Hi guys! This story has been dead for quite some time (by dead I mean five years lol), but a couple of recent reviews wanting me to complete the story made me reconsider undoing its discontinued status. So I thought "Well, I'm in a better place with my fanfic writing. Why not finish what I started." Now keep in mind that I wrote OPR when I was 12-YEARS-OLD. It started out as a one-shot, but because I had reviews that wanted me to continue it, I did. Of course, life got in the way and I couldn't finish the fic. High school was a rough time for me and I didn't have the heart to see it through.
I can't disappoint you guys. I've kinda forgotten how the rest of the story was supposed to go, though I will keep it at 10 chapters like I intended long ago. As you can see, the rating is now M, and that's because I'm gonna try to write some smutty scenes (because fanfictioneers live for lemons). I had some practice for danisnotonfire x reader one-shots over on my Tumblr page, and I think revamping this fic is a good way to showcase what I picked up as I learned how to write smut.
My writing has evolved over the years, so I decided to keep the old OPR separate from this version. This new and improved version of OPR will stick close to the original as possible, give and take spelling/grammar changes and be less cheesy. Because let's face it, when you're 12, your idea of love is cute and filled with too much fluff.
Without further ado, I present to you OPR bigger and better before! If you're new to this story, enjoy your first read-through. Otherwise, I'm so sorry for making you wait this long and I hope this new version will live up to your expectations.
Valentine's Day: the holiday I wish I can sleep the day through. It's the most awkward day of the year for me, watching couple after couple express their love for the world to see. Now don't get me wrong. I don't hate Valentine's Day. It is the ideal holiday for people that don't have boyfriends or girlfriends to confess their feelings to someone they like. But they don't need a holiday to help them find love. Love is every day of the year.
Then again, my idea of love cultivated from years of pinning my heart for a single guy. Several guys in Forks High have tried to ask me out (I'll admit, some of them were quite attractive), but I always turned them down. None of them have captured my heart the way Edward Cullen did.
Edward Cullen: Forks High's golden boy. He's a quarterback of the school's football team and president of the math team. He's a triple threat: athletic, intelligent, and insanely popular. Like many of the girls in our junior class, I adore him. It's rare for someone like Edward to be have brains to go along with his looks. Unlike most of the girls that swarm him during school days, I like him because of his intelligence. Even if he wasn't a football player, I'd still be interested in him. Nevertheless, his genuine personality is the reason why I have a huge crush on him.
I'm a bit of a shy girl, so it's difficult for me to approach him when his army of admirers are around him. The only times I can talk to him freely is when we have the same classes together. This year, I have him for Biology and English, and I'm pretty lucky to have him as a lab partner for Biology. He also has his two best friends, Emmett McCarthy and Jasper Whitlock, dating my two best friends, Rosalie Hale and Alice Brandon, respectively. With the connections between our ring of friends, we have occasional moments outside of school when the six of us get to hang out together and I can talk to Edward without the prying ears of students at school. Edward and I are casual friends, but it doesn't change the fact that we come from different worlds. My world is books, music, and confidence I wish to have being lived out by my best friends. His world is football, leadership, and confidence that seems to come off from him naturally.
He even has a girlfriend. Or had a girlfriend, since he and Tanya broke up just before the start of the new semester. Tanya is the head cheerleader of the cheerleading squad, and everyone looked up to her and Edward as a couple. Alice, Rose, and I aren't the biggest fans of Tanya. No matter how nice Tanya is around their peers, the three of us know her true nature. Once Tanya is envious or jealous about something, her nice exterior fades and her bitchy persona shows.
It's no wonder that she and Edward are no longer together. Edward must have seen enough of Tanya's bitchy side that he finally had enough and broke up with her. When their 14-month relationship ended, so did their relationship's admirers. With a now single Edward Cullen walking the halls of Forks High without Tanya by his side, the female portion of the student body are dying to score a date with the school's hottest available bachelor.
I'm strolling along the drenched parking lot of Forks High with Alice and Rose. Alice is chattering excitedly about recent gossip she heard from our fellow classmates, while Rose is glancing at me with her shiny sapphire eyes with a I-don't-know-what-she's-talking-about-either look.
Alice's switches the topic of conversation. "And speaking of Valentine's Day, where the hell is Edward? He should be here by now, surrounded by his hyperactive fans. No offense, Bella."
"None taken," I mutter. I'm not in the mood of associating Edward with Valentine's Day. The holiday is a reminder that my closeness with Edward isn't enough for me to deserve being to walk alongside him as his girlfriend.
"And while we're on the subject, why don't you ask him out?" Alice questions.
"Because-" I prompt. I've gone over the subject with them many times since Edward and Tanya broke up. "The popular guy doesn't always end up with the ordinary girl. Real life isn't Hollywood, Aly."
"But it's Valentine's Day! This is your chance to try." Alice jumps up and down eagerly. "At least just try."
"We'll see." An ambiguous response is my only way for shutting her up about the subject.
