Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I'm too freaking excited for this story and can't keep this one to myself any longer. The reviews to the first chapter between the two sites I post on have been tremendous. Thank you so much! So to thank you…here is Breakaway Chapter 2, as well as a teaser for Chapter 3 available on my blog acullenwannabe dot blogspot dot com.

Thanks to my girl Friday, AgoodWITCH, who betas my stories for me. I keep her busy, and then she writes multiple stories on top of that. Speaking of which, if you hop over to twcslibrary dot com, you can show your appreciation for voting on her entry for The Sport of Love contest, decaf edition. She as a great Lord of the Rings story she entered about Eowyn and Faramir called Wild Horses. She astounded me with her mastery of the language in that one. If you have the time, please check out the contest and give her your love. :)

New Connections

The next three weeks went fairly smoothly. Even though Izzy and Edward weren't buddies, they had actually managed to find a nice groove together on the track. The owners had jumped on the chance to drum up some free publicity when the press started speculating that there was something between them off the track as well as on it. Both Izzy and Edward adamantly refused to play the games though. From the very beginning, they both agreed that they would not lie or even be vague when the questions were posed. Instead, they would tell the truth, no holds barred.

What they hadn't expected was their owners to be a wee bit more devious than they let on. Every time the two of them spoke a single word or met eyes in any way, hidden stalkerazzi were there catching it on celluloid. The most damning of all photographic images, ironically enough, were taken while they sat on the stair coming down from Izzy's trailer agreeing to deny it to their dying breath. A week after the chat, when the pictures exploded across the internet, even Edward and Izzy had to agree that the photos appeared convincing.

The firestorm only got worse when in their third race, Izzy allowed Edward to take her lead for five whole laps before shooting around him when he became complacent as she laughed through her coms joyfully.

"Serves you right, hot stuff. One way or another, I'll tame your cocky ass." Izzy mumbled into her rearview as she secured the lead for the remained of race, taking home her first win of the series. Of course, she hadn't realized that she had been chosen that week to be one of the drivers whose pit coms were streaming over the net. She hadn't even finished the race when announcements of her admitting to "taming Cullen" were on every gossip website in the country.

To say Edward was pissed off would be a humongous understatement. Besides the fact that her comment alone was an insult to his pride, the fact that millions of people heard it and took it to confirm their phantom relationship made it a million times worse. Unfortunately, Edward was more focused on his anger than his common sense, engaging Iz the moment she got back from her winning interviews, leading to "relationship already on the rocks" rumors.

The owners didn't mind a bit. They were over the moon to have all the free publicity whether good or bad, but it annoyed the hell out of both Edward and Izzy that their 'life' was on parade for everyone, and yet all the rumors and innuendo didn't hold a grain of truth.

Well…that wasn't entirely true. If either one of them stopped denying everything long enough to see it, they would find that they most certainly had at least a basic physical attraction, supplemented by shared interests in a variety of subjects, racing being one of the least important. That was not the case though, which is why week after week, they would do their best to work together, and interview after interview the only thing they were able to discuss at any length was their non-existent relationship. In truth, the rumor kyboshing was more exhausting than the actual racing.

This was the state Edward and Izzy found themselves in when they reached the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The two barely spoke as they prepared to take the field, unwilling to provide more fodder for the Speedway version of Paparazzi. They both settled into their cars, getting latched in and settling into race mode. After a few minutes, Izzy heard the crackle in her ear before Jasper came on the line.

"Hey, Iz. We're going to try something new today. If it gets too confusing, then we'll flip back. We're going to try combining your and Edward's coms. That way you can communicate with each other and us while in the field instead of the few second lag between bosses."

Izzy gripped her wheel tightly, "What?" she yelled, hearing a deeper voice from the car behind her echo the proclamation before the sound of Edward ranting came across the coms.

"This is fucking insanity is what it is, Felix! This is a disaster waiting to happen."

