The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #2

Pen Name:LyricalKris

Pairing/Character(s): E/B

Rating: K (o.o)

Word Count: 500

Photo prompts can be found here:

thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

A/N: I felt bad about not being nice to Bella on her birthday... plus I like the chapter of this anthology to be the same number as the day of the month. I'm kinda weird like that. Anyway. Have a GASP fluffy little moment for Edward and Bella on this, the day of Bella's birth.

There wasn't a heck of a lot to do in the summer in the Pacific Northwest. Edward and his best friend, Bella, were good kids as far as thirteen-year-olds went. They were still much more interested in riding their bikes than being obnoxious. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact Bella's father was the Chief of Police in Forks. Even if Edward wanted to do something stupid, the idea Charlie Swan wouldn't let him anywhere near Bella all summer would have stopped him.

They found ways to occupy their time. Occasionally, Edward's brother Emmett could be persuaded to drive them out for a day in Seattle or Olympia. They hiked a lot. Charlie took them fishing once. Bella whined until Edward accused her of not wanting to go because the fish were too slimy for her female sensibilities. She'd done her dad proud by catching the most fish and cleaning them herself.

Far and away, their favorite day of every week was Thursday. On Thursday, Edward's mother Esme let them tag along when she drove to Port Angeles. She made her living buying, repairing, and reselling antiques. On Thursdays, she visited the antique shops.

Edward and Bella had a personal challenge: to find one item a week that cost no more than twenty bucks. They had fun trying to decide. They found old time hats and cloaks and decided they were never going to get too old for dress up. Regardless of what he was wearing, Edward always ended up putting on an English accent. It made Bella giggle, and that was worth it.

They perused old books. Bella was always delighted when they found one with a message inscribed. When it was obvious the inscription was from a lover, Bella got a faraway look. When they didn't choose the book as their one item, Edward always found a way to buy it behind her back. He would sneak it into her room later that week. He knew when she found them because she would greet him with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

One day in mid-August, they'd been so caught up giggling at old record covers from the sixties and seventies, they didn't notice the time. When Esme called them to leave, they hadn't picked out an item.

"Um. Um." Bella picked up a black metal box from a shelf and gave it a shake. "Oh, there's something in this. We'll take this."

When they opened the box back home, Bella gasped. "Look, Edward. It's full of pictures."

Edward sat on the floor beside her as they looked through the black and white photos of various people posing all over the world. Bella sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I've never been further than Arizona, you know?"

It struck Edward then how pretty she was. He'd never noticed. "I'll take you someday. You and me. We'll go to all these places."

She twined their fingers together. "Okay. Deal."