Bella and Edward had always been connected—in some way. This connection began before they were even born. Esme Cullen, Edward's mother, and Renee Swan, Bella's mother, had been sorority sisters at the University of Washington. It was at this college that they met their future husbands, Carlisle and Charlie. Charlie was from Forks, Washington, and after college went to work for the police force of the town. Renee, who had majored in Health and Nutrition, followed him to Forks after they were married her Senior year. Renee had been from Seattle. Esme, on the other hand, married Carlisle (a med student) and remained with him at UDub until he graduated. During this time, she received a degree in Interior Design and a Master's Degree in Architecture. They then moved to California because he had gotten a job there.

Renee was unhappy from the beginning. She did not want to live in Small Town, USA, and preferred the hustle and bustle of the big city. When Esme got pregnant with Emmett, her first son, Renee made the trip to California to be with her Sister. Renee immediately fell in love with the baby and wanted one of her own. She figured that having a baby would liven up her life. She and Charlie began to actively try to have a baby. It took them longer than either of them had anticipated, but a year and a half later, Renee had finally gotten pregnant. This was an especially happy time because just two month previous, Esme had gotten pregnant as well. They talked to each other constantly on the phone, and Esme even found out the sex of Renee's baby before Charlie did. Esme and Renee decided then that their children, a boy and a girl, were definitely going to get married. They planned to get together after the babies were born, but this plan continually fell through year after year. Esme had gotten pregnant again the year after, with her last child—a daughter named Alice. Esme couldn't make the trip out to Washington with three small children, and Renee couldn't afford to make the trip to California.

However, luck was on their side. Carlisle was offered a job at the hospital in Forks. It did not pay more than his job in California, but instead of working in the E.R., he would be working in the O.R. It was a more interesting job to him, and he knew that Esme would love to be nearer to her best friend. Edward and Bella were six years old.

From that point of, Edward and Bella could not have prevented their friendship even if they wanted to do so. Their mothers were constantly together, which means so were Edward and Bella. Not only did Bella become good friends with Edward, but also with Emmett and Alice. The four kids spent all of their time together. Because Edward and Bella had started first grade together in Forks, their friendship only grew stronger as they grew up together both inside and outside of the classroom.

1997

In the third grade, Bella and Edward were invited to their first co-ed party. Of course, it wasn't a sleepover, and it was chaperoned by the host's (Jessica Stanley) parents. During the evening, while the Stanley's were watching television upstairs, the kids gathered downstairs to play a game of Spin-the-Bottle. Bella had been nervous for the game because she was still very intimidated by boys at this age. She didn't count Edward as "one of the boys" because she had always thought of him the same that she thought of Emmett—more 'brother' than 'real boy'. Edward, on the other hand, was very excited for the game. He knew several girls at the party that he wanted to kiss. The boys and girls sat in a circle with the girls comprising one half of the circle and the boys the other. Jessica Stanley went first because it was her party, and was thrilled when the bottle pointed itself at Mike Newton. They gave each other an awkward kiss, everyone laughed, and they returned to their seats in the circle. Edward went next because he was sitting to the right of Mike. He crawled to the center of the circle on his hands and knees and spun the bottle forcefully. He waited with a worried expression while it spun and once it finally began to slow down, he followed the slow circle of the bottle with his eyes until it came to a complete stop. It was pointed directly at Bella. She let out a gasp and looked from the bottle to Edward. He sat up and rested his butt on his heels and gave her a weird look.

Jessica Stanley gave Bella a shove, "Well, go on."

Bella stood up, walked to the center of the circle and sat down on her knees as well. Edward placed his hands on her shoulders awkwardly and then moved in to give her a kiss. The peck lasted less than a second, but both Bella and Edward blushed deeply. Again, the circle let out raucous laughter and Bella and Edward had scurried back to their seats. Luckily for them, Mr. Stanley had come down the stairs to see why everyone had been laughing so loudly. He immediately put a stop to the game and suggested that everyone return home. In such a small town, most of the kids were neighbors and walked home. Bella and Edward were no different. They walked towards their houses in the pale light of the streetlamps. While most of their walk home was spent in a strange silence, Edward was to break it.

"I'm glad it landed on you." He said to her.

She looked at him carefully before answering, "Thanks, but I know you wanted to kiss Lauren."

"I don't know. I thought I did, but I would have been scared. It wasn't scary with you."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Bella replied and smiled. "Does this mean that we're boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"I don't know. Does it work like that?" Edward asked.

"I don't think so. I don't want a boyfriend."

"I don't want a girlfriend. But if I did, I would want it to be you."

'Yeah, me too." Bella replied. The rest of the walk was silent, but both understood each other enough that talking wasn't required.

The promise made in third grade did not hold up for the rest of their lives. Edward had gotten a girlfriend, Lauren, in fifth grade. In fact, Edward had lots of girlfriends all throughout middle school. Bella preferred the company of her books. In high school, though, it was different. Both Edward and Bella dated several people, but always left time for one another—and would always tell each other every detail of their dates. Because there was never anything exciting to tell beyond kissing, neither of them felt the least bit uncomfortable about telling each other everything. Their junior year, though, everything changed.

2006

Edward had come over to Bella's after school for a study session. They did this at least three times a week. Their parents were very strict about their grades, so Bella and Edward studied together often in order to pass their classes with A's.

Edward let himself into Bella's house. He knew that she was expecting him, and they almost never knocked at each other's houses. They both knew that they were always welcome in either place. Bella heard the door open and called to him from the kitchen.

"Hey, I'm in here!"

