My sleep was fitful. I was so used to seeing Edward in my room, even just to wish me good night. I tossed and turned for an hour before I finally dug the CD out of my floor and put his lullaby on. That did it. I smiled a little, remembering that he hadn't left because he didn't love me; of course he did, just like I loved him. He had just decided to take himself out of my life.

"Idiot," I muttered, as I tossed again.

I started up my beast of a truck the next morning. I think it had actually gotten louder during it's period of idling. I got out carefully and walked across the parking lot. I was going to be asked a lot of questions today. Questions I didn't want to have to answer.

"Idiot," I muttered again before waving to Tyler who was just getting out of his car.

"Hey Bella. Where's the Volvo?" he called after me. I walked a little faster.

It was in class where Edward's absence became undeniable again. He'd pulled the strings to get us in nearly all the same classes, so the empty seat next to me was a constant reminder that he'd made his decision and left me to deal with the repercussions. Nice.

"Idiot." I really needed to stop doing that. Someone was going to notice. Also, I did still love Edward; I didn't want 'idiot' to become my new pet name for him.

In English, Jessica moved to take Edward's empty desk. I smiled in gratitude. "He's not coming today?" she asked.

I shook my head. I couldn't really have this conversation in class. We'd be in lunch in minutes anyway. "Tell you at lunch?"

She nodded and turned back to the front of the room. She walked with me to cafeteria and I took a seat between her and Angela. "No Alice yesterday and no Edward today? Must be nice to have a dad that can just pull you from class whenever you like," Jess commented.

"Yeah, about that," I began. "Their dad, kinda pulled them entirely. They've moved."

"What? When?" Angela asked. Her concern for me was prominent and I appreciated it.

"Yesterday. Guess they had to move fast to take the offer.... Edward didn't fill me in on all the details. Just that they had to go, and they had to go now."

"Did I hear you say the Cullens are gone?" Mike asked from the other end of the table.

"Yeah," I said a little louder, making sure the whole table heard this time. "Carlisle took a new job."

There were a few seconds of silence before Jessica and Lauren initiated a discussion of the latest romantic drama and the date possibilities. Angela's eyes were still on me, but everyone else had gone back to their lunch. Cullen presence or absence really didn't affect any of them. "Are you okay, Bella? Are you two going to... keep a long distance thing, or something?"

"Maybe." I snorted. "No, no we aren't. He's – he's trying to make a clean break. Idiot," I muttered again and put my chin on my arms.

She patted my shoulder in condolence and then left me to mope a little. Angela was good at knowing what you needed and when you needed it. I didn't want to talk about Edward. I didn't want to be cheered up. I just wanted a moment to mope.

And the moment was over. I sat back up and started engaging in the conversations around me before heading back to class. In most of them someone took the opportunity to snag Edward's empty seat. I was glad, it made it easier to deal with the loss when it wasn't looking back at me.

The worst was Biology. That was no surprise. We'd started as lab partners, and now instead of him sitting alone at the bench until a new student came, it was me. We'd passed the point where my advanced classes in Phoenix had taken me, so I was on level footing with my classmates. I could have really used Edward's help now.

I arrived for my shift at the Newton store and pulled on my vest. "Hey Bella," Mike said, sidling up to me. I narrowed my eyes. I was sure I knew what was coming. "I was wondering if you'd like to go to a movie with me this weekend. That one Jess and Lauren were talking about sounded pretty good."

"The romantic drama," I confirmed.

"Yeah."

I shook my head. I chuckled a little before breaking into full laughter. My boyfriend had only left yesterday and Mike was already trying to pick up the pieces. I couldn't help but laugh at both his persistence and his complete ignorance of propriety.

He blushed a little and moved away. "Right. Never mind, Bella."

I stifled my laughter and smiled at him. "No, Mike, it's fine. I'm sorry I laughed. You just don't give up, do you?" I teased. "He only left yesterday!" I reminded him.

