Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N Unbeta'ed is unbeta'ed so please overlook my mistakes.
Age 7
Bella had just come home from school when she saw a letter in the mailbox. Curious, she took it out and saw that it was addressed to her. Excitement coursed through her whole body. She had never received a letter before. It made her feel like a grown-up.
"Mom!" she shouted, dumping her bag on the sofa and running into the kitchen. "I got a letter! A letter, Mommy!"
Renee chuckled. "That's great, honey. I'm just washing some vegetables for dinner and then we'll open it together, okay?"
Bella groaned. She hated how everyone, including her new friends, saw so little of her. Only the teachers at school knew that she had a talent. She was good at Art and Maths. Her paintings were so striking that they were chosen by the school headmaster for the school art exhibition. No one in Phoenix saw her talent. She hated how Jessica thought that she was just some girl who made up an imaginary friend named Edward.
Thinking of Edward made Bella's stomach squirm. She missed him so much. She missed his hugs, his laughs, and even the teasing which used to make her upset and angry.
"I can read, Mommy!" she insisted. "I won the spelling bee!"
She ran to her room and shut the door with a loud slam.
Tearing open her letter, she began to read slowly, word by word, just like Mrs Clearwater told her to do.
For Bella
I'm sad that I haven't seen you for a year but Dad said that you could come over this summer before school starts again. I really really really want you to come back and visit because I miss you a lot. Forks is really boring without you.
I hope you have made friends at your new school. I'm kicking butt here and Mr Uley tells me I'm the smartest in the class.
Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Jasper are my new friends and I have told them about you. They're so excited to meet you.
From your best friend Edward
PS. Mom didn't check my spelling for me See? I told you I was good at it!
Best friend, Bella thought. He still thought of her that way. She was so happy she could sing! Her irritation with her mom disappeared almost immediately and she ran out of her room in a hurry.
"Mom! It's from Edward. His dad said that we can go visit him this summer!" Bella said excitedly. "Please, Mommy? Please?"
Renee sighed and patted her daughter's head. "Sure. Daddy was planning it to be a surprise but I guess Edward was too excited and told you, right?"
Bella nodded. She thought back to the fun times she enjoyed at La Push exactly a year ago. She thought of the rare sun, the glistening water, the sandy shores, and the magnificent forest which covered most of the surrounding land. "I can't wait. This summer is going to be the best!"
...
Bella was waiting impatiently for the flight and watched as the flight attendants and passengers strolled easily up and down the aisle, putting up and taking down their bags to check that everything fit in the overhead compartments. She saw the passengers leaning out of their seats and maneuvering slowly to chat together with others. The plane idle on the tarmac made Bella wish that she could just take off herself – in a space rocket or a helicopter.
"Are we there yet?" Bella asked, her bright brown eyes wide. She was so bored of the games available. She was just too eager to see Edward again.
Renee sighed. She has never seen a more persistent girl. It has only been one and a half hour and the kid was already jumping up and down her seat, looking out the window to see whether the plane has landed. "Not yet. There's still two and a half more hours, sweetheart. Why don't you flip through the channels and see if there are any movies you like?"
Don't normal kids like flying on planes to play video games and watch movies? Renee wondered absentmindedly.
At last the plane descended and rolled slowly and lazily from the gate. Renee patted Bella's hand gently to tell her that the plane has landed.
"We're in Seattle now, baby," Renee said. "Do you remember this place?"
Bella nodded her head eagerly. "The big buildings and the sky scrapers, right?"
Her mother nodded. "That's right, clever girl."
Bella grinned, showing her missing front teeth. She loved it when her mom called her a clever girl, because she knew she was. She was going to be the smartest girl in the world when she was older.
The one hour plane ride from Seattle to Port Angeles was not what Renee was worried about. Planes carried a lot of distraction. Bella loved looking outside to see the fluffy white clouds and eavesdropping to hear what the passengers around her were talking about. It was the hour drive to Forks that was the going to be the problem. Everyone who knew Bella well knew that she hated long drives. She hated how she had to sit there still and look out the window to see nothing but roads and cars.
