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Chapter 1 – Who Knew Girls Weren't Really Yucky?

My entire life I'd been a tag-along. For as long as I could remember, I'd worshiped my brother and wanted to be wherever he was. Whatever Jazz was doing, I wanted to be a part of it too. When he was hanging out with friends, I would hover on the fringes, just hoping to be included.

How did that work out for me, you may ask? Unfortunately, not as well as I would have liked.

You see, Jazz was three years older than me. And he didn't really see me as a brother so much as a pain in his ass.

I was the one who always slowed him down. I was the one Mom forced him to take along and look after. I was the one who cramped his style. Jasper was always popular and had a lot of friends, and I was his nerdy, bookworm brother who never fit in.

I never really made friends of my own, because I was too busy trying to keep up with Jasper. I wanted desperately to fit into his world of sports and friends and being cool. I did everything I could to make myself over into Jazz's image, which meant I never figured out how to just be me.

That all changed the day we moved to Forks, Washington and I met a certain girl with big brown eyes.

I'd never even thought about befriending a girl before. My world had been a guy's world. Until now, my mom had been the only female in my life – and as much as I loved my mother, I looked at the girly world of flowers and pink and high heels and junk like that and thought it was just plain stupid. I mean seriously, who in their right mind wanted to walk in shoes with four inch heels? You had to be psycho to even try, right?

Jazz didn't exactly influence my view of girls for the better either. He had told me repeatedly that I'd be retarded to ever trust someone who bleeds for five days and doesn't die. Yeah, when I finally got "the talk" from my Dad and figured out what Jasper had been telling me for the past two years, I didn't thank him for the visual that put into my head. I mean, gross.

But Bella was…different somehow. I'd felt it from the very beginning.

When we'd first pulled up to our new house, I had stayed in the car to show my support for Jasper. But that wasn't the only reason why I didn't move until Carlisle made me come out. I'd seen her standing in front of the house next door, and I couldn't look away.

Not that I liked her or anything. Girls were yucky, right? But I'd never seen a girl like her before. I mean, I could say she was pretty without it having to be a big deal. That was just a statement of fact. She was pretty. Noticing that fact didn't turn me into a wuss now, did it?

As I watched her approaching our car and then talking to my parents, I noticed that the long hair that she had pulled back into a ponytail wasn't just brown like I'd first thought. The sun shone through it bringing out red tones that made her hair more like mahogany than plain brown. Her eyes, too, weren't simply brown, but a dark chocolate, soft and warm. And when my father said something to her, the most beautiful blush stained her cheeks. I had missed what Dad said to make her blush like that, but strangely I wished that I'd been the one to put it there and not him. Crap, I was turning into a wuss!

My dad took that opportune moment to open my door and chastise me in front of this girl. "Come on out, Edward. Bella came over to meet you. She's graciously volunteered to show you around your new school. Be a gentleman and greet her properly."

Gee whiz, thanks for that Dad. Now she was going to think that I was some sort of punk with no manners. Someone like Jasper! And for the first time, I didn't want to be anything like my brother.

Not that Jazz was really all that bad. He was just fourteen. So I think the smart mouth and the bad attitude came along with the surging hormones or something. My mom said Jasper's hormones were also the reason I could never get in our bathroom anymore. She said that he was getting older and needed more privacy. I suspected that there was actually a whole other reason he was always in the bathroom, but I refused to let myself think too much about it.

Thank God I had a little more time before puberty reared its ugly head. I guess that's why I could meet the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen with absolutely no reaction. She was just a girl for goodness sake. That meant there had to be another reason for my suddenly sweaty palms.

I had discretely wiped my hand on my pants before I walked around the car to meet her. Confident that it would no longer feel like freshly caught halibut, I offered my hand to her. "Hi, I'm Edward." And obviously I was a dork. My dad had already told her my name.

"Hi, Edward," she said in the sweetest voice I'd ever heard. "I'm Bella."

