Bella Swan and Edward Cullen

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are undoubtedly one of the most popular couples in the Twilight series. When they first meet, Edward finds it hard to be around Bella; even though he is a "vegetarian" vampire (he and his family don't attack humans, but rather animals), he lusts for her blood. The want is so overwhelming, he considers slaying her on the spot, as well as the twenty other surrounding schoolchildren, to remove all living witnesses. He also discovers that his mind-reading powers do not affect her. He temporarily runs away from her, to Alaska, where he stays for a short while. The day after he returns, he saves Bella from being hit by a van, exposing his superhuman strength and speed.

Bella and Edward become closer; Edward invites her over to meet his family, and she is later invited to their baseball game. During the game, danger reveals itself in the form of a visiting vampire coven consisting of Laurent, Victoria, and James. James tricks Bella into confronting him alone, and all of the Cullens come to her aid, destroying James before he can kill Bella.Bella spends time in a hospital with Edward constantly by her side, where he admits that his sister Alice saw a vision of Bella becoming a vampire. However, he is determined to keep her human, despite her wanting to become one. At the end of Twilight, Edward takes Bella to the prom, despite her broken leg and her angry protests. As the book ends, there is high tension between the couple over Bella's reasons for wanting to become a vampire, and Edward's reasons for wanting her to stay human, saying that he would "love her at any age".

As the next book in the series, New Moon, begins, Bella is "celebrating" her eighteenth birthday. She is depressed, because this is the day that she becomes physically older than Edward, who is perpetually 17. Edward invites her over to his family's house to celebrate, and she receives a paper cut while unwrapping one of her gifts, and Edward's brother, Jasper Hale, tries to attack her.