I'm alerting you ahead of time for any mistakes in this chapter. It hasn't been looked over by my beta and will be replaced once it has.

And sorry for not updating sooner. I'd completely forgotten that I had an AP US History exam on Friday, so I had to spend the whole week studying. Yeah…the only time I was on the computer the whole week was to take a practice test…but it's over now and wasn't as difficult as I thought it'd be.

I don't own the Twilight Series or any of its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.

Thank you for your wonderful reviews. Here's the next chapter...

Welcome

Bella Swan

I stood outside the door of my bedroom and watched Emmett as he picked up both of my suitcases, before silently passing by me and making his way downstairs, causing me to sigh in frustration. Ever since I'd told him I'd be going on this trip, he'd been acting this way. First he'd been silent, hoping to make me feel guilty, then he'd tried persuasion techniques involving speaking, and now it was back to being silent. I'd known my mom wouldn't have a problem with it, but I'd thought Charlie would be the hardest to convince. Boy was I wrong.

He'd been reluctant, but Renee had called and managed to persuade him. When I'd said goodbye to him a couple of hours ago before he went to work, he'd even seemed a little optimistic. Giving me his digital camera and making me promise to take some good videos and pictures. But now, Emmett was the only one giving me a hard time. And I had less than a couple of hours left with him. I wondered if he'd use this time to kick his over protective gear into higher mode, or if he'd just quit and try to enjoy the little time we had left with each other.

I frowned and went down the stairs after him, watching as he set the suitcases into the back of the jeep. As he was closing the door, I saw a car coming down the street, slowing down at each house. With a huge smile on my face, I ran out and placed myself by the mailbox just as it pulled to a stop in front of our house.

"Hey Laurent!" I said, to the young and familiar mail man. He flashed me a smile, his eyes slowly roaming up and down my body, as he handed the mail.

"Bella. I think that mail you've been waiting for arrived today," he said, with a wink. I'd been uncomfortable as he looked me up and down, but when he began speaking, I couldn't help but smile at his French accent.

Wait…how'd he know I was waiting for something? I blushed, embarrassed that I'd been that obvious. Sure I'd waited for the mail ever since I'd written my letter, and a disappointed look usually covered my features, but I didn't think anyone had noticed.

"Thank you!" I squeaked, quickly turning on my heel and to our house.

"What have you got there?" Emmett asked, as I stepped into the kitchen. My eyes widened at the sound of his voice…he's talking to me now?

"Bills, bills…" I paused as I spotted an envelope with a postage stamp from Cameroon. "…and my letter!"

I dropped everything on the counter and quickly ripped the envelope open to reveal a folded piece of paper. Pulling it out, I was surprised at its fine quality; I'd only used a piece of notebook paper. I was even more surprised by the elegant writing that greeted me as I opened it.

Hello KlutZillA,

It was wonderful to receive a letter from you. Some things about myself:

I am male and seventeen years old, like yourself. My family consists of two adoptive parents, E and C, and one twin sister. C is a doctor, big shoes I hope to fill, while E assists him.

My family tends to travel a lot, because C is a very well know doctor and is always getting requests to go somewhere new. Although I was born in the U.S., I don't recall very much about it. We were adopted when still young, so I can't remember any of the people who may be related to us etc… And though we travel a lot we don't know many very people. The reason being, connections are lost when you live thousands of miles away…But there are plus sides to traveling, such as learning new languages or just seeing the many different places.

To answer your questions, in my spare time I play the piano, read a book, go for a run, or help my father out with his work.

I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but we'll be living together and I am looking forward to that. I hope you get this letter in time. If you do:

Have a safe flight,

MusicallyInclined

I stared at the letter for a while, a smile pasted on my face. It was so polite and well written, I was already feeling embarrassed for the crappy one I'd sent him. But at the end of the letter, what's that he'd said? We'd be living together? I didn't know that…I would have to confirm that with Mr. Jones. It was probably written on the permission slip I'd neglected to read.

"I don't like this," I looked up to see Emmett reading over my shoulder. "He's a guy and you'll living in the same house, with none of us to supervise."

His face seemed to twist up in anger and he began to drag me towards the living room.

"Emmett, what are you doing?" I asked, as I struggled to fold the letter and place it in my back pocket.

