The Girls of Forks - A High School Pin-Up Calendar for Charity, Mature version.

Hey folks. I've had most of this done for a while, and am finally posting. It's essentially a rewritten version of my high school calendar fic (Bella / OC) with the M rated material from the outtakes inserted, and some cleanup and rewriting of certain section.

It's now RATED M and will earn this rating.

A/N on the background for this story

It is February, 5 months after Edward left her in the woods. Bella had a rough fall semester, but her friends never quite gave up on her. By early December, she had begun to socialize again, and forced herself to spend time with her high school friends and not just Jacob.

To her surprise, she found herself becoming friends with Lauren Mallory. It turned out they had something major in common: they both had boys who they loved that dumped them with no warning and then moved away. Having that in common, the pair bonded, and without Lauren's animosity, Bella was easily accepted back into their social circle without too much drama.

By the time of the Laurent incident at the meadow in January, where the Wolves saved her with seconds to spare, Bella had begun participating fully in high school life in a way she never had before.

And this is where we begin our tale:

Chapter 1

February, 2005

On a typical, rainy Monday morning in Forks, Bella Swan walked quickly down the hallway towards her first period math class, avoiding eye contact with everyone she passed. She was a bit unnerved by the attention she was getting today, and some of the staring was beginning to creep her out. Since getting out of her truck a few minutes ago, she felt like dozens of people were looking at her and whispering whenever she walked by.

She suspected the reason for her sudden change in her popularity, of course: the eagerly anticipated charity calendar, featuring twelve pinup shots of a group of senior and junior girls and for which she had agreed to let herself be photographed for, had been mailed out this past Friday, after going on-sale that same day. Bella had not even seen the calendar yet, but she knew her copy would probably be in her mailbox when she got home.

However, all these subtle - and in some cases, not so subtle - stares were quite unsettling for her.

At first, Bella had not wanted to be featured in the calendar and had politely refused when the Charity Committee asked her to participate. She did not want or need the attention, and certainly did not want people having a glossy picture of her hanging on their refrigerators or, even worse, inside their lockers. It had taken a fair bit of persuasion on the part of her classmates and the faculty for her to agree to it; but in the end, the money they would raise was going to a really great charity, and she decided she really couldn't refuse, not when she had the opportunity to help save the Forks Children's Clinic.

Since the day of the shoot over a month ago, Bella had not really given much thought to it. She was much too invested in getting her college applications out and reinvigorating her previously pathetic social life which had all but vanished when the Cullen's had left.

So now, with the calendar now at the forefront of her thoughts, and the stares becoming creepier as the day wore on, she let herself think back to the day of the photo session.

Bella remembered dressing very conservatively the morning of the shoot; she knew absolutely nothing about modeling or photography, and had decided to be cautious but comfortable, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a form-fitting green sweater. As her truck wheezed and backfired more than usual on the way to the studio, she thought this wouldn't be too bad. A few pictures, in and out, and she could get home and work on that prickly admissions essay for Georgetown.

However, when she got to the studio in downtown Port Angelas and saw the other girls all dolled-up, she immediately realized she was woefully underdressed. Before she even realized what was happening, she was admonished for being late and was then whisked straight into a chair, where one of the 'technicians' got to work on her, teasing and curling her hair, and professionally applying her makeup. After that, she was easily persuaded by the 'director' - a local photographer who had volunteered his time - to try a bunch of the different outfits that had been donated for the girls to wear for the photos.

She and the other girls had been whisked back and forth from the dressing area to the lighted photo stage about a half-dozen times, posing briefly for pictures with various backdrops, before being pushed into the dressing room again to repeat the process.

Unfortunately - at least in Bella's mind - each subsequent outfit become racier, making her more uncomfortable as the day progressed. She had to keep a mantra going in her mind: 'it's for charity, Bella, it's for charity," despite being annoyed at the sneaky photographer who held back the raciest outfits for last. He figured - rightly so, in Bella's case at least - that by the end of the day she'd be too tired to argue about whatever they had her wearing, despite how little it actually covered.

Thankfully, most of the other girls had to go through the same thing; many seemed at least a little embarrassed, though luckily for them - unlike with Bella - their cheeks didn't turn red to advertise this.

