For clarification, Bella never goes to Forks High, so she doesn't meet the Cullens. Yes, I will torture you by prolonging her meeting with Emmett and Rosalie until I get everyone on the same page. (it'll only be a couple of chapters) Second, everyone in this story is going to have a copy from somewhere else. I just didn't feel like tagging every single person. I get nervous around new people, so I apologize in advance.

Also, I know there will probably be a bit of confusion on what kind of magic Bella has, but I'll get there.

Bella's first two years with Charlie were an adventure, to say the least. Charlie had to essentially teach her how to use a phone, a computer, the shower, an oven, and basically everything in existence. Bella was quick to assure him she was a fast learner, and within six months, she had a decent handle on her new life. Charlie knew someone who could create documents for her, seeing as Bella had no birth certificate or documentation that allowed her to work. And Bella remained in the house until she had the go-ahead to get a part-time job at the grocery store. But Bella was growing restless, and Charlie picked up on it. Despite enjoying being with him, Bella felt like she was failing her family by not making an effort to look for them, to find her way back to them. And Charlie wasn't even close to being an expert in anything remotely dealing with science. There were things that Charlie couldn't teach her, whether because of time or knowledge, and he decided for them both that it would be best if she went somewhere she could learn multiple things at once. So, Charlie made arrangements for that to happen.

Bella celebrated her twentieth birthday in Forks. The next day, she was on her way to London to stay with Professor Harrison Wells, an old friend of Charlie's that was currently on sabbatical from Oxford College. He specialized in physics, and Bella hoped he could teach her a better way to create a device to send her through time and space. Or, at the very least, teach Bella the mechanics involving planes. The trip was terrifying for the first half, and then Bella got used to the experience. She wrote down more notes in her book, and she realized she was running out of space. Thankfully, there was a bookstore in Heathrow, and Bella had a bit of time to spare. She used a little of the money Charlie gave her and purchased a few books and a new notebook. During that time, Bella had her first "culture shock." Forks, Washington was slow and steady, London was the opposite, and she retreated into her shell as she rode through the new city. It was disorienting, and Bella white-knuckled the entire trip. When she arrived at her location, Bella jumped from the cab and gulped in large amounts of air.

"I would ask if you enjoyed your trip, but you look like you could use a drink."

Bella glanced up at the man Charlie sent her to meet, his face exactly like the picture she had in her wallet, and she grimaced.

"Hi, Professor Wells," she said.

"Call me Harrison."

Bella nodded and regretted it immediately. The driver dropped Bella's duffel bag at her feet, and he held out his hand.

"I- what do you want from me?" she asked.

"My tip. Didn' just drive 'cross the city for nothin', lady," he said.

"Tip?" she repeated.

"I got it."

Harrison passed the driver a piece of colorful paper and sent him on his way. The driver shot Bella a dirty look before he left, and Bella, for what felt like the millionth time in a matter of months, found herself wishing Kieran were with her. Her sister had the best ability to adapt to new situations.

"Come on then. Let's get that drink in you, and you can fill in the parts of the story Charlie left blank."

Bella picked up her duffel bag and followed Harrison into his home. He led her to his study and gestured for her to sit down.

"Charlie gave me the little details, saying that you weren't from here and needed a bit of help, but he was exceptionally vague about the entire thing. If it weren't for the fact I trusted that man with my life, you wouldn't be here. So, if I'm to help you, I need to know where to begin." Harrison handed her a glass full of amber-colored liquid, and she took it. "I believe my first question should be regarding your name?" he asked.

"My birth mother named me Isabella," she muttered. "But my family calls me Iz or Bella."

"Which do you prefer?"

"Either one works."

Harrison nodded and sat down in the chair in front of her.

"And what is your story?" he asked.

"It depends on how open-minded you are," she said honestly.

"You'll find that I am open to all possibilities this world has to offer, as long as there's proof."

Bella tasted her drink, enjoying the burn that followed, and she said, "My name is Isabella Mills-Swan, and I was born in a different realm. When I explained where I was from to Charlie, he told me the Enchanted Forest was nothing but a fairytale. I told him that while it was fake to him, to me, it's home. I was separated from my family and tossed into different portals. The last thing I saw before I landed in this realm was my mother fighting to get to me."

