Hi everyone! Thanks for being so patient with me. I know I mentioned to some of you that there was a new story in the works and I would have it up sooner than later. Well, looks like I lied because it's much later than sooner.

This is NOT the same gang from Branded and Road Maps. This is a different story altogether. It has been a real struggle because even after writing 60,000 words it wasn't working, but with the help of some friends (Katmom, Minnakoda, Sophilia Tantrum) I was able to *hopefully* make it work.

I'm posting the first chapter to see what you guys think. I am not used to writing in the 1st person, so bear with me. Please review and let me know what you think.

SM owns the farm, I just play with the cows. Twilight belongs to her, this story belongs to me. No copyright infringement is intended, AND all characters are fictional; any similarity to someone living or dead is merely coincidence.

Please see important A/N at the end.

Bella POV

Crap. Not again. Please, for the love of all things holy, not again. I am so not in the mood for this bullshit today.

Mustering all the courage I could find in my petite frame, I approached him. "Uhm, excuse me, sir? Yes, you: the one with his pants around his ankles whacking off to the covers of the movies. Uhm, yeah, I'm getting really tired of kicking you out of my store. Why can't you just buy a movie and do your business at home instead of in the store, where I end up having to clean your disgusting spunk off the merchandise? Contrary to popular belief, people who watch porn don't necessarily enjoy renting crusty movies."

The short, round, hairy, smelly, crusty-nosed man looked sheepishly at his feet and mumbled something I couldn't quite catch. I figured it was best to get this out now before I lost my nerve.

"Look, I know it's not my business to pass judgment, especially since we are in an adult video store, but when you're jerking off in my store, while I'm working, and making the other patrons run out of here gagging, I feel compelled to act. So again, sir, I'm going to ask you to put your wang back into your crusty tighty-whities and leave. I don't want to see you in here again, capice?"

The man nodded as he packed his loaded weapon back into his underpants. "Sorry, miss."

A part of me, albeit a very small one, felt bad for him. "I know you're sorry, but you can't keep doing this. If I give you a magazine, will you promise not to come back for a very long time?"

"Okay," he said, smiling.

"Come on, and keep your hands to yourself."

I escorted the bedraggled man to the front counter, rummaged around to find a couple of very old skin mags, and handed them to him. "Here, now go jerk off someplace else."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief when the man hid the magazines in his coat and lumbered out the door. It wasn't just what he'd done, but he smelled so bad that the entire store reeked of dirty underpants.

I heard the electronic chimes go off at the door and cringed, fearing it was him again, but instead I was happy to see it was my best friend Alice.

"Bells, was that The Stroker?"

"Yeah, Ali, it was. I busted him over in the Wet Cotton Panties section."

"Yuck! Actually, double-yuck. I hate that word."

Teasing Alice was too easy. I totally knew what word she was referring to, and frankly, I hate it too. I suppose that comes with working at the porn store for so long. "What word? Wet? Cotton? P..."

Alice ran behind the counter and cupped her tiny hand over my mouth. "Don't say it. I hate the P-word."

Nipping at her fingers, I shouted the word aloud. "Panties."

"Ew! Bella!"

I hopped up on the white pressboard countertop and watched the dark-haired pixie frig around with the security monitor.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to see."

Grabbing the first thing I could find, I whacked her on the head with a dildo. "Don't be so gross, Ali."

Hands on hips, Alice pouted at me. "The Stroker only ever shows up when you or Jasper or Tyler are working; I never get to see him in action."

"Trust me, you don't want to," I said, shuddering. "Why, Alice? Why would you even want to see that?"

"I'm starting to think he's just a figment of your imagination."

"Actually, he's a composite character constructed and created to cause you to question your sanity. Of course, he's freakin' real! I've had to mop up enough of his jizz over the past couple of years to keep a sperm bank in business; not that anyone would want to make babies with him—they'd be all short, dirty, crusty, and pervy."

"Don't forget hairy and smell...OH MY GOD! MY EYES!" Alice cried out, covering her face with her small hands.

I couldn't help it; it's like that sick need to look at the mangled body on the side of the road after a pedestrian is ploughed down. I looked over at the grainy playback on the monitor and felt lunch coming back up on me.

Alice had to be stopped. Before I could barf, I grabbed the remote control and turned off the vision of grossness on the black and white screen.

"I warned you, Ali," I said, trying to swallow the bile burning in the back of my throat.

