A/N: Okay guys, this is my first story in well over five years. I don't know what's going to happen with it yet so we shall see.

I know this chapter might not be all that exciting and yes, it might even be considered short, but I wanted to save the next part for the next chapter, and I didn't want to bore you to tears with more traveling than I had to.

Thanks for reading; review if you like it!

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all.

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"Bella, c'mon, we have to get a move on. We've got more than forty driving hours ahead of us and we don't want to miss orientation!" I heard my boyfriend Jake call over his shoulder. "Good Lord, Bella, what did you pack in here? Your whole house?!" I giggled, bouncing out of the house behind him and into the driveway where he was diligently packing my belongings into my old Chevy pickup.

Charlie was right on my heels. "Are you sure you've got everything, honey?" my dad asked. "You might want to double check…"

"Daaaad, I've got everything! I'm all set!" "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you, it being your first year and all?"

"No! I'm okay, I've got Jacob!" I watched as dad deflated, shuffling his work boots in the gravel and looking at me.

"Aww, dad! I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying it's a long trip and you'd only be there for a few hours. I didn't think it was worth the trip." I gave him a squeezing hug. "I love you."

"Love you too, Bells."

"I still don't understand why we can't fly."

"Because you guys should get to experience the fun of a pre-college road trip. Besides, if you flew, what would you drive once you're AT college? Hmmm?"

"Alright, alright."

Dad smiled. "'Kay then, you two should hit the road, you have a lot of ground to cover before it gets dark.

I ran around to the driver's side of my truck and hopped in while my boyfriend walked over to Charlie and shook his hand. "Bye, sir. See you at Thanksgiving."

Jake double-checked the stability of our necessities in the back of the truck, and I waved excitedly in Charlie's direction as Jacob climbed in the cab beside me. As soon as he was securely seat-belted into my antique truck, I backed out of the drive.

"Bella, why is your dad's hand always so cold?"

As we began our three-day drive to Fairbanks and our new home at the University of Alaska, I sighed. Jake reached over and took my right hand off the steering wheel and laced his fingers through mine. "You okay?" He added his other hand to the mix, rubbing my hand to heat them up. By now he should be used to my constant cool temperature.

I thought to myself, wow, what's he going to do when it's been another year and my body's finally down to its correct temperature. Dad, who wasn't really my dad, had changed me when I was seventeen years old. And technically I still am - it's been a year since my heart stopped - and I'll be seventeen forever. Of course, only Charlie and I knew about that, and I'd rather keep it that way. How he hasn't figured out already is beyond me.

"Yeah… I'm just thinking."

"About?" Jake shifted in his seat so he was facing me, smiling.

I glanced at him, deciding whether or not I wanted to confide in him with this. It does involve him… no. I can't yet.

"About college. What if we get there and something happens to us? I've never known of anyone who stays with the same person when they get to college."

"Bella don't worry about that, we're going to the same college, it's okay." I glared at him for a brief moment before focusing my scattered attention back on the familiar road out of Forks.

"Jake, you don't know that."

Jake shot me a warning glare and I realized I needed to drop the subject. "Nevermind."

Hours passed without incident. By now it was nine P.M. We'd been traveling for eleven hours with minimal stops, and I was ready for a hot shower and a chance to hunt while he slept. Jake nodded at my request of shut-eye, for him, not me… but I won't tell him that, and soon he was pointing me in the direction of a Best Western along the main road.

Opening the door to our room, I found instead of two queen beds, one large king bed taking up half of the room. I looked at Jake. "They didn't have anything with two?" My boyfriend looked at me. "I just asked for a room – I didn't specify. Does it really matter that much?"

Even though I'd been dating Jake for almost a year, I wasn't comfortable with the idea of sleeping in the same bed with an adolescent boy. "I guess it doesn't."

Twenty minutes later I was clean, dry, and comfortable in my sweatpants. I opened up my computer to check email. The bathroom door creaked open and I looked up to see Jake in his boxers. "You don't mind if I sleep like this, right? I never wear a shirt at home."

"No, it's fine." I closed my laptop and set it on the table by the door. Eyeing the thermostat, I realized I couldn't sleep at its current setting, so I turned it up to 78 degrees and crawled under the warm covers. Jake laughed. "Bella, what are you going to do when we start sleeping in dorms? Unpredictable heating…" I pulled the blankets over my head. "Hell if I know…" I mumbled. Jake laughed.

"Goodnight Bell," I heard Jacob whisper in my ear, and I felt his warm lips brush against my hair. I heard his breathing slow down. Silly, oblivious boy. I wish I could tell him that I can't sleep.

When I knew he was out cold, I threw on my jeans and tennis shoes and ran outside. I followed the edge of the woods for a while and then entered, my shoes squishing on the damp mossy earth. I ran for a while and eventually took down a moose, one of my favorites. That should do it for a while…

I returned and slipped under the blankets. The clock read 4:30 AM. Damn. I didn't waste enough time. Jacob slipped his arms around me and I smiled. It'd be nice to fall asleep like this, if I could sleep…

Morning came, and when the clock registered 7:45 I extracted myself from his long arms and glided to the shower.

By the time I got out, Jake was awake and sitting patiently on the end of the bed, waiting for his turn in the shower. I leaned down and kissed him before packing yesterday's clothes back into my suitcase. By the time the bathroom door clicked shut, Jake was already humming.

Soon after, at about nine, we were on the road again, with Jake so graciously volunteering to drive, stopping at a gas station a few miles up to get something that resembled breakfast. I poked at my egg sandwich, and looked up to meet his disapproving eyes. "Bell, you never eat. Go on, it won't hurt you; you need breakfast. It'll be a long day."

I had to tell him. I had to tell him I'm a vampire and food makes me freaking sick. "Jake…" "Look, Bella, if you're still worried about us falling apart this year, forget it, we're going to be fine. I love you." I clamped my mouth shut. He was still tense about yesterday, and I couldn't see that broaching that subject would calm things in the slightest. "I'm not hungry." He stared at me before returning his angry eyes to the road. "Bella. You have to eat. So eat. I won't take no for an answer, please."

I bit into my sandwich to appease him. It tasted like lead. I forced down half of the sandwich before putting it back in the wrapper. "I can't eat anymore right now." Jake smiled. "At least you ate something."

"Yeah…" and in half an hour I'll be feeling it, just you wait.

Sure enough, half an hour later… "Jake, please pull over."

"Why Bella? We've still got a long way to go."

"Jake, pull over."

"Can't you wait till the next gas station?"

"DAMN IT JAKE, PULL OVER!"

Jake swerved onto the shoulder and I launched myself from the partially stopped vehicle and into the woods. I ran probably a mile in ten seconds flat, ending up in a small clearing. Thank God for overcast days I thought as I crouched down, emptying the whole of this morning's attempted sandwich onto the grass. I saw a raccoon a few yards away and after I halfway satisfied my insatiable hunger, I headed back to the truck. Jake was leaning against the passenger door, arms crossed, watching me approach. "You okay babe?"

"Told you I wasn't hungry."

"Fine. If you're better now, we better get a move on." I stared at him incredulously.

"Give me a minute, if you please." I snapped. I bend over at the waist, hands on my knees, and waited for the possibility of a bit more of my sandwich making itself known. After another moment, I decided my stomach had settled, and we got back on the road.

We drove until seven o'clock, stopping only for gas and our bladder relief, or so he thought. The conversation consisted mainly of my occasional "I wonder how far we've gone" and his assorted replies or various emotions.

"Bella?"

"Yes Jacob?"

"Hungry?"

"No."

"Well I am. We're stopping."

"Okay." I mumbled, sitting deeper in the seat and leaning my head against the headrest. "I'll stay out here." We were pulling into the parking lot of a roadside diner. "Bella, you need to eat."

"Jake, honey, must we start this again? I'm not feeling up to it." He shrugged and headed inside. I was relieved when he came out that he wasn't carrying anything he expected me to eat.

He climbed back in the car, opened his mouth to ask me something, and then shut it. "No, I don't want anything." He smiled. "Sorry. I just don't want you to go hungry."

My clenched jaw relaxed and I smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Do you want to keep going?" I looked at the time. 7:30PM registered on the clock face. "It wouldn't hurt. We've still got a long ways to go tomorrow."

The following afternoon, after yet another uneventful night and a $30 hotel stay, we had tacked an additional ten hours onto our travel time, and were now a sun's day's drive from our destination. I requested we drive another four hours, then stop at a hotel and relax for the evening. That would leave us with six or seven hours the following day, and we could get to the school right when orientation starts – at dinnertime.

Hours later Jake and I were in our hotel room, watching a movie. He sat up against the bed's headboard and I sat in between his legs, his arms around my waist. Mmm, warmth. It'd been a year since my transformation, and I still felt chilled in my own skin. In comparison, Jake was warm. I snuggled deeper in to his chest, barely paying attention to the TV. Jake fell asleep in this position, and I had the feeling he wouldn't be waking up until sunlight was prodding his eyes open. Having absorbed enough body heat to comfort me for a while, I went for a walk.

The following evening we were pulling onto the campus, trying failingly to find the main building. They were all huge and brick – we had no idea where to start.

We finally found a big, crowded parking lot, full of crammed SUVs and U-Hauls. Getting out, we surveyed the area. The crowd was gathering in one corner of the lot. Walking up to the table under the "WELCOME!" banner, we already felt at home.

A friendly smile greeted us. "Hi! Names please?"