Disclaimer: Written under the derivative fan works act. All rights reserved to the original creator, Stephanie Meyer.

Title: Shades of Gray

Rating: M for sexual situations, lemons, and hot, steamy, angsty vampire lovin', underage drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.

Premise: Alternate Universe. Bella Swan begins to discover the dark mysterious underworld that lies beneath the veneer of the modern world when she's sent to live in Forks. Is love enough to save her from the dark evil that threatens her? Is Edward part of the evil? OCC ExB Lemons

Alternate Universe: Canon pairings eventually, pretty much OOC, ExB of course.

POV: BPOV (Bella), Bella starts the story. Edward and Alice may have a say later on.

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Author Notes:

Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you'd prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.

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Chapter 3 New Girl

"Angela…, Are you a witch?"

Angela laughed and smiled at me. "No, Bella, I don't consider myself to be a witch."

"You don't 'consider' yourself to be a witch?"

"Well I dabble in a little mysticism, and my friends and I study some aspects of practical magick. I study many traditions including witchcraft, but most people that call themselves witches practice Wicca, which is more of a religion and way of life. I have a broader philosophy."

"You don't worship… the Devil… or anything like that? Do you?"

"No… What makes you think there's only one? There are forces of darkness in the universe and forces of light. There are those that embrace the darkness and those like us who embrace and champion the light. There are some that choose a path closer to the middle of the road. I'd like to think of myself as a force for good, but everyone makes their own choices."

"So you're a good witch?" For some reason, I had this image of Glenda from the Wizard of Oz stuck in my head. I wondered if I stood up and clicked my heels together three times if I'd end up back in Phoenix. It probably wouldn't work. I was wearing those damn waterproof boots instead of my ruby slippers.

"Yeah, something like that." Angela said with a chuckle.

"You have other friends that are into this magic thing too?"

"Ben and some girlfriends from school… We get together and teach each other things. It's a real interesting hobby. I have to admit, I got them all started, though. My grandfather taught me a lot of things, and now I guess I teach my friends."

"So your grandfather was a witch too?" It was a little harder picturing that. I kept getting this image of Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings movies stuck in my head, but I wanted to keep an open mind.

Angela laughed again, and shook her head. "Gramps would have liked you Bella." She reached over and picked up a picture in a frame off of her nightstand and handed it to me. The man in the picture looked normal enough. He looked a lot like Angela's father, but with snowy white hair and a neatly trimmed white beard. Kind of stately and dignified in his black suit with a serious look, but a smile teased at his lips as he stood with his arm around Angela's shoulder. She looked about eight years old in the photograph.

"Gramps was supposed to teach my dad. He wanted to share everything he'd learned in his life with my father. He said that was the way it was supposed to work, knowledge passed on from one generation to the next… I love my father, Bella, but he closed his mind and turned his back on Gramps. He settled for what he was willing to believe in. I don't mind really. He still does good in his own limited way. Gramps decided he had to skip a generation when my dad rejected him and turned to religion instead. So he started teaching me."

"Your grandfather isn't with us anymore is he…?"

"No, Gramps passed on from this world about five years ago. I was twelve when he left us. Now it's my duty to carry on the tradition."

I handed Angela back her picture, and we sat and talked for a while longer. We exchanged cell phone numbers, and agreed to hang out some more the next day on Saturday. I knew I was going to be busy for a good part of the day. I wanted to talk to Mrs. Newton about the job at the sporting goods store, and I needed to take Charlie shopping to buy some groceries so there was real food to eat in the house.

I told Angela I'd call her tomorrow, but it was getting late and I had to get home. It was Friday night, and I guess that fell under the weekend curfew rule, but it had been a long day. I was tired and wanted to get some sleep. She asked me if I wanted her to drive me home, but Charlie's house was only about five houses down the street on the next block. I could walk that far before she could get her car out.

Angela walked me to the door, and surprised me when she pulled me into a hug and I said goodnight. She walked me down to the sidewalk, and opened the gate for me. I didn't look back until I got to Charlie's driveway, but she was still standing there watching me walk home, standing by her gate until I'd disappeared into the jungle in Charlie's front yard.

The lights were on and Charlie's cruiser was parked in the driveway when I got home so I walked up on the porch and tried the door. It was unlocked and I walked into the house. I knew this was home on an intellectual level, but it hadn't really sunk in on an emotional level yet, and I felt an irrational urge to knock on the door or announce myself so the people who lived here would know I was back. Charlie was sitting in his easy boy recliner watching ESPN when I walked in, and I felt a sense of relief.

"Hey, Charlie," I said as I walked into the house. "Get all your paperwork filed?"

"Hi, Bells, Yeah," Charlie said as he leaned forward and sat up from the reclined position. "There's always a ton of paperwork in these cases. So how was your day?"

"Well, besides being uprooted from my home, flying a thousand miles away, moving into a new place where I'll be going to a new school and being handed off by my parents so you can take your shot at trying to keep me from ruining my life, it went pretty good."

I shrugged out of my coat as I spoke and hung it up in the closet, and then went and sat on the end of the couch across from his chair.

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm there?"

"Sorry, dad, its how I deal…"

"But you made some new friends today?"

"Yeah, Angela and Ben are great. Ben has a pretty cool car."

"Yeah, I told you they were good kids. Ben didn't do any of that crazy stunt driving with you in the car, did he?"

"No, he just drove us back to Angela's house. I got to see a little of what he can do after he dropped us off, but you didn't hear it from me!

"Yeah, well tell him to watch it. If I catch him pulling any of those stunts in town, I'm writing him up. We let those kids show off out at the old State Airport, but town is off limits!"

"Angela mentioned something about that. Who is this Dr. Cullen, and why would he be interested in stunt driving competitions?"

"I don't know that Dr. Cullen is interested in stunt driving or racing, but he has five kids that are all involved in it. I guess he talked the city council into letting them use the old State Airport to keep his kids out of trouble. The State and County turned management of the Airport over to the City of Forks, but we didn't have the money to renovate it, and there wasn't really much traffic that used it. Dr. Cullen agreed to pay to renovate the Airport, as long as they could use it for racing and stunt driving when there are no flights scheduled, and he pays the insurance. The city council said ok, so now they race out there on the weekends. A lot of people go out there to practice and hang out during the week too."

"Huh, that was nice of him. So, do any of these Cullen kids go to Forks High school, or are they older?"

"Dr. Cullen is a great man, and a talented surgeon. We're lucky to have him in Forks. It was really a stroke of luck that his wife hated big cities, and wanted to raise her family in a small town. The kids all go to the high school. Two of them are in your grade, and the other three are seniors."

"How are two of them juniors and the other three are all seniors if they're all in the same family? Shouldn't they be more spread out? Are they twins or something?"

"No, they're all adopted. Well, I think two of the older kids are Mrs. Cullen's niece and nephew. They had already adopted the other three when her sister was killed in an automobile accident and they came to live with them. She was the only family they had left."

Huh, five kids all adopted or foster kids. That was a big family these days. Good thing their father was a doctor, and loaded from the sound of it. It would be expensive to raise that many kids. I know Renee had struggled, and she only had me to worry about.

"Are they nice kids like Angela too?"

"I don't know… I don't think so… I've met them a handful of times, but I've heard stories about them around town. They haven't gotten into any serious trouble or anything, but they always seem to turn up whenever there is trouble. I've had late night calls from a lot of the parents in town about their dating habits. No charges were ever pressed, mostly just curfew violations and irate parents looking for their kids. Turns out it was one of the Cullen kids that reported those remains that we were investigating today, too. They go hiking all the time, and they know the forest around here like the back of their hand. They always volunteer to help on searches and investigations in the forest."

"Sounds like they like to help out and they're a useful resource for the department."

"Yeah, maybe… Bella, I don't want you messin' around with them. They keep to themselves pretty much, but they have a reputation, and I think it's deserved. You should stay away from them."

"I think we already had this discussion on the ride home from the airport. You get to meet who I go out with so you know who I'm with, but you don't get a veto. I choose who I'll spend time with or not."

"Yeah, we agreed to that, and I'll stand by it. Just be careful, Bella… The Cullen's were raised… different from the kids around here… They have different… values."

"Yeah, well I was raised different from the kids around here too. Keep an open mind, Charlie. Besides, I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I don't need unnecessary complications in my life right now."

"Ok. I'll accept that… for now, but be careful."

"Now, about the refrigerator… Why are there worms in the refrigerator where we keep the food that we eat?"

"Yeah, I thought you might see that as a problem…" Charlie said a little sheepishly.

"You were right! Are you going to remove them so I can sanitize the fridge? Or do you want to move that refrigerator out of the kitchen and buy a new one?

"Those are my choices?" Charlie said with a grin on his face.

"Those are your choices."

"Fine, I'll put them in the 'fridge in the garage."

"You have another 'fridge in the garage…! And you keep worms in the kitchen!"

"Hey… Calm down. I said I'd move them. It was just easier that way. I didn't have to make a special trip out to the garage in the morning when I go fishing. I keep the leeches in the garage."

"Leeches… Fine, I'd like them gone tomorrow. Before we go grocery shopping."

"Ok… So you got to meet Angela's parents too?" Charlie asked to change the subject.

"Yeah, the Weber's were great… Angela's dad said that you'd talked to him about me?"

"Yeah… Don't worry, I didn't tell him about anything that was going on. I just told him you and your mom were going through a tough time and you were angry with her… I asked him for advice Bella. He's a good man, and he's always been there for his family…"

"Hey, dad… You did the right thing. I know about grandma and grandpa Swan. Renee shouldn't have made you make a choice. It was wrong of her… I know you couldn't be there all the time."

"I know Bells… But I'd made promises to your mother. I told her I'd leave with her and she wouldn't get stuck here. Then my parent's got sick, and I couldn't leave… I wasn't going to abandon them and put them in a home… By the time I was free to leave again, I was Chief of Police and Renee had built a life without me…"

"They were your family… You couldn't just walk out on them. That wouldn't have been right."

"You're my family too, Bella, and I should have been there for you too. I should have left Forks when I could and been closer to you while you were growing up…"

"Dad, that wouldn't have worked… Renee would have just kept running… She didn't want to be within a thousand miles of you in the early days… It hurt her too… I think she was afraid that she'd come running back if she didn't keep her distance. We never would have had one of those easy relationships where we swapped houses every other weekend and got together for birthday parties and school plays. Renee would have run, you would have followed, and we'd all be constantly starting over. You built a life, and so did we. Just not together."

"Well I'm glad I've got you back now, Bells. I should have been more of a father to you. I'm not saying I can make up for lost time, but maybe we can go on from here."

"Yeah, a new start, we can go on from here… It's late dad, and it's been a busy day. I'm gonna go up to bed, G'night, dad." I got up off the couch, and started for the stairs. Charlie want to make a new start, but I'd be gone in nine months… I pushed the thought away.

"Night, Bells."

"And Charlie," I said, turning back to look over my shoulder at the foot of the steps. "Remember; don't take off to go fishing tomorrow. We're going grocery shopping, and then I want you to introduce me to Mrs. Newton so I can see about that job."

"Fine, Bells, no fish in the morning," He turned back to the TV grumbling under his breath, and I turned and went up the stairs to my room.

I looked at the empty suitcases sitting by the door and made a mental note to ask Charlie what I should do with them in the morning. I walked to the nightstand, and plugged my cell phone into the charger, and hung my purse on the doorknob of the closet. I kicked off my boots and left them by the closet. Then I went to the dresser and vanity and collected my pajamas and toiletries bag to get ready for bed.

I was mentally exhausted after the flight from Phoenix, the long drive with Charlie, unpacking, and meeting new people. I wanted to get a good night's sleep before I started making even more changes to my life tomorrow. I was mentally exhausted, but I was keyed up and tense from all the changes; the new rules, the new people, the new me. Maybe a shower would relax me enough to sleep tonight.

