Characters used:
Raised-by-Alice-and-Emmett is Jocie but I didn't know your last name, so I randomly made one.
Mashimaro401 is Sophia.
Delilah Lovett is Devin, don't know your last name either so that's also randomly made up. Lol
is Connar (don't know last name either) lmao
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight related, I just love to manipulate them. =)
Bella's POV:
"What's with the smile?" Edward asked me as we stepped out of the cab and onto Wilson Park ground.
I turned and smiled at him, while he grabbed his board and shut the door. He looked amazing today. Not amazing like he did every day, where he looked drop dead skater and sexy. Of course he still looked like that, but seeing him today was so different.
Maybe seeing him actually compete brought me to realize that he's even more amazing than he actually his. To see his crooked smile permanently plastered on his face while he effortlessly glides around.
"I'm just….I don't know, I'm happy. Really happy. I'm in Chicago with the love of my life. I'm going to be seeing my favorite and second favorite band, and I'm going to get you see you skate again. And no matter what, if you win or lose, you'll always be the best skater around to me." I said, stopping to look at his face.
He was completely still, before his crooked smile slowly appeared, he breathily laughed, and looked down, a little embarrassed. I smiled as he looked back me and took my left hand, stroking the promise ring he gave me.
"I love you so much, Bella." He whispered.
"I love you too."
I kissed him chastely, and he put his arm around me, steering me to where the competitors were practicing.
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"The winner is Jocie Bishop!" The announcer shouted.
We all cheered loudly as she stepped forward with her skateboard over her head and a proud smile on her face. Out of all the qualifiers for the street demo, she was by far the best.
"Next up is the bowl competition along with Tokio Hotel!"
I grabbed Edward's arm and we ran to the center bowl, where everyone was crowding.
"First person up is Sopia Lee!"
We cheered as Sophia stepped up to the edge of the bowl, smiled at her friends behind her, then flawlessly dropped down into the bowl.
I watched her feet's movement, calculating where they should end up next. I wish I could say that watching skating was just so awesome that it seemed to go in slow motion, but it wasn't. That's just not how skateboarding worked. The beauty was to see such prestigious raw talent, skill, and technique all piled into one fast fluid movement.
Every specific move required knowing exactly what you were doing in the next second, and being able to get your body to comply in just a second. Knowing that about four steps made up the simple ollie, which was done in half a second. That led into more steps that made a bigger trick that made everyone look on in awe.
The speed, the adrenaline, the gracefulness; it was everything.
Ending big, Sophia pushed out of the bowl, grinded the edge, went back in before coming out on the other side, landed, spinning on her tail, then pushing down and her wheels met pavement, finishing her routine.
The crowd went wild, and I jumped up and down, cheering her on. I was so hyped up that I was tempted to run around with Edward's underwear on my head and scream something extremely embarrassing.
"Can you say epic?! Dude! That was awesome! Go Sophia!" The announcer said, casting our attention to the stage where he stood.
"Next up, give it up for James White!"
I kept my mouth promptly shut as everyone else cheered. I swept my eyes over the people on the edge of the bowl, looking for James, but I couldn't see him.
Murmurs started to buzz in question to where he was and a chant started in the crowd behind me.
"James. James. James. James."
His name continued to be repeated and Edward took a step forward trying to find him. It wouldn't be a fair competition if James didn't show up. He may be a total bastard but he did have skill. For Edward to truly be number one, he had to compete against both qualifiers.
"Dude, where is he?" I heard the announcer murmur to someone on the stage next to him.
"I don't know." He replied. I nudged Edward and pointedly looked at the stage.
"Uhm, well we're just having a slight problem right now, so how about…we all enjoy a wicked performance by one of our major bands, Tokio Hotel?"
James was quickly forgotten and the crowd began to yell and cheer including, my friends and I. They rushed the band on and everyone scrambled to their positions.
"Hey everyone!" Bill Kaulitz, the singer, called out, his German accent heavy on his words.
A siren sound started off and everyone cheered as the song Scream began.
You get up, and somebody tells you where to go to.
When you get there, everyone's telling you what to do.
Thank you, it's been another bloody Monday.
And no one is asking what you wanted anyway.
Nai, nai, nai, na, nai, nai, na ,nai Nai, nai, nai, na, nai, nai, na, nai
Scream! Until you feel it.
Scream! Until you believe it.
Scream! And when it hurts you, scream it out loud.
Edward was on my right, holding my hand tightly so he wouldn't lose me in the crowd as everyone jumped on their feet, sang along, and some even moshed. Ah, the joys, of rock music, and skateboarding. God's gift to us.
When they started the song, Break Away, I started getting a little sidetracked.
Well Ready Set Go is Edward's theme song, this song is so awesome, maybe it should be mine.
With my little way-ward mind under control again, I turned my attention back to the band but ended up seeing the announcer arguing with some other guy on the side of the stage. Looks like no one knew where James was.
"Thanks for coming out here today, guys!" The lead singer said after two more songs. "Next song is called-"
"Wait!" The announcer called out, running onto the stage. He whispered something to Bill, who nodded in reply.
"Hey guys." The announcer started. "We're having a slight problem with our second skater right now, so how about, while Tokio Hotel plays their next song, we also have our third skater out in the bowl?" The crowd cheered in approval.
The roar of yells was deafening and Edward stiffened next to me.
"This song, Ready Set Go, goes out to a skating idol of ours. This one's just for you, Edward. Go kill it." Bill said, his words still a little hard to understand behind the German accent.
Edward still hadn't moved from beside me. I looked up to see him frozen and slightly open mouthed at the stage.
"He…he knows my name." He stuttered. I rolled my eyes. What a start struck loser.
"Yes, Edward. The sexy man knows your name. Now get moving. Your on!" That set him into motion and he grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the bowl as the beginning notes of the song started. Edward grinned as he stepped to the edge.
We were running through the town
our senses had been drowned
No place we haven't been before.
"Never thought I'd be skating with my favorite band playing my favorite song, just for me." He murmured.
We learned to live and then,
our freedom came to an end.
We have to break down this wall.
"You better get used to it, Edward, cause even after you disappeared from the skating world for two years, everyone's still here for you. The skaters will always want to be you, the crowds will always be chanting your name, the bands will always be playing for you, and your friends will always be supporting you. Those years of you being invisible mean nothing now, Edward. Your it."
Too young to live a lie
look into my eyes
He froze me in his gaze for a second, before turning and dropping into the bowl.
Edward's POV:
Ready, Set, Go
it's time to run
the sky is changing, we are one
together we can make it while the world is crashing down
don't you turn around
I kicked my back foot down as I came to the opposite edge, swiftly ran my right foot up anf flipped the board with my left before pushing down and lainding on the rail. I grinded it for a few seconds before dropping back into the bowl.
We are looking back again
our loneliness and pain
never been so wide awake
breathe, slowly in and out
somewhere behind the clouds
I can see the morning break
I did a few minor things at the base of the bowl and just skated around a bit, getting speed, before going to the edge again.
Too young to live a lie Look into my eyes
As soon as my board was airborne, I swiftly crouched, flipped my board, caught it with my hands, turned my chest and spun, before landed back on my board and pushing myself back into the bowl.
Ready Set Go
It's time to run
The sky is changing,
we are one
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down
Don't you turn around
I kept listening to the music playing in the background and the yelling and cheering directed at me while I skated. There have been few times in my life that I can look back on and know that I lived my life that day, and today was definitely one of them.
The day I quit practicing skating at my house and went to a skate park was the day that broke my emotional and mental issues. The day I met Bella and the day we confessed our love for each other were the days that brought me true love. There are other little dates thrown in there, but none were very clear.
I kept receiving little flashbacks of previous times I had been at Wilson park, and what happened every time.
