Author's Note: Hi again! I am happy I managed to get another chapter in before having to go to work tonight. Thank you so much to the people who took the time to rate, favorite, follow, and welcome me into this fandom. It gave me all kinds of happy feelings.

One thing before going forward, I know some people might wonder how the Cullens could go back to Forks after being gone for five years and you know, the whole not aging thing. In today's society, people look so much younger that I feel this is something they could get away with. I mean, I'm twenty four, and I still get carded all the time. So yeah. I know the Jake/Leah pairing may seem weird to some, but she was honestly the only person I could picture with Jake. I haven't decided if I wanted to included OC's or not yet into this story, so yeah. Again, R&Rs make my a happy panda! Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Four years have passed since Bella had left Forks, Washington for college and of course absolutely nothing had changed. The town was still as small, dreary, and moist as always. The moment she and Angela stepped out of the airport a sigh escaped her lips as she took in her surroundings. If it was up to Bella, she wouldn't be back there at all. The last time she was home was her sophomore year of college for her dad's wedding. Her old man had finally found love again with Sue Clearwater, and that was something that she couldn't miss celebrating. Add to that the fact that the wolves have not phased since the Cullens left, and she was even more overjoyed. Staying as far away from supernatural activity had been her priority for the last five years.

"Earth to Bella," she finally heard when a hand began waving energetically in front of her face. She turned in the direction of the offending limb and arched an eyebrow at her best friend. For the past six years, Angela had been her rock. She along with Jake helped get her out of her spiraling depression all those years ago, and she couldn't be more grateful. While a part of Bella's heart always ached for the family that had been so cruelly taken away from her, that pain became a bit easier every day.

Quickly shaking her head from going down that dangerous road towards memory lane, Bella sheepishly smiled at the girl beside her. "Sorry Angela. You know what this place does to me. Do we really have to stay here all summer?" Bella was proud that she was actually able to keep the slight whine out of her voice. The pout that quickly adorned her lips however, was totally out of her control.

Angela rolled her eyes at her best friend. While in many ways the other girl was the same, there were aspects of her that were different. Yes, she still was an embarrassed card member of the klutz club, but instead of constantly being a shy mess, she now stood up for herself when necessary. Angela always attributed this to the Woman Studies class Bella took during their time at Brown and teased her best friend about it endlessly. "You sound like a little kid who doesn't want to eat her vegetables. Look, it's only three months before we move out to Boston. We both know that our parents want to spend some time with us before we start off on the next stage of our lives. Plus, Jake is so excited to see you, and we both know you miss your favorite wing man more than you let on."

The brunette just rolled her eyes in response to Angela's words. While she often despised it, her long time best friend was usually right, and this time was not one of those rare exceptions. Charlie was never one for many words, but he showed how much he missed his daughter in the little things he did. The fact that the former Cheif of Police picked up the phone to call twice a week and sit through an incredibly awkward conversation was proof enough of this fact. He was incredibly proud of his little girl for what she's made of herself, but that didn't mean that he didn't wish she could've become a big shot editor closer to home. Luckily, his new life on the reservation kept him fairly entertained. When he retired two years ago, he was convinced that he was going to go stir crazy, but he then quickly realized that he had the opportunity to fish constantly which erased most doubts almost immediately.

Before Bella could even respond to the girl beside her, strong arms wrapped around her from behind and quickly lifted her off the ground. A squeal escaped from her lips as her knees bent in an effort to curl into herself. She was a hazard to herself with her feet safely on the ground nevermind being up in the air. "Jacob Black put me down," she said in the most stern voice she could muster. When all she was met with was a "nuh uh," and then some more twirling all she could do was huff before finally allowing a smile to grace her features. Angela was too busy cracking up at the scene to even help. "Some best friend she is," Bella mumbled to herself when she was placed back on the ground after a torturous two minutes. The people who were either going into the airport or leaving themselves looked at the scene fondly which caused the brunette to snort quietly. She wondered if they would still be looking at them that way if they knew she played for the other team so to speak.

When she turned around to look at her other partner in crime, he was wearing the biggest grin imaginable. "You know, a regular hug where I stayed on the ground would have worked too," she said to the rather large man. If she thought his growth spurt her senior year was big, there was nothing that would have prepared her for what Jake would look like when he finally stopped growing. Now, her childhood friend was easily six feet tall and about two hundred and forty pounds of pure muscle. While his washboard abs were according to him "to die for," he finally ended his shirtless phase while she was away at college.

