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Betas:beautiful nightmarex and Alice's White Rabbit

Summary (made by Ele05gs): Exams are over and Edward wants to celebrate. What better way to do so than finding the girl he liked? Bella may prove to be a little hard to persuade, but she is worth it. The only problem: she might not be ready for a relationship just yet, leaving Edward to wander. Until he finds Tanya. Will sparks fly or will his feelings for Bella overpower everything else?

-:- Heartbreak World -:-

With the exams finally over, and with such high marks, Edward decided it was time to focus on the more important things in life―his love life, to be more specific.

For starters, he cleaned out his apartment—girls didn't like to be welcomed into a pig sty. Edward lived in a cozy studio based in a two-story house. The owner had created four studios in the house, and made an apartment for himself as well. Edward had always been grateful to his parents. Without them, he would had to live in a dorm with other students and practically no privacy at all. He preferred to have his own place. He liked it that way.

After cleaning―which included throwing away an embarrassing number of pizza boxes and beer bottles―he sprayed some air freshener throughout the entire room. With a goofy grin, he looked around. The room looked like something out of those modern pictures from the silly magazines his little sister used to read. Dark blue walls, a guitar in one corner, a rack with colorful LP's to brighten the room, his bed was neatly made up, and he had even put some plants on the windowsill.

After admiring his room for a few minutes, he finally picked up his phone and did what he had wanted to do for a very long time. He called Bella.

Bella was a girl from his year, who had stopped her studies right before the exams started and since then, Edward hadn't seen her. But now it was time to change that. The phone rang for a few seconds, before a click sounded, and Bella's bright voice followed. Instantly, Edward smiled.

They agreed to meet in a small bar around the corner from Edward's place that same night. Bella told him how glad she was that he called her; she had missed him. They had flirted a bit in class, but neither had picked up the courage to ask the other out.

When Bella walked through the door of the bar, Edward felt his breathing stop. He'd been sitting there for a few minutes, but he couldn't keep his eyes off her once she'd entered.

Bella looked like a woman on a mission. Her beautiful brown hair was pulled up in a wild bun, strands falling all around her head. Her lips were painted a dark, sensual red, and she wore a long coat. Her elegant black heels showed off her long legs that were currently hidden by the coat, but Edward still remembered how they looked in those tight jeans she used to wear. She'd caught his eye many times in class.

As if they had only spoken yesterday, they picked up where they'd left off. Their easy conversation was interrupted many times by loud laughter, jokes and playful touching. The hours flew by, and when the streets were finally embraced by the dark, the bar manager made it clear it was time for them to go. He was subtle though, putting the chairs on the nearby tables, closing the curtains in the back and changing the calm jazzy music to some awful eighties rock band that was bound to scare everyone off. The duo looked at each other. It seemed like neither wanted the night to be over.

"One more at my place?" Edward asked innocently, pointing at the empty drinks in front of them.

"I'd love to," Bella said. "But I think it's best if I go home." Edward sat back, a bit stunned. Had he misread her behavior all night? He'd thought she liked him.

Suddenly, the easy smile was gone from Bella's face, the warmth in her eyes had disappeared, and she'd put more distance between them as if they were suddenly strangers. Edward blamed himself for pushing her too fast. He shouldn't have suggested going back to his place. Idiot, he scolded himself.

"Is there someone waiting for you?" He tried to ease the tension that had crept between them, but the look in Bella's brown eyes made it clear she wasn't going to answer. She bit her lip, but stood up anyway, and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"It's not you," she whispered in his ear before walking away and leaving behind a shocked Edward. Her silhouette disappeared in the darkness, the sound of her heels getting fainter with each second.

Edward felt lonely and abandoned, and with a heavy heart, he walked back toward his studio after he'd paid the bill. "I passed my exams with excellent marks," he thought, "and I didn't even have to try thathard. Still, I'm not happy." He looked around and one of the side streets, glowing with light, caught his attention. He hesitated for a moment, but then continued. He walked straight toward one of the bars that were still open at this hour.

