Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT
It was Sunday, his favorite day of the week.
Whether it was because everything seemed a little bit calmer, people seemed to be a little more willing to smile, or because the line at the coffee shop wasn't packed with people rushing to work.
Edward decided it was the last one he liked best as he accepted the steaming macchiato from the pretty brunette across the counter with the cherry red lipstick. She winked at him and he gave her a grin, his day getting better by the moment.
He turned away from the counter and looked over the room for an empty seat, dismayed when he didn't see one. Every couch, stool, armchair, and other piece of eclectic furniture, probably picked up off the sidewalk or from a yard sale, was taken.
Then again, the number of people sitting in those chairs whose fingers were flying across keyboards, typing out what he sure they thought was the next bestseller, was overwhelming.
Edward thought about the laptop sitting heavily in his bag. Maybe it was a little too cliché, even for him.
Readjusting the bag on his shoulder, he made his way out of the shop and into the slightly overcast Seattle day. He was thankful that the rain had stopped some time this morning, leaving behind only fresh air and wet pavement.
The temperature had slowly been dropping, reminding him that summer was coming to a close and that fall was fast approaching, along with a deadline he really didn't want to think about.
The laptop sat heavier in his bag, digging into his shoulder. He pushed the deadline from his mind, telling himself that he would meet it.
The truth was, he had been in denial about his writer's block. Every time he was asked about his latest novel, he always told the same bull, that he was doing research. He told them that he was experiencing the world and waiting for creativity and inspiration to come upon him as it always did.
Or always used to anyways.
The only experiencing of the world that he had been doing was watching the travel channel on Thursday afternoons in his boxers or ordering Chinese take-out from the restaurant down the street.
He grimaced and took a careful sip from his drink, testing it with the tip of his tongue to see if he would be able to drink it without burning off his taste buds. Finding it safe, he took a large swig, smiling when it warmed him from the inside out.
He was licking foam from the corner of his mouth when he felt his pocket buzz. Digging out his phone, Edward brought the annoying piece of technology to his ear, somehow knowing that this was a call he did not want to take.
"Cullen." He answered, his attempt at being businesslike.
"Edward, where the hell are you?" She yelled, making him pull the phone away from his ear.
"Where am I supposed to be?" He answered, wracking his brain for a date he couldn't remember.
"In my office, convincing me not to let the publishers revoke your advance!" She yelled.
'whoops.'
He vaguely remembered a phone call a month or so ago and a post-it saying '11 AM, publisher' sitting beneath a pile of books on his desk at home.
"Of course I didn't forget, I'm just running a little late." He said, taking a quick sip of his drink.
"You better be here by 11:30." She said, not believing him for a second and hanging up.
He let out a groan; the last remnants of his hope of a good day were dashed. He checked his watch and bit back a swear word; he had 25 minutes to get across town.
And to top it all off, he wasn't even sure what he was going to tell her when he got there. She was expecting an extravagant story and another round of bestsellers, neither of which he had. All he had was scrambled thoughts and disorganized scraps of writing that were worthless, even by his standards.
He picked up his pace on the sidewalk, trying to get his brain to start working enough to come up with something adequate to keep the hounds at bay for just a little while longer.
'Maybe I could try to sell them on another James Bond type book, they didn't think it was a great idea last time but who knows?' Edward thought to himself, shaking his head hopelessly
He started fishing in his bag to see if he had enough money on him to grab a cab and wasn't paying attention to the commotion that was approaching him. If he had then he probably wouldn't have fallen off balance when the first guy slammed into his shoulder as he sprinted past.
Edward stumbled, successfully managing to stop himself from falling off the curb into traffic, but more importantly, managing to keep his coffee steady. He turned to yell obscenities after the straggly guy in the red shirt who bumped him when another guy sprinted through the crowd after the first. This one was wearing black and was well muscled.
Now thoroughly confused, everyone was looking after them to see what was going on. A robbery maybe?
"Out of the way!" yelled a voice behind him.
