Contest entry for the Happily Ever After TwiFic Contest

Title: Sweet Perfection

Pairing: Bella and Edward

Rating: M

Summary: ''Edward Cullen, are you flirting with me?'' I asked, feigning shock…

Disclaimer: Twilight and all other public references are the property of their respective owners. No copyright is intended.

"It's Friday night, Bella. You have to come out with us," Alice said looking at me in total disbelief that I was in my pyjamas at seven o'clock on a Friday night.

"No, Ali, I'm tired, I just want to have an early night."

"Please? Just for an hour?" she asked in her sweetest voice, she even batted her eyelashes at me.

I couldn't be sure, but I thought I heard her mumble under her breath 'or two'.

I groaned internally. I knew that look. When she was in that sort of mood you couldn't say no to her.

"Okay, for one hour," I said, defeated getting up off the couch. "But you have to help me get ready"

Alice started jumping up and down squealing.

I'm an enabler, I thought as I walked to my bedroom. I love Alice to death, but I swore she was addicted to dressing me up.

An hour later, we were getting into a cab on our way to meet Rose and Angela. And I'm guessed their boyfriends as well; it was going to be a couple's fest. Well, except for Alice, but she would pick up some random in about twenty minutes so that didn't count.

It's only for an hour I kept telling myself.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Alice said enthusiastically.

Oh who am I kidding? I won't be getting home until the early hours of the morning.

"Have I told you how much I love this dress?" I asked looking down at the red dress Alice had picked out for me. It had a Hi-Lo hemline and was made out of an almost sheer material with a slip inside it. Alice had also put me in a pair of strappy heels that I didn't think I would be able to walk in, but I hadn't fallen over yet so I was happy about that. I had also packed a pair of ballet flats that would only just fit in the little black bag Alice had given to me to match the dress and the shoes.

"Yes, but you can say it again. That dress really does look great on you." Alice replied. Over the years I had learned to listen to Alice's fashion advice. After all, she was one of the city's top stylists. She was wearing a purple halter neck mini dress that had silver detailing under the bust.

"You look great too, Al," I said getting a big smile back.

"So, where are we meeting the girls?" I asked 10 minutes into the cab ride.

"At Twilight, one of Emmett's friends, Edward, is playing there tomorrow night and they wanted to check it out," she replied. Emmett was Rose's boyfriend.

"Is he any good?" I asked as the cab pulled up to the hip looking bar.

"Yeah, I think so. I've only heard him once before. He does a lot of acoustic covers. Maybe we should come back and see the show tomorrow night"

"Don't push your luck. You were lucky to get me out tonight," I said as we waited in line.

"We'll see," she said with a hint of mischief in her voice

She looked around at the line of people in front of us and asked, "What is taking so long for us to get in?"

"Looks like some underage girls trying to sneak in with fake ID's," I replied looking up the line at the bouncers who were refusing the girls entry.

We finally got in and caught up with Rose and Angela, who 'ohhhed' and 'ahhed' about our dresses.

"Seriously, Alice, you have a good eye for fashion. I'll have to get to you to dress me sometime" Rose was saying. She would be Alice's dream client, as she was tall with a supermodel body.

"Oh, please do, then she might leave me alone," I begged with a laugh.

"You love it, B, admit it." Alice said.

"So, where are the guys?" Alice asked Rose and Angela.

"In the men's room," Angela replied.

"And they say women always have to go together," Rose said.

That got a laugh from all of us.

"Drinks?" I asked.

"I'm good," Angela said.

"Can I get a Gin and Tonic?" Rose asked.

"Sure." I looked at Alice.

"Usual for me please," she said.

"Tequila shots it is then." I said and ran off before Alice could hit me.

"I will kill you if you do that Swan, I know where you live," I heard her call after me.

Laughing to myself, I walked up to the bar and ordered a G&T for Rose and Cosmo's for me and Alice. I couldn't resist getting one tequila shot to tease Alice with for dragging me out tonight. I knew she couldn't stand tequila after a bad experience a while back. That night had resulted in her streaking through our apartment in the middle of a party. She was sick for a week afterwards and hadn't touched the stuff since.

Payback's a bitch.

After carrying the tray of drinks back to the table, I found that the guys had returned. Well, it wasn't hard to see Emmett's head over the crowd of people. I did notice that there were two others guys that I hadn't met before. One had unusual bronze coloured hair. The other had honey blond hair… and was making out with Alice.

Yep, right on schedule, I thought as I put the tray down on the table. The others were all giving each other looks of confusion.

"You wouldn't believe what just happened, Bella. We introduced Jasper to Alice and they took one look at each other it was like time stopped and they were the only two people in the universe. I swear there were birds tweeting and violins playing," Rose was trying to explain but she still looked as though she couldn't believe what she had seen.

"You're kidding! Like love at first sight? In a place like this?" I said

"I guess you had to be there," she said taking her drink from the tray.

"Oh, Bella, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Bella Swan," Rose said pointing between me and the bronze haired man next to me.