She was quite thankful none of the outfits went beyond a 'PG' rating, which was the standard that they had to meet for the intended audience of Forks residents; though, truthfully, Bella thought some of the outfits came awfully close to breaking that rating, and she suspected Angela and a few of the other girls also thought so, though in the main most girls just rolled their eyes at her and calling her overdramatic.

Perhaps she was.

As her mind dredged-up more details from that day, Bella remembered a few of the more notable outfits that they had made her try; a snug one-piece bathing suit, a too-small cheerleaders getup, an old-style nurses outfit, a skimpy bikini with a Forks High logo, and the one that made her the most uncomfortable: a short blue camisole over a tight push-up bra, black stockings on her legs held up by a flimsy garter, tight satin blue panties, and a pair of black pumps on her feet to complete the outfit. This one was probably suitable for a Victoria's Secret catalog.

Blushing even now, she remembered the photographer had oohed and ahhd over that getup, and Bella hoped they didn't use that one in the calendar. Towards the end, Bella had been so busy getting in and out of outfits and having her makeup constantly touched up that she didn't really get to see what everyone else had on, except for a few brief peaks when they were changing, so she had no basis of comparison of her outfits versus the other girls

Shaking her head, she hoped the pictures - which were taken over a month ago - would make enough sales for their charity's goal of funding the Children's Clinic, and then people would forget about the calendar, just like she had.

As she walked to class, Bella spotted a few posters advertising the calendar on the walls. Apparently, the Charity Committee had gone all-out on advertising, and had launched a website to help promote it, as well as taking an ad out in the local paper and in the Peninsula News, the most widely read newspaper in western Washington. A launch of a MySpace and Facebook page - and a blog they got someone to create outlining their goals for the calendar - would hopefully raise enough awareness for their admirable charity.

At $19 each, all the proceeds would go towards the only child-care clinic in Forks, which was on the verge of closing due to lack of government funding.

Shaking her head clear, Bella was positive she heard more and more whispers specifically about her, and felt herself blushing as people who she had never spoken with before were rudely staring and gesturing towards her.

Honestly, the attention was as bad as it was when she started dating Edward! This was just ridiculous!

Bella opened her locker with a huff, grabbing her math books as fast as she could, and slammed the door closed, a loud clang echoing down the hall. Unfortunately, this just garnered more attention, and she saw some people again rudely pointing or gesturing, some of them holding calendars in their hands and looking like they were going to approach her!

Bella was embarrassed, but she was also confused; there were eleven other girls in the calendar, one girl for each month. Were the other girls also getting this kind of stalkerish, creepy attention?

To her horror, she saw a few of the younger students approaching her at a fast clip, their calendars thrust forward, black felt tip pens clasped in eager fists.

With a dawning realization, Bella blushed fiercely, her cheeks turning fire engine red. Did they expect her to sign those calendars?

How mortifying!

Bella turned and practically sprinted the last dozen feet to her class, leaving the fanboys behind. She immediately sat in her seat, trying to catch her breath, wondering if she had imagined the whole bizarre episode.

This hopeful illusion was shattered a moment later, however, when Angela walked in, sitting down beside her with a cheshire-cat grin on her face.

"Angela? What's going on?" Bella hissed, noticing many stares even from the boys in this class: boys who she knew well, and would never have expected this kind of behavior. They were, after all, Seniors like her, and many of them shared classes with her for over a year now.

Angela turned eagerly in her seat to face her. "Have you seen the calendar, Bella?" she asked, her eyes twinkling, and it looked like she was trying not to laugh.

Bella didn't trust that twinkle, not one bit.

Warily, Bella shook her head. "No, my copy didn't come yet. I was down at the reservation all weekend, and didn't check my mail since Thursday."

Angela's twinkle increased, and she added a small smirk. "Well, I think you are going to be a bit popular today."

Bella, already primed for something bad, was immediately on guard. "What do you mean?"

Angela gave her a look that seemed to waver between amusement and pity; but finally, amusement seemed to win and she leaned in conspiratorially. "I figured you didn't see the calendar yet, because if you did, I expected that you would have taken a sick-day and stayed home."