"Ugh, I think I've gone blind, Bells!"

The electronic chime went off again. Being the super manager that I am, I jumped down from the pressboard counter and assumed my spot by the cash terminal before spinning around on the stool to greet the customer.

It wasn't The Stroker, in fact, it was one of my favourite people on the planet. "Alfie! How's my favourite guy today?"

The elderly man with the infectious smile walked toward the counter, his pale blue eyes sparkling under the harsh fluorescent lighting. "Sunshine! How are you?"

I couldn't contain the smile that plastered my face as I ran around the gate to give him a hug. "I'm better now, Alfie. You didn't answer my question, though. How are you?"

"Much like you, I'm better now. Hey, is that my little pixie hiding back there?"

Alice waved, blushing. "Hi, Alfie. Do I get a hug too?"

"Of course, sweetie. Come here and give me some love before that beautiful boyfriend of yours shows up."

I stepped back to allow my best friend some time with our favourite guy over sixty.

"Jasper's not in until five," Alice told him.

"Oh, poo, I'll have to come back later to get my ogle in," he said, waggling his bushy grey eyebrows.

Alice snickered, before playfully slapping his on the arm. "Are you trying to steal my man?"

"Mm...I wouldn't mind," he replied, winking at her, "if he wasn't so head over heels for you."

I couldn't help myself, I gagged. Alfie turned his attention back to me and smiled warmly. "Don't worry, Sunshine, your prince will come soon."

"Pfft..." I blew a raspberry at him before turning back to the new shipment of sex toys that needed to be priced.

Working at an adult video store might sound like an unconventional job for a graduate student, but it helped pay the bills. I have to admit, I had been terribly shy and prudish at first, but it wasn't too long before spending hours surrounded by dildos, vibrators, pocket pussies, and anal beads was second nature.

In the two years that I've worked in the electric pink and black box they called a store I could still proudly say that I had yet to watch a single porno. When customers asked for recommendations, I'd refer to the ones Alice and her boyfriend Jasper had watched, or ones I'd read about online. Jasper teased me about it all the time, but I really had no urge to watch people getting it on, especially since I wasn't getting any myself. My classmates were always joking around about how I have the best job in the world and it was being wasted because I wasn't taking advantage of it.

Oh, I was taking advantage of it; I have a pleasure chest back home filled with an impressive collection of toys, oils, lubes, and lingerie. Sadly, I don't have anyone to share them with. I mean self-gratification can only get you so far; sometimes you need to trade in the fantasy for something corporeal.

A noise snapped me out of my thoughts and I groaned. "Alice, stop violating the Jenna Jameson stump with the rubber fist! I don't want to have to explain to head office about how another one got torn."

"You're no fun at all!" she replied.

Alfie laughed. "Sunshine, she was just demonstrating something she and Jasper..."

Oh no he didn't. The mental pictures started racing through my head. "LA LA LA LA LA! I can't hear you!"

"She's such a prude, sometimes," Alice said just loud enough for me to hear. Alfie snorted.

Time to play the assistant manager's card, I thought. "Alice, is there a reason you're here on your day off?"

"Yeah, I'm here to torment you."

"Well, if you're going to be here, could you help me with the inventory? You know, make yourself useful?"

Alice sighed heavily as she returned the rubber fist to his perch on the wall. "Sorry, Fisty, the boss has spoken."

"Fisty will survive, Ali. So, Alfie, did you want the movies you requested?"

"Oh, I sure do! Which ones came in?"

I rifled through the stack of new arrivals. "Well, it seems The Suite Life on Dick has arrived. Oh, dear Lord, there are blond twins who look like older versions of Zack and Cody."

Alice ran over. "Let me see!" After grabbing it and scrutinizing it, she started to giggle. "Oh my God, they do! Oh, and the Mr. Moseby character is...oh, dear..."

"Are you blushing, Ali?" I couldn't help but tease her. "What's got you so flustered?"

Thrusting the movie back into my hands, Alice grabbed a clipboard and headed toward a wall of novelties. "You'll never look at Mr. Moseby the same way again. Trust me."

Curiosity got the best of me again and I couldn't stop the blush creeping up my cheeks. "Well, shit, Mr. M, you're hung like a horse...oh dear God is he...?"

Alfie laughed. "Yes, Sunshine, he's inspecting the poop deck."

