Chapter One

Sunflower Jones - Sunny to all who valued her sanity - had been named during a fit of wannabe-hippy parental psychosis. Nothing about her or her parents fit the name - she's grown up in a modern townhome in a complex of hundreds of identical townhomes, in a city of concrete and flashing lights. She'd attended a public school without anything rebellious to set her apart from the crowd. Perfect grades, a sport and an educational extracurricular, an average group of balanced friends. Her father was an accountant and her mother was a beautician, but not the exciting kind. She cut hair for all the Karens of the world.

Very early, her parents had shortened her name to Sunny and never addressed the issue. Now, the only time she got to hear her full name was introductions and graduations - and there were always the inevitable sniggers- then confusion when she stepped up to answer the call.

She was a redhead, but not the exciting kind. Her hair was long and a mix of curly and wavy, depending on the humidity, but it had no body. The top lay pretty close to her head, with a helpful halo of frizz, and the tips went whichever ways they wanted around her shoulders. Sunny's eyes were cool hazel, but hidden behind round wire glasses. Four eyes not being injury enough, she was also quite chubby, with a round face and rounder curves. Not that she was unhealthy! She could hike for miles and be totally fine. No, she'd just been born… sturdy. Sturdy Sunny. It was a good thing because her passion in life was studying nature and if she'd been some pretty, skinny, hippy bohemian, she wouldn't have been able to camp and hike and collect samples of interesting things.

Not that she'd been able to do much of that in Dallas. The only things that grew in a city were concrete and neon.

That was about to change though.

The day after graduation, she packed up her old, sturdy Jeep, hugged her baffled parents goodbye - perhaps for forever because no way were they ever going to visit where she was going.

Forks, Washington.

A tiny town on the edge of the Olympic wilderness.

Far from the star drowning lights, wildlife clearing noise, and bafflement of her parents wondering just where they went wrong.

Heaven!

Sunny drove for two days straight in her noisy, rattling two door green Jeep. The last hotel stay before she would reach Forks was… rough.

Sunny checked in and reached her hotel room, stashing her bags and changing into a swimsuit to soak in the hotel hot tub. Nothing felt better than distressing after a full ten hours of rattling down the interstate. Exhausted and relaxed, she'd returned to her room and ordered some Chinese food. The delivery had been… odd.

"Delivery?" he'd asked, knocking at the door.

She usually didn't pay much attention to people. People were all the same - a mix of good and bad desires all reigned in by society. After she pulled out her money, she'd opened the door and been struck dumb.

Dark eyes, further darkened by the shadow of the night because he hadn't stepped fully up to the threshold, pierced into her like harpoons. He was very tall with ink black curly hair cut short and pale skin. As he stepped one step closer, the light of the room lit up his face and she realized his eyes were a deep maroon.

She held out the money, transfixed.

He bowed - actually bowed - and held out the plastic bag of takeout, "Compensation is not necessary. Have a fulfilling evening."

His voice was smooth and deep, but the pronunciation sounded… off.

She was too off kilter to ask why so she'd taken the food and shut the door.

That night, she'd checked the chain lock at least a hundred times before falling into a restless but inescapable sleep, full from the Chinese food. She'd gotten her favourites because Forks didn't have a Chinese food place to eat at. She didn't mind, but she'd wanted a last hurrah.

Morning light woke her, but she could have slept for much longer. Her whole body was sore, from the rattling driving she was sure, and even her nether regions ached a little - but Sunny attributed that to an oncoming, possibly early period.

Driving was difficult until noon, when finally the daze wore off.

Pulling across the Forks boundary, she was so elated that all the worries and aches of the night before melted away. There was so much life here! The trees and ground were covered in all sorts of flora, the world teeming with fauna that she couldn't wait to snap pictures of. Though she'd been here every summer for the last four years, she looked at everything with fresh eyes.

Movement at the edge of the road drew her eye.

A giant sandy colored wolf stood motionless, his ears pricked and eyes focused on her Jeep as she drove by.

Sunny slowed, in awe.

He was the first wolf she'd ever seen in the wild and zoo wolves didn't compare. Rather like the first time she'd seen a moose, he was bigger than she'd thought it was possible for a wolf to be! Also, she hadn't known that wolves paid so much attention to humans. His head followed her Jeep as she passed, head tilting to one side.

When she was past the point where she could see him, she turned and focused on driving again.

