Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters.

BPV:

I cut through the water, allowing its comfort to literally wash over me as I submerged, lifted, and re-submerged my head in time with my frog kicks. The water frothed around my lean form while I strained to complete the last lap in record time.

Water rippled. Bubbles filled my vision. Waves rocked the indoor pool.

My arms moved surely yet gracefully, and after one last propulsive kick, I could see the wall.

My breaststrokes gained strength. My kicks grew stronger.

I burst forward and stretched out both arms, bringing my shoulders in level with the surface of the water.

Both my palms finally rested firmly against the stone wall.

"Hell yeah!" I shouted and punched the air. The adrenaline continued coursing through my veins.

Gasping for breath, I located Alice seated atop the lifeguard's perch with the timer in her small hands.

"So?" I asked. "What's the verdict, Masen?"

"It's Cullen now!" she shouted. "I've been adopted. Seriously, you can try and get that straight after three years."

I grabbed the railing and swung my dripping body onto the deck. Water poured from my hair as I threw off my swimming cap. I left a wet trail in my wake as my drenched body made its own way towards the pixy-like creature on her celestial throne. The pool was deserted tonight.

"I am not amused," I said both loudly and in one breath, and then I exhaled slowly. "Did I, or did I not, break my breaststroke record for five laps?"

Alice looked down upon me seriously. She glanced at the timer. She looked at me. She glanced at the timer. Then she grabbed the ladder and climbed down. Feet firmly on deck, she looked me in the eye and began her chicken dance.

I took that as a "Yes, Bella, you are awesome."

"WOOHOO!" I screamed. "TAKE THAT COACH CLAPP, YOU CHAUVINISTIC, BOORISH PIECE OF MAN!"

I moonwalked around Alice as we celebrated in the only way we deemed worthy of such success.

Alice squawked so realistically these days. We were definitely going to be friends forever.

"Alright, girl, let's go get you dry." Alice slung an arm around my shoulder, but as we walked towards the locker room, she seemed to slip slowly into thought, and her eyes lost their characteristic luster.

I gave her the time I knew she needed before prodding.

Stepping out of a stall in the ladies' locker room, I folded my body beside her on a dry bench.

I glanced at Alice's downturned head. Her short, raven hair was artfully arranged with diamond clips and pins. Her slender, waiflike figure gave her an almost ethereal appearance, but I knew she was made of delicate flesh and bone. When she suffered, her heart bled just like any other.

The quiet hummed until she turned to me; the melancholy poured from her large blue eyes.

"Have you talked to Jasper today?" she asked me.

"No," I said carefully. My twin brother had been oddly busy these past few months. Most of his personal time was spent with Alice, his girlfriend.

She smiled then, but the smile wobbled like it was threatening to fall off her face. "He has some good news."

"Dad, I am going to Spain," Jasper announced resolutely at the kitchen table the next morning.

Charlie's fork clattered on his plate. A piece of omelet hung loosely from his lips but dropped as his mouth widened. His eyes seared into my brother's honey-brown irises.

Sue's head flitted back and forth as she glanced between the two proud Swans. Sue was dad's second wife. We all sensed that a violent, animalistic encounter might not be far away.

After a long moment, Charlie leaned back and scoffed. "For how long?" he asked quietly—dangerously quietly. "And with what money?"

"A year," my twin answered.

I gasped as an image of Alice's teary eyes swam in my memory. She had not told me the news yesterday. She kept Japer's confidence, but told me to be wary.

The room was eerily silent for a moment.

"And I'm going with my own money" Jasper continued. "I won a scholarship to an acting school in Madrid. They'll pay for everything. I'll even earn the equivalent of an American high school diploma. This will look great on a college application, and I'll be doing what I love." His head rose higher.

Knowing Jasper's intense hatred for confrontation, I was impressed.

But Charlie clearly was not.

"Over your dead body, son," he said. "We have spent a good fraction of our life savings paying your tuition to Coldridge Academy, and you will graduate there this year. Acting is not for you. Summer is almost over. You'll be practical and take advantage of Coldridge's reputation." Charlie leaned back in his chair and continued, "Getting into Harvard or Yale will be relatively easy with your grades and abilities."

"I don't want to be a lawyer, Dad! Or a doctor or a damn CPA. I want to act. I'm good. Really good. If you took the time to know me, you would know that."

Oh, hell no.

