*Cringes* I know I said it'd be a few days, but shit happens. On the bright side, I have chapters 5-8 done. Five and six are with the beta and prereaders now. There was a LOT of major reworking done, and dare I say a few blowups. In the end, it was so worth it. I've been sitting on this chapter for a good day because I'm in a hotel with really crappy Wi-Fi. No promise as to when the next chapter will be posted, but I SWEAR TO YOU, it is so awesome. I'm truly excited about the next few chapters.

Irritable_Grizzzly beta'd. It was because of her this story has taken on a life of it's own. Thank you for keeping my ass in line and helping me find a way to not only become a better storyteller but a better writer as well. Stephk0525 and Morethanmyself preread and assured me it doesn't suck and offered fantastic input. Mamacat-any Yogi Berra quote is for her.

There have been some questions about the timeline of how things are being related to each other. Let me explain. Both Edward and Bella are in different realities. Different things are happening on different days but I promise they'll come together in a nice neat timeline by the next chapter. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Thank you all so much for sticking with me. Please read the AN at the end.

"When it comes to a fork in the road, you take it." Yogi Berra

Fall 2003

Edward Cullen

Edward looked over at the teary-eyed brunette in his passenger seat. He knew that he could easily try and comfort her, but once he touched her, he couldn't be sure at what point he would want to stop, so he sat there as she absently drew pictures in the fog on his car windows, waiting for her to speak.

When he couldn't handle the silence anymore he said, "Do you want to talk about it?" Part of him wished that she would deny him; a crying girl scared the hell out of him. The other half wanted her to let him in. For the past year he'd been trying and failing at getting to know Izzy Dwyer.

"Not really," she sighed. "I should go."

"You wanna join us?" Edward motioned toward the sports bar. "Maybe take your mind off of whatever's got you down?"

"I have stuff to do for class next week. I'm not in the mood to socialize and I doubt I'd be much fun, but thanks for the offer." She gave him a weak smile.

"Okay, well call me if you need anything?" he asked, hoping he didn't come across as pleading or needy.

"You're...you're a good friend, Ed," she said as she leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Uh, okay." There were many other things he wanted to say, but knew the timing wasn't appropriate. He made the mental note to find a way to ask her about their friendship and the potential for something more. If he even stood a chance at something more.

Current Day

"Oh. My. God. When did you get so damn heavy?" It had been a good few minutes of trying to shove his body off the bed before Alice gave up completely.

"Leave me the fuck alone," he mumbled into his pillow.

"No. We have to talk business and I need you awake, Sunshine."

He rolled over and opened one eye to judge his friend. "I don't care. I quit." Alice winced when she caught sight of his bloodshot eyes and the smell of stale whiskey on his breath.

"How much this time?" She repositioned herself and searched for the bottle of Jack Daniels she knew would be under the bed.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it fucking matters!" She slapped his pillow. "I did not just bust my ass for the past two days making your upcoming trip to Chicago a permanent stay, for you to go and mess it up. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason you keep me around is because you know nobody else will put up with your bullshit."

"You love me and that's why you stay with me."

"I stick around for the juicy commission and pity—Ah-ha!" She pulled the bottle out and went over to the sink, dumping out the remainder of its contents and pulling the curtains back, exposing fresh sunlight into the room.

"Get up."

"Give me one good reason why."

"Izzy Dwyer."

Edward sat up and narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

"That is what it takes to get your attention? I tell you that you're being traded like you asked for but a girl from college gets you up? We need to talk abo—"

"Explain. Now."

"Shower and make yourself presentable. I'll be in the kitchen with a large pot of coffee." Then she smiled and tossed him a towel, disappearing around the corner before he could argue.

Twenty minutes later and Edward was feeling just a little more human. By the time he was dressed and headed into the kitchen, he'd decided that she'd used Izzy's name as a cheap ploy to wake him up.

"Feeling any better?" Alice asked, her voice holding more sympathy..

"A little." He took the offered coffee mug .

"Ready to talk business?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Not really."

"Fine. Let's have it. You mentioned something about Chicago?" He settled onto a barstool.

"We need to go to the front office sometime before the end of today to sign the papers, but in two weeks, you'll be stretching on the field in Cubby blue."

