*taps mic* Is this thing on? Yea? So, um...Hiya! :)

So this #Tarzanward thing started as a joke with my RL bestie Packy & she loved it & wanted more, so here it is!

Happy Birthday Packy! *kisses*

I do not own Twilight, Tarzan or anything related to their respective brands.

xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox

Oh, gosh...bugs!

At the mention of another voyage, one might think about the research required, or the equipment necessary, or even the finances. But all she could think about was the bugs. Lots of them!

That was Bella. As much as she'd traveled with her father, Professor Charlie Swan, on these expeditions, getting used to the insects was something Bella never seemed to master.

She could convince herself that sleeping on the bare dirt floor was as comfortable as the softest bed, piled high with only the finest silk sheets. When their group had been stranded on a remote island the previous year, even green seaweed and kelp soups had become delicacies. Being able to take a regular, frequent shower was a luxury that was seldom afforded to her on these trips. She would go days, sometimes weeks without being able to indulge in a proper bath, and she did it without complaint.

But the bugs?...with their antennae and multiple legs and wings? They had given her the shivers ever since she was a little girl, so of course that was the first place Bella's thoughts had wandered to when her father had announced the news of another voyage. This time, his interest had been piqued by the Beatus Apus—Beach Gorillas—of the Amazon Rain Forest. At the beginning of spring, the gorillas migrated closer to the beaches of the East Coast to mate, and this was what their team intended to document.

Bella's thoughts suddenly drifted away. If only she would find some handsome man—one who would chase the bugs away. In her daydream, the two of them would couple on the beach, surrounded by sea, sand and the most gorgeous flora, as the gorillas do.

If only…

xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox

God, this wine is good!

Bella had already drunk through half the bottle by this point, which was a feat in itself considering she was a beer kind of girl. There was nothing ladylike about the gulps she swallowed, or the thoughts that soon followed.

This has to be the reason they serve the stuff at church, she thought with a smirk. Even Jesus has to approve of something this good.

Bella laughed at her inner monologue and lifted the glass to her lips again. She needed to tell that joke to someone, over wine perhaps...but then that thought stopped short when she remembered her pitiful social life.

She scanned her memory for a friend or acquaintance she could possibly call...

Rose! That's right, Rose—her co-worker from her part-time job at the coffee shop. What ever happened to Rose? Oh wait, wasn't I supposed to get back to Rose with an R.S.V.P for her wedding… two years ago?

She needed to send Rose an 'I'm sorry I missed your wedding because I was in the Malaysian rainforest identifying different species of beetles' gift. Too bad Hallmark didn't make a card for that.

Groaning, Bella took another sip of wine and continued to rack her brain for friends.

Alice, her old roommate in college! They were great friends. However, becoming a famous fashion designer and an ethologist hadn't exactly been in their plans that first year of school. As the friendship had grown, they'd begun to blossom individually as well, finding themselves and following their respective career paths.

They'd made a promise that one day when Bella accepted her Nobel Prize, she'd be styled in an Alice original. Bella smiled at the memory. But the distance after graduation had put quite a strain on the friendship.

Fast-forward four years later: as Alice styled the rich and famous, Bella journeyed the globe researching animal behavior. Not really the most accommodating situation to meet up and converse over wine, was it?

Continuing to dissect her memory, a very handsome face flashed before her eyes.

Jake—the guy in the apartment next door. He had hit on her a while back when he'd first moved into the building. Surely she could slip over there, offer him some wine and… what? Watch late night TV with him, his girlfriend and their one year old daughter? Oh, that's right...he had stopped hitting on her and moved on, after her second trip to Africa.

Has it been three years already?

This wasn't working. What the hell had happened to her?

Or what the hell hadn't happened to her?

The past five years had been filled with two one night stands with her old college boyfriend, an extremely embarrassing date with her father's intern—that she did not want to think about—and approximately nine months out of the year exploring various parts of the world that most people didn't even know existed.

And nothing more.

And now, not a single person to share a stupid joke with!

Bella massaged her temples with her fingers attempting to relieve some of the tension there. All this heavy thinking was giving her a headache. Or maybe it was the wine? Either way, she refocused on the task at hand—packing for the trip to the Amazon in two days.

Bella had hoped maybe cracking a bottle of wine and putting on some good music would make the tedious chore of packing a little more pleasant, and sure enough, within the hour, she was all packed up and ready to go as ever.

With a frown firmly in place, Bella glanced around the room and ended with her gaze on her travel bag.

Is that it?

Her entire life literally fit into an oversized camping bag. She looked around the dimly lit apartment, hoping she missed something of importance.

Nothing. Her apartment was bare as it was.

She didn't own a TV since she was barely ever home. There were no pictures she wanted to take, no pet to leave with a friend or relative. Just a couch, a mini-refrigerator and a twin-sized bed. At the age of twenty-six, was this all her life had amounted to?

She'd traveled and experienced enough to have stories to last a lifetime. Yet still, she had no one to tell them to. No one in her life to share her adventures and exotic escapades with.

Well. This truly sucks!

Just then her cellphone lit up from its place on the couch beside her, and the illuminated picture on the screen brought a smile to her face—a seven year old Bella on her father's shoulders, covered in mud and leaves on their annual camping trip. That was one of the first moments she could ever remember knowing that this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

There was no denying that her job made her incredibly happy. Her chosen field of ethology consisted of observing animal behavior, particularly patterns of behavior that occur in natural environments, whereas her father's passion lay in identifying species of wild plants and flowers. As a child, she'd accompanied her father on his smaller journeys, and he'd taught her to be at one with the wilderness and bond with nature. Her preference would always be for time alone with the animals and the gorgeous greenery.

With that thought, she guzzled the remainder of her wine, chucked the bug spray and repellent into her bag, and went to prepare for bed.

Friends and relationships would have to wait until she came back. And she'd actually make an effort this time.

She was so, so tired of being lonely.

xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxox

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppp! I'm hoping you guys will stick around for the journey! Not sure what my posting schedule will be like but i'll try my best to not have you all waiting too long!

Huge, big hugs to my pre-reader Twilly & my beta Cullenboyz (aka my baby momma lol). I could NOT have done this without you both!

Reviews will be appreciated! & if you got time, wish Packy happy birthday! :)