Author's Note: Many thanks as always. I've had a pretty bad bout of insomnia the last month (I get about five hours of sleep on a good night), so I'm going to go try and take a disco nap for a bit. Enjoy!

Nice reviews are better than chocolate, unless maybe you're licking that chocolate off someone.

Eight

I checked my e-mail as soon as I got home, bubbling with excitement. I don't know exactly why Edward was the first person I thought to share it with, maybe because he was pretty much the only one I could. I saw his new message and opened it. He was sending me a surprise? Crap. I hit reply and started typing.

Dear Edward,

You really don't have to send me anything; our conversations are more than enough. I'm not really one for gifts, or surprises. And please, please don't spend any money on me.

Anyway, I have news. Rose is pregnant! I had a feeling that might be what her announcement would be; she'd insisted on not waiting for our normal dinner tomorrow. She's having a Halloween party instead; I'm not sure how she's going to put it together on such short notice, but she's good that way. She said she wanted to wear something tight and revealing for the last time.

So I probably won't be around much tomorrow.

And to reiterate, please don't buy me anything!

Yours,

Bella the Party Pooper

I hit Send, hoping he would get it before he went out and bought me something.

The next day Alice came and got me from work. We were going to my apartment for a while before we headed over to Rose's house. "Shouldn't we help her set up?" I asked, unlocking the door to my apartment.

"This is Rose; she hired people to set up for her." I looked over at Alice, an amused expression on her face.

"I didn't know you could hire people to do that." I set my school bag and purse down on the kitchen table. Alice sat in front of my laptop.

She shrugged, "you can hire people to do just about anything." She opened a window to check her e-mail, but I had it set up to automatically log into mine. "Hey, do you care if I log you out, so I can check my e-mail?"

"That's fine," I went to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water.

"Bella…"

Her tone raised the hair on the back of my neck. Shit, shit, shit. "Hmm?"

"You have an instant message."

I turned to look at her, "Oh?" My voice sounded too high.

"Yeah, some guy, Edward?" I could see her face change as the name registered. Would it be too obvious if I shoved her out of the chair and slammed the laptop shut? "Wait…" she paused, letting things click into place. "Edward? As in, Edward Cullen the psychopath?" Her eyes were big.

"He's not a psychopath," I said defensively.

"Bella! You don't know the guy!" She looked at me and then back at the screen, reading whatever he'd written. "He's sending you something? How much do you two talk?"

There wasn't any good way to spin this; I tried to remind myself that she was just being protective. "We've been writing letters for a little over a month; he just gave me his e-mail address a few days ago. He's nice and he's normal, ok?" I walked over to stand near her so I could read the screen.

Edward: Hey, I got your e-mail and I'm not spending money on you. It's something I'm making and I'm sending it anyway; I really want you to have it. And it's still a surprise.

Alice cleared her throat, "well, I'm going to have to decide for myself."

"Alice," I said in what I hoped was a warning tone. She didn't listen and before I knew what was happening she did something to my webcam, used the mouse to click something on the screen, and typed a response to Edward which read "accept this."

"Oh my God, Alice, don't." I said when I finally realized what she was doing. Two new windows appeared, Alice was in the smaller of them. For the first time, I could see Edward's face. I was suddenly glad I wasn't in the line of vision for the camera; I think my jaw had just hit the floor. He was gorgeous; no, that doesn't even cover it. Perfection personified? I don't know, my ability to come up with any new phrases had gone out the window. His skin was a pale cream and I could see the faintest five o'clock shadow along his jaw; his dark bronze hair was messy, but I had a feeling it usually looked that way. He wore a pair of rectangular glasses that made him look even sexier and his eyes were a deep green. I made what sounded like a squeak in my throat and took a step back. Even Alice looked surprised.

"Bella?" His voice. It was deep and smooth and reminded me of the coffee he was so addicted to; this man was heartbreakingly beautiful.

"Uh…no, this is her friend Alice. Just a sec." She jumped up from the chair and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the living room. She stage whispered, "holy crap!"

I couldn't keep the smile off my face, but I didn't say anything. I had an urge to start giggling like I was in high school.

"Ok, let me get my bearings here," she put on her most professional face. "Ready." She walked quickly back to the computer, leaving me standing there.

"Ready for what? Alice?" I hurried up to stand next to her, still out of view of the camera.

"Edward, right?" She said, almost dismissively. "I'm Bella's best friend; I have some things I want to ask you."

He chuckled lightly; I bit my lip. "Ok. Is she there?" He looked hopeful, but to his credit, not the least bit nervous.

"Yes, but this first. Ok, what do you do for a living?"

He answered seriously, "I'm an architect."

"Where in Manhattan do you live?"

"Gramercy."

"Hmm," she sounded impressed. "Why did you write to Bella in the first place?"

He paused; I noticed the first button on his shirt was undone. "There was just something about her letter; I didn't want her to be that sad. She seemed smart and interesting and too good to be feeling that way."

