I do not own. I just borrow.

=o= Chapter 1 - October 2nd, 2004 =o=

EPOV

"Yes sir, thank you Mr. Caius."

"Enough with the Mr. Caius crap Cullen, it's Marcus."

"Right right, Marcus."

"So you're all set then to start rehearsals on the 20th, just ask for Lucy when you get in and she will show you the ropes."

"I look forward to it sir. See you then."

"Same here Cullen same here. Have a nice evening."

"Thank you sir. Goodbye."

This was it.

The first step towards my ultimate goal.

I had just 18 days to pack up my life in Chicago and move cross-country for a spot with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Music was my passion, my solace, my home in this crazy mixed up world. Now, finally, after the thousands of hours I've spent perfecting my craft I would have the opportunity to earn a real living doing the one thing I loved most. Sure, I'd been paid to play before, I'd even been paid to teach but bat mitzvahs, wedding receptions, dive bars and piano lessons were nothing compared to performing on formal stage for a discerning audience. Even better, I knew now that I could really live my life on my own terms. Beholden to no one but myself. Free to forge my own path, family "legacies" be damned.

Family legacies. Shit, if I had to hear about the prestige of the Cullen family name and it's legacy one more god damn time...

Legacy was just a fancy word used by pompus assholes to describe bullshit obligations in life that you didn't sign-up for. Not that I had strong opinions on the matter or anything.

I should clarify. It's not like I've had a bad life by any means, or that I despise my family. Quite to the contrary actually. I have been beyond fortunate in many ways. My family's affluence allowed my sister, Elizabeth, and I to never want for anything. From private school to material things, we always had the best that money could buy. Unlike many of my classmates growing-up, I didn't come from a dysfunctional home. My parents didn't have secret lovers behind the scenes while they faked a happy marriage out amongst Chicago's social circles. Carlisle and Esme Cullen were still as deeply in love today as they were on the day that they married and that love was shared with Lizzie and myself in spades. I was never given reason to doubt the love of my parents for me, their support and affection was limitless and unwavering. When it came to my immediate family, there was no expectation of living up to any legacy. Outside of a strong work ethic, minding my manners and doing the right thing, I had no obligation to be anything other than true to myself.

Things are not so simple when it comes to the rest of my family. The Cullens come from old money. Like, helped fund the development of Chicago since it's inception, ancestors names forever etched in history books and on the sides of buildings kind of old money. Rumor has it, that there were even ties to organized crime during prohibition. These days the Cullen family business is far more legitimate. My father Carlise is a surgeon, one of the top pediatric surgeons in the country. A powerhouse in the medical community, just like his father before him. When I, his first and only son, was born it was practically a foregone conclusion that I too would follow in those same prestigious footsteps. The fact that I had little to no interest in a career in medicine carried little weight with certain family members and had long ago become a source of conflict. Namely between my Grandfather, the great Alistaire "Papa" Cullen, and myself.

Despite heavy criticism from Papa Cullen, my parents never discouraged my love of music and the arts over the "more appropriate" subjects of math and science. In the eyes of the great Cullen patriarch, my so-called "abandonment of the family legacy" deemed me ungrateful and unworthy of all of the luxuries and opportunities I had been handed growing up. A career composing and performing music was a foolish and lazy pursuit. A waste of the fruits of his labors. What he can't (or refuses) understand is that I have absolutely zero desire to rely on his money. I never did. All that I need, all that I want is my music. Papa Cullen can take his legacy and my trust fund and shove it for all I care. I'm going to build my own legacy for me. Not for him.

I head into the kitchen for a beer before going out onto the balcony. As I drink and look out over the Chicago skyline I take a moment to enjoy the view which will soon become a memory. Suddenly my peaceful reflection is interrupted by the opening chords of "Smoke On The Water" screaming from my iPhone. With a shake of my head and a deep chuckle I answer the call without needing a glance at the caller id on the screen.