Bella…the name did her justice. It wasn't common like Jessica or Sarah or Hannah, and I could tell that this girl was out of the ordinary too. Her name was something special, beautiful…just like her.

Then she took my hand, and I had the strangest feeling. I didn't feel awkward or out of place any more. The only way I could describe it was that it felt like…coming home.

"I hope we can be friends."

I couldn't help but smile as I heard those words from her lips. No, I'd never had a girl friend before, but I wanted her to be my first. "I would like that, Bella. Very much."

And then my dumbass brother had to go and blow my big moment with her. He'd actually had the nerve to call Bella a baby. Where in heaven's name were the boy's eyes? True, she was younger than Jasper, but she certainly wasn't a baby!

When she dropped my hand to cross her arms angrily over her chest, I had never wanted to kick Jazz so much in my life. I could tell she was mad, and I couldn't blame her. My stupid brother had pulled that baby stuff with me too many times to count. I knew how much I hated it, and I could see Bella felt the same way.

As Jasper finally dragged himself out of the car, I turned and gave him a death glare. Not that he noticed.

I loved him, but he could be such an ass sometimes. I just hoped Bella wouldn't hold his crappy attitude against me.

I turned back to Bella just in time to see a flash of something in her eyes before her expression suddenly went blank. In that moment, I could tell that she'd had a strong reaction to Jasper before she'd carefully hidden it. I just couldn't quite put my finger on what that reaction had been. All I knew was that it had made me uneasy, and I didn't like the feeling.

~*~E~*~E~*~E~*~

I stood fidgeting on Bella's front porch. We'd spent a lot of time talking the day before as she'd helped me carry boxes up to my new room. But this was the first time I had been to her house.

I was nervous about possibly meeting her parents. For some unknown reason, I wanted to make a good impression, so I'd dressed in my nicest pair of khaki cargo shorts and a hunter green polo shirt. It was an outfit I'd worn to church on the hottest summer days in Chicago and not something I usually wore just to hang out with a friend.

When Jazz had seen me, he'd burst out laughing and said I looked like an accountant on a golf outing. My brother thought he was funny. In reality? Not so much. Since we were in the kitchen at the time and my mother was standing right there, I hadn't flipped him off like I really wanted to. Instead, I just walked right past him like I hadn't heard a thing. There was no sense letting him know he'd gotten to me. He enjoyed that stuff way too much.

Bella had told me that her dad was the Chief of Police here in Forks and that he often worked weekends. But seeing his cruiser parked in their driveway, I knew that he was home. I was just hoping he wouldn't be the one answering the door.

Luckily, Bella and I were only friends. I couldn't imagine how freaked out I would be if I were here picking her up for a date. I was man enough to admit that the thought of her father not only owning a gun but also most likely having the know-how and clout to make me disappear without a trace was more than a little intimidating. I pitied Bella's future boyfriends.

I then pictured some generic guy coming to pick Bella up and turning tail to run when her father opened the door dressed in full uniform, with mirrored sunglasses covering his eyes, and a gun strapped to his hip.

The image brought a smile to my lips.

My smile faded, however, when the door opened and there stood the man himself.

I stood there for a moment trying to remember exactly why I was there. Then I cleared my throat nervously and held out my hand. "Hello, Chief Swan. I wanted to formally introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen. Bella's new friend."

Chief Swan raised one eyebrow. Not exactly the confidence booster I needed.

My hand was left hanging out there in the space between us. He made no move to take it.

I knew I must look like a complete tool, and I wondered how long I should wait with my hand outstretched before I simply gave up and dropped it. Just when I thought I might wither and die of humiliation on the spot, he finally reached out and shook my hand.

"Edward. It's nice to meet you. Are you here for Bella?"

"Yes, sir. I thought I'd see if she wanted to hang out this afternoon."

He released my hand and crossed his arms over his chest, giving me an appraising look. "And just what do you have planned?"

