Note: I don't own any part of the Twilight series. This story is based off the first two books (or first two movies, whichever). It is a mix between original characters and ones I created. Enjoy!

Summary: Charlotte is probably the only person who knows what it's like to live in North Pole. North Pole, Alaska that is. It's cold and isolated. Not to mention the whole dark-for-24-hours-thing. Charlotte feels as if nothing exciting happens here…boy, is she wrong. Charlotte will soon uncover secrets about not only herself, but pretty much everyone she's ever known. Who knew life in North Pole could be so…magical? But it won't be just North Pole Charlotte will come to find intriguing…but a twist she never saw coming will forever change her life, and thrust her into a whole new world all together.

This is a story about the sweet doings of young romance…the ups and downs of sharing your world with someone else, the secret obsessions, the silly inside jokes, you name it. A story about a young girl who is forever dreaming of a new life, only to have that wish beyond granted. Betrayal, confusion, love, heartbreak, family ties, endless friendships and impeccable magic is bound to stir up the utmost of dramas. This is a story about finally coming to terms with who you are…and being able to understand someone else just as perfectly.

Charlotte has always wished North Pole wasn't so boring. She has no idea what she has got coming. Be careful what you wish for…

Wishful Thinking

By Princess454

The first thing I usually tell people about myself who don't live where I do and who have no idea who I am is that I live in the North Pole. Wait, no, I say "Hi, my name is Charlotte Maddox. Did you know I live in the North Pole?" I love watching their confused faces. "The North Pole, eh?" They always reply. "How the heck do you live in the North Pole?" It is then that I explain—unless they think I'm crazy to start with and just simply say "How's Santa?"—that I live in Alaska, it's just my town that is called North Pole.

It's really annoying being from North Pole. I would do anything to live anywhere else. As a girl, I'd dream of living in Hollywood with all the celebrities walking down the street as if they didn't know they were famous. The beach would be simply steps away, and I would be so tan that I'd get endless compliments. And then there was the phase in which I thought New York was a better idea, because I'd be more used to the cold anyway and living there would come naturally. There would be something to do literally twenty-four seven, and while perusing famous art museums with my artsy, coffee loving boyfriend I'd rub elbows with socialites.

Of course those were only dreams. As soon as I woke up, I once again came to the realization that for now, I had to live in North Pole. With the freezing weather, snow storms, and my also incredibly annoying family, I thought I wouldn't live to see myself turn eighteen. Not because I'd freeze to death by then (a possibility, I might add) but I'd simply kill myself from boredom. My town has about three thousand residents. It's the kind of place everyone knows everyone's business. Too bad the majority of people here are old folks. I think they secretly like the whole twenty-four-hours-of-darkness thing so they can just sleep all day.

I don't want to sound as if I'm some brat complaining of where she lives. I'm just saying I'm ready for a change. As a child I loved it here; the snow, the animals, the lakes. But it's been seventeen years and a girl can't stay cooped up like this for too long! It's not even the location. It's just that nothing exciting ever happens here.

I love adventure. But I feel like I've explored everything there is to explore here. So for now, I'm just biding my time until college season comes around. Then I can choose wherever I want to go! How fun does that sound? To someone like me, it's a miracle. And I'm waiting for it to happen.

**

It's Sunday morning. I'm already bummed as I wake up because that means there's school tomorrow. Senior year just started, and even though everyone's excited to live their last year, or sad that it is their last year, I'm just impatient. I want to fast forward through everything and just know where I'm headed to next year, because as I've said before, it'll definitely be far, far away from North Pole, Alaska.

I have this quilt that is made entirely from the softest rabbit fur. I've had it since I was a baby. I can't sleep without it; it's so warm and soft. People sometimes get freaked out I sleep with what is technically a quilt made entirely of dead, cute bunnies but those people are usually the ones who haven't been living here that long. In the winter, I literally dream of holding this blanket because of the freezing nights.

