Hello all! Well, here is my newest story and once again it's slightly AU since it's a PaulOC. No Paul yet in this chapter, but he'll make an appearance very soon. Let me know what you think so far and thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Twilight.

Chapter 1

The sun was hidden behind the light gray clouds that covered the blue sky from my eyes as I sat in the passenger seat of the rented moving van as my father drove along the highway to what had to be one of the smallest towns I had ever been to in my life. "Is the sun ever going to come out?" I asked and I heard my dad's deep rumbling laugh and I couldn't help the half smile that came to my face as I turned my hazel eyes to him. "What?"

"Forks is the rainiest city in the continental U.S., Mari," he said calling me by the nickname he gave me when I was little. I really didn't think that Marisol was all that hard to say, but he liked the shortened version better. I sighed and rested my head against the back of my seat. "But the sun does peak out every once in a while."

"Great," I said quietly, which earned another small chuckle from my father. I hadn't heard him laugh in so long, it was nice to hear it, but sadly it was at my expense. I hated the fact that we had moved from the beautiful two story old farmhouse I had grown up in Nebraska to my father's hometown of Forks, Washington. As much as I hated that we moved I understood why my father wanted to move. There were too many painful memories in that old house, and even though there were happy ones too, it was too hard to continue living there.

It was the middle of July, the perfect time to move to a completely different state. I'd be able to settle in and familiarize myself with life in Forks before I started my senior year, and hopefully I would meet a few people my age and make a few friends. I wasn't the most sociable of girls, but I was somewhat determined to turn a new leaf. I will admit the greenery that lined the road into the city was beautiful despite the clouds. I loved exploring the woods and I was already making plans to get a map, find some trails, and get lost (figuratively of course) in the woods.

"Are there a lot of trails?" I asked softly as we passed the welcome sign for Forks.

"Quite a few," my dad said. "I know you'll want to go exploring, but let's get settled in first. I'll even show you a few of the trails myself if you want." I smiled at that before I laughed lightly and turned my eyes to him once more.

"You hate hiking," I said and he shrugged, with a grin on his face.

"I can make a few exceptions for you," he said and he glanced at me, the grin still in place. It didn't quite reach his eyes just yet, but I knew once we were settled in and he caught up with his old buddies the light would once again return to my father's blue-green eyes. It had to if there was any hope for me.

"All right, Dad, whatever you say," I said with a chuckle. It wasn't long before we were pulling up in front of a modest sized two story house. The house itself looked like it had seen better days and the police car parked on the road in front of the house wasn't all that comforting. "Is there a reason why there's a cop car sitting outside our house?" I asked and Dad just laughed before he parked the rental truck and quickly climbed out, leaving the door open. The chilly air assaulted my t-shirt clad body and I shivered before I grabbed my hoodie from the bag at my feet. It was the middle of July and it felt like it was March outside. I really hoped the weather wasn't always like that. It had to have been thanks to the rain.

Sighing, I pulled my hoodie over my head and as I started to pull my long dark hair out of the back I heard something I hadn't heard in what felt like ages. A true, hearty, echoing laugh that was emanating from my father as he embraced the policeman that had climbed out of the car and two other men I hadn't seen when he parked the truck. For some reason, tears prickled my eyes at hearing Dad's laugh. I summed it up to being emotional over everything that had happened over the last eight weeks and being tired.

"Mari come here!" Dad called as he turned a bit and waved his hands for me to join him. I climbed out of the truck, leaving my bag in the truck, and I closed the door. My butt was asleep and I had a feeling I was walking a little funny, but the three men standing with Dad just smiled at me.

"Well, you've sure grown since your dad last sent us pictures," a tall man with graying dirty blonde hair and matching mustache said as he smiled and I laughed. "Hard to believe this is little Marisol." I was surprised he knew my name, but I really shouldn't have been because it was obvious these men were friends of Dad and undoubtedly had heard of me a time or two.

