A/N: Twilight belongs to S. Meyer.

You may want to Google Image 'Great Dane' and 'Shar Pei' to understand the first section a little better. I mean, if you want to...

Sometime in the future

"So, How did you two meet?"

"At a dog park," the man answered.

The woman nodded in agreement, smiling. "He yelled at the dog I was walking and called me a bitch."

"I didn't! No. I-it was a misunderstanding, that's all," the man said quickly and the woman laughed.

-o0o-

Present day

I tugged sharply on Satan's leash, leading him away from the fountain in the park as I cradled my Crackberry between my shoulder and ear, listening to my voicemail.

"Slowly Satan," I told the Great Dane who was tugging me along impatiently toward the dog area. "I kind of like my arm attached to my shoulder, thanks."

Saul, the dark grey Shar Pei, grunted in response as he hobbled on his stumpy legs trying to keep up with Satan's long strides.

The dog area came into view and I steered the three of us toward my usual spot at the bench underneath a large oak tree, but someone was already sitting there. The tree had a large grassy area underneath and the grass seemed dry enough, so I decided to sit at the base of the tree instead.

"All right, all right Satan," I muttered, making myself comfortable underneath the tree as Satan wriggled around in anticipation of being leash-free. I unclipped the leash from his collar and Satan bounded away, barking loudly at all the other dogs milling around.

"You want to play too, Saul?" I asked the other, better behaved dog and unclipped his leash from the collar as well. He made no move to follow Satan out with the other dogs and just sat next to me. Saul wasn't my dog–neighbor's a pilot who was away a lot of time, so I walked his dog as a favor–but I liked him. He was basically the opposite of Satan as he liked to keep to himself and was a little shy around other dogs.

Plus, he was cute. I liked squishing the rolls of skin around his face.

Saul plodded around me, his nose to the ground while I kept an eye on Satan to make sure he didn't get too overexcited.

"Hey! Stop that!" a loud voice said.

I looked to my left to see the man that had taken my spot, with Saul at his feet. Saul appeared to be sniffing around the man's shoes, which were very shiny and expensive looking.

The man stomped a foot on the ground, causing Saul to jump back slightly.

"Go away!" the man snapped at Saul and I bristled at the man's sharp tone.

"Saul! Come here boy," I ordered, whistling at him and patting my leg. Saul trotted over and the man huffed in annoyance as I gave him a quick once-over.

He seemed wholly out of place here in the dog park, dressed in his grey business suit with expensive looking shoes and sunglasses. Most of the dog owners here were dressed casually in sweat pants and t-shirts, myself included.

"He didn't mean any harm," I told the man, patting Saul. "Saul here wouldn't hurt a fly. Would you, buddy?"

I grinned at Saul, smooshing his face around vigorously, and then glanced back up at the man. His face appeared to have softened somewhat and he let out a small sigh.

"That was rude of me," the man said as I felt my phone vibrate in my bag, which was against my leg. "I shouldn't have snapped at your dog like that."

I didn't respond, noticing the message that I had just gotten was from work, and I opened it:

Bella,

Emergency surgery at the clinic–car accident. If free, you're needed ASAP.

I began gathering my things quickly, snapping Saul's leash back onto his collar, and scrambled to stand up.

"I really am sorry," the man said, and I glanced at him to see that he looked a little taken aback by my abruptness in gathering my things. "I didn't mean to–"

"No it's fine," I interrupted impatiently, waving my hand in the air as I scanned the park in search of Satan. "Don't worry about it."

I finally spotted my dog and stuck my fingers in my mouth, wolf whistling loudly to get Satan's attention. He and his little Jack Russell friend stopped wrestling on the ground and Satan sprinted towards me.

"Sorry, Sato. But we gotta go," I muttered to Satan, who was whimpering in protest as I snapped his leash back on. "I'll buy you a super tasty bone later. Promise."

With that, I tugged on both Saul's and Satan's leashes and lead them quickly out of the park.

-o0o-

I had been going to the dog park every other day in the afternoon when I finished work. For a long time, it had always been Satan and I with Saul joining us on occasion. But now we had a new addition–Mr. Grumpy. That was the name I had given to the man who had snapped at Saul for sniffing his shoes.

I called him Mr. Grumpy because…well, it wasn't like he looked angry every time I saw him, but he gave off an indifferent, holier-than-thou vibe. He came to the dog park every Monday and Thursday and he would be there before I arrived at the park, sitting in his–previously my–usual spot on the bench and was still there when I left.

He didn't come dressed in a business suit anymore, but he did keep his sunglasses on at all times, obscuring most of his face. His usual attire was a baseball cap, t-shirt and jeans, paired with sneakers. The first time I saw Mr. Grumpy, I grinned when I noticed his choice in shoes. He glanced at me and I opened my mouth to make some sort of teasing comment about it, but he merely glanced away, giving me the cold shoulder.

