Lyrical Melodrama Story Contest

Name of story: A Secret Love

Pen name: Fates-Love-Queen

Song story is inspired by: If It Kills Me (From the Casa Nova Sessions)

Artist: Jason Mraz

Category: Newbie writer

Main Pairing: Edward and Bella

POV: Edward

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer owns any and all Twilight characters that may appear in this story. The remainder is my original work. Copyright 2009 by Fates-Love-Queen. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization.

To read the rest of the entries, go to the Lyrical Melodrama Story Contest on the Writer's coffee shop website/forum.
If you want to see the rules for this contest, go to the website.
If you have any questions about the contest, contact them either via PM or their email:

competitions(at)thewriterscoffeeshop(dot)com
or go to
thewriterscoffeeshop(dot)com

A/N: Ok guys, here is Chapter 2! As per the contest, there will be three more Chapters to come : )

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that reviewed and placed this story or myself on their alerts.

It was the most alerts i've ever had, so thank you to each and every one of you, you made my freaking day! : )

If you would like to hear the musical inspiration for this song, the link is now on my profile.

A huge shout out and thank you to my super beta kyla713, who makes my words pretty and Americanised. (I didn't know that an 'ice-block' was called a 'Popsicle' Haha).

Thanks heaps hun! : )

If you haven't read her stories, do yourself a favour and read them. I wouldn't mind getting her Armyward to give me a striptease in his fatigues! (uniform) haha

OK, I hope you enjoy : ) Thanks for taking the time to read.

"Hello, tell me you know, Yeah you figured me out,

Something gave it away,

And it would be such a beautiful moment, to see the look on your face,

To know that, I know that you know now...

Well all I really wanna do is love you, A kind much closer than friends use,

But I still can't say it after all we've been through,

And all I really want from you is to feel me, As the feeling inside keeps building,

And I will find a way to you if it kills me, If it kills me..."

If It Kills Me (From the Casa Nova Sessions) by Jason Mraz.

Edward's POV:

The following year Bella and I, along with Alice, both moved on to Middle School, and very soon, the three of sitting together at recess and lunch became six.

Bella's brother, Emmett, was in the seventh grade and sat with us along with his two friends. The Hale twins, unlike Alice and I, were identical twins.

They both had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The only difference was that Rosalie had long, straight hair down to her back, and Jasper had short, curly blonde hair that fell just below his ears.

The six of us had a blast for the next two years of Middle school. Alice finally stopped trying to turn Bella into a living Barbie doll now that she had Rosalie to talk 'fashion' with, and Bella and I were as close as ever.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The year before high school, Bella and I were both thirteen.

That summer was a big one for our friendship.

The tree house became a pivotal aspect of our friendship.

Whenever one of us had a problem, we would go up there just to get away and be there for each other.

We even convinced our dads to cut down the trees along the fence line and put a gate in, so we didn't have to keep going around to each other's front door to play.

But it was more than that.

From the window of the tree house, you could actually see into both our bedrooms.

If one of us was upset at night, all we had to do was shine the flashlight into the other's room to let them know we needed them. We called it the 'friend caller'.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Summer of 2004:

"I can't believe it's so hot!" I exclaimed, my voice breaking on the last note.

Ugh, this whole puberty thing was annoying; I had no control over my own voice anymore!

Bella laughed as I walked back to the living room and handed her a Popsicle.

"I know, it's worse than Phoenix. It's so humid! Thanks," she said as she put the Popsicle in her mouth.

"Ooh, I love the red ones!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her outburst.

"Hey, I have an idea! How about we go down to the lake at the back of the property?"

Bella and I lived on the outskirts of town and there was a lake at the edge of the land.

"It's too hot to walk there. Hey, how about we play Xbox in my room?"

"No Edward, I want to go swimming!"

"Bella, I can't swim..." I said quietly.

"Are you joking Edward?" Bella asked stunned.

"No, I'm allergic to chlorine so I've never been able to learn," I replied, pushing my glasses up my nose.

Bella eyed me for a moment.

"Alright, I'll make you a deal. If we go and check out the lake and how deep it is, I'll teach you to swim."

