*Disclaimer - Sadly, I own nothing of Twilight with the exception of merchandise, bought and paid for. I do, however, own my love for borrowing the characters and playing with them however I choose to. I thank Stephenie Meyer for creating the TwiWorld and for allowing us to have our fun with it. She owns Twilight, the insanity it created in my mind is my own.

Shug is my beta reader. Mistakes are mine!

Whatever Works

Delving Deeper

"Did my sister give you a hard time at work today?" Edward asked as he reclined on his couch late that night.

"It's a little unnerving being examined so closely, but we got on with it just fine despite her anxiety. You do know that if your mother went to live with her in New York, she'd never walk."

"Mm-hmm. Yet Alice claims to be the smart sibling. Did she grill you on us anymore?"

"Noooo… I did have an interesting talk with Emmett though." I felt it was best to be straight up with that.

He grinned as he rolled onto his side and pulled me down to sit on the edge of the couch. "I know. He told me. And so now you know about Jane – that's one less thing for me to have to divulge…" His eyes showed amusement, not anger or distress, so I felt it was a safe discussion.

"Jane? Is that her name? I believe Emmett referred to her by some other term."

Laughing, he ran both hands down his face. "He wasn't a fan. I should have paid attention, but at least I learned that lesson – get Emmett's approval. It also taught me to stay clear of actresses. They're nothing but trouble."

"She hurt you," I commented softy, stroking his cheek.

"I honestly don't think it was intentional. She was… over-exuberant in exploiting our relationship, let's put it that way."

I quirked an eyebrow his way. The reason for no public relationships? "She wanted to ride your fame train?"

"I guess… maybe she knew something I didn't. I wasn't really known then. I'd done a walk-on in one movie, not even as Edward Masen, and the pilot for Diamonds and Spades had earned us six episodes that hadn't aired yet. She was in the pilot, but her character didn't go over well, so she was cut. Not a huge deal, because she was doing films anyway. The main problem was that I liked to go out and have fun with my own group, and she liked having an entourage – the more people who knew where we were at any given time, the better. So my mother is across the ocean seeing our relationship played out in gossip columns – not my favorite thing to deal with, especially when I wasn't thrilled with talking to her at all."

"Ah. That was during your pissy stage," I said with a kind smile.

He nodded. "Jane also put some of my personal work out there for anyone to see. I guess she was just proud of it, but it felt like a betrayal to me. I wasn't ready for it to be out – it was still a work in progress, and I wanted to keep that separate from the Masen name… for future use, if I wanted to. Now I can't."

"Why not? Did she claim it as her own?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. It will just always be associated with Dillon Spade. It was a short film I had made in New York… just messing around with a storyline. And then when we came to LA, Mike had some friends who could help with editing and stuff. I was working on a soundtrack for it as well, but it never got added to the film because of its early release."

I frowned. "That's awful. It's theft, really."

"That's Emmett's assessment," he replied with a smirk. "Did you discuss this?"

"No!" I laughed. "I swear to God! Obviously, Emmett and I just think alike. You said you didn't want it associated with Masen – were you going to work under Cullen?"

"Yeah. That was the plan. That's how I started. Masen was just a spur of the moment bit of rebellion that actually worked in my favor. My mum didn't tell you how I was cast for the show?" He laughed when I shook my head. "Okay, I was waiting for Mike – he had been trying to get his career off the ground without starting at the bottom of the pond in a big agency. He had this girl who wanted to get her son into acting, and he thought he'd struck gold when she let him represent her kid. The kid was auditioning for a small part in the pilot. I was just along for something to do.

"There was this girl beside me, going over her lines before her audition. She asked if I could read it through with her, so I did. When the casting agent came out to get her, she motioned for both of us to go in. I went along, just being a jackass, because I thought it would be a funny story to tell later on. We read together, and then they took our names and management info. I said, 'Edward Masen, Michael Newton Agency,' as a farce. Mike didn't have an agency, and I wasn't even an actor. Mike was working on the film with me in New York – that's how we met. He was a gofer on the set, wanting to get into management. He came with us to chase the dream and spend Daddy Masen's money." He laughed, despite the sourness of the event.