"Hey Jasper"

Jasper Whitlock, my best friend and brother from another mother. We had been nearly inseparable since the day we met in the 8th grade. He was the new kid, a scholarship student and mid-semester transfer. As usual, I was staying late after school to work in the music room. I had a new composition I was hoping to use in the upcoming spring showcase and it was giving me some trouble. I just couldn't seem to figure out the bridge and it was driving me fucking insane. I was completely lost in my own world, fighting with myself to make something out of the melodies in my head and the notes on my sheet music. In walks Jasper, rumpled school uniform, a mop of dirty blonde curls that hung in his eyes, beat-up acoustic guitar slung over his back. A far cry from the usual "preppy" students, like me, that filled the halls of Nottingham Prep Academy. Without a word, just nodding his head to the beat of the music I played, he grabbed a chair, pulled his guitar around and began plucking the notes along with me. Startled, I had glared at whatever tool had decided to interrupt my precious focus. Jasper just grinned a shit eating grin and shook his head, continuing to play on. Eventually, I gave in and picked up playing the song on the piano again. That was the first of our many "jam sessions". We quickly discovered that, despite our vastly different upbringings and social standings, we actually had a lot in common. As Jasper's mother, Charlotte, would say the two of us "saw the world through the same lens".

Although initially we both had stayed in Chicago for college, Jasper moved out west a few weeks after finishing his undergrad degree. Charlotte had remarried and moved to Seattle with her new husband. Six months after the wedding she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and the douchebag had filed for divorce. Jasper was on the first flight out of Chicago after hearing the news.

"Cullen! How's things? When is your punk ass rolling into town?"

"It's all set. Two weeks and I'll be in Seattle."

"Hell yes Eddie! That's great news. It's been too long man, waay too fuckin' long."

"Don't fucking call me Eddie, Jaaazz." I laughed "and yes it has been too long, I'm so ready to get out of this damn city. How are things holding up over there?"

"Things are good, really really good. Better than they've been in a long time actually."

"Living in sin agrees with you then huh?"

"You know it" suddenly there was a loud THWAP "Ow! Ali... alright! Uncle! Uncle! Shit! fine fine, here take it..." and he handed the phone off to the tiny but mighty lady in his life with a chuckle.

"Why if it isn't Edward Cullen. Finally giving in and moving out west to be with your bestie huh?" the delicate voice teased.

"Alice Brandon, you know the only reason I'm moving to Seattle is to be closer to you."

Alice and Jasper had just moved in together the week prior. She was the feisty little light of his life. A bundle of happy-go-lucky energy with the mouth of a sailor. We hadn't even met yet but I felt like I'd known her my whole life, the two of them were a perfect match. Even though they met under far less than happy circumstances, they made it through and it was clear that without her my best friend wouldn't have survived the past two years in tact. She helped keep the life inside Jasper alive when everything around him fell apart.

"Eddie-poo, my darling, flattery will get you everywhere. Now listen up. Dinner and drinks on the 18th, no buts mister. You will come over, you will eat too much food, you will get tanked and you will pass out on our sofa. Am I clear?"

"Well when you put it that way, how could I say no? I do love drunken naps on other peoples furniture."

"It is a damn fine sofa, if I do say so myself. You'll love it. I have excellent taste."

"Except when it comes to men of course. You are shacking up with Jasper after all."

"Don't be jealous because I stole your boyfriend Cullen."

I snorted and shook my head in amusement. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought I was talking with my sister Lizzie. Note to self: Avoid introducing Alice and Lizzie at all costs. One ball buster in a room is plenty, thank-you-very-much.

"Anyway, I'll let you two get back to your girl talk, I'm off to work. Byeee Edwaaaaard!"

Not long after Alice handed the phone back to Jasper we had firmed up plans for the 18th and wrapped up the call. I was sprawled out on my bed, mentally packing and making a checklist in my head of all the shit I needed to do in the next couple of weeks.

BPOV

9:35PM and it's official. I'm drunk.