Flashbacks:
Age 14:
I was only a simple freshmen, and I'm pretty sure the older guys there would beat me up if they noticed me at the skate park…if they noticed me at all.
Today was Saturday, I usually hang out with either Alice or Emmett but both were out with friends. I was bummed earlier, since my brother and sister were the closest thing I had to friends.
It's not that I was completely invisible. I had a few acquaintances who were all very nice and could carry a conversation with anyone, a few girls might talk to me when they found my lonesome demeanor 'cute'. I was nothing like Emmett and Alice though.
They were both so exuberant, and easy-going. They could make friends with anyone in an instant, and I'm not joking either. Someone would walk into the class room and they would simply ask what their name is and 'presto', they got a new buddy. I wish I could be like that sometimes.
I was the child cursed with the clumsiness and shyness. Emmett and Alice just thought I'd grow out of it; that there was no way that I was really shy. I was though. I was too scared of talking to people, afraid I would get embarrassed if they didn't answer me, or if they somehow found something to make fun of me about.
Today though, I decided that because they weren't here to hold me up today, just like they wouldn't be able to do their entire life; I would have to learn to hold myself up sometimes. It would be enough if I could just get one head to turn today. Just one.
The park was well occupied and everyone was having too much fun doing what they were doing to pay any mind to me.
I skated around that day, just singing to myself, and repeating steps I had learned in the isolation of my home. I never did stop to try and talk to anyone, I just spoke through my feet and board.
At the end of the day, I didn't turn one head. No. I turned all of them.
Age 14 about to become 15:
It was my first time ever competing and the experience was amazing.
I had just finished the bowl competition which I had surprisingly qualified for finals. That day when I first came to Wilson Park, was the day when my life opened up. The next day, at school, people were whispering about the lonesome kid who had amazing hidden talent. At first, I was still known as Emmett's or Alice's brother, but then people totally forgot I was related to them. I became my own person. I started to come to the park more often, and soon I met Devin, who was standing in the crowd cheering for me right now.
I had not only gotten sudden popularity over night, or just a few awesome friends. No, I got what every lower class men dreams about getting: best friends, who were all upper classmen. My best friend became Devin Jones who was two years older than me, but we had a lot in common. She tells me a lot that she feels ashamed that she couldn't get to know me before the sudden popularity bursts, but I don't care. The point to me was that I now had her and other people who knew me. I got what I wanted.
"The winner is…" The announcer started.
The actual time second between those words and the winning name was only a second, but it was the longest second in my life. I held my breath, crossed my fingers, and closed my eyes.
"Edward Cullen!"
Age 16:
Most of my friends, including Devin had graduated last year, and it was just too hard to keep up with each other over calls and emails. I still had plenty of friends though. I made skating my life. Skating is what brought me acceptance, it's what brought me normality, so I was doing it twenty-four seven.
I finished up my set with a long grind on the edge and ollying high out of the bowl. I breathed hard as I picked up my board and went to where the other qualifiers were waiting.
"The MSD bowl competition skateboarding champion this year is…"
I held my breath, crossed my fingers, and shut my eyes.
"Edward Cullen!"
It was three hours after I had been announced the champion when Connar Waits, and I were walking home. She was my neighbor for a year now, and she had attended the MSD with me.
"You did great today, Edward." She told me, stepping a little bit closer. My heart skipped a beat.
I had a little crush on Connar and I wanted to ask her out, but I had absolutely no idea how. While skating had helped my social life, it killed my chances with girls. I was always practicing, so while other guys were out there flirting and getting experience, I was getting left behind, fending by myself.
"Uhm, thanks." I told her, before walking away.
I am such a loser. Next time there's a girl I like, I'll just have to go with the only kind of flirting I know. Be a jerk. The point of that is to get her to notice you, right? That'll work.
Right?
Age 17 (before he moved to Forks):
I had to beat him. I had to. James was the competition this year. He had skill, raw talent, and a lot of drive. He was the enemy.
I had to beat him.
