I don't own Twilight or any of the characters.

Chapter 1

Her smile

I brushed my hair out of my eyes, fervently hoping that it would stay put. I had tried the hair gel that Tanya had pressed into my hands a week before, muttering instructions under breath about how to use it for best results. After ten minutes of trying to tame my hair with the gel, I looked at the end result in the mirror. I held back a groan of frustration with great difficulty and set about washing my hair again. I could not possibly appear at Tanya's sister's wedding looking like I had stood upside down in a bucket of grease. It would just have to be messy, as always. I smirked slightly imagining Tanya's irritation at my apparent lack of interest in how I present myself. I could almost hear her voice loftily saying, 'If you do not care about how you look, at least try to be properly dressed for me. What will people say?'

'Aren't you ready yet?' my sister's voice asked chirpily from the doorway. I raised an eyebrow at the small pixie who had appeared out of nowhere and she looked like she had just walked off a fashion magazine. She had no doubt spent the best part of the morning, around three to four hours, perfecting her runway model look.

'I see you are.' I said dryly.

She gave me a sickeningly sweet smile and floated out of my room. Alice and I were not related by blood but we had grown up together, at least for a major part of our lives. My father, Carlisle Cullen, had married Alice's mother, now Esme Cullen, in a grand ceremony exactly eleven years ago. Alice and I were roughly the same age and had thus studied in the same year at school. I could still remember the day when Carlisle had introduced her and I had briefly wondered why I was being introduced to a doll. Suppressing the urge to comb my hair again, I picked up my phone and started down the stairs of our home. My parents were waiting in the sitting room. Mom looked wonderful in her beige and gold outfit. She hardly looked a day over twenty-five while she actually was fifty one years old.

'Edward, so handsome...' she said, and hurried over to give me a hug. I patted her on the back and grinned at Alice over her back. Alice usually counted on mom to tell me off for my shabby appearance.

'Shall we leave then?' father asked. I could hear the undertone of impatience in his voice. He rarely got angry but off late, he had been slightly touchy, especially after the incident at work. We never spoke of it. But it hung over our household like a black cloud.

'Yes dad' I said walking over to the windows and checking to see whether Smith had brought our car out front. He was there already, waiting in our Mercedes.

'Mom, Edward needs a stylist. Just look at him. Tanya is going to have a fit.' said Alice, throwing a quick glance my way. I grimaced. I was never much into fashion. I only dressed up so that my girlfriend and my family would get off my back. That day, I had actually been secretly proud of my efforts. To hear them being quashed was quite difficult.

'I think he looks pretty good darling' mom said gently trying to smooth my hair down with her free hand, her other hand clutching an elaborate purse. I could see stones like diamonds on it. I shrugged her hand away.

'It doesn't stay down mom. You know that.' I said quietly and followed my father out of the house.

…

'Edward. You didn't use the gel did you?' Tanya asked me, her voice strangely high pitched. I had just met her and complimented her on how beautiful she looked. She hadn't even acknowledged my words.

'I did. I overdid it and I looked greasy. I had to wash it off and...' I trailed off as her glare became more pronounced. 'I'm sorry.'

'It's alright' she said wearily and took my arm. I made a mental note to watch a video on how to use hair gel, in case I ever needed to use it again. Not that I wanted to.

We walked into the wedding tent, where many guests were already in their seats. Tanya gushed about the arrangements and the flowers while I blocked her out. My eyes roved over the people there searching for anyone I knew. Tanya guided me to my seat and hurried away to help Rosalie, her sister, with her dressing. I watched her glide away, her strawberry blonde hair bouncing with each step she took. Tanya and I had started dating in our final year at school. We had studied in London at Allenburgh's Boarding School. We had known each other before, but we officially started seeing each other only later on. We were family friends. Carlisle had insisted that we must be educated in a reputed boarding school. Thus, Alice and I had done most of our schooling abroad, returning to the US only for holidays. Thinking back, I guessed that was why we did not have much of a bond with our parents but I loved them all the same.

'You must be Edward' a blond man said, taking the seat near me.

'Yes, I am. And you are?' I asked, trying to smile at the stranger.

