AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really hate long author's notes, so I'll try to be brief. I was thinking about this all night one night, then I decided you know what? I'm going to write it. So here it is. This is my first fanfic, but I don't want you to lie to me. I want CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM. None of that crap where people tell you your story is bad but don't tell you why. And if you're going to insult my work, the least you can do is use proper grammer and spelling. Oh, and here are the ages of the people:

Bella: 17

Edward:17

Alice:17

Jacob:16( I know he's two years younger than Bella in the book, but this is fanfiction. My story, my way!)

Rosalie:18

Emmett:18

Jasper:17

Embry:16

Quil:16

Leah:17

Seth:14(To be honest, I have no idea how old Seth really is, so I made up an age of my own.)

I'll let you know about other people as they come inot the story. Oh, and just to warn you, I probably won't update ergularily, mostly because it takes me forever to write a chapter 'cause I'm really picky. So don't get mad at me if I don't update as often as you want. I will post longer chappies, so that's a plus. Well, hope you like it!

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Do You Believe Me Now?

What if Jacob really was Bella's brother? That would mean she has the werewolf gene, too. What happens when she thinks of jeopardizing her pack by telling their secret? A mysterious boy with striking green eyes, an unseen enemy and some great friends work their way through it. All Human, expect for the werewolves. Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and Edward are not related. Canon pairings.

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Chapter one: Legend has it...

EPOV

I looked at the buildings before me; Forks High School. Possibly the smallest school I have ever seen in my entire life. There are only five hundred and some kids here, and that's grades nine to twelve. A deep breath, and then I was on my way to the main office. The secretary, Mrs. Cope, handed me my papers, flushing deeply when our hands touched, and I wandered towards my first class. I was sincerely hoping that Emmett McCarty, a kid I'd met on the weekend, was in that class. First period Calculus would be so much easier if there was someone there to joke around with. I passed the student parking lot again and was pleased to see my silver Volvo didn't stick out too much. A canary yellow Porsche, a glossy red BMW, and a huge Jeep helped it blend in a little more.

There were only a few kids in the classroom when I got there, probably because the bell hadn't rung yet. Finding a desk near the back of the room, I spread my papers out on the desktop and located all my classes: Calculus, which I had already found, English, History, Gym-mandatory all three years, good god,-Biology, and Spanish.

A couple more kids shuffled through the door just as the bell rang, loud and shattering. Some kids who had been sitting on top of the desk moved down into the seat and all the chatter died down as a tall, somewhat balding man entered and set his briefcase down on the desk at the front of the room. Someone slid into the desk next to me and I glanced over. A guy with blonde hair hanging over his blue eyes grinned back at me. He stuck out his hand.

"Jasper Whitlock; you are?" He had a light Southern drawl.

"Edward Masen."I took his hand and shook it. He got a knowing look in his eyes.

"Hey, you've met Emmett right?" I nodded. He smiled, slightly smug. "I thought so. You should sit with Emmett and me at lunch."

"Cool." I decided right then that I liked Jasper. He was so calm and laid back. The complete opposite of Emmett, who was the loudest person I've ever met.

Just then, the teacher, Mr. Varner, started his lecture on the course objectives and Jasper and I turned to face the front.

After class, Jasper and I parted ways, him going to Government and me going to English. The rest of the morning continued in the same order. I found Emmett waiting outside the door for me after History. He clapped me on the back before walking toward the cafeteria. He babbled on about how one of his teachers was unfair to him, and I couldn't help but smile. Emmett is so immature sometimes, but he makes life so much more interesting.

The cafeteria was almost full but I managed to pick out Jasper from the sea of unfamiliar faces. He raised his hand lazily, and Emmett and I made our way over. As we got closer, I noticed the two girls sitting with Jasper; one across and one beside him.

The girl next to him was tiny, to the extreme, and slightly elfish with inky black hair that was styled into crazy spikes. I noticed that her thin hand had Jasper's clasped under the table. She appeared to be excited, bouncing slightly in her seat, staring at us as we approach.

