A/N: Christmas is coming, so this is sort of a short story that will last for probably twelve chapters. If I can, I'll probably update everyday. Anyways, happy holidays, everyone!


Day One

It was a cold afternoon in an early December, and I was working at the New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia & Cornell. In my hands were a steaming warm cup of frappuccino, fueling me with the caffeine needed for my 13-hour shift and a patient's progress file. I examined the notes on it as I was sitting down beside the ceiling-to-floor window alone, enjoying the peaceful ambience for one minute—

"So do you have anyone to kiss under the mistletoe this Christmas?" Alice Brandon, a fellow colleague and close friend, asked suddenly.

She was a petite thing, with a pixie haircut and big brown eyes. She was just five feet tall and with her stilettos to give her more height, she was currently 5"4'. I was still taller than her at 5"10'.

"No, and I don't plan to," I replied, clipped.

"Oh come on!" She widened her eyes as she wailed, her arms waving around dramatically. "Oh my god, you're twenty-eight and still not dating or even married!"

"I think that twenty-eight is still plenty of time to enjoy my single status."

"But you are not enjoying it because you're taking shifts that are too long! Admit it, your sleeping pattern is messed up and this—" she stole my frappuccino from my hand, making me look up at her, "— isn't helping! Okay, you know what? Just... go back home and get some sleep. I'll take over all your patients for two days. You need the rest."

"No I don't." I glared.

"Continue glaring at me like that and you might actually live with bloodshot eyes for the rest of your life." She said firmly. "Give me that." She eyed the file.

"No."

"Give me that, now."

"No. This patient was the one who requested for me to be her doctor. She has a brain tumor, Alice. She needs me."

"I'm pretty sure that she'll understand if I say you are sick and I'm just taking over," she said, then gripped on the file. I held on tight to it, making her last few words strained.

She tugged on it again and it slipped from my fingers. I stood up to take it back, but she moved it further away from me and gave me a look, silently telling me to sit back down. I complied immediately, not meeting her eyes.

"You need to learn when to give in to your own body." She scolded me. "If you can't even take care of yourself, you shouldn't be taking care of others."

"Yeah, fine. Whatever." I stood up. "You being two months older than me doesn't mean that you're my mom."

She ignored what I said. "Go back home." She told me one last time before leaving me with nothing— not even my frappuccino.

I sighed and grabbed my bag, taking off my white coat and hanging it in my office. Still craving a little coffee, I headed down to my favorite café nearby my apartment— Pages & Kisses.

The bell above the door rang, announcing my presence. Nobody looked up, but the owner of the café, Rosalie Hale, did.

She was a blond Barbie doll, with natural curves and a statuesque figure. Her hair was long and her curls flowed to the end of her back with her shining impossibly-violet eyes. She still looked like a goddess with that black apron and skinny jeans. She used to be one of the interns at the hospital with me & Alice, but she had quit and decided to start a café.

"Bella!" She greeted with a beautiful smile that complimented her gorgeous, Miss-Universe-worthy face. "Same old?"

I shook my head. "This time, no. The one with the least caffeine, please."

"Alright. Great shift?" She asked, making small talk as she started making a drink for me.

"Alice told me to go home and get some rest." I sighed, pursing my lips.

"Bella, you know that you actually should," she said. "Look at you! Your eyebags are getting heavier by the minute."

"I'm not a beauty queen, or whatever." I muttered to myself. "You know how it is in the hospital, anyways. Crazy, crazy, crazy." I told her.

She presented me a paper cup. "Here. Same old mocha, but I replaced the sugar with some sweetener so that you wouldn't get that much caffeine in that pale body of yours."

"Well, thanks." I took it from her and sipped on it.

"Bella," she started, looking nervous.

"What?" I prompted.

"You know how you're one of my regulars, right?"

"Uh... yeah. Ever since you started this little place a few months ago." I nodded slowly.

