Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

So....this is my first story so if it sucks blame my friends for filling my head with lies...I let them read it and they told me it was good. Thnx to them BTW they know who they are.

1. A Fresh Start

I was just beginning to stir after the worst night's sleep I'd had all summer. I'd had yet another bad dream. It was almost like one of the dreams where you're standing in a crowded room and everyone's staring at you: laughing and pointing and you can't figure out why everyone's acting so strange. Then you look down and realize your not wearing any clothes. I tried to convince myself it was from all the excitement but really it was a combination of excitement and fear. I had been looking forward to this day since I started high school, the day when I would become a college student. My nerves were beginning to kick in thinking about the new life I was getting ready to start. I had always been relatively independent, but this was something entirely different. I would be leaving the only home I'd ever known. My mother, however, wasn't looking forward to me leaving. She tried relentlessly to attract me to the many benefits of junior college.

I chuckled at the memory of my mothers attempt to keep me home.

Going to Forks Community College meant that you were destined to stay here for the rest of your life and I was determined to get out of this town if it was the last thing I did, although I was a little sad at the thought of leaving my mom and dad. I was torn in between not leaving my family and getting out of this dead end town. So I settled for Hamilton University. Renee was happy I was going to college but she was worried I'd meet some guy, fall madly in love, and get knocked up, though she would never tell me that. That was how she met my Father. She lectured me all summer about the importance of education and not letting anything distract me, especially boys.

"I just don't want you to get caught up and make the same mistakes I did," She said in the heat of one of her more recent rants. She froze and there was silence for a second before she rebounded her statement. "But you're not a mistake baby, you never were," she said hugging me. She gave me a small peck on the forehead before looking at me to see if she was forgiven. I gave her a nod and she exited my room to let me pack the rest of my things. Of course I knew I wasn't a mistake. I never felt like I was. I knew Charlie and Renee were happy to have me. Their relationship lasted this long so I didn't see why she was so worried about it.

I knew she would miss having me around but I knew she was mostly concerned about the guys. Why was she so apprehensive? She knew my background when it came to boys. We told each other everything...well....mostly everything. There are just some things a mother and daughter are not meant to share. My thoughts were interrupted when my phone started ringing.

Hello, hello

Is anyone home

Hello, hello

Just pick up the phone

It could only be one person calling me at this time. I turned on my side and reached over to the night stand to grab my phone. It was my bestfriend.

"Alice," I said clearing my throat in attempt to get the sleep out of my voice "what's up?"She wasn't fooled.

"Bella wake up, what are you still doing asleep when we have a bright future ahead of us?" she chirped into the pone. I could practically feel her bouncing on her toes from all the excitement. I smiled at her enthusiasm and began to pull myself out of bed to begin the day that was going to be inevitably long.

"I'm up Ali. I was just lying in bed. I didn't sleep to well last night."

"Another nightmare." She said it as more of a statement than a question. I was an only child and Alice was the closest thing to a sister I had. Since she was an only child too we immediately bonded. She knew me better than anyone, even better than I knew myself, as cliché as that sounds.

"Yeah," I admitted. There was no point in lying to her she would see right through it and it didn't exactly help that I was the worlds worst liar.

"I don't know what you're so nervous about. This is going to be the most fun you've ever had, I know it."

"If you say so"

"I do say so, and you know I'm always right so don't question it and get ready and you-" Before she could finish her sentence I cut her off. I already knew what she was going to say.

"Yes, I'm wearing the outfit you picked out." It's not that I didn't dress up. I wore cute clothes. I just didn't feel that this was an occasion to get dressed for. Alice refused to let me step foot on the campus without looking 'positively pulchritudinous', whatever that meant. I figured if it came from her it had to be a good thing and I wasn't going to deny her. Alice was tiny but she was freakishly powerful for her size.

Four years ago, when we were freshmen at Forks high, Tyler had tried to come on to her. We were walking the halls going to our next class. My head was down trying to make sure I didn't trip over my own feet. We were talking about the test we had just taken when Alice stopped mid sentence and I noticed she wasn't next to me anymore. My head snapped up and I began to search the hall for her when I spotted them. Tyler had pushed Alice up against the lockers and was hovering dangerously close to her face. Alice looked pissed. Her eyebrows scrunched up and her jaw clenched and I knew it was not going to turn out well for Tyler. I remember thinking that he was a complete moron for not seeing how mad she was, but then again his eyes never seemed to stay on her face. She had told him numerous times that she wasn't interested but he was very persistent. He leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Alice's eyes got wide in shock then her eyebrows furrowed again. Before I, or Tyler, knew it Alice pulled her tiny arm back and balled up her fist then snapped it forward, unleashing all her anger on his face. When she made the connection with his nose there was a small cracking sound followed by his loud shrieking. Blood began streaming out of his nose before he doubled over in pain, clutching his nose as he fell to the floor in the fetal position. Alice shrugged it off and casually stepped over Tyler's balled up form with her head high and sauntered back over to where I was standing. I just stood there in shock with my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open. I couldn't believe this 4ft nothing freshman just took out this boy, who was easily twice her size, with a single punch. Later we found out that he had to get three stitches and Alice ended up with a few detentions. From then on I knew I never wanted to be on her bad side.

