As Emmett walked into Edward's room he automatically started looking through the book's his brother possessed

"What are you doing" Edward yelled as he charged towards Emmett

"Looking for something to do" was Emmett's reply

"so do it so…."before he could finish the door bell rang and Emmett was gone like a bat out of hell

As Emmett reached the door and yanked it open he saw a box on the floor but no one in sight

"hey people want to read a book with me" Emmett asked as he removed the first book

As everyone walked in they nodded in agreement "ok so who's first" Emmett asked

"I am" Alice shouted an grabbed the book and sat at the dining room table

"Preference" Alice read

Preface

I'd never given much thought to how I would die-though I'd had reason enough in the last few months-but even

if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

"that's true not many human's feel the need to think about that" Carlisle said

I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back

at me. Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to

count for something.

"this girl is very giving if she is willing to give her life for another" Edward said with a slight smile

I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. But terrified as I was, I couldn't bring

myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of you expectations, it's not

reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to

kill me

"well that's a way to start a book" Emmett said with a laugh

"aright lets read the first chapter" Edward said impatiently

First sight-Alice read

My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I was wearing my favorite shirt-sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.

"Ha-ha she' going to need it here in forks" Emmett said laughing

"Wouldn't it be nice to go to phoenix" Alice sighed "I mean think of all the shopping"

"Yes apart from the fact that you would shine like a million diamonds honey" jasper said

"I know jazz but I am aloud to fantasise" Alice said

"But enough lets continue" Rosalie said

In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United Sates of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead. It was to Forks that I now exiled myself-an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.

"what an weird human why on earth would she go to the place she hates the most" Rosalie questioned-as she thought about how much better it would be if she was to stay way from here and her family.

"I wonder she seems like the type of person who likes the sun" Edward mused

"Yeah then why come to forks aye Eddie" Emmett said

"Maybe she has Altria motives" Edward said "but that is a good question why would she come here"

"Maybe it would help if your quiet enough for us to read and find out "Alice complained trying to hid her smirk while blocking her mind causing Edward to raise an eyebrow at her and she shook her head in response

I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and it's blistering heat.

"Hmm so I was right" Edward mused

"Know it all" Emmett said sticking his tong out at his brother

I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.

"Bella," my mom said to me-the last of a thousand times-before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."

My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would b food in the refrigerator, gas in her car and someone to call when she got lost, but still….

"Her mother sounds like a child in the relationship" Jasper said confused

"Yes it happens some times in divorce situations" Carlisle said

"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.

"Tell Charlie I said hi."

"I will."

"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want-I'll come right back as soon as you need me."

But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise

"Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."

"she's doing it for her mother" Esme cooed "what a sweet chilled" She said with a wistful sigh- causing Carlisle to pull her closer as she thought back to her human life and her child that perished in it

She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone. It was a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.

"Hm I never noticed but that dose seem like quite a long time" Jasper mused

"Yes but only to humans but I am curios as to why she would worry about a car rid with her farther" Edward said

"She really shouldn't be he is her farther after all" Esme wondered aloud

Charlie had been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence.

"No doubt he has probable missed her quite a bit" Esme said "she has been gone for some time after all"

He'd already gotten me registered for high school

"What" four voices yelled together causing Esme and Carlisle to move back while Alice stood there smirking

"What's wrong" Esme asked worry clear in her tone

"Esme" started Edward "were having a new student arrive in a couple of weeks her names Isabella Swan daughter of Charlie Swan I and the others don't think this is just a book we don't think it's just a book but it might be real" once he had finished it was silent

"Well lets read and see" Emmett said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world which it was well at least to him

and was going to help me get a car. But it was going to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision- like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.

"So that's the reason she was worried about the car ride" Edward said

"So it would seem but it might be a good thing that she's decided to come here hay she might even be your mate" Emmett said laughing while everyone but Alice shot each other worried glances at Jasper

When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen- just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun. Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks.

"Ah so it is chief Swan's daughter that is in this book" Carlisle said while the rest of his family straitened in there chairs

"Now that we know we should be extra careful" Edward said as the family nodded in agreement while Alice shot him a deadly glare

My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.

Emmett laughed at that while everyone else looked at him like he was crazy

"What it was funny" Emmett whined and surprising everyone Edward chuckled there was dead silence for a minuet as everyone turned to look at him while Alice smiled broadly and continued

Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.

"Stumbled do you think she's clumsy that would be the best" Emmett said laughing

"It's good to see you Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. "You haven't changed much. How's Renee?"

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.

"I would hope not that is a terrible rude thing to do" Esme scolded

"Not for today's generation's mom" Edward said sighing

I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.

