Chapter 1

BPOV

"Bella, honey! Come downstairs!" My mom, Renee, shouted. OK, so I was officially ten years old, or as people (Mainly people on my street) said, double digits. But ten suited me just fine. I adjusted and examined my outfit for the last time before I went down. I was wearing a plain pink t-shirt and dark pink jeans. It looks good, I thought to myself. Anyway, it's not like I was celebrating my birthday with a whole lot of people. I didn't like to draw attention to myself. It was just who I was. Shy and quiet. Yup, that was me.

"I'm coming!" I hollered to her. I ran down the steps, stumbling on the second last one, falling into my mom's arms. I blushed. You'd think that by my age, I could walk and talk at the same time.

"Oh Bella." My mom sighed in exasperation. Suddenly she perked up. "Well, here is your present from me! Open it quickly!" My mom was so energetic about things. She saw everything in a different perspective. Basically, her view of the world was different and she could see things, you know, she could pinpoint the truth. I eagerly opened it. My mom had always known exactly what I needed and wanted.

"Wow, mom! A photo album! Thanks so much!" I loved thoughtful presents. Not the material type.

"Happy birthday, kiddo!" My dad, Charlie, thrust a badly wrapped camera into my hands. I could tell that it was a camera even without opening it, because of the lack of expert wrapping. Anyway, I loved it. It was more than what I could ask for. A camera to record memories, and a book to keep them safe. Perfect. I smiled. My parents sure knew how to make me feel special on my birthday. My mom came up to me and strapped one of those weird baby-ish party hats on my head. I rolled my eyes. I may still be little in their eyes, but not that little.

"Thanks, dad!" The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" I raced to the door and flung it open.

"Hi there, my name is Alice Cullen and I am selling cookies for Sparks. They're the mint-flavored kind and they're really good." I stood stunned, gaping at her. I hadn't even had the chance to say anything and she had just started talking. Really fast. She was a really small girl, three of four inches shorter than me. What did she say her name was? Oh, right. It was Alice … Cullen? She had shoulder length, wavy black hair and bangs. She was very pale. Hey big grey eyes blinked and she suddenly broke out into a huge smile. "Oh, is it your birthday? Happy birthday!" I had forgotten about the stupid hat still sitting on my head. I tore it off.

"Thank you," I said.

"So, what's your name? I've never met you before. Are you new here? Do you go to Forks Elementary School? I can't wait to introduce you to my…" She went on and on. I stared at her in disbelief.

"Umm, hello?" I replied. She stared at me. "I'm Isabella Swan. But call me Bella. And no, I've lived in Forks my whole life. You probably haven't seen me around much because my mom and dad have made my take home schooling all these years. So, I don't get out often. But," I smiled, "you're my first friend in Forks, not including all these people who live on my street. I am so glad to meet you. Why don't you come inside? So you've lived here your whole life?" I asked her.

"Oh no, I have a whole route to cover" Alice showed me her chocolate boxes and she shook her head. "And no, we moved here last summer from Chicago. I have two brothers, Edward and Emmett." She stuck out her tongue at that. "And my best friend here is Rosalie Hale. She has a twin brother, Jasper. Hey! You should meet all of them sometime." I stood flustered as my mom joined me on the doorstep.

"Who is it, Bella? Oh hello. I'm so sorry, but we're not interested." She said to Alice. I saw disappointment flood Alice's face before she composed it to a smiling one.
"It's ok, have a nice day! Bye Bella! Hope to see you again soon…" I glared at my mom.

"Mom!" I whined.

"Chocolates are bad for your health," my mom said disapprovingly. I groaned in exasperation. It was going to be a very long day.

And it was a long day. I got so bored with my home school. It felt like my tutor was just droning on and on about some dumb topic which nobody wanted to hear. As I lay in bed that night, trying to fall asleep, I replayed the day's activities in my mind. I met a real friend. My first friend in Forks. I smiled. Alice Cullen. And I soon fell asleep, content.

APOV

After I covered my whole route, I practically skipped home. Wow, that girl who I met today was so cool. I can't believe her parents didn't let her go to school. She would have had so much fun. I pranced up to the door, and let myself in.

"Win the lottery, Alice?" I stuck out my tongue at my older brother Emmett. He was sitting in front of the TV, watching some show which only a guy could understand. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Just kidding. Jeez, chill out." I rolled my eyes and looked over at my other brother. We were the same age, but people didn't think that we looked alike. He had green eyes and bronze hair.

"Edward!" I sang. He barely glanced up from his book. I frowned. I mean, come on! Cut Alice some slack!

"What, Alice?" He sounded annoyed.

