Chapter 2: Hooked at First Site

"I can't believe we didn't find this before." I marvelled as Kristen scrolled through the lists of stories written by fans of the series. "This is completely mad."

"I know." Kristen smiled slyly, while she scrolled and clicked on each subsequent page until she found something she was looking for. "Check this out – there's even one about you, umm, as you... yourself... It's, ah, very entertaining."

"What?" I read the description and immediately felt my checks flush red.

"Ah, ya." was her only reply.

"What else is there?" I quickly grabbed the mouse and navigated back to the list. "Anything about you?"

"Not that I've found yet. Actually, you and Edward seem to be the most popular targets, although there are several stories from Bella's 'POV' as they call it – and even some from other characters, like Jasper, Alice, Nessie, Jacob... I think I even saw one from Charlie's."

"So, what were you laughing about when I thought you were being accosted?"

"Oh, there's this one story about Bella going camping with the Cullens. It is hilarious. The writer nailed Emmett."

"Really?"

"Ya – that one just finished, so the complete story is there, which is good 'cause I hate waiting for the next instalment..."

"Is that why you were so preoccupied this afternoon – waiting for the end of this camping story?"

She flushed again – being Bella was sure having an impact on her. "No, not exactly... there's this other story about Bella and Edward, except they are both human. Edward is a dance instructor or something. I've been reading it for awhile and it was just getting good, and now I am stuck waiting for the next chapter. It's driving me nuts!"

"You're really into this, aren't you" I looked at her incredulously.

"Not really!" she shot me an annoyed look, "it's just something to pass the time when we're not on set, or in between shots. There's only so much I can take of daytime TV, you know."

"Sure." I chuckled, "I suppose. Well, I'm just glad to know my co-star isn't mental. We've got a few more sequels to shoot."

She glared at me as I left for my own suite. Imagine, hung up on stories written by the fans... crazy...

Only, now I was wondering, what other stories could there be?

I quickly got back to my suite and went straight to my laptop. What was that site? After a few failed attempts, I Googled it. Brilliant, there it is... Now where were the fan stories... hmm, under discussion? No... maybe groups? Oh, yes, here it is Fan Fiction. Wow, there are hundreds of pages of titles. People are really into this...

This is ridiculous. What am I doing – reading fan fiction. Don't I get enough of Edward all day at work? I shook my head. Maybe I'm just stressed. I should play some music.

I left my laptop on the desk, the browser still open, and went to my guitar. Playing always made me relax and helped me shake off the stress and exhaustion of pretending to be someone else. It brought me back to myself...

There was a tune that was on the edge of my brain. I tried picking a few notes and chords, coaxing it out, seeing if it would come, but my mind kept wandering back to the camping story. Can you imagine, the Cullens actually going camping. I couldn't see it. Alice and Rosalie would never go for it. Emmett, sure. And even Jasper… I suppose even Edward would go along with it. But really!

I struck a discord in frustration. Why couldn't I get this new song? I was too preoccupied. I settled for playing through a few previous compositions and a some good oldies – songs my fingers would simply play with little or no thought. I tried to lose myself in the music…

However, only a few songs later, I found myself glancing back at the laptop. What was it that Kristen found so funny? I suppose all of them in the wild with Bella would be funny, if a bit ridiculous. Well, it couldn't be too stressful – it actually sounded like a good laugh. I could use a good laugh. So I set down my guitar and went back to the computer.

It took a bit of searching, but I finally found the story. Hmmm, it does look kind of funny, I thought. And so I read, and read, and read. It was, actually, pretty good. And Kristen was right – Emmett's character was hilarious... I immediately felt better. This was fun. I wonder what else there is...

I searched through the various titles, noting the summaries and ratings. Wow, there was some pretty interesting stuff… I momentarily scanned through the other story Kristen had pointed out… Even alone, I could feel my embarrassment as I read through… quite the imagination some people had. I didn't dwell there and finally found the tango instructor story. It was good.

Before I knew it, it was 2:30 am by the digital clock on the Blue Ray. Man, I've got to be up and at makeup by 6 am. I'd better get some sleep. How in the world did the time slip by so quickly?