"Attention passengers, this train has been delayed by eight minutes. Metro apologizes for any inconvenience caused."

I huffed and sat back down on the bench, throwing my bag with everything important to me in it onto the ground. Melbourne trains sucked. They sucked really badly. I was pretty sure I spent half my life on train platforms, waiting for stupid trains that were overcrowded, dirty and smelly. Thank God I was leaving Melbourne.

As I picked up my bag again, the sky opened up and it began to rain. I smiled and thanked my lucky stars the bench was under cover. Melbourne, while dreary and cold, had been suffering from drought for nearly a decade, and only in the last year had there been an increase in rainfall. I rummaged through my bag to find the only thing that would help me survive the long train ride: my much abused copy of Twilight.

Yes, I am one of those girls. I have read all the books several times. I have seen all the films made to date and at the 12.01 am screening times. I even read the fanfiction religiously. And yes, I think that Robert Pattinson is a babe – but only when he's dressed up like Edward. Yes, I'm really unusual like that, but what can I say? Clean cut does it better for me. And Taylor Lautner? HOT. I would have Bella's cast-offs any day. I never wanted to be Bella like everyone else, but I would do anything for just a tiny piece of Twilight. I never had siblings, and the idea of having a whole huge family like the Cullens was like heaven. I'd settle for one sibling, but to have several seemed amazing.

I know it's clichéd, but Twilight has been my only escape from my miserable existence for a long time. Three days ago my mother had finally drunk herself into oblivion. Walking in after school and finding her dead on the living room floor wasn't exactly the "welcome home" most teenagers would get. After ten years of living with my mother's alcoholism, I guess it was a bit of a relief. I mean, I loved her, but it's not like she had ever resembled a parental figure to me. I wouldn't have to endure her drunken rages or clean up her vomit off the carpet. I could begin my own life. The only problem was, without her at home, and with several months until I would turn eighteen, I was without a guardian. Jen Porter – orphan. It sounded like a twisted version of Annie.

That was why I had run away. I didn't want to end up in one of those foster homes for nine months getting beat up during the day and fondled during the night. Getting out was the smart choice. I was planning to fake my age and get a job in retail. Maybe McDonalds would have me? And once I was actually eighteen, then I would go back and claim my house, minus the guardian situation. It wasn't ideal as the house would be sitting there for nine months empty, but that would be the same if I stayed until Child Services came. Not finishing school was also an issue, but not everyone has the Cullens to take care of finances when things are tight.

Flicking through the book to the page I was up to, I couldn't help but muse upon the differences between Bella Swan and I. She had a set of loving parents – okay, divorced, but they still loved her while I had, well, me. Yes, sad sob story there. I shuddered and wiped away a tear. Happy thoughts. My drunken mother was finally out of my life. No need to dwell on that. And dear old Dad ran out when I was three to shoot up heroin. No loss there.

At the beginning of the books she was an American high school junior. I'm in year eleven, the Aussie equivalent. Bella hated Forks and the rain, but I didn't mind rain. In fact, in a rainy place like Forks, you would never hear the phrase "water restriction" or "have shorter showers". I could shower away to my heart's content.

Bella liked classic books, and while I had a passion for reading, I didn't think Bella would enjoy books like True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. Or maybe she would, you know, after she found out about vampires.

My thoughts were interrupted by the train pulling up in front of me. Finally. I hopped up, grabbed my bag, and squeezed onto the train headed for the city. I had to stand next to a little old lady, who sniffed when she saw the book I had clutched in my hands. While there may be "Twimoms", I doubted there were many "Twigrandmas". I shrugged off her blatant disapproval, gripped the hand rail tightly, and opened up the book again.

Bella sure messed up a lot. I mean, I loved her, but she made some really uninformed decisions. Like believing Edward didn't love her? What rubbish! And that depression she goes into during New Moon? Pathetic. Not to mention the whole "baby" debacle. Even in Twilight, her constant disbelief in Edward's love stalled the whole story line. And sacrificing herself to James? Bad decision. There were so many other ways she could have acted without rushing to the ballet studio. I'd always sympathised with characters like Rosalie and Leah more. They both knew pain, like me. They were both missing something they desperately wanted, a life that Bella was prepared to throw away.