The girl across from Jasper was blond, the picture of beauty with her long, wavy, honey-colored hair coming down her back and angular yet soft features. She glanced at Emmett and I, appeared uninterested, and turned back to staring at the tray of food in front of her.

Emmett slid gracefully, which was very weird considering he was the size of a NFL linebacker, into the seat next to the blond and wound his arm around her shoulders before planting a kiss on her cheek. Her lips twitched upward but she didn't smile.

"Jasper!" the little one nudged him impatiently, looking meaningfully at me, then back to him. Jasper sighed, and then gave me an apologetic look.

"Edward, this is Alice Brandon, my girlfriend. Alice, meet Edward." Alice bounded out of her seat to wrap her arms around me. Her hug was brief, and when she pulled back, she smiled up at me.

"I know we're going to be friends. Wait and see," she stated before returning to her spot next to Jasper and wrapping her hand around his. Alice patted the seat next to her, so I sat down. Emmett spoke up next.

"Calm down Alice. We really don't want you to have an aneurysm," he joked. Little Alice glared at him, looking pretty fierce for someone her size.

The blonde looked up at me. "I'm Rosalie. Rosalie Hale." Her blue eyes met mine and I could see that they weren't cold and icy like her tone. She turned to Emmett and whispered something in his ear. He nodded distractedly. Finally, he nodded to Jasper. Alice didn't miss the exchange.

"What?" she demanded, looking in-between the two boys, complete polar opposites with Emmett's curly dark hair and Jasper's golden locks. Emmett shook his head. She turned to Jasper, a well practiced pout on her face.

"Jazzy?" I had to chuckle at the nickname. "Come on, tell me!" Giving in, Jasper sighed.

"Emmett's planning a party down at First Beach for next weekend, assuming the weather's good." Alice squealed loudly, causing several tables around us to turn and stare. She ignored them.

"Don't tell anyone yet!" Emmett insisted, speaking low so no one would overhear. "It's not final yet. I'm still trying to find out if some of the guys from La Push are coming or not." Alice nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, of course, totally. My lips are sealed." She mimed locking her lips, and Rosalie snorted at her. "Are you insinuating I can't keep a secret, Rose?" Rosalie rolled her eyes in a no duh gesture. Alice glared at her for a moment. Then, abruptly, her mood shifted and she grinned.

"Well, I guess that's true. It all depends on the secret, of course." I was still confused at all the unfamiliar names, and it was Jasper who noticed.

"La Push is the Quileute reservation about ten miles from Forks. First Beach is the beach there. We usually try to spend a couple weekends there before it gets really cold and snows." Oh. That makes sense.

"You are coming right?" Emmett's eyebrows pulled together, crinkling his forehead. I thought about it for a moment. It would give me a reason to get out of the house, away from my newlywed parents who were getting so mushy it was hard to stand being in a room with them.

"Yeah, I'll come. You said Saturday?" Emmett pumped his fist in the air, shouting a loud "Yes!" and startling the group of sophomores at the next table over. Jasper nodded at me, answering my question.

The bell rang, an often occurrence around here-note the sarcasm-and we all stood to head to our different classes. I found I had Gym with both Jasper and Emmett, so we walked there together, Emmett telling all sorts of crazy stories that made us laugh.

The rest of the day flew by and I soon found myself heading out to my car. I had a surprisingly good day here, despite all the girls who had hit on me already. Emmett had made it a joke, and started counting. I think he made it up to at least fourteen.

The house appeared to be empty when I pulled up the driveway. A note was taped to the door, telling me my parents had gone to the city and wouldn't be back for supper. I was okay with that. I fend for myself fairly well.