"Yeah, well, didn't want to miss my chance did I?" he said with a goofy grin.

I lost it again. "Yeah, yeah, right." I went to the till to cash in.

My life was delightfully mundane. No crises, no major blood loss, no friends coming and going suddenly. It was nice to be normal again. Of course it was awful to not have Edward. I took Charlie up on his offer to go to La Push with him. We took my truck instead of the cruiser, but I let him drive.

He shook his head as we pulled up to the Black house. "I still don't understand how this old girl keeps running."

"I know. She's a force of nature or something." I hopped out and slammed the door, watching rust flake off.

Jacob ran down the steps and swept me into a spinning hug. I froze in his arms. He was huge. Would he ever stop growing? And why was he hugging me?

"Ever heard of personal space?" I teased him when he put me down.

He laughed. "Yeah, I like you in mine," he retorted. I laughed too now. "It's really good to see you, Bells. I'm glad you came."

"Sure, just promise we aren't fishing," I said looking meaningfully at our fathers who were already pulling tackle and rods.

"No fishing. Maybe the beach though?" he suggested with a raised eyebrow.

"I like beaches. I like sandy beaches, but the one here is nice too," I allowed. "I also like hot, sunny beaches."

"Hmm, I'll remember that," he said looking at me intently.

I shook my head, "Anyways..."

We walked from his place to beach, shooting the breeze. I double checked that he had gotten the master cylinder Billy had promised to give him in return for that stupid display he had to make at my prom. He had and promised to show me how work was going on the Rabbit. He told me about his friends and I told him about mine. It was so easy to talk to Jacob; even easier than Angela. I made plans to come out again the next weekend.

It was only once I got home that I remembered Charlie trying to pair me up with Jacob. There is nothing worse than having a Dad who was right, and who knows he was right. Charlie was oozing smugness when I served dinner. It was hard not to glare at him.

I trudged through my week like a good student, employee and daughter. I would have the odd pang when I'd start to lean over to tell Edward something and find Mike or Jess or Angela in his seat. It was like a small slap in the face each time it happened. I'd look over hoping to catch a glimpse of him and not find him there. I'd wait in my bed for him to come through my window, but he wouldn't, never again.

I started to hope he was right. He had said my brain was a sieve, that I would forget. Now I started to want to. I wanted to forget that he had left. I wanted to forget what it had been like when he was here. I wanted to be happy as who I was, with what I had. But I couldn't be when I could remember my beautiful icy angel and revisit all the places we had walked together. It hurt to have the memory of him so close, so near, and not be able to see or hear him.

Was he hurting the way that I was? That was a stupid question, of course he was. He loved me, he was just an idiot. After naming him so a few times each night, I would turn on his lullaby and dream of him playing for me, returning to me, apologizing for thinking he knew what was best. Alice was the one that could tell the future, but I still hoped those dreams were premonitions. That one day he would come back and regret the time he had missed with me.

By the end of the week I was thrilled to go back to La Push. It was a place I had never been with Edward; there were no reminders of him there. There was only Jacob, with his car on blocks, his bright smile, his quickly developing muscles.

"Seriously, do they put something in the water out here?" I asked after meeting his friends Embry and Quil. Quil wasn't quite as tall, but both he and Embry were far taller than any fifteen year-old I'd run into. And Embry was filling out as well as Jacob. "Anabolic steroids in the fish?"

They laughed, all three, as one. "Maybe! We should definitely have some feds out to sample. Growing their own special mutants on the west coast." Embry suggested.

Embry and Quil were nice guys. They ribbed Jake about my repeated visits, even though it seemed obvious, to me at least, that we were just friends. Granted, Jacob still had a very liberal definition of personal space, but that extended to his other friends too. I had witnessed more than a few two-on-one wrestling matches involving all three of them. He would take my hand sometimes when we walked and always greeted me with a hug, but he never seemed to press his advantage. Which is more than I can say about the guys at school.

