Original Publish Date: March 14th, 2008

Updated Publish Date: March 14th, 2018

Hello all my lovely readers!

HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF FIGHTING TEMPTATION!

As I mentioned back in 2011 (better late than never, right?) I wanted to take down FT for a bit to fix it up and remodel it since I wasn't thrilled with the quality of writing. Now that real life has allowed it, it is finally happening!

First off, this story will still be exactly the same plot wise and mostly the same content wise, though there are some new parts. After re-reading it, I really wanted to go under the surface and create more depth, especially to the characters, while still keeping it true to the original story. I worked on removing a lot of the repetitiveness while still keeping both Edward and Bella's POVs, and I will finally have FT fully beta-ed (edited). So the plot is the same, we're just double stuffing this Oreo.

To those of you discovering this story for the first time, welcome aboard! To those of you who have read it in its past glory, I encourage you to hop along for the ride and experience Fighting Temptation all over again! To those of you who were in the middle of reading it, I am so sorry and hang tight! It will be complete again shortly.

I will post once or twice a week, roughly Wednesdays and/or Sundays. :)

Enjoy!

Rating: T (Teen)

(As per fanfiction: Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes)

Fighting Temptation

Chapter 1: Cookie Jar

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of me, Dobber17. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

This chapter has been edited by casualcruelty, babykay19, and CherryBerry12.

Bella Swan

"Why do we have to be up at this ungodly hour?" I complained to Edward as we waited in the parking lot in front of Forks High School. Edward laughed and shook his head, looking impossibly well rested for someone who had to be up and ready at five o'clock in the morning. His green eyes shone like emeralds, and though his tousled auburn hair stuck up at angles I had never seen before, he managed to pull it off. It was entirely unfair; by comparison, I was a mess. The bags under my eyes were impossible to hide, even with the help of makeup, and my untamable brown hair was tossed in a limp ponytail. Though the parking lot had been recently shoveled, the winter chill somehow still found its way into my boots. I stomped my feet a few times on the pavement, praying for some feeling to return to my toes. We didn't have to wait long before Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley joined us, holding coffee cups and looking just as exhausted as I was.

Though the sight of four high school students standing together in a dark parking lot was enough to raise suspicion, we weren't planning any trouble. We had to be here at 5:30 am on the dot and be ready for the long drive from our little town of Forks to Seattle. We were four of the forty student athletes from across the state to be invited to an elite basketball clinic where we'd work with instructors to finetune our skills. Apparently four hours was deemed a respectable driving distance.

Which meant that I, Bella Swan, the clumsiest human in the whole state of Washington, was going out of town for two weeks to work on my basketball skills. In every other sport, in every other part of my life, I was an uncoordinated mess. Somehow basketball was the exception to that rule.

The four students going from Forks High were Edward, Mike, Tyler, and myself. We were all chosen in the hope that this would give the boys' and girls' basketball teams a fighting chance in our respective leagues. The boys' team had a great shot, having finished fourth in the league last year. As for the girls' team… well, we would hopefully be able to make the playoffs this year.

Coach Clapp pulled up next to us, wasting no time as he hustled us into a rusted white van that had seen better years. Coach Clapp was the gym teacher here at Forks, as well as the coach for nearly every boys' team, including basketball. He was a middle-aged man with a rapidly receding hairline and a thick brown mustache. Despite being a college athlete "back in the day" his stomach protruded from years of the best beer and greasy fast food our small town diner had to offer.

"No food in the van," his wife called out from the front seat with a pointed look at Mike and Tyler. They looked horrified at the thought of having to part with their nectar of the Gods. As they walked to the closest garbage can, chugging as much scalding coffee their mouths could handle, Edward and I climbed into the back seat.

I glanced to the side, unable to contain my grin.

Edward Cullen's tall stature was obvious in the small confinements of the backseat. He stood just over six feet and had an athletic build with lithe muscles beginning at his wide shoulders and narrowing at his hips. While his long legs looked sinful in his dark wash jeans, they also looked comical in the limited space of the backseat.