Edward didn't quite put two and two together and figure out that a third person was running after the first two and automatically turned towards the noise behind him.
This time he was not able to hold onto his coffee.
She crashed into him squarely, sending them both tumbling to the ground. His coffee emptied its contents all down the fronts of both their shirts, immediately drenching them in sticky macchiato.
She landed mostly on top of him and he only caught sight of her face momentarily, deep chocolate colored eyes and long brown hair that framed a very pretty face.
He was mortified, "I am so sorry, I-"
But she had already pushed herself off of him and was running after the other two.
"Hey, wait!" He yelled after her, scrambling to his feet with as much dignity as possible.
The writer in him couldn't just let all the action pass by without further investigation, something that had gotten him into trouble more than a few times. He lived for stuff like this.
Hanging onto his shoulder bag to keep it from flying off, he took off after her.
He was weaving between the crowds of people on the sidewalk, yelling 'excuse me' and 'sorry' every time his bag clipped someone or he held up the flow of pedestrian traffic by stopping and craning his neck to catch a glimpse of which direction she was going.
He lost her for a moment but then caught her sprinting across the busy intersection, getting honked at but managing to avoid the traffic before vaulting over the hood of a parked car.
His eyes widened and he picked up his pace, his curiosity doubling.
He made it to the corner of the street and ran across the same intersection, though not quite as smoothly. Taxis had to slam on their breaks to keep from making him road kill. One came especially close and Edward jumped out of the way to keep from becoming a paraplegic.
"Sorry!"
Judging by all the honking and swear words being thrown his way he didn't think they accepted his apology.
By the time he made it to the other side of the street he was breathing heavily, his head swinging from side to side in search of her.
'I really need to renew that gym membership.'
He caught a glimpse of brown hair disappearing around a corner about thirty yards up.
'Gotcha'
Readjusting the bag on his shoulder he ran, paying no attention to the interesting looks he was receiving as people tried to get out of the way of the crazy, coffee covered man.
He rounded the corner of the alley just in time to see the muscled guy try to tackle the one in the red shirt. They went sprawling into the garbage and the red shirted one managed to scramble out of the other one's reach.
Edward watched as he ran to the fire escape and jumped for the ladder, his hands slipping once on the rain slicked metal before getting a better grip and scrambling up.
He had just made it to the flatter stair area when the girl came out of nowhere and jumped onto the ladder, climbing up after him with much more ease.
Edward jogged closer, not able to tear his eyes away and wanting to get a better look.
She was fast and nimble, gaining on the guy in the red shirt quickly, who at the moment happened to look back and see her. His face was alarmed and he tried to climb the stairs faster, his feet slipping with each step, his expression one of fear.
Spotting an open window, the guy was just about to duck inside when the girl grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him back onto the fire escape ledge.
Edward was holding his breath and craning his neck to see if he could catch what was going on. The muscled guy was a few feet away, copying Edward, obviously not liking his chances on the fire escape and waiting for a better vantage point.
The guy with the red shirt had scrambled to his feet unsteadily, his head swiveling from side to side for a way out and seeing none. Seeing no other option he lunged at the girl, optioning to go through her rather than around.
She sidestepped and ducked his wild throw, trying to keep her balance on the creaking platform without giving the guy a way of escape.
These were some of the most badass cops Edward had ever seen, assuming they even were cops. They weren't wearing uniforms, but maybe they were undercover or something. Edward's expression was torn between excitement and unease as he continued to watch, his imagination spinning wild ideas.
The guy dove for her again, this time it seemed like she was done playing games because she only partially moved and grabbed his shirt as he went past, propelling him to the ground behind her.
She must have underestimated the slipperiness of the platform, because not only did he slide across it when hitting the ground, he slid over it. He scrambled to grab onto the something, barely hanging onto the railing as the rest of his body dangled over the side, his legs kicking at a step that wasn't there.
Edward and the girl seemed to have the same thought because she dove for the guy, trying to grab on to the hand that was gripping the metal pole. She was a half a second too late and his fingers slipped off the wet railing and he fell.
