Chapter 1: Run Away

"Oh my God!" Jessica squealed as we stepped into our hotel room. "Would you look at this room?" Angela's mouth dropped to the floor in silent amazement, and I had to say that even I was impressed. It was huge, elegant, and just plain fantastic. We moved in, and instead of unpacking, collapsed on the huge, fluffy, British beds. Jessica sighed in contentment. "I do believe I am moving here and marrying a Brit."

Angela snorted good-naturedly. "Oh really? And what about Mr. Mike Newton?"

"Mr. Mike Newton isn't British."

I tuned out my friends for a moment so that I could fully appreciate the moment. I tried to absorb everything, reminding myself of the five senses, and applying them all to my situation. This wasn't anything new - I'd been doing it for awhile, and I found it helped me get my mind off of...things. Smell....the amazing scent of hotel room...in England. Sight...the beautiful city of London, and a beautiful hotel room. Touch...an enormous fluffy bed that wasn't in Forks. Sound...for the most part my thoughts, with the excited chatter of my friends in the background. Taste...well, that didn't apply here.

Our first day in England was fun and I was glad that, for the most part, my thoughts were remaining where they should be and it really did seem that I had left my sorrow and memories behind in rainy, dreary Forks. Not a vampire in sight and I had not fallen down once. No near death experiences to speak of. Jess, Angela, and I were completely consumed in the city of London - we toured places (including the Tower of London, which gave me chills), saw a show, and shopped (usually a chore, but much more enjoyable in a different country, I had to admit). Every time we heard a British accent, we would pinch each other (which was all of the time). Jessica wanted every young, British lad we saw. Angela was consumed in the culture, the beauty, and the history of the city. I was more with Angela, but I also had to admit, I was trying to keep myself distracted. I went to bed that night truly content, the first time I'd felt this way in awhile. I clung to that feeling as I drifted into a deep sleep.

"Bella? Bella!"

A familiar voice was frantically calling my name, and I was frantically running away from it. Where was I anyway? It appeared that I was running through the streets of London, but the strange part was...the streets were empty. Completely devoid of all life, except for myself and whoever was behind me. All I could hear were my footsteps sounding off of the cobblestones, and that same, familiar voice crying out my name.

My lungs felt as if they were going to explode and I turned a corner, tucking myself into a little cove, hoping the owner of the frantic voice would pass me by. I was afraid - very afraid, and I didn't know why. A deep sense of despair began to spread throughout my chest, a feeling I knew only too well, and had tried only too hard to keep away.

It had begun to rain and instinctively, I looked up at the sky. Someone was flying down, right towards me. Too weary to run away, or to even scream, I covered my head with my arms feebly, wishing to disappear, but knowing I never would. I waited, expecting to feel something crash into me, but nothing did. After a few moments, I allowed myself to look up.

It was Carlisle.

"Carlisle?" I breathed, surprised and trying to suppress my excitement. What was Carlisle doing in England? And why was he flying around in the rain? In the background, I could still hear the frantic voice looking for me.

"Bella," Carlisle said, his tone friendly but firm. "Listen to me carefully. Run away, but do not run so far that you lose sight of where you should be."

What did that mean? I stared at him, not comprehending. He repeated himself, over and over, until all I could hear was Carlisle's warning, mingling with the frightened cries of my name...

"Bella? Bella!"

I awoke with a start and sat right up. Jessica immediately took a step backwards, holding up her hands. "Woah there. You slept through the alarm. It's breakfast time!" She leaned towards me, excited. "Breakfast with the Brits!" And with that, she bounded off to the bathroom. I stared after her, my head spinning, feeling like it would possibly explode. After a few moments, I carefully lay back down, and covered my head with my pillow.

Run away, but do not run so far that you lose sight of where you should be.

What did that mean?

So many things alarmed me about that dream I had had the night before. First of all, I could not figure out who was calling my name, or why. Why was I running, why was this person looking for me, why was the bustling city of London completely empty? Why was Carlisle there and what did his message mean? It haunted me, as much as I didn't want to admit it. I tried to push it away and to convince myself that it was just a dream, but it stayed with me for most of the morning. It had brought him back into my head, and just like in Forks, everything began to remind me of him.

"Edward? Edward!"

I stopped abruptly, not even realizing that Jess and Angela were walking on without me. I don't think I even realized I had stopped walking.

"Edward?!" The voice was frantic. I stood, frozen on the sidewalk, knowing all too well how it felt, to panic, to not be able to find what you were looking for.

"Edward!" The panic had disappeared and was replaced by relief. I turned to see a young woman hugging her tiny son tightly. "Oh Edward, don't you ever run off like that again! You scared me half to death!" I watched as they walked away happily, hand in hand.

Edward, don't you ever run off like that again. You scared me…

And suddenly, I felt Angela's hand on my shoulder. "Are you all right?" she whispered, and I snapped out of my trance. Ahead, I could see Jessica ogling at a young British man. I looked at Angela's concerned gaze and tried to relax. "Yeah…" I felt dizzy. "Yeah, I'm fine." Where did that come from?

She wrapped a comforting arm around me. "Come on," she said, gently. "Let's go see what else this fine country has to offer." I felt a little better, realizing that perhaps she understood why I had stopped. Perhaps she had understood, even if I didn't.

I had the same exact dream again the next night, and woke once again with Carlisle's voice ringing in my ears. But it was our last full day in England and I was determined not to let anything get the best of me. I would not look back at my time away and think about how I worried senselessly. No, I'd think back at my time away and remember how much fun I had. And so, although the dream did bother me, I was okay. I enjoyed myself. I was thinking about this later that night, and feeling quite proud of myself for remaining positive, while I walked throughout the hotel with Angela, looking for the ice machine.

We were about to cross through the lobby, thinking perhaps the ice machine would be on the other side. And if not, we figured we could always get Jessica to ask one of the kind, young British men to assist us. But what I saw in the lobby made me stop short and forget about ice altogether. I heard Angela inhale sharply next to me.

Someone all too familiar was standing at the check-in counter. Someone I hadn't seen in several months, someone I had wanted to see, but at the same time, wanted to avoid at all costs for the sake of my well-being.

Edward.

Edward was talking in a low voice to the man at the desk. My eyes widened, as I grabbed Angela's wrist, and ran.

A/N: After writing my own fan fiction and reading tons of others for years, I decided to finally just try and put one of my own out there. I'm having fun writing this and hopefully, others out there will like it, too =)