Alice's phone buzzes in her skirt's pocket. She takes it out and stares at the screen for a few seconds before putting it away. "Sorry hons. Gotta go meet Jasper. I'll see you later!" She gives us a quick wave before dashing into the school.
Rose shakes her head in amusement. "Alice… what'll we ever do with her."
"Ditto," I agree.
Rose and I walk into the school, ignoring the infatuated stares of boys aimed in our direction. We watch as Tanya and her two best friends, Kate and Irina, walk pass us, the trio's arms linked together. Tanya has a radiant smile on her face, but her eyes say otherwise. She's still clearly frustrated about her breakup with Edward.
"Still can't believe the ice queen looks normal after Edward dumped her," Rose sneers. She's the one that hates Tanya the most out of the three of us. Rose hasn't let go of the time Tanya poured grape juice on her head when Rose was voted homecoming queen during our sophomore year over her.
My response is a shrug. I've grown quite used to hearing Rose's verbal hatred over Tanya.
We have fifteen minutes until homeroom starts. At the lockers, we run into Emmett and Edward. I smile as Emmett gives Rose a dozen of roses and three heart-shaped balloons. I blush as they have a borderline make-out session in front of Edward and I. Once their drawn out kiss ends, Rose gives me a bright goodbye before walking off with Emmett to who-knows-where. Probably somewhere where they can continue that make-out session without Edward and I as witnesses.
Speaking of Edward…
Crap.
I'm alone with him.
My cheeks flush. Happy Valentine's Day, Swan.
"Hi Bella," Edward greets.
"Hi," I answer. I should have seen this coming. The coward part of me wants to come up with an excuse to leave, but my legs stay rooted to the floor. Besides, I'm talking to one of the hottest guys in Forks High. Any girl would kill to be in my position right now.
"Heading to homeroom?" he asks. We both have Mrs. Cole for homeroom, so there's no way I can avoid that.
"Yeah." I'm so nervous that I can only reply in one-word, one-syllable, responses.
"So ummm… happy Valentine's Day."
"You too." So much for the one-syllable thing.
We're silent for a minute before I respond. "Sorry about your breakup with Tanya."
He scowls at my comment, then bobs his head up and down. "Same here, though I don't feel all that sorry. In fact, I'm glad I broke things off."
"Why? I thought you were happy with her. Why did you even go out with her in the first place?"
He sighs. "We were never really going out. We only went out with each other to protect our reputations. She's the one that likes me, but I never reciprocated her feelings."
"But… you two kiss." I had to look away every time they did so.
"We only kissed in public. I felt tired of living a lie that I decided to end things once and for all. She wanted to believe we were really a couple, but everything about our whole relationship was fake. And… well… Tanya didn't take the breakup well…" He leaves his last sentence hanging.
"Does anyone else know about this?" I say in a hushed tone. If this leaked out, I have a feeling that more girls will throw themselves at him.
"Only Em and Jas."
I nod. "So… why are you telling me this?"
He shrugs. "Em and Jas will eventually tell Alice and Rosalie, and of course your friends would tell you too. You might as well know now than later."
I grin. I feel honored that I'm one of the few people that knows about this. "Thanks for telling me. And I swear, I won't tell anyone."
We reach Mrs. Cole's classroom. The door is open and Mrs. Cole is sitting at her teacher's desk at the front of the room. A few students are already present, each reading a book, doing homework, or chatting with their friends. I catch a couple of girls giggle as Edward walks to his seat.
As soon as I walk into the room, I gape at the sight of my desk. My feet are frozen, my eyes centering on the extravagant laid out on the wooden surface of my desk.
Holy shit.
~:~
It could have been seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, perhaps even centuries that I stared at my desk.
There's a small mocha-colored teddy bear holding a red rose in its furry hands with a red-and-white striped heart-shaped box next to it. A piece of paper folded neatly in two is tucked between the bear's ears. I approach my desk and grab the note. My name is written in a handwriting that's unfairly flawless. As I unfold the paper, I also notice that the note isn't signed.
I quickly read the words written in black ink. I didn't spend much. If you'd like to know who sent you this, meet me at the lockers after school at 3. See you there, beautiful.
Who would send me a gift like this? And what boy can write in amazing cursive loops like that?
Guess I have to wait for a few hours till I meet my mystery guy.
I plop down on my chair. I open up my backpack and drop the gift inside. I can't let anyone else see this. If Tanya sees it, she might get the wrong idea and think that Edward was the one that gave it to me.
When homeroom starts, Mrs. Cole gives us the entire 30 minutes to play a game of our choice. As expected, everyone , including me, voted on a PG game of Spin the Bottle. After all, I'd rather play Spin the Bottle when I could likely go the whole game without the bottle pointing at me than Pictionary when everyone in the room is forced to play.
Luckily, I went the whole game without being picked. I do feel a little sympathy for Angela when Eric dared Mike to kiss her in front of all of us. Angela and Ben, however, are a couple, though PDA isn't something that they like to do.
