Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. I just wanted to play around with the plot a bit and answer one of those "What If" questions I asked myself after reading some awesome stories out there.

This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction. I am excited and nervous. I'd love some feedback, so please review. I only ask that folks be constructive in their criticism. If it's not your cup of tea, it's more than ok to say that. I have no beta or pre-reader. If anyone is interested, please send me a PM. I could use all the help I can get, lol :)

Thank you to the readers that started to follow this story. I intend to post at least once a week.

Chapter Two: Izzy

Bella (Izzy) POV

"Oh Gabs, you just made me snort soda out of my nose! Would you stop making those awful hand gestures?" I said as I smiled at my best friend, Gabriella Smith. She was imitating a scene from the movie we had finished watching a couple minutes ago.

Gabriella and I have been friends ever since I moved to Phoenix, AZ, with my mom eight years ago. I walked into homeroom on my first day of school, and her seat was next to mine in the back row. She had been the last new girl before me to transfer in, and had a tough time with the transition. She was determined that I would not feel the way she had. By the end of my first week in Phoenix, we had become inseparable.

"Izzy, you know you want to laugh!" She replied back to me smiling. She was right of course. We had just found out recently that Mr. Hunter had been found dead in his home. He hadn't been to work for a few days, so one of his coworkers decided to go check things out. We heard rumors that the inside of his home looked like a bloodbath had taken place, and looked like a scene from a Quentin Tarantino film. No one had seen James in weeks, and with his father's death, everyone was curious about his whereabouts. The kids at school wondered if James had met the same fate.

I actually thought James was a nice guy, and felt bad that he misread my feelings for him. I simply wasn't interesting in dating. I was focused on my studies and wanted to make sure that I got into a good college. I had my eye on a few colleges, and I could not afford any distractions.

"Izzy…. Iz…. Where did you go?" Gabriella asked.

"Sorry Gabs. I was just thinking about everything that happened this last week."

"Oh, sweetie." Gabs said as she moved next to me, and wrapped her arms around me. "I know you are feeling bad for the Hunter family, but you have to let it go. It's not healthy to dwell on it."

"I know, I know." I replied while gazing at the flames in the fire pit. We were sitting in my backyard star gazing, and relaxing with homemade smoothies. My mom and stepdad moved to a nice neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. The days are stifling hot and the nights can get rather chilly here in the desert. Our neighbors were a couple miles away, so it was just us, a fire pit, and the cacti.

Mom met Phil, my stepdad, a few years ago after literally running into him at the grocery store. They locked eyes and it was love at first site. Since then, mom has taken to following Phil around the country while he plays baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks. They feel guilty leaving me alone so much, but Gabs usually stays with me to keep me company. It's the off season for baseball, so mom and Phil decided to go on a cruise with some other players and their spouses before the holidays. They were coming home tomorrow, and I couldn't wait to see them both.

"I know what will take your mind off of school and everything else." I saw her smirking at me from the corner of my eyes. I know that smirk, and I bet she'll try to take me shopping.

"Nope, no way! No shopping!" I told her while trying to look stern. She gave me puppy dog eyes, and our eyes locked into an intense stare down. I could feel my resolve crumbling… I am such a sucker.

"Fine, but you are not dragging me out there all day. What do we even need to shop for anyways?" I grumbled.

"Christmas will be here sooner than we know it." She said with a smile.

"That's your excuse? Gabs, I just suffered through black Friday shopping a week ago." I pouted.

"Oh, come on. It was fun. We had a great time!"

"Yeah, watching you wrestle with a ten year old for the last copy of a Mickey Mouse Wii game was pretty entertaining." I snarked at her.

"Hey now, that's no fair. Why do you have to bring that up again? And I touched the game first! Therefore, it should have been mine."

"And your excuse for tricking that cute little grandma to get the last Rachel Ray slotted spoon?"

"She had it coming Iz! She was being greedy. She already had like five spoons in her cart! Everyone knows that they limit the black Friday specials. That grandma was cheating and because of my diversionary tactics, she was able to grab the matching spatula too!" Gabs said while sticking her tongue out at me. Yeah, we could act like kids sometimes, but we had fun.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night." I winked at her.

"I am getting a little bit cold. I'm going to go grab my hoody from inside. I'll be right back."

Before Gabriella could go anywhere, a figure landed in front of us and said "Well, hello Izzy."

A/N: The next chapter is written already, I am just in the process of editing it. Thanks for stopping by!