Lyrical Melodrama Story Contest

Name of story: Bottled Stars and Black Holes

Pen name: BritM

Song story is inspired by: "27"

Artist: Fall Out Boy

Category: Newbie

Main Pairing: Edward & Bella

POV: 3rd person

This story is an entry for the Lyrical Melodrama Story contest. To read the rest of the entries or see the submission rules go to www(dot)thewriterscoffeeshop(dot)com Any questions concerning the contest can be directed to competitions(at)thewriterscoffeeshop(dot)com or through the website.

DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognize belongs to its respective owner(s). Anything original is mine :)

A/N: This story is rated M for language, sexual references and drug usage. If any of this offends you, you've been forewarned.

A/N #2: Just FYI - the last section of this chapter is still told in 3rd person, but unlike previous sections, you get both Bella and Edward's thoughts simultaneously.

Big thanks to Megsly - my awesome beta - she makes a cameo in this chapter. :)

Chapter 2: Bottled Stars

As soon as his eyes met hers in the darkened arena, Edward's fingers froze above the keys. He was terrified to look away from her, because no matter how real she seemed at this moment, he was certain that with even the slightest aversion of his eyes she would vanish. So he sat there, lost in her eyes, which were overflowing with tears - eyes that he knew he had seen before, and not just in his dreams. At that realization, a memory hit him. His eyes stayed connected with hers as the memory danced across his mind.

The boys arms rested gently on the girls hips; her arms around his neck. They were at a dance - a school dance. There was a banner in the back, but the word "prom" was the only one visible. All the people around the boy and girl were a blur. Despite the clarity of the boy and girl, their faces were always turned, but their words were clearly audible above the blaring music.

"So, have you decided where you're going to college yet?" the girl asked, her head leaning in to rest on the boys shoulder. His arms moved to wrap around her, making a cocoon around her body.

"Uh, no. You?"

The girl's head leaned back, inclining to look up at the boy. "You know that I've already got in to all the schools we applied for. I'm just waiting for you to tell me where you're going so that I can accept."

The boy's shoulders slumped slightly and he took a deep breath before speaking, "I think that you should choose where you want to go. Don't wait for me to make a decision."

The song ended and the boy dropped his arms from around the girl. "Let's get out of here, I know you hate these things," he said, motioning to the dance around them.

"Yeah, yeah I do."

As they walked away, the girl looked over her shoulder, her face suddenly becoming clear. She had a heart shaped with deep chocolate eyes. Her face was surrounded by long mahogany hair. Raising her free hand in silent recognition, she smiled, one word echoing across the room as she took a breath. "Edward..."

It seemed like hours, but had been only minutes when he heard his name called by one of his band mates, and, without his permission, his head turned to look at them. They were all standing at the front of the stage, ready to take a bow, but waiting for him to join them. He rose from the piano bench, eyes immediately searching out for her again. As he took his place beside Alec, preparing to bow, he found the spot where, moments before, she had stood. It was empty. Void. Just like his mind at that moment. As his head bowed down, a single tear fell from his eyes, splashing onto the stage beneath him.

He turned quickly, exiting the stage as fast as he legs would carry him. He had to find her; he had to know if she was real or not.

"Edward! You were amazing!" Jane cut him off, throwing her arms around him and peppering kisses along his cheek.

"Stop Jane," he hissed underneath his breath. When she didn't stop, he reached up and grabbed her wrists, prying them away from his neck. "I said stop!"

Jane's face twisted into a snarl for a brief moment before it took on a look of pain. Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. Edward was slightly confused; he wasn't even holding her wrists tightly. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw Aro.

"Edward, take your hands off her. She merely wanted to congratulate you on a good performance - there's no need to hurt the girl," Aro said, cupping Jane's face in his palm. "We'll talk about this behavior of yours later."

Edward dropped Jane's hands, which fell loosely to her sides. As Aro walked away with Jane, she looked over her shoulder at him, smirking.

