7.

I told Charlie that I had a lot of homework to do once we had returned home after dinner. There was a basketball game on that he was excited about, though of course I had no idea what was special about it, so he wasn't aware of anything unusual in my face or tone.

Once in my room, I locked the door. I dug through my desk until I found a pair of old headphones and I plugged them into the little CD player. I picked up a CD by one of my favorite bands that I was surprised to see in Book Bella's collection. I popped it into place and lay down on the bed. I put on the headphones, hit Play, and turned up the volume until it hurt my ears. I closed my eyes, but the light still intruded, so I added a pillow over the top half of my face.

I concentrated very carefully on the music, trying to remember the lyrics from this older CD I hadn't listened to in years. By the third time I'd listened through the CD, I knew all the words to the choruses at least. I was surpirsed that it took that many times when I once knew all of the words like the back of my hand.

And it worked. The shattering beats and intritcate melodies made it impossible for me to think - which was the whole purpose of the exercise. I listened to the CD again and again, until I was singing along with all the songs, until, finally, I fell asleep.

I opened my eyes to a familiar place. Aware in some corner of my consciousness that I was dreaming, I recognized the green light of the forest. I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks somewhere nearby. And I knew that if I found the ocean, I'd be able to see the sun. I was trying to follow the sound, but then my ex-boyfriend Trent was there, tugging on my hand, pulling me towards the door that I hadn't noticed before.

"Trent? How did you get here?" I asked. His face was frightening as he yanked with all his strength against my resistance; I didn't want to go through the door.

"This way, Lydia!" Trent growled out, anger seeping into his tone.

"Why?" I asked, still pulling against his grasp, desperate now to find the sun.

But Trent let go of my hand and I yelped, falling down from the suddeness of his release. He turned on me like he was going to slap me.

"Emmett!" I screamed, calling for help, hoping he would come.

"Lydia, come here," Trent called out again. But I didn't turn. I was watching the light coming torward me from the beach.

And then Emmett stepped out from the trees, his skin faintly glowing, his eyes black and dangerous. He held up one hand and beckoned me to come to him. I took a step toward him and he smiled, his teeth sharp and pointed.

"Trust me," he purred.

I took another step.

Trent launched himself toward me and grabbed my hand just as Emmett took hold of my other one. They both started to pull and I could feel the pull in my shoulders.

"No!" I screamed, wrenching upright out of my bed. My sudden movement caused the headphones to pull the CD player off the bedside table, and it clattered to the wooden floor.

My light was still on, and I was sitting fully dressed on the bed, with my shoes on. I glanced, disoriented, at the clock on my dresser. It was five-thirty in the morning.

I groaned, fell back, and rolled over onto my face, kicking off my shoes. I was too comfortable to get anywhere near sleep, though. I rolled back over and unbuttoned my jeans, yanking them off awkwardly as I tried to stay horizontal. I could feel the braid in my hair, an uncomfortable ridge along the back of my skull. I turned onto my side and ripped the rubber band out, quickly combing through the plaits with my fingers, leaving my hair loose and wavy. I pulled the pillow back over my eyes.

It was all no use, of course. My subconcious had dredged up exactly the images I'd been trying to avoid. This inner battle of which world was now really mine and how I came to be here. I was going to have to face these questions now and find some answers.

I sat up, and my head spun for a minute as the blood flowed downward. First things first, I thought to myself, happy to put it off as long as possible. I grabbed my bathroom bag.

The shower didn't last nearly as long as I hoped it would, though. Even taking the time to blow-dry my hair, I was soon out of things to do in the bathroom. Wrapped in a towel, I crossed back into my room. I couldn't tell if Charlie was still asleep, or if he had already left. I went to look out my window, and the cruiser was gone. Fishing again.

I dressed slowly in some comy sweats and then made my bed - something I hadn't done since coming here. I couldn't put it off any longer. I went to my desk and switched on the old computer.

Using the Internet here was bad. The modem was sadly outdated, the free service substandard;

I ate slowly, chewing each bite with care. When I was done, I washed the bowl and spoon, dried them, and put them away. My feet dragged as I climbed the stairs. I went to my CD player first, picking it up off the floor and placing it precisely in the center of the table. I pulled out the headphones, placing them back in the drawer where I first found them. Then I turned the same CD on, turning it down to the point where it was backgroung noise.

With another sigh, I turned on the computer. Naturally, the screen was covered in pop-up ads. I sat in my hard folding chair and began closing all the little windows. Eventually I made it to my favorite search engine. I shot down a few more pop-ups and then typed in the search box.

traveling into alternate universes

It took an infuriatingly long time, of course. When the results came up, there was a lot to sift through - everything from movies and tv shows to fanfiction stories that someone had written.

