A/N: This first chapter is more of a brief introduction to the story. As the story develops I plan to make the chapters longer.
A huge thank you to my awesome pre-reader mamadog93 and my patient Beta missrebecca. You ladies both have really helped me in this adventure
One would think I would be busy enough with work and school, however, I often found myself without anything to do, even when I did get a moments free time. Perhaps that is why I often signed up for extra shifts at work and took an extra class this semester. Angela and Ben, my closest friends from high school, went off to the University of Washington together. They visit occasionally, but not enough to give me a semblance of a social life; I miss them desperately. Jessica, my other girlfriend, left to go to USC Berkley, so she is only able to visit on long school breaks like at Christmas or over the summer due to the distance. Jessica's on again/off again boyfriend, Mike, decided to join the military after not getting accepted to the schools he applied to. He is in basic training in North Carolina and does not expect to return home before his tour of duty. So, I was left alone and bored in the small, wet and rainy town of Forks taking care of my father and attending community college.
At the beginning of my senior year my father, Charlie, had a heart attack after being nearly mauled by "the biggest wolf he had ever seen". It had not been that long since the heart attack and I just did not feel right leaving Charlie home alone to care for himself. He thinks I'm being ridiculous and keeps reminding me that he got along just fine before I came to live with him. He's too proud to admit he needs help for a little longer, so I humor him and remind him that it is only for a year.
One positive of my move to Forks my junior year of high school, was the closer relationship Charlie and I developed. My mother, Renee, married a minor league baseball player and desired to travel with him. I knew staying home with me and missing out on all the traveling made my mom a little depressed, though she would never admit it. Of course I recognized her longing and decided it was time to spend some quality time with my father in Forks.
This all brings me to where I now sit staring at my laptop and debating my most recent plan for acquiring a better social life. With my battered copy of Wuthering Heights beside me, I think about the merits of joining a dating site, not quite believing that I'm even contemplating this. But I'm tired of being alone, and if this is a way to meet new people and keep myself occupied then I should go for it, shouldn't I? I mean, how many times can a girl read a book for company? Retreating into fantasy worlds with familiar characters will only get you so far. The idea, however, of joining such a site seems entirely too pathetic in my mind. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose. This is the time for making mistakes as Jessica reminded us all in her graduation speech.
Deciding, to hell with it, I click the icon to create a new profile. After answering what seems to be an endless number of questions spanning all of my possible likes and dislikes (why is it I need to disclose my favorite type of sandwich?), I finally get to the point where I am supposed to write up an explanation of my purpose in joining this website. After another round of internal debating on the necessity of this plan, I find the resolve to finish the profile. I type up a blurb about desiring to meet some new people and maybe experience a casual relationship, upload my best senior picture, and hope for the best.
Deciding this is enough self-torture for the evening, I resign myself to getting ready for bed. After finishing my nightly ritual, I lie in bed for a while and congratulate myself for taking the leap and trying something new. At least this will give me a reason to look forward to checking my email. Drifting off to sleep I can't seem to suppress the smile on my face as I imagine the ding of an incoming email. For some reason I have a good feeling about this.