Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will.

A/N: So, I'm posting this a day early, mainly because Sunday will be spent having an all day gaming marathon. And by gaming marathon, I mean, playing D&D for about 12 hours. Maybe longer. Yes, I am a nerd and not afraid to admit it. I'm blown away by the response that I've gotten for this story. I honestly didn't think anyone would really like it, so thank you so much for your reviews!

Design For Life

"A man's library is a sort of harem." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life

EPOV

Holy crap, my head hurt. Reaching up to touch it, my hand was grabbed and pulled back down to my side.

"You took a nasty header into the concrete. We're taking you to the hospital," came a gentle voice to my right. Turning my head slightly, I noticed a young man in an EMT uniform. I was a bit confused. Then I remembered that I'd slipped on the sidewalk and fallen. I groaned in embarrassment when I realized that I was on a stretcher and that a crowd of people had gathered.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I was greeted by my dad. I let out a sigh, as he walked with me to get my head scanned. Once it was determined that I didn't have any major head trauma, my cut was stitched up, and I was released. Dad called Mrs. Cope and let her know what had happened, then he drove me home. My head hurt so much, that even reading didn't appeal to me. At around four o'clock, Mrs. Cope called me and told me to take tomorrow off as well. I didn't even argue, which was proof of how badly my head ached. I laid down on my couch, turned some classical music on, and was out like a light before I knew it.

I woke up the next morning feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. My head hurt horribly and the ringing of my phone only added to it. Scowling at the offensive item, I grabbed it and silenced the call. I noticed that I had several missed calls, and four texts. All from my sister.

Are you okay?

Dad said you got hurt.

Why haven't you answered your phone?

Call me!

She was so annoying. I shot off a quick text letting her know that I was okay, but that I wasn't up to talking. I downed a few aspirin and curled up on my couch, loosing myself, watching Doctor Who reruns. By early evening, I was feeling a bit better. I had just got up to make some dinner, when I heard a knocking on my door. I really hoped it wasn't Alice. I wasn't sure I could handle her at the moment. Imagine my surprise when I opened it, and found Bella standing there.

"Bella?"

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

My face went up in flames. Great. Now she knew exactly how much of a klutz I was. I stood back to allow her in, taking a quick glance around to make sure the place was clean. I took her coat and hung it up on the rack beside the door. Taking a good look at her, I saw a tattoo on her neck. It was tribal-like, with a bunch of different colored hibiscus flowers. It was quite pretty. It was then I noticed that she was carrying a container, which she then held out to me.

"Thank you. You didn't have to make me anything," I said, surprised that she'd done so.

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

She was amazing. "Thanks again," I said. I took the soup into the kitchen and stuck it in the fridge. I headed back into the living room and watched as she looked around, then sat down on my couch. I liked the way she looked sitting there. She had just pushed up the sleeves of her shirt, and I saw them. Lots and lots of colored tattoos all over her arms.

"Wow. You really are tattooed," I squeaked out. She flashed me a grin. "Doesn't that hurt?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

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

"Oh ... I'm ... I'm fine," I stuttered out, blushing the whole time.

She leaned in close to me, making eye contact. "Edward? Do I make you nervous?"

Oh, God. Kill me now. She knew. She knew what a total failure I was around girls. Flushing, I swallowed hard before answering her. "It's not just you. I ... uh ... have a hard time talking to girls. Women!"

"Why?"

Was she blind? What did she mean why? "I'm a nerd. A loser."

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

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

"I was a nerd in school."

I was sure I was gaping like a fish. There was no way Bella Swan was a nerd in high school. Women like her were not nerds. She went on to explain that she loved to read and devoured books. When I asked her what changed, she told me it was working at a tattoo shop that changed her. Made her come out of her shell. She was quick to reassure me that there was nothing wrong with me. I scoffed. Emmett was constantly making fun of me, and I tried not to let it bother me, but it did. I told Bella that I couldn't change who I was.

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

I wanted to tell her that she was wrong. That the perfect girl had already come along, and sadly, she was doing a pretty good job resisting me.

"I hope so."

Realizing that it was getting late, Bella excused herself to head back to her house. She warned me to be careful walking to work, and to make sure and salt my steps, as they were a bit icy. I shut the door after her, and found myself amazed that I had managed to hold a conversation with her. If I just thought of her as a friend, the same she did me, then it should be fine. I gave a nod. That's what I would do. Treat her as a friend, a sister, even. No point in moaning over what would never be mine.

