Disclaimer – All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just mess around with it and make the characters fit the stupid stuff that goes on in my head from time to time.

A/N: Ok, so when I saw the Awkward Challenge, it made me think of a friend of mine who used to write fanfic, so this one is dedicated to he who shall not be named. Hugs and kisses to Britpacksuccubus, God's gift to fanfic kind, and much love to my wifey Danell (just because I can.).

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"Hey soul sister, Ain't that mister, mister on the radio, stereo? The way you move ain't fair you know."

~Train

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Edward Masen sat at the foot of his tiny single bed tapping furiously at the keys of his laptop computer perched precariously on his knees. He paused, momentarily, to push his wire rimmed glasses back up on his nose where they had begun to slip down, before returning to the familiarly worn keys. The room around him was scrupulously clean and devoid of any furniture save the bed, a dresser, and a small night stand that held a lamp and an alarm clock.

The bed beneath him was covered in a blue and green plaid comforter, smoothed evenly over the expanse of the mattress. It moved slightly as he shifted his weight, sliding backwards to rest his back against the pillows. He continued pounding away at the keys until a shrill ding from the computer drew his attention away from the document he had been typing into for nearly two hours.

He reached down to grab the cup of coffee that rested on the floor next to the bed before clicking the notification bubble that had popped up in the lower left hand corner of the screen. A chat window popped up.

HellsBells: Morning, E, how's life?

Edward quickly typed into the reply box and pressed the enter key.

HPsEvilTwin: Alright, Bells. Finished w/that chap yet? U know I'm waiting with bated breath for it.

HellsBells: U just can't wait 2 pull out the red marker & go all comma nazi on my poor lil fic, can u?

He grinned cheezily before replying.

HPsEvilTwin: Your poor lil fic hit 1000 reviews last week if I'm not mistaken.

HellsBells: U R still a bully, E. Be nice to his chap plz. I ought to have ready 4 u tonite. You know I'm running a lil behind since I was moving this week.

HPsEvilTwin: No promises . . .

HellsBells: Fine then, taskmaster. I'll leave you to ur writing then. I'd better get to work on my own stuff TTYL

HPsEvilTwin: Acuatlly working on lesson plans rite now. Won't be able 2 write until tonite but TTYL.

Edward closed the chat window and pushed the computer off his lap to rest on the bed beside him, taking a long look around the small room. His gaze came to rest on the keys sitting on the night table which he quickly grabbed and pushed into the hip pocket of his jeans. He pulled down his white T-shirt that read "Better Living through Chemistry" in black block letters followed by the chemical structure of Viagra and ran one hand through his ruffled, too-long hair before heading for the door. He carefully entered the living room, picking his way across the detritus that littered the carpet.

His roommate Emmett was sitting on the couch with the XBOX controller in hand, all his attention focused on the Call of Duty game playing on the big screen TV that occupied most of the wall in front of him. Edward looked disgustedly at the state of the room before kicking haphazardly at one of the many beer cans that lay strewn across the room.

"Hey, Em," he called as he reached the apartment's front door.

"Hmm," Emmett's focus never left the screen in front of him.

"You gotta clean this place up man. It's starting to get on my nerves," Edward nudged another can out of his path before reaching for the door handle.

"Yeah, yeah . . . You headed somewhere, Masen?" Emmett pushed two more cans off the coffee table in front of him as he lifted his feet to rest on it.

Edward shook his head, "Just going to Starbucks. Want anything?"

"Nah, man. That girly coffee shit is for fags. Have fun, princess." Emmett laughed heartily as Edward made his way out the door. Edward and Emmett had been roommates for the better part of a year, ever since Edward had taken a job as the Biology teacher at Port Angeles high school. Having to move out of his parents' house back in Forks on short notice to avoid an hour-long drive to work every day, he'd been forced to share an apartment with Emmett, an old high school acquaintance.

Their parents were old friends, but Emmett and Edward had never really been friends in school. Emmett had been one of the jocks, on the football and baseball teams every season, with the cheerleader girlfriend who still spent more than her fair share of time trying to suck the front of Emmett's face off. Edward had been captain of the Quiz Bowl team and a member of the Beta club, vice president in fact. Needless to say, they hadn't crossed paths often, even in a small place like Forks High School.

Edward had graduated from UW a half a year early with a double major in Biology and Chemistry and been offered the teaching position immediately upon completion. He began teaching in January and finished out the year, much to his and his assistant principal's surprise.