There was nothing to do all night, so I flicked on the TV and tried to pay attention to some mindless sitcom. Eventually, I just gave up and instead focused on the upcoming beach trip. There was likely to be a whole new crowd of kids I didn't know, either making it awkward or causing my group of friends to grow. I was hoping for the second, personally. Once it was finally acceptable to go to bed, I crawled beneath my covers. It didn't take long to drift off.

The next few days were all the same. Meet Jasper in English, have lunch with Emmett, Alice, Rosalie, and Jasper, then walk to gym with Emmett and Jasper.

Friday finally rolled around, and I realized that I was actually excited for Saturday. Emmett had confirmed earlier in the week that his friends from La Push were coming, and that we should invite whoever we want. I wasn't all too sure how many kids form Forks were going, but that wasn't too important. Emmett had promised to pick me up on his way down, mostly because they didn't trust me to be able to find my way to First Beach. That irked me. I was perfectly capable of reading a map, but none of my friends would listen to logic. Eventually, I gave in.

I woke early on Saturday morning and showered slowly, working out all the stress from the school week. I wasn't all that worried about my wardrobe, even though Alice had already made a comment on my 'extreme lack of style'. I threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Emmett must have been waiting, because I heard him honk impatiently from the driveway. I grabbed my raincoat from the peg on my way by. All the weather reports said it was supposed to be sunny today, but come on. Forks has to be the rainiest place on the continent.

The ride down was silent, neither Emmett nor I having much to say. That silence was broken as soon as we got there. Alice kept up a steady stream of chatter as we walked the little ways down the beach to where everyone else was.

Someone had drug several logs over into a circle around a fire pit, but the fire wasn't going yet. There were coolers sitting in a clump, a few open. A couple girls were playing volleyball with a net set up closer to the water. Kids were sitting around, just talking and laughing and having a god time. The five of us claimed a spot and settled in, Rosalie on the ground, leaning against Emmett's legs and Alice cross-legged on the ground in front of us. We mostly just talked about pointless stuff. At one point, my life before moving to Forks was brought up, not all that delicately, by Emmett.

"Why did you move to Forks?" Emmett's definitely known for his bluntness.

I shrugged before answering," My parents got divorced." Surprisingly, no one looked at me with pity, like most people do. I was grateful for that. Alice nodded knowingly.

"I know how you feel. My mom was cheating on my dad, and he found out and dumped her sorry ass onto the curb. It was sad for a while but we got over it." The usually bouncy Alice was replaced with a serious Alice. I gave her a small smile, telling her silently that I understand. She nodded and grinned, her mood suddenly shifting to happy again.

She babbled on mindlessly, but Emmett's attention was trained on the edge of the trees. Rosalie, Jasper and I copied him. Pretty soon, Alice noticed that no one was listening and glared at us. She opened her mouth again, most likely to scold us, but Emmett interrupted her.

"They're here." Alice's jaw dropped.

"Like, they as in them?" She stressed the word. Emmett nodded. I kept staring at that spot in the trees. Suddenly, six shadows melted out of the dark forest's edge.

There were four boys and two girls. A tall boy with his glossy black hair loose about his face who looked around my age was in the front, the rest trailing behind in a loose 'V' formation. They all looked alike, except for one; the girl right behind the front boy. She was pale, her skin a light ivory color whereas the others where all a dark russet color. Everyone on the beach had stopped to watch them enter, and now they turned back to whatever it was they were doing. The group split; two boys, one short and beefy, but not even close to Emmett, the other tall and skinny, heading towards the drinks coolers, the russet-colored girl moving towards the volleyball net with a younger boy trailing behind like a lost puppy. The pale girl and long-haired boy stayed together, not going anywhere really. They had their backs to us.

Out of the blue, Alice screamed and launched herself at them. The pale girl turned slightly and grinned. "Bella!"Alice shrieked and jumped onto her back. I stared in disbelief.

Rosalie leaned over and whispered, "That's Isabella Swan. She and Alice are pretty much best friends." That explains it. "Bella doesn't go to school with us; she goes to the one on the reservation." That was surprising.

"But she isn't native, is she?" Rosalie chuckled at my blunt question.

"She's half native. Her mom is white. Bella took after her mom a lot more than her dad, Billy Black. She still has Quileute qualities though. Her eyes are brown, for instance. She has that willowy grace that all the Quileute women have, and the hands. Her hands are thin and delicate. She's lucky." I looked at her again, noticing the fine details that Rosalie had pointed out. Somehow, this Bella had managed to pry Alice off her back and was now talking, or listening, really, to Alice, who was talking faster than I had ever seen her speak before. I watched them both, shocked at how well Bella handled Alice, like she had known her all her life. Then again, she probably has. The two girls laughed, and Alice linked her arm through Bella's, taking her with as she moved towards the drinks. The long-haired boy followed behind. Rosalie had been watching all of this with me, and she now rose, gliding gracefully over to them.

I marvelled at how Rosalie could be jealous of Bella Swan. Sure, Bella was very pretty, but Rosalie was the definition of beauty. Emmett was lucky. The three girls started toward us, the long haired boy following faithfully along, like a puppy. He kept close to Bella, almost like a shadow. I noticed that he kept a hand on her arm, almost as though he was holding her back, restraining her. She didn't seem to mind. His russet brown tone looked so out of place next to her ivory skin.

I wondered idly if they were together. They moved in sync with each other, like they were tied together by a string. It was so natural looking. Then I remembered they were siblings and I shook that thought out of my mind. I was so lost in my thoughts it didn't register that they had all returned and sat down with us. Rosalie had resumed her position leaning on Emmett and Alice sat on the ground with Bella beside her. The boy was hovering beside Bella. Alice was grinning like an idiot and had both of her hands clasped around one of Bella's.

"You've met the guys right Bells?" She sang, looking up at Bella. She blushed, before smiling slightly and nodding. Her smile was genuine and sweet.

"Same old Bella," Emmett laughed making her blush even more. Jasper caught her eye and nodded at her. She smiled politely back.

"So," Alice started. "How was your summer? Anything exciting happen?" She looked expectantly over at Bella who was smiling again, her face turned towards the boy next to her. They both had a smirk on their faces and seemed to be sharing a joke.

"Oh, nothing too interesting," Bella replied. The boy was laughing quietly under his breath. She elbowed him. "Shut up, Jake." He faked hurt and rubbed his arm. Alice giggled under her hand. Rosalie was glaring daggers at Jake, who was calmly staring back, looking smug. Bella smacked his arm again, and he looked down at her. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment and Jake frowned, He raised a dark eyebrow at her and she nodded, barely. No one else seemed to notice their silent exchange.

"Bella, this is Edward. He moved here from Chicago." I looked up at her. Her eyes were warm and inviting, no awkwardness in them at all. I carefully stuck my hand out for her to shake, which she did. A sharp shock vibrated up my arm as soon as our hands touched. Her eyes widened; two pools of chocolate brown with slight golden flecks through them. She dropped her gaze to her lap and released my hand. Jake was staring at us, his eyes flicking back and forth.

The conversations chattered on around me, Bella joining in. I barely noticed. I was too busy watching her. The longer I spent with her, the more I could see the subtle beauty that I hadn't noticed before. Like the soft, shiny curls of mahogany hair she had secured in a ponytail down her back, or the way her long eyelashes brushed against her cheekbones when she looked down. Or the tinge of pink that colored her cheeks every time Emmett made her blush.

The other girl that had came with Bella and Jake came to sit with us, though she was careful not to sit too close to Emmett and Rosalie. Introductions were made, where I discovered her name was Leah Clearwater, and the boy who had followed her before was her younger brother, Seth. Jake pointed out the tall and skinny boy as Quil Atera, and the short and beefy boy as Embry Call. They were all close, sitting and joking together around the campfire that had been lit once the sun went down.

