Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Summary: On her new job as a writer for Elle magazine, Bella is assigned to do an article about upcoming basketball star and hot bachelor, Jasper Hale. Problem is, Bella has no interest in sports…but she finds herself very interested in the object of her paper. JasperBella, AU/AH
Don't kill me! I know I should be working on other fics, but this one just stuck in my head and I couldn't get it out. So I decided to write the first chapter to just get it out of my mind. And well, I also felt like doing a light hearted fic. My other two chapter fics are so…serious in tone, and I really wanted to do something fun and light.
And for the non-basketball people…just give it a try! You might like it. (insert wink here) You don't have to know much about basketball to read this fic. As Bella is in this story, she has no clue either! Haha.
Here's the first chapter! Enjoy!
Love and Basketball
Chapter One: The Assignment
Bella.
Elle magazine is apparently one of the most elite, fashion forward magazines in United States. Popular and well-written, they sell tons of copies each month when a new issue comes out, as well as the subscribers that get it in their mailboxes every month.
And, I had just landed a job with them.
Something I'd always dreamed of was being a writer, and now I had that chance. Though it wasn't a book contract, anything was a start. And even though I rarely read the girly magazines about clothes and everything, I was glad to be writing something that wasn't for the high school or college newspaper. It was for an actual magazine, and a famous one at that.
I looked forward to writing the important articles, like something for an advice column or maybe even something with an important political twist or something about kids in Africa. Something that mattered, but I was not expecting what I was first assigned when I walked through the doors of the illustrious Elle headquarters.
It wasn't my first day on the job. I had been working odd jobs around the place for a while, and they finally got me a place on the staff. Editing, and the occasional article would be written by me, and they found that some of my pieces were rather good, so they gave me a full time spot on their staff. But though it was far from my first time in the building, I felt a strange sense of nerves overcome me. I supposed it was because this was the first time I had ever been called in to do a job of this magnitude.
I walked down the hall, my shoes muted against the tile of the store. Unlike all the other bimbos who wore the strappy, twelve inch stilettos, I opted for ballet flats. My equilibrium was already something that was terribly unbalanced, so I didn't want to tempt fate by allowing people even more cause to laugh at me.
I knocked on the door where I would have my first meeting with the major editor of this office of the magazine, and heard her soft voice tell me to come in.
I opened the door, exhaling loudly and deeply as I said so.
"Bella," Esme Cullen smiled at me, "come in."
I was glad that Esme was a kind woman, not like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, thank the Lord. If anything, she was the total opposite, but she had her methods of getting things her way. Just because she was nice didn't mean she was a pushover.
"Good morning, Mrs. Cullen." I said, taking my seat in the empty chair that was across from her, only her pristine, marble desk separated us.
She leaned forward slightly, adjusting herself in her cushioned chair, the ringlets of honey brown hair adorning her head jostling as she did so. Her kind green eyes looked at me with a smile, "Please, just Esme."
I smiled and nodded, "Esme."
Esme grinned at that, showcasing a row of teeth that were perfectly aligned and white. She gave a little nod in approval and then she went on with what she was going to say, "I'm glad to have you in our official staff of the magazine, Bella."
I grinned all the wider, "Glad to be here."
She smiled back, and the very gesture seemed very motherly - it made a sudden, sharp tug at my heart as I remembered I hadn't called my mother in little over a month. Way to go, Bella. You're a real piece of work.
"Now," Esme spoke, "you know this will be your first major article. It might take some time, since the person you're interviewing is very busy these days…a rising star, everyone is saying."
I paused, my eyes growing wide like saucers. She was giving me an interview with a celebrity already? I felt my palms grow clammy. I hadn't expected this of all things. If anything, I expected her to make me sit during a fashion show and snap pictures, while writing comments about the clothes - something that made me cringe internally, but it was something my roommate Angela would love.
"But I think you can handle it. Many others were clamoring to do this, but I, personally, love your work and I think you can do the best job on it."