It was like the girl's choice dance all over again, only worse. I had more offers for dinner and movies than I had ever wanted or ever wanted again. I considered on more than one occasion having a T-shirt made that read 'on the rebound – now bound off' but I never actually did. Angela laughed when I told her about it. I had no doubts that if my birthday hadn't already gone by she would have had one made.

As September passed into October the talk around our lunch table turned to the upcoming Halloween party at the Newton's. It was cool that Mike's parents were willing to host what looked to be a pretty epic showing on behalf of the senior class. Costume ideas were flying. Mike was torn between Indiana Jones and Neo from the Matrix. I could not picture Mike in a duster.

I rolled my eyes. "Indy, obviously." I ruffled his hair and made a whip cracking motion that got a few giggles in response.

"What about you, Swan?" he asked rubbing shoulders with me. "Going to be my Marion Ravenwood?"

"You are such a geek," I complained. I couldn't remember the names of any of Indy's girls. Apparently they didn't have the punny names of Bond girls, that was probably why. "And no. I think I'm going stag. What about you, Jess? You got a date and paired costume?"

She huffed and looked angry. Oops, guess I touched a nerve. "No. I don't, actually. I think I might just not go at all."

"Aw, you have to come Jess. You could be Willie Scott and convince Bella to be Marion anyway," Mike suggested. I elbowed him.

"Well, let's go together," I suggested to Jessica. She looked at me like I was insane. I tried to think of a pair of strong independent women, the kind who partied hard together and for whom boys were toys. "We'll be vampire slayers."

Her eyes widened. "Buffy and Faith?" she asked.

"Sure!" I said with a grin forming. I looked to Angela, "You can get a red wig and be our Willow."

"No, thanks." She rolled her eyes. "But that sounds like a great idea."

The guys seemed to approve of the suggestion as mouths dropped around the table. Jessica began suggesting outfits for us and I started to regret this idea. Faith was kind of a tramp, wasn't she? Good thing I had someone to dress me.

That weekend Jacob asked about Halloween too. I told him about the party at Mike's place and my costume idea. "Jessica isn't the kind to be happy going to a party by herself. So I'm her date," I told him, shrugging.

"Cool. I wish I could crash with you."

I shrugged again. "Don't see why you couldn't. I'll just run it past Mike. One more on a guest list of twenty probably isn't a deal breaker."

"Really?" he asked straightening from the Rabbit to look at me now. "You wouldn't mind me hanging out with your friends?"

"Why would I mind? And you are one of my friends," I reminded him, punching him in the arm. The thing felt like concrete. I shook my hand out a little.

"Yeah, but, I'm only fifteen," he reminded me.

"So, if they break out the booze don't drink any," I joked. "I won't," I said rolling my eyes. "Really, Jake, you don't look like you're fifteen, you'll fit in fine."

"What would my costume be?" he mused. "I can't pull off British, but maybe I can still be your Watcher."

"Watch this," I said getting up and walking to where our warm sodas sat, bringing them back with me.

He laughed. "I'm watching, I'm admiring, I'm approving."

I threw the can at his head and he caught it easily.

"I'm liking this idea. I'm sure I can find a stuffy jacket at the thrift store." He opened his can spraying foam everywhere. "Geez, Bella, how hard did you throw this?" he complained slurping up the fizz from his can.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I've got a killer arm," my sarcasm was abusive.

"Vampire slayer," he chuckled. "What with the Cullens leaving, maybe you are a vampire slayer," he teased.

I laughed awkwardly. He still didn't believe his own legends. But of course the Cullens were vampires. And I hadn't slayed them, just chased them off somehow. Still, the thought of putting a wooden stake through Edward's heart, especially since I knew it wouldn't actually kill him, was oddly cathartic. I was going to like my choice of costume.

I hadn't told Jacob just how much Edward's leaving was hurting me. How I still looked for him around school. How much I missed him.

