A/N: So, y'all asked for a scene showing what the hell Bella ever saw in Kate. This is what I came up with - their first meeting. I hope it's what you were looking for! Let me know what you think!

Thank you all for sticking with the story and being so wonderful :)

~As always thanks to Kas90 and Sammielynnsmom.

Next outtake posting Friday! Until then, ~Kimberly

Riding the Fence

Bella/Kate Outtake

BPOV

I hate frat parties with the fiery anger of a thousand burning suns. Hate them. I would rather be almost anywhere than here. I'm still not sure how I let Jasper talk me into coming here, there was some kind of mind fuckery that involved talking in logical circles while I was high. I called party foul afterwards, but he just laughed at me. Bastard.

So, somehow I find myself sitting in a corner nursing a red solo cup full of nasty domestic beer. The boys all reek of heavy cologne that had been liberally applied to cover up the smell of over-ripe laundry and desperation. The girls are covered in so much makeup I wonder if they are literally wearing masks, like if you just picked at the edge you could peel it back.

I watch one particularly heinous douchebag lean over a girl with long blonde hair. She says something to him that momentarily cracks the cocky smirk plastered on his face, but he only takes a small step back and continues talking to her. I take a second to skim up her body and across her face. She looks nothing like the other girls here. First of all, she has more than a fucking band-aid covering her vajayjay and a handkerchief over her tits. Most strikingly, though, is the way she holds herself. She is sex personified - earthy, dark and sensual, unlike the silicone padded, latex coated barbies wandering around in cheap imitation. If I were the dude currently invading her personal space, I'd pay a bit more attention to her face than her tits - she looks like she's about two seconds away from kneeing him in the nads if he doesn't back the fuck off. I smirk at the thought. Although, she does have really nice boobs, so I can understand the distraction.

She finally manages to get free from his drunken groping and turns to walk out of the room, catching my eye briefly. My stomach drops and my heart starts pounding double time. I feel my cheeks heat up in a blush that I haven't seen since I was sixteen. Every one of my senses becomes intently focused on the two hazel eyes currently boring into mine. She smirks at me just before she wanders off, the crowd quickly closing in behind her, and I lose sight of her instantly. My heart is still beating rapidly, and I'm still staring, slack jawed, after the place she stood.

What the fuck was that?

After several minutes, my heart finally calms, but I'm feeling antsy and unsettled. Deciding that it might be toxic levels of Cool Water cologne replacing oxygen in my lungs, I begin to casually make my way towards the back deck for fresh air...taking the route that allows me to wander through every room in the house. But I'm not looking for the girl because that would be crazy.

Who the hell goes to a frat party to pick up another chick? Well, unless you plan on sharing her with one of these asshats for a moment of sexual experimentation that you can later pull out at cocktail parties to impress the other bored housewives with how wild and free you were in college, and then whispering scandalously that you briefly considered yourself a lesbian. Of course, keeping quiet the fact that you're defining 'briefly' as the time it took for the other girl's tongue to exit your mouth and the guy's cock to slam into you...but in that ten seconds you were a total lesbo.

But I'm not doing that, and I'm definitely not looking for the girl. I'm just taking a leisurely stroll through the mass of bodies pressing against one another as they sweat alcohol all over me. It's nice - relaxing, even. I'm forming friendships that will follow me through to adulthood. I'm contacting STDs on non-sexual body parts.

I finally emerge from the house-of-horrors, only mildly scarred by the image of Big Foot himself doing a fucking keg stand...naked. I still haven't seen the girl - not that I'm looking for her. Definitely not. The deck is almost empty, and the bass from the music is only a dull thumping against my spleen instead of threatening to herniate discs in my back. The blinking, multi-color, Christmas lights strung in random patterns overhead and the smattering of red cups, strategically abandoned around the deck, add that certain je ne sais quoi. It's the epitome of frat-boy chic.

Leaning back on my elbows against the deck railing, I close my eyes and let the night wash over me. Even with drunken debauchery just feet away, there's something peaceful and grounding about being outside at night.

Suddenly a voice whispers in my ear, "You know, you really suck at this whole stealthy stalker thing." I jump a full foot in the air, and in a maneuver that takes pure skill and finesse, I manage to splash my beer on my face and inhale at the same time, obviously trying to drown myself in self-defense. When my spluttering and coughing finally ease enough to take a breath, I remember that I was being attacked. My eyes snap over to see the blonde girl desperately trying to cover her mouth and muffle the loud guffawing.

