As promised, here is the first chapter of my new fanfic, Loving Bella.

Chapter I

"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves."

—Victor Hugo

I never believed in 'the one'. I thought it was a joke, a man-made artifice of hope that somewhere out in the world, the universe had someone specially designated just for you. But I was wrong, so very wrong. I didn't know I would find someone that would capture my heart and change my outlook on everything. She opened up my eyes to something extraordinarily new. . .she showed me how to love. Loving Bella was the the greatest gift I was ever given and I would cherish it for the rest of my life, even though I didn't get to keep her that long. Our story is tragically beautiful and I'm going to share with you to how it all began. . .

-O-

Circa 2006

"Edward come on, we're going to be late." I sighed irritably, throwing on my leather jacket and ran my fingers through my hair. I briefly checked myself out in the mirror before grabbing my car keys off the nightstand. At the top of the stairs I could see my girlfriend, Tanya scowling at me in annoyance, her arms akimbo.

"What's with the frown?" I swear she could be a royal pain in the ass sometimes.

"You took long enough, the party started two hours ago." I took the stairs one at at time, not bothering to be in a rush.

"I'm pretty sure no one gives a shit about us being late to a house party and besides you weren't complaining a few hours ago when we were in bed or did you forget?" I ran a finger down her neck, causing her to shiver. That shut her right up.

"No, I definitely didn't forget," she whispered huskily. Her eyes focused on my lips, and she leaned forward, pressing her chest against me. I felt her hard nipples drag up my chest as she raised up on toes, closing her eyes for our lips to meet. Right before lips met I murmured, "we're going to be late."

"Excuse me?" Her eyes shot open, leaning back away from me. I almost laughed at her expression but I kept it bay.

"I said we're going to be late so let's go." I said, walking away from her.

"Are you serious?" she asked in disbelief. She was pissed that I rejected her but I really didn't give a damn.

"As a heart attack. You wanted to leave, well we're leaving." I heard her curse under her breath, storming pass me out the door. I walked out behind her, locking up. She was already sitting in my sleek black '67 Ford Mustang I named Carrie. She was my most prized possession and she was a beauty. I hopped in, put the keys in the ignition, revving her up before taking off.

"I swear you love this car more than you love me," she said, her voice laced with annoyance. I simply ignored her comment, not bothering to reply. The truth was that I didn't love her at all. I cared for her a lot but I didn't love her. Sometimes I didn't like her at all. I didn't believe in love, it was a crock of shit. I was shown love by my adoptive family but to me, love was a sick perversion. My real mother didn't love me and I hated her. She did terrible things a child shouldn't have seen and I was invisible to her. She didn't protect me when I needed her the most and when she died, I didn't even shed a tear. When the Cullen's took me in, I was better off. I was thankful for all they have done for me and I had respect for them but, that's all. I wasn't loveable and I didn't love. It was how I was wired and nothing would change that.

I switched on the stereo, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", flooding out of the speakers. I turned up the volume, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel to be beat.

When we finally pulled up to Jasper's house, the party was in full swing, flooded with everyone Forks High. People were everywhere, some even passed out cold on the lawn. Music blared from inside, every note and lyric heard with clarity. Tanya wrapped a arm around my waist, staying close to my side. I was immediately met with high fives and head nods as we walked through the multitude of our peers.

"I see the girls, I'll meet up with you later," Tanya announced.

"Alright." She kissed my cheek, quickly making her way towards her friends Lauren and Jessica I didn't really care for them because all they did was gossip and were unbearably clueless but they weren't my friends. I went to look for Jasper finding him in the kitchen with his twin sister Rosalie and my adoptive siblings Alice and Emmett. They were coupled up, laughing at something Emmett was talking about. Jasper was the first one to see me, a devious grin making it's way across his face.

"It's about damn time you showed up, Eddie."

"Yeah what the hell took you so long, lil bro. Got held up in your again?" Emmett interjected, his innuendo apparent in his remark. I flipped him off, causing him to guffaw.

"You guys can be such assholes," Rosalie chuckled.

"He knows we're just fucking with him babe," Emmett replied, kissing Rosalie on the lips. They began to make out, not paying us any mind.

"For god's sake, get a room," Jasper said in mock disgust. Emmett gave him to finger without taking a break from the inside of Rosalie's mouth. I shook my head and picked up a cup to fill it with beer from the keg.

"Where's Tanya at anyways?" Alice asked.

