o0o0o0o - Chapter 2 - Really Home - o0o0o0o

As I rounded the corner, I noticed Angela leaning against a support beam near the baggage belt. I saw her almost immediately. Her eyes were scanning the crowd that formed as people were pushing past each other to get to their bags. If I wasn't so nervous, I probably would have been laughing. She was giving dirty looks to the people that got just a little bit too close for her comfort. One person visibly bumped into her side, and her hand flexed and then balled into a fist. It was funny, and I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as I walked closer. She heard me, and glared.

"Problem?" She asked.

"Nah… I just don't think dad would like picking us up from the Seattle Sheriffs Department, Ange. Trust me… I wanted to knock a few of them on their asses too." I said, as I stepped up beside her.

"Izzy?" She asked, slightly confused.

"Angela?" I asked back.

She cracked a smile, and then closed the distance between us. Her arms stretched out and she wrapped them around my shoulders. I held on to her, longer than I normally would. The hug brought a sense of relief, and helped to ease my nerves a bit. "I missed you." She whispered, as she broke the contact. She brought her hands up and cupped the side of my face. "I didn't even recognize you!"

I laughed lightly as she dropped her hands to her side. "Yea… I grew up." I said, as I moved towards the belt to find my bags. "Come on, we'll talk in the car… lets get out of this place before we both do something that will get us into trouble."

We quickly found my bags without too much incident. I may have accidentally, on purpose bumped into someone because their voice was just a bit too annoying on my tender ears, but a quick 'sorry', ended the confrontation before it really even started.

When we had the bags placed securely in the backseat of Angela's black Durango, we climbed in and headed out of the crowded airport.

"You look incredible, Izzy." She began the conversation shortly after pulling onto the highway that would begin our three hour trek home.

"Bella."

"What?" She asked.

"It's Bella now." I said, glancing out of the window. The city lights were illuminating the night sky and it was beautiful.

"Oh." She said. It was silent again for a few minutes, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Angela and I have always had a peaceful relationship. We could sit in silence for hours and we would always be at ease. Sometimes, conversation just wasn't needed. Just a sense that someone was there with you, made a shining difference. "No glasses?" She asked after a while.

"Nope. Corrective surgery last year… What about you?"

"Contacts." She said chuckling. "I got tired of losing my glasses. And, with the constant rain, as always, they became more of a hindrance."

"You look great, Angela." I said. And she did. Long gone was that nerdy best friend, that had her hair in a pony tale and glasses that hung off the tip of her nose.

She used my words from earlier as she smiled. "I grew up."

We both started laughing at our ridiculously formal conversation. This just wasn't us.

"I cant wait until everyone see's you." She said, shaking her head. "God, I'm glad you're home."

Bile started to burn my throat at the thought of 'everyone' seeing me. I only came home to help mom with the diner until she could find more staff, and too finish the last month of high school. My intentions were to high-tale it out of there as soon as I possibly could. I could honestly care less about what everyone else thought.

"Ange? Who knows about me coming home?" I asked.

She looked at me briefly before turning her eyes back to the road. "No one. I didn't tell anyone. It wasn't my place, and I kind of thought the surprise would be comical enough." She said, grinning.

"Good." I rushed out. "I don't want anyone to know who I am."

"How are you going to manage that?" She asked.

"Well… You had trouble recognizing me… and you're my best friend!" I said playfully, as I reached over and lightly shoved her shoulder.

"Indeed." She giggled.

"One of my requests to dad, if he wanted me to come back, was to go to the school and explain that I wanted to be known as Bella Dwyer."

"Dwyer?" She asked, as she lifted an eyebrow.

"My aunt and uncle's last name. I still had to be registered as Swan, but the less that people know, the better. I don't plan on sticking around too long anyways."

"You don't think that people are going to question the new girl?" She asked.

"Just another pale-face, Angela." I said, sighing.

It got quiet for a moment and I cringed at the memories that were brought back with my sudden comment.

"Hey pale-face! You don't deserve to be here… It's not like anyone on this reservation will ever see you as anything to look at. You're just a pathetic waste of space. No one wants you."

"I always hated them calling you that, you know."

"I know. But, it doesn't change the fact that, that's what I am." I said, as I rested my head on the back of the seat.

"No, you're not. You're half Quileute." She quipped. "And you have just as much right to be there as anyone else. So, stop doubting yourself."