Plans? I was supposed to have plans? This wasn't a date, so I hadn't really thought about anything beyond spending time with Bella. "Umm… I'm not sure, sir. I…I thought I'd see what Bella wanted to do."

That wasn't exactly a lie. I had been planning to ask Bella for suggestions on what we could do. But I'd really said it as a fly by the seat of my pants maneuver trying to say the right thing to her father.

You can imagine my relief when he nodded and smiled. "Very wise, Edward. You seem to know a thing or two about women already. When you do make plans, they just change them for you anyway. It's best to let them have their way from the beginning…within reason, of course."

I could tell from the twinkle in his eyes that he was having fun with me. Amused, I asked, "You think Bella would ask me to do anything I shouldn't, sir?"

"Well, son, all I can say is if she brings out the Barbies, just say no."

I laughed.

That is, I laughed until a ticked off Bella pushed past her father and joined me on the porch.

"Knock it off, Dad. You're scaring Edward off for no reason. You know I haven't even touched a Barbie since I was like six," she huffed.

He gave her an unrepentant grin. "Aw, don't be mad, Bells. The boy knew I was just teasing."

And suddenly I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Did I try to appease Bella?

Or please her father?

The very thought sobered me, which Bella seemed to take as a sign that I hadn't been laughing at her. Seeming satisfied, she turned her back on her father and started down the porch steps.

Apprehensively, I looked back at Chief Swan to see if I'd offended him. It surprised me to see him grinning indulgently at me and then waving me off to go join his daughter.

I didn't know how I'd done it, but somehow I had managed to dodge the bullet with both of them. I was in the clear.

I triumphantly followed Bella down the stairs. We started across the lawn together only to be stopped again by her father. "Oh and Bells?"

She rolled her eyes at me before she turned to face him. "Yes, Dad?" she asked in a long-suffering tone.

"If you two go for a walk in the woods, promise me you'll stay on the path this time? I don't want to have to send Sam after you if you get lost again."

"That happened once! Are you ever going to let me forget it?" she asked indignantly.

"That was one time too many, Isabella Marie Swan. You took ten years off my life that day. Stay on the path."

She sighed, "Yes, Daddy."

Taking my hand, she tugged me away from her father. I knew she only did it to hurry me into putting distance between us and her dad, but I liked it. It felt nice, and I wished I could just concentrate on the warmth of her hand in mine. But something was bothering me. I couldn't stop wondering who in the heck Sam could be.

From our talk the day before, I knew that she was an only child. So he couldn't be her brother.

Was he just a friend? Or was he something more to her?

By the time we got to my house and sat in the front porch swing, I couldn't take the suspense any longer. "Who's Sam?"

She looked surprised by my question. "Oh. Sam's just somebody I've known forever. My parents are good friends with some of the people who live on the Quileute reservation in La Push. Sam is one of the boys from there."

So far, I was not liking this answer. "So, he's our age?"

"Umm… No. He's the same age as your brother, I think."

An older man who was close to Bella and her family? I didn't like this at all.

I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer, but I felt compelled to ask her, "Is he your boyfriend?"

Bella wrinkled up her nose. "Sam? No. Absolutely not. I grew up with him. He's like my brother."

Well, that was good. It was nice that she had that kind of brother/sister relationship with someone…as long as it stayed that way.

But what about the other boys she'd mentioned? Did she feel the same way about them? "So, are you close to any of the other guys on the reservation?"

She pushed her feet against the porch floor to set the swing in motion. "I guess I'm closest to Jacob. His father is best friends with my dad, so we spend lots of time together."

Why did hearing that make my stomach churn? I was too young for an ulcer, right? Yeah, it was just because I liked her as a friend and I was a little jealous about her being close friends with another guy. That was it.

"But you guys are just friends? You don't have any other feelings for Jacob?"

She snorted at that. "Edward, Jacob is like nine years old. No, I don't see him as anything other than a little brother type. All of the boys on the rez are more like extended family to me."