It continued like that over the coming weeks, me and Mr. Grumpy no more than two feet apart but not saying a word to each other. I thought it was both strange and slightly impressive that he was able to sit for hours at a time without expressing any emotion–at all.

Today being the only exception. Today, I saw him smile. And it was a nice smile too.

The park was busier than usual and it took me a moment to realize that school was on break, with a lot of younger kids running around. It was Monday, and as usual, Mr. Grumpy was there on the bench. I took my new designated place underneath the tree and Satan decided to sit out on running and chasing the other dogs around, his head resting on my lap.

Out of nowhere, a Frisbee suddenly landed at my feet, startling Satan. He shot up to attention, sitting on his haunches as a young boy came running to retrieve his Frisbee.

"Here you go," I said, handing back the boy's Frisbee as he gawked, wide eyed, at Satan.

"Whoa, that's a big dog!" the boy exclaimed. Satan huffed at him and I stifled a laugh.

"He sure is. Satan's so big that even sitting down we're the same height. See?" I stated, moving my hand between my head and Satan's, which were at the same level.

"Satan?" the boy remarked, cringing away slightly. "That's a scary name."

"Yeah, but it's all for show. Satan's actually a big ol' softie," I replied and as if on cue, Satan gave the boy's face a big lick.

The boy laughed, pushing Satan's face away. "Ew, gross!"

He continued patting Satan for a moment, before he was called away by his friends.

"Thanks, miss. See ya, Satan!" the boy said, ruffling Satan's head before running back to his game.

I smiled at Satan and hugged him around the middle, pressing my cheek against his neck. This caused my gaze to be in Mr. Grumpy's direction. He was staring at Satan and me and that's when I noticed that he was smiling softly at us. He seemed to catch my stare and his smile dropped, returning to his cool façade as he turned his attention back in front of him.

I wanted to tell Mr. Grumpy that he should smile more. It suited him–from what I could see of his face, anyway.

-o0o-

"Dr. Swan?"

I glanced up at Heidi from the sink where I was washing my hands. "Yes?"

"Your next patient is in exam room 2," she told me.

"Thank you. I'll be there in a moment," I replied, and she nodded, closing the door behind her. I dried my hands, throwing the paper towel in the trash before walking out of the kitchen and making my way toward exam room 2.

I opened the door and gave a cursory glance and smile at the two people standing there.

"Good morning, I'm Dr. Swan. How are we today?" I asked and stood in front of the computer, reading the pet's chart.

"Fine. I think," a female voice answered and continued as I read. "It's my cat, Buttercup. I think she might have an ear infection."

"Ouch." I remarked sympathetically and turned around from the computer. "Let's take a look at this ear then."

I gently took the cat's head, tilting it so I could see in its ear, and finally glanced up at the man and woman. I blinked twice in surprise, staring for a beat too long at the man.

It was Mr. Grumpy.

He was staring at me too, and being this close to him with no more than arms length of distance between us, I noticed that he was disarmingly attractive. He had wide green eyes and unfairly long lashes that I hadn't noticed before, since he always wore sunglasses.

Mr. Grumpy tilted his head, eyes squinted slightly as he stared at me. "Do I know you?"

I realized what I was wearing and how different it was from what he was used to seeing at the dog park-my face sans makeup with glasses, my hair down and wearing a t-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers. At work, I preferred contacts, hair pulled up in a tight ponytail, my face covered in light make up, and I generally wore a blouse and skirt under my lab coat with shoes that had a slight heel.

"Uh, no. I don't think so," I replied, returning my attention back to the cat lying on the tabletop. Technically, my answer wasn't a lie–he didn't know me and I didn't know him.

I examined the cat, taking its temperature and asking routine questions that only the woman answered. The woman stroked the cat's stomach and I spotted an impressive diamond on the woman's left hand. I couldn't tell if Mr. Grumpy wore a matching ring as he kept his hands in the pocket of his jeans.

I finished up my examination and handed the woman antibiotic ear drops for the cat.

"So, two drops in the ear until the bottle is finished and that ear infection should clear right up," I told the woman and patted the cat's head. "You're a very well behaved cat, Buttercup. I wish all my patients were like you." The cat purred in response and I glanced up at the woman. "How long have you had her?"

"About four years." The woman answered and smiled at the cat. "She was a birthday gift from my husband a couple of years ago."

"Your husband has good taste," I replied, glancing at Mr. Grumpy as the woman placed the cat back into its carry case.

He shook his head quickly in response. "Uh, no. Esme isn't–I mean, we're not …we're just related. She's my cousin."

"Oh. Okay." I said with a nod. The cousin, Esme, glanced between Mr. Grumpy and me but said nothing.

"Thanks for your help, Dr. Swan," She said gratefully, picking up the carry case.