"Guess what, guys? I met a girl named Bella today! She looks really cool. But she does home schooling. So, you might not see her around too much. Well, that's what she said anyway. She has brown hair…" I ranted on about my meeting with Bella, not noticing that neither of them were listening. After I finished, I looked at them both, pleased with my description. They both were just doing their own thing. I screamed a high pitched scream. My mom, Esme, came racing down the steps.

"What's wrong Alice?" She asked me, her eyes full of concern.

"Mom," I whined. "Edward and Emmett aren't listening to me." I peered up at her with puppy dog eyes.

"Edward. Emmett. Just because Alice is a girl, that doesn't mean she is less fun. I don't want to hear the excuse that ten year old girls are boring and whiny-"

"But, mom, they are!" Edward said earnestly.

"I totally agree with Edward, mom!" Emmett chimed.

"Enough!" mom said sternly. I made a face at both of them and knew that I had won the argument. For now, at least.

That night, I lay awake in bed. Why hadn't Bella's parents chosen to put her in a school? Where she could make friends, and have fun? Anyway, I hope I meet her again soon. And I fell asleep soon, thinking of lucky I was.

A few days later…

BPOV

Mom came down the stairs, looking ready to go somewhere.

"Are you going somewhere, mom?" I asked her, not taking my eyes off the TV. When she didn't reply, I turned my head unwillingly and saw her staring at me. "What?" I was irritated at my mom for disturbing me. I mean, come on, can't I watch TV in peace? I felt her eyes on me and turned to look at her again. "What?"

"Oh Bella, please don't tell me you forgot that we're going out to buy groceries today. Go get ready quickly, you can't come out in this." She gestured towards my loose shorts and an old soccer t-shirt which I was wearing. I groaned.

"I don't want to come grocery shopping, mom!" I complained. She narrowed her eyes.

"Is this what you want? You want to be a reclusive girl whose face nobody ever sees? Do you seriously want people to think that I have no daughter at all?" Ugh. She used the excuse. The one which always makes me feel guilty and ends up making me agree.

"Fine. But you can't take more than an hour, ok?" I threw my hands up in defeat and went upstairs to get ready for the long shopping trip.

After what seemed a very long time, we finally finished paying for all the items and were taking it out to the car. We were just loading the last plastic bag into the trunk when I heard a familiar, high pitched shriek.

"BELLA!" I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Immediately, my mood brightened. Alice's hyper-ness was very catchy.

"ALICE!" I squealed with just as much enthusiasm. I saw her bouncing towards me and my mom. A lady with waist-length caramel colored hair followed her and I guessed that it was Alice's mother.

"Hello," her mom started politely, "I'm Esme Cullen. I see you've already met my daughter, Alice. She told me about you, Bella. She seems very happy to see you again."

"Thanks a lot, Mrs. Cullen," I said shyly. "Oh, this is my mom."

"Nice to meet you." My mom extended her hand. "I'm Renee, by the way. So have you been in Forks for a long time? I thought I knew almost everyone here. That's not very difficult anyway, seeing as the population is so small!"

"No, we moved here last summer from Chicago. My husband, Carlisle, works in the hospital here. He got transferred here last year. I have two sons, too. Emmett is the older one. He's already adjusted here. But Edward seems to be having a tough time. He wasn't very supportive of the move. He misses Chicago." Mrs. Cullen explained.

I smiled tentatively at Alice. She gave me a huge smile in return. "Um, Alice? Are you free today? Can we hang out for a while?" I asked her hesitantly and then looked pleadingly at my mom.

"It's fine with me," my mom agreed.

"Well, ok." Said Mrs. Cullen. "Would you like a ride with us, Bella?" I looked at my mom. She smiled at me.

"Sure," she said. "Call me when you're ready to be picked up." I grinned. Alice was already starting to rub off on me. We both were singing along with the radio in the car ride to Alice's house. Her house was hidden in the woods. We had to drive down a winding road to reach it. Finally the road came to a clearing and we reached their house. I gasped. It was beautiful! It was a white, three-storey mansion.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "You're house is awesome!"

"Thanks, Bella!" Alice smiled. "Now, let's go have some fun!" We climbed up the steps onto the porch. Mrs. Cullen had forgotten her keys, so we rang the doorbell and waited for someone to come and open the door for us. We heard footsteps approaching and the lock turning. The door handle turned and the door flung open. A boy, who looked about five inches taller then me stood in the doorway. He had dark, curly hair and blue eyes. His mouth widened into a huge smile, revealing dimples.