"Bella no! It's dangerous, I could drown!"

"Oh please, I was the best swimmer at my old school," she scoffed.

"Besides, if it's too deep you can just get your feet wet and watch."

"Bella, I don't know... We could get in to trouble," I said.

"Please Edward? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

And then she did the one thing that she knew would win me over, she pouted.

"Oh fine," I growled.

"But I'm not going in, I'll just watch."

She squealed and jumped up to hug me.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me out the back door as we started jogging to the lake.

~*~*~*~*~*~

When we got to the lake, I realized that we had forgotten one important thing...

"Bella, we forgot our swimming costumes. We'll have to go back and get them."

She laughed at me as she started taking her shoes off.

"Oh come on Edward, it's hot and I'm not going back now. We'll just swim in our underwear," she said.

I felt my eyes widen as she started to strip.

I know I should have looked away, but I couldn't. I was mesmerized.

Bella's body had changed a lot in three years...

Her hips had begun to widen and her chest had started to swell, giving her the appearance of an hourglass, she was beautiful.

I knew I loved Bella, but over this last year, my feelings had started to change in to something else, something more...

I was starting to notice little things about her.

How cute she looked when she bit on her lower lip, how her eyes would sparkle when she got excited, the way her cheeks would flush when she was embarrassed...

Bella was now standing in front of me in a bra and underpants, and as she smiled at me I felt something happen that only just started happening in the mornings, I felt myself harden at the sight of her.

What the hell...?

Mortified, I abruptly turned around.

"Aren't you coming in?" Bella frowned.

"Um," my voice came out in a high-pitched squeak, and I had to clear my throat.

"You go. Tell me how deep it is."

I glanced over my shoulder to see her walking in to the water.

Again, I was mesmerized by her.

Her pale skin slightly pink from the sun, the way her hair shimmered and showed red undertones in the sunlight, the way her hips swayed from side to side when she walked... I felt myself harden even further.

What the hell is wrong with me? I've seen Bella hundreds of times!

Bella called out that the water was only waist deep and called me in.

I took off my shirt and headed for the water, deciding it would be safer to keep my shorts on.

I waded through the water but stopped when it got to knee height and glanced at Bella warily.

She made her way to me and reached for my hand, the ever-present electricity coming to life at her touch and I immediately calmed.

"Edward, do you trust me?"

"Yes..." I said shakily.

"I will never hurt you. Trust me," she said, as she moved us deeper into the water to hip height and sat down.

I followed suit and sat next to her, but kept her hand in mine.

Bella leaned back and held her face to the sun.

"Edward, have you ever kissed anyone?" she asked, breaking the comfortable silence between us.

"Um, no."

"Me neither," she said.

"Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering. I remembered Jessica telling me at school that her first kiss was Mike. She said it was gross, and I was just thinking what mine would be like..."

"I'm sure yours will be great," I said.

Bella turned to look at me speculatively.

"Edward, we're best friends right?"

"Of course, why?"

"And we do everything together?" she pressed.

"You know we do."

She looked down at the water.

"Edward, will you be my first kiss?" She asked shyly.

I couldn't help but stare.

Bella wanted me to be her first kiss? Me...?

Bella mistook my silence.

"You don't have to. It's just I thought that it would be better to be each other's firsts rather than anyone else," she rambled.

"No!" I yelled.

She looked up at me; the hurt evident on her face.

"I mean, I think that makes sense because we are best friends. Bella, I would love you to be my first kiss," I said.

Bella's face lit up and her eyes sparkled.

"Really?"

"Yes, really," I answered.

She smiled up at me through her eyelashes, her face and hair all wet; she had never looked more beautiful.

She bit her lip and leaned her head closer toward me.

My heart was beating so hard and fast, I could feel it in my ears.

I was so excited that I leaned in too fast and our foreheads hit.

"Ouch," Bella said as she rubbed her forehead.

"Oops, I'm so sorry Bella! I ruined it," I said, my voice breaking with emotion.

My first kiss with Bella and I blew it. Idiot!

"No, that's ok. We'll just try again. Now, hold very still," she said as she leaned in again.