I've always had this weird obsession with wildlife. I'm not an 'animal lover', 'tree hugger' type of person. I meant I like wildlife because I like watching how animals interact. Unfortunately for tree huggers, I don't care that my wonderful blanket is made of bunnies. And I absolutely love a good cheeseburger. In North Pole, as a kid, all you did was watch animals. I guess that's how I came to like them. There's a lot of wild life here and nothing to do. I'm sure you figured that one out.

I mention this because my room is like an obsessive hunter's dream. My bunny blanket is the least of a PETA member's problems. I have a stuffed moose head perched up on the wall across from my bed. People ask me if it's ever weird staring at the eyes before I go to sleep. But I don't really stare at that moose. I'm sure it lived a happy life. And it wasn't like I shot it; my dad is the hunter in this family. As I've said before, a lot of wild life…and nothing to do.

Then there's this mobile of humming birds my mother got for me a long time ago. I'm not sure if they are fake or real, but I believe it wraps up the room beautifully. Then there's my butterfly collection hanging on another wall. I could go on, but I'm not that into interior decorating.

I reluctantly unwrap myself from the before mentioned love of my life, the bunny blanket. I'm wearing flannel pajama pants and a thick sweatshirt as well as gloves. Hey, it gets really cold here. I put on my sheep wool lined slippers and begin slowly shuffling downstairs where I can already smell scents of bacon, eggs, and toast.

My mom is a robot. Ok, not literally. But she baffles me. She wakes up early on purpose and she can spit out gourmet meals in really short periods of time. She's one of those home maker housewives, the kind I guess you'd call a 'suburban' mom. She's to blame for the interior decorating of the whole house, by the way. Polar bear skin rug by the fireplace, moose heads, obnoxious flowers, a family of wooden owl figurines on the coffee table. I'm embarrassed to have friends over sometimes, honestly.

I pushed aside a mallard centerpiece made of reeds on the table to make room for my plate. I went to the kitchen counter and started piling my plate with the essentials. "Good morning sweetheart," My mom crooned, kissing my forehead. I hated when she did that. I'm not one of those people who can't take affection, but my mom acts like she hasn't seen me in ten years every time I come downstairs for breakfast.

I sat down and across the table was my monster of a brother. I used to love my brother, honestly, I did. He's younger than me, going to be a sophomore this year. He was the cutest thing you've ever seen. As well as me, he inherited my dad's obnoxiously curly and frizzy brown hair. His was almost blonde though, which I've always been supremely jealous of. Anyway, while I got Mom's bright green eyes, Nate got Dad's soft brown ones. When we were little I secretly thought he looked like a puppy golden retriever, and he sure acted like one too.

But now, he was anything but. The once sweet, puppy like brother I had was now a gross, immature beast. He was moody all the time and obnoxiously rude. He ate like a starved lion, and for some reason unbeknownst to me, he gained like a million pounds of muscle. Ok, he wasn't that big, but the boy could easily be mistaken for a pro football player. It's just unnatural in my eyes. My little brother, sweet Nate, was not supposed to be like this. What baffled me was that I've never seen him work out or anything. Ok so maybe I never really tried to hang out with Nate but still, what's going on?

The worst part is my parents treat him like wonder boy. When he's obviously putting me down, my parents just pat his head and say "Good boy." It's like I don't exist. Maybe I should try putting on pounds of muscle. I'd definitely get noticed. But it gets worse. Nate gets in fights at school. Hello? That's so dangerous! But my parents are completely oblivious.

"Mom is there any eggs left?" I wondered, finishing my last piece of toast.

"No darling, Nate ate them all," Mom replied, wiping around the kitchen. Ugh, typical. Nate glared at me from across the table.

"You're such a pig!" I declared. "You can't eat everything. You have to learn how to share."

"Whatever Charlotte," Nate growled back. He got up all of a sudden, and for a split second I thought he was going to lunge at me. But he simply briskly walked away. He didn't even put his plate in the sink! See what I mean?