Normally, on a Saturday night this wouldn't be a bad thing. But tonight I was alone. I was alone and was watching a Golden Girls marathon on Lifetime and I was drunk. Nothing good could come from a situation like this. On the bright side, at least the cat to people ratio in my apartment was still appropriate. The mighty Bella may have fallen but there was still hope. I was not a cat lady. Hell, the one cat we had wasn't even mine. That had to count for something right? Right. At least I'm not a cat lady. My parents must be so proud.

Rolling sideways off the couch I managed to get to my feet and stumble down the hallway towards my bedroom. I needed my phone, if I could just find that little sucker everything was gonna be juuuust fine. One quick phone call and I wouldn't be alone on Saturday night ever again.

It had been three weeks since James' contract job ended in Seattle and he had moved back to Vancouver. It had been two weeks since my birthday when he had showed up on my doorstep begging me to move away from Seattle and in with him. It had been 6 days since I had heard a word from the man I loved because I was Bella and I was ridiculous. We'd had our first fight and it was all my fault. Here I was: 22 years old, a college graduate, still working a shitty waitressing job, sitting at home alone and drunk on a Saturday night while my friends were out with their significant others painting the town. When I could be: 22 years old, a college graduate, working anywhere but my shitty waitressing job, sitting at home in Vancouver with my fuck-hot boyfriend, drunk... and naked. Yes, definitely naked.

ring... ring... ring... ring... ring...

"You've reached James Douglas with BDG, please leave a message."

I hung up and tossed my iPhone on the bed. "Fuuuuuuck!"

After a moment to pout, I slapped my hand to my forehead with a sigh. It might help if you left a message Bella. Dammit... I was on a roll tonight. Okay, take two.

ring... ring... ring... ring... ring...

"You've reached James Douglas with BDG, please leave a message."

beeeeeeep...

"Heeeey baaabeeee, it's me Bellaaa. Umm listen, I've been drinking... I mean... Shit! No, well yes but... I mean... Thinking. I've been thinking. And you... you're right. I should move to Vancouver. I want to move there... you know and be with yooou. Preferably naked. Unless we have to go outside... but otherwise, naked. Yeaah... naked and in Vancouver... Hmmmm... that sounds good... I love you baby... call me... please? k... byee"

There. Done! Fixed! Right? Right. But... why didn't he answer? I mean, I was so sure he was just as miserable as me but what if he wasn't. What if he thinks we're on a break? We're not on a break right? Ok I've been watching waaay too much TV, this isn't a sitcom. It was a fight. One stupid fight. More like a disagreement really. My head was spinning with worst case scenarios and I tossed my phone back onto the bed with a huff. Fuck. My. Life.

Just as I was convinced all hope was lost and James was very likely on his way to Vegas to elope with some sympathetic skank from the local Vancouver dive bar he'd crawled in to, the most beautiful sound I had ever heard rang out from the pile of blankets on my bed.

"I've heard people say that... Too much of anything is not good for you baby..."

I raced across the room and dove onto my bed, answering my phone just before it went to voice mail.

"Hello?" I squeaked out breathlessly.

"Bella? Babe, why are you out of breath?" James' deep baritone chuckled.

"Oh thank god! Hi baby! I... I had to find my phone..." I took a deep breath, pleading with my heart to stop racing. "Ummm baby..."

"Yes sweetheart?" I could practically hear him grinning through the phone. Dammit. This is the last time I drunk dial. Well... maybe not the very last, considering my impulse control while drinking... but it's a good goal to shoot for. I took one last deep breath before diving right in.

"Did you get my voice mail?"

"Voice mail? What voice mail?" Great. Thanks James, fuck with the paranoid drunk girl a little more why don't ya?

"Jaaaaaames" I whined as cute as could be. Yes it was cute, I'm a cute drunk. It's been scientifically proven. I'm sure of it.

"Belllaaaaaaa" James mimicked before breaking into a full blown laugh and finally putting me out of my misery.

"Yes babe, I got your message." He paused and I held my breath, eyes squeezed shut tight as I waited for him to continue.

"I have just one question for you though. Can you promise to answer me and be 100% honest? No bullshit?"

"Umm... ok... I promise. 100%. What's the question?"

"How soon can you get here?"

James and I talked for the next hour, making plans and promises. I flopped backward onto my mattress, a goofy grin plastered across my face, my heart bursting with excitement. Yet, despite my relief and joy that things with James were settled and back on track, I was still feeling a little apprehensive about the whole thing. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day, tomorrow I would have to tell Alice and Jacob that I was moving out. I had a sinking feeling they weren't going to be happy with this latest development. Not only were they my roommates who counted on my 1/3 of the rent but they were also my two very best friends. We hadn't lived more than 15 minutes apart from one another since... well ever. And now I was going to pack up and move three full hours away.

Part of me knew that they wouldn't just be mad because of the short notice or the physical distance we would soon have between us. Our lease was almost up and we certainly weren't fairweather friends. However, it was no secret that neither Alice nor Jacob were exactly fans of James. I knew that they meant well and just thought they were being protective of me, but after ten months it was starting to get old. I mean, I never gave them shit over the guys they dated and between the two of them there had been plenty of ammunition. Why was it so wrong for me to find what they had already found anyway? Alice had Jasper, Jacob had Sam and I had finally found someone of my own. Shouldn't they be happy for me? Of course they should... and they would... eventually. We were always there for one another, we always had been and despite anything life through our way I knew we always would be.

Jacob Black and I had practically known one another since birth. He was born just 10 days before me and thanks in part to our Dad's being best friends we'd been thrust together early and often. I'm pretty sure our parents held out hope that we would unite our families as one officially someday. However, those hopes were quickly dashed when Jacob came out of the closet our Junior year of High School. Ultimately, he was and is the best friend a girl could ask for. It's not unheard of for us to finish each others sentences or to have silent conversations, much to the chagrin of anyone who happened to be around us at the time.

When I was five, a new family bought the house next door. That was when Alice Brandon blew into my life. I had never really had a female friend before. Since I had yet to start elementary school, there wasn't much of an opportunity for me to meet other kids besides Jacob. I lived on a street with only a handful of houses and up until that day, none of the families there had children my age to play with. The moment she stepped out of the car she ran right up to Jacob and I as we sat on my front porch eating popcicles. Her light brown hair hung in two neat braids with little pink bows at the ends that matched her pink and white polka-dot dress. Even at five years old Alice was impeccably dressed. She was missing one of her front teeth which left her with a slight lisp. Jacob and I stood to meet my tiny new neighbor as she stuck her little hand out to shake our hands. With a professional attitude well beyond her years she had proudly introduced herself "Hello! My name is Alice Brandon and I'm your new best friend!" and she was.

The next morning I sent a quick text to Alice and Jacob asking if they could meet up for brunch. We all agreed to meet at our usual place at noon. I took a long hot shower in an attempt to purge the residual alcohol from my system and ease my hangover. I blew-dry and then flat-ironed my hair pin straight, slipped into a pair of stonewash skinny jeans, black ballet flats and a black scoopneck sweater. A couple coats of mascara, some lip balm and a plum colored scarf finished off my look and I was out the door without a moment to spare.

Alice and Jacob were waiting for me at a corner table on the patio, sipping on mimosas. From the dark sunglasses they both sported I guessed I wasn't the only one who'd had a bit too much to drink the night before. Before I could finish taking my seat Alice was handing me a mimosa and sliding her sunglasses up onto her head.

"Okay Swan, I know you have news but first things first. Mimosas, then we gab."

I gave her a quick salute "Yes ma'am!" and relaxed into my seat with my drink. Jacob rolled his eyes and downed his own glass in one shot.

"As much as I love a little foreplay ladies, I don't have the patience for it this morning. Give it to me hard and fast."

"I always knew you liked it rough Jakey" Alice quipped and gave him a wink.

I rolled my eyes with a smirk before taking a deep breath and fiddling with my napkin in my lap. I had practiced my little speech over and over on my walk to the restaurant but it had done nothing to help calm my nerves.