"I was going to wait until your birthday next year, but duty calls. It's time we have a talk," he said, pushing me down on a sofa.

I scrunched my brows up in confusion. "A talk?"

He crouched at my feet so we were at eye level, placed his hands on my knees, and looked up at me seriously.

"Isabella," he began, while I frowned. He only called me that when he was serious. "Have you heard the story of the birds and the bees?" he asked. It took a moment for my brain to process the question, but when it did, I shot up in my seat and quickly took a couple of steps away. I knew my face was already turning its famous color as the prospect of my brother giving me this 'talk' flew across my mind.

"Emmett… it's time to go pick up Jasper or we'll be late," I said, quickly turning around and heading for his car.

"We'll have to talk about this sooner or later you know," he said, coming up behind me.

"Later is fine with me," I shot back, as he lifted me into the passenger seat.

--x--

We pulled into the airport about an hour later. Emmett helped me carry my suitcases in while Jasper took care of his, and we walked into the building together.

I spotted Mr. Jones, a couple of adults I assumed to be chaperones, and some of the students of my class a little ways away so we walked over to them and signed in. Our baggage was to be checked all at once so we stood around, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive.

In that time, I pulled the brochure out of my backpack and decided to learn as much about this new country as I could.

We would be going somewhere in the southern part of Cameroon, where plateaus, valleys, and forest were abundant. The capital, Yaounde, was pretty close to where we'd be. I was surprised at the weather down there. It was four major seasons, two rainy and two dry…it was August now, so it was the short dry season. But there were still sprinkles of rain now and then since it would be entering another rainy season soon.

"The plateau's rainforests house large number of animal species. Including birds, monkeys, snakes, elephants, chimpanzees, rodents, antelope, etc…"

I could literally feel my jaw drop. Some of these animals I'd never seen before in my whole life…but it'd always been my fantasy to ride an elephant. As if…

"All right everyone, let's get moving!" I jumped at the sound of Mr. Jone's voice and looked around to see everyone getting up and getting ready to leave. Apart from my backpack, my other bags were no where to be seen. Had I really been so intrigued by the brochure that I'd missed the whole bag checking process?

I glanced up at Emmett and he looked down at me, sadness evident in his brown eyes. The reality of what was happening began to set it: As soon as I walked past that metal detector, there would be no turning back. One whole month without my big brother, I'd never been that long without him…

I stood on my tippy toes and slung my arms around his neck.

"I'll miss you brother bear," I said, trying to keep my tone light. But in reality, panic was setting in at the pit of my stomach. I'd never been away from home that long before.

He pushed me back a little to look down at me. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, concern covering his tone.

I could hear the impatient clucking of my classmates behind us, but I ignored them and nodded at him, quickly wiping at my eyes before any tears spilled.

"Here," he said, handing me an envelope. I scrunched my brows in confusion and took it from him. Taking a quick peek inside, I was surprised at the abundance of bills neatly stacked within.

"What-?" I began, but he cut me off.

"Use it to buy your needs and wants…souvenirs, you know?" he said, looking at anywhere but me. It was then that I realized that this was from him, and as much as I hated it when people gave me things, I could tell this meant a lot to him.

"Thanks Em." I said, smiling gratefully up at him.

"You're welcome." He replied, pulling me in for one breathtaking hug…literally.

"Emmett," I gasped as he lifted me off the ground. I could feel his chest shaking in laughter as he set me back unto the ground and placed a kiss upon my forehead.

"Don't forget to send me an e-mail updating everyday from your departurel." He said, smiling softly as he pushed me away.

I nodded and slowly began to back away. "Love you big bro," I said, smiling expectantly.

"Love you too squirt," he called. I grinned, not minding being called 'squirt' for once and turned around. I took off my shoes and backpack, placing them in the little basket as told, before walking underneath the metal door detector. As my things were being checked, I spread my arms out for the officer in front of me to check me once more. Once he decided I was all good, I put on my shoes and put my bag back on my shoulders, quickly taking out the brochure.

I turned back once more, looking through the glass separating the two of us and threw Emmett a sad smile. He returned it and raised his hand to wave. But I didn't see it, because he was now out of my line of vision.

I trudged behind my classmates, not really looking at where I was going, so I was startled to feel someone's hand slip inside of mine. I quickly looked up and gave a sigh of relief, realizing it was Jasper.