Edward was very handsome and looked like a typical musician. He was wearing jeans with a black button down shirt, and his hair looked as though he hadn't brushed it before he came out.

"Hi, Edward, nice to meet you," I said holding out my hand to him.

"You too, Bella," he said while shaking my hand.

"So you're playing here tomorrow night then?" I asked.

"Yeah, I hope it's as busy tomorrow as it is tonight," he said looking around at the busy bar.

"Yeah, hopefully it will be. I think Alice wants to drag me out again to see you play," I said looking over at Alice and Jasper who had stopped making out but were now gazing into each other's eyes.

"Well, at least I'll have two pretty girls in the audience to play to" he said.

"Edward Cullen, are you flirting with me?" I asked, feigning shock.

"Badly, very badly," Edward admitted.

"Aw, that wasn't so bad" I said

"Really?" he enquired raising eyebrow at me.

"No, it was just a bit cheesy" I replied.

"I've never heard my flirting referred to as cheesy," he said.

"Well, does it work often?" I wondered.

"Actually, now I think about it, not as much as it used to," Edward said with thoughtful expression.

"So, what kind of music to do you play?" I asked Edward.

"Um, well, I play a bit of everything. But mostly indie stuff. I do write a little when I can, but no one ever hears that, it just never seems ready."

"Oh why's that?"

"I don't know; it just never feels right." He tried to explain.

We kept on with the playful conversation for a while. Probably longer then I thought, when we were interrupted by Rose and Emmett telling us that they were calling it a night. Angela and her boyfriend Ben had left a little while before.

"This has been fun," I said to Rose when I hugged her goodbye.

"Yeah, it has. We'll do it again soon," she agreed, she then gave me a knowing wink and walked off with Emmett.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here? Go for a walk?" Edward asked.

"Sure, I'll just go to the ladies and let Alice know I'm heading off," I said picking up my purse.

"Ok, meet you out the front?" he asked.

"Ok. I'll be a few minutes."

'No problem, take your time."

After I finished in the ladies, I found Alice on the dance floor with Jasper. They were slow dancing and still gazing into each other's eyes even though there was a fairly fast-paced song playing. It was strange to see two people who had only just met acting like this, but I'd never seen her so happy. I caught her eye and gave her our secret signal to let her know that I was leaving.

I pushed my way through the crowd and found my way back to the entrance and outside where Edward was waiting for me.

"Hey, there you are," I said when I saw him leaning against the wall of the club playing on his phone. He looked up and smiled a crooked smile that made me swoon a little inside.

I opened my little bag and pulled out the ballet flats that I had packed. "Just let me change into these before we go. I don't think my feet can handle much longer in these. Alice thought it would be fun to torture me by making me wear them."

"Is that something she does a lot?" Edward asked while I untied the straps of my shoes.

"I'm her life-size Barbie doll; apparently she didn't get enough of them as a child," I explained slipping on the flats.

Edward laughed at this.

"That feels so much better already," I said enjoying the relief that changing shoes had already brought.

"I know a great little place that has coffee not far from here that will still be open, if you want to go there?" Edward asked.

"Coffee sounds great."

We walked a couple blocks to the coffee shop continuing the easy conversation that we had kept up all evening.

We were greeted by a very tired looking waitress. She showed us to a table for two in one of the back corners of the shop. She took our orders, giving me a funny look when I asked for three sugars in my latte.

"So you were saying earlier that you are studying music education." I said to Edward while we waited for our coffees to come.

"Yeah, I have this year to finish, and then I hope to work as a music therapist with special needs kids."

"That's great. I've always wanted to learn music," I admitted.

"Well, I might be able to help you there," Edward offered with a smirk.

We were then interrupted by the waitress bringing our coffees.

When she left Edward, went onto tell me more about his music studies. He was in the middle of writing a thesis on the effects of music on special needs kids. He told me that he was inspired to work in the field when the son of a friend of his was diagnosed with autism, which I thought was very moving.

We talked about our families. We were both only children. He told me that his parents were really supportive of his music and his plans for the future. I told him about my mom leaving when I was little and it had just been me and Charlie while I grew up.

I told him that Alice and I had met in elementary school and had been best friends ever since. He told me the same about himself and Jasper.

We talked about our home towns. I told him all about Forks and how green and beautiful it was. He told me about growing up in Chicago.

Edward was very easy to talk to and we had a lot in common. Before we knew it was 3am and the shop was closing, so Edward offered to walk me home. The walk home was filled with more easy conversation.

"So am I going to be seeing you at my gig tomorrow night then?" Edward asked when we got to mine and Alice's apartment.

"Of course you will. Alice would just drag me along anyway. And you need at least one pretty girl in the audience to sing to," I said remembering his flirting from earlier in the night.

"Yes, I do," he laughed.

"Well, I'd better get inside, it's really late," I said turning to unlock the door.

"Oh. Sure, I'll see you tomorrow night then."

"Yeah, see you then. Goodnight Edward."

"Goodnight Bella."

I didn't see Alice til she snuck in after lunch the next day. She had the biggest smile on her face and her skin had her tell-tale post-coital glow.