~*~

Bella's eyes were glued to the stage. Sitting right in front of her, not twenty feet away, was Edward. Her breath stopped in throat and she felt a strangled sob make its way out of her. Her eyes stayed glued to his as a plethora of emotions overtook her - joy, pain, anger, elation, curiosity. It seemed as if he was looking right at her, but she couldn't be sure.

"Bella," Angela's voice cut through Bella's mind. Turning away from the stage she found Angela and Ben standing a few feet away from her.

"We're going to go get some drinks and run to the bathroom. Do you wanna come with or are you gonna stay here?"

Bella quickly turned back to the stage, only to find Edward walking off it briskly. She wondered if he had even seen her. For all she knew he could have been looking at someone else. Or, if he was in fact looking at her, his walking off the stage like he did gave her the impression he was hoping she hadn't seen him. Turning back to her friends Bella nodded her consent to go with her friends. Following them off the floor and in to the concession area, she began to wonder if she hadn't just hallucinated the entire thing.

"Hey, Ang?" Bella said, grabbing her friends arm, "did you notice anything familiar about the piano player for The Guard?"

Angela shook her head slowly, "No. To be honest with you, I didn't really look up at the stage a whole bunch. I got wrapped up talking to Jessica and Lauren. Why? Did he look familiar to you?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders, not quite knowing how to answer that. Most everyone in Forks knew about Edward leaving in the middle of the night and the discovery of his car a few days later. Other than Bella and, she suspected, the Cullens, most everyone else thought he had died. How would it sound to say that she just saw him sitting on that stage very much alive? But she had seen him and there was only one person she knew would believe her.

Shaking her head minutely, she smiled at Angela, "No. He was just kinda cute. That's all. I'm gonna go call Alice," she said, motioning towards a chair nearby. "Come get me when you guys are ready to head back in."

Angela smiled at her understandingly. When everyone else had told Bella to get over Edward and move on, Angela had been the one who encouraged her to take her time. She was glad to see that Bella was able to finally look at another guy without feeling overwhelmingly guilty over it. Even if he was a rock star who she'd probably never meet.

Bella watched Angela and Ben walk towards the bathroom, making sure they were well out of earshot, when she whipped her phone out and called Alice.

As soon as she heard the phone pick up, she wasted no time in saying what she needed to say.

"Alice, it's Edward."

She heard a sob from the other end of the phone. "Alice, what's wrong?"

"How did you find out? Carlisle and Esme just told us today."

To say Bella was confused would be the understatement of the century.

"Alice, what are you talking about?"

"The search Bella. The police have closed Edward's case. Carlisle and Esme are planning a memorial service for next week."

Bella was shaking at this point, barely able to hold the phone up to her face.

"A memorial service? Why would they do that unless... he's alive Alice."

"No Bella. He's dead. Edward's dead."

The phone fell from Bella's hand, clanking loudly on the floor.

For a moment, Bella just sat there. Not really thinking of what Alice had said.

Then the realization of Alice's words resonated through Bella's mind. He was dead. There was no way the man she had just seen was Edward.

She dropped her head to the table, letting the sobs take over her body.

~*~

"Excuse me. Sorry." Edward pushed his way through the crowd that was gathering at the front of the stage. Unlike them, however, he was trying to get to further away, not closer to the stage. As he pushed his way through the crowd, he could care less that people around him were beginning to recognize him. The only thing on his mind was her.

He finally made his way to spot on the floor where he thought he had seen her. There was no better place to begin his search than here. He began looking around frantically. When he saw her before, she had been like a beacon to him amidst the sea of people. He could feel her presence before he had even seen her. Right now he wasn't feeling anything except frustration.

"Excuse me. Aren't you Edward Masen? From The Guard?" He turned around a saw a woman about his age staring up at him. He didn't really want to bother with anyone right now, but she seemed nice enough and maybe she had seen her.

This was his first "fan encounter" and he didn't know if the girl was going to retain her calm demeanor or was going to start screaming. Praying for the best he smiled and said, "Uh, yeah. That's me."

