me. We were getting an apartment together on the Avenue. Leah decided that she wanted to become an RN and was going to Seattle Central Community College to get her associate's degree first. Angela wanted to become a teacher and was going to school at Seattle University.
During my first two years at UW, I dated James. I met him at a party, and he got my attention rather quickly. He was confident. He was also the Quarterback for UW. I was drawn to him but there was something off about him. I didn't realize what was off until my sophomore year.
One night I went to James apartment, using the key he had given me earlier in the year. I caught him naked in bed with Riley, Angela's boyfriend. There could have been a lot of drama about it but there wasn't. Even though I did have sex with James, it wasn't earth shattering or anything. Later on that night, I was sitting in our apartment with cherry garcia ice cream in hand when I told Leah and Angela what I saw. Angela was shocked. Leah immediate response was to grab some vodka for us. We got beyond drunk.
At least, there wasn't any streaking around the quad.
That night we fell asleep in each others arms. It wasn't sexual at all. It was comforting to be surrounded by my best friends. When I woke up the next morning, I saw Leah looking at Angela while she was asleep. She was touching her cheek so lovingly. When Leah looked at me. I saw it all in her eyes. Leah was, in doubt, in love with Angela.
As I got up, I turned my hand toward Leah. We had to talk. In the other room, she told me that she always thought she was gay, but didn't feel like her family would accept her for it. She read horror stories about families’ reactions to that. Her feelings for Angela grew from friendship to something more over the past four years, but she feared that the friendship that we shared would change. I told her our friendship would change but it would grow to something more beautiful for her and Angela. I also told her that she had been so patient with Angela. That patience would work in her advantage. She knew now wasn't the time for her to pursue Angela like she wanted.
Over the next six months, Angela and Leah turned into something more.
Casual touches, lingering looks and smiles.
It didn't surprise me much when I came home one night that I saw them kissing.
Leah gave me a wink. Angela blushed.
It was beautiful watching them becoming more than friends. I was happy for them, and I wondered if I would have something like that. I didn't realize I was missing something until I met Edward.
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