Then I found a promising site - Mysterious Universe. I waited patiently for it to load, quickly clicking closed each ad that flashed across the screen. Finally the screen was finished - blue with a heading that read Stepping Into A Parallel Dimension.

Parallel universes, dimensions that nearly resemble our own, were once pondered by Plato, and proposed mathematically by Princeton University graduate student Hugh Everett III in 1954. These parallel worlds, common in myth, have been staples in science fiction since Edwin A. Abbott's 1884 novel, "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions." More modern science fiction, like the dimension-jumping television program "Sliders," and Philip K. Dick's novel "The Man in the High Castle" (in which the Axis won WWII), gives us exciting glances at worlds like, yet unlike, our own. Exciting unless you stumble upon one of these alternative dimensions yourself as Carol Chase McElheney did in early March 2006.

The rest of the article had to do with how this woman had went to visit a town she used to live in and nothing was the way it should have been. The town looked like a ghetto and had graffitti all over. The cemetery where her grandparents were buried was just a fenced in grass lot.

I read carefully through it, but found no answers. This woman didn't know what happened or why. Later on she even had to return there and everything was the way she remembered once more. Nothing gave me an insight into why I had been brought into this novel or if I could ever go back. Why was I here?

Aggravated, I snapped off the computer's main power switch, not waiting to shut things down properly. Through my irritation, I felt overwhelming embarassment. It was all so stupid. I was sitting in this room, researching alternate univereses.

I had to get out of the house, but there was nowhere I wanted to go that didn't involve a three-day drive. I pulled on my boots anyway, unclear where I was headed, and went downstairs. I shrugged into my raincoat without checking the weather and stomped out the door.

It was overcast, but not raining yet. I ignored my truck and started on foot, angling across Charlie's yard toward the ever-encroaching forest. It didn't take long till I was deep enough for the house and the road to be invisible, for the only sound to be the sqish of the damp earth under my feet and the sudden cries of the jays.

There was a thin ribbon of a trail that led through the forest here, or I wouldn't risk wandering on my own like this. My sense of direction wasn't that much better than Book Bella's. The trail wound deeper and deeper into the forest, mostly east as far as I could tell. It snaked around the Sitka spruces and the hemlocks, the yews and the maples. I only vaguely knew the names of the trees around me, and all I knew was due to my actual dad pointing them out to me while driving when I was younger. There were many that I didn't know, and others I couldn't be sure about because they were so covered in green parasites.

I followed the trail as long as my anger at myself and this situation pushed me forward. As that started to ebb, I slowed. A few drops of moisture trickled down from the canopy above me, but I couldn't be certain if it was beginning to rain or if it was simply pools left over from yesterday, held high in the leaves above me, slowly dripping their way back to the earth. A recently fallen tree rested against the trunk of another, creating a sheltered little bench just a few safe feet off the trail. I stepped over the ferns and sat carefully, making sure my jacket was between the damp seat and my clothes wherever they touched, and leaned my head back against the living tree.

This was the wrong place to have come. I should have known, but where else was there to go? The forest ws deep green and far too much like the scene in last night's dream to allow for peace of mind. Now that there was no longer the sound of my soggy footsteps, the silence was piercing. The birds were quiet, too, the drops increasing in frequency, so it must be raining above. The ferns stood higher than my head, now that I was seated, and I knew someone could walk by on the path, three feet away, and not see me.

Here in the trees it was much easier to believe the absurdities that embarrassed me indoors. Nothing has changed in this forest for thousands of years, and yet it is completely different from the forests of Washington State in my universe.

I forced myself to focus on the two most vital questions I had to answer, but I did so unwillingly.

First, I had to decided if it was possible that Trent was my way home and now I can't go back.

Immediately my mind respnded with a resounding negative. It was silly and depressing to entertain such a ridiculous notion. But what, then? I asked myself. There was no rational explanation as to why I was here. I went over the article again in my head and realized there really was nothing helpful about it. And more, it only made me more confused than I was before reading it.

Well, nothing about my situation was normal. Something outside the posibility of rational justification was taking place here, something more.

So then - maybe. That would have to be my answer for now. I refused to accept the horrifying possibility of anything else.

If that dream was my last chance to go home - I could hardly make myself think the words - then what should I do? What could I do? Involving someone else was definitely out. I couldn't even wrap my head around it myself; anyone I told would have me committed. But what about Emmett?

