This story was originally supposed to be the start of one of seven books that I wanted to write as a sequel to Twilight (Book five was supposed to reintroduce the Cullens and have them play together with the characters here). It is dedicated to the kids at Dojack, who couldn't get enough Twilight and inspired me to create something that I would have never otherwise done. I do not own Twilight, or any of its ideas. This story merges the dreams I had since I was a teen with Stephenie's ideas. Originally I didn't want to combine her work with my own, but it flowed so nicely it was scary! I thank you for taking the time to indulge my imagination! Stephenie, you are a great writer, and you've taught many of my students about the joys of reading.

I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.

Chapter One

New Kids

I awoke in protest. My body ached all over from gym class the day before. I didn't mind Physical Education, but that didn't mean I was competent at it. My moments of glory always seemed to follow moments (and I do mean that in the plural form) of complete disaster, no matter which activity I was engaged in.

I reluctantly pulled the warm quilts from my body and placed my bare feet on the cool tile floor of my bedroom. As I sucked in the cold air I looked out my window in disgust. A grey fog loomed outside my window. It was always gloomy around here, but if it wasn't, that didn't mean that the clouds went away. The sun was now some strange hidden element in the limited sky.

I truly loved the landscape around here, the towering mountains made it magically different from where I grew up. At first I was annoyed at how the mountains blocked my view of the stars at night, but I later realized that you can't see the stars when the clouds are out anyway. So I accepted the large beasts that shot from the ground with welcome. They were something to look at, when looking at the sun and the stars obviously isn't an option.

I staggered to my closet and put on clothes to match the weather, at least it wasn't pouring outside, yet. I grabbed my school bag and shoved my homework inside while I pondered what I should pack for gym class. I might have liked soccer, but not here in this place. Soccer was outside, in the rain, and the fog, and the cold, and the wet. Soccer sucked, and it was only the first week of school.

After my bag was packed I sauntered downstairs for some breakfast. I was the oldest in the family, and the slowest at getting up. My brother and sister always beat me downstairs. Joe is a year younger than me, with a tall, muscular, and slender build and slightly bronze'ish skin. He joined me this year at High School, but as a freshman in grade ten. My sister Lindsay is two years younger than me, but aside from that could pass for my twin. We both are about the same height and have the same brunette hair with dirty blonde highlights and natural curl. The biggest difference between my sister and I was that she had a more slender build than me; my muscles were almost unnatural for a girl. My siblings and I share the same deep, royal blue eyes of our father.

I deliberately rustled Joe's bed-headed hair to say good morning and walked over to the counter. I placed two slices of bread inside the toaster and then went to the fridge to pull out the jam and peanut butter.

"Good morning!" Lindsay said a little too cheery.

"Morning," I mumbled back.

"We got letters from Ella!" my sister exclaimed. At least now she had an excuse to be excited this early in the morning. "Here's yours."

Ella was our only Aunt. She would come to visit now and then, always bringing us amazing gifts and often very unique jewelry. I remember her at many of our small family functions, she was always watching over everyone so carefully as though she was a shepherd counting her flock. Even though she shared the family's deep royal blue eyes, I didn't think that she was my real Auntie because my dad didn't have any brothers or sisters. She was definitely family however, perhaps a cousin or something like that.

I opened the letter carefully as Ella usually put some sort of trinket within. After sliding the letter out of it's envelope I found a small, silver metal charm inside. I held it up to light of the kitchen and examined it carefully. The silver metal of the charm gleamed so brightly it made it appear white. Scratched on the face of the charm was an odd picture, it looked like a rope with a handle on it, all coiled up as if it were a snake. As I flipped it over I saw the familiar symbol, the letter "S" written in an old English style of writing, a beautifully curved letter, simple and yet elegant.

After pondering the trinket I opened the folds of my letter and began to read the neatly messy, imperfect, loving letters of my aunt:

Dear Danny,

Here is a"Corde" charm for your bracelet. Place it in the center ring opposite of the clasp.

I hope everything is going well, help your father look after your brother and your sister. I will come to see you at Thanksgiving.

