A/N: Thank you for choosing to read 'Run, Bella Swan' and I hope you stick around for a long time to come.

Now for the story behind this fic... A few months ago, while I was roaming about on the forums, I came across a post from AmyHoward which asked for someone to write a fic from an intial idea.

I sent her a message, half expecting her to reply saying she already had an author, but, to my surprise, she hadn't and shared with me one great plot bunny. I asked if I could write it and she kindly agreed.

So, after several months of playing and re-writing, I came up with 'Run Bella Swan'. I hope it serves justice to AmyHoward's idea, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I'm going to stop warbling on now and let you read. See you at the end for some extra info!

Oh! And thank you to the wonderful Darcysmom, who prereader-ed this for me. She is amazing. Also, SaritaDreaming, who betas it over at Twilighted!

Disclaimer: As much I wish, I don't own Twilight.

Chapter 1: Safe

I woke with a start and instinctively reached out to feel the bed beside me. It was cool as ever and empty. Hunting: the only time he would ever leave me.

I turned over in the bed and pulled more of the covers around me. Jasper always ensured I was swathed in an excess of blankets to keep me from his icy touch but I always shed them during the night as I thrashed from my nightmares.

Tonight must have been particularly quiet otherwise he wouldn't have left. If I was being haunted by the ghosts in my mind it was safe to say I would be woken by a cold hand pressed to my cheek and sweet venom laced breath fanning over my face.

But for now I was alone. I glanced at the clock on the desk beside me. Jasper wouldn't be back until just before dawn –quenching his thirst as much as he could so he could bear to be around me– and as it was only two there was no point waiting up for him. My eyes slipped shut again, and I relaxed as I listened to the silence of the house. This great expansive house of ours that had once been so full of noise.

And there –before I even had a chance to stop it– her face appeared behind my closed eye lids. I pressed a fist tightly to my eyes, trying to banish the image before it fully took shape. But I knew it was no use. Once she appeared she tended to stay –taunting me with her kind eyes and easy laugh. Seeing her happiness hurt when I was in such turmoil.

Knowing I would never sleep now, I opened my eyes and threw back the covers. It was a warm night, but it didn't stop me shivering as I crossed the room and sat down on the leather chair in front of the desk.

I let my fingertips ghost over the top of the jewellery box before I pulled on the catch, and it opened. I took a deep breath as I saw the chains and rings all lined up perfectly on the purple velvet shelf. Each piece was precious –a gift for our mother from Charlie before he left. He had always indulged her, and I can't remember a single day of my childhood when my mom didn't have one of these chains wrapped around her neck.

I reached out and delicately picked up a bracelet from the collection. It was my mother's favorite. It had a thin silver band that split into two halfway around to accommodate a large turquoise stone. I slipped it on my wrist and held onto it with my other hand as tears filled my eyes. I squeezed my lids shut tight and felt a drop of water fall and run along my nose as I hung my head.

I had almost buried her with the bracelet on but asked the funeral director to remove it at the last minute. It belonged with her, but I needed it more. It was all I had left of my mother. I was selfish and greedy but I didn't care. I was fifteen and I didn't have a mom – I didn't have a dad. All I had was this bracelet with the initials 'R&C' engraved in the back of the stone's bed.

I don't know how long I sat there crying but the next thing I became aware of was Jasper's cold arms around me as he picked me up and held me to his chest. I let go of the bracelet and wrapped my arms around his neck as I sobbed against his shoulders. His hand rubbed up and down my back trying to soothe me, and I soon began to quiet.

When I was silent apart from the odd sniffle we flew through the air, and I felt him sit down on the bed. After a minute I pulled back to look at him from under my wet lashes.

"Thanks, Jazz," I whispered. It took all my effort not to start crying again. It was so unfair that I could sit here sobbing my heart out, and he couldn't though it hurt him no less. He leaned forward and kissed me gently on the forehead.

"It's what I'm here for, hon," he murmured, his lips still pressed to my skin. The full pads were slightly warm against my head –a tell-tale sign he had been hunting all night. He sighed and leaned back so I could crawl off his lap and slip back between the covers. He tucked the blankets around me before lying next to me on top of the sheets and slipping an arm around me. I waited until it was still before I spoke.

"Jasper?" I asked softly. When he didn't reply I continued. "Do you ever wish you asked Maria to change her?"

I felt him freeze as I asked him, and it was silent for so long afterwards that I didn't think he was going to answer.

"Every day," he muttered suddenly, almost so low I couldn't hear it. I sighed as he confirmed what I had feared all along. Because if he had thought about it, it meant he had chosen against it for some reason. And that killed me.

"Why didn't you?"

This time he turned and propped himself up on an elbow so he could face me as he spoke. I stayed silent and internally cursed myself as I felt a silent tear roll down my cheek. He wiped it away quickly before he began.

"Bella, you were very young when it all happened. I… talked to Maria about it." Pain flicked across his face as he mentioned her name. "But she reminded me of the consequences. How could I control a new born when I was still human myself and protect you? You are my life, Bella; I could never risk hurting you."

I nodded numbly as he pulled me back close to him. I knew he would have a justified reason. I knew it would be because he claimed he was protecting me. And I knew he felt guilty that Maria had talked him out of it.

She could have helped him control Mom, but she only ever wanted Jasper.

One night when he was seventeen, Jasper had met the beautiful, mysterious Maria while he was out with his friends. I remember him sitting on my bed with me as he spoke about her.

