Oops! Forgot the disclaimer, here it is! I own nothing, characters belong to Stephenie Meyers.

A/N: So, in the prologue I mentioned that Edward went to get milk for his 17th birthday, however for the sake of the plot that I have planned. I changed that fact. Alice therefore is turning 17 in this first chapter. Sorry guys for that little mess up! Enjoy the story!

Chapter 1

Have you ever looked at the things around you, the people around you, and think about how much more you have than others? If not, you really should! I try to do it every day, I try to be thankful for what I have every day, I'm always amazed at how much I have. I have two loving parents who have done nothing but encourage me to go after what I've always wanted, I have an older sister, Rose, who is running her own fashion company in New York. Rose is 25 and engaged to a man we have only seen a couple of times, Emmett apparently travels quite a bit as he works on finding the best wines for the very rich. Then, there is my younger sister, Alice, she is so much like our mom. Alice is kind, she looks out for the people who get bullied at school even though she is only a sophomore herself. Everyone in our family knows that Alice has a great future ahead of her, she's different than Rose.

Than there's me… I'm different from Rose, I'm even a little different than Alice, though not entirely. Alice and I both want to help, but my mind always wants to help that little girl that I saw in the park. I knew that seeing her again was probably out of the question, how often would we see one person we barely knew?

"What are you thinking about so hard?" I turned from my mirror and gave my younger sister a smile. She walked towards me and quickly adjusted my tie to make it look more presentable.

"Just helping the world, ya know just the normal stuff." I laughed and turned back to the mirror and tousled my hair a little bit. Turning back to her, I placed a kiss on her forehead, "Happy birthday sis."

"Thank you," Alice said and made herself comfy on my bed. "I wish mom and dad wouldn't throw this extravagant party. I'd much rather it be just you, me, Rose, and Jasper…"

Alice added that last name a little fast, I furrowed my brows as I stared at her. "Who is Jasper?"

"Huh?" I gave her a knowing look, she knew exactly what I had asked. "Oh… Uh… just this boy…"

"How old is this boy?"

"Ed, you're not dad. Dad already has met Jasper and has given his approval," Alice said and quickly walked out of the room. No, I'm not dad, I'm worse than dad. I'm her old brother, it's my job to protect her and harass any boy she shows interest in. Giving myself one last look in the mirror, I walked down to the crowded foyer.

Our father worked as a doctor, our mother worked as an interior designer for only the very rich and famous. Therefore, our family was well off, us kids wanted nothing growing up. I went off to the corner where the younger people were huddled talking amongst themselves. Even then, I didn't make myself known by entering the conversation immediately, I stood on the sidelines and quietly listened while I sipped at my water.

"Eddie! I didn't even hear you come over, you look so handsome!" Tanya remarked placing a kiss on my cheek and one of her hands on my shoulder. Tanya was one of my oldest friends, I knew how she felt about me, but I couldn't return the feelings.

"Tanya, always a pleasure," I replied and made my way into the huddle. My eyes landed on a beaming Alice standing in a vacant room with a young man a little older than her. "Excuse me, please."

Tanya followed my gaze and grabbed my hand. "Edward, she's happy, please don't ruin this for her."

"I'm not, I just intend to introduce myself as her older brother," I said and my way over to the happy couple. Alice saw me coming and shot me a look saying that she wished I would turn and walk away.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Alice groaned.

"Just coming to introduce myself," I turned to the man in front of my sister, his hands resting on her arms. "You must be Jasper."

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you. Alice has told me quite a bit about you," Jasper said holding his hand out. He's polite, I had to give him that.

Shaking his hand, I smiled, "I wish I could say the same. Sadly, today was the first I'd heard your name. How long have you and my sister been together?"

"Just a couple of weeks," Alice replied quickly cutting Jasper off from whatever he was planning to say. "I think mom needs you in the kitchen, why don't you go help her?"

"But, I'm just getting to know Jasper here," I said and pulled him away from Alice. "Listen, how old are you?"

"17."

"Alice is my little sister, I love her dearly, therefore I will hurt anyone who hurts her. Understand… Jazz?" I gave him a chilling smile and squeezed his shoulder gently. Jasper gulped and nodded furiously.

"Edward!" I turned towards the door and saw Rose standing there, a glass of champagne in her hands. "Mom needs you, come please!"