I was a bit surprised with her sudden and short outburst. We've had this discussion many times before. My father, Charlie, is Quileute and he met my mother, Renee, at a convention in Seattle. Shortly after they met they married, and nine months later I arrived.

"Yea… yea." Was my intelligent response.

She gazed over at me for a moment, trying to gauge my emotions, and when she was satisfied that a majority of the negativity was gone, she smiled and turned back to the road.

"You know… they're not the same anymore."

"Who?" I asked.

"Sam's gang. At least, that's what everyone calls them now."

"And I care… because?" I couldn't help the little bit of hostility that rose to the surface.

"Just thought that you'd like to know." She said.

"Why?" I asked.

"They don't really talk to anyone. They keep to themselves. A couple of them are still assholes, but they aren't publicly mean to anyone anymore." She said. How she managed to say all that in one breath was beyond me.

"I'm not the same anymore, Ange." I said, picking at the invisible link on my oversized hooded sweatshirt. "I've changed too." I sighed.

"I know." She reached over and patted me lightly on my arm.

Laying my head back against the headrest again, I signed and closed my eyes.

"Trick - or - treat" Angela and I both said, as the door opened, revealing an older, tiny woman, holding a bowl full of candy.

"And what do we have here?" The woman said, looking us both over. "A kitty cat." She said to Angela, as she placed the sugary sweets in her bag. "And…"

"Arial!" I smiled. "The Little Mermaid."

"How precious." She quickly placed the candy into my opened sack. "You two be careful out here." She said, as she turned to close the door.

"Thank you!" We both yelled, before the door closed completely.

Angela and I both closed our sacks up quickly, smiled at each other, then turned to walk down the stairs and out into the quiet night. We hadn't made it far before the sack was ripped out of my hand, and laughter erupted behind us.

"Hey give it back!" I shouted at Quil, as he opened the bag and pulled out a piece of candy.

"I don't think so." He said, popping a tootsie roll into his mouth. "I think I know where this needs to go." He said, after he swallowed the chocolate.

"And where is that, Quil?" Jared said, coming to stand behind him.

Quil smiled back at him, and then turned his attention back to us. "Off the First Beach cliffs."

Jared laughed loudly and they both disappeared down the road and into the darkness.

"Aw, Izzy." Angela said from beside me.

"It's okay. Angela. I think I'm going to go home." I turned and started walking back towards my house. A small hand came to rest inside mine and I looked over to Angela's sad face. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"We're going back to your house, silly!" She said. "We can watch the Simpson's Halloween Special, and stay up eating the popcorn balls your mom made. And then we can split up the candy in my bag." She said, excitedly.

"I cant take your candy, Angela."

"You're not. We're going to share… You know why?" She asked, stopping and looking directly into my eyes.

"Why?" I asked, defeated.

"Because we're best friends. And that's what best friends do." She smiled. She tugged my hand and we began walking a bit faster towards my house. "Besides… we need to get crazy sick off of chocolate, because I don't want to do the spelling test tomorrow." She said seriously, and I started to laugh.

"Bella… hey Bella, we're almost there."

I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. Hell, I fell asleep again.

"Sorry, Angela." I said, wiping my eyes.

"No worries, Hon. I figured that you needed it." She paused for a breath and then started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"You were talking in your sleep." I flushed at the thought of mentioning my inner battle out loud. In my sleep at that. "Vampire?" She asked. "Really, Bella?"

I paused for a moment, thinking about the dream that I had and where the hell I would reference a vampire. And then it hit me and I started laughing.

"You remember the Halloween when we were eight?" I asked, and she nodded. "That night when we got back to my house, we watched the Simpson's special."

"Yea, I remember… don't know what that has to do with vampires, though." She said, raising her eyebrow.

I laughed a little and then continued. "Grandpa ran in the room with a stake and said 'we must kill the boy', and then Marge, his mom said, 'No! He cant help it if he's a vampire!' and then Grandpa said 'A vampire?', and he screamed and ran out of the room." I shook my head at the ridiculous memory.

Angela started laughing. Hard. "Oh my god. I remember that." She said, swiping a tear from her face. "Your dad freaked out when we grabbed two pencils and started chasing him through the house, threatening to stake the tick!"

"Yes!" I gasped, through my laughter. I missed this. I missed her.

We both quieted down shortly after, and the rest of the ride was relatively quiet. When we reached the 'Welcome To LaPush' sign, I tensed up. "Here we go." I whispered.

"I'm right here, Bella." Angela said, sending me a small smile.

