Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters in it.
Written For: blackandivorykey's challenge-'The Pretend Date Contest'
Summary: Edward Cullen is a famous actor struggling to live life with a celebrity status. When Edward meets Bella, he gets to live a normal day through pretence. Shame that it can't last…
A/N: My contest entry is completely different to the others. Most of the entries describe Edward and Bella going on a pretend date, but mine only has a tenuous link to an actual pretend date. My entry is based on pretence, and adapting to a different life through it. Oh well, I tried to be different…and I think it worked! BTW, it's in Bella's POV. I may post an Edward POV after the contest has ended. But we'll see ;)
8.07am.
Way too early for anyone to be up on a Saturday morning.
I blamed Alice for that. That damn pixie managed to persuade me to drop by her shop and help me set up some displays this morning for her shop's 9am opening. All she had to do was widen her eyes and pout at me, and I immediately found myself agreeing to help her out. You'd think that after knowing her for 14 years I'd be immune to her persuasive powers, but I'm not. If anything, I'd fallen for it more over the years.
I had originally planned to sleep in as I'd had a hectic week at work, and all I wanted to do was recover some lost sleep time, but here I was, standing in the queue at Starbucks, picking up an ice latte for Alice. She'd had the nerve to ask me last night to pick one up for her before coming over to her shop. When I asked why she couldn't do it herself, she'd pulled out the heartbroken expression, and of course I found myself agreeing to that request too. I really was a sucker, but only when it came to my best friend.
At least I wasn't the only one that didn't want to be awake; half of the people in the queue had the same glazed expression on their faces. One of them yawned, and the rest followed suit, including myself.
The queue edged forward slightly and I found myself closer to the counter. I briefly considered buying the latte for Alice and then feigning illness so I could return to my flat and sleep.
As if on cue, 'Hot and Cold' by Katy Perry blasted out of my purse: Alice's ring tone. A few people around me jumped at the loud sound.
I quickly pulled out my cell phone and answered it. "Hey Alice." I said warily, before feigning a cough. "I'm just going to get you your latte, and then I think I'm going to go back home. I feel really—"
"Oh don't give me that crap Bella." Alice hissed. "You're the worst liar I know, even through the phone."
I sighed, and gave up. Fooling the person who knew you better than anyone else in the World was futile.
"Anyway." Alice continued. "Where the hell are you? I told you to meet me at my shop at 8am, and now it's 8.09!"
"There's a long queue in Starbucks." I told her, as I stepped forward. "There's only three people in front of me, I'll be at your shop in about five minutes, happy?"
"Very." Alice replied. "I'll see you in a few."
I hung up, and slid my phone back into my purse. I didn't understand why she needed me there anyway; she had a shop assistant and a security guard; Rosalie and Emmett. Plus, she'd asked her boyfriend Jasper to help out too, seeing as he had the weekend off. I wasn't needed.
But I would do anything for her, even if it meant wasting a Saturday.
A few minutes later, the latte had been bought, and I had just begun walking through the high street. The shopping street was quite busy, even though most of the shops weren't open yet. Maybe the people walking along the street had been forced out of bed by their crazy best friends too.
I pushed my way through some crowds of people, making sure that I didn't spill the latte. Alice would kill me if I dropped it; she was seriously addicted to them. If she didn't get her morning fix, she was a grouch, and that would not go down well with her customers. It was like I was holding her lifeline in my hand.
"Oh my God…is that who I think it is?" I heard someone yell behind me. I turned around and saw dozens of people running towards the way I'd just come. They were screaming, and waving their arms over their heads.
"EDDIE!!"
"Eddie, over here! I love you!"
"Eddie, I want your autograph!"
Loud flashes were going off, and I had to shield my eyes to stop myself from going blind. I could just make out a tall male figure pushing through the crowds of screaming people, even though they kept trying to reel him back in. The loud flashes were cameras.
"Only one picture Eddie, for the Daily News!"
"Eddie, I'm from 'The Star', and I need to ask you some questions!"
"Eddie, is it true you're dating Tanya Denali?"
As the crowds and the figure got closer, I could identify who it was by the bronze hair peeking out from under a beanie.
The screaming fans and paparazzi were pursuing Eddie Cullen, a famous actor who had recently starred in a romance film called 'So not into you'. He had recently become guy candy for every woman in America. I only knew this because Alice was a fan.
