Hello everyone!!

This is my first story, so I hope you all will be kind. I'd like to start off by sending a HUGE thank you to my new beta and friend Ledybug! I'm so happy to have found her!

So, this is an AU-AH story. I'm not really at liberty to reveal anything else about the plot just yet. You'll have to wait and see! Thank you for reading and please leave me a review at the end. I'd like to know what you think!

Disclaimer: Surprise! I'm not Stephenie Meyer. I know you were all in suspense! All the charachters in my story come from her wonderful mind. I own nothing!

Living Lies

Prologue

To be perfectly honest, I never once considered myself the type of person you would notice in a crowd.

I'm sure if you think hard you can understand what I'm talking about. Imagine, you're standing in a crowded subway waiting for the train, or in line at the coffee shop down the street for a morning wake-up call, on stuck in line in the airport luggage check on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Whatever hectic scenario comes to mind, it will suffice to illustrate my point.

There are people around you who stand out and draw your attention. Maybe it's the handsome businessman, busily checking stock market returns on his Blackberry. Or perhaps it's the beautiful redhead with two small children clinging to her side. It could also be the thirteen year old girl standing away from the rest of her family completely engrossed in an old, worn-out copy of War and Peace.

Whatever the instance, you notice all these people right away because there is something to see or investigate about them. Something to be learned, experienced or scorned.

I am never one of those people. I am the person standing next to you the whole time while you're busy gazing at someone else. I am plain. I am ordinary. I am the average Jane. And I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

Now, to some, this trait may seem very undesirable. After all, how are you supposed to be noticed for the person you are inside, if outwardly you're very unremarkable?

I happen to believe it's better to go unnoticed. This preference has shaped my life in ways I am only just now beginning to realize.

I suppose once you have heard my long, complicated story you will form your own opinions about my life and the choices I have made. Will you believe that I have made mistakes? I'm sure you that much is true. Will you be thankful your own life has not been as trying and complex as mine? If that's the case, then I'm glad you have had it easy. Not all of us are so lucky. Will you feel sorry for me? I hope not. If there is one thing I hate, it is pity.

Now, my friend, where do I start telling you my story? The most given response to that question, is of course, from the beginning. But the beginning of this story would give away a lot of what happens in the end. So, how about we start with the simple lie I tell every day?

My name is Isabella Swan. How I have come to tell this lie is perhaps the biggest story of all.

Greek author and philosopher Aesop may very well have been among the first to admit, "Appearances are often deceiving." It is an adage as old as time itself. Every day, we encounter different people, and from that first moment we begin cataloging clues to help us determine their worth. We draw conclusions of people based on what we see. More often than not, these conclusions are incorrect.

I am the perfect example.

Outwardly, I am everything a well-disciplined son of a wealthy doctor should be. One look at me and you could draw any number of conclusions. I have never wanted for anything. My parents have always loved me unconditionally and have been there for me whenever I needed any kind of advice or encouragement. I have never been left endangered or hurt by any member of my family. My future is set. An easy life lay before me.

Lies.

All of it.

However, I have come to believe that sorting the lies from the truth is really what life is all about.

Lie number one: My name is Edward Cullen. How about we just start with that?

Chapter One:

Appearances

EPOV

The first noise of the day came in the form of my sister's usually sweet voice as she banged her fists on my bedroom door. "Edward, hurry up! I'm going to be late!"

I groaned and rolled over n bed. "We have an hour before class starts, Alice!" An hour!"

"Exactly! We only have an hour!" Her response was followed by two more assaults to my wood door and then the sounds of her heels clicking as she walked back down the hallway and down the stairs.

Ever since Alice stated seeing my best friend Jasper, she had been nagging me every morning to get to school early for first period so they could spend time gazing stupidly at each other before class started and they had to part ways once more. It was sickening really.

I kicked the covers off my legs and sprang from the bed angrily. It wasn't as if I had actually been sleeping. But still, sometimes just laying in bed is nice.

Fifteen minutes later I was showered, dressed, and walking into the kitchen to be greeted by the savory aroma of my mother Esme's cooking

"Morning, sweetheart," she said to me as I passed her by on the refrigerator.

"Hi, Mom."

