Chapter One

I woke up on a sunny day for Forks feeling surprisingly rejuvenated, fresh. I swung out of bed and washed up in the bathroom, brushing through my hair. Maybe it's time for a trim, I thought. Alice kept complaining about my split ends, even offered to nip a bit off for me herself. But as adorable as her spiky hair was, I wasn't sure I could pull it off. I still didn't trust her completely when it came to big "fashionable decisions" for me. This was further proved when I glanced into my closet, finding my boring attire, quickly grabbing simple jeans and a t-shirt. On one of the hangers I noticed a trendy scarf that hadn't been there before. It was meant to be warn with these clothes or Alice wouldn't have snuck it in here. She'd taken a liking to leaving me little tips now and then. I arranged it in the way I thought it was supposed to go, feeling ridiculous wearing a scarf in the middle of spring. Quickly fixing Charlie some coffee and eggs, I grabbed my backpack and headed out to my truck. But there was a slight problem.

My truck was gone.

"Charlie?" I called, not too worried yet. He might have moved it. He did that sometimes if he needed the space in the driveway for a project or if company needed to park there.

"Yeah Bells?" he answered from the kitchen, eating the breakfast I'd prepared.

"Did you move my truck to the back?"

"No..." I heard his chair scrape across the floor and he joined me outside. We walked around the house but my truck was gone. Fantastic.

"Who would want to steal that clunker?" I asked, but really I loved my truck. Despite its antiquity I'd always felt safe driving it. It had been a gift from Charlie, and frankly, it felt pretty shitty to be stolen from.

"I'll call it in," Charlie said, wiping a bit of egg from his mustache. There went my good day. I kicked a branch lying on the ground, sitting on the back porch miserably. I wondered who I could beg a ride off of, but didn't want to impose on anyone and Charlie had to work. I wasn't up for Edward's hasty driving either. It wasn't so far, I could walk it, I'd just be late. As I sat there pouting I gradually noticed the growling din of another vehicle around the front. Probably Billy. But no, it sounded more familiar. I jogged back around the house, hoping the thief had grown a conscience and decided to give me back my wheels. The truth was slightly more odd.

"Morning, Bella," Edward called, stepping out of my truck, not bothering to cut the engine. I didn't reply, waiting for an explanation. Charlie came out, raising an eyebrow at us. "Don't tell me you forgot I was taking your truck in for repairs," he said as if I was supposed to have known it in the first place.

"Repairs?"

"Yeah. It sails a little smoother now." He smiled at Charlie, giving me a half hug. I hated it when he did that. I admit I was a little spacey sometimes, but I wouldn't forget something like that. He'd never asked if it was okay to make reservations for dinner that one night that I had a migraine, or the time he took off for a week without explanation or a simple phone call, numerous times he'd breezed through homework assignments for me just so we could have more "us" time. I'd end up failing the next test on whatever the subject was. And now this.

Charlie had pretty much shrugged off the event and went back inside, saying he'd see me after school. Then I remembered.

"Oh, I'm going with Alice after school. Is that okay?"

"Are you asking or telling, Bella?" Edward chuckled.

Please shut up, Edward, I wanted to say.

"Fine, Bells. It's friday so just be home at a reasonable time. Have fun."

"Thanks, dad."

I shrugged off Edward's arm and quickly jumped into my truck and locked the door. I was about to drive off when Edward closed the passenger door behind him, still smiling. "Lead on, milady," he said, completely oblivious that I was angry with him. I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth, trying to calm down as I backed out of the parking space. It really wasn't a big deal after all. His heart was in the right place. I just wish he would ask. I would have thought he'd meant it as a surprise if he hadn't made it sound like I'd forgotten yet again about this little detail. Me and my silly human brain. It just couldn't keep up with the likes of Edward Cullen. But I let it slide, trying to turn the day back around.

He held my hand as I drove. "You know you can drive up to eighty now, Bella honey," he said.

"The speed limit is forty," I reminded him. I felt his hand twitch in mine but he didn't look anything but calm and collected.

