A/N: Yes, yes, I know. Starting another story when I have others that have yet to be completed. But this idea has been inside of me for months now. I have a vague plotline in my head so I'm ready to get it out. I've looked over my stories recently and I've been thinking that they're somewhat childish. This project is to also help me blossom into a better writer. When I finish the last chapter (some day, God willing) I hope I'll look back at this first chapter and be able to see how much my writing style has changed. Oh, and by the way, it's been a while since I've read New Moon or the other books and I don't have my own copies so some details might be different. Please forgive me if they are. So without further ado, here is chapter one.

The gravel crackled under my tires as I pulled up Jacob's narrow driveway. His little, tired old house sagged a ways up, the rusty garage thirty or so feet to its left. I pulled a little onto the grass when I reached the humble bungalow so as not to block any cars in. It didn't escape my notice that by now there were four very noticeable dents in the wet grass exactly where I parked each time. It made me happy. It made me feel like I had a place here, like I really, truly belonged. I loved hanging out with Jacob and the rest of the pack. Over the months, I began to entertain the thought that I enjoyed the wolves' company more than the Cullens, when I was dating Edward. I internally congratulated myself by being able to think his name without pain.

I had reached the worn screen door at this point in my inner dialogue. I gripped the feeble metal handle and swung the door open. The hinges creaked, as usual, and I crept inside the house.

I had stopped feeling the need to knock about two months ago, but I was always quiet when I first entered the house, to make sure that I wasn't ever interrupting anything.

"Bella? Is that you?" Billy's gruff voice called from the direction of the living room. I laughed lightly, and followed the direction of his voice. "How'd you know?" I asked once I appeared at the doorway. I leant casually against the frame and regarded the man in front of me with mirth. Billy's thin, wrinkled lips curved up into an uncharacteristically soft smile as he peered back at me.

"Oh please," he scoffed. "Who else would it be? The only ones that come here are you and the pack, and if I don't hear a request for something to eat within five seconds of the door closing, it's you."

We both shared a good laugh, and then Billy invited me to sit down on the couch next to me. I complied, sitting gingerly on the edge. I inexplicably felt self-conscious.

Billy was looking at me in an intense way that was making me uncomfortable. It seemed like his eyes were piercing straight to my soul. I shifted uncomfortable, and he seemed to snap out of it, but he still had an odd look on his face. He sighed and mumbled something to himself. I thought I heard something along the lines of, "gone on too long," but I couldn't be sure.

I cleared my throat, in an attempt to relieve the awkward atmosphere. "So, Billy, is Jake home?" I asked, trying to keep my voice free of tremors. Billy's eyes snapped back to mine with a jolt, and he suddenly seemed back to normal. He smiled a knowing smile at me. "No, he's out with the pack right now," he replied. "He won't be gone for much longer. You're welcome to stay here until he gets back."

"No, thanks," I said. There was still a trace of tension left over in the air, and I still had the odd feeling that Billy was studying me. "I'll just wait outside."

"Okay," Billy said simply. He picked up the remote from the old coffee table and switched the TV on. I got up off the couch, and walked away quietly. However, something compelled me to stop at the doorway and look back at the old man. "Is everything okay, Billy?" I blurted out before I lost the nerve. He looked up from the TV, slightly startled, although he tried to hide it. He looked like he was having an internal battle with himself. "Whatever it is, you can tell me," I added, softly. My hopes rose as he opened his mouth to speak, but he promptly shut it again and shook his head infinitesimally. "It's not my secret to tell, Bella," he said gruffly, avoiding eye contact. He turned his attention back to the basketball game that was on the TV.

"Well, then, whose it is?" I prodded. I usually didn't like to pry, but sometimes my curiosity just got the best of me. I didn't expect him to give me an answer, or if he did, then a vague one, so I was surprised when he said, "Your father's. Or, your mother's too." Sometimes it surprised me how blunt and to the point Billy was. I nodded silently, although he was still looking at the TV, and pushed open the screen door.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the sun was shining when I walked outside. I relished the feeling on the warmth of my skin, although the heat still felt muted in comparison to the striking Phoenix heat. I decided to wait in my truck for Jake to show up, but it seemed wrong to sit in my cab while the sun was shining, something I'd learned to never take for granted. So I did something I never did before: I went around to the back of my truck, opened the tailgate, and lay down in the bed. The metal was cool and slightly damp, but the sun quickly warmed me up. I rejoiced at the sight of the blue sky through the leaves of the massive western red cedar that resided in the Blacks' front yard. I closed my eyes and tried to soak up every drop of sunshine.

"Bella! Oh, Bella!"

I groaned and covered my eyes with my arm.

