You Belong with Me
Join Bella as she remembers her life and the choices she has made that led her up to having to choose Safe Edward or Rocker Boy Jasper...
Sadly I only own the plot, not the characters...
A/N:
First, I have to thank You all for sticking with me while I reworked this. The story in my head was not the story that I was writing and I have to take a minute and thank suzie55. She was the first person I told any of my thoughts to and the one that pointed out that I wasn't following my own thoughts. I appreciate her honesty and thoughtfulness more than she will ever know. She is an awesome writer, and I am honored to say friend. Thank You and HUGS!
Second I have to thank my team of Beta's...yes, I need a team! PunkFox825 for helping me get the story out of my head and into words. She is my sounding board and I would be completely lost without her input and advise. nanas_mommy_ for helping me in me relearn everything from my years of English classes. Hopefully it sticks this time. And finally twimomlover for pre-reading and being a supportive encouraging friend.
Last but not least all of you who have followed me, supported me, and encouraged me to keep at it. THANK YOU!
Okay on with the show...
Chapter 1: Meeting Bella
Enjoy….
"Hi Angela. I am so happy that we could find the time to get together," I said as I hugged my friend.
"I know, we've been so busy with finals and graduation, I'm sure if my head wasn't attached I'd have lost it by now," Angela leaned forward to give me a welcoming hug in return.
"I think I've lived on coffee alone for the last two weeks. It's a good thing I love it so much. Have you ordered yet?"
Sunny Side Up has been my home away from home for the last four years while I was attending Texas A&M in Corpus Christi. The small cafe served the best coffee and surprisingly good food. They had a full menu 24 hours a day, catering to the university crowd.
"It's been almost a month; ya wanna get the cholesterol special as always?" I asked Angela, rubbing my belly to emphasize my appetite.
"Heeeheee, yeah, but I'm really gonna pig out and order the heart attack on a plate too. We're splitting everything right?" Angela asked.
"Don't you know it! I could never pass up French fries drenched in chili and cheese. Just like you could never pass up nachos soo loaded down with goodies that the chip won't hold it all," I replied, while I waved down a nearby waitress.
"You make me so jealous. We've been meeting here almost every week for a year. You eat the worst food and yet, you look damn hot," Angela teased.
Growing up surrounded by boys and preferring the beach rather than the mall, at the age of twenty-two, I had been practicing yoga for twelve years and surfing for fifteen. I am tall, toned, and some would say beautiful. My dad, Charlie and I, moved to Texas when I was seven. Charlie's sister, Renee was diagnosed with terminal cancer. We promptly packed up and moved from our wet, dreary home in Washington to a small town in South Texas.
Renee had passed away shortly after we moved in to help take care of her and her two sons, Emmett and Jacob. Cousins, who are more like brothers to me, definitely gave me a hard time growing up. Em is a year older and about seventy-five percent of the time played the protective older brother character really well. Jacob is a year younger, and he had perfected the annoying little brother character to a T.
We spent our youth giving Charlie every one of his gray hairs and ruling the neighborhood. Our house was the hang out for all the neighborhood kids, which happened to be ninety-nine percent male populated. I had to play the part of tomboy or else I would have been buried in the back yard, with nothing but a drinking straw sticking out of the ground. I faced the challenge of being a tomboy, blending into the group of rough and rugged boys that lived on my block.
"It's all the surfing I do with Jacob. I am telling you, one day I am gonna drag you to the beach and duct tape you to a board. You will love it," I threatened her for the hundredth time.
"No. I'm good. I like my treadmill, ThankYouVeryMuch...show off," Angela snickered. "So, how is Jacob by the way?"
"You know, I am well aware of your undying affection for Ben, but I can see the lustful gleam in your eye when you say Jacob." I was being mean, I really should stop, but it was too funny to watch her turn into a giggling teenager whenever the thought of my gorgeous cousin came up.
"Oh! Look! Just in time!" Angela practically shouted with glee as the waitress set our artery clogging buffet down in front of us.
"Safer topic...How is Ali? Still bugging the ever living shit out of you?" Angela giggled.
"Ha! You can say that because you have not been tied to the hip of the spastic fairy since you were ten. You don't know her the way I do. Did you know that on the first day of fifth grade, she woke me up at four-thirty in the morning? She was so excited and nervous; she claimed she just couldn't sleep anymore. So, of course, neither could I." I continued to rant as the memory of meeting Mary Alice Cullen, came back to me.
"Bells! Hold up! Where's the fire?" Charlie shouted from the front door.
"They're here! The new family is here! See! They have a little girl!" I shouted with glee.
"Okay Bells, hold up and I will go over with you," Charlie said as he walked at a snail's pace to escort me over to meet our new neighbors.
I stood there thinking I was going to explode; I was finally not going to be the only girl on the block. I didn't think about my shyness, or if we would even have anything in common. She was a girl with braids in her hair. I had never had braids in my hair. Even if she still watched Barney, we were going to be friends!
