Disclaimer: It's not mine.

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews I received last chapter and for all those that read. Big thanks to Chylex28 for helping me out. I'm always a bit nervous when a post a new chapter, and this is no different.

Design For Life

"The tattoo attracts and also repels precisely because it is different." ~Margo DeMello

BPOV

I, officially, hated moving. I'd moved more times than I could count, thanks to my mother's inability to stay in one place too long. Renee was a bit of a free spirit, almost child-like, which led to me being the adult in our little family of two. When I was seventeen we moved to Phoenix, and for the first time, I felt like I was home. Thankfully, she'd met a man named Charlie, who was a cop, and they fell madly in love. After graduation, I headed to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix with plans to get a degree in English education. Money was tight, so halfway through my freshman year, I got a job working as a receptionist at New Moon, a tattoo shop in downtown Phoenix. Charlie wasn't thrilled with my place of employment.

Billy Black, the owner of New Moon, was awesome. I remembered walking into his shop, terrified of what I'd find. I was so naive when it came to the world of tattooing. I don't know what I expected, but I wasn't expecting the comfy, clean atmosphere that was New Moon. Billy sat behind the counter, long black hair pulled back, arms covered in tattoos. I told him that I was interested in being a receptionist, and he hired me right then and there. The following four years were a learning experience. Once Billy learned that I could draw, he asked me if I was interested in learning how to tattoo. To my great surprise, I was, and to my even greater surprise, I was good at it. I'd found my calling.

I finished out school; graduated with my degree in English education, and went to work as a full-time artist at New Moon. Renee didn't really care about my choice of career, but Charlie was less than thrilled. Especially, since I had, slowly, become tattooed over the years and was dating a fellow artist. He felt that I was wasting my potential. The next two years passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was being featured as an artist at the Arizona Tattoo Expo. That was where Jacob Black, Billy's son, asked me to come work for him. Jacob had set up his own shop, Eclipse, in a small town in Washington, and was looking for a qualified artist. I spent three weeks contemplating whether or not I wanted to move to Washington and leave the sunny warmth of Arizona behind me. I sat down with Billy and had a long talk, and after some consideration, I decided that a change of venue was in order.

That was how I found myself moving to the sleepy little town of Forks, Washington. I'd found a cute little house for sale for pretty cheap, and I snatched it up. I was excited to have my own place. I'd been living with Renee and Charlie while in school and was thrilled to be on my own. I spent my first week getting myself settled in, not only to my house, but to my job as well. I truly loved what I did. Eclipse was a small shop, but had a lot of clientele, and I was welcomed with open arms. By the end of the first week, I was desperate for a good book. The nerdy bookworm was there, underneath all the tattoos, and I knew that Forks had a library. I wasn't sure what time they closed. Realizing that it was almost six, I hopped into my old truck and headed toward the library.

It was cute. As was the guy behind the desk. I noticed the hours on the door and realized that they'd be closing soon. I hated when people waited until the last minute before coming in, and here I was, doing the same. Walking quickly, I approached the bronze haired man at the desk.

"H ... hi. May I help you?" he stuttered.

Poor boy, seemed to be a bit shy. Odd that he would work in a customer service type job. Flashing him a smile, I told him that I wanted to get a library card. He asked for my license, which I handed over, noticing that his hands trembled when he took it from me. I felt really bad for him. He was really hot, but seemed a bit flustered whenever I met his gaze. He handed me an application and a pen, which I managed to catch, before it rolled off the counter. He blushed and immediately turned his eyes to the computer to start inputting my information. I filled out the form and managed to catch my license, when he accidentally flung it. He really was too cute. After getting my card, I asked him if he could show me the fiction books. He managed to trip on the corner of a bookshelf, and I reached out to grab his arm before he fell. He really was adorable. Wholesome and good. Not the kind of guy I would ever date.

I spent Saturday at the shop. Seth, Jacob's partner, in more ways than one, was out sick, so I offered to fill in. The morning was slow, spent doing inventory and the occasional tat. I had just finished cleaning up from the previous appointment, when this blond bombshell walked in.

"Welcome to Eclipse. Can I help you?" I asked her.

