A/N: First off, thanks for reviewing gemma loves edward, Sunshine72, twilight642531, .Secret, ravenlovestwilight and Shirley! You guys are awesome! :)

Since some of you did seem interested in an EPOV of this story I decided to write it :) I hope you like it and, as always, let me know what you think :)

How I Met Bella

Every night I spend watching my beautiful wife sleep in my arms. The happy smile on her face is the most rewarding thing I will ever witness. She always claims she is the lucky one in our relationship but I always beg to differ. Bella Cullen-Swan. Every time I mention her name I can't stop the smile of pride from creeping onto my face. She was wearing my last name, she was completely mine and I wouldn't have it any other way.

My entire family adores Bella as she adores them. My parents tell me every day how blessed we are to have found each other and that we truly are a perfect couple.

Surely we are far from ideal. We have one big problem that is not easily solvable. Bella is human and I am not. And even though I would do anything in my power to keep it this way, I am afraid it is a battle I am going to lose. Bella has her heart set on being my equal as she calls it. She wants to be able to keep up with me in every aspect of our lives and she feels that her being human stands in the way of our relationship. I disagree but I could never refuse Bella anything she truly wanted. So I am afraid I am going to have to give in to her desires some time. That does not, however, mean I will not do anything in my power to delay it for as long as I can and hope and pray that she will change her mind in the meantime. Although I have known her for long enough now to know that she will never change her mind once it is made up. That is one of the many things I love about Bella, she never stops until she gets what she wants or what she thinks someone else needs.

Not just my parents see Bella as their own family. My parents, Carlisle and Esme Cullen, 'adopted' my brothers and sisters and me into their family a long time ago but as soon as they met Bella and learned how much she means to me they welcomed her with open arms as if she was their own daughter. My siblings did exactly the same. Especially Alice, she adored Bella even before I did. Of course she had seen her coming, that little fortuneteller of a pixie. Emmett was soon to follow when he met Bella for the first time. He of course had cracked up the first time I told him that I was in love with a human. "That is so something only you would do," he had mocked me. But when he learned how wonderful Bella truly was he embraced her like she was his own sister. Of course he also teased her like she was his own sister but luckily Bella held her own when it came to Emmett's teasing and there have been numerous occasions where she got back at him good for making fun of something she said or did.

Jasper and Rosalie were both hesitant to let Bella in. However, both had their different reasons. Jasper had a problem being close to humans at the time. He was rather new to our vegetarian lifestyle and none of us have struggled with it as hard as he has. But it wasn't long before Bella unleashed her charms on him and he had no choice but to adore her as much as we all did. Now they spent their afternoons reading in silence or discussing whatever pops into Bella's mind at the time. I can tell from Jasper's thoughts that he is fascinated by the way Bella's mind works almost as much as I am and her truth and honest emotions never cease to amaze him. Jasper reads people's emotions and is able to influence them if he finds it necessary. Since Bella joined our lives Jasper has been drawn to her. She is always genuinely happy and it is a very welcome break from all the hurt and pain other people sometimes feel. But it has never been more than just a bond worthy of siblings.

Then there's Rosalie. She had the hardest time accepting Bella as part of our family. It was never anything personal but she just hated the decision Bella was making by being with me. She was giving up her life, her future, everything Rosalie ever dreamed off. She hated Bella for it for a long time. But she grew to like Bella as a person and she acknowledged the strength of our bond. Rosalie would never try to deny me my happiness and now the same goes for Bella. Rosalie sees that the only way we are ever truly happy is when we are together so she will never stand between us or do anything to jeopardize my relationship with Bella. Rosalie actually really likes Bella and by now the two of them are closer than I had ever thought possible when I first introduced Bella to my family.

Bella's family is a bit peculiar but they are all very good people and anything they ever want is what is best for Bella. Charlie, Bella's father, didn't like me much in the beginning; I was just a guy who was trying to steal his daughter away from him. He wanted to protect her from the big bad world for as long as he could and I seemed to be taking her away much quicker than he had foreseen. He had every right to want to keep me away from his daughter; I was after all the most dangerous thing out there pretty much. But in the end he grew to like me and as soon as he saw that his daughter was in good hands with me and I would never do anything to hurt her, he let go and actually started to like me.

Renée, Bella's mother, was a completely different story altogether. The moment we met she knew there was something different about me. But she never saw it as a bad thing. She could tell I was a good guy and she immediately noticed the strength of the bond between Bella and me. We had only been together for a few weeks at the time but for some reason Renée was already convinced that Bella and I would end up getting married. She had been supportive of our relationship from the start and she was also a big part of the reason Charlie finally gave in and realized that I was indeed the man his daughter wanted to be with and in his eyes I was worthy of her in the end.

