So, this is my second fic, and it is an idea that I have had for a while so I hope that you enjoy it.

This story is rated M for mature content.

Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

Chapter 1 – The Night it Began

Bella

December 31st, 2010

If you could pick anything in the world as a New Year's Resolution, what would it be? Would you wish for something unoriginal like quitting the smokes or losing weight, or would you try to tackle a meatier problem? Something that could be easily achieved, or something that would take a lot of time and effort on your part?

If I had of known the chaos that would abound from something as simple as a resolution, I would have indeed had second thoughts about participating. What started out as an innocent desire shared between four friends drastically changed our lives forever. For some of us, the result was a good one. Resolution achieved and all parties happy. But for others, nothing good came from it. In fact for some, it was decidedly bad.

Unfortunately, regardless of good and bad, it had changed our lives irreversibly.

One night, four friends, four New Year's resolutions.

Regrettably that night, things all began to change and fall apart around us.

Present day, December 31st 2009

New Year's Eve, the one night of the year that I had always looked forward to, and this year was no different. Tonight, the 'dream team' would be reuniting like clockwork.

Alice, Rosalie, Tanya and myself had all been friends since we were old enough to talk, all having been born and raised in the small, blink and you miss it town of Forks. We were all attached at the hip; every little aspect of our young lives was done as a foursome, and hence, we named ourselves the 'dream team'. We thought we were oh so cool at the time, always referring to our group in this context and berating anybody who dared to actually call us by our given names.

Alice was the fun member of our group – she was always up for a new adventure. Whether it be trying out a new extreme sport or braving the sales, she was the one to suggest, organize and drag our sorry butts wherever she had planned. Almost all of our activities over the years that we had known each other had the Alice stamp of approval all over it. If it didn't meet with her approval, we would all hear about it for weeks to come until we'd all just relent and once again let her take over the reins. Not that any of us really minded; the pressure was off us and we always enjoyed ourselves with Al around.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that she was a sweet, lovely little thing upon first meeting her. At barely five feet tall, she was often mistaken for a child, and many had worn the brunt of her displeasure for treating her as such. Ethereal, fairy-like beauty with energy enough for someone twice her size, our Al was definitely one of a kind.

Fitting for her personality, Al owned a tour company that escorted elite American clients around parts of Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. They offered tours ranging from high end shopping trips to adrenalin fuelled expeditions, and most of her time was spent overseas with her husband Jasper, sourcing out new and exciting destinations. Because of this I rarely got to see her, and when I did, it was usually just a flying visit. Al had mentioned that they were looking to move home permanently in the near future, and I sincerely hoped that this was the case. I missed her and Jasper like crazy; the sooner they were back, the better.

Then there was Rosalie, the true beauty of the group. With golden blond hair, sparkling blue eyes and legs that went on for days, she was truly the dream of every guy and the envy of every girl. While many dismissed her as vain and vapid, she was anything but. Not saying that she didn't know that she was beautiful - of course she did, and people reminded her of that fact time and time again. What people didn't realize however was that she was indeed incredibly intelligent and her temperament was quite serious. If you were loved and respected by Rosie, you had someone in your corner for life. She would stop at nothing to protect those that were near and dear to her, which made her seem aloof and unapproachable to those who didn't know her.

Rosalie had surprised us all by becoming an accountant straight out of college. She had studied Business Management and was completely focused on opening up her own business modifying high end vehicles, but sadly, that idea had been put on the back burner indefinitely. She met Royce King during her last year of college and fell hopelessly in love before the year was out. Normally, we would have all been over the moon for her, but Royce was a real piece of work. He came from a wealthy family, but was disowned while he was at college for his partying ways and general douche-baggery. Rose ended up taking the first job she could when she graduated, which happened to be at a local Port Angeles accountancy firm. Unfortunately, the job of keeping Royce in the manner to which he was accustomed rested solely on Rosie's shoulders. While she worked hard to pay the bills and rent of the apartment, he played hard and drank away almost every dollar she earned. We were all hoping that one day, in the not too distant future, she would wake the hell up from whatever spell he had cast over her.

Tanya was the angel of our group, always the voice of reason. She had the whole good girl vibe; she studied hard and often, and only partied reluctantly when we wouldn't leave her in peace. Everyone loved her, though she never really let anyone in apart from the three of us. She was a bit of a mystery to most people, and I must admit, there were times when even I didn't think I knew the real Tanya. Don't get me wrong - she was a valued friend to all of us, though over the years she had kind of drifted a little further away.