Note to self, be aware of wolves when hiking, she thought with a grin.

She wasn't afraid of wildlife but she didn't want to get eaten either.

Aunt Kay, for the last four years, had let Sunny stay with her for the summer. She was disabled and she didn't work. Sunny's mom had fled Forks at the first chance but Kay had stayed, living in a house she inherited from her parents. She spent her days in nightdresses, listening to tv soaps, her thin blonde hair pulled into a messy knot that was always wispy even though she did little but sit in her recliner. Her eyes were always wandering, seeking out what little she could see after the accident she'd survived as a child - what it had been, Sunny had never been intrusive enough to ask.

At first, she'd accepted Sunny's pleas to stay because it meant she had help with daily chores. After the first summer, she welcomed Sunny because it meant she didn't have to leave the house, cook for herself, or clean anything. Sunny paid her rent by doing all of that for her.

They suited each other very well. Sunny didn't bother Aunt Kay, she kept her fed and clean. Kay didn't try to parent Sunny by asking where she was going or when she'd be back. So long as food was prepared at sun up and sun down, Kay didn't care. Ironically, Sunny didn't even have to cook at those times - just as long as it was available when it had to be.

"Hi Aunt Kay, how was your year?"

"So, you've come to stay for a long time then?" she asked, cloudy eyes hidden behind her pink tinted glasses.

"As long as you'll have me," she replied, in too good a mood to calm her tone.

Aunt Kay nodded, settling back into her chair with a satisfied smile, "Good, good. There's a paper on the kitchen counter for you to sign." She gestured in the general direction, then said with waning interest, "Be back in time for dinner because I don't have anything prepared."

Sunny reached out and, uncharacteristically, touched the wrinkled top of Aunt Kay's hand. Was she fond of Aunt Kay or did she just appreciate her existence for the opportunity it had given her?

Sniffing, she made an effort to smile, but the upward twitch of her lips looked more like a flinch. Aunt Kay clasped her hands under her chin, attention apparently focused back on the tv.

Sunny entered the kitchen - an alleyway style kitchen with green cabinets that didn't have any doors. The whole house was cleaned by a service every Monday, but it still felt… musty. All the plates, bowls, cups, and silverware were mismatched and made of plastic or metal. Aunt Kay dropped stuff a lot. The counter was made of white butcher block, marred from the years it had been used by Sunny's grandparents. Next to the sink, clearly set there by someone other than her Aunt, was… a legal document?

After a quick perusal, her mouth popped open in shock.

A will?

Aunt Kay was having her sign as a witness that, when she died, everything would be inherited by her! The house and… a very, very substantial inheritance left over from Grandpa's lifetime of a Washington state lineman. Aunt Kay obviously hadn't used hardly any of hers - Sunny's mother, however… well, it explained how her mom had been able to flee Forks and set herself up in the wealthier society of Dallas.

Sunny smiled to herself, signing without hesitation. It was as if the stars were aligning, like her destiny was a puzzle piece finally falling into place.

She didn't say anything as she left the house, knowing that it would just make Aunt Kay uncomfortable.

La Push, the beach of the nearby Quileute reservation, was just down the road. She had enough time to visit, take in some fresh air and stretch her legs, and still be back in time to make them food. Sunny stashed her suitcases and half a dozen boxes of belongings in the room she'd claimed that first summer stay. She didn't bother to unpack - the cloudy light outside was beckoning like a siren.

The drive was quick, the music playing the top 20 - one of the songs, Sunflower by Post Malone, made her grin. She didn't acknowledge her name, not even to herself, but sunflowers had been popular recently. In as good a mood as she was right now, even her silly name couldn't dampen her down.

The breeze was strong and the ocean salt sprayed a fine mist across the dark sand. Out among the waves, tall mounded hills broke up the waves into white crashing foam. Sunny hadn't put on beach footwear, but she hadn't come to swim. In truth, Sunny didn't like swimming - but she did like tidepools!

The hike was invigorating and she breathed deeply, hair whipping around her face and sticking behind her round rim brass wire glasses. When she reached the tidepools, nimbly avoiding the slippery rocks, she picked a dry spot and sat.

The water currents rippled the underwater wildlife, starfish curled and uncurled in the sun, and the rocks sparkled as the wind nudged droplets of sea spray down the rock faces.

Absolute peace blanketed her and the world made sense.

This is where she was meant to be.

"Ever heard-"

Sunny yelped, hand flying to her chest, feet shoving at the rock she was sitting on, slipping, and the world turned on it's side. In the back of her head, she sighed. Just her luck to fall into the tidepools on her first visit, make her look like a noob. She got too into watching the water creatures, too relaxed into the peace of the moment. The male voice had taken her completely by surprise - and she wasn't one to quietly gasp. No, Sunny flailed when surprised and it usually resulted in a tumble.

Yet, suddenly her hand was caught in a warm, firm grasp and she stopped, the tips of her hair kissing the water.

Her hazel eyes shot up to the hand keeping her out of the water, appreciating the warm, dark tanned, russet skin and clean, filed nails. In the next heartbeat, her eyes traveled up the very strongly muscled, bare arm, across a solid, tan chest, and up to a face that made her feel more winded than if she'd gone on a ten mile run.

He was smiling, straight white teeth fully on display. His face was young, but he was very tall - as an early graduate, she was only seventeen, but she wondered if he was underage because…

Wait, where is that coming from, she thought, shocked. Was she really wondering if he could be too young for her? This muscled, tanned Adonis of a guy? In what universe would she even consider being in his league?

Her entire face flushed with embarrassment as he helped her upright again.

The wet tips of her hair dampened her shirt, much like how the sudden embarrassment dampened her mood. Sunny summoned a grateful expression and tried to say something, but her eyes landed on his face and she choked.

He smiled, eyes looking at her like… like he was really looking at her. Sunny didn't know how to function under the moment of attention - she wasn't the type who guys like him noticed!

"Hey, I didn't meant to startle you,"

Her toes curled in her boots as his warm, cheerful words washed over her like a warm ocean wave. She stared up, gobsmacked, but somehow she managed to summon up some words.

"I was studying the starfish."

Ahhhh.

Why.

What?

Studying the starfish?

Say something else, say anything else, she urged herself. But, with her stumbling reply, he'd be returning to what he'd been doing before, surely. She didn't need to say anything else cause he'd be leaving...

Only, he didn't.

His eyes… she felt like he was soaking her in.

"I'm Seth Clearwater," he said, still smiling like he'd won a lottery.

She cleared her throat, then was distracted when she realised he was still holding her hand. He was very warm and her entire body felt like she'd been sun tanning - which, as a redhead, meant she felt sun burned… only, she couldn't feel the pain yet.

She pulled her hand back, not because she didn't want him to hold it but because surely he didn't want to.

"I'm Sunflower Jones."

INTERNAL SCREAMING!

She never introduced herself with her full name? Why on Earth had she just-

"I mean, I go by Sunny… so… Sunny Jones is me, I should have said."

Who am I, Yoda?

Just. Stop. Now.

It felt so much like a high school interaction, she suddenly looked away as though looking for a field trip group to rejoin.

Instead of backing away slowly like he should have, he crouched down, staring between her and the tide pool, "So you were studying them? Do these starfish do anything cool?"

"Uh… I… well, these are actually sea stars, not starfish."

He tilted his head, "You called them starfish though."

He seemed genuinely curious and Sunny couldn't help but bask in it, "Usually when I say sea stars, people are confused, so it's easier to call them the common name. But sea stars don't have gills, fins, or scales so they aren't fish at all."

Seth nodded then pointed, "Do you know anything about the rest of these?"

Rather like a blooming sunflower, she opened up under the warmth of his kind smile and warm brown eyes. Sunny relaxed and talked, answering his never ending questions without much thought. She never wanted it to end, though surely it had to.

As she was talking about the anemones, he looked up. She did too.

A couple was maneuvering the tidepools, heading straight for them. From a glance at Seth, he knew them.

Here it comes, she thought sadly, this is where he says goodbye. Obviously he was just passing time, waiting for his friends.

But, as the pair approached, she became very aware that these weren't… normal people.

They both had pale skin, shadowed undereyes, and dark amber eyes. Both moved with unfailing grace, never missing a step or even wobbling along the slippery rocks. One, the girl, had long brown hair. The other, messy bronze hair. Their clothes were tugged by the wind but oddly, Sunny was reminded of the tall wave breaking hills because they themselves didn't seem affected.

Suddenly, she thought of the Chinese food delivery man, though she didn't know why. As the image of him flashed through her head, the bronze haired one's chin lifted and his face tightened.

Seth said cheerfully, "Hey Bella! Hey Edward! I didn't think I'd see you two today?"