And then she looked at me curiously, "Why do you ask?"

Hmm, why was I asking exactly? Unsure, I shrugged and said the first thing that came to mind. "I just want to know about my new best friend, that's all."

She smiled at me, and I felt all warm and gooey inside. Bella had a really great smile.

"So, what about you, Edward? Do you have a girl back in Chicago? Or a best friend that I need to be jealous of?" She nudged her shoulder into mine playfully.

I grinned at her. "The answer to both your questions would be no. I've always tried to hang out with Jazz and his friends, but they mostly left me out of whatever they were doing. And I wasn't really interested in any of the girls back home."

"I know what you mean," she told me. "I'm not sure I'm ready to have a boyfriend yet and get into the whole messy love thing. There'll be plenty of time for that junk later, right?"

First my stomach was churning, and now my chest hurt. Was I coming down with something? I hoped I didn't give it to Bella. "Sure," I agreed reluctantly. "We have loads of time before we have to deal with that stuff."

We were silent for a minute, just enjoying the light breeze that rolled over us as we slowly rocked the swing.

"Edward?" Bella said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"You called your brother Jazz earlier. Why? Is that his nickname?"

A little confused by the abrupt change of topic, it took me a second to get my brain to work. "Oh. Yeah. It is."

"Why Jazz?" she asked. "Is it just short for Jasper? Or does he play an instrument or something? Does he like jazz?"

Why the sudden interest in my brother?

Dismissing it as understandable curiosity about her new neighbors, I answered, "Jasper plays guitar, but he isn't into jazz. He likes rock…the louder and angrier the better. And I think if it was just a shortening for Jasper, Jas would make more sense."

"So, how did he get the nickname then?" she persisted.

"It's from his initials actually – J.Z. for Jasper Zachary. My parents sometimes called him J.Z. when he was little and I guess it eventually morphed into Jazz."

Bella nodded, curiosity seemingly satisfied.

Another few moments went by before she stood up and then pulled me to my feet beside her. "I feel like taking a walk. You game?" she asked.

"Sure," I said. "Are we walking down the lane or in the woods?"

"Woods," she replied decisively.

I gave her a teasing grin, "And are we going to stay on the path?"

Bella gave me a droll stare, "What would be the fun in that, Edward? Don't you like to live dangerously?"

"Sometimes, but I'm not exactly sure I want to get lost. Should I go inside and grab some breadcrumbs to mark our trail."

She scoffed, "Edward, you know that never works. Not even in fairy tales. That is, unless your goal is to get us eaten by a witch living in a gingerbread house."

I laughed, enjoying this conversation. "I guess we'll just have to take special care not to get lost then. Don't worry, Bella. I have a really great sense of direction."

She smiled. "Well, that's good to know. But I should probably warn you before we get started that I can be kind of a klutz sometimes."

"I think I figured that out yesterday when you tripped over thin air walking into my house."

She huffed, "Yeah, well, I never claimed to be graceful. And if you think thin air trips me up, just wait until you see what tree roots do to me. Every time I go for a walk in the woods, I always end up with skinned knees, elbows, or hands…or some combination of the three. You may be called upon to catch me if I start to fall."

I didn't have a problem with that at all. "Bella, I'm at your service. I'd be more than happy to rescue you whenever you need it."

As jobs go, catching Bella whenever she fell sounded like a good one to me.

I hope you all enjoyed this first glimpse into Edward's thoughts. Next up, you'll be hearing from Jasper.

Huge thanks to Gemmabobella, DeltaSwan90, and my2galspal for doing beta duties for me and to Vican for creating the beautiful banner for Destination Wedding on Twilighted(dot)net.

If you have any questions and/or comments about Destination Wedding, or you'd just like to come hang out, you can find me on the Destination Wedding thread in the Twilighted forums -

http:/www(dot)twilighted(dot)net/forum/viewtopic(dot)php?f=44&t=14195&start=0.