What You Thought You Knew (Includes Outtakes) by hmonster4.pdf

Fanfiction based on Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Series

Rated M for Mature

What You Thought You Knew

By hmonster4

Summary: After 3 years away, Bella returns home. The course to mending fences, accepting change,

and charting a course forward is never easy, but with a little work, it might be the best thing they

ever do. AU/Human. All canon couples.

Chapter 1: No Place Like Home

“SeriouslyB– this place is going to be so lame without you! How are we ever going to tolerate the

monotony?Youkeepussane!!”Cory rattled on as he slowly wandered around my office, poking at the piles

of story boards, product samples, and binders.

I snorted a small laugh and continued to load my belongings into the shopping bag that sat in my desk

chair“ComeonCory– you are being overly dramatic, even for you. When I took the offer from CMA, I had

only intended to stay for a year, get some experience under my belt, and move on. I over stayed my

welcome by two years – it’stimetomoveon”

I continued to fill up the bag with personal effects that had accumulated in my office – photos, ponytail

holders, my ipod cable, notebooks I had found at a local boutique that were covered in the silk material

used to make prep school ties. I turned to my credenza, grabbing a few books off the shelf, debating

whether or not to leave them behind.

“Ohhh– atleastleavemetheattentiongetter!”CorymadeaplayfulgrabfortheNerfgunlayingontopof

thecredenza“IfIcan’tkeepyou– I’llhappilytakethisasasloppysecond!”

I laughed and passed the Nerf gun over. It was a staple at my twice weekly team meetings – I used it to

reign in the group of overly enthusiastic creative fiends that I called my team when they were getting

overlyrowdyornotpayingattention“Goon– take it, and think of me often. Now get out of here so I can

wrapupsomethings!”Corysquealedinjoy– grabbing the plastic gun and running out the door before I

could change my mind.

I moved to the shopping bag to the floor and dropped into the chair. Grabbing my blackberry from the

charging cradle on my desk – I stared the screen for a few moments, then taped out a quick text, and sorting

thru my contact list, fired the same message off to five phone numbers.

Guess who is coming home? If you aren’t busy tomorrow, can I buy you a drink? xB

I powered down the blackberry – noclientswouldbecallingtodayandIreallydidn’twanttodealwith

anotherroundofhorrified‘youcan’tleaveNewYork”conversationswiththefewfriendsIhadmadehere

Leaning back with my hands clasped behind my head – I slowly swiveled back and forth, taking in the

organized chaos that was my office. It really was amazing how far I had come in just short of three years. It

was a bit sobering to think that I was packing it all up – the life that I had crafted in New York; all to head

back to what I had essentially run away from. What is that old adage? Hindsight is 20/20? Talk about an

understatement.

OkaysorunawayisabitstrongIt’snotlikemylifehadbeenbadMyparentslovedme – just not each

other, and had split up when I was two. My mother remarried when I was in high school, and I chose to live

with my father as opposed to shuttling all over the country while her husband moved between Triple A

baseball teams in an attempt to break into the big time.

My two closest female friends, Rosalie Hale and Alice Cullen, had been with me since I moved to

WashingtontolivewithmydadAlice’sbrotherEdwardhadjokinglynamedus“TheTrinity”– periodically

slipping in adjectives like unholy when we were making his life challenging (which was often). We spent a

good amount of time with Edward and his friend Emmett McCarty until they headed off to college in San

Francisco when we were juniors. Edward and Emmett were legendary in high school – and made it very

clear even after they went to college that no one had better mess with the trinity. Not that it was a huge

issue – most of our classmates were terrified of Rosalie – who looked like a movie star and cursed like a

sailor on leave.

HighschoolwaspalatablebutuneventfulBetweenthethreatsmademyEmmettandEdwardRose’s

intimidation factor, and the small fact that my father was chief of police in the small town we lived in – no

one ever said boo to me. They also never teepeed our house, asked me out, let me drink at a party, or any of

the other million rites of high school. Rose and Alice balanced out the kid gloves by pulling me along in

everything they did. We were quite the high school cliché – Rose the Prom Queen, Alice the Head

Cheerleader, and me simply known because I was part of the package.

Rose, Alice and I all headed to college in San Francisco after High School (Alice and I at Berkley, Rose at

Stanford with Emmett and Edward). There our group grew my sophomore year to include Jasper Whitlock,

Emmett’sroommatewhofellmadlyinlovewithAliceafterapubcrawlwheresheoverwhelmedhimwith

her civil war knowledge. They are married now – I gave a toast at their wedding, telling Jasper that if it

hadn’tbeenforMargaretMitchellandScarletO’HaraAlicewouldhaveneverknockedhissocksoffShe

says she owes me payback for that one.