I furrowed my brow, had I sounded that sad? Negative emotions had become very relative in my world; it was hard to tell how I looked to other people.

Alice didn't pry into that, for which I was grateful. "Ok, do you have any friends?"

He chuckled again; I was having very specific reactions to him. "I have a best friend if that helps; his name is Jasper. We work together."

"Any talents?"

"Well, I play the piano and I can draw. I'm learning to play the guitar too."

Alice nodded to herself. "How many serious relationships have you been in?"

"Alice!" I yelled before I could stop myself. I could see Edward's face change when he heard my voice.

"Well, I had a high school sweetheart, but she went to college abroad and things just didn't work out. I had another girlfriend in college, but she cheated on me."

"Why?" Alice asked. I finished her thought, why would anyone in their right mind cheat on you?

He grinned crookedly and I almost had to squeeze my legs together. "She wasn't exactly the serious relationship type."

"And what type are you?" She asked; I stepped a little closer.

"I prefer having a girlfriend. I don't date around; I like being in an actual relationship."

I found myself smiling at that. "Ok, you sound halfway decent." She leaned forward a little; she looked…imposing. Her voice was lower, "if you hurt my friend, in any way, I'll hunt you down Cullen, hear me?"

He nodded solemnly, "I would never do anything to hurt her." His eyes looked flipping a switch, Alice went back to her lively, happy self. "Ok, it was nice meeting you, Edward. Oh, FYI, you'll probably go through all of this again with Rosalie; she's the scary one." She waved at him, smiling brightly, and he gave a little wave back. He had long, slim fingers. She turned a little to face me, "ok, I'm going to Rose's; you can talk to him for a bit. Be there at six, alright? I need to get you ready."

"But…Alice…" I was starting to panic a little. I could barely have an online conversation with him when I was typing, let alone when he could see me and I was actually speaking. I didn't think I could look at his face and even think about making any kind of sense. She stood up and grabbed my shoulders, plunking me down in the seat she'd just vacated; she kissed my forehead.

"I'll see you in a little while." When she was out of the camera's view, she gave me a thumbs up. "Bye, Edward!" She called out.

"Bye, Alice," he said back. His eyes became fixed on me and it was like my brain had just escaped my body. "Bella," he nodded, a grin playing at his lips.

My mouth was partway open, my eyes wide; I couldn't force any sound out.

"Well that was…intense. I wasn't expecting my Friday to go quite like this." He paused like he was waiting for me to say something; I hadn't moved an inch. "It's good to actually see you, by the way."

I swallowed; my mouth felt too dry. "Me too, I mean, to see you, it's good." I sounded like Yoda. I attempted a light laugh, "that's Alice though; I told you she was feisty."

"I like her; she seems like a good friend."

"She's the best," I nodded. "So, any plans for the weekend?"

"Just putting the finishing touches on your gift –"

I groaned, "I told you, you really don't have to give me anything."

He smiled, "I know; I'm doing it because I want to."

"Edward."

His expression became pleading, almost pouty. I felt like I was melting under a hot sun. "Please?"

"Will you tell me what it is first?"

He visibly brightened, "I can do better than that, but it'll ruin the surprise." He seemed to mull it over for a minute, looking down. After a moment, he looked at me; the melting sensation came back. "Ok, I need to move you first though." He picked up his laptop and started moving it to another room. I realized then that he'd been in his kitchen; it looked very nice. He moved past a living room which had a light colored couch and a dark, large ottoman. He sat the laptop on what I thought might be a table; he sat down where I could see him again. "Ok, it's a little rough, so bear with me."

And then something changed; I could hear music. The light, high sounds of a piano came through my speakers; he was playing for me. His expression was very serious, concentrated. He looked down at the keys, though he played so well I doubt he really needed to see them. The song wasn't anything I recognized. It was ethereal, slow and then quick; it reminded me of the way I felt when I listened to the ocean in the evening. I found myself leaning forward, trying to absorb as much of the sound as possible. Too soon, it was over; he looked back up slowly, as if he'd forgotten I was there. "That was beautiful," I couldn't think of any other way to describe it.

"Thank you," he looked a little abashed. "I wrote that for you." He said it very quietly, almost shyly.

"You…did?" I was speechless. No one had ever so much as dedicated a song to me at a school dance, let alone wrote me one. "Edward," I breathed out.

"I was going to put it on a CD to send you…but if you don't want me to…" He was grinning crookedly again.

"No, I do! I want you…to send it; I love it." How did this happen? How did I get this lucky? It was a little disconcerting. I checked the time; it was almost six. I sighed, "hey, I need to get going. Alice and Rose are waiting." I was way more disappointed than I rationally thought was necessary.

"Ok, have a good time tonight, Bella." Hearing him say my name made me shiver.

"You too, I'll talk to you soon." I smiled. "Bye."

"Bye."

I disconnected and got up to leave. If I wasn't sure I was falling for him before, now I was certain.