Author's Note: Hi everyone, sorry about how long it took for me to update. This week I moved, so things have been kind of hectic. Also, this is the second version of chapter 3 that I wrote. The two versions are very, very different and could have pulled the story into different directions, but I think this is the better of the two. In my opinion, this is when the story really starts to take off. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the long wait!

Chapter: The Opening

Isabella Swan had grown from a quiet, precocious twelve year old child into a quiet, precocious seventeen year old young woman. Braces had been removed, pig tails were let down, her face lost it's childish baby fat, and her long, thin body filled out ever so slightly. Still, she thought, walking one day next to Jessica Stanley. Beside a girl like Jessica, with her tiny waist, womanly hips and large (although perhaps slightly padded) breasts, she still looked somewhat like a twelve year old boy.

And while her friends went on to become more interested in shopping, makeup, and the opposite sex, none of those things really ever mattered all that much to her. She was shocked beyond belief one day when Lauren confronted her and accused her of being a lesbian. Bella spluttered, her cheeks red, and shook her head. No, she wasn't interested in girls, she told them in all seriousness. She just wasn't interested in boys, either. She was an anomaly of a seventeen year old girl.

After school on most days she still met up with Jacob. He, unlike her, was very interested in the opposite sex. On and on he'd rant about so-an-so's legs or someone-or-other's boobs, or how he'd almost gotten to third base with that one chick. Bella would fix a mask of interest on her face while he rambled on, but really she wasn't listening. Secretly she was wondering why she had never had these sorts of feelings. Was something wrong with her? More likely, she conceded, there was something wrong with the male population of Forks. How could any of the other girls be attracted to the likes of Eric Yorkie and Mike Newton?

There wasn't a single person in school that she found interesting enough to like in that way, and she didn't really find any of them to be attractive, either. And that was completely and utterly true until two siblings transferred to her high school.

The Hales looked as if they had been torn from the pages of a fashion magazine. The girl, Rosalie, had a haughty air about her. She seemed to thrive on the attention people paid her, but she was as disinterested as Bella in returning their feelings. Her brother, a tall and startlingly handsome blonde named Jasper, had yet to say a word to anyone. He followed Rosalie with a distant look on his face, as if he was looking for something that had yet to be found. Whatever it was he was searching for, Bella doubted very much that he'd find it at Forks High.

As Rosalie and Jasper became the talk of the small town, people forgot about Bella's little problem with dating. Jessica had made her the painful target of attention by repeatedly offering to set her up on her 'first date ever', as her friend had repeated so often. The brunette wondered secretly if her friend was really a friend at all, or was perhaps only using her to make herself look better in comparison. It certainly wasn't a far fetched idea.

School ended and Bella couldn't have been more relieved. She climbed into her rusted, ancient car and listened as it spluttered to life in a dismal manner. It always seemed to be on the verge of giving up and going to truck heaven, but never did. It was old reliable, in a way. She drove home, annoying everyone else by driving forty the whole way. At fifty miles per hour, her truck had a tendency to smoke and shake, she had discovered. It was best on not to push the rusty beast.

She walked down the small sidewalk to her house and opened the front door. Charlie wasn't home yet- his cruiser wasn't in the driveway, and he probably wouldn't be in until dark. Bella threw her bag down on the couch and walked into the kitchen . On the refrigerator, under a magnet, was a note from Charlie. She pulled it out and grabbed the carton of orange juice from the fridge. She took a swig and then started reading it.

Bella,

I'm working the night shift tonight. I won't be home until morning. Sorry about the late notice. In the drawer is twenty dollars to order a pizza. Just lock the doors and be safe.

Dad

Her dark brown eyes scanned the note and she sighed, setting down the orange juice morosely. Another night alone, she mused, looking up at the ceiling. Another night of nothing to do, no friends to see. This was the time in her life she ought to be having fun, she thought. She was seventeen, and every other seventeen year old in Forks was going to be having fun because it was Friday night.

Sadly, she didn't even know what people her age did on Friday nights. She always stayed in with Charlie, watching television or reading, eating dinner at home. If only she had a friend that knew how to have fun!She picked up the phone as a realization hit her, and then dialed the numbers she knew by heart. The phone rang four times and then picked up, a deep, masculine voice on the other side.