"You know the first year's always the toughest, right?" Jasper Hale, the assistant principal, had been encouraging from the start, and his mere presence seemed to have a calming effect on both the teachers and the students. It didn't hurt that Jasper was his oldest and best friend, despite their four year age difference. Edward didn't think he would have been able to survive the shock of taking over a class mid-stream the way he had without Jasper's support, and he found himself eager to return to the job the next year despite the difficulties he'd experienced with his students. The new school year began on Monday, and he had been busily preparing himself for the past week to get things off to a great start.

He definitely didn't want to have a repeat of the year before. Bells' only reply to his story of the student who decided to stick a pair of forceps into the electrical outlet had been ROFLMAO, and it had taken five minutes to get that much out of her. He imagined her literally rolling on the floor doubled over with laughter. Edward hadn't actually ever seen her face, but he'd imagined what she looked like on a regular basis, never coming up with the same mental image twice.

Edward had been her beta reader for six months now, ever since she contacted him on asking for help. He actually knew surprisingly little about her other than her user name and her penchant for Harry Potter fanfiction, especially those that involved a Harry/Hermione pairing. Her writing was good and getting better with every chapter that she sent his way. She had trained as a teacher as well, in fact she spent the past week moving to a new city apparently very far away from her original home in Phoenix, Arizona to take a teaching job that started next week. With the economy in the state it was in, any job was welcome.

His own story revolved around Cedric Diggory, and as he climbed out of his Volvo parked in the small lot behind the local Starbucks, he grabbed a notebook and pen from the bag stowed in the backseat and made his way through the glass door. Walking up to the counter, he considered his options for beverages before making his decision.

"Welcome to Starbucks, what can I get for you today?" the smiling girl behind the counter looked at him in a friendly manner, and he did the same as he placed his order.

"A grande Caramel Macchiato, please." He waited patiently at the counter as she prepared the drink for him. He Turned quickly to take a seat at his usual table in the quietest corner of the coffee shop, anxious to settle down to write. He didn't even notice her standing there until it was too late to avoid a collision, causing hot coffee to go flying into the air spilling down the front of his shirt and staining his notebook with large brown splotches. He had been moving so quickly that his momentum brought both of them crashing down to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

"Sorry," he immediately began untangling himself, not even bothering to look at her face in his embarrassment and haste to get out of an awkward situation.

"It's alright," she mumbled quietly, clambering to her feet and attempting to brush coffee from the front of her blue blouse. Edward quickly grabbed a handful of napkins and attempted to dry the liquid from her shirt without realizing he was also furiously rubbing his right hand across her left breast. When his brain finally registered what his hand was doing, he pulled it away; thrusting it into his pocket as he felt the blood rising rapidly to his cheeks.

"Sorry," he repeated, finally looking up to see her face. What he witnessed before him, made his heart crash into his stomach. The girl he had so gracefully knocked on her ass was a vision to behold. Even with her brown curls disheveled from the fall and her blouse covered in dark stains, she was beautiful, with a small heart-shaped face and large liquid, brown eyes that he could have drowned in. Her cheeks were covered with a blush that mirrored his own. "Really, I'm sorry. . . I should have . . . UGH . . ." The words stumbled from his lips incoherently. The only thing he could focus on was the way she nervously took her lower lip between her teeth, biting down gently.

Edward imagined those teeth biting down on his lower lip instead, her tongue gently caressing the tender skin there. His hands winding around her back and massaging her butt through the dark denim of her jeans, as their bodies pressed close together. He was so caught up in his fantasy that he barely noticed her speaking to him until she touched his shoulder gently.

"You alright?" she asked him gently, apparently she had been talking for a minute now without him realizing it.

He nodded, swallowing hard in response to her touch. He felt another part of his anatomy respond to the touch as well and quickly brought the notebook he'd recently recovered from the floor in front of him to hide the evidence of his daydream.

"Listen, don't worry about knocking me over. Honestly, I trip over thin air all the time," she smiled.

"But what about your shirt? At least let me pay to have it cleaned," he spoke quickly in a struggle to get the words out of his mouth.

"No, it's fine really. This old shirt was ruined anyway. I just wore it for working around the house today and figured I'd run out for a quick cup of coffee."

"Well, I'm buying your coffee then. You can't say no to that. What are you having?"

"A Caramel Macchiato, same as you," she laughed.

Edward turned to the girl at the counter to place the order, but she spoke before he had a chance. "Let me guess, TWO grande Caramel Macchiatos?"

He nodded, and the two of them waited in silence while the girl prepared two more coffees. When she brought them to the counter, Edward pulled the cash to pay her from his back pocket and turned to hand the drink to the most recent victim of his clumsiness standing at his side.

"Thanks. So what's your name? I guess I need to know who I'm thanking."