"I promised Emmett I'd look after you." He said, obviously noticing my confusion. Although that made me feel as though I was being treated like a child, I nodded in understanding and let him lead the way. At least I wouldn't be alone.

We soon stepped outside and I stopped for a minute to admire our plane. It was a lot bigger than the one we'd taken to and from Phoenix…probably because it was going to a whole new continent. The name DELTA was written across the side in huge letters. I'm guessing that was the company.

Jasper and I walked up the stairs behind our group and watched as Mr. Jones showed the stewardess at the top our tickets. We followed as she led us to a group of seats that were obviously meant for us. As she walked away, Mr. Jones spoke:

"This whole section," he said, gesturing to the rows of seats around him, "is ours. For safety purposes and parental concern, you will be assigned seats."

There was a collective groan as the last sentence left his mouth. And I panicked, realizing that the only real friend I had in this class was Jasper, and I may not get to sit next to him.

Mr. Jones started with the first few rows, calling out the names of those who would fill the seats. When he got to the third row, the first seat at the side was assigned to Jasper. As he walked over to sit down, I crossed my fingers in the hope that my name would be called, no such luck. The look on Jessica Stanley's face as she realized who she'd be sitting next to was a little laughable. She didn't seriously think that Jasper would be interested in her that way…did she?

That row was soon finished and he began the next one.

"Behind Jasper, Mike Newton and Bella Swan. In the middle, Angela Weber, Lauren Mallory, Tyler Crowley…"

I took my time as I walked over to my seat. Sure, I was glad to be sitting behind Jasper, but Newton… The look he was giving me as I sat down beside him almost made me gag. He and Jessica were definitely made for each other.

"Hello Bella," he said, giving me a cheeky grin. I nodded my head in acknowledgement and faced the girl sitting across the isle, beside me. I'd seen her around school, but never really talked to her.

We smiled at each other and had begun sharing our thoughts on the trip when I got the feeling that someone was staring at me. Slowly turning my head around, I was surprised to see that it was Mike, and he had that same smile plastered on his face.

"Can I help you?" I asked cautiously.

"No, I'm just happy to be sitting by you!" he said excitedly.

Raising my brows in amusement, I turned in my seat to find Jessica making googly eyes at Jasper. I could only see the profile of his face, but it was enough to see the tightness and determination in his jaw as he blatantly ignored her. I shook my head a little and pulled out my laptop so I could send Emmett a quick e-mail. After telling him about our seating arrangements and promising to write again later, I closed my eyes and settled into my seat; aware that Mike's eyes were watching my every movement. I had a feeling, this was going to be a long ride.

--x--

We had to switch planes about three times and it took a couple of days to get there, but I hardly noticed because I slept through almost everything. However, I was happy when we finally arrived because I don't think I could stand one more moment of Mike's head 'accidentally' falling on my lap as he 'slept'…or even his new found hobby of staring at me.

I shot up in my seat and quickly walked behind Jasper, the joy of getting off the plane adding an extra bounce in my step. It wasn't until we walked into the building that the reality of what was happening once again reached me. We were thousands of miles away from home and would be living with people we'd never seen before in our lives. But when I spoke to Mr. Jones about it, he assured me that all the families were just that…families. Their kids had an assignment and they had all been willing to participate so there wasn't any problem.

I nodded my head in understanding and continued inside. We made our way to the baggage claim area and after a little help from Jasper, I finally got mine. We waited on everyone else and made our way towards the main entrance of the building. It wasn't until we were extremely close to the doors that we saw them. A group of teenagers and adults holding up signs with names on them…pen pal names.

My eyes quickly scanned through the sheets until I saw one bearing 'KlutZillA'. I really regretted choosing that now. It'd been fine on paper, but in public…

I ran my eyes over the hand bearing the name and up to the face. As our eyes locked onto each other, I think I stopped breathing.

Wow.

I could have sworn I was staring at a bronze haired and green eyed god. He held my gaze for a while before turning away to speak to a girl next to him. She was tiny with black hair and there was a resemblance between the two of them. Was this the twin sister he'd been talking about? They were both so…beautiful

Looking at the paper she held up, I realized she was Jasper's pal. I smiled as I realized that we'd probably be living in the same house.