"I vote it's time for military school. Who agrees?" I suggest, as Dad walked in. It was October, so my dad was loyally wearing a pumpkin sweater custom made by my grandma.

"Oh, Char. He's just going through a phase. It's all the hormones," Mom shook her head.

Dad started to laugh. "Nate would get kicked out of boarding school! Ha-ha!" I rolled my eyes at my father. He was one of those dads that had prompted writers around the world to make every sitcom father the silly, comic relief dad that sits on the couch and lets mom handle all problems.

"Well I'm just about through dealing with his behavior! He acts like he owns the place," I complained, and made my way to the window at our living room. The whole wall was a glass window and when you looked out you saw the small lake and the endless amount of forest. My breath started to fog the window so I decided to get dressed and call Marlene.

Marlene is my best friend. She's kind of an oddball though. She's really into chemistry, which I simply hate beyond hate itself. She likes writing poems and singing. She's really big into rhyming. She also has a thing for cats. Her mom does too. Marlene lives with her aunt and her mom. No one ever talks about her dad so I'm not sure what's with that, but as Marlene's faithful friend, I'm sure she'll tell me one day. Her house is like mine in obnoxious interior decorating, but instead of consisting of animals who were once alive, it's just full of cat things. Cat portraits, cat mugs, cat calendar, cat shower curtains. It's ridiculous. Her mom and her aunt each have their own cat, and Marlene finally got hers last year for her birthday. She got the cutest gray kitten named Boo and it's cute beyond belief. I'm not too fond of the other cats though.

Marlene finally answered in a breathless, "Hey there!" right when I was about to give up and hang up the phone. Knowing her she probably had just uncovered a new cooking concoction. She and my mom bond over cooking related matters whenever she comes over. I'm the only female I know who can barely make a salad.

"I'm dying to know what took you so long to answer," I said into the phone.

"Nothing juicy. Boo almost ran away and I caught him as he was about to jump over our backyard fence," Marlene replied, and I could practically see her glaring her huge blue eyes at Boo in disdain.

"Yikes. Maybe he secretly wants to be a dog and all the cat related things in your house are making him go crazy," I mused.

"Dogs suck, Charlotte. We have had this fight more than once. Cats rule, dogs drool. And Boo loves his matching kitty bowls as well as the mittens my aunt is making for him. I'm beginning to suspect it's the other cats that are driving him away. They can be kind of mean," Marlene interjected.

I didn't want to bring up how awful the other cats were. I've had so many scars from them it's ridiculous. I've actually had a time where I was simply sitting there talking to Marlene in her kitchen, and for no reason at all, her mom's cat jumps on my face, nails digging into my skull and neck, completely cartoon style. It sounds funny but I was scared out of my mind, never mind the fact I was awestruck at the fact cats actually do that. But there was one thing I loved fighting with Marlene about.

"Dogs are so much better. They're more loyal, and happier. I mean, when you walk inside, your dog acts like you're the best thing that's ever happened to him. Cats just stare at you," I confidently debated. I love dogs; Marlene loves cats. It's enough of a weird psychological human thing to drive two people apart. But Marlene and I try to focus on other things because we love being friends, and aren't going to stop simply because of pet preferences. I always lose this battle though, when we do have it, because I don't own a dog. I've always wanted one. But my parents claimed I wasn't responsible enough. Whatever.

"I'm not going to get into this right now. What are you doing today?" Marlene wondered.

"Not sure. That's why I called," I replied, sitting atop my bed and checking out my finger nail polish. Ugh, time to stop by Nail Planet again. I know it's a stupid name for a nail salon, and I would go to another one, but there isn't another one for miles. That's North Pole for you.