I playfully slapped his hand. "How can someone so sweet be so devious?"

"Just ring up the movies, dear, and I'll be out of your pretty brown hair."

I rang them up without looking at the other titles, slipped them into a discreet black bag, and took his money. I couldn't help but smile warmly at him as he turned to leave. "Well, have a great night, Alfie."

"You too, Sunshine, and you too, Pixie. Give that sex god boyfriend of yours a kiss for me."

"I will. See you later."

After our elderly friend left, I grabbed a second clipboard and joined Alice at the novelty wall.

"You know, if I didn't adore that man, I'd have found that whole transaction disturbing," I said to Alice as she counted penis shot cups, or as she called them, shot cocks.

"He's just so sweet; it's hard to believe he watches so much porn."

I coughed. "Pot meet kettle."

I watched as Alice whipped around to face me, her hands on her hips. "What the holy hell is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I watch too much porn?"

"Maybe, but same thing applies," I pinched one of Alice's rosy cheeks. "I adore you, so I don't find you all that disturbing."

"You're just jealous because Jasper and I have a wonderful, vibrant, healthy, and terrific sex life."

"Hardly," I mumbled as my eyes reflexively rolled. I turned my eyes back to the wall of tacky, overpriced, and potentially toxic novelty items and went back to counting and making notations on my count sheet. After the novelties were finished, I moved on to the jelly dongs. "Hey, Ali, I'm going to do the jelly dongs now."

When Alice turned back to me wearing breast-shaped glasses, it was hard to suppress a loud snort.

"God, I love you, Pixie. Can you finish up with these then hit the vibrators?"

"Aye, aye, captain," Alice said, snapping to attention.

Laughing, I shook my head and ducked into the dong section. Rainbow-coloured dildos of all shapes and sizes met me and reminded me of the first time I'd seen the selection and giggled. Oh, how times had changed. I had been so wide-eyed and nervous for those first couple of months. It's not as if I was a pure as snow virgin, because I had had my share of hot, sticky, steamy sex, and it's not as if I'd never seen a porno movie; an old friend had educated me at an early age. It was just a little overwhelming when you're an easy-to-blush, non-practicing sexual being thrust into a world that revolved around sex, both the traditional and the depraved.

There were many nights at first when the hot pink and black walls made me feel trapped and sometimes made me feel sorry for myself for being single. In time, though, I became desensitized to most of it, in fact, the more I learned about it, made it more clinical, the easier it became to be around it all, including the store mascot, Fisty, a silicone fist-shaped dildo.

How had Isabella Marie Swan, graduate student, ended up working here in the first place? The answer was that my scholarship only covered so much and the hours at the shop were flexible, not to mention it wasn't all that busy all the time, so it was a great place for studying and doing school work. It was also a great place to do research; I am Creative Writing major and there is no better place for working on character studies.

The electronic chime brought me back out of my head again and back into reality. I'd been spacing a lot; maybe I should start taking those pills I hate so much again. I flipped my long brown hair over my shoulder and began walking toward the two customers until I heard a familiar voice.

"Excuse me, miss, um, we're looking for some things for my friend's stag party. Can you help?"

Alice popped her head out from behind the wall of expensive vibrators with animal names, and her jaw dropped. I swear I heard it hit the floor.

"Uh, what?" Alice said.

Oh how I wished desperately that I could fade into the racks of silicone dongs, but I wasn't a sex toy chameleon, it wasn't going to happen.

Why? Why? Why? I screamed silently. Why my store? Why not when someone else was working? I can't do this. FRAK!

"Bella?"

Shit. "Hi," I said quietly as I stepped out.

"Is that a dildo in your hand or are you just happy to see me?"

Looking down, I realized what he was talking about; I was gripping a bright purple double-ender in my hand.

"Hi, Emmett," I tried to say aloud, before putting down the sex toy, but it only came out as a whisper. My head was spinning, my heart was racing, and I could feel my chest beginning to tighten. Not now, not now, not here, not now.

"Aren't you going to give me a hug?" he asked.

"Um, sure."

He held his arms open to encourage me, and I wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and squeeze the shit out of him. It was all I could do not to; I didn't know how he would react and frankly, I was scared. Was he still pissed off at me? It had been so long...

Big arms wrapped around me, my heart clenched, and I wanted to cry. It felt almost like home; it was like being next door to home—you're there, but not quite.

"I've missed you so much, B..." he said, his big hands rubbing my back, and it felt as if the last word got tangled in my hair.

Not the nickname, please...you're too close and I swear I'll fall apart if you say it. Please, not here, not now, I pleaded with him silently.

"Are you okay? You're shaking, Baby Girl."

As hard as I tried to keep everything in check, those two words broke me. A dam burst and I felt myself beginning to break apart. "I...I...can't..." I said, panting, as I tried to pull out of his arms. He held me tighter, just like he had back in the day, and just like back then, I could feel myself being lulled into a false sense of security.

"Baby Girl, it's me...it's your Emmy. Come on," he said, trying to calm me down.

"Um, Bella," Alice said. I had forgotten she was even still there. "I can take care of this other gentleman if you two need to step out."

Other gentleman? As I turned around one word rang through my head like a gunshot before I felt the floor rushing to meet me.

"Edward?"

Edward POV

I think I just saw a fucking ghost.

Emmett and I were on a hunt for gag stuff for Mike Newton's bachelor party when we stumbled across X-plosive Video. I wasn't sure I wanted to go in, but Emmett insisted. He's the porn king of the family and used to places like that, but not me. No prude by any standards, I had lost my virginity to the ghost I had just seen when I was 14 years old.

Bella Swan was the last person I ever expected to see in an adult video store. In fact, I had never expected to see her again.

God, I can't think about that now. I need to get out of here, I need to get my brother and go home and forget this happened. But no, Emmett jumps to her rescue, because he can, and he carries her off, leaving me behind with my panic. My chest tightened, I started wheezing, and I fumbled in my messenger bag for my pills. Why couldn't I be the one who scooped her up and carried her off like a hero?

Oh, that's right, I'm not the hero. I'm the bad guy. I committed the worse transgression a person could ever do; I left my soul mate when she needed me most. I ran like a coward. I...

Stop! Stop thinking. Not here, not now.

Bella's friend disappeared out back with them, leaving me standing awkwardly in a puddle of panic. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just bail on my brother.

The tiny dark-haired girl skipped back into the store, stopped, and looked me over. I observed her closely in return. She was tiny, probably not even five feet tall; her black hair was streaked with a really deep red; her clothes were feminine but not girly. Her pale grey eyes looked through me, inspecting me, dissecting me. She obviously had an idea as to who I was.

"I know who you are," she said, as if reading my mind.

"I can't say the same."

"I'm Alice, Bella's best friend. I really have nothing to say to you right now, otherwise I will probably tear open your scrotal sac, remove your testicles one at a time, and use them as bocci balls while you watch."

I felt my nuts tighten up and threaten to move into my abdominal cavity.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Emmett said to hook you up with shit for the bachelor party. What do you need?"

"Oh," I said, finally understanding her. Fumbling around in my bag, I finally found the list of things we needed to purchase. I handed it to Alice with a shaking hand, "here."

Alice pranced around the store, filling her arms with the various items on the list. When she finished she threw them onto the counter and started ringing them in.

"Is she...?"

"DON'T," she replied tersely.

"But..."

"Do not speak to me, Edward. Not now."

I handed her my credit card when she rattled off the total. As soon as I'd signed off, she thrust three large black bags at me and told me to leave, that Emmett would call when he was ready.

"Can you please tell Emmett to call when he's ready?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Alice."

"Don't thank me, asshole. Just get out."

While I wasn't expecting a royal reception, it struck me that Alice's sense of customer service was greatly lacking. Aw, shit, who was I kidding, she had gone easy on me. I deserved so much worse, and she was right that I have no right to ask about Bella.

Fuck, why had I left her in the first place?

Oh yeah, because I'm a coward.

Emmett POV

I carried Bella's limp body to the back of the store and out into the alley where Alice said we would be okay. I sat on a fire escape step and cradled her to me. Her breathing was shaky, she was white as a ghost, making the sparse freckles on her nose stand out, and she was trembling. I whispered as I rocked her, hoping she'd snap out of it soon. It wasn't the first time I'd had to do this, and sad to say it probably wouldn't be the last.

"Please don't hurt her," Alice said quietly, "she's been through so much already."

"I know, Little One, I was there for most of it. Hi, I'm Emmett Cullen," I said, sticking out a hand to the tiny girl. She was super cute and if my arms weren't balancing Bella, I'd pinch her tiny cheeks.

"Cullen? Oh my God—Edward?" She pointed back toward the store. "That model-gorgeous specimen in there is THE Edward?"

"Yeah. Can you go stock him up with stag party stuff and tell him to go home without me? I'll find a way home later."

Alice smiled wanly. "Yeah, but if I castrate him, it's not my fault."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're tough, Little One. I like you."

"I'm Alice Brandon, and Bella's best friend. I swear if you hurt..."

Trying to cup my crotch with an armful of dead weight wasn't easy, but Alice got the idea. "I won't hurt her, Alice, I swear. I've missed her so much," I sighed sadly. "Can you deal with my brother please?"

"Gotcha." Alice gave the still-unconscious Bella a kiss. "I'll bring out some water. Be right back."

Bella began to stir in my arms so I stroked her hair and sang, You Are My Sunshine to her quietly. She had always liked it when I did that before, maybe it would help her now.

Alice popped back out with a bottle of water and a wet cloth, which I put on her forehead as I sang to her.

"...please don't take my sunshine away..."

A strange look washed across her face as she regained consciousness. Her deep brown eyes looked around frantically, and when they focussed on my face, she jumped and shouted, "Oh fuck!"

Her eyes were horror-filled, panicked, and sad all at once. She trembled harder, and struggled to get out of my arms.

"Shh...Baby Girl, it's just me, Emmett. You're okay, he's not out here."

A sob tore through her so violently that I thought she might throw up. I pulled her up to my chest and held her as she cried. She clung to me as if I was the only life raft left in a vast, dark ocean.

"Shh, baby, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you."

"I'm sorry, Emmy, I really am."

My heart broke the second she uttered those words. Why was she apologizing to me? "Why? You didn't do anything wrong; if anyone should be sorry, it's me. If I had known you worked here, I never would have brought him. So, really, I should be the one to apologize. Do you want some water?"

She nodded her tear-streaked face. "Please. Oh shit, the store..."

"Little One said she'd take care of things. She's adorable."

"Is..." she hiccupped and choked on the water she was drinking. I clapped her gently on the back, taking notice of being able to feel each one of her vertebrae. "Thanks," she said when she was able. "Is he still here?"

"Yeah, but she's going to take care of him and send him home. I'll meet up with him later, unless you want me to go."

"No!" Bella practically screamed. "Please, Em, I haven't felt this whole in a while. I missed you."

"I missed you too. You have no idea how hard it's been." Bella gave me a look. "Okay, you know how hard it's been. Still," I said, running my fingers through her hair, "we've all missed you, a lot."

Tears forced their way to the surface and rolled down her cheeks. "Can we go talk? Please? I don't live far from here."

"Of course. Do you have a purse or anything?"

"Shit, I'll have to text Ali and get her to..."

"Here, Bella," Alice said, opening the door. "I thought you might need this. Your pills are in the inside pocket. Emmett, please take her home. HE said for you to call when you're ready and he'll pick you up."

"Thanks, Alice, I owe you," Bella said.

"I can think of a few ways you can repay me," she said, smirking. "Now, get out of here before I change my mind." She bent down and gave Bella a kiss. "You, sir, thank you. It's a pleasure to finally meet Mr. Dimples. Don't fuck with my girl, eh?"

I stood with Bella, bent down, and gave Alice a kiss on the top of her spiky head. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Bells, if Jasper's home can you send him down here?"

"Sure thing. Please promise you'll cover the security cameras or erase the tape if you two decide to...you know."

I roared. "Bells, you slay me! The shyest girl on the planet works at a porn store and still can't say the word sex out loud. Did I not teach you anything when we were younger and watched dirty movies in my room?" I hugged her, suddenly overcome with joy. "It's so good to have you back."

So, there's chapter one. Please let me know what you think.

IMPORTANT: I am working on a research paper/article about TwiFic and I need your help. I have an online survey that I'd love for you to fill out if you have a few minutes and you haven't done it already. Since there's so very little out there about TwiFic, I figured the best information would come from the source; the people who read it and write it. So please, pop on over and leave me your thoughts. I was going to close it today, but figured I'd give you guys another few days to check it out.

http://www(DOT)surveymonkey(DOT)com/s(DOT)aspx?sm=cPVaMeefzXi_2fYn7OIS0ZNw_3d_3d --Don't forget to replace the (DOT)s with actual periods.