Driving always put her in a very dark mood.
"Mom!" Bella whined. "Are we there yet?"
Renee groaned internally. "No, sweetheart. There is still ten minutes, okay?"
"Dad!" Bella called to her father in the front seat. "I hate car rides. Why can't we go on a plane?"
Charlie chuckled. He knew that when his sweet daughter asked his wife these questions, she was frustrated and angry but he thought it was adorable. He remembered that it was exactly how he felt when he was that age. "Maybe we can take some of your friends next time. I'm sure Edward would like to meet your friends, too. What's that little girl's name? Jessica, is it?"
Bella looked at her father with a horrified expression. "No. Not Jessica! She's a nasty girl. I hate her."
Charlie laughed. "Alright, then, baby girl. We're almost there."
…
It took only one trip for Bella to load all of her toys and suitcase on her bed. She got to choose which room she wanted because she was a good girl on the plane. The west bedroom that faced the sandy beach was small but beautiful. She would get to see the magnificent golden sunset every afternoon. As she laid spread out on the bouncy bed, she remembered the wooden floor and the light pink walls last time she was here exactly a year ago. There were no changes at all – it was like she was the only guest ever.
"Bella!" a loud scream behind her made her jump off the bed in surprise.
Bella turned around and saw a boy who was a little taller than her. He still had the same bronze hair and startling green eyes she remembered. "Edward!" she ran outside to hug him. "You're really here!"
Edward laughed, it was a sound she remembered and loved. "I know. Mom said that I can stay here for a bit and then we are going back to our beach house for lunch."
"Awesome."
"So…did you make any new friends in Phoenix?" Edward asked her while heading down to the beach.
Bella nodded silently. "Yeah. A few. There's this girl who is a real meanie. Her name is Jessica and she always teases me."
"Tease her back then. Call her a pig in a wig or a gorilla. I bet you she wouldn't know what a gorilla was."
"Probably not."
Edward held out his hand tentatively, hoping that Bella would take it. He was going to pull her into the water with him.
"Hey!" Bella squealed as Edward dumped her in the water. "The water is freezing cold."
"I wouldn't know," Edward smiled crookedly. "After all, I'm still dry."
He watched Bella waddle out of the water in her short jeans.
"Come on, Eddie!" Bella said, reaching out for him. "It's not that cold. Just dive in and we can have a water fight."
"Not fun without water guns."
"That's where you're wrong. I have two in my pocket. And they're filled with water already!"
Edward watched in mock terror as Bella took out the water pistols and pointed it at him.
"That's not fair. You have to give me one and then I'll go into the water."
"Okay."
Bella grinned at him and threw one into the water. Edward groaned and reluctantly dived in.
"I'm in now," he said. "The water fight begins now!"
He sprayed the water into his mouth and blew it out at Bella.
"Ewww!" Bella shrieked. "That's gross!"
"It's still water," Edward smirked. "I have two guns now. My mouth and your pistol. There's no way you can win!"
Bella looked at Edward, who was having so much fun and decided not to burst his bubble. She would let him win just this once. Once she has changed out of her jeans, which were dragging her down in the water, she would ask for a rematch and win. Right now, she was just going to happy to have her best friend back. She was going to enjoy the short time she could have together with him before she leaves and school starts.
"Whatsamatter?" Edward asked her, looking over at her frozen form. "Not gonna fight anymore?"
Bella shook her wet hair at him, spraying him with beads of water. "Sure I will. But I can't fight properly with an octopus dragging me down."
"Octopus? Where?" Edward panicked, looking around.
Bella bit her lip to stop her from laughing out loud.
"Oh, it is so big with a million tentacles. I bet there are heaps around here. It's orange, with blue dots on its head and spits out fire like you can't imagine."
"Mom!" Edward called, running towards the shore. "Mom! There's octopuses in here! Help!"
Bella burst out laughing. "Not so tough, now, are you? It was a joke, alright? Payback for all the times you scared me."
