A/N: Hi Everyone! This is my first FanFic story. I know it's super long-winded. Please RXR so I can figure out what to do better. I will probably update tomorrow!

I don't own Twilight, sadly. Sigh.

BPOV

The blazing sun stretched out infront of me as I sped down the freeway, trying to catch the glimmering oasis of sun on the liquid road ahead. With my sunglasses on and and music cranked, I settled into the 24 hour drive ahead of us. I looked over at my stepbrother and sent up a whole heap of thanks. When my father had told me he was getting remarried, I had a moment of panic at feeling an exclusion from the new family he was creating. I had paniced for approximately 4 seconds before I reminded myself that I was being completely stupid. Charlie had been with Sarah for about 3 years. When my Dad had to deliver her the news that her husband had died in a boating accident, I had never thought they would get together a few years later; I had just been happy that I didn't have to eat his horrible cooking when I came to visit. Sarah's casseroles were famous in Forks, and there was always enough for my entire stay. I couldn't have been happier for them when they got married last year. Selfishly though, I was happy for myself as well. Sarah was everything a Step-mom should be, close, but not too close. She was there for me when I stayed in Forks, and always put her personal touch on the packages Charlie sent me, but it was not her attention to detail, or her affection for Charlie that held her in my high esteem; her son Jacob was, simply put, kickass.

Jacob. He was everything I never knew I always wanted. I had never been dissatisfied with being an only child, so I never knew what I was missing. He had changed all that. I hadn't wanted a brother, I just wanted to be related to Jacob. Jacob had a way of making any situation comfortable. He was easy going, casual, affectionate, pig-headed, sarcastic, irritating, and protective. Dad and Sarah had been worried about us getting along at first; Jacob was strong-willed and I was stubborn. After a few tussles, we had decided that joining forces to coerce Charlie and Sarah was much more entertaining and beneficial than sitting in angry stale-mates about which television show to watch. As I grinned at him from the driver's seat, I watched his hand twitch toward the radio and decided that the trip would be much smoother if I agreed that the passenger gets to pick the song.

"Go ahead and change it. There'll be no living with you in this car for the next 1,440 minutes if you don't at least get your way a bit" I said, trying to keep the good grace in my voice.

"That's right. At least you're smart enough to get it right away. Vanessa never lets me choose the song. I'm afraid it will drive a wedge between us someday".

I rolled my eyes, but was glad at the massive sunglasses my mother had forced on me. I tried to explain to her that when you describe something as "hip" it pretty much rules out any chance of the thing actually being cool. Unfortunately, she was right. The girls Jacob was oggling in the convertible beside us were wearing ones the same size or bigger. I was just happy that they shielded my reactions a bit. Jacob was very intuitive when it came to me, and I was glad he had a bit of a delay on reading some of the reactions I had. Especially when it came to Vanessa. His cheerleader girlfriend was (as to be expected) perky and mostly made of sunshine and sugar, as far as I could tell. I hadn't spent a great deal of time with her, Jacob always spent as much time as possible with me when I was home. I wonder what she thought of him flying down here to help me move.

"She's not mad you took so much time to come down here to help me out, is she? I'd hate to drive that wedge any deeper." He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Of course not. She is way cooler than you give her any credit for. Sure, she looks like she's had 12 Uppers before a game, but if you piss her off, the pom-poms come off. Why do you think I never get to change the song?"

"I'll try to remember that, but I make no promises. Thanks, by the way. You didn't really need to come down. I could have managed this by myself." I jerked my thumb at the heaps of crap I had jammed into the back of my car. Renee had wanted me to fly to Forks, but I had insisted on driving. When she hassled me about the long drive by myself, I had bitched to Jacob about it in endless e-mails until he had called Renee and charmed her into it, under the condition that he act as co-pilot. I didn't care so much about all the junk I had in the backseat, but I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my car. My dark blue Pontiac Sunfire was my baby, my pride and joy. Not that it was anything flashy. My love of it had been instantaneous because I had bought it all by myself with the money I had skrimped and saved working as a harrassed checkout girl at the local supermarket. My family...or rather my families...were not impoverished, but we weren't rich either. My dad had wanted to help me buy a car when I came back to Forks, since I would have to sell the Sunfire when I left Phoenix, but I couldn't part with something I had worked so hard for. My car represented my independence. Jacob understood this completely, whereas my mother did not. His VW Rabbit he built himself, so he understood my bond with my vehicle. He had jumped at the chance to help me move all my stuff.