"So, where are you and Alice going after school?" he asked.

"The mall I think. Maybe some other places before along the way."

"Like where?" he turned his golden eyes on me.

"Just some errands."

"I'd really like to know."

I shrugged

"Bella?"

"I don't know, just places. Why does it matter?" He was pushing this a little much. I focussed on the road.

"I just want to know so if something happens I can make sure you're okay."

"If something happens, you'll be too far away to do anything," I said calmly. I reached into my bag for some Advil. "Besides, Alice will be with me."

"I'm aware she'll be with you dear, you just said that." He said it in that 'you poor silly human' voice. Maybe it was just my perception. He handed me a water bottle, unscrewing the lid for me.

"Maybe I should go with you to make sure."

I nearly gagged on the water and Advil but managed to swallow. "No, I'll be fine. Promise."

"That's not really something you can promise, is it dear?"

I sighed. I sped up a little as I saw the school coming into view. I needed a break from him. Maybe it was just the headache. I was probably overreacting. I did that a lot. I parked the car and in an instant he had the door open for me, reaching in to turn off the car. I mumbled a thanks and shut the door. Before I knew it he had me scooped up in a tight embrace, kissing me deeply. I tried to return the enthusiasm but just wasn't feeling it. I slung my bag over my shoulder and trudged to my first class, feeling the icicles of his fingers clutching onto mine.

The day did get better. I got an A on an English essay and had a sub in gym so didn't have to do anything majority active. At lunch I sat with the Cullens and Alice was always the key to cheering me up. I hardly cared about the truck incident anymore, mostly because she turned it into such a comical happening. She was pleased I'd worn the scarf, saying I'd picked out a rather charming combination. I knew she was just saying it to be nice, but it did make me feel good.

I was taking a new class, drama. Alice had talked me into it, saying I needed to get over my shyness and expand my horizons or something. The teacher was always entertaining, very eccentric, and we always started off with one of those elementary school 'get to know one another' games. We were finishing up production for a play. I mostly worked on the sets and lighting. Alice had one of the main leads as always. I had been surprised when she'd been cast as Peter Pan, it not being the slightest bit possible for her to look at all masculine, but as always she pulled off the part superbly. I was given a standard understudy like everyone else, but had never had to act before. I was horrible at it. I liked it better behind the scenes; I felt useful. Nothing pleased me more than to run and grab a costume for someone, fix this or that if I knew how. I think Alice and I both had equal shares of fun in our own ways. Seeing the way she and the others were able to bring Hamlet and Death of a Salesman, among other plays to life, was thrilling to say the least. That's not to say it was all fun, she didn't hesitate to push me out of my shell when she felt the opportunity arise. Once she had me read a very fast, very tongue-tying monologue in front of the class for an extra credit project. I'll admit it was a little fun, but only because I got to see her smile.

I followed her out to her car as she gracefully buzzed around me like a little fairy.

"Take it easy, Energizer Bunny," I teased her.

She scowled and stuck at her tongue like a child, whisking me inside her car and driving swiftly from the parking lot. She drove fast, but never sped full out like Edward to the point where I actually feared for my life. I had no homework thank god, flinging my backpack over the seat behind me, sighing in relief. Alice turned on the radio and asked if I had any requests.

"Let's just finish that CD you played last time."

She smiled, connecting her tiny MP3 player into her stereo and selecting the album. Somehow she managed to do this without ever taking her eyes off the road. Maybe she could See when she would scroll down to the correct one. She did that cute shoulder dance she does, the one when she has to keep her hands on the wheel but you can tell she'll simply explode with energy if she doesn't bop around. I giggled myself silly the entire car ride. She even got me dancing a little. I dropped off a few books at the library and she grabbed some hyped up heart throb teen fantasy novel. Something about forbidden love and all that. I made fun of her for it as we stopped at a few other stores before our trip to the mall where I collected the first of many souvenirs of her to come.

Thanks for reading, more to come-soon I hope! Would love some feedback. If you have something you'd like me to stick in the story, I'm open.