I felt Jasper nudge me in the back and took it as my cue to go forward. So, I took in a deep breath and unsteadily made my way towards my new friend.

I stopped a couple of feet away and looked around awkwardly. This was the guy I'd written to and who'd replied. The one I'd been excited about seeing and now I was standing here like a fool.

Say something!

"Has everyone found their partners?" Mr. Jones asked from behind me. There was a chorus of 'yes' and I nodded my head.

"Okay then, let's go. Everyone have a good night and we'll see each other tomorrow morning at the school." He called, walking away with the two adults I'd seen earlier and a man I could only assume was the teacher of these students.

As people began to walk away, I finally gathered up the courage to look up and smile. "Hello." I said, smiling politely and sticking out my hand.

"Welcome." He said, smiling back. My eyes widened at the sound of his soft and musical voice. He then, saw my outstretched hand and reached for it.

As soon as he touched me, I could have sworn I felt the slightest amount of electricity radiate from our hands, causing me to freeze. Before I even had time to react, he snatched his hand from mine and turned away. A blank look covering his face.

I dropped my arm and watched as he picked up both of my suitcases.

"This way." He said, turning stiffly on his heels and walking out the door, leaving me frozen in place, staring after him. I blinked. Did I just imagine the mood swing?

"You'll have to excuse my brother." I looked down to see the girl he'd been talking to and Jasper standing beside me.

"I'm Alice," she said, quickly shaking my hand. I smiled at her, still a little dazed from what had just occurred. "Come on."

I followed her as she led us outside and stopped in front of a silver Volvo. Jasper placed his things in the backseat and we both squished ourselves beside them.

Alice sat in the passenger side and her brother started up the car, quickly pulling out of the lot.

"So…what are your names?" Alice's voice floated from the front.

"Jasper…and this is Bella" he added for me when I didn't respond. I was too busy staring at the bronze head in front of me.

"Cool! You already know me, but this is Edward," she said, gesturing to her brother.

I watched him nod his head and acknowledgement and keep driving. Confused at his stiff behavior, I turned my head to the window and frowned into the darkness. It was a long ride. And when we finally pulled up in front of a house, I was more than happy.

I stepped out after Jasper and waited for Edward to open the trunk. When he did, I reached for one of my suitcases, only to have them quickly pulled out by someone else.

"I'll take care of these," Edward said, already walking up to the house.

As I watched his retreating form, I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. What was wrong with him?

When I'd first greeted him he'd seemed kind, and even a little excited to meet me. Then he shakes my hand and suddenly grows cold. Was he bipolar?

There was a tugging feeling and I looked down to see Alice struggling to pull me towards the house. Sighing, I let her lead me in and up a flight of stairs. I was so tired, I barely noticed anything around me. But when she pushed me into a room and silently closed the door behind her, I snapped back to reality. Edward was there, silently placing my bags by a bed.

I took a look around and realized something. This couldn't be the guest room…it looked lived in. There was a black sofa at one end, the bed he was standing by in the middle, gigantic speakers in one corner, and a wall length shelf filled with CDs. I had a feeling, this was Edward's room.

I returned my eyes to him and he was looking at me in a curious way.

"What?" I asked, suddenly getting self-conscious.

He blinked, as if being pulled out of his thoughts. "Nothing. As you can probably tell, we'll be sharing a room…you may take the bed and I the sofa."

I shook my head in defiance. "No, I'll take the sofa. This is your house and I'm not going to drive you off your bed."

"But-"

"No."

"I-"

"No."

He took a deep breath and I could tell he was getting frustrated. Good. That's how I feel.

"Where are your parents?" I asked, walking over to the sofa and sitting down.

"At work," he replied, watching as I laid my head on the black cushion.

"Cool. Well, I'm going to sleep," I said, quickly closing my eyes. I was too tired to take a shower or even bother changing my clothes.

"You really should-" he began, but I already knew what he was going to say.

"No."

--x--

Preview: "If you hurt her in anyway, I won't have any control over my actions towards you."

So…the meeting with Edward could be a little more descriptive, but I'm sick right now and just really wanted to get this out to you guys before my over-reactive parents take me to the hospital. I mean, it's just a fever… Anyways, I may come back and fix it later.

Also, the next chapter will be Edward's point of view, so his behavior can be explained.

Please Review with what you thought of the chapter. :D

jojoStarr