"Umm. . ." he had lost track of his thought processes for the moment.

"Did you forget your name? Or is it really umm?" she smiled.

"Ed… Edward."

"Well, Ed… Edward. Thanks for the coffee. I really should get going, but maybe I'll see you around." She waved goodbye before turning to walk out of the side door of the shop.

He stood-stock still for at least another minute before his brain could get the message down to his feet to tell them when and how to move. He stumbled again, without spilling his drink this time, but finally reached his table without further incident.

Edward sipped his drink, slowly uncapping his pen and turning to the first unstained page in his notebook. He sat there for several minutes unable to think of a single word to write on the page. The only thing that would come to mind was her face surrounded by those heavenly curls of mahogany hair. His thoughts wandered, and before long, he caught himself doodling on the margin of the paper, drawing tiny hearts like a heartsick teenaged girl.

He sighed, mostly in disgust at himself, before downing the rest of his coffee in one large gulp. He closed his notebook with a bang on the table making the other patrons look his way once more. Fishing his keys from his pocket, he exited the building, throwing the offending sheet of paper from his notebook into the trash, and plopped into the driver's seat of his car.

Real smooth, Masen. He internally berated himself as he twisted the key in the ignition. No wonder you're a twenty-one year old virgin. Edward rested his forehead on the steering wheel for a moment before putting the car in gear and returning to his apartment complex. He climbed the stairs and unlocked the door, walking in on the most uncomfortable scene he had been forced to witness to date.

Emmett sat on the recliner directly facing the front door with his girlfriend, Rosalie, straddled across his lap, her skirt hitched to her waist. Rose's blonde hair fell down her back as she rode Emmett's cock, his hands wrapping around her waist guiding her up and down.

"Oooh, baby. Ride daddy, that's it," Emmett cooed into Rose's ear. They were so involved in themselves that neither of them noticed Edward entering the room. He stood there shell shocked for a moment, unsure of how to react, before running for his room, slamming and locking the door behind him.

"Jesus Christ, I gotta find another place to live," he mumbled to himself as he tossed his notebook onto the bed and made his way into the attached bathroom. The one good thing about this apartment was that each bedroom had its own bath. After removing his clothes and tossing them into the hamper next to the bathroom door, he reached into the shower; twisting the knob to the setting for the hot water temperature he preferred most of all. He placed his glasses on the counter next to the sink and tested the water with his hand before he climbed into the steady stream, sighing as the wet heat of the shower soaked into the muscles of his back and soothed the tension that had been building there all afternoon.

The day's events ran through his mind as Edward began to relax, and his thoughts finally settled on one thing, the feel of that beautiful girl's body against his own as they stumbled and fell onto the floor of the Starbucks. He didn't think he'd ever been that close to such a beautiful creature in his entire existence. He returned to where his daydream had left off earlier, and he could almost feel her body wrapped around his own. His hand grabbed the soap from the dish recessed into the shower wall and began to lather up his chest and stomach before traveling further south and finding his waiting erection.

Edward moaned slightly when he felt his soapy hand wrap around his penis, gently guiding it back and forth. His mind wandered, continuing the fantasy from earlier in the day. This time, Starbucks Girl was joining him in the shower, her perfect little body twining around his like a vine. He imagined pinning her against the tiles as he slammed into her again and again, her voice increasing in pitch with each and every thrust. His hand picked up tempo, and before long he could feel his orgasm coming. With a grunt, he released his semen onto the shower floor.

Opening his eyes slowly, he found he was leaning against the shower wall, supporting himself with one hand as the water rained down on his back. He took in a deep breath and finished washing up before grabbing the towel that waited on the hook next to the shower door. He stepped out onto the bath mat fluffing his hair with the towel to remove the excess water, then wrapping it around his waist and stepping up to the sink. He checked his face quickly in the mirror, replaced his glasses, and walked into the bedroom.

His laptop sat open on his bed next to the notebook he'd tossed there earlier. He plopped down next to it and opened up his email inbox. One new message sat waiting:

From:

Subject: Chapter 35

Alright, E, here's chapter 35. Be nice, I had a rough day unpacking boxes, and meeting new neighbors, so I'm not sure if I can take too much Comma Nazi today. I'll be around later on gchat if you wanna talk

Love ya,

Bells

Attachment: Chapter_

He clicked on the link to download the file and stood up, unwrapping the towel from his waist and turning to his dresser to pull out a pair of boxer shorts.

