A/N: Setting the story!

Okay, this story takes place in Twilight and picks up just after Chapter 6 has begun - the one where Bella goes to the beach and Jacob tells her about the Cullens. In my story the Cullens haven't moved to Forks so things are a little different! I didn't want to start the story from the beginning of Twilight basically rewriting the first six chapters so I started it from here instead cus this is where Bella will meet Jake for the first time! Just as a couple of little details Bella still doesn't find Mike attractive and Lauren isn't quite as snippy as she is in Twilight. Yet. I never liked her much...

This is my first FF anyway so take it easy on me but by all means let me know how I'm doing and any ideas you might have!

Lily xx

When I woke up that morning I was shocked to see sunlight streaming in through my window. It was a little hard to believe that Mike had been right about the weather but sure enough when I opened the curtains there was a large patch of blue sky facing me.

We were meeting at the Newtons' Olympic Outfitters store, just north of town, and when I pulled up beside Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra I scanned the little group clustered around. There were more people there than I had expected; Eric was talking to Ben and Connor, and I'd known Jess, Ange and Lauren were coming, but there were another three girls stood close to them as well that I recognised from my various classes. I ccouldn't remember their names to save my life though.

I cringed a little as Mike bounded over to me.

"Bella! How are you? I told you the weather would be good, didn't I?" He leaned in for a hug so I patted his waist awkwardly with one hand.

Had he really not gotten the message by now? Apparently not.

"So, will you ride with me? I'll let you have shotgun." He asked as Lee pulled up in his mom's minivan.

I agreed but fortunately Lee had brought a couple more people than expected so we all had to cram in to fit. I managed to wedge Jess between Mike and I and smiled as she mouthed a silent 'thanks' at me.

La Push was only a fifteen minute drive from Forks but it was good to get out. I could feel my mood lift even further as a break in the trees revealed the familiar stretch of First Beach reaching out in front of me. We parked the vans and all piled out, picking our way down the shore towards what looked like a burnt out circle. It turned out to be a fire pit and immediately the boys set about collecting driftwood to burn.

Once the fire was lit I found I was grateful for the warmth. Although the sun was out the sea breeze and general Washington climate meant that it wasn't particularly warm so we all huddled around, sitting on the sand and on strewn about logs. I was a little surprised to see the fire burning bluish.

"It's the salt." Mike smiled, catching me watching the flames with what was quite probably a gormless expression on my face.

"Oh. It's pretty." I replied and turned to the side to talk to Angela.

This left Mike sat next to Jess who was looking at him rather expectantly. I wished Mike would hurry up and realise how much Jess liked him and how little I liked him like that. He was a nice guy, sure. But that was it for me. And despite Mike's complete obliviousness subtlety wasn't exactly Jess' strong point. Angela and I smirked as Jess laughed too loudly at Mike's jokes and very obviously kept putting her hand on his leg.

After half an hour or so some of the boys suggested hiking further down the beach to see the tidal pools. I'd really enjoyed them as a kid and would have liked to go but when Mike stood up and looked at me I shook my head.

"I'm okay here thanks Mike. You and Jess go on though." I said pointedly as Jessica stood up beside him and grabbed his arm.

"Come on Mike, let's go!" She pulled him away and they caught up with the others.

There were still a fair few of us sat around the fire and I made a point of trying to make conversation with everyone. Back in Phoenix I'd struggled a little making friends but since coming to Forks I'd decided to make a concerted effort with these people. They were all nice after all and it was a small town. The only person who didn't seem too enthusiastic about talking to me was Lauren but I couldn't really understand why. It wasn't such a problem when a little while later another group joined ours.

From their darker, copper coloured skin and straight black hair I guessed they were kids from the reservation. I turned out to be right.

"Hey, you're Isabella Swan right?" One of them called out and came to stand in front of me.

"Bella." I said warily; it was a little like my first day of school again.

"I thought so! I'm Jacob; Jacob Black. Your dad bought the truck off mine."

"Oh! Hi!" I said lamely.

Jacob held out a hand and I went to shake it. I was a little surprised when instead he pulled me up into a hug.