Jake was pretty good at noticing when things bothered me though, so I took it to mean I was doing a good job of hiding it. Still, hearing their name made me feel the loss more keenly. He did notice now.

"You miss them, don't you?" he asked me.

I nodded, sitting back down.

"They don't keep in touch? Call once in a while?" he asked, leaning back over the open hood of the Rabbit.

"I've talked to Alice once or twice, but no, they don't. Guess they're too busy for me," I took a sip of root beer and tried not to let it get me down. Of course they weren't too busy. They had nothing but time and more time. They were still listening to Edward's advice and keeping me as distant as possible. "Idiot," I muttered.

"What?" Jacob asked, looking over his shoulder.

I shook my head.

"Still, how hard is it to send an email? I mean you keep in touch with your Mom, right? And she's all the way in Florida. They're only down the coast," he snorted.

I'd claimed they'd gone to California. That was the story Carlisle had given the hospital, Alice told me when I called to ask. She couldn't deny that was information I should have been given. She hung up quickly though, without a goodbye this time. Edward was probably around. I didn't want to lose the only real connection I still had to their family. It wasn't like calling vampires was going to bring disaster down on my head, was it? I couldn't see how.

"Bella?" Jacob asked now, turning instead of just looking over his shoulder. "Are you Okay?"

"Yeah, I just zoned out."

"Looks like more than that." He sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulders. "Spill," he demanded.

I chuckled. "Pushy, ain't ya? Just feeling like the cast off. I thought we were friends. More than friends, and he just takes off and doesn't even keep in touch. Hurts, you know?"

"Yeah. That's harsh. And he didn't give you any warning they were going, just poof."

I nodded, "Yep, pretty much just like that."

"You're handling it really well, you know that."

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"I saw the way you two were. He just walks out on you and the next day you're back at school like nothing's new. That takes guts."

He hugged me and I wrinkled my nose. "You need a shower," I teased.

"You mean you don't like hot sweaty boys?" he taunted, holding my head under his arm.

"No, no I don't," I yelled trying to wrench myself out of his headlock.

He let me go laughing. "So, Watcher Black-" he mused. "Let me know what Mike says. I'm looking forward to this now."

I sat in Jessica's bathroom thinking about Alice. This was exactly the sort of set up she had had for me for prom. I had had a scrub, a mask, foundation and now I stopped paying attention to what she was doing. I thought that was for the best. When I opened my eyes next they were rimmed in black, heavily shadowed and my lips were the most vivid red I'd ever seen them. My hair was still in rollers while Jessica made up herself.

I got out of the chair to give her more space in the mirror. "Really, Bella. I can't believe you don't know how to do this," she complained as she applied shadow to her own eyes. "I mean, granted, you don't actually go on a lot of dates, but still..." she shook her head.

I didn't bother answering. I crossed my arms under my breasts and watched my cleavage jump in the shirt she'd dressed me in. My bra was showing, for crying out loud! And she said it was supposed to? I started pulling out the rollers instead.

"Here, sit. You'll take all the curl out, doing it like that." She began unwinding the rollers. It didn't look like she was doing it all that differently. Then she took a brush and started teasing it. I was so glad Charlie wasn't going to see me tonight; he'd ground me on sight. Jessica, as Buffy, was wearing a much more conventional, though no less revealing, outfit of her own.

I took a moment after she finished to make my additions to our costumes. I had a mini-crossbow for her, a wicked looking knife on loan from the Newtons for me, and a pair of wooden stakes. "Mr. Pointy," I said handing her one.

She laughed. "This was a great idea Bella. I'm glad you talked me into coming. Are you riding with me?"

"No," I told her and her face fell a little. "You can ride with me if you like. I invited my friend Jacob, remember? I told him I'd give him a lift. He's still building his car." And he didn't have a license because he was only fifteen, but I wasn't telling her that part.

"Three of us, in your truck? Well, Okay, I guess."