I walked down the short hall to the bathroom and took a quick shower and washed my hair. I stepped out of the shower and dried myself with a towel from the rack on the wall. I used the towel to squeeze most of the water from my long brown hair and pulled on a tank top and a comfortable pair of old worn sweatpants. I brushed my teeth, and then picked up my clothes and stuffed them into the collapsible net hamper in the bathroom, and walked to my room. I set the toiletries bag on the vanity, and sat down on the bench absently looking into the mirror as I took my brush from the bag and started to brush the tangles out of my hair.

This wasn't working… I was still tense, and my nerves were wound so tight… I fingered the tube of lip gloss lying on top of the vanity. It was smooth and hard with it's little round plastic top… There were other ways to relax, and I blushed thinking about them as I picked up the lip gloss and stood up to turn out the lights.

I set the tube on my nightstand and slid between the sheets into bed. No time like the present to christen the new bed, and make this place feel like home… I reached under my tank top and stroked my breasts to start getting myself in the mood. I ran my hands across my nipples and they started to perk up.

I really didn't want to think about James, but it was the most real experience I had. I'd watched porn with Mandy and Rachel before, and Renee had some books and tapes that she'd shared with me, but I remembered the feel of James hands on my breasts, and that's what I was thinking about as I started to pinch and twist my nipples.

I wanted to moan and grunt as I worked my breasts and pinched my nipples… Making noise and being vocal always made me feel horny and got me going, but Charlie was still downstairs, and I didn't want to freak him out. My door didn't have a lock on it, and I'd just die if he came in to check on me and see if I was ok.

I was starting to feel pretty good right now, and I caressed down my body, running my hand over my flat stomach. I slid my hand into my sweatpants and started to rub myself between my legs. I stayed on the outside, rubbing and pressing, and let the warmth build. I felt the moisture starting to lubricate my labia as the delicious coil in my stomach wound tighter.

I slid my sweatpants down off of my hips, and then kicked them off, leaving them bunched between the sheets at my feet. I reached back between my legs, dipping my fingers into the heat and moisture and started rubbing again.

I caressed through my folds, spreading the wetness, and exploring my sex. I gasped as I ran my finger tip around my vagina and slipped the tip of my finger inside. I hadn't touched my clit yet, but I could feel the pressure building.

I reached for the tube of lip gloss and opened the drawer in my nightstand and grabbed Bob while I continued to rub and touch myself.

Renee had gotten me Bob the vibrator, thinking I'd experiment with penetration so I'd be ready when I found a boyfriend, but It was uncomfortable and had hurt the one time I'd tried it. I'd never had anything bigger than my finger inside me. I took the tube of lip gloss and started to rub the smooth round cap between my legs, stroking it through my sex and getting it slippery with my wetness.

I circled my opening with the hard round wet plastic cap of the tube and then started to press the smooth plastic inside of me. I tried to stifle a soft moan as I slowly eased the tube into my vagina. The narrow tube was about the size of my finger. I was still a virgin, and it gave me a delicious sense of fullness to have something inside me. I knew I reacted better when there was something hard inside of me for my vagina to grip and squeeze onto.

I put my middle finger where the bone was right after my vagina starts and found my clit starting to poke out of the hood. I started thinking about James when he had pushed his finger into me and I started to move my finger left and right, first slow and then faster, teasing my clit.

I was still holding the tube of lip gloss and was slowly fucking it into my vagina, pushing it in and pulling out. I started to increase my speed as I felt my self getting closer to cumming. I felt hot and horny and my pussy was dripping wet as I stroked my clit with my fingers.

I was panting softly trying to be quiet, but I moaned and gasped involuntarily as my fingers worked on my clit. I was trying not to picture James's face, but I moaned louder as I remembered his weight on me pressing my body into the backseat of the car. I remembered the desire I'd felt as his hands had moved on my breasts, between my legs, what his tongue had felt like in my mouth.

I reached beside me where Bob was lying pressed against my side. He was nice and warm now from lying under the covers with me pressed into my side. I stopped for a second to get Bob turned on then I moved him between my legs and started teasing and tickling my clit with the tip of the vibrator.

I move the tube of lip gloss up and down and in and out as wonderful explosive sensations deep in my pussy rocked through me. The tube of lip gloss was in my left hand moving faster and faster as my need built. The vibrator was in my right purring against the most sensitive part of my sex. Bob was moving left and right and tracing slow circles, first slow and then faster, teasing my clit as I got closer and closer to my climax.

It felt amazing! I was bucking my hips to meet my thrusts and moaned louder. I began thrusting more urgently into my pussy as I fell into the throes of my ecstasy. I bucked and moaned and clutched the vibrator hard against my clit as I pressed my legs tight together, and I felt my orgasm building to its climax.

I was on the edge of the precipice and I felt like screaming, but I bit my bottom lip and turned my face into the pillow to muffle my groans. My core contracted around the tube of lip gloss and I squeezed it with my legs as every muscle in my body contracted. I felt my toes curl and my eyes rolled back in my head as I plunged over the edge into the throes of my orgasm.

I was panting hard and I forced myself to take deep breaths to try and calm down as the heavenly bliss spread through me. I felt like I had been doing this for hours, but it really had only been a short time. I wanted to keep doing this for hours…

There was a creak in the hallway, and a footstep outside my door. I panicked! Was I covered? Ok… I flopped on my side facing away from the door as I panted into the pillow and tried to control my breathing. The door cracked open…

"Bella, are you alright? Are you crying, baby?"

"No, dad…" I stammered out, mortified that he had almost caught me… "I'm fine…" My voice was still husky with passion… Please, please, please just go away…

"Ok, Bells… This will work out, you'll see. Get some sleep," and thankfully the door shut.

I so needed to get a lock for my door. I'd never needed to lock my door in Phoenix, but then Renee would have known what I was doing, and would have stayed out. It was really going to take some time to get used to living with my dad.

I needed something better to think about while I was touching myself too. I really didn't want a boyfriend, but thinking about the guy that had almost raped me was sick. I needed some healthy experiences to cancel out those memories, but I definitely wasn't into casual sex. Sex was part of a healthy relationship, but I needed a boyfriend to have a relationship. I didn't have to go all the way to have some nice memories to think about, though. Maybe I would date if there were some nice guys here. Maybe somebody nice or cute, I could try some things out without getting serious about some guy. I wondered about the possibilities as I drifted off to sleep.