Once at college, I broke out of the shackles of high school a little bit – no one at Berkley knew who my dad

was – but they sure as heck knew about the Trinity – solifeevolvedbutdidn’treallychangeIcouldfinally

go to parties and have a drink without fear of reprisal by my dad. A few guys flirted, and I did get asked on a

dates, but they all tended to fade into the wood work quicklyIdon’tknowifitwasmethebrotherly

influence that Em and Edward brought to bear as they loomed in the background, or the subtle threats of

castration for mistreatment by Rose and Alice. They were all so protective of me – like I was this fragile

little doll in this larger than life world they lived in.

After six years of higher education, and a slightly evolved social life. I graduated with a frivolous major in

English Literature, a practical minor in Business, and an MBA. I moved to Seattle with Rose, and began job

hunting while maintaining a steady income pouring coffee and serving scones. After six months of hunting I

finallylandedajobwithasmalladvertisingagencyinasacopywriterItdefinitelywasn’tglamorousbutit

paid the bills and allowed me the small satisfaction of knowing that I was putting my impractical yet

expensive education to use. Of course, the ability to actually pay the mountain of student loans for said

education was a bonus too.

While Rose and I rented an apartment in Seattle, Alice headed to New York for an internship with a clothing

company. It was all smooth sailing for the first year – I found that I actually enjoyed advertising, and what

was more surprising, I was really good at it. I quickly progressed up the food chain at work, focusing on

more and more challenging accounts, and even getting the opportunity to recommend my own creative

strategies.

As great as work was – lifeoutsideofworkwaswellmonotonousItwasn’tbad– itjustwasn’tanything

different. It felt like I was stuck in that movie Groundhog Day – the same things over and over. I loved my

friends, I loved Seattle – but I felt so stifled – likeIwaslivingsomeoneelse’scarefullyorchestratedversion

of my life. It sucked.

In March of 2005, Alice was wrapping up her internship in New York, and was getting ready to move back

toSeattleShehadmadesomeexcellentconnectionsandhadlandedajobata“lifestyleapparel”company

located downtown. Before coming home, she convinced Rose and me to fly out and spend a week with her

in New York.

The trip to New York gave me the push that I needed – a chance to break out of the cycle. By the time Rose

andIhadbookedourflighttoNewYorkafewweeksafterAlice’sinvitationIhadlinedupfourinterviews

with advertising agencies in Manhattan proper.

To say that Rose and Alice were upset with me was an understatement – their week of shopping, culture

andentertainmentendedupbeinghijackedbymygauntletofinterviewsTheycouldn’tunderstandwhy I

felt the need to look for something outside of my comfort zone – let alone on the opposite side of the

country. After a series of rather heated discussions where I pointed out that Alice had done exactly that,

(onlytobetoldthatitwasn’tthesame), both Rose and Alice gave up. They kept telling me that I was giving

up everything to chase a whim in a city where I knew no one – and that I could do the same in Seattle. The

more they pushed, the more motivated I became. By the end of the week – I had a job offer with CMA. I also

had two friends who looked at me like I had three eyes.

I treated my move to New York like ripping off a band-aid. I resigned from my job in Seattle, packed up my

belongings, said a hasty goodbye, and got the heck out of dodge. The last days in Seattle were tense – Rose

andAlicedidn’tunderstandmydecisiontoleave– and treated it as though I were defecting from them.

Emmett and Edward expressed concern, yet were quickly distracted with the activities within their own

lives. The lone advocate of my decision – my father – was a surprise to me. Charlie had always been

protective in a non-intrusive sort of way, trying to protect me from the darker side of life. When I told him

about the offer and my acceptance, he acted like I had won the lottery – encouragingmeto“strikeouton

myown”

Once I arrived in New York – I immersed myself in work. I had been hired as a copywriter to round out a

newly formed team tasked with the re-launch a major cosmetics line. If my move cross countryhadn’tbeen

met with such a negative response by Rose and Alice – the irony of the tomboy that I am convincing women

of the merits of extra lengthening mascara or twelve hour lipstick would have been hours of fodder for

phone conversations. Distance and three time zones made it challenging to stay in touch – but I tried my

hardest to talk to Alice and Rose at least once a month, and keep a regular email correspondence with

everyone. Well, everyone but Edward, who was buried in medical school, and had dropped off the face of

the earth to focus on his studies.

Six months into my job – I started teeing up creative ideas beyond copy, and caught the attention of the

creative lead at CMA. He decided to take a gamble on me, and let me lead the launch of a new lip gloss line

for the team. That was all the opening I needed – I grabbed the opportunity and ran with it. That was two

years ago, and was the boost I needed, making me the youngest Creative Director at CMA at the ripe old age

of 28. Two months ago - I won an Addy – the advertising equivalent of an Emmy. My career was on a roll.