Charlie's chair crashed on the floor. His face was an unhealthy shade of crimson, and his jaw was clenched so tightly I was afraid it would shatter.

"DAMN IT, JASPER! All I have done has been for you and your future. How dare you accuse me of not caring about you! You are staying at Coldridge, and that is the end of it!"

Charlie stomped out of the room. He grabbed his holster and keys on the way out. I believe I rightfully feared for the lives of everyone he would come into contact with that day. The police station would not be a happy place with the chief so riled up.

I leaned over to put an arm around my brother. He leaned his head on my shoulder. Softly, Jasper said to the broken seat on the floor, "I didn't say you don't care about me. I said you don't know me."

My heart broke every day that week. Jasper and Charlie fought over everything. I snuck into my brother's room at night and snuggled into bed with him. We were both eighteen, but we didn't care. At age 2, when absolutely no one could tell our identical forms apart, we had made a promise: If comfort was needed, we didn't need anyone else to provide it.

Alice was Jasper's exception, and I accepted that.

Bravely, she threw a blanket of invisibility over her despondence and remained her bubbly self in Jasper's presence. They practically mauled theme parks and scoured malls in search of a way to pass the dwindling days together. Both attended Coldridge during the academic year, and I knew Alice would feel Jasper's absence acutely if he did leave. And if he didn't, her heart would break along with his.

I always did hate a Catch-22.

Well, for my part, I attended a public high school. Charlie was never so concerned with my education. He earned enough to pay for only one child's tuition to private school, and he chose the boy. Though Charlie always cared less for me than he did for Jasper, his disinterest allowed me a freedom Jasper was denied. Coldridge was meant to pave the way towards a bright future, or so I was told. A small boarding school in Boston, this place had walls like Yale and teachers as tough as those in Harvard, or so I was told. It accepted only a hundred students per grade with the total enrollment never exceeding four hundred. That I knew for sure.

But best of all, Coldridge Academy had the top swim team in the entire nation. Or the top men's team anyway. Their girl's team was reputable as well, but it was the men who won title after title. However, last year, I heard from Alice that they took second in nationals. Apparently, it was a huge blow to the team. I didn't know much regarding this team or any other because I refused to follow high school sports games. I made the decision in anger after Coach Clapp refused to allow a girl on his swim team. I was not even allowed a tryout by that prejudiced, pig-nosed excuse for a human being.

Tonight, I planned to convince Charlie to allow Jasper's trip. Jasper worked for months perfecting his application video. My hold on my own dream of swimming professionally was tenuous at best, and I knew the burning sensation of clutching your fists together tightly but feeling your dreams float away like vapor through your fingers.

I had no real plan, but I knew I would never forgive myself for retreating in fear from the big, bad chief.

However, as I was walking down the hall on the second floor, a hand grabbed my hoodie and tugged me into a room. The door slammed behind me, and I was pushed up against it as Jasper and Alice stared at me intensely.

Utterly confused, I was speechless.

Alice poked my cheek. Then she patted my long hair. Oddly, she ogled my admittedly tiny breasts. She even jiggled them a bit. The pixy finally turned to my brother.

"I could make it work," she said. "I've never done it before. Obviously. But I could. She's my best friend. It should be interesting at least. I don't know what others will think."

What the freak?

"Yeah," Jasper said. "There's a first time for everything."

"I am so out of here," I said, grasping at the doorknob in panic. "The sun has dissolved your brains. Yeah, that's it. You cerebral cortexes are malfunctioning or some shit."

Jasper grabbed my shoulders. "Sis! Chill out. What has got you so spooked?"

"Um, for one thing, your indication of interest in incest? Damn that was a lot of assonance. Um….Crap. Look, you know I love you guys—."

I shut up as I noticed their mouths dropped in shock. In a euphoric split second, I realized I had been overreacting.

Thank-friggin-goodness.

Jasper took a step backwards. "That's just wrong," he said.

Alice, on the other hand, burst into laughter.

"Yeah, Bella," she said in a deep voice. "Oh, the things I wanna do to you." She even licked her lips. Demon pixy.

"Well, what was I supposed to think after that forced entrance? And the fondling? Huh, Alice? Did my boobs pass inspection?" I asked.

"Oh, they passed inspection all right," Alice said. She took a step forward, lazily licking her lips again.

Okay, once more this had grown disturbing.