"Come on, Bella! Get up!" the same sing-song, teasing voice called, closer now. I grumbled incoherently, causing seven distinct voices to ring out in laughter. "Rise and shine!" I could hear their footsteps now.

"Shut up, Quil," I mumbled automatically, and once more I heard the laughter again. "That's not very nice Bella," Quil pretended to scold, right in front of me now. I grumbled and sat up, coming face to face with the huge werewolf. Sam, Embry, Jake, Paul, Jared, Seth, and Leah stood behind him, with smirks on their faces.

"What time is it?" I asked, my voice clearer now. I hopped down from the truck bed, landing on my feet thankfully, effectively making me about a foot shorter. I had to tilt my head back to be able to see his face, a fact that didn't escape him, as he immediately doubled over in deep, throaty laughter. "It's about ten after three," Leah answered for me, and I gave her a grateful smile.

"Really? I'm already exhausted," Seth groaned, and we all laughed except for Sam and Paul. "Well, maybe if you weren't so out of shape, you'd have better stamina," Sam said, only half joking. Paul just scowled and kicked at the dirt with his bare foot. Something told me that Sam might have had a word with him about his endurance as well.

"I'm kinda tired too," Embry said, effectively saving Seth from further embarrassment. "Maybe we should just walk along the beach for a little while?" he suggested shyly. The pack agreed, and we began slowly trekking along the rocky shore. The boys horsed around and made crude jokes while Leah and I kept up our own conversation and occasionally rolled our eyes at them.

I couldn't help but feel like I belonged here. Even though I was the only one present who was not a Quileute, not to mention the lack of ability to transform into a giant, vampire-killing wolf, I felt more comfortable around these people than I ever had around the Cullens.

After about a half hour, we found ourselves about fifty feet away from the infamous cliff where I had seen the 'early bloomers' jumping into the water from the insane height all those months ago. I didn't like the slightly maniacal expression on Jake's face as he peered at the large, looming ridge. But before I could protest, he yelled "Come on!" and began sprinting to the cliff with the other boys trailing after him. Thankfully, Leah stayed behind with me and matched my slow pace. Noticing my worried expression, she said, "Don't worry, Bella. You don't have to jump."

"Thanks," I said, only slightly reassured. "Are you going to jump?"

"Hell yeah!" she answered automatically, a wide grin spreading across her face. I groaned, and Leah laughed.

"Hurry up, you two!" Paul called, ever the hothead. He was already perched on the edge of the cliff, an impatient scowl on his face.

"Oh, cool your jets Paul!" Leah called back, which only served to deepen his scowl.

We finally caught up with the rest of the boys, and I peered over the edge of the cliff at the dark, rough waters. I shuddered and took a few steps back.

"Cannonball!" I heard a voice yell from behind me. I turned my head just in time to see Seth running so fast he was almost a blur leap off the edge of the cliff. He somersaulted in midair, before flipping over and wrapping his arms around his legs just before he hit the water. When he finally emerged, he had already reached the shore.

The rest of the pack took their turns leaping off the cliff in utterly dangerous, terrifying ways. Jake did a can opener, Sam did a series of backflips before landing feet first, Quil did a belly flop, Embry did a graceful swan dive, Paul and Jared did a synchronized series of twists and turns, and Leah did a simple cartwheel off the edge of the cliff, barely making a splash when she landed.

"Come on, Bella!" Quil teased, lightly pushing me with his wet hand. I peered into the black waves once more. "No way," I said.

"Come on, Swan!" Quil coaxed. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"Stop it, Quil," Jake said, coming up beside us. "She doesn't have to jump if she doesn't want to." I shot him a grateful glance, and he smiled a breathtaking smile at me before taking my hand. As Jake led me away from Quil and the edge of the cliff, I tried to keep the shocked expression from my face. I knew that Jake wanted to be more than just friends with me, but he had never been this forward. Although, I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy the rough texture of Jake's big hand in mine and the warmth that it radiated.

You deserve to be happy, Bella, I told myself, and I lightly squeezed Jake's hand. He smiled down at me.

Jacob had been amazing to me all these months. He put up with me and my depression, taught me how to ride a motorcycle, talked to me when I needed to be talked to, and listened to me when I needed to be listened to. I definitely felt something for him, an increase in my heart rate when I talked to him, a flutter in my stomach when he smiled at me. But whether these feelings were romantic or not, I had yet to discern.

"It's getting late, Bella," Jacob said, bringing an end to my reflections. Sure enough, the sky was beginning to darken slightly. The sun had disappeared behind a cloud, and I suddenly felt cold. I instinctively clutched his hand tighter.

