Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

This is just a little one shot that I wrote based on Twilight and actual events. I hope you like it!

201

201?

Bella looked at the scale again and wondered aloud what had become of her life. She was forty years old; her husband left her; her kids were almost grown. And, looking back at the scales, she was morbidly obese. How had this happened?

She went to work at the bookstore and obsessed over her life. She wasn't miserable really. Her job was fun and her kids loved her. She had friends. She had even written a book. But 200 pounds? She couldn't believe it.

A week later, she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror after her shower and got angry. She was fat. Plain and simple. And listening to her kids in the other room, she realized that she was selfish. She was putting herself at risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease. Add to that the family history of heart disease and she might as well send Early Death an engraved invitation. She had to do something.

A month later, she was still dwelling on her weight and hating herself, but doing nothing to change it. Every time she thought about the weight she needed to lose, it made her tired and she found something else to do.

She was drinking a milkshake when she checked the mail. She was surprised to find a letter from her best friend. Her best friend who was currently living in England.

.

Dear Bella,

I know we talk on the phone all the time. I know I could have asked you then… BUT… I wanted to make my case. You won't listen any other way….

I want you to come to Italy with me! My work is sending me to Italy for a month! Can you believe that? I know! Anyways, they are paying my way completely. But I thought that if you used some of my airline miles and we split the cost of everything else, then it will be cheap enough to manage. That way I don't have to be lonely in a beautiful country all on my own. Both of your kids will be gone off to college and you'll just be sitting there crying and lonely and eating Oreos.

So, I don't want you to tell me no yet. I want you to think about it. You can stay in my hotel room for free. We can split the cost of food and your plane ticket will be pretty cheap too. Please don't make me be all alone! Please?

I'm giving you until February 1st to think it over. Then I'm calling you. Please, please, please say yes!

Your Favorite BFF,

Alice

Bella thought about Italy. It was her dream. But the thoughts of cramming herself into a plane seat and walking all over the place made her want to cry. In her current state, she could be miserable. It was the push she needed. She bought an iPod. She had her eighteen year old son show her how to set it up. She made a playlist. She bought walking shoes. Then she bought a calendar and a bright blue marker to keep track of the days she exercised. Thirty pounds by August. That was a pound a week. It was realistic. She could do it. She would do it, she told herself.

By April, she had lost almost fifteen pounds. Her clothes had been replaced by smaller sizes and her addiction to exercise was firmly established. Five mornings a week, she woke her son up for school and drove to the park. She had worked her way up from puffing out a twenty minute mile to jogging four miles a day. She felt marvelous. And every time she thought about how far she had to go to lose the excess weight, she would refuse to go there. No. One day at a time. Don't think about it.

Bella decided to get up a little earlier so she could add circuit training to her workout. Her arms needed definite work. She was smiling at Justin Timberlake telling her to "Get it girl" and only looking about six feet in front of her when she saw something. Something moved in the woods where the track shifted sharply to the right. She gasped as someone burst out of the woods coming straight at her.

Well, she thought later, maybe 'burst' is the wrong word. Ran? Jogged, maybe? Whatever, he scared her to death. She gasped and her hand flew to her heart. She kept jogging but her pace was thrown. It took only a second to realize that the would-be attacker was just another jogger who had decided to do some cross country running. And he was spectacular.

He was tall, over six feet. His hair was coppery colored and he was beautiful. His iPod was strapped to his bicep and the cords to his ear buds were swaying with his rhythm. Instead of smiling, his eyes narrowed in what Bella took as fear. Almost like he was silently asking her if she was going to scream. His eyes stayed on hers as he ran past and she realized they were green. She'd never seen true green eyes before.

They both kept running but Bella watched him as they continued their respective runs, going opposite directions around the pond. He was slightly ahead of her and she watched him furtively. She smiled to herself and waited, looking forward to him making his way back around towards her. But it was not to be. Instead of making the curve to bring him back her way, he ran out through the parking lot, down the drive and turned right on Main Street.

Oh well, she thought, I should be grateful. He probably wouldn't like being ogled by the fat girl.

But she decided to get up a little earlier every day to see if she could catch another glimpse of him.

~O~

Bella didn't see him for the rest of that week. But she did weigh. She fist-pumped and did a little dance to celebrate the loss of one more pound.

