DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters

CHAPTER 2

The months flew past faster than she would have liked, with exams and end of year projects. College was just so much harder than high school.

Soon, the day of her return to her old home had come and she found herself walking off the plane, Kellan hot on her heels. Already, she could feel the mild and humid climate hit her like an invisible wall. Yeah, she had definitely not missed that.

"You know, it's not so bad. You were definitely exaggerating when you told me about the 'horrible' weather in Washington." Kellan noted, taking off the jacket he had put on due to her complaining about the temperatures.

"You're kidding, right?" Bella raised an eyebrow. "It's terrible. I will be happy when we leave!"

Kellan rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Relax, Bells, it'll be fun. Don't you miss your old friends?"

She tensed slightly, her guard going instantly up, before she relaxed again. "Hey, do you see my dad? He said he'd be here to pick us up." She changed the subject as she glanced around, noting the couples kissing and the families reunited. People crowded the area, waiting for their luggage and making it impossible to spot Charlie. If he had even gotten there yet, that was. They had landed ten minutes early.

"You aren't seriously asking me that, are you?" He raised an eyebrow. "I've never even met your dad!"

"Oh, right," But she was too distracted to even pay attention to what he was saying, her eyes frantically searching, going from one person to the next. No sign of him yet.

Kellan rolled his eyes. "You keep looking for him, I'll go grab our luggage." And he wandered off to the baggage claim, leaving her there.

Her eyes landed on a man in the far corner. Charlie. He looked awkward and out of place in such a big crowd, but a smile was still present on his face. He must have really looked forward to her coming back. She forced the guilty feeling back before it had even had the time to make itself present.

"Dad!" she called, raising her hand to signal her location. He didn't seem to hear her. Not that she blamed him, there were plenty other people talking. "Dad!" she called again as she started moving, forcing herself between people and bumping into couples who seemed to have forgotten they were in an airport.

She called his name again as she got near and he turned at the sound of her voice, his smile lighting up his whole face. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him this happy. Maybe Sue really was good for him after all. "Bella!"

"Hi, dad," She gave a small smile and hugged him tightly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Bells. I'm so glad you came." Yeah, me too. He released her and looked around. "Don't tell me you just have that." He pointed to the bag in her hand.

"Kellan's getting our bags for us. He should be over soon." She nodded and looked towards the baggage belt. Kellan was just picking up the last bag, his mop of blond hair easy to detect.

"So, this Kellan...Is he...?" Charlie grunted, too awkward to finish the question.

"No!" Bella's eyes widened. "No, we're just friends." She cleared her throat. She'd never looked at him any other way, nor did she want to.

"Okay," Charlie nodded, then added, as if an afterthought, "Good."

Not long after, Kellan joined them and they could all leave for La Push, where Charlie was currently living. He and Sue had bought a house together not long ago, he informed them. Well, he informed Kellan, since Bella already knew. Thankfully, her dad had thought it a good idea to leave the cruiser this time, which Bella was thankful for.

"You'll really like Seth and Leah. They're good kids." he said when they were getting close.

"I'm sure they are." She wasn't planning on really getting to know anyone here anyway, but she supposed she could be friendly. She was leaving soon, and getting attached just wasn't a good idea. It never was.

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, only Kellan making small talk with Charlie. He was especially loving the embarrassing stories Charlie had to tell. Bella wasn't.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"Bella!" Sue Clearwater exited the house just as the car pulled up, supporting a huge smile. "It is so great to finally officially meet you." Before Bella could protest, she was pulled into a warm hug by the woman who would soon be her step-mom.

Awkwardly hugging back, she plastered a smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you too, Sue." And she pulled back and the other woman went to greet her fiancé and Bella's best friend.

In the doorway, a gangly, tall boy with brown eyes and short, black hair stood, a huge, happy grin on his face. He was barely containing his excitement. Seth, Bella guessed. It was time to face the music.

"You must be Seth," A smirk tugged at her lips as she walked over, looking him over. He was way too young for her, but she had no doubt he had girls falling all over themselves to get his attention. "I'm Bella."

"I know," Seth replied, the grin never leaving his face. Gee, did this guy ever stop smiling? "I've waited forever to meet you! Jake told me-" He stopped himself abruptly when Bella tensed at the name. Of course, she knew she would have to face her former best friend at some point, but she was dreading it. She was pretty sure he wanted nothing to do with her, which was a good thing. It would hurt less when she left.

Bella cleared her throat. "So, which room is mine?" she asked. Anything to change the subject.

"Come on, I'll show you!"

"I have to get my bag first, hold on a second." She turned and walked back to the car, where Sue was getting to know Kellan. The poor guy looked lost as she told him about all the great things about La Push. "Hey, Sue, mind if I steal him?" Bella gave the older woman a sweet smile.

"Of course," Sue nodded, smiling. "Dinner will be done in half an hour, so don't go running off anywhere." She winked, receiving a nod from Bella.