Izzy sighed, fisting the wheel under her palm. "Hello to you too, Cullen. Why don't you try putting on your big boy underoos and giving this a go. I doubt you'll even notice since I'm not the one who is the chatterbox during races. Just think of poor me…I'm going to have to hear your punk ass in my ear all race. Talk about distracting."

He grumbled something that sounded like a 'fuck you,' to which she chuckled. "Yeah, not going to happen, jackass, so just deal with it for today. If it sucks ass as much as we think it will, then we just tell them it didn't work. It's not that big a deal, so stop your bitching and just man up already."

The sounds of two pit crews chuckling echoed in her ear as Edward grumbled some more before Jasper took over again. "Right, so here's how we'll play it. We will call your names before we call instructions. If we both need to chatter at once, we'll separate the links for a while and merge them again later if we can. If not you'll stay separate. FYI, strictly speaking this isn't illegal, but we're not sure it's entirely sanctioned either, so be careful what you say and do. You have five minutes to green."

With that, the chatter stopped and Izzy was once again alone in the car. She took a few deep breaths, and tried to focus. Iz envisioned what she would be doing and how the wheel would feel in her hands as she curved her way through the banking turns. Last week she had won the race, which meant she was going to be under more intense scrutiny this week and she was already feeling the pressure.

"Don't let it get to you, Swan." Izzy heard a velvet voice call over the coms.

She gasped, "How…how did you know?"

He chuckled. "Most of the racers out here have been in your shoes before. It's always scariest after a big win. Just keep your head in the game and say fuck it to everything else."

Izzy scoffed a little chuckle. "Easier said than done."

He chuckled back. "Yeah, but you're strong, kid. You can do anything you set your mind to."

Izzy cleared her throat, feeling a thickness growing in the back and her face burning red. "Um…thanks, Edward."

The line buzzed again as Felix came across the coms. "Alright, lovebirds, cut the chatter. If this is how you two are going to be, then this will never work. Green in t minus sixty seconds."

Both drivers grew silent, fluttering their feet to rev their engines as the countdown began. With the unmistakable sound and smell of burning rubber, the pack of drivers shot from the starting line, already positioning for rank in the pack. Bella and Edward worked seamlessly to move up the pack, working their way slowly forward with patient cooperation.

Soon, they managed to pull into the fourth and fifth position just as they came to the half. They chose to pit with the rest of the leaders, Izzy and Edward the first two to shoot out of the pits and back onto the track. A few maneuvers later, and the temporary leaders being forced to pit, Bella was lead car with Edward drafting her tail. The pit bosses only had minimal communication about the state of their cars and a few opponent positions, the two drivers doing all the rest on their own, actually cutting down significantly on the chatter cluttering the com lines.

It was a battle toward the end between the two teammates, but in the end, Edward took the lead by a few scant inches when they crossed the finish line. It was so close it ended up being a photo finish. The crowd went wild as did the press.

After the last of the cars left the field, Edward pulled to the start line, where he was handed the checkered flag, which he held proudly as he drove the circumference of the track. When he returned to his crew in the pits, Izzy was standing there drinking a water as she leaned casually against her car, speaking to a few press crowded around her.

When Edward pulled up and parked, the crowd left her to go squeeze in around him. Edward was hot and sweaty when he pulled off the helmet, brushing his matted down crazy bronze sex hair back from his face with a smile. He glanced above the crowd to see Izzy smiling at him from where she continued to lean against the car. She smirked and lifted her bottle in salute of his win, to which he nodded back with a smirk of his own. One thing everyone was seeing was most certainly right, Izzy pushed him to be better in almost every way. With her around, he was a better driver and a better all around person, even if he did find himself mouthing off a hell of a lot more often. They might not always see eye to eye, and their personalities might clash occasionally, but the truth of the matter was they really did make a good team. If they could keep up what they had done that day, they would go far this year.

Izzy turned back to walk to her trailer to freshen up before the big press conference that their bosses had scheduled in a little over an hour while Edward tried to hurriedly answer questions about his win before doing the same.

