The Other Swan

Part 1, Chapter 1 - Before

Rosebella Swan emerged from her dad's car and smiled at the sky. She could smell the woods around her and could hear the bugs making their calls. It was the beginning of summer in forks and Rose was so relieved to be here. It meant a summer of fun and being able to reconnect with her dad. She didn't have to constantly be on edge on whatever it was she was doing and worry that it would be compared to her sister.

Everyone knew Renee favored Bella over Rose. However, Charlie wasn't like that. Charlie treated both equally, although, Rose did tend to be the one who responded the most to his attempts. Bella was in simplest terms quiet and awkward. She was also very clumsy though Rose hoped she would outgrow that. Because of this, it was up to Rose to bridge the gap between her awkward twin and her equally socially awkward father. She didn't mind this because she loved Bella and she loved Charlie. Most of all, Rose just loved Forks.

Upon entering the house, Rose noticed that it was very clean. It still had Charlie's outdoorsman type of decorating, but it seemed polished. There was flowers in the center of the dining table and the kitchen counters had been cleared. She could smell the pine sol used to clean the floor which was shiny as she walked in. She smiled softly knowing that Charlie had spent time cleaning and sanitizing everything for her arrival. It was an effort she missed being shown from her mom.

Charlie motioned towards the stairs. "You're room is up there. It's the one on the right."

Rose turned to look at him. "Oh yeah! You got that renovation right? It's three bedrooms now."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah and two bathrooms now so you have your own."

Rose bounded up the stairs to look at her new room. Upon entering she noticed the changes her dad had made in an attempt to make it more grown up for her. Charlie had updated her old bedroom which she had shared with Bella and had been magic school bus themed (her old favorite show) to a room more suited to her. She now had light blue walls and dark wood furniture. Her window overlooked the woods next to her house which she loved to see. Her dad had set up plants next to the window which sat on her desk. There was a quilt of gray flowers that covered her bed that was soft underneath her fingers.

She turned to look at her dad in the doorway and beamed at him. She giggled as she hugged him and thanked him again and again for her new decorations. He looked relieved down at her and hugged her back.

"Glad you like it."

"Oh I do I really do!" She responded. "Are we having anything for dinner?"

Her stomach rumbled. It was just then she realized that she hadn't eaten since before she left in the morning. Seeing as it was now well past lunch time she figured it'd be a good time to ask about dinner.

"Well Billy invited us over as soon as you landed but I figured you'd want a chance to freshen up and let your bags down beforehand." Charlie explained. Rose smiled as she let go of him and went to her bags.

"That's perfect. I just need one minute to lay out my stuff for tonight when we get back and then I'm ready to leave when you are." Rose grabbed her pajamas and her toothbrush and set them out. She figured that she'd be to tired to unpack when she returned home so that would do for now. She grabbed her dark green hoodie and threw it on over her t-shirt. She walked out of her room and down the stairs into the living room where she found her dad waiting.

"Ready." She said.

Charlie drove them off towards LA Push where Rose started bouncing with energy. Although she had talked to Jacob and the gang just two weeks ago, she was nervous about seeing them again. What if they decided they didn't like her anymore? What if they didn't like how loud she was? Should she hug everyone when she arrived? Or were they to grown up now? What if they all wished Bella was there instead of her?