"It's good to see you, Charlie's been talking about you coming to live with him for months. He was so excited when he found out." Jacob let go of me and we sat down together on the log I'd been using as a bench.

"Really?" I asked, a little touched.

Charlie and I didn't really talk about things like feelings but it was still nice to hear nonetheless. Although it would have been nicer still if he hadn't been telling everyone I was called Isabella all this time.

"Oh sure. So, hows the truck running?" He asked, breaking into my thoughts.

"Great, I love it!"

"You do? But it's so..." He struggled for the words.

"It's perfect for me." I finished for him.

"Well I guess that worked out well for both of us then. Billy wouldn't let me work on building my own car while that pile of rust was still sat on the driveway."

"You're building your own car?" I asked, impressed.

"Uh huh." He grinned. "If you come by sometime I'll show you."

I smiled back.

"Who's your friend, Bella?" Mike interrupted, coming over and throwing an arm around my shoulders in what was supposed to be a casual manner I guessed.

In truth I hadn't even noticed him get back from the pools.

I tried to shrug out fron under his arm as subtly as possible but I caught Jacob's eye as he tried not to smirk.

"This is Jacob Black. Our dads go way back and I'm pretty sure we used to play together when we were kids." I introduced him and watched as Mike sized him up.

"You probably spent more time with my older sisters to be honest - Rachel and Rebecca."

"Older sisters?" Mike noticed. "So how old are you, Jacob?"

"Fifteen."

"Huh."

There was a long pause of silence. Mike visibly relaxed and put his hand on my arm again. I grimaced.

"So, Bella." Mike leaned in and spoke quietly. "D'you fancy going for a walk up the beach, just me and you?"

"Actually I'm still catching up with Jacob here." I was starting to lose patience with him. "Mike, ask Jess."

He grumbled but took my advice. They walked off together hand in hand and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, if he your boyfriend or something?" Jake asked conversationally.

I struggled to suppress a shudder.

"No, he's just a friend."

"Seems like he's a bit confused about that fact." He laughed and I smiled up at him.

"It's not like I haven't made it obvious enough."

I spent the rest of my afternoon in the easy company of Jacob. He was so laid back and there were no awkward moments like there were sometimes with the boys from school. I found myself immensely grateful that he'd been around.

When the air turned cold someone decided it was time for us all to pile back into the vans and head back to Forks.

Jacob walked me back to Mike's Suburban where a few of the others had already climbed in.

"You gonna come visit me again sometime then?" He asked.

"Sure!" I agreed enthusiastically. "Only if you don't mind though."

"Of course not. It'd be great to see you again. Come up again anytime you like."

"Will do." I promised.

"Bella, let's go!" Someone yelled from inside the van.

It sounded suspiciously like Mike. I scowled a little but gave Jacob a quick hug goodbye and he slammed the door shut behind me as I got in.

"Got yourself a boyfriend, Bella?" I heard Lauren comment from the back of the van.

She sounded a little sneery but I answered her as if she'd asked me in a normal tone.

"No, we're just old friends."

"Besides Lauren, Jacob was a lot younger than the rest of us." Mike interjected.

I ignored him and kept my gaze out of the window.

One of the girls that I'd recognised from my Gym class laughed, "I still thought he was pretty cute."

I tried to consider Jacob objectively.

He was average height, maybe a little taller for his age. His hair was long and glossy black, pulled back into a ponytail at his neck but it was his face that was his best feature. His skin was a beautiful russet colour and looked silky smooth, pulled over high cheekbones. He was cute, she was right, but it was more in a puppy-dog kind of way.

Still he was nice and someone besides my school friends that I could talk to and hang out with. It didn't matter to me that he was a little younger than me, I'd much rather spend time with someone like Jacob than Lauren who was the same age as me but acted far younger. I'd never really had much of an interest in boys and relationships back in Phoenix but then there was no one there that I'd really clicked with.

An afternoon in Jacob Black's company had flown by and, while I didn't think of him in a romantic way at all, I was pleased to have a male friend I could hang out with. It made it easier that Charlie already knew him and Billy as well, I didn't think he'd mind me visiting them at all.

Looking out of the window I watched the dense forest of Forks envelope us once again and began making plans in my head for next weekend to see Jacob again...