Title: It's Kind of a Funny Story

Summary: Bella goes through multiple bad relationships before realizing the right one is right in front of her. Southernella. Countryward.

Pairing: Bella & Edward

Rating: M

Word count: 4992

Spring 2003. Seth's 10th birthday party. Chuck E Cheese.

13 year old Bella Swan was busy arranging decorations for her stepbrothers party, when she heard the voice of her longtime friend and crush Ben.

"Hey Bella." Ben said. Bella looked up, he had two other boys with him. "This is Eddie and Gary, they just moved into the neighborhood. Boys, this is Seth's sister Bella."

Bella said a quick hello. "Seth is somewhere playing games." she told them. Eddie and Gary went to find Seth as Ben stayed behind.

"How about I help you?" Ben asked. Bella smiled and muttered a nervous 'okay'.

Summer 2003. Small town of the outskirts of Charleston.

Bella splashed through the pool with her best friend Alice. It was another hot summer day in South Carolina and she loved spending it in the Brandon's pool. "Ben totally likes you." Alice said. The girls had worked up an appetite so they retreated inside for some Tostino's Pizza Rolls.

"I hope so. Those new boys on the next block are so annoying. Just the other day Ben and I were trying to watch a movie-"

"What movie?" Alice interrupted, popping a pizza roll in her mouth as she took the plate out the microwave.

"Spider Man," Bella said quickly before continuing as they sat down at the table. "Dad and Sue weren't home. Anyways Eddie and Gary came over and Ben went off with them." Bella groaned, grabbing a pizza roll.

Alice shrugged. "Eddie's not too bad. Sure he has kind of a lisp, but not his fault."

"Oh no, that's not his fault," Bella agreed. "He's just so annoying. He's always taking Ben away."

Alice laughed.

The Swan House. 2003. Summer.

"Bell, Charlie's at the station and mom got called into the hospital so we're ordering pizza." Leah said, before heading up the stairs.

"Okay." Bella called after her older by nearly 2 years stepsister. Bella sat on the couch twirling her T-Mobile sidekick. Ben was next to her.

"When will Seth be back from camp?" Ben asked, moving closer.

"Next week." Bella said nonchalantly as she played with the fray on her cutoffs.

Ben nodded as he put his arm around her. "Bella, we've known each other for years and..." he was interrupted by the doorbell. He let out a breath. "I'll let you get that, I'm gonna go get a drink." he said before getting up and heading towards the kitchen. Bella groaned loudly, getting up. Everytime, everytime, Bella thought internally. She opened the door. It was Eddie.

"Is Ben here?" asked Eddie.

"He is..." Bella started.

"Can you ask him if he wants to stay at my house tonight?" Eddie asked.

"I'll be over there in a couple hours," said Ben as he came up behind Bella, with some kind of drink concoction.

"Okay," Eddie lisped before leaving.

"What is that?" Bella asked as she shut the door.

"Bacardi and punch." Ben smiled.

"Do not get caught with that! Do you know who my Dad is?" Bella worried.

"I know. It will be okay," Ben said. "But, before I drink this, there's something I wanna do." Bella looked at him expectantly and before she could think his lips were on hers. At last, Bella thought.

Fall 2012. Charleston.

"So whats the deal with Mike?" Bella's friend Rosalie asked. It was a Friday night, they sat at their normal bar, waiting on their other friends to arrive. Bella shrugged as her long brown hair moved on her shoulder.

"Do you love him?" Rose asked.

"Rose..I mean, yes, I do. But he told me he loved me after a WEEK. I need to make sure of some things first." Bella's phone dinged with a text. She picked it up, reading. Her face smiled as she typed back.

"Is that Mike?" Rose asked.

"No," Bella said. "It's this other guy I met online. Edward. He wants to see me. And I can't."

"Why the hell not? You haven't committed to Mike yet." Rose asked.

"Because I like him too much. Hes so sweet, and he's a country boy, a good looking one. There's no way he'd ever want me." .

"Bella..." Rose began.

"Rose, please. Don't," Bella pleaded.

Rosalie could see Bella was desperately asking her to leave this alone. "I won't..for now." Rose agreed. "Now onto the situation of Mike, how serious is he?"

"He wants to marry me."

