Chapter 2:

Bella removed the motorcycle helmet and shook out her hair. It was well past midnight, and she and Jasper had just returned from their ride that took them out to La Push. While they sat on the beach, Bella recounted the evening's events with Mike to Jasper. Bella wasn't surprised when she literally had to drag Jasper back down to the log they were perched on after he heard what Mike said.

They quietly made their way up to their respective rooms. Charlie didn't mind their midnight rides during the summer. He had long ago accepted that Jasper wasn't going to give up his motorcycle license anytime soon and that Bella wasn't going to allow him.

Bella said goodnight to Jasper quietly in the dark hallway and made her way into her room. Luckily Angela was still online when she checked her computer, and she told her the story before turning in for the night. She knew Jess would know the whole story by soccer practice tomorrow. Bella needed the sleep either way.

The sun pulled Bella from her dreams more abruptly then she had anticipated the night before. A sunny day in Forks meant a thundering afternoon, so Bella was quick to jump out of bed and get ready for soccer. As she was brushing her teeth, she had to quickly run back into her room to shut off her alarm and stubbed her toe on the door jamb on the way. Charlie was already at work and Jasper was still passed out, so she didn't hesitate to call out in pain.

She threw her duffel bag together and was halfway down the stairs when she heard her cell phone ring from her bedside table. She threw her duffel down the stairs and turned back up the stairs to retrieve her phone. The screen flashed mom and she hesitated before answering.

"Hey, mom," she answered.

"Hey Bells, how are you?"

"I'm good mom, on my way to soccer practice."

"Oh, is it time for that already?" Bella sighed and rolled her eyes. Her mom didn't exactly approve of Bella devoting so much time to soccer. She was often baiting Bella with promises of gifts in order to drag her out to Seattle to volunteer with the Mariners Family League, the non-profit organization her mother helped out with.

"Yes, I have summer leagues remember?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about that anyway. Were you still planning on playing this school year? You have a lot on your plate academically, with the ACT's and all. I just don't want you overworked."

"It's not like it matters anyway mom, the school cut the team."

"Oh, how sad," Renee said, sounding anything but. "Well listen, is your brother around?"

"No, he is still in bed. Besides, he has his own phone." By this time Bella was seated in her truck with the engine running, waiting for the moment to hang up her phone and head toward the high school.

"Oh I know, but you always answer when I call," Renee said, slightly dejected. Jasper's relationship with their mother was…tense. Their phone calls almost always resulted in Renee yelling and Jasper hanging up, which was unusual for two people who usually remained calm and even-tempered.

"Well listen, Bells. I just wanted to know if you were still going to come out for the fundraising carnival at the beginning of August. You told me you would help out with running some booths."

"Yeah mom, I'm still planning on being there." Bella had given up on waiting and was turning the corner to the main street, eager to reach the field.

"OK, great. Did Jasper tell you about Dawson yet?" Bella was surprised Renee had just come out and asked. She knew Jasper hadn't said anything to Charlie yet, but Renee was always more "in-tune" with her kids, even two hours away.

"Yeah mom, he told me. It really sucks."

Renee sighed and Bella pulled into the parking lot.

"Hey mom, I've got to go. I'm at soccer practice now."

"Oh, ok Bells. Well tell Mike hello for me, and have a good time."

"Mike and I broke up mom. It just happened last night. And before you ask, I'm fine. I dumped him."

Renee began to say more, but Bella's attention was drawn to Jessica and Angela, who had just crossed in front of her truck and headed to her driver's side.

"Look mom, I really gotta go ok? I love you. I will call you later." She hung up before her mom could say more and threw her cell phone on the seat toward the passenger side. She yanked open the door and stepped down to the asphalt, where Jess and Angela stood patiently.

She stood on her sideboard to grab her duffel and had it around her body, and turned to her two best friends waiting for the onslaught of hugs and concern.

Angela was first to speak.

"Hey Bee…you ok?" Angela had been Bella's first friend in Forks for a reason. She didn't inundate Bella with pointless chatter, and always asked the right thing.

