A/N: Thanks guys, I'm glad you liked it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. All rights go to Stephenie Meyers.
Summary: ExB AH R&R : "You're crazy," I muttered. A smirk played on her lips, "Only for you, baby."
Don't forget! SKYWAY AVENUE. Review Responses are at the bottom A/N.
& P.S: OMFG, IM TURNING 14 IN TWO DAYS. OMG OMG OMG OMG 3 -- JULY 7!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!! IM THIS MUCH CLOSER TO BEING A SENIOR CITIZEN ;) CRACK SLAM KABOOM.
Goodnight & Goodbye
Chapter 2: Beantastic
"Having any luck?" Jasper asked, walking into the room with Emmett a few seconds behind him. He stood next to me, peering over my shoulder.
I shrugged him off, "What do you think?"
"Hey, don't get snippy," Emmett teased. I glowered at him and that look alone was enough to silence him. He shrunk back, a little boy trapped in a weight lifter's body.
"Calm down, Edward." Jasper mumbled, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, "It's only been a few days. Finding her won't be easy. You know that."
"But Jasper…" I muttered, "What if we don't find her? Yeah, maybe I can move on and fall in love all over again…but I'll be attacked by the 'what-could-have-beens' and I'd rather not go through that."
"Okay," Emmett said, dramatically sitting down, "How do you want us to help you?"
I thought for a second, before shoving a phone book at him, "Check for anyone with the name Marie."
He gaped at me, holding up the book that was as large as his head, "You're kidding right?"
"No."
He sighed, "You're lucky you're my best friend." He groaned, before squinting at the small text of the phonebook. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.
"What about me?" Jasper asked, pulling up a chair.
"I'm not sure…" I admitted, "We don't have much to go on. I hate to sound like a stalker or an overly-obsessed fan of hers."
"I think we got past that already," Jasper chuckled.
"Thanks." I glared, "I'm serious, Jasper. I don't want to turn out like that. But I need to find her."
"What do we have so far?"
"Nothing!" I threw my hands up in exasperation, "That's the problem. She didn't give me any hints that could lead us to find her—she made sure she didn't tell me anything too personal about her life."
"You guys were together for three months, Edward. That's longer than any of my relationships. She must have let some things slip."
"That's the thing though," I replied, "She was so careful. She really wanted the agreement to work."
"I have a feeling it will, Edward." He said softly.
"Not if I can do something about it." I countered.
"Well then, we have to start working." Jasper rubbed his hands together.
"What the hell do you mean start," Emmett snapped, "This text is so freaking small." He had his nose buried in the book. I laughed. Emmett reading wasn't something you'd see everyday.
"Okay then." Jasper snickered, "Emmett is looking for her name in the phonebook—although I can almost promise you that it will not work. While he does that, we should do something as well. I think we should pick through your memories of the summer."
"What?" I asked, "What do you mean?"
"You're the only link to Marie that we know of." He answered, matter-of-factly, "You're saying that she was careful to not let anything slip. She sounds pretty perfect, but no one is that perfect, Edward. She must have said something."
I closed my eyes, and strained to bring the hazy memories of summer to the front of my mind. "No, nothing." I muttered, dejectedly.
Jasper groaned, "Okay then…" he continued thoughtfully, "Did you ever have one of those chick nights?"
"What?"
"You know, where she wants to 'talk' all night instead of doing other things."
"No." I replied, instantly, "She liked to do things instead of talking. She was always really excited—the type of person who can't keep still. We went out almost everyday, going to different places." I smiled at the memory, "She didn't like to waste time talking. She wanted to experience everything that she could before summer ended."
Jasper's jaw hit the ground, "I'm not going to lie," He said in awe, "If you find her, and you don't want her anymore…she's mine."
I laughed, "You wish."
"I do." He nodded.
I smacked him on his shoulder, "She's mine."
He threw his hands up defensively, "I was just trying to help you!"
"Then stop fantasizing about her, and help me find something that could lead us to her." I replied, sarcastically.
"Fine, fine." He thought for a second, "Hm, so you never had a 'girls' night, and she only told you things she wanted to tell you?"
"Pretty much."
"Damn, she's making it impossible to find her." Jasper murmured, "I think she had her heart set on sticking to the agreement."
"I know," I groaned, "There should be a limit to how perfect a person can be." I muttered, "It's not always a good thing."
"Hm…" Jasper concentrated on finding a question, "Well, what's her favorite color?"
