Hello Friends!

Welcome to the new and improved Chasing Pavements! Or as its now called - Here's the Pencil, Make it Work.

I stole the title and the first line of the summary from Richard Silken's amazing poem, "Litany, in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out". You should check it out, its one of my favorites.

I figured the title was fitting because this is a story about an OC given the opportunity to really rewrite the Twilight story in whichever way she wants to really, kind of like being given a blank book and a pencil, and being told to write whatever she wants.

Lots of changes from the original (such as much better writing), but the overall plot is still the same. I hope you guys like it and its received well. No worries, the original will be finished, I haven't abandoned it, though I can't say when I'll be posting the last chapter, however I can say with certainty that Chapter 2 will be posted either today or tomorrow at the latest.

Constructive criticism is very much welcome.

Especially welcome.

Review?

"So how did it go?"

"As well as it could've." I answered with a shrug. I felt heavy eyes on me, but ignored them in favour of calmly chopping the carrot I was working on for dinner.

Lucianna sighed and flopped herself down on one of the kitchen stools by the counter, folding her arms and leaning forward to give me an intent look with her piercing green eyes. "So mostly positive?" She inquired, sounding vaguely hopeful, but I gave another shrug.

"My dosage has been lowered, if that can be called positive." I answered, using the knife to slide the carrot slices from the chopping board into a bowl.

My best-friend made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat, "That's good." She decided eventually, before giving me a giant smile. "I'm proud of you."

I couldn't help but return the smile, though mine was much more toned down than hers was. "Thank you." I said genuinely, moving to the fridge and extracting out a can of fresh cream.

As I closed it, I remembered my psychologist's advice, "Keeping yourself surrounded by good vibes is the most important thing." She'd told me as she took notes on her clipboard, and I had no doubt that with Lucianna around to encourage me, I'd slowly but surely be able to stand on my feet again.

Lucy was a God-send, and she had no idea just how much her friendship meant to me. Even in my darkest moments, she was always there to hold me up and support me, and for that I'd be eternally grateful.

It was for that exact reason that I was currently making her favorite food for dinner, because my psyche results wouldn't be so positive if it wasn't for her.

"When is your next appointment?" She asked, twirling red strands of hair around her finger. This time, my smile was uncontrolled.

"In two weeks." I told her, pouring in the cream on the veggies that had been lightly frying in the pot. To any other person, the statement wouldn't mean much, but having my sessions moved from once every week to once every fortnight was a victory that I wouldn't have even imagined six months ago.

"I think we should celebrate this, you've done so good!" She praised, clapping her hands delightedly. I snorted, mixing the contents of the pot and adding in the carrots.

"I'm just glad everyone will get off my back a little." I said honestly, covering it and walking to the sink.

Lucy gave me a frown of disapproval, "Can you blame them, Arsinoë? We were all worried. You were at the doors of death -literally." She said grimly.

Immediately, her words made my shoulders slump and I rubbed my arm self-consciously. I realized that while I hadn't been very...stable, it hadn't been that bad. I was just in a bad place, and not doing so well, but I hadn't been suicidal.

Yet, a voice deep within me whispered.

She sighed, "Well, all that's done now. The most important thing is that you're okay." Her tone wasn't as light as it had previously been, but she forced a smile, "I propose a Twilight marathon in celebration"

I grimaced, "Really?" I huffed with a playful eyeroll. I forced myself to go back to normal, to not let my solemn thoughts affect my mood.

Good vibes.

The redhead laughed, "Yes!" She exclaimed easily, "We can swoon over Edward and insult Bella over good food and ice-cream. It's perfect." She stated with an air of finality that dictated I'd have no choice in the decision. I giggled at the prospect, already imagining her angry insults at the Heroine, made all the more amusing because of the fact that her already heavy native Irish accent only deepened when she was miffed.

Lucianna absolutely loathed Bella Swan with a passion that was almost scary. According to my best-friend, the girl was an insult to Feminists everywhere, not to mention a selfish immature girl who only cared for herself. Honestly, I did agree, but I was mostly removed from the whole Twilight fandom altogether. I'd read the books at Lucy's incessant whining for me to do it, and while I did enjoy them, they didn't leave any long-standing impression. The secondary characters were all interesting, as well as their world as a whole, but considering it was all about Bella, they hadn't been shown much and thus I hadn't become very invested.

To be sure, like most females out there, I'd fallen for the charms of Edward Cullen and his whole persona, and attractiveness aside, he /was/ an interesting character, one of my favorites really. Nonetheless, I wasn't a die-hard fan like my best friend was.

"Watching that series isn't good for your blood pressure." I warned her, setting up the rice cooker.