"I honestly don't mind, Bells," he sighed. "It gives us time to plot what we can wrangle out of Mom and Charlie for the next little while. I am also burning with curiosity about that boy who was practically crying for you to stay, clinging onto your leg." The protective edge came into his voice and for all his joking I knew he really was wondering about Mike.

"Oh knock it off, Jacob. Mike is just a bit dellusional. He may have made it seem like there was something going on, but there honestly wasn't. Hence: Dellusional."

"...Alright," Jake said conclusively, but I could tell that there was something he wanted to say. So I sighed and muttered: "Just spit it out..." He looked sheepishly at me. As well as he could read me, I couldn't let him forget that I could see through him too. He didn't even have the sunglasses for protection.

"Guys in Forks are not like guys in Phoenix, Bells. Guys at home are in it to win it. You're pretty hot...dont' look at me that way, it's true, and I don't want you meddled with."

I threw him a ferocious look. If I didn't want to be "meddled" with, I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I was about to put him in his place when he threw up his hands.

"I'm not saying you can't meddle, but I want you to know that you can always come to me, or any of my friends if there's a rando like that Mike douche hanging around that you need us to drop." He dusted off his hands. "Lets consider the subject closed. Lets get to making those parental manipulation plans."

I let him slide on the warning. It warmed me to know how much he really did care about me.

We spent the rest of the drive doing all the standard roadtrip things. We played 'I Spy', we sang rambunctiously to the radio. I crooned at all the romantic songs while he pretended he hated it. He rapped to impress me with his lyrical aptitude. We stopped for dinner and switched drivers, giving me my chance at the radio. Other times, we talked about nothing in particular. After an indepth discussion of Pyscho, we decided to push through the night instead of stopping at a motel. We reached Forks just as dawn was breaking. I had to admit that the Olympic Peninsula really was sublimely gorgeous. The rich greens, the dark jades, the canopy of trees seemed to contain the whispers and secrets of ages. I wondered what the year would hold for me.

We pulled up to our house. Home. Charlie and Sarah had moved into the new house about a year ago. From the front it appeared to be a snug two story. In reality, it was three stories, built into the side of a hill, backing onto a beautiful copse of evergreens. Light wood siding sheathed the sides, giving it a cottagey look. The inside was just as rustic. The main floor consisted of a spacious, yet cozy kitchen, a front room, back room, and down a small corridor off the back room was Charlie and Sarah's room. Charlie was lucky to have found a woman like Sarah, who put up with his sense of decor. The large mouth bass that was mounted on the wall above the mantle was not something everyone would find "chic". Jacob claimed the entire basement floor and I couldn't say that I blamed anyone for containing his mess to that area of the house. The doors from the back of the house opened up to a great deck, and just a bit further down, a worn in firepit. This was were Jacob and his friends spent a lot of their time. I couldn't wait to meet them. Jacob had always kept them a bit of a mystery to me. Whenever I had visited, he had kept them at a distance, telling me he didn't want me to get too close to them and break their hearts when I left. I was glad that I would finally be able to meet Jake's extended family and hopefully, settle right in.

The smell of the pine floors permeated the entire house and as I took a deep breath in, I truly felt home. Living with Renee in Phoenix was never unpleasant, but it just wasn't home. When Renee and Phil got married, I kept up the constant conversation with my mom that they should take the oppurtunity offered by Phil's career to travel around. I wanted to be back in Forks with my Dad, hang out with Jacob, have a more "family" setting. Renee and Phil were really too young to settle into the nuclear family ideal. While Mom always refered to me as her "old soul", the opposite was true of her. She would always be 25 in my mind. I knew she didn't want to leave me, but I knew she agreed with me. When Charlie and Sarah had bought the new house, I finally got her to admit I was right, and started packing my things.

The third story of the house was to be my own level, which in a way excited me. It gave me the freedom to have privacy and my own space. But the two flights of stairs up were just going to be a hassle lugging up all my various boxes and bags. Thank god I had Jake to help me. Charlie and Sarah rushed to the front door when they heard Jake's key, and both shoved eachother to get in the first hug. Charlie beat Sarah, but just barely.

"Bells! It's so great to see you here. Finally!" Charlie gushed while Sarah said "Well don't just stand there, we were expecting you around now, the pancakes are on the griddle!"