"Mari, this is Calvin Johnson, Mark Freeman, and Chief Charlie Swann," Dad said as introduced the man that spoke, then the shorter stockier man, and then the police officer. "They're old friends of mine."

"Who you calling old, old man?" Chief Swann asked and I laughed at that, which earned grins from all four men around me.

"At least my daughter's not married off yet," Dad said and Chief Swann just gave Dad a small smile. "How's your girl doing by the way?"

"Good," he said. "I don't see her as often as I'd like, but she's good." Dad nodded and looked back at me.

"They're going to help us unload the truck," he said and I smiled at them yet again.

"Great! Does that mean I get to direct?" I asked hopefully and the men laughed.

"That it does," Dad said and I gave him another smile. Maybe Forks would be a good place for both Dad and me because I too hadn't smiled as much as I had in the last few minutes in weeks.

"Billy's having his boy and a few of his friends head over to give us a hand," Chief Swann said.

"I'll have to give Billy a call to thank him," Dad said and Chief Swann smiled.

"We'll have everything in the house and in its place in probably an hour or two with those boys helping," Chief Swann continued and that I looked at him curiously.

"Why?" Dad asked with a frown and Chief Swann chuckled as we heard a car coming up the road.

"That's why," he said as he pointed across the street and I turned my head to look over my shoulder only to have to clinch my jaw tight so it wouldn't drop open at the sight of the three boys heading our way. Dressed only in light t-shirts and dark jeans the three boys smiled brightly at our group.

It was obvious they were Native American, and probably from the reservation in La Push, Dad had told me about that boarded Forks. Their skin was a beautiful russet color and each boy had thick dark hair, which was short but not terribly short. They didn't look related, but I had never seen anyone as big as those three boys were. My dad wasn't a small man, at six feet even, but each boy had at least three inches on him and they were just as broad.

"Charlie," the leading, and biggest boy, said with a smile as he looked at Chief Swann.

"Jacob, thanks for agreeing to help boys," Chief Swann said and the boys looked to my father and then me. I gave them a small smile and prayed my face wasn't pink as I turned so I was fully facing them. "Jacob Black, Quil Ateara, and Embry Call; this is Tyler Janks and his daughter Marisol."

"Nice to meet you," Jacob said with a slight nod of his head and I heard Dad chuckle.

"What do they feed you boys up on that reservation, miracle grow?" he asked and I rolled my eyes as I looked away from the boys and at Dad.

"Seriously Dad?" I asked and he shrugged, while the boys just laughed.

"It's all right," came Jacob's voice and I returned my eyes up to him. I usually felt short around Dad, but next to these boys I felt dwarfed. I was five feet six inches, so, I was average but I felt far more vertically challenged than I was next to them. "We're used to it. Ready to get settled in?" he asked, looking at Dad and I assumed he nodded. This was going to be interesting.

Fatigue from the last few days on the road, directing where all the furniture was going to go, and unpacking our kitchen items was catching up to me. Dad had parked the car we towed behind the truck in the garage that was empty save for the car. Apparently, the house had been the one Dad grew up in and when my grandparents died they left it to him and he held onto it in case he ever could convince Mom to move to Forks. Our move had been surprisingly easy. Dad was going to be working at a plant just outside of town, the very one his father worked at, and once we were settled in I planned on looking for something part time for spending money of my own.

Calvin had kept up the house for Dad and when Dad called him and told him that we were moving to Forks, he and his wife spent a day cleaning and painting the walls with a fresh layer of white paint. They did an amazing job and I had no complaints except for the white on the walls. I planned on going to the hardware store and adding some color to our lives in the coming weeks, but knowing Dad he would tell me to only paint my room because he liked white walls. My dresser was the only piece of furniture that was left to be brought in, and my dad had been far too kind by giving me the bedroom that was upstairs while he took the one on the main floor. The upstairs bedroom was much larger than the one downstairs and all my furniture fit rather nicely. I was attempting to make my bed, but my eyes were so heavy with sleep I wasn't doing a very good job.