Edward spent the remainder of his afternoon locked in his bedroom editing Bells' latest chapter. He quickly became absorbed in the fantasy world she created. The way her writing evoked images in his mind never ceased to amaze him, occasionally making it difficult to notice the tiny spelling and grammar errors that inevitably made their way into her work no matter how hard she might scour each and every chapter before sending it on to him. He knew it killed her every time he found an error, and each time there were less and less. She was such a perfectionist.

After combing through all twelve thousand words, he saved his changes and attached them to his reply to Bells' earlier email.

From:

Subject: Re: Chapter 35

Nice one, Bells, almost nothing misspelled… this time. Sorry to hear about your bad day. Lemme know what I can do to make it better. Had a shit day myself, so I can sympathize. How are the plans coming for next week? Had a chance to get in your classroom yet?

Later,

E

Attachement: Chapter_35 –

He hit the send button and leaned back against his pillows. He really ought to be writing right now, but there was really no way he was going to be able to focus after the day he'd just had. His computer chose that moment to ding, alterting him to a waiting IM.

HellsBells: Hey, E! Glad I caught u online. What's up?

HPsEvilTwin: the sky… Srsly, nothing.

HellsBells: Thanks for getting to my chap today. U know u didn't have to do it today.

HPsEvilTwin: s'cool. I didn't have anything better to do. L

HellsBells: Bad day? Roomie problems again?

HPsEvilTwin: You have no idea…

HellsBells: Thank God I don't have a roommate here in Port Angeles.

HPsEvilTwin: Port Angeles? Port Angeles, WASHINGTON?

HellsBells: Umm, yeah… didn't I tell u that's where I was moving?

HPsEvilTwin: No…

HellsBells: Why does it matter neway?

HPsEvilTwin: b/c I live in Port Angeles

HellsBells: What? Well, small world I guess…

HPsEvilTwin: So your new teaching job is at ?

HellsBells: Port Angeles High School. Wait a min, didn't u say u teach at a high school? How many high schools are in Port Angeles?

HPsEvilTwin: 1

HellsBells: E, r u srsly telling me that we r gunna be at the same school

HPsEvilTwin: yeah

HellsBells: OMG, I thought I wasn't gonna know neone here!

HPsEvilTwin: So whatcha gonna be teaching, b?

HellsBells: Chemistry.U?

HPsEvilTwin: Biology, u should b in the classroom next door to me

HellsBells: Sweet. Hey, we should get together. How about tomorrow? It's Sunday, and I don't have anything to do since I unpacked most of my stuff today.

HPsEvilTwin: Sure, where you wanna meet?

HellsBells: How about Starbucks? It's the only place I rlly know how to find lol.

HPsEvilTwin: Starbucks it is. How will I know it's you?

HellsBells: Lets c….I'll bring my Gryffindor scarf. Shouldn't b 2 hard 2 find rite?

HPsEvilTwin: LOL, no def not. Alright c u then. I need to go catch up on my writing.

HellsBells: haha, it's a date, c u

HellsBells is Offline

Edward shut the computer on his lap. He meant to write, but there was way too much going on inside his head to even think about trying tonight. He wasn't entirely certain about how he felt having Bells actually in the same city as him. Part of him was elated. She had been like his best friend for the past few months, but he was terrified what she would think of him in real life. On top of that, he had no idea what to expect from her. She could have actually been a forty-five year old man for all her really knew about her. A thousand different scenarios played through his brain, none of them turning out well. He sat up, and his stomach growled a complaint at the lack of food supplied to it today. Edward decided to hazard a trip to the kitchen to stop its protestations.

Edward entered Port Angeles' only Starbucks for the second time this weekend a bundle of nerves. He could feel his hands shaking as he placed them on the arm of the door in front of him, and he paused for a moment before continuing into the shop.

Come on, Masen. This is your best friend here. Nothing to be nervous about.

He tripped over the door jamb on his way in and felt the eyes of everyone in the place staring at him the rest of the way in. He surveyed the room carefully for any hint of a burgundy and gold scarf and, much to his surprise, found precisely what he was searching for draped across the back of a chair on the opposite side of the room. The chair's occupant was facing away from him, so all he could take in was the headful of brown curls that hung over the back of the chair. They brought to mind the girl he had quite literally bumped into the day before. Shaking the thought out of his head, he trepedatiously proceeded across the room.

Edward made it halfway there before he considered changing his course. He paused momentarily and took a step backwards. Just before he made up his mind to head back to the car, she turned, and the world froze around him. That face had haunted his dreams last night, the same face that had smiled back at him from across this same room the day before. He stood there, a deer in headlights, as she rose from her chair and made her way across the room towards where he stood.

"Hi, Edward. I guess you remember me from yesterday?" She smiled that brilliant smile, making his heart leap to life once again.

