Chapter 1: Prologue
Let's Start At The Very Beginning

Dedication: To CellaCullen - Happy Birthday you heartless monster.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer created these beautiful characters, I'm just playing with them.


It was one of those rare sunny days in Forks. Four year old Mary Alice Brandon was playing with her next door neighbor, four and a half year old Jasper Whitlock Hale, while Alice's mother and Aunt Esme spoke nearby. Alice's cousin Edward, who was only three, was sleeping peacefully with his head on his mother's shoulder. His older brother Emmett and Jasper's older sister Rosalie were both at a party the younger children had not been invited to.

But that was fine with Alice. She didn't need the older kids to have fun.

Little Jasper sat on the grass with the most perplexed expression on his face, his long blond hair falling into his eyes. "I don't get it," he said plaintively.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked, bending to pick up a smooth rock from the lawn. She examined it for a minute and then threw it off, forgetting why it had interested her in the first place.

"Don't ya wanna play house?" Jasper asked quizzically. He had suggested this activity because he thought girls liked playing house. He knew Rosalie liked playing house...especially with Emmett. She also liked playing doctor with him, but their mother had caught them at that once and said that game was off limits.

Alice crinkled her nose. "No? House isn't fun."

Jasper nodded his agreement. "I don't think so either. My sister makes me play house 'cept she makes me be the baby and she says babies can't talk, and I said they scream real loud at the store and she said if I screamed I was a bad baby and she'd give me a spanking." He thought a moment. "Rosalie kinda scares me," he admitted to Alice.

"That does not sound fun," Alice said, patting his head more because she liked his hair. It was longer than hers. She liked to run her fingers through it.

"So what are we going to do then?" Jasper asked.

"Ummmm," Alice pondered, wondering what they could do since they could be outside for once. She sat down beside him to think. "OH! I know. We can play dress up!" she declared, completely forgetting that dress up was not a good outdoors activity.

Now it was Jasper who crinkled his nose. "That does not sound fun."

"No! It is," Alice insisted. "I has a boa and a cowboy hat for you. Then we can play forts. HEY! Guess what?"

Jasper blinked. "What?"

"I'm going to marry you one day," Alice declared apropos of nothing.

"Oh, really?" Jasper considered this. "Why?"

"I dunno," Alice shrugged. "I just am. 'cept when we get married, I'm still gonna be Mary Alice Brandon 'cuz I don't gotta change my name to a boy's name."

"But…Brandon is a boy's name," Jasper said, furrowing his eyebrows.

Alice rocked back and forth, deep in thought. "Hmmm."

"But," Jasper reasoned, "If you're Mary Alice Hale then that's no boy names."

Considering this for a moment, Alice stood. Then she got distracted by a large tree that stretched between her house and Jasper's. The bottom branches kind of formed a shaded area. It was perfect for a-

Alice's thoughts were cut short when she felt Jasper's lips on her skin. She jumped back, spitting at the ground and pawing her tongue to get rid of the cooties, even though the little boy had only kissed her cheek. Jasper watched her, a little perplexed.

With her hands balled into fists at her side Alice stomped over to where Jasper was standing. "Why did you do that?!" she demanded.

Jasper's eyes widened because he thought maybe Alice was mad enough to hit him and his mother and father had taught him that he should never hit a girl even if it was Rosalie. "That's what married people do!" he defended. "They kiss a lot."

"We're not married yet!" Alice growled in exasperation.

"Oh."

On the porch, Esme Brandon Cullen spoke with her sister McKenna Brandon, completely oblivious to the marriage plans going on behind them. They were engaged in another serious discussion. Esme shifted Edward's sleeping form in her arms as she tried to figure out how to talk some sense into her sister.

"Kenna, really. You just can't do this."

McKenna and Esme were as different as night and day. McKenna had their mother's fiery nature and her jet black hair. Esme took after their father. She was the steadfast one. She didn't understand that McKenna just couldn't stay anymore. She had come back home to Forks after her relationship with Alice's father hadn't worked out, but it had been four years. She needed to be out in the world. "I can't not do this, Mae!"

Esme sighed. "You're not a child anymore."

"That's right; I'm not, so I get to make my own life choices."

"Think of Alice, Kenna," Esme urged, looking over at where her niece was playing, oblivious to the fact that her mother was about to uproot her entire life.

McKenna was exasperated. "I am thinking of Alice! Think of all the things she'll see and do that other children won't even dream of."

"A child needs a stable home," Esme argued.

"Oh, Mae. You know a child only needs love, and Alice has plenty of that. Who needs stability when you have adventure and the world at your feet?"

Despite Esme's pleading, McKenna and Alice were gone by the following weekend, not to set foot in Forks again until fourteen years later - or so everyone assumed.

However, what Alice's family did not know was that it was not, in fact, their long lost niece/cousin that had been sent to stay with them for the summer. The girl they thought was Mary Alice Brandon was, in reality, Alice's best friend Isabella Marie Swan.

A/N: Okay so, I tell my darling, DARLING, girl CellaCullen that I will write her a o/s for her birthday so what does she want. And she stutters about with many different storylines she wants to see, not the least of which is this one. BUT, she said, I really want this one and I want it to be a full length story, not just a one shot.

Long story short - this is going to be the death of me...because she NEEDED her floofy, happy, funny story even though I'm in the middle of 2.5 others. Also - I have sucker tattooed on my forehead.

THAT'S 3.5 STORIES AT ONCE CELLA. ::repeated head desk::

Anyway. So, I may die, but as long as she's getting what she wants, I might as well share it with you fine people. Let me know what you think, yes?

Cella here~ Okay so I hijacked Lyricalkris's A/N My gal's doing some kickass awesome shit with this fic so review and inspire her to write faster!
Mels, thanks for Betaing so quickly for her! We both appreciate it and love you!