I own none of these characters, Stephanie Meyer created them, I just made them human and put them in this strange situation, enjoy.

-Summer 2003-

The Beginning

BPOV

I had always wanted to go to summer camp. For years I had watched my friends go to science camp, lacrosse camp, music camp, hundreds of options at your fingertips, and you spend the summer doing the hobby you love. Lucky for me, Mum had to go abroad for the summer and had registered me for sports camp; and I would be doing ballet and baseball, though ballet was simply a pathetic attempt to improve my possibly lethal clumsiness. Baseball was my all-time favourite sport. I was never more alive than when I stepped up to bat, or ran a home run. One of the best moments of my life was catching the last batsman out, which consequently won us the game. I played Little League when I was a kid, and then went off to play for the Jacksonville Suns, in a junior league. Now I got to play with other kids my age who shared the same passion as I did. Mum put me on the plane at Jacksonville and within three hours I was in Charlotte, North Carolina. The sun shined so bright on my translucent skin that it gleamed like diamonds. It was weird saying goodbye to my mother. I had grown up without my father as my parents had divorced in the first few months of my life; I spent odd summer holidays with him in his rainy, grey skied hometown: Forks, Washington. Naturally my mother was in floods of tears at the gate, waving me off, with half her mind wanting to cancel the entire arrangement, no doubt. She had never let me travel a large distance without her or my dad, Charlie, even though I was the more responsible of the two of us. I missed her as soon as I stepped onto the plane. Then reminded myself that I had wanted this for years, I did possess a functioning mobile phone, and I was a mere plane journey away if anything went wrong.

There was a bus that took a ton of kids who had come by plane like me to the camp. We sang songs all the way there and so far, it was like my dream had become a reality. The bus pulled up to a cabin so large you could have probably fit my house into it (my house isn't that big) and in large multi-coloured letters was the sign MESS HALL. Yep this was definitely my dream coming alive before my very eyes. A crowd of other kids were grouped round a notice board trying desperately to find their cabin assignments. All I could gather about our cabins was that they were strictly same sex, no exceptions. Evidently due to the fact that the camp was for 14-16 year olds, they had had problems with mixed cabins before… they definitely had one less person to worry about with me here. I had never had much to do with boys before, though I had never noticed that I was missing out on anything in particular. I had been brought up with a mother with lessons like, "Boys are trouble" and "Never get married before you're thirty", even though these philosophies may not have been directed at me specifically, I followed them all the same.

Finally, after most people had located their cabins, I finally got a look at the board. I was in a four-person cabin. This suited me fine; three was the perfect number of girls to make friends with. I have never been overly popular; I had always had a small but close group of friends. I am also fairly laidback about pretty much everything; I usually go with the flow, so girls usually find me easy to get along with. I just hate lying; it is my ultimate pet-hate. I also hate double standards, two-faced girls who are nice to you on your own, but in a gang of people suddenly you don't exist because you aren't cool enough or popular enough. I hope the girls in my cabin aren't like this. Suddenly I considered that there was a possibility that they may just not like me, and I would be stuck with them is an enclosed environment for five whole weeks… Oh dear…

Deep breath, just be your normal self, Bella, how could they possibly not like you?

Suddenly I heard a high-pitched scream… what the hell?

"Oh my God, I'm so happy you are here, I have been sitting on the floor for like half an hour and you are my first cabin buddy to arrive." "My name is Mary Alice Brandon by the way, but everyone calls me Alice… wow I really need to breathe more in my monologues. What's your name?"

"Um… Isabella Marie Swan, but everyone calls me Bella, nice to meet you."

Great! She is just the kind of girl I like spending time with; upbeat, funny, and friendly. Not that it matters, but she is also beautiful, like a model, but healthy looking, with spiky black hair, and a figure most girls would die for. She was porcelain white, quite possibly the only person I had ever met who could compare their skin colour to mine and be whiter, and her face was flawless, not a blemish or hint of remaining childhood puppy fat. On the contrary, her cheek bones were prominent and all her features seemed to be precisely the right proportion with each other. Her wide, expressive eyes were a strange ochre or golden colour, like honey or butterscotch. She also dressed fabulously, all of her clothes close fitting and highly flattering. They all looked like they were from designer origins.

I'm not overly obsessive about clothes, but I do attempt to look presentable when appropriate. I'm such a tomboy clothes-wise. I never wear figure hugging clothes and I never wear revealing clothes either, I'm just not that confident with myself yet, I am only 15.

Anyway, Alice and I started talking and getting to know each other. She was from New York City, she was an only child and had unlimited spending allowances as she had her own credit card. Her father was a large investment banker in the city and her mother had a group of friends that were a higher priority than Alice at all times. I was surprised that even with such a spoilt upbringing, she was the least selfish, modest and kind girl. I half expected a brat once she told me about her dad, but I was happily mistaken. I told her about myself, family, Jacksonville etc. She was strangely very interested in my life, being so different than her own. Then we started to talk boys…

"Well I've had one boyfriend before, but we only went on three dates, then I broke up with him after our first kiss because his mouth was brimming with saliva. He put me off kissing for life!" Alice fell about laughing at her ghastly memory.

"Well I've never had a boyfriend or a first kiss; I don't really go out much…" I admitted this secret information, I was also aware that I was blushing a deep scarlet, but Alice didn't laugh at me, she smiled and then squealed with excitement…

"Yay, we have to get you a boyfriend while we are here, then it can be like a summer thing and then you have some experience. We'll both try and get boyfriends and we have to share all gory details if anything happens, agreed?"