All he could do was nod. The words he meant to say stopped in his throat, choking him, and a strangled noise escaped him in place of "hello."

"Edward? It is Edward right? You ok?" She looked concerned at his lack of response.

"Fine," he managed to croak out.

"Frog in your throat?" she laughed, and it tinkled in his ears like bells.

"Yeah," he rubbed his throat gently. "Meeting someone?" He gestured towards the empty chair at her table.

"Sure, a friend. Actually an online friend. We haven't met before, but he's supposed to be here by now," she frowned slightly, and his heart sank. He had to tell her who he was, but he had no idea how to even broach the topic now that she had recognized him from yesterday. Additionally, the fantasies that had been running through his mind almost nonstop since the day before made talking to her almost an impossibility.

"Wanna join me?" She gestured at the table, and Edward nodded silently forcing his legs to follow her on the way back to her seat. Somehow, he managed to will his feet to move in a somewhat normal manner almost all the way to the table. He stubbed his toe on the back leg of her chair as soon as it was within reach, causing pain to shoot all the way up to his knee. He was scared he'd broken his toe again.

"Shit," he spat out hopping up and down on his good foot as she tried to stifle a laugh.

"Sorry, it's not funny."

"It's ok, I'm clumsy as hell," he grabbed the back of the unoccupied chair and guided himself gently down into it. He stared at the table top for a moment considering the best course of action. There was no way he could pretend he didn't know who she was. The scarf was displayed for the entire room to see on the back of her chair, but he'd made such an ass of himself the past two days that he wasn't entirely certain he wanted her to know who he was.

There's no getting around it, Masen. She'll find out tomorrow if you don't tell her now, and just imagine how pissed she'll be when she finds out who you are.

Edward took in a deep breath and decided just to get it all out right then and there. "IknowwemetyesterdaybutIdidn'." The words came out in a steady stream of air so quickly that he didn't even realize he had spoken them.

"Huh?" she raised one eyebrow.

He breathed in again before answering, "You must be Bells. I'm E. E for Edward." He spoke softly, and she leaned in a little closer to hear him.

"E? Edward? Oh my God." She buried her face in her hands, and he felt an ache in his stomach. Edward wanted nothing more than to melt into a hole in the floor and die right here in Starbucks. He was relatively certain that no one would miss him anyway and considered the likelihood of being able to pull off such a feat before she spoke again.

"I feel like such an ass," she finally answered him. "How could I not have put two and two together when we met yesterday?"

He looked at her in shock before replying, "You feel like an ass? I'm the one who knocked you ass over teakettle onto the floor yesterday."

"Could have happened to anyone, especially me. If I had a dollar for every time I wound up on the floor in public, I wouldn't have to teach," she laughed softly. Edward felt like he had discovered a new sound in her laugh, one that he wanted to hear every day of his life.

He smiled and instantly felt the tension in his body easing up in response. This was Bells alright, the same old Bells he'd chatted with every night for the past six months. "Well, it's good to meet you, B."

"You two, E, or do you prefer Edward?"

"Edward, I guess. That's what most people call me in real life anyway," he shrugged.

"Well, Edward. You can call me Bella, all my friends do. Of course, you're the only friend I have here in Port Angeles, so . . ." she rested her chin on one hand and picked up her coffee cup with the other, taking a sip and placing it gently back down on the table.

They continued on for the remainder of the afternoon. Bella's coffee grew cold, forgotten on the table, while she was lost in conversation with Edward. He had never felt so able to talk to anyone in his entire life, especially not a female someone. He left Starbucks that night with her phone number and address on a small piece of paper folded up in his back pocket and a promise to get together during their shared lunch period tomorrow. As the sole members of the science department of Port Angeles High, the two of them would be meeting at least weekly to plan curriculum for the rest of the school year. He figured it would be a good idea to get a head start as soon as possible, especially since the two of them were both basically brand new to teaching.

When he was finally back at his apartment, he quickly reheated some leftovers in the microwave, scarfing them down before heading back to his room. He preferred to spend as little time as possible in the shared space of their living quarters. Emmett refused to clean up behind himself, and Edward refused to clean up behind Emmett on principle. The result of all this was that their living room and kitchen more closely resembled a landfill than an apartment. After rinsing off his plate and placing it in the nearly empty dish drainer at the side of the sink, he returned to the one place he felt at home, his bedroom. Thank God he didn't have to face Emmett tonight after the impromptu porn show yesterday afternoon. He wasn't sure he could ever look Emmett in the eye again after what he had seen.

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it out to find a text message notification on his screen.

Had a gr8 time 2nite. C u 2morro 3 B