You know those fics where Edward doesn't come back and Bella forgets about him and five seconds later she's in bed with Jacob and none of it makes any damn sense?
Yeah, this isn't one of them.

This story picks up from the moment in New Moon when Jacob has driven Bella home after the cliff diving incident, right before he catches the scent of Alice. Only in this telling, Alice wasn't looking, so there's no sudden appearance at Bella's house, no Rosalie calling Edward and sending him on a suicidal mission to Volterra, and no reason for Bella to do anything but believe that Edward didn't love her anymore. This is simply a story of what might have happened if everyone stayed mostly in character and Edward's return was delayed. Yes, delayed. Because we all know that he was "this close" to coming back on his own anyhow.
So what would have happened if Bella had tried to move on with her life?  Would she have found happiness with Jacob?  And would Edward be too late?

* First in a series of stories

~I thought of Jacob’s warm arms wrapped around me, his infectious laughter, and his ability to keep me from falling to pieces again… The pain choking my heart relaxed and I could breathe.~

~“More than anything,” I whispered, not caring what I'd just agreed to. When it came to Bella, it didn't matter what the question was. I just wanted.~

Winner of:

Best Author, Most Romantic, Favorite Jacob, Most Suspenseful, & Best WIP in the Wolfpack Awards | Best Non-Canon Pairing (Incomplete) and Best WIP in the Moonlight Awards | Best During the Series in the Razzle Dazzle Awards | The Storyteller Award in the Shimmer Awards | Best JacobxBella in the Silent Tear Awards  

Thanks to RavynNightstorm for the fantastic banner.

During her freshman year, Bella Swan's mother forces her to join the Forks High band.  Instead of the torture Bella was expecting, she actually meets the five people who will become the best friends of her life.  But amid the flirting, jokes, and pranks, something unexpected happens to Bella.  She finds herself unable to escape one devastating mistake and fears her life is over forever...at the age of fifteen. AU/AH.  

One is not free to make mistakes in a small town like Forks.  The tiniest misstep, the smallest indiscretion is fair game for the gossip mill for years.  And the mistake I had made was certainly not a small one.  I would never be able to escape the shadow of what I had done; and worst of all, absolutely everyone knew about it.

There will be no teen pregnancy or illegal drug use in this story.  Anything else that could realistically happen in a high school setting is a possibility.

Finalist for Best Secondary Characterization and Best Action or Drama Story: