AN: Characters courtesy of Stephenie Meyer, plot courtesy of US!! (bethaboo & tamelaine)
This chapter is all tamelaine's wonderful doing. . . enjoy guys!
BPOV
I rolled over and groaned at the loud ringing in my ear. I had been having such pleasant dreams—pleasant because they featured one pair of incredibly mesmerizing green eyes and sexy auburn hair—and just like that, they were shattered by the irritating sound of a telephone.
Wiping the hair out of my eyes, I glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. 10 AM. Alice. She was the only person who could travel across the ocean, lose a whole day and still be alert enough drive everyone within her vicinity crazy with her hyperactive tendencies.
After debating on taking the phone off the hook for a chance at reclaiming the vision that was Edward Cullen, I sighed in defeat. One thing I'd learned over the years was that Alice never gave up.
"Hello?" I croaked, overly exaggerating the crankiness in my voice. There was no sense in making this easy on Alice.
"Bella! You have to get up now. We're meeting Rose and Emmett for lunch over at the Olympic Village," she squealed, like this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened. I could picture her bouncing up and down as she danced around the room looking for an outfit. How such a calm man as Jasper had ended up with such a little energy ball, I'd never know.
"And a good morning to you as well," I said dryly.
"C'mon Bella. You need to hurry. I told them we'd meet in an hour and it sounds like you just woke up," she said accusingly.
"Of course I just woke up, Alice. International flight—remember?"
"Nevermind. Just hurry. Besides, this could be a big break for you. You never know who you may run into over there. Think of all the interviewing possibilities!" Before I could reply, the phone clicked in my ear.
I sighed. Alice was right, as usual. I had a boss that was none to pleased that I was his only foreign Olympic correspondent, and I'd do just about anything to prove he'd been right to send me. Unbidden, the dreamy image of Edward Cullen floated back into my consciousness. Maybe, I thought, I'd get the chance to prove myself to him too.
I'd been going over the horrifying meetings with Edward in my mind since I'd landed in Beijing. Something about him brought out the disaster waiting to happen Bella I'd tried so hard to conquer my entire life. Just as I'd finally banished her to the realms of nonexistence, he'd magically appeared on that plane and she'd reappeared with a vengeance.
Not only had I taken down the stewardess and caused him to be drenched, he'd then had to endure an all too public pat down of his crotch. Of course, I wasn't done with the public humiliation. Then his toe had been in the way of my luggage cart. I shuddered again as I thought of the damage that I could have done to his Olympic dreams. To top it off, I'd thought that maybe, just maybe he'd been flirting with me? Nope—there was no chance in hell that's what he'd been doing. He was probably just making conversation to keep me from moving any of my limbs and inducing any further bodily harm.
He's way out of your league, I told myself one more time before dragging myself out of bed. Playboy swimmer meets clumsy journalist and falls madly in love—it could happen right? I snorted. Maybe in my fantasy dream world, but never in real life.
I rifled through the suitcase I'd left sitting at the foot of my bed, and picked out some jeans and a blue, long sleeved shirt opting for the casual look for one last day before I went into full-on reporter mode. Forcing the those stunning bright green eyes out of my head, I hopped into the shower, hoping that Alice wouldn't beat down my door if I was a little late. After brushing my hair into a quick ponytail and dabbing on a touch of mascara, I was ready.
I grabbed my purse and slipped on my press badge just as the knock sounded on my door. Perfect timing. As I slipped outside and caught a glimpse of Alice's speculative face, a terrifying thought overwhelmed me. She knew. Somehow, she'd found out that I had a silly crush on the biggest superstar swimmer of this decade, perhaps this century. Her eyes were appraising, as she studied me and the way I looked.
"You know, if you really want to attract someone's attention, that's probably not the best outfit to be wearing," she began. I cut her off instantly.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," I hissed, desperately praying that she'd just drop the subject before it even got started.
"Sure, you don't," she said, grinning now and clearly taking joy in my terrible attempts to dissuade her.
I gave up. "Okay, Alice. What exactly do you know?" There really was no reasoning with my pesky best friend once she'd decided to interfere, and interfere she would, if I didn't change her mind quickly. I'd already seen the gleam of mischief in her eyes and to say it was frightening me was an understatement.
"I knew it!" she shrieked, possibly damaging my ear drums for life—bad news to a journalist. "You like Edward Cullen! As soon as I saw you look him up and down and lick your lips on that plane, I knew!" I cut her off at that, slightly offended.
