BPOV

Great. Just swell. Of course having been to Forks once before (mind you, only several years ago) I knew what the weather could be like. But a small part of me had still been expecting the familiar sunshine and warmth that graced my hometown of Phoenix upon exiting the plane.

I had descended from the plane, not looking away from the stairs until I was safely on the ground. I didn't want to chance wiping out. Then I had taken a deep breath and raised my face to the sky.

Big mistake. Instead of the familiar sunshine, I got a face full of rain.

Even with my eyes swollen shut from the unwanted water, it wasn't too difficult to find Charlie and his police cruiser. Or Dad, as I had to call him to his face. I made my way across the wet pavement to him, dragging my heavy suitcases behind me.

"Bells!" he cried, pulling me into a tight hug the moment I reached him.

"Hey Dad," I said happily once he released me. My enthusiasm was fake of course, but I doubted he knew that.

Charlie helped me shove my rather large amount of luggage into the trunk of the cruiser, and then indicated for me to take the passenger seat. In the half-moment I was alone while Charlie walked to his door, I glanced down and groaned.

My once favorite outfit looked as though it had been run over by a bus. I knew it had been a bit risky wearing it on the long flight, but the results were worse than I thought possible. Not only was the dark blue v-neck (the colour of which I found complimented my pale skin nicely) wrinkled and soaked, there was a large stain of something right in the front. Damn airplane food. My black skinny jeans didn't look quite as disheveled, but still worse than before.

I scrubbed fruitlessly at the stain on my once favorite shirt, but eventually gave up with a groan, banging my head against the cool window. I hated Forks.

EPOV

"Edward," my girlfriend, Lauren Mallory moaned my name as I kissed her neck. I sighed inwardly. She was really starting to bore me. The very thought of trying to have an intellectual conversation with Lauren was laughable, so kissing was the only thing we ever did, and it was beginning to lose its splendor.

I pulled away, checking the clock beside her bed as I did so. Good, it was five o'clock – I finally had an excuse to leave.

"Sorry Lauren, I have to get home for dinner. You know how Esme can get," I lied, disentangling myself from her and standing up. She stared up at me, pouting in what she obviously thought was a seductive way. I found it slightly nauseating.

"You never have time for me anymore," she batted her eyelashes and leaned forward, "why don't you stay the night?"

"Er, no. I have to go. See you at school tomorrow," I rushed from the room as quickly as possible, leaving Lauren looking pretty pissed off.

I relaxed once I was out of her house and in my silver Volvo. I really had to do something about her – once a girl's attempts at flirting become repulsive, it's time to move on.

The only thing was I didn't know what to move on to. I had already dated the majority of the female population of Forks. I pushed Lauren from my mind as I pulled into the driveway of my house. I'd worry about girls tomorrow, the first day of school after summer break. Maybe there would be a new girl, or I could revisit an old one. Either way, Lauren had to go.

BPOV

After an hour driving, the cruiser finally pulled into the driveway of Charlie's house. Of course it was raining – this was Forks, after all. I stepped out of the car and pulled the hood of my black raincoat over my head, in a pathetic attempt to keep myself dry. I was already halfway up the driveway when I noticed something. A big red truck, to be exact, sitting right in front of the house. The sight of the truck reminded me of the fact that I didn't have one here. Great. Now I'd either have to get a ride in the cruiser or walk to school tomorrow.

I examined the truck more closely. I rather liked it – it looked as though it would suit me. I wondered idly if Charlie would let me buy it off of him.

"Do you like it?" Charlie asked from behind, after watching me scrutinize the truck. I nodded, and was just beginning to ask if I could buy it from him when he interrupted.

"Well, it's yours," he said gruffly. I stared at him in shock.

"Really? Wow! Thanks!" I ran over and hugged him. He patted my back awkwardly, but when I released him he was smiling.

"Let's get your stuff inside before we get pneumonia,"

I smiled. Tomorrow would be just a little less horrible.

Charlie helped me drag my two over-packed suitcases into my room. I'd had to leave the majority of my clothing back home, because it wasn't well suited for the constant rain of Forks, but several intense shopping trips while still in Phoenix had provided me with a passable wardrobe.

I changed into dry clothes, then quickly unpacked all my belongings and shoved them into the closet. Only when I was done did I really get a chance to examine my room.

It looked almost the exact same as it had last name I was in Forks, except now there was an old computer desk shoved in the corner. The walls were still pale blue, the lace trim on the window was still intact – it was eerie.

I sighed. It would be a long time before this room began to feel like my own. Especially the light blue walls. That paired with the white furniture was giving me the impression of floating in the sky, surrounded by white clouds, and it was slightly unnerving. I decided I'd try to cover it, atleast until I got some decent paint.

I dug into my suitcase, extracting a small black box from the bottom. I smiled as I emptied the contents onto my bed. Out fell a dozen posters, all autographed, of my favourite bands: Linkin Park, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Three Days Grace, Atreyu, System Of A Down, Evanescence, Good Charlotte, and a couple others. I smiled, pulling out my Ipod as I debated internally where to put them all. I had enough to cover atleast one full wall of the horrendous blue.

With my music blasting in my ears, I proceeded to hang all my posters. When I was done I stepped back to admire my work. Good. My room, atleast, felt a bit like home.

I wandered downstairs, not really wanting any company but unable to find anything else productive to do upstairs. I tiptoed past the living room, where I could see Charlie was watching some kind of sport.

My attempts at sneaking unnoticed into the kitchen failed when I managed to trip over my own feet and fall to the floor with a bang. I grimaced. I was still just as clumsy as I had been in Phoenix.

"Are you okay, Bells?" Charlie asked, half rising from the couch. I scrambled to my feet, not wanting to make a scene.

"Of course. Um, can I make dinner?" I asked the first thing that popped into my head. I was used to making dinner, having been the only able chef in my old house.

"Sure, sure, knock yourself out," Charlie smiled briefly before sitting back down and returning his attention to the television.

I made my way slowly to the kitchen, not wanting to trip again. To my relief, I made it in unscathed.

I sighed when I opened the fridge. It was completely empty except for a half-dozen eggs and a carton of milk. What on earth did Charlie eat? Using what we had, I threw together a couple of omelets.

Dinner with Charlie was a bit awkward. We didn't talk at all, though to be honest I liked it better that way. We were both naturally silent people.

After finishing, I returned to my room, claiming I was tired from the long trip. Truthfully, I just wanted to be alone. I didn't cry – I never cried – but I really missed my friends from Phoenix. Especially Kyle and Daniel, whom I had been in a band with before I left. I smiled to myself, letting the memories of my two best friends wash over me.

That had been one of the hardest parts of leaving Phoenix – my band. Not only did I love being with my two favourite guys, I also loved singing. I had been the lead singer – it had made sense for me to front the band, since I loved the attention, and Kyle and Daniel had been always been a bit more reserved.

We had been good, too, playing somewhere almost every weekend. We had been going somewhere. And now it was over. The thought brought on a wave of pain so intense I almost gave into the sobs that were threatening to overcome me. But no, I had to stay strong. Strong like I had been my whole life. Strong like I would always be.

With that thought repeating in my head like a mantra, I fell into an uneasy sleep.