A/N: Oye. I am so dizzy. Land sickness is a thing, y'all. *Crashes into the wall*

The second day of filming, Edward didn't have to be on set at all. He went anyway. He had nothing else to do, and it was something of a novelty to be on a set with so much stunt work going on.

Action scenes and stunt work were hellishly brutal days when he was the one filming, but watching never got old. It was an acrobatic dance that took a kind of skill and strength he'd never have.

Time and again, Edward's eyes lit on the stunt person he'd worked with the day before. It was hard not to be entranced by her. She was, after all, the center of attention, being the stunt person for Gianna, the star of the film. Sassy little thing she was and tough. Very tough.

It was strangely terrifying to watch. She was so small-short and petite. The people that surrounded her-his character's henchmen-tossed her between them like a rag doll. They were on the same marble staircase set that he'd thrown her down repeatedly the day before. Today, she was locked in a struggle with three baddies. He watched as she kicked off the broad chest of one, toppled over the banister, and clung for dear life off the side of the stairs.

Edward's heart leapt into his throat when he saw Bella's grip slip on the third take. She let out a yelp, arms flailing, and fell. He knew there was nothing to be afraid of, and yet his body jerked forward. What he thought he was going to do from where he was, he didn't know. She landed on the large, blue stunt mattress made specifically for catching stunt persons and not on the hard, unforgiving floor.

She huffed, stunned only momentarily before her expression changed to one of annoyance. The director called the cut and one of Bella's fellows went to offer her a hand to get up. From where he was standing-well out of the way-Edward couldn't hear what they said. The man clapped Bella on the back, still holding her by the hand he'd used to pull her up. She looked to him and nodded in apparent assurance that she was fine. The man nodded back and took a step away from her, dropping her hand. Edward let out a breath, relieved.

This went on for the rest of the morning. They did four main shots-two requiring Gianna and two Bella. By lunchtime, Edward's body ached in sympathy. His eyes still followed Bella, watching as she rolled her shoulders, wincing when she thought no one was watching. Edward was somewhat surprised when she headed in his direction, but he saw she wasn't looking at him.

He pushed himself up from where he'd been sitting to greet her anyway. "Hey, you look like a woman who could use a stiff drink."

She looked up, startled, but grinned at him. "Well, hey there, stud. Shouldn't you be in your trailer luxuriating while we make you look athletic?" Bella winked to let him know she was kidding.

"Alec isn't here, dollface. You're not making me look like anything at the moment," he said, teasing her back. "And I'm plenty athletic."

"Sure you are." She put her hands on her hips, amused. "Oh, I know. It's not your fault we have to do all the hard work for you. After all, your pretty face is valuable. Mine isn't. Neither is Alec's. Do you know he's broken his nose four times?"

Edward struggled not to grimace. "I think your face is plenty valuable and very pretty, even if it isn't insured." He studied her a moment. "You've never broken your nose."

"No. My leg once." She flexed her fist. "And a few fingers."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two. Why?"

"At the risk of sounding too much like your mother, you're going to have an eighty-year-old's body by the time you're forty." He said it in a light tone, but there was genuine concern in the words. Why he cared, he wasn't sure. He never had before. Not only that, but in his line of work, he'd seen people do much worse to their bodies.

Bella gave him a look and laughed somewhat sardonically. "My mother doesn't think that far ahead. She'd tell me it's worth the adventure while I'm young. 'Youth is wasted on the young' she always says." She shook her head, smiling fondly. "She's only forty-three."

"I see." Actually, he didn't. Something about this girl had struck his curiosity. He wanted to know more about the kind of mother who was fine with her daughter getting beat up for the sake of adventure. Not that Edward necessarily disagreed. Life was meant to be lived, but he was curious nonetheless. "So about that drink."

She leaned against the wall, considering him as she popped her neck."Oh man, you're quick." Tilting her head, she propped a hand on her hip. "I don't want to waste your time so I'm going to lay it out flat for you. I'm not going to say a lunchtime drink doesn't sound fantastic after the morning I've had, and I'm not going to say I'm not curious."

"But?" he asked, amused in spite of the inevitable rejection poised on the tip of her tongue.

"I trained for this job, and I'm not talking the litany of martial arts, ballet, and gymnastics classes either. I made sure I was impervious to charm from the likes of you. Being upfront? You have zero chance with me, stud. You might as well save your breath."

"'The likes of me.'" Edward crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sorry," she said with a grimace. "This blunt thing works for me. You're okay, right? I'm really not trying to be insulting or anything like that. I just don't see the point of not being up front."

Edward had to laugh. "This is easily the most intriguing rejection I've ever been through. Continue please. Even if my feelings were hurt, and they aren't, I'm much more interested in hearing about the likes of me and how you studied to be immune to my brethren's considerable charms. What are we talking about? Men in general? People with green eyes?"

"Actors, of course."

"Oh, of course."

