Author's Note

Hello all!

So this is my new story, and it's about the Swan family moving to Surfside Beach, South Carolina. Edward needs to think, and he happens to find Bella at the beach. They become best friends, but they both feel something more. This story follows their journey to becoming more than friends. This story is AH, and there will eventually be Canon couples, but not at the very beginning.

That's about it for now. More at the end!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Twilight…or Emmett. Stephenie Meyer does. Curse her and her lovely imagination.

Under the Moonlight

Chapter One

We Meet

Bella Swan

The ride was horrible. I didn't cry, though. I just felt numb. Not even my book or music could help.

When we pulled up to the new house, I sucked in a breath. We're here, we can't go back now. Our old house is sold, and my dad's job starts Monday. Most of our boxes are at the new house already; only our essentials came in the cars with us today.

I loved Jacksonville; it had been my home for my whole life. It was hot and sandy, and so full of character. I had friends and school all figured out, and now I have to start all over again.

"Bells, we have to go in now," I heard my brother, Emmett, tell me. I jumped at the sound of his voice. I must have fallen into a daydream in the passenger seat. Emmett and I rode in his jeep to Surfside Beach, South Carolina, while our parents rode in our mother's car.

I nodded and stepped out of the car. It was around seven thirty at night by the time we reached South Carolina. The four of us quickly brought the rest of our belongings into the house. My dad ordered pizza. Apparently, he already has the best pizza place picked out and on speed-dial.

While we waiting, we each separated to our bedrooms. I held my messenger bag on my shoulder as I pushed open my door. I was met with quite the shock.

My mom had completely decorated my room.

The walls had a light pink lace design on one wall, and the three remaining walls were solid light pink. The bed was huge; most likely a queen size. It was centered on the main focus wall, and was all white with fuchsia pillows. There were huge, clear sliding doors to the left of the wall with the bed that led out to my own little balcony. The view was spectacular; I could see the beach and the ocean perfectly. The doors were framed by fuchsia curtains that reached the floor. There was also a simple white table that would be used as a desk, with a sleek, clear chair behind it, and a small vase of red spider lilies that just so happen to be first grown in South Carolina. I really loved that I could look out at the ocean while doing my homework.

My favorite piece in the room, though, was probably the old-fashioned chair on the wall opposite my bed. It was wood with a fuchsia and light pink pattern. I could just picture myself reading in that chair. I had to try it out. I set my bag down on the floor near it and sat down in the chair. It was brilliant.

"Knock knock," I heard from my door. I looked up to see my mom leaning against the door, smiling at me. "Surprise."

"Thank you so much, mom," I said, and gave her a small smile.

"You like it?" she asked.

"I love it," I told her honestly. "It's so different from what I would have picked, but it's good." My mom knows this move was, and still is, hard on me, and I know she was just trying to make it a little bit better, and I had to thank her for that.

She told me the pizza was here and I walked to the…living room with her. My dad and brother were sitting on the couch, shoving slices into their mouths. I guess the cable was getting hooked up tomorrow, so they had to settle with movies for the night. They were currently watching Transformers. What childish boys.

Even with seeing my new room, I still wasn't in the best of moods. I pretty much sulked on the floor, barely touching my pepperoni pizza.

"When we're done eating, Bella and Emmett go unpack some boxes in your rooms. I don't want them sitting there forever," mom said.

Something inside of me just snapped. I threw my plate down on the coffee table and stood up. I slipped on some flip flops and ran out the door, ignoring the yells of my parents. I ran (well, okay, fast walked) down towards the beach, which was barely a two minute walk from our house. I found the pier and sat down in the sand, leaning against one of the wooden pillars. I dug my feet into the warm sand and closed my eyes, just listening to the sound of the waves crash into the pier.

Edward Cullen

This was weird. Sitting in your own living room, in a chair completely alone, with your parents, two sisters, and their significant others. Sound fun? No, it's beyond awkward.

