Happy 107th Birthday, Edward Cullen! You sure do look great for your age!

Hello, chickens! Thanks for tuning in. I just want to give a major shout-out to the lovelies over at twilighted... you guys rock my socks. Seriously.

Special Thanks to ereeen, my pseudo beta/pseudo life partner (joking, joking). Go check out her story "What a horror!". Funny stuff...

and this chapter is dedicated to Momof5 just 'cuz it's her berfday today.

i've been forgetting to disclaim: Twilight, nor any of its sequels, ideas, or characters, does not belong to me. Stephenie Meyer claims that ownership.

I, however, am completely owned by Edward Cullen.

Edward

This is going to be a nightmare, I groaned, rolling out of bed. I hit the "off" switch on my alarm, groaning again at the time. I flopped into the shower, letting the hot water wake me up.

Coffee… Need… Coffee… my mind tried to tell me. I could smell it as I toweled off. Bless her heart, I thought with a smile. That girl is going to be an amazing wife for someone one day. If she could only learn to control that nasty temper…

Rosalie had given notice on her apartment as soon as the lease was up; since she and Jasper were moving in two weeks, we just decided to let her crash at our place. The quarters were cramped, and she insisted on sleeping on a mattress, so Jasper and I alternated who got the couch. It was confusing and annoying, but I'd dealt with worse. Especially from Rose.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Rosalie called out from the kitchen table. She already held a steaming mug while she read the sports page. Beautiful as always, I flashed her a grin. It may have been only 6 a.m., but Rose always managed to look like she just rolled in from a magazine shoot.

"Are you all packed and ready?" she asked me. I nodded, pouring a huge cup of caffeine and flopping in the chair across the table from her. I grabbed the front page and flipped to the editorials.

After about fifteen minutes of companionable silence, Rose suddenly barked out, "Jasper! Get your ass out here! We're going to miss our flight!" With a bemused grin, I glanced over as Rose's brother and my best friend stumbled off of the couch, yawning and rubbing his belly. Rose rolled her eyes at his attempt to wake up and practically threw his coffee mug at him as he sat heavily in the chair next to her.

"Good morning to you, too," he grumbled. I grinned. These twins liked to pretend they didn't get along, but I had never known a brother and sister who were so in tune with each other's emotions, needs, and wants. Hell, one of them couldn't even move out of the state without the other following.

How am I going to survive with them gone? I wondered for the hundredth time. My two best friends were leaving me, just like that girl left me. It was almost too much. But I would never tell them that. They didn't even know that "We" were no more. They'd never leave if they knew that. Jasper's new job was too important to guilt him into staying simply because I was emotionally bereft.

"You'd better be packed, Jasper Whitlock Hale," threatened his twin. He gave her a closed-lipped grimace and stalked off, coffee in hand. I laughed out loud at that one. Rose had had her carry-on bag packed for two days now; Jasper, on the other hand, still had boxes of stuff that needed to be taped up. The two of us were going to drive a U-Haul containing half of our apartment furniture and Rose's stuff after this little trip. I told myself I was going to their new town so that I could see where my two best friends would be living, but I think we all knew that I couldn't bear to see them go. This was going to hurt. I had been trying to come up with a good reason to move to Seattle, too; but I couldn't seem to find something convincing enough to leave San Francisco. Well, besides Jessica cheating on me and leaving me for that woman. But I couldn't tell Jasper and Rose that; they would stay, just for me.



We somehow managed to make it to the airport on time. While we were signing in our bags, I noticed Rose getting approached by two greasy-looking guys that appeared to be getting a little too hands-on for my liking. I may never consider Rosalie to be "mine", but I was still extremely protective of her well-being. Besides, she might end up punching one of them like last time, and I didn't feel like dealing with airport security. Affecting what I thought was a "jealous boyfriend" look, I stalked over to Rose and her admirers while Jasper finished up at the airline counter.

"Are these guys bothering you, babe?" I growled, putting my arm around her waist. She instinctively wrapped her arm around me and grabbed my butt, nibbling on my earlobe. It was an act we had perfected over the years. Rose got hit on a lot.

"No, babe. They were just leaving," she said with a threatening look. I've seen that look; it was usually misread as smoldering, but I think these guys got the idea. They stuttered out an apology and took off. We dropped our arms from each other's waists and instead linked them in a companionable pretzel as we went off to find a place to sit before boarding the plane.

"Trouble in paradise, lovebirds?" murmured Jasper as he stuffed our tickets into his pocket. We laughed, and headed off to our gate, chattering happily about our next adventure that would be Seattle.

Bella

Date.

Date.

Date.

Date?

What the hell was I going to do?

The party was tomorrow night, and I was unsurprisingly dateless. Lord knows I tried; I even went to a bar on "Ladies Night", but I got so worried by the amount of chest-revealing unbuttoned shirts and popped collars that I practically ran out of there (and of course, tripped on my way out). It was becoming clear that I wasn't going to be able to avoid being set up with Alice's cousin.