"Umm, well... I talked to James last night"

"Oh? And what did mr. wonderful have to say?" Jacob asked, his bitter emphasis did not go unoticed and Alice just looked over at me with one perfectly manicured brow arched in question.

I glanced up and swallowed down the rest of my mimosa, hoping for a little liquid courage, setting the glass down on the table with a bit more force than necessary.

"Actually. Well, the thing is... Listen, I know you guys aren't just my best friends, you're also my roommates and the rent is the right price with us splitting it 3-ways but... our lease is coming up soon and I mean it's not like I have any new job prospects right now... I hate working at that stupid restaurant, I'm like the worst waitress of all time... the economy is shit and I still need to get my teaching credential and I really miss James and..." Shit. This went so much smoother in my head. Just bite the bullet Swan, no more stalling. "I'm moving to Vancouver."

Jacob's jaw went ridged as he let out an irritated breath down his nose. This I expected, he was pissed but he would try to be supportive. What I didn't expect was Alice's reaction. She was nibbling on her lower lip looking almost... guilty? I couldn't stand it anymore as she just sat there, silent, something was definitely up.

"Alice? Care to share with the rest of the class?" I asked.

Now it was Alice's turn to squirm, she looked from me to Jacob to me and back to Jacob before speaking so quickly I almost didn't hear her, almost. "!"

"Excuse me?" "What?" Jake and I asked simultaneously before we glaced at one another and burst into a fit of giggles. Alice sat there staring at us like we'd grown an extra head or two before she let out a huff and joined in. We were all a little ridiculous, hungover and exhausted. At times like these it was either laugh or cry, so we laughed until we cried which only made us laugh harder.

Eventually, the giggles subsided and we all discussed the imminent parting of ways we were about to take. Jacob admitted that he and Sam had been tossing around ideas of maybe getting their own place and that "if us bitches were just going to abandon him" he might as well keep our apartment and move Sam in. There would be plenty of space and Sam had a much better paying job then either Alice or myself so covering the rent wasn't an issue. All in all it seemed like everything was falling into place just as it was meant to be. We paid our tab and headed back to the apartment where we spent the remainder of the afternoon snuggled up together on our sofa, looking through photo albums and reminicing about all of our past adventures. It was the end of an era and we didn't want to let it slip away any sooner than we had to.

A/N

Okay, so that was Chapter 1.

Thoughts?

Again, un-beta'd so I hope I got all the technical stuff fixed but I'm sure I missed something somewhere.

Hope you enjoyed having a little EPOV and a bit of backstory on a few of the major players :)

As an FYI - Please keep an eye on the dates - the prologue was set in 2010, this chapter was set in 2004. I plan to tell the story chronologically from 2004 up through 2010 and beyond so we've got some time before we get caught up to the present day.

Thank you Thank you Thank you to Mrs_TheKing for the shout-out on Twitter and to all of the readers who reviewed/favorited/alerted my little story. I loved hearing all of your thoughts, theories, questions and compliments. I hope you continue to enjoy and participate as we go along :)

Have a safe and happy Halloween - see you next week!

Song credits:

Jasper's ringtone on Edward's phone is "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple

James' ringtone on Bella's phone is "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe" by Barry White

Fic recs:

A Pound of Flesh by jaxon22 - This story makes me want to be penpals with convicts. Edward (aka PAW = PunkAssWard) is a bad bad boy, Bella is his prison tutor. Nothing is really as it seems on the surface which makes for a sweet and smexy story with characters you love to love and some you love to hate. A pack of cigarettes and some oreos are reccomended to have on hand while reading. J/S

Tunes with Tony Masen by Just4ALE - mystery, suspense, UST... this one is still shaking out but I'm totally hooked. It's a great read with awesome music references. A must read. Srsly.

Discovering You, Discovering Me by JSFazz - This fic completely owns me. I just adore this Edward, I feel very protective of him (hah) and the UST factor is delicious. It doesn't update very frequently, but it's a story I will drop everything for to go and read when an one does come through.