We spent an enjoyable breakfast chatting about how excited we all were, until I admitted that I was not excited, but exhausted. However, I knew I still had a few more hours until I could sleep. I was not the type of person to leave things out of place. I forced Jake and Charlie to help me lug all my things upstairs. Once the car was unpacked I began organizing, and sorting. I finally got unpacked, cursing myself for having bought a sedan, not a coup. Less packing space would have indefinitely meant less unpacking. Finally, at around 10, it was done and I collapsed onto my freshly made bed to survey my accomplishment. My room was light and airy, with big windows to capture any sunlight that might be peeking through the clouds. The vaulted ceiling had long beams which I hung paper stars from. They gave my room a celestial feel. In one corner, there was one of those old hatches, where the stairs pull down. They lead to a teeny tiny sitting area on the roofline. It gave a great view of the ravine. I knew it would push me to stargaze, if the clouds allowed. My old dresser was still there from the old house, along with my favourite wingbacked reading chair. My double bed was pushed up against the wall, covered in a light blue duvet. I loved the atmosphere. It was an atmosphere for dreaming. I floated into oblivion thinking about how satisfied I was to finally be in this place.

I didn't wake up until after 6. The smell of salmon cooking woke me and I rushed downstairs to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Sarah gave me a loving squeeze when I practically ate the frying pan before she could flip the fish out of it.

"So munchkin, you ready for big bad school tomorrow?" Jacob razzed me as I gulped my milk.

"Of course, I have my big bad brother to protect me, right?" I retorted.

Jacob smirked. "Damn straight! Ow!" Sarah had given his head a light tap, a reminder to watch his language.

"Hell yes!" I provoked. She just looked at Charlie with a look of aquiescence.

"We'll never be able to wrangle both of them, I should just quit now" She sighed. Charlie just laughed. He didn't have the cleanest mouth ever, either.

At around 9:30, after playing/losing a variety of video games in Jake's lair, I dragged my exhausted feet up the flights to my room. I wanted to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow, knowing I wanted to put my best face forward to a new school, and especially Jake's friends. I thought about the conversation he and I had had while we battled out old school Mortal Kombat.

"So, tell me about all of your friends, so I'm not blindsided tomorrow" I begged him.

"There's really not that much to tell. Do you want the whole story? Or the stereotypes?"

"I want the stereotypes...that way I can make up my own mind about them. They can spend the whole year trying to convince me they don't match with my assumptions".

Jacob grinned at my reasoning. It was something he would have said. "Fine then. I'm the football star. Vanessa, the cheerleader, is naturally my girlfriend. My right hand man is Emmett, co-star on the field who is dating model gorgeous Rosalie. Don't get any ideas about him, they've been together for just as long as Vanessa and I." Here I scoffed. I doubted I would want to date some football star, and then caught myself as I fell into the trap of stereotypes. "Alice is a bit of a freak. She's really into science-fiction, and all sorts of paranormal business, but her boyfriend Marcus tries to reign her in a bit cause he's the science nerd. Edward is the arty "soulful" type. His girlfriend Tanya is a bit of a contrast, she's into the dramatic theatrics. Her best friend, Kate, is the one who tries to direct Tanya around, she's a behind-the-scenes thespian. Her boyfriend Jasper is on the swim team. We're a pretty well rounded group if you ask me."

Despite his joking, I could tell that he was only being aloof because I had asked him to. The respect and love he showed for his friends shone through the casual words he used. They truly were his family. The surprising part was that they really were, very much a very family kind of family. Edward and Alice were brother and sister. Their father had married Rosalie and Jasper's mother. Emmett and Vanessa were brother and sister, they were Edward and Alice's cousins, on their mother's side. As tightly knit as their group was, everyone dating someone else's sibling or cousin, I was glad that nepotism ran in the group. It meant it gave me a bit more of an "in" as Jake's step-sister. I didn't know exactly where my place would be, but I knew I would find a niche that fit me.

"We're all evened up in numbers, so we're going to have to find you your other half, Bella. Can't be the black sheep forever" Jacob had teased. Panic gripped me. I was not really into the whole "search out your soul mate" business.

"Don't be so ridiculous, Jake," I had told him scathingly. "I'm not here to hunt anyone down."

"I know, I'm just saying, Don't want to be a third...er...eleventh wheel". He had scrunched his eyes up doing the math and I had taken that as a sign that I should high tail it to bed. I drifted off to sleep trying to envision what they all looked like and acted like. Tomorrow was going to be very, very interesting, I could feel it from the crown of my head to the souls of my feet, that here would be a place for me.