"Are we talking about Mike?" asked Leah who had just appeared with her best friend Emily.

"Yes," Rosalie said.

"Total mommas' boy," Leah quipped. "He lives with her."

"Just for now," Bella said sheepishly.

"I'm here! Sorry! Sorry!" Alice said. "26 was a nightmare."

"Thank God, now we can get a table, I'm starving!" Rose said. The girls were seated, ordered a round of drinks and just about every appetizer to share. They went around the table, talking. Emily was soon to marry Sam. Leah was off and on with her high school boyfriend Jake. Alice had a serious boyfriend named Jared. Rosalie was not doing relationships at the moment. Alice had already known the situation with Mike as she, Bella and Rose were roommates. Alice was not a fan of Mike.

Fall 2012. Bella, Alice and Rosalie's condo.

Bella and Mike were curled up together on the couch watching a movie. In the recent weeks, they had become official. They had been to fairs, dates and more together. "Do you think I can move in?" Mike asked. "My Mom's kind of upset about me getting married and I need to let her cool off."

"You told her?" Bella asked with a smile, kind of shocked.

"She saw me looking at rings at the mall yesterday when I went with her to buy my grandma a birthday gift. She's having trouble letting go. I'm her youngest son after all," Mike said. "Rose and Alice will be okay with it right? Jared lives here."

"Yeah, they'll be fine with it," Bella decided.

"Great!" Mike said as he kissed her. The next day, Jared helped Mike get his stuff. He mostly just brought clothes and basics as Bella had furniture. Alice couldn't hurt her by saying no. They had allowed her to move Jared in.

"This is what you want?" Alice asked Bella.

"Yes," Bella said. "I know you don't like him, right now, but maybe now with him moving in, you'll see what I love about him."

November 2012. Bella, Rose and Alice's condo.

"How the hell does he like football when he doesn't know what pass interference is? He's never heard the word!" Jared asked Bella in the kitchen as he got a beer. Bella was busy cutting up chicken for that nights dinner, while Rosalie was washing dishes. Mike, Jared and Alice were in the living room watching Clemson play Alabama. It had been 2 and a half weeks since Mike moved in. Mike was getting on Jared's nerves. Actually, he was getting on all their nerves.

"He said he's a Carolina fan." Bella said. Bella shrugged as Jared muttered a 'yeah right' with a laugh as he left the room. Bella stopped chopping as she turned to Rosalie."Football is football. But he is showing things that I didn't know. He's more Gamer than I knew about. Sam asked him to go hunting and he'd rather play video games." Bella confessed.

Rosalie looked at Bella in horror. "Good god, hes one of THOSE." Rosalie scrunched up her face while saying 'those'.

Bella and Mike were at the local supermarket. Bella had left Mike to do some of her own browsing. She wasn't gone 10 minutes when her phone rang. "Where are you?" Mike said when she answered. He sounded angry. She told him where she was. He hung up. What the hell? Bella thought.

"There you are!" he said, appearing out of nowhere. He angrily grabbed her wrist. "You need to stay where I'm at!"

"I'm sorry," Bella said, slightly scared. He let go of her, leaving a red mark. He told her to go wait in the car. Bella did as he said and went outside. Once inside the car, she dialed a number she hadn't dialed in nearly a month.

"Hello?" said a southern deep velvety voice.

"So, if a guy grabs a girls wrist, is that abuse?" Bella asked, almost close to tears.

"Whats going on?" Edward asked slowly.

"I don't know, he, my... boyfriend, just yelled at me for just walking away and he grabbed my wrist. Maybe he was just scared." Bella said.

"I reckon he could be. Are you okay?" Edward asked. "Where are you?"

"I'm okay. I have to go, he'll be out in a minute," Bella said.

"Look, can you call me when he goes to sleep?" Edward asked.

"I'll try," Bella said. She saw Mike walk out so she quickly hung up.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked as he climbed into the drivers seat.

"Leah," Bella lied. Mike nodded. Once home, Mike crashed out early, Bella knew he'd be out till his alarm hit so she went downstairs to call Edward. She made herself comfortable on the couch.

"Now whats going on darlin'?" Edward asked. She explained about Mike moving in and how hes showed different sides of himself. She also told him about the other night and how Mike claimed to be a Carolina fan.

