So, I know in the epilogue of my last story I said that this would likely take a week to put up because I hadn't decided on the direction I was going to go for my next story. That was becuase I had two different ideas with the first couple of chapters complete, but on Friday I decided which one I was going to go with, so, I tinkered around with the first chapter of the 'winner' since I had written them a long time ago and here it is.

If you're new to my stories, welcome, and thanks for checking out my first attempt at a JacobOC story. Obviously, it's AU since Jacob will not be imprinting on Reneseme and the story begins near the beginning of 'Eclipse.' I hope you like the first chapter, and as always, please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Twilight.

Chapter One

The plane ride from southern California to Seattle had been rather uneventful and like every other flight I had taken over the course of my existence, but the small twin engine plane ride from Seattle to the tiny town of Port Angeles had been another experience all together. I was usually perfectly fine when flying but sitting there with five other people on that tiny cramped plane was something I never wanted to do ever again.

I had to fight the urge to kiss the ground as I clamored off the plane with my fellow passengers and I adjusted the strap of my black leather travel bag on my right shoulder. Other than my laptop, iPod, and a couple of changes of clothes, all my other possessions had already been packed and shipped to Forks earlier in the week. My mother's cousin, a man named Charlie Swan, was now my legal guardian; and in all honesty I was surprised the man actually agreed to take me in after social services contacted him. I didn't even know that my mother had any sort of family left in the world since she was an only child and my maternal grandparents had both died when I was a little girl. I had never met my father, hell, I didn't even know the man's name, and Mom had left that line conveniently blank on my birth certificate.

I'd been in foster care for the last eight months while social services checked into my maternal grandmother's sister who had lived in Washington state to see if she had had any children or other family in the area. In those eight months I had lived a surprisingly comfortable life with a nice family in San Diego. Sure, it really wasn't the same as life had been with Mom in our small house near the ocean, but it certainly wasn't anything like the horror stories that were out there about the foster care system.

I looked around the small airport, not really sure what I was looking for until I saw a man with short black hair and a mustache looking right at me. He was dressed in well-worn jeans and a green and white flannel jacket over a black t-shirt, and he was standing next to, of all things, a police cruiser. I knew that Charlie was the Chief of Police in Forks, but I certainly hadn't expected him to pick me up in his cruiser, but the way my life was going lately I really needed to learn to expect the unexpected. I gave him an uncertain smile before I started to make my way over to him, shivering a bit as I went when a cool breeze hit me.

I realized then that in my cap sleeve dark purple top and knee length flowing black skirt I was a little underdressed given the weather in Port Angeles. It had been almost eighty degrees in San Diego when I got on the plane this morning and it hadn't been that chilly in Seattle when I switched planes to head to Port Angeles. Obviously, the weather in the very upper northwest corner of the country was going to take some getting used to. It was the middle of May and it felt like it was the middle of December back home, and the slight drizzly mist in the air was not doing my naturally curly shoulder blade length hair any favors. Obviously, living in southern California for the last two and a half years had made me soft. Hopefully as the summer wore on it would get warmer around here because the summer was going to suck if it was always cool and rainy.

"Charlie?" I asked as when I stopped walking about five feet in front of the man and he nodded as he gave me a small smile.

"Yeah," he said as he pulled his hands from his pockets, "and you're Aurora," he said more than asked and I nodded my head before I tucked a few strands of my shoulder blade length dark brown hair behind my ears. He cleared his throat awkwardly before he looked towards the plane. "Do you have any other bags?" he asked, his brown eyes settling back with my blue.

"No," I said before I tapped my bag resting at my hip. "Just this. All my other things were already shipped."

"All right," he said as he pulled out a set of keys from his right front pocket. "Let's get going then." I nodded and walked around the front of the car and climbed into the passenger seat, mindful of my skirt, and sat my bag in my lap while Charlie started the car. I quietly thanked him when he turned the heat on low and he nodded his head before we started the hour drive to Forks.

It was quiet at first in the car, Charlie not knowing what to say and I was pretty much just taking in all the green that surrounded me as we left Port Angeles and drove down the practically deserted two lane road towards Forks. I had never seen so many different yet similar shades of green with splashes of brown before in my life. I had grown up in upstate New York with my mom, but we had moved to southern California almost three years ago because Mom's job had transferred her to their main office in San Diego. Southern California certainly had a lot of beautiful sights to offer, but surprisingly I found the lushness of Washington state much more appealing.