Only two options seemed practical. The first: to be smart, to avoid Emmett as much as possible. To cancel our plans, to start ignoring him as much as far as I was able. To pretend there was an impenetrably thick glass wall between us in the one class where we were forced together. To tell him to leave me alone - no matter how much I didn't mean it.

I was gripped in a sudden agony of despair as I considered that alternative. My mind rejected the pain, quickly skipping on to the next option.

I could do nothing different. After all, if I was brought here, it must be for a reason. In fact, I had already changed the story line so much. There was one thing I was sure of, if I was sure of anything. The Emmett in my dream last night, while slightly terrifying, was saving me from Trent. Surely the dark image of him was conjured from Jacob's stories, even with my prior knowledge that the Cullens were nothing to be afraid of. Even so, when I'd screamed out in terror, it wasn't in fear of Emmett. It was fear that Trent would take me away.

And I knew in that that I had to tell Emmett the truth about me. Because if for some reason I suddenly went back home, I would want Emmett to know about the possibility of Book Bella to return and give him up for Edward. When I thought of Emmett, of his voice, his hypnotic eyes, the magnetic force of his personality, I wanted nothing more than to be with him right now. Even if... but I couldn't think it. Not here, alone in the darkening forest. Not while the rain made it dim as twilight under the canopy and pattered like footsteps across the matted earthen floor. I shivered and rose quickly from my place of concealment, worried that somehow the path would have disappeared with the rain.

But it was there, safe and clear, winding its way out of the dripping green maze. I followed hastily, my hood pulled close around my face, becoming surprised, as I nearly ran through the trees, at how far I had come. I started to wonder if I was heading out all, or following the path farther into the confines of the forest. Before I could get too panicky, though, I began to glimpse some open spaces through the webbed branches. And then I could hear a car passing on the street, and I was free, Charlie's lawn stretched out in front of me, the house beckoning me, promising warmth and dry socks.

It was just noon when I got back inside. I went upstairs and got dressed for the day, jeans and a t-shirt, since I was staying indoors. It didn't take too much effort to concentrate on my task for the day, a paper on Macbeth that was due Wednesday. I settled into outlining a rough draft contentedly, more serene than I'd felt since... well, since Emmett told me how he felt, if I was being honest.

That had always been my way, though. Making decisions was the painful part for me, the part I agonized over. But once the decision was made, I simply followed through - usually with relief that the choice was made. This decision was ridiculously easy to live with. Dangerously easy.

And so the day was quiet, productive - I finished my paper beofore eight. Charlie came home with a large catch, and I made a mental note to pick up a few cookbooks with fish recipes while I was in Seattle next week. A shiver went up my spine at the thought of the trip, but not one of fear. No, I was very pleased to be going on this trip with Emmett. I was nervous about what he would think, but I couldn't find it in myself to be afraid of what he is or spending time with him.

I slept dreamlessly that night, exhausted from beginnign my day so early, and sleeping so poorly the night before. I woke, for the second time since arriving in Forks, to the bright yellow light of a sunny day. I skipped to the window, stunned to see that there was hardly a cloud in the sky, and those were just the fleecy little white puffs that couldn't possibly be carrying any rain. I opened the window - suprised when it opened silently, without sticking, not having opened it in who knows how many years - and sucked in the relatively dry air. It was nearly warm and hardly windy at all. My blood was electric in my veins.

Charlie was finishing breakfast when I came downstairs, and he picked up on my mood immediately.

"Nice day out," he commented.

"Yes," I agreed with a grin.

He smiled back, his brown eyes crinkling around the edges. When Charlie smiled, it was easier to see why he and my mother had jumped too quickly into an early marriage. Most of the young romantic he'd been in those days had faded before I'd known him, as the curly brown hair - the same color, if not the same texture, as mine - had dwindled, slowly revealing more and more of the shiny skin of his forehead. But when he smiled I could see a little of the man who had run away with Renee when she was just two years older than I was now.

I ate breakfast cheerily, watching the dust moats stirring in the sunlight that streamed in the back window. Charlie called out goodbye, and I heard the cruiser pull away from the house. I hesitated on my way out the door, hand on my rain jacket. It would be tempting fate to leave it at home. With a sigh, I folded it over my arm and stepped out into the brightest light I'd seen in months.