"Why would that matter?"
"Before we go on a mad search for her, I think it would be smart to figure out what she's like first. I mean, we'll go over her favorites and what she likes to do. Maybe that'll give us a hint."
I thought about it, "I don't know how that'll help, but you've always been smarter than me." I shrugged.
He grinned, "Thanks for that."
"Ask away," I gestured for him to start.
"What's her favorite color?" He repeated.
.
.
-o-
.
.
We were watching a movie at one of the public screenings at the park. She was sitting on my lap, her head leaning comfortably on my chest. She glanced up at me, her caramel eyes twinkling in the moonlight.
"You know what I'm thinking?" She breathed, her eyes flickering at the sky.
"I don't think I ever do," I admitted. And that was the truth. With her, it was impossible to guess what she was thinking.
I watched her carefully as she lifted her hand to touch my hair. Her fingers wrapped around a stray lock.
"I'm thinking that you have really pretty hair," She murmured, chuckling softly. The vibration sent a shiver up my spine.
I laughed softly, "Are you okay? Are you high, or something?"
She shook her head, the smell of strawberries radiating from her hair, "No, brown has always been my favorite color," She murmured. She continued, her voice soft and teasing, "And your hair is the prettiest shade of brown."
I stroked her hair, "Nah, I think your hair is the prettiest shade of brown," I laughed, trying to mock her. But it came out sincere, because in all honesty, I was not lying.
She giggled, "Lets compromise," She whispered, "We both have really pretty hair."
I smiled, "Deal."
.
.
-o-
.
.
"Brown," I muttered.
"Really?" Jasper asked, "That doesn't sound like a color that a girl would like."
I shrugged, "She's different, I guess."
"Yeah, I think we've established that."
I rolled my eyes, "How did that help us at all?"
"Well, now we know that she's different." He replied, "Which means that she hangs around with different people." He continued matter-of-factly, "So, now, we have a significantly smaller scope of people to find."
"You're making it up as you go," I replied, laughing.
"Maybe," He laughed, "But who knows? Maybe I'm right."
"Yeah, maybe." I grinned, "Next question."
"Describe where you usually went with her," Jasper said finally.
"That's hard," I ran my hand through my hair, "We went to a lot of places, at a lot of different times."
"Okay, lets start with the morning then," He arched his eyebrow suggestively, "Assuming she wasn't next to you when you woke up."
"Shut up," I rolled my eyes, "We never did stuff like that."
"Really," He gaped, shaking his head, "Weird."
"Shut up," I repeated, "Now, what did you say again?"
"I said it was weird that you and Marie haven't—"
"Before that, idiot." I snapped.
"Calm down," He chuckled, shrugging, "Describe where you usually met in the morning."
"In the morning…" I said aloud, trying to remember the many mornings I had met her. "We met in a lot of places, Jasper."
"I was afraid of that," He sighed, thinking, "Pick the one where many of the employees or bystanders were friendly to her. You said you never went to each others houses, so she told you to meet her some place right?"
"Yeah, always."
"You never suggested a place?"
"Nope."
"Damn," He laughed, "She has you wrapped around her finger!"
"I'm not denying that," I sighed, "She gets in your head."
"Poor Edward," He patted me reassuringly, "Anyway, since she always told you where to meet…that means its places that she's familiar with. Places she likes to go to."
"Yeah…so?"
"You really don't know where I'm going with this?"
"No, not really."
He rolled his eyes, "If this is how smart you're going to be, consider it impossible to find Marie."
"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't make stabs at my already limited confidence."
"Sorry," He chuckled, "If she likes to go somewhere, it means she goes there often." He explained.
"Yeah…"
"Which means that the people there should recognize her, if she goes there often," He finished.
My eyes widened, "You're a genius, Jasper."
"Stating the obvious, but its okay," He grinned, "We'll think about morning, afternoon, and night."
"Okay."
"Morning first," He nudged me to sift through my memories. I closed my eyes and imagined the many mornings I had spent with her.
.
.
-o-
.
.
"You're late," She replied a teasing tone to her voice—thank god. I wasn't sure if I could handle a livid Marie in the morning.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, "I had to drop off my friend before coming here. He had some type of meeting with a teacher."
"I was joking," She laughed, "I'm not going to be one of those girlfriends that tell you what you can and cannot do." My pulse quickened at the word 'girlfriend.' God, I was such a girl.