"I need a new coat. Let's go shopping maybe?" Marlene suggested. I almost said no. Marlene has a weird fashion sense. She buys all her clothes at a costume place. She doesn't seem to understand that costumes are things you wear for fun, and aren't supposed to be worn outside of costume parties or Halloween. The weird thing is, she looks good in whatever she wears so it almost doesn't matter. Marlene's really pretty, and apart from the fact she hates dogs, it'd be the only other thing that might drive me to get a new friend.

"Fine, I've got nothing better to do. Maybe I can finally convince you to shop somewhere else, somewhere normal?" I tried.

"Charlotte! To think I'd succumb to the normalcy of boring old North Pole. I want to be my own person," Marlene gave her usual speech. I almost mouthed the words along with her.

"Ok, ok, I'll be over in a second," I told her, and once I said goodbye, began getting my things together for the day.

**

Marlene and I walked quickly down the street towards the usual costume shop she likes to buy her things. As you can see, my convincing didn't go so well. It was super cold and I kind of wanted to get there already but Marlene kept talking and talking. I was paying more attention to our breaths appearing in the air.

Once inside, Marlene practically ran over to the coat section. There really wasn't a coat section, the whole place was random and in shambles but Marlene has been here so many times she knows where everything is. I took a seat on an extremely worn out leather stool by a glass case filled with costume sunglasses. Here we go again.

Marlene came back wearing a coat resembling something a monk might choose to wear on his weekend off from doing whatever monks do. "What do you think?" Marlene wondered, for some reason almost excitedly, as she spun around. Marlene has a really airy voice. I used to always think that if I ever met a fairy, it'd sound just like Marlene. Her ridiculously long, almost white blonde hair floated around her. It was so sleek. Ugh, she's so lucky. I twisted one of my frizzy ringlets unconfidently.

"It's alright," I stated truthfully. One thing Marlene loved about me was I was pretty much brutally honest all the time. I don't mean to be, but I figure people want to know the truth. Who doesn't?

"Ugh, I knew you wouldn't like it. I'll go back," Marlene said somewhat sadly. Her pouty lips turned down and she trudged back.

"I'm merely helping you socially!" I called after her. Which was totally true. People in school always talk about how pretty and sweet Marlene is. But her weirdness drives people away. I've taken it upon myself to try and help her out. She's such a cool person that it's sad people judge her because she shops at a costume store and loves science.

Marlene came back with a slightly more normal coat. It was a deep mauve color with cute sleeves. But this one had giant, glittery, silver star shaped buttons. I could tell by the look on Marlene's face she loved it. Her sky blue eyes looked even bigger than usual, and her fair complexion brightened up. "What about this one?" She asked tentatively

I sighed. I couldn't sit here forever, watching this girl try on coat after coat. I'm really impatient. "I like this one. I think it wins," I reply.

"Oh, good!" Marlene cried out happily. She gave me a hug and said she was going to buy it right now and come back. Oh, Marlene. What a character.

When we exited the store I was dying for a white chocolate mocha. I love coffee. Since it's freezing pretty much all the time here it's the normal thing to do, which is great for an addict like me. Marlene and I walked towards the nearest coffee shop, passing the record store on the way. Someone called out my name and I turned around. Now, I almost reluctantly turned around, but this voice was male. In which case usually meant something good. I like boys almost as much as I like coffee. But coffee wins. You see, coffee is always there for you and won't go away. It won't cheat on you or break up with you or talk back. It's perfect, you see. But boys still come in second place. Almost at a tie with dogs, by the way.

I was so happy I turned around. The voice that chose to seek me out was owned by none other than Aiden, a fellow student who goes to school with Marlene and I. He was in our grade, was tall, and had a really nice body. He was abnormally tan and had the cutest olive green eyes. You almost couldn't see them though, because at the moment he was wearing his dark hair somewhat long. I gave myself a mental note to tell Aiden to cut his hair so as I can see his gorgeous eyes. Not that I'd ever say that…

"Hi Aiden!" Marlene greeted enthusiastically. I wanted to punch her all of a sudden. I never sound enthusiastic about anything. But it's usually because I don't want to come off as a bimbo. I decided to calmly greet Aiden in contrast. He seemed like a more down to earth kind of guy anyway. I hope.

