Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Bella, Alice and Edward.

Massive thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, puts on alert this story of mine. I feel extremely honoured. Thank you.

Bella

I had died and gone to heaven.

Or else, why would someone as magnificent as Edward carry a plain-Jane like me in his arms?

This sort of things only happened in those bad chick-flicks of the 90s.

When that excruciating pain on my right waist was blinding me, I could not take it anymore and I dropped on the floor.

With my eyes squinted I saw him : he looked like an angel, which further confirmed my doubts of being somewhere heavenly – with his bronze hair messed up as usual, his green eyes sparkling with what seemed like concern? Yup, I was absolutely positive that I was somewhere divine. With a soft sigh of content, I closed my eyes in joy.

Effortlessly, he scooped me up in his arms, and I was lost in his smell. He smelled celestial – like mint and vanilla all mixed together, and I kept my eyes closed to relish all the sweet goodness.

I could hear the people around us talking away, but I paid no attention to such insignificant details. All that mattered was that Edward had me close to him, and I might as well enjoy while it lasts, even it's for a short time. My eyes were still closed, in fear this trance might break if I opened them.

He laid me gently on a desk, which was surprisingly empty. Lying on it was extremely uncomfortable and I was debating on whether I should open my eyes, but then I felt that pain on my waist again and I decided it would be a good idea to lie still for some time.

Suddenly, I felt someone tugging my shirt, lightly. Out of horror, I snapped me eyes open and looked down to see who it was.

Edward was staring at my waist – exactly where it hurt really badly. As he tried lifting my shirt, I shifted and instinctively brought my hand near my wound. He swiftly met my gaze, and then he pressed my hand, ever so lightly and my heart melted. I understood what he was doing and I nodded.

Then as he began nursing my wound, his fingers lightly grazed my skin and my heart started beating so fast that I couldn't even think clearly because of all the noise it was making. Then when he started rubbing the wound with antiseptic, the combined effect of the medicine and his fingertips touching my heated skin was too much to bear, and I had a knee-jerk reaction and let out an embarrassing moan. Thankfully he didn't notice that the noise I made was more out of pleasure than pain. He surprised me by holding my hand in his while he continued his work.

After he was done cleaning the wound, he started wrapping the bandage and that's when it happened. My skin, already heated from his previous touches, was just starting to cool. That's when his fingers brushed again against it and I felt a jolt of electric current surge through me. Impulsively, I looked over at him and he just looked at me with a bored expression and went back to wrapping the bandage.

When he was finally done, I realized I must have been lying on that desk for a really long time and I wondered who occupied that desk. As I started getting up, my right side hurt a little and I winced.

"Hey, stay still for some time, will you?" Edward snapped, gently pushing me back.

"No, I feel much better now. Thanks Edw- I mean Mr. Cullen." I smiled.

"Don't mention it, Ms, Swan. I would have done the same thing for anyone else in your place."

And just with those words, he dampened my spirits.

Then I recalled why I was on that floor in the first place.

"Alice! Where is Alice? Oh God, I hope I am not too late…" I kept muttering.

"Relax, she is here," Edward said motioning his fingers to the corner of the room. Alice saw that and came forward.

"Wait, you guys know each other?" she asked with her eyes wide, pointing her index finger once at me and then at Edward.

"Well, yeah. We've met," was Edward's short and hesitant reply.

Surprisingly Alice didn't demand any further explanation after that, so I took the opportunity and lunged into what I was initially sent for.

"Listen, Alice, the main reason why I came to you and fell in this humiliating situation," I said, gesturing towards my bandaged waist, "is because David sent me. He feels terrible about the awful things he told you and really hopes you would not leave this job. Please, our magazine really needs someone as efficient and daring as you are who can correct the boss when he's wrong. I am not trying to flatter you, what I am saying is absolutely true."

"That's wonderful," Alice said with a mocking smile. "One moment the man says horrible things to me, and at the next moment, he takes his words back and still expects me to work for him? Oh and on top of that doesn't the man have that much sense as to say these things to me himself?" she huffed.

"Bella? What happened to you? What took you so long?" A new voice joined our conversation.

David was standing on top of the third-floor stairs, looking worse than he did after Alice stormed out of his room.

"Hello, Alice." He looked at her squarely.

"Mr. Gordon. My resignation letter will be on your desk within a short while," Alice replied haughtily.

"Yes, about that. Do you think you could possibly excuse my behaviour earlier and.." Suddenly his eyes spotted Edward standing behind Alice.

"And you are?" David raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Sorry, I am Edward Cullen, Alice's friend." They shook hands.

It was at that moment that it occurred to me that I didn't find Edward being there to be strange at all. Heck, I was so busy being dazzled by him that I had not even spared a single thought as to what he was doing there, and how he knew Alice. Yes, I was that much hopelessly infatuated by him.

That's when David noticed Alice's empty table and finally grasped the seriousness of the situation.

