Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I do own Anthony though. He's a cutie.
Somehow, in her mystical, magical, Alice-like way, she got the tickets. Bella suspected that some strings had been pulled when she found the backstage passes hidden in the envelope that had been hand delivered to her. Confused, furious, and very nervous, she picked up the phone.
"Alice Brandon," came the fairy-like voice from the other end.
"Backstage passes, Alice? Really?" Bella demanded to know. She knew she was trying (and failing) to hide the nerves in her voice.
"Yes, Bells. How else do you expect to actually talk to him?" She knew Alice was right. She had to talk to him. She had to tell Edward about his son.
"What if he doesn't remember me though? Or recognize me for that matter? Ten years is a long time Alice. I know I don't look the same." Bella knew it was a cop out though. And she also knew Alice well enough to know that she would be called on it.
"Bella, that's ridiculous!" And there it was. "The man wrote a song for you! He definitely remembers you!" The confidence in Alice's voice was enough to make Bella second guess her own second guesses.
"Plus," Alice added after a moment, "you haven't changed that much; even after you had Anthony."
Bella huffed. "Fine," she said softly. "But you have to be there with me. You can't let me make a fool out of myself!"
Alice made a disbelieving sound. "Ok Bella," she agreed. "I won't let you make a fool out of yourself."
"Yo! Man. What gives?" Edward heard from where his head was buried under his pillow. His response to his best friend's question was a grunt and a muffled "Go away!"
"Edward?" Jasper's confused face appeared in place of Edward's pillow a moment later. Grabbing it back from his friend, Edward whacked Jasper over the head with it.
Stumbling back from the force behind the blow, Jasper regained his footing and smacked Edward on the head.
"What the hell is wrong with you man?" he demanded. "You got cold feet or something?" He couldn't remember the last time Edward seemed so nervous about getting up in front of an audience.
"Can't you tell them I'm sick and cancel the show?" Edward asked his best friend.
Jasper had been with him from the beginning of his music career. Hell, Jasper had been his best friend since they were six years old. Edward knew that his friend would do just about anything for him.
His best friend however, just laughed.
"Man," he said, still laughing, "you haven't played sick to get out of a show since we were eight and you had the lead in the school play! What gives, Eddie?"
Edward scowled. "You don't remember?" he asked in what most would have considered a condescending tone. "You don't remember what happened in this town 10 years ago?"
A moment of silence fell as Jasper thought; Edward could almost see the wheels turning in his friend's head. In turn, he could then almost see the little light bulb go off above his head when he got it.
"Oh my God," he whispered when it all clicked in his head. Stumbling once more, he sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hands through the perfectly coifed blond hair.
"Yeah," was all Edward could think to say.
Jasper shook his head. "You don't know if she's still here though, Edward. You don't know if she was here visiting or going to school around here. You don't know if, and I mean this with all the love in the world, but if she remembers you. Or even cares for that matter."
Edward could hardly believe his best friend had just said that. "But what if she does, man?" he asked instead of getting mad. "What if she does remember me? What if she does care?"
Jasper sighed. "Let's just see what happens, Edward," he tried to reason. "If she really wants to seek you out, she will."
Edward sighed once more. "I guess. I just really want to see her."
"I know Edward. I know," Jasper said quietly. He himself was hoping to see Bella's pixie-like friend he had met all those years ago.
Shaking themselves from their thoughts, they left the room to go to rehearsal.
Later that night, after the fabulous show where he sang her song, Bella stood in the meet-and-greet line backstage. While Alice was bouncing with excitement beside her, Bella wrung her hands.
"Maybe this is a bad idea, Alice. I think we should just go," she said nervously.
"No way, Bella! We're so close to the front of the line it's ridiculous, just chill out. Take a few deep breaths. You'll be fine," Alice said calmly, hoping with all her heart that her best friend would not back out.
"You're right," Bella said firmly, more to herself than Alice as the line continued to creep forward.
Half an hour later they were the next in line. Seeing Edward for the first time in 10 years was a surreal experience for her as she stared at him. He hadn't changed much, with his hair still a mess and those lips still kissable.
The woman he was talking to was bouncing as she told him how much she loved his music and how it inspired her; ever the gentleman, he was politely carrying on the conversation and answering her questions. As he did so, Edward glanced up to see who was next in line and made eye contact with Bella. He froze.
The woman continued talking, but Bella knew he couldn't hear a word. She knew this because she was having the same problem as he. With their eyes locked, it was as if they were the only two people in the world.
Finally, the woman moved on and Alice and Bella stepped up.
"Bella," he whispered.
"Edward," she answered.
He was speechless. There were no words that could describe his feelings. He was silent and had no clue what to say to the girl who had gotten away.