It was a shock seeing Eddie Cullen in the flesh, though it shouldn't have been because Alice told me last week that he'd just moved to an apartment a few blocks away from her shop.
I didn't want to get involved in the crowds, so I turned my back and carried on walking. Or I tried to.
More crowds of screaming girls and paparazzi were running towards me. I froze, realising I was trapped.
Something told me Alice's latte would not survive the pushing and shoving of people trying to get to Eddie.
I braced myself for the impact of the people running towards me, when someone slammed into me, but not from the direction I was expecting.
I fell forward and hit the pavement, and the contents of the latte spilt out beside me. Shit.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" A melodic voice spoke from above me.
I blinked, and looked up to see Eddie Cullen leaning over me worriedly.
God he was even better looking in person.
"I think so." I replied, though I sounded breathless.
"Great. I made you spill your latte and I've knocked the breath out of you." He sighed. He offered me his hand, and I took it. He hauled me gently to my feet and made sure I was steady before releasing my hand.
"Eddie! Eddie!"
We both glanced behind us, and saw that both crowds had joined together, forming one vast crowd of excited people.
"Run." Eddie informed me, grabbing my hand again.
"What?" I asked, confused.
He didn't reply, he just started running. Seeing as he had my hand in a death grip, I had no choice but to run alongside behind him.
"Please tell me you know somewhere we can hide." Eddie said after we'd run a good distance away from the crowd. It was lucky that I'd been the 100m sprinting champion at High School; if not I'd never have been able to keep up with him. He was fast.
"We can go to my best friend's shop, it's just around the corner." I told him as I quickened my pace. Eddie fastened his sprint to keep up with me.
We rounded the corner and I shook off his hand to pound on Alice's shop door. "Alice! Let me in! Quickly!"
Instantly, the shop door flew open. "5 minutes my arse." Alice snorted, glaring at me. She looked down at my empty hands. "Where the hell is my latte?" She screeched.
Not answering her, I grabbed Eddie's hand and pulled him in, before slamming the door shut. "Lock it Alice." I commanded as we walked into the shop.
When Alice didn't move, I spun around to glare at her. She was staring open-mouthed at Eddie, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Alice! Lock the damn door!" I hissed.
"Jesus Bella, I asked you to get me an iced latte, not a celebrity!" Alice whispered, still staring at Eddie. "Not that I'm complaining." She added.
Trust Alice to go into star struck mode. I released Eddie's hand to snatch the keys off of Alice so I could lock the door for her, seeing as she was obviously incapable.
I pulled Alice away from the door after I'd locked it, and she shook herself out of her daze. "Sorry about that." She told Eddie sheepishly. "I'm a big fan of yours."
Eddie smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry, I get it all the time."
Alice smiled at him, before turning to me. Her eyes flashed with accusation. "So, when were you going to tell me you hooked up with a celebrity?"
"We don't even know each other." Eddie and I replied at the same time, before looking at each other and smiling.
I walked over to him and held out my hand. "I'm Bella Swan, by the way."
"Eddie Cullen." He replied, grasping my hand and shaking it. "This feels unnecessary, seeing as we've already held hands." He commented as he released my hand.
"It does." I agreed. "And what was with that anyway? How come I had to run with you?"
Eddie sighed and pulled off his beanie to run his hand through his unruly bronze hair. "I knew that the paparazzi must have seem me knock you over, so I had to get you out of there before they could take pictures of you and find out who you are."
"Whoa, back up a sec. You knocked Bella over?" Alice asked, shocked. "Tell me the whole story…now!"
"There isn't much of a story to tell." I told her.
"I don't care, you haven't brought me my latte so you have to give me an explanation. Can I assume that my latte was part of how you two met?"
"Something like that." Eddie laughed, though he looked embarrassed. "It was my fault you're latte-less…umm…"
"Alice." Alice informed him.
"Alice." Eddie continued. "I was running away from the paparazzi and some fans when I crashed into Bella, who fell over and spilt the latte. I helped her up, and then the paparazzi began catching up with me, so I hauled Bella up and told her to run."
"He asked me if I knew of a place to hide out, so I brought him here. And that's it." I finished for him.
"How come you didn't want to stay and talk to your fans?" Alice asked.
Eddie sighed again. "I normally do, but this morning, I just wasn't in the mood. I only headed out of my apartment to grab a cup of coffee. I thought it would be safe because it's quite early in the morning, but I was wrong. I freaked, and began running."
