Once Upon a Love Story

Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. That right belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Halloween. You either party it up, or go door to door for candy, or sit at home and give out little candies to the dressed up boys and girls. Me? I wish I could do the last option, but no, being friend with Alice Brandon does leave that option up for even considering. Instead, I'm left sitting in a chair in her bathroom (this seems to be a regular occurrence doesn't it?) and letting her have at it with my hair and make-up.

The party was originally to be at the guys' apartment but after the havoc they created, all their electrical appliances went haywire and they have to buy all new stuff. Their floors are tinged brown now. Their parents? Not too happy. Don't even get me started on the landlord.

So now Rosalie and Alice are hosting the party and the two were in a rush to make sure everyone got the notice and that everything was set up right. Of course it was decorated perfectly; how could it not with Alice being the one in charge of it. I myself had brought over some food and Rosalie had dealt with costumes and invitees. The guys were strictly told to not touch anything- especially the drinks and food.

"Alright, perfect," Alice declared and stepped away to examine her work. Rosalie had thought it would be a good idea for the three of us to dress alike (she had finally warmed up a little bit to me) and we all were to be dressed up as vampires. My hair was straightened out and my face paler than usual with bright red lips and heavy eyeliner. A – short – black dress was thrown at me and Alice handed me my 'fangs', "Put this on and don't forget your teeth!"

Alice herself was wearing a blood red shirt and a black skirt, her make-up was done up much like mine and her teeth were already in. I thought she looked the part perfectly as well as Rosalie. I thought I just looked ridiculous and out of place, but decided to just go with it.

I slip into the dress and slide my feet into the heels Alice wrongly assumed I'd be able to walk in. I take a few steps and am surprised when I don't fall. I grin and walk to the door. Of course, I wobble and almost fall, but once the door is open, Edward is there to help me walk without making a fool of myself.

"Don't you dare let go of me," I warn him quietly and look him up and down. Edward was a baseball player, Jasper was a cowboy (how appropriate) and Emmett is a-

I almost burst out laughing, but just contented myself with a large grin because there was Emmett dressed up as a giant bear. He had the ears and the nose along with a bear costume. Rosalie had the biggest smile I'd ever seen and people were giving him odd looks. Emmett would.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Edward told me and squeezed my arm, "I see you've noticed Emmett's costume."

A laugh bubbled out of me, "Yeah, how come your costume isn't that crazy?" I mock scoffed and plucked the baseball cap off his head, placing it on my own. Alice scowled at that.

"Because I'm not as big an idiot as Emmett," Came his retort and I smiled at that, "I don't think vampires and baseball go together, Bells. I'm sure that wouldn't work out too well," And with that, he took his hat back.

"This vampire would trip all over the place and destroy a town," I told him and he took me into their kitchen to grab some of the food out of the fridge and put it on the counter. People were just arriving and Alice was so excited she was practically bouncing off the walls.

And so the party began.

*******

It was a couple hours later that Edward finally persuaded me to dance with him. I had avoided it all night and apparently couldn't forever. Sure I had danced at the last party we went too, but I wasn't wearing the monster heels Alice had made me wear tonight. As he pulled me towards the living room, I did a little twirl under his arm and then he pulled me close.

I nervously shuffled until Edward breathed out a chuckle in my ear and I calmed into the music. We swayed and moved together like our bodies were in tune. Edward and I were so in sync, and even with the bass pumping through us, I could place my hand on his heart and easily feel it beat in time with mine. I could never be able to explain how connected we were, like our souls were made like puzzle pieces, fitting only with each other. I never want to lose this.

I nearly tripped about ten times, but that didn't stop Edward from holding tight to me. The music stopped and everyone turned towards the stereo where Rosalie had her hand on the volume control and Alice was grinning and bouncing up and down.

"Hello, and thank you for coming to my-" Rosalie sent her a scathing glance and Alice pouted, "Rosalie and my Halloween party!" There was a smattering of clapping and people looked confused as to what Alice was getting at. Emmett hooted and people laughed at the giant jumping bear. Edward chuckled and shook his head, apparently he knew what they were doing, "Anyways, so part of tonight is a costume contest. The prize is … well I won't tell you," She giggled when everyone groaned.

"So if you think your costume is magnificent, or someone else's is, there'll be a box over there for entries and voting. Good luck!" Rosalie finished for her, grinning as some moved towards the small boxes and slips of paper.

"Alice would," Edward breathed and chuckled again, dragging me towards the kitchen where there was food. I had made/brought a variation of food ranging from chips and dip to hors d'voeures. Alice had been positively delighted and Rosalie had looked actually excited. Right now, all the fancy foods were out, Rosalie informed me that the 'one syllable' foods will be out later when everyone is nice and drunk. I had laughed at that. Rosalie hadn't.

Edward dipped a little shrimp into the sauce I had made and popped into his mouth. He chewed for a little bit and I watched him in anticipation. Then he closed his eyes and moaned, "Bella, that was amazing," I grinned at that, glad he enjoyed it.

Emmett came over and tried one as well, then turned to me, grinning, "Almost orgasmic, eh Eddie?" He elbowed him in the ribs and Edward winced while I flushed bright red, "Aha, my job here is done," He then turned around and walked away, quick as he had come. Well, that was weird.

I cleared my throat, "I'm glad you like it. I didn't know what they wanted me to make so I made or brought pretty much anything," Shrugging, I took my own piece of shrimp and ate it. Mm, if I don't say so myself, this sauce is pretty good. A hand crawled up Edward's shoulder, and it most definitely was not mine. This hand had long red claws and it's skin was perfectly tanned, despite it being October.

"Edward," The hand's owner purred, "Long time, no see."

We both looked up to see a woman with immaculate blonde curls and a flirtatious look on her face. She was gorgeous, of course and I immediately felt myself turning green. And it wasn't because I was feeling sick. Although my stomach did toss a bit at the fact that she knew Edward.

"Tanya," Edward said coolly, and gently removed her hand from his shoulder, turning around and wrapping his arm around my waist. Tanya's eyes flashed to his hand, "It has been a long time. How are you?"

"Oh, quite lonely," She continued to stare at his hand on my waist, but then flicked her eyes up to his and a smirk appeared on her lips, "But it's so good to be back at school and see you again," She even had the nerves to wink at him. My temper flared.

"Hi, Tanya, I'm Bella, Edward's girlfriend," I said as sugar sweetly as I could and put a lot of emphasis on 'girlfriend'. The bitch had to back off. Edward gave me a surprised look, and then smirked at Tanya, "So nice to meet you. How do you know Edward?"

She frowned when I said girlfriend, and then looked me up and down. The smirk reappeared on her lips and apparently she deemed me beneath her, "Oh, Edward and I go way back. Our parents are good friends, so we see each other a lot," There was obviously something more to what she said, but I didn't pay attention to it. So she was prettier than me. I can acknowledge that, and I admit, it did intimidate me a bit, but the look on Edward's face didn't make me jealous of this woman.

"So, Edward, how's soccer going? Head of the JV team, huh?" She reached out and pet his arm. Literally pet it.

I rolled my eyes at her and turned to Edward, "I'm going to go find Alice, okay?" He nodded and looked warily at Tanya.

"You know, I think I'm going to come with you," I grinned at that. Score one for Bella, zip for Tanya.

Tanya whipped out a pout, "Oh, but Edward, I really want to catch up with you!" He gave her a wary look and I laughed at that. Edward obviously didn't want to be near her, let alone talk to her. I had been nervous that these two had some sort of past or something and I would be left behind, but from his reactions to her, that didn't seem so likely.

I sent a smirk his way and walked away, Tanya gripped his arm so he couldn't get away and he gave me a bewildered look that obviously read 'WHAT THE FUCK'. I grinned in response and gave him a wave. I'm sure you're thinking that that was the stupidest thing to do, but I trusted Edward, and even though she was way pretty and older and pretty and knew Edward for a long time and…

…I'm starting to think that was a bad idea.

Before I could turn around and go find Edward again, I'm yanked by the arm and I whip around to find Alice turning me around. I stumble slightly and then right myself.

"What, Alice?" I ask her, a little annoyed and glance over my shoulder. The giant group of people are in my way though and I can't see a thing.

"Bella!" She exclaims and motions to the guy standing next to her, "This is James! He's new around here so I thought I'd introduce him to some people. James, this is Bella," A grin split her face, obviously glad she was being a good hostess.

I waved at him and he smiled. There was something oddly familiar about the guy, but I couldn't quite place it…

"Very nice to meet you, Bella," His voice was smooth and low, something highly familiar about it, but I still couldn't remember where I'd heard it. He lifted my hand and placed a kiss on its knuckles, "So pleased to meet you."

I frowned at him. There was something off about him. His appearance was so nondescript, he wasn't handsome, but he wasn't ugly. He was just so…average. It was kind of disconcerting; his close cropped brown hair, his average height, average build, average, average, average. There was something in his eyes though, something almost feral.

Wracking my brain, I tried to remember where I knew him from. I simply could not remember and it bothered me to no end. I gave up though and stood by as he and Alice had a conversation about something or other, inserting my own words whenever I could, but Alice seemed dead set on being the considerate hostess and soon dragged off the guy to introduce him to some other people. I shrugged and gave up on placing him. I'd figure it out eventually. Maybe.

Turning around, I went into the kitchen to look for Edward again, but couldn't find him anywhere. I bumped into Jasper who was himself looking for Alice. I pointed him in the right direction and he grinned his thanks.

Eventually, I just plopped down on the couch next to Emmett and Rosalie who were playing some card game. How they did that in the middle of a party escapes me.

"How antisocial of you," I told them.

"Any sevens?" Rosalie asked him and Emmett smirked.

"Go fish," he answered and I rolled my eyes and plucked the seven he had from his hand and giving it to Rosalie, "Hey! Bella, what was that for!"

"Let's call it even," I smirked right back at him and he grinned.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," He promptly ruffled my hair and I'm sure if Alice had seen she would've slapped him. I flashed my fake fangs at him and hissed, "Oh, I'm so scared. Hey Rose, got any queens?"

"Go fish. So enjoying the party, Bella?" Rosalie asked me as Emmett huffed and grabbed a card from the pile between them.

"Of course. I can't believe you guys are having a costume contest at a college party. I'm sure the guests only expected beer and dancing."

"Yeah, well, Alice did plan it," We both rolled our eyes and found the over exuberant pixie hopping up and down next to the voting boxes, Jasper practically having to push her down lest she literally bounce off the walls.

"Come on, Rose, let's play!" Emmett whined.

"Why are you guys playing Go Fish at a party anyway?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"Because it's only the best card game ever!" Emmett exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air and flashing Rosalie his hand.

"You're an idiot, McCarty," Rosalie told him and then pat him on the head when he pouted. Of course I had to laugh at him because Emmett is just so…Emmett. You just can't help but laugh.

"Anyway, have you guys seen Edward?" They both shook their heads and I stood up just as the music switched off once more. There was a collective groan throughout the apartment, but Alice just grinned.

"Damn it, I told her to wait for me," Rosalie cursed and stood up to go stand by Alice. Emmett promptly swiped all her cards and matched hers with his.

"Hi, everyone!" Alice waved and some even waved back, "Voting has closed and now we're going to introduce our winners! In third place…" I didn't even hear her as I scanned the room for Edward. I felt bad for leaving him with the witch and thought it was about time to save him. Getting up, I left Emmett on the couch and wandered around the room, looking for him and asking if anyone knew where he was.

"And in first, we have…" I didn't hear the name or even the applauding I'm sure came. My senses focused on one thing and one thing only: Edward making out with Tanya.

My blood boiled and I wanted to hit someone- namely a curly blonde with blood red fingernails. The bitch succubus. I'm going to kill her. No, first I'm going to torture her, then she will die a long painful death.

Bitch.