"Two beers!" he yelled loudly as he stepped inside, but then stopped.

It wasn't a bar, it was an internet café. Several eyes looked at him judgingly, annoyed that he'd broken the eerie silence. Feeling ashamed, he made himself comfortable in front of a computer. He could chat for a while, right? Nothing bad would come from that.

-:-

Edward couldn't believe his luck when, after a few tries, he found someone who he instantly felt a connection with―a girl, who listened to him, who understood him. Edward's fingers flew over the keyboard while a lazy smile played on his lips as he read the girl's comments.

All of a sudden, his eyes widened.

82638X: I'm bored. Tell me where you live, I'll come and we can have some fun. ;)

Edward hesitated, but gave the address anyway. Half an hour later, a girl―or woman, to be more precise―stepped through the door. She appeared a bit older than him, but he couldn't immediately guess her age.

They left the internet café and sat down at a nearby bar. She drank white wine, he drank beers and for the first time that night, Edward felt like he didn't have to do his best. Talking to her was easy, like it took no effort at all.

When the owner asked them to leave, images of Bella came to mind, but Edward pushed them away. She'd left him; she hadn't wanted to come back with him. She made her choice.

"We can go somewhere else," he said casually. "If you want, I've got some great wine at my place."

The woman, Tanya, seemed to hesitate. "Am I not too old for you, little boy?" she asked with a naughty tone to her voice, her finger grazing Edward's arm. He felt a blush on his cheeks and looked at Tanya. He wouldn't dare ask her age. As if Tanya could read his mind, she answered playfully: "I'm thirty-two. Over ten years older than you, am I right?"

Edward nodded and looked away for a moment. Then, he made up his mind.

"So, how about that wine?"

She grabbed his hand and together they walked toward his studio. When Edward opened the door, he had already forgotten that he'd cleaned the whole place for Bella's return, and even Tanya seemed a bit shocked.

"Wow," she gasped. "In my time, every room was a dump." She laughed a tingly laugh. Edward smiled too, a bit sheepish though.

Tanya sat down on his bed and looked at him, questioning. "Didn't you say something about wine?" Edward quickly went to get it and poured it in two lemonade glasses. He handed one of them to Tanya.

"I'm sorry, but wine glasses don't live long here." He shrugged apologetically.

Tanya smiled and soon they were talking. The more wine they drank, the closer they got. Arms brushing, knees touching, hips moving. It felt like they were dancing around each other, teasing, but not wanting to go for it.

Until Edward couldn't take it any longer, he snuck an arm around Tanya's waist and pulled her close. Their lips met and a sigh of pleasure was heard through the room. Tanya pushed him down on the bed, straddled him, and kissed him passionately. She was about to unbutton his shirt, when suddenly they were both startled by the sound of the doorbell.

"Are you expecting someone?" Tanya asked, breathless, her light blond curls hanging in Edward's face.

He shook his head. "Not that I know of, but we get visitors at the craziest hours." He excused himself and went downstairs. When he opened the door, he gasped softly. Bella was standing nervously before him.

"I'm sorry about earlier," she said timidly, giving him no time to say something. "I changed my mind about that drink, if you're still up for it?"

Edward swallowed loudly, his hand fidgeting with his hair. "Oh, well, that's sort of difficult right now, there―"

Bella didn't even wait for him to finish.

"I knew this was wrong." She raised her voice, a deep frown on her forehead. "I thought there was something going on between us, but I guess you're just like everybody else!" She stomped away, her heels clacking loudly on the pavement.

Edward sighed, feeling miserable, thinking he'd never understand how the mind of a woman worked, but went back upstairs anyway.

"Who was it?" Tanya asked curiously.

"Nobody," Edward said as he took off his shirt, unbuckled his belt and went back to where they left off.