"Hello, welcome to the neighborhood. I am Chief Swan, Charlie," my dad waved over to the family gathering their belongings out of the car.
"Hi! We are the Cullen's. I am Carlisle and this is my wife Esme. My son over there is Edward and this here is my daughter Alice," the doctor replied back in a smooth welcoming voice.
"Dad. Daaad. Daaaaaad," I was whispering from behind his leg. "How old is their daughter? Can she be my friend?"
I must not have been whispering very softly because all three of the grown-ups looked over at me and each let out a big belly laugh.
"Hi sweetie. What's your name?" Esme leaned down to speak to me. She smelled of cupcakes and buttercream icing.
"My name is Bella. I am ten; I'll be eleven in September. I am going into the fifth grade. I am the only girl on the block. I like to read. I want to learn how to make cupcakes; I don't have a mo-"
I was abruptly interrupted by Charlie, "Bells, she asked what your name was not your life story."
"I can teach you how to make cupcakes," the little girl Alice interrupted.
Her voice was kind of squeaky, like she had been inhaling a helium balloon. She shyly danced circles around her parents, peaking out every so often, sizing me up. I didn't care. I was going to learn to make cupcakes with my new best friend and her mom.
"My name is Alice, but you can call me Ali.I am also birthday is in March.I think we are gonna be best friends.I do not like boys.I like reading too.I hate video games.I have a huge marker collection because I like to you sing?Because if we are gonna be best friends, you have to sing with says I am a TV junkie.I like Blossom and Saved by the shows do you watch?"
She rattled all of that out in about two seconds flat, without taking a single pause, sounding very much like Six Le Meure. My mouth hung open as I stared at her with bugged out eyes. I was trying to figure out when she took a breath when I heard Esme giggle.
"Sorry sweetie. Our Ali, she is a Tasmanian devil. You are going to need to eat your broccoli if you expect to keep up with her."
"I'm sorry. Spaced out there for a moment. Just remembering the first time I met Esme and Ali. They really have changed my life. I can't imagine what my life would be like if the Cullen's had never moved in next door," I apologized to Angela, who was snapping her fingers in front of my face.
"Hey, it's okay. I understand. I know you have a lot going on, graduating with a double major, life and work, I am surprised you aren't completely gray," Angela teased.
"Hardy. HarHar...You know where ya can stuff it... don't ya!"
"Have you heard back from any of your job scouting? Any school would be lucky to have you. You'll save them so much money. They'll be able to close down their music program and you can combine English one-oh-one with Music one-oh-one. Hmmm, wonder what Romeo and Juliet would sound like in a B sharp?" Angela giggled.
"You're just full of it today aren't you? I have gotten a few offers, all for High School English. I would really like to get a position for Elementary Music though. So much more fun," I said.
"Well have you tried the Houston area? They have hundreds of private schools with bigger budgets?" Angela asked apprehensively.
"Sooo, anywaaay..." I drawed out, changing the subject. "How is the Ben-myster?"
"Oh, he's good. He was accepted into Baylor. Isn't that where Edward is?" Angela asked.
I stuffed my mouth full of French fries, avoiding that topic and nodded my head yes. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes as we ate.
"So, when are you leaving me to go join the big city folks?" I asked after a few minutes.
"Yeah, I'll be leaving you. But you know you will be coming to Houston often to visit me and shop. You know, as well as I do, that Esme can't last a month without going to the Galleria to do some real shopping," Angela appeased me.
"Yes. That woman is a slave to the mall. Going to the Galleria is like dying and going to heaven for Esme and shop-till-you-drop Ali," I agreed. "The first time that they took me to the Galleria mall, I thought my feet were going to fall off. I swear I still have phantom pains in my feet from that trip. Charlie had never stepped foot in a mall, we shopped at Wal-Mart or Academy for the first ten years of my life. It wasn't a big deal, I really didn't know any better, but Esme, the epitome of elegance and sophistication, knew better. I'm still not sure what she said to Charlie, but when I got home that weekend my entire closet was cleared out to make room for the amount of clothes that I bought."
"Could you imagine if or when you live there the amount of shopping that those two are going to make you do?" Angela said.
"Oh my god! NO! My feet are falling off now." I reached to rub the phantom pain in my foot.
Since the age of ten, Esme has been the mom that I never had. Esme has sat on the side lines of every choir concert, national anthem at sporting events, talent show, and grungy hole in the wall pub gig I had. Esme is just as much my mother as she is to Ali and Edward. I have never needed for anything, being blessed with an abundance of friends and family. My dad, being the Police Chief and Carlisle, the Chief of Surgery, were not always able to be at all of our childhood events, but not Esme. She was always there supporting and cheering us on. The Cullen's were more than just my neighbors; our two households formed a close bond. Having five children, basically all the same age, was a task that Esme, Carlisle, and Charlie took seriously. I know that Charlie was grateful for the help that he had in raising his nephews and daughter. I also know the troubles that Carlisle and Esme had in having a large family. It was unorthodox, but Charlie, Esme, and Carlisle are my parents, and Emmett, Jacob, Edward, and Alice are my siblings.
