Edward's POV

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I felt compelled to chase after her but she acted like she really didn't care if I crawled in a hole and died or not so I wasn't sure if that was the best idea. Megan…or was it Marla?...Mackenzie? Yeah, that was it, Mackenzie was giving me a questioning look,

"Who was that?" She asked me. I wanted to tell her "an attractive woman who held me attention more in the two minutes we had talked than you have done all night" but I kept my tongue civil and went for the more appropriate,

"I'm not entirely sure." Mackenzie gave a little, uninterested "hmph", I finally turned to look at her and noticed the guy standing behind her. He was shorter than me with buzzed hair and muscles that rivaled Emmett's

"This is Kyle. Kyle this is Edward." Mackenzie introduced us smacking her gum the entire time. Kyle nodded at me, the universal symbol of guys saying "Hi, I really have no idea who you are or if you are cool enough so I'm not going to shake your hand but I'll acknowledge that you exist." I nodded back,

"You're Emmett Cullen's little brother aren't you?" He asked. I had no idea how he could tell. Ever since I was five years old I had been making the case to our parents that there was no way Emmett and I were blood related, it was a preposterous notion and the only explanation was that Emmett was hatched from a lizard egg that had been dropped one too many times before he hatched. But I would spare this poor bastard the energy he would have to muster to make his brain work enough to listen to my arguments,

"Yeah, I'm guessing you're in the same fraternity?" I asked. The guy let out a booming chuckle that sounded just like Emmett's, maybe this was Emmett's long lost twin and they could run off together,

"Emmet's my bro! He rocks, I'm so glad he pledged! What about you? Ever think about pledging?" I couldn't help but laugh at this comment. I could never imagine myself in a fraternity, it was a ridiculous idea and I would never hear the end of it from Emmett, there was no telling the absolute hell he was sure to put me through if I ever had a lapse of judgment, forgot my identity, and ended up pledging a fraternity,

"No." I gave a simple answer. Kyle looked at me like I was crazy for never considering it. Mackenzie, who I had noticed had been silent for the first time all night, spoke,

"Edward, Kyle is going to take me back to my dorm; he lives in the next building over it would just be easier on everyone." Mackenzie said. I had no doubt that she was lying and Kyle lived nowhere near her hall, but I was fine with that,

"Well it was nice meeting you Mackenzie, you too Kyle." I said. I caught sight of the clock and noticed I had an hour before the mall closed; there was still a chance…

"There's a party this weekend Eddie, you should totally come…kind of a 'Welcome to Campus' party at our house, come check it out." Kyle said. I nodded,

"Bye Edward!" Mackenzie called as the two walked out of the mall together. A match made in heaven, thank God it hadn't been me.

I turned on my heels and walked in the direction my mystery girl had pointed when she had explained she worked here. I had to know her name; I had to know what she liked, what she didn't like, where she had come from. I needed to know.

Bella's POV

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I was completely embarrassed. Not only had I tripped in front of one of the hottest guys I had ever seen but I had actually been stupid enough to think that I could have had a chance with him. I should have known he'd have a girlfriend, a blonde girlfriend, who looked great in heels and could actually walk in them. I slammed my forehead repeatedly into the desk, hoping no customers would come in to see my dismay,

"Everything okay Bella?" Aaron asked. I let out a frustrated sigh and lifted my face up to meet his,

"Just made a complete ass of myself…that' s all!" I said in mock cheeriness. Aaron let out chuckle,

"That bad huh?" He asked. He knew of my clumsiness, I don't know why I had ever gotten the job, I could barely walk in my own shoes let alone instruct people how to walk in theirs.

"Ugh!" I groaned frustrated, "I need to clean something." I walked into the back and pulled the ladder out. I grabbed the bottle of cleaner and as many paper towels as I could hold onto and scaled the ladder to the top rung,

"You know, that step says 'Do not stand' yet we stand on it every day." Aaron made the observation as I cleaned off the air vent, mindful of my unsteadiness,

"Don't distract me." I said, trying my hardest not to topple over. The phone rang in the back,

"I'll get it!" Aaron jogged out of sight and I shook my head at his eagerness. The night's occurrences replayed over and over in my head, which made me even more upset, not even dusting the disgusting air vent could get my mind off of what had happened,

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." I repeated as I dropped a handful of dusty rags into the trash can. I heard someone clear their throat behind me, which startled me slightly,

"Hi! Sorry, just had to get this clean before it drove me crazy. How are you doing tonight?" I asked in my mock cheeriness, not tearing my eyes away from my work,

"Much better now. Though I think you're right, I need a new running shoe." I was shocked at the sound of his voice and I turned around too fast toppling from my perch. He crossed the small store in a rush to catch me and I landed safely against him,

"Thanks." I said in a whisper. He chuckled at me and my heart melted,

"I think maybe that owes me a name." He said standing me upright,

"Where's your girlfriend?" I asked, ignoring his question. He raised his eyebrow as if I was speaking a foreign language,

"Oh! You mean Mackenzie..yeah she isn't my girlfriend. She left about ten minutes ago with some other guy. So saving your life doesn't even get me your name?" He asked me again. My heart soared, no girlfriend. Wait a second, I just met this guy, he could be the biggest jackass on the planet for all I knew, man I was getting desperate, and he was way out of my league, why should I even bother?

"So you want new running shoes?" I asked ignoring his question again,

"I'm going to try on every shoe in this store if you do not tell me your name." He said as I walked over to the men's running shoes. Was he flirting with me or was I just imagining things?

"Go ahead, I'd love to see you in those women's boots." I said pointing to the far wall. Two could play this game. Just then Aaron came out of the back,

"Hey Bella you okay? I thought I heard you fall." Great, thanks Aaron for ruining my game.

Edward's POV

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Bella, her name was Bella…possibly Isabella. Bella. Beautiful.