Disclaimer: I made up the plot. The rest belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

New Beginnings

By: Lou

I stood in the doorway, observing his back as he worked on his latest composition – his twelfth written for me since our marriage. As I stepped forward, my presence intruding on his creative privacy, he smoothly turned the melody into an old favorite. My lullaby flowed openly and invitingly through the room, urging me nearer to the piano.

It had been a short eight years since the birth of our daughter, Renesmee. Short, but in those years, nearly everything had changed. Renesmee and Jacob's relationship had developed substantially, resulting in her decision to remain in Forks with him for a year or two while the rest of the family moved north west to Alaska, choosing to start fresh and enroll as Juniors (with the exception of Carlisle and Esme, of course) in high school. However, despite these drastic changes, the one thing that remained intact was my complete adoration for Edward, something that would never fade with time.

Sure, there were downsides to leaving Forks. It meant leaving people I loved behind; Charlie – my father, Jacob- my best friend, Renesmee – my precious jewel, my daughter. It also meant leaving things that held so much value for me. Forks had become my hometown, my genuine love for it stemming from my love for my favorite (now ex-) inhabitant, my husband, and the man sitting in front of me. I knew, though, that anywhere I traveled to I could grow to love, because I was with Edward, and he was all I really needed.

Edward. He had been reluctant to come – because he was afraid for how it would affect me, but also because he couldn't bear to leave Ness. Their bond was strong, not quite so strong as the bond existing between the two of us, but something different. He loved her with all the room in his heart, and as any father, did not want to see her become independent. It was unfair - I had to admit - for the only two immortal parents in the world to have the fastest maturing child. It was harder for Edward to accept that she was ready to be on her own than for me. He eventually accepted her choice, and although somewhat crushed, he moved as enthusiastically as he could manage to Alaska. It had become easier for me to think less of time now, and I knew that I would see the people and places I was leaving behind in a year or two (a time I had come to regard as incredibly short). I said my goodbyes, packed my belongings, and set off with my family, eager, and yet completely terrified, to go back a decade in my past to relive high school.

And, while I commenced to be nervous, the rest of my family was thrilled to begin this new step in our life, which brings me back to where I stood.

The melody dropped off as the song ended, leaving us in the silence of the large house. Carlisle and Esme had offered to buy us a separate house, but after speaking to Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett, we mutually decided we would rather share on large house like (as Alice so fondly put it) in the old days.

Edward spun around to face me, and took my hands in his, kissing each finger before standing and studying my face. "Not still anxious, are we?"

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist and clinging to him tightly. I rested my face on his chest as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders in return. "Yes," I admitted, sighing.

"You know you shouldn't be," he mumbled, kissing my cheek.

"Yes, I of all people would know, Bella, you've absolutely no reason to be nervous." A voice came from the opposite side of the room. Alice stood in the doorway followed by the rest of the family, finished unpacking in record time and ready to find means of entertaining themselves with the entire group.

"Starting school again is a piece of cake," Emmett said, and I smiled lightly at his food reference. "Especially when you intimidate all of the humans," he boasted, flexing his muscles as Rosalie rolled her eyes. I glanced at the clock. Precisely eight hours until school would start. I couldn't even recall this amount of anxiety on my actual first day of school.

"What are you so afraid of?" Edward asked lightly, aiming to soothe my fears. I considered this question, and realized that I did not know the answer. I wasn't afraid of losing control – that, at least, was something I could handle. It wasn't my fear of the actual curriculum. If I could manage easily on my first trip through the school system, I assumed I could do it a second time. It wasn't whether or not I could make friends. I wasn't really expecting to gain any human buddies, and besides, I had never been one to yearn for relationships anyway. And then it hit me, bringing along a parade of realization. I was worried about what people would think of us…of me. What if I slipped up? Not in the feasting on half the student body kind of way, but the unusual strength, sparkling skin, startling speed way. What if someone guessed what I was? Or worse - what if I put the family in jeopardy?

I knew I had let the discovery hit my facial expression. The others were looking at me expectantly, and therefore I could not claim to not know the answer. Besides, Jasper was almost definitely feeling the emotions the recognition entailed. I stood in silence, considering how to word how I was feeling. Maybe I just wouldn't tell them. I couldn't get away with hiding it from Edward, but I could guess my family's quiet reaction, not able to hide the fact that they feared and doubted the same things of me. I would prefer not to see that particular picture become a reality, and I knew they would not press me for information if I handled the situation correctly.

"It's nothing."

I watched them all give me meaningful looks (even Carlisle and Esme, who were obviously attempting not to), and I continued, "I'm fine," trying to make my emotions match the lie in my words. "It doesn't even matter, and I need to go do some things before tomorrow," I said, moving out of the room and up the stairs to enter our room. I closed the door noiselessly behind myself and stood in front of the window.

Edward arrived not a moment later, as anticipated, kissing my neck from behind and folding me in his arms. He needn't ask what my fears were. I knew I was going to tell him eventually, so I might as well get it over with now. "What will people think of me?" I whispered. "What if I…do something wrong? Like step into the sunlight, or run to catch a falling beaker in less than a second from across the room?"

He turned me around after absorbing my question for a brief second. "Bella, we all trust you. I know that you won't give us away." His golden eyes sparked as his lips formed into a smile. "And besides, if I hadn't slipped up with you and that van, you wouldn't be here. Sometimes it's all right to mess up once and while." I smiled as well, knowing I would never be placed in a situation like his, but feeling reassured anyway. Continuing, he said, "No one will suspect a thing. Overall, I've found humans to be highly unobservant creatures…with one exception, of course."

I chose to believe him, for now, perhaps because I willed myself to so badly, or perhaps because his lips were so distracting and I wanted them to take my mind off of school tomorrow. So, with that, I stood on my toes, searching for his lips. He closed the space between our mouths, accomplishing my goal of being distracted. Knowing, as always, my desires for kissing him (behind those ever present desires for something more), he happily threw us onto the waiting day bed and ruined my third shirt for that week.

A/N: Thanks for reading my first chapter! I hope to post at least three more, and will go through (at least) Bella's first day. Please review. Praise or criticism is greatly appreciated!