Edward reminded her, "Injured, remember?"

"You know what I mean, smartass." Alice rolled her eyes. "That's all you have to say? I get you traded to your hometown, the one place you've been begging me to go, and this is the appreciation I get?"

"You're right, I'm sorry." He rose to quickly kiss her cheek and sat back down. "You have been amazing. Thank you. How's the salary look?"

"You're the highest-paid infielder in the National League."

"Nice. You should buy some new shoes or something."

"I'd rather buy a car."

A silence fell over the kitchen, Edward thinking about putting his condo on the market and how much value he could retain, and Alice debating how to bring up her client's college obsession.

She decided on the direct approach. "So, let's talk about Izzy."

Edward choked on his coffee. "You were serious about that?"

"I know you don't like to talk about her, but don't forget, she was my friend too."

"It's not like she died, Alice. She moved away and onto someone else. She changed her number, her email and never bothered to call to see how you were doing. Why bother?"

"Because maybe we don't know all the reasons behind her leaving, but wouldn't you like to? I got her contact information and made a few calls. I'm expecting her to call me back sometime today."

Edward kept silent. He had always assumed Alice knew at least some of the details behind Izzy's abrupt departure. It was now clear that she had never filled Alice in.

"It's not this early where she is. "Do you want the short or long version?"

"Fine." Edward sighed. "Start with the short and go from there."

"Izzy works for the Chicago Sun Times and is their new feature columnist. I found her through their website. She's even prettier than in college," Alice rushed out.

"I'm changing your name to Malice."

Bella Swan

"Well, it was a long time ago but we were just friends." Bella fought to keep the confusion out of her voice.

"Are you sure about that?" Aro chuckled.

"Yes, Mr. Ei-Aro. We were friends in college. Why is this relevant?"

"Part of the circulating rumor is that Edward Cullen is coming to Chicago."

"Okay…" Bella said, her voice trailing off. "I'm sorry, but I don't really see the relevance."

"It's widely known that he hates the press and rarely grants interviews. Aro paused before breaking the news. "Bella, Cullen's his people have reached out to us. They'd like to create some positive press about his return to Chicago, and they've requested you to do the interview."

"We were friends, Aro. Past tense. We aren't anymore." Bella left out the part where Edward had used her, lied to her, and broken her heart. It also didn't help matters that despite his media elusiveness, Edward's relationship status was constantly displayed over all the tabloids.

"A Miss Alice Brandon begs to differ. She called me an hour ago—"

"She's lying," Bella cut him off. "Aro, I'm sorry. I really am, but I don't think I can do this."

"I'm not asking. When Edward Cullen's camp requests to do an interview, and offers you the exclusive, you take it. You've got a lot of naysayers out there." Aro gestured in the direction of the bullpen. "Do this, do it well, and prove them wrong. Whatever happened in your undergrad days can stay there." Both of them knew what he was doing, and it was working. Challenging his young writer was exactly what was needed.

"You really have that much faith in me? You genuinely trust that I'm not going to fu-screw this up?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay then." Bella stood, not feeling the need to say anything else. She took the piece of paper Aro handed her and scanned it briefly before slipping it into her pocket, squaring her shoulders, and striding out of Aro's office and down the hall to hers.

She waited until the door was closed behind her before she fell back against it, sagging to the floor. Her mind instantly running through how many different reasons she could give Aro about why she couldn't do this assignment. She'd been under his spell when she was in his office, but thinking about actually doing it was giving her hives.

NO! She could do this. She would and it would be fantastic. She'd run away from her feelings, her humiliation. She wouldn't let him influence her choices like that again.

Her last contact with Edward Cullen was the better part of a decade ago. She doubted he'd even really remember her, other than as another college co-ed alone in an unfamiliar hotel room, and convinced herself that the request for the interview was purely coincidental. Since he wouldn't remember her, she reasoned, there wouldn't have to be any awkward greetings.

Of course, she still had to call her old friend first, and that might be tricky.

Yes, she decided. She could do whatever task regarding Edward Cullen and not let her feelings get in the way. It was a long time ago, and she'd moved on.

Please tell me what you think! Reviewers get teasers that won't be on The Fictionator blog next Monday. They might be slow to get out, but it will be done.

Thanks for reading!