This is my new story. This idea suddenly came to mind and I have been writing it since last September. Bella is hitchhiking across Europe. I wonder whom she'll meet along the way ;)

Lot's of surprises to come.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Myer. This is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

Fernweh (n.) An ache for distant places; the craving for travel

June 7th 1989

1:20 am

New York City

Okay. Three more minutes…

1:21…

1:22…

1:23. Forty-five more seconds

1:23:45 June 7th '89. Close your eyes and take it in. How often does this happen? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Bella Swan opened her eyes and looked down at her grandmother's pocket watch that was clutched tightly in her hand. She lay back in bed clutching the watch to her chest. Being back home was a little disheartening. Bella didn't particularly like college but she preferred it to being under her well-meaning parents' watchful eye. They would be crushed when they found out that she had no intention of returning to Barnard in the fall. She just didn't feel right there.

She thought about her siblings. Emmett had his own place in the city and the twins; Angela and Rachel were down the hall. How would they react?

She glanced across the room at her globe on her table. As a child she was always enamored with all the places in the world and soon her greatest dream was going to be a reality.

When she started at Barnard she had gotten her first job without her parents knowledge and she began saving. They were happy she was being responsible when they found out. Soon she quit that job, got fired from another and just about a month before she quit another. She currently had a new job without either of her parents' knowledge.

With what she made from working at various venues while at Barnard and during the summer plus her savings from childhood, she would soon be able to begin the first step of her journey.

Bella smiled and looked up at the ceiling.

Only fifteen more days.

Ten days…

Eight hours…

Thirty-five minutes…

Ten days, eight hours and thirty-five minutes.

.

Wednesday June 14th 1989

2:30pm

Manhattan, New York

"Hey there Beautiful!"

Bella turned to see a tall blonde-haired boy walking towards her. He wore a bright grin and his eyes twinkled with mirth.

"What has you looking so excited?" she asked popping her hip and raising a questioning brow.

Bella and Jasper had been friends since childhood and Bella considered him her best friend. Their fathers had known each other from college and their mothers had become quick friends. It was only natural that they too would be friends.

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek once he caught up to her on the front steps. "Well, I'm going to see Mrs. Swan soon and any man in their right mind is bound to be excited about that."

"Jasper that's so... –"

"What?" he asked with a shrug. "She's wicked hot."

"She's like your mom." Bella smacked his arm with a laugh.

"Like is the key word here Belly boop," he grinned. "Is she home?" He peered at the still closed front door behind her as if he would see her mother through it.

"I'm not sure if I want to answer that," she laughed.

"Is she still a total ultra-feminist because when she goes on one of her rants…" he trailed of with a dreamy look in his eye.

"You're not right in the head," she said using her knuckles to knock on his forehead. "You know that?"

"So I've been told," he shrugged. "But I've also heard the same about you."

Bella shook her head and turned the key in the door. "Behave," she warned before pushing the door open and leading him inside.

"I'll try my best," he snickered.

Renée Swan was seated on the living room couch sifting through some papers. She looked up with a tender smile as Jasper and Bella walked in.

"Hi kids," She said. "Where are you two coming from?"

"I was at work and I met this dude outside," Bella said gesturing to Japer with her thumb. He chuckled heading straight towards the kitchen.

"Are you finished already?" Renée looked up at the clock. "I thought you finished at five. You're home early."

"Today was my last day so…" Bella said in a rushed sentence. "By the way, why are you home so early?" She plopped down on the couch next to her mother. "Shouldn't you be down at the firm?"

"I finished early," her mother said in a mocking tone. Bella could tell by her facial expression she did not miss the part about it being her last day. "What do you mean by last day?"

"Well I don't work Friday's and I asked for tomorrow off –"

"Oh, for a second there I thought –"

"After that I won't be working there."

Renée Swan looked at her daughter curiously with narrowed eyes as she thought about her next question. "So…you quit?"

"Not exactly."

Renée sighed putting down the papers. "Isabella Swan stop deflecting. I know you're up to something. What happened? What did you do? I thought you liked that place."

"Which place?" She asked scrunching up her face in disgust. Her new job was terrible.

"The art gallery. Where you work."

"Oh I stopped working there like a month ago. I have a new job but I won't be working there for a while," she answered quickly. In actuality she had been fired two weeks into the job. "Maybe…a year. I'll explain things more when dad gets home. I need to talk to you guys together," she said twisting her index and middle finger together. She stood up. "I should go check on Jasper. He's probably eaten half the kitchen by now. Where are Angela and Rachel?" She could tell her mother was getting suspicious by the way her eyes narrowed even further. Bella quickly fled to the kitchen before she could ask any more questions.

Jasper was sitting at the kitchen table with the radio and a plate of leftovers. "Ronald Regan is getting knighted today," he said shoving a spoonful of food in his mouth. "I wonder if we'll get to meet the queen when we're in England."

"Do your parents know?" she asked sitting down across from him.

"About what?" His blue eyes met hers with confusion.

"Europe," she hissed in a loud whisper. "That's what?"

"Of course," he scoffed. "I may be grown but I still tell them these things. They worry. I told them yesterday."

"Did you say anything about me?" she asked looking over her shoulder to the door that separated them from the living room. "Your mom has a big mouth."

"Don't worry," he said waving her off. "I said nothing. They probably suspect anyway. I'm not the only impulsive one. We always get into trouble together. Just because I'm the college drop out who is apparently just wasting daddy's money doesn't mean I orchestrate these outlandish plans." Jasper's mother always complained about his lack of ambition. His parents were certainly disappointed.

"You're crazy."