"How…how are you?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "Good," she said. "You?"
"Can't complain," was all he could think to say. In truth, he was amazing. His career had skyrocketed and she had just walked back into his life.
"Um, why don't you hang around and we can get coffee or something later?" he asked, desperate to spend some time with her.
She looked at her friend—who looked vaguely familiar to him—then nodded. "Sure," she said.
He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Awesome," he breathed. "Here." He looked around frantically. Finally spotting who he was looking for he called out, "Jasper!"
Still next to Bella, Alice let out a gasp upon seeing Jasper walk up. Jasper in turn looked up to see who had made the sound.
Shocked, he whispered her name.
"Jasper, can you take them somewhere until I'm done here?" Edward asked his friend.
Jasper just nodded and offered his arm to both Bella and Alice.
As Bella walked by Edward, the man grabbed her arm.
"Wait for me," he begged in a whisper.
She nodded.
Nearly two hours later Bella was seated across from Edward in the back corner of a dimly lit café. Alice and Jasper had once again hit it off and had disappeared to his room at the hotel. Edward had then offered to drive Bella home; it was an offer she accepted.
She wasn't too worried about him driving her home as Anthony was staying the week with her dad. It was the potential of her inviting him in when they got back to her house that scared her.
If that happened and she hadn't told him about Anthony, the proverbial cat would be out of the bag. Photography was a hobby of hers and the walls were filled with pictures of her son.
"So," Edward said, not really knowing where to begin with the beautiful woman sitting across from him. "How have you been?"
"Good. I finished school and got a job writing for the newspaper. I'm also working on a novel. The best part is I get to do a lot of work from home so my schedule is pretty relaxed. How about you?"
He smiled. "That's incredible, Bella. I'm pretty fantastic thanks to you. It was your song that helped jumpstart my career. The guy at the record company who called me up asking for an interview said it was such a powerful song and that he could see it going straight to the top of the charts. And it did! I owe you everything, Bella." His gratitude was overwhelming.
She blushed. "You don't owe me anything, Edward," she answered, her guilt nearly bringing her to tears.
Edward saw the tears welling up in her eyes and frowned.
"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked gently, not wanting to upset her more.
Bella took a deep breath and began rummaging in her purse. "God, Edward. I'm such a horrible person."
Edward began to protest just as she found what she was looking for.
He watched with curious eyes as Bella pulled out a little plastic pocket-sized book that had pictures in it.
He took it when she handed it to him and smiled when he saw the cover photo was one of them that someone had snapped while they weren't looking. In it, he was holding her in his arms and looking down at her with something akin to adoration on his face.
Opening it at her urging, his eyes filled with tears as he saw a picture of a sweaty, exhausted-looking Bella holding a newborn baby swaddled in blankets. She had a wistful smile on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks.
Turning the pages, he watched as both the little boy and Bella grew. It wasn't until the professional picture of the little boy leaning against a big number five that he realized what was going on.
The little boy was the spitting image of him as a child. Everything from the messy bronze hair to the crooked smile on his face screamed Edward.
Speechless, he looked up at Bella who was shaking and had her hands over her mouth. She was anxiously waiting for him to speak.
Edward too was shaking as he tried to process what she was telling him.
"He," Edward began before having to wipe tears off his face. Taking a deep breath, he began again. "He's mine?" When she nodded, he continued, "Why would you keep something like this from me?"
'He's mad,' Bella thought to herself. 'Well of course he is, you kept his child a secret from him. He has every right to be mad,' the nagging voice in her head told her.
Shaking her head, she told him, "I know you have every right to be mad, Edward, but I tried to get in contact with you to tell you."
His eyes widened. "What do you mean?" he asked, clearly upset that her efforts had not come trough to him.
"Well," she answered, "your career was skyrocketing. I tried to contact your record label, but was basically accused of lying. A woman told me that she got calls all the time from people trying to contact you. I tried for years, Edward. But I was always told the same thing."
Edward shook his head, not believing the insanity. On one hand he understood that some people tried to contact him to get money or fame, but on the other…
"What's his name?" he asked her desperately. "Can I meet him?"
She laughed with relief.
"His name is Anthony," she answered with a smile. "He has a break from school right now and is spending it with my dad in Forks. When he gets home next week you can meet him. I'll call you and we can go to dinner or something."
Edward smiled widely, extremely happy that she was willing to work with him. As he continued to ask questions about him, they sat and talked until the café closed for the night.
After driving her home like promised, Edward was happily surprised when she invited him inside.
Once the door was opened, Edward felt like he had walked into a photo gallery. Every available surface was covered with pictures.
Laughing nervously, Bella told him about her hobby.
