Summary: Unlucky in love Bella Swan has never been particularly fond of Valentine's Day. All she's ever received is a load of unpaid bills and junk mail, certainly not a Valentine's Day card! But this time round Bella finds herself with a secret admirer, someone who is going all out to catch her eye. The big question is - who is it?

An: Here's a short little story I started for Valentine's weekend;) I'm late posting this but I hope you like it all the same. It's in two parts, the second chapter will hopefully follow next weekend. It is dedicated to the lovely person who nominated my story finding home for the top ten stories completed in January over on

Enjoy!

~*~The Only Exception~*~

"Good morning Bella." Alice smiled as she cheerfully handed me my morning coffee.

"Morning Alice." I replied back glad of the distraction away from the mountain of paperwork that I found on my desk this morning.

"You're looking rather pleased with yourself. Good weekend I take it?" I inquired.

"Jasper came back this week." she sighed dreamily. "He's told me that he's taking me away next weekend too!"

"Nice," I smiled, pleased that my best friend had at last found a decent guy, after dating her fair share of losers.

"I hope you haven't forgotten what day it is on Friday?" She informed me.

As if I could forget, I thought sourly as I recalled my weekend full of over the top gestures of love, a mass of hearts and all things red. Valentine's Day cheer was everywhere I looked; at the dinner, in the supermarket. Even the very building I was sat in now was adorned with red hanging hearts and decorations. I think it was Alice's doing. The eager little pixie was determined to spread love and happiness everywhere she went.

In all honestly I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Could I sound any more bitter?

In my defence it was understandable really, because lets be honest there is nothing more depressing than being single on Valentine's Day when people are shoving it down your throat.

Okay, so maybe they weren't; it just felt that way sometimes.

The closest I was going to get to company was a not so romantic meal with my Dad and his new girlfriend Sue. Talk about being the third wheel. At 23 years old my love life was practically none existent. Heck, even my Dad was getting more action than me, but the little said about that the better.

"So do you have anything special planned?" Alice asked excitedly.

I looked up from my screen and eyed her curiously. Alice was by no means stupid. She knew the whole sorry story of my non-existent love life and I told her as much.

"Alice, if you haven't forgotten I'm very much single! So take a wild guess at what I'll be doing on Valentine's Day?" I answered unenthusiastically.

"Bella there are so many possibilities if you would just open your eyes to them," she scolded, sending me the look that let me know I was in for a lecture, and she didn't disappoint.

"If you don't put yourself out there you'll never know." She said gently.

I had heard it all before of course. Alice was forever telling me that I needed to be more confident and open to love, which was a lot easier said than done. I didn't exactly have a good track record as far as dating goes. In high school I was cursed with being not only incredibly self conscious, but I was also blessed with a crippling shyness that repelled boys. Back then I'd been on a few dates and I'd had even fewer boyfriends. I wasn't much better now.

"Alice please stop," I interrupted, sensing she was about to read me the riot act again.

"No Bella, you need to hear this. Look, I know you're shy but you're never going to meet anyone if you keep pushing people away or ignore what is right in front of you!"

She sent me a knowing look before she continued on. "Don't tell me there isn't someone you're interested in. I know for a fact you feel something for him too."

While she ranted away, I kept my head down, willing her to shut up. Though I tried to keep my feelings hidden, of course she knew about the little crush, correction, the obsession I had with a certain green eyed teacher.

"Besides, you never know he might finally make a move this Valentine's." She said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

The 'He' in question was Edward Cullen, Forks Highs newest music teacher and part time football coach.

I'd never been one of those people who was fascinated by musical talent or sporting greatness or any of that sort of thing, but for Edward I could definitely make an exception.

He had been on the brink of stardom and had just secured his place as the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks when a tragic injury put an end to his career. Since then he'd been rumoured to have been offered both presenting and coaching jobs with all the top teams, and if the rumours were true a few movie roles too. Then again you only had to look at him to see why.

He was stunning and without doubt the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. His jawline was strong and he had cheekbones most women would die for. And don't even get me started on his hair. It was such a unique shade of bronze/brown that appeared completely dishelvished and unruly. But it was his eyes that really drew me in. They were such a breathtaking shade of green, so intense and striking.

Women adored him and men wanted to be him; He was that type of guy.

He was too God damn perfect for his own good. He belonged on the big screen or the cover of GQ for crying out loud. He certainly didn't belong in Forks High that's for sure, but luckily for us Edward had turned them all down in favour of our humble High School so that he could be close to his family whom lived just outside of town.

It was seen as a strange choice by some people but Edward wanted a quiet life away from the spotlight and media attention. Its not him, it never was. Edward was never one to be picture stumbling out of nightclubs and dating stunning models.

By all accounts he led a quiet life, though not as reclusive as me; your stereotypical librarian still living at home with her father. Perhaps Alice did have a point. Maybe I did need to start living a little.