"Oh my, Alice you can't be serious!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, well I am," Alice snapped.

That's when Edward grabbed her arms, murmured a soft "excuse us" and went to the corner of the room and started talking to her in hushed voices. Meanwhile, David asked what I was doing on that floor for so long and I had to explain him the whole incident regarding my injury.

A few moments later, Edward came back to where David and I were standing, with Alice in tow.

"Mr. Gordon, Alice will be willing to get back to her job, if you would still like to have her," Edward said, looking at Alice with his eyebrows raised.

Alice nodded.

"Oh thank Goodness! Now that it's settled, I believe I need to apologize to Alice." He turned to face her properly. "Alice, I know I was a complete jerk and you really didn't deserve being screamed at like that. Do you think you can ever forgive me?" he asked dramatically with his eyes pleading.

Alice looked at him for a long moment, before opening her mouth to utter one single word, "Fine."

Later that day, I got a call from Sister Charlotte. She informed me that we will be rehearsing for our upcoming concert on the following Thursday. This new detail made me face a serious dilemma. I had completely forgotten about the event, which is why I hadn't even picked a song yet. That day, after I got home, I searched through my play list, looking for any song that would be appropriate for such an occasion. My search turned out to be fruitless so I went to bed, hoping to make a selection by the next day.

The next day, I barely had time for breakfast, so I skipped the home-made meal and stopped at a Starbucks on my way to work. While I ordered my latte, someone's phone rang, and the caller tune sounded strangely familiar.

Imagine me and you, and you and me, no matter how we toss the dice, it's meant to be

The only one for me is you and you for me, so happy together.

At that moment, while I was holding a few dollar bills to the kid at the cash register, and listening to an old favourite tune of mine that I adored as I child, only one person's face flashed through my mind.

Edward Cullen.

Finally, I had found my song.

That morning, I worked in a state of frenzy and kept glancing at the staircase that led upstairs, hoping to see a certain bronze-haired individual carrying a box upstairs. However, nothing of that sort happened, and I tried to push him aside in my head and tried concentrating on my work. My side was hurting from the precious day's calamity, and I wished I had listened to David when he had asked me to stay back home and rest.

During lunch, I saw Alice at the cafeteria. She spotted me and smiled and I walked towards her.

"Hey Bella, how are you feeling today? Gosh, I'm so sorry, I feel so bad about this." She seemed genuinely concerned.

"I'm good, Alice. And you don't need to feel bad about it. It all happened because of my klutziness," I replied.

"Anyway, I am really glad that you are not leaving this place," I tried changing the subject.

"Yeah, me too," she said.

As we started walking to a table, she started talking.

"So you and Edward work at the orphanage, huh?" she asked.

I got a bit nervous. I don't talk about my volunteer work, but since Edward had obviously opened up to her, I had to say something in reply to that. Also, the mention of Edward had my pulses racing and my palms sweating. Not a good sign.

"Well, yeah, but I don't know him well. I just started working there," I replied timidly.

"Edward is not a very social person. I doubt you'll get to know him even after you have worked there for years."

This information made me sad, and I felt it was kind of rude of her to put it that way.

"So how long have you known him for?" I asked, unable to suppress my curiosity any longer.

"Oh, almost all my life. Our mums are friends and we grew up together."

This made me wonder if something was going on between them. You know like it happened in My Best Friend's Wedding and Dawson's Creek where childhood friends fall in love. And just like it happened with Rosalie the other day at the orphanage, the mere thought of Edward with another woman made my skin crawl and jealousy flooded through me.

She glanced at me and I felt like she was reading my thoughts.

"I know that look and I know what you are thinking. Goodness, people react the exact same way whenever I talk about Edward and my history. Just to clear this, no nothing of that sort is going on between us." She shuddered at the thought, and it made me smile. "He's more like a brother to me."

"Then he's very lucky to have friend like you," I said, trying to cover up the awkward situation I had created with my own foolishness.

She shrugged, "Yeah I guess, I feel very much comfortable with him, and I know he feels the same way."

At that moment, another type of jealousy coursed through my veins. This pixie-haired, somewhat strange little person had the privilege of looking right through the mystery that Edward Cullen presented. She had access to all his stories and his secrets and I couldn't help but envy for her for being this close to Edward. Edward, to whom I was no more than someone he had performed first-aid on, that too with those wonderful hands of his, I though to myself.

I shook my head, trying to clear it from the evil fantasies it was weaving and took my mind elsewhere. Alice seemed friendly enough today. Maybe yesterday's incident had somehow changed the situation. I wonder if it has altered the awkwardness between me and Edward. Would he still be as distant as he had been all this time, or would he be a little friendlier, like Alice has been, when I see him on Thursday? Nope, I should not get my hopes up. Alice clearly stated he doesn't relate well on emotional level with most people around him.

A/N Thanks for reading this. Please review and tell me why you do or do not like my story.