Three Years Earlier

Everything here was just too dark.

The constant cover of clouds kept any sunlight from illuminating the world here. The clouds weren't even white like they might have been elsewhere, when they would have still given off some light, even if not at full capacity. But in Forks, there were only dark storm clouds. They were all a deep shade of grey, refusing to allow the sun even the smallest affect on the town. It didn't look as if it would never stop raining, although it was still light, it was sure to get heavier.

Sarah Fox stood on the edge of the road, leaning against the side of the car. She was thinking about the clouds, doing her best to ignore the moving van just behind her. The sixteen-year-old's golden hair was blowing freely in the wind, already damp despite her rain jacket. Her green eyes were glinting with sadness, the displeasure coming from the simple fact that she was there. Sarah was sad that she was in Forks, Washington, watching a moving van unload all of her life into this new house that she hated.

Nearly three months ago, Sarah had learned that she would be moving to this dull little town. It hadn't been nearly enough time to get used to it, and even now, Sarah was in denial. This wasn't happening—this couldn't be happening. All her life, Sarah had lived in California. She'd grown up there, been used to the city and the people. Even though she had lived in a big city, it didn't mean that there hadn't been a certain level of recognition.

And now everything was different.

This was a completely different city, much smaller with different roads and buildings. Even the people here looked completely different, their skin pale and unhealthy looking, so unlike Sarah's tanned skin. Nobody seemed to smile quite as brightly as they had in California, at least not from what Sarah had seen. Besides, if what she had heard was true, it was rarely sunny here. Definitely not a good first impression.

The moving van was slowly unloading, with Sarah's father, Kevin, was helping to direct them. Sarah could have gone over there, helping to make sure that everything made its way to her house, but she didn't join her father. Anger still burned deep within her at Kevin, for forcing her to come here. Going over there would be making peace with her father, and she wasn't willing to do that yet. If nothing else, seeing this house and this town only made her want to hate her more.

Sarah was thinking about just such things when she noticed a boy walking down the street, going straight toward her. With his eyes fixed on the ground, Sarah wasn't able to tell much about him. He had smooth, bronze skin. Because he wasn't wearing a jacket, Sarah could see that his hair was black. There was something strange about the way he moved, dragging his feet behind him. It seemed like more than sadness. It seemed like depression.

Great, Sarah thought miserably. No one here is happy. The boy trudged on past her, walking quickly past. Sarah got a quick glance at his face, but it was very brief. His face was as miserable as his walk suggested, dried tears clouding his face. Sadness coloured his eyes, and although he didn't look up as he went by, Sarah could see it clearly expressed in them. Suppressing thoughts of her attraction to the stranger, Sarah instead tried to busy herself with wondering why the boy was so sad. After all, Sarah didn't want to have any roots in this town. In less than two years, Sarah would be returning to California to go to college there. Her father wouldn't be able to stop her then.

But she soon dismissed thoughts of the future, focusing on trying to discover why the stranger was so depressed. Judging by the look on his face, Sarah thought that he must have had his heartbroken. There was something in his eyes that just screamed out that he was sad because he had lost a girl. Of course, it might have been something else. A family or friend could have died, or someone might have moved away. The look in his eyes, though—it looked as if the worse had happened. Sarah knew the look well. She was greeted by it every morning.

Time passed slowly after that, and no one else passed by. Slowly, items were disappearing from the moving van. It would be empty before night fell, and already everything Sarah owned had been removed from the van. The rain was beginning to fall harder, going from a light mist to big raindrops. It was time to go inside, to finally admit that she would sleep in the house that night. With a sigh, Sarah headed inside.

The house was in great disorder, mostly piles of boxes with the rare piece of untouched furniture. Sarah had only been to the house once before, but she knew well enough where her room was to be. The house had three floors, one the attic. The third floor wasn't quite as large as the other two, but it had obviously been built to be a bedroom. It had a huge closet, and a bathroom built in. The previous owners had only used it as storage, but it seemed like a nice enough place. It had been decided that this would be Sarah's room.

Her bed had made it up already, but the mattress was bare. The bed was positioned beside the window, as she had requested, with boxes littered all around it. It seemed like everything of hers had arrived, and knowing that it could not be avoided Sarah begun unpacking. She started with essentials, such as the bedside table and the lamp, an outfit or two, and the sheets for the bed. But it didn't take her very long to find either of those, and so she continued to pull out more and more of her belongings out of the boxes. It helped to pass the time.

When Sarah finally settled down onto the bed, her thoughts returned once again to the strange boy who had passed her. He really had been cute, even if his face had been so utterly plagued with sadness. Sarah couldn't help but think of this as she lay on the bed, and tried to focus on the boy she had left behind in California. But it was difficult…

Sarah thought about him for a long time, trying to remember everything about him. It had only been two days since he had been with her, but it still felt so long. After dating for three years and living next door the whole time, she felt so empty without him. If he had been at the house while she had been unpacking, he would have cracked a joke about Forks. Sarah could think of a hundred that he might have told, but they would all go untold. Because Chris would never be there.

Sarah fell asleep with silent tears in her eyes, and her dreams brought her back to Chris. She dreamed of happiness, or cheerful memories that still shone fiercely in her mind. But the dreams always ended badly. At the end, Chris would always have to leave her, or Sarah would leave him. The reason never mattered when she dreamed. Only the pain of losing him, of thinking about him. Whenever he was there… It always seemed like he was better than the previous dream, and he always had to leave before she could really spend time with him. It was worse than leaving him for the first time.

For the fourth or fifth time, Sarah woke up with tears in her eyes. Why did she have to live in Forks?

Author's note: Please review! I'd love to hear feedback about how you like the story so far. This chapter is more of an introduction to the story, and not much happens. I promise you, it will be getting more exciting.