Bella glanced up during the silence that followed, and Harrison eyed her with curiosity and doubt. With a sigh, Bella pointed to the dying plant in the corner of the room. The plant came back to life with a flick of her wrist. She looked back at Harrison, and he smiled.

"I think you and I are going to have a grand time together."

Over three years, Bella met Harrison's closest colleagues/friends and learned what she could from them. The first couple was Iris, an African Studies Professor, and her wife, Kate, a former track star turned culinary chef (who gladly helped Bella in the kitchen). Iris was her favorite person to talk to. The professor answered every one of Bella's questions without judgment and was happy to discuss different topics as long as Bella needed. Kate, however, reminded Bella of Red. Her personality made cooking an adventure rather than a chore. Harrison sent pictures to Charlie with every new dish Bella created. For some reason, the one dish she couldn't get right was lasagna.

The next set of friends Bella met were Oliver and Felicity. Felicity was a computer science major turned science teacher. She taught Bella the ins and outs of a computer to the point Bella could take one apart and put it back together again in minutes. Oliver, a millionaire bad boy turned CEO introduced Bella to the other side of life. His words, not hers. He took her to charity events, five-star restaurants, and Christmas parties where the cheapest gift could've sent someone to college with tuition left to spare. Bella wasn't a dress person, so Oliver took her to a store that got her fitted for at least three suits. He paid for them, saying the purchase was less than what he spent on food during the week.

After Oliver and Felicity, Bella met the worst people she would ever encounter. Caitlin, a nutritionist, and Sam, Kate's former track mate turned fitness instructor, were out to kill Bella. She was sure of it. Bella regretted every second spent with them. Regardless of the overall improvement to Bella's health, she never wanted to see Sam or Caitlin again in any lifetime. She gained about ten pounds of muscle in the process but lost all respect for Harrison and his friends. Who the hell wakes up at dawn to run for fun? Psychos, that's who, and Bella was surrounded by psychos.

And it didn't end with them. Bella cursed Charlie every chance she could for sending her to what was meant to be a form of torture. Sam and Caitlin were puppies compared to Andrea, and Bella had never felt so dirty. Why did Harrison have a friend who owned an escort service? Why did Andrea spend an insane amount of time teaching Bella the rules of sex? Bella was never coerced into anything. But she knew more about the sexual preferences of London's elite than she wanted. However, if someone other than Andrea or Harrison asked, it was the best six months of her life. Still, Bella could've lived several lifetimes without seeing Oliver's CFO pretending to be a dog for two hours.

But her favorite person to spend time with was Harrison's godson, Winn.

Winn wasn't a professor but rather a pop culture expert. He invited Bella to his house for a weekend of pop culture overload. Harrison only agreed because the odds of them doing anything other than geek out over Star Wars was too low for his concern. Bella didn't get the reference, but she let it go. During the last month of Bella's visit, Winn was a relief. The ache in Bella's heart was silent with him.

One of Winn's pop culture introductions was comic books. He felt it was important for Bella to know almost every superhero in creation. She didn't mind. Some of them were cool, others were pretty lame, but Bella was partial to the villains. The only hero she had a soft spot for was Supergirl. There was something about the Kryptonian that stuck with her. Winn listened to her talk about her home late at night over cups of hot chocolate, and he guessed that was why Bella related so much to her. They were both aliens in a world foreign to them and forced to either stand out or integrate. Kara Danvers – Kara Zor-El – chose to do the opposite. But Bella wondered if the Girl of Steel felt disillusioned by humanity. She landed on a planet where people celebrated her cousin, yet Kara owed humans nothing. She didn't have to become a superhero, but she did, and people still hated her for it. Iris told her that while it seemed like humanity was awful at times, there were people worth getting to know, worth saving, and there would always be a chance to change someone's life for the better. Bella thought on that, and if Supergirl was real, far away in another realm, Bella hoped that she had people who reminded her of the good in humanity.