"That's good to know," I replied.
She smiled an infectious smile, and before I knew it, my lips had lifted into a grin. I didn't understand how she could do this to me.
"You know, you're pretty far there." I whispered, teasingly.
"Hm, I hadn't noticed," She mumbled. I outstretched my arm, grasping hers in my hand. I pulled her closer to me, her back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in the smell of her shampoo.
"I missed you." I whispered into her hair.
She hit me playfully on the chest, "We met last night, doofus."
I smiled down at her twinkling eyes, "That's long enough." I murmured.
She turned, wrapping her arms around me, "You're such a sap."
"Only around you," I replied, honestly. I felt a blush heat her cheeks.
"You just like to get me worked up, don't you?" She accused.
"Yeah," I admitted, "But you're cute when you're embarrassed."
She groaned, "I hate it when you do this."
"Do what?" I asked innocently.
"When you compliment me," She mumbled into my t-shirt.
I chuckled, "Well, I thought I'd let you know how amazing you are."
She pulled away, glaring at me playfully, "Stop it."
"Okay, for now." I relented, letting her go, but keeping her hand in mine. "So, why did you want to meet here?"
"I love this place," She answered honestly, "Around the corner is the playground my dad used to take me when I was a kid. But now that I'm older I like going to this coffee shop." She pointed at the coffee shop behind us.
"Beantastic?"I read, skeptically.
"Hey, don't judge a book by its cover," She shrugged, "They make a pretty mean Frappuccino."
"Well if you think it's good, it has to be good." She scowled, while I laughed, "Lead the way."
We walked in, and a small bell rung. A girl around our age came out of the storage closet. She had shoulder length dark hair, and kind eyes. She spotted us and grinned, "Hey!"
I walked up to the counter, whipping out my wallet. I read her nametag. She had a simple, nondescript name—Angela.
"Hey, Angie," Marie greeted happily, "How've you been?"
"Pretty crazy," She sighed, "Ben finally asked me out yesterday."
Marie's eyes widened, "You're kidding!"
"Nope!" Angela's grin threatened to rip her face in two.
"That's great, Angie!" She smiled, "I told you he had a thing for you."
"I'll never doubt you anymore," She smiled.
"Thank god you figured that out," Marie giggled. She was so damn cute, it wasn't even legal.
"About time," Angela replied. "Oh, I have more news too."
"Really? I don't know how it could get any better!"
"You know how I've been applying for that secretary job?"
"Yeah."
"I got it!!" Angela squealed.
"You're kidding!" Marie laughed, "God, life doesn't get any better for you huh?"
Angela nodded before smiling, "So, you want the usual?"
"Yeah, thanks." Marie smiled, "And this idiot over here," She pointed at me and I rolled my eyes, "Will have the same."
"Perfect!" Angela smiled, "That'll be $9.50 please." She eyed me carefully, presumably evaluating if she approved. The smile on her face told me she did. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey," I whispered to Marie, "Why don't you grab us a table and I'll pay and take our drinks?"
"Good idea," She kissed me gently on the cheek, before disappearing around the corner.
I handed Angela a ten dollar bill.
"Well aren't you two just the cutest little things?" She teased.
"I think we just might be," I answered honestly.
I think she melted a little, "You're a lucky guy, you know."
I nodded quickly, "Trust me, I know that." I smiled, accepting the change she handed me, "I've been wondering how I got this lucky since the day I met her."
.
.
-o-
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.
"That's great!" Jasper exclaimed, "We know one of her friends now!"
"You think she'll tell me where Marie is?" I asked.
"If you're lucky," He nodded, "But we should probably check a couple other places. Where would you go in the afternoon?"
"Oh that ones easy." I grinned, "She loved to eat in an Italian place near that coffee shop."
"Name?" He took out a pad of notebook from the drawer, writing down the word 'Beantastic.'
"Portifino," I recalled. He scribbled it down on the pad.
"Perfect," He smiled, "At this rate, we'll find her in no time."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, for sure," he answered, his voice holding no sarcasm, "The minute we find her friends or we find people who know her, I'm almost a hundred percent sure that we'll find her."
"Why?"
"Girls love their best friends almost as much as they love diamonds, right?" He asked.
"That's what I hear," I shrugged.
"If her best friends love her and want what's best for her…they won't let the love of her life slip away." He replied.
"You're scarily smart, Jasper."
"Again, stating the obvious." He flashed a smile.