"You're gonna look so cute," She squealed. "Not that you're not normally cute, you'll just look even cuter," She tacked on so she wouldn't offend me.

"It's okay Alice I know what you meant."

She let out small sigh of relief before giggling into the phone. We started talking about the dorm rooms and our hopes that our roommates wouldn't be total whack jobs.

"Hey, did you call them to make sure they got your housing application?" she said in an authoritative tone.

"Um…..well….no…I checked online to see if the package was received," I said feebly, "and it said that it arrived a few days after I sent it so there was no need to call."

After all what was the point of the internet verification if I had to call and make sure they received it? It said it plain and simple in black letters 'package received'.

"Isabella Marie Swan, ugh… how many times do I have to tell you, you can't always trust the postal service. You still should've called to see if they got it. What if they lost it?" she was yelling into the phone now. It was so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear slightly to avoid any damage to my eardrum. I could still hear every word she was throwing at me. Geez for someone so tiny she can sure get loud. Ouch. "Watch, now you're going end up in the left over, broken down dorms that nobody wants or something like that."

"Alice calm down before you have an aneurism, I can practically see the vain bulging out of your forehead right now and stop saying that before you jinx me and I really end up homeless."

"I'm not the one who jinxed you, YOU ARE. I have no control over these things. It's your decisions that make the future what it is. You know I'm usually right about these things." I could see her shaking her head on the other side of the phone as if she were right in front of me. But she was, in fact, right. She had never failed me before. Why would this be any different? I had to hope that maybe she would be a little wrong and maybe I would get an okay dorm.

"I don't know but since you know everything would you mind telling me the winning lotto numbers, I could use the money." I teased. It was silent for a moment before we both broke out into laughter and all was forgiven.

"Okay Ali, I gotta start getting ready. Call me when you're on your way."

"Alright Bella, I'll talk to you soon."

I had to ride with Alice since my dad was on patrol as the police chief of this small town and we didn't have another car besides his cruiser. I used to have a truck until it finally broke down on me this summer. I worked all throughout high school so that I was able to afford a used, rust colored, 67' Chevy truck that I loved. It wasn't perfect, the engine was extremely loud and the interior was falling apart, but I bought it with my hard earned money so I immediately loved it. Alice couldn't understand my attachment to the car. She would ride in it with me because of our friendship; otherwise she would not have been caught dead in it. I bought it the summer after sophomore year, I was so proud of it, and it decided to conk out on me now in my time of need. Alice called it fate. She said it was a sign that I needed to get rid of my "old dust bucket" and move on to something more efficient and classy, something more me. She didn't understand how hard I had to work just to get that "old dust bucket." Her parents bought her a Porsche after she got her license. Her mother used to be a big shot stylist, apparently she was the one to blame for Alice's addiction to fashion, and her father was a psychologist, and a pretty good one at that. So Alice pretty much had everything she ever needed or wanted, for that matter. Since we were both attending Hamilton this fall it made sense that we ride together. My mother was upset that she couldn't take me until she and Alice decided it was the perfect excuse to throw a going away party. The party took place a week before Alice and I had to embark on our little journey.

I shook my head trying to erase the memory of that night.

I had been dating Mike at the time and I knew he would be coming and since my mother was good friends with the Stanley's I knew Jessica would be there as well. She'd had a crush on him for the longest and was always jealous that he was with me. I would catch her flirting with him in the halls after class or in the stands at football games. I never thought much of it because Mike never paid her any attention so I figured it was a lost cause. But this night was different than the others. I was sitting on the couch talking with one of my good friends when I noticed Jessica flirting with Mike, as she usually did. I turned away and continued my conversation because I saw Mike brush her off, as he usually did, and walk into the den. The party was going smoothly and I was having fun but I hadn't seen Mike in awhile and decided to go look for him. I got up and pushed passed the crowd of people. I decided to check the last place I had seen him go. I turned the corner to enter the den and my heart shattered and my stomach dropped. I felt the tears begin to pool in my eyes as I saw Jessica straddling Mike on the couch with her hands locked behind his neck. Mike had his hands on her hips gripping them tightly as he shoved his tongue down her throat. I froze in the doorway. I couldn't bring myself to run over there, hurdle the couch, and tackle them like I wanted to. I felt the tears threatening to spill over and I tried to force them back. My knees went weak and I put my hand on the door frame to support myself. I wrapped my free hand around my throat in attempt to push back the bile that was threatening to emerge. They were so caught up in their moment they didn't even notice me standing there. I pleaded with myself to do something, anything. I couldn't let this happen. In my own house no less.