A blush crept across her face as she looked towards the floor. "I just... well... I thought your piano playing was brilliant. I don't mean any disrespect to your group, but your the only one who seemed to pour their soul in to the music."

This was not at all the response Edward had anticipated and he was speechless.

"Well, it was nice to meet you. Have a good day," the woman said, turning to walk away.

Edward snapped out of his stupor and called out to her. "Excuse me..."

She turned around.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Megan. It's Megan."

"Megan. Nice to meet you Megan. Did you by any chance see a girl out here with brown hair and brown eyes?"

She gave him a quizzical look. "Uh, that kind of describes a lot of people out here," she said with a chuckle, "any other traits?"

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, trying his best to remember anything else about her. He did remember seeing a hint of blue, maybe her shirt.

"Um, yeah. I think she had on a blue shirt. She was standing right about here."

Megan stood for a moment, thinking hard. Edward was certain this was a lost cause and was about to just tell her to never mind when her eyes got wide.

"Yes. She was with a darker haired girl and boy. I remember thinking she looked just as entranced by your music as I was."

Edward nodded his head, encouraging Megan to go on.

"I'm pretty sure her friend said something about getting drinks and going to the bathroom. They went that way." Megan motioned to the section of seats directly behind them.

Edward turned to walk off, but forgot something.

Sweeping Megan up in a hug, he whispered a quiet, "thank you" in her ear.

"Uh, yeah. No problem," Megan said, patting his back awkwardly.

Waving goodbye, Edward turned and all but sprinted towards the seats. He scaled the staircase in record time before bursting out in to the concession area.

There were people everywhere; Edward couldn't turn without nearly ramming in to someone. He had no idea how he was going to find her in this mess. Every time he saw a brunette wearing a blue shirt his heart clenched, only to be let down when the girl wasn't her. He had circled the concession area several times and was convinced she had been a figment of his imagination when he felt it.

A subtle tingle took over his body, just as it had when he had seen her in the crowd. His heart beat sped up rapidly with the knowledge that she was near. He stopped in the middle of the walkway, not caring if he was inconveniencing those around him. His eyes scanned the area, slowly, carefully. To his left, the crowd seemed to part for a mere second and that's when he caught sight of her. She was sitting at a table, her head in her hands.

A million thoughts raced through his mind. What would he say to her? How would he explain her importance to him? Would she think he was crazy? While he worked all these questions over in his mind, the girl stood, wiping her eyes on her shirt sleeve. She bent down and picked up something before glancing around herself. Once again, her eyes caught his, but only for the briefest of moments.

Before he knew what was happening, she turned and began to walk extremely fast away from him. Without giving a second thought as to why she was apparently running from him, he took off in the direction she went. He caught up with her moments later. His hand shot out and grabbed her elbow, spinning her towards him.
He didn't know what to think, having this real-life incarnation of his dreams standing only inches away from him.

She let out an audible gasp before looking down where his hand was wrapped around her elbow in a vice-grip.

His gaze followed hers. He released her arm immediately, realizing that he shouldn't have just grabbed her like that.

"I'm so sorry. I just, I had to stop you. I had to see you. I had..."

Before he could get another word out her hand shot out, smacking him across the face. The pain from it rocked him to his very core. He put his hand to his face, not quite knowing what to do.

The girls face was twisted in anger, her chest rising and falling with the rapid breaths she was taking. Edward couldn't help but think that she looked like a star - a bottled star that was going to explode into a supernova at any moment. Her mouth opened and Edward realized that she was going to say something. She was real, right in front of him, and was going to speak to him. His heart sped up at the thought of hearing her voice.

The first words his star spoke to him were, "Fuck you Edward Cullen."

~*~

There was no doubt in Bella's mind anymore that this was in fact Edward standing in front of her. He was slightly different looking – the familiar reddish-brown hair had been replaced by blond highlights, his face had lost all its baby fat and was much more chiseled, and his eyes… his eyes look tired, the dazzling emerald color was now a dull forest green.

