AN: Surprise! So if you have me on alerts and you're reading RFF you'll get this before tomorrow's update (no worries, you'll still get an update tomorrow). I don't know how many outtakes there might be, so decided to upload it as a new story not to disturb the flow of the main story.

This one happens chronologically right after Chapter 4 of Ready For Forever.

Thanks to Kristen (everywheresky) who pre-read this, and to Mel (mcc101180) who turns my clunky sentences into beautiful lines. As always, I change stuff after they've worked on it, so any remaining mistakes are all mine.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters, I just make them be best friends and fall in love with each other.

Musical inspiration:

Led Zeppelin - Black Dog

Links and lyric excerpts (as well as weekly teasers) on Facebook (Ronnie Macaroni).

OUTTAKE 1. First Gig Ever.

~o~

THEN

~o~

Charlie's house. Forks, Washington. Sunday, July 16th, 2006

The night before their first gig ever as a band at the Forks Summer Festival, Bella couldn't sleep. They had practiced for weeks and weeks. She had all the songs down. There was no need for her to be nervous. It was the Forks Summer Festival, for Christ's sake.

Maybe it was the heat of the summer night. Maybe it was the fact that Edward still wasn't back. Or maybe it was just that she was actually nervous. But she still tossed and turned in her bed all night.

Sweaty and annoyed, she left her bed to try and crank her window even wider, set her fan to the max speed, or something that would finally cool her off. That was when she heard them, cackling outside her window.

Emmett McCarty and Rosalie Hale were on the grass, their hands over their bellies, trying without avail to contain their laughter. Meanwhile, Edward was hanging from the oak tree between their houses, both arms hugging the branch that led to her window, as his legs flailed under him.

When Edward landed flat on his back with a thud, their shrieks of laughter echoed loudly in her room.

Bella eyed her clock. It was four in the morning. She was going to kill him.

Before she could reach her bedroom door though, she heard Charlie muttering profanities in the hallway, as he headed downstairs.

Oh, shit.

Bella ran back to her window just as Charlie marched out the door and to the drunk teenagers that still lay on the grass. The click of his shotgun sent them up from the grass like grasshoppers, and as they landed on shaky feet, Rose and Emmett took off while Edward lifted his hands over his head, looking at Charlie.

Charlie did not go easy on Edward that night. When Bella returned to bed, exhausted, they were still perched against Charlie's cruiser. Charlie doing most of the talking, while Edward pretended to listen, his arms wrapped around his stomach.

~o~

A few hours later, it was time to leave for the festival. Bella sat in the car, glaring at Esme's door, until Edward appeared from inside, five minutes late.

His hair was wet. His eyes were hidden under his Ray-Bans. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and khaki shorts. In one hand, he held his recently acquired Yankees baseball cap, and in the other, a 32oz bottle of orange Gatorade.

"You feeling okay, son?" Charlie asked as Edward entered the car and sat on the backseat.

"Yeah…" Edward replied nonchalantly. "Must have been something I ate." Edward subtly lowered the window, inching his head and resting it on the door frame.

With a huff, Bella crossed her arms over her chest as Charlie backed out of the driveway.

When they arrived at the fairgrounds, Bella marched to the stage without looking back. Edward found her backstage, tuning her guitar and going over some of the riffs. He approached her carefully as she tried her best to ignore him.

"Hey, Swan, I'm sorry." He touched a finger to her arm.

"Geez, Edward, I can smell the alcohol from here!"

"I know… I'm sorry. I showered. Twice. I think it's oozing from my pores!" His grimace disarmed her, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Did you even get any sleep?"

"Hey, don't worry about me."

She raised an eyebrow at him. She could see right through him. It wasn't hard to see really—his clammy forehead, the greenish tone of his skin, and how he swallowed loudly after every sentence, gave it away. He was about to be sick.

There was no way they could play today. They were a Rock/Metal cover band. They didn't exactly play ballads.

She sighed, looking down at her guitar. "Why did you drink so much last night?"

"I'm really sorry, Bella. I can't do anything about that right now, but I promise you, I'll get through the whole set."

"It's our first gig ever…"

"I know. It's going to be great, okay?" He took a deep breath, as if to convince himself as well, before coming closer to her. He rubbed a hand down her arm, but it did very little to appease her. "We're going to get called soon." He started looking around them, as if on a mission to find someone, or something. "You just get ready, Swan. I…" He looked at her then, and gave her a shaky smile, before letting go of her arm. "I'll be right back."

A small crowd had already gathered in front of the stage when Bella came out flanked by Charlie. He walked her to her mic and wrapped a hand around her shoulders. "Rock their socks off, honey," Charlie said in her ear, before kissing the side of her face and moving over to his mic at the other side of the stage. He tested a few notes on his bass guitar, turning to Bella and nodding at her.

Bella turned around just in time to see Edward walking closer to the drum kit and setting a bucket next to his seat. She eyed him suspiciously, but when he looked up at her, his face completely contradicted what his actions yelled at her. He pointed one drumstick in her direction, smiling widely at her. "Yeah, Swan, you got this!" he yelled at her from the drums as the crowd cheered.

