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"Of what?" Leah probed gently.

"Of messing it all up." Pearl revealed quietly.

With the road they were on being empty, aside from their own car, Leah slowed the car down significantly so that she could direct more of her attention towards her little sister. Leah sat with a thoughtful expression on her face as she waited for Pearl to continue.

After a minute, she did. "I've finally found a place where I belong. Somewhere where I'm accepted for who I am, where I truly feel like I fit in. I don't wanna loose that."

"Why would dating your imprint change that?" Leah asked, wanting to understand the issue.

Pearl huffed. "I'm not exactly the best at sharing my feelings, Leah.

I think our failed sibling bond is an attest to that.

" She paused, then quietly added. "What if I snap at her one day, and say something that I don't mean.

I could end up hurting my entire family if I lash out in anger.

Being in a romantic relationship is a lot of responsibility, and I've never done it before.

You know me, when I don't understand what I feel, I get angry, either I shut down and block everyone out, or I lash out and hurt someone.

Either option just supports the fact that I'm not exactly partner material.

" Pearl spoke with a downcast expression on her face.

"I suppose that's true, but you've left out an important detail." Leah said.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Pearl questioned dryly.

"The fact that everyone could do that. It's not just you." The shifter answered.

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked.

"Anyone could loose their temper and snap at someone, Pearl. And they don't need to be in a romantic relationship to do it. The two of us are a prime example of that." Leah joked slightly.

"I guess." Pearl replied and looked away from Leah to watch the trees go by as they drove.

"So what's really eating you? It can't just be the fear of saying something you don't mean in anger." Leah continued her gentle nudging in order to get some answers.

After some hesitation, Pearl finally relented and explained her real worry.

"Being romantically involved with someone, I don't know how to do that.

I mean, how do I know if I'm doing the right thing?

How do I know when to take the next step?

When to ask her out? When to kiss her? Am I supposed to initiate first, or do I wait for her to tell me when she is ready?

Will she even tell me? Does she trust me enough to do that?

I mean, being in a relationship is... I want to do it.

.. but... it's a lot of pressure..." The hybrid trailed off.

Leah hummed in understanding, acknowledging Pearl's concerns without malice or negativity.

"I just... I want it all to work out. For us to be safe, and happy.

And right now, we're perfect. Everything is finally going well, and we're entering a sense of normality without all of the craziness.

Suddenly springing a potential date on Bree, seems unfair.

Plus, she seems happy with the friendship we've got, so.

.. I don't want to risk anything." Pearl concluded and continued to stare at the passing trees through her passenger window, successfully avoiding Leah's gaze.

The older shifter remained silent for a while, thinking over what she should say in response to Pearl's predicament. When Leah collected her thoughts, she decided to share one of her past relationships to Pearl, in hopes that it would help.

"Do you remember Dustin?" Leah asked.

"Dustin?" Pearl paused, trying to remember, then recognition flashed across her face. "He was your ex right? The one before Sam?"

"That's right." Leah confirmed.

"What about him?" Pearl questioned.

"I didn't tell you that I was the one to ask him out, did I?" Leah smirked a little as she shared this information for the first time.

"Wait... you asked him?" Pearl said in a surprised tone.

"Yep. He was too scared to do it himself. So I did it instead." Leah revealed happily.

"Didn't that douchebag cheat on you?" Pearl narrowed her eyes at Leah.

"We're not talking about that." Leah brushed it off.

"We're talking about how I was the one to take the first step and ask him out.

I only did that, because I knew that he wouldn't reject me.

I could see it every time I looked him in the eyes.

He just wasn't brave enough to ask me out himself, but he did like me.

So as I said, I took control and did it for him. "

"Okay? How exactly does this relate to me and Bree?" Pearl confusedly asked.

Leah rolled her eyes at her sister's obliviousness. "The way Bree looks at you, is the exact same way Dustin used to look at me." She said confidently.

Pearl looked to the floor of the car, face full of uncertainty.

"Look, getting into a new relationship is scary, and since this will be your first, it may feel overwhelming.

You won't always make the right decisions.

And that's okay, because nobody is perfect.

And in terms of making the first move, you gotta read them.

Believe me, they'll tell you if they aren't comfortable, but if they are, you'll know.

You just have to find the confidence to get to that point, Pearl.

" Leah spoke whole heartedly, really wanting to give actual advice to Pearl in order to help her.

"Tsk. How exactly am I supposed to do that? Anytime I do think about asking Bree out, I clam up." Pearl complained.

"Then take it slow." Leah quickly answered.

"Test the waters. Flirt with her a little, see how she responds to it.

If she's receptive, take it a little further.

Over time, keep going until you get to the stage where you can ask her out.

" Then she added playfully. "Or you could continue to wait until SHE asks you out.

" Putting a lot of emphasis on the 'she' in her sentence.

Pearl looked up at Leah and hesitantly responded. "Umm... I don't think Bree would do that."

Leah smirked and replied, "You never know. Make a girl wait long enough and they'll eventually loose their patience and take matters into their own hands."

After that, the two girls sat in silence as Leah drove to the Cullen's house.

Nothing but the sound of light snores could be heard from within the car.

Pearl spent the rest of the journey thinking over what Leah had said, and deciding whether or not she should take her big sisters advice.

Leah had been in a couple of romantic relationships before.

So she had to know what she was talking about.

By the time Leah pulled up into the Cullen's driveway, Pearl had made her decision. She was going to do it. She was going to find a way to ask Bree out on a date. She just had to plan how to do that first.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Pearl got out of the car and retrieved the still sleeping Renesmee from her car seat in the back.

Entering the house, Pearl handed Ren off to Bella who was waiting for them in the living room.

Alice offered to help bring in Renesmee's new toys, so the hybrid and the pixie got to work emptying Leah's car of all the many prizes the shifters and Pearl had won for Renesmee.

Once the car was free of toys, Leah drove back to the reservation, taking Seth and Jacob back home herself, as they were still fast asleep.

When Pearl entered her and Bree's bedroom, she came face to face with her wonderful imprint. Remembering Leah's advice, she slowly took off her backpack and pulled out the panda plushies she had won earlier on in the day, and handed them over to Bree.

Bree took them into her hands and smiled softly at the three toys, before looking back at Pearl. "What's this?" She enquired quietly.

"I won them for you. I remembered you saying that you liked pandas on one of our walks, so I figured you'd like them." Pearl replied in an unsure tone. Starting to doubt herself, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.

Bree smiled lovingly at Pearl and said shyly, "I love them Pearl. Thank you." Hugging the toys gently, Bree took a few steps forward and placed a quick kiss on Pearl's cheek.

Before Pearl could react, Bree sped out of the room in a flustered state, still grasping her new gifts in her arms.

Pearl slowly raised her hand to touch the spot on her cheek where Bree had kissed her. Rather surprised but enamoured by Bree's actions.

Her brain processed her thoughts slowly, as her heart caught up with her head.

Is this what Leah was talking about?

Am I making her wait too long?

Is this, her way of telling me to step up?

Or am I overthinking this entirely?