"You know," Charlie said and I looked at him, "the last time I saw your mother, she was just a little bit younger than you. If your hair was a shade or two lighter and your eyes green, you'd look just like her when she was your age." I smiled because I'd been told a few times that I looked like my mother by her friends and people she worked with, I never really saw it, but if Charlie was saying it I figured it must be true since he'd known mom when she was around my age. I voiced my thoughts and Charlie chuckled as he shifted in his seat a little bit, and I once again tucked my hair behind my ears.

"I know things might be a little awkward, Charlie, with me around but I'll do my best to stay out of the way," I said and he glanced at me again.

"I'm . . . I'm not worried about you getting in the way, Aurora. You won't be in the way," he said with a slight frown on his face. "I'm more worried about you in general. You lost your mother and now you're going to be living with people who are virtual strangers to you."

"I lived with virtual strangers for the last eight months, Charlie, and I survived just fine," I threw in, trying to ease his worry for me, and he shot me a small grin.

"Maybe, but you weren't living in a small town that is about as far from what you're used to as you can get, and away . . . away from your mother." I took a deep breath and slowly let it out before I spoke.

"I'm actually looking forward to living here, Charlie," I said, and I wasn't lying. I really was looking forward to living in the small quiet town that was thousands of miles away from anything and everything that reminded me of my mother. I'd been doing my best for the last couple of months to make it seem like I moved on, but when something reminded me of her it became almost impossible for me to maintain the smile I put on for the world. "You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine." I tried to sound reassuring, and it seemed like Charlie actually believed me. Apparently, my acting skills had improved.

"Still, I want you to know that if you ever need anything or you need to talk, you can come to me," he said. "I may not be the best conversationalist, but I'm a good listener; or so I've been told." I laughed lightly at that and nodded my head as my right hand found its way to the charm that rested on the platinum chain around my neck. The small platinum star with a tiny round ruby in the center had been one of the gifts Mom had given me for my sixteenth birthday and ever since the accident I never took it off anymore.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said and he smiled at me before he returned his eyes to the road.

"We put up your furniture in your room for you," Charlie said after a beat, "and Bella's friend, Alice, is convinced that you'll like the way we set it up. Alice has an eye for that kind of stuff and I wanted to make sure you had a room ready and waiting for you, so, she helped me put it together for you. Alice and Bella even unpacked your things and put everything a way for you when Bella got back from visiting her mother in Florida last Sunday. I hope you don't mind that they did that."

"I don't. That was really nice of them," I said as I lowered my hand. While I thought it odd that they did that for me, I was grateful. Especially since I started classes at Forks High School on Monday and I could relax the rest of that Saturday and Sunday without worrying about getting everything unpacked and situated before then. Going to school was really the only thing I wasn't looking forward to because there was only a month left in the school year. I knew that since the town and the school was so small my arrival was probably already well known, which was why I was slightly nervous.

"Alice is a nice girl and Bella spends a lot of time with her and her family," he said as he nodded his head, but the slight inflection in his voice told me he wasn't all that happy about that fact. If he liked Alice so much, I wasn't sure why he wasn't happy that Bella spent a lot of time with them; but I wasn't about to question him about it. "We just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable and feel at home since this is your home now."

"Thank you, Charlie," I said softly and he glanced at me.

"There's nothing to thank me for, Aurora," he said. "After all, you're family."

Charlie's house was a nice two-story house and it had a very comfortable homey feel to it that enveloped me the second I stepped inside, and I was surprised to see people standing in the living room, seemingly waiting for us. I knew that the girl with the long dark hair and brown eyes had to be Charlie's daughter, Bella, she actually looked a little bit like him, and she was really very pretty in an assuming kind of way. She was dressed in comfortable looking jeans and a t-shirt with a long sleeved shirt underneath. The girl next to her, however, was easily one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen in person before.