But unfortunately, Bella's time in England had to end at some point. On the day of her departure, her unofficial mentors said their goodbyes and gave her gifts to remember them by. Harrison gave her his favorite book, The End of Eternity. Kate gave Bella a recipe book, and Iris gave Bella her favorite hoodie. Oliver and Felicity got her a new laptop and a ten-thousand-pound 'donation.' Bella did the calculations in her head. That would help get her settled for at least a couple of months until she found a job. Caitlin and Sam pooled their money together to get Bella mythology books from different cultures plus a stress ball. Bella glared at Sam, who winked and told her to keep it close.

Andrea didn't get her anything, but she did tell Bella if she needed a reference for a job to give her a call. Bella didn't say it out loud, but she didn't want any kind of job reference that came from Andrea. It was probably born from blackmail. Winn handed Bella a Supergirl comic from his personal stash.

"You are the only person on this Earth who might appreciate this more than me," he said.

"Thank you," she said. "All of you. Who knew Charlie knew so many interesting people?"

"He's interesting too," Sam said. "Give him a chance."

Bella promised she would and got in the cab. She'd shipped ahead most of her clothes and her other books, so she had just the gifts to bring on the plane. Bella twisted around and waved until she couldn't see them anymore.

Charlie picked Bella up from the airport and said, "Hey, kiddo."

"Time works differently on every Earth, Charlie. I could be older than you for all you know."

"Christ, and to think I missed you."

"I missed you too."

Charlie put her duffel bag in the back of the cruiser. She got in the passenger seat and yawned, the jetlag starting to catch up with her, and she rested her head on the window.

"How was your trip?"

"It didn't feel like three years, that's for sure. But it was fun and informative. I now know more about this Earth than my last one. I even got a chance to meet Adele, so that was cool."

"Oliver?"

"He took me to a charity event. I got a little drunk, so I'm not sure who it was for. But I do know this Earth has much better alcohol."

"Did the Enchanted Forest not have a legal drinking age?"

"If you could hold a cup, you could hold a pint."

Charlie glanced at her and said, "I can't tell if you're kidding."

"I had my first pint at twelve, Charlie, but I will say I'm not a fan of mead."

"Every time we talk about your past life, you always mention something new."

"Most of it comes in waves," she admitted. "I know the important things, but there are memories I can't quite grasp without giving myself a headache."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"I didn't say that to make you feel guilty. I'm just saying I'm not everything's in my head, and I don't know if that's because of the portal or because of something else."

"At least you remember your family," he says softly.

"I do. A lot more than I want to sometimes."

"Does it- is it awkward being around me?"

"It used to be. You have my Dad's features, but you're different. I had to find those differences to make peace with losing him."

Charlie nodded and let the conversation drop.

"How exactly do you know Harrison and the others? I got the impression there's more to the story you forgot to mention."

Charlie grinned and turned onto the highway.

"It's not a big deal. I just don't talk about that time in my life."

"Why?"

"Before my parents got sick, I was at the University of Washington with a major in criminal justice, and I was a bit of an athlete. Kate, Sam, and I ran track together. Harrison, Caitlin, Iris, and Felicity lived on campus with us. Oliver was the rich kid with his own apartment or whatever, and Andrea was in her own group, but we knew her through Oliver. Somehow we all ended up in the same philosophy elective where our professor asked us to write a one-page paper on who we were. Despite how easy he made it sound, it was a tough assignment. One night, I was in the library with Kate and Sam. We ran into Caitlin, and Caitlin called Andrea. We decided to work on the assignment together, so Kate texted Iris, who texted Felicity, who messaged Oliver and Harrison, and it became a group thing. We left with our papers nearly finished.

"By the end of the semester, we just kind of fell into this routine. We did things together without thinking about it, and they became my best friends. But then I had to leave. I was honestly afraid they would forget about me, but they didn't. They drove to Forks every other weekend to spend time with me or help with my parents. After my parents passed, Harrison switched to online courses and moved in to keep me company. I didn't want to go back to college, so I decided to become a cop. When I graduated from the academy, the group drove out and threw me this huge congratulations party."

