Author's Note: Hey guys, I know this isn't what any of you wanted and that you've all been hoping for an update. But the holiday season is always crazy for me, and I haven't gotten around to writing. So since I'm feeling bad about that, I've decided to post the first two chapters of this old story I've got laying around so you guys at least have something to read. Sorry about this, and I know this is a lot different than what I usually write, which is why I never published it. Still, it's better than nothing, right?

Chapter 1

It was just another party, but Lex was having the time of her life. She danced, drank, and laughed throughout most of the night. The fact that the party was outside just made it seem all the more exciting. But every time she looked towards a certain dark corner, a little ways off from everyone else, there sat a tiny hooded figure, a diet coke can in her hand with a growing number of cans at her side. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and decided to come to her side.

"What's up, Bells? Not enjoying yourself?" Lex asked as she plopped down next to her sister in question, throwing an arm over Bella's shoulder, careful to avoid skin contact. Bella simply shook her head, and that made Lex's heart drop. The whole reason Lex had come to this thing––and dragged Bella along––was to try and get Bella to have some fun. Ever since the whole incident when Bella was little, which was ironically how Bella and Lex had met their best friend and brother, Bella had become a shell of her former self. The whole thing had changed the brunette, and not for the better.

The hair on Lex's arms still rose when she thought about it. While she had been very young, certain snapshots of that moment stood out in the memory; Bella's scream, the ugly man's fleshy face, the way his beady black eyes gleamed when he grabbed Bella's arm, the weight on Lex's chest from the man's large boot, her own tears...and finally, big ol' Bear coming out of nowhere, barrelling into the man and taking him to the ground. Bear had saved them, had done something most men would have been afraid to do, and Bear had only been nine. It was even more amazing knowing what he had done after Lex and Bella had gotten to know him, as he was the shyest, sweetest, and least confrontational boy they could ever imagine. Bella and Lex still laughed when people got scared off by his size, thinking of him as a thug.

Still, despite being rescued, that event had changed Bella forever. She had admitted later that night while in the hospital bed that she had passed out at the man's touch, had explained how the man's hand felt like it was on fire. It didn't make Lex feel any better when she noticed a red outline on Bella's arm that looked like a light burn.

It was also that night that Lex had realized how much Bella had changed. When Lex had reached out a comforting hand, she had been hurt when Bella had flinched away. Bella looked just as struck, had apologized. Then Bella had tried to touch Lex herself, only to let out a short scream of pain and pull away, telling Lex it felt like where they had touched was burning her. Lex and Bella had no idea what to do, especially since they had been so close and had quite a bit of contact before then. It certainly didn't help when Bella found out that anyone's touch, whether they meant to make contact or not, burned just as badly. In the end, Bella had no choice but to walk around covering every inch of skin, which only made her more of an outcast.

Sadly, Lex had been changed too by the incident. She felt like she always needed to be on guard, always needed to be ready to protect herself and Bella. After all, Bella had once saved her, and Lex would always do the same. It was only thanks to Bear that she could have a moment to relax, like tonight.

Speaking of Bear, where was that giant? How was it even possible to lose such a big, bulky boy in such a big crowd?

"Seriously? Not even a little bit of fun?" Lex pressed, her eyes still scanning the surrounding area, unable to find Bear's head, which should have been seriously easy to spot. "Have you even talked to anyone?"

"You, and Bear and I had a sorta conversation a while ago," Bella said with a shrug as she took a long drink from another coke can.

"You know those don't count," Lex huffed. "And you're totally cut off. Having this much soda is not good for you."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Bella replied dryly, right before she quickly chugged the rest of the can's contents. She flashed a grin at Lex before putting the can on top of the others. Lex hadn't realized it, but Bella had been creating a 3D four-cornered pyramid out of all the soda cans she had finished. "I know you're trying to help and all, but I'm just not normal. I can't fit in, or hang out, or whatever normal kids do unless I'm with you and Bear."