My week passed by quickly, and I only saw Bella a handful of times. It was Friday afternoon, and I hoped that she would stop by. I was going over a silent conversation in my head that I could have with her, when this kid of around eight came up to check out. I looked around for his parents, but didn't see them.

"'Scuse me. I'd like to check these out."

"Do you have your card?" I asked him.

He nodded and dug it out of his pocket, handing it to me. I scanned it and noticed the kid had a fine of thirty five dollars. Looking at the bill, I noticed most of the billed items were adult related. I hated when parents did that. They checked out material on their kid's card and ran up a bill. I explained to the kid that he couldn't check anything out. To my horror, his eyes started to well up with tears, and then he let out a wail to rival a banshee. A teenage girl came running over and asked what was wrong. I explained the situation to her, then checked her card. Geez. A fifty-two dollar fine on hers. She told the kid they needed to head home since they couldn't check anything out, but he wasn't having it. I watched as he threw himself on the floor, hands and feet flying, tears pouring out of his eyes, wails erupting from his mouth. I couldn't decide whether to laugh at him or cry along. I truly felt bad for the kid, but there was nothing I could do. Finally, they left and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Really, Edward? I never pictured you as the kind to make kids cry," an angel's voice said to me.

I glanced over and saw Bella walking toward me. She was stunning, as usual. Her long brown hair was tucked underneath a knit cap, her coat unbuttoned, showing off a sweater that hugged her figure. And it was a very nice figure. No, Edward! Stop. You mustn't think of her like that.

"Ah, well ... I do enjoy terrorizing children for the fun of it," I told her jokingly. She let out a laugh that sounded like music. She leaned on the counter about to say something, when her phone rang.

"Sorry!" she apologized.

I waved it off. She let out a sigh before silencing it.

"Laurent. My boyfriend. Well, my ex-boyfriend, as of earlier this week."

"Ex-boyfriend?"

She looked a bit sad, and I wanted to reach out and hug her, comfort her, somehow.

"Yeah. He's off to bigger and better things." She let out a harsh laugh. "Off to do bigger and better girls, I should say."

I had no idea what to say to that. The guy was an idiot to give up Bella. She was beautiful, intelligent, kind. If she was my girl, I'd never let her go.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing I could think to say.

She gave me a small smile, telling me it was okay. We chatted for a few minutes, before we were interrupted.

"Oh, my God! You must be Bella! It's so wonderful to meet you! I just know that we're going to be the best of friends," the whirlwind that was my sister, claimed, as she wrapped Bella up in a hug.

Bella stood there, a bit stunned, before sending me a pleading look.

Walking around the desk, I tugged Alice away from her. "Alice, we've talked about this. You can't just go up to people and hug them. It's scary."

Alice rolled her eyes at me, while poor Bella looked a bit bewildered.

"Sorry, Bella. This is my sister, Alice. She's a bit of a handful."

"I am not!"

I raised an eyebrow at her outraged tone. She was acting like a spoiled child, instead of the twenty year old that she was. She gave me a pout, then turned back to Bella.

"I'm sorry if I came on too strong. It's just that I've heard so much about you. Both from Edward and Jasper."

"Uh ... it's okay. So, you and Jasper are coming into the shop tomorrow morning, right?"

Alice nodded. "I'm so excited!"

I shook my head. "Are you really getting a tattoo?"

"Yup. You're coming with," she told me.

I knew better than to argue. Alice made plans to pick me up in the morning, and after she and Jasper got their tattoos, we'd all go out to lunch.

Before I knew it, Saturday morning arrived, and Alice was knocking on my door, telling me to hurry up. I climbed into the backseat of Jasper's SUV, and we were off to Port Angeles. Alice spent the whole ride talking about what kind of tattoo she was going to get, and where she was going to get it. I wasn't particularly interested in what she had to say, so I spent the ride tuning her out, wishing that I'd thought to bring a book with me.

We pulled up to an older building on the corner. There was a sign above the door with an eclipse as the background, and the neon words Eclipse Tattoo glowing from it. The windows of the shop showcased their hours, phone number, and different pictures of tattoos. I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd been subjected to a few episodes of L.A. Ink with Emmett, but I highly doubted I'd find a skate ramp inside. Then again, maybe I would. I just hoped that it was clean and sanitary. Although, I couldn't picture Bella working in a place that wasn't.