"Yeah, Ang, I'm ok. Tired, cause Jasper and I went for a ride last night, but otherwise I'm good." Angela nodded and Jessica reached for a hug. At least Jess hadn't said anything that Bella didn't need to hear. She loved her friend, but sometimes the things that Jessica said made Bella question their friendship—and Jessica's intelligence. Jessica had a tendency to just not think things through before speaking, and it frustrated Bella to no end. Angela had always been a sort of buffer between the two.

The three girls walked to the field, Bella in the center flanked by Angela and Jessica. Bella hadn't been nervous about seeing Mike until that moment, when she realized that everyone was going to ask questions. She couldn't exactly say she wouldn't put out. It would be too embarrassing for both her and Mike.

Luckily Mike was a no-show that day, and practice went smooth. Bella released all the stress from the night before, and coach let her guide some dribbling exercises.

Bella returned to her house earlier than usual. Coach had plans that afternoon he couldn't get out of and cut practice short by two hours. She walked in quieter than the day before, and found Jasper camped out in front of the TV playing some racing game on his XBOX. She noticed a pile of luggage by the front door and saw that Jasper was dressed and showered before 3 p.m.

"Uh…Jay. What's with the bags?" Bella nodded towards the door, but Jasper didn't look up from the TV.

"You know how the music festival in Vancouver is next week?"

Bella slowly nodded, waiting from him to continue.

"Well the guys want to go up to Juneau first. Apparently there is a club up there looking for bands to compete in a Battle of the Bands competition. Greg knows a guy who knows his brother, and he got the info for us. We are heading up there tonight."

Bella froze as she heard the nonchalant way Jasper relayed this information.

"Jay, what about school? What will Charlie say? You can't just leave. You have to move to Dawson next week!"

"Chill, Bee. I told mom I was just going to stay here until I move. I was kind of hoping you would tell Charlie that I left for moms and that I was just going to stay there until I have to move in." He paused the game then, looking towards Bella who was growing more confused by the minute.

Before Bella could say anything, they heard a horn honk from outside and Jasper quickly turned the XBOX off. He threw on his jacket and gave Bella a hug before gathering his bags and opening the front door.

"Jay, what about school?"

He turned at the end of the front walk and looked back at Bella. "Could you call them and pretend to be mom? Tell them I will be out for the first two weeks of classes. Make up an…illness. Or a death in the family. Something legit. I don't know. I will call you when we get to Alaska. Love ya Bee!"

And with that he and his bags were piled into Greg's 4Runner.

Bella stood in the doorway of her house wide-eyed, unsure of what just happened.

Dinner with Charlie was tense. Charlie was completely oblivious to the way Bella was knocking things off the table, even when she smacked her head on the underside of the table after retrieving a napkin. He just kept chuckling to himself, occasionally grumbling about Jasper leaving without saying goodbye. Those moments made Bella tense the worst. If he only knew how far Jasper had really gone…

After clearing the table and assuring Charlie was settled in his recliner for the night, Bella snuck outside to sit on the ancient wooden bench that sat to the left of the porch door. Her cell phone sat in her jeans pocket, silent since Jasper left.

Bella pulled out the phone and sent Jasper a quick text, asking where he was. She sat watching the phone, awaiting a reply when it lit up with a call.

Angela. Of course. Bella had forgotten to call that evening before dinner.

She flipped the phone open.

"Hey Ang."

"Hey, Bee, I'm right around the corner. Can I stop by really quick?" Bella smiled and rolled her eyes. In all the years she and Angela had been friends, Angela still never just invited herself over. It was one of the things she and Bella had in common. They were both unassuming.

Bella told the girl to park and just come around to the back of the house, and sat and waited for Angela to appear while watching the stars.

After about five minutes Angela turned the corner and gave Bella a small smile, joining her on the bench.

"You looked bummed out today Bells."

Angela never beat around the bush. The corner of Bella's mouth twitched into a smile as she brought her head back down from watching the night sky.

"Jasper took off today when I got home from practice. Just hopped into Greg's 4Runner and left."

Angela didn't look surprised, and shook her head in awe. She and Jasper were friends, but only because he was Bella's twin. Angela and Jasper had to co-exist on many separate occasions, but they had verbal sparring matches that were dripping with sarcasm and intellectual wit.

"Where is he headed?"

