I have made a grievous error in the timeline. Bella is supposed to still be injured, and I'd completely forgotten, so as I update, I will also be revising the chapters up to the most recent update, and then continuing along the timeline. As a little AN, I will be pretty canon in terms of timeline, while tweaking certain things to fit my needs. I mean, is this fanfiction or is it not? Amirite? Anyway, I'm pleased with the progression of this story, and I've currently got several new chapters under works, with ideas steadily flowing in from my frand Aintaru :3 and also my brain which is not always my friend.

It was mid-afternoon. The sun was hiding behind a thick cover of dark grey clouds, the threat of rain as present as always, even in the summer. All my chores had been done at least twice over, and I was currently laying on the couch upside down, my legs draped over the back and a book I had already read for my summer assignment in my hands. Another tragedy. High school was really good about pointing out that really good—or really bad relationships—usually always ended in tragedy hundreds of years ago. It was tiring to read, but also not bad at all. It didn't help that I was both a hopeless romantic and a reader through and through.

Anyway, it was a good day overall. Until I heard three quick knocks on the front door. I jolted in surprise, losing my grip on my book, dropping it on my face. I rolled backwards off the couch with a dexterity I'd never before possessed with a groan, holding both of my hands over my nose. I blinked rapidly trying to clear the tears from my vision and pulled my hands back, grimacing at the sight of blood. My stomach churned in response and I held my breath, dropping my hands and hobbling to the front door, carefully unlocking it before all but running to the kitchen to wash my hands and face. My chest was starting to feel tight. I wasn't very good at holding my breath.

"Bella?"

"I'm in the kitchen." I called out after I'd rinsed my nose and hands. When Edward appeared, I was holding a tissue to my face with one hand and pinching the bridge of my nose with the other. "Hey."

"What happened?" He hurried forward, his speed always taking me by surprise, and pulled my hand back from my face so he could examine the damage. The concern in his expression melted away to reveal amusement. "This should be good."

He leaned against the counter as I explained. I moved to sit at the table and tilted my head back once I was sitting. There was a long moment of silence where I didn't really have anything to say. I was still forever grateful to whatever omniscient being had made me immune to Edward's mind reading gift. Sure I had nothing to say, but mostly because I wasn't sure how to bring it up. I knew he wouldn't like it. He never liked when I mentioned Jacob, let alone asking if I could visit my childhood friend.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Hm? Oh… nothing, really." I said, balling my tissue in my fist. "It's not important."

"Bella, you can tell me anything."

I glanced at Edward, frowning. "Well… my dad asked me this morning if I would like to go down to the Reservation with him. You know, to visit Billy and Jake. Before you say anything, I know you don't like it when I go down there. I know. But I haven't seen Jake in over a year by now, and I don't really think it's fair that you keep me away from him. I mean, he's like the brother I never had I guess. He's family to me. And Billy asked Charlie if he was going to bring me so—"

"You can go."

"—what?"

"I said you can go." Edward smiled, stepping forward and leaning down, tilting my face up so he could meet my eyes. "I won't keep you from your family. Enjoy yourself, love. I need to hunt anyway if you want me to stay with you again tonight."

I nodded, practically grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you! I should probably call Jake and let him know that I'll be coming with Dad when he gets home from work." I paused. "Or maybe I can go early."

Edward's smile faded slightly. "I don't know about that."

I wrung my hands together nervously. "I mean, I won't if you really don't want me to go but… I mean, I remember Jake saying something about building a car and I thought it would be nice to see what he's working on and…" I trailed off as his expression only grew darker. "Edward?"

"I don't like it."

"Why?" I suddenly felt defensive. "Jake has never done anything to you."

"It doesn't matter why." He snapped, gripping my arms. "I don't like it, so you won't go without Charlie. And that's all I'm going to say about it."

He held my gaze for a few more seconds before letting go of my arms, turning towards the front door. He left without another word. I let go of the breath I'd been holding, trying to ignore the throbbing in my arms. I would have massive bruises for sure.

Not five minutes after Edward had left, I could hear Charlie's cruiser rolling into the drive.