She gave me a cool glance, then asked if Seth was around.

"He's out, and Jacob's at lunch. I'm all you've got."

"Who are you?"

"Bella Swan. I just moved up here. I worked for Billy, Jacob's dad, back in Phoenix."

She looked me up and down and must have decided that I'd do. She told me that she was interested in getting a piercing. Turns out that she'd had one nipple pierced earlier in the year by Seth, and wanted to get the other one done. No biggie. I'd pierced more nipples than I could count, both male and female. After getting the necessary equipment, I led her over to my station. She removed her shirt and bra, and I got to work. It didn't take very long, and she seemed happy with how it turned out. I gave her the usual taking care of your piercing lecture, she paid, and then I was alone.

"Hey, Bells!" Jacob called out, as he walked in.

"Hey, Jake. How's Seth feeling?"

"He's whining like a bitch in heat. Lordy, that boy is the worst patient ever."

I grinned at him. "All you men are babies when you're sick. I'm sure he'd be saying the same about you."

"Probably," he said, grinning, then heading over to his station.

Jacob Black was gorgeous. Tall, muscular, with copper colored skin, thanks to his Native American heritage. His long black hair was in a braid down his back. He arms were covered in tats, as was his back and chest. Not to mention the nipple piercings, the tongue piercing, the ears with gauges, and I was pretty sure his cock was pierced as well. He was the kind of guy I would date, with the minor fact that he was as gay as Tim Gunn. When I'd first met Jacob, years ago, I had flirted long and hard with him, only to be shocked to find out he was gay. He didn't give off that vibe. He introduced me to Seth, his boyfriend and business partner, who was just as equally gorgeous. Just my luck to be surrounded by good looking gay men.

"So, Bells. When's Laurent coming up?"

Laurent Demitri was my long time boyfriend. We'd been dating for three years, after we met at a tattoo expo in Vegas. He had been less than thrilled that I'd moved out here, but I was going to try and convince him to move out here. Jacob needed another artist for the shop, and Laurent was really good.

"Next week. We haven't talked much lately, but I'm hoping to convince him to move in with me."

"Good luck," Jacob snorted. He knew that Laurent hated the cold. I wasn't particularly fond of it myself, but I was going to have to suck it up and get used to it.

I spent Saturday night reading the books that I'd gotten from the library, and spending more time than I would have liked, thinking about the bronze haired man. There was something about him that got to me. Sunday, I rolled out of bed and lazed around before getting dressed to head to the grocery store. I needed to stock up on supplies, in case I got snowed in. I realized that sounded a bit ridiculous, but I was from the desert. For all I knew, a huge snow storm could hit at any moment.

I had just climbed into my truck, when I noticed the guy from the library getting out of his car, in the driveway next to mine. I rolled down the window and waved to him.

"Hey!" I called to him.

He looked up, a bit flustered, and gave me a small wave. I realized that I didn't know his name, so I decided to ask him.

"Oh, I'm Edward. Edward Cullen," he said in a velvet voice.

Edward. Such an old fashioned name. It suited him perfectly.

"I'm Bella Swan. Looks like we're neighbors," I told him. He nodded, not saying anything. He really was a shy guy. After a few more minutes of small talk, I waved goodbye and headed to the store.

I killed an hour at the store, then headed home. I noticed the light in his living room was on, and part of me wanted to go over and talk to him, but I didn't. After putting my groceries away, I sat down and finished Wuthering Heights, a book I'd read a million and seventy-five times. I'd left my copy at home, and hoped Laurent remembered to bring it with him when he came up. Thinking of him, I decided to give him a call.

"Hey, baby," I said when he answered.

"Hey, babe. How's bumfuck, Washington?"

"It's not that bad. Quite charming. Cold, though."

I heard him snort. "Have no fucking doubt about that. You couldn't pay me a million bucks to live in that shit."

Convincing him to move up here wasn't looking very promising.

"I'm sure you get used to it after a while."

"What the fuck ever. Arizona is home."

"I guess that means you wouldn't be willing to move up here and work for Jacob?"