She sighed and sat down in the chair he'd vacated. "Look, I've heard it all before. You're only a man, blah, blah, blah, but you're also this thing." She made an all-encompassing gesture. "This larger than life thing that maybe, sorta, kinda resembles a real life, but man." She whistled. "I grew up with that. I told you my mother said to live for the adventure? Well, I suppose that's one word for what life around one of you is like."

"Actors," he said, clarifying.

Her smile was apologetic as she looked at him. "It's not your fault. Not really. Your reality is just different. Like a monarch back in the day, you know? How can you not be affected by that? And then there's the fact that nothing I have with you is ever going to be just ours. Not even if we became friends. Not at your level of super stardom."

Her look turned sympathetic. "A good portion of the world has an opinion about you. I know it's a smaller faction, but your superfans know something about everyone around you. They know your parents. They know your father is a doctor, and your mother restores old houses. They know your sister is married to your bodyguard. They know all of your friends, what they do for a living, and have opinions about which of them are using you for your fame. Hell, Edward, you did that underwear commercial, and they knew the name of the model you were paired with. That poor girl. For a little while, people were all up in her business, wondering if you were maybe a little more than friendly. Being with you even for a lunch date means being background checked, stalked, and being the center of blind items and speculation from the tabs."

"Damn," Edward said. He tried to smile, but it came out more forced than he wanted it to. "It's a surprise I can ever get a date."

"Tell me I'm wrong," she said.

"You aren't, but you already know that. Just somehow it sounds more terrible when you say it." He ran his tongue along the roof of his mouth, thinking. "It does happen, but it's fleeting for them." His lip twitched. "And a lot of them enjoy the attention."

"Oh, I know. Like I said, my mother enjoyed-enjoys-the adventure of chasing something larger than life."

"But you're not like her."

"No. I'm on Tumblr, you know? In a post of actors standing next to their body doubles. That's much more attention than I want."

"I see." Edward rubbed a hand over his chin and grinned more genuinely at her when he looked up. "Well, that's that, then." He stuck out his hand, and had to bite back a laugh at the wary look on her face. She took his hand as though expecting a catch. He shook it firmly. "Bella Swan, it has been a genuine pleasure to be shot down by you."

She raised an eyebrow, a smile playing at her lips. "What, that's it? You're not going to try to convince me I should give you a chance? That you're not like the other actors?"

"No, see, I know I often play characters who don't take no for an answer, but in real life, I think that's rude and even slightly psychotic. I choose to respect your firmly stated no." He sat in the seat next to her, propping his hands behind his head. "But you never know. This could be a tactic. I might not be a decent human being at all. Maybe I'm only playing the gentleman so you'll reconsider and when you do, I'll turn into the pushy bad boy."

He waggled his eyebrows menacingly as she snorted. "I told you," she said. "I know every trick in the book."

"Impervious. I remember." He cocked his head, looking at her. "How does one go about training themselves for that kind of thing anyway?"

She smirked. "One dates three of the biggest actors she can get her hands on as soon as she's legal." She rolled her eyes and rubbed a hand over her face. "I did it on purpose. Brightest stars and biggest assholes, let me tell you."

"Who?" he asked, curious.

"Don't laugh at me."

"Scout's honor."

She chuffed. "James Hunter when I was eighteen. Felix Betalucci when I was nineteen, and, uh…" Her cheeks brightened. "Victoria Reynard at twenty."

Edward's eyebrows shot up. "Victoria Reynard who is currently engaged to James Hunter?" That was the least surprising. Felix was his age, and he was huge. It unnerved Edward to think of Bella, small as she was, anywhere near Felix.

"Oh, those two deserve each other, let me tell you. They're the biggest pricks," Bella said of James and Victoria.

"I've worked with all three of them, as it happens. You're right. Very big stars and even bigger assholes."

"Gaping."

"And you dated each of them on purpose? Some kind of aversion therapy? Date the three biggest asshole actors you could find, and it would turn you off on all actors?"

"Something like that, yeah." She shrugged, her look sheepish. "Hey, I was young. It made sense to me at the time."

"I hate to break it to you, but you're still young." He chuckled. "But why do it at all? If being with an actor isn't something you want, why did you need the aversion therapy? Why not just say no"

She sighed, the sound somewhat wistful. "Because actors are dazzling. Larger than life, remember? And I have to work with them all the super stars especially have this surreal charisma, and it's hard to see around."

"Dazzling." He looked up, pinning her eyes with his. "Do I dazzle you?"

He thought he heard her breath stutter. Her cheeks definitely got pinker. "Yeah, stud," she said, her voice the slightest bit shaky. "But don't get too cocky about it."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He shrugged and leaned back, hands at the back of his head. "But consider it a standing offer redeemable at any time."

~0~

Three days later, a script revision required a reshoot of the first scene Edward and Bella had done together. They found themselves once again at the top of the staircase.

This time, Edward was a little more used to the fact he was playing the villain. Anyway, since he knew Bella slightly better now, there was a different air between them.