"Next thing we know, I'm cast as the lead male youth, and Mike is my manager. More importantly, I'm now, Edward Masen – Actor. All of this started off because I was having a laugh. Mum was pissed that I was using Masen, because it slighted Dad not to use his name. In the end, it's the best thing I could have done, because it shielded them from a lot of the nonsense. I still use Cullen, legally, and I'd like to do something by my real name at some point in my life, but Masen has suited its purpose in that it's allowed me to be someone I'm not."

All of this flowed out of him, and I hung on every word. His story was amazing to me – whether he considered it good luck or bad, he was the luckiest person alive. This new information only made me want more. "Edward, I'd like to hear the musicwhat you wrote for the film Jane put out. Do you still have it?"

He patted my backside to urge me to stand, and he followed, taking my hand. "Come on. I'll play it for you."

~ 0 ~

Mesmerized by the beautiful sounds and the sight of his gorgeous hands moving gracefully over the piano keys, I listened without comment as he played several pieces for me. Suddenly, an impish grin passed over his serious face, and he broke into 'You Like Me Too Much.' Familiar with the Beatles song, I picked up the guitar next to me and strummed along as he sang after recovering from the shock of me playing with him.

When our song ended, he knelt in front of me, looking as much in awe as I had been watching him. "You play. I never knew."

Scrunching up my face, I shook my head and set his guitar down. "I play around… self-taught. I couldn't name a chord, identify a note –—"

His hands came up and cupped my face as he stared into my eyes. "I don't have your kind of patience at the moment. I really want to kiss you," he stated with a husky voice. He gave me a few seconds to protest and then moved in when no refusal came. His lips pressed softly against mine as one of his hands moved to grip the back of my head. The other stayed on my cheek, and his thumb stroked it while he applied gentle pressure to our kiss. When his tongue flicked out to taste me, I parted my lips, and we both let out a moan, intensifying our kiss at once.

I had waited too long for this kiss to leave it with the sweetness it began as. Both of my hands flew to his hair, and I tugged him closer, opening my legs around the stool I was on to have him as close to me as possible. Dropping his hand from my neck, he moved it to my waist, his fingers kneading the flesh on my lower back. Our tongues danced together in between soft moans and skilful tilts of the head. It was all so new, and yet it felt as though our mouths were made for each other. There was no awkward nose bumping, we simply moved as one throughout the entire, glorious first kiss.

"Wow." Edward eased back slowly to let us catch our breath. "If I'd have known it was going to be that orgasmic, I wouldn't have had the restraint I've managed to keep this long." He chuckled as I blushed.

He said orgasmic! "Yeah… wow." Seriously, what else could be said? Okay, 'more!' came to mind, but he seemed to be fighting to maintain his composure, so I held that in.

"Okay. Well. Um…" He was frowning and looking adorably unkempt. "I think – God I hate what I'm about to say – I think we should probably do separate rooms tonight. I don't think I can lie in a bed with you right now." His hand dropped slightly, and he closed his eyes as he gave my butt a little squeeze. Then he groaned. "God, yeah… there's no way I can keep myself off you tonight. I'm sorry. I feel like an ass, kissing you like that and then just leaving."

Then don't! "One more kiss, and we'll say goodnight."

He responded immediately, his lips seeking mine with a reserved hunger, ending with a nibble of my bottom lip and a low chuckle. "You're delectable. And beautiful. And you surprise me continuously, Bella. I am so glad you came into my life." He stood, took my hand to help me up, and then brought my hand up to kiss my knuckles. "Goodnight. I hope I can get this under control, because I'll really miss you sleeping next to me."

With only a few more days before Jasper and Alice left and I returned to my old room, I was already lamenting this one night apart. A fair exchange for an actual kiss? An 'orgasmic' kiss, in the words of Edward. Lying alone in bed with the taste of Edward on my lips, and the memory of how his hot mouth felt against mine, for the first time in my life I felt euphoric. I spent a considerable amount of time wondering if I could allow myself to be hopeful. Was I being stupid to think this was real? I knew my own feelings were real – and Edward felt very real. I prayed for it to be real.