"Whatever," Lex huffed, crossing her arms over her ample chest. She got quite a few lustful looks from guys, which she easily ignored. "I'm not giving up on you yet, shortstack."

"I'm not short!" Bella protested heatedly, but Lex only gave her a look.

"Bells, you're sixteen and you haven't even reached five feet yet. You're short."

"No. Everyone else is just stupidly tall," Bella mumbled sulkily, looking down at her feet, one of which was kicking at the dirt. "If everyone just shrunk a little…"

"Then you'd still be short," Lex deadpanned. Then she once again looked up at the crowd. "Speaking of height, where's our Bear at?"

Bella shrugged. "He got a call and had to take it."

"Seriously?" Lex snorted, leaning back on her hands. "I can always imagine how awkward that'll be for the caller." Bear only talked to people he felt really comfortable with, and even then he didn't talk much. To top it all off, he was even more awkward when on the phone no matter who it was.

"At least Bear's a good listener," Bella joked, and Lex could just see the hints of a small smile from under the hoodie.

Now that Lex thought about it, maybe it was a good thing nobody wanted to get to know her. If someone bothered to look under the gloves, baggy jeans, and the hoodie––literally––they would realize just how hot Bella was. With dark brown hair, gorgeous chocolate brown eyes, and a beautiful face, Bella was gorgeous. Not to mention her petite frame made her all the more irresistible to guys. She really didn't like the idea of Bella being taken advantage of. Maybe Lex should have thought the whole party idea through a little more…

It was only a few minutes later that Bear came out from behind a bunch of rocks, something Lex noted still gave him perfect view of the party and, more importantly to him, Bella and Lex. A boy who had been being a little too pushy with Lex took one look at the large, six foot five guy, and promptly booked it. Bear didn't seem to notice, however, as he was currently trying to get around Bella's pyramid without knocking it over––he was cutely considerate like that.

"So Bear, what's the news? I heard you got a phone call," Lex said the second Bear had sat down on Bella's other side.

The large boy nodded, shoving his shaggy mahogany brown hair out of his face to reveal his gorgeous honey brown eyes. Lex always felt a twinge of envy at his looks, as he and Bella could pass for real siblings, while Lex was always the odd one out thanks to her jet black hair––with ends currently dyed a dark purple––and violet eyes. The only way Lex and Bella looked alike was the pale skin they both had. Whenever Lex declared openly that they were sisters, nobody took them seriously or didn't believe them. Yes, Lex and Bella didn't share blood, but they had been together practically since birth. Lex hated knowing that just because there wasn't a blood or looks connection between them, people automatically decided that all of their memories, time, and love weren't important.

"So, what's the news?" Bella asked, nudging the large boy when Bear still didn't speak.

"I, uh…" Bear started, looking down at his twiddling thumbs. "The...my care worker...he says that my foster family doesn't want to deal with me anymore. I'm too scary for them."

"What?" Bella and Lex screeched at once, jumping to their feet. One or both of them accidentally knocked into the pyramid of cans, sending cans flying in every direction and causing a lot of noise. While the party's music still played, everyone stopped and turned to stare at them.

"Let's get out of here," Lex said, her body almost shaking in fury as she grabbed Bear by the hand and pulled him to his feet. Bear tried to stop himself from crushing any cans underfoot, but Lex and Bella didn't have the same concerns. Bella grabbed Bear's other hand with her gloved ones, and both girls insistently tugged Bear away from the party.

When they were far enough away so that they wouldn't be overheard, Lex and Bella both turned to focus on Bear.

"What do they mean, too scary? You're the sweetest guy in the world!" Bella fumed as she started to pace back and forth.

"It's––it's okay," Bear protested in his soft, low voice. "You guys can stay, it's just me who has to go, so––"

"Oh, hell no!" Lex snapped, glaring up at Bear. Damn it, she wanted to climb up his body and shove his hair out of his face, just so she could glare into his eyes and he could see clearly how furious she was. "We swore, Bear. We swore that we were going to stay together, no matter what happens. The system promised we'd stay together too; they even signed papers!" Although that had been mostly out of guilt after they had seen the trauma both Lex and Bella had suffered because of their mistake. Not that guilt made the papers any less binding.