"Hello?"

"Jacob, it's Bella."

She could hear jostling, could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Bella, what's up?"

She bit her lip. "What are you doing tonight? I need to get out of the house."

There was a pause and then a sigh. "I'm sorry, Bells. I already told Leah I'd pick her up at seven."

Bella frowned. "Leah? Leah Clearwater?" she asked. She heard Jacob chuckle.

"Yeah, Leah Clearwater."

"But you guys hate each other!" she exclaimed.

"Nah, she's not so bad once you get to know her. I mean, sure, she's difficult, but have you seen her body? She's stacked!"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Hanging up now, Jacob."

"Hold on, hold on." he said hurriedly, and she lifted the phone back to her ear. "Are you going to stay in alone all night and mope?"

Bella felt mildly offended. "No!" she denied indignantly, but it was no use. "Maybe…"

"Why don't you come with me and Leah? We can all hang out together if you want."

"No, no. You have fun on your date. I'd just get in the way." she said, trying to keep the sadness from her voice. She could tell that Jacob was mentally debating whether he should try to convince her to go with them or not. He didn't want her to be there on his date, he was just being nice because Jacob was a nice guy. But she didn't want to be a third wheel.

"You sure?" he asked. Bella nodded, even though he couldn't see the gesture.

"Yeah. Go take a shower. I don't want Leah to have to hang out with a guy who smells like a wet dog."

"Hey!" he said. "I don't smell like a wet dog! That's just the smell of a real man, Bells."

She laughed and they said their goodbyes, and after hanging up the phone she collapsed onto the sofa. So much for that plan, she thought, staring up at the popcorn ceiling. But she wanted to get out of the house more than ever. It just wasn't in her cards, she told herself, and flicked on the television.

"Gladstone bookstore, located in Port Angeles. Come join us for our grand opening!" blared the television as a commercial depicting the new store and people reading played, and she considered carefully. Port Angeles… That was a possibility, she supposed. And she did have twenty dollars thanks to Charlie. At least if she went into town for a book, she wouldn't be completely out of her comfort zone. Books were her bread and butter.

"Charlie only said to lock the door and be safe." she said to the empty house. "He never said I had to be in the house."

She made up her mind and slipped her shoes back onto her feet, grabbing the twenty dollar bill from the drawer and shoving it in the pocket of her jeans, and then flew out the door, careful to lock it behind her. After all, Charlie had asked her to. She didn't want to disobey his rules.

The air outside was foggy and a light mist fell from the swirling grey sky, causing little beads of moisture to gather on her dark hair like a fairy's veil. She pulled her light jacket a little tighter against her to ward against the chill, then got into her car and cranked up the heat. She turned on the radio and sighed in mild aggravation as the sound quality came out fuzzy. She flipped off the radio and decided to just use the hour long drive to gather her thoughts.

The truck started with a worrying whine and she pulled out of the driveway, slowly gathering speed. She meticulously followed all traffic laws and kept her hands firmly on ten and two on the steering wheel. It would do no good to get pulled over while she was sneaking out of the house.

As she drove, the sun began to set in front of her. Behind all the gray clouds the sun looked watery and blurry, and the whole sky looked like a water painting. When she finally arrived at Port Angeles, the sun was a violet sliver on the horizon. She found the new book store but the parking lot was already filled thanks to the grand opening. There was not a single space to put her truck. She drove around for a while, trying to find a spot, and finally had to settle on a space in an ally a few blocks down. She considered as she walked that perhaps she ought to just give up and go home. Nothing better to do though, she thought to herself, and trudged in with the air of a woman about to he hanged.

The bookstore was a new and modern design, all hard angles and glass and steel. It was over filled with yuppies sipping chai lattes and teenagers talking on their cell phones. No one really seemed that interested in the books. Bella found a fairly quiet section in the back and browsed until she could no longer stand all the noise. She then made a beeline for the door.

It was dark outside, and colder, too. She took a deep breath and stuck her hands deep in her pockets, then started off down the sidewalk toward the ally that housed her car at a brisk walking pace. She carefully stayed in the weak, yellow light cast from the street lamps. She was in a bad part of town, and she was a teenage girl by herself. She was a prime target for any number of crimes, and she didn't feel like getting mugged or worse.