"There's the problem. Clemson is way better," Edward teased.

"I am a Carolina fan, mister," Bella said, pretending to be offended.

"I'm pickin', baby," Edward said.

"Me too, cowboy," Bella said. She told Edward about the gaming and Mike's obsession. Edward about died of laughter and shock when Bella told him Mike chose gaming over everything, including most recently over going to dinner with her.

"Is this the only time hes grabbed you?" Edward asked.

"Yes," Bella said. She wasn't lying but she did remember a time or two he had scolded her in public and she felt like she was on eggshells. She wasn't ready to admit that to Edward, or to herself.

The next few weeks were uneventful. Mike and Bella were mostly working. They spent Thanksgiving separately as Mike went with his parents to his grandparents house in Atlanta and Bella couldn't imagine not going to her Dad's.

"Why did you make me leave my mom?" Mike asked suddenly, about a week after Thanksgiving.

"What?" Bella said, shocked. He began going on about his mom being mad at him. "That's why you moved out." Bella interrupted, getting irritated. "To give her time to let go."

"But what if she hates me? IT WILL BE ALL YOUR FAULT!" Mike said as he got in her face. "JUST GET OUT!"

Jared walked in with Alice behind him. "What the fuck is going on?" Jared asked, clearly irritated.

"Nothing. You and Alice fight," Mike said.

"I don't scream at her like that. You're not gonna scream at Bella," Jared said to Mike.

"I'm out of here. Bella, I'll be back in a few hours," Mike said as he grabbed a jacket. He kissed Bella's forehead mumbled 'love you' and took off.

"Bella, I love you like a sister but I don't know how much longer I can take him," Jared stated. After Jared and Alice left, she called Edward.

"Whats wrong?" Edward asked. She started crying as she told him what had happened. How Mike had been, how Jared stepped in and how he left. Edward offered to come over.

"He left. Alice's boyfriend is here."

"I was raised to believe if a man puts his hands on a woman, he needs an ass whoopin'." Edward said. "Anyways, change of subject, I feel like I need to cheer you up."

"How do you intend to do that?" Bella said.

"20 questions. Favorite color?" Edward asked.

"Purple." Bella shrugged. "What about you?"

"Does camouflage count?" Edward asked.

They continued and eventually lost count of questions. Both agreed The Hangover was the best comedy hands down. Edward wasn't too big on romantic comedies; Bella was shocked at the amount of classics he never saw. Both were huge country music fans. Edward worked at a garage and used to rodeo. He had grew up with both parents, who were still married and two brothers. His dad was a doctor, his mom worked as a teacher. His grandfather owned a farm upstate. Bella couldn't remember what time they got off the phone. She just remembered she had almost fell asleep multiples when Edward told her to get some rest. She reluctantly agreed.

Mike came back at around 6am. He begged Bella's forgiveness. Bella reluctantly accepted his apology. The next day Bella woke up just as Mike walked in, holding garbage bags. "What is going on?" Bella asked.

"I'm going home," Mike stated.

"You're breaking up with me? What about last night? I thought..." Bella asked.

'I mean I do love you. I just need to refocus. I can't put my family at risk for you," Mike said.

"I didn't force you to do this!" Bella said.

"Why in hell is there a moving truck in my yard?" Rosalie asked, coming in with Jared and Alice behind her.

"Cause I'm leaving," Mike said.

"They can get out of my yard." Rosalie said, taking off outside.

May 2013.

Bella listened to some Miranda Lambert as she drove home. She had spent the first 3 months after Mike left in a kind of zombie state, till one February morning, her friends called what was now referred to as 'the intervention'. She realized she had loved the idea of Mike, not him, and was now back to her old self. She was currently talking to a few guys. She especially liked this one named Tyler. If she could put her perfect type on paper, he would be it. Once home, Bella logged onto her Facebook. One new friend request.

Edward Cullen wants to be friends!

"Oh my god." she said. After Mike and she broke up, Bella had told Edward she needed to be left alone. She had checked his online profile once "rejoining the living" and he had been dating someone. She clicked confirm. Bella swooned over his profile picture. She saw he was currently single. Before anything else, she got a message. Edward explained that his phone got broken and gave her his new number, asking her to call him. She didn't waste a second.

