A/N Hey kids! Yes, its back and better than ever. I have done a lot of changes to the format of the story. If you have read everything I've posted prior, this will be familiar but better! I've merged some chapters together that seemed to flow well together... and this will also mirror what is on Twilighted so there isn't any confusion. Major props to the great people at Project Team Beta. They are awesome. And of course, I don't own Twilight...

BPOV

Tonight was an ordinary Friday nigh with the typical crowd. Jessica was at the Edward Cullen concert, and I had finally hired my friend, Jacob Black, to help out with security. He was a big guy, and I didn't expect that anyone would dare to mess with him.

Jacob had to be nearly 6'7" with muscled, dusky skin and short, jet black hair. He towered over my petite frame when I stood next to him. Watching him stand by the door reminded me of how I met him.

We were both freshmen in college, and one day I had walked into the student union and tripped over the door jamb. He was standing right by the door and caught me before I fell. After that, it wasn't long before we became close friends.

We had a brief romantic relationship during college, but that was long over. If by brief, you mean a two-year relationship where you ended up breaking the poor guy's heart, I thought to myself, then, yeah. He was really a better friend than I ever deserved to have, especially after we broke up. I still thought he moved up here after graduation to be near me; there was no other explanation for why he would want to live here when all of his family was down south. But I was glad to have his friendship regardless.

I hadn't hired a band for this weekend, so we had the jukebox playing throughout the evening. The corner TV was on too. I glanced over at it to see what was on. The 11 o'clock news had just started the weather segment. I wonder how off they are going to be this time, I thought to myself, laughing silently.

I had bent down to get another case of beer from the cabinet behind the bar when I heard the front door swing open. I heard Jake's voice greet the newcomer, "How ya doin'?" There was a soft "Hi" in response.

As I heard the newcomer's footsteps approach the bar, I turned to put the beer in the front cooler. I started to look up and opened my mouth to speak.

"Hi there. Welcome to Mid-" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw him.

I found myself staring into the most breathtaking, and slightly bloodshot, pair of green eyes I had ever seen. I was so startled that I dropped the two bottles of beer in my hand. They shattered when they hit the floor, soaking my shoes and splattering beer everywhere. I blushed furiously as everyone in the bar turned to see what happened. A few patrons hooted at me for wasting beer and abusing alcohol.

I snapped my head down to watch my footing as I quickly walked over to the end of the bar to grab the dustpan and broom to clean up the mess. The broom and dustpan were always kept propped at the end of the bar within easy reach because of the number of accidents that occurred, mostly due to my clumsy nature. As I reached for the broom handle, I felt a bolt of electricity shoot down my arm. I snatched my hand back and looked over to find the source of the shock and looking at me with a similarly shocked expression were those same green eyes that caused this mess. Eyes that belonged to the most stunning man I had ever seen, who was holding on to the broom handle exactly where I had tried to grab it. I had watched the floor so intently so I wouldn't slip on the beer or broken glass that I didn't even notice that he had moved down the other side of the bar to get the broom.

Not even in a fantasy could a man possibly look this good and be real. He was tall and lean, but not skinny. His skin was as fair as my own. I bet he turns red in the sun like I do, I thought to myself. This mystery man also had a mop of tousled bronze hair on his head that my hands just itched to bury themselves in. His face was chiseled in a way that would make a sculptor cry for joy. The black t-shirt he wore was just snug enough for me to see that underneath was a well-toned chest.

"Uh, hi," I stammered, suddenly nervous and embarrassed that I was staring at him. My blush crept up to my hairline and I extended my hand for the broom. "Um, I can take that. Thanks." Man, I sound like an idiot! And staring at him too…he probably thinks I'm a freak.

He smiled down at me and my heart just about stopped.

"Let me help you. It will make up for me startling you like that." His voice was simply divine, soft but sweet. It could melt butter in a deep freezer. I didn't think I would ever forget the sound of his voice, even if I never heard it again. His expression was still startled, but cautious now, and he had bags under his eyes. It looked like he hadn't slept well in some time.

It only took a few minutes to clean up the mess behind the bar, and every moment I was aware of how excruciatingly close his body was to mine. Wild fantasies about throwing him down on the floor and having my way with him made me blush continuously. Jess would be so proud of me, thinking this way. I smiled and then blushed again. I had never thought this way about anyone before, not even strong, handsome Jacob.

Obviously I had a strong physical attraction to this man, but there was something more to him, something deeper that called to me. I think it was his eyes. There was something in his green eyes that drew me in. They say that a person's eyes are a window to the soul. Perhaps our souls were connected in some way. Perhaps I was just crazy to be thinking such thoughts about a complete stranger. Perhaps he was the ying to my yang. Perhaps I should return to the planet Earth where things like soul mates only occurred in the movies or in romance novels. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Feelings like this just weren't natural or healthy.