The following Monday, she saw him again. This time, she was just making her way onto the track after stretching when she saw him. He was already out of the woods and coming her way. She pressed play on her iPod and smiled as Supermassive Black Hole started to play. She set an easy pace and only allowed herself the occasional glance up at Sexy Guy, for fear of falling down.

When she got close enough to hear the thump of his footsteps, she glanced up again. Her heart thumped when she realized he was looking straight at her. Usually when someone on the track made eye contact with her, it resulted in both of them smiling and saying a quick hello. They lived in the South after all. But not him. He stared right at her and Bella thought he looked angry. She quickly looked down, blushing. She chanced a peek just as he was about to pass her and he was positively glaring at her. She looked away quickly and increased her pace.

She didn't see him for a long time after that. She wondered what his problem was. She knew she probably looked ridiculous. She'd never been super coordinated and she was still pretty overweight, but still. She had every right to be using the track. She had every right to improve herself. And if he was so shallow and vain and mean…

Bella stopped her tirade. He was long gone. The whole thing happened well over a month ago. Five more pounds ago, to be exact, but still… every time she came around the pond, she looked into the woods and wondered what had happened to him.

Then one day, he was there.

She was starting her second mile when he appeared out of the woods in the same spot. He was only twenty feet away and Bella's heart leaped in her chest. He looked the same: blue jogging shorts, white sleeveless shirt, iPod in place, ear bud cords swaying. And don't forget glistening with sweat. Bella looked down as he got closer, not wanting to see his glare again.

She knew she was still 180 pounds, still chubby and still uncoordinated. She kept her eyes down and pulled her iPod out of her pocket to move on to the next song when she heard it. Just before Robert Plant started singing, she heard a quiet "Good Morning."

Her eyes flew up just as he passed and he was not only looking her way but smiling. She smiled back and kept running. He ran his regular route: out through the parking lot, right on Main.

The following day was the same: quiet greeting, eye contact, a smile, then gone. But the week after, something changed. He made a lap on the track. He not only made a lap, he maintained eye contact as he approached. Bella felt her face heating up and tried to act casually. Like it was no big deal that a ridiculously sexy, athletic hottie was acknowledging her.

The week after that he made two laps. The week after that, he changed again. When he came out of the woods, instead of running in the usual direction, he turned the opposite way. He was going the same way she was. She jogged behind him completely mesmerized by the muscles in his legs. He was gorgeous. She imagined him waiting by her car to ask her out to dinner. She imagined him holding her hand and moving closer to kiss her.

She smiled as she watched him get further away. He was much faster than she was. She was snapped out of her dreamy trance when she almost took out a duck who was foolishly crossing the track to the pond. Bella returned her eyes to the path in front of her. She had to pay better attention. It wouldn't do for her to break her leg and not be able to exercise for months. All her hard work would be in vain. When she looked up, he was gone, turning right on Main again.

They kept that routine for a few weeks. It only changed if he had to pass her. Then she got an "Excuse me," as well as a "Good morning." Those were good days.

But a few weeks later, instead of passing her, she felt him staying just behind her left shoulder. It only took a minute for her to glance behind her self-consciously. He was looking down, but when she looked over her shoulder, he looked up. He smiled at her again.

Bella felt herself blushing again. Dammit. She chanced another glance and saw his eyes get wide.

"Duck!" he yelled.

Bella ducked. She dropped her head down, not sure of what could be flying towards her head, when she felt something soft and heavy against her shin. Her momentum took her forward and she flailed her arms trying to regain her balance. Just as she realized that she was, indeed, going down she felt a strong hand grip hers.

All her forward momentum shifted to backward momentum until she hit something solid and felt strong arms wrap around her waist. Her breath was coming in scared gasps as she tried to regain her footing. Looking back, she saw the white duck she had collided with and it clicked in her head.

"Oh," she muttered and pointed at it. "Duck. Got it."

She felt the chest behind her vibrate with laughter and couldn't help chuckling herself. Their chuckles turned to full laughter and her sexy stranger released her to rest his hands on his knees. Bella's hand covered her face as she lost her breath laughing.

When their laughter finally died down, he stuck his hand out. "Hi, my name is Edward. Nice to meet you."

Bella smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Edward. Thanks for saving me."

Edward's smile softened and he squeezed her hand again. "Likewise."

Awww… it makes me smile. Anyways, I hope you liked it. If you did, or even if you didn't, give me a little click and let me know. Thanks!