By dint of much elbow grease, I was able to get both windows in the truck almost completely rolled down. I was one of the first ones to school; I hadn't even checked the clock in my hurry to get outside. I parked and headed toward the seldom-used picnic benches on the south side of the cafeteria. The benches were still a little damp, so I sat on my jacket, glad to have a use for it. My homework was done, so I pulled out a sketchbook and just started sketching whatever came to mind as I daydreamed, watching the sunlight play on the red-barked trees. After a few minutes, I suddenly realized I'd drawn five pairs of dark eyes staring out of the page at me, as well as many doors. I tore the page out and wadded it up.

"Bella!" I heard someone call, and it sounded like Mike. I looked around to realize that the school had become populated while I'd been sitting there, absentminded. Everyone was in t-shirts, some even in shorts though the temperature couldn't be over sixty. Mike was coming toward me in khaki shorts and a striped Rugby shirt, waving.

"Hey, Mike," I called, waving back.

He came to sit by me, the tidy spikes of his hair shining golden in the light, his grin stretching across his face. He was so delighted to see me, I couldn't help but feel gratified.

"I never noticed before - your hair has red in it," he commented, catching between his fingers a strand that was fluttering in th elight breeze.

"Only in the sun."

"Great day isn't it?"

"My kind of day," I agreed.

"What did you do yesterday?" He was such a friendly person, I'm glad that I got through to him about being just friends.

"I worked on my essay. I actually finished it," I admitted, blushing. He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand.

"Oh yeah - that's due Thursday, right?"

"Um, Wednesday, I think."

"Wednesday?" He frowned. "That's not good... What did you write yours on?"

"Whether Shakespeare's treatment of the female character is misogynistic."

He stared at me like I'd just spoken in pig Latin.

"I guess I'll have to work on that tonight," he said deflated. "I was going to ask Jessica if she wanted to go out."

"Oh! Why don't you ask if she wants to meet up and work on your essays together? You could go to the diner, eat, and help each other come up with ideas," I offer. His face lights up again in a wide grin.

"That's a great idea, Bella! Thanks!" he says, giving me a quick hug.

"No big deal. Now come on, it's time for class and I can't be late again," I gathered my books up and stuffed them in my bag.

We walked in silence to building three, and he seemed so happy. I was glad to help a friend.

When I saw Jessica in Trig, she was bubbling with enthusiasm. She, Angela, and Lauren were going to Port Angeles tonight to go dress shopping for the dance, and she wanted me to come, too, even though I didn't need one. I was indecisive. If I went, would I be cornered like Book Bella? And if I did, would anyone come to save me? I couldn't decide if it was worth the risk or not. Either way I knew the trip would be postponed until tomorrow. I had time to decide.

So I gave her a maybe, telling her I'd have to talk with Charlie first.

She talked of nothing but the danceon the way to Spanish, continuing as if without interruption when class finally ended, five minutes late, and we were on our way to lunch. I was far too lost in my own frenzy of anticipation to motice much of what she said. I was painfully eager to see not just him but all the Cullens - well at least Alice and Jasper. Edward and Rosalie were just too hateful. As I crossed the threshold of the cafeteria, I felt a tingle of fear slither down m spine and settle in my stomach. Would Emmett think differently of me? And then a different feeling jolted through me - would he be waiting to sit with me again?

As was my routine, I glanced first toward the Cullens' table. A shiver of panic trembled in my stomach as I realized it was empty. I shambled along behind Jessica, not bothering to pretend to listen anymore.

We were late enough that everyone was already at our table. I took my seat by Angela, and then remembered. The Cullens wouldn't be here becuase of the sun, and they wouldn't be here tomorrow either. Get it together, Lydia, I told myself.

The rest of the day passed slowly, dismally. In Gym, we had a lecture on the rules of badmitton, the next sport we were to be playing. Who even plays badmitton? But at least it meant that we didn't have to play. The best part was that the coach didn't finish so we didn't have to play tomorrow either.

I was glad to leave campus, so I would be free to pout and mope. I knew it was silly, but I missed Emmett. Right after I walked in the door of Charlie's house, Jessica called to cancel the plans just in case I had changed my ming. MIke had taken my advice and asked her to dinner and study. She rescheduled the trip, but I just told her that I didn't want to go. I came up with some excuse about having to do something for my mom.

I had some fish to marinating for dinner, with a salad and bread left over from the night before, so there was nothing to do there. I spent a focused half hour on homework, but then I was through with that, too. I checked my e-mail, reading the backlog of letters from my mother, getting snippier as they progressed to the present. I sighed and typed a quick response.

Mom,

Sorry. I've been out. I went to the beach with some friends. And I spent yesterday writing a paper. It was sunny outside today - I know, shocking, right? I already finished all of my homeowork and dinner is taken care of so I'm going to grab a book and soak up some vitamin D. I'll write again soon. I love you.