There was only one person in Bella's life at the time we met that I didn't like at all. Jacob Black. Nowadays it seems silly since he is her best friend, and a good friend at that, and if it wasn't for him I may have never met Bella. But I hated his guts for the first year of our relationship. And deservedly so if I am completely truthful.

It all happened at the pool five years ago…

"Edward quit your whining! It's been way too long since we've done anything fun with the five of us and you're coming whether you like it or not!" Alice said sternly.

She had been bugging me to do something fun for weeks now and every time I had been able to get out of it. Because 'fun' for Alice usually meant something uncomfortable or boring for me.

She had already convinced Emmett and Rosalie to come along to the pool and Jasper never really had a choice, the poor guy. And now I was the only one holding up the plans.

Please Edward, every time you cancel on her, she takes it out on me! Jasper's pleading thoughts hit me and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It wasn't his fault the little pixie had just a bit too much energy for my taste and she wanted to mingle with humans a little more than the rest of us.

"Thank you Edward! It'll be fun, you'll see!" Alice said confidently, already seeing my decision before I could voice my thoughts.

"Yeah, whatever, let's just go," I grumbled in annoyance. I had hoped to spend the afternoon reading a book in the peace and quiet of my room but instead I was going to have to go to a pool of all places! We had a river in our backyard! Why did we need to go to a pool to go swimming was beyond me.

"Have fun guys!" Carlisle called after us as the five of us left the house. I saw a little bit more of his thoughts than I wanted to and could tell that he planned on making use of his time alone with Esme. I let out an annoyed groan and the only reply I got from Carlisle was a chuckled apology.

"Oh lighten up Edward, this is supposed to be fun remember! We never go anywhere together anymore, you used to be so much fun," Alice said a little bitterly.

She was right though, I used to do everything with Alice, not minding where we went. My many shopping trips with Alice made food for endless teasing on Emmett's part, questioning my sexuality. Add to that the fact that I had never had a girlfriend and never seemed to show any interest in any of the girls I came across and I was an easy target for my beloved brother.

"I'm sorry," I muttered weakly and made a feeble attempt to smile.

"Don't strain yourself brother dear," Emmett said, clearly enjoying my misery.

We arrived at the swimming pool and I could already hear the buzz from all the children and teenagers inside. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and even though the appeal of a public pool was beyond me I did have to say that it would be nice to have some fun again with the five of us. Although being in a public pool meant we had to watch our every move, we couldn't get into anything as long as we were here.

We all went into our respective locker rooms and quickly changed into our swimming gear. It wasn't long before we were meeting at the showers to go into the pool area.

"Let's go check out the slides!" Alice said enthusiastically.

I wanted to stay on her good side now so I decided to follow her with as much enthusiasm as I could.

We went down the slides a couple of times and Emmett, Jasper and I made a race out of who could splash the most water upon arrival, with Alice and Rosalie being our helpful judges. Emmett won of course and he did not let us forget it for the rest of the day.

The afternoon went by quickly and I had to admit that I had indeed had a lot of fun. We walked through the restaurant on our way to the locker rooms when I heard a thought that disturbed me.

Ah she is all alone. I can finally talk to her again! She won't say no again will she? I didn't recognize the boy's voice but I didn't like the tone in his thoughts at all so I decided to monitor the situation for a little bit to see if I could maybe offer some assistance.

I could see that the boy was trying very hard not to think of the times the girl rejected him already. I couldn't see the girl he was after quite clearly through his mind because every image he had of her he tried to push away as quickly as it came on.

Instinctively I walked a couple of steps closer to the boy, trying to figure out who this girl was he seemed so interested in. That's when I saw the girl through the boy's mind and I was stunned for a moment. She was more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen before. She had long brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. I was both appalled and thankful that the boy I had been following was looking the girl up and down now because it gave me a perfect view of her beautiful appearance. She was wearing a simple bikini but it looked marvelous on her. I was immediately drawn to her, without ever having met her myself.

The boy continued to walk towards the girl until he was close enough to start a conversation.

Man up Jake! She hasn't called you and she won't return your calls so this is your only shot. The boy told himself sternly.

"I like you in your bikini," he greeted the girl rather rudely, making me let out a growl. He was faking confidence and I wasn't sure if the girl bought it.

"Right," she replied rather uncomfortably.

She didn't look at ease at all and it made me wonder if the boy had actually been bugging her frequently. I felt a protective urge come on and I couldn't help it but walk just slightly closer to where the conversation was taking place. I was hoping to catch the girl's mind to see just how much this boy had been harassing her.

But to my surprise I found nothing. No matter how hard I focused on the girl and nothing but the girl, I didn't seem to be able to locate her thoughts. Something that had never happened to me before. It made me both afraid as well as curious. So I just continued to monitor the situation through the boy's eyes.

"What do you want Jacob?" she questioned rather unkindly, which made me think that he had been harassing her more than just a few times.