"It must be so overwhelming dealing with that sort of attention everyday." I mused.
"It is. It's also tiring, annoying, frustrating, irritating…I could go on and on." Eddie groaned, running his hand through his hair again. "I just wish that I could go one day without all of this attention. Ever since I began my acting career, I have not had one day without being pursued by fans and paparazzi."
"That's really sad." I whispered, feeling sorry for him. I could only begin to imagine how horrible it must be living under constant scrutiny.
Eddie nodded, and gave me a half-hearted smile.
"Well, why don't we change that?" Alice asked.
Eddie frowned. "What do you mean?"
Alice gestured around us. "We're in the middle of a costume shop, my costume shop."
"And your point is…?" I asked.
"Why don't we change Eddie's appearance…just for the day. That way he can experience all of the things he can't when he's being chased by people." She replied excitedly.
I raised one eyebrow at her. "What make you think he'll—"
"I love it!" Eddie interrupted, grinning at Alice. "You're a genius!" He scooped her up in his arms and spun her around, before planting a kiss on her cheek.
Of course, Jasper chose this time to unlock the shop door and walk in, just catching the exchange between his girlfriend and Eddie.
Rosalie and Emmett walked in after him, holding hands.
Eddie released Alice after the death glare he got from Jasper.
"Jazz!" Alice squealed, launching herself at him. Jasper's glare faded, and he hugged his girlfriend, still maintaining eye contact with Eddie.
"Oh my God, you're Eddie Cullen!" Rosalie whispered, awe evident in her voice. Eddie grimaced, and then nodded.
"As in the celebrity Eddie Cullen?" Emmett asked, looking warily at him. He clearly didn't like his girlfriend's interest in him.
"Of course stupid!" Rosalie sang, grinning. Emmett scowled.
Introductions were quickly made, and by the time Eddie had explained why he was there, Jasper and Emmett had lost their glares and were now smiling. Jasper had found it amusing that Alice had easily forgiven Eddie for making me spill her latte, because normally she'd throw a fit. Alice replied that I'd given her something better than a latte: a chance to make over a celebrity.
"So, how do you suggest I change my appearance?" Eddie asked Alice.
Alice looked him up and down. "First of all, you have to lost the designer threads." She advised.
Eddie nodded. "Easily done. But what am I going to wear instead?"
"Hello? We're in a costume shop." Alice repeated, waving her arms around.
"If he walks down the street dressed as a wizard, he's going to get more attention, not less." Emmett sniggered.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Duh! What Alice means is that we can create an outfit using pieces of costume. For example, we could get some pants from one costume, and combine them with a shirt from another."
"Like this!" Alice said as she flew over to a Danny Grease costume and opened it up. She pulled out the black pants and threw them at Eddie.
"Are you sure these will fit?" Eddie asked as he looked at them.
"Positive. Now…what will go with black pants…" Alice mused as she browsed through the costumes. Eventually, she pulled out a white button down shirt from a pirate costume and tossed it to Eddie.
"You can leave your black converses on, they go with your outfit." She told him. "Now go and change!"
Eddie turned obediently and walked into one of the changing rooms.
A few minutes later he emerged, his black beanie back on his head.
"No, not the beanie! That just screams celebrity!" Alice exclaimed, before ripping it off his head and throwing it at me.
"I don't look any different." Eddie frowned as he looked in the mirror.
"I'm not done yet!" Alice informed him crossly. She pushed him down on a chair and began pulling out white power.
"Make-up?" Eddie asked, eyeing the powder warily.
"It'll change your skin complexion." Alice told him. "Close your eyes."
I was surprised that Eddie closed his eyes and let her apply it; most men would refuse. He really must want his freedom.
When Alice had finished, Eddie opened his eyes and tried to look in the mirror, but Alice blocked it. "You can only look when I'm done." She told him. She nodded at Rosalie, who walked over to the make-up counter and unlocked the drawer underneath it. She pulled out a large plastic case, and placed it on the table so we could all see what was in it.
"Contact lenses?" I asked doubtfully.
"Of course, he still looks like Eddie with his green eyes so he needs his eye colour changed." Alice told me. She walked over to Rosalie and began studying all the colours. "Hazel…no…Blue…too close to green…Brown…too common…aha!" She pulled out the set of gold contacts and held them up in the air triumphantly.