"Hey, kid. You ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah. I just need to put some shoes on." I said, pushing myself up from the table and walking towards the front door. Charlie was standing there in his usual jeans, plain shirt, and flannel and I raised an eyebrow as I sat on the stairs, pulling on my shoe. It's not plural because I still had to wear this stupid boot sometimes. I switched between the boot and a support brace, one for walking, one for relaxing at home when I wasn't walking. It was annoying. "Whoa Dad, didn't know you could go to work in casual clothes."

"I was at the station all day doing paperwork. I don't always wear my uniform on days like these." He said, hooking his thumbs in his pockets. "What happened to your nose, Bells? Looks like you hit it pretty good on something."

I rolled my eyes at myself. "I dropped my book on my face. Don't laugh."

"How'd you manage that?"

"I was reading upside down." I said as I stood. "It'll be fine. Hopefully it doesn't bruise, but knowing me, it will. I'll probably have a black eye. I'm glad I don't have school for another month and a half."

Charlie chuckled. "Well, we'll put some ice on it when we get to Billy's. Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I said as I grabbed my bag with the hook. It held my support brace and a book. I'd gotten it ready just in case. I liked to be prepared for all possible scenarios nowadays.

The ride was quiet. As it turned out, my dad and I were near carbon copies of each other. In terms of personality, at the least. Neither of us ever had much to say to each other, and while some people felt the need to fill the silence, I found comfort in it. I assumed my dad did, too. I didn't really enjoy the silences with Edward, though. If I didn't talk, I felt like I was hiding from him, simply because he couldn't read my mind. He never failed to ask what I was thinking. I didn't always want to answer him. I liked having some of my thoughts to myself. So I lied sometimes. And the few times he realized that were… less than favorable for me.

"We're here." Charlie said suddenly, killing the engine. "You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry, Dad."

"If you say so." He said as we walked up the porch steps. Jacob answered after the first knock, probably having been waiting for us by the door. As soon as he saw me, he scooped me up into the most crushing hug I've ever received. I laughed and couldn't help but hug him back before he set me down and held me at arm's length.

"Jeez, Bella. Run into a wall? What happened to your face?" He laughed, shaking his head.

I sighed. "I dropped a book on my face."

He hesitated, his eyes going wide. And then he doubled over with laughter, clutching his stomach. I sighed again, loudly, and rolled my eyes.

"Alright, alright. Ha ha, it's all very funny. I need ice."

"Sure, sure." He straightened and turned to walk inside, rubbing his eyes, still chuckling and muttering under his breath about falling down flights of stairs and dropping books on faces. I would never live this down. "My dad is in the living room. The game is gonna start soon. I'll bring out some beers for you guys after I get Bella some ice."

"Sure thing, kid. Thanks."

I jumped up onto the counter as Jake walked over to the deep freezer after grabbing a cloth and stuffed a few handfuls of ice into it. He handed it to me and I pressed it against my eye, sighing in relief. I hadn't actually realized it'd hurt so bad until I put the ice on it. He laughed again.

"I'm gonna bring out their beers really quick. When I get back, wanna go out to the garage? It's better than sitting inside until dinner. We've got a few hours to kill."

"Sure, sure." I mocked him. He rolled his eyes, grabbed a six pack from the fridge, and left. While he was gone, I set the ice pack down on the counter and pulled down the sleeve of my sweater so I could see my arm. The throbbing had dulled a little but it was still persistent. I could already see the bruises blooming blue and black, too dark too soon against my pale skin. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It's okay, I tried to reassure myself. Edward didn't know he'd grabbed me so hard, and I didn't tell him. That's all. He didn't know. Not to mention I'd antagonized him a little by trying to leave early. I knew what he was going to say. Or I should have known. It was my fault.

"What'cha doing?"

I snatched up my sleeve and straightened too quickly, bumping my head against the cabinet. "Ow…" I grumbled, rubbing the back of my head and glaring at the cabinets from my peripheral vision. "Nothing. Ready?"

Jake helped me down from the counter without a comment and we walked silently (and slowly) towards the garage. Damn this boot.

"Jake!"

We both looked up, startled.

"Oh, hey Quil. You remember Bella."

Quil glanced at me with a smile. "Oh yeah, hey. You were here forever ago it seems like. When we were all on the beach. You had uh… that girl with you." His cheeks colored slightly. "What was her name again? The one with the dark hair and glasses."