My youngest sister (and the baby of the family), Alice, had put in some chick flick. But nobody was watching it but me. Well, I was trying to focus on it, because that meant I could pretend I was spending time with my family. That's what my mom insisted, that we all watch a movie, as a family. But we all knew from the start that this wouldn't be anywhere close to "quality family time." My parents are sitting on the loveseat, holding hands. My mom's got her head on my dad's shoulder, and he's kissing the top of her head. Alice is sitting in a chair, on top of her boyfriend, Jasper's, lap. He's whispering in her ear. And the middle child, Rosalie, is sitting on the floor with her boyfriend, Nick. They're, of course, making out behind the coffee table. From my parents view, they can't see them, but I can. Yuck.

I couldn't take all the romance in the room anymore. I stood up abruptly and walked towards the door. Everybody was so caught up in their love lives that they didn't even notice me leave.

I took the very familiar path down to the pier. We've been living in Surfside since I was born, seventeen years ago. I love this town. It's a perfect size, at the population of just about five thousand. The small beach is beautiful, and never too crowded. I usually walk out at night to clear my head because there's nobody there at night. I sit under the pier instead of on it because it's more discreet, and the less likely you are to have somebody find you.

But apparently not tonight. No, tonight there's a figure of a person sitting against one of the pillars. Curious, I walk over. As I get closer, I see it's a girl. She looks to be around my age. Her eyes are closed, which lets me look at her without scaring her. And boy, do I want to look. She is stunning. Her face is nice and round, with her chocolate brown locks of hair pulled up into a ponytail. She has very full and plump lips that I feel the urge to just lean down and kiss. She has some curves, but not too many. She's wearing a Florida Gators sweatshirt, making me wonder-

Suddenly, her eyes snap open. It's like one of those scenes from a horror movie, where the supposedly dead body opens their eyes really quick, scaring the crap out of the autopsy performer. I admit I screamed and possibly shit my pants. She didn't even flinch, instead just stared at me with her admittedly beautiful, chocolate eyes that matched her hair.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me? Or do you just go around often and stare at girls while they're eyes are closed?" she asked. Her voice is like honey; so soft and smooth.

I put my hand on my heart and breathed deeply. My heart was pounding a million beats per second. "No, I just have never seen a person sitting below the pier at night before, and I come here often," I explained, hoping she didn't think I was a stalker. "How the hell aren't you freaking out? That scared the shit out of me, and I was the one looking," I added.

She shrugged. "I could feel you watching me. Don't worry, I had the pepper spray ready behind my back," she smirked.

"Thank God you didn't use it," I muttered.

I stood there for a few moments, waiting for her to say something else. Should I just leave, or can I sit down? Far away from her, of course. I'm sure she came here for her privacy, and who am I to-

"If you're going to stay, sit down," she said, snapping me out of my train of thought.

Well who was I to argue with this beautiful woman?

I sat down across from her, leaning against my own pillar. "Can I have a name?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Bella. Bella Swan."

Bella. That means "beautiful" in Italian. I wonder if her family is Italian.

I could either win her over with this next statement, or completely creep her out.

"Un bella nome per una bella ragazza," I stated in flawless Italian. (AN: Translations are in the bottom Author's Note)

"Grazie," she smiled, and she blushed. It made her face even more stunning, if that was possible. "You speak Italian?"

I nodded. "I know a few phrases. You?"

"My family's Italian. My great-grandparents came to America from Italy. My grandparents still speak it every once in a while, just to make sure my brother and I keep up with our "native culture." Bella made air quotations around "native culture."

"I bet you always have great food on holidays," I grinned. She nodded and smiled back.

"And your name is?" she asked.

Oh, duh! I didn't even tell her my name after she told me hers. I just went right into trying to impress her with my fluent Italian. "Sorry. I'm Edward. Edward Cullen. I'm seventeen years old and just finishing my junior year in high school. I have two younger sisters, Alice and Rosalie, and I love music."

She laughed. It was like music to my ears. "I'm Bella Swan, and I'm seventeen years old and finishing my junior year also. I have an older brother, Emmett, and I just moved here from Jacksonville," she repeated.

I looked at her curiously. "Jacksonville? That explains the sweatshirt," I said, pointing at the Gator sweatshirt.