I gave her a quick peck on the as I pulled out the orange juice and filled a glass for both her and I. Morning family breakfast in the Cullen household has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. Because most of the time my father is working late at the hospital and can't eat dinner with us, it was decided long ago that breakfast would serve a better time for all of us to plan to be together. Now that my brother, sister, and I were older, one or all of us were usually gone at night anyway.

My father, Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and Alice were already at their seats in the dining room. Alice had already inhaled half of her morning scrambled eggs before the rest of us even started. I shook my head, but sat down at the table without protest.

"How are the applications going, Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"Alright so far. I've finished all the essays I need for Harvard and Dartmouth. I'm going to take a look at what I need for Yale tonight."

By this time, my brother Emmett had entered the room, grunted a hello to Esme, and sat down beside me.

Carlisle smiled warmly in response. "Excellent! What about you Emmett? I still think you should have a backup plan in case things don't turn out the way you expect with Ohio State."

Emmett spoke while scoping eggs and bacon onto his plate. "Dad, we can't all be brains like Eddie. I know what I'm good at. If Ohio State doesn't show interest than hopefully somewhere else will."

"Son, I just don't want you to think that football is the only thing you've got going for you," Carlisle reasoned gently. "You're a smart young man. You could get in to any number of universities easily."

In all honesty, it was a true testament to human stupidity that people around here so easily accepted that Emmett was my twin brother. I was even more astounded by my own idiocy and I accepted this lie for nearly fourteen years. Emmett and I were as different as they come.

Big, burly Emmett with his broad shoulders, and dark brown hair did not even remotely resemble my less than athletic appearance. But then again, the red in my hair and the green in my eyes matched no one sitting at this breakfast table.

While I sat contemplating our differences, Emmett had mumbled his noncommittal reply to Carlisle and the conversation around the table had moved to Alice's upcoming dance competition.

"If you ask me, Eliza is foolish to even let Claudia come at all. She's missed four rehearsals this month."

Alice took ballet about as seriously as Emmett took football. It was her life. She lived and breathed any form of dance, but ballet especially. She dances for an elite dance academy in Port Angeles, and spends three nights a week plus all day on Saturday taking different classes.

"I'm sure Eliza has her reasons," Esme rationalized, "You just need to be concerned with yourself. If you do your best than that's all you can do, right?"

Alice was clearly skeptical, but wisely chose to let our mother think she agreed with her.

"I guess. I just don't want her bringing down the rest of us."

Carlisle looked between Emmett and Alice when he spoke next. "Did the two of you ask Rosalie and Jasper over to watch the game on Saturday night?"

"Yes," they chorused together.

Carlisle grinned and nodded his approval. "Tell them not to eat before coming over. We will have dinner here."

Rosalie and Jasper Hale had been friends of the family from the very beginning. Their parents, Steve and Melissa Hale had been friends of my parents when they were all in college at Harvard together. The Hales were both lawyers and owned the only immensely profitable law firm within a twenty-mile radius of Forks.

Emmett and Rosalie had been messing around since she was thirteen years old. They began dating exclusively when she was fifteen. Rose was a grade behind Emmett and me in school; the same class as Alice who she had been best friends with since infancy.

Both of my parents had no other close relatives, so four years ago when my father accepted a position in this small rainy town, the Hales left Chicago along with us to start a new life here as well. Having lifelong friends already in place did make starting new school slightly less daunting. Especially since everything about out two families stood in stark contrast to every other person in town.

Now, how Jasper and Alice came to be together is still somewhat of a mystery to me. Jasper is in the same class as Emmett and me. He had shown no previous interest in Alice as anything other than a friend for years. Until she turned sixteen. Sometime during the party my parents threw for her birthday, Alice and Jasper disappeared for about an hour, returned with clasped hands, and have been together ever since. Our parents could not have been happier.

"Edward, we're ready to go," Alice said impatiently, breaking me out of my daydream.

"Did I say I was ready?" Emmett asked under his break as he finished one last gulp of milk.

"I don't think she cares," I muttered softly enough so that only he could hear me.

We stood in unison; each kissed Esme on the cheek, and followed Alice into the garage. By the time we reached my silver Volvo, Alice was already seat staring daggers at us for taking so long.