"Bella, I think Jasper is The One," she announced as I poured a round of coffees for us.

"Wow, that's big Al. You two certainly looked cosy last night."

"It just felt right. I don't know how to explain it."

"I'm happy for you. So when do I actually get to meet him?" I asked.

"Tonight at Edward's gig, if you're coming," Alice hinted.

"Yes, I'm coming. I kind of promised Edward I would go," I confessed.

"Yeah, I did notice that you left with him. How did that go?" she asked.

"We went and had coffee and talked until the shop closed at 3am and then he walked me home," I explained.

"Aw, that's sweet. Oh My God, imagine if you and Edward got together. We could double date!" she said excitedly. Knowing her, she was planning our double wedding in her head.

"Hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I just met him. And yes he is hot and really nice and I like him. Let's just see what happens tonight."

"Ok, Ok," she said holding up her hands in defeat.

"I am going to bed for a nap, I didn't get much sleep last night. If you know what I mean," she said with a wink.

"Of course you didn't. I'll wake you in a few hours to get ready for tonight," I said.

"Thankyou, B!" Alice called closing her bedroom door.

Later that night we were back at Twilight waiting for Edward to come on stage.

I had to hand it to Alice; Jasper was a really sweet guy. They seemed perfect for each other.

Jasper had told me that Edward had been in his room all day writing a new song for tonight. He had only just made it in time for the sound check.

Finally the lights darkened a bit and Edward was introduced. We all cheered and clapped when he walked on stage. He had a similar look to last night but had added a leather jacket.

"Won't he get hot in the jacket under all the stage lights?" I wondered aloud.

"The jacket is his lucky charm," Jasper explained .

Then Edward started singing and I was blown away by his voice. He was really good.

The whole bar seemed to love him. Most of the girls had migrated down to the front of the stage to get a good look at the handsome singer.

Edward sung a few of his indie song covers. All gained a huge round of applause at the end.

"I just want to thank you all again for coming out tonight," Edward said to the crowd. "Now this next song is my last for tonight and it is an original that no one has heard before, because I only wrote it today. So I hope you all like it."

I looked over at Jasper who shrugged. He didn't know what was going on any more than I did.

Edward started playing a short upbeat intro to the song. Then he started singing.

Last night was a thriller, was a killer
Was a damn good time
I met a pretty girl
And I wanted to make her mine
So I took her for a walk
And damn that girl could talk
We talked about all the pretty things,
And all the shitty things,
And all the little things that fall, between

I couldn't believe that he had written a song about me and last night. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

I looked over at Alice and Jasper who were both looking at me with big smiles on their faces.

"Go on," Alice said nodding towards the stage.

I smiled back at them and then made my way through the crowd to the side of the stage where Edward would come off at the end of the song.

And oh, pretty girl
I know that just met you
But I might just dare to say
That I love you
And oh, sweet perfection
Won't you hear my one confession
I've been lost, but dear I'm found

I've been looking for a girl
That's just like you
You've got words to say
But no point to prove
You get me, and that's enough for you

Edward had found were I was waiting for him and was looking at me while he sung.

And girl I got you
I've been looking for a heart that's so complete
So satisfied with the little things
I got you and that's enough for me
So girl can't you see
That you and me, could be so free
And live happy
So take my hand, and let's run

And oh pretty girl
I know that I just met you
But I might just dare to say
That I love you
And oh sweet perfection
Won't you here my one confession
I've been lost
But dear I'm found

But dear I'm found

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as the last note was playing. But Edward was focused on only me. He thanked the crowd again without really looking at them.

He then walked off stage to where I was waiting.

"Hi," I said with a big smile on my face.

"Hi," he replied nervously.

"Glad to know I made such an impression on you last night."

"So you like the song?" he asked.

"Of course, I loved it. No one has ever done anything like that for me before."

"Well, I got home and couldn't stop thinking about you, so I had to put it in song, and for once it felt right" He explained

"It was very sweet of you."

"I'm glad you think so" he wore a sexy crooked smile on his face.

"So are you going to kiss me or what?" I asked moving closer to him.

His smile turned into a smirk as he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. His lips caressed mine, sending shivers through me as his hands danced up my spine. My body was sensitive to his touch, and I never wanted this kiss to end. Edward's hands had made their way to my hips and he was pulling me right up against him, deepening the kiss. My arms were loosely draped over Edward's shoulders.

"Wow, I've been imagining that since I met you last night. Not at all what I imagined," Edward said after he broke the kiss, his hands still on my waist.

"Oh, the real thing not as good as your imagination then," I said, my arms still around his neck.

"No, reality was better" he said seemingly pleased with himself.

"Well, you weren't too bad yourself," I countered faking disappointment, not wanting him to get a big head.

"First my flirting, now my kissing. Is there anything you think I'm good at?" he asked.

"Yes, you can write beautiful songs." I replied.

"Only for you" he said "Now, I think we need to practice that kissing. A lot"

And that is exactly what we did. For the rest of the night. And weekend.

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