Disclaimer: I don't own 'Twilight'.

Woman in the Bottle

Bella

I was disgruntled that my clothes had, yet again, changed when I left my bottle.

I say 'again' because it happened every time I was summoned, which irritated me to no end. The clothes were the stereotypical genie kind; uncomfortable and demeaning. I frowned and wondered if Aro just based the costume off the show to suit what people would expect.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a man clearing his throat. A man who looked like an angel – or a God.

Ok, maybe I exaggerate. But then again, maybe I don't. He was beautiful and elegant. With reddish-brown – I guess it could be labelled as bronze... – hair and straight, perfect features, and a nice toned body. However, what really drew me in were his startlingly green eyes.

The beautiful man looked at me sceptically.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked with an incredulous look on his face. He pinched himself, then shook his head when he realised this was, indeed, not a dream. I found all this rather amusing to watch.

In the back of my mind, I was vaguely aware of memories of James when I entered his life. His leering, his propositions, the resulting, large, red handprint on his cheek... I smirked inwardly at that last one.

"I said I was a genie," I replied quietly, taking in my surroundings as I answered him. I was in an ensuite bathroom; I could see a bedroom through the door, but I couldn't make out much of it as it was rather dark.

"Can you prove it?" Adonis replied curiously, but I didn't miss the challenging tone.

I chuckled softly. This had happened before. I didn't really mind doing something to prove my powers as I loved watching their reactions.

"Didn't my entrance or ensemble give it away?"

"I suppose, but could you please just humor me?" He was starting to get exasperated. I could understand, what with having someone who appeared to resemble a psychopath dressed in a genie's costume claiming you have five wishes.

I shrugged and, deciding to go with something simple, I closed my eyes and placed my forearms on one another and nodded my head with a sharp jerk, almost adding an eye roll for the dramatics, causing a plate of cookies to appear on the counter in the bathroom besides the glass bottle that contained my home.

I leaned against the counter and took a cookie to nibble on while I looked at his face. His eyes widened, glancing between me and the plate of baked goods every few seconds. After a bit, he chuckled, but it seemed strained.

"Wow, you really go all out don't you? The clothes and the head nod. Very I dream of Jeannie."

I grimaced and shrugged. "It's all for dramatic effect." I didn't really need to nod my head or do anything special. Just close my eyes and will it to happen...

I instantly changed back into my jeans and t-shirt. I laughed quietly to myself as after a few seconds he finally registered my new appearance, doing a double take.

"Wow. This is just all so...surreal," he murmured, continuing to look at my clothes. Or maybe he was checking me out. I began to feel uncomfortable under his unrelenting gaze.

He noticed and shot me an apologetic look while his cheeks lit up with a soft pink. His blush was endearing, and I assumed it had indeed meant that he was checking me out. It was flattering that someone like him would check me out.

"So, now you've wrapped your head around the idea of me being a genie, would you like to fill me in on your name?" I asked with no rudeness, but just curiosity.

"Oh, right. Edward. My name's Edward Cullen."

He grabbed one of the chocolate chip cookies from the plate and took a bite, turning to walk back into his room. He hesitated, chewing, before turning around and grabbing the entire plate and walking out of the bathroom.

I stood there, frozen, wondering what this meant. I stayed there, awkwardly, before shrugging to myself and following him out, finishing my cookie.

I noticed the cookies on a desk with a few other items so I grabbed another one, devouring it, missing the taste of food. It wasn't something that I really needed all too much when doing nothing in a bottle, so I rarely had any.

Edward was sitting on his bed, staring into space, eating a cookie from one hand, while holding two more in his other. I leant against the desk and silently watched him.

His head abruptly snapped to me, startling me.

"Did you just made those cookies appear here, just like that?" he asked after swallowing, clicking his fingers at the 'that'.

"Yeah..." I shrugged. He had witnessed it.

"So could you do it with anything...like animals or plants or something?" he asked curiously. What was he getting at?

I willed a cockatoo to appear just as one landed on my shoulder. It took off and flew around his room for a few seconds before I willed it away so it would not destroy anything.

Edward was gaping at where the cockatoo had just disappeared. I smirked. This was rather entertaining.

"But how could you do that? I mean... I don't know, ever heard of spontaneous generation and how that was proved untrue?" Edward asked incredulously.

I laughed. He was going all scientific on me and I couldn't help myself. After a minute I replied, "Yes, but I did not create that bird. I simply take them from somewhere else on the globe. Those cookies, for example, probably came from someone's kitchen or a bakery or something. I could have made them from scratch, using ingredients from a plethora of places, but that would have taken more concentration and energy."

He didn't respond. His eyes were just raking over my face with... awe.

