Introductions: Hi! Here's a little bit of information about what this story is: a humorous version of the tried-and-true 'new girl in town is imprinted on by Jacob Black' formula, with some BellaxEdward thrown in and a love triangle of my own devising. The setting for this is after New Moon and prior to Eclipse (events in Eclipse will take place in this story, but with my own little twist on things). Claire Burns is about to be drawn into a world of drama, mystery, suspense, adventure and, of course, the romance of her lifetime.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns the Twilight Universe and everyone in it. I own Claire, Blake, Angie, and Claire's dog- whose name I have not yet settled on, so feel free to offer suggestions. And now, on to the story. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Moving Day

Moving sucks.

Sure, people try to dress it up nicely- 'you'll make lots of new friends,' 'there'll be exciting new sights,' 'you'll get to hang out with Bella all the time'- but the harsh reality is that the entire process of moving just plain sucks. You have to pack up every single thing you own, say goodbye to literally everyone you have ever known, and then drive for hours and hours to to the freaking rainiest place on the entire planet.

And no, that was not an exaggeration. Forks may as well have been called... er, 'Soggy Napkin.' I don't know, something dreary and wet that pertained to meals.

The thing that makes this move in particular even worse is how freaking excited everyone is about it- everyone except me, of course. Don't get me wrong, I'm usually a pretty happy-go-lucky person. I've got a wonderful older sister, great friends, a loving boyfriend, and a sweet new German Shepherd puppy, courtesy of the afore-mentioned loving boyfriend. There's not much for me to be grumpy about on a day-to-day basis, but these past few days- spent packing everything I own and preparing for a major change- my mood has been varying levels of gloomy.

I don't want to move. I really, really don't.

It wasn't even my idea in the first place. I had graduated high school last year and, weary of school and homework- ugh, even thinking that evil word should be illegal- had decided to take a year off. I was kind of... er, directionless, for lack of a more impressive way of saying that. I basically had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to go to college, sure; but I didn't know what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be, and it had been frustrating me. So I'd found a job at a local pet store, finally earning my keep in my older sister Angie's quaint apartment, and had spent the year enjoying the end of my teenage years.

And then Blake- afore-mentioned loving boyfriend who gives puppies as birthday presents- had enrolled in Peninsula College, a small university that happened to be right smack dab in the middle of the proverbial waterfall that was Forks, Washington. He had urged and coaxed and pleaded and given me huge puppy-dog eyes until I had finally, grudgingly agreed to mail in an application as well. Peninsula College had accepted me, and now... and now here I was. Sitting in my stripped bedroom, cardboard boxes piled around me, a puppy snuggled in my lap, and Angie tearfully baking us a 'last supper' in the kitchen.

She was sad to see me go, and I knew she was hoping that I would set money aside all semester in order to buy a plane ticket home. I winced at that thought; we lived in sunny Phoenix, Arizona right now, and I hated the thought of being so far away from her. The only way I'd be able to visit would be via a two hundred dollar plane ticket and a long flight.

But it would be worth it. Our parents had divorced when we were young, and we had grown up with our mother. I say 'grown up with' and not 'raised by' because, frankly, that woman did not raise us. We were a burden to her, and she let us know it every day until Angie, the moment she'd turned eighteen, had purchased a small but cozy apartment with the savings from her own college fund. She was now twenty-four years old- five years older than me- and the co-owner of a successful bakery in downtown Phoenix. She'd had years of practice, see, since mom was usually too drunk to cook anything and the responsibility of feeding me had fallen on her. Angie could cook like nobody else, and it was just one of the many, many things I loved about her. She was my big sister, the only family I really had, and I would gladly spend every penny I had for the chance to visit her.

That thought brought a sigh. It could very well end up being every penny, too. My earnings from the pet store had gone towards college tuition and housing, and I had depressingly little money left in my bank account. If I didn't find a job in Forks and start saving again, I'd be homeless within six months. Why was I moving again?

A knock on the door interrupted my gloomy- see? I told you I was gloomy- thoughts. I jumped up and ran to the front door, swinging it wide and grinning at the tousled blond hair and bright blue eyes that greeted me.

"Blake!" I squealed happily, my mood instantly rising into not-so-gloomy levels. I threw my arms around him and gave him a peck on the cheek. He squeezed me tightly and stepped into the apartment. Before I shut the door behind him, I noticed through a hallway window that his shiny red pickup truck was parked on the curb- its back seat was piled with boxes, and there was a mattress and some disassembled furniture piled in the truck bed. I groaned.