"Juneau first, I think. Then Vancouver. He is supposed to move to Dawson next week though."

Angela's eyes grew wide. A classmate of theirs had been transferred to Dawson in the middle of last year. He had been an…eccentric boy who had been tormented relentlessly for his love of all things musical theater.

"Ang, would you call me crazy if I told you I want to go in his place?"

It was moments like these that Bella fully appreciated her best friend. Where Jessica would have giggled and shook her head, Angela simply sat and contemplated the statement for a minute, joining Bella in watching the night sky.

"Well…maybe we could have some fun with this?" Angela turned to Bella and quirked an eye brow.

Bella grinned in return, almost reading Angela's mind.

Howlin' Salon was located in Port Angeles, off the main street. It was housed in an old firehouse, complete with the original fire pole installed from the upper level to the ground floor.

Bella had known Jacob Black since she moved to Washington in the 5th grade. Her father frequented the Quileute reservation for fishing, and had struck up a friendship with Billy Black, Jake's father, the first summer the Swan's were in Forks. Jake was a year younger than Jasper and Bella, but had become a good family friend after countless summers and holidays together.

The Howlin' Salon was a Quileute owned business that attracted a large customer base. Many of the women in the surrounding areas made the trek to Port Angeles, due to the staff.

Though the hairdressers were all women, and the establishment was owned by Emily Uley, many of the Quileute elders found a form of punishment in sending the teen boys to help out around the shop. The women who came into the salon were often there simply to gawk at the young, attractive boys. Though many were barely in high school, they looked old enough to be in college, and drew a large crowd. Jake had been assigned sweeping duties in May, after getting caught with a large box of illegal fireworks that he and a few of his friends had planned to set off at the end of the school year. Billy sent him to sweep floors for Emily until September, when school started back up on the reservation.

Bella found herself seated in front of a large mirror, which was framed by driftwood collected at La Push, flanked by Angela and Jessica. Jake was absently sweeping a spotless floor, distracted by the three girls who were giggling and chatting with Emily about some plot to take over the universe, probably.

Bella had tried many different "disguises." Instead of calling the school, like Jasper requested, Bella and Angela had come to an executive decision to send Bella in place of Jasper. The two girls had joked about the lengths they would have to go to, in order to keep Jessica in the dark. But when Jessica had heard about it, she laughed and asked when they would be hitting up the salon. That had been Wednesday. It was Friday, and Bella had two days before the girls would drop her off at Dawson.

The idea seemed outrageous. How could Bella possibly pose as her brother? It was true, she had his mannerisms down. He moved slowly, almost lethargic at times, and didn't speak much. Bella could manage that.

They had been blessed with similar facial features. No one at Dawson would really recognize Jasper anyway, so they had that working in their favor.

Emily Uley was responsible for costuming the local theater in downtown Port Angeles. Her entire back stock room was, conveniently, stocked with many wigs and hair pieces. Bella was seated in front of a large pile of male wigs. Emily had already outfitted her with sideburns, and had pinned her long wavy hair back to lay as flat as possible on her head. Her usually manicured eyebrows were covered by fake eyebrows that were bushier and less groomed than her natural eyebrows.

"This one looks too…Backstreet Boys," Jessica decided with a shake of her head. Angela wrinkled her nose and agreed, as Bella and Emily laughed. Jake was outright staring now, the broom forgotten in a corner of the shop.

"Nuh-uh, way too creepy," Jessica smiled. The current wig was shoulder length and a dirty blonde. The synthetic hair was clumped, attempting too hard to be dread locks.

"Here, try this one." Jake reached over Bella and picked up a curly, dark blonde wig. It hit right at Bella's ears, and blended almost perfectly with the sideburns and lightened eyebrows already on Bella.

Emily tucked Bella's hair into the wig, and turned her to face her friends.

Angela's eyes grew wide and Jessica smiled.

"Wait, let me guess. Mickey Rourke?" Bella joked.

"Bells, don't hate me for saying this," Jake hesitated. "You look like a legit dude."

Angela and Jessica burst into laughter as Emily spun Bella around to check the mirror.

"Ladies," Bella said. Jake grumbled. "And Jake. We have accomplished our mission."