"I can't imagine how Jasper puts up with you," I said as I climbed into the driver's seat.

"I don't hear him complaining," Alice replied with a knowing, evil look in her eye.

"Ugh! Thanks for the mental image," Emmett said, clearly as disgusted as I was.

I sighed deeply as I put the car in gear; speed out of the garage and down the driveway. This is going to be a long day…

BPOV

My first full day in Forks, Washington dawned just as I had expected. Lonely and wet. I opened my eyes to a pale printed ceiling and almost forgot where I was. It only took me a few seconds to remember the lies I would have to begin telling in just a few hours.

The black iPhone on my nightstand vibrated and chimed just as I began to become overly anxious about the coming day.

"Hello?"

The static the other end of the phone came through clear enough with the voice I have known and loved all my life.

"Nolie baby! I wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday! How are you, sweetheart?"

I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm in light of all that was going on in our lives. Dad's motto seemed to be smile and it won't hurt so bad.

"Thanks, Dad. I'm just waking up. It's raining here."

"Well, that's a shocker," Dad chuckled. "How was the flight in?"

"It was alright. We had to circle for about an hour because of the storm, but once it passed we were good."

"How's Charlie?"

"He's okay. I think he's already left to go into the station."

Dad laughed out loud at that. "Some things never change. He was always intensely dedicated to something, even as a kid."

Charlie was my dad's best friend. They met at some Boy Scout camp when they were eight years old and became fast friends. They went to college together at the University of Washington and even after Charlie returned to Forks to join the police department and dad went off to Northwestern University for medical school, they kept their friendship alive and strong. Charlie stood up for my dad at my parent's wedding, and when I was born, he agreed to be my godfather. He used to come visit us for two weeks every summer when I was little.

"Did you get your present?"

I rolled my eyes. I should have known it wouldn't take him long to bring up the amazingly ostentatious gift parked in Charlie's driveway. "Dad, the car is a little over the top. I mean…have you ever been to Forks?"

"No, actually."

"I am going to stand out like a sore thumb driving that around town."

"Nolie, something tells me it's okay to stand out in a place like Forks."

I sighed and looked around my room. I had already unpacked everything I brought with me from home. My favorite books lined the shelf above the desk. My clothes were neatly folded in the dresser drawers. The black Macbook Pro my father had given me as a going away present sat below the books. Charlie had been nice enough to provide me with bed sheets and a purple comforter. Even with so many familiar articles, nearly everything in this room felt foreign to me.

Turning my attention back to my phone call, I interrupted my father's explanation for his ridiculous gift. "Okay, I understand that you like to show off sometimes, Dad. But I thought the whole reason for sending me to Forks was so that I could disappear and blend in. A car that costs nearly as much as most of these people make in a year is certainly not going to accomplish that!"

I heard him take a deep breath and then let it go. "Honey, I sent you to Forks because you need to have some normalcy in your life. Sometimes I think you like not having to stand out. I watch you sometimes when you think I'm not looking. You retreat into yourself so that no one notices you. I don't think that's healthy sweetheart."

"But how am I supposed to explain the car to the people around here?"

"Charlie and I have already talked about this. Everyone there thinks you are coming to live with him because your mother recently passed away. He's simply going to explain that the car is a gift from your mother's father."

"There really is no fighting you on this, is there?"

"Nope, I'm afraid not. I've got to get going though, baby. I've got a plane to catch."

"Where are you flying?" I asked desperately.

"It's probably better that you don't know where I'm going."

I felt the familiar stinging behind my eyes as my throat closed off with emotion. Even though I knew this was for my own good, I couldn't help but feel like he was abandoning me.

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Nolie. Everyday."

"When can you call again?"

"I really don't know." There were sounds in the background. It sounded like his plane was going to begin boarding in just a few minutes. "I've got to go now, honey. I love you."

"Love you, too."

I sat on my bed, listening to the dial tone for a solid minute before I finally hung up the phone. The screen of the phone was damp from the tears I could not stop. Everything about this situation completely sucked. What I wouldn't give to be a normal seventeen year old girl with normal teenage problems.

The alarm I had set last night brought me back to reality with the reminder that I still had a whole day at a new school to get through. Just great.

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