"Jacob! Dad said no drinking. How am I supposed to get you home if you get too drunk and pass out?" Bella plucked the can of beer out of Jacob's large hand and dumped it out behind the logs we were sitting on. "Honestly, sometimes you forget to think," she scolded him.

"Jeez Bells, you sound like my mother," he joked and she scowled at him, before turning back to her conversation with Leah. I chuckled. They seemed more like brother and sister in that moment then they had all night.

Emmett pulled the marshmallows he had been roasting out of the fire and held them up. "Want one, Rosie?" Rosalie shook her head, her blond waves swishing back and forth. Emmett moved the poker so it pointed at Alice, who also shook her head, though her hair didn't move because of all the gel holding in her spikes. Leah just glared at him when he looked her way so he turned to Bella.

She didn't hesitate, instead plucking one off the end with an agreeable, 'Sure." Emmett grinned, glad at being successful and threw the other one in his mouth.

"Good." He said once he had swallowed. "At least one girl I know can eat a marshmallow without worrying about the calories." He caught Rosalie's glare and that sent him backtracking. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that..." He trailed off. Rosalie's glare never lessened.

"Oh, lighten up Rose. You and I both know he didn't mean it like that. He's Emmett. It was about time he stuck his foot in his big mouth today. I was waiting for it, actually." Rosalie nodded to Alice and leaned over to peck Emmett on the cheek, whispering something in his ear. It was probably an apology, judging by the crazy grin that spread across his face when she moved back. Jasper was smiling at them, and Bella was giggling quietly behind her hand. Alice shook her head at the two. She glanced at me and rolled her eyes, mouthing 'typical' to me.

Bella glanced up at the stars, watching them. Her hand moved towards her pocket absently, where she pulled out a small silver phone. Her eyes never left the sky until she had flipped open her phone. She glanced down, read the screen before nudging Jacob. He looked at the small screen then looked up at her. She cocked an eyebrow at him and he nodded. She snapped the phone shut and slipped it back into her pocket.

"Alice?" The small girl turned to look at Bella. "Jake and I need to get going. The old man's getting a bit impatient. We'll catch up to you later, okay?"Alice nodded her head vigorously, then jumped up and gave Bella a hug. Bella laughed lightly and patted her on the back. When she pulled back, Alice eyed Jacob. He grinned down at her, noticing her scrutinizing. She shrugged and gave him a hug too, although less enthusiastic as before. Emmett wrapped Bella in a huge hug and Rosalie smiled at her from behind Emmett. Jacob, Emmett and Jasper shook hands. Rosalie just scowled venomously at Jacob, but he didn't seem intimidated by it.

Bella shifted, uncomfortable, in front of me. She was chewing on her lip, the gears in her mind turning, deciding what to do. Finally, after deeming it the safest, she stuck out her small hand. I took it. The same electric current startled me, but we both refused to let it show on our faces. I stared into her brown eyes, so full of depth. She stared back, not blinking, for a moment. Then our hands dropped, and she smiled at me.

"Nice meeting you, Edward." She was calm, collected, like nothing had just happened.

"You too, Bella," I was shocked at how even my voice was. I still felt slightly shaken inside, at what I had seen in her eyes, the innocence very alien for any teenage girl. She turned and called out lightly to Leah.

"Are you coming, or are you and Seth going to stay for a while longer."

"Yeah, Leah, do you need us to walk you home in the dark so you don't get scared?" Jacob teased light-heartedly. All the same, Leah scowled at him.

"I'm not scared, Jakey," she mocked. "The scary werewolves aren't going to get me, are they?"

"Werewolves?" Emmett piped up, intrigued by the idea. Everyone at the fire was suddenly wide awake and alert, listening closely.