"What" shrieked Alice "that is unacceptable when she gets here I am going to by her a whole new wardrobe"

"Honey you don't know her" Jasper tried to calm her but failed miserably

Alice only smirked as she asked "Jazz out of the two of us who's the physic"

"You are Alice but you will not go near her" Edward commanded all he received was a small hump

"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.

"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car".

"She's observant and quick" jasper said worried

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."

"Ewe what the hell who would even touch one of those things let alone drive one" Rosalie complained thinking of her BMW and how fast it can go

"Yeah just imagine how slow it would go" Emmett said with a shudder

"She is only a human Emmett she doesn't need to drive fast" Edward said getting defensive of the girl which caused Alice to smirk again

"Where did you find it?"

"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?"

There was a collective hiss from everyone but Carlisle

"Ugly mutts" Rosalie muttered

"Stupid wolves" Emmett muttered. But imagined he was in a fight with one of them and a wide grin spread out over his face at the thought but Edward shook his head at his big brother

La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.

"No."

"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.

That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory.

Edward had a concerned look at the thought of this girl having anything painful happen to her

"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore and e offered to sell his truck cheap."

"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.

Emmett laughed "It must be bad then" and at that the entire family chuckled till Edward stoped abruptly

"She seems very perceptive it might not be the best of things for her to come here" once Edward had finished no one was laughing but they had thoughtful looks on there faces

"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine- it's only a few years old really."

I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"

"He brought it in 1984, I think."

"Did he buy it new?"

"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties- or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.

"Hmm she also seems very stubborn and add that to her perceptive nature it might be best if she had quite a distance to us" Edward said and the family all nodded in agreement but Alice had a look on her face as if to say he didn't want to be saying that because it would back fire big time and little did he know how right she was

"Ch—Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong and I couldn't afford a mechanic…"

"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."

The thing, I thought to myself…it had possibilities

Rosalie scoffed and said "As what scrap metal"

as a nickname, at the very least.

"oh I guess that works also"

"How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.

"Well, honey, I kind of already brought it for you. As a homecoming gift."

"That is very thought full of him" Esme said a smile on her lips

Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression. Wow. Free.

"You didn't have to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."

"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.

"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility.

"She prefers to suffer in silence not many humans would do that most would want an audience she is truly odd" Jasper said as he thought-she seems like a perfect fit for Edward

That caused Edward to send a low growl his way

"Wow bro it was just a fleeting thought" Jasper said with his palms raised forward

He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth- or engine.

"Ha-ha that's a good one" Emmett laughed

"My dear husband you have a sad sense of humour" Rosalie said causing him to pout so she continued "but I love you anyway"

"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.

We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for conversation. We stared out the window in silence. It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves. It was too green- an alien planet.

"She really hates Forks" Rosalie said smirking

"Not for long" sang Alice in an I-know-something-you-don't-know voice as she blocked her mind receiving an annoyed glance from Edward

Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that's he'd brought in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had- the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new- well new to me- truck. It was faded red colour, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise I loved it.

"How could she the thing probable cant go over forty-five at best" Rosalie said a shudder ripping through her body

"Well it is at lest better than the curser" Emmett said "but no where as good as my jeep or you car baby"

I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged- the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.

"Sounds like my jeep" Emmett said smugly

"No it sounds like you" Jasper replied with a laugh that everyone but Emmett joined in on

"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.

"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again.

It only took one trip to get all my stuff upstairs.

"Humph" Alice said

"Honey she can shop while here plus she did come from a sunny town so she might not have many winter clothes" Jasper said trying to pacify his wife with claming waves.

She thought for a second then agreed when Bella came she would shop for her no buts

I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window- these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a second-hand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner. There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.

"Poor girl" Rosalie said suddenly sympathetic to her Alice nodded in agreement

"What's so bad abo…" Emmett said but stoped as he caught Alice's glare nothings more scary than a pissed off pixy

One of the best things about Charlie is that he doesn't hover. He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape.

"I still don't get her reasoning skills why on earth would she come here" Edward aid shaking his head

"Dear what ever the reason she is coming it must be a good one" Esme said kindly

I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning. Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven- now fifty-eight- students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All the kids here had grown up together- their grandparents had been toddlers together. I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak.

"We can relit were shunned merely because of instinct" Alice sighed as jasper pulled her closer to him

Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan, sporty, blond- a volleyball player or a cheerleader perhaps-

"She obviously doesn't look like the phoenix type of girl" Rosalie said

"Yeah but that just makes her more unique" Edward said sighing the rest of the family stoped for a second till they continued the book

all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun. Instead I was ivory- skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but d\soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself- and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.

"Huh she's clumsy" Emmett said as he exploded in to a laughing fit this information though seemed to only make Edward want to know more about the human girl