"So, what else?"
"What did you do at night?" He asked.
"That depends." I answered.
"Did she ever show you a place that she liked?"
"She liked a lot of places."
"No, I mean, a place that meant a lot to her." He corrected, "You know, a special place."
My eyes widened, "Yeah, actually." I smiled slowly, "A playground."
.
.
-o-
.
.
"Come back here," I ordered. I smiled amusedly. I watched her run away, her hair flying behind her.
"Catch me," The wind carried her voice to my ear. I got up to my feet, and chased her down the sidewalk. She jumped over a low fence, and into the playground that her father had taken her to when she was a child. I hopped the fence easily.
It was dark out; the only light was from the sliver of the moon in the sky. I squinted, looking for her silhouette. I couldn't find it.
I walked a few steps forward, and found her crouched behind one of the towers. I circled the tower, moving stealthily behind her. "Got you," I whispered into her ear. She squealed, but I pulled her to me, before she could go anywhere.
"Mm," I smiled, "You smell nice today."
She swatted me away, and climbed up the ladder of the tower. She walked from that tower to the other using a kiddy bridge. I groaned, but followed her up.
I don't how long I ran after her. I don't how long we spent climbing those towers, reliving our childhoods. I don't know how long it had been since I'd felt so content. It was exhilarating.
Once we'd started to lose our breath, she ran to the swings. I jogged behind her, following her. She sat down on the seat, smiling up at the sky. The moonlight made her face look angelic.
She slowly began to push off the ground. Her hair was a mess behind her, flying away from her face. She giggled giddily. I smiled at how adorable she looked.
I moved behind her, and when she came close to me, I pushed her, placing my palms on the small of her back.
I could hear her laughter as she rose higher, and I smiled. It was incredible how she made me feel.
"Higher," She murmured.
"You're such a child," I laughed.
Her voice was louder as she swung back, "Everyone is allowed to relive their childhood at some point." I smiled softly at that.
"You can't go any higher," I told her, watching her swing high in the air.
"I'm going to jump." She decided.
"What?"
"I'm going to jump," She laughed, "It makes me feel like I'm flying. It's amazing."
I arched an eyebrow, "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Maybe, but it's worth it." She inhaled deeply. "Here I go. 1….2….3!"
She screamed as she let go of the chains and flew off of the seat. I watched, my jaw almost hitting the ground, as she landed meters away from the swings. She was fucking amazing.
A laugh escaped her lips again, as she jogged back towards the tower. I was about to follow her, but she shook her head. The walls of the tower reached her waist, and she motioned for me to stand in front of the slide.
Oh.
I immediately ran to the end of the slide. She smiled at me, as she sat down, her legs dangling off onto the slide. She pushed herself forward, and she slid down fluidly.
As she hopped off, I caught her in my arms.
"You are so beautiful, you know that?" I whispered, honestly coating my words. I realized nothing I said could explain how she made me feel. I pulled her closer to me and our lips met.
I kissed her passionately, allowing every thing I was feeling pour into her. I wanted her to understand how much she meant to me.
When I pulled away, we were both breathless. I leaned my forehead on hers.
"Wow," She whispered, her eyes searching mine.
"Yeah, wow," I murmured back, before I captured her lips with mine again.
.
.
-o-
.
.
"A playground? Really?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his words. I smacked him on the shoulder.
"Shut up. You'd understand if you were there." I shrugged.
"I'm not judging," He smiled, "It's just so sweet and childish…and strangely romantic at the same time."
I nodded, "Exactly."
"So, where is this playground?"
"It's near the coffee shop she likes." I replied.
"Perfect!" He wrote down the word 'playground' in the notebook.
"Why is that perfect?"
"Now we know where to look."
My eyes widened, "What are the chances that she'll go there?"
"Extremely high," He smiled broadly.
"What are we waiting for?" I checked to see if my keys were in my pocket. Check. "Lets go!" I was about to drag him to the car, when I realized I had no idea where it was.
"Where is it?" He voiced my thoughts.
"I forgot," I sunk down in my seat.
Jasper's eyes lit up, "Emmett!"
When we didn't get a response, we both looked at Emmett curiously. He had fallen asleep, drool drenching the pages of the yellow phonebook. I hit him on the shoulder, and he jumped, screaming, "Cumquat!"
I decided to ignore that.
"Find 'Beantastic' in the yellow pages, now." Jasper instructed.
