A/N: Here is the first full chapter.

Chapter 1: Mud Hills and Marriages

The first time I ever saw you Eddie, even though I was barely three years old, I loved you in an instant. You were the first boy I ever met that I wasn't related to, and I fell for you. Hard. Your golden-streaked auburn hair caught flecks of the sun, and the deep verdant green of your eyes sparkled with life. You were… happiness personified. Your mother was taking you for a walk around The Block—she shared the same hue of your hair—just as my mom was letting me help her get the mail. It was fate.

You introduced yourself like a gentleman, eyeing your mom (it was she you were trying to impress with your manners—not me), you stuck out your warm hand. You said, "Hi! I'm Edward Anthony Carlisle Cullen the third—but no one calls me that. They call me Eddie. Edward is an old man's name, blech!" We had the giggle fits. I told you my name was Isabella Marie Swan, but you could call me Bella… and you said you liked that better too. Our moms chatted easily while we took turns racing back and forth from the mailbox to the garage. I was determined to prove to you I was just as good as boys.

I found out that you lived across the street from me! Kitty-corner! I was definitely going to make you my boyfriend. You thought girls were gross, but I was ok because I was your new Bella. Playdates arranged, dinner parties planned, I wouldn't know how truly momentous that moment would be for me until years later.

In our developing neighborhood, we were some of the first families on The Block, and we ruled it like the Princes and Princesses we were. Remember that huge dirt hill next to Alice's house around the corner? We conquered that hill and claimed it our land so many times. It was there that I first kissed you. Playing Chase with Emmett and Alice, like we had every day before, I was chasing you. This time, instead of tagging you It, I had a different goal in mind. I kissed you so fast you didn't know what had happened until the crimson blush crept over your cheeks. You pushed me down and I cried. You couldn't handle my tears and hugged me close, close, close, immediately regretting your actions. That was my first taste of your impulsive nature. Emmett laughed and made fun of you for kissing a girl, but you told him to "shut-it".

The next day the neighborhood crew was playing at the dirt hill again; instead of Chase we played Cops and Robbers. Emmett was making fun of my orange and red dress—that my mom made me wear shorts under—saying I was a stupid girl for wearing a dress and jellie-shoes while playing Cops and Robbers, even though Alice was wearing the same one in purple and blue. He threw dirt at me, and I cried, so you threw dirt at him. Soon, everyone was throwing dirt and laughing. You did things like that: make me laugh when I was crying, pick me up when I fell down, and make sure I knew I was special because you were special and we were bestest friends so I must be special too. You were such a sweet, sweet boy Eddie. Everyone who knew you loved you and I was no different.

I remember sunny summer days spent making whirl-pools in your pool, and playing with the diving sticks. We spent dusk searching for tadpoles in the pond by the park, and twilight playing kickball in my backyard until the streetlights came on. Your house always sounded like smooth Jazz—your mom's favorite radio station—and booming laughs from your dad. I knew you would grow up to have the same infectious sound, and you did. We played SuperMario in your room—but always with the door open. We made plans about the future, what it would be like when we were grown-ups. I said we had to have a pool, but no smooth jazz, and you said OK, as long as we could still play SuperMario.

Eddie, I've lost count of the number of times we got married in my backyard, but it's safe to say that I am your first wife, and your only. Your dad, the Pilot who liked to be called Carlisle—I guess you were both non-conforming… why he named you the Third, I'll never understand—would take us up in his small plane. The swirly-twirly butterflies I got while looking down at the ground perfectly matched the way I felt when I looked at your perfect smile, even if you did smile lop-sided sometimes.

Remember my sixth birthday party? We had it at FunWay and got to dress up in the theater room. You were a Cowboy and I was a Fairy, which summed up our entire childhood together. You were the tough-but-sweet gentleman, and I was the dreamer always hoping for the best. We could have been great.

My favorite Halloween was the one where you were the Red Power Ranger and I was the Pink. We were the perfect duo. Alice was Yellow because I cried and made her. She understood my love for you. Emmett was the Green Ranger…Eddie, you probably didn't know this, but I hated Emmett growing up. You were the only thing I liked about him. He was a chubby little bully, and you were his most redeeming quality. (I eventually got my vicarious revenge on him when he and Alice were playing Elephant Trainer and she sat on him like she was on a horse, not letting him leave the front yard, and he peed his pants.) Even with hangers-on like Emmett, our childhood was magical. We had sleepovers and parties, bonfires and snow igloos, and most importantly we had each other.

I found the picture of us playing in the neighbor's mud pit from when we were five the other day, we were covered from head to toe in the thick brown stuff with arms spread as wide as our twin smiles as if we were saying "look what we did mom!" I cried for hours. I miss you so much Eddie. I miss who you used to be, that sweet, smart boy. It kills me that you'll never be him again. I almost hate you for it.

What is the old saying, all good things must come to an end? End they did after second grade. Your parents told us that your family was moving to Virginia at the end of the summer. I hated them for it. We didn't know it at the time, but it was that move that ruined the rest of your life, sending you down a path that was almost impossible to come back from.

A/N: So what are we thinking, pals?

Let me know.

Until tomorrow...

~FabulousiTyxXx~