"You're right," I said. "I should probably go home and make some dinner for Charlie."

"Alright. I'll walk you to your truck, if you want."

I smiled at his kind gesture and accepted. I said goodbye to the rest of the pack and headed back to my truck with Jake. We walked close to the water, and every once in a while a wave would send a cold rush of water to saturate my feet.

"So," Jake said.

"So."

"I've been wondering…" he trailed off uncertainly.

"Yes?" I prodded.

"Do you ever, you know, think about the Cullens anymore?"

The question was unexpected. Jake usually refrained from mentioning the Cullens to me, for fear of setting off my depression once more.

"Sometimes," I told him truthfully. "But not as much as I used to."

"That's good," Jake said awkwardly. He let go of my hand and bent down to pick up a stone. He fingered it lightly. It was a pretty white, with a smooth surface.

"Any reason you were wondering?" I asked him as he turned toward the ocean. His face was unreadable.

He shook his head lightly. "I just want you to be happy," he said. "I'm glad that you seem to be better. You're living your life again."

"Yes," I said quietly. "Yes, I really am."

"Good." And he flicked his wrist, and the little white stone was bouncing over the surface of the ocean. It skipped eight times before it succumbed to the dark waters.

"Impressive," I said. "Teach me sometime?"

Jake turned to me with a grin. "Anything for you, Bells."

We started walking again, keeping up light, easy conversation along the way. By the time we reached my truck, the sky had darkened considerably. I said goodbye to Jake and began my drive home.

When I finally reached Charlie's house, it was 6 o'clock. I realized that dinner would be late. However, the second I thought about food, my stomach churned, and I felt sick. I groaned and made my way slowly across the lawn to the front door, and went inside.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie called from the living room when he heard the front door close. "Hey, dad," I called back. I made my way to the living room where I found him watching a college basketball game on the TV. "Sorry I'm home so late."

"It's okay, Bells." Charlie tore his eyes away from the TV to look at me. "Whoa, Bella!" he said when he saw my face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, alarmed.

Charlie shook his head as he got off the couch with a grunt. "You're a lot paler than usual," he said, and pressed his hand against my forehead. He frowned. "And you're burning up. Are you feeling okay?"

Come to think of it, I was feeling pretty crappy. My head hurt, my stomach felt twisted, and I felt way too hot. "No, I'm not," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Go lay down," Charlie commanded. "I'll go get a thermometer."

I obeyed, trudging slowly up the stairs to my room, and collapsed on my bed. Charlie came in a few minutes later with a glass of water, an aspirin, and a thermometer. He handed me the water and the aspirin, and I swallowed the pill quickly before downing the glass of water. Charlie took the empty glass from me and shoved the thermometer under my tongue. It beeped a minute later, and he took it out.

"Oh… my… God," Charlie said as he peered at the thermometer, and his face drained of all color. "No. This can't be happening. It can't. This isn't possible!" He paced around my room, anxiously muttering to himself and tugging at his hair.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked. "What's my temperature?"

"Just go to bed, sweetie. You need to get some sleep."

"Charlie!" I snapped. "Tell me!"

Thankfully, he gave in and reluctantly handed me the thermometer.

But as I looked at the impossibly large number, I couldn't help but slightly panic as well.

My fever was 107.2.

How was this possible? How was I still alive?

My head started swimming, and I slowly lost my grasp on reality as I blacked out. The last thing I heard was Charlie making a frantic phone call.

"My only guess, Charlie, is that the gene is unnaturally strong."

"Why didn't this happen to you, then?"

"I don't know. Sometimes it skips a generation."

"Well this is great. Just perfect."

"You knew this risk was there, Charlie. Don't pretend like I didn't warn you."

"Yes, I know. I guess I never really considered it."

I felt a cool hand on my forehead, and a quiet sigh.

"It'll be alright, Charlie. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. It's just really hard to grasp."

"I know. I can hardly believe it myself."

There was silence for a few minutes.

"Don't give me that look, Charlie." The voice, a woman's I realized, was clearer now. Still, I didn't recognize it.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you can't possibly be feeling a fraction of what I am."

"I know. But I haven't forgotten about her, you know. I love her too."

"I know you do. I'm sorry, I'm just stressed out."

"It'll be okay."

"I don't doubt that. I just never wanted this for her."

"None of us did. But that doesn't change anything."

"Are you sure there's no way to stop it?"

"Trust me, Charlie. If there was, I'd have done it already. There's nothing to do for her, except be supportive and understanding. She's not going to like this any more than we do."

"Don't remind me."