Edward was exhausted when he finally broke free of the mob. He was making his way over toward where his RV was waiting just a few feet from Izzy's when he bumped into a massive dark skinned dude looking around like he was lost. One thing was certain, he was not supposed to be in the driver's area, and should get his massive ass out.

Edward started to say something to him when the guy stopped him first. "Hey, you're Bella's teammate, right? Can you tell me where to find her?"

Edward frowned at him for a moment in confusion. "Bella?" Then realization dawned as he put it together…Isabella…Izzy. "Oh, you mean Izzy? Her trailer is right over here in our section, but only people with special clearance are allowed to be here. Fans aren't allowed to come find us here."

The guy scoffed, rolling his eyes. "If I were just a fan, would I be calling her the nickname she went by for the first nineteen years of her life before she got too good to listen to the advice of her loved ones? I've known Bella a hell of a lot longer than you have. If you'd just tell her I'm here, I know she'd want to see me."

Edward growled, clenching his fists at the arrogant prick before turning to stomp toward Izzy's trailer only to see she was already standing in the doorway, freshly showered, and dressed for the press conference. Edward suddenly felt very protective when he saw the ashen color of her face, and the wild scared look in her eyes. The Izzy he knew was fearless, but the girl staring at the man next to him was anything but courageous, matter of fact, she looked more like a teenage girl who had just been caught making out with her boyfriend in the back seat of her car.

Edward frowned back and forth between them before crossing to Izzy's side. "Iz, if you don't want this guy around, we can call security to escort him out."

She blinked slowly, a blank expression dominating her features. "N…no, Edward. It…it's fine. He's an old, um, friend. I'll be okay. Go get cleaned up."

Edward felt conflicted. Something told him that this guy couldn't be trusted. "Are you positive, Iz?"

She finally looked away from the huge dude to look into his eyes with a small, sad smile. "Yes, Edward. I'm sure. He is my ex-boyfriend. Thank you for showing concern for me though."

Edward sucked in a long slow breath before nodding curtly and walking away as his hand instantly flew to his hair, tugging harshly with his frustration with the situation. Ex-boyfriend or not, something about that guy just didn't sit well with him. He rushed through his shower stepping back out as soon as he could to listen at the doorway.

He could hear Izzy's voice first. "Jake, I can't do this right now. I have to be at a press conference in ten minutes at the clubhouse. I'm sorry you came all this way when I don't have any time to talk, but I have responsibilities here."

"Bells, you can't just blow me off. I came a long way and I really need to talk to you. Please, don't send me away without a little of your time."

Edward grumbled at the stupid nickname. He could see her being a Bella, that nickname was an apt descriptor of the girl, but Bells was just stupid. He wondered what was up with him when he felt his hands curl into fists as the guy continued to beg for her to talk to him.

"Jake, you dumped me when I wouldn't give up my dream. YOU dumped ME, not the other way around. I stuck around an entire week trying to get you to talk to me and you wouldn't. It was your way or no way, and I chose to do what I needed to do. You can't expect me to drop everything now."

Edward glanced through the blinds of the window and cracked his knuckles to redirect the need to punch something since this Jake character was obviously off limits.

"Fine, fine…if it will get you to let me go, then fine. We leave for Ridgeway, Virginia at nine o'clock. If you are serious, meet me at the Denny's at this address at 7:30. We can talk while we eat breakfast. You will have one hour and that is it. Is this acceptable?"

Edward stepped out of the door to his RV in time to see the huge man nodding like a five year old who was offered a hot fudge sundae. "Perfect, Bells. Thank you."

She put up her hand. "Tomorrow, Jake." She turned to Edward, seeing him waiting beside his doorway. "You ready to go?"

Edward nodded solemnly, watching her walk toward him with a determined step, her face clouded from the encounter she'd just endured. "Well, we better hurry. They won't be happy if we keep a room full of press waiting. Jasper said he'd have the golf cart waiting over by pit road."