Lunch was cheery. Esme and Renee were happy to get together again. Carlisle and Charlie were already outside fishing together by the dock.
"What's for lunch, mom?" Edward asked.
"Fish and chips," Esme smiled at her only son, patting him gently on the head. "Renee made some homemade tomato sauce so I'll put some on your plate."
"Thanks, Mrs Swan."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. I know Bella loves it," Renee said, trying not to laugh.
"Mom!" Bella groaned. "Don't tell them!"
Renee chuckled and launched into the story about Bella unknowingly stepping on the sundried tomatoes on the way home back from school. It was a hot scorching day and Bella was exhausted. She had asked her mom about what was for afternoon tea and her mother had decided ice cream, then two fish fingers with homemade tomatoes.
"I went out to show Bella the tomatoes I had dried out and I realized in horror that they were all squashed!" Renee continued while Bella's face continued to grow redder and redder.
She looked at Edward, who was laughing at her, and wished that the incident never happened. Now even Edward would think she was stupid.
"Don't worry, Bella!" Edward said, smiling gently at her. "I know it was an accident. C'mon, let's eat."
Bella let out a huge breath and sighed in relief. Maybe things weren't going to be too bad after all.
"I want you to meet my new friends at school, Bella," Edward said after lunch. "Don't worry, they're nice."
"Sure." Bella gulped. She really hoped they were nicer than her friends back at home. She imagined bringing Edward back to Phoenix and introducing him to Jessica and her popular group. He would be the novelty there. Everyone would like him.
"Em!" Edward shouted out, running towards the furthest beach house. "Em! Open up. I want you to meet Bella. She's my best friend."
The door swung open and Bella gasped. There in front of her was the biggest, no – largest second grader she has ever seen. "Hi," he grinned at Bella. "I'm Emmett, but you can call me Em. I'm Edward's friend from school."
Bella waved back. "Hi. I'm Bella Swan. I live in Phoenix now."
"Phoenix?" Emmett's eyes widened. "How did you meet Edward then?"
"I-I used to live here."
Edward groaned. He hated the direction this conversation was going. It was going to end up long and boring, just like the ones Charlie and Carlisle had.
"Okay. Em? Where's Rose?"
"Rose!" Emmett shouted back. "Eddie has a new friend for us to meet!"
Bella had never seen such a different twin. Emmett was taller than Edward and had a more beefy body but Rose, Bella thought that she was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. She had long blonde hair which was braided neatly and the biggest set of blue eyes Bella had every seen.
"Hi," she said shyly, almost hiding behind Emmett. "I'm Rosalie. Rose. Whatever.."
"I'm Bella," Bella said. "I-It's nice to meet you guys."
Emmett chuckled. "Nice to meet you too. Maybe we can go bike riding one day."
Bella's eyes widened in shock. "Bike riding?"
"It means riding a motorbike," Rose said, looking at Bella with an unfathomable expression. "What? Never done that before, huh?"
Bella shook her head. "Never."
"Well, I want to play with my dolls now." Rose turned to leave and Bella was left confused. What was going on? What did Bella do to make her hate her so much?
Edward looked at her consolingly. "Don't worry. It's just Rose."
Bella nodded and tried not to cry. "Right. Just Rose."
Emmett hugged her tightly. "Rose is just shy. She can be mean sometimes but that's because she doesn't know you yet. You guys could become best friends one day."
"Hey!" Edward protested. "She's my best friend. No one's taking my place away!"
Bella laughed. "Definitely not. No one would ever want to fight with your water pistols!"
"Yeah! Our awesome water fights. I always win."
Emmett looked at Bella and his friend Edward's heated conversation with a exasperated expression. Were they always like this?
"Hey what water fight?" he asked curiously. "Can I join in?"
Edward pulled out his water gun and pulled the plastic trigger at Emmett, splashing water all over his basketball jersey.
"Eddie, what was that for? Mom's going to kill me," Emmett groaned.
Edward smirked. "Well…you asked for it."