Love,

Auntie Ella

ps

Help your sister with her charm please; she may mix hers up again.

I looked over at my sister and recognized her trinket immediately. It was the third charm that Auntie gave me; a charm I wore beside the center charm on my necklace. Its name: Flamme. It had the Old English letter F in the center with a frame traced around the edge resembling flames of fire. Lindsay had not received a bracelet from our aunt yet, though I was sure that it was coming. Her new charm also had the tell-tale letter S on the back of it. After snapping my charm into place on my bracelet, I leaned over my sister and lifted the necklace from off her collar bone. For whatever reason, whenever I touched her necklace I would feel the faintest jolt, like a shock of electricity radiate down my spine. I shuttered slightly at the sensation then grabbed her charm and snapped it into place.

I heard my toast pop in the toaster I went over to spread peanut butter and jam on it. In an effort to create polite conversation, I started some small talk with my siblings.

"So, what does Auntie say, Lindz?" I said over my shoulder.

"Not too much, she just wanted to give me a charm and tell me not to get into any mischief," she sighed. "She said that if I did, you would tell her and I would be in trouble when she came down for Thanksgiving."

"Oh. Well Auntie always worries about you, it's 'cause you're her little baby!"

I heard my brother chuckle at that.

"What did Auntie give you, wise guy?" I asked pointedly at my brother.

"Cash," he said smugly. "You can keep your ornaments. I'll take the moo-lah over the bling-bling any day."

"How do you always get so lucky?" I stated in a bit of a jealous tone.

I loved my Aunt's jewelry, it was exquisite, but I wasn't much of a girl's girl like my sister was. If I could chose I would pick the money, even though I knew our aunt wasn't giving our brother more than us. It made me wonder how much our little "ornaments" were worth.

"Simple," stated my brother. "I'm her favorite."

I laughed at that, and then began to eat my toast in as big of bites as I could muster. It was getting late and the peanut butter made chewing difficult. My sister got off her chair and placed her dishes in the sink with one hand while holding up her necklace and admiring the new charm with the other.

"Dad asked if you could make supper tonight," she said absentmindedly, still admiring the shinny silver metal.

"Kay, what do you two want?" I asked, barely able to get out the words without spitting chunks of peanut butter toast from my stuffed cheeks.

"Pizza," my brother responded. Lindsay ignored me.

"Sure," I spat as I walked over to the freezer and opened it up relieved to find two boxes of frozen pizza. "Is pepperoni OK?" I questioned, looking at the labels of the boxes.

"Yep," Joe agreed as Lindsay silently left the room.

I looked over at my brother who was just finishing his breakfast. An evil looking grin slowly climbed up one side of his face.

"I bet you want to know how much money she gave me, don't you?" he asked in a tone that radiated smugness.

"Kay, How much?" I said, trying to sound uninterested. Let's face it: I was dying to know.

"Enough that you should be really jealous!" Joe laughed, barely able to get out the words.

He was lucky I didn't stick his letter, and is cash, down his throat. Jerk.

I watched as my brother got up and placed his dishes in the sink. He was still smirking when he left the room.

Joe was a playful, loveable, wise guy. You couldn't help but want to give him a great big hug followed by an even bigger kick in the… butt. Like right now, for example. Every muscle in my body ached to give him a kick so hard it would somehow wipe that smirk off of his face. But he was my brother, he was supposed to annoy me, and he was an expert at it.

I remained in the kitchen and finished my toast then poured myself a glass of milk which I swallowed in one gulp. I put the dishes in the dishwasher, ran upstairs to comb my hair, wash my face and brush my teeth. My brother and sister were waiting downstairs with their coats on when I heard the bus screech to stop outside. I heard my brother holler something, which was my cue that it was time to go. I sprinted downstairs, backpack in hand, and grabbed my lunch from the fridge, stuffed it inside then slug my pack over my shoulder. Grabbing my coat off the hook by the door I stepped outside opening and closing the front door with my free hand. I dashed towards the corner where the bus was stopped and met the bus just as my brother was getting on.

"Why the hurry Danny? You had a whole 'nother 2 seconds or so," my brother chirped as he sauntered onto the bus.