"So then what's the deal with genies? Five wishes, just like that? I mean, that's really great and all but there's no catch? You aren't going to make me fill in a survey or subscribe to something are you?" Edward half-joked, chuckling. He finished off his cookies and looked at me attentively.

"Uh, yeah, pretty much. No catch. So let's get started, shall we? Or do you want to think about it?" I was sure he would want to think about it. Most people did. The most irresponsible one was a girl named Bree from the 70s who had used up her wishes within minutes... I chuckled quietly to myself.

Edward looked at me curiously when I laughed. I liked this guy. And I hadn't talked to anyone in years, which was always the case, so if the person was nice enough, I tended to befriend them before I was on my way again. So I told him vaguely of Bree and how she had hardly lasted long. It was a kind of warning, and a piece of advice wrapped into one. Take your wishes seriously as they could alter your life.

"The 1970s? How old are you? How did... how ... wha...?" He was looking at me dumbstruck, with awe-filled eyes, which I was getting a lot of tonight. It was not surprising seeing as what I am, but I resented my job. No so-called glory or luxury that came with the job was worth what I had been through so far.

I figured now was the time to fill him in on the rules, and the facts.

"First, yes, the 1970s," I clarified. "Secondly , I am eighteen. Thirdly, well, I am immortal. I have been around for a long time. I have had many masters and I have done this for as long as I can remember. Now for the rules-"

"As long as you can remember? How did you become a... genie?" Edward asked, hesitating on the last word, as if contemplating whether it was offensive, or...demeaning would probably be a better word. And I guess virtually being a slave to grant people's wishes for eternity was rather demeaning.

I paused, thinking about my answer. How? I could not remember that fact.

"I can't remember how I came to this life. I can remember a few parts of my pre-genie life," I murmured, reminiscing all I could. Like my mother's crazy yet loveable antics. And my father's crinkly smile. But I could not remember what linked that life to my current lifestyle. I looked down, sighing. "I have been around for several decades, at least, leaning onto a century."

"Wow..." Edward said, looking at me with wide eyes.

I chuckled at his reaction, but changed the subject back to the rules. They were important.

"Now, I should explain the rules..." I trailed off, looking back up at him. He nodded, and straightened up slightly, leaning on his forearms which rested on his knees. Shaking myself out of ogling his lean, muscular figure, I began listing them on my fingers and willed my telltale blush away. "Okay, so you get five wishes, you cannot wish for anything crazy like world domination or for someone to just drop dead, or ... you can't wish for anything that affects someone's will power. Like ... wishing someone to jump off a bridge or something," I suggested, and he chuckled.

"You do not have any time limit with your wish making. You cannot assault the wish granter – i.e. myself – or there will be consequences. Also, no wishing for more wishes, or any nonsense like that. And when you use up your wishes you cannot give the bottle to a friend or anything. I get sent off to somewhere else in the world to be found, so it really wouldn't work...

"And, anything else I think of I'll tell you. I mean, I can get the rule book out..." I smiled at him.

Edward raised an eyebrow but shook his head then yawned. "Well, I'm going to head off to bed now." He looked at me, then at my bottle which was sitting on the counter in his bathroom still. "Uh..."

I sighed. It was uncomfortable squeezing in and out of the bottle, but he didn't seem to want me around, nor did I want to prolong either of our discomfort, so I decided it best to be off.

"I'll see you later," I said, slightly disappointed that I had to return to it so soon. "Just give me a yell if you know what to wish for." I didn't stay a moment longer before I re-entered by glass container.

I tensed as my body became small, squeezing through the neck of the bottle. I felt the tightness around my limbs and chest, then finally my head as I shrunk and entered my home, all the while grimacing at the feeling. When I was in, I plopped onto my bed and stared up at domed ceiling. It was the green glass of the bottle, but it was very thick so I could not see outside of it.

After the encounter with Edward, I didn't feel up to sleeping. Too much had happened...well, more so than the usual day around here.

I was yearning to go out and join him again. I mean, not because I wanted to join him, but because that it came with a sense of freedom when leaving the bottle. Without a master, I wouldn't be able to do it at all. It was like I had a seal that prevented me from visiting the outside world when I didn't have someone's wishes to tend to. But I guessed that was the purpose of the cork. It was usually there until some fortunate soul stumbled upon the world of genies.

I wondered more about Edward. I didn't know anything about him, but I didn't want to intrude into his life but randomly summoning information about him. Sure, I had the power to do so, but I wouldn't. It wasn't my place, and not necessarily my concern.

Kicking off my shoes, I let them fall and tumble on the floor at the foot of my bed. My beaten up black Chucks lay strewn haphazardly on the beautifully delicate, hand woven Persian rug.

I felt too worked up about this new situation. Just like last time. I was on edge the past few times I had masters. It was no thanks to James.

