Title: Impressions
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Summary: Bella is a single, shy, and timid writer. Edward is an engaged, charming, and handsome businessman. What do you get when Bella has to cover "Seattle's New Couple?"
Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer I own nothing.
Comments: AU, AH. I couldn't get this plot bunny out of my head. It demanded to be written.

Sorry for not getting this out sooner but I have the flu so that puts a dapper on things. And I still don't feel that great but I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 10

Bella's POV.

I just had to accept it. I agreed to be friends with Edward Cullen.

That's not so bad. So what if we are friends? Even though he said he wanted to be friends; we probably won't hang out and do "friend" type of things. Although, it explains his strange behavior. He was always so forward but subtlety so. Well sometimes not. But he is charming and handsome and absolutely taken. Remember that Bella!

Oh but he did kind of lie to you Bella. If I thought about it, Edward told his secretary to call me and have me agree to meet him. He told his secretary to lie. I was told that I was meeting both Tanya and Edward. But as it turns out Edward informed me she was sick and then he tells me she really had no idea that I was meeting Edward at the park.

What kind of fiancée is Edward? I mean I totally understand that he wanted to thank me and all that but he didn't tell Tanya. I suppose he doesn't need to tell her everything but it seemed to me that he should have told her.

Friends with Edward Cullen? That thought puzzled me more than it should. What does that mean, I thought? I know what a friend is, but could I be Edward's friend? I was basically working for him so as that allowed? I crossed the line didn't I? Ugh. Too many questions and I don't have the answers to any of them!

It had been two weeks since I agreed to be friends with the mysterious Edward Cullen. I didn't really expect him to want to hang out and do stuff like that. Truthfully, I didn't expect anything from him. With Edward it was always best to expect the unexpected. And that meant, I go on with my life and forget about Edward and he would probably shock the hell out of me the next time I did see him.

I was sitting in the living room with Rose. We had just enjoyed a night of chick flicks and Chinese food. Now, Rose and I were watching the Sex and the City movie. She was picking through the leftovers and I had my laptop turned on trying to finish the rough draft of my article. It wasn't hard for me to write. A little bit of compassion, some bullshitting and voila' you've got yourself Edward and Tanya's article.

I kinda did feel bad about writing it; mainly because of my thoughts about Edward and Tanya's relationship. But I'm not a marriage counselor. I'm a writer and the whole "write what you know" saying does not apply to Edward and Tanya.

"Do you want ice cream?" I asked Rose.

She looked away from the television screen. "Bring the hot fudge too." she replied with a smile.

"You got it." I went to the kitchen and got out the vanilla ice cream. I opened the fridge and got out the hot fudge. After getting the bowls and spoons I put the hot fudge in the microwave. While the gooey chocolate sauce was heating up I put a generous amount of ice cream in the bowls.

"Where's my ice cream bitch?" Rosalie playfully snapped.

I rolled my eyes. I took the fudge out of the microwave and put it on top of the ice cream. "Here." I said while I walked over to her and place it in front of her.

"Muchos gracias." she said.

We settled back on the couch and Rose went back to watching the movie and I turned back to my laptop.

I saved the file and then put it on a backup floppy disc drive. I powered down the laptop and set it on the coffee table. I picked up my ice cream bowl and swirled the ice cream and hot chocolate fudge around. I don't like eating ice cream right a way. I like it when it's been melted a bit and just about to get all gooey and sticky.

An hour in a half, two ice cream bowls, and two set of red tear stained eyes later we were throwing away the food cartons and cleaning up the dishes.

"How are things Rose?"

She looked at me quizzically. "How are what things?" she asked for clarification.

"How are things with Emmett?" I asked.

Rosalie smiled. "Good. We don't get to see each other a lot but it's just right Bella."

"You really like him."

"I do. This is for real Bella. This time it's perfect."

I grabbed Rosalie in a hug. "I'm happy for you Rose."

She pulled back and looked at me. "Honey, your prince charming is out there. You will find him." she said.

"Rose I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about you." I said laughing.

"And I'm thankful for that. But I'm telling you Bells it'll happen for you too. Probably with someone whom you least expect." she said with a smile.

I waved her statement off and continued to wash the dishes. Hah. Does Rosalie actually think I'll find someone. I mean, I'm not cynical; I do believe in that one special person and all that mushy romantic stuff. But I happen to think that that kind of happiness is not meant for me right now.

Ok. So maybe I am a hopeless romantic. I believe in "happily ever after" and in "the fairytale." I've seen the Disney movies. The prince and the princess; the love story. Secretly, I want that. I want all of that. I want the handsome prince coming to my rescue on his white horse. I want to be the damsel who needs to be saved. I want the fairytale ending. But I want more than that. Everyone knows that in every good fairytale there is always some heartbreak and drama. And damn it! I want that too! I want the tears and the pain. I want the longing and the suffering. I want the happiness and the love. Is it too much to want something that doesn't exist?

I laughed bitterly to myself. Yea Bella. Not gonna happen. Not for you anyway. It really wouldn't happen to me.

I'm a shy girl. A writer who over analyzes things and gets her head stuck in the clouds. I'm a dreamer and a romantic. The way to find love in the modern world is to go looking for it yourself. No one ever gets anything done just by wishing something would happen.

Let's face it, Bella; you are too scared to actually do something about getting this "fairytale ending." I flopped down on my bed and sighed. I do overthink a lot of things. And this whole internal conversation takes the cake! I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Ridiculous, I watch Sex and the City and end up thinking about my little girl fantasy of fairytale and happily ever afters. Damn you HBO and Disney!

***

I was bustling around the apartment, cleaning up and full on dork mode. I was in a pair of comfy yet cute Victoria's Secret sweats and had my black rimmed "geek" glasses.

I was happy. I had finished my article and already submitted it to Mike. All it needed was editing and corrections. My work was officially over. I leaped for joy the day I handed Mike my article.

Now I was just lounging around the apartment and cleaning. Later I would re-read one of my favorite books and possibly watch the movie companion. But right now I had the carpet to deal with.

Rosalie and I aren't sloppy but we also don't to go out of our way to clean. Our place is strategically tidy. And there are a few haphazard items lying about. I went to the closet and took out the vacuum cleaner. I tied my hair in a messy ponytail and looked at the vacuum cleaner. It's just and me, buddy; I internally spoke to the cleaning device.

I pranced to the outlet to plug in the cord. The nearest socket was under the small table we have in the living room area. I crouched down and got on my hands and knees to plug the cord in. Just as I was scooting back out to a standing position I lifted my head slightly and banged the top pf my head on the table.

I groaned. Clumsy Bella strikes again I thought bitterly.

It wasn't a bad bump. Just a baby nick at the most. I went back to the vacum cleaner and pushed the on button. I started pushing it back and forth trying to get all the corners of the room. I wasn't in a hurry and it had been a while since either myself or Rose vacuumed so I took a longer time than necessary.

Our vacuum is pretty loud. I know most vacuums make noise but technology nowadays have the ability to make it less noisy. Ours, however, is one that is very noisy. You literally can't hear anything but the vacuum.

I finally turned it off and went back under the table to unplug the cord. As I got down on my knees I hear the loud rapping at the front door.

Ugh. Rosalie was away on a modeling shoot. Who could possibly be knocking on the door?

"It's open!" I yelled.

I pulled out the cord and crawled out from under the table. I got to a standing position and straightened up.

"Oh." I said surprised.

Standing before me was Edward.

What is he doing here? I thought. And then suddenly I felt very self concious. I was in a pair of sweats! My hair was in a messy ponytail! And I wasn't wearing any makeup! Wait. What does that matter? It's just Edward.

"Uhhh hi" I said with a little wave.

He looked at me and I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Hi Bella. I'm sorry I bothered you." he said hastily and turned to leave.

"Wait! Edward what's up?" I called back to him.

He turned and ran a hand through his hair. "I just... I don't know." he said softly.

"Do you need something?" I asked.

"No. I should go. Never mind."

"Edward you can stay."

Shit. I surprised myself. Where did that come from? He can stay? What the hell are you doing Bella? I screamed in my head.

"Are you sure? You look like you're pretty busy." he said uncertainly and gestured to the vacuum cleaner.

I laughed. "Nahh I'm down. It's just me tonight. My roommate is on a business trip and I was just gonna order in."

Am I inviting him to dinner? Oh crap this is bad.

His face lit up. "Thanks Bella. I could use a friend right now."

I put the vacuum away and turned to talk to him. "You wanna talk about it?"

He took off his jacket and grimaced. "I'd rather not. Sorry."

"It's ok. So, uhhh.... I'm gonna order some pizza. You want in?" I asked.

He came to follow me to the kitchen. "Anything is fine by me."

I smiled. "Ok. Just so you know I hate cheese and love anchovies."

The look on his face was priceless.

I burst out laughing. "Kidding Edward; just kidding."

He gave a sigh of relief. "I knew that." he mumbled.

I called in an order of pepperoni and mushroom. Yea. I'm ordinary but so what?

I sat down on the couch ready to wait for the pizza. I patted the spot next to me and Edward came to sit.

I looked over at him. He seemed stressed and a little bit tired. Why isn't he at his own home? Why is he here?

As if Edward could read my mind he cleared his throat, "Bella. I don't know how to say this without making it sound strange but you probably are thinking so I'll just go ahead and say it." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

For some reason I didn't want to know why he was here. He was here, in my living room. For a second time Edward Cullen was in my apartment.

I held up my hand to stop him from speaking. "It's ok Edward. You don't have to tell me. Sometimes, we just need a friend."

He looked at me and I could tell he was relived that I didn't want to know why he was here. He nodded his head in understanding and mouthed the words "thank you."

I reached out and gave his knee a gentle squeeze. "You're welcome." I replied.

***

That night Edward and I had pizza and sat awkwardly on my couch. It took us a good half hour to lose the slight tension and awkwardness. I flipped the television on and we watched some movie on TNT. We ended up finishing the pizza and managed to not talk about anything too personal.

I'll admit I wanted to talk to him but I was too scared to strike up the conversation, and Edward seemed content on not talking a lot. He left before eleven and thanked me for letting him "hang out." I managed to say goodnight and when I closed the door I slumped down on the ground and closed my eyes in thought.

I didn't know what he was really here for. I didn't know if he wanted something or if he was searching for something. But I didn't need to know. I didn't want to know. Yet, I had this feeling in my back. It was like a tingling feeling. And I didn't like it.

Tonight was a mistake. I should have just rushed him out of here. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew this couldn't happen again.

What in the world did I just do? We'll find out why Edward came to see her and I'll embellish a little bit more of the "hang out."

Till next time.

Tina