Love Coupon

Bella Swan had always been intelligent for a ten-year-old. In fact, she was the top student in her fifth grade class. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise when she figured out that, when you love someone, you have to express your feelings towards them. With the help of laptop and a plate of cookies, she sought out a way to show her love for Edward Cullen.

On the evening of January fifth, she found it.

She worked hard on her project in school the next day. Construction paper, glitter and scissors were scattered upon her desk. Humming softly, she cut a paper heart and glued it to a card. On the card, the words 'FREE KISS' were written in bright pink. Smiling, she grabbed a marker and added a few finishing touches. Once she had finished, she placed the construction paper, glitter and scissors back neatly into the supplies drawer. With the card in her hand, she walked up to a bronze-haired kid and held it out to him.

"This is a coupon. I want you to have it," she said, blushing shyly.

Edward stared at her with questioning eyes. "Why are you giving it to me?" he asked.

She giggled softly. "Because I want to."

He scrunched his eyebrows. "Why do you want to?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

She shrugged. "Just because."

Edward, wanting to get back to his drawing, simply nodded and took the paper out of her hand. "Okay." Then he looked away.

Bella smiled and walked back to her seat. Sitting down, she crossed her legs and placed her hands in her lap. Her heart pounded against her chest as she waited for Edward to come and redeem his coupon.

But he never did.

Minutes passed and recess arrived. Although she was playing with Alice, her attention was focused on Edward, who was talking with Jasper. She waited for Edward to come to her when their conversation ended, but when it did, he ran off to play with Emmett. Her lips turned into a sad frown.

An hour passed and lunch time arrived. While munching on her cookie, Bella watched as Edward ate a piece of broccoli with a disgusted expression. She bit her lip, fighting the giggles that wanted to come out when he spit the food out of his mouth. Suddenly, he stood up. Bella tensed, quietly watching his next movements. Edward went to a nearby trash can and threw his food away. Grinning, he turned around and ran away. Her frown deepened.

Another hour passed and it was time to go home. She waited at the front of the school, waving goodbye to Rosalie. Suddenly, she heard someone call her name. Turning around, she saw Edward walking towards her, smiling. Her heart fluttered and she beamed. It wasn't until a few seconds later when she realized that Edward hadn't called her. Behind him, she could see her father waving from the police car, his lips forming her name. Edward walked past her with his eyes trained on his father's car. He got in and the glinting vehicle took off, disappearing from view.

Her heart broke.

The next morning, Edward avoided her. Every time she walked up to him, he would turn around and walk the other way. Every time she sat right next to him, he would stand up and sit next to Emmett or Jasper. This made her sad because, well, who wouldn't be sad when the love of their life was completely ignoring them? Of course, this also made her angry because what right did Edward have to just ignore her? As far as she knew, she hadn't done anything to upset him. But Bella being Bella, there must have been something she had done, intentionally or unintentionally, for him to ignore her.

She mustered up her courage and decided to confront him.

"Edward," she said, mimicking the tone of her father's voice. "I would like to speak with you…please." She stood in front of him, hands on her hips, waiting for him to answer her. Jasper and Emmett, who were currently flanking him, started to snicker.

"Someone's in trouble," said Emmett in between giggles.

"What did you do Eddie? Steal her underwear?" asked Jasper, a smirk on his face.

Edward shook his head. "No. Of course not," he said, turning towards Bella. "I didn't steal your underwear."

Bella blushed. "This isn't about that," she muttered. Remembering her mission, she cleared her throat and regained her posture. "Can we talk somewhere in private?"

Jasper and Emmett laughed, but stopped when Edward glared at them. Satisfied at their silence, Edward met Bella's gaze and nodded.

"Sure," he said. He gestured his hand towards her. "Lead the way."

"Okay," she said.

Turning, she walked towards the other end of the classroom. She passed by Alice and Rosalie, who were aware of her plans. They gave her thumbs up, fueling her confidence. Smiling, she walked confidently to her desk. As soon as she reached it, she pulled out her chair and gestured for Edward to sit down. Hesitating, he plopped down on the chair, watching as Bella faced him with a frown on her face.

"Why were you ignoring me?" she asked quietly, hurt flashing in her eyes.

Guilt filled up in his chest. "I didn't mean to," he said.

"But you still did."

He looked down at his hands. "I was just…scared and nervous and I didn't know how to talk to you."

"What do you mean you 'didn't know how to talk to me'?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "Am I…scary?" Her eyes widened as the words escaped her lips.

He looked up, shaking his head. "No! Of course not! In fact, you're the least scary person I know. The only way that you'd scare me would be if you were a werewolf or a vampire."

Bella relaxed as she heard the words. "Oh, okay. So I'm not scary?"

"Well, are you a werewolf?"

"No."

"A vampire?"

She giggled. "Nope."

Edward flashed his crooked grin at her. "Then I'm not afraid of you."

At his words, her heart leaped and fluttered in her chest. A rosy blush painted itself on her pale cheeks. "So, how come you didn't talk to me?"

It was Edward's turn to blush. "Well, boys usually get nervous when they want to talk to a girl, especially if it's a pretty girl, and I was already nervous about talking to you about the thing you gave me. The fact that you are a pretty girl made me more nervous and Emmett kept on teasing me, which made me even more ner-"

"Stop!" interrupted Bella, her face as red as a rose. "You're…rambling." She grinned mentally as she remembered the word.

"What's rambling?" asked Edward.

"It's when you keep on talking and talking and talking and talking."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Like Alice?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, okay. I get it."

Bella grinned. "Anyway, back to the question. So you were nervous?"

He nodded.

"And that's the reason why you didn't talk to me?"

He hesitated. "Well, that's not the main reason."

She raised an eyebrow. "What's the main reason?"

"I'll tell you…after we do this." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a piece of paper.

Bella's eyes widened as she recognized the item. "What are you going to do with that?"

He grinned shyly. "I'm going to get my reward."

Then, he stepped forward and kissed her softly on her cheek.

Another blush fluttered its way onto her face. She felt that by the time school was over, her face would represent an overripe tomato. But, to her, it was okay. Why? Because she had finally got what she wanted. She had finally got a kiss from the bronze-haired boy who sat a few seats away from her. She had finally got to feel his soft lips on her pale skin.

She finally had the chance to smile smugly at her arch nemesis, Tanya.

"So…" Bella began, a cheesy smile adorning her face. "What was the main reason why you didn't talk to me yesterday?"

Edward, who was also sporting a small grin, sighed. "You might laugh at me."

She frowned. "Why would I?"

"Because you would think that it's funny."

"I won't."

"You don't know that."

She sighed. "I promise I won't."

"Cross your heart?"

Her finger moved across her heart. "It's crossed."

Nodding, Edward darted to his seat and looked into his backpack. His hand went down and grabbed the item he was looking for. Placing it behind him, he walked back to Bella, a nervous glint in his green eyes. Pulling it from its hiding place, he gave it to her.

Bella looked at the pile of paper in her hands. "What is this?"

Edward blushed. "I made copies."

The End

A/N: And now, for a poetic epilogue:

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