As Bella went to get her luggage from the trunk of the car, she found Seth already there, holding both hers and Kellan's as if they weighted nothing. "You don't have to carry those-" she began, but Seth cut her off.

"Hey, it's no problem. They weight practically nothing." He winked and, as if to prove his point, he ran towards the house and disappeared inside.

"Well," Kellan commented. "He seems great." And with that he followed the younger boy inside, Bella shortly after.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"So, where's Leah?" Bella asked as the five of them sat around the dinner table. She had yet to meet Sue's daughter.

"Oh, she had to run an errand. She should be back in a couple of hours." It was Seth who answered. The boy seemed to keep eating, even after everyone else was finished. Boys and their bottomless stomachs. Bella resisted to roll her eyes.

"What kind of errand?" Bella tilted her head, absentmindedly playing with her glass.

"Wedding errands." Sue explained, smiling. "In Port Angeles."

"Port Angeles?" Bella raised an eyebrow. What could they possibly need in Port Angeles? "Okay." She shrugged, never been one for wedding planning and knowing what would be needed for that. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to know either.

"There's a bonfire tonight at First Beach, you should come." Seth told them, looking between them hopefully.

Bella opened her mouth to decline, but a "we'll be there" interrupted her. She glanced over at Kellan, giving him a glare. It did not have the intended effect.

"Awesome!" Seth spoke through a mouthful of food.

"Seth," Sue commented in a disapproving tone.

"Sorry," The boy gave a sheepish smile.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"Kellan!" Bella screamed, standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, only a towel wrapped securely around her body. Her mouth was hanging open as she regarded her reflection. And she was not liking what she was seeing.

A barking laugh came from the room across the hall. She was going to kill him.

"I am going to murder you, you fucking asshole!" She was blue. Her hair was dyed blue.

"Bella?" It was Sue. She was stood outside the bathroom door, sounding concerned as she knocked. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she forced out, "I'll be out in a minute."

Okay, okay, how to fix this. She tried to take another shower, making sure to not use the bottle with dye. No use. What the hell had he put in the thing? It better not have been permanent.

She took a deep breath before unlocking the door, peaking out of the bathroom to make sure no one would see her before she ran to the room next door.

A knock on the door made her jump. "Who is it?"

"Me," Kellan.

"Step inside and you're dead, Kellan, I promise you." Bella glared at the closed door, receiving a laugh.

"Come on, Bell, I'm sorry." He sounded more like he was trying not to fall to the floor laughing.

"What's going on?" Seth's muffled voice came from down the hallway.

"Bella's being a baby." Kellan chuckled.

"I swear to god, Kellan-" And she opened the door in a quick motion, chucking her hairbrush at the boy outside. He barely managed to dodge it, a laugh escaping him again.

Taking a deep breath again, she hurried to find something to wear. She searched in her bag for a pretty, white summer dress. It wasn't too cold, so a dress would work fine, right? She thought so.

"You all ready?" Seth called from the living room. He would be accompanying them to the beach to make sure they got there since Bella wasn't the most oriented person there was, and Kellan had never been there before. Besides, Seth was probably the only person they would know there. Although, he had said Jacob would be there, as well as Embry and Quil, who Bella barely knew. She dreaded that encounter very much.

"Sure, be right out." One more look in the mirror and she left her room, only grabbing a cardigan on her way.

When she got to the living room, Kellan choked on his laughter before doubling over. Seth stared at her wide eyes before a huge laugh escaped him. "Oh, man, this is priceless."

"Let me get a picture." Kellan was barely keeping himself together as he went to pull out his phone.

"Do it and you won't walk tomorrow." Bella sent him an icy glare and this time he actually gulped and left his phone alone. Good. "Shall we go?" She forced a smile.

Unable to say anything, Seth just motioned for them to follow along, trying hard to contain his laughter.

"So, what do you do for fun around here?" Kellan asked after a few minutes. "Do you surf much?"

Seth chuckled. "There's a ton. Cliff diving, surfing, yes, and sports are just a few of them. The guys are great to find fun things to do."

"Do you have a lot of bonfires?" Bella tilted her head in curiosity. She'd only ever been to one before, and that was when she first came to Forks all those years ago.

"A few, yes. They're great." Seth grinned.

"Do you have a special someone, Seth?" They were entering the trees by now, walking on a small path.

"No, not yet."

"Good choice." Bella nodded. "So much better to be single, don't you think?"

The boy had no reply to that other then a raised eyebrow.

It wasn't long until they were walking out onto the beach and Bella could see the bonfire in the distance, along with plenty of people mingling about. Oh, please no, don't be people from her high school. She wanted to leave that chapter of her life behind.

"Ready?"

She hesitated. Was it too late to turn back? She wanted to say no. She wanted to turn around and leave. To save it for another time. She didn't.

This was it.

Deep breath.

"Ready."