"What…..The. Hell?" I tried to make the words come out forceful but they just ended up sounding shaky and weak as the tears began streaming down my face. Jessica snapped her head up and a menacing grin spread across her face as she realized who it was that caught them. Mike threw Jessica off of his lap as he began to stand up and head straight for me.

"Bella, baby I'm so sorry…." He continued to talk but I couldn't hear a word he was saying. The pain I was feeling took over my senses. I swiftly turned around to make a break for it but I lost my footing and tipped forward. I was headed straight for the hardwood when I felt Mike grab my hips and steady me.

"Can you just wait….please? I need to explain."

"No, LET ME GO!" I grabbed his hands and loosened his hold on me and headed for the stairs.

"Bella wait." Mike called out to me as I pushed passed the crowd once again, only this time I was running from him. I ran up the stairs tripping up a few as I went. I could feel the questioning eyes of the party on my back as I headed towards my room. When I made it to my room I threw myself on my bed and let the tears come down freely. It was only a few minute before Alice came to see what was wrong. I heard a soft knock on my door.

"Bella?" she said peeking in the room. "Are you okay, do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head as that was all I could manage. She sat next to me on the bed and let me cry on her lap the whole night. It wasn't until everyone left that I was able to tell her what happened. She was beyond angry. She was ready to go to Mike's house and beat the crap out of him but I convinced her not to. I told her he wasn't worth it. The next day we started a small bonfire in my back yard. We used everything he'd ever given me as fuel. Charlie was furious and gave us a lecture about fire safety that day.

I hung up the phone and treaded into the bathroom to finally start the day. After I showered and brushed my teeth, I got dressed without really paying too much attention to the outfit since Alice had already done all the work, and headed down stairs to grab something to eat. I turned the corner and was greeted by my dad who was sitting at the table dressed in his uniform, holding the morning paper, and sipping his coffee.

"Mornin' Bells," he barely looked up from his paper. I let out a small laugh then said good morning to him while grabbing the bagels from the top of the fridge. I was going to miss this. The mornings here were so calm and comfortable. It was our own little routine and today was the last day I would be able to participate in the unofficial morning tradition.

"You excited?"

"Um…yeah…among other things but yeah mostly excited I would say," I said with my head buried in the fridge in search of the cream cheese. My dad was never one to push for details and for that I was thankful.

"I'm gonna miss you kid." He said with his face still hidden behind the newspaper. I couldn't tell but it sounded like he might have been crying. I closed the refrigerator and headed over to him. I stood behind his chair and wrapped my arms around his shoulders and gave him a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you too dad, a lot." I said giving him another squeeze emphasizing a lot. I would miss going fishing with him once a month. He usually went every Sunday and that was too often for me so we agreed I would come one Sunday a month and it's been that way ever since.

He stood up and cleared his throat trying to get the tears out of his voice. He turned to me and gave me one more hug before turning towards the door to make his way to work. He called over his shoulder for me to be careful and I said I would. I fixed my plate and sat down at the table to eat my food. I was looking around the kitchen and reminiscing about all the times I'd had in this place. Some were good and some weren't but at the end of the day this was my home and I would miss it. I was brought back to reality when my phone started beeping, signaling that I had a text. Beep, beep. Beep, beep. I flipped it open and immediately wished I hadn't.

M: Bella can we please talk I miss u and I want to apologize

Is he serious? I rolled my eyes, closed my phone and stuck it back in my pocket. I didn't feel like dealing with him right now or ever. I had been effectively avoiding him all week. I got up from the table and washed my dishes and headed upstairs to double check my bags. I walked into my room and found my mom sitting on my bed, clutching what looked like a dolls dress, and crying.

"Mom?" Here we go. "Oh mom, don't cry, I'm not going to be that far away and I'll make sure to keep in contact all the time. I'll e-mail you and you can call me at the dorm." I sat down next to her and started rubbing her back to soothe her, which seemed to make her cry more. She was the complete opposite of my father. He had a hard time showing his emotions while Renee just let them flow freely. "Mom, seriously it'll be okay."

"I…I….I know. I…..I….I'm just g….go…go….gonna miss y…you," she said in between sobs. She held up the dolls dress and another round of whimpers came out.

"D…do….you remember this d…d..dress?" I shook my head and my eyes tightened in concentration as I tried to remember where the dress had come from.