A block away from the ally that had her car, she began to feel like she was being followed, but when she turned around there was no one there. She could feel eyes on her back and shrank into herself a little, wishing that she could just disappear. No one's following me, she tried to convince herself, but she couldn't shake the feeling. Then she heard a laugh, then a chorus of laughs. She spun around and found herself face to face with a scruffy man who smelled like cheap beer and stale cigarettes. She quickly backed up until she felt resistance against her. She whirled and was met with another man, and this one smelled even worse, like piss and pot.

"Hey baby," said the one that smelled like he had wet himself. "What'cha doin' out here by yourself, eh?"

"Yeah," echoed the one with a fondness for alcohol. His hand touched her arm and she savagely yanked it away. He chuckled, enjoying the resistance she put up. "Why don't you let us keep you company?"

Bella darted out from between them, breaking into a run. She was met at the corner by a third man, and this one didn't say anything, but when he smiled darkly at her his teeth were blackened and some were missing. A single gold tooth glinted in the weak light. Bella swallowed hard, trying to think. What was it Charlie had told her to do in this situation?

One of the other two men picked up a rock, and she didn't understand why at first. Oh God, she thought. Were they going to beat her to death with that thing? She could picture her face, a bloody pulp, getting beaten in even more with that rock. But the man threw it with expert aim, and it hit the light bulb in the street lamp. The light burst and flickered out, and Bella and the three men were left in a pocket of almost total darkness. She had no idea where she was anymore, but there weren't any people around. It looked like she had wondered into some sort of warehouse district, but it was deserted at this time of night.

"Here, pretty, pretty, pretty!" called one of the men behind her, as if he was calling his favorite cat. A shiver of chill and dead fear ran through her body. "We don't wanna hurt you, sweet heart." he said, and paused. "Well, maybe just a little."

At that Bella bolted. She had nowhere to run except into the arms of one of the three men, but she had to try to get past them. She darted toward the man with the gold tooth, hoping to side step him at the last minute. Her long legs carried her with speed enhanced by adrenaline-pumped fear, and the man held his arms out for her. She turned quickly to the side and he didn't see it coming. She slipped right past him.

Rough arms grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. A sadistic smile was on the man's face, and she could hear the other two approaching.

"Let me go!" she screamed, squirming in his arms, but it was a useless battle. He was far stronger than her. He covered her mouth with his hand to muffle her screams and she bit down on his hand till she tasted coppery blood in her mouth. He cried out a gurgled protest and dropped her to the ground where her elbows and knees scraped against the cement.

"You little bitch!" he yelled at her, glittering black eyes filled with rage and drunken lust. Her fight had done nothing to calm his primal urges for her. He grabbed her long hair and yanked her up to her feet, and she cried out in pain as it felt like the hair would be ripped out of her scalp. Tears blurred her vision and she felt her lip tremble, betraying her. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, she chanted internally. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction. She was blinded by the hot tears she tried to blink back, she could only see the blurry outline of the gold toothed man, and she could hear the pounding feet of one of the other men running over. She tried to make her mind go blank. She didn't want to think about what they were going to do to her.

I should have stayed home, I should have listened to Charlie, I should have brought that bear mace, her mind screamed, but on the outside she was silent save for the muffled hiccups of fear that emanated from her heaving chest. And then she heard a sharp crack and the hand grasping her hair let go and she fell to the ground in a puddle of weakness, her limbs too weak to support herself.

"Get up!" hissed a voice, and she couldn't see, but she got up because there was nothing to be gained by staying on the ground anyway. "C'mon, I can't take the other two at the same time!"

A warm hand grabbed hers and she looked up to see who this person was who was apparently trying to save her. But the light had been broken, and all she could see was shadows and silhouettes. She feared for a moment that this was just another person who would harm her, but she knew for certain the other two men would, so she had to take her chances. Her foot nudged the body of the man who had held her by her hair, and she could just make out that he was passed out, blood gushing from his nose. That crack had been his nose breaking when this new person punched him, she realized.

"Hey, get back here!" called one of the men as their feet pounded the asphalt. Bella struggled to her feet and the hand pulled her forward into the night, never letting go.

As always, every review is appreciated. And I'm not saying reviews necessarily make me write any faster, but they definitely don't make me write any slower, you know?