"fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

Just a little heads up and a respectful nod to Mrs. Meyer: In order to create this alternate universe properly, I used some bits and pieces from Eclipse, such as the "no werewolves" argument between Bella and Edward. I needed to have these first tiffs between Edward and Bella to set the foundation for the rest of the story. The characters, the Eclipse bits and pieces, and absolutely everything that relates to the Twilight universe belongs to the marvelously talented Mrs. Meyer. I own nothing, obviously. C'est la vie! Questa E' la vita!

Chapter one

BPOV

Finally, the dreadful journey was over. I was free! A high school graduate! Yippee! Charlie took me out for dinner, which was nice. He was even civil to Edward for a change. I knew he was doing it only for me, and not for Edward, but I appreciated the effort anyway. After graduation Alice had thrown a horrendous graduation party for me, Edward and herself. Much to my surprise, almost everyone from our senior class came. Most likely just to get a glimpse inside the Cullen house, but Alice was pleased that her soirée was a success, anyway. Of more immediate interest to me was the date and time of my vampire transformation. Edward still insisted that I marry him before he would change me. I had only one word for that plan - "ew". I didn't say it out loud, because it would've hurt his feelings, but marriage was a very dirty word in my book. Not that I could even discuss it with my want-to-be fiancé. Edward had become so sensitive to everything since our return from Volterra. He was insanely paranoid about my safety and absolutely refused to let me go and visit Jacob. That was a particularly sore spot for us. Jacob missed me terribly, he'd told Charlie as much when he'd called to check up on me. The feeling was mutual. I still needed my own personal sun…

"Bella, it is absolutely out of the question for you to be around a werewolf unprotected," Edward said, clenching his jaw.

"I need to see Jacob." Edward's tawny eyes darkened when I said Jacob's name. Here we go again. How many times have we had this conversation? I apparently needed a new tactic. Maybe I would try pleading.

"Please, Edward. Jake is hurting right now, and he needs me. I can't just abandon him – he was there for me when I… Well, you don't know what it was like. If Jacob hadn't helped me, I'm not sure what you would have come home to. He was the air and the sun for me while you were gone! I owe him better than this – he is my best friend! Can't you see that I need him, too?"

A very low growl rumbled in Edward's chest. Oops.

"Oh, Edward, not like that! I need my friend." I softly caressed his cheek, trying to calm and reassure him. "Please? You are the only one I love, but Jake is a part of my life, too. I can't just toss him aside because he happens to be a werewolf. Please?" I pleaded, staring up into his golden eyes.

Edward closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bella, I have come too close to losing you and I know what it feels like to think that I have. I am not going to tolerate anything dangerous. I cannot lose you. I just can't," his voice cracked.

"Edward, you have to trust me on this. I'll be fine."

"No! No werewolves." His voice and his eyes were cold and hard.

I returned his stubborn glare. "I'm not going along with that. I have to see Jacob."

"Then I'll have to stop you." Crap.

"We'll see about that," I bluffed. "He's still my best friend."

When Edward got kicked out at 9:00 for my nightly curfew, I of course did as he asked and complied with his "no werewolf" policy. Not so much. As soon as Edward turned the corner at the end of our street I raced into the living room where Charlie was watching a Mariners game.

"Dad? Can I go to see Jacob?"

"Sure, Bells," Charlie said, with a satisfied grin. "Stay as long as you like, kid."

I was already at the front door when I yelled back at him. "Thanks, Dad!"

It was dark out, and I tripped a few times as I ran out to the truck, threw open the door and slid into the cab. My eyes were just beginning to adjust as I shoved my keys in the ignition. I twisted them hard to the left, but instead of hearing the usual deafening roar, all I heard was clicking. I tried again – no luck. Then, a very familiar voice made me jump in my seat.

"Alice called," he murmured.

I gasped. "What the…how did you?"

Edward was sitting quietly in the passenger seat, turning an oddly shaped black object around in his hands.

"Wait, Alice called?" I asked, finally finding my voice again. Aw, crap! Alice! He must have her keeping tabs on me or something. Ugh!

"Yes. So I turned around. She got nervous when your future abruptly disappeared. You forgot that she couldn't see the wolves? When you decide to mingle your fate with theirs, you disappear, too. Can you see why that might make me a bit anxious? Your future got lost. You got lost." Edward continued to stare at the black object he was holding.

I said nothing.

"I'll put your truck back together in the morning," he assured me.

Again, I remained silent as I yanked the keys out of the ignition and stiffly climbed out of the truck.

"Shut your window if you want me to stay away tonight," he whispered. I slammed the door as hard as I could and stomped toward the house. I pulled open the front door and slammed that behind me, too.

"What's the problem, Bells?" Charlie demanded.

"Truck won't start," I growled.

"Want me to take a look at it?"

"No, thanks, Dad. I'll try it again in the morning."

"Oh, well, okay honey. Good night then."

"Night, Dad."

I stomped up the stairs and into my room. Going straight to my window, I shoved the metal frame down hard – it crashed shut and the glass vibrated like it was going to break.

Grabbing my pajamas and bag of toiletries, I stamped across the hall and into the bathroom. A long, hot shower was the only thing that could hope to relax me now.