Edward was, of course, a professional. While he didn't take his job as seriously as some actors did, he was serious enough to remain in character while the camera was rolling. Still, there was some bleed, especially in scenes like this that required more action and less acting.

He grabbed the front of Bella's shirt, twisting his fingers in the fabric and yanking her forward, into the starting position. When the director didn't call action right away, he found himself staring into her eyes. They were brown. A very pretty brown.

Why it struck him in that moment to tease her, Edward didn't know. They were standing so close together, her body pulled up against his. He let the menacing glare relax into something much softer. He tilted his head down. Their lips were close. Close enough that he could feel the heat of her breath on them. They were so close he felt the tickle of a phantom touch on his skin. Her breath caught.

"Mark."

Bella jumped ever so slightly as the clap of the marker board came down.

"Action."

Edward put his hand to the center of Bella's chest and pushed hard. Her eyes went wide, and in that instant, he could see something was wrong. She hadn't been ready or at least she'd been off balance. Her hands came up. She grabbed onto the banister with one and clamped her other hand hard on his arm, trying to keep herself steady.

It worked. However, her grip had pulled Edward off balance. He heard his own startled cry before he hit the stairs and rolled.

He had one single thought as he bumped and bounced down the stairs. Bella made this look graceful. Graceful was the last thing he was as he landed in an undignified heap at the bottom of the stairs. Stunned, he couldn't move, breathe, or make sense of the cacophony that arose around him.

It was faux marble. That might have saved his skull from cracking open, but it was a very near thing. Edward had to work hard to shake the daze off as he tried to concentrate on the voices around him.

"Move back. Let me look at him."

Edward blinked several times as the medic on set-ready in case a stunt went wrong-dropped to her knees at his side. "I'm fine," he said.

"Just lay back, Mr. Cullen," she said, forcing him back down with a hand to his chest. "Let me take a look at you."

Knowing better than to argue, he let the doctor have her way. It was probably for the best. Pain was beginning to make itself known from several parts of his body.

Some time later, he'd been diagnosed with a sprained ankle, a minor concussion, a random scattering of bruises, and wounded pride. Filming would be affected, and that would make it to the tabs. People would have questions and opinions.

He was resting in his trailer while he waited for the inevitable visits to follow. Insurance people. Someone from the studio for sure. His publicist. His agent. The thought of it was giving him an even bigger headache, and that was saying something.

A soft knock came, and Edward sighed. He considered sending them away, but he wanted to get this over with. "Come in."

It was none of the people he was expecting. Instead, a very contrite looking Bella stepped into his trailer and shut the door behind her. She pressed her lips together, looking at him and his wrapped ankle while her face turned an interesting color of puce.

"I'm sorry," she blurted, sounding nothing like the sassy, self-possessed person she usually was. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking grabbing you like that. That's kind of the first rule of being a stunt person: Don't injure the talent. That's the whole point of us being there. If there-"

"Whoa." He held up a hand and pressed the other to his temple. "Don't talk so fast. My brain can't keep up."

"Oh, man. I'm sorry. Really, I-"

"Bella." He sighed and made an attempt to smile at her. "It was an accident. I know you didn't mean to hurt me." He put an arm over his eyes. The light was getting to him.

"Is there anything I can do? Bring you? Anything at all? I know you have people for that, but I can do something. I...I...I can say yes."

Startled, Edward lifted his arm to look at her. "Say yes?" He huffed, his lips twitching up in amusement. "Do you mean say yes to my asking you out to lunch?"

"Oh, man. Oh, man. That was stupid. I didn't mean that. I mean, I meant that. I would do it, but I didn't... I mean, why would you want to do that now?"

He laughed. He couldn't help it. "A pity date to make me feel better?"

"I really didn't mean to say it."

"Oh god." He threw his arm over his eyes again. His head was pounding, but it was too funny not to laugh. He kept chortling despite the pain. "Well, you're right. The least you could do after grievously wounding me is let me treat you to the drink I can't have for a few more days." He snorted again, far too amused.

"You're making fun of me."

"Yes." He lifted his arm from his eyes again. "However, you already offered. You can't take it back now, especially since you threw me down a flight of stairs."

She pursed her lips, some of the unhappiness fading from her expression. "Are you guilting me?"

"If it works? Sure."

"Well, well, well. Your true colors emerge."

"I guess I'm the pushy bad boy who won't take no for an answer after all."

"You did tell me it was one of your devious tricks."

"Yes. This was all part of my plot." He gestured to his bandaged leg.

"How sinister."

"I'm really getting into my role as the villain." He winked at her. "So, since I appear to have a few days off...dinner? Tomorrow when I'm more conscious?"

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Fine. But only because I wounded you."

"You are, as ever, very generous, Miss Swan. The pleasure of buying you a drink is well worth the grievous injury."

A/N: Many many thanks to Femme Malheureyse, Songster, Packy 2.0 and barburella for their insight and help.

Hey, guys. I have a question. If I started a Facebook group, would anyone come? O.o