"And still, I'm not the one who came up with the whole backpacking idea. That was all you." He pointed his fork sassily at her. "I'm just coming to make sure you don't get into too much trouble out there."

Bella sighed dropping her head in her hands. "Well, what's done is done. Besides, I thought you were planning to go to England either way."

Jasper shrugged. "I'd love to see Charlie's face when you say what's done is done."

"Don't remind me," she groaned. She reached down and popped open her pocket watch, which she had worn on a slide chain necklace for the day. "I still have time to come up with a hell of an explanation."

"Good luck with that," Jasper laughed as he shoveled a spoonful of food into his mouth.

.

Wednesday June 14th 1989

7:09pm

Manhattan, New York

"Sweetheart Bella wants to discuss something with us." Renée glanced up at her daughter with a small smile as she cut into her meatloaf.

Charlie had arrived home about an hour and a half before but her mother had seemingly forgotten about their earlier discussion. Or so she thought. Renée Swan never forgot anything. She was simply waiting, as lawyers do, for the moment that was most opportune. In that moment, Bella wished she hadn't asked Jasper not to stay for dinner.

"What is it Bells?" he asked looking curiously at her.

"Mom do we have to do this now?" She said almost whiningly as she glanced pointedly at the twins out of the corner of her eye. The fourteen year olds quieted down, sensing the tension between Bella and their mother.

"Why not now?" she raised a brow. "I thought is wasn't anything bad." Renée Swan always knew when her children were up to something.

Bella sighed placing down her knife and fork. "Mom. Dad." she looked at her mother. "Don't freak out, but I'm taking some time off school. I'm not sure of what I want yet so I'm taking a year off. I've been saving up some money from my jobs and I'm going to backpack across Europe." There was no response from either of her parents.

Renée Swan's face was in a frozen state of shock with her fork held midair and her eyes bulged as if they were about to fall onto the plate in front of her. Across the table, Charles Swan was slowly turning red. His lips were pressed into a tight line and he help on to his knife and fork in a dangerously tight grip.

"I leave on Saturday," she added quickly with a nervous grin.

"What did you say?" her father asked in a slow deliberate voice. "Did she say what I think she said?" He asked his wife.

"I'm not going back to school," she answered bravely squaring her shoulders. "I already talked to my boss. Today was my last day of work and I'm leaving on Saturday. I'm going to London."

"What on earth are you going to do there?" Renée asked in an outraged tone. "Backpacking? Finding yourself? Where did you get these ideas? Was it Jasper?"

"No, I came up with it on my own."

"I can't believe this," Renée said shaking her head. "And exactly where are you going to stay when you get there? How are you going to sustain this year long trip? Do you think about these things Isabella?" She knew Renée was getting serious by the way she said her full first name.

"I already have accommodations," Bella said quickly. She clasped her hands on the table in front of her. "I'll be staying in an Inn outside of London with a very nice lady. Her name is Ms. Elisabeth Acker. I'm working for her in exchange for living accommodations. I sort of have plans for France, and Hungary I will figure out when I get there. I might visit Amsterdam too. It's really easy to get around. I just need a train pass." She looked between her parents' concerned faces. The twins stared nosily between their sibling and their parents waiting for the explosion they knew was coming.

Charlie Swan still had not moved so Bella continued. "I'll leave Ms. Acker's contact information with you and I'll send postcards and I'll call when I can."

"Have you lost your mind?" Charlie finally asked. "Are you seriously telling us that you plan to travel all across Europe by yourself? How is that safe? Do you think it's safe for a 20 year old girl to travel all over by herself with no reliable place to live?"

"Sounds dangerous to me," Angela piped in.

"Dad, I did my research," she explained ignoring her little sister. "I've made calls, I've spoken to people and I read up on it. I'm certainly not the first woman to do it. I'm not a perfect planner but I have most of it down to the second. Besides I won't be alone. Jasper is coming too."

"I knew it," her mother hissed, pounding a fist on the table. "I knew he was involved. He has made nothing of his life and now he's going to drag you down with him. I knew that boy was a bad influence. You're not the most responsible person and he is even worse."

"Mom it was my idea," Bella said exasperatedly. "And it's already done. I'm leaving on Saturday whether you and dad like it or not. I may not be super responsible but that's the point. I think it'll help be build character and have a better understanding of myself or something."

"Whether we like it or not." Her mother chuckled humorlessly. "I…I don't even know what to say to that Charles."

"Bells," her dad said shaking his head. "I really don't like this."

"I just…I need to do this," she said beseechingly. "Can you guys please support me in this? I promise nothing bad will happen. I have Jasper and we're both adults. Please, let me just do this. Think of it as me growing up."

"But Barnard –"

"Barnard can wait," Bella said cutting her off. "It's only a year and then I'll go back to college. It will be there when I get back. By then I'll figure out what I want to do. I know I'm interested in bettering my French and I plan on spending some time in France to do that. I'm good but I could be better. It will help with my studies."

Renée looked at her husband and they seemed to be having a silent conversation with their eyes. Finally they looked at their eldest daughter. Although they were sometimes hard on her, it was simply because they wanted success for their children. Her irresponsible behavior often worried them.

"Okay," Renée said. "We don't agree with this, but we will try to be supportive because I know you'll do it anyway. You're too…you."

"Thanks," Bella said gratefully, sitting back in her chair with a satisfied smile. "That's all I ask."

"We want details though," Renée said pointing her fork. "And phone numbers."

"I promise. I'll go over all of it with you," she said grinning triumphantly. "Every last detail."

Review please! You will get a preview of the next chapter and maybe I'll update tomorrow.

I have this mostly written. I will post as often as I can.

As for my other two stories, I will be finishing them.