"You're welcome." I replied, opening the door to the waiting room for them, and Esme walked by me. "Heidi will give you the billing information and if things get worse with Buttercup's ear, be sure to come back."

I glanced back into the exam room and Mr. Grumpy was still standing there, regarding me with a thoughtful expression.

"Are you sure we don't know each other?" he asked and my eyes flickered down to his shoes.

I smiled at him and nodded. "Yes. Quite sure."

"Right. Yeah, okay." he muttered and then walked out.

"By the way" I started and Mr. Grumpy looked back at me. I looked pointedly at his shoes, smirking. "Nice shoes."

He frowned, glancing down at his shoes then back at me. I felt slightly foolish about my joke and also a little saddened by him not understanding it.

"Let's go." Esme said, nudging Mr. Grumpy's arm.

She threw me a wave before walking out the front door of the clinic and Mr. Grumpy followed her. Just then, a dog in the waiting room vomited right on the spot where Mr. Grumpy's shiny, expensive shoes had just been two seconds before.

I considered the irony of that for a moment before stepping aside to let a disgruntled looking Heidi move toward the back to retrieve a mop and bucket to clean up the dog vomit.

-o0o-

"Isabella Marie Swan."

"Angela no middle name Weber," I said, mocking her angry tone and then snickered.

"Care to explain why I woke up this morning to a voicemail from someone called Benjamin Cheney?"

"Well, cell phones have this amazing, state of the art service called voicemail? It's like an answering machine, but for cell phones and-"

"Bella!" Angela snapped, and I laughed. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! I didn't do anything," I assured her with a grin, leaning back against the bench of the dog park, dog watching as opposed to people watching. It was around lunchtime on a Wednesday and I had the day off.

Wednesdays also meant no Mr. Grumpy so I could take my old spot on the bench without worrying about him being here.

"You're trying to set me and this Benjamin guy up, aren't you?" Angela questioned in a suspicious tone.

"Okay, yes I am. But-"

Angela groaned loudly, cutting me off. "Oh, god! I've reached that desperate stage in life where my best friend gives out my number to random guys."

"It's not desperate!" I insisted, sitting up straighter on the bench. "And he's not random. He's a new vet that started at the clinic two weeks ago and he's really sweet and nice and I think you two would really hit it off."

She didn't answer, but I could tell she was still there.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Yes," Angela replied shortly, and sighed. "Is he cute at least?"

I grinned, feeling triumphant. "Very. He's exactly your type Ange."

"So he looks like Colin Farrell then?"

"Uh…well, he could be Colin Farrell's distant, Asian cousin from Colorado?"

"Okay, so pretty much the same." Angela said, and we both laughed. "I gotta go. My lunch break's over."

"All right. How about I come over later tonight?" I suggested. "I could make those vanilla cupcakes with strawberry icing that you really like."

"Nobody likes a kiss-ass Bella," Angela remarked flatly, causing me to laugh. "But yeah, do that. Although you owe me a lot more than cupcakes."

"I know."

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I smiled to myself, shaking my head as I placed my phone back into my bag.

"So, you're a vet."

"Gahh!" I cried out, startled and nearly falling off the side of the bench in shock.

Mr. Grumpy widened his eyes, sitting next right next to me on the bench. "Shit. Sorry-"

"What's the matter with you?" I exclaimed incredulously, my voice higher in pitch than usual. "Don't do that! And how the heck are you so silent?"

"I–I thought you heard me sit down," He stammered and looked a little freaked out. "You were on the phone and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Well, stomp your feet around a little next time. Okay?" I muttered, trying to calm my frazzled nerves.

"Okay," he echoed, giving me a tentative smile. I returned it and then realized I was again staring at him for too long, so I turned to face forward once more.

I was trying to come up with something to say, when Mr. Grumpy spoke first.

"Why did you say you didn't know me when I saw you at the clinic?" he asked and I smiled at his question.

"Because I don't know you," I replied in amusement.

"Oh. Right," he said sheepishly. "Well, I'm Edward."

I glanced at him. "Hello Edward."

"Hi…uh, Isabella, right?" he questioned. "Your name was on the plaque at the clinic."

I nodded and then realized something.

"It's Wednesday. "

"Uh, yeah. It's usually the day that comes after Tuesday," Mr. Grumpy–sorry, Edward-said slowly.

"You're never here on a Wednesday," I clarified. "You come on Mondays and Thursdays. Not Wednesdays."

Edward looked surprised. "Oh. I hadn't realized you noticed-"

"Oh course I noticed. You took my spot," I interjected, patting the bench space that was between us, and then smiled at him to let him know that I was teasing.

"I don't take up the entire bench space," Edward said. "I like to think this bench is big enough for the two of us."

He said it with such a straight face that I couldn't help cracking up. He actually seemed kind of nice and not grumpy at all.