"She has lovely dark hair just like yours," he had told me as he ran his fingers through my own smooth locks. "And her skin is so fair she looks like a ghost."

"Maybe she is," I offered as I colored in the flower in my book.

"No, I'm sure she's not," he laughed.

"How do you know?"

"Because she touched me!" he laughed again. "Everyone knows ghosts can't touch people, Bella!"

I twisted my mouth in annoyance. Why was some stranger touching my Jasper?

"Where'd she touch you?" I asked warily. He paused for a moment before he answered, like he was deciding whether he should confide in me or not.

"The lips," was his simple reply.

"She kissed you?"

"Yeah," he blushed slightly.

"Jasper, that's gross!" I made a face, and he chuckled loudly.

The next night she turned up outside the house, her pale skin shining brightly in the moonlight. Her unearthly grace and beauty had scared me, but Jasper was absolutely besotted. From then on, they were inseparable. He fell in love with her so hard that he couldn't bear to be from her side. I remained petrified of her.

As a child, I still believed in all the ghost stories I had heard from older kids at school and soon noticed how she never ate and seemingly never slept either. I asked Jasper repeatedly what was wrong with her, but he always scolded me for being silly and sent me off with a wave of his hand. I hadn't particularly liked Jasper when Maria was around. He turned like her –cold and unforgiving, only softening when she touched him. I hated her for stealing my brother from me.

When Mom died, I hated Maria even more. She kept Jasper from me, so I grieved alone while they locked themselves in his room for expansive amounts of time. Imagine- a ten year old who had just lost her mother abandoned and neglected by her brother. It's why she still haunted me, and I knew Jasper felt guilty as hell that he hadn't been there for me.

After two years, when I was twelve, Jasper and Maria disappeared. One day, while I was sitting in front of the television on a Saturday afternoon, I became aware of how long it had been since I had seen Jasper. It was not unusual for me not to see him the whole day but, when I thought about it, I realised I hadn't seen him since I had gone to bed on Thursday night.

Ignoring his stupid no entry rule, I climbed the stairs and approached his bedroom door. I paused briefly before I opened it, afraid of what I might find. But the room was empty. There was no sign of Jasper or Maria, as she had pretty much moved in over the course of two years, and I couldn't get hold of either of them on their cells. So, I had sat at home alone by myself for the next week before I realised they weren't coming back.

I called the police then and was taken into care the next day. I lived in the children's home until I was fourteen when Jasper came back for me. Only he wasn't the Jasper I knew. He was pale and still –just like her– and had changed so much. His pretty brown eyes had gone and in their place were murky orange ones. His face had changed too. It was more defined and angular. He was no longer the loving teenage boy I had known or the cold older brother. He was something else entirely.

He brought me back to the house which had lay empty in our absence and explained to me what he was. I don't remember being scared. I was just satisfied that I finally understood. I had touched his face, feeling how cold and solid it was and noticed how he stopped breathing instantly.

"I'm just like the vampires from your stories, Bella," he explained hurriedly. "Your blood is food to me."

His eyes were suddenly guarded like he was scared he had said too much and frightened me but he continued.

"I've been starving myself on animal blood just so I could control myself enough to come back for you. But, I still need practice."

I removed my hand then to save his discomfort and made my way into the kitchen to make myself some lunch. I had never been afraid of Jasper. He was my brother, and as time went on we became as close as we were before Mom died. Perhaps even closer. He was my rock –he was always there, no matter what was going on. There was nothing my big brother couldn't handle.

It had still taken him another six months before he could tell me why he had left Maria though. Jasper had always been very sensitive as a human and Maria saw potential in this. She was nasty –I had been right all along– and had merely recruited Jasper in order to build her own little army of super vampires. When he wouldn't comply she had turned cold, telling him how she had tricked him all along. He thought it was love, he gave her his life, and it had all been a sham. I knew how much she hurt Jasper, but I never brought it up. He just turned to stone and refused to speak when I tried, so I gave up.

As I mulled over his answer to my question I noticed the sky brightening outside the window. It was almost morning and I could see, even from my spot tucked up in bed, that it was going to be a cloud free day. No going outside for Jasper then. It didn't matter any way. We would stay inside and play chess or watch a movie.

I stifled a yawn as Jasper wrapped both arms around my body and rocked me slightly. I felt sleep calling to me and I let myself go freely. There would be no nightmares while Jasper was here.

A/N: I hope you are interested enough to wait for the next chapter, which I plan to post soon. I am publishing this story on Twilighted as well, but I am aware not everyone has an account there.

Find me on Twitter Melanie18Carter and say hello. I'm nice, I don't bite and I'll say howdy back. Also, if there's enough call for it, I will set up a thread on the Twilighted forum for RBS for those of you have a login. Just drop a line if you think it's worth it.

I'm also a TwiGirl on twigirlsnextdoor (dot) com, so I'm planning to share some of my recs with you here each chapter. I know I can go on for a bit long so I totally won't be offended if you decide to skip this bit... ;)

My first rec is Forget Me Not by SydneyAlice because I literally can't leave it alone and I'm very sad it's at it's end. She updated (almost) every day, bless her, and writes the sweetest fluff you can imagine. Edward wakes up in Forks with amnesia and falls for his nurse, Bella (who just happens to smells like tangerines and cream). All too soon Alice arrives and brings with her one major problem...

See you soon!

Mel x