"Shut up!" I gasped between breaths.

I slowly stepped onto the bus, looking for my regular spot. It was embarrassing having to ride the "big yellow taxi" to school, especially when you're seventeen. Perhaps it was because everyone else in my grade had their license AND their own cars by now while I was short the latter. My dad thought that having a vehicle while in school was too much responsibility, the only way we would own a car at that age was if we paid for it on our own.

As I made my way to the back of the bus, I finally eyed my regular spot. I was about to make my way further towards my seat when I suddenly realized that it wasn't empty. I stared in disbelief at a dark haired boy looking out the window. He was cute, cute enough that I could feel my cheeks blush with just my first glance of his face. His skin was sort of pale with a hint of faded freckles in his cheeks. His eyes were velvet green, so amazing that even in his reflection it was mesmerizing.

I don't know how long I stood their dumbfounded but I began to feel the bus move as the vibrations from the bumpy road sent waves through my feet. I stopped looking for my seat, looked over and saw that my brother was sitting alone and plopped down beside him.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, his eyes widened with shock.

"Just shut up a sec, would you!" I hissed, still flustered.

I saw Joe turn around, obviously to see what I was worked up about. He then looked at me with a very sheepish smirk.

"You got a crush on the new kid, do yah?" he grinned… again.

"What? Why don't you please JUST be quiet for two seconds of your entire existence! I am not in the mood to tolerate you or your annoyances!"

"Settle down," he said calmly, and glanced over his shoulder again. "Hey, you know his sister is kinda cute too. Perhaps when you get to know your boyfriend better we could go Dutch?"

What was he talking about now? I didn't notice anyone besides the boy. I stared at my brother with a contemptuous look when I realized he made me curious. I started to look around the bus, pretending as though I lost something. When I thought I had my timing right, I glanced at the seat that I usually sit. Then I saw her, she had the same ghostly skin and deep green eyes. Obviously this family had some lookers.

Who the heck were they? I remembered that a new family was supposed to be moving into town. I thought that it was typical small town gossip when there weren't any new kids on the first day of school. It was now Thursday, and most of the anticipation of newcomers had faded. What a perfect time to make a grand appearance.

I pitied them. I remember being the new kid last year, when we moved here to this small town in British Columbia from our cozy little house on the prairies. The stares and glares were relentless: the locals seemed to have an innate need to be the first to get a glance at the new family.

We moved to Williams Lake because dad received work out here as a fire inspector, and with all the forest fires and industrial work around here, he thought that this little town would be perfect for us to settle down and finish school. Mom wanted to move here too, but I don't see why she cared. Mom was never home anyway, except to interfere with our routine. Mom called herself an artist, though I couldn't tell you what she did. Mom used her art as an excuse to leave all the time.

I felt the cool air rush across my face as the doors of the bus opened up. My sister got up to leave with the rest of Central Junior High School students while I remained firmly rooted in my seat. My cheeks were still warm with embarrassment as I glanced at the younger students getting up to leave. That's when I notice another one of them. The young girl was blonde, with snowy white skin and very delicate looking. She had a very unusual eye color, some sort of liquid gold. I whirled my head back to where she came from and I saw another boy, whom I also hadn't noticed earlier. He had curly brown hair and a strong physique, but deep green eyes like the first two.

Ok, there are four of them.

"What classes do you have this morning?" I muttered to my brother, the two of us weren't good at small talk, but I had to come up with something, I needed the distraction.

"I have Math and then Social, first and second period. I'll skip Miss Carlyle's English class in third; she bores the hell out of me," he teased. If he was planning on skipping class he would never admit it to me.

"Yeah right, at least you don't have gym this morning; I would trade for your schedule any day."

I had English in first period, followed by Physics in the second. Then, for some extra spice in my life, I had our new gym teacher, Mr. Raymore, for "Physical Education" class. Third period sucked for me too.

"Hey, I'm going to catch a ride after school today. A few of us guys are going to toss the football around after school."

"You know it's supposed to rain, right?"

"Excellent," he smirked. "Won't need to shower after."