"Bella?" Edward asked, picking up the phone. Bella closed her eyes, having missed that southern drawl.

"Hey you," she said.

"I've missed you," Edward said.

"I missed you too," she said. And with that, the conversation flowed as easy as it always had.

July 2nd 2013. Bella, Rose and Alice's condo.

Bella and Edward were on the phone, as normal. He asked if she wanted to go grab a bite or see a movie. She realized she was out of excuses. Ever since they had started talking again, Bella found herself falling for him. She wanted him so badly. She and Tyler were zip. She had went fishing with him the other day and while perfect on paper, that was it. They had no spark and no conversation flow. Definitely didn't compare to Edward. "You know what, come over. Me and my friends are about to do a pre-Fourth of July drink tasting. Maybe we can go out after that." After they hung up, Bella texted the address and changed clothes quickly. She went downstairs. "Edward's coming over." Bella announced. She heard Rosalie yell from the kitchen 'about damn time'.

"Is this okay?" Bella asked Alice about what she was wearing. She had put on a pair of jeans and a white tank top. Alice okay'd the outfit and they went upstairs to do hair and makeup. After she was Alice approved, they headed back downstairs. She heard a car door shut and looked out the kitchen window and there was Edward's 2010 white Chevy. A minute later, there was a knock. Bella opened the door to see the most amazing green eyes staring at her.

"Hey you." Edward said. She invited him in, and he pulled her into a hug. Bella smiled as she smelled a combination of old spice, motor oil and a hint of cologne. He was wearing a white and red plaid button up, wrangler jeans, and a camouflage Clemson hat. He had on work boots. She quickly introduced him to everybody before taking him by the hand and leading him upstairs for a tour and leading him to her room. He took a look around before climbing onto her bed.

"And what do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"I'm going to take a little nap now." Edward laughed.

"I don't think so." she laughed as she climbed onto the bed with him. He pulled her to him, wrapping his arm around her. She laid her head on his chest. It felt so natural to her. She couldn't believe she was finally in Edward's arms. After laying down for what seemed like ages, Bella got up. "Time for drink tasting." Bella decided. "My friends will come in here to get us, they don't care."

"What if we were naked?" Edward said getting up.

"They don't care," she said matter-of-factly. Edward laughed as they went back downstairs into the kitchen.

"Jello shots are done, we're doing bomb pops last and Rose is making pop rock shots." Jared said to Bella. "Edward my man, can you help me outside with the grill?" Jared asked.

"Jared, you're not supposed to make guests help with food." Bella said, twirling a shot glass upside down in pop rocks.

"Its fine baby," Edward said with a smile as he followed Jared outside.

"''Baby''?" Rosalie asked.

"He's always called me that." Bella waved off.

"That boy is in love. You can see it all over his face," Rosalie said.

Alice came in. "Slight problem," Alice said.

"What?" Bella and Rose said at the same time.

"Jacob called Leah." Alice sighed. "He needs space again."

"Oh my god." Rosalie groaned as she went into the living room.

"What is that, the 32nd time?" Bella asked Alice as they both laughed.

"So..." Alice began, raising her eyebrows. Bella knew her best friend.

"We just cuddled," Bella said with a shrug. At that moment, Jared and Edward came back in. Bella turned to Edward. "Leah and Jacob broke up."

"Again?" Edward laughed. Bella laughed, she had told him over the phone about her stepsister's ongoing never ending love story .

"Would it be okay if we stay here tonight?Leah kinda.." she trailed off.

"As long as I'm with you, it don't matter to me." Edward said. They spent the next few hours of that night tasting drinks, eating BBQ chicken and having fun. Thankfully Leah wasn't too distraught as she said they'd be back together the next day as they never spent a holiday apart. She did however have more than a few jello shots.

"Can we talk?" Edward whispered in Bella's ear. It was almost 1am. She nodded as she followed him onto the porch. They shut the door. "Why have we never done this before?" Edward asked.

"Because I was scared," Bella admitted.

"What? You were scared of me.." Edward said.

"I wasn't scared of you. I was scared of losing you."

"Bella.." he started. He pulled her to him, hastily as he slowly lowered his mouth to hers. She gasped into his mouth as they both deepened the kiss. He parted his mouth as his tongue slid across hers. They both felt an electricity surging through their bodies that neither had ever felt before. Finally he pulled away, pressing his forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispered.