"I did not lick my lips when I saw him on that plane! I was just—surprised to see him there! You know that I tend to get flustered when I'm surprised, and Edward Cullen, who is possibly the worlds' most famous athlete at the moment, sleeping peacefully less than a foot away from me, is a pretty huge surprise. You should have warned me!" As the memories returned yet again, I began to feel rather justified in the irrational anger I was feeling towards her at the moment.
"Whatever--you like him, and who wouldn't? He is stunning to look at, isn't he?" She completely dismissed my rationalization, opting for her original theory. Of course, how could I counter it when she was absolutely correct in her assumption?
Realizing that defense was not the best strategy, I settled on distraction. "Alice, you know we don't want to be late to lunch. Aren't you interested in seeing all the international fashion trends amidst the athletes at the Olympic Village?"
"Um, no. I'm assuming the athletes won't be wearing heels and designer dresses to lunch. What's the fun of looking at a bunch of overly fit people in warm up suits?" Her eyes were still distant, as if she was thinking of something else—planning something else.
Discouraged, I tried again. "I wasn't talking about dresses Alice! I was talking about sizing up the competition. You know some athletes will be wearing Adidas, as well as Reebok and Champion gear, and you might as well take some notes." Finally her eyes focused back to me as she registered what I was saying.
"Of course you know nothing will compare to my designs, right?" she asked, a bit snappishly. Great. Now I've offended her.
"You know I didn't mean it that way Alice! I was just saying that it might be fun for you. Besides, this is our last chance to get a good look at the inside of the place. You know, they're closing it to the public once the games begin." I tugged on her hand and began pulling her towards the lobby where Jasper was waiting, hoping she'd forgotten all about our previous conversation.
"So, I had an idea for a story. I was thinking of doing a piece on Rose and her partner Tanya. Do you think that they'd agree?" I was running some ideas by Alice and Jasper as we waited just inside the entrance to the huge cafeteria inside the Olympic Village.
"Hmm...that might work, but I think I may have a better idea," Alice mused. Before I could ask her just what she meant by that, the doors opened and in walked our lunch companions.
"Bella!" The booming shout broke the relative silence of the cafeteria as a huge, muscular man almost ran towards me. I cringed in embarrassment. Leave it to Emmett to make a scene, especially since he knew I hated drawing attention to myself. I had met Emmett through Rosalie Hale, Jasper's sister, shortly after they had started dating following the Athens Games. Despite his fierce reputation as a world renowned wrestler, Emmett McCarty was really a giant teddy bear of a man. He was gentle and goofy, someone who you could always count on for fun, yet he was an extremely loyal friend. He'd taken a liking to me--treating me like the little sister he never had growing up. I enjoyed his good-natured, easy-going personality, and we'd become close, despite his nearly constant teasing. He somehow always knew what would make me blush, and used that knowledge to its fullest capacity--as he was doing now.
Before I could answer--or turn around as if I didn't know him--he threw his arms around me. I winced. "Emmett...too tight. Let go of me!" I gasped. Often, Emmett had no real idea of how strong he was compared to everyone else.
"Sorry Bells," he laughed. "Rose! Bella's here," he exclaimed, turning to the beautiful, blond volleyball player at his side.
"I know, Emmett. In fact, I think that half the cafeteria now knows that Bella is here," she responded sarcastically, yet flashed a grin in my direction. "Cmon, let's sit down," she proclaimed, and led the way to a table surrounded by six chairs.
I couldn't help but think that I was very obviously the odd man out. I had no one to hold my hand as they sat next to me at the table, no one to solicitously ask me what I wanted to eat, then run off to get it, but most of all no one to give me the kind of relationship I craved--the love I had witnessed first hand between Jasper and Alice, Emmett and Rose. Once again, an image of Edward Cullen's face surfaced in my mind. I growled under my breath, angry at my deviant mind for bringing him back to the forefront of my thoughts. Unfortunately Emmett heard my annoyance.
"Did you just growl, Bella?" he asked, a huge smirk on his face. He glanced at Alice, and something he saw in her expression made him sit up, alert now that something was going on with me. Instantly his demeanor changed. "Is something wrong? Is someone bothering you that I should know about?" He cracked his knuckles menacingly.
"No, Emmett! It's nothing like that. I just had a thought that bothered me is all," I replied desperately. I just wanted to end this conversation now, and hoped that he would get the hint.