Bella looked down, as if trying to remember what she was wearing. "Yeah, I loved Florida. I was going to go to the University of Florida for college." She sighed, probably remembering how good her life had been.

"You can still go there, you know. Just because you moved to little 'ol South Carolina doesn't mean you have to go to a South Carolina college," I told her. She didn't say anything. "Why did you have to move, anyways?"

Bella picked up a random rock and threw it at the ocean. "My dad got recruited to the Surfside Beach Police Force. He took the job because he could be Chief here, and that earned more money than a regular policeman in Jacksonville."

Her father is a policeman. Shit.

"Eating dinner in a new house full of boxes that need to be unpacked was too much for me, so I came down here," she continued.

I picked at the sand next to me. "That's got to be rough," I commented. She nodded, again. We both seem to be doing a lot of that tonight.

"Why did you come down here? Having a terrible night too?" she asked, meeting my eyes again.

"It's supposed to be family night tonight, but of course it turned into couples' night. I got sick of watching some bad chick flick while my parents and sisters kept feeling up their significant others. I came down here to think," I told her.

We sat in silence for quite a while. The sun started to set, making a rainbow of purples, pinks, and oranges in the night sky. I pointed it out to Bella, who was sitting with her back to the sunset.

"Come over here, you can see it better," I told her, patting the sand next to me. She got up and came to sit next to me. I could feel the heat radiating off her, making me tingle.

Making me tingle? I sound like such a girl.

"Che è bello," she whispered.

"Sono d'accordo," I whispered back.

And then she did something that kind of shocked me. She laid her head on my shoulder. "For some reason, I feel completely comfortable with you," she said. I could feel her breath on my neck. She smelled like strawberries. Mmm…

"Me too," I said quietly. "You're easy to talk to."

She picked her head up to look at me. "This is going to sound weird, and maybe a little creepy, but could I maybe text you, or call you sometime if I need to talk to somebody? I know we just met twenty minutes ago, but-"

"Are you forgetting that I'm the one who stood over you and stared at you?" I laughed. "Of course you can call or text me. Hand me your phone." She gave me her phone and I programmed my number into her contacts.

"Thanks," she said, blushing again. "Well, I better head home. I kind of left unexpectedly. My mom's probably freaking out." She stood up and brushed the sand off her butt. I couldn't help but stare.

I quickly stood also. "I'll talk to you later, then?" I asked. More like hoped.

"Yeah." She looked like she was thinking about something, before she leaned over and gave me a quick huge. "Thanks for listening." And she ran off, back home.

Once I got home, Jasper and Nick had left, and only Alice was sitting on the couch, looking through a fashion magazine.

"Hey baby sis," I said.

"Where'd you disappear to?" she demanded.

I held my hands up in a defenseless position. "Hey, you guys were all in your own little worlds. It's not exactly easy being single and being around you people all the time," I defended.

Her face softened and she ran over to give me a hug. "Oh, big brother, I'm sorry we ruined your night!"

I chuckled. "It's okay, Ali. My night didn't turn out so bad after all."

I thought about Bella's number in my pocket and smiled. Not so bad at all.

Author's Note

Translations:

Un bella nome per una bella ragazza-A beautiful name for a beautiful girl

Grazie-Thank you

Che è bello-That is beautiful

Sono d'accordo-I agree

If any of you lovely readers are fluent in Italian and these translations are wrong, let me know so I can fix them! They very well could be incorrect!

So that's it! The first chapter! I'm very excited about this story. I've been working on many stories lately, and they all deal with Edward and Bella being older. I wanted to write one with them being teenagers. I miss the lightheartedness of it all. So that's how this was formed! I found a picture of a pier at sunset and it just came to me.

Pictures of Bella's bedroom, sweatshirt, and the picture of the pier where Edward found Bella/what inspired this story are on my homepage. I also have pictures of what I picture Edward, Bella, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Nick, Carlisle, and Esme to look like in this particular story up, so go check those out!

Please review! All comments and suggestions are very welcome! I love hearing what you guys think, and how you think I can improve my writing.

Thanks for reading! I will update soon, a few chapters are already written!

Signing off,

Meggie Jay