Despite her joy at finding him alive and well, she was fuming. She couldn't fathom how he could just disappear for two years, letting his family believe him dead, and just expect her to act like nothing happened. So she did the only thing she could, she slapped him - hard. She put all her anger and pain, as well as the Cullens', behind her swing. When her fist made contact with his jaw, she heard a snap, followed by a sharp pain.

Not wanting to let him know that in attempting to hurt him, she had hurt herself, she put her hand behind her back. To emphasize her punch, and hopefully distract him from the pain now shooting through her arm, she let him have it verbally.

"Fuck you Edward Cullen."

Edward was slightly taken back not only at this girls obvious hostility towards him, but also by the name she called him. His eyes hardened for a brief moment before softening as they traveled down her body, where he saw her right hand cradled against her stomach. He could faintly make out bruising, which didn't really surprise him - she had punched him really hard.

"May I?" he asked, reaching out tentatively for her hand.

As much as Bella wanted to just keep on letting him have it, she had a little bit more tact than to do so in the middle of a crowded arena. Her hand also was beginning to swell and she knew that she needed to get it on ice as soon as possible and possibly have someone look at it. Edward was currently her best hope at the later, as she knew there was always a medical team on hand at concerts of this size and he would have access to them.

She narrowed her eyes at him, judging his sincerity. He could just be trying to get her off his case by passing her off to the medical team. After all, he had just left in the middle of the night, crashed his car hundreds of miles from home, and left everyone who cared about him to think he was dead. However, the man in front of her looked nothing except sincere. It seemed to her that he wanted nothing more than to make sure she was okay.

She nodded her head in approval and he gently placed her hand in his. The shock began immediately, as it always had when he had touched her. A rapid warmth ran down her spine, through every nerve ending in her body; it felt like she was on fire, but without pain.

Edward also noticed the return of the tingles he had felt earlier when he was looking at her; only this time they were magnified because his body was coming in contact with hers. He couldn't help but feel that this was not the first time he had touched her.

"I think you broke a few fingers, and there's obviously some bruising," he said, his fingers grazing over the now purplish-blue areas on her hand. Because he had obviously done something to offend her, he added "I hate that I've done this to you."

Bella looked at him, slightly taken back by what he said. She retracted her hand from his grasp, the fire in her dying immediately.

"This," she said, raising her injured hand, "is not your fault. But this," she placed her hand over heart, "is broken because of you."

A few traitor tears made their way out as she spoke. She turned her head, hoping to wipe them away before he saw them. But Edward saw the tears rolling down her cheeks as she turned. Before he'd even had time to think about it, his fingers reached out and gingerly wiped away her tears. The motion seemed oddly familiar to him - a feeling he was getting a lot with this girl.

Once again, his body acted on its own volition and he pulled her into his arms, being careful to not put too much stress on her injured hand. His lips brushed across the top of her head as he whispered more to himself than to her, "I don't know what I have done to hurt you like this, but I swear I'll make it up to you."

They both stood there for a few more moments before Edward decided that he best not push his luck with this girl. There were still many unanswered questions lingering between them. He grabbed her good hand and began guiding her towards the entrance to the backstage area where she could get her hand looked at.

"We need to get you to the medics," he explained, so she didn't think he was leading her blindly.

Bella followed along behind him for a few steps before stopping suddenly. Edward turned and gave her a questioning look.

"We are going to talk as soon as my hands been looked at. You have some serious explaining to do Edward Cullen."

Edward couldn't figure out for the life of him why she had called him Edward Cullen twice now. His last name was Masen, but why did Cullen sound so familiar to him?

End Notes: I meant for this chapter to be quite a bit longer, but real life got in the way. (Hence me not uploading this until an hour before it's due.) Regardless, I feel good where I left off with this chapter, it got done what it was supposed to. Chapter 3 will be much longer and have more drama/angst. Also, if you like the story, please review! And if it's not your cup of tea, that's cool too, just review and let me know what isn't working for you! I appreciate it! And check out all the other entries!