Prologue:

Photograph

Every memory of looking out the back door
I have a photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye

By: Nickelback

Staring at the scrapbook of photos scattered around my bedroom, I let myself go. I let myself embrace all those haunted emotions I had hidden for so long. For the first time in years, I let myself cry over the past. My tears stained the photo that captured the 13 year old boy smiling back at me. The boy had his arm around a skinny, small, brunette. They were both smiling toothy grins, and the girl was holding up a newspaper proudly. The picture the day that I think back to the most. Our day of happiness. The day when my life seemed so perfect, in actuality is was crumbling into pieces without my knowledge. That was the last day of happiness I can recall, now 11 years later.

How could my life have turned out like this?

"Please come over!" I pleaded to my best friend, Edward. "Or I'll get everyone to start calling you Eddie!"

Edward laughed, "Might I ask what is so important that you had to wake me up at one A.M. for?" He acted like he minded, but I knew he secretly loved our late night phone calls. We had been calling each other at odd times throughout our friendship; a friendship that happened to have lasted 12 years so far. Edward was only a year older than me, at 13.

"Edward Anthony Mason Cullen you get your butt at my house this instant!" I mock scolded him. I looked out my window and saw him getting out of his bed, cradling his cell phone from one ear to the other.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I heard him mutter.

I hung up and continued watching him travel from his house across the street to my house, by climbing down the vines and jogging to my house, a trick he had perfected since our phone calls began months ago. From there he climbed up my ancient willow tree to my balcony. Swiftly, I opened the white French doors and jumped into his arms, which had been waiting for a hug.

"Hey," I said softly. Edward had that effect on me, making me warm up and melt just by a gaze. Remembering why I had so urgently called him, I squealed.

"Edward, Edward, Edward! GUESS WHAT!" I practically screamed in his ear, not caring that it was past midnight and that people might wake up.

He chuckled, and I was silent for a second. His emerald green eyes held so much depth for a thirteen year old. He was always told he was too old for his age, so was I as a matter of fact, because of this we were perfect companions. His eyes twinkled and he aimed his crooked grin (that I loved) at me. His bronze hair was in its usual disarray, and his perfect face was giving me his undivided attention. Sometimes I wondered what I did to deserve him. I'm plain…chocolate colored hair and brown eyes and a ghostly, translucent complexion. He looked at the stars, bringing my head back to reality, making me remember that I needed to speak to him.

"Okay Edward, you're not going to believe it…but I made it as the chief editor of Fork's Middle School's Newspaper!"

Edward stared at me in amazement. "Oh my god Bella, that's amazing! You're going to be the first seventh grader to be on the paper in the history of Fork's Middle! I told you that you would make it- you're so good at writing!"

He grabbed me by the waist and spun me around on the balcony. I laughed, throwing my head back, and I couldn't help but think at that moment how perfect everything was. I was with my best friend, I was going to be the editor of the newspaper, and I was in the most beautiful place ever, home. Home for me was Forks, Washington, the small town I had lived since I was born. Home, the place where my best friend was, my family, and my unconventional family. Everything was perfect. I was going to be with Edward forever. And then it hit me. At the young age of 12, I felt a new but amazing emotion. Love.

I learned that summer that nothing lasts forever. Not if you want it to, not if you need it to, and not if you beg it to. A couple days after that glorious evening, I was forced to move. Renee and Charlie, my parents, told me that they were getting a divorce. It really didn't come as a shock to me. I knew that they had arguments… I heard them yelling on a daily basis. Whenever my name came up in their dispute, I locked myself in the bathroom with the phone, and cried to Edward that I was tearing my family apart. He always soothed me and made everything alright. The moment I heard about the divorce, I figured I would get to stay in Forks with Charlie. But then my mom told me I was going with her, and I was forced into my mom's car, oblivious to the fact that it would be the last time I'd ever see Forks. I never got to say goodbye to Edward or Charlie, nor Esme and Carlisle (practically my other mom and dad), nor my other friends. It was just my mom and me and our few packed possessions. My mom dragged me to Phoenix, Arizona where my life became monotonous without my loved ones. I just let go of everything and everyone in my life. It wasn't my fault, though, it was my mom's.

I constantly tried calling Edward and Charlie, but I found out a couple months later that Charlie had moved to Chicago, and Edward had moved to a distant city which I never got to learn. I think I never really moved on, a part of me stayed in Forks that day I left. But I learned to cope with the hole in my heart.

In junior year, my mom got married to a baseball coach, Phil. I wasn't particularly fond of him, but nobody really asked for my input. My mom tended to let me be. I think she felt some guilt for tearing me away from my life back in Forks.

During senior year, I received a wake-up call thinking, what am I going to do in life? So after that terrifying newsflash I spent the rest of my years working. I became the definition of a workaholic. Right after I graduated high school, I went straight to doing an internship for the magazine I work for. But the thing was, if I didn't work, I would feel the rip in my heart I had kept hidden so long. So I never took breaks, had vacations, went on dates, and made friends. That led me to my life now. I work for a big fashion magazine. It's not what I wanted, for I had always hoped to work for a creative, inspirational magazine filled with happy stories and happily ever afters, not some fashion magazine that forces me to write about things I hate. But I cope, just like I always do, and I carry on- even if it means faking a smile. I've been working for the magazine for the past five years now, meaning that I'm 23…which means that somewhere out there, the boy I am still hopelessly in love with is 24…

How could my life have turned out like this?

Note: This story is a collab. Both mhcheergirl and skazmi will have it on their profiles.

A/N from mhcheergirl: Hey everyone, I hope you all like this new story! I would like to credit Skazmi for the majority of the prologue; I just added some bits and pieces for this chapter since she wrote it a long time ago. Hopefully you all think this has potential, since we have the entire story planned out! The prologue doesn't really say too much about what will be happening, so you will just have to wait and see, huh? Anyway, please review! (You might even get a preview of chapter 1 if you review…)

A/N from skazmi: Hey guys! Mhcheergirl and I worked hard on this so we both REALLY hope you like it! And hopefully you guys think it has potential! We both have the same chapters on both our pages so review on either and you get the same preview (again hint hint, you KNOW you want to review…give in to the temptation!) ;) Anyways ENJOY!