Her short dark hair was cut in a nice pixie style that suited her high cheekbones and flawless alabaster skin perfectly, but it was her eyes that stood out. They were a golden brown color and lined by long dark lashes. She obviously leaned more on the girly side of the fashion spectrum, like me, given the black leggings and stylish blouse she was wearing, and was a great deal shorter than Bella, who I guessed was around five feet five or five feet six inches tall. If Bella looked tall next to her, I could only imagine what I would look like since I stood five feet ten and a half inches tall. I already towered over most people that I came into contact with, except Charlie and I were about even in the height department with him being just a touch taller.

"Alice, I didn't now you'd be here," Charlie said as he closed the door behind me and Alice just smiled a breathtakingly perfect smile at Charlie.

"I wanted to be one of the first to welcome Aurora to Forks," Alice said simply and Charlie chuckled before he patted my shoulder and urged me forward. I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder and smiled back at Alice when she turned her smile to me as I walked into the living room. I looked between the two girls and both of them looked up at me as I came to a stop in front of them.

"Hi Aurora, I'm Alice Cullen," the pixie like girl said brightly, "and as you probably already guessed this is Bella."

"Hi," I said lightly as I nodded. It grew quiet between us and I took a deep breath before I said the first thing that came to mind. "Charlie told me on the way here that you guys are graduating next month," I said, blurting the first thing that came to mind from my continued conversation with Charlie in the car, and Bella nodded.

"Yeah," she said and I could see that Bella had inherited Charlie's 'silent type' personality.

"My brother, Edward, is as well," Alice said suddenly and I blinked at her.

"Are you guys twins?" I asked and she laughed, which was a perfect bell like sound, before she shook her head.

"No, we're adopted siblings," Alice said evenly and I nodded.

"Oh, cool," I said and she smiled.

"I'm glad you girls are getting along and all, but I'd like to show Aurora to her room. She's been planes all day and would probably like to rest for a little while," Charlie said and Alice was suddenly at my side, lacing her left arm with my right. The girl was surprisingly chilled through the sweater blouse she was wearing, but I figured it was probably just me because I felt like I needed to hit the defrost button to warm up a bit from my little jaunt outside.

"We'll show her, Charlie," Alice said and Charlie grinned at the girl before he nodded his head.

"Okay," he said and Alice was pulling me towards the stairs with Bella trailing behind. Alice chatted away as she led me up the stairs and then down a short hallway. The first bedroom was obviously Bella's room and we continued on before Alice led me to the second open door in the hallway. I took a sharp breath as I looked at the room and almost let my bag slip off my shoulder in surprise.

"I hope it's not too much," Alice said slowly and I could hear the smile that was on her face in her tone of voice. "When I volunteered to help Charlie get your room ready, he gave me free reign and when I saw the color of your comforter I just ran with it."

"It's perfect, Alice, really," I said as I looked around the room. "Better than I imagined actually."

"Good, I'm glad," she said as she let go of my arm and allowed me to step further into the room.

The walls were a pale yellow that nearly matched the yellow in my checkered yellow and white comforter that was spread out across my double bed, and sheer white curtains hung on the large window that looked out into the surprisingly big back yard and the trees that lined it. Alice had even found the string of white lights that I had packed away and put them exactly where I had put them back in my old room, running along the footboard of my bed.

My pine furniture fit much better in the slightly bigger room than it had in my old room, and they had even managed to put my bookcase in my room, which we had had to put in the living room since it didn't fit in the room, and it was filled with all of my books and a few of my mother's that I had elected to keep. My writing desk was resting on the wall by the window and already had my desk lamp and pencil holder neatly in place. Almost everything in the room was mine, except for the crystal lamps that rested on my nightstands, the curtains, and the fluffy white area rug that covered the floor

"Thanks," I said as I finally looked back at Alice and she just smiled at me once more.

"You're welcome, and I was happy to do it. I'm certain we're going to be good friends," she said and for some strange reason, I actually believed her when she said it.

I woke up as the sun was breaking over the horizon the next morning and since it was relatively impossible for me to go back to sleep once I woke up, I decided to go for a run. After making my bed and checking the weather outside by opening my bedroom window, I set to getting ready for my morning jog.