"And how dare those assholes try to get you kicked out while keeping us?" Bella added, letting out a furious growl. Never before had she wanted to hit something so badly. How dare they try to kick Bear out just because of his looks? Not to mention he worked harder than any of them, did more chores than even their foster parents. "They know we're a package deal."

"Give me your phone," Lex said, holding out her hand, palm up.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Bear mumbled, sensing just how angry Lex was.

"Bear." It was all Lex needed to say, and the big guy handed over his phone without another word. Bella rubbed his back with a hand, more than happy for Lex to rip the social worker a new one.

Lex dialed the number, put it on speaker, and it was only after two rings that Oliver Montgomery picked up the phone. "What the hell, Ollie?" Lex demanded before Oliver could even get out a hello.

Everyone could hear the heavy sigh come from the man. "Lex. I knew you were going to call."

"So I repeat; what the hell, Ollie?" Lex stated flatly, nearly trembling with rage.

"I can't make them keep Bear, you know that. And I doubt you'd want them to after everything that happened," Oliver tried to explain as calmly as possible.

"Hell no I don't. But you think we'd want to stay there, knowing how they felt about someone who's a brother to us? Someone who saved our lives? You think we'd stay in that house, or any house, without Bear with us? We'd have no idea what would be happening to him! What if he ends up bullied? Or taken advantage of?"

Bella didn't say anything about that, as Lex was sort of right. It took serious balls to even think about messing with someone who was as big and strong as Bear, but that didn't mean it was impossible. And Bear had never been the type to defend himself, so if someone really did try to bully him, Bear wasn't going to fight back.

"You know that's not going to happen," Oliver grumbled, but nobody said anything. Bear was busy fidgeting nervously, glancing between a furious Lex and a furious Bella. While it felt amazing to have two great friends, great sisters, at his side, he didn't want to get them in trouble. It would kill him.

"Just tell me why you thought him going anywhere without us isn't a bad idea," Bella spoke, loud enough for the phone to pick up on her voice.

"I never said I didn't think it was a bad idea. But I'm not a miracle worker. The choices were to either move Bear and keep you two where you are, or to move all three of you up to Alaska and––"

"Done," Lex and Bella said at the same time, stunning Oliver to silence.

"Girls, it's a small town, and I know how bad you two are with cold," Oliver said, trying to help the two girls see reason.

"So Bella will bundle up even more, and I'll learn to live with it." Lex hadn't thought the idea through, as usual, but now that she was considering it, it was actually looking good. Not only would the three of them get to stay together, but now Bella wouldn't be looked at as such an outcast for wearing heavy layers that covers her up. Lex was the only real one who would have to suffer up there, but it was a small sacrifice. Not that the level of sacrifice really mattered to her, as she'd give up an arm and a leg without a thought if it meant keeping the three of them together. One of the scariest idea was separation, not just because they wouldn't know what was going on in each other's lives, but because when they're finally kicked out of the system, they would have no idea how to get in touch with each other again. This was especially true since the system wouldn't give any information of anyone it still had inside and the three would have no choice but to wander and struggle to survive somewhere in the United States.

"But––"

"Oliver, we're staying together. Alaska is as good of a place as any to go, and we're not separating. You might as well make it happen," Lex said.

"Fine. But don't come crying to me when you can't stand it up there," Oliver said with a frustrated groan.

"Call Bear later with the details," was all Lex replied with. Pleased at the victory, Lex then hung up and turned to the most important people in her world.

"So…" Bella started, grabbing Lex and Bear's hands. "It seems we're leaving Phoenix."

At that, all three broke out in relieved laughter.

Everything was going to be alright. They were going to stay together, no matter what. That's what their little family meant to them.