~Romance in Rio~

Summary: On paper Olympic gymnast and American golden boy Edward Cullen has nothing in common with shy and clumsy Bella Swan. But will romance blossom in Rio when the two meet?

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters:( No copyright infringement is intended.

An: So here's a little story I started inspired by the Rio Olympics. That said I've taken a lot of liberties- this is fan fiction after all, so if you are looking for a realistic story this one isn't for you. It's just a bit of fluff with a bit of gymnastics thrown into the mix. Its also un betad so excuse any errors.

I hope you like it:)

Chapter 1

"Come on Bella, get a move on. We've got a plane to catch." My mom scalded me before turning her fury on the poor unsuspecting taxi driver.

After she had finished berating him for dropping us off too far away from Heathrow departures terminal I struggled to keep up with my over zealous mother as she ploughed forward.

Of course, if she helped to carry the mountain of bags I was currently tugging along then perhaps we wouldn't be cutting it so closes to our check in the first place.

Then again no amount of forward planning could prevent the fan fare that came wherever my sister went.

Looking up the scene was an all too familiar one, and I could just about see my tiny sister Alice getting mobbed by the paparazzi who were desperate for a comment or photograph. My mom was beaming besides her, bigging up Alices chances of a string of gold medals ahead of the games.

My sister had always taken centre stage.

In fact, one could say that from the minute she was born, Alice was destined to become the child prodigy my mother had always dreamed of. As a former gymnast herself, mom never realised her own Olympics dreams, but she had since became a much more successful coach with Alice being her star pupil.

Alice hadn't always wanted to be gymnast, much to my moms horror and annoyance. In fact, when she fell in love with Torvill and Deans Bolero she had dreamed of becoming a figure skater. Sadly for Alice she was as graceful on ice as I am on every known surface, and she quickly diverted her attention towards gymnastics, much to moms relief.

While skating was a none starter, Alice took to gymnastic like a duck to water. She was flamboyant, fun and she had a natural ability that other athletes could only dream of. From a young age she showed signs of greatness and she had the focus and dedication that matched her talent.

As my elder sister by two years growing up we were practically inseparable. When I was born mom was ecstatic and she thought she would have two prodigies on her hands. But rather than raising another all star athlete she was stuck with me; clumsy, shy and unbelievably uncoordinated. It was like I inherited all my parent bad attributes multiplied.

I couldn't have been more total opposite of my sister with regards to gymnastics. I was uncoordinated, clumsy and I couldn't string a few basic steps together. Not that it stopped mom from trying to encourage me. She took me to every class hoping I'd get the gymnastics bug.

It was pointless.

I tried gymnastics, really I did, but when even the most patient of dance instructors tell you that you should stick to your studies or to try other creative outlets you soon learn to stay out of the way.

Regardless mom forced me to attend every gym session and every class Alice went to. As a result I became her shadow; her much graceless, very accident prone shadow. No matter how cautious I was I still managed to find danger wherever I went. I fell off the apparatus, tripped on over my own feet numerous time and had a whole manner of accidents that meant I spent more time on the sidelines with an ice pack nursing my latest injury than on the actual apparatus.

The final nail came in the coffin came when I had a particularly nasty fall from the dreaded beam. Ironically it had always been my favorite if not terrifying apparatus. I mean what child hasn't dreamed of being able to do a cartwheel off the beam just like the pink power ranger. Sadly for me, I wasn't gifted with Kimberly's skill and balance.

Still, I could at least stand without falling and I had just mastered walking on the beam when our instructor encouraged me to try a handstand. Looking back now I don't know what the hell she was thinking. My one and only attempt resulted in me landing head first on a crash mat. Somehow I managed to sprain my ankle, suffered severe concussion and was left with a rather nasty bump on my head that took months to truly heal.

My mother banned me from participating after that. Of course the fact that a distracted Alice had tripped over in her rush to check that I was okay made my case for no more gym a done deal.

I took back-seat from then and with my mother focussing her attention on Alices sporting greatness I was free to focus on my studies.

That's not to say I was unhappy with taking a back-seat; far from it. While Alice thrived in the spotlight, I shun from it. During Alices constant and vigorous training regime I could usually be found in the stands with a book or sketchpad doodling away while Alice was hard at work.

No one could doubt Alices dedication to her sport and I was glad to be there and witness my sisters rise to fame. I went to every training every early star 6 o clock in morning- every competition home and away. As the years passed I watched as Alice became all around British champion, cheered her on from the side when she secured a slot on team GB gymnastic team. And screamed along with the rest of the nation when she was crowned Olympic champion on home turf at the 2012 London games. She took out the Russian favourite Tanya Denali with ease and became the nations's sweetheart overnight.