"I see," he muttered, yet I could tell that he really didn't. He looked towards Alice, and I knew that I'd have to start damage control. Alice was bad enough, but Emmett knowing about my silly crush would be torture. Whatever happened, they couldn't consult with each other because then they'd definitely put two and two together, if they hadn't already.
"So," I said, turning towards Rose, "are you ready for your first match? I hear Brazil's pretty tough." I mentally winced at the false excitement in my voice. Who was I to ask Rosalie about beach volleyball? In reality, as much fun as watching the sport was, I didn't follow it that closely. I sounded exactly like the ignorant, jump-on-the-bandwagon follower I was. I only tuned in to the sport once every four years during the Summer Olympics. In fact, the only reason I knew the Brazilian team was going to be hard to beat was because I'd been doing some preliminary research on the possible article about Rosalie and her partner Tanya.
"Oh, we're ready," Rosalie assured me. "The Brazilians may be tough, but Tanya and I don't lose--ever." Her voice was hard, but she softened it by smiling and winking at me. She knew, of course, that I was changing the subject. I'd have to thank her later for playing along.
"That's my girl," Emmett declared proudly, throwing his powerful arm around her shoulders. I stifled the inclination to sigh in relief.
"So, let's go get some lunch, I'm starving," Jasper decided, pushing his chair back and beckoning us all to follow him to the various food stations set up on the far wall. I walked behind the others, detailing the different items for consumption--sandwiches, salads, pizza, pasta, hamburgers, traditional Chinese food, even sushi. I picked up a sandwich and some salad and made my way back to the table to wait for everyone.
After we were all seated, we ate in silence for a moment. Emmett, never able to endure the quiet for long got started on his favorite subject--teasing mẹ
"So, Bella. How's your love life?" Emmett asked with a mischievious grin on his face. "I met someone that you might want to consider a date with!" The last disastrous blind date had been all his fault, so bad that Í'd made him swear off setting me up for good. I remembered back to that horrid, October night. I still hadn't figured out where Emmett had met this man or why he'd thought we would be good together.
Since it was Halloween night, he'd had the grand idea to set me up on a costume party blind date. I'd begged Emmett and Rose to come along as well so I'd know at least one person there, but they told me they had better plans, so I was stuck. Eric had showed up at my doorstep at precisely nine that night, exactly the time I'd been expecting him. Unfortunately, that was about all the expectations he'd lived up to. As I opened the door to my apartment, I'd barely concealed the expression of horror I was sure I had on my face. He was dressed in a full Star Wars stormtrooper costume. I couldn't even see his face. "Eric?" I questioned hesitantly. Leave it to me to go off with a madman rather than my true blind date.
"It's me, my fair Princess Leia," he dramatically answered, flourishing a tiny gold bikini from behind his back. I stepped back in horror.
"What is that?" I demanded.
"Why, its your costume, my beauty." He walked by me into my apartment and sat on the couch. "Go get into character, and be sure to wear this," he instructed and tossed a wig complete with the requisite hair buns at me.
"I'm going to kill Emmett," I growled under my breath as I slammed the door to my bedroom, locking it for good measure. Shimmying into the miniscule bikini, I plotted revenge. I couldn't believe I was actually going along with this, but Emmett had threatened that if I didn't give the guy at least a chance this time, the blind dates would only continue. I'd been the victim of enough disastrous setups by him to want it to all end.
I finally was ready, and slowly peeked at myself in the mirror. I wasn't one to wear revealing clothes and hardly recognized myself. Maliciously I wondered what Eric would have done if he'd showed up at the door and found some 200 pound woman as his blind date--bet he'd have reconsidered his bikini choice then. Tucking some cash in my top, I left my room. Stormtrooper Eric was currently reading a magazine--his helmet off. I'd get to learn what he looked like at least.
He glanced up at me as I walked in and grinned. "You are the Princess Leia of my dreams," he gushed. He had a bad acne problem and wore huge, wire rimmed glasses that made his face look even smaller. They reminded me of the kind that Napoleon Dynamite's older brother wore and I briefly wondered how he'd managed to get that helmet on over those ugly glasses.
Seeing my curious stare, he hastened to explain. "Don't worry, I can still see when I'm a stormtrooper. I had my optometrist install a special lens piece in the eyes." He'd taken off his glasses as he spoke and started shoving the helmet over his head. His voice became more and more muffled, and I wondered if he was going to suffocate before it finally popped into place. Gone was Eric the nerdy engineer, and in his place was my very own stormtrooper for the night . . . which of course thrilled me to no end.