…
Bella sat on the water edge, watching her dad fish on the dock. The wonderful weeks of summer had flown by so fast. She wanted to stay here in Forks with her family and Edward forever.
Whenever Edward and Rose went bike riding, Bella could always feel a strange tinge in her chest. It was an unfamiliar feeling but Bella knew that she would find out later what it meant. All she knew was that Rosalie hated her, and that she hated it when Edward took her bike riding. She wished that Charlie would let her, but with Bella, being naturally clumsy, he said that riding would have to wait for a couple of years at least. All this was made worse when Bella told Edward about it. She didn't want Edward to think she was a wimp. She didn't want Edward to think Rose was smarter than her, and was more capable of doing more dangerous stuff.
The most risky thing that Bella had ever done was water gun fights, and when that was compared to a motor bike, it was like nothing at all.
"Want to try, kiddo?" Charlie asked, holding out his rod, his voice breaking her reverie.
Bella blinked. "Sure!"
Charlie watched as her eager daughter took the long rod in her hands. He knew she didn't know a thing about fishing, but she was always so keen to learn new things. She was going to be amazing when she was older. Charlie knew that he would support her no matter what happened.
"Now what, daddy?" Bella asked.
Charlie chuckled. "We wait."
Bella shook her head. "I don't want to wait. I want to fish."
"Well, we can get a net out. I'm sure Carlisle won't mind," Charlie said. "Tomorrow we can get out the tackle box and catch more fish."
Bella held the pole tightly in her hand while looking absentmindedly at the unmoving net.
Her dad had changed over the past year. She could tell. Bella used to see him happy when he came home from work, but now…now there was like a mask on his face. He seemed to always be thinking about something…but she could never tell what it was. Then she thought about how Charlie and her mom used to be so happy together – like everything was easy as breathing. It seemed to be strained now. Smiles and laughter were restrained.
"Daddy," Bella looked at her father with her wide brown eyes. "Why don't you kiss Mommy anymore?"
Charlie almost lost his grip on the fishing net. The question had caught him unguarded and by surprise. He didn't know what to say. "Uh…Daddy's been more busy these days. Work makes daddy very tired."
This is the last time I'm lying to my daughter. God, please understand that. When she is older, she'll know the whole truth.
"But daddy!" Bella protested. She couldn't believe that her father was that tired. It was just one little kiss anyway. She thought back to the nights when her father didn't come home until she fell asleep. Her mother had been on the phone…crying…
"Mommy cries when you don't kiss her," she stated softly. "I don't like it when Mommy cries."
The pain on her father's face was evident. He was stuck. He looked at his beautiful daughter, who has been created by the love between him and Renee…it wasn't like that anymore.
"It's a grown-up thing," Charlie managed to croak out, with tears in his eyes. "No matter what happens, know that Mommy and Daddy are always happy with you and they love you so very much."
"I know, Daddy," Bella answered innocently. She was still confused about what was going on but decided to let it rest. She would know when she was older – when she was smart enough to understand adult business.
The rare sun shone early in the morning and Bella opened the French doors to go to Edward's.
"We're going fishing today!" Bella said happily. "Dad made me a promise. Said you are going to come, too."
Edward let out a whoop. "Yeah! And Dad's taking the tackle box. We're gonna catch millions of fish today!"
"And the octopuses too, right?" Bella asked, smirking at Edward, whose smile had slipped off his face in an instant.
"Fine. Octopuses, too. But you have to tackle them."
"No way."
"You're just scared."
"Says the person who screamed at the joke."
"Alright kids!" Carlisle greeted them, pausing their bickering. "Now, who wants to carry the tackle box?"
"Me!" Edward said, grabbing it from his father's hand.
"I want the pink fish. And the purple one. And the sparkly ones."
"What fish?" Edward asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Bella snorted. "Haven't you ever fished before?"
Edward shook his head. "Nope."
"They're bait. You use the pretty fake fish to lure in the real one."
Bella looked at Edward, who still looked more confused than ever. "Hey," she said softly. "Come on, then. I'll show you what I mean."
