Around the small table in the Swan house kitchen was Bella, Angela and Bella's parents. Smiling faces, laughing giggles and off-key voices as they all sang "Happy Birthday to you."

Renee was a big celebrator when it came to parties. No matter what it was, she could turn it into a party. A good grade on a report card? Done. A new appliance in the house? Deal. So when it was birthdays Renee was gong-ho, except her own. Not only was Renee apprehensive about getting older, she knew her only daughter was aging as well. Born only a month from each, Renee was terrified for her daughters thirteenth birthday; she was going to be an official woman then.

The moment Renee found out she was pregnant with Bella she wasn't beyond thrilled. She had just begun her career as the local painter in town. Her floral work put Georgia O'Keefe to shame. Renee Swan was the name to know when going to art shows in Seattle or the Port. So when she began getting nauseas from the smell of her paints she went to the store for a test. She and Charlie had only been married for little over a year then and she worried how he'd react.

Charlie on the other hand, to Renee's surprise, was ecstatic. Thrilled even, about the soon to be birth of his first child. As the Chief of Police in Forks there wasn't much crime to really keep up on in such a small town, other than a few speeding tickets or rambunctious teenagers. Knowing that he was going to be a father put the biggest smile on Charlie's face you wouldn't believe he had teeth beneath that thick black mustache of his.

Once Bella was born things got a little tougher for the newlyweds. Constant fighting over working was the most popular topic thrown out. One late September night, just after Bella's birth, Renee and Charlie stood in their kitchen, aggressive towards one another.

"But I want to go back to work, Charles!"

"Bella needs you! I can provide for both you just fine." Charlie huffed, sitting down in his designated spot at the dining table.

Renee began pacing in their small kitchen, shaking her head. How could he be so unreasonable, she needed to get back out there-her fans and clients were waiting; there were already apprehensive about her taking nearly a year off? An idea popped in her head.

"Fine, Charlie. You win; you can care for Bella by yourself then-" Charlie interrupted.

He rose abruptly from his chair, it clattering to the floor with force. "WHAT? You'd just walk out of your newborn daughters' life just like that?"

"-I need to work and work is in Seattle." Renee sighed.

His hand held in the air, Charlie approached his wife. "Please Renee, be reasonable. You can go back to work once Bella is in school. Please. I need you, she needs you; please baby, stay with me. Us."

A few short years later when Bella began walking Renee was inspired and started painting again. She knew deep down she couldn't leave her precious baby girl, but she needed to work. It turned out that even in those few years Renee took off to raise her daughter her work became more famous and for that she has to thank her family.

This day, her 36th birthday, she smiled at her beautiful family. Charlie's twitching mustache now with a hint of gray from watching Bella as she grows up, and Bella, her beautiful Bella. No matter how much she weighs, she will always be her muse.

"Mom, make a wish!" Bella repeats for the third time to her daydreaming mother. Renee smiles politely embarrassed for having her mind wander to the future and blows out her candles. I hope my daughter finds a love like I've found.

Cake is served and the girls head out to sleep one last night in the treehouse before middle school begins. They talk for hours, frosting covered smiles and chattering teeth when the temperature drops at night. The next morning Renee takes Bella shopping for her new school clothes, something Bella always found dreadful. Not only do none of the clothes fit her right but her mother never seems to notice she's not 5 anymore and wants to buy her baby clothes. This year Bella swears it'll be different.

"How 'bout this Bells?" Renee holds up a small sized pink and purple shirt-dress. Bella holds in her reaction until her mother looks at her and puts the dress down. "Well how am I supposed to get you new clothes if you don't tell me what you like?" she pushes the cart on to the next section of t-shirts.

Bella fingers through the clothes, moving from medium to large once she sees how tightly fit they are. A few band names on t-shirts that Renee has no clue exists land in the cart a few minutes later. They head to the jeans and Bella gulps, she knows she's gone up a couple sizes since last year. As Renee glances through some girly dresses, Bella heads near the end of the jeans, where the bigger sizes are for young girls.

8…9…10… The higher the number, the bigger the jeans. Bella knows she has her mother's hips but she definitely knows she doesn't have her mother's flat stomach. She picks out two pair of Levi Blue Jeans sized 12 and sets them in the cart. Her mother turns, holding a dress in her hand, when she hears Bella return with clothing.

"Don't you want some short, Bell? It's not getting colder until October.." she says. Bella thinks of her cottage cheese thighs and shakes her head no. Her mother shrugs and shows her the dress in her hands. It's long enough to cover Bella's thighs and half of her calves; if she wears tights it might be too weird or just good enough. She lets Renee purchase it for the first day of school but promises herself to never wear it ever again. The things she does to please her mother.

Bella tries on each of their findings in the dressing room a few minutes later. Everything fits, surprisingly to Bella. Even the dress fits her well and it includes an accessory belt to accentuate her hips; Bella doesn't know if she likes this or not. Once they return home Bella puts her new clothes next to her closet, deciding to put them away later.

She picks up the phone on her desk, a pink Hello Kitty, and dials Angela's home number. She remembers when her parents reluctantly gave her the phone last year. Renee argued that she'll be starting the big schools soon and will need her privacy because "I remember my parents hovering over me whenever I talked on the kitchen phone as a teenager." Charlie's argument was boys but Renee brushed him off, Bella was too young for that yet.

"Weber residence." A deep male voice answers, Bella recognizes it as Rex.

"Hey, it's Bella, is Angela home?" Bella asks sweetly. Rex mumbles "hold on" and yells for Angela to pick up the receiver in her own room as well.

"Hello?" she says.

"Hey! Guess what my mom got." Bella groans dramatically.

The girls talk for a few minutes into the night, gossiping about new school clothes and Angela's new bedroom phone as well. Before long both of the girls' parents holler for them to get off the phone and get some sleep before their big day tomorrow.

"Hey Ang will you do me a favor?" Bella asks shyly, nibbling on her lip.

"Sure, anything."

"Will you wear a dress tomorrow with me? I promised my mom I'd wear the one she got me and I don't want to look like a loser being the only one in a dress." She rambled on. Angela laughed into the receiver.

"So I have to be a loser, too?" she said seriously. Bella began to stutter, apologizing. "I'm just kidding Bella, of course I'll wear a dress with you tomorrow." They laughed a moment more and said their goodnights. Unfortunately for both of the girls they don't sleep too well that night, Bella tosses and turns with nerves in her stomach and Angela lies wide awake in her bed as her twin sisters scream bloody murder down the hall in hunger.

When Bella is brushing her teeth the next morning after her shower she has a rare moment with herself in the mirror. It's been awhile since she's really looked at herself. Her cheeks are blushing pink from her hot shower and her hair is still slightly damp. Her eyes are as bright as ever, the yellow-gold hazel showing more and more the happier she finds herself being friends with Angela.

Once she's finished brushing her teeth she opens behind her mirror for deodorant, putting that on quickly. She notices her mother's makeup case as she places the bar back inside the mirror. She picks up the mascara and closes the mirror, glancing back and forth at herself. She opens the makeup and brushes it gently onto her lashes; it doesn't make much of a difference so she leaves it on.

Bella dresses quickly, wearing beige flats with her red and white dress from yesterday. She puts the skinny white belt around her midriff lightly and leaves her room with her backpack in her hand. Renee makes pancakes every year for Bella's first day of school, it's one thing that is constant in their lives.

It's nearly 7:30 a.m and Bella kisses her father's cheek goodbye as he leaves for work. She clears the table for her mother as she hears the bus horn a few minutes later. With a quick by to Renee she hurries out the door only to slow down and take a huge breath of nervousness. Her house is the first stop of the day and the last at the end. The bus driver greets Bella as normal as she steps onto the bus. As she replies her hello she notices they're not the only ones on the bus in the morning anymore.

There in the very back of the yellow school bus, in Bella's normal seat, sat a tall lanky boy with fiery bronze hair standing at all ends. His head was ducked behind the seat in front of him so she didn't see his face but his hair was flawless.

She stopped short and whisper to Mel, the driver.

"Who's that?"

The driver closed the door and started to drive on, shrugging his shoulders. "He got on up a couple blocks before you, must be new to the neighborhood. I think his father is the new doc at Forks Memorial."

As the bus continued moving Bella stepped toward the back of the bus, she reaches two seats before the largest back before the mystery boys pops his face above the seat. His eyes search the intruder of his slumber and hiding, they lock with Bella's scared does immediately. She holds her breath and slides in the first seat her butt finds. The boy doesn't get up to talk to her, he doesn't even say anything; he goes back to sleep as if nothing ever happened.

The bus picks up a few kids and then it's the Weber house. Angela hurries on and finds Bella huddled in a seat, blushing red.

"What's wrong with you? And you look so pretty by the way." She's all smiles. Once she's in the seat beside her friend she nudges Bella to answer her.

"Is he looking at me?" she mumbles.

"Who?" Angela starts to look over the seats at the other kids riding along until Bella shrieks and pulls her down into a small huddle. "What's with you, Bella? It looks like you've seen a ghost... Or a boy." She smirks.

Bella groans frustrated. "Yeah a boy, with fire for hair and jewels for eyes!" she whispers harshly. It isn't long before the bus pits at the middle school and Bella stomach flip-flops over green eyes and the eyes of an entire student body. The bus starts clearing out and she holds Angela back to the last to leave. The boy with the hair and eyes grabs his pack and makes his way toward the front, thinking the bus was only left to him he glances back as the girls are exiting their own seats. Their eyes lock again and Bella's knees do something funny, something they've never done before.

The boy smirks and walks off the bus.


Author's Note: Another update today? I'm on a roll. Thanks for reading. Please review.