"Gold? What sort of colour is that?" Emmett snorted, to which Alice replied with her middle finger.
"Have you ever put contacts in before?" She asked Eddie, who nodded. "Do you want to do it yourself?" She continued.
"Yes please…but I need a mirror to be able to see what I'm doing." He pointed out.
Alice handed him a small pocket mirror. "You're not allowed to see your whole outfit yet so you can only use this mirror. After you've put these in, your transformation is complete."
Eddie used the mirror without complaint, and when he finished, he turned around to face us. "What do you think?" He asked. "Do I look any different?"
I was struck speechless at the sight of him. He looked amazing…no, better than amazing, beautiful. The others too looked dumbfounded at the difference in his image. Alice just looked smug.
Eddie frowned anxiously at our reaction, and turned to face the full-length mirror to see his new look himself. "Alice…you're incredible. I look like a new person!" He gasped.
"Thank you." Alice smiled. She beckoned for him to come over, and then she began tugging his head upwards.
"Why are you giving him sex hair Alice?" Emmett asked, amused.
"To complete the look." She replied. She relinquished her hold on his hair, and I had to agree that his new hairstyle did suit his new image.
"I need to test this new look out." Eddie grinned excitedly. "Who wants to go and grab breakfast or something?"
"I'd love to, but I have to open the shop in a few minutes." Alice sighed.
"Oh come on Alice, you can open an hour later." I told her. I pouted at her and widened my eyes, copying her persuasive technique.
"Bella, don't do that face at me!" Alice wailed.
"Why not, you do it to me." I grinned.
Alice reluctantly admitted defeat. Just as we were about to leave the shop, she suddenly shouted, "Bella, we have to change your look too!"
"Why?" I asked, frowning.
"The paparazzi may have gotten a photo of you, so it will look suspicious if you're walking around with a guy that has the same bronze hair as Eddie." Eddie replied for her.
"Why are you referring to yourself in the third person?" Jasper asked.
"I thought I'd use my real name if we're going out in public so it will lessen people's suspicion. You can call me Edward from now on." Eddie--Edward replied.
"Your real name is Edward? Then why do people call you Eddie?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Because Eddie sounds better for a celebrity, apparently it makes me sound younger and more memorable…at least, that's what my agent said." He told me.
I nodded. It did make sense.
"Anyway, what are we going to do to you?" Alice asked, looking me over.
"I'm not having a drastic make-over change." I warned her before she got any crazy ideas.
"I wasn't planning on giving you one." Alice retorted. She spotted Edward's beanie hanging out of my pocket. "Put that on!" She commanded, pointing at it.
"Do you mind?" I asked Edward, who shook his head. I placed his beanie on my head, and then Alice tossed a black leather jacket at me-a men's jacket.
"Why do I have to wear this?" I asked, frowning at her.
"Because it belongs with Eddie's-I mean Edward's costume, so it looks like you belong to him." Alice replied.
"But—"
"Just put it on Bella." She interrupted impatiently.
I sighed, but complied. Alice made me stand next to Edward, and then she looked us both over. "You guys look like the perfect couple." She sighed. "Shame its only pretence."
"Pretence?" Edward asked. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I thought when we go out in public, you guys should pretend to be a couple. It will ward off any suspicion because you're supposed to be the eligible bachelor to your fans, right?"
Edward nodded and then held his arm out for me. "Coming girlfriend?" He asked, a crooked smile spreading across his face.
His beauty momentarily stunned me. I couldn't believe that in the space of an hour, I'd been knocked down, chased by paparazzi, witnessed a celebrity makeover and now I was pretending to be Eddie Cullen's girlfriend. Wow.
Realising he was waiting for a reply, I snapped out of my daze and looped my arm through his. "Ready boyfriend!" I grinned.
We decided to eat breakfast at one of the cafés down the street. Edward insisted on paying for all of our meals because he wanted to repay us for helping him earlier. He ordered three iced lattes for Alice as an apology for spilling hers, and she drank them all within the space of 20 minutes. She had brain freeze for the next few minutes, and we all laughed at her. Edward also wanted to pay me back the money I'd spent on Alice's latte from earlier, but I refused to accept his money. Emmett joked that we were having our first lover's tiff, and in truth, it did feel like it, though we were only pretending.
*****
After we finished breakfast, we all returned to the shop so Alice could open for business. Edward offered to help out, but Alice insisted that he go and enjoy his day.