If the platform had been another floor higher, then the guy probably wouldn't have survived the fall. As it was, however, Edward still cringed when he saw the guy hit the ground, his back hitting the cement and knocking the wind out of him. He wasn't on the ground for more than a second before the muscled one rolled him over and slapped cuffs on him, hauling him to an upright position, the guy in the red shirt groaning the entire time.
The girl jumped to the ground from the ladder, landing in a crouch easily, something that Edward couldn't imagine himself accomplishing with such fluidity.
He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off.
"Seth, you asshole! He's my skip!" She yelled, stomping over to the muscled guy with an angry look on her face.
"Snooze you lose." The other guy said smugly, leading the handcuffed guy towards the entrance to the alley where Edward noticed a car was idling, and it definitely was not a police car.
"Come on, you know how badly I need this one!" She yelled, following after him, an angry expression on her face.
"Well, I guess you shouldn't have stopped to get coffee then." He chuckled, clearly pleased with the cleverness of his joke.
She seemed confused for a moment before looking down at her shirt.
"Damn it." She said, apparently just noticing the large brown stain that was previously Edward's morning coffee. Edward shuffled his feet, deciding that it would probably be best to wait until they noticed him before he said anything.
The guy, Seth, shoved the limping one into the back seat of the car. "Mr. Alexander, I'm afraid you missed your court date and are in violation of your bond agreement, so we're just going to take a short trip to the police station." He said before slamming the door shut.
And then it clicked for Edward, they weren't cops at all, 'Bounty hunters! How cool is that!' Edward thought, getting more excited by the minute as he watched the exchange take place. He thought about pulling his notebook out but discarded the idea, not wanting to tear his eyes away.
The girl was fuming, her hands clenching and unclenching by her sides. Edward thought the angry look worked for her, beautiful but deadly.
"Catch you later." The guy, Seth, said to her with a smile before climbing into the passenger seat and still smiling as the car pulled away from the curb.
The girl was watching the car drive away with her arms crossed over her chest, fuming. Edward took the opportunity to take a real look at her, not getting the chance before when they shared his coffee. She was wearing form fitting pants and a t-shirt that, thanks to him, was sporting a large brown coffee stain. His eyes continued to travel and widened a little when he noticed the gun strapped to her waist next to a pair of handcuffs. It was probably the sexiest thing he'd ever seen, and he'd seen a lot.
Edward opened his mouth to introduce himself but was interrupted.
"Ten grand, out the window. Fantastic." She said angrily, throwing her arms up in the air for emphasis, looking like she wanted to punch something.
He cleared his throat. She turned to look at him, "What?" She snapped.
He took a step back out of reflex. "Ummm, I just wanted to apologize about the coffee and…."
She raised an eyebrow angrily.
"So…bounty hunter. That must be pretty cool." He trailed off lamely, mentally slapping his forehead.
'Smooth, Edward.'
She just rolled her eyes and turned, walking away without a word.
"Wait! Let me at least buy you a cup of coffee or a new shirt or something!" He yelled after her.
She barley turned her head, "Yeah, I don't think so." And then she was around the corner and out of sight.
Edward gazed after her with a smile, far too intrigued for his own good.
And then it hit him and he was so excited that he could barely stand still. He quickly glanced at his watch, seeing how much time he had left. If he ran he might just make it.
But even if he was a couple minutes late meeting his publisher he thought she would probably forgive him. Especially when he told her all about the his next book and the character it revolved around; a striking bounty hunter with brown hair, brown eyes, and a gun strapped to her waist
A/N: It's been a long time since I've started something, and didn't realize how much I've missed it until I finally had all of my thoughts together and put them to paper. If you've read my other stories, you may be starting to notice a theme, and if you enjoyed the others, then I hope this one lives up to your expectations. I've been planning it out for a while and I will try my hardest to update whenever I can.
So, to my dedicated readers, if you're still out there after all this time, let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you.
~archer24