Bella's eyes widened as she felt like her heart was going to burst at any moment at Edward's sudden declaration of love. "I love you." she said. He pulled her back to him as he kissed her again.

"We should probably go inside," Edward said. "Don't want your sister having a meltdown."

"I don't think you should drive," Bella said with a smirk.

'Me either," he smiled. At that moment Alice came out.

"Bella, Leah's passed out on the couch," she explained.

"Just leave her." Bella laughed. The three headed inside. Rosalie had gone to bed so Bella and Edward told Alice and Jared good night, all agreeing to clean the next day.

July 4 2013. Bella, Rosalie and Alice's condo.

Edward and Bella had both been off work the day before so they hadn't been apart except when Edward had went home the next morning to get clothes. The group had went on a shopping trip the night before to buy food and alcohol for the Fourth. It was a bright and sunny Fourth of July, everyone was dressed in red, white and blue as they loaded up the trucks. Like expected, Jacob and Leah were back together. Rosalie had invited her 'friend' Paul because as she told Bella, she wasn't about to be fifth wheeling. Once on the road, Bella decided to ask Edward a question.

"You were dating someone?" Bella stated. "A few months ago."

"Huh?" He looked at her before turning his attention back to the road. "Oh. You mean Katie. We weren't really dating. She was trying to use me for my money. That's all. We never even kissed."

"Wow," Bella said.

"But I never forgot about you," he said. "I tried. I couldn't."

"You tried?" she said, with a smile, pretending to be offended.

"You told me to leave ya alone so..." he laughed. "I actually wanted you to listen to this song, kinda reminded me of ya'." He grabbed a cd off his the sun visor, popping it into the stereo and pressing 8.

I've always been there every time he let you down.

I caught your fallin' tears before they hit the ground.

But I just heard somebody say that you finally told him goodbye.

Well, girl now you've finally made your move, now I'm here to make mine.

I wanna be there when you wake up,

Be more than just your friend.

Baby there's no mistakin',

You're the love I wanna be in, ah yeah.

After the song ended, Bella slid into the middle by Edward. "You're amazing," she whispered, kissing his cheek and neck.

"Alright darlin', if you wanna make it to the lake alive, I gotta pay attention. We have plenty of time for that later." Edward laughed.

"We do," she agreed. They made it to the lake, meeting up with Sam, Emily and some other friends. They spent the day swimming, fishing, boating and grilling out. Before long, it was time to head to the pavilion for music and fireworks.

"Thank you," Bella said to Edward as they watched the fireworks.

"For what?" he asked.

"Making me happy." she said simply. He smiled, kissing the side of her head. All too soon it was time to head home. The ride home was more quiet then the ride there. Bella knew what she wanted when she got home. Edward. They had shared Bella's bed the past 2 nights and while they had fooled around, that was all. She wanted all of him tonight.

"That was the most perfect Fourth of July." Bella said as they made it to the room, shutting the door.

"It was." Edward said. She brought him, running her hands under his shirt before slowly removing it. "Are you sure?" he whispered.

"Completely." she said. He kissed her again as they slowly made their way to the bed. Edward layed Bella down, climbing on top of her.

October 2013. Bella, Alice and Rosalie's house.

After the Fourth of July, Bella and Edward had been basically inseparable, except for work. They spent most of their free time with each other and their friends. Edward had basically moved in as they hadn't spent more than a night apart. They had been on countless dates and they had bought a dog together. A beagle named Reecie. Bella had met Edward's family. His parents adored her. She had also met his younger brother Garrett and his wife Kate who Bella struck up a friendship with. His older brother Emmett had become a regular fixture at Bella's house.

That mainly in part being to Rosalie. The two had a love-hate relationship from the moment they met. Emmett had took one look at Rosalie and almost fell to her feet. Rosalie on the other hand made Emmett work for her affection.

"That girl is gonna be my wife someday." Emmett would tell Edward. Edward had already met Bella's mother and stepfather Phil as well as Sue and Seth. Bella had been trying to arrange for him to meet her dad and now was the day.

"Don't worry. He likes Jacob," Bella stated. She led him up to the house just as Sue opened the door.