A grin grew across Bella's face as Jessica squealed and hugged Angela.

Bella was leaning back in her desk chair while Angela and Jessica lounged on her bed and floor. After finishing up at the salon, they had taken Jake to dinner with them to try and explain the reason why Bella was turning up at Emily's salon asking to be transformed into a dude. Jake had immediately accepted when Bella asked if he could teach her a few more things, in order to be more convincing. They had spent the evening in a corner booth laughing obnoxiously and acquiring looks from the other diners. Eventually they dropped Jake off at the reservation and were hanging out at Bella's for the evening.

When they had arrived at Bella's house, Bella had spent a good time trying to convince Charlie not to call her mother. She had succeeded but she knew Charlie was suspicious.

The girls were lazily going over everything Bella would need to know for Dawson.

"So, who is your roommate?" Angela quizzed.

"Edward Cullen, Seattle, 17." Bella recited his name, hometown and age without hesitation. She had been studying the information Jasper had received from Dawson since she and Angela had decided to undertake this outrageous endeavor.

"Schedule?" Jessica quipped.

"AP English, College Algebra, Anatomy, lunch, AP US History, Shop, Intramurals."

Jasper was behind Bella in math, so she knew she would have it easy with College Algebra. She was hesitant of the history course Jasper had been enrolled in. Her schedule hadn't identified exactly what "shop" meant, but Bella was positive it wasn't Jessica's suggestion of wandering a mall for the class hour. She could only hope it would be wood shop, a class she had aced at Forks High her freshman year.

The girls fell into a fit of giggles when Bella was told to practice her Jasper walk and say a few things in his steady, slow speech pattern.

When Charlie came in and told them to quiet down, Angela and Jessica left. Bella crawled into bed later that night and began to analyze the situation. With a few moments of panic before calming herself, she fell into a dreamless sleep.

Sunday night Bella approached Charlie and told him that the next morning she would be going to Renee's until the first week of August. This would leave Charlie alone for another two weeks. If Jasper kept to his word, he would be back after the fundraiser their mother expected them at. Then Jasper could return to Dawson, Bella could go back to Charlie's, and have a little over 2 weeks to get herself prepared for school. Bella would only have to live at Dawson for two weeks, and attend class the second week.

As Charlie grumbled to himself about his children, Bella ran up to her room to make sure everything was ready for her hasty escape in the morning. Angela and Jacob were driving her to Dawson. She planned to leave her truck at Jake's, in his garage that was set back on his plot of land.

Bella had already told Coach Banner that soccer was put on hold due to some commitments to her mother, and she hadn't heard from Mike since the night she swung on him. Bella suspected he hadn't been to practice because his eye was bruised and he couldn't exactly explain why his now ex-girlfriend left him a pretty purple shiner.

She had packed enough of Jasper's clothes to last two weeks, and made sure to throw in some of her own clothes, just in case. Emily had given her products for the wig, to ensure the synthetic hair didn't get too dull and noticeably fake.

Monday morning came quick. Charlie was out the door by 6:30, and Bella was up at 6:45. She dressed herself in Jasper's clothes but waited to put the wig on after she dumped her truck. Angela followed her to Jake's, and after fussing in front of Jake's bathroom mirror with her wig, they left Forks and drove towards Dawson.

Dawson had been established in the early 1900's and had been an exclusive "education community" since its opening. It specialized in performing arts and emphasized a curriculum similar to a college atmosphere. It was one of the only boarding schools in Washington.

Angela turned her car up the tree-lined road. A mile into the drive they came upon a large white stone building, with steps that led to a heavy wooden door. There were columns around the front of the building, and leaded glass was visible in every window.

Bella looked back to her two friends, and then pulled a mirror out to check her sideburns and adjust her wig. As Angela pulled into a parking spot, Bella watched the activity of the students around her. They were all saying good bye to their families after exiting the large building in front of Bella. Bella assumed that meant registration was in the large structure.

Her feet were clad in heavy boots, which made exiting the car a less graceful task than she was used to. Jake had laughed at her as she fell on to her butt, and she stood up and punched him in the arm.

The three stood at the bottom of the steps, and Bella sighed before heading inside.