"Angela."

"Right, Angela. Her. She was nice." He shook his head. "Anyway, I came here to ask if you wanted to come down to the beach. Everyone's there. We're having a bonfire. You can come too, Bella, if you want."

"That sounds like fun." Jake looked excited as he turned to me. "Wanna go?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

"Awesome. Emily brought stuff to make sandwiches and whatnot. With all of us there, there won't be anything to take home." Quil laughed, walking a few paces ahead of us. "When I left to find you, some of the guys were wrestling. I was gonna join in but I thought you might've wanted to, also. And Bella, I think you'll like Emily. That's Sam's girl. She's real nice. Just... don't stare."

"Alright."

As we approached the sand, I asked if we could stop so I could take off the boot. I didn't want to get sand in it. Jake held me up while I pulled it off carefully and I gripped his arm as he shoved it in my bag. It was a bit of a tight fit, but it worked. He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me up off my feet mostly, stepping over driftwood and moving around large rocks, so I didn't have to put too much weight on my ankle. If I fell, I was a goner for sure. I couldn't help but notice how warm he was, we were so close. Had he always been like this or was he getting sick? I didn't know.

"Jake, you made it!"

"Hey, Embry." Jake grinned, bumping fists with his friend. "You remember Bella."

"Yeah, sure." Embry nodded in my direction. Then he grinned at Jake again. "Come on. Jared and Paul are going at it now. I've got my bets on Paul right now. He's pretty pissed about losing the last fight with Sam."

"This should be good. I'll be over in a minute. I'm gonna introduce Bella to Emily."

"Gotcha."

We watched as Quil and Embry ran off in the direction of the rest of the guys and then turned and walked towards the ginormous mountain of driftwood they'd collected and stacked for the bonfire. A young woman with long dark hair and russet skin was sitting on a blanket laid out in the sand, laying out stuff for sandwiches already. Her hair hid most of her face while she was looking down, but when she noticed our approach, she looked up and revealed three jagged scars along the right side of her face. She smiled and stood, walking around the food she was preparing to meet us halfway.

"Jacob," she held out her arms for a hug. "I haven't seen you in weeks. You've grown a lot since then. How are you?"

He grinned, letting me go long enough to give her a hug. "Eh, I'm alright. I've been eating my dad out of house and home. He complains but doesn't really get mad. You?"

"The same as always. Who did you bring?"

"This is Bella, Charlie's—Chief Swan's—daughter. We've been friends since we were kids."

"Then I guess you haven't been friends for very long, have you?" She teased, turning her attention to me and ignoring Jacob's protests. "I'm Emily. I'm very pleased to meet you. I've actually heard a lot about you from Jacob. He never shuts up about you. The guys are almost sick of it."

"Hey!"

"Kim should be here any minute. She's bringing a few last minute things I forgot. The bonfire was kind of a last minute decision on what to do for the day since we all finally have a chance to spend it together without working. Let's sit. You look like you've had a rough day."

Jake walked me over to the blanket Emily had placed and eased me onto it. "Well, I'll see you later Bells."

"Have fun." I called after him. Emily laughed as she sat down beside me. I adjusted how I was sitting and tried to help her out a little, but she gently swatted my hands away without a second look.

"So how are you liking Forks? I heard you moved from Arizona."

"I like it." I said honestly. "It's grayer than I'm used to, but it isn't as bad as my mom made it out to be. And I like living with my dad. We're a lot alike."

"I'm glad you like it. I had to move to the Reservation myself. I lived a little more north, but I'd been visiting some family here before I met Sam. At first we didn't really see eye to eye… but eventually he made me an offer I couldn't refuse." Her eyes grew distant as she talked, like she was remembering it all right then. Her smile, though made a half-grimace by her scars, was obvious even to me and full of so much love it shocked me. I'd never really known Sam. I knew he was bossy, and played a fairly small role in Jacob never really coming to Forks for a visit—Billy was the main culprit for that, always keeping him busy—but aside from that I didn't know him.

Emily blinked and smiled at me. "My family has its quirks but you'll learn to love them. Jacob seems very fond of you."