"Finally, you guys are home! I've been waiting forever for you to bring those snacks…" His gaze turned to me. "Oh, hi. Who are you supposed to be?" I stared, bewildered. Ok, that was kind of rude? I looked at Alice for help. She was glaring at the boy.

"Sorry about that, Bella. This is my older brother, Emmett. He's sort of rude." She apologized. Definitely, I agreed in my mind. "Emmett, this is Bella. I met her a few days ago on my cookie route. She's going to be over for a while, so don't do anything funny." She looked at him menacingly. He just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, sis." Alice narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hey Emmett, have they finally come home? I'm starving, mom! Did you buy the whole store or something? Oh, I guess it doesn't matter that your two precious sons are dying at home, does it? This is all Alice's fault. I'm sure she's the one who-" Another boy walked outside and stopped abruptly when he saw me. "Who are you?" He asked, quite rudely in my opinion.

"Uhh-" I stammered, unable to tear my gaze from the cute boy who stood in front of me. Speak Bella, speak! Oh my god, I'm making a fool of myself. He had short, bronze colored hair and was a little shorter than Emmett. But the most attractive part of him were his emerald green eyes. My legs suddenly felt like jelly. I saw Alice's eyes flicker to me and she grinned cunningly. I blushed when I saw her looking at me.

"Hello, Edward," she said, not taking her eyes off me. My blush deepened. I noticed that she emphasized his name. I glared at her. "This is my friend, Bella"

"Hello," he said stiffly. "Mom, can I have the food now?" He grabbed the bags and turned around, marching into the kitchen, not looking back even once. Emmett followed suit. Mrs. Cullen looked apologetically at me, and went inside after them. Alice's eyes twinkled. She couldn't contain her excitement. She grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs to what I thought was her room and closed the door.

She pushed me onto the bed and impatiently demanded, "OK, spill!"

APOV

When we got home, mom realized that she forgot her house keys. Great, I thought. I sighed. We rang the doorbell and waited. Where were those ding-dongs? Finally, Emmett opened the door. He didn't even notice me or Bella or even mom! He had eyes only for the bags of junk.

"Finally, you guys are home! I've been waiting forever for you to bring those snacks…" He looked over at Bella. "Oh, hi. Who are you supposed to be?" Ugh. Does Emmett always have to be… Emmett? Can't he be good sometimes, at least? I gave him a deadly glare.

"Sorry about that, Bella. This is my older brother, Emmett. He's sort of rude." I explained to her. I made the last comment on purpose, even though I knew mom wouldn't like it. Well, Bella has the right to know the truth, right? "Emmett, this is Bella. I met her a few days ago on my cookie route. She's going to be over for a while, so don't do anything funny." I glared at him again and to my annoyance, he just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, sis." He couldn't control his joking side. Well, it wasn't really funny now. At least not to me. And I didn't think Bella was laughing either. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Hey Emmett, have they finally come home? I'm starving, mom! Did you buy the whole store or something? Oh, I guess it doesn't matter that your two precious sons are dying at home, does it? This is all Alice's fault. I'm sure she's the one who-" I heard Edward coming outside and I could hear from his voice that he was fuming. Wow, this was fun. I loved making my brothers mad. He stopped talking and looked at Bella. Well, it wasn't really a friendly look, but I let it pass. He didn't like any girl. You'd think he'd like his own sister. "Who are you?" He demanded Bella. She just stared at him, bewildered at first. Then I noticed a change in her expression.

"Uhh-" She stuttered, not saying anything. She had a dreamy look in her eyes. I quickly glanced around, making sure that no one was watching this little "drama". Mom was too busy checking her purse for something, and Emmett had become his usual. He was eying the grocery bags with desperation and hunger. Bella was still staring at Edward, who was being the pig that he was and not even looking at her. He was tapping his feet impatiently, waiting to go back inside. Bella looked away and her eyes turned to me. I caught her gaze and grinned. She blushed a deep pink when she saw that I had caught her.

"Hello, Edward," I didn't stop looking at Bella when I said this. Her blush deepened. I continued, "This is my friend, Bella"

"Hello," he said, more stiffly than usual. Hmm, I thought, plotting. This has possibilities. "Mom, can I have the food now?" He grabbed the bags from mom and stormed inside. Emmett went after him, eagerly, waiting to eat. I almost laughed. I wonder how hard he had been controlling himself all this time. Mom looked at Bella and then followed my brothers inside. FINALLY, I thought. I smiled knowingly at Bella, and could feel my energy bubbling up. I snatched her hand and pulled her up, before I exploded. I kicked open my bedroom door and shoved her onto my bed. I slammed the door and plopped down next to her. "OK, spill!" I ordered.