"Babe, we've been over this. I'm sure Jacob's a cool dude, but I don't want to work for him. I like working for Billy. I fucking love Phoenix. I'm a big city kind of guy, and you work in a small ass town."

"Seattle isn't that far away. You know? The home of grunge."

"Bella. It ain't happening. I'll come visit and whatnot, but I refuse to move there."

Fan-fucking-tastic. Sometimes Laurent was such an ass.

"Are you still coming up this week?"

"Yeah."

We spent the next forty minutes catching up, but when we hung up, I wasn't nearly as excited for him to visit as I had been.

Monday morning was cold and snowy. This would be my first attempt at driving The Beast in the snow, but Jacob had put chains on my tires, so I was sure I'd be okay. Heading out of the house, I was pleasantly surprised to see Edward coming out of his.

"Good morning, Edward. Off to work?" I asked him.

"Yes. You?"

"Yep. Gotta head into Port Angeles and get the shop open."

Curiosity was written all over his face. "Oh. What is it that you do?"

"I'm a tattoo artist."

The look on his face had me laughing. He was completely shocked. People often reacted that way. Billy said it was because I looked so wholesome and sweet.

"Uh ... really? You tattoo people?"

"Yeah. I've been doing it for a while now. I love it."

"Do you have any?" he asked, biting his lower lip.

Giving him a grin, I replied, "of course." I was pretty sure my response left him stunned. He mumbled a goodbye and started walking toward town. Smiling at his silly behavior, I headed out to Port Angeles. I spent the morning talking to Jacob and Seth, who was finally feeling better.

"Have you met anyone in Forks yet?" Seth asked me as he doodled on a piece of paper.

"Yeah. I met my neighbor. He also works at the library."

"Ooo. He's a nerd!"

"Yes, but he's a cute nerd."

That got both of their attentions. "Do tell," Jake said.

"He's tall. A little over six feet, looks toned, has this awesome bronze colored hair, and these gorgeous green eyes."

"What's his name?" Jake asked.

"Edward Cullen."

That got gasps out of both of them, and then laughter.

"Hell no! Bells has the hots for Little Cullen."

I didn't understand what was so funny. And besides, "I don't have the hots for him. I just think he's cute."

"He is cute," Seth agreed. "His brother, Emmett, got a tattoo from me not too long ago. His wife, Rosalie, got her nip pierced as well."

"I think I met her last week," I told him, as I described her.

"Yup. That's her. She's something else."

Jake was still giggling over the fact that I found Edward Cullen cute.

"Bella, you have to understand. Little Cullen doesn't date. He's only had like one girlfriend, ever. He's very much a nerd. Last I heard, he was getting his Master's in Library Science."

I shrugged. Nothing wrong with being a nerd. I did feel bad that he wasn't very lucky in the girlfriend department. I didn't understand that. "He's quite good looking. Why doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

Seth gave me a shrug. "Who knows. He's a nice guy. Really nice. Kind of old fashioned. He's very proper. Emmett said that he doesn't even swear."

I couldn't imagine never swearing. I swore like a drunken Irish sailor. I couldn't understand what my fascination with Little Cullen was, but I was intrigued by him. At around two, Jacob told me to head home, and warned me to be careful driving. The snow wasn't super bad, but it was coming down. As I arrived in Forks, I stopped at my house and gathered up my books, deciding to make a stop at the library. I walked in and found Edward behind the desk, reading a book.

"Good book?"

He looked up, slightly startled. He marked his place and told me that it was okay. Good lord, getting this boy to talk was like pulling teeth. "Well, I wanted to stop in and return the books I borrowed. My own books finally arrived earlier this afternoon."

He took the books from me with his trembling hands. I hated that I made him nervous. I just wanted to hug him and tell him not to be. Although, that would probably cause him to have a coronary. After I handed them to him, a young man with curly blond hair and beautiful blue eyes approached me.

"Hi. I'm Jasper Whitlock," he said, holding out a hand.

"Bella Swan," I told him with a smile.

"I see you've met Eddie here. I'm dating his sister, Alice. She does story time on Fridays. Anyway, seeing as how I've heard so much about you, I thought I'd introduce myself to you."

