Warning: This story contains a male/male romantic almost-relationship, although any sexual content is not particularly graphic. It also contains a lot of swearing and non-graphic mentions of rape, substance abuse and violence.

NOTE: "Char" is pronounced with a soft CH, like "shards". Just clarifying because someone commented on his nickname. I do have a backstory as to why he has that nickname; maybe I'll try and stick it in the fiction; maybe not.

1.

"I hope you're sure this is the right choice," Renee fretted, fiddling with the straps on my luggage.

I had been sure it was the right choice- when it was my choice. The moment my mother told me she'd already been intending to send me to rainy Forks to live with my father, anyways, I became instantly less excited to go. Not that I'd been keyed up before.

"Of course, Mom," I told her. "This is what I want."

...Just like I wanted to run screaming off the edge of the Grand Canyon.

She handed my carry on bag to me with a vapid smile, saying, "Well, your father is ecstatic that you're coming to live with him. You'll like Forks." This was interesting coming from the woman who'd left her husband because she so hated the tiny community. "It's small, very closely knitted... Nice people."

I cringed, mumbling a quick goodbye when I heard my flight's boarding announced.

I heard Renee calling out a farewell and waved vaguely over my back, glancing out the windows. Goodbye Mother, Goodbye sunlight, Goodbye Pheonix, and Goodbye to what I at least used to be able to call a life.

"Hey, kiddo," Charlie said emphatically, tousling my hair.

"Hi, Dad," I sighed, piling my things into the back of the police cruiser. I had to smile at the irony. Three days ago if I had been getting into a police car, it definitely would have been with the sort of kicking and screaming I only wished I could do now.

Of course, that was exactly the point.

"I hope you'll like it here," Charlie muttered beside me. "The people are all very nice."

I was sure that by very nice he meant, 'in line, law abiding citizens,' which was why my parents had decided behind my back to send me here. I wondered vaguely why Renee had even told me they'd been talking about it- after all, I came to her and stated that I was going to live there willingly. Why had she even bothered letting me know my choice didn't matter?

I sighed, glancing in my father's direction- and was surprised to see him looking at me intently through the corner of his eyes.

"What?" I asked, wary of the confused expression on his face.

Charlie cleared his throat awkwardly. "Nothing, Char-" I cringed at the nickname- which is what everyone called me. I only chose that name because it was minimally less worse than Charles, Charlie, or my terrifying middle name, Gerald. They just had to name me Charlie Jr., couldn't possibly have come up with something more original. I bit my lip; I'd grown up to be anything but a younger version of the all righteous police chief.

I glanced over again, and caught him still staring. He shook his head, glancing back towards the road. "I'm just surprised. You look exactly the same as you did when I last saw you."

Well what the hell did he expect? Some amazing transformation? Had he expected me to have morphed into some sort of a monster? I glanced in the side mirror, and watched as my own brow wrinkled with disbelief. I did look much the same; but that was because of Renee and Phil's all-watchful eyes over the past few weeks. If I'd moved out here a month ago, Charlie would have gotten the strange appearance he was obviously looking for.

The rain ran in rivulets down the window, and I stared at them a little absent-mindedly, more concerned with my own thoughts than anything I saw through the glass. Forks High School had a stunning population of just over three hundred students. In a school that small, what were the chances of finding a group of people I could connect with? Particularly since I would be known for being the police chief's kid; and particularly since in a place like that, everyone was probably living one stacked upon the other- there was no way something could be done without everyone knowing the next day.

I didn't realize we were in Forks until Charlie started speaking a few hours later. I was amazed that the time had passed so quickly, and in complete silence. On the other hand, neither Charlie or I had ever been very talkative. Still, I had been expecting at least a lecture.

"I got you something," he told me.

"Huh?"

"Well, I figured you probably wouldn't want to be driven to school in the cruiser."

I'd been driven lots of places in cop cars, but school wasn't one of them, and I wasn't dying to try.

"So I got you a truck."

"Really? You didn't have to do that, Dad," I answered, voice coloured with surprise.

"But I wanted to," he told me, pulling onto a side road. "Just remember... I'm trusting you to use it responsibly."

So here was the beginning of my lecture. "Right," I agreed, waiting for more, but nothing more came.

Charlie smiled, nodding happily. "It's kind of old, but it's sturdy. I got it from- do you remember Billy Black?"

"Uhm, vaguely."

"Well he can't drive it anymore, so he let me have it."

Charlie turned a bend, and the house I used to visit once a year until I was thirteen came into view. Sitting in the driveway was an old Chevy truck of faded red colour, with big, bulbous fenders that had splotches of rust across them- clearly one of those solid iron affairs which never got damaged, no matter how many years they saw. And this one had seen many. Yet... I loved it.

"Hey, thanks again! It's... amazing," I quipped, this time sounding much more enthused, and managing to severely embarrass Charlie with my explosive gratitude.

I suppose you could call it love at first sight; I was still thinking of the truck when I headed inside and tossed my brown backpack into the corner of the living room. At least I had one thing to smile about in this town. I had already predicted that this truck would be my one real soulmate here in Forks.