I laughed. "He's like a brother to me."

"It's one-sided puppy love." Said another voice. I looked up to see another girl who moved around the blanket to sit on Emily's other side and smiled at me, if a little shyly. She had smooth copper-toned skin, a wide face and slightly too thin eyes. Her nose and mouth were a little broad and her flat black hair blew wispy in the light breeze. I could see that she was very beautiful, if a little plain.

"I guess you could call it that." I shrug.

Emily smiles at the new girl, and I feel like I'm being left out of some insider thing, because they give each other a look that communicates better than actual words. The girl turns back to me.

"I'm Kim. You must be Bella." She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but the wind yanks it back into her face. "It's very nice to meet you. Jared and the boys complain about you a lot."

This takes me by surprise. "They complain?"

"No they don't." Emily gives Kim a hard look and then turns to me. "No they don't. Not really. Mostly about Jacob, who seems to mention you in every other sentence. They're pretty much together all the time, so I could see how it could get a little tiresome. None of them probably need introductions to you at this point. They all know you as well as Jacob does by now."

"Oh, well I'm sorry." I felt a little bad. It wasn't my fault Jake couldn't keep his mouth shut. There wasn't really much I could do about it.

"It's not your fault, Bella. Don't worry about it." Emily reassured me. "I'm sure Jared is the same way with Kim and Sam is the same with me."

"Yeah they all probably know more than they want to." Kim laughed, and she and Emily shared another one of those looks that made me feel left out of their loop.

From that point until Emily lit the bonfire and Kim got up to call the boys up for the late snack, we just talked. Kim told me how she met Jared and I told her again how I liked living here and a little about why I moved. They learned a little about my relationship with Charlie and Renee and her husband and about my new friends at school. They joked with each other about how the boys seemed to fall over each other for me, but neither one of them ever asked about Edward. And I never brought him up. Though he was a constant worry on my mind.

"Hey, Bells! Getting along with the girls?" Jacob grinned, hurrying up the beach with Quil and Embry a few paces behind him, laughing and throwing punches at each other. He plopped down beside me while Quil and Embry kept a small distance. Sam came up and sat beside Emily, kissing her scars and saying something to her quietly, making her smile and her cheeks flush. Her eyes lit up around Sam much like Kim's did when Jared sat beside her, pulling her onto his lap.

I turned my attention back to Jake. "Yeah I am. It was nice to meet them. They're nice."

"I think so, too. Emily's like a mother hen to everyone. It's pretty cool. Anyway, you already know Quil and Embry. That's Jared over by Kim. You know Sam. And that's Paul on Jared's other side, already stuffing his fat face."

"Fuck you, Black." Paul growled around a mouthful of food, glaring at Jake. He glanced at me, but Jake's snicker pulled my eyes away before they met Paul's.

"He's really temperamental. At least, he's probably just mental. We just tack on the temper part of the word because he has anger management issues alongside being just actually crazy. Or that's what I'm told. We don't really get along."

I turned my eyes back to Paul, who was now glaring steadily at Jake. He glanced at me again when he noticed I was looking at him. He was as big and tall as the rest of them, with short black hair and deep brown eyes. For whatever reason his eyes looked different from the others but I couldn't figure out why. They were warmer somehow... or darker, like coals, maybe. His anger seemed to melt away instantaneously when he looked at me, which confused me and made me nervous, so I turned my attention back to Jacob—who was already saying something else to me.

"I know Dad has probably already started dinner, but we can stay a little longer if you want. Actually, I wanted to run something by Emily and Kim before we left anyway."

"What do you need, Jacob?" Emily asked, pulling her attention away from Sam upon hearing her name. Kim also looked up in curiosity.

"I was wondering if Bella could stay the weekend with you and Kim. You know, like a girl's weekend. You guys seem to get along pretty well, and Bella's out of school for the summer—"

My heart all but stopped. "Jake, I don't know. It's probably not a good idea. I just met her and Kim both and I really don't want to impose. Also, I got a lot of errands to run over the next couple of weeks and I still have school assignments to finish. I'm in advanced classes so I have more summer work. Jake, I really couldn't—"

"I don't see why not." Emily said with an easy smile. "It sounds like fun. You wouldn't be imposing, Bella, don't worry."

