B POV – Eighteen (almost nineteen)

I was so excited! I was finally going to college! I was moving out today and heading to live in halls. I couldn't wait to get there. Of course, my mom had been all upset over it, crying that her baby girl was going to forget about her. Not that I ever could. All in all, life was brilliant. I had never thought I would ever find my place at school, especially after everything that happened with Edward, but I had. I had met Khloe, Tasha, Sarah and Lacey when I started school in Arizona after I left Forks to live with Mom after the whole Edward incident. I had been the shy, scared chubby little new girl, who had wanted to disappear, until one of the most popular girls in the year came up to me and asked me if I wanted to sit with them.

Flash back

"Hey there."

I jumped, shocked to hear someone speaking to me.

"H-Hi." I stammered.

"Hey. I'm Natasha, but everyone calls me Tasha or Tash. You're Isabella Swan, right? The new girl?"

"Y-yeah. But, I usually get called Izzy."

"Izzy. Well Izzy, would you like to come sit with me and my friends? We hate seeing new people sitting alone. There's really no reason why new people shouldn't sit with anyone. Being new, you haven't had a chance to offend anyone!"

She laughed and sat in the seat opposite me.

"So, how about it? Don't worry, we don't bite. We may act like bitches sometimes, but we aren't that all that bad really."

"Ummm...ok. If you're sure."

"'Course I am. We all are. Come on."

With that she had scooped my bag up and grabbed my hand. She led me over to her table, and introduced me to her friends.

"Izzy, this is Sarah, Khloe and Lacey." each of them waved as Natasha said their name.

"Guys, this is Izzy."

"Hiya Izzy." they all said

As we chatted, I had told them about myself and that I had lived with my dad until a week ago. Lacey asked me why I had moved to Arizona.

"Ummm...well, I sort of had to. I had some problems with someone back at my old school."

"What sort of trouble? Like, someone was picking on you?"

"Kinda..."

"What do you mean, 'kinda'?" Sarah asked curiously.

"Well, it was this boy called Edward...he...um, he used to be my best friend, but I spent the summer on holiday with my mom, and when I got back, he had....changed. He was dating this popular girl who had always been really mean to me, and he started being nasty. He wouldn't talk to me and told me to get lost. He said that he had grown up over summer, and that I hadn't. That I never would. He said I'd always 'just be fat, baby Izzy', and that...that...I was....beneath him.""

I choked back my tears. The wounds from his words where still too fresh.

"Oh my god! Your best friend said that?!"

"Yeah. Umm...I was really unpopular at school. Like, I was a nobody. Edward...he was the only one who stood by me. We had been friends since we were about three. I didn't have anyone else. Just him. So I had nothing left to stay in Forks for. I lost the only reason I survived there. The only reason I hadn't already moved in with my Mom. Don't get me wrong, his sister was really nice, Alice, and his brother Emmett, but Alice was sixteen and Emmett was eighteen, so I didn't exactly hang out with them."

When I finished telling them, Natasha launched herself at me and hugged me tightly.

"Oh Izzy! I'm so sorry sweetie! Don't you worry, we'll be your friends from now on, won't we girls?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Sure will!"

"Damn straight!"

"You just stick with us Izzy. We won't ever do that to you."

"Never." the other three chorused.

"We'll have so much fun that you'll forget all about this....Edwin was it?" Natasha joked.

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips.

"There you go. See, you're getting over him already!"

After that, I hung with the girls everyday and we got closer all the time.

End Flash back.

Being with the girls had made me become a little more girly, and I had started to grow my hair. I also started to go by Bella, wanting a clean slate. I didn't want to be the person I had been back in Forks.

The week after I confronted Edward had been a bit of a blur.

After passing out in the meadow I had woken up in hospital, with my dad and mom sitting by my bed. I had gotten hypothermia from sitting in the rain and the cold for so long. I hadn't been found until half nine that night. Nine and a half hours I had been in the rain for. I could have died. I was lucky not to.

I had begged my parents to let me go and live with mom in Arizona. I couldn't bare living in Forks and seeing Edward ever again. I would miss the rest of the Cullens. They had always been so good to me. Carlisle and Esme had been like my other parents. Alice had been a great friend and like a sister to me. And Emmett. My dear big Emmie-bear. My big brother, in every way but blood. Yes, I knew I would miss them so much, but I had to leave. And have a full clean break. No contact with anyone from Forks. Except my dad. But he would have to visit me in Arizona. I was never going back to Forks. For even the shortest time.