Bella took Edward's hand and ran down to the dock. She got out her favourite fishing pole and checked the line, then gently and carefully hooked the bait onto the end. She handed the pole to Edward.
"There's plenty of fish over here. Just swing your wrists a bit and tell me when you feel some weight."
Only minutes later, Edward let out a cheer.
"Got one!" he cried out. "Something's bitting the fake fish!"
Bella got up excitedly and accidently dropped her pole. "Really? Dr Cullen! Edward got something!"
Carlisle sat his pole aside and took Edward's. "Congratulations, son. Your very first whiting."
Bella's eyes widened in awe. She had been on many fishing trips with her father, but she had never actually caught a fish, never mind one which could be eaten.
Edward turned his head to look at Bella, who looked dumbstruck. He was suddenly very proud of himself – he had made Bella Swan speechless.
"We'll share it for lunch," Edward decided. He wanted to share his glory with Bella. After all, the fishing was her idea in the first place. "I'm gonna catch millions today."
Bella managed to catch her first small snow fish by the time Esme called them back for lunch.
Edward and Bella watched in excitement as Renee steamed the fish in the Cullens' kitchen.
"Let's eat, then," Carlisle said, smiling at his son. "My son's first whiting."
"And my first snow fish," Bella added, grinning widely.
"Well, come on then. We have lots to do today," Charlie said softly. "Time to pack up, Bella. The summer's finished."
Bella dropped her fork. "No! I want to stay here longer. I want to stay here with Edward and catch fish."
Renee sighed. "Sweetheart. School starts in a week. Time to get back on track."
Bella looked over at Edward for support. She had so much fun with Edward than she ever did in Phoenix. She wanted to go to school and not be teased by Jessica and her group. She wanted to stay with Edward and Emmett forever.
"Yeah," Edward croaked out. "I love it when Bella's over. It's been awesome."
"Mom?" Bella asked. "Please?"
"Honey, this isn't your reality. Your reality is what is real. What you and Edward have is only for the summer. You can't always think about him like he is your life because he isn't. No one you have made friends with here is. You live in Phoenix, sweetie. It's time to grow up."
Bella blinked and hot tears came trailing down her cheek and left the table. She sat in Edward's room, waiting and hoping that he would come in.
"Bella?" Edward asked. "I'm sorry your Mom made you cry."
She nodded and licked her lips, tasting the salty tears. "I know."
"Are you okay?" he asked, touching her hair softly.
Bella wanted to lean into his touch. It felt warm and safe and there was a tingling sensation in her tummy. She didn't know any of these feelings. She didn't know what these feelings meant.
"No. I have to leave today but I don't want to."
"Well…" Edward began. "I made you something."
Bella looked over at Edward curiously. "Yeah?"
Edward smiled. "Yeah. I drew two pictures for you. One is your sandcastle last year and the other is us playing with the water guns."
Bella saw the sandcastle and smiled. She was glad he remembered. "Thanks, Eddie."
"Don't forget me, okay?" He asked her. "I don't know when I'll see you again."
"I'm coming back next year," Bella said confidently. "My dad will take me, or I'll fly here on my magical dragon."
"Magical dragon?" Edward asked curiously.
"Pegasus. The dragon that saved Barbie."
Edward snorted. "That purple thing I saw you sleeping with?"
"Hey! Don't laugh. He gives me nice dreams."
"About Barbie and Ken."
"Shut up, you meanie-poop!"
Edward laughed. "Alright. So...next year. Water gun fight on the first day of summer?"
Bella grinned, showing off her missing front teeth and fist pumped. "Yeah!"
Just want to point out that they are seven year olds so I can't really write in a Bella or Edward POV as it would sound ridiculous and messed up. It will come later – I promise…maybe even the next chapter. I've decided to skip the eight year old phase and go into nine. It will be the last time I'm skipping an age.
Updates will be every Thursday or Friday. I got accepted into a really good school and am currently doing the IB Diploma program so I'll try hard to update as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading!