Heyy all! This is my first Twilight fic, so I'm actually a little nervous. But here it is! I present it to you 

A little note before you start reading: you will probably notlike Bella right now. But that's the point. I'm the author and I don't like her in this first chapter either. But the point I'm trying to make is…She's obviously changed from her time in Forks. A lot. Exactly why she's changed, however, will be revealed in later chapters!

Not mine.

Bella took in her surroundings with a pleasant smile. This was where she belonged. She glanced around and tried to soak it up. The walls were painted a rich, red color which matched the dim lighting perfectly. Music throbbed from bass speakers hidden behind oddly shaped tables and chairs. All around her, attractive twenty-somethings sipped expensive, alcohol-filled drinks with exotic names and flirted loudly with each other. This was the hippest place in town, and there was nowhere else she'd rather be on a Saturday night.

"Bella, you wanna dance?" her companion asked from her elbow. Bella stopped admiring the general scene and turned to him.

"What do you think, Jake?" she asked rhetorically. A grin slowly tugged the corners of her mouth up.

Jacob dragged her to the small floor where people continued to drink and flirt, but here they managed to make it look like they were dancing. He grabbed her hips and she swung them along with the beat sensuously. Who would have ever thought that Bella Swan, the former self-proclaimed klutz, who hated to dance more than most people hated root canals, who couldn't keep her balance on a flat, dry, surface, would look like this as an adult? She dipped and swayed, not gracefully, per se, but in a way that made men look twice. Her hands busied themselves in her hair, in Jacob's hair. He laughed, the sound of which made her laugh.

Bella came here at least once a week. La Duni was where she blew off steam from a high-stress job. Her natural talent at writing and love for books had led her all the way to New York City, where she quickly gained a reputation as a book critic. Any author who wanted half a chance at getting on the best-seller list knew they had to impress Bella. Her opinion was as good as gold in the literary world.

Jacob turned Bella so they were face to face. "Honey," he said huskily as she grinded on him. "Are we going to my place tonight?"

The desire was thick and evident in his voice. His eyes seemed darkened, more rich. An unhappy thought fleetingly crossed her mind, too quickly for her to even process.

"Jake, you know how much I want to," Bella purred over the music. "But I've got a big meeting tomorrow for work…" She trailed off with a slight pout to her face.

Disappointment flickered across Jacob's lovely features, but only for a second. "That's fine, honey," he said. He still hadn't managed to get the longing out of his voice, though. "Another night?"

"Another night," Bella concurred. "You know I can't stay away."

They continued to dance together for a while, until Bella grew tired. Jacob went to the bar to get some drinks for the two of them.

Bella thought to wistfully herself. If I could only see me now, six years ago. Six years ago, she was back at Forks. Six years ago put Bella as a senior in high school. Her best friend and constant companion was Jacob, as it was now. So that hasn't changed, at least. But six years ago, her hobbies consisted of staying on her own two feet, and reading. Six years ago, she would never have been able to imagine this kind of behavior. She remembered with a slight laugh how she tried to flirt with Jacob the first time she met him. She was painfully awkward, but somehow it endeared her to him. That Bella Swan wouldn't even recognize me.

Of course, whenever she got thinking about old memories, and Forks, a familiar lump rose in her throat. But, as she had grown used to, she pushed it back down forcefully. Almost immediately, her mind switched gears. I wonder what Jacob got me from the bar. Better be an apple martini. If she had wanted to analyze it further, she might have thought her brain was trying to protect her.

But in an instant, Jacob returned and her mind was on the present. Where it should be. Looking back was dangerous. He did get me an apple martini. Good.

She and Jacob sat down on a plushy orange sofa. Crossing her legs, they fell into easy conversation. What they had planned on doing this week, what the people in the room were wearing, how drunk she was. Anything was a safe topic of conversation for Jacob. He always made her feel comfortable, happy enough to smile until her cheeks hurt.

Maybe that was how they found themselves together now, still, after they had been through so much. Jacob and Bella still had the closest of relationships. They worked together, they spent leisure time together (and sometimes they slept together).

But it was strictly a friends-with-occasional-benefits sort of deal. At least it was to Bella. She would never have romantic feelings for Jacob. She tried it out, briefly, in high school. But the shoe just didn't fit, Bella thought. The first time they slept together, they were both incredibly drunk and needy. It wasn't long after they moved to New York together. Bella was feeling alone and very far from home. She could tell that Jacob was feeling the same way, though nothing was said on the subject to each other. She was trying to be strong, partially for herself and partially for him. She couldn't just break down after she had made it so far.

So Bella and Jacob had gone out that night, and proceeded to get trashed. Bella went back to his apartment, and that night, they had clung to each other for dear life. Ever since then, it was sporadic. One night she was feeling particularly lonely, she invited him into her bed. Another night, she was stressed out from an article she had to write. They had barely made it home to his place. Having sex with Jacob was a comfort, a boost to her self-esteem, a relaxer. But it was never love.

Bella laughed. Love. What a strange word.

"Hey, Jake, remember when I was in love?" While Bella was lost in her thoughts, she had downed the apple martini. And the other one that Jacob had brought her. Apparently the alcohol had loosened her lips.

An irritated look crossed Jacob's face. "Aw, yeah, with-"

"Wasn't I a total idiot back then?" Bella cut him off. "What was I like?"

"You were so…" his face twisted, trying to find the right words. "Not like you are now. Like, you would put him before yourself. Always thinking of him, trying to make him happy, worrying about him." Jacob flashed a toothy smile. "I like you better this way. You're independent, tough. Sexy."

Bella smiled, the trademark blush of her younger days thankfully not present. "Thanks, Jake," she said, blowing him a kiss.

Jacob mimed catching it. The conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence. After a few moments, he turned back to Bella.

"I'm getting tired. You wanna head home?"

The music had been slowly lulling Bella to sleep. She nodded drowsily. He helped her up, and together they went outside to hail a cab. The ground was damp from a light drizzle that had occurred earlier in the night. The smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol assaulted Bella's senses once they were outside, but that didn't surprise her.

What did surprise her, though, was the woman with her back turned to her a few feet down the sidewalk. She was alone, as if she was waiting for someone. A completely unremarkable sight, except for her hair.

Her hair. It was short, brown, and spiked like a pixie in all directions. Bella's heart stopped. Just then, a cab pulled up. Jacob pulled her inside. Bella turned around, straining to look at this mysterious stranger, but she didn't turn around the cab pulled away. It must be all this talk about the past, Bella thought, trying to make her thoughts casual. That's what it has to be. Lots of people do their hair like that, anyways.

But it wasn't just her hair. It was her size, her clothes, and the way she held herself that had made Bella's whole body go into overdrive.

Suddenly, Bella thought of something that both depressed her and relieved her. If it had really been Alice, she would have seen me. And she would have been looking for me, knowing I was there.

It hadn't been Alice, Bella decided. There was simply no way. She left them behind when she left Forks behind, six years ago.

Okay, so one last thing. I liked Bella's character in the books, my only problem was her lack of a spine. She let Edward completely control her life. Ladies, we all know it shouldn't be like that in a relationship. Seriously, the woman should be the one in charge! Haha, well, enough of my crazy relationship philosophies- I'm kind of crazy when it comes to that (ask my poor boyfriend). If most of the changes in the chapter are negative, the one good thing that I'm going to have Bella keep is her spine, which she seems to have grown in the six years she spent away from Forks. I promise, if a certain someone makes a return, he won't be getting off easy ;)