I had just finished my set, and I watched James skate with eyes of both hate and respect. Respect, because he really was amazing. Hate, because he was threatening everything.
I listened to the crowds cheering him on, they all temporarily forgot about me. If he won, they would permanently forget. I couldn't go back to that kid in the corner again. To have people know you and call out your name while you walk in the hallways is a feeling of grace to someone like me.
A man who's wandered the desert for two weeks and suddenly tastes the purest water can't easily give that up. Well I can't easily give up popularity. It's not the type of craving like stereotypical preps long for. No. They've all had it for so long that it's become the air they breathe and they do anything to make sure they're top dog.
I only crave it because for once in my life, I'm more than someone's shadow. I'm my own person.
James finished up his routine and came to stand beside me.
The announcer said his usual anxiety building words before I held my breath, crossed my fingers and shut my eyes.
"Edward Cullen! For the third year in a row, Edward Cullen is the national champion of the Myspace Skate Down!"
End Of Flashbacks
I shook off my trip down memory lane and continued doing what I loved best. The last chorus was coming up in the song, and I figured, this was the time to make my best ending. Time to go all Jackie Chan on my skateboard, like I had told Bella many times before.
I pushed toward the edge again, and this time when I was airborne, I twisted my body downwards and caught the edge with my hand. I held it for as long as I could, which was about three seconds before I dropped back into the bowl and launched out of the other edge. I crouched again, flipped the board, spun, and then landed safely in front of Bella.
The wheels of my board hit pavement and I was done.
The crowd cheered, and I would have loved to turn and smile at everyone, but I was focused on Bella, who was smiling brightly at me, and beckoning me to come forward with a crook of her finger. I could do nothing but comply.
"Do you realize how hot you look right now?" She whispered in my ear.
What happened to my shy Bella, who was both awesome and bashful? Well, this Bella is pretty cool too, not to mention she was currently driving me crazy.
She pulled me to her and her lips met mine. It didn't matter to me that there were hundreds of people around me who were currently giving out cat calls, I totally forgot about them. They wouldn't care either if they had the most beautiful woman ever in their arms and her tiny hands were pulling your hair, driving you crazy.
There's only so much self control I have, and she's currently gambling with all of it.
We finally pulled away and gasped for a much needed breath. I'm guessing Bella realized where we were then because she looked around and blushed bright red. I chuckled and turned giving a little wave to everyone who whistled back.
"No PDA guys, your making the rest of us feel lonely cause we don't have a beautiful girl on our arm." The announcer said, chuckling.
I suddenly remembered James, and my mind spun. Where could he be? He may be a total jerk, but I knew for a fact that the MSD was the most important thing to James. I focused backstage and saw people on phones and running around. Where could he be? I didn't want to look to far into it, knowing I would probably freak out a bit.
Instead, I grabbed hold of Bella and dragged her to the surprise I set up.
Bella's POV:
In the midst of trying to find James, Edward had suddenly grabbed my waist and dragged me to the edge of the crowd.
"Edward, what are you doing?" I asked. He smiled crookedly and his eyes shined with mischief.
"I have a surprise for you." He simply said. I froze.
"Edward, you very well know that I don't like surprises." I whined, trying to persuade him out of it.
"You'll like this one." He said.
Suddenly, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and caught notice of Edward's mischievous smile. When I came face to face with the person behind me, I froze. My mind screamed and squealed but my body couldn't move.
"You must be Bella. It's a pleasure to meet you." His rough voice said, making my legs weak. That voice was the god of my idolatry.
"You're…..you're…" I began to stutter. He smiled and ran his fingers through his long brown hair.
"Edward told me you're a huge fan." He said, with another heartbreaking smile that made my breath hitch. I was still trying to form words but I just couldn't. Edward chuckled next to me.
"She's always perfectly coherent around me and now, but as soon as I put her in front of Ronnie Winter, she's suddenly all over the place. I'm a little jealous."