When Bella blanched at this, her pale skin going even whiter, Angela leaned close to her ear to whisper. "Well, lets just say...not only are you on the cover, but the quality of the picture is enough to make you very, very popular with the boys. And maybe a bit unpopular with the girls!"

When Angela leaned back, giggling quietly and eyes full of mirth, Bella felt like she might go into shock.

The cover?

The cover!? What the...

Bella didn't understand it! She had expected Lauren to be on the cover, or maybe Katie. They were so much prettier than her!

Bella didn't want the cover! She hadn't even wanted to be in the calendar in the first place!

Steaming, her face a mix of embarrassment, confusion, and anger, the bell ringing startled her from her pity party. Just as the teacher went to close the door, Eric scampered in; and when his eyes met Bella's his contrite face at being almost late for class morphed into a goofy smile, that had the whole class following his line of sight straight to Bella. And then, Eric was so inattentive that he tripped over June Richardson's book bag, causing everyone in the class to chuckle at him.

For her part, Bella just wanted to hide; she groaned, laying her head down on her crossed arms, hiding her face in her elbows and her cozy sweater.

Bella could not have repeated a single word the teacher said during that long hour; she was aware of many faces turning to sneak peeks at her, but she kept her eyes glued to the text, pretending to write things in her notebook.

When the bell finally rang, Bella was the last to leave the class, hoping everyone would be gone when she left the room. Unfortunately, when she walked into the hallway, there were probably a dozen boys loitering there, most holding calendars and sharpie's, all clamoring for her attention.

What was going on? She couldn't understand it! Someone please kill her now!

"Bella!" She looked up, startled, at the large, dark haired boy who muscled his way through the throng. She thought she recognized him: Travis Graham? Or maybe Trevor?... he was one of the jocks on the football team who would wave at everyone in the bleachers during pep rally's and send suggestive winks at the cheerleaders.

Bella had never spoken to him in her life, and was not even aware that he knew who she was.

He blatantly was staring at her now, however, his roaming eyes ogling her and making her face turn red hot. "Looking good girl! Would you sign this for me?" He confidently pushed the calendar - that Bella had yet to see - roughly into her hands, the sharpie following.

And then Bella took a good look at the glossy, embossed cover, and her eyes widened comically and her mouth opened in a large 'O'.

Bella could not quite believe what she was looking at. For standing there - wearing the white nurses outfit, that somehow looked much snugger and racier than she remembered and that she only had a vague recollection of even posing in - was an extremely daring, full size photo of her that dominated the entire front cover. At the top, with a scripted, gaudy title running across the page, were the words 'The Girls of Forks HS'.

On right hand side of the page, next to a chair that Bella remembered using as a prop to lean on - when the director had asked for 'a sexy pose' - were more words: "Isabella Swan and the Girls of Forks Pinup Calendar. All proceeds to Forks Children's Clinic."

Bella's mind was a blank, the sounds of the boys trying to get her attention and pushing their calendars at her just background noise; she could not spare them any attention, trying to wrap her head around the photo she was looking at - in bright bold, vivacious color - in her shaky hands.

Scanning quickly, she tried to recall details, but not able to reconcile what she remembered with what she was looking at.

Her pose in the photo looked nothing like she remembered, at all. In the photo, she was leaning down very provocatively on the chairs back, her butt pushed out like she was wiggling it. To her mortification, she realized she looked like one of those Kardashians some of the younger girls would rave about. Her back was slightly arched with her shoulders back, which thrust her chest forward, enhancing her 'assets.' Several buttons were undone on the shirt, the top slope of her breasts visible, encased in a lacy white bra that actually gave her substantial cleavage.

Looking at the bottom of the picture, the skirt of the outfit seemed to have a slit in it - how could she not recall that? - which showed her trim leg all the way up to her hip. In the gap left by the slit, white stockings - held in place by garter straps - made her leg look miles long; and on her feet, she somehow was keeping her balance in a pair of death heels...

How much time passed while she looked at the photo, Bella didn't know. She was still staring open-mouthed at it, and did not hear a word that Travis or anyone else was saying. When a sharpie was finally pushed into her hand, she absentmindedly signed her name somewhere on the cover, still not cognizant of anything happening around her.

