Forks wasn't really as bad as it had seemed. Sure the weather was terrible almost everyday, and the temperatures were never as satisfying as they were in New Mexico, but that didn't mean that the conditions were unlivable. No, Forks was just another boring, bland, and unexciting town. It was also my newest home.

You see, my father had died a while back after my seventh birthday due to the malaria disease which he had picked up in Africa on a business trip. My father loved to travel then. It's how he had eventually met my mother. They had worked for the same company then, and after a long three months of dating, they got married and had me. We managed well after my father's passing, but that didn't mean that we didn't think of him often afterwards. I didn't really get to know him because he was away so much, but then again I didn't know my mother much either on the account of her traveling as well.

It was just my mother and I after my father's death, and we had to continually uproot our life as soon as we had gotten settled just so we could live in another city around America. My mother's work was nerve-racking because of our constant moving, and because of it, I had never really begun to make any friends. After the first five moves, I just stopped trying, and in a matter of ten years, my mother and I had lived in England, Germany, France, Australia, and eleven different states within the United States. Sure I got to see things most people never get to see in their entire lives, but was I truly happy because of it? Of course not! Could I ever tell my mother that? Of course not!

In the middle of the night, my mother came back from her work with a fake smile and her hands full of Chinese take-out because she never had time to cook. I knew it was coming. I knew her just too well to not know what was coming. We had to move again.

All over again.

Sure enough, my mother broke the news as we ate dinner that she would be stationed in Australia for the second time. I nodded, giving her the same old speech.

"I'll make due. It'll be great. It's alright. Really, Mom. Really," I assured her just like I had every other recent time. However, this time she said something else that I wasn't expecting. She gave me the option of moving in with my Uncle Charlie, someone in my family whom I hadn't seen since I was seven, at my father's funeral.

Uncle Charlie?

I asked her why I wasn't given this option before this move, and she said that it was because she would be in Australia for more than a year. And I was seventeen now.

Okay, so we had moved around a lot, but we had rarely lived someplace for more than a year. I was stunned. I didn't have to pretend to be happy anymore. I could be… myself. As long as I went to Uncle Charlie's, that is. Then there was also the burning question of how I would deal with my mother being gone for an entire year. I assumed that it wouldn't be much different than it was now, seeing as I only saw her in the wee hours of the morning and late at night. I thought about it and finally gave her my decision.

We had cried, hugged, and everything else mothers and their daughters do before they put them on planes across the country, but I was actually happy that I could be myself for once.

Just for once…

My plane arrived at a Washington airport, and I regretted that I hadn't brought a jacket as my carry-on item. The chills were terrible, more terrible than they were at my mountain-side home in Angel fire, New Mexico.

I met my Uncle Charlie inside the airport, and he gave me an awkward hug, seeing as we really hadn't spoken two words to each other. Really, I had never said a word to this man. I just knew that he was family, and after ten years, I was dying for some family. He smiled sort of shyly and spoke in a familiar voice.

"Nora! You look so- grown up," he said, really not sure what to say. He had said every distant relative's stereotypical phrase. I smiled softly and gave him another hug. He straightened himself up and coughed a little, unsure of what I was like.

After clearing his throat he spoke again.

"That's Bella over there. You know her," he said, leading me three steps behind him. He muttered something as he stepped back. It sounded an awful lot like: At least I think you know her…

"I'm so glad to meet you!" she exclaimed happily, taking me into a much bigger hug than Uncle Charlie had. She smiled, and I knew I would be very happy here. Two people very much like me…

"And this is Edward," she said, pulling someone close to her. A marble hand came from nowhere and shook my hand. I looked up and almost backed into poor Uncle Charlie. Was I actually looking at what I was looking at? He was beautiful! I didn't remember Uncle Charlie having a boy, too. He sure didn't have any of Uncle Charlie's features, though. Not that Uncle Charlie or Bella were ugly or anything, but Edward's features looked unique. They were- rather heart-stopping.

"My boyfriend," she explained. He smiled faintly, grabbing her hand. He looked nice enough but he was Bella's actual boyfriend? No way… This brings me back to my next point- I had never had a boyfriend either. I was seventeen and was apparently still looking for my prince charming. Bella had already found hers and she was only a year older than I was.

I couldn't stop staring at him, and his golden eyes were looking back at me- but yet they weren't. It was odd, actually. I knew that he was looking at me, but it felt like he was looking in me. As if he was reading me or something.

"Okay, so off to the car," Uncle Charlie said, clapping his hands once and grabbing my bags to speed things along. I shook out of my daze and blinked, looking away quickly from Bella's boyfriend.

Uncle Charlie led us to his police car- Wait, what? His police car? Mom never mentioned that my very own uncle was a policeman. I got in and Bella gave me a warm smile, obviously knowing what I was thinking. He was her father, after all.

Uncle Charlie got in the driver's seat and as I was about to get in front seat, he stopped me.

"Not to be rude or anything, but would you mind if Bella sat in the front?" he asked, smiling hopefully. Ah. He was probably the overprotective dad type that made sure his little girl was away from malicious boyfriends all the time. What were they going to do in the backseat, anyway? Have children? I cracked up inside my head, nodding and replying that it wasn't a problem.