"I'll see you two crazy kids in a bit," I said and before walking out turned back to see Alice already comforting Jasper and taking his hands. "Jasper, remember our conversation."

Rose immediately glared at me when I was out of the room completely. She was the spitting image of our mother, but she was way scarier. "Seriously? Did you have to scare him like that?"

"What? I'm her older sibling, it's my job to protect her. Do you not remember how you acted when I brought Jane home?"

"Jane was insane, I acted rightfully, Jasper is nice and is good to Alice." She wasn't lying when she said Jane had been insane. Jane was my first girlfriend, we were freshmen in high school and had instantly been attracted to one another. Though, I think it was more for looks than personality, she had turned out to be controlling and clingy. She messaged me every now and then just to check up, but I hadn't seen her since graduation.

"Were you being serious when you said mom needed me?"

"Yes, she ran out of milk, apparently, she needs some for the cake or something. Plus, we're out of ice. So, can you run to the store to get some really fast?"

"Why can't you go?" I asked although I was already grabbing my keys and coat.

"Emmett is here…"

"What? The great Emmett Hale makes his appearance? Can I take a picture?" I was probably being a little more rude than necessary, but when I said we hardly ever saw him I was being serious.

"You're funny. Now, go!" Rose said as she pushed me out the door. Truth being, I was glad to be out of the busy house. Alice had been right when she said she wished it hadn't been so extravagant. The house being filled with mostly our parent's friends and their children. No one that we knew.

"I'm coming with you!" I looked over and saw that Tanya had jumped in the passenger seat. "I'm getting a headache from being in there."

"I'm just running to the store," I informed her.

"Anything is better than in there," Tanya said and began rubbing her temples. "They aren't even playing music that we like, they're playing something classical. Alice turned 17 and they are playing classical music. Your parents are weird."

I shrugged my shoulders and put the car in reverse. "They aren't weird, they just don't really know how to throw a 17-year-old a party. After all, Rose spent her 17th birthday in New York because she was interning. I was going through my rebellious phase and spent my birthday out with my friends rather than my family."

"Do you regret that?" Tanya asked staring at me.

"I do," I admitted. "I regret a lot of things I did when I was a teenager, that being one of them."

We drove the rest of the way in mostly silence, though Tanya did ask why I drove past the convenience store closest to my house, I simply shrugged my shoulders and continued driving. Finally stopping in front of a convenience store in the worst part of town. Tanya pulled her coat closer to her, trying her best to ignore the stares she was getting from the men outside the store.

"Why don't you wait in the car?" I asked suddenly feeling like this was a very bad idea. Tanya shook her hand and grabbed my arm, holding me close to her. We walked in and received gazes from everyone inside. As we walked to where the milk was, I heard a couple of guys whispering before they came up to us.

"Are you two lost?" One of them asked pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

"Isn't it against the law to smoke in a building?" Tanya asked quietly, still clinging to my arm. The man blew smoke into our faces, Tanya coughed and buried her face in my shoulder.

"Aw, sweetheart, that's what makes it fun," he made a motion to grab her hand but I smacked it before he could touch her. "Now, that is not fun. Don't you like to share?"

"Newton, don't you have anything better to do than terrorize people?" All eyes turned to the voice coming from beside us. My heart leapt in my chest, it was her, I would recognize those brown eyes anywhere.

"Swan, always a pleasure," The man said turning his attention to the newcomer. "Where's Emily?"

"Safe, safe from you and your advances. Leave, Mike, now." The woman practically growled.

"Bella, you're no fun, what happened to you?" Mike gave us all one last look before walking away muttering a series of curses aimed for Bella.

"Thanks," Tanya muttered finally letting go of my arm to turn to Bella.

"You're welcome," Bella said then looked us over, "Are you two lost?"

"Hardly, this guy just drove us here for no reason. Edward, let's go!" Tanya said grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the store. "We'll stop at the other store and get the milk. I don't want to be here any longer."

Putting the keys in the ignition, I started the vehicle and saw Bella walk out. She looked the same as I remembered, well at least her eyes did. Obviously she was older, but there was still the clear signs that she had it worse than I could ever have it. Her eyes scanned the area around her before landing on my Lincoln, I saw that look in her eyes again. She desired something that she knew she could never have, it was the look she had had when I saw her in the park, I now could put a name on it.