It seems like a lifetime ago already. I had only been 17 when the last games took place so I was really excited about experiencing the games in Rio this time around. Having recently graduated I was looking forward to having a bit of free time to enjoy myself. Not that I had much of a social life back home.

I suppose I could blame my bookishness on living in Alices shadow but the truth is that from a young age I'd always struggled to fit in. Being Alice Swans little sister certainly didn't help boast my confidence. The first or sometimes second question I ever got asked usually involved Alice but I'd long accepted playing second fiddle to my confident sister.

Besides I wouldn't have been able to cope with the pressure Alice was under. After her success in London, Alice had become team GBs poster girl, carrying the weight of the countries' expectation on her tiny shoulders. But instead of crumbling under the pressure Alice thrived on it. She took what the media threw at her with her usual grace and ease.

However, as talented as my sister was I doubted it would be so easy this time around. For one she had Tanya hot on her heals for the title. The Russian ice queen was on top form in the run up to the games coming closer every time they met to claiming my sisters crowd of all around champion.

Most worrying of all was the return of American sweetheart and former gold medalist Rosalie Cullen from injury. Many neutrals were sure to witness a thrilling final. Rosalie was clear favourite for gold in 2012 but a sudden and unexpected injury in the build up to the games cruelly ended her hopes of competing for Olympic gold. Not that I think Alice won by default; she was young and enthusiastic and the home crowd pushed her to the win. I'm certain that if Rosalie was there the result would have been the same.

Still, that hadn't stopped the critics building up a grudge match between my sister and the Rosalie. Despite what people think the gymnastic community is surprisingly close knit. Not that the press reported that. Instead, they were building up the rivalry. It was big business after all - a small town girl against Americas gymnastics royalty.

Unlike my mothers attempts to build a team, the Cullens had not one, but three Olympic athletes in their list. Esme Cullen was a former gold medalist in the floor, volt, bar, and best all round athlete and had won 4 gold medals before retiring from gymnastics at a relatively young age of 22. Her retirement had caused quite a stir when she left the sport to marry a young doctor and went on to have 2 children.

It was no real surprise when she turned her attention towards coaching. Her daughter Rosalie was a champion on floor, and beam. And youngest son Edward was the 2012 all around champion, a member of the USA team that took gold, as well as taking gold in volt, pommel horse and rings. Her nephew, Jasper Whitlock took gold in the floor in London.

They were fascinating athletes. I should know; I'd seen them at various meets over the past few years. The first time I passed Esme in a corridor I was so starstruck I could barely speak. She probably thought I was strange the way I stayed silent but she smiled nonetheless.

In the build up to the games I had been forced to watch countless videos as part of Alices preparation. It was amazing how strong a team she had built and each of her pupils had their own unique style and strengths. Rosalie was such a graceful, yet powerful athlete. While Jasper seemed fun and his routines were always jam packed and playful.

But Edward was without doubt the most fascinating of the three. Strong, powerful and super cool. It seemed like nothing ever fazed him. He had an unusual build for a gymnast; he was tall, as in ft tall but the level of difficulty in his routines was phenomenal. Yeah I may have been crushing on him but the guy really was too good to be true. I wasn't lucky enough to get close to him in London but that was hardly surprising. He was beautiful, incredibly talented and universally popular. Think the Michael Phelps of the gymnastics world.

"Daydreaming abut a certain Olympian?" Alice teased, playfully elbowing me in the side.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I tried to act indifferent but my flushing cheeks no doubt gave me away.

"You've got that dreamy look again whenever you're thinking about Edward."

She was one to talk; she had only been in love with Jasper for the past four years yet refused to do anything about it.

"You never know we may just bump into him. Word on the street is that the Cullens are arriving early too!" she excitedly told me.

Alice knew my crush, okay obsession with Edward Cullen, but luckily for me she never pushed me or embarrassed me. If anything she encouraged me to pursue him because according to Alice, Edward was a great guy and we'd make a perfect couple.

"Seriously Bella you should just talk to him already. Edward's almost as shy as you! You should go for it."

Like that would ever happen. Edward Cullen was way out of my league, I wasn't even on his radar. And regardless I probably wouldn't even get near him over the next couple of weeks anyway.

AN: So what do we think so far? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Lots of background in this chapter but guess who shows up in the next one;)