"Come beloved, your starship awaits," he proclaimed, gesturing out the door. Sitting parked next to the sidewalk was what should have been an ordinary Honda Civic, yet once again it was unexpected. Flashing lights were somehow lined up along the sides and a R2D2 was peeking it's head out of the sun roof. He hadn't been kidding when he'd directed me to the starship. Could this date get any worse? It did, of course.
As we pulled up to the party, I could hear loud music coming from inside. I went to open the car door, eager to escape the stilted conversation, when I felt a hand on my arm. "Not so fast, my comely queen, I think we need an addition to your outfit," Eric leered at me.
I stopped, appalled. Just what kind of addition was he talking about? Wasn't this enough? He pulled something out of his pocket and raced around the car to me. Standing up, I noticed what he was holding and took a step back only to be brought up short by the car. No way. Absolutely no freakin way, I thought as he followed me step for step, the abominable object held out towards me. I began cursing myself for not bringing my cell phone as he reached towards my neck with the thick leather collar attached to a chain.
"No! I'm not wearing that. I wore the gold bikini and the hair, but I draw the line at a collar and leash," I squeaked, finally finding my voice.
"But . . . but, I don't want to lose you in the crowd!" he spluttered back at me. That was the exact opposite of what I hoped for. I figured that if I could see his face at that moment, it would be pulled up in a pout.
"I'll stick by you," I muttered, crossing my fingers behind my back. Perhaps I could meet someone normal once we were inside.
As we stepped in the door, I threw that wish right out the window. This wasn't a normal Halloween party; it was a freaky Star Wars Halloween party. Every single person in the room was dressed as some sort of character--there was even a man (or woman) in a full on Chewy costume. I groaned in despair and headed to the nearest drink table in a rush.
I took the nearest cup without asking what it was and took a big gulp. I needed something to help me escape this nightmare. My eyes widened at the taste and I choked, spewing liquid over everything and everyone in the vicinity. "What is this?" I gasped out, my eyes still watering.
"Oh, that's my own concoction. I'm trying to recreate a drink they would have had on Planet Hoth. You know, they didn't have cows to milk? That's pig milk mixed with my own secret ingredients. Don't you like it?" a man near me asked accusingly.
"Uh . . .sure," I lied, not wanting to offend the rabid fans. I didn't even want to consider how one milked a pig, or just what else had been in my mouth.
"Bella. . .I mean Leia, my beautiful princess," a voice called in the background. It was time to make my escape.
"Excuse me," I asked a nearby CP3O desperately. "can you direct me to a phone?" The man made a big show of robot like arm motions, before finally pointing towards a small room.
I made a frantic dash for the room, hoping that my flashy gold bikini wasn't a beacon for my pursuer in this overcrowded room. Spotting the phone, I increased my momentum, and upon reaching it yanked it up and began dialing in one fluid motion. Whoever had said I was clumsy clearly had never seen me in this dire of a situation before.
"Hello?" the voice answered on the other end.
"Emmett! Come. Get. Me. Now!" I almost shouted at him. I'd memorized both the way we'd come and the address just in case this happened. I just hadn't foreseen the disastrous details, or I wouldn't have even bothered trying when I'd opened the door to a stormtrooper this evening. I quickly rattled off the directions, then considered my best options for sneaking out of there.
Spying the window, I opted to climb out figuring I had only a moment before my date walked in. I'd never been more grateful to be on the first floor in my life. Ignoring my chronic clumsiness, I bravely opened the window and stuck one leg out. Somehow I managed to get my other foot stuck in the curtain cord. Tugging to free myself, I heard a small rip and my foot jerked free. I found myself tumbling head first into the bushes lining the house. "Damn it," I cursed, rolling out of the tangled branches onto the lawn.
Suddenly I heard loud laughter. Not three feet away from me, Emmett was standing bent over at the waist laughing his head off. I picked myself up and marched over to him, angrier with him than I'd ever been.
"This is all your fault," I hissed. "To make it up to me you will never, ever set me up on a blind date again. What were you thinking?" I punctuated each word with a jab to his arm. Finally I became aware of our surroundings and realized I was shouting at him and we were drawing a crowd. "Nevermind, just get me out of here," I said, grabbing his arm and racing to his very normal car.
"Bella? I was just teasing! No need to look so horrified," Emmett's voice tore me out of my nightmarish thoughts.