"Can you even fit back here?" I asked in an amused whisper.

"Would you rather sit next to Mike? I'm more than happy to move up," he laughed as he went to undo his seatbelt. I dove to the side, holding his hands in place as Mike and Tyler made their way back to the van.

"You know, if you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask," he teased with a crooked smile. I felt myself blush and it took a moment to tear my gaze away.

Admittedly, Edward and I often engaged in friendly banter that even I sometimes mistook as flirting. We had forged a fast friendship only a few weeks after he arrived in Forks last year after an incident with a basketball and my unfortunate aim. With limited time and space to practice, more often than not the boys' and girls' basketball teams practiced at the same time, each of us taking half of the court. One day Mike kept making suggestions loud enough for all us girls to hear and I was in no mood for it. I threw a basketball with all my might without properly aiming, resulting in the ball hitting Edward in the back of his head as he stood only a hair to Mike's right. After my countless apologies and a trip to the nurse's office to get ice, we had become friends.

Though we had been friends since our junior year of high school, I hadn't really started to fall for him until this past summer before we started our senior year. I always thought he was attractive (there was no question about that) but something had just… changed and deepened in the summer. It was hard to accept that we were just friends and that's all we'd ever be. There was no doubt in my mind that Edward could never like someone like me as more than a friend. Though I once allowed a glimmer of hope in my mind, the nail in the coffin came during the final weeks of our junior year when we were over at my house working on our final biology project. In a moment of silence after one of our heated friendly-quite-possibly-maybe-also-flirting bantering sessions, I thought he was going to kiss me. Turns out he was just reaching for a glue stick.

I shook my head at the memory and snuck a glance to my left. Edward was perfection. It wasn't that I thought I was ugly—I was just plain and ordinary with my generic brown eyes, dark brown hair, and trademark blush. Not a day went by without someone (male or female) trying to flirt with Edward. While his tally was off the charts, I only had two measly points on the chalkboard… both of which were in the van with us, and neither really counted.

Mike Newton was the typical all-American boy-next-door with pale blue eyes, blond hair, and a bit of a baby face girls seemed to go crazy for. Ever since my acne cleared up and I was no longer the same knobby-kneed girl the town of Forks was used to, Mike seemed to have a certain interest in me. As far as I could tell, it wasn't exactly serious; I think he viewed me as more of a challenge; I was one of the few girls at our school that had yet to date him at some point. Edward seemed to have a good laugh at Mike's strenuous efforts and dedication, frequently calling him my little puppy dog, and helping me out of more situations involving Mike than I'll ever admit.

Though Tyler Crowley and I had grown up together as well, he really didn't pay attention to me until he almost hit me with his car. Granted, it wasn't just his fault. The parking lot at school was icy and I was the one who fell on my ass before he came around a corner too fast, skidding and stopping mere inches from me. His way of making it up to me was apologizing constantly and frequently trying to ask me out.

Yet somehow I was sitting in the back of my gym teacher's van possibly flirting with Edward Cullen on a miserable winter morning.

We hit the road and it didn't take long before Mike and Tyler were reclining their seats, half asleep already despite their attempts to chug coffee. Admittedly, I wasn't far behind them. I silently cursed Edward for his ability to be bright eyed and bushy tailed this early while I squirmed around, trying to get somewhat comfortable and somehow still respecting what little room Edward had. I saw Edward fighting a smile as he watched me out of the corner of his eye. I let out a frustrated sigh when nothing worked, opting to tuck my legs under me and lean my head back against the seat. I shut my eyes and hoped for the best.

I guess I fell asleep sometime during the four-hour drive because the next thing I was aware of was the sound of a door slamming and a soft, velvety voice calling my name. I jerked awake, blinking furiously as a sharp pain traveled up my neck.

"Sorry. I tried waiting until the last possible minute. We're here." Edward told me softly.

I nodded and took his hand as he helped me out of the backseat. I made a move to the back of the van but stopped short when I noticed Edward already had both of our duffle bags slung across his chest. It only took a few steps for me to realize both my feet had fallen asleep with me, and the dull throbbing suddenly turned into sharp zaps of pain. I stumbled forward and saw the ground rushing up to meet my face. I braced myself for the inevitable impact, hoping that I wouldn't break anything at the same time. Two strong arms mercifully wrapped around my waist before I hit the ground. I breathed a short gasp of relief and mentally smacked myself for forgetting Edward's weird instinct for saving me from my meetings with the ground.

Edward pulled me so I was standing upright. "Did you just trip over air?"

"No," I grumbled. "My feet are tingling with pins and needles."

Edward let out a laugh, and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close. "Let's go, Gimpy."

Everyone else was already making their way through the main doors of the hotel, but luckily Edward kept a slow pace as I shuffled my way there, mumbling curses through the pain. I let out a small cry of surprise when Edward unceremoniously lifted me off the ground, never breaking stride as he carried me bridal style the rest of the way. My face flared with heat and I wanted to argue, but a knot tightened in my stomach as I realized how much I wanted this. I wanted my moment of feeling swept off my feet by Edward. I settled with trying to hide my growing smile and I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck.

Coach Clapp and his wife were checking in by the time we made it inside. Edward made his way to the closest couch where Mike and Tyler were already sitting, setting me down softly at the open spot next to Mike. Mike was childishly glaring at Edward as he pulled our duffle bags off him and placed them on the floor. It took Mike all of three seconds before he shifted closer, placing his arm casually on top of the couch behind me.

I met Edward's eyes and he shot me a crooked smile before mouthing the words puppy dog.

Coach Clapp returned shortly after I regained feeling in my feet, passing Edward and Tyler the two room keys. "Be back down here in," he checked his watch, "ten minutes. We need to get you guys to the gym shortly."

I stood up and froze; suddenly realizing I had no idea where I would be staying. Each school was given two rooms, one for the chaperone and one for the athletes.

"Swan, could I talk to you?" Coach Clapp asked before waving the guys on their way. Edward shot me a concerned look over his shoulder as the elevator doors opened. Once they were out of earshot, Coach Clapp turned toward me. "Are you comfortable sharing a room with the guys? I trust you won't do anything, but if you're uncomfortable with that, we could try finding you another room," he offered, but I could tell it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I'll just share with the guys," I told him with a shrug. I didn't want to cause a fuss and though it may be awkward, I didn't think it would make me uncomfortable.

"Wonderful. I'll head up there with you so everyone knows what the plan is."

I grabbed my bag and crammed myself into the crowded elevator. We dropped Mrs. Clapp off on the second floor and took our leave on the third. I knocked on the door of room 317 and Mike answered it a look of surprise on his face. He leaned on the doorframe while puffing out his chest, and I imagined he was trying to look cool even though he was clearly failing.

"Bella, what a surprise! Did you miss me already?" Mike's voice was low and husky. I mentally rolled my eyes and forced a smile and he opened the door further to let me in. It was at that point he noticed Coach Clapp standing in the hallway a few steps behind me.

"Oh. Hi, Coach," he said, a pink hue rising to his cheekbones, his chest deflating as his eyes fell to the floor.

Coach Clapp didn't acknowledge him. "Bella has graciously agreed to share a room with you guys. Now, I wouldn't normally agree to this but I have the chance to spend some time with my wife without the kids." He cleared his throat and tugged on his collar, noticing he already revealed too much.

"Ground rules," he began, looking at each of the guys in turn. "Under no circumstances are any of you to put your hand in the cookie jar." His tone was final, and with a hard jab of his finger in my direction, the door clicked shut behind him.

I felt my face flare up as three pairs of eyes looked at me. I didn't know if I should be flattered or humiliated that I was just compared to a cookie jar.

A/N: There's the first chapter! Review for me and let me know what you think!