WHERE I BELONG [P. LAHOTE]

[00]

The first little chapter takes place during Twilight, but it's just sort of a prologue part.

Skylar sat in the passenger's seat of the old police car, drumming her fingers on her knee. There was a bit of a heavy silence in the car; Charlie and Bella really didn't have much to say after greetings and small talk. She wasn't surprised as Charlie wasn't really much of a talker to begin with and Bella was just naturally awkward.

Skylar Swan had been living with her dad, Charlie, for two years now. She had wanted a change from Arizona and decided to move in with her Dad. Her Mom had finally agreed as long as Sky promised to visit several times a year and call her all the time. Bella was much more simple – a few texts a week satisfied her twin.

So, for the better part of 24 months, Skylar had been residing in Forks, Washington. She had swapped the nearly constant sunshine for the nearly constant overcast. She had thrived in this kind of weather though.

Finally pulling up to the simple, two-story house, Skylar let out a loud sigh. It was good to be back home. Opening the door, she heaved herself out of the car and shut the door behind her, making her way up to the front door with Bella following.

"You remember the layout, right?" Skylar raised an eyebrow towards her twin. Nodding, Bella looked around the cozy house. "Yeah. It's been a while though."

Skylar chuckled. "It sure has." She made her way up the stairs, glancing back at Bella. "He won't say it, not out loud, but Charlie really is glad to have you here."

Making her way towards Bella's old room, she opened the door. "Here you go. Charlie wanted to change the room a bit but didn't have the slightest clue to what you liked, so you can thank me for your new room," Skylar said, motioning her hands around the room.

"Wow. It's perfect," Bella nodded. Looking up at Skylar's expecting face, she gave out a breathy chuckle. "Thank you, Sky."

"Absolutely. As for the bathroom," she pointed down the hallway, "Charlie and I both cleared off a couple shelves for you."

"Right," Bella nodded. "One bathroom."

Skylar winked at Bella. "Good to have you here Bells. Anyway, I let you get settled in. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs."

Getting a simple nod in response, Skylar bounded down the stairs and sat next to Charlie, who was currently watching the basketball game. Charlie raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "You want to watch the game?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Bella is getting everything ready and I really don't feel like being alone right now."

"So you can't call one of your friends?"

Skylar raised a hand to her chest. "I'm starting to think you don't want me here, pops. I'm offended," she said, resting her feet on the coffee table. "Besides, I heard Billy and Jacob were supposed to stop by and I wanted to see them. It's been a while."

Charlie's head perked up when he heard a car rumble to a stop outside. "It seems like that would be them. Bells!" he yelled up the stairs. "Can you come here for a moment?"

Skylar watched as Charlie headed out the front door, Bella soon following. She smiled, knowing how much Bella would love that ancient truck.

***

"Skylar, come on! You're going to be late for school!" Charlie yelled up the stairs.

"I'm coming," Skylar groaned back. "I forgot how much I hated mornings." Quickly getting ready, she ran down the stairs. Grabbing a breakfast bar and pecking Charlie on the cheek, she walked out the door and towards Bella's truck. She figured that she would carpool with Bella today instead of driving on her own, hopefully making her twin less nervous for the upcoming school day.

Jumping in the truck, she buckled her seatbelt as Bella started her way towards Forks High School. "Let's try and make it without breaking down, yeah?" Skylar sighed out.

They made it without any trouble, pulling in an empty parking lot on the far side of the building. Stepping out, Skylar waited for Bella and began walking towards the school. Directing her into the main entrance of the school, Skylar began to walk to the office. She stepped in the door and held it open for Bella, smiling at the receptionist. "Hi. This is Bella, my sister. She's here to pick up her schedule."

"Oh sure, just give me a second," the older lady smiled, messing around on her computer for a few moments. "Okay, her you go honey. Have a nice first day. Make sure to have the teachers sign the slip and bring it back."

Observing her schedule, Skylar groaned. "The only thing we have together is lunch and English. At least I can cheat off you in that class, you little Literature nerd." Giving her sister a light push, Skylar motioned Bella to her locker. "Here ya go. Do you need anything else?" Bella shook her head, still looking over her class schedule. "Well if you do, just text me. I'll be in math first. See you at lunch, yeah?"

Walking in the lunch room, Skylar grimaced when she saw Bella sitting when Jessica and her clan of friends. She didn't hate Jessica, but she could only stand so much of the teenager at one time. Waving her other friends off, she made her way towards Bella, sitting down beside her. "Sup Bells." Skylar smirked at the rest of them sitting around the table and began to dig into her lunch. She had missed breakfast and her stomach had been growling since the middle of second period.

Skylar stopped eating when she noticed Bella staring at the doorway. Her twin nodded towards it. "Who are they?"

Turning in her seat, Skylar raised her eyebrows when Jessica began to explain the family to Bella. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife."

Bella gulped. "They are... very nice-looking." Nodding enthusiastically, Jessica continued. "Yes! They're all together though – Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Skylar rolled her eyes and began to tune out Jessica, along with her frequent gossiping.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" Bella asked, glancing at him secretly. Jessica looked over at the family. "That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls around here are good-looking enough for him," she scoffed. Skylar snorted and tried unsuccessfully to hide it with a cough, smirking when Jessica shot her a nasty glare.

Noticing Bella's distressed look, Skylar patted her back gently. "Don't worry about him Bells. I mean, you can try to talk to him, yeah? Just don't expect much, it's like talking to a brick wall as our friend Jessica here found out," Skylar snickered under her breath. "Besides, he's just a boy. What could happen?"