Interesting. Edward had talked about me to his friends. I raised an eyebrow and asked Jasper what he'd heard. He told me that Edward had told him I was a tattoo artist. I soon found out that Jasper and Alice wanted to get tattoos. I had a good time chatting with Jasper, and found myself liking him instantly. There was something very calming about him. He explained that he was a history buff, and wanted a tattoo that related to his love of history. I told him to come by the shop on his next day off and see if we couldn't set him up with something. We talked for a while more, and knew without a doubt that I had a new friend in Jasper. I left the library, heading toward Newton's Sporting Goods to buy a shovel and some salt for my sidewalk.

I was on my way home when I spotted Edward walking in the snow. Rolling my window down, I called out his name and winced when I saw him slip and fall. I threw the truck into park and rushed over to help him. It looked like he'd taken a nasty spill, and it was completely my fault. Helping him sit up, I asked if he was okay. Once he confirmed that he was, I offered to drive him home. I couldn't begin to fathom what he was doing out here in a snow storm.

"Oh ... I always walk to work. It gives me time to think," he said in a quiet voice.

"But it's snowing out!"

He let out a little laugh. "Eh, just a little bit."

A little bit? It was a fucking blizzard out there.

"I've lived here my whole life. I'm used to it. I guess coming from Phoenix, this does seem like a lot," he said, with a small smile.

I let out a little laugh. "It's not that I haven't seen snow before, but it's been a long time. Not since I lived in Wisconsin, when I was around eight or so."

"Oh. You're not originally from Phoenix?" he asked. I was glad to see him talking a bit more.

I shook my head. "Renee, my mom, is a bit flighty. She's a free spirit and as a result we moved a lot. I moved to Phoenix when I was seventeen."

"Uh ... how old are you? If you don't mind me asking."

"I turned twenty-four in September. How old are you?"

"Twenty-three this past June."

Our conversation came to a crawl as I pulled into my drive. He thanked me for the ride and quickly scurried inside his house. I let out a small sigh. He was so fucking adorable. My phone began ringing the second I stepped into the house. Checking the number, I saw it was Laurent.

"Hey, baby."

"Hey, babe! I managed to catch a flight out earlier than I thought. I wanted to let you know that I'm hanging out with Jacob and Seth."

I was a bit stunned. He'd gotten into Seattle earlier and hadn't bothered to call me and let me know that he was here. Fucking jerk.

"Nice of you to let me know," I snarled.

"Chill out babe. Jacob said he'd drop me off at your place in an hour. We've all week to catch up."

I hung up, pissed off. Sometimes, Laurent was such a fucking prick. An hour later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it and saw Laurent standing there, shivering. I motioned him in, and moments later, I was wrapped up in a tight hug. I was still ticked at him, but I returned his hug. He went to kiss me, but I ducked it.

"Ah, c'mon babe. Don't be like that," he whined.

"Excuse me. Be like what?"

"Like this. I just wanted to surprise you," he pleaded. I rolled my eyes, but forgave him. He was constantly doing stuff like that. He meant well, but often did things without thinking them through.

This time when he went to kiss me, I let him. Warm lips pressed against mine, his tongue tracing over my lips, begging for entrance. I granted it, and his tongue swept in, tangling with me. Minutes of passionate kisses ensued, before we broke off, both needing to breath. We spent the night catching up, then sexing it up. I'd love to say that Laurent was fantastic in bed, but I'd be lying. He wasn't bad, just not fantastic.

The following morning, Jake was planning on taking Laurent into Seattle, to check out a small tattoo convention that was going on. I was going to be manning the shop with Seth. Stepping out onto my porch, I gave Laurent a kiss goodbye, watching as he climbed into Jake's truck. I spied Edward getting ready to head to work, so I threw a wave his way. He waved back, but he looked so sad. Like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I wondered what could possibly be bothering him. In the short time that I'd known Edward, I'd come to care for him. I couldn't explain it, but there it was. I stood on my porch until Edward was out of sight, then I headed in and began to get ready for my day. Fifteen minutes later, I headed out the door. I had just pulled up to the intersection between Blackberry Avenue and Division Street, when I saw an ambulance at the corner. I watched as the paramedics began to lift a stretcher into the ambulance, and noticed in horror as I saw a familiar head of bronze hair. Oh, shit! Something had happened to Edward. A small crowd of people had gathered around, I got out of my truck and approached the first person I saw.