To my surprise, Edward asked me to spend the day with him. And what shocked me more is that Alice insisted that I go with him. I thought that she'd want me to help out at the shop especially after she practically forced me into it last night.
However, her intentions were clear after she shoved us out of the shop, because she winked at me as she shut the door behind us.
She was trying to set us up.
Scared that Edward had seen her wink, I quickly asked him what he wanted to do. "I've only lived here for a few weeks, why don't you show me what you normally do around here?" He replied.
I suggested a walk by the river, which was only a few minute's walk away. Edward agreed immediately, and admitted he'd been too scared to go down to the river yet. When I asked him why, his response made me laugh. He was afraid that he'd fall in the river trying to escape from the paparazzi, or that one of his fans would push him in just to see what he looked like with a wet shirt.
Edward held out his hand, and I took it, entwining our fingers together. I had to remind myself that his gesture wasn't real; it was only pretence to keep up in public.
"So is this our first pretend date then?" Edward asked as we strolled to the river.
I couldn't help the pang of sadness that I felt when I heard the word 'pretend.' "A walk along the river isn't very much like a date." I replied.
"I guess." He sighed.
To ease the dejected look on his face, I added, "Well, a riverside could be part of a pretend date."
Edward's face brightened. "You're right. So what do you propose we do after our walk to make it look like a real date?"
I thought for a moment, and then thought of an idea. "We could go ice skating!"
"Ice skating?" Edward repeated. "There's a rink here?"
"Yep, an indoor rink. It's right next to the High Street."
"Then we'll go there next." Edward decided.
We spent our walk talking about ourselves, just like a couple normally would on their first date. He told me about his parents Carlisle and Esme, who were famous actors in the 1980's. They met while filming a TV movie, and they've been together ever since. They both retired from their profession after conceiving him. Esme stayed at home to look after Edward while Carlisle studied to become a doctor. Edward told me that his parents don't miss being actors at all, they prefer living a normal life than living in the spotlight. I could hear the wistfulness in his tone, and when I pointed it out, Edward admitted that he would love to live a normal life if he didn't love acting so much. He then shared his desires of falling in love and raising a family out of the spotlight, though he was unsure of how to make that happen, as he didn't want to give up his job. But on the other hand he didn't want to raise a family that would be swarmed by media everyday.
I in turn told him about my parents Renee and Charlie, and I told him about growing up in Forks. He asked me about my job, and I told him about working as a High School teacher. This led us onto embarrassing things that happened to us when we were younger, and of course I had more things to say than him. Edward was surprised that I was such a klutz when I was a teenager, as I hadn't stumbled when we were running away from the paparazzi earlier. He joked that I would be a skating disaster on the ice, so I informed him that I'd grown out of my klutz stage and that I would beat his butt at ice-skating.
*****
After we talked for about 4 hours, I led him to the ice rink where Edward insisted on paying for my skates. After another 'lover's tiff', which Edward won again, we skated out onto the rink.
"So, are you going to beat my butt now?" Edward grinned, using my words from earlier as he pulled on the jacket he'd bought just before we entered the rink.
"You bet! Let's warm up first, and then I'll race you around the rink." I told him, before skating away. I laughed when Edward struggled to keep up with me.
Of course, I won the race. I reached the barrier that had been our starting point first, and when I did, I heard Edward swear behind me. I spun around and poked my tongue out at him.
He mimicked my action, before skating past me. "Best out of two?" He called over his shoulder as he skated away.
"Cheat!" I yelled after him. Edward just laughed and continued skating away.
"Bella?"
I turned around and came face to face with one of my colleagues from the High School. "Oh hey Jacob." I smiled.
"Are you here on your own?" Jacob asked. "If you are, then it's your lucky day." He grinned as he held out his hand.
My smile faded, and I skated back a little. Everyone in the staff room joked that Jacob had a crush on me, and I was recently beginning to think that it true.
"Actually she's with someone." Edward spoke up; I hadn't realised he'd skated back. I smiled at him gratefully, and he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close to his body. My smile widened when Edward tenderly kissed the top of my head. I knew it wasn't real, but I could sure as hell pretend it was.
Jacob's grin disappeared, and he shoved his hand back in his pocket. "Oh, okay. Sorry I interrupted your date."
I nodded at him, and then Jacob skated away with his shoulders slumped.