Emmett flipped to the back pages, and searched under 'B.' His eyes skimmed the text before he pointed at an address. Jasper wrote it down, hastily, and we ran out the door.
We climbed into my car, and I peeled out of the driveway. My mind was clogged with images of her smiling face. I was going to see her again. My mind couldn't compute how much I needed to see her—and the fact that I was actually minutes away from it.
I drove faster than I'd ever driven, going over the speed limit without a thought. I could see Jasper clinging for dear life, but all I could think about was seeing her again.
"Edward, slow down," Emmett said, his voice skipping when my car drove over a speed bump, "She's not going to disappear!"
"We don't know that," I said simply, turning at the intersection.
We arrived at the parking lot of the outlet in minutes. I jumped out of the car, as did the two guys in the back. I locked it, stuffing the keys in my pocket.
I scanned the various stores in the outlet, and recognized the sign with Beantastic written on it in neon letters. I gestured towards it, Jasper pushing us towards the store. I threw the door open, the ding of the bell erupting memories in my mind.
A girl came out of the storage room. She was looking down, fixing the ties of her apron. She had fiery red hair, and her nametag had the name 'Victoria' on it. Not Angela.
I went to the counter. "What can I get you?"
"Actually, I'm not here for a drink." I replied.
She eyed the three of us, winking at me suggestively. "Would you like something else then?"
I ignored her and asked, "Where's Angela?"
"Angela?" She repeated.
"Yes, Angela." I said.
"Angela…" She repeated again, "Angela Webber?"
"I don't know!" I sighed frustrated.
"Angela Webber." She said, "She's about this tall, with dark hair. Her boyfriend is Ben Cheney?"
"Yes!" I smiled, and I could see Emmett almost start his victory dance.
"Oh yeah, she's not in today."
I frowned, "When will she be back?"
"I don't think she's coming back." She smiled, "I'm Victoria, her replacement."
"What?" I gaped in horror.
"Yeah, she got this job as a secretary you see—"
I stopped listening. I could feel my pulse flat line and I didn't miss the look of disappointment in Emmett's eyes. I turned, vaguely hearing Victoria ask where we were going. I stalked out of the store, ignoring the sound of the bell.
"its okay, Edward." Jasper patted me on the shoulder, "Maybe next time."
"There won't be a next time, Jasper." I reasoned, exasperated.
"We'll find her. There are still so many places we could check." Emmett reminded me.
"That's the thing though," I said, "I know that when it gets too hard to find her, I'll give up. I always do that, you know that."
"But it's different this time, Edward." Jasper replied, as we got back in the car, "I've never seen you this…this effected by a girl before. You won't let that go. I know that."
I could feel my heart sink lower. "I hope you're right."
A/N: I apologize for it being shorter than usual, but it is still of a decent length. Please review.
NOTE: SHOULD THIS BE A FOURSHOT/FIVESHOT OR SHOULD IT BE A FULL BLOWN STORY?
NOTE#2: SHOULD I UPDATE & FINISH THIS OR SUNSENTS AND CAR CRASHES FIRST?
Please please please review. I'd love to know what you think.
Lots of love, and happy independence day,
-AltPunk
Number of Pages: 14
Number of Words: 4,034
Completed: Yes
Edited: No
Review Responses:
Seth'sOneAndOnly: xD Thanks a lot! I'm really happy that you liked it.
Carlislelover29: I promise I'll try to finish this by the end of the summer—but I'm going to summer camps and other things, so I'm pretty busy. I'll try to make time!
AlUvmusic: & I love you for loving it.
Grace: Hello my first anon reviewer! Thank you so much!
Moracrescent: Oh thanks! I'm tired of the sappy romance stories as well—I hope this chapter meets your expectations.
Vampire's kisses 4 me: It's not a oneshot—although I'm still debating on making it a fourshot/fiveshot or making it a whole story.
09xuereba: Thank you J
LoveThePilowBiters: First of all, you have the most kick ass name ever. And second of all, THANKS. Edward shouldn't keep being a badass, and I'm glad that Bella finally is one :P
SaRaPiE: Hm, I've never actually had a beta before—what exactly is it again -_-
Bellehazel: Heyyyy to you too. Flashbacks will be necessary for the first few chapters, but it won't happen so often. Thanks for the advice! I've only had one flame given to me in my entire life, and I'm stll trying to shake off that feeling :P
Twilightaddict: Updated!
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