"Shut it, little one," Jasper said sweetly. He slung the giggling creature across his back and headed for his bed. I thought I saw him squeeze her ass before placing her on the comforter. Ew.

Fuck, what is going on here?

Since I was wondering, I asked, "Fuck, what is going on here?"

Jasper looked up at me sheepishly. His almond-shaped eyes were an exact replica of my own. I can say that because I am three seconds older.

"Bells, I need a favor," Jasper said. He was avoiding eye contact. He gathered Alice into his lap and leaned against his headboard. Ultimately, they glanced up and faced me. "It's a huge favor. Huge. But it would mean the world to me."

I cocked my head to the side. Jasper never asked favors, especially from me. He was the giver and my protector. He may as well have been the elder Swan twin.

I smiled reassuringly. "I'm listening, bro."

He paused before speaking. "Be me for a year," he said.

I blinked.

Then I blinked again.

I blinked a third time for good measure.

"I lack a cock," I finally said as if that were the only point about his request that confused me.

The couple simply blushed. Now, that was odd.

"Bella, I'm serious," Jasper said. "You look exactly like me. Think about it. I know I'm slightly girly and gangly. My face is only a bit rounder than yours. Remember Lindsay Lohan in Parent Trap? We look more alike than she and her computerized twin. I mean it was Lohan and herself in the same scenes made possible through technological means, but…yeah…we're better twins." He scratched his mop of short hair nervously.

Someone must have clubbed me over the head. I never felt this stupid. My sparkling GPA can attest to that. But what was he asking?

Alice took the cue and jumped into my arms. She pulled back from me to say, "Long proposal short: Jasper will go to Spain. You will go to Coldridge disguised as Jasper. You tell Charlie you miss Renee and want to complete high school in Arizona. We know he and Sue never talk to her, so you're all clear."

She smiled, and I wondered if she was on any controlled substances.

"But I'm a girl," I said slowly.

"Yeah, but cut your hair or wear a wig, and you're a boy!"

I tried not to be insulted.

"And my diploma?" I said through gritted teeth.

"You know my adoptive dad is the principal at Coldridge. I'll hack the system after you graduate and get your records to say Bella Swan instead of Jasper Swan. No biggie. Jasper gets a diploma. You get a diploma. Win-win!" the pixie said. Then she clapped her hands. "I have a feeling this is the best course of action."

Did I mention this demon creature has "feelings" that always end up right? No? Well, she's a freak of nature on whom I've grown to rely. Fuck. I don't even want to know how she learned to hack computer systems.

Jasper finally looked at me again. "Bells?" he asked carefully. "Please."

I promised to consider their proposal.

And I did. For an entire week.

Yeah, I was getting nowhere.

Finally, Alice pulled out the big guns, um, so to speak.

"You can finally join a swim team," she cooed in my ear. "The men's swim team."

My head snapped up like a seesaw when something huge falls on one side of it.

"So, Bella, ready to ride life on the fast pool lane?"

Alice sweetened the deal by promising to take me to the pool where members of the Coldridge swim team practiced for fun during the summer. I didn't ask how she knew of such things. Frankly, such answers from Alice could be frightening.

We headed to an extremely crowded public pool. The noise was deafening as children splashed and adults chattered.

Alice and I headed for the stands by the pool, where we would be offered a full view of the water and its current occupants.

Once seated, Alice leaned towards me and pointed to the lane on our farthest left.

I watched the figure she indicated as he sped down the lane. Speeding is rarely applicable to the butterfly, but this swimmer was moving as elegantly and sinfully fast as Michael Phelps. His long muscled arms slashed through the water, and the motion of his legs seemed so graceful, he could be mistaken for a dolphin in the sea.

My jaw touched the floor in admiration as I thought of how the butterfly is the only stroke which troubles me. This man made it appear effortless. I think I was halfway in love already.

He pulled his cap-covered head above water and touched both palms fluidly to the wall for a stylish finish. Alice thrust a timer before my eyes.

"That's for his last lap," she said.

I glanced at the glowing numbers.

Then I glanced back at the swimmer.

I hoped he was as ugly as Tyler Crowley. Otherwise, my heart was so screwed.

A/N: This is an idea I have been having fun playing around with. I already have the second chapter written. Depending on the response to this chapter, I will begin posting new chapters on a regular basis.

I will post Chapter 2 this week.

Review if you want an update!