"This pretend dating stuff is fun." Edward laughed, before grabbing my hand and pulling me along the ice with him.
Pretend…because that's all it was. Pretence.
*****
After we finished skating, we were both famished. Edward wanted to go and eat dinner at a restaurant, but I wanted a take-away. Our third 'lover's tiff' broke out, and finally, I won. We bought 6 portions of chips and took them back to Alice's shop, so our friends could eat with us.
Alice was standing at the counter as we came in. "Hey you two lovebirds." She grinned. I glared at her use of the word. "Did you have fun?"
Edward nodded and walked over to her. "We sure did. And it was all thanks to you. That was one of the best days I've ever had."
"Was it the company or the entertainment?" Alice asked playfully, giving me a not so subtle wink.
I'm going to kill her.
"Both, but the company was better of course." Edward replied, smiling at me. I smiled back, and looked away as soon as I felt myself blushing.
"I smell chips!" Emmett boomed as he came through the staff door. "And I was right!" He added. "Are these for us?"
I nodded and went over to join them.
"Awesome. Thanks you two." Emmett grinned, before singing, "Rose, Jazz, we have diiiiiinner!"
I winced. "Em, never attempt singing again." Edward nodded his head in agreement.
"Fair do's." Emmett laughed. "I can't argue with you, you guys bought me dinner!"
"Bought us dinner." Rosalie corrected as her and Jasper joined us.
Alice walked over to the shop door and changed the sign to 'closed'. "Let's go and eat!" She beamed.
We followed her into the back room where a table with six chairs had been set up. "Where'd you get the other chair from?" I asked Alice as I sat down next to Edward.
"I asked Jasper to go out and buy another one." She replied, taking the other chair next to me.
"Correction, she forced me to go and buy another one." Jasper said as he slid into the chair opposite Alice.
Alice shrugged. "Well what can I say? There are six of us now so we needed another chair."
Edward's face lit up. "Really?"
Emmett nodded and leaned over to bump Edward's fist with his own. "Welcome to the gang Edward."
Edward grinned at him, and then at everyone else. "Thank you guys, for everything you've done for me today." He said sincerely.
"No problem Edward, but can we please eat now before I pass out due to lack of hunger?" Emmett pleaded, eyeing the portion of chips.
"What are you on about Em? You had a cheeseburger about an hour ago." Rosalie laughed.
"What can I say? I'm a growing man that needs his food." Emmett shrugged. He threw Edward another pleading glance. Edward nodded and gestured for him to tuck in. Emmett dug in immediately, and we all stared at him in awe as he shovelled 4 chips in his mouth at once. "What?" Emmett asked through a mouthful of chips. Rosalie rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.
We spent dinner talking and laughing, before playing 20 questions, though it probably escalated into 100 questions with the amount of questions we were firing at each other.
A large chime interrupted Emmett's answer to 'best looking person at the table.'
Alice looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh God you guys, it's Midnight! We better go."
We'd been talking for 6 hours.
Rosalie let out a long yawn. "Can't we crash here tonight? I'm too exhausted to leave."
"Same." I yawned.
"Good thing I got Jasper to buy these too!" Alice laughed as she walked over to the dresser in the corner of the room. She pulled out 6 sleeping bags.
"Shotgun the blue one!" Emmett yelled.
Instead of teasing him, Rosalie called out, "Shotgun red!" after him.
Alice rolled her eyes at them before turning to Edward. "Which one do you want?"
Edward stood up and stretched. "I would say the green one, but I can't stay here tonight, I have to get back to my apartment. I have filming tomorrow, and my co-star Tanya picks me up for work."
My face fell when he said he was leaving. Alice shot me a sympathetic glance before replying. "Oh okay, but you've got to promise to come see us soon."
"Of course I promise." Edward smiled. He pulled out his cell phone and tossed it to her. "Get everyone to put their numbers in while I go and get changed out of my costume."
"Don't worry about giving any of it back." Alice told him. "You may need them again."
Edward paused in the doorway. "Are you sure? Can I at least pay for them?"
"No way!" Alice yelped. "They're a gift."
"Don't argue with her Edward." Jasper advised as he unzipped his sleeping bag.
Edward laughed and left the room to change. Alice typed her number in and then passed the phone to me.
After we'd all typed in our numbers, Edward returned. It was a shock to see him with green eyes, as I'd been staring into gold ones all day.
"I better go then and let you guys sleep." Edward said, stifling a yawn.