"You'd better be," I warned. "You still owe me for that last one!"
"So, how was everyone's flight?" Rose asked curiously. Once again I noticed her wink. She was attempting to help me out once again, but little did she know that this was the one subject I'd been trying to avoid.
"Ours was great, but why don't you ask Bella about hers," Alice said slyly. Traitor. I glared at her, before turning to Emmett and Rose who were staring at me curiously.
"Alice got me kicked out of first class when she knocked me into a stewardness," I blurted after an awkward silencẹ Not what I'd meant to saỵ Urgently trying to make up some ground, I contined. "Well, she'd spent too much time fake baking anyways, perhaps the water cooled her off. Anyways, I went back to my seat and had a chance to write a little bit," I finished lamelỵ
"Wow! I've never heard of someone being kicked out of first class for misbehavior before." Emmett's voice had an awed tone to it.
"It's probably because people in coach aren't allowed in first class! I snuck up there on one of Alice's many whims," I scowled at her again.
"You guys are missing the point," Alice interuppted, shooting me a triumphant smile. "None of you have asked her just who it was the stewardess spilled the drink on!"
"So, who did that drink land on?" Rose asked curiously.
"Only the one person I could have possibly done an interview with that would make my boss happy," I muttered, giving up on the secrecy. "He's probably the most famous swimmer in history." I heard a gasp.
"You spilled a drink on Edward Cullen?" Emmett guffawed.
"I didn't spill the drink--the stewardess did," I defended. "And yes, he got all wet and quite possibly will never grant me an interview. So yes, my flight was exciting in a disastrous kind of way. Are you all satisfied?" I left out the part where I'd run over his toe with my luggage.
They looked at me wide-eyed, but wisely didn't say another word. We finished the rest of our lunch with polite conversation about matches and team statistics, finally standing up to leave. I had a press conference to prepare for the next day, and was eager to get started on the various questions I could ask the unsuspecting athletes that showed up to it.
Just as I turned around to bid my friends goodbye, the image that had been haunting my dreams materialized. I blinked, willing it to go away. I opened my eyes. Nope, still there. That would mean he's not an image at all, but...real! I tried to turn away, to avert my eyes so I wouldn't get caught staring, but it didn't work. I couldn't tear my eyes from the massive amount of food he had on his traỵ Following behind him were two workers carrying trays full of food I instinctively knew was also for him. Wide-eyed, I watched in awe as he set the tray at an empty table and motioned for the workers to do the samẹ. Íd heard he ate massive quantities of food, but nothing could compare to seeing it in person. Swimming really kept someone in shape. I made a mental note to begin my own swimming routine once I was back home. Oh wait, I was afraid of the water, I remembered before the idea could take shape.
Suddenly I realized I was still staring at him, but not at his food anymore. I was staring directly at his very fit stomach, which unfortunately was currently covered by a t-shirt. I quickly raised my eyes, hoping that he hadn't noticed me ogling him yet again and was sadly disappointed. My brown eyes met his green ones, which were looking back at me with a mixture of amusement and something else that I couldn't identify. We stood there gazing at each other for an infinitesimal second that seemed more like an eternity to me. I couldn't break away and I hoped that perhaps, perhaps he felt the same way. Drawn towards him, I took one step . . .then another. All the while he stood there, simply watching me, never breaking eye contact.
"Bella," the voice intruded, forcing me back into reality. What was I doing? Of course he didn't want me to come near him. He probably was just keeping an eye on me, making sure I didn't attack him again. I turned in the direction of Alice's voice, still a bit shaken at the powerful feelings I'd experienced with just one glance into his eyes. As I followed Alice out the door, I couldn't help a glance back.
He was sitting at the table with his piles of food, alone amidst a sea of people. Somehow I got the feeling that this was normal for him. For just a second, I was tempted to join him, to ease some of that loneliness. I laughed aloud at my thoughts, causing Alice to shoot a suspicious glance backwards. Of course Edward Cullen wasn't alone. How could he be? Every woman in the world desired him, was attracted to him. Why on earth would I be the one he wanted? I shrugged my shoulders at Alice's questioning look and headed out the door without another glance.
AN: I am not making fun of software engineers nor those who like Star Wars. My own husband is a software engineer, and he loves Star Wars, and he has the potential to be a really big nerd-luckily he's not. I had a blast writing that scene though, imagining what my life would be like if my husband warped into full nerd mode.