Giving off an exasperated growl to the direction of my thoughts, I pressed my palms over my eyes and watched as the colours appear behind my eyelids, forming different patterns and shapes. When it got too uncomfortable, I ceased the pressure and ran my fingers through my long hair, relaxing myself infinitesimally.

"Bella," I heard someone whisper. I jumped in fright, also having been jolted from near slumber, and stood up confusedly.

"Uh...Bella, are you in there?" the person asked. "Of course she's in there, idiot. You saw her go in there. But then again, it's a bottle. Who could safely say someone is in a bottle the size of a fist?" he began talking to himself, and I let out a laugh at his thoughts.

"Aha! I knew you were in there," he now addressed me, having heard my laugh. I could picture him pointing at the bottle with a victorious expression on his face and laughed again.

I braced myself, and left the bottle again, appearing behind Edward, who spun around and placed a hand over his chest.

"Really, you should warn someone before popping up in front of them like that." I nodded at him distracted before walking around his room, curiously looking around. It didn't have much in it.

"You don't have much," I stated.

"I know."

"Why not?"

"I'm just visiting my parent's house. I don't live here. I've got a small apartment in Seattle, about four hours drive from here."

"Oh," I replied lamely. "So where are we now?" It's not like I'm able to track my location. I would like to, however, just out of interest.

"A small, rainy town called Forks," he said, chuckling. I didn't really notice until then, the sound of rain patter against the window. It was too dark to see out, but I was able to see, due to the dim glow of light, rain drops streak down the glass. There was a lot of it, too. The whole wall seemed to be just glass, so it must have meant seeing a lot of rain.

There was a knock on the door before a woman's voice called out, "Edward?" The door suddenly began to open.

"Wait, mom, I'm ... changing!" Edward called out abruptly. The door quickly shut. I snickered quietly.

"Sorry, dear. I was just wondering who you were speaking to?"

Edward sighed and waited a moment before grabbing my wrist and pulling me so that I stood behind the door so if it opened I would still be concealed in the darkness. He opened it slightly and stuck his head out, a sliver of light falling from the hallway through the open door and landing on the carpet of his room.

"Hey mom, sorry what did you want?" he asked politely.

"Well, I heard you speaking, and I didn't know if you were speaking to Alice or Emmett, because I wanted to speak to them too, so..." she trailed off.

"Uh, yeah. I was speaking to Alice. She said she was looking forward to seeing you guys tomorrow." He shifted awkwardly next to me.

"Oh," the woman said, but you could hear the smile in her voice. I assumed that this was his mother. I didn't know who Alice or Emmett were though. Perhaps they were his siblings?

"Well, alright," she continued. "If you speak to them again, tell them I miss them."

Edward nodded, bidding her goodnight before closing the door and turning to me.

It was silent for a moment before he spoke. "That was my mother."

I nodded, biting my lip to stop my smile. "And how exactly were you changing and talking to Alice simultaneously?"

He laughed and shrugged, moving deeper into his room again, away from the door. "I guess I am just a very skilled multi-tasker."

I just rolled my eyes in response with an amused smile.

"Alice and Emmett are my siblings. They're coming over for lunch tomorrow," he paused. "And I should tell you that we're all heading back out to Seattle the day after."

I was glad he was telling me this, but I was curious as to why. The other masters I'd had just had me around when they were making a wish.

"Why are you telling me this?" I wondered.

"Don't you want to know?" he countered, confused.

"Well, yes, but..." I didn't really know how to finish that sentence.

"And you don't really want to be trapped in that glass bottle, do you?" He raised an eyebrow challenging me.

I huffed. Why didn't he answer me instead of being evasive and cryptic with his train of thought?

"What do you suggest I do then?"

He flushed a faint pink and smiled nervously, before turning his face away and seemingly rolled his eyes at himself. "You can stay with me. What I mean is in the apartment, not the...you know, bottle." He gestured to my bottle.

I froze, surprised. That was certainly different, but welcome. That is, the hospitality. Others just made me stay in the bottle. Edward's chivalrous offer really warmed me some. I smiled warmly at him.

"If you're sure I won't be an imposition. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Edward." I was grateful that karma decided to attempt to right its many wrongs by sending me to Edward, but it certainly had a lot to make up for.

A/N: With the whole Esme knocking before immediately entering without waiting for a response? Yeah, my parents do that and it pisses the hell out of me. I mean, what if I was indecent or something? Sheesh. Does this happen to anyone else?

Sorry for the wait between chapters. I know you want shorter periods before a new update, but it's hard when I have a lot to do. In November, I shall be as free as a bird, so faster updates.

Thanks for the reviews for chapter one. I'm hoping we can go for a few more this chapter? Tell me what you like about the chapter, or the story so far, or something. I'd really like some feedback, not just an 'update soon'. Please. I'd be ever so grateful! :D