This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction. Many thanks to ButterflyBetty and TheOnlyKyla for helping me realize I could and should start writing.

Thank you to Rachel (masonjar) for prereading and Immortal for being an amazing beta.

All mistakes are mine.

I am not Stephanie Myers, I am writing for fun and not being paid. No copyright infringement is intended.


I never meant for this to happen. All I wanted was to have a normal life.

For a while now odd things have been happening around me, furniture floating odd. I have lived my life in my books since I was eleven. I noticed that when I am in real situations with real people is when the odd things happened and sometimes they were dangerous. I never understood why… until I met him.

My name is Bella Swan and this is my story.

"Bella, will you come down here please?"

When you're a sixteen-year-old girl this is the last phrase you want to hear. Usually it means something unpleasant is about to happen. In my case, it meant I was going to be scolded for the money I spent on books that month. Or be grilled about why I didn't spend more time with my peers. Knowing how this conversation typically went I started mumbling under my breath and shaking my head while taking my time to mark my page. I saw no reason to have this talk any sooner. As always, they were in the living room, in their typical positions, my father standing while my mother was on the couch.

"Look," I began. "I can explain those extra charges at Borders this month. Eve Dallas had a new release that I forgot about and…"

"Bella, that's not why we called you down here, I was just given new orders; we have to move in two weeks."

My father, Charlie Swan was a career US Marine; he enlisted when he was 18 and according to him never looked back. I was born just outside El Toro Marine base and have spent my life moving ever since, which would make you think I was used to moving at a moment's notice. That was not the case; I didn't have many friends to leave behind that made it worse. It just seemed like we always moved just as I was getting into the swing of things.

"Where are we going this time? Please don't say DC, the last time we were in DC we never saw you." I fully admit to being a daddy's girl, so sue me.

"You and your father are moving to Jacksonville Bella," my mother said. I was so taken aback by how hostile she sounded, that it took me a full two minutes to realize she said my father and me.

"Wait, just me and daddy- why aren't you coming?" My mother and I have always had a difficult relationship. She has always been one of those people that if it doesn't benefit her, she doesn't give a flying fart what happens. I have tried to have a more hands on relationship with her but she just always looked at me like I was a pebble stuck in her shoe.

"Bella, your mother and I are… you may have noticed the tension lately. We had hoped to have more time to prepare you… things have developed…we're getting a divorce." Charlie explained.

WHAT? Calm down Bella. You need to breathe; you know what happens when you get upset. That cannot happen again; you almost got hurt. Just concentrate and go over what he just said. My parents are getting a divorce. My parents are getting a divorce. Just take deep breaths; deep breath in, deep breath out.

"Why would you tell me this now? You could have told me when things started to go downhill. At least that way I would have been prepared. This is just… I have no words. I can't handle this right now." Even with my attempts to stay calm I could tell I had to get out of there quickly.

"The good news is, the Whitlocks have been given the same orders." Charlie didn't realize this but he was giving me the out I needed.

"May I go see them? I think they can distract me from this bombshell."

"I don't…" my mother started.

"Renee, shut up." Charlie interrupted. "Yes, you can go to the Whitlocks. Please be home by 10pm, if you would like to stay the night call me before 930."

With that said I went upstairs to grab my stuff, I never leave home without my books, phone, or purse The way I left that house you would have thought the devil was chasing me. I sent Jasper a text to let him know I was on my way, and spent the five-minute walk thinking about everything that had just happened.

While it's true that my parents have always had their issues, I never saw this coming. The real tension seemed to stem from Charlie's job and the fact he had to leave at a moments notice; sometimes he would be gone for months with little to no contact. Renee knew this from the beginning and they were happily married. So why after almost eighteen years is it suddenly an issue? I do know that I can ask all I want and will not get a straight answer from her.

I just hope this doesn't distract him if he gets deployed any time soon.

I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn't realize I was at Jasper's; before I could even raise my hand to knock; I was being spun around. Jasper and Rose were the only people I've ever let myself get close to. Jasper or Spalding, as I tend to call him [ever since he came home from the basketball courts with Spalding imprinted on his forehead]. If I didn't see him as my brother I would be force to say he was a handsome man; ice blue eyes, dirty blonde hair, and a wiry build. And he towers over me. Then again, everyone does.

Then there's Rose. If she wasn't female she would be Jasper's identical twin. All the guys want her and all the girls want to be her. She has a body that would make Barbie insecure.

Between the two of them, I couldn't be more average [brown hair, brown eyes – average].

When Jasper finally put me down I was feeling a tad bit dizzy and had to brace myself against the doorframe while Rose laughed at me.

"Spalding, what have I told you about spinning me like that? I swear one of these days I am going to puke all over you, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself." I struggled to keep a straight face, laughing would only make it worse. It will happen one day and he will finally believe me.

"Well Wyrmie," This was his special way of calling me a bookworm. "I can't help it that I'm excited we are moving together; even if it is Jacksonville." Jasper said with just a bit of distaste.

"Well, at least in the new city Bella will have more book stores to hide in. I for one am looking forward to the change in scenery. It has been too long between new duty stations." Leave it to Rose to find the silver lining. "Maybe, we'll even be able to go to school off base." Ever since middle school Rose has wanted to go to a regular public school. She seems to think that the kids there are more stable since they aren't constantly moving.

The three of us met in second grade; as usual we were the new kids in school so we formed our little circle. In third grade my dad got a transfer and I had to spend a year away from them while I was in Japan. We lost touch because of that move. Then we moved back stateside and to my delight the trio was back together.

It was during this duty station, in Washington DC that things got weird for me. Lights were flickering, books went flying, and once my bed floated to the ceiling while I was sleeping. I wasn't sure what the cause for it was, but I knew that my emotions were tied to it somehow.

When all of this started happening Jasper and Rose were the only people I felt I could tell without being ridiculed. They were doubtful at first which set me off. After their 'hands on' demonstration they did everything they could to protect me. Then when we were twelve we were separated. That is when I realized that if I read I could escape this world, if I wasn't here then I didn't get emotional, if I kept my emotions in check then the people around me were safe. A year ago we moved to Camp LeJune in North Carolina and I was once again reunited with the Whitlocks. During our reunion is when they told me that while we had been separated they noticed the same things happening to them that had been happening to me. We still don't understand it, I just want it to go away, but we're coping.

The next two weeks were hectic with packing and making sure everything was set for the school transfers. We still didn't know where we were going to school but it was always best to have your files ready when doing one of these damned duty station transfers. The morning of the flight to Jacksonville was not as crazy as I thought it would be. We got a flight on a Navy plane and before we knew it we were landing at NAS Jax.

The start of my journey to the truth had just begun.