Every Second Counts
Bella Swan is an intelligent, sarcastic but beautiful girl trying to make it as a writer, but stuck in a dead end job. She lives with her best friend, Jasper Hale - a cocky, but lovable lawyer. What happens when Jasper runs into Edward Cullen, and old friend without a place to stay? How will Bella respond? Stuck in the same space, they'll experience the up's and down's of love along the way.
RATED M FOR LANGUAGE/CONTENT. AU/AH. CANON PAIRINGS. Oh and, I don't own Twilight. What a shame.
A/N: So, I want to practice my writing skills in prep for my creative writing unit later this year. I wrote a few stories late last year, but after reading fic for so long, I thought I'd give it a shot, we'll see how it goes. Ask me question's and i'll answer them in the A/N next chapter, if you want. Oh and, my Bella swears like a sailor when she wants too.
Chapter 1: Catching Angels
BellaPOV
"Come back!" I shouted into the distance.
My tall shaded saviour was walking off, getting closer to the horizon and further away from me by the second.
"Wait!" Wailing, I tried to chase after him, but my feet were glued into place.
"Please... please... please... please..." I repeated. I couldn't do anything else.
"Bella"
Where was that coming from?
"Bella"
It sounded a little more frustrated this time
"Bella Swan, get your ass out of bed! You'll be late!"
I slowly dragged myself out of my dream. To be quite honest, I was glad to get out of there.
I fluttered my eyelids and saw a pair of baby blue eyes inches from my own. I recoiled out of instinct.
"Holy Shit, Jasper! Why are you so close to me!"
"Because, you wouldn't wake up! I had to holler into your ear to get you to even squirm!" He snickered.
"Yeah sure, sure." Jasper could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I loved him like a brother.
We'd been rooming together ever since college. I still remember the fateful day we met. I walked into a well-worn one-bedroom dorm, simplicity suited me, and I was glad to have my own place. I'd laid my stuff down and gone to explore the campus, and come back to a half naked man wandering through my place.
"Who the hell are you!" I shouted, my voice wavering,
"Relax little darlin'" He replied coolly. "Jasper." his hand outstretched.
I stared at him incredulously. Who was this guy? He grabbed his shirt off the counter and came towards me.
"This is my dorm too, so I suppose we're sharing" He pretended to dip his hat.
"But..I..I..Uh..Bed..One..What?" I stammered.
"Come on, I'll explain over coffee". And we've been roommates ever since. Luckily once we graduated, we got a place with a bit more elbow room. It wasn't fantastic to come back to your room, only to find Jasper and some broad rolling around on the couch.
"I think you need some caffeine, Bells."
I nodded in defeat. I have to admit, he knew me well. I quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a plain tee and threw my hair around a bit. There wasn't much I could do with it in a hurry.
***
"Uh, a tall caramel macchiato and-" I threw a glance at Jazz; I knew his order perfectly after all these years. "A tall Gingersnap Latte." Jazz chuckled; he was a sucker for Gingerbread. I quickly whipped out a few dollars before Jazz had a chance to reach for his wallet. Like a true Southern gentlemen, he hated when the woman paid. Even if it was just coffee.
"I hate it when you do that" he muttered as we walked over to pick up our coffee.
"Deal with it, cowboy" I countered.
He sighed in defeat. He knew I'd never give in. It was always a battle when we ordered to pay first.
"Yeah well, let's just get out of here, I don't want to be in the middle of the before work rush."
I laughed along with him and turned to leave. I was nearly to the door when I ran into a wall. A very muscular wall. As I stumbled a pair of powerful arms caught mine before I hit the floor
"Oh, I'm.. sorry" I flushed a scarlet red.
"No, it was all my fault," The voice was positively angelic. I looked up to see a tall, gorgeous man with the deepest green eyes you'd ever laid eyes upon, with a mop of bronze tousled hair adoring his gorgeous face.
"I..uh"Great. Now I look like a prized idiot. Say something coherent, for god's sake!
"I'm Edward Cullen," the Angel offered, His strong arms still holding mine. I could feel his muscles, even through his well fitting sweater.
"Um, Bella Swan" I blushed as I locked eyes with my saviour.
"A pleasure" He smiled a gorgeous smile, slightly crooked and completely enchanting.
Unsure of what to say next, I shifted. He immediately stood me up straight and let go of my arms. Before dropping his arms to his sides, he ran his fingers through his tresses, leaving them sticking out in every direction.
"I'm so sorry for running into you, I promise it wont happen again"
Oh, what a stupid thing to say! Why the hell would it happen again" I mentally slapped myself.
"Oh well, I certainly hope it does-" I stared, my expression puzzled before he continued "-I want to be the one catching angels."
I felt the redness creep into my cheeks. I was an open book.
"Well I'll be sure that next time I trip, you're around" I sounded almost sarcastic. Damn it.
"Well," he chuckled "You'd have better luck if you stumble down at the bookstore on the Main Street."
We were flirting.
And I was enjoying it.
"I'll keep it in mind. Thank you, Mr Cullen" I smiled.
"Miss Swan" he kissed my hand before exiting, I followed him with my eyes, until I saw an amused Jasper leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded with a smile from ear to ear plastered on his face. I made my way over to him, masking my expression best I could.
"What's got you so happy all of a sudden?"
"Oh.. nothing" Still grinning like a fool, he took a sip of his coffee. "Let's get out of here"
I nodded a followed him out onto the street. It was getting awfully crowded in there, like he predicted.
We wandered nonchalantly down the street in the direction of the flat, in no great rush. I wasn't rostered on to work today, and Jasper didn't have to get to the firm until 9. We chatted about this and that, but Jasper still wore his knowing grin.
I glanced down at my watch, it was 8:30. "You'd better be getting to work, Jazz" I rolled my eyes. I was constantly reminding him of his appointments.
Jazz took a glance at my wrist and nodded. "I 'spose I should be."
He kissed me quickly on the cheek and turned in the direction of the office.
"Farewell my love!" He called. It was a running joke that Jasper and I were a couple, it helped when girls swarmed around him, and he needed an escape route. He'd always be fighting them off, with his almost electric blue eyes and golden curly locks; Jasper was definitely an attractive man. It had never been like that, with him seriously, I only ever saw Jazz as my best friend, and vice versa.
"Goodbye Darling!" I waved. He loosely saluted before turning on his heel and striding off.
I wandered home, by now the last of my coffee had gone cold. I skulled what I could and dropped the cup into a trash can along the way.
When I got home, I had a refreshing shower and got set to clean up. The place was a mess; I could never trust Jazz to do anything, like the dishes, or the washing.
I spent probably a good two or three hours cleaning, I hadn't stopped at tidying, the place was desperate for a vacuum and some dusting. Our flat, modest yet still stylish, was a two storey place, with a kitchen and living room downstairs and two bedrooms, a bathroom and an open living space upstairs. The walls were mostly all white, we hadn't bothered with decorating too much, but the well-worn sofa and the photos gave it a homey atmosphere. I cleaned all the rooms, except Jazz's bomb shelter. I'd leave that mess for him later.
Satisfied with my efforts, I sank into the sofa to relax. I lent over to the side table and pulled out one of my favourites, Mansfield Park and opened to my bookmark, I read until I reached the end of the book, but I was always upset when I reached the end.
I flung my book back on the side table. Out of things to do now. It was near 1 o'clock in the afternoon. "I know what to do know," I thought to myself.
Time to visit a certain bookstore, I think.
I love Gingersnap Lattes, so i figured Jasper could, too.
Reviews are good, like being caught by an angel.