"What happened?"

The elderly woman barely glanced my way as she replied, "He got hit by a car."

How the fuck could she be so fucking calm? "Is he going to be okay?"

She nodded her head. "I'm sure Edward will be fine, dear. They're taking him to Forks Community if you want to visit him."

I couldn't understand how she could be so calm about this. She reached over and patted my shoulder with a wrinkled hand. "Edward's a bit clumsy. This town has seen him have many accidents. He has his own bed at the hospital," she cackled.

Taking a deep breath, I figured that if this woman wasn't too worried about him, then surely he would be fine. My phone began to ring, and I pulled it out, noticing that it was Seth.

"Sorry, Seth! I'm running a bit late."

He let out a sigh. "I was worried that maybe something had happened to you."

I explained that there was an accident and that Edward had gotten hurt.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I think so. According to this woman I talked to, he's accident prone, and seeing him rushed off to the hospital is practically an everyday occurrence."

I hung up the phone, climbed back into The Beast, and continued to work. I had a few appointments, then we had a few college kids come in and browse around, debating on whether or not to get tattooed. By the time lunch rolled around, I was anxious to find out if Edward was okay. Realizing that I didn't have a number to reach him at, I wasn't sure who to call, so I called the library and asked to speak with Jasper.

"Hello?"

"Jasper? This is Bella. Bella Swan. We met the other day."

He let out a chuckle. "Hello, Bella. What can I do for you?"

"Uh ... I heard that Edward got hit by a car today. Is he okay?"

"Hit by a car? Did you talk to Mrs. Riley? Old lady in her 90's, crazy white hair?"

"Sounds like her."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "That woman. She always over-exaggerates. He wasn't hit by a car; he was almost hit by one. He slipped on a patch of ice, fell off the curb, and hit his head. He's going to be fine though. A few stitches, a major headache, but he's fine."

I sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear that he's going to be okay."

We chatted for a few more minutes, setting up an appointment for him and Alice on Saturday morning. I relayed the good news regarding Edward to Seth, then spent the rest of the day doing inventory. Before closing, Jake showed up with Laurent in tow. On the way home, Laurent spent the whole time talking about the expo and how he'd run into old friends there.

"Man, can't believe that I ran into Irina and Tanya. They're awesome. Did I ever introduce you to them?"

"Not that I know of."

"Huh. Well, you should meet them. They're sisters and they own a shop in New York called Denali's. It's very high end. Not like that dump that you're working at."

Stopping at a red light, I turned and gave him a glare. "Eclipse isn't a dump."

Rolling his eyes at me, he mutters, "whatever."

I pulled into my driveway, climbed out, and stomped my way up the porch. Unlocking the door, I tossed my keys in a bowl, then headed into the kitchen to grab a beer.

"What the hell is your problem, babe?"

I spun around, not believing that he just asked me that. "Are you fucking kidding me? Did you not just call Eclipse a dump?"

"Well it is. Now, Denali ... that place is fucking sweet. They actually have a client base. I don't understand why the fuck you left New Moon to come here. Then again, New Moon isn't that great a place either. I hated telling people that you worked there. Hell, I hated working there."

"Well, excuse me," I said sarcastically. "I didn't realize that I was such a fucking embarrassment."

"That's not what I said. But, God, Bella. You could do so much better. Irina and Tanya offered me a spot at Denali. I'll be moving to New York at the end of the month. I want you to come with me."

My brain could barely process what he was going on about. I held up a hand to silence him, when he started to talk. "Let me get this straight. You come out here to visit me, go to an expo in Seattle where you meet up with some old friends, decide to move to New York, insult me and the place I work, and now you want me to move to New York after just moving here."

He tugged on one of his dreadlocks before meeting my gaze. "I just want us to be together, babe."

I arched a brow. "Really? Well, I'm not moving to New York. Why don't you move here and work at Eclipse?"

