Juliet Swan in Twilight | A Jacob Black Love Story

Chapter One: August

          August 1, 2004: "Julie? Juliet Swan! Birthday or not, get up and get ready!" Mum hollered downstairs.

          I groaned and rolled over under my covers. Despite the summer heat in Hawaii, I get cold rather easily. I was always sensitive to the cold since I was born in Washington before moving to this paradise. Opening one eye, my clock read 0800 and I yawned as I sat up. My hair was caught in my tangled earbuds and I winced as it tugged on my knotted bed hair. That's right. I fell asleep to my ASMR. As I felt my sheets for my iPod, my thoughts started to buzz in my head. It is my birthday, isn't it? My fingertips tapped the cold iPod and I pulled it out to charge it on my bedside table.

          "Are you up, girl?" Mum yelled again.

          "Yes, Mum!" I yelled back.

          She squealed and her footsteps thumped louder as she approached my room. I sighed and sat on my bed while pulling on the earbuds still tangled in my hair. Without knocking, she burst into my room with her dazzling smile.

          "Good morning, moonbeam! Happy birthday, my wonderful daughter!" she said cheerfully while shoving a bouquet of sunflowers and roses onto my lap.

          Her energy was contagious and I couldn't help but smile at my favorite flowers, "Wow! Thanks, mum!"

          "It's so unlike you to sleep in, especially on your day with no rules!" she said and sat behind me, putting her legs on the outside of mine.

          "It's my last day with you, Mum. Do I really have to go to Washington?" I asked and handed her a hairbrush.

          She started to tug on my tangled hair, "Yes, Julie. I know you haven't seen your dad in years but you do call him and exchange packages. It's only until you graduate high school. I might be moving every year to stay with Connor. That's no life for you, especially during this age."

          Connor is a Marine and my Mum's boyfriend. He's nice but really strict. Him and my mum have been dating for a few years so I'm glad they're getting serious now. Still, I was disappointed to have to move away.

          "Calls, letters, packages, and texts. That's different from actually living with him. I won't know anyone there," I whined as she untangled the earbuds from my hair.

          "Jacob is still there, moonbeam," she said softly and brushed out my hair.

          "Do you think he remembers me? We were just kids," I said and leaned back into my Mum.

          She wrapped her arms around my upper arms and held hers tightly, "I'm sure he does! You both were adorable! Look at you, a beautiful young woman is sure to make plenty of friends!"

          I sighed and put my hands on her arms, "My friends want to see me for lunch. I'll be home before dark."

          She kissed the back of my head and got up from my bed, "Alright, alright. Connor is going to be helping me put your surfboards and paddles in shipment to our home on the base in Okinawa. I'm sorry that you can't bring them to Forks. We'll make sure to take care of them."

          I waved at her as she left my room and I fell back onto my bed. Running my fingers through my hair, I thought that Mum would've forgotten about Jacob. She never liked it when I played with only boys like Jacob and his relatives. I lifted my legs and dropped them to give myself momentum to stand. May as well get ready and go now.

          I went through my closet and found my favorite white tank top crop top and shimmied into my torn shorts. My hair was shimmering black and ended just at my hips. I picked up my bouquet and brought them downstairs. After I put them in a vase and gave them water, I grabbed my backpack and keys from the hook by the front door.

          "I'll see you later, Mum! Love you!" I yelled as I put on my slippers with my anklet bouncing as I hopped down the porch stairs.

          "Love you! Drive safe!" Mum yelled from the kitchen window.

          I jumped into my black jeep and plugged the auxiliary cord into my mp3 player. The first playlist started playing Hawaiian music and I let it run. My friends wanted to meet at one of the lookouts near the beach. It was a short drive and I started to laugh as I parked. There were huge blue balloons and all my friends were there. After parking, I jumped out of my car and jumped onto one of my closest friends.

          "Hey!" Tyler held me up in a front piggyback, "Baby, don't cry! C'mere."

          I sniffled and buried my head against his neck, "I don't want to go."

          Fred and George both hugged us, "Love, we'll try and visit! It's only for two years."

          I wiped my face and looked at them, my favorite identical twins, "I love you all so much."

          "And we love you, Juliet," the three of them said together.

          Fred and George were the biggest pranksters at our high school and we always got into trouble. Tyler is a sweetheart and we've always been close. While the twins tied the balloons to the racks on my jeep, Tyler brought out lunch from the twins' mopeds. We spent the afternoon eating spam musubis and donuts. Tyler brought his digital camera and took a lot of pictures of us. We were all tan from years of surfing and going to the beach. Fred and George left first and they kissed my cheeks before hopping on their mopeds. Tyler and I hugged tightly and he kissed my forehead before putting a beautiful lei on me.

          "Take care of yourself up there, baby," he said and watched me leave in my jeep safely.

          I drove home and stopped by our high school. Even though we were all 16 now, our neighborhood was tightly knit and most of us learned to drive by 12. We all started in golf carts but the twins could ride their dad's motorcycle as long as it was on their home street. Tyler lived within walking distance of the lookout. When I parked at my high school, I looked up at the electric wires between the tall wood poles. I grinned and reached in the backseat for my old shoes from ninth grade. The wire was already littered with shoes from generations of students before me. I tied my laces together and got out of my car. With a deep breath, I threw my shoes as hard and as high as I could. The laces caught on the wire and spun around. I did it. I wiped away my tears and smiled at the memories I made here. When I got back home, it was sunset and Connor was here.

          "Hey, little lady. Happy birthday. We have a gift for you," he greeted me as I walked in the front door.

          I put my bag and keys on the hook and smiled as I followed him inside, "Thanks, you didn't have to get me any-"

          "SURPRISE!!!"

           I screamed and jumped. My family and friends were here. I started to laugh and cry and hugged everyone here. This is making leaving so much harder but I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. We spent the night eating and taking pictures together. Even more surprising, everyone mailed my gifts up in advance to Washington for me to open as a way to look forward to moving. Around 10pm, I had to hug everyone goodbye and I had a massive group photo taken with everyone there. Connor and my mum drove me to the Honolulu Airport and I was already homesick. Mum was a mess after I got my ticket and I hugged her tightly before going through the TSA checkpoint.

          "You call me once you get there, you hear me, moonbeam?" she sobbed.

          "Yeah, Mum, I will," I said softly.

          Connor pried her away and hugged me tightly, "We'll keep in touch."

          I nodded and picked up my suitcase and shifted my carry-on duffle bag around my shoulder, "Yeah. Let me know how Okinawa is."

          I waved to them and went through security. The airport was always crowded and I plopped myself in an empty seat near an outlet once I found my gate. I plugged in my laptop charger and watched some YouTube videos because my flight wasn't for another hour. Not long after I set up my laptop, a cute boy stood in front of me.