Bella

I went to my bookshelf and picked up the second House of Night novel, Betrayed. I had finished Marked a few days ago and I loved losing myself in the HoN universe. Hopefully I don't do that literally...

I grabbed a ragged old quilt from the linen cupboard and made my way downstairs. Once outside in Charlie's small, square yard, I folded the quilt in half and laid it out of reach of the trees' shadows on the thick lawn that would always be slightly wet, no matter how long the sun shone. I lay on my stomach, crossing my ankles in the air, opening my book.

I lay there reading for I don't know how long, the next thing I was conscious of was the sound of Charlie's cruiser turning onto the bricks of the driveway. I sat up in surprise, realizing that the light was gone, behind the trees. I had been so absorbed in the story I hadn't notice the light fade. I looked around, muddled, with the sudden feeling that I wasn't alone.

"Charlie?" I asked. But I could hear his door slamming in front of the house.

I jumped up, foolishly edgy, gathering the now-damp quilt and my book. I ran inside to get some oil heating so Charlie and I could cook the fish. He was hanging up his gun belt and stepping out of his boots when I came in.

"Hey, Dad! Ready to cook?" I smile at him, laughing.

"Of course. We having fish tonight?" I nod my head and he does a little fist pump making me laugh even harder. He joins in and soon I have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.

"Go clean up, old man. I'm hungry."

I watched TV with Charlie after dinner, for something to do. There wasn't anything I wanted to watch on, so we watched a baseball game instead. I asked plenty of questions and he looked so excited to explain it to me.

"Hey, Dad, I just thought I'd let you know that I'm still planning to go to Seattle this Saturday. But I have some good news. I have a friend that wants to go to and we are going to take their car so we don't have to worry about the truck making it."

"Sounds great, Bells. Who is it?" I debate whether to tell him the truth and then I decide to lie just a little, knowing that Alice will see my decision.

"Alice Cullen. Well, actually, it's Alice, her mother, and I. Her mom is big into interior design and wanted to go to a specialty store in Seattle. Alice had been wanting to go on a shopping trip and when I told her I planned to go she offered me a ride with them. They are a super nice family." He looked happy that I was speaking so kindly of the family.

"That's good, Bells. I hope you guys have a good time."

"I'll try, Dad. But with Alice, I thought that I'd warn you we wouldn't be home until Sunday night and she wanted me to spend the night at their house Friday so we could leave earlier Saturday morning."

"Thanks for the warning. It's fine with me.'

"Thanks, Dad," I say smiling at him before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He blushes and I giggle. "Well it's late. I think I'm going to head on up to bed. Night, Dad."

"Night, Bells."

It was sunny again in the morning. I dressed in a pretty blue V-neck blouse that I found in the back of the closet and pulled my hair back in a simple braid. I knew the day would pass slowly like the one before and decided that I would try to make the best out of it.

I paid attention in all of my classes and even managed to get most of my homework done in class. In all it was a pretty productive day. Jessica tried to talk me into going with them to Port Angeles during lunch, but I just told her that I was going to wait and save my money for my weekend trip to Seattle. She finally relented and the rest of the day seemed to pass by in a blur.

After school, I made my way home and hoped that based on my decisions the night before either Alice or Emmett would come see me tonight. My money was on the future seeing pixie that I hoped to be my sister in the future. If anyone would believe me, it would be her.


AN: And here is the long awaited chapter 7! Yes, because of the way I wrote it, there will be no attack in Port A, but Lydia is correcting the mistakes in her version of Twilight. Would you go there if you knew that was going to happen? So instead next chapter will be all original to Lydia's story. I think she is going to explain everything to Alice. Is that good? Or should she explain it to Emmett first? Tell me in reviews or send me a PM. Also I am going to put my email up on my profile so if you want to talk about this story or anything just send me an email. If you do please put your username from here in the email and write fanfiction in the subject.

Also, without the author's note, this chapter is 5,038 words. I hope that makes you guys happy.

On another point, it has come to my attention that I've never put a disclaimer in any of my chapters so this is it:

I DON'T OWN THIS! STEPHANIE MEYER WROTE TWILIGHT AND NOW I'M JUST PLAYING WITH IT!

Okay, I think that is all for now... Wait! One last thing. I have thought about doing a House of Night fic because I really do like those books, so if you want, tell me some ideas that you guys would want to see. Maybe another story like this one?

Love you guys :*

MarvelFangirl97