As she watched him walk around looking at pictures, she offered to print out some of Anthony that he liked.
Nodding enthusiastically, Edward pointed out some that he liked the most.
An hour later, Bella walked Edward to the door.
She now had his personal cell phone number as well as his email, and he had hers. He also had an envelope filled with pictures of the little boy he was dying to meet.
Standing in front of his car, Bella nervously wrung her hands.
"Well," she said, "I'll give you a call when Anthony comes back home. I have to talk to him and explain. I'm sure he'll want to meet you as soon as I tell him."
She smiled at the thought of her little boy. As nervous as she was about telling him, she was more nervous about his reaction to the news.
Edward smiled hopefully. "I hope so too," he said to her as he opened the car door. "Alright, Bella, I've got to get going before I get a frantic call from Jasper."
They both laughed.
"Ok. I should get to bed. Some of us have real nine-to-five jobs," said Bella.
Edward laughed lightly, said goodnight to her one last time, got in his car, and drove away.
Two weeks later, Anthony and Bella sat in the car outside a coffee house. The boy was taking deep breaths in an effort to combat the butterflies in his belly.
"What if he doesn't like me?" he asked his mom, referring to the fact that he was about to meet his father for the first time.
"Anthony," Bella said soothingly to her son, "you are so much like him it scares me sometimes. He'll love you because you are you. He's seen pictures and heard stories and can't wait to meet you for himself."
Despite her assurances, he still looked hesitant.
"How do you know, though?" he asked with tears glistening in his eyes.
His mom smiled and told him the truth. "Because he told me."
They sat in silence as the young boy took in what she had said. Steeling himself with one more deep breath, he opened the car door.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Bella did the same.
Edward watched as Bella walked into the coffee house holding the hand of a little boy with messy bronze hair. His messy bronze hair.
Getting up from his seat as they approached, he squatted down and looked the boy in the eye.
"Hi Anthony," he said quietly. "I'm Edward."
Anthony stared at the man in front of him for a moment. His eyes roamed from Edward's hair to his face.
"You have the same hair I do," he finally stated in that way only children can do.
Edward laughed in relief. "Technically," he said with amusement in his eyes, "you have the same hair as me."
Edward gestured for them both to sit. He held out Bella's chair before taking his own seat once more. "Would you like to order something to drink?" he asked them casually.
Bella quickly shot an amused glance at her son, who had happily exclaimed, "Hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream!" and laughed.
"That's his new obsession," she told Edward with a grin. "He drinks it with absolutely everything."
Edward laughed and told them he had gone through a similar phase when he was young, only with chocolate milk.
Soon enough, their orders were placed on the table in front of them while they sat in silence. No one really knew how to start the conversation.
"Is it true you're a rock star?" Anthony asked out of the blue, losing patience with silence in that child-like way.
Edward looked sheepish for a moment, never really being comfortable with the "rock star" image.
"I guess," he answered honestly. "I wouldn't call myself a rock star, but yeah."
"That's so cool!" Anthony said with wonder. "My dad's a rock star!"
Both Bella and Edward were shocked at that, each with glistening eyes.
Bella leaned over and hugged her son tightly, so happy that he was willing to accept Edward as his dad so quickly.
Anthony tilted his head and looked at Edward strangely.
"Why didn't you ever come to see us before?" he asked.
Before Edward could formulate an answer, Bella interjected. "Sweetie," she began slowly, "Edward didn't know about you until I saw him that night I went out with Auntie Alice while you were with grandpa. He was in town for a concert at the summer festival when we first met. It was after he left town that I realized you were going to be born. I tried to tell him; I tried so hard, honey, I wanted you to grow up with a dad. But I could never get ahold of him. Auntie Alice got us backstage at the concert last week. He remembered me and when we went out for coffee after, I told him about you. The first thing he wanted to know was when he could meet you."
Taking a breath after her explanation, she riveted her eyes on her son, hoping he would understand.
"I wish I had known, Anthony. I would have been here for you and your mom, I promise. I just didn't know," Edward said with shared hope.
Anthony nodded, still not quite understanding. However, he could see that both grown-ups were telling the truth.
"Ok," he said before happily burying his face in his mountain of whipped cream.
A/N: Thank you guys so much for sticking with me. I'm so sorry it took so long to get this up. All I can say is thank God for procrastination right? I've been super busy trying to pass my classes so I can graduate in 2 and a half weeks.
I'd like to thank xXSingSweetNightingaleXx for being awesome and always proof reading everything from my ff stories to our English assignments.
I'd also like to thank and apologize to Mrs. . Thanks for the awesome review and sorry for giving you writers block.
Anyway, if you all actually read all that, sorry for the rambling. As always, let me know what you think!