He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't want to work at that dump. Plus, it's too fucking cold here."

I looked at him incredulously. "Oh, and New York is so much warmer? What the fuck ever."

"You know what, Bella? This just isn't going to work. I can't do this."

"Can't do what?"

"This," he said, gesturing between us.

"This long distance crap isn't working. I refuse to move here to bumfuck nowhere, and I would never work at Eclipse. Maybe we should just call it quits. It was good while it lasted."

I was floored. He was breaking up with me because I didn't want to move to New York? If that was what he wanted, fine. "Okay."

He seemed a bit shocked by my response. "Okay? That's it. That's all you've got to say?"

"What would you like me to say? You don't want to move here, I don't want to move to New York, and apparently our long distance relationship isn't working. We're probably better off apart."

The next day, I drove him to Seattle to drop him off at the airport. After our "break up", he managed to trade in his ticket and get a flight out today. I knew that I should be more upset than I was, but I wasn't. I guess that was a sign that we weren't meant to be together. Once I arrived back home, several hours later, I decided to see how Edward was doing. I climbed the steps to his porch, frowning at how slick they were. He really needed to salt them, or he was going to end up back in the ER. I knocked on his door, hoping that he was home.

"Bella?"

"Hi, Edward. I just wanted to see how you were feeling. I heard about your accident yesterday."

He gestured for me to come inside, where he took my coat and hung it on a coat rack. Taking a look around his living room, I was amazed at the immaculate cleanliness of it. My living room looked like a disaster area compared to his. I held out the container of homemade potato soup that I'd made for him.

He took it from me, with a surprised look on his face. "Thank you. You didn't have to make me anything."

"I know. But I figured with your headache and all, you probably wouldn't be up to cooking," I said smiling.

"Thanks again," he said, quietly. While he took the soup into his kitchen, I made myself at home on his couch.

It was quite warm in his house, so I pushed the sleeves of my shirt up. "Wow. You really are tattooed," came a gasp from behind me. I turned around and saw Edward standing behind the couch, eyes fixated on my arms.

"Doesn't that hurt?" he asked, sitting down on the couch next to me.

"A bit. It's more of a pleasure pain." I shook my head. "It's hard to explain. Anyway, how are you?"

"Oh ... I'm ... I'm fine," he stuttered out. Once again, nerves seemed to kick in.

"Edward? Do I make you nervous?"

I watched him turn a bright red, and saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. "It's not just you. I ... uh ... have a hard time talking to girls. Women!" he quickly corrected.

"Why?" I asked, insanely curious.

He shrugged. "I'm a nerd. A loser."

"Being a nerd doesn't make you a loser."

He barked out a laugh. "Yeah, right."

"I was a nerd in school."

His mouth fell open. "I kid you not. I love to read. I devoured books. I still do. I got decent grades and was a bit on the quiet side myself."

"What happened?"

"I got a job in college working as a receptionist at a tattoo parlor. I started to come out of my shell a bit, and once I started tattooing, I knew that I'd found my place in the world. There's nothing wrong with you," I assured him.

He nodded his head thoughtfully. "I guess. My brother's always making fun of me. I know he doesn't do it to be mean, but sometimes it still hurts. I can't be who I'm not."

"Nor should you have to be. Just wait. One day that perfect girl's going to come along and she won't be able to resist you."

He gave me a shy smile. "I hope so."

Realizing that it was getting late, we said goodbye, and I headed back to my place. That night, I laid in bed, thinking about everything that had happened. Laurent was gone for good, off to New York to do bigger and better things, and maybe Irina and Tanya too. I couldn't find it in myself to really care. I was more worried about the quiet man next door. If only he could see his potential. Any girl would be lucky to have him, and that thought made me frown. I didn't know why it bothered me to think about Edward finding a girlfriend.

a/n: Okay, so I've never written alternate POV's in the same story. My biggest fear with doing so is that it's going to repeat too much. I'm trying not to let that happen. Let me know if it worked or if you liked it. If you like it then I'll keep it. If not, I'll go back to just Edward's POV. Thanks for reading!