Alice bounded over to him to give him a hug. "You better call soon." She told him.
Edward laughed and hugged her back. Rosalie drifted over and gave him a hug too. Jasper shook his hand, and Emmett rolled his eyes at Jasper. "What's wrong with a good ol' hug?" He asked, before seizing Edward into one of his bear hugs.
"Can't breathe Emmett!" Edward choked out, though he was grinning from ear to ear. Emmett laughed and released him. Edward turned to me.
I felt shy all of a sudden; I wasn't sure if I should hug him or not.
Luckily Edward made the decision for me. He reached out and wrapped his arms around me. I slipped my arms around his waist and hugged him back.
"Thank you for today Bella." He whispered into my hair.
"No problem Edward." I whispered into his chest.
Finally, Edward pulled back and kissed my cheek before turning to go. With one last 'good-bye', he left. Alice locked the door behind him.
I unzipped my sleeping bag, feeling depressed that he'd left. I wondered if we would actually see him again. HeHeHeefAlice saw my miserable expression.
"Don't be upset Bella, he'll call." She told me as she too unzipped her own sleeping bag.
"How can you be so sure of that?" I asked sadly.
"Because you're wearing his beanie." Emmett laughed. "And he'll want it back."
I pulled the beanie off my head. I'd completely forgotten that I'd been wearing it.
Rosalie glared at Emmett. "He won't call to retrieve his beanie, he'll call to meet up with Bella. Any fool can tell that he likes you." She added, turning to me.
"You think so?" I asked doubtfully. What could a celebrity like Edward see in a plain high school teacher like me?
"I know so." Alice assured me, giving me a hug before stepping into her sleeping bag.
"And you'd be a fool to bet against Alice." Jasper chuckled as he turned off the light.
"You've got that right!" Alice laughed.
Everyone fell quiet then, as we all began drifting towards sleep. I put the beanie next to my head so I could inhale in the scent that was Edward Cullen.
I thought about the day I'd spent with him, and the way he made me feel. During the evening, Edward would touch my knee or arm every time he asked me a question, and little sparks of electricity would ignite between our skin. I wondered if he'd felt it too.
Closing my eyes, I quickly fell asleep.
*****
A ringing cell phone woke us up in the morning.
I groaned, and covered my ears. "What idiot left their cell phone on?" I moaned groggily.
"You did." Alice replied sleepily from beside me. "That's your ringtone."
I reluctantly sat up to retrieve my purse. "Who would be calling at this time in the morning?" I grumbled as I searched for my cell phone.
"It's 9am." Jasper muttered blearily. "It's not that early."
I didn't answer him. I found my cell phone and pulled it out. Unknown Number.
"Hello?"
"Bella?"
"Speaking." I yawned.
"Oh sorry, did I wake you up? It's Edward by the way."
I immediately bolted out of my sleeping bag. "You did, but it was probably time I woke up anyway." I laughed, trying to sound more awake than I actually was.
My friends watched my movements sleepily. Only Alice looked alert; she must have guessed who was calling as she gave me the thumbs up sign.
Edward laughed too. "I wanted to ring you before I started work, I have something to ask you."
I willed myself to not get excited; he could be asking for anything--like his beanie. "Shoot."
There was a slight pause at the end, before he spoke. "I really had fun yesterday, with the others, and especially with you."
"I did too." I smiled.
"Good." Edward replied. "Then I was kind of wondering if you wanted to go out with me sometime. I mean, only if you want to of course." He added, sounding nervous.
"I would love to go out with you Edward." I replied warmly. I couldn't stop the excited smile from lighting up my face.
Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper bolted upright and stared at me when they heard me say Edward's name. Alice smiled knowingly.
"Okay, great." Edward sighed, relieved. "Listen, I'm due on set, but I'll call you later to arrange something, okay?"
"Sure." I beamed. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Me too." Edward replied. I could hear the smile in his voice. "I really like you Bella." He whispered softly.
"I really like you too." I whispered back.
"I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, bye Edward."
"Bye Bella."
I lowered the cell phone and gazed at my friends, stunned that Edward had just rang me.
"You've pulled Bella!" Emmett cheered.
Suddenly all four of them were hugging me and telling me how happy they were for me.
I grinned as I hugged them back.
Maybe things weren't so pretend after all…
Hope you enjoyed it; let me know what you think.
Hayley x