Ronnie laughed along with Edward, and my mind finally managed to figure out that this was real. Ronnie Winter was standing in front of me. The lead singer of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus was standing right in front of me…and I was acting like a bumbling buffoon.
"Hi." I breathed out.
Edward laughed and slipped his arm around me while Ronnie smiled and offered me his hand.
"I'm Ronnie Winter." He said. I shook his hand and admired the feel of the smooth planes.
"I'm Bella Swan." I told him in return.
"Are you having fun today?" He asked. I smiled to myself at the thought that I would have such a story to tell Charlie when I got home.
"Yeah. It's been pretty cool watching the bands and skaters. My day…just got way better though." I said with a blush. He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair again.
"Is this your first time playing in Chicago?" Edward asked. I thanked him silently for saying something that would take away the attention from me.
"We've played here before but not for this competition. I did come to the MSD two years ago, though, with my wife and the other band members. It was really cool. We played a festival like this down in Texas just a few weeks back."
I couldn't help the smile on my face as I continued to have an actual conversation with my idol.
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"Hopefully, I'll see you later guys. Best of luck, Edward. Bye Bella." Ronnie said, as his bodyguard led him back to his tour bus.
"Bye!" We called out. As soon as he was out of sight and I could no longer, uhm…stare at his butt, I turned and smacked Edward in the chest.
"Ow!" He exclaimed, his hand flying to where I had hit him. "What was that for?"
"You could have warned me, Edward! Instead, I made a total fool of myself in front of the music god amongst men." I snapped.
He smiled cheekily.
"I could have, but then you wouldn't have had that cute flustered look on your face. It was almost masochistic to enjoy the look on your face while your drooling over another man."
"I wasn't really drooling was I?" I asked, horrified. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly there was a loud commotion in the crowd. I looked over Edward's shoulder and saw the announcer talking with James. Before Edward could turn and see for himself what was happening, I grabbed his hand and dragged him to where the announcer and James were standing.
"It's too late. You can't be allowed to compete." The announcer told James.
"That's bullshit! We only have to obey three rules and being late isn't one of them!" James shouted.
"Maybe if you had a good reason, we could let you on, but having a hangover isn't going to cut it man."
"You son of a-"
"Hey!" Edward barked. James, and the announcer turned to look at him.
"Let him compete." Edward spoke in a low voice.
My mind reeled for a second as to why he would say such a thing before it hit me. He's got to compete against the best in order to be the best. James was one of the best.
"What?" The announcer asked, shocked as to why Edward would want James to compete. James also looked shocked and confused.
"This isn't going to be a fair competition if James doesn't compete with us. The MSD is for the best skaters in America to come out and see who is the champion. It isn't fair to Sophia or me if we don't get a shot with James."
"Yeah." Sophia said, appearing next to me. "I don't know if I have a shot beating Edward, but I want to try my luck with James."
The announcer looked carefully between Edward's and Sophia's faces before giving out a long sigh.
He raised the microphone to his lips.
"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for our final skater, James White!"
The crowd erupted into a thunderous roar and the announcer walked off.
James continued to stare at Edward.
"Don't expect that I owe you anything." He said.
Edward gave him a wry smile.
"The only thing I'm expecting is for you not to go easy on us."
James stared at Edward for a second, an electric current running between them.
"I won't." James said. For a second, there was a respect between James and Edward. There were no past problems, or jealous sneers. It was just a respect from skater to skater.
"Now out of my way. I got a competition to win." James snapped as he walked past us and to the bowl.
Well the peace could only last for so long.
"Come on." Edward said, taking my hand and leading me to the edge of the bowl, so we could see James better.
Watching James skate wasn't as exhilarating as watching Edward, in my opinion, but I did admire him as he glided around the bowl. He did have talent, and he knew how to use it well. He also liked starting small then get bigger as he went, unlike Edward or Sophia, who had the level of their tricks leveled out during their entire performance.