"Where'd you like this?" Jacob asked and I jumped a bit at his deep voice cutting through the silence in the room and he gave me a smile as I blushed and laughed a bit at my silliness. He and Quil were holding the heavy oak long dresser like it was nothing, but I didn't want them to hurt themselves.

"Under the window, please," I said and Jacob nodded before he and Quil carried the dresser and set it down across the foot of my bed. "Thanks," I said again and Quil smiled as he leaned back against his hands on my dresser.

"You know, you don't have to say 'thanks' every time we bring something in for you," Quil said and I laughed lightly as I started to unfold the dark blue sheets.

"It's a habit," I said. "I like people to know I appreciate it when they do something for me." Quil smiled and gave me a short nod.

"So, will you be going to Forks High School this fall?" Jacob asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, it's my senior year," I said.

"That had to suck moving before your senior year," Quil said and I shook my head.

"Not really," I said. "Dad and I . . . we both needed a change of scenery, and it gives me a chance to see where Dad grew up."

"You'll be crying to go back to where ever you're from by the end of the week. There's nothing really to do around here," Quil said and I laughed.

"There's plenty for me to do and I don't think I'm going to miss Nebraska too much." I said. "I like the outdoors. I'm itching to hit up a few of the trails and explore." The boys shared a smile that I figured I wasn't meant to understand before they both looked at me.

"You should come out to the reservation this weekend," Quil said. "We're having a get together at a friend's place on Saturday." I looked at Jacob, a little unsure if I'd be welcome only to see him smiling at me.

"Yeah, you should come out," he said. "If you don't have a ride, I could come pick you up and take you out."

"I'd have to ask my Dad, but I'm pretty sure he'd be fine with it," I said and the two boys grinned.

"Great," Quil said as he pushed his body up and clapped his hands. "Come on, man, I'm starving," Quil said and Jacob laughed before he gave him a small nod and smiled at me.

"We'll see you Saturday night," he said. "I'll come by around six."

"Sounds good," I said and the two boys left, leaving my bedroom door open as they did so. With them gone, I did the one thing I'd been dying to do since I unpacked the last box in the kitchen and came upstairs to find my bed set up; I fell back on the bare mattress, sheet in hand, with a heavy sigh as I closed my eyes.

"Aren't beds usually made before people climb on them to sleep?" came my dad's voice, startling me a bit. However, I kept my eyes closed. I figured I had fallen asleep for a little while because I felt slightly rested, but still tired.

"Usually, but I'm too tired to actually make it," I said dryly and I felt the bed shift slightly as he sat down on it.

"Don't you want something to eat?" he asked and I shook my head. I really wasn't hungry. "All right. Everyone said to tell you good night. Jacob said you looked like you were ready to fall over from exhaustion and when you didn't come down after an hour we figured you fell asleep." My eyes shot open at that and I frowned at Dad, only to find him smiling.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked and he laughed lightly.

"About two hours," he said and I sat up, stiffly thanks to the fact my legs were hanging over the bed. "I wanted to make sure you were actually in bed, and I'm glad I came to check on you." I kicked off my shoes and turned so I was sitting completely on the bed and facing my dad. I'd taken off my hoodie so I was in my t-shirt and jeans. Not the most comfortable clothes to sleep in, but I was not about to change. "We'll finish up tomorrow. I don't start work until Monday, so, we got plenty of time to settle in." It was only Wednesday, and he had a point. It was then that I remembered Quil's invite.

"Quil and Jacob invited me a party on Saturday at one of his friend's place," I said and his eyebrows rose at that. "Is it okay if I go?" I asked and he nodded.

"As long as you're home by eleven," he said and I smiled.

"Thanks Dad, and I'm sure Jacob will bring me back way before then," I said and he nodded again before he leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"Good night, Mari," he said and I smiled at him as he stopped at the door, his hand on the light switch.

"Night, Dad," I said as I laid back down on the bed, forgoing making it and digging through the boxes for my pillows. He laughed and turned off my bedroom light before closing the door behind him. The door no more closed and I was out for the night.