'Hmmm, well what do you look like, Mr. Rebel?' I mused, as I clicked onto his profile.

I was not prepared for the sight that greeted me.

I clutched at the desk to keep from falling off of my chair in complete and utter shock.

He was... beautiful.

I've never seen a specimen like him. Unusual bronze hair that was suffering from a severe case of bed head, deep green eyes, an angular, chiselled jaw... Unf.

It's enough to give a girl a heart attack.

Those eyes... And those lips, oh, that jaw...

Needless to say, I was pretty much a helpless pile of goo.

All that, set on top of masculine, broad shoulders, and arms to die for. This guy could easily pass as a professional baseball player, and damn, he can swing his bat in my direction any time.

Woah, where the hell did that come from? It's amazing what those pretty eyes can do to me.

Oh, those pretty eyes...

Get a grip, Bella, I internally scolded myself.

I shook my head once, clearing my thoughts.

Going back to the message, it looked like his words were as pretty as his face.

Hi, I'm Edward Cullen, from Oxford, England. I was looking at your page earlier and I noticed we had a lot in common... So I figured I'd drop by with a hello.

How are you?

I smiled to myself, and then began pondering what my reply would entail.

After going over at least a dozen different responses, each sounding more retarded than the other, I decided to reply simply.

Hey, I'm Bella Swan. Thanks for the message. Pleased to meet you!

I'm great thanks, you?

England, huh? I've always wanted to visit. What's it like there?

I was born in a small town named Forks that does nothing but rain. I now live in Seattle, Washington, which also does nothing but rain...

So, Edward, what did you notice that we have in common?

I quickly hit the send button before I could change my mind, sighing in relief when it was gone. Too late to worry about how much of an idiot I look now.

That done, I decided to go get something to eat; since there was nothing else of interest for me to see.

I closed the laptop, grabbed my keys and decided to go to Terri's, a favourite café of mine.

When I got there, the queue was relatively short; only around four people. I waited patiently, scanning the menu board though I knew what I wanted.

The line moved quickly, and as soon as I got to the counter Jasmine smiled at me. "The usual?"

Okay, so I come here a lot...

I laughed, shaking my head. "Am I really that predictable? But yes, I'll have the usual."

"Sure thing Bella, here ya go, just holler if ya need anything."

I smiled and nodded, grabbing my food and muttering my thanks before going to claim my usual table.

As I ate, my thoughts drifted the date tonight; they were clouded with apprehension.

My history of bad dates is enough to make any girl's toes curl and make her want to give up for good.

With a sigh, I collected my garbage and decided to head home, maybe catch an hour or two's sleep before the date.

As I was walking to the trash can, I heard a voice that I immediately recognized – and not in a good way.

Speaking of bad dates…

"Bella Swan, is that you?"

I grimaced and turned slowly, plastering a fake smile on my face in the process.

Mike. Fucking. Newton.

Mike was an old acquaintance, you could say.

We met on my first day at Forks High School, and since that day, he took it upon himself to become my own personal retriever – following me around like a lost puppy dog.

He asked me out every chance he could – which was so often that I seriously contemplated getting my dad, Charlie – who's the police chief of Forks – to threaten him at gunpoint.

Mike was nice enough, but too... into himself for me.

Can anybody say conceited?

His family owned the local camping store, Newton's Outfitters. Most of the girls back in Forks were tripping over themselves to date him, but he had too much of a baby face for me to consider him anything but merely cute in the "All-American, surfer-guy" kind of way.

One day I actually did say yes to Mike, and it was the worst date ever.

As the night progressed, he tried to grope me in the dark of the movie theatre, which left me feeling disgusted, and him with a bloody nose.

And yet he still had the nerve to try and kiss me when he dropped me off, I thought to myself with a distinct feeling of nausea.

Mike's moving lips made me realize that he was, in fact, still talking to me. With that realisation, I quickly worked to focus my attention back on the person in front of me.