Charlie sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Then life happened. Senior year, Kate's at the Olympic trials when her knee gives out. She starts cooking as some form of stress relief, and Iris moves in to help out. They fall in love, and they're off to New York when Kate gets accepted into the Institute of Culinary Education. Iris wanted to pursue a master's degree in African-American studies, so we were proud to see them go. Sam, after a shitty one-night stand, gets pregnant and has to drop out. Oliver's Dad dies and leaves him the company, forcing him to take over in his place. Felicity got into a car accident that paralyzed her from the waist down, and Caitlin sort of fell off the map until she surfaced with Sam as a fitness guru. Sam never mentioned what happened to her daughter, and we never asked. Harrison gets this once-in-a-lifetime offer to attend Oxford, and the rest is fate. Andrea made a name for herself in a way I'm sure you learned, but she never forgot us. I'm the only one who didn't end up in England. My demons kept me in Forks longer than I anticipated, but I made my bed, and I'm lying in it."

"Charlie…."

"No, it's okay. I promise." Charlie glanced at her and smiled. "Plus, had I been anywhere else, I wouldn't have met you," he said.

Bella, possibly due to exhaustion or a combination of things, burst into tears. Charlie panicked for a second until she put her hand on his wrist. He relaxed once he realized she wasn't upset with him, and he let her hold his wrist the entire ride home.

"I swear you brought all of England back with you. All of the boxes you sent back are full of books."

"Books are a necessity!"

"They better damn well be after the back pain you put me through."

"What are you-

Bella stopped just before she entered her room.

"You built me bookshelves?"

"Well, yeah. That first box told me I had a lot more coming my way," Charlie huffed.

Bella wrapped Charlie in a hug and whispered, "Thank you."

"Get off of me before I tase you."

Bella laughed and let him go. She bounced on her toes and said, "This is so exciting."

"You have fun. I'm ordering pizza."

"Meat special!"

"Didn't Sam and Caitlin put you on some caveman diet?"

"I haven't had a slice of pizza in two years."

"Meat special it is."

"So? What's changed here?"

Charlie propped his legs on the coffee table and said, "Some doctor showed up a month after you left with his family. The town loves him."

"But?"

"Some of the folks out in La Push hate him."

"They hate everyone."

"No, just the Cold Ones," Charlie snorted. "When Billy told me those legends, I almost put him in a tiny white room. Then you crashed into my backyard, and I figured he probably wasn't too far off."

"Billy is a pain, so is his son. But what's the doctor's name?"

"Carlisle, I think. He and his wife have three kids here, and the other two are in Vermont."

"Was this watercooler talk?"

"I should have never taught you that word, but yes. Guys at work were telling me all about the Cullen family. Yorkie said his kid, Eric, went to school with them and that they were pretty shut-off from everyone else."

"Sound like my kind of people."

"They could be vampires."

"My cousin was a werewolf."

"Touché."

Bella finished her last slice of pizza and laid back on the couch.

"So, what was your favorite thing to cook?" he asked.

"Beef Wellington."

"That is the most obnoxious thing you have ever said."

"It's easier to make over lasagna."

"That doesn't make sense."

"You can barely cook in the first place!"

"Don't get mad at me because you suck at making pasta."

"Oh, fuck you."

Charlie snickered and tapped his beer bottle against her forehead.

"Just so you know, Carlisle is hosting a dinner at the end of the month. You're coming with me."

"Do we have to bring the dinner? Or are we the dinner?"

"I wager we bring a pie or something just in case, and we don't know they're vampires."

"You get a pedicure with me if they are."

"Fine, but if they aren't, you have to wear heels for a day."

"An entire day?"

"Yes."

"Damnit. Fine, we have a deal."

"So, we bring a pie? Maybe a bottle of wine to thin our blood a bit for dessert."

"I wouldn't taste good with wine. Maybe a good scotch."

"You went to England and came back pretentious."

"I did not!"

"Who drinks scotch? You sound like some fifty-year-old man."

"Harrison gave it to me my first day there."

"You're proving my point."

"God, and to think I came back early to spend time with you."

"We both know you came back to finish watching old Sonic games."

"Fair enough. Put the next one on, old man. I am going to get more beer for you and more pizza for me."