She shrugged, "What's life without a little risk?" She asked, a red brow raised at me, and I snorted.

So it was decided then, and a little while later found us tangled together on my couch, a blanket on our laps and a shared bowl of dinner between us as we watched little Bella Swan leave her home nest for dreary old forks.

"Do you ever wonder if she had family, like aside from the members mentioned in the books?" I asked Lucy, spooning some vegetables for myself.

My best-friend hummed thoughtfully, "I've never really thought about it, but now that you mention it...Is it really possible for both of her parents to not have at least some extended family? How were they that secluded?" She asked.

I chewed thoughtfully, watching as the character in question hugged her mother farewell, "Its weird isn't it? Just how little we know of the main protagonist. I think I'd have liked her more if I actually knew a little about her, but she's kind of just a blank slate."

Lucy nodded as she nibbled on a chicken strip. "That's my problem with her mostly, how utterly boring she is. It gets boring after a while really."

"In her defense, she's a lot better in the books. I think the directors just didn't know how to deal with her." I said, gesturing to the brown haired girl on the screen pointedly, but all my Lucy did was shake her head.

"There's only so much one can do when given a half-dead teenage girl and told to bring her to life." She drawled, rolling her eyes. I snorted, taking some chicken for myself.

"You're so mean."

"I'm not! Anyone would be better than bloody Isabella Swan, heck, even Lauren. At least she has some personality." The red-head stressed, waving a tattooed hand in my face passionately.

Carefully I caught it before it could wack me in the face and potentially knock me out. "You're biased." I declared with a huff of amusement, shifting the precariously balanced dish on our legs. "Lauren is one of your favorite characters in the series, of course your think she'd be better."

"Okay, well, how about you?" Lucy proposed, and both brows rose.

"I think I'd be much worse, Lucy." I said slowly, because at least Bella was a fully functioning human being most days it took all my efforts to get out of bed in the morning.

But clearly the green eyed girl next to me disagreed, judging by the way she shook her head and made a sound of protest, "Definitely not. In fact, I think you'd be perfect. You're smart, you're strong, you're kind, you're-"

"-a mess."

"You're strong." She repeated, glaring at me straight in the eye, just daring me to disagree.

"Whatever you say, friend." Was my disbelieving answer, before I spooned some more rice for myself.

Beside me, Lucy had all but abandoned the food, making a thoughtful sound, spoon resting lightly on her chin. "I think Bella's life would be good for you." She said, and I almost choked on my food from laughter.

"You think enduring constant danger and heartache would be good for me?" I asked once I'd swallowed, chuckling at thr absurdity of her words, but all Lucy did was scoff.

"I think Edward would be good for you." She corrected, and I rolled my eyes, putting the food on the coffee table amd getting up, heading to the kitchen for the kitchen for something to drink.

"I'm serious!" She called, but I ignored her, extracting two bottles of pomegranate vitamin water from the fridge, and after a moment I also picked up my iPad from the counter.

I sat back down on the couch, opening one bottle and held the other out to her but she didn't notice. "He's so kind and charming and smart and-"

"-fake?"

"Can you not interrupt me?"

"Sorry."

"And he also needs a bit of help, I think." She finished reaching for the bowl of food again and I watched quietly sipping at my drink. "You'd be good for him." She declared, shoving rice into her mouth.

I doubted it, but in an attempt to keep the peace, I simply shrugged, "Sure, I guess." Was my noncommittal reply, "He's still a fictional character though, so in the end the point is -what's the English word?- moot."

"Now," I started, lifting my tablet so she could see, "I've got this paper I need help with and-"

"-Arsinoë?" She broke in, and I paused, blinking at her.

"Now you're the one interrupting me." I pointed out.

Lucy smiled, "Can I tell you a secret?" She asked, as if she hasn't heard me.

I gave her a wary look, because I didn't trust her expression, but she was still my best-friend, so after a moment I nodded. "You can tell me anything." I told her honestly.

Her smiled widened and her grass green eyes twinkled with mischief, "The point really isn't moot."

The next thing I knew, I was standing in an only vaguely familiar bedroom, a tablet in one hand and a bottle of vitamin water in another, with no idea, just how the fuck I'd gotten here.

It was a nice enough room in itself, or well, more than just nice' really, if I was being honest. It looked like something out of a home décor magazine, as if an interior designer had come to work on it themselves. The walls were painted a lovely beige, the floors lain with big white square tiles with a plush rug at the foot of the fancily made king size bed with two bedside tables on each side, a stereo on one and a lamp on the other. The bed was situated directly across from a large redish-brown wardrobe and there was a double door made of flower patterned stained glass, which led to a medium sized balcony outside, and a desk and white leather chair were positioned a little ways away, obviously placed there to get the maximum amount of daylight.

