So… in honor of my graduating high school yesterday, here is a sweet little snippet for you all. It's a flashback.

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I wrung my sweaty palms together, and nervously glanced around the auditorium. Would anyone show up? I seriously doubted that any self respecting college student would set foot in this room, but it was worth a try. To my utter amazement, several dozen giggling girls poured in the double doors, unashamedly ogling me in my uniform. I was so uncomfortable. The University of Washington had requested a fire safety presentation from one of the city's fire departments, and I was the new kid who had drawn the short straw.

I cleared my throat, ran my hands one last time through my hair, and stood up to speak.

"He-hello," I winced as the microphone feedback reverberated around the room.

"He stutters, how sweet," a blonde girl stage whispered to her friend, twirling a stray ringlet between her manicured fingernails, and giving me a coy wink.

This was going to be a long hour.

Fifty-six minutes later, I was done.

"And that is how you would safely exit a crowded fraternity house in the middle of a fire. This concludes my presentation."

I shut off my PowerPoint and closed the laptop.

"Are there any questions?"

A blushing female in the back timidly raised her hand.

"Yes?" I nodded my head in her direction.

"Are you single?"

"I don't exactly see how that relates to fire-"

I knew all these females couldn't be that interested in fire safety.

"Yeah, are you?" The petite girl next to her brazenly questioned, peering at me.

"Do you have any brothers?"

"Are they single?"

I brushed off the barrage of personal questions and began packing up. I wasn't here to linger. None of the girls I saw here interested me. And when push came to shove, not too many of them were interested in me. Sure, they were intrigued by my line of work, but none of them were prepared to watch me go to the edge of death and back. I seriously doubted any woman was.

A commotion in front of the stairwell caught my attention, and I paused to see what the fuss was about. If someone was hurt, I would be able to help.

"Can you believe it? She did it again." Someone snickered.

"Are you always this clumsy, Swan?"

"It's like she's handicapped or something!"

"And the score stands- Stairs: too many to count; Swan: zero!"

More eruptions of laughter and sniggering.

I felt bad for this 'Swan' girl, whoever she was. I didn't think college kids were so immature.

The little crowd eventually dispersed, leaving the person who had been the center of unwelcome attention in my direct line of sight.

A petite brunette was hurriedly shoving textbooks into a torn book bag, sniffling and wiping her eyes. Her long mahogany hair was cascading down her back, looking like a chocolate waterfall.

She glanced up at the wall clock in front of her, giving me a good look at her face.

And what a face it was.

Pale, heart shaped, complete with rosy cheeks, full crimson lips, and luminous brown eyes.

I had never seen someone so beautiful. And so unattainable.

Don't even go there, Cullen. She's way out of your league.

Even if I had no chance of a future with this girl, I could check to see if she was okay.

"Miss, are you alright?"

She looked up, startled to find her face inches from my own. Her whole body tensed, and she blushed, evidently embarrassed.

"I'm- I'm okay. This kind of stuff happens all the time. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Somewhere, an angel was missing her voice. The goddess in front of me had stolen it.

"You don't look fine," I said, pointing at her ankle. It was slightly inflamed and was flushed pink.

She laughed, but it sounded strained.

"I'll just put it some ice on it when I get back to my dorm. Thanks, for uh, caring."

All of her books were neatly in her bag, and she struggled to get up. I held out my hand, and she tentatively took it, pulling herself up. She couldn't have been more than five and a half feet, and I couldn't help but feel how right her warm little hand felt in mine.

No, Edward. You can't think like that. What if her boyfriend saw you holding her hand?

I quickly pulled my hand away from hers, and she looked startled.

"I should- um, go… It was nice to meet you…"

"Bella. Bella Swan. And you are?"

"Edward Cullen." I may have sounded a little stiff, but I didn't want her to think I was hitting on her or anything. Goodness knows what her boyfriend would do to me.

Her sparkly little smile dimmed, but she tossed her hair over her shoulder and grabbed her bag off of the floor. She looked up at the clock on the wall again and frowned.

"I have to go. I have class in four minutes. Thanks again, Edward." She smiled one last time before leaving me alone in the empty classroom.

I stood still, gazing at the door she had just exited, thinking of the way my name sounded on her lips.

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I know it was short, but this should tide you guys over till the next chapter.

I'm not expecting anything from you guys, and I'm so thankful for every review I get. I'm always worried no one will leave me feedback. I don't think I deserve or am entitled to your feedback, so I'm always blown away when even one person reviews.

That being said… not even a third of my dear readers bothered to leave me feedback for chapter two. I write for you guys. I don't get any sort of pleasure reading my own work, so if I never updated again, I would be more than okay with it. I know that hurts my faithful handful of people, but it's how I feel. If one day you find I've discontinued this story, you'll know it's no longer worth it for me. So… make it worth my while, I guess?

I know every author asks you to review, so if you don't want to, don't. There's no pressure. If you care, and want this story to continue, you'll let me know. If you don't, that's fine. I won't be angry, upset, or sad. I don't consider a discontinued story a failure. I'm passive aggressive with my writing. I don't care if it doesn't get finished, but I'd be livid if someone plagiarized it. I do have this story completely planned out, though…

I'm sorry if you think I'm being ungrateful. I know I am, and that authors with much less support still press on, unlike me.

Nevertheless, thanks for your support. I'm working on writing a chapter in advance so I have a teaser for you guys, if you leave me some love. :)

One last thing- longer chapters, but longer waits between updates, or shorter chapters and shorter time between updates? Which do you prefer?