I stood there for a little while longer, then marched over to where the two were lip locked. I noticed that Edward's eyes were wide open and very shocked. Since his eyes were open, he noticed me and, if possible, they widened even more and he tried to shove her off him as nicely as possible. Once I got to them, I saw that Tanya's expression was more than triumphant and she was about to say something when I turned her around and promptly hit her as hard as I could.

Now this wasn't some sissy back-handed bitch slap that they pull in movies. No, this was a full on fist to the face, definitely a broken nose kind of thing. I'm sure my knuckles didn't look to pretty, but I sure as hell did feel better. Edward looked alarmed and the little bitch was grasping her nose and squealing and sending me death glares and it was just too much. I laughed. I full on laughed. I gripped my stomach and doubled over in the peals of laughter that left my mouth. By now, people were staring and I couldn't help it. I laughed.

I'm sure I sound insane, but she looked so petulant and I felt like the next words out of her mouth would be, 'this isn't the end!' or 'wait until my father hears about this!' and I laughed. I laughed, long and hard.

Still giggling, I said, "Please, please just leave. You're a bitch. That's all. Good-bye," She just stared at me like I was insane, "Look, I don't feel like dealing with you right now, but if I ever see you kissing Edward again, I will not just punch you. I'll sic Emmett on your scrawny ass."

One more glare directed my way and then she scampered off somewhere. People were still staring, some even had chips half-poised to their mouths. Was it 'one syllable' food time already?

Then Emmett walked over and stood in front of me, "Okay, okay, shows over. Y'all better stop staring, or she'll sic me on your scrawny asses," Even though I couldn't see his face, I could tell he was grinning and found it hilarious. People tittered and snickered at the giant bear that was telling them to stop staring.

Emmett turned and winked, giving us a thumbs-up, "I got your backs, guys. Don't worry 'bout it," And then he walked away. Emmett would.

"Bella?" The musical voice that I adored had confusion and…fear in it. Was he afraid? Of what? Me? That's highly laughable.

"Yes, Edward?" I turned back around and saw him with his hands shoved in his pockets and looking at me uncertainly.

"Aren't you- aren't you mad?" His little baseball hat was askew, his bronze hair sticking out from underneath, looking even more unruly than normal.

I sighed, "Yes, I am mad," He looked sheepish and down at the floor, "But not at you," His head was brought up to look at me like I was insane. Maybe I am. Who knows? "I trust you, Edward. It's Tanya that I don't trust. I shouldn't have left you with her. I should've known she'd pull something like this, because honestly, did she look like someone that would respect the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing? I think not."

Edward chuckled and brought his hand to hold my chin, "Bella, as delighted as I am to know you are not mad at me, this is not your fault. Tanya kissed me," He shrugged, "I've known she had a crush on me since forever, and I should've seen this coming. I didn't even stop her," His jaw set and his green eyes became hard, "I should've done something, pushed her away sooner, maybe if I hadn't been so nice she would've lost interest, maybe if I'd-"

The idiot was so intent on blaming himself, so I held up my own hand and smashed it against his mouth, "Edward, shut up," And then I removed my hand to place it on his neck and drag his mouth down to mine. I kissed him with a slight furrow to my brow, kissing him full and deep. His arms wrapped tentatively around my waist to drag me closer.

After a few moments, he pulled away and I said, "Why are you so intent on blaming yourself, huh? Do you want me to sock you in the face?"

A sly grin appeared on his face, and he replied with, "No, but I do want you to do that again."

And we did.

A lot.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Yay! Halloween on Easter! I can finally drink ice tea and eat popcorn! Gah, giving that up for Lent was so difficult...

Btw, happy Easter! And Passover to all my Jewish readers. :)

Look at how speedy fast I got this one up. I really wanted it out on Easter because holidays are fun like that. I hope you guys like it.

Thanks so so so much to rosalie123, catlover09, Jace Nox, A is for Angel (thanks for the clarification. :)), Wallis K., Tyler Arianna, MelMel1223, amobutterfly25, Can't Decode Me, TheMagicalCarrot (hope you didn't go mad :P), and .. for reviewing! Eleven reviews! That made me happy. :) Thank you guys soo much.