Bella remembers sitting by the bonfire every year since she was a child. She remembers how much food is cooked, how she always scoffs that so much is such a waste of everyone's time and money and how she is always surprised that a couple of the boys are left wanting more. She remembers sitting close to her cousin Quil, both of them with their legs stretched out in front of them and leaning on their hands. And she remembers the stories that Grandpa Ateara tells: fantastical stories about werewolves and vampires.

That was what Bella had always looked forward to, until she turned 12 and suddenly the stories were just stupid. Werewolves didn't exist. Vampires didn't exist. Why were they still telling these dumb stories? She and Quil, along with their best friends Jacob Black and Embry Call, were the youngest ones there and had already heard the stories so many times; it wasn't like the elders were trying to make them memorize "history". Emily and Sam were trying to have a child, but so far no luck. Even if they had a baby now, it would take years before he or she actually understood the stories. Bella loved the bonfires, so she continued to go, but when the stories started, she and the three boys would sit a little farther and talk amongst themselves while the adults had their low, murmured conversations. Bella could never understand why they found the childish stories so fascinating or why they always looked so grave when they discussed it, but her mother, Grandpa Ateara's daughter, always denied Bella's observations.

Whatever. Bella didn't need to listen to silly stories to have fun. For years, the four would excuse themselves and play pranks on unsuspecting visitors to the beach (who were rip-roaringly drunk by this time and in perfect condition to be pranked). When they fell short of victims, they would drink a few beers and laugh at the ridiculous legends. People had spirit forms? Embry would go rigid, have a mock fit and then stumble around like a zombie, moaning, "I am a spirit! Fear me!" Jacob would crouch on all fours and growl. Quil, laughing, would say, "The spirit of the old leader entered the wolf...Oh no! A Cold One approaches," upon which he would play the role of the undead. For her part, Bella would find a rock and try to stab herself with it, yelling, "Damn it! It's too blunt!" Their antics never escalated past that point, because they would have collapsed into hysterics.

Bella was with Quil one day when her mother called her out of the room.

"She'll probably be like, 'You kids need to stop disrespecting family history!' D'you think it'd be going too far if I tell her that, in order for "werewolves" to be part of our family, someone would have had to be practicing bestiality?" Bella joked as she left.

Quil assumed a look of seriousness on his face and deadpanned, "Bella, if you have anything you need to talk about – sexual urges, fetishes – I'm here. HEY!" Bella had thrown a pillow at him.

"You're the odd one out in this family: disgusting AND stupid. How are we related again?" She closed the door as Quil launched a book at her.

Still smiling, Bella sauntered into the kitchen where her mother, Renee, sat, looking unusually grave. Bella's smile faded slightly. "Mom? Is everything okay?"

Renee sighed. "Bella, honey, I've been offered a position in Phoenix." She had been out of work for the past year; it was only family and friends and Bella's part-time job at the coffee shop across the reservation that let them keep their apartment.

Bella clapped. "Mom, that's great! Wait, Phoenix is pretty far away. Are you working from home?"

"Thanks sweetie. It is far, but I can't work from home; it requires me to be there physically."

"But...are you coming home for weekends? Is it just for the summer?"

Renee looked wary, as if bracing for a sudden impact, and placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Bella, listen to me. I – we – need this job. We can't keep depending on Emily and Quil and Jacob and Embry to support us. I don't know how long this position will be for, but it sounded like a permanent position and as it's the only offer I've had, I'm going to take it. That said, you have two options, but I'd rather you take the second. Hear me out, okay?" Bella had made a noise of protest, comprehension dawning on her face. "Option one: you can come with me to Phoenix but I'd rather you didn't. I love you, baby, but it'll be hard enough to find an apartment for one with no income without having to find one for two. I know you'll say that you don't mind sleeping on the couch, but you will. Trust me. After a week, you'll be complaining of backaches and whatnot. Besides, I can't even guarantee I'll have enough furniture for myself. And we'd have to find a school for you in the same area as my work because we won't have a car or any type of transport. Your second option is to live in Forks with Charlie." She took her hands off her daughter's shoulders and placed them over her face, as if she couldn't believe that she was forcing such a decision on her daughter.

Bella was momentarily confused. Who was Charlie? Then she snapped. "Charlie? You mean the guy who left you because you were pregnant with me? Fuck no!" She overrode her mother's protests about swearing, her voice gradually getting louder. "You'd rather me live with the guy you got you pregnant and left you? Are you fucking kidding me? No, Mom, don't you tell me not to swear. I have every right to swear. I'd rather sleep on the streets than live with that bastard. I respect that you'll have a hard time in Phoenix, so I won't beg to go with you. Besides, I don't want to go to fucking Arizona. What I don't fucking get is why I can't stay here with the guys. I can take care of myself – hell, I can take care of them too! You know what Quil's like, always gets into trouble. But, fuck, Mom, I have two years left in high school; I can help out with the gang before going to university. Please."

Renee put her hands in her lap, looking Bella square in the eye. "I've talked to Charlie about it. He's agreed to take you in; he even bought the old pick-up truck from Jake for you. He has pretty erratic hours so you two probably won't be together very often. And I didn't want to tell this, but everyone is having a tough time on the res right now. You know how Sam didn't get his college degree; La Push has no jobs and he can't afford to leave Emily when they're expecting a baby. Quil, Jake and Embry – none of their families has a stable job. It's a stretch for them to help us stay here, even with your job. Look, you can come back to La Push on weekends and holidays. When I'm settled in Phoenix, you can come visit me...two years is all I'm asking, alright?"

Bella sat still, deflated. She had never met Charlie, but hated him on principle. She couldn't just forgive him for walking out on her mother after promising the world. Granted, they were both poor and probably couldn't pay for an abortion, but he didn't have to leave her like that. On the other hand, she knew it was hurting her mother's pride and the rest of the family's financial situation.

She took a deep breath. "Mom, I'll stay with Charlie."

Renee let out a sigh of relief, a tentative smile on her lips. "Thank you, honey; that means a lot to me. I promise you can do whatever you the moment you graduate."

"Wait – WHAT?"

Bella and Renee whipped around in shock. Quil was standing in the doorway, a sheepish look creeping on his otherwise indignant face. "You two are leaving?"

Bella looked at Quil pleadingly. "It's just to Forks! I promise I'll come back every weekend and every holiday, and when I'm finished I'm coming right back."

Quil just sighed. "I'm not really surprised, just a bit sad. Anyways, congratulations, Ms Swan! Come on Bella, I'll help you pack."

Bella turned to Renee, who shrugged, said, "He's not expecting you for couple weeks. I'll go talk to Emily," and left through the back door. Bella trailed dejectedly after Quil.

A/N

For anyone who followed the story when I first put it up, you'll notice that I've completely changed the first chapter. This is because I felt like I needed some background. I didn't just want to start when she walks into biology. That said, I really only rewrote the first chapter. I haven't done much else in terms of expanding the story. I might still use what I had written before.

For those of you who reviewed way back when and asked for longer chapters - I'll definitely try to do that. If you asked for more frequent updates - well, I can try, but it's really not a priority. Speaking of reviews, though, someone asked if Charlie is Quileute, and no, he's not. Bella's only half (from her mom).

Peace.

S.H.