Jacob was waiting on the porch when we arrived and I laid on the horn as I doubled up laughing. His jacket had oval patches on the elbows, a book tucked under his arm. His pants were actual tweed. He had his long dark hair pulled tightly back in a low tail, and wire-rimmed glasses rested on his nose. He looked over the tops of them and I could have sworn he was in his mid-twenties, not fifteen.

Jess slid into me as Jacob took a seat. "Oh my god, Jake. That costume is perfect. Buffy, don't you remember our watcher, Mr. Black?"

He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his ivory shirt and I snorted again. "Where did you find tweed pants Jacob? And ones long enough to fit you?!"

"I would appreciate a modicum of respect from you, Faith," he said snootily putting the glasses back on his nose and I roared again. His mask slipped and he gave me his brightest smile.

I wiped a few tears from the corner of my eye with a sigh and pulled out again.

"Did you know, Bella?" Jessica asked me.

"That he was going to be our Watcher? Yeah, he told me that part. That he was going to nail it so well? No, I had no idea. What's the book?" He only had the one prop.

"Anne Rice," he said with another grin and I had to laugh. "Rebekah left it behind."

The party was already underway by the time we arrived. I pulled out my stake and looked to Jessica who did the same. Then, rather than knock or ring the bell like a real person, I unlatched it and motioned Jess to kick it in.

The response was perfect. The door crashed into the wall. Several heads turned to see what had been broken and the two of us charged in, armed with wood, scoping for vampires. I even found one.

"What do you think of my costume now?" I asked Tyler Crowley as I jumped on him on the couch, slopping his drink.

He was laughing too hard to respond as I kept beating his chest with my blunt stick.

"Nice Dracula, by the way," I quipped as I stood back up, offering him a hand, in case I'd wedged him too hard into the cushions.

"Faith can slay me any day," he said still yucking it up.

Jacob was suddenly behind me, "Very sloppy. I don't think you hit the heart at all. You really must focus more on your strategy."

I cracked. Several faces turned to see just who was speaking. "Everyone!" I said loudly, "This is Jacob Black. My Watcher."

"And a fine thing she is to watch too," I heard from across the room. I threw my stake ineffectually in their direction. One of the boys threw it back. Jake caught it and handed it to me.

Jessica was already slaying her own vampire. Conner had a killer Spike costume and they were re-enacting scenes from the sixth season (the one where Buffy decides to let Spike have his way with her). Well, good for her. Maybe Conner would give her a ride home.

I led Jake over to the snack table just as 'Indy' swung in with a pistol. I snatched it from him. "No guns," I complained. Then smiled handing it back to him. "Mike, this is Jake. Jake, Mike." They shook hands and I saw the group dancing outside. "Excuse me while I collect my date," I said walking to Jessica and removing one of her hands from Conner. "Sorry, this one's mine," I said with a butch smile.

"Bella... I was having fun," she whispered at me.

"Jess, anticipation is the best seasoning. Now come dance with me and get him drooling." I laughed and we started moving together on the floor. Of course I stumbled all over the place, bumping into Jessica, Lauren and Ben.

We almost turned into a mosh pit when I ran into Eric as well and he tossed me to Tyler who tossed me to Mike. I just tried to stay upright while I was getting nudged and shoved in every direction. It made me very giggly. When I got my orientation back, thanks to Jake, who held onto me instead of passing me off again, I saw that Jessica was now grinding with Conner.

"Thanks," I said to Jacob, who still had his hands around the tops of my arms. I laughed at myself. "I don't know why I even tried."

"Tried what?" he asked. He looked down into my face, his black hair pulled back and shining in the patio light. How had I not noticed how beautiful Jacob was? The red-brown of his skin, the warmth of his dark chocolatey eyes. The roundness of his face was gone now and his cheeks and jaw were more defined, more chiseled.

"Bella? Tried what?" he repeated and I blinked, breaking my stare.