~ 0 ~

Managing only a couple of hours sleep, I dragged myself downstairs after a wistful moment by Edward's door. I wondered if he was still sleeping, or in the shower, or if he had already left. He hadn't mentioned what his schedule was like for the day. The aroma of coffee dragged my thoughts from him temporarily and drew me to the kitchen.

"Agh… I'm too late!" Edward greeted me with his perfect smile. "I wanted to bring this up to you, but you're too fast for me."

I accepted the steaming mug from him with my own glowing smile. Before I could sip from it, he lowered his head and gave me a soft, sweet kiss.

"So, good morning. I have a bit of time before I leave – do you want to stay here or should we take it back up?"

"Um… actually, I had a dream last night about drinking coffee on your balcony," I confessed with a giggle. "Can we?"

"You dream about coffee? Weird," he said teasingly on the way up the stairs.

"And balconies. It was strange. It was your balcony, but when I looked inside, it was off your bedroom. And there was a lemon tree on the balcony, in a pot. When I asked you about it, you said it was for your tea. It all made perfect sense to me – why wouldn't one have a lemon tree on their balcony for tea?"

"Only, we weren't having tea."

"Right. That was a little off. Dreams are funny." At least you weren't making love to my arm in that one…

"Funny. I had an entirely different sort of dream myself." He slid his key card into his door and held it open for me with a crooked grin. "How do you feel about feathers?"

Feathers? "Um… "

He erupted in laughter and closed the door behind us. "Never mind. We're doing PG right now, and it was definitely NC-17."

I feigned shock and disgust before laughing along with him. "There was a soundtrack to my dream that resembled a mix of your compositions. Seriously, like sampled into a dance song you'd hear at a club. I wonder what the soundtrack to your dream was."

He grunted and then groaned, full facial expressions and all, as he demonstrated his soundtrack. "Nothing too original. I like yours better."

"See, now I'm sort of partial to yours…" I mused with a coquettish grin. I felt more comfortable flirting with him now that the elusive first kiss had taken place. He choked on a moan and then choked on his coffee. Adorable.

"So, Jake is taking the ladies to a spa today. You in?" he asked once he recovered.

"Do I need fixing up? Is that a hint?"

His cheeks reddened as he shook his head. "No! Not at all. I just didn't want you to feel excluded from a day of pampering. If you want to go, the offer's there. Or you could enjoy a day off and wait for me in my bed."

I don't know how he swung from embarrassed to flirtatious in seconds, but he managed to. Then I was the one blushing. "You're working late again?"

"Nope."

Gulp! "But you want me to be in bed…"

With his sexy crooked grin in full use, he reached over to stroke my hair. "I was teasing… but it is a nice thought. Another time?"

Great. Now that he can't tease me with the first kiss, he's going to up the ante. Subject change – quick! "Edward, if you weren't an actor before Diamonds and Spades, why did you come here?"

He took my cue swiftly and dropped the friskiness from his tone. "Here, as in LA?"

Shaking my head, I picked up my mug to settle in for another Edward story. "New York. Why did you go there in the first place? You said it was for a movie."

"Um… it was." He lowered his eyes and frowned as his phone rang, distracting him. He took a quick look before pocketing it. "You should ask Jazz about that. It was kind of a project we worked on together. It's as much Jasper's story as mine, and he never gets credit. Ask him. I really should return this call… I'm sorry." He stood abruptly, knocking his knee against the table and uttering a few curse words. "Stay. Finish your coffee and enjoy the balcony even if it doesn't have lemons. I'll see you later." With a perfunctory kiss on the top of my head, he left.

~ 0 ~

"Edward tells me you have a story to tell – about a project that brought you two to New York." Jasper and I had made a light lunch to take onto the patio after the women left for the spa. Edward had given permission to dig into his past on this, so I didn't beat around the bush.

He eyed me with a grin before a wistful look passed over his face. "Shadowplay, right."

"Shadowplay? What's that?"