But no matter how much I wanted Edward, I wasn't deluding myself into thinking I had a chance with him. We were friends but that was as far as it went. Someone like him would never be interested in a nobody like me.

We came from two very different worlds. He the star quarterback and me the reclusive bookworm.

That said Edward didn't exactly fit the stereotypical quarterback role either. He was kind and friendly, and he always had a smile on his face when we passed one another in the corridor. What's more, he was a complete gentleman too and he was always there to help carry my books on the few occasions he saw me struggling in the hallway.

Alice was right; I was totally crushing on him. Me and all the other single teachers and several married ones too. I was willing to bet that more than a few single parents were harboring feelings for him. It was actually quite amusing how since his arrival the number of single mothers coming in to school to 'check on' their kids progress had increased significantly.

I couldn't blame them. Edward was smart, friendly, intuitive, and I was instantly drawn to him. Yeah me and most of the female population in Forks.

But what makes Edward even more amazing is that he's a great teacher; Nothing like the bullying gym teachers I had to endure during my time as a student that had made my life a misery.

He was incredibly thoughtful and he took real time to help his students succeed.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that it was a simple crush but my feelings ran much deeper than most. I knew of Edward Cullen before he even joined the faculty. In fact the first time I became aware of him was way back in High school when his team played the Forks Spartans in my senior year.

Our team got well and truly smashed and as bad it sounds I had no sympathy for them. Mike Newton our 'star' quarterback at the time thought he was the God of the school despite never actually winning anything. He made my school life a living hell. Being shy and the new girl, I was an ideal target for him and his bunch of dumb jocks. From the start I didn't fit in and they terrorized me the whole of freshman year with cruel jibes and taunts about my oversized glasses, horrible braces and flat chest.

"Talk of the devil," Alice's voice drew me out of my reminiscing. "Here comes your man," she teased and I looked up to find Edward heading towards my desk, a pile of books in his hands.

"Alice," I hissed in warning, willing my cheeks to cool down.

"Good morning ladies," Edwards usually chirpy voice greeted us. He sent me that killer smile that made my heart flutter.

"Morning Edward," I said blushing like a sixteen year old schoolgirl.

"Did you have a nice weekend?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Yes thanks, it was pretty uneventful. How about you?" I deflected.

"The same really," Edward smiled back.

"So you haven't been busy making any big plans for Valentine's Day?" Alice's knowing smile focused in on him.

I sent her a warning look before glancing back to Edward who was blushing and scratching the back of his neck nervously as if he was as excited about this week as I was.

"Ignore her Edward. Alice has taken it up herself to play cupid this week, " I joked, attempting to spare his blush but in all honestly I wasn't ready to hear his plans for the coming week.

He'd never mentioned anyone but I guess our conversations rarely went beyond school business or our plans for the weekend.

"So what have we got this week?" I asked for distraction away from Alice's fishing around for information.

"How's Emmett going with those extra classes?" I glancing down to the collection of text books he was checking out.

"He's making real progress," Edwards smile widened, and I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

Another one of the things I loved about Edward was how much of a wonderful teacher he was. He took the time to support his students and was keen for them to succeed in all aspects of their studies, not just his classes. He really was a great teacher, as I had witnessed on the numerous occasions. Often during free periods he would be in the library tutoring his students.

In particular, he reached out to help Emmett, the Spartans star quarterback who was struggling to keep up with his studies. It was quite awe inspiring to watch as Edward had that magical ability to turn what should have been the most boring of conversation into the most fascinating topic in the world. He had the amazing ability to draw the best out of people. He loved his job and that showed in his enthusiasm.

I lost track of time when Edward was nearby and it was only when he glanced at his watch that I realized we were nearing first period.

"Well, I guess I should get going. See you at lunch," he nodded and paused as if waiting for me to say something.

I opened my mouth to speak but I just couldn't get anything out. He looked hopeful at my attempts, but soon turned despondent when I didn't say anything.

That said he still offered me that killer smile and after sending me a final nod he turned to leave.

When I was sure Edward was out of earshot I turn to Alice accusingly.

"Alice keep you've voice down next time. He could have heard you!" I warned.

"So what if he did?" she looked at me pointedly, not in the least deterred. "You two have been dancing around each other for far too long."

"Alice you're delusional." I argued.

"And you're in denial! You should see the way he looks at you when he knows you're not looking."

"Don't be absurd," I declared flustered.

"No I mean it Bella, the guy couldn't be any more obvious. He's always looking for any excuse to see you. I mean do you think he really comes in here so just to help Emmett out?"

"He's being a good teacher Alice," I justified though she didn't look convinced,

Alice was way off the mark this time. As far as I was concerned, I was a wasting my time with Edward. I was hardly his type. I was shy, clumsy, and incredibly introverted.

Edward would never be interested in a nobody like me.

Could he?

AN: So what do we think so far? It's nothing too serious, just a little bit of fluff:)

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