Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

A/N: Read the bottom note.

Massacre
Chapter One

Bella awoke with a sharp gasp, sitting up on the lumpy couch. She ran her hand over her hair, wincing as her hand caught the numerous tangles.

She sighed, looking around. She noted that she was on the couch, and that the house was dark, and empty.

Her mind, without her permission, ran over the previous night and she winced at the pain. It felt like a hole had been sawed through her chest. She realized that now she would have to think about what it would be like to live without the…without them.

It's not like she was alone. It was just that she'd practically ignored the people that cared about her. Thinking back about her behavior, she was almost disgusted.

She could not blame herself, though, for getting wrapped up in the vampire family. It hurt to think of them, but she knew she would have to get used to it.

Or, maybe she didn't. Should she force herself to forget, never to taste the sweet but now painful memories again, or should she remember, keep the memories strong and keep herself stronger.

Bella patted the blanket on top of her, running the fabric on her fingertips. She winced at how delicate her hands felt. She noticed that she had little scratches on her arms, probably from running and tripping in the forest.

The phone rang, the sound startling her. She picked it up tentatively.

"Bells?" She relaxed at Charlie's voice.

"Hey," Bella said lightly. Her voice was raspy, so she cleared her throat once.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright,"

"Bells…they're gone."

Bella winced, "I know."

"I don't…look, I know…heartbreak is…I hope you feel better. Hey, maybe now would be a good time to go see Angela or Jacob down in La Push. You guys used to have fun together." Bella knew Charlie wasn't just talking about Jacob with his last comment.

"Yeah," Bella said, absentmindedly playing with a strand of her hair. "Maybe I'll go see them both today."

"Good." Charlie sounded pleased, "Stay safe, kiddo. There's a rumor going around of some killer in Seattle."

Bella rolled her eyes, "I'll be careful."

"That's my girl."

Bella held the phone to her ear for a while, listening to the dial tone. She shook her head, hanging it up before dialing Angela's number.

"Hello?" Angela asked, sounding breathless.

"Hey," Bella started, shifting awkwardly into a sitting position on the couch.

"Oh, hey, Bella." Something in Angela's voice was guarded.

"I was wondering if maybe we could do something today?"

"Oh," Angela said, surprised. "I'm up to my neck with this report…"

"I can help? I mean, we could help each other." Bella practically begged, trying her best not to remember how Alice had helped her with the same report. After a moment of struggling, she let herself remember, before pulling back when it got too painful.

"Uh, sure." Angela paused. "Want me to come pick you up? I mean, your truck seems like it's broken or something because Ed—" Angela broke off, but the damage was done. The many times she'd been with…him in his Volvo flooded Bella's mind.

"Yeah," Bella's voice broke. "Yeah, it might seem that way. My truck is fine, though."

"I'm sorry." Angela said timidly. "We can talk about it, if you want?"

Bella mulled this over, deciding that maybe that's just what she needed.

"Sure, but maybe we should wait until it's in person."

"I totally agree." Angela said. "Okay, see you in a little while."

"See you," Bella said, after she heard the dial tone. "Thank you."

---

Bella winced at the loud roar her truck made when she started it. She missed the quiet purr, the smoothness of their cars. It made her laugh a short, dry, laugh, before she pulled out and made her way to Angela's.

She almost got lost; an ode to how little she'd been to Angela's in her friendship. That fact made her stomach twist with guilt. Angela had always been her truest, kindest friend since the beginning, with her soft disposition and quiet words. Bella felt bad for ignoring her when they took her in. Angela deserved better than that, everyone did.

When she parked in front of Angela's, she was surprised at how much she liked the house. Then she felt guilty for being so surprised.

It was a small house, but compared to… their mansion every house is small. It had a large window on the right side, facing the driveway. Bella remembered seeing the same sort of window in the old Phoenix Public Library, where she had spent much of her time in the past.

The house was paint a soft, calm blue, and Bella felt like it was welcoming her to the soft, calm girl inside, ready to talk about something that made her want to cringe.

