Bella was surprised. Shocked really. She had a notorious reputation for being a terrible liar, as long as the Cullens were involved at least, and yet with a few deep breaths she had managed to convince them to forgo the questioning she was bound to receive until they were back at the Cullen home. However, as she tried to sneak a peek at the speedometer in Edward's Volvo, suspicious that he was speeding more than he normal was, no doubt out of concern, a shrill ringing made her jump. Quickly, she dived toward the bag at her feet and grabbed around before eventually finding her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Bella! Where are you?"

"Angela?" A second of confused silence passed before Bella realized what she had done. "Oh Ange! I'm so sorry! It completely slipped my mind. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Is everything okay? It's not like you to forget to study with me."

"Yeah, I just had an eventful afternoon and completely forgot. The test isn't until Monday so we could study tomorrow and then have the weekend for the loose ends."

"I can't. My parents are going out of town tomorrow afternoon so I'm the sitter all weekend." On hearing this, Bella felt a wave of guilt hit her. She always hated letting anyone down.

"Maybe I could come over to your place and we could study there?" She could hear Angela consider this and hoped it would work, determined to get both of them through their AP English class.

"Okay, that would work. Just come over anytime after school. Thanks Bella, I'll see you then?"

Bella smiled in satisfaction. Yes, sometimes she does mess up but she always fixes it.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow, Ange."

The girls hung up and Bella realized the entrance to the land leading to the Cullen house was approaching. Within a minute, they were parked and the high – schoolers got out and left Edward and Bella in the car.

"You know we're having a family meeting now. Don't even try to get out of it." Edward gave her a stern look and got out, leaving Bella to let out a frustrated groan before following him.

Following Edward into the living room, she noticed the family had already gathered, minus Carlisle who was no doubt off saving lives and being awesome at the Forks hospital. Looking around the room, everyone was seated on the cream leather couches designed by Esme herself, who was the first to speak.

"Bella, sweetheart, what's this i've heard about you being in a car accident?"

Bella suppressed a sigh and tried to not take Esme's hurt look to heart.

"It wasn't a car accident. I didn't look when I was crossing the street and a car had to brake and swerved a bit, not that they even needed too."

"Why were you in such a rush anyway?" Bella hadn't expected Rosalie to be one to show concern for her, although they had been getting along much better since the events of Italy, although after looking to see her expression she could tell it was merely curiosity, rather than worry.

"I thought I saw someone that I knew before I came to Forks. "

Instantly the brunette regretted her explanation, as she saw both Edward and Alice's curiosity peak. The last thing she wanted right now was to have to answer a reel of unwanted questions. Luckily, so far since meeting the Cullens she had been able to shrug off her past as uninteresting and no more than average. She also considered herself lucky that Emmett had not yet thought to Google her name.

"An old friend? From Phoenix?" The short, dark haired girl seemed excited at the prospect of hearing about a younger version of Bella.

"Sure." That's not a lie, right? Saying 'yes' would be a lie.

"While I'm sure it would be lovely to see a familiar face, you should really be careful. We worry about you sometimes, Bella.'

"I know, Esme. I'll be more car-"

"You need to think before you rush into things, love. You're still very much breakable." That bothered Bella. It sometimes seemed that everything always got turned into a conversation about Bella's humanity. Despite the fact that Bella appreciated that Edward loved her human side, every comment, albeit positive, that he made just reminded her of the differences between them; the inequality; the distance he kept; the things they couldn't have until she was changed. Everytime he stayed over at her house, he would never just hold her in his arms; a blanket was a 'necessary' barrier. Everytime they kissed, it was always careful and thought out, never spontaneous and passionate. Everytime they were alone in their cars, he always held his breath, never trusting himself, never really comfortable. Later, when she got home she would feel guilty for snapping at her boyfriend, and send him an apology text message, all the while feeling a dull ache in her chest at the injustice of the situation.

"You know there's an easy way to fix that."

Edward looked taken aback at his girlfriend's tone of voice and the steely resolve in her eye, while everyone else in the room became aware that this was not a conversation they should be commenting on. "Bella, it's not as easy as you think."

"Yeah, so you've said." Bella turned around to lift the long strap of her book bag that she dropped against the doorframe after entering the room, and pulled it across her shoulder.

"Where are you going?" She could hear Edward following her as she swiftly made her way to the main door of the house.

"Home."

"But I drove you here."

"I can walk. The fresh air will clear my head."

On that, Bella shut the door behind her and made her way down the Cullen lane in the direction of her home.