It was a bit more than chilly out, so, after throwing my slightly frizzy hair up into a messy bun on the back of my head, I tugged on a pair of black cotton sweats, a black sports bra, a white razor back tank top, and a dark pink thermal shirt that I wore when running in cooler weather. With that done, I pulled on a pair of ankle socks and my running shoes before I quietly made my way downstairs. I wrote a note for Charlie in case I didn't make it back home before he woke up and went to the station for his shift that morning. I didn't want him to worry if he checked in on me and found my room empty.

I sighed quietly as I stood in the foyer and stretched out my legs and back. I needed to start exercising again and it had been almost a full week since my last intense workout. I was starting to feel lazy, and since it was pretty obvious that Forks didn't have a decent gym with any sort of cardio classes I was going to have to breakout my workout DVDs that I hadn't used since I started taking classes at the gym. I could maybe even see if Bella or Alice wanted to join me in working up a sweat since I'd gotten used to working out in groups. However, I doubted they would because neither girl really struck me as the kind that worked out a whole lot.

Mom had been a bit of a health nut and sad to say it rubbed off a bit on me. I actually loved to exercise, which makes me a freak of nature I know, but unlike Mom I found it very hard to stick to the vegetarian diet she preferred. I ate meat, lean proteins mostly, but I ate red meat and the mystery meat that was hot dogs on rare occasion. For the most part my diet was healthy, but pizza, ice cream, and just about anything made with and/or out of chocolate was a serious weakness of mine. It was terrible really, but I would not apologize for loving food. I just ate my weaknesses in moderation. That was the one thing Mom drilled into my head. 'Everything in moderation' and I stuck to that rule with an iron fist.

With my ear buds to my iPod, which was in a band around my upper left arm, in my ears and my running playlist blasting away, I left the house and locked the door behind me with the key that Charlie had given me. Tucking it into the lone pocket on the back of my sweats, I ran down the porch steps, across the yard, and along the side of the road at a steady pace, my hair bouncing around the back of my head as I went. The sun was up a little more, and the sky was filled with beautiful shades of pink, gold, and purple; and I had to admit it was a really sight to see. I mean, I had seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets before, but there was something different about that one that just seemed a little more special.

I really couldn't remember the last time that I actually ran outside. I usually just used the track at the gym or ran on one of the treadmills, but as my feet hit the pavement below I found that I preferred running outdoors, especially since the scenery around Forks was so nice. I didn't know my way around town just yet, but I figured if I just kept going straight on the main road and then turned right back around at the hallway point, I wouldn't get lost. It sounded like a genius plan, but what I failed to consider was the distance I was running.

I'd forgotten my counter in my room and I usually ran about six miles every day, which on average took me forty-five minutes. However, it wasn't until my playlist started replaying itself that I realized I'd gone much farther than I usually did because I had about two hours worth of music in that playlist. I'd been so into my head, singing along with the songs playing in my ears as I ran, that I hadn't paid attention to how far I was going or much of anything else around me, and now I was in the middle of basically nowhere with no phone to call Charlie and not a single building or soul around to ask for help.

"Damn it," I said breathlessly as I hit the 'stop' button on my iPod and pulled the ear buds from my ears. I looked around as I panted heavily and ignored the severe burning of my thighs and calves and the sweat that I had running down the back of my neck, my forehead, and pretty much the rest of my body. The sun was much higher now, but it was obscured by the light gray clouds that had moved in during my jog, so, I really had no idea of the time. I'd undoubtedly gone much further than I intended, likely double my usual round trip distance, and it was going to be a bitch to get back home considering my legs felt like jelly and my muscles were actually shaking as I stood there trying to catch my breath. Deciding it would be better to just start walking home I turned around and started doing just that.

I kept a hold of my ear buds in my left hand as I walked, hoping to hear the sound of a car approaching, but other than birds chirping and the rustling of the trees and grass in the wind it was silent around me. My quads, hamstrings, and calves continued trembling as I walked and I knew the second my body started to cool down completely that my legs were going to be cramping big time or give out on me all together, and that was not something I was looking forward to.

"Hey," a low tenor voice said behind me, bringing me to a stop before I turned around to see a young man standing about thirty feet away from me. He wasn't wearing a shirt, nor was he wearing any shoes; the only thing he was wearing was a pair of jean cut offs that went slightly below his knees and hung dangerously low on his hips. I could feel my already flushed face heat up a bit more as I looked at him. I had never seen a guy, at least in person, as put together quite like the guy in front of me was, and that was saying something considering the bodies of many of the men that lived in southern California.