I rolled my eyes. My brother was a little too free-spirited for my taste, and never took anything seriously. I had to admit it somehow suited him perfectly, even if it annoyed the hell out of me.

I heard the bus screech to a stop. We were at the high school, and I quickly grabbed my things making a deliberate effort to not look at the people behind me. I got up and slowly walked down the crowded isle desperate for the smell of fresh air. Once outside I said good-bye to my brother and strode towards the main doors of the high school.

I must admit that this was an amazing looking building. It was large, tan'ish brown in color and was the length and size of at least twelve two story houses side by side. The large windows in each classroom were lit with streams of yellow shinning through and made it evident that the teachers were already there.

On the ends of the building were two separate gyms. This small community of Williams Lake decided that Physical Education (a.k.a. my inevitable demise) should be mandatory for all students in high school, to encourage them to be active and healthy as adults. Goody for me. The sides of the school were surrounded by the thick forest of William's Lake while the front grounds of the school had long walkways that lead to the main doors.

There were extremely large, dark evergreen trees planted in the grass between the slabs of concrete sidewalk. The school had a red tin roof, which seemed to compliment the beauty of the evergreens, the grey sky and silky tan of the front of the building.

As I entered the school I met my friend Melanie, who was always a chatter box, just beyond the entrance way. She joined me in my walk to my locker.

"Danny! Did you hear that the new family is in town? I heard that they should be in school today!" she exclaimed a little overanxious.

"Yeah, I knew they were in town now," I said plainly.

"Really! How?" she questioned.

"They were on my bus this morning."

"Oh," she said disappointed. "What are they like?"

"Pretty plain I guess." I lied.

"Well I heard that one of them is going to be in our grade! Pretty cool, huh?"

I felt my face turn red again. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that. There were three of them coming to high school. The odds of one of them being in my grade were pretty good.

"That could be nice, I guess," I said passively.

"Oh come on, Danny! You can't tell me that you honestly don't care!"

"Ok, fine. I won't tell you how much I couldn't care less," I rolled my eyes and said exasperated. I noticed how my legs started walking faster, like they were trying to run away from our conversation.

"You know, you never get excited about anything. I was excited when you came here! It's good to have someone different for a change. Everyone already knows everyone around here; it's nice to have something fresh in the pot once in a while," Melanie pleaded hoping that I would share in her enthusiasm.

I remembered being that "something" last year. I cringed at the memory. We arrived at our lockers, with Melanie's being several down from mine. I started to fumble with the combination on my lock, and when I finally heard it click I opened the door and placed my lunch and jacket inside. I zipped my backpack open and started to unload my homework.

"Excuse me," I heard a soft but rusty voice from behind me. "They told me this locker was no longer taken."

I whirled my head around and stood there in shock. It was the green eyed boy I first saw on the bus.

Of course.

Looking at him from this close a distance mesmerized me again. I could feel my cheeks burn and my eyes water. My necklace seemed to weigh a thousand pounds as it hung around my neck and felt like it was choking me. I stared into his piercing eyes, somehow knowing they were looking right through me. I started to feel this really weird connection; like electricity was pulling us together and charging us both.

As my eyes memorized the contours of his face I realized how he was that soft sort of cute. He would be Archie rather than Reggie if he were a comic book character. He was amazing to stare at, having a strange kind of untypical beauty.

It took a moment before I pulled my wits together long enough to choke out some words.

"Yeah, she dropped out after the second day," I stammered.

I noticed how he stared at me, like he was searching, and recognizing something. Abruptly his eyes turned away as he opened the locker in question and put his belongings inside.

"Do you know where Mr. Glaslyn's class is?" he asked politely. His voice made me swoon a little more than I liked.

"Up those stairs, first…," I stuttered, "no, second door to your left." I pointed towards

This chapter is dedicated to my step-sister Melanie.

True Story: Melanie auditioned for a part in a movie called "New Moon"… (Perhaps you all have heard of it?) She was told that she would have been considered for the part, but had too much pale-face in her!

Personally I believe that Melanie doesn't truly belong as sub character in New Moon, but rather as a front runner here!

Agreed?