"She's somewhere with Lauren and Jessica."

"What do you see in her?" Alice couldn't stand Tanya. She felt like she was "fake, vain bitch", her words, not mine. I shrugged noncommittally. "I dunno. What do you see in this one?" I replied with a smirk.

"Dick," Jasper said, playfully punching my arm.

"I really don't get you two sometimes," Alice smiled. Jasper understood me more than anyone. He was the only one besides my family who knew about my unfortunate childhood before I was adopted. I trusted him and he was always there when I needed someone to talk to.

"And you never will, shorty."

"Piss off Eddie." She hated to be called shorty like I hated to be called Eddie. I swear I wanted to kick Emmett in the balls for starting that shit. I took a swig of beer, swallowing the amber liquid in gulps. I didn't want to get trashed because I had to take Tanya home, so I took it easy. I stayed with them most of the night before Tanya finally made her presence known, begging me to take her home. I told them I would meet up with them later on that morning to help clean up the mess.

"You wanna fool around handsome?" She slurred as she reached for my lap and kissed my neck.

"No. Your drunk Tanya and I'm taking you home." I brushed her hand off the clasp of my jeans, causing her to huff irritably. "Well you're no fun at all."

"Put your seatbelt back on Tanya."

"Whatever you say Dad," she sneered. She jerked on the seatbelt and a resounding click filled the car. I gripped the steering wheel, annoyed with her petulant behavior. Tanya was beautiful; strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, killer body but at the same time she was ugly. She was bitchy, immature and self-centered. I really didn't see it until recently and it was really bothering me. I didn't know how much longer I could deal with her and her piss poor attitude. I picked up the speed, so I could get her home faster. I was not in the mood to deal with her. When we got to her house, I cut the engine and got out to walk her to her door.

"Are you going to stay the night?"

"Not tonight. I'm really tired promised to help Jasper and the others later.

" So? Your point is?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes shut in frustration. "The point is I'm tired and I have things to do. I shouldn't have to explain to you more than once why I'm not staying."

"Whatever." She turned from me, unlocking the door as she stepped inside.

"Look everything can't be about you, Tanya." She swiveled around, a scowl plastered on her face. "I said whatever, Edward. Text me whenever you have time for me," she said before slamming the door in my face. I blew out a exhausted breath and walked back to the car. I sat back for a minute before sticking the key back in the ignition and drove home.

-O-

I heard 'How to Save a Life' playing loudly in my ear, rousing me from my slumber. Realizing it was my cell phone, I groggily grabbed the jeans I wore last night and pulled the phone from my pocket.

"What?" I answered sleepily.

"Morning sunshine. Get your lazy ass up and over here," Emmett boomed through the receiver.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in twenty, douchebag."

"Seems like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," he laughed.

"I guess so," I said before hanging up without a goodbye. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and brushed my teeth. After getting dressed, I was out the door and raced to Jasper's house. I didn't bother knocking, just walked in to look for everyone one. They were in the living room about picking up trash and cleaning every surface that was unkempt.

"It's about time you showed up," Jasper announced.

"Yeah I'm here now."

"Long night Eddie?" Emmett snickered. I rolled my eyes, throwing a empty cup at him. He dodged it, laughing at my poor aim.

"No asshole I didn't. I dropped Tanya off at her house and went home."noonLooks like someone's upset about not getting any," Jasper teased joining in on the fun.

"Fuck you both." They both burst out laughing while the girls just smirked at our banter.

"I believe that would be incest bro. And besides me and Jazz are straight." I had shook my head laughing along with them. "You could've had me fooled," I chuckled. I grabbed a garbage bag and began to help. We finished around noon and decided to order pizza and watch a movie.

"Are you going to invite Tanya over to chill with us?" Jasper asked, grabbing a few sodas from the fridge. I looked up from the messages from Tanya had left a couple of hours ago. "No."

"How come?"

"I don't feel like dealing with her right now. I need a break," I replied.

"Listen man, if you don't want to be with her anymore, just let her know. I'm pretty sure she's gonna be pissed but she's just gonna have to accept your wishes." Jasper had a way of knowing how I felt and always had a solution to everything.

"Thanks."

"No problem, man." He clapped me on the back and walked out of the kitchen. I contemplated what he said and made a decision. I hit her number on speed dial and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?" she said irritably.

"Tanya, we need to talk. Can I come by later?"

A/N: Be back next Wednesday for Chapter 2 :)