You never know when one decision will change the rest of your life. It could happen when you're in a coffee shop or a bookstore. It could happen anytime, anywhere. After all of these seemingly random decisions, it all adds up. All of the choices you made throughout your life lead you to that moment that irreversibly alters your life from that moment on. And you finally realize who you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with.

For me, it happened in a mall.

I, Bella Swan, had met my roommate and best friend Alice my freshman year of college. The University of Washington matched us up as roommates. We instantly hit it off. She was so sweet and caring and I knew we were going to be best friends for life. She keeps me from getting in trouble where I shouldn't and pushes me into trouble that would be good for me.

We had been living together for two years when her younger brother Edward decided to attend the U of W as a business major. The first time I met him, I was shocked at how attractive he was. His muscular 6'3 frame matched his crooked smile and auburn hair. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. I had met guys like him before—all looks and no personality—so I didn't expect very much from Alice's god like brother.

I have never been more wrong about someone in my whole life. Edward was charming, funny, witty, and kind. He made me feel like I was important and wanted in a way no one had ever made me feel. He was everything I didn't know I had been looking for in a person.

Over the next two years, Edward, Alice, and I all spent all of our time together. We studied together and hung out on the weekends. Edward and I became very close friends. I could tell him things that I couldn't tell anyone. I felt safe with him and before I knew it I was in love with him. The only problem was he didn't see me that way. I was resigned to the fact that I would have to love him from afar when one day, in a mall, my whole life changed.

It was Alice's 21st birthday and we were trying to find her birthday outfit. "Because everyone needs a birthday outfit Bella. It makes them feel special," she had told me.

"Let's go into the J. Crew store, Bella!" Alice yelled back to me.

For the love of all that is holy that women could shop. We had been at the mall for hours and she had literally dragged us into every store. I hate shopping, but my saving grace was the time I get to spend with Edward.

"Ya Edward. Let's hit the J. Crew store!" I exclaim with as much enthusiasm as I can muster.

Edward laughs, "Try and control your excitement Bella. Its distracting." He smiles that crooked smile he saves just for me. Well maybe not, but I like to think he does.

"You know how I feel about shopping," I groaned while walking into the store. Alice and I were so similar in our personalities as well as our interests with the exception of shopping. She could shop for hours and I could hardly bring myself to go into a store for 30 minutes. But it was her birthday, so I was going to suck it up for her.

I was walking around the store giving Alice my opinion on her outfit choices when I heard Edward's phone chirp followed by an enormous sigh. I noticed Edward's distant look and said, "That was quite a sigh."

"Jessica and Mike are coming," he groaned.

Ah. Now I understood his sigh. Jessica and Mike had been together since high school. We had become friends with them after Edward met them in the dorms his freshman year. They were a nice couple, but Jessica was a born flirt and totally drooling over Edward. Edward felt awful because Mike was his friend. He didn't want to hurt his friend by being the subject of Jessica's flirtations, but he didn't know what to do to them.

"Why did you invite her if you dislike being around her so much?" I questioned.

"I didn't really invite her. She asked me what I was doing and I told her I was at the mall. The next thing I knew she was on her way here," he whined.

I laughed at his desolate look, "Edward I've told you to get a girlfriend, so she'll leave you alone. She wouldn't hit on you so much if you were taken. Plus, your girlfriend would put her in her place if she did." Edward had been single since coming to college. He was a finance major, so he didn't have a whole lot of free time to spend with girls.

I kept looking through the different racks for things I thought would be of interest to Alice when Edward murmured, "Oh my god. That's it."

I turned to see he had stopped in the middle of the store and was staring at me. Glancing back at him, I asked, "What are you talking about?"

"A girlfriend. I need a girlfriend to keep Jessica from hitting on me all the time and to salvage my friendship with Mike."

I snorted and chuckled, "Edward haven't you been paying attention? I've been saying that for months now."

Edward raced over to me, grabbed both of my arms, and pulled me to him. "Be my girlfriend."

Dumfounded, I opened my mouth several times like fish out of water and replied, "I'm sorry. I entered to twilight zone for a second. I could have sworn you just said 'Be my girlfriend'."

"I did."

"Edward be serious," I broke away from his hold and wandered over to a different rack of shirts. I needed to gather my composure. He couldn't possibly know he was offering me the one thing I wanted more than anything. The one thing I dreamed about every night for the past two years. He couldn't know how hard it was for me to not simply agree to be his and jump for joy, so I need to put some distance between us before he saw how much his request was affecting me.

He glided over to the rack so that he was standing opposite of me, "I am being serious. You said so yourself. I need a girlfriend. This is me getting one."

I studied the shirts intensely. I couldn't look up at him. I knew if I did and I saw he was joking, it would kill me. "Well I didn't mean me. You can't be serious about this."

He put his fingers under my chin and pulled my face up to see him, "Look at me, Bella," I met his absurdly green eyes with mine, "I'm dead serious. Pretend to be my girlfriend for the weekend. Just while my parents are here and I have to see Jessica. That way I kill two birds with one stone. My mom will stop nagging me about being alone and Jessica will leave me alone. Please Bella?"

I searched his eyes to see if he was being serious or not. I couldn't believe he was asking me this. As I stared into his emerald eyes, I saw nothing but sincerity. He was completely serious. He really wanted me to pretend to be his girlfriend for the weekend.

The longer I stared, the more I felt a deep pull in my heart. I didn't know what it was at first, but after I focused on it I realized it was a feeling of utter rightness. Standing there, so close together, with his fingers under my chin felt so natural that I didn't even notice that my hand had come up to rest on his chest. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be his, even if it was just for a little while.

Not wanting to break the perfectness of the moment, I whispered, "Okay. I'll be your girlfriend."

He brought his other hand up to cup my face and pressed his forehead against mine. I don't know how long we stayed like that. It felt like an eternity had passed and the longer we stood like that the more I found I never wanted to leave his embrace. As he pulled away from me, he pressed his lips against my forehead, and said, "Thank you. I owe you one."

Dazed, I didn't hear Alice calling my name or see her parents walking up to join us. All I could focus on was the lingering feeling of Edward's lips on my forehead and the warm pressure of his hand in mine. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into, but I knew that my life had been irrevocably changed forever.