A/N Hello again! It's been a little longer than I anticipated with this update, but here it is. Hope you enjoy! Also, I don't own the original story, or the song used.

How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes

I struggle to find any truth in your eyes

And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know

My weakness I feel I must finally show

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die

Where you invest your love, you invest your life

-Awake my Soul by Mumford and Sons

"Dad! We're going to be late!" Bella called up the stairs for the third time. It was the night of the parent info meeting for the AP tests. He'd been late getting home, and said he needed thirty minutes to get ready. Forty five minutes ago.

"Coming Bells!" He rushed down the stairs and grabbed his keys. "Ok kid, let's go."

They made it to the meeting just in time and took a seat in the classroom.

"Welcome everyone, and thank you for coming to this meeting." The teacher started, "Each of your students has been hand chosen for this program because they showed exceptional skill in one or more subjects offered by the Advanced Placement program. The AP tests are designed to test each student's mastery of a given subject in comparison with other students around the country, and even the world. These tests will not only look great on a college application, but will also count for college credit, allowing students to lessen the number of repetitive introductory courses in their first two years of undergraduate studies.

Right now you are being handed a slip of paper with your child's name, their current grades, and the exams we have recommended for them. Now, in schools that offer these exams, there are usually classes that are designed to prepare students for the test. Working with the principal and the rest of the faculty, we have created a new program for those of you interested. If you have either one, or two subjects recommended, you will be excused from those classes for the rest of the semester, in order to attend our rigorous tutoring sessions. Attendance will be required every day. More than two absences without a note and you will be back in regular classes. Also, the practice tests will serve as midterms, and your final grade will be tied to your AP test score. In order to accommodate all of you, as well as the available teachers for each subject, your current class schedules may need to be moved a little. Those of you with three or more subjects, please stay after the meeting so I can speak with you and your parents separately."

Bella looked down at her paper.

• Calculus

• English Literature and composition

• U.S history/ Government and politics

• Physics

• Spanish

"Wow Bells, this is terrific" Charlie whispered. The meeting continued with talk of scheduling details, and money concerns. Soon they were dismissed, except for those who had more subjects. Although, there were really only two, as Bella looked over and saw Angela Weber. They made eye contact, and shared a smile.

"Ok, I wanted to speak with you two separately because you both have the drive and potential to excel in several subjects. If you both pick three or more tests, we have received special permission to pull you both out of normal classes completely to focus on these advanced courses. I don't want you to be surprised, so I'm going to warn you, you were chosen not only for your academic excellence, but for your perceived emotional maturity". Bella almost snorted when he said that. "Taking this seriously will mean forsaking a lot of your social lives". This time she held back a laugh and an eye-roll. "These courses are not to be taken lightly. Just like the others, these tests will serve in the place of your final exams and all of your graduation requirements. We worked out a deal with the Port Angeles Library, and they've agreed to set you both up with part time jobs if you are interested. It will give you both time and a quiet place to study, as well as access to a plethora of resources. I'm sorry to rush you, but your final lists are due on Wednesday, and will officially begin on Monday. We are already behind, and that's my deadline. You will need to decide together what tests you want. Be prepared for a lot of homework, as well as shortened thanksgiving and winter breaks."

They were dismissed again, and Bella and Angela decided to meet up before school the next day to iron out the list. Bella's head was swimming with everything, and she was just about to walk out with Charlie when Mr. Masen beckoned her over one more time.

"One more thing Ms. Swan. As you know, these tests will help you get into college, but there are also other considerations."

"I don't understand"

"Your grades are excellent, but even before you moved here, your records lacked involvement in any kind of extra-curricular activity. You may want to consider joining something this year to make you a more attractive candidate to potential colleges."

"Extra-Curricular...?"

"Go out for a play, join the debate team, yearbook club, newspaper, anything. You may surprise yourself Ms. Swan".

After that, Charlie took her to the diner for dinner. They sat in comfortable silence eating their burgers. Bella thought about what Mr. Masen had said. It was true, she'd never really been much of a joiner, but she could remember a time when she'd wanted to change that. Wanted to do something for herself. She was twelve, and her mother had just finished a particularly intense interpretive dance phase and hadn't found a new passion yet. Renee walked into the house with several bags and a couple of rolled up mats.

"Yoga"? Bella asked, tilting her head to the side with a slight smile.

"That's right smarty pants. This is going to be enlightening and relaxing. Just the ticket to cleanse and focus our mind, body, and spirit. Check out these videos I got. Oh, and here's a mat for you."

"That's…cool. Hey mom, I… I wanted to ask you something."

"Hm? What's that sweetie?" Renee asked, only half paying attention as she rifled through her packages.

"Well, I wrote a short story for my English class, and the teacher suggested that I join the creative writing club".

"That doesn't sound like something you'd be into" Renee said, now distracted trying to figure out how to brew some herbal tea.

"Remember when you decided to be a writer a while back? I had some fun with that. Mom, you have to turn the knob all the way to the right to light the stove, otherwise you're just releasing gas".