Anyway, that was all in the past. Although it still hurt, and most likely always would, I couldn't let it rule my life. I hadn't all these years, and I wasn't about to start now.

"Bellarina!!" I heard Tasha call up the stairs to me. "Come on, girl! We gotta get to college! I wanna get to dorms!"

I laughed at the nickname my best friend had given me shortly after I started going my Bella. It had been a very ironic nickname at the time. Because I had a severe balance and grace deficiency. I had been walking along and had tripped over nothing several times on my way to the canteen one lunchtime and Sarah had laughed and had said, (very sarcastically I might add) "You're regular ballerina aren't you, Bella?" to which Tasha had replied, "Ha..ha ha! Not ballerina, Bellarina! Hahaha!"

Since then the name had stuck, although I had become a lot more graceful as I got older. I had almost perfect balance now. Probably due to the fact that I had been forced to wear high heels so often by the girls. It was either; improve my balance and grace, or fall and break my neck. It's quite an effective form of motivation!

"Coming Tash! Be right there, sweetie!"

I grabbed my last bag and ran down the stairs. A box with the rest of my things in was already by the front door.

My mom ran over and gave me a great big hug.

"You come visit your old mom sometimes, you hear me Bella?"

"Oh, Mom. You're not old! You're not even forty yet! You were only my age when you had me!"

"Ha ha, Isabella. You know what I mean. Just don't forget about me."

"I could never forget about you, Mom! I need someone to bring my laundry to!"

I ducked as she tried to smack me on the back of the head.

I laughed and pulled her into a hug.

"I'd never forget you Mom. I love you. I promise to visit as often as I can. And even when I can't visit, I'll call or email you."

We finally released each other and I turned to my step-father, Phil. He and mom had married about a year after I had come to live in Arizona. I loved him as much as I loved my dad. He was wonderful and had always been so good to me.

Once we finished hugging and saying our goodbyes I grabbed the box of my belongings and headed out to my car.

Tasha didn't have a car at the moment. Someone had hit it recently and completely totalled it. So she was travelling to college with me. Her parents had bought her to my mom's with her stuff.

We quickly loaded the car and Tasha said goodbye to her parents before climbing into the passenger seat. I was about to get into the driver seat when I suddenly remembered something.

"Shit! My guitar!" I raced back into the house and bolted to my room to get my beloved guitar. It was a custom made Les Paul bought for me by Phil. It was a dark crimson red and had my bands name, Apassionata, inlaid on the front in white gold, with the 'i' dotted by a large topaz.

I had gone completely mental when I had unwrapped it on my seventeenth birthday.

When I had first moved to Arizona, I had wanted to do something with my time, so I had taken up music lessons. I had been playing guitar since I was fourteen. I had also been singing since I was fifteen. Tasha and I had started our band, Apassionata, when we were sixteen. I was the singer and second guitarist, Tasha was the lead guitarist, Lacey played keyboard, and our friends James and Jacob played drums and bass guitar, respectively.

Jacob was actually Khloe's cousin, and James was our friend from school.

Live was so perfect right now.

I had changed so much since I had left Forks. I was taller, still quite small, but not quite so tiny anymore. I had lost a lot of weight, but I wasn't a size zero. I was a size 8 and had some great curves. I was still as pale as ever, even living in the sun of Arizona. My hair was one of the biggest chances for me. As a child I had never had it longer than my chin. It now reached my waist in large natural waves. And I loved it so much that I knew I would never cut it off.

Although I have never been full of myself, I had to admit, I was rather beautiful now.

I had been told that I would never grow up or change.

"You'll always just be fat, baby Izzy." Edward had told me.

I laughed at how wrong he had been.

Oh, Edward Cullen. How wrong you truly were. If only you could see me now!

I laughed again.

I knew that would never happen. And for the first time in my life, I was glad for it.

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Ok, so that is why the last chappie was so short.

I wanted to jump five years in the future.

Due to the last couple of lines, it's pretty obvious what's gonna happen next, huh?!

LOL!

The shit is gonna hit the fan, darlings!

~ ULTRAnumb