As Bella eventually began to calm, she realized she truly did not remember this pose, at all! The photographer had told her to move around in certain ways, pushing out her hip or sliding her arm up her side, perhaps biting her lip or leaning her head to the side while she ran her hands through her hair; but she certainly didn't hold any poses for long! Nothing like this!

She remembered thinking how awkward it was, and she had laughed to herself how badly she was doing, thinking they were wasting their time with her and that she'd be lucky if they used any of her photos for the calendar!

What had happened?!

And how did she make the cover? Lauren and Katie were such attractive girls, Bella was convinced one of them would be on it. Lauren even had modeling experience!

Finally coming out of her haze, more sharpies were thrust into her hand, and she might have signed another cover or two before making apologies and pushing her way through to her next class, her face as bright as it had ever been before.

Unfortunately for her peace of mind, Political Science was no better than Math: everyone was staring at her or whispering. When Mike waltzed in, he sat down next to Bella in the seat that had been empty since Edward left.

"Looking good Bella!" he whispered as he sat, his dimples crinkling with his wide smile. "The cover, September, and the back flap! Congratulations!"

Bella blinked a few times as his words settled, and then she half rose from her seat in outrage. "WHAT?!" she shrieked. She knew the back was supposed to be the group photo, and she knew every girl got an individual photo on a given month; she was given September, maybe for her birthday?

But the back flap? What back flap?

Mike leaned in, ignoring the teacher who was fixing him with a pointed stare. "I have to say, Bella, that I think you are going to get a lot of attention from this!"

"Oh no!" Bella put her head on the desk again, closing her eyes in defeat. She could not believe this!

She ignored Mike's snickers for the rest of the period, and had to restrain herself several times from hitting him in the arm. He had become a good friend over the past couple of months, and had not made her uncomfortable like he did last year by asking her out every week. She was kind of glad he hadn't, as she might have gone out with him just for something to keep her mind off of Edward: a distraction, he'd called it. And she was better off with him as a friend.

The rest of Bella's morning classes passed the same way; staring, whispers, and far too much attention. In her last class before lunch - Spanish - she sat down guardedly, as Jessica was already in her seat, bouncing with excitement.

BELLA POV

"Oh My God! Bella! I can't believe you got the cover! Lauren was so mad at first, but I talked her down."

I looked over at Jessica, raising an eyebrow at that. I could believe Lauren might have been upset; but Jessica talking her down? Doubtful. "Um, wow, thanks Jess," I said diplomatically. Jessica really had become a good friend to me after I got ditched by Edward, and I no longer ignored her like I often used to do.

"No problem, the three of us have to stick together! And Lauren's picture is pretty fantastic, don't you think?"

I shrugged. "I haven't even seen the inside of the calendar yet."

"What?" Jessica half-shouted, and several heads turned in our direction. In a quieter voice she leaned in, her eyes shining. "Bella! You have to see! They did an amazing job! Everyone looks so great!" And for the next thirty minutes, she speed-whispered all about the calendar. I didn't really listen as carefully as I might have as my thoughts were in turmoil, but I did nod occasionally and that was enough for Jessica.

When the bell rang, she practically dragged me by the elbow towards my locker. After I dumped my books, we walked quickly towards the cafeteria, and I could tell she was enjoying the attention we were getting.

Deja vu, much?

When we walked into the half-full cafeteria, there was a moment of quiet while everyone looked at us, staring at me no doubt; and when the whispers started and the volume rose, and I kept my head down, following Jess to the lunch line as my cheeks were burning up.

I grabbed a slice of soggy, square pizza from the paltry selection, along with a bottle of lemonade. We walked towards our table, smack-dab in the middle of the lunch room. I was again aware that everyone was looking at me, and when I saw the only empty seat at our table was next to Lauren, where I usually sat, felt like it was an executioners chair, and she was clearly waiting for me to walk over and sit down. Even though we'd become really good friends, I didn't know how she would react to this.

I slid into the seat, and opened my mouth to apologize, when Lauren's face split into a wide smile. "Bella! Well done, girlfriend! You looked absolutely amazing!"

Even as my mouth dropped open, Lauren surprised me again; to my utter mortification, she started clapping, and it was taken up by several people at our table. And then, soon the whole cafeteria was clapping while some of the boys were wolf whistling. After my face turned red from my inevitable blush - that could have rivaled a supernova in its intensity - I decided to simply relax, get with the program, look up, smile. And when I did, I started clapping too.

After all, this calendar was bigger than just me.

When I joined the clapping, the volume rose exponentially, and someone was soon toasting with their water bottle to the success of the calendar. I joined them, and soon we were all smiling and laughing about it.

Finally, as the noise abated and happy chatter broke out, I was able to start my now cold pizza. I took a moment and looked around, seeing calendars spread open on almost every table; boys and girls were leaning over them, turning the pages slowly and commenting and laughing and making appreciative gestures and noise.

"Umm, can I see it? I haven't gotten mine yet?" I said.

"What?" Lauren said, wiping her mouth where a bit of dressing from her salad had pooled at the corner. "Are you kidding me right now?"

I snickered. "Not at all. I haven't seen it. I wasn't home most of the weekend."

"Where were you? Everyone in town has seen it!"

I gulped. "Well, I was at the reservation with Emily, Leah, and Jacob. I had totally forgotten it was coming out and had already made plans, and ended up staying over at Emily's on Saturday night."

"Well, take a look," she said, and a copy was pushed towards us. I only briefly glanced at the cover, having already seen it, and I opened it up, curious now.

The inside cover was mostly a washed out picture of the clinic, and a lot of text about what we were trying to accomplish. It was all very nice, and kind of boring. I could have written a better intro.

I turned to the next page, January, and I gasped as I saw a fantastic picture of Katie in a blue cowgirl shirt, breasts straining against the tight garment, and a blue rawhide skirt that came only about mid-thigh on her long legs that were snuggled into a pair of tan cowboy boots. A red scarf was around her neck, which was tilted over her arched back. She had a brown cowboy hat that looked like it was twirling in her hand, which extended out from her arm, bent at the elbow. She was standing up with her legs straight, but crossed at the ankles, and she looked absolutely fantastic.

"Katie!" I said, looking down the table at her. "You look great!"

"Thanks Bella," she said, smiling. She was a great girl, very easygoing. She was originally from New Mexico, and I knew she had grown up riding horses. The cowboy motif was fitting.

I flipped the page, and the next few photos were of girls I didn't know that well. When I got to May, Angela was there, in a librarian outfit, standing in front of a stack of books and a bookshelf. Except, this uniform was two sizes too small, and she looked very put together. I looked across the table at her, my eyes dancing, and she smiled back at me.

I leaned over the table, whispering. "Did Ben like it?"

She giggled at me, looking down over the glasses perched at the tip of her nose. "Yes!" she said, and giggled again.

The next page, June, was Lauren. I gasped when I saw the layout - they had obviously photoshopped in a fake background, complete with her stepping up the ladder of a swimming pool. She was wearing a white bikini that was barely covering anything, her long blonde hair braided and hanging down between the cups of the top, which was, like every outfit in the calendar so far, a few sizes too small. The left cup of the bikini top, in red script, said 'Forks' and the right cup said 'HS'.

The bottom of the bikini was all white with little red bows tying it at the hips, and there were huge expanses of tanned skin everywhere. She must have had to shave quite closely to not be flashing her pubes in the photo, as the bikini might have easily been mistaken for dental floss. Her blue eyes seemed to pop from the photo, and her whole pose oozed sex appeal.

It was an amazing, outrageous picture.

I turned to her, my eyes smiling as much as my lips. "Not bad, not bad," I said, then burst out laughing with her, and she gave me a high five.

A girl I didn't know well, Melissa Rivers, was August, and looked great in a short skirt, bowtie, and collared button down shirt. Sort of a mix of a sophisticated businesswoman and catholic school girl, with black stockings, all the clothing about a size too small. A pair of death stilettos were on her feet. Very nice. I looked around the cafeteria for her, and spotted her sitting at the table with a couple of boys from our year. She saw me looking, and gave me a bright smile which I returned.

At last, looking back down to the calendar that suddenly felt very warm in my hands, I held my breath, knowing I was up next. I let my breath out, and flipped to September, telling myself I would stay calm no matter what.