As I finished shuffling papers, I stood up quickly from my desk, in a hurry to beat the "it's five o'clock, time to hit happy hour" rush that flooded the halls of the paper's offices every evening. Naturally, I walked right into a wall and dropped all of my papers. Shit, shit, shit, I chided myself. I stooped down to pick up the papers, only to be met by a startlingly deep set of twinkling eyes.

"Come here often?" murmured the Wall in a mesmerizing voice. The guy swept up my papers in one hand and pulled me up with the other hand. I stammered, gazing into his face. Gorgeous…

"Umm… hi. Did you drop these?" he tried again. This time I came to life, blushing furiously. I took the proffered papers and immediately dipped my head down because I saw the look on his face when he noted my deep blush.

"You're Bella, right? One of the copy editors? I'm…" he stuck out his hand, when I noticed the big "E" on his sweater. I knew who this was. The New Sports guy. He had gotten dared to wear his mother's home-knit sweater when he lost a bet on the outcome of some football game a week ago. I had heard he was a total womanizer. I could see why. This guy is trouble, I thought.

"I know who you are," I muttered. I didn't want him to see me blushing anymore. I shook his hand and turned to leave, but he stopped me by my shoulder. I could feel the warmth from his large hand radiating through my thin ribbed sweater; did I like it? Was that attraction? It didn't feel like attraction.

"Wait a second. I haven't seen much of you. I just started here, and I don't know my way around town too well. Care to show me?" he invited. He looked hopeful, and I was almost disgusted with how much I warmed up to this invitation. I knew his reputation. No WAY would I ever date such a… a… wait. Perfect!

"You know, actually…" I stammered. Somehow I managed to ask him if he wanted to go to a costume party with me. Brave Bella! Where did that come from? Alice would be so proud…

"Of course!" he boomed before I could finish my thought. A little taken aback by his response, he sheepishly grinned that he already had a costume, but he couldn't find a place to wear it. As a huge smile broke out on my face, he answered me with his own appraising smile. With eyebrows high on his forehead, he asked when and where. I gave him the pertinent info along with the promise of "Seeya tomorrow night!" Alice was going to be so disappointed!

Alice

I was disappointed. Bella called and informed me in that self-satisfied, stubborn voice of hers that she had found a date. Damn. I was so sure she wouldn't pull it off!

I was bouncing around, full of energy.

The party's almost here! The party's almost here!

I had taken the week off. Luckily for me, I was so good at my job that their occasional overlooking of my absences wasn't so much a perk as it was now a requirement. I'd been buying party supplies all week, and placating my few neighbors with little gifts while urging them to go out on Friday night. I knew the party would get… lively.

I pouted. What was I going to do with Bella? This guy'd better not be a bozo. She assured me he was hot stuff; I'm not sure I believed her. Lately, Bella's tastes had baffled me. I mean, she had the hot college kid Jacob panting over her for the last three years, and she was still oblivious. And that human 

resources guy she had consented to go out with? I shuddered just thinking about him. Bella was just so, so… blind.

She's quick to point out to me that I'm tiny and cute (true and true), so guys flock. She'll rhapsodize about my porcelain skin and jet black hair, but she fails to recognize her own innate hotness. She simply thinks that brown is boring and guys either want teeny tiny, or tall, blonde, and leggy. Silly Bella.

I sighed again, and then decided to cheer up as I checked everything off of my long checklist. Then I went to my room and admired the costumes for which I had just put the finishing touches on this morning. Bella may mock me for my status as a spoiled shopaholic, but even she couldn't deny that my ability to piece together beautiful clothes was heaven sent. It wasn't until we moved in together that she realized that I tailored my own clothes and created pieces when I couldn't find them in my size. I always tried to get her to let me make her clothes, too, but she stubbornly refused. It took a year for her to let me tailor her store-bought stuff.

I ran my hands down the silky material. She's going to kill me, I thought with glee. I could not wait to see the look on her face when she realized what she was dressing up as!

Edward

I absent-mindedly drummed my fingers in my lap as I waited for Rose to finish getting ready. Despite being a large suite, the hotel room we were all sharing seemed to be getting smaller and smaller each day as I had to put up with Jasper and Rose fighting. I think they were simply nervous about such a big move. Jasper's new teaching job at the University was making him anxious; he had been looking for so long for something full-time that it almost blew him away when the school offered him the position. Knowing she'd never survive without her brother in the same town, Rose quickly quit her job, knowing she'd find something soon. Rose could do that; with that supernatural beauty came supreme confidence. It didn't hurt that she usually got what she set her heart on.

Except for me…

"Rosalie Lillian Hale! Get your ass out here!" Jasper hollered. I snickered. The middle-naming thing never ceased to be funny with these two.

The door cracked open, and two daggers glared at the two of us who were silently laughing. "I will be ready when I'm ready!" she hissed, and slammed the door. We both sighed; we'd probably be late for the party.

"Mario Kart?" inquired Jasper. I took one look at him and dove onto the couch, grabbing for the Wii remote without the pink jacket (Rosalie's; I had left mine at home). Jasper beat me to it, and I had to suffer with pink. If I took the jacket off, Rose would kill me.