"I'm sorry – what were you saying, Mike?"

He paused for about a half second, gathering his courage I assumed, before saying "I was thinking, maybe you and I could catch up? I mean, we haven't seen each other in a while, and I know we have a lot to catch up on."

He smiled, winking in a way I'm sure he meant to be seductive, crossing his arms whilst waiting for my response.

I thought quickly of some way to get out of it, before saying "Oh, that'd be great! But I have a party to get to! We're throwing a surprise party for my friend... Amie – before she goes abroad for a whole year! I really must be going, I'm already late!"

I said the words in a rush, throwing in a glance to my watch for effect.

Thank you Renee, for buying me this thing, I thought to myself gratefully.

His smile faltered a bit before he responded in a way that I'm sure he deemed charming, "Oh, here's a great idea - how about I come along? I'm sure she won't mind."

I must be one lucky girl. Just then, my phone rang, saving me from having to respond to that. The ringing startled us both, making us jump.

I grabbed it, glancing at the screen before saying, "Sorry Mike, I have to take this. But hopefully, I'll see you soon and we can do that whole catching up business." I hurried away, leaving a confused-looking Mike in my wake.

I answered the phone with "Oh my god, I love you! You just saved me from the worst situation ever!"

The person cleared their throat before answering in a smug voice, "Well, now you can't complain at all on the date tonight, can you?"

Rose.

I smiled before saying, "Fine, I don't care. What's up?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you still have that pedicure machine. Alice broke mine last time, you know how she is when she gets over-excited."

By that time I had reached my apartment, and was shoving the key into the lock before replying "Yeah, it's still in the packaging. Why do you need it?"

She sucked her teeth, and I could just imagine her rolling her eyes before saying "We have dates tonight, Bella! Or did you forget already?"

I love Rosalie, but she was such a drama queen.

"Alright Rose, calm down. Why are you so riled up anyway?"

She paused for about ten seconds, before whispering, "I'm nervous, Bella. I don't know... I just – I really like him. He's nice, and he's sweet, and just... an all around good guy. What if I mess this up?"

I flung myself onto the bed, before replying sternly, "Rosalie Lillian Hale! You; nervous? Don't be!

He must really like you – look at how long he spent pursuing you. Just don't over think things, be yourself, and you'll be fine."

She sighed, before replying, "Thanks Bella. I really needed that. Alright, back on track... you have two hours before I get there, and you better be awake."

I nodded before realizing she couldn't see me, and said "Yes, Ms. Hale. Wait – what am I going to wear?"

She snorted before saying, "Bella, really. I already have a dress for you. It's all taken care of. See you soon."

I said my goodbyes and hung up, sighing as I did so.

So; I have two hours, and nothing to do... great!

I opened my laptop, which I had appropriately named Helena the HP.

I browsed a few websites before inevitably drifting back to PenExchange.

Alright, so I wanted to ogle Edward a bit more…

I went to pull up his profile page, but not before I noticed that there was a new message in my inbox.

I clicked the link to it, and pulled the message up.

Oh, Seattle sounds just like Oxford! (Well, all of England really...)

When it's not raining, it's cold, and when it's not cold, you're not in England.

I'm doing quite well, thanks.

I noticed we had most of the same favourite music. Debussy,huh? I thought I was the only one under the age of 30 to listen to classical music.

I really do have to disagree with your choice in literature, though.

While the Austen is redeemable, you lose points with Wuthering Heights.

That book is so... horrible! I honestly don't see the appeal.

Anyway, Bella Swan, what is it you like to do for fun? Besides reading horrible books, that is...

I hope I don't offend you too much with the teasing. :D

Edward

I scoffed at his blatant dislike for Wuthering Heights.

Damn Brit, not liking Wuthering Heights. I knew he was too beautiful to be true! I thought to myself bitterly.

Wuthering Heights – a classic love story, had been a favorite of mine ever since I read it during high school.

"Well, Mr. Cullen.."