Author's Note: Yes, I know, another new story. You guys are probably getting a little pissed at me for posting a new story when I haven't even updated all of my old ones yet. Sadly, I just haven't found the time to write, and figured I should just post this for all the people who got pissed at me for changing my other Bella/Rosalie story into Bella/Rosalie/Tanya. I promise there will be no third woman entering this pairing, okay?

Chapter 1

Never before did Bella actually think she'd move to Forks to finish off her high school career, yet here she was, thanks to her mom and her new hubby. To say it was awkward was an understatement. Not only had Bella and Charlie been unable to speak much to each other, what with both of them being socially awkward and all, since Bella arrived, but Bella had no idea what to do with herself. Especially since she found out that there was no swimming pool nearby. To make matters worse, Forks High didn't even have a swimming team. At this point, Bella wasn't even sure how she was going to survive the next two years.

It might sound crazy to some people, but swimming was life to Bella. It was the thing she loved most in the world. When Bella was swimming, she was free and happy, and she experienced a type of joy and serenity she had yet to experience anywhere else. Not to mention that she was good. Like, really, really good. To the point where, when informing her swim coach of her transfer, the coach had burst out into tears and begged her not to go.

Now, with all this upheaval and anxiety over starting a new school in a town she barely knew, with a father who knew how to communicate just as well, if not worse, than Bella did, Bella felt screwed. And it was in moments like these, when her emotions were in an uproar, that Bella needed to go swimming the most. Yet she couldn't.

Well, there was a beach in La Push, but Bella didn't want to go there. She didn't know the beach well and didn't know how good it would be for swimming, not to mention she wasn't sure how the locals would take to a random girl sneaking to the beach to go for a swim. Not to mention Jake was at La Push, and while she was grateful for the truck she had received that afternoon that he had worked on, Bella wasn't ready to see him again so soon.

Only yesterday, the very day Bella had arrived in Forks, Jacob had come over with Billy for a meal and small talk. And it was beyond clear that the boy had a crush on Bella, one that made Bella more than a little uncomfortable. If Bella went to La Push and ran into Jake, she was worried that he might have thought she had taken him up on his invitation to come over, and that might make him think he actually had a chance.

Bella was starting at Forks High tomorrow, and she knew things were going to get busy. Due to the differences in curriculum, Bella had no doubt that she was going to get loaded up with class and homework to catch up, despite the fact that Bella had been in advanced placement in a few classes. And while swimming was life to Bella, so was being a good student. She wasn't stupid enough to drop the work to drive up to Seattle in hopes of finding a pool to use, especially as that would only put her farther behind in terms of academics.

Ugh. All of this thinking was driving Bella crazy. Unable to handle being cooped up in the house anymore, Bella left her room, heading for the front door. Then she paused, ran back upstairs, and changed into her suit, putting on a shirt and shorts over it. It wouldn't do to actually succeed in her quest for a body of water, only to realize she brought nothing but the clothes on her back to swim in.

She started going back downstairs, only to groan and run back to her room once more. What is wrong with me today? She thought to herself with a bit of self disgust as she grabbed a towel, cell phone, and wallet. Once she took a moment to stop and think, trying to remember if she might need anything else, Bella hurried back downstairs.

"Hey Charlie, I'm going out! I'll be back by nightfall!" Bella shouted as she made a beeline for the front door. Charlie made a grumbling noise, which Bella took to mean he heard her and is fine with her leaving, Bella left the house and went straight to her car. She reached into her pocket for her car keys, only to realize with a cry of agony and frustration that she had actually forgotten her keys in her room.

Dumping her stuff on the bed of the truck, Bella stomped her way back into the house and up the stairs, cursing herself out under her breath the entire time.

"That you, Bells? Weren't you leaving?" Charlie called out with confusion, making Bella roll her eyes. Who else would come into his house in the middle of the afternoon? She liked the man and all, but sometimes she worried about him.

"Yeah Charlie! Just forgot something!" Bella shouted back. Back in her room, she grabbed her keys and left once more.

Once at her truck, she unlocked the door, grabbed her stuff from the bed of the truck and put it inside, then got in herself. The truck sputtered to a start as she turned the ignition, and Bella waited for it to settle before she pulled out of the driveway and down the street.

Come on, there was wilderness everywhere. Bella had to find at least a lake or a pond, right? Just something to take the edge off and make her a little less grumpy. She would feel horrible if she were to snap on someone, especially Charlie.

Bella had to have driven around for over an hour, searching all around town, driving the truck as far into the woods as she could. She was just about to give up, when she thought she heard it; the light slap of waves.

Feeling a swell of hope, Bella parked and turned off the engine, grabbing her stuff and jumping out of the truck. She paused right as she was about to lock the doors, listening. She didn't want to have to run all the way out into the woods only to find out that the sound of waves was just something her delusional mind made up.

Now that the truck wasn't making any noise, there was no doubt about it. The sound was faint, but Bella definitely heard waves. The water was basically calling to her at this point, the pull so strong there was no way Bella could deny it.

So Bella ran, her stuff in hand, right towards where the water had to be located. Yes, Bella tripped several times, but she managed to stay on her feet at least, right?

It wasn't long before she caught sight of a small, glimmering lake, the cleanest and clearest she had ever seen, and Bella wanted to let out a yelp of joy. This was it! This was the answer to all of Bella's problems. At least until winter hit, anyways, but at least Bella knew she would be caught up with her schoolwork by then.

Unable to wait another second, Bella dropped her stuff behind a tree, stripped down to her bathing suit, and dove into the water.