Once Jasper parked the car, I climbed out of it slowly. I stared at the building, with a bit of trepidation, before following Jasper and Alice inside. I was amazed at what I saw upon entering. It was nothing like I thought it would be. There was a counter to our right, which housed a cash register and several binders. Across from the counter, there was a black leather couch, a love seat, and a coffee table with more binders. The walls were white, with pictures of tattoos framed artistically. I was quite impressed. It was very well done. Behind the counter, sat a very large Native American man.

"Morning. Can I help you?" he asked in a slightly gruff voice. He was very intimidating. Much like Emmett. His black hair was pulled back, his short sleeve shirt showing off the tattoos that covered his arms. Jacob Black. That was his name. I'd met him a few times over the years, but never really hung out with him.

"Yup! My boyfriend and I have an appointment with Bella," Alice told him.

"Ah. You must be Alice. Bells told me you were coming in."

I frowned at his familiarity with Bella. He called her Bells. I didn't like that. Her name was beautiful. There was no need to change it. Jacob hollered for Bella. A few minutes later, she came out from the back area. She was wearing a pair of form fitting jeans and a t-shirt that showed off a bit of her midriff. My gaze was drawn to the silver swan that pierced her navel, and I found myself oddly attracted to it. Good lord, what was wrong with me? I was being turned on by piercings and tattoos. That wasn't like me at all. Pulling my gaze away from her belly button, my eyes traveled upwards taking in the artwork on the canvas that was her arms. I'd seen a bit of it the other night, but seeing them on display, was shocking. My breath caught as I saw the tattoo on the upper part of her left arm. It bore a tattoo of a 1950's pinup girl, sitting on a desk, reading a book. The words Reading is sexy was written underneath.

"Do you like it?" she asked me, her voice a bit husky.

Lifting my eyes away from it, I looked into her beautiful brown eyes. "Yes. Very much so."

"Oh, man! I'd never thought I'd see the day when Eddie actually liked a tattoo, much less a tattooed chick," a voice boomed from behind me.

I let out a groan. Emmett had arrived. Which meant Rosalie was here as well. She and I didn't get along at all. She constantly pushed my buttons, intentionally making me upset. I didn't understand why she did it.

Emmett walked over to me, threw his arm around me, and stuck a hand out to Bella. "I'm Emmett Cullen. This stunning blond is my wife, Rosalie."

Bella shook his hand, then Rosalie's. "It's nice to meet you both."

Alice chose that moment to let herself be known. "Bella! I'm so excited! I can't wait to get this done!" she squealed throwing herself at Bella.

Gently, Bella peeled Alice off of her. "Did you have too much caffeine this morning?"

We all laughed at that. "Alice is naturally hyper," I told her.

Alice pouted, explaining to Bella that she wasn't hyper. Just super excited. Bella showed the four of them the binders that were sitting around and told them to look through them and see if there was something they liked.

"Or, if you have a design in mind, I can draw it up for you. Just let me know. Do you want anything to drink? We have tea, coffee, and soda."

I asked for a tea, while the others accepted coffee. "Tea? Dude, you're twenty-three, not seventy-three."

"Be quiet, Emmett. I like to drink tea. There's nothing wrong with it. Men worldwide drink tea."

"You really are like an old man. You drink tea, wear tweed, and lock yourself up with your books," Rose said, feeling the need to add her two cents.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion," I told her, snidely.

"Too fucking bad. You really need to loosen up. It's no wonder you're still a virgin."

Heat rose on my cheeks, as anger burned in my eyes. She had no right to say that. "What I am is none of your business!" I hissed at her.

Emmett grabbed Rosalie's arm, pulled her over to a corner, talking to her in a hushed whisper. I was beyond mortified, because there was no way that Bella or Jacob hadn't heard that. I buried my face in my hands, wishing I was anywhere but here.

"Hey. Here's your tea," Bella told me quietly. I took the mug from her hands, not looking up. I didn't want to see the pity in her eyes.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

Thankfully, she turned her attention to Alice and Jasper. After flipping through the books, Jasper asked Bella if she couldn't draw him up something.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, darlin, I'm originally from Texas, and while I love it up here, I miss home. I don't necessarily want the state of Texas tattooed on my body, but rather something that reminds me of home."

Telling him to give her a few minutes, Bella headed to the back of the shop. Emmett and Rosalie came back over and sat down. With some prodding from Emmett, Rosalie said to me, "sorry, Edward."

I didn't bother to look up from the binder I was staring at. She didn't mean it. I shrugged and continued to ignore her. It was childish, but frankly, I didn't care. She could be a real witch, and I didn't understand what Emmett saw in her. Or anyone else for that matter. The family seemed to like her, but not me.

