Chapter 1: First Meeting

If I never moved to Forks, I wouldn't have met the love of my life. If I had never moved, I would have lost out on the chance to be happy. Would I have found someone else? Probably. But I would not have been as happy. Here is my story.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" My mom asked for the thousandth time as she drove to the airport. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix and I was wearing my favorite shirt-white eyelet lace; my carry-on was a parka.

I was moving to the small town of Forks, Washington, where it rains almost constantly. My mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old and remarried to a baseball player. Now we live in Phoenix-or rather I did live in Phoenix until now.

"Mom I want to go." I lied, hating to lie to her. I'd lied so frequently that I almost believed it. "I'll write every chance I get." I promised.

"You better. And if you need me, I'll come right back." She promised, giving me one more hug.

I got on the plane and she was gone. It was a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, an hour in a small plane to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive in the cruiser to Forks.

Charlie was waiting for me when I got off the plane. I stumbled and he caught me. "You never change, Bells." He sighed, chuckling.

"Good to see you, Dad." I smiled.

I had only a few bags that fit in the trunk of the cruiser and soon we were in the car on our way to Forks. "I bought a good car for you, really cheap." Charlie informed me, as he drove.

"What do you mean, cheap?" I was nervous of the way he said "good car for you" instead of just "good car".

"Do you remember Billy Black? He's from La Push?" La Push is an Indian reservation on the coast.

"No." I frowned. "What kind of car?"

"It's a truck, a Chevy actually. He can't drive anymore because he's in a wheelchair, so he sold me his truck cheap." Charlie explained.

"You know I can't fix it if anything goes wrong, and I can't afford a mechanic, Dad." I protested.

"Come on, Bells, The thing runs great." Charlie reasoned.

The thing. I thought grimly,internally rolling my eyes.

We arrived at Charlie's house and I spotted the red truck on the curb. I instantly loved it. "Wow, that is so great! Thanks, Dad!" I gasped, eyes wide.

Charlie turned red, and stared out the windshield. "That's great, Bella. I'm glad. I hope you will be happy here." He mumbled, embarrassed.

I stared out the windshield as well. "Sure, Dad." I mumbled in reply. No need to upset him.

I wasn't sure if it would run, but I was going to find out tomorrow.

The next morning, I woke up still tired. The wind and rain kept me awake until after midnight even with a faded quilt and pillow over my head. I dressed and had dinner with Charlie. He wished me good luck at school and he left for the police station.

I got in the truck and started the engine. It roared to life, idling at top volume. I drove to the school, finding it easily.

I decided to stop at the office to ask for help. I parked in the lot in front of the building marked Front Office. I went inside.

The office was surprisingly warm and so full of plants that it reminded me awfully of the greenery outdoors. A woman in a purple-t-shirt sat at a counter looked up from a stack of papers. "My name is Isabella Swan." I informed her.

"Yes, we've been expecting you. Let me get your paperwork." She looked through a precariously stacked pile and found the papers she was looking for. "Here's your schedule and have the slip signed and return it at the end of the day. Here's a map as well." She showed the best route to each class and handed the paperwork to me.

"Thank you." I took the paperwork and headed for my truck. I found a parking space and studied the map carefully and headed for my first class, English.

The reading list the teacher gave me was easy and boring since I've read all the books. After class a boy with black hair and bad acne approached me. "You're Isabella Swan?" he asked, smiling friendly.

"Bella." I corrected, cringing internally.

"I'm Eric." The boy introduced. "This must be different from Phoenix."

"Very."

"It doesn't rain very often there?"

"Three or four times a year."

"It's pretty sunny there, huh?"

"Very." I agreed.

"You're not very tan."

I scowled. "My mom's part albino."

Eric gave me a blank look and I sighed. I doubted I would remember how to use sarcasm after a few months after this rate.

Eric walked me to my next class, even though it was clearly marked. "Well," he said, pausing as I started to open the door. "I hope we have more classes together." He sounded hopeful.

I smiled pleasantly as I entered the building.

The rest of the morning passed quickly and I noticed that some of the same students were in my classes. One girl in particular sat by me in my Trigonometry and Spanish class and walked with me to lunch.

It was then while I sat, trying to talk to seven strangers, that I spotted them.

They were sitting across the long room from my table, four beautiful figures. They were pale as chalk, with shadows under their eyes like they hadn't slept for several nights.

But that's why not why I couldn't keep my eyes off them.

They were complete opposites. Of the two boys, one of them was big and muscular with dark curly hair. The second was lean and muscular with honey blond hair. The girls were long and blond and short and dark haired

Because they were the kind of faces that an old master would paint as the face of an angel.

"Who are they?" I asked quietly to my neighbor, whose name I'd already forgotten.

The girl looked up, no doubt already knowing who I was talking about. The girl with the short dark hair looked up, her dark eyebrows furrowing over her dark eyes. I ducked my head, cheeks flaming.

"That's the Cullens." The girl muttered under her breath. "The curly haired one is Emmett, the blond male is Jasper, the blond girl is Rosalie, and the dark-haired one is Alice. They're adopted."

I remembered my neighbor's name was Jessica. "They look a little old for foster children." I frowned.

"They are. Jasper and Rosalie are eighteen. They've been with Dr. Cullen and his wife since they were eight. And they're together." Jessica scowled, clearly incensed by the scandal.

I nodded, glancing in the direction of the Cullens. The girl had looked away and the others didn't look in my direction.

I headed to Biology and the teacher, Mr. Banner, gave me a book and sent me to the only empty table in the middle of the room. I sat and he started class. The lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied, so it was very boring. I took notes, avoiding the stares of the other students.

When the bell rang, a baby-faced boy with pale blond hair approached my seat. "Hi, I'm Mike." He grinned, leaning against my desk.

"Hi, Mike." I greeted, nodding.

"Where's your next class?"

"I'm going to the gym, I think I can find it." I assured him.

"I'm heading there too, it's my next class." He seemed thrilled by the idea.

I let him lead me to the Gym and he waved as he left me at the entrance to the girls' locker. Coach Clapp, the teacher, gave me a uniform, but didn't make me dress down.

The sport of study was volleyball and I sat watching four games at once, dreading the next class where I would have to play. After class, I dressed quickly.

I returned my signed slip to the receptionist. "How was your day?" she asked, smiling.

"Fine." I smiled, feeling relief that the day was over.

I drove home shaking my head at the friendliness of the boys in Forks.