I tilted my head in anticipation.

"Don't move," she whispered and I stayed completely still.

About an inch away, I saw her close her eyes and her tongue lick her stained red lips from the Popsicle.

I closed my eyes just as our lips met.

Her lips were so soft against mine; it felt like heaven.

She moved her head so our lips glided against each other's.

I felt myself harden again as her lips moved against mine.

She let go of my hand and went to move hers to my hip when she accidentally brushed past me.

We both froze and as she pulled away, I felt my cheeks flush with a mixture of embarrassment and mortification.

"Edward, what's so hard in your pocket?" she asked looking at me.

"Oh, uh, that's my, ah, my glasses case. I must have forgotten to take it out..." I stammered.

"Oh, okay then."

She looked embarrassed and I had to know what she was thinking.

"So, how was it for you? Was it as bad as you thought?" I asked.

Her cheeks flushed and she looked down.

"Actually, it was kind of nice," she said quietly.

I couldn't contain the huge smile at that thought.

"It was nice for me too," I told her and she smiled back at me.

"Come on, you're getting burnt, we better head back," I said pulling her to her feet, turning to give her some privacy.

"Okay, thank you, Edward, for my first kiss," she said.

She kissed my cheek before making her way to her clothes.

My hand touched the tingling skin that Bella had just touched.

"No Bella, thank you," I said to myself.

Once she was dressed, we made our way back to the houses.

I don't know what Bella had planned for tonight, but I needed to have an urgent talk with my Dad to find out what was wrong with me...

~*~*~*~*~*~

A week later, I was awoken by the frantic flickering of a flashlight against my bedroom wall. I sat up in bed, put on my glasses and looked out of my window to see Bella waving me to the tree house.

The clock next to my bed said it was three in the morning, so I knew it must have been important to be out at this hour.

I slid out of bed, put on my slippers and made my way down the hallway. I stopped before my parent's room to listen. My Dad was giving a chainsaw a run for its money with his snoring, so I knew I was safe.

I quietly made my way downstairs and outside.

It was autumn, so while it wasn't cold, the air had a bite to it.

I pulled my bathrobe tightly around me and made my way across my yard to our gate.

I could hear sniffling, so I quickly made my way up the ladder and inside.

What I saw broke my heart.

Bella was sitting huddled in a corner, with puffy eyes and red cheeks holding a picture in her hands.

In the three years that I had known Bella, I had never seen her cry, and I didn't like it.

I made my way over to her and when she saw me, the tears started again.

"I'm sorry it's so late, but thank you for coming Edward," she said sniffling.

"You know I'm always here for you. What's wrong, did you have a nightmare?" I asked sitting down next to her.

She was quiet for a moment, looking at a photo of a woman in her hands.

"No, it was a good dream. It just hurt is all."

I didn't know what she was talking about so I just stayed quiet to let her continue.

"She was pretty, wasn't she? This is my mom," she said, holding out the photo for me to see.

"She's very beautiful," I replied.

Bella had never spoken to me about her mom and I had never brought it up. I figured if she wanted to talk about her then she would in her own time.

"Yeah. During the day, I can handle thinking of her, because I'm in control. But dreaming about her is different. My mind just replays memories and I have no control over them. It's just so painful, you know?"

I wanted to let her talk without any pressure, so I nodded.

"It's not that I don't like remembering her, it just hurts. It happened three years ago, but I remember that day as if it were yesterday..." she said as she began to cry again.

"It's okay Bella, you don't have to talk about it,' I said, putting her hand in mine.

"No, I want to. I haven't spoken about her in so long, and I want you to be the one I tell."

She squeezed my hand, took a deep breath and smiled as she continued.

"My mom was always such a happy, carefree person. She was more like a sister than a mom because she was so young for her age and we got along so well. She was always playing around acting the fool and always made sure that we always had fun. I have so many fond memories of her. One year, she decided that the color green was too bland and boring, so she spray-painted our Christmas tree bright pink with pink decorations. You should have seen my dad's face! Oh, and she was the worst cook on the planet! I remember for my dad's birthday one year, she decided that it would be more heartfelt if she actually made him a cake. She spent hours on it, baking and decorating. It actually looked really nice, until we ate a piece and realized that she had used salt instead of sugar... But my Dad didn't want to upset her, so he ate two pieces praising her and telling her how good it was. Luckily she was on a no carb diet at the time, her 'fad' of the week. Mom and Dad were the perfect couple. Complete opposites but perfect for each other, and my Dad worshipped her."