But what got me the most were the framed photos hung on the walls, some in sepia, some in black and white, though most in color, and all depicting some point or another of my life. Most of them held pictures of me and my siblings (cousins really, but we were extremely close) together, in whichever country we happened to be in that moment, but there was one of me and my parents, a few others of a prepubescent me, one with me and my Aunt Zehira-

Oh.

That's why the room was familiar, because this was the guest-bedroom of her house in Paris, except when I looked out the open balcony doors I didn't see Paris at all, but a serene looking green forest in our back yard.

For a long moment, I seriously entertained the ides that I was simply hallucinating (never mind the fact that I'd been well on the way to recovery and hadn't had a serious hallucination in almost half a year), and that I was actually still sitting next to Lucianna on the couch in my Dublin apartment, everything A-Okay.

But then a gust of wind blew in, the smell of rain and nature filling my nostrils and I faltered, because holy shit, this seemed real.

But how?

Just then, a familiar woman walked in, pulling a Pikachu patterned suitcase behind her -my Pikachu patterned suitcase-, and she placed it at the foot of the bed, before giving me a hopeful look.

"Well, how do you like it?" She asked, gesturing with a slim hand around the room.

It was Nina, my aunt's personal assistant slash bodyguard slash girlfriend (though the last title was just suspicion and had never been confirmed). Nina was American, beautiful with short sunshine blond hair, bright blue eyes and naturally pouty lips. She'd been around for as long as I could remember, and at this point she was basically family herself. She'd always been there for me when I needed it, and never once let me feel neglected when she was around. For all her kindness, she was brutal though, and often took it upon herself to keep me (and my siblings if they were around) active whenever she had the chance. I didn't much mind it, because the type of medication bi took was also the type which side-effects included increased appetite and weight-gain, so even if she wasn't around, I still followed her rules.

"...Noë?" She called, brows furrowing when she noticed my inattention, and I jumped.

"Oh, uh, its great." I said quickly, only for her frown to deepen.

"If you don't like it, we can have it changed, you're the one who'll he staying here for the foreseeable future Noë, you should be comfortable." She told me, walking closer and laying her hands on my shoulders.

My mind blanked, because what?

What did she mean 'staying here'? And how long was the 'forseeable' future? Just what the hell was going on and who was responsible? Had I fallen asleep and was now dreaming?

But no, something told me that this was hard-cold reality, and all I could do was shake my head slowly.

"N-No, really, I love it." I forced out, before moving closer to give her three kisses on her cheeks automatically, "Shukran." I thanked in Arabic, hoping she'd accept it and relax.

Thankfully, her lips pulled into a smile, and she pulled me closer into a hug. It was all I could do to return it. "I love you, you know that right?"

I nodded numbly, and she gave me a kiss on the crown of my head, before stepping back. "Good." She said, "Now then, your aunt is on her way. She had a meeting in Seattle, trying to go over the details for a branch over there, but the traffic at this hour is murder, so she might be a little late for dinner. Do you need help unpacking?" Nina asked in concern, and again I shook my head.

"Alright," she acquiesced, "I'll call you down when the food is ready." Her blue eyes shifted to my open balcony door.

"You might want to close that before you come down, it's always raining here in Forks." She advised, and with that, turned on her heel and walked out.

I staggered backwards, and just barely caught myself on the edge of the bed before falling over completely, the items in my hand falling and landing on the mattress with a light bounce, but I didn't even notice. My mind was too busy reeling.

Forks? As in, Forks, Washington?

I felt like I was moments from passing out entirely, and I had to force myself to breathe, lest I really did lose consciousness.

For the love of Ra, what in the world was going on? Had I really been sent all the way across the ocean in a blink of an eye? Where was Lucianna? Was she the cause of this? I remembered her expression of mischief, and something told me that yes, yes she was. Somehow, someway, my best-friend had developed mystical powers and transported me to another place entirely.

The question now was why?

"Arsinoë, habibi, how you've grown!" Was the first thing my aunt exclaimed upon seeing me, and before I knew it, I was engulfed in a back-breaking hug, three kisses main on my cheeks and one smack on my lips.

Aunty Zaho (as she insisted on being called), was my father's younger sister, a stunning woman with enchanting olive green eyes and flowing brown hair, graceful and strong, and was the role-model of many a modern woman. She also just happened to be a world renowned fashion designer, and as a consequence was always jetting all over the place for some reason or the other. I hadn't seen her in a year and a half, so it was with genuine affection that I returned her hug.