"Dancing!" I complained. "I can't dance, obviously."

"Really?" he asked. "Did you have fun?"

"Well, yes. It was a riot!" I giggled.

"I don't think anyone out there minded you crashing into them. They seemed to enjoy it too. Well except for that cold blonde witch."

The witch wasn't entirely meant as an insult. Lauren was dressed as Samantha from Bewitched. "Yeah. But you can't please all of the people all of the time. And I can't please that blonde any of the time." I said with another laugh. "Is there punch?" I asked noticing someone walking by with a plastic cup.

"Yeah, you don't want any of it though," he said steering me toward the kitchen. He filled a glass with water for me instead. "Someone spiked it," he whispered, winking.

"How do you know?" I asked draining the glass and refilling it.

"I could smell it."

"They spiked it that much?" I asked putting the glass back in the sink.

"I guess," he shrugged.

"Well that's kinda stupid. Mike's parents will find out." I looked to where Mr. and Mrs. Newton were chaperoning from their bedroom balcony.

Jacob shrugged again. "Want to dance some more?" he asked me now.

"You mean stumble and get tossed around? Sure!" I grabbed his hand and bounced out into the crowd again.

"Jacob, over here!" Mike called holding his arms open to catch me.

After a few more minutes and much dizziness I begged out of more dancing. I flopped into one of lawn chairs circling the yard. That was when I saw that Jacob wasn't among my circle of dance/mosh partners anymore. He was dancing with Lauren of all people. Then Janice, a girl I didn't know very well, then another and another. I grinned hugely watching my big friend getting woman-handled. I hoped he didn't hold it against me that I'd left him unattended among a crowd of tipsy senior girls.

When Lauren moved to latch onto Jacob again I pushed myself out of the chair and wedged in between them. "Watcher Black! There's a vampire loose in La Push. We have to go stop him!" I made sure to hip check Lauren twice before turning Jacob and walking off.

"Thank you," he murmured as I pushed him ahead of me.

"No problem at all," I laughed. I turned back to find Jessica. She was with Conner again. She'd been dancing with just about everyone over the night, but she was sitting with him now. I waved her to join us and she shook her head then cocked it to Conner. Good, she had a ride home. I waved again, this time in farewell.

"You leaving, Bella?" Mike asked meeting me at the door. He wrapped his whip around my waist, pulling me closer.

"Nice," I smirked. "Very dominant. Yeah. I'm getting a bit tired and I have to drive Jake back to La Push tonight. It was a great party though. Thanks for inviting both of us."

"Any time. Thanks for coming Jacob," he said addressing him now and letting me go. "It was good to meet you. Maybe next time we should party out there at the beach."

"That's a great idea. I'll let you know when we're having the next bonfire. You guys would be welcome." He took Mike's hand again.

"Oh!" I unbelted my pants and watched both boys mouths drop. I rolled my eyes. "Give this back to your Dad. And thank him for me," I said sliding the knife sheath off my belt before refastening it. "I really appreciated it."

"Oh," Mike shook his head. "Sure Bella." He kissed my cheek. "See you Monday."

I held Jacob's hand as we walked back to my truck. "Had fun?" I checked.

"Of course! That was great. You?"

"It was all right. Better than I expected. I usually linger on the edge of things like that, y'know? Because I can't dance."

"I was expecting the same, being the one no one knew. But your friends are cool; they didn't make me feel awkward at all. Well maybe Lauren," he shuddered.

"What was up with her?" I asked, remembering her coming back for seconds.

"She made comments about big and tall. She's scary," he shuddered again.

I laughed. "Big and tall. Are you big too?" I teased.

"You want to know?" he teased back, dropping my hand to goose me.

"No, no I don't!" I covered my face in embarrassment.

All right. So please remember to vote by going to http://wwwfanfictionnet/u/2245547/The_End_Is_Only_The_Beginning

I will try to post new chapters regularly. I have a LOT already written.