She didn't say another word and neither did he. They rode in silence to the clubhouse and walked in side by side. They took their seats at the table waiting for the onslaught of insanity to begin. After two questions to the teammates about their photo finish and how they felt to have both come so close, but only one being declared the winner, the questions about their relationship began as always. Edward watched Izzy closely as she joked with the reporters, not giving away any of the personal shit she had just been dealing with, and that was when he realized just how stoic Izzy Swan really was. Suddenly so much made sense, it wasn't that she was cold and calculating as he had thought at one point, but rather in order to keep a strong face in front of others, she had developed a keen ability to suppress and cover up her true emotions.

Izzy teased with the reporters about taming her partner, ramming his arm with her shoulder playfully, tossing out one-liners at his expense. Edward had to admit, she was good. She definitely gave off more of a vibe of pals than any romantic interest. Unfortunately, Edward was so mixed up from that mess at the trailer that he wasn't pulling up his end of the thing. He kept watching her for signs that her mask was about to crack, but instead of her mask cracking, his concern for her revealed what was lurking behind his own. What was hidden there was most definitely something more complex than simple friendship, and not a camera in the room missed his momentary lapse.

The questions became more intense as more people realized Edward's focus was solely on Isabella. With a few lame platitudes, he excused them and led Izzy down a back hallway to the spot where the golf cart was waiting for them, now unescorted. The second they were in the cart and out of earshot, Edward looked over from behind the wheel with concerned eyes.

"So level with me, Iz, do I have to worry about you meeting that douche tomorrow?"

She laughed, the first genuine laugh he had heard all day, which then made him wonder when he learned to distinguish the real ones from the forced ones.

"No, Edward. Jake wouldn't hurt me. He and I grew up together. Matter of fact, it was him that got me involved with racing in a tangible way. I worked on his dad's pit crew in high school, and eventually his Dad let me drive his car in the powderpuff derby. I was hooked after that. Eventually Jake and I developed more than a friendship, and he encouraged me on my quest to be where I am now…well until his Dad crashed on the dirt tracks and became disabled. Suddenly he totally flipped sides on me.

"Eventually he gave me an ultimatum, him or racing. I felt like it was unfair and that if he truly loved me, he wouldn't put me in that situation. After many tears and a lot of soul searching, I knew I would always regret it if I didn't try. I stayed for a whole week longer than I was supposed to, begging him not to do this to us, but in the end, he wouldn't relent and I left. He cut me out after that, he and all of his friend who were once my friends. I haven't seen or spoken to any of them in nearly two years."

Edward swallowed past the lump in his throat that he wasn't entirely sure from where it originated. "I…I'm sorry, Izzy. That had to be hard. So does he want you back now?"

She sighed next to him in the cart as they pulled up to the area where their RV's lay in wait. "I really don't know, Edward. That's what tomorrow is about."

"Okay, um, be careful, alright?"

She nodded with a sigh. "I will. Thank you, Edward."

He nodded before going into his RV. He didn't like the idea of her going alone, but he didn't have much choice.

Edward's sleep that night was restless. He kept seeing the sadness in Izzy's eyes as she told him the tale of the choice she had to make. He couldn't imagine being forced to make that choice. Even his father, who would rather have seen him be a doctor, didn't force him to choose his family over his passion. His father made a strong case for the accident rate on the track and the dangers to his body, the potential for irreversible damage, but he never went as far as to remove him from his life completely for not acquiescing to his demands.

Edward was awake when he heard the screen door on the RV parked next to his squeak open gently and close just as gingerly. He smiled at Izzy's thoughtfulness, even if it did him no good. He tossed and turned another ten minutes after she left before finally getting up to make coffee and scramble some eggs for breakfast in the small efficiency kitchen. The thing was darn handy, especially while on the road.