Bella rolled her eyes at her father, smiling at me. She had her conversation with Uncle Charlie in low whispers about 'independence' and Edward was trying to keep himself from hysterics. He pressed his mouth together to keep from laughing, but I could tell that he was definitely on the verge.

The way to Uncle Charlie's house was loud on Bella and her father's part, but it was entirely too quiet for Edward and I. I mean sure, Bella was his girlfriend, but I couldn't be that bad to talk to, could I? He said something once about the rain, and I smiled, nodding. The rain was pouring as soon as we hit the Forks city limits. I didn't mind rain. It was common in New Mexico too- but in the form of snow. I used to walk in it when I was little, and I still did then. I guess it was a habit that I never grew out of. I looked at the population sign and widened my eyes. Whoa! Did people die around here often, or was this place just a ghost town? I had never seen a number so low on a population sign before.

Yes, I was too right for my own good. Besides Edward's almost unnatural beauty, Forks would be a boring, bland, and unexciting town.

So we had arrived at Uncle Charlie's house, and as we got out, Edward stood next to a shiny silver Volvo that must've been his. He kissed Bella lightly on the cheek and smiled.

"I'll be back later. You and Nora should get to spend some time with each other," he said, not looking at me. My skin prickled as he said my name. He was taken, but hey, a girl could dream.

"Okay. I'll see you later, then," she said, waving to him as he drove away. How close were they? They must've been through a lot together.

"Sorry about the car ride, Nora. My dad can be a little…-"she started.

"Protective?" I finished for her, and smiled as she laughed.

"Exactly. It's either the dad or the cop in him that makes him act that way. I love him, either way," she said, walking to the door with me following behind her. Uncle Charlie had already put my things upstairs.

"Girls, I just got a page from the station. I'll have to go. I'm really sorry, Nora. I'll have to catch up with you afterwards!" he said, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, it's okay. I know how demanding work can be," I said. Just look at my mother.

He smiled and rushed upstairs to get in his uniform only to rush back downstairs to leave. Bella and I said goodbye as he left, and that left us to sit around and talk about our life stories.

I found out that Bella and I were alike in a lot of ways. She had never really had a boyfriend before Edward, and she was naturally quiet, but not painfully so. We were both fair skinned, and we were about the same height and weight. I was slim, but I knew how to eat in large quantities if I had to. A girl's gotta eat. At least I think that's how the saying goes…

Even though we were both alike, we were also different. I had wavy auburn hair, contrary to her straight chocolate brown. Our eyes were different too, mine being a light blue with a brush of gray. Then, there was the obvious issue of ages, in which I was a year younger. I'd been told before by numerous people that I spoke much older than I seemed. It was flattering, but it also felt like I was growing up too fast. To put it frank, I didn't want to grow up. I was happier when I was littler- back when my Dad was still alive.

Anyway, so we got on the topic of where I had been over the years, and Bella couldn't get enough of my stories. I told her about the time when I got lost in France and almost drowned off the shores of England. She listened attentively and laughed when she was supposed to. Our personalities were alike too, but I would say that I was without a doubt a bit more outgoing.

Definitely.

At around six o'clock, five hours after we had gotten to Uncle Charlie's house, we heard a knock at the door. Bella got up excitedly and smiled, looking through the peep-hole. She smiled deeply again and opened up the door, hugging someone.

It was Edward of course.

But he wasn't alone…

Standing to the side of him was someone else, a tall boy with blonde hair and eyes like Edward's. He was pale, but not in an unattractive way. He had a hint of purple under his eyes, but it only added to his amount of beauty. He looked sort of like Edward in those ways- but he was much more attractive to me. As soon as he entered the room, my heart fluttered, but I was suddenly calm, as though a wave of pure comfort had washed over me. What was that? I shook it away to stare at the new boy as I had stared at Edward in the car and at the airport. However I looked at the new boy with more interest. I guess I hadn't looked at Edward the same way because he was already taken. I wondered if this boy was too…

"Oh, Nora, sorry for ignoring you for a couple of seconds. This is Jasper, Edward's brother, and Alice, Edward's sister. I told you about them earlier," she said, referring to our conversation earlier and pointing to them. I hadn't even noticed the girl. I was too wrapped up in Jasper's beauty to become aware of her own uncanny features. She had short black hair and eyes- Like Edward's and Jasper's… What was it with their gold eyes? I'd never seen something so capturing. It was even weirder because while talking with Bella, she had said that they were all adopted. If they were all adopted- how did they have the same eye color? Strange… Maybe the other two of Edward's siblings were different.

Bella led Edward to the couch and they sat down, Edward a bit more rigid than he was that morning. Jasper walked up to me in his black shirt which was tight enough to show off his deeply set chest muscles. He wore jeans fit for a model. Maybe he was a model… I marveled at the thought.

"Nice to meet you, Nora," Jasper whispered- or spoke. I was too busy paying attention to the fantasy in my head in which Jasper was shirtless on a beach and running towards me.

"Same here," Alice said flippantly. She smiled and took my hand in an enthused shake. They both looked almost worried, and I could tell that they were trying to hide it. Edward, Alice, and Jasper were very questionable, but I was mostly concentrated on Jasper. There was something about him that drew me closer. Something odd- and I loved it.