My migration to New York had been one of self discovery. That good old 20/20 hindsight told me that I

made the move to New York because I needed to stand on my own – to be me, Bella Swan, not the Chief of

Police’sdaughterfriendofgorgeousRoseorenergeticAliceNot“littlesister”ofEmmettandEdwardI

needed to stand on my own, to forge my own path, to ultimately understand who I truly was.

And now – at the tail end of those three years, I had the answers. I had carved out a career and found a way

to feel comfortable in my skin based on who I was, not who people thought I should be. Ironically – in doing

soIfoundthatwhoIwaswhenIleftSeattlewasn’ttoofaroffofwhoI am today – yes, some of the little

things had changed – but who I was deep down was still there. The biggest changes were in how I defined

myself – based on me, not on family ties or friendships. That self confidence allowed me to develop a sense

of self confidence I lacked in my younger days. I would never be defined as a tangential to someone else. I

was Bella Swan. There was no need for a title after my name anymore – I could stand alone.

Unfortunately, the road to self discovery was a lonely one – and in standing on my own, I came to realize

that it was ok to define myself in small part because of who my friends were. . So three years into my quest

for self discovery, I mirrored the bi-coastal move that started my crusade. I had kept in touch with the

owners of the small agency where I had gotten my start out of college, who had recently contacted me

regarding an account they were having trouble with that needed a firm hand and industry knowledge.

While the agency was significantly smaller than CMA, it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

It was also an opportunity to balance out the pendulum swing. I missed my friends and my family. I had

kept in touch with them while I was gone, but had missed out on so much. It was time to go home and

rebuild the relationships that had once been the foundation of my existence. I was going to go – hat in hand

as they say, back to Seattle to try and re-establish the relationships I once had.

I was down to my final hour at CMA. My team had taken me out for lunch, presented me with two shadow

boxedjoke“storyboards”thathadbeencreatedlateonenightinanattempttoshedthegoofyenergysowe

could focus on actual work. Everyone had said their good byes, and Cory had been flitting in and out of my

office for the last hour claiming first right of refusal on what I was leaving behind.

I took one last look around my office – swiveling my chair once more to take in the view out my office

window. The sun was starting to set, casting long shadows over Union Square. I took a deep breath –

enjoying the view one last time. Standing, I grabbed my messenger bag, the shopping bag full of my

personal effects, and my coat and walked towards my office door, flipping off the overhead light for the last

time.

“HeyCory– the corpse is starting to get cold – you better get in here and go thru the pockets before the rest

ofthescavengersdescend!”

Corypoppedhisheadoutofhiscube“Yououttahere?”

“Yep– the fat lady is singing, and I have an 8 am flight out of Newark tomorrow. I am going to grab one last

bagelandheadout”

“Wow– Ican’tbelieveyouarereallygoing”Corytookalongbreathinandgavemeabigsmile“Knock‘em

dead Bella – youareamazingIamgoingtomissyou”

IgaveCoryaquickonearmedhug“Takecare of the team Cory – you earned the mantle and the Nerf gun.

Don’tbeafraidtouseit”Isqueezedhimonemoretimethenmademywayoutofthebuilding

As I stepped out on the sidewalk, I pulled out my blackberry and powered it up. I walked up First Avenue,

alternating my line of site between my blackberry and the crowd walking around me. The phone began to

beep as the texts came in.

Does a bear shit in the woods? Name the place – I’m there!!! Em

It’s about fucking time! R

Did hell freeze over? EAC

The prodigal returns J

Can I pick you up at the airport? A

I smiled. I was going home.

top

Chapter 2: In for a Penny

I felt the plane bank, and looked out the window. There were breaks in the cover today, allowing little

peeks of Seattle through the scattered clouds. The sound sparkled where the sun broke through –

reminding me how beautiful it can be here when the sun shines. I left Newark airport on a dreary spring

morning – bare trees, dead grass, and over cast skies. The verdant green below made what I left behind

look like an old celluloid film negative.

Geez Bella, 28 years old and you are still a romantic sap. All those years of a nose in a book really did a

numberonthewayIviewedtheworldthat’sforsureUnderalltheworldlyNewYorkcynicismIhad

adopted, I was the same I ever was.

I leaned back against the seat, twisting the end of the seat belt back and forth. I was excited to be back in

Seattle – I truly was. As much as I thrived the last three years, I am not a New Yorker. I missed the laid back

pace of the Emerald City, the ability to get a good cup of coffee 24 hours a day, and good fish whenever you

wanted it. I guess it takes leaving or giving something up to make you truly appreciate what you had.

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