The background sounds of the cafeteria were suddenly just whooshing noise in my ear, as my eyes widened at the image on the page, my previous vow flying out the window.

At first, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. There I was, standing with my legs at about shoulder width apart, my arm bend and an elegant hand resting on my hip. My other hand was palm up, about midway up my body, showing off my long, slender arm in a very sensual manner. It almost looked like I was ready to drag my fingertips along the edges of my breast. I was at about 2/3 profile, and my butt was sticking out like I had thrust it back, which I did NOT remember doing!

My hair rolled down over my shoulders in long, loose curls, heavy and dark against my pale skin and smoky eyes. .

It was a very sultry, alluring pose, and no way anyone would guess I was only 18 years old.

The rest of the photo was just as dramatic, and I was almost gawking at myself.

A dark blue satin baby doll camisole was very dramatic against the pearlescent, bare skin of my belly, collar bones, neck, arms, and shoulders. A push-up bra gave me deep cleavage from the top of the camisole, which might have fit me when I was in 6th grade but was clearly too small for my frame. A skimpy pair of v cut, blue satin panties that were just a hairs breadth on the side of concealing everything that needed hiding to keep its PG rating, still managed to show a good bit of generous butt cheek and made my hipbones and the slope of my lower abdomen stand out. A black garter belt wrapped around my hips held up a pair of black lace stockings that covered my legs up to about mid thigh, leaving a visible stretch of creamy, pale white skin above to the bottom crease of the panty.

My feet were encased in black pumps, with a thick heel about three inches high; short enough to keep me from falling but enough height to make my slim legs look long and elegant.

But all of that - which I had mostly, sort of, maybe remembered - did not prepare me for the completely foreign look on my face. In the pose, I had my bottom lip trapped between my teeth, and my eyes had a wanton, hooded look to them, despite the mascara they had applied that made my eyes pop. I had absolutely no idea my lashes could look that long, and somehow my hair looked thick and glossy, arching over my shoulders and down my back several inches. My head was slightly tilted back, showing a long expanse of my pale, slender neck…

Staring at the photo, despite feeling my face heating up, I realized that for the first time in… well, ever… I looked sexy.

Wow.

I peeked at my friends at my table from under my lashes, and saw everyone waiting on my reaction. Beyond them, I saw more of the lunchroom crowd also looking over.

I took a deep breath. I could do this.

So, pushing away the butterflies, I lifted my head, looked at Jess, then Angela, and finally Lauren. After all, I had to admit, my newfound confidence was mostly a product of her work, support, and the realization that people could move on after devastating breakups.

Lauren was looking at me, her eyes alight with mischief; and then, her mouth moved until she was smiling at me brilliantly. And I answered with a brilliant smile of my own, until I was embarrassed again when everyone at my table and the surrounding tables clapped and wolf whistled again.

After a few moments, I turned to look at October, and then turned again. I was very impressed at Jessica on the November page, and whistled out loud. She was wearing a forks HS cheerleader outfit, pom-poms and all, except it looked like she was wearing one that was sized for a girl about age 12. It was obscenely tight in all the right places and made her look very good, and I smiled at her with happy eyes.

December was a younger girl, a junior named Ally that I didn't really know, and I flipped to the inside back cover. There was more text, but then there was a sort of filmreel graphic, with photos from the shoot in different frames, from the very large towards the top of the page, winding along the page with smaller and smaller frames and the text about the clinic and the charity meshed with it.

But it was the frames with the photos that surprised me. The biggest one was a picture of me, wearing one of the outfits I distinctly remembered liking. A dark red felt jacket, with oversized buttons, and a blue French beret tilted on my head. I had a small smile on my face, and my eyes absolutely popped in the picture, thanks again to the wonderful makeup artist and the great lighting.

It was a very tasteful picture, and I had to admit I looked really good, sophisticated, and older than my 18 years. This was a picture I would send to my mom.