I was up early the next morning. I made up my bed and washed off the lip gloss tube and returned it to my vanity. I just threw on a clean pair of sweat pants, a sweat shirt and some flat sandals I'd probably never get to wear outside again here. Charlie was sitting drinking his coffee, and gave me an odd look, but I found where he kept the cleaning supplies. The container of worms was gone, and I attacked the refrigerator with a bucket of hot soapy water and a jug of bleach. I scrubbed every inch and left it spotless and squeaky clean inside and out before I dumped out the bucket of now grimy suds and gray water.

I went back upstairs and took a shower and brushed my teeth.

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Silly Jill forgot her pill and now she's got a daughter. I wasn't going to be silly Jill. That wasn't going to happen to me and I didn't forget my pill.

I went back to my room and got dressed to meet the day. I felt better about the prospect of grocery shopping now that I knew that there wouldn't be escaped worms crawling across anything that we bought. I put on a pair of jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt with a short sleeved t-shirt layered over it, and my sneakers.

I sat down in front of the vanity mirror and looked at the uneven splotches on my face. At least I didn't have dark circles under my eyes, thanks to last night's relaxation exercises. I brushed out my hair to get the tangles out but let it hang down loose and straight today. I covered my face in a light powder cover-up. I was still pale, but at least it looked like an even consistent pale now. I held a dark gray eye liner in my hand and quickly swiped it over both lids. I applied Mascara, and then some lip stick. I didn't bother with a lip liner pencil but applied a touch of lip gloss to give my lips a bit of shine.

I smiled thinking about the last time I'd had this lip gloss in my hand last night for a very different use... I grabbed my purse and stashed the lip stick and lip gloss so I could re-apply later, tossed my cell phone inside, and went down to the kitchen.

I grabbed a cup of coffee with sugar and a little of the non-dairy instant creamer, and sat at the table with Charlie. It still wasn't even close to nine o'clock in the morning yet, and Charlie set down his paper to look at me.

"Busy morning, huh kid? So is the fridge safe enough to store food for human consumption now? I suppose I could have the county health inspector come out and run some tests…"

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm there?" I smiled at Charlie, repeating his crack from last night.

"Sorry, it's how I deal…"

"It should be safe enough now… So what's the plan? This is your town, Chief, what do you want to do first?"

"Well, this isn't Phoenix, and it's early on a Saturday morning. The Thriftway should be opening soon, but we should probably go talk to Karen Newton first before we have a load of groceries sitting in the car. Newton's Outfitters doesn't open until ten on Saturday. There isn't much to eat in the house right now. What do you say to some breakfast? We can drive over to the Coffee Shop and grab a bite to eat, and then go talk to Karen when they open up this morning."

"Breakfast sounds cool."

Charlie nodded and we got up to leave. I grabbed my shopping list and we went out to the cruiser to drive to the Forks Coffee Shop. Saturday morning breakfast must have been one of the little cafes busy meal times for the breakfast rush. The place was crowded, and the parking lot was pretty full. Charlie pulled into an empty spot close to the door, and I was surprised that nobody had parked there.

We walked inside, and there were a few people waiting. They all greeted Charlie like old friends, and I endured a round of introductions as the hostess came back up to the front. I was surprised when she seated us immediately, despite the fact that there were other customers waiting who had been there before us. Everyone just smiled and there weren't any grumbles, as though they expected Charlie to receive special treatment as a matter of course.

Breakfast was good. The pancakes were just as huge as I remembered from the last time I'd been here ten years ago. I didn't finish half of the stack, and nibbled at the fresh fruit bowl on the side. The pineapple and grapes were good, but the melon was under ripe and hard and tasteless. Charlie was plowing through his steak and eggs. He added Tabasco sauce to the eggs and spicy steak sauce to the steak, and ketchup to his hash browns. He was quiet as he methodically stoked food into his mouth, only pausing to drink his coffee or turn the page of the newspaper.

I excused myself to go to the ladies room when I was done with breakfast. I washed my hands to get the traces of syrup off of them, and fixed my lipstick and lip gloss in the mirror. I walked out of the restroom, and glanced at the clock over the cash register as I walked back to our booth. It was only about nine thirty, and we still had plenty of time to kill before we could go talk to the lady at the sporting goods store about my job. I didn't want to come off as too eager, but I supposed it would be good to appear prompt and ready to work.

Charlie was done with breakfast now too, but he was engrossed in conversation with a group of men about his age. I could hear him telling a story that involved fish and a hike through the woods and they were laughing at some anecdote… I so didn't want to be a part of this conversation… I waited for lull and then made my move.

"Dad, I'm gonna step outside for minute and get some air…"

"I'm through, Bells, if you're ready to go…?"

"No, dad, finish your coffee. We have plenty of time, it's still early." He nodded, and I made my escape before he tried to introduce me to more of his fishing buddies.

I smiled and waved at the hostess as I grabbed my coat off the rack by the door and walked out of the café. She looked back at Charlie swapping stories with his buddies and gave me a knowing smile as I made my escape out the front door.

It wasn't raining this morning, which was saying a lot for Forks. The sky was a steel gray overcast, and it was about forty degrees out, definitely a drastic change from ninety degrees and sunny all the time Phoenix. I fished a cigarette out of my purse and lit it as I walked over to the newspaper vending machines to look at the headlines while I smoked my cigarette. Apparently the world continued to turn and lives went on despite the sudden changes in my life.

I wasn't really paying attention when the car pulled to a stop by the curb and parked. I think it was the whine of the turbochargers spinning down like a jet engine winding down at the airport that caught my attention. It may have been the tingling sensation in my scalp and the chill that ran down my spine, but regardless I looked over at the shiny yellow sports car. I recognized that it was a Porsche, and glanced at the twin turbo logo on the side of the engine compartment at the back. The doors opened and two extraordinarily beautiful people stepped out. My heart stopped for a second as I stared. Then it took off a mile a minute as I quickly turned away to stare at the newspapers. I took a long drag off my cigarette to try and calm my nerves, and glanced back at the couple through the curtain of my hair.