She didn't see Edward staring at the door in concern, or the rest of the residents glancing at each other with similar looks of unease and dread. She didn't see Alice approach her favorite brother and softly tell him that the human girl he loved so much would make it home safely tonight. And only Alice saw his vulnerable attempt at a grateful smile. Sadly, the slight downturned corners of his mouth gave away his regret that things couldn't be different.


She didn't think about the Cullens when she got home, not when there was a possibility that Mona was in Forks. She had spent all her time preparing and eating dinner with Charlie running through every possible scenario in her head, while she absently listened to Charlie talk about sudden vandalism attacks around the town. There truly was no logical explanation for the Rosewood resident's presence. It had to be about Bella, which really really was not good.

She sat in the center of her bed; legs folded in front of her, with her bedroom window open enough to allow a cool breeze, but not enough for Alice or Edward to see as an invitation. Her sleek silver laptop sat in front of her with the IM app opened. She took a deep breath and added four names that she had not contacted since arriving in Pheonix to a conversation window.

SpencerH; AriaM; EmFields; Hanna have been added to the conversation.

SpencerH: Bella?!

BelSwan: Hello

Hanna: Well if it isn't the prodigal son

Bella smirked at the signature sarcasm from the blonde.

AriaM: Hanna.

Hanna: What?! She drops off the map for 2 years and then just pops up again?

BelSwan: You know my mom insisted that we start over when we got to Pheonix :(

EmFields: She knows, she just doesn't want to admit she missed you.

No longer a smirk but a small smile of appreciation.

SpencerH: How's Pheonix going for you anyhow? We heard your mom got married

BelSwan: Yeah, she did. It was just mom, Phil, their parents and I. A couple of their friends too.

AriaM: Well? What's he like? Is he cute? ;)

She let out a shocked laugh and grinned. She really needed to make this a regular thing, she missed her friends' quirks.

EmFields: Aria!

Hannah: LOL

BelSwan: He's good for her. He's a semi – pro baseball player. I'm not living in Pheonix anymore though. He had to travel a lot and mom hated seeing him leave so I volunteered to live with my dad.

SpencerH: In Washington? :O That's a big change from Pheonix.

BelSwan: It is, but it's grown on me.

If only she could tell them why.

BelSwan: How's life in Rosewood? Any drama?

EmFields: I went on a date with Paige.

Wait, what?!

BelSwan: The Paige that tried to kill you? Guys?

AriaM: She seems cool now since the whole coming out thing

Hanna: Besides she knows that we could totally kick her ass if she tries anything dodgy again

SpencerH: Nice, Hanna

Hanna: As if you weren't thinking it :P

BelSwan; Alright, I'll take your word for it. How's it been going?

EmFields: We're just seeing were it goes but I think it'll last, longer than Ben at least.

Bella snorted and grinned at the memory of Emily's first relationship. A guy named Ben who spread rumours that they had been sleeping together. Not surprisingly, it hadn't lasted much longer after that.

BelSwan: That's good to hear Are Haleb and Spoby still on?

Hanna: Oh, it is on ;)

SpencerH: Toby's good. He's doing more work on the loft for my dad so he's living in there now :D

BelSwan: Good, good Aria, how's Fitz?

She could see the phrase 'AriaM is typing…' stop and start several times before her smaller friend replied with an obviously covered up somber attitude.

AriaM: We decided to take a break.

Crap! Bella felt guilt and a tiny bit of pity well up inside her. After everything the couple had been through, they aren't even together.

BelSwan: I'm sorry, Aria

AriaM: It's okay. It's hard to get used to but it was getting too complicated and it was better for us both to back off a little.

EmFields: Mona's gone.

Bella froze. She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach, winded.

BelSwan: Gone?

SpencerH: Apparently she moved to another facility in another state.

Hanna: More like Wren and the rest of the Radley doctors knew she was a lost cause and shipped her off so they wouldn't have to deal with her.

BelSwan: What if it's a cover story?

EmFields: No, Bella, we aren't doing that again. It's over. Mona is off getting the help that she needs somewhere.

AriaM: Bella?

BelSwan: I thought I saw her today.

SpencerH: Mona?!

BelSwan: Yes. And the chance of her being shipped to a hospital near Forks not long after I move here is very slim.

EmFields: I'm sure it was just someone who looked like her

Bella sighed and ran her fingers through her long mahogany hair.

BelSwan: So nothing A or Ali related has happened since Mona got caught?