"Yup," Quil answered. "Legend has it, that the forest surrounding the Quileute land is inhabited by werewolves, but they don't call them that anymore. They used to call them the Spirit Warriors, who are here to protect us from the cold ones..." Quil trailed off dramatically, the planes of his face made eerie by the fire casting shadows over them. The air was thickened with expense. Everyone was staring at the kids from La Push, expectantly, waiting for them to continue. The silence stretched on,

Rosalie broke it by snorting incredulously at the look on Emmett's face. "You don't really believe any of that do you?" she questioned him. "It can't be true."She directed at Quil, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"It might be. No one really knows," he said vaguely.

Alice's eyes were wide, unblinking as she stared at him. "Tell us more," she commanded. Quil just shook his head no. "Why not?" she demanded. Quil turned to look her straight in the eye.

"They aren't my stories to tell," he said simply.

Alice was fast becoming frustrated at his cryptic answers. "Well, then who's stories are they?"

"The elders tell these stories the best. Them and Sam's gang," Quil's face twisted in disgust. Jacob frowned and his eyebrow's crinkled together. Next to Jacob, Bella groaned and sat back down on the log.

"Now that you've brought that up, we're not going for a while." She dropped her chin into her hands. Emmett was confused, and it showed on his face.

"Huh?" Everyone ignored him.

"La Push has a gang?" Jasper asked, incredulous. Embry nodded.

"They're this little group that follows Sam Ulney around like he's God or something. You never see just one of them, they're always together." Jacob cut in.

"They do whatever he tells them to, all the time. It kind of reminds me of a cult."

"All of the elders think that Sam is so great. According to my grandpa, he's the best thing to happen to La Push since electricity was installed; and he should know, he's old enough to have been there to witness it." Quil chuckled nervously. Silence covered the circle; the only sound was the fire crackling and the waves gently lapping at the shore behind them.

Embry broke it."They've been looking at me funny all week." Jacob turned to him.

"Really? Me too," he whispered. Embry's dark eyes widened at that.

"It's almost as if they expect me to suddenly turn into Superman and go save the world." Jacob nodded at him. After a moment of thinking, Embry tuned to Jake, scared.

"You don't think they think we're going to join their club, do you?"

"I hope not," Jacob answered. Bella was sitting stick-straight, staring at the two boys.

"We won't let that happen." The two turned at her voice.

"How are you going to do that?" Embry asked nervously. Bella hesitated, thinking. Jacob never gave her the chance to answer.

"Remember Jared?" he asked. "He hated Sam's guts, and then he disappeared for a week from school and when he came back, he was one of Sam's lackeys, singing Sam's praises. Just like the rest of them." His voice was accusatory, and sent Bella to the defensive.

"We both know that you're too hard-headed to let Sam get to you. He would have a hard time convincing you of something if you didn't want to hear it," she shot back. The two stared each other down, both refusing to look away and lose.

"Likewise, big sister," Jacob grinned suddenly and reached out to ruffle her hair. She shrieked and ducked batting his hand from the air but missing. The mood around the fire shifted suddenly, turning happy and joking.

"He's got a fair point there Bells," Quil teased. "You've got to be one of the most stubborn people I know." Bella crossed her arms over her chest and glared at both boys.

"There's nothing bad about standing up for your views," she challenged them.

"There is when you're wrong," Jacob told her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, shut up. I'm usually right! Besides, we'd better get going before Billy sends a search party out for us." She stood and waited for Jacob to do the same.

"Yeah, usually," he muttered under his breath. And then he said louder," With our luck, it would probably be Sam he calls too."

"Yet another reason to go home," she stressed the last two words. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright, get it. You want to go. "Bella threw her hands up in the air.

"Finally!" They waved as they left, calling out promises to hang out during the week, then they were gone. Leah and Seth left next, with the excuse of Seth's bedtime, but I suspected part of was that they weren't as close with any of the others. Quil and Embry went with Leah, so that left just Rosalie and Alice and Jasper, who all left quickly after, and Emmett and I. We put out the fire and buried the ashes, and then Emmett drove me home. I collapsed onto my bed and willed my eyes to close, but when they did, all I could see was Bella Swan, laughing around the fire. I fell asleep like that.