I'd managed to pull myself together enough to function in public, and by the time Nina had called me down for food, I'd slid a mask in place and pretended that everything was perfectly alright. Pretending was something I was good at, so it was no trouble to simply smile and look normal.

"Oh, and you're absolutely gorgeous, just look at you!" She told me, forcefully turning me around to get a better look at me, and I caught sight of Nina grinning in amusement from her spot a few steps away. "My goodness, you'll be breaking hearts all around, mark my words." My aunt declared

I laughed, because yeah I was pretty enough, but certainly not to the point that she'd described. "Thank you, though I'll never be able to compete with you, Aunty." I answered, and she tittered happily.

"You're so good to me, habibi," she said. "How was your flight? It wasn't too long was it?" She asked worriedly, and I couldn't help but snort.

"Not long at all." I replied, and she linked our arms, nodding as she led us to the dining room.

"Did you thank Nina for picking you up from the airport? I wanted to do it myself, but unfortunately I had other things to do." She told me apologetically, sitting down at one of the chairs and pulling me down with her.

Before I could talk, the blonde in question intercepted, sitting across from me. "You don't have to thank me, Noë, it was a pleasure." She said and I smiled at her gratefully, even though it didn't actually happen. It was the thought that counted in the end, I supposed.

"Eat with me, Nina makes the best food, you know that." My aunt ordered, opening one of the dishes that were on the table.

"Oh no thank you, Aunty, we've already eaten." I replied, and as true as her statement was -because Nina really was a damn good cook- I was stuffed to the brim. I'd been eating with Lucy before I'd 'arrived' here, and to avoid Nina's concerned looks I had to eat a sizable portion as well, plus desert.

My aunt frowned as she dished for herself, the smell of exotic spices rising up "Oh come now, not even a little?" She tried, and I shook my head.

"I think if she eats anymore, the poor girl might explode." Said Nina laughingly.

Aunty Zaho nodded in understanding, breaking off a piece of flat bread and scooping up some lentils with it. "Have you called your mother yet, to tell her you've arrived?" She asked, and I faltered.

They saw it, "Oh habibi, I know you're angry with her, but she really is doing it for your own good." The olive eyed woman said, "I think it'll do you some good to stay here, get a breath of fresh air."

"It takes a bit of getting used to, but Forks can be a really nice place if you give it a chance." Nina chimed in, making my aunt nod in agreement.

"I'll call her soon." Was all I said, tapping my fingers on the table thoughtfully.. Regardless of my situation, I preferred to avoid my mother if I could, but even I couldn't deny that she'd be useful to help me get my bearings. I would call her, just not immediately.

"Are you excited for school tomorrow?" My aunt asked interestedly, and I paused.

"School?" I echoed dumbly, not understanding what she meant.

"Mhmm," she hummed affirmatively as she chewed, "Everything is sorted out already, I made sure to register you in all your favorite classes. I know attending Public School can seem a little scary, but you'll enjoy it I'm sure."

"If you want I can go with you tomorrow?" Nina offered, but I was still lost.

Were they expecting me, a first year university student, to go back to highschool? I didn't understand. What type of faux reality was this?

But when I looked at the two of them, so calm and sure of their words, I could only swallow in an attempt to moisten my suddenly dry mouth, and shake my head haltingly. I had a feeling that it would be better for me to go along with everything for now.

"No thank you, I can manage on my own."

"If you're sure..." The blonde woman didn't seem convinced, so I forced myself to laugh.

"I'm sure. What will everyone think if I still need an adult to hold my hand on the first day?"

Both women joined me in my laughter, much to my relief. They seemed to believe my excuse. Taking the opportunity that presented itself, I decided to retire while the mood was still light. "I'm exhausted, so I think I'm gonna head on to bed." I said, standing and stretching pointedly.

"Oh yes I can imagine, you've had a long day. Go on and get some rest, you have to wake up early after all." Aunty Zaho said agreeably, shooing me away with her free hand.

"Goodnight Arsinoë." Nina said, and I smiled a little.

"Goodnight."

I fled as fast as I could without seeming weird, only relaxing after shutting the guest bedroom door (or well, my bedroom now). I leaned against the wood a sighed wearily, relieved to finally be left alone to my thoughts.

This whole situation, was quite literally, a mess. There was no other way for me describe it, nor did I have any idea how to fix said mess.

All I wanted was to be back home, curled up next to my best-friend on the couch and munching on unhealthy snacks as we watched Tolkien movies and spoke broken Elvish like the nerds we were.

"Ra help me." I groaned.