Smiling to myself, I decided that Bella really needed a sister like me. One that could guide her through the world of vampires and werewolves. One that could steer her away from stupid decisions like walking through Port Angeles alone. I would never have let her go off on her own. If Bella were my sister, she would never internalize all her problems. She would talk to me, and then I would tell her how silly she was being, how she needed to trust me, and do the right thing. I nodded my head. I would much rather be Bella's sister than be the pathetic loser I was. Here in Melbourne, I had no one.

As I came to the realization that I would rather live in a fictional world than my own, the brakes on the train screamed, and everything went black.

"Jenny? Jenny! We're landing!"

I felt myself being shaken awake by a small warm hand. My neck was sore from its awkward position on my shoulder. I rubbed my eyes, and opened them, squinting at the light. I turned my head to look at the small, brown haired girl nudging my shoulder.

"Jen, the plane is about to land, I thought you would want to get cleaned up before they turned the seatbelt sign on."

I rubbed my head, confused. A minute ago I was on a train that was crowded and smelly. I searched my memory, and I could remember the sound of brakes screeching. That was never a good sign. I continued to rub my head, while the girl next to me watched carefully.

"Jenny, you should probably go now if you do want to clean up. You don't look so good." The girl put her hand on my forehead, and then smoothed my curls.

Wait. Curls? Since when did I have curls?

I sat up straighter and had a better look around me. I was on a plane. Why was I on a plane? Oh God. I undid my seatbelt and staggered out into the aisle. Bathroom. I needed to find a bathroom. I quickly located the cubicles and squeezed myself in. I leaned against the door, breathing hard.

I had been on a train, reading my book in relative discomfort. The train screeched and then I was on a plane with a girl who seemed familiar enough with me to know my name and to touch me without permission. I smirked. The train had probably crashed and I most likely died and ended up in some parallel universe.

With any luck it's something good and not, I don't know, some awful psycho thriller.

I sighed, and decided to play along for now. I would either wake up in a hospital back in Australia, which would be no fun, or I was dead and this really was a parallel universe. Either way, I was going to enjoy it while I could.

I turned to the basin and switched on the tap, splashing my face with water. As I straightened up, I suddenly stopped. Who was that in the mirror?

I was no longer a blonde, tan girl with blue eyes and long legs. I had long brown hair, curly, and brown eyes, and had shrunk about four inches. My mouth gaped. If I were in a parallel universe, wouldn't I keep the same appearance?

A knock on the door startled me, and I jumped, knocking my knee on the basin. Jeez. That hurt.

"Jenny? Are you okay? Please let me in, you've been in there a while!"

I took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door to see the same face staring back at me, relief all over it.

"Have you been sick, Jen? I know how much you hate planes. The captain says we are landing in ten minutes, and I didn't know if you were okay."

Twins. We were clearly twins. A strange feeling washed over me. I had never had siblings before, let alone a twin. I smiled and stepped out of the cubicle.

"I was feeling a bit off, but now I'm feeling better. Thanks for checking on me."

My twin rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course I was going to check on you. If we are going to stick it out in Forks, we are definitely going to have to keep an eye on each other."

Forks? Oh God. I knew what parallel universe I had stumbled into. I didn't know whether to cry or jump up and down with joy.

My twin continued back down the aisle to our seats, and I didn't know how I didn't pick it up before. I had to test my theory (though I was kicking myself for not realizing before).

"Bella?"

She turned, caught her foot on a seat, and tumbled to the floor. I laughed and rushed over. I took her arm and tried to help her up, but ended up flat on my ass as well. Chuckling, I hugged her from where we sat.

"You're right. We will need to keep an eye out for each other."

And we both laughed away. Thank you parallel universe.