"I actually have this whole thing for my regulars, and it's to kind of celebrate Christmas." She looked everywhere but at me. She then turned around and opened the door of one of the top cupboards, grabbing for something and closing the door again. She faced me again. "Here."

She held out a silver necklace with a ruby jewel heart dangling at the end.

"Rose... what's that for?" I pointed at it, cocking an eyebrow.

"Let me rephrase this again." She took a deep breath. "It's for our regulars who are single."

"Why exactly...?"

"Actually, for the past month I've been having a matchmaker come in to observe our regulars— like you— and your behaviors, personalities, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I try to provide information when I can, and so far she's matched you with someone who comes here daily too." She explained nervously.

I paused, my cup nearly tipping near my lips as I was about to take another sip. I placed my cup on the counter and pressed my lips into a straight line.

"Rosalie... why did you do that?" I tried to ask as pleasantly as I could.

"It's more like a little Christmas gift to my customers, including you." She told me. "Please, I know that you aren't pleased with this, but just give whoever it is a chance. Look; everyday when you come in for your daily coffee and pastries, I'll also be giving you an item that will give you a clue about who it is for twelve days until Christmas. That means that you'll probably want to stick a little longer to see who it is."

"Rosalie, you are trying to kill me here." I groaned. "I'm just going to—"

The bell above the entrance chimed again and our conversation was cut short as a bronze-haired Adonis came through the door. He was a tone darker than me but still considered pale to usual standards, with deep green eyes contrasting with the copper-colored hair. His gorgeous eyes were framed with long eyelashes and his cheekbones were impossibly high. His lips were soft, full and pink and he was tall, probably 6"2', and when he took off his brown woolen coat, I could see his muscles that were perfectly pumped and not too big and bulging. I couldn't help but take note of the professional camera hanging from his neck.

"Edward, welcome back!" Rosalie greeted, and I felt a tad jealous that she knew him by name. "Black coffee?"

"Sure," his velvet voice melted my insides and I quickly faced the front again, my face flushed. I grabbed my cup and distracted myself by drinking my mocha.

He came up to the counter and I moved aside so that he could wait for his black coffee. I hid my face with my mop of hair and I was glad he didn't really notice me.

"Rosalie?" He suddenly called.

"Yeah?" She replied as she made his drink.

"Have you seen my watch? I think I left it here last week." He asked. "It's a black Rolex watch."

She chuckled. "You lost it last week and now you ask me? Sorry, but I didn't see it lying around." She shrugged. "So, do you have any clue on who your match is?"

"Well, that necklace you gave isn't enough." He glanced around the place. "It could be anyone in here."

"Yeah, we've got some of our regulars here." Rosalie agreed. "That necklace you got is actually what every frequenter gets, so I guess it kind of separates the newcomers from them. The gem of the heart on the necklace is supposed to match your partner's, though."

"Do you know who it is?" He asked, getting a mug of black coffee from her.

She shook her head. "All the matchmaker gave me were jars for each person and inside are the clues, but like I said, if you need the second clue, you'll have to come back like you always do." She smiled. "She didn't even give me a list of who's matched with who."

He returned to her a smile, but not just any teeth-flashing smile; it was a crooked one, making him, if not, a lot more attractive. "That's a pity, then." He told her.

"I don't know who your match might be, but she'll probably be lucky to have you. Have a nice day!" She smiled at him again, then her attention suddenly went back to me. "Okay, so where was I with you again? Sorry." She apologized.

"Uh... I still don't feel like taking up on this... thing you're having."

"Oh, come on!" She pleaded. "Even if it won't work, I guarantee that you'll still have fun guessing."

I sighed. "Give me that necklace."

She grinned. "I promise, you won't regret it."

"I better not," I retorted. She took the necklace out of the front pocket of her dark apron and placed it in my hand. The metallic item felt cool in my hands as I closed my fist around it and slipped it into my dress's pocket.

"You know, a necklace is supposed to be worn." She told me.

"I'm not going to allow whoever my match is find out that I'm supposed to be his life partner." I replied as I turned to the door, lifting my cup up. "See you."