Bella took a deep breath, turning to face the crowd in front of her, squinting at the scorching noon sun. Emmett was front and center, Rosalie by his side. "Wooooooh, Bella! Rock on, baby!" he yelled and banged his head. He was probably still wasted. Rosalie rolled her eyes next to him.

Inching closer to the microphone, Bella closed her eyes and adjusted her hands over her guitar. The first verse of "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin came spilling from her mouth into the mic and resounded over the speakers, soon followed by the notes from her guitar, where Charlie and Edward joined in effortlessly, in perfect sync and hitting every note. Bella relaxed, as she played further, getting lost in the song.

Once the song was over, Bella turned to Edward and stared in shock as he, bent over at the waist, emptied the contents of his stomach into the bucket next to him, hiding behind the drums. She approached him hurriedly, but before she could reach him, he was back in a seated position, running a towel over his face.

He removed his shirt and placed his sunglasses back on. Grabbing his drumsticks from the top of the snare drum, he composed his features before looking at her.

"I feel much better!" he announced to her, a smile, unfaltering, stretching on his face. "That was sick!" He gestured to her guitar, deflecting. "What's next?"

Bella, speechless by Edward's efforts, turned to Charlie. Oblivious as ever, he shrugged his shoulders and pointed at Edward, mouthing, "He okay?"

"I'm okay, Bella, c'mon! Let's goooo!" Edward banged his drumsticks relentlessly in the air over his drums.

"Let's do 'One' then." She figured at least that one started slow and would give Edward some time to recover.

"You got it, boss," Charlie said as Edward chugged Gatorade, giving her a thumbs up.

Inexplicably, they got through the whole set. Every time Bella turned to check on Edward, he signaled he was okay and ready to keep going. His playing was decent, and it even looked like he was having fun, except for the barfing after every song.

Heading backstage as the set was over, Bella turned to Edward who was coming down the steps behind her. He held his shirt in one hand, while the other held tightly onto the metal railing. He stumbled on the last step, his fist tightening around the metal frame of the stage.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, crossing her arms in front of her.

He nodded but it was far from convincing. His lips almost looked white as he had them pressed in a tight line.

"Do you want some water or something?"

"I'm fine…" He shook his head, sweat dripping from his hair onto his shoulder. A particular droplet travelled all the way down over his abs and melted into the waistband of his underwear, which peeked just above his shorts.

She couldn't remember when he had gotten so… muscular. Two summers ago, he had shot up to 5'10" all of a sudden, but back then, his muscles had not yet joined the party. She knew because she had stolen a glance or two over by the community pool. He was taller now too, probably over 6'.

"Ahem…" Edward cleared his throat. "Why are looking at me like that, Swan?" He laughed when she looked up, but the chuckles quickly turned into a wince.

"Cullen, you were on fire, bro!" Emmett came from behind with Rosalie under his arm, saving Bella from further embarrassment.

"Yeah, now you gotta pay," Edward said in a low voice, crossing his arms over his chest, resting his back against the frame on the stage.

"What was the bet again?" Emmett's eyes were unfocused as he furrowed his brow.

"Shit, I don't remember!" Edward scratched the back of his head, and Emmett doubled over in laughter.

"I really didn't think you would make it! Cheers to that!" Emmett pushed the bottle in his hand close to Edward's face, causing him to cover his mouth and drop back with a groan. "You're such a lightweight, Cullen!" Emmett laughed loudly, still holding the bottle up.

"I think he had enough." Bella pushed the bottle, and Emmett's hand, away from Edward, positioning herself in between them. She wasn't afraid of Emmett. She knew that under those 6'5'' and 200lbs, there was one big marshmallow, with maybe a slight drinking problem.

"Bella, you were all Jimmy Page up there. What a badass!" When Emmett swayed, Rosalie steadied him, and she and Bella exchanged a glance, one that said they related to each other's pain, as Bella realized the purpose of Emmett's arm around her. "Catch you later, kiddos!" Emmett said then, and as soon as they had come, they left.

Bella turned to Edward then with her hands on her hips. His body was slumped against the railings, one hand still tightly clasped around it.

"So, shall we celebrate? I think…for our first gig, we did pretty good." He paused for a deep breath and a hard swallow. "You were amazing." A smile stretched over his face, even though he looked like he was ready to pass out.

She wanted to tell him he had been amazing too. She wanted to thank him for getting through the whole set. "Let's get you home," Bella said instead.

Edward pushed his body off of the scaffold with a grunt, but before he could take a step, his hand clasped around Bella's wrist.

"Bella, I don't feel too well," he barely whispered. His other hand extended and returned to the railing as his body slumped forward. She had an arm around him instantly, steadying him up. She knew what him admitting to that meant.

"Of course, you don't."

"I'm never drinking again," he managed to say, before he was bent over at the waist and dry heaving next to her.

"Sure, sure…" She patted his back, staying next to him, while her eyes scanned their surroundings looking for help. She didn't think she would manage to drag Edward all the way to the car. Her eyes quickly found Charlie's, who just clanked his beer with his friend's, but at her signal, Charlie excused himself and rushed to them. Relieved to have help on the way, Bella wrapped her arm securely around Edward, wondering what drove him to drink to the point of intoxication the previous night. It was so unlike him and she worried about him, hoping nothing else was going on.

~o~

AN: Hope you enjoyed that! Let me know if you did (or didn't). See you tomorrow!