A few seconds passed with no reply from any of the girls, sending Bella's suspicions going.

BelSwan: Guys?

Hanna: Someone dug up Ali's body a few weeks ago

EmFields: HANNA!

AriaM: Hanna!

BelSwan: WHAT?!

SpencerH: What Hanna so tactfully tried to explain was that a few weeks ago we had a few drinks when my parents were out of town and woke up in the middle of the night to a missing Emily.

BelSwan: Oh God. Em are you okay? What happened?!

Fear and dread gripped Bella, knowing that nothing good could come from this story. In fact, knowing what these stories used to lead to, made her think it would be nothing less than chilling.

AriaM: So we went looking for her, and eventually found her standing over Alison's grave, drugged with the shovel that was used in her hands.

EmFields: And her body was gone.

BelSwan: Crap… You got out of there, right?

SpencerH: Yeah. We headed straight up to the summer house and burnt Em's clothes.

AriaM: Unfortunately, we weren't quick enough. We walked right into a trap.

EmFields: A trap set by A.

BelSwan: Mona was A.

Hanna: That's what we thought too. Except Mona was still in Radley and the messages THIS A sent us were definitely from the same A.

SpencerH: We were considering the possibility of A being more than one person.

BelSwan: Like a team?

Bella could feel herself panicking. If A was a team of people, it would be more than possible for A to remain in Rosewood to hurt the others, and still come to Forks to get to her.


14th NOVEMBER, 2008

Two young girls were kneeling at the side of a house, peeking through a first floor window, ready to duck at the first sign of getting caught. The tall, closely trimmed hedges behind them blocked them being seen by the neighbors or anyone passing by.

"Ali, we shouldn't be doing this. Can we just go?" The pale brunette let worry slip in her tone. She wore knee length dark wash denim short with a royal blue t – shirt; simple and straight to the point. Her blonde friend to her left on the other hand, wore a yellow sundress, going to just above her knee. It had thick green straps which crossed over on her back and made its way around her stomach like a belt; complicated and glamorous. They both dressed their personalities in their outfits.

"Relax, will you? It''ll be fine. Just follow the plan." The girl rolled her eyes at her friend's concern.

"No, Ali, we're going to get cau-"

Alison roughly grabbed Bella's wrist to get her attention.

"Ow! Ali!" Bella hissed in a hushed voice and glared at the blonde.

"Look, this bitch deserves everything she gets. She's spent years taunting you. Wasn't she the one who told Todd that you bat for the other team after telling you that he's into you? Oh, and the rest of the guys he hangs out with. Do you want her to get away with that?"

Bella stuttered and blushed at the memory of flirting with the cute baseball player, only for Selene to quickly stroll over to make a snide comment and break out in giggles as she walked on. Of course, Todd had smirked and excused himself after that.

"I-I, maybe she shouldn't but this is overkill. It's not going to work."

"Shh! She's leaving. Let's go. Just stick to the plan."

They watched the teenage girl leave her home and turn to walk in the opposite direction from them, allowing time for her to turn back in case she had forgotten something. Once she was out of view, Alison stood and pushed the window upwards, until the space was big enough for them to climb through. She gave Bella one last devilish grin before pulling herself into the house. Not only was Bella freaking out about getting in trouble now, but she didn't even want to imagine the backlash she would get from Alison if she didn't follow her. Taking example from the other girl's technique, she swung herself through the window frame, but unfortunately landed in a heap on the floor. Apparently she was far less graceful than Ali.

The girls headed straight for the stairs and then Selene's bedroom. The first thing Bella noticed was not the four-poster bed, or the glass and metal-framed desk next to the large window, but the lack of photographs. There were none. Even Ali had photographs of herself with her brother Jason, and they could barely be in the same room without the, very genuine, threat of bodily harm.

"Jackpot!" Alison sneered. She began flipping through the book and taking in its contents.

"Fine. We got what we came for. Can we please go now before someone comes home and catches us?" Alison took pity on the brunette on hearing the thinly veiled fear in her question. She nodded, tucked the book, Selene's personal journal, under her arm and made her way back to their window with Bella gladly in tow.

"What are you going to do with it then?"

"Don't worry about that. Just leave it to me."

"I would but sometimes you seem to, and don't take this the wrong way, but you tend to hover on the line at times."

Alison stopped and spun around to face Bella with a fierce look on her face.

"God, Bella, stop being such a wimp. Honestly, it's pathetic. Chill out, this is payback. It's supposed to hover the line, that's the point."