The scenery didn't change. It looked exactly as it did when I left two years ago. In the distance you could hear the waves crashing against the jagged rocks. The smell of rain permeated the air around us. The truck that sat behind Billy's house was in exactly the same spot it's always been in. The flower pots on Mrs. Clines porch, were in the exact same spot, with the same flowers growing in them. The streets were silent. No one was out. Everyone was nestled into their homes, doing whatever it was they did.

Jacksonville was loud. People were out, all the time. The streets always had cars on them and there were always buildings going up at a constant rate. It took a lot of time for me to get use to the busy streets, and constant noise. I guess I'd just have to adjust again.

We arrived at my old home fairly quickly. The small two story house didn't look any different either. Dad's cruiser was parked in the driveway, a sure sign that he was, indeed, home.

"Home sweet home." Angela said, pulling up behind the cruiser, and turning off the engine.

"Yea."

"First step is getting out of the car, Bella." Angela said, noticing my delayed movement.

I quickly climbed out of the car and retrieved my bags from the back, and the silently made my way up the three stairs that led to the front door. The door was unlocked when I turned the handle. I wasn't surprised in the least that it wasn't locked. It was LaPush. Nothing happened here. Walking through the main entrance, I dropped my bags onto the floor and turned to my very surprised, yet happy, parents.

"I'm home." I whispered.

Mom, quickly jumped up and ambushed me with hugs. "Oh dear! I missed you so much. We didn't expect you for another hour or so."

"We didn't stop to eat." Angela said from beside me. "We wanted to get back as soon as possible."

"Well then… let me go warm up some food. Spaghetti okay?" She asked. She didn't wait for an answer as she brushed past me and into the kitchen.

"Hey. I need to go." Angela said from behind me. "You going to school tomorrow?" She asked.

I turned around and hugged her quick. "Yea… Mind picking me up? I really don't want to ride around in dad's car." I said.

"Of course. I'll see you around seven-thirty?"

I nodded in confirmation.

"Okay. See you later… Bye Charlie!" She said before disappearing out the door.

My dad stood from the recliner and walked towards me. Giving me a very awkward one armed hug, that included a brief pat on my back he said, "Welcome home, Bells… I'm heading to bed… I have an early shift tomorrow… Only stayed up to make sure you got in okay." He turned, and made his escape towards the stairs. He stopped on the third step and turned back towards me. "We missed you."

"Missed you too, Dad."

He nodded and then turned and continued his climb up the stairs.

I stood in the entry way for a second, rubbing my eyebrow.

"Bella!" My mom's shouting, signaled that I had been standing there longer than I had thought.

"Coming." I yelled.

I walked into the kitchen and sat at the table, where there was already a plate of steaming pasta waiting for me.

I took a couple of bites, while my mother sat across the table from me. Staring.

"You look amazing, Bella."

"Thanks." I said, taking another bite of food. "When do I start at the diner?" I asked.

"I thought you'd like to settle back in here before you start. So how does Friday sound?" She asked.

"Sounds good." I said as I shoveled more food into my mouth. "Everything set at school for me?" I asked after I swallowed.

"Yea. The teachers have all been informed that you are to be addressed as Bella Dwyer, for personal reasons that we refused to disclose' per your fathers request of course."

Finishing off my plate of food I stretched and yawned. How can I still be tired? Mom stood from her spot and grabbed my dishes quickly. "You go on to bed, sweetie." She said. She turned her back to me as she rinsed the dishes quickly and then placed them into the dishwasher. When she was done she turned back around and walked the short distance to me. She placed a small kiss on my forehead. "Good night, Hon. It's good to have you home."

She left the room soon after, I'm sure she was going to bed herself. It was already past ten, and if they were anything like what they use to be, then they usually climbed into bed around eight. After a few minutes, I stood from my chair and made my way back to the living room to grab my bags. They weren't there. Mom must have taken them to my room. Turning, I climbed the stairs and entered my bedroom that, surprise, hadn't changed at all. The bed still had the same comforter on it that it did two years ago. The pictures on the walls were still there. And my desk was still littered with books and paper. My bags were sitting on the floor beside the bed. Rushing over, I grabbed the smallest, that held my nightclothes. Opening it quickly I pulled out a pair of grey yoga pants and a tee-shirt.

Quickly changing, I climbed into bed. The blankets were warm, and the heat soothed the cold that threatened to seep through. Closing my eyes, I willed the dreams to stay away, and I let sleep take me.