Rolling my eyes at her, I brush across my shirt in a vain attempt to remove some of the liquid from the material. "I wasn't stealthily stalking you," I huff out in annoyance.

"No, no you weren't," she says, laughter still evident in her voice.

"So did you just come out here to scare the shit out of me or did you want something?" I'm completely mortified, not only does she know that I was trying to find her, but I look like a complete jackass drenched in beer. She, however, looks otherworldly, the small colorful lights setting off her porcelain skin and darkening her eyes, making them mysterious and soulful.

"Aw, don't be like that! I saw you inside and you look as out of place here as I feel, so I thought maybe we could be awkward together." I snicker at the thought of her being awkward anywhere, and I doubt that she's feeling out of place for the same reasons I am.

"Well, as nice as that sounds, I need to go find my ride; I want to go home and shower. I'm pretty sure that girl-covered-in-beer is some kind of pheremonal mating call to the average college guy, and I'm not interested in having my leg humped."

"Let me help you find her, then. What does she look like?" the blonde girl asks. I still don't know her name.

"Uh, he is really tall and has shaggy blond hair. Which describes about half the guys here."

Her face falls slightly and she says, "Oh, your boyfriend drove you. Right."

"Jasper and I?" My voice is just a little too loud. "Yeah, no," I say, laughing.

"Jasper Whitlock?" she asks me, her eyebrow cocked in question.

"Yeah, do you know him?" I ask her hesitantly. If Jasper has fucked this girl, I don't want to know about it. I'm rather enjoying the fantasy of kissing her that's looping through my head. If there's any chance that there are traces of J's DNA on her, it would totally kill that for me.

"We have a few classes together, we're working on a project for one of the business classes. He's a nice guy," she offers pleasantly.

I smile and nod my head in agreement, trying not to grimace. My jeans are now cold and drying uncomfortably against my thighs. I really want a shower.

She must see the none-too-subtle shuffling of my feet as I try to peel the denim from my skin because she suddenly yells out, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot that you're wet!"

My eyes bug out, and before I can stop the words, I hear myself ask, "How would you know that?" My voice is an octave higher than normal.

"The beer?" she clarifies.

"Oh, right, the beer made me wet," I mumble. I am a fucking idiot.

"What did you think I...oh!" She draws out the last syllable in understanding. "You thought I meant wet wet! I mean, I had hoped, but no, I didn't know. Well, at least not until just now," she says, obviously amused.

Oh god, fuck my life. Seriously. Fuck...my...life.

"I'm going to find Jasper." I sigh in defeat and walk back into the house. I should just walk away now before I do something even more embarrassing.

She catches up with me a minute later, tugging on my arm.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't making fun of you, I promise. I just...shit this is kind of embarrassing. I saw you talking to Jasper one day after class and was completely enamoured, but I'm too much of a pussy to ask him about you. I really wanted to meet you, and when I saw you tonight...well, I've spent the night trying to get the courage to talk to you. That's why I knew where you were. You weren't the stalker, I was."

"You were trying to get the courage to talk to me?" I ask, incredulously.

"Yeah, I mean, look at you. You're cute as hell and funny, too - who in their right might wouldn't want to talk to you?"

I decide that I must have fallen asleep on the deck, or maybe I hit my head and I'm out there crumpled on the ground, waiting for Jasper to come find me. But there is definitely some sort of brain damage or alternate universe at play that's making sex-on-legs nervous to talk to me. But I decide to shelve the whole thing for right now because I really need that fucking shower.

"Okay, well, as...interesting as that is, I really have to find Jasper now so I can go home. I'm getting grosser by the second, and I'm pretty sure that guy just sniffed me when he walked by."

"Let me drive you home!" she yells out.

"Excuse me?"

"It's the least I can do, really. Let me drive you home, and that way you won't have to spend the next hour trying to find Jasper, so you'll get home sooner," she reasons.

"I don't even know your name!"

"I'm Kate Denali. Come on, please? I really want to make it up to you. You can text Jasper and tell him where you're going. Please?" she says, practically begging.

Huffing in false annoyance, I concede. "Fine, drive me home if it will make you feel better. But I'm texting Jasper now and telling him exactly who's taking me home, so don't get any ideas about chopping me up into bits."

"Trust me, if you let me anywhere near your bits, chopping is the last thing I plan on doing to them," she says, winking at me. Winking!

I'm left once again staring after her, slack jawed. But this time she stops, walks back to me, grabs my hand and pulls me along with her. I'm pretty sure I'm screwed, I can only hope it's the good kind.