I watched as James smoothly did a one-eighty turn at the edge of the bowl before going back in, and I couldn't help but doubt a little. This was anyone's game. Edward and James were both amazing and Sophia was drop dead wicked in the bowl as well. All three of them could get it.
James ended big and stopped his performance, breathing hard. The crowd cheered, and there was a heavy atmosphere around.
Who would win champion this year?
"That was our last skater for today folks! While the results are getting rallied up, I want everyone to give it up for our last band performance tonight. Make some noise for The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus!" The announcer exclaimed.
I clapped and cheered wildly as the band came on stage. Edward pulled me through the crowd where Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, Catie, and Gabriel were waiting at the rail directly in front of the stage.
As soon as everyone was in place, they started with their latest single, Pen and Paper. No words could describe the adrenaline rush surging in my veins.
You like the way the people stare at you now you look so fake just thought that you should know and your all the same and when the curtain drops down you'll be replaced by something typical
This was the heavenly reason I love them. Aside from different beats that appealed to different moods, they had a great message in their lyrics every single time.
They played through a lot of their old hits such as Face Down and Your Guardian Angel as well as some new ones such as You Better Pray, Pleads ad Postcards, and Step Right Up. During Your Guardian Angel, Ronnie had caught sight of us in the front row and winked at us. He continued singing as he walked back to Jon, the drummer. He walked back to us with a drumstick in his hand.
Edward reached out ad took it before handing it to me. Ronnie smiled and winked once more as he walked to the other side of the stage and continued singing.
"Hey guys! We just want to say that we're glad to be out here tonight with all of you. I've never seen such talent like this. I wish I could still skate like that. Ya'll don't think I'm too old to skate, do ya'll?" Ronnie said, smiling blissfully at the crowd.
A loud chorus of "no" echoed. He chuckled before raising the microphone to his lips again.
"Thanks for coming out here tonight guys. Our next song is Disconnected, which some of you may know, but it's an unreleased track."
The music started and I hummed along, as I had with all the other songs, Rosalie and Jasper, having known me the longest and put up with my obsession with them longer, also knew every word.
The song started and I sang along, with Edward's arms wrapped around me and surrounded by my friends. The feeling was amazing. Edward and I started jumping on the balls of our feet as the chorus came by.
Don't hang up on me, cause I'm hung up on you
don't tell me how to feel, like you always do
I know your right, I don't want to fight
is this how our story ends, or a new chapter begins
"I'm hung up on you, Bella." Edward whispered in my ear. I smiled and stroked his hand in agreement.
As they finished up their last song, the announcer came back onto the stage.
"We have the results guys! You want to hear them?"
A deafening roar boomed out.
"Just like always, we'll announce second place, then first place, which will leave the last skater third place."
The tension in the air was electric. Edward held me tight, and I held my breath. I looked up and the announcer gulped before opening the envelope.
"Second place is….Sophia Lee!" I clapped respectively for Sophia as she proudly smiled. My mind was still distracted though.
Edward was going to place either first or third. It was anybody's game.
"First place goes to……."
A second had never seemed longer to me. The entire world seemed to stop and I became hyperaware of every little move the announcer made.
His hand moved upwards. His eyes flickered across the card. He raised the microphone to his lips. He took a breath.
"First place goes to…" He repeated.
Behind me, Edward held his breath, crossed his fingers, and shut his eyes.
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"Edward Cullen!"
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It's done! Sk8ter Boi is finished. -sob- I'm not joking when I say I really am sad. This was my first fan fiction ever and I never dreamed it would become this big. I remember starting this, thinking I'd be done in maybe two months. Boy, was I wrong. But I'm glad you all stuck with me when life threw me curve balls which postponed my updates.
I have a lot of faithful reviewers who I've come to know on a personal level and I thank every reader out there. You really do mean a lot to me, I know if I can't take anything in the real world, I always have you guys.
An epilogue will be coming soon. I'll miss you all. Keep an eye out for my next fan fiction: You're So Much More. Sneak Preview on my Freewebs account.
Sincerely Yours,
Vampire-legend