"You're very nice," I declared, voicing my thoughts.

"And you're very pretty," Edward replied straight away. I stared at him, feeling my face warm up. "Sorry. I thought were just trading compliments with each other."

I smiled, shaking my head, and willed my face to cool down. "It's just that you've been coming here for about a month now and you've never spoken before. Not unless you count yelling at my dog as talking."

It was Edward's turn to go red, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Yeah…to be honest, I kinda thought you were being a bitch."

"Excuse me?"

"No! I mean - you're not a bitch." Edward said, beginning to talk fast. "That day when I got angry at your dog and tried to apologize, you just grabbed your things and left."

I stared dubiously at him. "And that makes me a bitch how?"

"I thought you were doing that thing when girls pretend to get a text to get out of something. You know, fake text and dash?"

I thought back to that day and tried to picture it from Edward's point of view–me receiving a text as he was apologizing, then grabbing my things and leaving very abruptly.

"Oh…" I said quietly and then glanced at Edward. "Yeah, I see what you mean. But it's not what you think–I really did get an emergency text from work and had to leave."

"I know that now," Edward said, giving me a small smile. "After figuring out who you were after that day in the clinic, I guessed that your text was something animal related."

I returned his smile. "So you did get my shoe joke."

Edward chuckled lightly. "Not at first. It wasn't until I got home and started taking off my shoes that I realized who you were and what you meant."

We fell silent then, both of us facing forward. With it being the middle of a workday, the dog area was relatively empty and I spotted Satan chasing a squirrel around and around a tree. I laughed and Edward glanced at where I was staring.

"How long have you had him?" Edward asked.

"A couple of years. I was walking past a pet shop one day, saw him in the front window and it was love at first sight," I joked, and Edward laughed. "Have you ever owned a dog before?"

Edward sighed and ran his hands against his jeans, leaning forward. "Sort of. I bought a Golden Retriever for my girlfriend–ex girlfriend, I mean." He corrected quickly. "And we used to come here on Sundays."

He paused, clearing his throat. "And then, uh, karma decided to bite me in the ass. The day after I broke up with her, I got laid off at work and then I was evicted from my apartment the day after that."

"Yikes," I remarked with a grimace. "Karma really is a bitch."

"I came here that day, just to get away from it all, and was in a bad mood when your dog came up to me," Edward continued and then looked embarrassed. "So I yelled, taking out my anger on him. Again, I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," I assured him. "Has it been tough being unemployed?"

"I guess," Edward replied with a shrug. "I had to move in with my cousin, Esme and her husband–that's Buttercup's owners-and I have a couple of job interviews lined up next week."

"That's great," I said encouragingly. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

Edward smiled at me. "Thanks, Isabella."

"Bella," I corrected.

"Bella," he repeated, his smile widening to show his teeth. "Okay."

I ducked my head, feeling my face heat up again, and caught the time on my watch. It wasn't late, but I had been at the park for a while now.

"I should probably get going," I declared and stood up from the bench, hoisting my bag over my shoulder. "If Satan gets overtired, he tends to slobber all over my bed when he's asleep."

"That's a nice visual," Edward declared, standing up from the bench as well. I laughed before whistling for Satan.

"Satan! Time to go boy," I called out, and Satan bounded out of a round bush, running toward us.

"Hey, buddy. Did you have a great time chasing that squirrel?" I asked Satan as I knelt down to clip his leash on. He had some leaves and twigs stuck in the collar and I began picking them out.

"So, um…are you busy right now?" Edward asked, and I glanced up to see him looking a little flustered.

"No, not really," I replied, taking out the last twig and then stood up straight. "Why?"

"Do you maybe want to get a coffee or something?" Edward asked in a rush and then exhaled.

I smiled and then shook my head. "I don't drink coffee."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," I answered and he looked disappointed. I bit my lip, wrapping Satan's leash around my hand. "I do eat, though. There's this deli around the corner that serves really great sandwiches, if you want to grab something to eat?"

Edward smiled, nodding. "I could eat."

"Great," I replied. We began walking side by side and Satan began sniffing cautiously around Edward's shoes.

"Hey! Careful," Edward snapped, glaring at Satan and took a step to the side to avoid his reach. "These shoes are brand new; I just bought them."

I stared in disbelief at him and was about to make up some excuse to back out of lunch when Edward glanced at me and grinned.

"Just kidding," he said, and I just shook my head at him.

A/N: So, here's how this fic/story will work -

Basically it's just different scenarios based on Edward and Bella's first meetings. The scenarios will go for one chapter only, each chapter being a different scenario, setting, etc but will always end up with Bella and Edward together at the end.

I have a lot of 'plot bunnies' swirling around in my head and this is just a way for me to get them out.

Leave a review and I'll send you a small teaser for the next story.