I felt my heart stumble around in my chest as pride swelled within me. That was one of the biggest compliments I've ever received, and coming from the editor of a major magazine? That was something I could never put a price on. Something I never wanted to forget, not for as long as I lived. I hadn't been in the business long, and this critique was something to cherish.
"You're going to be interviewing Jasper Hale."
I quirked a brow. Who the hell was that?
Esme laughed, no doubt at my expression. I was never good with hiding my emotions, especially not ones of bafflement.
"Here…" She retrieved a picture from a folder to her side and slid it across the slick tabletop with her index finger. "This is Jasper."
My eyes widened even more, if that was possible.
The man on the picture was definitely attractive. He had a mop of messy, honey blonde hair atop his head, and a pair of the most piercing crystal blue eyes I'd ever seen. He was tall, lean, and muscular, his wiry frame encased by some sort of jersey in a shade of deep blue with slight white pinstripes that showcased his toned arms. The number '10' was on his chest, below the word 'Orlando' on the front and he had an orange basketball tucked beneath one impeccably toned arm. I held my breath as I gazed at this man who was now known to me as Jasper Hale.
Esme laughed, "You don't watch much sports, do you, Bella?"
Blinking myself out of my trance, I looked back up at my boss, my cheeks flushed, "Not particularly."
"And you don't watch the E! network either, I assume."
I shook my head no.
The honeyed brunette chuckled to herself. "His face has been everywhere in the past three months. After getting drafted as a first round pick to the NBA, he's become the Orlando Magic's star shooting guard."
I laughed, before saying, "Sounds like you know your sports, Esme."
"Carlisle's a huge basketball fan." She said, her voice wrapping around her husband's name like a warm blanket. "He's more of a Lakers fan himself." She winked at me before saying, "But don't tell anyone. He's got season tickets to the Knicks and if they found out about him going to see anyone other than the Knicks…well, that wouldn't look good. Since this is New York after all. He'd look like a traitor." She stuck out her tongue playfully before giggling.
I laughed, remembering for a moment that I'd heard my friend saying the Knicks were getting better, but were far from playoff material. I didn't know what that meant at the time, but I could guess. "Say that to my dad." I said, smiling, "We grew up in Washington, and - "
"Ah, the Wizards. I understand completely." Esme said, smiling in humored apathy, "Who does your father favor, then?"
"I've heard him say something about…the Suns?" I questioned, not exactly sure of myself.
A smile curved Esme's lips, "Steve Nash. Now there's a cutie."
I blushed, feeling strange at the familiarity of the conversation, but laughed along anyway. I then spoke again, wondering why Elle would want to do an article on a basketball player. This was a fashion magazine, after all. And unless pathetically skinny models were walking down the runway clad only in jersey dresses, or Kim Kardashian was back with Reggie Bush, I didn't think we'd cover it. "So…why am I interviewing him?"
"Well, look at him." Esme made a gesture with her hand, motioning to the paper below. I looked down and saw him yet again, and a strange feeling bubbled in my chest. His smile was broad and happy, something that I had rarely seen since I'd been to New York. Most of the people here grunted and growled and complained about the traffic and whatnot. I had yet to see a smile so breathtaking in this city.
"Uh…yeah?" I questioned, feeling like a moron.
"What do you think when you first see him?"
"That…he's hot?" I said, voicing it as a question yet again. I felt like a cave person who had yet to create fire.
Esme laughed at that and said, "And he's on People magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors." She said, flopping a copy of said magazine on the polished table. "Number six on the entire list. Now that's something."
"It is." I said in awe, gazing at his picture that was in the corner of the magazine, almost out shadowed by the larger image of Chace Crawford that graced the front. How had I not known about him until now? I knew I didn't give a rat's ass about sports, but I thought I'd at least see him on the news or something. Maybe even in another magazine. But I tended to read novels instead of magazines, unless I was in the doctor's office, or at my job. I still hadn't even heard of this attractive athlete, and frankly, it was frustrating.
"Every month, we interview a rather new, up-and-coming male star - and in this case, athlete." Esme smiled as she took in my curious expression, "And we write an article on them. Usually, it's either three or four pages long, not including the photo shoot we usually do with them."
Three or four pages? Those simple words caused me to get excited. Three or four pages of Elle magazine would be filled with my work? I was almost rendered speechless.
"He lives in Orlando, of course. To keep up with his job. So you'll go down there and interview him." Esme said, her soft voice lulling like a soothing song. "If it weren't for his scheduling with games and everything, he would've come up here, but I hope you understand."
I nodded, secretly relishing the fact that I would get to go to Florida. New York wasn't necessarily the most sunny place in the world, and I was looking forward to basking in the bright rays of the Sunshine State. Even though it was mid-January, I figured that it would still be somewhat hot there.
"Regarding the photo shoot, Edward will be making the trip with you down there, and you two will bring Mr. Hale to the office we have down in Miami, where he will do the photo shoot with Edward."
I smiled. Edward Cullen was Esme's son. He was somewhat quiet, but he was suited to work here. He was a famous photographer, known by fashion enthusiasts and models everywhere in the US. I wasn't the least bit worried about taking the trip with him, though. To say the least, Edward wasn't interested in women. Nevertheless, he was one of the first people who befriended me here at my new job; he would come to my cubicle when I first started working and just talk, pointedly ignoring the women who tried to hit on him.
"What does 'I'm gay' even mean to these people anymore?" He had once told me as he took an apple from my desk and chomped down. I had only laughed in response.
"I thought you'd like it if Edward came with you." Esme smiled at me like a mother would her daughter and I felt that stab of guilt again, "You two seemed close, so I thought why not? And this would give Edward more to put on his résumé, of course." She doted like a loving mother would.
I smiled, "Yes. I'm really glad that this is what you decided, Esme."
Esme grinned back and took the picture of Jasper from my hands, slipping it into a generously filled manila folder that had Jasper Hale written in big black letters before handing it over to me. "Here's everything you need to know. There are questions on several sheets of paper. You can pick and choose if you like, but if you want more material, you can ask him all of them. That'll give you more to work with."
I took the folder from her with shaking hands, "Thank you."
"You'll leave in two days. So be prepared. Pack heavy, you might be there for a while."
"When is the article due?"
"It's going to run in the May issue." Esme stated, and I could see the wheels of thought turning behind her eyes. "So…be back here around April. Yes, it's a big window, but this was the only time Jasper's agent could schedule anything. And, since you've really worked so hard before you got this job, I figured you'd like the time in Florida." She winked at me, and immediately I felt so much joy at having such a nice person as my boss.
"Thank you, Esme!" I said, unable to hold back my emotion. "I appreciate it so much."
Esme nodded sagely and smiled, "No problem. I'll give you the exact date when I need you back when it gets closer to time." She rose from her seat
I nodded, mirroring her and lifting myself from my seat, clutching the folder tightly to my chest. "Thank you so much." I held out my hand for her to shake. She gripped it firmly with her delicate, feminine hands and shook several times before letting go.
"Again, no problem." She stated, "Now, get off so you can get to packing!"
"Of course." I said, turning to the door, my feet eager to get moving. Two days. I was going to be in Florida in two days! "Thank you!"
"Bye, Bella." Esme laughed, as if she were amused by a child.
"Bye!"
And I turned on a heel, headed for my apartment, ready for the job assigned to me.
I settled down in my seat, just getting back from a bathroom break and sighed. The airplane was nice and all, but I never enjoyed long rides in confined spaces.
"Join the mile high club?" Edward asked with a smarmy smirk on his full lips.
I scoffed, "Oh, yes, darling. With that studly piece of man meat over there."
I pointed in the direction of the extremely overweight man across from us, who was currently sleeping, his mouth hanging open and the remnants of his in-flight meal on a tray in front of his round stomach. He was balding, and clearly in his late forties.
"You sure know how to pick 'em." Edward laughed.
I laughed along, nuzzling back into my seat. The flight had seemed to take forever, and at the moment we were just over Virginia, if the pilot knew what he was talking about - and I frantically hoped he did.