She didn't seem like an unfriendly girl, on the contrary, so it had to be something this boy, apparently named Jacob, had done to her in the past. I was curious to learn just what he had done.

I could tell that the boy was rather taken aback by the attitude of the girl but he quickly composed himself to continue his bold advances. "I want you to change your mind about me," he replied, feigning confidence again.

I was starting to get really annoyed by the boy's behavior; I wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face for making this beautiful girl so clearly uncomfortable. But I couldn't do anything like that, especially not in public. Maybe I could wait him up outside the pool and… No! I told myself sternly, this was not my job!

But I wanted nothing more to protect the girl. So I searched for an opening to help her out.

"That's not going to happen," the girl replied confidently.

Again the boy was a little taken aback by her stern voice.

"Why?" the boy named Jacob pressed.

"I'm just not interested in you Jacob," the girl continued, not once needing to think about her answer.

The boy obviously didn't know how to take no for an answer because he kept pushing himself on her and I was grinding my teeth and holding myself back with all the strength I had. I wanted to punch this guy so badly.

"I don't believe you, I've seen the way you look at me, and the way you always used to look at me, it's just not possible that you don't have those feelings for me," the boy was still keeping up his confident performance but I could tell he was slowly starting to doubt his own thoughts.

"I have told you many times but I will tell you again if that's what you need. I. Don't. Like. You." The girl said clearly and slowly as if she was explaining something to a child.

"I don't believe you," the boy said again and I rolled my eyes at him in annoyance.

"Give it up Jake! You and I is just never going to happen!" the girl said again but I could tell that she was uncomfortable and was pretty much at the end of her wits.

"Why not? It's not like you have a boyfriend now is it?" the boy pressed.

I saw a flash of doubt in the girl's mind and realized that this was the opening I had been waiting for. My chance to save this beautiful girl from the obnoxious boy harassing her.

"As a matter of fact, she does have a boyfriend," I started confidently.

The girl turned towards me and looked at me with complete shock and disbelief on her face. I had to fight back a smile, she looked adorable. I decided to help her out a little bit further. "Hi babe, sorry I'm late," I said before leaning in and boldly placing a small kiss on her cheek.

The feel of her skin on my lips was more wonderful than anything I had ever felt before and I had a hard time pulling away. She smelled heavenly and I could instantly feel the burning in my throat. I had to be very careful now not to give anything away.

"Just play along," I whispered softly to get myself back to reality and to set the girl's mind at ease a little, letting her know that I was there to rescue her, not to play some sick game.

Blood rushed to her cheeks and she looked even more beautiful than she had done before.

"It's okay," the girl muttered rather insecurely.

The boy named Jacob didn't seem to notice the little play that was going on here so I decided to focus on my goal, getting him as far away from the beautiful girl as I could. Whatever would happen next we would deal with later.

What was I saying? Whatever would happen next? What did that mean? Nothing would happen next obviously! She would go back to living her life and I would go back to what passed as living mine.

"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen, her boyfriend, and who are you?" I asked the boy confidently.

That's Bella's boyfriend? I will stand no chance against that! Jacob thought in somewhat despair.

Bella. What a beautiful name. And it suited her so well.

"Err, I'm Jacob," the boy said as soon as he could speak again. "You're Bella's boyfriend?" He questioned unsurely.

I had to fight back a small smile at his shocked expression.

"Yes I am," I said confidently. Acting had been part of my life for so long now, pretending to be human every day, that it didn't take me too much effort to put on this show. In addition I really liked Bella and it was more than just wishful thinking to pretend to be her boyfriend. For some reason, even though I didn't know her at all, it felt like a dream come true. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to get to know her a little better after this? I would love to know more about what's going on in her mind since I didn't seem to be able to read it. But first things first, I needed to get rid of this obnoxious boy for once and for all. "Well, Jacob, I would greatly appreciate it if you would leave Bella alone from now on, as you can see she is taken," I bluffed.

Jacob seemed to buy it because his face fell. "S-sure," the boy muttered. "Sorry Bells," he added to the girl before turning around and walking away.

The girl just stared after Jacob for a while, she seemed like she was deep in thoughts. Then she turned her attention to me, still with a slight blush on her cheeks. "Thank you for that," she said sweetly. "I'm Bella, Bella Swan," she continued to introduce herself.

Bella Swan. It was safe to say that I was already completely hooked on this girl and I didn't even know her yet!

"Edward Cullen," I introduced myself. "And it was my pleasure. I'm happy I could help, you seemed like you needed it," I rambled.

Bella seemed to deliberate for a little bit, staring at me with an expression I couldn't quite place. But then she smiled at me slightly. "Yeah, Jacob has been bugging me for quite a bit," she said softly.