A few minutes later, Bella came back, and she had a sketch book with her. She showed Jasper what she'd drawn, then showed it the rest of us. It was an outline of a Texas longhorn head, colored in with the Texas state flag. It was really nice. Jasper loved it, and decided to get it placed on his upper arm. Alice had found an Alice in Wonderland tattoo that she wanted out of one of the binders. She'd been obsessed with that book since she read it. She was going to get a tattoo of the white rabbit, and have it put on her back near her right shoulder. Bella and Jacob quickly got to work prepping, and before long, Alice and Jasper were called back.

I sat there in stifled silence with Emmett and Rosalie, listening to the quiet chatter that was coming from the back. Flipping through the binder in front of me, I was startled to come across a picture of a book tattooed on someone. It was very simple. A closed book, with the page marked by a simple red string. The cover of the book said Read. Staring at it, I thought that if I was ever to get a tattoo, it would be something like that. Realizing what I'd just thought, I was completely shocked. Why in the world was I even entertaining that notion? That wasn't me. I wasn't a tattoo kind of guy. I was a simple man, with simple taste. Except when it came to Bella. Bella was anything but simple.

An hour and a half later, Jasper and Alice came out of the back, sporting large grins. They showed us their tattoos, before Bella covered them with ointment and gauze. She gave them a lecture about tattoo safety, as well as a pamphlet. After they paid, Alice invited both Bella and Jacob to lunch with us. They agreed, and soon the seven of us headed to Applebees.

As our waitress seated us, I realized that I was the odd man out. Bella and Jacob were sitting next to each other, and I was jealous. Throughout lunch, Jacob would touch her hand or her back. He even twirled her hair. I was used to jealousy, but I'd never felt it like that. It was as if there was a monster in my chest, aching to break free. When he leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips, I had to excuse myself from the table. In the bathroom, my mind was furiously working through everything I knew about Bella. She had told me that she and her boyfriend had broken up, and I wondered if Jacob was the reason why. They seemed very comfortable around each other, and he kissed her! Pinching the bridge of my nose, I took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. There was no reason to be jealous. Bella and I were just friends. That's all we were ever going to be.

After lunch, we said goodbye to Emmett, Rosalie, Bella, and Jacob. Alice talked non-stop the whole way home about anything and everything. She tired me out with all of her talking.

"Want to come over and hang out?" Jasper asked me as we reached the Forks city limits.

I shook my head. I was tired of Alice's endless chatter, and I wanted to wallow in my self-pity. They dropped me off at home, and I let myself inside. I killed an hour cleaning my house, then settled down with the Game of Thrones. Jasper had given it to me, thinking I might like it. It was okay. Apparently, it was made into a show on HBO, and was all the rave. I did my best to lose myself in the story, but I couldn't. My thoughts kept going back to Bella. I was a pathetic, love sick fool. Clearly, I needed help, but had no idea who to ask. If I went to Emmett, he'd just laugh at me, then tell me that getting laid would solve my problems. If I told Jasper, he'd tell Alice, who would take over and play matchmaker. I couldn't call my mom because she'd pull an Alice, and freak out. There was only one person left to call. My dad.

"Hi, Son."

"Hi, Dad."

Dad, being the intuitive person that he was, knew something was up. "What's wrong?"

I ran a hand over my face. God, I was such a loser. Whining to my dad because I liked the popular girl. I was pretty sure we'd had this conversation before, when I was in junior high.

"I ... ugh! Okay ..." I began, taking a deep breath. "It's like this. I really, really like Bella Swan, the new girl in town that was mentioned at brunch last week. The thing is. She's so far out of my reach and league, it isn't funny. She's a tattoo artist! She's pierced and tattooed and confident. And there's no way in a million years, she'd ever like a guy like me. What the heck am I going to do?"

"Edward. Listen to me. There is nothing wrong with you. I hate that you constantly put yourself down. You're a brilliant young man. You just lack confidence. No one is out of your reach or your league. You need to believe in yourself. If Miss Swan can't see you for the wonderful person you are, then you're better off without her."

I rolled my eyes. We'd had similar conversations over the years. I knew that I lacked self-esteem. It was kind of hard to be confident when I was surrounded by siblings like Emmett and Alice. Emmett was the golden boy, all-star athlete. Alice, the beautiful, talented, confident all-American girl.