The next photo was also of me, but Lauren was also in the photo. We were both wearing green overcoats, with me leaning on her arm and the two of us laughing and smiling like loons, huge dimples on our faces and crinkles at the corners of our eyes. I remember this very well, this was my favorite moment of the day. We had thought the shoot was over, and we had tried on a few of the coats that we hadn't tried during the shoot. We were laughing at some silly joke Lauren had made, and I had only been dimly aware of the photographer still snapping away.

The third and subsequent frames were smaller, and featured different girls, some alone, some together. Out of the seven or so additional frames, I was in two of them; another one with Lauren, and one with Angela.

Finally, I flipped to the back cover, and smiled. All twelve of us, plus the standby - a girl named Carrie who was also a junior - were pressed together in a giant group hug, all smiles and waves.

I looked around the table again, smiling at everyone. "It's great!" I finally said, and everyone congratulated me, and we laughed through the rest of lunch.

The rest of the day was more of the same, and I probably signed thirty or more calendars. Most of them were, to my chagrin, the sexy lingerie photo; and some of the boys wanted a more personal note, but I refused. I was embarrassed at some of their suggested notes, but I held firm and would only sign my name.

I drove home after school, dropped off my backpack, and then drove to work. My shift today was from 3pm to closing at 5:30, and then I was cooking dinner. I had cut my shifts back to three times a week, as I had been so busy with college applications, essays, and just learning to live again.

I pulled into Newton's Outfitters, my truck's roar announcing my presence as clearly as a marching band or fireworks would have.

When I got out of my truck, I noticed that several people from the neighboring diner were looking over at me, and I was mortified when I saw an older man - who had to be at least forty - pull the calendar out and look at it before looking back at me. I hurried inside, and mumbled a quick hello to Mrs. Newton before going to the back room to change into my work vest.

The next two hours were some of the most embarrassing of my life. There was a parade of customers who came in, purportedly to buy something but really to just either talk to me, ask me out, or ask me to sign their calendar. Mrs. Newton was amused at first, but after the fourth or fifth person came in, she began to become short with them, and told them in no uncertain terms that if they were not there to purchase anything to please stop harassing me.

When we finally closed, I profusely apologized to Mrs. Newton, but she smiled at me widely and laughed. "Don't worry about it, Bella! That was quite funny, but I'm sorry if you were embarrassed."

I relaxed, thanked her, changed out of my vest, and drove home without any more trouble.

I was humming to myself as I prepared dinner, and called out to Charlie when he walked in. "Hey Bella," he said, and I saw he had a whole pile of mail with him. And sure enough, rolled up in a manila envelope, was what I suspected was the calendar.

Charlie wandered into the living room while I finished dinner, and when he came in and sat down while I served, he looked at me with a critical eye.

"Err, what?" I looked down at myself, thinking maybe I had spilled something on myself. "What's up?"

Charlie blew out a breath, which sounded like an old steam engine. "Well, Bells, I was at work today and saw a few of my deputies all crowding each other while looking at something on one of their desks. I got curious, and walked over to see what was going on."

I cringed, knowing where this was going.

He looked at me, eye to eye, and neither of us turned away though I knew it was uncomfortable for us both. Finally though, he exhaled loudly again, and started to methodically cut his food, looking down at his plate.

I waited for him to speak, not sure what he would say as he sliced his steak into small pieces and took a bite. I copied his action, but the food had no taste to me, I was too nervous.

Finally, though, he broke the uncomfortable silence. "You looked all grown up, Bells. And so beautiful," he mumbled. Another exhale. "I admit I would have been happier if I saw less of you, but you looked all grown up."

He finally looked back up at me, and I saw a tentative smile there, and I felt a giant knot loosen in my chest.

"Thanks, Dad," I said, my voice thick with emotion. I had been worried about his reaction if he saw it, and I should have known, in a town as small as Forks, that he would. "I had no idea they would use a picture like that."

He smiled, and this time it really reached his eyes. "They would have been crazy not to, Bella. You looked fantastic."

I smiled back, touched, and we ate in happy silence for a while.

'Of course," he said between bites, "I had to threaten one of my deputies. I told him he was far too old to be ogling my teenage daughter."

I almost choked on the steak I was swallowing, but managed to get it down. Then I laughed, and Charlie snickered, and when I went up to my room to do my homework, I gave him a rare hug.

A/N - just a few edits in this one.