"Come in, Leah, Seth and Jacob are in the kitchen. " Sue said as they followed her in, shutting the door behind them. "Charlie, come meet Edward."

Charlie came in. "Hey Bells. This must be your new boyfriend." Charlie said, looking Edward over.

"Hi Dad, meet Edward Cullen," Bella said.

"Nice to meet you sir," Edward said as he put his hand out. Charlie shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Edward," Charlie said.

"Come on, dinners getting cold," Sue said. They followed Sue to the dining room.

"So Edward, you like guns?" Charlie asked over dinner.

"Yes sir." He nodded enthusiastically.

"Good. I wanna show you these new hunting guns I just got," Charlie said.

"Yes sir," Edward said. Jacob and Seth were trying, and failing horribly, to hide their laughter. Bella tried to give Edward an encouraging smile. She knew that her dad was just trying to scare Edward but the look on her boyfriend's face was priceless.

"Come on, Edward," Charlie said, getting up and going outside as Bella and Leah cleared the table. "You too Jacob."

"What? I've already done this." Jacob muttered but he followed Edward. An hour later, everyone came inside and Charlie gave Bella a smile and nod, clearly telling her he approved. After cleaning, Bella and Edward went outside to the back porch with cups of hot chocolate to sit on the porch swing.

"You know I use to live on the next block. I was about 14 at the time." Edward stated. Bella looked at him as her widened as realization hit her. Next block. Edward. Eddie. Garrett. Gary.

"You're THAT Eddie?" she exclaimed. "Ben's friend!"

"Wait a minute, you were the little brown hair short girl that always followed Ben around," Edward realized.

"How many times have you been put into my life?" Bella asked him.

"Enough to know we belong together darlin'," Edward said as he kissed her.

December 2013. Christmas. Swan/Clearwater house.

Bella, Leah and Seth always spent Christmas Eve night at home. Jacob had joined every year since he and Leah got together. This year Edward joined. They would be going to Edward's parents house later that day. They headed down the stairs and the next hour was a blur of bows, wrapping paper and presents.

"I have one more thing that I didn't wrap." Edward announced. Bella heard a click and noticed Leah was recording. Edward dropped to his knee and pulled out a ring. It was a three stone ring with diamonds all around the band. "Isabella Marie Swan, I love you with all my heart darlin'. I think I always have. You're my everything, my heart, my reason for bein, my life. There's nothing I wouldn't do to make you happy. Will you do me the extraordinary honor of marryin' me?" he asked.

"YES!" Bella said as she started crying. Edward had tears in his eyes as he placed the ring on her finger, and gave her a kiss.

"I love you so much baby." he whispered.

January 2014. Charleston.

"So apparently Alice now wants a nice country boy." Bella told Edward as they waited for their food. After New Years, Alice and Jared had broke up. Jared wasn't ready to get married. Alice accused him of commitment issues.

"If she wants a country boy, I have a friend. Remember Jasper?" Edward asked.

"Yes," Bella said. "Yall use to be best friends till his woman took him away."

"He's single, he and Sara broke up for good. Do you think Alice would like him?"

"Maybe." Bella shrugged.

June 2014. The Gatherings Reception Hall.

"To Jasper and Alice!" Bella finished her maid of honor toast. After that night, Bella had invited Jasper to dinner at their house. Alice and Jasper fell in love at first sight. They got engaged on Valentine's Day and now here they were. Everyone thought Alice was pregnant but she wasn't. They were just in love.

"Now, everyone here knows we wouldn't be here today without me and my fiancee." Edward started as everyone laughed. "I think its safe to say, they owe us. But in all seriousness, Jasper and I have known each other a long time. We may not always have made up after a day when we fought like Alice and Bella but I always knew if I needed him, he was there. Alice, you've always been a supporter of me and Bella and even thought I wasn't too bad when I was 14 years old with a lisp. Congratulations you two! I love you both!" Edward finished.

After the dances, Edward found Bella at the bar. "How is it possible they ended up married before us?"

"Alice," Bella answered with a laugh.

"True." he laughed as they headed back to their table where Alice's parents were.

"So Bella, I never got to ask you," Cynthia Brandon, Alice's mom began. "How did you two meet?"

Bella and Edward looked at each other, smiled, then looked back to Cynthia.

"Well, its kind of a funny story..." Bella started.

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