"Th…th….this is the fir….first dress I ever bought you." She held the dress out to me. I grabbed it from her and held it up to my body. I looked up at her with big puppy dog eyes and pouty lips trying to look like a child. She let out a small, watered down giggle. At least that got her to stop crying. Thank God.

She composed herself before speaking. "I suppose it is silly to try and keep you here forever," she sighed and grabbed my hand and held it in hers. "You're a grown girl and I guess I'll just have to get used to that." She pulled me into a hug then kissed my cheek.

"I love you mom."

"I love you too baby." she said cupping my cheek with her hand. I smiled and stood up to look over my bags.

"You got everything you need?"

"I think so."

"Sorry I didn't help more with the packing." She said sheepishly. I raised my eyebrow and gave her a little smirk.

"It's okay mom, I know this past week hasn't been easy on you," I said reassuringly before I added "Plus you were probably hoping I would change my mind and put everything back." We laughed and she walked over to help me make sure everything was in order. Just then my phone rang. It was Alice telling me she was downstairs. I invited her up then started to gather my things.

"Knock, knock." Alice said announcing her arrival into the room. Her eyes danced around the room, eyeing the small amount of bags I had strewn across the floor, and then stopped when she got to my moms tear streaked face and puffy eyes. She glanced back and forth between me and my mom a few times before speaking.

"Aww Mrs. Swan, Everything will be just fine I'll take excellent care of Bella." She said before pulling my mother into a hug. She barely came up to my mothers shoulder and she was trying to comfort her. It was funny to watch my mom wrapped around Alice's small frame, but then again it wasn't that hard to be bigger than Alice. She wrapped her hand around Alice's head crushing her perfectly spiky hair and round two of the water works began as she continued to embrace Alice, but these tears weren't for me this time, they were for Alice. She had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. We grew up together. She was practically my mom's second child and she was going to miss her too. I shook my head and smiled at the both of them while bending down to grab my duffle bag. I stepped out of the room and was headed downstairs when I saw a tall, russet skinned, well built man, wearing khaki shorts and a white tank top, standing in the middle of my living room. I stopped dead in my tracks. I was stunned at how beautiful he was. Despite the cold weather outside he looked……warm?

His back was facing towards me. He was admiring the pictures on the mantle and my eyes began to scan over his broad shoulders and huge biceps. He shifted his body which made my eyes change course. They began to trail down the contours of his back, watching the way the muscles in his back moved as he adjusted his stance. My eyes continued their descent past the hem of his shorts right down to his……… wait, who the hell is this guy and what is he doing in my house? I don't care how hot you are, I'll still call the police if I have to……..hell who am I kidding, if you take off your shirt while you're robbing me blind I wont complain…..focus Bella. You just got out of a bad relationship, get it together. I shook my head in attempt to clear it. After my thoughts were appropriate for conversation I cleared my throat to get the strangers attention. He jumped at the sound and quickly spun around. When I saw his face my mind went blank. He was gorgeous. His hair looked like black silk. It hung shoulder length, just barely sweeping across the straps of his tank top. His alluring dark brown eyes complemented his flawless titian skin. He started to speak interrupting my gawking. I felt the heat of my blush appear on my cheeks and dropped my head briefly in hopes that he wouldn't notice.

"Oh…uh…hi," I looked up to see he had and embarrassed smile plastered on his face, revealing his perfectly white teeth that seemed to sparkle against his dark skin as he started walking towards me. He held his hand out to me and introduced himself. "I'm Jacob." Okay that explains part of my question, now what are you doing in my house Jacob? I took his hand and shook it. My eyebrows furrowed as I continued to wonder why he was here. I opened my mouth to ask him when he finally answered my unspoken question. "I'm with the moving service."

"Moving service?"

"You didn't think we were gonna fit everything in my car did you?" Alice said as she appeared at the top of the stairs with my mom on her heels. She had a point. Her car wasn't exactly luggage friendly but how much space would she need. I jerked my head in her direction and gave her a questioning glare before the realization hit me as to why we would need the moving truck. Leave it to Alice to pack an entire boutique complete with shoes and accessories. I just sighed and made my way down the rest of the steps so I could place my bag in the truck. After everything was loaded up I said my final goodbyes to my mother and got in the car to begin my college career. Alice was turning to get on the freeway with the moving truck close behind when I got a text.

Beep, beep.

Beep, beep.

I didn't have to look to know who it was.

M: Bella please, I want to talk to you before you leave

I paused and thought about ignoring the text again then I figured I should text him back or he would harass me the entire trip. I sucked in a deep breath and willed my fingers to type the message.

B: It's too late. I'm already on the road. We're done. I'm getting a fresh start.

I pressed send and cranked up the music while my bestfriend and I headed towards our first year of college.

So I just want to say thanx for reading the first chapter. What did you think??

Oh and the ringtone is Paramore-Hello Hello