She sighed, grabbed the backpack that had stayed in her truck cabin since…last night. She winced as she opened the door, the cold too familiar thanks to them. She hated that they'd effected her so, but loved that she could be effected this way.

When she knocked on the door, Angela answered immediately. She wiped her hands on her jeans, a very human action that she found she was not used to.

"Hey," She greeted, nodding me in. "I started the paper, but I'm stuck."

"I'll do what I can." She said, smiling. She could tell that Angela was walking on eggshells, dancing around the touchy subjects, and Bella liked that Angela cared enough to care about how she felt.

"Can I see yours?" Angela asked. "I bet it's great."

"It's alright. I had help," Bella said, handing the paper to Angela.

"Was it Edward or Alice…" Angela slapped her hand over her mouth, before moving it up to put her forehead in her palm. "I'm so stupid."

"You heard, then." Bella laughed lightly, masking the hurt. There was no need to make Angela feel worse.

"Well, you know how it is in Forks." Angela said, embarrassed. They both took a seat on the couch in front of a low table in the living room.

"Once Jessica knows everyone knows." Bella blurted out.

Angela laughed, "No, Jessica is only responsible for gossip at Forks High. Her mother is responsible for the parents."

"How does she get to everyone?" Bella wondered aloud.

"Well, Forks Personal Bank is the only bank really close by." Angela shrugged. "Everyone uses it."

Bella nodded to her self silently. Angela's eyes moved back and forth over the words in the paper.

"Alice helped." Bella said quietly.

"Ah," Angela said. "It's good."

Bella nodded. "Let's finish yours. Firstly, what book did you choose to do it on?"

"And Then There Were None," Angela said. "It's one of my favorites from Agatha Christie."

"I like it too." Bella said. "Let me read what you have so far?"

"Sure," Angela passed Bella an open silver laptop carefully. The screen was bright, the document already open and written in.

Bella could feel Angela watching as she read over the paragraph or so written in the document on the screen.

"I think it's good." Bella started, "But I think you're missing that this is an opinion essay. It's not completely factual."

"Right,"

"And, if I were you, I'd add to it…why is it your favorite of her books? What separates it from the others; from any other book by any author? Her writing style, the effect this book had on her fandom…Your favorite parts, all that."

Angela took the laptop back and the padding of the keys filled the silence.

"Bella," Angela finally said, "Can we talk about…him, them, whatever?"

"I guess." Bella shrugged, internally dreading the talk, "I can't promise I'll have a response to everything, though."

"No, I didn't expect you to." Angela sighed, "It's too early."

Bella didn't ask what she meant, and once more it was silent.

"There," Angela said happily. She passed the laptop to Bella.

"I like it." Bella smiled. "I like how you connected the poem, the soldiers, and the people."

"It seems scary, doesn't it?" Angela asked. "To be somewhere like that?"

"Definitely." Bella laughed, passing the laptop back.

Angela continued typing, "I don't want you to stay here, just watching me type. You should do something…We have a Wii?"

Bella giggled. "Do you have Guitar Hero?"

Angela smirked, "Yes, and I will so beat you at it!"

The two girls got up, still laughing, and started setting up the game neither of them had played for years.

Both of them, there, their fingers in sync as they pressed those brightly colored keys together…Bella realized she missed this. Being silly, acting younger than her age. She liked it a lot more than she thought she used to, or ever would.

It felt right, she decided. It was much easier than acting so responsible all the time.

As she sat down, giving Angela a separate turn, the looming talk hung over her head.

Suddenly all she wanted to do was go home and be boring and act old again. Stick to the familiarity.

But the familiarity, at least a good portion of it, was gone…Gone with them.

A/N: I maintain that Bella isn't too old to like Guitar Hero. You just can't be too old.

Okay, so this is the beginning. I'm so excited. I hope you guys like this story, even though it's so different from anything I've ever written.

Please review (:

(Also - this story will be updated every other Wednesday. Or, if people like it a lot, every Wednesday if I can keep up.)