He had just settled down when he heard a vehicle squeal up near where they were parked and the sound of a sob as footsteps ran past the window. He got up right away, listening for the sound of the screen door, but it never came. With a cautious tread, Edward walked to the door to the RV and opened it, stepping out to look around for the upset woman who he had realized had eventually become his friend.

He rounded the end of the RV to find her sitting on the bumper, knees spread wide as she held her head in her hands between them, long shaking sobs escaping her frame. He moved closer quietly before speaking barely above a whisper.

"Are you okay, Izzy?"

Izzy jumped and squeaked in surprise, reminding him of a field mouse caught off guard. He suppressed the chuckle for a moment at the imagery before the humor was swept completely away by the red rimmed eyes that looked up at him.

"You scared me, Edward. Um, yeah…I'll be fine."

Edward sighed. He debated for a short moment before he decided that he needed to call her out. "Bullshit," he spat quietly.

She looked up with a small glare. "Excuse me?"

He glared back before settling next to her on the bumper mirroring her position as he rested a hand on her knee. "You heard me. It's obvious you are not alright, so talk. I'm a good listener."

She looked over at him in surprise before the tears began to well again and spill over her cheeks in tiny clear rivulets. She told him a long story, stopping to sob occasionally as she provided a back story that seemed inconsequential at first glance, but was crucial to the punch line. Apparently, when they were young, this Jake and a girl named Leah had been flirting, but then she started dating a friend of Jake's instead. When that happened, Jake turned to Izzy for comfort, and through this action, they eventually found themselves dating.

Throughout the course of the meal, Jake begged for forgiveness for handing down the ultimatum, eventually revealing that it was an excuse hiding the real reason for his pushing her away. In the months following Izzy's departure to drive outside of their local area, Leah and her boyfriend, Sam, had broken up. Both feeling lonely and abandoned, they had grown close once more and fallen in love. Jake cared for Bella and didn't want to hurt her, but at the same time, he knew that they weren't meant to be. The situation with his Dad and the following ultimatum had been his tool to end the relationship in a way that he hoped hurt her less. Things had progressed between him and Leah in recent months, making Jake realize that he needed to come clean with Izzy. He came to tell her the truth about the situation surrounding his ultimatum, and tell her personally before she found out through other channels that he and Leah were engaged to be married the following fall.

Izzy sobbed into her hands as Edward reached over, trying to comfort her as best he could. It surprised him when she turned toward him, burying her face in his neck, moistening the collar of his tank top with her warm tears.

"It's just…I thought he was it, Edward. He is the only man I've ever loved. If he didn't really love me back then, what does that say about me? He was the first boy to even show any interest in me, Edward. He was my first everything…and to know that through it all he never really loved me? Oh God, that hurts worse than anything I could have imagined. To think that I have felt so guilty when it was all just a smokescreen so he could be with her…it just makes me so angry!"

Edward soothed her, running his hand across her arm and shoulders. "It will be okay, Izzy. I find it amazing that he's the only guy who ever showed you interest. You are beautiful, smart, funny, and one hell of a driver. Hell you're the epitome of a wet dream for most of the guys I know. He wasn't the right guy…he was just the convenient one. When you find the right one, it will click. Don't worry about that."

She lifted her head to stare up at him, her big doe eyes blinking innocently toward his green ones, once again making her look like that teenage girl he saw when she caught sight of that Jake jackass. "You really think so, Edward?"

He smiled down at her, unable to resist the urge to kiss the tip of her nose. "Of course I do. Now go get washed up and join me for breakfast. I have the sneaking suspicion that you never got a chance to eat yours."

She blushed at the intimacy of the little kiss before nodding and getting up to go wash her face and go back to his RV for some breakfast before their trek to Virginia was to begin. As she washed her face, she couldn't help but marvel at the oddities of the world. Who would have thought a few short weeks ago that Cocky Edward Cullen would be her friend, helping her though a hard time when her past came to bite her in the rear?

Life was funny sometimes, and Isabella wondered if she would ever have it figured out.