After the mess was cleaned up, the beyond-handsome stranger sat down and stared at his hands as they rested on the bar. The initial shock following his entrance faded somewhat, and he seemed to withdraw into himself. After taking some drinks to a table, I came back over to the bar and leaned against one of the coolers to look at him again. A part of me thought I was imagining all of this. I was tempted to pinch myself to see if I was awake. He truly was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen, and I couldn't help but think that he looked somewhat familiar. I couldn't imagine where I might possibly know him from, though.

He looked like he didn't want to talk and continued to stare at his hands, lost in his thoughts. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I spoke up. I wanted to hear his voice again.

"Thank you for your help cleaning up the mess. I really appreciate it. As I was trying to say when you walked in, welcome to the Midnight Sun. What would you like to drink?"

The stranger looked up at me in surprise. I must have shaken him out of some deep reverie. "You're welcome. It was the least I could do for startling you." He thought for a moment, looking over the collection of bottles behind the bar before choosing. "I'll have a Corona with a lime please." He smiled crookedly at me.

My heart felt like it stopped again when he smiled at me. Why does this guy have this effect on me? I dug a Corona out of the cooler, popped the top off, and grabbed a lime in one smooth motion. I may not be graceful, but repetition does have its merits! I snagged a napkin from a pile on the counter and placed both in front of him.

"Thank you. My name is…" he hesitated, which I thought was strange. "Anthony."

"I'm Bella."

He smiled that crooked smile of his again. "Pleased to meet you, Bella."

I almost choked when I tried to talk again. That smile was disarming. Dealing with the strange pull his eyes had for me was almost too much, but to also have to contend with that smile of his was not doing me any favors. This man was dangerous to the survival of my sanity.

"Likewise." I started blushing again, so I quickly turned my head so he wouldn't see. As I stood facing the mirrored back of the bar, I could see him watching me with a strange look on his face that I didn't understand. I busied myself with some unnecessary cleaning, whatever I could to keep myself occupied.

He took a swig of his beer and looked around. It almost looked like he was trying to hide. I was walking back up from the other side of the bar when the news reported a breaking story about a musician in the area. Anthony looked like he was going to choke on his beer. I looked at him quizzically, surprised by his reaction. I turned to the television and listened to the reporter.

"Fans of Edward Cullen were disappointed this evening when the musician suddenly left his show at the Odeon in the middle of his set. No one has seen him since his hasty departure. When we contacted his manager to see what happened, he would only comment that Cullen needed to take care of some things, that Cullen apologizes to all of his fans, and that a make-up show is in the works. When asked about the remaining shows on Cullen's tour, his manager had no further comment."

The camera panned away from the reporter and eventually the screen returned to the news studio as the rest of the evening news went on. Anthony's eyes darted up to me, panicked.

I chuckled, trying not to show that I noticed his panicked look. "Man, Jess is going to be so pissed."

Anthony looked at me, more chagrined now than anything. "Why?"

"She was there tonight. I gave her the day off so she could go."

Anthony actually looked a bit guilty.

Weird.

"Oh, wow, that sucks. Wait, you gave her the day off? You own this place?" he asked, relief evident in his eyes.

"Yep. I bought it a few years ago after my mom passed away." I looked around proudly. All I had wanted since I was in high school was my own bar, and I accomplished it. People in school didn't think I'd ever do it. They thought that I was too shy to run a business, and too klutzy to be in a darkened room that served alcohol without killing myself, either by falling or tripping on something.

Anthony's eyebrows raised in appreciation. "This is a nice place. My sympathies about your mom." His eyes locked with mine briefly, showing genuine sympathy.

"Thanks. It was awhile ago, and I've dealt with it. I still miss her, and always will, but what else can I do?" I was madly trying to figure out how to get off this topic. Talking about my mother would only make me sad and depressed. It had been a few years since her death but I still missed her a great deal. Talking about her always brought the invariable guilt I felt over the years I lost with her when I moved to Ohio. I cherished the time I got to spend with Charlie, but it came at the expense of less time with Renee. If I had known then that her time was so short, perhaps I would have stuck it out and stayed in Phoenix. I blinked my eyes rapidly to keep them from watering. I needed to change this topic before the conversation was driven into the ground or I started crying. Nothing turned customers and attractive men away more than depressed and weepy women.

"Not much, that is for sure." He stopped. It looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't. He looked down at his hands again.

I tried to restart the conversation. "So what brings you out this way?"

I wanted to know everything I could about this Anthony, who I had a feeling wasn't an Anthony at all. A part of me worried that he might be a bad person, like a fugitive, but a much larger part vehemently disagreed. It was strange to be making such a call on his character when I barely knew him, but it just seemed wrong to think of him in a negative light. As a bartender, I had prided myself on being a good judge of character. Being in this business opened up the floodgates to the different types of people in our society. Even in this small town, every personality type had passed through my doors at some point. Perhaps this was why I felt safe with Anthony. His eyes, while haunted, still had a kindness to them that I instinctually trusted. He was a mystery man, running or hiding from something.