"Yeah, I know. I can barely talk to her without stuttering or tripping over my words. It doesn't really matter though. I think she's dating Jacob Black."

Dad barked out a laugh. "I highly doubt that."

"What makes you say that?'

"Jacob's gay."

Well, I felt like an idiot.

"Edward, son. The only advice I can give you is what I told you before. Just believe in yourself. Be yourself. Once you do that, the confidence will come, and you'll have no problems talking to her."

I sighed and agreed. We talked for a few more minutes, before hanging up. I went back to my book and managed to get into it. At around seven, I noticed Bella pulling into her drive. I grabbed the Tupperware container she'd given me the other night, then waited a few minutes, before heading over to her house. I knocked on her door, giving myself a mental pep talk the whole time.

"Edward!"

I gave her a small, nervous smile. "Hi, Bella. I ... uh ... wanted to return this to you," I said, holding out the container.

"Thanks. Why don't you come in?"

Swallowing hard, I agreed and followed her inside. Wow. Her living room was a bit disorganized. There were magazines and books all over the place, not too mention nick knacks that were placed here and there.

"Sorry. It's a bit of a mess," she said sheepishly, flashing me a grin.

I shrugged. "That's alright. I'll try and refrain from cleaning."

She let out a snicker. "Feel free to come over and clean anytime you want. I hate cleaning."

She cleared off a space on the couch and told me to sit. She sat down next to me, and I inhaled the sent of her shampoo. Strawberry. I liked strawberries.

"How bored were you today?"

"Oh. Not too awfully much. I spent most of the time looking through the pictures in the binders."

"Oh, yeah? Any tats catch your eye?"

I couldn't lie worth anything, so I told her the truth. "One did, actually. There was a picture of a book in there, and I thought that if I ever got a tattoo, it would be something like that."

She smiled. "I could see that. Something simple and clean." I nodded. "Well, if you ever decide to get one, I want to be the one to do it."

I readily agreed. I wouldn't let just anyone with a needle near me. There were a few moments of awkward silence, until I blurted out, "Want to come to the family brunch with me tomorrow?"

Oh, man. What was wrong with me? My head thumped on the couch, eyes closed as if that would make things less embarrassing. Cracking an eye open, I noticed Bella looked as stunned as I did.

"Don't worry about! You don't have to. Sorry, I'll ... just go now," I rushed out, getting up and starting toward the door.

A hand on my arm stopped me. "Wait, Edward. It's not that I wouldn't like to, but I don't want to intrude on your family time."

"You wouldn't be. Besides, Rosalie will be there, and I might need you to save me from her."

She put her hand in mine and tugged me back to the couch. I held back a moan of disappointment when she removed her hand from mine.

"Is Rosalie always like that?"

"Like what? Rude and abrasive? Yes," I snorted out.

"I don't like her. She had no right to say those things about you," she told me, a frown marring her beautiful face.

"I'm used to it. Ever since Emmett brought her home, she's let me know how much she dislikes me. The thing is, I don't know why she doesn't like me. We just rub each other the wrong way, I guess."

"That still doesn't give her the right to pick on you or blurt your business to the world."

And that right there was confirmation that she'd heard what Rosalie had said about me. Yes, I was a virgin, and now the whole world knew it.

"Yeah, well, try telling her that. Mom and Dad love her. Think she's so sweet, but the minute their back is turned, she's back in witch mode."

"You mean bitch mode?"

I shrugged. "Same thing."

"You're very much the gentleman, aren't you?"

"Is that a bad thing?"

She smiled. "Not at all. It's quite refreshing. So many of the guys our age are complete asses. Sorry. Jerks."

"You don't have to correct yourself around me. I don't care if you swear. Well, as long as you don't swear every other word. Don't change who you are."

Now if only I could take my own advice.

"Deal. So what time is brunch tomorrow?"

A smile graced my lips. "Meet me at my car around ten-thirty."

"Sounds good."

Saying goodnight, I walked back to my house. Once in the door, it hit me what I'd just done. I had asked Bella Swan to Sunday brunch! I was ecstatic, elated, and then horror set in. What the hell had I done? Mom and Alice would be all over me and begin their matchmaking, while Emmett would, most likely, make inappropriate comments and gestures. Climbing into bed, I buried my face in my pillow. Tomorrow morning was going to be interesting, to say the least. I just hoped that by the time we left, Bella would still be talking to me.

a/n: Leave me some love. Or hate. Preferably, love. As always, your reviews are appreciated.