'Jasper. Alice's boyfriend. We met in Australia. During her internship.' He said this in a very matter-of-fact voice. I remembered him. She had mentioned someone to me when she had returned from her trip. I hadn't taken her seriously. Alice's romantic encounters were very short-lived.

'Oh yes. I remember. She has mentioned you. Pleasure to meet you Jasper' I said, smiling at him. 'Your first time in the US?'

'No. Not really. I've been here loads of times. But first time in Forks. She told me it would be wet and cloudy. I just didn't realize how wet.' He said gesturing to the wet ground outside the tent.

I laughed. Yes. People never really understood how Forks stayed wet throughout the year.

'You get used to it.'

'I doubt I ever will.' he said, rubbing his forehead, as though he had already had enough of it.

I was going answer, when I spotted Emmett walking into the tent, with a huge smile on his face. I waved at him. He smiled back. Emmett was Mr. Perfect. Rosalie, Tanya's sister, had met Emmett at college and sparks had flown instantly, considering both of them were exceptionally good looking. They had dated for 2 years before deciding to tie the knot. Emmett had proposed to her during their skiing trip in France, with a giant diamond ring. Tanya was obviously very happy with her sister's choice but I often felt like she was even slightly jealous of Rosalie's 'good fortune'.

Well, coming back to Emmett. He was a straight A student and straight out of college he got accepted into a reputed bank at a very senior position which meant good money. Tanya's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Denali had wasted no time in conveying this to my parents at our ritual Saturday dinners. My parents had congratulated them and 'ooohed' and 'aahed' appropriately but I could sense their eyes flickering towards me every now and then. As if to tell me that they were expecting me to achieve to Emmett's score.

I had hated Emmett after that, until I met him. We had met at a club in Seattle not long after the forgettable dinner. Emmett, it turned out, was a really cool guy who was very easy to get along with. He was down to earth and friendly. He didn't have any fake airs and graces that I had come to expect from people like him. I really took a liking to him. Soon after that Emmett and I met quite often, sometimes with the girls, sometimes without. I started to wonder how Emmett fell for Rosalie who was haughty and proud. Maybe her beauty clouded his judgement.

I shook aside all the negative thoughts that were threatening to spill into my mind and busied myself in a thorough examination of the wedding decorations. Just as I moved onto the third ice sculpture, I saw her. I momentarily forgot how to breathe and gasped for breath. She was standing next to a tall man who had his back to me. She was wearing a striking lilac dress that clung to her figure and accentuated her perfect curves. Her dark brown hair fell in ringlets to her waist. Her skin was a rich and creamy ivory. I couldn't blink. I just stared at her from my seat under the tent. And then she turned my way. Her eyes searching for someone and for a split second, our eyes met. My heart skipped a beat and I was sure I could hear it thumping away in my chest.

I blinked and she turned away. It was as if our eyes had never met. But her eyes were stuck in my head, beautiful orbs that looked like someone had squeezed two dollops of rich dark chocolate onto two pools of milk. In that instant that our eyes had met, I felt like she could see into my soul.

'Edward? Are you okay?' Tanya's voice came behind me.

'Huh? Me? Yeah. Totally fine.' I said trying to sound nonchalant. Tanya looked at me searchingly and finally satisfied with whatever she saw, hooked her arm through mine and we proceeded to the entrance from where we would have to walk down the aisle. Tanya was the maid of honour and I was one of the groomsmen.

Even though Tanya was holding my arm, I had become numb to her touch. My eyes searched the gathering for the only person they had eyes for at that moment., the girl with the beautiful chocolate brown eyes. We walked slowly and steadily, but I was oblivious to what was happening around me. I hardly noticed when we reached our positions near the altar. However, once we stopped, I glanced at Emmett who was smiling at me. I smiled back and mouthed an 'all the best' to him. He nodded once and his eyes widened. I turned my head slightly and saw Rosalie walking down the aisle, a true vision in white. But right there, I saw her. She was in a seat two rows from the front, near a tall dark boy.

And right then, as though she could hear my unspoken plea to look at me, she lifted her gaze, looked straight at me and she smiled.

Her smile was the most beautiful thing I had ever beheld.