"Hey, cheer up, Claire," he said, ruffling my hair. "This is gonna be great! We'll make tons of friends at The Pen," I rolled my eyes at his cute little nickname for our new college. "You'll love the apartment I found, you can totally come and stay over any time you get sick of dorm life," he gave me an exaggerated wink and I rolled my eyes again, trying not to smile. Then he played the trump card. "And you'll get to see Bella practically every day."

I blew a resigned sigh. I was still dead set on being grumpy throughout this entire ordeal, but seeing Bella again was definitely going to be fun. She and I had been friends practically since birth, and we had kept in close touch ever since her own move to Soggy- I mean, Forks. Lately her emails had been saturated with stories about her new boyfriend, along with bucketfuls of drama. Apparently some hunk- Edward- had become the absolute center of Bella's universe, had dumped her like a total butt-face, and then had come swooping back into her life and somehow convinced her to take him back. And there was another guy, Jack or Jake or something, who she had been raving about for a while, too, but I guessed that now he was out of the picture. I don't know, Bella's emails were really long and complicated sometimes. It was hard to keep track of everything that she said, but that was the gist of the story.

But I was excited to see her, that was for sure. Bella would be the highlight of my waterlogged new home.

"It's going to be great, Claire," Angie encouraged as Blake pulled me into the kitchen, but I could see the wet gleam of pent-up tears in her eyes. I winced again. Geez, Angie crying was bad enough, but that fact that I was actually the one making her cry made it so much worse. Ugh. I comforted myself with the thought that Angie cried at everything. Gooey romance movies, cheesy novels, soap operas. Heck, I'd even seen her tear up when she killed bugs.

"I know, it'll be great," I said aloud, trying to sound at least a little excited. I failed, of course, because I am the worst liar in the world.

Blake gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "It really will, babe. And if it's not... well, I'm sure we can find another college after a semester or two." I perked up at that, and he ruffled my hair again. "Now come on- let's get your stuff into the truck."

I groaned loudly. "Nooo."

He gave me that stupid goofy smile of his, all white teeth and dimples. "You sound kind of like a cow, babe." I swatted him lightly on the arm.

My big sister chuckled. "Get your things packed up, Claire. When you two are finished, I'll have some chocolate chip cookies ready for you to eat."

So that's what she'd been baking. I wondered what had smelled so good. "Angie, are you trying to bribe me? Your own sister? I'm shocked." I said with mock-indignation.

"I think she was implying that you couldn't have a cookie until after you helped me load up the truck, babe," Blake said thoughtfully. "So I'd say it's more of a hostage negotiation than a bribe."

I bit back a smile and Angie chuckled again. "That's right; now hurry it up, or the cookies get it!" She held up a spatula threateningly and I couldn't help but laugh.

"C'mon, Claire," Blake tugged me towards my bedroom, eager to get on with the process of loading up his truck.

I allowed myself to be led, crying out, "Please, don't hurt them! They're innocent civilians!" Angie laughed again and I head the oven door squeak open.

Once Blake and I were in the room, he began lifting boxes and carrying them outside- and he was certain to give off quite a few manly grunts and flex his biceps while doing so. I finished up the last of my packing, settling down on the floor to once again sigh morosely and pet my puppy. I caught sight of my reflection in a large mirror leaning against the wall and winced a bit. I looked... haggard. Like I hadn't slept in days, which was partially true- my sleep had been fitful these past few nights, as if some part of me had wanted to lie awake and savor each moment I had left in this apartment rather than just sleep the time away. And the sleeplessness had taken its toll, I thought wryly. My gray eyes had bags under then, and my skin- which was usually quite nice, smooth and with a natural glow- looked rough and drawn. My hair, the exact color of rust, looked a bit bedraggled, too. I sighed again and decided that a quick shower would do me some good.

Blake continued to load boxes as I got the hot water running, and as I undressed and climbed into the shower I couldn't help but think that I should get used to the feeling of water falling on me. Rain, cold and constant, would be the defining characteristic of my new town. It's not that I disliked rain, really. The sound of it helped me sleep at night, and I had always enjoyed jumping in puddles with Angie when we were kids. But I didn't like cold water or cold weather. Or cold anything, really. I liked heat, sun, and warmth. And there certainly wasn't going to be anything warm and sunny waiting for me in Forks, Washington. I was sure of it.

Author's Note: Don't worry, Claire's a bit of a downer here in the beginning but she'll cheer up soon. In the next chapter we'll see: Forks, the new living accommodations for Claire and Blake, Bella, and perhaps just a little bit of Jacob and/or Edward. And hopefully the dog shall be named! Feel free to leave and questions or comments in a review!