Edward made it to the kitchen quickly. It was a short distance from the front door, but he was also excited and a little nervous. He had some exciting news to tell Bella.

"Hey, Bella." He greeted her with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Hey, smiley. What's got you so excited? It certainly can't be the history test we need to study for." She replied with a smile. She couldn't help but smile when he did. He was the same way with her.

"Nope. My date with Amy went really well is all."

"Oh? Well, tell me all about it!" Bella turned from her history textbook to face him. Amy went to their high school. Amy and Bella had been very good friends from the beginning of their time at the school. Amy, Bella, and Edward spent a lot of time together freshman year, and it was only natural that Edward and Amy started dating their sophomore year. Bella adored Amy—they got along very well. Plus, Amy was the only girlfriend of Edward's that understood the relationship between Bella and Edward. She understood that Bella and Edward were merely best friends.

"Well, you know that I was going to take her to Olive Garden in Port Angeles…" he began.

"Yeah." Bella said, providing the exact right amount of encouragement.

"Well, after dinner, we went to her place. And her parents weren't there like usual." Edward said. Bella could relate to that—her parents weren't around often either. But she knew all this about Amy.

"Get to the good stuff, Edward." She pushed.

"Okay, well, we were watching TV and then she was all over me, like, whoa. It was intense. Anyways, I won't give you all the dirty details, but we told each other we loved each other. And then, we, well, you know." He blushed and looked down at the tiles in the kitchen.

"You guys did it?" Bella exclaimed. She didn't really know how to feel about that. Part of her was happy for Edward because he was clearly very happy about his evening. Another part of her was…sad…She didn't understand this part, so she pushed it to the back of her head and smiled. "Well, I'm happy for you guys. You're obviously very happy. I'm glad you guys finally told each other that you love each other. I know you both have been holding that in for a while."

"Yeah, I didn't want to rush anything. But last night felt so right. It was great." Edward told her. He got up from the table and poured himself a glass of milk. He drank milk like it was his job.

"So, what is it like? Sex I mean?" Bella asked. The thought of sex scared and thrilled her. She knew she wasn't ready for it, but maybe someday soon.

"I don't know Bella. It's sex. It feels good. I think it hurt her though. She didn't really say it did, but I think it did. I don't really want to go into details about it. It's sorta personal." He said.

This statement hurt Bella a bit. It wasn't something they had ever said to one another before. Nothing had ever been too personal to talk about between them. But Bella assumed that he was different now. Sex changes people, she supposed. She let the conversation change from sex to the history test and the rest of the evening went on as previously planned.

It was easy for them to forget things that the other had done to hurt them. They were best friends, siblings almost. They understood each other better than anyone else—and they knew that neither of them would intentionally hurt the other. Therefore, it was easy to forgive and forget.

Both Edward and Bella had lead pretty normal lives. They weren't exposed to the dangers of the world in their tiny town. That didn't prevent them from tragedies, though. When they were in the eighth grade, Bella's mother and father got a divorce. Renee had been cheating on him with a minor league baseball player named Phil. She had met him in Port Angeles while she had been shopping. He had been there on a trip—his team was staying in a hotel in Port Angeles while they were on their way to the next city for a game. At first their affair had been only emotional. They texted and called one another daily. Then, it became physical. Renee would meet him in nearby towns and hotels. Once Charlie found out, Renee blamed him for her affair, stating that she never wanted this small town life. She left that night and never came back. She forced Charlie to drive Bella to see her in a Port Angeles hotel twice a week for a whole month while the divorce was being finalized. Once it was, Charlie was given full custody (which Renee was not too upset about), and Renee disappeared from their lives. She would call on occasion, to talk to Bella, but for the most part, she pretended as if her old life no longer existed. Esme never spoke to her again.

Charlie was devastated, and was in no condition to comfort his equally devastated daughter. That task fell to Edward's shoulders from then on. It took several months, but Edward finally convinced Bella that the divorce was not her fault and that her mother was just a terrible person.

Edward encountered his own tragedy several years later. After their senior year, Edward, Bella, and Amy had all planned to go to the University of Washington. They had all applied and been accepted. Edward's older brother, Emmett, went there, and they all three loved the idea of going to college together. However, fate had other plans. Amy's family moved to New York City. Her father had received a job at New York University as a professor. It was a huge upgrade from the community college in Port Angeles. His job at NYU meant that Amy would be given a 50% reduced price to the university. It was too good an opportunity to pass up, and she enrolled at NYU instead. Edward was devastated. Bella was, too. Edward vowed he would never love anyone the way he loved Amy. Bella believed him. She knew that their love was special and unmatchable. She cried with him the night she left for New York.

Their whole lives, Bella and Edward had been told that their relationship was weird. Boyfriends and girlfriends were quickly scared off (with the exception of Amy, of course). Friends and family would constantly suggest that they start dating—or stop hanging out with one another so much. Through it all, Edward and Bella would remind their friends and family that they didn't like one another "in that way". Their relationship was a confusing one, for sure. It worked for them though. They wouldn't change it for the world.

After they began their lives in college, Bella and Edward promised one another that they would never desert each other. They would always be there to comfort one another and help one another through any situation—no matter how dire. Edward promised to protect Bella from everything. Bella promised to take care of Edward no matter what.

Unfortunately, even Bella and Edward knew that promises would always find a way to be broken.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little history chapter. The next chapter returns to present day, and the drama begins! Something mysterious is in store for our two favorite characters. Some tragedy, some romance, and a lot of drama. Stay tuned and don't forget to review!