The driver was a petite girl with short spiky black hair, pale white skin, and… bright ochre eyes? To be honest, they were probably closer to golden butterscotch, but I'd only seen eyes like that one time before. James had eyes like that and I felt a chill run through me as I looked at her eyes.

The girl looked like she was about seventeen or eighteen years old but she was a tiny little thing and was still shorter than me even with her four inch stilettos. At first glance she appeared to dress like the rest of the kids I'd seen in Forks. On closer inspection even I could tell that her clothes were expensive. She was wearing French designer jeans and stiletto heeled pumps. Her top looked like a lacy white blouse with the top three buttons undone, and she had a black satin vest on over it. The bottom wasn't tucked in, but draped around her waist. The long full sleeves had no cuff, and were slashed to the elbow and hanging loose, giving them an almost medieval look. Around her neck, she wore a lacy ribbon choker with an oval cameo medallion at the front of her throat. The medallion had some kind of symbol on it that looked like a family crest. She wasn't wearing her purple leather jacket, but held it casually draped over her shoulder, despite the forty degree weather.

A young man with blond hair had gotten out of the passenger seat of the Porsche. He looked too old to be in high school. Maybe he was home from college, visiting for the holidays. If I had to guess, I'd say he was nineteen or twenty, maybe older. His eyes were a deeper red orange ochre color that looked darker than the girls and a lot more like James's eye color than I cared to remember.

He was six foot three and muscular but lean with golden honey blond hair. He was wearing stonewashed gray boot cut jeans over shiny black cavalry style boots, a gray button down shirt under a sweater and a medium length dark gray leather coat.

He smiled at the petite little black haired girl as she danced around the front of the car, and took his hand as they walked up to the newspaper vending machines.

"I still don't see why you can't just have the paper delivered to the house, Alice." The blond haired young man said. He spoke with a southern drawl, and I knew he hadn't lived in Forks all of his life.

"It just doesn't work the same that way, Jazz." The petite little black haired girl said in a musical sounding soprano. "They mail them if you subscribe, and we'd still have to drive into town to pick up the paper from the post office. Besides, this way you get to take me out to breakfast."

What kind of name was Jazz? I saw him roll his eyes at the mention of breakfast, and a look of chagrined disgust flashed across his face for a second, but he smiled at the little black haired girl.

"I ate last night," he said. "If you must have this kind of breakfast, Esme is a much better cook, but I suppose I can join you for coffee."

They were standing beside me now, and the little black haired girl opened her designer purse and fed coins into the machine. I glanced at her selection, and was a little surprised when I realized she was reaching for a copy of 'The Wall Street Journal'. She froze as she leaned into the vending machine and her hand touched the papers. She stood perfectly still for too long. Was she having some kind of seizure? A look of concern flashed across the blond mans face and he was reaching for her to help her, when suddenly the moment passed. She took a paper from the middle of the stack and stood up.

She turned and really looked at me for the first time with an appraising look on her face. She studied me for several seconds, and first shock, and then the same awestruck bewildered expression that Ben had worn yesterday when he met me passed across her face. She was much better at schooling her features than Ben had been, and the awestruck expression was quickly replaced with normal curiosity. She handed the paper to the blond haired young man.

"Why don't you go see about getting us a table, Jazz. I'll catch up in a minute."

"Are you sure, Alice? Are you all right?" He asked with concern.

"I'll be alright, now go on…" and she shooed him toward the door. He walked into the restaurant, but glanced back to be sure she was really ok.

"I don't think I've seen you here in town before," she said addressing me now. "Are you passing through, or maybe visiting for the Holidays?"

She was reaching into her purse as she spoke and took out a gold cigarette case. She popped it open and there were both commercial factory made cigarettes on one side, and smaller professional looking hand rolled cigarettes on the other. She selected one of the regular looking cigarettes, closed the case, and put it back into her purse. She took out what looked like a custom designer lighter and lit it.

"No such luck, I just moved here yesterday. I came to live with my father. Charlie Swan?"

"So then you're the Police Chief's daughter. We heard you were moving here, you must be Isabella… I was expecting a much younger girl from the way he talks about you."

"Please, just Bella. Yeah, I've been getting the same impression that he sees me as his little girl most of the time."

She held out her hand… "Well, welcome to Forks, Bella, I'm Alice Cullen, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends in no time."

So Alice was one of the Cullen kids that Charlie had warned me about. She didn't look too scary, except for the eyes… I took her hand and shook it and let it go. Her grip was firm and surprisingly strong despite her size. It was icy cold, but it was forty degrees out and she hadn't put on her coat when she got out of the car… My hand was probably ice cold too.

"Thanks', Alice, it's nice to meet you."

"So, then you'll be starting school next week, Bella? You're a junior, right?"

"Yeah, new school… I'm so not looking forward to that. Still a junior, last time I looked."

"It's not too bad. We all started here last year, so the kids here are used to seeing some new faces. After the first couple of weeks, you'll fit right in."

"I know… It's just harder in a small town where everyone already knows everyone else…"

"Well, luckily for you, the novelty hasn't completely worn off for us, either. We can all be new together."

"Thanks', Alice." I paused for a second, and then I just couldn't restrain my curiosity anymore. "Alice, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Bella, what's on your mind?"

"Are there many people that have eyes like yours? I knew a guy in Phoenix that had eyes that were the same shade of red orange ochre like your friend's, but I've never heard of anyone with golden butterscotch colored eyes?"

"You can… see… my eyes…?" She stuttered and seemed stunned, and then snapped out of it. "It's a genetic thing, very rare. Most people don't even notice… We try to down play it and don't mention it to try and avoid the attention it causes… We just try to fit in…"

I just nodded and let it go. It sounded like Alice was making up excuses, but then Charlie came out the front door and walked over to us.

"Hi, Bells," Charlie said as he walked up beside me. "Mornin', Alice, you keeping Jasper out of trouble this morning?"

"Yeah…" Alice seemed distracted. She was looking down and wouldn't meet our eyes. "I've got to go… It was nice to meet you, Bella…" and she hurried away and went into the café, stopping to crush out her cigarette in the ash tray next to the door, then hurrying inside.

I wondered what that was all about as I walked to the cruiser with Charlie. I dropped my cigarette in the parking lot and crushed it out with my toe before I got into the car. I saw Alice hurry over to the blond haired young man who was seated in a booth, and they held a hushed conference with they're heads together. Then they both turned to look at me sitting in the cruiser through the window of the coffee shop. They were still staring as Charlie pulled out of the parking lot.

"Charlie, have you ever noticed anything odd about Alice Cullen and that guy she was with?"

"You mean Jasper Hale? No, not really… besides what I told you last night… They do have a tendency to turn up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a lot of the parents in town are a little pissed off about them keeping their kids out all hours of the night when they… date… but that's about it."

"You haven't noticed anything strange about their eyes?"

"Well, Alice does have a rather piercing look with those bright blue eyes and that jet black hair, but I wouldn't say it stands out or was strange..."

"Blue…? Her eyes looked blue to you?" What the fuck? What the hell was going on here! I knew what I saw… Why would Charlie say her eyes were blue?

"Well, yeah… She was standing there right in front of us plain as day. Blue eyes, black hair, designer jeans and heels that were so high they looked dangerous. She really should have put her coat on, but I guess she wasn't planning on standing out there talking. Jasper's eyes are black, same as always. Why would you ask about that?"

Ok, weirdness. Why did I have to suddenly have total fucking weirdness in my life? Had I gone insane, and I was dreaming all of this? Was I really sitting in a little padded room somewhere, drooling in the corner, and my brain was just making this all up to protect me from accepting my true reality?

I pinched my arm and it hurt. I was probably awake even if I had gone insane. I touched the window of the cruiser and it felt smooth and cold to my touch. It all seemed pretty real. Screw it, this was my reality now, insane or not, and I was just going to have to deal with it. I didn't want Charlie to think I was losing it, so I just played it off and dropped it. I'd wait and get more facts before I talked to anyone else about this. I realized I'd never talked to anyone about James's eyes. I wondered what they'd looked like to Mandy and Rachel. I'd have to call them and ask…

"It's nothing dad, must have been the lighting. It's not important. Do you think Mrs. Newton is at the sporting goods store yet?"

We had only gone a couple of blocks south, and Charlie was pulling into the parking lot of a medium size shopping center. Well. Medium sized anywhere else. It was probably huge for forks… I saw the sign for the Thriftway grocery store. Newton's Outfitters shared the parking lot and occupied one end of the building while the grocery store was at the opposite end of the complex. There was a bakery and deli section in the middle along with the drugstore and pharmacy departments.

"Yeah, she's there. That's her corvette parked out front. Looks like Mike is there too."

"Mike? Who's Mike?"

"Mike Newton, he's her son. He's a pretty good kid most of the time, I guess. He got into a little trouble last year with his car, but I cut him some slack and he's kept his nose clean ever since. That's the favor Karen owes me. He's about your age. He plays football for Forks, well basketball now… He should be in your class at school. He works here too."

Oh great. Now I was going to have to deal with some guy too, and probably a dumb jock at that. Well, I'd just have to make him understand that we had to keep the relationship professional if we were going to be working together. Hopefully we'd have opposing shifts, and he'd be working when I was off and vice versa… STOP! Wait one minute! That was Isabel talking again. Bella accepted her life and wasn't going to wallow in self-pity anymore!

Maybe this Mike Newton would be cute and a nice guy. Bella was just saying last night how we needed some new experiences to replace the scary, unhealthy experiences that she was fantasizing about. Bella didn't have to go all the way to have some nice new healthy experiences to think about instead of sick fantasies about... I wasn't going to think the name. Sex was part of a relationship, but we weren't looking for a relationship or a boyfriend. We could fool around a little with the guys we dated as long as they understood Bella's boundaries. Maybe this Mike Newton would be date worthy. Or not…, but we could at least meet him before we made up our mind.

Charlie pulled up in front of the sporting goods store, and parked next to Karen Newton's shiny red Corvette. There was another customized Japanese import that kind of made me think of Ben's car parked next to the Corvette. It didn't really look at all like the Toyota Corolla, but the race car look was the same, and I assumed it must be Mike's car. From the stickers plastered over the back windows and rear quarter panel I assumed it was a Nissan 350Z. It was painted silver with royal blue accents and racing stripes.

We got out of the car and started toward the door.

"Ok, kiddo, I'll introduce you to Karen. The rest is up to you, Ok?"

"Sure, dad, no problem, I've got this." Bella was confident, and she was a real find. Newton's would be lucky to hire her. At least that's what I kept telling myself to try and boost my confidence. Hopefully my palms would stop sweating, and my voice wouldn't crack.

Charlie opened the door and we walked in. The place looked empty, but it was just minutes after opening. There was nobody up front manning the registers, but there were the typical electronic anti-theft pillars standing guard on either side of the doorway. I followed Charlie toward the back of the store past displays of tents, sleeping bags, back packs and portable stoves and lanterns. There was a fairly extensive clothing section with hiking pants, shorts, t-shirts, button down plaids, and an assortment of parkas and winter coats. The shoe section had both hiking boots and a variety of more normal sports shoes and sneakers. There were a couple of people at the back counter by some glass cases against the wall filled with rifles and shotguns.

Seriously? You had to be kidding me. She ran a camping supply and sporting goods store? I assumed the woman was Karen Newton. She was a pretty thirty something, but the perfectly styled long blond hair and expensive salon nails seemed a little incongruous with the theme of the shop. The beige designer faux-wrap dress, stiletto heels, and pearls only added to my sense of disbelief that she could possibly be the owner of this store but Charlie walked right up to her. When we got closer, I noticed the gold accent pin above the left breast on her dress was the word 'manager' spelled out in little gold letters.

"Hi, Karen, I want to introduce you to my daughter, Bella Swan." Yeah, he was talking to the thirty something debutante in the stilettos and pearls. I hoped she didn't expect me to dress like that to work here.

"Hi Charlie, so this is your daughter…Bella. Well, I owe you, so I'll try her out and give her a shot. C'mon dear, let me get you an application, and then we can sit down and talk for a minute." Mrs. Newton stepped around the counter and reached under it to grab a sheet of paper. "Why don't you take a look around, Charlie? Mike, you should show the Chief the new shipment of fishing lures that came in last week."

I assumed the guy was 'Mike'. His name tag said so. Mike looked like he was my age, seventeen. I had to admit he was kind of cute in a puppy dog sort of way. He had a baby face, and looked like he was just shy of six feet tall, about five foot eleven. He had that look that girls usually found to be altogether good looking, with pale blue eyes and blond hair. At least he was dressed like he worked in a camping store, and I felt better about this. He was wearing jeans and hiking boots. He had on a long sleeved thermal shirt and a button down plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up past the elbows over it. He wore a red vest over the shirts and a plastic name tag with his name on it pinned to his left breast.

Mike didn't seem too interested in showing Charlie fishing lures. From the grin on his face, he was having too much fun checking me out. I could feel his eyes move on me as he looked me up and down. He was probably undressing me with his eyes as he ogled me. He seemed to approve of me coming to work here, especially if it meant he'd be able to spend some time with me. Isabel probably would have been uncomfortable with the attention, and would have wanted to get away from him or distract him to stop him from staring. Bella didn't mind so much, and felt a little thrill that a cute guy seemed to find her attractive.

Karen handed me the paper and it was a standard generic employment application. From her tone of voice she considered it a formality, and she probably just wanted it for her files so she had a record of my vital information like phone number, address, emergency contact, etc. I followed her through a doorway into the back of the store, and into an office. She indicated that I should sit down in a chair in front of the desk, and I took a pen out of my purse and started to fill out the application.

I filled it out as completely as possible, and handed it to her, where she was sitting behind the desk. She looked the application over and nodded a couple of times and then smiled at me.

"You have some retail experience? You worked in a book store?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, you're polite, save that for the customer's, call me Karen."

"Ok, Karen."

"You know how to run a cash register and make change?"

"Yes, math isn't my strongest subject, but I can make change, and my drawer was never short."

"Well, that's a plus. I probably would have hired you anyhow even if I didn't owe your dad a favor. When can you start?"

"As soon as you need me, I have no plans yet. I just got here yesterday."

"Well, we're expecting a slow day today. We're closed on Sundays and then we'll be closed Monday and Tuesday for New Years. How about we start you on Wednesday evening? Be here at four and you'll work until close at nine. I should have you added into the schedule by then so you can check when you work next. We'll get you all setup on Wednesday evening, and get you trained, ok? Do you have any questions?"

"My dad said the job pays minimum wage with twenty hours a week?"

"Yes, we'll try to get you your full twenty hours, but it depends on the schedule. If the store is slow, and we're caught up on stocking, we might send you home early sometimes. You can earn a bonus for making sales quota, but don't worry about that for now. This is our slow season. If things work out, you should be trained before things pickup."

"Alright, what will my typical duties include?"

"Well, everyone works the cash registers to ring up sales, but only the one you're logged in on. When deliveries come in, you'll help put them away, stock shelves and put up merchandise. Basic retail store chores, light cleaning, vacuuming the carpets, folding clothes from the dressing rooms and returning them to the sales floor, putting price tags on new stock, and maintaining inventory on the shelves and sales floor, nothing too difficult."

"Ok, I can handle all of that. I don't really know much about camping or sporting goods equipment if I had to try and sell it."

"Neither did I, dear, when I first started. Most of the stuff sells itself, and the guys that come in here all think they're experts, anyhow. David is the hiker and camper, and it had always been his dream to open a shop like this. He had the camping know how, and I had an MBA from Stanford. He told me what campers and hikers needed and wanted, and I figured out how to make a profit selling it. That's how we ended up in Forks of all places. I picked the town out of my research on where a good location for a shop like this would be, and here we are ten years later."

"So you haven't lived in Forks all your life either. I was born here, but my mom left and took me with her before I was a year old. This is the first time I've been back in ten years."

"Forks isn't so bad, once you get used to the wet. Now, let's go find your dad, and I'll see you on Wednesday night."

We walked back out into the store, and found Charlie and Mike in the fishing section, discussing the merits of the new shipment of fishing gear. Charlie was holding a red plastic basket with some little boxes and odds and ends in it.

"Well?" Charlie asked when he saw us coming down the aisle way.

"I start Wednesday night, afterschool."

"Congratulations, Bella." Charlie said.

"Cool, that's my shift," Mike said. "Maybe I'll be able to help train you."

"Maybe," Karen said, and smiled at Mike. "I should probably introduce you two. Bella, this is my son, Mike Newton. Mike, this is Bella Swan, the newest employee of Newton's Outfitters."

I shook hands with Mike, and then we went up front to the cash register. Mike rang up the purchase, and Charlie grinned when Karen told him to give us the fifteen percent employee discount. We said our goodbyes and left with Charlie proudly clutching his purchase in hand. I could feel Mike's eyes on me checking out my ass as we went out the door, and wondered how long it would take him to ask me out. He was cute enough, but I'd have to wait and see if he was nice, or not. It would suck having to work with him if he was a jerk.

We made the short drive down the parking lot to park closer to the grocery store. We got out of the cruiser and went inside. Charlie reached for one of the little baskets that you carry around, but I shook my head and got a shopping cart. I set my purse in the basket and got out my list. Charlie's eyes got big when he saw it, but he didn't say anything.

I turned to him and asked, "Do we have a limit?"

"No… get whatever we need. How many people are you planning to feed, Bella?"

"Just you and me, but this is planned for if we eat at home. Were you planning on going out to the Coffee Shop everyday for breakfast and dinner? I can cook. You don't have to eat out everyday, and you'll probably save some money eating at home…"

"Ok, we can give this a try… I told you, I didn't expect you to move in and take care of me…"

"It's ok, Charlie, this is what I did in Phoenix. I did the grocery shopping and most of the cooking. You know how Renee is in the kitchen. It was basic survival if I wanted edible food. I'm a good cook."

"Ok, we'll try it your way. Like I said, the place needs a woman's touch. It'll be nice having someone use the kitchen again for more than cleaning fish and snacks."

I nodded, and we started into the store. Shopping with Charlie was an experience. I wasn't sure it was an experience I'd care to repeat. I felt like I was in the grocery store with a eight year old, but I couldn't very well slap his hand, and tell him no when we were shopping on his dime and he was writing the check. I tried to avoid the junk food aisles as much as possible, but he still managed to find things that weren't on the list and toss them into the basket. He seemed to take the concept 'eat at home' to mean stock up on goodies. Did we really need a huge five quart container of chocolate ice cream, and three trays of assorted cookies? I'll admit, pop tarts were on the list, but there were some at home already. I had just been planning on getting the flavors I liked too, but now we had five more boxes.

I asked Charlie where he was planning on putting the ice cream, because the freezer was stuffed full of fish, but he said he'd move some to the freezer in the garage. That led me to question him about what he already had in the freezer, but it was just more fish. Well, I had more freezer space than I'd originally thought, so we went to the meat section and picked out some roasts and steaks. I already had hamburger, but more freezer space gave me more options, and there were some things on sale.

I managed to get everything we needed in one shopping cart, just barely with Charlie helping. I wanted to get him out of the store before he grabbed anything else. The girl that rang up our purchase looked like she was about my age. Her name tag said 'Haley', and she was polite and didn't stare too much. I smiled and thanked her as Charlie wrote out his check. I figured I'd see her in school on Wednesday. A big kid with 'Tyler' on his name tag bagged our groceries for us, and then pushed the basket out to the cruiser and loaded the bags into the trunk.

I could tell he was checking me out as he followed us out to the cruiser with our shopping cart. I kind of liked it, but I was honestly surprised at how much attention I was attracting from the boys in town. I'd gone on some dates in Phoenix, but I'd never gotten this kind of attention from guys before. I didn't think I was anything special, compared to the girls I'd seen around town. Haley was pretty, and probably better looking than me, in my opinion. It just seemed strange to me to have boys looking at me for once. It was something new, and I had to admit, I liked it.

We drove home and hauled the bags into the kitchen. Charlie started moving some of the fish to the freezer in the garage to make room, while I started putting the groceries away. I left things where Charlie already had them so he could find the things he was used to, but I was pretty much free to set up my own system for where to put everything else considering how bare the shelves were.

I threw together a quick lunch for us when we were done putting up the groceries, and then I went up to my room to do a little research on my new computer. It booted right up when I turned it on, and I didn't have any hassles getting online. Apparently the guy from the cable company knew his way around a computer. I went to Google and ran a search for eye color. I'd never heard of anyone with amber eyes before, but apparently there really were people in the world with butterscotch gold eyes.

It was rare, and it was genetic, but it didn't explain why Charlie thought Alice's eyes were blue or Jaspers eyes were black. I remembered about asking Mandy and Rachel about James's eyes, and I logged into MSN. Mandy was online so I started a chat with her. She was sorry about my mom sending me to live with my dad, and asked how I was doing. I told her I'd e-mail her all the details, and got down to business.

What color were James's eyes?

His eyes were blue. Why are you asking about that creep?

Mandy thought his eyes were blue.

I knew James's eyes had been red orange ocher just like Jasper's eyes. Alice's eyes had been golden butterscotch. She'd seemed embarrassed about it, and said she wanted to fit in. Maybe she wore colored contacts to hide her eye color, and had forgotten to put them in this morning. That was a logical explanation that I could accept. It didn't explain why Charlie thought her eyes were blue, but maybe he'd never actually seen her eyes today, and was just filling in the blanks from what he expected to see. I'd have to apologize to her the next time I saw her, and tell her I wouldn't say anything. I knew how hard it could be to fit in, and I wouldn't do anything to make it harder for her.

I'd told Angela that I'd hang out with her today when I was done with my errands, but I'd also told Charlie I'd be cooking dinner. Maybe Angela would like to come over to my house this afternoon, and then we could do something later after dinner. It was worth a try, so I got out my cell phone and gave her a call. She said she'd be over in a little while.

I went downstairs to the kitchen and put steaks in to marinate in the fridge, and wrapped some potatoes in foil to bake for dinner later. I was finishing up my prep work when there was a knock on the door, and I went to answer it. Angela was standing on the porch and I invited her in. I took her coat and hung it up, and then we went up to my room.

Angela was still dressed differently than I was used to seeing on a regular basis, but she wasn't quite so geeked out today. She was still wearing a skirt, but this one fell just below the knee instead of to her ankles. She was wearing a pullover sweater and tights with low heeled sensible looking shoes. The coat I'd hung up was a three quarter length wool trench coat with a belt and buttons.

It was dressier than I was used to for just hanging out with friends, but it looked good on her. I only owned a few skirts, and I only wore them for special occasions. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd worn a skirt or dress to school, let alone to visit a friend to hang out. I had to admit the possibility intrigued me, but I'd wait until I started school and see what the other kids wore first. Bella might be more confident and daring than Isabel, but she wasn't about to stand out from the crowd on day one when she was already going to be getting stared at all day. She had time before she had to worry about that.

Right now, I just wanted to get to know Angela, and I was really curious about her hobby. I was dealing with a lot of weirdness in my life lately, and having some degree of control over the weirdness sounded better than just reacting and letting the weirdness control my life. If Angela and her friends were studying this mystical stuff and learning about this practical magic thing then I wanted to know more.

We walked into my room and I toed off my shoes and sat down on my bed by the head board. Angela followed me over and sat down on the end of the bed. She kicked off her shoes and scooted back on the bed and got comfortable so we could talk.

"Ange, last night, you were telling me how you and some of your friends are into this magic thing as a hobby. You said that you get together and teach each other things. I'm really curious about how that works and what you can do. Would you be willing to teach me more about it?"