Bella decided to let it go for now. She really just hoped this wouldn't end too badly for anyone. On a good day she didn't have the best luck, and the last thing she needed getting back to her police chief father was tales of his daughter breaking and entering, and stealing from a private property.

Alison was her friend though; she wouldn't let Bella down.

THREE DAYS LATER

Bella rushed up the main steps of her middle school, afraid of getting detention for being late. Once again, her mom forgot to fill the car with gas the day before. However, as she approached the main doors of the building, she squinted at the view through the glass panels in confusion. The sound of a beyond normal volume of chattering hit her as she pushed the door open with one hand, clutching the strap of her bag in the other. Looking over the heads around her, she spotted Emily's dark brown waves next to a flash of pink and headed in that direction.

Emily and Aria, who had recently added pink streaks to her dark hair while her parents were at work, were standing close together looking wide eyed and appalled.

"Hey! What's with all the chaos today?"

The other girls exchanged a sad look before Aria spoke up.

"It's about Selene."

Instantly Bella was alert, trying not to openly panic. What could Ali have done to cause this?

"What happened?"

"Someone stole her diary and printed copies of some of it. It's all over the school, like literally. They stuck it to every notice board there is, and put a copy in every student's locker." Aria reached behind her and handed Bella an A4 page with a copy of a page from the journal.

As she read though it, she could hear the others exchanging sympathies for the poor girl.

"It's SO unfair! Josh always gets all the attention. They think they can just throw money at me and everything will be fine. Just because Josh is older. It's not like he's the only one that was adopted! So what if Lucy and Scott couldn't have kids, they aren't exactly doting parents. They only adopted because they needed kids to look like the picture perfect family. They cart Josh around letting him do whatever takes his fancy just because they're afraid he'll go off the rails. And it doesn't matter what I do, nothing is ever good enough. Well screw them! As soon as I'm 18, I'm out of this stupid town, and never looking back.'

What the hell was Alison thinking?! She was going to wring her neck when she found her. Bella stood in shock, not knowing what to do next, until very quickly, the talk dimmed to whispers, bringing her to look up. A puffy eyed Selene had just left Principal Rodgers' office behind her obviously angry parents, Lucy and Scott.

After leaving, the hushed voices returned again to the previous noise.

In the corner of her eye, Bella could see Alison leaning against a bathroom door, and subtly crossed the room after giving Emily and Aria an excuse.

She pushed open the door and jerked her head to the left, indicating that Alison should follow. The young brunette took a few seconds to check that the bathroom was clear before confronting her friend. After all, the last thing they needed was someone hearing this conversation.

"What the hell did you do?!"

Alison simply raised an eyebrow and folded her arms against her chest.

"I got you your payback. Now she'll be leaving for good."

Bella stood with her mouth agape, not believing how Ali could so thoughtlessly do something so nasty.

"Ali! That page simultaneously outed both Selene and her brother as adopted, something they obviously didn't want people knowing, and frankly it's nobody's business either, and got her into a hell of a lot of trouble with her parents, after she slated them so much."

"So what? We won't be seeing her much anymore anyway, if ever again."

"And why's that?

"Because Scott and Lucy do want the picture perfect image. Do you really think they're going to stick around in a town where their carefully built reputation is ruined?"

"You know what? You didn't hover on the line this time. You're so far past the line that you can't even see it! You're a selfish piece of work, Alison DiLaurentis."

Bella was pissed off, to put it plainly. She gave the blonde a scathing look and stormed past her. However, before she could leave, Alison piped up again in a threatening voice.

"Just to remind you, this was payback for you. You broke into their home and you helped steal that book. Bella, sweetie, you're just as much to blame as I am. You should just hope nobody finds out you're part in this."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not. I'm just giving you some friendly advice."

And with that final statement, Alison held her head high, brought her signature smile back to its place and left, leaving Bella wondering how she didn't see how far the dark side of her friend could go, or even if there were any limits at all.

Bella woke up suddenly, in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. She sat up in her bed and glanced around the room. A photograph of her mom and herself in the bleachers of a baseball field in Pheonix sat on her bedside table. Her uniform for the Newton's store hung over her deskchair. The car keys for her truck that her father had thoughtfully acquired on her behalf on hearing she'd be moving in were casually dropped onto the desk, next to her new laptop. She let out a shaky breath and ran her fingers through her hair. This was her life now, and she loved it like this. Whether Mona or A or an army of rouge vampires appeared out of nowhere, she wasn't going to run his time.