She sighed looking at the photo again and I squeezed her hand in encouragement.

"But that all changed when she got sick. At first, she was just sick all the time. She seemed to pick up every cold or flu within a ten-mile radius. But then, she was always so tired, she had no energy and all she wanted to do was sleep all day which was so unlike her. Finally we convinced her to go to the doctors and it turned out that she had cancer. And because she had left it so long, there wasn't much they could do..."

Bella was sobbing now, running her fingertip over the face in the photo.

"She went through the chemo for extra time, but it wasn't worth it. She got so sick and lost so much weight that she couldn't walk anymore, so she spent all of her time in bed. She was in so much pain, Edward!"

She looked up at me though her wet lashes, as if pleading for me to understand...

"I remember going up to see her that afternoon when I came home from school. My Dad had to work that day so Em and I walked home. I went in to show her a drawing that I had made for her, but when I kissed her cheek, she was so cold... I tried waking her up but she wouldn't. I kept yelling at her to wake up when Emmett came in. He picked me up while I was screaming and dragged me downstairs to call Dad, while I cried in his lap. It turned out that she took too many pain pills that day and had died in her sleep. I've never seen my dad cry like that before. He just lay with her on the bed for hours. Holding her hand, whispering how much he loved her and touching and kissing her all over. When the men came to take her away he wouldn't let them, he screamed at anyone who tried. Finally after a few hours, he let us say goodbye to her and allowed them to take her."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing.

"My dad changed after that. He didn't cry at the funeral at all, he just held me close to him, rocking and comforting me. A week later, he was looking for places to transfer. He moved all of his belongings in to the spare room, and never slept in their bed again. When we were moving, he packed all of my mom's things in a box and brought them with us. He said I might want some of her things like jewelry when i got older. All of her stuff is in the attic. I want to go through it, but I know I won't be able too..." she whispered.

"Bella, I meant what I said in our oath. I will be always be here for you. Remember that you're never alone. If there comes a time that you want to go through that box, you don't have to do it by yourself," I said as I wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Thank you, Edward. I'm glad you were the one I told about my mom. I wish you could have been able to meet her, she would have liked you," she whispered.

"Me too, Bella. Sounds like she was an amazing person, i'm sure I would have loved her."

Bella looked up at me, a small smile on her blotchy face.

"It's getting cold out here; do you want to go back to bed?"

"No! I mean, would you mind staying here with me? I feel better when you're here."

"I don't mind. Here lie down and get some sleep," I said as I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her to me.

"Goodnight Edward," she whispered as she leant her head on my shoulder.

"Goodnight Bella."

I was starting to doze when I heard her speak again.

"Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"Please don't ever leave me," she whispered.

"Never. I promise, Bella," I replied as I rested my head against hers and let sleep overtake me.

A/N: I'd LOVE to know what you thought!

This Chapter was all about how their friendship is growing as they do. Starting next chapter our two will be starting High School, and that's where the fun begins! : )

I love Nerdyward, with all of his insecurities and allergies! He's so cute!

Reviews are much appreciated, I read and reply to each and every one, they really do make my day.

The whole salt/sugar thing actually happened to me in a 'Blonde moment'. The labels weren't marked clearly and I used salt instead of sugar in my cake. Tastes horrible, don't ever try it! Lol.

As per the contest, the next chapter will be up by next Friday : )

So, thankyou for reading, and don't forget... REVIEW PLEASE! Ta : )

P.S. I'm thinking that the father/son 'talk' between Edward and Carlisle about Edward's 'problem' at the lake (lmao) would be interesting.

If enough people would like to hear what happened i might do it as an out-take after the contest is over.

If you would interested in reading what happened, just let me know in a review xox