"Well, if you ever need any help with him again, I gladly offer my services," I said jokingly. But secretly I hoped she would take me up on that offer, if it meant being able to see her and rescue her again I would gladly do it.

Bella let out a musical laugh at my joke and if I still had a beating heart it would have definitely skipped a beat by now.

"Thank you very much. It's not even that Jacob is a bad guy; he used to be my best friend when we were little. But then he fell in love with me and wouldn't accept that I didn't feel the same way about him. So I broke contact with him about two years ago and this was the first time I had seen him since," she explained softly.

I couldn't really blame Jacob for falling in love with Bella; she seemed like an extraordinary girl, unlike any girl I had ever met before. "I understand, I can't really blame him for not wanting to accept that he can't have you," I said and I wanted to slap myself for saying it out loud. She probably would think I was some jerk as well. But now that the words were already out I might as well go for it too. "Would you like to have a drink with me?" I offered, hoping and praying that she would say yes.

That's when I realized that she had already ordered drinks and she wasn't here alone. It was silly for me to assume that she had been here alone, a girl like that must have a lot of friends. But I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to her yet. So I thought of a plan.

My siblings probably couldn't care less if I would decide to stay here the rest of the afternoon.

Have fun! Alice's thoughts hit me as soon as I decided I wanted to stay here. She had obviously already seen my plans and I was just thankful that she wanted to help out. That also made me a bit more confident that Bella was actually willing to spend some time with me.

"Why don't I help you carry those to your table?" I offered instead.

"Thank you," she replied with a soft smile.

Bella suddenly rolled her eyes, evidently at something she was thinking, which made me curious. I wanted to know what was going on inside her head and I couldn't stop myself from boldly asking her to share her thoughts with me. "What are you thinking?"

The blush on her cheeks deepened and she looked adorable. "Nothing," she muttered dismissively.

I wasn't going to give up so easily. "It didn't seem like nothing," I noted.

"I just feel like a hopeless person right now, that I need a hero to save me," she replied softly. That was definitely not an answer I had expected and I couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"You don't look hopeless to me at all. You actually seem pretty great." The words were out before I realized it and I hoped I wasn't scaring her off with them. "That's also why I'd like to get to know you better. If you want, that is," I added the last part quickly, giving her the option to say no. I would leave her alone if she would, she didn't need anyone else on her tail the way Jacob had been.

But to my great relief she didn't turn me down. "I'd like that very much, you are my hero after all," she replied with a brilliant smile.

I could feel a sigh in my stomach and I couldn't stop a victorious smile from creeping onto my face. "Good," I said relieved.

We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out and getting to know each other. We sat at the table with her friends but all I could focus on was Bella. I had no interest in the people she was with whatsoever; all I wanted to do was get to know her better.

That is also why I was sad to see the day end and I didn't want to give up my time with her just yet. So I offered to drive her home, like a true hero should.

"Thank you very much for today," she said as soon as we reached her front door.

"You are very welcome, I'm very happy I was able to help," I said softly. "You're an amazing girl Bella," I added before I realized it.

This girl seemed to have a strange effect on my ability to filter what I was saying. It was like I wanted her to know everything there was to know about me just like I wanted to know everything there was to know about her.

Luckily Bella didn't seem to think I was weird or pushy at all. Instead she rewarded me with a shy smile. "Thanks," she muttered before she turned her gaze away from me and focused on the floor.

"Please don't hide," I said softly before boldly placing my finger under her chin and lifting it up slightly.

She just stared at me for a moment and I stared right back at her. I wasn't sure what I was doing at the moment. I could feel the butterflies flying around in my stomach and it was a feeling unlike anything I had ever felt before. I saw Bella slowly reaching towards me and when I realized what she was doing my heart flipped in joy. I wanted nothing more than to lift her up and kiss her. But I knew I had to be careful. So I carefully moved one of my hands so that it was cupping her face. I softly pulled her closer and lowered my head to grant her easy access. To my surprise she quickly closed the distance between us and crushed her lips to mine. The electricity that flew between us during the kiss made my head spin and it was more wonderful than anything I had ever experienced in my 100+ years of life. I moved my other hand towards her other cheek so I could hold her face in my hands, it was the most precious thing I would ever hold and it felt wonderful that she was surrendering to me so completely. I deepened the kiss, putting in emotions I had never felt before and it was wonderful. I felt like I was going to faint, knowing full well that that was not a possibility for a vampire. It truly was the most wonderful and perfect moment in my entire existence.

And that's how I met Bella. We are still living happily ever after and I'm pretty sure that's never going to change.

A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed the little EPOV here :) I sure enjoyed writing it :) I always love knowing what you guys thought of my stories :) Like I said earlier, real life is kicking my butt a bit so I don't have that much time to write or even think of stories but I will be back as soon as I can with other stories :) So stay tuned ;)

Until next time!

Xxx

Thari