He looked up at me pensively. "I'm not sure, to be perfectly honest. I was driving along, not really paying attention to where I was going, and I ended up here."

"Well I'm glad you're here." Good God, did I just say that? What kind idiot does this guy think I must be? Jeez.

He smiled at me again, shyly this time. "Me, too."

I blushed again. How does he do that?

I left the bar area then so I could tend to a few of the tables. It was starting to wind down, and the other waitstaff shifts were ending. I could feel his eyes watching me as I walked about the room. I concentrated as hard as I could, keeping one foot in front of another so I wouldn't trip or fall and make an ass out of myself again.

As I walked by the entrance, Jacob touched my arm. "What's up with that guy?" he growled.

"Nothing. He's just having a beer." Jacob glared at Anthony, arms across his chest. "Oh relax, Jacob. He's fine. He seems like a nice guy." He rolled his eyes at me and stood a little straighter. I laughed as I walked away, back towards the bar.

Anthony had a curious look on his face as he heard me laughing. But he tried to hide it quickly as he saw me approach. I smiled at him as I walked by behind him. "Another beer, Anthony?"

He didn't reply. It was like I hadn't even spoken to him. I walked behind the bar and faced him.

"Anthony? Yoo hoo! Anthony!" He looked up at me, sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were talking to me. Yes, I'll have another."

I shook my head, more convinced now that Anthony was not his real name. I got him another beer and placed it on the bar in front of him.

He seemed lost in his thoughts again as I cut up some fresh limes. I tried to watch him on the sly from the corners of my eyes as I sliced. He was just gorgeous and seemed like a genuinely nice person too. I felt strangely drawn to him-- to this man I had only met just minutes before. Again I was shaken with the feeling that we were connected in a deep way, deeper than I was prepared to deal with at the moment.

Anthony looked down at his beer, then suddenly back up at me. "Do you want to dance?" he asked me in a rush.

My eyes popped open, surprised. Me? Dancing? That was dangerous, especially if touching him meant getting shocked again. Would that be such a bad thing?

"I'm not a very good dancer."

He looked down, trying to hid what looked like disappointment.

"But, hey, practice makes perfect right?"

His face snapped up, a big crooked smile plastered there. "Yes, yes it does!"

Just then, the next song on the jukebox starting playing; it was a slow rock song. I smiled because it was one of my favorites, "Crash Into Me" by the Dave Matthews Band. He stood up and extended his hand to me as I walked around the bar. As soon as our hands touched, the electric fire was back. We looked at each other, both startled, but not letting go of each other's hand. I tried to remember to breathe as we walked to the small dance floor by the jukebox. When he stopped walking, I almost fell over.

"You okay?" He asked, a smile tickling the corner of his lips. Those lips.

"Um.. yeah. Just uncoordinated." I looked down, embarrassed. It felt like I was in high school again at some stupid school dance.

He looked down at me and reached his other hand out to my waist, pulling me closer to him. Shots of electricity ran from his fingertips and spread down my legs and up my side. He held my other hand out formally, and I rested my free hand on his upper arm, closing my eyes. Please don't let this be a dream. He started to sway slowly back and forth to the music. I supposed this really wasn't dancing, but it was as close to dancing as I was comfortable with. He was taller than what I had first thought. The top of my head only came up to his shoulder.

I looked up at him when he started humming. As soon as he realized what he was doing, he stopped. "No, don't stop," I said. "It sounded nice. It's cool that you like music."

He smiled softly at me, but shook his head. "Another time perhaps." There was a sadness in his eyes I couldn't understand.

We continued to dance, merely swaying to the beat. I was in heaven. I had never danced with a patron before, but this was different. He was different. It scared me.

The next song started, and Anthony froze. His eyes about jumped out of his head. The next song was by Edward Cullen, "Don't Think." I looked at him, surprised by his reaction. Then it hit me.

His name wasn't Anthony at all.

Anthony was Edward Cullen.

A/N Please read and review!

I had a prior Author's note set up as a separate chapter. For those that may have missed it, here is the jist.

I'm not a big fan of these types of Author's Notes but I wanted to give all of my readers an idea of what is going on since I have not posted a new chapter recently. I felt there was some major grammatical work that my story needed as well as further development to parts of the story. The overall plotline will not change. It will just make more sense to read and be more mature than what I wrote before (the rating itself will not change just the quality of the writing). Currently I am working with the great people at Project Team Beta to make my story shine. I have pulled everything from FF that hasn't gone through PTB (which is why we are only on Chapter 3). When you get updates now, they will be the new and improved Breaking From the Ordinary.

Thank you for your patience as I try to make this more worthy of your attention.

I have a ton of fav's... check them out if you want some good reads.