"So, this cousin of yours. Is she hot?" teased Jasper. I elbowed him in the shoulder and paid for it by losing the race. I groaned, and turned back to the screen.

"Yeah, she's cute. But what does it matter? Like you're going to speak," I scoffed. Jasper was quiet. He rarely volunteered information that wasn't directed to his sister or his best friend. It intrigued me that his students spoke so highly of him; I suppose it took real passion to get him to open up to anyone in any way. That guy sure did love his American History.

Jasper glanced at me and grinned before beating me, again. At that moment, Rose finally exited the bathroom, looking like the Greek Goddess she was supposed to be portraying. Sultry, tanned, barely covered. That's our girl.

"Nice, Rose. Am I going to have to protect your virtue all evening?" I mused out loud. Rose laughed that throaty laugh of hers. "Don't say it like you don't enjoy being my protector, Eddie," she teased. She knew how much I hated that nickname. I scowled at her and muttered, "Come on. Let's go, Peter."

Jasper had asked Rose to get him a Captain Hook costume. Naturally, the day she went shopping, he made some off-color remark about the length of her skirt being directly related to her ability to abstain from sexual activity and she got her revenge on. She decided to wait until today to show him his costume with an evil glint in her eye as she handed him the hanger. It's always comforting to have visual evidence that the usually serene Jasper can turn all sorts of shades of purple.

When he tried to find a costume shop that had the right costume, or even one in his size, they were "all rented out". I had a sneaking suspicion that Rose flashed her smile (or some of her other attributes) at the Unsuspecting Costume Shop Owners of Seattle to pull the ultimate prank on her poor brother.

That's Rosalie for you. She is definitely not a woman on whose bad side I would want to be.

I blame Jasper for his wardrobe issues. He should've known better than to put Rose in charge of procuring a costume for him, especially since when I had informed the two of them that we were invited to a costume party ("In the summer?" Rose gasped), I threatened them with my friendship if they didn't attend. They complained, but I pointed out that it would be good for them to know someone who was family (even if it was my family) when they lived in a strange town. That's the only reason they reluctantly agreed to come. I had warned them that Alice wouldn't take them coming in street clothes too kindly; both saw it as a warning that moody Edward had a moody cousin. I almost let out an ear-splitting grin thinking about quiet Jasper and surly Rosalie's reactions to my spritely relative.

"Are we ready, or what?" snarled Rose. "Let's get this over with. There had BETTER be booze and boys there, Eddie," she sneered. I decided to let that one go. This should be an interesting evening, to say the least….

"I'm telling you. If I'm going to survive an evening with an overbearing ball of energy, I need java," complained Rose. I secretly agreed with her. Alice was exhausting on the best of days; I hadn't seen her in years, but we still talked on the phone regularly. Alice once got Rose on the phone, and the two of them were already as thick as thieves, despite the fact that neither had laid eyes on the other, ever. Rosalie already knew she was in for a tiring evening as long as Alice was involved.





We decided to stop at the first coffee shop we spotted. Since I was dressed in the least embarrassing costume, I got voted to stand in line for drinks. The line was a little long, and I had to stand while Rose and Jasper sat comfortably in some of the squishy chairs in a dark corner.

Trying to figure out what was taking so long, I leaned over to see that the russet-skinned boy behind the counter was flirting heavily with the clueless, brown-haired customer in front of him. Sighing in annoyance, I folded my arms and shifted my weight, huffing that Alice was going to kill me for getting there so late. I knew we had an hour, but still. I hated angering the Little One.

When the clueless customer turned, my breath caught in my throat.

"Wowww…"I silently breathed out. So that's what they meant when they talked about taking your breath away. Stunning. Rapture. Perfect. Smitten. My thoughts were coming in bursts of random adjectives. In a split second, I was envisioning a heartbreakingly peaceful image of me and this stranger eating breakfast and reading the Sunday paper in a big, fluffy, white bed, surrounded by sunshine and giving each other little kisses in between bites of bacon and pancakes. Beautiful.

Then she tripped on her own foot.

I stifled a laugh as Beautiful almost inaudibly muttered, "crap," while blushing a deep shade of red and tried to play it off like it hadn't happened. As she breezed by me, I got a whiff of her hair as she rushed by. Strawberries. Just like her blush when she tripped. I inhaled deeply and detected something flowery, too. What is that?

I turned my head to follow her hurried exit. She kept her eyes trained on the ground as she left, avoiding the amused expressions on the faces of those still standing in line. When I turned back around, I noticed the coffee guy was watching her leave, too. My turn was next, and he gave me a cheeky wink and grinned, saying, "That girl is my undoing. I'm going to marry her, I swear it. What can I get you?"

I didn't like him. I drilled off the three orders for coffee and skulked over to wait while the grinning boy made Rose's elaborate whipped cream confection of a drink. Were they dating? Why did I even care? It's not as though I was staying long enough to find out, even if I ever did see her again.

So, doya think he's ever gonna see her again? ;)

Review, let me know what you think. I apologize for previous formatting errors; forgive me! I am new to this! And make sure you give a special birthday toast to our favorite Birthday Boy tonight!