"Where would the fun in that be," he replied. Since his famous greeting was now out of the way, he easily reached for Bella's bags and then turned to his other guest. "Good to see you again, Angela." He went to reach for her bags as well, but she quickly manuevered them away from his grasp and sent him a look that screamed not to be fucked with. Jacob put his hands up in mock surrender before leading the way to his truck. "See Bells, this is what a truck is suppossed to look like," he teased as he put the bags in the vehical's bed. Even though it had been at least three years since Bella's first car finally needed to be taken to the junk metal graveyard, jokes at her beloved truck's expense were still a frequent occurrance.

Not even bothering to reply, she quickly opened the door for herself and Angela. A couple of minutes later, and the three were on their way back to their hometown. Familiar conversation at first passed easily between the three, but it wasn't long until their favorite writer was off in her own head. Brown eyes gazed outside the front passenger window as trees flew by. If she had actually been focusing on the sight, Bella most likely would have become car sick, but her mind was off thinking about something different entirely. Coming back to Forks always reminded her of the Cullens which was why she preffered to stay as far away from the town as possible. Her heart no longer longed for the vampire who had honestly been more of an obsession, but instead missed other characteristics about the odd and slightly dysfunctional family. She often missed Esme's loving hugs, Carlisle's compassion, Alice's fashion obsession, and Emmett's sense of humor. Hell, she would even kill for one of Rosalie's death glares on some days. Years ago, anger used to completely cloud her opinion of the family she had once loved, but now all that remained were hurt feelings and emptiness. There were so many times when she considered going out and looking for them, but each time she talked herself out of it. Regular humans who didn't want to be found were nearly impossible to locate sometimes, so vampires could only be a million times worse.

Her thoughts didn't cease until Jake's truck came to a stop in front of Alice's childhood home. The girl put a supportive hand on her best friend's shoulder before getting out and bidding her goodbyes. Promises to call as soon as possible were made, and then she was off into the loving arms of her excited parents. The sight brought a small smile to Bella's lips as Jake drove off towards the reservation that was now where her family resided. The atmosphere within the vehicle quickly changed the moment the brunette's energetic best friend made an exit which caused her attention to turn to Jacob. Immediately she knew that there was something he wasn't telling her. His brow was furrowed deep in thought, and he was forcing his eyes to focus on anything other than the girl beside him. Add to that the slight tapping on the steering wheel, and it all added up to him keeping something away from her. "Alright, out with it Jake," Bella said with a sigh. "We both know you're a horrible liar, so don't even try saying it's nothing. If I don't get it out of you, then I'll just ask Leah, and we both know she'll tell me."

At the mention of his mate, Jake groaned and slouched slightly in his seat. The moment Leah phased and they laid eyes on each other, but wolves knew they were done for. All the years of teasing, pestering, and just down right pranking each other culminated into a love that was still very much the same as their rather turbulant friendship. It was incredibly amusing for others as well as cute to see when the two were caught in one of their tender moments. "You're not going to like it," he mumbled. Bella rolled her eyes at his stalling, but refused to say anything. If she did, they would just wind up going on a tangent to buy the man beside her more time. Instead, she gestured with her hand for him to get on with it which just brought on more grumbles before he sayed four words that she never thought she would hear again. "The Cullens are back."

Just like that, Bella's calm demeanor dissolved. Her heart rate picked up, her palms began to sweat, and her mind began thinking at warp speed. At first she wanted to call bullshit. It hasn't even been ten years since they left the last time, and there was no way they would need to leave the place they moved to that quickly. Plus, she was sure that there were other towns, hell even countries, they could move to besides Forks. There was Alaska were that other "vegetarian" coven that they mentioned once or twice lived, even though that concept made no sense to Bella. Yeah, it was cold and under populated, but with that half a year of barely any sunlight, came half a year with a lot more of it. Jake looked at her worriedly, but she had no words. The sole reason she had wanted to leave this town had actually come back, and she had no idea why. A part of her wanted answers while another part of her wanted to avoid that family as if they had the plague. Since no words came to mind, she just slammed her head into the headrest and closed her eyes. She knew that Boston would have been a much better idea.