He chuckled, taking a drink from his iced tea. "A crazy concept that spiralled out of control. It was originally called Shadowplay, but when they made it into a movie, it was changed to Trackers. Really lame. They butchered it – the whole plot, not just the title. The story was written about mindfucks, but the filmmakers made it into a low budget spy flick. It was ridiculous having us there at all, since they changed so much and obviously didn't respect our creative input."

"Wait… it was your story? You wrote a screenplay?" This was intriguing. All these weeks, I had envisioned a teenaged boy who aspired to be an actor landing a role in New York, thereby taking him from his family in London and forcing him to grow up too fast. I now knew that wasn't the case at all.

"Edward did, yeah. Kind of. It was actually kind of amazing, how the whole thing got started. Edward and I were at a friend's house for the weekend while his parents were on holiday. We were up to no good, as kids do when left on their own, and I ended up having a really freak-out kind of bad trip where I thought things were moving in the shadows behind the house. They were coming to life and setting up an attack and all that. Edward thought it was the funniest shit. Anyway, we slept it off, and the next day he's all in a panic, because he forgot he had an assignment due. He'd been slacking off a lot and was on strict warning to bring up his marks. He'd had plenty of warnings, but he was taking this one seriously. He had to do a short story – and so, as he does when pressured, he just sat down and started writing.—"

"About your shadow trip," I laughed.

"Exactly. In just over an hour, he had this multipage epic story about beings from another galaxy coming to earth, not to destroy us or capture us but simply to study and, well, eventually create a new species. We had a laugh over it, I edited it for him to turn in, and that was that… for the time being."

"He wrote alien porn for a class assignment?"

"Hey, one person's porn is another's love story, right? In his version, the aliens come into our world as shadows, but transform into whatever the first person to believe in them sees them as. The main character is a teenaged boy, kind of lost and a bit of a loser, and he sees his shadow as the perfect girl who just accepts him and ends up making him a better person, they fall in love and so on. Typical shit. But Edward's got a way of bringing the absurd into an ordinary situation, and the whole thing was brilliant – enough of a plot to keep the reader interested and descriptive enough that you really felt the characters. His teacher was highly impressed by it. She had never seen him demonstrate such a creative flair, so she asked if she could enter it into a competition for young writers. It took first place."

"Awesome!" I cried out.

"He won a small cash prize, got a fancy certificate and all that, but the biggest coup was that he was requested to expand upon it, turn it into a novella, and enter it in the next competition for publishing. He did, and it won as well… larger cash prize and a publishing deal. We were fifteen then."

"Oh my gosh! Your trip got him published at fifteen! Jesus! What are the odds?"

"I know, right? Well Esme and Carlisle were immensely proud, as you can imagine, and that took the pressure off him to continue on the path to actually arriving at classes for the next year. Then he was contacted and asked about trying his hand at turning it into a screenplay. That piqued his interest. A lot. He had no clue what he wanted to do with his life, but there was this thing he did well at and he could make it into something he enjoyed doing – writing. He enlisted me as editor, as I'd been for the original and the novella, and a year later, we were jetting off to New York to watch the filming.

"Of course, the producers and director didn't take a couple of kids seriously, so they'd make changes daily to his script, and he hates confrontation, so he'd just agree. Soon it didn't really resemble his story much at all, and they removed all of his humor from it. But it was still great fun being there in the midst of it all."

"And you decided to continue on to Hollywood?"

"No… that came later. We mucked around New York awhile. Edward had reconnected with Emmett, and we were having a blast together. However, we exceeded our planned time, and his passport was about to expire. That's when he got involved with tracking down Tony Masen. Eventually that led us to LA, because he then had a shitload of money and we thought the party scene out here would be better. Plus, the weather's nicer." Jasper finished up his story with his adorable smirk. "So that's how we ended up where we are. Pretty amazing, huh?"

Again, Edward's luck astounded me. Not many fifteen-year-olds got the opportunity to be published, and even fewer were asked to have a movie made from it only a couple of years later.. I was dying to get my hands on a copy to read young Edward's witty account of his friend's high. Ridiculously lucky.

A/N ~ I'd like to wish my friends south of the border a very happy Memorial Day. Hope you're all enjoying the holiday! Thanks to everyone for reading and for taking the time to leave a comment! XX ~ SR