Again, there was prolonged silence between Charlie and the mysterious woman. However, nothing was silent. I could hear both of their distinct heartbeats, their heavy breathing, and their occasional, anxious sighs. I could hear leaves rustling outside, the distant honking of geese. Hell, I could even hear the wind.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that everything seemed clearer, sharper now, like the world before had been a blurry old picture taken by a Polaroid, and now it was a detailed landscape taken by a new, expensive Nikon, so sharply in focus it was almost painful.

And suddenly the grogginess in my head floated away, like a fog had been lifted, and I felt energized, fresh, new. I had never felt more alive.

And so I couldn't help myself as I snapped my eyes open and leapt off my bed faster than should be humanly possible, landing on my feet with frightening grace.

And that's when I froze.

What startled me the most was not the fact that I could see everything with stunning clarity. Nor was it the fact that I was seeing eye to eye with Charlie, when he had always been over half a foot taller than me.

What startled me the most was the woman by Charlie's side, and how I had never seen her before, yet she looked achingly familiar.

She was about five feet and six inches tall, with wavy mahogany hair and dark brown eyes. She was slim, with a heart-shaped face and small features.

She looked, well, like me.

I probably looked like a fish as I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly, as I tried desperately to say something; what I wanted to say, I wasn't sure.

"Hello, Bella," she said, obviously noticing my dilemma. "It's nice to see you aga – er, to meet you."

I eyed the woman skeptically. Her expression was odd – it was apologetic and fearful at the same time.

"Hello," I said simply.

Charlie cleared his throat then, obviously sensing the awkwardness that fills my tiny bedroom. "Bella, this is Sue Clearwater, Harry Clearwater's wife. She came to help me take care of you when I told her you were ill."

I sensed that Charlie was hiding something from me, but I let it go for the moment.

"Bella," Sue said hesitantly, "would you like something to eat?"

Suddenly, it was as if someone had opened some kind of dam, and I became aware of a tight ache in my stomach. I was famished, I realized.

"Yes, that would be nice," I affirmed.

I was once again astounded by my new, inexplicable grace as we ventured from my room to the kitchen. Usually, the stairs were my worst enemy, but now I went down them with finesse that could rival the werewolves – even the Cullens.

Something had happened to me while I was ill, I decided. Or, was it that I had outgrown my clumsiness over the span of a few days?

I looked down at myself. My legs were definitely much longer. The jeans I was wearing were now at least two sizes too small. And if I wasn't mistaken, my feet and ankles seemed slightly more tanned than they were before. I rolled up my shirt sleeve to reveal that my arm – and most likely the rest of my body as well – was slightly more tanned as well.

"Do you like grilled cheese, Bella?" Sue questioned, startling me from my thoughts.

"Oh – um, yes I do."

While Sue set to work making the meal, I went to get myself a drink, to try and soothe my suddenly parched throat. But as I opened the door to the fridge, the hinges made a horrible creaking sound. It wasn't until I heard jars of mayonnaise and pickles and olives crash onto the linoleum floor that I realized I had ripped the door clean off its hinges.

I stood frozen with horror, brokenly wondering why the fridge door didn't seem heavy in the slightest as I held it with one hand.

"Bells? Are you alright?" Charlie asked somewhere behind me.

Charlie! He was hiding something from me, and I was about to find out. I spun around and dropped the fridge door, letting it clatter noisily to the ground on top of the broken glass.

"Tell me what you're hiding from me, Charlie. Tell me now!"

I don't think I had ever been so angry in my life. I vaguely realized that my whole frame was shaking uncontrollably.

"Calm down, Bella. It's alright. It's going to be okay. Shh, calm down…"

Calm down, Bella. Calm down.

I took deep breaths, letting Sue's voice soothe me in a way that nobody had ever been able to before.

The tremors in my body stopped, and I saw both Charlie and Sue seem to relax a bit.

"Come to the living room, Bella," Charlie finally said. "We have a few things to discuss with you."

I complied, following Charlie to his tiny living room and seating myself on the raggedy old armchair. Charlie and Sue sat side by side on the ugly green couch.

"We've got a lot to tell you, Bella. We understand that you will be very upset and distressed by what we have to say, but please, hear us out, okay?" Sue said in her soothing voice.

I nodded my affirmation.

"Alright then." And then Sue's face changed. Her previous fearful and hesitant expression melted into a loving and compassionate one.

"Bella, I'm your mother."

Alright then, so there's the first chapter! Please review and let me know what you think!

I'm not completely sure, but I think I'll update this story every Monday or every Sunday night.

Just as a heads- up, the title might change. I'm not completely satisfied with the title it has now.

And, as you can probably tell, Leah's not going to be a b**** in this story. Some other characters may be a tad OC, but she will definitely be the biggest one.