"Have you purchased your dress for graduation?" Angela asked.
"Yeah, on Saturday Esme and Ali dragged me to Dillard's before my shift at Mikey's Pub," I answered, "Which by the way, I will be soooo veeery sad to hang my waitress hat up next week."
"No, Mikey will be sad to see your booty shake right out the door. I bet he has cried in his beer for the last month," Angela laughed.
"Yeah, I know. It has been a real long four years."
"Okay...I can't wait any longer. Have you made a decision yet?" Angela asked.
"Nope," I answered.
"How are you ever going to be able to pick which one?" Angela asked.
"I really just don't know Angela. I've thought about this non-stop since Christmas. I'm honestly surprised I passed any of my classes," I explained.
"Bella, I understand your dilemma, but graduation is two weeks away. You need to have your answer, and you aren't any closer to figuring that out today, than you were in February," Angela reminded me
"Ang, it is just so hard. Whichever way I choose, my life will drastically change. I fear change...," I pouted as my words trailed off.
"No," she paused as she thought. "You fear the unknown. You have never had to step out on your own. If you aren't with your cousin's, then you're with the Cullen's. I am the first friend you've had since your were seven, that is only friends with you and not your whole family, and you even tried to change that by dragging me to that god awful Police barbeque last August."
"Ohhh, yeah, I remember that. You looked so scared when Em walked up to you. I know he is as big as a house, but you looked like he was the big green Hulk or something. And then he told that stupid joke about witches at the beach, I swear I was gonna piss myself with the faces you were making."
"Oh. My. God. I remember that too. I come up to his waist or something. I bet I could wear his bracelet as a belt. He walked up all serious like he was going to bust me for that puff of a joint I took in the ninth grade, and then he starts telling that ridiculous kid's joke. What do you call a witch that lives at the beach?"
"A sandwich," I answered trying to not laugh at the expression that she was making. "He has told that joke since he was eleven. The first time he told it we all yelled out bitch, and Esme made us scrub the patio floors. Em snickered the whole time saying it was the 'best joke ever'."
"Yeah, well I didn't know if I should be scared of his resemblance to the Hulk or that maybe he was a little slow in the head."
"And that would be my dear sweet Emmett," I said.
"So, you pick one and you have the family you have always known; the safety and security that they have always provided for you. You pick the other, and that family is still there in a way, it will just be a different dynamic. You won't see them every day, and at first it may be a little awkward, but they love you and would never take away your dreams or happiness," Ang tried to reason.
"I know you are right. I know they would always be there for me. I know that whichever road I take, I will still intersect with the other at different points in my life. I just can't bare the thought of hurting one or the other."
"Well which one can you see your future with?" Ang asked.
"See, that's just it. I have imagined my life with both of them. What Jasper is offering is a chance in a lifetime. My dreams come true. But, I don't know if it is the American Idol fan talking or my actual dreams, because when I think about it, there is a real life I would be giving up. Then I think about Edward. I have known him practically my whole life. I can't imagine a day where we would not see each other. There were times that I imagined the big white dress and the wedding. There were times that I imagined him old, in rockers on a front porch. There were also times I imagined me beating the ever lovin' daylight out of him, but regardless what roles we play, he was in my life."
"Well, neither are a sure bet, but I don't think you can change your mind half way through. Why can't you have both the fantasy and the real life with one of them?" Ang argued.
"Really Ang...can you see Jasper with the white picket fence driving a minivan? That's what I'd be trading for sold out seats at the Astro dome. You know me; do I want the Astro Dome? Do I want that life more than the picket fence? Cause I just don't know anymore..." I trailed off. I didn't know what to do anymore.
"You are still young; you could have the Astro Dome and then have the picket fence. Or you could have the picket fence and dream of the Astro dome," Ang said.
"That's what it comes down to huh? Choose the Rocker or the Doctor. Choose the wild extravagance or the quiet suburbia?" I asked.
"If you wanna put it that way? Yeah, The Rocker or The Doctor." Ang said, sounding like a game show host. She has been my soundboard on this issue for months now. All she wanted was me happy, but the question was, what is going to make me happy?
I sat there thinking about all that had happened in my life with Edward. Would I be able to just throw that away for a fifty/fifty shot of making my fantasies a reality?
A/N
I promise that in the future I will keep all the author's notes down at the bottom.
I would really like to thank you all for reading my very first Fic.
I have to give suzie55, PunkFox825, and nanas_mommy_ huge hugs and kisses for giving me the courage to get my thoughts out of my head and on into your computer screens.
Please take the time to go visit their FF pages they have all written excellent fics. I hope to be half as good as they are…
Okay…I am off to work on Chapter 2.
Hugs,
SheshaLesha