Once homeroom is over, I head to English class. My brain is a jumble throughout the entire period as we orally read through an act from Hamlet. Everyone's voices were mumbles in my ears. All I could think about is my mystery guy. I'm distracted by my mysterious Valentine's Day gift giver that before I knew it, I'm eating lunch at the bustling cafeteria with Alice and Rose during lunch period.
The girls are squealing in excitement once I tell them about my unknown Valentine.
"Finally, girl!" Rose exclaims. "This guy has great taste."
"So who do you think is it?" Alice questions.
"I dunno," I tell Alice. "Whoever it is, I'm meeting him after school to find out."
Seconds later, the suggestions of who my mystery guy begins.
"Might be Mike Newton. He's always got his eyes on our B." Which he needs to stop doing. Can't the boy take a hint?
"What about Eric? He asked her out once." That was two years ago. He's over me.
"Let's not count out Tyler. He tried asking her to prom last week." Who I didn't say yes to. I'm not going to be someone's last resort.
"Oh! It could be Lee! He stares at her as much as Mike." Which is way more creepier than Mike.
I tune out my friends' conversation. The only clue I have about my mystery guy is the flawless handwriting on the note. There are no guys that I know of that has that handwriting. Surely a perfect handwriting like that belongs to a perfect guy, right? I shouldn't get my expectations up too high. But a girl can hope, right?
Rose waves her hand in front of my face. "Hello! Earth to Bella!"
I blink. "Sorry. Just thinking about something." I switch the topic. "So Aly, what did Jas give to you?"
Alice beams. She flashes her right wrist to us, revealing a silver bracelet with a lock-and-key charm. "Jas gave me this. He says I'm the key that unlocked his heart."
"Classic Jas." For a 16-year-old, he puts the gentleman in southern gentleman.
We spend the rest of our lunch break finishing our lunches. When the bell rings, we say our goodbyes and go to our respective next periods.
Only a couple more hours. I can't wait to see who my mystery guy is.
~:~
I stand in the near-empty hallway, leaning against my locker. Everyone has either left school grounds or hanging out with their friends outside the building. It's two minutes until three and I'm waiting anxiously for my mystery Valentine to show up. With most of the student body nowhere in sight, it's safe for me to have the gift out of my backpack and in my hands. Holding it will be my way to let my Valentine know how much I appreciate his gift.
A dark silhouette walks toward me from the north end of the hall. As the figure inches closer to see, I could make out his features.
I gasp. It's Edward.
"Hi Bella," he says for the second time today.
I'm speechless. Is this happening? Is this true. "You… you sent me this?"
He nods. "All of it is from me."
"But… why? You're the most popular and maybe the most hottest guy in the school. Why send a Valentine to a dork like me?"
He shakes his head, stepping closer to me until our faces are centimeters apart. My body grows warmer at our close proximity. "I bought those things because I like you, Bella. I've liked you since the first day of school." He chuckles. "If you haven't noticed, I like brunette girls with chocolate brown eyes with real intelligence, a sense of humor and cares more about school than partying all night long."
"R-really?" I stutter.
"Yeah." He brings his hand up, laying his palms on my cheeks. "My main reason for breaking up with Tanya is because I want to be with you. I really want to be your boyfriend."
FUCK, EDWARD CULLEN IS ASKING ME TO BE HIS GIRLFRIEND. This isn't a dream. It's real. My perfect guy is telling me that he likes me too.
"I… wow."
He gazes at me timidly. "Do you like me too?"
Of course I do! Still in a state of shock, I'm unable to get the words out of my mouth. Instead, I give him the biggest grin I can muster and repetitive nods.
He mirrors my grin, and he does the one thing that every boy does to a girl that he likes.
He kisses me.
I squeak. His lips feels soft and slightly chapped. The teddy bear and box slips from my hands, landing on the floor with a light thud. I snake my arms around his neck, matching the same pressure of his lips with mine.
Our lips are locked in a seemingly never-ending dance. I wish this moment can last forever.
I break away sometime later, gasping for air. So this is what good kisses are like.
Edward laughs, picking up my gift from the floor. "Didn't know you're a great kisser."
"I have an inner vixen," I tell him cheekily.
He smiles, kissing my cheek. "So… be my girlfriend?"
This time, I don't stay quiet. "Of course. I don't have hot make-out sessions with anyone."
He smirks. "Good, because your lips are the only ones I'd want to be kissing for the rest of my life."
"That was corny. You need to work on your pick-up lines, Cullen."
"As you wish, beautiful."
He holds out his right hand to me, and I hold his hand with mine.
Maybe Valentine's Day isn't so bad a holiday after all.
So yeah! Changed the grammar, added some new things. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. I'll be juggling on updates between this and my Phan story (which you can check out if you're into Dan and Phil fanfics). And just like my former author's note, I'd love to know what you think of V2 of OPR!
~ AA