Disclaimer: Edward, Bella, and all of the other amazing characters and themes from the Twilight Series were the creation of the wonderful Stephanie Meyer. I just like to play with them. All original concepts are my creation, so I hope you enjoy!
Rated M for some violence, underage drinking, and lemony goodness!
Thank you So much to my amazing Beta Hallee87! None of this would be possible without you!
Alright guys! Heres the first chapter of The Best Years! I wont keep you waiting any longer, and ill se you guys at the end! Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Make a Change and Break Away…
Today's the big day. Today is the day that I, Isabella Marie Swan, move out from the wing of my father and his protection and onto college, halfway across the country. Today is the day I can truly prove to everyone that I am a completely independent young woman. Well, almost completely.
I was leaving behind an empty room. What I hadn't already packed in a suitcase, I had shipped about a week ago for Emmett to put in our new place. Charlie had both let us order a new set of box springs and mattresses along with a new bed frame for our new place. He wanted us to have a comfortable place to sleep in our new place but he also wanted us to still have a place to sleep if we came back home. Mom had chipped in with the new bedding and curtains to match our rooms. It was her way of 'coordinating' with Charlie as he had told us.
Of course, I would miss my dad. Poor Charlie would be back to living in a house by himself. I'm sure there would be a few "small" fires in the kitchen if he tried to cook for himself. I wonder how he ever made it on his own before he met Mom? But every girl needs to be able to fly off on her own at some point. Dad won't always have me around to cook. Emmett, my brother, was never good at cooking; he got that from Dad I think. Either that or he really just didn't try to begin with.
Emmett and his high school sweetheart, Rosalie will also be heading to New York with me. She and I will be attending Julliard while he goes to Columbia for sports medicine with my best friend Jasper, who happens to be Rosalie's brother.
It sounds perfect right? Moving to New York, living in a full of life kind of city, the school of my dreams, working on my music and my writing, with no over protective father breathing down my neck at every turn. Spending the best years of my life with my two best friends and my awesome twin brother. And come on! New York? It really does sound absolutely perfect.
But of course, nothing is ever as it seems now is it? No, there is one imperfection: one very large, tan, muscular and annoying imperfection. Jake. My ex. There's a reason the ex's are the ex's. He hasn't seemed to grasp this concept unfortunately.
I have always been sort of a loner. I had friends, don't get me wrong but they were always friends of Emmett or someone my father thought was going to protect me.
Jake was no different. Jake's dad and Charlie were best friends. I had grown up with the kid. We did almost everything together. He was the reason I stayed with my dad when he and Renee split. When we were 16, he finally asked me the one question I'd been waiting for and from then on, we were a couple. He was my first everything. Well almost everything. My first boyfriend, first date; first kiss…even my first love. But we never went further than making out. I'm not saying I'm one of those girls who wear a purity ring and are waiting for marriage. No, I'm the type to want to wait for the right time, with the right person, and Jake just wasn't it at that time. But he just kept pushing and pushing.
And when I thought everything was going great, it all came crashing down. Jasper came to me one day after a party and told me Jake had hooked up with this slut Lauren from school. I decided then and there that it was time to end it. The next morning all of Jake's shit was in a cardboard box on the sidewalk by his house. Sure, he still comes around every now and then, but I've done a great job of ignoring him. That is, until now.
Because my father, as overbearing and protective as he is, decided that having Emmett and Jasper there just wasn't enough. No. Really, whose Dad thinks not having two big muscled guys around little ole' me is not enough for protection in New York City? Really did I need a third and unwanted bodyguard? Nope! I didn't think so.
"A small town girl like you caught up in a big city is too dangerous. The only way I'll allow it is if you let Jake tag along," he said when we were discussing the final details about a month ago. I didn't think we were the type to argue until we were blue or until our personalities clashed so much it was dangerous for anybody else to be in the same room with us. But apparently it was.
We fought on the subject for days, but eventually I had to cave, because he wouldn't and Juilliard was way to important to me. I would certainly be having words with Jake later on. There was no way I was going to share a place with him. If anything, he's going to learn boundaries.
So here we were. Charlie, Jake, and I. All of us piling out of the cruiser at the Seattle airport… I wonder if other police chief daughter's had to ride around in the cruiser. If so, I sympathized with them.
Emmett and Rose had left two weeks ago to get their find an apartment or a house for the five of us and to let them move in before Emm started school. Jasper was already at the gate waiting for us. Dad sent Jake ahead to go meet Jasper and let him know we made it all right.
This was it. My last chance to say goodbye to Charlie. We had already said our goodbyes at the house before Jake had showed up, but this was my Daddy. He meant the world to me, and I never realized just how much I was going to miss him until that moment. Maybe it was because I had spent so much time with him versus the time Emmett and I had spent with our Mom Renee. We loved her yes but we weren't as attached to her as we were with Charlie. Renee was flighty and not in the good way at times either. Charlie was Charlie. He was grounded and stern sometimes but at least we didn't have to raise ourselves.
"You have your cash stashed away somewhere good?" Charlie asked. He seemed to have started to sway nervously back and forth. Moving his feet in a nervous side-to-side way. He didn't want to say goodbye as much as I did.
"Yeah. Are you going to be okay on the ride back?" I asked as I noticed him begin to tear up. Charlie never cried. I was doing my best to not start crying myself. Rosalie would kill me if she saw me get off the plane later with running mascara down my cheeks.
"Of course, I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself," he said as he looked away. I could tell this was just as hard for him to say goodbye as it was for me.
"I'm going to miss you so much Daddy," I cried as I threw my body towards him, arms finding their way around his neck in a clench-like hold. He was my whole world. This is going to be so hard.
"I'm going to miss you too Bells. I love you," he said with tears in his eyes and a crack in his voice.
"I love you too," I said quietly. I'm amazed my voice was even working.
"Alright", he said as he pulled away and handed me my boarding pass, "Go on. You're going to miss your flight if you don't hurry." He gave me a sad smile.
"Okay. Bye Daddy" I kissed his cheek. I turned as I walked towards the entrance of the airport and on my way to my gate for the flight. On the way to the gate, I put my headphones in and pressed play. A tear slowly ran down my face as the song played. It was Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway. Perhaps I should have been playing a more upbeat song like She Likes Purple by Wideawake that shows I'm independent from this small town life or I Won't by Colbie Caillat in a rebelling against Jake going to New York City but in this moment, Kelly Clarkson's song Breakaway was just the one. It was fitting. This was a chapter I was ending in my life and also a chapter I was starting.
"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
I'll do what it takes until I touch the sky
I gotta make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway.
Out of the darkness and into the sun
I won't forget all the ones that I love
I gotta make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway
I'll spread my wings and ill learn how to fly.
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye.
I gotta make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
I won't forget of the place I come from
I gotta make a wish, take a chance, make a change.
And breakaway."
By the time the three of us had found our seats on the plane, I was leaning onto Jasper's shoulder and crying my eyes out. It was probably a good thing my mascara was waterproof today. My eyes would be puffy unfortunately but in this case, I believe puffy eyes were warranted. Jasper's arms were around me as he kept saying, "It's going to be ok Bella, it's going to be ok. I'm here for you." I knew Jake was probably jealous of this scene of myself in Jasper's arms but at this moment in time, I simply didn't care about him.
It's time to break away, but I'm going to miss my Daddy so much.
AN: Hey Guys! SO what'd you think? Good? Bad? You should just stop writing? Please review so I know how to change it or if I should just stop with this story! Thanks so much for reading guys!
By the way, the song for this chapter is Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson, in case you didn't get that before. Haha.
.:~*SydneyLillian17*~:.