There were two loves in Tanya's life. The first being her long-term boyfriend Edward and the second, ballet – though not in that particular order. Ballet had been a passion of hers for most of her life, and it was no surprise to anyone when she decided to not attend college and follow her dream of becoming a ballerina. She was currently a soloist performer for Pacific Northwest Ballet, having just been promoted from the corps de ballet ranks, but I knew that she was truly aiming for principal dancer. Knowing Tanya it wouldn't be long before she achieved it either; her determination was unparalleled.

Tanya and Edward had been dating for almost four years, having met while waiting in line for coffee. Of course he was attracted to her beauty, her strawberry blond hair and her lithe dancer's body. Who wouldn't be? But believe me when I say that Edward was no slouch in that department either. With his unruly hair, piercing green eyes and a jaw line that would put one Mr. Pitt to shame, he truly was a god like specimen of male goodness. Team that with a killer smile and being a genuinely nice person, I would say that Tanya was one lucky lady. Unfortunately for me, I had been suffering from a little Edward crush from the moment that I met him. I felt a connection the instant we shook hands, and I had to constantly remind myself over the years that he was most certainly off limits. Like I would have a chance anyway.

To round off the 'dream team' was me. Isabella Swan, Bella to my friends and all round average girl. If I were honest I would say that I was relatively good looking. Not a patch on Rosie or Tanya, but I wouldn't send little kids running in horror if they looked upon me either. Average height, average weight, average intellect – yep, very run of the mill.

For now I held down two jobs. My main job was with the Peninsula Daily News, the local Port Angeles rag. I would love to say that I was a writer of said newspaper, but regrettably I couldn't. I sold advertising four days a week, a completely unfulfilling job. On the fifth day I was allowed to tag along with one of the feature writers, to try and pick up any tricks of the trade, but it was done on my own time and truthfully I didn't really learn anything useful.

Any spare time was allocated to my second job, the highly glamorous position of dog walker. It sounds strange even to me, but it was by far my favorite job. The dogs never talked back to give me grief, I spent my afternoons outdoors and keeping fit, and though the money wasn't great, it certainly helped to feed the beast that is my book addiction.

I had no men to speak of in my life, apart from my dad and Jake. Charlie was a large part of my life; I barely went a day without having contact with him in one way or another. Since my mom left just before my teenage years, he was literally my whole world growing up. Jake had been a family friend for as long as I could remember. He had harboured a crush on me for many years, and only recently had accepted the fact that we would be nothing more than close friends. My relief at his reluctant acceptance was palpable, and when he started to date Leah not long after, I was overwhelmed with happiness for him – and for me.

I had dated off and on throughout high school and college, nothing that was particularly intense or long lasting. Mike in high school had lasted about six months, the strain of our barely sexual relationship took its toll on him and he left to look for greener – or should I say easier – pastures.

Next I had dated Alec for almost a year in college and surrendered my v card to him, only for him to succeed in taking the same thing from two other girls at the same time. Needless to say the whole thing was over the moment I found out that Alec had more than one girlfriend.

My relationship with Felix had lasted a little longer and was more serious, though I never felt like he was 'the one' for me. Maybe I read too many romantic novels, but I couldn't get past the fact that I never once felt butterflies during the time we were together, and god forbid I ever achieve the 'big O' while we were having sex. In the end I called it quits, for which my heart, head and hoohah were all thankful.

So through all of the years, the 'dream team' stayed the best of friends and kept in touch in any way that we could. We had decided that we needed a way to make sure that we all got together at least once a year, and a tradition of sorts was started during our last year of high school.

New Year's Eve was our specialty. It became the time of year that no matter where we were, what we were doing or whom we were with, we dropped everything and met down at La Push beach for drinks, gossip and a reflection of the year that passed. Without a doubt it was my favorite time of year, and I couldn't control my excitement as the time drew closer for us all to be reunited.

I hadn't seen all my girls in quite some time. Rosalie and I managed to catch up with each other a couple of times a week. We were both still living in Port Angeles and not living far from each other. Sadly, the last time I had seen Tanya and Alice had been New Years Day last year, though I couldn't remember much of what transpired that day. As was our habit, far too much alcohol had been consumed the night before. The result? Conversations were reduced to mere grunts and nobody had a hope in hell of remembering anything of any importance. We had spoken many, many times over the phone, and of course sent emails, but it was nothing like catching up in person.

So, with fond memories of my friends, I stepped out of my apartment and jumped into the beast. My red truck had been with me through thick and thin since my last year of high school, and I patted her lovingly as I bounced into the driver's seat. I was sure to get hell from the gang when they saw that the beast was still alive and kicking, but as long she still had life in her, she was going to remain by my side.

I pulled into the parking lot at the far end of La Push, and grabbed all of the essentials that I had packed from the rear of the cab. Blanket, nibblies, music and last but not least, the drinks.

As I descended down toward the beach, I could see a bonfire already started and a vague outline of three people. As I drew closer, I could identify them as three of the most important people in my life.