It was a little cold, but Bella's body adjusted to the change in temperature quickly, even before she started to actually swim. Letting out a laugh under the water, Bella started to twist and twirl, feeling like she was finally home.

Hours passed as Bella continued to swim, mostly underwater as she loved to do, and it was starting to get late. Not late, late-the sun hadn't even started to set. But late enough for her body to let Bella know that she was hungry, and that, silly her, she had forgotten to bring a snack in her desperation.

Letting out an underwater sigh, Bella slowly, reluctantly, rose to the surface of the lake. The top of her head barely breached the water's surface when she froze, stunned by the sight in front of her. Her heart should have been racing as she realized the dangerous situation she was in, but she just couldn't bring herself to be afraid. The joy and serenity that Bella always felt in the water refused to fade, and for some reason, she felt completely safe and comfortable. Which, at any other time, Bella would have found insane.

In this case, her calm demeanor might actually have saved her life. Had she been anywhere, else, she would have gasped or screamed, and that would have alerted the predator, maybe even causing it to attack.

That's right, predator. Only twenty feet away, in fact. And this predator was a fairly large mountain lion.

It hadn't noticed her so far, and Bella was quite content to keep it that way. But at that moment, she wasn't quite sure what to do. Going back under the water might alert it, and she could only hold her breath for so long before she would have to go to the surface of the lake to breath in some air, which might also alert it. However, getting out of the water didn't seem so smart either. Having to move so much could definitely alert the cat, and while Bella felt stupidly confident that she could continue to escape the cougar in the water, even if the animal could swim, she knew that between her human speed and clumsiness on land, she would become easy prey.

Her warring thoughts led Bella to stay where she was and wait, still trying to figure out what to do. It was this decision of Bella's that pretty much forever changed her life, as those few seconds of deliberating caused a blonde angel to appear.

It took a few seconds for Bella to notice her, as the blonde was as frozen even more so than Bella was. She was downwind, golden eyes fixated on the cougar, and Bella felt a twist of fear in her gut. Bella was sure that the girl had realized the dangerous situation she was in and was trying to figure out what to do, just like Bella was.

The girl was absolutely gorgeous, and for a moment, Bella forgot all about the cougar. The girl, with her long blonde hair, fair skin, beautiful face, and perfect body looked like she belonged on the runway, not hiking in the middle of the woods. Especially in those clothes; who wore a dress when hiking?

The girl's feet shifted and while no noise was made that either Bella or the cougar noticed, it was enough to snap Bella out of her ogling. She suddenly remembered her and the blonde's situation, but she wasn't sure what to do. Panic for the girl was starting to set in as her mind raced to come up with a way to help her. Bella doubted there was a way for Bella to signal the other girl in a way that the cougar didn't notice, especially given the fact that the girl didn't even seem to notice Bella's presence. And even if Bella did get her attention, what was she supposed to do? Tell the girl to get into the water? Run away? The thought was just stupid. First of all, running would definitely incite a chase. And even if the girl could get into the water without alerting the cougar, what would that do for her? Just because Bella was cockily confident that she could outswim a cougar in the water didn't mean that the girl could too.

Argh! Bella really was thinking way too much today. Why couldn't she have just gone for a nice, relaxing swim where she was free of all worries until she got home and realized she had to start at a new school tomorrow?

Bella hadn't realized it, but she had been holding her breath since she first noticed the girl. And she then inhaled more air, nearly choking on it in shock, when the girl launched herself into the air, right at the cougar. To top it off, she did it with a speed and strength that definitely wasn't possible. Not for a human, anyways.

Despite the speed, Bella's eyes followed the girl, nearly unable to comprehend what she was seeing as the blonde rammed into the cougar. The cat let out a yowl of surprise and rage, but the noise was quickly cut short with a gurgle as the girl bit into the cougar's neck.

A human girl bit into a cougar's neck deep enough to make the cat bleed. And now, it looked like the girl was drinking the blood. From the cougar's neck! She was possibly killing the animal, and bare handed at that!

That's it, Bella had to be going insane. She wasn't sure how, and she wasn't sure why, but she had to be. How else could the scene in front of her be possible? You know, unless vampires did actually exist, and Bella was watching a vampire feed first hand, in real, actual reality, aka life.

Yeah, like that could actually be true. Clearly that vampire romance novel Bella had read last week was finally getting to her.

Blinking her eyes, as she didn't want to do something that might draw attention to her, Bella focused once again on the scene before her.

Nope. Nothing had changed. The girl was still drinking from the cougar's neck, the cougar was laying prone in her embrace, either dead or nearly there, and Bella was still stuck in the water, with no idea what to do. And after seeing that display of speed and strength, Bella doubted she could outswim the girl in the water if the blonde decided to come after her and maybe kill her, too.

But would she kill Bella? She had been drinking from an animal. Maybe she was a nice vampire. They could exist, right? Bella sure hoped so. Because if they didn't, and Bella was noticed, then Bella knew she was screwed.

The girl laid the cougar on the ground and stood, licking the last traces of blood from her lips, without a single drop of blood anywhere else on her body. A gust of wind blew, causing the blonde's perfect hair to fly into the girl's face. Without much thought, the girl turned her head, tucking the wayward hair behind her ear. The cool look in her eyes, which Bella had only noticed for a second, completely disappeared as her gaze landed on Bella, still emerged in the water from the nose down. The blonde froze, eyes widening in horror and shock, and had Bella not already been as still as possible, she would have froze too.

Seconds seemed to slowly tick by as the blonde made up her mind on what to do.