"O.k., but Alice, please don't set me up with a total creep"

"Bella, I've barely known you five minutes and you are already my friend, and I don't hurt or embarrass my friends, unless they embarrass me, of course". "So what sport are you here for? I'm here for ballet, I love it, and it is so graceful and intimate and passionate".

"Well I am technically here for baseball, but I am taking ballet lessons too, just don't stand too close to me, I'm a total klutz and generally hurt people within a metre radius of myself" At the word "baseball" Alice's mouth gaped...

"Oh my God, you are so going to get a boyfriend playing baseball. Guys get really impressed if girls can play guy sports well, also if you can play video-games they love it. Do you play well, please don't tell me you're a spastic at it?"

"No, I've been playing my whole life. If I'm being arrogant I would say I was good. But I'm not arrogant, so I guess I am pretty good. I could definitely take a guy on."

"Fabulous! This boyfriend plan is going to be easy. You will find a gorgeous baseball player, and I will find some hunk who just happens to like ballet dancers. God, I wish the other girl in our cabin would hurry up, I want to unpack and pick a bed."

"What do you mean, Alice, isn't there supposed to be 2 more girls in this cabin? And why don't you just pick a bed since you got here first, then I'll pick one. None of these beds are bad so the girl still coming will have to accept that if you snooze, you lose."

"I love your logic Bella. But there is only one other girl coming, one of the camp leaders said. I guess the other one dropped out. Alright, I'll have the one by the window, for some reason I reckon the closet is bigger. Will you take the one next to me; I don't want the other girl to take it if she isn't as lovely as you". I'm am so lucky to have been put with Alice. I had barely known her ten minutes and she had already accepted me.

"Thanks Alice, sure I'll take it. Oh, just in time, the new girl is coming…"

A staggeringly beautiful girl was walking up the steps to the cabin door. She had silky blonde hair, naturally redder lips, and pale skin to match Alice and mine, though she was the darkest of us. She was smiling; I hoped that was a good sign, as I crossed my fingers.

"Hi, I'm Rosalie. What are your names?" As she said this, she dumped her stuff on one of the remaining beds with no comment that we had not considered her when picking ours. My first perceptions are that she is laidback, fun, beautiful definitely and I would bet my holiday's allowance she was a ballet dancer, maybe the camp fixed it that way?

"Well I'm Alice and she's Bella. It's just the three of us in this cabin, so we are going to have loads of fun. I hope you like painting your nails?" Alice was welcoming to Rosalie, who immediately answered,

"I love having my nails painted, and having facials, we should have a spa night or something and pamper each other. Hey, you both look like ballet dancers; I am too, that is why I'm here."

"Yeah, I am, Bella is too but she is mostly here for baseball."

"Cool. So… have you seen any hot guys yet…" and the boy talk begin where Alice and I had paused. After following conversations, I found out that Alice was 2 months younger than me and Rosalie was technically in the year above but her birthday was late in the academic year, so she was only 4 months older than I was.

A bell sounded from the yard, evidently the intention was to summon all the campers. So we all went outside and sussed that we were splitting into our sports groups to become acquainted before our "training" began in the morning. I waved goodbye to Rose and Alice and headed towards a sign saying "BASEBALL".

Just before reaching the group, I caught a glimpse of the most beautiful boy I had ever laid eyes on. He was pale like me, with gorgeous green eyes and messy bronze coloured hair. He was oddly quite toned for a boy who looked no more than 16, though he could have passed for 18 if he had wanted to. His face was the picture of perfection. Stop it Bella, just take a deep breath and join your group, you only just got here, no need to make a fool of yourself already.

We all sat in a circle and introduced ourselves and told the coach a brief summary of our experience. Right it's his turn, just listen for his name.

"Hi, my name is Edward Masen, I'm 15 years old, and I've been playing baseball since I was old enough to hold a bat, and run, of course".

"That's great Edward, we will look forward to seeing you play tomorrow then" the coach smiled at him. Yes, I can't wait to see you play tomorrow either, I wonder if he is better than me, SHUT UP BRAIN!

The boy next to me gave me a nudge and I realised that it was my turn and I was just staring at Edward. I then realised that the whole group was now staring at me, waiting for me to speak. I felt my cheeks turn almost purple with embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry, I'm Bella, I'm 15 and I was in Little League when I was younger and then went on to play in a junior league with the Jacksonville Suns, we were league champs" O.k. you just crossed into the bragging zone, time to stop talking.

"That is some impressive experience Bella, I look forward to seeing you play tomorrow." Great, the coach likes me and… is Edward staring at me now?

"Right everyone, go get some rest and a good night's sleep tonight. I have a rep at this camp for being the toughest coach, I will send you home if you don't put enough effort in because you are tired, got it?"

"Got it", we were all internally groaning… just my luck to get the toughest coach; I hope he is the best.

Just then I felt someone hold me back as I turned to head back to my cabin. To my shock and dismay, a pair of penetrating emerald eyes met my gaze. Edward.

"Sorry… I, well I, I just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Edward, well you already know that, but, I, well I just wanted to say that since we seem to have the most experience, that maybe if you wanted to practice with me sometime, then, well, that would be … cool. Kay see you later." And then he just walked away… what the hell?

Back in the cabin, I spilled everything to Alice and Rose…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow that was a long chapter, they won't all be like that, I just wanted to get the ball rolling with Edward… read on to see who Rosalie and Alice have a crush on. PLEASE REVIEW!!! 