"Mom really knows how to ride in style." Edward drawled lazily, ruffling around in his carryon bag for a stick of gum.
I could only nod, looking around at the first class accommodations in utter awe. My own carryon bag contained a few books and crossword puzzles, along with my iPod and the folder about Jasper. I hadn't really bothered to look at, being as caught up in a whirlwind as I was, so I decided to take it on the plane and read it on the way to Florida.
"What's that?" He spoke, his eloquently soft tones right in my ear.
I pushed my hand on his cheek and pushed his face away from the folder that lay in my lap. "Nosy."
He removed my hand from his cheek and let it drop between us. "I'm traveling with you, remember? And, technically, anything that is in my line of sight, that I can clearly see, isn't classified as my being nosy. It's an observation."
"Smartass."
"That's why you're my friend." Edward reminded playfully, patting my cheek in a mixture of affection and mockery.
I shoved him away and glared playfully, pressing the earbuds of my iPod into my ears and getting back to my studies of Jasper Hale.
Before I had to go to the unholy place that was the plane's bathroom, I had found out that Jasper Hale had gone to high school in Alabama before getting a scholarship to the University of Alabama. He played basketball there, become one of the top ten scorers in the school's history. He played out his college years and graduated, then was in the NBA draft the following year, and was picked fourth overall by the Orlando Magic.
There were other things, such as a stats page for the first half of his professional career that I couldn't understand at all. There were abbreviations like PPG% and FT% and a bunch of numbers with decimals that made me feel like I was in math class all over again. I felt my brain start to turn into mush just by looking at it, so I turned the page.
Then, in front of me, were his personal stats. He was born on March 13th, making him just a few months older than I was. He was 6'7" and weighed 161 pounds - all wiry muscle from the looks of it. He grew up with his aunt and uncle, for his mother and father had passed away when he was just a little kid. I immediately felt sadness for that situation, but also proud. Despite his parents' death, he was a famous basketball star on the rise.
There was also some trivia - his favorite basketball player was Michael Jordan, and his favorite teams growing up were the Bulls and the Lakers. His favorite food was fried chicken. He loved the beach in Florida. And he had a twin sister named Rosalie Hale, who was married to another one of the members of the team, the one that played backup center named Emmett McCarty. I smiled at that.
And there was a quote from the man himself.
"My dad gave me my first basketball when I was eight. Taught me how to shoot properly, dribble, and everything. When he and my mother passed on…I decided to do them proud and make something of myself, using the very thing that my father taught me."
My heart clenched in my chest. I didn't know what came over me just then, but those simple words, heartfelt and sincere, just like his smile, wrapped around my heart like a woolen coat. I might not have known him, but there was something about him that just made me feel like what he was saying was something he meant with all of his being.
Gulping, I picked up the sheet and tucked it under the others I had finished with. My eyes glanced upon the very picture of Jasper Hale that Esme had first shown me two days ago.
Looking into those baby blues of his, I felt many emotions rush through me.
One of them, most prominently, being happiness.
End Chapter One.
Well, there y'all have it! First chapter of many to come. I really have a lot of inspiration for this fic, so I hope I get some feedback so I can use that to…fuel the fire, I suppose. Haha. I've got so many ideas for this little fic… On a more random note, yesterday marked the one year anniversary of this account. Yes, I've been writing fics on another account for very long, but I just wanted to announce it for some reason. (please make it a good anniversary, wink-wink! haha)
For the record, my favorite team is the Lakers - which is where Carlisle got his tastes from, lol - but I decided to put Jasper on the Magic just because…well, it's something different. And my Jacob/Leah/Nessie/Seth friendship fic focused heavily on the Lakers, so I decided for something different. A new team. Haha. One that I like, but not as much as the Lakers.
Anyway, feel free to comment. For you fellow basketball buffs, feel free to talk. Suggest things. That's all I really have to say. I hope that everyone enjoyed this and I would love to hear everyone's opinions. Plus, today's Laker victory over the Celtics was simply wonderful! :)
Thanks for reading!