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't." The dull throbbing in my arms pulsed in rhythm to my racing heartbeat, reminding me of how Edward had reacted to asking if I could leave a little earlier, before Charlie had gotten home to take me here with him. I could only imagine how he would react if I just didn't come home. Or if I did, he'd already be in my room, waiting for me. He'd never let me leave.

"Come on, Bells. Charlie would be thrilled to let you stay, I know it. He loves when you come to visit."

"I know but—"

"Jacob told me you like to read. We have a small bookstore in La Push. While you're here we could go if you like, pick out a few books for you to read. They're all written by local authors, so I'm sure you've never read anything in there. It'll be fun for you."

I sighed. They weren't going to let me say no. "I really shouldn't…"

Jake's grin got impossibly wider. "You're going to love it here."

"It's not that, Jake. I just…" I bit my lip, wringing my hands together. "It's nothing. Alright, I'll stay. I just need to go home and get my things and—"

"I'm sure Emily has some things you can fit, and we can buy whatever you need while you're here for the next few days. Don't worry Bella, we got you covered."

Emily's smiled wavered slightly, but her kind expression didn't change. "Of course. You're welcome to anything of mine."

"Oh no, I couldn't—"

"Bella. It's fine." Jake cut me off, shaking his head with a stern expression. "My only request is that while you're here, you relax and have fun."

"Jake—"

"Come on. Your dad is probably wondering where you are. I'll see you later, Em. I'll bring Bella around to your place when Charlie leaves for the night."

"Alright. It was wonderful meeting you Bella, and I look forward to having you over."

"It was nice to meet you, too." I smiled and waved. "Bye, Kim."

"See you later, Bella!"

Jake and I walked in silence, with Jake doing most of the walking. He'd insisted on letting him carry me on his back, and after giving in, he'd marveled at how heavy I was for someone so small. I shut him up with a smack on the back on his head. I could see the porch light on his house in the distance by the time I finally managed to summon the courage to ask him why he wanted me to stay on the Reservation so badly.

"I just missed you, Bells. Can't a guy miss his best friend and want her to stay for a few days? Who knows when I'll get the chance to see you again. Besides, it's cool that you hit it off so well with Emily and Kim. Neither of them really get out much, so they get a great friend out of it too. Don't worry so much." He glanced over his shoulder at me and then turned his attention forwards again. His expression was unreadable. "Do you want to stay?"

"I'd love to. Emily and Kim are great, but—"

"Your boyfriend wouldn't like it."

"Jacob!"

"It's true. I know it is." Jacob went quiet. We stopped by the front door and he crouched down, letting me slide off his back before turning to face me. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter. "Does he hurt you?"

"No! He loves me, he would never do anything to hurt me." I defended, tugging on the hem of my sweater reflexively, as though making sure it was still there to cover my arms. "Is that why you want me to stay? To keep me from Edward?"

"No. I'm not going to assume anything." Jacob insisted. "I'll believe you when you say he'd never hurt you, if only because I trust your word that you wouldn't lie about something serious like that. I know you love him, so maybe I misunderstood… earlier." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I still want you to stay for a few days. You'll love it here."

"Jacob…" I sighed, shaking my head. "Alright. I'll stay. But only for the weekend, and then I do really need to go home."

"For your errands and schoolwork."

I nodded. "For my errands and schoolwork."

He gave me a long, hard look. Then he sighed. "Alright. Let's go eat."

Okay, so it's been a while since I've written anything for Twilight. I hope it's alright, and I hope that no one is too OOC. Also, I'm not entirely sure how far i should go with the abuse Bella receives from Edward, since this is not an AU and he is still a vampire. But I'll try and keep it mostly mental, with a few things thrown in. The timeline might be slightly off, and I've altered it to where Sam recognizes the signs of changing, and he decides to bring Jake into the pack a little sooner, without letting him know what he is just yet. Like forming a friendship before there's a need for it. Anyway, enjoy. Hopefully I'll get out another chapter before the weekend. There won't be a set time for updates, but I'll go for weekly.

Also, read with caution. I have no idea where I'm really going with this. So yeah. But I do plan on finishing it. -S