Aiden and I met Freshman year. We are just casual friends; never hung out outside of school, said hi when we passed by each other on the street or the hallway, went to the same parties. That type of stuff. I never really gave him much thought until the end of last year, when he magically sprouted beautiful muscles. Aiden was my favorite type of guy. The kind who didn't know how attractive he was so he was always nice.

"You guys look comfy. Getting cold isn't it?" Aiden said in a conversational tone. Marlene started going on about the weather. I decided to keep staring at him. However, after about a minute or two, I had to interrupt her. Marlene isn't really skilled social wise.

"You know, we were just heading for some coffee. Want to join?" I inquired. Please say yes, I thought. It'd be weird with Marlene there, but it'd be a start. Relationships last longer when the people start off as friends first, right? Oh, what do I know? I've only had a few boyfriends, and none, by the way, were very meaningful or profound. I kind of wing it when it comes to romance.

"You know what, I only stopped by to get a CD I knew was coming on sale today. I got to run back home and continue helping my dad out with something. But definitely another time," Aiden said apologetically. He gave us (or me, preferably) a huge smile to show he was being sincere. Ugh! Aiden was always sincere. Since when do guys who say what they mean exist? I must have him.

"Oh, that's ok. Another time," I replied and shortly after he was gone. Just like that.

"You were right. Aiden got a lot better looking," Marlene chirped once he was out of earshot. I jabbed my elbow at her. Of course, she didn't feel it. We were both wearing obnoxiously large coats due to the cold. Damn you, North Pole!

"I told you," I said to her. Marlene has been victim to my many self speeches in which I am technically explaining to myself only why Aiden is perfect. Marlene sits there nodding so as I don't look crazy to passerby.

"You know, I heard he got a tattoo," Marlene shared with a dramatic whisper. I rolled my eyes at her as we neared the coffee shop, went inside, and ordered. I waited until we sat down to continue talking. North Pole has very few residents, as I said. Rumors spread like wildfire. The last thing I want is for Aiden to find out from another source other than me that I am obsessed with him.

"So what? Tattoos can be hot," I interjected.

"Yeah but it doesn't seem like he's the kind of guy who'd get one," Marlene continued.

"Do you know what it is of?" I asked. A random visual of Aiden getting my name tattooed on his forearm breezed through my mind. Don't mind these random images, I'm crazy like that.

"Um, I think Rob from Trig class said something about a tribal symbol. He got it on his shoulder," Marlene dished. I thought about this for a minute.

"Isn't Aiden like part Eskimo or something weird like that?" I couldn't remember.

"No, he's from a Native American tribe down below. Well, his extended family is anyway. I'm assuming that's why he got the tattoo," Marlene explained. Oh, by the way, Alaskan residents tend to refer to any other state in the U.S. as 'down below'. Not sure why.

"Here I was thinking he secretly got a spray tan every two weeks," I joked as the barista called out our names to pick up our coffees. Marlene started laughing so hard she almost choked. She can be a bit over dramatic.

After our coffees Marlene's mom called her saying she'd be late coming home and for Marlene to start making dinner. Actually, the first thing her mom made sure Marlene knew was to remember to feed the cats. Typical.

We said our goodbyes and when I got home it was already getting dark. It wasn't even three o' clock yet. Typical. Dad was out probably hanging with his work buddies, and Mom was more than likely at a book club or knitting workshop. I decided to watch some t.v. and maybe go online. I took a spot on our coach and saw that Nate's laptop was on the coffee table. I sighed to myself. He won't mind, I thought. I'm way too lazy to walk to my room and get my own laptop so I just flipped open his. It took me a second to realize that Nate was checking out a website when he decided to close his laptop. Must have been in a hurry, I thought. But for what? I looked at the web page again to see if I can get any clues.

I gasped. What the hell-