Rose let out a loud whistle, and I looked over to them to find them all waving, so I lifted my hand in salute and began to race over to the fire. I never saw the small pieces of driftwood in the sand until it was too late; I managed to stumble twice and was met with loud cheers and whistles.

"Way to go, Belly," Rose called out, as she raised her wine glass to me in salute.

"I'm glad to see some things never change," Al added, as she raced over to me and took some things out of my arms.

"Ready for a drink, Bells?" Tanya joined in, as she pulled several bottles of wine from her bag.

"Hell, yeah," I replied with a laugh, as reached in for my margarita mix, salt and martini glasses. "Though I'm gonna need some of these to start things off. What do you say, are you all in?" Like I needed to ask. Some things just go hand in hand, like the dream team and margaritas.

"Bring it, baby," yelled Rose. She jumped to her feet to help salt the glasses, then passed out the drinks when they were ready.

"Not just yet thanks, Rosie," Al said as she declined the drink. "I might just sit this one out for now."

We all looked at her incredulously and wondered what the hell was up with Alice. She was normally the instigator of all things alcoholic, the first with a drink in her hand and the first to start the partying.

She gave us all a look that clearly said 'not now', so I dropped it and raised my glass in a toast.

"To absent friends, may it never be so long between drinks again," I sang out, as everyone raised their glassed and took a sip.

"To the dream team, the fucking greatest group of friends a girl could ever ask for," called out Rosie, and again we all raised our glasses.

"To a new year, and making all of our dreams come true," added Tanya, as she took a large gulp from her margarita.

"To celebrating the old, and embracing the new," Al joined in, and raised her glass of water.

Once the toasts were out of the way, we all huddled together and hugged each other while we laughed and gossiped our way through many more drinks. It felt so good and right to be in each other's company again, but it also made me sad that we could not meet up more often.

I shook the gloomy thoughts away, and turned my concentration to Al who was standing up and clearing her throat loudly.

"Right girls, I think we need to start a new tradition, right here, right now. What do you say?" she asked.

"Depends Al, you don't want us to streak down the beach butt naked or anything do you? You know I'd do it anyway, don't you. Just for shits and giggles of course," Rose laughed. She would too; it wouldn't take much persuasion on our part to get her streaking down the beach.

"Nothing like that Rosie. I was just thinking, that every year, we all say that we want to get to the gym more, eat healthier food, blah, blah, blah. What if we each came up with a resolution, a really meaningful one, something that we want more than anything else? You know, we aren't getting any younger guys. My birthday is next month and I am going to be twenty-eight. Twenty-freakin-eight! I seriously need to get my shit together, and maybe, just maybe this will give me the push that I need." Al was serious, there was obviously something playing on her mind, but I for one thought it was a fantastic idea.

"For starters, Al," I looked directly at her, "you are one of the most organised people I know. You are married to the love of your life, you own your own successful business and you get to travel the world. What push could you honestly need?" She was seriously one of the most put together people I knew.

"You'd be surprised, Bella. But that can wait for later. Okay, so who's in?" She questioned, as she stared down each and every one of us. None of us could ever really say no to Al, and this time was no exception.

"Sure, sure. Count me in," I piped up straight away. No sense in prolonging the inevitable.

"Me too," Tanya said quietly. She looked deep in thought; no doubt she was already working on her resolution.

"All for one, and one for all," Rose shouted, as she again raised her glass.

Many drinks and bucket loads of cheers later, Tanya reminded us that it was indeed only ten more seconds until midnight. This started off another round of cheers as we drunkenly counted down the numbers.

"3 – 2 – 1 …. Happy New Year!" The sound of our combined voices just about drowned out the crashing of the waves, as we all sang, laughed and revelled in our current happiness.

Once all of the hype had calmed down, we sat down in a small circle on the blanket, all of us holding hands.

"Right, so are we going to do it then. This resolution thing, I mean," I questioned them all. In unison we all nodded our heads.

"Okay, so let me go first then, after all is was my brilliant idea," Al chortled to herself, as we all threw remnants of our leftovers in her direction.

"Sure, sure, get it started, Al." It was all the encouragement that she needed.

"Sooooo, my new years resolution is…" she dragged out the words. We all waited quietly to hear what she could possibly want to change or add to her life.

"Come on, Al." Rose said, impatience had started to color her tone.

I don't know what I had expected, but it was so totally not what she went on to say. My jaw dropped open, as did those of Tanya and Rose.

If this was any indication of how the rest of the night was going to go, it was certainly going to be interesting and a night never to forget.

A/N: I hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter. Would love to hear any thoughts that you have.

And do you have any ideas about Alice's New Year's resolution?