"Oh, right." She turned and looked at her daughter. "Bella, we never go backward. Only forward. I want you to be able to express yourself creatively, but you can't do that jotting things down in a notebook. Writing will just push you farther inside yourself, we need to push you out! It's bad enough you've always got your nose stuck in a book."

"But Mom," Bella tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She knew it was pointless to cry in front of her mother. In all likelihood, she would probably end up comforting her.

"But nothing. Writers are always so isolated and antisocial, and you, my flower, are already antisocial enough. I swear you have too much of your father in you for your own good. Now go change into some comfy clothes and come back down with an opened mind and a relaxed…" she checked the back of one of the DVD boxes, "Chi. Oh, and we have to rearrange all of the furniture so that it's facing east."

Bella wanted to argue, to tell her mother that the whole point of the creative writing club was to collaborate, and bounce ideas off of each other. But she knew her mom. She knew that it would end with her mom in tears, feeling attacked and gained up on, and Bella didn't want to hurt her mother. So instead of arguing, she said "Ok mom. By the way, the electric bill is due on Friday."

"Oh crap! I totally forgot." Bella saw the sheepish look she knew too well. She reached into her pocket and pulled out forty dollars. Here, I've been walking Mrs. Anderson's dogs. This will cover it. Actually, I'll just drop it off on my way home tomorrow."

"Thank you baby. What would I do without you?" Bella walked upstairs with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Bella came out of her reverie and broke the silence. "Hey dad?"

"What's up kid?"

"Mr. Mason suggested that I get involved in some extra curricular activities to help me get into college."

"That's a great idea Bells. Do you have anything in mind?"

"I was thinking about seeing if they have any writing clubs. Or maybe the news paper."

"That sounds right up your alley. Just be careful. I don't want you to take too much on, you still need to sleep. Look into it this week, and let me know if there are any fees or anything."

"Thanks Dad." If Charlie was surprised by the emotion in his daughters voice, he didn't show it. He also didn't show whether or not he noticed how much trepidation accompanied such a simple request. Charlie just took another sip of coffee, and silently thanked god that Bella Bella was with him now, and not with her mother. He had no idea that Bella was thinking the same thing.

The next morning Bella met Angela in the parking lot forty-five minutes before school started. Luckily, the library was open this early, so they had a reprieve from the cold. Bella yawned and stretched the last bits of sleep out as she approached her friend. She would never be morning person.

"Is it weird that I'm totally excited about this?" Angela asked, as they found a desk with a computer. Bella thought about it for a second, and realized that she was pretty excited about this as well.

"Me too. This is going to be fun. …We're really bad teenagers aren't we?" They laughed, and got to work. They looked over the tests together and came up with what they wanted to focus on. Their final list looked like this:

• Physics

• Calculus

• English Language/literature/composition

• U.S Government and Politics/history

• Psychology

Bella read over the list. "Okay, I'm really struggling in calculus right now, so this will definitely be interesting."

"Oh, I'm doing well in Calc and physics." Angela said. "I'll help you with that part, if you help me with history and English lit."

"Deal. And Spanish and psychology will be a fun adventure for us to tackle together. "

"I wonder how many days we'll be able to work in Port Angeles. Are you still working at Newton"s sporting goods store?"

"Nah, I quit that a couple weeks ago. I wanted the money, but it really wasn't my thing." Bella replied with a laugh.

"Yeah, I always thought that was kind of a weird fit. But at least now we can focus all our attention on this." They walked into Mr. Masen's class and handed him their list. The next day he called them out of their first class and greeted them with a huge stack of papers and materials.

"We were planning on starting you two on the new schedule next week, but it seems cruel to force you to continue the regular course load with all of this on your plate now. Plus, you both showed initiative by getting your list in so quickly. It allowed me to immediately start getting things prepped."

He led them to the classroom they would be using. It was already stocked with a ton of materials. He explained that while the others would show up at various times throughout the day to study for the tests they would take, Bella and Angela would set up shop here all day. There would be assignments designed to help them prepare for the test and set up accountability, but there would be not filler assignments. Everything would have a purpose. Every two weeks there would be practice AP tests, which would increase in difficulty throughout the year. The other student would start their rotations on Monday, so the two of them were free to spend the rest of the school week catching up.

"By the way," he added before leaving the room, "I spoke to the library and you two have hours available after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and alternating Saturdays. You can start this Friday."

With that, he left the two girls to start sorting everything out. They worked together very well , falling into a steady rhythm of work and talking. After a few hours, Bella looked up and Angela.

"Hey Ang, are you still looking for someone on the paper?"

"Yeah, definitely. We have a lot of seniors on the staff so everyone's focus is off. Why? Are you interested?"

"Yeah. Mr. Masen seems to think I need an extra-curricular for my college applications."

"You're taking a lot on all at once this year."

"I guess I'm just taking my future a little more seriously." As they fell back into their work Bella took a few moments to think. She was taking her future more seriously. She felt she could thrive in this. Between Jake and Leah, and Angela, and school, she could feel herself waking up. And broken heart be damned, she could do this.