He was very tall, I could tell that even from the distance between us, and seriously muscular. I was pretty sure there was not an ounce of fat on the guy's body, and his russet skin looked smooth and flawless. His ink black hair was short, but still stuck up in various directions on the top of his head, and he was very cute. It was obvious that he was from the Native American reservation that was on the west side of Forks and went up and down the coast that Charlie had told me about at dinner yesterday, and I wondered what he was doing out there with nothing but a pair of jean shorts on.

"Um, hi," I said lightly.

"Are you lost?" he asked and I shook my head negatively.

"No," I said as I tucked a few loose tendrils of hair behind my right ear. "I just ran a lot further than I intended to this morning." He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at me.

"Have we met before?" he asked and once again I shook my head negatively. "Are you sure? You seem familiar."

"I just moved to Forks yesterday," I said. "I live with Police Chief Swan." I wasn't sure why I threw that out there, but I guess I wanted the mystery guy to know that if I were go to missing, someone would notice.

"You live with Charlie and Bella?" he asked, his dark eyebrows rising as he looked at me with surprise clearly lighting up his face and I nodded.

"You know them?" I asked and the guy nodded as he started to walk closer to me.

"Charlie and my dad are best friends and Bella and I . . . ," he trailed off when he got within five feet of me and came to a stop. His brown eyes met my blue and his mouth fell open slightly as he stared at me, eyes never wavering from mine. I really couldn't describe the look on his face as he looked at me; shock, awe, surprise, amazement, disbelief, adoration; it was a combination of all of them and more, and I felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Bella and you?" I prompted when he didn't say anything else to try and get him to quit staring at me, and he quickly closed his mouth, cleared his throat, and licked his lips.

"Bella and I are friends," he said quietly, his eyes remaining on my face as he spoke. It was then that I realized who this guy was and I instantly relaxed.

"You must be Jacob Black," I said and the smile that lit up his face at those five simple words was almost blinding as he nodded slightly. A small part of me melted at the sight of his smile because I was sure I had never seen a more beautiful smile than the one Jacob was giving me at that moment, and I couldn't help but blush.

Charlie had told me about Jacob and his dad, Billy. I had thought that Jacob was only six months older than me, but he certainly didn't look it. He looked more like he was six years older given his size, but I doubted that Charlie would lie about Jacob's age. It would make no sense for him to do that, and if Jacob and Bella were friends it would also make more sense for him to be close to her in age.

"That's me," he said and I returned his smile with one of my own.

"It's nice to meet you, Jacob," I said. "I'm Aurora Bishop."

"Aurora," he said softly, more to himself and almost as if he was testing out saying my name, and I had to admit that I liked the way it sounded coming from him. "Are your parents friends with Charlie or something?"

"My mom was Charlie's first cousin," I said and Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know Charlie had any family aside from Bella," Jacob said and I smiled sadly at him as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Up until three weeks ago, Charlie didn't know about me and I didn't know about him," I said and Jacob blinked. "My mom and him weren't exactly close."

"Are you staying with Charlie for the summer or something?" he asked and I shook my head negatively.

"Charlie has taken on the role of my legal guardian," I said. "My mom passed away in October." His face took on a sad expression, but there was not one trace of pity on his face. He seemed more concerned than anything else.

"I'm sorry," he said and gave him another sad smile.

"Don't be," I said as I shook my head. "You didn't know."

"Still," he said, but I just waved my hand.

"It's all good, seriously, Jacob," I said and he nodded before he scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I should start heading back. It's going to take me a while to get home and the sooner I get back the better. I don't want my legs to give out halfway there."

"I can give you a ride," he said quickly as he took another step towards me. "I mean, my house is less than a mile down the road, and my car's got plenty of gas," he said as he gestured over his shoulder, the action making me smile. Walking the mile to Jacob's house sounded a hell of a lot more appealing than walking the twelve that I had to walk to get back home.

"If it's not too much trouble," I said and he smiled.

"It's no trouble at all. I wouldn't have offered if it was," he said and I laughed lightly before I walked, with shaky legs, over to where he stood. He fell in line beside me and started to lead the way down the road.